Five original short stories inspired by the same John Jude Palencar painting.

From David Hartwell's introduction:

One day I was walking down the hall past the Tor Books art department and noticed, not for the first time, a fine painting by John Jude Palencar in the hallway. On that day, my curiosity got the better of me and I asked Irene Gallo what it was to be used for, or if it had been used and I had missed it.

She said that in fact it was unassigned, and she needed to find a book for which it would be appropriate.

And without missing a step I said, "I could commission stories based on it. . . . Personally, I am delighted with the results."

Contents

“New World Blues” by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

“Dormanna” by Gene Wolfe

“Thanatos Beach” by James Morrow

“The Woman Who Shook the World-Tree” by Michael Swanwick

“The Sigma Structure Symphony” by Gregory Benford

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.