Michael Swanwick

In the bundle was the corpse of his friend Aubrey Darger. In the distant future, Surplus descends from the mountains into China, seeking the Infallible Physician for a cure. The old high-tech world has long since collapsed, and the artificial intelligences that ran it are outlawed and destroyed. Or so it seems. Berger and Surplus, a human and a genetically engineered, intelligent, anthropomorphic dog, are a pair of con men who travel to what was once China, where they pretend to be immortals. They convince the ambitious, mysterious, and conquest driven Hidden Emperor to once again reunite China under one ruler with their aid, of course and find his elusive Phoenix Bride. Against all odds, and much to their puzzled surprise, the scheme begins to succeed.

Since 2006, Clarkesworld Magazine has been entertaining science fiction and fantasy fans with their brand of unique science fiction and fantasy stories. Collected here are all of the stories this Hugo Award-winning magazine published during their eighth year. Includes stories by Michael Swanwick, Yoon Ha Lee, Robert Reed, Susan Palwick, Sean Williams, N. K. Jemisin, James Patrick Kelly, E. Lily Yu, Ken Liu, Xia Jia, Seth Dickinson, Juliette Wade, Matthew Kressel, and many more CONTENTSIntroduction by Neil ClarkePassage of Earth by Michael SwanwickMystic Falls by Robert ReedWeather by Susan PalwickHuman Strandings and the Role of the Xenobiologist by Thoraiya DyerA Gift in Time by Maggie ClarkNever Dreaming (In Four Burns) by Seth DickinsonWine by Yoon Ha LeeThe Cuckoo by Sean WilliamsFive Stages of Grief After the Alien Invasion by Caroline M. YoachimSilent Bridge, Pale Cascade by Benjanun SriduangkaewAnd Wash Out by Tides of War by An OwomoyelaTortoiseshell Cats Are Not Refundable by Cat RamboGrave of the Fireflies by Cheng JingboBonfires in Anacostia by Joseph TomarasStone Hunger by N. K. JemisinThe Contemporary Foxwife by Yoon Ha LeeSuteta Mono de wa Nai by Juliette WadeThe Saint of the Sidewalks by Kat HowardDaedalum, the Devil's Wheel by E. Lily YuThe Rose Witch by James Patrick KellyThe Creature Recants by Dale BaileySpring Festival: Happiness, Anger, Love, Sorrow, Joy by Xia JiaOf Alternate Adventures and Memory by Rochita Loenen-RuizwHole by Robert ReedPepe by Tang FeiThe Eleven Holy Numbers of the Mechanical Soul by Natalia TheodoridouBits by Naomi KritzerCommunion by Mary Anne MohanrajThe Aftermath by Maggie ClarkWater in Springtime by Kali WallaceSoul's Bargain by Juliette WadeThe Symphony of Ice and Dust by Julie NovakovaMigratory Patterns of Underground Birds by E. Catherine ToblerPatterns of a Murmuration, in Billions of Data Points by JY YangAutodidact by Benjanun SriduangkaewMorrigan in the Sunglare by Seth DickinsonThe Clockwork Soldier by Ken LiuThe Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye by Matthew KresselAbout the AuthorsClarkesworld CensusAbout Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld is a Hugo Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction (new and classic works), articles, interviews and art. Our April 2014 issue contains: Original Fiction by Michael Swanwick ("Passage of Earth"), Benjanun Sriduangkaew ("Autodidact"), Kali Wallace ("Water in Springtime") and Sean Williams ("The Cuckoo"). Classic stories by Susan Palwick ("Going After Bobo") and Dominic Green ("Shining Armor"). Non-fiction by Julie Novakova ("Realms of Dark, Deep and Cold"), an interview with Ben Tanzer, an Another Word column by Daniel Abraham, and an editorial by Neil Clarke

A fantasy masterpiece from a five-time Hugo Award winner A war-dragon of Babel crashes in the idyllic fields of a post-industrialized Faerie and, dragging himself into the nearest village, declares himself king and makes young Will his lieutenant. Nightly, he crawls inside the young fey's brain to get a measure of what his subjects think. Forced out of his village, Will travels with female centaur soldiers, witnesses the violent clash of giants, and acquires a surrogate daughter, Esme, who has no knowledge of the past and may be immortal. Evacuated to the Tower of Babel--infinitely high, infinitely vulgar, very much like New York City--Will meets the confidence trickster Nat Whilk. Inside the Dread Tower, Will becomes a hero to the homeless living in the tunnels under the city, rises as an underling to a haint politician, meets his one true love a high-elven woman he dare not aspire to. You've heard of hard SF: This is hard fantasy from a master of the form."

"Dancing With Bears" follows the adventures of notorious con-men Darger and Surplus: They've lied and cheated their way onto the caravan that is delivering a priceless gift from the Caliph of Baghdad to the Duke of Muscovy. The only thing harder than the journey to Muscovy is their arrival in Muscovy. An audience with the Duke seems impossible to obtain, and Darger and Surplus quickly become entangled in a morass of deceit and revolution. The only thing more dangerous than the convoluted political web surrounding Darger and Surplus is the gift itself, the Pearls of Byzantium, and Zoesophia, the governess sworn to protect their virtue.

This latest collection from renowned science fiction author Michael Swanwick contains 15 short-short stories on dinosaur themes. These dinosaurs are steely bureaucrats, genetically engineered Christmas toys, and beloved killer pets, clashing with immoral scientists, neighbourhood bullies, and society ladies with dangerous, sometimes moving, and wickedly funny consequences.

These thirteen stories established Michael Swanwick as one of the brightest stars in the science-fiction firmament. Alongside its companion volume, Tales of Old Earth, Gravity's Angels showcases the very best of Swanwick's considerable talent, including the Sturgeon Award--winner "The Edge of the World." Each story is a unique and engrossing exploration of character, conflict, and conscience.