An unabridged collection spotlighting the best space operas, alternate histories, and time travel stories published in 2021 by current and emerging masters of the science fiction genre, edited by Allan Kaster.
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"The Station of the Twelfth" by Chaz Brenchley-A stop along the monorail that loops around Cassini Crater pays tribute to the British heroes of a battle that took place on a Martian moon.
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"Mulberry and Owl" by Aliette de Bodard-In this Xuya story, a rebel on the run from the Dragon Throne pursues the decommissioned conscious ship that once hunted her.
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"Sleep and the Soul" by Greg Egan-In an alternate 19th century America, where humans do not sleep, all forms of unconsciousness are considered equivalent to death.
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"Re: Bubble 476" by A. T. Greenblatt-Time aberrations distort the communications sent between two close friends working in different bubble universes.
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"The Dark Side" by John Kessel-President McKinley's assassin becomes ever more delirious after taking a ride at the 1901 World's Fair inspired by H. G. Wells's First Men in the Moon.
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"Antonia and the Stranger Who Came to Rancho Los Feliz" by Lisa Morton- A man from an alternate L.A. uses a temporal portal to visit a ranch in a 20th century agrarian Los Angeles, in the nation of Alta California.
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"A Rocket for Dimitrios" by Ray Nayler-After salvaging technology from the wreckage of an alien saucer in 1938, the Americans are racing the Russians to find a second possible crash site in the aftermath of World War II.
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"Dream Atlas" by Michael Swanwick-A scientist discovers a dream continuum that stretches through space and time making it possible to observe the past and future.
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"The Burning Girl" by Carrie Vaughn-People with supernatural powers join William the Conqueror in an attack on the final stronghold of the last Saxon lords of England.
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"A Pall of Moondust" by Nick Wood- A botanist balks at returning to the lunar surface after surviving a freak accident on the Moon.
