The Star Wars Trilogy


George Lucas - 1976
    Together, the three original Star Wars movies–A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi–told one epic: a heroic tale of innocence lost and wisdom gained, of downfall and redemption, of the never-ending fight between the forces of good and evil. Read the story of the movies–all three in one trade paperback volume–and rediscover the wonder of the legend that begins: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . . Luke Skywalker lived and worked on his uncle’s farm on the remote planet of Tatooine, but he yearned to travel beyond the farthest reaches of the universe to distant, alien worlds. Then Luke intercepted a cryptic message from a beautiful, captive princess . . . and found himself catapulted into the adventure of a lifetime.Luke Skywalker, proud Princess Leia, and headstrong Han Solo . . . merciless Darth Vader, wise Obi-Wan Kenobi, loyal droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, and the inscrutable Yoda . . . Chewbacca the Wookiee, shifty Lando Calrissian, and the vile Jabba the Hutt . . . all the vivid characters from the Star Wars universe spring to life in these thrilling pages.The Star Wars Trilogy is a must-read for anyone who wants to relive the excitement, the magic, and the sheer entertainment of this legendary saga–now and forever.

Priam's Lens


Jack L. Chalker - 1999
    Space-faring humans challenge a godlike superrace for survival in the far reaches of the galaxy in this brilliant new adventure from the author of the "Well World" series.

Ilse Witch


Terry Brooks - 2000
    Thirty years ago, an elven prince led an expedition in search of a legendary magic said to be more powerful than any in the world. Of all those who set out on that ill-fated voyage, not one has ever returned. Until now. The rescued elf carries a map covered with mysterious symbols–and Walker Boh, the last of the Druids, has the skill to decipher them. But someone else understands the map’s significance: the Ilse Witch, a ruthless young woman who wields a magic as potent as his own. She will stop at nothing to possess the map–and the magic it leads to. Thus begins the first volume of a dazzling new adventure in one of the most popular fantasy series of our time

Time Storm


Gordon R. Dickson - 1977
    A time storm has devastated the Earth, and only a small fraction of humankind remains. From the rubble, three survivors form an unlikely alliance: a young man, a young woman, and a leopard.

Coils


Roger Zelazny - 1982
    The Year is 1995 in high-tech, computer-rich America..While on vacation with his beautiful girlfriend Cora, Donald BelPatri begins to realize that something is seriously wrong wit his memory.Clickaderick...clickDonald's mind can coil into any computer consciousness, but he cannot remember...Where do his parents live? Who is paying $8,000 into his account each month? What had he been working on at the Angra Energy Corporation?The Cora "disappears".And coils uncoils into a gripping psyche-shattering thriller - an adventure that penetrates the darkest conundrums of body, mind and computer consciousness...Cover Illustration: Peter Elson

Songs from the Stars


Norman Spinrad - 1980
    Centuries after the big smash, the successor civilization of Aquaria more or less flourishes on the west coast of what was once the United States, a society built on White Science, following the "law of muscle, sun, wind and water". Only the sorcerers of Space Systems, Inc., dare traffic in the "Black Sciences" of atomic, petroleum and physics which destroyed the old golden age of space, for they alone know of the higher destiny that awaits man in the abandoned Big Ear space station. For centuries, they have secretly infiltrated Aquarius through the gray town of La Mirage while crafting a spaceship capable of reaching the Big Ear and turning man's ears once more to the mysterious Songs from the Stars.Now, through the Aquarians Clear Blue Lou, perfect master of the Clear Blue Way, and Sunshine Sue, queen of the Word of Mouth communication network, they scheme to bring their ultimate scenario to fruition. Sex, love, emotion, karma, destiny, perhaps even The Way itself, all become elements in the scenario of Arnold Harker, Black Scientist, sorcerer, project manager of Operation Enterprise. But when Clear Blue Lou, Sunshine Sue and Arnold Harker finally confront the interstellar brotherhood of sentient beings, they find, each in his way, that The Galactic Way utterly transcends their hopes, wildest dreams and darkest fears.

Imperial Earth


Arthur C. Clarke - 1975
    Titan, an independent republic, was originally colonized from Earth three generations earlier. Duncan's initial challenge is to prepare, physically and intellectually, for the 500-million-mile trip to Earth. Once there, he is caught up in a sweep of new experiences, including the social and political whirl in Washington, a strange visit to a carefully preserved ancient city once prominent in the 20th century, and a search for and meeting with a woman he loved since she visited Titan years before.

All My Sins Remembered


Joe Haldeman - 1977
    The only problem is that the Confederacion needs him as one of its twelve Prime Operators for its secret service, the TBII. The TBII wants him as a spy, thief & assassin. It's not, of course, a problem for the Confederacion, which simply uses immersion therapy & hypnotic personality overlay for Otto's training, then sends him out in deep cover, encased in plastiflesh, on a variety of dangerous missions on a number of bizarre worlds. But for him, it's a different matter: what he has to witness & what he's forced to do take a terrible toll. Always he returns to his original self--his conscience stabbed by the memory of all those he'd killed in the service of interstellar harmony.

Nine Tomorrows


Isaac Asimov - 1959
    Nine stories: Profession; The Feeling of Power; The Dying Night; I'm in Marsport without Hilda; The Gentle Vultures; All the Troubles of the World; Spell my Name with an S; The Last Question (one of Asimov's most often requested stories); and The Ugly Little Boy (Asimov's own personal favorite).

Hellstrom's Hive


Frank Herbert - 1973
    Hellstrom's Project 40 was a cover for a secret laboratory, a special team of agents was immediately dispatched to discover its true purpose and its weaknesses—it could not be allowed to continue. What they discovered was a nightmare more horrific and hideous than even their paranoid government minds could devise.First published in Galaxy magazine in 1973 as "Project 40," Frank Herbert's vivid imagination and brilliant view of nature and ecology have never been more evident than in this classic of science fiction.

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.

For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs


Robert A. Heinlein - 2003
    

The Burning City


Larry Niven - 2000
    Here Yagen-Atep, the volatile and voracious god of fire, alternately protects and destroys the city's denizens. In Tep's Town, nothing can burn indoors and no fire can start -- except when the Burning comes upon the city. Then the people, possessed by Yagen-Atep, set their own town ablaze in a riotous orgy of destruction that often comes without warning. Whandall Placehold has lived with the Burning all his life. Fighting his way to adulthood in the mean-but-magical streets of the city's most blighted neighborhoods, Whandall dreams of escaping the god's wrath to find a new and better life. But his best hope for freedom may lie with Morth of Atlantis, the enigmatic sorcerer who killed his father!

The Winter of the World


Poul Anderson - 1975
    But as the people of tomorrow slowly uncover the lost technology of the past, they also rediscover war, conquest, diplomacy...and betrayal.While the might Rahidain-Barammian Empire expands across the globe, Josserek Derrain, uncover agent for the freedom-loving Seafolk, must find a way to save his people from the Empire's grasp. His best hope is an alliance with the Rogaviki, a wild and nomadic race whose women are rumored to cast an unbreakable spell on any man who dares seek them out.Between barbarians and aristocrats, spied and soldiers, the battle lines are drawn in the ultimate conflict to determine who will rule over...The Winter of the World.

Dinosaur Planet


Anne McCaffrey - 1978
    It was a simple mission. A standard crew.THE PROBLEMKai and his beautiful co-leader Varian, the best xenob-vet in the business, followed all the standard procedures -- but the results of their investigations were totally unexpected. Not only were the planet's creatures larger than anyone had anticipated and the geological finds smaller, but the rescue ship had inexplicably disappeared.THE NIGHTMAREThen suddenly on a world of giant swamp creatures and deadly predators, a curious change had come over many of the members of the ARCT-10 crew... a change that would lead all of them, in one way or another, into the primitive darkness of a future world.