The Churn


James S.A. Corey - 2014
    Corey...Before his trip to the stars, before the Rocinante, Amos Burton was confined to a Baltimore where crime paid you or killed you. Unless the authorities got to you first. Set in the hard-scrabble solar system of the Expanse, The Churn deepens James S. A. Corey's acclaimed series.The Expanse (a major SyFy Channel television series)Leviathan WakesCaliban's WarAbaddon's GateCibola BurnNemesis GamesThe Expanse Short Fiction The Butcher of Anderson StationGods of RiskThe Churn

Press Enter


John Varley - 1984
    He opens the door to find his neighbor shot through the head. But is it suicide - or murder? And is it possible that a computer is to blame?

The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate


Ted Chiang - 2007
    It begins with a walk in the bazaar, but soon grows into a tale unlike any other told in the caliph's empire. It's a story that includes not just buried treasure and a band of thieves, but also men haunted by their past and others trapped by their future; it includes not just a beloved wife and a veiled seductress, but also long journeys taken by caravan and even longer ones taken with a single step. Above all, it's a story about recognizing the will of Allah and accepting it, no matter what form it takes.

The Mountains of Mourning


Lois McMaster Bujold - 1989
    [Publisher's Note: The Mountains of Mourning was originally published as a stand-alone novella in the May 1989 issue of Analog. It was then included as the first of three novellas that make up the novel Borders of Infinity (October 1989). For the novel, Ms. Bujold added a short "framing story" that tied the three novellas together by setting up each one as a flashback that Miles experiences while recovering from bone-replacement surgery. Fictionwise is publishing these novellas separately, but we decided to leave in Ms. Bujold's short framing story for those who may also wish to read the other two novellas (Labyrinth and The Borders of Infinity).] Locus Poll Award Nominee, Nebula Award Winner, Hugo Award Winner, SF Chronicle Poll Nominee

The Wandering Earth


Liu Cixin - 2000
    I was born at the end of the Reining Age, just as the Earth’s rotation was coming to a final halt.The Sun is about to unleash a helium flash, threatening to swallow all terrestrial planets in the solar system. On Earth, the Unity Government has erected Earth Engines. With them it plans to propel our planet out of the solar system, setting it on a journey into outer space in search of a new sun. The Earth begins its centuries-long, wandering travels through outer space.Just as we began our journey, my grandfather passed away, his burnt body ravaged by infection. In his final moments, he repeated over and over, “Oh, Earth, my wandering Earth...”China Galaxy Science Fiction Award of Year 2000.

Emergency Skin


N.K. Jemisin - 2019
    The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind—hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out eons ago. After all this time, there’s no telling how they’ve devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.N. K. Jemisin’s Emergency Skin is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome


John Scalzi - 2014
    Unlocked traces the medical history behind a virus that will sweep the globe and affect the majority of the world’s population, setting the stage for Lock In, the next major novel by John Scalzi.Free to read here:http://www.tor.com/2014/05/13/unlocke...At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Troika


Alastair Reynolds - 2010
    During its third "apparition" in a remote corner of the galaxy, a trio of Russian cosmonauts approach this enigma and attempt to penetrate its mysteries.

The Fountains of Paradise


Arthur C. Clarke - 1979
    Vannemar Morgan's dream of linking Earth with the stars requires a 24,000-mile-high space elevator. But first he must solve a million technical, political, and economic problems while allaying the wrath of God. Includes a new introduction by the author.

The Last Conversation


Paul Tremblay - 2019
    All you have is the disconnected voice of an attentive caretaker. Dr. Kuhn is there to help you—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She’ll help you remember everything. She’ll make sure you reclaim your lost identity. Now answer one question: Are you sure you want to?Paul Tremblay’s The Last Conversationis part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge


Mike Resnick - 1994
    It not only won both the Hugo and Nebula, but also the HOMer award and the SF Chronicle Poll and was a nominee for the Locus Award and the Sturgeon Award. It was also nominated for a number of international awards, winning the Ignotus and the Universitat Polytechnica Awards in Spain, the Prix Ozone Award in France and the Futura Award in Croatia.In the far future, eons after the demise of Humanity and its far-flung galactic empire, a group of alien archeologists visits Earth to uncover the secret of the dead race’s initial overwhelming success and its ultimate death.Digging through layers of archeological strata at Olduvai Gorge, they discover seven unique artifacts, each related to a different era of humanity’s history and each telling a unique story about humankind’s strengths and weaknesses. But are they prepared for their final discovery, which will change their worlds forever?

Forest of Memory


Mary Robinette Kowal - 2016
    Her clients are rich and they demand items and experiences with only the finest verifiable provenance. Other people’s lives have value, after all.But when her A.I. suddenly stops whispering in her ear she finds herself cut off from the grid and loses communication with the rest of the world.The man who stepped out of the trees while hunting deer cut her off from the cloud, took her A.I., and made her his unwilling guest.There are no Authenticities or Captures to prove Katya’s story of what happened in the forest. You’ll just have to believe her.

The Queen of Air and Darkness and Other Stories


Poul Anderson - 1971
    Read by Tom Teti.

The Variable Man


Philip K. Dick - 1953
    The computers of the future can tell you if you’re going to win a war before you fire a shot. Unfortunately they’re predicting perpetual standoff between the Terran and Centaurian Empires. What they need is something unpredictable, what they get is Thomas Cole, a man from the past accidently dragged forward in time. Will he fit their calculations, or is he the random variable that can break the stalemate? – The Variable Man first appeared in the September, 1953 issue of Space Science Fiction magazine.Approx. 3 hours

Schrödinger's Kitten


George Alec Effinger - 1988
    In this Hugo & Nebula Award-winning story, an Arab woman confronts the uncertainty principle in both practice and theory as she stands accused of killing a man who might do her harm in the future.