Year's Best SF


David G. HartwellWilliam Barton - 1996
    Here are stories that go beyond space and time.Contentsix • Introduction: Science Fiction is Alive and Well • (1996) • essay by David G. Hartwell1 • Think Like a Dinosaur • (1995) • novelette by James Patrick Kelly29 • Wonders of the Invisible World • (1995) • shortstory by Patricia A. McKillip45 • Hot Times in Magma City • (1995) • novella by Robert Silverberg111 • Gossamer • [Xeelee] • (1995) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter135 • A Worm in the Well • (1995) • novelette by Gregory Benford169 • Downloading Midnight • (1995) • novelette by William Browning Spencer203 • For White Hill • (1995) • novella by Joe Haldeman261 • In Saturn Time • (1995) • shortstory by William Barton283 • Coming of Age in Karhide • [Hainish] • (1995) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin309 • The Three Descents of Jeremy Baker • (1995) • shortstory by Roger Zelazny321 • Evolution • (1995) • novelette by Nancy Kress353 • The Day the Aliens Came • (1995) • shortstory by Robert Sheckley369 • Microbe • [Elysium Cycle] • (1995) • shortstory by Joan Slonczewski387 • The Ziggurat • (1995) • novella by Gene Wolfe

Four Ways to Forgiveness


Ursula K. Le Guin - 1994
    Here is a society as complex and troubled as any on our world, peopled with unforgettable characters struggling to become fully human. For the disgraced revolutionary Abberkam, the callow "space brat" Solly, the haughty soldier Teyeo, and the Ekumen historian and Hainish exile Havzhiva, freedom and duty both begin in the heart, and success as well as failure has its costs.CONTENT Betrayals Forgiveness Day A Man of the People A Woman's Liberation Notes on Werel and YeoweIn this stunning collection of four intimately interconnected novellas, Ursula K. Le Guin returns to the great themes that have made her one of America's most honored and respected authors.

Elder Race


Adrian Tchaikovsky - 2021
    In Adrian Tchaikovsky's Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) and although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, for his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon…

Vampires: The Recent Undead


Paula GuranMichael Marshall Smith - 2011
    Immortal? Indeed! Nothing has sunk its teeth into 21st century popular culture as pervasively as the vampire. The fangsters have the freedom to fly across all genres and all mediums - there's even apps for vamps. Whether roaming into romance, haunting horror, sneaking into science fiction, capering into humor, meandering through mystery - no icon is more versatile than the vampire. Slake your insatiable thirst with the best sanguinary stories of the new millennium: terrifying or tender, deadly or delicious, bad-ass or beneficent, classic or cutting-edge. ContentsLa Vampiresse • (1999) • by Tanith LeeThe Coldest Girl in Coldtown • (2009) • by Holly BlackThis Is Now • (2004) • by Michael Marshall SmithSisters • [Ottawa and the Valley] • (2002) • by Charles de LintThe Screaming • (2004) • by J. A. KonrathZen and the Art of Vampirism • [Women of the Otherworld Short Fiction] • (2009) • by Kelley ArmstrongDead Man Stalking • (2008) • by Rachel CaineThe Ghost of Leadville • (2009) • by Jeanne C. SteinWaste Land • (2002) • by Stephen DedmanA Gentleman of the Old School • [Count of Saint-Germain] • (2005) • by Chelsea Quinn YarbroNo Matter Where You Go • (2010) • by Tanya HuffOutfangthief • by Conrad WilliamsDancing with the Star • (2008) • by Susan SizemoreA Trick of the Dark • (2004) • by Tina RathWhen Gretchen Was Human • (2001) • by Mary A. Turzillo [as by Mary Turzillo ]Conquistador de la Noche • [Kitty] • (2009) • by Carrie VaughnEndless Night • (2008) • by Barbara RodenDahlia Underground • (2010) • by Charlaine HarrisThe Belated Burial • (2009) • by Caitlín R. KiernanTwilight States • (2005) • by Albert E. CowdreyTo the Moment • by Nisi ShawlCastle in the Desert: Anno Dracula 1977 • [Anno Dracula] • (2000) • by Kim NewmanVampires in the Lemon Grove • (2007) • by Karen RussellVampires Anonymous • by Nancy KilpatrickThe Wide, Carnivorous Sky • (2009) • by John Langan©2011 Paula Guran (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate


Becky Chambers - 2019
    Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does.Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home. Carrying all the trademarks of her other beloved works, including brilliant writing, fantastic world-building and exceptional, diverse characters, Becky's first audiobook outside of the Wayfarers series is sure to capture the imagination of listeners all over the world.

Dark Mirror


Diane Duane - 1993
    Humanity’s greatest dreams have become reality. Along with dozens of other sentient races, the people of Earth have formed the United Federation of Planets—a galactic civilization that governs much of the known universe for the good of all. Over the past two centuries, mankind has tamed its basest instincts, and reached the stars…But suppose it hadn’t happened that way at all? Suppose instead humanity’s darkest impulses, its most savage, animalistic desires had triumphed? Suppose that the empire mankind made out in the stars was one ruled by terror, where only those willing to brutalize their own kind and their neighbors could survive?One hundred years ago, four crewmembers of the U.S.S. Enterprise crossed the dimensional barrier and found just such an empire. A mirror image of their own universe, populated by nightmare duplicates of their shipmates. Barely able to escape with their lives, they returned thankful that the accident that brought them there could not be duplicated. Or so they thought.But now the scientists of that empire have found a doorway into our universe. Thier plan: to destroy from within, to replace one of our starships with one of theirs. Their victims: the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701-D.

The Inheritance


Robin Hobb - 2011
    "Robin Hobb" and "Megan Lindholm" are both pseudonyms used by California-born Margaret Ogden, who from 1983 to 1992, published exclusively as Lindholm. This generous, 400-page hardcover original brings together short stories and novellas penned under both authorial bylines. As Hobb herself notes, "their" writing and styles differ in significant ways. (P.S. This collection includes stories previously unpublished in the United States.)

More Than Honor


David Weber - 1998
    Weber is joined in Honor's universe by two leading science fiction writers, David Drake and S.M. Stirling.

Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach


Kelly Robson - 2018
    Minh is part of the generation that first moved back up to the surface of the Earth from the underground hells, to reclaim humanity's ancestral habitat. She's spent her entire life restoring river ecosystems, but lately the kind of long-term restoration projects Minh works on have been stalled due to the invention of time travel. When she gets the opportunity take a team to 2000 BC to survey the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, she jumps at the chance to uncover the secrets of the shadowy think tank that controls time travel technology.

Callahan's Lady


Spider Robinson - 1989
    At Lady Sally's House, the customer doesn't necessarily come first: even the staff are genuinely enjoying themselves.Wife of time traveling bartender Mike Callahan, and employer of some of the most unusual and talented performing artists ever to work in the field of hedonic interface, Her Ladyship has designed her House to be an "equal opportunity enjoyer," discreetly, tastefully and joyfully catering to all erotic tastes and fantasies, however unusual. Like her famous husband, Lady Sally doesn't even insist that her customers be "human."..as long as they have good manners.Small wonder, then, that she and her staff encounter beings as unique and memorable as the superhuman Colt, whose banner never, ever flags...Diana, the deadly dominatrix who "cannot" be disobeyed...Tony Donuts, the moronic man-monster even the Mafia doesn't want to mess with...or Charles, the werewolf with a distinct difference...

The New Weird


Ann VanderMeerHal Duncan - 2008
    Assembling an array of talent, this collection includes contributions from visionaries Michael Moorcock and China Miéville, modern icon Clive Barker, and audacious new talents Hal Duncan, Jeffrey Ford, and Sarah Monette. An essential snapshot of a vibrant movement in popular fiction, this anthology also features critical writings from authors, theorists, and international editors as well as witty selections from online debates.ContentsIntroduction: The New Weird: “It’s Alice?” by Jeff VanderMeer“The Gutter Sees the Light That Never Shines” by Alistair Rennie“Watson’s Boy” by Brian Evenson“Cornflowers Beside the Unuttered” by Cat Rambo“Jack” by China Miéville“In the Hills, the Cities” by Clive Barker“Forfend the Heaven’s Rending” by Conrad Williams“Locust-Mind” by Daniel Abraham“Tracking Phantoms” by Darja Malcolm-Clarke“Constable Chalch and the Ten Thousand Heroes” by Felix Gilman“The Lizard of Ooze” by Jay Lake“Festival Lives: Preamble: An Essay” by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer“At Reparata” by Jeffrey Ford“Immolation” by Jeffrey Thomas“The Art of Dying” by Darja Malcolm-Clarke“Whose Words You Wear” by K. J. Bishop“The Neglected Garden” by Kathy Koja“Letters from Tainaron” by Leena Krohn“The Luck in the Head” by M. John Harrison“Crossing Cambodia” by Michael Moorcock“Death in a Dirty Dhorti” by Paul Di Filippo“All God’s Chillun Got Wings” by Sarah Monette“The Braining of Mother Lamprey” by Simon D. Ings“The Ride of the Gabbleratchet” by Steph Swainston“A Soft Voice Whispers Nothing” by Thomas Ligotti“European Editor Perspectives on the New Weird: An Essay” by Martin Šust, Michael Haulica, Hannes Riffel, Jukka Halme, Konrad Walewski“The New Weird: I Think We’re the Scene” by Michael Cisco“New Weird Discussions: The Creation of a Term” by various authors

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017


John Joseph Adams - 2017
    But what the best of these stories do is the same across the genres—they illuminate the whole gamut of the human experience, interrogating our hopes and our fears. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Charles Yu, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 continues to explore the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today, with Yu bringing his unique view—literary, meta, and adventurous—to the series’ third edition.

The Refrigerator Monologues


Catherynne M. Valente - 2017
    A ferocious riff on women in superhero comics.A series of linked stories from the points of view of the wives and girlfriends of superheroes, female heroes, and anyone who’s ever been “refrigerated”: comic book women who are killed, raped, brainwashed, driven mad, disabled, or had their powers taken so that a male superhero’s storyline will progress.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume II A


Ben BovaH.G. Wells - 1973
    There is no better anthology that captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field. Published in 1973 to honor stories that had come before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced tens of thousands of young readers to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country. This volume contains novellas by: Ray Bradbury, James Blish, Algis Budrys, Theodore Cogswell, E. M. Forster, Frederik Pohl, James H. Schmitz, T. L. Sherred, Wilmar H. Shiras, Clifford D. Simak, and Jack Vance.Contents: Introduction · Ben Bova · in · Call Me Joe · Poul Anderson · nv Astounding Apr ’57 · Who Goes There? [as by Don A. Stuart] · John W. Campbell, Jr. · na Astounding Aug ’38 · Nerves · Lester del Rey · na Astounding Sep ’42 · Universe [Hugh Hoyland] · Robert A. Heinlein · na Astounding May ’41 · The Marching Morons · C. M. Kornbluth · nv Galaxy Apr ’51 · Vintage Season [as by Lawrence O’Donnell] · Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore · na Astounding Sep ’46 · ...And Then There Were None · Eric Frank Russell · na Astounding Jun ’51 · The Ballad of Lost C’Mell · Cordwainer Smith · nv Galaxy Oct ’62 · Baby Is Three · Theodore Sturgeon · na Galaxy Oct ’52 · The Time Machine [Time Machine] · H. G. Wells · na The New Review Jan, 1895 (+4) · With Folded Hands... [Humanoids] · Jack Williamson · nv Astounding Jul ’47

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 1


Jonathan StrahanM. Rickert - 2007
    More than just two books for the price of one, this book brings together over 200,000 words of the best genre fiction anywhere. Strahan's critical eye and keen editorial instincts have served him well for earlier best of the year round-ups in the Best Short Novels, Science Fiction: Best of and Fantasy: Best of series, and this is his most impressive effort yet.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.