What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven’s other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets? These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang. Stories of your life . . . and others.
In these nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine.
In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom," the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.
Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic—revelatory.
In 1941, Astounding Science Fiction magazine published a short story by a little-known writer named Isaac Asimov. The story was called "Nightfall", and many years later it has long been recognized as a classic, its author a legend. Now, the Grand Master of Science Fiction teams with Robert Silverberg, one of the field's top award-winning authors, to explore and expand an apocalyptic tale that is more spellbinding today than ever before -- Nightfall: The Novel.
Imagine living on a planet with six suns that never experiences darkness. Imagine never having seen the stars. Then, one by one the suns start to set, gradually leading into darkness for the first time ever. Kalgash is a world on the edge of chaos, torn between the madness of religious fanaticism and the unyielding rationalism of scientists. Lurking beneath it all is a collective, instinctual fear of the Darkness. For Kalgash knows only the perpetual light of day; to its inhabitants, a gathering twilight portends unspeakable horror. And only a handful of people on the planet are prepared to face the truth, their six suns are setting all at once for the first time in over two thousand years, signaling the end of civilization as it explodes in the awesome splendor of Nightfall.
Encompassing the psychology of disaster, the tenacity of the human spirit, and, ultimately, the regenerative power of hope, Nightfall is a tale rich in character and suspense that only the unique collaboration of Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg could create.
Librarian's Note: Alternate cover edition available here.
Simak's City is a series of connected stories, a series of legends, myths, and campfire stories told by Dogs about the end of human civilization, centering on the Webster family, who, among their other accomplishments, designed the ships that took Men to the stars and gave Dogs the gift of speech and robots to be their hands.
Introduction · Algis Budrys · in The Phantom of Kansas · nv Galaxy Feb ’76 Air Raid [as by Herb Boehm] · ss IASFM Spr ’77 Retrograde Summer · nv F&SF Feb ’75 The Black Hole Passes · nv F&SF Jun ’75 In the Hall of the Martian Kings · na F&SF Feb ’77 In the Bowl · nv F&SF Dec ’75 Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance · nv Galaxy Jul ’76 Overdrawn at the Memory Bank · nv Galaxy May ’76 The Persistence of Vision · na F&SF Mar ’78
Wizardry, transforming its master into a cloud of fine mist...cloning, duplicating the ideal man ten times over...Utopia, in a city where almost everyone is perfectly happy...
Ursula Le Guin, author of The Earthsea Trilogy, has a special way of blending stirring adventure with fantasy that has made comparison with such masters as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien inevitable.
Now, in The Wind's Twelve Quarters, seventeen of her favorite stories reaffirm Ursula Le Guin as one of America's outstanding writers.
CONTENTS:
Foreword Semley's Necklace April in Paris The Masters Darkness Box The Word of Unbinding The Rule of Names Winter's King The Good Trip Nine Lives Things A Trip to the Head Vaster than Empires and More Slow The Stars Below The Field of Vision Direction of the Road The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas The Day Before the Revolution
Philip K. Dick was a master of science fiction, but he was also a writer whose work transcended genre to examine the nature of reality and what it means to be human. A writer of great complexity and subtle humor, his work belongs on the shelf of great twentieth-century literature, next to Kafka and Vonnegut. Collected here are twenty-one of Dick's most dazzling and resonant stories, which span his entire career and show a world-class writer working at the peak of his powers.
In "The Days of Perky Pat," people spend their time playing with dolls who manage to live an idyllic life no longer available to the Earth's real inhabitants. "Adjustment Team" looks at the fate of a man who by mistake has stepped out of his own time. In "Autofac," one community must battle benign machines to take back control of their lives. And in "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon," we follow the story of one man whose very reality may be nothing more than a nightmare. The collection also includes such classic stories as "The Minority Report," the basis for the Steven Spielberg movie, and "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," the basis for the film Total Recall. Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick is a magnificent distillation of one of American literature's most searching imaginations.
» Introduction by Jonathan Lethem 1. Beyond Lies the Wub (wikipedia) 2. Roog (wikipedia) 3. Paycheck (wikipedia, imdb) 4. Second Variety (wikipedia, imdb) 5. Imposter (wikipedia) 6. The King of the Elves (wikipedia, imdb) 7. Adjustment Team (wikipedia, imdb) 8. Foster, You're Dead! (wikipedia) 9. Upon the Dull Earth (wikipedia) 10. Autofac (wikipedia) 11. The Minority Report (wikipedia, imdb) 12. The Days of Perky Pat (wikipedia) 13. Precious Artifact 14. A Game of Unchance 15. We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (wikipedia, imdb) 16. Faith of Our Fathers (wikipedia) 17. The Electric Ant (wikipedia) 18. A Little Something for Us Tempunauts (wikipedia) 19. The Exit Door Leads In (wikipedia) 20. Rautavaara's Case (wikipedia) 21. I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (wikipedia)
A collection of stories highlight such objects of the imagination as a starship that sails on the wings of song, musical instruments that are played at funerals only, and orbiting arks designed to save a doomed humanity.
Welcome Back!
Track your reading progress and sync your library.