"This is why I read science fiction."—Daryl GregoryIn Longer, Michael Blumlein explores dauntingly epic topics—love, the expanse of the human lifespan, mortality—with a beautifully sharp story that glows with grace and good humor even as it forces us to confront deep, universal fears.Gunjita and Cav are in orbit.R&D scientists for pharmaceutical giant Gleem Galactic, they are wealthy enough to participate in rejuvenation: rebooting themselves from old age to jump their bodies back to their twenties. You get two chances. There can never be a third. After Gunjita has juved for the second and final time and Cav has not, questions of life, death, morality, and test their relationship. Up among the stars, the research possibilities are infinite and first contact is possible, but their marriage may not survive the challenge.Praise for Longer"Michael Blumlein has written a novella that is full...

Robert Fairchild is a genius. He is also lonely. Dubbed "the one-eyed architect," Robert and his innovative buildings are praised to the skies. Suddenly his masterpiece, a dome made from a living membrane, collapses in on its inhabitants. Meanwhile his relationships disintegrate as he chooses his work over his lovers. Reeling from failure and paralyzed by self-doubt, what Robert needs is inspiration. Robert needs Grace. Unable to find someone to love, Robert decides to craft his perfect woman. But creating a woman is far more complicated than creating a building. Though Robert adores the lovely and compassionate Grace, he finds himself once again subsumed by his work. Their attempt at compromise has entirely unforeseen consequences. Suddenly trapped in a game of passion and jealously, Robert is forced to confront all that is dearest to him: his work, his love for Grace, and, hardest of all, himself.

Payne is a member of a minority offshoot of humanity called Grotesques, or Tesques, who are distinguished by a cranial deformity and an extra orifice in their chest. A small percentage of Tesques have the ability to effect phenomenal healings, which makes them a valuable commodity in their world. Sadly, such gifted healers live a life somewhere between that of a possession and a slave.Payne is unusual in that he is seemingly unaffected by the mysterious burn out (called "The Drain") that all other healers experience. The novel follows his journey across the strange landscape of his world in a search for an acceptance he may never find. Along the way, we move from the outskirts of society, to an isolated mining camp, to a metropolis dedicated to gambling and vice, to a secret government compound where the most dangerous of healings are performed. Finally, we climax in a scene where reality meets mythology, and Payne experiences a transformation that will forever alter...

In the opening story of this extraordinary collection, "California Burning," a man must come to terms with a strange truth about his dead father, whose corpse refuses to be cremated. In "Snow in Dirt," a man finds the woman of his dreams buried in a state of suspended animation in his garden. The burned-out fashion designer in "Hymenoptera" receives new inspiration when a chest-high, eight-foot-long wasp shows up in his studio. And in stories like "Twenty-two and You," "The Roberts," and "Know How Can Do," Blumlein explores the consequences—sometimes humorous, sometimes horrific—of scientific technologies such as genetic manipulation and the creation of artificial life.Varying widely in theme and subject matter, these stories showcase the breadth and power of Michael Blumlein's vision and once again reveal him to be one of the most original and fascinating of contemporary writers. They are stories that skirt the boundaries of fantasy, science fiction and horror,...