McAuley88 • Glory • (2007) • novelette by Greg Egan112 • Maelstrom • (2007) • novelette by Kage Baker143 • Blessed by an Angel • (2007) • shortstory by Peter F. Hamilton158 • Who's Afraid of Wolf 359? • shortstory by Ken MacLeod170 • The Valley of the Gardens • (2007) • novelette by Tony Daniel202 • Dividing the Sustain • (2007) • novelette by James Patrick Kelly234 • Minla's Flowers • [Merlin [4] • 2] • (2007) • novella by Alastair Reynolds291 • Splinters of Glass • (2007) • novelette by Mary Rosenblum316 • Remembrance • (2007) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter334 • The Emperor and the Maula • (2007) • novelette by Robert Silverberg379 • The Worm Turns • (2007) • shortstory by Gregory Benford401 • Send Them Flowers • (2007) • novelette by Walter Jon Williams436 • Art of War • shortstory by Nancy Kress454 • Muse of Fire • (2007) • novella by Dan Simmons

    You hold in your hands an invitation to a place unlike any you’ve ever visited–an invitation delivered by one of our most audacious and astonishing literary magicians. City of elegance and squalor. Of religious fervor and wanton lusts. And everywhere, on the walls of courtyards and churches, an incandescent fungus of mysterious and ominous origin. In Ambergris, a would-be suitor discovers that a sunlit street can become a killing ground in the blink of an eye. An artist receives an invitation to a beheading–and finds himself enchanted. And a patient in a mental institution is convinced he’s made up a city called Ambergris, imagined its every last detail, and that he’s really from a place called Chicago.…By turns sensuous and terrifying, filled with exotica and eroticism, this interwoven collection of stories, histories, and “eyewitness” reports invokes a universe within a puzzlebox where you can lose–and find–yourself again.

    This artfully assembled anthology of original fiction, nonfiction, and art can serve as an introduction to the Steampunk culture or provide dedicated fans with more fuel. Stories of outlandishly imaginative technologies, clockwork contraptions, eccentric heroines, and mad scientists are complemented by canon-defining nonfiction and an array of original illustrations. This collection showcases the most sensational Steampunk talents of the last decade, including Daniel Abraham, John Coulthart, William Gibson, and Margo Lanagan, and demonstrates exactly why the future of the past is so excitingly new.ContentsIntroduction: “What Is Steampunk?” by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer“The Cast Iron Kid” by Andrew Knighton“The Steam Dancer (1896)” by Caitlín R. Kiernan“The Anachronist’s Cookbook” by Catherynne M. Valente“Tanglefoot” by Cherie Priest“O One” by Chris Roberson“Balfour and Meriwether in the Adventure of the Emperor’s Vengeance” by Daniel Abraham“The Bold Explorer in the Place Beyond” by David Erik Nelson“The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday” by Geoffery D. Falksen“At the Intersection of Technology and Romance” by Jake von Slatt“The Future of Steampunk: A Roundtable Interview” by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer“Dr. Lash Remembers” by Jeffrey Ford“Lost Pages From The Encyclopdia of Victoriana” by Jess Nevins“As Recorded on Brass Cylinders: Adagio for Two Dancers” by Lisa Mantchev“A Serpent in the Gears” by Margaret Ronald“Machine Maid” by Margo Lanagan“Which Is Mightier, the Pen or the Parasol?” by Gail Carriger“The Unbecoming of Virgil Smythe” by Ramsey Shehadeh“Wild Copper” by Samantha Henderson“The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar” by Shweta Narayan“The Unblinking Eye” by Stephen Baxter“Lovelace & Babbage” by Sydney Padua“The Persecution Machine” by Tanith Lee“Flying Fish (Prometheus)” by Vilhelm Bergsøe“The Gernsback Continuum” by William Gibson

    Lovecraft has inspired writers of supernatural fiction, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and gamers. His themes of cosmic indifference, the utter insignificance of humankind, minds invaded by the alien, and the horrors of history—written with a pervasive atmosphere of unexplainable dread—remain not only viable motifs, but are more relevant than ever as we explore the mysteries of a universe in which our planet is infinitesimal and climatic change is overwhelming it. In the early twenty-first century the best supernatural writers no longer imitate Lovecraft, but they are profoundly influenced by the genre and the mythos he created. New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird presents some of the best of this new Lovecraftian fiction—bizarre, subtle, atmospheric, metaphysical, psychological, filled with strange creatures and stranger characters—eldritch, unsettling, evocative, and darkly appealing.

    K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, and more. For many Americans, imagining a bright future has always been an act of resistance. A People's Future of the United States presents twenty never-before-published stories by a diverse group of writers, featuring voices both new and well-established. These stories imagine their characters fighting everything from government surveillance, to corporate cities, to climate change disasters, to nuclear wars. But fear not: A People's Future also invites readers into visionary futures in which the country is shaped by justice, equity, and joy.Edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams, this collection features a glittering landscape of moving, visionary stories written from the perspective of people of color, indigenous writers, women, queer & trans people, Muslims and other people whose lives are often at risk.Contributors include: Violet Allen, Charlie Jane Anders, Ashok K. Banker, Tobias S. Buckell, Tananarive Due, Omar El Akkad, Jamie Ford, Maria Dahvana Headley, Hugh Howey, Lizz Huerta, Justina Ireland, N. K. Jemisin, Alice Sola Kim, Seanan McGuire, Sam J. Miller, Daniel José Older, Malka Older, Gabby Rivera, A. Merc Rustad, Kai Cheng Thom, Catherynne M. Valente, Daniel H. Wilson, G. Willow Wilson, and Charles Yu.

    "Anda's Game" is a spin on the bizarre new phenomenon of "cyber sweatshops," in which people are paid very low wages to play online games all day in order to generate in-game wealth, which can be converted into actual money. Another tale tells of the heroic exploits of "sysadmins" — systems administrators — as they defend the cyber-world, and hence the world at large, from worms and bioweapons. And yes, there is a story about zombies, too.

    For the first time in one volume: every word Bruce Sterling has ever written on the Shapers-Mechanists Universe.In the last decade, Sterling has emerged a pioneer of crucial, cutting-edge science fiction. Now Ace Books is proud to offer Sterling's stunning world of the Schismatrix--where Shaper revolutionaries struggle against aristocratic Mechanists for ultimate control of man's destiny. This volume includes the classic full-length novel, Schismatrix, plus thousands of words of mind-bending short fiction.

    Edited by Nick Gevers, this collection includes brand new stories from some of science fiction and fantasy's foremost writers.

    This year's magnificent harvest--gathered, as always, by acclaimed award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer--offers glimpses of worlds and tomorrows that would have been inconceivable just a few years ago. Brilliant, bold, unusual, and soaring flights into the hitherto unforeseen yet increasingly possible future, Year's Best SF 15 offers truly breathtaking stories by some of speculative fiction's brightest lights, includingStephen BaxterNancy KressAlastair ReynoldsGeoff RymanBruce SterlingPeter WattsRobert Charles WilsonGene Wolfeand others.Contents xiii • Introduction (Year's Best SF 15) • essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer 1 • Infinities • (2008) • novelette by Vandana Singh 35 • This Peaceable Land; or, The Unbearable Vision of Harriet Beecher Stowe • (2009) • novelette by Robert Charles Wilson 65 • The Unstrung Zither • (2009) • novelette by Yoon Ha Lee 91 • Black Swan • (2009) • novelette by Bruce Sterling 119 • Exegesis • (2009) • shortstory by Nancy Kress 125 • Erosion • (2009) • shortstory by Ian Creasey 141 • Collision • (2009) • shortstory by Gwyneth Jones 155 • Donovan Sent Us • (2009) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe 173 • The Calculus Plague • (2009) • shortstory by Marissa Lingen [as by Marissa K. Lingen ] 181 • The Island • (2009) • novelette by Peter Watts 222 • One of Our Bastards Is Missing • (2009) • novelette by Paul Cornell 251 • Lady of the White-Spired City • (2009) • shortstory by Sarah L. Edwards 271 • The Highway Code • (2009) • novelette by Brian Stableford 292 • On the Destruction of Copenhagen by the War-Machines of the Merfolk • (2009) • shortstory by Peter M. Ball 299 • The Fixation • (2009) • shortstory by Alastair Reynolds 318 • In Their Garden • (2009) • shortstory by Brenda Cooper 328 • Blocked • (2009) • shortstory by Geoff Ryman 349 • The Last Apostle • (2009) • shortstory by Michael Cassutt 373 • Another Life • (2009) • novelette by Charles Oberndorf 407 • The Consciousness Problem • (2009) • shortstory by Mary Robinette Kowal 427 • Tempest 43 • (2009) • novelette by Stephen Baxter 447 • Bespoke • (2009) • shortstory by Genevieve Valentine 457 • Attitude Adjustment • (2009) • shortstory by Eric James Stone 470 • Edison's Frankenstein • (2009) • novelette by Chris Roberson

    Only his second collection (the first was Dark Carnival, later reworked into The October Country), it is a marvelous, if mostly dark, quilt of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In an ingenious framework to open and close the book, Bradbury presents himself as a nameless narrator who meets the Illustrated Man--a wanderer whose entire body is a living canvas of exotic tattoos. What's even more remarkable, and increasingly disturbing, is that the illustrations are themselves magically alive, and each proceeds to unfold its own story, such as "The Veldt," wherein rowdy children take a game of virtual reality way over the edge. Or "Kaleidoscope," a heartbreaking portrait of stranded astronauts about to reenter our atmosphere--without the benefit of a spaceship. Or "Zero Hour," in which invading aliens have discovered a most logical ally--our own children. Even though most were written in the 1940s and 1950s, these 18 classic stories will be just as chillingly effective 50 years from now. --Stanley WiaterContents:· Prologue: The Illustrated Man · ss * · The Veldt [“The World the Children Made”] · ss The Saturday Evening Post Sep 23 ’50 · Kaleidoscope · ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Oct ’49 · The Other Foot · ss New Story Magazine Mar ’51 · The Highway [as by Leonard Spalding] · ss Copy Spr ’50 · The Man · ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Feb ’49 · The Long Rain [“Death-by-Rain”] · ss Planet Stories Sum ’50 · The Rocket Man · ss Maclean’s Mar 1 ’51 · The Fire Balloons [“‘In This Sign...’”] · ss Imagination Apr ’51 · The Last Night of the World · ss Esquire Feb ’51 · The Exiles [“The Mad Wizards of Mars”] · ss Maclean’s Sep 15 ’49; F&SF Win ’50 · No Particular Night or Morning · ss * · The Fox and the Forest [“To the Future”] · ss Colliers May 13 ’50 · The Visitor · ss Startling Stories Nov ’48 · The Concrete Mixer · ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Apr ’49 · Marionettes, Inc. [Marionettes, Inc.] · ss Startling Stories Mar ’49 · The City [“Purpose”] · ss Startling Stories Jul ’50 · Zero Hour · ss Planet Stories Fll ’47 · The Rocket [“Outcast of the Stars”] · ss Super Science Stories Mar ’50 · Epilogue · aw *

    The stories within are mined with depth charges, explosions of meaning and illumination that will keep you thinking and feeling long after you have finished reading.Contents11 • The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories • [Archipelago] • (1970) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe26 • Alien Stones • (1972) • novelette by Gene Wolfe55 • La Befana • (1973) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe60 • The Hero as Werwolf • (1975) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe74 • Three Fingers • (1976) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe80 • The Death of Dr. Island • [Archipelago] • (1973) • novella by Gene Wolfe131 • Feather Tigers • (1973) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe138 • Hour of Trust • (1973) • novelette by Gene Wolfe167 • Tracking Song • (1975) • novella by Gene Wolfe225 • The Toy Theater • (1971) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe232 • The Doctor of Death Island • [Archipelago] • (1978) • novella by Gene Wolfe277 • Cues • (1974) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe281 • The Eyeflash Miracles • (1976) • novella by Gene Wolfe336 • Seven American Nights • (1978) • novella by Gene Wolfe

    Disch- The Little Black Box (1964)- The War With the Fnools (1964)- A Game of Unchance (1964)- Precious Artifact (1964)- Retreat Syndrome (1965)- A Terran Odyssey (1987)- Your Appointment Will Be Yesterday (1966)- Holy Quarrel (1966)- We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1966)- Not by Its Cover (1968)- Return Match (1967)- Faith of Our Fathers (1967)- The Story to End All Stories (1968)- The Electric Ant (1969)- Cadbury, the Beaver Who Lacked (1987)- A Little Something for Us Tempunauts (1974)- The Pre-Persons (1974)- The Eye of the Sibyl (1987)- The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree (1987)- The Exit Door Leads In (1979)- Chains of Air, Web of Aether (1980)- Strange Memories of Death (1984)- I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (1980, variant of Frozen Journey)- Rautavaara's Case (1980)- The Alien Mind (1981)- NotesFront cover illustration by Chris Moore

    G. Ballard, Arthur C. Clarke, Alastair Reynolds, and Geoffrey Landis.Contents:Out of the sun / Arthur C. Clarke --The Pevatron rats / Stephen Baxter --The edge of the map / Ian Creasey --Cascade Point / Timothy Zahn --A dance to strange musics / Gregory Benford --Palindromic / Peter Crowther --Castle in the sky / Robert Reed --The hole in the hole / Terry Bisson --Hotrider / Keith Brooke --Mother grasshopper / Michael Swanwick --Waves and smart magma / Paul Di Filippo --The black hole passes / John Varley --The peacock king / Ted White, Larry McCombs --Bridge / James Blish --Anhedonia / Adam Roberts --Tiger burning / Alastair Reynolds --The width of the world / Ian Watson --Our lady of the sauropods / Robert Silverberg --Into the Miranda Rift / G. David Nordley --The rest is speculation / Eric Brown --Vacuum states / Geoffrey A. Landis

    Lafferty, the highly acclaimed author of Past Masters and Fourth Mansions. His people are heroic, foolish, demonic or mischievous, but always unpredictable, and his stories soar with imagination even while they chuckle at themselves.Here at last are the finest of Lafferty's shorter works, stories about:A man who found one day that he knew everyone in the world.A race who kept their most ancient ancestors on shelves in the basements.A speeded-up world where a man could earn and lose a dozen fortunes a night.A friendly bearlike creature named Snuffles who said he was God....in all, twenty-one immensely enjoyable stories that will continue to delight you long after you've read them.

    Keeper of Dreams contains 22 stories written since 1990.From the opening science fiction tale, "The Elephants of Poznan," we see the hand of a master at work making a familiar idea new, strange, and wonderful. "Angles" takes a sideways look at alternate universes. "Geriatric Ward" is published here for the first time; it was originally written for the legendary Last Dangerous Visions.Keeper of Dreams contains science fiction, fantasy, and several of Card's mainstream fiction works. Included are two tales from the Alvin Maker universe, "Grinning Man" and "The Yazoo Queen."In addition to the stories, this book features new introductions by Orson Scott Card for each story, with commentary on his life and work. With the earlier Maps in a Mirror, this collection is a definitive retrospective of the short fiction career of the writer that the Houston Post called "the best writer science fiction has to offer."• Preface (Keeper of Dreams) • essay by Orson Scott Card• The Elephants of Poznan • (2000)• Atlantis • (1992)• Geriatric Ward• Heal Thyself • (1999)• Space Boy • juvenile • (2006)• Angles • (2002)• Vessel • (1999)• Dust • (2002)• Homeless in Hell • (2002)• In the Dragon's House • (2003)• Inventing Lovers on the Phone • (2003)• Waterbaby • (2000)• Keeper of Lost Dreams • (2004)• Missed• 50 WPM • (2002)• Feed the Baby of Love • (1991)• Grinning Man • [The Alvin Maker Saga] • (1998)• The Yazoo Queen • [The Alvin Maker Saga] • (2003)• Notes on the Mormon Stories • essay by Orson Scott Card• Christmas at Helaman's House• Neighbors• God Plays Fair Once Too Often• Worthy to Be One of Us