Maxima Library

one world among many…eleven stories about them all

What if Lincoln never became president, and the Civil War never took place? What if Columbus never discovered America, and the Inca developed a massive, technologicallyadvanced empire? What if magic was real and a half-faerie queen ruled England? What if an author discovered a book written by an alternate version of himself?

These are just some of the possible pathways that readers can take to explore the Other Earths that may be waiting just one page away.

From legendary editor Ellen Datlow, collects the best of the last thirty years of science fiction and fantasy stories about cats from an all-star list of contributors.

A poet and a bear journey toward the ruins of a city in search of answers; a diminutive man seeks satisfaction within a secluded mountain cave; an elderly widow enjoys the company of a collection of robotic cowboys; the Boy Who Never Grew Up becomes an agent of Her Majesty's Secret Service; a werewolf girl joins the cast of a musical revue; a group of hardened mercenaries takes on a foolish job; a young man learns the ways of the world in the arms of a Sylvanian maiden; a teenage girl attempts to escape her domineering mother’s influence aboard a cargo spaceship; an impossible flying machine departs on its maiden voyage… The depth and breadth of science fiction and fantasy fiction continues to change with every passing year. The twenty-nine stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully map this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer

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.