''The Last Reef and Other Stories'' (, published by
Elastic Press
Elastic Press was a British small press specialising in single-author short story collections. It was run by Andrew Hook between November 2002 and November 2008 and was based in Norwich.
In 2005 and 2009 Elastic received British Fantasy Awards fo ...
) is a collection of
science fiction short stories by British writer
Gareth L. Powell
Gareth Lyn Powell (born 1970) is a British author of science fiction. His works include the ''Embers of War'' trilogy, the ''Continuance'' series, the ''Ack-Ack Macaque'' trilogy, ''Light Chaser'' (co-written with Peter F. Hamilton), and ''Abou ...
. It compiles much of his short fiction from before 2008.
Stories
*"Sunsets and Hamburgers": A 2006 short story originally in
Byzarium'. This was an experimental story based around the concept of
Transrealism.
*"The Last Reef": A 2006 story and Powell's first ''
Interzone'' sale. The story features the technical concept of a machine that can be used to transform its user
Reprinted on Best SF.*"The Redoubt": A 2007 story, archived i
The story is a first person narrative telling of the memories of one of the last humans alive.
*"Ack-Ack Macaque": Powell's second ''Interzone'' sale and winner of the 2007 Interzone reader's poll for best short story. It will be incorporated into a novel of the same name, Powell's third. An audio version is found on
Transmissions From Beyond'.
*"Pod Dreams of Tuckertown": A 2007 story, archived i
Byzarium
*"Six Lights off Green Star": A 2005 story featuring starship pilots engaging in the sport of "random-jumping" via hyperdrives into unknown areas of space. Archived on
'. Elements of this story were later incorporated into ''The Recollection''.
*"Distant Galaxies Colliding": a 2005 short story, originally in ''Quantum Muse''. Also archived on
'. Elements of this story were later incorporated into ''The Recollection''.
*"Falling Apart": A dark, entropic, near future story from 2008 set in a decaying
Weston-super-Mare.
*"Morning Star": a revised edition of the
cyberpunk-inspired "Catch A Burning Star" from 2004. The original was published on
Aphelion'.
*"A Necklace of Ivy": A rewritten version of a 1995 short story.
*"Hot Rain": A 2008 story expanding on an incident mentioned in "The Last Reef".
*"The Long Walk Aft": Flash Fiction from 2008. Collected o
Powell's website
*"Arches": A 2008 story inspired by the London skyline. Elements of this story were later incorporated into ''The Recollection''.
*"Flotsam": A 2008 story set in the same milieu as "The Last Reef" and "Hot Rain".
*"Cat in a Box": A retitled version of Powell's 2005 story "The Kitten Box". Part o
"Mare Inebrium" setting.
External links
''The Last Reef and Other Stories'' on Gareth L. Powell's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Reef and Other Stories
2008 short story collections
Science fiction short story collections
British short story collections