Contemporary Science Fiction

Watch out - the Earth just fell into a dark sun's orbit! Or maybe you'd rather visit a theme park called Hell? These are just two of the strange and unnerving tales you'll find in this collection of great science fiction and fantasy stories.

First contact with a mysterious race of aliens reveals an unusual request; a family's pet dog comes to grips with the newly bestowed gift of human-like intelligence; a poet, in danger and alone on a distant world, makes unlikely allies; hundreds of years in the future, a famous hermit lives in the sea above the now-underwater Harvard University; former friends navigate unsteady peace between human refugees and the technologically superior race that saved them; in a future where human life can be infinitely extended through cybertronic rebirth, one woman declines immortality. 

A colony survives among the icy rings of a planet, hiding from alien robots determined to destroy them … at a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers, and physicians gather to gamble humanity’s future on one last-ditch experiment … a man who can’t feel pain has been bioengineered to be a killing machine, but he refuses to give in to his fate … a man is contacted by three future versions of himself, each trying to save their world from destruction. 

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017. 

Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more - a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Six, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 33 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2020. 

Four sci-fi short stories where you'll find good computers, people who regret their past, and an explanation for something you're familiar with.

The best of the year's science fiction and fantasy stories as selected by the multiple award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan. Distant worlds, time travel, epic adventure, unseen wonders, and much more! The best, most original and brightest science fiction and fantasy stories from around the globe from the past 12 months are brought together in one collection by multiple award winning editor Jonathan Strahan.

“An exciting action-adventure fantasy that will please fans of the Dirk Pitt series and the Indiana Jones franchise. A story that not only engages readers but also provokes thought.” †¢ Ibrahim Aslan for Reader’s Favorite †¢ Ibrahim Aslan for Reader’s Favorite AN IMMORTAL WARRIOR. A HIDDEN WAR. A CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS. By day, Franklin Barbarossa is an eccentric NYU professor. But behind the books and lectures stands Fahlgrim Firebeard —battle-worn dwarf, last cleric of a forgotten god, and the final guardian in a war that has faded into myth and legend.

A massive wildfire in the mountains begins behaving in impossible, intelligent ways. Jack, Trudey, Rafe, and Lani — members of a Hotshot crew discover that the fire isn’t just a natural disaster. It’s a sentient, ancient force that was once part of the mountain itself, taken and experimented on by humans decades earlier.

Incredible Science Fiction: Amazing Tales from the 50's and Beyond, Volume Two collates a collection of some of the very best science-fiction stories published in the '50s together. All these stories (with the exception of The Anatomy of Fear) are now in the public domain and were original published in various science-fiction magazines that were very popular in the 1950s. This is a lovingly curated collection of some of the very best stories published during this time. This collection includes a further story from the Hugo Award-nominated Rog Phillips.

Jonathan Strahan, the award-winning and much lauded editor of many of genre's best known anthologies, is back with his 11th volume in this fascinating series, featuring the best science fiction and fantasy. With established names and new talent, this diverse and ground-breaking collection will take the listener to the outer reaches of space and the inner realms of humanity with stories of fantastical worlds and worlds that may still come to pass.

Paragon altered Bianca’s memory. The Directorate turned her into a weapon. Seventeen-year-old Bianca Pond is the ultimate fighting machine. But when a ghost from her past comes back to haunt her, Bianca faces her toughest challenge yet...justice for all, or her own personal vengeance. (extra)ORDINARY runs parallel with events from the Powers series, giving readers a glimpse into the transformation that redefined Bianca’s loyalties - and love - in the months after Ugene’s escape.

This set includes a prequel novella as well as the first two novels of the Charm Collector urban fantasy series. Veiled Threats: Camila Fletcher has made a career out of finding missing people. Despite being a full-blooded human, she’s often contacted by members of the fae population hiding amongst mundanes. When a young fae girl asks for help finding her sister, Camila is thrust into an investigation that involves much more than one missing girl…

The Apology of Socrates, by Plato, is the dialogue that presents the speech of legal self-defense, which Socrates presented at his trial for impiety and corruption, in 399 BC. Specifically, The Apology of Socrates is a defense against the charges of “corrupting the youth” and “not believing in the same gods as the city, but in other gods which are novel” to Athens.

Diana's life was in a rut - she hated her job, she was perpetually single, and she needed a place to live. But then the perfect apartment came along. It seemed too good to be true - because it was. As it turns out, the apartment was already inhabited - by monsters.

He never asked to be chosen. He barely even believed. An ordinary thrift store clerk in London, Ontario, spends his days sorting through junk and hiding from people… until fire erupts from his hands and angels whisper a name in a language he shouldn’t understand. The Left Hand of God. Unbaptized, bitter, and full of doubt, he should never have been able to wield the holy flame. And yet, it burns inside him, demanding he fight the things that lurk in the corners of the world… the watchers, the shadow lords, the monsters no one else can see.

From a master of contemporary fiction, a tale of bohemian youth on the make in Mexico City Two young poets, Jan and Remo, find themselves adrift in Mexico City. Obsessed with poetry, and, above all, with science fiction, they are eager to forge a life in the literary world--or sacrifice...

Hot Flashes, Murder, and... Tentacles? Forty-three-year-old Ava discovers magic when her hot flashes start causing things to explode around her. Her best friend Pamela, a local funeral home employee, regularly attends yoga classes with Ava, but when their yoga classmates start dying, Ava thinks things can't get any worse.

In the year 2250, Elle owns a flower shop and yearns for a real connection with someone. At a nightclub, she meets Drake and gets a taste of just what the perfect companion could be - great conversation and even greater sex. Soon after her date with Drake, Elle meets Lisa and experiences that same perfect balance of companionship and sex. But after balancing relationships with both Drake and Lisa, Elle learns a shocking truth. Will she be able to set aside her all - human prejudices, too - and accept the real love waiting for her?