Victor Frankenstein; a rivalry between brothers complicates the interpretation of a message from the stars; two girls discover that the cruel social rituals of adolescence apply differently in fact than fiction...The depth and breadth of what science fiction and fantasy fiction is changes with every passing year. The stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully maps this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer.Jonathan Strahan has edited more than twenty anthologies and collections, including The Locus Awards, The New Space Opera, The Jack Vance Treasury, and a number of year's best annuals. He has won the Ditmar, William J. Atheling Jr., and Peter McNamara Awards for his work as an anthologist, and is the reviews editor for Locus.--back coverExhalation / Ted Chiang -- Shoggoths in bloom / Elizabeth Bear -- Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the angel / Peter S. Beagle -- Fixing Hanover / Jeff VanderMeer -- The gambler / Paolo Bacigalupi -- The dust assassin / Ian McDonald -- Virgin / Holly Black -- Pride and Prometheus / John Kessel -- The thought war / Paul McAuley -- Beyond the sea gates of the Scholar Pirates of Sarsköe / Garth Nix -- The small door / Holly Phillips -- Turing's apples / Stephen Baxter -- The New York Times at special bargain rates / Stephen King -- Five thrillers / Robert Reed -- The magician's house / Meghan McCarron -- Goblin music / Joan Aiken -- Machine maid / Margo Lanagan -- The art of alchemy / Ted Kosmatka -- 26 Monkeys, also The abyss / Kij Johnson -- Marry the sun / Rachel Swirsky -- Crystal nights / Greg Egan -- His master's voice / Hannu Rajaniemi -- Special economics / Maureen F. McHugh -- Evidence of love in a case of abandonment / M. Rickert -- From Babel's fall'n glory we fled / Michael Swanwich -- If angels fight / Richard Bowes -- The doom of love in small spaces / Ken Scholes -- Pretty monsters / Kelly Link.

    Brave New Worlds brings together the best dystopian fiction of the last 30 years, demonstrating the diversity that flourishes in this compelling subgenre. This landmark tome contains stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Cory Doctorow, M. Rickert, Paolo Bacigalupi, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, and many others.Table of ContentsIntroduction / John Joseph Adams --Lottery / Shirley Jackson --Red card / S.L. Gilbow --Ten with a flag / Joseph Paul Haines --Ones who walk away from Omelas / Ursula K. Le. Guin --Evidence of love in a case of abandonment / M. Rickert --The Funeral / Kate Wilhelm --O happy day! / Geoff Ryman --Pervert / Charles Coleman Finlay --From homogeneous to honey / Neil Gaiman & Bryan Talbot --Billennium / J.G. Ballard --Amaryllis / Carrie Vaughn --Pop squad / Paolo Bacigalupi --Auspicious eggs / James Morrow --Peter Skilling / Alex Irvine --The Pedestrian / Ray Bradbury --Things that make me weak and strange get engineered away / Cory Doctorow --Pearl diver / Caitlin R. Kiernan --Dead space for the unexpected / Geoff Ryman --"Repent harlequin!", said the Ticktockman / Harlan Ellison --Is this your day to join the revolution? / Genevieve Valentine --Independence day / Sarah Langan --Lunatics / Kim Stanley Robinson --Sacrament / Matt Williamson --Minority report / Philip K. Dick --Just do it / Heather Lindsley --Harrison Bergeron / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. --Caught in the organ draft / Robert Silverberg --Geriatric ward / Orson Scott Card --Arties aren't stupid / Jeremiah Tolbert --Jordan's waterhammer / Joe Mastroianni --Of a sweet slow dance in the wake of temporary dogs / Adam-Troy Castro --Resistance / Tobias S. Buckell --Civilization / Vylar Kaftan.

    Unabashedly classic in the great tradition of Asimov and Clarke, Liu Cixin's science-fiction is firmly rooted in the cosmic. “[most] literature has always left me with the impression of indulging an intense anthropocentric narcissism. […] In the world of literature, the Sun exists for no other reason than to illuminate the pure, unadulterated countryside, the Moon has no other reason to shine than to cast the shadows of the seaside lovers, [but] if the universe is the Sahara, then all that makes the Earth a grain of gold within it, is that a particular bacteria called humanity clinging to its surface.” Liu Cixin uses the unique perspective of science-fiction to take us on a journey into this majestic, desolate cosmos. He gives us the chance to reacquaint ourselves with the fundamental truth that in the face of a vast universe we are no more than a speck of dust; That the Earth is just another celestial body – And an extremely vulnerable one at that. The flash of a gamma-ray burst or the blast of a nearby supernova could, at any moment, reduce our cherished home to nothing but ashes.It can be terrifying to contemplate the end of our world and stories that describe such destruction can be disturbing. At the same time however, they can leave us feeling not only entertained, but exhilarated and inspired. Maybe, they can even give us a chance to renew our love of life. Most stories found in the “The Wandering Earth” collection take us to a sci-fi vision of Earth's end. But here, there are no Hollywood aliens, descending from the depths of space to blow up our cities. In these futures, the dangers humanity faces are much stranger and whimsical than that. The unexpected calamities that befall his richly detailed worlds are only eclipsed by humanity's epic, but always plausible, attempts to escape destruction.In all this peril and doom, Liu Cixin always feels for humanity. His stories are full of a deep love for all of Earth's peoples. But even this love does not escape reflection and even ridicule when viewed through his unrelenting cosmic lens. No matter how dearly one loves the Earth, humanity and all its cultures, there is no avoiding the cold, hard truth that they mean absolutely nothing when viewed against the vastness of the universe. But even an infinite universe could not change the simple fact that we are worthy of love, that we need love. It is this twist that lies at the very heart of the stories in this collection.Table of Contents 1 The Wandering Earth 2 Mountain 3 Of Ants and Dinosaurs 4 Sun of China 5 The Wages of Humanity 6 Curse 5.0 7 The Micro-Age 8 Devourer 9 Taking Care of Gods 10 With Her Eyes 11 The Longest Fall

    The longest, loneliest railroad on Earth. A North Korean nuke hitting Tokyo, a hollow asteroid full of automated rice paddies, and a specialist in breaking up “virtual” marriages. And yes, giant robots. These thirteen stories from and about the Land of the Rising Sun run the gamut from fantasy to cyberpunk, and will leave you knowing that the future is Japanese! Contributors:-Pat Cadigan-Toh EnJoe-Project Itoh-Hideyuki Kikuchi-Ken Liu-David Moles-Issui Ogawa-Felicity Savage-Ekaterina Sedia-Bruce Sterling-Rachel Swirsky-TOBI Hirotaka-Catherynne M. Valente

    Imprisoned and forced to share a cell with a cannibalistic serial killer, Cal thinks things can't possibly get any worse. He is wrong. It’s not until two-thirds of the human race is wiped out and Cal is abducted by aliens that his day really starts to go downhill. Whisked across the galaxy, Cal is thrown into a team of some of the sector's most notorious villains and scumbags. Their mission should be simple enough, but as one screw-up leads to another, they find themselves in a frantic battle to save an entire alien civilization - and its god - from total annihilation. A hilarious, fast-paced space adventure from the author the Independent calls "the new Terry Pratchett."

    Dominant aliens allow humans to the stars only as mercenaries. Swordsman Kana and his comrades, betrayed by Central Command, march across hostile planet Fronn. Star Rangers 1953, The Last Planet 1955. 4K years later, telepath Kartr and Patrollers crash on a beautiful unknown yet familiar world and seek the source of a beacon to safety.

    Another tale tells of the heroic exploits of “sysadmins”—systems administrators—as they defend the cyberworld, and hence the world at large, from worms and bioweapons. And yes, there’s a story about zombies, too.

    They have been the subject of films, radio dramatizations and have even been presented on ice Read the originals now and one of the world's greatest ever story tellers will give you hours of pleasure and enjoyment.Stories included are: "Around the World in 80 Days, The Clipper of the Clouds, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon" and "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea."

    L. Moore created Jirel, ruler of Joiry, in reaction to the beefy total-testosterone blood-and-thunder tales of '30s pulp magazines, but Jirel is no anti-Conan. She's a good Catholic girl, stubbornly purposeful, relentless in pursuit of enemies or vengeance, hard-boiled and a little stupid, and cannot be distracted by mere physical attractiveness. Indeed, in Jirel's world, beauty = decadence = corruption. Were these stories written today, inevitably Jirel would have a lot of hot sex, but as they were first published in Weird Tales between 1934-1939, sexual attraction is mostly only vividly implied. No loss. Jirel's journeys through unnatural landscapes and her battles with supernatural opponents are still wonderful to read, and though newcomers Red Sonja and Xena are more famous now, Jirel rules as the archetypal, indomitable redheaded swordswoman in chain mail and greaves, swinging her "great two-edged sword."Contents:· Jirel Meets Magic · nv Weird Tales Jul ’35 · Black God’s Kiss · nv Weird Tales Oct ’34 · Black God’s Shadow · nv Weird Tales Dec ’34 · The Dark Land · nv Weird Tales Jan ’36 · Hellsgarde · nv Weird Tales Apr ’39

    Social criticism, political parable, and environmental advocacy lie at the center of Paolo's work. Each of the stories herein is at once a warning, and a celebration of the tragic comedy of the human experience.The eleven stories in Pump Six represent the best Paolo's work, including the Hugo nominee "Yellow Card Man," the nebula and Hugo nominated story "The People of Sand and Slag," and the Sturgeon Award-winning story "The Calorie Man."

    Many of the stories in this collection were published during the heyday of popular science fiction magazines from the 1930s to the 1950s.Included within this work are stories by Poul Anderson, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Phillip K. Dick, Randall Garrett, Paul Ernst, Kurt Vonnegut, Jack Williamson, Phillip Jose Farmer, Lester Del Rey, Leigh Brackett, Fredric Brown, Murray Leinster, Ben Bova, and many others.This collection includes an active table of contents for easy navigation.A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder (James De Mille)A World by the Tale (Randall Garrett)A World is Born (Leigh Brackett)Accidental Death (Peter Baily)Arena (Fredric Brown)Atom Boy (Ray Cummings)Beyond Lies the Wub (Phillip K. Dick)Blind Spot (Bascom Jones)Cully (Jack Egan)Dead Giveaway (Randall Garrett)Dead Ringer (Lester Del Rey)Dead World (Jack Douglas)Divinity (Joseph Samachson)Four Miles Within (Anthony Gilmore)Heist Job on Thizar (Randall Garrett)Hex (Laurence Janifer)In the Year 2889 (Jules Verne)Indulgence of Negu Mah (Robert Arthur)Lease to Doomsday (Lee Archer)Lost in Translation (Laurence Janifer)McIlvane’s Star (August Derleth)Missing Link (Frank Herbert)Next Logical Step (Ben Bova)Pandemic (J.F. Bone)Remember the Alamo (T.R. Fehrenbach)Salvage in Space (Jack Williamson)Security (Poul Anderson)Subspace Survivors (E.E. “Doc” Smith)The Aliens (Murray Leinster)The Big Trip Up Yonder (Kurt Vonnegut)The Chronic Argonauts (H.G. Wells)The Cosmic Express (Jack Williamson)The Day Time Stopped Moving (Bradner Buckner)The Eternal Wall (Raymond Z. Gallun)The Gifts of Asti (Andre Norton)The Hated (Frederick Pohl)The Last Evolution (John W. Campbell)The Man Who Saw the Future (Edmond Hamilton)The Memory of Mars (Raymond F. Jones)The Moon is Green (Fritz Leiber)The Nothing Equation (Tom Godwin)The Power and the Glory (Charles W. Diffin)The Radiant Shell (Paul Ernst)The Stoker and the Stars (Algis Budrys)The Street That Wasn’t There (Carl Jacobi and Clifford D. Simak)The World Behind the Moon (Paul Ernst)There is a Reaper (Charles De Vet)They Twinkled Like Jewels (Phillip José Farmer)Waste Not, Want (Dave Dryfoos)Year of the Big Thaw (Marion Zimmer Bradley)

    

    Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, Year’s Best SF 16 features some of the brightest stars of the genre—including Gregory Benford, Cory Doctrow, Joe Haldeman, and Michael Swanwick. From space travel to time travel to journeys through the mind, brilliant and original speculative fiction is alive and well and magnificently celebrated in this splendid compendium of plausible wonders.

    Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the End of the World. In science fiction, the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild. THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH will tell their stories.Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME focuses on life after the apocalypse.THE END IS NIGH features all-new, never-before-published works by Hugh Howey, Paolo Bacigalupi, Jamie Ford, Seanan McGuire, Tananarive Due, Jonathan Maberry, Robin Wasserman, Nancy Kress, Charlie Jane Anders, Ken Liu, and many others.

    The 32 tales of science fiction and fantasy assembled in this massive volume include: ARENAEXPERIMENTKEEP OUTHAPPY ENDINGHALL OF MIRRORSEARTHMEN BEARING GIFTSIMAGINEIT DIDN'T HAPPENRECESSIONALEINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIKPUPPET SHOWNIGHTMARE IN YELLOWJAYCEEPI IN THE SKYANSWERTHE GEEZENSTACKSKNOCKREBOUNDTHE STAR MOUSEABOMINABLELETTER TO A PHOENIXNOT YET THE ENDARMAGEDDONOF TIME AND EUSTACE WEAVERRECONCILIATIONNOTHING SIRIUSPATTERNTHE YEHUDI PRINCIPLECOME AND GO MADSENTRYETAOIN SHRDLUTHE ENDNOW AVAILABLE: The Second Fredric Brown Megapack! (Search this ebook store for the companion volume, with another great set of Fredric Brown tales!)And don't forget to search this ebook store for ʺWildside Press Megapackʺ to see more entries in this great series (including "The Second Fredric Brown Megapack"), covering classic authors and subjects like mysteries, science fiction, westerns, ghost stories -- and much, much more!