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What if you could change your gender with barely a thought?

Cory Lanus is a teen out of place. He doesn't fit in. He doesn't act right. There's something off about him. Or so his friend Jaz Andrews believes.

Jaz is a typical teenage girl with too much schoolwork, grief at home, and a huge crush on the new guy. She spends as much time with him as she can, to the chagrin of her friends, yet she can't get close enough to him. Surely he likes her as much as she likes him.

Cory is out of place. Far out of place. On the run from his family's enemy, Corilanus has literally landed on earth, his home world's only hope for survival. He finds comfort on this seemingly backward planet that puts so much emphasis on what everyone expects you to be. Cory finds being a boy comfortable enough, but sometimes being a girl works too.

But when someone from his home comes looking for him, Cory's new found peace is set for destruction because those he left behind have come to finish what they started and nothing, especially not his new friends, are going to stand in their way.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber
• The Bones of the Earth - (2001) - shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Legerdemain - (2001) - novelette by Jack O'Connell
• Diving the Coolidge - (2001) - novelette by Brian A. Hopkins
• The Mould of Form - (2001) - shortstory by Rosemary Edghill
• Eternity and Afterward - (2001) - novella by Lucius Shepard
• Wolves Till the World Goes Down - (2001) - shortstory by Greg van Eekhout
• The Lady of the Winds - (2001) - novelette by Poul Anderson
• Ave de Paso - (2001) - shortstory by Catherine Asaro
• Grass - (2001) - shortstory by Lawrence Miles
• Slipshod, at the Edge of the Universe - (2001) - shortstory by Robert Thurston
• Hell Is the Absence of God - (2001) - novelette by Ted Chiang

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Karen Haber and Robert Silverberg
• Our Friend Electricity - (2002) - novelette by Ron Wolfe
• King Rainjoy's Tears - (2002) - novelette by Chris Willrich
• Social Dreaming of the Frin - (2002) - shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Agamemnon's Run - (2002) - novelette by Robert Sheckley
• Creation - (2002) - shortstory by Jeffrey Ford
• The Face of an Angel - (2002) - novelette by Brian Stableford
• Dating Secrets of the Dead - (2002) - shortstory by David Prill
• Luck - (2002) - novelette by James Patrick Kelly
• The Majesty of Angels - (2002) - novelette by Robert Reed
• Ailoura - (2002) - novelette by Paul Di Filippo
• Mr. Gaunt - (2002) - novella by John Langan

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Jonathan Strahan and Karen Haber
• Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire - (2004) - novelette by Neil Gaiman
• The Word that Sings the Scythe - (2004) - novelette by Michael Swanwick
• The Little Stranger - (2004) - novelette by Gene Wolfe
• The Faery Handbag - (2004) - novelette by Kelly Link
• Quarry - (2004) - novelette by Peter S. Beagle
• The Enchanted Trousseau - (2004) - shortstory by Deborah Roggie
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice - (2004) - novelette by Robert Silverberg
• The Annals of the Eelin-Ok - (2004) - shortstory by Jeffrey Ford
• Pat Moore - (2004) - novelette by Tim Powers
• The Angel's Daughter - (2004) - shortstory by Jay Lake
• The Silver Dragon - (2004) - novelette by Elizabeth A. Lynn

When winter comes, the mutants gather...

They have always lived in the shadows, on the fringes of normal society. Ignored, shunned, they survived in their own invisible clans, using their extraordinary psychic abilities to shield themselves from the intolerance, bigotry, and hatred of the normals - until now...

The first mutant leader to emerge into the light of public life demanding equality has been savagely murdered. Finding her assassin has become the obsession of one courageous group of mutants. There is Michael, torn between loyalty to his clan and his love for a normal. Melanie, denied her mutant heritage by a cruel trick of genetic fate. And Jena, willing to use her psychic powers and mutant sexuality to get what she wants most.

As society faces the explosive implications of radical evolution and as inner rivalries threaten to tear the clan apart, the mutants must find a way to protect their identities, their lovers - and their very lives.

The world is a changed place since the events related in The Mutant Season. An uneasy peace exists between "normal" humans and the psychic mutants with the golden eyes.

While Michael Ryton gets entangled in an investigation into a lethal explosion on the moon, the world is faced with a "supermutant" with unknown origins, whose very existence threatens the fragile truce that exists between the communities.

The world is on the threshold of major changes as mutants come out of hiding and start taking their rightful place among normal humans. But can these powerful mutants really overcome the fear and suspicions of non-mutants to be able to co-exist peacefully?

And what of the problems when a "null" mutant starts to change? Rick was born with no mutant abilities but has suddenly started developing them in an unheard of combination of strength and versatility. His struggle to cope with these new-found powers threatens to destroy Rick as well as all those around him.

Finally, after years of struggle, mutants are being accepted into the mainstream of human society. But just as things seem to be settling down rumors of strange happenings in the New Mexican desert start raising questions about mutants once again.

Rick Akimura, the long-sought supermutant, has established a cult-like base in the desert and once again threatens the fragile peace between mutants and normal humans. But Joachim Metzger, leader of the mutants, is determined to maintain the hard earned peace with the help of Rick's own brother, the brilliant therapist Julian Akimura.

Hugo and Locus Award-Nominated Related Work

When J.R.R. Tolkien created the extraordinary world of Middle-earth and populated it with fantastic, archetypal denizens, reinventing the heroic quest, the world hardly noticed. Sales of The Lord of the Rings languished for the better part of two decades, until the Ballantine editions were published here in America. By late 1950s, however, the books were selling well and beginning to change the face of fantasy.... forever.

A generation of students and aspiring writers had their hearts and imaginations captured by the rich tapestry of the Middle-earth mythos, the larger-than-life heroic characters, the extraordinary and exquisite nature of Tolkien's prose, and the unending quest to balance evil with good. These young readers grew up to become the successful writers of modern fantasy. They created their own worlds and universes, in some cases their own languages, and their own epic heroic quests. And all of them owe a debt of gratitude to the works and the author who first set them on the path.

In Meditations on Middle-earth, sixteen bestselling fantasy authors share details of their personal relationships with Tolkien's mythos, for it inspired them all. Had there been no Lord of the Rings, there would also have been no Earthsea books by Ursula K. Le Guin; no Song of Ice and Fire saga from George R. R. Martin; no Tales of Discworld from Terry Pratchett; no Legends of Alvin Maker from Orson Scott Card. Each of them was influenced by the master mythmaker, and now each reveals the nature of that influence and their personal relationships with the greatest fantasy novels ever written in the English language.

If you've never read the Tolkien books, read these essays and discover the depthy and beauty of his work. If you are a fan of The Lord of the Rings, the candid comments of these modern mythmakers will give you new insight into the subtlety, power, and majesty of Tolkien's tales and how he told them.

Table of Contents:

• Preface: The Beat Goes On - essay by Karen Haber
• Introduction - essay by George R. R. Martin
• Our Grandfather: Meditations on J. R. R. Tolkien - essay by Raymond E. Feist
• Awakening the Elves - essay by Poul Anderson
• A Changeling Returns - essay by Michael Swanwick
• If You Give a Girl a Hobbit - essay by Esther M. Friesner
• The Ring and I - essay by Harry Turtledove
• Cult Classic - essay by Terry Pratchett
• A Bar and a Quest - essay by Megan Lindholm
• Rhythmic Pattern in the Lord of the Rings - essay by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Longest Sunday - essay by Diane Duane
• Tolkien After All These Years - essay by Douglas A. Anderson
• How Tolkien Means - essay by Orson Scott Card
• The Tale Goes Ever On - essay by Charles de Lint
• The Mythmaker - essay by Lisa Goldstein
• "The Radical Distinction...": A Conversation With Tim and Greg Hildebrandt - interview of Tim Hildebrandt and Greg Hildebrandt - interview by Glenn Hurdling
• On Tolkien and Fairy-Stories - essay by Terri Windling

The best stories of the year, as selected by the one of the world's most honoured science fiction authors and his long-time collaborator. Here in one affordable volume is the best short science fiction of the year as selected from magazines, anthologies and journals. It is the first in a prestigious new series from ibooks.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber
• Undone - (2001) - novelette by James Patrick Kelly
• Know How, Can Do - (2001) - novelette by Michael Blumlein
• From Here You Can See the Sunquists - (2001) - novelette by Richard Wadholm
• Keepers of Earth - (2001) - novelette by Robin Wayne Bailey
• Anomalies - (2001) - shortstory by Gregory Benford
• One of Her Paths - (2001) - novella by Ian Watson
• The Dog Said Bow-Wow - (2001) - shortstory by Michael Swanwick
• And No Such Things Grow Here - (2001) - novelette by Nancy Kress
• Sun-Cloud - (2001) - shortstory by Stephen Baxter
• Into Greenwood - (2001) - novelette by Jim Grimsley
• On K2 with Kanakaredes - (2001) - novelette by Dan Simmons
• About the Authors - essay by uncredited

A collection of the best science fiction prose written in 2002, by some the genre's greatest writers, and selected by two of SF's most respected editors. Here in one affordable volume is the best short science fiction of the year as selected from magazines, anthologies and journals. It is the second in a prestigious new series from ibooks.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber
• Tourist - (2002) - novelette by Charles Stross
• The Long Chase - (2002) - shortstory by Geoffrey A. Landis
• Coelacanths - (2002) - novelette by Robert Reed
• Liking What You See: A Documentary - (2002) - novelette by Ted Chiang
• The Black Abacus - (2002) - shortstory by Yoon Ha Lee
• The Discharge - (2001) - shortstory by Christopher Priest
• Aboard the Beatitude - (2002) - novelette by Brian W. Aldiss
• Droplet - (2002) - shortstory by Benjamin Rosenbaum
• The War of the Worldviews - (2002) - shortstory by James Morrow
• Breathmoss - (2002) - novella by Ian R. MacLeod
• Angles - (2001) - novelette by Orson Scott Card

A collection of the best science fiction prose written in 2003, by some of the genre's greatest writers, and selected by two of science fiction's most respected editors. Continuing ibooks' series of popularly-priced "Best of the Year" books edited and designed to appeal to science fiction fans whose budgets may be taxed by more expensive "Best of the Year" collections.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Karen Haber
• The Fluted Girl - (2003) - novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi
• A Study in Emerald - (2003) - novelette by Neil Gaiman
• Flowers from Alice - (2003) - novelette by Charles Stross and Cory Doctorow
• The Tale of the Golden Eagle - (2003) - shortstory by David D. Levine
• Bernardo's House - (2003) - novelette by James Patrick Kelly
• Confusions of Uñi - (2003) - shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Jon - (2003) - novelette by George Saunders
• The Cookie Monster - (2003) - novella by Vernor Vinge
• Legions in Time - (2003) - novelette by Michael Swanwick
• The Chop Line - (2003) - novelette by Stephen Baxter
• Calling Your Name - (2003) - shortstory by Howard Waldrop
• The Empire of Ice Cream - (2003) - novelette by Jeffrey Ford
• Bump Ship - (2003) - shortstory by Susan Mosser
• Only Partly Here - (2003) - novelette by Lucius Shepard

A collection of the best science fiction prose written in 2004, by some of the genre's greatest writers, and selected by two of SF's most respected editors.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Karen Haber and Jonathan Strahan
• The Best Christmas Ever - (2004) - shortstory by James Patrick Kelly
• The Voluntary State - (2004) - novelette by Christopher Rowe
• The Lost Pilgrim - (2004) - novelette by Gene Wolfe
• Memento Mori - (2004) - shortstory by Joe Haldeman
• PeriAndry's Quest - (2004) - novelette by Stephen Baxter
• Three Days in a Border Town - (2004) - novelette by Jeff VanderMeer
• Elector - (2004) - novella by Charles Stross
• Opal Ball - (2004) - shortstory by Robert Reed
• My Mother Dancing - (2004) - shortstory by Nancy Kress
• The People of Sand and Slag - (2004) - novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi
• Tourists - (2004) - shortstory by M. John Harrison
• All of Us Can Almost... - (2004) - shortstory by Carol Emshwiller
• The Tang Dynasty Underwater Pyramid - (2004) - novelette by Walter Jon Williams

In desperate need of crucial repairs, the Starship Voyager has come to Sardalia, a planet blessed with great natural beauty and apparently friendly inhabitants. The Sardalians welcome Voyager enthusiastically, but Captain Janeway soon grows suspicious. The Sardalians seem almost too eager to help. Janeway fears they are hiding some secret agenda. When Tom Paris and Harry Kim disappear while visiting the planet, the captain and her crew find themselves caught in the middle of a planetary war -- and faced with an agonizing moral dilemma.

Thieves' Carnival:

Prequeal to The Jewel of Bas.

The Jewel of Bas:

A quest to the Mountain of Life to save what remained by humanity from the machines that were bent on destroying them.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Robert Silverberg
• The Translator - novelette by Kim Stanley Robinson
• The City of Ultimate Freedom - short story by Geoffrey A. Landis
• The Shobies' Story - novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
• One Night in Television City - short story by Paul Di Filippo
• Playback - short story by Barry N. Malzberg
• Moon Blood - short story by M. J. Engh
• And of the Earth, a Womb - novelette by John M. Landsberg
• Alimentary Tract - novelette by Scott Baker
• The Songs the Anemone Sing - short story by Grania Davis
• Alien Used Cars - short story by Richard R. Smith
• O Time Your Pyramids - short story by Gregor Hartmann
• The Shores of Bohemia - novelette by Bruce Sterling
• The Propagation of Light in a Vacuum - short story by James Patrick Kelly
• Whalesong - novelette by Stoney Compton
• River of the Dying - novelette by Augustine Funnell
• The Book of St. Farrin - novelette by Jamil Nasir
• Bumpie (TM) - novelette by Francis Valéry (trans. of Bumpie™ 1988)
• Love is a Drug - short story by Leah Alpert
• 1099 A. G. F - short story by K. Hernandez-Brun
• Daniel's Labyrinth - novelette by Damian Kilby

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Robert Silverberg
• Life on the Artificial Heart - novelette by Mark W. Tiedemann
• Automatic Death - novelette by Cary James
• Waterworld, or All the Way Down - short story by John K. Gibbons
• Another Way Than Death - short story by Brian W. Aldiss
• That Particular Green of Obsequies - short story by Brian W. Aldiss
• The Ancestral Home of Thought - (1980) - short story by Brian W. Aldiss
• The Cool Equations - short story by Deborah Wessell
• The Fire the Fire - short story by Alex Jeffers
• The Sum of All Potentials - short story by John M. Landsberg
• Most Politely, Most Politely - short story by Barry N. Malzberg
• Souls in the Great Machine - novelette by Sean McMullen
• Lost in Transmission - short story by Tony Daniel
• Job Security - short story by Joe Haldeman
• The Passing of the Eclipse - novelette by Donna Farley
• Forty at the Kiosk - short story by Nicholas A. DiChario
• By the Mirror of My Youth - short story by Kathe Koja
• Memories of Muriel - novelette by Paula May
• Waiting for the Rain - short story by Dirk Strasser
• Program's Progress - short story by Jonathan Lethem
• The Shining Place - short story by Jamil Nasir
• Triad - novelette by Lisa Mason
• (from) The Bridge - novelette by Alex Jeffers
• Burning Bush - novelette by Carolyn Gilman
• Metal Teeth - short story by Lou Fisher

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Robert Silverberg
• The Cure - short story by Joe Haldeman
• Composition with Barbarian and Animal - novella by Alex Jeffers
• Transcript of "Yandal" - novelette by Terry Boren
• Dirtyside Down - (1991) - short story by Wil McCarthy
• Let Me Count the Ways - short story by Larry Tritten
• Moths to the Blue Flame - novelette by E. Michael Blake
• Black Memes - short story by Jamil Nasir
• Neezies - short story by Mary A. Turzillo
• The Enemies of Nickel City - short story by Nicholas A. DiChario
• The Only Thing You Learn - short story by Barry N. Malzberg
• The Pigeonhole Principle - novella by David Ira Cleary
• Going West - novelette by Phillip C. Jennings
• McGregor - short story by Paul Di Filippo
• The Apples of Venus - novella by Mark Rich
• The Madonna of Futurity - novella by Brian W. Aldiss

THE MINDSTONES were the only reason anyone lived on - or more accurately, in - the planet Styx. An unthinkable ice world, Styx only survived as an underground mining colony because of the discovery of the beautiful jewel called Cyrilite, a crystalline stone with unique mind-altering properties.

But to Kayla John Reed, Styx was all the home she'd ever knownuntil her parents were killed in a tragic mining accident. Claiming her father's Guild seat, the extraordinarily gifted young empathy was forced to flee the planet when she tangled with the Kellers, the wealthiest and most important psi family in the colony.

On the run in a galaxy wary of anyone with mind powers and all too willing to turn her in for the bounty on her head, Kayla found an unexpected haven aboard Falstaff, a "merchant" spaceship that stretched the limits of legal shipping beyond the breaking point. But there were those among the crew with a far more treacherous agenda than simple privateering, and Kayla was soon caught in a planets-spanning struggle between two deadly forces ready to sacrifice anyone who got in their way and determined to use any weapon - even the power of Kayla's mind - to secure total victory...

With Pelleas and Yates out to put an end to the Free Traders, the starship Falstaff was no longer a safe refuge for renegade empath Kayla John Reed. Now her survival--and that of the rebel troops, the War Minstrels--hinged upon Kayla's finding the Mindstar, a legendary source of infinite power that would suck the life out of anyone who tried to master it and failed.

Empath Kayla John Reed's rebel forces, the War Minstrels, had struck a crucial blow at the heart of Yates Keller's empire, conquering the Alliance capital, Vardalia. It should have been Kayla's moment of triumph. But Vardalia was a shambles, and not only had Yates himself escaped, he claimed to have her friends and shipmates in his clutches.

Kayla had no choice but to agree to the terms he'd left in a holographic message. Meet him on their home world, the mining colony Styx, surrender the fabled Mindstone to him, and Keller would release her friends. Yet even as she set off for the rendezvous point, trouble was brewing among the War Minstrels--trouble that could transform their successful revolution into the deadliest kind of anarchy if she didn't make it back in time. And what Kayla had no way of know foreseeing was that Styx itself hid a peril far greater than any trap Keller had planned for her...