Metatropolis

"Editor Scalzi (Zoe's Tale) and four well-known writers thoughtfully postulate the evolution of cities, transcending postapocalyptic clichs to envision genuinely new communities and relationships. Self-sustaining walled cities struggle with their responsibilities to dying suburbs in Scalzi's 'Utere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis'; goods are exchanged through multiple microtransactions in Tobias S. Buckell's 'Stochasti-City' and a reputation economy in Elizabeth Bear's 'The Red in the Sky Is Our Blood.' A lone man attempts to overthrow an early enclave in Jay Lake's 'In the Forests of the Night,' while Karl Schroeder's 'To Hie from Far Celenia' brilliantly combines steampunk, urban sociology and network theory as entire subcultures go 'off the grid.' Each story shines on its own; as a group they reinforce one another, building a multifaceted view of a realistic and hopeful urban future." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

A strange man comes to an even stranger encampment... A bouncer becomes the lynchpin of an unexpected urban movement... A courier on the run has to decide who to trust in a dangerous city... A slacker in a "zero-footprint" town get a most unusual new job... and a weapons investigator uses his skills to discover a metropolis hidden right in front of his eyes.

Welcome to the future of cities. Welcome to METAtropolis.

More than an anthology, METAtropolis is the brainchild of five of science fiction's hottest writers — Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, Jay Lake, Karl Schroeder and project editor John Scalzi — who combined their talents to build a new urban future, and then wrote their own stories in this collectively-constructed world. The results are individual glimpses of a shared vision, and a reading experience unlike any you've had before.

You're at the city limits now. See what's waiting on the other side.