Book picks similar to
The Naming of Kinzel by Sharon Lee
fantasy
tbr
sf
00-fiction-speculative
The Stardance Trilogy
Spider Robinson - 1997
Stardance: Shara Drummond was a gifted dancer and a brilliant choreographer, but could not pursue her dream of dancing on Earth, so she went to space, creating a new art form in three dimensions. And when the aliens arrived, there was only one way to prove that the human race deserved not just to survive, but to reach the stars. The only hope was Shara, with her stardance. Starseed: Years later, another dancer of genius faced the end of her career when her body failed her, and Rain McLeod followed Shara into space. If she joined with a symbiotic lifeform that would let her live without artificial protection in the vacuum of space, she would take a quantum leap in human evolution. Starmind: Rand Porter has been offered the job of a lifetime, as a shaper of visual effects and music for the world's most famous zero-gravity dance company in High Orbit. But his beloved novelist wife Rhea Paixao has her roots sunk deep in the Earth, in her beloved Cape Cod. And as they wrestle with their private dilemma, bizarre things-small miracles-are beginning to occur everywhere on Earth and throughout the entire Solar System. The human race-and its evolutionary successors, the space-dwelling Stardancers-find themselves approaching the terrifying cusp of their shared destiny, an appointment made for them a million years ago, a make-or-break point beyond which nothing, anywhere, can ever be the same again.
Viriconium
M. John Harrison - 2000
This landmark collection gathers four groundbreaking fantasy classics from the acclaimed author of Light.Set in the imagined city of Viriconium, here are the masterworks that revolutionized a genre and enthralled a generation of readers: The Pastel City, A Storm of Wings, In Viriconium, and Viriconium Knights.Contents:The Pastel City, 1971 (novel)A Storm of Wings, 1980 (novel)In Viriconium, 1982 (novel)The Lamia & Lord Cromis, 1971 (short story)Viriconium Knights, 1981 (short story)The Luck in the Head, 1984 (novelette)Strange Great Sins, 1983 (short story)The Lords of Misrule, 1984 (short story)The Dancer from the Dance, 1985 (short story)A Young Man’s Journey to Viriconium, 1985 (short story)
The Vaccinator
Michael Marshall Smith - 1999
It’s a nice, quiet, peaceful life. Apart from the kidnappings. And the aliens. Michael Marshall Smith is the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award, the August Delerth Award, the International Horror Guild Award, six British Fantasy Awards and the Prix Bob Morane, nominated for five World Fantasy Awards and CWA Silver Dagger — and the only author ever to win the BFS Award for Best Short Story four times. Now, for the first time, his internationally-revered short fiction is finally becoming available in ebook format...
The Chosen
T.C. Edge - 2018
Only she knows different… Amber lives in a world full of lies. Within the great city of Olympus, so-called gods and goddesses reside, praised and worshipped by those deemed beneath them. The Children of the Prime, as they’re called, are blessed with wondrous and mysterious powers. Powers that, Amber knows, originate from a very human source… One day, during the collection ceremony, Amber’s world turns upside own. With her heresy revealed, and her younger sister, Lilly, taken, Amber finds herself on a journey that will change her world forever. Alongside her best friend Jude, she ventures into the heart of the lie, searching for the truth. A truth that might just destroy her, and everything she holds dear… The Chosen is the first in a planned series, set within a dystopian future that is unlike anything you’ve read before. For fans of Suzanne Collins, Bella Forrest, and Veronica Roth, prepare to lose yourself in a fantastical world where nothing is quite as it seems.
Veniss Underground
Jeff VanderMeer - 2003
First, Nicholas, a would-be Living Artist, seeks to escape his demons in the shadowy underground–but in doing so makes a deal with the devil himself. In her fevered search for him, his twin sister, Nicola, spins her own unusual and hypnotic tale as she discovers the hidden secrets of the city. And finally, haunted by Nicola’s sudden, mysterious disappearance and gripped by despair, Shadrach, Nicola’s lover, embarks on a mythic journey to the nightmarish levels deep beneath the surface of the city to bring his love back to light. There he will find wonders beyond imagining…and horrors greater than the heart can bear. By turns beautiful, horrifying, delicate, and powerful, Veniss Underground explores the limits of love, memory, and obsession in a landscape that defies the boundaries of the imagination. This special edition includes the short stories “The Sea, Mendeho, and Moonlight”; “Detectives and Cadavers”; and “A Heart for Lucretia” and the novella Balzac’s War, offering a complete tour of the fantastic world of Veniss.
The Key to the Coward's Spell
Alex Bledsoe - 2016
But when he discovers a smuggling ring rumored to be protected by powerful magic, he seeks out old friends and new to lend a hand. A tale set in Alex Bledsoe's popular medieval noir world.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Robert Silverberg Science Fiction MEGAPACK®
Robert Silverberg - 2016
Fan. Author. Editor. Creative force. He has been an integral part of the field for longer than most of his readers have been alive. Earlier this year, he kindly agreed to put together a MEGAPACK® of his short stories, so here, then, is a selection of early works by one of the all-time greats. Included are:ALAREEBIRDS OF A FEATHERBLAZE OF GLORYDELIVERY GUARANTEEDTHE DESSICATORTHE HAPPY UNFORTUNATETHE HUNTED HEROESTHE IRON STARTHE ISOLATIONISTSTHE LONELY ONETHE MAN WHO CAME BACKNEUTRAL PLANETOZYMANDIASTHE PAIN PEDDLERSTHE PLEASURE OF THEIR COMPANYPOINT OF FOCUSPOSTMARK GANYMEDEPRIME COMMANDMENTTHE SONGS OF SUMMERSPACEROGUETHERE WAS AN OLD WOMANTHE WOMAN YOU WANTEDVALLEY BEYOND TIMEWE KNOW WHO WE AREIf you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 300+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more![Version 1.4]
Fearsome Magics
Jonathan StrahanGenevieve Valentine - 2014
Fearsome Magics, the second New Solaris Book of Fantasy, is all these things and more. It is, we think, one of the best books you will read all year. Award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan has invited some of the best and most exciting writers working in fantasy today to let their imaginations run wild and to deliver stories that will thrill and awe, delight and amuse. And above all, stories that are filled with fearsome magic! Authors set to take part in Fearsome Magics include Christopher Priest, Garth Nix, Catherynne M. Valente, Ellen Klages, Isobelle Carmody, Nalo Hopkinson, Frances Hardinge, Scott Lynch, Robert Shearman, Justina Robson, Christopher Rowe, Karin Tidbeck, K J Parker, and Justina Robson.Table of Contents:“The Dun Letter” by Christopher Rowe“Home is the Haunter (A Sir Hereward and Mr Fitz story)” by Garth Nix“Grigori’s Solution” by Isobelle Carmody“Dream London Hospital” by Tony Ballantyne“Safe House” by K J Parker“Hey Presto!” by Ellen Klages“The Changeling” by James Bradley“Migration” by Karin Tidbeck“On Skybolt Mountain” by Justina Robson“Where Our Edges Lie” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman“Devil’s Bridge” by Frances Hardinge“The Nursery Corner” by Kaaron Warren“Aberration” by Genevieve Valentine“Ice in the Bedroom” by Robert Shearman
Unpossible and Other Stories
Daryl Gregory - 2011
His characters may be neuroscientists, superhero sidekicks, middle-aged heroes of children's stories, or fanatics spreading a virus-borne religion, but they are all convincingly human. Includes two never-before published short stories.Contents:- Daryl Gregory: Facts and Obsessions (2011) by Nancy Kress- Second Person, Present Tense (2005)- Unpossible (2007)- Damascus (2006)- The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm (2008)- Gardening at Night (2006)- Petit Mal #1: Glass (2008)- What We Take When We Take What We Need (2010)- Petit Mal #2: Digital (2011)- Message from the Bubblegum Factory (2010)- Free, and Clear (2004)- Dead Horse Point (2007)- In the Wheels (1990)- Petit Mal #3: Persistence (2011)- The Continuing Adventures of Rocket Boy (2004)- Story NotesCover art by Antonello Silverini
The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories
Allan KasterCraig DeLancey - 2017
In “Vortex,” by Gregory Benford, astronauts find a once thriving microbial lifeform that carpets the caves of Mars dying off. A code monkey tracks down the vain creator of a pernicious software virus that people jack cerebrally in “RedKing,” by Craig DeLancey. In “Number Nine Moon,” by Alex Irvine, illicit scavengers on Mars are on a rescue mission to save themselves after one of their team members dies. A young girl’s thirst for vengeance becomes a struggle for survival when she is swallowed by a gigantic sea creature on an alien planet in “Of the Beast in the Belly,” by C.W. Johnson. In “The Seventh Gamer,” by Gwyneth Jones, a writer immerses herself into a MMORPG community to search for characters being played by real aliens from other worlds. A woman armed with a rifle stalks a herd of cloned wooly mammoths in British Columbia in “Chasing Ivory,” by Ted Kosmatka. In “Fieldwork,” by Shariann Lewitt, a volcanologist struggles with her research on Europa where both her mother and grandmother suffered dire consequences. A daughter pays homage to her mother with mega-engineering projects to deal with climate change over eons in “Seven Birthdays,” by Ken Liu. In “The Visitor from Taured,” by Ian R. MacLeod, a cosmologist in the near future is obsessed with proving his theory of multiverses. The citizens of a small town on a “Jackaroo” planet object to a corporation placing a radio telescope near local alien artifacts in “Something Happened Here, But We’re Not Quite Sure What It Was,” by Paul McAuley. And finally, in “Sixteen Questions for Kamala Chatterjee,” by Alastair Reynolds, a graduate student defends her dissertation on a solar anomaly that threatens humanity.
Wang's Carpets
Greg Egan - 1995
One of the copies of Cater-Zimmermann, Paolo Venetti, arrives at Orpheus; a water-world inhabited by floating mats that perform as a Turing machine.
Ultimate Undead Collection: The Zombie Apocalypse Best Sellers Boxed Set
Joe McKinneyRachel Aukes - 2015
The Ultimate Undead Collection takes you from sunny Florida beaches to Portland, Oregon, and brings you zombies, pandemics, and visions of the apocalypse, for more than 2,500 pages.Foreword by bestselling author, Mark Tufo.Quarantined by Joe McKinney. Two-time Bram Stoker® award-winning and national bestselling author. Within the quarantined walls of San Antonio, Texas, a detective discovers a murder victim amongst the mass graveyard of the plague dead.The Last Survivors by Bobby Adair and T.W. Piperbrook. National bestselling authors. Three hundred years after the fall of society, the last fragments of civilization are clinging to life, while twisted creatures hunt.The Colony: Genesis by Michaelbrent Collings. International bestselling author. Forget everything you think you know about zombies... Conversion is instant. Headshots just make them angry. And they're getting smarter.Autumn: The Human Condition by David Moody. International bestselling author. Part-companion, part-guidebook and part-sequel, this novel follows the individual stories of these desperate survivors through their final dark days.Trudge: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse by Shawn Chesser. National bestselling author. A former Delta Force operator must make an impossible 3,000 mile journey across a United States filled with millions of infected to find his family--or die trying.Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming. National bestselling author. A story of survival, humor, and true love. And zombies.Zombie Wilson Diaries by Timothy W. Long. National bestselling author. A castaway on a tropical island, his only companion is a creature who hungers for human flesh.100 Days in Deadland by Rachel Aukes. Award-winning and national bestselling author. A journey through Dante's Inferno, the classic tale on the horrors of hell... zombie apocalypse style.Dead Hunger: The Flex Chronicle by Eric A. Shelman. National bestselling author. Four unlikely heroes battle hordes of the walking dead in the first installment of an epic saga encompassing two decades.Dying Days by Armand Rosamilia. National bestselling author. Sunny Florida, beautiful beaches... and zombies roaming the dunes in search of the living.
Mission Pack 3: Missions 9-12
J.S. Morin - 2016
Carl Ramsey is the head of his own criminal Syndicate. With a hundred men and women and the resources of a tiny jungle moon at his disposal, life should have gotten easier, not harder. Infighting, politics, and a lack of income to pay everyone begin to tear the syndicate apart from the inside. And the last thing Carl needs is his father stepping in to try to help. Mission 9: Adventure Capital Carl sets out with some new recruits to earn some startup funds for his new syndicate. But when he discovers that his criminal enterprise doesn't have enough criminals to run it, he goes to recruit some old friends. Mission 10: Collusion Course While Carl and the Mobius are stranded, dead in space, Chuck Ramsey steps in to handle the day-to-day operations of the syndicate. Can Carl get his ship repaired and get home while he still has a syndicate left? Mission 11: You, Robot Wizards are all convinced that any thinking robot would be a threat to life as we know it. Robots are paranoid that wizards are out to get them. When the Mobius comes across a robot claiming to be a wizard, they don't know quite what to do with him. But there's a wizard who does, and he's not planning to play nice. Mission 12: Stowaway to Heaven With the aid of some inside information, the Mobius crew are ready to take on an old nemesis. Their goal: to infiltrate and hijack the Harmony Bay ship Bradbury. Bonus Short Story: Voice of Reason With Carl off being treated like a VIP, a job comes in for the Mobius. Roddy, Archie, and Yomin take on the assignment, but they have to manufacture a convincing impostor of Carl to do it.
To Hold the Bridge
Garth Nix - 2015
It is not an easy task, for many dangers threaten the bridge builders, from nomad raiders to Free Magic sorcerers. Despite the danger, Morghan wants nothing more than to join the Bridge Company as a cadet. But the company takes only the best, the most skillful Charter mages, and trains them hard, for the night might come when only a single young cadet must hold the bridge against many foes. Will Morghan be that cadet?Also included in this collection are eighteen short stories that showcase Nix’s versatility as he adds a fantastical twist on an array of genres including science fiction, paranormal, realistic fiction, mystery, and adventure.
Hail! Hail!
Harry Turtledove - 2018
Fresh from Duck Soup (1933), Julius, Leonard, Arthur and Herbert Marx - or as the world knows them, Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo - are transported by a freak electrical storm to Nacogdoches, Texas in the year 1826. Landing in the midst of the Fredonian Rebellion (the first attempt by settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico) and into the company of the only other Jewish person in town, they are in deep dreck. Falling in with Stephen F. Austin and inadvertently filling his head with knowledge of what is to come, our heroes risk tampering with the future of Texas, and perhaps the entire U.S.A., in their quest to return to their own time. Will they find their way back? Or will they be doomed to live out their lives without indoor plumbing?