Best of
Science-Fiction-Fantasy

1990

The Last Herald-Mage


Mercedes Lackey - 1990
    The Last Herald-Mage contains Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise and Magic's Price.

The Eye of the World


Robert Jordan - 1990
    What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs-a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts- five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.

The Wings of Pegasus


Anne McCaffrey - 1990
    And though she had her hands full dealing with the unreasonable demand for kinetics to work on the space platform that would be humankind's stepping-stone to the stars, she was always ready to welcome new Talents to the Center.Feisty and streetwise, twelve-year-old Tirla used her extraordinary knack for languages to eke out a living in the Linear developments, where the poor struggled to make ends meet and children were conscripted or sold into menial work programs. Young Peter, paralyzed in a freak accident, hoped someday to get into space where zero gravity would enable him to function more easily. Both desperately needed help only other Talents could provide.With the appearance in her life of one extraordinary man with no measurable Talent at all, Rhyssa suddenly found herself questioning everything she thought she knew about her people. And when two Talented children were discovered to have some very unusual — and unexpected — abilities, she realized that she would have to reassess the potential of all Talentkind...

Rally Cry


William R. Forstchen - 1990
    But they also found themselves up against creatures who considered humans mere cattle to sacrifice!

Nightfall


Isaac Asimov - 1990
    The story was called "Nightfall", and many years later it has long been recognized as a classic, its author a legend. Now, the Gran Master of Science Fiction teams with Robert Silverberg, one of the field's top award-winning authors, to explore and expand an apocalyptic tale that is more spellbinding today than ever before -- Nightfall: The Novel.Imagine living on a planet with six suns that never experiences Darkness. Imagine never having seen the Stars. Then, one by one the suns start to set, gradually leading into Darkness for the first time ever. Kalgash is a world on the edge of chaos, torn between the madness of religious fanaticism and the unyielding rationalism of scientists. Lurking beneath it all is a collective, instinctual fear of the Darkness. For Kalgash knows only the perpetual light of day; to its inhabitants, a gathering twilight portends unspeakable horror. And only a handful of people on the planet are prepared to face the truth, their six suns are setting all at once for the first time in over two thousand years, signaling the end of civilization as it explodes in the awesome splendor of Nightfall.Encompassing the psychology of disaster, the tenacity of the human spirit, and, ultimately, the regenerative power of hope, Nightfall is a tale rich in character and suspense that only the unique collaboration of Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg could create.

The Rowan


Anne McCaffrey - 1990
    This is sci-fi at its best: a contemporary love story as well as an engrossing view of our world in the future.The kinetically gifted, trained in mind/machine gestalt, are the most valued citizens of the Nine Star League. Using mental powers alone, these few Prime Talents transport ships, cargo and people between Earth's Moon, Mars' Demos and Jupiter's Callisto.An orphaned young girl, simply called The Rowan, is discovered to have superior telepathic potential and is trained to become Prime Talent on Callisto. After years of self-sacrificing dedication to her position, The Rowan intercepts an urgent mental call from Jeff Raven, a young Prime Talent on distant Deneb. She convinces the other Primes to merge their powers with hers to help fight off an attack by invading aliens. Her growing relationship with Jeff gives her the courage to break her status-imposed isolation, and choose the more rewarding world of love and family.

The Books of Great Alta


Jane Yolen - 1990
    Of the tragic myths and glorious histories that time will make of their lives--and their deaths.

The Hawk's Gray Feather


Patricia Kennealy-Morrison - 1990
    This first installment of a trilogy describes Arthur's education by Merlynn, his gathering of followers to campaign against theocratic tyranny in his homeland of Keltia and his turbulent, jealous relationship with cousin Gweniver.

Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card


Orson Scott Card - 1990
    For those readers who have followed this remarkable talent since the beginning, here are all those amazing stories gathered together in one place, with some extra surprises as well. For the many who are newly come to Card, here is chance to experience the wonder of a writer so versatile that he can handle everything from traditional narrative poetry to modern experimental fiction with equal ease and grace. The brilliant story-telling of the Alvin Maker books is no accident; the breathless excitement evoked by the Ender books is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In this enormous volume are forty-six stories, plus ten long, intensely personal essays, unique to this volume. In them the author reveals some of his reasons and motivations for writing, with a good deal of autobiography into the bargain.Contents: Introduction (Book 1: The Hanged Man, Tales of Dread) • essay by Orson Scott Card Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory (1979) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Quietus (1979) / short story by Orson Scott Card Deep Breathing Exercises (1979) / short story by Orson Scott Card Fat Farm (1980) / short story by Orson Scott Card Closing the Timelid (1979) / short story by Orson Scott Card Freeway Games (1979) / short story by Orson Scott Card A Sepulchre of Songs (1981) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Prior Restraint (1986) / short story by Orson Scott Card The Changed Man and the King of Words (1982) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Memories of My Head (1990) / short story by Orson Scott Card Lost Boys (1989) / short story by Orson Scott Card Afterword (Book 1: The Hanged Man, Tales of Dread) • essay by Orson Scott Card Introduction (Book 2: Flux, Tales of Human Futures) • essay by Orson Scott Card A Thousand Deaths [Tales of Capitol] (1978) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Clap Hands and Sing (1982) / short story by Orson Scott Card Dogwalker (1989) / novelette by Orson Scott Card But We Try Not to Act Like It (1979) / short story by Orson Scott Card I Put My Blue Genes On (1978) / short story by Orson Scott Card In the Doghouse (1978) / short story by Orson Scott Card and Jay A. Parry The Originist [Foundation] (1989) / novella by Orson Scott Card Afterword (Book 2: Flux, Tales of Human Futures) • essay by Orson Scott Card Introduction (Book 3: Maps in a Mirror, Fables and Fantasies) • essay by Orson Scott Card Unaccompanied Sonata (1979) / short story by Orson Scott Card A Cross-Country Trip to Kill Richard Nixon (1980) / novelette by Orson Scott Card The Porcelain Salamander (1981) • short story by Orson Scott Card Middle Woman (1981) / short story by Orson Scott Card The Bully and the Beast (1979) / novella by Orson Scott Card The Princess and the Bear (1980) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Sandmagic [Mither Mages] (1979) / novelette by Orson Scott Card The Best Day (1984) / short story by Orson Scott Card A Plague of Butterflies (1981) / short story by Orson Scott Card The Monkeys Thought 'Twas All in Fun (1979) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Afterword (Book 3: Maps in a Mirror, Fables and Fantasies) • essay by Orson Scott Card Introduction (Book 4: Cruel Miracles, Tales of Death, Hope, and Holiness) • essay by Orson Scott Card Mortal Gods (1979) / short story by Orson Scott Card Saving Grace (1987) / short story by Orson Scott Card Eye for Eye (1987) / novella by Orson Scott Card St. Amy's Tale (1980) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Kingsmeat (1978) / short story by Orson Scott Card Holy (1980) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Afterword (Book 4: Cruel Miracles, Tales of Death, Hope, and Holiness) • essay by Orson Scott Card Introduction (Book 5: Lost Songs, The Hidden Stories) • essay by Orson Scott Card Ender's Game [Ender Wiggin] (1977) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Mikal's Songbird (1978) / novelette by Orson Scott Card Prentice Alvin and the No-Good Plow [The Alvin Maker Saga] (1989) • poem by Orson Scott Card Malpractice (1977) / short story by Orson Scott Card Follower (1978) / short story by Orson Scott Card Hitching (1978) / short story by Orson Scott Card Damn Fine Novel (1989) / short story by Orson Scott Card Billy's Box (1978) / short story by Orson Scott Card The Best Family Home Evening Ever (1978) / short story by Orson Scott Card Bicicleta (1977) / short story by Orson Scott Card I Think Mom and Dad Are Going Crazy, Jerry (1979) / short story by Orson Scott Card Gert Fram (1977) / short story by Orson Scott Card Afterword (Book 5: Lost Songs, The Hidden Stories) • essay by Orson Scott Card

Empyrion


Stephen R. Lawhead - 1990
    But when Treet and his companions reach the paradise planet they have been promised, they find themselves enmeshed in an ancient and deadly conflict between two highly evolved civilizations. Can the free and perfect world of Fierra escape annihilation? Treet, with a handful of rebels, stands alone against the evil might of Dome, as events move inexorably towards a world-shaking climax.

Roommates


Kathryn O. Galbraith - 1990
    Galbraith has written a warm and funny story, illustrated with lively, perceptive drawings by Mark Graham, about two sisters who giggle, tease, fight, and make up before they finally realize that anyone can share a room, but having a roommate is special.

The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy


Avram Davidson - 1990
    He had served his country and his Emperor in war; he now led the leisured life of his class. But then events overtook him, caught him up, whirled him about; and when he found his feet again, he was a changed man.The servant of a visiting king was undoubtedly a shaman. What powers did he command? What other powers were secretly at work behind the familiar scenes of south-eastern Europe?But also steam, already powering factories, ships and trains -- what more could it do, portent to the changing world of the late nineteenth century? Road transport... or even powered flight? Think of the dread possibilities for warfare!But when the Autogóndola-Invention took to the skies over the territories that ambitious neighbors -- viz., Ruritania and Graustark -- wished to claim, was it really its steam engine that made it fly? Or did it depend on the unreckoned aid of sorcery?Between the old knowledge and the new, Eszterhazy was to spend his life, searching. Time and time again, the unexpected would visit him, often leaving the learned Doctor to end a notebook entry with "UNEXPLAINED."Here are tales of the most gripping such visitations, now brought together in one comprehensive volume. Several of these stories were collected as The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy, a 1975 Warner Books paperbacks, now long unobtainable. These represent less than half of the present volume, which includes stories of his earlier career, published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories under the aegis of George Scithers. A foreword by Gene Wolfe and an afterword by the author complete The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy.***"Or All The Seas with Oysters", one of Avram's stylish and witty stories, won the 1958 Hugo award and headed a collection of the same name; among other short story collections are What Strange Stars and Skies, Strange Seas and Shores, and The Redward Edward Papers. His novels range from the far future of Rogue Dragon and Mutiny in Space to the might-have-been Dark and Middle Ages -- comic in Peregrine: Primus and Peregrine: Secundus, haunting in The Phoenix and the Mirror and Vergil in Averno. From 1962 to 1964 he served as editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. New York City, Mexico, Belize and California have been his haunts; he has been a U.S. Marine in World War II and a sheepherder* in Israel. He lives presently in Washington State.-------------------------* Or shepherd, if you want it to sound romantic.

The Star in My Heart: Experiencing Sophia, Inner Wisdom


Joyce Rupp - 1990
    My first reaction was that it was an excellent book for women, but as I continued to read I realized it would be of equal value for men to help them ex-perience the feminine within themselves and the Divine....Barbara Baker, psychologist in private p.

The Hunting of Shadroth


Victor Kelleher - 1990
    

Coyote Stories


Mourning Dove - 1990
    He can be held up as a "terrible example" of conduct, a model of what not to do, and yet admired for a careless. anarchistic energy that suggests unlimited possibilities. Mourning Dove, an Okanagan, knew him well from the legends handed down by her people. She preserved them for posterity in Coyote Stories, originally published in 1933. Here is Coyote, the trickster, the selfish individualist, the imitator, the protean character who indifferently puts the finishing touches on a world soon to receive human beings. And here is Mole, his long-suffering wife, and all the other Animal People, including Fox, Chipmunk, Owl-Woman, Rattlesnake, Grizzly Bear, Porcupine, and Chickadee. Here it is revealed why Skunk's tail is black and white, why Spider has such long legs, why Badger is so humble, and why Mosquito bites people. These entertaining, psychologically compelling stories will be welcomed by a wide spectrum of readers.Jay Miller has supplied an introduction and notes for this Bison Books edition and restored chapters that were deleted from the original.

Sword and Sorceress VI


Marion Zimmer BradleyMercedes Lackey - 1990
     Introduction · Marion Zimmer BradleyEquona’s Mare · Diana L. PaxsonThe Hand of Fatima · Shariann LewittCommencement · Lynne Armstrong-JonesA Lesser of Evils · Morning Glory ZellAnd Sáavüld Danced… · Kier NeustaedterStone of Light · Linda GordonChange of Command · Nancy Jane MooreThe Starry King · Vera NazarianMirror Image · Nina BoalSleeping Dogs · Jennifer RobersonShadowlands · Elisabeth WatersThe Making of a Legend [Vows and Honor] · Mercedes LackeyBurnt Offerings · Mary FenoglioRatsbane [Cynthia] · Dorothy J. HeydtWolf Hunt · Bobbi MillerPearl · Carl ThelenName of the Demoness · Jessie D. EakerHands · Lois TiltonWolfrunner · Mary E. ChooUntil We Meet Again · J.A. BrebnerBlack Wolf · Gemma TarlachArtist: Corey Wolfe

Three Women (Omnibus: The Ring of Fear \ The Mark of Merlin \ The Kilternan Legacy)


Anne McCaffrey - 1990
    "Enjoyable reading through and through".--Booklist. A limited edition of this omnibus was published as Three Gothic Novels (Underwood Miller).

Crown of Stars


James Tiptree Jr. - 1990
    Contents:Second Going (1987)Our Resident Djinn (1986)Morality Meat (1985)All This and Heaven Too (1985)Yanqui Doodle (1987)Come Live with Me (1988)Last Night and Every Night (1970)Backward, Turn Backward (1988)The Earth Doth Like a Snake Renew (1988)In Midst of Life (1987)

The Original Zot! Book 1


Scott McCloud - 1990
    Collecting issues #1-4, 124 full color pages.

Dark Dreamers: Conversations with the Masters of Horror


Stanley Wiater - 1990
    McCammon, Dean R. Koontz and many others.

The Leiber Chronicles: Fifty Years Of Fritz Leiber


Fritz Leiber - 1990
    Martin H. Greenberg [editor]. The Leiber Chronicles: Fifty Years of Fritz Leiber. Arlington Hts.: Dark Harvest, 1990. First edition, limited to 500 numbered copies. Signed by Leiber on limitation page. Quarto. 601 pages. Publisher's binding, dust jacket, and slipcase.