The Infinitive of Go


John Brunner - 1980
    In spite of paranoid security restrictions, Justin Williams and Cinnamon Wright, co-inventors of the device, counted on it to revolutionize civilization and gain them an honored place in history.But the first long-distance field test with a human being—a diplomatic courier carrying a vital message—somehow misfired when the courier killed himself on arrival at his destination.To prove his faith in his invention—and to escape charges of sabotage—Justin had himself "posted" thousands of miles. He came through unchanged. It was the world that was somehow different...

Protector


Larry Niven - 1973
    His mission: save, develop, and protect the group of Pak breeders sent out into space some two and a half million years before...Brennan was a Belter, the product of a fiercely independent, somewhat anarchic society living in, on, and around an outer asteroid belt. The Belters were rebels, one and all, and Brennan was a smuggler. The Belt worlds had been tracking the Pak ship for days -- Brennan figured to meet that ship first...He was never seen again -- at least not by those alive at the time.

Tuf Voyaging


George R.R. Martin - 1986
    So how is it that, in competition with the worst villains the universe has to offer, he's become the proud owner of the last seedship of Earth's legendary Ecological Engineering Corps? Never mind, just be thankful that the most powerful weapon in human space is in good hands-hands which now control cellular material for thousands of outlandish creatures. With his unique equipment, Tuf is set to tackle the problems human settlers have created in colonizing far-flung worlds: hosts of hostile monsters, a population hooked on procreation, a dictator who unleashes plagues to get his own way...and in every case the only thing that stands between the colonists and disaster is Tuf's ingenuity - and his reputation as an honest dealer in a universe of rogues...Tuf Voyaging features interior illustrations by Janet Aulisio. Included in it will be her original eight illustrations, along with 28 newly commissioned ones.

Nebula Award Stories


Damon KnightJoseph Lombardero - 1966
    AldissAn invasion of invisible monsters strikes terror on an English farm.HE WHO SHAPES, by Roger ZelaznyThe science of tomorrow makes possible a new kind of psychiatrist--one who can enter another human mind and reshape it...if he dares!THE DOORS OF HIS FACE, THE LAMPS OF HIS MOUTH, by Roger ZelaznyA man measures his courage against a Venusian sea monster the size of a thirty-story building."REPENT, HARLEQUIN!" SAID THE TICKTOCKMAN, by Harlan EllisonA John Birch world of the future where tardiness takes time off your life, and a joker who's never on time throws jelly-beans into the clockworks.Four Distinguised Runners-up:THE DROWNED GIANT, by J.G. BallardCOMPUTERS DON'T ARGUE, by Gordon R. DicksonBECALMED IN HELL, by Larry NivenBALANCED ECOLOGY, by James H. Schmitz"The stories in this book...show the quality of modern science fiction, its range, and, I think, its growing depth and maturity. Science fiction has come a long way." --DAMON KNIGHTContents ix • Introduction (Nebula Award Stories) • (1966) • essay by Damon Knight 1 • The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth • (1965) • novelette by Roger Zelazny 34 • Balanced Ecology • (1965) • shortstory by James H. Schmitz 53 • "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman • (1965) • shortstory by Harlan Ellison 65 • He Who Shapes • (1965) • novella by Roger Zelazny 151 • Computers Don't Argue • (1965) • shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson 165 • Becalmed in Hell • [Known Space] • (1965) • shortstory by Larry Niven 178 • The Saliva Tree • (1965) • novella by Brian W. Aldiss 234 • The Drowned Giant • (1964) • shortstory by J. G. Ballard

David Starr, Space Ranger


Paul French - 1952
    The vital foodstuffs supplied by its Martian colony are being poisoned. Working in secret, the ruling Council of Science sends David Starr, its youngest member, to the Martian farmlands to discover the truth behind the murders...

The Artifact


W. Michael Gear - 1990
     But now Speaker Archon, formerly a privateer and currently head of the world of Star’s Rest, has brought news of a discovery which may prove a great boon to humankind, or a catalyst for its destruction.

Jack the Bodiless


Julian May - 1991
    Leading humanity was the powerful Remillard family, but somebody--or something--known only as "Fury" wanted them out of the way.Only Rogi Remillard, the chosen tool of the most powerful alien being in the Milieu, and his nephew Marc, the greatest metapsychic yet born on Earth, knew about Fury. But even they were powerless to stop it when it began to kill off Remillards and other metapsychic operants--and all the suspects were Remillards themselves.Meanwhile, a Remillard son was born, a boy who could represent the future of all humanity. His incredible mind was more powerful even than his brother Marc's--but he was destined to be desroyed by his own DNA...unless Fury got to him first!From the Paperback edition.

The Genesis Machine


James P. Hogan - 1978
    But Brad's true dedication was to bring about the unification of all fields and forces, and his theory was too wild for his superiors to take seriously. So he defied the political authorities and went AWOL to work with a fellow maverick scientist. They built the machine that his theory made possible - but the machine made all weapons impotent, and could either wreck the world or save it. And the Powers That Be wanted to control it for their own benefit......

In the Ocean of Night


Gregory Benford - 1977
    Ordered to destroy the comet, he instead discovers that it is actually the shell of a derelict space probe - a wreck with just enough power to emit a single electronic signal...2034: Then a reply is heard. Searching for the source of this signal that comes from outside the solar system, Nigel discovers the existence of a sentient ship. When the new vessel begins to communicate directly with him, the astronaut learns of the horrors that await humanity. For the ship was created by an alien race that has spent billions and billions of years searching for intelligent life...to annihilate it.In the Ocean of Night is a 1977 hard science fiction novel by Gregory Benford. It is the first novel in his Galactic Center Saga. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1977. It was first published as a novelette in the May/June 1972 edition of Worlds of If Science Fiction.

The Shrinking Man


Richard Matheson - 1956
    The radioactivity acts as a catalyst for the bug spray, causing his body to shrink at a rate of approximately 1/7 of an inch per day. A few weeks later, Carey can no longer deny the truth: not only is he losing weight, he is also shorter than he was and deduces, to his dismay, that his body will continue to shrink.

Destination: Universe!


A.E. van Vogt - 1952
    First published in 1952. It contains the following stories:Far Centaurus (1944) The Monster (1948) Dormant (1948) The Enchanted Village (1950) A Can of Paint (1944) Defence (1947) The Rulers (1944) Dear Pen Pal (1949) The Sound (1950) The Search (1943)

Vertigo


Bob Shaw - 1978
    Humanity takes to the skies in its millions, with huge resultant problems for governments and police. Virtually all aircraft are grounded, because of the risk of collision with a stray flyer. Airborne delinquents and criminals are practically impossible to control and can be lethal. Robert Hasson is a good policeman. But a near-fatal airborne confrontation with a psychopath has left him shattered, both physically and mentally. Sent to Canada to recuperate (and to escape the attentions of a local businessman whose son he has put away), Hasson is a broken man, unable to face human company, haunted by nightmares and certain that he will never again put on an anti-gravity harness. But his Canadian host, police chief Al Werry, has a major problem on his hands in the shape of a towering unfinished hotel, the Chinook, whose upper levels are inaccessible from the ground, and are used as an illegal meeting place by local gangs of flyers. Worse, the hotel's owner, Buck Morlacher, intends to take the law into his own hands to deal with them. The violence that has been simmering in the town threatens to erupt and Werry seems powerless to stop it. Unwillingly, Hasson finds himself drawn into the conflict and forced to face his own problems. "Vertigo" is vintage Bob Shaw, fast-moving, intelligent and immenselyreadable.

Orion


Ben Bova - 1984
    He is an eternal warrior destined to combat the Dark Lord through all time for dominion of the Earth. Follow him, servant of a great race, as he battles his enemy down the halls of time, from the caves of our ancestors to the final confrontation under the hammer of nuclear annihilation.

The Ultimax Man


Keith Laumer - 1978
    Once in command of his new abilities, Dammy promptly commandeers Xorialle's ship & sets out to track down the "Galactic Concensus" in the neighborhood of Deneb. The closer he gets, the more bewildering his discoveries about the origin of the whole adventure--the most curious pieces of the puzzle being a mild-mannered, bee-like creature by the name of Floss & a telepathic protohominid called Sport. Laumer, who can develop a science-fiction idea with some ingenuity (Bolo, 1976), never finds the right tone or style for this one; most events coast along in a fog of adolescent facetiousness that doesn't match the overall ambitions of the plot.--Kirkus

The Terminal Man


Michael Crichton - 1972
    Roger McPherson, head of the prestigious Neuropsychiatric Research Unit at University Hospital in Los Angeles, is convinced he can cure Benson through a procedure called Stage Three. During this highly specialized experimental surgery, electrodes will be place in the patient's brain, sending monitored, soothing pulses to its pleasure canyons.Though the operation is a success, there is an unforseen development. Benson learns how to control the pulses and is increasing their frequency. He escapes -- a homicidal maniac loose in the city -- and nothing will stop his murderous rampages or impede his deadly agenda. . .