Featuring notable winners of Hugos and Nebulas alongside debut authors. Has science fiction become science fact?
Science Fiction Sci-Fi Books
AuthorHouse The Covenant at Stedman Woods
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£12.82
The New York Review of Books, Inc Store Of The Worlds
Book SynopsisAn NYRB Classics OriginalRobert Sheckley was an eccentric master of the American short story, and his tales, whether set in dystopic cityscapes, ultramodern advertising agencies, or aboard spaceships lighting out for hostile planets, are among the most startlingly original of the twentieth century. Today, as the new worlds, alternate universes, and synthetic pleasures Sheckley foretold become our reality, his vision begins to look less absurdist and more prophetic. This retrospective selection, chosen by Jonathan Lethem and Alex Abramovich, brings together the best of Sheckley’s deadpan farces, proving once again that he belongs beside such mordant critics of contemporary mores as Bruce Jay Friedman, Terry Southern, and Thomas Pynchon.
£15.29
Histria LLC Brandy, You're a Fine Girl
Book SynopsisIf you know the song, you know Brandy’s sailor loved the sea more than her. (The bastard.) Brandy, You’ re a Fine Girl is historical fan fiction, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 1972 hit song. Brandy’s story doesn’t end when the music stops — her destiny is filled with adventure!Barmaid Brandy seizes on a plan to become that good wife and escape her life of drudgery. A pregnancy would be just the thing to get him to marry her. When that doesn’t work, she crosses paths with Elliot, a nobleman in need of a wife and heir by his fast-approaching 30th birthday, or else his inheritance will go to his scheming cousin Clarence.Once married, Elliot’s problems appear solved, and Brandy has a kind husband and a warm and comfy new home, even if it is full of Elliot’ s odd band of friends. Everyone tries to get along and put up with Brandy’s strange cravings and profanity-laden drama, until they discover she was never really pregnant. When Elliot’s handsome best friend Beau shows up, Brandy promptly falls head over heels. She becomes pregnant, but will it be too late? Swearing she can live on love, Brandy dreams of running o? with Beau, until she discovers a shocking secret about her husband and his best friend.Trade ReviewThis book was an absolutely wild adventure telling the highly entertaining story of a woman doing what she can to have the best life possible."—K.C. Finn, Readers Favorite"It’s a story that carries a flame, one that will resonate until the very last page with these three words: Vengeance is mine. This novel has the realism that fan fiction lovers are likely to devour."—Vincent Dublado, Readers Favorite"Author Dee DeTarsio brought Brandy to life and did justice to her character. As iconic as the song, Brandy was a force to be reckoned with in this story."—Rabia Tanveer, Readers Favorite"Dee DeTarsio has written a very funny book with characters that just jump off the page. The language can be a bit coarse but I promise, you’ll never hear the song, Brandy, You’re A Fine Girl the same again!"—Cindy Roesel, Chick Lit Central"A purely fun read from first page to last, "Brandy, You're a Fine Girl" is an enduringly popular song that has now inspired what will be an equally popular historical romance novel by Dee DeTarsio."—Midwest Book Review
£14.36
Histria Books Wildcat
£15.26
Galaxy Press Battlefield Earth
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£21.59
Quirk Books Android Karenina
Book SynopsisLeo Tolstoy meets robots in this “creepy, thrilling, and highly enjoyable” sci-fi mashup of the classic Russian novel Anna Karenina (Library Journal). “ . . . lives up to its promise to make Tolstoy ‘awesomer.’”—The Onion AV Club It’s been called the greatest novel ever written. Now, Tolstoy’s timeless saga of love and betrayal is transported to an awesomer version of 19th-century Russia. It is a world humming with high-powered groznium engines: where debutantes dance the 3D waltz in midair, mechanical wolves charge into battle alongside brave young soldiers, and robots—miraculous, beloved robots!—are the faithful companions of everyone who’s anyone. Restless to forge her own destiny in this fantastic modern life, the bold noblewoman Anna and her enigmatic Android Karenina abandon a loveless marriage to seize passion with the daring, handsome Count Vronsky. But when their scandalous affair gets mixed up with dangerous futuristic villainy, the ensuing chaos threatens to rip apart their lives, their families, and—just maybe—all of planet Earth.Trade Review“Literary hybrids of Jane Austen novels and zombie stories? That’s so last year. Quirk Books, which released the best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, has seen the future of the mashup novel, and it is Leo Tolstoy and robots.”—New York Times “Anna’s nightmare, one of the most famous passages in Anna Karenina, clearly anticipates the ‘steampunk-inspired’ atmosphere of Android Karenina… Tolstoy didn’t know about steampunk or cyborgs, but he did know about the nightmarishness of steam power, unruly machines, and the creepy half-human status of the Russian peasant classes.”—Elif Batuman, author of The Possessed, via The New Yorker “Creepy, thrilling, and highly enjoyable!”—Library Journal “Whenever a truly pulpy trend reaches its apotheosis like this, I can't help but wonder if we'll get a new classic out of it.”—io9 “Android Karenina lives up to its promise to make Tolstoy ‘awesomer.’”—The Onion AV Club “Winters, a playwright, librettist, and author of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, connects all of Tolstoy’s dots in the cleverly bizarre world he has created and he transforms a Russian novel into a reasonably demented work of science fiction.”—Galley Cat “With Android, Winters has given Tolstoy's beautiful Russian epic a steampunk edge, filling the book with robots, space travel and yes, even a few aliens.”—Techland
£10.79
Quirk Books World of Trouble: The Last Policeman Book III
Book SynopsisCritically acclaimed author Ben H. Winters delivers this explosive final installment in the Edgar Award winning Last Policeman series. With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force. But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank's safety is only relative, and his only relative-his sister Nico-isn't safe. Soon, it's clear that there's more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it's up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs outfor everyone.Trade ReviewNominated for the 2015 Edgar® Award for Best Paperback Original“It’s funny, it’s thrilling, it’s crazy, it’s interesting.”—Jenna Bush Hager, TODAY with Hoda & Jenna“Stubborn, earnest, self-deprecating and decent, [Winters’s] protagonist, Hank Palace, is a brilliantly realized character you want to follow to the very end—and beyond.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Winters, a major talent, gives us the best realized world on the verge of annihilation that this reviewer has seen since Cormac McCarthy.”—Sci Fi Magazine “Winters’ style is a slow burn....His cadence is a steady beat rather than a roller coaster, and his words sparing and simple. They will stay with you.” —William O’Connor, The Daily Beast “Riveting entertainment.”—The A.V. Club “World of Trouble is a page turner, a book that is riveting and humane, suspenseful rather than frenetic, and moving rather than depressing; and the key to it all is our guide through this crumbling world. Palace is a brilliant creation, the perfect hero for our eschatological age.”—Tor.com“More than a shining example of how to write about the apocalypse—it’s one of the most well-written mysteries of any era...World of Trouble is a book you don’t want to miss.”—Paste“That Winters can paint for us a world that is so bared-boned, raw and honest is why this is one of the best books of the year so far.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer“World of Trouble demonstrates a greater confidence in the storytelling, richer supporting characters, and an ending that I wanted to both race toward and hold off as long as possible.”—Indianapolis Business Journal Praise for Countdown CityWinner of the 2014 Philip K. Dick Award “I always appreciate novels that have new and interesting approaches to traditional genres, and Ben H. Winters’ two novels featuring Hank Palace fill the bill.”—Nancy Pearl, NPR “Winters is brilliant in conveying the ways in which people look for their best impulses but often end up as the victims of other people’s most base instincts.”—Toronto Star “Don’t miss this series!”—Sci Fi Magazine“Winters is a deft storyteller who moves his novel effortlessly from its intriguing setup to a thrilling, shattering conclusion.”—Los Angeles Review of BooksPraise for The Last PolicemanWinner of the 2013 Edgar® Award Winner for Best Paperback OriginalOne of Slate’s Best Books of 2012 "[The] weird, beautiful, unapologetically apocalyptic Last Policeman trilogy is one of my favorite mystery series."—John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns“Winters’s apocalyptic detective story contains an earth-shattering element of science fiction that lifts it beyond a typical procedural.”—New York Times Book Review “An appealing hybrid of the best of science fiction and crime fiction.”—The Washington Post“In his acclaimed Last Policeman trilogy, Winters showed off his mastery of edgy, sardonic wit — there’s nothing like an asteroid speeding toward Earth to bring out the black humor in people.”—Newsday
£12.59
Night Shade Books Astro-Nuts
Book SynopsisLaser-sharp zingers and out-of-this-world puns pile up at an astronomical pace in this zero gravitas sci-fi spoof from the author of Witches Be Crazy. Never meddle with unidentified spying objects . . . The year is: The Future. Mars and Earth are like that divorced couple who don’t exactly like each other but have at least stopped fighting in public. Floating somewhere in between them, amid all the garbage and Gene Roddenberry’s ashes, a transport vessel called the SS Jefferson is homeward bound. Its crew might have even made it on time for once, too… Captain Cox is no stranger to encountering the odd pickle in space, but when a tantalizingly derelict ship crosses paths with the Jefferson, he unwittingly parks in the middle of a NASA-ty interplanetary squabble. Faced with a marauding Martian and a squad of snobby secret agents, Cox and crew embark on a mad scramble across the solar system, to save themselves from either murder-via-space rifle of imprisonment in the notorious Guantanamo Docking Bay. Maybe they’ll also get around to dealing with the biological weapon that accidentally wound up in their fridge, too.Trade ReviewPraise for Astro-Nuts:"Draws liberally from the grand tradition of Firefly, Monty Python, and Spaceballs . . . the entire novel is about the laughs, which are plentiful. Space opera fans looking for something light and fluffy will find this suits perfectly."—Publishers Weekly "An irreverent trip into the cosmos. Suit up—it's a hell of a ride!"—Edward Zajac, author of A Swift Kick in the AsteroidsPraise for Logan J. Hunder “Hunder’s engaging debut cleverly skewers traditional fantasy tropes with two seemingly unbeatable (and unconventional) protagonists, and the nonstop action will keep readers flipping the pages late into the night. Suggest to fans of Tom Holt who appreciate his mix of humor and imagination.” —Library Journal, starred review and Debut of the Month for July 2015 “Fast moving and original … This is a wild fantasy adventure.” —Piers Anthony, New York Times-bestselling author of the Xanth series “Sometimes wry, sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious, Logan J. Hunder’s Witches Be Crazy skewers fantasy tropes and hoists them high on their own petard (whatever a “petard” is).” —Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times-bestselling author of the Dan Shamble, Zombie PI series “Hilarious! Not since Elvendude have I enjoyed anything so much.” —Sherrilyn Kenyon, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Fantasy Lover and the Dark-Hunter series “It’s clever, it’s entertaining, and it has its uproariously funny moments. . . I have no doubt that Witches Be Crazy will garner a lot of fans. . . this is the kind of book with 'dedicated cult following' written all over it, much like other parodic classics like Monty Python and the Holy Grail or The Princess Bride.” —The BiblioSanctum
£8.79
The Library of America Future Is Female Volume 2, The 1970s: More
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£22.94
The Library of America The Black Fantastic
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£20.39
Dynamic Forces Inc The Boys Volume 12: The Bloody Doors Off
Book SynopsisThe war is over and the world is saved. The supes have been beaten down so far they'll never get up again. So why would anyone want one hundred and eighteen metric tons of the only substance on earth that can kill them all stone dead? Bad days start coming thick and fast, as the Boys are caught in the last throes of the battle they were recruited to fight so long ago. Hughie, all on his own and out of luck, finds himself walking down one last bloody trail — and the truth he finds waiting for him at the end of it will be nothing short of shattering! Billy Butcher's vengeance comes full circle, in this twelfth and final entry in the story of The Boys.
£999.99
Prime Books Space Opera
Book SynopsisMore than five-hundred pages, over one-quarter of a million words...Space Opera spans a vast range of epic interstellar adventure stories toldagainst a limitless cosmos filled with exotic aliens, heroic characters, andincredible settings. A truly stellar compilation of tales from one of thedefining streams of science fiction, old and new, written by a supernova ofgenre talent.
£16.19
Canterbury Classics H. G. Wells
Book SynopsisNo home library is complete without the classics! H. G. Wells is a keepsake collection of the author''s greatest work to be read and treasured.He was the first to popularize the concept of time travel. He disturbed--and fascinated--us with a frightening doctor’s island. He wrote of an invisible man, of men on the moon, and of a war of the worlds. He has influenced countless other writers, artists, and even scientists. H. G. Wells is one of the most acclaimed science fiction writers who ever lived, and five of his classic tales are collected in this book for readers to treasure. H. G. Wells includes The Time Machine, The Island of Dr Moreau, The Invisble Man, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon, and The Food of the Gods. Readers new to this remarkable author will delight in these amazing stories, while fans of Wells will enjoy the insightful introduction by an expert on th
£15.99
Queer Space Literary Devices for Coping
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£11.12
Sun Break Publishing Time Without
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£16.62
Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press The Core of the Sun
Book SynopsisThe Eusistocratic Republic of Finland has bred a new human sub-species of receptive, submissive women, called eloi, for sex and procreation, while intelligent, independent women are relegated to menial labour and sterilized. Vanna, raised as an eloi but secretly intelligent, needs money to help her doll-like sister, Manna.Vanna forms a friendship with a man named Jare, and they become involved in buying and selling a stimulant known to the Health Authority to be extremely dangerous: chilli peppers. Then Manna disappears, and Jare comes across a strange religious cult in possession of the Core of the Sun, a chilli so hot that it is rumoured to cause hallucinations. Does this chilli have effects that justify its prohibition? How did Finland turn into the North Korea of Europe? And will Vanna succeed in her quest to find her sister, or will her growing need to satisfy her chilli addiction destroy her? Johanna Sinisalo's tautly told story of fight and flight is also a feisty, between-the-lines social polemic - a witty, inventive, and fiendishly engaging read from the queen of 'Finnish Weird'.Trade ReviewThe Core of the Sun has been compared to Atwood and Vonnegut, but Sinisalo's disturbing and often whimsical vision is uniquely her own. * Guardian *Margaret Atwood and Aldous Huxley get down with Carlos Castaneda in The Core of The Sun, an adventurous and original dystopian satire which isn't likely to be forgotten in a hurry... It's dark, biting, unlike anything you'll read this year and, ultimately, a triumph. * The Herald *Meticulously imagined . . . the novel creates an impressively detailed and extremely frightening world. Written with wit and grace . . . Maintains an impressive grasp on plot and suspense, easily luring the reader into taking its characters, politics, and striking story to heart. * Kirkus Reviews *[Sinisalo] ups the ante with well-paced and eerily fitting facts about the history of science, clever literary narrative, and complex characterization. This tale will appeal to dystopia lovers and fans of darkly offbeat suspense. * Booklist *A chilling tale reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale... a fascinating story centered on gender politics. * Washington Post *As a mirror held slantwise to patriarchal violence, it is often convincing, and rarely without also being clever and comical. Likewise, as a repudiation of the egalitarian gloriousness of the 'Nordic model,' it's a thing we rarely behold in America: a feminist novel that propels you forward to its terrifying, pulpy conclusion. * Flavorwire *There's a streak of scathing satire to the book's fragmentary science fiction, and in that sense it sits somewhere between Margaret Atwood and Kurt Vonnegut - but Sinisalo crafts a funny, unsettling, emotionally charged apparition of the present that's all her own. * NPR *An intoxicating book, sizzling to look at and as spicy as a hot pepper. * Weltexpress (Germany) *
£8.54
Amazon Publishing The Mongoliad: Book Two
Book SynopsisThis riveting second installment in Stephenson and company’s epic tale focuses on the aftermath of the world-shattering Mongolian invasion of 1241 and the difficult paths undertaken by its most resilient survivors. The Shield Brethren, an order of warrior monks, search for a way to overthrow the horde, even as the invaders take its members hostage. Forced to fight in the Mongols’ Circus of Swords, Haakon must prove his mettle or lose his life in the ring. His bravery may impress the enemy, but freedom remains a distant dream. Father Rodrigo receives a prophecy from God and believes it’s his mission to deliver the message to Rome. Though a peaceful man, he resigns himself to take up arms in the name of his Lord. Joining his fight to save Christendom are the hunter Ferenc, orphan Ocyrhoe, healer Raphael, and alchemist Yasper, each searching for his place in history. Deftly blending fact and fantasy, The Mongoliad: Book Two captures the indomitable will to survive against immense odds.Trade Review“Suggestions of revelations to come combine with expertly crafted fight sequences and immensely enjoyable characters to hold the reader’s interest.” —Publishers Weekly “I loved this book. The action was some of the best I’ve read in a while. Each fight is important to the story. The battles range from one-on-one to ten-on-sixty. Each one is the right kind of detailed and wonderfully inventive. The characters are well drawn and multi-faceted…The plot pulled me to the next page relentlessly. I was thrilled when it was time for a battle, and I was thrilled when it was time for character development. I spent the entire time excited to see what this book had in store next. I am now excited to see what the next book has in store. I cannot recommend this one enough. Five Lovable Mongol Hordes out of Five.” —Ben Rhodes, Fanboy Comics “Fact and fiction are seamlessly blended to create a detailed vision of 13th Century Asia and Europe, and the fear of the overwhelming Mongol horde is palpable. The violence is detailed but not gratuitous, and the fact that likeable characters aren’t safe proves the authors are not afraid to make sacrifices in order to provide a wonderful story.” —Geek Planet Online “…A sprawling, character-rich, action-packed epic that’s part history, part alternate history, part fantasy, part martial-arts saga…Jumping from place to place and character to character, the book has a potentially huge audience, not just fans of the individual contributors and readers of Book One but also the much larger fan bases for martial-arts epics, alternate history, and historical fantasy.” —Booklist
£10.49
Black Coat Press The Dominion of the World 2: The Transatlantic
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£12.34
Black Coat Press Spawn of the Penitentiary
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£21.84
Penzler Publishers Rocket to the Morgue
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£12.28
Booklocker Inc.,US Winner - Book One: The Awakening
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£15.00
Wordfire Press LLC Phule Me Twice
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£16.49
Tachyon Publications These Fragile Graces This Fugitive Heart
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£13.49
Tachyon Publications One Level Down
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£12.59
Tachyon Publications The Unkillable Frank Lightning
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£15.26
Popular Publications The Other Man's Blood: The Complete Cases of the
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£20.85
Popular Publications Crimes of the Year 2000
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£24.65
Small Beer Press Alien Virus Love Disaster: Stories
Book SynopsisPhilip K. Dick Award finalist Washington Post Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2018 Abbey Mei Otis’s short stories are contemporary fiction at its strongest: taking apart the supposed equality that is clearly just not there, putting humans under an alien microscope, putting humans under government control, putting kids from the moon into a small beach town and then the putting the rest of the town under the microscope as they react in ways we ope they would, and then, of course, in ways we’d hope they don’t. Otis has long been fascinated in using strange situations to explore dynamics of power, oppression, and grief, and the twelve stories collected here are at once a striking indictment of the present and a powerful warning about the future. “After I read this book, I woke up with bumpy, reddish growths along my spine. They burst, releasing marvels: aliens, robots, prefab houses, vinyl, chainlink, styrofoam, star stuff, tales from the edge of eviction, so many new worlds. Alien Virus Love Disaster is a super-intelligent infection. Let Abbey Mei Otis give you some lumps.” — Sofia Samatar, author of TenderTrade ReviewPraise For Alien Virus Love Disaster "Otis actually belongs with writers like Kelly Link, who freely borrow genre materials to construct elegant literary fictions far more about character than spectacle. . . . As odd as these worlds are, they are populated by sharply drawn characters we come to care about through Otis’ luminescent prose." — Gary K. Wolfe, Chicago Tribune ”Dreamy but with an intense physicality that belies the violence behind the longing."— Everdeen Mason, Washington Post Book World "It’s a collection that will keep your heart half in your throat and half in your toes, and I recommend it." — Tor.com "In these stories, yes, there are aliens, robots, sex dungeons, chicken puppets, ghosts, and blobs of unknown origin and nature. But there is also tenderness and the absence of it. There is prose that delights. There are plastic people, and people not sure if they can bleed. What these stories do best is sci-fi. What these stories do best is love. And if you need to distinguish between the two, then Abbey Mei Otis is here to deny you. For if barriers between what is 'science fiction' and what is 'literature' haven’t already broken down, then this collection is Abbey Mei Otis burying a glowing-neon hammer into that tired beige wall."— Columbia Journal “Many of the stories share an emphasis on physicality and embodiment, whether it be bodies distorted by alien environments or artifacts or people thrown into their own bodies through suffering at other, human hands. . . . highly recommended for anyone interested in weird fiction, sf, or just a breathtaking reading experience.” — Booklist (starred review) "Abbey Mei Otis’s stories are incandescently dark, if you can imagine such a thing (but maybe only she can). Full of danger and strangeness, but written in carbonated and astounding prose that is all her own, these stories create worlds and will make you contemplate (and worry about) our own.” — Elizabeth McCracken, author of Thunderstruck & Other Stories "These are amazing, electric stories—you can feel the live wire sizzling in them from the first sentence, and you know you're about to take a wild, unforgettable trip. Abbey Mei Otis is my favorite kind of writer: her worlds are uniquely strange yet eerily relatable, and she knows how to make you laugh and weep at the same time.” — Dan Chaon, author of Ill Will "Abbey Mei Otis deposits the reader in bargain bin worlds remaindered from the near futures of the more fortunate, worlds filled with space junk and toxic glitter, gel candy and gutted elk. These are stories for the many, for lovers and mourners, for those who want to split their minds from their bodies and those who know how to merge their organs in a single skin. In Alien Virus Love Disaster, language itself is in phase change. This book is a volatile, dangerous gift.” — Joanna Ruocco, author of Dan "After I read this book, I woke up with bumpy, reddish growths along my spine. They burst, releasing marvels: aliens, robots, prefab houses, vinyl, chainlink, styrofoam, star stuff, tales from the edge of eviction, so many new worlds. Alien Virus Love Disaster is a super-intelligent infection. Let Abbey Mei Otis give you some lumps.” — Sofia Samatar, author of Tender "Abbey Mei Otis speaks for a generation of people with fractured futures and complicated hopes. It is a collection about right now.” — Maureen F. McHugh, author of After the Apocalypse “The aliens have already arrived in ‘Blood Blood.’ Abbey Mei Otis has them visiting in a way we’ve seldom seen before in genre science-fiction: Not as hunters, conquerors or even ambassadors, but as wildlife observers. . . . As brilliant as this cosmos and narrative is, Otis also manages to supply rich characterizations. It’s a concept sci-fi piece that tries something new and succeeds on every level.” —Matt Funk, Full StopTable of ContentsAlien Virus Love Disaster Moonkids If You Could Be God Of Anything Teacher Blood, Blood Sex Dungeons for Sad People Not An Alien Story Sweetheart I’m Sorry Your Daughter Got Eaten by a Cougar Rich People If You Lived Here, You’d Be Evicted By Now Ultimate Housekeeping Megathrill 4
£12.34
Small Beer Press Tender
Book SynopsisWorld Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Locus award finalistDivided into “Tender Bodies” and “Tender Landscapes,” the stories collected here in this first collection of short fiction from a rising star travel from the commonplace to the edges of reality. Some of Samatar’s weird and compassionate fabulations spring from her life and literary studies; some spring from the world, some from the void. Tender explores the fragility of bodies, emotions, and landscapes, in settings that range from medieval Egypt to colonial Kenya to the stars, and the voices of those who question: children, students, servants, researchers, writers.Tender includes two new stories, “An Account of the Land of Witches” and the Nommo Award shortlisted “Fallow.”Trade ReviewPraise for Tender:"Most of the 20 sumptuous tales in Sofia Samatar’s collection Tender take place on Earth – although not always the Earth we might recognize. Sprawling in subject from the supernatural power of names to the loneliness of a half-robot woman, Tender redefines the emotional power and literary heft that speculative fiction can convey. Where Samatar’s acclaimed fantasy novels exist in a strange, dreamlike world, her short stories daringly explore the overlap of familiarity and otherness.” — NPR Best of 2017"When Tender was published last spring, I had been waiting for a short-story collection from Sofia Samatar for what felt like 10 million years. Samatar is a novelist, poet, scholar, and author of science fiction and fantasy stories, and this book combines previously published award-winning short fiction with two new pieces, a novella and a story, that give life to the breadth and width of her astonishing imagination.”— Carmen Maria Machado, The Week"This is a short story collection containing wonder after wonder, done with casual intensity. These are all sharp knives of stories, and it’s definitely possible to think oneself unsliced until the blood starts to pour. I encountered Samatar’s short work in 2012, probably, with her short ‘Selkie Stories are for Losers,’ and was floored on sight. She’s published two novels as well, but the short fiction is my first love. Unlike the rest of the authors on this list, I actually know Sofia, and I’m as moved by her in person as I am by her work. Her wide-ranging and deeply researched interests are fully showcased in her prose, which moves from nonfiction to speculative surrealism, from historical automatons to victims of warfare, all at the same time. There are witch stories, and ripped from the headline stories, stories about longing for other planets, stories about the human condition of pain. They cross all genre divides, and smash them. This collection was edited by Kelly Link, herself a lighthouse of mine, and her work has common ground with Samatar’s, just as both of their work has common ground with everything else on this list. These are all authors whose works are sui generis, but who constitute a tribe of writer warriors as far as I’m concerned. Everyone here is an obliterator of tropes and received myth, a reviser of hierarchy, and a deeply skilled storyteller and maker of worlds. I can’t even believe I get to live in a time in which writers like the ones on this list exist, let alone get to have their brains feed mine.” — Maria Dahvana Headley, Electric Lit"A wide-ranging collection by an author who is as at home in a contemporary satire as she is in a beautifully atmospheric fable. For readers who love seeing what a master can do with short fiction.” — Jenn Northington, Book Riot"Samatar is a master at not only weaving imaginative tales, but deftly layering them with emotional truths. While some stories are playful, many are sad, and others are disturbing. Many of the stories are suspenseful, not necessarily because of their structures, but from not quite knowing the emotional terrain they’ll tackle. And yet it’s easy to trust Samatar as she takes you into unfamiliar territory with prose that is skillful, controlled, and lovely.” — Rachel León, Chicago Review of Books"A relentless, challenging, and hypnotic collection, Sofia Samatar’s Tender transports the reader to myriad worlds, periods of history, and monstrous futures yet to be born. It can be a difficult text, demanding a high level of engagement with multiple layers and themes. At the same time, its subtle yet wrenching emotions have a way of getting under your skin.” — Ilana Teitelbaum, Los Angeles Review of Books"Tender's longest story is also a science fiction tale set in the future — and like 'The Red Thread,' it toys with the ambiguity between dystopia and utopia. Told from the perspective of a child named Agar Black Hat, who lives in an extraterrestrial colony after cataclysmic climate change and a universal draft have forced a sect of religious pacifists from Earth, the story is a feast of ideas. It's reminiscent of vintage Ursula K. Le Guin in its combination of social science and hard sci-fi, even as it probes the nature of belonging and belief. The book's beating heart, though, is its title story. 'Tender' starts out with a clever play on words — 'tender' is used as a noun, as in, one who tends — and employs some tricky unreliable narration and splintered points-of-view. But Samatar's virtuoso flourishes of form serve a higher purpose: They couch a quietly devastating account of a woman who gave up her life as a career woman and mother to become a cyborg, one who, alone, tends to a radioactive waste facility which she may never leave. While Samatar slowly unspools her character's reasons for leaving her former life — delivering a primer on the haunting philosophies and damaged psyches of the scientists who gave us nuclear power along the way — 'Tender' redefines the emotional power and literary heft that speculative fiction can convey. As does Tender as a whole.” — Jason Heller, NPR"I was also impressed with both of the pieces original to this collection. . . . 'Fallow' is the second original piece, a novella, and is by far the longest in the collection. It’s also the best novella I’ve read in quite some time. . . . a heady mix of science and grim hard-scrabble religious life in a dystopic and closeknit society. . . . I’d strongly recommend giving the literary, clever, and productive art that Samatar has collected here a read. It’s as good as I’d hoped, and just as smart too.” — Brit Mandelo, tor.com"Tender: Stories includes two excellent new pieces together with 18 reprints, and one of them, "Fallow", is not only the longest story in the collection, but also her most complex and accomplished SF story to date. On the basis of her award-winning debut novel A Stranger in Olondria and its sequel The Winged Histories, Samatar’s reputation has been mostly that of a fantasist, and her most famous story, ‘‘Selkie Stories Are For Losers’’ (the lead selection here) seemed to confirm that reputation – although once Samatar establishes the parameters of her fantastic worlds, she works out both her plot details and cultural observations with the discipline of a seasoned SF writer and the psychological insight of a poet.” — Gary K. Wolfe, Locus"These stories are windows into an impressively deep imagination guided by sensitivity, joyful intellect, and a graceful mastery of language.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Sofia Samatar's stories are just so good. Surprising. Suspenseful at an emotional level — I kept finding myself plummeted into an emotion face first, everything built up so steadily, with such subtle and meticulous storytelling. Samatar earns readers' trust and uses it to take us into unexpected territory, to make us see ourselves in our power, in our messiness. Tender is the right word, so many of these stories touched into the place of gasping, or tears. Each story had me like, "Oh this is my favorite, I must mention this one." But then I would read the next story which would be Another Whole Paradigm, similar only in that the writing was astonishing, each word so precise. This collection is an exquisite exploration of what otherness and belonging and place and language and love do to us all. It is visionary fiction. Please accept this as my enthusiastic recommendation to let this book have its way with you.” — adrienne maree brown, co-editor of Octavia's Brood"Equal parts brutal and beautiful, flinty, and acrobatic, Samatar's stories explore lesser known territories of the imagination. The results chime with all the strangeness of dream and the dark-hearted truth of fairytale. I loved it.” — Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls"If a library came alive, and spent ten thousand years walking up and down upon the earth, exploring and dreaming and falling in and out of love, it might write stories like these.” — Ben Loory, Tales of Flying and Falling"The first collection from one of fantasy’s rising stars, showcasing her rich, lyrical language and intricate storytelling in 20 short works.”— Publishers WeeklyTable of ContentsTender BodiesSelkie Stories Are for LosersOgres of East AfricaWalkdogThe Tale of Mahliya and Mauhub and the White-Footed GazelleOlimpia’s GhostHoney BearHow I Met the GhoulThoseA Girl Who Comes Out of a Chamber at Regular IntervalsHow to Get Back to the ForestTender LandscapesTenderA Brief History of Nonduality StudiesDawn and the MaidenCities of Emerald, Deserts of GoldAn Account of the Land of WitchesRequest for an Extension on the ClarityMeet Me in IramThe Closest Thing to AnimalsFallowThe Red Thread
£12.34
Roswell Press Wipe Out
£13.56
The New Press Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors
Book SynopsisHopeful and forward-looking futuristic short stories that explore how the power of storytelling can help create the world we need “This is a glorious book that challenges our conceptions of bookmaking as much as it questions our conceptions of world-building. We, as earthlings, will be better to the earth after experiencing this book. That is not hyperbole.” —New York Times bestselling author Kiese LaymonAfterglow is a stunning collection of original short stories in which writers from many different backgrounds envision a radically different climate future. Published in collaboration with Grist, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions, these stirring tales expand our ability to imagine a better world. Inspired by cutting-edge literary movements, such as Afrofuturism, hopepunk, and solarpunk, Afterglow imagines intersectional worlds in which no one is left behind—where humanity prioritizes equitable climate solutions and continued service to one’s community. Whether through abundance or adaptation, reform, or a new understanding of survival, these stories offer flickers of hope, even joy, as they provide a springboard for exploring how fiction can help create a better reality. Afterglow welcomes a diverse range of new voices into the climate conversation to envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress. A creative work rooted in the realities of our present crisis, Afterglow presents a new way to think about the climate emergency—one that blazes a path to a clean, green, and more just future.Trade ReviewPraise for Afterglow:“[Afterglow] approaches climate change with hope for the radically different futures humans might create.”—The New York Times Book Review"This short story collection radiates radical imagination. . . . If you’re feeling bouts of climate anxiety or even apocalypse fatigue, Afterglow will remind you to keep the faith."—Sierra magazine“The twelve stories in the anthology Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors . . . take readers into the future and across the globe to witness how humanity has persevered in the face of climate-crisis-induced destruction.”—ZYZZYVA“This sparkling anthology of 12 climate fiction stories distinguishes itself with its hopeful bent. . . . Offering a glimpse at imagined futures across the globe, this is a welcome lift to the spirits to those who may be struggling to see any brightness amid climate fears.”—Publishers Weekly“The art of storytelling is not only an act of memory and imagination, but one of hope and faith. These vivid and provocative stories represent a dreaming, a collective vision of future worlds where humanity has gathered itself, shared resources and wisdom, to arrive at a place of intentional action, health, and thriving. It is no small feat on the page or beyond to engage in such brave work. The tales of Afterglow offer the glimmers of possibility, the hard choices to be made, and the radiance of worlds not yet known but deeply needed.”—Sheree Renée Thomas, author of Black Panther: Panther’s Rage and Nine Bar Blues“Ultimately, I hope these stories reveal how our imaginations can help build a better reality—not only to serve as a guiding light, but to serve as a balm for these current, difficult times.”—Morgan Jerkins, bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing
£12.34
Penscript Publishing House, LLC An Alien's Quest
Book SynopsisOnly two decades after first contact, even Earth's people know of Haralahn, the great-fish spiritual leader on distant Ellason. Shawne Oran-ElConn-Grey determines to seek his guidance, as she struggles to tame a haunting disillusionment that followed her home from Earth. Her quest for meaning draws everyone she loves away to the Kuiper Belt and into a genetic mystery on the watery home planet of the ellls. The fourth novel in Cary Neeper's Archives of Varok, An Alien’s Quest completes the story of Shawne and her mixed-species family as they search for answers in Ellason's wild seas.An avid proponent of sustainability and steady-state economics since the 1970s, Cary Neeper studied zoology, chemistry and religion at Pomona College and medical microbiology at U. Wisconsin - Madison. Her other writing includes articles on exobiology at Astronaut.com, a column on animal sentience, and two musical science fiction comedies. Cary also paints landscapes in acrylics, including the cover art for the Archives of Varok series.
£999.99
Omnific Publishing The Bachelor on Mars
Book Synopsis
£14.24
Booklocker.com The Portal
Book Synopsis
£16.95
Booklocker Inc.,US Phil767 The Reluctant Luminary
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£15.95
Knight Writing Press The Devil's Treasure
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£6.61
Dalkey Archive Press The Strangers
Book SynopsisA Spanish-gothic version of a Patricia Highsmith novel Jon and Katharina spend the winter in Jon’s childhood home on the Cantabrian coast, lonely and bored, ambivalent about their precarious freelance jobs and disconnected in their relationship. Yet the couple’s routine will soon be disturbed when one rainy night, they witness strange lights in the sky over the village. The next morning, ufologists begin to arrive in the village, anxious to make extraterrestrial contact. The morning brings other unexpected guests: Jon's distant cousin, Markel, and his companion, the silent, alluring Virginia. The visit becomes increasingly uncomfortable as—like the ufologists camped out in view of the house—the strangers stay on and show little sign of planning to leave. Days stretch into weeks, even as the cousins can't remember ever having met, Virginia’s behavior becomes subtly threatening, and Jon begins doubt that Markel is who he says he . . . A deliciously tense and darkly humorous novella that explores the border that separates love from routine and offers a twist on theme of “the other” and how to live with the unknown, The Strangers introduces English readers to singular talent. Trade Review“To speak of Jon Bilbao is to speak of one of the most important figures in Spanish narrative of the twenty-first century and, in particular, of the short distances of the story.”—Marcos Gendre, Mondo Sonoro “Mixing the everyday with the extraordinary doesn't always work, but Jon Bilbao manages to do it without having to write 400 pages . . .”—Pilar Martin, Hola News“. . . Bilbao dominates like few others in Spanish letters.”—Paula Corroto, El Confidencial
£13.30
PM Press Sisters Of The Revolution: A Femimist Speculative
Book Synopsis
£15.29
PM Press The Planetbreaker's Son
Book Synopsis
£12.59
PM Press Utopias Of The Third Kind
Book Synopsis
£13.49
PM Press Night Shift
Book Synopsis
£13.49
WW Norton & Co The Call of Cthulhu: And Other Stories
Book SynopsisDevoured by the Lovecraftian community and general readers alike, Leslie S. Klinger’s best-selling The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, Volumes I and II were hailed as classics of the genre. Now Klinger returns with the ideal annotated primer not only for Lovecraft devotees eager for a more portable version but also students, literature-lovers and curious newcomers looking for a scare. In “Dagon”, one of Lovecraft’s earliest stories, the terrifying idea of an unknown being at the bottom of the ocean is introduced for the first time; in “The Call of Cthulhu”, the horror spreads beyond the sea. The iconic “Rats in the Walls” relates a journey into the depths of a haunted house and mind, while “The Outsider” is a twisted tale that will make the reader question everything. A necessity for any library, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories is an indispensable companion for anyone looking to experience a master at the height of his craft. A paperback original.Trade Review" Praise for The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, Volumes I and II: Norton’s new volume must surely be the definitive collection. It is meticulously and imaginatively edited, beautifully illustrated and immaculately produced, with a thought-stirring introduction by the graphic novel writer Alan Moore." -- New Statesman"Perfect for anyone who enjoys exploring the outer regions of the imagination—and guaranteed to give you the shivers on a cold winter’s night." -- Sarah Vine - Daily Mail"Klinger’s depth of knowledge about the world Lovecraft inhabited, and his ability to tease out shades of Lovecraft’s personal experiences in the stories, make this volume the most exciting and definitive collection of Lovecraft’s work out there." -- Danielle Trussoni - The New York Times Book Review"Annotator Les Klinger is the man you want to have by your side, as you explore the Lovecraftian Darkness." -- Neil Gaiman
£13.29
Lanier Press Existential Thread
Book Synopsis
£9.56
Lanier Press Existential Thread
Book Synopsis
£14.93
Morgan James Publishing llc Infinity’s Gateway: A Novel
Book SynopsisEvery year, all across the planet, people simply vanish, completely disappear and are never seen again. Some areas of the world are well known for this phenomenon. Infinity’s Gateway opens with a very famous incident that took place just after the end of World War II with the United States Navy. The story then jumps to the present day with an unexplainable event that occurs off the coast of Florida, an event that cannot be ignored by the military. The Navy ship Eclipse and its crew are sent to investigate, but after several days come up empty. Two days before returning to port, the event reoccurs, and the Eclipse is caught up in something it cannot escape. The Eclipse and its crew suddenly find themselves completely isolated, all communication lost, surrounded by a terribly hostile environment where each day is a struggle to survive. Infinity’s Gateway is an intense, action packed story of survival, self-reliance, and discovery.
£11.86
Morgan James Publishing llc Living Ink: Ascension
Book SynopsisBrian Ranzum and his crew wake up to find themselves off course, low on fuel, and lost in space. The exact year and time is unknown. Drifting in space with no destination and limited fuel, Brian Ranzum and his crew are thankful to find a large space station nearby. They acquire permission to board and retrieve supplies for the trip back home, but upon entry, no one is there to greet them. The crew is forced to search the barren station for supplies alone, where they face uncooperative doors, lighting blackouts, and even an odd visual programming that creates their life-like drawings on the ceilings drawn in pitch, black ink. Their quest takes them further into the station’s labyrinth-like depths, and what started as a search for supplies becomes a battle of survival as the crew discovers the hidden mysteries that are buried within the recesses of the station. Living Ink: Ascension is a psychological thriller that will take its readers to the edge of reality and beyond.
£11.89
Image Comics Axcend Volume 1 The World Revolves Around You
Book Synopsis From New York Times bestselling creator, Shane Davis(Superman: Earth One, Rage of the Red Lanterns) and the superstar art team ofMichelle Delecki (JLA, Wonder Woman) and Morry Hollowell (Civil War, Old ManLogan), AXCEND is the tragic tale of 3 teens who find the balance of humanityresting on their shoulders. When a group of gamers mistakenly set loose avirtual reality game into the real world, they risk everything to save anexistence they always sought to escape. Fantasy and reality bleed together inthe epic first volume of AXCEND. collecting issues 1 through 5.Shane Davis is the award winning New YorkTimes bestselling writer/artist/creator behind Axcend, Superman: Earth One Vol 1and Vol 2, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Rage Of The Red Lanterns,Superman/Batman: The Search for Kryptonite. Davis'' character designs have ledto animation and video games such as Green Lantern:The Animated Series, andLegos Batman 3. He has
£12.59
Image Comics Descender Volume 3: Singularities
Book SynopsisThis third collection of the bestselling series dives deep into the secret histories of each cast member with revelations that will propel young robot, TIM-21's sci-fi adventure into dangerous and exciting new territory.
£999.99
