Science Fiction Fantasy First Life

Colton Beck has six months to live. He works for the Angor near Los Angeles, aware that any day could be his last. The Angor arrived 20 years ago, resolved to help mankind survive, but not everyone believes their motives are honorable. When the Angor offer humanity a colony world, Colton is determined to see another planet before his final breath. He’s been diagnosed with Xeno, a rare disorder that surfaced with the Angor’s arrival, but he won’t let this stop him.

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Neil Clarke has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year's writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome "sensawunda" that the genre has to offer.

Wildly original, funny and moving, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is an extraordinary story of a life lived again and again from World Fantasy Award-winning author Claire North. Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes...

Stories of Your Life and Others presents characters who must confront sudden change-the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens-while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the amazing and much-lauded title story (the basis for the 2016 movie Arrival), a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection.

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...

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.

The best science fiction and fantasy stories of 2021, selected by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Veronica Roth. This year’s selection of science fiction and fantasy stories, chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and bestselling author of the Divergent series Veronica Roth...

Who better to narrate today's best science-fiction stories than today's favorite science-fiction stars? This exciting collection features many.

An unabridged audio collection spotlighting the "best of the best" hard science fiction stories published in 2016 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster, as narrated by top voice talents.

Dr. Daniel North has spent his life chasing the impossible. After witnessing his brother’s death as a child, Daniel dedicates himself to unraveling the greatest mystery of all—what happens after we die? Through relentless research, secret experiments, and one forbidden breakthrough, he edges closer to a terrifying, beautiful truth: consciousness might not end with the body. But every discovery comes at a cost. As his obsession grows, so do the consequences, academic disgrace, ethical lines crossed, and a therapy mandate that leads him to Anna, a psychologist with her own quiet fractures.

The science fiction genre has become increasingly influential in mainstream popular culture, evolving into one of the most engaging storytelling tools we use to think about technology and consider the shape of the future. Along the way, it has also become one of the major lenses we use to explore important philosophical questions. The origins of science fiction are most often thought to trace to Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, a story born from a night of spooky tale-telling by the fireside that explores scientific, moral, and ethical questions that were of great concern in the 19th century - and that continue to resonate today.

"Having the Barbarian's Baby": Megan's ready to give birth, but she's not ready to let her mate leave her side. When Cashol must go hunting to feed the tribe, they're separated for the first time since resonance. Not a problem, except the baby's ready to be born and there's a storm brewing...

Hacker Kita Yamasaki is a survivor, a fighter, and the granddaughter of Dr. Benjamin Yamasaki. Once the sole human ambassador seeking peace with the alien Teth, now the doctor is long dead—and only Kita holds the knowledge that can save humanity. Though she's already foiled one effort to destroy Earth and forged an alliance with the violent, power-armored Judge Gascoigne, new threats arise. Namely, the Iron-Blooded cultists, who wish to ally themselves with the aliens in exchange for their own lives.

Milly is incredibly excited to go to Unicorn School, a school that accepts only the best and the brightest. There’s only one problem: she isn’t a unicorn! She’s a donkey in a party hat. Milly first feels uncomfortable but eventually learns that she and the others at the school have more in common than it might have seemed.

on Fanwath. But he had other ideas—bigger, bolder, bloodier ideas. Now known as Lord Victor after a hard-fought campaign to claim the newly christened Free Marches, his legend grows beyond his own lifetime. With yet another conquest, Victor must set order in his new realms, a task more daunting than battle with all it entails. But above all, he must somehow save his dear ally Edeya, whose spirit was stolen in the chaos of war.

Magic is fading, and humanity is at the brink of extinction. Sybil lived and breathed the life of a miner, delving deep into monster-infested caverns and perilous shafts, risking her life to unearth Relics of an ancient past for food and shelter. That is until one day, she discovers a Relic that would change her fate from a simple miner to an Ascended—a Relic that connected her to the magic that was once lost.

After quitting her job as a therapist, Tess's life became pretty slow. A tad boring, even. It thus came as no small shock to her when she was chosen by a god. Suddenly thrust into a new world where magic, monsters, and character levels are par for the course, Tess will find that simply surviving can be a challenge. It doesn't help that dark forces are stirring, she's woefully underpowered, and spiders keep trying to claw her face off.

When out-of-shape IT technician Roen wakes up and starts hearing voices in his head, he naturally assumes he’s losing it. He isn’t. As of last night, he has a passenger in his brain - an ancient alien life-form called Tao, whose race crash-landed on Earth before the first fish crawled out of the oceans. Over the millennia his people have trained human heroes to be great leaders, to advance our species at a rate far beyond what it would have achieved on its own. Split into two opposing factions - the peace-loving, but under-represented Prophus, and the savage, powerful Genjix - the aliens have been in a state of civil war for centuries.

As Sol and Kyriel race back to the capital to warn the Sovereign about the growing Tirzak threat, an even darker force stirs within the ranks of the enemy. If the heroes can't convince the Great Houses to stand together behind their unlikely union, all of Lostrien will be consumed by the bloodthirsty swarm.