Carbide Tipped Pens
Seventeen Tales of Hard Science Fiction
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Seventeen hard science fiction tales by today's top authors
Hard science fiction is the literature of change, rigorously examining the impact-both beneficial and dangerous-of science and technology on humanity, the future, and the cosmos. As science advances, expanding our knowledge of the universe, astounding new frontiers in storytelling open up as well.
In Carbide Tipped Pens, over a dozen of today's most creative imaginations explore these frontiers, carrying on the grand tradition of such legendary masters as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and John W. Campbell, while bringing hard science fiction into the 21st century by extrapolating from the latest scientific developments and discoveries. Ranging from ancient China to the outer reaches of the solar system, this outstanding collection of original stories, written by an international roster of authors, finds wonder, terror, and gripping human drama in topics as diverse as space exploration, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, climate change, alternate history, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, interplanetary war, and even the future of baseball.
From tattoos that treat allergies to hazardous missions to Mars and beyond, from the end of the world to the farthest limits of human invention, Carbide Tipped Pens turns startling new ideas into state-of-the art science fiction.
Includes short stories by Ben Bova, Gregory Benford, Robert Reed, Aliette de Bodard, Jack McDevitt, Howard Hendrix, Daniel H. Wilson, and many others!
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Choi (Far Orbit) and Bova (Transhuman) successfully recapture the feel of classic hard SF, presenting 17 stories in which science and technology are truly essential to the plot. The most enjoyable is Liu Cixin's nifty "The Circle" (translated from the Chinese by Ken Liu), in which the fundamental concepts of computer science are developed in the court of King Zheng of Qin in the second century B.C.E. Another standout is Leah Petersen and Gabrielle Harbowy's "Skin Deep," featuring a mix of biology, personalized medicine, and some nasty twists. Daniel H. Wilson's "The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever" is a touching and short tale of a father who learns about Earth's doom minutes before everyone else. There are also solid contributions from Aliette de Bodard, Gregory Benford, and Jack McDevitt. The occasional miss such as Doug Beason's dull and predictable "Thunderwell," a story that recalls weak 1950s SF in which broadly archetypical characters shout about science and politics is easy to skip, and most of the works thoroughly explore both their characters' lives and the implications of technological developments in the best hard SF tradition.
