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The Risen Empire
Scott Westerfeld - 2003
Enemy Rix are machine-augmented humans who worship AI compound minds. Separated by light years, bound by an unlikely love, Zai and pacifist senator Nara Oxham face the Rix and hold the fate of the empire.
Leviathan Wakes
James S.A. Corey - 2011
When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for—and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations—and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.
The Betrayal
C.J. Cherryh - 1988
Cherryh's award-winning triad introduces the planet and complex politics of Cyteen, part of the Alliance/Union universe. Resources are limited and the scientific compound of Reseune, which produces computer-trained clones called azis, is a major power center. Reseune's lead scientist, the fierce and cruel Dr. Ariane Emory, has dominated Cyteen's political scene for decades. When she is assassinated, Reseune officials railroad a suspect and then experiment by creating a personal duplicate of Ariane. The bad news is, a clone isn't good enough. They want to recreate Dr. Emory's mind as well, and devise an artificial life for the little Ariane who'll be raised just like the original.
Blindsight
Peter Watts - 2006
The heavens have been silent since - until a derelict space probe hears whispers from a distant comet. Something talks out there: but not to us. Who to send to meet the alien, when the alien doesn't want to meet? Send a linguist with multiple-personality disorder, and a biologist so spliced to machinery he can't feel his own flesh. Send a pacifist warrior, and a vampire recalled from the grave by the voodoo of paleogenetics. Send a man with half his mind gone since childhood. Send them to the edge of the solar system, praying you can trust such freaks and monsters with the fate of a world. You fear they may be more alien than the thing they've been sent to find - but you'd give anything for that to be true, if you knew what was waiting for them.
Doctor Who: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories
Eoin ColferCharlie Higson - 2014
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?
Dark Eden
Chris Beckett - 2012
Beyond the Forest lie the mountains of the Snowy Dark and a cold so bitter and a night so profound that no man has ever crossed it. The Oldest among the Family recount legends of a world where light came from the sky, where men and women made boats that could cross the stars. These ships brought us here, the Oldest say—and the Family must only wait for the travelers to return. But young John Redlantern will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family and change history. He will abandon the old ways, venture into the Dark…and discover the truth about their world.Already remarkably acclaimed in the UK, Dark Eden is science fiction as literature; part parable, part powerful coming-of-age story, set in a truly original alien world of dark, sinister beauty--rendered in prose that is at once strikingly simple and stunningly inventive.
The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft: Dreams of Terror and Death
H.P. Lovecraft - 1934
P. Lovecraft, the master of twentieth-century horror, including some of his most fantastic tales:THE DOOM THAT CAME TO SARNATH--Hate, genocide, and a deadly curse.THE NAMELESS CITY--Death lies beneath the shifting sands, in a story linking the Dream Cycle with the legendary Cthulhu Mythos.THE CATS OF ULTHAR--In Ulthar, no man may kill a cat...and woe unto any who tries.THE DREAM QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH--The epic nightmare adventure with tendrils stretching throughout the entire Dream Cycle.AND TWENTY MORE TALES OF SURREAL TERROR
The Steampunk Bible
Jeff VanderMeerJake von Slatt - 2011
The Steampunk Bible is the first compendium about the movement, tracing its roots in the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells through its most recent expression in movies such as Sherlock Holmes. Its adherents celebrate the inventor as an artist and hero, re-envisioning and crafting retro technologies including antiquated airships and robots. A burgeoning DIY community has brought a distinctive Victorian-fantasy style to their crafts and art. Steampunk evokes a sense of adventure and discovery, and embraces extinct technologies as a way of talking about the future. This ultimate manual will appeal to aficionados and novices alike as author Jeff VanderMeer takes the reader on a wild ride through the clockwork corridors of Steampunk history.Praise for The Steampunk Bible:"The Steampunk Bible is an informed, informative and beautifully illustrated survey of the subject." -The Financial Times"The Steampunk Bible is far and away the most intriguing catalog of all things steam yet written." -The Austin Chronicle “It’s hard to imagine how VanderMeer and Chambers could have put together a stronger collection. Its publication marks a significant, self-conscious moment in the history of the movement.”—PopMatters.com
Partners in Wonder
Harlan Ellison - 1971
Harlan Ellison, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967 · The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World · nv Dangerous Visions, ed. Harlan Ellison, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967 · Scherzo for Schizoids: Notes on a Collaboration · ms Knight Nov ’65 · Up Christopher to Madness · Harlan Ellison & Avram Davidson · ss Knight Nov ’65 · Runesmith · Harlan Ellison & Theodore Sturgeon · ss F&SF May ’70 · Rodney Parish for Hire · Harlan Ellison & Joe L. Hensley · ss Swank May ’62 · The Kong Papers · Harlan Ellison & William Rotsler · ct The Kong Papers, William Rotsler & Harlan Ellison, 1969 · The Human Operators · Harlan Ellison & A. E. van Vogt · ss F&SF Jan ’71 · Survivor No. 1 [“The Man with the Green Nose”] · Harlan Ellison & Henry Slesar · ss Knave Sep ’59 · The Power of the Nail · Harlan Ellison & Samuel R. Delany · ss Amazing Nov ’68 · Wonderbird · Harlan Ellison & Algis Budrys · ss Infinity Science Fiction Sep ’57 · The Song the Zombie Sang · Harlan Ellison & Robert Silverberg · ss Cosmopolitan Dec ’70 · Street Scene [“Dunderbird”] · Harlan Ellison & Keith Laumer · ss Galaxy Jan ’69; this story has two different endings. The version with the Ellison ending was in Galaxy, the version with the Laumer ending was in Adam Mar ’69 as “Street Scene”. · Come to Me Not in Winter’s White · Harlan Ellison & Roger Zelazny · ss F&SF Oct ’69
The Stars My Destination
Alfred Bester - 1956
The Stars My Destination is a classic of technological prophecy and timeless narrative enchantment by an acknowledged master of science fiction.
Sleeping Giants
Sylvain Neuvel - 2016
She wakes up at the bottom of a square-shaped hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved - the object's origins, architects, and purpose unknown.But some can never stop searching for answers.Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top-secret team to crack the hand's code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the relic they seek. What's clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unravelling history's most perplexing discovery-and finally figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?
Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home
James Tiptree Jr. - 1972
For instance:AND I AWOKE AND FOUND ME HERE ON THE COLD HILL'S SIDEMan seeks to get into bed with anything new and different, or die trying. But when the new and different was not human...would he die trying?THE MAN WHO WALKED HOME - The first-time astronaut, stuck in the far future, slid ever so slowly toward a present whose past was his future and whose future was his past...I'M TOO BIG BUT I LOVE TO PLAY - If genuine aliens are to communicate meaningfully, one must make himself into an analogue of the other. But how can you tell the difference between what is human - and what is merely identical?Contents:And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side (1972)The Snows Are Melted, the Snows Are Gone (1969)The Peacefulness of Vivyan (1971)Mamma Come Home (1968)Help (1968)Painwise (1972)Faithful to Thee, Terra, in Our Fashion (1969)The Man Doors Said Hello To (1970)The Man Who Walked Home (1972)Forever to a Hudson Bay Blanket (1972)I'll Be Waiting for You When the Swimming Pool Is Empty (1971)I'm Too Big but I Love to Play (1970)Birth of a Salesman (1968)Mother in the Sky with Diamonds (1971)Beam Us Home (1969)
City of Saints and Madmen
Jeff VanderMeer - 2002
You hold in your hands an invitation to a place unlike any you’ve ever visited–an invitation delivered by one of our most audacious and astonishing literary magicians. City of elegance and squalor. Of religious fervor and wanton lusts. And everywhere, on the walls of courtyards and churches, an incandescent fungus of mysterious and ominous origin. In Ambergris, a would-be suitor discovers that a sunlit street can become a killing ground in the blink of an eye. An artist receives an invitation to a beheading–and finds himself enchanted. And a patient in a mental institution is convinced he’s made up a city called Ambergris, imagined its every last detail, and that he’s really from a place called Chicago.…By turns sensuous and terrifying, filled with exotica and eroticism, this interwoven collection of stories, histories, and “eyewitness” reports invokes a universe within a puzzlebox where you can lose–and find–yourself again.
On Basilisk Station
David Weber - 1992
Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station. The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens. Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling, the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so-called "Republic" of Haven is Up to Something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser with an armament that doesn't work to police the entire star system.But the people out to get her have made one mistake.They've made her mad!