Bright of the Sky


Kay Kenyon - 2007
    In a land-locked galaxy that tunnels through our own, the Entire is a bizarre and seductive mix of long-lived quasi-human and alien beings gathered under a sky of fire, called the bright. A land of wonders, the Entire is sustained by monumental storm walls and an exotic, never-ending river. Over all, the elegant and cruel Tarig rule supreme. Into this rich milieu is thrust Titus Quinn, former star pilot, bereft of his beloved wife and daughter who are assumed dead by everyone on earth except Quinn. Believing them trapped in a parallel universe—one where he himself may have been imprisoned—he returns to the Entire without resources, language, or his memories of that former life. He is assisted by Anzi, a woman of the Chalin people, a Chinese culture copied from our own universe and transformed by the kingdom of the bright. Learning of his daughter’s dreadful slavery, Quinn swears to free her. To do so, he must cross the unimaginable distances of the Entire in disguise, for the Tarig are lying in wait for him. As Quinn’s memories return, he discovers why. Quinn’s goal is to penetrate the exotic culture of the Entire—to the heart of Tarig power, the fabulous city of the Ascendancy, to steal the key to his family’s redemption. But will his daughter and wife welcome rescue? Ten years of brutality have forced compromises on everyone. What Quinn will learn to his dismay is what his own choices were, long ago, in the Universe Entire. He will also discover why a fearful multiverse destiny is converging on him and what he must sacrifice to oppose the coming storm. This is high-concept SF written on the scale of Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld, Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles, and Dan Dimmons’s Hyperion.

Galactic - Ten Book Space Opera Sci-Fi Boxset


A.C. HadfieldMelissa Lason - 2016
    One thing is for sure, though, you’re in for a wild ride! The Atlantis Ship - by A.C. Hadfield Carson Mach, a former war hero turned freelancer, seeks the biggest payday of his life when he’s tasked to hunt down a ghost ship that has echoed through the centuries. The legendary Atlantis ship has become a reality, appearing at the Commonwealth frontier, and obliterating an orbital station. Failure to stop it is not an option! Prelude to Resistance - by Nick Webb Fighter Pilot Lieutenant Jacob Mercer learns the leader of the Resistance, Admiral Pritchard, has a secret that could change the course of the war. The question is, will he live long enough to find out what it is. The Terran Gambit - by Nick Webb Lieutenant Jacob Mercer likes fast motorcycles, faster women, and screaming space fighters. When Jake is put in the captain's chair of the most advanced warship in the galaxy, he has to face down a psychopathic Imperial Admiral bent on utterly destroying the Resistance and Earth itself. Hollow Space: Venture - by T.F. Grant & C.F. Barnes Forced to hyperjump during a brutal ambush, Sara Lorelle, navigator of the last human colony ship, discovers they’ve jumped to somewhere that shouldn’t exist. Trapped inside a pocket universe known only as Hollow Space, where technology inexplicably fails, Sara and her crew have to defy all odds to survive. Attack on Phoenix - by Megg Jensen Two hundred years ago, an interplanetary expedition crashed on a deserted planet. They caught the attention of the dragzhi, an aggressive alien species, and found themselves in the midst of a war they were doomed to lose. Unless Torsten Vikker, a soldier who’d rather read than fight, can find a way to stop them. Icarus - by Matt Verish Cole Musgrave’s dream of interstellar travel is about to become a nightmare. When a high-profile delivery is compromised aboard a state-of-the-art cargo vessel, the newly appointed captain finds himself embroiled in a deadly assignment far above his pay grade. But this unorthodox cargo pilot won’t go down without a fight—even after he is faced with a choice that will alter the course of his life forever. Containment - by Susan Kaye Quinn The Mining Master of Thebe is all alone… not counting the scavenger drones, foundry nanites, and magtread tractors. So when a spindly tower of rocks mysteriously appears at the pole, reporting it could mean reassignment to the Outer Belt… but probing the mystery further threatens to unlock something that might have been better left... contained. Light of the Earth - by Annie Bellet Ian and Jack Talley and the Prometheus Space Program set a record for the fastest manned flight to Jupiter. But the journey ended in disaster, crippling Jack and killing the rest of the team. Ten years later, an eccentric multi-billionaire offers them all his money, and a second chance, if they'll fly him to Pluto, which asks the question: are they making history? Or repeating it? The Hunted - by Melissa Lason On the dusty streets of Sentos thugs and thieves abound. One man who used to call those same streets home is sent into clean them up. Kyro is a bounty hunter of great reputation but when he returns to Sentos, his skills are truly tested.

The Inheritance


Robin Hobb - 2011
    "Robin Hobb" and "Megan Lindholm" are both pseudonyms used by California-born Margaret Ogden, who from 1983 to 1992, published exclusively as Lindholm. This generous, 400-page hardcover original brings together short stories and novellas penned under both authorial bylines. As Hobb herself notes, "their" writing and styles differ in significant ways. (P.S. This collection includes stories previously unpublished in the United States.)

Her Smoke Rose Up Forever


James Tiptree Jr. - 1990
    Revisions from the author's notes are included, allowing a deeper view into her world and a better understanding of her work. The Nebula Award–winning short story Love Is the Plan, the Plan Is Death, the Hugo Award–winning novella The Girl Who Was Plugged In, and the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning novella Houston, Houston, Do You Read? are included.The stories of Alice Sheldon, who wrote as James Tiptree Jr. ( Up the Walls of the World ) until her death in 1987, have been heretofore available mostly in out-of-print collections. Thus the 18 accomplished stories here will be welcomed by new readers and old fans. ''The Screwfly Solution'' describes a chilling, elegant answer to the population problem. In ''Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death,'' the title tells the tale--species survival insured by imprinted drives--but the story's force is in its exquisite, lyrical prose and its suggestion that personal uniqueness is possible even within biological imperatives. ''The Girl Who Was Plugged In'' is a future boy-meets-girl story with a twist unexpected by the players. ''The Women Men Don't See '' displays Tiptree's keen insight and ability to depict singularity within the ordinary. In Hugo and Nebula award-winning ''Houston, Houston, Do You Read?'' astronauts flying by the sun slip forward 500 years and encounter a culture that successfully questions gender roles in ours.ContentsIntroduction by Michael SwanwickThe Last Flight of Doctor Ain (1969)The Screwfly Solution (1977)And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side (1972)The Girl Who Was Plugged In (1973)The Man Who Walked Home (1972)And I Have Come Upon This Place by Lost Ways (1972)The Women Men Don’t See (1973)Your Faces, O My Sisters! Your Faces Filled of Light! (1976)Houston, Houston, Do You Read? (1976)With Delicate Mad Hands (1981)A Momentary Taste of Being (1975)We Who Stole the Dream (1978)Her Smoke Rose Up Forever (1974)Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death (1973)On the Last Afternoon (1972)She Waits for All Men Born (1976)Slow Music (1980)And So On, and So On (1971)

Seveneves: A Novel by Neal Stephenson | Summary & Analysis


Book*Sense - 2015
    Neal Stephenson’s science fiction thriller, depicts the end of the Earth through the destruction of the Moon by an unknown Agent and the attempts to preserve humanity through a multi-millennial gap between times when the surface of the planet will be inhabitable. The preservation efforts soon bog down in political entanglements, both from the doomed world and from within the populations who are meant to carry humanity through thousands of years in space to a planned return to Earth. When, at last, humanity makes to return to the surface of Earth, they find that other populations, not entirely friendly, await them, having endured their own privations across the millennia. Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson, is a substantial piece of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic science fiction. Well-written and compelling, it offers a convincing account of one of the many scenarios in which Earth might end – only to be reborn millennia later from seeds sown by the seven Eves of the novel’s title and others uncontrolled by them. It is an excellent piece of science fiction. This companion also includes the following: • Book Review • Story Setting Analysis • Story elements you may have missed as we decipher the novel • Details of Characters & Key Character Analysis • Summary of the text, with some analytical comments interspersed • Thought Provoking /or Discussion Questions for both Readers & Book Clubs • Discussion & Analysis of Themes, Symbols… • And Much More! This Analysis of Seveneves fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.

More Human than Human: Stories of Androids, Robots, and Manufactured Humanity


Neil Clarke - 2017
    The idea of creating an artificial human is an old one. One of the earliest science-fictional novels, Frankenstein, concerned itself primarily with the hubris of creation, and one’s relationship to one’s creator. Later versions of this “artificial human” story (and indeed later adaptations of Frankenstein) changed the focus to more modernist questions… What is the nature of humanity? What does it mean to be human? These stories continued through the golden age of science fiction with Isaac Asimov’s I Robot story cycle, and then through post-modern iterations from new wave writers like Philip K. Dick. Today, this compelling science fiction trope persists in mass media narratives like Westworld and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, as well as twenty-first century science fiction novels like Charles Stross’s Saturn's Children and Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl. The short stories in More Human than Human demonstrate the depth and breadth of artificial humanity in contemporary science fiction. Issues of passing . . . of what it is to be human . . . of autonomy and slavery and oppression, and yes, the hubris of creation; these ideas have fascinated us for at least two hundred years, and this selection of stories demonstrates why it is such an alluring and recurring conceit.

H.G. Wells Collection, Over 50 Works: The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, Time Machine, Island of Dr. Moreau, Little Wars, World Set Free, Tales of Space and Time, When the Sleeper Wakes & MORE!


H.G. Wells - 2013
    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

Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements


Adrienne Maree BrownTunde Olaniran - 2015
    Organizers and activists envision, and try to create, such worlds all the time. This book brings twenty of them together in the first anthology of short stories to explore the connections between radical speculative fiction and movements for social change. The visionary tales of Octavia's Brood span genres—sci-fi, fantasy, horror, magical realism—but all are united by an attempt to experiment with new ways of understanding ourselves, the world around us, and all the selves and worlds that could be. The collection is rounded off with essays by Tananarive Due and Mumia Abu-Jamal, and a foreword by Sheree Renée Thomas.

The Girl Who Was on Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy


Leah WilsonCara Lockwood - 2011
    From the trilogy's darker themes of violence and social control to fashion and weaponry, the collection's exploration of the Hunger Games reveals exactly how rich, and how perilous, protagonist Katniss' world really is.• How does the way the Games affect the brain explain Haymitch's drinking, Annie's distraction, and Wiress' speech problems?• What does the rebellion have in common with the War on Terror?• Why isn't the answer to "Peeta or Gale?" as interesting as the question itself?• What should Panem have learned from the fates of other hedonistic societies throughout history and what can we?The Girl Who Was On Fire covers all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy.

Spot and Smudge


Robert Udulutch - 2017
    The Spot and Smudge series explores the love of a unique family, the loyalty of their very special dogs, and the perils of underestimating them. These smart, imaginative stories weave together elements of horror, thriller, mystery, espionage, crime, medical drama, and genetic engineering. Note: This series contains some colorful language and mature themes. "Shove over brother, let me show you the proper bloody way to strangle someone." The Hogans weren’t looking to start a war. They just wanted to leave their troubles behind, move closer to grandma, and let their kids adopt some damn puppies. But their quaint new town is harboring some gruesome secrets… …and their strange new pups are not what they appear to be. There’s a dark connection between these mysterious orphaned canines and the town’s twisted criminals…and that connection is dragging the Hogans into a ruthless fight they aren’t prepared to win. But the grit of a devoted family, like the loyalty of a faithful pair of dogs, shouldn't be underestimated… …Especially when those cunning dogs are the most significant leap forward in the forty million years of canine evolution.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018


John Joseph AdamsJaymee Goh - 2018
    There is an openness to experiment and pushing boundaries, combined with the classic desire to read about space ships and dragons, future technology and ancient magic, and the places where they intersect. Contemporary science fiction and fantasy looks to accomplish the same goal as ever—to illuminate what it means to be human. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor N. K. Jemisin, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018 explores the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today, with Jemisin bringing her lyrical, endlessly curious point of view to the series’ latest edition.Rivers Run Free / Charles Payseur --Destroy the City With Me Tonight / Kate Alice Marshall --You Will Always Have Family: A Triptych / Kathleen Kayembe --Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel Probabilities / Lettie Prell --Loneliness is in Your Blood / Cadwell Turnbull --The Hermit of Houston / Samuel R. Delany --The Last Cheng Beng Gift / Jaymee Goh --Brightened Star, Ascending Dawn / A. Merc Rustad --The Resident / Carmen Maria Machado --The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant / Rachael K. Jones --Tasting Notes on the Varietals of the Southern Coast / Gwendolyn Clare --Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue / Charlie Jane Anders --Church of Birds / Micah Dean Hicks --ZeroS / Peter Watts --Carnival Nine / Caroline M. Yoachim --The Wretched and the Beautiful / E. Lily Yu --The Orange Tree / Maria Dahvana Headley --Cannibal Acts / Maureen McHugh --Black Powder / Maria Dahvana Headley --Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance / Tobias S. Buckell

Rip-Off!


Gardner DozoisLavie Tidhar - 2012
    Steele - "Begone" by Daryl Gregory - "The Red Menace" by Lavie Tidhar - "Muse of Fire" by John Scalzi - "Writer’s Block" by Nancy Kress - "Highland Reel" by Jack Campbell - "Karin Coxswain" or "Death as She Is Truly Lived" by Paul Di Filippo - "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" by Mary Robinette Kowal - "Every Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the Air" by Tad Williams - "Declaration" by James Patrick KellyAs a bonus, the authors introduce their stories, explaining what they ripped-off - and why.Rip-Off! was produced in partnership with SFWA - Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. Gardner Dozois served as project editor.

Through Darkness and Stars


Steve Karmazenuk - 2011
    BOOK TWO OF THE OMNIVERSEAn ancient Ship completing a millions-year old mission has taken Human passengers and crew on an historic voyage to the heart of an ancient cosmic dynasty.But despite their extensive training, no one aboard the Shipflight is prepared for what they find as they search for the Great Races of the lost League of Worlds.When catastrophe forces Shipflight onward, unable to return to Earth, they set out to discover what happened to those who passed through the cosmos before them.What awaits them beyond the world that Mankind has always called home is a growing madness aboard the Ship and a lost enemy, stalking them as they travel through darkness and stars...

Gateway to the Galaxy Starter Pack 1 - 3


Jonathan Yanez - 2018
    A brutal war was won through the blood and sacrifice of patriots. Soon the vambraces faded to legend. A secret task force. A wormhole portal discovered... Now, Frank and Marine Space Corps-1 find themselves across the galaxy where an ancient evil is growing. From exploratory crew to the front lines, Frank will have to decide whether to play the part of a hero or to be the Marine needed to win the war. Because the victor takes the universe. The vambraces will be found. A new order of Knights will be chosen. And once again Light will do battle with Darkness. Start reading today and find out why readers are calling the Gateway to the Galaxy series “extremely fun” and their "new obsession" with characters that “actually come to life on the pages.”

SNAFU: Future Warfare


Geoff BrownSteve Lewis - 2016
    See far-flung worlds, they said. Meet interesting creatures, and kill them all. Soldiers fighting aliens in unforgiving landscapes, where every breath could be their last. Featuring stories by Weston Ochse, Mike Resnick, and others. From near-future to far-future, featuring some of the best writers working in the field today.