''METAtropolis'' is a series of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

audiobook collections. In 2008, Audible.com released the audiobook anthology ''METAtropolis'', edited by

John Scalzi John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his ''Old Man's War'' series, three novels of which have been nom ...

and featuring short fiction in a

shared world A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

created by Scalzi,

Elizabeth Bear Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky (born September 22, 1971) is an American author who works primarily in speculative fiction genres, writing under the name Elizabeth Bear. She won the 2005 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the 2008 Hugo A ...

Tobias Buckell Tobias S. Buckell (born 1979) is a New York Times Bestselling author and World Fantasy Award winner born in the Caribbean. He grew up in Grenada and spent time in the British and US Virgin Islands, which influence much of his work. His novels an ...

Jay Lake Joseph Edward "Jay" Lake, Jr. (June 6, 1964 – June 1, 2014) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. In 2003 he was a quarterly first-place winner in the Writers of the Future contest. In 2004 he won the John W. Campbell Award for B ...

, and

Karl Schroeder Karl Schroeder () (born September 4, 1962) is a Canadian science fiction author and a professional futurist. His novels present far-future speculations on topics such as nanotechnology, terraforming, augmented reality, and interstellar travel, a ...

. ''METAtropolis'' was planned from the beginning to be released as an audio anthology prior to any print edition. The audiobook featured the voices of

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

actors Michael Hogan,

Alessandro Juliani Alessandro Juliani (born July 6) is a Canadian actor and singer. He is notable for playing the roles of Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Sci-Fi Channel television program ''Battlestar Galactica'', Emil Hamilton in ''Smallville'', Ja ...

and

Kandyse McClure Candice McClure (born 22 March 1980), known professionally as Kandyse McClure, is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Anastasia Dualla in the SyFy series ''Battlestar Galactica'' and as Dr. Clementine Chasseur in the Netflix series ...

. In 2009 Subterranean Press released a limited edition print run of ''METAtropolis'', which was subsequently published by Tor in a standard hardcover edition, in 2010. In 2009 ''METAtropolis'' received nominations for the

Audie Award for Original Work The Audie Award for Original Work is one of the Audie Awards presented annually by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). It awards excellence in narration, production, and content for an audiobook not recorded from a pre-existing book or play rele ...

and the

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

. In 2012 the Audie Award for Original Work was given to ''METAtropolis: Cascadia''. In 2015 ''METAtropolis: The Wings We Dare Aspire'' was a finalist for the Endeavour Award (for the best book by a writer from the Pacific Northwest). Several stories of the series were selected for various "Best of" and other anthologies.''METAtropolis: The Wings We Dare Aspire'', Introduction, by Steve Feldberg, 2014,

METAtropolis series

# 2008: ''METAtropolis: The Dawn of Uncivilization''

Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders is an American writer and commentator. She has written several novels, published magazines and websites, and hosted podcasts. In 2005, she received the Lambda Literary Award for work in the transgender category, and in 2009, t ...

"Metatropolis Is The Best Kind Of Urban Renewal"
a book review ##Jay Lake,"In the Forests of the Night" ##Tobias Buckell,"Stochasti-city" ##Elizabeth Bear,"The Red in the Sky is Our Blood" ##John Scalzi,"Utere nihil non extra quiritationem suis" ##Karl Schroeder, " To Hie from Far Cilenia" # 2010: ''METAtropolis: Cascadia''"METAtropolis: Cascadia"
a review at

LibraryThing LibraryThing is a social cataloging web application for storing and sharing book catalogs and various types of book metadata. It is used by authors, individuals, libraries, and publishers. Based in Portland, Maine, LibraryThing was developed by ...

##Jay Lake, "The Bull Dancers" ##Mary Robinette Kowal, "Water to Wine" ##Tobias S. Buckell, "Byways" ##Elizabeth Bear, "Confessor" ##Karl Schroeder, "

Deodand A deodand is a thing forfeited or given to God, specifically, in law, an object or instrument that becomes forfeited because it has caused a person's death. The English common law of deodands traces back to the 11th century and was applied, on a ...

" ##Ken Scholes, "A Symmetry of Serpents and Doves" # 2013: ''METAtropolis: Green Space'' ## "Rock of Ages", by Jay Lake ## "Green and Dying", by Elizabeth Bear ## "The Desire Lines", by Karl Schroeder ## "Midway Bells & Dying Breeds", by Seanan McGuire ## "Tensegrity", by Tobias S. Buckell ## "Forest of Memories", by Mary Robinette Kowal ## "Let Me Hide Myself in Thee", by Ken Scholes # 2014: ''METAtropolis: The Wings We Dare Aspire'' ## Foreword, by Kevin J. Anderson ## Introduction, by Steve Feldberg ## "In the Forests of the Night", by Jay Lake ## "The Bull Dancers", by Jay Lake ## "A Symmetry of Serpents and Doves", by Ken Scholes ## "Rock of Ages", by Jay Lake ## "Let Me Hide Myself in Thee", by Ken Scholes The stories from ''METAtropolis''-1 are set in the cities of a shared

near future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

postapocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astr ...

world, whose common setting was worked out by the contributors together. Unlike most postapocalyptic tales, the ones in the anthology are optimistic: from the chaos of a collapsed civilization a better way of life may arise. While ''METAtropolis''-1 is set in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, its continuation, ''METAtropolis''-2, is set in the new city-state of Cascadia emerging in the Pacific Northwest of the former United States and Canada,Cascadia is a reference to the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

stretching in the area originated in Jay Lake's story "In the Forests of the Night". The stories in ''METAtropolis'' 1 and 2 are prefaced with the editor's commentary on the origin of the story and its place within METAtropolis. Publisher's summary for ''METAtropolis: Green Space'':"METAtropolis: Green Space"
at audible.com

As ''METAtropolis: Green Space'' moves into the 22nd Century, human social evolution is heading in new directions after the Green Crash and the subsequent Green Renaissance. Nearly everyone who cares to participate in the wired world has become part of the "
Internet of things The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other comm ...
", a virtual environment mapped across all aspects of the natural experience. At the same time, the serious back-to-the-land types have embraced a full-on paleo lifestyle, including genetically engineering themselves and their offspring. At the same time, a back-to-space movement is seeking the moon, a green Mars, and even the stars, with the eventual goal of leaving a pristine and undisturbed Earth behind.

In the foreword to the ''METAtropolis: The Wings We Dare Aspire'', Kevin J. Anderson, the operator of the small publishing company WordFire Press which published the book, explained that since

was dying of cancer, there was no time to wait for major publishers to process the print edition of ''METAtropolis'', hence the release by WordFire.''METAtropolis: The Wings We Dare Aspire'', Foreword, by Kevin J. Anderson, 2014, The volume represents a kind of a "

story within a story A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...

" in METAtropolis, created by the two authors.

Notes

References

{{reflist Audiobooks Science fiction anthology series Collaborative fiction