The Future Arrives Next Week

Back in May, we told you that Technology Review was planning to publish an collection of all-new near-future science fiction stories, grounded in the kinds of technological breakthroughs that we report on here every day. Now the TRSF is almost here—you can preorder a copy today, or wait till it goes on sale on newstands next Tuesday. (Digital editions will be available soon after.)

We’ve got an amazing selection of writers from around the world, including legends like Pat Cadigan and Joe Haldeman, current stars like Cory Doctorow and Elizabeth Bear, and emerging talents like Vandana Singh and Ma Boyong (this is Boyong’s first time appearing in English).

For a full rundown of authors,visit the TRSF microsite, which also has a video describing how the cover of the TRSF was created by the iconic science fiction illustrator, Chris Foss. This is Foss’s first major U.S. commission in recent years, and we’ve also reproduced six of his classic covers within the pages of the TRSF.

The 12 stories in the TRSF range from a light-hearted look at the (almost certainly) inevitable future of kitchen appliances talking to each other, to a more worrisome tale of a researcher fighting her company’s attempts to turn therapeutic tool into a mind control technology. They all fulfill the goal of the TRSF: to showcase thought provoking science fiction that explores some of the implications of technological developments in ways that journalism cannot.