A multitude of astonishingly creative and gifted writers are boldly exploring the mythic past, the paranormal present, and the promises and perils of myriad alternate worlds and futures. There are almost too many new and intriguing stories published every year for any reader to be able to experience them all. So how to make sure you haven’t missed any future classics?Award-winning editor and anthologist Jonathan Strahan has surveyed the expanding universes of modern sf and fantasy to find the brightest stars in today’s dazzling literary firmament. From the latest masterworks by the acknowledged titans of the field to fresh visions from exciting new talents, this outstanding collection is a comprehensive showcase for the current state of the art in both science fiction and fantasy. Anyone who wants to know where the future of imaginative short fiction is going, and treat themselves to dozens of unforgettable stories, will find this year’s edition of Best Science Fiction and Fantasy to be just what they’re looking for!The depth and breadth of what science fiction and fantasy fiction is changes with every passing year. The twenty-nine stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully maps this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer. Jonathan Strahan has edited more than twenty anthologies and collections, including The Locus Awards, The New Space Opera, The Jack Vance Treasury, and a number of year's best annuals. He has won the Ditmar, William J. Atheling Jr., and Peter McNamara Awards for his work as an anthologist, and is the reviews editor for Locus.

    Contents:To the Far Reaches of Space (1928)Robot Nemesis (1934)Pirates of Space (1934)The Vortex Blaster (1941)Tedric (1953)Lord Tedric (1954)Subspace Survivors (1960)The Imperial Stars (1964)

    In 2005 the original Best of the Best collected the finest short stories from that series and became a benchmark in the SF field. Now, for the first time ever, Hugo Award-winning editor Gardner Dozios sifts through hundreds of stories and dozens of authors who have gone on to become some of the most esteemed practitioners of the form, to bring readers the ultimate anthology of short science fiction novels from his legendary series. Included are such notable short novels as: Sailing to Byzantium by Robert SilverbergIn the fiftieth century, people of Earth are able to create entire cities on a whim, including those of mythology and legend. When twentieth-century traveler Charles Philip accidentally lands in this aberrant time period, he is simultaneously obsessed with discovering more about this alluring world and getting back home. But in a world made entirely of man's creation, things are not always as they seem on the surface. Forgiveness Day by Ursula K. Le GuinLe Guin returns to her Hainish-settled interstellar community, the Edumen, to tell the tale of two star-crossed lovers who are literally worlds apart in this story of politics, violence, religion, and cultural disparity. Turquoise Days by Alastair ReynoldsOn a sea-wold planet covered with idyllic tropical oceans, peace seems pervasive. Beneath the placid water lurks an ominous force that has the potential to destroy all tranquility. Contributors include: Greg Egan; Joe Haldeman; James Patrick Kelly; Nancy Kress; Ursula K. Le Guin; Ian R. MacLeod; Ian McDonald; Maureen F. McHugh; Frederick Pohl; Alastair Reynolds; Robert Silverberg; Michael Swanwick; Walter Jon Williams With work spanning two decades, The Best of the Best, Volume 2 stands as the ultimate anthology of short science fiction novels ever published in the world.ContentsBeggars in Spain • [Sleepless] • (1991) • novella by Nancy KressForgiveness Day • [Yeowe and Werel • 2] • (1994) • novella by Ursula K. Le GuinGriffin's Egg • (1991) • novella by Michael SwanwickMr. Boy • (1990) • novella by James Patrick KellyNew Light on the Drake Equation • (2001) • novella by Ian R. MacLeodOceanic • (1998) • novella by Greg EganOutnumbering the Dead • (1990) • novella by Frederik PohlSailing to Byzantium • (1985) • novella by Robert SilverbergSurfacing • (1988) • novella by Walter Jon WilliamsTendeléo's Story • [Chaga] • (2000) • novella by Ian McDonaldThe Cost to Be Wise • (1996) • novelette by Maureen F. McHughThe Hemingway Hoax • (1990) • novella by Joe HaldemanTurquoise Days • [Revelation Space] • (2002) • novella by Alastair Reynolds

    5 • Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory • (1979) • novelette by Orson Scott Card (variant of Eumenides in the Fourth-Floor Lavatory)26 • Quietus • (1979) • short story by Orson Scott Card44 • Deep Breathing Exercises • (1979) • short story by Orson Scott Card (variant of Deep-Breathing Exercises)54 • Fat Farm • (1980) • short story by Orson Scott Card69 • Closing the Timelid • (1979) • short story by Orson Scott Card87 • Freeway Games • (1979) • short story by Orson Scott Card103 • A Sepulchre of Songs • (1981) • novelette by Orson Scott Card (variant of A Sepulcher of Songs)134 • Prior Restraint • (1986) • short story by Orson Scott Card149 • The Changed Man and the King of Words • (1982) • novelette by Orson Scott Card191 • Memories of My Head • (1990) • short story by Orson Scott Card200 • Lost Boys • (1989) • short story by Orson Scott Card225 • Afterword (The Changed Man) • essay by Orson Scott Card (variant of Afterword (Book 1: The Hanged Man, Tales of Dread) 1990)

    Here are 25 stories (plus a bonus interview with best-selling author George R.R. Martin) by some of the field's greatest authors. Included are:THE TRUE DARKNESS, by Pamela SargentPERMANENT FATAL ERRORS, by Jay LakeADJUSTMENT TEAM, by Philip K. DickROBOTS DON’T CRY, by Mike ResnickNO GREAT MAGIC, by Fritz LeiberESCAPE HATCH, by Brenda W. CloughBACKLASH, by Winston K. MarksTHE PICK-UP, by Lawrence Watt-EvansPOPULATION IMPLOSION, by Andrew J. OffuttWAY DOWN EAST, by Tim SullivanTHROUGH TIME AND SPACE WITH FERDINAND FEGHOOT: 28, by Grendel BriartonTO INVADE NEW YORK, by Irwin LewisTHEY WERE THE WIND, by C.J. HendersonSTOPOVER, by William GerkenCONSEQUENCES OF STEAM, by Michael HemmingsonOUTSIDE LOOKING IN, by Mark E. BurgessDEAD WORLD, by Jack DouglasNEFERTITI'S TENTH LIFE, by Mary A. TurzilloQUICKSILVER, by Lonni LeesAFTER ALL, by Robert ReginaldTHE BARBARIANS, by Algis BudrysEX MACHINA, by Cynthia WardMONKEY ON HIS BACK, by Charles V. De VetTHE SURVIVORS, by Tom GodwinTHROUGH TIME AND SPACE WITH FERDINAND FEGHOOT: 99, by Grendel BriartonSPEAKING WITH GEORGE R.R. MARTIN: Interview conducted by Darrell SchweitzerAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for "Wildside Megapack" to see more entries in this series, covering classic authors and subjects like mysteries, science fiction, westerns, ghost stories -- and much, much more!

    George Fergusson is one of them. He works as a trek guide for "Take You Higher, Ltd.", leading groups of tourists into the back country and occasionally assisting on serious climbs. George "Freds" Fredericks is another, a tall, easy-going American who converted to Buddhism while in college. He visited Nepal one year and never went home.The adventures started when George and Freds got together over the capture of a Yeti--an abominable snowman--by a scientific expedition. The thought of such a wild and mysterious creature in captivity--in prison--was too much for them to bear. And in freeing the Yeti, a great partnership was born. George and Freds will go on to greater heights as they explore the mysteries of Nepal, from Shangri-La to Kathmandu's governmental bureaucracy.

    At the urging of Whorl’s religious leader, Patera Silk, the people left the ship for an uncertain future on Blue – a world already inhabited by the inhumi, blood-drinking aliens who take human form.Now The Book of the Short Sun carries the story forward to the years after the great exodus, to let Horn, narrator of the earlier work, tell his own story.Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves on Blue, though crime, pollution and poverty have become so rampant in the city of New Viron that he is called upon to find Patera Silk. Horn must go to the still-orbiting Whorl and convince his old friend and mentor to return to Blue, for the legendary hero is the only one who can restore order and lead them to prosperity. But Horn isn’t even sure Silk still lives.Setting sail in a small boat, the aging Horn embarks on a long and difficult journey across the planet, trying to get to the Whorl. With the undine Seawrack, his adopted inhumi son, Krait, and his eldest son, Sinew, Horn makes it to the last working lander – only to be highjacked to the jungles of Green, where the inhumi imprison the passengers as slaves. There, he encounters the mysterious alien Neighbors who were once native to Blue, but whom the inhumi have all but exterminated. Horn joins their fight for freedom, is fatally wounded… and finds himself on another world, wearing a different body.As his inability to find Silk weighs heavily on his mind, Horn is further tormented by the fact that his new body bears a striking resemblance to the lost Caldé. In the end, he will have to answer a troubling question: has he truly failed in his sworn task, or has he become the very man he sought?Includes:On Blue's WatersIn Green's JunglesReturn To The Whorl

    It also includes a six-page introduction by Simak, and a three-page bibliography of his science fiction books. The book is edited by Angus Wells.Contents:1. A Death in the House2. Day of Truce 3. Final Gentleman4. Madness from Mars5. Shotgun Cure6. Small Deer7. Sunspot Purge8. The Autumn Land9. The Sitters10. The Thing in the Stone

    Mysterious aliens, ruthless terrorists, androids with attitude, genetic manipulation, punch-ups with lasers and giant spaceships! What more do you want?Reprint of The Engineer with three additional stories.The EngineerSpatterjay The OwnerThe Tor-beast's Prison Tiger Tiger

    Kinney"A Collective Pseudonym and an Expanding Universe: A Conversation with James S.A. Corey" by Chris Urie"Another Word: Dystopias Are Not Enough" by Kelly Robson"Editor’s Desk: Stomp Stomp Stomp" by Neil Clarke

    

    E. Modesitt, Jr. He began publishing as a short story writer in the SF magazines in the 1970s, mostly in Analog. Some of the earliest stories are kernels for his early SF novels, others display the wide range of his talents and interests, from satire to military adventure. This collection includes selections of stories from his entire career, as well as three new stories that have never been published before: “Black Ordermage,” set in the world of Modesitt’s bestselling Recluce series; “Beyond the Obvious Wind,” set in his Corean Chronicles universe; and “Always Outside the Lines,” which is related to the Ghosts of Columbia books.

    Le Guin, Maureen F. McHugh, Mike Resnick, and others.Contents ix • Summation: 1996 • essay by Gardner Dozois1 • Immersion • (1996) • novella by Gregory Benford47 • The Dead • (1996) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick56 • The Flowers of Aulit Prison • [Probability Universe] • (1996) • novelette by Nancy Kress82 • A Dry, Quiet War • (1996) • novelette by Tony Daniel99 • Thirteen Phantasms • (1996) • shortstory by James P. Blaylock109 • Primrose and Thorn • [Primrose] • (1996) • novelette by Bud Sparhawk142 • The Miracle of Ivar Avenue • (1996) • novelette by John Kessel167 • The Last Homosexual • (1996) • shortstory by Paul Park178 • Recording Angel • (1996) • shortstory by Ian McDonald188 • Death Do Us Part • (1996) • shortstory by Robert Silverberg203 • The Spade of Reason • (1996) • shortstory by Jim Cowan218 • The Cost to Be Wise • (1996) • novelette by Maureen F. McHugh254 • Bicycle Repairman • [Chattanooga] • (1996) • novelette by Bruce Sterling279 • The Weighing of Ayre • (1996) • novelette by Gregory Feeley311 • The Longer Voyage • (1996) • novelette by Michael Cassutt330 • The Land of Nod • [Kirinyaga • 10] • (1996) • novelette by Mike Resnick350 • Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland • (1996) • shortstory by Gwyneth Jones362 • The Lady Vanishes • (1996) • shortstory by Charles Sheffield373 • Chrysalis • (1996) • novelette by Robert Reed407 • The Wind Over the World • [Silurian Tales] • (1996) • novelette by Steven Utley430 • Changes • (1996) • shortstory by William Barton445 • Counting Cats in Zanzibar • (1996) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe457 • How We Got In Town and Out Again • (1996) • novelette by Jonathan Lethem475 • Dr. Tilmann's Consultant: A Scientific Romance • (1996) • novelette by Cherry Wilder492 • Schrödinger's Dog • (1996) • novelette by Damien Broderick518 • Foreign Devils • [War of the Worlds] • (1996) • novelette by Walter Jon Williams535 • In the MSOB • (1996) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter539 • The Robot's Twilight Companion • (1996) • novella by Tony Daniel590 • Honorable Mentions: 1996 • essay by Gardner Dozois

    He has a powerful voice, combining the intense rationality of science with the intensely passionate characters that can only be created by a writer who loves humanity. Bear’s novel Moving Mars won the Nebula Award in 1994, and he did it again, in 2000, with Darwin’s Radio. He has been honored with Hugo and Nebula nominations for novel-length work eight more times.But Greg Bear’s short fiction is even more astounding, as this powerful career retrospective demonstrates. This collection contains Bear’s earliest published fiction from the late 1960s and early 1970s as well his remarkable award-winning work from the ‘80s and ‘90s—stories like the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novella- length version of “Blood Music” and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winner “Tangents.”This Collection is enhanced by brand-new introductions for each story, commentary, and reminiscences by Greg Bear.