What does the future hold? This compelling anthology features science fiction's best writers and most vivid imaginations. Truly successful science fiction does two things: it gives a credible glimpse into the future while entertaining the reader. With this in mind, noted anthologist Jonathan Strahan asked sixteen of today's most inventive, compelling writers to look past the horizon of the present day. From spaceships, to suburbia, simulated gaming worlds, dealing with cloning, battle tactics, or corporate politics, the stories of The Starry Rift will give every reader something to consider.

These are the heroes of the Starry Rift, a dark river of night that flows between the arms of our galaxy: a headstrong teenaged runaway who makes first contact with a strange alien race; a young officer on a deep-space salvage mission who discovers an exact double of a woman he thought he'd lost; and the crew of an exploration ship who must plead for the human race to avert an interstellar war.

Covers authors who are currently active or who died after December 31, 1959. Profiles novelists, poets, playwrights and other creative and nonfiction writers by providing criticism taken from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers and scholarly journals.

This classic work is an essential tool for collection development, research, reference, and readers' advisory work."--BOOK JACKET.