SCIENCE FICTION · HISTORY AND CRITICISM
Eric S. Rabkin
IT IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF DEMONS.
— from Aliens
Most acclaimed
Science fiction
1985
Included in this volume:INTRODUCTION, Rich Horton (Editor)DARK INTEGERS, Greg EganA PLAIN TALE FROM OUR HILLS, Bruce SterAN EYE FOR AN EYE, Charles Coleman FinlayALWAYS, Karen Joy FowlerAN OCEAN IS A SNOWFLAKE, FOUR BILLION MILES AWAY, John BarnesVIRUS CHANGES SKIN, Ekaterina SediaWIKIWORLD, Paul Di FilippoARTIFICE AND INTELLIGENCE, Tim PrattJESUS CHRIST, REANIMATOR, Ken MacLeodNIGHT CALLS, Robert ReedEVERYONE BLEEDS THROUGH, Jack SkillingsteadART OF WAR, Nancy KressTHREE DAYS OF RAIN, Holly PhillipsBRAIN RAID, Alexander JablokovFOR SOLO CELLO, OP. 12, Mary Robinette KowalPERFECT VIOLET, Will McIntoshVECTORING, Geoffrey LandisTHE SKYSAILOR’S TALE, Michael Swanwick
The end of the world
As the end of the twentieth century approaches, anxiety about the possible end of the world is becoming more evident in literature, popular culture, and public discourse. In this timely book, Ulrich Kortner addresses this issue of apocalyptic anxiety by offering a theological and philosophical evaluation of the apocalyptic. In particular, Kortner looks at how theology, responding in pastoral sensitivity, should deal with the fears present in this age of anxiety. Kortner. Concludes that real meaning and hope for the world is possible only after the world's inhabitants deal constructively with the stark reality of the world's end. This book should be read by anyone interested in the theological and philosophical aspects of apocalypticism.
Aliens
57 years after Ellen Ripley survived an an encounter with an unknown alien lifeform that slaughtered her ship-mates abord the interstellar cargo ship Nostromo, she is discovered and revived from hypersleep to discover that her claims of a "xenomorph" are not only disbelieved, but considered pure fantasy. A few weeks later, events on the planet that she had visited before cause her former employers, "Wayland Yutani", to request her to accompany a squad of Colonial Marines back to the windblown hell known as LV-426. What she and the Colonial Marines find there is unbelievably terrifying...