In the winter of 2005, after the horrifying natural disaster of the tsunami in Southeast Asia, Steve Savile and Alethea Kontis joined forces to raise money to help the distressed survivors and have created Elemental. They solicited SF and fantasy stories, all new and never published elsewhere, from many of the top writers in the genres today, and received immediate responses in the form of the excellent stories here in this book. Elemental has an introduction by Arthur C.Clarke and more than twenty stories by Brian Aldiss, David Drake, Jacqueline Carey, Martha Wells, Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman, Eric Nylund, Sherrilyn Kenyon writing as Kinley MacGregor, and a Dune story by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and many others. They created in Elemental one of the most important genre anthologies of the year, but more than that: in giving real value for the purchase price, everyone who sells this book can be proud, and everyone who buys it will be richly rewarded for supporting the tsunami relief effort. "The entire collection constitutes thought-provoking entertainment for a good cause, with all publisher and author profits earmarked for the Save the Children Tsunami Relief Fund."--Booklist
The twenty-eight stories in this collection imaginatively take us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including: * Cory Doctorow * Robert Charles Wilson * Michael Swanwick * Ian McDonald * Benjamin Rosenbaum * Kage Baker * Bruce McAllister * Alastair Reynolds * Jay Lake * Ruth Nestvold * Gregory Benford * Justin Stanchfield * Walter Jon Williams * Greg Van Eekhout * Robert Reed * David D. Levine * Paul J. McAuley * Mary Rosenblum * Daryl Gregory * Jack Skillingstead * Paolo Bacigalupi * Greg Egan * Elizabeth Bear * Sarah Monette * Ken MacLeod * Stephen Baxter * Carolyn Ives Gilman * John Barnes * A.M. Dellamonica Supplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a list of honorable mentions, making this book a valuable resource in addition to serving as the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart.
Paranormal romance was never going to be content with just vampires and werewolves - and the fantastic stories within this collection lay claim to much, much more. Here you will find well-loved, bestselling authors writing under pseudonyms, fresh stars, and steadfast favourites, together offering an assorted feast of mythical beasts, magical creatures of all shapes and sizes, heart-stoppingly handsome ghosts, angels and mortals with extra-sensitive sensory perception play out the themes of extraordinary desires. If love transcends all boundaries, then paranormal romance is its logical conclusion. From the biggest names around, here are 41 tales to take you to another time and place.
Fall in love with someone out of this world. If love transcends all boundaries then paranormal romance is its logical conclusion. From the biggest names around, here are 24 tales to take you to another time and place. Let Alyssa Day, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Cheyenne McCray, Jeaniene Frost, Ilona Andrews, Kelley Armstrong, Maria V. Snyder, Carrie Vaughn, Allyson James Marland and others show you powers beyond your wildest imaginings. Within these pages mythical beasts, magical creatures of all shapes and sizes, heart-stoppingly handsome ghosts, angels, and mortals with extra-sensitive sensory perception play out the themes of extraordinary desires.
Consider this handbook your education. Hunter 101. And don't go thinking you got off easy just because there's not a pop quiz at the end. This is the good stuff. The real deal. In here you'll find out all there is to know about being a Dark-Hunter. Now for the disclaimer: This book is mutable. It goes with the wind. It changes more often than the mind of a sixteen-year-old Gemini with a closet full of clothes and a date in an hour. Don't be surprised if you open it up for the thirty-five thousandth time and find something old, something new, something borrowed or. . .well you get the point. Curl up in a comfy chair with some millennium-old scotch and feast upon the informative banquet I have prepared for your enjoyment. Welcome to your new life. ---From the Dark-Hunter Companion
Essays in this volume demonstrate how science fiction can serve as a bridge between the sciences and the humanities. The essays show how early writers like Dante and Mary Shelley revealed a gradual shift toward a genuine understanding of science; how H.G. Wells first showed the possibilities of combining scientific and humanistic perspectives; how writers influenced by Gernsback's ideas, like Isaac Asimov, illustrated the ways that literature could interact with science and assist in its progress; and how more recent writers offer critiques of science and its practitioners.
Eight epic science fiction tales set in the breathtaking world of Dune. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have written thirteen international bestselling novels set in this epic universe. But the wealth of material leaves many side tales or interesting ideas that can be told, hors d’oeuvres to accompany the exotic main course. Sometimes, a short story is exactly what’s needed. Tales of Dune collects eight of Herbert and Anderson’s Dune short stories, ranging from the period of the Butlerian Jihad, to the time of young Paul Atreides, to a story set during the events of the novel Dune, to the very end of Frank Herbert’s future history. These are the missing pieces in the epic of Dune. Includes the stories: “Hunting Harkonnens” “Whipping Mek” “The Faces of a Martyr” “Red Plague” “Wedding Silk” “A Whisper of Calandan Seas” “Sea Child” “Treasure in the Sand”
Here are weird stories set in the present, along with alternative histories filled with gritty realism and exacting detail as well as an assortment of horrors and monsters. Most of all, here are the tough heroes who throughout time master their own fears and face the very real terrors that haunt existence. Sometimes these heroes win a partial victory. Sometimes its enough to go down fighting. Before Drake was a best-selling author of military science fiction, he was a prolific writer of horror and fantasy short fiction. _Denkirch,Ó Drakes first sale, is here, and well as many stories set in the worlds of his fantasy novels (Ranks of Bronze, Lord of the Isles, and others). More than just a collection of stories, Night & Demons features extensive story notes that chronicle the development of one of science fiction's most popular writers, and provide detailed snapshots of the larger-than-life editors, publishers, and writers with whom Drake has worked throughout his career. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About David Drake: _[T]he way Drake takes a tried formula and turns it on its ear is what makes him one of the modern masters of SF.Ó _Otherwhere Gazette _[P]rose as cold and hard s the metal alloy of a tank ã rivals Crane and Remarque ãÓ _Chicago Sun-Times _Drake couldnt write a bad action scene at gunpoint.Ó _Booklist About David Drakes RCN series: _[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera.Ó -Publishers Weekly on the _RCNÓ series. _The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!Ó _Philadelphia Weekly Press _[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes alongãcharacter development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs.Ó _SFReader.com
This retrospective collection of stories from all phases of Niven's writing career is rich with gossip, storytelling vigor, and sheer science-fictional play.