Unlike fantasy, science fiction has no deep tradition or broad basis in Austrian literature. It is mostly written by authors who have written no other fiction, sometimes by professional scientists for whom science fiction is their natural literary outlet. Herbert W. Franke, Peter Schattschneider or Michael Springer are all physicists. Most prolific and prominent among them is H.W. Franke, but even he cannot make a living from science fiction; like Austrian literature in general, Austrian science fiction is published mostly by German houses. This anthology presents a representative sample of Austrian science fiction and contains a comprehensive overview of the history and current state of science fiction in Austria by the editor.