Search Worlds Without End

Although the short stories in this collection take place in the distant future and within fictional landscapes, the themes that James Gunn examines are the perpetual issues of the human race. These stories revolve around the testing of man's true character--a problem that Gunn, through his powerful plot construction, proves to be universal.

Table of Contents:

• Translations - essay by uncredited
• Introduction - essay
• Breaking Point - (1953) - novelette
• A Monster Named Smith - (1954) - short story
• Cinderella Story - (1958) - short story
• Teddy Bear - (1970) - short story
• The Man Who Owned Tomorrow - (1953) - short story
• Green Thumb - (1957) - short story
• The Power and the Glory - (1969) - short story
• The Listeners - (1968) - novelette

The ship was proof against any test, but the men inside her could be strained and warped, individually and horribly. Unfortunately, while the men knew that, they couldn't really believe it. The Aliens could--and did.

This novelette originally appeared in Space Science Fiction, March 1953. It can also be found in the anthology Space Opera (1974), edited by Brian W. Aldiss. The story is included in the collection Breaking Point (1972).

Johnson is plagued by the absence of his memory and by the strange dreams of horrific futures that he somehow knows will become reality if he does not act. He was born in a hopeless future and is doomed to travel in the past and repair humanity's problems before they can happen. Unfortunately, every time he returns to the abyss outside of time he loses all memory of what just occurred. The only information Johnson has of his existence is a one-page letter written to himself, reminding him of his duties. Over and over, he must follow his nightmares and repair the damage done by those in the past. Time is in a perpetual state of turmoil for Johnson, but he lives in a future free of damage. His duty is to erase all possibility of the predicted Crisis!

Master of science fiction James Gunn explores the infinite possibilities of the unknown world in his collection of short stories, FUTURE IMPERFECT. From planets where social status is based on poverty to a human zoo that serves as a refrigerator for a bloodthirsty monster, Gunn tests the limit of human imagination. Step inside and feel free to browse. This Venusian factory in Jersey manufactures only the finest women on the market. Each is flawless in her beauty and poise, but there is one malfunction that may prove deadly for the future of this company and the owner of the lovely lass. Enjoy this tale and more, in this collection of alternate realities.

The age-old question about alien existence and human contact is explored in a new way in this collection of six novellas, previously anthologized in ANOLOG magazine. When disillusioned aerospace engineer Adrian Mast buys a book at a remainder sale, the last things he expects to find in its appendix are alien spacecraft designs. With the help of the bookstore owner, Adrian tracks down the author—only to find him in a mental institution anguishing over the intentions of the aliens who sent the designs to him. By bluffing a bureaucrat intent on thwarting their progress, the two friends continue their quest for the stars and go ahead with the spacecraft designs. Having successfully launched their ship 15 years later, the questions that remain are: What were the intentions of the aliens? and Is mankind ready to face what's out there?

In Human Voices you will find stories covering the past three decades of James Gunn's career: imaginative, entertaining speculations revealing insight-and foresight-into human nature now and in the future, which are the unmistakable hallmarks of his best fiction. James Gunn's work is always polished, ironic, and deeply concerned about humankind. Long before I knew him, his stories and novels were a pleasure to read, and this has never changed. - George Zebrowski, Award Winning author of Macrolife and Brute Orbits These are consistently and admirably intelligent, austerely but effectively written stories.... - Roland Green, Booklist

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Old Folks - (1972) - shortstory
• The Voices - (1972) - novelette
• Fault - (1975) - shortstory
• Guilt - (1978) - novelette
• Child of the Sun - (1977) - novelette
• The North Wind - (1981) - shortstory
• Among the Beautiful Bright Children - (1980) - novelette
• The Futurist - (1993) - novelette
• Man of Parts - (1985) - shortstory
• The Gingerbread Man - (1995) - shortstory
• The Day the Magic Came Back - (1996) - shortstory
• The Lens of Time - (1995) - shortstory
• The End-of-the-World Ball - (1989) - novelette
• The Giftie - (1999) - novelette

The college of the future has just one purpose: endless battle. Political organizations urge ruthless combat with an invisible opponent and each student is challenged to be more extreme than the rest. One man finds his fame by kidnapping and killing a professor. Instantly he is immersed into the world of grease-guns and grenades, where the anarchy is suspiciously formulated. The professors have forgotten their pursuit of knowledge, midnight groping at the point has turned into isolated sex with keyboards and the only goal is to completely in deadly political games. By becoming a shining example of academic excellence, Tom Gavin has tapped into the secrets inside the private chambers of the university. He finds it is either play the game or die beneath the latest revolutionary fire.

James Gunn--one of the founding figures of science fiction scholarship and teaching--wrote in 1951 what is likely the first master's thesis on modern science fiction. Portions were in the short-lived pulp magazine Dynamic but it has otherwise remained unavailable.

Here in its first full publication, the thesis explores many of the classic Golden Age stories of the 1940s and the critical perspective that informed Gunn's essential genre history Alternate Worlds and his anthology series The Road to Science Fiction.

The editor's introduction and commentary show the historical significance of Gunn's work and its relevance to today's science fiction studies.

Reading Science Fiction brings together world class scholars and fiction writers to introduce the history, concepts and contexts necessary to understanding this fascinating genre.

Comprehensive and engaging, Reading Science Fiction includes:

* Explores a wide range of theoretical approaches to studying science fiction, such as gender studies, post-colonial studies and structuralism

* Maps the definitions and history of science fiction, including its origin, influences and parallel development with modern society

* Introduces major science fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke, Joanna Russ, Octavia Butler and Kim Stanley Roberts.

This work provides valuable insights into the world of science-fiction, this thought-provoking textbook makes learning how to read science fiction an exciting and collaborative process for teachers and students alike.

The galaxy's inhabited planets are held together by the repressive Eron Company, the apparent holder of the secret to faster–than–light travel through the Tubes, the network linking the scattered worlds together. Mysterious parties have hired the adventurer Horn to assassinate the company's general manager, Garth Kohlnar. Horn completes his mission, and in the ensuing manhunt encounters Wendre Kohlnar, the daughter and now possibly the heir of the dead man.

Escaping through a transdimensional Tube, Horn finds himself on the planet Eron, a world consumed by the Eron Company. There he encounters a corrupt aristocracy, a brewing power struggle over the succession, a covert revolution, and the mystery of who actually knows the secret of the Tubes.

James Gunn and Jack Williamson's Star Bridge marks the return of a classic, high-concept space opera by two SF Grand Masters

It's an age where high tech rules supreme. Computers do all the work while humans spend their lives enjoying drug-induced fantasies. Only a handful live and work in the traditional sense?managing the few affairs that still need attention. At the center of this system is the Mnemonist, the man who directs everything that happens. But now he has reached an advanced age and must carefully choose a dreamer capable of taking over his crucial position.

WHAT IS THE PRICE OF IMMORTALITY?

For nomad Marshall Cartwright, the price is knowing that he will never grow old. That he will never contract a disease, an infection, or even a cold. That because he will never die, he must surrender the right to live.

For Dr. Russell Pearce, the price is eternal suspicion. He appreciates what synthesizing the elixir vitae from the Immortal's genetic makeup could mean for humankind. He also fears what will happen should Cartwright's miraculous blood fall into the wrong hands.

For the wealthy and powerful, no price is too great. Immortality is now a fact rather than a dream. But the only way to achieve it is to own it exclusively. And that means hunting down and caging the elusive Cartwright, or one of his offspring.

The Immortals, James Gunn's masterpiece about a human fountain of youth, collects the author's classic short stories that ran in elite science-fiction magazines throughout the 1950s. All-new material accompanies this updated edition, including an introduction from renowned science-fiction writer Greg Bear, a preface from Gunn himself, and "Elixir," Gunn's new short story that introduced Dr. Pearce to another Immortal in the May 2004 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Factmagazine.

After fifty-one long years of patient waiting, the message has finally arrived. They have dedicated their lives to trying to decipher the eerie silence that resounds from space and now there is finally a sound after decades of quiet. In the beginning there is a hail of celebration, the Project has finally produced results, but then the questions begin. What does the message mean? Could it be 'we come in peace' or 'get ready for world domination'?

The message baffles Earth. Only one man has the power to make the decision and it could mean intergalactic warfare if he makes the wrong choice. Director MacDonald holds in his hands the fate of Earth, the universe and the Project, which is dedicated to answering questions that have plagued humanity for centuries. Will he make the correct choice?

Nebula Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Galaxy Magazine, September 1968. The story can also be found in the anthology Nebula Award Stories Four (1969), edited by Poul Anderson. It is included in the collection Breaking Point (1972). This novelette forms the first part of the novel The Listeners (1972).

Struggling PI Casey thinks he's finally found an easy score: an elderly woman has just walked into his office and offered him a thousand dollars to find out the real name of a man who calls himself Solomon. Solomon is a magician. Not only does he carry false identification, but he can change his physical appearance at will. One of Solomon's identities is nationally prominent, but another is a power-hungry crook with political ambitions. Casey finds himself at a magicians' convention where no one is who he appears to be and all the tricks seem to lead to death... Casey's death. Casey is caught in the middle of a power struggle between Solomon and Ariel, a young woman out to avenge the death of her father. It's a struggle between black and white magic, and when Casey throws his weight to the good, he may learn a few tricks of his own... James Gunn has been a professional science fiction writer for more than 60 years, and in 2007, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named him a Grand Master.

Wow, the millennium is off to a great start, the notorious Y2K bug was no problem, and the world didn't end; time to take a break and relax.... Well, not exactly. The millennium didn't really get underway until January 1, 2001. You thought you were safe? Think again! Something much, MUCH, MUCH worse is ahead. The new millennium will bring nothing but disaster and destruction. As six unique people rush feverishly to resolve catastrophes both personal and otherwise, they cannot ignore the loudly ticking clock that will bring... THE END OF THE WORLD. And this time its no psychic premonition; it's more real than you've ever dreamed.

SFWA Grand Master James Gunn's This Fortress World takes place in the far future of our galaxy, when countless civilizations have risen and fallen, leaving only their marvelous scientific achievements as legacy to those worlds which have now fallen into a new Dark Age. On the planet Brancusi, William Dane, an acolyte monk in the all-powerful Church, comes into possession of a crystal pebble dropped in the offering plate, a stolen treasure believed to hold untold secrets of mankind's past. There are powerful men who will stop at nothing, including murder, to recover this ancient artifact. Ignorant of the outside world, who can Dane find to help, and who should be trusted with the pebble's secrets?

The 13th Immortal

Who was your father the mutant asked Dale Kesley. And try as he might, Kesley could not remember; his past was an utter blank. But he knew one thing - the answer to his life's riddle lay in Antarctica, the once-frozen continent, now an earthly paradise surrounded by an impenetrable barrier. But how to get there?

The only means of transportation were the spindly six-legged mutant horses. And it was suicide for Kesley to travel on the American continents. Two immortal dictators had set king-size rewards for his capture - dead or alive! But somewhere in the two continents there was someone who would help him, someone he had to find. The future of the world depended on his success.

This Fortress World

William Dane is a man with a nasty but valuable secret, one that all the cutthroats in the galaxy are itching to get their hands on. Dane must perfect the art of concealing himself from the crazed factions yearning for the power that this secret can give.

Happiness, Guaranteed...

In the not-too-distant future, money truly can buy happiness, and Hedonics, Inc., is willing to sell it to you. They'll even offer you a money-back guarantee, if you're not "happy" with the product. But with their team of psychologists, life specialists, and self-improvement coaches, they don't have any "unhappy" customers.

What happens when a company grows too big, becomes too successful? It wants to guarantee its place in society and its future, and Hedonics is no exception. When your product is happiness, the way you guarantee your success is to pass laws mandating happiness.

But when universal happiness is required, does it really matter if you're getting what you want, or happy with what you have?

James Gunn has been a professional science fiction writer for more than 60 years, and in 2007, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named him a Grand Master.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Nebula Award Stories 10) - (1975) - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Engine at Heartspring's Center - (1974) - short story by Roger Zelazny
• If the Stars Are Gods - (1974) - novelette by Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford
• Twilla - (1974) - novelette by Tom Reamy
• Ten Years of Nebula Awards - (1975) - essay by Gordon R. Dickson
• As the Wall Crumbles - (1975) - essay by Robert Scholes
• After King Kong Fell - (1973) - short story by Philip José Farmer
• The Day Before the Revolution - (1974) - short story by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Rest is Silence - (1974) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Born with the Dead - (1974) - novella by Robert Silverberg
• The Nebula Winners, 1965-1974 - (1975) - essay by uncredited
• The Hugo Winners (Nebula Awards Ten) - essay by uncredited

Although he wrote hundreds of non-fiction works about science, mathematics, history, the Bible and literature, Isaac Asimov is best known as a science-fiction writer. In this text, James Gunn analyses his bestsellers and his contribution to the genre.

Later editions have been revised and updated.

Timshel was once the vacation spot of the galaxy, full of culture, natural beauty, and friendly, hospitable inhabitants. But now Timshel has cut itself off from the universe. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Concerned, the Federation has sent agents to investigate, but none have returned.

Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise are shocked to discover the truth: the people of Timshel have succumbed to an insidious new technology that guarantees every citizen total pleasure, a soul-destroying ecstasy that has enslaved their entire civilization. Kirk and Spock have faced many threats before, but now they face the most seductive menace of all: perfect happiness.

And the rest of the Federation may soon fall under the irresistible control of the Joy Machine.

Sturgeon Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, September 1999. The story can also be found in the collection Human Voices (2004).

Between an ancient Roman's trip to the moon and the fantastic tales of H.G. Wells lies a journey through time and space and an awesome evolution in scientific thinking. From Gilgamesh's search for immortality to Lucian's odyssey on the moon; from Jonathan Swift's hilarious satire on scientists in Gulliver's Travels to Mary Shelley's horrifying description of a scientist who has gone too far in Frankenstein from Edgar Allan Poe's balloon trip in the year 2848 to Jules Verne's prophesies of the impact of scientific inventions on future civilization; from Edward Bellamy's utopian escape from the industrial Revolution to H.G. Wells's magnificent story of Earth threatened by an inescapable menace-here are the chief ancestors of the modern science fiction story. For the first time, these and other key works are gathered together in one anthology, complete with revealing commentary on the authors, their eras, and the role each played in establishing what we today recognize as science fiction. The Road to Science Fiction is a six-volume anthology of science fiction that covers the development of science fiction from its earliest prototypes in the Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Greek epics to approximately 1990. Created originally to provide anthologies for use in classes, these volumes have become mass-market sellers as well, since they are not only a source of outstanding stories but also explain what constitutes science fiction, how it developed and the contribution the authors and the stories have made to the evolution of science fiction.

Table of Contents

• Introduction (The Road to Science Fiction #1) - essay by James E. Gunn
• The First Voyage to the Moon - essay by James E. Gunn
• A True Story (excerpt) - (1965) - shortfiction by Lucian of Samosata
• Strange Creatures and Far Traveling - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Voyages and Travels of Sir John Mandeville (excerpt, chap XVIII-XIX) - (1950) - shortfiction by Anonymous
• The Good Place That is No Place - essay by James E. Gunn
• Utopia (book II) (excerpt) - (1516) - shortfiction by Sir Thomas More
• The New Science and the Old Religion - essay by James E. Gunn
• The City of the Sun (excerpt) - (1923) - shortfiction by Tommaso Campanella
• Experience, Experiment, and the Battle for Men's Minds - essay by James E. Gunn
• The New Atlantis (excerpt) - (1627) - shortfiction by Francis Bacon
• A New Look at the Heavens and Another Trip to the Moon - essay by James E. Gunn
• Somnium, or Lunar Astronomy - (1634) - shortstory by Johannes Kepler
• Commuting to the Moon - essay by James E. Gunn
• From A Voyage to the Moon - (1657) - shortfiction by Cyrano de Bergerac
• The Age of Reason and the Voice of Dissent - essay by James E. Gunn
• A Voyage to Laputa (chapters I-VI of Gulliver's Travels) - (1926) - shortfiction by Jonathan Swift
• Imaginary Voyages in the Other Direction - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Journey to the World Underground (excerpt chap. I) - (1941) - shortfiction by Ludvig Holberg
• Science and Literature: When Worlds Collide - essay by James E. Gunn
• Frankenstein (excerpt chap 5 and 10) - (1818) - shortfiction by Mary Shelley
• Science as Symbol - essay by James E. Gunn
• Rappaccini's Daughter - [Rappaccini - 1] - (1844) - novelette by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Anticipations of the Future - essay by James E. Gunn
• Mellonta Tauta - (1849) - shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe
• Expanding the Vision - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Diamond Lens - (1858) - novelette by Fitz-James O'Brien
• The Indispensable Frenchman - essay by James E. Gunn
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (excerpt chap. X-XII) - (1869) - shortfiction by Jules Verne
• Around the Moon (excerpt, chaps. XVII-XVIII) - (1870) - shortfiction by Jules Verne
• Lost Civilizations and Ancient Knowledge - essay by James E. Gunn
• She (excerpt, chaps. XXIV-XXV) - (1886) - shortfiction by H. Rider Haggard
• The New Frontier - essay by James E. Gunn
• Looking Backward, 2000-1887 (excerpt, chaps. 1-5) - (1888) - shortfiction by Edward Bellamy
• New Magazines, New Readers, New Writers - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Damned Thing - (1893) - shortstory by Ambrose Bierce
• A Flying Start - essay by James E. Gunn
• With the Night Mail - (1905) - novelette by Rudyard Kipling
• The Father of Modern Science Fiction - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Star - (1897) - shortstory by H. G. Wells
• A Selected Bibliography of Books About Science Fiction - essay by James E. Gunn
• A Basic Science-Fiction Library - essay by James E. Gunn

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1979) - essay by James E. Gunn
• Science: The New Accelerator - essay by James E. Gunn
• The New Accelerator - (1901) - shortstory by H. G. Wells
• The Literary Dissent - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Machine Stops - (1909) - novelette by E. M. Forster
• Island in the Sky, or Romance Triumphant - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Chessmen of Mars (chap. 2-3) (Excerpt) - (1922) - shortfiction by Edgar Rice Burroughs
• More Things Under Heaven and Earth - essay by James E. Gunn
• The People of the Pit - (1918) - shortstory by A. Merritt
• The Call of the Fantastic - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Red One - (1918) - novelette by Jack London
• The Horror Out of Providence - essay by James E. Gunn
• Dagon - (1919) - shortstory by H. P. Lovecraft
• The Science-Fiction Magazine Begins It's Amazing Career - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Tissue-Culture King - (1926) - shortstory by Julian Huxley
• Pedestrian Words, Soaring Concepts - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Revolt of the Pedestrians - (1928) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
• The Philosopher of Time and Space - essay by James E. Gunn
• Last and First Men (excerpt, chap. XIII) - (1930) - shortfiction by Olaf Stapledon
• Ford's in His Flivver - essay by James E. Gunn
• Brave New World (chapters 16-17) - (1932) - shortfiction by Aldous Huxley
• The Alien from Milwaukee - essay by James E. Gunn
• A Martian Odyssey - (1934) - novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• Who Went There? - essay by James E. Gunn
• Twilight - (1934) - shortstory by John W. Campbell, Jr.
• The Idea Machine - essay by James E. Gunn
• Proxima Centauri - (1935) - novella by Murray Leinster
• The World-Wrecker on Mars - essay by James E. Gunn
• What's It Like Out There? - (1952) - novelette by Edmond Hamilton
• The Legion of Science Fiction - essay by James E. Gunn
• With Folded Hands... - [Humanoids] - (1947) - novelette by Jack Williamson
• Mission of Levity - essay by James E. Gunn
• Hyperpilosity - (1938) - shortstory by L. Sprague de Camp
• The Alchemists Gather - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Faithful - (1938) - shortstory by Lester del Rey
• The Fairy Tales of Science - essay by James E. Gunn
• Black Destroyer - [Space Beagle] - (1939) - novelette by A. E. van Vogt
• The Stars Appear - essay by James E. Gunn
• Nightfall - (1941) - novelette by Isaac Asimov
• The Man Who Sold the Genre - essay by James E. Gunn
• Requiem - [D. D. Harriman] - (1940) - shortstory by Robert A. Heinlein
• A Chronology of Science Fiction - (1979) - essay by uncredited

Table of Contents:

• On the Road to Science Fiction: From Heinlein to Here - (1979) - essay by James E. Gunn
• "All You Zombies--" - (1959) - shortstory by Robert A. Heinlein
• Reason - (1941) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
• Desertion - (1944) - shortstory by Clifford D. Simak
• Mimsy Were the Borogoves - (1943) - novelette by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
• The Million-Year Picnic - (1946) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
• Thunder and Roses - (1947) - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
• That Only a Mother - (1948) - shortstory by Judith Merril
• Brooklyn Project - (1948) - shortstory by William Tenn
• Coming Attraction - (1950) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
• The Sentinel - (1951) - shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke
• Sail On! Sail On! - (1952) - shortstory by Philip José Farmer
• Critical Factor - (1953) - shortstory by Hal Clement
• Fondly Fahrenheit - (1954) - novelette by Alfred Bester
• The Cold Equations - (1954) - novelette by Tom Godwin
• The Game of Rat and Dragon - (1955) - shortstory by Cordwainer Smith
• Pilgrimage to Earth - (1956) - shortstory by Robert Sheckley
• Who Can Replace a Man? - (1958) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• Harrison Bergeron - (1961) - shortstory by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
• The Streets of Ashkelon - (1962) - shortstory by Harry Harrison
• The Terminal Beach - (1964) - novelette by J. G. Ballard
• Dolphin's Way - (1964) - shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson
• Slow Tuesday Night - (1965) - shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
• Day Million - (1966) - shortstory by Frederik Pohl
• We Can Remember It for You Wholesale - (1966) - novelette by Philip K. Dick
• I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream - (1967) - shortstory by Harlan Ellison
• Aye, and Gomorrah... - (1967) - shortstory by Samuel R. Delany
• The Jigsaw Man - (1967) - shortstory by Larry Niven
• Kyrie - (1968) - shortstory by Poul Anderson
• Masks - (1968) - shortstory by Damon Knight
• Stand on Zanzibar (excerpt) - shortfiction by John Brunner
• The Big Flash - (1969) - novelette by Norman Spinrad
• Sundance - (1969) - shortstory by Robert Silverberg
• The Left Hand of Darkness (excerpt) - shortfiction by Ursula K. Le Guin
• When It Changed - (1972) - shortstory by Joanna Russ
• The Engine at Heartspring's Center - (1974) - shortstory by Roger Zelazny
• Tricentennial - (1976) - shortstory by Joe Haldeman
• Index (The Road to Science Fiction #3) - (1979) - essay by uncredited

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by James E. Gunn
• Born of Skill and Money - essay by James E. Gunn
• Born of Man and Woman - (1950) - shortstory by Richard Matheson
• Word Magic - essay by James E. Gunn
• My Boy Friend's Name Is Jello - (1954) - shortstory by Avram Davidson
• A Canticle for the Fifties - essay by James E. Gunn
• The First Canticle - (1955) - novelette by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
• The Lodestone Genre - essay by James E. Gunn
• Nobody Bothers Gus - (1955) - shortstory by Algis Budrys
• Inferiority: The Complex Problem - essay by James E. Gunn
• Flowers for Algernon - (1959) - novelette by Daniel Keyes
• A Question of Identity - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Moon Moth - (1961) - novelette by Jack Vance
• The View from Outside - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Library of Babel - (1962) - shortstory by Jorge Luís Borges
• Inner Concerns in Outer Space - essay by James E. Gunn
• From Dune - shortfiction by Frank Herbert
• The Vigor of Traditional SF - essay by James E. Gunn
• Light of Other Days - (1966) - shortstory by Bob Shaw
• Ambiguities and Inscrutabilities - essay by James E. Gunn
• The First Sally (A), or Trurl's Electronic Bard - (1974) - shortstory by Stanislaw Lem
• Entropy and the World View - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Heat Death of the Universe - (1967) - shortstory by Pamela Zoline
• Speculations on Speculative Fiction - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Planners - (1968) - shortstory by Kate Wilhelm
• The Alienness of the Alien - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Dance of the Changer and the Three - (1968) - shortstory by Terry Carr
• The Virtues of Indirection - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Last Flight of Dr. Ain - (1969) - shortstory by James Tiptree, Jr.
• Radical Sensibility - essay by James E. Gunn
• Where No Sun Shines - (1970) - shortstory by Gardner Dozois
• Escape Reading - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories - (1970) - shortstory by Gene Wolfe
• Understanding Reader Reaction - essay by James E. Gunn
• Angouleme - (1971) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
• The Postwar Generation - essay by James E. Gunn
• Gather Blue Roses - (1972) - shortstory by Pamela Sargent
• The Star Trek Synrome - essay by James E. Gunn
• With a Finger in My I - (1972) - shortstory by David Gerrold
• The Real and the Surreal - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Ghost Writer - (1973) - shortstory by George Alec Effinger
• Of Men, and Women, and Society - essay by James E. Gunn
• Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand - (1973) - novelette by Vonda N. McIntyre
• Of Novas and Other Stars - essay by James E. Gunn
• Air Raid - (1977) - shortstory by John Varley
• Science Fiction, Aliens, and Alienation - essay by James E. Gunn
• Uncoupling - (1975) - shortstory by Barry N. Malzberg
• Exotic Parables - essay by James E. Gunn
• Rogue Tomato - (1975) - shortstory by Michael Bishop
• The Labor Day Group - essay by James E. Gunn
• This Tower of Ashes - (1976) - shortstory by George R. R. Martin
• Fiction and Science - essay by James E. Gunn
• Particle Theory - (1977) - shortstory by Edward Bryant
• The Anthropology of the Future - essay by James E. Gunn
• View from a Height - (1978) - shortstory by Joan D. Vinge
• Form and Content - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Word Sweep - (1979) - shortstory by George Zebrowski
• Dialectic of History and Transcendence - essay by James E. Gunn
• The World Science Fiction Convention of 2080 - (1980) - shortstory by Ian Watson
• Estranging the Everyday - essay by James E. Gunn
• Abominable - (1980) - shortstory by Carol Emshwiller
• Science and Fiction - essay by James E. Gunn
• Exposures - (1981) - shortstory by Gregory Benford

Table of Contents:

• Preface - essay by James E. Gunn
• Introduction - essay by James E. Gunn
• Beginnings: From Frankenstein to Dorking - essay by James E. Gunn
• From "The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer" (excerpt) - (1871) - shortfiction by George Tomkyns Chesney
• A Matter of Perspective - essay by James E. Gunn
• From "Flatland" (excerpt) - (1884) - shortfiction by Edwin A. Abbott
• The Craving for Catastrophe - essay by James E. Gunn
• After London (excerpt) - (1885) - shortfiction by Richard Jefferies
• The Medium and the Message - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Doom of London - (1892) - shortstory by Robert Barr
• Fin de Siècle - essay by James E. Gunn
• A Corner in Lightning - (1898) - shortstory by George Griffith
• The Man Who Invented Tomorrow - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Country of the Blind - (1904) - novelette by H. G. Wells
• Currents in the Mainstream - essay by James E. Gunn
• As Easy as A.B.C. - (1912) - novelette by Rudyard Kipling
• MacDonough's Song - (1912) - poem by Rudyard Kipling
• The Great War and Its Aftermath - essay by James E. Gunn
• A Negligible Experiment - (1921) - shortstory by J. D. Beresford
• More Things in Heaven and Earth - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Horror of the Heights - (1913) - shortstory by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Before the Crash - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Rat - (1929) - shortstory by S. Fowler Wright
• Looking Outward - essay by James E. Gunn
• From "Star Maker" (excerpt) - (1937) - shortfiction by Olaf Stapledon
• The American Lodestone - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Great Fog - (1944) - shortstory by Gerald Heard
• The Postwar Explosion - essay by James E. Gunn
• Hobbyist - (1947) - novelette by Eric Frank Russell
• Meteors and Other Stars - essay by James E. Gunn
• Dreams Are Sacred - (1948) - novelette by Peter Phillips
• The Prolific Fifties - essay by James E. Gunn
• Made in U.S.A. - (1953) - novelette by J. T. McIntosh
• Transit of Clarke - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Star - (1955) - shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Day of the Wyndhams - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Emptiness of Space: The Asteroids A.D. 2194 - (1960) - shortstory by John Wyndham
• The Universe Considered as a Concentration Camp - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Voices of Time - (1960) - novelette by J. G. Ballard
• The Drowned Giant - (1964) - shortstory by J. G. Ballard
• Stand on Metaphor - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Totally Rich - (1963) - novelette by John Brunner
• New Worlds, New Waves, New Options - essay by James E. Gunn
• Mouth of Hell - (1966) - shortstory by David I. Masson
• The Discontinuous D. G. Compton - essay by James E. Gunn
• It's Smart to Have an English Address - (1967) - shortstory by D. G. Compton
• More Things in Heaven and Earth [#2] - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Muse - (1968) - shortstory by Anthony Burgess
• The Neptune of the New Wave - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Nature of the Catastrophe - (1970) - shortstory by Michael Moorcock
• The Human Side of Change - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Happiest Day of Your Life - (1970) - shortstory by Bob Shaw
• Breaking into the Club - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Power of Time - (1971) - novelette by Josephine Saxton
• New Maps and Old Waves - essay by James E. Gunn
• Mason's Life - (1972) - shortstory by Kingsley Amis
• The God Question - essay by James E. Gunn
• Settling the World - (1975) - shortstory by M. John Harrison
• Putting It All Together - essay by James E. Gunn
• Working in the Spaceship Yards - (1969) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• Appearance of Life - (1976) - shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
• Images and Icons - essay by James E. Gunn
• An Infinite Summer - (1976) - novelette by Christopher Priest
• Alien Relations - essay by James E. Gunn
• Custom Fitting - (1976) - novelette by James White
• Sex and Fantasy - essay by James E. Gunn
• Written in Water - (1982) - shortstory by Tanith Lee
• Transcending Generalities - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Great Atlantic Swimming Race - (1986) - shortstory by Ian Watson
• The Romance of Science Fiction - essay by James E. Gunn
• And He Not Busy Being Born - (1986) - shortstory by Brian Stableford

Table of Contents:

• Preface - essay by James E. Gunn
• Introduction - essay by James E. Gunn
• France - essay by James E. Gunn
• Exploring Worlds Known and Unknown - essay by James E. Gunn
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (excerpt) - (1998) - shortfiction by Jules Verne
• Visualizing the Future - essay by James E. Gunn
• The War of the Twentieth Century - shortstory by Albert Robida (trans. of La Guerre au vingtième siècle 1887)
• Quest for the Right Stuff - essay by James E. Gunn
• Another World - (1962) - novelette by J. H. Rosny aîné (trans. of Un autre monde 1895)
• The Short, Happy Life of a Surreal 'Pataphysician - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Dead Fish - (1955) - shortstory by Boris Vian (trans. of Les Poissons Morts 1943)
• An Alien Behind the Wine Bottle - essay by James E. Gunn
• Heavier Than Sleep - (1979) - shortstory by Philippe Curval (trans. of Plus Lourd Que le Sommeil)
• The Temptations of the SF Polymath - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Valley of the Echoes - (1998) - shortstory by Gérard Klein (trans. of La vallée des échos 1959)
• The French Voice of North America - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Knot - (1993) - shortstory by Élisabeth Vonarburg (trans. of Le noeud 1980)
• Germany - essay by James E. Gunn
• Creating a Genre - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Sandman - (1943) - novelette by E. T. A. Hoffmann (trans. of Der Sandmann 1816)
• The Father of German Science Fiction - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Universal Library - (1958) - shortstory by Kurd Lasswitz (trans. of Die Universalbibliothek 1904)
• The Influence of Literature - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Hunter Gracchus - (1946) - shortstory by Franz Kafka (trans. of Der Jäger Gracchus 1931)
• The Austrian Connection - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Building - (1998) - shortstory by Herbert W. Franke (trans. of Das Gebäude 1960)
• The Power of the Press - essay by James E. Gunn
• Loitering at Death's Door - (1991) - novelette by Wolfgang Jeschke (trans. of Nekromanteion 1985)
• The Meaning of Walls - essay by James E. Gunn
• Ikaros - shortstory by Erik Simon (trans. of Wissenswertes über den Planeten Ikaros 1976)
• Scandinavia and Finland - essay by James E. Gunn
• Experiment in Denmark - essay by James E. Gunn
• Mnemsyne's Children - (1984) - shortstory by Svend Åge Madsen
• Fantastic Sweden - essay by James E. Gunn
• Time Everlasting - (1986) - shortstory by Sam Lundwall
• Eastern Europe - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Man Who Invented the "Robot" - essay by James E. Gunn
• R. U. R. Epilogue - (1921) - shortstory by Karel Capek
• The Polish Master - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Hunt - [Pilot Pirx (Pirx the Pilot)] - (1977) - novelette by Stanislaw Lem (trans. of Polowanie 1965)
• Medical Report - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Divided Carla - (1986) - novelette by Josef Nesvadba (trans. of Rozštepená Karla 1985)
• Political Writing - essay by James E. Gunn
• That Invincible Human Spirit, Or, The Golden Ships - shortstory by Alexandr Kramer
• The Romanian Exception - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Neuhof Treaty - (unknown) - shortstory by Ovid S. Crohmalniceanu
• Russia - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Brothers Strugatski - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Strangers - novelette by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky (trans. of ????? 1958)
• Adventure and Science Fiction - essay by James E. Gunn
• Share It With Me - (1979) - shortstory by Kir Bulychev
• Italy - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Everyday and the Fantastic - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Time Machine - (1954) - shortstory by Dino Buzzati
• Surprising Realms and Forbidden Kingdoms - essay by James E. Gunn
• Cancerqueen - (1950) - novelette by Tommaso Landolfi
• Fables for Our Time - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Spiral - (1968) - shortstory by Italo Calvino (trans. of La spirale 1965)
• Spain and Latin America - essay by James E. Gunn
• Here There Be Tygers - (1979) - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Alabaster Garden - (1979) - shortstory by Teresa Inglés (trans. of El Jardin de Alabastro 1977)
• The Magician of Magic Realism - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Babylon Lottery - (1959) - shortstory by Jorge Luís Borges (trans. of La lotería en Babilonia 1941)
• Miracles in Colombia - essay by James E. Gunn
• Blacaman the Good, Vendor of Miracles - (1971) - shortstory by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (trans. of Blacaman el Bueno, vendedor de milagros)
• The Past, the Present, and the Future - essay by James E. Gunn
• Chac-Mool - (1973) - shortstory by Carlos Fuentes
• India - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Marathi Experience - essay by James E. Gunn
• Einstein the Second - (1989) - shortstory by Laxman Londhe
• China - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Chinese Pioneer - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Mirror Image of the Earth - (1986) - shortstory by Zheng Wenguang
• The Professional Writer in China - essay by James E. Gunn
• Corrosion - (1981) - novelette by Ye Yonglie (trans. of Fushi)
• Japan - essay by James E. Gunn
• Author in the Dunes - essay by James E. Gunn
• Beyond the Curve - (1966) - novelette by Kobo Abe
• The Japanese Robert Heinlein - essay by James E. Gunn
• Take Your Choice - (1987) - shortstory by Sakyo Komatsu
• From Western Trash to Japanese Origami - essay by James E. Gunn
• The Legend of the Paper Spaceship - (1978) - novelette by Tetsu Yano
• Appendix: US SF and Us - essay by Élisabeth Vonarburg

Riley, a veteran of interstellar war, is one of many beings from many different worlds aboard a ship on a pilgrimage that spans the galaxy. However, he is not journeying to achieve transcendence, a vague mystical concept that has drawn everyone else on the ship to this journey into the unknown at the far edge of the galaxy. His mission is to find and kill the prophet who is reputed to help others transcend. While their ship speeds through space, the voyage is marred by violence and betrayal, making it clear that some of the ship's passengers are not the spiritual seekers they claim to be.

Like the pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a number of those on the starship share their unique stories. But as tensions rise, Riley realizes that the ship is less like the Canterbury Tales and more like a harrowing, deadly ship of fools. When he becomes friendly with a mysterious passenger named Asha, he thinks she's someone he can trust. However, like so many others on the ship, Asha is more than she appears. Uncovering her secrets could be the key to Riley's personal quest, or make him question everything he thought he knew about Transcendentalism and his mission to stop it.

Transgalactic: the latest novel in Hugo Award Winner James Gunn's SF Grandmaster Career!

When Riley and Asha finally reached the planet Terminal and found the Transcendental Machine, a matter transmission device built by an ancient race, they chose to be "translated." Now in possession of intellectual and physical powers that set them above human limitations, the machine has transported them to two, separate, unknown planets among a possibility of billions.

Riley and Asha know that together they can change the galaxy, so they attempt to do the impossible--find each other.

Riley and Asha have traveled across the galaxy, found the Transcendental Machine, and been translated into something more than human. They've returned to Earth and won over the artificial intelligence which once tried to destroy the Transcendental Machine.

Now they must save the fringes of the Federation.

Planets at the edge of the Federation have fallen silent. The arrogant Federation bureaucracy grudgingly send Riley and Asha to investigate. They join forces with a planetary A.I., a paranoid Federation watchdog, and a member of a splinter group who vows to destroy the A.I. No one trusts anyone or their motives.

They need to find common ground and the answer in order to confront an enemy more ancient and powerful than the Transcendentals.