When the government wields its power against its own people, every citizen becomes an enemy of the state. Will you fight the system, or be ground to dust beneath the boot of tyranny? In his smash-hit anthologies Wastelands and The Living Dead, acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams showed you what happens when society is utterly wiped away. Now he brings you a glimpse into an equally terrifying future — what happens when civilization invades and dictates every aspect of your life? From 1984 to The Handmaid’s Tale, from Children of Men to Bioshock, the dystopian imagination has been a vital and gripping cautionary force. Brave New Worlds collects 33 of the best tales of totalitarian menace by some of today’s most visionary writers. 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

An anthology of stories Extreme sports. Extreme future. Extreme collection. Science fiction's most expert dreamers envision the computerized, high-risk games of the future in this winning collection. Features Robert Sheckley, Cory Doctorow, Kate Wilhelm, Alastair Reynolds, Vernor Vinge, Jonathan Letham, Gwyneth Jones, William Browning Spencer, Allen Steele, Terry Dowling, and Jason Stoddard

La posibilidad de producir un gran número de individuos a partir de un mismo material genético (clonación) no es nueva ni en el campo de la investigación científica ni en el de la ciencia ficción. Pero faltaba una obra que hiciera con el tema de los clones lo que un Asimov y un Lem con la robótica o un Van Vogt y un Kuttner con la telepatía: llevar a cabo su sociología novelada, analizar con detalle la nueva cultura a la que podrían dar lugar. Y eso es precisamente lo que hace Kate Wilhelm en Donde solian cantar los dulces pájaros, premio Hugo a la mejor novela de 1977, y llamada a convertirse en un clásico del género, en la medida en que da cumplida expresión, consolidando, a uno de sus temas más inquietantes

Nadciaga kryzys, jakiego ludzkość jeszcze nie doświadczyła. Zmiany klimatu, choroby roślin, brak surowców, klęska głodu. Skazy genetyczne i napromieniowanie grożą plagą bezpłodności. Czy ludzkość może przetrwać? Grupa naukowców pracujących nad klonowaniem tworzy w górach enklawę, która pozwoli przetrwać nielicznym, ale jak uchronić się przed bezpłodnością, jak zachować ludzi przy życiu. Nauka podpowiada rozwiązania, ale w warunkach doświadczalnych eksperyment wymyka się spod kontroli, a zakładane cele są wciąż modyfikowane. Czy człowiek ma przed sobą przyszłość? Wspaniała powieść Kate Wilhelm nie pozostawi cię obojętnym. Nominowana do nagrody Nebula w 1976. Otrzymała nagrody Hugo, Locusa i Jupitera w 1977

Gli eredi della Terra di Kate Wilhelm appartiene a quel numero di opere che travalicano i confini della fantascienza, per diventare letteratura di valore assoluto. Ancora una volta uno scrittore di sf ha dato una esemplare lezione di stile e di classe, con un romanzo che testimonia delle inesauribili risorse espressive da cui il genere può proficuamente attingere e, nello stesso tempo, della varietà dei suoi temi. Gli eredi della Terra è un grande libro sull’uomo, nel quale il tema della clonazione (di recente divenuto attualissimo) resta lo sfondo su cui l’autrice tesse la sua parabola morale, innestando un’appassionante avventura. Le vicende della piccola comunità agricola, che raccoglie la sfida di un mondo che rischia di trasformarsi in un deserto, e che riuscirà a sopravvivere solo a costo dei sacrifici e rischi più arditi, ci viene presentata con acuto senso della vita, mentre la natura violentata reclama il suo diritto all’esistenza, e torna padrona e libera dove prima era stata minacciata. E gli uomini la temono, ne hanno paura. perché non la capiscono, e la fuggono, finché, un giorno, qualcuno ne riscopre la voce e il futuro si spalanca per l’umanità… Vinto il premio Hugo per miglior romanzo in 1977. Nominato per il premio Nebula per miglior romanzo in 1977

»Hier sangen früher Vögel« spielt in einer Welt, die dem Untergang entgegengeht. Eine kleine Gruppe von Menschen will den Kollaps der Zivilisation überleben und den Fortbestand der Menschheit sichern. Sie gründen ein neues Gemeinwesen, doch in ihm entwickeln sich so repressive Strukturen, dass es selbst dem Untergang geweiht scheint…

The first man to reach the spaceship was Obie Cox. Until then Obie had been known only for the possession of one of the most beautiful male bodies in creation. After the spaceship, Obie Cox became known throughout the world. Obie was touched by the hand of God, and that hand lay heavy on him. But he knew his duty was to carry the message placed in his hands to the world… the strong message, the truthful message… the message of hate!

El decenio 1956-1965 marca una época crítica para la ciencia ficción. La reciente respetabilidad del género motivó la atención, muchas veces peligrosa, del cine y la televisión. El inicio de la Era espacial en octubre de 1957 parecía confirmar aquello de que la realidad supera a la ficción. Pero la crisis condujo a la renovación del género: cuantitativa, por la aparición de una pléyade de nuevos autores; cualitativa, por la revolución de la tématica, que abandona de una vez por todas la fascinación por la cacharrería espacial, sentándose nuevas normas de calidad, como demuestra el presente volumen. – Recopilación, Prefacio e Introducción de Michael Ashley

PROGRAMMED FOR DESTRUCTION In a way, they were the same, the man and the machine. Both had been ordered to do one thing - kill. The robot had been created to wreak revenge on the humans who had brutally conquered its planet. The man was the product of years of training by an Earth that had set out to take over the Universe. Now the two faced each other in the icy reaches of the galaxy. The robot, with its calculating machine of a brain, its impenetrable force shield, its deadly laser beam. The man, with the kind of nerve that refused to admit the odds against survival…

Stories of the fall of civilisation, the destruction of the Earth and the end of the Universe itself The last sixty years have been full of stories of one or other possible Armageddon, whether by nuclear war, plague, cosmic catastrophe or, more recently, global warming, terrorism, genetic engineering, AIDS and other pandemics. These stories, both pre- and post-apocalyptic, describe the fall of civilization, the destruction of the entire Earth, or the end of the Universe itself. Many of the stories reflect on humankind’s infinite capacity for self-destruction, but the stories are by no means all downbeat or depressing — one key theme explores what the aftermath of a cataclysm might be and how humans strive to survive

Massive environmental changes and global disease, attributed to large-scale pollution, cause the collapse of civilization around the world. One large, well-to-do extended family sets up an isolated community. However, as the death toll mounts (due to a variety of causes) the family begins cloning themselves to survive. This is due to universal infertility. It is assumed that as time passes, fertility will return and sexual reproduction will be possible once again. However, when the clones come of age, they reject the idea of sexual reproduction in favor of further cloning. The original members of the community, too old and outnumbered by the clones to resist, are forced to accept the new social order. As time passes, the new generations of clones are weaker (physically and mentally) than their predecessors. Since they are cloned in groups of 4–10 individuals, they grow to depend on each other enormously, and lose all sense of individuality. They become afraid of being alone in any way, and eventually lose all sense of creativity. In one part of the novel, a snowman is made, and the clones are unable to identify it as a man, seeing only snow. Towards the end, the community is found to have been wiped out entirely due to natural disasters, but mainly by the destruction to the mill, which had been the energy source the community had depended on to survive. Only a few select people had survived, and among them was a man named Mark, who had foreseen the death of the community and had prepared for it