This much-anticipated second collection of stories is signature Ted Chiang, full of revelatory ideas and deeply sympathetic characters. In "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and the temptation of second chances. In the epistolary "Exhalation," an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people, but for all of...

When mysterious spacecraft touch down around the world, a team ,including linguist Louise Banks, is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers, and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.

"A selection of the best and most representative contemporary American short fiction from 1970 to 2020, including such authors as Ursula K. LeGuin, Toni Cade Bambara, Jhumpa Lahiri, Sandra Cisneros, and Ted Chiang, hand-selected by celebrated editor and anthologist John Freeman."--

This release features edgy new stories by hot new talents, and old favorites from Paul Anderson, Ted Chiang, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Silverbarg and Haber say it best: "The present anthology is intended to show reach and range as it is demonstarted nowadays in the shorter forms of fiction."

You will find very little that is forumlaic here, although we have not ignored any of fantasy's great traditions. There are stories set in teh familiar quasi-medieval

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