Modern Science Fiction

Mysterious happenings to a small handicapped boy in a little Somerset village, way back in the 1930s, suddenly repeat themselves in the 21st Century. At the first event the villagers kept quiet about what they thought was either hallucination, witchcraft or a little boy’s mischief. They suspected, quite rightly, that they wouldn’t be believed. However, silence turns out to be impossible in the present media and online culture, with the result that the lives of two families are disrupted and changed forever.

Experience a thrilling journey through the vast expanse of the universe with Science Fiction Short Stories Vol. 02. This collection of short stories is a must-read for any science fiction enthusiast, and a perfect introduction to the genre for those new to it. With each story carefully crafted to ignite the reader's imagination, this book is an unforgettable ride through the depths of space and the mysteries of the unknown. Set in the far future, Science Fiction Short Stories Vol. 02 takes readers on a journey through time and space, exploring the infinite possibilities of the universe. ...

Vor langer Zeit ritt Prinzessin Sonja mit ihren Vater, den König, auf die Jagd. Um ihn vom Töten abzuhalten, rettet sie einem Hasen sein Leben..! Zum Dank erhält Sonja von den Waldbewohnern ein göttliches Geschenk, welches sie selbst vor ihrem Vater geheim halten muss..!

Things have been quiet at the Society lately. Too quiet. It couldn’t possibly last. When a griffin appeared in the Yorkshire skies, it could only mean bad news. There’s only one place in Britain it could have come from and that’s the lost kingdom of Farringale. It’s a dire warning, and there’s worse to come. Turns out we aren’t the only people with an interest in the age-old city of the trolls. Farringale lies under attack—and these people will stop at nothing to take control of its treasures. It’s time for a showdown—the deathly serious kind.

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 ...

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?

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.

Meet Thorn Scarhart: a thirty-nine-year-old witch who’s having trouble finding love in the 17th century. Despite the local matchmaker’s efforts and Thorn’s arsenal of powerful love potions, she has yet to fall in love, and she fears she may have missed her chance. But when one of her potions misfires spectacularly, Thorn is hurled 350 years into the future, landing in a bustling city where her once-isolated cottage is now a historical museum. While this unexpected leap through time is daunting, modern life does have its perks.

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!"

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.

It’s all very well deciding to build the means to save British magick. Top marks for ambitious goals! ...But there are one or two obstacles in the way. For one, said means does not yet exist, and it’ll take a genius to sort that one out. Luckily, we’ve got one of those. We call him Orlando. For another, nothing at all can be built without materials, and no common-or-garden commodities will do. It’s got to be silver. The impossibly rare, virtually extinct kind. This one’s on me, Val and Jay.

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.

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.

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.

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.

'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: