We have adorned the lowest heaven with an ornament, the planets. A string of murders on Venus. Saturn's impossible forest. Voyager I's message to the stars - returned in kind. Edible sunlight. The Lowest Heaven collects seventeen astonishing, never-before-published stories from award-winning authors and provocative new literary voices, each inspired by a body in the solar system, and features extraordinary images drawn from the archives of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Contributors include Sophia McDougall, Alastair Reynolds, Archie Black, Maria Dahvana Headley, Adam Roberts, Simon Morden, E. J.
Swift, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Mark Charan Newton, Kaaron Warren, Lavie Tidhar, Esther Saxey, David Bryher, S.L. Grey, Kameron Hurley, Matt Jones and James Smythe. The Lowest Heaven is introduced by Dr. Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory, with a cover designed by award-winning artist Joey Hi-Fi. Contains Sophia McDougall's "Golden Apple," a finalist for the British Fantasy Awards, E.J. Swift's "Saga's Children," a finalist for the BSFA and Kaaron Warren's "Air, Water and the Grove," finalist for the Ditmar and winner of the Aurealis Awards.
This is the solar system as you've never seen it before. "Every contribution to this excellent anthology is of stellar quality." - Financial Times "A perfect snapshot of the the state of current science fiction. There's a lot to relish here, a lot to enjoy, and nothing that doesn't display both thought and talent." - ARC "Visually beautiful with an incredibly high quality of fiction. Highly recommended." - The List "As inspiring as it is inspired." - Tor.
com Selected for Locus' Recommended Reading List. "An indispensable collection of short fiction." - SF Signal ""Published in partnership with the Royal Observatory Greenwich, The Lowest Heaven] comes with an array of lavish photographs and drawings from the observatory's archive. It's a strong collection; the best stories veer towards fantasy rather than, as might be expected in an anthology about the solar system, the science fictional." - Guardian "The tales act as a portrait of the different voices and approaches in today's SF, as well as proving the genre hasn't run out of ways to explore our dreams" - SFX.