A New Year's Cheer for Sci-Fi

Let's raise a toast most delightful and high;
A new year draws forward with fresh sci-fi.

Short stories, novellas, e-books plus zines;
Robots, A.I.s, protagonists and fiends.

Sentient spaceships surfing between suns;
Space pirates skulking with lethal ray guns.

Worlds beyond measure, some climates aghast;
Time travels to future, sidewise and past.

Hoorah! Clink our glasses and grant credit
To those who write, tweet, podcast or edit.

Make merry, make cheer and make it quite loud:
Hail bookstores! Hail cons! Hail the sci-fi crowd!

Again with gusto, let’s do ourselves proud:
Hail bookstores! Hail cons! Hail the sci-fi crowd!

The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 6 Update:

The final proof is in the process of being printed. With a little luck, this book will be released June 17th in both paperback and ebook formats. A tip of the hat to Maurizio Manzieri for his inspired cover art.

Sparklybits Find Line

 

"Find the Story Line" Puzzle

from

"Sparklybits"

by

Nick Wolven 

GEC SBGOETEA PTLX QHYBHEB BSQB, T AKBQQ, LXGL’Q BGQTBO LXGE SBGOETEA GSHEB.

Substitute the letter M for Y.

ANSWER

AND LEARNING WITH SOMEONE ELSE, I GUESS, THAT’S EASIER THAN LEARNING ALONE.

Come the Revolution Find Line

 

"Find the Story Line" Puzzle

from

"Come the Revolution"

by

Ian Tregillis 

FNTP TP LEZJTS, PNY OEVMP, KLF PNY TP J ZCJMYU JEU ZLSTVLP XJANTEY.

Substitute the letter S for P.

ANSWER

THIS IS UNFAIR, SHE KNOWS, BUT SHE IS A FLAWED AND FURIOUS MACHINE.

Rover Find Line

 

"Find the Story Line" Puzzle

from

"Rover"

by

A. T. Sayre 

BSJ APRJA VWH BSJAJ W VPTN BLKJ WI BSJ IET KPRJF WYAPII BSJ IUH.

Substitute the letter Y for H.

ANSWER

THE ROVER LAY THERE A LONG TIME AS THE SUN MOVED ACROSS THE SKY.

A Guide for Working Breeds Find Line

 

"Find the Story Line" Puzzle

from

"A Guide for Working Breeds"

by

Vina Jie-Min Prasad  

AL SGFERSE UKEX XPARFD KD PDPRVVL YIGA R MKDERFSZ.

Substitute the letter L for V.

ANSWER

MY CONTACT WITH HUMANS IS USUALLY FROM A DISTANCE.

Father Find Line

 

"Find the Story Line" Puzzle

from

"Father"

by

Ray Nayler  

SCVLMF’T JCP MOM SZRXGMFMP JCXG VB ZRSM SBF C IBIMYV, VLMY AMYV PMCP CECRY.

Substitute the letter Y for O.

ANSWER

FATHER’S BAD EYE FLICKERED BACK TO LIFE FOR A MOMENT, THEN WENT DEAD AGAIN.