Admiral Naismith of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries, is a young man of many parts.Miles and his handsome cousin Ivan are called upon to play a simple diplomatic role on the capital world of Barrayar's old enemy until murder and deceit thrust them into Cetagandan internal politics at the highest levels, and Miles discovers the secrets of the haut-women's biological domain to be very complicated indeed.Commander Elli Quinn, sent by Miles on the trail of those secrets, meets a man who marches to the beat of a very different drummer. Dr. Ethan Urquhart, obstetrician from a planet forbidden to women, is on a quest at cross-purposes to Elli's mission - or is it?Consequences of Cetagandan bioengineering continue to play out, this time on a Dendrii sortie to the crime planet of Jackson's Whole. When he encounters a genetically altered super-soldier, Miles's routine rescue strike takes a sudden hard turn for the unanticipated.Contents: CetagandaEthan of AthosLabyrinth.

    Ballard has been one of Britain's most celebrated novelists. From the beginning he has been equally admired for his distinctive and highly influential short stories, the first of which - "Prima Belladonna" and "Escapement" - appeared in Science Fantasy and New Worlds in 1956. Now, all of his published stories - including four not previously featured in a collection - have been arranged in the order of original publication, providing an unprecedented opportunity to review the career of one of Britain's greatest writers.A Washington Post Best Book of 2009, Boston Globe Best Book, Los Angeles Times Favorite Book, and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book.Contents:- Prima Belladonna [Vermilion Sands] (1956)- Escapement (1956)- The Concentration City (1957, variant of Build-Up)- Venus Smiles [Vermilion Sands] (1957)- Manhole 69 (1957)- Track 12 (1958)- The Waiting Grounds (1959)- Now: Zero (1959)- The Sound-Sweep (1960)- Zone of Terror (1960)- Chronopolis (1960)- The Voices of Time (1960)- The Last World of Mr. Goddard (1960)- Studio 5, The Stars [Vermilion Sands] (1961)- Deep End (1961)- The Overloaded Man (1961)- Mr F. is Mr F. (1961)- Billennium (1961)- The Gentle Assassin (1961)- The Insane Ones (1962)- The Garden of Time (1962)- The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista [Vermilion Sands] (1962)- Thirteen to Centaurus (1962)- Passport to Eternity (1962)- The Cage of Sand (1962)- The Watch-Towers (1962)- The Singing Statues [Vermilion Sands] (1962)- The Man on the 99th Floor (1962)- The Subliminal Man (1963)- The Reptile Enclosure (1963)- A Question of Re-Entry (1963)- The Time-Tombs (1963)- Now Wakes the Sea (1963)- The Venus Hunters (1963)- End-Game (1963)- Minus One (1963)- The Sudden Afternoon (1963)- The Screen Game [Vermilion Sands] (1963)- Time of Passage (1964)- Prisoner of the Coral Deep (1964)- The Lost Leonardo (1964)- The Terminal Beach (1964)- The Illuminated Man (1964)- The Delta at Sunset (1964)- The Drowned Giant (1964)- The Gioconda of the Twilight Noon (1964)- The Volcano Dances (1964)- The Beach Murders (1966)- The Day of Forever (1966)- The Impossible Man (1966)- Storm-Bird, Storm-Dreamer (1966)- Tomorrow Is a Million Years (1966)- The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Considered as a Downhill Motor Race (1966)- Cry Hope, Cry Fury! [Vermilion Sands] (1967)- The Recognition (1967)- The Cloud-Sculptors of Coral D [Vermilion Sands] (1967)- Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan (1968)- The Dead Astronaut (1968)- The Comsat Angels (1968)- The Killing Ground (1969)- A Place and a Time to Die (1969)- Say Goodbye to the Wind [Vermilion Sands] (1970)- The Greatest Television Show on Earth (1972)- My Dream of Flying to Wake Island (1974)- The Air Disaster (1975)- Low-Flying Aircraft (1975)- The Life and Death of God (1976)- Notes Towards a Mental Breakdown (1976)- The 60 Minute Zoom (1976)- The Smile (1976)- The Ultimate City (1976)- The Dead Time (1977)- The Index (1977)- The Intensive Care Unit (1977)- Theatre of War (1977)- Having a Wonderful Time (1978)- One Afternoon at Utah Beach (1978)- Zodiac 2000 (1978)- Motel Architecture (1978)- A Host of Furious Fancies (1980)- News from the Sun (1981)- Memories of the Space Age (1982)- Myths of the Near Future (1982)- Report on an Unidentified Space Station (1982)- The Object of the Attack (1984)- Answers to a Questionnaire (1985)- The Man Who Walked on the Moon (1985)- The Secret History of World War 3 (1988)- Love in a Colder Climate (1989)- The Enormous Space (1989)- The Largest Theme Park in the World (1989)- War Fever (1989)- Dream Cargoes (1990)- A Guide to Virtual Death (1992)- The Message from Mars (1992)- Report from an Obscure Planet (1992)

    the desperate, take-no-prisoners struggle that led humanity to Halo--the fall of the planet Reach. Now, brought to life for the first time, here is the full story of that glorious, doomed conflict.While the brutal Covenant juggernaut sweeps inexorably through space, intent on wiping out humankind, only one stronghold remains--the planet Reach. Practically on Earth's doorstep, it is the last military fortress to defy the onslaught. But the personnel here have another, higher priority: to prevent the Covenant from discovering the location of Earth.Outnumbered and outgunned, the soldiers seem to have little chance against the Covenant, but Reach holds a closely guarded secret. It is the training ground for the very first "super soldiers." Code-named SPARTANs, these highly advanced warriors, specially bioengineered and technologically augmented, are the best in the universe--quiet, professional, and deadly.Now, as the ferocious Covenant attack begins, a handful of SPARTANs stand ready to wage ultimate war. They will kill, they will be destroyed, but they will never surrender. And at least one of them--the SPARTAN known as Master Chief--will live to fight another day on a mysterious and ancient, artificial world called Halo...

    The day aliens decide to demolish the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass is the day when Arthur Dent realises the futility of such advice. The story begins when Arthur, not really your average man-in-the-street, finds that his planet is suddenly destroyed around him, and the great hitch-hike begins... Starring Peter Jones as The Book, Simon Jones as Arthur Dent and Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect, this is the first Douglas Adams' legendary radio series.3 CDs. 3 hrs.

    Now he must become a man, or the entire galaxy will suffer arrested adolescence.

    Inquisitor Eisenhorn faces a vast interstellar cabal and the dark power of daemons, all racing to recover an arcane text of supreme and abominable power - an ancient tome known as the Necroteuch. Book I in the Eisenhorn trilogy sets a new standard in action and adventure.

    And it is only the Speaker for the Dead, who is also Ender Wiggin the Xenocide, who has the courage to confront the mystery...and the truth.Xenocide:The war for survival of the planet Lusitania will be fought in the hearts of a child named Gloriously Bright.On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequininos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought.Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus that kills all humans it infects, but which the pequininos require in order to become adults. The Startways Congress so fears the effects of the descolada, should it escape from Lusitania, that they have ordered eh destruction of the entire planet, and all who live there. The Fleet is on its way, a second xenocide seems inevitable. Children of the Mind: The planet Lusitania is home to three sentient species: the Pequeninos; a large colony of humans; and the Hive Queen, brought there by Ender. But once against the human race has grown fearful; the Starways Congress has gathered a fleet to destroy Lusitania.Jane, the evolved computer intelligence, can save the three sentient races of Lusitania. She has learned how to move ships outside the universe, and then instantly back to a different world, abolishing the light-speed limit. But it takes all the processing power available to her, and the Starways Congress is shutting down the Net, world by world.Soon Jane will not be able to move the ships. Ender's children must save her if they are to save themselves.

    Now, with the entire city corrupted -from the people to the very buildings they inhabit- only the most wretched sort of existence remains. For security operative Tanner Mirabel, it is the landscape of nightmares through which he searches for a low-life postmortal killer. But the stakes are raised when his search brings him face to face with a centuries-old atrocity that history would rather forget.

    When they discover the mythical paradise planet Edena, their lives are changed forever. The long out-of-print Edena Cycle from Moebius gets a deluxe hardcover treatment! Moebius's World of Edena story arc comprises five chapters--Upon a Star, Gardens of Edena, The Goddess, Stel, and Sra--which are all collected here.A storyboard artist and designer ("Alien, Tron, The Fifth Element," among many others) as well as comic book master, Moebius's work has influenced creators in countless fields.

    An overview of the best science fiction short stories of the 20th century as selected and evaluated by critically-acclaimed author Orson Scott Card.

    These fascinating fauns have been captured here in the only comprehensive annotated field guide of its kind. Many years of extensive study and on-site observation have gone into these renderings, and great risk taken to learn about the natural habitats of all of the creatures. From the ice fields of Hoth and the pastures of Naboo to the concrete jungle of Coruscant and the intense heat and wind of Tatooine, identify and learn about the mating habits, feeding patterns, herding instincts, and defense mechanisms of these incredible beings. This extraordinary field guide provides the ultimate look at the wildlife of Star Wars.

    For now the Kezdai -- a newly encountered species with war at the center of their philosophy -- have taken to arms against the Concordiat and its colony worlds. For war, the Terrans have only one answer:Break out the BolosSelf-aware robotic tanks, the Bolos have fought bravely and well since the days when humans fought each other. Now they battle across the stars to defend us all...and though the times are perilous, we've never been in better hands than those of our old metal guardians: Keith Laumer's greatest creation, the Bolos.Includes:Incursion by by Mark ThiesRook's gambit by by John MinaThe sky is falling by by J. Steven York & Dan Wesley SmithBrothers by by William H. Keith, Jr.

    But as the Skins invade bucolic Thallspring, Z-B's strategy is about to go awry, all because of: Sgt. Lawrence Newton, a dreamer whose twenty years as a Skin have destroyed his hopes and desires; Denise Ebourn, a school teacher and resistance leader whose guerrilla tactics rival those of Che Guevara and George Washington and Simon Roderick, the director who serves Z-B with a dedication that not even he himself can understand. Grimly determined to steal, or protect, a mysterious treasure, the three players engage in a private war that will explode into unimaginable quests for personal grace...or galactic domination

    His team consists of Hachimaki, a hot shot debris-man with a sailor's affinity for the orbital ocean; Fee, a tomboy beauty with an abrasive edge and a penchant for smoking; and Pops, a veteran orbital mechanic whose avuncular presence soothes the stress of the job. Planetes follows the lives of Yuri and his fellow debris-men as they work and ruminate at the edge of the great empyrean sea.

    It is home to an enigmatic machinelike structure called the Blood Spire, which has already brutally and systematically claimed the lives of one starship crew that attempted to uncover its secrets. But nothing will deter Richard Swift from exploring this object of alien origin…

    Also includes a full-color eight-page insert, featuring photos from the movie!

    Introduction by Barry N. Malzberg. Dustjacket art by Bob Eggleton.

    A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world's record, three-mile-deep mine shaft. EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure.But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting ...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.

    At the urging of Whorl’s religious leader, Patera Silk, the people left the ship for an uncertain future on Blue – a world already inhabited by the inhumi, blood-drinking aliens who take human form.Now The Book of the Short Sun carries the story forward to the years after the great exodus, to let Horn, narrator of the earlier work, tell his own story.Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves on Blue, though crime, pollution and poverty have become so rampant in the city of New Viron that he is called upon to find Patera Silk. Horn must go to the still-orbiting Whorl and convince his old friend and mentor to return to Blue, for the legendary hero is the only one who can restore order and lead them to prosperity. But Horn isn’t even sure Silk still lives.Setting sail in a small boat, the aging Horn embarks on a long and difficult journey across the planet, trying to get to the Whorl. With the undine Seawrack, his adopted inhumi son, Krait, and his eldest son, Sinew, Horn makes it to the last working lander – only to be highjacked to the jungles of Green, where the inhumi imprison the passengers as slaves. There, he encounters the mysterious alien Neighbors who were once native to Blue, but whom the inhumi have all but exterminated. Horn joins their fight for freedom, is fatally wounded… and finds himself on another world, wearing a different body.As his inability to find Silk weighs heavily on his mind, Horn is further tormented by the fact that his new body bears a striking resemblance to the lost Caldé. In the end, he will have to answer a troubling question: has he truly failed in his sworn task, or has he become the very man he sought?Includes:On Blue's WatersIn Green's JunglesReturn To The Whorl

    Its 384 levels and thousands of staff members are supposedly able to meet the needs of the any conceivable alien patient - though that capacity is always being strained as more (and stranger) alien races turn up to join the galactic community. Sentient viruses, interspecies romances, undreamed-of institutional catering problems - it all lands on Sector General's doorstep. And the only thing weirder than a hitherto unknown alien species is having a member of that alien species turn up in your Emergency Room."--BOOK JACKET.

    With them he flies to Malacandra (Mars). There he escapes his two captors and discovers an amazing range of rational and spiritual creatures on the planet.In the sequel, Ransom is sent by the Eldila to Perelandra (Venus) to battle against evil incarnate and preserve a second Eden from the evil forces present in the possessed body of his enemy, Weston.

    Modesitt's Ecolitan Matter series, The Ecolitan Operation and The Ecologic Secession. Major Jimjoy Earle Wright, secret agent of the Empire, succeeds all too well in overthrowing a military dictatorship--and the result is a new government inimical to the Empire and disgrace for Jimjoy. After two assassination attempts, Jimjoy realizes that his worst enemies could become his best friends. Fighting his way to safety within the Ecolitan Institute, he becomes James Joyson Whaler, Ecolitan, joining a war of independence against the inconceivably superior forces of the Empire.Other Series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.The Saga of RecluceThe Imager PortfolioThe Corean ChroniclesThe Spellsong CycleThe Ghost BooksThe Ecolitan MatterThe Forever HeroTimegod's WorldOther BooksThe Green ProgressionHammer of DarknessThe Parafaith WarAdiamanteGravity DreamsThe Octagonal RavenArchform: BeautyThe Ethos EffectFlashThe Eternity ArtifactThe Elysium CommissionViewpoints CriticalHazeEmpress of EternityThe One-Eyed ManSolar Express

    . .As Elric and his student Galen watch with taut anticipation, dragons, angels, and shooting stars rain from the sky, heralding the arrival of the techno-mages on the planet Soom. It's the first time Elric-a member of the ruling Circle-has hosted such a gathering, and if all goes well, Galen and the other apprentices will emerge triumphant from the grueling initiation rites, ready to embrace their roles as full mages among the most powerful beings in the known universe.But rumors fly of approaching danger and Galen and his young lover, Isabelle, are chosen to investigate the dark tidings. An ancient race has awakened after a thousand years, thirsty for war, slaughter, and annihilation. Will the techno-mages be the deciding factor in the war ahead? Or the first casualties?

    True Names by Vernor Vinge, first published in 1981, is such a work.Here is a feast of articles by computer scientists and journalists on the cutting edge of the field, writing about innovations and developments of the Internet, including, among others:Danny Hillis: Founder of thinking machines and the first Disney Fellow.Timothy C. May: former chief scientist at Intel--a major insider in the field of computers and technology.Marvin Minsky: Cofounder of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab.Chip Morningstar and F. Randall Farmer: Codevelopers of habitat, the first real computer interactive environment.Mark Pesce: Cocreator of VRML and the author of the Playful World: How Technology Transforms Our Imagination.Richard M. Stallman: Research affiliate with MIT; the founder of the Free Software Movement.

    In The City and the Stars, the only man born among immortals wants to find out what lies beyond the city. And in The Sands of Mars, a science-fiction writer visits a research colony on Mars and discovers the perils of survival on another world.

    The three acclaimed novels from the Ivory trilogy - The Gate of Ivory, Two-Bit Heroes, and Guilt-Edged Ivory - chronicle the fantastical adventures of Theodora, an anthropology student whose travels to the planet Ivory unleash her own magical talents, in an omnibus edition.

    Investigating a series of murders leads Inquisitor Eisenhorn into the clutches of a Chaos cult in this short story set between Xenos and Malleus which was previously available in the Eisenhorn Omnibus.

    Now considered one of the greatest trackers in the country, this private investigator puts his nose to the ground to track down missing fugitives. When he crosses paths with a criminal gang called the Pack, Ukiah discovers just how much he has in common with the Pack.

    Indeed, the souls in Hell can be seen, and angels occasionally come to Earth, typically causing a mixture of miraculous events and capricious disasters.

    In another quarter of a century we think the global networks will have grown sufficiently to allow real emergence to take place... Thomas Tye's phenomenal financial success is due to a secret known only to a very few at the top of his corporation. But the monopolistic and increasingly bizarre activities of the mighty Tye Corporation have caught the attention of the UNISA - the United Nations' international security agency - and of famous biographer Haley Voss who wants to write an exposé of the suprisingly youthful-looking tycoon. Commercial spying has reached new dimensions and the World Bank is concerned that, unrestrained, the Tye Corporation activities could destabilize the world's financial markets. Then Thomas Tye announces that using a wholly new, benign and sustainable satellite technology he can change the world's weather for the benefit of all. As a demonstration, he promises to bring rain to end decades of drought in Ethiopia and he asks the people of the world to join him in delivering the world's biggest act of philanthropy. But the output from the satellite technology is exciting the world's super-dense information networks in ways nobody could have foreseen and, as the UN closes in on a corporation with more power than any single nation, a new entity begins to emerge which changes everybody's plans... Praise for Ray Hammond: 'Compelling, vivid and utterly terrifying... Be afraid, be very afraid.' - Daily Express 'This dazzling vision of global chaos explodes off the page with the dramatic force of a smart bomb.' - Daily Express Ray Hammond is a novelist, dramatist and non-fiction author. He is also a futurologist who lectures on future social and business trends for universities, corporations and governments. He lives in London and can be found on the web at www.rayhammond.com.

    Special Ops AX Agent Abel Nightroad teams up with a spunky young novice named Esther to try and stop Gyula, the bloodthirsty Marquis of Hungary, from unleashing the legendary Star of Sorrow.Set against a neo-gothic backdrop, this second Trinity Blood series--connected to the Rage Against the Moons series--promises plenty of action and intrigue as Esther and Abel struggle to save the lives of humans and vampires alike!

    SFBC edition containing The Star Faction, The Stone Canal and The Sky Road

    Introduction by Robert Silverberg. Afterword by George Zebrowski. Dustjacket art by Rolf Mohr.

    It's prime real estate for criminals, unscrupulous corporations, and invaders from beyond Federation space. But in Hub space, a citizen is expected to stand up for herself, blaster in hand; so when Trouble comes Hubward in large doses, there's an armed citizenry waiting for it.

    Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including:Stephen Baxter, M.Shayne Bell, Rick Cook, Albert E. Cowdrey, Tananarive Due, Greg Egan, Eliot Fintushel, Peter F. Hamilton, Earnest Hogan, John Kessel, Nancy Kress, Ursula K. Le Guin, Paul J. McAuley, Ian McDonald, Susan Palwick, Severna Park, Alastair Reynolds, Lucius Shepard, Brian Stableford, Charles Stross, Michael Swanwick, Steven Utley, Robert Charles WilsonSupplementing the stories is the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and lengthy list of honorable mentions, making this book a valuable resource in addition to serving as the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart.

    His body is kept young and in perfect health by advanced scientific methods; he has amassed such a fortune that he can own entire planets; and he has become a god. No, not a god of Earth, but one of the panetheon of the alien Pei'ans: he is Shimbo of Darktree, Shrugger of Thunders. Yet he doesn't believe that his personality has merged with the ancient consciousness of Shimbo, that he really can call down the skies upon his enemies. The time comes, however, when Francis Sandow must use these powers against the most dangerous antagonist in the universe: another Pei'an god -- Shimbo's own enemy, Belion. And Belion has no doubt whatever of his own powers.... Eye of Cat A retired hunter of alien zoo specimens, William Blackhorse Singer, the last Najavo on a future Earth, is called upon by the World Government to aid in protecting an alien diplomat from a powerful and hostile member of his own species. Singer, in turn, seeks the aid of a shape-shifting alien known as "Cat" in carrying out the mission. Cat accepts, with one condition: when the mission is over, he wants a return bout with the man who captured him -- a chase with Singer as the hunted instead of the hunter....

    His superior aesthetics...still overshadow most rivals....I am delighted his talent is again on splendid display!”—Michael Moorcock. “I am happy to see this collection of outstanding work.”—Sir Arthur C. Clarke. “Enlightening....Valuable.... Capable of evoking that fabled sense of wonder.”—SFRA Review.

    So when both men are stranded on far-off planets with no hope of rescue from Earth, they must rely on their wits and their training to survive. But survival is only the beginning. To better handle the rigors of the alien world of Topaz, Fox and his crewmates have been implanted with the memories of their Apache ancestors -- but the Opposition has sent its own team with the reawakened memories of their Mongol ancestors! Meanwhile, Murdock is trapped in the ancient past of the water world of Hawaika, facing terrifying wizards in a kingdom he knows will soon be utterly annihilated by an alien empire that is bent on the conquest of the entire galaxy. The fates of two worlds, and possibly the galaxy itself, will be determined by the actions of these castaways in time -- and whatever happens, the lives of Time Agents everywhere will be changed forever....

    During an attack on the freighter, Tag and Bink choose life over death, and "borrow" the armor off a pair of deceased stormtroopers to avoid being killed. Their new disguises get them off the freighter alive and send them off on an adventure neither of them could have predicted!

    But that doesn't explain why NASA picks her to be part of a two man, two woman crew to Mars -- or does it?Bob Kaganovski, the ship's mechanic, is paid to be paranoid -- and he's good at it. After a teeth-rattling launch, Bob realizes that his paranoia hasn't prepared him for this trip. He can deal with a banged-up ship, but how's he going to survive the next five months with HER just a flimsy partition away?Halfway to the Red Planet, an explosion leaves the crew with only enough oxygen for one. All evidence points to sabotage -- and Valkerie and Bob are the obvious suspects.Oxygen is a witty, multi-award-winning roller coaster ride, with a plot that moves at the speed of light.The authors had hoped to work in some cool controversy on science, faith, the meaning of life, the existence of God, and possibly even the Coke versus Pepsi debate, but they were having so much fun writing the story that they forgot to offend anyone.This is the second edition of Oxygen, released in September, 2011. It includes four bonus appendices that will specially interest aspiring authors and readers who want to know the story behind the story. Learn how John and Randy sold this novel to a publisher in less than 7 weeks -- without an agent. See the exact proposal they used to sell the book. And read their hilarious critiques of each other's first scene.

    It includes “Allamagoosa,” “And Then There Were None,” “Dear Devil,” “I Am Nothing,” “Jay Score,” and “Metamorphosite.” Introduction by Jack L. Chalker. Dustjacket art by Bob Eggleton.Contents8 • Editor's Introduction (Major Ingredients: The Selected Short Stories of Eric Frank Russell) • (2000) • essay by Rick Katze9 • Eric Frank Russell (Major Ingredients: The Selected Short Stories of Eric Frank Russell) • (2000) • essay by Jack L. Chalker13 • Allamagoosa • (1955) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell24 • And Then There Were None • (1951) • novella by Eric Frank Russell (variant of ... And Then There Were None)76 • The Army Comes to Venus • (1959) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell102 • Basic Right • (1958) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell124 • Dear Devil • (1950) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell152 • Diabologic • (1955) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell168 • Fast Falls the Eventide • (1952) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell182 • Hobbyist • (1947) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell206 • Homo Saps • (1941) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell214 • I Am Nothing • (1952) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell230 • Into Your Tent I'll Creep • (1957) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell237 • Jay Score • [Jay Score / Marathon • 1] • (1941) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell250 • Last Blast • (1952) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell287 • Late Night Final • (1948) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell314 • A Little Oil • (1952) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell330 • Meeting on Kangsham • (2000) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell (variant of Meeting on Kangshan 1965)342 • Metamorphosite • (1946) • novella by Eric Frank Russell386 • Minor Ingredient • (1956) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell399 • Now Inhale • (1959) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell418 • Nuisance Value • (1957) • novella by Eric Frank Russell472 • Panic Button • (1959) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell488 • Plus X • (1956) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell529 • Study in Still Life • (1959) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell549 • Tieline • (1955) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell555 • The Timid Tiger • (1947) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell571 • Top Secret • (1956) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell584 • The Ultimate Invader • (1954) • novella by Eric Frank Russell (variant of Design for Great-Day 1953)633 • The Undecided • (1949) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell656 • U-Turn • (1950) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell665 • The Waitabits • (1955) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell698 • The Man Who (Almost) Never Was (Major Ingredients: The Selected Short Stories of Eric Frank Russell) • (2000) • essay by Mike Resnick

    It includes such classic stories as "Child's Play," "Time in Advance," "Down Among the Dead Men," and "On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi."The next volume on the series, Here Comes Civilization, will contain the remainder of his short science fiction, the novel Of Men and Monsters, and the short novel A Lamp for Medusa.Tenn has long been considered one of the major satirists in the field. The Science Fiction Encyclopedia calls him "one of the genre's very few genuinely comic, genuinely incisive writers of short fiction." Theodore Sturgeon had the following to say:"It would be too wide a generalization to say that every SF satire, every SF comedy and every attempt at witty and biting criticism found in the field is a poor and usually cheap imitation of what this man has been doing since the '40s. [But] his incredibly involved and complex mind can at times produce constructive comment so pointed and astute that the fortunate recipient is permanently improved by it."

    A showcase of Syd Mead's futuristic designs and illustrations including work for products, entertainment (movies, TV, interactive games, theme parks), fantasy, toys, vehicles, architectual interriors and more.

    Collected Mendoza in Hollywood and The Graveyard Game.

    Now, for the first time anywhere, Troublemakers presents a collection of Ellison's classic stories -- chosen by the author -- that will introduce new readers to a writer described by the New York Times as having "the spellbinding quality of a great nonstop talker, with a cultural warehouse for a mind."

    This is the first unitary edition."... into the chaotic Galactic political scene, the CDT emerged to carry forward the ancient diplomatic tradition ... Corps diplomats displayed an encyclopedic grasp of the nuances of Extra-Terrestrial mores as set against the labyrinthine socio-politico-economic Galactic context..."-- Official History of the Corps Diplomatique, AD 2940NOT! What they really had was Retief! Ignore the official version--in these pages is the real story of how Retief tied the bad guys' eye-stalks in knots, and made the Galaxy safe for humanity.Contents:* Diplomat-at-Arms* Protocol* The Brass God* Sealed Orders* Palace Revolution* Cultural Exchange* Saline Solution* Native Intelligence* Policy* Ultimatum* The Prince and the Pirate* The Castle of Light* Retief's War* Wicker Wonderland* Courier* Protest Note* Aide Memoire

    Introduction by Jack L. Chalker. Dustjacket art by Bob Eggleton.Contents:9 • Editor's Introduction (Entities: The Selected Novels of Eric Frank Russell) • essay by Rick Katze11 • Wasp: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker13 • Wasp • (1957) • novel by Eric Frank Russell135 • Sentinels From Space: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker137 • Sentinels from Space • (1953) • novel by Eric Frank Russell275 • Call Him Dead: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker277 • Call Him Dead • novel by Eric Frank Russell (variant of Three to Conquer 1956)399 • Next of Kin: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker401 • Next of Kin • (1959) • novel by Eric Frank Russell (variant of The Space Willies 1958)499 • Sinister Barrier: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker501 • Sinister Barrier • (1939) • novel by Eric Frank Russell633 • Legwork • (1956) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell669 • Mana • (1937) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell673 • Mechanical Mice • (1941) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell and Maurice G. Hugi (variant of The Mechanical Mice) [as by Eric Frank Russell ]

    From the back cover: "Brian A. Hopkins is the author of over a hundred short stories published in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres and the Bram Stoker Award winning novel The Licking Valley Coon Hunters Club. His story 'Five Days in April' not only won a Bram Stoker Award in 1999, but was also a finalist for both the Nebula Award and the Ted Sturgeon Memorial Award." "Of the seventeen stories in this handsome trade paperback collection, fully twelve I consider outstanding examples of the storyteller's art. The other five are merely superb ... A deep spiritual, naturalistic streak runs through much of Brian Hopkins' work, though it's tempered by a strong nod to realism -- often seen as a scientific element or context -- and a sense of social commentary sadly lacking in much of horror today. Hopkins brings emotion back to [the horror] field..." -- from a review by William D. Gagliani"...poignant, thought-provoking tales of love, death, angels and miracles ... Absolutely stunning." -- Lesley Mazey, Eternal Night Science Fiction"Yippee. Please forgive me for being pleased, but this here is a new book we should sell very well indeed. Now that I have all these Hopkins fans on my hands, a new collection in a pretty package signed by ol' Brian himself should virtually fly out of here. You'll like this guy. Obviously well-read, obviously has a passion for the classic, obviously a fearless and highly imaginative storyteller. We've usually got several Hopkins collections in stock - try any one of them - I'm confident you'll be back for the others. As I've said before, for whatever this is worth, we've sold more trade paperbacks by Brian Hopkins than any other writer over the course of the last year or so." -- Mark V. Ziesing, Bookseller and Publisher"It's this collection of some of Hopkins' best short stories that will make the cold winter nights warmer, because what Hopkins does best with his words is reach inside and yank at the heart. And the soul. ...With his Michener-like eye for research and detail and his John D. MacDonald penchant for spinning an easily read yarn, Hopkins is quickly gaining his own fine reputation as a writer." -- Judi Rohrig in the Evansville, Indiana Courier & Press"This is a collection about experiences of the deepest, darkest, and most excruciating kind. Loss and love, fear and regret, splayed in all its black and painful glory . . . Nothing in These I Know By Heart is easy, and that, perhaps, is exactly as it should be. There are lessons to be learned in the turn of a phrase written by a talented hand and a knowing heart, and Brian Hopkins excels indeed in the role of teacher." -- Yvonne Navarro, from the Introduction"Brian Hopkins is a skilled writer whose stories show that he's always in control of the elements that make for great fiction: mastery of his craft, a keen sense of story, and boundless imagination. These I Know By Heart is the work of a true artist." -- Edo van Belkom, Bram Stoker Award Winning Author of Teeth"Brian Hopkins should take five steps forward and join the masters. His writing is eloquent, poignant, touching and delirious. Hopkins manages to both repulse and enchant within a single story, and writes with a quiet melancholy that is reminiscent of Bradbury at his best." -- James A. Moore, Author of Under the Overtree "Brian Hopkins is one of the most promising new horror writers of the past decade or so.

    He is now one of the most celebrated science fiction writers in the field , having won the field's top award, the Hugo, for each of his last two novels.Now, for the first time, this illustrious author gathers all his short fiction into a single volume. This collection is truly the definitive Vinge, capturing his visionary ideas at their very best. It also contains a never-before-published novella, one that represents precisely what this collection encapsulates--bold, unique, challenging science fictional ideas brought to vivid life with compelling storytelling.Including such major pieces as "The Ungoverned" and "The Blabber," this sumptuous volume will satisfy any reader who loves the sense of wonder, and the excitement of great SF.The volume collects Vinge's short fiction through 2001 (except "True Names", including Vinge's comments from the earlier two volumes.)Contents:"Bookworm, Run!""The Accomplice""The Peddler's Apprentice" (with Joan D. Vinge)"The Ungoverned""Long Shot""Apartness""Conquest by Default""The Whirligig of Time""Bomb Scare""The Science Fair""Gemstone""Just Peace" (with William Rupp)"Original Sin""The Blabber""Win A Nobel Prize!" (originally published in Nature, Vol 407 No 6805 "Futures")"The Barbarian Princess" (this is also the first section of "Tatja Grimm's World")"Fast Times at Fairmont High" (occurs in the same milieu as Rainbows End) (winner 2002 Hugo Award for Best Novella)

    A complete and unabridged collection of Anderson's Hoka stories.

    This first volume looks at the exuberant years of the pulp magazines. It traces the growth and development of the science fiction magazines from when Hugo Gernsback launched the very first, Amazing Stories, in 1926 through to the birth of the atomic age and the death of the pulps in the early 1950s. These were the days of the youth of science fiction, when it was brash, raw and exciting: the days of the first great space operas by Edward Elmer Smith and Edmond Hamilton, through the cosmic thought variants by Murray Leinster, Jack Williamson and others to the early 1940s when John W. Campbell at Astounding did his best to nurture the infant genre into adulthood. Under him such major names as Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt and Theodore Sturgeon emerged who, along with other such new talents as Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke, helped create modern science fiction. For over forty years magazines were at the heart of science fiction and this book considers how the magazines, and their publishers, editors and authors influenced the growth and perception of this fascinating genre.

    Suddenly, your hair is parted drastically to one side, inside the front pocket of your checkered shirt is a pocket protector, and old disco is the music of choice. What happened? You were just stung by the Nerdfly.Tired of being a target to every school bully, Hal Slagel helps a ‘whiz kid' friend build the ultimate payback—The Nerdfly. A simple sting from the electronic insect will send any bully into a personality tailspin for eight hours. It's all perfect until the Nerdfly flies out of control. Teachers, policemen, mechanics…no one is immune when the Nerdfly goes amuck, stinging everyone in town.

    Throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Soviet Russia hundreds of thousands of 'retreads' have returned from the grave.In Britain, three-quarters of the population died during the Atom War and its aftermath, but the dead are being re-born to take their place. Dozens of small wars led to a final struggle between the rabid fundamentalist Nationalists and the democratic Coalition of all creeds. The Coalition's army was led by a reborn Lawrence of Arabia, while the Nationalists wanted to put the Duke of Monmouth on the throne.Now, in 2008, the Coalition's victory is threatened by new plots against the government and the king — Richard of Gloucester, Shakespeare's hunchback murderer, who is writing his memoirs for his retirement nest egg.Inspector Scipio Africanus, war-hero and former slave, Detective Constable Jenny Pearson, whose usual line is catching pickpockets, and apprentice detective Guy Boswell, who was a Battle of Britain fighter pilot until ten days ago, find themselves dealing with murderous conspirators who plan to seize power and create a totalitarian Britain where being different will mean certain death.

    The authors describe Ecuador this way: "One of the wonders of the natural world. Nowhere else is such incredible avian diversity crammed into such a small country. . . . Birds are, happily, numerous in many parts of Ecuador: even the downtown parks of the big cities such as Quito and Guayaquil host their complement."Volume I, Status, Distribution, and Taxonomy, contains detailed information on the ecology, status, and distribution of all species. Introductory chapters deal with geography, climate, and vegetation; bird migration in Ecuador; Ecuadorian ornithology; endemic bird areas in Ecuador; and conservation. Individual species accounts treat habitat, distribution, and taxonomy.The two volumes of The Birds of Ecuador are available separately or may be purchased as a slipcased set.

    With complete walkthroughs, puzzle solutions, and powercell locations revealed, this is a must-have guide for 3D platform gamers everywhere.

    McIntyreThe July Ward / Sharon N. Farber (as S.N. Dyer)The Kidnapping of Baroness 5 / Katherine MacLeanSpeech Sounds / Octavia E. ButlerThe Ship Who Mourned / Anne McCaffreyA Woman's Liberation / Ursula K. Le Guin

    The crew for the suicide mission will be the physicists' clones, and although the originals don't expect the crew to survive or send back information about the structure of spacetime at the Planck scale, they are secretly hopeful their genetic counterparts will prove them wrong.

    Dick has written some of the most intriguing, original and thought-provoking fiction of our time. He has been described by The Wall Street Journal as the man who, "More than anyone else…really puts you inside people's minds."

    A large solar flare erupts on the surface of the Sun and races towards Earth. The International Space Station is about to be hit by massive solar radiation event. Commander Bonario is working outside on an EVA and is caught in the storm. A UFO suddenly appears and tries to shield the astronaut from the harmful X-rays. The solar panels overload and an explosion occurs, which cripples the alien spacecraft. It crashes on Earth, killing the four occupants. A Top Secret military crash investigation ensues. The bodies are recovered along with strange looking disk devices with special alien powers, but one disk is missing. A TV reporter finds out about the crash and threatens to expose the cover-up. Meanwhile, the massive magnetic storm hits the Earth with devastating consequences. The world is threatened. The alien mothership appears searching for the lost occupants and memory disks. Only the aliens can help the world protect itself from future solar events. Surprisingly, the Sun’s energy holds the key to the alien’s final journey.

    It was to be written by Michael Jan Friedman, with the cover art by Terese Nielsen.A string of military defeats has left the New Republic reeling. Playing on the terror their cruelty has instigated, the Yuuzhan Vong have offered to spare as-yet-unconquered worlds the full impact of their wrath for a price: the Jedi Knights. The Yuuzhan Vong warmaster's proposal finds eager takers among the desperate of the New Republic. And the warmaster isn't the only one who wants the Jedi: a Yuuzhan Vong High Priestess has her own nefarious plans for those who have Force talent, and she's already managed to capture her first test subjects. Danni Quee, scientist and ex-Yuuzhan Vong prisoner, wants only to avoid the horrific alien invaders. But when she meets Jorallen, a Jedi shrouded by mystery, her suspicions lead her into a search for missing Jedi - and whatever secrets Jorallen himself might be hiding. Now, as Luke, Han, and Leia work to help the Jedi hide from their betrayers, Danni and Jorallen move ever closer to the heart of enemy territory. The future of all the Jedi may be at stake...

    These were previously collected in two volumes published by Ansible Information, Critical Assembly (1987) and Critical Assembly II (1992). As the blurb written for Amazon puts it:Crammed with critical insights and acerbic wit, the "Critical Mass" -- later "Critical Hits" -- column was notoriously the first page turned to by White Dwarf readers, and it brings Langford appreciative fan mail to this day. Read the whole sequence and learn how to acquire 22 Hugos....

    . . and no flesh. Merely a phantom from her nightmares. But her dreams seem so real.April has a major-league crush on Gavin. Unfortunately, he loves her cousin, Bethany . . . until he's framed for Bethany's murder. Peter may be only twelve, but he's got a dangerous temper, the kind that seethes and burns beneath an icy exterior, waiting to be unleashed. Penny is eight months pregnant, barely able to get around. But she can't shake the feeling that she must run, she must get away. Her husband thinks she's crazy until their next-door neighbor pulls into the driveway and takes out his rifle. Four seemingly disparate lives, each torn apart by violence and danger, inexorably drawn together by fate and circumstance. Unless they can unravel the mystery of a barely remembered nursery rhyme, they'll have little chance to survive.

    

    His writings give voice to concerns about humanity and personal struggle; his ideas about love, loss, alienation, and psychic pain continue to resonate today. This work begins with a brief biographical sketch of Cordwainer Smith, linking elements of his past to his writing and focusing on his contributions to science fiction as well as his concern with humanity. Also discussed are Smith's published and unpublished novel-length non-science fiction, his revision process, the true man-underpeople dichotomy in his published and unpublished short fiction, and his only published novel-length science fiction work Norstrilia.

    Here one can only look to some of the darkest satirists of the past two millennia--Juvenal, Jonathan Swift, Arthur Schopenhauer, Ambrose Bierce, and Shirley Jackson almost exhaust the catalogue. The idea that we are required to extend benevolence to human beings merely because they are human beings is one of the deepest and most irrational prejudices in human thought. Let us recall Lovecraft: "may not all mankind be a mistake--an abnormal growth--a disease in the system of Nature--an excrescence on the body of infinite progression like a wart on the human hand? Might not the total destruction of humanity, as well as of all animate creation, be a positive boon to Nature as a whole?" Whether Clore agrees with this remark is only for him to say; but that misanthropy is at the heart of all the tales of Lord Weyrdgliffe can hardly be gainsaid. --S.T. Joshi, from the Introduction

    Blending fiction and nonfiction, Lois Gresh's Techno Life 2020 is the first book of its kind. While many books predict the future, none focuses on one day in the life of an ordinary man and backs up the fiction with hard-based facts about tomorrow's science. The left pages are fiction, the right pages are fact. From the intimate perspective of a voyeur, we explore every facet of Joe Leinster's life: Love and Sex, Entertainment, Medicine and Dentistry, Work, Education, Transportation, Family, Food, Sleep. We watch everyman Joe struggle to keep his sanity while he chases the elusive and exotic glamour babe of tomorrow, Sherry Anne Scaturro. We pop inside Sherry Annes head and go with her to the shrink, the gynecologist, and the high-tech job where she puts the ultimate screws on poor Joe. Virtual love, virtual work, junk food that's good for you, self-monitoring of brain waves and psycho-cyber drugs, cosmetic surgery at your fingertips and in your own house; indeed, a house that responds to your every need and whim.

    She spends endless hours contemplating the clouds, who seems to write signs in the Phoenix green sky. Lupianne, her older sister, thinks it is only a meteorological phenomena, an opinion shared by her father, much too anxious about the colony's air production center falling quotas. Only Sabian, a lonely painter, believes that there exists a link between the clouds signs and the ruins of an ancient destructed city, downstream from their own town.

    

    

    An Envoy is sent to uncover the scheme before the Serrll explodes into factional warfare. Having 'volunteered' as a military aide to the Envoy, Second Scout Terrllss-rr uncovers a link between slavery and local government's plans to cede the Four Suns. That knowledge marks him for death. Fleeing, his survival blister crashes on Anar'on, the fabled world of the Wanderer nomads. Terr is found in the deep desert, lost, without memory, without a past. To restore himself, Terr undergoes training in the Discipline. Facing the god of Death, he receives more than he bargained for.

    As one of the top illustrators in the field of SF cover art, his images appear on novels by Isaac Asimov, George R. Martin, and Arthur C. Clarke. An awe-inspiring collection including award-winning book covers for Star Wars, Blade Runner, and Batman.

    Entrusted with the (forcible) "re-integration" of the independence- seeking humans on Lenore, morally- conflicted narrator Maj. Karel Novacek's task is complicated by the discovery of another intelligent, space-faring race in the galaxy, and by the hidden agenda of his superiors. (And the plot twists only begin there.)

    J. Killheffer - BooksAndreas Eschbach - The Carpenter's SonRobert Reed - Crooked CreekBill Long - CartoonHenry Slesar - The Dinner PartyKathi Maio - FilmsYoon Ha Lee - Alas, LiretteJoseph Farris - CartoonRay Vukcevich - WhisperRick Heller - The Mind FieldPaul Doherty & Pat Murphy - Science: Death Rays and Other ExperimentsStephen Gallagher - My RepeaterRobert Frazier - She's Her Mother's Daughter (Verse)Robert Onopa - Name That MoonDavid Langford - CuriositiesCover by Bryn Barnard for "The Measure of All Things"

    The culmination of thirty years of collecting and observing the snakes of these islands, The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago engagingly informs readers about these often feared and misunderstood creatures.Tracing the contributions of scientists to the evolving taxonomy of the islands' reptiles, Boos describes each unique species of snake found on the two islands, including local names from two centuries back. Species accounts come complete with tales—both documented and apocryphal—of human encounters with the more dangerous island snakes. Forty-eight color photographs and fifty black-and-white photographs and pieces of line art, most by the author, illustrate the text and aid in identification.While tiny Tobago is mercifully devoid of poisonous snakes, Trinidad hosts four venomous species, including coral snakes and the notorious bushmaster. Boos refutes many of the myths about these deadly but usually nonaggressive snakes with information about their habits and behavior. He also writes about the giant anaconda and the boa constrictor, about which many half-truths and fictions abound.All snakes bite, but only a few species are venomous. Boos gives information about what to do—and what not to do—in the event of a bite and discusses intriguing folk medicine cures, such as the Belgian Black Stone, sure to work only if a bite was harmless to begin with.The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago will find an enthusiastic audience among herpetologists, ecologists, and other scientists concerned about the snakes and wildlife of Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, and South America. It will also appeal to general readers interested in snakes and in Caribbean folklore.

    "Ah! My Goddess" The MovieThis is a Photo Novel containing the first part (of two) of the Movie of "Ah! My Goddess"Celestin is a former instructor of Belldany, suddenly he appears on Earth and now Belldandy doesn't remember Keiichi! Urd, Skuld, and even the fourth goddess, Peorth will have to help Keiichi to figure out the plans of Celestin.

    Written by an 11-year-old boy and his mom, this adventure is about Chuck Farris, a young video game aficionado who turns into a real-life superhero.

    Edited by David Lee Summers, Space Horrors contains blood-chilling tales of vampires and ghouls in space, by established and rising-star authors. Terrifying tales contained in this volume: "Poetic Justice" by Alastair Mayer: Space hibernation does strange things to a man. "Listening" by Anna Paradox: It's Halloween on the run to Mars. What could go wrong? "The Walking Man" by Glynn Barrass: A giant robot on Mars is in the hands of mutineers. "Natural Selection" by Simon Bleaken: The Zoological Institute warned Rebecca not to go study the bugs. "Oh Why Can't I" by C.J. Henderson: The Earth Alliance Ship Roosevelt is pitted against a world swallowing creature. "Last Man Standing" by Danielle Ackley-McPhail: Mining can be hard work, depending on who - or what - is doing the mining. "Anemia" by David Lee Summers: Vampires prefer the eternal night of space, it seems. "Chosen One" by Dana Bell: A particularly unnerving game of cat and...something. "Sleepers" by Selina Rosen: Sometimes the nightmare you wake from is not as bad as the one you wake up to. "Divining Everest" by Patrick Thomas: When the vampires call for help, you know it's bad. "Into the Abyss" by Dayton Ward: Ghosts haunting the depths of space. "Salvage" by David B. Riley: Insurance investigator Sarah Meadows is on a ghost ship and in trouble. "The Golem" by Judith Herman: A friend in need is a deadly reckoning. "In the Absence of Light" by Sarah A. Hoyt: Have you heard of the drifters? "A Touch of Frost" by Gene Mederos: Space is a hostile environment - except for zombies, of course. "Wake of the White Death" by Lee Clark Zumpe: Who will rescue the rescuers? "Plan 9 in Outer Space" by Ernest and Emily Hogan: Making bad space horror more horrible ain't easy.

    One girl is about to discover that some of those stories were very, very wrong, while others were very, very right. At the center of it all is the sword Soulwind, a magical relic that has travelled across galaxies and through the fabric of time, heading for its final, predestined resting place.

    Ann Lucas, former NASA scientist and now a drugged and helpless mental patient, in a reality almost but not quite our own.Mad Jack, one eyed gunwoman and lover of women, in a ruined and lawless wasteland world.Jay Younger, living in the here and now, known to her readers simply as Jay -- a science fiction writer whose literary career is on the brink of disaster, an alcoholic and emotional wreck.When the impossible becomes real and boundaries between worlds start to dissolve, the fates of these three tormented, brave and intense women come together in a remarkable and daring story that examines the basic nature of reality and of human identity.William Sanders was born in Arkansas in 1942 and served with the US Army Security Agency during the Vietnam War. He is the author of more than 20 published books and many stories and articles; his short fiction has been nominated for major awards, including the Hugo and Nebula, and has twice won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. He lives in Oklahoma with his motorcycle and his dog."Girl meets girl meets girl, and she is them. J. is a high-energy sprint across parallel realities. Did I mention that I'm in love with Mad Jack?"-- Susan R. Matthews, author of PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE and COLONY FLEET

    Season Two Two Crichtons! Twice the fun. Season Three cranks up the heat between John and Aeryn while delivering a number of new surprises. Scorpy's backstory! Zhaan's sacrifice! New cast members. New episodes.

    Little does she know, when she inherits the estate of a great-great-great aunt she never knew she had, that she will need all her wits, resolve and downright bloody-mindedness in order to survive the trials of time travelling and the perils of being a woman in an age when men ruled -- either with a rod of birch or a whip of leather.

    The Misunderstood Gene takes us on an easily comprehensible tour of the most recent findings in molecular biology to show us how — and if — genes contribute to biological processes and complex human behaviors.As Morange explains, if molecular biologists had to designate one category of molecules as essential to life, it would be proteins and their multiple functions, not DNA and genes. Genes are the centerpiece of modern biology because they can be modified. But they are only the memory that life invented so that proteins could be efficiently reproduced. Morange shows us that there is far more richness and meaning in the structure and interactions of proteins than in all the theoretical speculations on the role of genes.The Misunderstood Gene makes it clear that we do not have to choose between rigid genetic determinism and fearful rejection of any specific role for genes in development or behavior. Both are true, but at different levels of organization. Morange agrees with those who say "we are not in our genes." But he also wants us to understand that we are not without our genes, either. We are going to have to make do with them, and this book will show us how.

    P. Lovecraft is widely felt in modern literature; authors from Robert E. Howard to Stephen King can claim him as their ancestor. But cinema too has seen Lovecraft's impact, and author Charles Mitchell offers here a comprehensive guide to the dozens of films that are representative of this influence. Mitchell studies the films in detail, analyzing the major Lovecraft elements and examining the fidelity of the films to the original works. Amateur films as well as television productions and foreign cinema, are included in Mitchell's scrutiny, revealing the challenge of transcribing Lovecraft to the screen, while at the same time suggesting the potential of Lovecraft's work for future, quality screen adaptations.In addition to plot summaries, entries for each film include annotated cast lists, critiques of actors' performances, the degree of fidelity to Lovecraft, and representative quotes from each film. This thorough work will be of interest to students of cinema as well as modern literature.

    she is know as Lord Kurruthian or Garron Ford to her troops. Ford is a war hero. Marra is a slave girl in an age where slaves have no rights, are not citizens. A turn of events — a battle and it's aftermath bring these two extraordinary women together — destined to be one.