Contains: The Borders of InfinityBrothers in Arms Mirror DanceMiles Naismith--in the person of his two alter-egos Admiral Naismith and Lieutenant Lord Vorkosigan--embarks on a perilous series of adventures, from the liberation of Barrayaran allies from a Cetagandan POW camp to the rescue of clone children scheduled to be murdered for their bodies.

    Doxey, Jerome Klinkowitz, Richard Giannone, John L. Simons, James Lundquist, and other scholars.- After the bomb, Dad came up with ice / Terry Southern- Vonnegut's Cat's cradle / William S. Doxey- The private person as public figure / Jerome Klinkowitz- Cat's cradle / Richard Giannone- Tangled up in you : a playful reading of Cat's cradle / John L. Simons- From formula toward experiment : Cat's cradle and God bless you, Mr. Rosewater / Jerome Klinkowitz- Playful genesis and dark revelation in Cat's cradle / Leonard Mustazza- Bokononism as a structure of ironies / Zoltan Ab di-Nagy- Mother night, Cat's cradle, and The crimes of our time / Jerome Klinkowitz- Vonnegut's invented religions as sense-making systems / Peter Freese- Icy solitude : magic and violence in Macondo and San Lorenzo / Wendy B. Faris- Vonnegut's cosmos / David H. Goldsmith- Cosmic irony / James Lundquist- Cat's cradle : Jonah and the whale / Lawrence R. Broer- Hurting 'til it laughs : the painful-comic science fiction stories of Kurt Vonnegut / Peter J. Reed- The paradox of "awareness" and language in Vonnegut's fiction / Loree Rackstraw.

    A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives. Ender's Shadow Orson Scott Card brings us back to the very beginning of his brilliant Ender Quartet, with a novel that allows us to reenter that world anew.With all the power of his original creation, Card has created a parallel volume to Ender's Game, a book that expands and compliments the first, enhancing its power, illuminating its events and its powerful conclusion.The human race is at War with the "Buggers", an insect-like alien race. The first battles went badly, and now as Earth prepares to defend itself against the imminent threat of total destruction at the hands of an inscrutable alien enemy, all focus is on the development and training of military geniuses who can fight such a war, and win.The long distances of interstellar space have given hope to the defenders of Earth--they have time to train these future commanders up from childhood, forging then into an irresistible force in the high orbital facility called the Battle School.Andrew "Ender" Wiggin was not the only child in the Battle School; he was just the best of the best. In this new book, card tells the story of another of those precocious generals, the one they called Bean--the one who became Ender's right hand, part of his team, in the final battle against the Buggers.Bean's past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone else's. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a children's gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older.Bean's desperate struggle to live, and his success, brought him to the attention of the Battle School's recruiters, those people scouring the planet for leaders, tacticians, and generals to save Earth from the threat of alien invasion. Bean was sent into orbit, to the Battle School. And there he met Ender.... Shadow of the Hegemon The War is over, won by Ender Wiggin and his team of brilliant child-warriors. The enemy is destroyed, the human race is saved. Ender himself refuses to return to the planet, but his crew has gone home to their families, scattered across the globe. The battle school is no more.But with the external threat gone, the Earth has become a battlefield once more. The children of the Battle School are more than heroes; they are potential weapons that can bring power to the countries that control them. One by one, all of Ender's Dragon Army are kidnapped. Only Bean escapes; and he turns for help to Ender's brother Peter.Peter Wiggin, Ender's older brother, has already been manipulating the politics of Earth from behind the scenes. With Bean's help, he will eventually rule the world.

    Le Guin has, in each story and novel, created a provocative, ever-evolving universe filled with diverse worlds and rich characters reminiscent of our earthly selves. Now, in The Birthday of the World, this gifted artist returns to these worlds in eight brilliant short works, including a never-before-published novella, each of which probes the essence of humanity.

    Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. He won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992. Story for story, he is the most honored young writer in modern SF.Now, collected here for the first time are all seven of this extraordinary writer's stories so far-plus an eighth story written especially for this volume.What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets? These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang. Stories of your life . . . and others.

    As anyone knows who has been touched by the storytelling magic of Anne McCaffrey, to read of the exotic world of Pern is to inhabit it—and to experience its extraordinary dragons is to soar aloft with them and share their dazzling adventures.Now, A Gift of Dragons brings together three beloved stories and a thrilling new tale of Pern in a single volume illustrated with beautiful artwork by Tom Kidd.In “The Smallest Dragonboy,” -Pern (Publication Order) #4.5- Keevan is the youngest dragonrider candidate, determined to impress a dragon when the next clutch of eggs hatches. But what transpires will surprise everyone—Keevan most of all.In “The Girl Who Heard Dragons,” -Pern (Publication Order) #8.5- a young girl’s rare ability to communicate with dragons puts her family in danger and will bring her face to face with her greatest fears—and with her most secret desire.The “Runner of Pern” -Pern (Publication Order) #15.5- is a girl named Tenna, who follows family tradition by delivering messages—and who will find her destiny on the mossy traces that runners have used for centuries under the dragon-filled sky.And finally, a very special gift: an exciting new Pern adventure, published here for the first time, fresh from the imagination of Anne McCaffrey. “Ever the Twain” -Pern (Publication Order) #16.5-

    This remote world is mostly ocean, and it is a rare visitor who ventures beyond the safety of the island Dome. Outside it, only the native Hoopers dare risk the voracious appetites of the planet's wildlife. But somewhere out there is Spatterjay Hoop -- and Keech will not rest until he brings this legendary renegade to justice for hideous crimes committed centuries ago during the Prador Wars.While Keech is discovering that Hoop is now a monster -- his body and head living apart from each other -- Janer is bewildered by a place where the native inhabitants just will not die and angry when he finally learns the Hive mind's intentions for him. Meanwhile, Erlin thinks she has plenty of time to find the answers she seeks, but could not be more wrong. For one of the most brutal of the alien Prador is about to pay the planet a surreptitious visit, intent on exterminating all remaining witnesses to his wartime atrocities. As the visitors' paths converge, major hell is about to erupt in a chaotic waterscape where minor hell is already a remorseless fact of everyday life . . . and death.

    In the festive season of Winterfair on the planet Barrayar, Lord Miles Vorkosigan is making elaborate preparations for his wedding. The long-awaited event stirs up romance and intrigue among his eccentric family and friends, particularly for bioengineered space mercenary Sergeant Taura and shy, diffident Armsman Roic. But Miles also has an enemy who is plotting to turn the romantic ceremony into a festival of death. Winterfair Gifts offers another of Bujold's witty, character-centered science fiction plots with a twist of romance.

    

    As her orientation proceeds, Callie becomes frightened by the secrecy and evasion she encounters. When she demands to be released from the program, she is suddenly dropped into a terrifying alien world and into a perilous battle between good and evil. With limited resources and only a few cryptic words to guide her, Callie embarks on a life-changing journey. Will she decipher the plans the Benefactor has established for her escape, or will she succumb to the deception of the Arena?

    A must-read for teenage fantasy fans.At his coming-of-age party, Matteo Alacrán asks El Patrón's bodyguard, "How old am I?...I know I don't have a birthday like humans, but I was born." "You were harvested," Tam Lin reminds him. "You were grown in that poor cow for nine months and then you were cut out of her." To most people around him, Matt is not a boy, but a beast. A room full of chicken litter with roaches for friends and old chicken bones for toys is considered good enough for him. But for El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium—a strip of poppy fields lying between the U.S. and what was once called Mexico—Matt is a guarantee of eternal life. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself for Matt is himself. They share identical DNA.

    The bestselling saga of Falkenberg's legion, complete in one huge volume, this contains stories that were originally published in four parts as "Falkenberg's Legion, Prince of Mercenaries, Go Tell the Spartans" and "Prince of Sparta."

    Nurturing a hatred that is millennia-old, they attack without mercy, spreading terror and destruction in their wake. Now hell has come to Hydra Cordatus, for a massive force of terrifying Iron Warriors, brutal assault troops of Chaos, have invaded the planet and lain siege to its mighty imperial citadel. But what prize could possibly be worth so much savage bloodshed and destruction and how long can the defenders possibly hold out?Storm of Iron is the essential Chaos Space Marines novel by Graham McNeill, author of the highly popular Ultramarines series.

    The thousands who work there, human and alien both, have a single mission: To care for all patients, of all species. At Sector General, anything can happen-and frequently does.James White's tales of Sector General are lively, humorous, and humane, at times shot through with a healer's anger at violence and destruction. These are endlessly inventive dramas of civility and spirituality, tempered with White's gently wicked wit and his keen eye for the remarkable in the everyday.Now, in a single omnibus, the second three volumes of the series-Ambulance Ship, Sector General, and Star Healer-return to print in complete and corrected editions, including a sequence ("Spacebird") omitted from previous American editions of Ambulance Ship. The volume is introduced by Hugo-winning SF writer and critic David Langford.

    More than three thousand years after this prophecy was made, the Abbey is the only religious entity still standing. Radoslav, the Abbot who rules the Augustinian Order, knows that the Armageddon is about to break out soon but he can't decide what will trigger it. It might be the first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization; it is possible that the attempt of imperial administration to replace the clones from the Agricultural Worlds with aliens will degenerate into a cosmic conflict; and the super-soldier sent to spy on the Abbey is also a great worry. As this fascinating, complex plot develops, it becomes clear that the final fight is not between good and evil, but between those who believe in God and those who decline Him. The Abbey offers a unique perspective on how religion could develop and evolve in a far-away future. Is humanity's real purpose to protect God from reaching His own limits? The author offers daring hypotheses and original thinking in this multi-layered fantasy filled with spirituality and insight.

    Phaethon, of Radamanthus House, is attending a glorious party at his family mansion celebrating the thousand-year anniversary of the High Transcendence. There he meets an old man who accuses him of being an imposter, and then a being from Neptune who claims to be an old friend. The Neptunian tells him that essential parts of his memory were removed and stored by the very government that Phaethon believes to be wholly honorable. It shakes his faith. Is he indeed an exile from himself? He can't resist investigating, even though to do so could mean the loss of his inheritance, his very place in society. His quest must be to regain his true identity and fulfill the destiny he chose for himself.The Golden Age is just the beginning of Phaethon's story, which will continue in The Phoenix Exultant, forthcoming from Tor.

    Thus begins a desperate odyssey of terror and escape that takes Jos beyond known space to the homeworld of the strits, Earth's alien enemies. To survive, the boy must become a living weapon and a master spy. But no training will protect Jos in a war where every hope might be a deadly lie, and every friendship might hide a lethal betrayal. And all the while he will face the most grueling trial of his lifebecoming his own man.

    The colonies are linked together by the occasional sublight colony ship voyages and hyperspatial data-casting. Human consciousness is digitally freighted between the stars and downloaded into bodies as a matter of course.But some things never change. So when ex-envoy, now-convict Takeshi Kovacs has his consciousness and skills downloaded into the body of a nicotine-addicted ex-thug and presented with a catch-22 offer, he really shouldn't be surprised. Contracted by a billionaire to discover who murdered his last body, Kovacs is drawn into a terrifying conspiracy that stretches across known space and to the very top of society.

    A series fully painted by the masterful Juan Gimenez.The final volume by Jodorowsky and Gimenez in the epic sci-fi fantasy Metabarons saga. The ultimate bloodline of the Metabarons may come to an end with Aghora and her child. This volume concludes the Metabarons graphic novel series collection.

    The cyborg Metabaron, Steelhead, who may be the most ruthless of all the Metabarons, shakes the galaxy with a reign of violence and murder. But when he falls madly in love with Doa Vicenta, the daughter of one of his many victims, Steelhead decides to prove himself worthy of love. He searches out Zaran Krleza, the last poet in the universe. Joining Krlezas head with his cyborg body, Steelhead and the poet become one person, Melmoth, and in his new form Steelhead wins Doas heart. The two conceive twinsbut tragedy strikes: as Steelhead cradles his dying wife in his arms, the fate of the Metabarons clan hinges on his decision of which child to save.

    Ancient mariners prized their star charts, knowing that they could guide them safely into a friendly port or lead them to the reaches of the mysterious East. Modes of transportation have changes but the stars are still our constant. When man took his first step into space armed with the very latest in computers, he took with him the same tool for reading the stars that the men who sailed under canvas carried.When humans launched the first ship designed for long-range missions into the deep waters of interstellar space, the Vulcan High Command provided their star charts for the "Enterprise"(TM). But Jonathan Archer was not content with relying on the known. Although he used the Vulcan charts, he also added to them, and greatly expanded Starfleet's knowledge of the galaxy. Every generation of starship captain that followed has built on Archer's first steps.Follow the course set by Archer, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. Relive their extraordinary adventures as you find here, for the first time, the star maps that chart the routes these famous explorers took.

    With a prize on his head and his life in danger, trust is a luxury he can't afford. Hirald, pale and deadly in the blistering heat, is an ambiguous presence. But who is she? What does she want from him? Mankind has sought Snow's secret for thousands of years, and blood will flow in the desert before it's revealed.This short tale is compelling, brutal and lingers long after the final word: the perfect introduction to Neal Asher's Polity universe fiction.Snow is an albino, immortal, very dangerous, and someone wants his bollocks. Spectrum SF 8 (2002), David G Hartwell’s & Kathryn Cramer’s Year’s Best SF 8 (June 2003), and to be published in the Czech SF magazine Ikarie.

    But her newest responsibility turns out to be more of a handful than she ever dreamed, challenging her to adapt to an ever-changing role while dealing with an alien race whose culture hides a secret.120,000 words

    When humans face tough threats across the galaxy, there's only one option: break out the Bolos! Gigantic Al-controlled tanks with enough firepower for an army (and possessing warmer hearts than many of the flesh-and-blood creatures they protect), the Bolos battle on distant star systems to defend us all.

    Scramble suits. Poison tongue darts. Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) may have invented more wildly imaginative creations per novel than any of his peers. An eccentric whose mind danced on the blurry edge between illusion and reality, madness and metaphysics, he produced a body of work that no science fiction reader should ignore. Lacked with humor, compassion, irony and paranoia, the four novels n Counterfeit Unrealities are among his best work.Contains Ubik, A Scanner Darkly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep [aka Blade Runner], The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

    

    One of the most acclaimed writers in the field, Zelazny's rare ability to mix fantastical dream imagery with the real-life hardware of science fiction has won him more than a score of Hugo and Nebula nominations. He creates characters who live to haunt the reader beyond the page and who inhabit worlds both enchanting and disturbing--dazzling and memorable.7 • Introduction (The Last Defender of Camelot) • essay by Robert Siverberg11 • Comes Now the Power • (1966) • short story by Roger Zelazny18 • For a Breath I Tarry • (1966) • novelette by Roger Zelazny65 • The Engine at Heartspring's Center • (1974) • short story by Roger Zelazny76 • Halfjack • (1979) • short story by Roger Zelazny83 • Home is the Hangman • [Nemo] • (1975) • novella by Roger Zelazny165 • Permafrost • (1986) • novelette by Roger Zelazny195 • LOKI 7281 • (1984) • short story by Roger Zelazny204 • Mana from Heaven • [Magic Goes Away] • (1983) • novelette by Roger Zelazny250 • 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai • [Cthulhu Mythos] • (1985) • novella by Roger Zelazny329 • Come Back to the Killing Ground, Alice, My Love • [Kalifriki] • (1992) • novella by Roger Zelazny388 • The Last Defender of Camelot • (1979) • novelette by Roger Zelazny

    The world has been reduced to rubble. Humanity is nearly extinct. The half-destroyed cities have become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Survivors still remember the past greatness of humankind. But the last remains of civilisation have already become a distant memory, the stuff of myth and legend. More than 20 years have passed since the last plane took off from the earth. Rusted railways lead into emptiness. The ether is void and the airwaves echo to a soulless howling where previously the frequencies were full of news from Tokyo, New York, Buenos Aires. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms. Mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. Man's time is over. A few score thousand survivors live on, not knowing whether they are the only ones left on earth. They live in the Moscow Metro - the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. It is humanity's last refuge. Stations have become mini-statelets, their people uniting around ideas, religions, water-filters - or the simple need to repulse an enemy incursion. It is a world without a tomorrow, with no room for dreams, plans, hopes. Feelings have given way to instinct - the most important of which is survival. Survival at any price. VDNKh is the northernmost inhabited station on its line. It was one of the Metro's best stations and still remains secure. But now a new and terrible threat has appeared. Artyom, a young man living in VDNKh, is given the task of penetrating to the heart of the Metro, to the legendary Polis, to alert everyone to the awful danger and to get help. He holds the future of his native station in his hands, the whole Metro - and maybe the whole of humanity.

    Most genetic defects will be removed at birth; the remaining during infancy. Unfortunately, there will be a generation left behind. For members of that missed generation, small advances will be made. Through various programs, they will be taught to get along in the world despite their differences. They will be made active and contributing members of society. But they will never be normal.Lou Arrendale is a member of that lost generation, born at the wrong time to reap the awards of medical science. Part of a small group of high-functioning autistic adults, he has a steady job with a pharmaceutical company, a car, friends, and a passion for fencing. Aside from his annual visits to his counselor, he lives a low-key, independent life. He has learned to shake hands and make eye contact. He has taught himself to use “please” and “thank you” and other conventions of conversation because he knows it makes others comfortable. He does his best to be as normal as possible and not to draw attention to himself. But then his quiet life comes under attack. It starts with an experimental treatment that will reverse the effects of autism in adults. With this treatment Lou would think and act and be just like everyone else. But if he was suddenly free of autism, would he still be himself? Would he still love the same classical music–with its complications and resolutions? Would he still see the same colors and patterns in the world–shades and hues that others cannot see? Most importantly, would he still love Marjory, a woman who may never be able to reciprocate his feelings? Would it be easier for her to return the love of a “normal”?There are intense pressures coming from the world around him–including an angry supervisor who wants to cut costs by sacrificing the supports necessary to employ autistic workers. Perhaps even more disturbing are the barrage of questions within himself. For Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that might completely change the way he views the world . . . and the very essence of who he is.Thoughtful, provocative, poignant, unforgettable, The Speed of Dark is a gripping exploration into the mind of an autistic person as he struggles with profound questions of humanity and matters of the heart.From the Hardcover edition.

    And tomorrow's even better. . .

    Рождение стальной крысы (A Stainless Steel Rat is Born, 1985)Стальная крыса идет в армию (The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted,1987)Стальная крыса (The Stainless Steel Rat, 1966)Месть стальной крысы (The Stainless Steel Rat’s Revenge, 1970)Стальная крыса спасает мир (The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World, 1972)

    Meet Judge Death, a warped ghoul from a parallel Earth where life itself is a crime. An entire world was judged, found guilty and its citizens executed. Now it's our turn. Judge Death comes to Mega-City One, and somehow Dredd must kill a creature already dead. And if one of these Dark Judges wasn't enough, get ready to meet Fear, Fire and Mortis! Featuring work by fan favourite artist Brian Bolland (Batman: The Killing Joke, Camelot 3000)!

    The winner of countless awards and accolades, including a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation, he has left a deeper, more enduring imprint on our times than most writers of his or any generation. The source of "The Martian Chronicles," father of "The Illustrated Man," and master brewer of "Dandelion Wine," Bradbury has penned stories, novels, stage plays, and screenplays that have long demonstrated the limitlessness of the human imagination and pure power of the word."Bradbury: An Illustrated Life" features magazine illustrations, movie stills and posters, comic book art, letters, scripts, book jackets, and paintings -- all expertly selected and insightfully explained -- that trace an incomparable artist's journey through the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Here also are rare and illuminating gems from some of his renowned compatriots and collaborators, including excerpts from the journal of legendary director Fran ois Truffaut, written during the making of the motion picture version of Bradbury's classic "Fahrenheit 451."From his groundbreaking involvement with EC Comics -- which would ultimately inspire generations of comic book creators and graphic novel artists -- through his many decades of literary success,as well as his award-winning work in films, theater, and television, to the present day, the world of the incomparable Ray Bradbury comes vibrantly alive in words and pictures, in photo and ink, in conceptual art and bold living color. "Bradbury: An Illustrated Life" belongs in the collection of anyone who has ever been moved, astounded, elated, terrified, or inspired by the tales, ideas, dreams, and magnificent visions of America's preeminent storyteller.

    In these tales, sci-fi fans follow the secret activities of the Company's field agents--once human, now centuries-old time-traveling cyborgs--as they attempt to retrieve history's lost treasures.

    Heinlein was such a one--his books are concise yet never rushed, richly plotted, never bloated. His '50s juveniles were among his best work. Here are 3: Tunnel in the Sky, Time for the Stars & Citizen of the Galaxy.Tunnel in the Sky: Just a test, but something went wrong. As part of a final exam, Rod Walker's Advanced Survival class was dropped thru a teleportation gate to an unknown location. A standard 10-day field exercise became an indefinite life-or-death struggle. Stranded beyond contact with Earth, divested of all luxuries & laws, they were forced to forge a future of their own--a future where sometimes not even the fittest survive.Time for the Stars: The ship Lewis & Clark sought worlds for overpopulated Earth to colonize. Twins Tom & Pat Bartlett participated. Scientists had discovered thoughts travel faster than light & the twins were telepathic. Pat remained on Earth, growing old, while Tom made a 70-year voyage. As the pioneer torchship discovered seemingly habitable new planets at Tau Ceti & Deneb Kaitos, messages Tom sent back spoke of disaster.Citizen of the Galaxy: Thorby had been taken from his parents & sold into slavery while young. His life had been under cruel masters on planets across the Terran Hegemony. His new owner was different. With the beggar, he found kindness & hope, not just for safety but for freedom. Baslim the Cripple was more than he seemed. He taught him a message that would take him to the stars. Thorby's true identity would stay secret thru his adventures with an odd society of traders, until service as a Terran Hegemony Guardsman brought him to his lost homeworld & destiny.

    A strange new world is unfolding - nightmarish to some, utopian to others. Soon we'll have the power to reshape our children's genes, build machines that think, and upload our minds into computers. And Earth no longer confines us. Space tourism, mining the Moon and asteroids, a settlement on Mars: all are dreams poised to take wing. The universe of Transhuman Space is a synthesis of these two visions - a world in which ultra-technology and space travel fuse to forge a new destiny for mankind. Neither utopia nor dystopia, it is a place of hopes, fears, and new frontiers. Welcome to the Future

    Sixty-five million years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, there lived a small mammal, a proto-primate of the species Purgatorius. From this humble beginning, Baxter traces the human lineage forward through time. The adventure that unfolds is a gripping odyssey governed by chance and competition, a perilous journey to an uncertain destination along a route beset by sudden and catastrophic upheavals. It is a route that ends, for most species, in stagnation or extinction. Why should humanity escape this fate?

    Art of Imagination is a trilogy consisting of the award winning Illustrated History series: Science Fiction of the 20th Century (Year 2000 Hugo Award Winner), Horror of the 20th Century (Bram Stoker Award nominee), and Fantasy of the 20th Century creating the ultimate collection. It was in the twentieth century that book, magazine, and poster artists reached new pinnacles of creativity in depicting the unknown. This collection of works by artists and designers of movie posters, books, and magazines provides a hearty feast for the eyes of the enchanted reader. These artisans and their works are the subject of this new must-have book for not only collectors of memorabilia, but for every person who has longed to step into his or her imaginary world, be it one of fantasy, flight, or fear -- if only for a moment.

    Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Locus Awards for Best Novella and Best Critic, and numerous other awards. Twenty-four of his 30 books are still in print, in 10 languages. His short work has appeared in magazines around the planet, from Omni and Analog to Xhurnal Izobretatel i Rationalizator (Moscow), and in numerous anthologies. His most recent books are the novels Callahan's Key, and The Free Lunch.Contents:God Is an Iron (1979)In the Olden Days (1984)Local Champ (1979)Melancholy Elephants (1982)Not Fade Away (1982)Orphans of Eden (1996)Rubber Soul (1982)Soul Search (1979)Stardance (1977) with Jeanne RobinsonThe Magnificent Conspiracy (1977)

    Originally published in Chaviano's native Cuba in 1988, this novel topped that country's best seller list and has since become a classic in Latin American science fiction.

    A collection of five novels: Immortality, Inc.; Minotaur Maze, Journey Beyond Tomorrow, Mindswap, and Dimension of Miracles.

    When Owen Deathstalker, unwilling head of his clan, seeks to avoid the perils of the Empire's warring factions, he unexpectedly finds a price on his head. He flees to Mistworld, where he begins to build an unlikely force to topple the throne. With the help of his crew, Deathstalker takes the first step on a far more dangerous journey to claim the role for which he has been destined since before his birth.

    

    Convicted of a crime she did not commit, former Hope child Jackal serves a terrible solitary imprisonment sentence and is eventually abandoned in a strange country where other people like herself help her learn the truth about her imprisonment.

    Omnibus edition contains the following novels: Infinity Hold (1989) Kill All the Lawyers Keep the Law

    What they're going to do next is anyone's guess.... But in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, where a decades old conspiracy has started to unravel, a cop and a lady doctor are about to find out. Against an enemy from their nightmares, the two will have to fight, to save the life of an unborn child who isn't human, a child that will change their world forever. In the brooding forest, they'll learn what it means to fear the dark. ...And the light.

    Hoards of Yeerk reinforcements are landing on Earth every day, and Visser One is constructing an enormous new Yeerk pool by blasting giant holes in the ground‹obliterating whatever gets in the way. The Animorphs¹ plan to enlist the help of the U.S. military has failed. Now, Jake and the others find themselves trapped in what will soon be the new Yeerk pool. There is no way out . . . unless help comes from the most unexpected form. The Taxxons.

    With the new Alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition, Captain Tasha “Sass” Sebastian finds herself serving under her former nemesis, biocybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten–and doing her best to hide a deadly past. But when an injured mercenary winds up in their ship’s sick bay–and in the hands of her best friend, Dr. Eden Fynn–Sass’s efforts may be wasted.Wanted rebel Jace Serafino has information that could expose all of Sass’s secrets, tear the fragile Alliance apart–and end Sass’s career if Kel-Paten discovers them. But the biocybe has something to hide as well, something once thought impossible for his kind to possess: feelings . . . for Sass. Soon it’s clear that their prisoner could bring down everything they once believed was worth dying for–and everything they now have to live for.

    New possibilities previously unimagined appear almost daily . . . and science fiction stories continue to explore those possibilities with delightful results:Collected in this anthology are such compelling stories as:"On K2 with Kanakaredes" by Dan Simmons. A relentlessly paced and absorbing tale set in the near future about three mountain climbers who must scale the face of K2 with some very odd company. "The Human Front" by Ken MacLeod. In this compassionate coming-of-age tale the details of life are just a bit off from things as we know them-and nothing is as it appears to be."Glacial" by Alastair Reynolds. A fascinating discovery on a distant planet leads to mass death and a wrenching mystery as spellbinding as anything in recent short fiction. The twenty-six stories in this collection imaginatively takes us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including:Eleanor ArnasonChris BeckettMichael BlumleinMichael CassuttBrenda W. CloughPaul Di FilippoAndy DuncanCarolyn Ives GilmanJim GrimsleySimon IngsJames Patrick KellyLeigh KennedyNancy KressIan R. MacLeodKen MacLeodPaul J. McAuleyMaureen F. McHughRobert ReedAlastair ReynoldsGeoff RymanWilliam SandersDan SimmonsAllen M. SteeleCharles StrossMichael SwanwickHoward WaldropSupplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a 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.

    The Yeerks suspect that the socalled "Andalite Bandits" are human after all. And the Animorphs know it's just a matter of time before the Yeerks learn their identities and infest them...and their families. Something major has to be done fast. Because now, the Animorphs can tell you who they are--and that changes everything.

    Things are falling apart, and for once, Jake may not be be able to make the decision that will save them...The Sacrifice: The war between the Yeerks and the Animorphs is still raging. There are no more secrets, but there are plenty of lies. The Animorphs are fighting harder than they ever thought they could. And they're about to face the biggest decision they've ever had to make. A decision that may break them all.

    Journey to the depths of the ocean floor with genetically engineered human beings ... push the boundaries of life with a scientist obsessed with death ... and watch as sentient gaseous entities offer destruction and salvation to the human race. Nine stories make up this stunning new collection from a rising talent in the field of Science Fiction.Contents:A Niche (1990)Fractals (1995)The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald (1998)Bulk Food (2000) with Laurie ChannerNimbus (1994)Flesh Made Word (1994)Ambassador (2001)Bethlehem (1996)Home (1999)

    R. Giger is recognized as one of the world's foremost artists of Fantastic Realism. This portfolio includes 14 reproductions.

    

    By Naill inexplicably begins to remember another life, in another time - a time when he was not human, but something else: a native of this world, in the days before its civilization fell.

    More than 100 color artworks complement a vigorous, vivacious text by the artist himself. Space chases, futuristic supermen, machines born of dreams or nightmares, and more: each illustration is a voyage of the imagination.

    Escape is nearly impossible, and even those who get close find that it is sometimes no more than an illusion... Called Highly Recommended by Elizabeth Barrette in a January 2002 review for Spicy Green Iguana.This first volume in the series features: Dead End by Samuel C. Conway A Prison of Clouds by Tim Susman Nightswimming by David Andrew Cowan Array of Hope by David Richards Touch of Gray by Jeff Eddy, and Skin Deep (a novella) by "2"Cover and interior illustrations by Odis Holcomb.

    Sundman and The Pains by John Compton Sundman. While ostensibly telling the story of the inaugural Hofstadeter Prize for Machine-Written Narrative, Cheap Complex Devices tells the story of an entity coming to awareness. What is that entity? Is it Todd Griffith, the chip designer with bullet in his brain from the novel Acts of the Apostles? Is it a bee, or a swarm or bees, a Shaker village or a very buggy floating point processor? There is ample evidence to support any of these hypotheses. Or is it, possibly, the mythical meta-character named "Sundman"? Read the book and form your own opinions.Acts of the Apostles is a Bourne-Identity style thriller about nanomachines, neurobiology, Gulf War Syndrome and a Silicon Valley messiah. It tells how Todd Griffith, a chip designer, gets a bullet in the head after successfully debugging a race condition in the Kali chip. In Cheap Complex Devices, Todd's situation is looked at from a different angle. Some people even think that Todd himself, or his consciousness transferred into a bug-riddled computer, is the real author of Cheap Complex Devices.The Pains is a lavishly illustrated dystopian phantasmagoria set in a universe that is part George Orwell's 1984 and part Ronald Reagan's 1984. It tells the story of Mr. Norman Lux, a sincere young monk beset with bewildering maladies that seem somehow chaotically connected to the fate of the world. Some people have observed that Mr. Lux's condition is markedly similar to that of an electron in a race condition in a buggy chip -- perhaps the one Todd Griffith was designing when he was shot? Or the one in which his thoughts are now imprisoned?

    Andrei Mironenko, a powerful magnate in the Star republic, believes the pristine planet of Belarus is uninhabited and unspoiled. He didn't dig deep enough. "With a richly imagined geo-political setting, Belarus reads like a Russian fairy tale set in space." (Syne Mitchell, Compton Crook Award-winning author of Technogenesis)

    Burns66 • How Not to Do Aether Theory • [The Alternate View] • essay by Jeffery D. Kooistra69 • In Times to Come (Analog December 2002) • essay by uncredited70 • You Gotta See This! • [Probability Zero] • shortstory by Ian Randal Strock72 • Voices • shortstory by Charles L. Harness76 • The Hunters of Pangaea • (2001) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter88 • Generation Gap • novelette by John G. Hemry102 • Garbage Day • novelette by Wil McCarthy130 • The Reference Library (Analog, December 2002) • [The Reference Library] • essay by Thomas A. Easton [as by Tom Easton ]134 • Review of the nonfiction work "Biological Threats and Terrorism: Assessing the Science and Response Capabilities" by Stacy L. Knobler, Adel A. F. Mahmoud, and Leslie A. Pray • essay by Thomas A. Easton [as by Tom Easton ]135 • Review of the nonfiction non-associational work "Funny Face!" by Mark Rich and Jeff Potocsnak • essay by Thomas A. Easton [as by Tom Easton ]136 • Brass Tacks (Analog December 2002) • [Brass Tacks] • essay by uncredited137 •  Letter (Analog December 2002) (reply to J.L. Symonds) • essay by Richard A. Lovett144 • Upcoming Events (Analog, December 2002) • [Upcoming Events] • essay by Anthony R. Lewis [as by Anthony Lewis ]

    This is an anthology of 25 stories, mostly first published from 1991-2001 in Dreams and Visions, a Canadian-based Christian literary journal (which Stanton also edits), all by Christian authors and all representing the realm of speculative fiction in its broadest definition.

    Now, the Lucasfilm creative team is back with Attack of the Clones, the second movie in the prequel series. And Chronicle Books has captured the newest story in the pages of our mighty big little book. Attack of the Clones follows the story of the beautiful Senator Padme Amidala and the passionate and powerful young Jedi Anakin Skywalker, whose impulsive nature leads him astray. With enough action, romance, exotic locales, and epic battles to satisfy every Star Wars fan, this Mighty Chronicles edition faithfully captures Lucas's newest legend with 150 two-color illustrations and an adaptation of the script. Mighty Chronicles keep the Star Wars adventure alive long after the credits roll.

    Each year (states the Sorcerer Exeter's brutal New Rules) the Luckiest sixteener of the tiny, pacifist IsoTown of St. Coriander must Quest for the hidden last Nevergate...or die trying. In 2534, Glendyl Fenderwell is the new Luckiest. Unlike her 249 Luckiest predecessors, Glendyl has a little something extra going for her...something hidden in her geneset, planted there by unknown forces. Will she be the Wildcard predicted so long ago? Or just the latest dead failure? Unwittingly trapped between two ancient enemies, Glendyl becomes a pawn in a bitter war that never quite ended. All too soon, she discovers the hard way that one side wants her dead. But Glendyl is hard to kill...and inside her a biological time bomb is waking up. And maybe the celebrated luck of a famous 13th clone will be keeping an eye on her during her Quest....::: The "rip-roaring" first volume in the Last Nevergate Chronicles has been hailed as "sci-fi at its best," "highly imaginative" and "original enough to deserve its own genre."

    Marvel as stellar imaginations spin their tales of the unexpected. Look ahead to the future. Look around the corner.Prepare to be amazed.With a special introduction by the Nebula-Award winning author of Timescape, Cosm, and Eater, Gregory Benford.

    It’s told from the point of view of the young hero Jim Hawkins–a young man full of adventurous spirit!

    (1951), The Absent Minded Professor (1953), The Devil on Salvation Bluff (1954), The Phantom Milkman (1955), Where Hesperus Falls (1955), A Practical Man's Guide (1956), and The House Lords (1956).This collection was first published as volume 1 of the Vance Integral Edition.

    S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lamb among the Stars series weaves the worlds of science and the spirit, technology and the supernatural into something unique and haunting. On the faraway planet of Farholme, humans live in peace under the gentle rule of the Assembly. War and evil are ancient history. But suddenly, almost imperceptibly, things begin to change. Slowly a handful of men and women begin to realize that evil has returned and it must be fought.

    Now,in this trilogy, Alan Dean Foster explores the early days of the alliance and the events that joined humans with their alien neighbors. PHYLOGENESIS -- In the years after first contact, humans and the intelligent insect-like Thranx agree to a tentative sharing of ideas and cultures, despite the mutual repulsion they have yet to overcome. Thus a slow, lengthy process of limited contact begins. Yet they never plan for a chance meeting between Desvendapur, a misfit Thranx poet bored with his life, and Cheelo Montoya, a small-time criminal with big dreams of making a fast buck. Together this odd pair embark upon a journey that will forever change their beliefs, their futures, and their worlds. DIRGE -- Takes place after First Contact, when the thranx and the citizens of Earth settle into an uneasy partnership. Both species have much to learn from one another, but the humans are slow to set aside their ingrained revulsion to the giant bugs. Further complications arise when a new humanoid alien species makes contact with Earth and inadvertently undermines thranx and human relations by stealing the media spotlight. DIUTURNITY'S DAWN -- From the beginning, contact between humankind and the thranx has been tenuous at best. After a century, the likelihood of closer humanthranx relations is as far away as ever. Both races find each other physically repulsive. Yet idealists on both sides refuse to surrender their dreams of achieving a thranxhuman alliance. Among the most dedicated are a minor diplomat named Fanielle Anjou and her thranx counterpart. Others intend to make sure such a liaison never comes to pass. Meanwhile, on a faraway planet, the duplicitous AAnn watch as archaeologists labor to discover what happened to an advanced human race that perished thousands of years ago.

    "Fast-paced action, a credible story line, and a likable cast of characters...intriguing." (Science Fiction Chronicle)

    Shock and grief cause deep-seated tensions to erupt, especially after an official pronouncement that the deaths are the result of a mass suicide pact by an unpopular rural sect. As the few remaining members of the sect go into hiding to protect themselves, six people are thrown together by chance and competing romantic interest. United by a belief in the victims' innocence, they risk lives and reputations to defend the survivors and discover the truth.Decades later, Brian, a congenial and underemployed American, goes to Sanctuary to look for Jenny, the sister of a former girlfriend who disappeared while visiting there. As he looks for clues and tries not to marry anyone accidentally, he learns that he may also be a target. To determine why, and whether his guards are there to protect him or kill him, he must find out what really happened in 1982.

    Bova has chosen the very best stories from the last five years of Analog, including four Hugo and two Nebula winners.Contents:Persephone and Hades by Scott W. SchumackCommon Denominator by David LewisThe Four-Hour Fugue by Alfred BesterHow I Lost the Second World War and Helped Turn Back the German Invasion by Gene WolfeA Song for Lya by George R.R. MartinUnlimited Warfare by Hayford PierceTricentennial by Joe HaldemanThe Present State of Igneos Research by Gordon R. DicksonChild of All Ages by P.J. PlaugerThe Hole Man by Larry NivenOf Mist, and Grass, and Sand by Vonda N. McIntyreA Thing of Beauty by Norman SpinradWhen I Was in Your Mind by Joe AllredUnified Field Theory by Tim JosephHome is the Hangman by Roger Zelazny

    Omnibus edition of Jumping Off the Planet, Bouncing off the Moon, and Leaping to the Stars by the man who, at age 16 brought us Tribbles in Star Trek.

    The Great Working—the effort to do the unthinkable and reunite a galaxy long sundered by the Gap Between—remains incomplete, left unfinished in the aftermath of the dissolution of Arehkon’s Mage-Circle. But too much energy and too many lives have been poured into the Working already; and it cannot end so long as any of the Circle members remain alive and bound into it.

    As human ranks are decimated by this native virus and civil unrest threatens to erupt into full-scale war, can the special abilities of a deep-space pilot provide the colony with what it needs to survive this complicated and potentially deadly situation?

    All ten stories, whether they are set in the dry, sage-covered hills of the Okanagan or on the serenely polluted shores of Lake Ontario, are linked thematically by an archetypal icon: the falling woman. She rushes through the air upside down, transformed by what she has seen, or is about to recognize. Never quite fallen — always in transition — she insists on plunging into the forbidden: marching down Main Street topless; seducing married men; exploring the shadowy losses that predate her birth but still manage to stamp her being.Shaena Lambert’s perceptive eye and flair for evocative and sensual prose bring the under-surface of relationships — between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives — to brilliant light.

    One is the Swimmers, who have adapted to living in zero-gravity, and regard themselves as the next step in evolution, and those who prefer to live on the surface of a planet as little better than apes. The latter group, the Walkers, are not about to say farewell to the planets they grew up on, and think the Swimmers are not so much advanced as deranged.Crowell, born a Swimmer but now a Walker by choice, is caught in the middle as the two sides seem headed for war. Then he discovers the true cause of the altercation: a hidden alien race moving behind the scenes to provoke a war so that they can pick up the pieces after the two sides have obliterated each other. And if Crowell cannot head off the war and convince both sides of the existence of the real enemy, both branches of the human race may be headed for untimely extinction.This full-length novel and much more, fill a huge volume from the master of science fiction adventure.

    Caught in the midst of political and economic infighting between a number of sentient species and on the brink of civil war on their home planet, the greatest hope and peril the Choyan people face is a newly met race-humans!

    Created by a professor of robotics, Anne Droyd is left in the care of these three children, who take her to school with them and teach her how to be 'a human'.This imaginative tale packed full of heroic characters and Asperger adventure is suitable for children aged 9 and over.

    Aboard, young Armelle, native of Dome 38, First District, South Mars, finds herself more than happy to escape her dreary life with her two mothers on the once-thriving, now-falling apart colony. But she quickly finds out that their lives rest in the hands of a disgraced man...

    CloughNovelettes:"Mammoth Dawn" - Kevin J. Anderson & Gregory Benford"The Great Prayer Wheel" - Rajnar Vajra"The Robot who Came to Dinner" - Ron GoulartShort Stories:"Iniquitous Computing" - Edward M. Lerner"Falling onto Mars" - Geoffrey A. Landis"The convergence of the old mind" - Larry Niven"A Green Thumb" - Tobias S. Buckell"Oculus" - Jack McDevitt"Spoilers" - Shane Tourtellotte"The Lone Granger" - Jayge Carr

    A terrifying force from the past returns to haunt Moonbase Alpha! At long last, the reprint of the out-of-print Resurrection, the very first Powys Media Space: 1999 novel, officially licensed by ITV.

    In a sweeping generational saga, the story of Warlock is told by three humans:Shann Lontee was the lowest-ranking member of an exploration team sent to the newly discovered planet Warlock. When the insectile Throgs attacked the base, only he and two trained wolverines escaped. Hunted by the Throgs, he and the wolverines had to survive without technology on an alien world. Then he discovered the Wyvern, who were his only hope-if they weren't an even more deadly menace than the Throgs . . .Charis Nordholm was sold into slavery by the outlaw colony on the planet Demeter. The trader, Jogon, who holds her contract, was on his way to Warlock to trade with the Wyvern. But the alien witches had ominous plans of their own, and both Charis and Shann Lantee found themselves fighting for their lives . . .Ziantho's mental powers had made her a valuable asset to the interstellar criminals she worked for. Then she encountered a gem of ancient power, an artifact made by the vanished prehistoric race known as the Forerunners, and stole it. Pursued both by the stone's owners and the agents of the Patrol, she fled across the galaxy and encountered Ris Lantee, o man from the planet Warlock, who alone could solve the powerful gem's mystery ....

    High's finest short stories, from magazines such as New Worlds and Nebula, collected for the first time. Selected, edited, and introduced by Philip Harbottle. A terrific collection, sure to please readers interested in British style SF!

    The Alt.Cyberpunk.Chatsubo Anthology is a collection of writings from the hard edge, from the dingy city streets to distant planets or right down into the inner workings of the human mind. The stories within are the end result of a global collective. We come from different backgrounds, different cultures and different countries. We have in common a desire to share our works with each other, and other connoisseurs of the written word who like to sit and read the tales we have to tell.

    

    The story, which features Mara Jade, Zakarisz Ghent and Talon Karrde, was originally published in Star Wars Gamer 10 in 2002 and was made available on Hyperspace on June 2, 2004. The story takes place on the Mid Rim planet of Chibias and tells of the first meeting between Jade and Ghent. Cover illustration by Dave Dorman.

    Le GuinPOEMSFootnote – Robert FrazierDEPARTMENTSBooks to Look For – Charles de LintBooks – Elizabeth HandPlumage from Pegasus – Paul Di FilippoA Scientist's Notebook: Living In An Eleven-Dimensional World – Gregory BenfordComing Attractions – Curiosities – John EggelingCARTOONSTom Cheney, Bill Long, S. Harris, Arthur MasearCOVERCory and Catska Ench for "A Democracy Of Trolls"

    Measurable and exact, it orders our days and instructs our activity with a rigid and monotonous regularity. But what if time were to become fluid? If the shadow on the sundial could be altered to speed on to the next day, or to revert to our yesterdays? Wouldn't this have immeasurable implications on every aspect of our lives? And if time becomes transient, the concept of death must surely take on a very different flavour. Once the controlling force of time has been usurped, a whole host of philosophical questions come into play -- questions that H G Wells ponders with remarkable dexterity. The Happy Turning 'The fantasies of dreamland go an immeasurable way beyond what is now conceivable and practical.' -- As an escape from the horrors of the final days of the Second World War, H G Wells turns his thoughts to the dream world -- a world unbound by the logic and reason of earthly matter and a world where he can come face to face with deities and supernatural beings. The fantasy he conceives is intelligent, exotic and thoroughly entertaining.

    Are these unidentified flying objects tricks of the eye, hoaxes, or the crafts of aliens? UFOs explores the reports and the research into the possible existence of extraterrestrial visitors.

    Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

    Learn to identify what's happening in the night sky with this text, both an introduction to astronomy and a calendar of upcoming celestial events written for urban and suburban sky-gazers.

    Featuring short stories as well as missing pages from Incal and Metabarons, all written by Metabarons creator, Alexandro Jodorowsky, Alpha/Omega is an important history lesson for any fan, new or old. This is the first-ever published Metabarons material by Travis Charest, in a story that leads into his upcoming projects featuring the characters. Also appearing is the story "The Crest of the Castaka," by Jodorowsky and Gimenez, which tells the origin of the tattoo that adorns the chest of every Metabarons, as well as pages by Moebius and Gimenez that have never seen print in America. Metabarons: Alpha/Omega is the perfect place for new Metabarons fans to see why the series has gained such critical acclaim from creators such as Warren Ellis. And Travis Charest fans are sure to turn out en masse to see what is sure to be some of the best work in his already illustrious career. Cover by Charest. There are nine pages of beautiful art by Travis Charest, plus the coveer and a gorgeous pin-up. You'll also twenty-four pages created by Gimenez and eight pages of incredible art by Moebius - all of which have never seen print in America!Contais 4 short stories:• The Crest of Castaka. Art: Juan Giménez• Incal: The Lost Pages. Art: Moebius• Metabarons 1: The Lost Pages. Art: Juan Giménez• The Last Metabaron. Art: Travis Charest