Stories that examine the interface between human and alien - a parallax view from two of Britain's top science fiction writers, both shortlisted for the 2013 Philip K Dick Award.
Transported to a world inhabited by vampires, Ben befriends a girl called Rachel. She takes him to her farm to prove she's not like the other vampires, but that's when he discovers a terrible secret. And why is the book called Piggies? That's the worst horror of all. "Ingenious... this chilling story reads with all the power and demented logic of a thoroughly bad dream." The Independent
A lost colony, rediscovered by descendants of its original investors... When the expedition from the Holy Corporation of GenGen arrives on Expatria, for some it looks like salvation from a backward-looking, superstition-ridden society, but for others, it looks suspiciously like an invasion. "In the recognized front ranks of SF writers" Locus
Jed Brindle is an alien. At least, that's what they call him on Earth. He's really a colony-bred soldier - augmented with cyborg implants - with the Extraterran Peacekeeping Force, fighting for control of what used to be the United States.
Until he found the mermaid it had been a normal day for Joseph Wheatley... An alternate history SF novelette from the writer of the Philp K Dick Award-shortlisted Harmony, an author "in the recognized front ranks of SF writers" (Locus).
As a TV crew prepares to film the story of the lost prince's tomb, 12-year-old Jools Bone and his new friends Ned, Helen and Billy face a life and death rush to prevent history repeating itself. A dark and wickedly funny story by "the king of children's horror" (Sunday Express).
infinity plus: quintet by Garry Kilworth, Lisa Tuttle, Neil Williamson, Stephen Palmer and Eric Brown (compiled by Keith Brooke) (editor)
Five stories from top writers of speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy and the downright strange, stories from the heart, stories to make you think and wonder.
Tomorrow: a future only you can see; a future only you can save... Tomorrow: an emotion- and time-tangled thriller set in the War Against Chronological Terror. Tomorrow: when three teenagers may have the power to save or destroy a world that is yet to be.
Sidestep into modern Himalayan legend, join an ocean crossing that traverses more than just the sea; discover an 18th century mermaid incursion, and try to dodge the paparazzi in your head.
Shortlisted for the Philip K Dick Award. (Note: the US title is Harmony; elsewhere it's alt.human.) The aliens are here. They always have been. And now, one by one, they're destroying our cities. In a world where nothing is as it seems, where humans are segregated and aliens can sing realities and tear worlds apart, a ragged band of survivors may be the only hope for humankind.
A high-tech, near-future cyber-thriller, Sweats showcases the short fiction skills of an author described by Locus as belonging in "the recognized front ranks of SF writers".
Explores the sub-genres of science fiction from the perspectives of a dozen top SF authors, combining a critical viewpoint with exploration of the challenges and opportunities facing authors working in SF today.
What if the paparazzi could read their targets' minds? Contemporary SF from an author described by Locus as belonging in "the recognized front ranks of SF writers".
Danny is terrified of being like his father, who ended up in prison after a night of savage violence. But then he finds his father's diary and uncovers his dark thoughts - and even darker secrets. Who was whispering to his father, goading him, leading him on? And what if they are coming back for Danny? "The king of children's horror..."Sunday Express
Insights: The Kon-tiki Quartet, book three by Eric Brown and Keith Brooke
The third novella in the Kon-Tiki Quartet is a thrilling action-adventure featuring aliens, telepathy, identity downloads - and a ruthless faction determined to eliminate anyone who stands in their way.
infinities by infinity plus and friends: Eric Brown, John Grant, Anna Tambour, Keith Brooke, Garry Kilworth, Iain Rowan, Kaitlin Queen, Linda Nagata, Scott Nicholson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Steven Savile (editor)
infinities is an anthology; it's a sampler; it's a catalogue for works published by infinity plus and our friends in the writing world. And it's free. Authors are: Eric Brown, John Grant, Anna Tambour, Keith Brooke, Garry Kilworth, Iain Rowan, Kaitlin Queen, Linda Nagata, Scott Nicholson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Steven Savile.
Matt's home life is falling to pieces as his mother seeks refuge from divorce by returning to the seaside town where she grew up. Separated from his friends, bored and discontented, Matt gradually becomes aware that his mother's family are the keepers of a terrifying secret. "Another great teen thriller." Spot On
A story of love and one man's insecurity. And test-tubes. From the writer of the Philp K Dick Award-shortlisted Harmony, an author "in the recognized front ranks of SF writers" (Locus).
The descendants of Expatria's first colonists from Earth have rejected technology. When Mathias Hanrahan joins a team trying to relearn the ancient technologies, against a background of impending war, he discovers that strange messages are coming from space.
The Ragged People: a story of the post-plague years by Nick Gifford
A gripping post-apocalypse story of two brothers struggling to survive in a Britain devastated by biological warfare, from the author of the bestselling vampire novel Piggies.
Faking It: accounts of the General Genetics Corporation
A brash entrepreneur buys a small company as a platform for his big ideas. He has a vision for the future of humankind, and the company will stop at nothing to get its own way.
When Noah and Priscilla escape into the Accord, Priscilla's murderous husband plots to destroy the whole Accord and them with it. Where does the pursuit of revenge stop for immortals in an eternal world?
The wilds: a world where genes mutate and migrate between species through plague and fever, but that's where Flint must go... "A minor masterpiece that should usher Brooke at last into the recognized front ranks of SF writers" (Locus)
Bligh, drawn irresistibly to the civil war in Trace, appears to be possessed by one of the six Lords Elemental. Bligh thinks he's going mad, but if he is then it's a madness shared by others...
Infinity Plus two by Keith Brooke and Nick Gevers (editor)
More stories from some of the leading names in speculative fiction: Adam Roberts, Ian McDonald, Lisa Goldstein, Stephen Baxter, Michael Moorcock, Brian Stableford, Vonda McIntyre, Charles Stross, Paul Park, Paul McAuley, Eric Brown, Terry Bisson and Lucius Shepard; plus an introduction by John Clute.
Multiple personalities fighting for control of a single body; a single personality constantly splitting and reinventing itself and its past; a Mars that never was; an interstellar war that has always been.
You're not paranoid if they really are after you. Someone is messing with Liam's world. All the rules have changed and his life has unravelled completely. What he does know is that someone is watching him. There are no bystanders in this terrifying game. "An exciting, fast paced book that will have you on the edge of your seat until the last page." Word Up
An old era is drawing to a close, a new era about to begin, and the great mage Donn has passed on his Talents to a new generation. When a rogue church leader threatens to set loose wild powers, Donn's children must oppose him but, also, they must contend with Donn himself: the old mage has not finished with his children yet. A fantasy epic of revolution, jealousy and earth-shattering magic.
A world where islands of rock float on a molten sea, a man whose son flies high while he can only watch, a seaside town held together by the belief of its inhabitants.
Frankie is a boy who retreats from the harsh struggles of day-to-day life into daydreaming. But then... as Frankie's humiliations mount up, more and more elements from his faraway fantasy world start to appear in the real one. Can he use his imaginary world to escape? Can he learn how to construct the world around him from his dreams, and so get some kind of control over his life?
Infinity Plus one by Keith Brooke and Nick Gevers (editor)
Stories from some of the leading names in speculative fiction: Jeff VanderMeer, Tony Daniel, Ian R MacLeod, Paul Di Filippo, Mary Gentle, James Patrick Kelly, Kim Stanley Robinson, Garry Kilworth, Kit Reed, Michael Swanwick, Patrick O'Leary, Michael Bishop, Kim Newman; plus an introduction by Peter F Hamilton.
Arrival of the recontact mission from the Holy Corporation of GenGen on the formerly-lost colony world Expatria further complicates an already murderously complex web of religious and political intrigue. For some, it looks like salvation from a backward-looking, superstition-ridden society; for others, it looks suspiciously like an invasion.