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!Contents:Introduction by Jonathan Strahan“The Contrary Gardener” by Christopher Rowe“The Woman Who Fooled Death Five Times” by Eleanor Arnason“Close Encounters” by Andy Duncan“Great Grandmother” in the Cellar by Peter S. Beagle“The Easthound” by Nalo Hopkinson“Goggles c 1910″ by Caitlín R. Kiernan“Bricks, Sticks, Straw” by Gwyneth Jones“A Bead of Jasper, Four Small Stones” by Genevieve Valentine“The Grinnell Method” by Molly Gloss“Beautiful Boys” by Theodora Goss“The Education of a Witch” by Ellen Klages“Macy Minnot’s Last Christmas” on Dione by Paul McAuley“What Did Tessimond Tell You?” by Adam Roberts“Adventure Story” by Neil Gaiman“Katabasis” by Robert Reed“Troll Blood” by Peter Dickinson“The Color Least Used” by Nature by Ted Kosmatka“Jack Shade in the Forest” of Souls by Rachel Pollack“Two Houses” by Kelly Link“Blood Drive” by Jeffrey Ford“Mantis Wives” by Kij Johnson“Immersion” by Aliette de Bodard“About Fairies” by Pat Murphy“Let Maps to Others” by K.J. Parker“Joke in Four Panels” by Robert Shearman“Reindeer Mountain” by Karin Tidbeck“Domestic” Magic by Steve Rasnic Tem & Melanie Tem“Swift, Brutal Retaliation” by Megan McCarron“Nahiku West” by Linda Nagata“Fade to White” by Catherynne M. Valente“Significant Dust” by Margo Lanagan“Mono No Aware” by Ken Liu

    Martin’s Introduction to Warriors:“People have been telling stories about warriors for as long as they have been telling stories. Since Homer first sang the wrath of Achilles and the ancient Sumerians set down their tales of Gilgamesh, warriors, soldiers, and fighters have fascinated us; they are a part of every culture, every literary tradition, every genre. All Quiet on the Western Front, From Here to Eternity, and The Red Badge of Courage have become part of our literary canon, taught in classrooms all around the country and the world.Our contributors make up an all-star lineup of award-winning and bestselling writers, representing a dozen different publishers and as many genres. We asked each of them for the same thing — a story about a warrior. Some chose to write in the genre they’re best known for. Some decided to try something different. You will find warriors of every shape, size, and color in these pages, warriors from every epoch of human history, from yesterday and today and tomorrow, and from worlds that never were. Some of the stories will make you sad, some will make you laugh, and many will keep you on the edge of your seat.” Every story in this volume appears hre for the first time. Included are a long novella from the world of Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, a new tale of Lord John by Diana Gabaldon, an Emberverse story by S.M. Stirling, a Forever Peace sory by Joe Haldeman, and a long story of humanity at bay by David Weber. Also present are original tales by David Ball, Peter S. Beagle, Lawrence Block, Gardner Dozois, Robin Hobb, Cecelia Holland, Joe R. Lansdale, David Morrell, Naomi Novik, James Rollins, Steven Saylor, Robert Silverberg, Carrie Vaughn, Howard Waldrop, and Tad Williams.Many of these writers are bestsellers. All of them are storytellers of the highest quality. Together they make a volume of unforgettable reading.Contents:- Introduction: Stories from the Spinner Rack by George R.R. Martin- The King of Norway by Cecelia Holland- Forever Bound by Joe Haldeman- The Triumph by Robin Hobb- Clean Slate by Lawrence Block- And Ministers of Grace by Tad Williams- Soldierin' by Joe R. Lansdale- Dirae by Peter S. Beagle- The Custom of the Army by Diana Gabaldon- Seven Years from Home by Naomi Novik- The Eagle and the Rabbit by Steven Saylor- The Pit by James Rollins- Out of the Dark by David Weber- The Girls from Avenger by Carrie Vaughn- Ancient Ways by S.M. Stirling- Ninieslando by Howard Waldrop- Recidivist by Gardner Dozois- My Name is Legion by David Morrell- Defenders of the Frontier by Robert Silverberg- The Scroll by David Ball- The Mystery Knight: A Tale of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin

    All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing.So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city - a city that includes his wife and son - before it is too late.

    What happens when you come of age during the zombie apocalypse? Zombie Stories has the answer to that question.Zombie Stories gathers together some of the hottest zombie fiction of the last two decades, from authors including Kelly Link, Jonathan Maberry, and Catherynne M. Valente. These stories focus on those who will inherit a world overrun with the living dead: a young man who takes up the family business of dealing with the undead, a girl dealing with her abusive father... who has become a zombie, a poet who digs up the wrong grave, and a Viking maiden imprisoned with the living dead...

    Hamilton and author William McCaskey. In this anthology, science fiction and fantasy authors have woven together brand-new stories that speak to the darkness and despair that life brings while reminding us that good deeds, humour, love, sacrifice, dedication and following our joy can ignite a light that burns so bright the darkness cannot last: A child’s wish for her father comes true. The end of the world has never been so much fun. Conquering personal demons becomes all too real. It’s not always about winning; sometimes it’s about showing up for the fight. It’s about loving your life’s work, and jobs that make you question everything.Contents: Foreword Twilight Falls [Joe Ledger • 10.1] / Jonathan Maberry Not in this Lifetime / Sharon Shinn Mr. Positive, the Eternal Optimist / Larry Correia No Greater Love / Kacey Ezell Broken Son / Griffin Barber Heart of Clay [Dan Shamble, Zombie PI • 6.5??] / Kevin J. Anderson Reprise [Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter • ??] / John G. Hartness Asil and the Not-date [Mercy Thompson • 17.5 / Alpha & Omega • 5.5] / Patricia Briggs In the Dust / Robert E. Hampson Fallen / L. E. Modesitt, Jr. Working Conditions / Patrick M. Tracy Last Contact / M. C. Sumner Ronin / William McCaskey Skjoldmodir / Michael Z. Williamson and Jessica Schlenker Bonds of Love and Duty / Monalisa Foster Zombie Dearest [Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter • 26.5] / Laurell K. Hamilton About the authors About the editors.

    What was meant to bring salvation to the remaining survivors instead brought damnation. Human mutations began within days of the drug’s release and the Withered Ones were born. People not alive but not entirely dead either. They walked the streets, unblinking and unaware. A zombie, for all intents and purposes, but nothing like anyone anticipated.Growing up on the streets taught Avery how to care for herself, but no amount of self defense classes at the Y could have prepared her for the outbreak of deadly gangs, a corrupt government bent on using her blood for experiments and the depths to which desperate people would go to survive. She soon discovered that it was not the Withered Ones that she needed to fear, but those still human. The ones who knew how to put a gun to her head when they wanted something from her.Avery was forced to decide how far would she be willing to go to survive just one more day.

    endings. The heroes and antiheroes of these tales find themselves, sometimes unexpectedly, arriving at major turning points in their lives – turning points that are quite often catastrophic, surreal, tragic. These stories are alternately triumphant and terribly sad, but they are always human.This collection includes the following previously published stories:Wolf SkinThe CaretakerThe Winter LandsNebulaeOnyxThe Last Rail-RiderThe Dark AgeDeep Breath Hold Tight will be published in the spring.

    It is a dark and terrifying place, hidden from the world we know by borders that only the most unfortunate of souls will ever cross.James Halldon woke up in the dark, alone, without any food or water, without a clue where he was, and with no memory of where he came from.It only got stranger.James has somehow found his way to The Corridor, a midnight place that no human should ever see and the prison of a creature that has destroyed entire worlds. Somehow James has to learn to survive.But he is not alone. The lost souls of others who have drifted into The Corridor, and died, also haunt this world, and they have been waiting a long time for someone to come along.The Journal of James Halldon is a dark sci-fi novel that follows Halldon's struggle to survive whilst trying to understand the strange, dark, and terrifying world in which he is trapped.If it's dark when you wake up, and you can hear growling, then close your eyes and maybe it will go away.But maybe it won't...

    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.

    Man is reduced to salvaging the ruins of a broken world. One man’s most prized possession is Hemingway’s Classic ‘The Old Man and the Sea.’ With the words of the novel echoing across the wasteland, a survivor of the Nuclear Holocaust journeys into the unknown to break a curse. What follows is an incredible tale of survival and endurance. One man must survive the desert wilderness and mankind gone savage to discover the truth of Hemingway’s classic tale of man versus nature.Part Hemingway, part Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, a suspenseful odyssey into the dark heart of the Post-Apocalyptic American southwest.A book lover’s action flick.

    The results are individual glimpses of a shared vision, and a reading experience unlike any you've had before.A strange man comes to an even stranger encampment...a bouncer becomes the linchpin of an unexpected urban movement...a courier on the run has to decide who to trust in a dangerous city...a slacker in a "zero-footprint" town gets a most unusual new job...and a weapons investigator uses his skills to discover a metropolis hidden right in front of his eyes.Welcome to the future of cities. Welcome to Metatropolis.Contents:Introduction (METAtropolis) - essay by John ScalziIn the Forests of the Night - novella by Jay LakeStochasti-city - novella by Tobias S. BuckellThe Red in the Sky Is Our Blood - novelette by Elizabeth BearUtere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis - novella by John ScalziTo Hie from Far Cilenia - novella by Karl Schroeder

    Standing in the control room, there to take over the running of it from his father, Mark quickly realises this is more than a handover. He's about to find out that Eden has secrets. Dark secrets. Secrets that reveal the truth about the apocalypse. Secrets that change the way he looks at his father forever. Secrets that change the way he looks at everything forever. What the reviewers say about Eden: “Eden is deep, dark, and thought provoking.” “The plot and pacing are wonderfully constructed, and the characters’ emotions come through incredibly clearly.” “… stop wasting time reading the awesome reviews, grab this book, and see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!” “It ran the gamut of emotions; anger, surprise, shock and heartbreak. I was in tears at the end of the story.” “Two thumbs up!” “You need to read this, like, now.” “I could not have asked for a better glimpse into this under-utilised facet of the zombie apocalypse.”

    Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes, using their superhuman abilities to make Los Angeles a better place.Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Now, a year later, the heroes struggle to overcome their differences and recover from their own scars as they protect the thousands of survivors huddled in their film-studio-turned-fortress, the Mount.But the hungry ex-humans are not the only threat the survivors face. Across the city, another group has grown and gained power.

    With established names and new talent this diverse and ground-breaking collection will take the reader to the outer-reaches of space and the inner realms of humanity with stories of fantastical worlds and worlds that may still come to pass.Featuring Paolo Bacigalupi • Elizabeth Bear • Greg Bear • Jeffrey Ford • Neil Gaiman • Nalo Hopkinson • Nisi Shawl • Simon Ings • Gwyneth Jones • Caitlin R. Kiernan • Anne Leckie • Kelly Link • Usman T. Malik • Ian McDonald • Vonda McIntrye • Sam J. Miller • Tamsyn Muir • Robert Reed • Alastair Reynolds • Kim Stanley Robinson • Kelly Robson • Geoff Ryman • Nike Sulway • Catherynne Valente • Genevieve Valentine • Kai Ashante Wilson • Alyssa Wong

    The east remains a safe haven. The west has become a ravaged wilderness, known by survivors as the Evacuated States. It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.Now Homeland Security wants Marco for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again.But in the wastelands of America, you never know who - or what - is watching you.