Maps in a Mirror

From bestselling storyteller Orson Scott Card comes a collection of eleven chilling tales that provoke the dreaded dark side of the listener's imagination. Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory A sinful man finally faces his conscience in the form of a baby-like creature that haunts his waking hours. Quietus Dying can be a difficult thing to come to terms with. Deep Breathing Exercises A man realizes that people who breathe together die together. Fat Farm A wealthy, overweight man tries to escape his overeating problem by getting himself cloned and transferring his memories into the clone. Closing the Timelid Using a time travel machine, available only to the wealthy, a thrill-seeking playboy discovers a way to experience the excitement of death without actually dying. Freeway Games To pass the time, Stanley plays freeway "following" games, and each person he follows dies trying to escape him. But one day, he meets his match and the chase is on! A Sepulchre of Songs Having lost both her arms and legs in an accident, a girl begins talking with an alien from outer space. Prior Restraint If the Censorship Board takes an interest in your writing, take it as a compliment and do what they say ... or face the consequences. The Changed Man and the King of Words Joe develops a computer system based on literary references that can make frighteningly accurate character interpretations, then he submits his parents to the test. Memories of My Head A man writes a letter in his own blood shortly after blowing his head off with a shotgun. Lost Boy In the story that became the acclaimed horror novel, a child having trouble adjusting to a new town withdraws into a mysterious computer game where he meets imaginary friends.

This second volume of Orson Scott Card's five-book anthology of short stories features seven tales exploring possible future scenarios for the human race. A Thousand Deaths In Soviet-occupied America, Jerry Crove is found guilty and convicted of knowing about the planned assassination of a Russian high official and not reporting it to the authorities. Instead of a forced confession and apology on television, he gives a speech on American freedom. His sentence is to be repeatedly put to death and brought back to life until he apologizes convincingly. Clap Hands and Sing An old man travels back in time to fall in love with a women he let get away. Dogwalker A man hacks into a government database using a system administrator's password. But getting the code right turns out to be very wrong. But We Try Not to Act like It A man complains to the television office that he cannot turn off his TV and that it-especially the soap operas-disturbs him in his attempts to read, his preferred activity. He's told that he'll be allowed to turn off the TV only if he changes his social status by making some friends or developing a sexual relationship. I Put My Blue Genes Earth, now an uninhabitable wasteland of biological warfare, is revisited by a contingent of humans who find a small band of "not-quite-human" beings still fighting an enemy that has long since been annihilated. In the Doghouse Aliens from a doomed planet relocate to Earth, having preserved only their intellectually superior minds. Forbidden by their moral code from killing another sentient being, they choose Earth's widely beloved dogs as their new vessels-but they soon find out what it means to "be in the doghouse." The Originist In this story set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe, a brilliant scientist working on a thorny problem is referred to the Galactic Library, an indexing project of astonishing breadth.

This third volume of Orson Scott Card's five-book anthology of short stories features ten fantasies and fables full of princesses and giants, bears and monkeys, magic and revelation. Discover the pitfalls of paradise, how to handle a dragon, the true secret of happiness, and much more. Card offers background commentaries for each story in a series of afterwords and introductions. Unaccompanied SonataA musical child prodigy, raised alone in a cabin so that his only influences come from nature, plays a complicated instrument capable of a wide range of sound. Against his keepers' wishes, he is introduced to the music of Bach and is ejected from his musical Eden. As he strives to make music, his nemesis strives to stop him. A Cross-Country Trip to Kill Richard NixonA young man blames all of America's problems on former president Richard Nixon. The Porcelain SalamanderA curse can be lifted only once it is complete. Middle WomanAn average woman-who is a middle child, of middle income, and living mid-way between her other two sisters-meets a cruel, trickster dragon on the road who grants her three wishes. Through wisdom and compassion, she is able to outsmart his trickery. The Bully and the BeastA giant hired as the king's bully falls hopelessly for the king's daughter, the most beautiful woman in the world. The Princess and the BearA magic bear saves a princess' life twice: once from a wolf in the forest and once from her own husband.

This fourth volume in Orson Scott Card's five-book anthology of short stories features tales with religious themes, exploring the mysteries of ritual, sacrifice, faith, and death. Mortal Gods In our mortality lies our greatness. Saving GraceA story of TV faith healers and those who follow them. Eye for Eye An abused child has the gift of creating illness and death in those he is angry with. Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1988. St. Amy's Tale A family destroys all technology. Kingsmeat When flesh-eating aliens take over a human colony world, one human forestalls total doom by feeding them non-essential bits of his fellow colonists. Holy A seemingly pointless mission to bring an offering to another culture's shrine takes on unexpected meaning.

This final collection in Orson Scott Card's five-volume anthology of short works features the "hidden stories", including his first published piece, some tales about Mormon family life and other stylistic departures, and several stories that were later developed into acclaimed novels such asEnder's Game,Songmaster,Invasive Procedures, and the Tales of Alvin Maker series. Listen as Card crafts a paranoid thriller, a spoof of "serious" contemporary literature, an epic narrative poem, and much more. Card includes background commentaries for each story in his afterwords. Stories include:Ender's Game;Mikal's Songbird;Prentice Alvin and the No-Good Plow;Malpractice;Follower;Hitching;Damn Fine Novel;Billy's Box;The Best Family Home Evening Ever;Bicicleta;I Think Mom and Dad Are Going Crazy, Jerry; andGert Fram. "Definitive…A series of introductions and afterwords offering Card's thoughts on his life and his writing are as absorbing as the stories." "The award-winning author of Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and the Alvin Maker series demonstrates his talent for shorter fiction in this collection of 46 stories that range from fantasy and sf to horror and theological speculation…Detailed introductions and afterwords reveal insights into the thought processes of one of the genre's most convincing storytellers. An important volume; for most libraries."