Anna Zimmerman Hart thinks she's losing her mind. Everyone else thinks she's a perfect student--advanced even for the 1990s. She's intelligent, talented, and her future as an important scientist is practically assured. But suddenly, she is haunted by eerie discordant music and dreams of Nazi death camps. Then, she begins to see people who look exactly like her. Is she losing her mind? Math and Science no longer seem important. Anna checks the main frame computer on a hunch that something odd is going on. She learns, to her horror, that she is part of a demoniacal master plan-if she does not or can not fulfill her role as a scientist, she will be exterminated! In terror and despair, she turns to her brother Rowan. Perhaps together they can fight this. Anna knows she has a right to decide her own destiny. But can Anna and Rowan convince the ruthless, evil powers to let her live? The odds against success are astronomical. But Anna must and will live! Views: 68
Fantasy Masterworks Volume 1The Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as Gene Wolfe's most remarkable work, hailed as "a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis" by Publishers Weekly, and "one of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century" by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Shadow & Claw brings together the first two books of the tetralogy in one volume:The Shadow of the Torturer is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession -- showing mercy toward his victim.Ursula K. Le Guin said, "Magic stuff . . . a masterpiece . . . the best science fiction I've read in years!"The Claw of the Conciliator continues the saga of Severian, banished from his home, as he undertakes a mythic quest to discover the awesome power of an ancient relic, and learn the truth about his hidden destiny."Arguably the finest piece of literature American science fiction has yet produced [is] the four-volume Book of the New Sun."--Chicago Sun-Times"The Book of the New Sun establishes his preeminence, pure and simple. . . . The Book of the New Sun contains elements of Spenserian allegory, Swiftian satire, Dickensian social consciousness and Wagnerian mythology. Wolfe creates a truly alien social order that the reader comes to experience from within . . . once into it, there is no stopping."--The New York Times Book Review Gene Wolfe has been called "the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced" by The Washington Post. A former engineer, he has written numerous books and won a variety of awards for his SF writing. The Book of the New Sun, a series of four novels, is unanimously acclaimed as Wolfe's most memorable work, hailed by Publishers Weekly as a "masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis"—and by The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as "one of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century".Shadow & Claw collects the first two novels in this Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning tetralogy: The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator. "The Book of the New Sun establishes [Wolfe's] pre-eminence, pure and simple . . . The Book of the New Sun contains elements of Spenserian allegory, Swiftian satire, Dickensian social consciousness, and Wagnerian mythology. Wolfe creates a truly alien social order that the reader comes to experience from within . . . Once into it, there is no stopping."—The New York Times Book Review"Arguably the best piece of literature American science fiction has yet produced."—Chicago Sun-Times Views: 68
At the height of the American War of Independence, Hart Purchis, captain of a privateer, marries the rebellious spy Mercy Phillips, rescuing her from the wrath of the British in Savannah. But it is not long before the wide waters of the Atlantic separate the lovers: Hart's ship is captured by the British and Hart himself falls under the spell of his evil cousin Julia in London.Mercy, it seems to him, is lost to him forever. Or is she? Back in Philadelphia Mercy has met a mysterious but charming young Frenchman and is now laying her own plans... Views: 68
No one at Meetpoint Station had ever seen a creature like the Outsider. Naked-hided, blunt-toothed and blunt-fingered. Tully was the sole surviving member of his company — a communicative, spacefaring species hitherto unknown — and he was a prisoner of his discoverer/captors the sadistic, treacherous kif, until his escape onto the hani ship THE PRIDE OF CHANUR . Little did he know when he threw himself upon the mercy of THE PRIDE and her crew that he put the entire hani species in jeopardy and imperiled the peace of the Compact itself. For the information this fugitive held could be the ruin or glory of any of the species at Meetpoint Station. Views: 67
In the Nahella Valley of Appalachia, a rumor is whispered about a man named Eli Pettit and the small fortune in stolen money he supposedly hid on his farm before disappearing, leaving a wife, daughter and sister-in-law to tend the land and guard the money - if the money even exists. It is a rumor Michael O'Rear cannot resist. A wandering actor from the remnants of the Chautauqua circuit, gifted with Irish gab and charm, he arrives ready to perform his last and most horrific role - that of a murderer. Yet, it is not simple theater for Michael. In the Appalachia of 1939, he is a stranger in a region that does not easily accept strangers. He first must ingratiate himself to the three women of the Pettit home - Eli's wife, Rachel; his daughter, Sarah; and Rachel's sister, Dora, and then he must curry favor with the townspeople of Yale. For Michael, it becomes an exhilarating performance, acted with patience and with the cunning persuasion of dreamy - often outlandish - tales. One by one, he entices the cast of his drama to embrace him and to do his bidding, but in the wake of his presence, he leaves an imprint of physical and emotional terror that scars everyone who becomes mesmerized by him. Still, in this tantalizing story of deception and senseless slaughter, of threat and fear, it is the powerful instinct for survival that eventually drops the curtain on Michael O'Rear and restores the quiet secrets of the Nahella Valley to those who know them. Views: 66
When you were a child they told you there was nothing to be afraid of. That noise in the dark was just your imagination. But as you hid under the covers, you knew something was there . . . watching, waiting for a chance to strike. Well, it’s really there . . . and you’re next.
THE BOOGENS
A strange town is cloaked in a century-old mystery . . . an unspeakable horror too terrifying to be believed. Now the mystery explodes and the horrifying terror is unleashed again. Views: 65
Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun is an extraordinary epic, set a million years in the future, on an Earth transformed in mysterious and wonderful ways. Severian is a torturer, exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his victims, and now journeying to the distant city of Thrax, armed with his ancient executioner’s sword, Terminus Est.
Won Nebula Award for Best novel in 1981. Won Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1982. Nominated for Hugo and World Fantasy Awards in 1982. Views: 64
Nelson's crews are standing down and Ramage is on leave when he receives secret Admiralty orders to inspect the small island of Trinidade off the coast of Brazil. Reaching the island, Ramage and the crew of the Calypso fetch up in a battle to free several captive merchant shipsand a beautiful woman passengeras they cross swords with blood-thirsty priates. Views: 64
Richard Carstairs discovers a young woman who has suffered a riding accident and cannot remember even her own name, let alone the circumstances from which she came. Christened Clara Fell by the Carstairs family, the mysterious lady proves herself not only charming but talented. Can Richard take her at face value? And can Miss Fell trust that she will not disgrace him, when position in society is so necessary to his well-being? Regency Romance by Carola Dunn; originally published by Warner Views: 63
George R. R. Martin has thrilled a generation of readers with his epic works of the imagination, most recently the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling saga told in the novels A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords. Lisa Tuttle has won acclaim from fans of science fiction, horror, and fantasy alike— most recently for her haunting novel The Pillow Friend. Now together they gift readers with this classic tale of a brilliantly rendered world of ironbound tradition, where a rebellious soul seeks to prove the power of a dream.The planet of Windhaven was not originally a home to humans, but it became one following the crash of a colony starship. It is a world of small islands, harsh weather, and monster-infested seas. Communication among the scattered settlements was virtually impossible until the discovery that, thanks to light gravity and a dense atmosphere, humans were able to fly with the aid of metal wings made of bits of the cannibalized spaceship.Many generations later, among the scattered islands that make up the water world of Windhaven, no one holds more prestige than the silver-winged flyers, who bring news, gossip, songs, and stories. They are romantic figures crossing treacherous oceans, braving shifting winds and sudden storms that could easily dash them from the sky to instant death. They are also members of an increasingly elite caste, for the wings—always in limited quantity—are growing gradually rarer as their bearers perish.With such elitism comes arrogance and a rigid adherence to hidebound tradition. And for the flyers, allowing just anyone to join their cadre is an idea that borders on heresy. Wings are meant only for the offspring of flyers—now the new nobility of Windhaven. Except that sometimes life is not quite so neat.Maris of Amberly, a fisherman's daughter, was raised by a flyer and wants nothing more than to soar on the currents high above Windhaven. By tradition, however, the wings must go to her stepbrother, Coll, the flyer's legitimate son. But Coll wants only to be a singer, traveling the world by sea. So Maris challenges tradition, demanding that flyers be chosen on the basis of merit rather than inheritance. And when she wins that bitter battle, she discovers that her troubles are only beginning.For not all flyers are willing to accept the world's new structure, and as Maris battles to teach those who yearn to fly, she finds herself likewise fighting to preserve the integrity of a society she so longed to join—not to mention the very fabric that holds her culture together. Views: 62
For centuries the barbarians have been penned in the desolate north, far from the civilized cities. But then the stranger comes among them, an enigmatic man from another land - and maybe another time. Ara-Karn the barbarians name him, the Former King, and he brings with him a strange new weapon. He gathers them together, and vows their long-awaited vengeance lies at hand. The first of four volumes of a classic epic fantasy revised and reissued to mark its 30th anniversary. Views: 62
This is Bernard Cornwell's first novel, written as a means of providing him with an income while living with his American fiancée in her home country where he could not get a work visa. Cornwell’s plan "to write a series of tales about the adventures of a British rifleman in the Napoleonic Wars" and he had wanted to start with the Siege of Badajoz but on reflection, he felt that this was too ambitious for his first novel and so decided to start with a couple of easier books as a warm-up. Cornwell also wanted to find a task just as impossible as the taking of Badajoz for his first adventure, and so the capture of a Regimental Eagle from a French Regiment provided the challenge the author felt necessary to establish the reputation of both Sharpe and his close friend, Sergeant Patrick Harper. Views: 62
Man had landed on the planet before: a fruitless, expensive fiasco of an expedition. Then, fifty years later a smaller but disastrous landing had left two men horribly and unexplainedly dead.
Now a third attempt had so far found nothing but a silent, lifeless world. Until they broke open the underground chamber and discovered in the most vile way imaginable that the planet was not quite dead. That a sleeping life form had been waiting for millennia, needing only a chance to breed before escaping to spread like a foul, devouring disease into the lifeblood of the universe.
And to breed it needed the bodies of those who had disturbed it. Views: 60
