John Joseph Adams

Welcome to issue 161 of LIGHTSPEED! This month we're serializing A.L. Goldfuss's SF novelette "Where the God-Knives Tread." This two-parter is a delightful mix of mystery, space exploration, and archaeology. We also have two terrific flash pieces: "The Void Wyrm's Guide to Devouring Stars" from AJ Wentz and "Excerpts from a Scientist's Notebook: Ancestral Memory in Europan Pseudocephalopods" by David DeGraff. If you're looking for the recipe to a magical reading experience, don't miss "Immortality Soup, Or, An Excerpt From the Cookbook of the Gods," our first fantasy short story of the month, which is written by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe. Jae Steinbacher remixes Little Red Riding Hood in their new story "What You Are and the Wolf." Our flash includes "A Small God" by Jeff Reynolds and the very magical "Four Self-Care Secrets for a Long and Happy Life" by Tina S. Zhu. Our book reviewers have been devouring and evaluating new books so they can bring you their monthly array of recommendations. As always, spotlight interviewer Laurel Amberdine has sat down and interviewed our short fiction authors so you can get better insights into their work and their processes. And our ebook readers will also enjoy a book excerpt from Tlotlo Tsamaase's novel WOMB CITY.

Ideal for fans of iZombie, Colin Morgan, The Walking Dead, iZombie comics, Resident Evil anthology, Evil Dead anthology, and the Joe Hill graphic novel collection A compilation of the best zombie literature of the past 30 years Highlights works by today’s most well-known and respected authors of speculative fiction, horror, and fantasy Zombies have invaded popular culture, from White Zombie to Dawn of the Dead and from Resident Evil to World War Z. They have become the monsters that best express the anxieties and fears of the modern west. This collection gathers together zombie works by Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, George R. R. Martin, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Poppy Z. Brite, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Joe R. Lansdale. These brilliant minds, and The Living Dead, cover the many types of zombie fiction. Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

An anthology of post-apocalyptic short fiction from some of the biggest names in science fiction and speculative fiction - including Stephen King, George R. R. Martin and Orson Scott Card Famine, Death, War, and Pestilence: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon - these are our guides through the Wastelands . . . From the Book of Revelations to The Road Warrior; from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today's most renowned authors of speculative fiction, including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King, Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon.

From Huxley's Brave New World, to Orwell's 1984, to Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, dystopian books have always been an integral part of both science fiction and literature, and have influenced the broader culture discussion in unique and permanent ways. Brave New Worlds brings together the best dystopian fiction of the last 30 years, demonstrating the diversity that flourishes in this compelling subgenre. This landmark tome contains stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Cory Doctorow, M. Rickert, Paolo Bacigalupi, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, and many others. Table of Contents Introduction / John Joseph Adams -- Lottery / Shirley Jackson -- Red card / S.L. Gilbow -- Ten with a flag / Joseph Paul Haines -- Ones who walk away from Omelas / Ursula K. Le. Guin -- Evidence of love in a case of abandonment / M. Rickert -- The Funeral / Kate Wilhelm -- O happy day! / Geoff Ryman -- Pervert / Charles Coleman Finlay -- From homogeneous to honey / Neil Gaiman & Bryan Talbot -- Billennium / J.G. Ballard -- Amaryllis / Carrie Vaughn -- Pop squad / Paolo Bacigalupi -- Auspicious eggs / James Morrow -- Peter Skilling / Alex Irvine -- The Pedestrian / Ray Bradbury -- Things that make me weak and strange get engineered away / Cory Doctorow -- Pearl diver / Caitlin R. Kiernan -- Dead space for the unexpected / Geoff Ryman -- "Repent harlequin!", said the Ticktockman / Harlan Ellison -- Is this your day to join the revolution? / Genevieve Valentine -- Independence day / Sarah Langan -- Lunatics / Kim Stanley Robinson -- Sacrament / Matt Williamson -- Minority report / Philip K. Dick -- Just do it / Heather Lindsley -- Harrison Bergeron / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. -- Caught in the organ draft / Robert Silverberg -- Geriatric ward / Orson Scott Card -- Arties aren't stupid / Jeremiah Tolbert -- Jordan's waterhammer / Joe Mastroianni -- Of a sweet slow dance in the wake of temporary dogs / Adam-Troy Castro -- Resistance / Tobias S. Buckell -- Civilization / Vylar Kaftan.

Here be dragons...and a lot of stories that would make a dragon blink. A fascinating kaleidoscope of people and places and Things That Might Have Been―or Might Be. ―Diana Gabaldon, New York Times bestselling author From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea to Journey to the Center of the Earth, from the fabled island of Avalon to the lost oasis of Zerzura, from The Land That Time Forgot to the golden city of El Dorado, storytellers have long imagined what exists beyond the edges of the map. The need to seek and discover the unknown is embedded in who we are, no matter the culture or era. To celebrate this sense of wonder, award-winning editor John Joseph Adams has gathered together some of the best SF&F writers working today, collecting adventure and mystery in this spectacular anthology. With original contributions from Kate Elliott, Tobias S. Buckell, Dexter Palmer, E. Lily Yu, Jonathan Maberry, and a dozen more, there are short stories sure to enthrall every listener. Explore the rich tradition begun centuries ago with this all-new compilation full of imagination and delights. What lies beyond the edge of the unknown? Only you, brave listener, can find out. Full Contents: Introduction by John Joseph AdamsThe Light Long Lost at Sea by An OwomoyelaThe Cleft of Bones by Kate ElliottThe Voyage of Brenya by Carrie VaughnComfort Lodge, Enigma Valley by Charles YuThe Expedition Stops for the Evening at the Foot of the Mountain Pass by Genevieve ValentineDown in the Dim Kingdoms by Tobias S. BuckellThose Who Have Gone by C. C. FinlayAn Account, by Dr. Inge K�hn, of the Summer Expedition and Its Discoveries by E. Lily YuOut of the Dark by James L. CambiasEndosymbiosis by Darcie Little BadgerThe Orpheus Gate by Jonathan MaberryHotel Motel Holiday Inn by Dexter PalmerOn the Cold Hill Side by Seanan McGuireThe Return of Grace Malfrey by Jeffrey FordThe Tomb Ship by Becky ChambersPellargonia: A Letter to the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology by Theodora GossThere, She Didn't Need Air to Fill Her Lungs by Cadwell Turnbull