Ender Wiggin may be the only hope that humanity has against an alien race that threatens Earth with annihilation. He's been given his own army, and now commands 40 soldiers in a series of war games in preparation for invasion... and he's only nine years old! The classic sci-fi story heads to its incredible conclusion as Ender takes control of Dragon Army. But Ender is quickly realizing that the aliens may not be his true enemy in Battle School... his Teachers are

    But their relationship is a bruising clash of egos and agendas from the start - and it only gets worse when Dragon face their first battle.

    Dubbed by Publishers Weekly "one of the most important works of young adult science fiction in recent years," the Chaos Walking trilogy includes three highly acclaimed novels, in paperback: - The Knife of Never Letting Go- The Ask and the Answer- Monsters of Men

    'The Lost' gathers together four novels - 'Traitor General', 'His Last Command', 'The Armour of Contempt', and 'Only In Death'.

    Now, cast adrift from the Emperor's light and hunted as heretics after their monstrous betrayal, the Night Lords clad themselves in symbols of death and fight the Long War, bringing pain and terror to all who worship the corpse-god of Terra. A summons from Warmaster Abaddon sends these rebels on a dangerous journey that leads inexorably to a conflict with the Emperor's chosen warriors, the Blood Angels.

    Cain wants nothing more than to keep out of trouble and get to the other side of his commission in one piece, but the war-torn 41st millennium has other ideas. Confronted with the powers of Chaos and hordes of alien foes, our intrepid Commissar seeks to sidestep danger and talk his way out of trouble. Yet each time he survives his legend only grows, and his life is in ever-greater jeopardy… Defender of the Imperium contains the novels Death or Glory, Duty Calls and Cain’s Last Stand, plus the short story Traitor’s Gambit and a new introduction from author Sandy Mitchell.

    Yet his heart is immersed in another universe, influenced by another culture, and lost to a woman not of his world. And to take a Terran wife such as scholar Anne Davis is to risk both his honor and reputation--not to mention the lives of loved ones."Scout's Progress"--Aelliana Caylon is a brilliant mathematician, revered by pilots for the life-saving revisions she brought to the ven'Tura Piloting Tables. Despite this, her home life is terrifying, as the target of her elder brother's spite and her mother's indifference. Convinced that she has no recourse, Aelliana endures, until, on a dare, she plays a game of chance and wins a spaceship. Suddenly she has a way to escape her drab life - if she can qualify as a pilot, and survive her brother's abuse."Conflict of Honors"--Declared legally dead by a High Priestess of the Goddess and abandoned by her mother, Priscilla Delacroix has roamed the galaxy for ten years, surviving and becoming a woman of extraordinary skills. Now, she's been betrayed and abandoned once again, left on a distant planet by the Liaden starship on which she had been an important officer. But she's not alone: starship captain Shan yos'Galan has his own score to settle with the same enemy and is about to offer her an alliance.

    Earth remains in the "Slowness" zone, where nothing can travel faster than light and minds are fairly limited. The action of the book is in the "Beyond", where translight travel and other marvels exist, and humans are one of many intelligent species. One human colony has been experimenting to find a path to the "Transcend", where intelligence and power are so great as to seem godlike. Instead they release the Blight, an evil power, from a billion-year captivity.' Publisher's WeeklyIn DEEPNESS, 'the story has the same sense of epic vastness despite happening mostly in one isolated solar system. Here there's a world of intelligent spider creatures who traditionally hibernate through the "Deepest Darkness" of their strange variable sun's long "off" periods, when even the atmosphere freezes. Now, science offers them an alternative. Meanwhile, attracted by spider radio transmissions, two human starfleets come exploring--merchants hoping for customers and tyrants who want slaves. Their inevitable clash leaves both fleets crippled, with the power in the wrong hands, which leads to a long wait in space until the spiders develop exploitable technology. Over the years Vinge builds palpable tension through multiple storylines and characters.' Dave Langford

    But the first aliens to come through, the Glatun, were peaceful traders and the world breathed a sigh of relief. Who Controls the Orbitals, Controls the World When the Horvath came through, they announced their ownership by dropping rocks on three cities and gutting them. Since then, they've held Terra as their own personal fiefdom. With their control of the orbitals, there's no way to win and earth's governments have accepted the status quo. Live Free or Die. To free the world from the grip of the Horvath is going to take an unlikely hero. A hero unwilling to back down to alien or human governments, unwilling to live in slavery and with enough hubris, if not stature, to think he can win. Fortunately, there's Tyler Vernon. And he has bigger plans than just getting rid of the Horvath.

    Float Out includes three brand-new stories of Wash in a series of exciting smuggling raids, each providing a hair-raising escape or daring last-minute rescue! Featuring a cameo that will leave Serenity fans reeling, this special one-shot presents new tales of the Serenity universe's past and tantalizing hints about its future!

    His peers bully him, his parents are aloof, and his older brother is violently resentful of him. He might also be humanity's only hope. Ender is recruited to join the International Fleet's legion of child warriors in training, to report for duty in defense of the planet. Leaving behind the only person who ever understood him--his kind-hearted sister Valentine--he takes on the challenge of becoming a commander in Earth's defenses. His promise is high, and his teachers are sure he will rise to the test--that is, if Battle School doesn't kill him first. Ender struggles to find a place within his soul for tranquility, humanity and a connection with something greater than the brutal mechanics of war and strategy. But when he is thrust into Command School at a vastly accelerated pace, will he crack up on the road to becoming the hero that the human race so desperately needs? Sci-fi legend Orson Scott Card's Hugo and Nebula-Award winning classic is brought to vivid life by writer Christopher Yost (X-Force) and artist Pasqual Ferry (Ultimate Iron Man II).COLLECTING:ENDER'S GAME: BATTLE SCHOOL 1-5; ENDER'S GAME: COMMAND SCHOOL 1-5

    The inner platform rises, revealing this exclusive edition of The Jedi Path.This ancient training manual, crafted by early Jedi Masters, has educated and enlightened generations of Jedi. It explains the history and hierarchy of the Jedi Order, and what Jedi must know to take their place as defenders of the peace in the galaxy — from mastery of the Force to the nuances of lightsaber combat.Passed down from Master to Padawan, the pages of this venerable text have been annotated by those who have held it, studied it, and lived its secrets. From Yoda and Luke Skywalker to Count Dooku and Darth Sidious, they have shaped the content of the book by leaving mementos tucked within the pages, tearing out pages, and adding their personal experiences as tangible reminders of the lessons they’ve learned.Through wars and rebellion, only a single copy of this manual has survived. It is now passed on to you.The ancient Masters who wrote the text: Fae Coven, Grand Master and head of the Jedi Council; Crix Sunburris, Jedi Ace starfighter pilot; Restelly Quist, Jedi Chief Librarian; Skarch Vaunk, Jedi Battlemaster and lightsaber expert; Bowspritz, Jedi Biologist and expert on the Living Force; Sabla-Mandibu, Jedi Seer and Holocron expert; Morrit Ch’gally, Jedi Recruiter; Gal-Stod Slagistrough, Jedi leader of the Agricultural Corps.Jedi who added personal commentary: Yoda, Thame Cerulian, Count Dooku, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Darth Sidious, and Luke Skywalker.Removable features: A letter tracing the book’s history, a severed Padawan braid, a metal Jedi Credit medallion, a Jedi starfighter patch, a burned poster of the Jedi Code, a map of the Jedi Temple, a lightsaber diagram sketched on the back of a napkin from Dex’s Diner, and a note on the missing pages torn from the book by a Sith.Created in collaboration with Lucasfilm — along with an acclaimed Star Wars author and revered Star Wars illustrators — this volume provides new insights into the history and lore of the Jedi Order while introducing never-before-seen ships, creatures, characters, and details about how one trains to become a Jedi.

    The fifty-two stories and critical introductions are organized chronologically as well as thematically for classroom use. Filled with luminous ideas, otherworldly adventures, and startling futuristic speculations, these stories will appeal to all readers as they chart the emergence and evolution of science fiction as a modern literary genre. They also provide a fascinating look at how our Western technoculture has imaginatively expressed its hopes and fears from the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century to the digital age of today. A free online teacher's guide accompanies the anthology and offers access to a host of pedagogical aids for using this book in an academic setting.The stories in this anthology have been selected and introduced by the editors of Science Fiction Studies, the world's most respected journal for the critical study of science fiction.

    As a new Beta, Sammy must hone his newfound abilities using holographic fighting simulations, stealth training missions, and complex war games. His fellow trainees are other kids competing to prove their worth so they can graduate and contribute to the war effort.But the stifling competition at headquarters isolates Sammy from his peers. Learning to use his incredible powers is difficult enough, but when things go horribly wrong on a routine training mission, he must rely on the other Betas to stay alive.The Silent War is at a tipping point; even one boy can be the difference.But to do so, he must survive.

    UNSEEN PHOTOS. SHINY. “We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.” Since its short-lived appearance on TV in 2002, Joss Whedon’s Firefly has indeed done the impossible. It’s sold over a half a million copies on DVD, spawned the hit movie Serenity, and most remarkably, inspired a loyal fan following — the Browncoats — whose numbers are still growing to this day. Still Flying is a brand new celebration of all aspects of the show, featuring a wealth of rare and previously unpublished images — including storyboards, production design art and candid behind the scenes photos — memories from the cast and crew, a tribute to the Browncoats, and, as a special bonus: EXCLUSIVE NEW FIREFLY FICTION BY WRITERS OF THE ORIGINAL TV EPISODES FUN WITH DICK AND JAYNE written and drawn by Ben Edlund WHAT HOLDS US DOWN by Jane Espenson CRYSTAL by Brett Matthews TAKE THE SKY by Jose Molina

    Everything you need to know about the TARDIS is here - where it came from, where it's been, how it works, and how it has changed since we first encountered it in a London junkyard in 1963.Including photos, design drawings, floor plans and instruction manuals from different eras of the series, this handbook explores the ship's endless interior, looking inside its wardrobe and bedrooms, its power rooms and sick bay, its corridors and cloisters, and revealing just how the show's production teams have created the dimensionally transcendental police box, inside and out.The TARDIS Handbook is the essential guide to the best ship in the universe.

    The book originated as the novelette "Ender's Game," published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional books to form the Ender's Game series. Card released an updated version of Ender's Game in 1991, changing some political facts to accurately reflect the times. Set in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind who have barely survived two conflicts with the Formics (an insectoid alien race also known as the "Buggers"). In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, an international fleet maintains a school to find and train future fleet commanders. The world's most talented children, including the novel's protagonist Ender Wiggin, are taken at a very young age to a training center known as the Battle School. There, teachers train them in the arts of war through increasingly difficult games including ones undertaken in zero gravity in the Battle Room where Ender's tactical genius is revealed.

    government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he's done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. Wolgast is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors, but for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—toward the time an place where she must finish what should never have begun.With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterly prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.

    Yet the full story of the conflict between the two most famous Transformers—everything that happened before Optimus and Megatron arrived on planet Earth—has always been a mystery . . . until now. Here, for the first time told in its entirety, is the thrilling saga of Optimus and Megatron before they were enemies, before they even knew each other. “Freedom is every Cybertronian’s right!” After Megatron utters these immortal words, the caste-bound planet of Cybertron is rocked to its foundations. Megatron, an undefeated gladiator thug, gives voice to the unspoken longings of the oppressed masses—and opens the mind of an insignificant data clerk to possibilities previously unthinkable.Long before becoming the honorable Optimus Prime, Orion Pax is a mere office underling, an unlikely candidate to answer an outlaw’s call to revolution. But Orion is determined to meet this defiant enemy of all that Cybertron stands for, no matter what he has to do, or how many laws he has to break.What happens between Orion Pax and Megatron forever changes the destiny of all Transformers. This gripping, action-packed novel reveals all the loyalties and treacheries, trust and betrayals, deadly violence and shining ideals, as well as the pivotal roles played by other characters, including Starscream, Sentinel Prime, Omega Supreme, and one of the thirteen original Primes, the last link to Cybertron’s glorious Golden Age.Discover how meek disciple Orion Pax becomes the fearless leader Optimus Prime; follow the tantalizing clues about the lost Matrix of Leadership and the lore surrounding it; find out why the two allies fighting a corrupt regime suddenly turn on each other, and what triggers their epic war. Transformers: Exodus provides everything fans ever wanted to know about one of the fiercest rivalries of all time.

    Brave New Worlds brings together the best dystopian fiction of the last 30 years, demonstrating the diversity that flourishes in this compelling subgenre. This landmark tome contains stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Cory Doctorow, M. Rickert, Paolo Bacigalupi, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, and many others.Table of ContentsIntroduction / John Joseph Adams --Lottery / Shirley Jackson --Red card / S.L. Gilbow --Ten with a flag / Joseph Paul Haines --Ones who walk away from Omelas / Ursula K. Le. Guin --Evidence of love in a case of abandonment / M. Rickert --The Funeral / Kate Wilhelm --O happy day! / Geoff Ryman --Pervert / Charles Coleman Finlay --From homogeneous to honey / Neil Gaiman & Bryan Talbot --Billennium / J.G. Ballard --Amaryllis / Carrie Vaughn --Pop squad / Paolo Bacigalupi --Auspicious eggs / James Morrow --Peter Skilling / Alex Irvine --The Pedestrian / Ray Bradbury --Things that make me weak and strange get engineered away / Cory Doctorow --Pearl diver / Caitlin R. Kiernan --Dead space for the unexpected / Geoff Ryman --"Repent harlequin!", said the Ticktockman / Harlan Ellison --Is this your day to join the revolution? / Genevieve Valentine --Independence day / Sarah Langan --Lunatics / Kim Stanley Robinson --Sacrament / Matt Williamson --Minority report / Philip K. Dick --Just do it / Heather Lindsley --Harrison Bergeron / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. --Caught in the organ draft / Robert Silverberg --Geriatric ward / Orson Scott Card --Arties aren't stupid / Jeremiah Tolbert --Jordan's waterhammer / Joe Mastroianni --Of a sweet slow dance in the wake of temporary dogs / Adam-Troy Castro --Resistance / Tobias S. Buckell --Civilization / Vylar Kaftan.

    For the past three hundred years, since the Star League collapse and the rise of the Five Successor States, these mortal enemies have fought over space, land and politics. But a new threat looms just outside the Inner Sphere. The descendants of an old Star League general, the Clans bred to be the best military force humanity has ever seen have come to take what they believe is rightfully BattleTech: Blood Legacy - Blood of Kerensky Trilogy Book 2 of 3 Blood Legacy continues the saga of the Clan invasion begun in 3030. Jaime Wolf has brought all the key leaders of the Inner Sphere together to put to rest old blood feuds and power struggles. But old hatreds and suspicions die hard. Still, the very survival of the Successor States hinges on battling warriors equipped with BattleMechs far superior to their own and another threat lurking in their very midst ComStar, the sect controlling interstellar communication which is determined to rule all of the Inner Sphere by any means at its disposal... BattleTech: Lost Destiny - Blood of Kerensky Trilogy Book 3 of 3 And so continues the saga of the Clan invasion and the explosive struggle within the Inner Sphere. With secrete aid from ComStar the Terran-based sect that serves as the keeper of the Inner Spheres technological secrets the Clans BattleMech warriors have been incredibly successful in their campaign of invasion. But ComStar has its own reasons for giving aid to the enemy, and if its strategy proves successful, the Inner Sphere worlds will finally be reunited under ComStars rule.

    Halsey's personal journal is a booklet co-written by Eric Nylund and is included with the Halo: Reach Limited and Legendary editions. It covers various elements from the Halo universe and is written through the eyes of Catherine Elizabeth Halsey herself.

    Exotic energy, teleportation, FTL, parallel universes and near-infinitely more wonders are just within reach; a promise of paradise.But every attempt to exploit this new science results in sabotage, chaos and destruction. And the laws of science themselves are changing with each experiment, locking out the new discoveries, directly altering the universe to make what should be possible impossible. While Ching watches, humanity's future is being stolen.Because there's something wrong with his world. There's a fundamental flaw, a defect in its structure...

    Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 20. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Cyberiad (Polish: ) is a series of short stories by Stanisaw Lem. The Polish version was first published in 1967, with an English translation appearing in 1974. The main protagonists of the series are Trurl and Klapaucius, the "constructors." The vast majority of characters are either robots, or intelligent machines. The stories focus on problems of the individual and society, as well as on the vain search for human happiness through technological means. Two of these stories were included in the book The Mind's I. Trurl and Klapaucius are brilliant (robotic) engineers, called "constructors" (because they can construct practically anything at will), capable of almost God-like exploits. For instance, on one occasion Trurl creates an entity capable of extracting accurate information from the random motion of gas particles, which he calls a "Demon of the Second Kind." He describes the "Demon of the First Kind" as a Maxwell's demon. On another, the two constructors re-arrange stars near their home planet in order to advertise. The duo are best friends and rivals. When they are not busy constructing revolutionary mechanisms at home, they travel the universe, aiding those in need. Although the characters are firmly established as good and righteous, they take no shame in accepting handsome rewards for their services. If rewards were promised and not delivered, the constructors may even severely punish those who deceived them. The universe of The Cyberiad is pseudo-Medieval. There are kingdoms, knights, princesses, and even dragons in abundance. Robots are usually anthropomorphic, to the point of being divided into sexes. Love and marriage are possibl...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=59380

    In the year 2330, where war is obsolete and only brilliant minds are valued, she emerges into adulthood with more brawn than brains and a propensity for violence. People dismiss her as a relic, but world peace is more fragile than they know. In Valhalla, a clandestine base hidden in an icy ravine, Violet connects with a group of outcasts just like her. There, she learns the skills she needs to keep the world safe from genetically enhanced criminals and traitors who threaten the first friends she’s ever known. She also meets Wulfgar Kray, a genius gang leader who knows her better than she knows herself and who would conquer the world to capture her. Branded from childhood as a useless barbarian, Violet is about to learn the world needs her exactly as she is.

    Heinlein (1907-1988) is generally considered the greatest American SF writer of the 20th century. A famous and bestselling author in later life, he started as a navy man and graduate of Annapolis who was forced to retire because of tuberculosis.  A socialist politician in the 1930s, he became one of the sources of Libertarian politics in the USA in his later years. His most famous works include the Future History series (stories and novels collected in The Past Through Tomorrow and continued in later novels), Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Given his desire for privacy in the later decades of his life, he was both stranger and more interesting than one could ever have known. This is the first of two volumes of a major American biography. This volume is about Robert A. Heinlein's life up to the end of the 1940s and the mid-life crisis that changed him forever.

    A great adventure ensues that will place the intrepid band at odds with the mighty and the mad, with alchemists, Jesuits, great navies, pirate queens, and vengeful despots across vast oceans and around the globe.Back in Europe, the exquisite and resourceful Eliza, Countess de la Zeur, master of markets, pawn and confidante of enemy kings, onetime Turkish harem virgin, is stripped of her immense personal fortune by France's most dashing privateer. Penniless and at risk from those who desire either her or her head (or both), she is caught up in a web of international intrigue, even as she desperately seeks the return of her most precious possession -- her child.Meanwhile, Newton and Leibniz continue to propound their grand theories as their infamous rivalry intensifies. And Daniel Waterhouse seeks passage to the Massachusetts colony in hopes of escaping the madness into which his world has descended.The Baroque Cycle, Neal Stephenson's award-winning series, spans the late 17th and early 18th centuries, combining history, adventure, science, invention, piracy, and alchemy into one sweeping tale. It is a gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive historical epic populated by the likes of Isaac Newton, William of Orange, Benjamin Franklin, and King Louis XIV, along with some of the most inventive literary characters in modern fiction.Audible's complete and unabridged presentation of The Baroque Cycle was produced in cooperation with Neal Stephenson. Each volume includes an exclusive introduction read by the author.

    This subsequent career in the family business was tough: marked by war, mutiny and attempted assassination. But then her home was attacked and her parents killed - their trading empire left in ruins. Now she must save what is left of the family and the business, with few friends and too few assets. She must make full use of her hard-won experience to not just survive, but to restore the shattered fortunes of the Vatta family and their allies. Now, Kylara Vatta, space-trader and sometime privateer, has destined herself for a dangerous and unpredictable future. She will muster an interplanetary taskforce and forge them into a lethal weapon: one that the pirates who destroyed her family will never forget...

    Freddy Anderson used that ability working to save the world from a world ending disaster. However, the human race is now at war. Aliens have attacked and captured many of our top people including Freddy Anderson and are headed back to their home world. They are trying to extract from his mind information that will help them understand how the humans destroyed their greatest ship and how to annihilate the entire human race.

    This anthology opens the gateway to the Sabbat Worlds like never before, featuring new stories from some of the Black Library's best-known authors including Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill and many more.

    It contains a broad spectrum of his work, from his first published story, "Nunivak Snowflakes," through "The Receivers" and "Monkey Suit," both published within the last year, plus an introduction by his friend, and former Boskone Guest, Stephen Baxter. It is well-known that the scope of Dr. Reynolds' stories is vast; his Revelation Space stories alone attest to that. This collection shows his impressive range, from the claustrophobic Antarctic station, "Byrd Land Six," to the branespanning "Tiger, Burning," to the millennia-long quest of "Fury." His viewpoints are as varied as his constant production of big, new ideas. A lone artist calmly painting the universe. A planetary ecological struggle reduced to a game. A fleeing assassin drawn into an alien rescue between the stars. The full-color dust jacket is by John Picacio, the Boskone 47 Official Artist.Table of Contents:-Introduction by Stephen Baxter-Nunivak Snowflakes-Monkey Suit-The Fixation-Feeling Rejected-Fury-Stroboscopic-The Receivers-Byrd Land Six-The Star Surgeon's Apprentice-On the Oodnadatta-Fresco-Viper-Soirée-The Sledge-Maker's Daughter-Tiger, Burning

    Enterprise is without doubt the most famous starship in history. The vessels that have carried the name have saved the galaxy countless times and her captains, including Archer, Kirk, and Picard, have been legendary. This Haynes Manual provides in-depth information about these extraordinary ships, from the Enterprise NX-01, to Captain Kirk’s Enterprise NCC-1701 and Captain Picard’s Enterprise NCC-1701-D including histories of each vessel, technical information about their systems, and discussions of key technologies such as transporters and warp-speed travel. Find out exactly what powered these ships, how they were armed and what it took to operate them. The book features newly created artwork throughout, including full-ship cutaways of each Enterprise, key systems, and interior locations together with detailed new exterior views by one of STAR TREK’s original visual effects artists. This Haynes Manual is fully authorized by CBS and technical consultant Michael Okuda, who spent thirteen years working on STAR TREK TV series and movies.

    SpaceshipPiper in the Woods

    But when the Sandrisson Drive activated, every automated system crashed, the nuclear reactor itself shut down, and only the reflexes and training of a racing pilot saved the test vessel Holy Grail from crashing into the impossible wall that had appeared before them, a wall which is just part of a monstrous enclosure surrounding a space twenty thousand kilometers across. With all artificial intelligences inert and their reactor dead, they had to find some other source of power to reactivate the Sandrisson Drive and—hopefully—take them home.            And that was only the beginning. As Ariane, Dr. Simon Sandrisson, darkly enigmatic power engineer Marc C. DuQuesne, and the rest of the Holy Grail's crew explore the immense artifact, they discover that they are not alone; they have entered a place the alien inhabitants call “The Arena,” and there is no way out without joining one of the alien factions . . . or winning recognition as a faction in their own right, playing by the Arena's rules – and by the Arena's rules, one failed challenge could mean death or worse – perhaps for the entire human race.            Surrounded by alien factions, each with its own secret plans and motivations, some wielding powers so strange as to be magical, Ariane sets out to beat the Arena at its own game. With DuQuesne's strategies, Sandrisson's genius, and her own unyielding determination, she's going to bring the Holy Grail home – even if she has to beat every faction in the Arena to do it!

    I grow my ears, extend cups of near-frozen tissue from the sides of my head, turn like a living antennae in search of the best reception.The Things has been published 28 separate times and translated 3 times.See www dot isfdb dot org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1077522

    The exciting military career she hoped for never got off the ground but Ky Vatta ended up seeing plenty of combat when she took the helm of one of the commercial transport vessels in her family's fleet...and steered it into a full-blown war. Now the lessons she learned in that trial by fire are about to pay off: because this time, the war has come to her. To be exact, someone unknown has launched a full-throttle offensive against Vatta Transport Ltd., Ky's father's interstellar shipping empire. In short order, most of Ky's family is killed, and subsequent attacks sever vital lines of communication, leaving Ky fighting, in every sense, to survive.Determined to identify the ruthless mystery enemy and avenge her family's name, Ky needs not only firepower but information. And she gets both in spades from the band of stranded mercenaries she hooks up with, from her black-sheep cousin, Stella, who's been leading a secret life, and from Stella's roguish ex-lover, Rafe. Together they struggle to penetrate the tangled web of political intrigue that's wreaking havoc within InterStellar Communications, whose effective operation their own livelihoods and perhaps lives depend on.But the infighting proves to be infectious, and it isn't long before Ky's hired military muscle are turning their suspicions on the enigmatic Rafe, whose wealth of knowledge about ISC's clashing factions and startling new technologies has begun to make him smell like a rat...or a mole. With swift, violent destruction a very real possibility, the last thing Ky needs is a crew divided against itself and she's prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that Vatta stays in business, as well as in one piece.What she's not prepared for is the shocking truth behind the terror and a confrontation with murderous treachery from a source as unexpected as it is unrelenting. (Part 2 of 2)

    The brilliantly unorthodox Kylara Vatta, black-sheep scion of Vatta Transport Ltd., one of the galaxy's wealthiest merchant houses, is a heroine like no other, blessed with a killer instinct for business and for battle. Now, in the aftermath of cold-blooded assassinations that have left her parents dead and the Vatta shipping empire shattered, Kylara faces her greatest challenge yet.There is a time for grief and a time for revenge. This is decidedly the latter. Placing her cousin Stella in command of the trading vessel Gary Tobai, Ky embarks aboard the captured pirate ship Fair Kaleen on a twofold mission: to salvage the family business and to punish those responsible for the killings...before they strike again.Since the network providing instantaneous communication between star systems has been sabotaged, news is hard to come by and available information impossible to trust. But as she travels from system to system, with Stella a step behind, Ky pieces together the clues and discovers a conspiracy of terrifying scope, breathtaking audacity, and utter ruthlessness.The only hope the independent systems and merchants have against this powerful enemy is to band together. Unfortunately, because she commands a ship known to belong to a notorious pirate - her own relative Osman Vatta, whom she killed for his part in her parents' deaths - Ky is met with suspicion, if not outright hostility. Rumors swirl about her intent, her very identity. Soon even Stella begins to question her cousin's decisions and her authority to make them.Meanwhile, the conspiracy Ky hunts is hunting her in turn, with agents insinuated into every space station, every planetary government, every arm of the military, and every merchant house - including her own. Before she can take the fight to the enemy, Kylara must survive a deadly minefield of deception and betrayal. (Part 2 of 2)

    Hiking up a mountain? She's never hiked. Canoeing back down it at the end? She's not a great swimmer. Dealing with an obnoxious peer who declared himself leader of their expedition? Definitely not in her plan. Meeting the woman who'd become her captain and friend for years to come? Bring it on.

    Stirling and More. Military Science Fiction at Its Best.Controlled by their tireless electronic brains which were programmed to admit no possibility of defeat, the gigantic robot tanks known as Bolos were almost indestructible, and nearly unstoppable. Their artificial intelligences were designed to make them selflessly serve and protect humans throughout the galaxy and made each Bolo the epitome of the knight sans peur et sans reproche, and often far more noble than the humans who gave them their orders.Created by Keith Laumer, the saga of the Bolos has been extended by several of the best writers in science fiction. Now, the best stories of the saga are collected in one Omni-Trade volume, including work by New York Times best-selling writers David Weber, Mercedes Lackey and S. M. Stirling, military science fiction grand master David Drake, and Laumer himself, who recount the exploits of the dauntless Bolos in Their Finest Hour.

    A dangerous path. Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg's strange talent for seeing the paths of people's pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him--secrets about Rigg's own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain. Rigg’s birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two factions, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent…or forfeit control of his destiny.

    Loyal fans and art enthusiasts will rejoice in being able to view what Syd Mead has been imagining for nearly the past decade. Having illustrated the future for us for the past 40 years, Syd Mead continues to amaze and surprise us with his stunning pieces no matter how much of the future we have seen from the start of his career to present day. Looking through his unrivaled artwork, we still find ourselves continuously waiting for his future to be in our present. Images from countless conceptual projects as well as realized ones will be included in this fantastic visual voyage into the future with the one and only Visual Futurist, Syd Mead. This limited edition hardcover will not be available again.

    Tales of super-soldiers fending off thousands of Covenant attacks have become the stuff of legend.  But just how many Spartans are left? While the Master Chief defends a besieged Earth, and the myriad factions of the Covenant continue their crusade to eliminate humanity, an ultrasecret cell of the Office of Naval Intelligence known as Section Three devises a plan to buy the UNSC vital time. They're going to need hundreds of willing soldiers though...and one more Spartan to get the job done. The planet Onyx is virtually abandoned and the perfect place to set this new plan in motion. But when the Master Chief destroys Halo, something is triggered deep within Onyx: Ancient Forerunner technology stirs, and fleets of UNSC and Covenant race to claim it to change the course of the Human-Covenant War. But this reawakened and ancient force may have plans of its own... The Cole Protocol: In the first, desperate days of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC has enacted the Cole Protocol to safeguard Earth and its Inner Colonies from discovery by a merciless alien foe. Many are called upon to rid the universe of lingering navigation data that would reveal the location of Earth. Among them is Navy Lieutenant Jacob Keyes. Thrust back into action after being sidelined, Keyes is saddled with a top secret mission by ONI. One that will take him deep behind enemy lines, to a corner of the universe where nothing is as it seems.  Out beyond the Outer Colonies lies the planet Hesiod, a gas giant surrounded by a vast asteroid belt. As the Covenant continues to glass the human occupied planets near Hesiod, many of the survivors, helped by a stronghold of human Insurrectionists, are fleeing to the asteroid belt for refuge. They have transformed the tumbling satellites into a tenuous, yet ingenious, settlement known as the Rubble--and have come face-to-face with a Covenant settlement of Kig-Yar . . . yet somehow survived.  News of this unlikely treaty has spread to the warring sides. Luckily for the UNSC, this uneasy alliance is in the path of the Spartan Gray Team, a three-man renegade squad whose simple task is to wreak havoc from behind enemy lines in any way they see fit. But the Prophets have also sent their best---an ambitious and ruthless Elite, whose quest for nobility and rank is matched only by his brutality . . . and who will do anything to secure his Ascendancy and walk the Path.

    This subsequent career in the family business was tough: marked by war, mutiny and attempted assassination. But then her home was attacked and her parents killed - their trading empire left in ruins. Now she must save what is left of the family and the business, with few friends and too few assets. She must make full use of her hard-won experience to not just survive, but to restore the shattered fortunes of the Vatta family and their allies. Now, Kylara Vatta, space-trader and sometime privateer, has destined herself for a dangerous and unpredictable future. She will muster an interplanetary taskforce and forge them into a lethal weapon: one that the pirates who destroyed her family will never forget...

    They and several heroes of future space flight take on and do the impossible, build a program to explore and settle the red planet in a very short time period. Along the way they dig up old and invent new technology to overcome the many problems facing them. Mario and his wife are forced to take his brother's place when he is viciously attacked moments before launch. The team must overcome many problems, weather, radiation, and politics to get the colony started. Along the way they must divert an asteroid which has some far reaching consequences. Mankind will never be the same after the Mario brothers come on the scene!

    Commentary (novels not included). Pages: 24. Chapters: Noon Universe novels, Roadside Picnic, Prisoners of Power, Hard to Be a God, Disquiet, Space Apprentice, Monday Begins on Saturday, Noon: 22nd Century, Space Mowgli, The Ugly Swans, The Final Circle of Paradise, Far Rainbow, Beetle in the Anthill, The Second Invasion from Mars, The Time Wanderers, The Kid from Hell, The Doomed City, Escape Attempt, Definitely Maybe, Dead Mountaineer's Hotel, Tale of the Troika, The Land of Crimson Clouds, Search for Designation or Twenty Seventh Theorem of Ethics, The Way to Amalthea, Devil amongst people, Stalker. Excerpt: Roadside Picnic (Russian:, Piknik na obochine, IPA: ) is a short science fiction novel written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky between January 18 and November 3 of 1971. As of 1998, 38 editions of the novel were published in 20 countries. The novel was first translated to English by Antonina W. Bouis. The preface to the first American edition of the novel (MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc, New York, 1977) was written by Theodore Sturgeon. The film Stalker directed by Andrei Tarkovsky is loosely based on the novel, with a screenplay written by the Strugatskys. The story was written by Strugatsky brothers in 1971 (the first outlines written January 18-27, 1971 in Leningrad, with the final version completed between October 28 and November 3, 1971 in Komarovo.) In 1977, the novel was first published in the United States in English. Roadside Picnic was refused publication in the Soviet Union for eight years due to government censorship and numerous delays. The heavily censored different versions published between 1980 and 2000 have little in common with the original version written by the authors. Soviet censors rewrote major plot points, changed names of characters and dialog to better reflect the Marxist ideology (remo...

    It is a world of great technological advancement. It is a world that has been at peace for a hundred years.While the world known as Kosundo by its inhabitants goes about its usual business, an ancient prophesy ominously predicts that the time of the soulless has come. Then, a mysterious man lurks about a secret city. A forgotten miscreation is plotting revenge. An emperor is going mad. A terrible weapon threatens to wreak destruction. And finally, a being of absolute evil is planning to make the world his own.But a prophet reveals a beacon of hope and tells of choices that need to be made. Each choice will determine whether another beacon of hope shines forth or if the darkness of evil prevails. A Beacon of Hope is the first book in The Sixth World of Men series.

    Virginia Edition, Volume XXIIPreface to "The man who sold the moon" --Life-line --"Let there be light" --Roads must roll --Blowups happen --Excursus --Man who sold the moon --Delilah and the space-rigger --Space jockey --Requiem --Long watch --Gentlemen, be seated --Black pits of Luna --"It's great to be back!" --Searchlight --Ordeal in space --Green hills of earth --Logic of empire --Menace from Earth --

    This spellbinding collection is a must for fans of classic SF. - Publishers WeeklyWith the publication of his first story, 'The Coldest Place', in 1964 Larry Niven launched one of the most important careers in the history of science fiction. Over the next decade his stunning hard science fiction won four short fiction Hugo Awards and both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for his all-time classic novel, Ringworld.But it was the short stories that amazed and astounded first. Stories like 'The Coldest Place', 'Becalmed in Hell', 'Neutron Star', and 'All the Myriad Ways' set the boundaries for 'Known Space', one of science fiction s grandest future histories, while Niven also explored the classic tavern story in his 'Draco's Tavern' sequence and even fantasy in his 'Magic Goes Away' stories.Astoundingly, there has never been a single compendium the focused solely on Niven's best short fiction until now. The Best of Larry Niven collects no less than twenty seven stories written over a period of thirty-five years, bringing together some of the best-loved stories in science fiction for the first time, along with some overlooked classics. Whether this is your first time in Known Space or you're visiting old friends in Draco's Tavern, The Best of Larry Niven is unforgettable.Contents:9 • Introduction (The Best of Larry Niven) • essay by Jerry Pournelle11 • Becalmed in Hell • [Known Space] • (1965) • shortstory by Larry Niven25 • Bordered in Black • (1966) • shortstory by Larry Niven45 • Neutron Star • [Known Space] • (1966) • novelette by Larry Niven63 • The Soft Weapon • [Known Space] • (1967) • novelette by Larry Niven113 • The Jigsaw Man • [Known Space] • (1967) • shortstory by Larry Niven125 • The Deadlier Weapon • non-genre • (1968) • shortstory by Larry Niven135 • All the Myriad Ways • [Time Travel - Parallel Universe] • (1968) • shortstory by Larry Niven145 • Not Long Before the End • [Magic Goes Away] • (1969) • shortstory by Larry Niven157 • Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex • (1969) • essay by Larry Niven165 • Inconstant Moon • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven191 • Rammer • [State] • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven219 • Cloak of Anarchy • [Known Space] • (1972) • shortstory by Larry Niven239 • The Fourth Profession • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven285 • Flash Crowd • [Teleportation] • (1973) • novella by Larry Niven337 • The Defenseless Dead • [Gil Hamilton] • (1973) • novelette by Larry Niven381 • The Flight of the Horse • [Svetz] • (1969) • shortstory by Larry Niven395 • The Hole Man • (1974) • shortstory by Larry Niven409 • Night on Mispec Moor • [State] • (1974) • shortstory by Larry Niven421 • Flatlander • [Known Space] • (1967) • novelette by Larry Niven459 • The Magic Goes Away • [Magic Goes Away • 1] • (1978) • novel by Larry Niven523 • Cautionary Tales • (1978) • shortstory by Larry Niven527 • Limits • [Draco Tavern] • (1981) • shortstory by Larry Niven533 • A Teardrop Falls • [Berserker] • (1983) • shortstory by Larry Niven545 • The Return of William Proxmire • (1989) • shortstory by Larry Niven555 • The Borderland of Sol • [Known Space] • (1975) • novelette by Larry Niven595 • Smut Talk • [Draco Tavern] • (2000) • shortstory by Larry Niven605 • The Missing Mass • [Draco Tavern] • (2000) • shortstory by Larry NivenCover art by Edward Miller

    There's also a score to be settled and payback to be meted out for the obliteration of the Vatta Transport dynasty, and the slaughter of Ky's family. But the enemy have their own escalation efforts under way, including the placement of covert agents among the allies with whom Ky and the surviving Vattas are collaborating in the war effort.

    Jax and Isaiah expect pyramids and pharaohs, but come face-to-face with some of the deadliest creatures to ever walk the earth. Can JT and Micky get there before it's too late? And what will happen when they are confronted with the true history of the world?

    The brilliantly unorthodox Kylara Vatta, black-sheep scion of Vatta Transport Ltd., one of the galaxy's wealthiest merchant houses, is a heroine like no other, blessed with a killer instinct for business and for battle. Now, in the aftermath of cold-blooded assassinations that have left her parents dead and the Vatta shipping empire shattered, Kylara faces her greatest challenge yet.There is a time for grief and a time for revenge. This is decidedly the latter. Placing her cousin Stella in command of the trading vessel Gary Tobai, Ky embarks aboard the captured pirate ship Fair Kaleen on a twofold mission: to salvage the family business and to punish those responsible for the killings...before they strike again.Since the network providing instantaneous communication between star systems has been sabotaged, news is hard to come by and available information impossible to trust. But as she travels from system to system, with Stella a step behind, Ky pieces together the clues and discovers a conspiracy of terrifying scope, breathtaking audacity, and utter ruthlessness.The only hope the independent systems and merchants have against this powerful enemy is to band together. Unfortunately, because she commands a ship known to belong to a notorious pirate - her own relative Osman Vatta, whom she killed for his part in her parents' deaths - Ky is met with suspicion, if not outright hostility. Rumors swirl about her intent, her very identity. Soon even Stella begins to question her cousin's decisions and her authority to make them.Meanwhile, the conspiracy Ky hunts is hunting her in turn, with agents insinuated into every space station, every planetary government, every arm of the military, and every merchant house - including her own. Before she can take the fight to the enemy, Kylara must survive a deadly minefield of deception and betrayal. (Part 1 of 2)

    When the interstellar wildlife sanctuary Casaverde is quarantined due to an mysterious outbreak of malaria, Andrew Salazar must turn to military surplus synthetic life-forms to help him in his work as warden.But Andrew soon discovers that the synthetics are far more complex creatures than he first imagined and that something more deadly than an old-world disease is stalking Casaverde.

    That is what the aliens had warned Mitch Chambers a year ago. It wasn't like it was anything new, mankind had always been teetering on the edge of extinction. But when aliens visit, you listened. They gave him and nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine other people a year to prepare before they are transplanted to another world. Mitch didn't even consider going to the media or the government, they would have laughed him right into an asylum. No, Mitch knew he would have to do it the hard way, pull mankind up by the bootstraps. Bootstrap colony.

    A legend has to start somewhere... As so many writers have said, it's in the shorter and mid-length work that the storytelling craft is best learned. Hard-Luck Diggings brings together fourteen such pieces from the first twelve years of Grand Master Jack Vance's genre-defining career, from back when he first worked to pay the mortgage, buy the groceries, travel the world, eventually building his own private 'dream castle' and starting a family.Like any writer serious about staying in the game, we see him targeting the markets of the day, doing what was needed to meet the tastes of editors and their readerships while at the same time perfecting his own special way of doing things so that his name, his distinctive voice, stood a chance (in modern marketing parlance) of becoming a viable 'brand.'Hard-Luck Diggings brings that fascinating process to life in fine style. As well as serving up vintage entertainment from one of the field's genuine masters, it provides an illuminating armchair tour of how the Jack Vance enterprise came to be, full of zest and life, the thrill of the upward climb and of so much more to be done. This is a book to be savoured with a twinkle in the eye, a knowing smile, but most of all, with a love of adventure and high romance firmly in place.Contents:Introduction-essay by Jonathan Strahan and Terry Dowling;-afterword-essay following each story, by Jack Vance; Hard-Luck Diggings [Magnus Ridolph] (1948); -- The Temple of Han (1951); -- The Masquerade on Dicantropus (1951); -- Abercrombie Station (1952); -- Three-Legged Joe (1953); -- DP! (1953); -- Shape-Up (1953); -- Sjambak (1953); -- The Absent-Minded Professor (1954); -- When the Five Moons Rise (1954); -- The Devil on Salvation Bluff (1955); -- Where Hesperus Falls (1956); -- The Phantom Milkman (1956); -- Dodkin’s Job (1959).Cover illustration by Tom Kidd.

    Inside Dragon Moon's first Podthology can be found demons, angels, pirates, ghosts, ghouls, the past, the future, and one slightly confused Vietnam veteran. Join writers Scott Sigler, Tee Morris, Mike Bennett, Emerian Rich and the others as they chill your spine, raise your hackles, tickle your funny bone and maybe even make you ponder your own special place in the Podosphere. Including stories by: Phil Rossi Marie Bilodeau J. Daniel Sawyer Jack Mangan Scott Sigler Jared Axelrod Mike Bennett Justin R. Macumber Emerian Rich Tee Morris E. A. Zefram Timothy G.M. Reynolds J.D. Williams Jennifer Rahn Alexander T. Crisp

    Vulcan breeds just two types of native - complacent or tough. Sten is tough.When his family is killed in a mysterious accident, Sten rebels, harassing the Company from the metal world's endless mazelike warrens. It's a fool's errand, of course - no man can stand against the might of the Company and expect to live. But Sten isn't just any man.From the corrupt and brutal factories of Vulcan to the plots and intrigues of the Imperial Court, the galaxy is about to come face-to-face with the ultimate warrior. Sten's already learned how to survive - now he wants more; he wants control of his own destiny. And he'll do whatever it takes to get it.No compromise, no retreat, no surrender. Only Sten.This omnibus edition contains: STEN, THE WOLF WORLDS and THE COURT OF A THOUSAND SUNS.

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Silkie, the Voyage of the Space Beagle, Slan, the Weapon Shops of Isher, the World of Null-A, Empire of the Atom, Rogue Ship, the Universe Maker, the Man With a Thousand Names, the Book of Ptath, the Wizard of Linn, Null-A Three, the Weapon Makers, the House That Stood Still, the Players of Null-A, Children of Tomorrow. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Silkie is a fix-up science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt, first published in complete form in 1969. The component stories had previously been published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. Taking its inspiration from the Celtic legend of the Selkie, the novel describes a race of apparent humans with the ability to change into other forms. One, like the Selkie of legend, can live underwater. Another can survive and travel unprotected in outer space. In all three forms the Silkies can wield mental powers over energy to some degree. After a prologue which purports to explain the origin of the Silkies as an experiment in genetic manipulation, the action moves forward over a hundred years to a future in which the Silkies are numerous and live on Earth. Humanity has assimilated them by means of the Special People, who can establish telepathic rapport with the Silkies. All Silkies are male, and most are married to women of the Special People. They are employed as police in space, and most are comfortable with that role. One dedicated Silkie, Nat Cemp, encounters three different alien races, and with each encounter he gains more powers and learns more about the true nature of the Silkies, and of the Universe. As with other Van Vogt works, the novel introduces a psychological element similar to General semantics. Here the Silkies use the so-called "Logic of Levels." ...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=1855869

    But naturally, things are never as easy as they seem on the surface....

    Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 20. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Tuf Voyaging is a science fiction novel by George R. R. Martin, first published in 1986. It is a darkly comic meditation on environmentalism and absolute power, and is regarded by many fans as being among Martin's best early work. He has also cited Jack Vance as a big influence on the Tuf stories, trying to emulate Vance's style in many of them. This fix-up novel is a collection of short fiction works published over several years beginning in 1976 with "A Beast for Norn," and did not incorporate the S'uthlam stories (all of which were published in Analog) until late 1985, shortly before the fix-up was collated, given a Prologue, and published in book form. The novel concerns the (mis)adventures of Haviland Tuf, an exceptionally tall, bald, very pale, overweight, phlegmatic, vegetarian, cat-loving but otherwise solitary space trader. Due to the venality and cutthroat tactics of the party chartering his one-man trading vessel, Tuf inadvertently becomes master of Ark, an ancient, 30-kilometer-long "seedship," a very powerful warship with advanced ecological engineering capabilities. Tuf travels the galaxy, offering his services to worlds with environmental problems, and sometimes imposing solutions of his own. The story begins with four people requiring transport: Celise Waan, a scholar of anthropology; Jefri Lion, a scholar and retired soldier; Annitas, a half-robotic cybertech; and Kaj Nevis, the leader of the expedition. They hire Rica Dawnstar, a mercenary bodyguard, and acquire the services of Haviland Tuf, a not very successful trader. Their destination is a so-called "plague star," known to inflict disease and pestilence on every third generatio...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=93247

    Second, you never talked to the garbage. But then the Pube girl Sally talked to him--and he talked back, even though she was tied up "garbage" deposited in the dump.To make matters worse, Sally was not your everyday garbage person. She was a Breed, a person with a finely tailored genetic code whose geneflesh was very, very valuable on a world of rigid castes, hard choices, and little sympathy for those who questioned the rules. And keeping secret Sally's genetic heritage took more than a robe with long sleeves to hide the GeneCode tattoo on her wrist.For rather than be happy with a full belly and a warm place to sleep, Sally questioned the way of Mother's World, and her questioning drew unwanted attention. Before Little Brother knew it, they were both on the run to escape the deadly attention of the Church of Flesh and the assassin of Sally's parents.Little Brother discovered that, in rescuing Sally, he had begun a quest to learn why he alone had been born without the GeneCode tattoo that set one's status, job, and destiny. That quest would lead him to a truth that some on his world would kill to keep secret--and the lives of two young people count for nothing in the Game of Power. But Little Brother has a Talent stronger than hatred or power, a Talent linked to his birth without a GeneCode tattoo. It is a Talent that might help both of them survive....

    No wonder she’s on the apprentice program - Six is amazed her aristocratic family managed to put up with her for so long.Their destination is Valhai – a planet in orbit around a red dwarf star - where they are to spend so much time in a strange solitary confinement that even the sight of each other might be welcome. Nobody on Valhai seems to know or care what happens to the apprentices - until one hesitant girl with an uncertain future of her own stumbles across the real nature of the donor program——and the biggest surprise on Valhai, which has been lying dormant for thousands of years, wakes up ...

    With Bobby’s sudden disappearance, Gilbert finds himself caught up in an adventure that only starts with the ghosts who reside in the house. After stepping through a door into the Sectors, Gilbert is confronted with an entirely new world populated with werewolves, vampires, zombies, ghosts, robots, humans and a cannibal…

    Each copy of this limited edition print run will be signed and presented in a beautiful hardbound cover, with internal black and white illustrations.The Glitter Rose stories are set against the background of Carmine Island (an island reminiscent of Stradbroke Island, Queensland) where a decade ago spores from deep in the ocean blew in, by a freak of nature, and settled on the island. These spores bring fierce allergies to the inhabitants of the island. And maybe other, more sinister effects. As we follow Tinashi’s journey of moving to and settling into island life, we get a clearer picture of just what is happening on Carmine Island.Glitter Rose is named after the glitter rose dusks that happen at certain tides on the island – when the last of sunset has fallen, a strange phosphorescence can be seen on the sands of the beaches. Colourless at first, it rapidly changes to a “carpet of tiny, shining, rose-coloured grains” as the sky darkens.TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction by Trent JamiesonGlimmer-by-darkMoon Flowers at the RitzThe Flag GameMama AilonPlus bonusIn the Bookshadow

    Only Rackham, with the help a young Hyrum Graff, can rid the I.F. of its old guard and pave the way for Earth's next great commander.

    We include scans of his original notes along with a transcription of what he wrote. (If you've ever seen JMS's handwriting, you'll understand what a bonus this is.) These season one notes include --* The two-part episode that was scrapped in favor of “A Voice in the Wilderness,” which includes an Earth Alliance ambassador being stationed on B5* The plot for the unproduced episode “Blockade”* The original notes for "Quality of Mercy," which in his notes was called “The Resurrectionist”Story Editor Larry DiTillio's Character ProfilesWritten as a personal reference to aid him while developing scripts, these dossiers contain fascinating bits of data such as --* Jeffrey Sinclair’s favorite composer* What John Sheridan’s father was named before he became David* What Susan Ivanova liked to collect* The name of Michael Garibaldi’s brother* What celestial body was the birthplace of Dr. Stephen Franklin* Talia Winters’s favorite movie* How Vir Cotto's mother's maiden name linked him to a powerful Centauri family* How Na'Toth’s religious beliefs differed from G’Kar’s* Which ancient Earth culture interested G'Kar * And a wealth of hitherto unknown facts about Delenn, Lennier, Keffer and Londo Mollari...and nothing at all about Kosh* Bonus: the dossier DiTillio wrote about the teenaged telepath Alisa Beldon, who appeared in “Legacies”"Some Basic Thoughts on Telepaths"Another "lost" document from story editor Larry DiTillio. Again, written for his personal reference, this is a list of twenty-six telepathic abilities in the Babylon 5 universe. Included in the listing are abilities such as --* The Six Types of Mind Scan* Thermal Manipulation* The "Chaos" Maneuver* The Empathy ScanThe JMS Interview Conducted Two Months Before the Pilot AiredHighlights include --* The circumstances in which he'd want someone to hit him over the head with a baseball bat* How he’d convince an SF fan to watch Babylon 5* What it means to give a Babylon 5 writer a "blind assignment"* How JMS wanted Babylon 5 to be like Hill Street Blues* Which actor had the most difficult time adapting to prosthetic makeup* JMS's rules for designing the aliens* The real reason he wanted diversity in the cast “The Strange Exhibition of Sebastian D'Arque”This was to be a season two episode featuring Sebastian, the character who later appeared in “Comes the Inquisitor.” You will get to see not one, but two outlines for the aborted episode. They explain how JMS planned to integrate an ISN reporter into the series’s regular cast, as well as how Sebastian was originally envisioned -- a very different take from what he would eventually become. The JMS Interview From the Week “The Coming of Shadows” AiredIn this detailed interview JMS reveals --* Which season two episodes he liked* What went wrong with the episodes that fell short of his approval* Which guest characters he wanted to use again (and which he didn't)* His thoughts on sex and SF* The origins behind the infamous “fasten-zip” conversation from “Babylon Squared”* Why he didn't regret losing Catherine Sakai when he wrote out Sinclair* The amazing thing Michael O'Hare did while filming "Parliament of Dreams"* Why sacrifice is a recurring theme in season two* In which episode he thought he did too much "preaching"* Why he was glad Deathwalker was female* Why "Believers" did not violate JMS's "no kids" rule* Why "Survivors" required so much rewriting* The reason "Grail" went off the rails, and why it was aired later in the season* The complete background on why "Eyes" was written* Which actor's performance he thought could have been better* The storyline that divided the fansNever-Before-Seen Concept Art by Peter LedgerSix pieces total --* Ledger's "simplified" English alphabet* A "really alien" alphabet* Four posters intended to decorate the walls of Babylon 5, including one promoting the "Church of the Beatles"J. Michael Straczynski's JournalHour-by-hour details of how the executive producer/creator/writer spent four days during the production of his TV series during late season two. You get to read his innermost thoughts on --* "The Quality of Mercy" and his definition of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"* What Warner Bros. noticed (and what they didn't)* Getting better time slots* What Doug Netter really does* The importance of lunch (especially on Fridays)* What a spotting session is* The crew member that is "completely nuts"* The necessary evil he agrees to that makes him think he's a "six-foot five-inch duck"* The conversation with cast members about "Narn butt"* The thing most people don't know about how television is made* Why JMS stays up most nights until 4 a.m."The Mysteries of Babylon 5" ProposalWritten between season two and season three, this proposal outlined a catch-up special designed to familiarize new viewers with the first two seasons of the show. Though the special was not to be, you get to read what could have been. "Approaching Babylon"The complete, unedited, uncensored text of J. Michael Straczynski’s eighteen-page article written for the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York. In this candid piece, JMS details his childhood love of science fiction, what inspired him to create Babylon 5 and what his hopes and fears were for the series as it entered its third season. The Mind-Wipe Story NotesSee for yourself “Passing Through Gethsemane’s” tortuous journey from script to screen. Yes, this is the episode that nearly had be to aborted after a fan posted a similar storyline in an online forum. In addition to the notarized release from the fan allowing JMS to resume work on the episode, we've also included two gems: the scratch paper featuring a very different plot and additional notes for a version of the story featuring Alfred Bester.The JMS Interview During Early Season ThreeThis brief one-on-one tells us --What he considers the most "intense" episode to dateThe real-life reason behind Vir becoming the Centauri envoy to MinbarThe season three episodes he considers "self-contained" that don't move the arc story forwardWhy he planned to write all the scripts for the seasonThe contingency plan if he ever got sick while writing every episodeThe four words he uses to describe season threeThe Patches of Babylon 5For the first time ever, detailed scans of an array of uniform patches -- thirty-one to be exact -- that were seen on the costumes in Babylon 5. Each one is identified along with where they were shown on each uniform. The inventory includes most Earthforce insignia (Command, Security, Medical, Engineering, Mars Command, etc.), as well as patches from the Earth/Minbari War, Earthforce vessels, Starfury squadrons stationed on Babylon 5 and the EAS Excalibur. TNT's "Babylon 5 Lives" ProposalThis proposal, structured as a memo, outlines three concepts --A Babylon 5 prequel set during the Earth/Minbari WarA re-edited version of the pilot movie that would form the basis for Babylon 5's TNT premiereA way to reinvigorate each cycle of re-runs on the network. Includes several intriguing Straczynskian hypotheses."Ancillary B5 Material"This is a page of notes that details the plot of yet another unmade Babylon 5 TV movie titled "The Trial of John Sheridan." You'll also learn the medium in which JMS originally planned to tell the story of Sheridan’s death. (Hint: it wasn’t an episode of the TV series.)The JMS Interview During Early Season FourA concise interview in which J. Michael Straczynski discusses --How Stephen Furst became a director on the showJMS's strategy to compensate for PTEN’s peculiar predilection for airing the season finale immediately before the following season’s premiereWhy JMS wrote all twenty-two season four episodes after nearly killing himself by writing all of season threeThe TNT Promo SpeechesRemember those fifteen- to sixty-second spots that aired on TNT around the clock leading up to Babylon 5's January 1998 premiere? You know, the ones that had Ivanova and G'Kar speaking directly to the audience and which ended with, "And that's why I am on Babylon 5." Guess what? There were actually four total. The ones featuring Sheridan and Londo were never used. For the first time you'll get to read the ones that didn't air and the two that did.The Psi Corps Manual ProposalThe premise of this proposal, written for Del Rey books, was that this would resemble an actual manual (thin, bound in a soft cover similar to those used for accountant's journals) and that it had been "smuggled out of the Psi Corps." We don't want to spoil the contents, but we will tell you that this proposal is written so vividly you'll probably be able to picture the unwritten final product. And that is what makes it so much fun.The JMS Interview After Directing “Sleeping in Light"Lots of insights in this one such as --Which season four episode might have been a two-part storyHow he kept Kosh and the other First Ones mysteriousHis thoughts on how he got around people thinking they knew what the ending wasWhy he wanted to direct this episode, his directing debutWhy none of the actors were moving when they started shooting the first sceneWhy he appeared in the finale, though he said previously he would never do soThe reason he wasn't surprised how the "Sleeping in Light" scenes turned outThe scenes he was most pleased withWhy he instructed Bruce not to touch Mira until the very end of their farewell scene Revised Season Five Storylines & Index CardsAs many fans will recall from previously released books, J. Michael Straczynski's notes for B5's fifth season were discarded by a hotel housekeeping staff, despite the fact that they were sitting on a table, not in a trash bin. After the loss of these vital notes, along with the departure of Claudia Christian from the series, JMS began revising the season five storylines. Copies of these handwritten notes are reprinted here. You'll see --How JMS structured the fifth season, starting with five pages of character-specific notesHow he developed those notes into individual episodesThe plots that were abandoned:The three-part story in which an amnesiac stirred up trouble for President SheridanThe two-part plot in which a central character was kidnappedAn episode featuring Londo Mollari’s replacement as the Centauri ambassador to Babylon 5 (it wasn’t originally Vir)Andreas Katsulas's Last Interview During Babylon 5's ProductionConducted on 22 Jan 1998 by journalist Joe Nazarro, Katsulas shares --What he believes JMS was really trying communicate by G’Kar becoming a religious iconWhat he enjoyed about season five and why he calls it the G'Kar cropWhy he wasn't bothered by the fact that we was featured less in season fourHow long it took for Tracy Scoggins to settle into the castHis favorite aspect of G'Kar and what type of scripts are his favoriteThe difficulties of adding a spiritual element to G'KarHis thoughts on G’Kar becoming Londo’s bodyguardWhy he would have been open to starring in a cowboy-based seriesWhat he thinks when he sees fans wearing G'Kar t-shirtsThe River of Souls TreatmentWhile most -- but not all -- of what was written made it to the screen, the footnote may haunt you for the rest of your lives.Babylon 5: The Motion PictureThis is one of our favorite finds. In 1998 JMS attempted to bring Babylon 5 to the big screen with the original characters. (Note: this is neither the one about the Telepath War that JMS started to develop in 1996 nor The Memory of Shadows from 2004.) What makes this premise extra special is how true it remains to the series by presenting a story in keeping with the show's philosophical and dramatic underpinnings, though writ on an epic canvas.BUT WAIT...THERE'S MOREYes, there are more goodies that aren't even listed, including another "last interview," several more with JMS conducted in real-time while the show was in production and a few more goodies. We decided to save a few surprises so that you can have the same "wow" response that we got when we uncovered these artifacts.

    “Van Name has created a hero worth at least a dozen more novels . . . I want this to be a series. I want to read a new one every year.” —Orson Scott Card      Jon Moore: A nanotech-enhanced warrior who wants nothing more than a quiet life and a way back to his strange home world. Lobo: An AI-enhanced Predator-Class Assault Vehicle, a mobile fortress equipped for any environment from the seabed to interstellar space. TWO WOLVES IN A GALAXY OF LARGER PREDATORS!       For the first time in a Jon & Lobo book, “My Sister, My Self,” the short story which introduced Jon Moore.      One Jump Ahead: Jon Moore wanted only to relax on the pristine planet of Macken--but Macken was the secret battleground of two megacorporations, both determined to control the local jump gate and the riches of an undeveloped world. Finding allies and enemies among terrorist groups and elite mercenaries, gun-runners and the only kind of government possible on a frontier short on rules and long on riches, Jon and Lobo fight to a climax with a corporate army that can't afford to leave any witnesses. Exotic settings, fast action, real tech, mechanically-enhanced animals—and a beautiful woman who's as deadly as a cobra! Slanted Jack: The job looked simple enough:  Jon agreed to help a con man, a friend from a part of his past he’d rather forget, protect a very special young boy.  But the deal didn’t stay simple, as each move Jon and Lobo made resulted in more danger and more enemies. The best con man Jon’s ever known, a ruthless gang boss, a heavily armed group of religious fanatics, a beautiful woman with a mysterious agenda, and an interstellar government out to clean up a dangerous frontier world rush together toward an explosive climax—and Jon and Lobo are caught in the middle. Plus new introductions by the author, making this a package that every Jon & Lobo fan will want to buy.

    85 pages of summaries and analysis on The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein.This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

    But their mission ripples out in ways neither they nor the Emperor could imagine, to impact the fate of both warring races.This first DRIVE book collects the first year of the sci-fi strip...along with memos, letters, and historical reports from across the empire. There are even tidbits not seen online!

    

    Villains are the new Heroes in this Epic Sci Fi Adventure. This is the tale of Evil UnLtd: on a mission of indefinite duration, to seek out new evil schemes and boldly go to depths and extremes where no super-villain has gone before. Sinister supreme genius and super-villain, Dexter Snide, has floated Evil on the stock market and has gathered together a band of fellow villains, whose key challenge now is to ensure that Evil shows a consistent profit. But Evil has its (some would say unfair) share of enemies: Heroes in all sorts of nauseating shapes and sizes, up to and including muscle-headed action man, Rolph Stengun; and, because Evil is a highly competitive field, rivals, such as the mysterious figure who has his Visigoyle minions shadowing their every move. What begins as a heist to steal the greatest prize in the galaxy, draws Evil UnLtd into a devious plot to crash their enterprise before it's reached a fraction of its warped potential.

    Later: Enter Another.” In the “locations” between these captivating stories you’ll find exciting and richly rewarding tales by some of today’s best-known SF writers and several of its most talented newcomers. Each of these stories has something that Asimov’s is rightly famous for—strong and deeply moving characters that face their futures head on. Whether they’re a jazz musician on a starship, the spirit of H.L. Mencken tangling with a twenty-first century medium, or the new personality of a wayward teenager trying to stake a claim on a body that is and sort of isn’t hers, they must all find their way in uncharted territory. You can join them on their journey. Turn the electronic page and enter a future. A little later, you can enter another.

    The extreme genetic diversity of the two parent lines results in children with a hybrid vigor that makes them far more than the sum of their parts. In the life of the first child, Robby ( or Bobby) Firestone, his family finds that his triumphs are balanced by threats from a world that is not ready for the post-human and post-HaChii next generation...

    The Borealis is slowly falling apart as the Protectorate funnels its massive resources into the border wars and keeping the outlaying systems in line, as insurrections break out.

    "Great energy ... a fun and engaging read!" --DR. BONNIE DUNBAR, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT AND CEO OF SEATTLE MUSEUM OF FLIGHTSpace scientist Carin Gonzales and former submarine commander Jake Sabio are two strangers drifting separately through life when a thunderous explosion above the giant Barringer Meteor Crater inexplicably brings them together, transforming both in unpredictable ways.Now able to see and smell more precisely and move in ways that are clearly impossible, Gonzales and Sabio soon realize that these kinds of life-changing alterations do not come without a price. Worse yet, they soon notice that others who witnessed the explosion are now dead from a seemingly incurable infection. The CDC wants nothing more than to lock them up in a lab for study. Special Agent Will Greenfield wants them for questioning. Contract killer Antonio Crubari would be happy if they would just hurry up and die, but he is willing to speed up the process if need be.Time is running out for Gonzales and Sabio. But even as they struggle to survive and find a cure for the deadly infection, they uncover a secret of monumental proportions that changes everything--including the future.

    Ridler"Video Game Sci-Fi Comes of Age" by Brian Trent"2009 Reader's Poll and Contest" by Neil ClarkeReceived Shirley Jackson Award in 2010 for "The Things" by Peter Watts

    Salvador Dalí was a member of that society, as was the renowned author Umberto Eco, the filmmaker Jean Cocteau, and Jancint Verdeguer, one of the most celebrated Catalan poets. Importantly, so was the mysterious Berenger Sauniere, the priest who in the late 1800s built Rennes-le-Château in southern France, with the Tour Magdala, a tower that is twin to the neo-gothic tower in Girona. In this gripping story that reads like the adventures of a female Castenada, Chaplin is led through a series of initiatory stages which correspond to the magical square of Venus, containing the constellation of the Great Bear.

    He seeks justice, but a lovely S.I.N. agent gets in his way. Not only does she distract him with her silvery hair and violet eyes, but she counters his every move in the quest to clear his name. As he attempts to sway her to his cause, he doesn’t count on the personal consequences of success.Rookie assassin Silver Malloy refuses to abort her deadly mission even if it means killing the one man Jace needs alive to prove his innocence. The leader of Tyrone’s Marauders murdered her family and ended her career. She’s dedicated her life to getting revenge, and now she finally has the chance. She won’t let a wanted criminal get in her path. But as Jace’s charms melt the barriers around her heart, she finds her resolve wavering. Can she help him win his case, even if it means failing her assignment and betraying her people?

    

    Valor must balance his public persona of a royal dandy with his privately shrewd nature, managing to survive interplanetary politics, his psychotic father, and his arranged marriage.

    The slave trader Hothi is looking for her, and her bosses are going to eat her alive if she screws up another mission.Discovering she's half a world away from the planet's only space port is a blow - but it doesn't rock her nearly as much as her reunion with a man she barely remembers, from a past she wants to forget. Can she do the right thing, and leave him again?

    At the same time a Peruvian archeologist discovers a hidden chamber under a royal Inca temple in Cuzco, Peru that tells a story of past Inca rulers who seemed to worship alien beings from the time of the Spanish Conquistadors. During the attack an alien who calls himself Òmon makes contact and offers to help stop the nanobot contamination from engulfing Earth. Brandon Cole who works for NASA and a special team from the U.S. government are sent to Peru by the President to investigate the discovery. Òmon says he is one of the Guardians left behind to protect Earth from a ruthless race of beings intent on wiping out all living organisms on Earth so they can terraform the planet to their DNA. Òmon has recruited a special group of warriors from the past to help fight the invading alien race. The battle begins between the attacking aliens, Òmon and the human race to prevent all life on Earth as we know it from being erased forever. The psychological impact on the human race is considerable. The ecological impact on the planet and the solar system will be incalculable. And this is only the beginning for survival of the human species.

    Unfortunately, that alloy is possessed by Cain, a psychotic killer who has a plan of his own. Echo: Black Hole collects issues #21-25 of Terry Moore's award-winning series.

    Includes the BBC Radio dramatisations of such classic stories as: 'The Day of the Triffids'; 'The Kraken Wakes'; 'The Chrysalids'; 'Survival'; 'The Midwich Cuckoos' and 'Chocky'.

    Campbell Award Nominee and Two Time Parsec Award Winner"Lafferty's most memorable and exciting creation to date." ~Goodreads.com"...a really fun read. I love the setting (an alien settlement on the moon becomes "Mollywood", the hottest cultural Mecca of the 21st century), as well as how it looked at art, media, and commerce and the sometimes messy ways that they interact." ~Goodreads.comHave you ever tasted a symphony? Listened to a seven course meal?An alien species brings back the old artist patronage system, and suddenly Sally Ride Lunar Base is transformed into the new artistic center of the universe: “Mollywood.” These aliens can do amazing things with art and the senses, allowing a painting, for example, to stimulate other senses than simply sight. Marco wanted a coveted patronage, once. But then his girlfriend got one and shuttled off to Mollywood for fame and fortune, and Marco stayed home, waiting for his own patron. His career faltered. His agent dumped him. But then he gets THE call. But he’s about to find out that an artistic patronage isn’t what it was in the good old days, and that the only friend he’s made, a tiny old woman who’s the star of a blood sports reality series called The Most Dangerous Game, has secrets of her own.Nominated for the 2011 Parsec Award for Best Novella Podcast

    A virtual reality gaming system so advanced that the person inside wasn’t just in the game, but was the game. Within The Warp lay the most cunning of all games, the de facto king of online gaming, the one game which was reputedly unbeatable: Crisis. The Warp was flawless. The game was perfect. Until something went terribly wrong. Tori Adams and her group of friends are trapped within the game, unable to log off and free their minds. The uploaded virus was in their brains, a ticking time bomb ready to go off. With no other options presented to them, Tori must do the one thing that had never been done before, what was deemed couldn’t be done: beat Crisis. Armed with only their computer skills and whatever the game grants them, the group must battle through impossible odds and confront past demons if they want to survive. With an unseen enemy hot on their trail and tension running high, they will learn to trust each other more than they had ever thought. Even if one of them is a traitor…

    Its destination? Nowhere. The illegally-born must live out their lives inside this computerized train. Admin wills it so. But young Garland, an Orphan musician, seeks a different destination. Freedom.

    After returning from a campaign in the Third Afghan War, Major Thomas Waller and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment are assigned to escort two mysterious ladies into the unknown lands of the new world. With the help of an American drifter named Smith, Waller and his men must face daunting hordes of 'savages' that roam the steppes of the alien planet, and help to uncover the ladies' secrets - and the secrets of the new world itself. A dangerous mission awaits on the Grasslands...

    He and his friends are forced to flee for their lives. Learning to pilot the ship by fits and starts, they embark on a desperate mission to rescue Jason's abducted parents and prevent an alien invasion of Earth. The journey takes him halfway across the galaxy, where he must confront bizarre and deadly creatures, escape from a toxic region of space called the Vuhndalac Pit, and evade capture by a powerful alien leader intent on destroying him. Hidden somewhere among the stars is device of great power, the remnant of an ancient, long-dead civilization whose technology is so mysterious it works as if by magic. Jason must find this talisman -- before it is too late. If he is the Heir of Elam, the one person in the entire universe who can claim it, he will be able use it to rescue his parents and save his planet. If he is not, touching it will be the last thing he ever does!

    Volfango is certain that renegade genes in his DNA will be exposed by government-mandated gene tests, so he vanishes before his scheduled test date, terrified of being discovered and executed. He also suspects he is being hunted by a government ministry, who wishes to silence him before he speaks. What will he find in those dangerous underground worlds populated by rebels and pariahs? What secrets does he keep and will he survive against bleak odds?

    He is intent on recovering gadgets, which are capable of changing a man’s identity, from the black-market gang who'd stolen them. She’s not sure of Jack's identity nor his goal, but he claims to be an Alliance I-Marshal. Cop or convict? The clues never stop contradicting. Rachel's horrified to find that the bright holographic mask conceals the gruesome face of a monster. And the badge doesn’t stop him from murdering people right before her eyes. When Rachel learns Jack will trade innocent lives for the digital miracles, she's determined to make the mercenary grow a heart. How could a stone-cold killer kiss her so hotly? How could she kiss such a dangerous deceiver? Jack has done years in prison to learn who’d stolen the remaining Gemini ticks, 3-D magic. Nothing will keep him from gaining extreme-technology, capable of unleashing galaxy-wide chaos. Forget feelings for Rachel. She can’t stop him from killing everyone involved.

    In the "great belonging" of the cloud, few stop to consider what sacrifices are being made as they work together with their "ebo cousins" to build a more loving society, under the leadership of ebocloud's idealistic architect, Radu Cajal. For New York artist Ellison Luber, however, the losses are not abstract-they are immediate and personal. While nearly oblivious to the ebocloud humanitarian movement, Ellie's insular life in Chelsea is violently upended by an attack that takes the life of his neighbor and sends his girlfriend in flight from the police. And most astoundingly, this and other crimes he experiences are traceable to ebocloud, the same organization dedicated to the new humanitarian enlightenment of the world.

    But when he is released, matters get even worse! He discovers that his assumed crime has given him not only notoriety, but value.

    Don't miss this essential chapter in the rebirth of Star Trek!

    I arrived at a mysterious cafe called Time of Eve, where robots and humans are treated the same. Everyone knows that homebots are nothing but appliances: useful for helping humans, but incapable of feeling genuine emotions. Why would Sammy come to a place like this?This novel tells the story from the anime series and movie from the perspective of Rikuo Sakisaka, a high-school kid who confronts the emotional and moral implications of life with androids who look exactly like humans. This story reveals new insights into the characters, and introduces a new character and alternative ending. Features original full-color and black-and-white illustrations by Time of EVE's character designer Ryusuke Chayama.

    He enjoys going back to that spot and watching the day to day activities until trouble starts in the village and he tries to convince Vernon that the "visions" are real and the wee people need help. While trying to prove that the whole thing is just Gerald's wild imagination, the boys literally fall into the new world and get caught up in a war. The boys come up with ways to keep the invading force from entering the village but another solution has to be found in order to put an end to the conflict. Along with a few companions from the village, Gerald and Vernon embark on a quest to face down the deranged forest god who instigated the mayhem. The dangerous path is laid out by an ancient prophecy, but not everything goes as planned. Excerpt This time it was no illusion. The walls burned their hands; the hot air burned their throats. The floor was sticky with some kind of hot substance, burning their feet through their shoes. They began to hear a distant sound like the laughter they had heard earlier. Cian fell to his knees and cried out in pain as the scalding liquid burned his skin. "I can't go on, just leave me here to die," he screamed. Tomas reached out to his brother trying to help him up. It was no use; he was too weak and exhausted. In a very weak voice he said, "You all go on. I'll stay with Cian. I can't go another step anyway." No one else said a word. The others were too tired to talk, too tired to walk, too tired to care. This was not supposed to be happening. Gerald did not remember this from his nightmares. Something was wrong. He yelled to whoever was listening, "Did we take a wrong turn or something? Stop it Miach, stop it. You want me, leave my friends alone." That just made matters worse. The scampering, unseen creatures came out of nowhere. They did not just run past this time but stayed and started pinching and biting the legs and arms of Gerald's companions. For some strange reason though, the creatures did not bother him. All four of his companions were down, rolling around on the ground trying to fight off the shadowy figures. The screams intensified from his friends as the burning liquid covered their bodies and the creatures' biting turned to gnawing. Gerald could hear pieces of flesh being torn away as the other boys were being eaten alive. The laughter was all around them now bouncing off the walls and echoing through Gerald's head. "Stop it, stop it now. Please, I'll do anything you want, Miach. Stop the noise, stop torturing my friends." Total silence fell; all the gnawing, screaming and laughter were gone. Gerald did not know if the total lack of sound was worse than all the noise. He noticed a light shining above him. He looked around and realized he was all alone. A voice spoke inside his mind and said, "Anything I want, huh," followed by a soft, haunting chuckle.

    Paul was slated to study for the priesthood; instead, he studied art and architectural and mechanical drafting. The impact of these studies is evident in his brilliant and original science fiction artwork.To say that Frank R. Paul is the father of science fiction illustration art is an understatement. His fertile imagination, amply demonstrated by the paintings and drawings in this book, speak for themselves and his legacy continues to influence the field today.Here, in this compendium, is the very first collection ever published showcasing many of Paul's full color science fiction artwork along with appreciations and critical essays by Sir Arthur C. Clarke and by Stephen Koshak; Jerry Weist and Roger Hill; Sam Moskowitz; Gerry de la Ree; Forrest J. Ackerman; and Frank Wu.

    Chapters: Jack of Shadows, Creatures of Light and Darkness, Flare, Lord of Light, ...and Call Me Conrad, Isle of the Dead, Doorways in the Sand, Deus Irae, Today We Choose Faces, a Night in the Lonesome October, Roadmarks, Changeling, the Changing Land, Damnation Alley, the Dream Master, Eye of Cat, Donnerjack, Madwand, Lord Demon, to Die in Italbar, Psychoshop, This Immortal. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Lord of Light (1967) is an epic science fiction/fantasy novel by American author Roger Zelazny. It was awarded the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and nominated for a Nebula Award in the same category. Two chapters from the novel were published as novelettes in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1967. The context of the novel modern western characters in a Hindu-Buddhist myth-infused world is reflected in the book's opening lines: His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be a god. The novel is structured as a series of long semi-independent chapters; each a distinct story within a long campaign by the protagonist Sam a classic trickster character against the established gods of the world. The stories are not presented chronologically. The first story relates Sam's return from Nirvana to continue the struggle after decades of exile. The next stories are presented as flashbacks as Sam remembers the beginning of his campaign, and the tactics he employed, leading up to the titanic battle of Keenset. In the final chapter the newly returned Sam completes his campaign against the gods, with bittersweet results. The story of Sam is based partly on the myths that surround the Buddha, the fu...http://booksllc.net/?l=en

    Now Annie is using Julie to do the impossible, stop the army from activating a 21-mile supercollider guaranteed to destroy the planet. Her only ally, Annie's boyfriend, Dillon.

    In a future where a horrific virus has killed off most of the people on Earth, advanced androids run the world. To keep the remaining humans safe and ensure the survival of the species, the benevolent androids force people to live in luxurious but confining Parks. Jack Walker, a former Army captain, escapes from one of the Parks to seek his freedom. An android police detective, Agent Tesa, is assigned to capture him and bring him back. The beautiful Tesa is a series 19, the most advanced type of android, with human-like appearance, but also with Virtual ThoughtStream, a synthetic thinking process that makes them smarter than people and allows them to feel human emotions.

    Given the fact her ship, Eidolon, is the fastest in the star runner fleet, Taran knows she can make the run in the time Wallace has allotted. As the best – and only – female pilot, she’s got something to prove.As if things weren’t complicated enough, Wallace, and the teenager he has in tow, are both escapees from the harshest prison facility in seven galaxies. Not only is Taran putting her career on the line, she’s got the Intergalactic Patrol hot on her heels. It isn’t long before unresolved feelings and tempers flare to life again and Taran is left second-guessing her decision of putting everything she stands for on the line.Her determination may just cost her everything.One man who feels no remorse for a crime he committed and one woman pilot determined to fulfill her promise equal one impossible mission.