Tales From the Edge · Escalation

Escalation is the second book in the Tales from the Edge series of short story collections, bringing together tales of science fiction adventure from the Maelstrom's Edge Universe. It is the far future, and the interstellar civilisation mankind has built across the galaxy's spiral arm is threatened by the Maelstrom, a tidal wave of dark energy devouring everything. As the Maelstrom approaches worlds, their inhabitants must choose how to react to the oncoming apocalypse - try to flee, or fight to survive?

In this second volume of stories, Tales from the Edge is proud to present stories from a wide range of talented and brilliant professional authors, who contributed as part of the Kickstarter campaign for the Maelstrom's Edge miniatures game.

Alastair Reynolds is a legendary name in the world of space opera, with exceptional novels such as Revelation Space and The Prefect. He kicks off Tales from the Edge: Escalation with 'Remainers', a story following the return of a starship captain to a world doomed by the Maelstrom on the behest of a mysterious client.

In Rob Ziegler's 'Little Bots', a group of orphans scheme and sneak their way into a plot to escape their dying world, whilst Jeff Carlson's 'The Spaces Between Us' looks at the challenge of the Maelstrom's approach from another direction - if a world is lost, do we have a duty to save what makes it unique?

Jaine Fenn's 'Over You' and Tomas L. Martin's 'Fleet Champion' explore the honour-bound existence of the Remnant Fleet's Champions. The Remnant is all that's left of the Artarian civilisation fleeing the destruction of their homeworlds by the Maelstrom, and rely on their exo-suited Champions to secure the resources they need to survive - by force if necessary.

Nebula, Locus and SFWA award-winning author Aliette de Bodard tells a tale of the aftermath of an attack by the Karist Enclave on an Epirian Foundation world in 'Losses We Bear'. The topic of the Karist Enclave is also explored in Stephen Gaskell's 'A Keeper's Duty', where a young apprentice must learn to control the power of the unpredictable aliens known as the Angels.

Jonathan Cooper's 'The Daughter of Arin' presents a challenge when a Comm Guild courier arrives with an unexpected package, whilst stories from Philip K. Dick Award nominated authors Karin Lowachee and Liz Williams explore the ragtag rebels of the Broken and the challenges confronted by those who have nothing but the clothes on their backs in 'The Flesh of the World' and 'Moon Desert'.

The stories within this volume explore the tangled and desperate politics of the civilisations on the Maelstrom's Edge, from passionate revolutionaries to devout missionaries. The array of bestselling and award-winning writing talent will take you on journeys to planets where every decision can be the difference between survival and destruction.