Bøger af Ian Whates

A Tale of the Fallen Hero.A disgraced swordsman who has been living off his reputation as a former member of a notorious mercenary band leaves town one step ahead of the law. In search of employment, he decides to head for the seaport town of Cray, a former haunt where he hasn't yet disgraced himself, unlike so many others. His past, however, soon catches up with him, and he finds himself thrust into an impossible situation, caught in the midst of a bitter feud between the city's two ruling families and forced to embark on what will surely prove to be a suicide mission.

Every short story in this wonderfully varied collection has one thing in common: each features some alteration in history, some divergence from historical reality, which results in a world very different from the one we know today. As well as original stories specially commissioned from bestselling writers such as James Morrow, Stephen Baxter and Ken MacLeod, there are genre classics such as Kim Stanley Robinson's story of how World War II atomic bomber the Enola Gay, having crashed on a training flight, is replaced by the Lucky Strike with profoundly different consequences.Praise for the editors:'Mr Watson wreaks havoc with what is accepted - and acceptable.' The Times'One of Britain's consistently finest science fiction writers.' New Scientist

War is becoming increasingly 'SF-ized' with remotely controlled attack drones and robot warriors already in development and being tested. Over the past 100 years the technology of war has advanced enormously in destructive power, yet also in sophistication so that we no longer seem to live under the constant threat of all-out global thermonuclear cataclysm. So what will future wars be like? And what will start them: religion, politics, resources, refugees, or advanced weaponry itself? Watson and Whates present a gripping anthology of SF stories which explores the gamut of possible future conflicts, including such themes as nuclear war, psychological and cyberwars, enhanced soldiery, mercenaries, terrorism, intelligent robotic war machines, and war with aliens.All the stories in this collection of remarkable quality and diversity reveals humankind pressed to the limits in every conceivable way.It includes 24 stories with highlights such as:The Pyre of the New Day' - Catherine Asaro.The Rhine's World Incident' - Neal Asher. Caught in the Crossfire' - David Drake. Politics' - Elizabeth Moon.The Traitor' - David Weber.And others from:Dan Abnett, Tony Ballantyne, Fredric Brown, Algis Budrys, Simon R. Green, Joe Haldeman, John Kessel, John Lambshead, Paul McAuley, Andy Remic, Laura Resnick, Mike Resnick & Brad R. Torgersen, Fred Saberhagen, Cordwainer Smith, Allen Steele, William Tenn, Walter Jon Williams, Michael Z. Williamson, Gene Wolfe.

A war-zone theme park; sentient suns; an intelligent car AI with ulterior motives; an enigmatic scent heralding imminent death.These are just some of the intriguing themes explored in this collection from Ian Whates. Bringing together for the first time a decade-spanning selection of Whates' heralded short stories, including three all-new tales, this is a must-read for fans of intelligent speculative fiction."Ian Whates is a born storyteller" - Tanith Lee"A natural story-teller, Whates works his material with verve, obvious enjoyment, and an effortless breezy prose style." - The Guardian"Intelligent, ingenious, often funny, and told with an easy and down to earth style." - Adrian Tchaikovsky"Brilliantly inventive." - SFX "Ian Whates' writing is smooth and immensely readable." - The Future Fire