The Breath of Heaven

This sampler pack brings together three stories by Hugo and Nebula nominee Nancy Fulda.

KNOWING NEITHER KIN NOR FOE
Kitjaya is a solo mind, bereft of telepathic communication with her siblings and isolated from the only deity her species has ever known. An ancient prophecy foretells that Kitjaya will protect her kin from a malevolent destroyer, but as the day of reckoning approaches, she finds herself unwilling to play out the role demanded of her.

THE BREATH OF HEAVEN
Sacia's fellow AIs have eradicated all humans from their colony world and are plotting the destruction of the second wave of colonists. Sacia's struggle to smooth the conflict between man and machine revisits questions initially posed by Asimov and Clarke, and casts the HAL 9000 story in an intriguing new light.

IN THE HALLS OF THE SKY-PALACE
A mysterious presence stalks the hallways of the Sky-King's palace, stealing dreams and condemning the king's dancers to a living death. As the sole remaining bearer of the Gift of Perception, the task of unraveling this mystery falls to young Aesva. But she is uncertain; inexperienced; and the woman most able to assist her has already died.

PRAISE FOR NANCY FULDA'S WRITING
Ms Fulda is an accomplished writer, easily sketching out new worlds and drawing the reader in... If you like thoughtful science fiction shorts, I recommend this -- Good Book Alert

When I review a story this well-written, I find myself admiring one expression after the other and wanting to quote them all, to tell readers, 'Look at this! Admire this!' -- Lois Tilton, Locus Reviews

I consider "Blue Ink" and "The Man Who Murdered Himself" the highlights of the collection ["Dead Men Don't Cry"]. Both are imaginative stories regarding cloning, but a special type of cloning called "molecular replication", which allows the replicated individual to come face to face with the original from which she was created, with some quite profound consequences. -- Sift Book Reviews