<p>In this collection of science fiction stories, a diverse array of Canadian authors including Spider Robinson, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Robert Sawyer, Terri Favro, and Jeremy Hull explore worlds of the future, where humans look and act differently \u2013 or perhaps they just look different and act the same as humans always have. They interact with alien beings, and they must learn to live with the other creatures that inhabit Earth. Sometimes funny, often poignant, frequently ingenious, and always thought-provoking, these works spark questions and challenge our ideas about how the future might look \u2013 and how creatures of every kind and species will live in it.<\/p>
\n<p>In the opening story, \u00ab\u00a0Star Light, Star Bright,\u00a0\u00bb by Robert Sawyer, a translator of ancient documents discovers children can see things in the sky that are not visible to him. What does this mean for their society, rebuilding after a long-ago war reduced humans to a primitive state? In \u00ab\u00a0Hammerhead,\u00a0\u00bb John Park’s protagonist, \u00ab\u00a0tangled in the other branches\u00a0\u00bb of his lives, must replay a horrific scenario in his head over and over to get at the uncomfortable truth, to find \u00ab\u00a0the different here\u00a0\u00bb that will help him in his \u00ab\u00a0journeying.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>
\n<p>Julie Czerneda offers one possibility of what may happen when a grieving couple?s application to adopt a pet takes a surprising turn in \u00ab\u00a0Foster Earth.\u00a0\u00bb Spider Robinson?s parentless character has to choose between being threatened or thrilled when the colony he joins \u00ab\u00a0jumps off the edge of the Solar System\u00a0\u00bb in \u00ab\u00a0Who is Joel Johnston?\u00a0\u00bb And in the final story of the collection, a Nova Scotian rebel of the future hopes that humankind?s survival depends on a past event that almost no one noticed.<\/p>
\n<p>Evocative and engaging, these stories, told with vibrant engagement with \u00ab\u00a0otherness\u00a0\u00bb of one kind or another, offer readers the opportunity to be both entertained and enlightened.<\/p>
\n<p><\/i>State of the Ark<\/i> is the long-awaited follow-up anthology to the 1992 landmark Canadian science fiction collection <i>Ark of Ice<\/i>.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
<p>In this collection of science fiction stories, a diverse array of Canadian authors including Spider Robinson, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Robert Sawyer, Terri Favro, and Jeremy Hull explore worlds of the future, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":91516,"template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[17417,23566],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-91478","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_language-eng","product_subjects-fiction","product_subjects-science-fiction-fiction","product_subjects-general-science-fiction-fiction","biblio_share_tag-fiction-science-fiction-general","product_cat-giftguide","product_cat-fall-books-abt-98","entry","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"yoast_head":"\n