931 results for "Science Fiction"

Insistence of Vision

David Brin
What may we become? How will we endure? The future is a daunting realm, filled with real and imagined perils. So enter it prepared! Here are vivid tales about possible tomorrows, from the keen eye and colorful pen of David Brin, a modern master of speculative fiction. Visit a chillingly plausible tomorrow, when prisoners may be sent to asteroidal gulags. Or might prisons vanish and felons roam, seeing only what society allows? Suppose, amid lavish success, we gain the superpower to fly! Will we even appreciate it… or will we find new reasons to complain? In "Mars Opposition," you'll experience an alien invasion like no other, confronting humanity with a stark and terrible choice… followed by several more tales of conquest from beyond, each of them wildly different. On the other hand, might fantastically potent new beings emerge out of ourselves, as revealed in "Chrysalis”? Featuring guest appearances by Gregory Benford, Jules Verne, and Galileo, this adventure takes you beyond the very singularity in “Stones of Significance,” pondering what could happen after humans are like gods. And “Reality Check” asks one of you readers – just one of you – to wake up! Tomorrow awaits. We can face it and prevail. So long as our stance is brave INSISTENCE OF VISION.
Story Plant 2016-03-22 374 pages

Colony High

David Brin
"Some Math Club nerds have got a real live alien! They're hiding it in a basement rec room!" High School junior Mark Bamford doesn't believe the silly rumor. For one thing, here in the town of Twenty-Nine Palms? California homes don't have basements! Besides....A stranded alien? Seriously? Can we say c-l-i-c-h-e? Movie rip-off? Can't the math geeks think up a better hoax?But then... Why are black vans from the super-secret Cirocco Corp cruising all over town, searching for something? Mark and his pal Alexandra decide to do some investigating of their own. Only, where can they turn for help? The skateboarding "X" crowd? The varsity climbing team? It's not like their social circle is an elite spy force!Perhaps though... with home grown ingenuity... a little sleight of hand-okay, call it double-dealing, whatever.... The truth isn't just 'out there.' It may be right next door.Now available in full length for the first time - winner of the Hal Clement Award for YA fiction - comes the first book in a series about young humans confronting an age-old theme-that of strangers from beyond-giving it new shape, guided by the deft hand of one of science fiction's modern masters.
Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US 2021-02-04 218 pages

The Wooden Star

William Tenn
Eleven outrageous tales of pasts and futures, aliens and Earthlings, humors and horrors. The general theme of this collection is an ironic and sometimes bitter comment on man's stupidity to man. But Tenn's humor is irrepressible and bursts forth in a joyous political satire on the wars of the sexes titled "The Masculinist Revolt", which may yet bring codpieces back into fashion. Contents: * Author's Note (The Wooden Star) (1968) essay by William Tenn * Generation of Noah (1951) / short story by William Tenn * Brooklyn Project (1948) / short story by William Tenn * The Dark Star (1957) / short story by William Tenn * Null-P (1951) / short story by William Tenn * Eastward Ho! (1958) / short story by William Tenn * The Deserter (1953) / short story by William Tenn * Betelgeuse Bridge (1951) / short story by William Tenn * "Will You Walk a Little Faster" (1951) / short story by William Tenn * It Ends with a Flicker (1956) / short story by William Tenn * Lisbon Cubed (1958) / novelette by William Tenn * The Masculinist Revolt (1965) / novelette by William Tenn . This is the 3rd Ballantine printing. Cover Artist: H. R. Van Dongen
Ballantine Books 1968 251 pages

Futureland

Walter Mosley
Projecting a near-future United States in which justice is blind in at least one eye and the ranks of the disenchanted have swollen to dangerous levels, Mosely offers nine interconnected stories whose characters appear and reappear in each others' lives. For all its denizens, from technocrats to terrorists, celebs to crooks, "Futureland" is an all-American nightmare just waiting to happen.
Grand Central Publishing 2002-11-01 400 pages

The Furies Book Three of 'The Holdfast Chronicles'

Suzy McKee Charnas
"A moving, thoughtful feminist novel set in a gritty and believable dystopian future."-- Kirkus Reviews In Book One of the Holdfast Chronicles, Aldera the Messenger, along with all other women, is a slave. In Book Two, Aldera the Runner lives in two worlds, both consisting entirely of women. Now In Book Three, The Furies, Aldera the Conqueror leads an army back over the mountains, hoping to end the tyranny and free the salves she left behind.
Macmillan 2001-09-28 384 pages

Dangerous Dimensions

Robert Silverberg
In an Earth far into the future, the human race has reverted to a rigid Guild system where every citizen is classified according to function and mandated to strictly abide by the Guild's set of rules. Those who are Guildless are not considered men; they are at the lowest rung of the social ladder and shunned by all. In this universe of specialized citizens, genetic engineering had been done to those who needed special attributes; Fliers had wings and Watchers had the ability to use their minds to scan the outer space for invaders. When a Flier, a Watcher, and a Guildless man decide to travel together, they witness the end of an era as the invasion of enemies from the stars begins. This Hugo-award winning novella, "Nightwings," is only one of the five award contenders included in this new collection of Robert Silverberg's stories. Full of lyricism and melancholic descriptions of the Earth as it was and the Earth as it had been, "Nightwings" had captivated readers when it was first published in the late 1960s and continues to captivate new readers until the present. Those who have read it could not easily forget the images and the emotions evoked by the characters that Silverberg so expertly created. The other stories in this collection--nominated for a Hugo, a Nebula, and Locus awards--highlight the author's mastery of the language and his capacity to engage the reader fully in worlds of his own making. We get to see the irony of the characters' experiences in "When We Went to See the End of the World," sympathize and feel proud of the time traveler in "House of Bones," and quietly applaud the gumption and cleverness of the young girl in "Amanda and the Alien." Like "Nightwings," the story "Beauty in the Night" also haunts with its brutal portrayal of a child's life at a time when the aliens arrived and took over the Earth. Rich in detail and waxing lyrical at some point, it is a quintessential Silverberg story--full of drama of human failures and yet replete as well with instances of great courage that enable the people in his worlds to transcend their fate.
Wonder Publishing Group 2011-06 236 pages

Iron Man: Femmes Fatales

Robert Greenberger
MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE Millionaire industrialist Tony Stark has rejected the lucrative munitions trade that put his company on the map. But he can’t just turn away when the antiterror organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. asks him for help in its battle against the sinister forces of HYDRA. As the next step in its quest for global domination, the international terrorist cabal is plotting to use cutting-edge technology in a devastating attack on New York City. The source of their advanced weaponry: Stark Industries. Against such fearsome firepower, the city’s only hope lies with the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and with the ultimate human weapon: the golden avenger known as Iron Man. But when the man behind the metal mask falls prey to the schemes of two tantalizing temptresses, both as stunning and seductive as they are lethal, a fatal chink in his armor is revealed–a flaw that could lead to his downfall and the city’s doom.
Random House Publishing Group 2009-09-29 308 pages

The Fissure King A Novel in Five Stories

Rachel Pollack
In the classic noir tradition of "Have Gun, Will Travel," Rachel Pollack--one of the world's foremost authorities on the Tarot--gives us the tale of Jack Shade, an occult shaman for hire. Jack Shade has a secret, and this hidden part of his past sends him on a journey through time and space and a great number of metaphysical doorways. From the cosy poker table in the eleventh floor apartment of the Hotel de Reve Noire to the ethereal Forest of Souls to the faded houses along the Gold River, Jack flows in and out of this world. Even when his own duplicate hires him to kill himself, Jack is mercury in motion. Jack the Nimble. Jack the Quick. The Fissure King: A Novel in Fire Stories collects the four existing Jack Shades novellas and shows us Jack's final trick--one last story that finally reveals Jack's true nature. Only Rachel Pollack, one of the world's greatest authorities of tarot and an award-winning novelist and comic book writer, could dream of someone as mischievous and mythopoeic as Jack Shade. The King is dead. Long live the King.
Underland Press 2019-05-07 352 pages

Artful: being the heretofore secret history of that unique individual the Artful Dodger, hunter of vampyres (amongst other things)

David, Peter
"Oliver Twist is one of the most well-known stories ever told, about a young orphan who has to survive the mean streets of London before ultimately being rescued by a kindly benefactor. But it is his friend, the Artful Dodger, who has the far more intriguing tale, filled with more adventure and excitement than anything boring Oliver could possibly get up to. Throw in some vampires and a plot to overthrow the British monarchy, and what you have is the thrilling account that Charles Dickens was too scared to share with the world."-- Publisher description.
47North 2014 276 pages

Borrowed time

Alderman, Naomi
Andrew Brown never has enough time. No time to call his sister, no time to prepare for that important presentation at the bank where he works... the train's late, the lift jams, the all-important meeting's started by the time he arrives. Disaster. If only he'd had just a little more time. Time is the business of Mr Symington and Mr Blenkinsop. They'll lend Andrew Brown some time - at a very reasonable rate of interest. If he was in trouble before he borrowed time, things have just got a lot worse! Detecting a problem, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory go undercover at the bank. The Doctor's a respected expert, and Amy's his trusted advisor. Rory has a job in the post room. But they have to move fast to stop Symington and Blenkinsop before they cash in their investments. The Harvest is approaching!
BBC 2011 255 pages

The harrows of spring: a World made by hand novel

Kunstler, James Howard
In Union Grove, early spring is a challenging season, known as the "six weeks want," a time when fresh food is scarce and the winter stores are dwindling. The town is struggling in particular this year as the Hudson River trade route to Albany has been halted by the local plantation tycoon Stephen Bullock, who has deemed it too resource-intensive and is now striving for self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, after returning from his travels around what is left of the United States, Daniel Earle is intent on resurrecting a newspaper for the community, and finds an interesting story to cover when representatives of a group of anti-establishment, hyper-liberals known as the Berkshire People's Republic arrive in the town.
Atlantic Monthly Press 2016 317 pages

Bill, the Galactic Hero

Harry Harrison
It was the highest honor to defend the Empire against the dreaded Chingers, an enemy race of seven-foot-tall lizards. But Bill, a Technical Fertilizer Operator from a planet of farmers, wasn't interested in honor-he was only interested in two things: his chosen career, and the shapely curves of Inga-Maria Calyphigia. Then a recruiting robot shanghaied him with knockout drops, and he came to in deep space, aboard the Empire warship Christine Keeler. And from there, things got even worse.
HarperCollins Publishers 1979-11 192 pages

Partners in Wonder

Harlan Ellison
Robert Bloch / Ben Bova / Algis Budrys / Avram Davidson / Samuel R. Delany / Joe L. Hensley / Keith Laumer / William Rotsler / Robert Sheckley / Robert Silverberg / Henry Slesar / Theodore Sturgeon / A. E. Van Vogt / Roger Zelazny / and Harlan Ellison, unassisted. If you mix Ellison with wild talents like those names listed above you've got a book as unique as the Abominable Snowperson. Here is the first collection of collaborative stories ever created, each deranged vision complete with introduction (in the patented Ellison manner) explaining how the story was written and who gets the blame. The lunatic mind of Harlan Ellison strikes again.
Ace Books 1983 352 pages

Approaching Oblivion

Harlan Ellison
Signet / New American Library, 1976. 1st printing, paperback. This collection of stories was first published in 1974. Foreward by Michael Chrichton, Introductions by the author, and these stories: Catman (1974); Cold Friend (1973); Ecowareness (1974); Erotophobia (1971); Hindsight: 480 Seconds (1973); I'm Looking for Kadak (1974); Kiss of Fire (1973); Knox (1974); One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty (1970); Paulie Charmed the Sleeping Woman (1962); Silent in Gehenna (1971).
Penguin Group USA, Incorporated 1976-01-06 164 pages

Gerry Anderson's Into Infinity The Day After Tomorrow

Johnny Byrne,Gerry Anderson,Gregory L. Norris
Suspended high above a dying Earth at Space Station Delta, the light ship Altares readies to launch for mankind's first intergalactic mission to the stars. Neighbouring Alpha Centauri is the destination for the crew of five, whose aim is to inspire hope for an overcrowded and desperate planet. But almost from the moment the launch, the crew finds itself in mortal jeopardy. Based on the classic Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, Space: 1999) made-for-TV movie - The Day After Tomorrow (also known as Into Infinity)
Independently Published 2019-08-16 158 pages