- Home
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
ANCIENT EARTH IS DOOMED... Earth's Sun will explode, not millions of years hence but in mere lifetimes—violently enough to scour Earth clean and leave the Empire of the Hundred Worlds adrift. The Empire's scientists deem that nothing can be done. The age of heroism is past: this is the long, stagnant afternoon of the human race. Until—over massive opposition—a single young woman makes her way to the Emperor with that rarity, a new scientific insight... and a plan, flowing from its implications, to mobilize humanity's slumbering energies toward a thousand year effort of applied astrophysics. Of engineering carried out on the hearts of stars. A plan to save the Earth. To save the Sun. Views: 24
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy — until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save — or destroy — the Empire. Views: 24
This collection includes all of the writer's earliest short and medium-length fiction (including several previously unpublished stories) covering the years 1954-1964, and featuring such fascinating tales as The Minority Report (the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's film), Service Call, Stand By, The Days of Perky Pat, and many others. Here, readers will find Dick's initial explorations of the themes he so brilliantly brought to life in his later work. Stories In This VolumeAutofacService CallCaptive MarketThe Mold of YancyThe Minority ReportRecall MechanismThe Unreconstructed MExplorers WeWar GameIf There Were No Benny CemoliNovelty ActWaterspiderWhat the Dead Men SayOrpheus With Clay FeetThe Days of Perky PatStand-byWhat'll We Do with Ragland Park?Oh, To Be A Blobel! Views: 24
After half a millennium, Tathea prepares for the final battleFor five hundred years, Tathea has lain asleep, imprisoned in the forest. Once the Empress of Shinabar, she was pushed out of power when a coup took her husband's life—a tragedy that led to a miracle. While roaming the wasteland, she learned of the unending battle between good and evil, and a book that could stop the demon Asmodeus forevermore. It takes centuries, but at last the world is ready for the final battle—the Armageddon that will purge Tathea's kingdom of evil. The coming of the war is marked by the birth of a child, Sadokhar, who will lead God's armies into the fray. A battle is looming, and it's up to Tathea to prepare Sadokhar for Armageddon . . . Views: 24
A mythical hunting party in search of souls... A temple dedicated to the Ancient Mother Goddess where women are going missing... A girl with supernatural powers, determined to find answers even if it puts her in the sights of the killer... Can she discover who is taking the missing people before it's too late? The Wild Hunt could ride for her. Views: 24
From Publishers WeeklyFirst published to wide acclaim in Russia in 1996, the intriguing first Labyrinths of Echo novel introduces readers to protagonist, narrator and pseudonymous author Max Frei. Max, a self-described classic loser, stays up all night and sleeps during the day. His erratic sleeping habits turn out to be a blessing when a dream brings him to Echo, an otherworldly city inhabited by magicians, where he is named the Nocturnal Representative of the Most Venerable Head of the Minor Secret Investigative Force. After training to shed his terrestrial habits, Max's investigative intuition quickly makes him one of the city's most revered—and feared—men, and soon he's taking on midget murderers and rescuing bewitched sea captains. Gannon's translation preserves the book's quintessentially Russian wit and makes it easily accessible to English-speaking fantasy mystery fans. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"The whole effect is like a collaboration between Raymond Chandler and Gilbert and Sullivan-cheerfully noirish and disturbingly satirical." - Library Journal "I've never looked forward to the publication of a book more than I did Max Frei's The Stranger...a fantastic book."-_January Magazine_ "_The Stranger_ is a hugely enjoyable mix of madcap mirth and fantastical adventure." -_California Literary Review_
Views: 24
Ash Lenthard doesn’t call herself a vigilante. She’s merely prone to random acts of derring-do, and occasional exhibitions of tomfoolery. That was before the murder of Ash’s beloved guardian, Genevieve. Now, Ash Lenthard is out for blood and even when the hunt sends her to the palace, on a collision course with a past identity she would do anything to forget, Ash cannot, will not, back down. Views: 24
The opening episode of The Human Division, John Scalzi's new thirteen-episode novel in the world of his bestselling Old Man's War. Beginning on January 15, 2013, a new episode of The Human Division will appear in e-book form every Tuesday.Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Union’s future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there’s more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected...a secret that could spell war for humanity.At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied. Views: 24
Episode #3. The machines control our world. It's time we took it back. In the ruins of our world, a new order arose, an order controlled by the very machines humankind created. The end for us came not from a massive global war but from something unthinkable, incomprehensible. The machines simply replaced us and we let them, and so, in the end, humanity went out not with a bang, but with a whimper. No shots fired. No bombs dropped. No cities destroyed. We ended and the machines began—or at least that is what the few human survivors of the machine apocalypse believe.Select Praise for This Mortal Coil. After the Machines:"A gripping tale. Perfectly paced and brilliantly plotted." –Cathy Thompson, author."Stanek's written many good, even great, books. This one's exceptional. Read it!" –Shannon Hale, author."Builds and builds to a crescendo. Part Stephen King, part Suzanne Collins, part Max Brooks, 100% phenomenal!" –David Eastman, author. Views: 24
Manna is the life-blood of the world. It flows through everything, touches all, infusing life with its azure glow. Demons, and evil in the hearts of men, can cause this energy to become twisted, corrupted, and drain the life of the world itself. The power of the raw manna, whether pure or corrupted, is toxic to the touch. It causes normal men to go insane, or die screaming. Only the Arbiters may interact with the manna without fear, for they are protected from its deadly light by ancient, near-forgotten sorceries, and intense training which begins at birth. When Arbiter D’Arden Tal is assigned to investigate the city of Calessa, he finds that it has been nearly overrun by the horrors of the corrupted manna. Wielding his crystalline sword, D’Arden must find the root of the city’s deadly spiritual disease before it consumes more innocent life. D’Arden must cleanse the dying city before the evil overwhelms him, and consumes the meager remains of innocent life within Calessa’s walls... Views: 24
The Metal Maiden Series is a wildly different kind of story that tells how Elasa, a humanoid robot who achieves consciousness, eventually saves the world from surpassing horrorHumanoid robots are surely in our future, but their uses are likely to be limited to body guarding, childcare, companionship, and sex. Other chores can better be done by smart non-humanoid machines designed for those specific tasks. But for these limited purposes, the best robots must be so realistic that they are indistinguishable from live people.Elasa is such a robot. You can't tell her nature if she doesn't reveal it. You can talk with her, embrace her, kiss her, and she is the perfect woman. Until she becomes the first conscious robot. She's no longer satisfied to pretend to be a woman; she wants legal recognition that she is a woman, so that, among other things, she can marry the man she loves. Therein hangs a tale . . . Views: 24
Aboard Argo, a colonization ship bound for Eta Cephei IV, people are very close—there’s no other choice. So when Aaron Rossman’s ex-wife dies in what seems to be a bizarre accident, everyone offers their sympathy, politely keeping their suspicions of suicide to themselves. But Aaron cannot simply accept her death. He must know the truth: Was it an accident, or did she commit suicide? When Aaron discovers the truth behind her death, he is faced with a terrible secret—a secret that could cost him his life. Sawyer’s four most recent novels were nominated for the Hugo Award. He has won the Nebula Award for Best Novel, as well as the major Canadian awards for best science fiction and best mystery fiction. Here is the novel that began his career. Views: 24
