From Ancient Egypt to science fiction, the sun casts a long shadow over myth, legend and the modern short story. A feast of modern fiction, folklore and mythology, you'll find new stories from submissions, and ancient tales of the looming, life-giving, eye-burning solar entity that dominates our sky. The sun has inspired many stories – tales of its origins and influence, in the myths and traditions of the ancient world, to modern storytellers who employ technology and deep space exploration to discover the many suns of the universe. For ancient Egyptians, the sun deity Ra was the first Pharaoh; in the ancient Vedic culture the sun, Surya, was guarded against the darkness by Usha and Pratyusha; for the Norse, the beautiful siblings Sol and Mani drove the sun ahead of the snarling wolf Sköll; for the ancient Chinese, it was a demon or dragon who threatened the sun and an eclipse was a sign of near success; for the Cherokee, the Sun was jealous of the moon because the people could only squint during the day, but looked adoringly at the pale moon light of the night. The Maori of New Zealand tell of the sun being ambushed by Maui, and for the Romans, Aurora, the Goddess of the Dawn, brought renewal and relief across the lands. Such stories reveal the foundations of humanity, alongside modern writers who explore the other worlds and many stars that dispense both life and fear to civilizations on our own and so many other planets. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Maddox Emory Arnold, Beston Barnett, Cara Giles, Amanda Ilozumba, J.A. Johnson, Andrew Knighton, Joshua Lim, Ondine Mayor, Damien Mckeating, Stewart Moore, Owen Morgan, Christopher R. Muscato, Rob Nisbet, Katherine Quevedo, E.C. Robinson, Faye Snowden, Rose Strickman, Alyza Taguilaso, Lauren C. Teffeau, and Caroline Winge. These appear alongside classic work by William Hope Hodgson, Amy Lowell, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and more, plus mythology, folklore and indigenous tales from around the world. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure. "A lovely mix of styles, with old tales reading with great modernity and new authors proving they would have been a match for Aesop, Homer and other classic story writers and the oral bards preceding them in many cultures." -- Concatenation Ravit Helled (Foreword) is a full Professor for Theoretical Astrophysics at the Department of Astrophysics, University of Zurich, whose lectures include such topics as ‘The Sun and Planets’. Prof. Helled is an international expert in planetary science and has made breakthrough contributions to the understanding of the formation, evolution and internal structure of planets. She stands out by contributing to both Solar System and exoplanet science and their connection. Prof. Helled is involved in various ESA and NASA space missions. She is a frequent invited speaker in scientific conferences, and serves in various international committees and science panels.