Published simultaneously as Desolation Road, the Empire Dreams collection was intended to exploit the author's nomination for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1985. It collects the following stories:
- "Vivaldi Visits to Remarkable Cities"
- "Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh"
- "Scenes from a Shadowplay Radio Marrakech"
- "King of Morning, Queen of Day"
- "The Island of the Dead"
- "Empire Dreams (Ground Control to Major Tom)"
- "Christian The Catharine Wheel (Our Lady of Tharsis)"