From characters that disappear to odd occurrences to open endings, the masters who penned today's literary classics left a lot of room for speculation. Have you ever wondered what inspired Kipling to pen The Jungle Book? Who else Macbeth's witches influenced? Why Mr. Rochester's first wife went mad in Jane Eyre? How the events of Treasure Island would unfold if the pirates flew spaceships instead? If Eveline were escaping Earth instead of Ireland? What an American free spirit like Holly Go...

From the sublime to the ridiculous, and every star-date in-between, nine authors follow in the footsteps of great speculative fiction humorists such as Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett in this collection of ten wild and weird tales sure to put a smile on your face.A beautiful multiverse criminal, a heartbroken pizza baron, and a dog named Pepperoni. All in a day's work in the life of government agent Marlon Phillips in "Farewell, My Lovely Slip-Slider" (Parker Francis).Whe...

What if "they" are us? Gaze skyward and admire the stars. Is anyone out there? Questions have been asked about alien intentions. What would first contact with extraterrestrials mean for the people of Earth? Should we greet them with hostility and fear or with a hope that together we could build a bond that stretches across the cosmos?Earth's story is littered with fantastic tales of alien contact with Earth, both past and future. Some of these tales bring light and hope, while othe...

The Alvarium Experiment authors are back with ten more amusing science fiction and fantasy tales. Or should we say "tails" as these stories feature some truly amazing pets created by some really wild imaginations.Parker Francis brings us a more than capable chimp in "Monkey Business". Bria Burton channels an out-of-control AI avatar who has lions and tigers and bears, oh my, in "Cricket the Wicked and Her Little Pets, Too". In "Versipellis Nemora", Scott Michael Powers's exasperate...

Delve into the world of classic art with the Masters Reimagined writers as they twist a bit of otherworldly into these speculative tales involving well-known master works. From the Ferryman himself, learn the truth behind the Winged Victory of Samothrace, in "Upon the River Styx" (Jade Kerrion). Follow a detective and a quirky antiques dealer as they investigate the theft of Norway's national treasure in "The Scream" (Charles A Cornell). In "The Medusa Jump" meet a man from the future as h...

Eight award-winning and accomplished authors invite you to explore the depths of human experience alongside an ever-watching presence sent to Earth by an advanced alien intelligence. The Prometheus Probe lives among us, witnessing the progress of our civilization and the development of our weaknesses, follies, wisdom, and strengths.It watches, morphing from one human form to another—a friend, a coworker, a lover, a comrade in arms. Its life spans tens of thousands of years. As history unfo...

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Third Annual Collection, the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world. This venerable collection brings together award-winning authors and masters of the fie...

The March/April 2024 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine.Featuring new fiction by Nghi Vo, Lavie Tidhar, Katherine Ewell, Annalee Newitz, Valerie Valdes, Parlei Rivière, and Amanda Helms. Essays by John Scalzi, G. Willow Wilson, Filip Hajdar Drnovšek Zorko, and Brandon O'Brien, poetry by Jennifer Mace, Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi, Tiffany Morris, and Eva Papasoulioti, interviews with Nghi Vo and Valerie Valdes by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by Antonio Javier Caparo, and ...

Quick fiction for readers on the go!Quick fiction for readers on the go! Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Presents Flush Fiction is a tantalizing collection of 88 short-short stories custom-picked for the Bathroom Reader aficionado. We scoured the nation for talented writers and asked them to send us their best quick reads. The result: mysteries, horror, sci-fi, adventure, plenty of laughs--and a few gasps--in these startling short stories. They’re li...

From Hugo-nominated editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Nebula nominated author Robin Wayne Bailey, here are nineteen top-notch science fiction stories guaranteed to make you think and- laugh, featuring such major writers as Robert Silverberg, Mike Resnick, Allen M. Steele, Esther Friesner, Elizabeth Moon, Seanan McGuire, Jody Lynn Nye, James Gunn, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and many more.When Little Green Men Attack, It’s All-out Laugh WarfareFrom the far reaches of outer space th...

Every one of transreal cyberpunk master Rudy Rucker's science-fiction tales, a trove of gnarl and wonder, from 1976 through 2025. Includes collaborations with Bruce Sterling, Marc Laidlaw, Paul Di Filippo, John Shirley, Terry Bisson, Rudy Rucker Jr, and Eileen Gunn. Nearly 100 stories in all.

The Cutting Edge of Modern Short FictionPulphouse Fiction Magazine: Back after over twenty years. A three-time Hugo Award nominated magazine, Pulphouse returns with eighteen fantastic stories by some of the best writers working in modern short fiction.No genre limitations, no topic limitations, just great stories. Attitude, feel, and high quality fiction equals Pulphouse."This is definitely a strong start. All the stories have a lot of life to them, and are worthwhi...