Artificial intelligence in 100 stories. To ready us for the inevitable, here are 100 of the best short stories ever written--most of them by humans--about robots and artificial minds. Read them while you can, learn from them, and make your preparations... From 1837 through to the present day, from Charles Dickens to Cory Doctorow, this collection contains the most diverse collection of robots ever assembled. Anthropomorphic robots, invertebrate AIs, thuggish metal lumps and wisps of manufactured intelligence so delicate if you blinked you might miss them. The literature of robots and artificial intelligence is so wildly diverse, in both tone and intent, that our stories form six...

A collection of five stories, including a previously unpublished novella, set in the universe of the author's novels The Quiet War and Gardens of the Sun. Only available as an e-publication. After the end of the Quiet War, the victorious forces from Earth have taken control of the cities and settlements of the moons of Saturn and Jupiter. In 'Making History' and 'Karyl's War', the victors and the defeated discover that defining the end of the war isn't easy. In 'Incomers', a young visitor from Earth learns of an unexpected reconciliation. In 'Second Skin', a spy attempting to kidnap a valuable gene wizard discovers that he isn't quite what he thought he was. And in 'Reef', the discovery...

Three long stories and fourteen short stories and snapshots set in the aftermath of a short, sharp asymmetrical war between Earth and colonists of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and in the subsequent golden age of exploration and colonisation of the solar system. Shares the same future history as Paul McAuley's novels The Quiet War (short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award), Gardens of the Sun (short-listed for the John W. Campbell Memorial award), In the Mouth of the Whale, and Evening's Empires

In the far future, a young man stands on a barren asteroid. His ship has been stolen, his family kidnapped or worse, and all he has on his side is a semi-intelligent spacesuit. The only member of the crew to escape, Hari has barely been off his ship before. It was his birthplace, his home and his future. He's going to get it back. McAuley's latest novel is set in the same far-flung future as his last few novels (The Quiet War, Gardens of the Sun, In the Mouth of the Whale), but this time he takes on a much more personal story. This is a tale of revenge, of murder and morality, of growing up and discovering the world around you. Throughout the novel we follow Hari's viewpoint, and...

A novel of a savage future war, perfect for fans of Alastair Reynolds and Peter F. Hamilton. Humanity's future rests on the shoulders of a Child from the past, and she must never know of the battles being fought for her ... In the system of Fomalhaut, a war is being fought. The Quicks came long ago, refugees from the Solar System. The True arrived later, to find a declining civilisation and a system ripe for the taking. Then the Ghosts appeared, no longer human, unknowable, powerful and determined to drive out the Quick and the True. The battle continues, but the outcome is uncertain. Three lives will intersect, because there is something at the centre of their universe, something...

The Quiet War is over. A century of enlightenment, rational utopianism and exploration of new ways of being human has fallen dark. But victory is fragile, and riven by vicious internal politics. While seeking out and trying to anatomise the strange gardens abandoned in place by Avernus, the Outers' greatest genius, the gene wizard Sri Hong-Owen is embroiled in the plots and counterplots of the family that employs her. The diplomat Loc Ifrahim soon discovers that profiting from victory isn't as easy as he thought. And in Greater Brazil, the Outers' democratic traditions have infected a population eager to escape the tyranny of the great families who rule them. After such a conflict only...

Who decides what it means to be human? Twenty-third century Earth has been ravaged by climate change, and is now dominated by a few powerful families, with millions of people in prison and millions more labouring to rebuild ruined ecosystems. Meanwhile on Jupiter and Saturn, live the Outers. They have built a wild variety of scientific utopias crammed with exuberant creations of the genetic arts. Now they want to colonise Earth and drive human evolution in a new direction. On Earth, some want to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Outers while others wish to exploit the talents of the gene wizards. It is clear that the fragile detente between the two branches of humanity is...

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world through their short stories. This venerable collection brings together award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in...

For the first time in a decade, a compilation of the very best in science fiction, from a world authority on the genre. For decades, the Year’s Best Science Fiction has been the most widely read short science fiction anthology of its kind. Now, after thirty-five annual collections, comes the ultimate in science fiction anthologies. In The Very Best of the Best, legendary editor Gardner Dozois selects the finest short stories for this landmark collection.

Тихая война окончена. Города-государства Юпитера и Сатурна пали пред Альянсом трех сил: Великой Бразилией, Евросоюзом и Тихоокеанским сообществом. Век просвещения, рациональной утопии, исследований новых образов человечности сменился временем тьмы. Дальние загнаны в тюремные лагеря, принуждены помогать систематическому разграблению своих огромных архивов научного и технического знания. А тем временем земляне грабят захваченные города, фермы и корабли и готовят «окончательное решение» проблемы дальних. Но победа землян – лишь самообман. Землю раздирают политические противоречия. Путешествуя в поисках странных садов, разбросанных по Солнечной системе величайшим гением дальних, Авернус,...