Brave New Worlds
edited by John Joseph Adams
YOU ARE BEING WATCHED. When the government wields its power against its own people, every citizen becomes an enemy of the state. Will you fight the system, or be ground to dust beneath the boot of tyranny? In his smash-hit anthologies Wastelands and The Living Dead, acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams showed you what happens when society is utterly wiped away. Now he brings you a glimpse into an equally terrifying future—what happens when civilization invades and dictates every aspect of your life? From 1984 to The Handmaid’s Tale, from Children of Men to Bioshock, the dystopian imagination has been a vital and gripping cautionary force. Brave New Worlds collects 33 of the best tales of totalitarian menace by some of today’s most visionary writers.
Praise for Brave New Worlds
Familiar classics by such luminaries as Shirley Jackson, Ursula K. Le Guin, and J.G. Ballard rub shoulders with new standouts in this dark anthology of 33 dystopian futures and alternate worlds. […] Most of the stories are bleak, many are hopeless, and all serve as powerful warnings of what we may let ourselves become.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A simply magnificent anthology of short-form dystopian fiction that features dozens of cacotopian classics. And, as has come to be expected with any Adams anthology, there are no weak links—not a one. Every single one of the 33 stories included in Brave New Worlds is a standout work. It’s an all-star line-up of dystopian gems from front to back. […] This just isn’t a great anthology, it’s one that I will cherish forever and undoubtedly read again and again. [Named One of Barnes & Noble’s Best Books of 2011]
—Paul Goat Allen, Barnes & Noble
One of the best primers of dystopian literature you’ll find on shelves today. A perfect blend of classic and contemporary short stories about government control, technological subjugation and corporate espionage, each story offers a unique position on how we’re so apt to allow entities to control us… for our own good, of course. […] Once I started I found I couldn’t put it down. Once again, it would seem that editor John Joseph Adams knows how to pick ’em. […] [Night Shade Books has] hit another home run with Brave New Worlds.
—The Quiet Earth
An excellent roundup of high-class writing talent, all offering their interpretations of dystopian possibilities that should stick with the reader long after they finish the last story. [5 out of 5 stars]
—Examiner.com