Since a strange alien virus created the superhuman beings known as Aces and Jokers 40 years ago, they have struggled for respect and recognition. Now, they are key players in a presidential convention torn by hatred and dissent as assassins stalk the halls of the convention and one of the candidates plans to use his secret Wild Card power for evil. A journey of intrigue and adventure written by five of science fiction's most imaginative talents. Views: 208
The enigmatic immortal Axel Rathenius has been commissioned to paint a triptych illustrating the life of Orpheus. Meanwhile, an enigmatic legacy propels him, his agent Myrica Mavor, Madame Vashti Savage the medium, and the mournful poet Hecate Rain in the midst of a conflict between the rival cults of Orpheus and Dionysus. Brian Stableford's latest novel, Eurydice's Lament, returns to the world of The Wayward Muse with its artists' colony of Mnemosyne, an island off the northern coast of what in our world is called France, in the Everlasting Empire, 2,000 years after the birth of the Divine Caesar... Views: 208
Volume two of three collecting ALL of the Psychotechnic League future history stories, from multiple Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning author Poul Anderson. After World War III ravages the globe, humanity, led by the Psychotechnic Institute, bands together to create peace on Earth and to spread that peace throughout the Solar System and beyond. But soon the cycle of war and destruction begins anew. Includes short stories never before collected in a Psychotechnic League volume!
FROM THE RAVAGES OF WAR, HOPE FOR A BRIGHTER TOMORROW
After World War III has ravaged the globe and toppled once-great nations, a new science offers hope for the future: Psychodynamics, the ability to influence government and popular opinion. Led by the Psychotechnic Institute, humanity denounces its violent ways, once and for all. Peace reigns on Earth. Humankind shakes off the tyranny of gravity and ventures out into the galaxy. But no sooner is utopia realized than the cycle of war and destruction begins anew.
The second of three volumes collecting all of multiple Hugo- and Nebula-Award winning author Poul Anderson's massive future history magnum opus. Includes short stories previously uncollected in a Psychotechnic League volume!
About Poul Anderson:
"One of science fiction's authentic geniuses."–Chicago Sun-Times
“Anderson fuses elegiac prose and a sweeping vision of man’s technological future…”–Booklist
“One of science fiction’s giants.”–Arthur C. Clarke
** Views: 208
Fifteen short stories featuring Ghost Dust, Hang Around, Colossus, Suicide Spear, and others. These stories include a variety of genres, mainly literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction.Hypotenuse: A detective and a witness become acquainted as he investigates the death of one of their neighbors.Colossus: An arctic scientist explores the habitat of the Colossal Squid, and finds a secret even larger than the cagey mollusk.Support: An Explosive Ordinance Disposal officer connects with his family as he wrestles with an especially difficult day in Iraq.Something to Say: A forensic tech examines the body of a woman murdered outside a police station.Why There Are No More Dragons Or Unicorns: A father's tale of the last dragon and unicorn.Turing's Test: A computer with a personality disorder mulls its own idiosyncratic existence with its human roommate.Only Numan: A young man with a genetic predisposition toward unstable genes is given the opportunity to become a part of governmental experiments to develop superhumans.Prisoners of War: A forensics anthropologist and a left-for-dead Marine track a war criminal, in post-war Vietnam.Raider: A woman comes to grips with her own identity and mortality while breaking into an Egyptian pyramid.Dante's Infirmity: An old man and his family struggle to preserve his humanity and independence navigating the medical establishment, as he approaches the end of his life.The Ghost Club: Mr. Houdini and Mr. Doyle explore the question of life after death.Suicide Spear: Humanity takes the battle to an alien homeworld's doorstep, after decades of a devastating war of attrition.Hang Around: A cowboy, a Buddhist monk, and others relive the results of one choice.Ghost Dust: A medical patient reflects on the aftermath of 9/11.Bloody Hands: A community shares responsibility and blame after a young boy's call for help. Views: 208
An heiress who can’t seem to keep her legs closed. A Russian plan for dominating the space race. An assassin with a penchant for rich food and sadistic murder. When you’re alone in the cold, passion and betrayal are commodities and love hangs on by an icy thread. From the author of The Bone Church and Cold, comes a white knuckle tour de force of Cold War noir. Views: 208
He’s dead. She’s not- but someone is poisoning her. When Ruth, sick and ailing, moves into her inherited estate in England, she brings with her a stepmother and a stepsister- and a murderer. But that’s nothing compared with what she finds there… George is dead, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have a bit of fun. Unfortunately for Ruth, his idea of fun is making sure that his new friend stays with him. Forever. Can Ruth survive a poisoning murderer and a murderous ghost, or will her inheritance be the death of her? THIS IS A SHORT STORY Views: 208
In a land far away, in a land so different with our own, it is in a land where magic exist and alive. It is a land where a Blessed can control: Wind, Ice and Fire.Lady Carla Koell is betrothed to a man who loves another.What a warrior lady should do? Of course, she should break it off. But it is not as easy as it should be.In a land far away, in a land so different with our own, it is in a land where magic exist and alive. It is a land where a Blessed can control: Wind, Ice and Fire.Lady Carla Koell is betrothed to a man who loves another.What a warrior lady should do? Of course, she should break it off. But it is not as easy as it should be.Between the Blessed tournament and errant fiancé, the lady is caught between a rock and a hard place… ** This is short story, the prequel of The Blessed Series. It can be read as standalone and no cliffhanger. Views: 208
*Stacey Daniels has always been attracted to the wrong type of man . . . *
And she knows in her heart the virile, wounded Viking at her front doorstep will certainly be no exception. A vision from her most secret erotic fantasies—a glorious god of a man—he excites her with his tantalizing aura of dangerous sensuality. Stacey knows in the deepest depths of her soul that submission will bring unforeseen peril into her life, and yet she is helpless to resist him—for he is a master of decadent pleasures and sweet sensuality . . . and all she has ever wished for.
But loving Conor carries a burden that no mortal woman can bear. Though he finds solace in Stacey's passion and the warmth of her welcoming body, his true realm is one of darkest dreams, torn by violence and strife, that is now following him into Stacey's world . . . . Views: 208
Nobody expects the non-magical Morrow brother to do much against a menacing magical beast. They're about to find out how very wrong they are.Fully human, non-magical, but Special Forces to the core...Deke is the designated heir to an ancient legacy that he doesn't fully understand. Being non-magical in a family of powerful water elementals hasn't always been easy, but he loves his brothers and sister and will do anything to help them defeat the leviathan – including risk his own life to find and use a legendary magical artifact.A wood nymph with no real idea what she is...Magical and mysterious, Cece has lived alone on her mountaintop since she was eighteen and her parents were killed in a wreck. She doesn't know much about the power that awakened within her, but she takes her role as guardian of her woodland home very seriously. When Deke asks to search her forest for Poseidon's Trident, she watches from the shadows, fascinated by the most... Views: 208
