Martin is a giant in the field of fantasy literature and one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. Now he delivers a rare treat for readers: a compendium of his shorter works, collected into two stunning volumes, that offer fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master.Gathered here in Volume I are the very best of George R.R. Martin's early works, including never-before-published fan pieces, his Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker Award-winning stories plus the original novella The Ice Dragon, from which Martin's New York Times bestselling children's book of the same title originated. A dazzling array that features extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume I, is the perfect collection for both Martin devotees and a new generation of fans.Contents:- Introduction by Gardner Dozois One: A Four-Color Fanboy (2003)- Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark (1967)- The Fortress (2003)- And Death His Legacy (2003)Two: The Filthy Pro (2003)- The Hero (1971)- The Exit to San Breta (1972)- The Second Kind of Loneliness (1972)- With Morning Comes Mistfall (1973)Three: The Light of Distant Stars (2003)- A Song for Lya (1974)- The Stone City (1977)- This Tower of Ashes (1976)- And Seven Times Never Kill Man (1975)- Bitterblooms (1977)- The Way of Cross and Dragon (1979)Four: The Heirs of Turtle Castle (2003)- The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr (1976)- The Ice Dragon (1980)- In the Lost Lands (1982)Five: Hybrids and Horrors (2003)- Meathouse Man (1976)- Remembering Melody (1981)- Sandkings (1979)- Nightflyers (1980)- The Monkey Treatment (1983)- The Pear-Shaped Man (1987)

    There is no trace of their young son, Alex Manez, or of the asteroid itself. On the outer edge of the solar system, the first manned mission to Pluto, led by the youngest female astronaut in NASA history, has led to an historic discovery: there is a marker left there by an alien race for humankind to find. We are not alone! While studying the alien marker, it begins to react. Four hours later, the missing asteroid appears in a Plutonian orbit, along with young Alex Manez, who has developed some alarming side-effects from his exposure to the kinetic element they call Kinemet. From the depths of a criminal empire based on Luna, an expatriate seizes the opportunity to wrest control of outer space, and takes swift action. The secret to faster-than-light speed is up for grabs, and the race for interstellar space begins! Music of the Spheres The technology for interstellar flight exists through the power of Kinemet, but the key to unlocking its code lies in a thousand-year-old scroll left on Earth by an alien species. When the ancient manual is stolen before a full translation is completed, Alex, Michael and Justine scramble to recover it. Along the way, they stumble on an interplanetary conspiracy and uncover a secret that shatters their view of life and shakes the very foundations of our existence. Worlds Away For a thousand years the Kulsat Armada has ravaged the galaxy searching for the lost legacy of an extinct race of technologically advanced beings. They destroy anyone who gets in their way. Now they have turned their attention to Earth and are gathering their forces for an invasion. Justine, Michael and Alex each hold a key to stopping the enemy, but they are worlds away from each other, and they are running out of time...

    From Samuel Peralta, creator of the #1 bestselling Future Chronicles anthology series, comes a new speculative anthology series that turns the world you know upside down.In Alt.History 101, thirteen top speculative fiction authors re-imagine the world - as one where the inventor of the smallpox vaccine died before he'd created it, as one where the women's suffragist movement failed to win the right to vote, as one where the death penalty exists but where all forms of capital punishment are ruled inhumane - and ten other compelling stories charting the histories of these worlds.Enter worlds so much like our own, yet so different - where everything you know... is history.

    The discovery of a clean energy source ended the world’s reliance on fossil fuels overnight, and years after the resulting wars, a new discovery puts the tenuous world peace at risk; that of faster than light travel. With humanity on the verge of travelling to new solar systems and all the humanitarian and scientific possibilities involved, a discovery by the reconnaissance team turns everything upside down. Join the small team of the reconnaissance mission who fight friend and foe to complete their mission objectives – no matter where it leads them or what the personal cost.

    Upon such unshakeable foundations was the Imperium to be built - except that the Imperial Truth was a lie, and the powers that the Emperor denied had already sunken their claws into many of his sons. With the treachery of Horus now known from the Eastern Fringe to holy Terra itself, how many more of his father's words will be proven false in the days to come?30,000 word hardback anthologyOnly 2000 copies printed worldwide Leather effect aquila embossed hardcover Wrap-around dust jacket Individually numbered

    Afraid of being thrown into an isolation chamber, Michael goes home, but quickly falls violently ill. By the time he recovers and returns to work scary things are happening. Everyone who has come into contact with that patient is being systematically killed. On the run, he accidentally infects a woman living in the shadows of the underworld. She becomes ill as well, but survives. Then they begin feeling younger-and younger. Why would the government want to suppress something like this? After barely escaping federal gunmen, the two of them set out to discover what kind of infection they are harboring even though it might mean the end of their freedom.

    Weil comes a chilling story of the future.To the Kleese, the Earth is nothing more than a planet full of conscripts to be used to fight in their numerous wars of aggression against other planets. The Kleese are one of several large Galactic Empires that control the majority of the galaxy. To them, Earth is a dangerous planet due to the aggressiveness of the humanoid species that inhabits it. This is a species that cannot be allowed to spread out into the galaxy. Once they have taken their handful of conscripts, the planet will be destroyed.Unknown to the Kleese, their attack against the human homeworld will ignite a war that will spread across the known galaxy. Billions will die in their quest to free themselves from the heartless alien race. Can the human race rise up and lead the few worlds willing to fight against the Kleese? Find out in the Galactic Empire Wars.

    This edition also comes with twelve exclusive postcards. A must-have gift edition for all Whovians!To celebrate the arrival of Peter Capaldi on to our screens as the newly regenerated Doctor, this collection of Doctor Who short stories, each written by a different author, now includes an extra, brand-new twelfth adventure as part of the 12 Doctors, 12 Stories paperback anthology. Offering the perfect addition to the top-selling series, the twelfth story, 'Lights Out', has been penned by self-professed Doctor Who fan and best-selling female sci-fi writer Holly Black.Contents:A Big Hand For the Doctor by Eoin Colfer sees the First Doctor in pursuit of a gang of Soul Pirates in Victorian London. Missing both his left hand and his beloved granddaughter Susan, his quest to retrieve them promises a journey into a land he may never forget...The Nameless City by Michael Scott, who puts his own inimtable spin on the Second Doctor. When Jamie McCrimmon gives the Doctor a mysterious book, he has no idea of the danger contained within its pages. The book transports the TARDIS to a glass city on a distant world, where the Archons are intent on getting revenge on the Time Lord for an ancient grudge.The Spear of Destiny by Marcus Sedgwick follows the Third Doctor and Jo Grant on a quest to track down the magical spear of Odin. Caught in a vicious battle between two Viking tribes, the Doctor stop the spear getting into the wrong hands before it's too late.The Roots of Evil by Philip Reeve, joins the Fourth Doctor and his companion Leela on an adventure on a massive tree space station known as the Heligan Structure. Little do they know that the tree has been asleep for centuries, dreaming of vengeance against a man in a blue box... Tip of the Tongue by Patrick Ness is a Fifth Doctor adventure about a strange new craze for Truth Tellers, which is sweeping through the kids of small-town America. While the Doctor and Nyssa investigate the phenomenon, they discover the truth behind the Truth Tellers is far more sinister than anyone could have imagined...Something Borrowed by Richelle Mead. The Sixth Doctor and Peri attend a wedding on the planet Koturia and discover the return of a formidable old foe, whose genius matches the Doctor's. Can he outwit this villain, save Peri and stop the wedding in time?The Ripple Effect by Malorie Blackman. When the TARDIS lands on Skaro, the Seventh Doctor and Ace are shocked to discover the planet has become the Dalek's have become a force for good, and their once battle-torn planet is now a universal centre of learning. But how long can peace last...?Spore by Alex Scarrow, who puts his own twist on the Eighth Doctor in a terrifying tale about an alien pathogen that attacks a small town in the Nevada desert. As the population is reduced to a seething mass of black slime the Doctor realise it is the same virus which almost annihilated his entire race, the Time Lords...The Beast of Babylon by Charlie Higson. A young girl called Ali sees a silver orb fall from the sky and soon learns it's her ticket to seeing the universe. Desperate to retrieve the mysterious object, the Ninth Doctor lets her join him on a dangerous trip to ancient Babylon, where he must battle a giant Starman for the fate of the Earth.The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage by Derek Landy, joins the Tenth Doctor and Martha on a planet that looks exactly like Earth, but is full of fictional characters from Martha's childhood. Together they must solve the mystery of who has created a world of books before their story concludes.Nothing O’Clock by Neil Gaiman, is a terrifying tale about a race called the Kin. Thousands of years ago, the Kin were imprisoned for their crimes by the Time Lords. But the Kin were patient and deathless and, when Gallifrey fell, they escaped. Now the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond are all that states between the Kin and fate of the universe.Lights Out by Holly Black. The Twelfth Doctor is sucked into a murder investigation on the International Coffee Roasting Station, the most caffeinated place in the universe. A killer is on the loose; one who only emerges in the dark. Can the Doctor solve the mystery before the lights go out forever?

    Wells Collection, which has been designed and formatted specifically for your Amazon Kindle. Unlike other e-book editions, the text and chapters are perfectly set up to match the layout and feel of a physical copy, rather than being haphazardly thrown together for a quick release. This edition also comes with a linked Table of Contents for both the list of included books and their respective chapters. Navigation couldn't be easier.Purchase this H.G. Wells Collection and treat yourself to the following list of works created by this classic author: Novels:The Time Machine (1895)The Wonderful Visit (1895)The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)The Wheels of Chance (1896)The Invisible Man (1897)The War of the Worlds (1898)Love and Mr. Lewisham (1900)The First Men in the Moon (1901)The Sea Lady (1902)The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (1904)Kipps (1905)A Modern Utopia (1905)In the Days of the Comet (1906)The War in the Air (1908)Tono-Bungay (1909)Ann Veronica (1909)The History of Mr. Polly (1910)The Sleeper Awakes (1910)The New Machiavelli (1911)Marriage (1912)The Passionate Friends (1913)The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914)The World Set Free (1914)The Research Magnificent (1915)Mr. Britling Sees It Through (1916)The Soul of a Bishop (1917)The Secret Places of the Heart (1922)Non-fiction:Certain Personal Matters (1897)Anticipations of the Reactions of Mechanical andScientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1901)Mankind in the Making (1903)New Worlds for Old (1908)First and Last Things (1908)Floor Games (1911)Little Wars (1913)An Englishman Looks at the World (1914)What is Coming? (1916)God the Invisible King (1917)War and the Future (aka Italy, France and Britain atWar) (1917)In the Fourth Year (1918)The Salvaging of Civilization (1921)A Short History of the World (1922)Short Stories:Select Conversations with an Uncle (Now Extinct) andTwo Other Reminscences (1895)The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents (1895)Tales of Space and Time (1899)Twelve Stories and a Dream (1903)Other Short Stories

     In this anthology, you’ll find seventeen tales of conflict and heroism, exploration and discovery, endurance and triumph. Flee the apocalypse of modern-day Earth, fly a fighter in the cold emptiness of deep space, and find new life on the distant shores of an alien world. You might even discover something about yourself as each author opens a window on the soul of mankind. Who are we, really? Should we survive? How do we become something greater without losing what makes us human? Open this collection and take your first steps into tomorrow. Travel the cosmos to find amazing adventure. Walk beside unforgettable characters on the bridge across the stars… Featuring a Foreword by Kevin J. Anderson – David VanDyke – “As the Sparks Fly Upward” – Ann Christy – “Peace Force” – Felix R. Savage – “Guardians of Earth” – Lindsay Buroker – “Here Be Dragons” – Chris Dietzel – “The Gordian Asteroid” – Craig Martelle – “The Trenches of Centauri Prime” – Josi Russell – “Broken One” – Chris Pourteau – “The Erkennen Job” – Daniel Arenson – “The Firebug and the Pharaoh” – Rhett C. Bruno – “Interview for the End of the World” – Steve Beaulieu – “Night Shift” – Lucas Bale – “A Friend to Man” – Jason Anspach – “…Space Pirates” – Will McIntosh – “Drive” – Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff – “Water Babies” – David Bruns – “Take Only Memories” – Patty Jansen – “This Deceitful State of Truth”

    Le Guin is one of the greatest science fiction writers and many times the winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Her career as a novelist was launched by the three novels contained in Worlds Of Exile And Illusion. These novels, Rocannon's World, Planet Of Exile, and City Of Illusions, are set in the same universe as Le Guin's ground-breaking classic, The Left Hand Of Darkness.Tor is pleased to return these previously unavailable works to print in this attractive new edition.

    Not everyone can. Who decides? Desperate to save his daughter from a mysterious sickness, Daniel applies for the Methuselah Treatment. If she gets it, his daughter won’t just recover, she’ll live forever. But the drug is tightly controlled, and only the special, the talented, and the truly deserving ever receive it. There is nothing special about Daniel’s destitute ten- year-old girl—or is there?

    Her world is her prison. Her fate is bigger than she knows... In the hot and harsh farming region of Agricola, 16 year old Cyra prepares to be tested to discover what duty she'll hold for life. All school leavers across the regions are in the same position, and few expect anything more than to follow in their parents' footsteps and stay in the region they live in.For Cyra, there was never a choice. With her father dead and brother and sister assigned elsewhere, she's desperate to stay close to her sick mother so she can take care of her.On the day of the Duty Call, however, Cyra's world turns upside down in one stroke. She's to be assigned to Eden, the largest and most powerful sea city and central hub of control. Only the most important live there, and no one from Cyra's town has ever been assigned there in her lifetime. So, she sets off on a journey away from everything she knows, without knowing what her duty will be. Soon, she discovers that she, along with a small number of school leavers from across the regions, has a special power; a gift that will pit her as a secret protector of the nation. Only, it's not a gift, it's really a curse, and before long Cyra will learn that her once small world is filled with a great deal more corruption and injustice than she ever thought possible.

    Gerry Cardle reluctantly runs the Death Lottery. It's a job he despises, yet one which keeps his name off the list. Until one day, despite his agreement with The Family, his name is inexplicably drawn next.With his world crashing down around him and with just seven days left to live, Gerry realises that the system has been breached by a malicious artificial intelligence. In order to save his life and preserve the safety of those within the city, he must do the unthinkable: flee to the abandoned wastelands outside the dome. Bitter, resolute, and with nothing left to lose, Gerry will have to do whatever it takes to survive--even if it means sacrificing his freedom, and possibly worse--his life.

    The humble, pixelated games of the ‘70s and ‘80s have evolved into the vivid, realistic, and immersive form of entertainment that now rivals all other forms of media for dominance in the consumer marketplace. For many, video games have become the cultural icons around which pop culture revolves.PRESS START TO PLAY is an anthology of stories inspired by video games: stories that attempt to recreate the feel of a video game in prose form; stories that play with the concepts common (or exclusive) to video games; and stories about the creation of video games and/or about the video games—or the gamers—themselves.These stories will appeal to anyone who has interacted with games, from hardcore teenaged fanatics, to men and women who game after their children have gone to bed, to your well-meaning aunt who won’t stop inviting you to join her farm-based Facebook games.At the helm of this project are Daniel H. Wilson—bestselling novelist and expert in artificial intelligence—and John Joseph Adams—bestselling, Hugo Award-nominated editor of more than a dozen science fiction/fantasy anthologies and series editor of Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy (volume one forthcoming from Houghton Mifflin in 2015). Together, they have drawn on their wide-ranging contacts to assemble an incredibly talented group of authors who are eager to attack the topic of video games from startling and fascinating angles.Under the direction of an A.I. specialist and a veteran editor, the anthology will expose readers to a strategically chosen mix of stories that explore novel video game concepts in prose narratives, such as save points, kill screens, gold-farming, respawning, first-person shooters, unlocking achievements, and getting “pwned.” Likewise, each of our authors is an accomplished specialist in areas such as science fiction, fantasy, and techno-thrillers, and many have experience writing for video games professionally.Combining unique viewpoints and exacting realism, this anthology promises to thrill generations of readers, from those who grew up with Atari 2600s to the console and PC gamers of today.