Novellas, longer than short stories but shorter than novels, are a rich and rewarding literary form that can fully explore tomorrow’s technology, the far reaches of the future, thought-provoking imaginings, fantastic worlds, and entertaining concepts with the impact of a short story and the detailed breadth of a novel. Gathering a wide variety of excellent SF and fantasy, this anthology of “short novels” showcases the talents of both established masters and new writers.Contents (alphabetical order by author last name):“In Her Eyes” by Seth Chambers (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jan/Feb 2014)The Churn: An Expanse Novella by James S. A. Corey (Orbit)“Where the Trains Turn” by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen (translated by Liisa Rantalaiho) (Tor.com, 15 November 2014)Yesterday’s Kin by Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)“Claudius Rex” by John P. Murphy (Alembical 3: A Distillation of Three Novellas, eds. Schoen & Dorrance)“The Things We Do For Love” by K. J. Parker (Subterranean Press Magazine, Summer 2014)“The Mothers of Voorhisville” by Mary Rickert, (Tor.com, 30 Apr 2014)“The Lightning Tree” by Patrick Rothfuss (Rogues, eds. Martin & Dozois)Dream Houses by Genevieve Valentine (Dream Houses WSFA/ Wyrm Publishing)

    There need be no monsters for us to be terrified in the dark, but if there are, they are just as often human and as supernatural. Join us in this outstanding annual exploration of the year's best dark fiction that includes stories of quiet fear, the utterly fantastic, the weirdly surreal, atmospheric noir, mysterious hauntings, seductive nightmares, and frighteningly plausible futures. Featuring tales from masterful authors and talented new writers sure to make you reconsider walking in the shadows alone . . .

    Valente, and many others. Selecting the best fiction from Asimov's, F&SF, Strange Horizons, Subterranean, Tor.com, and other top venues, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy is your guide to magical realms and worlds beyond tomorrow.

    This second volume of The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy features over a quarter million words of fiction by some of the genre's greatest authors, as selected by Rich Horton, a well-known and well-received contributor to many of the field's most respected magazines.

    Beagle, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Ian McDonald, Sarah Monette, Garth Nix, and Patrick Rothfuss.

    Valente, Dexter Palmer and others KAREN JOY FOWLER, guest editor, is the author of six novels and four short story collections, including We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. She is the winner of the 2014 PEN/Faulkner Award, a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, and has won numerous Nebula and World Fantasy awards. JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS, series editor, is the best-selling editor of more than two dozen anthologies, including Brave New Worlds and Wastelands. He is the editor and publisher of the digital magazines Lightspeed and Nightmare and is the editor of John Joseph Adams Books, a new science fiction/fantasy novel imprint from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Table of Contents:"Meet Me in Iram" by Sofia Samatar"The Game of Smash and Recovery" by Kelly Link"Interesting Facts" by Adam Johnson"Planet Lion" by Catherynne M. Valente"The Apartment Dweller’s Bestiary" by Kij Johnson"By Degrees and Dilatory Time" by S.L. Huang"The Mushroom Queen" by Liz Ziemska"The Daydreamer by Proxy" by Dexter Palmer"Tea Time" by Rachel Swirsky"Headshot" by Julian Mortimer Smith"The Duniazát" by Salman Rushdie"No Placeholder for You, My Love" by Nick Wolven"The Thirteen Mercies" by Maria Dahvana Headley"Lightning Jack’s Last Ride" by Dale Bailey"Things You Can Buy for a Penny" by Will Kaufman"Rat Catcher’s Yellows" by Charlie Jane Anders"The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History" by Sam J. Miller"Three Bodies at Mitanni" by Seth Dickinson"Ambiguity Machines: an Examination" by Vandana Singh"The Great Silence" by Ted Chiang

    G. Wells, and Jules Verne to Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, and William Gibson. In The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy award-winning editor John Joseph Adams delivers a diverse and vibrant collection of stories published in the previous year. Featuring writers with deep science fiction and fantasy backgrounds, along with those who are infusing traditional fiction with speculative elements, these stories uphold a longstanding tradition in both genres—looking at the world and asking, What if . . . ?  The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 includes  Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Karen Russell T. C. Boyle, Sofia Samatar, Jo Walton, Cat Rambo Daniel H. Wilson, Seanan McGuire, Jess Rowand others  JOE HILL, guest editor, is the New York Times best-selling author of the novels Heart-Shaped Box, Horns, and NOS4A2 and the short story collection 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the writer of the comic book series Locke & Key.   JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS, series editor, is the best-selling editor of more than two dozen anthologies, including Brave New Worlds, Wastelands, and The Living Dead. He is also the editor and publisher of the digital magazines Lightspeed and Nightmare and is a producer of Wired’s podcast The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy.

    12"* "For Want of a Nail"* "The Shocking Affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland"* "Salt of the Earth"* "American Changeling"* "The White Phoenix Feather"* "We Interrupt This Broadcast"* "Rockets Red" (A brand new story in the Lady Astronaut universe)* "The Lady Astronaut of Mars"

    Fierce or fearful, they are courageous and honorable—occasionally unscrupulous and tainted—but all warriors worthy of the name!CONTENTSwords & Sorcery"Northern Chess" by Tanith Lee"Anukazi's Daughter" by Mary Gentle"Become a Warrior" by Jane Yollen"The Sea Troll's Daughter" by Caitlin R. Kiernan"Joenna's Axe" by Elaine Isaak"Love Among the Talus" by Elizabeth Bear"Soul Case" by Nalo HopkinsonJust Yesterday"The Girls from Avenger" by Carrie Vaughn"In the Loop" by Ken Liu"Dying with her Cheer Pants On" by Seanan McGuire"Prayer" by Robert ReedSomewhere between Myth & Possibility "England Under the White Witch" by Theodora Goss"The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr" by George R.R. Martin"The Knight of Chains, the Deuce of Stars" by Yoon Ha LeeSpace Aria"Boy Twelve" by Jessica Reisman"The Application of Hope" by Kristine Rusch"Not That Kind of War" by Tanya Huff"Naratha's Shadow" by Sharon Lee & Steve MillerWill No War End All War?"Eaters" by Nancy Kress"And Wash Out by Tides of Ware" by An Owomoyela"Hand to Hand" by Elizabeth Moon"They Tell Me There Will be No Pain" by Rachael Acks"Wonder Maul Doll" by Kameron Hurley"The Days of the War, as Red as Blood, as Dark as Bile" by Aliette de Bodard

    Cyberpunk freewheels with punk rock energy, careening between the internet, bioengineering, and international politics, its influence saturating entertainment and the mass media. Drawing on the traditions of the pioneering cyberpunk manifesto, Mirrorshades, each story delves into the gritty world of technological change. Legendary Mirrorshades editor and contributor Bruce Sterling is back, alongside such cutting-edge writers as Cory Doctorow, Jonathan Lethem, Gwyneth Jones, Hal Duncan, Charles Stross, and Pat Cadigan. With a daring introduction from James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel, editors of the controversial Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, this collection is an exhilarating snapshot of a vibrant literary movement.Contents“Introduction: Hacking Cyberpunk” by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel“Bicycle Repairman” by Bruce Sterling“Lobsters” by Charles Stross“The Voluntary State” by Christopher Rowe“When Sysadmins Rules the Earth” by Cory Doctorow“The Wedding Album” by David Marusek“Two Dreams on Trains” by Elizabeth Bear“Yeyuka” by Greg Egan“Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland” by Gwyneth JonesSterling-Kessel Correspondence“How We Got in Town and out Again” by Jonathan Lethem“Search Engine” by Mary Rosenblum“The Dog Said Bow-Wow” by Michael Swanwick“The Calorie Man” By Paolo Bagciaglupi“The Final Remake of The Return of Little Latin Larry With a Completely Remastered ‘Soundtrack’” by Pat Cadigan“What’s Up Tiger Lily?” by Paul Di Filippo“Daddy’s World” by Walter Jon Williams“Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City” by William Gibson

    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

    When light destroys shadows, darkness does not gain in density elsewhere. When shadows steal over earth and across the sky, darkness is not diluted. Featuring an Introduction by Aliette De Bodard, Conservation of Shadows features a selection of short stories from Yoon Ha Lee.Content"Ghostweight" (2011)"The Shadow Postulates" (2007)"The Bones of Giants" (2009)"Between Two Dragons" (2010)"Swanwatch" (2009)"Effigy Nights" (2013)"Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" (2010)"Iseul's Lexicon" (2013)"Counting the Shapes" (2001)"Blue Ink" (2008)"The Battle of Candle Arc" (2012) "A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel" (2011)"The Unstrung Zither" (2009) "The Black Abacus" (2002)"The Book of Locked Doors" (2012)"Conservation of Shadows" (2012)

    That moment of understanding drives the greatest science-fiction stories and lies at the heart of Engineering Infinity. Whether it's coming up hard against the speed of light - and, with it, the enormity of the universe - realising that terraforming a distant world is harder and more dangerous than you'd ever thought, or simply realizing that a hitchhiker on a starship consumes fuel and oxygen with tragic results, it's hard science-fiction where sense of wonder is most often found and where science-fiction's true heart lies.This exciting and innovative science-fiction anthology collects together stories by some of the biggest names in the field including Gwyneth Jones, Stephen Baxter and Charles Stross.Contents:- Beyond the Gernsback Continuum... by Jonathan Strahan- Malak by Peter Watts- Watching the Music Dance by Kristine Kathryn Rusch- Laika's Ghost by Karl Schroeder- The Invasion of Venus by Stephen Baxter- The Server and the Dragon by Hannu Rajaniemi- Bit Rot by Charles Stross- Creatures with Wings by Kathleen Ann Goonan- Walls of Flesh, Bars of Bone by Damien Broderick and Barbara Lamar- Mantis by Robert Reed- Judgement Eve by John C. Wright- A Soldier of the City by David Moles- Mercies by Gregory Benford- The Ki-anna by Gwyneth Jones- The Birds and the Bees and the Gasoline Trees by John BarnesCover illustration by Stephan Martiniere

    It didn't give you the date and it didn't give you specifics. It just spat out a sliver of paper upon which were printed, in careful block letters, the words DROWNED or CANCER or OLD AGE or CHOKED ON A HANDFUL OF POPCORN. It let people know how they were going to die." Machine of Death tells thirty-four different stories about people who know how they will die. Prepare to have your tears jerked, your spine tingled, your funny bone tickled, your mind blown, your pulse quickened, or your heart warmed. Or better yet, simply prepare to be surprised. Because even when people do have perfect knowledge of the future, there's no telling exactly how things will turn out. Featuring stories by: * Randall Munroe* Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw* Tom Francis* Camille Alexa* Erin McKean* James L. Sutter* Douglas J. Lane* and many others.Featuring illustrations by: * Kate Beaton* Kazu Kibuishi* Aaron Diaz* Jeffrey Brown* Scott C.* Roger Langridge* Karl Kerschl* Cameron Stewart* and many others

    Kessel's four-story modern classic sequence about life on the moon, The Lunar Quartet, makes up the center of the book."A sustained exploration of the ways gender dynamics can both empower and enslave us. Kessel's wit sparkles throughout, peaking with the most uproariously weird phone-sex conversation you'll ever read ("The Red Phone")." A-—Entertainment WeeklyWinner of the Nebula, Sturgeon, Locus, and Tiptree awards, John Kessel is the author of The New York Times Notable Book Meeting in Infinity. He co-edited the anthologies Feeling Very Strange and Rewired. Kessel and his family live in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he co-directs the creative writing program at North Carolina State University.