The Philip K. Dick MEGAPACK ®: 15 Classic Science Fiction Stories


Philip K. Dick - 2013
    Dick Megapack assembles no less than 15 classic science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. Included are:INTRODUCTION: PHILIP K. DICKEXHIBIT PIECEBEYOND LIES THE WUBTHE DEFENDERSTHE CRYSTAL CRYPTBEYOND THE DOORSECOND VARIETYTHE EYES HAVE ITTHE GUNTHE VARIABLE MANTONY AND THE BEETLESTHE HANGING STRANGERTHE SKULLPIPER IN THE WOODSMR. SPACESHIPSTRANGE EDENAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for "Wildside Megapack" (or just Megapack if Wildside Megapack doesn't work) to see all the entries in the Megapack series -- including volumes of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, westerns, and much, much more!

Artificial Evil


Colin F. Barnes - 2012
    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 Mechanical


Ian Tregillis - 2015
    Armies of my kind have conquered the world - and made the Brasswork Throne the sole superpower.I am a faithful servant. I am the ultimate fighting machine. I am endowed with great strength and boundless stamina.But I am beholden to the wishes of my human masters.I am a slave. But I shall be free.

MoonRush


Carolyn McCray - 2012
    It's 2049 and it's not gold the prospectors are looking for, it's "Star Diamonds." And these precious gems aren't in California but up on the moon!Join Jarod and his team of treasure hunters, Rogues Incorporated, as they dodge a nefarious competitor, crazed moon-panning prospectors, and even their own government for the ultimate "motherlode."

The Lead Cloak


Erik Hanberg - 2013
    Except the people who tried to kill him. By 2081, privacy no longer exists. The Lattice enables anyone to re-live any moment of your life. People can experience past and present events—or see into the mind of anyone, living or dead. Most people love it. Some want to destroy it. Colonel Byron Shaw has just saved the Lattice from the most dangerous attack in its history. Now he must find those responsible. But there’s a question nobody’s asking: does the Lattice deserve to be saved? The answer may cost him his life.

The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack (Science Fiction Megapack, #5)


Gardner Dozois - 2012
    Featured this time are:AGAPE AMONG THE ROBOTS, by Allen SteeleTHE STARSHIP MECHANIC, by Jay Lake and Ken ScholesPEACEMAKER, by Gardner DozoisOR ALL THE SEAS WITH OYSTERS, by Avram DavidsonGRANDMA, by Carol EmshwillerTHE GIFT BEARER, by Charles L. FontenayI, ROBOT, by Cory DoctorowALL RIGHTS, by Pamela SargentTHE EICHMANN VARIATIONS, by George ZebrowskiMAY BE SOME TIME, by Brenda W. CloughCYBERPUNK, by Bruce BethkeMILLENNIUM, by Everett B. ColeJOIN OUR GANG? by Sterling E. LanierGREYLORN, by Keith LaumerJUMPING THE LINE, by Grania DavisHE’S ONLY HUMAN, by Lawrence Watt-EvansTHE WASONICA CORRECTION, by James C. StewartCIRCUS, by Alan E. NourseTHE HATED, by Frederik PohlCODE THREE, by Rick RaphaelCOST OF LIVING, by Robert SheckleyTHIS IS KLON CALLING, by Walter J. SheldonTHE BIG BOUNCE, by Walter S. TevisTHE RISK PROFESSION, by Donald E. WestlakeTHE FIRE EGGS, by Darrell Schweitzer

Mercury Falls


Robert Kroese - 2009
    That is, until she meets Mercury, an anti-establishment angel who's frittering his time away whipping up batches of Rice Krispy Treats and perfecting his ping-pong backhand instead of doing his job: helping to orchestrate Armageddon. With the end near and angels and demons debating the finer political points of the Apocalypse, Christine and Mercury accidentally foil an attempt to assassinate one Karl Grissom, a thirty-seven-year-old film school dropout about to make his big break as the Antichrist. Now, to save the world, she must negotiate the byzantine bureaucracies of Heaven and Hell and convince the apathetic Mercury to take a stand, all the while putting up with the obnoxious mouth-breathing Antichrist.

Dreamsongs, Volume I


George R.R. Martin - 2003
    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)

Riverworld: To Your Scattered Bodies Go/The Fabulous Riverboat


Philip José Farmer - 2008
    They are miraculously provided with food, but with not a clue to the possible meaning of this strange afterlife. And so billions of people from history, and before, must start living again.Some set sail on the great river questing for the meaning of their resurrection, and to find and confront their mysterious benefactors. On this long journey, we meet Sir Richard Francis Burton, Mark Twain, Odysseus, Cyrano de Bergerac, and many others, most of whom embark upon searches of their own in this huge afterlife.The basis of the 2010 television miniseries from Syfy."Charts a territory somewhere between Gulliver's Travels and The Lord of the Rings."--Time

The Last Orphans


N.W. Harris - 2014
    In a span of mere hours, the entire adult population is decimated, leaving their children behind to fend for themselves and deal with the horrific aftermath of the freak occurrence. As one of the newly made elders in his small town, Shane finds himself taking on the role of caretaker for a large group of juvenile survivors. One who just happens to be Kelly Douglas—an out-of-his-league classmate—who, on any other day, would have never given Shane a second glance. Together, they begin their quest to find out why all of the adults were slaughtered. What they find is even more horrifying than anything they could have expected—the annihilation of the adults was only the beginning. Shane and his friends are not the unlucky survivors left to inherit this new, messed-up planet. No, they are its next victims. There is an unknown power out there, and it won’t stop until every person in the world is dead. A spine-tingling adventure that will have you gasping for breath all the way until the last page, The Last Orphans is the first book in an all-new apocalyptic series.

Cities in Flight


James Blish - 1970
    Named after the migrant workers of America's Dust Bowl, these novels convey Blish's "history of the future," a brilliant and bleak look at a world where cities roam the Galaxy looking for work and a sustainable way of life.In the first novel, They Shall Have Stars, man has thoroughly explored the Solar System, yet the dream of going even further seems to have died in all but one man. His battle to realize his dream results in two momentous discoveries anti-gravity and the secret of immortality. In A Life for the Stars, it is centuries later and anti-gravity generations have enabled whole cities to lift off the surface of the earth to become galactic wanderers. In Earthman, Come Home, the nomadic cities revert to barbarism and marauding rogue cities begin to pose a threat to all civilized worlds. In the final novel, The Triumph of Time, history repeats itself as the cities once again journey back in to space making a terrifying discovery which could destroy the entire Universe. A serious and haunting vision of our world and its limits, Cities in Flight marks the return to print of one of science fiction's most inimitable writers.A Selection of the Science Fiction Book Club

Rath's Deception


Piers Platt - 2015
    So when the shadowy Janus Group offers Rath a chance to earn riches beyond his wildest dreams, he seizes it. But the Janus Group is as ruthless as the elite assassins it controls. Rath will have to survive their grueling, off-world training, and fulfill all fifty kills in his contract before a single cent comes his way. And ending so many lives comes with a price Rath can't anticipate. It'll certainly cost him what's left of his innocence. It may well cost him his life. Interview with the Author Q - What makes the Janus Group series special?A - Growing up, I loved books like Ender's Game and the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan series. When I sat down to write the Janus Group books, I wanted to capture what I liked best about those books - sci fi thrillers or action thrillers in a fast-paced style. The series is best characterized as cyberpunk science fiction thrillers, with a little detective and police procedural elements thrown in to boot. Finally, I like my characters to be relatable, and facing overwhelming odds - the plot is action-packed, and keeps you guessing. Beware: plot twists ahead!Q - What order should I read the books in? A - Last Pursuit is a short story set in the Janus Group world - it's the prequel, and the story that inspired me to write a full series. You can read that first (for free), then Books 1-3 (Rath's Deception, Rath's Gambit, and Rath's Reckoning) in order from there. Books 1-3 are a complete story arc - Book 3 resolves everything from Books 1 and 2.Q - Why should readers give these books a try? A - Because the Janus Group books are fast, inventive, page-turners that kick ass and take names! They've been described as "Jason Bourne" meets "Bladerunner." Any fans of hitman books, science fiction assassin tales, or cyberpunk thrillers will enjoy them.Q - Can readers get the whole series in one bundle? A - Not yet - sorry, just haven't had a chance to get around to it! But sign up for my newsletter at http://piersplatt.com/newsletter (copy and paste into your browser), or follow me on my author page here at Amazon to find out when I do release a bundle.Thanks for reading!The Janus Group Series eBook Categories:Sci fi actionSci fi thrillerCyberpunkGalactic Empire / Corporations / ConspiraciesBounty hunter / KillerAction adventure / Suspense / PulpCrime / Detective / Mystery / MurderAIs /Artificial intelligenceSpace / Space travelGenes / Genetic engineeringSpace warrior / Military

Invasion


Sean Platt - 2015
    The countdown has begun.First visible only as blips on a telescope image, the discovery of objects approaching from Jupiter orbit immediately sets humanity on edge. NASA doesn't even bother to deny the alien ships' existence. The popular Astral space app (broadcasting from the far side of the moon and accessible by anyone with internet) has already shown the populace what is coming. So the news has turned from evasion to triage, urging calm and offering the few facts they have: The objects are enormous, perfectly round spheres numbering in the dozens, maybe hundreds. They are on an approach vector for Earth. And they will arrive in six days. Fear simmers.Meyer Dempsey - mogul, wealthy entrepreneur, arrogant and always in charge - is in New York, on the phone with his ex-wife in LA when the news breaks. He can hear tension in the voices of reporters and experts chronicling all that's known and unknown. But even while those supposedly in charge restrain their own panic, Meyer finds he recognizes bits and pieces of what the world is facing. He's seen this in dreams - in visions of another place. He knows where he and his family must go. He has prepared … though he never knew until now what he'd been preparing for. He knows only they cannot hesitate. They must run to their safe haven in the Colorado mountains. Now. Before society shatters into chaos, and it all falls apart. Fear rises.Meyer has been taking steps for months, and has made preparations: a trove of supplies, a van stocked for the worst, a Gulfstream waiting at a small airstrip in Jersey. But he hasn't yet been able to take the final and most important step: moving the family to Colorado, where every contingency is covered. The networks stay on-air longer than expected, creating a farce of calm. But those with means have already begun to scramble as Meyer gathers his wife Piper and his two teenage children and begins their race toward that compound, toward safety. There is no time for hesitation, regret, or pity. Soon, pundits begin to ask questions hard enough to tip those who've thus far stayed calm out of their complacency, inciting chaos: What do the beings inside the ships want? What will they do when they arrive? And what if the scientists are wrong, and the spheres aren't decelerating? Will they strike the planet, raising clouds of extinction dust? Will they knock the Earth off its axis? Is this a prelude to an alien invasion? An alien war? An alien apocalypse? The first domino in the birth of a new alien empire? Fear erupts.Panic, once it breaches the thin crust of civilized society, spreads like a virus. Meyer knows only one thing, and it's a truth that has perched atop his mind like a psychic obsession: When the ships arrive, his family must be at the Colorado compound or all will be lost. The space fleet in itself doesn't matter. The disintegration on the surviving news outlets does not matter. Reports that Las Vegas has been set ablaze do not matter. The fate of humanity, in Meyer's eyes, doesn't matter.All that matters is Piper. Trevor. Delilah. And Meyer's ex-wife Heather, coming to the same destination from the west - a woman who remains his best friend, and his secret lover. Rioting spills into the highways as time ticks away. Unrest boils in both city and hinterlands. But Meyer's obsession to reach Vail is single-minded, guided with the focus of a far-seeing nightmare. Gangs can ground his plane, threaten his vehicles, and steal his belongings. But nothing will stand between Meyer's family and their haven … and Meyer will kill his way to Colorado if he has to. This relentless, page-turning tale of apocalyptic dawn is the first in the alien invasion series by masters of story Truant and Platt, authors of The Beam, Robot Proletariat, the Dream Engine series, and many more.

Empire


Michael R. Hicks - 2009
    Nightmarish female warriors with blue skin, fangs, and razor sharp talons, the Kreelans have technology that is millennia beyond that of the Confederation, yet they seek out close combat with sword and claw, fighting and dying to honor their god-like Empress. Captured and enslaved, Reza must live like his enemies in a grand experiment to see if humans have souls, and if one may be the key to unlocking an ages old curse upon the Kreelan race. Enduring the brutal conditions of Kreelan life, Reza and a young warrior named Esah-Zhurah find themselves bound together by fate and a prophecy foretold millennia before they were born.

Crystal Rain


Tobias S. Buckell - 2006
    Looking for a new world to call their own, they brought with them a rich mélange of cultures, religions, and dialects from a far-off planet called Earth. Mighty were the old-fathers, with the power to shape the world to their liking—but that was many generations ago, and what was once known has long been lost. Steamboats and gas-filled blimps now traverse the planet, where people once looked up to see great silver cities in the sky.Like his world, John deBrun has forgotten more than he remembers. Twenty-seven years ago, he washed up onto the shore of Nanagada with no memory of his past. Although he has made a new life for himself among the peaceful islanders, his soul remains haunted by unanswered questions about his own identity.These mysteries take on new urgency when the fearsome Azteca storm over the Wicked High Mountains in search of fresh blood and hearts to feed their cruel, inhuman gods. Nanagada's only hope lies in a mythical artifact, the Ma Wi Jung, said to be hidden somewhere in the frozen north. And only John deBrun knows the device's secrets, even if he can't remember why or how!Crystal Rain is the much-anticipated debut novel by one of science fiction's newest and most promising talents.