First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.

    Le Guin is renowned for her spare, elegant prose, rich characterization, and diverse worlds. "Semley's Necklace" is a short story originally published in the collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters.

    They soon reveal a deadly network of ties among organized crime, multinational corporations, and planetary governments of the Seven Worlds--all working together on the "ethnic cleansing" of elves from the alternate world of Alfheim. Original.

    With no family or connections to find a ship, he is forced to service on an interstellar freighter known to be hunted by pirates. When he takes drastic action to save the "Blue Jay" from their pursuers, he sets in motion a sequence of events beyond his control - and attracts enemies on both sides of the law! Starship's Mage was originally released as five separate episodes.

    CUNNING PLANS collects several of NYT-bestselling author Warren Ellis' lectures on the nature of the haunted future and the secrets of deep history, given in recent years at events in London, New York, Los Angeles and Berlin.

    Kel Command gives her the opportunity to redeem herself by retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles, a star fortress that has recently been captured by heretics. Cheris’s career isn’t the only thing at stake. If the fortress falls, the hexarchate itself might be next.Cheris’s best hope is to ally with the undead tactician Shuos Jedao. The good news is that Jedao has never lost a battle, and he may be the only one who can figure out how to successfully besiege the fortress.The bad news is that Jedao went mad in his first life and massacred two armies, one of them his own. As the siege wears on, Cheris must decide how far she can trust Jedao–because she might be his next victim.

    The inner dimensions are at odds with the outer; there are different chambers to be breached, some containing deserted cities; and the furthest chamber contains the greatest mystery ever to confront the Stone's scientists.EternityHere, from the other side of time, come: THISTLEDOWN, the asteroid starship of a future that is not quite our future; GAIA, a parallel reality where Alexander the Great's empire has ruled for two thousand years; and THE WAY, an infinite corridor through space-time which traverses and encompasses whole universes. And as the strands of these mysteries are unravelled, so the ordering and the end of mankind -- and our entire Universe -- come into question.

    "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.""I live for you," I say sadly.Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

    To be published on the first anniversary of Kurt Vonnegut's death, Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of twelve new and unpublished writings on war and peace, imbued with Vonnegut's trademark rueful humor.

    She's about to toss her hat into the ring as a candidate for President in the most volatile political climate ever. But then...a lonely road and a nightmarish encounter have left her with terrible, half-glimpsed memories. And now she has to become President. To expose the truth--and maybe, to save the world.Arcadia's quest is at the heart of this new title from writer Paul Cornell (DEMON KNIGHTS, ACTION COMICS, Doctor Who) and artist Ryan Kelly (NEW YORK FIVE, NORTHLANDERS, Local). With the help of her quirky staff, Arcadia will pursue the truth of her abduction into danger, mystery and awe.Saucer Country is a dark thriller that blends UFO lore and alien abduction with political intrigue, all set in the hauntingly beautiful Southwest.

    Who guides our fate? And can we ever hope to wrest control for ourselves? In this novella, "The Loom of Thessaly" , classical mythology merges with impudent modern spirit into a science fiction legend that speculates upon the nature of reality.

    Wells's fantastic novels. Consummate science fiction, they are convincing and unforgettably real. Included in this omnibus edition are his four greatest works of fiction:In The Time Machine, a time traveler steps out of his vehicle to find himself in the year 802,701 A.D. He encounters creatures that live in perfect harmony. Or so he thinks, until he witnesses a morbid ritual and discovers that his only means of escape - his time machine - has been stolen.A lonely island in the Pacific... the scientist who rules it... the strange beings that live there under his control. This is the backdrop for the haunting The Island of Dr. Moreau. In this novel, Wells's dark vision serves as a reminder of the horrors that reckless experimentation with nature can produce.The Invisible Man is a dazzling display of imagination and psychological insight. It is the classic tale of a young scientist who, by experimenting on himself, becomes both invisible and criminally insane. Considered by many to be Wells's masterwork, the novel powerfully depicts the horror of a man trapped within a terror of his own creation.War of the Worlds is a compelling and horrifying novel that describes the invasion of Earth by Martians. Using fiery rays and crushing strength, these heartless aliens have the capacity to conquer the world. Will they succeed? Is this the end of mankind?

    Grunts in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the mission brief—no matter what actually happens during combat.Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don’t sync up with the platoon’s. And Dietz’s bad drops tell a story of the war that’s not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on.Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero—or maybe a villain; in war it’s hard to tell the difference.

    Though few in number, they are an ancient race, and their mode of war blends spirituality with a unique mastery of technology. In times of need, the entire eldar race will rouse to war led by terrifying, almost mythological figures – the phoenix lords. Each different in his or her own way, these immortal beings embody the warrior nature of the eldar. Jain Zar – the Storm of Silence – was the first phoenix lord to be recruited by Asurmen, and would prove a swift and deadly fighter, able to harness the rage of her scream to slaughter any who dare oppose her.

    Aral and Cordelia survive countless mishaps while their mutual admiration and even stronger feelings emerge.