New Releases by Nancy Kress

From award-winning author Nancy Kress comes a lush historical fantasy that reimagines the life of Anne Boleyn from the lens of the witch who helps guide her in courtly rise--an enchanted tale of sisterhood, power, and a dangerous bid for the throne. Alysoun Rowe descends from an ancient line of cunning women--healers and hedge witches whose full power only awakens when they bond with their destined Third. But after a spell goes frightfully wrong, she discovers her familiar is no ordinary object or animal. It's a distant kinswoman: Anne Boleyn, a brilliant young lady on the rise in King Henry VIII's luminous yet treacherous court. Anne will do anything to wear the crown of England. And Alysoun will go just as far to unlock the wild magick spiraling inside her, even if it means breaking her coven's age-old rules. As the king's desire morphs into a dangerous obsession and a ruthless witch hunt closes in, the two women form a reluctant truce. Bound by fate in a realm of lust, rivalry, and betrayal, they each face a choice. But how far will they go to seize power in a world that would gladly watch them burn?

This is a collection of the best science fiction stories set on planet Earth published in 2024 by leading authors of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. "Spill" by Cory Doctorow-Hackers, indigenous people, and environmentalists battle an oil pipeline company. "Vouch for Me" by Greg Egan-A latent virus causes extensive retrograde amnesia in people who survive a flare-up. "Phosphorescence" by Ben Barman Ghan-A botanist and a machinist plot to spoil the plans of the elites for the future of life. "Wápato" by Molly Gloss-A widow manages time's malleability one step at a time. "The Alice Run" by Nancy Kress-An experimental procedure is used to force a comatose patient back to consciousness. "Breathing Constellations" by Rich Larson-Humans in Argentinian Patagonia seek the permission of orcas to harvest plankton in their waters. "A Catalog of 21st Century Ghosts" by Pat Murphy-A woman treks across a climate-changed US visiting sites with ghosts created by game engineers. "Eternity is Moments" by R. P. Sand-A woman competes with her cousin for her grandfather's affection as the Earth dies. "I Am Not the One Who Gets Left Behind" by Eric Smith-A father and son are the last to flee an alien-infiltrated Philadelphia. "This Good Lesson Keep" by James Van Pelt-A high school English teacher competes with her students' tech for their attention while studying Hamlet.

Anyone who thinks that, at an early age, they can plan their entire life is mistaken. Nancy Kress has been exploring the possibilities of genetic engineering, human evolution, alien contact, artificial intelligence, and the future of the species for over forty years, with one eye on the bleeding edge of science and the other on the human soul and what makes it bleed. These stories, and the essays that explain her own history and worldview, compose a brief tourist’s guide for the world to come. In the title memoir, “Not What I Intended,” Kress discusses a childhood and community life where no young girl ever dreams of becoming a writer, and how she made those nondreams come true. “Patent Infringement” is a short piece inspired by Kress’s own time writing corporate copy that managed to predict COVID, COVID vaccines, and the patenting of genes for profit. “Laws of Survival” is a tale of first contact in which humanity is hardly the species the aliens are interested in—can an amateur dog trainer save the world the aliens have trashed, or at least herself? “Amy Lowell, Cixin Liu, Jane Austen, and the Art of Fiction” is a compelling essay about the human drive to create patterns, and what the cognitive limitations of patternmaking means for fiction … and for politics. “Machine Learning” is science fiction but might also be a work of psychological realism about the creation of AI and the healing of a scientist’s grief over the loss of his daughter. And featuring an in-depth Q&A with new Outspoken Authors series coeditor Nick Mamatas, who traveled up to Seattle to talk to Nancy about the future of plagues, sleepless nights, teaching science fiction writing, and dogs dogs dogs!

In un futuro prossimo gli alieni arrivano sulla Luna e dichiarano di voler porre rimedio a una grave ingiustizia causata alla razza umana diecimila anni prima. Attraverso un bizzarro annuncio, cercano ventuno testimoni da spedire su sette pianeti da loro selezionati, per poi tornare a riferire al resto dell'umanità. Lo scopo degli alieni sembrerebbe semplice: ridare agli uomini la comprensione del passato, per garantire loro un futuro. Ma un paio di inquietanti domande restano in sospeso: perché mandare laggiù degli umani? E per cosa stanno espiando, gli alieni?

Mi van akkor, ha tényleg igaz a kvantumelmélet egyik feltevése, miszerint a tudatunk hozza létre az észlelt világunkat? Mi lenne, ha módosíthatnánk a bioprocesszorainkat, hogy megváltoztassuk az észlelésért felelős algoritmusokat, ezáltal beléphetnénk más „valóságokba”? Dr. Caroline Soames-Watkins élete több szinten is válságba kerül, ezért hajlandó megfontolni dédnagybátyja, a Nobel-díjas tudós, Samuel Watkins rejtélyes javaslatát, és munkát vállal egy kajmán-szigeteki, különleges kutatóintézetben. A létesítményben egy olyan technológia kifejlesztésén dolgoznak, mellyel megismerhető lehet a tudat valódi természete, más valóságok, és esetleg a halál utáni élet. Robert Lanza őssejtkutató biológus, aki a Time magazin szerint a világ 100 legbefolyásosabb embere közé tartozik, összefogott a Nebula- és Hugo-díjas íróval, Nancy Kress-szel, és egy megdöbbentő regényt alkottak. A megfigyelő elképesztő utazásra hív az elme mélyére, a tudomány határaira, és gyökeresen új megvilágításba helyezi mindazt, amit az életről és a képzelet erejéről tudtunk.

A comatose patient undergoes an experimental procedure that uses favorite childhood stories to pull the patient back into consciousness—but the experiment doesn't go quite as planned... At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

L'UNDICESIMO PORTALE Le città-stato degli Otto Mondi stanno vivendo un momento di tensioni economiche e territoriali. Eppure, memori di quanto successo alla Terra, nessuno vuole lo scoppio di una guerra che porterebbe alla rovina dei pianeti. Quando però il conflitto esplode accidentalmente, tutti cercano di sfruttarlo a proprio vantaggio, tranne le due persone che hanno la chiave per la vittoria o la pace: Philip Anderson e Tara Landry. A Philip interessa solo svelare il significato trascendente della fisica che sta alla base dell'universo e Tara trova per caso un nuovo portale per il salto spaziotemporale. Cosa c'è, oltre l'undicesimo portale? La sua scoperta e quello che Philip ne farà cambieranno tutto sugli Otto Mondi.

"A startling, fascinating novel." - Kim Stanley Robinson, New York Times bestselling authorIf we can alter the structure of reality, should we? In Observer, scientist Robert Lanza, one of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People," is joined by Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author Nancy Kress to confront the space between biology and consciousness. Dr. Caroline Soames-Watkins's star has been on the rise. But when she accuses a superior of sexual misconduct, the Twitterstorm that follows upends her career. With few professional options and an impoverished sister with a disabled child to support, Caro is willing to consider a mysterious proposal from her great-uncle, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Samuel Watkins. Sam Watkins has invested untold sums of money to build a medical facility in the Caribbean. But he is very sick and in urgent need of a surgeon to perform a unique procedure developed at his island compound. The procedure isn't for the cancer surely killing him. It is to offer new life of a truer kind. Helped in his mission by the eminent physicist George Weigert and the young, charismatic tech entrepreneur Julian Dey, Sam has gone far beyond curing the body to develop a technology that could solve the riddle of mortality for the soul. Though wary of the project's secret aims, Caro signs on for the chance to secure a future for her sister and herself. What she encounters is something so much more profound than she ever could have anticipated. It will put her on the precipice of a humanity-altering discovery. It will lead her to a level of interpersonal connection that she thought was only for others. And it will throw her into a kind of danger she never imagined. Joining a fascinating and relatable cast of characters with a mind-expanding journey to the very edges of science, Observer will thrill you, inspire you, and lead you to think about life and the power of the imagination in startling new ways.

TRILOGIA DEI MENDICANTI Per festeggiare degnamente l'ultimo mese dell'anno che ha segnato i 70 anni di vita di «Urania», la collezione «Millemondi» propone ai lettori una formidabile trilogia completa di una delle autrici più amate dagli appassionati, in un volume speciale da leggere tutto d'un fiato! La celebre saga dei Mendicanti si compone dei romanzi Mendicanti di Spagna (nella versione lunga derivata dal romanzo breve che ha vinto i premi Hugo, Nebula, Locus e molti altri) e dei suoi seguiti, Mendicanti e superuomini e La rivincita dei mendicanti, tutti proposti nella loro versione integrale. Mettetevi comodi in poltrona, ed entrate nel prossimo futuro, un futuro in cui la razza umana evolverà fino a conseguenze inimmaginabili, grazie a modificazioni genetiche che daranno vita agli Insonni, una specie superiore di Homo Sapiens che ha potuto privarsi della principale limitazione nella vita degli esseri umani: il sonno.

It is extremely difficult to win a Hugo award. It is also extremely difficult to win a Nebula. These are like the Oscars and Golden Globes on the science fiction/fantasy writing side, and just like it is the extremely rare movie that gets both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Movie, it is only stories of the highest caliber that get awarded both the Nebula and the Hugo. The Hugo is awarded at the annual Worldcon, voted on by fans. The Nebula is awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) voted on by its member, primarily professional writers. A piece that wins both, signifies that it had wide-spread fan appeal (fan votes) and also the highest regard by professionals in the field (voted on by exclusively by SFWA member). A novella is something just short of a novel (in word-count), and many of the worlds outstanding series started off as novellas, including Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (the novella is the one that won all the awards, and then was extended into a novel, and finally a series). Some consider the novella the perfect size for a story...large enough to develop it, but with a wordcount constrain that still imposes writing discipline. This anthology reprints four novellas, each of which has stood the test of time and each of which won both the Nebula and the Hugo. Some went on to win a plethora of other awards from around the world. For example, Mike Resnick's "The Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" may be one of the most awarded stories in science fiction, having won not only the Hugo and Nebula, but also the HOMer award, the SF Chronicle Award, and awards from countries like as Spain, France and Croatia. Here then are four of the most outstanding and most acclaimed novellas in science fiction, penned by Joe Haldeman, Lois McMaster Bujold, Mike Resnick and Nancy Kress. Beggars in Spain take place in a future where genetic engineering has become a reality, and society and culture face the consequences of genetic modifications. The story revolves around the existence of the "Sleepless" individuals genetically modified to not need sleep, who have greater potential for intelligence and accomplishment than ordinary humans, called "Sleepers". The Hemingway Hoax weaves together a story of an attempt to produce a fake Ernest Hemingway manuscript with themes concerning time travel and parallel worlds. The story is based on the real-life incident in Hemmingway's life when his first wife Hadley lost a suitcase with his manuscripts. The Mountains of Mourning explores the concepts of justice and mercy when Miles Vorkosigan is sent to represent the empire in a far-flung rural village where a woman demands justice for the murder of her baby who was born healthy, but with a cleft lip and palate. The Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge explores the meaning of human progress and decline, long after humans have disappeared from the Earth. An alien archeological expedition is sent to explore humanities rise and fall in its birthplace of Olduvai Gorge where seven recounted stories based on artifacts found tell the tale of how they rose and how they fell, but also leave the aliens with an uneasy feeling of what the future may hold.

In this epic science fiction tale by an award-winning author, two warring tribes are the subjects of a strange alien experiment. Epic in scope, peopled by characters from every strata of profoundly different societies, An Alien Light is an unflinching look at the strengths and weaknesses of the genetic, evolutionary, and historical inheritance that all of us share . Arys, a glassblower and outcast. Jehane, a skilled female warrior. Dahar, with a deeply inquisitive mind. Grax, an alien with profound doubts. These four and hundreds of others are thrown together in an experiment to determine the fate of humanity, both on Earth and in her galactic colonies. For the Ged, the stakes are nothing less than the outcome of a war. For the humans, ignorant of the larger situation, the rewards for participating are incredible riches. But no one except the alien Ged understands the criteria for being chosen. When that knowledge comes, there is no agreement about if, how, or when to use it. Some will betray others. Some will sacrifice. Some will die. And some must succeed, no matter the price. Praise for An Alien Light "This heady mix of fantasy and sf explores humanity's infinite capacity for change. Highly recommended." — Library Journal "An attractively complex portrayal of an alien species." —The Washington Post "Nancy Kress has the true storyteller's gift—the ability to make her characters and what happens to them so vital that the reader's heart aches." —Stephen R. Donaldson

There is no light without dark; no highlights without shadows; no good without evil. The Devil is where things happen. Where stories begin. This collection brings together stories from multiple cultures, featuring the Devil both as an abstract concept and a creature, a terror, a force of nature, an enemy, a trickster, and so many more. Step into the world of shadows, and travel through Devil’s many incarnations spanning centuries of history and myth, from the Ancient Greece, African and Caribbean folklore, dark ages in Europe, all the way to the present day. This anthology features new and established authors from diverse, multicultural backgrounds.

NEW SPACE OPERA FROM MULTIPLE NEBULA- AND HUGO-WINNING AUTHOR NANCY KRESS WHAT LIES BEYOND THE ELEVENTH GATE . . . Despite economic and territorial tensions, no one wants the city-states of the Eight Worlds to repeat the Terran Collapse by going to war. But when war accidentally happens, everyone seeks ways to exploit it for gain. The Landry and Peregoy ruling dynasties see opportunities to grab territory, increase profits, and settle old scores. Exploited underclasses use war to fuel rebellion. Ambitious heirs can finally topple their elders’ regimes—or try to. But the unexpected key to either victory or peace lies with two persons uninterested in conquest, profits, or power. Philip Anderson seeks only the transcendent meaning of the physics underlying the universe. Tara Landry, spoiled and defiant youngest granddaughter of dynasty head Rachel Landry, accidentally discovers an eleventh star-jump gate, with a fabulous find on the planet behind it. Her discovery, and Philip’s use of it, alter everything for the Eight Worlds. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Nancy Kress: "Nancy Kress at her very best . . . A first-contact novel like no other."—Greg Bear on Tomorrow's Kin "It's a rare and desirable hybrid: a literary, military, hard-SF novel."—Amazon.com on Probability Moon “Nancy Kress is one of the best science-fiction writers working today."—Kim Stanley Robinson

Based on Nancy Kress’s Nebula Award-winning novella, “Yesterday’s Kin”, this hard science fiction series explores the limits of human genetics, and the development of human culture on two widely distant planets. “Nancy Kress delivers one of the strongest stories of the year to date.” --Gardner Dozois, editor of The Year’s Best Science Fiction series The Yesterday’s Kin Trilogy discounted ebundle includes: Tomorrow's Kin, If Tomorrow Comes, Terran Tomorrow Tomorrow's Kin: The aliens have arrived... they've landed their Embassy ship on a platform in New York Harbor, and will only speak with the United Nations. They say that their world is so different from Earth, in terms of gravity and atmosphere, that they cannot leave their ship. The population of Earth has erupted in fear and speculation. If Tomorrow Comes: Ten years after the Aliens left Earth, humanity succeeds in building a ship, Friendship, to follow them home to Kindred. Aboard are a crew of scientists, diplomats, and a squad of Rangers to protect them. But when the Friendship arrives, they find nothing they expected. No interplanetary culture, no industrial base—and no cure for the spore disease. Terran Tomorrow: The diplomatic mission from Earth to World ended in disaster, as the Earth's scientists discovered that the Worlders were not the scientifically advanced culture they believed. Once home, after the twenty-eight-year gap caused by their transit through space, they find an Earth changed almost beyond recognition... At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

An unabridged collection spotlighting the “best of the best” science fiction stories published in 2017 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “My English Name,” by R. S. Benedict, an intelligent alien, who parasitizes an English teacher in China, falls in love. After a victorious space battle, an indentured robot finds a refugee who makes an offer it can’t refuse in “Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance” by Tobias S. Buckell. In “The Moon is Not a Battlefield,” by Indrapramit Das, an Indian soldier retires on Earth after spending most of her life on the Moon. A young woman joins the U.S. Army to fight terrorists after aliens arrive on Earth bearing tech gifts unevenly dispersed to humans in “Dear Sarah” by Nancy Kress. In “An Evening with Severyn Grimes,” by Rich Larson, a gifted hacker uses cyberspace to extract pay back on the rich businessman who put her in prison. Set in the author’s hexarchate universe, an ex-Kel super soldier is enlisted to retrieve a weapon of mass destruction stolen by a rogue general in “The Chameleon’s Gloves” by Yoon Ha Lee. In “The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata, on a dying Earth, an architect remotely building a monument to mankind on Mars receives a message from an abandoned Mars colony. A petty meat counterfeiter is blackmailed into forging T-bone steaks for an anonymous thug in “A Series of Steaks” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. In “The Residue of Fire,” by Robert Reed, a torturer tries to cope with one of his alien victims who witnessed a pivotal moment in the lives of two immortals, in this Great Ship tale. And finally, in this Revelation Space tale, a starship captain wakes from hibernation with her ship stalled next to an alien artifact and a mutiny in progress in “Night Passage” by Alastair Reynolds.

Elaboré selon les principes d'exigence propres à "Quarante-Deux", à l'image des recueils de Greg Egan, de Peter Watts et de Ken Liu dans la même collection, Danses aériennes, sans équivalent en langue anglaise, réunit onze récits - dont cinq courts romans. Pensé comme une porte d'entrée, une invite à la découverte d'une oeuvre essentielle au sein du corpus SF contemporain, il s'avère un cocktail corsé aux perspectives prodigieuses.

Clarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction (new and classic works), articles, interviews and art. Our June 2016 issue (#117) contains: Original fiction by Margaret Ronald ("And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices"), Sam J. Miller ("Things With Beards"), E. Catherine Tobler (".identity"), and Zhang Ran ("The Snow of Jinyang"). Reprints from Michael Flynn ("The Promise of God") and Nancy Kress ("Pathways"). Non-fiction by Matthew Simmons (The Science Fiction Future of the Microbiome), an interview with Guy Gavriel Kay, an Another Word column by Alethea Kontis, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.

The Future Is Ourselves The world is rapidly changing. We surf future-shock every day, as the progress of technology races ever on. Increasingly we are asking: how do we change to live in the world to come? Whether it’s climate change, inundated coastlines and drowned cities; the cramped confines of a tin can hurtling through space to the outer reaches of our Solar System; or the rush of being uploaded into cyberspace, our minds and bodies are going to have to drastically alter. Multi-award winning editor Jonathan Strahan brings us another incredible volume in his much praised science-fiction anthology series, featuring stories by Madeline Ashby, John Barnes, James S.A. Corey, Gregory Benford, Benjanun Sriduangkaew, Simon Ings, Kameron Hurley, Nancy Kress, Gwyneth Jones, Yoon Ha Lee, Bruce Sterling, Sean Williams, Aliette de Bodard, Ramez Naam, An Owomoyela and Ian McDonald.

Nancy Kress, winner of multiple awards for her science fiction and fantasy, ranges through space and time in this stunning collection. Anne Boleyn is snatched from her time stream--with unexpected consequences for two worlds. A far-future spaceship brings religion to a planet that already harbors shocking natives. People genetically engineered to never need to sleep clash with those who do. A scientific expedition to the center of the galaxy discovers more than anyone bargained for. A woman finds that ''people like us'' does not mean what she thinks it does. Praised for both her hard SF and her complex characters, Nancy Kress brings a unique viewpoint to twenty-one stories, the best of a long and varied career that has won her five Nebulas, two Hugos, a Sturgeon, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Table of Contents: Introduction And Wild For to Hold Out of All Them Bright Stars Pathways Dancing on Air Unto the Daughters Laws of Survival Someone To Watch Over Me Flowers of Aulit Prison Price of Oranges By Fools Like Me Casey's Empire Shiva in Shadow Grant Us This Day Kindness of Strangers End Game My Mother, Dancing Trinity People Like Us Evolution Margin of Error Beggars in Spain

Short novels are movie length narratives that may well be the perfect length for science fiction stories. This unabridged collection presents the best-of-the-best short science fiction novels published in 2013 by current and emerging masters of this vibrant form of story-telling. In “Earth I,” by Stephen Baxter, asearch among the stars to ferret out the origins of mankind amidst the Xaian normalization digs up many surprises. In “Success,” by Michael Blumlein, a brilliant but erratic biologist studying epigenetics struggles to hang on to his grip on everyday life as he writes his ground-breaking tome. In “Feral Moon,” by Alexander Jablokov, the Alliance military is invading Phobos to retrieve dead bodies for later repatriation, but the stiff resistance is putting the operation in serious doubt. In “The Weight of the Sunrise,” by Vylar Kaftan, winner of both the Nebula Award and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, the Incan empire is offered a vaccine, to contain a smallpox out-break, by a Virginian raising funds for the American war against the British. In “One,” by Nancy Kress, a boxer down on his luck gains the ability to read minds and grapples round-after-round with the consequences. In the Great Shipstory “Precious Mental,” by Robert Reed, an immortal captain who has been living incognito for hundreds of years is kidnaped to help salvage an ancient derelict spaceship. Finally, in the Poirot-like mystery “Murder on the AldrinExpress,” by Martin L. Shoemaker, murder is suspected in the death of the leader of a Mars expedition when evidence of sabotage is uncovered.

Marianne Jenner, a geneticist and mother of three, has 10 months to try to avert a disaster and keep her family intact after aliens land in New York. By the author of Beggars in Spain. 7,500 first printing.

2012 Nebula Award Winner 2012 Locus Award Winner 2013 Hugo Nominee 2013 Sturgeon Award Nominee In the year 2035, all that is left of humanity lives in the Shell. No one knows why the Tesslies attacked in 2014, devastated the environment, and nearly destroyed humanity. Or why the aliens imprisoned twenty-six survivors in a sterile enclosure built on the barren remains of the Earth. Fifteen-year-old Pete, one of only six children born in the Shell, is determined to lead humanity to a new beginning. But Pete struggles to control his anger as, one by one, the survivors sicken and die. Although the Earth appears to be slowly healing, the Shell’s inhabitants may not live long enough to see it. The only chance for humanity lies within brief time portals. Peter and the survivors hatch a desperate plan: to increase their numbers by abducting children from the past. In the year 2013, a brilliant CIA consultant sees a pattern in seemingly unrelated kidnappings. As Julie Kahn’s predictive algorithms reveal that the world is in imminent danger, she discovers that she may also play a role in its possible rebirth. Julie and Pete are rapidly converging in time—a chance encounter between them may be the Earth’s only hope.

"In an America decimated by economic collapse, teenage Amy jumps at the chance to star in a reality show--but what she doesn't know is that it may kill her before it pays off"--

Under the countless billions of stars in the universe, what forms will alien life take? How will they live? And what will happen when we meet them? From first encounters to life alongside aliens--and stories of the aliens' own lives--here are many futures: violent and peaceful, star-spanning and personal.

This collection of unabridged, unforgettable tales, written by some of science fiction’s most esteemed authors, pays homage to one of the genre’s most cherished story types. Whether time travel stories leap forward in time or slip into the past, they remain popular with fans. John Barnesspins a tale of intrigue as the principles of science are discovered centuries ahead of time while mankind is divided into classes (Com'n and Liejt) and the Irish people are slaves in “Things Undone.” Nancy KressAnne Boleyn and that of historians from a distant future to which pivotal historic figures are taken in order to prevent otherwise inevitable bloodshed in “And Wild for to Hold.” Ian R. MacLeodsends three time traveling historians from the future to rescue Captain Oatesfrom the doomed Scott party amidst the race to the South Pole in the early 20thcentury in “Home Time.” Tom Purdomsets historians from the future on a high seas adventure to document a 19thcentury British Admiralty anti-slavery patrol in “The Mists of Time.” Science fiction grand master, Robert Silverberg, slowly slides the fifty-seven year old owner of a Toyota dealership in the San Francisco Bay area backwards in time towards his birth in “Against the Current.” Allen M. Steeletells the story of how a U.S. Navy blimp crewmember happens upon time travelers while monitoring Soviet sea traffic around Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in “The Observation Post.” Michael Swanwickfollows the director of a dinosaur research center holding a timeline-polluting fund raiser located in the late Cretaceous period in the Hugo award winning story, “Scherzo with Tyrannosaur.” Genevieve Valentineobserves the detrimental effects of time travel on the timeline through the eyes of a seamstress whose wealthy patrons are obsessed with their time period costumes in “Bespoke.”

Two stories about artificial intelligence from one of the most respected names in hard science fiction. Multiple Hugo and Nebula winner Nancy Kress gives us a fascinating look into the evolution of artificial intelligence and the impact it has on human society.

Nancy Kress is unrivaled in her treatment of genetic engineering. In 1991 she wrote the ground-breaking classic novella Beggars in Spain (Hugo/Nebula) and since then has only enhanced her outstanding reputation of telling stories set in the near-future and dealing with genetics. *** This collection brings together six of these stories written between 1984 and 2008, including "The Flowers of Aulit Prison" which won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short story.

Nine science fiction stories address themes of alien abduction, gene sculpting, and love.