Zima Blue and Other Stories

Résumé

Reynolds' pursuit of truth is not limited to wide-angle star smashing - not that stars don't get pulverised when one character is gifted (or cursed) with an awful weapon by the legendary Merlin. Reynolds' protagonists find themselves in situations of betrayal, whether by a loved one's accidental death, as in Signal to Noise, or by a trusted wartime authority, in Spirey and the Queen. His fertile imagination can resurrect Elton John on Mars in Understanding Space and Time or make prophets of the human condition out of pool-cleaning robots in the title story.

But overall, the stories in Zima Blue represent a more optimistic take on humanity's future, a view that says there may be wars, there may be catastrophes and cosmic errors, but something human will still survive.

Contents:

- Introduction (2006) by Paul J. McAuley

- The Real Story (2002)

- Beyond the Aquila Rift (2005)

- Enola (1991)

- Signal to Noise (2006)

- Cardiff Afterlife* (2008)

- Hideaway [Merlin 1/4] (2000)

- Minla's Flowers [Merlin 2/4]* (2007)

- Merlin's Gun [Merlin 4/4] (2000)

- Angels of Ashes (1999)

- Spirey and the Queen (1996)

- Understanding Space and Time (2005)

- Digital to Analogue*(1992)

- Everlasting* (2004)

- Zima Blue (2005)

- Acknowledgements (2006)

- A Note on the UK Edition (2009)

* Note: The 2009 (and later) Gollancz editions add four stories to the original Night Shade editions.