Within these pages lie eighteen stories, from eighteen worlds shaped by some of today’s best writers of science fiction and fantasy, all guests on the Aurora Award-winning podcast The Worldshapers during its first year. Some are international bestsellers. Among them are winners and nominees for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, Aurealis, Ditmar, British Science Fiction Association, and Dragon Awards. Some have been writing for decades, others are at the beginning ...

From Hugo and Nebula winning author David Brin comes this extraordinary collection of tales and essays about the near and distant future, as humans and other intelligences encounter the secrets of the cosmos – and of their own existence. In Dr. Pak's Preschool, a woman discovers that her baby has been called to work while still in the womb. In Natulife, a married couple finds their relationship threatened by the wonders of virtual reality. In Sshhh… the arrival of benevolent aliens on Eart...

Who guides our fate? And can we ever hope to wrest control for ourselves? In this novella, David Brin merges classical mythology with impudent modern spirit in a science fiction legend that speculates upon the nature of reality.With an afterword by the author.

He was a survivor—a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war.Fate touches him one chill winter's day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery.This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth. A timeless...

A woman faces danger when she uncovers a mystery that can change her world in this science fiction adventure by a New York Times–bestselling author.Hugo and Nebula award-winning author"One of the most important SF novels of the year." — Washington Post Book WorldOn Planet Stratos, clans of genetically identical females dominate society. Natural conceptions are permitted, but only in s...

In all the universe, no species reached for the stars without "uplift" guidance, except possibly humankind. Did some cryptic patron race begin the job long ago, then abandon us? Or did we leap all by ourselves? That question burns, yet a greater mystery looms ahead, in the furnace of a star. Under the caverns of Mercury, Expedition Sundiver prepares for the most momentous voyage of our history – into the boiling inferno of the sun, seeking our destiny in the cosmic order of life.Th...

Thor Meets Captain America offers an alternate history exploring a chilling scenario behind the Holocaust. In this parallel world, the Nazis narrowly avoid defeat in World War II when they are championed by the gods of the Norse Pantheon. At a dramatic turn, Loki joins the Allies and they prepare a last-ditch raid to blow up Valhalla. With an afterword by the author.This novella, nominated for a Hugo Award in 1987, was later expanded into an award winning graphic novel, The Life Ea...

What if education could be extended into the womb? Will we get brilliant, well-balanced babies? Monsters? Or a frightening/hopeful combination of both? Chilling and plausible and under option to be made a feature film, "Dr. Pak's Preschool" explores the bright and very dark possibilities when science meddles in the most intimate human act - bearing and delivering a child.

Can a sci fi story alter the course of something ponderous, like the space program? Perhaps. "Tank Farm Dynamo" sure tried! What if we found the nerve, the spirit and daring to use every resource - including those that NASA simply threw away? An unabashedly old-fashioned hard SF story with science and technology as central, problem-solving players... plus a real twist.

The River of Time brings together twelve of David Brin's stories , including The Crystal Spheres, which won the Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Short Story of the year. Here are powerful tales of heroism and humanity, playful excursions into realms of fancy, and profound meditations on time, memory, and our place in the universe.Who guides our fate? And can we ever hope to wrest control for ourselves? The Loom of Thessaly merges classical mythology with impudent modern spirit i...

In a universe filled with habitable worlds why have we had no contact with extraterrestrial intelligence? David Brin's short story, "The Crystal Spheres," offers a fantastic explanation for the Great Silence. Instead of being late-comers - might humanity have come upon the scene too early? This haunting tale was voted one of the "most beautiful" of the eighties. Winner of the 1985 Hugo Award .

The essential companion to one of the most celebrated science fiction series of all time.Beginning with the novel Sundiver, David Brin introduced one of the most inventive, thought-provoking, and richly-imagined universes in all of science fiction. Now, Brin collaborates with acclaimed artist Kevyn Lenagh to present the definitive guide to the societies, technology, and species of his epic, award-winning series.Written as a handbook for Terran field ...