Featuring thirteen captivating stories, this collection highlights Michael Swanwick's exceptional talent in science fiction. Among them is the Sturgeon Award-winning "The Edge of the World," which exemplifies his skill in weaving intricate narratives that delve into character, conflict, and moral dilemmas. Gravity's Angels, paired with its companion volume, Tales of Old Earth, solidifies Swanwick's reputation as a leading voice in the genre. Each tale offers a distinct and engaging exploration, making this collection a must-read for fans of thought-provoking science fiction.
"A tough, keen-edged blade of a story … powerful and moving!" ― Roger Zelazny "This episodic tale of life, war, and survival in post-meltdown Pennsylvania builds a potent new myth from the grim reality of radioactive waste. Swanwick's clean, strong prose makes the story compulsively readable." ― George R. R. Martin "A vivid, fast-paced and evocative story by one of science fiction's best new writers. A generation-spanning saga of the fight for power and survival in a chillingly possible alternate future America … one which could still yet come to pass, tomorrow or today." ― Gardner Dozois In this dystopic world, radiation from the 1979 Three Mile Island accident has contaminated all of central Pennsylvania. A century after the disaster, the fallout zone ― known as the Drift ― harbors two-headed monsters, mutated vampires, and other outcasts. In the Drift chronicles the struggles of those on both sides of the divide as they fight to survive and transcend their shattered world.
Featuring a diverse array of stories, this magazine showcases both established and emerging voices in the realms of science fiction and fantasy. Each issue offers imaginative narratives that explore complex themes, innovative concepts, and rich world-building. Readers can expect a blend of short fiction, thought-provoking essays, and stunning artwork, making it a vibrant platform for genre enthusiasts. The magazine aims to challenge perceptions and inspire creativity within the sci-fi and fantasy communities.
Award-winning author Michael Swanwick returns to the gritty, post-industrial faerie world of his New York Times Notable Book The Iron Dragon’s Daughter with the standalone adventure fantasy The Iron Dragon’s Mother. Caitlin of House Sans Merci is the young half-human pilot of a sentient mechanical dragon. Returning from her first soul-stealing raid, she discovers an unwanted hitchhiker. When Caitlin is framed for the murder of her brother, to save herself she must disappear into Industrialized Faerie, looking for the one person who can clear her. Unfortunately, the stakes are higher than she knows. Her deeds will change her world forever.
Featuring 15 imaginative short-short stories, this collection showcases dinosaurs in unexpected roles, from bureaucrats to genetically engineered toys. The narratives explore their interactions with a range of characters, including unethical scientists and neighborhood bullies, resulting in humorous and poignant outcomes. With a blend of wit and creativity, the stories delve into the absurdity of societal norms and the complexities of human-dinosaur relationships.
Crafted by a celebrated five-time Hugo Award winner, this fantasy masterpiece weaves an intricate tale filled with imaginative worlds and compelling characters. The story explores profound themes of heroism, sacrifice, and the complexities of good versus evil, inviting readers into a richly constructed universe where magic and adventure abound. With its captivating narrative and thought-provoking depth, it promises to engage both fantasy enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
This collection of 27 never-before published stories from an impressive cast—Roddy Doyle, Joyce Carol Oates, and Stuart O'Nan, among others—sets out to shift genre paradigms. The overarching theme is fantastic fiction, or fiction of the imagination, with fantasy being used in the most broad-sweeping sense rather than signaling the familiar commercial staples of elves, ghouls, and robots. Consequently, the collection's offerings run a wide gamut. In Joe Hill's Devil on the Staircase, an Italian boy commits a crime of passion and subsequently meets an emissary of Satan. In Jodi Picoult's Weights and Measures, a young couple who have just lost their daughter struggle to hold their marriage together as they both start noticing strange changes taking place. Chuck Palahniuk's The Loser features a college kid on acid as a contestant on a game show, and in Kurt Andersen's Human Intelligence, a geologist meets an explorer from another planet who has been studying humans for the past 1,600 years. The range of voices and subjects practically guarantees something for any reader, but the overall quality is frustratingly variable: most stories are good, some aren't, and few are exceptional —Publishers Weekly
Tor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure. From author Michael Swanwick—one of the most brilliantly assured and darkly inventive writers of contemporary fiction—comes the Nebula award-winning masterwork of radically altered realities and world-shattering seductions. The "Jubilee Tides" will drown the continents of the planet Miranda beneath the weight of her own oceans. But as the once-in-two-centuries cataclysm approaches, an even greater catastrophe threatens this dark and dangerous planet of tale-spinners, conjurers, and shapechangers. A man from the Bureau of Proscribed Technologies has been sent to investigate. For Gregorian has come, a genius renegade scientist and charismatic bush wizard. With magic and forbidden technology, he plans to remake the rotting dying world in his own evil image-and to force whom or whatever remains on its diminishing surface toward a terrifying, astonishing confrontation with death and transcendence. This novel of surreal hard SF was widely compared to the fiction of Gene Wolfe when it was first published, and Swanwick has gone on in the two decades since its first publication to become recognized as one of the finest living SF and fantasy writers. With a new introduction by John Clute, author of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy
The story follows con-men Darger and Surplus as they embark on a treacherous journey to deliver the Pearls of Byzantium from the Caliph of Baghdad to the Duke of Muscovy. Their arrival is fraught with challenges, including navigating a complex web of deceit and political unrest. As they seek an audience with the Duke, they find themselves entangled in dangerous situations, with the mysterious governess Zoesophia tasked with safeguarding the precious gift's integrity. Adventure and intrigue abound in this historical escapade.
Part classic fantasy, part Charles Dickens, The Iron Dragon's Daughter is one of the most unique novels in the genre. Jane is a changeling child, enslaved in a factory that makes the iron dragons - terrible engines of war - until she discovers the secret of the dragons' sentience and is able to use one of the beasts to escape. Then, her adventures as a thief and an outsider take her into a reality rich in wild magic and sharp-edged technology, a world where Time and shopping malls have a strange relationship and gryphons have a low capacity for alcohol. A surprising and brilliant novel that undercuts the easy escapism of more conventional fantasy.
