Mother Earth faces her last days in the grip of global environmental catastrophe. The skies fill with caustic iron and belching smoke. The planet is utterly depleted of natural resources. Grand President Mankin can only hope that three desperate missions sent to the deepest reaches of the cosmos will find help from the far-flung colonial civilizations before the planet dies.

Includes: “Tough Old Man” and “Battling Bolto”

“Reading for the sheer joy, pleasure and fun that good escapist fiction is all about.” —Luke Reviews

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CONTENTS:
Introduction by Algis Budrys
Black Box by Janet Barron, illustrated by Barry Cote
A Familiar Solution by Marguerite Devers Green, illustrated by Dwayne Harris
The Plague by A.C. Bray, illustrated by Lee White
Boos and Taboos by L. Ron Hubbard
El Presidente Munsie by Tony Daley, illustrated by Lee White
Time out of Mind by Everett S. Jacobs, illustrated by Andy B. Clarkson
Brother Jubal in the Womb of Silence by Tim Myers, illustrated by Carlo Arellano
The Sharp End by Kelly David McCullough, illustrated by Dwayne Harris
The Writer’s Life and Uniqueness by Roger Zelazny
Lucretia’s Nose by Philip Lees, illustrated by Amanda Anderson Gannon
Dreams and Bones by Eric M. Witchey, illustrated by Yanko Yankov
Marketplace of Souls by David Lowe, illustrated by Ane M. Galego
Interrupt Vector by Robert B. Schofeld, illustrated by Andy B. Clarkson
Getting “Lucky” by Sergey Poyarkov
Ten Gallons a Whore by Anna D. Allen, illustrated by Dwayne Harris
Magpie by Meredith Simmons, illustrated by Amanda Anderson Gannon
God Loves the Infantry by Greg Siewert, illustrated by Andy Justiniano
Hello and Goodbye by Michele Letica, illustrated by Amanda Anderson Gannon
T.E.A. and Koumiss by Steven C. Raine, illustrated by Andy B. Clarkson
An Idiot Rode to Marja by J. Simon, illustrated by Dwayne Harris
Life Eternal by Bob Johnston, illustrated by Dwayne Harris

Paperback, 439 pages

Suppose . . .
The entire population of the world were sterilized by bad planning.
At fifteen you decided to sell your brain to a fat gringo.
If you wanted to talk, but the best thing to do was lie.
Time bubbles kept forming, which brought in the strangest things.

Imagine . . .
A wounded soldier and a cloned little girl form an unbreakable bond.
A strange, tattered woman must move north, searching for those who have done wrong.
You are a simple backwoods priest—on Mars.
These are just some of the adventures that await...

CONTENTS:
Introduction by Algis Budrys
Numbers by Joel Best, illustrated by Mike Lawrence
Trust is a Child by Matthew Candelaria, illustrated by Nina Ollikainen
A Boy and His Bicycle by Carl Frederick, illustrated by Jared Barber
A Few Days North of Vienna by Brandon Butler, illustrated by Staci Goddard
A Ship That Bends by Luc Reid, illustrated by Mike Lawrence
Bury My Heart at the Garrick by Steve Savile, illustrated by Vance Kelly
A Silky Touch to No Man by Robert J Defendi, illustrated by Youa Vang
Dark Harvest by Geoffrey Girard, illustrated by Jared Barber
From All the Work Which He Had Made by Michael Churchman, illustrated by Adrian Barbu
Beautiful Singer by Steve Bein, illustrated by Lulkien
Gossamer by Ken Liu, illustrated by Nina Ollikainen
Ten Years After by Sean Williams
Walking Rain by Ian Keane, illustrated by Daniel Willis
Blood and Horses by Myke Kole, illustrated by Asuka Komai

Paperback, 548 pages

Escape . . .
Sometime a boy's only role model is his bicycle.
For some people, rain is a commonplace inconvenience. For Rafe and Snowy, it is the center of existence.
Nothing changed after First Contact. Nothing, that is, except art.

Imagine...
The life of a brigand is reshaped by Crusader hands.
The Bwotik offered us peace, but it was a peace with no assurances, no commerce, a peace with no assurances, no commerce,
a peace that protected their secrets. In other words, a peace we couldn't accept.
The creature lying in the field was dark, deadly and the only treasure they'd ever possessed.

Suppose . . .
A sword and its wielder break the most honorable of traditions.
Virtual reality had a generation who knew no murder, no violent crime, no human contact. Or had it?

Wonder...
A dog and his boy walk the long road to high orbit to get back to the Gardens.
How far would Annie go to create the perfect lover.
Sometimes, even gods can't just walk away.
These are just some of the adventures that await... 

CONTENTS:
Introduction by Algis Budrys
The Sword from the Sea by Blake Hutchins, Illustrated by Nathan Taylor
Broken Stones by Judith Tabron, Illustrated by Alex Y. Torres
Advice to the Word-Weary by L. Ron Hubbard
Games on the Children's Ward by Michail Velichansky, Illustrated by Miguel Rojas
Evolution's End by by Lee Beavington, Illustrated by Melanie Tregonning
The Red Envelope by David Sakmyster, Illustrated by Laura Jennings
Art is a Journey by Bob Eggleton
Schroedinger's Hummingbird by Diana Rowland, Illustrated by Daniel Harris
On the Mount by David John Baker, Illustrated by Tamara Streeter
Eight Things New Writers Need to Know by Robert J. Sawyer
Life on the Voodoo Driving Range by Brandon Sigrist, Illustrated by Katherine Hallberg
At the Gate of God by Joseph Jordan, Illustrated by Eldar Zakirov
Are We at the End of Science Fiction by Orson Scott Card
Balancer by Richard Kerslake, Illustrated by James T. Schmidt
The Bone Fisher's Apprentice by Sarah Totton, Illustrated by Kim Feigenbaum
Tongues by Brian Rappatta, Illustrated by Ozzie Rodriguez

Paperback, 493 pages

Imagine…
You lost the Death Man Game but then decided you still wanted to live.
To find out who God really is, you become a God Hunter.
How do you know if your god is speaking to you?

Suppose…
You could travel into other galaxies through a wormhole, but you might not come back alone.…
You love your wife—only she has been dead since she was an infant.
What if your religion protected your kind but condemned everyone else?

Dream…
What if there existed a group whose total purpose was to ensure a perfect world, by controlling events going back through time?
How many times must you go back and relive the past to undo a terrible mistake?
Could black magic be the answer when all else fails?
These are just some of the adventures that await...

CONTENTS:
Introduction by Algis Budrys
Primetime by Douglas Texter, Illustrated by Randall Ensley
The Sun God at Dawn, Rising from a Lotus Blossom by Andrea Kail, Illustrated by Yuliya Kostyuk
The Frozen Sky by Jeff Carlson, Illustrated by Bogdan Stetsenko
Art and Communication by L. Ron Hubbard
The Stone Cipher by Tony Pi, Illustrated by Lars Edwards
Obsidian Shards by Aliette de Bodard, Illustrated by Marcus Collins
Ripping Carovella by Kim Zimring, Illustrated by Artem Mirolevich
If I Only Had the Time by Kevin J. Anderson
Our Last Words by Damon Kaswell, Illustrated by Amelia Mammoliti
Saturn in G Minor by Stephen Kotowych, Illustrated by Randall Ensley
By the Waters of the Ganga by Stephen Gaskell, Illustrated by Artem Mirolevich
Pilgrimage by Karl Bunker, Illustrated by Peter Town
Here's the Thing . . . by Judith Miller
The Gas Drinkers by Edward Sevcik, Illustrated by Geir Lanesskog
The Phlogiston Age by Corey Brown, Illustrated by Bryan Beus
Mask Glass Magic by John Burridge, Illustrated by Lorraine Schleter

Paperback, 529 pages

Imagine . . .
Returning to historical incidents through time travel—where reality TV takes on entirely new dimensions . . .
Facing an ancient evil that has been unleashed upon the world.
What you would do if ancient statues across the globe started mouthing a code—which you deciphered as a countdown to an unknown event happening in just eight days from now?
The possibility of mummified cells being used to regenerate people long dead?

Suppose . . .
All creative genius resides in certain neurons—that can be ripped out and sold to the highest bidder.
The greatest symphony of all time has been composed, but the orchestra is out of this world.
A military experiment to see into the future reveals more than anyone wanted to know.

Dream . . .
That man has been the only sentient life in our galaxy, until one day, on a frozen moon . . .
Being able to instantaneously traverse the galaxies by means of the Span.
Awakening to find yourself in another body, in another city, on another planet—and have no idea how you got there.

Wonder . . .
How handcrafted glass art is both beautiful and irresistibly alluring—especially when enchanted with magic.
What would be the outcome if man's technology finally turned on him?
Will man's journey to space always be opposed?
These are just some of the adventures that await...

CONTENTS:
Why There are The Contests by Algis Budrys
A Man in the Moon by Dr. Philip Edward Kaldon, Illustrated by William Ruhlig
Bitter Dreams by Ian McHugh, Illustrated by Robert J. Hall Jr.
Taking a Mile by J. Kathleen Cheney, Illustrated by James Galindo
Circulate by L. Ron Hubbard
Crown of Thorns by Sonia Helbig, Illustrated by William Ruhlig
Hangar Queen by Patrick Lundrigan, Illustrated by Robert Castillo
Snakes and Ladders by Paula R. Stiles
Illustrated by Gustavo Bollinger
The Well-Adjusted Writer by Rebecca Moesta
Epiphany by Laura Bradley Rede, Illustrated by Alexandra D. Szweryn
Cruciger by Erin Cashier, Illustrated by Stephen R. Stanley
Circuit by J. D. EveryHope, Illustrated by Brittany J. Jackson
A War Bird in the Belly of the Mouse by David Parish-Whittaker, Illustrated by Sean Kibbe
The Four C's to Success by Cliff Nielsen
Simulacrum's Children by Sarah L. Edwards, Illustrated by Kyle Phillips
The Bird Reader's Daughter by Kim A. Gillett, Illustrated by Ilya Shkipin
The Girl Who Whispered Beauty by Al Bogdan, Illustrated by Stephen Knox

Paperback, 503 pages

Behold . . .
Meet Viviana Fuentes. She's dead. But her facsimile lives on . . .
Etelka, the house whisper-girl, is a breath of fresh air, magical, mysterious and a little bit dangerous.
The night the circus freaks ran riot won't end until Marizella, the sword swallower's daughter, gets her magic knife back.

Journey . . .
Every man, woman and child on Earth has fallen victim to the plague.
A Planet Builder, launched into deep space, is on a mission to recreate the human race.
Earth is scorching hot, cities turned to deserts. The price of survival is brutally high and terrible choices must be made in the name of the greater good.
Pay the price of admission and you can climb into the cockpit and play dogfight to your heart's content. . . . But beware.

Explore . . .
Get to know GN 722 . . . affectionately known as Gina. She's the bomb. . . .
Hungry nightmares are eager to take flesh-and-blood form and devour all in their path.
Seeing into the future isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially if all you see is betrayal, greed, lust and war. . . .

Discover . . .
All knowledge, history and literature are strictly controlled, but one book could change all that.
He is their world. He is their universe. He is their god. He is Owen, and they are the nano-organisms saving him from certain death.
What happens if you create a machine with a heart and mind of its own?
These are just some of the adventures that await...

CONTENTS:
Introduction by K.D. Wentworth
Garden of Tian Zi by Emery Huang • Illustrated by Douglas Bosley
The Shadow Man by Donald Mead • Illustrated by Brianne Hills
Life in Steam by Gra Linnaea • Illustrated by Ryan Behrens
On Writing and Science Fiction by L. Ron Hubbard
The Assignment of Runner ETI by Fiona Lehn • Illustrated by A.R. Stone
The Candy Store by Heather McDougal • Illustrated by Jamie Luhn
Risqueman by Mike Wood • Illustrated by Evan Jensen
Writers of the Future by Robert Silverberg
Gray Queen Homecoming by Schon M. Zwakman • Illustrated by Tobias A. Fruge
The Dizzy Bridge by Krista Hoeppner Leahy • Illustrated by Aaron Anderson
Gone Black by Matthew S. Rotundo • Illustrated by Luke Eidenschink
Persistence of Vision by Ron Lindahn
The Reflection of Memory by C.L. Holland • Illustrated by Oleksandra Barysheva
After the Final Sunset, Again by Jordan Lapp • Illustrated by Joshua J. Stewart
The Farthest Born by Gary Kloster • Illustrated by Mark Payton

Paperback, 545 pages

Explore . . .
The mega corps may rule the world, but the struggle for freedom lives on—in a garden of hope amid the ruins of what used to be China.
He's an ex-cop turned artist. She's a mathematical genius who could save the world . . . or destroy it. It all depends on how much they're willing to risk.
What's in a name? For one young girl, the answer lies in the mirror and in the hidden world behind it—a world of unlimited possibility and danger.

Behold . . .
Deep in space, in a world of deception, treachery and brutality, one soldier vows never to surrender . . .his honor.
A mythic creature rises from the ashes . . . with an ingenious plan to cheat death.
The Inquisitor has come to a forsaken planet to destroy a man-made abomination. But what if there is God in the machine?

Discover . . .
Sweet love, sweet revenge, sweet dreams—they're all for sale. If you're willing to pay the price.
What became of the lost souls of Hiroshima? Can their voices be heard in the void? Have the children of the bomb paid a price? The Shadow Man knows.
She races for charity, and the competition is fierce—sabotage, assassination, win at any cost. When you run for your life, there are no limits to how far you'll go.

Journey . . .
The road from illusion to beauty, from the art of deception to the ultimate truth . . . leads across the Dizzy Bridge.
For one fourteen-year-old girl, an interstellar colonist thirty light-years from home, coming of age is a real monster.
A real man, an Artificial woman, together they've been to the stars and back. Now they're about to discover how far they'll go—to stay together.
These are just some of the adventures that await...

CONTENTS:
Introduction by Algis Budrys
Tomorrow’s Miracles by L. Ron Hubbard
River of Stone by Michael Green
The Mirror by Nancy Farmer
The Zombie Corps: Nine-Lives Charlie by Rayson Lorrey
High Fast Fish by John Moore
A Winter’s Night by P.H. MacEwen
The Troublesome Kordae Alliance and How It Was Settled by Flonet Biltgen
Growlers by Larry England
What Do I See In You? by Mary A. Turzillo
The Gas Man by Richard Urdiales
The Fruit Picker by Jo Beverley
Black Sun and Dark Companion by R. Garcia y Robertson
6770: The Cause by Mark D. Haw
Mother’s Day by Astrid Julian
Buffalo Dreams by Jane Mailander
Heroic Measures by Paul Edwards
Old Times There by Dennis E. Minor
What a Story Is by Algis Budrys
The Right Kind of Writing Workshop by Orson Scott
Card Diving in at Sag Harbor by Tim Powers
To the Next Generation by Ramsey Campbell
SF Illustration As an Art by Frank Kelly Freas
About the Illustrators by Frank Kelly Freas

Paperback, 425 pages

"If you buy only one paperback in the SF field this year, make it this one."—Memphis Commercial Appeal
"...one of the best collections of the new science fiction I’ve ever seen." —Arthur C. Clarke
"Here’s skill and storytelling fervor aplenty. . ."—Robert Silverberg
"There’s an explosion of talent in these pages."—Rocky Mountain News
"...Some of the best writers...emerging here."—Locus
"...a large body of exuberantly well-told tales..."—Chicago Sun-Times

CONTENTS:
Introduction by Algis Budrys
Daddy’s Girls by K.D. Wentworth
The Nomalers by Jamil Nasir
Blue Shift by Stephen M. Baxter
Just Don’t by Eolake
Stobblehouse Circulate by L. Ron Hubbard
Rachel’s Wedding by Virginia Baker
The Wallet and Maudie by Dan’l Danehy-Oakes & Alan Wexelblat
Dear Mom by Stephen C. Fischer
A Little Womanly Advice by Marta Randall
Prosthetic Lady by Paula May
Despite and Still by Marc Matz
A Walk by Moonlight by Mark Anthony
Wisdoms & Warnings: Writing SF for Younger Readers by Jane Yolen
Starbird by J. Steven
York A Ghost in the Matrix by Steve Martindale
Under Ice by C.W. Johnson
The Magic Picture by Hal Clement
The Disambiguation of Captain Shroud by Gary Shockley
Writing for the Future by Algis Budrys
Illustrating for the Future by Frank Kelly-Freas
About the Illustrators

 Paperback, 424 pages

"...one of the best collections of new SF I’ve ever seen." —Arthur C. Clarke
"These stories represent the best of the fresh talent in the field...."—Gene Wolfe
"Opening new trails into the worlds of SF..."—Jack Williamson
"There’s an explosion of talent in these pages."—Rocky Mountain News
"...the bestselling SF anthology series of all time."—Locus Magazine