Far Thoughts and Pale Gods

Synopsis

But his skills are not confined to writing at full-length novels: He is also the author of dozens of brilliant short stories, novellas, and novelettes. Far Thoughts and Pale Gods contains 6 highly acclaimed stories, each newly revised by the author, that illustrate Bear's abundant breadth of talent. The volume includes: - "Heads," which marks the first time the concept of quantum computing appears in science fiction--though it is a vision of 400 frozen heads that will remain in the reader's memory; - "The Wind from a Burning Woman," the first story set in the universe that spawned the novels Eon and Eternity; - "Plague of Conscience," which explores what it means to be alien--and whether that can be comprehended without understanding what it means to be human; - "Scattershot," beginning "The teddy bear spoke excellent Mandarin," a gripping deep-space adventure that is also a tribute to legendary female science fiction writer James Tiptree Jr. These and the remaining entries--"Mandala" and "Petra"--form a remarkable collection showcasing the talents of a major American writer. Each story is accompanied by an introduction and an afterword written especially for this volume.