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

    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....

    These are tales involving the Kobani people and Koban. Reading the series is NOT required to understand and enjoy these stand-alone tales. Australian Krall: (Novelette) A fully gene enhanced Kobani woman finds herself trapped in total darkness and underground, pursued by hundreds of slavering, semi-sentient, maniacally aggressive and hungry aliens. Let’s take a walk on the dark side! Bats of a Leather Flock Together: (Short story) The wolfbat Flock Leader takes his colony to an unexplored Koban continent to set up a nest in virgin territory. The wily leader uses his cooperative experience with humans to forge similar alliances with other native creatures. Not everyone wants to play nice. Kobani Kiddie Capers: (Novella) How do Kobani parents cope with children that are born with the contact telepathy gene, and have eidetic memory? Adults who think teenagers act like they know everything never had an overconfident four-year old super child, with a ripper cub as his partner in crime. Living to reach his teens seems doubtful. The Smuggler and the Crime Lord: (Novelette) When you land a known smuggler’s ship in a ruthless Crime Lord’s city using false registry, it’s hard to convince a platoon of armed thugs that you’re only shopping, that you don’t owe the boss his cut of your take. If the Kobani captain is buying drinks for friends in a spaceport bar, spoiling his evening and making threats is ill advised, and could prove fatal.

    Military Science Fiction Short Story Nate is a test pilot for the United States Army. Actually, he is the best damned test pilot period, even with the headaches. The United States is developing a new kind of piloted war machine with the help of Franklin Industries and they have secured some of the most high tech, abrasive equipment on the planet. Does it work? According to the test pilot, it works like a champ. If that's the case, then why is everything shrouded in mystery at the end of Nate's test flight? Furthermore, why does Nate suffer such horrific migraines? Read here to find out!

    Silas’s radical theory that drafters are not replaying time as much as they are temporarily sliding into an alternate universe has never been well-received, but frankly, the darling of Opti’s research has enough clout not to care, until a professor with a grudge tries to put a permanent end to it. Love can’t alter time, and sometimes, even being able to rub out a single mistake isn’t enough…

    American Blood is the definitive collection of writer-artist Benjamin Marra’s provocative, self-published comics stories from the past several years, including “Gangsta Rap Posse,” “The Naked Heroes,” “Lincoln Washington,” “Ripper,” and “The Incredibly Fantastic Adventures of Maureen Dowd” (in which the controversial political columnist must fight off fanatic White House officials and Hezbollah commandos in time to file her most important column yet and make a date with George Clooney).

    He is selected to act as her bodyguard during a political crisis in her land. Which isn't part of our Earth. Although tasked with keeping her out of trouble for forty-eight hours, Booker is finding Her Royal Princess Auralee to be a little more adventurous than he had expected. Join Runner Sterling Booker Wells as he attempts to keep the Elven Princess out of harm's way.

    On a milk run from Welliver to Breakall, a tiny rock punctures his ship and leaves the crew adrift twenty-thousand years from home. With food, water, and air running out, a desperate crewman takes a reckless gamble, risking his life in a daring bid to find safety. What he finds instead puts them all at risk. Join Captain Gunderson and his crew on the final voyage of the Solar Clipper Wanderer in book one of Tales from the Deep Dark -- A Light in the Dark. An award winning producer of science fiction and fantasy podcasts, Nathan Lowell has produced eight novels totaling over 160 episodes and 70 hours of podcast fiction. Since 2008, four of his productions have been finalists in the Parsec Awards and his book--Captain's Share--won the 2010 Parsec Award for Best Podcast Fiction (Long Form). In 2010, Ridan Publishing began producing his work in paper and ebook formats. Those books are available online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, the iBook Store, and from Ridan Publishing. A Light In the Dark is the first of a series of novellas set in the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper. The series focuses on the happenings in and around a renegade outpost, a place outside the jurisdiction of the Confederated Planets--a place where the normal rules don't apply and where anything might happen. Novel Nibbles are a series of shorter works offered in ebook only format for those who would like something to read on their smartphones and other small mobile devices. Coming in at around 20,000 words, they're shorter works for smaller screens.

    I was born at the end of the Reining Age, just as the Earth’s rotation was coming to a final halt.The Sun is about to unleash a helium flash, threatening to swallow all terrestrial planets in the solar system. On Earth, the Unity Government has erected Earth Engines. With them it plans to propel our planet out of the solar system, setting it on a journey into outer space in search of a new sun. The Earth begins its centuries-long, wandering travels through outer space.Just as we began our journey, my grandfather passed away, his burnt body ravaged by infection. In his final moments, he repeated over and over, “Oh, Earth, my wandering Earth...”China Galaxy Science Fiction Award of Year 2000.

    The First Galactic Empire has fallen. The Keeper of the Unknowable, Guardian of the Gates, the Eternal Emperor, is dead. Entire star systems have been ravaged by war, planets cracked by powerful weapons, and suns sent into supernova. The infrastructure of an advanced civilization that spanned thousands of stars is ruined. Trillions have died. Instead of liberation and a return to democracy, freedom, and a new golden age, humanity has been plunged into darkness.Eighteen years after the Great Fall of civilization, stranded on the wrecked world Asherho, Keira Kane struggles to make her way. Shattered by war, the climate of the planet has become inhospitable to life and is getting worse with each passing year. The government is a brutal regime, focused on maintaining its own grip on power instead of feeding the few million ragged survivors living upon its surface. What little law and order there is has begun to erode and break down.Adopted, protected, and raised by former Imperial Marines, Keira has been trained as a mechanic and technician. Her skillset is indispensable to maintaining the decaying infrastructure of her dying planet.Sent out on a routine repair job to Hakagi Tower, a seedy apartment block, Keira rapidly finds herself a fugitive, hunted not only by the government she has faithfully served, but by the planetary militia who wants her for their own nefarious reasons. A mysterious battle-damaged warship has also arrived in-system and they want something too.Unbeknownst to Keira, her Imperial Marine companions have been guarding an incredibly valuable secret, one that has the potential to save humanity or see its light extinguished from the galaxy forever.Caught up in a planetary revolt and hunted, Keira is thrust into a life-or-death struggle she never imagined possible. Though she has yet to suspect it, the road ahead is not only dangerous, but a path destined for her and her alone.Does she have the courage to walk it? Does she have the willpower to pick up a fallen standard? Or will she falter and allow humanity to continue its fall into darkness? Only time will tell…Find out why thousands of readers have fallen for Amazon bestselling author Marc Alan Edelheit’s captivating books! The battle to save the galaxy begins here!

    A policy with Stranger & Stranger can cover all of your interdimensional insurance needs. Rated "Number One in Customer Satisfaction" for three years running, no claim is too big or too weird for Tom Stranger to handle.But now Tom faces his greatest challenge yet. Despite being assigned the wrong—and woefully inadequate—intern, Tom must still provide quality customer service to multiple alternate Earths, all while battling tentacle monsters, legions of the damned, an evil call center in Nebraska, and his archnemesis, Jeff Conundrum. Armed with his Combat Wombat and a sense of fair play, can Tom survive? And will Jimmy the Intern ever discover his inner insurance agent?It's time to kick ass and adjust claims.Adam Baldwin (Firefly, Chuck) performs Larry Correia's madcap interdimensional tale of underwriting and space travel, where the only thing scarier than tentacle monsters is a high deductible.

    Now he and Lilac reconcile his memories of that night with the truth uncovered after the crash. Short connects first two novels. Includes preview chapter from This Shattered World.

    It's not as bad as we thought. From the very first line, "Luna" grabs the reader. Where most books start with a world in trouble and ride the story on into a happy ending or to the ultimate destruction, "Luna" starts with the end of the world. Things can only get better, right? With the world destroyed, the story centers on six survivors in the first lunar shuttle, on their way to shake down and tune up a robot-built underground tunnel complex on the Moon. They have to face a number of issues, not the least of which is the self-destruction of their homeworld and the survival of the species. Fortunately, any culture advanced enough to have a lunar colony and the capability to destroy its own civilization is likely to have people who are not on the planet at any given time. From these few survivors, the human race will have to either survive and grow, or wither away into nothing. They have to face many difficulties, ranging from purely scientific ones such as genetics, mechanics, chemistry, and nutrition, to the more complex difficulties of human nature, such as love, sex, and loneliness. The conflict between politics and military command also rears its ugly head, with uncertain results, aside from the obvious: War. Told from the point of view of Max, the officer in charge of the mechanical aspects of the lunar base, "Luna" takes us on a fast-paced tour of our own Moon, the LaGrange points, a number of habitable satellites, as well as the light and dark places in the human soul. Any science fiction reader will delight in the near-future possibilities of lunar colonization, along with the superb character development, snappy dialogue, and the dry humor that are so characteristic of Garon Whited's work.A gripping page-turner, Whited's "Luna" is more than a little reminiscent of Robert Heinlein, mixed with a dash of E.E. "Doc" Smith, and stirred with a sardonic sense of humor uniquely his own. Fans of Garon Whited's "Nightlord: Sunset" will want to add this one to the collection!

    Major Emily Perkins and her team are busy picking up the pieces, and it's not easy, because there is trouble on Paradise...

    (Legacies originally published as eBooks.)You know we're out there, living among you.You know we're waiting for our day to come.You have seen the power of our legacies.You know this is why they hunt us.You may think you know our stories.You are wrong.We each have our own story.We know the time has come to share them with you.Our legacies are your only hope.