Old Venus : A Collection of Stories

Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction�s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois � From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs�s Carson of Venus to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury�s �The Long Rain� to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis�s Perelandra, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth�s next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century�s space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life. But don�t despair! This new anthology of sixteen original stories by some of science fiction�s best writers�edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois�turns back the clock to that more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination. Join our cast of award-winning contributors�including Elizabeth Bear, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Mike Resnick, Eleanor Arnason, Allen M. Steele, and more�as we travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries. FEATURING ALL-NEW STORIES BY � Eleanor Arnason � Elizabeth Bear � David Brin � Tobias S. Buckell � Michael Cassutt � Joe Haldeman � Matthew Hughes � Gwyneth Jones � Joe R. Lansdale � Stephen Leigh � Paul McAuley � Ian McDonald � Garth Nix � Mike Resnick � Allen M. Steele � Lavie Tidhar And an Introduction by Gardner Dozois ** Introduction: return to Venusport -- Gardner Dozois Frogheads -- Allen M. Steele Drowned Celestial -- Lavie Tidhar Planet of Fear -- Paul McAuley Greeves and the Evening Star -- Matthew Hughes Planet Called Desire -- Gwyneth Jones Living Hell -- Joe Haldeman Bones of Air, Bones of Stone -- Stephen Leigh Ruins -- Eleanor Arnason Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss -- David Brin By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers -- Garth Nix Sunset of Time -- Michael Cassutt Pale Blue Memories -- Tobias S. Buckell Heart's Filthy Lesson -- Elizabeth Bear Wizard of the Trees -- Joe R. Lansdale Godstone of Venus -- Mike Resnick Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan -- Ian McDonald. "This original anthology of all-new stories harkens back to the Golden Age of SF, when science fiction was filled with tales from our own solar system, at a time when no one knew what lay on the surface of our nearest galactic neighbors and speculation ran rampant. And though that old solar system was "disproved" in the 1960s, when space probes showed that the real worlds were very different from those of our imaginations, these linked anthologies take us back to the time when it still seemed possible that Mars was home to dying civilizations, and Venus was a steamy, swampy jungle world, with strange creatures lurking amidst the lush vegetation."-- Provided by publisher From pulp adventures to classic short stories, the planet Venus has loomed large in the imaginations of science fiction writers. Here, that steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation is explored in 16 all-new stories collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and editor Gardner Dozois An anthology of original stories celebrating classic science fiction literary traditions includes contributions by such authors as David Brin, Garth Nix, and Mike Resnick