A Baghdad merchant encounters an alchemist who may have conquered time; a socialite, a miniature elephant, and a butler attempt to survive a coup masquerading as a wild soiree; a pair of scientists, their species altered in order that they may perform research on an alien world, find themselves embroiled in an interplanetary conflict; a young man begins to question his faith in God when he encounters the remains of a race of tool-using hominids; a warrior treads a grisly path as he strives to stop a rogue wizard influence; a woman born with her heart outside her body finds solace in the arms of a heartless man; the messiah returns to earth, with disappointing news about the afterlife; figures out of myth and legend do battle with an enemy armed with a frightening weapon... the ability to steal away language itself; a girl and her fortune-teller mother travel the countryside, collecting ghosts.

The depth and breadth of science fiction and fantasy fiction continues to change with every passing year. The twenty-five stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully map this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer.

Jonathan Strahan has edited more than twenty anthologies and collections, including The Locus Awards, The New Space Opera, and The Jack Vance Treasury. He has won the Ditmar, William J. Atheling Jr. and Peter McNamara Awards for his work as an anthologist and reviewer. Strahan is currently the reviews editor for Locus.

Contents:
* Introduction, Jonathan Strahan
* The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate, Ted Chiang
* The Last and Only, or Mr. Moskowitz
* Becomes French, Peter S. Beagle
* Trunk and Disorderly, Charles Stross
* Glory, Greg Egan
* Dead Horse Point, Daryl Gregory
* The Dreaming Wind, Jeffrey Ford
* The Coat of Stars, Holly Black
* The Prophet of Flores, Ted Kosmatka
* Wizard's Six, Alex Irvine
* The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics, Daniel Abraham
* By Fools Like Me, Nancy Kress
* Kiosk, Bruce Sterling
* Singing of Mount Abora, Theodora Goss
* The Witch's Headstone, Neil Gaiman
* Last Contact, Stephen Baxter
* Jesus Christ, Reanimator, Ken Macleod
* Sorrel's Heart, Susan Palwick
* Urdumheim, Michael Swanwick
* Holiday, M. Rickert
* The Valley of the Gardens, Tony Daniel
* Winter's Wife, Elizabeth Hand
* The Sky is Large and the Earth is Small, Chris Roberson
* Orm the Beautiful, Elizabeth Bear
* The Constable of Abal, Kelly Link