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science-fiction
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The Stars, Like Dust


Isaac Asimov - 1951
    A radiation bomb planted in his dorm room changed him from an innocent student at the University of Earth to a marked man, fleeing desperately from an unknown assassin.He soon discovers that, many light-years away, his father, the highly respected Rancher of Widemos, has been murdered. Stunned, grief-stricken, and outraged, Biron is determined to uncover the reasons behind his father’s death, and becomes entangled in an intricate saga of rebellion, political intrigue, and espionage.The mystery takes him deep into space where he finds himself in a relentless struggle with the power-mad despots of Tyrann. Now it is not just a case of life or death for Biron, but a question of freedom for the galaxy.

Heart of the Comet


David Brin - 1986
    An odyssey of discovery, from a shattered society through the solar system with a handful of men and women who ride a cold, hurtling ball of ice to the shaky promise of a distant, unknowable future.

V


A.C. Crispin - 1984
    They came from a dying planet. All they wanted, in exchange for their vast knowledge of science and technology, was a small share of the earth's natural resources. Theirs was a mission of peace ... and mankind believed them. Until they began to multiply into an army of alien invaders. Until men, women, and children—entire cities—began to vanish from the earth. Until the horrifying reality behind their mission of peace—a reign of terror reminiscent of Nazi Germany on a global scale—created the human imperative...RESIST OR PERISH

Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina


Kevin J. AndersonDave Wolverton - 1995
    Anderson * Doug Beason * M. Shayne Bell * David Bischoff * A.C.Crispin * Kenneth C. Flint * Barbara Hambly * Rebecca Moesta * Daniel KeysMoran * Jerry Oltion * Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens * Jennifer Roberson* Kathy Tyers * Tom Veitch & Martha Veitch * Dave Wolverton * TimothyZahn

Helliconia Spring


Brian W. Aldiss - 1982
    Helliconia is emerging from its centuries-long winter. The tribes of the equatorial continent emerge from their hiding places and are again able to dispute possession of the planet with the ferocious phagors. In Oldorando, love, trade and coinage are being redisovered,This is the first volume of the Helliconia Trilogy -- a monumental saga that goes beyond anything yet created by this master among today's imaginative writers.

The Fifth Element


Terry Bisson - 1997
    In one dimension lies the universe and all of its multitude of varied life forms. In another exists an element made not of earth, air, fire or water, but of an anti-energy, anti-life. This "thing", this darkness, waits patiently at the threshold of the universe for an opportunity to extinguish all life and all light. Every five thousand years, the universe needs a hero, and in New York City of the 23rd Century, a good hero is hard to find. The Fifth Element, a timeless story about love and survival, heroes and villains, good and evil, set in a strangely familiar yet intoxicatingly different 23rd Century. The film stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich. The Fifth Element is written directed by Luc Besson, the visually innovative director of La Femme Nikita and The Professional.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark


Campbell Black - 1981
    But now the very future of the world depends on his finding one special relic.With a bullwhip in his hand and a beautiful lady at his side, Jones journeys from Nepal and Cairo to the Mediterranean, dodging poisons, traps and snakes, battling rivals old and new, all in pursuit of an ancient artifact said to give invincible power to its possessor.It's a battle to a startling finish, a finish dictated by the magic, the light—and the power—of the Lost Ark.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story


Alexander Freed - 2016
    The Rebellion has learned of a sinister Imperial plot to bring entire worlds to their knees. Deep in Empire-dominated space, a machine of unimaginable destructive power is nearing completion. A weapon too terrifying to contemplate . . . and a threat that may be too great to overcome.If the worlds at the Empire's mercy stand any chance, it lies with an unlikely band of allies: Jyn Erso, a resourceful young woman seeking vengeance; Cassian Andor, a war-weary rebel commander; Bodhi Rook, a defector from the Empire's military; Chirrut Imwe, a blind holy man and his crack-shot companion, Baze Malbus; and K-2SO, a deadly Imperial droid turned against its former masters. In their hands rests the new hope that could turn the tide toward a crucial Rebellion victory--if only they can capture the plans to the Empire's new weapon.But even as they race toward their dangerous goal, the specter of their ultimate enemy--a monstrous world unto itself--darkens the skies. Waiting to herald the Empire's brutal reign with a burst of annihilation worthy of its dreaded name: Death Star.Praise for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"One of the best movie adaptations yet."--Cinelinx"Rogue One bridged characters and elements of the prequels and original Star Wars trilogy in a visually stunning ride, but there are even more rich details hiding in the film's novelization, [which] reveals and expands with inner monologues and character insights, political knots, and nuance." --The Daily Dot "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization deepens a tale of hope. . . . [Jyn Erso] proves to be even more fascinating here than she was in the movie."--New York Daily News

Spock's World


Diane Duane - 1988
    On the planet Vulcan, a crisis of unprecedented proportion has caused the convocation of the planet's ruling council—and summoned the U.S.S. Enterprise™ from halfway across the galaxy to bring Vulcan's most famous son home in its hour of need. As Commander Spock, his father, Sarek, and Captain James T. Kirk struggle to preserve Vulcan's future, the planet's innermost secrets are laid before us, from its beginnings millions of years ago to its savage prehistory, from merciless tribal warfare to medieval court intrigue, from the exploration of space to the development of o'thia—the ruling ethic of logic. And Spock—torn between his duty to Starfleet and the unbreakable ties that bind him to Vulcan—must reconcile both his own inner conflict and the external dilemma his planet faces... lest the Federation itself be ripped asunder.

Deathworld 1


Harry Harrison - 1960
    They had to be. For their business was murder...It was up to Jason dinAlt, interplanetary gambler, to discover why Pyrrus had become so hostile during man's brief habitation...

Solo: A Star Wars Story


Mur Lafferty - 2018
    Young Han dreams of someday soaring into space at the helm of his own starship and leaving his home, the gritty industrial planet Corellia, far behind. But as long as he’s trapped in a life of poverty and crime—and under the thumb of the sinister Lady Proxima and her brutal street gang—reaching the distant stars seems impossible. When Han tries to escape with his girlfriend and partner-in-crime, Qi’ra, he makes it out—but she doesn’t. Desperate for a way to find his own offworld vessel and free her, Han enlists in the Imperial Navy—the last place for a rebellious loner who doesn’t play well with others. When the Empire clips his wings, Han goes rogue and plunges into the shady world of smugglers, gamblers, and con artists. There he meets the charming and cunning high roller Lando Calrissian, makes an unlikely friend in a cantankerous Wookiee called Chewbacca, and first lays eyes on the Millennium Falcon. To snag his piece of the outlaw pie, Han joins a crew of pirates to pull off a risky heist. The stakes are high, the danger is great, and the odds are slim. But never tell Han Solo the odds.

The Skinner


Neal Asher - 2002
    This remote world is mostly ocean, and it is a rare visitor who ventures beyond the safety of the island Dome. Outside it, only the native Hoopers dare risk the voracious appetites of the planet's wildlife. But somewhere out there is Spatterjay Hoop -- and Keech will not rest until he brings this legendary renegade to justice for hideous crimes committed centuries ago during the Prador Wars.While Keech is discovering that Hoop is now a monster -- his body and head living apart from each other -- Janer is bewildered by a place where the native inhabitants just will not die and angry when he finally learns the Hive mind's intentions for him. Meanwhile, Erlin thinks she has plenty of time to find the answers she seeks, but could not be more wrong. For one of the most brutal of the alien Prador is about to pay the planet a surreptitious visit, intent on exterminating all remaining witnesses to his wartime atrocities. As the visitors' paths converge, major hell is about to erupt in a chaotic waterscape where minor hell is already a remorseless fact of everyday life . . . and death.

The Beginning Place


Ursula K. Le Guin - 1980
    Irena Pannis was thirteen when she first found the beginning place. Now, seven years later, she has grown to know and love the gentle inhabitants of Tembreabrezi, or Mountaintown, and she sees Hugh as a trespasser. But then a monstrous shadow threatens to destroy Mountaintown, and Hugh and Irena join forces to seek it out. Along the way, they begin to fall in love. Are they on their way to a new beginning...or a fateful end?

Pirates of Venus


Edgar Rice Burroughs - 1935
    In Amtor, cities of immortal beings flourish in giant trees reaching thousands of feet into the sky; ferocious beasts stalk the wilderness below; rare flashes of sunlight precipitate devastating storms; and the inhabitants believe their world is saucer-shaped with a fiery center and an icy rim. Stranded on Amtor after his spaceship crashes, astronaut Carson Napier is swept into a world where revolution is ripe, the love of a princess carries a dear price, and death can come as easily from the blade of a sword as from the ray of a futuristic gun.Illustrations by Thomas Floyd, the original frontispiece by J. Allen St. John, an afterword by Phillip Burger, a glossary of Amtor terms by Scott Tracy Griffin, a map of Amtor drawn by Edgar Rice Burroughs that appeared in the first edition, and an introduction by acclaimed science fiction and horror novelist F. Paul Wilson.

The Spell Sword


Marion Zimmer Bradley - 1974
    Most of the planet's wild terrain was unexplored...and many of its peoples seclusive and secretive.But for Andrew Carr there was an attraction he could not evade. Darkover drew him, Darkover haunted him--and when his mapping plane crashed in unknown heights, Darkover prepared to destroy him.Until the planet's magic asserted itself--and his destiny began to unfold along lines predicted only by phantoms and wonder workers of the kind Terran science could never acknowledge.THE SPELL SWORD is a Darkover novel to stand with the great ones of the series.