From David Gerrold's "The Martian Child" (winner of the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Locus Award, and HOMer Award) to brand new works published here for the first time by David Gerrold and Lawrence Watt-Evans to modern masterpieces by Pamela Sargent and Jay Lake to classics by E.E. "Doc Smith" and Alan E. Nourse -- we have everything a science fiction fan could want. Almost 1,500 pages of great reading!Fiction:TORQUING VACUUM, by Jay LakeCOLLECTORS, by Pamela SargentVICTORY, by Lester del ReyTHE TREE OF LIFE, by C. L. MooreYE OLDE RESIGNATION, by Rhys HughesFACE TO FACE, by Adrian ColeBEYOND THE THUNDER, by H. B. HickeyCAPTIVES OF THE THIEVE-STAR, by James H. SchmitzTHE DEEPS, by Keith RobertsMADMEN MUSTERED, by Connor Freff CochranEXILE FROM SPACE, by Judith MerrilTHROUGH TIME AND SPACE WITH FERDINAND FEGHOOT: THE CHAIRMAN DANCES, by David GerroldTHE FROZEN PLANET, by Keith LaumerTHE TAIL-TIED KINGS, by Avram DavidsonTHE GRAIN KINGS, by Keith RobertsHIS MASTER'S VOICE, by Randall GarrettBACK TO JULIE, by Richard WilsonBRIGHTSIDE CROSSING, by Alan E. NourseTHE SECRET OF THE SCARAB, by Ron GoulartREINVENTING CARL HOBBS, by James GlassTHE OLD SHILL GAME, by H.B. FyfeNOTES TOWARD A NEW TRAIT AS REVEALED BY CORRELATION AMONG ITEMS OF THE MMMPI, by M. Purrzillo, U. R. A. Ferball, and C. KitirunTHE SLEEPER IS A REBEL, by Bryce WaltonTHE TEACHER FROM MARS, by Eando BinderNIF'S WORLD, by Lawrence Watt-EvansA MAN OBSESSED, by Alan E. NourseFIRST LENSMAN, by E.E. “Doc” SmithREINCARNATE, by Lester del ReyTHE MAN WHO LIVED FOREVER, by R. DeWitt Miller and Anna HungerTHE MARTIAN CHILD, by David GerroldPoetry:I’VE NEVER SEEN, by Hannes Bok (poem)THOUGHT AND SPACE, by Ray BradburyNovel Serial:FIREBIRD, by Tony Rothman (part 1 of 3)If you enjoy this MEGAPACK™, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see the 240+ other entries in this series, including science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, adventure, horror, westerns -- and much, much more!

    Winston K. Marks (1915-1979) is one such unjustly forgotten author.Included here are 12 science fiction stories, published between 1953 and 1959, representing some of his best work:THE WATER EATER (1953)UNBEGOTTEN CHILD (1953)…SO THEY BAKED A CAKE (1954)BACKLASH (1954)TABBY (1954)BREEDER REACTION (1954)FORSYTE'S RETREAT (1954)MATE IN TWO MOVES (1954)THE TEST COLONY (1954)BROWN JOHN’S BODY (1955)THE MIND DIGGER (1958)THE DEADLY DAUGHTERS (1958)If you enjoy this book, search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see the more than 100 other entries in the series, covering science fiction, modern authors, mysteries, westerns, classics, adventure stories, and much, much more!

     Fiction: Bad Seed (Broken Empire) by Mark Lawrence Shadow Hunter (Shadows of the Apt) by Adrian Tchaikovsky The Woman I Used to Be by Gerri Leen The Neutral by Anatoly Belilovsky (translator) and Mike Gelprin (author) The Red Wraith by Nick Wisseman Non-Fiction: An interview with Joe Abercrombie An interview with Graham McNeill Book Review: Joe Abercrombie's Half a King - review by Kyle Massa Article: Grimdark is Here to Stay by Layla Cummins

    The Incrementalists are an ancient conspiracy to make the world better -- just a little bit at a time. "Fireworks in the Rain" tells a story not found in the novel, and serves as an equally beguiling introduction to the Incrementalists and how they work...At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

    These stories are about the future, worlds beyond our own, the realms of our imaginations and dreams but, more importantly, they are the stories of ourselves. Featuring best-selling writers and emerging talents, here are some of the most exciting genre writers working today. Multi-award winning editor Jonathan Strahan once again brings you the best stories from the past year. Within you will find twenty-eight amazing tales from authors across the globe, displaying why science fiction and fantasy are genres increasingly relevant to our turbulent world.CONTENT “Tough Times All Over”, Joe Abercrombie “The Scrivener”, Eleanor Arnason “Moriabe’s Children”, Paolo Bacigalupi “Covenant”, Elizabeth Bear “Slipping”, Lauren Beukes “Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (The Successful Kind)”, Holly Black “Shadow Flock”, Greg Egan “The Truth About Owls”, Amal El-Mohtar “Cimmeria: From the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology”, Theodora Goss “Cold Wind”, Nicola Griffith “Someday”, James Patrick Kelly “Interstate Love Song (Murder Ballad No.8)”, Caitlin R Kiernan “Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They are Terrifying”, Alice Sola Kim “Amicae Aeternum”, Ellen Klages “Calligo Lane”, Ellen Klages “The Lady and the Fox”, Kelly Link “The Long Haul From the ANNALS OF TRANSPORTATION”, The Pacific Monthly, May 2009”, Ken Liu “The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family”, Usman T Mailk “Four Days of Christmas”, Tim Maughan “The Fifth Dragon”, Ian McDonald “Shay Corsham Worsted”, Garth Nix “I Met a Man Who Wasn’t There”, K. J. Parker “Kheldyu”, Karl Schroeder “Tawny Petticoats”, Michael Swanwick “Grand Jeté (The Great Leap)”, Rachel Swirsky “The Insects of Love”, Genevieve Valentine “Collateral”, Peter Watts “The Devil in America”, Kai Ashante Wilson

    This volume assembles some of Clifton's very best work -- including THEY'D RATHER BE RIGHT:STAR BRIGHT (1952)THE KENZIE REPORT (1953)WE'RE CIVILIZED!SENSE FROM THOUGHT DIVIDE (1955)A WOMAN'S PLACE (1955)DO UNTO OTHERS (1958)THEY'D RATHER BE RIGHT (1958)WHAT NOW, LITTLE MAN? (1959)EIGHT KEYS TO EDEN (1960)And if you enjoy this volume, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more entries in this great series, covering science fiction, fantasy, horror, mysteries, westerns, classics -- and much, much more!

    "Bradley's Darkover series grows richer by the book."--Science Fiction Review.Introduction: And Contrariwise by Marion Zimmer BradleyAcurrhir Todo; Nada Perdonad by Deborah J. RossObject Lesson by Mercedes LackeyBeginnings by Cynthia DroletClingfire by Patricia Duffy NovakDeath in Thendara by Dorothy J. HeydtFiretrap by Elisabeth Waters & Marion Zimmer BradleyFriends by Judith KobyleckyManchild by L.D. WoeltjenJust a Touch… by Lynne Armstrong-JonesMind-Eater by Joan Marie VerbaMist by Meg MacDonaldOur Little Rabbit by Mary FreyGift from Ardais by Barbara DenzHorse Race by Diann PatridgePlague by Janet RhodesTapestry by Micole SudbergTo Serve Kihar by Judith Sampson

    Simak (1904-1988). When the Science Fiction Writers of America began bestowing their Grand Master awards, Simak was the third writer so honored. Only Robert Heinlein and Jack Williamson preceded him, and he received his award before such luminaries as Fritz Leiber, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. Simak earned this distinction by producing, over a long period of time, a significant body of popular, respected, often award-winning work, including his classics City and Way Station, and many shorter works, eight of which are contained in this collection. Readers unfamiliar with Simak are in for a treat. More than half of the stories here were among the best stories of their respective years. "The Big Front Yard" (1958) won a Hugo. "A Death in the House" (1959) was selected by Judith Merril for Year's Best SF: Fifth Annual Edition. "Over the River and Through the Woods" (1965) made the cut for World's Best Science Fiction: 1966 edited by Donald Wollheim.Contents: A Death in the House The Big Front Yard Goodnight Mr. James Dusty Zebra Neighbor Over the River & Through the Woods Construction Shack Grotto of the Dancing Deer [He] wrote for so long and always so well that his excellence came to be taken for granted, as we take sunlight for granted until we go blind. - Poul Anderson I read Cliff's stories with particular attention, and I couldn't help but notice the simplicity and directness of the writing - the utter clarity of it. I made up my mind to imitate it, and I labored over the years to make my writing simpler, clearer, more uncluttered, to present my scenes on a bare stage. - Isaac Asimov Without Simak, science fiction would have been without its most humane element, its most humane spokesman for the wisdom of the ordinary person and the value of life lived close to the land. - James Gunn Good fantasy - and that includes science fiction - takes off from the known for its flights into the new. Cliff Simak was a master of the art. His known was the rural Midwest that he loved. His new could reach to the ends of space and time, but never beyond reality. Even his cosmic aliens always had half human dimensions that made them believable. I loved him, as so many did, for his unfailing warmth and a wit that was keen but never cruel. I heard from him often during the painful time after his wife's death. His own death touched me deeply, and I'm happy to see him remembered with this collection of his best-loved stories. - Jack Williamson I always loved his stories, short or long. He made me love them -and the rural America of his childhood - as much as he did. - Lester del Rey Ten years ago it would have been inconceivable that a volume of the best stories of Clifford Simak (author of the classic City) would not have been published by Putnam or Del Rey, but today we have to be grateful to the one-man firm of Tachyon Publications for preserving Over the River and Through the Woods, which includes some of Simak's best stories, including two Hugo Award winners. After all, Simak is dead, which means his career is flatlined, even if Robert Heinlein said, "to read science fiction is to read Simak. The reader who does not like Simak stories does not like science fiction at all." Simak was a master of a special kind of nostalgic science fiction that reconciled the values of his youth (the rural Midwest of the 1920s) with the larger universe. Material that became ludicrous cliche in the hands of lesser writers - all those endless flying saucers landing in the hillbilly's back acre - was by Simak handled with elegance and dignity."A Death in the House" is typical: A farmer finds a dying alien. He does what he can, but that's very little. The farmer conceals the grave, wanting to give his "guest" that much dignity. But the alien is plantlike. It (or its young) sprouts out of the corpse. Human and alien struggle toward understanding. In "The Big Front Yard," a rural handyman finds his house transformed into a gateway to other worlds. The common people have the good sense; trouble starts when profiteers and the government get involved. The tone is light, friendly and clever. This is not to suggest that Simak was a writer with no hard edges. "Good Night Mr. James" is a horror story, about a duplicate human being created to destroy a particularly nasty alien illegally smuggled to Earth. But the gentler mode was more typical, and he could also write humor. "Dusty Zebra" is a long technological joke, maybe a bit slight to be included when a 50-year career must be distilled into 218 pages. Simak's last story, the last in the book, "The Grotto of the Dancing Deer," is about an immortal caveman, quite different from de Camp's "Gnarly Man." He is the original artist who painted that cave art the scientists keep finding; after all this time, he just has to tell someone. The story won both the Hugo and the Nebula for 1980, because both readers and fellow professionals wanted to say "thank you." - The Washington Post Book World Clifford D. Simak is another classic SF writer who staked out a distinctive territory based on his rural midwestern roots - only a couple hundred miles north of Bradbury's - but he never strayed very far from a few classic SF themes which he treated with considerably more rigor than Bradbury, if sometimes with as much sentimentality. Simak's City is at least as important to the history of SF as Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles - some would say more so, given its more challenging conceptual framework - and his other short stories are among the most enduring in the genre, as Over the River & Through the Woods, a new limited edition from Tachyon Publications, attests. Yet Simak, like Sturgeon, seems in danger of fading into the limbo of historical anthologies; while his work was once as widely available as that of any of the giants, today these stories seem almost like new discoveries - and are just as fresh. Part of the reason may be not that Simak's folksy language seems to belie the underlying sense of alienation and tragedy that characterizes much of his work; part may be due to the rediscovery of American regional idioms among younger SF writers from Terry Bisson to Nancy Kress . . . 'Over the River & Through the Woods' contains eight Simak stories from 1951 through 1980 - which means it includes none of the classic stories like "Desertion" or "Huddling Place", which later went to make up City, but does include his late Hugo and Nebula-winning masterpiece "The Grotto of the Dancing Deer" and the Hugo-winning "The Big Front Yard." One of the first things that comes to mind when rereading the latter story after several years - it concerns a characteristically laconic farmer with a dog named Towser (the only name Simak seems to have permitted for dogs) who finds on his property a gateway to distant worlds - is that few contemporary writers would have let such a simple and elegant premise be confined to a novella. Simak's focus is on the unimpressed rustic whose very lack of response to the wonder at his doorstep intensifies our own. When a rustic is impressed by an alien presence, such as in "A Death in the House," it is less likely to be from a sense of wonder than from a sense of companionship. Simak's roots may be firmly in SF, but he writes of alien encounters in a way Willa Cather might have written of them. Aliens are strange but unthreatening, and in some cases (as in "Neighbor") they can turn the entire neighborhood into a pastoral Shangri-la, isolated from the outside in a way that encapsulates what must be Simak's own drams of lost innocence. But Simak could write about more than wonderful things happening to remote farmers. "Good Night, Mr. James" is a very early treatment (1951) of what we would today call a cloning story, done with the kind of cynical humor that is needed for what is essentially a double- and triple-cross tale. It reveals Simak's healthy streak of humor, as does "Dusty Zebra," in which trivial objects are zapped into another dimension in return for high-tech wonders. "Construction Shack" ironically explores an almost Stapledonian notion of whole solar systems being engineered by ancient aliens (Pluto is the construction shack of the title), cast in terms of the matter-of-fact space jockeys so familiar from pulp SF. Simak may be at his best, however, when his theme is isolation and abandonment. The title story concerns children from the future sent back to the refuge of the 1890s. The best tale in the collection and one of the high points of Simak's late career, "The Grotto of the Dancing Deer," concerns an anthropologist who comes to realize that his assistant seems to know far too much about certain ancient cave paintings, and may in fact have been their creator. Simak's evocation, in a few pages, of the sheer loneliness of immortality and the daunting perspectives of time involved, again could be a lesson to a generation of younger writers, and reminds us brilliantly of what Simak was capable of. - Locus

    The eight stories, reprinted for the first time in this collection delve further into the history and exploits of the Company and its operatives, including Mendoza, Lewis, and Alec. The book opens with the novella, "To the Land Beyond the Sunset," starring Lewis and Mendoza, and involving a strange tribe in Bolivia whose members claim to be gods. Their ability to grow a small tropical paradise in the middle of the desert certainly seems godlike, and it's Mendoza's job to figure what their secret is."Standing in His Light" features Van Drouten, and her role in the career of the artist Jan Vermeer. The story illustrates how, with a little help from the Company, lost masterpieces can be found (or created) easily. Other stories include "Welcome to Olympus, Mr. Hearst," which opens up intriguing questions about The Company, and the original novelette, "Hellfire at Twilight," which concludes the volume and tells of Lewis infiltrating the famous Hellfire Club in the England of the 18th century. This book is a compelling read for every Baker fan, and essential for Company addicts

    Many of the field's finest practitioners are represented here, along with stories from promising newcomers, including:William Barton * Rob Chilson * Tony Daniel * Cory Doctorow * Jim Grimsley * Gwyneth Jones * Chris Lawson * Ian McDonald * Robert Reed * William Browning Spencer * Allen Steele * Michael Swanwick * Howard Waldrop * Cherry Wilder * Liz Williams A useful list of honorable mentions and Dozois's insightful summation of the year in sf round out this anthology, making it indispensable for anyone interested in SF today.Contents xi • Summation: 1998 • essay by Gardner Dozois1 • Oceanic • (1998) • novella by Greg Egan37 • Approaching Perimelasma • (1998) • novelette by Geoffrey A. Landis56 • Craphound • (1998) • shortstory by Cory Doctorow72 • Jedella Ghost • (1998) • shortstory by Tanith Lee87 • Taklamakan • [Chattanooga] • (1998) • novelette by Bruce Sterling118 • The Island of the Immortals • (1998) • shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin126 • Sea Change, with Monsters • (1998) • novella by Paul J. McAuley161 • Divided by Infinity • (1998) • novelette by Robert Charles Wilson181 • US • (1998) • shortstory by Howard Waldrop191 • The Days of Solomon Gursky • (1998) • novella by Ian McDonald234 • The Cuckoo's Boys • (1998) • novella by Robert Reed277 • The Halfway House at the Heart of Darkness • (1998) • shortstory by William Browning Spencer289 • The Very Pulse of the Machine • (1998) • novelette by Michael Swanwick304 • Story of Your Life • (1998) • novella by Ted Chiang339 • Voivodoi • (1998) • shortstory by Liz Williams349 • Saddlepoint: Roughneck • [Saddle Point • 4] • (1998) • novella by Stephen Baxter393 • This Side of Independence • (1998) • shortstory by Rob Chilson404 • Unborn Again • (1998) • shortstory by Chris Lawson416 • Grist • (1998) • novella by Tony Daniel462 • La Cenerentola • (1998) • shortstory by Gwyneth Jones476 • Down in the Dark • (1998) • novelette by William Barton510 • Free in Asveroth • (1998) • shortstory by Jim Grimsley524 • The Dancing Floor • (1998) • novelette by Cherry Wilder544 • The Summer Isles • (1998) • novella by Ian R. MacLeod603 • Honorable Mentions: 1998 • essay by Gardner Dozois

    Highly recommended.”—N.K. Jemisin, New York Times Book ReviewNeil Clarke, publisher of the award-winning Clarkesworld magazine, presents a collection of thought-provoking and galaxy-spanning array of galactic short science fiction.From E. E. "Doc" Smith’s Lensman, to George Lucas’ Star Wars, the politics and process of Empire have been a major subject of science fiction’s galaxy-spanning fictions. The idiom of the Galactic Empire allows science fiction writers to ask (and answer) questions that are shorn of contemporary political ideologies and allegiances. This simple narrative slight of hand allows readers and writers to see questions and answers from new and different perspectives.The stories in this book do just that. What social, political, and economic issues do the organizing structure of “empire” address? Often the size, shape, and fates of empires are determined not only by individuals, but by geography, natural forces, and technology. As the speed of travel and rates of effective communication increase, so too does the size and reach of an Imperial bureaucracy. Sic itur ad astra—“Thus one journeys to the stars.”At the beginning of the twentieth century, writers such as Kipling and Twain were at the forefront of these kinds of narrative observations, but as the century drew to a close, it was writers like Iain M. Banks who helped make science fiction relevant. That tradition continues today, with award-winning writers like Ann Leckie, whose 2013 debut novel Ancillary Justice hinges upon questions of imperialism and empire.Here then is a diverse collection of stories that asks the questions that science fiction asks best. Empire: How? Why? And to what effect?Table of Contents:- “Winning Peace” by Paul J. McAuley- “Night’s Slow Poison” by Ann Leckie- “All the Painted Stars” by Gwendolyn Clare- “Firstborn” by Brandon Sanderson- “Riding the Crocodile” by Greg Egan- “The Lost Princess Man” by John Barnes- “The Waiting Stars” by Aliette de Bodard- “Alien Archeology” by Neal Asher- “The Muse of Empires Lost” by Paul Berger- “Ghostweight” by Yoon Ha Lee- “A Cold Heart” by Tobias S. Buckell- “The Colonel Returns to the Stars” by Robert Silverberg- “The Impossibles” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch- “Utriusque Cosmi” by Robert Charles Wilson- “Section Seven” by John G. Hemry- “The Invisible Empire of Ascending Light” by Ken Scholes- “The Man with the Golden Balloon” by Robert Reed- “Looking Through Lace” by Ruth Nestvold- “A Letter from the Emperor” by Steve Rasnic Tem- “The Wayfarer’s Advice” by Melinda M. Snodgrass- “Seven Years from Home” by Naomi Novik- “Verthandi’s Ring” by Ian McDonaldSkyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

    They, forming the Friends of Darkover, have joined with Marion Zimmer Bradley to create this anthology of new stories of Darkover, written by its most talented followers. Here are stories that span the whole of Darkover history -- from the days after the original landfall, through the Ages of Chaos, the Pact of the Comyn, and the coming of the Terrans. Included are three original stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley and her editorial commentaries on each story.

    And now, the latest tale in this epic, generations-spanning saga is sure to become a favorite of both long-time readers and newcomers.

    His vast, intellectually rigorous books have ranged in setting from the distant past (The Baroque Cycle) to the modern era (Reamde) to the remote future (Anathem, Seveneves). But when Stephenson turns his attention to shorter forms, the results can be every bit as impressive, as this dazzling novella—itself a kind of tightly compressed epic—clearly indicates. Atmosphæra Incognita is a beautifully detailed, high-tech rendering of a tale as old as the Biblical Tower of Babel. It is an account, scrupulously imagined, of the years-long construction of a twenty-kilometer-high tower that will bring the human enterprise, in all its complexity, to the threshold of outer space. It is a story of persistence, of visionary imaginings, of the ceaseless technological innovation needed to bring these imaginings to life. At the same time, it shows us our familiar planet from an entirely new perspective, and offers vivid snapshots of the unique beauties and unexpected hazards of the “atmosphæra incognita” that lies between this world and “the deep ocean of the cosmos.” The result is pure pleasure, pure excitement, pure Neal Stephenson. No one with an interest in Stephenson’s work, or in science fiction at its most thoughtful and ambitious, can afford to miss this latest edition to an extraordinary body of work.

    Beam Piper) • (1983) • essay by John F. Carr9 • Time and Time Again • (1947) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper29 • The Mercenaries • (1950) • novelette by H. Beam Piper57 • Dearest • (1951) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper77 • Hunter Patrol • (1959) • novelette by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire111 • Flight from Tomorrow • (1950) • novelette by H. Beam Piper135 • Operation R.S.V.P. • (1951) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper147 • Genesis • [Paratime Police] • (1951) • novelette by H. Beam Piper171 • The Answer • (1959) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper185 • Crossroads of Destiny • (1959) • shortstory by H. Beam Piper199 • Day of the Moron • (1951) • novelette by H. Beam Piper