"Anda's Game" is a spin on the bizarre new phenomenon of "cyber sweatshops," in which people are paid very low wages to play online games all day in order to generate in-game wealth, which can be converted into actual money. Another tale tells of the heroic exploits of "sysadmins" — systems administrators — as they defend the cyber-world, and hence the world at large, from worms and bioweapons. And yes, there is a story about zombies, too.

    "Fitting In" by Max Gladstone shows how everyday people can step up to become extraordinary.Robin Ruttiger tries—he really does—but his lot in life falls way shorter than his expectations. A failed contestant of the superhero reality TV show, American Hero, he now works as a high school guidance counselor to reluctant students. Things change, however, when a favorite bakery in Jokertown becomes a target of vandalism, and Robin realizes he can play the hero after all.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    Exotic beasts and improbable travelers roam restlessly through these darkly diverting and finely honed tales.In “The Situation,” a beleaguered office worker creates a child-swallowing manta-ray to be used for educational purposes (once described as Dilbert meets Gormenghast). In “Three Days in a Border Town,” a sharpshooter seeks the truth about her husband in an elusive floating city beyond a far-future horizon; “Errata” follows an oddly familiar writer who has marshaled a penguin, a shaman, and two pearl-handled pistols with which to plot the end of the world. Also included are two stories original to this collection, including “The Quickening,” in which a lonely child is torn between familial obligation and loyalty to a maligned talking rabbit.Chimerical and hypnotic, VanderMeer leads readers through the postmodern into a new literature of the imagination.

    Bread is a good start for sustenance.Don Eyr and Serana were survivors who came to Low Port – it gave them air, water, a place to stand and a place to make bread. The place to sleep meant they needed a certain amount of safety and to get that they founded a bakery at the corner of Crakle and Toom, brought in others seeking to survive in the midst of the poverty and ignorance, and built a tiny bastion of a self-sufficient community dedicated to raising competent, alert children who understood decency.Low Port toughs tried to break the bakery and a planet-shaking blast from the skies nearly did it in, but the bakery was hope, and people who have hope will fight to keep it.This chapbook collects four stories about sustenance, all about the bakery, its people, and its influence. ″Degrees of Separation,″ ″Fortune’s Favors,″ and "Block Party" are reprints. The novelette ″Our Lady of Benevolence″ appears here for the first time.

    An image of humankind escaping into space. An image of human merchants trading and cheating, of human tyrants capturing the Varvax, Tenasi, and Hommar. Images of wars, of fighting, of a paradise destroyed."Oddly enough, the ones who made first contact were an outdated, nearly bankrupt phone company. Second contact was made by the United Governments Military when they accidentally shot down a Tenasi ambassadorial vessel. The Phone Company negotiated Earth out of danger following the Tenasi incident. The Phone Company had brought FTL communication to humankind.And Phone Company operative Jason Write has sworn to keep the galaxy safe from the barbaric humans who would ruin the Elysium that the galactic races currently enjoy.

    Ballard has been one of Britain's most celebrated novelists. From the beginning he has been equally admired for his distinctive and highly influential short stories, the first of which - "Prima Belladonna" and "Escapement" - appeared in Science Fantasy and New Worlds in 1956. Now, all of his published stories - including four not previously featured in a collection - have been arranged in the order of original publication, providing an unprecedented opportunity to review the career of one of Britain's greatest writers.A Washington Post Best Book of 2009, Boston Globe Best Book, Los Angeles Times Favorite Book, and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book.Contents:- Prima Belladonna [Vermilion Sands] (1956)- Escapement (1956)- The Concentration City (1957, variant of Build-Up)- Venus Smiles [Vermilion Sands] (1957)- Manhole 69 (1957)- Track 12 (1958)- The Waiting Grounds (1959)- Now: Zero (1959)- The Sound-Sweep (1960)- Zone of Terror (1960)- Chronopolis (1960)- The Voices of Time (1960)- The Last World of Mr. Goddard (1960)- Studio 5, The Stars [Vermilion Sands] (1961)- Deep End (1961)- The Overloaded Man (1961)- Mr F. is Mr F. (1961)- Billennium (1961)- The Gentle Assassin (1961)- The Insane Ones (1962)- The Garden of Time (1962)- The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista [Vermilion Sands] (1962)- Thirteen to Centaurus (1962)- Passport to Eternity (1962)- The Cage of Sand (1962)- The Watch-Towers (1962)- The Singing Statues [Vermilion Sands] (1962)- The Man on the 99th Floor (1962)- The Subliminal Man (1963)- The Reptile Enclosure (1963)- A Question of Re-Entry (1963)- The Time-Tombs (1963)- Now Wakes the Sea (1963)- The Venus Hunters (1963)- End-Game (1963)- Minus One (1963)- The Sudden Afternoon (1963)- The Screen Game [Vermilion Sands] (1963)- Time of Passage (1964)- Prisoner of the Coral Deep (1964)- The Lost Leonardo (1964)- The Terminal Beach (1964)- The Illuminated Man (1964)- The Delta at Sunset (1964)- The Drowned Giant (1964)- The Gioconda of the Twilight Noon (1964)- The Volcano Dances (1964)- The Beach Murders (1966)- The Day of Forever (1966)- The Impossible Man (1966)- Storm-Bird, Storm-Dreamer (1966)- Tomorrow Is a Million Years (1966)- The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Considered as a Downhill Motor Race (1966)- Cry Hope, Cry Fury! [Vermilion Sands] (1967)- The Recognition (1967)- The Cloud-Sculptors of Coral D [Vermilion Sands] (1967)- Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan (1968)- The Dead Astronaut (1968)- The Comsat Angels (1968)- The Killing Ground (1969)- A Place and a Time to Die (1969)- Say Goodbye to the Wind [Vermilion Sands] (1970)- The Greatest Television Show on Earth (1972)- My Dream of Flying to Wake Island (1974)- The Air Disaster (1975)- Low-Flying Aircraft (1975)- The Life and Death of God (1976)- Notes Towards a Mental Breakdown (1976)- The 60 Minute Zoom (1976)- The Smile (1976)- The Ultimate City (1976)- The Dead Time (1977)- The Index (1977)- The Intensive Care Unit (1977)- Theatre of War (1977)- Having a Wonderful Time (1978)- One Afternoon at Utah Beach (1978)- Zodiac 2000 (1978)- Motel Architecture (1978)- A Host of Furious Fancies (1980)- News from the Sun (1981)- Memories of the Space Age (1982)- Myths of the Near Future (1982)- Report on an Unidentified Space Station (1982)- The Object of the Attack (1984)- Answers to a Questionnaire (1985)- The Man Who Walked on the Moon (1985)- The Secret History of World War 3 (1988)- Love in a Colder Climate (1989)- The Enormous Space (1989)- The Largest Theme Park in the World (1989)- War Fever (1989)- Dream Cargoes (1990)- A Guide to Virtual Death (1992)- The Message from Mars (1992)- Report from an Obscure Planet (1992)

    That the Church uses artificial intelligences to power its never-ending prayer machines doesn't interest her at all: they're paying, and she needs enough money to survive in an increasingly crumbling world. Until a demonstration outside the Church's headquarters, and the appearance of Stéphane, an enigmatic man Lisa finds herself powerfully drawn to. What lies beneath his headscarf, why is he so interested in the Church--and how far will she be willing to go in order to earn his trust? Aliette de Bodard, winner of the Nebula, Locus and BSFA Awards, teams up with BSFA Award-winner Gareth L. Powell to present an uplifting short story of machines and humans, of intense emotions and cutting-age technology culled from tomorrow’s headlines. “Full of character and wit” - Zone SF "Wonderful and full of promise.” - SF Revu

    She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.Three short lines, fired over social media in response to questions of why Senator Elizabeth Warren was silenced on the floor of the United States Senate, for daring to read aloud the words of Coretta Scott King. As this message was transmitted across the globe, it has become a galvanizing cry for people of all genders in recognition of the struggles that women have faced throughout history.Three short lines, which read as if they are the opening passage to an epic and ageless tale.We have assembled this flash fiction collection featuring several of the best writers in SF/F today, including Seanan McGuire, Charlie Jane Anders, Maria Dahvana Headley, Jo Walton, Amal El-Mohtar, Catherynne M. Valente, Brooke Bolander, Alyssa Wong, Kameron Hurley, Nisi Shawl and Carrie Vaughn. Together these authors share unique visions of women inventing, playing, loving, surviving, and – of course – dreaming of themselves beyond their circumstances.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    Quarterly 4 contains Issues 34 (Monsters), 35 (Dark Comedy) and 36 (Different), plus exclusive new content!TABLE OF CONTENTSIssue 34: Monsters“The Fire” by Timothy T. Murphy“Inhuman Resources” by William Gerke“Waiting in the Light in the Hungry Months” by Megan Engelhardt“Skin and Scales” by Rachel Bender“Monsters, Monsters Everywhere” by Carrie Cuinn“Raw Materials” by Bernie Mojzes (Exclusive New Fiction)Issue 35: Dark Comedy“Jezebel’s Blouse” by Timothy T. Murphy“Jason’s Shoes” by Richard Bist“The Execution of Zacharius Grubb” by Bethan Claire Price“Chasing Persephone” by Natalie Stachowski“Worse Than a Devil” by Sarina DorieIssue 36: Different“Black Betty” by Nisi Shawl“Portrait of a Courtesan” by Megan Arkenberg“The Last Recall” by Mason Ian Bundschuh“Second Place” by Sarah A. Drew“Zeppelin Follies” by Cat Rambo“The Remote-Controlled Doggirl” by Lara Ek“Beaumains” by Jo ThomasPoem: “Stuck On a Boat With a Soccer Mom” by Helen Estrada“Young Lions” by Zachary Jernigan“My Other Half” by Maria Stanislav“There Was a Little Girl” by Tom Howard (Exclusive New Fiction)ArtCover Art – “The Very Ugly Duckling” by Minna Sundberg

    These stories explore everything from artificial intelligence to parallel universes to video games, and each story is accompanied by an author’s note exploring the background and genesis of each story.   Howey’s incisive mind makes Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories a compulsively readable and thought-provoking selection of short works—from a modern master at the top of his game.

    Every week five friends get together to play a game-- a game they call the Apocalypse Game. It's a fun time with chips and beer and plotting the end of the world. Except this time, one of them is missing and the stakes are higher than ever before.Word count: ~3,900

    Written by top thriller author, Jeremy Robinson, these stories include all of the action, imagination and twists that fans have come to expect, but they also contain experiments into subjects and voices not normally touched on in his novels. INSOMNIA - In a world of super efficiency and equality, sleep is illegal and Feene keeps the masses going. THE EATER - Three children discover a writhing black puddle in the woods of New Hampshire. HARDEN’S TREE - A group of teens visit a tree planted atop the ashes of a mass murderer from late 1800’s. STAR CROSSED KILLERS - Two lovers, both deadly killers, compete for the same target. COUNTING SHEEP - A future terrorist gives an insomniac three minutes to fall asleep. HEARING AID - In the future, a deaf man is healed, but does he like what he hears? DARK SEED OF THE MOON - Vampires live, and kill, in the eternal shadow of the moon’s polar crater. FROM ABOVE - In the future, a detective goes after terrorists who vaporized his city--and his arm--from space. BOUGHT AND PAID FOR (Bonus Story) - A brutal character sketch for Scott Sigler’s THE CRYPT. EXCLUSIVE SAMPLES INCLUDED: -- THE LAST HUNTER by Jeremy Robinson -- CALLSIGN: KING by Jeremy Robinson and Sean Ellis -- THE SENTINEL by Jeremy Bishop -- SECONDWORLD by Jeremy Robinson PRAISE FOR JEREMY ROBINSON "Rocket-boosted action, brilliant speculation, and the recreation of a horror out of the mythologic past, all seamlessly blend into a rollercoaster ride of suspense and adventure." -- James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of JAKE RANSOM AND THE SKULL KING'S SHADOW "With THRESHOLD Jeremy Robinson goes pedal to the metal into very dark territory. Fast-paced, action-packed and wonderfully creepy! Highly recommended!" --Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of ROT & RUIN "Jeremy Robinson is the next James Rollins" -- Chris Kuzneski, NY Times bestselling author of THE SECRET CROWN "If you like thrillers original, unpredictable and chock-full of action, you are going to love Jeremy Robinson..."-- Stephen Coonts, NY Times bestselling author of DEEP BLACK: ARCTIC GOLD "How do you find an original story idea in the crowded action-thriller genre? Two words: Jeremy Robinson." -- Scott Sigler, NY Times Bestselling author of ANCESTOR "There's nothing timid about Robinson as he drops his readers off the cliff without a parachute and somehow manages to catch us an inch or two from doom." -- Jeff Long, New York Times bestselling author of THE DESCENT "Greek myth and biotechnology collide in Robinson's first in a new thriller series to feature the Chess Team... Robinson will have readers turning the pages..." -- Publisher's Weekly "Jeremy Robinson’s THRESHOLD is one hell of a thriller, wildly imaginative and diabolical, which combines ancient legends and modern science into a non-stop action ride that will keep you turning the pages until the wee hours. Relentlessly gripping from start to finish, don’t turn your back on this book!" -- Douglas Preston, NY Times bestselling author of IMPACT and BLASPHEMY "Jeremy Robinson is an original and exciting voice.

    Whether through the falsified historical record of the uniquely weird Swedish creature known as the “Pyret” or the title story, “Jagannath,” about a biological ark in the far future, Tidbeck’s unique imagination will enthrall, amuse, and unsettle you. How else to describe a collection that includes “Cloudberry Jam,” a story that opens with the line “I made you in a tin can”? Marvels, quirky character studies, and outright surreal monstrosities await you in what is likely to be one of the most talked-about short story collections of the year.Tidbeck is a rising star in her native country, having published a collection there in Swedish, won a prestigious literary grant, and just sold her first novel to Sweden’s largest publisher. A graduate of the iconic Clarion Writer’s Workshop at the University of California, San Diego, in 2010, her publication history includes Weird Tales, Shimmer Magazine, Unstuck Annual and the anthology Odd.

    Clough FOR I AM A JEALOUS PEOPLE! by Lester del Rey LUVVER, by Mack Reynolds FROG LEVEL, by Bud Webster CAPTAINS CONSPIRING AT THEIR MUTINIES, by Jay Lake SHIFTING SEAS, by Stanley G. Weinbaum THROUGH TIME AND SPACE WITH FERDINAND FEGHOOT: 8, by Grendel Briarton ROCK GARDEN, by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. THE GENOA PASSAGE, by George Zebrowski EIGHT O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING, by Ray Faraday Nelson I AM TOMORROW, by Lester del Rey WHEN THEY COME FROM SPACE, by Mark Clifton THE SEALED SKY, by Cynthia Ward METEOR STRIKE! by Donald E. Westlake WAITING FOR THE COIN TO DROP, by Dean Wesley Smith BEYOND THE DARKNESS, by S. J. Byrne THE SMALLEST GOD, by Lester del Rey THE SCIENCE FICTION ALPHABET, by Allen Glasser CANAL, by Carl Jacobi THE LOCH MOOSE MONSTER, by Janet Kagan MY FAIR PLANET, by Evelyn E. Smith BEFORE EDEN, by Arthur C. Clarke SEQUENCE, by Carl Jacobi PREFERRED RISK, by Frederik Pohl and Lester del Rey INTEVIEW: FREDERIK POHL, conducted by Darrell SchweitzerIf 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!

    Left to fend for herself, all hope gone, she happens upon a helpless woman being attacked and tries her best to stop it.Breaking a few laws in the process.Now she has a choice, either learn to be an apprentice Guardian until things settle down, or learn to survive on the streets.The decision is easy, since eating is far more pleasant than starvation, or so she assumes. Being a Guardian is a lot more than she bargained for however and with each passing day it become far more obvious that something is very wrong with the world.Because people have started to worship the technologies of the past, and as a Guardian, no matter how new, it's up to her to stop them.Before they destroy the world.