Young Science Fiction

Ahira isn’t a typical princess. When she’s kidnapped by dragons on her sixteenth birthday she declares it the best thing that has ever happened to her. No more etiquette lessons! Assigned to a powerful but extremely messy dragon named Azmaveth, Ahira soon makes friends with the magical creatures around her new home. Even cleaning up after Azmaveth and putting up with with his failed magic experiments isn’t too bad, until he forces her to work with his human steward, Kohath.

Every night, Adachi transforms into a nightmarish creature--and every morning, he reverts to human form. When he encounters his ostracized classmate Yano Satsuki in his monstrous state, the two develop a peculiar bond. But daylight brings its own form of terrors. Which is worse, the monsters at night, or the cruel realities of the classroom by day?

Watch out - the Earth just fell into a dark sun's orbit! Or maybe you'd rather visit a theme park called Hell? These are just two of the strange and unnerving tales you'll find in this collection of great science fiction and fantasy stories.

First contact with a mysterious race of aliens reveals an unusual request; a family's pet dog comes to grips with the newly bestowed gift of human-like intelligence; a poet, in danger and alone on a distant world, makes unlikely allies; hundreds of years in the future, a famous hermit lives in the sea above the now-underwater Harvard University; former friends navigate unsteady peace between human refugees and the technologically superior race that saved them; in a future where human life can be infinitely extended through cybertronic rebirth, one woman declines immortality. 

Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more - a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.

Four sci-fi short stories where you'll find good computers, people who regret their past, and an explanation for something you're familiar with.

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017. 

How do you stop an invasion force that just defeated the most powerful person on the planet? Chances are, you don’t. But the world’s greatest heroes and villains are going to team up and make their best attempt. After the Tuldarians—a race of dinosaur-like aliens—invade the Earth with overwhelming numbers of ships and soldiers, the world’s governments finally repeal the Anti-Vigilante Acts. Now, the masked crimefighters and criminals who haven’t been allowed to use their powers are being asked to fight to save humanity. And to think, I was just put in prison for just trying to be a good guy.

Step into the golden age of imagination with A Vintage Science Fiction Short Stories Collection, a masterfully curated anthology featuring some of the most influential voices in classic science fiction. This timeless volume brings together visionary storytelling from Frank Herbert, Philip K. Dick, Fredric Brown, E. E. Smith, John W. Campbell Jr., Murray Leinster, Robert Sheckley, Stanley G. Weinbaum, and William Tenn—authors who helped shape modern speculative fiction.

A colony survives among the icy rings of a planet, hiding from alien robots determined to destroy them … at a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers, and physicians gather to gamble humanity’s future on one last-ditch experiment … a man who can’t feel pain has been bioengineered to be a killing machine, but he refuses to give in to his fate … a man is contacted by three future versions of himself, each trying to save their world from destruction. 

TUntil that fateful moment, sixteen-year-old Terra and Billy's biggest worry was whether to continue their studies on the planet Fnrr or back on Earth. Then a chance encounter with a murderous alien kicks off a shocking chain of events which aren't just inexplicable ... they're impossible. Terra, Billy and their Fnrrn friends are ripped from the safety of everything they thought was true.

The best of the year's science fiction and fantasy stories as selected by the multiple award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan. Distant worlds, time travel, epic adventure, unseen wonders, and much more! The best, most original and brightest science fiction and fantasy stories from around the globe from the past 12 months are brought together in one collection by multiple award winning editor Jonathan Strahan.

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Six, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 33 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2020. 

Fresh from their Egyptian adventure, twelve-year-old Juno Jones and her friends—the Chronos Crew—are still learning to balance normal middle school life with their secret roles as Time Guardians. But when a corrupted temporal portal suddenly opens in their headquarters, they're forced to make an impossible choice: face capture by the sinister Tempus Corporation, or leap unprepared into Renaissance Florence with a terrifying deadline—return within 27 hours or be trapped in 1610 forever.

They thought they were just normal twins. Quiet. Geeky. A bit awkward at times. But on the morning of their sixteenth birthday, everything begins to change. Their parents hand them weapons with no explanation. Strange abilities begin to surface. And a truth they were never told starts to unravel around them. Because in this world, being a twin means something far more dangerous than they ever imagined. Thrown into a hidden world they didn’t even know existed, Ella and Kal are suddenly expected to become something they don’t feel ready for.

War,’ says the Mayor, ‘at last.’ Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they’re so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await? But then a third voice breaks into the battle, one bent on revenge….

Brad and Sam are gamers and when they started playing the hot new game Apocalypse Online they had no idea that the game was a preview of reality! With the help of a benevolent alien AI and nanotechnology, our heroes will have a chance to survive the apocalypse. They just have to survive, level up and find other survivors.

The glitter of Venice's lights hides a dark truth: when the floodwaters rise, no one is safe. Koru knows better than to trust anyone but her own. Hidden deep in the winding twists of Venice's narrow alleys, Koru and her found family must disguise themselves to survive. They are Rhunlokni, an ethnic minority gifted with the ability to channel the power of the Earth, their Goddess. They have long been vilified and prosecuted for their strange abilities—and Koru's gift is the strongest of her generation.

Journey beyond the edge of imagination with The Best Classic Science Fiction Short Stories, a powerful collection that brings together some of the most visionary minds in speculative fiction. Featuring unforgettable works by Frank Herbert, Philip K. Dick, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Robert Sheckley, and E. E. Smith, this anthology captures the bold ideas, cosmic wonder, and thought-provoking storytelling that defined the golden age of science fiction.

Far from home, having failed in her quest to kill Old Man Winter, Sienna Nealon finds herself in the city of London, working with Omega, her oldest enemies. Surrounded by people she doesn't trust, thrust into events that could mean the extinction of her race, Sienna will discover that the line between friend and foe is thinner than she ever could have believed - and that her greatest enemies may lie within.