The Mammoth Book Of 20th Century Science Fiction

Here are 25 stories of science fiction that push the envelope, by the biggest names in an emerging new crop of high-tech futuristic SF - including Charles Stross, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton and Neal Asher. High-tech SF has made a significant comeback in the last decade, as bestselling authors successfully blend the super-science of 'hard science fiction' with real characters in an understandable scenario. It is perhaps a reflection of how technologically controlled our world is that readers increasingly look for science fiction that considers the fates of mankind as a result of increasing scientific domination. This anthology brings together the most extreme examples of the new high-tech, far-future science fiction, pushing the limits way beyond normal boundaries. The stories include: "A Perpetual War Fought Within a Cosmic String", "A Weapon That Could Destroy the Universe", "A Machine That Detects Alternate Worlds and Creates a Choice of Christs", "An Immortal Dead Man Sent To The End of the Universe", "Murder in Virtual Reality", "A Spaceship So Large That There is An Entire Planetary System Within It", and "An Analytical Engine At The End of Time", and "Encountering the Untouchable."

This encyclopedia is the most up-to-date, concise, clear and affordable guide to all aspects of science fiction, from its background to generic themes and devices, from authors (established and new) to films. Science fiction has evolved into one of the most popular, cutting-edge and exciting fiction geners, with a proliferation of modern and classic authors, themes and ideas, movies, TV series and awards. Arranged in an A-Z format, and featuring a comprehensive index and cross-referencing system, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is also the most accessible and easy to use encyclopedia of its kind currently available.

This volume, covering the period from the 1890s to the future, includes stories from founding fathers of the field like H. G. Wells and C. S. Lewis; beloved mainstays of the genre, such as Philip Jose Farmer, Roger Zelazny and Jack Vance; notable female writers, including Nancy Kress, and authors like Bruce Sterling, William Gibson and James Morrow, who have hit their stride in the last two decades. Also featured are those widely recognised outside the genre, the celebrated writing of E. M. Forster and Michael Shaara, as well as translations of foreign writers' formative work including that of Wolfgang Jeschke and Dino Buzzati.

This anthology spans 100 years of science fiction writing, from its birth in the 1890s to the future it predicted. It features writing from such authors as H.G. Wells, C.S. Lewis, Jack London and Rudyard Kipling.

The Golden Age of Science Fiction, from the early 1940s through the 1950s, saw an explosion of talent in SF writing, including authors such as Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke. Their writing helped science fiction gain wide public attention, and left a lasting impression upon society. The same writers formed the mold for the next three decades of science fiction, and much of their writing remains as fresh today as it was then.