Search Worlds Without End

All These Worlds: Reviews and Essays

An engaging tour through the work and life of one of America's great science fiction writers

Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author Joe Haldeman burst onto the literary scene with the hugely popular novel The Forever War, but his career also took off on the strength of his short fiction. This brilliant collection brings together examples of his science fiction as well as his writing on Vietnam--and reveals the inexorable connections between the two.

The works included in Vietnam and Other Alien Worlds are united by its title essay, in which Haldeman explains how his past informs his envisioned futures. One of these futures is a grouping of four stories from the Confederación universe, which includes his novels All My Sins Remembered and There Is No Darkness. An anthropological expedition goes awry as a research team's subjects become murderous, and trade negotiations fall apart, comically lost in translation. The collection closes with one of Haldeman's most affective works about Vietnam--the moving narrative poem "DX."

Vietnam and Other Alien Worlds proves to be an anthology as versatile and multifaceted as the author who wrote it.

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay
Passages - (1990) - novelette
A !Tangled Web - (1981) - novelette
Seasons - (1985) - novella
The Mazel Tov Revolution - (1974) - shortstory
Vietnam and Other Alien Worlds - (1992) - essay
Not Being There - essay
Confessions of a Space Junkie - (1992) - essay
War Stories - essay
Photographs and Memories - essay
Saul's Death - (1983) - poem
Homecoming - (1990) - poem
Time Lapse - (1989) - poem
DX - (1987) - poem

The Broken Worlds

Raymond Harris

THESE ARE THE BROKEN WORLDS...

MARS... center of the fractured universe, planet of immortal warlords and cloned warriors, fallen now to the alien invaders.

PARMENIO... fog-shrouded pleasure planer, playground of the decadent, where anythi9ng and anybody could be bought--or stolen.

LOEI... world of towering peaks, rife with intrigue and dander, rumored hiding place of the fabled fleet of Old Earth.

YNENGA... desert planer, home fo the bird-like Tu-u, with shifting sands that hide ancient secrets.

VIHARN... a world divided, where cloud dwellers turn traitor, and those who dwell on the land may hold the key to survival.

Attanio Hwin, reluctant messender. Chance and a beautiful woman have bfought him from the steamy streets of Parmenio to the vaulting corridors of a Martian veilship and the scattered settlements of the Galactic Arm. He carries a warning to the hostile inhabitants:

The aliens are coming.

The Broken Wrolds must unite... or die!

Niall Harrison

From a former editor of both Strange Horizons and Vector: The Critical Journal of the BSFA comes an essential critical overview of a formative period for contemporary science fiction and fantasy.

All These Worlds is Niall Harrison's first collection of reviews and essays, and examines work by authors as varied as Stephen Baxter, Liu Cixin, Bernadine Evaristo, and Kelly Link.

This retrospective collection of in-depth reviews and essays looks at SF between 2005 and 2014, painting a portrait of an increasingly international and diverse community of writers grappling with technological, political, social and ecological issues that in most cases remain only too relevant today.

Man of Two Worlds

Brian Herbert
Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert's last published novel, a charming and witty science fiction adventure coauthored with his son Brian. What if the entire universe were the creation of alien minds? After an unfortunate spaceship accident, the hedonistic and ambitious human Lutt Hansen, Jr., finds himself sharing his body and mind with a naive alien dreamer. The two have to survive numerous dangers, schemes and assassination attempts... but can they survive each other?

Floating Worlds

Cecelia Holland

2000 years in the future, runaway pollution has made the Earth uninhabitable except in giant biodomes. The society is an anarchy, with disputes mediated through the Machiavellian Committee for the Revolution. Mars, Venus and the Moon support flourishing colonies of various political stripes. On the fringes of the solar system, in the Gas Planets, a strange, new, violent kind of human has evolved. In this unstable system the anarchist Paula Mendoza, an agent of the Committee, works to make peace, and ultimately protect her people, in a catastrophic clash of worlds that destroys the order she knows.

The Library of Broken Worlds

Alaya Dawn Johnson

A girl and a god, alone in communion...

In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great peacekeeper of the three systems, a heinous secret lies buried - and Freida is the only one who can uncover it. As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library's ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique - and dangerous.

When Freida meets Joshua, a Tierran boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future.

With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives - if he doesn't destroy her first.

The Space Between Worlds

Micaiah Johnson

Multiverse travel is finally possible, but there's just one catch: No one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying – from disease, turf wars, or vendettas they couldn't outrun. Cara's life has been cut short on 372 worlds in total.

On this dystopian Earth, however, Cara has survived. Identified as an outlier and therefore a perfect candidate for multiverse travel, Cara is plucked from the dirt of the wastelands. Now what once made her marginalized has finally become an unexpected source of power. She has a nice apartment on the lower levels of the wealthy and walled-off Wiley City. She works – and shamelessly flirts – with her enticing yet aloof handler, Dell, as the two women collect off-world data for the Eldridge Institute. She even occasionally leaves the city to visit her family in the wastes, though she struggles to feel at home in either place. So long as she can keep her head down and avoid trouble, Cara is on a sure path to citizenship and security.

But trouble finds Cara when one of her eight remaining doppelgängers dies under mysterious circumstances, plunging her into a new world with an old secret. What she discovers will connect her past and her future in ways she could have never imagined – and reveal her own role in a plot that endangers not just her world, but the entire multiverse.

Two Worlds of Raymond F. Jones

Raymond F. Jones

Included in this volume are two short novels by Raymond F. Jones: "The Memory of Mars" originally appeared in the December, 1961 issue of Amazing Stories. "Cubs of the Wolf" originally appeared in the November, 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

Walking in Two Worlds

Wab Kinew

In the real world, Bugz is a shy and self-conscious Indigenous teen who faces the stresses of teenage angst and life on the Rez. But in the virtual world, her alter ego is not just confident but dominant in a massively multiplayer video game universe.

Feng is a teen boy who has been sent from China to live with his aunt, a doctor on the Rez, after his online activity suggests he may be developing extremist sympathies. Meeting each other in real life, as well as in the virtual world, Bugz and Feng immediately relate to each other as outsiders and as avid gamers. And as their connection is strengthened through their virtual adventures, they find that they have much in common in the real world, too: both must decide what to do in the face of temptations and pitfalls, and both must grapple with the impacts of family challenges and community trauma.

But betrayal threatens everything Bugz has built in the virtual world, as well as her relationships in the real world, and it will take all her newfound strength to restore her friendship with Feng and reconcile the parallel aspects of her life: the traditional and the mainstream, the east and the west, the real and the virtual.

Of All Possible Worlds

William Tenn

A unique imagination illuminates all of William Tenn's work. In this remarkable collection of his short stories, he ranges from the hilarious to the serious, demonstrating vividly his gift for making any dimension of reality as real and immediate as your own street. There are four or five amazing hours of reading for you in this book.

Now We Paint Worlds

Matthew Kressel

Orna, a representative of a universe-wide trade union, undergoes a drastic change in perspective while investigating the disappearance of three planets and their inhabitants on a newly terraformed world.

Read the full story for free at Tor Reactor.

Microworlds

Stanislaw Lem

In this bold and controversial examination of the past, present, and future of science fiction, Lem informs the raging debate over the literary merit of the genre with ten arch, incisive, provocative essays

New Worlds, Old Ways: Speculative Tales from the Caribbean

Karen Lord

Do not be misled by the 'speculative' in the title. Although there may be robots and fantastical creatures, these common symbols are tools to frame the familiar from fresh perspectives. Here you will find the recent past and ongoing present of government and society with curfews, crime, and corruption; the universal themes of family, growth and death, love and hate; the struggle to thrive when power is capricious and revenge too bittersweet. Here too is the passage of everything--old ways, places, peoples, and ourselves--leaving nothing behind but memories, histories, and stories.
This anthology speaks to the fragility of our Caribbean home, but reminds the reader that although home may be vulnerable, it is also beautifully resilient. The voice of our literature declares that in spite of disasters, this people and this place shall not be wholly destroyed.

Read for delight, then read for depth, and you will not be disappointed.

Brand-new stories by: Tammi Browne-Bannister, Summer Edward, Portia Subran, Brandon O'Brien, Kevin Jared Hosein, Richard B. Lynch, Elizabeth J. Jones, Damion Wilson, Brian Franklin, Ararimeh Aiyejina, and H.K. Williams.

Other Times, Other Worlds

John D. MacDonald

Table of Contents:

9 - Introduction (Other Times, Other Worlds) - essay by Martin H. Greenberg
15 - The Mechanical Answer
35 - Dance of a New World
51 - Ring Around the Redhead
75 - A Child Is Crying
91 - Flaw
101 - But Not to Dream
113 - The Miniature
127 - Spectator Sport
135 - Half-Past Eternity
193 - The Big Contest
203 - Susceptibility
215 - Common Denominator
227 - Game for Blondes
239 - Labor Supply
249 - The Legend of Joe Lee
263 - The Annex
279 - Afterword (Other Times, Other Worlds) - essay by John D. MacDonald
283 - Bibliography (Other Times, Other Worlds) - essay by June Moffatt and Len Moffatt

The Woman Between the Worlds

F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre

A female shape-changer, pursued by invisible aliens, escapes to Victorian London. . . where she is aided by Aleister Crowley and the disciples of the Golden Dawn.

The Many Worlds of Barry Malzberg

Barry N. Malzberg

Barry Malzberg's fourth collection, including several previously unpublished stories. Includes an introduction by Malzberg and a preface by Roger Ellwood.

Contents:

Initiation - (1975)
Management - (1975)
The Union Forever - (1973)
Reconstitution - (1975)
Final War - (1968)
Closed Sicilian - (1973)
After the Unfortunate Accident - (1975)
The Second Short Shortest Fantasy Story Ever Published - (1973)
In the Cup - (1972)
Death to the Keeper - (1968)
Chronicles of a Comer - (1972)

Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985

Andrew Nette
Iain McIntyre

Much has been written about the "long Sixties," the era of the late 1950s through the early 1970s. It was a period of major social change, most graphically illustrated by the emergence of liberatory and resistance movements focused on inequalities of class, race, gender, sexuality, and beyond, whose challenge represented a major shock to the political and social status quo. With its focus on speculation, alternate worlds and the future, science fiction became an ideal vessel for this upsurge of radical protest.

Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985 details, celebrates, and evaluates how science fiction novels and authors depicted, interacted with, and were inspired by these cultural and political movements in America and Great Britain. It starts with progressive authors who rose to prominence in the conservative 1950s, challenging the so-called Golden Age of science fiction and its linear narratives of technological breakthroughs and space-conquering male heroes. The book then moves through the 1960s, when writers, including those in what has been termed the New Wave, shattered existing writing conventions and incorporated contemporary themes such as modern mass media culture, corporate control, growing state surveillance, the Vietnam War, and rising currents of counterculture, ecological awareness, feminism, sexual liberation, and Black Power. The 1970s, when the genre reflected the end of various dreams of the long Sixties and the faltering of the postwar boom, is also explored along with the first half of the 1980s, which gave rise to new subgenres, such as cyberpunk.

Dangerous Visions and New Worlds contains over twenty chapters written by contemporary authors and critics, and hundreds of full-color cover images, including thirteen thematically organised cover selections. New perspectives on key novels and authors, such as Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, John Wyndham, Samuel Delany, J.G. Ballard, John Brunner, Judith Merril, Barry Malzberg, Joanna Russ, and many others are presented alongside excavations of topics, works, and writers who have been largely forgotten or undeservedly ignored.

The Worlds of Science Fiction

Robert P. Mills

A collection of 15 science fiction stories that introduce the reader to the variety of themes and subjects that the genre can offer.

Table of Contents:

9 - Introduction (The Worlds of Science Fiction) - essay by Robert P. Mills
13 - The First Men - novelette by Howard Fast
49 - A Work of Art - short story by James Blish
71 - Evening Primrose - short story by John Collier
87 - Memento Homo - short story by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
109 - A Miracle of Rare Device - short story by Ray Bradbury
127 - "All You Zombies..." - short story by Robert A. Heinlein
143 - Faq' - short story by George P. Elliott
157 - Babel II - novelette by Damon Knight
187 - A Saucer of Loneliness - short story by Theodore Sturgeon
205 - Night Piece - short story by Poul Anderson
225 - Now Let Us Sleep - short story by Avram Davidson
241 - The Strange Girl - short story by Mark Van Doren
249 - The Quest for Saint Aquin - novelette by Anthony Boucher
273 - The War in the Air - short story by R. V. Cassill
293 - The Ugly Little Boy - novelette by Isaac Asimov
340 - Epilogue: My Private World of Science Fiction - essay by Alfred Bester

The Sundered Worlds

The Many Worlds of Andre Norton

The first book of the multiverse.

Dorian Hawkmoon... Corum Jhaelen Irsei... Elric of Melniboné. Over the years, Michael Moorcock has captivated readers with his unending versions of the Eternal Champion, the timeless warrior who serves the Cosmic Balance in the ongoing battle that rages between Law and Chaos through the many planes and levels of the multiverse. But what is the multiverse and what are its origins? In this essential novel, Michael Moorcock provides readers these critical answers.

World War Three has come and gone, and humankind has survived its brutal past to assume its place among the stars. Yet their existence is endangered nonetheless, as their entire universe is threatening to collapse. All their hopes rest on the shoulders of Count Renark von Bek, a nobleman of extraordinary psychic abilities and carefully guarded secrets.

Aided by his companions, von Bek will delve into the Sundered Worlds, a mysterious galaxy outside the space-time continuum that has materialized on the edges of known space. Inside this roving galaxy, they will uncover the secrets of the multiverse and embark upon a last desperate gamble to save humankind.

But as they will soon discover, even survival comes laden with danger, as the solutions to their dilemma may also hold the final keys to their destruction...

Alternate title: The Blood Red Game

Worlds Apart

Richard Cowper

George Cringe is a middle-aged school-teacher, married with several children. His marriage, while not a failure, is hardly a great success, and he is somewhat drawn towards a fellow teacher, Jennifer Lawton, who is much younger than he is. For relaxation, George has taken to creating an endless SF saga set on the planet Agenor, where his hero and heroine, Zil Bryn and Orgypp, face various problems, their current one involving an outbreak of psychedelic mushrooms.

Nightworlds

William F. Nolan

Collects the renowned author's award-winning horror stories in one chilling volume that takes readers into a dark realm where nothing is what it seems and terror hides in the shadows.

Table of Contents:

1 - Preface (Nightworlds) - essay
6 - Kelly, Fredric Michael: 1928-1987 - (1973) - short story
18 - On 42nd St. - (1989) - short story
34 - The Halloween Man - (1986) - short story
52 - The Final Stone - (1986) - short story
90 - My Name Is Dolly - (1987) - short story
98 - The Party - (1967) - short story
116 - Something Nasty - (1983) - short story
132 - An Act of Violence - (1995) - short story
144 - Fyodor's Law - (1994) - short story
162 - On Harper's Road - (1993) - short story
186 - The Francis File - (1994) - short story
200 - Freak - (2000) - short story
214 - The Pool - (1981) - short story
232 - One of Those Days - (1962) - short story
240 - Him, Her, Them - (1991) - short story
268 - Gobble, Gobble! - (1990) - short story
278 - Fair Trade - (1982) - short story
288 - Babe's Laughter - (1991) - short story
298 - He Kilt It with a Stick - (1968) - short story
310 - Starblood - (1972) - short story
330 - Vympyre - (1995) - short fiction
336 - A Real Nice Guy - (1980) - short story

Andre Norton

How many millions of books have been sold and read with pleasure by science fiction readers is beyond anyone's guess. For quite without fanfare Andre Norton has become the favorite author in the pantheon of science fantasy writers. Norton's novels of time travel, of interstellar trade, of other dimensions, and of the fabulous Witch World, are constantly in print and always in demand - and so it with pride that this new book brings to the sf public Norton's rarest gems: novelettes and short stories unavailable elsewhere that comprise between themselves the whole strata of Norton's marvel cosmos. "The Book of Andre Norton" Contains, among others, "The Toads of Grimmerdale", "Long Live Lord Kor!", and five more classics, as well as special articles about and and a complete bibliography.

Table of Contents:

Introduction - (1974) - essay by Donald A. Wollheim
The Toads of Grimmerdale - (1973) - novella
London Bridge - (1973) - shortstory
On Writing Fantasy - (1971) - essay
Mousetrap - (1954) - shortstory
All Cats Are Gray - (1953) - shortstory
The Long Night of Waiting - (1974) - shortstory
The Gifts of Asti - (1948) - shortstory
Long Live Lord Kor! - (1970) - novella
Andre Norton: Loss of Faith - (1971) - essay by Rick Brooks
Norton Bibliography - (1974) - essay by Helen-Jo Jakusz Hewitt

Wizards' Worlds

Andre Norton

This collection of thirteen captivating short stories and novellas samples the wide range of Nebula Grand Master Norton's work. The first six stories, set in the Witch World universe, depict mostly female protagonists coping with the aftermath of wars made even more devastating by the deployment of magic. "Toads of Grimmerdale" and "Changeling" recount the travails of Hertha, a noblewoman who is cast out into "drifts of ice-crusted snow" by her brother after she refuses to abort the fetus of a rapist. "Spider Silk" is what blind, former slave Dairine is taught to weave by male-hating giant arachnids. In the title novella, an Esper fleeing a lynch mob is carried into another world, where his kind rules--but even there he is different and must fight for survival. A dreamer who creates worlds for others finds her work, herself, and her client in grave danger in "Toys of Tamisan." "Mousetrap," the earliest story here, envisions a not-too-distant future in which mankind explores Mars but human nature remains the same.

Table of Contents:

Falcon Blood - (1979) - shortstory
The Toads of Grimmerdale - (1973) - novella
Changeling - (1980) - novelette
Spider Silk - (1976) - novelette
Sword of Unbelief - [Witch World Universe] - (1977) - novelette
Sand Sister - (1979) - novella
Toys of Tamisan - (1969) - novella
Wizards' Worlds - (1967) - novella
Mousetrap - (1954) - shortstory
Were-Wrath - (1984) - novelette
By a Hair - (1958) - shortstory
All Cats Are Gray - (1953) - shortstory
Swamp Dweller - (1985) - novelette

All Worlds Are Real: Short Fictions

Susan Palwick

Beautifully crafted, unfailingly strange, and always moving, Susan Palwick's stories shift effortlessly between fantasy and science fiction, magical realism and horror. Here you will encounter aliens, ghosts, and robots, along with a colorful assortment of eccentric and vulnerable humans. You will see souls trapped in lucite, witness the operations of a magical measuring tape, and watch the oldest woman on a generation ship bequeath a precious Terran relic to a young friend. Collecting tales published in markets such as Tor.com, Asimov's, F&SF, and Lightspeed, All Worlds are Real also includes three new pieces exclusive to this volume.

Table of Contents:

Introduction by Jo Walton
Windows (2014)
The Shining Hills (2017)
Ash (2016)
Cucumber Gravy (2001)
Hhasalin (2013)
Sanctuary (2013)
City of Enemies
Lucite (2016)
Hodge
Homecoming (2013)
Weather (2014)
Hideous Flowerpots (2018)
Remote Presence (2017)
Recoveries (2018)
Wishbone

Worlds for the Grabbing

Brenda Pearce

A team of scientists travel the width and breadth of the solar system, solving scientific puzzles as they do.

The Worlds of H. Beam Piper

H. Beam Piper

Table of Contents:

Introduction - (1983) - essay by John F. Carr
Time and Time Again - (1947) - short story
The Mercenaries - (1950) - novelette
Dearest - (1951) - short story
Hunter Patrol - (1959) - novelette with John J. McGuire
Flight from Tomorrow - (1950) - novelette
Operation R.S.V.P. - (1951) - short story
Genesis - - (1951) - novelette
The Answer - (1959) - short story
Crossroads of Destiny - (1959) - short story
Day of the Moron - (1951) - novelette

Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales, and Stories

Eric S. Rabkin

As the first international anthology to cover the entire scope of fantastic narrative, Fantastic Worlds presents over fifty tales, myths, and stories, ranging from Genesis to Ovid, Hans Christian Andersen to J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe to James Thurber, and Franz Kafka to Italo Calvino. Including tales of fairies and elves, ghost stories, high fantasy, and stories of social criticism and the conflict between science and religion, this volume presents a diverse selection of writings that all share the same capacity to liberate the human spirit through the wild mental acrobatics of fantasy.

Table of Contents:

Preface - (1979) - essay by Eric S. Rabkin
Introduction (1979) - essay by Eric S. Rabkin
The Sources of the Fantastic - (1979) - essay by Eric S. Rabkin
Genesis (King James Version) - (unknown) - shortstory by unknown
The Blackfoot Genesis - (1892) - shortstory by Blackfoot Myth
The Eye of the Giant - (1979) - shortstory by Togoland Myth
How I Brought Death Into the World - (1952) - shortstory by Amos Tutuola
The Myth of Actaeon - (1979) - shortstory by Ovid
The Myth of Narcissus - (1979) - shortstory by Ovid
The Myth of Philomela - (1979) - shortstory by Ovid
The Ghost Wife - (1889) - shortstory by Pawnee Folktale
The Magic Swan Geese - (1855) - shortstory by Russian Folktale
Why Tortoise's Shell Is Not Smooth - (1958) - shortstory by Chinua Achebe
How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox - (1880) - shortstory by Joel Chandler Harris
Paul Bunyan on the Columbia - (1924) - shortstory by Esther Shephard
Little Red-cap - (1979) - shortstory by Wilhelm Grimm and Jacob Grimm (trans. of Rothkäppchen 1812)
The Sleeping Beauty - (1979) - shortstory by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm (trans. of Dornröschen 1812)
Hansel and Grethel - (1979) - shortstory by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm (trans. of Hänsel und Gretel 1812)
The Tinder-Box - (1835) - shortstory by Hans Christian Andersen (trans. of Fyrtøiet)
The Tale of Cosmo - (1858) - novelette by George MacDonald
Leaf by Niggle - (1964) - shortstory by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Diversity of Fantastic Literature - (1979) - essay by Eric S. Rabkin
Our Ideas of Time - (1711) - shortstory by Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
Ritter Gluck: A Recollection from the Year 1809 - shortstory by E. T. A. Hoffmann (trans. of Ritter Gluck 1808)
The Oval Portrait - (1842) - shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe
The Garden of Live Flowers - (1872) - shortstory by Lewis Carroll
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - (1939) - shortstory by James Thurber
The Royal Banquet - (1961) - shortstory by Norton Juster
The Sandman - (1943) - novelette by E. T. A. Hoffmann (trans. of Der Sandmann 1816)
The Black Cat - (1843) - shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe
The Picture in the House - (1919) - shortstory by H. P. Lovecraft
The Hand - (1861) - shortstory by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
The Moonlit Road - (1907) - shortstory by Ambrose Bierce
Lost Hearts - (1895) - shortstory by M. R. James
Golden Wings - (1856) - shortstory by William Morris
The Sword of Welleran - (1908) - shortstory by Lord Dunsany
The Five Black Swans - (1973) - shortstory by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar - (1845) - shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe
The Birthmark - (1843) - shortstory by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Star - (1955) - shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke
EPICAC - (1950) - shortstory by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
The Third Level - (1950) - shortstory by Jack Finney
The Star - (1897) - shortstory by H. G. Wells
Modern Fantasy - (1979) - essay by Eric S. Rabkin
The Judgment - (1948) - shortstory by Franz Kafka (trans. of Das Urteil 1913)
A Common Confusion - (1933) - shortstory by Franz Kafka (trans. of Eine alltägliche Verwirrung 1931)
Cockroaches - (1963) - shortstory by Bruno Schulz
Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote - shortstory by Jorge Luis Borges (trans. of Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote 1939)
Axolotl - (1967) - shortstory by Julio Cortázar (trans. of Axolotl 1956)
Pastoral - shortstory by Tommaso Landolfi
All at One Point - (1968) - shortstory by Italo Calvino (trans. of Tutto in un punto 1964)
There Is No Such Place as America - (1970) - shortstory by Peter Bichsel (trans. of Kindergeschichten 1969)
The Piano Player - (1963) - shortstory by Donald Barthelme
Homage to the San Francisco YMCA - (1971) - shortstory by Richard Brautigan
The Marker - (1963) - shortstory by Robert Coover
The Zebra Storyteller - (1971) - shortstory by Spencer Holst
Annotated Bibliography (Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales, and Stories) - (1979) - essay by Eric S. Rabkin
Index (1979) - essay by Eric S. Rabkin

The Best of All Possible Worlds

Spider Robinson

Table of Contents:

Foreword - essay by Spider Robinson
Introduction to Larry Niven's "Inconstant Moon" - essay by Spider Robinson
Inconstant Moon - (1971) - novelette by Larry Niven
Introduction to "Spud and Cochise" by Oliver La Farge - essay by Larry Niven
Spud and Cochise - (1936) - novelette by Oliver La Farge
Introduction to "Need" by Theodore Sturgeon - essay by Spider Robinson
Need - (1960) - novella by Theodore Sturgeon
Introduction to "Hop-Friend" by Terry Carr - essay by Theodore Sturgeon
Hop-Friend - (1962) - short story by Terry Carr
Introduction to "Duel Scene" by William Goldman - essay by Spider Robinson
"Duel Scene" (from The Princess Bride) - (1973) - short fiction by William Goldman
Introduction to "Seventh Victim" by Robert Sheckley - essay by William Goldman
Seventh Victim - (1953) - short story by Robert Sheckley
Introduction to "Portions of This Program..." by Dean Ing - essay by Spider Robinson
Portions of This Program... - (1977) - novelette by Dean Ing
Introduction to "They Bite" by Anthony Boucher - essay by Dean Ing
They Bite - (1943) - short story by Anthony Boucher
Introduction to "The Man Who Traveled in Elephants" by Robert A. Heinlein - essay by Spider Robinson
The Man Who Traveled in Elephants - (1957) - short story by Robert A. Heinlein
Introduction to "Our Lady's Juggler" by Anatole France - essay by Spider Robinson
Our Lady's Juggler - (1908) - short story by Anatole France (trans. of Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame 1892)

Stealing Worlds

Karl Schroeder

Sura Neelin is on the run from her creditors, from her past, and her father's murderers. She can't get a job, she can't get a place to live, she can't even walk down the street: the total surveillance society that is mid-21st century America means that every camera and every pair of smart glasses is her enemy.

But Sura might have a chance in the alternate reality of the games. People can disappear in the LARP game worlds, into the alternate economy of Notchcoin and blockchains. The people who build the games also program the surveillance networks -- she just needs an introduction, and the skills to play.

Turns out, she has very valuable skills, and some very surprising friends.

Exploring Fantasy Worlds: Essays on Fantastic Literature

Darrell Schweitzer

Table of Contents:

Introduction (Exploring Fantasy Worlds) - essay by Darrell Schweitzer
Aspects of Fantasy - essay by Michael Moorcock
Dreams Within Dreams - essay by Sandra Miesel
Prithee, Sirrah, What Doustou Mean by Archaic Style in Fantasy? - (1977) - essay by Darrell Schweitzer
Robert E. Howard's Fiction - essay by L. Sprague de Camp
The Fantasy of Johannes V. Jensen - essay by Poul Anderson
The Anima Archetype in Science Fiction - (1967) - essay by Fritz Leiber
Titus Groan: An Appreciation - essay by David H. Keller, M.D.
Portrait of Nathan - essay by Ben P. Indick
A Robert Nathan Checklist - essay by Darrell Schweitzer
Cabell: Fantasist of Reality - essay by Paul Spencer

Rod Serling's Other Worlds

Rod Serling

Contents:

ix - Introduction (Rod Serling's Other Worlds) - essay by Richard Matheson
1 - Robert A. Heinlein - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
3 - They - (1941) - shortstory by Robert A. Heinlein
21 - Ben Bova - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
23 - Fifteen Miles - [Kinsman] - (1967) - shortstory by Ben Bova
37 - Gordon R. Dickaon - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
39 - Dolphin's Way - (1964) - shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson
61 - Carl Jacobi - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
63 - The Royal Opera House - (1972) - shortstory by Carl Jacobi
75 - Theodore Sturgeon - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
77 - Special Aptitude - (1951) - shortstory by Theodore Sturgeon
97 - William F. Nolan - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
99 - The Underdweller - (1957) - shortstory by William F. Nolan (variant of Small World)
113 - Isaac Asimov - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
115 - I'm in Marsport Without Hilda - (1957) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
131 - Dennis Etchison - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
133 - A Nice, Shady Place - (1963) - shortstory by Dennis Etchison
149 - Clifford D. Simak - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
151 - Construction Shack - (1973) - shortstory by Clifford D. Simak
167 - Ray Bradbury - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
169 - A Little Journey - (1951) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
179 - Gardner R. Dozois - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
181 - The Visible Man - (1975) - novelette by Gardner Dozois
215 - Thomas F. Monteleone - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
217 - Mister Magister - shortstory by Thomas F. Monteleone
223 - Joe Haldeman & Robert Thurston - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
225 - What Johnny Did on His Summer Vacation - shortstory by Joe Haldeman and Robert Thurston
237 - Fritz Leiber - essay by Jack C. Haldeman, II
239 - Little Old Miss Macbeth - (1958) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber

Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley

Robert Sheckley

Robert Sheckley was science fiction's in-house reply to the black humorists of the 1950s and 60s: Bruce Jay Friedman, Terry Southern, and the young Thomas Pynchon were his none-too-distant relatives; Mort Sahl's comedy, Charles Schultz's cartoons, and Tom Lehrer's songs all mined similar veins. Sheckley targeted the conformity and consumerism of our mid century technotopia while it was still under construction.

His new worlds, alternate universes, and future dystopias have only become more present with the passing years, even as his career, played out both in the pulp magazines and in front-line venues like Playboy and Omni, is a glimpse of a time when "science fiction writer" could be a kind of hipster credential. Mordant, absurdist, and deadpan, the best of Sheckley's dissident farces represent science fiction's high-water mark as an allegorical clearinghouse for twenty-century angst.

The Web Between the Worlds

Charles Sheffield

Rob Merlin was the best engineer who had ever lived. That was why "The King of Space" had to have him for the most spectacular construction project ever - even though Rob was a potentially fatal threat to his power...

Thus begins a breakthrough novel by the former President of the American Astronautical Society, about an idea whose time has come: a shimmering bridge between Earth and space that mankind will climb to the stars!

Traveler of Worlds: Conversations with Robert Silverberg

Robert Silverberg
Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

Hugo-nominated Related Work

In addition to exploring Silverberg's career, now in its sixth decade, this collection of transcribed conversations delves into aspects of Silverberg's life -- such as his extensive travel, passion for film, opera and classical music -- not covered elsewhere.

A decade-and-a-half-long friendship, and working together on When the Blue Shift Comes, afforded Alvaro the opportunity to speak at length with Silverberg. The result: a remarkably candid series of conversations that will be of interest to science fiction readers and anyone curious about the writing life.

Table of Contents:

Introduction by Gardner Dozois
The Vividness of Landscape
Aesthetics
In the Continuum
Enwonderment
Libraries
Potpourri
After the Myths Went Home
Afterword: Travels With Bob by Karen Haber

Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder

Table of Contents:

Foreword - essay by Robert Silverberg
Introduction: The Making of a Science-Fiction Writer - essay by Robert Silverberg
Four in One - (1953) - novelette by Damon Knight
Four in One: Complications, With Elegance - essay by Robert Silverberg
Fondly Fahrenheit - (1954) - novelette by Alfred Bester
Fondly Fahrenheit: Who Am I, Which Are You? - essay by Robert Silverberg
No Woman Born - (1944) - novelette by C. L. Moore
No Woman Born: Flowing from Ring to Ring - essay by Robert Silverberg
Home Is the Hunter - (1953) - short story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
Home Is the Hunter: The Triumph of Honest Roger Bellamy - essay by Robert Silverberg
The Monsters - (1953) - short story by Robert Sheckley
The Monsters: Don't Forget to Kill Your Wife - essay by Robert Silverberg
Common Time - (1953) - short story by James Blish
Common Time: With All of Love - essay by Robert Silverberg
Scanners Live in Vain - (1950) - novelette by Cordwainer Smith
Scanners Live in Vain: Under the Wire with the Habermans - essay by Robert Silverberg
Hothouse - (1961) - novelette by Brian W. Aldiss
Hothouse: The Fuzzypuzzle Odyssey - essay by Robert Silverberg
The New Prime - (1951) - novelette by Jack Vance
The New Prime: Six Plots for the Price of One - essay by Robert Silverberg
Colony - (1953) - novelette by Philip K. Dick
Colony: I Trusted the Rug Completely - essay by Robert Silverberg
The Little Black Bag - (1950) - novelette by C. M. Kornbluth
The Little Black Bag: Press Button for Triple Bypass - essay by Robert Silverberg
Light of Other Days - [Slow Glass] - (1966) - short story by Bob Shaw
Light of Other Days: Beyond the Radius of Capture - essay by Robert Silverberg
Day Million - (1966) - short story by Frederik Pohl
Day Million: A Boy, a Girl, a Love Story - essay by Robert Silverberg
For Further Reading - essay by Robert Silverberg

To Worlds Beyond

Warm Worlds and Otherwise

Table of Contents:

About Robert Silverberg - essay by Isaac Asimov
Introduction - essay by Robert Silverberg
The Old Man - (1957) - shortstory
New Men for Mars - (1957) - novelette
Collecting Team - (1956) - shortstory
Double Dare - (1956) - shortstory
The Overlord's Thumb - (1958) - novelette
Ozymandias - (1958) - shortstory
Certainty - (1959) - shortstory
Mind for Business - (1956) - shortstory
Misfit - (1957) - shortstory

Worlds Without End

Clifford D. Simak

Contains three stories:

"Worlds Without End" (1956)
"The Spaceman's Van Gogh" (1956)
"Full Cycle" (1955)

Worlds Enough and Time

Dan Simmons

An extraordinary artist with few rivals in his chosen arena, Dan Simmons possesses a restless talent that continually presses boundaries while tantalizing the mind and touching the soul. Now he offers us a superb quintet of novellas -- five dazzling masterworks of speculative fiction, including "Orphans of the Helix," his award-winning return to the Hyperion Universe -- that demonstrates the unique mastery, breathtaking invention, and flawless craftsmanship of one of contemporary fiction's true greats.

Human colonists seeking something other than godhood encounter their long-lost "cousins"...and an ancient scourge.
A devastated man in suicide's embrace is caught up in a bizarre cat-and-mouse game with a young woman possessing a world-ending power.
The distant descendants of a once-oppressed people learn a chilling lesson about the persistence of the past.
A terrifying ascent up the frigid, snow-swept slopes of K2 shatters preconceptions and reveals the true natures of four climbers, one of whom is not human.
At the intersection of a grand past and a threadbare present, an aging American in Russia confronts his own mortality as he glimpses a wondrous future.

Between Worlds: Ragnarok

Dina Kjøng Sjöblom

When Alexandra's best friend and coach, Nathan, dies, her world is turned upside down. Ending a year-long MMA fighting career, she flees to her hometown, seeking refuge in work at the local museum and its mysterious exhibition from the Scottish Hebrides. One fateful night sends her world for another spin, and she finds herself thrown back in time to the Highlands of Iron-Age Scotland. Caught between violent rivalry and political agendas, Alexandra is faced with an impossible choice. One that might determine the outcome of the true Ragnarok.

Between Worlds - Ragnarok is an epic time travel tale about loss, love and loyalty. Fusing Norse Mythology and Scottish history, it provides a glimpse of how the legends of the Nordic Gods might have lived, loved, fought, had they walked this earth as a living, breathing civilisation.

Dead Worlds

Jack Skillingstead

Sturgeon Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, June 2003. The story can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection (2004), edited by Gardner Dozois. It is included in the collection Are You There and Other Stories (2009).

Read the full story for free at the Baen website.

The Worlds of George O.

George O. Smith

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Frederik Pohl
Blind Time - (1946) - short story
The Planet Mender - (1952) - novelette
The Catspaw - (1948) - novella
Rat Race - (1947) - short story
Meddler's Moon - (1947) - novelette
Meddler's Moon (radio script) - short story
In the Cards - (1947) - novelette
History Repeats - (1959) - short story
The Big Fix - (1959) - novelette
Fire, 2016! - (1964) - novelette
Understanding - (1967) - novelette

Drowned Worlds

Jonathan Strahan

The brand new anthology from multi-award winning editor Jonathan Strahan, featuring stories set in futures wracked by the deluge, from some the best writers in SF, including Kim Stanley Robinson, Ken Liu, Paul McAuley, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Charlie Jane Anders, Lavie Tidhar, Jeffrey Ford, and James Morrow.

We stand at the beginning of one of the greatest ecological disasters in the time on Man. The world is warming and seas are rising. We may deny it, but we can't hide when the water comes. Already the streets of Miami flood regularly and Mick Jones looks more and more prescient when he sang that "London is drowning and I, I live by the river!" all those years ago.

And yet water is life. It brings change. Where one thing is wiped away, another rises in its place. There has always been romance and adventure in the streets of a drowned London or on gorgeous sailing cities spanning a submerged world, sleek ships exploring as land gets ever rarer.

Drowned Worlds looks at the future we might have if the oceans rise, good or bad. Here you'll find stories of action, adventure, romance and, yes, warning and apocalypse. Stories inspired by Ballard's The Drowned World, Sterling's Islands in the Net, and Ryman's The Child Garden. Stories that allow that things may get worse, but remembers that such times also bring out the best in us all.

Table of Contents:

Elves of Antarctica, Paul McAuley
Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit - Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts, Ken Liu
Venice Drowned, Kim Stanley Robinson
Brownsville Station, Christopher Rowe
Who Do You Love?, Kathleen Ann Goonan
Because Change Was the Ocean and We Lived by Her Mercy, Charlie Jane Anders
The Common Tongue, the Present Tense, the Known, Nina Allan
What is, Jeffrey Ford
Destroyed by the Waters, Rachel Swirsky
The New Venusians, Sean Williams
Inselberg, Nalo Hopkinson
Only Ten More Shopping Days Left Till Ragnarök, James Morrow
Last Gods, Sam J. Miller
Drowned, Lavie Tidhar
The Future is Blue, Catherynne M. Valente

James Tiptree, Jr.

Published before Tiptree's identity had become known, this collection contains Silverberg's famous (infamous?) introduction in which he concluded that Tiptree had to be a man because the writing was "ineluctably masculine". Silverberg gracefully recanted once Tiptree's identity was revealed.

Table of Contents:

Who Is Tiptree, What Is He? - (1974) - essay by Robert Silverberg
All the Kinds of Yes - (1972)
The Milk of Paradise - (1972)
And I Have Come Upon This Place by Lost Ways - (1972)
The Last Flight of Dr. Ain - (1969)
Amberjack - (1972)
Through a Lass Darkly - (1972)
The Girl Who Was Plugged In - (1973)
The Night-blooming Saurian - (1970)
The Women Men Don't See - (1973)
Fault - (1968)
Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death - (1973)
On the Last Afternoon - (1972)

Aetherial Worlds: Stories

Tatyana Tolstaya

Ordinary realities and yearnings to transcend them lead to miraculous other worlds in this dazzling collection of stories.

A woman's deceased father appears in her dreams with clues about the afterlife; a Russian professor in a small American town constructs elaborate fantasies during her cigarette break; a man falls in love with a marble statue as his marriage falls apart; a child glimpses heaven through a stained-glass window. With the emotional insight of Chekhov, the surreal satire of Gogol, and a unique blend of humor and poetry all her own, Tolstaya transmutes the quotidian into aetherial alternatives. These tales, about politics, identity, love, and loss, cut to the core of the Russian psyche, even as they lay bare human universals. Tolstaya's characters--seekers all--are daydreaming children, lonely adults, dislocated foreigners in unfamiliar lands. Whether contemplating the strategic complexities of delivering telegrams in Leningrad or the meditative melancholy of holiday aspic, vibrant inner lives and the grim elements of existence are registered in equally sharp detail in a starkly bleak but sympathetic vision of life on earth.

A unique collection from one of the first women in years to rank among Russia's most important writers.

Other Worlds and This One

Cadwell Turnbull

This novelette originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, July-August 2017, and was reprinted in Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 102, November 2018.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed Magazine.

The Far-Out Worlds of A.E. Van Vogt

A. E. Van Vogt

Contents:

The Replicators - (1965)
The First Martian - (1951)
The Purpose - (1945)
The Earth Killers - (1949)
The Cataaaaa - (1947)
Automaton - (1950)
Itself! - (1963)
Process - (1950)
Not the First - (1941)
Fulfillment - (1951)
Ship of Darkness - (1948)
The Ultra Man - (1966)

Worlds of Weber: Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington and Other Stories

The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds

Treecats, starships, dragons, alternate history, self-aware Bolo supertanks, wizards, sailing ships, ironclads....

Open the door and peep inside, but be careful! Once you step into the worlds of Weber, you may not want to go home again.

Table of Contents:

9 Introduction - [Honor Harrington Universe Nonfiction]
13 A Certain Talent
29 In the Navy - [1632 Fiction]
81 The Captain from Kirkbean
101 Sir George and the Dragon - [Ranks of Bronze]
169 Swordbrother - [Bahzell]
297 A Beautiful Friendship - [Star Kingdom]
361 Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington - [Honor Harrington Universe Short Fiction]
475 Miles to Go - [Bolo]
589 The Traitor - [Bolo]

H. G. Wells

Scientific visionary. Social prophet. Master storyteller. Few novelists have captivated generations of readers like H. G. Wells. In enduring, electrifying detail, he takes us to dimensions of time and space that have haunted our dreams for centuries -- and shows us ourselves as we really are.

The Time Machine

In the heart of Victorian England, an inquisitve gentleman known only as the Time Traveler constructs an elaborate invention that hurtles him hundreds of thousands of years into the future. There he finds himself in the violent center of the ultimate conflict between beings of light and creatures of darkness.

The War of the Worlds

Martians invade Great Britain, laying waste turn-of-the-century London. This tale of conquest by superior beings with superadvanced technology is so nightmarishly real that an adaptation by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater sent hundreds of impressionable radio listeners into panicked flight forty years after the story's original publication.

Afterworlds

Scott Westerfeld

Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings...

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack.

But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most.

Worldsoul

Liz Williams

What if being a librarian was the most dangerous job in the world?

Worldsoul, a great city that forms a nexus point between Earth and the many dimensions known as the Liminality, is a place where old stories gather, where forgotten legends come to fade and die--or to flourish and rise again. Until recently, Worldsoul has been governed by the Skein, but they have gone missing and no one knows why. The city is also being attacked with lethal flower-bombs from an unknown enemy. Mercy Fane and her fellow Librarians are doing their best to maintain the Library, but... things... keep breaking out of ancient texts and legends and escaping into the city. Mercy must pursue one such nightmarish creature, and she turns to Shadow the alchemist for aid, with the fate of the Library--and Worldsoul itself--hanging in the balance...

When Two Worlds Meet

Robert Moore Williams

Table of Contents:

9 - When Two Worlds Meet
75 - Aurochs Came Walking
99 - On Pain of Death
141 - The Sound of Bugles
173 - The Final Frontier
191 - When the Spoilers Came

The Worlds of Jack Williamson: A Centennial Tribute 1908-2008

Jack Williamson

The Worlds of Jack Williamson celebrates the 100th birthday of one of the Grand Masters of science fiction. While Jack Williamson passed away in 2006 at the age of 98, his incredible body of work continues to be enjoyed by legions of fans and admirers. Assembled in this centennial tribute are several unpublished stories: The Moon Bird, The Forbidden Window, The Golden Glass, and a film treatment from 1957, The Planets are Calling. Also included are several classics in the Williamson canon such as the original novella-length version of Darker Thank You Think; Minus Sign, an unreprinted seetee story of anti-matter and terraforming; and a tale with the first use of psionics, The Man from Outside. Contemporary stories include The Hole in the World, Afterlife, and The Luck of the Legion, the last Legion of Space adventure. Included are four essays from academics and scholars who have studied Williamson s works, as well as Dr. Williamson s 1957 Master s Thesis, A Study of the Sense of Prophecy in Modern Science Fiction. Fellow Grand Masters of science fiction Frederik Pohl and James Gunn provide introductory remarks on reading, knowing, collaborating with, and admiring Jack Williamson.

Table of Contents:

"Jack" - essay by Frederik Pohl
"Worlds of Jack Williamson" - essay by James E. Gunn
The Moon Bird - novella by Jack Williamson
The Forbidden Window - shortstory by Jack Williamson
The Golden Glass - novelette by Jack Williamson
Darker Than You Think - (1940) - novella by Jack Williamson
Darker Than He Thought: The Psychonalysis of Jack Williamson - essay by Alan C. Elms
Minus Sign - (1942) - novella by Jack Williamson
The Man from Outside - (1951) - shortstory by Jack Williamson
A Study of the Sense of Prophecy in Modern Science Fiction - essay by Jack Williamson
The Planets are Calling - novelette by Jack Williamson
Jack Williamson: The Comedy of Cosmic Evolution - (1976) - essay by Alfred D. Stewart
Tricentennial Century - novella by Jack Williamson
The Humanoid Universe - (1980) - novelette by Jack Williamson
The Hole in the World - (1997) - shortstory by Jack Williamson
Afterlife - (2002) - shortstory by Jack Williamson
The Luck of the Legion - (2002) - shortstory by Jack Williamson
A Christmas Carol - (2007) - shortstory by Jack Williamson
Queens Of Space - essay by Vicky L. Medley
Collecting Jack Williamson: Master of Wonder - essay by Richard A. Hauptmann
Contributors
Acknowledgments

The Worlds of Robert F. Young

Robert F. Young

The worlds of Robert F. Young are unlike any others, and they are all stamped with the hallmark of excellence that is distinctively his own. Some of these worlds are strange and alien, distant in time and space; some are as familiar as your own back yard -- so close you can reach out and touch them. But be careful! They all contain unlooked-for surprises: what you expect to happen never does. These are tales of the unexpected.

Table of Contents:

Introduction (The Worlds of Robert F. Young) - (1965) - essay by Avram Davidson
The Girl Who Made Time Stop - (1961) - short story
Added Inducement - (1957) - short story
Hopsoil - (1961) - short story
Flying Pan - (1956) - short story
Emily and the Bards Sublime - [Poetic Androids] - (1956) - short story
The Dandelion Girl - (1961) - short story
The Stars Are Calling, Mr. Keats - (1959) - short story
Goddess in Granite - (1957) - novelette
Promised Planet - (1955) - short story
Romance in a Twenty-First Century Used-Car Lot - (1960) - novelette
The Courts of Jamshyd - (1957) - short story
Production Problem - (1959) - short story
Little Red Schoolhouse - (1956) - short story
Written in the Stars - (1957) - short story
A Drink of Darkness - (1962) - short story
Your Ghost Will Walk... - [Poetic Androids] - (1957) - short story

The House Between the Worlds

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Cameron Fenton participates in a parapsychology study, using an experimental drug. Instead of increasing his ESP, it causes him to leave his his body and enter other worlds. But are they real, or do they exist only in his mind? And if they are real, will he ever be able to get anyone in his world to believe him?

Vanguard from Alpha / The Changeling Worlds

Brian W. Aldiss
Kenneth Bulmer

Vanguard from Alpha

The spy team from Earth knew they were looking for trouble when they secretly landed in Luna Area 101 - dangerous Rosk territory. But the fearless trio got more than they bargained for at the hands of these hostile guests of Earth. Tyne and Murray escaped with their lives. The third man was dead, and Tyne suspected that Murray had murdered him in cold blood.

Ready to confront him with his charge, Tyne discovered that Murray had disappeared somewhere in the banned area. But when he followed him, he discovered something vastly more dangerous than Murray's guilt or innocence--the Rosks threatened imminent invasion of Earth. And only Tyne now held the secret that could deflect their hordes of death.

The Changeling Worlds

On the gold-symbol world of Beresford's Planet, Richard Kirby lived in total luxury. As a member of "The Set" his life was a never-ending round of planetary party-hopping. The only restriction imposed on him - that he never put down on any world marked with a red or black symbol - was something that he had always accepted without question.

That is until his brother Alec was murdered in cold blood! Alec had been an undercover agent to these forbidden planets, and in order to avenge him, Kirby had to find out for himself what was really happening there.

But with the start of his investigation, Kirby found out quickly that the authorities meant business when they said "Hands off!" The secret they were protecting was of vital importance, and it now became a matter of life and death, not only to Kirby, but to all the inhabitants of the Changeling Worlds.

Threshold of Eternity / The War of Two Worlds

Poul Anderson
John Brunner

Threshold of Eternity

Because of a twist in the structure of Time, three strangers were brought unexpectedly together: Red Hawkins of California, Chantal Vareze of London and a man from the 41st Century. Their meeting seemed an impossible prank of a universe gone mad - but it turned out to be quite otherwise.

For it seemed there was a war going on throughout space and time. A war fought by men of different epochs, on planets of different cultures, but for a cause that all could acknowledge - the very continued existence of creation itself.

And the coming together of these three very unlikely people - a modern man, a lovely girl and a futurian soldier - was to prove the master stroke of a super-science strategy that had already brought humanity to the THRESHOLD OF ETERNITY.

The War of Two Worlds

The twenty-year Earth-Mars war was finally over. What was left of Earth - its crumbled cities, its ruined farmlands - were firmly and completely under the rule of the Martian Archon. And this powerful planetary ruler was taking no chances: he intended to reduce the Terrans to a society of primitive agricultural tribes in less than a generation!

But for David Arnfeld, ex-spaceman and Earth Base Commander, there was something in the whole set-up which did not ring true. Why had both sides muffed countless chances to end that awful war in the first year or two? And why had the two planets gone to war in the first place?

In the back of Arnfeld's mind an idea was growing...perhaps there was yet a chance to save the doomed population of Earth. But if his idea was true, and proof was available, he had to work fast. Too many people were involved in this War of the Two Worlds to let one man upset their plans.

The Worlds of Farscape: Essays on the Groundbreaking Television Series

Sherry Ginn

Reversing a common science fiction cliche, Farscape follows the adventures of the human astronaut John Crichton after he is shot through a wormhole into another part of the universe. Here Crichton is the only human being, going from being a member of the most intelligent species on our planet to being frequently considered mentally deficient by the beings he encounters in his new environment. John Crichton befriends a group of beings from various species attempting to escape from imprisonment aboard a living spaceship. The series, which broke many of the so-called "rules" of science fiction, follows Crichton's attempts to survive in worlds that are often hostile to him and his friends. Their adventures center on each being's attempt to find a way home.

The essays in this volume explore themes running throughout the series, such as good and evil, love and sex, and what it means to be a hero, as well as the various characters populating the series, including the villains and even the ship itself.

The Worlds of Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert

Contains:

The Tactful Saboteur
Committee of the Whole
Old Rambling House
Mating Call
A-W-F, Unlimited
The Featherbedders
The GM Effect
Escape Felicity

Envoy to New Worlds / Flight From Yesterday

Keith Laumer
Robert Moore Williams

Envoy to New Worlds

The Machiavelli of cosmic diplomacy. Collection of Retief stories.

Flight From Yesterday

Yesterday in America, tomorrow in Atlantis.

Worlds of the Imperium / Seven from the Stars

Marion Zimmer Bradley
Keith Laumer

Worlds of the Imperium

When Brion Bayard was kidnapped and brought to the alternate world where Earth's history took a different turn, it was not a pleasant experience. It was, however, a startling experience. Here was a world that was just like the Earth he was taken from--with just a few subtle changes. On top of all this, Brion was given a puzzling assignment by his captors. He was to secretly enter a palace, and kill a dangerous and tyrannical dictator. There was one, small catch--the hated dictator in this world was the mirror image of Brion Bayard. For on an Alternate Earth, Brion's is his own worst enemy!

Seven from the Stars

As they watched humanity and Earth being destroyed they were determined to fight and survive, but they now faced an enemy able to live undetected in a human host, unrestricted by time and space, and determined to rule!

The Worlds of Fritz Leiber

Fritz Leiber

THE WORLDS OF FRITZ LEIBER is a brand new collection of some of the finest SF, Fantasy and Horror stories produced by the internationally acclaimed author of THE BIG TIME.

It is a collection handpicked by the author and contains two Change-War stories, a Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tale, Catch That Zeppelin (the winner of the 1976 Nebula Award) and eighteen other outstanding stories.

But no one could describe this book better than Fritz Leiber himself: "I believe this collection represents me more completely, provides a fuller measure of the range of my creative efforts, than any other. Welcome to my worlds!"

Contents:

Hatchery of Dreams (1961)
The Goggles of Dr. Dragonet (1961)
Far Reach to Cygnus (1965)
Night Passage (1975)
Nice Girl with Five Husbands (1951)
When the Change-Winds Blow (1964)
237 Talking Statues, Etc. (1963)
The Improper Authorities (1959)
Our Saucer Vacation (1959)
Pipe Dream (1959)
What's He Doing in There? (1957)
Friends and Enemies (1957)
The Last Letter (1958)
Endfray of the Ofay (1969)
Cyclops (1965)
Mysterious Doings in the Metropolitan Museum (1974)
The Bait (1973)
The Lotus Eaters (1972)
Waif (1974)
Myths My Great-Granddaughter Taught Me (1963)
Catch That Zeppelin! (1975)
Last (1957)

Worlds Apart?: Dualism and Transgression in Contemporary Female Dystopias

Dunja Mohr

Literary critics and scholars have written extensively on the demise of the "utopian spirit" in the modern novel. What has often been overlooked is the emergence of a new hybrid subgenre, particularly in science fiction and fantasy, which incorporates utopian strategies within the dystopian narrative, particularly in the feminist dystopias of the 1980s and 1990s. The author names this new subgenre "transgressive utopian dystopias."

Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue trilogy, Suzy McKee Charna's Holdfast series, and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale are thoroughly analyzed within the context of this this new subgenre of "transgressive utopian dystopias." Analysis focuses particularly on how these works cover the interrelated categories of gender, race and class, along with their relationship to classic literary dualism and the dystopian narrative.

Without completely dissolving the dualistic order, the feminist dystopias studied here contest the notions of unambiguity and authenticity that are generally part of the canon.

Magic Words, Magic Worlds: Form and Style in Epic Fantasy

Matthew Oliver

While all fiction uses words to construct models of the world for readers, nowhere is this more obvious than in fantasy fiction. Epic fantasy novels create elaborate secondary worlds entirely out of language, yet the writing style used to construct those worlds has rarely been studied in depth. This book builds the foundations for a study of style in epic fantasy.

Close readings of selected novels by such writers as Steven Erikson, Ursula Le Guin, N. K. Jemisin and Brandon Sanderson offer insights into the significant implications of fantasy's use of syntax, perspective, paratexts, frame narratives and more. Re-examining critical assumptions about the reading experience of epic fantasy, this work explores the genre's reputation for flowery, archaic language and its ability to create a sense of wonder. Ultimately, it argues that epic fantasy shapes the way people think, examining how literary representation and style influence perception.

Learning from Other Worlds: Estrangement, Cognition, and the Politics of SF

Patrick Parrinder

Learning from Other Worlds provides both a portrait of the development of science fiction criticism as an intellectual field and a definitive look at the state of science fiction studies today. Its title refers to the essence of "cognitive estrangement" in relation to science fiction and utopian fiction--the assertion that by imagining strange worlds we learn to see our own world in a new perspective. Acknowledging an indebtedness to the groundbreaking work of Darko Suvin and his belief that the double movement of estrangement and cognition reflects deep structures of human storytelling, the contributors assert that learning-from-otherness is as natural and inevitable a process as the instinct for imitation and representation that Aristotle described in his Poetics.

In exploring the relationship between imaginative invention and that of allegory or fable, the essays in Learning from Other Worlds comment on the field's most abiding concerns and employ a variety of critical approaches--from intellectual history and genre studies to biographical criticism, feminist cultural studies, and political textual analysis. Among the topics discussed are the works of John Wyndham, Kim Stanley Robinson, Stanislau Lem, H.G. Wells, and Ursula Le Guin, as well as the media's reactions to the 1997 cloning of Dolly the Sheep. Darko Suvin's characteristically outspoken and penetrating afterword responds to the essays in the volume and offers intimations of a further stage in his long and distinguished career.

This useful compendium and companion offers a coherent view of science fiction studies as it has evolved while paying tribute to the debt it owes Suvin, one of its first champions. As such, it will appeal to critics and students of science fiction, utopia, and fantasy writing.

Contents:

1 - Introduction (Learning from Other Worlds) - (1999) - essay by Patrick Parrinder
19 - Before the Novum: The Prehistory of Science Fiction Criticism - (1999) - essay by Edward James
36 - Revisiting Suvin's Poetics of Science Fiction - (1999) - essay by Patrick Parrinder
51 - 'Look into the Dark': On Dystopia and the Novum - (1999) - essay by Tom Moylan
72 - Science Fiction and Utopia: A Historico-Philosophical Overview - (1999) - essay by Carl Freedman
98 - Society after the Revolution: The Blueprints for the Forthcoming Socialist Society published by the Leaders of the Second International - (1999) - essay by Marc Angenot
119 - From the Images of Science to Science Fiction - (1999) - essay by Gérard Klein
127 - Estranged Invaders: The War of the Worlds - (1999) - essay by Peter Fitting
146 - 'A part of the... family [?]': John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos as Estranged Autobiography - (1999) - essay by David Ketterer
178 - Labyrinth, Double and Mask in the Science Fiction of Stanislaw Lem - (1999) - essay by Rafail Nudelman
193 - 'We're at the Start of a New Ball Game and That's Why We're All Real Nervous': Or, Cloning - Technological Cognition Reflects Estrangement from Women - (1999) - essay by Marleen S. Barr
208 - 'If I find one good city I will spare the man': Realism and Utopia in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy - (1999) - essay by Fredric Jameson
233 - Afterword: With Sober, Estranged Eyes - (1999) - essay by Darko Suvin
272 - Checklist of Printed Items that Concern Science Fiction (with Utopian Fiction or Utopianism, and a few Bordering Items) - (1999) - essay by Darko Suvin

The Space Willies / Six Worlds Yonder

Eric Frank Russell

Six Worlds Yonder

Stories in this collection:

The Waitabits
Tieline
Top Secret
Nothing New
Into Your Tent I'll Creep
Diabologic

The Space Willies

An Earthman's tongue is his deadliest weapon

There was a common understanding in the Space Navy that scout-pilots were a breed apart--cocksure, reckless, and slightly nuts. But it was also understood that when a really dangerous job had to be done, a scout-pilot was the man to do it.

So for John Leeming, a couple of months of dodging death in a one-man ship, zipping in and out of the enemy Combine's rearguard, was just another one of those jobs. And there was no man in the Universe more surprised than Leeming when his heretofore indestructible ship just gave up the ghost smack in the middle of a Combine-held prison planet!

It was then that the spirit of the Scout Corps had its chance to shine. With self-confidence as his only weapon, Leeming had only two choices: give in to the enemy and be captured...or quick-talk them into a real case of THE SPACE WILLIES!

Invaders from Earth and To Worlds Beyond

Message from the Eocene / Three Worlds of Futurity

Invaders from Earth

Earth's colony on Ganymede is under attack. The people of Earth demand reprisal, and the United Nations must take action to protect the interests of the people.

But Ted Kennedy is worried. He has been to Ganymede and seen the "people"; and knows a truth too terrifying to reveal. Only he can convince the leaders of Earth that they are victims of a hoax. His life may be forfeit, but he is determined to live long enough to stop the INVADERS FROM EARTH

To Worlds Beyond

Collection containing:

The Old Man - (1957) - shortstory
New Men for Mars - (1957) - novelette
Collecting Team - (1956) - shortstory
Double Dare - (1956) - shortstory
The Overlord's Thumb - (1958) - novelette
Ozymandias - (1958) - shortstory
Certainty - (1959) - shortstory
Mind for Business - (1956) - shortstory
Misfit - (1957) - shortstory

Margaret St. Clair

Message from the Eocene

Legacy of a Lost Race

His name was Tharg, but he was not of any life form we know today. He lived so long ago that the planet Earth had not yet shaped itself. Lava seas roiled and churned, volcanoes spouted and grew, and heavy clouds hung in the hydrogen atmosphere, leaving the planet's surface dark and dangerous.

On that world Tharg met his death, or something very much like it. He became a disembodied, totally nonphysical intelligence, cut off from all contact with the life he had known. He "slept" for hundreds of millions of yhears, unconnected with the world, unthinking, hardly existing.

But then he began to awake--for there was new life on Earth, creatures called "human," and Tharg, knowing an anceint promise from the stars, had to tell them of it. But... how?

Three Worlds of Futurity

Collection of short stories:

The Everlasting Food - (1950) - novelette
Idris' Pig - (1949) - novella
The Rages - (1954) - novelette
Roberta - (1962) - shortstory
The Island of the Hands - (1952) - shortstory

The Brains of Earth / The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph

Jack Vance

Table of Contents:

The Brains of Earth - novella
The Kokod Warriors - (1952) - novelette
The Unspeakable McInch - (1948) - shortstory
The Howling Bounders - (1949) - shortstory
The King of Thieves - (1949) - shortstory
The Spa of the Stars - (1950) - shortstory
Coup de Grace - (1958) - shortstory

The War of the Worlds

H. G. Wells

Famous for the mistaken panic that ensued from Orson Welles’s 1938 radio dramatization, The War of the Worlds remains one of the most influential of all science fiction works.

The night after a shooting star is seen streaking through the sky from Mars, a cylinder is discovered on Horsell Common in London. Naïve locals approach the cylinder armed just with a white flag—only to be quickly killed by an all-destroying heat ray, as terrifying tentacled invaders emerge.

Soon the whole of human civilization is under threat as powerful Martians build gigantic killing machines, destroying all life in their path with black gas and burning ray. The forces of Earth, however, may prove harder to beat than they appear.

Other Worlds, Better Lives: Selected Long Fiction, 1989-2003

A Howard Waldrop Reader: Book 2

Howard Waldrop

Contains:

Nebula- and World Fantasy Award-nominated Novella "A Dozen Tough Jobs"
Hugo-, Asimov's-, and Locus-nominated Novelette "Fin de Cyclé"
Sidewise- and Locus-nominated Novella "You Could Go Home Again"

Other Worlds, Better Lives features longer stories written Howard Waldrop between 1989 and 2003 and displays his mastery of the novella form.

Among the stories here is "You Could Go Home Again", in which Thomas Wolfe, having survived the brain disease that killed him in our world, returns from the 1940 Tokyo Olympics, aboard an airship where fellow voyager Fats Waller provides musical interludes, to a U.S. governed by technocrats.

"Fin de Cyclé" is the story of how a movie made by Georges Méliès, assisted by Alfred Jarry, Marcel Proust, and Pablo Picasso, rouses the French public to demand justice in the case of Captain Alfred Dreyfus and helps to free him from Devil s Island.

Various young characters from late 1950s and early 1960s TV programs and science fiction movies confront the Cuban missile crisis in "The Other Real World", while Richard Wagner abandons his operatic ambitions to become one of the forefathers of the Peoples Federated States of Europe in "A Better World's in Birth!"

"Flatfeet!" combines reflections on Osvald Spengler's classic The Decline of the West and American artist Thomas Cole's series of paintings entitled "The Course of Empire" with a number of historical parallels and Keystone Kops-style antics in what the author calls in his afterword "one of the most jam-packed stories I ever wrote".

In "Major Spacer in the 21st Century!" Waldrop manages to cover the history of much of twentieth century communications technology in realistic detail.

The longest story in the collection is "A Dozen Tough Jobs"; here, Waldrop takes the mythological figure of Hercules and sets him down in early twentieth-century Mississippi along with an African-American sidekick appropriately named I.O. Lace. Readers unfamiliar with Greek mythology can read this novella straight as a tale of race relations, rural poverty, and class distinctions centered on the convict Houlka Lee; those who know the old myths will delight in the meticulously worked-out parallels between Waldrop's story and the fabled Twelve Labours of Hercules.

- Pamela Sargent, SciFi Weekly

Table of Contents:

Size Matters - essay
A Dozen Tough Jobs - (1989) - novella
Afterword (A Dozen Tough Jobs) - essay
Fin de Cyclé - (1990) - novelette
Afterword (Fin de Cyclé) - essay
You Could Go Home Again - (1993) - novella
Afterword (You Could Go Home Again) - essay
Flatfeet! - (1996) - shortstory
Afterword (Flatfeet!) - essay
Major Spacer in the 21st Century! - (2001) - novelette
Afterword (Major Spacer in the 21st Century!) - essay
The Other Real World - (2001) - novelette
Afterword (The Other Real World) - essay
A Better World's in Birth! - (2003) - novelette
Afterword (A Better World's in Birth!) - essay

Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds

Alacrity Fitzhugh: Book 1

Brian Daley

Minor Terran bureaucrat, Hobart Floyt, has been left a mysterious inheritance by the ruler of an empire located many light-years away. Earth's government is broke and its functionaries want Floyt to collect the money. To make sure he succeeds, they blackmail a brash young spacer named Alacrity Fitzhugh into shepherding him on a dangerous interstellar mission.

Hunter of Worlds

Alliance-Union: Hanan Rebellion: Book 2

C. J. Cherryh

The Iduve were the most advanced spacefaring race in the galaxy. They traveled where they pleased in giant city-sized vessels, engrossed with their own affairs. The Iduve were humanoid, but they differed from Earth's own humans in one significant way: they were pure predators incapable of human emotion.

Aiela was a world-survey officer who found himself abducted to serve the Iduve clanship Ashanome. Forcibly mind-linked with two other captives, life for Aiela became wholly dedicated to the service of his captors.

But then the Ashanome came to the world of Priamos, a war-torn planet caught in a struggle between humans and the alien race known as the amaut. When she discovered that her fugitive brother was hiding there, Chimele, leader of the Ashanome, was willing to sacrifice this entire world to destroy him. And Priamos' only hope for survival lay with Aiela and his fellow captives...

New Worlds for Old

Ballantine Adult Fantasy: Book 35

Lin Carter

Contents:

xi - Makers of Worlds - (1971) - essay by Lin Carter
3 - Zulkaïs and Kalilah - [Vathek] - (1909) - novelette by William Beckford (trans. of Histoire de la Princesse Zulkaïs et du Prince Kalilah 1912)
58 - Silence: A Fable - [Tales of the Folio Club] - (1903) - short story by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of Siope--A Fable 1838)
64 - The Romance of Photogen and Nycteris - (1879) - novelette by George MacDonald (variant of The History of Photogen and Nycteris: A Day and Night Mährchen)
113 - The Sphinx - (1894) - poem by Oscar Wilde
128 - The Fall of Babbulkund - (1907) - short story by Lord Dunsany
145 - The Green Meadow - (1918) - short story by Winifred V. Jackson and H. P. Lovecraft [as by Elizabeth Berkeley and H. P. Lovecraft]
154 - The Feast in the House of the Worm - (1970) - short story by Gary Myers (variant of The House of the Worm)
166 - Zingazar - (1971) - short story by Lin Carter
183 - A Wine of Wizardry - (1907) - poem by George Sterling
193 - The Garden of Fear - [James Allison] - (1934) - novelette by Robert E. Howard
213 - Jirel Meets Magic - [Jirel of Joiry] - (1935) - novelette by C. L. Moore
254 - Duar the Accursed - (1937) - novelette by Clifford Ball
279 - The Hashish-Eater - (1947) - poem by Clark Ashton Smith (variant of The Hashish-Eater: or, The Apocalypse of Evil 1922)
300 - The Party at Lady Cusp-Canine's - (1969) - short story by Mervyn Peake
313 - The Sword of Power (Excerpt from Khymyrium) - [Khymyrium] - (1971) - short fiction by Lin Carter

Imaginary Worlds

Ballantine Adult Fantasy: Book 58

Lin Carter

IMAGINARY WORLDS is a book about fantasy, about the men who write it, and how it is written. It is a joyful excursion by a man who himself loves fantasy, into the origins and the magicks of such writers as Dunsany, Eddison, Cabell: it examines the rise of fantasy in the American pulp magazines and delights in the sturdy health of 'sword and sorcery': it looks with pleasure on the works of some modern masters and knowledgeably explores the techniques of world-making.

It is, in short, a happy exploration of worlds, and men, and writers, and writings, by an author whose enthusiasm for his subject is boundless -- and is thus a joyful guide for fantasy lovers everywhere.

Best S.F. Stories from New Worlds

Best SF Stories from New Worlds: Book 1

Best Stories from New Worlds II

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Michael Moorcock
The Small Betraying Detail - (1965) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
The Keys to December - (1966) - novelette by Roger Zelazny
The Assassination Weapon - (1966) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
Nobody Axed You - (1965) - novelette by John Brunner
A Two-Timer - (1966) - novelette by David I. Masson
The Music Makers - (1965) - shortstory by Langdon Jones
The Squirrel Cage - (1966) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch

Best SF Stories from New Worlds: Book 2

Best SF Stories from New Worlds 3

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Michael Moorcock
Another Little Boy - (1966) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
The Poets of Millgrove, Iowa - (1966) - shortstory by John Sladek
The Transfinite Choice - (1966) - shortstory by David I. Masson
You: Coma: Marilyn Monroe - (1966) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
The Total Experience Kick - (1966) - shortstory by Charles Platt
The Contest - (1967) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
The Empty Room - (1967) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
The Descent of the West End - (1967) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
The Singular Quest of Martin Borg - (1965) - novelette by George Collyn
The Countenance - (1964) - shortstory by Barrington J. Bayley
The Pleasure Garden of Felipe Sagittarius - (1965) - shortstory by Michael Moorcock
Sisohpromatem - (1967) - shortstory by Kit Reed
For a Breath I Tarry - (1966) - novelette by Roger Zelazny

Best SF Stories from New Worlds: Book 3

Best SF Stories from New Worlds 4

Michael Moorcock's New Worlds may be the most dynamic SF magazine in the world today. Here is a vigorous, trail-blazing magazine whose writers carry you on voyages into the unknown--voyages which are original, disturbing & above all different.

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Michael Moorcock
In Passage of the Sun - (1966) - novelette by George Collyn
Multi-Value Motorway - (1967) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
The Great Clock - (1966) - shortstory by Langdon Jones
The Post-Mortem People - (1966) - shortstory by Peter Tate
The Disaster Story - (1966) - shortstory by Charles Platt
The Heat Death of the Universe - (1967) - shortstory by Pamela Zoline
Coranda - (1967) - novelette by Keith Roberts
The Soft World Sequence - (1967) - poem by George MacBeth
Kazoo - (1967) - shortstory by James Sallis
Integrity - (1964) - shortstory by Barrington J. Bayley
The Mountain - (1965) - shortstory by Michael Moorcock

Best SF Stories from New Worlds: Book 4

Best SF Stories from New Worlds 5

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Michael Moorcock
The Ship of Disaster - (1965) - shortstory by Barrington J. Bayley
The Square Root of Brain - (1968) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
In Seclusion - (1966) - novelette by Harvey Jacobs
Transient - (1965) - shortstory by Langdon Jones
The Head-Rape - (1968) - poem by D. M. Thomas
The Source - (1965) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
Period of Gestation - (1964) - shortstory by Thom Keyes
Dr. Gelabius - (1968) - shortstory by Hilary Bailey
The Valve Transcript - (1968) - shortstory by Joel Zoss
Linda and Daniel and Spike - (1967) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
Masterson and the Clerks - (1967) - novella by John Sladek

Best SF Stories from New Worlds: Book 5

Best SF Stories from New Worlds 6

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Michael Moorcock
The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde - (1969) - shortstory by Norman Spinrad
The Death Module - (1967) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
The Last Inn on the Road - (1967) - shortstory by Roger Zelazny and Dannie Plachta
The Spectrum - (1969) - poem by D. M. Thomas
The Tennyson Effect - (1966) - shortstory by Graham Hall
The Serpent of Kundalini - [Colin Charteris] - (1968) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
Mars Pastorale - (1967) - shortstory by Peter Tate
Biographical Note on Ludwig Van Beethoven II - (1968) - shortstory by Langdon Jones
A Landscape of Shallows - (1968) - shortstory by Christopher Finch
Scream - (1968) - shortstory by Giles Gordon
The Rodent Laboratory - (1966) - shortstory by Charles Platt

Best SF Stories from New Worlds: Book 6

Best SF Stories from New Worlds 7

Table of Contents:

The Killing Ground by J. G. Ballard
Gravity by Harvey Jacobs
The Eye of the Lens by Langdon Jones
A Man Must Die by John Clute
Mr Blacks Poems of Innocence by D. M. Thomas
The Ersatz Wine by Christopher Priest
Lib by Carol Emshwiller
Ba Ba Blocksheep by M. John Harrison
The Luger is a 9mm Automatic Handgun with Parabellum Action by Jerrold Mundis
The Delhi Division by Michael Moorcock

Best SF Stories from New Worlds: Book 7

Best SF Stories from New Worlds 8

Table of Contents:

Introduction - (1971) - essay by Michael Moorcock
The Ash Circus - (1969) - shortstory by M. John Harrison
All the King's Men - (1965) - novelette by Barrington J. Bayley
Mix-Up - (1964) - shortstory by George Collyn
Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones - (1968) - novelette by Samuel R. Delany
Lone Zone - (1965) - novella by Charles Platt
Flower-Gathering - (1969) - poem by Langdon Jones
Transplant - (1969) - poem by Langdon Jones
The Apocalypse Machine - (1968) - shortstory by Leo Zorin
The Beach Murders - (1966) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
The Wall - (1965) - shortstory by Josephine Saxton
The Tank Trapeze - (1969) - shortstory by Michael Moorcock

Best SF Stories from New Worlds: Book 8

Paradise: A Chronicle of a Distant World

Table of Contents:

A Boy and His Dog - (1969) - novella by Harlan Ellison
The Fall of Frenchy Steiner - (1964) - novelette by Hilary Bailey
The Bait Principle - (1970) - shortstory by M. John Harrison
Salvador Dali (The Innocent as Paranoid) - (1969) - essay by J. G. Ballard
The Last Lonely Man - (1964) - shortstory by John Brunner
The Radius Riders - (1962) - shortstory by Barrington J. Bayley
The Big Sound - (1962) - shortstory by Barrington J. Bayley
The Ship that Sailed the Ocean of Space - (1962) - shortstory by Barrington J. Bayley
Double Time - (1962) - shortstory by Barrington J. Bayley
The Erogenous Zone - (1969) - shortfiction by Graham Charnock

Birthright Universe: Chronicles of Distant Worlds: Book 1

Mike Resnick

The Earth-like planet Peponi has vast riches, an abundant and opulent wildlife, much like Kenya on old-Earth, and most importantly, compliant natives. But now that humanity is on the brink of opening up an entirely new world, has it learned its lessons from the past? Covers the time from colonization to independence.

Purgatory

Birthright Universe: Chronicles of Distant Worlds: Book 2

Mike Resnick

When Karimon is claimed by human colonists, which bears an uncanny resemblence to Zimbabwe on old-Earth, the planet's intelligent reptile inhabitants fight back by forging an alliance with the invaders' enemies. Covers the time from colonization to independence.

Inferno

Birthright Universe: Chronicles of Distant Worlds: Book 3

Mike Resnick

A small group of humans hope to avoid the mistakes that destroyed many other worlds. They are raising the Jasons from barbarism to civilization, on a planet which has much in comman with Uganda from old-Earth, but something goes hideously wrong.

William Masterson must try to find out why Jehanum, a showplace planet with a model government, productive farms, and a thriving tourist industry, has descended into bloody barbarism. One dictator after another rises to power, and the culture of the world is torn to fragments.

All These Worlds

Bobiverse: Book 3

Dennis E. Taylor

Being a sentient spaceship really should be more fun. But after spreading out through space for almost a century, Bob and his clones just can't stay out of trouble.

They've created enough colonies so humanity shouldn't go extinct. But political squabbles have a bad habit of dying hard, and the Brazilian probes are still trying to take out the competition. And the Bobs have picked a fight with an older, more powerful species with a large appetite and a short temper.

Still stinging from getting their collective butts kicked in their first encounter with the Others, the Bobs now face the prospect of a decisive final battle to defend Earth and its colonies. But the Bobs are less disciplined than a herd of cats, and some of the younger copies are more concerned with their own local problems than defeating the Others.

Yet salvation may come from an unlikely source. A couple of eighth-generation Bobs have found something out in deep space. All it will take to save the Earth and perhaps all of humanity is for them to get it to Sol -- unless the Others arrive first.

The Edge of Worlds

Books of the Raksura: Book 4

Martha Wells

An expedition of groundlings from the Empire of Kish have traveled through the Three Worlds to the Indigo Cloud court of the Raksura, shape-shifting creatures of flight that live in large family groups. The groundlings have found a sealed ancient city at the edge of the shallow seas, near the deeps of the impassable Ocean. They believe it to be the last home of their ancestors and ask for help getting inside. But the Raksura fear it was built by their own distant ancestors, the Forerunners, and the last sealed Forerunner city they encountered was a prison for an unstoppable evil.

Prior to the groundlings' arrival, the Indigo Cloud court had been plagued by visions of a disaster that could destroy all the courts in the Reaches. Now, the court's mentors believe the ancient city is connected to the foretold danger. A small group of warriors, including consort Moon, an orphan new to the colony and the Raksura's idea of family, and sister queen Jade, agree to go with the groundling expedition to investigate. But the predatory Fell have found the city too, and in the race to keep the danger contained, the Raksura may be the ones who inadvertently release it.

Spaceworlds: Stories of Life in the Void

British Library Science Fiction Classics: Book 17

Mike Ashley

Astronauts constructing a new space station must avert destruction from a missile sent by an unknown enemy; a generation starship is rocked by revelations of who their secret passengers in the hold truly are; a life or death struggle tests an operating surgeon -- in orbit, with an alien patient never seen before. Since space flight was achieved, and long before, science fiction writers have been imagining a myriad of stories set in the depths of the great darkness beyond our atmosphere.

From generation ships -- which are in space so long that there will be generations aboard who know no planetary life -- to orbiting satellites in the unforgiving reaches of the vacuum, there is a great range of these insular environments in which thrilling, innovative, and deeply emotional stories may unfold. With the Library's matchless collection of periodicals and magazines at his fingertips, Mike Ashley presents a stellar selection of tales from the infinite void above us, including contributions from Judith Merril, Jack Vance, and John Brunner.

Contents:

7 - Introduction (Spaceworlds: Stories of Life in the Void) - essay by Mike Ashley
19 - Umbrella in the Sky - (1961) - short story by E. C. Tubb
47 - Sail 25 - (1962) - novelette by Jack Vance (variant of Gateway to Strangeness)
87 - The Longest Voyage - (1967) - novelette by Richard C. Meredith
113 - The Ship Who Sang - [The Ship Who...] - (1961) - novelette by Anne McCaffrey
139 - O'Mara's Orphan - [Sector General] - (1960) - novelette by James White
185 - Ultima Thule - (1951) - short story by Eric Frank Russell
207 - The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years - (1940) - novelette by Don Wilcox
253 - Survival Ship - (1951) - short story by Judith Merril
267 - Lungfish - (1957) - novelette by John Brunner
317 - Story Sources (Spaceworlds: Stories of Life in the Void) - essay by Mike Ashley

The Lost Worlds of Cronus

Cageworld: Book 2

Colin Kapp

Mercury Shell, Venus Shell, Earth, Mars, Asteroid, Jupiter, Saturn. Each shell concentric, studded with artificial planets, each planet embedded in its shell, spinning like a ball-bearing. The whole Zeus-created in the service of Man but now beyond his control.

Now mathematics and space physics, converging, suggested another shell, its existence hidden from Man. A shell of utter darkness, cold and silence where only extreme mutants could survive.

To find that shell, the three were journeying again: Maq Ancor, Master Assassin, Magician Cherry and Sine Anura, Mistress of the Erotic. Together, daring the all-seeing, all-sensing hostility of Zeus.

Worlds to Come

Captain Future: Book 14

Brett Sterling

Captain Future and His Valiant Aides Speed to the Rescue of the Sagittarian System-Ready to Lock in Mortal Combat with Deadly Enemies from Another Dimension!...

William Morrison authored this novels under pseudonym Brett Sterling.

It first appeared in the spring, 1943 Issue of Captain Future magazine.

To download a free copy of this magazine;

Go to Luminist Perodical Archives
Scroll down to or search for Captain Future
Click on the blue highlight of the above issue and follow the intructions for downloading a PDF copy.

Walker of Worlds

Chronicles of the King's Tramp: Book 1

Tom De Haven

Jack, a Walker, is in danger. He's learned a secret and earned an enemy. And Mage of Four, Mage of Luck, is a powerful enemy. He must flee the world of Lostwithal. He must flee to Kemolo, our world. The secret could mean the end of all worlds, not just his own.

The Slanted Worlds

Chronoptika: Book 2

Catherine Fisher

Jake, Sarah, and Oberon Venn continue their fight for control of the Obsidian Mirror, and whoever wins will either save a life, change the past, or rescue the future.

But the Mirror has plans of its own.

The Game of Worlds

David Brin's Out of Time: Book 3

Roger MacBride Allen

Adam O'Connor, a teenage troublemaker of the late twentieth century, is hurtled out of time to the twenty-fourth century, where he is assigned the task of leading a historic meeting between humans and the warlike K'lugu and Devlins.

Defy the Worlds

Defy the Stars: Book 2

Claudia Gray

An outcast from her home -- Shunned after a trip through the galaxy with Abel, the most advanced cybernetic man ever created, Noemi Vidal dreams of traveling through the stars one more time. And when a deadly plague arrives on Genesis, Noemi gets her chance. As the only soldier to have ever left the planet, it will be up to her to save its people... if only she wasn't flying straight into a trap.

A fugitive from his fate -- On the run to avoid his depraved creator's clutches, Abel believes he's said good-bye to Noemi for the last time. After all, the entire universe stands between them...or so he thinks. When word reaches him of Noemi's capture by the very person he's trying to escape, Abel knows he must go to her, no matter the cost.

But capturing Noemi was only part of Burton Mansfield's master plan. In a race against time, Abel and Noemi will come together once more to discover a secret that could save the known worlds, or destroy them all.

In this thrilling and romantic sequel to Defy the Stars, bestselling author Claudia Gray asks us all to consider where--and with whom--we truly belong.

Skyfarer

Drifting Worlds: Book 1

Joseph Brassey

The Axiom Diamond is a mythical relic, with the power to show its bearer any truth they desire. Men have sought for it across many continents for centuries, but in vain. When trainee sorceress Aimee de Laurent's first ever portal-casting goes awry, she and her mentor are thrown into the race to find the gem, on the skyship Elysium. Opposing them are the infamous magic-wielding knights of the Eternal Order and their ruthless commander, Lord Azrael, who will destroy everything in their path...

Dragon Road

Drifting Worlds: Book 2

Joseph Brassey

A murderous plot aboard a city-sized flying ship must be averted before a crazed cult sends a million people to their deaths.

When portal-mage Harkon Bright and his apprentice are asked to help select a new captain for the immense skyship Iseult, they quickly find themselves embroiled in its Machiavellian officer's court. Meanwhile, their new recruit, Elias, struggles to adapt to his unexpected gift of life while suffering dark dreams of an ancient terror.

As the skies darken and storm-clouds gather on the Dragon Road, the crew of the Elysium come face to face with deadly intrigues, plots from beyond death, and a terrible darkness that lurks in the heart of a thousand-year storm.

Subterranean Worlds: A Critical Anthology

Early Classics of Science Fiction: Book 12

Peter Fitting

The bizarre idea that the earth's interior is hollow and, perhaps, even populated has been put to effective literary use by writers ranging from Edgar Allen Poe and Jules Verne to Rudy Rucker and Edgar Rice Burroughs. This notion had respectability as a scientific hypothesis until the early 1800s, and the theory that the earth "is hollow and inhabitable within" continues to find believers as an alternative description of the earth to this day.

The hollow earth is one of the most important settings in the literature of the imagination that fed into early science fiction. Subterranean Worlds presents a fascinating look at the theme of the hollow earth and its history, as well as the geological theories which produced many of these stories. It excerpts key passages from the major subterranean world fictions, some translated into English for the first time. With helpful introductions to each selection and a comprehensive bibliography, this book is the definitive treatment of this entertaining topic.

Contents:

A Bluffer's Guide to The Underworld: An Introduction to the Hollow Earth
Theories and Descriptions of the Inner Earth, from Kicher to Symmes
Relation D'Un Voyage Du Pole Arctique Au Pole Antarctique
Lamekis ou les voyages extraordinaries d'un Egyptien dans la terre interieure
The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins
A Voyage to the World in the Center of the Earth
L'aventurier Francois
L'Icosameron
John Cleves Symmes Jr. and Symzonia
Collin de Plancy: Voyage au centre de la terre
Edgar Allen Poe and "the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym"
Jules Verne: Voyage au centre de la terre
After Verne: Later Developments

Beatnik Bayou

Hugo and Nebula Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in the anthology New Voices III (1980), edited by George R. R. Martin. It can also be found in the anthologies The 1981 Annual World's Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha and The Best Science Fiction of the Year #10 (1981), edited by Terry Carr. It is included in the collections The Barbie Murders (1980) and The John Varley Reader (2004).

Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance

Hugo Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Galaxy, July 1976. The story is inlcuded in the collections The Persistence of Vision (1978) and The John Varley Reader (2004).

In the Bowl

Nebula Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1975. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Best Science Fiction of the Year #5 (1976), edited by Terry Carr, The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: 22nd Series (1977), edited by Edward L. Ferman, Nebula Winners Twelve (1978), edited by Gordon R. Dickson, and The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction (1980), edited by Robert Silveerberg and Martin H. Greenberg. It is included in the collections The Persistence of Vision (1978) and Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe and Other Stories (2013).

Options

Hugo and Nebula Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in the anthology Universe 9 (1979), edited by Terry Carr. It can also be found in the anthologies The 1980 Annual World's Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, and The Best Science Fiction of the Year #9 (1980). It is included in the collections Blue Champagne (1986) and The John Varley Reader (2004).

Retrograde Summer

Nebula Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1975. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Best Science Fiction of the Year #5 (1976), edited by Terry Carr and Worldmakers: SF Adventures in Terraforming (2001) edited by Gardner Dozois. It is included in the collections The Persistence of Vision (1978) and Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe and Other Stories (2013).

The Phantom of Kansas

Hugo Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Galaxy, February 1976. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Best Science Fiction of the Year #6 (1977), edited by Terry Carr, The World Treasury of Science Fiction (1989), edited by David G. Hartwell and Clones (1998) edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It is included in the collections The Persistence of Vision (1978) and The John Varley Reader (2004).

The Ophiuchi Hotline

Eight Worlds: Book 1

After the effortless capture of Earth by vastly superior aliens, humanity is forced to fight for existence on the Moon and other lumps of airless rock. The invention of the Hotline -- a constant stream of data from a star in the constellation Ophiuchus -- facilitates survival and enables the development of amazing new technologies.

Then, after 400 years, humanity's unknown helpers send a bill for their services... and suddenly everything is threatened once again.

The Ophiuchi Hotline was John Varley's first novel, and it received nominations for both the Hugo and Nebula awards he later won both for his book Persistence of Vision.

Steel Beach

Eight Worlds: Book 2

Luna, the Eden-like lunar colony that has become humankind's home since an alien attack destroyed Earth, is threatened by strange dark forces that lead reporter Hildy Johnson and other inhabitants to feelings of depression and suicide.

The Golden Globe

Eight Worlds: Book 3

Sparky Valentine, an actor and wanted murderer roaming the universe with a theatrical group, who can transform his appearance and his sex with magnetic implants, finds himself nearing both home and a confrontation with justice.

Irontown Blues

Eight Worlds: Book 4

A Million Worlds with You

Christopher Bach was a policeman in one of the largest Lunar cities when the A.I. Lunar Central Computer had a breakdown. Known as the Big Glitch, the problem turned out to be a larger war than anyone expected. When order was restored, Chris's life could never be the same. Now he's a private detective, assisted by his genetically altered dog Sherlock, and emulates the tough guys in the noir books and movies that he loves.

When Bach takes the case of a woman involuntarily infected with an engineered virus, he is on the hunt to track down the biohackers in the infamous district of Irontown. But if he wants to save humanity, he'll have to confront his own demons.

Frontier Worlds

Eighth Doctor Adventures: Book 29

Peter Anghelides

What strange attraction lures people to the planet Drebnar? When the TARDIS is dragged there, the Doctor determines to find out why. He discovers that scientists from the Frontier Worlds Corporation have set up a base on the planet, and are trying to blur the distinction between people and plants.

Firebird: Book 3

Claudia Gray

The fate of the multiverse rests in Marguerite's hands in the final installment of the Firebird trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parent's invention, to cross through alternate dimensions, Marguerite has been at the center of a cross-dimensional feud. Now she has learned that the evil Triad Corporation plans to destroy hundreds of universes, using their ultimate weapon: another dimension's Marguerite who is wicked, psychologically twisted, and always one step ahead.

Even though her boyfriend Paul has always been at Marguerite's side, the Triad's last attack has left him a changed man, and he may never be the same again. Marguerite alone must stop Triad and prevent the destruction of the multiverse. It's a battle of the Marguerites... and only one can win.

In the epic conclusion to the sweeping series that kicked off with A Thousand Pieces of You, fate and family will be questioned, loves will be won and lost, and the multiverse will be forever changed.

Mindworlds

Flesh and Gold: Book 3

Phyllis Gotlieb

How can you stop a conspiracy of telepaths? The alien Lyhhrt are powerful enough to read the human mind; if they find you know too much, they can erase your memory, or simply stop your heart. The normally peaceful Lyhhrt society has been splintered by technological change, the bitter legacy of their exploitation by the Zamos crime family. Now a few renegade Lyhhrt, driven mad by isolation from their group mind, seem to be planning terrible crimes--or are they again being used as deadly tools in someone else's scheme?

A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future

Frontiers of Imagination: Book 30

John Jacob Astor IV

What did our ancestors dream of when they gazed up at the stars and looked beyond the present? Wildly imaginative but grounded in reasoned scientific speculation, A Journey in Other Worlds races far ahead of the nineteenth century to imagine what life would be like in the year 2000. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Earth is effectively a corporate technocracy, with big businesses using incredible advances in science to improve life on the planet as a whole. Seeking other planets habitable for the growing human population, the spaceship Callisto, powered by an antigravitational force known as apergy, embarks on a momentous tour of the solar system. Jupiter proves to be a wilderness paradise, full of threatening beasts and landscapes of inspired beauty, where the explorers must fight for their lives. Dangers less tangible but equally deadly await the Callisto crew on Saturn, which yields profound secrets about their fate and the ultimate destiny of mankind.

Thoughtful, adventurous, and replete with a dazzling array of futuristic devices, A Journey in Other Worlds is a classic, unforgettable story of utopias and humankind's restless exploration of the stars.

Master of Adventure: The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs

Frontiers of Imagination: Book 39

Richard A. Lupoff

The Bision Edition is the fourth edition. Each edition was revised and expanded.

So, just how was Tarzan created? Eager to know the inside story about the legendary John Carter and the amazing cities and peoples of Barsoom? Perhaps your taste is more suited to David Innes and the fantastic lost world at the Earth's core? Or maybe wrong-way Napier and the bizarre civilizations of cloud-enshrouded Venus are more to your liking? These pages contain all that you will ever want to know about the wondrous worlds and unforgettable characters penned by the master storyteller Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Richard A. Lupoff, the respected critic and writer who helped spark a Burroughs revival in the 1960s, reveals fascinating details about the stories written by the creator of Tarzan. Featured here are outlines of all of Burroughs's major novels, with descriptions of how they were each written and their respective sources of inspiration. This Bison Books edition includes a new foreword by fantasy writer Michael Moorcock, a new introduction by the author, a final chapter by Phillip R. Burger, as well as corrected text and an updated bibliography.

Contents:

2 - Edgar Rice Burroughs and His Most Famous Creations - (1965) - interior artwork by Al Williamson and Reed Crandall
7 - Preface (Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure) - (1965) - essay by Henry Hardy Heins
24 - Introduction to the Centennial Edition (Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure) - essay by Richard A. Lupoff
28 - Introduction to Second Edition (Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure) - (1968) - essay by Richard A. Lupoff (variant of Introduction to this Edition (Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure))
46 - John Carter Battles Green Men of Barsoom - (1965) - interior artwork by Al Williamson and Reed Crandall
76 - David Innes, Hyaenodons, and Man-Apes of Pellucidar - (1965) - interior artwork by Frank Frazetta
119 - The Land That Time Forgot - (1965) - interior artwork by Al Williamson and Reed Crandall
127 - A Scene from The Moon Men - (1965) - interior artwork by Reed Crandall
130 - A Scene from The Red Hawk - (1965) - interior artwork by Reed Crandall
162 - Carson Napier and the Klangan of Amtor - (1965) - interior artwork by Al Williamson and Reed Crandall
197 - David Innes, Jubal the Ugly One, Dian the Beautiful - (1965) - interior artwork by Frank Frazetta
219 - A Mahar casts her sinister spell - (1965) - interior artwork by Frank Frazetta (variant of "She moved as one in a trance straight toward the reptile." 1973)
240 - Jacket Design for a Proposed Edition of Pellucidar - (1965) - interior artwork by Frank Frazetta
272 - David Innes Faces a Labyrinthodon in Pellucidar - (1965) - interior artwork by Frank Frazetta
286 - David Innes, a Hydrophidian, Ja the Mezop - (1965) - interior artwork by Frank Frazetta
305 - Bibliography (Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure) - (1965) - essay by Richard A. Lupoff
313 - A Checklist of Edgar Rice Burroughs Books - (1965) - essay by Richard A. Lupoff

Lost Worlds

Frontiers of Imagination: Book 48

Clark Ashton Smith

An artist, poet, and prolific contributor to Weird Tales, Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1967) is an influential figure in the history of pulp fiction. A close correspondent and collaborator with H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, Smith was widely celebrated as a master by his contemporaries. Back in print for the first time since 1971, Lost Worlds brings together twenty-three of Smith's classic stories, all of which were originally published in Weird Tales. Rather than center his works on heroes, Smith created fantastical worlds around which he built cycles of stories. Included here are tales from the realms of Averoigne, Zothique, Hyperborea, and others. Told in lush poetic prose, these haunting stories bring to life dark, dreamlike realms full of gothic monsters and mortals. Jeff VanderMeer provides an introduction for this Bison Books edition.

Contents:

viii - Introduction (Lost Worlds) - essay by Jeff VanderMeer
3 - The Tale of Satampra Zeiros - [Satampra Zeiros] - (1931) - shortstory
18 - The Door to Saturn - [Hyperborea] - (1932) - shortstory
42 - The Seven Geases - [Hyperborea] - (1934) - novelette
67 - The Coming of the White Worm - [Hyperborea] - (1941) - shortstory
85 - The Last Incantation - [Malygris] - (1930) - shortstory
91 - A Voyage to Sfanomoë - [Poseidonis] - (1931) - shortstory
101 - The Death of Malygris - [Malygris] - (1934) - shortstory
119 - The Holiness of Azédarac - [Averoigne] - (1933) - novelette
144 - The Beast of Averoigne - [Averoigne] - (1933) - shortstory
159 - The Empire of the Necromancers - [Zothique] - (1932) - shortstory
171 - The Isle of the Torturers - [Zothique] - (1933) - shortstory
190 - Necromancy in Naat - [Zothique] - (1936) - novelette
214 - Xeethra - [Zothique] - (1934) - novelette
239 - The Maze of Maal Dweb - [Maal Dweb] - (1933) - shortstory
255 - The Flower-Women - [Maal Dweb] - (1935) - shortstory
271 - The Demon of the Flower - (1933) - shortstory
283 - The Plutonian Drug - (1934) - shortstory
296 - The Planet of the Dead - (1932) - shortstory
311 - The Gorgon - (1932) - shortstory
325 - The Letter from Mohaun Los - (1932) - novelette (variant of Flight into Super-Time)
366 - The Light from Beyond - (1933) - novelette
390 - The Hunters from Beyond - (1932) - shortstory
410 - The Treader of the Dust - (1935) - shortstory

The House of Many Worlds

Galaxy Science Fiction: Book 12

Sam Merwin, Jr.

Contains both The House of Many Worlds (1951) and Three Faces of Time (1955).

THE CLASSIC OF ALTERNATE EARTHS!

Ancient, encrusted with legend, supposedly empty, the old mansion on Spindrift Key stood like a dark and lowering wraith. Reporter Elspeth Marriner's nose for news leads her into a world of trouble. Make that, in worlds of trouble. When she and photographer Mack Fraser, the man she loves to hate, are sent to investigate the old mansion in the Hatteras, they never dream that once inside their lives will never be the same. For the house is a gateway to alternate Earths, watched over by a mysterious group called the Workers, who guard against more advanced civilizations crossing the dimensional barriers to conquer defenseless neighbors. From the Workers, Elspeth learns that her and Mack's presence at the house is no accident. They have been personally selected by the Workers for a dangerous assignment. Their unique combination of talents and knowledge are needed to counter a threat that could plunge the entire world into war. If Elspeth accepted the assignment, she would have to cross to another world, aided only by her native ingenuity, then surmount a succession of plots and counterplots, with death the price of failure. Worse, she would have to work more closely than ever with the detested Mark Fraser.

The Well of the Worlds

Galaxy Science Fiction: Book 17

C. L. Moore
Henry Kuttner

Terrifying disturbances have been reported in the Uranium mines of Fortuna. The minors have come to believe that they are haunted, and the delays in production have attracted the attention of the Royal Atomic Energy Commission. Their agent arrives to discover one of the mine's owners, a young woman of unknown origin, living in terror of the other, an old man with mad dreams of immortality. They follow a mysterious and ruthless would-be goddess into another world, where masked beings of pure energy have enslaved the population for thousands of years, drawing their titanic power from the unfathomable Well of the Worlds.

Worldshaker

Grudgebearer Trilogy: Book 3

J. F. Lewis

A CAPTIVATING STORY OF JOURNEY AND SACRIFICE

Uled, the originator of the carnivorous Aern, the plantlike Vael, and the reptilian Zaur, has completed his plan to return from the dead, unleashing an army of undead creatures on the living world.

Prince Rivvek has achieved peace between his people and the Aern, but at the cost of his capital city and the departure of a large portion of his military on a suicide mission to attempt the rescue of the Lost Command, a group of one thousand Armored Aern who carried their assault into the Never Dark as a gambit to help win the last Demon War. The goal is to gain the forgiveness of the Aern and to be accepted as something other than Oathbreakers by Rae'en, the leader of the Aern and daughter of Kholster.

Kholster, who only recently became the god of death, must work together with other new deities to bring balance to the heavens and stop Uled. Can he prevent Uled's undead army from ravaging the world in time to save Rae'en and those he still loves in the mortal realm?

Worlds of Exile and Illusion

Hainish Cycle

Ursula K. Le Guin

A single-volume omnibus of the first three Hainish novels.

Intergalactic war reaches Fomalhaut II in Rocannon's World.

Born out of season, a precocious young girl visits the alien city of the farborns and the false-men in Planet of Exile.

In City of Illusions a stranger wandering in the forest people's woods is found and his health restored; now the fate of two worlds rests in this stranger's hands...

Contents

Becoming Human

Harmony of Worlds: Book 1

Finalist for the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel

The clone of a traitor, sub-human spy probe August is catapulted into the midst of an interplanetary war as the planet Neuland is threatened with alien annihilation and August himself confronts his dream of becoming fully human.

Testament

Harmony of Worlds: Book 2

Treated like an outcast in a genetically engineered world, human throwback Gray Bridger hopes to escape Testament and the powerful Bridger matriarchy that plots to use Gray for its own devices.

The Beacon

Harmony of Worlds: Book 3

On a future Earth, the arrival of a vast alien starship forces the entire world to confront a deadly virus.

Imposter

Harmony of Worlds: Book 4

The Battle of the Hammer Worlds

Simply because he is genetically altered, an academic researcher is banished to the unknown enemy worlds of the Emirates -- a place of barbaric culture ruled by the Sons, descendants of human men and holy Houris. Pursued by those who would use his gift towards their own ends, he desperately attempts to find a way back to the Harmony and stumbles across a terrible secret that will stop an intergalactic war, and perhaps, change what it means to be Human -- forever.

Helfort's War: Book 2

Graham Sharp Paul

He thought Hell was the worst they could throw at him.

He was wrong.

Back from tangling with the Hammer of Kraa, the most brutal, trigger-happy tyrants in humanspace, Junior Lieutenant Michael Helfort is assigned to the Federated Worlds heavy cruiser Ishaq, which is struggling to rise to the threat posed by a newly resurgent Hammer. Aboard the floundering ship, Helfort is coming to grips with a painful injury and the unpleasant truth that nobody likes a young hero--least of all senior officers.

Without warning, the Ishaq and twenty-seven Fed merchant ships are blown apart in a horrific ambush, the first step in the Hammer's master strategy to destroy the hated Federated Worlds. Michael and a pitiful remnant of the Ishaq's crew escape the inferno. The Feds have no idea who's behind the heinous attack, and the Hammer are determined to keep it that way, consigning the Ishaq's survivors to a prison camp deep in the wilderness of the Hammer's home planet.

No one's getting out alive to derail the Hammer's lethal master plan--especially not the FedWorlds hero who so humiliated them on the battlefield. It's payback time, and the Hammers intend to throw their entire space fleet into destroying Michael Helfort and the Federated Worlds.

Too bad it won't be enough.

The Orphaned Worlds

Humanity's Fire: Book 2

Michael Cobley

Darien is no longer a lost outpost of humanity, but the prize in an intergalactic power struggle. Hegemony forces have a stranglehold over the planet and crack troops patrol its hotspots while Earth watches, passive, rendered impotent by galactic politics. But its Darien ambassador will soon become a player in a greater conflict. There is more at stake than a turf war on a newly discovered world.

An ancient Uvovo temple hides access to a hyperspace prison, housing the greatest threat sentient life has ever known. Millennia ago, malignant intelligences were caged there following an apocalyptic war. And their servants work on their release.

However, Darien’s guardians have not been idle, gathering resistance on the planet’s forest moon. Knowledge has been lost since great races battled in eons past, and now time is short. The galaxy will depend on the Uvovo reclaiming their past – and humanity must look to its future. For a new war is coming.

Distant Worlds: The Story of a Voyage to the Planets

Hyperion Classics of Science Fiction: Book 42

Friedrich Mader

This work takes its readers on a thrilling journey to the planets and moons of our solar system, including Mars and Saturn before heading, at several times the speed of light, to Alpa Centauri, where they explore an Eden-like planet.

Worlds of the Imperium

Imperium: Book 1

Keith Laumer

Appeared in Ace Double F-127 in 1962.

Wizards

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 1

Stories deal with a magician's quest, a man who changes into an elephant, sorcerers, werewolves, storytellers, a magical necklace, ancient monsters revived by a spell, a daring rescue, and a mysterious wall...

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction: Wizards - essay by Isaac Asimov
11 - Mazirian the Magician - [Dying Earth] - (1950) - short story by Jack Vance
27 - Please Stand By - [Max Kearny] - (1962) - short story by Ron Goulart
49 - What Good Is a Glass Dagger? - [Magic Goes Away] - (1972) - novelette by Larry Niven
84 - The Eye of Tandyla - [Pusadian] - (1951) - novelette by L. Sprague de Camp
107 - The White Horse Child - (1979) - short story by Greg Bear
126 - Semley's Necklace - [Hainish] - (1964) - short story by Ursula K. Le Guin (variant of The Dowry of Angyar)
145 - And the Monsters Walk - (1952) - novella by John Jakes
182 - The Seeker in the Fortress - [Kardios] - (1979) - novelette by Manly Wade Wellman
204 - The Wall Around the World - (1953) - novelette by Theodore R. Cogswell
230 - The People of the Black Circle - [Conan] - (1934) - novella by Robert E. Howard

Witches

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 2

Table of Contents:

9 - Introduction: Witches - (1984) - essay by Isaac Asimov
12 - My Mother Was a Witch - (1966) - short story by William Tenn
18 - A Message from Charity - (1967) - short story by William M. Lee
37 - The Witch - (1943) - novelette by A. E. van Vogt
58 - The Witches of Karres - [Karres] - (1949) - novelette by James H. Schmitz
99 - Spree - (1984) - short story by Barry N. Malzberg
107 - Devil's Henchman - (1952) - short story by Murray Leinster
121 - Malice in Wonderland - (1957) - novelette by Rufus King
140 - Operation Salamander - [Operation Chaos] - (1957) - novelette by Poul Anderson
166 - Wizard's World - (1967) - novella by Andre Norton
212 - Sweets to the Sweet - (1947) - short story by Robert Bloch
221 - Poor Little Saturday - (1956) - short story by Madeleine L'Engle
236 - Squeakie's First Case - (1943) - novelette by Margaret Manners
258 - The Ipswich Phial - [Lord Darcy] - (1976) - novelette by Randall Garrett
303 - Black Heart and White Heart - (1896) - novella by H. Rider Haggard

Cosmic Knights

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 3

Magical tales of chivalry and adventure include works by Poul Anderson, Vera Chapman, L. Sprague de Camp, Kenneth Grahame, Keith Laumer, Roger Zelazny, and others...

Table of Contents:

1 - Introduction: In Days of Old - (1985) - essay by Isaac Asimov (variant of In Days of Old)
7 - Crusader Damosel - (1978) - short story by Vera Chapman
21 - Divers Hands - [Julian] - (1979) - novelette by Darrell Schweitzer
49 - The Reluctant Dragon - (1898) - novelette by Kenneth Grahame
71 - The Immortal Game - (1954) - short story by Poul Anderson
85 - The Stainless-Steel Knight - (1961) - novelette by John T. Phillifent
117 - Diplomat-at-Arms - [Retief] - (1960) - novella by Keith Laumer
165 - Dream Damsel - (1954) - short story by Evan Hunter
177 - The Last Defender of Camelot - (1979) - novelette by Roger Zelazny
201 - A Knyght Ther Was - (1963) - novella by Robert F. Young
251 - Divide and Rule - (1939) - novella by L. Sprague de Camp

Spells

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 4

Short stories by authors such as Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, and Andre Norton depict the strange effects of curses and magic spells...

Table of Contents:

7 - Curses! - (1985) - essay by Isaac Asimov
10 - The Candidate - (1961) - short story by Henry Slesar
18 - The Christmas Shadrach - (1891) - short story by Frank R. Stockton
37 - The Snow Women - [Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser] - (1970) - novella by Fritz Leiber
106 - Invisible Boy - (1945) - short story by Ray Bradbury
116 - The Hero Who Returned - (1979) - novelette by Gerald W. Page
140 - Toads of Grimmerdale - [Witch World Secrets] - (1973) - novella by Andre Norton (variant of The Toads of Grimmerdale)
188 - A Literary Death - (1985) - short story by Martin H. Greenberg
191 - Satan and Sam Shay - (1942) - short story by Robert Arthur
206 - Lot No. 249 - (1892) - novelette by Arthur Conan Doyle
239 - The Witch Is Dead - [Simon Ark - 3] - (1956) - short story by Edward D. Hoch
259 - I Know What You Need - (1976) - novelette by Stephen King
282 - The Miracle Workers - (1969) - novella by Jack Vance (variant of The Miracle-Workers 1958)

Giants

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 5

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction: Giants in the Earth - (1985) - essay by Isaac Asimov (variant of Giants in the Earth)
11 - The Riddle of Ragnarok - (1955) - short story by Theodore Sturgeon
31 - Straggler from Atlantis - [Kardios] - (1977) - novelette by Manly Wade Wellman
57 - He Who Shrank - (1936) - novella by Henry Hasse
123 - From the Dark Waters - (1976) - short story by David Drake
139 - Small Lords - (1957) - novelette by Frederik Pohl
161 - The Mad Planet - [Burl - 1] - (1920) - novella by Murray Leinster
220 - Dreamworld - (1955) - short story by Isaac Asimov
222 - The Thirty and One - [Tales from Cornwall - 4] - (1938) - short story by David H. Keller, M.D.
235 - The Law-Twister Shorty - [Dilbia] - (1971) - novelette by Gordon R. Dickson
279 - In the Lower Passage - (1902) - short story by Harle Oren Cummins
284 - Cabin Boy - (1951) - novelette by Damon Knight
312 - The Colossus of Ylourgne - [The Colossus of Ylourgne] - (1934) - novelette by Clark Ashton Smith

Mythical Beasties

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 6

Table of Contents:

3 - Centaur Fielder for the Yankees - (1986) - short story by Edward D. Hoch
15 - The Ice Dragon - (1980) - novelette by George R. R. Martin
38 - Prince Prigio - (1889) - novella by Andrew Lang
90 - The Gorgon - (1982) - novelette by Tanith Lee
114 - The Griffin and the Minor Canon - (1885) - short story by Frank R. Stockton
131 - The Kragen - (1964) - novella by Jack Vance
205 - The Little Mermaid - (1837) - novelette by Hans Christian Andersen (trans. of Den Lille Havfrue)
230 - Letters from Laura - (1954) - short story by Mildred Clingerman
239 - The Triumph of Pegasus - (1964) - novelette by Frank A. Javor
271 - Caution! Inflammable! - (1955) - short story by Thomas N. Scortia
276 - The Pyramid Project - (1964) - novelette by Robert F. Young (variant of The Sphinx)
309 - The Silken-Swift - (1953) - short story by Theodore Sturgeon
332 - Mood Wendigo - [Howie Wyman] - (1980) - short story by Thomas A. Easton

Magical Wishes

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 7

Stories tell of a magical umbrella, a newspaper that predicts the future, a devil's advocate, a terrible curse, a witch, a wizard, nightmares, and a powerful genie...

Table of Contents:

9 - Introduction: Wishing Will Make It So - (1986) - essay by Isaac Asimov
12 - The Monkey's Paw - (1902) - short story by W. W. Jacobs
24 - Behind the News - (1952) - short story by Jack Finney
38 - The Flight of the Umbrella - [Umbrella / Fillmore] - (1977) - novella by Marvin Kaye
97 - Tween - (1978) - novelette by J. F. Bone
121 - The Boy Who Brought Love - (1974) - short story by Edward D. Hoch
125 - The Vacation - (1963) - short story by Ray Bradbury
133 - The Anything Box - (1956) - short story by Zenna Henderson
148 - A Born Charmer - [Dafydd Llewelyn] - (1981) - short story by Edward P. Hughes
166 - What If ... - (1952) - short story by Isaac Asimov
180 - Millennium - (1955) - short story by Fredric Brown
182 - Dreams Are Sacred - (1948) - novelette by Peter Phillips
206 - The Same to You Doubled - (1970) - short story by Robert Sheckley
216 - Gifts - (1958) - short story by Gordon R. Dickson
230 - I Wish I May, I Wish I Might - (1973) - short story by Bill Pronzini
234 - Three Day Magic - (1948) - novella by Charlotte Armstrong
321 - The Bottle Imp - (1891) - novelette by Robert Louis Stevenson

Devils

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 8

A collection of fantasy stories dealing with black magic, temptation, and demonic enchantment includes works by Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Vincent Benet, Leo Tolstoy, Robert Bloch, Theodore Sturgeon, and Philip Jose Farmer...

Table of Contents:

9 - The Devil - essay by Isaac Asimov
13 - I'm Dangerous Tonight - (1937) - novella by Cornell Woolrich
91 - The Devil in Exile - [Devil & Belphagor - 3] - (1968) - short story by Brian Cleeve
105 - The Cage - (1959) - short story by Ray Russell
113 - The Tale of Ivan the Fool - (1890) - novelette 1886) [as by Leo Tolstoi]
143 - The Shepherds - (1941) - short story by Ruth Sawyer
151 - He Stepped on the Devil's Tail - (1955) - short story by Winston K. Marks
167 - Rustle of Wings - (1953) - short story by Fredric Brown
173 - That Hell-Bound Train - (1958) - short story by Robert Bloch
189 - Added Inducement - (1957) - short story by Robert F. Young
197 - The Devil and Daniel Webster - (1936) - short story by Stephen Vincent Benét
213 - Colt .24 - (1987) - short story by Rick Hautala
225 - The Making of Revelation, Part I - (1980) - novelette by Philip José Farmer
243 - The Howling Man - (1959) - short story by Charles Beaumont
261 - Trace - (1961) - short story by Jerome Bixby
265 - Guardian Angel - (1950) - novelette by Arthur C. Clarke
309 - The Devil Was Sick - (1951) - short story by Bruce Elliott
321 - Deal with the D.E.V.I.L. - (1981) - short story by Theodore R. Cogswell
325 - Dazed - (1971) - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon

Atlantis

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 9

A collection of fantastic tales from some of the world's finest science fiction writers brings to life a lost world that still holds out the promise of magical secrets or fatal traps for the curious or unwary...

Table of Contents:

9 - Introduction: The Lost City - (1988) - essay by Isaac Asimov
15 - Treaty in Tartessos - (1963) - short story by Karen Anderson
23 - The Vengeance of Ulios - (1935) - novelette by Edmond Hamilton
61 - Scar-Tissue - (1946) - short story by Henry S. Whitehead
77 - The Double Shadow - [Poseidonis] - (1933) - short story by Clark Ashton Smith
95 - The Dweller in the Temple - [Kardios] - (1977) - novelette by Manly Wade Wellman
123 - Gone Fishing - (1988) - short story by J. A. Pollard
129 - The Lamp - [W. Wilson Newbury] - (1975) - short story by L. Sprague de Camp
153 - The Shadow Kingdom - [Kull of Valusia] - (1929) - novelette by Robert E. Howard
193 - The New Atlantis - (1975) - novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
225 - Dragon Moon - [Elak] - (1941) - novelette by Henry Kuttner
273 - The Brigadier in Check -- and Mate - [Brigadier Ffellowes] - (1986) - novella by Sterling E. Lanier

Ghosts

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 10

Fourteen chilling tales--including Charles L. Grant's "Come Dance With Me on my Pony's Grave," Parke Godwin's "The Fire When it Comes," and Isaac Asimov's "Author Author"--tells of ghosts returned on quests of justice, love, and vengeance...

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction: Ghosts - (1988) - essay by Isaac Asimov
11 - Ringing the Changes - (1955) - novelette by Robert Aickman
39 - Author! Author! - (1964) - novelette by Isaac Asimov
67 - Touring - (1981) - novelette by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois and Michael Swanwick [as by Jack M. Dann and Gardner Dozois and Michael Swanwick]
85 - The Wind in the Rose-Bush - (1902) - novelette by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
102 - Come Dance with Me on My Pony's Grave - (1973) - short story by Charles L. Grant
115 - The Fire When It Comes - (1981) - novelette by Parke Godwin
159 - The Toll-House - (1907) - short story by W. W. Jacobs
169 - The Invasion of the Church of the Holy Ghost - (1983) - novelette by Russell Kirk
213 - A Terrible Vengeance - (1889) - novelette by Mrs. J. H. Riddell [as by Charlotte Riddell]
254 - Elle Est Trois, (La Mort) - (1983) - novelette by Tanith Lee
275 - A Passion for History - (1976) - short story by Stephen Minot
286 - Daemon - (1946) - short story by C. L. Moore
309 - The Lady's Maid's Bell - (1902) - novelette by Edith Wharton
329 - The King of Thieves - [Magnus Ridolph] - (1949) - short story by Jack Vance

Curses

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 11

Tales of dark magic, sinister spells, deadly vengeance, and terrifying powers highlight a collection featuring the work of Wilkie Collins, Robert Bloch, Arthur C. Clarke, and other authors...

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction: Malevolence - (1989) - essay by Isaac Asimov
10 - The Curse - (1946) - short story by Arthur C. Clarke
13 - Julia Cahill's Curse - (1903) - short story by George Moore
19 - The Red Swimmer - (1939) - novelette by Robert Bloch
40 - The Doom of the Griffiths - (1858) - novelette by Mrs. Gaskell [as by Elizabeth Gaskell]
75 - You Know Willie - (1957) - short story by Theodore R. Cogswell
80 - Trouble with Water - (1939) - short story by H. L. Gold [as by Horace L. Gold]
102 - Mad Monkton - (1855) - novella by Wilkie Collins
164 - Long Chromachy of the Crows - (1905) - short story by Seumas MacManus
175 - The Little Black Train - [John the Balladeer] - (1954) - short story by Manly Wade Wellman
191 - The Curse of the Catafalques - (1882) - novelette by F. Anstey
217 - A Séance in Summer - (1974) - short story by Thomas F. Monteleone [as by Mario Martin, Jr.]
228 - Transformations - (1989) - short story by Christopher Fahy
237 - In Dark New England Days - (1890) - short story by Sarah Orne Jewett
256 - The Messenger - (1897) - novelette by Robert W. Chambers
292 - Or the Grasses Grow - (1958) - short story by Avram Davidson
301 - The Dollar - (1905) - short story by Morgan Robertson
317 - A Hunger in the Blood - (1989) - novelette by Talmage Powell

Faeries

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Book 12

Table of Contents:

1 - Fairyland - (1991) - essay by Isaac Asimov
4 - How the Fairies Came to Ireland - (1902) - short story by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh [as by Herminie Templeton]
15 - The Manor of Roses - [John & Stephen] - (1966) - novella by Thomas Burnett Swann
79 - The Fairy Prince - (1911) - short story by H. C. Bailey
93 - The Ugly Unicorn - (1991) - short story by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
105 - The Brownie of the Black Haggs - short story by James Hogg (variant of The Brownie of the Black Hags 1828)
121 - The Dream of Akinosuké - (1904) - short story by Lafcadio Hearn
128 - Elfinland - (1991) - novelette by Ludwig Tieck (trans. of Die Elfen 1812) [as by Johann Ludwig Tieck]
148 - Darby O'Gill and the Good People - (1901) - short story by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh [as by Herminie Templeton]
161 - No Man's Land - novella by John Buchan (variant of No-Man's-Land 1899)
208 - The Prism - (1901) - short story by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman [as by Mary E. Wilkins]
220 - The Kith of the Elf-Folk - (1908) - short story by Lord Dunsany
235 - The Secret Place - (1966) - short story by Richard McKenna
252 - The King of the Elves - (1953) - novelette by Philip K. Dick
274 - Flying Pan - (1956) - short story by Robert F. Young
284 - My Father, the Cat - (1957) - short story by Henry Slesar
292 - Kid Stuff - (1953) - short story by Isaac Asimov
307 - The Long Night of Waiting - (1974) - short story by Andre Norton
325 - The Queen of Air and Darkness - (1971) - novella by Poul Anderson

Intergalactic Empires

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 1

The Science Fictional Olympics

Stories deal with the rise and fall, government, exploration missions, incorporation, and defense of interstellar empires.

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction: Empires - essay by Isaac Asimov
11 - Cycles - essay by uncredited
13 - Chalice of Death - [Lest We Forget Thee, Earth - 1] - (1957) - novella by Robert Silverberg
47 - Orphan of the Void - [Terran Federation - 1] - (1972) - novelette by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (variant of The Man Who Wasn't Home 1960)
92 - Down to the Worlds of Men - (1963) - novelette by Alexei Panshin
120 - Governance - essay by uncredited
122 - Ministry of Disturbance - [Empire Era] - (1958) - novelette by H. Beam Piper
163 - Blind Alley - [Foundation Universe] - (1945) - short story by Isaac Asimov
186 - A Planet Named Shayol - [The Instrumentality of Mankind] - (1961) - novelette by Cordwainer Smith
222 - Concerns - essay by uncredited
224 - Diabologic - (1955) - short story by Eric Frank Russell
245 - Fighting Philosopher - [Philosophical Corps] - (1954) - novelette by Everett B. Cole [as by E. B. Cole]
281 - Honorable Enemies - [Dominic Flandry] - (1951) - novelette by Poul Anderson

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 2

1984 Signet Classic mass market paperback. Edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh. Sci-fi anthology includes stories by Asimov, George R.R. Martin, L. Sprague de Camp, Mike Resnick, Arthur C. Clarke. Alan Dean Foster and others.

Table of Contents:

1 - Introduction: Competition! - essay by Isaac Asimov
4 - Run to Starlight - (1974) - novelette by George R. R. Martin
33 - The Mickey Mouse Olympics - (1979) - short story by Tom Sullivan
47 - Dream Fighter - (1977) - short story by Bob Shaw
59 - The Kokod Warriors - [Magnus Ridolph] - (1952) - novelette by Jack Vance
94 - Getting Through University - [Dr. Dillingham] - (1968) - novelette by Piers Anthony
127 - For the Sake of Grace - [Coyote Jones] - (1969) - novelette by Suzette Haden Elgin
150 - The National Pastime - (1973) - novelette by Norman Spinrad
169 - A Day for Dying - (1969) - short story by Charles Nuetzel
179 - The People Trap - (1968) - short story by Robert Sheckley
197 - Why Johnny Can't Speed - (1971) - short story by Alan Dean Foster
210 - Nothing in the Rules - (1939) - novelette by L. Sprague de Camp
239 - The Olympians - (1982) - short story by Mike Resnick
247 - The Wind from the Sun - (1964) - novelette by Arthur C. Clarke
267 - Prose Bowl - (1979) - novelette by Barry N. Malzberg and Bill Pronzini
293 - From Downtown at the Buzzer - (1977) - novelette by George Alec Effinger
313 - A Glint of Gold - (1980) - short story by Simon Hawke [as by Nicholas V. Yermakov]
329 - The Survivor - (1965) - novelette by Walter F. Moudy

Supermen

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 3

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction: Super - (1984) - essay by Isaac Asimov
11 - Angel, Dark Angel - (1967) - short story by Roger Zelazny
23 - Worlds to Kill - (1968) - novelette by Harlan Ellison
47 - In the Bone - (1966) - short story by Gordon R. Dickson
69 - What Rough Beast? - (1959) - novelette by Damon Knight
92 - Death by Ecstasy - [Gil Hamilton] - (1969) - novella by Larry Niven
154 - Un-Man - [Psychotechnic League] - (1953) - novella by Poul Anderson
236 - Muse - (1969) - short story by Dean R. Koontz
247 - Resurrection - (1948) - short story by A. E. van Vogt
265 - Pseudopath - (1959) - novelette by Philip E. High
288 - After the Myths Went Home - (1969) - short story by Robert Silverberg
296 - Before the Talent Dies - (1957) - novelette by Henry Slesar
317 - Brood World Barbarian

Comets

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 4

Tales by Mark Twain, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson, Frederik Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke, Gregory Benford, and other masters of the science fiction genre explore the realm of comets.

Table of Contents:

ix - Introduction: Comets - (1986) - essay by Isaac Asimov
1 - A Blazing Starre Seene in the West - (1642) - short fiction by Jonas Wright
5 - Into the Sun - (1882) - short story by Robert Duncan Milne
23 - Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven - (1907) - short fiction by Mark Twain (variant of Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven)
32 - The Comet Doom - (1928) - novelette by Edmond Hamilton
71 - Sunspot - (1960) - short story by Hal Clement
93 - Inside the Comet - (1960) - short story by Arthur C. Clarke (variant of Into the Comet)
103 - Raindrop - (1965) - novelette by Hal Clement
149 - Comet Wine - (1967) - novelette by Ray Russell
167 - The Red Euphoric Bands - (1967) - short story by R. S. Richardson [as by Philip Latham]
180 - Throwback - (1969) - short story by Sydney J. Bounds
189 - Kindergarten - (1970) - short story by James E. Gunn
192 - West Wind, Falling - (1971) - novelette by Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund
213 - The Comet, the Cairn and the Capsule - (1972) - short story by Duncan Lunan (variant of Comet, Cairn and Capsule)
230 - Some Joys Under the Star - (1973) - short story by Frederik Pohl
243 - Future Forbidden - (1973) - short story by R. S. Richardson [as by Philip Latham]
260 - The Death of Princes - (1976) - short story by Fritz Leiber
277 - The Funhouse Effect - [Eight Worlds] - (1976) - novelette by John Varley
302 - The Family Man - (1978) - short story by Theodore L. Thomas
309 - Double Planet - (1984) - short story by John Gribbin [as by Dr. John Gribbin]
317 - Pride - (1985) - novelette by Poul Anderson

Tin Stars

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 5

A collection of science fiction tales of mystery, crime, and detection features works by Stephen R. Donaldson, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Harlan Ellison, and others.

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction (Tin Stars) - (1986) - essay by Isaac Asimov
11 - Into the Shop - (1964) - short story by Ron Goulart
22 - Cloak of Anarchy - [Known Space] - (1972) - novelette by Larry Niven
44 - The King's Legions - [Federation of Humanity] - (1967) - novelette by Christopher Anvil
98 - Finger of Fate - (1980) - short story by Edward Wellen
109 - Arm of the Law - (1958) - short story by Harry Harrison
126 - Voiceover - (1984) - novelette by Edward Wellen
154 - The Fastest Draw - (1963) - short story by Larry Eisenberg
163 - Mirror Image - [Elijah Baley / R. Daneel Olivaw] - (1972) - short story by Isaac Asimov
180 - Brillo - (1970) - novelette by Ben Bova and Harlan Ellison
214 - The Powers of Observation - (1968) - short story by Harry Harrison
230 - Faithfully Yours - (1955) - short story by Lou Tabakow
249 - Safe Harbor - (1986) - novelette by Donald Wismer
272 - Examination Day - (1958) - short story by Henry Slesar
277 - The Cruel Equations - (1971) - short story by Robert Sheckley
291 - Animal Lover - (1978) - novella by Stephen R. Donaldson

Neanderthals

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 6

Martin H. Greenberg
Isaac Asimov
Charles G. Waugh

A medley of tales focusing on humankind's ancestor, the Neanderthal, features works by Poul Anderson, Philip Jose Farmer, Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, and Bertram Chandler.

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction: Neanderthal Man - essay by Isaac Asimov
11 - Genesis - [Paratime Police] - (1951) - novelette by H. Beam Piper
39 - The Ugly Little Boy - (1958) - novelette by Isaac Asimov (variant of Lastborn)
91 - The Long Remembering - (1957) - short story by Poul Anderson
106 - The Apotheosis of Ki - (1956) - short story by Miriam Allen deFord
113 - Man o' Dreams - (1929) - short story by Will McMorrow
130 - The Treasure of Odirex - [Erasmus Darwin] - (1978) - novella by Charles Sheffield
196 - The Ogre - (1959) - short story by Avram Davidson
206 - Alas, Poor Yorick - [Howie Wyman] - (1981) - short story by Thomas A. Easton
223 - The Gnarly Man - (1939) - novelette by L. Sprague de Camp
251 - The Hairy Parents - (1975) - short story by A. Bertram Chandler
263 - The Alley Man - (1959) - novella by Philip José Farmer
319 - Afterword: The Valley of Neander - (1964) - essay by Robert Silverberg

Space Shuttles

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 7

Hitchhiker; Truck Driver; Hermes to the Ages; Pushbutton War; The Getaway Special; Between a Rock and a High Place; To Grab Power; Coming of Age in Henson's Tube.

Table of Contents:

9 - Introduction: Shuttles - essay by Isaac Asimov
13 - Truck Driver - (1972) - short story by Rob Chilson [as by Robert Chilson]
31 - Hermes to the Ages - (1980) - novelette by Frederick D. Gottfried
63 - Pushbutton War - (1960) - short story by Joseph P. Martino
81 - The Last Shuttle - (1981) - short story by Isaac Asimov
85 - The Getaway Special - (1985) - short story by Jerry Oltion
102 - Between a Rock and a High Place - (1982) - novella by Timothy Zahn
164 - To Grab Power - (1971) - short story by Hayden Howard
182 - Coming of Age in Henson's Tube - (1977) - short story by William John Watkins [as by William Jon Watkins]
187 - Deborah's Children - (1983) - short story by Grant Callin [as by Grant D. Callin]
207 - The Book of Baraboo - [Circus World] - (1980) - novella by Barry B. Longyear
279 - The Speckled Gantry - (1979) - short story by Joseph Green and Patrice Milton
285 - The Nanny - (1983) - novelette by Thomas Wylde
309 - Hitchhiker - (1987) - short story by Sheila Finch
323 - Dead Ringer - novella by Edward Wellen

Monsters

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 8

Tells the stories of mental parasites, extraterrestrial creatures, clones, monstrous aliens, invaders, and colonists.

Table of Contents:

9 - Introduction: Monsters - (1988) - essay by Isaac Asimov
12 - Passengers - (1968) - short story by Robert Silverberg
25 - The Botticelli Horror - (1960) - novelette by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
64 - The Shapes - (1968) - novelette by J. H. Rosny aîné (trans. of Les Xipéhuz 1887)
88 - The Clone - (1959) - short story by Theodore L. Thomas
99 - The Men in the Walls - (1963) - novella by William Tenn
174 - The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth - (1965) - novelette by Roger Zelazny
206 - Student Body - (1953) - novelette by F. L. Wallace [as by Floyd L. Wallace]
227 - Black Destroyer - [Space Beagle] - (1939) - novelette by A. E. van Vogt
258 - Mother - (1953) - novelette by Philip José Farmer
286 - Exploration Team - [Colonial Survey] - (1956) - novelette by Murray Leinster
332 - All the Way Back - (1952) - short story by Michael Shaara

Robots

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 9

Table of Contents:

9 - Introduction: Robots - (1989) - essay by Isaac Asimov
13 - The Tunnel Under the World - (1955) - novelette by Frederik Pohl
44 - Brother Robot - (1958) - short story by Henry Slesar
59 - The Lifeboat Mutiny - [AAA Ace] - (1955) - short story by Robert Sheckley
73 - The Warm Space - (1985) - novelette by David Brin
89 - How-2 - (1954) - novelette by Clifford D. Simak
128 - Too Robot to Marry - (1959) - short story by George H. Smith
130 - The Education of Tigress McCardle - (1957) - short story by C. M. Kornbluth (variant of The Education of Tigress Macardle)
141 - Sally - (1953) - short story by Isaac Asimov
159 - Breakfast of Champions - (1980) - short story by Thomas A. Easton
165 - Sun Up - (1976) - short story by A. A. Jackson, IV and Howard Waldrop
178 - Second Variety - [Claws - 1] - (1953) - novelette by Philip K. Dick
223 - The Problem Was Lubrication - (1961) - short story by David R. Bunch
227 - First to Serve - (1954) - short story by Algis Budrys
245 - Two-Handed Engine - (1955) - novelette by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
270 - Though Dreamers Die - (1944) - novelette by Lester del Rey
290 - Soldier Boy - (1953) - novelette by Michael Shaara
312 - Farewell to the Master - (1940) - novelette by Harry Bates

Invasions

Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Book 10

Eric Kotani
John Maddox Roberts

Fifteen short stories--by Piers Anthony, Henry Kuttner, A.E. Van Vogt, Lester del Rey, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, and others--explore the theme of an alien invasion of Earth.

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction (Invasions) - essay by Isaac Asimov
11 - Living Space - (1956) - short story by Isaac Asimov
26 - Asylum - (1942) - novella by A. E. van Vogt
85 - Exposure - (1950) - short story by Eric Frank Russell
104 - Invasion of Privacy - (1970) - novelette by Bob Shaw
127 - What Have I Done? - (1952) - short story by Mark Clifton
146 - Impostor - (1953) - short story by Philip K. Dick
161 - The Soul-Empty Ones - (1951) - novelette by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
200 - The Cloud-Men: Being a Foreprint from the London News Sheet #1 - short story by Owen Oliver (variant of The Cloud-Men, Being a Foreprint from the London News Sheet of March 9, 1915 1911)
217 - Stone Man - [Berserker (Fred Saberhagen)] - (1967) - novelette by Fred Saberhagen
253 - For I Am a Jealous People! - (1954) - novella by Lester del Rey
296 - Don't Look Now - (1948) - short story by Henry Kuttner
310 - The Certificate - (1959) - short story by Avram Davidson
314 - The Alien Rulers - (1968) - novelette by Piers Anthony
350 - Squeeze Box - (1959) - short story by Philip E. High
365 - The Liberation of Earth - (1953) - short story by William Tenn

Act of God

Island Worlds: Book 1

Soviet scientists discover the secret of a mysterious explosion that leveled a remote section of Siberia in 1889 and now intend to use their discovery to destroy the United States by identical, seemingly natural causes.

The Island Worlds

Island Worlds: Book 2

Eric Kotani
John Maddox Roberts

Because of a world-spanning socialistic bureaucracy on Earth in the twenty-first century, those who seek freedom must journey to the space colonies established in the asteroid belt.

Between the Stars

Island Worlds: Book 3

Eric Kotani
John Maddox Roberts

While exploring on the Saturnian moon Rhea, Derek Kuroda discovers some powerful alien artifacts which soon become the source of power to launch dozens of asteroid worlds to freedom.

Destroyer of Worlds

Kingdom of the Serpent: Book 3

Mark Chadbourn

It is the beginning of the end ...The end of the axe-age, the sword-age, leading to the passing of gods and men from the universe. As all the ancient prophecies fall into place, the final battle rages, on Earth, across Faerie, and into the land of the dead.

Jack Churchill, Champion of Existence, must lead the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons in a last, desperate assault on the Fortress of the Enemy, to confront the ultimate incarnation of destruction: the Burning Man. It is humanity's only chance to avert the coming extinction. At his back is an army of gods culled from the world's great mythologies - Greek, Norse, Chinese, Aztec, and more.

But will even that be enough? Driven to the brink by betrayal, sacrifice and death, his allies fear Jack may instead bring about the very devastation he is trying to prevent ...

Fleet of Worlds

Known Space: Fleet of Worlds: Book 1

Edward M. Lerner
Larry Niven

Fleet of Worlds marks Larry Niven's first full novel-length collaboration within his Known Space universe, the playground he created for his bestselling Ringworld series. Teaming up with fellow SF writer Edward M. Lerner, Fleet of Worlds takes a closer look at the Human-Puppeteer (Citizens) relations and the events leading up to Niven's first Ringworld novel.

Kirsten Quinn-Kovacs is among the best and brightest of her people. She gratefully serves the gentle race that rescued her ancestors from a dying starship, gave them a world, and nurtures them still. If only the Citizens knew where Kirsten's people came from....

A chain reaction of supernovae at the galaxy's core has unleashed a wave of lethal radiation that will sterilize the galaxy. The Citizens flee, taking their planets, the Fleet of Worlds, with them.

Someone must scout ahead, and Kirsten and her crew eagerly volunteer. Under the guiding eye of Nessus, their Citizen mentor, they explore for any possible dangers in the Fleet's path--and uncover long-hidden truths that will shake the foundations of worlds.

Juggler of Worlds

Known Space: Fleet of Worlds: Book 2

For too long, the Puppeteers have controlled the fate of worlds. Now Sigmund is pulling the strings...

Covert agent Sigmund Ausfaller is Earth's secret weapon, humanity's best defense against all conspiracies, real and potential - and imaginary - of foes both human and alien. Who better than a brilliant paranoid to expose the devious plots of others?

He may finally have met his match in Nessus, representative of the secretive Puppeteers, the elder race who wield vastly superior technologies. Nessus schemes in the shadows with Earth's traitors and adversaries, even after the race he represents abruptly vanishes from Known Space.

As a paranoid, Sigmund had always known things would end horribly for him. Only the when, where, how, why, and by whom of it all had eluded him. That fog has begun to lift...

But even Sigmund has never imagined how far his investigations will take him - or that his destiny is entwined with the fates of worlds.

Destroyer of Worlds

Known Space: Fleet of Worlds: Book 3

Worlds closer to the galatic core than Known Space are --or were-- home to intelligent speciers. Some learned of the core explosion in time to flee. Destroyer of Worlds opens in 2670, ten years after Juggler of Worlds closes; with refugee species fleeing in an armada of ramscoops in the direction of the Fleet of Worlds. The onrushing aliens are recognized as a threat; they have left in their trail a host of desolated worlds: some raided for supplies, some attacked to eliminate competition, and some for pure xenophobia.

Only the Puppeteers might have the resources to confront this threat--but the Puppeteers are philosophical cowards... they don't confront anyone. They need sepoys to investigate the situation and take action for them. The source of the sepoys? Their newly independent former slave world, New Terra.

Betrayer of Worlds

Known Space: Fleet of Worlds: Book 4

Fleeing the supernova chain reaction at the galactic core, the cowardly Puppeteers of the Fleet of Worlds have--just barely--survived. They've stumbled from one crisis to the next: The rebellion of their human slaves. The relentless questing of the species of Known Space. The spectacular rise of the starfish-like Gw'oth. The onslaught of the genocidal Pak.

Catastrophe looms again as past crises return--and converge. Who can possibly save the Fleet of Worlds from its greatest peril yet?

Louis Wu? Trapped in the Wunderland civil war, all he wants is to go home--but the only possible escape will plunge him into unknowable danger.

Ol't'ro? The Gw'oth ensemble mind fled across the stars to establish a colony world free from tyranny. But some problems cannot be left behind, and other problems--like the Fleet of Worlds itself--are racing straight at them.

Achilles? Despite past disgrace, the charismatic Puppeteer politician knows he is destined for greatness. He will do anything to seize power--and to take his revenge on everyone who ever stood in his way.

Nessus? The insane Puppeteer scout is out of ideas, out of resources, with only desperation left to guide him.

Their hopes and fears, dreams and ambitions are about to collide. And the winner takes... worlds.

Fate of Worlds

Known Space: Fleet of Worlds: Book 5

For decades, the spacefaring species of Known Space have battled over the largest artifact -- and grandest prize -- in the galaxy: the all-but-limitless resources and technology of the Ringworld. But without warning, the Ringworld has vanished, leaving behind three rival war fleets.

Something must justify the blood and treasure that have been spent. If the fallen civilization of the Ringworld can no longer be despoiled of its secrets, the Puppeteers will be forced to surrender theirs. Everyone knows that the Puppeteers are cowards.

But the crises converging upon the trillion Puppeteers of the Fleet of Worlds go far beyond even the onrushing armadas:

Adventurer Louis Wu and the exiled Puppeteer known only as Hindmost, marooned together for more than a decade, escaped from the Ringworld before it disappeared. And throughout those years, as he studied Ringworld technology, Hindmost has plotted to reclaim his power...

Ol't'ro, the Gw'oth ensemble mind -- and the Fleet of Worlds' unsuspected puppet master for a century -- is deviously brilliant. And increasingly unbalanced ...

Proteus, the artificial intelligence on which, in desperation, the Puppeteers rely to manage their defenses, is outgrowing its programming -- and the supposed constraints on its initiative...

Sigmund Ausfaller, paranoid and disgraced hero of the lost human colony of New Terra, knows that something threatens his adopted home world -- and that it must be stopped...

Achilles, the megalomaniac Puppeteer -- twice banished, and twice rehabilitated -- sees the Fleet of Worlds' existential crisis as a new opportunity to reclaim supreme power. Whatever the risks...

One way or another, the fabled race of Puppeteers may have come to the end of their days.

The Fugitive Worlds

Land and Overland: Book 3

Bob Shaw

The opening of The Fugitive Worlds finds Toller Maraquine II - grandson of the hero of The Ragged Astronauts and The Wooden Spaceships - bemoaning the fact that life on the twin planets of Land and Overland has become dull and uneventful compared to the stirring times in which his illustrious forebear lived. Then, while on a balloon flight between the worlds, he makes an astonishing discovery - a rapidly growing crystal disc, many miles across, is creating a barrier between Land and Overland. Precipitated for personal reasons into investigating the enigmatic disc, Toller - armed with only his sword and boundless courage - becomes a pivotal figure in events which will decide the future of entire planets and their civilizations.

The Babylon Eye

Linked Worlds: Book 1

Masha du Toit

Elke Veraart is in prison. She used to be an eco-terrorist, hunting down poachers to protect endangered species. Now she's facing the grim reality of life behind bars. Just as Elke is about to give up hope she is offered a chance to win back her freedom. All she has to do is find a missing dog.

Meisje is no ordinary dog. She's cybernetically enhanced, a valuable living weapon. She's also lost, hungry, and alone. As Elke closes in on Meisje she finds her admiration for the resourceful cyber-dog growing. And Meisje begins to wonder if she could trust the woman on her trail.

Then Elke discovers that she's not the only one hunting the cyber-dog, and that her orders have changed. She must do more than find Meisje. She has to kill her.

Elke has to make an impossible choice: her freedom, or Meisje's life. Or is there another way? It's risky, but Elke could use the secrets she's uncovered to save them both.

The Real

Linked Worlds: Book 2

Masha du Toit

The Muara. A ruined sea-side resort, shattered by the weather, buried in sand. Three children scavenge a living on the abandoned beaches and in the sand-swamped houses. This is their home and its desolation is their security... but their safety is an illusion.

Under the sands of the Muara, in an underground room, is a secret that could destroy them and everything they know.

The Strange

Linked Worlds: Book 3

Masha du Toit

Constable Elke Veraart and her cyber-dog Meisje are peace keepers, patrolling the Babylon Eye. It's a good job, but there must be more to life than chasing smugglers and settling domestic disputes.

Then three children ask Elke to find their mother, who's been missing for more than a year. The search attracts the wrong kind of attention. Elke and her young friends are in desperate danger.

Unable to resist the powers that have been unleashed against her, Elke is swept out of the Babylon Eye and into another world. While she struggles to regain her freedom, the children are unprotected. They must face, all alone, a new danger that stalks the corridors of the Babylon Eye.

The Mirror of Worlds

Lord of the Isles: The Crown of the Isles Trilogy: Book 2

David Drake

The Mirror of the Worlds is the second in David Drake's Crown of the Isles trilogy, which will conclude the epic Lord of the Isles series.

The Fortress of Glass began the tale of how the new kingdom of the Isles is finally brought into being by the group of heroes and heroines who have been central to all the books in the series: Prince Garric, heir to the throne of the Isles, his consort Liane, his sister Sharina, her herculean sweetheart Cashel, and his sister Ilna.

The powers of magic in the Isles have flooded to a thousand-year peak, and even local magicians can perform powerful spells normally beyond their control. Fantastic forces from all angles threaten, trying to keep Garric and his companions apart to thwart the reunification of the Isles.

Now the world itself has suffered a magical upheaval. The ocean has receded and the Isles have become the higher ground of a newly formed continent. But the new continent is a patchwork of geography from the dispast and future, peopled by creatures from all times and places. Garric and his companions must now struggle for the survival of humanity.

Forgotten Worlds

Lost World-Lost Race Classics: Book 2

Howard Browne

Reed McGurn was an American pilot flying a Spitfire for His Majesty's Royal Air Force in WWII. His plane soared into battle in the death-filled skies over southern Germany. The action was fierce, and after a mid-air collision with a German fighter, McGurn's plane was sent hurtling to the ground. Only his plane never reached the ground--at least not the battle-scarred German landscape. With sure death leaping toward him, McGurn found his plane suddenly emersed in a wall of gray clouds--clouds that came seemingly out of nowhere. Moments later his plane crash-landed in a strange world filled with killer beasts and exotic vegetation. It was a world of ancient civilizations and lost races. A world in which McGurn soon found the love of a wild, yet beautiful woman. Unfortunately for him it was also a love that marked him for certain death.

The Destroyer of Worlds

Lovecraft Country: Book 2

Matt Ruff

Summer, 1957.

Atticus Turner and his father, Montrose, travel to North Carolina, where they plan to mark the centennial of their ancestor's escape from slavery by retracing the route he took into the Great Dismal Swamp. But an encounter with an old nemesis turns their historical reenactment into a real life-and-death pursuit.

Back in Chicago, George Berry fights for his own life. Diagnosed with cancer, he strikes a devil's bargain with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, who promises a miracle cure--but to receive it, George will first have to bring Winthrop back from the dead.

Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Horace Berry, reeling from the killing of a close friend, joins his mother, Hippolyta, and her friend Letitia Dandridge on a research trip to Nevada for The Safe Negro Travel Guide. But Hippolyta has a secret--and far more dangerous--agenda that will take her and Horace to the far end of the universe and bring a new threat home to Letitia's doorstep.

Hippolyta isn't the only one keeping secrets. Letitia's sister, Ruby, has been leading a double life as her white alter ego, Hillary Hyde. Now, the supply of magic potion she needs to transform herself is nearly gone, and a surprise visitor throws her already tenuous situation into complete chaos.

Yet these troubles are soon eclipsed by the return of Caleb Braithwhite. Stripped of his magic and banished from Chicago at the end of Lovecraft Country, he's found a way back into power and is ready to pick up where he left off. But first he has a score to settle...

The Price of the Stars

Mageworlds

The war with the Mageworlds is over. Now it's time for the real struggle to begin.

Freebooter at heart, spacer by trade, Beka Rosselin-Metadi doesn't want to hear about her father whose rugged generalship held back the Mageworlds--or her highborn mother whose leadership has held the galaxy together ever since. Beka pilots spacecraft--as far from her famous family as possible, thanks very much.

Then Beka's mother is assassinated on the Senate floor, and her father offers her Warhammer, prize ship from his own freebooting youth--if she'll use it to deliver the assassins to him "off the books."

Looking for assassins has a tendency to make assassins look for you. In short order Beka's arranged her own very public death and adopted a new identity; now all she has to do is leave a trail of kidnappings and corpses across five star systems, and blow the roof off the strongest private fortress in the Galaxy. If her own family can just get off her case long enough...!

Starpilot's Grave

Mageworlds: Book 2

Blockaded, Restricted, And Forgotten--The Mageworlds would never threaten the Republic again.

A broken and drifting ship, it's long-dead captain still strapped in the command seat: that's what free-spacers call a starpilot's grave. When one of these derelict craft appears in the net, the artificial barrier zone separating the Republic from the Mageworlds, the discovery is no accident. It's a sign, a warning that the Mageworlds have not forgotten the Republic--and the Magelords make long plans.

But the Magelords weren't planning on Beka Rosselin-Metadi.

Beka has unfinished business to take care of, and his name is Ebenra D'Caer: the man who arranged her mother's murder. D'Caer is safe--he thinks--hidden amoung the Mages on the far side of the Net. Flying under a false name and false colors, beka penetrates the Magezone and finds more than anyone expected: the Magelords have discovered a fatal weakness in the Republic's defenses, and are poised to wreak their vengeance on the hated enemy.

The Mages are too strong. They must prevail.

Unless one woman in one ship can do the impossible.

By Honor Betray'd

Mageworlds: Book 3

James D. Macdonald
Debra Doyle

Galcen has fallen. The Space Force is broken and scattered. the planets of the former Republic are rushing to make peace with the victorious Mages.

All that remains is mopping up. Minor details. A privateer or two, a few Adepts who remain alive and on the run, and the hereditary ruler of a lifeless planet.

Beka Rosselin-Metadi, the last Domina of Lost Entibor, possesses little more than a famous name and a famous ship. With them she must salvage what she can from the wreckage of the Republic. Her enemies are too many to count, her friends too few to make a difference. She can trust no one except herself, her crew--and the family she ran away from years before.

Beka has resources few suspect: a hidden base, a long forgotten oath, and a dead man's legacy. But she has problems as well; for in a universe gone mad, neither friends nor enemies are all that they may seem.

A play that began in treachery and blood five hundred years before has reached its final act. A broken galaxy will be sundered forever, or else made whole.

The Gathering Flame

Mageworlds: Book 4

The Magelords are plundering the civilized galaxy one planet at a time. First their scoutships appeared above the outplanets. Raiding parties followed, then whole armadas bent on loot and conquest. The Mages break the warfleets that oppose them. They take entire planets. Who can stop them? Now, the Mages have attacked Entibor--that was their first mistake.

The Long Hunt

Mageworlds: Book 5

It's a generation after the Second Magewar, and again power struggles threaten the Mageworlds and the Republic alike. Now, on decadent Kheset, the crisis has broken, and all eyes are turned to Jens Metadi-Jessan D'Rosselin, scion of the Galaxy's most rambunctious family and unwilling heir to the throne of Khesat. But Jens is off on his own Grand Tour of the Galaxy, getting the adventure he's looking for--and more.

The Stars Asunder

Mageworlds: Book 6

The star systems of the Mageworlds are linked by magic. Only when trained Mages have found a Way to a new world can the great colonizing and trading ships follow. But beyond the furthest worlds is a great gap, beyond which, hint the legends, lie vast, rich human worlds long lost to the Mages' trade.

Now the most powerful Mage-circle ever is determined to walk to those worlds, to reunite humanity's sundered branches and make a fortune in the process. And young Arekhon sus-Khalgath, scion of the most powerful of the clans of starship builders, has left his inheritance to join them.

But immense forces are arrayed against them. Blood will be spilled, and dynasties thrown down, before the worlds of mankind are again united. For the first time in living memory, the Mages will go to war--with themselves.

A Working of Stars

Mageworlds: Book 7

The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph

The new novel in the sweeping Mageworlds series.

On the planet Entibor, Arekhon sus-Khalgath sus Peledaen has found shelter and domestic tranquility with his old love, Elaeli Inadi, at the price of what he had left behind: a dispersed and shattered Mage-Circle, an estranged brother who had tried to kill him, and a homeworld on the cusp of massive cultural upheaval.

Arekhon finds himself impelled homeward by strange dreams and prophetic visions. The Great Working--the effort to do the unthinkable and reunite a galaxy long sundered by the Gap Between--remains incomplete, left unfinished in the aftermath of the dissolution of Arehkon's Mage-Circle. But too much energy and too many lives have been poured into the Working already; and it cannot end so long as any of the Circle members remain alive and bound into it.

Home, unfortunately, isn't a safe place for Arehkon to be at the moment. For Eraasi has changed--and the great fleet families at the center of the Eraasian culture are girding for war.

Magnus Ridolph

Jack Vance

Contains:

The Kokod Warriors
The Unspeakable McInch
The Howling Bounders
The King of Thieves
The Spa of the Stars
Coup de Grace
The Sub-standard Sardines
To B of not to C or to D

An Accident of Stars

Manifold Worlds: Book 1

Foz Meadows

When Saffron Coulter stumbles through a hole in reality, she finds herself trapped in Kena, a magical realm on the brink of civil war.

There, her fate becomes intertwined with that of three very different women: Zech, the fast-thinking acolyte of a cunning, powerful exile; Viya, the spoiled, runaway consort of the empire-building ruler, Vex Leoden; and Gwen, an Earth-born worldwalker whose greatest regret is putting Leoden on the throne. But Leoden has allies, too, chief among them the Vex'Mara Kadeja, a dangerous ex-priestess who shares his dreams of conquest.

Pursued by Leoden and aided by the Shavaktiin, a secretive order of storytellers and mystics, the rebels flee to Veksh, a neighboring matriarchy ruled by the fearsome Council of Queens. Saffron is out of her world and out of her depth, but the further she travels, the more she finds herself bound to her friends with ties of blood and magic.

Can one girl - an accidental worldwalker - really be the key to saving Kena? Or will she just die trying?

A Tyranny of Queens

Manifold Worlds: Book 2

Foz Meadows

Saffron Coulter is back on Earth, but even so, nothing is easy. Struggling with the victimising expectations of her friends and family and threatened with a stay in psychiatric care, Saffron has to make a choice: to forget about Kena and fit back into the life she's outgrown, or pit herself against everything she's ever known and everyone she loves.

Meanwhile in Kena, Gwen is increasingly troubled by Leoden's absence and his plans for the captive worldwalkers, while Yena, still in Veksh, must confront the deposed Kadeja. What is their endgame? Who can they trust? And what happens when Leoden returns?

New Worlds of Fantasy

New Worlds of Fantasy: Book 1

Terry Carr

Table of Contents:

Introduction (New Worlds of Fantasy) - essay by Terry Carr
Divine Madness - (1966) - shortstory by Roger Zelazny
Break the Door of Hell - (1966) - novelette by John Brunner
The Immortal - (1962) - shortstory by Jorge Luís Borges
Narrow Valley - (1966) - shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
Comet Wine - (1967) - novelette by Ray Russell
The Other - (1966) - shortstory by Katherine MacLean
A Red Heart and Blue Roses - (1961) - shortstory by Mildred Clingerman
Stanley Toothbrush - (1962) - shortstory by Terry Carr
The Squirrel Cage - (1966) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
Come Lady Death - (1963) - shortstory by Peter S. Beagle
Nackles - (1964) - shortstory by Donald E. Westlake
The Lost Leonardo - (1964) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
Timothy - (1966) - shortstory by Keith Roberts
Basilisk - shortstory by Avram Davidson
The Evil Eye - (1966) - novelette by Alfred Gillespie

New Worlds of Fantasy #2

New Worlds of Fantasy: Book 2

Terry Carr

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Terry Carr
The Petrified World - (1968) - shortstory by Robert Sheckley
The Scarlet Lady - (1966) - novelette by Keith Roberts
They Loved Me in Utica - shortstory by Avram Davidson
The Library of Babel - (1962) - shortstory by Jorge Luís Borges
The Ship of Disaster - (1965) - shortstory by Barrington J. Bayley
Window Dressing - shortstory by Joanna Russ
By the Falls - (1970) - shortstory by Harry Harrison
The Night of the Nickel Beer - (1967) - shortstory by Kris Neville
A Quiet Kind of Madness - (1968) - novelette by David Redd
A Museum Piece - (1963) - shortstory by Roger Zelazny
The Old Man of the Mountains - (1963) - shortstory by Terry Carr
En Passant - (1960) - shortstory by Britt Schweitzer
Backward, Turn Backward - shortstory by Wilmar H. Shiras
His Own Kind - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
Perchance to Dream - shortstory by Katherine MacLean
Lazarus - (1927) - shortstory by Leonid Andreyev
The Ugly Sea - (1960) - shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
The Movie People - (1969) - shortstory by Robert Bloch

New Worlds of Fantasy #3

New Worlds of Fantasy: Book 3

Terry Carr

Table of Contents:

Introduction - (1971) - essay by Terry Carr
Farrell and Lila the Werewolf - (1969) - novelette by Peter S. Beagle
Adam Had Three Brothers - (1960) - shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
Big Sam - (1970) - shortstory by Avram Davidson
Longtooth - (1970) - novelette by Edgar Pangborn
The Inner Circles - (1967) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
Von Goom's Gambit - (1966) - shortstory by Victor Contoski
Through a Glass - Darkly - (1970) - novelette by Zenna Henderson
The Stainless Steel Leech - (1963) - shortstory by Roger Zelazny
Sleeping Beauty - (1967) - shortstory by Terry Carr
The Plot is the Thing - (1966) - shortstory by Robert Bloch
Funes the Memorious - (1962) - shortstory by Jorge Luís Borges
Say Goodbye to the Wind - (1970) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
A Message from Charity - (1967) - shortstory by William M. Lee

Sisters of the Vast Black

Our Lady of Endless Worlds: Book 1

Lina Rather

Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own.

When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care?and that of the galactic diaspora?are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.

Sisters of the Forsaken Stars

Our Lady of Endless Worlds: Book 2

Lina Rather

Not long ago, Earth's colonies and space stations threw off the yoke of planet Earth's tyrannical rule. Decades later, trouble is brewing in the Four Systems, and Old Earth is flexing its power in a bid to regain control over its lost territories.

The Order of Saint Rita--whose mission is to provide aid and mercy to those in need--bore witness to and defied Central Governance's atrocities on the remote planet Phyosonga III. The sisters have been running ever since, staying under the radar while still trying to honor their calling.

Despite the sisters' secrecy, the story of their defiance is spreading like wildfire, spearheaded by a growing anti-Earth religious movement calling for revolution. Faced with staying silent or speaking up, the Order of Saint Rita must decide the role they will play--and what hand they will have--in reshaping the galaxy.

Godplayers

Players in the Contest of Worlds: Book 1

Damien Broderick

August Seebeck is in his twenties, a man of average looks and intellect. Then comes the claim of his great-aunt Tansy that she has been finding corpses each Saturday night in her bath (they vanish by morning). August dismisses this tale as elderly fantasy until he stumbles upon a corpse being shoved into the second-floor bathroom window of his aunt's house. Even that wouldn't faze him, but then someone steps out of the mirror...

August suddenly discovers he is a Player in the multi-universe Contest of Worlds and that his true family is quarrelsome on a mythic scale. His search for understanding follows a classic quest pattern of the Parsifal kind, except that August is nobody's fool.

An epic quest that is funny and engrossing, Godplayers is in the best tradition of Zelazny, Van Vogt, and the Knights of the Round Table, from one of science fiction's hottest up-and-coming writers.

K-Machines

Players in the Contest of Worlds: Book 2

Damien Broderick

August Seebeck is a 20-something student from a world not quite the same as ours. In Godplayers, August tumbled into a vastly larger universe, and learned that he wasn't, after all, an orphaned only child. He and his turbulent siblings, and the breathtaking Lune and others still stranger, are Players in the Contest of Worlds. They are mysteriously transformed humans whose ancient task is enigmatic battle with the dread, passionate K-Machines. Now crisis deepens.

Empowered with a potent killing device of his own, an eerie gift from legend, August finds himself flung from world to world in a brutal and baffling game, with entire universes at stake and very little idea of the rules. Only two things are clear: his beloved Lune is not who she seems, and August's pivotal role is no chance accident. In this cosmos, survival of the gods themselves depends upon human victory over the K-Machines.

Worlds Beyond the World: The Fantastic Vision of William Morris

Popular Writers of Today: Book 13

Richard Mathews

A critical study of the fantasy fiction of William Morris.

Contents:

3 - Worlds Beyond the World - essay
4 - Into the Unknown - essay
18 - The Dream of a Better World - essay
34 - Killing Time - essay
43 - Beyond the World - essay
61 - Some Closing Remarks (Worlds Beyond the World) - essay
63 - Selected Critical Sources (Worlds Beyond the World) - essay

Still Worlds Collide: Philip Wylie and the End of the American Dream

Popular Writers of Today: Book 30

Clifford P. Bendau

Wylie was a remarkably successful and versatile writer, whose literary range included pulp science fiction, social diatribes, concerns for the environment, fantasies, romances, mysteries, warnings against the coming nuclear holocaust, and satires.

Contents:

3 - Philip Wylie--The Reappearance - essay
8 - The Early Achievements - essay
23 - The Philosophical Works - essay
41 - The Atomic Age - essay
55 - The End of the Dream - essay
62 - Selected Bibliography (Still Worlds Collide) - essay

In Other Worlds

Radix Tetrad: Book 2

A. A. Attanasio

One star-chained evening in a Manhattan bathroom, Carl Schirmer spontaneously combusts! His body transforms into light, mysteriously snatched from his banal life by an alien intelligence 130 billion years in the future. There, all spacetime is collapsing into a cosmic black hole, the Big Crunch -- and a bold, cosmic destiny awaits Carl. Rebuilt from the remnants of his light by extraterrestrials for a cryptic purpose, he awakens in time's last world, the strangest of all -- the Werld.

At the edge of infinity, Carl discovers the Foke, nomadic humans who travel among the floating islands of the Werld. The Foke teach him how to live -- and love -- at the end of time, and he loses his heart to his plucky guide, the beautiful Evoë. Their life together in this blissful kingdom that knows no aging or disease brings them to rapture -- until Evoë falls prey to the zotl, a spidery intelligence who hunt the Foke and eat the chemical by-products of their pain. In order to save his beloved from a gruesome death, Carl must return to Earth -- 130 billion years earlier -- where he is shocked to discover that the Earth he's come back to is not the one he left.

Can he meet the harsh demands of his task before the zotl find him and begin ravishing the Earth?

Web of Worlds

Reality Benders: Book 4

Michael Atamanov

Ceasefires have one big downside: they eventually come to an end. And when they do, once again game nodes are set ablaze, and platoons of Dark Faction soldiers threaten our customary world with destruction. The enemy has grown stronger and more numerous. To make matters worse, they also got their hands on even deadlier weaponry. They have learned painful lessons from previous encounters and adjusted their tactics accordingly. What's more, the vast hordes of enemies are led by the greatest strategist of modern times, and his mage advisors can see all possible futures so they always know just what to do.

How can our world possibly stand up against such an enemy? Our only hope is the bravery and tenacity of our best fighters, those who'd rather die than surrender. Well, that and a starship captained by one lone mage.

Envoy to New Worlds

Retief: Book 1

Keith Laumer

Table of Contents:

Protocol - (1962)
Sealed Orders - (1962)
Cultural Exchange - (1962)
Aide Memoire - (1962)
Policy - (1962)
Palace Revolution - (1961)

Destroyer of Worlds

Saga of the Forgotten Warrior: Book 3

Larry Correia

In the Capitol, Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan hatches a plot to kill every member of the untouchable caste in all of Lok, down to the last man, woman, and child. As a member of the Order of Inquisition, Vokkan has no official say in the creation of Law, but he has powerful allies willing to do his bidding. Through them, he has convinced the Judges that the genocide will be swift, complete, and without complication. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Lord Protector Devedas has sworn to uphold the Law. Once, he and the traitor Ashok Vadal had been like brothers. Now, he hunts Vadal and the Sons of the Black Sword, heretics and rebels who seek to live outside the rule of the Law. All Devedas must do is find and kill his best friend and order will be restored to Lok.

The rebels seek the secret kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Thera, a paradise where water is pure and food plentiful, where there are no castes, where the people rule themselves and are not slaves to the Capitol. Ashok Vadal is not sure he believes in such a Paradise, but he - along with his allies - does seek refuge in the rebellion's hideout in Akershan. But Vadal, a former High Protector who has turned his back on the corrupt Law, will not merely wait meekly, hoping that fleeing to Akershan will spare the rebellion from the clutches of the Great Extermination. No, if it's a war the Capitol wants, Vadal, who has faced down gods and demons, will be all too willing to give it to them....

Ganworld's Child

Saga of the Unified Worlds: Book 1

Diann Thornley

The story starts with a child: Tristan Serege, son of Darcie and Lujan, the heroic leader of the Spherzah, the "special forces" of the Unified Worlds.

Darcie is taking Tristan to rejoin Lujan in the Enach system when the fierce masuki, nonhuman slavers, attack and capture their transport ship. Darcie escapes with Tristan in a lifepod and touches down on Ganwold, a primitive planet controlled by the Dominion, the long-time enemy of the Unified Worlds. But they have also accidentally jumped more than a year forward in time due to a malfunction in the space drive and cannot expect rescue, so Tristan must grow to young manhood in hiding among the alien ganan.

Tristan is barely eighteen when Darcie contracts a lingering, life-threatening illness. To help her, he and his gan "brother," Pulou, go on a quest to seek his father, Lujan. In one of the Dominion colonies, they are captured and turned over to the Sector General, Mordan Renier, who uses Tristan as a bargaining chip in an attempt to invade Sostis, the homeworld he lost years before in the war. General Lujan must combat Renier's impending attack, realizing he could lose the family he's just learned is still alive.

Echoes of Issel

Saga of the Unified Worlds: Book 2

Diann Thornley

Reunited with his family, Tristan struggles to find common ground to build a relationship with Lujan Sergey, commander of the Unified Worlds' special forces and the father he's never known. A new universe is beginning to open for him when a new crisis occurs, and Tristan is pressed to volunteer for hazardous service.

The alien masuk slavers are about to attack the Issel system and only Tristan, once held captive there, knows the planetary defenses well enough to penetrate them. But he'll have to pass the demanding Spherzah training--and conquer the demons in his own past--in order to participate.

A new war threatens, and it will take all of the Sergey family to survive it. But when an assassin tries to intervene, will all of the family still be alive to see it through?

Dominion's Reach

Saga of the Unified Worlds: Book 3

Diann Thornley

After being terribly injured by a terrorist bomb, the Chief Commander of the Unified World's special forces, Lujan Serege, fights his way back to health only to find out that he has been retired and that a devious plot has been hatched to turn over the government to enemy spies and the cruel grasp of the Dominion.

Seven Worlds

Seven Worlds: Book 1

Mary Caraker

The Space Corps -- the arm of the Space Exploratory Forces sent in to establish better communications with aliens on world after world -- was an elite corps of tough, courageous men and women. And Morgan Farraday was the bravest and most clever of them all.

But even Morgan would be hard-pressed to survive the challenges and perils of the seven planets that awaited her. Worlds where scaly swamp beings demanded a kind of contact that was too close for any human's comfort...where a civilization of nocturnal creatures was only too ready to drain humans of all they had to offer... or where missions from rival human empires would use any tool at their command -- even interstellar war -- to claim control of the most valued substance in the universe!

The Snows of Jaspre

Seven Worlds: Book 2

Mary Caraker

Morgan Farraday, an administrator from Earth, becomes involved in the destiny of the planet Jaspre when her daughter Dee meets the charismatic Anders Ahlwen, whose followers receive psychic powers and a transcendent spiritual reality from the artificial sun Argus.

Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction

Small Change

Jo Walton

It's 1960, and the Axis powers dominate the world. Life goes on, because, as we see in "Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction," history is driven both by big events and by small temptations...

Following the appearance of her first two novels, The King's Peace and The King's Name, Jo Walton won the 2002 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Two years later she won the World Fantasy Award for Tooth and Claw. Her Small Change trilogy, comprising Farthing, Ha'penny, and Half A Crown, is set in a world in which Britain struck an early truce with Hitler in 1941; "Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction" is set in the America of that world.

This story is included in the collection Starlings (2018).

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.

Tyrant of the Hollow Worlds

Space Marine Battles: Book 19

Mark Clapham

Chaos Warlord Huron Blackheart and his Red Corsairs launch a devastating conquest of the Hollow Worlds of Lastrati.

The Imperium fights a constant battle to defend itself from its many enemies, but few are as deadly or as relentless as the Chaos Space Marines. Bearing a grudge that dates back 10,000 years to the Horus Heresy, these fallen angels are driven by hatred and an overwhelming desire for revenge. When Huron Blackheart leads his warband of Red Corsairs to attack the Hollow Worlds of Lastrati, the human defenders can do little to protect themselves against such powerful enemies. By the time the Space Wolves Chapter arrives, the Red Corsairs are already well entrenched. With neither side prepared to withdraw nor concede defeat, the battle spirals out of control--will the Hollow Worlds be destroyed by the forces of destruction that have been unleashed?

The Scoundrel Worlds

Star Risk: Book 2

Chris Bunch

Skyball - popular, challenging, violent... and the greatest sport in the universe. Two opposing worlds are neck and neck in the championships, and lately the game's been a killer. It's up to the mercenaries of Star Risk, Ltd., to keep the two sides galaxy-friendly.

The Star Risk team put their lives on the line again... for the money, of course. If they don't get killed themselves.

Cardassia and Andor

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Worlds of DS9: Book 1

Una McCormack
Heather Jarman

Within every federation and every empire, behind every hero and every villain, there are the worlds that define them. In the aftermath of Unity and in the daring tradition of Spock's World, The Final Reflection, and A Stitch in Time, the civilizations most closely tied to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine can now be experienced as never before...in tales both sweeping and intimate, reflective and prophetic, eerily familiar and utterly alien.

CARDASSIA: The Lotus Flower. The last world ravaged by the Dominion War is also the last on which Miles O'Brien ever imagined building a life. As he joins in the reconstruction of Cardassia's infrastructure, his wife Keiko spearheads the planet's difficult agricultural renewal. But Cardassia's struggle to remake itself -- from the fledgling democracy backed by Elim Garak to the people's rediscovery of their own spiritual past -- is not without opposition, as the outside efforts to help rebuild its civilization come under attack by those who reject any alien influence.

ANDOR: Paradigm. On the eve of a great celebration of their ancient past, the unusual and mysterious Andorians, a species with four sexes, must decide just how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to ensure their survival. Biological necessity clashes with personal ethics; cultural obligation vies with love -- and Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane returns home to the planet he forswore, to face not only the consequences of his choices, but a clandestine plan to alter the very nature of his kind.

Trill and Bajor

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Worlds of DS9: Book 2

Andy Mangels
Michael A. Martin
J. Noah Kym

TRILL. Unjoined. The Trill are a combination of a symbiont and a host. The symbiont lives for hundreds of years in one host after another: each body is different, each personality is different, each life is different -- but all of them are one. The symbiont accumulates experiences, relationships, memories ...Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin have set their story on this most multi-layered and extraordinary of worlds. When Trill involvement in the assassination of an allied world leader comes to light, the reason lies in the terrifying and tragic origins of the Trill -- and the answers reveal unsuspected links to other regions of the Star Trek universe.

BAJOR. Fragments and Omens. Political intrigue and interpersonal conflict in the style of The West Wing dominate on Deep Space Nine's core world of Bajor. The future of Bajor and the new role of long-missing Captain Benjamin Sisko are linked as this tale lays the groundwork for a major new storyline in further Deep Space Nine novels.

The Dominion and Ferenginar

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Worlds of DS9: Book 3

Keith R. A. DeCandido
David R. George III

Within every federation and every empire, behind every hero and every villain, there are the worlds that define them. In the aftermath of Unity and in the daring tradition of Spock's World, The Final Reflection, and A Stitch in Time, the civilizations most closely tied to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine can now be experienced as never before... in tales both sweeping and intimate, reflective and prophetic, eerily familiar and utterly alien.

FERENGINAR: Satisfaction is Not Guaranteed. Quark's profit-driven homeworld is rocked with scandal as shocking allegations involving his brother's first wife, the mother of Nog, threaten to overthrow Rom as Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance. Making matters worse, Quark has been recruited by Rom's political adversaries to join their coup d'état, with guarantees of all Quark ever dreamed if they succeed in taking his brother down. While Ferenginar's future teeters on the edge, the pregnancy of Rom's current wife, Leeta, takes a difficult turn for both mother and child.

THE DOMINION: Olympus Descending. Since its defeat in the war for the Alpha Quadrant, the Great Link -- the living totality of the shape-shifting Founders -- has struggled with questions. At its moment of greatest doubt, its fate, and that of the Dominion itself, is tied to Odo's investigation of his kind's true motives for sending a hundred infant changelings out into the galaxy.

As Odo searches for answers and takes a hard look at his past choices, Taran'atar reaches a turning point in his own quest for clarity... one from which there may be no going back.

Strange New Worlds I

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 1

Here's what you, the fans, have demanded for decades! An anthology featuring original Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager stories written by Star Trek fans, for Star Trek fans!

After a lengthy competition that drew thousands of submissions; these astounding stories, written exclusively by brand-new authors, were selected for their originality and style. These eighteen fantastic tales rocket across the length and breadth of Federation time and space, from when Captain Kirk explored the galaxy on the first Starship Enterprise, through Captain Picard's U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-D and Captain Sisko's Deep Space Nine to Captain Janeway's Voyager, with many fascinating stops along the way.

Table of Contents:

ix - Introduction (Strange New Worlds) - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
3 - A Private Anecdote - shortstory by Landon Cary Dalton
13 - The Last Tribble - shortstory by Keith L. Davis
26 - The Lights in the Sky - shortstory by Phaedra Weldon [as by Phaedra M. Weldon ]
46 - Reflections - novelette by Dayton Ward
71 - What Went Through Data's Mind 0.68 Seconds Before the Satellite Hit - shortstory by Dylan Otto Krider
79 - The Naked Truth - novelette by Jerry M. Wolfe
100 - The First - shortstory by Peg Robinson
114 - See Spot Run - shortstory by Kathy Oltion
130 - Together Again, for the First Time - shortstory by Bobbie Benton Hull
149 - Civil Disobedience - shortstory by Alara Rogers
156 - Of Cabbages and Kings - shortstory by Franklin Thatcher
177 - Life's Lessons - shortstory by Christina F. York
195 - Where I Fell Before My Enemy - shortstory by Vince Bonasso
217 - Good Night, Voyager - novelette by Patrick Cumby
242 - Ambassador at Large - novelette by J. A. Rosales
264 - Fiction - novelette by jaQ Andrews
286 - I, Voyager - shortstory by Jackee C.
296 - Monthuglu - novelette by Craig D. B. Patton
317 - The Man Who Sold the Sky - shortstory by John J. Ordover
320 - The Girl Who Controlled Gene Kelly's Feet - novelette by Paula M. Block
353 - My First Story - essay by John J. Ordover
355 - A Few Words ... - essay by Paula M. Block
365 - About the Contributors (Strange New Worlds) - essay by uncredited

Strange New Worlds II

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 2

Award-quality short stories set in Star Trek universes, written by fans of the series. Culled from a second nationwide contest/author search, they represent some of the finest Star Trek writing available today.

Contents:

ix - Introduction (Strange New Worlds II) - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
3 - Triptych - novelette by Melissa Dickinson
26 - The Quick and the Dead - shortstory by Kathy Oltion
43 - The First Law of Metaphysics - novelette by Michael S. Poteet
66 - The Hero of My Own Life - novelette by Peg Robinson
89 - Doctors Three - shortstory by Charles Skaggs
107 - I Am Klingon - novelette by Ken Rand
129 - Reciprocity - shortstory by Brad Curry
143 - Calculated Risk - novelette by Christina F. York
166 - Gods, Fate, and Fractals - shortstory by William Leisner
184 - I Am Become Death - shortstory by Franklin Thatcher
199 - Research - shortstory by J. R. Rasmussen
202 - Change of Heart - shortstory by Steven Scott Ripley
221 - A Ribbon for Rosie - novelette by Ilsa J. Bick
245 - Touched - shortstory by Kim Sheard
255 - Almost ... But Not Quite - novelette by Dayton Ward
278 - The Healing Arts - novelette by E. Cristy Ruteshouser and Lynda Martinez Foley
302 - Seventh Heaven - novelette by Dustan Moon
327 - Afterword (Strange New Worlds II) - essay by John J. Ordover
335 - About the Contributors (Strange New Worlds II) - essay by uncredited

Strange New Worlds III

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 3

Back by popular demand -- again! Our third anthology featuring original Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager stories written by Star Trek fans, for Star Trek fans!

Each Strange New Worlds competition draws a greater response than the last. The final selections gathered here were chosen from an overwhelming number of entries by virtue of their originality and style. With wit, compassion, and an affection for all things Star Trek, these brand-new authors take us where Star Trek has never gone before.

Their tales rocket across the length and breadth of Federation time and space, from when Captain Kirk explored the galaxy on the first Starship Enterprise, through Captain Picard's U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-D and Captain Sisko's Deep Space Nine, to Captain Janeway's Starship Voyager, with many more fascinating stops along the way. Find out what happens in the Star Trek universe when fans -- like you -- take the helm!

Contents:

ix - Introduction: The Class of 2000 - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
3 - If I Lose Thee ... - novelette by Sarah A. Hoyt and Rebecca Lickiss
24 - Aliens Are Coming! - shortstory by Dayton Ward
39 - Family Matters - novelette by Susan Ross Moore
61 - Whatever You Do, Don't Read This Story - novelette by Robert T. Jeschonek
86 - A Private Victory - shortstory by Tonya D. Price
95 - The Fourth Toast - shortstory by Kelly Cairo
106 - One of Forty-seven - shortfiction by E. Catherine Tobler
110 - A Q to Swear By - novelette by Shane Zeranski
132 - The Change of Seasons - shortstory by Logan Page
138 - Out of the Box, Thinking - novelette by Jerry M. Wolfe
163 - Ninety-three Hours - shortstory by Kim Sheard
181 - Dorian's Diary - shortstory by G. Wood
189 - The Bottom Line - shortstory by Andrew (Drew) Morby
204 - The Best Defense ... - shortstory by John Takis
218 - An Errant Breeze - shortstory by Harold Gross and Eve Gordon [as by Gordon Gross ]
231 - The Ones Left Behind - shortstory by Mary Wieck
246 - The Second Star - shortstory by Diana Kornfeld
260 - The Monster Hunters - shortstory by Ann Nagy
268 - Gift of the Mourners - shortstory by Jackee Crowell
285 - jubHa' - shortstory by Lawrence M. Schoen
289 - Hints (Strange New Worlds III) - essay by Dean Wesley Smith

Strange New Worlds IV

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 4

In the fourth year of its ongoing mission, the Strange New Worlds writing competition has once again sought out exciting new voices and imaginations among Star Trek's vast galaxy of fans. After scanning countless submissions for signs of style and originality, the judges are proud to report that the universe of amazing Star Trek writers just keeps expanding.

Strange New Worlds IV features more than a dozen never-before-published stories spanning the twenty-third and twenty-fourth centuries, from the early days of James T. Kirk and his crew to the later generations of Captains Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. These memorable new tales explore and examine the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives.

Join Strange New Worlds in its thrilling quest to uncover the most compelling Star Trek fiction this side of the Galactic Barrier!

Contents:

3 - A Little More Action - shortstory by TG Theodore
15 - Prodigal Father - shortstory by Robert J. Mendenhall
33 - Missed - shortstory by Pat Detmer
39 - Tears for Eternity - shortstory by Lynda Martinez Foley
49 - Countdown - shortstory by Mary Sweeney
59 - First Star I See Tonight - shortstory by Victoria Grant
66 - Scotty's Song - shortstory by Michael Jasper [as by Michael J. Jasper ]
80 - The Name of the Cat - shortstory by Steven Scott Ripley
101 - Flight 19 - shortstory by Alan James Garbers
120 - The Promise - novelette by Shane Zeranski
142 - Flash Point - shortstory by E. Catherine Tobler
145 - Prodigal Son - shortstory by Tonya D. Price
152 - Seeing Forever - shortstory by Jeff Suess
167 - Captain Proton and the Orb of Bajor - novelette by Jonathan Bridge
189 - Isolation Ward 4 - shortstory by Kevin G. Summers
209 - Iridium-7-Tetrahydroxate Crystals Are a Girl's Best Friend - shortstory by Bill Stuart
218 - Uninvited Admirals - shortstory by Penny A. Proctor
230 - Return - shortstory by Chuck Anderson
233 - Black Hats - shortstory by William Leisner
243 - Personal Log - shortstory by Kevin Killiany
262 - Welcome Home - shortstory by Diana Kornfeld
277 - Shadows, in the Dark - novelette by Ilsa J. Bick
301 - Contest Rules (Strange New Worlds IV) - essay by uncredited
307 - About the Contributors (Strange New Worlds IV) - essay by uncredited

Strange New Worlds V

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 5

The Fifth year of the Star Trek new author contest.

Contents:

ix - Introduction (Strange New Worlds V) - essay by John J. Ordover
3 - Disappearance on 21st Street - shortstory by Mary Scott-Wiecek
11 - The Trouble with Borg Tribbles - shortstory by William Leisner
17 - Legal Action - shortstory by Alan L. Lickiss
33 - Yeoman Figgs - shortstory by Mark Murata
43 - The Shoulders of Giants - novelette by Robert T. Jeschonek
69 - Bluff - shortstory by Steven Scott Ripley
84 - The Peacemakers - novelette by Alan James Garbers
109 - Efflorescence - shortstory by Julie Hyzy [as by Julie A. Hyzy ]
122 - Kristin's Conundrum - shortstory by Jeff D. Jacques and Michelle A. Bottrall
143 - The Monkey Puzzle Box - shortstory by Kevin Killiany
162 - The Farewell Gift - shortstory by Tonya D. Price
177 - Dementia in D Minor - shortstory by Mary Sweeney
199 - Fear, Itself - novelette by Robert J. Mendenhall
223 - Final Entry - shortstory by Cynthia K. Deatherage
239 - The Difficulties of Being Evil - shortstory by Craig Gibb
244 - Restoration - shortstory by Penny A. Proctor
258 - On the Rocks - shortstory by TG Theodore
268 - Witness - shortstory by Diana Kornfeld
286 - Fragment - shortstory by Catherine E. Pike
296 - Who Cries for Prometheus? - shortstory by Phaedra Weldon [as by Phaedra M. Weldon ]
311 - Remnant - shortstory by James J. Swann and Louisa M. Swann
329 - A Girl for Every Star - shortstory by John Takis
346 - Hoshi's Gift - shortstory by Kelle Vozka
357 - Afterword (Strange New Worlds V) - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
361 - Contest Rules (Strange New Worlds V) - essay by uncredited
367 - About the Contributors (Strange New Worlds V) - essay by uncredited

Strange New Worlds VI

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 6

John J. Ordover
Dean Wesley Smith

In the sixth year of its ongoing mission, the Strange New Worlds writing competition has once again sought out exciting new voices and imaginations among Star Trek's vast galaxy of fans. After scanning countless submissions for signs of style and originality, the judges are proud to report that the universe of amazing Star Trek writers just keeps expanding.

Strange New Worlds VI features twenty-three never-before-published stories spanning the twenty-second to the twenty-fourth centuries, from the early days of Captain Jonathan Archer to James T. Kirk and his crew to the later generations of Captains Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. These memorable new tales explore and examine the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives.

Contents:

ix - Introduction (Strange New Worlds VI) - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
3 - Whales Weep Not - shortstory by Juanita Nolte
18 - One Last Adventure - shortstory by Mark Allen and Charity Zegers
32 - Marking Time - shortstory by Pat Detmer
43 - Ancient History - shortstory by Robert J. Mendenhall
56 - Bum Radish: Five Spins on a Turquoise Reindeer - shortstory by TG Theodore
64 - A Piece of the Pie - shortstory by G. Wood
73 - The Soft Room - novelette by Geoffrey Thorne
96 - Protecting Data's Friends - novelette by Scott William Carter
117 - The Human Factor - shortstory by Russ Crossley
128 - Tribble in Paradise - shortstory by Louisa M. Swann
145 - Fabrications - shortstory by Brett Hudgins
149 - Urgent Matter - shortstory by Robert J. LaBaff
160 - Best Tools Available - shortstory by Shawn Michael Scott
179 - Homemade - shortstory by Elizabeth A. Dunham
187 - Seven and Seven - novelette by Kevin Hosey
209 - The End of Night - novelette by Paul J. Kaplan
230 - Hidden - novelette by Jan Stevens
254 - Widow's Walk - shortstory by Mary Scott-Wiecek
267 - Savior - shortstory by Julie Hyzy
286 - Preconceptions - shortstory by Penny A. Proctor
302 - Cabin E-14 - shortstory by Shane Zeranski
321 - Our Million-Year Mission - novelette by Robert T. Jeschonek
346 - The Beginning - shortstory by Annie Reed
359 - Contest Rules (Strange New Worlds VI) - essay by uncredited
365 - About the Contributors (Strange New Worlds VI) - essay by uncredited

Strange New Worlds VII

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 7

Our seventh anthology features original Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise stories written by Star Trek fans, for Star Trek fans!

Featuring new stories by new writers and a few contest veterans, Strange New Worlds VII spans the entire Star Trek universe from the original days of Captain Kirk and throughout the tenures of Captains Picard, Sisko, and Janeway and back in time again to Archer. Each of these unforgettable stories explores the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives.

Contents:

ix - Introduction (Strange New Worlds VII) - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
3 - A Test of Character - shortstory by Kevin Lauderdale
15 - Indomitable - shortstory by Kevin Killiany
27 - Project Blue Book - shortstory by Christian Grainger
40 - The Trouble with Tribals - shortstory by Paul J. Kaplan
42 - All Fall Down - shortstory by Muri McCage
58 - A Sucker Born - shortstory by Pat Detmer
72 - Obligations Discharged - shortstory by Gerri Leen
85 - Life's Work - shortstory by Julie Hyzy
96 - Adventures in Jazz and Time - shortstory by Kelly Cairo
103 - Future Shock - shortstory by John Coffren
110 - Full Circle - shortstory by Scott Pearson
126 - Beginnings - shortstory by Jeff D. Jacques
142 - Solemn Duty - shortstory by Jim Johnson
157 - Infinite Bureaucracy - shortstory by Anne E. Clements
166 - Barclay Program Nine - shortstory by Russ Crossley
179 - Redux - novelette by Susan S. McCrackin
202 - The Little Captain - shortstory by Catherine E. Pike
216 - I Have Broken the Prime Directive - shortstory by G. Wood
220 - Don't Cry - shortstory by Annie Reed
229 - Earthquake Weather - shortstory by Louisa M. Swann
247 - Guardians - novelette by Brett Hudgins
271 - The Law of Averages - shortstory by Amy Sisson
278 - Forgotten Light - shortstory by Frederick Kim
294 - Contest Rules (Strange New Worlds VII) - essay by uncredited
299 - About the Contributors (Strange New Worlds VII) - essay by uncredited

Strange New Worlds VIII

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 8

Dean Wesley Smith

This newest volume of Strange New Worlds features original Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise stories written by Star Trek fans, for Star Trek fans!

Each of these stories features our favorite Trek characters in new and adventurous situations. In this anthology, we get to experience a new version of the Kobayashi Maru, feel what it's like to be inside the Borg collective, delight in tasting new foods, and encourage Starfleet's future.

Contents:

ix - Introduction (Strange New Worlds 8) - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
3 - Shanghaied - (2005) - novelette by Alan James Garbers
27 - Assignment: One - (2005) - shortstory by Kevin Lauderdale
36 - Demon - (2005) - novelette by Kevin Andrew Hosey
61 - Don't Call Me Tiny - (2005) - shortstory by Paul C. Tseng
81 - Morning Bells Are Ringing - (2005) - shortstory by Kevin G. Summers
99 - Passages of Deceit - (2005) - shortstory by Sarah A. Seaborne
115 - Final Flight - (2005) - shortstory by John Takis
133 - Trek - (2005) - shortstory by Dan C. Duval
147 - Gumbo - (2005) - shortstory by Amy Vincent
155 - Promises Made - (2005) - shortstory by David DeLee
173 - Always a Price - (2005) - shortstory by Muri McCage
186 - Transfiguration - (2005) - shortstory by Susan S. McCrackin
205 - This Drone - (2005) - shortstory by M. C. DeMarco
215 - Once Upon a Tribble - (2005) - shortstory by Annie Reed
224 - You May Kiss the Bride - (2005) - shortstory by Amy Sisson
234 - Coffee with a Friend - (2005) - shortstory by J. B. Stevens
257 - Egg Drop Soup - (2005) - shortstory by Robert Burke Richardson
264 - Hero - (2005) - shortstory by Lorraine Anderson
268 - Insanity - (2005) - novelette by A. Rhea King
295 - A & Ω (Alpha & Omega) - (2005) - novelette by Derek Tyler Attico
318 - Concurrence - (2005) - novelette by Geoffrey Thorne
344 - Dawn - (2005) - shortstory by Paul J. Kaplan
359 - Contest Rules (Strange New Worlds 8) - essay by uncredited
365 - About the Contributors (Strange New Worlds 8) - essay by uncredited

Strange New Worlds IX

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 9

Dean Wesley Smith

The tales featured in Strange New Worlds IX, rocket readers across the length and breadth of the Federation, time, and space; from Captain Jonathan Archer's first exploration of the galaxy on board the very first Starship Enterprise through to Captain Picard's tenure on the USS Enterprise 1701-D -- and beyond. Here you can read a fresh and original take on Captain Benjamin Sisko's role on Deep Space Nine, Captain Kathryn Janeway's homeward journey with the crew of the Starship Voyager, Captain Archer's encounters with the Xindi -- and many more ports of call along the way.

Contents:

ix - Introduction (Strange New Worlds 9) - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
3 - Gone Native - (2006) - shortstory by John Coffren
9 - A Bad Day for Koloth - (2006) - shortstory by David DeLee
20 - Book of Fulfillment - (2006) - shortstory by Steven Costa
28 - The Smallest Choices - (2006) - shortstory by Jeremy Yoder
41 - Staying the Course - (2006) - shortstory by Paul C. Tseng
57 - Home Soil - (2006) - shortstory by Jim Johnson
74 - Terra Tonight - (2006) - shortstory by Scott Pearson
87 - Solace in Bloom - (2006) - novelette by Jeff D. Jacques
111 - Shadowed Allies - (2006) - novelette by Emily P. Bloch
134 - Living on the Edge of Existence - (2006) - shortstory by Gerri Leen
148 - The Last Tree on Ferenginar: A Ferengi Fable from the Future - (2006) - shortstory by Mike McDevitt
168 - The Tribbles' Pagh - (2006) - shortstory by Ryan M. Williams
185 - Choices - (2006) - novelette by Susan S. McCrackin
207 - Unconventional Cures - (2006) - shortstory by Russ Crossley
213 - Maturation - (2006) - shortstory by Catherine E. Pike
225 - Rounding a Corner Already Turned - (2006) - novelette by Allison Cain
247 - Mother Nature's Little Reminders - (2006) - shortstory by A. Rhea King
255 - Mestral - (2006) - novelette by Ben Guilfoy
279 - Remembering the Future - (2006) - shortstory by Randy Tatano
291 - Rocket Man - (2006) - shortstory by Kenneth E. Carper
312 - The Rules of War - (2006) - shortstory by Kevin Lauderdale
321 - The Immortality Blues - (2006) - novelette by Marc Carlson
343 - Orphans - (2006) - novelette by R. S. Belcher
367 - Contest Rules (Strange New Worlds 9) - essay by uncredited
375 - About the Contributors (Strange New Worlds 9) - essay by uncredited
[384] - First, Do No Harm (excerpt) - shortfiction by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore

Strange New Worlds X

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Book 10

Dean Wesley Smith

Ambassador Sarek meets his future wife. Captain Ransom atones for his sins. T'Pol pursues a composer, after she is captivated by the human's music. Strands of DNA are woven together from four Starfleet captains, creating one man with one mission. An entity fights for its right to live, despite the fact that it is not alive.

From the ordinary to the extraordinary, all of these stories are embraced by the vision of Star Trek. When Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek, he also tapped a wellspring of human imagination. Viewers were transformed into fans, who embraced the show and turned the definition of "fan" on its ear. However, when what was on the screen was simply not enough, fans started writing their own stories, which they then shared among friends and family.

Ten years ago, Pocket Books offered Star Trek fans a unique opportunity to become a part of the Star Trek mythos. A contest was created in which the best stories submitted by nonprofessional writers would be published. And over the course of a decade, hundreds of pounds of submissions poured in. Many of the writers who submitted to Strange New Worlds went on to become professional writers.

Contents:

vii - Introduction: Ten Years of Great Adventure - essay by Dean Wesley Smith
5 - The Smell of Dead Roses - novelette by Gerri Leen
29 - The Doomsday Gambit - shortstory by Rick Dickson
47 - Empty - shortstory by David DeLee
63 - Wired - shortstory by Aimee Ford Foster
85 - A Dish Served Cold - shortstory by Paul C. Tseng
101 - The Very Model - shortstory by Muri McCage
117 - So a Horse Walks into a Bar ... - shortstory by Brian Seidman
139 - Signal to Noise - shortstory by Jim Johnson
157 - The Fate of Captain Ransom - shortstory by Rob Vagle
175 - A Taste of Spam - shortstory by L. E. Doggett
191 - Adjustments - shortstory by Laura Ware
203 - The Day the Borg Came - shortstory by M. C. DeMarco
217 - The Dream - shortstory by Robyn Sullivent Gries
229 - Universal Chord - shortstory by Carolyn Winifred
249 - You Are Not in Space - shortstory by Edgar Governo
271 - Time Line - shortstory by Jerry M. Wolfe
289 - Echoes - shortstory by Randy Tatano
311 - Brigadoon - novelette by Rigel Ailur
337 - Reborn - shortstory by Jeremy Yoder

The High Country

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds TV: Book 1

John Jackson Miller

When an experimental shuttlecraft fails, Captain Christopher Pike suspects a mechanical malfunction--only to discover the very principles on which Starfleet bases its technology have simply stopped functioning. He and his crewmates are forced to abandon ship in a dangerous maneuver that scatters their party across the strangest new world they've ever encountered.

First Officer Una Chin-Riley finds herself fighting to survive an untamed wilderness where dangers lurk at every turn. Young cadet Nyota Uhura struggles in a volcanic wasteland where things are not as they seem. Science Officer Spock is missing altogether. And Pike gets the chance to fulfill a childhood dream: to live the life of a cowboy in a world where the tools of the twenty-third century are of no use.

Yet even in the saddle, Pike is still very much a starship captain, with all the responsibilities that entails. Setting out to find his crewmates, he encounters a surprising face from his past--and discovers that one people's utopia might be someone else's purgatory. He must lead an exodus--or risk a calamity of galactic proportions that even the Starship Enterprise is powerless to stop...

Child of Two Worlds

Star Trek: The Original Series

Greg Cox

The year is 2255, not long after the events of the Original Series episode "The Cage." A young Spock is science officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, when an outbreak of deadly Rigelian fever threatens the crew. Reviewing the Starfleet medical database, Dr. Phillip Boyce comes up with a highly experimental and untested new treatment that might save the crew. Just one problem: it requires a rare mineral substance, ryetalyn, which is not easily obtained... except on a remote alien colony near the Klingon border. But borders are somewhat blurry in this part of galaxy. Pike will need to tread carefully in order to avoid provoking an armed conflict with the Klingons--or starting an all-out war.

The Weight of Worlds

Star Trek: The Original Series

Greg Cox

The Ephrata Institute is an intellectual think tank at the outer fringes of the final frontier. Dedicated to the arts and sciences, the Institute seems an unlikely target for an invasion, but it proves easy pickings when the Crusade comes from beyond, determined to impose its harsh, unbending Truth on all the worlds of the Federation. Armed with weaponized gravity, the alien Crusaders will stop at nothing to rescue the universe from its myriad beliefs... even if it means warping the mind and soul of every sentient being they encounter.

Responding to an urgent distress signal, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise soon find themselves in conflict with the Crusade, and facing individual challenges. When Kirk and Spock are transported to the Crusade's distant homeland to confront the source of the invasion, Sulu finds himself trapped behind enemy lines, while Lieutenant Uhura is faced with possibly the most difficult decisions of her career.

As the Crusade sets its sights beyond Ephrata IV, it is up to the Enterprise and its besieged crew to keep freedom of thought from being crushed beneath the weight of worlds!

Memory Prime

Star Trek: The Original Series: Worlds in Collision: Book 1

Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Judith Reeves-Stevens

It is the central core of an immense computer library -- an elite network of research planetoids. Here, the Pathfinders -- the only artificial intelligences legally permitted to serve the Federation -- control and sift the overwhelming dataflow from thousands of research vessels across the galaxy...

Now the greatest scientists in the Federation have gathered here for the prestigious Nobel and Z-Magnees prize ceremonies -- unaware that a deadly assassin is stalking one of them. And as Captain Kirk struggles to save his ship from sabotage and his first officer from accusations of murder, he discovers the hidden assassin is far from the deadliest secret lurking on Memory Prime...

Prime Directive

Star Trek: The Original Series: Worlds in Collision: Book 2

Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Judith Reeves-Stevens

Starfleet's most sacred commandment has been violated. Its most honored captain is in disgrace, its most celebrated starship in pieces, and the crew of that ship scattered among the thousand worlds of the Federation...

Thus begins "Prime Directive", an epic tale of the Star Trek universe. Following in the bestselling tradition of "Spock's World" and "The Lost Years", Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens have crafted a thrilling tale of mystery and wonder, a novel that takes the Star Trek characters from the depths of despair into an electrifying new adventure that spans the galaxy.

Journey with Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the former crew of the Starship Enterprise to Talin-- the planet where their careers ended. A world once teeming with life that now lies ruined, its cities turned to ashes, its surface devastated by a radioactive firestorm-- because of their actions. There, they must find out how-- and why-- this tragedy occurred and discover what has become of their captain.

The Closed Worlds

Starwolf: Book 2

Edmond Hamilton

When Morgan Chane and his comrades of John Dilullo's interstellar mercenaries invaded the Close World of Arkuu in search of a lost Terran expedition, they found a planet of strange menace. Incredibly powerful monsters prowled though Arkuu's dense jungles, and the ghosts of the planet's past haunted its ancient deserted cities. The Arkuuns themselves fought grimly to drive the Terrans away. But at last Chane discovered the Free-Faring, the terrible alien secret of Arkuu... and suddenly he knew why no Terran had ever left the Closed Worlds alive.

This novel is contained in the Omnibus Starwolf

The Wolf Worlds

Sten: Book 2

Chris Bunch
Allan Cole

The Eternal Emperor ruled countless worlds across the galaxy. Vast armies and huge fleets awaited his command. But when he needed a "little" job done right, he turned to Mantis Team and its small band of militant problem solvers.

Just then the Emperor needed to pacify the Wolf Worlds, the planets of an insignificant cluster that had raised space piracy to a low art.

And Mantis Team could use all the men it needed -- as long as it needed no more than two.

The Killing of Worlds

Succession: Book 2

Scott Westerfeld

The immortal Emperor can grant a form of eternal life-after-death, creating an elite known as the Risen, and so has ruled the eighty worlds unchallenged for sixteen hundred years. The only thing he fears are the Rix, machine-augmented humans who worship AI compound minds. They are dedicated to replacing his prolonged rule with an eternal cybernetic dynasty of their own.

Brilliant tactician Captain Laurent Zai of the Imperial Frigate Lynx faces a suicide mission: stopping the next thrust of the Rix invasion with just his own vessel. While ship-to-ship combat rages among the stars, Zai's lover, Senator Nara Oxham, is caught in a deadly political fencing match with the Emperor himself. The Emperor has a terrible secret, a secret Nara is in danger of finding out, a secret for which he would countenance the killing of worlds.

A Wizard's War and Other Stories

Tales of the Three Worlds

Ian Irvine

A collection of original short and long stories, and novellas, set in Ian Irvine's internationally bestselling Three Worlds epic fantasy universe.

The Price of Freedom. Tensor leads his troubled people to Santhenar to attack his Charon enemies. But can the Twisted Mirror show true? Or will it betray him? A long short story.

The Harrows. Dare Lita open the box at the bottom of the pool? And if she does, will it save her people -- or harrow them again? A short story.

A Wizard's War. During the devastating Clysm, the first meeting of the two greatest wizards on Santhenar sets up a thousand years of conflict. Here, in Mendark's own words, is the story of the worst deed of his life... and the deed that made him. A long short story.

Darkness Visible. A young Karan goes to Carcharon to investigate her father's death, and wishes she hadn't. A short story.

The Professional Liar. Llian, brilliant creator of the monumental Tale of the Mirror, is a tormented man, racked by guilt. Can he save himself -- or is it too late? A long short story.

The Seventh Sister. Aviel, the unluckiest girl in the world, finds a dying man dumped in the Sacrifice Tree. Can she solve the riddle of his murder and turn her miserable life around, or will the thumbless killer get her too? A novella.

One Throw of the Die. The war has been lost and the surviving allies flee for their lives, pursued by Jal-Nish, who now holds all the magic in the world. Then Flydd's dying friend, Troist, begs him to save his twin daughters from the tyrant. It's a suicide mission but Flydd cannot refuse. Can he rescue Liliwen and Meriwen, or will Jal-Nish destroy them all? A long novella.

The Rebel Worlds

Technic Civilization: Dominic Flandry: Book 2

Poul Anderson

The Barbarians in their long ships waited at the edge of the Galaxy, waited for the ancient Terran Empire to fall, while tow men struggled to save it: ex-Admiral McCormac, forced to rebel against a corrupt Emperor, and Starship Commander Flandry, the brilliant young officer who served the Imperium even as he scorned it.

Trapped between them was the woman they both loved, but couldn't share: the beautiful Kathryn, whose single world could decide the fate of a billion suns.

Walking to Aldebaran

Terrible Worlds: Destinations: Book 1

One Day All This Will Be Yours

My name is Gary Rendell. I'm an astronaut. When they asked me as a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, "astronaut, please!" I dreamed astronaut, I worked astronaut, I studied astronaut.

I got lucky; when a probe sent out to explore the Oort Cloud found a strange alien rock and an international team of scientists was put together to go and look at it, I made the draw.

I got even luckier. When disaster hit and our team was split up, scattered through the endless cold tunnels, I somehow survived.

Now I'm lost, and alone, and scared, and there's something horrible in here.

Lucky me.

Lucky, lucky, lucky.

Terrible Worlds: Destinations: Book 2

And Put Away Childish Things

Welcome to the end of time. It's a perfect day.

Nobody remembers how the Causality War started. Really, there's no-one to remember, and nothing for them to remember if there were; that's sort of the point. We were time warriors, and we broke time.

I was the one who ended it. Ended the fighting, tidied up the damage as much as I could. Then I came here, to the end of it all, and gave myself a mission: to never let it happen again.

Terrible Worlds: Destinations: Book 3

Harry Bodie's been called into the delightful fantasy world of his grandmother's beloved children's books. It's not delightful here at all.

All roads lead to Underhill, where it's always winter, and never nice.

Harry Bodie has a famous grandmother, who wrote beloved children's books set in the delightful world of Underhill. Harry himself is a failing kids' TV presenter whose every attempt to advance his career ends in self-sabotage. His family history seems to be nothing but an impediment.

An impediment... or worse. What if Underhill is real? What if it has been waiting decades for a promised child to visit? What if it isn't delightful at all? And what if its denizens have run out of patience and are taking matters into their own hands?

Ironclads

Terrible Worlds: Revolutions: Book 1

Scions have no limits. Scions do not die. And Scions do not disappear.

Sergeant Ted Regan has a problem. A son of one of the great corporate families, a Scion, has gone missing at the front. He should have been protected by his Ironclad--the lethal battle suits that make the Scions masters of war--but something has gone catastrophically wrong.

Now Regan and his men, ill equipped and demoralised, must go behind enemy lines, find the missing Scion, and uncover how his suit failed. Is there a new Ironclad-killer out there? And how are common soldiers lacking the protection afforded the rich supposed to survive the battlefield of tomorrow?

Firewalkers

Terrible Worlds: Revolutions: Book 2

Firewalkers are brave. Firewalkers are resourceful. Firewalkers are expendable.

The Earth is burning. Nothing can survive at the Anchor; not without water and power. But the ultra-rich, waiting for their ride off the dying Earth? They can buy water. And as for power?

Well, someone has to repair the solar panels, down in the deserts below.

Kids like Mao, and Lupé, and Hotep; kids with brains and guts but no hope.

The Firewalkers.

Ogres

Terrible Worlds: Revolutions: Book 3

The Best of All Possible Worlds

Ogres are bigger than you.
Ogres are stronger than you.
Ogres rule the world.

It's always idyllic in the village until the landlord comes to call.

Because the landlord is an Ogre. And Ogres rule the world, with their size and strength and appetites. It's always been that way. It's the natural order of the world. And they only eat people sometimes.

But when the headman's son, Torquell, dares lift his hand against the landlord's son, he sets in motion a chain of events which let him learn about the dark sciences that ensured his masters' domination, the monstrous lies behind everything he knows, and the even worse truths about the Ogres, and the people they rule.

The Best of All Possible Worlds: Book 1

Karen Lord

Karen Lord's debut novel, the multiple-award-winning Redemption in Indigo, announced the appearance of a major new talent-a strong, brilliantly innovative voice fusing Caribbean storytelling traditions and speculative fiction with subversive wit and incisive intellect. Compared by critics to such heavyweights as Nalo Hopkinson, China Miéville, and Ursula K. Le Guin, Lord does indeed belong in such select company-yet, like them, she boldly blazes her own trail.

Now Lord returns with a second novel that exceeds the promise of her first. The Best of All Possible Worlds is a stunning science fiction epic that is also a beautifully wrought, deeply moving love story.

A proud and reserved alien society finds its homeland destroyed in an unprovoked act of aggression, and the survivors have no choice but to reach out to the indigenous humanoids of their adopted world, to whom they are distantly related. They wish to preserve their cherished way of life but come to discover that in order to preserve their culture, they may have to change it forever.

Now a man and a woman from these two clashing societies must work together to save this vanishing race-and end up uncovering ancient mysteries with far-reaching ramifications. As their mission hangs in the balance, this unlikely team-one cool and cerebral, the other fiery and impulsive-just may find in each other their own destinies... and a force that transcends all.

The Galaxy Game

The Best of All Possible Worlds: Book 2

Karen Lord

Karen Lord is one of today's most brilliant young talents. Her science fiction, like that of predecessors Ursula K. Le Guin and China Miéville, combines star-spanning plots, deeply felt characters, and incisive social commentary. With The Galaxy Game, Lord presents a gripping adventure that showcases her dazzling imagination as never before.

On the verge of adulthood, Rafi attends the Lyceum, a school for the psionically gifted. Rafi possesses mental abilities that might benefit people... or control them. Some wish to help Rafi wield his powers responsibly; others see him as a threat to be contained. Rafi's only freedom at the Lyceum is Wallrunning: a game of speed and agility played on vast vertical surfaces riddled with variable gravity fields.

Serendipity and Ntenman are also students at the Lyceum, but unlike Rafi they come from communities where such abilities are valued. Serendipity finds the Lyceum as much a prison as a school, and she yearns for a meaningful life beyond its gates. Ntenman, with his quick tongue, quicker mind, and a willingness to bend if not break the rules, has no problem fitting in. But he too has his reasons for wanting to escape.

Now the three friends are about to experience a moment of violent change as seething tensions between rival star-faring civilizations come to a head. For Serendipity, it will challenge her ideas of community and self. For Ntenman, it will open new opportunities and new dangers. And for Rafi, given a chance to train with some of the best Wallrunners in the galaxy, it will lead to the discovery that there is more to Wallrunning than he ever suspected... and more to himself than he ever dreamed.

Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan (Volume One)

The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan: Book 1

Caitlín R. Kiernan

Caitlin R. Kiernan's short fiction was first published in 1995. Over the intervening decade and a half, she has proven not only one of dark fantasy and science fiction's most prolific and versatile authors, but, to quote Ramsey Campbell, "One of the most accomplished writers in the field, and very possibly the most lyrical." S. T. Joshi has written, "Kiernan's witchery of words creates a mesmerizing effect that we haven't seen since the days of Lovecraft and Bradbury."

Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitl'n R. Kiernan (Volume One) presents a stunning retrospective of the first ten years of her work, a compilation of more than two hundred thousand words of short fiction, including many of her most acclaimed stories, as well as some of the author's personal favorites, several previously uncollected, hard-to-find pieces, and her sf novella, The Dry Salvages, and a rare collaboration with Poppy Z. Brite. Destined to become the definitive look at the early development of Kiernan's work, Two Worlds and In Between is a must for fans and collectors alike, as well as an unprecedented introduction to an author who, over the course of her career, has earned the praise of such luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Charles De Lint, and Clive Barker.

Contents:

Emptiness Spoke Eloquent - (1997)
Two Worlds, and in Between - (1997)
To This Water (Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1889) - (1996)
Tears Seven Times Salt - (1996)
Breakfast in the House of the Rising Sun (Murder Ballad No. 1) - (1997)
Estate - (1997)
Rats Live on No Evil Star - (1999)
Salmagundi (New York City, 1981) - (1998)
Postcards from the King of Tides - (1998)
Giants in the Earth - (1996)
Zelda Fitzgerald in Ballet Attire - poem (2000)
Spindleshanks (New Orleans, 1956) - (2000)
The Road of Pins - (2002)
Onion - (2001)
In the Garden of Poisonous Flowers - (2002)
Night Story 1973 - (2002) - by Poppy Z. Brite and Caitlín R. Kiernan
From Cabinet 34, Drawer 6 - (2005)
Andromeda Among the Stones - (2002)
La Peau Verte - (2005)
Riding the White Bull - (2004)
Waycross - (2003)
The Dead and the Moonstruck - (2004)
The Daughter of the Four of Pentacles - (2007)
The Dry Salvages - (2004)
The Worm in My Mind's Eye - (2005)
Houses Under the Sea - (2006)

The Godel Operation

The Billion Worlds: Book 1

James L. Cambias

A DROID AND HIS BOY, ON A SEARCH FOR A LEGENDARY WEAPON

Daslakh is an AI with a problem. Its favorite human, a young man named Zee, is in love with a woman who never existed -- and he will scour the Solar System to find her. But in the Tenth Millennium a billion worlds circle the Sun--everything from terraformed planets to artificial habitats, home to a quadrillion beings.

Daslakh's nicely settled life gets more complicated when Zee helps a woman named Adya escape a gang of crooks. This gets the pair caught up in the hunt for the Godel Trigger, a legendary weapon left over from an ancient war between humans and machines--which could spell the end of civilization.

In their search, they face a criminal cat and her henchmen, a paranoid supermind with a giant laser, the greatest thief in history, and a woman who might actually be Zee's lost love.

It's up to Daslakh to save civilization, keep Zee's love life on the right track--and make sure that nobody discovers the real secret of the Godel Trigger.

The Scarab Mission

The Billion Worlds: Book 2

James L. Cambias

Solana Sina is a scarab, salvaging wrecked and abandoned space habitats among the Billion Worlds of the Tenth Millennium. She and an oddball crew--a raven, a cyborg, and a dinosaur--board the derelict colony Safdaghar hoping to score some loot before the colony gets catapulted into the outer reaches of the Solar System. But Solana and the scarabs come face-to-face with a gang of vicious pirates looking for slaves and treasure, and a mysterious stranger intent on preserving an explosive secret. Solana must overcome her own horrifying past to survive and escape before it's too late. But there's an even more dangerous threat lurking in the dark passages and ruined buildings of Safdaghar...

The Blighted Stars

The Devoured Worlds: Book 1

Megan E. O'Keefe

She's a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they're found and Naira Sharp thinks she knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity's expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.

He's the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin's father has tasked him with monitoring the settlement of a new planet, and he doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

Disguised as Tarquin's new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy the settlement ship before they make land. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she's sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that's bigger than both of them.

The Fractured Dark

The Devoured Worlds: Book 2

Megan E. O'Keefe

Naira and Tarquin have escaped vicious counter-revolutionaries, misprinted monsters and the pull of a dying planet. Now, bound together to find the truth behind the blight that has been killing habitable planets, they need to hunt out the Mercator family secrets.

But, when the head of Mercator disappears, taking the universe's remaining supply of starship fuel with him, chaos breaks loose between the ruling families. Naira's revolution must be put aside for the sake of humanity's immediate survival.

The Bound Worlds

The Devoured Worlds: Book 3

Megan E. O'Keefe

Naira and Tarquin have found a new home on Seventh Cradle. But the peace they've built is short-lived as mysterious assailants ambush the settlement and Naira is haunted by visions of a monstrous future. Catastrophe strikes when Tarquin uncovers a plot to bring about the end of the universe. As humanity races against the clock to prevent their extinction, old secrets come to light and loyalties fracture, and Naira realizes she may be the key to saving the world - or ending it.

The Last Hour Between Worlds

The Echo Archives: Book 1

Melissa Caruso

In the Deep Echoes, no one can save you.

Kembral Thorne has a few hours away from her newborn, and she's determined to enjoy herself at the year-turning ball. But when guests start dropping dead, she can't help sniffing out trouble - she's a Hound, after all. Especially when her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is also on the prowl.

Everyone knows you shouldn't get involved with Echo games. Let alone one involving ancient Echo lords who can turn layers of reality into a gameboard with human lives for pieces. But as the ballroom grows stranger and more otherworldly with each strike of the hour, it's clearly too late.

Kem knows the rules: One Echo down is no big deal. Stay alert for trouble.

Four Echoes down, there are things with eyes in their teeth, and walls that drip blood. Four is the limit.

As the party plunges through increasingly deadly realities, the rules can't help Kem anymore. She'll have to rely on her wits - and Rika - to unravel the most dangerous game of the century before it unleashes catastrophe on their world.

The Gate of Worlds

The Gate of Worlds: Book 1

Beyond the Gate of Worlds

In this alternate history novel, the Bubonic Plague sets the stage for a world where the West is powerless. After the Black Death has wiped out most of the European population, there is little defense against Turkish invasion and expansion, and by the 1980s, the major world powers are the Russians, the Turks, the Aztecs, the Incas, and the Japanese. Dan Beauchamp, a young Englishman whose heart longs for fortune and adventure, travels to industrial Mexico and discovers that he has a lot to learn.

The Gate of Worlds: Book 2

Robert Silverberg
John Brunner
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

These three novellas are set in an alternate world first created by Silverberg in his novel, The Gate of Worlds (TOR, 1984). The idea remains intriguing: the Black Plague decimates the European population to a degree that proves irrecoverable and the ensuing cultural, inventive, and technological vacuum is filled by the civilizations of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Silverberg and John Brunner contribute taut and tantalizing glimpses into the might-have-beens of Timbuctoo politics and would-be Eastern European assassins. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's contribution, set in the courts of the Incas, unfortunately bogs down in its strain to demonstrate just how exotic this setting is. Despite this reservation, the book is likely to be popular with fans of alternate-world dramas and of these well-known authors. In addition, it might prove a stimulating enrichment for world-history classes. -Cathy Chauvette, Fairfax County Pub. Lib., VA

Quest of the Three Worlds

The Instrumentality of Mankind: Casher O'Neill

Cordwainer Smith

Four novellas with the same main character Caher O'Neill.

Contains:

On the Gem Planet
On the Storm Planet
On the Sand Planet
Three to a Given Star

On Vicious Worlds

The Kindom Trilogy: Book 2

Bethany Jacobs

The Jeveni have finally found freedom on the distant planet Capamame, delivered from Kindom oppression through their alliance with stoic Cleric Chono, intrepid caster Jun Ironway, and Six, the wildly unpredictable manipulator who has outwitted the Nightfoot family.

But when Six and Chono return to the Treble star systems, the dream of freedom meets a dangerous test. The Secretaries of the Kindom are intent on reclaiming power in the Treble, as well as control over the Jeveni. Meanwhile, Jun Ironway and Jeveni collector Masar Hawks struggle to protect Capamame from a population brimming with resentment, not to mention a faceless saboteur spreading mayhem and murder.

As the two groups struggle to outwit their enemies, divergent battles wend toward a climatic reunion that will spark a revolution. But over it all hangs the cruel legacy of Esek Nightfoot, whose rippling effects may prove impossible to survive.

The House Between Worlds

The Milesian Accords: Book 4

Jon R. Osborne

The Milesian Accords have fallen, but their shadow remains.

As magic returns to the mundane world, so do supernatural creatures. A federal agent seeking answers, a spurned Nephilim searching for his fae-blood wife, and a primeval goddess hungering for power all seek Liam Knox, the First Druid of the Accords.

New allies and old foes appear as paths converge on a nexus between realities. No longer a simple farmhouse, the druid's home has become a pathway between worlds and a locus of power.

Can Liam protect his family? Can he shield those who have no other place to go? And can he keep magic from destroying this world?

Voyage of the Shadowmoon

The Moonworlds Saga: Book 1

Sean McMullen, one of Australia's leading genre writers, took America by storm with his sweeping Greatwinter Trilogy, a post-apocalyptic science fiction tour de force that won over critics and readers alike.

Now McMullen delivers Voyage of the Shadowmoon, a fantasy epic of daunting skill and scope. The Shadowmoon is a small, unobtrusive wooden schooner whose passengers and crew are much more than they seem: Ferran, the Shadowmoon's lusty captain who dreams of power; Roval, the warrior-sorcerer; Velander and Terikel, priestesses of a nearly extinct sect; and the chivalrous vampire Laron, who has been trapped in a fourteen-year-old body for seven hundred years.

They sail the coast, gathering useful information, passing as simple traders. But when they witness the awful power of Silverdeath, an uncontrollable doomsday weapon of awesome destructiveness, they realize they must act. But every single king, emperor, and despot covets Silverdeath's power. It will take all of their wits and more than a little luck if they hope to prevent one of these power-hungry fools from destroying the world. Their only advantage? The Shadowmoon.

While it seems to be little more that a small trading vessel--too small for battle, too fat for speed--it is actually one of the most sophisticated vessels in the world, one that allows them to travel to places where no others would dare. They can only hope it will be enough to save them all before Silverdeath rains destruction across their entire world.

Glass Dragons

The Moonworlds Saga: Book 2

Sean McMullen, one of Australia's leading genre authors, delivers Glass Dragons, the scintillating sequel to Voyage of the Shadowmoon which Kirkus Reviews called "a brilliantly inventive, marvelously plotted sea-faring fantasy that both mocks and surpasses genre expectations.... Australian author McMullen writes like Roger Zelazny at the peak of his powers: his dashing, flamboyant, cleverly resourceful characters trade off insults and reveal surprising abilities as they swagger bravely from one hair-raising scene to another. Exciting, suspenseful, vividly believable, and great, clever fun: a major fantasy-award contender."

Glass Dragons continues the tale of Laron, the chivalrous 700-year-old vampire, the appallingly dangerous and beautiful Velander, and the long-suffering Terikel, as they investigate a secret project of arcane magic, a magic so dangerous it could destroy their world. A project which threatens to fall into the wrong hands.

Glass Dragons is a broad and complicated tale, filled with wonderful characters both new and old, woven through with low humor and great courage, built upon grand acts of heroism and love. Enjoy.

Voidfarer

The Moonworlds Saga: Book 3

At first Wayfarer Inspector Danolarian thought the huge oval thing that had fallen from the sky was a dragon's egg. When it opened, however, he knew that it was much, much worse. His world was being invaded by pitiless sorcerers from Lupan, who could sweep whole armies aside, and even defeat the invulnerable glass dragons. Surrender or flight were the only options... but not for Inspector Danolarian, his Wayfarer Constables, and his sweetheart, the sorceress Lavenci.

Although Danolarian is no sorcerer, he's no ordinary Wayfarer either. Faced with civilization crumbling around him, and organized resistance shattered by the invincible magic of the Lupanians, he chances upon an unlikely ally and begins to fight back. It won't be easy, for he has to rally the demoralized sorcerers of Alberin, organize its terrified citizens, stay one step ahead of his own past, and, most importantly, survive a dinner party with Lavenci's mother.

The Time Engine

The Moonworlds Saga: Book 4

The Worst of All Possible Worlds

Swords, sorcery, and time travel are a strange and dangerous mix.

Wayfarer Inspector Danolarian saw his world's future and did not approve. The inspector knew about time travel because he had once met his future self. What he did not know was that he would be abducted into the future, and wind up on the run with a constable who had shape-shifted into a cat. Danolarian would also find himself marooned in the ancient past, where he would have to recover his time engine from five thousand naked, psychopathic horsemen.

A faulty repair plunges him another three million years back in time, to a world of strange, beautiful people living idyllic lives in splendid castles. But things are not always as they seem. After being attacked, he learns from his unlikely rescuer that time travel is not entirely real. A furious Danolarian returns to his own time, planning revenge against the time engine's true builders.

This Alien Shore

The Outworlds: Book 1

C. S. Friedman

It is the second stage of human colon-ization--the first age, humanity's initial attempt to people the stars, ended in disaster when it was discovered that Earth's original superluminal drive did permanent genetic damage to all who used it--mutating Earth's far-flung colonists in mind and body. Now, one of Earth's first colonies has given humanity back the stars, but at a high price--a monopoly over all human commerce. And when a satellite in earth's outer orbit is viciously attacked by corporate raiders, an unusual young woman flees to a ship bound for the Up-and-Out. But her narrow escape does not mean safety. For speeding across the galaxy pursued by ruthless, but unknown adversaries, this young woman will discover a secret which is buried deep inside her psyche--a revelation the universe may not be ready to face....

This Virtual Night

The Outworlds: Book 2

C. S. Friedman

When deep-space travel altered the genes of the first interstellar colonists, Earth abandoned them. But some of the colonies survived, and a new civilization of mental and physical "Variants" has been established, centered around clusters of space stations known as the outworlds.

Now the unthinkable has happened: a suicide assault has destroyed the life support system of a major waystation. All that is known about the young men responsible is that in their last living moments they were receiving messages from an uninhabited sector of space, and were playing a virtual reality game.

Two unlikely allies have joined forces to investigate the incident: Ru Gaya, a mercenary explorer with a taste for high risk ventures, and game designer Micah Bello, who must find the parties responsible for the attack in order to clear his name. From the corridors of a derelict station lost to madness to an outlaw stronghold in the depths of uncharted space, the two now follow the trail of an enemy who can twist human minds to his purpose, and whose plans could bring about the collapse of outworld civilization.

Echo of Worlds

The Pandominion: Book 2

M. R. Carey

Two mighty empires are at war - and both will lose, with thousands of planets falling to the extinction event called the Scour. At least that's what the artificial intelligence known as Rupshe believes.

But somewhere in the multiverse there exists a force - the Mother Mass - that could end the war in an instant, and Rupshe has assembled a team to find it. Essien Nkanika, a soldier trying desperately to atone for past sins; the cat-woman Moon, a conscienceless killer; the digitally recorded mind of physicist Hadiz Tambuwal; Paz, an idealistic child and the renegade robot spy Dulcimer Coronal.

Their mission will take them from the hellish prison world of Tsakom to the poisoned remains of a post-apocalyptic Earth, and finally bring them face to face with the Mother Mass itself. But can they persuade it to end eons of neutrality and help them? And is it too late to make a difference?

Because the Pandominion's doomsday machines are about to be unleashed - and not even their builders know how to control them.

Perseus Spur

The Rampart Worlds: Book 1

Julian May

From Julian May, the acclaimed author who created the incredible worlds of The Many-Colored Land and The Golden Torc, comes a bold new science fiction adventure!

When rebellious Asahel Frost was expelled from the Interstellar Commerce Secretariat on trumped-up charges, he lost it all: wife, citizenship, fortune, self-respect. Exiled to a beautiful but remote planet in the Perseus Spur, Frost became Helmut Icicle, a man without a past or a future. But someone remembered Asahel Frost--remembered him enough to send an assassin to kill him. And in so doing, brought him back to life.

Now, determined to track down the would-be assassin, Helmut finds himself caught in a conspiracy as convoluted as it is deadly. His sister, Eve, has mysteriously vanished. His estranged father wants him to find her with the assistance of the lovely Matilde Gregoire, who happens to hate his guts. As Helmut follows the tangled strands of deceit, greed, and violence back to their common source, he begins to wonder if he is the hunter or the hunted...

Orion Arm

The Rampart Worlds: Book 2

Julian May

After a brief (but heroic) fling with all that is right and just, Asahel Frost has reverted to his true nature--undisciplined and feckless, according to the girlfriend who just dumped him. Now he is once again the legal nonentity known as Helmut Icicle, living the riverboat skipper life in a tiny galactic outpost with the rest of the ne'er-do-wells.

That is until his sister Eve, herself genetically altered by the alien Haluk, begs Helmut to expose the Haluk's conspiracy, which threatens humans throughout the Spur worlds. Genetic alteration is tightly controlled, yet now it's running rampant. Helmut must find the culprits, but time is running out. Too many people have vanished into the secret empire where an evil genius reigns supreme. Worse yet, there's an unknown traitor in Helmut's own family who is quite willing to murder. Only one thing's clear: Helmut will emerge either triumphant... or dead.

Sagittarius Whorl

The Rampart Worlds: Book 3

Julian May

Two centuries into the future, the Hundred Concerns, a group of powerful corporations that dominate galactic commerce, have pressured the Commonwealth of Humans into signing a pact with the Haluk, a conquering alien race with nefarious designs. Among the few people who recognize the malevolent intent of the aliens is hotheaded maverick Helly Frost.

To prove that the Haluk have created demiclones--genetically engineered individuals who are perfect human replicas--Helly travels to the Sagittarius Whorl, a fearsome region of the galaxy hostile to every form of life. But he must find crucial pieces of evidence that will expose the Haluk plot. Instead, he discovers something far darker than he had ever imagined....

The Ashes of Worlds

The Saga of Seven Suns: Book 7

Kevin J. Anderson

Galactic empires clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary systems, and the factions of humanity are pitted against each other. Heroes rise and enemies make their last stands in the climax of an epic tale seven years in the making. Acclaim for The Saga of Seven Suns'Anderson weaves action, romance, and science with a rousing plot reflecting the classic SF of Clarke and Herbert and the glossy cinematic influence of Lucas and Spielberg.' --- Publishers Weekly *Starred Review* 'Kevin Anderson has created a fully independent and richly conceived venue for his personal brand of space opera, a venue that nonetheless raises fruitful resonances with Frank Herbert's classic Dune series.' --- Scifi.com'Everything about Anderson's latest is BIG-the war, the history, the aliens. These are elemental forces battling here, folks. Yet the characters are always the heart of the story, and their defeats and triumphs give perspective to it all.' --- Starlog 'A soaring epic . . . a space opera to rival the best the field has ever seen.' --- Science Fiction Chronicle'Colorful stuff . . . bursting with incidents, concepts, and a massive cast of characters, matching well-thought-out SF ideas with melodrama and interfamily strife.' --- SFX

The Salvagers: Book 3

Alex White

The crew of the Capricious seems to leave a trail of devastation wherever they go. But with powerful enemies in pursuit and family and friends under attack planetside, there's no time to worry about all that. Ensnared by the legend of Origin, humanity's birthplace, and a long-dead form of magic, the Capricious takes off on a journey to find the first colony ship... and magic that could bring down gods.

The Sandman: Worlds' End

The Sandman: Book 8

Neil Gaiman

When Brant and Charlene wreck their car in a horrible snowstorm in the middle of nowhere, the only place they can find shelter is a mysterious little inn called World's End. Here they wait out the storm and listen to stories from the many travelers also stuck at this tavern. These tales exemplify Neil Gaiman's gift for storytelling--and his love for the very telling of them. This volume has almost nothing to do with the larger story of the Sandman, except for a brief foreshadowing nod. It's a nice companion to the best Sandman short story collection, Dream Country, (and it's much better than the hodgepodge Fables and Reflections). World's End works best as a collection--it's a story about a story about stories--all wrapped up in a structure that's clever without being cute, and which features an ending nothing short of spectacular.

Forgotten Worlds

The Silence: Book 2

D. Nolan Clark

Aleister Lanoe has won a stunning victory against the alien armada that threatened Niraya, but it's not enough to satisfy his desire for vengeance. He won't rest until he's located the armada's homeworld and reduced it to ashes.

Yet his personal vendetta will have to wait. Lanoe now faces a desperate race against time, and the merciless Centrocor corporation, if he's to secure the Earth's future--and discover the truth he seeks.

The battle is over. But the war has only just begun.

Between Two Thorns

The Split Worlds: Book 1

Something is wrong in Aquae Sulis, Bath's secret mirror city.

The new season is starting and the Master of Ceremonies is missing. Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is assigned with the task of finding him with no one to help but a dislocated soul and a mad sorcerer.

There is a witness but his memories have been bound by magical chains only the enemy can break. A rebellious woman trying to escape her family may prove to be the ally Max needs.

But can she be trusted? And why does she want to give up eternal youth and the life of privilege she's been born into?

Any Other Name

The Split Worlds: Book 2

Cat has been forced into an arranged marriage with William - a situation that comes with far more strings than even she could have anticipated, especially when she learns of his family's intentions for them both.

Meanwhile, Max and the gargoyle investigate The Agency - a mysterious organisation that appears to play by its own rules - and none of them favourable to Society.

Over in Mundanus, Sam has discovered something very peculiar about his wife's employer - something that could herald a change for everyone in both sides of the Split Worlds.

All Is Fair

The Split Worlds: Book 3

In love and war nothing is safe. William Iris struggles to keep the throne of Londinium whilst hated by his own court and beset by outsiders, while Cathy discovers the legacy of her former governess. But those who dare to speak out about Society are always silenced. Sometimes for good. While trying to avoid further torments from the mercurial fae, Sam finds himself getting tangled in the affairs of the Elemental Court. But an unexpected offer from the powerful and enigmatic Lord Iron turns out to be far more than Sam bargained for.

Max and the gargoyle are getting closer to uncovering who is behind the murder of the Bath Chapter and the corruption in London and Max finds the gargoyle's controversial ideas harder to ignore. Can he stay true to his sworn duty without being destroyed by his own master, whose insanity threatens to unravel them all?

A Little Knowledge

The Split Worlds: Book 4

The long-awaited return to Emma Newman's popular fantasy series, A Little Knowledge takes us back to the Split Worlds, where dynastic families feud across the ages, furthering the agendas of their cruel supernatural patrons.

"Emma Newman is an extraordinary new voice in SF/F." ?Paul Cornell, Hugo Award winner, and author of London Falling and Saucer Country

Cathy and Will are now the Duchess and Duke of Londinium, the biggest Fae-touched Nether city, but they have different ideas of what their authority offers. Pressured by his Fae patron, Lord Iris, Will struggles to maintain total control whilst knowing he must have a child with his difficult wife. Cathy wants to muscle the Court through two hundred years of social change and free it from its old-fashioned moral strictures. But Cathy learns just how dangerous it can be for a woman who dares to speak out...

Meanwhile, as Sam learns more about the Elemental Court it becomes clear that the Fae are not the only threat to humanity. Sam realises that he has to make enemies of the most powerful people on the planet, or risk becoming the antithesis of all he believes in.

Threatened by secret societies, hidden power networks, and Fae machinations, can Sam and Cathy survive long enough to make the changes they want to see in the world?

All Good Things

The Split Worlds: Book 5

As the Iris family consolidates their hold on society within the secret world of the Nether, William Iris finds himself more powerful and yet more vulnerable than ever. His wife, Cathy, has left him, a fact that will destroy him if it becomes public. To keep his position -- and survive -- he needs to get her back, whatever the cost.

Cathy has finally escaped the Nether, but hates that she must rely so heavily on Sam's protection. When the strange sorceress Bea offers her a chance to earn true freedom by joining the quest Sam has been bound to, Cathy agrees. But can she and Sam navigate Bea's plans for the future without becoming two more of her victims?

And Bea, a self-taught and powerful killer, is not without her enemies. Rupert, the last sorcerer of Albion, is obsessed with finding and destroying her. He orders Max and his gargoyle to help him, pulling them away from protecting innocents. As the Arbiter and his partner face the ugly side of their responsibilities to Rupert, they begin to question where their loyalties should truly lie.

Amidst death, deceit, and the fight for freedom, friendships are tested, families are destroyed, and heroes are forged as the battle to control the Split Worlds rages to its climatic conclusion.

This Broken World

The Vortex of Worlds: Book 1

Charles E. Gannon

Since boyhood, Druadaen expected he'd ascend to the command of an elite legion and become the leader his father predicted he would be. However, fate had something different in store.

Assigned instead to a small group of outriders tasked with watching nearby kingdoms, Druadaen discovers that the world beyond his homeland is riddled with impossibilities. How do humanoid raiders, known as the Bent, suffer staggering losses and yet return as a vast horde every decade? How do multi-ton dragons fly? How have fossils formed in a world which sacrists insist has existed for only ten millennia?

Determined to solve these mysteries, Druadaen journeys into the dank warrens of the Bent, seeks out a dragon's lair, and ventures into long-buried ruins in search of ancient scrolls. But, whereas legends tell of heroes who encounter their greatest perils during just such forays into the unknown, Druadaen's most lethal enemies might lurk in even more unusual places:

The temples and council chambers of his own homeland.

Into the Vortex

The Vortex of Worlds: Book 2

Charles E. Gannon

Druadaen, Outrider for the once-mighty Dunarran Consentium, has proven that there are irreconcilable contradictions between magic and physics on Arrdanc, the world of his birth. And what is his reward for this important discovery, made against all odds and at considerable personal risk? Exile--organized and compelled by nervous temple hierarchs.

However, Druadaen remains determined to uncover what several ancient persons and beings have urged him to seek: "the truth of the world"--which might only be gained by traveling beyond it. Indeed, the mysterious Lady of the Mirror speculates that he might find the answers by journeying to the other side of her unusual looking glass: a reflective, ethereal portal that she calls a "shimmer."

But there's a catch: because the mysterious portal only allows a single person to pass through, Druadaen must leave his companions behind. Unfortunately, once he has, they discover that the "shimmer" only allows travelers to leave Arrdanc, not return to it. So his friends, led by stalwart swordsman Ahearn, resolve to find another means by which they can retrieve Druadaen--and with him, the truth of the world.

There's just one small problem with their quest: the closer they come to finding a solution, the more obvious it becomes that various powers on Arrdanc don't want them to succeed. In fact, they'd rather Druadaen doesn't return at all.

So much so that they might kill both him and his friends in order to prevent it.

Night of the Cooters

The War of the Worlds

Howard Waldrop

Hugo Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in Omni, April 1987 and was reprinted in Clarkesworld Magazine, #92 May 2014. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection (1988), edited by Gardner Dozois, Invaders! (1993) edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois and War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches (1996) edited by Kevin J. Anderson. It is included in the collections Night of the Cooters (1990) and Things Will Never Be the Same: Selected Short Fiction, 1980 - 2005 (2008).

Read the full story for free at Clarkesworld.

Foreign Devils

The War of the Worlds

Walter Jon Williams

Sidewise Award winning novelette. It originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, January 1996. The story can also be found in the anthologies War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches (1996), edited by Kevin J. Anderson, and The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fourteenth Annual Collection (1997), edited by Gardner Dozois. It is included in the collection Frankensteins and Foreign Devils (1998).

A Song for Lya

And Seven Times Never Kill Man

Hugo Award winning and Nebula Award nominated novella.

Two telepaths investigate the newly discovered world of Shkea, where every native inhabitant, and an increasing number of human colonists, worships a mysterious and deadly parasite.

The story originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, June 1974. It can also be found in the anthologies The 1975 Annual World's Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, The Hugo Winners, Volume 3: (1970-75) (1977), edited by Isaac Asimov, and The Best of Analog (1978), edited by Ben Bova. It is included in the collections A Song for Lya and Other Stories (1976), Nightflyers (1985) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

Hugo Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, July 1975. The story can also be found in the anthology Heads to the Storm (1989), edited by Sandra Miesel and David Drake. It is included in the collections Songs of Stars and Shadows (1977), Nightflyers (1985) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

Bitterblooms

This novelette originally appeared in Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine, November 1977. It can also be found in the anthology Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Seventh Annual Collection (1978), edited by Gardner Dozois. It can also be found in the collections Sandkings (1981) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

Dying of the Light

A whisperjewel summoned him to Worlorn, and a love he thought he'd lost. But Worlorn isn't the world Dirk t'Larien imagined, and Gwen Delvano is no longer the woman he once knew. She is bound to another man, and to a dying planet that is trapped in twilight, forever falling toward night. Amid this bleak landscape is a violent clash of cultures in which there is no code of honor - and the hunter and the hunted are often interchangeable.

Caught up in a dangerous triangle, Gwen is in need of Dirk's protection, and he will do anything to keep her safe, even if it means challenging the barbaric man who has claimed her - and his cunning cohort. But an impenetrable veil of secrecy surrounds them all, and it's becoming impossible for Dirk to distinguish between his allies and his enemies. While each will fight to stay alive, one is waiting for escape, one for revenge, and another for a brutal, untimely demise.

In the House of the Worm

In a crumbling underground city on a dying planet, young Annelyn has lived a life of privilege. When he is humiliated at the hands of the crafty groun hunter they call the Meatbringer, he and his high-born friends plot revenge. But Annelyn's plan goes desperately awry, leading him deep into the city's ruins--and to the ugly truth about his forebears' reverence for the mythic White Worm.

This novella originally appeared in the anthology The Ides of Tomorrow: Original Science Fiction Tales of Horror (1976), edited by Terry Carr. It is included in the collections Sandkings (1981) and Songs the Dead Men Sing (1983).

Nightflyers

Locus Award winning and Hugo Award nominated novella. It originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, April 1980. The story can also be found in the anthologies The 1981 Annual World's Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, The Best Science Fiction of the Year #10 (1981), edited by Terry Carr, Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Tenth Annual Collection (1981), edited by Gardner Dozois, and Baker's Dozen: 13 Short Horror Novels (1987), edited by Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg. It is included in the collections Songs the Dead Men Sing (1983), Nightflyers (1985) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

Sandkings

Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award winning novelette.

When Simon Kress returned to his home planet of Baldur from an offworld business trip, he was amused to find that his tank of Earth piranhas had cannibalized themselves into extinction, and of the two exotic animals that roamed his estate, only one remained. Now, in search of some new pets to satisfy his cruel pursuit of amusement, Simon finds a new shop in the city where he is intrigued by a new lifeform he has never heard of before ... a collection of multi-colored sandkings. The curator explains that the insect-like animals, no larger than Simon's fingernails, are not insects, but animals with a highly-evolved hive intelligence capable of staging wars between the different colors, and even religion--in the form of worship of their owner. The curator's warning to Simon about the regularity of their feeding, unfortunately, was not taken seriously....

The story originally appeared in Omni, August 1979 and has been reprinted many times. There is a comic adaptation and the story served as the basis for an episode of the horror series Outer Limits. It can be found in the anthologies:

The Best Science Fiction of the Year #9 (1980), edited by Terry Carr
Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Ninth Annual Collection (1980), edited by Gardner Dozois
Nebula Winners Fifteen (1981), edited by Frank Herbert
The First Omni Book of Science Fiction (1984), edited by Ellen Datlow
The Hugo Winners, Volume 5: (1980-82) (1986), edited by Isaac Asimov
The Best of the Nebulas (1989), edited by Ben Bova
Foundations of Fear: An Exploration of Horror (1992) edited by David G. Hartwell
Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century (2001), edited by Orson Scott Card
In Space No One Can Hear You Scream (2013), edited by Hank Davis
The Big Book of Science Fiction (2016), edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer

It is included in the collections Sandkings (1981), Songs the Dead Men Sing (1983) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

The Glass Flower

It's been a lifetime and more since Cyrain has been challenged in the game of mind. When the cyborg arrives, she senses a worthy and dangerous opponent--one that's been dead for 800 years...

This short story originally appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, September 1986. It can also be found in the collections Portraits of His Children (1987) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

The Stone City

The Way of Cross and Dragon

Nebula Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in the anthology New Voices in Science Fiction (1977), edited by Martin himself. It is also included in the collections Sandkings (1981) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

Thousand Worlds: Haviland Tuf

A Hugo- and Locus Award-winning and Nebula-nominated short story. It first appeared in Omni, June 1979 and has been reprinted many times. It can be found in several anthologies, including The 1980 Annual World's Best SF (1980) edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Ninth Annual Collection (1980), edited by Gardner Dozois, The Fourth Omni Book of Science Fiction (1985), edited by Ellen Datlow, The Good New Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition (1999), edited by Gardner Dozois, and Galileo's Children: Tales of Science vs. Superstition (2005), also edited by Gardner Dozois. It is included in the collections Sandkings (1981) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed Magazine.

Dragon Pearl

Thousand Worlds: Book 1

Yoon Ha Lee

Rick Riordan Presents Yoon Ha Lee's space opera about thirteen-year-old Min, who comes from a long line of fox spirits. But you'd never know it by looking at her. To keep the family safe, Min's mother insists that none of them use any fox-magic, such as Charm or shape-shifting. They must appear human at all times.

Min feels hemmed in by the household rules and resents the endless chores, the cousins who crowd her, and the aunties who judge her. She would like nothing more than to escape Jinju, her neglected, dust-ridden, and impoverished planet. She's counting the days until she can follow her older brother, Jun, into the Space Forces and see more of the Thousand Worlds.

When word arrives that Jun is suspected of leaving his post to go in search of the Dragon Pearl, Min knows that something is wrong. Jun would never desert his battle cruiser, even for a mystical object rumored to have tremendous power. She decides to run away to find him and clear his name.

Min's quest will have her meeting gamblers, pirates, and vengeful ghosts. It will involve deception, lies, and sabotage. She will be forced to use more fox-magic than ever before, and to rely on all of her cleverness and bravery. The outcome may not be what she had hoped, but it has the potential to exceed her wildest dreams.

This sci-fi adventure with the underpinnings of Korean mythology will transport you to a world far beyond your imagination.

Tiger Honor

Thousand Worlds: Book 2

Yoon Ha Lee

Sebin, a young tiger spirit from the Juhwang Clan, wants nothing more than to join the Thousand World Space Forces and, like their Uncle Hwan, captain a battle cruiser someday. But when Sebin's acceptance letter finally arrives, it's accompanied by the shocking news that Hwan has been declared a traitor. Apparently, the captain abandoned his duty to steal a magical artifact, the Dragon Pearl, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Sebin hopes to help clear their hero's name and restore honour to the clan.

Nothing goes according to plan, however. As soon as Sebin arrives for orientation, they are met by a special investigator named Yi and his assistant, a girl named Min. Yi informs Sebin that they must immediately report to the ship Haetae and await further instructions. Sebin finds this highly unusual, but soon all protocol is forgotten when there's an explosion on the ship, the crew is knocked out, and the communication system goes down. It's up to Sebin, three other cadets, and Yi and Min to determine who is sabotaging the battlecruiser. When Sebin is suddenly accused of collaborating with the enemy, the cadet realizes that Min is the most dangerous foe of all...

Fox Snare

Thousand Worlds: Book 3

Yoon Ha Lee

While on a mission to cement peace between the Sun Clans and the Thousand Worlds, Min the fox spirit and her ghost brother Jun get stranded on a death planet with Haneul the dragon spirit and Sebin the tiger spirit. To survive, the young cadets will have to rely on all their wits, training, and supernatural abilities. And let's not forget the Dragon Pearl...

This thrilling conclusion of the Thousand Worlds trilogy, told in alternating points of view, will put you under a delightful spell as it transports you to worlds full of both danger and wonder.

Guardians

Thousand Worlds: Haviland Tuf

Locus Award winning and Hugo Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, October 12, 1981. The story is included in the collections Tuf Voyaging (1986) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

Tuf Voyaging

The Reign of the Brown Magician

Haviland Tuf is an honest space-trader who likes cats. So how is it that, in competition with the worst villains the universe has to offer, he's become the proud owner of a seedship, the last remnant of Earth's legendary Ecological Engineering Corps? Never mind; just be thankful that the most powerful weapon in human space is in good hands--hands which now have the godlike ability to control the genetic material of thousands of outlandish creatures.

Armed with this unique equipment, Tuf is set to tackle the problems that human settlers have created in colonizing far-flung worlds: hosts of hostile monsters, a population hooked on procreation, a dictator who unleashes plagues to get his own way... and in every case, the only thing that stands between the colonists and disaster is Tuf's ingenuity--and his reputation as a man of integrity in a universe of rogues.

Out of This World

Three Worlds / World of Shadow: Book 1

Lawrence Watt-Evans

Pel Brown has troubles in his basement. But it's not water leaking in -- it's magic. Sword-carrying barbarians are spilling through, demanding that Pel help them defeat Shadow, a dark force taking over their world. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a spaceship has crashed in Amy Jewell's backyard, and the aliens want Amy's help against the Shadow seeking to conquer their world. When Pel and Amy go through the basement portal into the world of magic, the Shadow attacks and traps them inside. Now Pel and Amy find themselves entangled in escapades that will make them into heroes... or corpses.

In the Empire of Shadow

Three Worlds / World of Shadow: Book 2

Lawrence Watt-Evans

A handful of ordinary Americans -- housewives, lawyers, interior decorators, and the like -- found themselves caught up in a transdimensional conflict, and transported from their homes to realms where magic worked, to desert planets and rebel worlds, to places straight out of science fiction and fantasy. But these were not the harmless, happy-ending lands of film and fable. The sweat and blood was real, and the horrors they faced genuinely dangerous. One world was a world of magic, ruled by a dark force called Shadow. A handful of would-be heroes resisted Shadow's dominion, and sought assistance in their desperate struggle to free their homeland. The other reality was a universe of spaceships and rayguns, dominated by a Galactic Empire that saw Shadow as a threat -- and that demanded the exiles from our world aid them in their campaign. Against their will, these few people were flung into battle... IN THE EMPIRE OF SHADOW

Three Worlds / World of Shadow: Book 3

Lawrence Watt-Evans

THE POWER OVER LIFE AND DEATH

They called him Pelbrun the Brown Magician. He'd been plain old marketing consultant Pel Brown until the day a mystic doorway had appeared in his basement. That improbable portal had led him and his family to the magic land of Faerie; another had opened the way to the super-science universe of the Galactic Empire.

But this was no fairy tale...

At first Pel had sought the key that would take them safely home. But before he could wrest the matrix of magic away from the despot Shadow, Pel's wife and daughter were brutally murdered. Neither absolute control over the matrix nor rulership of Faerie could ease the pain in Pels heart--until he realized that the matrix held power over life and death!

So this once-ordinary man set out to overturn the irrefutable laws of mortality. But even his newfound omnipotence couldn't protect him from the pitfalls that lay ahead, as both the Empire and Earth's military sought to exploit his incredible power. Then the Empire invaded Faerie--forcing Pel to fight in order to keep his dreams alive...

Debris

Veiled Worlds Trilogy: Book 1

Jo Anderton

Tanyana is among the highest ranking in her far-future society – a skilled pionner, able to use a mixture of ritual and innate talent to manipulate the particles that hold all matter together. But an accident brings her life crashing down around her ears. She is cast down amongst the lowest of the low, little more than a garbage collector. But who did this to her, and for what sinister purpose? Her quest to find out will take her to parts of the city she never knew existed, and open the door to a world she could never have imagined.

Suited

Veiled Worlds Trilogy: Book 2

Jo Anderton

Tanyana has chosen to help the Keeper, to stand against the Puppet Men, but has she bitten off more than she can chew?

Guardian

Veiled Worlds Trilogy: Book 3

Jo Anderton

The grand city of Movoc-under-Keeper lies in ruins. The sinister puppet men have revealed their true nature, and their plan to tear down the veil between worlds. To have a chance of defeating them, Tanyana must do the impossible, and return to the world where they were created, on the other side of the veil. Her journey will force her into a terrible choice, and test just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the fate of two worlds.

The Way Between the Worlds

View from the Mirror: Book 4

Ian Irvine

In the conclusion to this series, Karan, the young Sensitive who holds the Mirror of Aachen, which has the power to heal or permanently destroy the rift between Worlds, is held captive. Her lover, Llian, is in chains, falsely accused of betraying her. With the dark moon rising, the Charon Rulke is unstoppable as he prepares to open the Way between the Worlds.

Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds

Vs. Mars: Book 1

Manly Wade Wellman

Contents:

11 - The Adventure of the Crystal Egg - [Sherlock Holmes Versus Mars] - novelette
53 - Sherlock Holmes Versus Mars - [Sherlock Holmes Versus Mars] - (1975) - novelette
97 - George E. Challenger Versus Mars - [Sherlock Holmes Versus Mars] - novelette
147 - The Adventure of the Martian Client - [Sherlock Holmes Versus Mars] - (1969) - short story
175 - Venus, Mars, and Baker Street - [Sherlock Holmes Versus Mars] - (1972) - short story
205 - Appendix: A Letter from Dr. Watson - [Sherlock Holmes Versus Mars] - short fiction

When Worlds Collide

When Worlds Collide: Book 1

Edwin Balmer
Philip Wylie

A runaway planet hurtles toward the earth. As it draws near, massive tidal waves, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions wrack our planet, devastating continents, drowning cities, and wiping out millions. In central North America, a team of scientists race to build a spacecraft powerful enough to escape the doomed earth. Their greatest threat, they soon discover, comes not from the skies but from other humans.

A crackling plot and sizzling, cataclysmic vision have made When Worlds Collide one of the most popular and influential end-of-the-world novels of all time. This Bison Frontiers of Imagination edition features the original story and its sequel, After Worlds Collide.

After Worlds Collide

When Worlds Collide: Book 2

Philip Wylie
Edwin Balmer

After Worlds Collide (1934) was a sequel to the 1933 science fiction novel, When Worlds Collide, both of which were co-written by Philip Gordon Wylie and Edwin Balmer. After Worlds Collide first appeared as a six-part monthly serial (November 1933 - April 1934) in Blue Book magazine.

Much shorter and less florid than the original novel, this one tells the story of the survivors' progress on their new world, Bronson Beta, after the destruction of the Earth.

Worlds

Worlds: Book 1

At the end of the 21st century, many people believe the only real hope for humanity lies in the Worlds: 41 orbiting satellites housing half a million people. Though the creation of cheap fusion has undermined the Worlds as a source of solar energy, they still welcome many tourists and offer plenty of raw materials for export. For example, New New York is almost pure steel.

And, from that city comes Marianne O'Hara, a brilliant political-science student who has elected to spend a postgraduate year on Earth - where she unwittingly finds herself caught up in a group of fanatics looking to start another revolution in America. Even if it means the destruction of the planet.

Worlds Apart

Worlds: Book 2

The war that destroyed everything lasted a single day. After an initial nuclear strike, the Earth's population was further devastated by an insidious bioweapon targeting anyone above the age of puberty. Now most of what's left of human civilization gathers on New New York, one of the few orbiting Worlds that remain.

Monitoring the Earth below from the floating habitat, Marianne O'Hara searches for signs of life - and, in particular, for Jeff Hawking, her former lover, who survived the viral nightmare thanks to a biological anomaly that rendered him immune. But Jeff is not the sole surviving adult in this landscape of death, ruin, and feral children, and those who fled to safety underground are being seduced by a terrible new religion preaching blood and vengeance. The last war, it seems, is not over - and the last hope for preventing the final holocaust may be Marianne O'Hara.

Worlds Enough and Time

Worlds: Book 3

David Weber
David Drake
S. M. Stirling

The Earth is no more, an uninhabitable shell following the one-day war that obliterated the population. In the decades that followed, the surviving Worlds orbiting the dead planet have become the last refuge of humankind. With the discovery of a possibly habitable planet in a distant star system, ten thousand brave colonists are preparing to depart from New New York aboard the interstellar vessel Newhome. Among them is Marianne O'Hara, who will ultimately control the fate of what remains of the human race.

The momentous voyage is plagued from the start by ignorance and sabotage, and by the dark tenets of a nihilistic religion dedicated to ultimate destruction. But despite the many trials and tragedies, the spacefarers - and particularly Marianne and her loved ones - will be forced to endure. There is no turning back once the journey begins... for soon there will be nowhere left to return to.

More than Honor

Worlds of Honor: Book 1

This is the first anthology of stories set in the Honorverse. The stories in the anthologies serve to introduce characters, provide deeper, more complete backstory and flesh out the universe of the main series. David Weber, author of the mainline Honor Harrington series, serves as editor for the anthologies, maintaining fidelity to the series' canons.

Table of Contents:

"A Beautiful Friendship" by David Weber: The story of the first meeting between humans (Stephanie Harrington) and treecats (Climbs Quickly). This story was later expanded to a full length young adult novel, published in 2011.

"A Grand Tour" by David Drake: A story with few links to any other in the Honorverse setting. Careful reading may reveal similarities to the first novel in his RCN Series, in the characters, style, and attitude. Both were published in 1998. Indeed Drake confirms that "A Grand Tour" is the conceptual antecedent of With the Lightnings.

"A Whiff of Grapeshot" by S. M. Stirling: This story serves as background to the "Leveler Uprising" mentioned in the early chapters of In Enemy Hands. A radical Havenite faction stages an uprising against the rule of the Committee of Public Safety, wreaking havoc in the Havenite capital city of Nouveau Paris. With the Committee's security forces in complete disarray following an attack on its information network, the only forces able to intervene and restore order are Navy ships under the command of Admiral Esther McQueen, even though the Admiral is not precisely a supporter of the Committee and has an agenda of her own.

"The Universe of Honor Harrington" by David Weber: A "deep background" essay covering such diverse topics as the physics of space travel, the mechanics space colonization and politics of various "star nations", such as Manticore, Haven and the Solarian League.

Worlds of Honor

Worlds of Honor: Book 2

This is the second anthology of stories set in the Honorverse. The stories in the anthologies serve to introduce characters, provide deeper, more complete backstory and flesh out the universe of the main series. David Weber, author of the mainline Honor Harrington series, serves as editor for the anthologies, maintaining fidelity to the series' canons.

Table of Contents:

"The Stray": this novella by Linda Evans looks at life among the treecats, before Honor.

"What Price Dreams?": this novella by David Weber reveals a chapter in the history of the telepathic treecats when a young human who bonded with a treecat was a Very Important Person -- specifically, she was a Manticoran crown princess and the heir to the throne of the empire.

"Queen's Gambit": this novella by Jane Lindskold tells how Honor's monarch, Elizabeth III, had to learn the hard way what monarchy is all about.

"The Hard Way Home": this novella by David Weber tells how young Honor Harrington and her treecat Nimitz faced the impossible task of rescuing the victims of an avalanche in a sub-zero blizzard.

"Deck Load Strike": this novelette by Roland J. Green offers a hard-hitting account of what happened when Manticore and the People's Republic of Haven went eyeball-to-eyeball over a strategically vital planet.

Changer of Worlds

Worlds of Honor: Book 3

This is the third anthology of stories set in the Honorverse. The stories in the anthologies serve to introduce characters, provide deeper, more complete backstory and flesh out the universe of the main series. David Weber, author of the mainline Honor Harrington series, serves as editor for the anthologies, maintaining fidelity to the series' canons.

Table of Contents

"Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington": this novella by David Weber shows that it's a big universe, and Honor's actions affect a lot of lives, not all of them human. And their actions affect her -- a lesson "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington" learns years before rising to command rank, when a desperate battle against "pirates" who aren't quite what they seem begins her brilliant career.

"Changer of Worlds": in this novelette by David Weber, a secret that the alien treecats have kept from their human friends for hundreds of years is about to come out... and completely change the relationship between the two species forever.

"From the Highlands": in this novella by Eric Flint, Honor can't be everywhere, so when the People's Republic of Haven tries to stage a political assassination on Earth, Anton Zilwicki -- husband of one of the Star Kingdom's most revered military martyrs, and father of a young woman who is clearly a chip off the old block -- steps into the breach... and takes the opportunity to settle some old scores along the way.

"Nightfall": in this novella by David Weber Esther McQueen and Oscar Saint-Just square off for their final confrontation in Noveau Paris in "Nightfall."

The Service of the Sword

Worlds of Honor: Book 4

This is the fourth anthology of stories set in the Honorverse. The stories in the anthologies serve to introduce characters, provide deeper, more complete backstory and flesh out the universe of the main series. David Weber, author of the mainline Honor Harrington series, serves as editor for the anthologies, maintaining fidelity to the series' canons.

Table of Contents:

"Promised Land": this novella by Jane Lindskold gives us the story of a prince on the brink of maturity and an extraordinary young Grayson woman named Judith--a victim of Masadan brutality, who confronts insurmountable odds in a desperate effort to lead her sisters to freedom-- or--death among the stars.

"With One Stone": this novella by Timothy Zahn is a story of the heavy cruiser HMS Fearless; a brilliant young tactical officer on temporarily detached duty; Solarian con men; secret weapons that aren't quite what they seem to be; naval spies, spooks, and dirty tricks; courage and honor; and a surprising glimpse into one of Admiral Sonja Hemphill's most crucial technological innovations.

"A Ship Named Francis": this shortstory by John Ringo and Victor Mitchell answers the question of what an explosively expanding navy does with the personnel who can't quite cut the mustard.

"Let's Go to Prague": in this novella by John Ringo, the Peep planet of Prague and its brutally repressive StateSec regime will never be the same again after the unscheduled, unofficial, and thoroughly catastrophic visit by a pair of Manticoran Marines with a most peculiar taste in their holiday destinations.

"Fanatic": this novella by Eric Flint tells us the story of an idealistic young StateSec officer who finds himself in the right place at the right time following the fall of Oscar Saint-Just. Young Victor Cachat could influence the loyalty of an entire sector... if he's only lucky enough to manage to stay alive long enough to try.

"The Service of the Sword": this novella by David Weber gives us the tale of the first Grayson midshipwoman on her "snotty cruise" at a time when internal tensions threaten the entire future of the Manticoran Alliance and people are about to rediscover the Fact that the Peeps are far from the only predators hiding in the stars.

In Fire Forged

Worlds of Honor: Book 5

This is the fifth anthology of stories set in the Honorverse. The stories in the anthologies serve to introduce characters, provide deeper, more complete backstory and flesh out the universe of the main series. David Weber, author of the mainline Honor Harrington series, serves as editor for the anthologies, maintaining fidelity to the series' canons.

Table of Contents:

"Ruthless": this shortfiction by Jane Lindskold continues the story of Michael, Judith and Ruth which started in "Promised Land". While speaking to a woman from Human Services outside her apartment, Judith Newland's daughter disappears -- taken hostage to be used as leverage against Prince Michael Winston.

"An Act of War": this shortfiction by Timothy Zahn is a sequel to "With One Stone" from Service of the Sword. Charles Dozewah, aka Charles Navarre, is on the People's Republic of Haven to arrange a sale of something that could help with the war against Manticore. Before he can complete the deal, Charles is arrested by State Security. As always when Charles is involved, everything isn't as it seems.

"Let's Dance!": this shortfiction by David Weber features a mob of space pirates who make the fatal mistake of taking on a young Manticorean Royal Navy commander who goes by the name Harrington.

"An Introduction to Modern Starship Armor Design": essay by Andy Presby

Appendix: Armor Design Figures - interior artwork by William H. Edwards and Thomas Pope and Thomas Marrone

Beginnings

Worlds of Honor: Book 6

This is the sixth anthology of stories set in the Honorverse. The stories in the anthologies serve to introduce characters, provide deeper, more complete backstory and flesh out the universe of the main series. David Weber, author of the mainline Honor Harrington series, serves as editor for the anthologies, maintaining fidelity to the series' canons.

Table of Contents:

"By the Book": this novella by Charles E. Gannon opens with young lieutenant Lee Strong leading a rescue for a ship captured by space pirates. After the gripping opening action, the lieutenant plays detective in treacherous politics at the space station where he delivers the rescued ship.

"A Call to Arms": this novella by Timothy Zahn begins with a hiring interview for a mercenary admiral. The story then takes us to a Royal Manticoran Navy ship running simulated space battles.

"Beauty and the Beast": this novella by David Weber features newly promoted lieutenant Alfred Harrington pursuing a medical education on Beowulf, where mutual attraction flares with fellow student Allison Chou. Villains strike, and the action gets tight.

"The Best Laid Plans": in this novelette by David Weber, a 12-year-old Honor Harrington's simple hike turns into a dangerous adventure and an encounter with a tree cat.

"Obligated Service": this novella by Joelle Presby features a young midshipwoman from the patriarchial planet Grayson, and the hardships she endures as a young officer after completing her training at Saganami Island Academy.

What Price Victory?

Worlds of Honor: Book 7