The Third World War – Through A Glass Darkly

Mike Resnick is, according to Locus, the trade paper of the science fiction field, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. To date he’s sold 76 science fiction novels plus 3 mysteries, and 9 nonfiction books (all of them about writing or science fiction or both). He’s sold upward of 280 stories, and even a trio of screenplays. He’s edited more than 40 anthologies, and served stints as the consulting science fiction editor for BenBella Books and the executive editor for Jim Baen’s Universe. He’s edited Galaxy’s Edge Magazine and Stellar Guild Books for Arc Manor Books. He’s won 5 Hugos, and been nominated a record 37 times; he’s also won a Nebula and other major awards in the USA, France, Poland, Croatia, Spain, Catalonia, China, and Japan, and has been shortlisted for major awards in England, Italy, and Australia. His work has been translated into 26 languages so far. He was Guest of Honor at the 2012 World Science Fiction Convention.

His story, “The Third World War”, appears in the Weird World War III anthology.

From the Editor

As many of you know, Mike passed in early 2020, and I did not have an opportunity to interview him one final time for the Weird World War III anthology. So in lieu of that interview, I wanted to use this post to say

A legend in the genre, Mike always made a point of giving back to the science fiction and fantasy community by taking new writers and editors under his wing. I consider myself one of his “writer children” as do several of the authors in this collection. He was the judge who presented me with my award on stage at the Writers of the Future Contest. I owe a great deal of my publishing success to his mentorship and support. It is with both great pride and profound sadness that I have the honor and privilege of sharing one of his last stories in this anthology, my first as an editor. Mike’s advice and encouragement were instrumental in bringing this project to life. Without his guidance, this anthology would not have been possible. Fare thee well, old friend.

Mike Resnick: In Memorium

Story’s Soundtrack

Each of the stories in this volume evoked certain themes and emotions that can sometimes be approximated with music. The below video is the editor’s best interpretation of the feelings and themes that this author’s story evoked. Please note that this is only the editor’s interpretation. The author did not know this portion of the blog post existed until the editor published it.