A crewman has been murdered aboard the U. S.S. Trident, and all evidence points to Ensign Janos of the Excalibur. Captain Mackenzie Calhoun is reluctant to accept that Janos, a powerful non-humanoid whom the captain has known and trusted for years, could be a killer, and immediately launches an investigation into the crime. But this troubling murder mystery soon escalates into a full-fledged diplomatic crisis that threatens to pit Calhoun and Captain Elizabeth Shelby against the entire United Federation of Planets -- and the Starship Enterprise™. Meanwhile, the turmoil involving Ensign Janos forces Calhoun to recall his own tempestuous past, his rocky relationship with a young Elizabeth Shelby -- and a long-ago exploit that may have everything to do with the deadly emergency that now confronts them all!

The Battle of the Line is infamous in Earth history as the climactic campaign in a long and bloody war between Humankind and the alien Minbari race. But how did this apocalyptic conflict erupt? And how did this fateful clash of two civilizations ultimately lead to the creation of the Babylon 5 space station? Here, at last, the great space epic unfolds--in a new novel based on the first full-length Babylon 5 television movie. Eager to expand their trade with other worlds, the people of planet Earth attempt to make contact with the mysterious Minbari, a race of proud and powerful warriors. But when communication turns to violence, Earth becomes the target of a latter-day holy war, waged by a civilization possessing vastly superior numbers and firepower. And the Minbari will stop at nothing short of the total extermination of its enemy: the Human race . . . From the Paperback edition.

Howard Engel, an internationally published and award-winning mystery writer, takes dead aim, so to speak, at this fascination we all share, and produces a wonderfully wise and witty social history of the men and women who represent our agents of death, and have done our dirty work over the centuries. 60 photos and line drawings.

The twentieth century was awash in war. World powers were pouring men and machines onto the killing fields of Europe. Then, in one dramatic stroke, a divided planet was changed forever. An alien race attacked Earth, and for every nation, every human being, new battle lines were drawn. . HOMEWARD BOUND With his epic novels of alternate history, Harry Turtledove shares a stunning vision of what might have been–and what might still be–if one moment in history were changed. In the WorldWar and Colonization series, an ancient, highly advanced alien species found itself locked in a bitter struggle with a distant, rebellious planet–Earth. For those defending the Earth, this all-out war for survival supercharged human technology, made friends of foes, and turned allies into bitter enemies. For the aliens known as the Race, the conflict has yielded dire consequences. Mankind has developed nuclear technology years ahead of schedule, forcing the invaders to accept an uneasy truce with nations that possess the technology to defend themselves. But it is the Americans, with their primitive inventiveness, who discover a way to launch themselves through distant space–and reach the Race’s home planet itself. Now–in the twenty-first century–a few daring men and women embark upon a journey no human has made before. Warriors, diplomats, traitors, and exiles–the humans who arrive in the place called Home find themselves genuine strangers on a strange world, and at the center of a flash point with terrifying potential. For their arrival on the alien home world may drive the enemy to make the ultimate decision–to annihilate an entire planet, rather than allow the human contagion to spread. It may be that nothing can deter them from this course. With its extraordinary cast of characters–human, nonhuman, and some in between– Homeward Bound is a fascinating contemplation of cultures, armies, and individuals in collision. From the novelist USA Today calls “the leading author of alternate history,” this is a novel of vision, adventure, and constant, astounding surprise.

As a kid, Noam Chomsky handed out the Daily Mirror at his uncle's newsstand on 72nd Street, inadvertently finding himself in a buzzing intellectual and political hub for European immigrants in New York. Iranian human rights Nobelist Shirin Ebadi and her husband signed their own legal contract, attempting to restore equality to their marriage after the Iranian Revolution effectively erased the legal rights of women. Elizabeth Warren set out to expose those frauds declaring bankruptcy and taking advantage of the system-only to discover, in her research, a very different story of hard-working middle-class families facing economic collapse in the absence of a social safety net. While studying at Oxford, a young Tariq Ali made a bet with a friend that he could work the Vietnam War into every single answer on his final exams. In this rousing, thoughtful, often funny, and always inspiring volume, a diverse and impressive group of thinkers reflect on those formative experiences that shaped their own political commitments. A fascinating new window into the revealing links between the personal and the political, Political Awakenings will engage readers across generations.

Caught during a failed robbery, Slippery Jim, the Stainless Steel Rat, cuts a deal--to journey to a prison planet filled with homicidal maniacs to recover a lost alien artifact--that puts his freedom and his life on the line. 20,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

Someone was tampering with time, altering the past to eliminate the present, fading people out of existence into a timeless limbo. One of the victims was Angelina, the wife of James de Griz, better known as the Stainless Steel Rat. That put Slippery Jim on the trail of the villains, a trail that went back to 1984 and an ancient nation called the United States of America. The Stainless Steel Rat was determined to rescue his wife. And before he was through he'd thrown dozens of centuries through time in both directions. But then he didn't have much to save Angelina he had to save the world. Again.

The Predators combines in one novel the finest attributes of A Stone for Danny Fisher and The Carpetbaggers. It will take you on a wild odyssey through the gaudy and reckless life of Jerry Cooper--his struggles to survive in Depression-era New York, his years in Europe during the Second World War, his friends, his lovers, his life in organized crime, and his entrance into the world of high-powered international business. The Predators is the defining work of Harold Robbins's spectacular career.

Four of the 21st century's most celebrated writers propel the Ultimate X-Men to ever greater heights! First, the team must ally with Spider-Man and Daredevil to help Wolverine fight a secret from his mysterious past. Then, the U.S. government enters the mutant-training business - and Emma Frost is in charge of the new class! But the shocking death of one of their own leaves the remaining X-Men struggling to deal with the loss - and when Mister Sinister arrives, he plans to give them even more to mourn! Gambit returns, Longshot is the lucky survivor of a murderous mutant reality show and Storm searches for Wolverine! Plus: Is Ultimate Juggernaut ultimately unstoppable? Who is Magician? And is Jean Grey really the cosmic entity called Phoenix?! Collecting ULTIMATE X-MEN #34-74 and ANNUAL #1-2, ULTIMATE X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR/X-MEN #1.

The super-hero Civil War is over, but Iron Man's work is just beginning. As the new head of SHIELD and creator of the nationwide initiative program, he's rebuilding the Avengers with a handpicked roster of Earth's mightiest heroes: Wasp, Black Widow, Wonder Man, Sentry, Ares, and new team leader Ms Marvel.

"The days of magic and adventure are fading away, giving way to the age of industry and science. As the aged last Hero sits upon the throne of Albion, two friends-the privileged Thomas and his loyal servant, John- set out for the East in search of a legendary beast: the vicious, rarely-seen balverine. But their desire for adventure may be their ultimate undoing. For although the age of Heroes is ending, dangers and darkness still abound in the wilds of Albion. And as they travel, they encounter both unlikely friends and unnerving allies who seek adventure of a different sort. Though Thomas and James seem on the verge of finding their quarry, they may not live to tell the tale. Because their quarry has just found them ..."--Publisher description.

A collection of 17 essays that cover topics ranging from human evolution to the formation of the solar system. With penetrating insight and solid scientific knowledge, Asimov tackles the problems of over-population, need for alternative fuels, fear of radiation, what makes humans different from other two-legged creatures, and more.

"Two expertly crafted crime stories set in a far-future science fiction universe, from two award-winning authors known for their gripping plots and unforgettable characters-a short novel and a long novella that will thrill fans of space adventures, mystery, and intergalactic intrigue in this Saga Double"-- Provided by publisher.

A Nebula-nominated classic by a Grandmaster of Science Fiction, Robert Silverberg, The Masks of Time tells the story of Vornan-19...a naked man who suddenly appears on the Spanish Stairs. *** Vornon-19 claims to have come from the far future and has access to technological marvels that support his claim. But is he really what he claims to be? *** Leo Garfield and his fellow scientists must unravel the truth about Vornon-19, but are they up to the job, or will they too fall under his magic-like spell, just like the rest of the world who is ready to worship a new kind of a messiah?

The fourth 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. Simply put, here is the best science fiction from the best science fiction writers. While a small number of science fiction writers are immensely well known, the Alpha series is intended, in part, to draw attention to some of the lesser known writers, whose work is equal in vision and artistry of those who have become household names.

The third 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. Simply put, here is the best science fiction from the best science fiction writers. The main intent of the Alpha series is to assemble groups of stories that give pleasure by demonstrating the richness and variety of the science-fiction form. Quality of storytelling is the touchstone; I make no effort to gather the stories in any one volume according to any thematic pattern. Yet thematic patterns seem to creep into the books like insidious invaders from far galaxies. The first Alpha contained a cluster of tales dealing with travel through time-relativity gone topsy-turvy all over the book. The second volume, through no prior intent of the editor, seemed to deal almost entirely with the tensions arising out of man's confrontation with technology. And in this third one, I find, a prevailing theme in nearly every story is the conflict between ourselves and strangers. Again and again, through some odd accident of balance, you will find tales of tense encounters, showing protagonists facing the unknown quantities of time and space. Freud tells us that nothing ever happens by accident. Perhaps so. These anthologies are not assembled in a random process, and no doubt the editor's mind serves as a thematic filter in ways that are not clear to the editor himself except in hindsight. And one can reasonably object that virtually every good science-fiction story deals in meetings with the unknown, so that the supposed theme detected here is no true theme at all, but only a universal characteristic of the genre. In any event, here are ten outstanding stories. I think they achieve what is for me the basic science-fiction accomplishment: they show the reader visions he has not previously had, and send him away transformed and enlarged. Go thou and read. Go and be changed.

THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A NEW ARRIVAL ON OMEGA AVERAGED THREE EARTH YEARS Barrent had been tried, convicted, and memory-washed on Earth - an Earth strangely altered and stratified by fear of the radical and non-conformist. Now he was serving his sentence on Omega - a prison planet walled by a ring of hovering guard-ships from which there was no escape. Omega was a world of horror, a savage, ruthless way of life. But it was only a momentary ordeal, a prelude to a return to Earth and the subtle terrors of its own status civilization. Robert Sheckley was a Hugo and Nebula-nominated American author. He was first published in science fiction magazines of the 1950's. His numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and comical. Sheckley was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001.

Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011, Speakman beat the disease as well as the massive medical debt he amassed from its treatment. He did this by publishing Unfettered, an anthology featuring short stories donated by some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers working today. The fight will not stop there. In an effort to pay forward the aid he received--and to memorialize his mother who passed away from stomach cancer in early 2016--Speakman has again collaborated with celebrated genre authors to publish Unfettered II. All proceeds from the anthology will either help eliminate medical debt for other authors or be donated to cancer research hubs around the world. Twenty original new tales comprise this amazing collection and, as the title suggests, the writers were again free to contribute whatever they wished. With the help of New York Times bestselling authors as well as talented newcomers, Speakman has taken the platform Unfettered created to not only confront medical debt but to support the battle against one of our gravest illnesses. Unfettered II is a fantastic sequel anthology but it is more than that; it is proof that we are stronger together than we are apart. After all, isn't that what genre fiction is all about?

An "intelligent and entertaining" tale. (Kirkus Reviews): Priya is thrilled when she's recruited to serve in the spaceborne military. But she's soon forced to volunteer for a dangerous mission - and finds her life at stake... "For nail-biting science fiction thrillers, look no further than one of Rothman's stories" (New York Times bestselling author Larry Correia). ------ Aliens exist... and, as it turns out, most of them are fairly harmless. It's the humans you need to watch out for. Priya Radcliffe wasn't even born yet when the first set of terrorists struck. She was seventeen when they struck again, but this time her parents paid the ultimate price. That was seven years ago, and since then, the United Nations finally agreed to field its first spaceborne military. Serving aboard one of the first true starships had been a dream of hers. All of her years of education and training had been geared for entering the service. However, just before Priya's graduation, she's approached by an officer from a military branch she'd never heard of and given a choice: volunteer for a risky mission to an outpost she knows nothing about or be excluded from serving. She had no choice.

Why pay for costumes, scenery, props or actors when the most brilliant drama of all time is unfolding before your very eyes, in vivid color - in 1050 A.D.? Just the film crew of that stupendous motion picture saga Viking Columbus as they journey back in time to capture history in the making. The story first appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine, where it was serialized in three parts in the March–May 1967 issues, under the title "The Time Machined Saga".