Twenty-three exciting science fiction stories by authors old and new following adventures of explorers in the far reaches of space—featuring "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke, inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. 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. Praise for Gardner Dozois "The most imaginative editor in the field." —The Village Voice "Dozois is arguably the most accomplished editor in the field of modern short fiction." —SF Site "Dozois is to the 1980s and 1990s what John W. Campbell, Jr., was to the 1940s and 1950s—the finest editor in the world of short SF." —Publishers Weekly