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...

The first time we spoke he tried to bribe me, and I called his bluff.That became friendship … then first loves.I steal his heart.He steals mine.But we keep that our secret, hidden in fear of ruining our friendship.Until one night, we cross a line.I have secrets I never want him to know.But he won’t allow me to push him away.He’s ready to become more than friends, but will that change when he learns what I’ve ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Blue stragglers are celestial misfits. They stand out from the crowd, and they require special explanation. Remarkably, for so the observations indicate, they have aged differently to similar mass 'normal' stars. First recognized as being altogether different in the early 1950s, blue stragglers have occupied the thoughts of astronomers ever since. This book looks into the mystery of blue straggler origins, and offers its readers an insight in to how astronomers measure and determine the pr...