Aliens in all shapes and sizes--some fearsome, some outlandish, and some just plain fun--fill the pages of these hand-picked classic stories by sci-fi grand master Robert Silverberg, each featuring a new introduction by the acclaimed author. Every day we are discovering new worlds in far-reaching galaxies which may or may not sustain life as we know it. In Alien Archives: Eighteen Stories of Extraterrestrial Encounters , sci-fi Grand Master Robert Silverberg collects his finest short stories and novellas about one of the genre's most enduring themes. Spanning fifty years of writing from the Science Fiction Grand Master, this collection of alien encounters features new introductions to all fifteen stories, including the Hugo Award-nominated "Schwartz Between the Galaxies" and HBO adapted "Amanda and the Alien." In these pages lie tales of a young man venturing into the occupied territory of an alien conquered United States to rescue his brother, three visitors from a very strange alien world arriving on Earth and meeting a tragic fate, and a dangerous life-form from a far-off world finding that suburban California holds some beings that are even more dangerous than it is. With Alien Archives , Silverberg puts us in contact with extraterrestrial beings of all shapes, sizes, and personalities--some fearsome, some outlandish, and some just plain fun. The Associated Press says, "Done Silverberg's way, science fiction is a fine art." With sheer force of imagination and incredible storytelling skills, Alien Archives confirms that Silverberg's classic work continues to resonate for readers today.

Winner of the Hugo Award: This classic is an "evocative look at a crumbling Earth of the far future and a human race struggling to survive" (George R. R. Martin). "Roum is a city built on seven hills. They say it was a capital of man in one of the earlier cycles. I knew nothing of that, for my guild was Watching, not Remembering." For a thousand years, mankind has lived under the threat of invasion from an alien race. After the oceans rose and the continents were reshaped, people divided into guilds--Musicians, Scribes, Merchants, Clowns, and more. The Watchers wander the earth, scouring the skies for signs of enemies from the stars. But during one Watcher's journey to the ancient city of Roum with his companion, a Flier named Avluela, a moment of distraction allows the invaders to advance. When the Watcher finally sounds the alarm, it's too late; the star people are poised to conquer all. And so, with the world in turmoil, the Watcher sets out alone for the Hall of the Rememberers, keepers of the past, where humanity's last hope for survival might be hidden . . . Perfect for readers of Greg Bear and Ursula K. Le Guin, renowned, award-winning author Robert Silverberg's science fiction novel represents the best of the genre and beyond.

Armchair Fiction presents extra large editions of classic science fiction double novels with original illustrations. Our first novel is a unique classic by one of the true masters of 20th Century science fiction and beyond, Robert Silverberg's "Regan's Planet." Regan was the man for the job! As the 20th Century wound down, the United States wasn't quite the world power it had once been. But a World's Fair celebrating the 500th anniversary of America's discovery by Christopher Columbus might be just the thing to help the country return to its former lofty state of prestige. Such a venture, though, would be a costly, enormous challenge; so President Hammond dropped the whole project into the lap of the shrewdest, most powerful businessman on the planet-Claude Regan, better known as "Factor Regan," head of Global Factors, Inc. But undertaking such a colossal endeavor soon put Regan and Global nearly two billion dollars in the hole. With his company's future on the line, Regan realized that the Fair would need something completely new, something radically different-so he decided to produce a World's Fair that was...quite literally...out of this world! The second novel is another unique, engaging sci-fi classic, "Someone to Watch Over Me" by H. L. Gold and Floyd C. Gold. In hyperspace lay the answer to his dreams. Len Mattern had murdered his stepfather when he was sixteen years old-crushing the man's skull and leaving his body in a pool of blood. That horrid act had sent Len into an endless flight from planet to planet, looking for a sense of purpose in the dull chaos of his purposeless youth. Then on a distant pleasure planet he met Lyddy. Lyddy soon became the woman of his dreams-his one driving obsession. But Lyddy was also a whore, and no woman so beautiful and so desired by countless men could ever be swayed to funnel her emotions and body exclusively to a resourceless space scavenger like Len Mattern. So Mattern set out on a quest through space, from one world to another, seeking the financial means to secure her heart forever. But in the awfulness of hyperspace, where everything was the nightmare opposite of itself, Len Mattern soon found a new voice in his life, and with it came the answer to his dreams...