That's saying a lot. His stories are often unusual, challenging, uncategorizable, and brilliant. This collection assembles 18 of them, including his very first story. Included are:ALOYSADAM HAD THREE BROTHERSSEVEN-DAY TERRORDAY OF THE GLACIERSODOM AND GOMORRAH, TEXASTHROUGH OTHER EYES THE WEIRDEST WORLDTHE SIX FINGERS OF TIME, by R. A. LaffertyTRY TO REMEMBERMcGONIGAL'S WORMTHE POLITE PEOPLE OF PUDIBUNDIAIN THE GARDENALL THE PEOPLEDREAMTHE WAGONSOTHER SIDE OF THE MOONTHE UGLY SEASATURDAY YOU DIEIf you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 290+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more!

    From Argus the Committee keep an oppressive control: citizens are watched by cams systems and political officers, it's a world inhabited by shepherds, reader guns, razor birds and the brutal Inspectorate with its white tiled cells and pain inducers. Soon the Committee will have the power to edit human minds, but not yet, twelve billion human being need to die before Earth can be stabilized, but by turning large portions of Earth into concentration camps this is achievable, especially when the Argus satellite laser network comes fully online . . . This is the world Alan Saul wakes to in his crate on the conveyor to the Calais incinerator. How he got there he does not know, but he does remember the pain and the face of his interrogator. Informed by Janus, through the hardware implanted in his skull, about the world as it is now Saul is determined to destroy it, just as soon as he has found out who he was, and killed his interrogator . . .Zero Point: Earth’s Zero Asset citizens no longer face extermination from orbit. Thanks to Alan Saul, the Committee’s network of control is a smoking ruin and its robotic enforcers lie dormant. But power abhors a vacuum and, scrambling from the wreckage, comes the ruthless Serene Galahad. She must act while the last vestiges of Committee infrastructure remain intact – and she has the means to ensure command is hers. On Mars, Var Delex fights for the survival of Antares Base, while the Argus Space Station hurls towards the red planet. And she knows whomever, or whatever, trashed Earth is still aboard. Var must save the base, while also dealing with the first signs of rebellion. And aboard Argus Station, Alan Saul’s mind has expanded into the local computer network. In the process, he uncovers the ghastly experiments of the Humanoid Unit Development, the possibility of eternal life, and a madman who may hold the keys to interstellar flight. But Earth’s agents are closer than Saul thinks, and the killing will soon begin.Jupiter War: Alan Saul is now part-human and part-machine, and our solar system isn't big enough to hold him. He craves the stars, but can't leave yet. His sister Var is trapped on Mars, on the wrong side of a rebellion, and Saul's human side won't let her die. He must leave Argus Station to stage a dangerous rescue -- but mutiny is brewing onboard, as Saul's robots make his crew feel increasingly redundant. Serene Galahad will do anything to prevent Saul's escape. Earth’s ruthless dictator hides her crimes from a cowed populace as she readies new warships for pursuit. She aims to crush her enemy in a terrifying display of interstellar violence. Meanwhile, The Scourge limps back to earth, its crew slaughtered, its mission to annihilate Saul a disaster. There are survivors, but while one seeks Galahad's death, Clay Ruger will negotiate for his life. Events build to a climax as Ruger holds humanity’s greatest prize -- seeds to rebuild a dying Earth. This stolen gene-bank data will come at a price, but what will Galahad pay for humanity’s future?

    In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he argued that computers would soon rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. Now he examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our creations.

    Shanghaied after he thought his luck had changed for the better, Sterling Stevenson was finding his luck changing in totally unexpected ways. Now called Silver Garand, the navigator of the small trade vessel Jolly Jane, his luck was leading him from one inadvertent adventure to another.

    V. Larson! This 60,000 word book is an Anthology of short stories. Most are Science Fiction mixed with Horror. Others might be called Dark Fantasy... Many have been published previously in various magazines.The Barrier – What does it take to go faster than light?Symptoms of Godhood – How far can you modify a body and still call the results human?Discharged – A long war and an even longer stay in an automated hospital.Teeth at Bedtime – Technology follows us everywhere.The Insect Requirement – Great sacrifices are required for Earth’s early colonists.Blind Eyes – If we can design our own children, how far will we go?TA96 – Do our genes belong to us?Zundra’s Movies – A future where video is created with the mind, and insanity is fun to watch.Pinball – A young man builds his own watchdog.Love Aboard the Kamadeva – A love triangle between two desperate souls and a digital mirage.Starplay – A window into the universe becomes a door.The One-Way Gang – Leaving Earth is easy, but you can never come back.Rusted Metal – What has spent the last century in the basement?Lunar Lotto – Death comes instantly to outlaws in vacuum.The Rollers – Crime has been mostly eliminated by removing all forms of cash... Mostly.

    The result is an alien invasion novel packed with insights into real-world strategy, tactics and hardware, making for a terrifyingly real account. The tagline for this controversial book was "The truth can only be told as fiction", and this led to much speculation in the UFO and conspiracy theory community, especially when it emerged that the manuscript of Operation Thunder Child had needed to go through the government’s security clearance procedure.

    But the reviews and growing readership proved that it was more. It transcended its original target audience to appeal to many who had no previous interest in survivalism or preparedness as a lifestyle and made the jump to general adventure fiction.The reasons for this were several. It was well written, expansive in scope yet easy to follow. It told an interesting, compelling, story - intricate in its construction but smooth in its presentation. It introduced well-developed characters who jumped from the pages and spoke to the reader as easily and completely as do those around us, with thoughtful depth and easy humor. It spoke to our hearts, our souls, and the parts of us that search for a better way. But, more importantly, it asked, and answered, the seminal questions of our lives: Who are we? What do we believe in? What do we stand for? What will we stand against? And what is it, at our core, that enables ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things?Where The Reversion left off, The Revival picks up. From survival of an existential collapse, we enter the initial stages of the rebuilding of a society - a rebuilding seen through the eyes of those from Stonemont, and, eventually, beyond.As it should, The Revival takes us beyond The Reversion into a world we do not know, and cannot know, unless and until it happens. In doing so, it addresses unknown and unknowable situations with known and knowable human traits, tactics and strategies in pursuit of the stabilization of a world turned upside down. It is James Wesley, Rawles meets S.M. Stirling. It is a study of love, fortitude, morality, patriotism and the things that made America great, a critique of what caused the world to crumble, and a blueprint for the revival of those things we feel to be foundational for a people to return to a world of liberty, justice and freedom.As did The Reversion, The Revival breathes hope and fresh air into a genre which often, and rightly, concentrates on the devastation of society, and shows us a future world which is, in many ways, more positive than the one in which we currently live. Many readers, in fact, have stated that they prefer the world they have found in the Stonemont series to the one we live in. It can easily be understand why. The Revival continues the journey The Reversion started. It is a journey of life, love, learning and the human spirit. It is a journey you will be glad you are on.

    What do you do if you wake up hundreds of light-years from home in a strange ship and someone is trying to eat you?Jaeger can’t remember who she is or anything about her life, but she knows that's just wrong.The ship's AI tells her there are thousands of other lifeforms on board, but the instruments say she's alone—except for the killer.Something deep inside her screams that humanity’s fate hinges on her completing her mission…whatever it is.Jaeger must repair the ship and figure out her past while fighting for her life.Will she survive? If she can’t recall her mission, will humanity?

    When war erupts, the heart of their battle fleet is Goliath, the largest battleship ever built, the result of years of work in hidden shipyards lost in the depths of space. Earth has no answer to her, no ship in her fleet a match for the overwhelming power of the warship. Defeat seems inevitable. Until a renegade Admiral concocts a final, desperate plan. Only one ship, an experimental warship, the Avenger, might possibly stand a chance against the might of Goliath. One ship, with a picked crew, a crew with nothing to lose and everything to gain, gathered from the dregs of Earth’s space forces, all facing charges ranging from murder to mutiny, but all of them the best in their respective fields. The last hope for the Terran Republic. The last, desperate hope for victory.

    

    

    7th Fleet discovers that one of those races is moving to attack. In a moment of panic, the commanding admiral orders the fleet to attempt a risky jump through hyperspace. They miss hitting their target star’s gravity well and end up deep in unexplored space with a shockingly long trip home and not nearly enough food to last that long. With war now raging in their home systems, the officers of 7th Fleet must find a way to put aside their egos, ambitions and fears in order to make it back, and they know that not all of them will. Scimitar’s Glory is the first book in a new, fast-paced, action-packed military SF series: Swordships Odyssey. The second book, Excalibur's Quest, is already available for pre-order. Excerpt: With a long, risky jump like this, Dejanus would have expected Corregidor’s astrogational AI to take at least ten minutes to aim the ship as precisely as possible to the distant star’s center. She was therefore surprised and somewhat alarmed when the flagship signaled to the rest of the fleet that they could start to match her trajectory after only half that time. “Goddammit, what’s the rush?” she said to Koenig who was the only other human on the Bridge. “There’s no possible way the Jab fleet can catch us before we jump, even if we take another hour to do it. Why not take a few extra minutes to get the most accurate trajectory possible?” When it became clear that Koenig had nothing to say, she continued. “Astro, I want you to check the flagship’s alignment with Alpha9 while we match vectors. Let me know if you think the flagship’s vector could be better.” That extra task delayed Excalibur’s alignment, and therefore she became the last ship in the fleet to signal her readiness for the jump. “Fleet Commander on Tac2, Commander,” said the com AI. Dejanus switched channels to her Command Pod. “Excalibur Actual speaking,” said Dejanus in the formal form of address that ship COs normally didn’t bother with. “What’s taking your Astro so long to get aligned, Commander?” Rostov didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “Just double-checking the overall jump trajectory, Admiral.” Dejanus thought she heard Rostov swear under his breath, but it could have been her imagination. “You tell your Astro that if Excalibur isn’t aligned in the next two minutes, I’ll order him replaced and transferred to a cargo hauler. FC out!” The astro AI managed to get the ship aligned within the deadline to no one’s surprise. With all ships in the fleet now aligned perfectly with the flagship and jump velocity attained, the order was given to enter hyperspace. It was 131.3 hours later when both Koenig and Dejanus were on the Bridge again watching the jump chronometer countdown to the second when the ship should drop back down into normal space. Koenig watched the countdown clock hit zero and then start counting up again. After ten more seconds, Dejanus began shaking her head. She had a horrified expression on her face. “We’ve missed. That bastard has killed us all.” Genre categories: space fleet, military SF, space opera, galactic empire, alien invasion, first contact, space exploration.

    Barely escaping capture, Galen sets out to rescue the only other survivor of the vicious attack, his sister Trem. Along the way, he discovers a mysterious people thought wiped out long ago, his family's surprising origins, and a destiny he never imagined...

     Specialist astronaut Evelyn Slater encounters a small, badly damaged, ancient, alien artefact (British spelling) on the first ever space-junk elimination mission. Where was it from? Who sent it? International governments impose a security clampdown. Evelyn leads a team of hand-picked scientists who make amazing discoveries within the alien device. Secrecy becomes impossible to maintain. When the news is finally released, she becomes embroiled in international politics, worldwide xenophobic hatred and violence. This is book one of Tony Harmsworth’s First Contact series of novels. If you like realistic near-future stories which compel you to imagine yourself as the protagonist, The Visitor is the book for you. The Visitor – science fiction written for the 'thinking' reader, and with a wicked twist. Buy it now and be transported into orbit. Recent review "This is unquestionably the finest first contact novel I have ever read. "All of the activity that takes place in outer space is realistic, well-informed yet easygoing. It is a completely plausible milieu and this adds considerably to the gravitas and integrity of the plot and its theme. "The whole first contact scenario is depicted in a fresh, innovative way. By this I mean the technological side of the process of discovery and analysis of the object; and also the nature, integrity and motivations of several pivotal characters. The behavior of other characters, of course, is sadly predictable, because this cannot be changed in any story one expects people to actually believe. "The way that conflict plays out is enormously satisfying to me. "I recommend this book very highly."

    Here's your chance to get the complete D.C. Series starring Leira Berens and her swearing troll. Justice Served Cold: Leira Berens has split with the Feds and has gone out on her own to save her corner of the world. Magic is on the loose and the werewolves, Elves and Witches are causing trouble. Leira’s working on a new world with her Light Elf by her side and a certain swearing troll. There are whispers among the dark Wizarding families that she’s a new kind of bounty hunter. Time to show them how it’s done. They’ll never see her coming. Vengeance Served Hot: Once a cop, always a cop? Not if they become a bounty hunter... Leira Berens, former homicide detective must clean the streets, but this time it is against magic infused folks, shifters and dark wizards. There are no laws on the books to handle this situation. So, she is going to help make some. With a fireball in one hand and a pair of cuffs in the other, those she hunts can take their pick. A Light Elf and a swearing troll by her side… the world’s got a fighting chance at surviving the return of magic. Bounty Hunter Inc.: Hey dark wizards, there’s a new law in town. Her name is Leira Berens, part Jaspar elf, part human and she’s done playing nice.Leira Berens is the world’s first bounty hunter of magical criminals and she likes her job. Elves, gnomes, dark wizards and even a few humans want her to take early retirement…six feet under. Good thing she can throw a mean fireball, run toward trouble and is done playing by everyone else’s rules. Magic has returned and a bounty hunter is just what the planet needed. Beware The Hunter: The hunt is on – but who’s the prey? Leira Berens is the government’s newest bounty hunter of magical thugs – the first in the country. That’s not sitting well with a lot of dark magic. Leira, Correk and that troll YTT can see them coming. Too bad they don’t know that’s just the beginning of the story. Dark elementals have shown up in our world and no one knows what to do with them, but everyone wants control. Everything Leira has learned will be tested in order to keep the balance between Earth and Oriceran. --- NOTE: This book contains cursing. Perhaps humorous cursing, but cursing nevertheless. If this offends you, we don't suggest reading this book.