Writers of the Future, volume 19

L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future compilations offer top-notch stories from previously unpublished authors. There's too much fantasy for my taste, and too little science fiction, but the literary quality is high.

• Numbers, by Joel Best - Living mathematics
• Trust is a Child, by Matthew Candelaria - Negotations with the alien Bwotik race for control of the universe
• A Boy and His Bicycle, by Carl Frederick - A kid's smart bike talks to him
• A Few Days North of Vienna, by Brandon Butler - Fantasy and werewolves, I think.
• A Ship that Bends, by Luc Reid - If you live on a flat world, can you sail around the edge and get to the other side?
• Bury My Heart at the Garrick, by Steve Savile - Harry Houdini faces his death.
• A Silky Touch to No Man, by Robert J. Defendi - In a world where men live their entire lives in small apartments, and spend their time in virtual worlds, the criminal known as Jacked the Ripper stuns police by murdering a man in real life.
• Dark Harvest, by Geoffrey Girard - Villagers nurse the Grim Reaper back to health.
• From All the Work Which He Had Made, by Michael Churchman - Can a robot sin? (Churchman breathes some life into an old plot. Bravo.)
• Beautiful Singer, by Steve Bein - The spirit of a samurai sword possesses a man.
• Gossamer, by Ken Liu - Floating alien gossamers show up on Earth and do nothing; people try to communicate.
• Walking Rain, by Ian Keane - Rain goddess
• Blood and Horses, by Myke Cole - Protecting Kazahkstan's oil pipeline from tappers.
• Into the Gardens of Sweet Night, by Jay Lake - Pug dog hires man to help him in his quest to return to the mythical Gardens of Sweet Night

There are a few nonfiction pieces in this collection.

• Suspense, by L. Ron Hubbard
• Ten Years After, by Sean Williams
• To The Illustrators of the Future - Will Eisner