Nicky Drayden – författare

Winner of the Compton Crook Award

From a new voice in the tradition of Lauren Beukes, Ian McDonald, and Nnedi Okorafor comes The Prey of Gods, a fantastic, boundary-challenging tale, set in a South African locale both familiar and yet utterly new, which braids elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and dark humor.

In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry which has found a welcome home there. Yes—the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present challenges:

A new hallucinogenic drug sweeping the country . . .

An emerging AI uprising . . .

And an ancient demigoddess hellbent on regaining her former status by preying on the blood and sweat (but mostly blood) of every human she encounters.

It’s up to a young Zulu girl powerful enough to destroy her entire township, a queer teen plagued with the ability to control minds, a pop diva with serious daddy issues, and a politician with even more serious mommy issues to band together to ensure there’s a future left to worry about.

Fun and fantastic, Nicky Drayden takes her brilliance as a short story writer and weaves together an elaborate tale that will capture your heart . . . even as one particular demigoddess threatens to rip it out.

"Don''t be alarmed - that dizzy pleasurable sensation you''re experiencing is just your brain slowly exploding from all the wild magnificent worldbuilding in Nicky Drayden''s Escaping Exodus. I loved these characters and this story, and so will you."

 - Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of The Art of Starving and Blackfish City

The Compton Crook award–winning author of The Prey of Gods and Temper returns with a dazzling stand-alone novel, set in deep space, in which the fate of humanity rests on the slender shoulders of an idealistic and untested young woman—a blend of science fiction, dark humor, and magical realism that will appeal to fans of Charlie Jane Anders, Jeff VanderMeer, and Nnedi Okorafor.Earth is a distant memory. Habitable extrasolar planets are still out of reach. For generations, humanity has been clinging to survival by establishing colonies within enormous vacuum-breathing space beasts and mining their resources to the point of depletion.

Rash, dreamy, and unconventional, Seske Kaleigh should be preparing for her future role as clan leader, but her people have just culled their latest beast, and she’s eager to find the cause of the violent tremors plaguing their new home. Defying social barriers, Seske teams up with her best friend, a beast worker, and ventures into restricted areas for answers to end the mounting fear and rumors. Instead, they discover grim truths about the price of life in the void.

Then, Seske is unexpectedly thrust into the role of clan matriarch, responsible for thousands of lives in a harsh universe where a single mistake can be fatal. Her claim to the throne is challenged by a rival determined to overthrow her and take control—her intelligent, cunning, and confident sister.

Seske may not be a born leader like her sister, yet her unorthodox outlook and incorruptible idealism may be what the clan needs to save themselves and their world.

The Compton Crook Award-winning author weaves her trademark blend of science fiction and dark humor in this dazzling story that continues the imaginative saga begun in Escaping Exodus, in which a society lives in the belly of a beast—and an entire civilization''s survival depends on a pair of uneasy allies who must come together for one epic battle.

The Senate allowed Doka to lead their people believing he’d fail spectacularly—a disaster that would cement the legitimacy of their long-standing matriarchy. Despite vocal opposition and blatant attacks on his authority, Doka has continued to handle his position with grace and intelligence; he knows a single misstep means disaster. When a cataclysmic event on another Zenzee world forces Doka and his people to accept thousands of refugees, a culture clash erupts, revealing secrets from the past that could endanger their future. For Doka, the stakes are bigger and more personal than ever before—and could cost him his reign and his heart. 

He has fallen for the one woman he is forbidden to love: his wife, Seske. 

Doka and Seske must work closely together to sway the other Zenzee worlds to stop their cycles of destruction. But when they stumble upon a discovery that can transform their world, they know they must prepare to fight a battle where there can be no winners, only survivors. 

Brought to you by Penguin. Take flight with the ender dragon in this official Minecraft novel! When a desert town is threatened by illager raids, a young adventurer turns to a newborn dragon to save her home.Zetta is the best potion-maker in the village of Sienna Dunes. Okay, maybe she''s the only potion-maker in the village of Sienna Dunes. And maybe her potions don''t exactly work like they''re supposed to all the time. But when her village is menaced by a pack of illagers, only Zetta can see that the traditional ways won''t keep Sienna Dunes safe anymore.Zetta journeys to her eccentric aunt''s workshop outside town to search for an answer and finds a lot more than she bargained for. A mysterious egg hatches into a scaly creature with purple eyes, black wings, and poisonous breath. It can''t possibly be the mythical ender dragon . . . can it? And if it is, can Zetta raise it to be the savior her village needs?The threat of the illagers is growing fast, and Zetta''s accidental dragon is growing even faster. With the help of her two best friends and her daydreaming little cousin, Zetta must train the scariest (and scaliest) baby in the Overworld. But when the dragon is fully grown, will it save Sienna Dunes? Or will it spell the village''s end?© Nicky Drayden 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Fantastic Stories prides itself on being open to underrepresented voices. Science fiction and fantasy should encompass the totality of the human experience, in all of its diversity and complexity. Fantastic Stories is determined to explore a more inclusive, realistic vision of the future.

People of color have been publishing some of the highest quality science fiction and fantasy since the genre''s earliest days. Yet, there still persists a perception that science fiction and fantasy is somehow a white field. We''d like to help shatter that illusion and showcase some of the finest writer''s that science fiction and fantasy has to offer. Here are twenty six flash stories that will do just that.