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Misbegotten Missionary by Isaac Asimov


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The Loom of Thessaly


David Brin - 2011
    Who guides our fate? And can we ever hope to wrest control for ourselves? In this novella, "The Loom of Thessaly" , classical mythology merges with impudent modern spirit into a science fiction legend that speculates upon the nature of reality.

Young Zaphod Plays It Safe


Douglas Adams - 1986
    It doesn't appear as a standalone work, but is included with several collections. The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator. He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship which may be leaking some hazardous materials. The bureaucrats are determined to "make it safe". The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' SF work, and plenty of material about lobsters

Selected from Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed


Ray Bradbury - 1990
    

Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942


John W. Campbell Jr.A.E. van Vogt - 1942
    Science-Fiction and WarA. E. Van Vogt. Recruiting StationLester del Rey. The Wings of NightRoby Wentz. Day After TomorrowMartin Pearson. The EmbassyIn Times to Come The Analytical Laboratory Anson MacDonald. Goldfish BowlSuppressed ViolenceIsaac Asimov. RunaroundMalcolm Jameson. DispersionBrass Tacks Eric Frank Russell. Describe a Circle

The Dying Earth


Jack Vance - 1950
    Twk-men ride dragonflies and trade information for salt. There are monsters and demons. Each being is morally ambiguous: the evil are charming, the good are dangerous.

Legion and The Emperor's Soul


Brandon Sanderson - 2013
    Available for the first time in one volume, a publishing event for all his many fans.LEGIONStephen Leeds, AKA 'Legion', is a man whose unique mental condition allows him to generate a multitude of personae: hallucinatory entities with a wide variety of personal characteristics and a vast array of highly specialized skills. As the story begins, Leeds and his 'aspects' are drawn into the search for the missing Balubal Razon, inventor of a camera whose astonishing properties could alter our understanding of human history and change the very structure of society. The action ranges from the familiar environs of America to the ancient, divided city of Jerusalem. Along the way, Sanderson touches on a formidable assortment of complex questions: the nature of time, the mysteries of the human mind, the potential uses of technology, and the volatile connection between politics and faith.THE EMPEROR'S SOULWhen Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance concealed only by the death of his wife. If the emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the empire will fall into chaos.Shai is given an impossible task: to create - to Forge - a new soul for the emperor in less than one hundred days. But her soul-Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is confined to a tiny, dirty chamber, guarded by a man who hates her, spied upon by politicians, and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai's only possible ally is the emperor's most loyal councillor, Gaotona, who struggles to understand her true talent.Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape...

Two Metaphysical Blades


Chris Wraight - 2018
    Linked, equal but opposite, these blades are destined to be wielded by two of the greatest heroes of the Age of Darkness. And as the spears themselves, Appolonian and Dionysian, are equal and opposite, so too are those to whom they were gifted. This is their story too. The warrior-scholar, a savant and a servant. The warrior-king, a savage and a soldier. Their fates entwined in ways they do not understand, they carry the blades as both gift and curse, fulfilment of destiny unseen by any save the Master of Mankind. Read It Because This is truly a Horus Heresy story unlike any other. Chris Wraight crafts an elegiac look at two heroes of the Heresy, through the blades that bond them and forge a destiny that may well extend far beyond the stories that have yet been told…

The Chicolini Incident


Robert Kroese - 2014
    When Rex encounters a band of stick-wielding separatists on the planet Chicolini, he thinks he’s found the buyers he’s been looking for. But Rex’s greed knows no bounds, and he’s determined to scam the separatists out of their cargo so that he can re-sell his black-market booty a few more times before leaving the planet. As the complications in Rex’s plan multiply, he becomes a target of not only the separatists, but also of paramilitary thugs, the local cops, and even the Ursa Minor mafia. Will Rex’s long-suffering robot companion talk some sense into him before he gets them both killed? Or will Rex, the self-described “greatest wheeler-dealer in the galaxy,” finally succeed in outsmarting himself?

Memory's Legion


James S.A. Corey - 2022
    A. Corey’s New York Times bestselling Expanse series is available in this collection* — includes a brand new novella. Now a major television series.Contents:Drive (2012)The Butcher of Anderson Station (2011)The Churn (2014)Gods of Risk (2012)The Vital Abyss (2015)Strange Dogs (2017)Auberon (2019)Memory’s Legion (2022)*does not include The Last Flight of the Cassandra

Tech, Lies, and Wizardry


J.S. Morin - 2014
     Carl Ramsey has a heist to run and the crew to pull it off. All he’s missing is a specialized computer and the tech to run it. But when an unrelated robbery loses him both, the prospects for a successful job look grim. Unfortunately the one who hired them won’t take excuses, and the owners of the computer come looking for their stolen gear. Caught between a local crime lord and thugs from a galaxy-spanning syndicate, Carl needs to come up with a plan that doesn’t get them all killed. His assets: his retired marine ex-wife, a drunkard mechanic, a feline security chief, and an old family friend who happens to be a wizard. His liabilities: a missing computer, a hospitalized tech, two ruthless criminal organizations looking for answers, and about two hours to sort it all out. …no problem. Tech, Lies, and Wizardry is the free short story prequel to Black Ocean, a science fiction fantasy series set in the 26th century. Do you wish there had been a second season of Firefly? Do you love the irreverent fun of Guardians of the Galaxy? Have you ever wondered how Star Wars would have turned out if Luke and Obi-wan had ditched the rebellion to become smugglers with Han and Chewie? Then Black Ocean is the series for you! Pick up your copy of Tech, Lies, and Wizardry. You don’t even have to steal it! Interview with the Author Q - So, what made you decide to write the Black Ocean series? A – After rewatching Firefly, I wondered why no one since had made a series that recaptured the edge-of-the-law, outlaws-in-space feeling. Then it dawned on me that even though I’m not a TV producer, I could still write one of my own. Black Ocean isn’t meant to be a successor to Firefly, or a clone, but I wanted to put together a “miscreants in space” series to fill that void the show left.   Since I’m a fantasy writer at heart, I added wizards. Q – How do wizards fit in a sci-fi series? A – Anyone who follows science fiction knows that a lot of hand-waving goes on. Faster than light (FTL) travel probably isn’t possible. Artificial gravity would be more 2001: a Space Odyssey than the “we just walk on the floor” sort that Star Trek or Star Wars use. Those and a host of others I just left alone. Instead of waving my hand and having phony science appear, I just let wizards handle it with actual magic.   Arthur C. Clarke said that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” but I wanted to have magic be magic, science be science, and for the two not get along at the office holiday party. Q - So, what genre is this? Does it have a name? A – There’s really no consensus that I’ve found on what to call a mix of space opera and high fantasy. I’ve heard it called science fantasy, futuristic fantasy, sci-fantasy, and sword and laser. There’s always just plain old space opera fantasy. I’ve found that it isn’t easy finding books like Black Ocean because no two people seem to call it the same thing.

The Caretaker


Jason Gurley - 2014
    She wakes to the sun breaking over Africa. She keeps watch over the experiments. She makes sure the station doesn't explode.And she's the only occupant of the space station when the world far below her comes apart in flame.

Spaceships and Spellcasters


Glynn Stewart - 2018
    A mage cop on his first assignment learns the world isn't as black and white as hopedA jump mage and a starship with matching needs turn out to be a magnet for troubleDigging in 1940s New York City awakens a monster--and brings in the elite of the FaeThe protected heir of an interstellar dictatorship is called to a battle no one expected him to fightAn explosive collection of four novellas from science fiction and fantasy author Glynn Stewart, spanning his ONSET, Starship's Mage, Changeling Blood and Exile universes, including two brand new urban fantasy novellas.  Includes:ONSET: Murder by MagicStarship's Mage: Episode 1Fae, Flames and FedorasAshen Stars

The First Golden Age of Science Fiction MEGAPACK ®: Winston K. Marks


Winston K. Marks - 2014
    Winston K. Marks (1915-1979) is one such unjustly forgotten author.Included here are 12 science fiction stories, published between 1953 and 1959, representing some of his best work:THE WATER EATER (1953)UNBEGOTTEN CHILD (1953)…SO THEY BAKED A CAKE (1954)BACKLASH (1954)TABBY (1954)BREEDER REACTION (1954)FORSYTE'S RETREAT (1954)MATE IN TWO MOVES (1954)THE TEST COLONY (1954)BROWN JOHN’S BODY (1955)THE MIND DIGGER (1958)THE DEADLY DAUGHTERS (1958)If you enjoy this book, search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see the more than 100 other entries in the series, covering science fiction, modern authors, mysteries, westerns, classics, adventure stories, and much, much more!

Black Widows: Episode 1


Michael G. Thomas - 2016
    Aboard their heavily-armed ship Medusa, they embark on secretive missions throughout the crumbling Confederacy as it wages a terrible and bloody civil war. The lives of Syala and her twin sister Arana change forever on the day the slavers hit their new home on the Skylla Research Facility. It is a day that started like any other, before turning into a terrifying massacre as soldiers and hideous creatures swarm through the facility killing or enslaving anyone that stands in their way. The sisters struggle to survive as a desperate few try and fight back, but nothing can hold back the horde. Until they find a single mercenary dressed in black armour who refuses to back down. Her name is Zhang Wei, and she is a Black Widow. Black Widows is serialised over six short-read episodes per season, in the same fashion as a TV series. More adventures will be released over coming weeks before being combined into a 6 volume compilation. See my website for news on the next thrilling release at www.starcrusader.com

To Keep the Oath [Darkover Series]


Marion Zimmer Bradley - 1979
    But the laws of our charter prevent me and I am bound by oath to obey those laws; laws made, not by our own Guild-mothers, but by men who fear what we might have to say to their women!