Contents (view Concise Listing)

• ix • Introduction: The Science Fictional Century • essay by Gregory Benford
• 1 • Reading the Bones • [Guild of Xenolinguists • 5] • (1998) • novella by Sheila Finch
• 69 • Lost Girls • (1997) • novelette by Jane Yolen
• 89 • Thirteen Ways to Water • (1998) • short story by Bruce Holland Rogers
• 101 • Forever Peace (excerpt) • [Forever War] • (1997) • short fiction by Joe Haldeman
• 115 • Genre and Genesis: A Discussion of Science Fiction's Literary Role • essay by Gregory Benford
• 116 • Why Can't We All Just Live Together? A Vision of Genre Paradise Lost • (1998) • essay by Jonathan Lethem (variant of Close Encounters: The Squandered Promise of Science Fiction)
• 122 • Respectability • (1998) • essay by Gordon Van Gelder
• 126 • Gatekeepers and Literary Bigots • essay by George Zebrowski
• 132 • Good News about SF in Bad Publishing Times; or, Growth, Change, and the Preservation of Quality in the Literature of Genre • essay by David G. Hartwell
• 138 • The Truth About Sci-Fi Movies, Revealed at Last • essay by Bill Warren
• 147 • Winter Fire • (1997) • short story by Geoffrey A. Landis
• 165 • Lethe • [College of Mystery] • (1997) • novelette by Walter Jon Williams
• 203 • The Mercy Gate • (1998) • novelette by Mark J. McGarry
• 237 • The 1998 Author Emeritus: William Tenn • essay by George Zebrowski
• 241 • My Life and Hard Times in SF • essay by William Tenn
• 249 • The Grand Master Award: Hal Clement • essay by Poul Anderson
• 253 • Uncommon Sense • [Laird Cunningham] • (1945) • short story by Hal Clement
• 272 • Explaining Frankenstein to His Mother • (1997) • poem by John Grey
• 273 • Why Goldfish Shouldn't Use Power Tools • (1997) • poem by Laurel Winter