About this ebook
“A diverse and thoughtful array of 16 stories written around the theme of endangered species—be they human or animal, mythical or alien.” —Publishers Weekly
In this poignant yet uplifting anthology about extinction, science fiction stories draw you into compelling, adventurous, and even humorous tales that will make you think about the future of animals, humanity, and the world around us. You’ll find bugs and buffalo, humans and aliens, creatures that have never existed in our universe and genetically-engineered ones that shouldn’t.
In “Seventy-Two Letters” by national bestselling author Ted Chiang—praised by Strange Horizons as “one of the finest representations of the SF subgenre of steampunk”—a discovery reveals that humanity has only a fixed number of generations to survive. A project is embarked upon that could save the species—or open it up to a most inhuman manipulation. A Joe Haldeman poem called “Endangered Species” encapsulates his concerns about war and its effect on the human race. And in “Listening to Brahms” by Suzy McKee Charnas, the last humans alive make first contact with an alien race of lizard-like creatures who appropriate Earth culture at their own peril. In Vanishing Acts, these tales and others “make the reader stop and think about endangered species—including humanity—which is, after all, the point” (Rambles.NET).
“[A] splendid new original anthology.” —The Washington Post
In this poignant yet uplifting anthology about extinction, science fiction stories draw you into compelling, adventurous, and even humorous tales that will make you think about the future of animals, humanity, and the world around us. You’ll find bugs and buffalo, humans and aliens, creatures that have never existed in our universe and genetically-engineered ones that shouldn’t.
In “Seventy-Two Letters” by national bestselling author Ted Chiang—praised by Strange Horizons as “one of the finest representations of the SF subgenre of steampunk”—a discovery reveals that humanity has only a fixed number of generations to survive. A project is embarked upon that could save the species—or open it up to a most inhuman manipulation. A Joe Haldeman poem called “Endangered Species” encapsulates his concerns about war and its effect on the human race. And in “Listening to Brahms” by Suzy McKee Charnas, the last humans alive make first contact with an alien race of lizard-like creatures who appropriate Earth culture at their own peril. In Vanishing Acts, these tales and others “make the reader stop and think about endangered species—including humanity—which is, after all, the point” (Rambles.NET).
“[A] splendid new original anthology.” —The Washington Post
Ratings and reviews
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About the author
Ellen Datlow, an acclaimed science fiction and fantasy editor, is credited with nearly one hundred anthologies of speculative fiction, including The Best Horror of the Year, The Doll Collection, and Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories. She has often collaborated with renowned coeditor Terri Windling, with whom she worked on the adult fairy tale series beginning with Snow White, Blood Red. She has received multiple Shirley Jackson, Bram Stoker, Hugo, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards, as well as Life Achievement Awards from the Horror Writers Association and the World Fantasy Association. Datlow resides in New York.
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