The Roadmakers left only ruins behind—but what magnificent ruins! Their concrete highways still cross the continent. Their cups, combs and jewelry are found in every Illyrian home. They left behind a legend, too—a hidden sanctuary called Haven, where even now the secrets of their civilization might still be found.

Chaka’s brother was one of those who sought to find Haven and never returned. But now Chaka has inherited a rare Roadmaker artifact—a book called A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court—which has inspired her to follow in his footsteps. Gathering an unlikely band of companions around her, Chaka embarks upon a journey where she will encounter bloodthirsty river pirates, electronic ghosts who mourn their lost civilization and machines that skim over the ground and air. Ultimately, the group will learn the truth about their own mysterious past.

This book is an anthology of original stories inspired by science and scientists. The authors—some of the best and most decorated in the field—each visited Microsoft Research and met with top researchers in areas such as machine learning, computer vision, speech recognition, programming languages, and operating systems. They were given a unique opportunity to see new technologies under development and understand how researchers think and work.

The stories that came out of this process are the kind of science fiction that excited me as boy. They draw upon, highlight, and extrapolate current science. A number of them put scientists and engineers front and center in the narrative.

Essays by space scientists and engineers teamed with a collection of tales by an all-star assortment of award winning authors all taking on new methods of star travel.Some humans may be content staying in one place, but many of us are curious about what's beyond the next village, the next ocean, the next horizon. Are there others like us out there? How will we reach them? Others are concerned with the survival of the species. It may be that we have to get out of Dodge before the lights go out on Earth. How can we accomplish this?Wonderful questions. Now get ready for some answers. Here is the science behind interstellar propulsion: reports from top tier scientists and engineers on starflight propulsion techniques that use only means and methods that we currently know are scientifically possible. Here are in-depth essays on antimatter containment, solar sails, and fusion propulsion. And the human consequences? Here is speculation by a magnificent array of award-winning SF writers on what an interstellar voyage might look like, might feel like - might be like. It's an all-star cast abounding with Hugo and Nebula award winners: Ben Bova, Mike Resnick, Jack McDevitt, Michael Bishop, Sarah Hoyt and more.

We are alone. That is the verdict, after centuries of SETI searches and space exploration. The only living things in the universe are found on the Nine Worlds settled by Earthlings, and the starships that knit them together. Or so it seems, until Dr. Kimberly Brandywine begins to investigate what happened to her sister (and clone) Emily, who, after the final, unsuccessful manned SETI expedition, disappeared along with four others—one of them a famous war hero. But they were not the only ones to vanish: so did an entire village, destroyed by a still-unexplained explosion. Following a few clues Kim discovers that the log of the ill-fated Hunter was faked. Something happened, out there in the darkness between the stars. Someone was murdered—and something was brought back. Kim is prepared to go to any length to find out the truth, even if it means giving up her career with Beacon, the most colossal—and controversial—of all the SETI projects. Even if it means stealing a starship. Even if it means giving up her only love. Kim is about to discover the answer to humanity’s oldest question. And she’s going to like the answer even less than she imagines.

Lightspeed (www.lightspeedmagazine.com) is the critically-acclaimed, online science fiction magazine edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. Each month, Lightspeed features a mix of originals and reprints, from a variety of authors—from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven't heard of yet. Now, in Lightspeed: Year One, you will find all of the fiction published in Lightspeed's first year, from new stories such as Nebula Award finalists, Vylar Kaftan’s “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” and “Arvies” by Adam-Troy Castro, and Carrie Vaughn’s Hugo Award-nominee “Amaryllis,” to classic reprints by Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and more.

Lightspeed (www.lightspeedmagazine.com) is the critically-acclaimed, online science fiction magazine edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. Each month, Lightspeed features a mix of originals and reprints, from a variety of authors - from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven''t heard of yet. Now, in Lightspeed: Year One, you will find all of the fiction published in Lightspeed''s first year, from new stories such as Nebula Award finalists, Vylar Kaftan''s "I''m Alive, I Love You, I''ll See You in Reno" and "Arvies" by Adam-Troy Castro, and Carrie Vaughn''s Hugo Award-nominee "Amaryllis," to classic reprints by Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and more.

IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT…

For decades, the apocalypse and its aftermath have yielded some of the most exciting short stories of all time. From David Brin’s seminal “The Postman” to Hugh Howey’s “Deep Blood Kettle” and Tananarive Due’s prescient “Patient Zero,” the end of the world continues to thrill.

This companion volume to the critically acclaimed WASTELANDS offers thirty of the finest examples of post-apocalyptic short fiction, with works by:

Ann Aguirre

Megan Arkenberg

Paolo Bacigalupi

Christopher Barzak

Lauren Beukes

David Brin

Orson Scott Card

Junot Díaz

Cory Doctorow

Tananarive Due

Toiya Kristen Finley

Milo James Fowler

Maria Dahvana Headley

Hugh Howey

Keffy R. M. Kehrli

Jake Kerr

Nancy Kress

Joe R. Lansdale

George R. R. Martin

Jack McDevitt

Seanan McGuire

Maureen F. McHugh

D. Thomas Minton

Rudy Rucker & Bruce Sterling

Ramsey Shehadeh

Robert Silverberg

Rachel Swirsky

Genevieve Valentine

James Van Pelt

Christie Yant

Award-winning editor John Joseph Adams has once again assembled a who’s who of short fiction, and the result is nothing short of mind-blowing.