An elegantly crafted and beguiling novel set in the very near future. Anna Quibler is a technocrat at the National Science Foundation while her husband, Charlie, takes care of their toddler and telecommutes as a legislative consultant to a senator. Their family life is a delight to observe, as are the interactions of the scientists at the NSF and related organizations. When a Buddhist delegation, whose country is being flooded because of climate change, opens an embassy near the NSF, the Quiblers befriend them and teach them to work the system of politics and grants. The Buddhists, in turn, affect the scientists in delightful and unexpectedly significant ways. The characters all share information and theories, appreciating the threat that global warming poses, but they just can’t seem to awaken a sense of urgency in the politicians who could do something about it. (Robinson’s characterizations of politicians are barbed, and often hilarious.) As the scientists focus on the minutiae of their lives, the specter of global warming looms over all, inexorably causing a change here, a change there, until all the imbalances combine to bring about a brilliantly visualized catastrophe that readers will not soon forget. Even as he outlines frighteningly plausible scenarios backed up by undeniable facts, the author charms with domesticity and humor. This beautifully paced novel stands on its own, but it is the first of a trilogy. As readers wait impatiently for the next volume, they will probably find themselves paying closer attention to science, to politics, and to the weather.

Won BSFA Award in 2004, Locus Award in 2005.

The second of three linked novels set in the strife-torn world of big science, operating out of the corrupt political heart of the developed world. In the interface between big science and big business lies the potential for the absolute destruction or salvation of our world, as new discoveries open ever more remarkable doorways into the future. And while good intentions may underlie the science that leads to these discoveries, human greed, on an individual, political or corporate basis, will always seek a way to exploit each and every new development. Combining superb narrative and beautiful writing, these will not only be highly entertaining thrillers but will also offer the reader a privileged insight into and greater understanding of the bigger picture and how the jigsaw pieces of science, politics and business operate in the modern world. The events of the books will focus on: a science-industrial spy, based in part on the amazing multiple-lives of FBI spy Ronal Hansen; a US patent office lawyer; a venture capitalist; a Washington lobbyist; a Congressional aide; a Buddhist scientist, recently arrived in the West; a Senator and several scientists at a biotech lab outside Washington.

Destroyed by the fires of nuclear holocaust, our once great nation is in shambles. Life as we know it is no more. But among the survivors stands Ben Raines, retired soldier, mercenary, and the only man alive trained to lead the Resistance into a visionary new America.

But the Rebels’ greatest adversary—our own government—forces Raines and his army into bloody guerilla combat—and an unavoidable civil war. Now, as brother turns against brother, an even greater peril is thrown into the pot: a new, indestructible breed of post-apocalyptic enemies who threaten to wrest control of the new world and sink it into a hell on earth.

Saber-tooth tigers attack Los Angeles in Rovin's gung-ho second novel of cryptozoological horror. (In the first, Vespers, Rovin imagined mutant bats tearing up New York City.) The new novel opens in classic horror style, on a Santa Barbara hillside, as something large but unseen stalks a bobcat that's in turn stalking a dog: soon there are "streams of blood, all that remained of a bobcat on its final hunt." Cut to anthropologist Jim Grand, mourning the recent demise of his beloved wife. Cut to two engineers investigating a sinkhole near that hillside; in minutes they, too, are dead, but now we see "two glowing orbs" that move "down and then away." Cut to feisty local reporter Hannah Hughes, about to investigate the engineers' disappearance; to macho sheriff Malcolm Gearhart, who's tangled before with Jim and Hannah and who can't rest easy when there's trouble on his turf--and all the elements of grade-A schlock horror are percolating away. The buildup to the expected full-tilt saber-tooth vs. human scenes is long and slowed down by soggy excursions into Native American mysticism (Grand is an expert on the ancient Chumash, whose newfound cave illustrations warn of the saber-tooths). Rovin's characters are thin but functional, and he writes zesty action sequences, making strong use of local settings, placing the final showdown at the La Brea Tar Pits. This novel offers no surprises, but, like Vespers, it reiterates horror-movie traditions with panache. The bats ace the saber-tooths by a fright or two, but fans of horror that spins on nature-gone-amok should take to this with a growl. Film rights optioned by Universal Pictures for Sylvester Stallone.

Miles Vorkosigan, el entrañable personaje que se dio a conocer en El aprendiz de guerrero, emprende gracias a la habilidad de la exitosa escritora de Lois McNaster Bujold nuevas aventuras. En esta ocasión se abordan asuntos de gran interés: los prejuicios sociales y sus consecuencias, una posible reflexión antirracista nacida en torno a la manipulación genética y una amena exploración de temas cuya conjunción resulta particularmente curiosa: religión, supervivencia y estrategia militar.

Incluye los relatos:

Las Montañas de la Aflicción

Laberinto

Fronteras del Infinito

Premio Hugo a la mejor novela corta 1990 por Las Montañas de la Aflicción.

HARIJS HARISONS

Fantastiskā sāga

IZDEVNIECĪBA «ZINĀTNE» RĪGA 1973

J. Brandiss. Harijs Harisons, kādu mēs viņu pazīstam

Treniņlidojums

Likuma roka

Mēmais Miltons…

Mākslinieka portrets

Remontstrādnieks

Veselā planēta

Robots, kas gribēja visu zināt

Fantastiskā sāga

Г. Гаррисон

фантастическая сага

Издательство «Зинатнс> На латышском языке

«Fantastiskā sāga» ir izcilā amerikāņu mūsdienu fan­tasta Harija Harisona pirmais stāstu krājums latviešu valodā. Blakus piedzīvojumu fantastikai tajā iekļauti darbi, kuros izvirzītas svarīgas filozofiskas problēmas, spilgti un asprātīgi atmaskotas ASV īstenības ēnas puses. Stāsti tulkoti no vairākiem amerikāņu izdevu­miem.

No ang|u valodas tulkojis Z. Inesis Māksliniece M. R i k m a n e

Izdota ar Latvijas PSR Zinātņu akadēmijas Redakciju un izdevumu padomes lēmumu

HARIJS HARISONS, KĀDU MĒS VIŅU PAZĪSTAM

Harijam Harisonam bija 26 gadi, kad žurnālā «World Beyond» parādījās viņa pirmais stāsts «Roks Dainers» (1951). Jau nākamajā gadā Frederiks Pols ietvēra šo stāstu zinātniskās fantastikas antoloģijā «Beyond the End of Time». Tā bija reta veiksme: «an- toloģizējas» tikai pazīstamu rakstnieku darbi. Tā savu literāro karjeru sāka diplomētais mākslinieks Harisons, kas strādāja par Ņujorkas komercfirmu ilustratoru un žurnālu māksliniecisko redaktoru. No tā laika Harisons pastāvīgi publicējas izplatītos pe­riodiskajos izdevumos, reizēm iekļūst antoloģijās un kopš 1960. gada regulāri izlaiž atsevišķās grāmatās savus romānus un stāstus.

Diezgan ātri iemantojis popularitāti, » Harisons kļuva par ievērojamu ASV fantastu. Pēc bibliogrā­fiskajiem avotiem var izsekot, cik droši viņš ienācis li­teratūrā, pamazām uzkrādams spēkus, un tad palicis zinātniskajā fantastikā kā viens no atzītiem autoriem. Angļu un amerikāņu zinātniskās fantastikas indeksā («Index to the S. F\ Magazines», 1951 — 1965) reģis­trēts ap 60 Harisona publikāciju. No tām tikai 11 at­tiecas uz 50. gadiem. Visi labākie darbi, kas atnesuši viņam slavu, radīti pēdējā desmitgadē.

Vēl nesen Harisonu sauca par jaunu autoru, kas dod cerības. Tagad viņa vārdu kritiskos apskatos min līdzās Azimovg,m, Polam, Katneram, Klarkam un Vin- demam — mūsdienu angju un amerikāņu fantastikas izcilākajiem pārstāvjiem, kuru grāmatas tiek izdotas pie mums un ir diezgan labi pazīstamas.

Harisons fantastiskajā literatūrā parādās kā talan­tīgs sociologs un morālists, kas savdabīgi risina dau­dzo priekšteču izstrādātās tēmas. Atkarība te divē­jāda — no zinātniskām idejām un hipotēzēm, kas rada līdzīgus sižetus, un no jau publicētiem un atzī­tiem daiļdarbiem. Nebūdams zinātnieks, viņš, tāpat kā Klarks un Azimovs, netiecas bagātināt fantastiku ar kaut kādām jaunām superoriģinālām idejām. Viņam ir vieglāk balstīties uz pieņemtiem pieļāvumiem un izdarīt no tiem loģiskus secinājumus. Starp citu, vēl jānoskaidro, kur beidzas īsts novatorisms un sākas interpretācija. Robežas te ir ļoti nosacītas. Pat pirmie klasiķi — Zils Verns un Herberts Velss — nereti pata­pinājuši idejas no saviem laikabiedriem — rakstnie­kiem, kas dažādu iemeslu dēļ nav kļuvuši par slavenī­bām. Acīmredzot bez grūti tveramā jaunuma efekta jāņem vērā vēl citi faktori, kas nosaka panākumus lite­ratūrā. Bet Harisona panākumi ir neapšaubāmi un pilnīgi pelnīti.

Kā plaša diapazona rakstnieks, kas strādā dažādos zinātniskās fantastikas žanros un novados, viņš vis­pirms atšķiras ar neparastu spēju izgudrot sižetus. Augstais profesionālisms apvienojumā ar progresīva­jiem centieniem piesaista uzmanību arī tādiem Ha­risona darbiem, kurus saskaņā ar stingrajiem, bet ne vienmēr taisnīgajiem kritērijiem vajadzētu uzskatīt par otršķirīgiem. Piemēram, stāstos par robotiem Ha­risons pats atsaucas uz Azimova formulētajiem «ro- botehnikas likumiem» un prasmīgi tos pielieto para­doksālās situācijās, atrodot pirmatklājēja izvirzītajā tēmā vēl neizmantotas iespējas. Tātad runa ir nevis par vienkāršu aizgūšanu, bet par auglīgu ideju tālāk- attīstīšanu un bagātināšanu.

To pašu var teikt par Harisona stāstiem un romā­niem, kas turpina amerikāņu piedzīvojumu fantastikas tradīcijas. Nopietni rakstnieki nicīgi izturas pret novazāto kosmisko operu un šablonisko kosmisko detektīvu. Harisons, avantūristiskas intrigas meis­tars, kas veltī savu daiļradi lielākoties jauniešu auditorijai, cenšas atdzemdināt šos žanrus uz sociāla un psiholoģiska pamata. Un, ja arī viņš nav sevišķi oriģināls problēmu izvēlē un nostādnē, tad to kom­pensē spilgti izteiktās kritiskās tendences — neiecie­tība pret cilvēku un pilsoņu tiesību ierobežošanu, pret rasu diskrimināciju, gangsterismu, reliģiskajām zvē­rībām utt.

Tas, ko mēs zinām par Harisonu, raksturo viņu kā verdošas enerģijas cilvēku, mērķtiecīgu, dzīvi mīlošu, labvēlīgu, sabiedrisku cilvēku.

Harisons dzimis Stemfordā (Konektikutas štatā). Studiju laikā 1943. gadā viņš tika iesaukts armijā, pēc demobilizācijas atgriezās Ņujorkas universitātes māk­slas fakultātē, bet 1947. gadā sāka strādāt patstāvīgi un drīz vien vīlās savā amatā. Pārliecinājies, ka māk­slinieka profesijas izvēle bijusi kļūda, viņš no trok­šņainās Ņujorkas pārcēlās uz kluso Gualtu Meksikā, lai pārbaudītu sevi jaunā darba laukā, bet tad kā brīv- literāts nolūkoja Kentas grāfisti Anglijā, vēlāk aiz­brauca uz Londonu, no turienes uz Itāliju, tad uz Dāniju un apmetās ar ģimeni vecā mūra mājā, kas bija līdzīga viduslaiku pilij, netālu no Orezundas, Ziemeļjūras krastā. Brīnumaini romantiskā vide sti­mulēja viņa radošo fantāziju. Te viņš nodzīvoja vai­rākus gadus, dalīdams laiku starp literāro darbu, braucieniem uz Londonu, tāliem ceļojumiem (Hari­sons ir apbraukājis visu pasauli), slēpojumiem uz

Norvēģiju vai Zviedriju un… aizraušanos ar espe- ranto.

Dzīvojot Dānijā, viņš bija līdzredaktors vienīgajam kritiskajam fantastikas žurnālam, kas iznāca Lon­donā, — «S. F. Horizon». 1968. gadā Harijs Harisons kļuva par «Amazing Stories» — vecākā amerikāņu zinātniskās fantastikas žurnāla — galveno redaktoru.

Harisons labi pazīst Eiropas ziemeļus, Skandinā­viju, ne velti viņa fantastikā ieskanas skandināvu mo­tīvi. Tie tuvina rakstnieku Polam Andersonam, kas vēl vairāk idealizē seno ziemeļtautu skarbo dzīvi un patriarhālās ieražas. «Fantastisko sāgu» (par to tiks runāts tālāk) visvienkāršāk salīdzināt ar «Cilvēku, kas atnāca par agru» [1] un citiem Andersona darbiem.

Harija Harisona fantastiskajās pasaulēs atspoguļo­jas rakstnieka dzīvespriecīgā, optimistiskā daba. Viņa grāmatās valdošie galvu reibinošie piedzīvojumi, grūti atšķetināmās intrigas, mažora intonācijas un laimīgie iznākumi liekas dabiski tik harmoniskam raksturam. Un tas atšķir Harisonu no vairuma viņa amerikāņu kolēģu.

Ar visu to viņš tomēr paliek tipiski amerikānisks fantasts. Raksta daudz un nevienādi (apmēram divas grāmatas gadā), izmēģina roku dažādos žanros un līdztekus atvieglotiem, «komerciāliem» darbiem rada koncepciju darbus, kuros viņam organiski piemītošo humora izjūtu nomāc īsts traģisms. No tā izriet viņa fantastikas plašais diapazons — no tradicionālajiem piedzīvojumiem kosmosā līdz «cietsirdīgajiem» stās­tiem ar traģisku sociālo ievirzi.

Ar ko Harisons sācis un kā evolucionējis, rāda viņa agrīnie sacerējumi, kuros avantūristiskajai fabulai ir vienīgi izklaidēšanas funkcija. Tāds, teiksim, ir kos­miskais detektīvs «Nerūsējošā tērauda žurka» (1957). Vēlākajos darbos iecere kļūst manāmi sarežģītāka. Stāstā «Bils — Galaktikas varonis» (1966), kas ir kārtējais modernizētas kosmiskās operas paveids, ga­laktisko karu tēlojums uz tālas nākotnes sociālā fona sasaucas ar mūsdienu notikumiem. Galaktiku karaļi un impērijas — tas viss, protams, ir nosacīts. Galve­nais, kas piešķir stāstam satīrisku asumu un aktuālu - skanējumu, ir pretkara patoss, antifašistiskā virzība.

Kāpinātā interese par Āzijas problēmām un jauno valstu tautu nacionālo kustību diktējusi rakstniekam triloģiju par Jasona dina Alta piedzīvojumiem — «Nāves pasaule» (1960), «Ētikas inženieris» (1963) un «Barbari zirgos» (1968). Likdams savam varonim darboties visneiedomājamākās un šķietami bezcerīgās situācijās, Harisons aizraujošu dinamisku darbību sa­vij ar interesantiem fantastiskiem pieļāvumiem un morālām kolīzijām. Pašas iedomātās pasaules, kurās valda bailes un ienaids, zināmā mērā atspoguļo mūs­dienu kapitālistiskās pasaules pagrimumu.

Uz planētas Pirrs cietokšņa pilsētas iedzīvotāji sīvi cīnās ar indīgo floru un faunu, kurām piemīt telepā- tiskas īpašības. Darbība izraisa pretdarbību. Jo vai­rāk pilsētnieki ienīst naidīgo dabu, jo niknāk tā pre­tojas. Katram, kas iziet ārpus pilsētas, neizbēgami draud nāve. Taču ir vēl citi cilvēki — zemnieki. Viņi nekaro ar dabu un necenšas to pakļaut ar varu, viņi mierīgi sadarbojas ar dabu, izmantojot to savās inte­resēs. Jasons dins Alts, zinot, ka pilsētnieki lemti bojāejai, uzstāj, lai viņi pārceļas uz citu planētu. Šo stāstu nevar uztvert citādi kā neokoloniālistiskās po­litikas nosodījumu, un, ja tas būtu sarakstīts dažus gadus agrāk, tas liktos kā dzēlīga satīra par ameri-' kāņu agresiju Vjetnamā.

Otrajā stāstā nenogurdināmais Jasons dins Alts kopā ar tikumības sargu Mihaju Seimonu iepinas visādās likstās uz planētas, kuru apdzīvo primitīvas ciltis, kas atrodas uz dažādām civilizācijas pakāpēm. Un, kaut gan nelokāmais Mihajs joprojām tic «vis­pārcilvēciskajai» ētikai, kas derīga visiem laikiem un tautām, Jasons, pielāgojoties vietējiem apstākļiem, pārliecinoši pierāda, cik mainīgi un relatīvi ir ētiskie priekšstati, kas atkarīgi, kā mēs teiktu, no vēsturis­kajiem apstākļiem. Arī šeit tiek pausta doma par kat­ras tautas neatņemamām tiesībām uz patstāvīgu at­tīstību.

Stāstā, kas noslēdz triloģiju, Jasons dins Alts ar nelielu nodaļu izkāpj uz planētas Felisitija, kas ba­gāta ar radioaktīvām rūdām, lai sagatavotu pirriešu pārcelšanos. Taču karotājs Temučins, kas vada klejo­tāju ordas, kavē piepildīt šo nodomu. Tikai pēc Temu- čina nāves sairst šī milzīgā barbaru impērija, kas apdraud visas planētas iedzīvotājus. Tomēr atklāts paliek jautājums, vai pirrieši būs labi kaimiņi no ciet­sirdīgā valdnieka atbrīvotajām ciltīm vai, no vilka bēgdami, neuzskries virsū lācim.

No Harisona jaunākajiem darbiem visspēcīgāko iespaidu atstāj sociāli fantastiskais romāns «Pavir­zieties! Pavirzieties!» (1966), kas pēc koncepcijas tuvs Azimova «Tērauda alām», Pola un Kornblūta «Kosmosa tirgoņiem» un citiem līdzīgiem romāniem par tā saucamās demogrāfiskās eksplozijas iespēja­mām sekām. Harisons balsta savas prognozes uz mūsdienu buržuāzisko zinātnieku — futurologu, so­ciologu, demogrāfu un ekonomistu — darbiem. Romā­nam pievienots iespaidīgs pārskats par literatūru, kas veltīta pārapdzīvotības problēmām un sniedz «cilvē­ces glābšanas» receptes. Un, kaut gan mums ir darī­šana ar māksliniecisko fantāziju, autors grib teikt, ka viņa izvēle nebūt nav patvaļīga. Romāns jāuztver kā savdabīga ilustrācija socioloģiskajām prognozēm un kā brīdinājums par cilvēcei draudošajām briesmām.

Bet palūkosimies, kā Harisons tēlo samērā tuvu nā­kotni.

1999. gads. Ņujorkā ir 35 miljoni iedzīvotāju. Limi­tēts viss, izņemot piesārņotā gaisa patēriņu. Pa ielām klīst izsalkuši bezpajumtnieku bari. Nepieciešamos dzīves labumus bauda tikai privileģētie. Greznie ho­teļi, kur dzīvo bagātnieki, atgādina ielenktus cietok­šņus: bruņoti sargi, automātiskā signalizācija logos un durvīs. Saldūdens un kondicionētais gaiss maksā bargu naudu. Ogles ir izsīkušas, nafta izsūknēta, meži izcirsti. Automobiļu vietā — pedikebi vai kravas ra­tiņi ar rikšām. Ar elektrību apgādā tikai atsevišķas mājas. Pat «Empire State Building» darbojas viens pats lifts, un arī tas nebrauc līdz pašai augšai. Nepār­traukti nemieri, laupīšanas un slepkavības. Policija «nomierina» melnos ar smirdošu gāzi, kas izraisa vemšanu, un cīnās ar apkārtnes fermeriem, kuri uz­spridzina akveduktu, kas atņem viņiem dārgo val­gmi. Dabīgā gaļa pieejama tikai atsevišķiem cilvē­kiem un tiek pārdota veikalā ar bruņu durvīm. Pir­cējus, kas var atļauties tādu greznību, pavada sardze. Pat sojas «bifšteki» tiek uzskatīti par gardumu. Badā mirstošie cilvēki smok smirdošos graustos. Uz talo­niem izsniedz presētas aļģes un presētu planktonu. Kongresā bezgalīgi tiek apspriests jautājums par dzimstības kontroles ieviešanu, taču pērkamie politi­kāņi, kas spekulē uz iesīkstējušiem aizspriedumiem, noraida likumprojektu tā «amorāluma» dēļ.

Tādas ir Amerikas Savienotās Valstis mūsu gad­simta beigās. Un ne tikai Savienotas Valstis! Beļģija pārvērtusies par īstu cilvēku pūzni, Anglija — par milzīgu pārpildītu pilsētu, kur cilvēki iet bojā no šau­rības, slimībām un badošanās.

Kāpēc tad notikusi demogrāfiskā eksplozija? Iz­skaidrojums šķiet naivs. Lētie un nekaitīgie pretap­augļošanās līdzekļi nav lietoti masveidā! Klīnikas, efektīva ģimenes plānošana un valsts kontrole viegli novērstu katastrofālo iedzīvotāju pieaugumu, augsnes noplicināšanu un dabas bagātību izsīkšanu. Tātad galvenā nozīme ir bioloģiskajam faktoram; sociālā anarhija Harisona izpratnē ir nevis cēlonis, bet iedzī­votāju skaita nekārtīga pieauguma sekas.

Šim rakstniekam parasto aso sižetu šajā gadījumā pārliecinoši motivē radušies apstākļi. Gangsterisms un noziedzība, valdošo slāņu korupcija un tikumu pa­grimums— tamlīdzīgas sabiedriskās tendences mūs­dienu Amerikā tiek novestas līdz loģiskam galam.

Romānam ir veltījums: «Todam un Moirai. Jūsu lab­klājības vārdā, mani bērni, es ceru, ka tas paliks iz­domājums.» Tātad Harisons neuzskata attēlotās šaus­mas par fatāli neizbēgamām. Tomēr pašā romānā, kā jau minējām, nav ieteikti nekādi iedarbīgi pasākumi Cilvēka un Dabas saglabāšanai. Šīs ar sāpēm, kaismi un sašutumu uzrakstītās grāmatas atmaskojošais spēks sniedzas tālāk par autora subjektīvajiem cen­tieniem. Taču kaut cik nopietnu pozitīvu uzskatu trū­kums uzspiež Harisona romānam idejiskas aprobežo­tības zīmogu, un šajā ziņā viņš neatšķiras no citiem amerikāņu fantastiem.

Ar romāna «Pavirzieties! Pavirzieties!» tēmu sasau­cas stāsts «Noziegums». Tie, kas pārkāpj nepielū­dzamo likumu par dzimstības ierobežošanu, tiek fiziski likvidēti. Tas ir vēl viens paredzamās demogrāfiskās eksplozijas šaušalīgo seku nežēlīgs variants. Šoreiz Harisons parādās kā satīriķis, gribot negribot liekot atcerēties Džonatana Svifta pamfletu «Neliels ierosi­nājums», kas iesaka angļiem, kuri izputinājuši Īriju, kanibālisku paņēmienu, lai tiktu vaļā no_ izsalkuša­jiem. «Realizētā» metafora (angļi izturas Īrijā kā cil­vēkēdāji, tātad viņi patiešām var būt cilvēkēdāji) mo­dernā fantastiskā stāstā iegūst vēl baismāku jēgu: valdība apbalvo par slepkavību tēvus, kas vainojami «lieko» bērnu dzimšanā.

Ne visai tālas nākotnes Amerikas nomācošajā at­mosfērā ievada arī stāsti par robotiem. Satīrisko so­ciālo virzību tajos pastiprina nepārprotamās analo­ģijas ar amerikāņu sabiedriskās dzīves ēnas pusēm un tas, ka ar cilvēciskām īpašībām apveltīti roboti pārstāv apspiesto šķiru. Viņus izmanto smagos, maz apmaksātos darbos un pakļauj rasu segregācijai. Pār­dzīvodami visas nacionālās un sociālās beztiesības šausmas, viņi ir vēl sliktākā stāvoklī nekā nēģeri pašreiz Savienotajās Valstīs. Līdzjutēju, acīmredzot melnādaino, vadībā rodas slepena robotu organizā­cija, kas cīnās par pilsoņu tiesībām. Uz tāda piesāti­nāta fona darbība izvēršas stāstā «Robots bezdarb­nieks», kas tāpat nepārprotami vērsts pret gangste- rismu. Vērīgais, attapīgais robots, kas pratis atmaskot gangsteru bandu, ar varu tiek savervēts par policistu.

Tā paša cikla stāstā «Likuma roka» darbojas robots, kas speciāli programmēts dienestam policijā un lie­liski tiek galā ar dažādiem pienākumiem.

«Mūsu dienās,» secina stāstnieks, «ar bandītiem cīnās neuzpērkami un neievainojami roboti.» Acīm­redzot glābt Ameriku no gangsterisma sērgas ar poli­cijas palīdzību nav iespējams. Pie tāda secinājuma noved abi stāsti, kas uzrakstīti detektīvu garā.

Iespaidīgi ir arī psiholoģiskie kontrasti smalkajā un asprātīgajā novelē «Robots, kas gribēja visu zi­nāt». Robots izliekas par cilvēku, lai izbaudītu mīlas jūtas, un caur ciešanām iet nāvē, neizbaudījis nekā­dus priekus.

Daudzus Harisona stāstus īstenībai tuvina ne vien darbības laiks, bet arī pati ieceres būtība.

«Rotaļlietu veikals», kas būvēts saskaņā ar klasis­kās noveles kanoniem, kur neīstu atrisinājumu no­maina vēl negaidītāks — īsts atrisinājums, ir mazs šedevrs, kas raksturo Harisona novelista mākslu un viņa lielisko izgudrošanas psiholoģijas izpratni kapi­tālistiskās konkurences pasaulē.*

Tematiski līdzīgajā stāstā «Mēmais Miltons» šī problēma traktēta traģiskā aspektā. Stāsta nosau­kums ir simbolisks. Dižais angļu dzejnieks Džons Miltons, pazaudējis acu gaismu, turpināja radīt un beidza savu ceļu ar lielisko pret tirāniem vērsto tra­ģēdiju «Samsons cīnītājs». Sems Morisons, koledžas pasniedzējs vienā no dienvidu štatiem, visu redz un visu dzird, bet viņa lūpas ir slēgtas. Viņš ir nēģeris, un viņam jāzina sava vieta. Klusais skolotājs risina gravitācijas lauka vienādojumus un konstruē aparātu, kas paver neredzētas iespējas pasaules enerģētikai. Taču šis «mēmais Miltons» kļūst par rasisma ārprāta upuri un aiznes līdzi kapā sava ģeniālā atklājuma noslēpumu.

Dažādas ASV dzīves puses izgaismotas arī tādos stāstos kā «Mākslinieka portrets» un «Treniņlido- jums».

Pirmajā stāstā traģiskā pasaules uztvere rodas no Rietumu fantastikai parastās kolīzijas: cilvēks, kuru aizstāj automāts, izkrīt no dzīves tiešā un pārnestā nozīmē. Vienlaikus necilā mākslinieka, komiksu sa­biedrības darbinieka pārdzīvojumi atklāti ar tādu caururbjošu spēku, ka, zinot par Harisona pirmās karjeras sabrukumu, lasītājs nevilšus uztver autobio­grāfiskas reminiscences.

«Treniņlidojums» attēlo iespējamu, kaut arī ne visai ticamu situāciju, sagatavojot amerikāņu kosmonau­tus lidojumam uz Marsu. Apstākļos, kas imitē pare­dzamās grūtības, Pentagona psihologi ar aukstasi­nīgu aprēķinu padara pārbaudāmos par izmēģinājuma trusīšiem. Harisons meistarīgi atklāj eksperimenta dalībnieku sajūtu, morālo un fizisko ciešanu gammu laikā, kad līdz galam atklājas viņu individuālā apziņa un garīgā atšķirtība. Šīs sociālās un psiholoģiskās fantāzijas sižets ir reālistiski pamatots. Tiesa, mēs ne­zinām, cik tas atbilst īstenībai. Trīs kosmonautu va­roņdarbs krasi atšķiras no tāda pieļāvuma, taču lido­jums uz Marsu kādreiz notiks.

Vēl dažus vārdus par stāstiem «Veselā planēta» un «Remontstrādnieks», kas veltīti rakstnieka iemīļotajai kosmosa tēmai. Pirmajā no tiem Harisons modelē smagās sekas, kādas uz saprātīgu būtņu apdzīvotas planētas pēc sevis atstāj vergokrātu impērija dau­dzus gadus pēc tās likvidēšanas. Traumētie aborigēni kļūst par pazemes iemītniekiem un nespēj saprast cil­vēkus, kas ieradušies ar labiem nodomiem, — tiktāl psihi sakropļo verdzība.

«Remontstrādnieks» ir epizode no remontstrādnieka sūrās dzīves; šis cilvēks atbild par galaktiskajām bā­kām, kas izvietotas uz zvaigžņu trasēm. Šoreiz viņš nonāk uz planētas, kur valda domājošas amfībijas, kas pārvērtušas sabojāto bāku par sava veida pagānu templi. Tikai savas neparastās veiklības un apķērī­bas dēļ meistars veic uzdevumu.

Šajā stāstā mēs atrodam to pašu vidi, ko «Atbrau­cēja ciešanās», vienā no spēcīgākajiem Harisona dar­biem, ar kuru arī sākas mūsu pazīšanās ar viņa daiļ­radi. [2] Šie stāsti papildina viens otru, veidojot it kā diloģiju, kurā parādīti ne visai veiksmīgi Zemes cil­vēku kontakti ar saprātīgas dzīvības pārstāvjiem, kuru bioloģiskais tips krasi atšķiras no mūsu planētas iedzīvotājiem.

Centrālo vietu krājumā ieņem jautrais piedzīvojumu stāsts «Fantastiskā sāga» (1967), kas žurnāla va­riantā nosaukts «Time-Machined Saga», bet atsevišķā izdevumā — «The technicolor Time Machine». (Lat­viešu valodā stāsts tulkots no grāmatas. — Red. pie- - zīme.)

Te mēs Harisonu iepazīstam kā neizsmeļamu hu­moristu un izdomātāju, kas nemaz nelīdzinās «Pa­virzieties! Pavirzieties!» un citu minēto darbu auto­ram. Varētu likties, ka visi iespējamie triki ar ceļoju­miem pagātnē un nākotnē ir izmantoti un nekādi se­višķi jaunumi te nav gaidāmi. Kopš tiem laikiem, kad Velss iedarbināja pirmo laika mašīnu, līdzīgi sižeti ir pārplūdinājuši pasaules fantastiku. Bet galvenais taču ir motivējumi! Saskaršanās ar tāliem senčiem vai pēcnācējiem, visvisādas «laika pārbīdes» literatūrā ir sastaptas jau agrāk. Galu galā pat tāds romāns kā Marka Tvena «Jenkiji karaļa Artura galmā» atšķiras no mašīnlaika fantāzijām ar to, ka tām nav pseido- zinātnisku balstu, kas paši par sevi ieceri neietekmē, bet drīzāk tiek pielikti tai klāt.

Un tomēr, attīstoties tālāk, tēma par ceļojumiem laikā paver pasaules fantastikai arvien jaunas un jau­nas iespējas. Dažādu zemju rakstnieki, arī padomju rakstnieki fantasti, aprobē vēl neizmantotu asprātīgu loģisko pieļāvumu variantus un no tiem izrietošās paradoksālās sekas, Prasmīgās rokās mašīnlaika si­žeti kļūst par spekulatīvu eksperimentu — psiholo­ģisku, socioloģisku, filozofisku — līdzekli vai — ma­zāk dziļos darbos — par savdabīgu prāta un iztēles treniņa līdzekļi, un tas, bez šaubām, arī dod savu labumu.

Te ir pieņemti savi nosacīti likumi. Daži, piemēram, uzskata par nekorektu visniecīgāko iejaukšanos noti­

kumu dabiskajā gaitā: tas var iekustināt pagātnē pie­augošo izmaiņu lavīnu (R. Bredberijs «Un nodārdēja pērkons»). Citi uzskata, ka laiks ir neatgriežams un pie labākās gribas vēsturē nekas nav grozāms (F. Lei- bers «Pamēģini grozīt pagātni!»). Trešie turpretī cen­šas izmantot «hronoklazmas» ■— traucējumus, kas saistīti ar pārvietošanos laikā, —■ iegūstot no tām efektīgus pārsteigumus. No šā viedokļa ceļotāji laikā var «aizstāt» pazīstamus vēsturiskus darbiniekus, «organizēt» hrestomātiskus notikumus, «padarīt la­bāku» vai «padarīt sliktāku» vēsturi. Un, kaut gan daudzi fantastikas pazinēji uzskata rotaļu ar «hrono- klazmām» par neauglīgu nodarbošanos, tā saista arī nopietnus rakstniekus, kas pielīdzina neskaitāmos gā­jienus labai šaha partijai, kur iespējamo kombināciju skaits ir praktiski neierobežots. Gala iznākumā viss taču ir atkarīgs no autora ieceres un izpildījuma meis­tarības. ✓ .

Harisons ir hronoklazmu piekritējs. Vienā no viņa nesenajiem stāstiem — «Stonhendža mīkla» — zināt­nieks, gribēdams noskaidrot veca Anglijas arhitektū­ras pieminekļa izcelsmi, sūta tālā nākotnē laika ma­šīnu ar kinokameru. Nepazīstamo priekšmetu, kas iz­staro zeltainu gaismu, aborigēni uzlūko kā dievu un pielūdz kā elku, bet tad viņi uzceļ šajā vietā akmens bluķus, kas pazīstami ar Stonhendža vārdu. Kur tad, jājautā, pirmcēlonis? Vai laika mašīna stimulējusi senā pieminekļa radīšanu vai piemineklis pievilcis zi­nātnieku, kas sūtījis laika mašīnu?

Ja šajā stāstā rakstnieks nekoncentrē uzmanību uz jautājumu par tiešu iejaukšanos pagātnes notikumos, tad «Fantastiskajā sāgā» atnācēji no nākotnes paši rada pagātni, balstoties uz pazīstamiem avotiem. Ho­livudas kinoekspedīcija, kas devusies uz vikingu laik­metu, inscenē jeb, labāk sakot, pēc esošajiem vēsturiskajiem datiem atdarina, kā senie skandināvi atklā­juši Ameriku, un šis izdomātais notikums turpmāk at­spoguļojas «sāgās». Gandrīz kā Mandelštamam:

Var būt, ka daža laba pērle garām Ies mazbērniem un mazmazbērniem tiks; Būs skalds no jauna svešas dziesmas varā, Un kā par savējo viņš jūsmot liks.

Tīši absurdais pieļāvums pilnīgi apgāž vispārzinā­mos faktus, kas fiksēti avotos, un jēdzienus, kurus nostiprinājis veselais saprāts. «Mašīnlaika sāgas» paradoksalitāte slēpjas ne tikdaudz pašos paņēmie­nos (tikšanās pašam ar sevi «laika gredzenā», vēs­turisku notikumu veidošana ar mērķtiecīgu rīcību pa­gātnē), cik šo paņēmienu prasmīgā un veiklā izmanto­šanā.

Kinoļaužu biežā pārvietošanās no tagadnes uz pa­gātni, no pagātnes uz tagadni it kā pārbīda laika slā­ņus, savienojot un satuvinot dažādu laikmetu cilvē­kus, sapludinot notikumus, kurus šķir veselas tūkstoš­gades. Dzīvespriecīgas bufonādes toņos ieturēto vēs­tījumu pavada bezgalīgas komiskas izspēles un uz­jautrinoši piedzīvojumi.

Laika ilgums pagātnē dod iespēju atgriezties ta­gadnē jau dažas minūtes pēc došanās ceļā. Var bez steigas uzrakstīt scenāriju un uzņemt dabā pilnmet­rāžas filmu ar īstu vikingu piedalīšanos. Lai cik ilgi būtu bijusi prom ekspedīcija, krāsainā platformāta lente noteiktajā laikā tiks nodota producentam un glābs firmu no bankrota! Tiesa, biežie braucieni turp un atpakaļ rada dažus traucējumus, kas saistīti ar «objektīvā» laika zaudējumu tagadnē. Un tomēr uzde­vums ir izpildīts, un visi ķīviņi, kas sarežģī darbību, dabiski, izriet no tā paša pieņemtā priekšnoteikuma, kas pakļaujas ja ne dzīves patiesības likumiem, tad formālās loģikas likumiem,

Lieliski uztverti un tuvplānā parādīti (kā kino) visi centrālie personāži: producents, režisors, scenā­rists, aktieri. No viņiem Rafs Houks, stulbenis ar atlē­tisku miesas būvi, kas bijis paredzēts leģendārā Ame­rikas pirmatklājēja Torfina (islandiešu sāgās Karl- sefni) lomai, tiek nomainīts ar vikingu Otaru, kuram lemts spēlēt vēsturisku lomu ne tikai kino, bet arī dzīvē. Izrādās, ka Torfins Karlsefni ir vikinga, sāgas varoņa, īstais vārds, bet Otars ir pamazināmais vārds no Torfina. Holivudas «seksa bumba» Slaitija Touva patiešām iziet pie viņa par sievu un laiž pasaulē spēkavīru Snoriju, kas tāpat iemūžināts senskandi- nāvu eposā.

Vēl vairāk. Režisors Bārnijs Hendriksons, kas in­scenē filmu, arī atstāj savas pēdas vēsturē ar Bjarni Herlofsona Torfina drauga vārdu; Herlofsons pamu­dina viņu doties jūras braucienā un atklāt Vinlandi tagadējās Ņūfaundlendas teritorijā, kur jau laikus ieradušies kinoļaudis. Iznāk, ka tā dzimusi varoņsāga, kurā atainota Amerikas atklāšana — piecus gadsim­tus pirms Kolumba!

Pārvietošanās laikā savieno nesavienojamus laika slāņus. Taču katrs personāžs pie tam paliek sava laik­meta tipiskās sociālās psiholoģijas paudējs. No vienas puses — Otars, varenais vikings! «Sāga bija viņam viss, vienlaikus dzīve un māksla. Dziesma bija kauja, bet kauja kļuva par dziesmu.» No otras puses — Bār­nijs Hendriksons, uzņēmīgais kinodarbonis, un tie, kas ap viņu. Veltīgi pūlēdamies izskaidrot vikingam sava pasākuma jēgu un mērķi, režisors neslēpj patie­sību: «Mēs taisām filmu, Otar, lūk, ko ~mēs darām. Laika kavēklis un lielais bizness saplūduši kopā. Nauda un māksla nesajaucas, bet mēs kopš laika gala jaucam tās kopā.»

Stāsta satīriskais lādiņš ir viena no daudzslāņu ieceres sastāvdaļām. Prasme viegli, spraigi, nepie­spiesti rīkoties ar vēsturisko un mūsdienīgo mate­riālu, virtuozā kompozīcijas māka, stāstītāja meista­rība, neizsīkstošais humors — tas viss veiksmīgi sa­kausēts kopā.

«Fantastiskā sāga» rāda Harisona sasniegumu līmeni piedzīvojumu fantastikas novadā un līdz ar citiem darbiem, kas aplūkoti mūsu apcerējumā un daļēji pārstāvēti krājumā, raksturo šā apskaužamā rakstnieka idejiskos un radošos centienus.

Jevgeņijs Brandiss

While searching for the lethal ingredient in a popular snack food, Remo and Chiun encounter an exotic beauty determined to make Chiun her instant enemy and Remo her love slave.

It’s the personal implications of first contact that Sawyer (Illegal Alien) dramatizes in his disturbing and uneven new novel. Set in Canada, circa 2017, the story focuses on Heather and her computer-scientist husband, Kyle, who have separated following the suicide of their daughter Mary. When younger daughter Rebecca confronts her parents and accuses her father of molesting her, the family starts to shake apart. Redemption comes in the unlikely form of alien altruism: the messages from Alpha Centauri that psychologist Heather has studied for years prove to be blueprints for a "psychospace" device that enables her to see into the overmind of humanity, and to know anyones deepest thoughts. In a flash, Kyle is exonerated, Rebecca apologizes, and her nasty, manipulative therapist is blamed for the false accusation. Although the novel ends with Heather greeting the first starship from Alpha Centauri, the bulk of the plot centers around the family’s own mystery, and so the conclusion comes off as anti-climactic. Sawyer also includes too many digressions about the cultural significance of Seinfeld, Star Trek bloopers and quantum physics, delivering a tale that ultimately works more as a study of the human heart than as believable story of alien encounter. (Publishers Weekly)

En el año 2007 se detecta una señal procedente del espacio profundo. Misteriosos e ininteligibles flujos de datos son recibidos durante diez años. Entonces la señal se detiene.

Heather Davis, profesora de la Universidad de Toronto, ha dedicado toda su carrera a descifrar el mensaje. Mientras, su vida personal ha sucumbido: una hija suicida, un matrimonio destrozado. Pero es ella quien finalmente descifra el mensaje. Descubre una sorprendente tecnología nueva que puede abrirse paso a través de las barreras del espacio y el tiempo, con la promesa de una nueva etapa en la evolución humana. Parecen cercanos una capacidad de exploración ilimitada... o el final de la raza humana.

Factor de humanidad es una novela de implicaciones morales, técnicas y sociológicas. Describe una forma de comuni-cación con una civilización que supera hasta límites insospecha-dos a la nuestra, pero también es la historia de cómo se puede destruir una pareja por una mentira, y lo difícil que puede ser reconstruirla.

El canadiense Robert J. Sawyer ganador del Premio Nebula y nominado al Premio Hugo por Factor de humanidad, habiendo sido finalista los cuatro últimos años, es uno de los autores más aclamados y respetados del momento en Estados Unidos.

Invisible swarms of insects are in the rampage, heading towards America's heartland. Immune to pesticides, the creatures are consuming farms, leveling wheat and cornfields. On the frontlines, Remo and the Master of Sinanju face not only the insurgent insects, but the Iowa Disorganized Militia - convinced this pestilence is actually a government conspiracy.

Is the insect kingdom mobilizing to reclaim the planet...or is it something entirely different behind it all? Unless the Destroyer can combat this disaster, a whole nation may start dropping like flies.

A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to go into the light. But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. This is a thrilling debut novel from an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense.

Это история про ликанов. И еще, про Свет и Тьму, и их сочетание в каждом из нас.

А так же, о том, стоит ли жизнь того, кого ты любишь - Апокалипсиса.

Это история про ликанов. И еще, про Свет и Тьму, и их сочетание в каждом из нас.

А так же, о том, стоит ли жизнь того, кого ты любишь - Апокалипсиса.

A race of microscopic beings, who were genetically engineered to survive on the turbulent mantle of a neutron star and who vividly remember their superbeing creators, prepare for the biggest family reunion in history.

This is the second book in the brand new trilogy from the author of the "Tawny Man" trilogy, following on from the bestselling Shaman's «Crossing».

The King's Cavalla Academy has been ravaged by the Speck plague. Hundreds of cadets and instructors have been lost to the disease, and even the survivors may never fully recover. Many have been forced to relinquish their military ambitions and return to their families to face lives of dependency and disappointment.

As the Academy infirmary empties, Cadet Nevare Burvelle also prepares to journey home, to attend his brother Rosse's wedding. Far from being a broken man, Nevare is hale and hearty after his convalescence. Instead of growing rake — thin like the other plague victims, Nevare has put on weight. In fact, he just can't stop putting on weight, no matter how much he exercises or how little he eats. To make matters worse, his nights are haunted by dreams of the voluptuous Tree Woman, dreams in which his Speck self betrays everything he holds dear in his waking life. Has the plague infected him in ways far more mysterious than the merely physical?

Despite his fears, Nevare will journey back to Widevale in high spirits, in full expectation of a jubilant homecoming and a tender reunion with his young and beautiful fiancee, Carsina. But his life is about to take a dramatic, unexpected and shocking turn; and soon he may be forced to choose sides, between civilized Gernia, his ancestry and upbringing and the magical, sensual world of the Specks.

The Horus Heresy is the Black Library's premium SF series, telling the story of the civil war that nearly tore the human Imperium apart, ten thousand years ago. This latest title sees triumphant return of the Dark Angels, by Darkblade co-author Mike Lee.

The human Imperium stands at its height of glory - thousands of worlds have been brought to heel by the conquering armies of mankind. At the peak of his powers, Warmaster Horus wields absolute control - but can even he resist the corrupting whispers of Chaos?

It is the 31st millennium, and humanity is at the peak of its powers. As the Great Crusade, led by Warmaster Horus, continues to conquer the galaxy, Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor's Children, leads his warriors into battle against a vile alien foe. From the blood of this campaign are sown the seeds that will lead this proud Legion to treachery, taking them down the darkest of paths of corruption. Leading up to the carnage of the Dropsite Massacre on Isstvan V, this is the tale of Fulgrim's tragic fall from grace.

Dziesiąta era kosmiczna Ziemi. Od kilkudziesięciu lat trwają prace nad budową gwiazdolotów, które wezmą udział w wielkiej wyprawie międzygalaktycznej. Siłą napędową tych pojazdów będzie energia Kosmosu, energia gwiazd, promieniowanie kosmiczne, siły grawitacyjne innych układów słonecznych. Te niewyczerpane źródła energii pozwolą gwiazdolotom na rozwinięcie szybkości bliskiej prędkości światła.

Zadanie ekspedycji — nawiązać kontakt z innymi cywilizacjami i zbadać kształt Kosmosu.

With wry humor and penetrating satire, Flatland takes us on a mind-expanding journey into a different world to give us a new vision of our own. A. Square, the slightly befuddled narrator, is born into a place which is limited to two dimensions—irrevocably flat—and peopled by a hierarchy of geometrical forms. In a Gulliver-like tour of his bizarre homeland, A. Square spins a fascinating tale of domestic drama and political turmoil, from sex among consenting triangles to the intentional subjugation of Flatland's females. He tells of visits to Lineland, the world of one dimension, and Pointland, the world of no dimension. But when A. Square dares to speak openly of a third, even a fourth dimension, his tragic fate climaxes a brilliant parody of Victorian society.

An underground favorite since its publication in England in 1884, Flatland is as prophetic a science-fiction classic as the works of H.G. Wells, introducing aspects of relativity and hyperspace years before Einstein's famous theories, and it does so with a wonderful, enduring enchantment.

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…

It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians-including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if handto- hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks….This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…

Nel giardino di un fotoreporter, ai piedi di una vecchia quercia, si apre a un tratto, come nelle fiabe, un gran buco nero. Ma le creature che ne escono non sono gnomi o folletti, sono uomini e donne, vecchi e bambini che fuggono dal futuro; o, almeno, così dicono. È un’invasione ordinata e pacifica, che pone però ugualmente problemi gravissimi. Possiamo noi, già sovraffollati come siamo, accogliere e mantenere questi milioni di nuovi venuti che dilagano in ogni parte del mondo? E, d’altra parte, chi avrebbe il coraggio di respingere quelli che sono, in fin dei conti, i nostri discendenti? Finché, a sciogliere i nodi e le esitazioni, interviene l’orrendo nemico da cui i profughi fuggivano e che ora si scatena anche nel nostro tempo.

Leo Graf was an effective engineer… Safety Regs weren’t just the rule book he swore by; he’d helped write them. All that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat. Leo was profoundly uneasy with the corporate exploitation of his bright new students—till that exploitation turned to something much worse. He hadn’t anticipated a situation where the right thing to do was neither save, nor in the rules…

Leo Graf adopted 1000 quaddies—now all he had to do was teach them to be free.

África ha sido devastada por una breve guerra atómica y sus habitantes huyen por el mundo. Al cabo de un año, dos millones de africanos han llegado a Gran Bretaña, y poco después su desesperación se transforma en violencia, la violencia en anarquía, y la anarquía en una guerra civil de consecuencias imprevisibles. Como ha escrito Brian W. Aldiss, esta obra se sitúa “en la tradición de Wyndham, pero los dulces crepúsculos de Wyndham se han apagado y ahora la noche oscura del alma desciende sobre el mundo”.

The planet Ishtar has three suns: Bel, the “real” sun, the Life Giver. Ea, the Companion who warms the Ishtaran summers. Anu, the Demon Star. Mostly Anu is so far away that it is just a light in the Ishtaran sky. But once every thousand years it comes close. It is then that the barbarians must flee their scorched lands, and civilizations fall.

The natives call this Fire Time. Always before, its coming had meant the death of a civilization. But this time, the humans are here, and they have brought with them their magical technology. This time things could have been different. Too bad that the humans are suddenly faced with a war of their own, their own Fire Time.

Nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1975.

La serie de la Fundación (Fundación, Fundación e Imperio, Segunda Fundación y Los límites de la Fundación) es la obra de ciencia ficción más leída de todos los tiempos. Como gran acontecimiento editorial, la saga monumental continúa con Fundación y Tierra, que es la quinta y más emocionante novela de la serie. Golan Trevize, ex consejero de la Primera Fundación, se encuentra con que debe realizar una tarea formidable: determinar el futuro del desarrollo galáctico. Pero, ¿qué fuerza instintiva ha llevado a Trevize a esta extraordinaria idea?

¿Procede acaso de lo más profundo de la Historia antigua de otro gran mundo llamado Tierra? Trevize tiene que saber la respuesta a estas preguntas. Al descubrir que toda referencia a la Tierra ha desaparecido misteriosamente de la Biblioteca Galáctica de Trantor, sale en busca del planeta «perdido». Y él y sus compañeros, el historiador Janov Pelorat y la hermosa gaiana Bliss, al viajar de un mundo prohibido a otro, se enfrentan audazmente a una odisea llena de peligros, de la que dependerá el destino del Imperio y de la propia Humanidad.

Continuación de la serie «La Fundación».

Ésta es una novela soberbia en la que vemos cómo la Humanidad, en un lejano futuro galáctico, busca sus orígenes en un planeta perdido llamado Tierra…

The long-awaited sequel to Janni Lee Simner's breathtaking YA fantasy debut, Bones of Faerie.

Liza is a summoner. She can draw life to herself, even from beyond the grave. And because magic works both ways, she can drive life away. Months ago, she used her powers to banish her dangerous father and to rescue her mother, lost in dreams, from the ruined land of Faerie.

Born in the wake of the war between humanity and Faerie, Liza lived in a world where green things never slept, where trees sought to root in living flesh and bone. But now the forests have fallen silent. Even the evergreens' branches are bare. Winter crops won't grow, and the threat of starvation looms. And deep in the forest a dark, malevolent will is at work. To face it, Liza will have to find within herself something more powerful than magic alone.

Here at last is the sequel to Bones of Faerie, for all those fans of dark fantasy and dystopian adventure who thrilled to Janni Lee Simner's unique vision of a postapocalyptic world infused with magic.

Premio Nebula per il miglior racconto apparso nel 1984, questo «Figlio del Mattino» è un’ulteriore riprova della bravura di Gardner Dozois.

La tecnologia avanza molto più rapidamente del solito in tempo di guerra e quindi, nonostante le nostre aspettative, la Terza Guerra Mondiale, se mai dovesse scoppiare, probabilmente ci sorprenderebbe con armi imprevedibili e fantastiche come quella che Dozois ci presenta in questo piccolo e toccante capolavoro.

Algernon è un topo, ma non è un topo qualunque. Con un’audace operazione, uno scienziato ha triplicato il suo QI, rendendolo forse più intelligente di alcuni esseri umani. Di certo più di Charlie Gordon che, fino all’età di trentadue anni, ha vissuto nella dolorosa consapevolezza di non essere molto… sveglio. Ma cosa succede quando quella stessa operazione viene effettuata su Charlie?

Vincitore del premio Nebula per il miglior romanzo in 1966.

Nominato per il premio Hugo per il miglior romanzo in 1967.

Algernon è un topo, ma non è un topo qualunque. Con un’audace operazione, uno scienziato ha triplicato il suo QI, rendendolo forse più intelligente di alcuni esseri umani. Di certo più di Charlie Gordon che, fino all’età di trentadue anni, ha vissuto nella dolorosa consapevolezza di non essere molto… sveglio. Ma cosa succede quando quella stessa operazione viene effettuata su Charlie?

Vincitore del premio Nebula per il miglior romanzo in 1966.

Nominato per il premio Hugo per il miglior romanzo in 1967.

The triumphant conclusion to our three thrilling fantasy series, from the author of the bestselling Farseer and Liveship traders trilogies.

The only hopes for an end to war and insurrection in the Six Duchies rests in the hands of the small party that are embarked on a desperate quest to the frozen island of Aslevjal. Here, so legend says, lies the sleeping form of the legendary great black dragon, Icefyre. The beast is of holy significance to the people of the Outislands, a powerful talisman, but it is this dragon that their Narcheska has challenged Prince Dutiful to kill. All he has to help him in this in the company of his small coterie: the mercurial old assassin, Chade, the gifted but slow-witted servant boy, Thick, and their Skillmaster, Fitz. The other member of the group has been left behind in Buckkeep, but the Fool will do everything in his power to be with them on the island — he has seen that this is his final destiny. When the ship finally reaches the desolate island it seems out of the question that anything could exist on this wasteland, yet the discoveries that Dutiful and his friends make will not only put the quest and their lives in jeopardy, it will also shape the future of the whole world.

The Tawny Man Book 3 brings not only this trilogy but also the Farseer trilogy begun with ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE in 1996 to a spectacular conclusion. Filled with breathtaking drama and powerful character-led story-telling, Robin Hobb's writing is in a class of its own.

"Robin Hobb's books are like diamonds in a sea of zircons."

George R R Martin

A novel of the nobility of the human spirit.

A novel of ideas.

New York Times bestselling author Terry Goodkind returns with an extraordinary new novel of the majestic Sword of Truth. Richard, the Lord Rahl and the Seeker of Truth, has returned to his boyhood home, Hartland.

When a Sister of the Dark captures Richard, he makes a desperate sacrifice to ensure that his beloved Kahlan remains free. Taken deep into the Old World and forced to labor for the tyrannical evil he’s sworn to defeat, he is determined to remain defiant even in the heart of darkness.

Kahlan, left behind and unwilling to abandon the cause of the Midlands, violates prophecy and breaks her last pledge to Richard. Finally she will come face to face with the architect of the terror sweeping her land—the mad dreamwalker, Emperor Jagang.

While Kahlan faces Jagang’s vast horde, Richard discovers the truth of the Imperial Order’s rule. Forced to endure his ordeal without magic, without the Sword of Truth, without his love, he stands against the despair and soulnumbing regime of the Old World, his hope kept alive only by the knowledge of the rightness of his cause.

Fatalny dzień w historii Ludzi Lodu: Tengel Zły i jego prawa ręka, okrutny Lynx, postanowili zniszczyć Ludzi Lodu i ich sojuszników. Zebrali wszystkie swoje oddziały, najemnych żołnierzy, przestępców wojennych, uwodzicielskie czarownice i potwornych rycerzy, których pokonanie wydawało się niemożliwe…

Of all the irksome, frustrating, maddening discoveries—was there no way of keeping it discovered?

Naota's life is not simple. He lives with his eccentric father and grandfather in a city distinguished by a gigantic hand-iron shaped factory perched on hill. His brother's ex-girlfriend makes passes at him. And to top it all off, an impish, playful alien has run him over with her Vespa and smacked him in the head with a bass guitar! Little does he know that this is only the beginning of his involvement in an interplanetary ideological war.

Inspired by the FLCL anime.

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck. Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open-but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability. And it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a Dream Catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd even feared...

Tylko cud albo szerokoekranowa superprodukcja może ocalić wytwórnię filmową Climatic Studios przed bankructwem. Ratunkiem okazuje się jednak Vremiatron — maszyna czasu profesora Hewetta.

Przedsiębiorczy menadżer, Barney Hendrickson, przenosi się z całą ekipą w jedenastowieczny świat Wikingów, by tam, bez kosztownych wydatków i kłopotów z dekoracjami, statystami i związkami zawodowymi nakręcić przygodową sagę z życia krwiożerczych barbarzyńców. Pomysł jest znakomity, ale średniowieczna Europa szykuje Amerykanom wiele niespodzianek…

Jedna z najlepszych powieści o podróżach w czasie, dowcipna, wciągajaca, znakomicie napisana.

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce—and goes out of his way to make that very clear—she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret… even if it kills her.

Dalle prime invasioni di H. G. Wells, il tema della guerra contro i «mostri» di mondi lontani è stato spesso trattato dagli scrittori di fantascienza. Ma crediamo che questo romanzo sia senza precedenti e meriti di essere segnalato particolarmente ai lettori. Si tratta a nostro parere di una delle opere più riuscite e originali nella vastissima produzione di Robert Heinlein. La storia è raccontata in prima persona e in un linguaggio secco e pittoresco da un soldato dell’esercito terrestre, un ragazzo che scappa di casa per arruolarsi nella fanteria dello spazio (regina, a quanto pare, anche delle battaglie cosmiche), partecipa alle operazioni belliche nella Galassia, e «fa carriera» fino a meritarsi i galloni da ufficiale… Ma ciò che costituisce il mordente del libro e lo straordinario verismo, la «fedeltà» quasi cinematografica delle esperienze militari del protagonista. I sergenti cattivi, le marce le esercitazioni a fuoco, la terribile disciplina, la solidarietà fra commilitoni sono cose che molti lettori conosceranno per averle provate di persona. Ma qui anche la «tuta potenziata» l’arma tuttofare della fanteria spaziale, anche i lanci dall’astronave, i rastrellamenti a «saltamontone», le offensive contro i «pelleossa» e i «ragni» dei pianeti nemici sono descritti con una bravura da grande documentarista. Ed è l’apparenza realistica di queste avventure di guerra a renderle più persuasive e soprattutto più drammatiche e avvincenti.

Vincitore del premio Hugo per il miglior romanzo in 1960.

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments, dark and light, by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from under the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly.

 From the gentle tones of a story-teller's cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr's Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with . . . or to fear.

 Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr's stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it.

Nowadays firemen start fires. Fireman Guy Montag loves to rush to a fire and watch books burn up. Then he met a seventeen-year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid, and a professor who told him of a future where people could think. And Guy Montag knew what he had to do…

On October 11 the television star Jason Taverner is so famous that 30 million viewers eagerly watch his prime-time show. On October 12 Jason Taverner is not a has-been but a never-was—a man who has lost not only his audience but all proof of his existence. And in the claustrophobic betrayal state of “Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said”, loss of proof is synonyms with loss of life.

Taverner races to solve the riddle of his disappearance, immerses us in a horribly plausible Philip K. Dick United States in which everyone—from a waiflike forger of identity cards to a surgically altered pleasure—informs on everyone else, a world in which omniscient police have something to hide. His bleakly beautiful novel bores into the deepest bedrock self and plants a stick of dynamite at its center.

"Vampire, nosferatu, creature of the night — whatever you call him — Jules Duchon has lived (so to speak) in New Orleans far longer than there have been drunk coeds on Bourbon Street. Weighing in at a whopping four hundred and fifty pounds, swelled up on the sweet, rich blood of people who consume the fattiest diet in the world, Jules is thankful he can't see his reflection in a mirror. When he turns into a bat, he can't get his big ol' butt off the ground." "What's worse, after more than a century of being undead, he's watched his neighborhood truly go to hell — and now, a new vampire is looking to drive him out altogether. See, Jules had always been an equal opportunity kind of vampire. And while he would admit that the blood of a black woman is sweeter than the blood of a white man, Jules never drank more than his fair share of either. Enter Malice X. Young, cocky, and black, Malice warns Jules that his days of feasting on sisters and brothers are over. He tells Jules he'd better confine himself to white victims — or else face the consequences. And then, just to prove he isn't kidding, Malice burns Jules's house to the ground." With the help of Maureen, the morbidly obese, stripper-vampire who made him, and Doodlebug, an undead cross-dresser who (literally) flies in from the coast — Jules must find a way to contend with the hurdles that life throws at him… without getting a stake through the heart. It's enough to give a man the blues.

Business has been slow for professional wizard Harry Dresden, who hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work, magical or mundane. But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

Business has been slow for professional wizard Harry Dresden, who hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work, magical or mundane. But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though — especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town's living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It's only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he's set for Morganville.

Without the evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville, the resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are almost starting to feel comfortable again.

Now Claire can actually concentrate on her studies, and her friend Eve joins the local theatre company. But when one of Eve's castmates goes missing after starting work on a short documentary, Eve suspects the worst. Claire and Eve soon realize that this film project, whose subjectis the vampires themselves, is a whole lot bigger — and way more dangerous — than anyone suspected.

The genie is out of the bottle. Rogue Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin is racing to New York to warn her former colleagues of the impending apocalypse. An ancient agreement between the Djinn and the Wardens has been broken, and the furious Djinn, slaves to the Wardens for millennia, are now free of mortal control. With more than half the Wardens unaccounted for in the wake of the Djinn uprising, Joanne realizes that the natural disasters they've combated for so long were merely symptoms of restless Mother Nature fidgeting in her sleep. Now she's waking up — and she's angry.

The Firstborn — the mysterious race of aliens who first became known to science fiction fans as the builders of the iconic black monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey — have inhabited legendary master of science fiction Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s writing for decades. With Time’s Eye and Sunstorm, the first two books in their acclaimed Time Odyssey series, Clarke and his brilliant co-author Stephen Baxter imagined a near-future in which the Firstborn seek to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic.

Their first act was the Discontinuity, in which Earth was carved into sections from different eras of history, restitched into a patchwork world, and renamed Mir. Mir’s inhabitants included such notables as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and United Nations peacekeeper Bisesa Dutt. For reasons unknown to her, Bisesa entered into communication with an alien artifact of inscrutable purpose and godlike power — a power that eventually returned her to Earth. There, she played an instrumental role in humanity’s race against time to stop a doomsday event: a massive solar storm triggered by the alien Firstborn designed to eradicate all life from the planet. That fate was averted at an inconceivable price. Now, twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back.

This time, they are pulling no punches: They have sent a “quantum bomb.” Speeding toward Earth, it is a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, that cannot be stopped or destroyed — and one that will obliterate Earth.

Bisesa’s desperate quest for answers sends her first to Mars and then to Mir, which is itself threatened with extinction. The end seems inevitable. But as shocking new insights emerge into the nature of the Firstborn and their chilling plans for mankind, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away.

From the Hardcover edition.

Po brilantních Vládcích loutek vydalo nakladatelství AG Kult další knihu Roberta Heinleina s názvem Friday. Proti vládcům chybí silná vůdčí myšlenka či symbol. Příběh o boji špionážních a teroristických center je, dá se říci, dokonce chatrný.

Přesto kniha není horší než předchozí, to jest, představuje v žánru sci-fi absolutní špičku a přesahuje jej. Hlavní zásluhu má na tom Heinleinův styl. Technika vyprávění ne nepodobná stylu Hammeta či Chandlera je samozřejmostí. V textu je však víc ironie, ba přímých karikatur současných amerických institucí.

Svět budoucnosti, v němž se pohybuje hrdinka Friday, umělá žena, se velmi liší od světů, které projektuje většina autorů fantastiky. Není lepší než současný, ale ani horší. Je stejný. Rivalita států a špionážních centrál, málo schopný ouřad, každodenní boj o peníze a vposledku o život.

Avšak Friday není v prvním plánu ani o tomto světě. Je o silné nesentimentální individualitě, která s nepřekonatelnou energií vítězí nad překážkami. Tvrdá v tvrdém světě, naprosto, a přitom citlivá ryze pozitivním způsobem. Individualita tvořící svůj život s hravou radostí, neporazitelná ve své podstatě, ačkoli prochází pekelnými zážitky. Nietzsche by zajásal, kdyby viděl, s jakou grácií Heinlein ztvárnil jeho ideál.

Hugo and Nebula award winner Anderson incorporates two stories he wrote for the Asimov’s Universe series into this absorbing posthumous novel, a fast-paced space opera that never lets the reader forget that aliens are alien. At a time when nearly immortal humans have colonized the galaxy, various space-faring species commingle freely and the residents of Earth have become as alien to other humans as true ETs, an astronomical event that may affect all existence is about to take place. Unfortunately, only one set of aliens knows what that event is and their ruling dictatorship is hell-bent on keeping it that way. Lissa Windholm, an Earth woman with a spirit of adventure men find attractive, is determined to uncover the mystery and share the knowledge with everyone. Lissa and her partner Karl, a tyrannosaurus-like scientist, make some startling archeological discoveries on the planet Jonna about beings known as the Forerunners, but a psychologically scarred starship captain and an impressively ancient and profit-minded human rogue have other plans for the relics. Moving from one key sequence to another, Anderson omits much of the buildup and back story customary for such epic-scale SF, yet his protagonists and the worlds they explore always feel rich and real.

Copyright © Joe Haldeman 1997

Version 1.0

1998 Hugo Award Winner

1999 Nebula Award Winner

This novel is for two editors: John W. Campbell, who rejected a story because he thought it was absurd to write about American women who fight and die in combat, and Ben Bova, who didn't.

Caveat lector: This book is not a continuation of my 1975 novel The Forever War. From the author's point of view it is a kind of sequel, though, examining some of that novel's problems from an angle that didn't exist twenty years ago.

Picking up a few months after the end of Daemon (2009), Suarez continues his popular technothriller and SF saga. The computer program Daemon has taken over the Internet, and millions have joined its virtual world. Now the effect is spilling into the real world as Daemon assumes control of financial institutions, and the program’s real-life converts flock to small towns to re-create a sustainable lifestyle amid the agribusiness monoculture of the Midwest. Despite a slow start, Freedom picks up speed by the second half with Daemon’s supporters and detractors facing off for the control of civilization. Only readers who have also read Daemon will be fully able to enjoy and understand Freedom, as most of the characters and plot elements are drawn directly from the previous story, and only so much backstory is possible, given the elaborate premise. On the other hand, Daemon fans will be well be pleased with the exciting conclusion, as will anyone who enjoys lots of gaming elements and virtual worlds in their science fiction. --Jessica Moyer

It's no walk in the park for a Drood, a member of the family that has protected humanity from the things that go bump in the night for centuries. They aren't much liked by the creatures they kill, by ungrateful humans, or even by one another.

Now their Matriarch is dead, and it's up to Eddie Drood, acting head of the family, to figure out whodunit. Unpopular opinion is divided: it was either Eddie's best girl, Molly. Or Eddie himself. And Eddie knows he didn't do it.

It's no walk in the park for a Drood, a member of the family that has protected humanity from the things that go bump in the night for centuries. They aren't much liked by the creatures they kill, by ungrateful humans, or even by one another.

Now their Matriarch is dead, and it's up to Eddie Drood, acting head of the family, to figure out whodunit. Unpopular opinion is divided: it was either Eddie's best girl, Molly. Or Eddie himself. And Eddie knows he didn't do it.

For fifteen years FitzChivalry Farseer has lived in self-imposed exile, assumed to be dead by almost all who once cared about him. But that is about to change when destiny seeks him once again.

Prince Dutiful, the young heir to the Farseer throne, has vanished and FitzChivalry, possessed of magical skills both royal and profane, is the only one who can retrieve him in time for his betrothal ceremony — thus sparing the Six Duchies profound political embarrassment… or worse. But even Fitz does not suspect the web of treachery that awaits him or how his loyalties to his Queen, his partner, and those who share his magic will be tested to the breaking point.

In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world where legends walk and the shady paths of the underworld are far more sinister than anyone envisioned.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne's Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races-and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker-until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn't be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she's going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful-and delectably naked-vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior-by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind-and just how much it needs her.

Doug Lee is undead quite by accident — attacked by a desperate vampire, he finds himself cursed with being fat and fifteen forever. When he has no luck finding some goth chick with a vampire fetish, he resorts to sucking the blood of cows under cover of the night. But it's just not the same.

Then he meets the new Indian exchange student and falls for her — hard. Yeah, he wants to bite her, but he also wants to prove himself to her. But like the laws of life, love, and high school, the laws of vampire existence are complicated — it's not as easy as studying Dracula. Especially when the star of Vampire Hunters is hot on your trail in an attempt to boost ratings. .

Searing, hilarious, and always unexpected, Fat Vampire is a satirical tour de force from one of the most original writers of fiction today.

Doug Lee is undead quite by accident — attacked by a desperate vampire, he finds himself cursed with being fat and fifteen forever. When he has no luck finding some goth chick with a vampire fetish, he resorts to sucking the blood of cows under cover of the night. But it's just not the same.

Then he meets the new Indian exchange student and falls for her — hard. Yeah, he wants to bite her, but he also wants to prove himself to her. But like the laws of life, love, and high school, the laws of vampire existence are complicated — it's not as easy as studying Dracula. Especially when the star of Vampire Hunters is hot on your trail in an attempt to boost ratings. .

Searing, hilarious, and always unexpected, Fat Vampire is a satirical tour de force from one of the most original writers of fiction today.

The year is 1964. The setting is Berlin. JFK’s father, Joe Kennedy, is president. Edward VIII is king, Wallis his queen. Adolf Hitler is about to celebrate his 75th birthday. In this thriller with a twist, the stalemate which ended World War II has evolved into a cold war, not between the Soviet Union and the United States, but between the Third Reich and America. Police investigator Xavier March handles a case involving the death of a prominent Nazi, an apparent suicide. The trail leads to other suicides, accidental deaths, a numbered vault in Zurich, and a beautiful American reporter. March discovers the pattern behind the deaths and locates incriminating papers exposing the Holocaust, which, because Germany didn’t lose the war, has been kept secret for 20 years.

Estaba en el lugar equivocado, en el momento equivocado y por las razones equivocadas. Cordelia Naismith, de la Fuerza Expedicionaria Betana, llevaba incluso el uniforme equivocado: sin saberlo había entrado en batalla vistiendo el viejo uniforme pardo del equipo científico de Exploración Astronómica. Su encuentro con Aral Vorkosigan, el poderoso y temido Vor, apodado «el carnicero de Komarr», sólo podía deberse a una de esas complejas intrigas, tan sórdidas y abundantes en la militarizada sociedad de Barrayar.

Tras el primer contacto con Aral, Cordelia volverá a la guerra como capitana de una nave suicida en una misión de engaño: transportar a través de las líneas Vor un arma terrible capaz de atrapar y destruir a toda la flota enemiga.

Un conjunto de intrigas dentro de intrigas, de traiciones en el seno de más traiciones, de nuevos engaños que se unen a otros conocidos, obligará a Cordelia a establecer una paz personal con su principal oponente: Aral Vorkosigan. Una paz que puede acarrear la ignominia, aunque presagia nuevas posibilidades no sólo entre Cordelia y su enamorado, sino también entre los pueblos de ambos.

For years he has endured the endless trials and triumphs of a man whose skill and power could not be restrained. Battling ancient enemies, forging new alliances, and confronting the corruption within his own land, Gaius Octavian became a legendary man of war-and the rightful First Lord of Alera. But now, the savage Vord are on the march, and Gaius must lead his legions to the Calderon Valley to stand against them-using all of his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.

For years he has endured the endless trials and triumphs of a man whose skill and power could not be restrained. Battling ancient enemies, forging new alliances, and confronting the corruption within his own land, Gaius Octavian became a legendary man of war-and the rightful First Lord of Alera. But now, the savage Vord are on the march, and Gaius must lead his legions to the Calderon Valley to stand against them-using all of his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.

Среди войны и разрушения, царящих в далёком мрачном будущем, у молодой империи Тау есть только одна цель — объединить всю Галактику под знаменем всеобщего блага. Когда представитель правящей элиты Тау совершает аварийную посадку в тылу Имперских сил, Каису, молодому воину из Касты Огня, поручено провести рискованную спасательную операцию и, возможно, пожертвовать жизнью ради Высшего Блага. Но по мере того, как растёт число потерь в ходе операции, Каис быстро убеждается в том, что безжалостная правда войны имеет очень мало общего с учебными боями на его родной планете.

Amidst the war and destruction of the grim far future, the fledgling Tau Empire has but one aim — to unite the galaxy under its benevolent banner. But when one of the Tau's ruling elite crash lands behind Imperial battle lines, it falls to Kais, a young Fire Warrior, to attempt a desperate rescue mission and offer his life for the greater good. But as the mission begins and the death count rises, Kais quickly learns that the brutal reality of battle is a far cry from the training grounds of his home world.

Freitag ist ihr Name. Sie ist ein Retortenbaby, und man hat dies und das an ihr verbessert. Sie ist normalen Menschen überlegen: im Erdulden von Schmerzen, in ihren Reflexen, in ihrer Ausdauer — und in ihrer Schönheit.

Das macht sie zu einer begehrten Sexpartnerin ebenso wie zu einer tödlichen Waffe. Den normalen Menschen ist sie unheimlich. Sie lehnen sie ab, haben Angst vor ihr — weil sie ein Kunstprodukt ist, ein „Ding“. Und sie wird auch von ihren Auftraggebern skrupellos als „Ding“ benutzt, vom Geheimdienst in Situationen gehetzt, die für andere Agenten absolut tödlich wären.

The surprise attack of the Republic of Haven on Manticore has failed. The Peeps are in disarray, their leaders fighting for power in a bloody revolution, and the Royal Manitcoran Navy stands victorious. But success can be more treacherous than defeat for Honor Harrington.

Hounded by political enemies and cut to the heart by the death of the man she loved, Honor Harrington has retreated to Grayson to take up her role as Steadholder while her wounds heal. But the Republic of Haven is rising from defeat to threaten Grayson, and the new Grayson Navy needs her.

The Quintaglio Ascension trilogy depicts an Earth-like world on a moon which orbits a gas giant, inhabited by a species of highly evolved, sentient Tyrannosaurs called Quintaglios, among various other creatures from the late cretaceous period, imported to this moon by aliens 65 million years prior to the story.

The third instalment in Jon Courtenay Grimwood's critically acclaimed series of Ashraf Bey mysteries

Detective. Diplomat. Uncle. Killer.

Ashraf Bey has been many things since arriving in El Iskandryia from Seattle. One thing he hasn't been, as yet, is a son to Moncef, Emir of Tunis - the father Raf has still to meet. Of course, Raf doesn't believe the Emir is his father anyway. (Given his mother's insistence that he's the son of a Swedish hitch hiker).

And now it may be too late, since the rumours that don't have Emir Moncef escaping assassination have him hovering on the edge of death. Despite refusing a plea for help from the Emir's chief of security, Raf still finds himself being drawn towards Tunis. It seems he has his own part in an unfolding political crisis that began decades earlier with US anti-globalisation riots and the Emir's refusal to ratify the 2005 UN Accord on Biotechnology.

The third instalment in Jon Courtenay Grimwood's critically acclaimed series of Ashraf Bey mysteries

Detective. Diplomat. Uncle. Killer.

Ashraf Bey has been many things since arriving in El Iskandryia from Seattle. One thing he hasn't been, as yet, is a son to Moncef, Emir of Tunis - the father Raf has still to meet. Of course, Raf doesn't believe the Emir is his father anyway. (Given his mother's insistence that he's the son of a Swedish hitch hiker).

And now it may be too late, since the rumours that don't have Emir Moncef escaping assassination have him hovering on the edge of death. Despite refusing a plea for help from the Emir's chief of security, Raf still finds himself being drawn towards Tunis. It seems he has his own part in an unfolding political crisis that began decades earlier with US anti-globalisation riots and the Emir's refusal to ratify the 2005 UN Accord on Biotechnology.

The Quintaglio Ascension trilogy depicts an Earth-like world on a moon which orbits a gas giant, inhabited by a species of highly evolved, sentient Tyrannosaurs called Quintaglios, among various other creatures from the late cretaceous period, imported to this moon by aliens 65 million years prior to the story.

The Quintaglio Ascension trilogy depicts an Earth-like world on a moon which orbits a gas giant, inhabited by a species of highly evolved, sentient Tyrannosaurs called Quintaglios, among various other creatures from the late cretaceous period, imported to this moon by aliens 65 million years prior to the story.

Pierwsza Fundacja, za panowania Salvora Hardina i Hobera Mallowa, utrzymała suwerenność, a następnie pokonała Republikę Korelską. Wyszła również obronną ręką z następnego kryzysu, wywołanego przez utalentowanego generała imperialnego Bela Riose’a i znienawidzonego lorda Brodriga. Jej jedyny wróg — kurczące się Imperium Galaktyczne — wydaje się coraz słabszy. Wszystko przebiega zgodnie z Planem Seldona. Jednak siedemdziesiąt lat później autorytarna władza Fundacji popada w konflikt z opozycją demokratyczną oraz niezależnymi handlarzami. Ci chcą pozyskać dla siebie Muła, mutanta o niesamowitych zdolnościach psychicznych i wybitnego stratega. Nadciąga najgorszy z dotychczasowych kryzysów — kryzys, którego nie przewidział nawet sam Hari Seldon.

Trevize, Pelorat i przedstawicielka planety Gai, Bliss, poszukują legendarnej kolebki ludzkości — Ziemi. Na każdej z odwiedzanych planet spotykają inną cywilizację bądź ślady dawnych cywilizacji. Trevize pragnie przekonać się, czy wybierając Gaję jako model dalszego rozwoju ludzkości podjął słuszną decyzję. Odpowiedź znajdzie dopiero na Księżycu, gdzie rozegra się zaskakujący finał wyprawy.

The San Diego branch of the Secret Service is receiving some absolutely perfect counterfeit U.S. currency in the mail, and getting nervous. A flood of these bogus bucks could cripple the economy. But plans for using the funny money are more devious than that - and it's all the work of an utterly gorgeous impossible brilliant female scientist and her not-quite-human associate, Mr. Gordons. She's holding the world's monetary system, as ransom for a NASA space-age computer program so advanced its use on earth is limited. In space? That's another matter - a matter for Remo Williams, the Destroyer, to settle before the future of America -- and the world -- becomes the property of a beautiful, diabolical creature and her unstoppable sidekick!

Ruby is too hot to handle, and Remo is being ordered to play fireman. But friendship comes first, even to a Master of Sinanju, and Remo is steaming mad. Mad enough, in fact, to walk out. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire because Chiun, deferring to tradition, refuses to quit CURE. And they both know that soon he could be hot on Remo's tail. But the heat's really on when Remo meets up with Sparky, a walking Molotov cocktail. New York firefighters are walking off the job, and an arson gang, with Sparky in tow, has decided to strike while the iron's hot. Unless they receive the ransom they demand, they'll turn the city into the biggest backyard barbecue in history.

Далекий космос и страна эльфов, мрачное постапокалиптическое будущее и прошлое, знакомое нам по голливудским вестернам о Диком Западе, звездные войны и погружение в глубины кошмара — фантазия участников антологии «FANтастика» не знает границ! Олег Дивов, Елена Хаецкая, Павел Шумил… Их имена давно и хорошо знакомы российским любителям фантастики. Повести и рассказы этих и многих других авторов вошли в состав антологии, включающей лучшие литературные произведения, публиковавшиеся на страницах «FANтастики» — лучшего фантастического журнала Европы по версии Европейского общества научной фантастики. Парадоксальные миры, яркие и запоминающиеся герои, динамичный сюжет ждут вас под обложкой этой книги!

Все рассказы впервые публикуются в книжном формате.

Далекий космос и страна эльфов, мрачное постапокалиптическое будущее и прошлое, знакомое нам по голливудским вестернам о Диком Западе, звездные войны и погружение в глубины кошмара — фантазия участников антологии «FANтастика» не знает границ! Олег Дивов, Елена Хаецкая, Павел Шумил… Их имена давно и хорошо знакомы российским любителям фантастики. Повести и рассказы этих и многих других авторов вошли в состав антологии, включающей лучшие литературные произведения, публиковавшиеся на страницах «FANтастики» — лучшего фантастического журнала Европы по версии Европейского общества научной фантастики. Парадоксальные миры, яркие и запоминающиеся герои, динамичный сюжет ждут вас под обложкой этой книги!

Все рассказы впервые публикуются в книжном формате.

Далекий космос и страна эльфов, мрачное постапокалиптическое будущее и прошлое, знакомое нам по голливудским вестернам о Диком Западе, звездные войны и погружение в глубины кошмара — фантазия участников антологии «FANтастика» не знает границ! Олег Дивов, Елена Хаецкая, Павел Шумил… Их имена давно и хорошо знакомы российским любителям фантастики. Повести и рассказы этих и многих других авторов вошли в состав антологии, включающей лучшие литературные произведения, публиковавшиеся на страницах «FANтастики» — лучшего фантастического журнала Европы по версии Европейского общества научной фантастики. Парадоксальные миры, яркие и запоминающиеся герои, динамичный сюжет ждут вас под обложкой этой книги!

Все рассказы впервые публикуются в книжном формате.

Далекий космос и страна эльфов, мрачное постапокалиптическое будущее и прошлое, знакомое нам по голливудским вестернам о Диком Западе, звездные войны и погружение в глубины кошмара — фантазия участников антологии «FANтастика» не знает границ! Олег Дивов, Елена Хаецкая, Павел Шумил… Их имена давно и хорошо знакомы российским любителям фантастики. Повести и рассказы этих и многих других авторов вошли в состав антологии, включающей лучшие литературные произведения, публиковавшиеся на страницах «FANтастики» — лучшего фантастического журнала Европы по версии Европейского общества научной фантастики. Парадоксальные миры, яркие и запоминающиеся герои, динамичный сюжет ждут вас под обложкой этой книги!

Все рассказы впервые публикуются в книжном формате.

Далекий космос и страна эльфов, мрачное постапокалиптическое будущее и прошлое, знакомое нам по голливудским вестернам о Диком Западе, звездные войны и погружение в глубины кошмара — фантазия участников антологии «FANтастика» не знает границ! Олег Дивов, Елена Хаецкая, Павел Шумил… Их имена давно и хорошо знакомы российским любителям фантастики. Повести и рассказы этих и многих других авторов вошли в состав антологии, включающей лучшие литературные произведения, публиковавшиеся на страницах «FANтастики» — лучшего фантастического журнала Европы по версии Европейского общества научной фантастики. Парадоксальные миры, яркие и запоминающиеся герои, динамичный сюжет ждут вас под обложкой этой книги!

Все рассказы впервые публикуются в книжном формате.

Далекий космос и страна эльфов, мрачное постапокалиптическое будущее и прошлое, знакомое нам по голливудским вестернам о Диком Западе, звездные войны и погружение в глубины кошмара — фантазия участников антологии «FANтастика» не знает границ! Олег Дивов, Елена Хаецкая, Павел Шумил… Их имена давно и хорошо знакомы российским любителям фантастики. Повести и рассказы этих и многих других авторов вошли в состав антологии, включающей лучшие литературные произведения, публиковавшиеся на страницах «FANтастики» — лучшего фантастического журнала Европы по версии Европейского общества научной фантастики. Парадоксальные миры, яркие и запоминающиеся герои, динамичный сюжет ждут вас под обложкой этой книги!

Все рассказы впервые публикуются в книжном формате.

Далекий космос и страна эльфов, мрачное постапокалиптическое будущее и прошлое, знакомое нам по голливудским вестернам о Диком Западе, звездные войны и погружение в глубины кошмара — фантазия участников антологии «FANтастика» не знает границ! Олег Дивов, Елена Хаецкая, Павел Шумил… Их имена давно и хорошо знакомы российским любителям фантастики. Повести и рассказы этих и многих других авторов вошли в состав антологии, включающей лучшие литературные произведения, публиковавшиеся на страницах «FANтастики» — лучшего фантастического журнала Европы по версии Европейского общества научной фантастики. Парадоксальные миры, яркие и запоминающиеся герои, динамичный сюжет ждут вас под обложкой этой книги!

Все рассказы впервые публикуются в книжном формате.

Далекий космос и страна эльфов, мрачное постапокалиптическое будущее и прошлое, знакомое нам по голливудским вестернам о Диком Западе, звездные войны и погружение в глубины кошмара — фантазия участников антологии «FANтастика» не знает границ! Олег Дивов, Елена Хаецкая, Павел Шумил… Их имена давно и хорошо знакомы российским любителям фантастики. Повести и рассказы этих и многих других авторов вошли в состав антологии, включающей лучшие литературные произведения, публиковавшиеся на страницах «FANтастики» — лучшего фантастического журнала Европы по версии Европейского общества научной фантастики. Парадоксальные миры, яркие и запоминающиеся герои, динамичный сюжет ждут вас под обложкой этой книги!

Все рассказы впервые публикуются в книжном формате.

First published in Astounding Science Fiction magazine in 1952.

Введите сюда краткую аннотацию

'The Cylinder is a massive structure rising miles above the surface of an unknown future Earth. Axxter, the hero of Farewell Horizontal, has forsaken the dull, nine-to-five life of Cylinder's Horizontal levels to go where the action is – the Vertical, where freelancers, warring tribes and other nomadic types live along the slings and cables of Cylinder's outer edge. His dream is to be a successful graffex artist, designing armour and ikons for the various tribes – and, like all citizens, he is linked by a microchip in his brain to the complex computer system that runs the economy. But when Axxter accepts a really big job – creating all-new military imagery for one of Cylinder's most powerful tribes – he begins a dangerous journey that will take him to the far side of Cylinder – and beyond.

Im 21. Jahrhundert sind die Großmächte übereingekommen, auf Erden abzurüsten und die gesamten Waffenarsenale auf den Mond zu verlagern; in durch neutrale Zonen getrennte Sektoren. Analog dem Prinzip der natürlichen Evolution organischer Lebewesen vollzieht sich auf dem Mond eine Selbstoptimierung der Waffensysteme, völlig autonom. Niemand auf Erden weiß, was sich auf dem Mond wirklich abspielt, welche Seite inzwischen einen Vorsprung gewonnen haben mag, die „Doktrin der totalen Unkenntnis“ wird strikt eingehalten. Automatische Aufklärungssonden gehen spurlos verloren. Zeit also für Ijon Tichy, Lems unermüdlichen Weltraumreisenden, der nie zögert, wenn es gilt, die Menschheit zu retten, als Agent der „Lunar Agency“ auf dem Mond nach dem Rechten zu sehen. Leider zieht er sich dabei eine Kallotomie zu, sein Gehirn wird in zwei Teile aufgespalten, was zu für ihn grotesken Folgen führt, denn zwei Seelen oder zwei Gehirnhälften liegen alsbald in ihm in Widerstreit miteinander, treiben ihn bald dahin, bald dorthin. Es kommt aber noch dicker, denn vom Mond hat Tichy etwas auf die Erde mitgebracht, was den gesamten Verlauf der irdischen Zivilisation nachhaltig verändert.

Два пилота из не слишком дружащих стран, один - террорист на службе государства, а второй - подавшийся в сектанты на почве несчастной любви к принцессе, - против пиратов Архипелага. Вроде как "Черепашки-ниндзя против Дракулы и Кащея Бессмертного". Клад в конце прилагается.

Два пилота из не слишком дружащих стран, один - террорист на службе государства, а второй - подавшийся в сектанты на почве несчастной любви к принцессе, - против пиратов Архипелага. Вроде как "Черепашки-ниндзя против Дракулы и Кащея Бессмертного". Клад в конце прилагается.

Fin, sin llegar a instituirse del todo en novela social, utiliza por ejemplo, el protagonismo colectivo, la narración alterna en tercera persona y un predominio del diálogo sobre la descripción, elementos todos característicos de gran parte de la narrativa española de los años 50.

Sorprende la habilidad con la que Monteagudo se bate tanto en el terreno conceptual como en el narrativo. Sutilmente, suma pequeños capítulos narrativos, escenas y diálogos concretos con los que va hilvanando ambas tramas, la psicológica y la fantástica, colocando siempre el acento en lo extraño. Antes de que el elemento de género se imponga, es decir, bastantes páginas después del misterioso parpadeo nocturno que aísla a los protagonistas, Fin transcurre por derroteros realistas, aunque envueltos en una atmósfera misteriosa y desasosegante.

Persiguiendo una explicación para el fin de la Humanidad, los personajes se han de enfrentar a su propio fin, pero especialmente a sus recuerdos y a las nuevas respuestas que estos provocan bajo sus personalidades adultas. Los remordimientos, la broma perpetrada al Profeta y el fin del mundo, tres elementos aleados en perfecta unión, constituyen el motor de lo terrorífico, pero es el escenario diurno, esa Naturaleza opresiva tan bien descrita, el que produce el efecto numinoso en la narración. Monteagudo acompaña los diálogos con descripciones del paisaje siempre diáfanas, carentes de emotividad, afilando así el tono de extrañamiento general. El ritmo no decae en ningún momento, y es llevado en volandas por un suspense narrativo tan intenso que logra que la novela se convierta en un absorbente pasapáginas.

Tras su lectura, no cabe sino afirmar que Fin, el estreno literario de David Monteagudo, es una novela magnífica, una novela, no tengan duda, de ciencia ficción. De su apasionante lectura se puede extraer, además de la consabida satisfacción literaria, la conclusión de que la normalización del género, su integración en el mercado general, ha revertido, tal y como se esperaba, en buena calidad y mayor diversidad.

«Fin es una novela psicológica armada en una carcasa de novela de terror y hasta de ciencia ficción. Aterra y conmueve. Describiendo una acción pavorosa, Monteagudo desmenuza nuestros pequeños terrores cotidianos. Literatura mayúscula».

Jordi Llavina, La Vanguardia

«Espléndida… Con sus guiños generacionales y metafísicos, su filiación buñuelesca, su turbia atmósfera y su calidad literaria, la insólita opera prima de David Monteagudo es una de las sorpresas de la temporada».

Ricard Ruiz Garzón, El Periódico

«Uno de los libros más sorprendentes del año».

Rosa Mora, El País

«Su mirada desolada sobre el mundo está en la línea de las de Philip K. Dick, Bradbury o-sobre todo-Cormac McCarthy. La lleva al extremo y nos deja sin aliento».

Care Santos, El Mundo

«Te introduce en un mundo del cual quieres salir, pero sin dejar de leer. Mi libro del año».

Carlos Zanón, Avui

«Un absorbente artilugio literario».

Héctor Porto, La Voz de Galicia

In his novels Serpent and Blue Gold, #1 bestselling author Clive Cussler introduced a hero for the new millennium: Kurt Austin, the leader of NUMA's Special Assignment Team, and an instant hit with critics and fans. Tulsa World said, "As always, Cussler twists fact and fiction into a rope of tension that will leave you dangling until the last page." Now Kurt Austin returns to tackle his most dangerous mission to date… In the heart of the old Soviet Union, a mining tycoon is determined to overthrow the Russian government-distracting the U.S. with a man-made natural disaster using a notoriously unstable compound known as "fire ice." Detonation of this compound could create a tidal wave big enough to destroy a major city. But Kurt Austin and his Special Assignment Team are about to make a few waves of their own…

A team of physicists trying to prove the existence of a theoretical particle inadvertently shifts the consciousness of humankind forward 20 years. Only two minutes are "lost," but memories of the future inspire new cults, seemingly illogical stock market speculations, and a host of new patents. Rivalry between two of the male physicists for one woman heats up, since the flash-forward has shown her to be married to the "wrong" man. One of the rivals, Lloyd Simcoe, foresees his own murder, though not his murderer. Even though the event is 21 years away, Lloyd is panic-stricken and searches worldwide for clues in the visions of others. In the end, these brief glimpses of the future prove addictive, and a new team repeats the experiment in a more controlled fashion, which treats the reader to visions of an apocalyptic, almost Wellsian future. There is also Simcoe's sad avoidance of his own death, which he accomplishes by becoming painstakingly cautious.

Fourteen years after Thursday Next pegged out at Superhoop '88, her Jurisfiction job has been downgraded due to a potential conflict of interest, since her previous adventures are now themselves in print. Thursday's time is spent worrying about her teenage son Friday and tutoring new recruits. This being fiction, however, jeopardy is never far away. Sherlock Holmes is killed at the Rheinbach falls and his series is stopped in its tracks. Before this can be righted, Miss Marple dies in a narratively inexplicable car accident, bringing her series also to a close. Thursday, receiving a death-threat clearly intended for her written self, realises what is going on - there is a serial killer is loose in the Bookworld. Meanwhile, Goliath have perfected a 22-seater Prose Portal Luxury Coach, and plan on taking literary tourists on a holiday to the works of Jane Austen. Thursday alone realises the true intent of Goliath's unwanted incursions into fiction, but she can't fight all these battles on her own. She must team up with the one person she really can't get along with - the written Thursday Next, currently starring in The Great Samuel Pepys Fiasco. But it's no time to be picky...

Pierre Tardivel, a French Canadian geneticist, works on identifying junk DNA for the Human Genome Project. There is a 50 percent chance that Pierre is carrying the gene for Huntington’s disease, a fatal disorder. That knowledge drives Pierre to succeed in a race against time to complete his research. But a strange set of circumstances — including a knife attack, the in vitro fertilization of his wife, and an insurance company plot to use DNA samples to weed out clients predisposed to early deaths — draw Tardivel into a story that will ultimately involve the hunt for a Nazi death camp doctor.

She is the last of her kind...

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.

Exquisitely romantic, this companion to the highly praised Graceling has an entirely new cast of characters, save for one person who plays a pivotal role in both books. You don't need to have read Graceling to love Fire. But if you haven't, you'll be dying to read it next.

Laura Black is a druid who can change her appearance. She is both the Fey Guild's public relations director and a secret agent for the International Security Agency. And now she'll have to choose where her loyalties lie when a political war breaks out between the fey and human populations...

Attempting to save his girl friend from a Gorean slave trap, Jason Marshall found himself kidnapped to that legendary counter-Earth planet. And as such found himself the first "civilized" Earth male to become enslaved in the ruthless chains of Gorean society.

Jason Marshall's startling adventures make constantly fascinating reading as he is made to be the slave of a haughty woman, then into her fighting champion, and finally amid the turmoil of primitive warfare to seek his liberty in order to search for his lost love amid the slave marts of that alien and turbulent planet.

Attempting to save his girl friend from a Gorean slave trap, Jason Marshall found himself kidnapped to that legendary counter-Earth planet. And as such found himself the first "civilized" Earth male to become enslaved in the ruthless chains of Gorean society.

Jason Marshall's startling adventures make constantly fascinating reading as he is made to be the slave of a haughty woman, then into her fighting champion, and finally amid the turmoil of primitive warfare to seek his liberty in order to search for his lost love amid the slave marts of that alien and turbulent planet.

In a land torn apart by civil war, pestilence, and shaky alliances, a man branded a traitor may be the world's only hope...

The rebellious son of a long line of pureblood cartographers and diviners, Valen has spent most of his life trying to escape what society — and his family — ordained for him. His own mother has predicted that he will meet his doom in water and blood and ice. And her divination seems fulfilled when a comrade abandons Valen in a rainy wilderness half-dead, addicted to an enchantment that converts pain to pleasure, and possessing only a stolen book of maps.

Offered sanctuary in a nearby monastery, Valen discovers that his book — rumored to lead men into the realm of angels — gains him entry into a world of secret societies, doomsayers, monks, princes, and madmen, all seeking to unlock the mystery of the coming dark age. Unfortunately, the key to Navronne's doom is buried in half-forgotten myth—and the secrets of his own past...

Hugo Short Story winner (2003)

Hugo Short Story winner (2003)

Abner Marsh, Flußschiffer auf dem Mississippi und ein Koloß von einem Mann, steht nach der Flutkatastrophe von 1857 vor dem wirtschaftlichen Ruin. Da bietet ihm der Aristokrat Joshua York die Partnerschaft an, um das schnellste Dampfschiff auf dem Mississippi bauen zu lassen. Für den Kapitän scheint sich ein Traum zu verwirklichen.

Doch während der Jungfernfahrt der Fiebertraum entpuppt sich Joshua York zum Entsetzen Marshs als Vampir, und der Plan, als schnellster Dampfschiffkapitän in die Geschichte einzugehen, tritt in den Hintergrund, denn York fährt den Fluß hinab, um die Letzten seiner kranken alten Rasse zu sammeln und sie vom Erbe ihrer blutgierigen Leidenschaft zu befreien. Zuvor jedoch muß er den mächtigen Blutmeister Damon Julian besiegen, einen Vampir voll animalischem Magnetismus, der den roten Durst seines Nachtvolks durch Mord und Heimtücke zu löschen versucht.

Und mit jedem Flußkilometer sinkt Abner Marshs Schiff tiefer in einen blutigen Alptraum jenseits der Realität.

»Fiebertraum begeistert Stephen King‐Fans ebenso wie Leser von Mark Twain. Ein düster‐romantisches Buch, das mich bis in die Träume und Phantasien verfolgte. Ihm gebührt ein grandioser Erfolg.«

ROGER ZELAZNY

Před vámi leží již dlouho a netrpělivě očekávaný čtvrtý soubor dosud nepublikovaných prací z obsáhlého díla Ijona Tichého, jak nám ho předložila redakční rada Sebraných spisů Ijona Tichého pod vedením profesora A.S.Tarantogy. Pět zápisů z Tichého Hvězdných deníků a tři z jeho vzpomínek nám přinášejí odpověď na řadu ožehavých otázek, jako např.: proč náš svět dnes vypadá tak, jak vypadá, a kdo ho stvořil, proč se potopila Atlantida, jaký byl pravý účel Babylonské věže, co se skrývá za Odysseou a Iliadou, proč na nás neroste listí atd., atd. Tichý nemilosrdně odhaluje pravou tvář Aristotela, Platóna, Homéra, Leonarda da Vinci, Bosche, Napoleona, Swifta a řady dalších „historických“ osobností, dá nám nahlédnout i do historie svého slavného rodu a v neposlední řadě přináší i své včasné varování před vážným nebezpečím, jaké s sebou nese překotné a vysoce neodpovědné rozšiřování automatických praček.

v1.0 - eBook downloaded from http://torrents.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=463754 and after that imported to fb2 by soshial (21.05.2008)

Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den.

—Plato, The Republic

A HARVEST BOOK | HARCOURT, INC.

ORLANDO AUSTIN NEW YORK SAN DIEGO TORONTO LONDON

Copyright © 1966,1959 by Daniel Keyes Copyright renewed 1994 1987 by Daniel Keyes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to the following address: Permissions Department, Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

www.HarcourtBooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Keyes, Daniel.

Flowers for Algernon/Daniel Keyes.—1st harvest ed. p. cm.

"A Harvest Book."

ISBN 0-15-603008-X

PS3561.E769F562004813'.54—dc22 2004005049

Text set in Adobe Garamond Designed by Scott Piebl

Printed in the United States of America First Harvest edition 2004

K J I H

v0.0 — 21 jul 2002 — proofed for #bookz

v1.0 — eBook downloaded from http://torrents.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=463754 and after that imported to fb2 by soshial (21.05.2008)

wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_for_Algernon

Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den.

—Plato, The Republic

Nous connaissons déjà Elijah Baley et Daneel R. Olivaw qui menèrent une difficile enquête dans Les cavernes d’acier.

C’est désormais sur la lointaine planète Solaria qu’ils vont devoir exercer leur talent. Sur ce monde, les hommes n’acceptent plus de se rencontrer physiquement mais se « visionnent » grâce à des projections télévisées.

Or, un meurtre a été commis, un meurtre apparemment impossible puisque aucun Solarien n’aurait eu la force nerveuse suffisante pour s’approcher d’un de ses compatriotes. Qui plus est, un robot semble impliqué, ce qui est absurde, puisque les lois de la robotique interdisent à ces êtres de métal de causer le moindre tort aux hommes.

A group of scientists and other space travellers face life and death decisions after their spacecraft is damaged by fire.

Это история про ликанов. И еще, про Свет и Тьму, и их сочетание в каждом из нас.

А так же, о том, стоит ли жизнь того, кого ты любишь - Апокалипсиса.

Это история про ликанов. И еще, про Свет и Тьму, и их сочетание в каждом из нас.

А так же, о том, стоит ли жизнь того, кого ты любишь - Апокалипсиса.

The long-awaited sequel to The Runes of the Earth returns readers to the Land-and opens with the reunion of Linden Avery and Thomas Covenant!

Linden Avery, who loved Thomas Covenant and watched him die, has returned to the Land in search of her kidnapped son, Jeremiah. As Fatal Revenant begins, Linden watches from the battlements of Revelstone when the impossible happens- riding ahead of the hordes attacking Revelstone are Jeremiah and Covenant himself, apparently very much alive.

Here in the Land, Jeremiah is healed of the mental condition that had kept him mute and unresponsive for so many years. He is full of life, and devoted to Covenant. But Covenant is strangely changed. Sarcastic and bragging, he no longer seems like the man whom Linden adored. And yet he says he has a plan: he will take her and Jeremiah to a place where they can find a pure source of Earthpower and, after he has achieved his own purposes, Linden will be free to use that great power to go home, to take Jeremiah home, or to do anything else she sees fit. Even though she distrusts the seemingly different man he has now become, how can she make any choice except to follow him?

Their journey will cover unimaginable distances through the Land-even through time itself-and will test Linden's courage again and again. In the end, fulfilling her destiny will call for a terrible leap of faith: Can she give up everything she thought had been restored to her, for the sake of the Land?

The Styths, a powerful and aggressive mutant race from the Gas Planets, Uranus and Saturn, have been launching pirate raids on ships from Mars. Earth’s Committee for the Revolution has been asked to mediate, to negotiate a truce between the Middle Planets and the Styth Empire. The task of conducting the talks falls to an intelligent, resourceful and unpredictable young woman, Paula Mendoza. Her initial meetings with the Styth warlord and his unruly band of bodyguards and advisers are not promising. But then Paula adopts a less conventional approach. The consequences for her are considerable and she finds herself on the Gas Planets, the only tenuous link between Earth and the Styth Empire…

“On a par with Ursula LeGuin or Arthur C. Clarke.”

—Chicago Tribune

“A magnificent novel… a colossal achievement… an instant contemporary classic.”

—Science Fiction Review

“A SF masterpiece.”

—Kim Stanley Robinson

It's a routine archaeological find, on a routine archaeological dig-until the strange inscription on a buried plaque is translated. Then all at once the entire world is prospecting for gold-a whole mountain of it-hidden centuries before by an ancient Latin American people.

The U.S. is determined to stake a claim because that much gold, in the wrong hands, could destroy the free world's economy. But nothing's panning out, and the only person who can decipher the clues to the gold's location might not live long enough to complete the task. It seems everyone's trying to kill her...

There's only one CURE for gold fever-Remo and Chiun. But unless they strike it rich, this gold rush is bound to be a bust, and the free market along with it. Unfortunately, our heroes' luck is about played out...

Golden Mirage

The losers or World War II and their descendants have carved out their own little slice of heaven in the mountains of Argentina. In this staging area to the Fourth Reich, the promise of the dream reborn dawned as bright as a new German mark. But when the Destroyer's brain was downloaded onto disks, he took the whole matter very personally. That put an end to the whole affair - almost.

Adolf Kluge, the head of the secret organization known as IV, has an eleventh-hour plan that may just refinance the whole sweet dream. He's come into some money: a centuries-old treasure belonging to the venerable house of Sinanju. But then, he isn't aware just how sensitive the Master of Sinanju is regarding this precious metal....

At first the idea of a trilogy turned me off.  But then I thought about what I'm doing now - reading all the Friend books , then all the Nuihc books, then the Mr.Gordons, and so on. Basically taking the super-baddies and reading them in series. The downside is the years that pass, the upside is the continuity in the character.  With this mini-series, it should be all upside!

NOW PLAYING

Something smells at Cabbagehead Productions. Ticket sales for the indie company's slasher movies  are skyrocketing, thanks to the publicity of some real-life murders.  Remo draws the short straw to dump whoever is behind these stunts on the cutting room floor.

But now it's time for the feature presentation: a terrorist bomb in New York...the White House under siege...hours of nonstop action...edge-of-your-seat thrills from the summer's biggest blockbuster: Die Down IV.

Remo's problem isn't the army of extras hired to commit murder, or the truck bombs rigged to blow a Hollywood studio sky-high.  It's the Master Of Sinanju himself, Chiun, busy strutting like a tyrant and generally wreaking havoc on the set of his own top-secret movie...and smack in the middle of the greatest epic disaster of all time.

There's some nasty sibling rivalry in the family assassination business . . .

For Remo, Sinanju's Holiest tradition is "cash up front"

But as his long road to the rank of Reigning Master of the venerable house of assassins nears its end, the Time of Succession ritual begins. For the enforcement arm of CURE, this means making his way around the globe, killing the best assassins money can buy -- and proving to kings and presidents alike that Sinanju is the primo strategic weapon around.

For a reasonable fee, of course.

But there is a storm cloud on the horizon of Chiun's retirement and Remo's promotion: a dark nemesis has been reborn from the fires of evil and has unleashed his plot for vengeance. He starts by looting Chiun's treasure-filled basement in Sinanju. But he won't stop until he has fulfilled a prophecy of doom that even Chiun may not be able to thwart: the death of the Destroyer.

The five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths, they are finally together in a volume which reaffirms Tolkien's place as a master storyteller for readers young and old.

Roverandom is a toy dog who, enchanted by a sand sorcerer, gets to explore the world and encounter strange and fabulous creatures.

Farmer Giles of Ham is fat and unheroic, but - having unwittingly managed to scare off a short-sighted giant - is called upon to do battle when a dragon comes to town;

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil tells in verse of Tom's many adventures with hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls;

Leaf by Niggle recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle who sets out to paint the perfect tree;

Smith of Wootton Major journeys to the Land of Faery thanks to the magical ingredients of the Great Cake of the Feast of Good Children.

This new collection is fully illustrated throughout by Oscar-winning artist, Alan Lee, who provides a wealth of pencil drawings to bring the stories to life as he did so memorably for The Hobbit and The Children of Húrin. Alan also provides an Afterword, in which he opens the door into illustrating Tolkien's world.

Taken together, this rich collection of new and unknown work from the author of The Children of Húrin will provide the reader with a fascinating journey into lands as wild and strange as Middle-earth.

Этакий фанфик, рожденный под впечатлением от «Пункта назначения».

Стандартный сюжет — группа подростков, благодаря видению, явившемуся одному из них, избегает смерти. Стандартный набор трупов, когда сама Смерть начинает преследовать уцелевших. Но нестандартный, новый взгляд на выход из этой тупиковой ситуации. То, до чего, почему-то, никак не могли додуматься герои всех трех «Пунктов»…

Je to velmi zdařilý výběr povídek polské scifi z dnes starší doby. Kdo znáte polskou sci-fi, tak víte, že patří ke světové špičce a platí to i o tomto výběru.

"Flash Crowd" is a 1973 novella by science fiction author Larry Niven, one of a series about the social consequence of inventing an instantaneous, practically free transfer booth that could take one anywhere on Earth in milliseconds.

One consequence not foreseen by the builders of the system was that with the almost instantaneous reporting of newsworthy events, tens of thousands of people worldwide — along with criminals — would flock to the scene of anything interesting, hoping to experience or exploit the instant disorder and confusion so created.

In various other books, for example Ringworld, Niven suggests that easy transportation might be disruptive to traditional behavior and open the way for new forms of parties, spontaneous congregations, or shopping trips around the world. The central character in Ringworld, celebrating his birthday, teleports across time-zones to «lengthen» his birthday multiple times (particularly notable since the hardcover first edition had the error of the character heading the wrong direction, increasing that edition's value).

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_Crowd

Festiwal strachu – nowa książka mistrza horrorów Grahama Mastertona.

Kolejny, czwarty już na polskim rynku zbiór znakomitych opowiadań mistrza horroru. Festiwal strachu zawiera dziesięć krótkich, dotąd nie przetłumaczonych utworów, które powstały w latach 2002 – 2004. Masterton między innymi opowiada o roli sił nadprzyrodzonych w historii Anglii, ukazuje ludzkie obsesje i dewiacje we współczesnym świecie, przestrzega przed korzystaniem z fast foodów, przedstawia prawdziwe oblicze Świętego Mikołaja – jak zwykle zaskakując, strasząc i bawiąc.

Pierwotnie akcja toczy się na Tytanie, księżycu Saturna, gdzie bohater Angus Parvis poszukując zaginionych budowniczych kopalni oraz komandora Pirxa, który ruszył im na ratunek, sam popełnia błąd w obcym człowiekowi, mieszkańcowi Ziemi, terenie i staje w obliczu nieuchronnej śmierci. W nadziei wskrzeszenia przy pomocy przyszłych zdobyczy nauki, dokonuje aktu szczególnego samobójstwa przez poddanie się hibernacji.

Po około stuleciu, na pokładzie rakiety zmierzającej w kierunku nieznanej cywilizacji pozaziemskiej, zostaje ożywiona jedna z osób, których ciała odnaleziono na Tytanie. Naukowcy przypuszczają, że uratowanym może być Parvis lub Pirx, lecz również po wskrzeszeniu, członkom załogi nie udaje się ustalić jego danych personalnych, w związku z czym występuje dalej pod przybranym imieniem i nazwiskiem jako Marek Tempe. Konstrukcja powieści, wykluczająca tzw. narratora wszechwiedzącego, pozostawia czytelnika w niepewności co do możliwego rozwiązania zagadki tożsamości bohatera.

Kiedy statek dolatuje do celu, jedno z najistotniejszych zadań w zakresie kontaktu bezpośredniego z obcą cywilizacją zostaje powierzone wskrzeszonemu. Porozumienie między „braćmi w rozumie” okazuje się jednak ostatecznie niemożliwe na skutek zbyt głębokich różnic biologicznych oraz kulturowych i kończy się tytułowym fiaskiem.

Będąc ostatnią z powieści Stanisława Lema, stanowi ona szczególne podsumowanie wielowątkowej beletrystycznej twórczości pisarza. Wielostronnie i dynamicznie przedstawia w niej uwikłanie człowieka we własną naturę, zdeterminowaną ziemskimi warunkami. W ten sposób autor, nie po raz pierwszy, sceptycznie odnosi się do możliwości kontaktu z naszymi „braćmi w Kosmosie”. Ostateczną przeszkodą okazuje się nie sama odległość, lecz odmienność.

Квантовые принципы идеальной конспирации, или как создаются нераскрываемые тайные общества. Буденновские шашки и дизайн интерьеров. Индоевропейские иероглифы и киберреинкарнация. Мошенничество, как разновидность перформанса. Графическая этимология и отпечатки из предвечности. Как устроить скандальную выставку и превратить в масштабное шоу ее последствия. Какова площадь государства, границы которого очерчены разлетающимися осколками взорванных бомб. Вечность и время, любовь и ненависть в узорах древнеегипетских идеограмм. Принцип предельности информации и власть, восстающая из кромешной тьмы. Бешеный гитарный саундтрэк к книге by RustyFusion cyberpunk band (www.rustyfusion.com).

Квантовые принципы идеальной конспирации, или как создаются нераскрываемые тайные общества. Буденновские шашки и дизайн интерьеров. Индоевропейские иероглифы и киберреинкарнация. Мошенничество, как разновидность перформанса. Графическая этимология и отпечатки из предвечности. Как устроить скандальную выставку и превратить в масштабное шоу ее последствия. Какова площадь государства, границы которого очерчены разлетающимися осколками взорванных бомб. Вечность и время, любовь и ненависть в узорах древнеегипетских идеограмм. Принцип предельности информации и власть, восстающая из кромешной тьмы. Бешеный гитарный саундтрэк к книге by RustyFusion cyberpunk band (www.rustyfusion.com).

Квантовые принципы идеальной конспирации, или как создаются нераскрываемые тайные общества. Буденновские шашки и дизайн интерьеров. Индоевропейские иероглифы и киберреинкарнация. Мошенничество, как разновидность перформанса. Графическая этимология и отпечатки из предвечности. Как устроить скандальную выставку и превратить в масштабное шоу ее последствия. Какова площадь государства, границы которого очерчены разлетающимися осколками взорванных бомб. Вечность и время, любовь и ненависть в узорах древнеегипетских идеограмм. Принцип предельности информации и власть, восстающая из кромешной тьмы. Бешеный гитарный саундтрэк к книге by RustyFusion cyberpunk band (www.rustyfusion.com).

Квантовые принципы идеальной конспирации, или как создаются нераскрываемые тайные общества. Буденновские шашки и дизайн интерьеров. Индоевропейские иероглифы и киберреинкарнация. Мошенничество, как разновидность перформанса. Графическая этимология и отпечатки из предвечности. Как устроить скандальную выставку и превратить в масштабное шоу ее последствия. Какова площадь государства, границы которого очерчены разлетающимися осколками взорванных бомб. Вечность и время, любовь и ненависть в узорах древнеегипетских идеограмм. Принцип предельности информации и власть, восстающая из кромешной тьмы. Бешеный гитарный саундтрэк к книге by RustyFusion cyberpunk band (www.rustyfusion.com).

The surprise attack of the Republic of Haven on Manticore has failed. The Peeps are in disarray, their leaders fighting for power in a bloody revolution, and the Royal Manitcoran Navy stands victorious. But success can be more treacherous than defeat for Honor Harrington.

Powieść sensacyjno-fantastyczna osadzona w realiach Rosji lat 1990 – czy czytanie w ludzkich myślach pomoże przywrócić istnienie ZSRR – pomysłowa intryga, refleksje o współczesności, świetna zabawa.

Z tajemniczej katastrofy, jakiej ulega moskiewski autobus, cało wychodzi tylko dwóch nastolatków. I obaj zyskują niesamowite właściwości. Siergiej staje się niezwykle szybki, a Robert słyszy myśli innych ludzi. Wraz z dziwną dziewczyną, w której się zakochują, dysponują paranormalną siłą, będącą idealna bronią dla KGB w walce o ocalenie Związku Radzieckiego. Kolejne po Powieści szpiegowskiej dzieło z serii Gatunki.

From Star Trek to Star Wars, from Dune to Foundation, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast intergalactic societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies. The stories in Federations will continue that tradition. What are the social/religious/environmental/technological implications of living in such a vast society? What happens when expansionist tendencies on a galactic scale come into conflict with the indigenous peoples of other planets, of other races? And what of the issue of communicating across such distances, or the problems caused by relativistic travel? These are just some of the questions and issues that the stories in Federations will take on.

Fifteen-year-old Alison Shaw may not be beautiful, but she doesn’t really care: She’d much rather read a good book than primp in front of a mirror. But Alison’s gorgeous mother, Risa, knows that beauty can be a key to success and wishes only the best for her daughter — a wish that may come true after Risa marries widowed plastic surgeon Conrad Dunn. Conrad claims that he can turn Alison into a vision of loveliness, so the teenager reluctantly agrees to undergo the first procedure. Then Alison discovers a picture of Conrad’s first wife and notes, to her horror, a resemblance between the image in the photo and the work her stepfather is doing on her. Though, Risa refuses to acknowledge the strange similarities, Alison digs further into her stepfather’s murky past, uncovers dark secrets and even darker motives — and realizes that her worst fears are fast becoming reality.

Seventeen-year-old blood witch Morgan is being tormented by nightmares which become reality when she starts sleep-walking into life-threatening situations. In these visions, her dead ex-boyfriend, Cal is trying to kill her. In desperation Morgan turns to her boyfriend Hunter and to other blood witches for help. They plot to trap Cal's spirit but it is in fact the spirit of Cal's mother Selene, who has returned to kill Morgan, the last member of the Belwicket coven so that Selene's coven, the Woodbanes, can rule supreme. Selene's spirit is disguised as a hawk but Morgan also shape-shifts into a hawk and kills Selene in a terrifying mid-air fight. Morgan is now free of the past and can devote herself to developing her powers.

They will clean out the demons and the suicides, and move on. As long as they stay within the rules, Jill Kismet can't deny them entry. But she can watch-and if they step out of line, she'll send them packing.

When Cirque performers start dying grotesquely, Kismet has to find out why, or the fragile truce won't hold and her entire city will become a carnival of horror. She also has to play the resident hellbreed power against the Cirque to keep them in line, and find out why ordinary people are needing exorcisms. And then there's the murdered voodoo practitioners, and the zombies.

An ancient vengeance is about to be enacted. The Cirque is about to explode. And Jill Kismet is about to find out some games are played for keeps…

They will clean out the demons and the suicides, and move on. As long as they stay within the rules, Jill Kismet can't deny them entry. But she can watch-and if they step out of line, she'll send them packing.

When Cirque performers start dying grotesquely, Kismet has to find out why, or the fragile truce won't hold and her entire city will become a carnival of horror. She also has to play the resident hellbreed power against the Cirque to keep them in line, and find out why ordinary people are needing exorcisms. And then there's the murdered voodoo practitioners, and the zombies.

An ancient vengeance is about to be enacted. The Cirque is about to explode. And Jill Kismet is about to find out some games are played for keeps…

Destiny sucks. . . .

There was a time when Persephone Alcmedi thought her life was hard to manage, what with wondering how to make sure she took adequate care of both her grandmother and her foster daughter, Beverley, whether she'd end up in the unwanted position of high priestess of a coven, and whether her wærewolf lover, Johnny, would resist the groupies who hang around his band Lycanthropia.

But that was before the fairies started demanding that Seph's frightening, unpredictable ally - the ancient vampire Menessos - be destroyed . . . or the world will suffer. Seph and Menessos are magically bonded, but that's a secret she dares not reveal to her fellow witches lest they be forced to reject her and forbid her use of magic. And, despite the strain this casts on her relationship with Johnny, as a showdown with the fairies nears, she and Menessos badly need the wærewolves as allies.

Life, death, and love are all on the line, but when destiny is calling, it doesn't help to turn away. With the individual threads of their fates twisted inextricably together, can Seph, Johnny, and Menessos keep the world safe from fairy vengeance?

A desperate man with Olympic-level allergies, and a new-age masseuse who'll go to extremes to clear the blockage. It was my goal to write the first graphic sinus story, and by God, I still have the genre to myself. Not for the squeamish.

The blockbuster new novel by science fiction great Hal Clement, set in an alien-run universe created by Isaac Asimov himself. This is the story of six vastly different starfaring races coexisting under a precarious truce — an interstellar community to which the human race has recently been added.

Audrey Callahan left behind her life in the Edge, and she's determined to stay on the straight and narrow. But when her brother gets into hot water, the former thief takes on one last heist and finds herself matching wits with a jack of all trades...

Kaldar Mar—a gambler, lawyer, thief, and spy—expects his latest assignment tracking down a stolen item to be a piece of cake, until Audrey shows up. But when the item falls into the hands of a lethal criminal, Kaldar realizes that in order to finish the job, he's going to need Audrey's help...

The course of history is determined not by battles, by sieges, or usurpations, but by the actions of the individual. The strongest city, the largest army is, at its most basic level, a collection of individuals. Their decisions, their passions, their foolishness, and their dreams shape the years to come. If there is any lesson to be learned from history, it is that all too often the fate of armies, of cities, of entire realms rests upon the actions of one person. In that dire moment of uncertainty, that person's decision, good or bad, right or wrong, big or small, can unwittingly change the world.

But history can be quite the slattern. One never knows who that person is, where he might be, or what decision he might make.

It is almost enough to make me believe in Destiny.

From the writings of Gaius Primus First Lord of Albra

While James White is best known for the Sector General series, he has written many more science fiction novels. This is one of his best, easily equal to any of the Sector general series. The book is set in a near future after humanity’s contact with aliens. The aliens offer to relocate all of mankind who qualifies to the Federation World, a Dyson sphere near the center of the galaxy. The principal characters are not accepted for citizenship, instead qualifying for positions on the Federation staff. Their job is to make contact with new species and to invite them to join the Federation if they qualify. White’s writing is remarkably clear and easy to read.

Введите сюда краткую аннотацию

The book depicts the arrival of members of an alien species called the Fithp that have traveled to our solar system from Alpha Centauri in a large spacecraft. The aliens are intent on taking over the Earth.

Physically, the Fithp resemble man-sized, quadrupedal elephants with multiple trunks. They possess more advanced technology than humans, but have developed none of it themselves. In the distant past on their planet, another species was dominant, with the Fithp existing as animals, perhaps even as pets. This predecessor species badly damaged the environment, rendering themselves and many other species extinct, but left behind their knowledge inscribed on large stone cubes (called Thuktunthp, plural of Thuktun in the Fithp language), from which the Fithp have gained their technology. The study of Thuktun is the only science the Fithp possess. The Fithp are armed with a technology that is superior rather than incomprehensible: laser cannon, projectile rifles, controlled meteorite strikes to bombard surface targets, lightcraft surface-to-orbit shuttles the size of warships, etc.

Nominated for Hugo and Locus awards in 1986.

Wszystko to zaczęło się dwa wieki temu, kiedy w skałach Marsa odkryto puste podziemne miasto i po raz pierwszy podło słowo "Wędrowcy". Kierownik Wydziału Wydarzeń Nadzwyczajnych Maksym Kammerer, opowiada…

As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia’s boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she’ll have to face…

When Lily’s guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia’s. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she’s hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building. The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster. Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet…

Un impero grande come l’universo e contenente miliardi di mondi abitati; una forza politica, sociale e scientifica senza precedenti come la disciplina della psicostoria; l’enigma rappresentato dalle Fondazioni gemelle fondate da Hari Seldon per abbreviare il periodo d’interregno quando l’impero galattico fosse crollato… Sono questi, come ognuno sa, gli ingredienti fondamentali della vasta epopea futura che Asimov è venuto arricchendo negli anni, e che descrive il lontanissimo futuro dell’uomo con la stessa suspense di un thriller d’oggi. Ma con Fondazione e Terra siamo a un’importante svolta del ciclo asimoviano: il nostro pianeta entra di nuovo in gioco e sempre più chiare appaiono le mosse decisive di una partita che ha come posta le stelle.

From Star Trek to Star Wars, from Dune to Foundation, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast intergalactic societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies. The stories in Federations will continue that tradition. What are the social/religious/environmental/technological implications of living in such a vast society? What happens when expansionist tendencies on a galactic scale come into conflict with the indigenous peoples of other planets, of other races? And what of the issue of communicating across such distances, or the problems caused by relativistic travel? These are just some of the questions and issues that the stories in Federations will take on.

Some problems are really unrecognized opportunities. Suppose, for example, that certain common “exaggerations” are simple truth…

Some problems are really unrecognized opportunities. Suppose, for example, that certain common “exaggerations” are simple truth…

The fifth Eddie Drood novel from the New York Times bestselling author.

After the murder of the Drood Matriarch, the family finds itself vulnerable to evil. This time, it's a Satanic Conspiracy that could throw humanity directly into the clutches of the Biggest of the Bads...

Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone — but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen.

Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who'd always terrified her — but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she'd ever imagined.

In Melissa Marr's third mesmerizing tale of Faerie, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos.

Karen Marie Moning's 'Fever' series is a coast-to-coast hit! The first two titles in this national bestselling series, Darkfever and Bloodfever, appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.

In FAEFEVER, Karen Marie Moning returns to the shadowy Dublin Otherworld in an undeniably sexy novel her fans are feverish for.

Changed by the choices she made in order to survive, Mac no longer is the naïve, idealistic, and glamorous girl newly arrived in Dublin. Now, on a quest to find her sister's killer, she is a major player in a deadly game, but with one great advantage: she knows how to find the one thing Fae and human alike are willing to kill for — the Sinsar Dubh, an ancient book of magic so dark it corrupts anyone who touches it.

What Mac soon discovers, however, is worse than she had imagined. Surrounded by treachery, her enemies indistinguishable from her allies, she can be certain of only one thing — as All Hallows' Eve approaches, her time is running out.

Patricia Briggs, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mercy Thompson novels, "always enchants her readers." (Lynn Viehl, New York Times bestselling author) Now her Alpha and Omega series—set in a world of shifting shapes, loyalty, and passion—brings werewolves out of the darkness and into a society where fear and prejudice could make the hunters prey...

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son—and enforcer—of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves—all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer's sights...

The United States is near total collapse. But 87% of the population doesn't care: they're addicted to flashback, a drug that allows its users to re-experience the best moments of their lives. After ex-detective Nick Bottom's wife died in a car accident, he went under the flash to be with her; he's lost his job, his teenage son, and his livelihood as a result.

Nick may be a lost soul but he's still a good cop, so he is hired to investigate the murder of a top governmental advisor's son. This flashback-addict becomes the one man who may be able to change the course of an entire nation turning away from the future to live in the past.

A provocative novel set in a future that seems scarily possible, FLASHBACK proves why Dan Simmons is one of our most exciting and versatile writers.

Alice Bonham thinks she's finally found a balance in her life between the supernatural and real life with her brother Milo. Jack - her sorta vampire boyfriend - keeps her at arm's length to keep her safe. As for his brother Peter... she's not sure where he's at, or what he wants with her. Worse still, she's not even sure what she wants with Peter. When tragedy happens, Alice finds herself struggling with a terrible choice. Her decision has consequences that reach farther than she'd ever imagined...

Flutter - the third book in the My Blood Approves series...

Being undead doesn't make life any easier for Alice Bonham.

Her younger brother's love life is heating up, while hers is... more complicated. Mae is falling apart, her best friend Jane is addicted to vampire bites, and if Alice doesn't get her bloodlust under control, someone will end up dead.

Alice volunteers for a rescue mission with Ezra. But going up against a pack of rabid vampires might be too much, even for him.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet of her kind, she nearly pays with her life, only to be spared by a beautiful stranger sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki-a descendant of dragons whose ability to shift into human form is her best defense. Forced to flee into the mortal world, Jacinda struggles to adapt. The one bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irrestibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away - if it dies she will be left a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Это повесть в городском стиле, наверное, потому как о городе . Здесь есть загадки, немного мистики и подворотни Москвы, а также еще много чего родного и любимого. В романе главным героем является сам город Москва. Это семь историй о городе и о людях в нем. Если вы любите Москву, то наслаждайтесь чтением. Все описания основаны на реальных событиях.

А название? Название просто немного осовременная Москва. Город меняется, это же не статично застывшая вещь. В связи с этим в этом романе название было бы уместным поставить в конце, что автором и будет проделано .

Sachant l’Empire Galactique sur le point des’effondrer, le psycho-historien Hari Seldon a créédeux Fondations, l’une officielle, l’autre secrète, quimanipulent l’évolution de l’Humanité. En 498 après leur établissement,la foudre, tout à coup, menace.Quelqu’un fausse les cartes du jeu.Est-ce la Seconde Fondation,que la première croyait avoir éliminée ? Est-ce une troisième force,qui oeuvrerait dans l’ombre et dont nul ne sauraitrien ? Commence alors une course-poursuiteau terme de laquelle se cache une surprise detaille, une surprise qui a pour nom les Robots… Car Isaac Asimov, en renouant le fil de son récitavec autant de fraîcheur et de verve que s’il l’avaitabandonné hier, y introduit les thèmes majeursde ses oeuvres ultérieures pour tisser une fresqued’une ampleur incomparabledans le domaine de la science-fiction.

Les psychohistoriens ont calculé que l'empire galactique court à sa perte. Saul Dornick, jeune étudiant, Hari Seldon et quelques autres sont exilés sur une planète située à l'extrémité de la Galaxie. Les siècles passent. L'empire décline toujours. La planète où ont été exilés les psychohistoriens maintient la civilisation ; elle signe des alliances avec les mondes environnants, conclut des traités, mène une grande guerre. Des ruines de l'empire galactique s'élève un nouvel empire, la Fondation, qui maintient un noyau de civilisation.

Decades, centuries and even thousands of years in the future: The horrors inspired by Lovecraft do not know the limits of time…or space.

Journey through this anthology of science fiction stories and poems inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

Listen to the stars that whisper and drive a crew mad. Worship the Tloque Nahuaque as he overtakes Mexico City. Slip into the court of the King in Yellow. Walk through the streets of a very altered Venice. Stop to admire the beauty of the flesh-dolls in the window. Fly through space in the shape of a hungry, malicious comet. Swim in the drug-induced haze of a jellyfish. Struggle to survive in a Martian gulag whose landscape isn't quite dead. But, most of all, fear the future.

Featured authors include: Nick Mamatas, Ann K. Schwader, Don Webb, Paul Jessup, E. Catherine Tobler, A.C. Wise, and many more.

Qui est ce nouveau conquérant surnommé le Mulet ? Personne ne peut se vanter de l’avoir vu,mais personne, non plus, ne peut prétendreéchapper à son pouvoir. En cette année 12.866, il a conquis presque toutes les planètes de la Galaxie,cependant : il reste invisible. Agents secrets, savants, militaires, sont incapablesde le découvrir. Pourquoi se cache-t-il ? Le grand écrivain américain Asimov nous prouvedans le second volet de sa trilogie que,à l’aube du 14^e millénaire,quand nous occuperons les 25 millions de planètesde la Galaxie, nos passions seront toujours les mêmes.

Mit „Fiasko“ knüpft Lem an jene Phase seines literarischen Schaffens an, die mit Romanen wie „Der Unbesiegbare“ (1967) und „Solaris“ (1972) seine bisher größten erzählerischen Erfolge aufwies. „Fiasko“, ein Buch von grandiosem pessimistischem Zuschnitt, nimmt eine Idee auf, die die intellektuelle Science-fiction bislang gemieden hat: die Möglichkeit der Selbstzerstörung unseres Planeten. Den Ausgangspunkt der Geschichte, die Lem ins 22. Jahrhundert datiert, bildet der Versuch eines Raumfahrtkommandos, mit einer außerirdischen Zivilisation Kontakt aufzunehmen, doch kristallisiert sich als das eigentliche Thema des Romans bald der fatale Zustand jener fremden Zivilisation heraus. Im Verlauf eines hundertjährigen kalten Krieges und Wettrüstens ist das ganze Planetensystem, m welchem sich auch der Planet Quinta — Ziel des Raumschiffs „Hermes“ — befindet, „militarisiert“ worden und bildet nun eine gewaltige „Sphäromachie“, in der unzählige hochautomatisierte Satelliten sich gegenseitig in Schach halten.

Unwissentlich gerät das Unternehmen Hermes zwischen die Fronten und beschwört durch eine fatale Demonstration der Stärke die kosmische Katastrophe herauf: „ein Lehrstück über den Wahnwitz von SDI und Star-Wars-Träumen“ („Die Zeit“).

FROM THE INCREDIBLE WORLDS OF CONNIE WILLIS

In “Service for the Burial of the Dead,” a young woman mourning her lover comes upon a surprising funeral guest.

Biblical prophecies turn out to have unexpected meanings as the End Times approach in “Lost and Found.”

The dangers of ordering merchandise from the back pages of pulp magazines become apparent in “Mail-Order Clone.”

In “Blued Moon,” a young man uncovers a scientific property of coincidence—and falls in love.

As a tourist attraction, a total eclipse draws an even wider audience than (almost) anyone realizes in “And Come from Miles Around.”

In “Samaritan,” an enthusiastic young assistant pastor plunges the entire church hierarchy into a firestorm of controversy when she brings forward an orangutan to be baptized.

Parental abuse is all the rage in an institute of higher learning—for those who have no parents… and for those who have no children, in “All My Darling Daughters.”

Shaddock Valley. A maximum security prison that houses the worst of the worst: drug gangs, psychopaths, rapists, gangters, and outlaw bikers. In a place like that, a skinny little kid like Danny Palmquist doesn't stand a chance. It doesn't take long before the hardtimers move in on him.

Then they begin to die horribly.

In locked cells.

When the lights go out at Shaddock Valley, the nightmare begins. When Danny Palmquist goes to sleep, something else wakes up.

Something primeval.

Something bloodthirsty.

And if you mess with Danny Palmquist, it will find you. And in the darkness, nothing can save you.

Rok 2142. Dr Vannevar Morgan, twórca Mostu Gibraltarskiego, uruchamia plany budowy wyciągu kosmicznego — gigantycznej windy do transportu ludzi i ładunków z powierzchni Ziemi na orbitę. Przedsięwzięcie ma być zrealizowane na położonej na Oceanie Indyjskim wyspie Taprobane. Jednak wybrana przez budowniczych góra okazuje się świętym miejscem, zazdrośnie strzeżonym przez tamtejszych kapłanów…

The classic sequel to the science fiction bestseller, Little Fuzzy. Also published as The Other Human Race.

Third part of classical series started with Little Fuzzy. This book was was first published in 1984, long after author’s death in 1964.

Titel der Originalausgabe: »The Policy«

Final Diagnosis is a 1997 science fiction novel by author James White and is part of the Sector General series.

A man suffering from multiple mysterious illnesses and allergic reactions is labelled a hypochondriac. Finally he is sent to Sector General as a last resort. He befriends his fellow alien patients, telling them his life history. Rather than dismissing his complaints, the attentive hospital doctors develop a theory, and bring him back to his home planet. At the scene of a childhood accident that seems to have started it all, explanations are found.

Kriminalsekretär Joseph Quellen, Angestellter Klasse VII, besitzt eindeutige Beweise für die Existenz der Zeitspringer: Die alten Polizeiakten des Jahres 1979. Sie berichten vom Auftauchen seltsam gekleideter Frauen und Männer, die nach scharfen Verhören gestehen, aus dem 25. Jahrhundert geflüchtet zu sein, um dem hoffnungslosen Leben unter dem Regime der Maschinen zu entgehen. Kriminalsekretär Quellen befindet sich in einer Zwangslage. Er soll die illegale Organisation der Zeitreisenden zerschlagen — darf aber durch sein Eingreifen kein Zeitparadoxon verursachen, das das Regime in seinen Grundfesten erschüttern würde.

Cora Goode has woken up in a fairytale world where she can understand what birds are saying to her, men ride horses and have fluffy feathers in their hats and furniture zigs, zags and whirls in miracles of construction.

The problem is, she thinks she’s in a dream but she’s actually taken the place of the parallel universe Cora and without realizing it, our Cora does something that starts a centuries old curse that will sweep the land if she gets captured by the evil Minerva.

At this point, her dream world becomes a nightmare.

Luckily, hot guy, fantasyland Noctorno is there to save her from the clutches of the grotesque vickrants sent by Minerva to capture her. Unfortunately, hot guy, fantasyland Noctorno doesn’t like the Cora of his world all that much (to say the least) and he thinks our Cora is her. And no matter what our Cora says or does to try to convince him, he won’t be convinced.

But Cora needs Tor to keep her safe and guide her through this fantastical world as she hopes one day to wake up in her not-so-great apartment in her not-so-great life in her world. The problem is, the more time she spends with the gorgeous warrior Tor, the faster she falls in love with him.

Every dog might have his day, but the hellhound guards the night . . .

As a snowstorm locks down the city, more than the roads are getting iced. Someone's beheaded the wrong girl, and vampire-on-the-lam Talia Rostova thinks it was meant to be her. Now she's the prime suspect in her own botched murder—and the prisoner of her smoking-hot neighbor.

Lore is a hellhound, bred to serve and protect, so he's not freeing Talia until he's sure that she's the prey and not the hunter. You'd think a beautiful woman in his bedroom would be a good thing, but trouble-prone Talia has run afoul of someone more sinister than your average lunatic killer. An ancient Undead is wreaking vengeance on the city—and on her—and Lore will have to go far beyond a stake to put him back in his grave . . .

From New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston comes this remarkable first book in a spellbinding new series about the dawn of a new kind of magic.

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.

There is no United States. There is no world. An asteroid has destroyed what the human race knew as earth and The Great Famine has wiped out most of the surviving human population. For the few remaining survivors, food is scarce—precious—a luxury. A luxury that most humans can't find.

Seventeen year old Georgina Carver is fortunate. She's survived the destruction. She eats three times a day while the rest of humanity is plagued by The Great Famine. And she's safe, hidden away in an underground colony with her family and several other families of survivors.

All of that changes the day she's randomly selected to be a gatherer. Georgina must leave her safe yet simple world and venture out into a world unknown. A vast, dangerous, destroyed world that could literally eat her alive.

After Georgina is severely injured, her life begins to fall apart. She can't remember how she got home or what happened to her while she was on the new earth. The boy she is crushing on avoids her and she keeps having visions that involve an unknown person with violet eyes.

As Georgina begins to unravel the truth, it doesn't take her long to figure out that maybe her safe yet simple life isn't that safe at all.

Ben Malone's role as Marshall attunes him to every nuance of the pack's wellbeing-which means he's forced to feel every one of his mate's hangovers. It's the one reason Ben will never claim Dave Maldonado. Being alone is better than being with someone who lives in a bottle.

Dave was destined to be a pack Alpha until his first migraine hit at age fifteen, the day he caught his future mate holding hands with another boy. In the nine agonizing years since, he's contented himself as Beta, but never learned to live with the pain and confusion of Ben's rejection.

Dave's worst attack yet sends him to the hospital-and brings them both face to face with the misunderstanding that's kept them apart all these years. It's too late, though. Dave is headed for Gay Pride Week at Disney World with one goal in mind. "Forget Ben Malone."

Ben's got a problem with that. Only one man is destined to hold "his" David. And he'll give anything, even his last shred of pride, to win forgiveness-and the right to finally claim his mate.

Four inhabitants of a crumbling world:

• a drug-addled boy, living in dank recesses, sets out in an ancient car to find his ex, who has mysteriously vanished overnight;

• a privileged girl, obsessed with the past, and exiled by her esteemed father, learns more about her long-vanished ancestors than she ever could have wished for;

• an old man, on his hundredth birthday, deserts his quiet post as an elevator operator, climbing the great shaft in hopes of seeing the fabled topmost level before he dies;

• and a fisherman, seeking answers to why his once-vibrant wife is now chronically ailing and wasting away, begins a quest to find and confront the god of all gods.

Hallucinatory and darkly comic, these 19 stories of paranoia, pursuit, sensory deprivation, amnesia, and retribution rattle the cages of the psyche. And through the illustrations of graphic novelist Zak Sally, this unsettling world is brought to life. From sadistic bosses with secret fears to a woman trapped in a mime's imaginary box, and from a post-apocalyptic misidentified messiah to unwitting portraitists of the dead, Brian Evenson's mind-bending fiction exposes the terror contained within our daily lives.

Fugue State contains 19 drawings by two-time Eisner nominee Zak Sally, plus his graphic collaboration with Evenson, "Dread."

Finalist for 2009 World Fantasy Award, Short Story Collection Category

Finalist for 2009 Shirley Jackson Award, Short Story Collection Category

The sequel to Audrey Rose takes Janice Templeton back to the death of Audrey Rose and the mystery of where she is if she was reincarnated as Ivy Templeton. Ivy, Janice's daughter, was also killed in a car crash. Janice is determined to find the truth.

In 1964, a fiery car crash claimed the lives of Audrey Rose Hoover and her mother. Eleven years later, Elliot Hoover, her father, believes he has found Audrey's reincarnated soul in the body of 10-year-old Ivy Templeton. When Ivy dies in a terrible hypnotic reenactment of Audrey's death throes, the Templeton's are devastated and Elliot disappears. However, the question remains: If Audrey Rose returned as Ivy Templeton, who died in 1975 — then, where is she now? Janice Templeton is determined to find the answer.

After much of humanity is destroyed in a massive collision, fellow survivors manage to band together and fight for survival. How will these survivors react when they discover society has been drug down into the dark ages and is full of chaos and disorder? Will the few that remain return humanity to what was once greatness? Fallen into Darkness is a harrowing tale of survival, struggle, and morality in a post-apocalyptic world.

Picking up a few months after the end of Daemon (2009), Suarez continues his popular technothriller and SF saga. The computer program Daemon has taken over the Internet, and millions have joined its virtual world. Now the effect is spilling into the real world as Daemon assumes control of financial institutions, and the program’s real-life converts flock to small towns to re-create a sustainable lifestyle amid the agribusiness monoculture of the Midwest. Despite a slow start, Freedom picks up speed by the second half with Daemon’s supporters and detractors facing off for the control of civilization. Only readers who have also read Daemon will be fully able to enjoy and understand Freedom, as most of the characters and plot elements are drawn directly from the previous story, and only so much backstory is possible, given the elaborate premise. On the other hand, Daemon fans will be well be pleased with the exciting conclusion, as will anyone who enjoys lots of gaming elements and virtual worlds in their science fiction. --Jessica Moyer

If we allow irreplaceable wilderness areas to disappear, the quality of life in the future will be seriously diminished. Perhaps we’re living in the last Golden Age right now; if so, imagine how nostalgic and envious future generations may feel about our time. And if they should develop a means of time travel…?

When two young girls go missing in rural Herefordshire, police constable and wizard-in-training Peter Grant is sent out of London to check that nothing supernatural is involved.

It's purely routine — Nightingale, Peter's superior, thinks he'll be done in less than a day. But Peter's never been one to walk away from someone in trouble, so when nothing overtly magical turns up he volunteers his services to the local police, who need all the help they can get. But because the universe likes a joke as much as the next sadistic megalomaniac, Peter soon comes to realize that dark secrets underlie the picturesque fields and villages of the countryside and there might just be work for Britain's most junior wizard after all.

Soon Peter's in a vicious race against time, in a world where the boundaries between reality and fairy have never been less clear....

When it comes to crafting happily-ever-afters, the Agency is the best in the land of Kingdom. The Fairy Godfather Grimm can solve any problem—from eliminating imps to finding prince charming—as long as you can pay the price…

Working for Grimm isn’t Marissa Locks’s dream job. But when your parents trade you to a Fairy Godfather for a miracle, you don’t have many career options. To pay off her parents’ debt and earn her freedom, Marissa must do whatever Grimm asks, no matter what fairy-tale fiasco she’s called on to deal with.

Setting up a second-rate princess with a first-class prince is just another day at the office. But when the matchmaking goes wrong, Marissa and Grimm find themselves in a bigger magical muddle than ever before. Not only has the prince gone missing, but the Fae are gearing up to attack Kingdom, and a new Fairy Godmother is sniffing around Grimm’s turf, threatening Marissa with the one thing she can’t resist: her heart’s wishes.

Now Marissa will have to take on Fairies, Fae, dragons, and princesses to save the realm—or give up any hope of ever getting her happy ending…

The first book in C.J.Cherryh's eponymous series, Foreigner begins an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient alien race.From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the Foreignerseries has become a true science fiction odyssey, following a civilization from the age of steam through early space flight to confrontations with other alien species in distant sectors of space. It is the masterwork of a truly remarkable author.

Seit über 100 Jahren führt die Allianz schon Krieg gegen die Syndik-Welten — mit wenig Aussicht auf den Sieg. Jetzt muss Captain John »Black Jack« Geary dafür sorgen, dass die Allianz dem gnadenlosen Feind immer einen Schritt voraus ist.

From the 1997 anthology Return of the Dinosaurs. A tale of intelligent dinosaurs during the Mesozoic. Honorable Mention in Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best Science Fiction.

From the 2000 anthology Lisa Snellings’ Strange Attraction: Turns of the Midnight Carnival Wheel. A young circus performer fears falling.

Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Short Story of the Year, and one of three stories cited as “highlights” from this the anthology by the Denver Rocky Mountain News.

On 4 November 2052 Fremder Gorm is found drifting in space a few megaklicks off Badu, a planet in the Fourth Galaxy. He is the only survivor from Clever Daughter, a battered old tanker. Why did Fremder survive?

HARRY and his brother JACK are on an airline flight, headed for a wild weekend—a ritual they have enjoyed every May since leaving the army. The trip takes a terrifying turn when they land in New York—this year’s destination—to find that JFK airport is almost deserted and that the few ground crew they can spot have all been brutally slaughtered. Is it a terrorist attack? Or something even more menacing? When a security guard appears and offers to help the passengers, but promptly shoots the first person off the plane and then kills himself, Harry realises that there is something very, very wrong in New York City.

HARRY and his brother JACK are on an airline flight, headed for a wild weekend—a ritual they have enjoyed every May since leaving the army. The trip takes a terrifying turn when they land in New York—this year’s destination—to find that JFK airport is almost deserted and that the few ground crew they can spot have all been brutally slaughtered. Is it a terrorist attack? Or something even more menacing? When a security guard appears and offers to help the passengers, but promptly shoots the first person off the plane and then kills himself, Harry realises that there is something very, very wrong in New York City.

Nearly twenty years ago, Robin Hobb burst upon the fantasy scene with the first of her acclaimed Farseer novels, *Assassin’s Apprentice,* which introduced the characters of FitzChivalry Farseer and his uncanny friend the Fool. A watershed moment in modern fantasy, this novel—and those that followed—broke exciting new ground in a beloved genre. Together with George R. R. Martin, Robin Hobb helped pave the way for such talented new voices as Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson, and Naomi Novik.

Over the years, Hobb’s imagination has soared throughout the mythic lands of the Six Duchies in such bestselling series as the Liveship Traders Trilogy and the Rain Wilds Chronicles. But no matter how far she roamed, her heart always remained with Fitz. And now, at last, she has come home, with an astonishing new novel that opens a dark and gripping chapter in the Farseer saga.

FitzChivalry—royal bastard and former king’s assassin—has left his life of intrigue behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead and buried. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock, Fitz is now married to his childhood sweetheart, Molly, and leading the quiet life of a country squire.

Though Fitz is haunted by the disappearance of the Fool, who did so much to shape Fitz into the man he has become, such private hurts are put aside in the business of daily life, at least until the appearance of menacing, pale-skinned strangers casts a sinister shadow over Fitz’s past . . . and his future.

Now, to protect his new life, the former assassin must once again take up his old one. . . .

**Praise for Robin Hobb and the Farseer Trilogy**

** **

“Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb’s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.”**—George R. R. Martin **

“A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne.”**—*Publishers Weekly****,* on* Assassin’s Apprentice*

“This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don’t want it to be over.”**—Steven Brust**, on *Assassin’s Apprentice*

“[Robin] Hobb continues to revitalize a genre that often seems all too generic, making it new in ways that range from the subtle to the shocking.”**—*Locus****, *on* Royal Assassin*

“[*Royal Assassin*] reaches astonishing new heights. . . . The Farseer saga is destined for greatness—a must-read for every devotee of epic fantasy.”**—*Sense of Wonder***

“An enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama.”**—*Kirkus Reviews* (starred review)**, on *Assassin’s Quest*

“Superbly written, wholly satisfying, unforgettable: better than any fantasy trilogy in print—including mine!”**—Melanie Rawn**, on *Assassin’s Quest*

**

### Review

**Praise for Robin Hobb and the Farseer Trilogy**

** **

“Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb’s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.”**—George R. R. Martin **

“A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne.”**—*Publishers Weekly****,* on* Assassin’s Apprentice*

“This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don’t want it to be over.”**—Steven Brust**, on *Assassin’s Apprentice*

“[Robin] Hobb continues to revitalize a genre that often seems all too generic, making it new in ways that range from the subtle to the shocking.”**—*Locus****, *on* Royal Assassin*

“[*Royal Assassin*] reaches astonishing new heights. . . . The Farseer saga is destined for greatness—a must-read for every devotee of epic fantasy.”**—*Sense of Wonder***

“An enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama.”**—*Kirkus Reviews* (starred review)**, on *Assassin’s Quest*

“Superbly written, wholly satisfying, unforgettable: better than any fantasy trilogy in print—including mine!”**—Melanie Rawn**, on *Assassin’s Quest*

### About the Author

**Robin Hobb **is the author of the Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Soldier Son Trilogy, and the Rain Wilds Chronicles. She has also written as Megan Lindholm. She is a native of Washington State.

If a society is an organism that evolves, it must also mutate, eat, and eliminate waste.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Trimus was also the setting for “Poles Apart” [Mid-December 1992] and “Network” [February 1994].

One of the biggest problems of a remote research outpost is equipment maintenance—which means more and requires more imagination than you might think!

Alien intelligence may be a lot closer than you think…

Once something new gets out into the world, however small, its effects may begin to snowball…

Nearly twenty years ago, Robin Hobb burst upon the fantasy scene with the first of her acclaimed Farseer novels, *Assassin’s Apprentice,* which introduced the characters of FitzChivalry Farseer and his uncanny friend the Fool. A watershed moment in modern fantasy, this novel—and those that followed—broke exciting new ground in a beloved genre. Together with George R. R. Martin, Robin Hobb helped pave the way for such talented new voices as Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson, and Naomi Novik.

Over the years, Hobb’s imagination has soared throughout the mythic lands of the Six Duchies in such bestselling series as the Liveship Traders Trilogy and the Rain Wilds Chronicles. But no matter how far she roamed, her heart always remained with Fitz. And now, at last, she has come home, with an astonishing new novel that opens a dark and gripping chapter in the Farseer saga.

FitzChivalry—royal bastard and former king’s assassin—has left his life of intrigue behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead and buried. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock, Fitz is now married to his childhood sweetheart, Molly, and leading the quiet life of a country squire.

Though Fitz is haunted by the disappearance of the Fool, who did so much to shape Fitz into the man he has become, such private hurts are put aside in the business of daily life, at least until the appearance of menacing, pale-skinned strangers casts a sinister shadow over Fitz’s past . . . and his future.

Now, to protect his new life, the former assassin must once again take up his old one. . . .

**Praise for Robin Hobb and the Farseer Trilogy**

** **

“Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb’s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.”**—George R. R. Martin **

“A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne.”**—*Publishers Weekly****,* on* Assassin’s Apprentice*

“This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don’t want it to be over.”**—Steven Brust**, on *Assassin’s Apprentice*

“[Robin] Hobb continues to revitalize a genre that often seems all too generic, making it new in ways that range from the subtle to the shocking.”**—*Locus****, *on* Royal Assassin*

“[*Royal Assassin*] reaches astonishing new heights. . . . The Farseer saga is destined for greatness—a must-read for every devotee of epic fantasy.”**—*Sense of Wonder***

“An enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama.”**—*Kirkus Reviews* (starred review)**, on *Assassin’s Quest*

“Superbly written, wholly satisfying, unforgettable: better than any fantasy trilogy in print—including mine!”**—Melanie Rawn**, on *Assassin’s Quest*

**

### Review

**Praise for Robin Hobb and the Farseer Trilogy**

** **

“Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb’s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.”**—George R. R. Martin **

“A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne.”**—*Publishers Weekly****,* on* Assassin’s Apprentice*

“This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don’t want it to be over.”**—Steven Brust**, on *Assassin’s Apprentice*

“[Robin] Hobb continues to revitalize a genre that often seems all too generic, making it new in ways that range from the subtle to the shocking.”**—*Locus****, *on* Royal Assassin*

“[*Royal Assassin*] reaches astonishing new heights. . . . The Farseer saga is destined for greatness—a must-read for every devotee of epic fantasy.”**—*Sense of Wonder***

“An enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama.”**—*Kirkus Reviews* (starred review)**, on *Assassin’s Quest*

“Superbly written, wholly satisfying, unforgettable: better than any fantasy trilogy in print—including mine!”**—Melanie Rawn**, on *Assassin’s Quest*

### About the Author

**Robin Hobb **is the author of the Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Soldier Son Trilogy, and the Rain Wilds Chronicles. She has also written as Megan Lindholm. She is a native of Washington State.

**Ranking alongside George R. R. Martin as a groundbreaking master of fantasy, *New York Times *bestselling author Robin Hobb delivers the second book in her long-awaited Fitz and the Fool trilogy.**

The harrowing adventures of FitzChivalry Farseer and his enigmatic friend the Fool continue in Robin Hobb’s triumphant follow-up to *Fool’s Assassin*. But *Fool’s Quest* is more than just a sequel. With the artistry and imagination her fans have come to expect, Hobb builds masterfully on all that has gone before, revealing devastating secrets and shocking conspiracies that cast a dark shadow over the history of Fitz and his world—a shadow that now stretches to darken all future hope.

Long ago, Fitz and the Fool changed the world, bringing back the magic of dragons and securing both the Farseer succession and the stability of the kingdom. Or so they thought. But now the Fool is near death, maimed by mysterious pale-skinned figures whose plans for world domination hinge upon the powers the Fool may share with Fitz’s own daughter.

Distracted by the Fool’s perilous health, and swept up against his will in the intrigues of the royal court, Fitz lets down his guard . . . and in a horrible instant, his world is undone and his beloved daughter stolen away by those who would use her as they had once sought to use the Fool—as a weapon.

But FitzChivalry Farseer is not without weapons of his own. An ancient magic still lives in his veins. And though he may have let his skills as royal assassin diminish over the years, such things, once learned, are not so easily forgotten.

Now enemies and friends alike are about to learn that nothing is more dangerous than a man who has nothing left to lose.

**Praise for Robin Hobb and *Fool’s Assassin***

“Fantasy as it ought to be written.”**—George R. R. Martin**

“Hobb knows the complicated workings of the wayward human heart, and she takes time to depict them in her tale, to tell her story sweetly, insistently, compellingly. . . . A book meant to be inhabited rather than run through.”**—*The Seattle Times***

“[FitzChivalry Farseer is] one of the best characters in fantasy literature.”**—*Fantasy Book Review***

“[Hobb’s] prose sparkles, her characters leap off the page.”**—*Tor.com***

“Modern fantasy at its irresistible best.”***—The Guardian***

“Fantastic . . . emotionally rich storytelling.”***—Library Journal *(starred review)**

*From the Hardcover edition.*

**

The fast-paced and inventive “Fair Verona” is up to R. Garcia y Robertson’s usual high standards. Mr. Garcia’s latest books include The Virgin and the Dinosaur (1996) and its sequel Atlantis Found (spring 1997). Both novels were published by AvoNova, and both are partly based on stories published in Asimov’s. The author’s next book, a collection of short fictions entitled The Moon Maid and Other Fantastic Stories, will be out soon from Golden Gryphon Press. The book will provide a hard-cover home for a number of tales that first appeared in our pages.

All of the mortals referred to in Kage Baker’s latest Company story (her first, “Noble Mold,” appeared in our March 1997 issue), actually lived and worked in the last century at Fort Ross—Russia’s failed colony just north of San Francisco. “A Vasilii Kalugin was, in fact, stationed at the fort during the time mentioned in this story. The orchard and the fortress are still there, and well worth a visit; the ghosts are pleasant and courteous, and the holy water still flows free.” Ms. Baker’s first novel, In the Garden of Iden, a Novel of the Company, will be out from Harcourt Brace in February.

Although “Front Man” marks Greg Abraham’s first solo appearance in these pages, it is his second story for Asimov’s. His earlier tale, “Mr. Sartorious” (Mid-December 1994), was co-written with Mary Rosenblum. Mr. Abraham has sold stories to Aboriginal, Aberrations, Century, and New Legends. He’s just finished his first SF novel—it’s set in the same far future that Ms. Rosenblum borrowed for her story “Flight” (Asimov’s, February 1995)—and he’s embarking on a new book.

Frank Winter has a gift. He can soothe and handle damn near anything on four legs. Bt his future career as a racetrack equine veteranarian is destroyed with one vicious kick to the head. Now, the men who financed his education want their investment back and Frank becomes the guy to get his hands dirty when a horse in worth more dead than alive. But when a job goes bad and a horse dies on national television, Frank is taken to a rundown roadside zoo where the animals aren't just hungry. They're slowly starving. And Frank is on the menu.  After finding refuge in an isolated small town rued with near absolute power by Horace Strum, Frank sees a chance to make some quick cash. Sturm's got his problems, though. There's a tumor in his head the size of a golf ball and his thirteen-year-old son has brought nothing but embarrassment and shame to the family name.  Under a brutal summer sun, Frank organizes a series of exotic animal hunts through the ranches and backyards of Whitwood, hoping to end the animals' starvation quickly and painlessly. But he underestimates the deadness lurking under the surface of the town. Nor does he truly understand the depth of hatred in the decades old feud between Strum and the Glouck family. And he definitely doesn't anticipate falling for nineteen-year-old Annie Glouck.  While Whitewood crumbles to into a ghost town full of bones, blood, and gunpowder, vicious predators and hunters with itchy trigger fingers stalk the empty streets. It's survival of the fittest as the hunts escalate into death matches between the exotic animals and Frank must decide where he stands on the fine line between predator and prey.

Kyle Vauss wanders alone across the ruins of England trying to block out his past. If he can't, he'll never be able to shut out the memory of his wife getting torn to shreds by the infected. Fifteen years ago the world fell apart. By day the zombie infected swarm the streets, and at night the stalkers come out of their nests to kill. Mankind is on the brink of extinction. When a teenager called Justin tricks Kyle into taking him along, Kyle has to learn to trust others, and himself, again. He doesn't want to face his past, but there are some things that you can't turn away from. A gripping story of survival that zombie apocalypse fans will love.

Kyle Vauss wanders alone across the ruins of England trying to block out his past. If he can't, he'll never be able to shut out the memory of his wife getting torn to shreds by the infected. Fifteen years ago the world fell apart. By day the zombie infected swarm the streets, and at night the stalkers come out of their nests to kill. Mankind is on the brink of extinction. When a teenager called Justin tricks Kyle into taking him along, Kyle has to learn to trust others, and himself, again. He doesn't want to face his past, but there are some things that you can't turn away from. A gripping story of survival that zombie apocalypse fans will love.

Sten’s luck seems to have deserted him. Having been assigned a tacdivision in the Fringe Worlds, he soon discovers that the Imperial Officers are more interested in having fun than honing their fighting skills. The enemy Tahn couldn’t have picked a better time or place to launch their long-planned attack against the Empire. Sten and his men are outgunned and outmanned—but Sten isn’t going to give up without a fight.

Only One Man Can Save the Planet — But He Just Died.

Mysterious but silent objects have been found buried deep in the murky depths of the ocean. Dormant for decades, they are now awake and sending messages to outer space. Mike, pulled back into a clandestine world to finish a job he started as a young Navy Ensign and help decipher these strange messages, is attacked by gangs of ordinary Americans and must fight for his very life.

As he struggles through these challenges, Mike also learns that a revered friend has died. With the death of this friend, is mankind's last hope for understanding the signals lost forever in the silt and muck of the ocean bottom?

From the deepest reaches of the abyssal plains to the arid but mystically beautiful deserts of the American Southwest, Falling Star takes you on a journey through the darkest aspects of human existence to enlightenment of mankind's soul. It is a realistically written novel and contains scenes of graphic violence and strong language.