Venus Smiles (and Other Vermillion Sands Stories) English 2026

Welcome to Vermilion Sands, the fully automated desert-resort ready to fulfil your most exotic whims.

Out over the towering Coral D, sky artists paint the sky with clouds. A musical statue is broken down, but finds new life in unwanted places. A mysterious new resident introduces a new way of making poetry - aided by machine. Drawing together some of the most mesmerising and mind-blowing stories from J.G. Ballard's Vermillion Sands art-infused universe, this short collection is a passport into the genius of science fiction's most visionary pioneer.

Includes the stories: 'Cry Hope, Cry Fury!', 'The Cloud-Sculptors of Coral-D', 'Venus Smiles' and 'Studio 5, The Stars'

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days