Modern Science Fiction

Fresh from an involuntary crash course in the Stranger Arts, I've a new mystery on my plate: the inexplicable reappearance of a particularly fantastic magickal species. Which is great, don't get me wrong. Rescuing magickal beasts is what we do around here. But the Dappledok Pup hasn't been seen since the seventeen hundreds; so how did we find one, alive and kicking, over two hundred years later? And this beast has a talent for sniffing out treasure, no less. Happenstance? Maybe not.

Four years ago, somebody pinched perhaps the most valuable book in existence. Merlin’s personal grimoire. And the price they’re offering for its return is the kind we can’t refuse, so it’s Ves and Jay on the case. Except that there aren’t any clues. Seriously, not even a little one. Nothing’s going to solve this case but a Vesper-patented Crazy Plan, and it had better be a good one, for complications are sprouting like daisies. At least it’s a straightforward mission. There’s no earthly way this one’s going to turn my entire life upside down... right?

Infinity Wanderers 12 is the Spring 2025 edition of the magazine, featuring a cover by Robin Stacey, appropriate for our times. The lead story is 'The Destination' by Belle Waring, and other fiction comes from Nicholas Woods, Mark Reasoner, David Wesley Hill, Allison Maschhoff, and Nelly Shulman, with short fiction from William McCann. Matias Trevieso Diaz authors two might-have-been pieces, one on the Battle of Poitiers, and one on Charles XII of Sweden. Poetry comes from Pawel Markiewicz, Ben Macnair, Glenis Moore, and Grey Wolf, whilst Ian Haight contributes the co-translation of the ...

Rumour’s got a lot to say for itself, and the message is clear: the regulator’s ready. You know. The magickal regulator. The bright and shiny thing with which we, Team Improbable, propose to restore magick to a fading Britain. Somebody’s got to test it, and that somebody is us. Which means wading into the depths of a long-dead realm that nobody’s entered in centuries. And I may have had some practice at that, but this time it’s different. This time, somebody’s still home. And they really aren’t happy about trespassers. Looks like disaster’s on the agenda. Again.

Stranded far from home, and unable to return, I am in bigger trouble than ever. I know I say that a lot, but this time it's really true. Not that there aren’t advantages to my particular predicament. If one must put up with a dangerous degree of magickal potency, one is duty-bound to… put it to use, no? Certainly nothing insane, irresponsible and potentially life-threatening. As if. But we'll need every possible advantage in the Hyndorin Mountains. For there, hidden behind layers of secrets, could be the answers we are looking for.

Victor Frankenstein is a driven man. His single-minded scientific drive has controlled his life from childhood. It has driven him to do the unthinkable, to carry out fiendish, craven tasks, to do that which only God has done before. His goal of creating life - a living, thinking being, a man - has come to pass. Little did he expect that his zeal would forge a monster, an intelligent being set upon Victor's complete destruction.

Robert Musil: Über die Dummheit Ein Vortrag, gelesen von Moritz Brendel. Robert Musil hält seinen legendären Vortrag Über die Dummheit erstmals gehalten auf Einladung des österreichischen Werkbunds am 11. März 1937 in Wien – auf den Tag genau ein Jahr vor dem Anschluss Österreichs an Nazi-Deutschland. In seiner Rede formuliert er das Paradox der Dummheit, "dass jeder, der über Dummheit sprechen oder solch einem Gespräch mit Nutzen beiwohnen will, von sich voraussetzen muss, dass er nicht dumm sei und also zur Schau trägt, dass er sich für klug halte, obwohl es allgemein für ein Zeichen von Dummheit gilt, das zu tun!"

"Frankenstein o El moderno Prometeo, o simplemente Frankenstein, es una obra literaria de la escritora inglesa Mary Shelley. Publicado el 1 de enero de 1818 y enmarcado en la tradición de la novela gótica, el texto aborda temas como la moral científica, la creación y destrucción de vida, y el atrevimiento de la humanidad en su relación con Dios. De ahí el subtítulo de la obra: el protagonista intenta rivalizar en poder con Dios, como una suerte de Prometeo moderno que arrebata el fuego sagrado de la vida a la divinidad.

After the publication of a salacious tell-all book, the remote city of Ilvernath is thrust into the spotlight. Tourists, protesters and reporters alike flock to its spell shops and historic ruins to witness an ancient curse unfold: every generation, seven families name a champion among them to compete in a tournament to the death. The winner awards their family exclusive control over the city's high magick supply, the most powerful resource in the world.

The Gods of Pegana was the book that marked the transition from imaginary creatures in the real world to the gods of imaginary world. Lord Dunsany was the most influential writer in the genre that came to be known as fantasy, of which his stories set trends for that continue to this day.

Man sieht sich gedrungen wünschen zu wollen und sagen zu können, dass nach der akustischen Auseinandersetzung mit Nietzsches Unzeitgemäßen Betrachtungen jeder ein Stück klüger wird als er war – doch leider belehren uns Vergangenheit und Gegenwart eines besseren und lassen diesen unausgesprochenen frommen Wunsch wie eine Seifenblase im Orkan im Entstehungs-Ansatz zerplatzen. Je konkreter und klarer Gedanken formuliert werden, desto schwieriger sind sie zu verstehen.

Man sieht sich gedrungen wünschen zu wollen und sagen zu können, dass nach der akustischen Auseinandersetzung mit Nietzsches Unzeitgemäßen Betrachtungen jeder ein Stück klüger wird als er war – doch leider belehren uns Vergangenheit und Gegenwart eines besseren und lassen diesen unausgesprochenen frommen Wunsch wie eine Seifenblase im Orkan im Entstehungs-Ansatz zerplatzen. Je konkreter und klarer Gedanken formuliert werden, desto schwieriger sind sie zu verstehen.

“Call me Frankenstein.” 1 mad scientist. 2 nemeses. 3 manly intimate friendships. Forbidden secrets of life, death, and reanimation. Hiding under the alias Ishmael, young Ernest secretly is the lost forgotten brother of the infamous Doctor Victor Frankenstein. He flees to the sea to escape the nemesis his sibling created from the graveyards of men. Yet unbeknownst to him, his closest sailing companion is the very creature assembled and abandoned, posing as the pagan cannibal harpooner Queequeg. Together they join the crew of the whaling ship Pequod and find themselves trapped under the ...

In the first Quarterly Essay for 2011, David Malouf returns to one of the most fundamental questions and gives it a modern twist: what is it to live a good life? With grace and profundity, Malouf discusses new and old ways to talk about the self, morality and happiness. In an age of environmental peril, and in the wake of the global financial crisis, such questions have returned with new force - we live in unpredictable times and Homo economicus has been found wanting.

Most of Thulu and La Fi's clients are dead. Which is perfect since their detective agency caters to the supernatural. But a simple job finding a lost locket leads to a big case tracking relics for an ancient daemon. The daemon needs the relics to keep a dangerous portal closed. His enemy, Gabriel, wants the relics to open the portal and give his people access to a new feeding ground - Earth. Caught on live TV, other portals begin to open and the creatures of magic return to Earth. The people of Earth are not alone, but will soon wish they were.

In this modern version of the fairy tale classic, although her dreams are filled with sensual imagery, and she's often awakened with a throbbing sense of release, Rose has never had a sexual climax - at least, not while conscious. When she's forced to confess her faked orgasms to her fiancé on the eve of their wedding, she finds herself alone, abandoned and suicidal - until her aunt gives her a business card with the name of a special clinic.

'I have gone to look for a lion.' In a world where lions have become extinct, the map-maker Jachin-Boaz nevertheless abandons his wife and son to find one, leaving just this note. But his decision has unexpected consequences. He will be pursued by his son, Boaz-Jachin, and by something else: a tawny-skinned, amber-eyed beast from another place and time, a bringer of life and death.

The Reality Beneath is a collection of short stories written by SULI Daniel Johnson. They are written in his distinct brand of science fiction that can be defined as stories that make you think. The Reality Beneath encompasses a good example of SULI Daniel Johnson’s unique style. He takes current topics and situations and looks at them from a new perspective. The genre is technically science fiction, yet quite often, it comes very close to reality broadening the perspective to look at things in a new way. It includes:

Are you a fan of science fiction short stories? Do you crave the thrill of exploring new worlds, meeting alien species, and facing impossible challenges? Look no further than Science Fiction Short Stories Vol. 06, a collection of gripping tales that will transport you to the farthest reaches of the universe and beyond. Written by The Shadowplay Collective, this anthology is a must-read for anyone who loves to lose themselves in a good story. In this volume, you'll encounter a diverse array of settings, from the icy wastes of a distant planet to the bustling streets of a futuristic ...

Lane Benjamin never believed in fairy tales. Once upon a time, she had big dreams, but they never seemed to come true. Divorced, disappointed, and still a barista at 27, she feels like she's had an anti-Fairy Godmother. Then one day, the devastatingly handsome and much too old for her Abe Fujikawa confesses his feelings for her. Simultaneously, the chance to become a full-time artist drops in her lap. Has her luck changed? Is there a Fairy Godmother after all?