Book picks similar to
Reborn by Ken Liu


short-stories
science-fiction
sci-fi
short-story

Vilcabamba


Harry Turtledove - 2010
    All he can do is try to keep the rest of it out of their hands, in Harry Turtledove's Vilcabamba.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Robots vs. Fairies


Dominik ParisienJohn Scalzi - 2018
    Robots vs. Fairies is an anthology that pitches genre against genre, science fiction against fantasy, through an epic battle of two icons. On one side, robots continue to be the classic sci-fi phenomenon in literature and media, from Asimov to WALL-E, from Philip K. Dick to Terminator. On the other, fairies are the beloved icons and unquestionable rulers of fantastic fiction, from Tinkerbell to Tam Lin, from True Blood to Once Upon a Time. Both have proven to be infinitely fun, flexible, and challenging. But when you pit them against each other, which side will triumph as the greatest genre symbol of all time?There can only be one…or can there?

The Messengers


Lindsay Joelle - 2020
    A soldier and a pilot are tasked to deliver a package. A messenger and a refugee decide to work together on a dying alien planet. A love letter is lost that could be the key to a new future. A dark comedy about the messages we carry in our bones.

Crispin's Model


Max Gladstone - 2017
    A contemporary Lovecraftian tale of art, obsession, and elder gods.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Martian Obelisk


Linda Nagata - 2017
    A story about an architect on Earth commissioned to create (via long distance) a masterwork with materials from the last abandoned Martian colony, a monument that will last thousands of years longer than Earth, which is dying.

Tales of Nevèrÿon


Samuel R. Delany - 1979
    Delany appropriated the conceits of sword-and-sorcery fantasy to explore his characteristic themes of language, power, gender, and the nature of civilization. Wesleyan University Press has reissued the long-unavailable Nevèrÿon volumes in trade paperback. The eleven stories, novellas, and novels in Return to Nevèrÿon's four volumes chronicle a long-ago land on civilization's brink, perhaps in Asia or Africa, or even on the Mediterranean. Taken slave in childhood, Gorgik gains his freedom, leads a slave revolt, and becomes a minister of state, finally abolishing slavery. Ironically, however, he is sexually aroused by the iron slave collars of servitude. Does this contaminate his mission - or intensify it? Presumably elaborated from an ancient text of unknown geographical origin, the stories are sunk in translators' and commentators' introductions and appendices, forming a richly comic frame.

When We Were Heroes


Daniel Abraham - 2013
    R. Martin's Wild Cards multi-author shared-world universe has been thrilling readers for over 25 years. Now, in addition to overseeing the ongoing publication of new Wild Cards books (like 2011's Fort Freak), Martin is also commissioning and editing new Wild Cards stories for publication on Tor.com. Daniel Abraham's "When We Were Heroes" is an affecting examination of celebrity, privacy, and the different ways people deal with notoriety and fame--problems not made easier when what you're famous for are superpowers that even you don't fully understand.At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

The Transfer


Veronica Roth - 2013
    Complete your Divergent library with the Four stories!Fans of the Divergent series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth will be captivated by "Four: The Transfer," the first of four stories, each between fifty and seventy-five pages long, set in the world of Divergent and told from Tobias's perspective.In "The Transfer," readers witness Tobias's aptitude test, Choosing Day, and the moment he is given the infamous nickname "Four."

With Morning Comes Mistfall


George R.R. Martin - 1973
    It was the first story by George R. R. Martin to be nominated for Hugo Award and Nebula Award.Recently it was included in published in 2003 GRRM anthology Dreamsongs collection: A RRetrospective (Volume I).

Earth 2788


Janet Edwards - 2014
    On the rich worlds of Alpha sector, you aren’t considered fully adult until 25, while the frontier worlds of Epsilon sector expect a girl to marry at 17. Clan centred Beta sector is notoriously permissive, while Deltan worlds consider it shocking behaviour to kiss in public. In Kappa sector, the military battle to make new worlds safe for colonization, while Earth is a semi-abandoned ruin.Each story features one of the characters from the Earth Girl trilogy. Eight people, with eight very distinctive backgrounds and problems, all destined to get caught up in one girl’s fight for acceptance. A fight that will change Earth forever.Cover art by Alex Storer/ http://www.thelightdream.net/ EARTH 2788 – Short story. Jarra trespasses on forbidden ground.ALPHA SECTOR 2788 – Short story. Dalmora’s sheltered life is about to change.BETA SECTOR 2788 – A novelette. Lolia’s marriage is falling apart.GAMMA SECTOR 2788 -Short story. Krath’s life is literally on the scrap heap.DELTA SECTOR 2788 – Short story. Fian’s father is planning his future for him, but Fian has his own ideas.EPSILON SECTOR 2788 – Short story. On a frontier planet, Amalie is considering possible husbands.KAPPA SECTOR 2788 – A novelette. As he hands over a new world to its first colonists, Colonel Riak Torrek plans to retire.ZETA SECTOR 2788 – A novelette. The heroic Major Drago Tell Dramis has finally found something that scares him.This set of stories is no longer on the author's website but is now available worldwide in a range of ebook formats as well as paperback.

Sisters of the Vast Black


Lina Rather - 2019
    Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own.When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care—and that of the galactic diaspora—are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.

So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy


Nalo HopkinsonWayde Compton - 2004
    Writer and editor Nalo Hopkinson notes that the science fiction/fantasy genre “speaks so much about the experience of being alienated but contains so little writing by alienated people themselves.” It’s an oversight that Hopkinson and Mehan aim to correct with this anthology.The book depicts imagined futures from the perspectives of writers associated with what might loosely be termed the “third world.” It includes stories that are bold, imaginative, edgy; stories that are centered in the worlds of the “developing” nations; stories that dare to dream what we might develop into.The wealth of postcolonial literature has included many who have written insightfully about their pasts and presents. With So Long Been Dreaming they creatively address their futures.Contributors include: Opal Palmer Adisa, Tobias Buckell, Wayde Compton, Hiromi Goto, Andrea Hairston, Tamai Kobayashi, Karin Lowachee, devorah major, Carole McDonnell, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, Eden Robinson, Nisi Shawl, Vandana Singh, Sheree Renee Thomas and Greg Van Eekhout.Nalo Hopkinson is the internationally-acclaimed author of Brown Girl in the Ring, Skin Folk, and Salt Roads. Her books have been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Tiptree, and Philip K. Dick Awards; Skin Folk won a World Fantasy Award and the Sunburst Award. Born in Jamaica, Nalo moved to Canada when she was sixteen. She lives in Toronto.Uppinder Mehan is a scholar of science fiction and postcolonial literature. A South Asian Canadian, he currently lives in Boston and teaches at Emerson College.

The Future of Work: Compulsory


NOT A BOOK - 2018
    “My risk-assessment module predicts a 53 percent chance of a human-on-human massacre before the end of the contract.”A short story published in Wired.com magazine as part of a series "The Future of Work" on December 17, 2018.

The Terracotta Bride


Zen Cho - 2011
     In the tenth court of hell, spirits wealthy enough to bribe the bureaucrats of the underworld can avoid both the torments of hell and the irreversible change of reincarnation. It's a comfortable undeath … even for Siew Tsin. She didn't choose to be married to the richest man in hell, but she's reconciled. Until her husband brings home a new bride. Yonghua is an artificial woman crafted from terracotta. What she is may change hell for good. Who she is will transform Siew Tsin. And as they grow closer, the mystery of Yonghua's creation will draw Siew Tsin into a conspiracy where the stakes are eternal life – or a very final death. THE TERRACOTTA BRIDE is an 11,000-word standalone fantasy novelette.

Youth


Isaac Asimov - 1952
    The animals seem intelligent enough, and Red recruits Slim to help him train the odd creatures to do circus tricks. But the boys are about to discover their playthings aren’t exactly animals—and they’ve allowed themselves to be caught for a reason . . . Youth is a riveting tale from the author of countless classics, including I, Robot and the Foundation Trilogy, which won the Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series.