Maps of the Edge contains seventeen SF stories, originally published in
various magazines and anthologies, now collected in a single volume.
In "Erosion" (reprinted in three Year's Best anthologies), a cyborg
road-tests his new body before leaving Earth for the stars. "The Golden Record"
sees future collectors competing to retrieve 20th century space probes. In "The
Hastillan Weed", conservationists fight an alien plant spreading across the
English countryside.
The remaining tales range from post-apocalypse archaeology to galaxy-spanning
bureaucracy, via wacky inventors and lovestruck corporations. The
collection concludes with an Afterword discussing the inspirations and
background behind all the stories.
The table of contents is listed below. (The original publication venues
are noted in brackets; for further details, click the "info" links.)
"Erosion" (Asimov's Science Fiction, October/November 2009) — info
"The Golden Record" (Asimov's Science Fiction, December 2006) — info
"The Hastillan Weed" (Asimov's Science Fiction, February 2006) — info
"Reality 2.0" (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, October/November 2004) — info
"The Edge of the Map" (Asimov's Science Fiction, June 2006) — info
"This Is How It Feels" (Asimov's Science Fiction, March 2008) — info
"Cut and Pastiche" (Neometropolis, December 2004) — info
"Cut Loose the Bonds of Flesh and Bone" (Asimov's Science Fiction, September 2008) — info
"Proper Names" (Challenging Destiny, December 2002) — info
"Crimes, Follies, Misfortunes and Love" (Asimov's Science Fiction, August 2010) — info
"Demonstration Day" (Oceans of the Mind, Fall 2003) — info
"Successful Delegation" (Noesis, June 1999) — info
"The Adventures of Captain Contempt in Mixed Media Installations" (Alternate Species, February 2003) — info
"In Profit And In Loss" (TEL : Stories edited by Jay Lake, November 2005) — info