What should Carly Beth be for Halloween this year? Terrified! Late at night, and ugly green mask is mysteriously calling out to her. If Carly Beth survives the night, even a scary theme park might sound like a vacation. Or maybe not! At Horrorland, every night is Halloween. And those monster masks? They aren't masks at all.

"The Plainswalker: A Mind-Bending Journey Beyond Imagination" Prepare for an electrifying adventure penned by a USA Today bestselling author, hailed by none other than James M. Ward, author of "Deities and Demigods," as one of his top five fantasy novels. Meet Peabo Smith, a former Special Forces soldier who embarks on a journey that defies the boundaries of science and reality. Volunteering for a daring experiment that rivals the audacity of the moon landing, Peabo believes it's a chance to get back into the action. But as the clandestine government operation known as STAG, the Special Technologies Analysis Group, unfolds its enigmatic mission fifty feet beneath Marine Base Quantico, Peabo realizes that the experiment holds secrets beyond his wildest imagination. "The Plainswalker" is a tale of a soldier thrust into a science experiment that challenges the very fabric of existence. When the unexpected occurs, Peabo's life takes a turn he never saw coming. Join him on a mind-bending journey where the boundaries of reality blur, and the line between science and fantasy vanishes. Will Peabo emerge unscathed from this extraordinary odyssey, or will it change him forever? Buckle up for a thrill ride beyond the cosmos and into the unknown.

Two minutes before he disappeared forever from the face of the Earth he knew, Joseph Schwartz was strolling down the pleasant streets of a Chicago suburb, thinking about his family, He was a simple man, a kind man, a practical man not given to wild flights of imagination. So when he saw the old Raggedy Ann doll lying in his path, he merely smiled and lifted his foot to step over it... That was the only thing he remembered. He did not know that it marked the last act of his life on this earth - and the beginning of a terrifying journey into a strange new world where the twentieth century was already ancient history.

"In 1965, a mysterious beam of blue light descended from space, illuminating Northern California. This extraterrestrial beam possessed strange powers, causing those it touched to either die, go mad, or gain a unique, extraordinary ability. This newfound power represented the full actualization of human potential, bestowing strengths, understandings, and communication abilities far beyond normal human capacities. Those affected by the light were soon dubbed "Blues" and were segregated from society due to their superhuman abilities. United by their shared experiences, the Blues began searching for their purpose in the universe. However, an evil force known as the "Gray Man" soon emerged, setting the stage for a battle between good and evil. The Gray Man, originally Horace LaFontaine, was a character struck by the light at the moment of his death, revivified as a demon with a mission to annihilate the Blues. Once the Blues discovered their nemesis, they took refuge in the forests outside Northern California. Despite their efforts to hide, the Gray Man learned of their location through inside sources. Determined to confront their enemy, the Blues decided to declare war on the Gray Man. This epic battle, which takes place at the novel's climax, showcases the Blues utilizing their extraordinary powers to ultimately destroy the Gray Man. After their victory, the Blues settled into small cities in Northern California, integrating and living normal lives alongside the other residents of California"--

THE ORIGINAL HEAVY METAL HERO Millionaire industrialist Tony Stark’s genius for designing and building high-tech, ultradestructive weapons for America’s armed forces has inspired critics to dub him the modern-day Leonardo da Vinci–as well as “merchant of death,” a moniker he embraces with cool arrogance. But when he’s ambushed and kidnapped in the middle of a war zone, Stark comes face-to-face with his own mortality . . . and his true destiny. Now, thanks to him, enemy forces are about to meet their maker. And the world of warfare is about to meet its future–a weapon of mass destruction that walks and talks. When man and machine unite, it can only mean one thing: It’s time to stand ready or stand back–but don’t stand in the way, or else risk the mighty metallic fury of . . .

"In 2008, a cheerful ambulance-chasing lawyer named Jay Shenk persuades the grieving Keener family to sue a private LA hospital. Their son Wesley has been transformed by a routine surgery into a kind of golem, absent all normal functioning or personality, walking in endless empty circles around his hospital room. In 2019, Shenk - still in practice but a shell of his former self - is hired to defend Wesley Keener's father when he is charged with murder . . . the murder, as it turns out, of the expert witness from the 2008 hospital case. Shenk's adopted son, a fragile teenager in 2008, is a wayward adult, though he may find his purpose when he investigates what really happened to the murdered witness. Two thrilling trials braid together, medical malpractice and murder, jostling us back and forth in time. The Quiet Boy is a book full of mysteries, not only about the death of a brilliant scientist, not only about the outcome of the medical malpractice suit, but about the relationship between children and their parents, between the past and the present, between truth and lies. At the center of it all is Wesley Keener, endlessly walking, staring empty-eyed, in whose quiet, hollow body may lie the fate of humankind."--Publisher.

By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society. Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt, enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus's livestreamed assassination spectacle : the Lamb's Gauntlet. Melinoe is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks. When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs, the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she's had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother she might stand a chance of staying alive. For Melinoe, this is a game she can't afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption. As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything : Inesa wonders if there's more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she's capable of more than killing. And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.

Humankind's fate is at stake in a futuristic tale of an Earth bordering on ecological catastrophe from which the only escape is genetic adaptation or emigration to satellite cities in space. Reprint.

In a society where lies are law, a simple act of honesty can become the ultimate rebellion. When does silent compliance with an oppressive regime become unbearable? For Charlie Simpkins, the manager of a small vegetable shop in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, part of the West Coast People's Democratic Republic, the breaking point comes when he is asked to display a meaningless propaganda poster in his shop window. It is a seemingly insignificant act in a lifetime of obedience. But Charlie just can't bring himself to doing it. This minor act of defiance, however, show too much independent thinking on Charlie's part, setting off a chain of escalating consequences for Charlie and his wife and two children. Powerless is a haunting dystopian tale of how even the smallest act of defiance can spiral into disaster in a society that demands total conformity. It serves as a chilling reminder of how easily standing up for one's principles can lead to crushing consequences, erringly echoing the challenges we face today for speaking our truth, even in societies that claim to uphold freedom. While the novel draws original inspiration from Alexander Dubček's 1968 vision of "socialism with a human face" in Czechoslovakia (the reformist movement sought to humanize authoritarian rule), it will resonate with many who fear that individual freedoms are under attack in many parts of the world. In Powerless, Charlie Simpkins' growing disillusionment mirrors the psychological toll experienced by many today as political stress and uncertainty become ever more pervasive. As Charlie seeks out others who share his dissatisfaction, his increasingly deliberate and risky actions symbolize the quiet acts of defiance that offer hope and resistance in a society where the powerful suppress dissent. Powerless serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences that can arise when standing up for one's principles in an environment that demands conformity.​

Against all expectations, Krispos had won the crown of Videssos. But how long could he hope to keep head and crown together? For trouble was brewing in every, quarter. Civil war erupted under Petronas, the late Emperor's uncle. A brilliant general and a canny politician, Petronas had a very personal score to settle against the upstart Krispos. And even as rebel troops took the field against the untried Emperor, outland raiders swept down from the northlands in a tide of carnage. The power stemmed from foulest sorcery, and Videssos' wizards could not counter its evil curse. Krispos reign showed every sign of being brief -- and very bloody...

"A hero with Huck Finn's heart and charm, lighting by El Greco and jokes by Punch and Judy. . . . Riddley Walker is haunting and fiercely imagined and—this matters most—intensely ponderable." —Benjamin DeMott, The New York Times Book Review "This is what literature is meant to be." —Anthony Burgess "Russell Hoban has brought off an extraordinary feat of imagination and style. . . . The conviction and consistency are total. Funny, terrible, haunting and unsettling, this book is a masterpiece." —Anthony Thwaite, Observer "Extraordinary . . . Suffused with melancholy and wonder, beautifully written, Riddley Walker is a novel that people will be reading for a long, long time." —Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World "Stunning, delicious, designed to prevent the modern reader from becoming stupid." —John Leonard, The New York Times "Highly enjoyable . . . An intriguing plot . . . Ferociously inventive." —Walter Clemons, Newsweek "Astounding . . . Hoban's soaring flight of imagination is that golden rarity, a dazzlingly realized work of genius." —Jane Clapperton, Cosmopolitan "An imaginative intensity that is rare in contemporary fiction.' —Paul Gray, Time Riddley Walker is a brilliant, unique, completely realized work of fiction. One reads it again and again, discovering new wonders every time through. Set in a remote future in a post-nuclear holocaust England (Inland), Hoban has imagined a humanity regressed to an iron-age, semi-literate state—and invented a language to represent it. Riddley is at once the Huck Finn and the Stephen Dedalus of his culture—rebel, change agent, and artist. Read again or for the first time this masterpiece of 20th-century literature with new material by the author.

Naomi and Nathan thrive on the yellow journalism of the social-media age. They are nomadic freelancers in pursuit of sensation and depravity. Naomi becomes engrossed about Célestine and Aristide Arosteguy, Marxist philosophers and sexual libertines. Célestine has been found dead and mutilated in her Paris apartment; police suspect Aristide of killing her and consuming parts of her body. Nathan, meanwhile, is in Budapest photographing the controversial work of an unlicensed surgeon. After sleeping with one of Molnár's patients, Nathan contracts a rare STD called Roiphe's. Their parallel narratives become entwined with 3-D printing, North Korea, the Cannes Film Festival and, in an incredible number of varieties, sex.

Isaac Asimov's death on April 6, 19892, was a great loss to the world of both science and literature. This collection of essays reflects Asimov's extraordinary skill in disseminating knowledge from across the spectrum of human thought. Included are thoughtful and touching tributes from colleagues and friends who discuss Asimov's work and his inspiration and impact on others. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Hand-picked authors and a literary legacy... You may want to read it in one quick bite... Or savor it slowly like fine Swiss chocolate... One delicious prose at a time! For 22 years, SF lovers from around the world have enjoyed the stories and poems of the Tesseracts series, ( Tesseracts One through Tesseracts Ten , and Tesseracts Q ). This unique collection of books has featured the work of some of Canada's finest speculative fiction writers, selected and edited by ever changing combinations of editors, hand-picked for each edition. For many science fiction writers, Tesseracts was a spring board to their fame. Tesseracts Eleven brings the series to a new height, with a tasty blend of past and present writers, with their own individual visions of the future. The literature of Tesseracts Eleven has been critically selected and shaped into the collection you see by this year's editors, two of Canada's finest writers - acclaimed authors Cory Doctorow and Holly Phillips. Together they have chosen a powerful combination of works by well-known writers, as well as newer authors whose futures you will want to follow. Some favorite Tesseracts ingredients are a featured part of this edition's literary blend: some very popular award winning names in Canada's SF scene, like Canada's grand dame of speculative fiction, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Claude Lalumiere, David Nickle and Candas Jane Dorsey, to name just a few. As well, readers will find some bright new stars in the science fiction world like Yukon's Jerome Stueart, or Calgary's Susan Forest - just 2 of the delicious authors featured in this fine offering. All told, Doctorow and Phillips have presented 22 pieces of literary delights to tantalize your imagination, and although you may want to consume the book in one sitting - take your time, and savor each exquisite morsel - delight in every bite. Grab your favorite beverage, settle down, and enjoy the latest in Canada's literary legacy - Tesseracts Eleven

"This book considers the development of science fiction for children and teens between 1950 and 2010, exploring why it differs from science fiction aimed at adults. In a broader sense, this examination of 400 texts sheds light on changing attitudes toward children and teenagers, toward science education, and toward the authors' expectations and sociological views of their audience"--Provided by publisher.

Robert Bloch, grand master of horror, recounts his tales in this hilarious autobiography, Once Around the Bloch. Once Around the Bloch takes the reader from Bloch's early years in an up-and-coming Chicago suburb to his first fateful encounter with the cult fiction magazine Weird Tales. Bloch's Hollywood adventures are also chronicled, including his encounters and friendships with such famous superstars as Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Buster Keaton, and Joan Crawford. Bloch also recounts the inspiration for and the birth of one of the most famous villains of all time, Norman Bates.

Product Description Majipoor, an immense planet populated by a wide variety of exotic races, first appeared in Robert Silverberg's 1980 novel, Lord Valentine's Castle, a book that has since acquired the status of a modern classic. In subsequent decades, Silverberg has revisited Majipoor on numerous occasions, and it has become one of this gifted and prolific author's signature creations.The latest offering in the cycle, Tales of Majipoor, is both a superb literary accomplishment and a gift to Silverberg's legion of devoted fans. This generous volume contains seven long stories, each of which explores a different aspect of life on Majipoor. Together, they encompass several thousand years of colorful, dramatic history. The opening tale, 'The End of the Line,' tells the story of Lord Stiamot and his rise to the role of Coranol, a position second only to Pontifex in Majipoor's complex hierarchy. The final entry, 'The Seventh Shrine,' circles back to the very beginning of the series, giving us a murder mystery set during the reign of Lord Valentine. In between are stories that involve magic ('The Sorcerer s Apprentice'), religion ('The Way They Wove the Spells in Sippulgar'), and even poetry ('The Book of Changes'). Supplementing all this is a brief but crucial historical prologue and a series of detailed maps that add richness and depth to these singular--and endlessly absorbing--narratives. Beautifully written and thoroughly imagined on every level, Tales of Majipoor combines irresistible storytelling with the sort of meticulously detailed world building that only the finest imaginative literature can provide. It is a book that only Robert Silverberg, a true Grand Master, could have written. From the Inside Flap Majipoor, an immense planet populated by a wide variety of exotic races, first appeared in Robert Silverberg's 1980 novel, Lord Valentine's Castle, a book that has since acquired the status of a modern classic. In subsequent decades, Silverberg has revisited Majipoor on numerous occasions, and it has become one of this gifted and prolific author's signature creations.The latest offering in the cycle, Tales of Majipoor, is both a superb literary accomplishment and a gift to Silverberg's legion of devoted fans. This generous volume contains seven long stories, each of which explores a different aspect of life on Majipoor. Together, they encompass several thousand years of colorful, dramatic history. The opening tale, “The End of the Line,” tells the story of Lord Stiamot and his rise to the role of Coranol, a position second only to Pontifex in Majipoor's complex hierarchy. The final entry, “The Seventh Shrine,” circles back to the very beginning of the series, giving us a murder mystery set during the reign of Lord Valentine. In between are stories that involve magic (“The Sorcerer's Apprentice”), religion (“The Way They Wove the Spells in Sippulgar”), and even poetry (“The Book of Changes”). Supplementing all this is a brief but crucial historical prologue and a series of detailed maps that add richness and depth to these singular—and endlessly absorbing—narratives. Beautifully written and thoroughly imagined on every level, Tales of Majipoor combines irresistible storytelling with the sort of meticulously detailed world building that only the finest imaginative literature can provide. It is a book that only Robert Silverberg, a true Grand Master, could have written.

The second in a series of superb science fiction. The Alpha series of anthologies center on no particular theme except that of literary quality. Two criteria were used in the selecting of these stories—literary merit and importance to the genre. The result is that the variety of subjects is matched only by the richness and diversity of their handling—brilliant, frightening, clever, bizarre, powerful, witty, funny—and several steps in-between. Whatever else these stories may be doing, they all explore the interplay between human beings and the technological society man has created for himself. Good science fiction simultaneously peers into remote realms of space and time and holds a mirror to the contemporary moment; and if the reflection in that mirror is somewhat distorted, so be it. Blame not the messenger for bearing bad tidings. Herewith ten stories which demonstrate the unsettling kinds of insights that science fiction alone can offer. More are on the way. The nine volumes of this series provide an exciting cumulative view of a field in which some of the most vigorous and inventive fiction of our times has been produced. Simply put, here is the best science fiction from the best science fiction writers.

A messianic tale about a group of professional mourners—a darkly funny novel of grief, mystery and redemption from the author of The Delivery . Ed is a weeper. A professional weeper. He's a card-carrying member of an eccentric union hired to cry at funerals, wakes, services and burials. It’s an odd job, but his services are sorely needed these days, as the town, the region, the country as a whole has become more or less numb. No one is able to summon a shred of human emotion whatsoever. Not anymore. (What’d be the point? The world’s already gone to hell.) So there’s always work for Ed and his colleagues. But all those cries can wear a man down, and the tears don’t flow quite like they used to, even for a consummate pro like Ed. Then one morning, a stranger comes to town. A scrawny kid with no belongings, no parents, no name, no past. And at precisely the moment of his arrival, people begin to experience something new. Something strange. An onslaught of unbidden feelings, unfamiliar feelings, too many feelings A surrealist story of mourning and messiahs, deserts and droughts, cowboys and junkies, miracles and mass hysteria, the lure of despair and the solace of friendship. Peter Mendelsund’s Weepers is a novel for this age: our age of anesthesia and anger.