“The Giving Plague” is a 1988 science fiction short story by David Brin. It is about a member of a famous research team that discovers a virus with a peculiar method of transmission.

continue reading "The Giving Plague by David Brin"

“Oceanic” is a 1998 science fiction novella by Greg Egan. It is about an ocean dwelling man living on the planet Covenant, and how the events of his life take him from religious zealot to non-believing academic.

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“When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth” is a 2007 science fiction novelette by Cory Doctorow. It is about the computer administrators who are trapped inside a data center during multiple, world-wide, terrorist attacks.

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“Burn” is a 2005 science fiction novella by James Patrick Kelly. It is about a farmer-turned-firefighter who accidentally summons the ruler of a distant world to help fight forest fires.

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“Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge” is a 1994 science fiction novella by Mike Resnick. It is set in the far future when a group of anthropological aliens are studying the long and brutal empire of mankind.

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“The Faery Handbag” is a 2004 science fiction novelette by Kelly Link. It is about a girl whose grandmother has a handbag with a whole village of fairies in it.

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“The Green Leopard Plague” is a 2003 science fiction novella by Walter Jon Williams. It is about a genetically altered mermaid who is researching why the founder of her modern society went missing for three weeks.

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“Radiant Doors” is a 1998 science fiction short story by Michael Swanwick. It is about a woman who receives a mysterious gadget from the tyrannical leaders of the future.

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“The Cold Equations” is a 1954 science fiction novelette by Tom Godwin. It is about a pilot who finds a stowaway girl on his Emergency Dispatch Ship.

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“O One” is a 2003 science fiction short story by Chris Roberson. It is about the chief computator, in an alternate history China, who is challenged by a new computing engine.

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“A Sound of Thunder” is a 1952 science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. It is about a man who travels back in time to hunt a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

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“Sergeant Chip” is a 2004 science fiction novella by Bradley Denton. It is about a military dog who has a special ability to communicate with his handler.

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“Nightfall” is a 1941 science fiction novella by Isaac Asimov. It is about a newspaperman who witnesses the last hours of sunlight from an observatory on the planet Lagash.

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“The Empress of Mars” is a 2003 science fiction novella by Kage Baker. It is about a woman who overcomes all sorts of obstacles to build an empire on Mars.

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“Wang’s Carpets” is a 1995 science fiction novelette by Greg Egan. It is about a group of cloned beings who discover an amazing life form on a planet orbiting Vega.

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The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year’s Best Science Fiction is a 2005 science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois. It contains thirty six of the best science fiction short stories collected in the series from 1984 – 2004.

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I recently stumbled upon a treasure trove of free online science fiction short stories while browsing Greg Egan’s website.
continue reading "Online short stories from Greg Egan"

“The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” is a short story by Ted Chiang that has been nominated for the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. It is about a fabric merchant in ancient Baghdad who discovers a time portal.

continue reading "The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate by Ted Chiang"

Arthur C. Clarke, one of the most famous science fiction authors ever, and part of the “Big Three” of the genre (along with Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein), passed away today.

In memory of this great science fiction writer I present “The Nine Billion Names of God”, the 1953 science fiction short story that was so good it won a retrospective Hugo award. It is about a company that sells a computer to a Tibetan monestary so they can quickly finish listing all the possible names of God and fulfill their destinies.

continue reading "The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke"

Ever wondered how difficult it would be to communicate with aliens? Probably a bit harder than Star Trek makes it appear – in fact a person might have to change her whole view of the space-time continuum to truly understand their point of view.

continue reading "Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang"