Off the Main Sequence: The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein


Robert A. Heinlein - 1941
    Here are smart, savvy tales of space adventure, time travel, weird science, mysterious phenomena, apocalypse and dystopia, tales that reflect the concerns of their day, yet eerily foreshadow our own. There's Successful Operation, a Twilight Zone-ish gem in which a dictator gets his just desserts...Let There Be Light, about two inventors who triumph over political corruption...and On the Slopes of Vesuvius, in which a Bomb-fearing barkeep sees his worst fears realized. -And He Built A Crooked House- tells of an architect whose innovative home design leads straight into a funhouse fourth dimension. Solution Unsatisfactory gives us a chilling alternate end to WWII, while -All You Zombies- paints a time-twisty picture of the ultimate causality paradox. All these and more, including three previously uncollected stories, Beyond Doubt, My Object All Sublime and Pied Piper, display Heinlein's creative genius to full extent.

Pawn's Gambit: And Other Stratagems


Timothy Zahn - 2016
    In “The Price of Survival,” an alien ship arrives in our solar system without hostile intentions—but with a desperate need that could destroy humanity. “The Giftie Gie Us” is set in a post-apocalyptic United States, in which two lonely survivors find love among the ruins. And in the title story, a human and his alien opponent face off over a game that will decide which one of them will return home—and which will not. This collection also includes the Hugo Award–winning novella Cascade Point and eight stories previously unpublished in book form.

The Next Logical Step


Ben Bova - 1962
    But, logically, there would be times--

Anticopernicus


Adam Roberts - 2011
    4-chapters in total; only available for e-purchase.First contact: despite our cosmic littleness, the aliens have come to visit. But they have parked their interstellar craft on the outskirts of the solar system, and despite friendly interaction (their English if fluent and idiomatic) they will come no closer. So an Earth ship, the "Leibniz", crewed by the best and the brightest, begins the slow haul towards the Oort cloud, in the hopes that meeting these alien creatures will answer the most profound questions humanity can ask. “Anticopernicus” is not their story, though. It is the story of Ange Mlinko, an ordinary individual working the Earth-Mars trade routes, largely uninterested in the arrival of alien intelligences. And because the focus is on her, it remains to be seen whether this short novel can answer the following questions: why have the aliens come? Why won't they come any closer than the furthest edges of the solar system? What does this have to do with the nature of the mysterious ‘dark energy’ pervading the cosmos? What about the celebrated Fermi Paradox? And most pressingly: could Copernicus have been wrong all along?

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year #11


Jonathan StrahanDaryl Gregory - 2017
    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.ContentsIntroduction by Jonathan StrahanThe Future Is Blue / Catherynne M. ValenteMika Model / Paolo BacigalupiSpinning Silver / Naomi NovikTwo's Company (The First Law Universe) / Joe AbercrombieYou Make Pattaya / Rich LarsonYou'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay / Alyssa WongA Salvaging of Ghosts (Universe of Xuya) / Aliette de BodardEven the Crumbs Were Delicious / Daryl GregoryNumber Nine Moon / Alex IrvineThings with Beards / Sam J. MillerSuccessor, Usurper, Replacement / Alice Sola KimLaws of Night and Silk / Seth DickinsonTouring with the Alien / Carolyn Ives GilmanThe Great Detective (Cwmlech Manor #2) / Delia ShermanEveryone from Themis Sends Letters Home / Genevieve ValentineThose Shadows Laugh / Geoff RymanSeasons of Glass and Iron / Amal El-MohtarThe Art of Space Travel / Nina AllanWhisper Road (Murder Ballad No. 9) / Caitlín R. KiernanRed Dirt Witch / N. K. JemisinRed as Blood and White as Bone / Theodora GossTerminal / Lavie TidharFoxfire, Foxfire / Yoon Ha LeeElves of Antarctica / Paul J. McAuleyThe Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight / E. Lily YuSeven Birthdays / Ken LiuThe Visitor from Taured / Ian R. MacLeodFable / Charles YuHonorable Mentions: 2016 -- essay

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twelfth Annual Collection


Gardner DozoisEliot Fintushel - 1995
    Le Guin40 • The Remoras • [The Great Ship Universe] • (1994) • novelette by Robert Reed65 • Nekropolis • (1994) • novelette by Maureen F. McHugh93 • Margin of Error • (1994) • shortstory by Nancy Kress98 • Cilia-of-Gold • (1994) • novelette by Stephen Baxter118 • Going After Old Man Alabama • (1994) • shortstory by William Sanders131 • Melodies of the Heart • (1994) • novella by Michael F. Flynn206 • The Hole in the Hole • [Wilson Wu and Irving • 1] • (1994) • novelette by Terry Bisson230 • Paris in June • (1994) • shortstory by Pat Cadigan243 • Flowering Mandrake • (1994) • novelette by George Turner273 • None So Blind • (1994) • shortstory by Joe Haldeman281 • Cocoon • (1994) • novelette by Greg Egan305 • Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge • [Birthright Universe] • (1994) • novella by Mike Resnick343 • Dead Space for the Unexpected • (1994) • shortstory by Geoff Ryman355 • Cri de Coeur • (1994) • novella by Michael Bishop402 • The Sawing Boys • (1994) • novelette by Howard Waldrop417 • The Matter of Seggri • (1994) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin446 • Ylem • (1994) • novelette by Eliot Fintushel465 • Asylum • (1994) • novella by Katharine Kerr492 • Red Elvis • (1994) • novelette by Walter Jon Williams507 • California Dreamer • (1994) • shortstory by Mary Rosenblum520 • Split Light • (1994) • shortstory by Lisa Goldstein531 • Les Fleurs Du Mal • [Biotech Revolution] • (1994) • novella by Brian Stableford585 • Honorable Mentions: 1994 • (1995) • essay by Gardner Dozois

The Robert Silverberg Science Fiction MEGAPACK®


Robert Silverberg - 2016
    Fan. Author. Editor. Creative force. He has been an integral part of the field for longer than most of his readers have been alive. Earlier this year, he kindly agreed to put together a MEGAPACK® of his short stories, so here, then, is a selection of early works by one of the all-time greats. Included are:ALAREEBIRDS OF A FEATHERBLAZE OF GLORYDELIVERY GUARANTEEDTHE DESSICATORTHE HAPPY UNFORTUNATETHE HUNTED HEROESTHE IRON STARTHE ISOLATIONISTSTHE LONELY ONETHE MAN WHO CAME BACKNEUTRAL PLANETOZYMANDIASTHE PAIN PEDDLERSTHE PLEASURE OF THEIR COMPANYPOINT OF FOCUSPOSTMARK GANYMEDEPRIME COMMANDMENTTHE SONGS OF SUMMERSPACEROGUETHERE WAS AN OLD WOMANTHE WOMAN YOU WANTEDVALLEY BEYOND TIMEWE KNOW WHO WE AREIf you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 300+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more![Version 1.4]

Cosmic Powers: The Saga Anthology of Far-Away Galaxies


John Joseph AdamsAlan Dean Foster - 2017
    Buckell“The Deckhand, the Nova Blade, and the Thrice-Sung Texts” © 2017 by Becky Chambers“The Sighted Watchmaker” © 2011 by Vylar Kaftan. Originally published in Lightspeed“Infinite Love Engine” © 2017 by Joseph Allen Hill. Originally published in Lightspeed“Unfamiliar Gods” © 2017 by Adam-Troy Castro & Judi B. Castro“Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World” © 2015 by Caroline M. Yoachim. Originally published in Lightspeed“Our Specialty Is Xenogeology” © 2017 by Alan Dean Foster“Golden Ring” © 2017 by Karl Schroeder“Tomorrow When We See the Sun” © 2015 by A. Merc Rustad. Originally published in Lightspeed“Bring the Kids and Revisit the Past at the Traveling Retro Funfair!” © 2017 by Seanan McGuire“The Dragon That Flew Out of the Sun” © 2017 by Aliette de Bodard.“Diamond and the World Breaker” © 2017 by Linda Nagata“The Chameleon’s Gloves” © 2017 by Yoon Ha Lee“The Universe, Sung in Stars” © 2015 by Kat Howard. Originally published in Lightspeed“Wakening Ouroboros” © 2017 by Jack Campbell“Warped Passages” © 2017 by Kameron Hurley“The Frost Giant’s Data” © 2017 by Dan Abnett.

Radicalized


Cory Doctorow - 2019
    Radicalized is the story of a desperate husband, a darknet forum and the birth of a violent uprising against the US health care system.The final story, The Masque of the Red Death, tracks an uber-wealthy survivalist and his followers as they hole up and attempt to ride out the collapse of society.

The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack: 25 Modern and Classic Stories


Pamela Sargent - 2013
    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!

2001: An Odyssey in Words


Ian WhatesIan McDonald - 2018
    Clarke Award and 13 authors who have been shortlisted, as well as non-fiction from thrice-winner China Miéville and former judge Neil Gaiman. Contents: Introduction Golgotha – Dave Hutchinson The Monoliths of Mars – Paul McAuley Murmuration – Jane Rogers Ouroboros – Ian R MacLeod The Escape Hatch – Matthew De Abaitua Childhood’s Friend – Rachel Pollack Takes from the White Hart – Bruce Sterling Your Death, Your Way, 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! – Emma Newman Distraction – Gwyneth Jones Dancers – Allen Stroud Entropy War – Yoon Ha Lee The Ontologist – Liz Williams Waiting in the Sky – Tom Hunter The Collectors – Adrian Tchaikovsky I Saw Three Ships – Phillip Mann Before They Left – Colin Greenland Drawn From the Eye – Jeff Noon Roads of Silver, Paths of Gold – Emmi Itäranta The Fugue – Stephanie Holman Memories of a Table – Chris Beckett Child of Ours – Claire North Would-Be A.I., Tell Us a Tale! #241: Sell ’em Back in Time! by Hali Hallison – Ian Watson Last Contact – Becky Chambers The Final Fable – Ian Whates Ten Landscapes of Nili Fossae – Ian McDonald Child – Adam Roberts Providence – Alastair Reynolds 2001: A Space Prosthesis – The Extensions of Man – Andrew M. Butler (non-fiction) On Judging The Clarke Award – Neil Gaiman (non-fiction) Once More on the 3rd Law – China Miéville (non-fiction)

Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft


Jennifer HenshawJack McDevitt - 2015
    These visionary stories explore prediction science, quantum computing, real-time translation, machine learning, and much more. The authors used inside access to leading-edge work from Microsoft Research as inspiration, crafting pieces that predict the near-future of technology%mdash;and examine its complex relationship to our core humanity.Future Visions features contributions from: Elizabeth BearGreg BearDavid BrinNancy KressAnn LeckieJack McDevittSeanan McGuireRobert J. Sawyer…along with a short graphic novel by Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal, plus original illustrations by Joey Camacho.These are some of today’s most visionary creators—and they’ve joined together to give us a preview of tomorrow.

The Weapon Shops of Isher


A.E. van Vogt - 1951
    This volume, The Weapon Shops of Isher, includes the first three parts of the saga and introduces perhaps the most famous political slogan of science fiction: The Right to Buy Weapons is the Right to Be Free. Born at the height of Nazi conquest, the Isher stories suggested that an oppressive government could never completely subjugate its own citizens if they were well armed. The audience appeal was immediate and has endured long beyond other stories of alien invasion, global conflict and post war nuclear angst.

Nebula Awards Showcase 2011 (Nebula Awards, #12)


Kevin J. AndersonKage Baker - 2011
    Anderson. This collection of nominees for 2010's Nebula Awards includes all of the prior year's most celebrated stories, and will be published in time for the 2011 Nebula Awards in May, 2011.2009's award winners, announced in May 2010, include Kage Baker's novella "The Women of Nell Gwynne's," Eugie Foster's novelette "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast," Kij Johnson's short story "Spar," plus Paolo Bacigalupi's novelette, "The Gambler."

The Sentinel


Arthur C. Clarke - 1983
    Clarke. It is the startling realism of his vision that has made classics of his novels, such as CHILDHOOD'S END and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. It has also made Clarke himself one of the genre's most successful writers. The trade paperback was published to commemorate the arrival of the year 2001, one of the most notable dates in science fiction history. THE SENTINEL is a brilliant collection of Clarke's highest calibre short fiction.