Pulling from the list of her favorite stories for this volume of Fiction River Presents, editor Kristine Kathryn Rusch takes readers on a thrilling journey. From little rovers exploring the planets where humans cannot yet go, to human explorers flung into realms of space/time beyond their knowledge and experience, to aliens who drop in for a visit to Earth for purposes only they can fathom—these travelers entertain, sometimes terrify, and always fascinate.

With this tantalizing volume, Rusch asks the reader, “Wanna go for a ride?”

Includes

“Tendrils” by Leigh Saunders

“Moonfall” by Lisa Silverthorne

“The Rock of Kansas” by Eric Kent Edstrom

“Hot Jupiters” by Steven Mohan, Jr.

“Embedded” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

“Ice Dogs” by Kris Austen Radcliffe

“Closing The Big Bang” by Michéle Laframboise

“Time, Expressed As An Entrée” by Robert T. Jeschonek

A fat scientist must survive a Martian sandstorm without asking for directions !

Ligia, a young overweight geologist, copes with day-to-day harassment from her prospecting team mates. Mars' high female-to-male ratio negates any chance of companionship for her. While the specter of an all-out war looms over the Red planet, Ligia thinks about the floating cities of Venus, where a mostly male population of scientists work to reverse the hothouse effect of their inhospitable world.
When a freak accident leaves her stranded with an incoming sandstorm, Ligia has only a few hours of air left in her tanks. She must draw upon her meager resources and rising anger to extend her life. But is survival really worth it when death can plunge from the sky at any moment?