The twenty-eight stories in this collection imaginatively take us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and to the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including: Daniel Abraham • Eleanor Arnason • Pauolo Bacigalupi • Kage Baker • Stephen Baxter • Terry Bisson • James L. Cambias • Albert E. Cowdrey • Colin P. Davies • Paul Di Fillipo • Brendan DuBois • Michael F. Flynn • Peter F. Hamilton • M. John Harrison • James Patrick Kelly • Caitlin R. Kiernan • Nancy Kress • Paul Melko • David Moles • Pat Murphy • Robert Reed • Benjamin Rosenbaum • Mary Rosenbaum • Christopher Rowe • William Sanders • Vandana Singh • Vernor Vinge • Walter Jon Williams

Supplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a list of honorable mentions, making this book a valuable resource as well as the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart.

Cover design by Shea M. Kornblum
Cover illustration by Stephan Martiniere


01) Acknowledgments by Gardner Dozois
02) Summation: 2004 by Gardner Dozois
03) Inappropriate Behavior by Pat Murphy
04) Start the Clock by Benjamin Rosenbaum
05) The Third Party by David Moles
06) The Voluntary State by Christopher Rowe
07) Shiva in Shadow by Nancy Kress
08) The People of Sand and Slag by Paolo Bacigalupi
09) The Clapping Hands of God by Michael F. Flynn
10) Tourism by M. John Harrison
11) Scout's Honor by Terry Bisson
12) Men Are Trouble by James Patrick Kelly
13) Mother Aegypt by Kage Baker
14) Synthetic Serendipity by Vernor Vinge
15) Skin Deep by Mary Rosenblum
16) Delhi by Vandana Singh
17) The Tribes of Bela by Albert E. Cowdrey
18) Sitka by William Sanders
19) Leviathan Wept by Daniel Abraham
20) The Defenders by Colin P. Davies
21) Mayflower II by Stephen Baxter
22) Riding the White Bull by Caitlín R. Kiernan
23) Falling Star by Brendan DuBois
24) The Dragons of Summer Gulch by Robert Reed
25) The Ocean of the Blind by James L. Cambias
26) The Garden: A Hwarhath Science Fictional Romance by Eleanor Arnason
27) Footvote by Peter F. Hamilton
28) Sisyphus and the Stranger by Paul Di Filippo
29) Ten Sigmas by Paul Melko
30) Investments by Walter Jon Williams
31) Honorable Mentions: 2004 by Gardner Dozois

Read by Madelyn Buzzard
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