Tim Pratt

What would you do if you woke up and found yourself in a parallel universe under an alien sky? This is the question Zax Delatree must answer every time he closes his eyes. Every time Zax Delatree falls asleep, he travels to a new reality. He has no control over his destination and never knows what he will see when he opens his eyes. Sometimes he wakes up in technological utopias, and other times in the bombed-out ruins of collapsed civilizations. All he has to live by are his wits and the small aides he has picked up along the way - technological advantages from techno-utopias, sedatives to escape dangerous worlds, and stimulants to extend his stay in pleasant ones. Thankfully, Zax isn't always alone. He can take people with him, if they're unconscious in his arms when he falls asleep. But someone unwelcome is on his tail, and they are after something that Zax cannot spare - the blood running through his veins, the power to travel through worlds...

Journals of Zaxony Delatree

Doors of Sleep

Melissa Marr

The best writers of our generation retell classic tales. From Sir Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene to E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops," literature is filled with sexy, deadly, and downright twisted tales. In this collection, award-winning and bestselling authors reimagine their favorite classic stories, the ones that have inspired, awed, and enraged them, the ones that have become ingrained in modern culture, and the ones that have been too long overlooked. They take these stories and boil them down to their bones, and reassemble them for a new generation of readers. Written from a twenty-first century perspective and set within the realms of science fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy, and realistic fiction, these short stories are as moving and thought provoking as their originators. They pay homage to groundbreaking literary achievements of the past while celebrating each author's unique perception and innovative style. Today's most acclaimed authors use their own unique styles to rebuild the twelve timeless stories: Sir Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene - Saladin Ahmed W. W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw" - Kelley Armstrong Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla" - Holly Black "Sleeping Beauty" - Neil Gaiman The Brothers Grimm's "Rumpelstiltskin" - Kami Garcia Kate Chopin's The Awakening - Melissa Marr Rudyard Kipling's "The Man Who Would Be King" - Garth Nix Henry James's "The Jolly Corner" - Tim Pratt E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops" - Carrie Ryan Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto - Margaret Stohl William Seabrook's "The Caged White Werewolf of the Saraban" - Gene Wolfe Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birth-Mark" - Rick Yancey And six illustrations by Charles Vess

New Twists on Timeless Tales

Rags & Bones

Philip K. Dick Award Finalist: A ragtag space crew discovers alien technology that could change the fate of humanity—or awaken an ancient evil that could destroy all life in the galaxy The shady crew of the White Raven run freight and salvage at the fringes of our solar system. They discover the wreck of a centuries-old exploration vessel floating light years away from its intended destination and revive its sole occupant, who wakes with news of First Alien Contact. When the crew informs her that humanity has alien allies already, she reveals that these are very different extra-terrestrials—and the gifts they bestowed on her could kill all humanity, or take it out to the most distant stars. “Ridiculously fun with a well-thought-out space opera setting and lots of fancy reveals.” —Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky “Through his wit, dialogue, and vast, diverse world, Tim Pratt has created a space opera for today—one filled with diverse characters and cultures that feel nuanced enough to be real—while still delivering the sense of wonder that made you love the genre in the first place.” —Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

The Wrong Stars

The ancient alien gods are waking up, and there's only one spaceship crew ready to stop them, in this dazzling space opera sequel to The Wrong Stars and The Dreaming Stars. Aliens known as the Liars gave humanity access to the stars through twenty-nine wormholes. They didn’t mention that other aliens, the ancient, tyrannical – but thankfully sleeping – Axiom occupied all the other systems. When the twenty-ninth fell silent, humanity chalked it up to radical separatists and moved on. But now, on board the White Raven, Captain Callie and her crew of Axiom-hunters receive word that the twenty-ninth colony may have met a very different fate. With their bridge generator they skip past the wormhole, and discover another Axiom project, fully awake, and poised to pour through the wormhole gate into all the worlds of humanity… File Under: Science Fiction [ That's No Moon | Lost Colony | Only Posthuman | Running Silent ]

Book III of the Axiom

The Forbidden Stars

"Darrin's life has been going downhill ever since his girlfriend Bridget walked out on him without a word of explanation six months ago. Soon after losing her, he lost his job, and his car, and eventually his enthusiasm for life. He can't imagine things getting worse--until he sees Bridget again, for the first time since she walked out, just moments before she leaps to her death from a bridge. In his quest to find out why Bridget took her own life, he encounters a depressive (and possibly immortal) cult leader; a man with a car that can drive out of this world and into others; a beautiful psychotic with a chrome shotgun; and a bridge that, maybe, leads to heaven. Darrin's journey leads him into a place called the Briarpatch, which is either the crawlspace of the universe, or a series of ambitious building projects abandoned by god, or a tangle of alternative universes, depending on who you ask. Somewhere in that disorderly snarl of worlds, he hopes to find Bridget again ... or at least a reason to live without her."--P. [4] of cover.

Briarpatch

The Devil is known by many names: Serpent, Tempter, Beast, Adversary, Wanderer, Dragon, Rebel. His traps and machinations are the stuff of legends. His faces are legion. No matter what face the devil wears, Sympathy for the Devil has them all. Edited by Tim Pratt, Sympathy for the Devil collects the best Satanic short stories by Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Stephen King, Kage Baker, Charles Stross, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Kelly Link, China Mieville, Michael Chabon, and many others, revealing His Grand Infernal Majesty, in all his forms. Thirty-five stories, from classics to the cutting edge, exploring the many sides of Satan, Lucifer, the Lord of the Flies, the Father of Lies, the Prince of the Powers of the Air and Darkness, the First of the Fallen... and a Man of Wealth and Taste. Sit down and spend a little time with the Devil. 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.

Sympathy for the Devil

Impossible Dreams

After escaping the ruthless Lector, Zax Delatree has a new enemy to fight in the sequel to Doors of Sleep. Every time Zaxony Delatree falls asleep he wakes on a new world. His life has turned into an endless series of brief encounters. But at least he and Minna, the one companion who has found a way of travelling with him, are no longer pursued by the psychotic and vengeful Lector. But now Zax has been joined once again by Ana, a companion he thought left behind long ago. Ana is one of the Sleepers, a group of fellow travellers between worlds. Ana tells Zax that he is unknowingly host to a parasitic alien that exists partly in his blood and partly between dimensions. The chemical that the alien secretes is what allows Zax to travel. Every time he does, however, the parasite grows, damaging the fabric of the Universes. Anas is desperate to recruit Zax to her cause and stop the alien. But there are others who are using the parasite, such as the cult who serve the Prisoner – an entity trapped in the dimension between universes. Every world is like a bar in its prison. The cult want to collapse all the bars of the worlds and free their god. Can Zax, Minna, Ana and the other Sleepers band together and stop them?

Book II of the Journals of Zaxony Delatree

Prison of Sleep

When an unknown relative dies, Bekah inherits a small fortune and a large house filled with junk. Trey Howard, the young lawyer handling the estate is a bonus. But then she discovers some of the junk is magical, and the house is filled with monsters.

Heirs of Grace

Hic sunt dracones

A brave starship crew are drawn into the schemes of interplanetary powers competing for galactic domination, in this epic space opera from the best-selling strategic boardgame, Twilight Imperium Captain Felix Duval and the crew of the Temerarious quietly patrol a remote Mentak Coalition colony system where nothing ever happens. But when they answer a distress call from a moon under attack, that peaceful existence is torn apart. They rescue a scientist, Thales, who’s developing revolutionary technology to create new wormholes. He just needs a few things to make it fully operational… and now, ordered to aid the scientist, the Temerarious is targeted by two rival black-ops teams intent on reacquiring Thales. Can Felix trust Thales? Or is this a conspiracy to tip the balance of power in the galaxy forever?

A Twilight Imperium Novel

The Fractured Void

Broken Mirrors

A Tomb of Winter's Plunder

A sexually transmitted volcano. Polyamorists facing off against a malevolent fairy. The vicious cave bear that appears to everyone at the moment of their death. Time-traveling lesbians who fight crime. A woman who summons the ghosts of extinct megafauna and throws them at bad guys. The teen girl sword-and-sorcery duo known as Crow and Lion. Kinky interdimensional space warrior romance. A murder closet, full of murder.These are just some of the miracles and marvels you'll encounter here in Hugo Award-winning author Tim Pratt's latest collection."His stories have moved me, enchanted me, frightened me... and always leave me wanting more." - Terri Windling

Stories

Miracles & Marvels

Welcome to THE NEX. Teenager Miranda Candle finds a mysterious necklace and is suddenly transported to The Nex, the bizarre city at the center of all possible universes, where she falls in with a pair of would-be revolutionaries-the skinshifter Howlaa and the bodiless Wisp-fighting the oppressive regime of the city-state's Regent and his army of steam colossi, cynical cyborgs, and the depraved royal orphans. This is a classic story filled with new twists. Featured in this volume are two related bonus stories, "Dream Engine" and "We Go Back."

The Nex

Marie Brennan

Sarah Pinsker

Rachel Swirsky

Greg van Eekhout

Maurice Broaddus

A.C. Wise

P. H. Lee

The July/August 2019 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine. Featuring new fiction by Sarah Pinsker, Greg van Eekhout, Rachel Swirsky and P.H. Lee, Marie Brennan, A.C. Wise, and Maurice Broaddus. Reprinted fiction by Tim Pratt, essays by Aidan Moher, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Karlyn Ruth Meyer, Marissa Lingen, and Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, poetry by D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Alexandra Seidel, Cynthia So, and Betsy Aoki, interviews with Greg Van Eekhout and Maurice Broaddus by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by Julie Dillon, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.

July/August 2019

Uncanny Magazine Issue 29

Percy is incredibly accident-prone, and holds the dubious record of the most accidents. Percy has had a small rivalary with Harold, however, they are always willing to help each other when in trouble.

The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl

Tim Pratt’s (Little Gods, The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl) Hart & Boot is a stunning collection of thirteen stories of the fantastic. Hart & Boot & Other Stories collects thirteen stories of love, death and monsters, including new story "Komodo," a tale of lizards, sex magic and dangerous men. The title story, "Hart & Boot," was chosen by Michael Chabon for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories: 2005. Critics have called Pratt’s short fiction “Quite Gaimanesque…” and this comparison is not unfounded. His straightforward storytelling techniques, combined with an uncanny ability to convey a sense of wonder and the fantastic, are part of the reason why the title story to this collection was selected by Michael Chabon for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories 2005 anthology. Tim Pratt has been nominated for the Nebula, the John W. Campbell, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy awards, and his work (including “Bottom Feeding,” herein) routinely finds its way to the Locus Recommended Reading lists. In 2005, he won the Norton Award. His fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Polyphony, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Lenox Avenue, The Third Alternative, and Realms of Fantasy.

Hart & Boot & Other Stories

Tim Pratt's debut collection brings together fifteen stories, including the Nebula-nominated "Little Gods" and a previously unpublished novelette, "Pale Dog." Within these pages you will encounter a train to the underworld, a feral bicycle, a thief with peculiar eating habits, an amnesiac superhero, a haunted zoot suit, star-crossed monsters, fallen angels on vacation and other wonders. From fast-paced sorcerer-punk to weird Westerns, from the loss of childhood innocence to the heat death of the universe, these stories will delight, surprise and move you.

Tim Pratt

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