Alastair Reynolds has continued to publish short fiction throughout the thirty-odd years of his professional career. This fourth collection gathers material mostly written by the former space scientist in the last decade, even as a number of stories--such as the title piece, set in the universe of House of Suns--revisit earlier environments. The scope of settings is wide, ranging from the contemporaneous Earth to the near future and out to the furthest realms of the galaxy, and taking in such diverse topics as the perils of immortality, cybernetic encounters in the Wild West, uncanny skateboard parks and the flocking behaviour of birds. There is horror here, but also hope--and not a little black humour. The collection includes "Open and Shut," "Night Passage," and "Plague Music," a long, previously unpublished story, all three set in the Revelation Space universe.

The New York Times bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth brings to life a highly romantic, Gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal. ​ Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer. However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.

For many of us, the Ace Double Novels of the '50s and '60s have long been a source both of pleasure and nostalgia. This new double volume from Subterranean Press stands squarely in that distinguished tradition, offering a pair of colorful, fast-paced stories from the reigning master of the intergalactic space opera: Alastair Reynolds. Thousandth Night, the genesis for the epic novel House of Suns, is quintessential Reynolds. A visionary account of intrigue, ambition, and technological marvels set within a beautifully realized far-future milieu, it combines world-class storytelling with a provocative meditation on the mystery, grandeur, and inconceivable immensity of the universe. The masterful novella Minla's Flowers features Merlin, a familiar figure to Reynolds's readers. Diverted by technical difficulties to a planet known as Lecythus, Merlin finds himself forced to play a part in the moral and military dilemmas of a world on the verge of extinction.

A remote village is determined to keep their robot teacher from being fired. A poetry-loving AI controls the wastewater treatment facility, but a series of malfunctions are beginning to cause concern. The biggest pop idol of the twenty-second century is trapped on Enceladus, and deeply alone. Latchko can talk to the banned AIs and now that his secret is out things are about to get complicated. A former child soldier is raised by a plant-like species but struggles to understand them. Ice fishing on Europa just keeps turning up rocks and things just got worse ... something is changing the world, making it better, but for whom? Short fiction is the heart of science fiction, introducing new voices, experimenting with ideas and technique, and paving the way for the future of the field. Thousands of stories are published every year in the many genre magazines, anthologies, collections, podcasts, and websites, as well as other less common venues. Each year, Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning editor Neil Clarke sifts through the myriad of offerings to select works that represent the best and the brightest, report on the state of the field, and recommend additional stories for further reading. In this volume, covering 2021, you'll find works by Aliette de Bodard, Meg Elison, Rich Larson, Ken Liu, Ray Nayler, Suzanne Palmer, Hannu Rajaniemi, Robert Reed, Karl Schroeder, Vandana Singh, Tade Thompson, and many more.

Literary fiction of humor and horror, poetry and mystery, science fiction and myth, exploring the limits and inner and outer space. Short-short fictions of only a few lines hint at terrible depths. The long story "The Perquisites of His Position" tells a tale of ghostly revenge. The novella "The Darkness of the Heart" relates a story of the day slavery was abolished in Haiti. The satirical "Pangloss Triumphant" tells of a happy hermaphrodite. From the revelations of the aged Don Juan to the musings of B-movie actors trapped in deteriorating celluloid, from the voice of the ancient Sphinx to the senility of a quantum particle at the very end of the physical universe, the thirty-three artfully crafted stories presented here are full of deftly drawn characters, amazing plots, psychological insights, and universal truths.

The story takes place in two worlds: the real one and also a world of nightmares. In this nightmarish world Samantha is constantly persecuted by spirits who torment her and clearly want her to suffer. But all this has an ominous purpose that will lead her to a journey with moments of overcoming, discovery, euphoria, depression, and violence. In addition to Denis Mello's drawings, the book also has a preface by Julio Shimamoto, a master of the Brazilian horror comics; a piece by Danilo Beyruth (Astronauta: Magnetar) on the back cover; a making off, from the script to the inkings; and a gallery of invited artists like Vitor Cafaggi, Danilo Beyruth and Mario Cau. The graphic novel tells the story of Samantha, a girl haunted by terrible dreams. The story takes place in two worlds: the real one and also a world of nightmares. In this nightmarish world Samantha is constantly persecuted by spirits who torment her and clearly want her to suffer. But all this has an ominous purpose that will lead her to a journey with moments of overcoming, discovery, euphoria, depression, and violence. In addition to Denis Mello's drawings, the book also has a preface by Julio Shimamoto, a master of the Brazilian horror comics; a piece by Danilo Beyruth (Astronauta: Magnetar) on the back cover; a making off, from the script to the inkings; and a gallery of invitited artists like Vitor Cafaggi, Danilo Beyruth and Mario Cau.

Night in Erg Chebbi and Other Stories spans the globe, taking us from Belfast to Brazil, Morocco to Manhattan. The teenaged daughter of an IRA assassin flees Northern Ireland only to end up in Baby Doc’s terrifying Haiti. An American woman who’s betrayed her brother only to lose him to a Taliban bullet comes face to face with her demons during a vacation in Morocco. A famed photojournalist must find a way to bring her life’s work to closure before she goes blind, a quest that changes her understanding of the very physics of light. By turns innocent and canny, the characters of Night in Erg Chebbi and Other Stories must learn to improvise—quickly—when confronted with stark choices they never dreamed they’d have to make. Lyrical, immaculately constructed and deeply felt, these nine stories take us far beyond our comfort zones and deep into the wilds of the human heart.