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Dear Abbey

Terry Bisson

First published August 2003
Type Short Fiction
Length Novella

Synopsis

<b>From the front flap of the PS Publishing hardback edition:</b> "Would you sacrifice humanity to save the planet Earth? <p>Cole is an obscure professor at an undistinguished community college--a man without a future. Lee is a Chinese political refugee with a Texas accent --a man without a past. <p>They share a tiny office, a taste for Edward Abbey (and Jack Daniels), and an awesome destiny. For the most fateful decision in human history is theirs to make. <p>One fateful Friday night, Cole and Lee join hands (literally) and embark on a journey to retrieve a formula that will change, or end, human history. A journey through Time. <p>Along the way, they are witness to all the horror and all the glory of our tomorrows--from the cannibal seals of the next Ice Age to the final campfire under a dying sun; from the seductions of 30th century Paris to the pleasures of a dinner party a hundred million years in the future. They even find time to meet man's best friend, as well as his most indifferent enemy. <p>It's a billion-year leap -- the perfect way to spend a long weekend that stretches all the way from Friday night to the End of Time. And your presence is requested as well."

Awards

YearAwardCategoryStatus
2003 British Science Fiction Award Best Short Fiction Nominee/Finalist
2004 Locus Poll Award Best Novella Nominee/Finalist

Publications (9)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
August 2003 Dear Abbey PS Publishing Chapbook
August 2003 Dear Abbey PS Publishing Chapbook 9
July 2004 The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection St. Martin's Griffin Anthology 594
July 2004 The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection St. Martin's Griffin / SFBC Anthology 693
July 2004 The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection St. Martin's Griffin Anthology 594
November 2004 The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction: 17th Annual Collection Robinson Anthology 640
July 2005 Greetings Tachyon Publications Collection 277
September 2011 The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction: 17th Annual Collection Robinson Anthology |640
December 2013 Dear Abbey Chapbook