The Martian Obelisk

A powerful science fiction story about an architect on Earth commissioned to create (via long distance) a masterwork with materials from the last abandoned Martian colony, a monument that will last thousands of years longer than Earth, which is dying. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

To read is to journey, and to read science fiction is to venture into a myriad of imaginative and delightful worlds, such as: - Robert Reed's fabulous galaxy-circling starship and its fascinating inhabitants, "The Remoras" - The planet Mercury, where there is more than meets the eye in Stephen Baxter's "Cilia-of-Gold" - Two very different Hainish worlds--with very different customs--in two knockout novellas by Ursula K. Le Guin - A junkyard in Brooklyn that won't stay put in "The Hole in the Hole" by Terry Bisson In all, this volume presents twenty-three of the finest works of speculative fiction published in the past year, including stories by such diverse and fantastic talents as Michael Bishop, Pat Cadigan, Greg Egan, Eliot Fintushel, Michael F. Flynn, Lisa Goldstein, Joe Haldeman, Katharine Kerr, Nancy Kress, Maureen F. McHugh, Mike Resnick, Mary Rosenblum, Geoff Ryman, William Sanders, Brian Stableford, George Turner, Howard Waldrop, Walter Jon Williams. Rounded out with Gardner Dozois's insightful overview of the year in science fiction and a long list of recommended reading, this volume is the starting point for dozens of delightful ventures into the marvels of human imagination. "Dozois's intelligently and ably put-together anthology does its stated job as well as any one book or editor could. Even with competition, it would still be the best of the Best."--Publishers Weekly

From Cyberspace to outer space, from the Dark Continent to the speed of light, the dozens of stories in this terrific collection represent the year's finest offerings in imaginative fiction. Among the twenty-eight tales assembled here are: The Land of Nod, Mike Resnick's powerful tale of the orbital space colony Kirinyaga and how the old ways conflict with the new. Foreign Devils, Walter Jon Williams's exotic revision of the War of the Worlds Martian Invasion. Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland, Gwyneth Jones's unpredictable venture into the frightening territory of on-line romance. Death Do Us Part, Robert Silverberg's masterful tale of love in the future. In addition, there are two dozen more stories from today's and tomorrow's brightest stars, including, William Barton, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, James P. Blaylock, Damien Broderick, Michael Cassutt, Jim Cowan, Tony Daniel, Gregory Feeley, John Kessel, Nancy Kress, Jonathan Lethem, Ian McDonald, Maureen F. McHugh, Paul Park, Robert Reed, Charles Sheffield, Bud Sparhawk, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, Steven Utley, Cherry Wilder, Gene Wolfe. Rounding out the volume are a long list of Honorable Mentions and Gardner Dozois's comprehensive survey of the year in science fiction. In all, the stories assembled here will take you as far as technology, imagination, and hope can go. Climb aboard. "Highly recommended."--Library Journal

The dozens of delightful stories in this anthology dazzle the mind with visions of tomorrow and yesterday, of here and now. On display is the work of many of today's greatest writers--and tomorrow's--including: Brian W. Aldiss, Stephen Baxter, Neal Barrett, Jr., Pat Cadigan, Jack Cady, Greg Egan, Joe Haldeman, David B. Kisor, Nancy Kress, Ian R. MacLeod, Maureen F. McHugh, G. David Nordley, Rebecca Ore, Robert Reed, Mike Resnick, Mark Rich, Charles Sheffield, Dan Simmons, William Browning Spencer, Bruce Sterling, Steven Utley, Don Webb, Walter Jon Williams, Connie Willis. A long list of Honorable Mentions and an insightful roundup of the year in science fiction make the book indispensable for every fan of fantastic fiction. "Intriguing characters, creative settings and a certain amount of consciousness-raising are evident in many selections...Readers have a useful jumping-off point should they wish to continue their explorations of an expanding literary universe."--Publishers Weekly

This latest volume of The Year's Best Science Fiction carries on the proud tradition, with stories by Lucius Shepard, Orson Scott Card, Damon Knight, Pat Cadigan, Robert Silverberg, Somtown Sucharitkul, Tanith Lee, Scott Baker, Michael Swanwick, John Kessel, Richard Kearns, Greg Bear, Bruce Sterling, Jack Dann, Tim Powers, James Patrick Kelly, Connie Willis, Harry Turtledove, Howard Waldrop, Walter Jon Williams, Neal Barret, Jr., Lewis Shiner, Judith Moffett, Kim Stanley Robinson, Tom Maddox, Karen Joy Fowler, William Gibson. More than any other anthology, this volume truly is the best science fiction of the year--the single book no SF fan can be without.

Reaching from the sky to the edge of the world, science fiction is the literature of the imagination, and this year's collection gathers into one volume the most imaginative, exciting, and intelligent fiction of 1989. This year's collection features works by many of science fiction's greatest writers--both veterans and newcomers--including: Neal Barret, Jr., Gregory Benford, Alan Brennert, John Crowley, Avram Davidson, Alexander Jablokov, Janet Kagan, William King, Kathe Koja, Nancy Kress, Megan Lindholm, Judith Moffett, Steven Popkes, Mike Resnick, Robert Sampson, Charles Sheffield, Lucius Shepard, Robert Silverberg, S.P. Somtow, Brian Stableford, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, John Varley, Connie Willis.

In science fiction's early days, stories often looked past 1984 to the year 2000 as the far unknowable future. Here now, on the brink of the twenty-first century, the future remains as distant and as unknowable as ever . . . and science fiction stories continue to explore it with delightful results: Collected in this anthology are such imaginative gems as: "The Wedding Album" by David Marusek. In a high-tech future, the line between reality and simulation has grown thin . . . and it's often hard to tell who's on what side. "Everywhere" by Geoff Ryman. Do the people who live in utopian conditions ever recognize them as such? "Hatching the Phoenix" by Frederik Pohl. One of science fiction's Grand Masters returns with a star-crossing tale of the Heechee---the enigmatic, vanished aliens whose discarded technology guides mankind through the future. "A Hero of the Empire" by Robert Silverberg. Showing that the past is as much a province of the imagination as the future, this novelette returns to an alternate history when the Roman Empire never fell to show us just how the course of history can be altered. The twenty-seven stories in this collection imaginatively take us to nearby planets and distant futures, into the past and into universes no larger than a grain of sand. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents. Supplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a lengthy list of honorable mentions, making this book a valuable resource in addition to serving as the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart.

This collection launched the popular and long-running "The Year's Best Science Fiction" series: Fantastic Science Fiction! The Year's Best -- And Biggest Collection Here's the cream of the crop: short stories, novelettes, novellas by science fiction writers already famous and awarded for their high-quality work in science fiction. Writers like: Poul Anderson Joe Haldeman Tanith Lee George R.R. Martin Robert Silverberg James Tiptree, Jr. Vernor Vinge Gene Wolfe Plus writers who are newer to the field, but just as excellent! These are the stories that will vie for the Hugo and Nebula Awards this year. And we've got them all! Not ten. Not twenty. 25 GREAT SF TALES. Each one is chosen by renowned SF writer and editor Gardner R. Dozois. Among them are "Black Air" by Kim Stanley Robinson, "Blood Music" and "Hardfought" by Greg Bear, "Blind Shemmy" by Jack Dann, "Cicada Queen" by Bruce Sterling and "Slow Birds" by Ian Watson.