The universe is dangerous, wondrous--a vast canvas upon which humanity sketches its hopes for the future.In this anthology, you'll find seventeen tales of conflict and heroism, exploration and discovery, endurance and triumph. Flee the apocalypse of modern-day Earth, fly a fighter in the cold emptiness of deep space, and find new life on the distant shores of an alien world. You might even discover something about yourself as each author opens a window on the soul ...

Interstellar journeys. Epic battles. Artificial Intelligence's longing for meaning. Life as we know it, ending...Sci-Fi Bridge is thrilled to present its second collection from bestselling authors and newly emerging writers. These stories span the near and far future. They transport you to worlds unknown. They examine today's fears amid tomorrow's technologies. From the far corners of the galaxy to the inner reaches of the human heart, the exciting stories in At the Helm will thril...

Thirteen-year-old twins Vick and Tara have built an incredible machine—a loyal robotic watchdog named Daisy. But, when local crime boss Ms. Alba schemes to add Daisy to her robot army, Vick and Tara must go to great lengths to protect their prized pet. Because Daisy is more than just any robot—she’s their constant protector, and together the three make a great team.Vick and Tara are determined to stop the mob from tearing their little family apart. And they might just succeed! Sure...

In the future, love is complicated and death is not necessarily the end. Love Minus Eighty follows several interconnected people in a disquieting vision of romantic life in the century to come.There's Rob, who accidentally kills a jogger, then sacrifices all to visit her in a cryogenic dating facility, seeking forgiveness but instead falling in love.Veronika, a shy dating coach, finds herself coaching the very woman who is stealing the man she loves.And Mira, ...

What happens when resources become scarce and society starts to crumble? As the competition for resources pulls America's previously stable society apart, the "New Normal" is a Soft Apocalypse. This is how our world ends; with a whimper instead of a bang."It's so hard to believe," Colin said as we crossed the steaming, empty parking lot toward the bowling alley."What?""That we're poor. That we're homeless.""I know.""I mean, we have college degrees," ...

For fans of The Maze Runner and The Fifth Wave, this debut YA novel from Hugo Award winner Will McIntosh pits four underprivileged teens against an evil billionaire in the race of a lifetime.No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better-looking. The rarer the sphere, the g...

A chilling new short story from Hugo Award winner Will McIntosh.The settlers of Cyan have not ventured far beyond the perimeter fence that keeps the planet's strange creatures at bay. But one unlucky woman is about to find out what lies beyond. . .

Two years ago, on the same day but miles apart, Finn Darby lost two of the most important people in his life: his wife Lorena, struck by lightning on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, and his abusive, alcoholic grandfather, Tom Darby, creator of the long-running newspaper comic strip Toy Shop. Against his grandfather’s dying wish, Finn has resurrected Toy Shop, adding new characters, and the strip is more popular than ever, bringing in fan letters, merchandising deals, and talk of TV s...

Featuring stories from USA, the UK, China, Sweden, and Cuba."A Friend on the Inside" by Will McIntosh (USA)"Four-Letter Word" by Alexy Dumenigo (Cuba), translated by Toshiya Kamei"Rat's Tongue" by Xing Fan (China), translated by Judith Huang"Vagrants" by Lavie Tidhar (UK)"The Sweetness of Berris and Wine" by Jo Miles (USA)"Paean for a Branch Ghost" by Filip Wiltgren (Sweden)Cover art: Oleksandr Kulichenko (Ukraine)Cover design: Jay O'...

Clarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction, articles, interviews and art. Our November 2021 issue (#182) contains:Original fiction by Will McIntosh ("Mom Heart"), Alice Towey ("Dark Waters Still Flow"), Anna Martino ("This Stitch, This Time"), Pan Haitian ("City of Eternity"), Rebecca Campbell ("The Language Birds Speak"), Shari Paul ("Between Zero and One There is Infinity"), and L Cha...

A captivating new short story from Hugo Award winner Will McIntosh.An unlikely crew has met up in Las Vegas to pull off the ultimate robbery. The target? Life itself.

In this terrifyingly timely tale for fans of The Eye of Minds, a teen and his group of friends find themselves on the run after using a genius lie-detector contraption to expose their corrupt government.In a Putin-esque near-future America, the gifted and talented high school has just been eliminated, and Sam and his friends have been using their unexpected free time to work on a tiny, undetectable, utterly reliable lie detector. They're all in it for the ...