Metatropolis: Original Science Fiction Stories in a Shared Future

John Scalzi

Jun 2010 · Sold by Tor Books

About this ebook

Five original tales set in a shared urban future—from some of the hottest young writers in modern SF

More than an anthology, Metatropolis is the brainchild of five of science fiction's hottest writers—Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, Jay Lake, Karl Schroeder, and project editor John Scalzi—who combined their talents to build a new urban future, and then wrote their own stories in this collectively-constructed world. The results are individual glimpses of a shared vision, and a reading experience unlike any you've had before.

A strange man comes to an even stranger encampment...a bouncer becomes the linchpin of an unexpected urban movement...a courier on the run has to decide who to trust in a dangerous city...a slacker in a "zero-footprint" town gets a most unusual new job...and a weapons investigator uses his skills to discover a metropolis hidden right in front of his eyes.

Welcome to the future of cities. Welcome to Metatropolis.

Other Works by John Scalzi

Old Man's War Series
#1 Old Man’s War / #2 The Ghost Brigades / #3 The Last Colony / #4 Zoe’s Tale / #5 The Human Division / #6 The End of All Things / Short fiction: “After the Coup”

Other Tor Books
The Android’s Dream / Agent to the Stars / Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded / Fuzzy Nation / Redshirts / Lock In / The Collapsing Empire


At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

Admittedly, I discovered this gem in a Dollar Tree in western Massachusetts... this book was worth FAR more than that! I suppose discussing its worth in terms of USD is more than a little ironic, given the subject matter of a global economic and environmental collapse, where money in its traditional sense has become worthless and data itself, work and experience, raw goods, and direct societal contributions have become the new currency. The stories presented herein depict a shockingly believable future.

On the whole, I enjoyed this collection immensely. Each of these stories gave me a lot of food for thought. And they were completely engorssing...except for the first story. I just couldn't get into it. Perhaps I was just having a hard time immersing myself in the landscape. Anyway, I found the first one confusing but afterwards all the stories were just great!

Rehashed diatribes against capitalism.

About the author

John Scalzi won the 2006 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and his debut novel Old Man's War was a finalist for science fiction's Hugo Award. His other books include The Ghost Brigades, The Android's Dream and The Last Colony. He has won the Hugo Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for science-fiction, the Seiun, The Kurd Lasswitz and the Geffen awards. His weblog, Whatever, is one of the most widely-read web sites in modern SF. Born and raised in California, Scalzi studied at the University of Chicago. He lives in southern Ohio with his wife and daughter.