Search Worlds Without End

Stories by Eric Brown, Paul McAuley, Brian Aldiss, and more bright stars from the Science Fiction firmament.

From the best of the U.K. here are fifteen original stories-as varied as the star systems in our universe-that explore everything from outer space to inner space and cosmology to astrology.

Table of Contents:

• Britain Swings! - essay by Peter CrowtherA Heritage of Stars - short story by Eric Brown
• Rats of the System - short story by Paul J. McAuley
• Ten Billion of Them - short story by Brian W. Aldiss
• Star! - short story by Tony Ballantyne
• Lakes of Light - novelette by Stephen Baxter
• No Cure for Love - short story by Roger Levy
• The Navigator's Children - short story by Ian Watson
• A Different Sky - short story by Keith Brooke
• The Fulcrum - novelette by Gwyneth Jones
• The Meteor Party - short story by James Lovegrove
• Written in the Stars - novelette by Ian McDonald
• The Order of Things - novelette by Adam Roberts
• The Little Bear - short story by Justina Robson
• Kings - novelette by Colin Greenland
• Beyond the Aquila Rift - novelette by Alastair Reynolds

Contents:

• Scholarly Marauders: An Introduction - essay by James O'Barr
• Bed & Breakfast - novelette by Gene Wolfe
• Chatting With Anubis - short story by Harlan Ellison
• The Ripening Sweetness of Late Afternoon - short story by Douglas Clegg
• A Wreath for Marley - novelette by Max Allan Collins
• Smart Guy - short story by Darrell Schweitzer
• The Great Escape - short story by Ian Watson
• Hell is for Children - short story by Nancy Holder
• Dropoff - short story by Brian Herbert and Marie Landis
• Canto (Evocare!) - poem by James S. Dorr
• Tunnels - short fiction by Rick Hautala
• Hell Is a Personal Place - (1987) - short story by Brian Lumley
• The Kingsbury Technique - (1996) - short fiction by Wayne Allen Sallee and Sean Doolittle
• The Bridge Over the River Styx - short story by Jody Lynn Nye
• Islington - short story by Ian McDonald
• Get on Board the D Train - novelette by Gary Gygax
• Epiphany - short story by Rick R. Reed
• Screams at the Gateway to Fame - novelette by Ray Garton
• Elegy for a Maestro - poem by Alexandra Elizabeth Honigsberg
• Above It All - short story by Robert J. Sawyer
• The Burdens - short story by Steve Rasnic Tem
• A Taste of Heaven - short story by James Lovegrove
• Ferryman - short story by Doug Murray
• Return to Gehenna - short story by Storm Constantine
• Dark Society - short story by Brian W. Aldiss
• Office Space - short story by Richard Lee Byers
• Among the Handlers or, The Mark 16 Hands On Assembly of Jesus Risen, Formerly Snake-o-rama - novelette by Michael Bishop

A former bestselling author sits at the typewriter day after day, fearing his talent spent, unable to produce a sentence. The typewriter taunts him, and he abandons it for days until the night he hears the sound. It is faint, at first, but grows louder. It reminds him of something he can't quite place. He begins to type, describing the sound - the first words he's written in months. On the page, a train appears far in the distance, speeding across the plains. As he continues to write, the train's destination appears on the horizon: a small town from the 1950s - Escardy Gap.

Escardy Gap is a re-creation of the writer's hometown in the Midwest. The characters that begin to appear - Mayor Raymond, Station Master Walt - are all memories from his childhood. A pack of boys abandons their baseball game, running toward the unexpected train, and with a start the writer recognizes himself as one of them. Who or what is on the train and why it has come to Escardy Gap does not seem important. The words are flowing faster than they ever have. But the writer has a terrible sense of foreboding, and though something doesn't seem quite right about this train and its passengers, he can't stop writing. This may be the blockbuster novel that saves his career. Or it may be the beginning of his descent into madness as the disturbingly real creatures of his imagination threaten to take over both the story and his life.

An anthology of science fiction short stories by some of today's top authors to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet. Filled to the brim with provocative tales of worlds where humans were never meant to go.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (2006) - essay by Ray Bradbury
• Passion Ploy - novelette by Matthew Hughes
• Lehr, Rex - novelette by Jay Lake
• Dust - novelette by Paul J. McAuley
• Tiger, Burning - novelette by Alastair Reynolds
• The Singularity Needs Women! - novelette by Paul Di Filippo
• Dreamers' Lake - short story by Stephen Baxter
• Eventide - short story by Chris Roberson
• What We Still Talk About - novelette by Scott Edelman
• Kyle Meets the River - novelette by Ian McDonald
• Forebearing Planet - short story by Michael Moorcock
• This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine - short story by Alex Irvine
• Me-Topia - novelette by Adam Roberts
• Forbidden Planet - (2006) - essay by Stephen Baxter
• Author and Story Notes - (2006) - essay by uncredited

Mars has been a seminal setting for countless science fiction adventures-from the worship of Mars as the god of war, to the image of the "angry red planet," the invaders from The War of the Worlds, the mysterious "canals" of Mars, the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels set on Mars, innumerable science fiction movies set on Mars or featuring Martians who come to Earth, and of course, Ray Bradbury's classic The Martian Chronicles.

This fine volume contains seventeen imagination-grabbing tales ranging from the incredible discovery made by a native Martian species which may change the entire course of their future... to a reporter hunting down the crew of the very first mission to land on Mars... to a "rescue" mission to recover an astronaut "kidnapped" by Martians... to a Ray Bradbury Mars story never before published in the United States.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: The Fascination of Mars - essay by Patrick Moore
• The Love Affair - (1982) - short story by Ray Bradbury
• Myths of the Martian Future - short story by Eric Brown
• A Martian Theodicy - short story by Paul Di Filippo
• The Real Story - novelette by Alastair Reynolds
• Flower Children of Mars - short story by Mike Resnick and M. Shayne Bell
• Out of the Blue, Into the Red - short story by James Lovegrove
• Mom, the Martians, and Me - short story by Scott Edelman
• The Old Cosmonaut and the Construction Worker Dream of Mars - novelette by Ian McDonald
• A Walk Across Mars - novelette by Allen Steele
• Martian Autumn - short story by Stephen Baxter
• Shields of Mars - short story by Gene Wolfe
• Under Mars - short story by Paul J. McAuley
• The War of the Worldviews - short story by James Morrow
• Near Earth Object - short story by Brian W. Aldiss
• The Me After the Rock - short story by Patrick O'Leary
• Lost Sorceress of the Silent Citadel - novelette by Michael Moorcock
• Author Biographies - essay by uncredited

On July 20, 1969, the United States astronauts landed on the moon. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of that historic event, many of the top writers in the science fiction field have agreed to write individual stories centered on the moon. Included, as well, is an introduction by noted science fiction and science fact writer and editor Ben Bova.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Ben Bova
• An Apollo Asteroid - short fiction by Brian W. Aldiss
• Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon? - short story by Gene Wolfe
• Ashes and Tombstones - short fiction by Brian Stableford
• The Way to Norwich - short fiction by Colin Greenland
• Steps Along the Way - short story by Eric Brown
• The Moon Tree - short fiction by Jerry Oltion
• The Last Man on the Moon - short fiction by Scott Edelman
• Carry the Moon in My Pocket - short story by James Lovegrove
• Moon Hunters - short fiction by Kathleen M. Massie-Ferch
• The Little Bits That Count - short story by Alan Dean Foster
• People Came from Earth - short story by Stephen Baxter
• Visions of the Green Moon - short fiction by Robert Sheckley
• How We Lost the Moon, a True Story by Frank W. Allen - short story by Paul J. McAuley
• The Man Who Stole the Moon - novelette by Paul Di Filippo
• Elegy - short fiction by Michelle West
• Breakfast on the Moon, with Georges - short fiction by Ian McDonald

Any book in which William F. Buckley Jr. cohabits with camp king Forrest J Ackerman is nothing if not diverse. Indeed, the theme of entombment takes many shapes in the 21 stories and one poem (Ackerman's goofy intro defies classification) that comprise this satisfying anthology that embraces a variety of genres and prose styles. Some of the tombs, like a jukebox containing someone's ashes in Michael Bishop's witty "Epistrophy" or the belly of a fantastic whale in Stewart von Allmen's "He on Honeydew," are literal. Others, as in Buckley's "The Temptation of Wilfred Malachey," are more metaphorical, dealing with characters trapped by fate or their own natures. Most stories have some touch of horror; although in Charles de Lint's "Heartfires" and Ian McDonald's "The Time Garden," the mythic and the frightening become delightfully homey. Some authors inject elements of science fiction (Ben Bova, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Colin Greenland); some call on the supernatural (Lisa Tuttle, Nancy A. Collins, S.P. Somtow); some conjure exotic adventure (Michael Moorcock, Storm Constantine); and some stick to realism (Larry Bond and Chris Carlson's "Burial at Sea" is an emotionally effective story about a submarine accident). This is agreeable grab bag of claustrophobic, mortifying pleasures.

• Tomb Swift - essay by Forrest J. Ackerman
• In Trust - short story by Ben Bova
• The Amber Room - novelette by Ian Watson
• The Butterfly Effect - novelette by Kathleen Ann Goonan
• Epistrophy - short story by Michael Bishop
• No Ordinary Christian: A Tale of the Far Magrib - novelette by Michael Moorcock
• White Lady's Grave - short story by Lisa Tuttle
• Burial at Sea - short story by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson
• The Unchained - short story by Kathe Koja and Barry N. Malzberg
• The Time Garden: A Faery Story - novelette by Ian McDonald
• He on Honeydew - short story by Stewart Wieck [as by Stewart von Allmen ]
• City Deep - short story by Jeremy Dyson
• But None I Think There Do Embrace - short story by S. P. Somtow
• Tales of Britannica Castle: Ginansia's Ravishment - novelette by Christopher Fowler
• Heartfires - short story by Charles de Lint
• Drowning With Others - short story by Gary A. Braunbeck
• Station of the Cross - short story by Colin Greenland
• Queen of Knives - short story by Neil Gaiman
• God's Bright Little Engine - short story by Stephen Gallagher
• The Darkest Doctrine - short story by Brad Linaweaver
• The Land of the Reflected Ones - short story by Nancy A. Collins
• The Temptation of Wilfred Malachey - novelette by William F. Buckley, Jr.
• Blue Flame of a Candle - novelette by Storm Constantine

Fifteen original stories about our fear of and fascination with artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence has captured the imaginations of writers, readers, and scientists alike, from Karl Capek's R.U.R. to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, from Robby the Robot to The Terminator and The Bicentennial Man, and, of course, Arthur C. Clarke's Hal 9000.

Now some of the most innovative thinkers in science fiction offer an intriguing variety of tales featuring the many forms of AI, from frightening to funny. These authors confront one of contemporary mankind's deepest concerns, what do we do when the machines we created evolve beyond us?

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Paul J. McAuley
• Tempest 43 - novelette by Stephen Baxter
• The Highway Code - novelette by Brian Stableford
• Salvage Rites - short story by Eric Brown
• The Kamikaze Code - short story by James Lovegrove
• Adam Robots - short story by Adam Roberts
• Seeds - novelette by Tony Ballantyne
• Lost Places of the Earth - short story by Steven Utley
• The Chinese Room - short story by Marly Youmans
• Three Princesses - short story by Robert Reed
• The New Cyberiad - novelette by Paul Di Filippo
• That Laugh - short story by Patrick O'Leary
• Alles In Ordnung - short story by Garry Kilworth
• Sweats - novelette by Keith Brooke
• Some Fast Thinking Needed - short story by Ian Watson
• Dragon King of the Eastern Sea - novelette by Chris Roberson
• About the Authors - essay by uncredited

The excesses of a business man whose power comes from the ritualised abuse of his doppelganger; cannibalism and angelic visitations during the siege of Leningrad; Dracula prowling through Warhol's Factory pursued by Travis Bickle; a man who 'vaccinates' his rich clients against the perils of kidnapping little knowing that he is a middle-man for extra-terrestrials : four stories of the fantastic that throw a new light on our world and our lives. Four varied visions unified by the skill of four of the UK's most internationally successful and critically acclaimed authors.

Table of Contents:

• The Long and the Short of It - (2000) - essay by Peter Crowther
• Leningrad Nights - (1999) - novella by Graham Joyce
• Andy Warhol's Dracula - (1999) - novella by Kim Newman
• How the Other Half Lives - (1999) - novella by James Lovegrove
• The Vaccinator - (1999) - novella by Michael Marshall Smith

With a brand new novella set in a fresh universe, from Peter F. Hamilton (the latest and most dramatic breakout SF author to follow the mainstream success of lain M. Banks), a new novella from the internationally significant Stephen Baxter and new novellas from two of the most critically acclaimed authors writing today, Futures will be an essential purchase both for fans of these authors and for anyone wanting a snapshot of the British SF scene as the genre rides the wave of success that has seen it dominate the world SF market in recent years.

Table of Contents:

• The Infinite Frontier - (2001) - essay by Peter Crowther
• Reality Dust - (2000) - novella by Stephen Baxter
• Watching Trees Grow - (2000) - novella by Peter F. Hamilton
• Making History - (2000) - novella by Paul J. McAuley
• Tendeléo's Story - (2000) - novella by Ian McDonald

Four new novellas from four of the best writers of British SF, gathered together in one volume with a new introduction by Peter Crowther. A perfect illustration of why British SF is dominating the world SF market at the moment. Top class fiction, cutting edge design, innovative format - the perfect way to catch up with the latest from your favourite SF writers.

Table of Contents:

• A Rose by Any Other Name: An Introduction - essay by Peter Crowther
• A Writer's Life - (2001) - novella by Eric Brown
• The Human Front - (2001) - novella by Ken MacLeod
• Diamond Dogs - (2001) - novella by Alastair Reynolds
• Park Polar - (2001) - novella by Adam Roberts

China Miéville, Michael Moorcock, Paul Di Filippo, and Geoff Ryman: These award winners are on any list of the most inventive, popular, and critically acclaimed talents writing in the realms of fantasy and science fiction today. Their four original creations for this collection range from surreal visions of the infinite to high-tech nightmare; from apocalyptic ruins stalked by heroes and vampires to a near future where the aged terrorize the young.

Table of Contents:

• Off the Beaten Track: An Introduction - essay by Peter Crowther
• A Year in the Linear City - (2002) - novella by Paul Di Filippo
• The Tain - (2002) - novella by China Miéville
• Firing the Cathedral - (2002) - novella by Michael Moorcock
• V.A.O. - (2002) - novella by Geoff Ryman

Table of Contents:

• Foreword - essay by Peter Crowther
• Introduction - essay by Douglas E. Winter
• Beware Those Beasts Who Now and Then Disguise Themselves as Mortal Men - poem by Ray Bradbury
• The Sluice - short story by Stephen Gallagher
• The Needle-Men - short story by Nancy A. Collins
• The Outside Man - short story by Darrell Schweitzer
• The Silvering - novelette by Robert Holdstock
• The Swing of the Knife - short story by Chet Williamson
• The Scent of Elder Flowers - short story by Pauline E. Dungate
• A Prick of Thorn - short story by Rex Miller
• Glory - short story by Nicholas Royle
• Long Time Till Morning Comes - short story by Ed Gorman
• The Tale of Peg and the Brain - short story by Ian Watson
• Naming Names - novelette by Pat Cadigan
• Bird in the House - short story by Rick Hautala
• Bleeding Dry - novelette by Stephen Laws
• Three on a Match - short story by Kim Newman
• Cemetery Dance - short story by Richard Chizmar
• The Dead Must Die - novelette by Ramsey Campbell
• From a Narrow House - short story by William F. Nolan
• Upon the Gallows-Tree - short story by Brian Stableford
• Breaking the Rules - short story by Steve Rasnic Tem
• Down to the Sea - short story by Nancy Holder
• Breaking the Chain - short story by Peter James
• Stone Magic - short story by Andrew Vachss
• Evil Eye - short story by Christopher Fowler
• Learning to Leave - short story by Jonathan Carroll
• The Landlady's Dog - short story by James Lovegrove
• The Luncheonette of Lost Dreams - novelette by Ian McDonald
• From the Night Wind Comes - novelette by David B. Silva
• The Girl of My Dreams - novelette by J. N. Williamson

Table of Contents:

• Foreword - (1993) - essay by Peter Crowther
• Introduction - (1993) - essay by Ramsey Campbell
• Touch Wood - (1993) - poem by T. Winter-Damon
• Holding Hands - (1993) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Lodgings - (1993) - short story by Colin Greenland
• Breath - (1993) - short story by Adam Corbin Fusco
• Heart Flesh - (1993) - short story by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• The Ten O'Clock Horses - (1993) - short story by Paul Lewis
• Funny Weather - (1993) - short story by Steve Lockley
• For Love of Mother - (1993) - short story by Yvonne Navarro
• Eight Limbs - (1993) - novelette by John Brunner
• Little Lessons in Gardening - (1993) - short story by Karl Edward Wagner
• His Own Petard - (1993) - short story by Spider Robinson
• Spoil - (1993) - novelette by Stan Nicholls
• Dead Man's Shoes - (1993) - short story by Charles de Lint
• The Coffin Trimmer - (1993) - short story by Bill Pronzini
• Steps - (1993) - short story by Stella Hargreaves
• The Owner - (1993) - novelette by Michael Marshall Smith
• The Woods Be Dark - (1993) - short story by Bentley Little
• Traffic - (1993) - short story by Simon Ings
• The Mouse - (1993) - short story by Neil Gaiman
• The Ghost and the Soldier - (1993) - short story by William Relling, Jr.
• Oracle Bones - (1993) - short story by Garry Kilworth
• Borderlands - (1993) - novelette by Christopher Evans
• The Wager - (1993) - short story by Thomas F. Monteleone
• Mysteries of the Word: A Dark Fable - (1993) - novelette by Stanley Wiater
• Splints - (1993) - short story by D. F. Lewis

Table of Contents:

• Foreword - (1994) - essay by Peter Crowther
• Introduction - (1994) - essay by Dennis Etchison
• House of Omens - (1994) - poem by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
• Blue Motel - (1994) - novelette by Ian McDonald
• The Pond - (1994) - short story by Bentley Little
• The Dream of Antigone - short story by Brian W. Aldiss
• Susannah and the Snowbears - (1994) - novelette by Kathleen Ann Goonan
• The Burn - (1994) - short story by Conrad Williams
• Quarry's Luck - (1994) - novelette by Max Allan Collins
• The Curse - (1990) - short story by Ed Gorman
• Candle Magic - (1994) - short story by Storm Constantine
• Rosemary for Remembrance - (1994) - short story by James Lovegrove
• Betrayals - novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Reiver's Lament - (1994) - short story by Jonathan Aycliffe
• Isaac My Son - (1994) - short story by Carl West and Katherine MacLean
• The White Pirate - (1994) - novelette by Michael Moorcock
• The Legend of Pope Joan - (1994) - short story by David V. Barrett
• Grandma Babka's Christmas Ginger and the Good Luck/Bad Luck Leshy - (1991) - short story by Ken Wisman
• All in the Telling - (1994) - short story by Jeremy Dyson
• Green - (1994) - novella by Mark Morris