Many have tried. All have failed.This climbing season finds three teams making their bid up this murderous peak. And one man among them will discover these ugly truths: There are fates worse than death. There are fates worse than obscurity. To be remembered forever can be its own curse.

    Their objective is classified, marked only by coordinates leading them into a deserted city at the heart of the fighting. From the beginning, everything possible goes wrong. A missile strike rocks the carrier mid-launch, and only a fraction of the unit reaches the surface alive.Outmanned, outgunned, and scattered, with a hard deadline to orbital bombardment looming, it is up to Drop Commander Tyco Hale to rally his troops and reach their objective. But what they find, hidden deep in the tunneled passages under the city, will change everything about what he fights for and what he believes in. With the unit in tatters and loyalties divided, the choice he makes in the dark will seal all of their fates - and much more besides.

    Bujold’s "work remains among the most enjoyable and rewarding in contemporary SF” – Publishers WeeklyContains "Barter", which was first published in The Twilight Zone Magazine, March/April 1985. "Garage Sale", which was first published in American Fantasy, Spring 1987. "The Hole Truth", first published in The Twilight Zone Magazine, December 1986. "Dreamweaver's Dilemma", first published in Dreamweaver's Dilemma, 1995. "Aftermaths" (epilogue to Shards of Honor), which first appeared in Far Frontiers, Vol. V, Spring 1986.

    Original tales by such science fiction luminaries as Orson Scott Card, Harry Turtledove, and Connie Willis, written in honor of Isaac Asimov's fiftieth anniversary in the genre, are set in one of his fictional universes.

    Mist Encounter is a short story written by Timothy Zahn and illustrated by Doug Shuler, originally published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 7 by West End Games in August 1995.

    Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 20. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Cyberiad (Polish: ) is a series of short stories by Stanisaw Lem. The Polish version was first published in 1967, with an English translation appearing in 1974. The main protagonists of the series are Trurl and Klapaucius, the "constructors." The vast majority of characters are either robots, or intelligent machines. The stories focus on problems of the individual and society, as well as on the vain search for human happiness through technological means. Two of these stories were included in the book The Mind's I. Trurl and Klapaucius are brilliant (robotic) engineers, called "constructors" (because they can construct practically anything at will), capable of almost God-like exploits. For instance, on one occasion Trurl creates an entity capable of extracting accurate information from the random motion of gas particles, which he calls a "Demon of the Second Kind." He describes the "Demon of the First Kind" as a Maxwell's demon. On another, the two constructors re-arrange stars near their home planet in order to advertise. The duo are best friends and rivals. When they are not busy constructing revolutionary mechanisms at home, they travel the universe, aiding those in need. Although the characters are firmly established as good and righteous, they take no shame in accepting handsome rewards for their services. If rewards were promised and not delivered, the constructors may even severely punish those who deceived them. The universe of The Cyberiad is pseudo-Medieval. There are kingdoms, knights, princesses, and even dragons in abundance. Robots are usually anthropomorphic, to the point of being divided into sexes. Love and marriage are possibl...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=59380

    Amazing and creative pieces of imagination and wonder from an articulate and very human science fiction writer. On the Moon, they're altering bodies so everyone can look exactly alike; they're turning Pluto into an amusement park; a cult of zealots is painting the second ring of Saturn red; a man is enjoying his second childhood; there's a living black hole; and on Earth, they're reading...Contents: Bagatelle [Anna-Louise Bach] (1976) / novelette by John Varley · Galaxy Oct ’76 The Funhouse Effect [Eight Worlds] (1976) / novelette by John Varley · F&SF Dec ’76 The Barbie Murders [Anna-Louise Bach] (1978) / novelette by John Varley · IASFM Jan/Feb ’78 Equinoctial [Eight Worlds] (1977) / novella by John Varley · Ascents of Wonder, ed. David Gerrold, Popular Library, 1977 Manikins (1976) / short story by John Varley · Amazing Jan ’76 Beatnik Bayou [Eight Worlds] (1980) / novelette by John Varley · New Voices III, ed. George R. R. Martin, Berkley, 1980 Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe [Eight Worlds] (1977) / novelette by John Varley · IASFM Spr ’77 Lollipop and the Tar Baby [Eight Worlds] (1977) / novelette by John Varley · Orbit 19, ed. Damon Knight, Harper & Row, 1977 Picnic on Nearside [Eight Worlds] (1974) / novelette by John Varley · F&SF Aug ’74.

    The twenty-five stories here amply demonstrate his range, excellence, and mastery of the form. A few tantalizing samples: "Viewpoint" takes on the unreality of so-called "reality" TV and imagines such a show done truly for real, with real guns. "Empires of Foliage and Flower" is in the classic Book of the New Sun series. "Golden City Far." is about dreams, high school, and finding love, which Wolfe says "is about as good a recipe for a story as I've ever found." You're sure to agree.

    Chosen for a coveted slot in the glorious Nighthawks, Special Forces, she will certainly be able to prove herself as more than a half-alien outcast. But when her team deploys to the moon of Dyn, tragedy strikes and Helga is put to the ultimate test--survival. Facing insurmountable odds and escaping torture, Helga and her mentor, Cilas Mec, are forced to face a fate worse than death. Battling brain-eating aliens and human pirates, the odds are stacked against them in every way. The rescue should be coming. Unless the Alliance is involved in this botched mission... Can Helga survive the odds to get out alive, or will she be the last of the Nighthawks?

    For Ky, it's no contest: Even running the prestigious Vatta Transport Ltd. shipping concern can't hold a candle to shipping out as an officer aboard an interstellar cruiser. It's adventure, not commerce, that stirs her soul. And despite her family's misgivings, there can be no doubt that a Vatta in the service will prove a valuable asset. But with a single error in judgment, it all comes crumbling down. Expelled from the Academy in disgrace--and returning home to her humiliated family, a storm of high-profile media coverage, and the gaping void of her own future--Ky is ready to face the inevitable onslaught of anger, disappointment, even pity. But soon after opportunity's door slams shut, Ky finds herself with a ticket to ride--and a shot at redemption--as captain of a Vatta Transport ship. It's a simple assignment: escorting one of the Vatta fleet's oldest ships on its final voyage ... to the scrapyard. But keeping it simple has never been Ky's style. And even though her father has provided a crew of seasoned veterans to baby-sit the fledgling captain on her maiden milk run, they can't stop Ky from turning the routine mission into a risky venture--in the name of turning a profit for Vatta Transport, of course. By snapping up a lucrative delivery contract defaulted on by a rival company, and using part of the proceeds to upgrade her condemned vehicle, Ky aims to prove she's got more going for her than just her family's famous name. But business will soon have to take a backseat to bravery, when Ky's change of plans sails her and the crew straight into the middle of a colonial war. For all her commercial savvy, it's her military training and born-soldier's instincts that Ky will need to call on in the face of deadly combat, dangerous mercenaries, and violent mutiny....

    The enemy is consuming all intelligent life throughout the galaxy. And to stop them, the stars may have to die.Enter Julian Nverson, a disgraced pilot reactivated to fight in a conflict humanity lost long ago. He joins the remnants of mankind, in the midst of another invasion, another exodus, when billions of lives have already been swept away.Perhaps the end is inevitable. But Julian won't be alone in his fight. Forces that were formerly dead, forgotten or trapped will converge together, all in the hopes of freeing the galaxy once and for all.

    Another tale tells of the heroic exploits of “sysadmins”—systems administrators—as they defend the cyberworld, and hence the world at large, from worms and bioweapons. And yes, there’s a story about zombies, too.

    Our team has experience producing thousands of ebooks since 2011 for discerning authors and readers alike. We know what readers expect from their ebook purchases. We avoid distracting formatting inconsistencies and annoying glitches too often found in ebooks.We adhere to the highest standards in producing our ebooks—regardless of the sale price. (Low or value pricing should never be an excuse for second-rate work!)We want readers of our ebooks to get lost in the story just as easily as readers of print books. Our promise is a pleasant reading experience.10% of all Digital Papyrus profits are donated to charity every month.

    He has a powerful voice, combining the intense rationality of science with the intensely passionate characters that can only be created by a writer who loves humanity. Bear’s novel Moving Mars won the Nebula Award in 1994, and he did it again, in 2000, with Darwin’s Radio. He has been honored with Hugo and Nebula nominations for novel-length work eight more times.But Greg Bear’s short fiction is even more astounding, as this powerful career retrospective demonstrates. This collection contains Bear’s earliest published fiction from the late 1960s and early 1970s as well his remarkable award-winning work from the ‘80s and ‘90s—stories like the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novella- length version of “Blood Music” and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winner “Tangents.”This Collection is enhanced by brand-new introductions for each story, commentary, and reminiscences by Greg Bear.

    * 65 · A Hole in Hell · Dane Helstrom · ss * 73 · Graceland · Allen Steele · nv * 101 · Every Man a God · Mike Resnick & Barry N. Malzberg · nv * 141 · Blandings on Riverworld · Phillip C. Jennings · nv * 173 · Two Thieves · Harry Turtledove · nv * 207 · Fool’s Paradise · Ed Gorman · nv * 237 · The Merry Men of Riverworld · John Gregory Betancourt · na * 283 · Unfinished Business · Robert Weinberg · nv *