The vast and mysterious universe is explored in this reprint anthology from award-winning editor and anthologist Neil Clarke (Clarkesworld magazine, The Best Science Fiction of the Year).
The urge to explore and discover is a natural and universal one, and the edge of the unknown is expanded with each passing year as scientific advancements inch us closer and closer to the outer reaches of our solar system and the galaxies beyond them.
Generations of writers have explored these new frontiers and the endless possibilities they present in great detail. With galaxy-spanning adventures of discovery and adventure, from generations ships to warp drives, exploring new worlds to first contacts, science fiction writers have given readers increasingly new and alien ways to look out into our broad and sprawling universe.
The Final Frontier delivers stories from across this literary spectrum, a reminder that the universe is far large and brimming with possibilities than we could ever imagine, as hard as we may try.
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“The wonders and perils of life among the stars are captured imaginatively in this sci-fi collection with a narration style as eclectic as the stories themselves. The five narrators take turns creating distinctive inflections ranging from breathless wonder to bone-deep cynicism, matching the tone of each story. The voices include a variety of aliens and artificial intelligences as well as accents for far-flung humans. (How does one even create a voice for a creature without a mouth?) This talented ensemble tackles the challenges with ease, expressively defining each story within its self-contained universe while also connecting it to the broader themes of curiosity, excitement, and fear of the possibilities at the edges of the galactic frontier.”
— AudioFile
“A miniature version of the many-voiced conversation that is the SF genre…There’s life in the old genre yet.”
— Locus Magazine“Twenty one fascinating tales from some of science fiction’s new stars. The reprint collection is multicultural and diverse, with tales of all kinds and from some unusual places…Many standouts in this one and likely something here for all sorts of different kinds of folks.”
— Manhattan Book Review (4.5/5 stars)“Clarke’s stellar reprint anthology explores the expansive variety of space exploration stories…Outstanding works in which extreme environments bring out the best and worst of human nature.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Elizabeth Bear, also known as Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky, is an American author known for her speculative fiction. Among her many awards, she is one of only five writers who have gone on to win multiple Hugo Awards for fiction after winning the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She also won a Sturgeon Award and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. She is the author of the acclaimed Eternal Sky series. Elizabeth Bear shares a birthday with Frodo and Bilbo Baggins.
Nancy Kress is the bestselling author of numerous science fiction and fantasy novels, including Beggars in Spain, Probability Space, and Steal across the Sky. She has also published several short-story collections and and books on the fundamentals of writing. Kress frequently explores biology and genetic engineering in her fiction, as in her acclaimed Beggars series and her bio-thriller, Dogs. She is a six-time Nebula Award winner and the recipient of the Sturgeon and Campbell Awards as well as two Hugos. Her fiction has been translated into nearly two dozen languages. She teaches at venues including the Clarion Writers’ Program and, as a guest professor, at the University of Leipzig.
Ken Liu is one of the most lauded authors in the field of American literature. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, Locus Sidewise, and Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards, he has also been nominated for the Sturgeon and Locus Awards. His short story, “The Paper Menagerie,” is the first work of fiction to simultaneously win the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards. He also translated the 2015 Hugo Award–winning novel The Three-Body Problem, written by Cixin Liu, which is the first novel to ever win the Hugo award in translation. The Grace of Kings, his debut novel, is the first volume in a silkpunk epic fantasy series set in a universe he and his wife, artist Lisa Tang Liu, created together. It was a finalist for a Nebula Award and the recipient of the Locus Award for Best First Novel.
Colleen Delany has been a sparkling jewel in the crown of Washington’s vastly talented acting community for thirty-seven days now and will confidently challenge to a fierce best out of three in “paper-rock-scissors” anyone wishing to topple her from that lofty perch. Primarily a stage actress,—having played roles at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Folger Shakespeare Library, Studio Theatre, Olney Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Theater J, Washington Stage Guild, Theater of the First Amendment, and Source Theatre, among others—Ms. Delany does a you-name-it of various acting jobs, including audiobook narration.
Tim Campbell, winner of AudioFile Earphones Awards, is a narrator and actor based in Los Angeles, California. He studied at the University of California and earned a BA in music and theater and a certification from the prestigious Great Books program at Pepperdine University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He is also a classically trained singer and performs regularly with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Los Angeles Opera Chorus, as well as on studio soundtracks for film and television.
James Anderson Foster, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has narrated audiobooks for a variety of publishers, across nearly all genres, both fiction and nonfiction. In 2015, he was a finalist in three categories for the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences Voice Arts Awards—mystery, science fiction, and fantasy.
Mary Robinette Kowal is a Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author, professional puppeteer, and former President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (2019–2021). In 2008 she won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and her debut novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, was nominated for the 2010 Nebula Award for Best Novel. In 2019, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series, The Calculating Stars, won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards, becoming one of only eighteen novels ever to do so. She lives in Nashville with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters. Sometimes she even writes on them.
James Langton, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and later as a musician at the Guildhall School in London. He has worked in radio, film, and television, also appearing in theater in England and on Broadway. He is also a professional musician who led the internationally renowned Pasadena Roof Orchestra from 1996 to 2002.
Karen Cass is a voice artist and AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator of more than thirty audiobooks.