But it was in his short stories, written when he was a young man embarking on a literary career, that he first explored the enormous potential of the scientific discoveries of the day. He described his stories as "a miscellany of inventions," yet his enthusiasm for science was tempered by an awareness of its horrifying destructive powers and the threat it could pose to the human race. A consummate storyteller, he made fantastic creatures and machines entirely believable, and by placing ordinary men and women in extraordinary situations, he explored, with humor, what it means to be alive in a century of rapid scientific progress. At the dawn of a new millennium, Wells' singular vision is more compelling than ever.

    This star-studded follow-up to the acclaimed "Firebirds" contains riveting, original stories by some of today's masters of science fiction and fantasy, including Fancesca Lia Block, Alan Dean Foster, Diana Wynne Jones, and Tanith Lee.

    Robert Sheckley says it's like that tiny pebble that sends ripples to the edge of the lake.And since Sheckley figures absolutely anything can happen, the possible futures he envisions romp buoyantly all the way from wretched to raucous.If you balk and boggle at some of these predictions, think of it this way: The future won't just happen - it will sneak up on you a little at a time!Contents:The Prize of Peril • (1958) • shortstoryThe Humours • (1958) • novella (aka Join Now)Triplication • (1960) • essayThe Minimum Man • (1958) • noveletteIf the Red Slayer • (1959) • shortstoryThe Store of the Worlds • (1959) • shortstoryThe Gun Without a Bang • (1958) • shortstoryThe Deaths of Ben Baxter • (1957) • novelette

    Collecting all sixteen of the Concrete short stories originally published in Dark Horse Presents between 1986 and 1989.

    Contents:1 · Up the Bright River · Philip José Farmer · nv * 41 · If the King Like Not the Comedy · Jody Lynn Nye · nv * 64 · Because It’s There · Jerry Oltion · nv * 90 · A Place of Miracles · Owl Goingback · ss * 100 · Diaghilev Plays Riverworld · Robert Sheckley · nv * 123 · Secret Crimes · Robert Sampson · nv * 152 · Hero’s Coin · Brad Strickland · ss * 160 · Human Spirit, Beetle Spirit · John Gregory Betancourt · nv Aboriginal SF Fll ’93 185 · Nevermore · David Bischoff & Dean Wesley Smith · nv * 220 · Old Soldiers · Lawrence Watt-Evans · ss * 231 · Legends · Esther M. Friesner · nv * 262 · Stephen Comes Into Courage · Rick Wilber · nv * 286 · Riverworld Roulette · Robert Weinberg · nv * 314 · Coda · Philip José Farmer · ss *

    A book illustrating various characters for the Anne McCaffrey crafted world of Pern

    Then, as quickly and inexplicably as it had struck, the disease–dubbed Transcription Divergence Syndrome (TDS)–vanished, leaving behind a population divided into three new branches of humanity: giant gray-skinned argos, hairless seal-like betas, and grotesquely obese charlies.Paxton Abel Martin was fourteen when TDS struck, killing his mother, transforming his preacher father into a charlie, and changing one of his best friends, Jo Lynn, into a beta. But Pax was one of the few who didn’t change. He remained as normal as ever. At least on the outside.Having fled shortly after the pandemic, Pax now returns to Switchcreek fifteen years later, following the suicide of Jo Lynn. What he finds is a town seething with secrets, among which murder may well be numbered. But there are even darker–and far weirder–mysteries hiding below the surface that will threaten not only Pax’s future but the future of the whole human race.

    One day, Colonel Fred Johnson will be hailed as a hero to the system. One day, he will meet a desperate man in possession of a stolen spaceship and a deadly secret and extend a hand of friendship. But long before he became the leader of the Outer Planets Alliance, Fred Johnson had a very different name. The Butcher of Anderson Station. This is his story.Word Count: ~9,000 words

    G. Ballard lived far ahead of his time. Called his "prophetic masterpiece" by many, The Atrocity Exhibition practically lies outside of any literary tradition. Part science fiction, part eerie historical fiction, part pornography, its characters adhere to no rules of linearity or stability. This reissued edition features an introduction by William S. Burroughs, extensive text commentary by Ballard, and four additional stories. Of specific interest are the illustrations by underground cartoonist and professional medical illustrator Phoebe Gloeckner. Her ultrarealistic images of eroticism and destruction add an important dimension to Ballard's text.

    An odyssey of discovery, from a shattered society through the solar system with a handful of men and women who ride a cold, hurtling ball of ice to the shaky promise of a distant, unknowable future.

    Alex Braith is tracing her sister's steps to the refinery moon, hoping to collect her remains and find some answers. The questions keep coming though-and they lead her down a path of intrigue, betrayal, and galactic horror.Collectong: Southern Cross 1-6

    Zero," Mulder is convinced it is the same otherworldly entity that contacted the FBI through a suburban housewife in the 1940s. This similarly named "Mr. Xero" pointed the FBI toward many unusual cases, leading to the establishment of "the X-Files"!

    . . Bradbury?You might see rockets to Mars. Or bizarre circuses where otherworldly acts whirl in the center ring. Perhaps you travel to a dystopian future, where books are set ablaze . . . or to an out-of-the-way sideshow, where animated illustrations crawl across human skin. Or maybe, suddenly, you're returned to a simpler time in small-town America, where summer perfumes the air and life is almost perfect . . . "almost."Ray Bradbury--peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors--is a literary giant whose remarkable career has spanned seven decades. Now twenty-six of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.TABLE OF CONTENTSSam Weller and Mort Castle - IntroductionRay Bradbury - Second HomecomingNeil Gaiman - The Man Who Forgot Ray BradburyMargaret Atwood - HeadlifeJay Bonansinga - HeavySam Weller - The Girl In The Funeral ParlorDavid Morrell - The CompanionsThomas F. Monteleone - The ExchangeLee Martin - Cat on a Bad CouchJoe Hill - By The Silver Water Of Lake ChamplainDan Chaon - Little AmericaJohn McNally - The Phone CallJoe Meno - Young PilgrimsRobert McCammon - Children Of The Bedtime MachineRamsey Campbell - The Page Mort Castle - LightAlice Hoffman - ConjureJohn Maclay - MaxJacqueline Mitchard - Two Of A KindGary Braunbeck - Fat Man And Little BoyBonnie Jo Campbell - The TattooAudrey Niffenegger - Backwards In SevilleCharles Yu - Earth: (A Gift Shop)Julia Keller - Hayleigh's DadDave Eggers - Who Knocks?Bayo Ojikutu - Reservation 2020Kelly Link - Two HousesHarlan Ellison - Weariness

    She is the Emperor's Hand, the personal assassin of the Empire's dark overlord. Mara has destroyed many enemies of the Empire in her time, and has always carried out her missions with forethought and skill. But after the Emperor's death at the hands of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, an unforeseen variable is about to enter the scene of her final mission for her employer: the assassination of the leader of the Black Nebula crime organization. Though her master is dead, Jade must complete her final mission...even if it costs her life

    This compilation of the first six issues of The Journey to the Hidden Sea tells the story of Rocketo's idyllic childhood and his early training as an explorer and Mapper. After returning from the deadly Solarium War a broken man, Rocketo Garrison is swept away on a journey to the Hidden Sea, a fabled, dangerous land that may hold the key to undreamed of treasure as well as the truth about an ancient mystery.