Maxima Library

Faced with an unbearably hard life in the “Factory,” even the radiation poisoning of the “up and out” seems preferable to a girl like…

A volume of visions of future wars, fought with weapons out of nightmare, by today’s top writers of military science fiction, as well as some writers who are not usually associated with military SF, such as best-selling writer Gregory Benford, and award-winning author Kristine Katherine Rusch. Also present are Michael Z. Williamson, author of the strong selling novels “Freehold” and “The Weapon”, award-winning author of “Bolo Strike”, William H. Keith, and more.

Through the centuries, weapons have changed radically, but the soldier has remained much the same. But in the future, soldiers, too, may undergo radical changes. As editor Joe Haldeman puts it, “Weapons are an extension of the soldier, and also an extension of the culture or species that produced the soldier. And they are sometimes more dangerous to the soldier than the enemy…”

Mankind comes face to face with extraterrestrial life in this short fiction reprint anthology from Clarkesworld publisher Neil Clarke.

They Are Strangers from Far Lands…

Science fiction writers have been using aliens as a metaphor for the other for over one hundred years. Superman has otherworldly origins, and his struggles to blend in on our planet are a clear metaphor for immigration. Earth’s adopted son is just one example of this “Alien Among Us” narrative.

There are stories of assimilation, or the failure to do so. Stories of resistance to the forces of naturalization. Stories told from the alien viewpoint. Stories that use aliens as a manifestation of the fears and worries of specific places and eras. Stories that transcend location and time, speaking to universal issues of group identity and its relationship to the Other.

Nearly thirty authors in this reprint anthology grapple both the best and worst aspects of human nature, and they do so in utterly compelling and entertaining ways. Not One of Us is a collection of stories that aren’t afraid to tackle thorny and often controversial issues of race, nationalism, religion, political ideology, and other ways in which humanity divides itself.

Contents

“Introduction: Return to Venusport,” by Gardner Dozois. Copyright © 2015 by Gardner Dozois.

“Frogheads,” by Allen M. Steele. Copyright © 2015 by Allen M. Steele.

“The Drowned Celestial,” by Lavie Tidhar. Copyright © 2015 by Lavie Tidhar.

“Planet of Fear,” by Paul McAuley. Copyright © 2015 by Paul McAuley.

“Greeves and the Evening Star,” by Matthew Hughes. Copyright © 2015 by Matthew Hughes.

“A Planet Called Desire,” by Gwyneth Jones. Copyright © 2015 by Gwyneth Jones.

“Living Hell,” by Joe Haldeman. Copyright © 2015 by Joe Haldeman.

“Bones of Air, Bones of Stone,” by Stephen Leigh. Copyright © 2015 by Stephen Leigh.

“Ruins,” by Eleanor Arnason. Copyright © 2015 by Eleanor Arnason.

“The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss,” by David Brin. Copyright © 2015 by David Brin.

“By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers,” by Garth Nix. Copyright © 2015 by Garth Nix.

“The Sunset of Time,” by Michael Cassutt. Copyright © 2015 by Michael Cassutt.

“Pale Blue Memories,” by Tobias S. Buckell. Copyright © 2015 by Tobias S. Buckell.

“The Heart’s Filthy Lesson,” by Elizabeth Bear. Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Wishnevsky.

“The Wizard of the Trees,” by Joe R. Lansdale. Copyright © 2015 by Joe R. Lansdale.

“The Godstone of Venus,” by Mike Resnick. Copyright © 2015 by Kirinyaga Inc.

“Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan,” by Ian McDonald. Copyright © 2015 by Ian McDonald.

What if you could not only travel any location in the world, but to any

possible

world?

We can all imagine such “other worlds”—be they worlds just slightly different than our own or worlds full of magic and wonder—but it is only in fiction that we can travel to them. From

The Wizard of Oz

to

The Dark Tower

, from Philip Pullman’s

The Golden Compass

to C. S. Lewis’s

The Chronicles of Narnia

, there is a rich tradition of this kind of fiction, but never before have the best parallel world stories and portal fantasies been collected in a single volume—until now.

Review

“Anthologist Adams presents readers with a wide variety of alternate Earths, some only slightly askew and others completely unfamiliar. […] Adams’s selections are mirrors reflecting one other with the best images of alternate realities. Readers will greatly enjoy this exploration of our world's foremost and ascendant speculative authors.”

—

Publishers Weekly

(Starred Review)

“Reminds longtime readers of fantasy and sci-fi what we love about the genre, while also and aptly demonstrating to newcomers that these stories are about so much more than dragons and multitentacled monsters. It comes highly recommended to both and all.”

—

Bookgasm

Two British writers add their own bizarre spin to a familiar American tale. Veteran Asimov’s author Paul J. McAuley’s most recent story for us, “Second Skin,” was published in our April 1997 issue. Kim Newman, who is making his first appearance j in our pages, is the author of a large number of fiction and nonfiction books, short stories, and articles.

Some of his most recent and best known works are The Bloody Red Baron (Carroll & Graf/Avon, 1995), Anno Dracula (Carroll & Graf/Avon, 1992), and with Stephen Jones, Horror: 100 Best Books (Carroll & Graf, 1992).

Mr. Newman and Mr. McAuley are also the co-editors of In Dreams (Gollancz, 1992), an anthology of stories about popular music/culture.

One of our finest SF writers moves closer to home. London is devastated. New worlds are being explored. And the aliens have arrived…

The aliens are here. And they want to help. The extraordinary new project from one of the country's most acclaimed and consistently brilliantly SF novelists of the last 30 years.

The Jackaroo have given humanity 15 worlds and the means to reach them. They're a chance to start over, but they're also littered with ruins and artifacts left by the Jackaroo's previous clients.

Miracles that could reverse the damage caused by war, climate change, and rising sea levels. Nightmares that could for ever alter humanity — or even destroy it.

Chloe Millar works in London, mapping changes caused by imported scraps of alien technology. When she stumbles across a pair of orphaned kids possessed by an ancient ghost, she must decide whether to help them or to hand them over to the authorities. Authorities who believe that their visions point towards a new kind of danger.

And on one of the Jackaroo's gift-worlds, the murder of a man who has just arrived from Earth leads policeman Vic Gayle to a war between rival gangs over possession of a remote excavation site.

Something is coming through. Something linked to the visions of Chloe's orphans, and Vic Gayle's murder investigation. Something that will challenge the limits of the Jackaroo's benevolence…

Two years ago, readers eagerly devoured The Living Dead. Publishers Weekly named it one of the Best Books of the Year, and Barnes Noble.com called it "The best collection of zombie fiction ever." Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams is back for another bite at the apple – the Adam's apple, that is – with 44 more of the best, most chilling, most thrilling zombie stories anywhere, including virtuoso performances by zombie fiction legends Max Brooks (World War Z, The Zombie Survival Guide), Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), and David Wellington (Monster Island ).

From Left 4 Dead to Zombieland to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, ghoulishness has never been more exciting and relevant. Within these pages samurai warriors face off against the legions of hell, necrotic dinosaurs haunt a mysterious lost world, and eerily clever zombies organize their mindless brethren into a terrifying army. You'll even witness nightmare scenarios in which humanity is utterly wiped away beneath a relentless tide of fetid flesh.

The Living Dead 2 has more of what zombie fans hunger for – more scares, more action, more… brains. Experience the indispensable series that defines the very best in zombie literature.

Every short story in this wonderfully varied collection has one thing in common: each features some alteration in history, some divergence from historical reality, which results in a world very different from the one we know today. As well as original stories specially commissioned from bestselling writers such as James Morrow, Stephen Baxter and Ken MacLeod, there are genre classics such as Kim Stanley Robinson’s story of how World War II atomic bomber the

Enola Gay

, having crashed on a training flight, is replaced by the

Lucky Strike

with profoundly different consequences.

This fourth volume of the year's best science fiction and fantasy features thirty stories by some of the genre's greatest authors, including Jonathan Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Kij Johnson, Kelly Link, Paul McAuley, RJ Parker, Robert Reed, Rachel Swirsky, Catherynne M. Valente, and many others.

is your guide to magical realms and worlds beyond tomorrow.

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world through their short stories. This venerable collection brings together award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre.

The multiple Locus Award-winning annual compilation of the year’s best science fiction stories.