Modern Science Fiction

I killed four people. At least, that's what the jury decided. The night my family's curse detonated, it shattered every future I had planned—college, medical school, a life that made sense. Instead, I got eighteen months in prison and a felony record that won't let me forget. Now I work at a junkyard-adjacent coffee shop and train under Colin McCool—the most dangerous druid in Texas—learning to control the power that nearly destroyed me. Because magic answers to will—and mine has already failed once. So I'm trying to stay invisible, keeping my nose clean while I get my life back on track.

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.

“An exciting action-adventure fantasy that will please fans of the Dirk Pitt series and the Indiana Jones franchise. A story that not only engages readers but also provokes thought.” †¢ Ibrahim Aslan for Reader’s Favorite †¢ Ibrahim Aslan for Reader’s Favorite AN IMMORTAL WARRIOR. A HIDDEN WAR. A CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS. By day, Franklin Barbarossa is an eccentric NYU professor. But behind the books and lectures stands Fahlgrim Firebeard —battle-worn dwarf, last cleric of a forgotten god, and the final guardian in a war that has faded into myth and legend.

Colin is a druid on a mission. Namely, traveling to an alternate dimension where technology rules, to snag the tech he needs to save his friends in the Hellpocalypse timeline. At first, it sounds simple. He’ll slip through the timestreams, do a little sightseeing, and go home. Heck, it might even be fun to visit a world where actual superheroes exist. But for creation’s unluckiest druid, nothing is ever easy. When things go horribly wrong, Colin finds that his magic is almost completely on the fritz.

When a surprise nuclear attack forces Aidan from hiding, he finds the world to be a much different and more deadly place. Now, he'll traverse a post-apocalyptic landscape populated by violent redneck looters, rogue military factions, and an army of hungry undead.... After two combat tours in the Middle East, Aidan Sullivan just wants to be left alone on his family’s ranch in the Texas Hill Country. But when the bombs fall and the dead walk, Aidan risks life and limb to rescue his aging parents from the zombie horde.

Like the creation myths they supersede, the revelations of science are seared into our collective imagination through storytelling. From Archimedes' bath to Newton's apple, vivid accounts of scientific discovery help us understand the principles behind each theory, and add to the larger narrative of how the universe works, and how we came to be here. This anthology draws out and distils science's love of narrative from a wide range of scientific disciplines, weaving theory into very human stories.

Watch out - the Earth just fell into a dark sun's orbit! Or maybe you'd rather visit a theme park called Hell? These are just two of the strange and unnerving tales you'll find in this collection of great science fiction and fantasy stories.

After the loss of her mother, a woman returns to the San Fernando Valley only to uncover a haunting secret about her childhood friend. A visiting professor at a charming but strange California liberal arts college must face her past in order to protect her son. A sister, lost in the woods, confronts the dangerous truth about her brother, her stepmother, and herself. Rose's dog Wolfie has died, and three seductive women offer to help return him to her. But only if she will pay the price.

Commander Scott McNabb and the remaining crew of the ill-fated Hermes survey ship, journey to Earth to an area formally known as death valley, now an irradiated wasteland. Their mission is to connect the quantum intelligence, Athena, into the pan-solar communications network, enabling the QIs to rollback control of Earth by the seven and their AI servants. But their shuttle is damaged as it enters Earth’s atmosphere and it lands far from their intended location.

First contact with a mysterious race of aliens reveals an unusual request; a family's pet dog comes to grips with the newly bestowed gift of human-like intelligence; a poet, in danger and alone on a distant world, makes unlikely allies; hundreds of years in the future, a famous hermit lives in the sea above the now-underwater Harvard University; former friends navigate unsteady peace between human refugees and the technologically superior race that saved them; in a future where human life can be infinitely extended through cybertronic rebirth, one woman declines immortality. 

After rescuing his high school sweetheart—Zoe—and defeating a powerful demon and his mortal followers, Ezekiel Coleman takes a moment to regroup and recover. Next up is training with the Clarendons, a family of elite soldiers. And, if he’s lucky, he’ll be spending time with the youngest Clarendon, the beautiful and dynamic Bonnie. Things start to kick off again quickly though, and Ezekiel—Zeke—finds himself caught up in the machinations of several mystical orders and demonic cults.

Science fiction is a portal that opens doors onto futures too rich and strange to imagine. Fantasy takes us through doorways of magic and wonder. For more than a decade award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan has sifted through tens of thousands of stories to select the best, the most interesting, the most engaging science fiction and fantasy to thrill and delight readers. 

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. 

Get four fast-paced druid urban fantasy novels in a boxed set featuring magic, mystery, Celtic mythology, and non-stop paranormal action! Reluctant druid, and sole apprentice of the last living master druid on Earth. Heir to Fionn MacCumhaill’s legacy. Hunted and feared by the Fae, and cursed with Cú Chulainn’s ríastrad. All he wants is to live in his junkyard in peace...but the gods have other plans for the young druid apprentice!

Kurt Vonnegut's first novel spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run completely by machines. Paul's rebellion is vintage Vonnegut – wildly funny, deadly serious, and terrifyingly close to reality.

How far would you go to escape reality… or control it? Modern Prison is a book series that tells an original story like a compelling movie, the story starts with an innovation but the flaws of this new Tech can lead to a disasterThis book tells the story with Gut-punching truth that can lead the humanity toward a doom, but not in the traditional waysThe story reveals accurate predictions about near future and backs up these predictions with detailed scientific facts to make it realistic and possible.

The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course, there's a catch to the invitation....

Jonathan Strahan, the award-winning and much lauded editor of many of genre's best known anthologies, is back with his 11th volume in this fascinating series, featuring the best science fiction and fantasy. With established names and new talent, this diverse and ground-breaking collection will take the listener to the outer reaches of space and the inner realms of humanity with stories of fantastical worlds and worlds that may still come to pass.

After Colin cuts off their connection to Underhill, the high Fae lose their position of magical supremacy. Sensing a shift in the balance of power, an unknown faction begins a brutal assault on the Fae. Incensed by the injustice of their actions, Colin embarks on a one-man quest to find the persons responsible...so he can mete out some Druid Justice.

Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more - a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.