The best speculative fiction stories end in surprising ways. Here are 17 that not only end well, but began in ways as wide ranging and surprising as the best twist endings. The Outliers are 17 authors who view the fantastic through very different lenses of personal experience and imagination. They are well known and unpublished, they are men and women, they are straight and LGBTQ, they come from seven different nations and several races and distinct cultures. They all bring you stories from outside speculative fiction's mainstream with voices as compelling as any and visions daring and unique. From forgotten gods to downtrodden superheroes, from visions of imperfect futures to new mythologies for the modern age, these are The Outliers of Speculative Fiction.