Dystopian Science Fiction

After a grueling trip, Ben, Joel, Allie, her mother, Sandy, and Gunner have reached their destination on the Eastern shore of Maryland. Ben is reunited with his two younger children who have been surviving with the help of their ailing grandfather, Jack, and his dog, Sam. But reaching Jack’s farm doesn’t guarantee their safety, however, and the struggle to survive continues.

Living in New Zealand, Jack Gee thought he was safe. The isolated country had always provided a sense of security. When a virus begins to spread across the globe, he is on a hiking trip in the mountains, blissfully unaware. A message from his wife Dee alerts him to the viral threat that turns humans into apex predators with one purpose - to kill. The country collapses as Jack races to get home, and when he finally does make it out of the mountains he finds his peaceful life has been shattered. Banding with other survivors, they must quickly learn how to survive in this new world.

Hundreds of years ago, the realm walls collapsed, and Earth was flooded with mythical creatures. Now, dungeons dot the landscape, releasing demons that terrorize and destroy everything in their path. If they aren’t stopped, humans won’t be the only endangered species. To preserve life and win the war against demons, protectors from different species all over the world have downloaded level-up programs to help them fight.

The wall just didn’t look right. Alex has been trying to cope. Life after his deployment had been rough. His ex-wife thought he needed to stop disappointing their daughter. She was right. He would try harder. With six hours before his little girl’s fourth birthday party, he saw the anomaly. One wall was too short. Plenty of time to tear out a panel and look behind it. He found a brick wall. His house wasn’t made of brick. Behind that was another just like the first. He still had time. When the second wall came down, Alex stood and stared at the shining doorway.

Everyone becomes prey when Earth is swallowed up and transmuted to a bestial landscape, the first stage of induction into Elysium's multiverse and a new galaxy in the making. In the blink of any eye, the bloodthirsty creatures of Riven Thane's worst nightmares are unleashed as he; his sister, Allie; and his friend Jose scramble amid the carnage to live another hour. But on this nothing of a planet, Riven is more special than he knows. He's among a select few with a singular bloodline, and the Elysium system has its eye on Riven in particular.

Across the world, the United States recalls troops to combat civil unrest after the biggest economic meltdown in history. Marine Sergeant Ronaldo Salvatore’s platoon comes home to a powder keg that could ignite a civil war. While some see the coming collapse as the end, others see opportunity. Fleeing Naples after rival crime lords decimated his family, Don Antonio Moretti settles in Los Angeles to rebuild his criminal empire. But he is far from alone in his ambitions.

The train station harbors danger. Each day, one portal opens, leading to daunting trials and battles of life and death commanded by masked facilitators. Asher is forced to rely on his instincts and his weapon. He must navigate this treacherous world, both solo and with teams, and contend with other players, each harboring their own motives and ambitions. Confronted with unimaginable challenges, every day unveils a new hurdle, and each victory is bitterly earned. In this world intent on crushing him, Asher must fight to survive.

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

Ben Davis was prepared for disaster. He just didn’t know it would come so soon. He and his teenage son, Joel, are miles deep in the backcountry of the San Juan Mountains when high-altitude nuclear electromagnetic detonations light up the pre-dawn sky. Ben, Joel, and their dog, Gunner, must make their way home - or to whatever’s left of it - on foot.

First contact with a mysterious race of aliens reveals an unusual request; a family's pet dog comes to grips with the newly bestowed gift of human-like intelligence; a poet, in danger and alone on a distant world, makes unlikely allies; hundreds of years in the future, a famous hermit lives in the sea above the now-underwater Harvard University; former friends navigate unsteady peace between human refugees and the technologically superior race that saved them; in a future where human life can be infinitely extended through cybertronic rebirth, one woman declines immortality.

Zoe loves teaching science, she loves her garden, and most of all she loves her quiet, peaceful bungalow. Then at school, people start falling ill. The virus is airborne and highly infectious. It starts with flu symptoms, confusion, and sleepiness, which worsen until one day they just don't wake up. It decimates the population and leaves chaos in its wake. Now Zoe has to find a way to survive. Luckily, when the pandemic strikes, she already has a greenhouse full of vegetable seedlings, but not everyone around is as prepared.

In the future, mankind has learned to manipulate their DNA, harnessing only the good genes, like intelligence, strength, and height. They called this prime DNA and humans rushed to get these new pDNA injections, which gave them superhuman-like qualities. Centuries later, however, their DNA became so engineered that humans rarely lived past the age of 30, thanks to a new deadly disease called the Kiss. The only cure is to receive an injection of oDNA, DNA from an Original human that hasn't been genetically altered. Problem is there aren't many Originals left.

A city is hit by a sudden and strange epidemic of "white blindness", which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there social conventions quickly crumble and the struggle for survival brings out the worst in people.

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Neil Clarke has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year's writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome "sensawunda" that the genre has to offer.

After the arrival of the multiversal monopoly BuyMort, life got brutal. All systems were through BuyMort. All currency was through BuyMort. All sales were through BuyMort. You could resist, you could compete, but it didn’t really matter because in the end you used BuyMort—or you perished. BuyMort be praised. But not everyone’s happy with the new system. Some, even, want to see it destroyed. It’s quick. It’s convenient. And it will help people kill you and your family as readily as it will help them sell you knickknacks for a quick mortie.

A migrant fleet, a million strong, sets sail from Calcutta. Its destination: Europe. As the fleet advances, the continent is submerged under a torrent of words. Will the old nations of Europe resist the migrants or welcome them? Honor their past or embrace the radiant future? Open fire or open their hearts? Enthusiasm, delusion, cowardice. And, finally, panic. The migrants make landfall...

Ben, Joel, and Ed find themselves in the belly of the beast. During a heroic mission to find Emma’s much needed medicine, the trio, and Max, Ed’s highly trained canine companion learn that, sometimes, the person you’d take a bullet for is standing behind the trigger. They must find a way to escape. The only thing standing in their way is a blood thirsty gang of lawless extremists. Now, they must face their biggest adversary yet, while at the same time struggling to come to terms with some hard truths about the post-apocalyptic world they live in, and the people they trusted.

In Neo Babylon, your neural implant is your identity. You use it as your credit card, to surf the Altnet, to chat with friends, to login to work or school, and to be pestered by advertisements. Anyone without one is cut off from society. Nick can’t get a neural implant. That fact turns his daily life into hell, but the city's underworld has its plans for him. Being invisible to the city’s omnipresent tracking has its perks. Without a neural presence, he’s someone who is felt but not seen—a wraith.

The battle for Orenda Academy has begun. The Elders have spoken, and the tribe is divided. The only way to reverse what’s happened is to take a stand. We’ve started a smuggling operation to help students escape the castle, but it could cost us our lives. The prophecy is about to come true, and we’re desperate to change the course of this war. The Air piece of the prophecy is our last hope. If we don’t find it, we won’t know what’s coming— or how to prevent the end.

The government has accelerated their super soldier program. Their new Virtual Reality system is the perfect tool to train soldiers for the coming war. There is a shortage of enlisted men and women that possess the "talent". Everyone from athletes to professional gamers must be sorted and vetted. Humanity is on the line. Lucius is one of those lucky few selected to participate in Codename: Freedom, a new game that promises to push Virtual Reality to the ultimate level.