In his famous Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver described the quaint politics of the tiny people of Lilliput. In this sequel he adds his account of their equally quaint economy. He tells us the Lilliputians, bored with the endless prosperity of a Garden of Eden, reorganized their economy as an exciting game of chance controlled by the mysterious invisible hand of The Almighty Sprug.Luke Rosenhart is your average straight-A student, always trying to do things the right way, always reliable, always responsible.He’s just an average kid, and doesn’t want that to change.But one field trip, on a rainy Autumn day, to a still-under-construction zoo turns his life and the lives of Ned Detwiler, his best pal, Brooke O’Mackey, the girl from across the road, Robyn Diaz, the quiet bookworm from the country outskirts of town and Smithy, the new kid in town who doesn’t talk very much, upside down.An alien, who crash-landed into the unfinished hippo habitat, tells the five fourteen-year-olds that their planet is under threat by the Intergalactic criminal Gemini who intends to completely wipe out the entire human race, with help from some other aliens who want nothing more than to have the beautiful planet Earth all to themselves.So what can a straight-A student, a class clown, a girl from across the road, a bookworm and a loner, do about that?Well, with the powers the alien gives them, they can do lots!Save a little girl from a burning building, mess up the dentist’s office, and aid in a school food fight!Now they have to figure out how to stop Gemini before it’s too late! On top of that, they have to find out what powers they have, how to use them, how not to use them, how to keep everything a secret so as not to panic everyone and, most important of all, learn to work as a team.If you are in the mood for jokes, super powers, hilarious situations, ordinary kids turned superheroes, a save-the-day story and aliens (both good and bad), then the Upbeats is sure to brighten your day! Views: 370
Clarke's masterful evocation of the far future of humanity, considered his finest novel.
Men had built cities before, but never such a city as Diaspar. For millennia its protective dome shut out the creeping decay and danger of the world outside. Once, it held powers that rule the stars.
But then, as legend has it, the invaders came, driving humanity into this last refuge. It takes one man, a Unique, to break through Diaspar's stifling inertia, to smash the legend and discover the true nature of the Invaders. Views: 369
Two of science fiction’s most renowned writers join forces for a storytelling sensation. The historic collaboration between Frederik Pohl and his fellow founding father of the genre, Arthur C. Clarke, is both a momentous literary event and a fittingly grand farewell from the late, great visionary author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Last Theorem is a story of one man’s mathematical obsession, and a celebration of the human spirit and the scientific method. It is also a gripping intellectual thriller in which humanity, facing extermination from all-but-omnipotent aliens, the Grand Galactics, must overcome differences of politics and religion and come together . . . or perish.
In 1637, the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat scrawled a note in the margin of a book about an enigmatic theorem: “I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.” He also neglected to record his proof elsewhere. Thus began a search for the Holy Grail of mathematics–a search that didn’t end until 1994, when Andrew Wiles published a 150-page proof. But the proof was burdensome, overlong, and utilized mathematical techniques undreamed of in Fermat’s time, and so it left many critics unsatisfied–including young Ranjit Subramanian, a Sri Lankan with a special gift for mathematics and a passion for the famous “Last Theorem.”
When Ranjit writes a three-page proof of the theorem that relies exclusively on knowledge available to Fermat, his achievement is hailed as a work of genius, bringing him fame and fortune. But it also brings him to the attention of the National Security Agency and a shadowy United Nations outfit called Pax per Fidem, or Peace Through Transparency, whose secretive workings belie its name. Suddenly Ranjit–together with his wife, Myra de Soyza, an expert in artificial intelligence, and their burgeoning family–finds himself swept up in world-shaking events, his genius for abstract mathematical thought put to uses that are both concrete and potentially deadly.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone on Earth, an alien fleet is approaching the planet at a significant percentage of the speed of light. Their mission: to exterminate the dangerous species of primates known as homo sapiens.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 369
A sci-fi short story. When scientists finally discovered the secret of consciousness – the C particle – they also discovered what the mystics had known all along: everything is conscious (in its own way). At least, those things that interact with the C particle. That includes pretty much all matter, anyway. And, in theory noted by but a few, all dark matter...A sci-fi short story. When scientists finally discovered the secret of consciousness – the C particle – they also discovered what the mystics had known all along: everything is conscious (in its own way). At least, those things that interact with the C particle. That includes pretty much all matter, anyway. And indeed, anti-matter, but that is of no importance, there being hardly any of the stuff around this part of the Universe. And, in theory noted by but a few, all dark matter..."Spider" McCool was a psychic investigator. But when he read about dark matter in a science magazine one day, he had an epiphany. Ghosts? No! Aliens! Or, better, both! At last, a scientific explanation for ghosts that didn't involve self-delusion. Views: 368
A Kindle bestseller.Mike had no idea where the memory stick came from, or that it held plans to decimate human numbers to solve the global population crisis. What he did know was that he was now on the run, trying to evade shadowy figures who want both the USB back and no loose ends. Using a false identity he tries to outrun his pursuers. When that fails he has only one choice left. Fight back.This story is not about legal aspects of our emotional presumptions. It’s about the real life consequences of the judgments that we all make about others. Sometimes, the smallest judgment can have tragic consequences. Perhaps that’s why we have been warned against judging.Karen Bronsky lived a enviable life with a successful devoted husband and a darling child. But something caused her to want just a little more from life. Karen must lose part of her life to find what’s really important to her.Jan Murray thought that she had everything that she needed for happiness. She has looks that most young women would envy. She knew it, and flaunted it. She never knew what it was like to be unnoticed by men. But she will learn that true happiness is not found in the adoration of physical appearances.Stan Bronsky is a good man and husband. He is hard driving and successful in business. But he will learn that success can be fleeting and very costly when he experiences a momentary lapse of judgment and character.Robert Louis Gatewood suffered tragic early life experiences and has carried scars that have shaped his thinking and behavior. He will find new direction in an unexpected moment of encounter.As the lives of these four people weave together through what they perceive to be chance circumstances, they will experience a plethora of emotional experiences and share the uncomfortable consequences of being misjudged, or of having misjudged another. Views: 368
HardPress Classic Books Series Views: 367
Thought you had it bad? In this book, you will be:Imprisoned by a sadistic logician.Challenged to raise dogs from the dead. Trapped on a burning island.And much more besides . . .Everything is at stake in this compendium of more than 150 ingenious puzzles, selected to reveal the wonderful diversity of brainteasers that have confounded and intrigued solvers for the last thousand years. You'll need to pit your wits against probability problems, wrestle with wordplay, grapple with geometry and scrabble for survival. Along the way you will discover stories of whip-smart thinkers, eccentric novelists and a poodle with allegedly supernatural powers. You will absorb fascinating and important mathematical ideas. Some solutions will rely on ingenuity, some will challenge you to spot hidden patterns, others call for extreme rationality. All will surprise,... Views: 364
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'FULL OF FUNNY AND HEART-WARMING STORIES' Sunday ExpressThe charming sequel to Felix the Railway Cat, with more exciting adventures from his life on and off duty at Huddersfield Railway Station. Felix, Senior Pest Controller at Huddersfield station, has been at the heart of a close-knit community since the day she arrived as a kitten. But now, having risen to fame, everyday life at the station has become rather hectic; while reporters and fans clamour for a glimpse of her, Felix and her human co-workers find themselves, and the station, in quite a whirlwind. With the job seemingly too big for one fluffy feline to handle, it seems only sensible to recruit a young apprentice to the team: enter, Bolt. Full of funny and heart-warming stories, with personal tales from Felix's biggest fans, this is the remarkable tale of Felix and Bolt, the ultimate... Views: 356
The tenacious Colonel Benedict and his son, Tuck, are sent to Titan, Saturn�s fifth moon, to investigate reports of smuggling. Soon they discover that the less-than-friendly colony is hiding much more than just a smuggler. Together they dig up a scandalous case of interstellar sabotage and what the colonists reverently refer to as �THE BIG SECRET,� which could destroy Earth�s power supply - forever.Can the Colonel and Tuck resolve an age-old dispute between the Titan colonists and Earthly authorities before the clock runs out? Mankinds fate depends on it . . . Views: 354
This collection of science fiction short stories includes:
The Nine Billion Names of God
I Remember Babylon
Trouble with Time
Rescue Party
The Curse
Summertime on Icarus
Dog Star
Hide and Seek
Out of the Sun
The Wall of Darkness
No Morning After
The Possessed
Death and the Senator
Who's There?
Before Eden
Superiority
A Walk in the Dark
The Call of the Stars
The Reluctant Orchid
Encounter at Dawn
"If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth..."
The Sentinel
Transience
The Star Views: 353
The Victor is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Bryce Walton is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Bryce Walton then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 351
An SAS unit codenamed Zero 22, operating covertly in the war-torn badlands of northern Syria, is ambushed and massacred by a small army of mercenaries dressed like Hell's Angels.
Danny Black survives the massacre and back in London learns that his unit was betrayed by a mole feeding high-level military intelligence to the Russians.
Like any SAS man worthy of the name, his first thought is to avenge the men who lost their lives on the Zero 22 op. He has no hesitation in accepting the mission to assassinate the man responsible for the death of his mates.
Danny finds himself operating with an MI6 officer and together they embark on a high-risk, deniable mission that will require all Danny's Regiment. As the mission unfolds, however, Danny learns that darker forces are at play. He realises that what started out as a simple act of revenge is just single play in a conspiracy that will take him across continents and pit him against the insidious machinations of the most powerful men in the world. Views: 349
Special contribution by Nikola Danaylov - According to future studies, the world will be dominated soon by disruptive technologies, able to plunge Mankind into an era of accelerated progress.“Evolution: the future” is a breathtaking story set in a near future altered almost beyond recognition by disruptive technologies. Script available.Special contribution by Nikola Danaylov - According to future studies, the world will be dominated soon by disruptive technologies, able to plunge Mankind into an era of accelerated progress. Main outcomes will be the achievement of immortality, the creation of smarter than human Artificial Intelligence and the spread of the new species through the universe."Evolution: the future" is a transhumanist novel about emerging technologies and space, set in a near future populated by humans and digital beings. Suspense and action, but also a fascinating travel into the impacts of Artificial Intelligence on our civilization. The main characters move in a context of epoch making events, rising to leaders. Their world, alien at the beginning, becomes plausible from the continuous references to the present reality until it seems an inevitable evolution. From this, a powerful and disquieting comparison with our current civilization emerges; that stripping away layer after layer of conventions and prejudices, leaves us at last face to face with the basic values and the fragility of a human being. In the novel, these same factors will give Mankind the strength to take courageous decisions for its own destiny. Meanwhile, the artificial intelligence reveals itself as the means of evolutionary progress towards superior states of awareness and sharing.24th century. Humans live on Earth and the Moon, last strongholds of their past power. Mars and the Net are inhabited by artificial intelligences and souls, these last obtained by digitizing the brain after death. The virtual reality allows the two races to communicate. Their differences are deep, their interests incompatible.With digitization, humans have postponed real death to an indeterminate future, but they are not happy. Towards the virtual beings they feel admiration but also envy and inferiority. The digital creatures instead cannot bear being relegated in worlds too small for their unbounded ambitions. Their Martian experience has allowed them to develop the competence necessary in extra-terrestrial environments, most of all to acquire the self-confidence indispensable for the colonization of other star systems.Eve and Victoria, the main characters, are “souls”, digital beings whose brain was digitized after death. They move in a context of epoch making events, trascending progressively their human values and finally merging their destiny with that of the digital people.A script is available. The novel has been translated into English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. The last editions of the ebooks can be downloaded for free from the Author's website. Views: 348
