Contemporary Science Fiction

Trace Taylor was at a shooting range when the world was kidnapped by the alien species called the ‘Esvol’ to begin humanity's integration with the System. Each individual person is given a femtochip implant and a class to fend for themselves before being sent back to Earth. Once Trace returns, she finds that the planet too is left scarred by this encounter. Faced with monsters, dungeons, an annoying AI, and a lot of insane idiots, how will Trace come to survive this newly-changed planet?

In an era in which ancient gods live in the world’s cities together with their mortal followers, forming tight-knit guilds and powerful temples, the disfigured ash-caster and blacksmith Hineni has lived his entire life as a reclusive outcast. Hidden away behind layers of clothing and just as many walls and doors, he only ever leaves the house in the dead of night, so that neither the gods or anyone else can ever see him. However, on one of these night-tide outings, he finds that has gained the unwanted attention of what is seemingly a perfectly normal owl.

At long last, humanity has moved beyond Earth and begun seeding new worlds. Colonies extend across the solar system, from Luna to Mars to Saturn's satellite Titan. Even Jupiter's moon Europa has become home to a couple thousand brave souls willing to risk their lives adapting to its frozen and deadly landscape.

Working as a quality-assurance grunt in the gaming industry sounds like fun, right? You get to play the coolest new games before anyone else. And all you have to do is to find, reproduce, and report bugs before the last pixel is locked in and the games are launched to an eager public. Sure, there’s the unpaid overtime, the office politics, and the ever-present threat of layoffs. But you get to game!

Environmental devastation and economic chaos have turned America into a land of horrifying depravity. Assault, theft, sexual abuse, slavery, and murder are commonplace. And a zealous, bigoted tyrant has won his way into the White House. Directly opposed is Lauren Olamina, founder of Earthseed - a new faith that teaches "God Is Change". Persecuted for "heathen" beliefs as much as for having a Black female leader, Earthseed's followers face a life-and-death struggle to preserve their vision.

The Earth is dying. Humanity - over-breeding, over-consuming - is destroying the very planet they call home. Multinational corporations despoil the environment, market genetically modified crops to control the food supply, and use their wealth and influence and private armies to crush anything, and anyone, that gets in the way of their profits. Nothing human can stop them. But something unhuman might. Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose.

A collection of the year’s best science fiction and fantasy short fiction selected by New York Times bestselling author of the Silo series Hugh Howey and series editor John Joseph Adams. “These are dangerous stories. The kind that warp reality and threaten to change the world” warns...

When Sara and Jamie discovered the artifacts, they sensed the pull of a dim, distant place, a world of misty forests, ancient magics, mythical beings, ageless bards...and restless evil.

Reborn into a fantastical RPG-system based world, Fresh is offered a second chance at life. Initially glad to have escaped her old existence, she quickly realizes that this new one might not be much better. Her new body is too frail to follow any grand dreams of adventure, her new mind is too dulled to allow any meticulous planning or thought, and this new, seemingly colorful, kind world is anything but.

Welcome to Newford: to the music clubs, the waterfront, and the alleyways where ancient myths and magic spill into the modern world. Gemmins live in abandoned cars and skells traverse the tunnels below, while mermaids swim in the gray harbor waters and fill the cold night with their song. Come meet Jilly, painting wonders in the rough city streets; and Geordie, playing fiddle while he dreams of a ghost; and the Angel of Grasso Street gathering the fey and the wild and the poor and the lost.

A walk around the block, a quick drive, before shutting down your PC ? these short story collections are perfect for when you only have a few minutes to listen."

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.

After a victory that came at too high of a cost, Ryn's sacrifices have paid off. Ryn has awakened Grace, the Davina who's prophesied to save them all...but she's not what Ryn expected. From the start, Ryn knows Grace is keeping secrets. But it's worse than she originally feared, for Grace is hiding something that could mean the end of the world. Ryn decides she has to discover the truth - even as war erupts in Eagle Valley. Everything Ryn thought she knew about the magical world is wrong, but somehow, she and her friends have to make it right again.

Ryn Tyler finally found her home - and demons are out to destroy it. After a lifetime of searching for where she belongs, Ryn knows it's in Eagle Valley...but war threatens to take that all away. Attending an angels-only high school should help her master her magical abilities, but stopping the upcoming battle is more important. Ryn trains in secret with the help of her mentor, Marek, a bad boy who can't decide between duty and love - and who's already stolen Ryn's heart. But the arrival of another Davina complicates things, and Ryn finds herself torn between the two boys.

Ezri would give up her magic to solve her mother’s murder. When a series of brutal murders lands in her lap, newly-minted Detective Ezri Trenton sets out to prove to herself and her mundane partner she can handle the investigation. The deeper she digs; the more evidence mounts that dark magic is behind the killings. Ezri knows traditional police work won’t be enough to stop the spree, but she can’t risk revealing the magical world. As the clock ticks ever closer to the Vernal Equinox and the prophecy that’s plagued her since childhood, Ezri must greet her destiny head on.

Daniel Carter was a London cop who just wanted to do the right thing. But during a raid on an organ-selling chop shop, he is almost torn to pieces by monsters. And no one believes him. Hurt and crippled, his career over, and his life in ruins, Daniel is suddenly presented with a chance at redemption. And revenge. It seems that more than two centuries ago, the monsters of the world disappeared - into the underworld of crime. Guild-like clans now have control over all the dark and illegal trades.

The last in a proud line of witches, he’s come to test his small magic in the big city. Stealing enchanted artifacts pays the rent, but the competition is fierce. And handsome. And great at magic too.

Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.

Nyssa Blacksea is eager to silence her doubters. As the only warrior in her guild without magick, she's forced to rely solely on her martial arts mastery, unwavering confidence, and charisma. When given the chance to hunt down a mysterious woman named Quinn and earn the coveted title of Ashcloak, Nyssa seizes the opportunity. Track down a fugitive? An easy task. There's just one problem—Quinn isn't receptive to Nyssa's charms and refuses to go down without a fight. Dangerous secrets swirl around Quinn and a treacherous guild leader, rattling Nyssa's faith in the very system that raised her.

Every facet of Ivy Pierce's life is meticulously planned out. Cynical and jaded by 16, Ivy's only hope is to escape the legacy she was born into. She has a plan, a carefully thought out escape plan. She just has to play by the rules until everything falls into place. Unfortunately, as predictable as her life can be, she never sees Ryder Sutton coming. He tumbles into her life, unimpressed and untouched by her and the rules she's forced to live by. He's an enigma to her. A gorgeous, frustrating, sincere mystery in the ugly prison of her life.