Thirteen tales of human striving, of ingenuity, brilliance, desperate action, violence, and resolution. Thirteen tales of Conflict, of Science Fiction at its absolute best, from some of the genre’s most accomplished writers. Includes a rare short story from Lauren Beukes, winner of the 2011 Arthur C Clarke Award.A beleaguered army unit fights a very alien war and is forced to mourn one of their own; the crew of a Russian ice submarine faces an uncertain future in a dystopian world; a war artist lifts the lid on what’s really going on in a disturbingly plausible future; a warrior returns home from galactic conflict only to face his greatest ever challenge; a teacher fights desperately to save a school and its pupils from the ravages of the dreaded Harvesters; a missionary doctor harbours an alien fugitive against all advice and reason; we enter the powder-keg environment of an alien prison installation…