FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[salty-horse]

Wicked Problem by Max Gladstone is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
This is the second book in the Craft Wars trilogy that caps the Craft Sequence.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

See this post from J. Michael Straczynski on what he planned to include:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/43848905

(This was back around when he first announced he was going to do it.)

Meh, I'm much less interested in the book now. I'd prefer TLDV to be as close to what Ellison had planned (based on the contents published in Locus) as possible:

As the years passed, a number of them were withdrawn by the writers and published elsewhere, and it makes no sense to republish stories that are otherwise available.

If the authors will no longer allow the story to be part of the collection, I can understand. But Shirley Jackson's The Lottery has been republished more than once and people still manage to discover it for the first time. And:

The rights to the few stories from the original batch that will not be included in this volume will be freely and formally returned to the writers and/or their estates so that they can be allowed to see the light of day elsewhere.

To ignore stories originally written for the bookis just stupid.

Some of the remaining stories have been overtaken by real-world events, rendering them less relevant or timely, and regrettably will be omitted...

Using that logic, why read ANY old sci-fi? We don't have humaniform robots with positronic brains and the roads never rolled. Mars doesn't have a breathable atmosphere. I guess we should chuck it all.

Let The Last Dangerous Visions be a book of the time it was conceived and started. And you know what? People will buy it.

...some of the most well-known and respected writers working today have agreed to contribute stories to The Last Dangerous Visions...

Just publish that stuff as New Dangerous Visions.

At this point it's like that Led Zepplin tribute album The Song Retains the Name.

[salty-horse]

Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Young adult. Was on my wishlist.

The unforgettable story of two young women—one living, one dead—dealing with loss, desire, and the fragility of the American dream during WWII.

When Frankie’s mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary—just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That’s why Frankie's not prepared for the day that he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket.

Now Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned alongside so many other orphans—two young, unwanted women doing everything they can to survive.

And as the embers of the Great Depression are kindled into the fires of World War II, and the shadows of injustice, poverty, and death walk the streets in broad daylight, it will be up to Frankie to find something worth holding on to in the ruins of this shattered America—every minute of every day spent wondering if the life she's able to carve out will be enough.

I will admit I do not know the answer. But I will be watching, waiting to find out.

That’s what ghosts do.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Using that logic, why read ANY old sci-fi? We don't have humaniform robots with positronic brains and the roads never rolled. Mars doesn't have a breathable atmosphere. I guess we should chuck it all.

Let The Last Dangerous Visions be a book of the time it was conceived and started. And you know what? People will buy it.

If the purpose of the collection is to be provocative, then I suppose I can understand wanting to omit some stories from the collection if they end up feeling dated instead. I mean, would we really need another bog-standard post-apocalypse romp? Another Cold War metaphor?

I suppose it comes down to whether you'd like a collection that is still relevant now, or if you just want to see what the hypothetical collection from 1979 would've looked like. I could see both angles. Both Brian Wilson Presents Smile and The Smile Sessions are on my CD rack.