Within these pages lie eighteen stories, from eighteen worlds shaped by some of today's best writers of science fiction and fantasy, all guests on the Aur podcast ‘The Worldshapers’ during its first year. These are original stories from Tanya Huff, John C. Wright, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Shelley Adina, Seanan McGuire, Christopher Ruocchio, D. J. Butler, David Weber, and Edward Willett, plus additional stories by John Scalzi, Julie E. Czerneda, Derek Künsken, Thoraiya Dyer, Gareth L. Powell, Fonda Lee, David Brin, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, and Joe Haldeman.
A teenage girl finds something strange in the middle of the Canadian prairie. An exobiologist tries to liberate a giant alien enslaved on its homeworld by humans. The music of the spheres becomes literal for an Earth ship far from home. A superhero league interviews for new members. Strangers share a drink on a world where giant starships fall. Two boys, one a werewolf, one a mage, get more than they bargained for when they volunteer to fight an evil Empire. A man with amnesia accepts a most unusual offer. A young woman finds unexpected allies as she tries to win a flying-machine race in steampunk London...
Ranging from boisterous to bleak, from humorous to harrowing, from action-filled to quiet and meditative, taking place in alternate pasts, the present day, the far, far future, and times, that never were, set on Earth, in the distant reaches of space, in fantasy worlds, and in metaphysical realms, each of these stories is as unique as its creator. And yet, they all showcase one thing: the irrepressible need of human beings to create, to imagine, to tell stories.
To shape worlds.
