Explorers

Distant planets, galaxies, alien races--the universe is vast and filled with an almost unimaginable range of possibilities. But imagine it we can. Here are more than twenty stories from the most inventive writers in the field, including:

Poul Anderson * Stephen Baxter * Greg Bear * Gregory Benford * Arthur C. Clarke * Hal Clement * Greg Egan * H. B. Fyfe * R. A. Lafferty * Geoffrey A. Landis * Ursula K. Le Guin * Jack McDevitt * Larry Niven * G. David Nordley * Edgar Pangborn * Kim Stanley Robinson * James H. Schmitz * Cordwainer Smith * Michael Swanwick * James Tiptree, Jr. * John Varley * Vernor Vinge

These are the stories of discovering those possibilities-the stories of the explorers and pioneers who push the envelope further out--exciting tales of alien landscapes and adventures on far distant shores that are the heart and soul of science fiction.

Contents

ix • Preface (Explorers: SF Adventures to Far Horizons) • essay by Gardner Dozois

1 • The Sentinel • [2001] • (1951) • shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke

9 • Moonwalk • (1952) • novelette by H. B. Fyfe

41 • Grandpa • (1955) • novelette by James H. Schmitz

60 • The Red Hills of Summer • (1959) • novelette by Edgar Pangborn

90 • The Longest Voyage • (1960) • novelette by Poul Anderson

115 • Hot Planet • (1963) • shortstory by Hal Clement

133 • Drunkboat • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1963) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith

158 • Becalmed in Hell • [Known Space] • (1965) • shortstory by Larry Niven

169 • Nine Hundred Grandmothers • (1966) • shortstory by R. A. Lafferty

178 • The Keys to December • (1966) • novelette by Roger Zelazny

198 • Vaster Than Empires and More Slow • (1971) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin

222 • A Meeting With Medusa • (1971) • novelette by Arthur C. Clarke

255 • The Man Who Walked Home • (1972) • shortstory by James Tiptree, Jr.

268 • Long Shot • (1972) • shortstory by Vernor Vinge

279 • In the Hall of the Martian Kings • (1976) • novella by John Varley

313 • Ginungagap • (1980) • novelette by Michael Swanwick

339 • Exploring Fossil Canyon • (1982) • novelette by Kim Stanley Robinson

359 • Promises to Keep • (1984) • novelette by Jack McDevitt

374 • Lieserl • (1993) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter

389 • Crossing Chao Meng Fu • (1997) • novelette by G. David Nordley

416 • Wang's Carpets • (1995) • novelette by Greg Egan

443 • A Dance to Strange Musics • (1998) • novelette by Gregory Benford

462 • Approaching Perimelasma • (1998) • novelette by Geoffrey A. Landis