It’s Chicago in the year 2057, and Tren Alvarez is on a date with Geo, the hottest boy in his high school class. Things are going great until Geo suggests they take a ride on the Stacks, the recently built all-city transit system that has practically replaced cars in the Chicago metro area. Tren has an unfounded fear of the Stacks. He even buys into urban legends claiming people have boarded the little carriage pods, slid up onto the snaking tracks, and were never heard from again....

Maybe the aliens are already here.These six works of short science fiction by award-winning author Anne E. Johnson range from Earth-bound cyberpunk to a space-opera retelling of an ancient Greek myth. All-in-all, the collection will leave you ... unsettled.

What does the future hold for us? This anthology of nineteen diverse stories from authors around the world shows us a future full of adventure, intrigue, fun, heart-ache, and wonder.A imprisoned space pirate from Phobos is given a last chance for freedom, but only if he's willing to kill his younger brother. Again.In post-climate change Italy, a deaf African-American woman and her native partner struggle to build a communal farm that can survive the new environment, a lasting...

"I hate Earth Studies!"John knows he'll never get that report on pollination done in time. "Why do we have to live on Earth? There's all this stuff to learn, and it's so boring."In Launching the Lunchroom, some intergalactic visitors overhear John's complaint. Unfortunately, they misunderstand his meaning. John and his friends learn a whole new definition of "keeping your lunch down."

In 1008 AD, Dublin is just a small town, newly opened to trade now that Viking violence there has died down. A young woman named Asta runs away from her boring life in Britain on one of her father’s trading vessels bound for Dublin, hoping that she and the sailor she loves can find a new life together. But when shipwreck takes him from her, her whole world changes. She is helped up the rocky shores of eastern Ireland by handsome and enigmatic Brother Martinus, who takes her to the Monaster...

"Enchanting!" -Ellie Ann, New York Times bestsellerMany strange things wait inside these pages. There's a fuzzy ball of kindness, camped out on a grumpy man's porch. A chewed piece of gum with a mind of its own. A smart Alec who actually stands in line twice when they're handing out brains. A girl who isn't afraid when all the plants in her neighborhood come to life.This collection of science fiction and fantasy stories for kids by award-winning author Anne E. Johnson is pe...

From neo-folklore to urban fantasy, from ancient villages to modern suburbs, award-winning author Anne E. Johnson explores a wide range of fantastical fiction in this collection. A man becomes fascinated by a child who saves lives in Connecticut; two sibling gemstones compete for the attention of the humans who use them for magic; an institutionalized patient hears hostile beings in the radiator...These six little stories will by turns disturb, challenge, and mesmerize you.

Webrid is a carter, like his mother and grandfather before him. It’s not glamorous work, but it mostly pays the bills, and it gives him time to ogle the sexy women on the streets of Bexilla’s capital. Mostly, he buys and sells small goods and does the occasional transport run for a client.Then he gets mugged by a robot.Now, with a strange green laser implanted in his skull and a small fortune deposited in his bank account, Webrid has to make the most difficult delivery of h...

Dragons have inflamed our hearts and imagination for centuries, making them some of our most enduring heroes and villains. Who hasn’t dreamed of finding a dragon’s hoard and matching wits with the fantastical creature with everything on the line? These seventeen stories will delight and entertain you for hours. Included in this anthology are Nisi Shawl, Edith Nesbit, Naomi Kritzer, Rebecca Mcfarland Kyle, Sylvia Spruck Wrigley, Kenneth Grahame, Sarina Dorie, Misty Massey, John Teehan, Gerr...

Webrid is a carter. He's also the savior of the world. Is it so much to ask that he get a break, and get to enjoy the simple things in life - like booze and babes - without being asked to drop everything and save the day? Again.But all the planets of the Raralt Circle will crack to pieces unless Webrid can complete one simple carting job. How hard could it be to save the world? After all, he's done it before.- - -Blue Diamond Delivery is the sequel...

How can a picnic go so wrong?Ganpril Webrid’s grandfather always told him not to use his cart unless he was getting paid for it. But this huge, hairy carter on the planet Bexilla let a friend talk him into carting beers and grub to a picnic with her old college roommate.Worst mistake he ever made. Before he can even burp up his first sandwich, the ol’ roomie stretches out her ten shiny legs, and out pop a hundred spawn. And before Webrid can settle his churning stomach, fif...

One minute, Shelly is on her fire escape in Detroit. The next, she's in a strange world with two rival battalions of fairies flying toward her. Good thing she has some city-smarts to get her out of this alarming situation.This short fantasy story by award-winning children's author Anne E. Johnson is intended for ages 8-12.