Firebirds Soaring: An Anthology of Original Speculative Fiction


Sharyn NovemberLaurel Winter - 2009
    Then Firebirds Rising. Now there is Firebirds Soaring, the third anthology of original stories by some of today?s finest writers of fantasy and science fiction. These authors, including Nancy Farmer (The Sea of Trolls), Ellen Klages (The Green Glass Sea), Margo Lanagan (Black Juice), and Jane Yolen (The Devil?s Arithmetic), have brought new worlds and Old Magic to life in nineteen remarkable pieces of short fiction. Mike Dringenberg, co-creator of Sandman with Neil Gaiman, contributes decorative vignettes. Firebirds Soaring?like Firebirds and Firebirds Rising?sets the standard for short fiction for teenagers and adult fans of the genre.

The Dog Said Bow-Wow


Michael Swanwick - 2001
    The reigning master of short fiction reinvents science fiction and fantasy in a dazzling new collection unlike anything you’ve ever read. Time-traveling dinosaurs wreak havoc on a placid Vermont town. An ogre is murdered in a locked room in Faerie. An uncanny bordello proves as dangerous as it is alluring. Language is stolen from the builders of babel. Those strangely loveable Post-Utopion scoundrels and con men, Darger and Surplus, swindle their way through London, Paris, and Arcadia.The Dog Said Bow-Wow includes three Hugo Award-winning stories and an original novelette of swashbuckling romance and adventure, “The Skysailor’s Tale.” Ranging from the hardest of science fiction to the highest of fantasy, this irresistible collection amuses and enlightens as only Michael Swanwick can.

The New Voices of Science Fiction


Hannu RajaniemiSuzanne Palmer - 2019
    Even though your worker bots have staged a mutiny, and your tour guide speaks only in memes, you can always sell your native language if you need some extra cash.The avant-garde of science fiction have arrived in this space-age sequel to the 2018 award-winning anthology, The New Voices of Fantasy. In The New Voices of Science Fiction you'll find the rising stars of the last five years: Rebecca Roanhorse, Amal El-Mohtar, Sam J. Miller, E. Lily Yu, Rich Larson, Vina Jie-Min Prasad, Sarah Pinsker, Alice Sola Kim, Darcie Little Badger, Nino Cipri, S. Qiouyi Lu, Kelly Robson, Suzanne Palmer, and more. Their extraordinary stories have been hand-selected by cutting-edge author Hannu Rajaniemi (The Quantum Thief) and genre expert Jacob Weisman (Invaders).So go ahead, join the starship revolution. The new kids have already hacked the AI.--back coverContents:- Introduction by Jacob Weisman- Foreword by Hannu Rajaniemi- Openness (2016) by Alexander Weinstein- The Shape of My Name (2015) by Nino Cipri- Utopia, LOL? (2017) by Jamie Wahls- Mother Tongues (2018) by S. Qiouyi Lu- In the Sharing Place (2018) by David Erik Nelson- A Series of Steaks (2017) by Vina Jie-Min Prasad- The Secret Life of Bots (2017) by Suzanne Palmer- Ice (2015) by Rich Larson- One Hour, Every Seven Years (2017) by Alice Sola Kim- Toppers (2016) by Jason Sanford- Tender Loving Plastics (2018) by Amman Sabet- Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™ (2017) by Rebecca Roanhorse- Strange Waters (2018) by Samantha Mills- Calved (2015) by Sam J. Miller- The Need for Air (2018) by Lettie Prell- Robo-Liopleurodon! (2018) by Darcie Little Badger- The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi (2019) by E. Lily Yu- Madeleine (2015) by Amal El-Mohtar- Our Lady of the Open Road (2015) by Sarah Pinsker- A Study in Oils (2018) by Kelly Robson

The Future is Female! Women's Science Fiction Stories from the Pulp Era to the New Wave


Lisa Yaszek - 2018
    Now, two hundred years after Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, SF-expert Lisa Yaszek presents the best of the female tradition in American science fiction, in the most comprehensive collection of its kind ever published. From Pulp Era pioneers to New Wave experimentalists, here are over two dozen brilliant writers ripe for discovery and rediscovery, including Leslie F. Stone ("The Conquest of Gola," 1931), Judith Merril ("That Only a Mother," 1948), Leigh Brackett ("All the Colors of the Rainbow," 1957), Kit Reed ("The New You," 1962), Joanna Russ ("The Barbarian," 1968); Ursula K. Le Guin ("Nine Lives," 1969), and James Tiptree Jr. ("Last Flight of Dr. Ain," 1969). Imagining strange worlds and unexpected futures, looking into and beyond new technologies and scientific discoveries, in utopian fantasies and tales of cosmic horror, these women created and shaped speculative fiction as surely as their male counterparts. Their provocative, mind-blowing stories combine to form a thrilling multidimensional voyage of literary-feminist exploration and recovery.Contents:Introduction / Lisa Yaszek --The miracle of the lily / Clare Winger Harris --The conquest of Gola / Leslie F. Stone --The black god's kiss / C. L. Moore --Space episode / Leslie Perri --That only a mother / Judith Merril --In hiding / Wilmar H. Shiras --Contagion / Katherine Maclean --The inhabited men / Margaret St. Clair --Ararat / Zenna Henderson --All cats are gray / Andrew North --Created he them / Alice Eleanor Jones --Mr. Sakrison's halt / Mildred Clingerman --All the colors of the rainbow / Leigh brackett --Pelt / Carol Emshwiller --Car pool / Rosel George Brown --For sale, reasonable / Elizabeth Mann Borgese --Birth of a gardener / Doris Pitkin Buck --The tunnel ahead / Alice Glaser --The new you / Kit Reed --Another rib / John Jay Wells & Marion Zimmer Bradley --When I was Miss Dow / Sonya Dorman --Baby, you were great / Kate Wilhelm --The barbarian / Joanna Russ --The last flight of Dr. Ain / James Tiptree Jr --Nine lives / Ursula K Le Guin --Biographical notes.

Black Thorn, White Rose


Ellen DatlowPeter Straub - 1994
    From Roger Zelansky's delightful tale of Death's disobedient godson to Peter Straub's blood-chilling examination of a gargantuan Cinderella and her terrible twisted "art," here are stories strange and miraculous -- remarkable modern storytelling that remold our most cherished childhood fables into things sexier, more sinister... and more appealing to grown-up tastes and sensibilities. The "Snow White, Blood Red" Collection #1. Snow White, Blood Red #2. Black Thorn, White Rose #3. Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears #4. Black Swan, White Raven #5. Silver Birch, Blood Moon #6. Black Heart, Ivory Bones

The Jack Vance Treasury


Jack Vance - 2007
    Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy and Edgar awards, his acclaimed first book The Dying Earth and its sequels helped shape the face of modern heroic fantasy for generations of readers—and writers! In more than sixty novels, he has done more than any other author to define science fantasy and its preeminent form: the planetary adventure.Born in San Francisco in 1916, Vance wrote much of what you'll find between these covers both abroad and at home in the hills above Oakland, either while serving in the merchant marine or traveling the world with his wife Norma, all the while pursuing his great love of fine cuisine and traditional jazz.Now, at last, the very best of Vance's mid-length and shorter work has been collected in a single landmark volume. With a Preface by Vance himself and a foreword by long-time Vance reader George R.R. Martin, it stands as the capstone to a splendid career and makes the perfect introduction to a very special writer.Table of ContentsPreface, Jack VanceJack Vance: An Appreciation, George R.R. MartinIntroduction: Fruit from the Tree of LifeThe Dragon MastersLiane the WayfarerSail 25The Gift of GabThe Miracle WorkersGuyal of SfereNoiseThe Kokod WarriorsThe OverworldThe Men ReturnThe Sorcerer PharesmThe New PrimeThe SecretThe Moon MothThe Bagful of DreamsThe MitrMorreionThe Last CastleBiographical Sketch & Other Facts, Jack Vance

Selected Stories


Fritz Leiber - 2001
    P. Lovecraft and the paperback era of P. K. Dick, and arguably is as influential as both these authors. From a historical context, Leiber, in fact, knew both of the authors, and his work can be seen as a bridge connecting the many different flavors of genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Edited by award-winning editors Jonathan Strahan and Charles Brown, this new collection of the grand master's fiction covers all facets of his work, and features an Introduction by Neil Gaiman and an Afterword by Michael Chabon.Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Steampunk (Steampunk, #1)


Jeff VanderMeerJoseph E. Lake - 2008
    Blaylock"The Giving Mouth" by Ian R. MacLeod "A Sun in the Attic" by Mary Gentle "The God-Clown is Near" by Jay Lake"The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down: A Dime Novel" by Joe R. Lansdale"The Selene Gardening Society" by Molly Brown"Seventy-Two Letters" by Ted Chiang"The Martian Agent, A Planetary Romance" by Michael Chabon"Victoria" by Paul Di Filippo"Reflected Light" by Rachel E. Pollock"Minutes of the Last Meeting" by Stepan Chapman"Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of Tribes of the Pacific Coast" by Neal Stephenson"The Steam-Driven Time Machine: A Pop Culture Survey" by Rick Klaw"The Essential Sequential Steampunk: A Modest Survey of the Genre within the Comic Book Medium" by Bill Baker

I Am Legend and Other Stories


Richard Matheson - 1954
    Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood.By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?I am legend --Buried talents --The near departed --Prey --Witch war --Dance of the dead --Dress of white silk --Mad house --The funeral --From shadowed places --Person to person.

Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories


Vandana Singh - 2018
    In “Requiem”, a woman goes to Alaska to try and make sense of her aunt’s disappearance. An eleventh century poet wakes to find he is as an artificially intelligent companion on a starship. A woman of no account has the ability to look into the past.Singh's work dives into the vast strangeness of the universe without and within, and she unblinkingly explores the ways we move through space and time: together, yet always apart.Contents:- With Fate Conspire (2013)- A Handful of Rice (2012)- Peripeteia (2013)- Lifepod (2007)- Oblivion: A Journey (2008)- Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra (2010)- Are You Sannata3159? (2010)- Indra's Web (2011)- Ruminations in an Alien Tongue (2012)- Sailing the Antarsa (2013)- Cry of the Kharchal (2013)- Wake-Rider (2014)- Ambiguity Machines: An Examination (2015)- Requiem (2018)

Tails of Wonder and Imagination


Ellen DatlowKelly Link - 2001
    Mystery, horror, science fiction, and fantasy stories have all been written about cats.From legendary editor Ellen Datlow comes Tails of Wonder and Imagination, showcasing forty cat tales by some of today’s most popular authors. With uncollected stories by Stephen King, Carol Emshwiller, Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, Elizabeth Hand, Dennis Danvers, and Theodora Goss and a previously unpublished story by Susanna Clarke, plus feline-centric fiction by Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, George R.R. Martin, Lucius Shepard, Joyce Carol Oates, Graham Joyce, Catherynne M. Valente, Michael Marshall Smith, and many others.Tails of Wonder and Imagination features more than 200,000 words of stories in which cats are heroes and stories in which they’re villains; tales of domestic cats, tigers, lions, mythical part-cat beings, people transformed into cats, cats transformed into people. And yes, even a few cute cats.Table of Contents:"Through the Looking Glass (excerpt)" - Lewis Carroll"No Heaven Will Not Ever Heaven Be..." - A. R. Morlan"The Price" - Neil Gaiman"Dark Eyes, Faith, and Devotion" - Charles de Lint"Not Waving" - Michael Marshall Smith"Catch" - Ray Vukcevich"The Manticore Spell" - Jeffrey Ford"Catskin" - Kelly Link"Mieze Corrects an Incomplete Representation of Reality" - Michaela Roessner"Guardians" - George R. R. Martin"Life Regarded as a Jigsaw Puzzle of Highly Lustrous Cats" - Michael Bishop"Gordon, the Self-Made Cat" - Peter S. Beagle"The Jaguar Hunter" - Lucius Shepard"Arthur's Lion" - Tanith Lee"Pride" - Mary A. Turzillo"The Burglar Takes a Cat" - Lawrence Block"The White Cat" - Joyce Carol Oates"Returns" - Jack Ketchum"Puss-Cat" - Reggie Oliver"Cat in Glass" - Nancy Etchemendy"Coyote Peyote" - Carole Nelson Douglas"The Poet and the Inkmaker's Daughter" - Elizabeth Hand"The Night of the Tiger" - Stephen King"Every Angel is Terrifying" - John Kessel"Candia" - Graham Joyce"Mbo" - Nicholas Royle"Bean Bag Cats(R)" - Edward Bryant"Antiquities" - John Crowley"The Manticore's Tale" - Catherynne M. Valente"In Carnation" - Nancy Springer"Old Foss is the Name of His Cat" - David Sandner"A Safe Place to Be" - Carol Emshwiller"Nine Lives to Live" - Sharyn McCrumb"Tiger Kill" - Kaaron Warren"Something Better than Death" - Lucy Sussex"Dominion" - Christine Lucas"Tiger in the Snow" - Daniel Wynn Barber"The Dweller in High Places" - Susanna Clarke"Healing" - Benjamin Dennis Danvers"The Puma" - Theodora Goss

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018


John Joseph AdamsJaymee Goh - 2018
    There is an openness to experiment and pushing boundaries, combined with the classic desire to read about space ships and dragons, future technology and ancient magic, and the places where they intersect. Contemporary science fiction and fantasy looks to accomplish the same goal as ever—to illuminate what it means to be human. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor N. K. Jemisin, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018 explores the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today, with Jemisin bringing her lyrical, endlessly curious point of view to the series’ latest edition.Rivers Run Free / Charles Payseur --Destroy the City With Me Tonight / Kate Alice Marshall --You Will Always Have Family: A Triptych / Kathleen Kayembe --Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel Probabilities / Lettie Prell --Loneliness is in Your Blood / Cadwell Turnbull --The Hermit of Houston / Samuel R. Delany --The Last Cheng Beng Gift / Jaymee Goh --Brightened Star, Ascending Dawn / A. Merc Rustad --The Resident / Carmen Maria Machado --The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant / Rachael K. Jones --Tasting Notes on the Varietals of the Southern Coast / Gwendolyn Clare --Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue / Charlie Jane Anders --Church of Birds / Micah Dean Hicks --ZeroS / Peter Watts --Carnival Nine / Caroline M. Yoachim --The Wretched and the Beautiful / E. Lily Yu --The Orange Tree / Maria Dahvana Headley --Cannibal Acts / Maureen McHugh --Black Powder / Maria Dahvana Headley --Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance / Tobias S. Buckell

The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK ®: 33 Classic Science Fiction Stories


Fredric Brown - 2013
    The 32 tales of science fiction and fantasy assembled in this massive volume include: ARENAEXPERIMENTKEEP OUTHAPPY ENDINGHALL OF MIRRORSEARTHMEN BEARING GIFTSIMAGINEIT DIDN'T HAPPENRECESSIONALEINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIKPUPPET SHOWNIGHTMARE IN YELLOWJAYCEEPI IN THE SKYANSWERTHE GEEZENSTACKSKNOCKREBOUNDTHE STAR MOUSEABOMINABLELETTER TO A PHOENIXNOT YET THE ENDARMAGEDDONOF TIME AND EUSTACE WEAVERRECONCILIATIONNOTHING SIRIUSPATTERNTHE YEHUDI PRINCIPLECOME AND GO MADSENTRYETAOIN SHRDLUTHE ENDNOW AVAILABLE: The Second Fredric Brown Megapack! (Search this ebook store for the companion volume, with another great set of Fredric Brown tales!)And don't forget to search this ebook store for ʺWildside Press Megapackʺ to see more entries in this great series (including "The Second Fredric Brown Megapack"), covering classic authors and subjects like mysteries, science fiction, westerns, ghost stories -- and much, much more!

E Pluribus Unicorn


Theodore Sturgeon - 1953
    Contents:· The Silken-Swift · nv F&SF Nov ’53 · The Professor’s Teddy-Bear · ss Weird Tales Mar ’48 · Bianca’s Hands · ss Argosy (UK) May ’47 · Saucer of Loneliness · ss Galaxy Feb ’53 · The World Well Lost · ss Universe Jun ’53 · It Wasn’t Syzygy [“The Deadly Ratio”] · nv Weird Tales Jan ’48 · The Music · vi * · Scars · ss Zane Grey’s Western Magazine May ’49 · Fluffy · ss Weird Tales Mar ’47 · The Sex Opposite · nv Fantastic Fll ’52 · Die, Maestro, Die! · nv Dime Detective Magazine May ’49 · Cellmate · ss Weird Tales Jan ’47 · A Way of Thinking · nv Amazing Oct/Nov ’53

Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die


Ryan NorthArryn Diaz - 2010
    It didn't give you the date and it didn't give you specifics. It just spat out a sliver of paper upon which were printed, in careful block letters, the words DROWNED or CANCER or OLD AGE or CHOKED ON A HANDFUL OF POPCORN. It let people know how they were going to die." Machine of Death tells thirty-four different stories about people who know how they will die. Prepare to have your tears jerked, your spine tingled, your funny bone tickled, your mind blown, your pulse quickened, or your heart warmed. Or better yet, simply prepare to be surprised. Because even when people do have perfect knowledge of the future, there's no telling exactly how things will turn out. Featuring stories by: * Randall Munroe* Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw* Tom Francis* Camille Alexa* Erin McKean* James L. Sutter* Douglas J. Lane* and many others.Featuring illustrations by: * Kate Beaton* Kazu Kibuishi* Aaron Diaz* Jeffrey Brown* Scott C.* Roger Langridge* Karl Kerschl* Cameron Stewart* and many others