From the desert surface of Mercury to the cold landscape of Pluto, this unique collection explores the nine planets and the sun of our solar system in ten visionary tales from the masters of modern science fiction. Contents 1 • The Sun Spider • (1987) • novelette by Lucius Shepard 42 • Cilia-of-Gold • (1994) • novelette by Stephen Baxter 75 • Dawn Venus • (1995) • novelette by G. David Nordley 116 • Touchdown • (1990) • shortstory by Nancy Kress 136 • The Difficulties Involved in Photographing Nix Olympica • (1986) • shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss 157 • The Very Pulse of the Machine • (1998) • novelette by Michael Swanwick 182 • Ex Vitro • (1995) • shortstory by Daniel Marcus 199 • Into the Blue Abyss • (1999) • shortstory by Geoffrey A. Landis 222 • Second Skin • (1997) • shortstory by Paul J. McAuley 253 • Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe • [Eight Worlds] • (1977) • novelette by John Varley