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.

When the alien Morthan Solidarity strikes at the Silk Road Convoy--the oldest, richest, and safest caravan in the starlines--the destroyer, LS-1187, leaves her moorings untested to protect the outworlds from invaders. The first work in David Gerrold's Star Wolf trilogy, this tale pits the human members of the Star Wolf space vessel against the superhuman Morthan crew. Captain Jonathan Korie, hampered by the loss of most of the human fleet to the Morthans and a nearly disabled ship of his own, faces the Morthan threat driven by the need for survival and the desire for revenge. A classic of military science fiction, the Star Wolf trilogy combines rapid action with powerful studies of military character.

Bantam Books issued this paperback edition in 1977. This satirical science fiction novel was first published in 1955. Whereas in the authors' earlier novel "The Space Merchants" the world was ruled by advertising agencies, in this novel corporate lawyers have gained a stranglehold on the world.

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.

Lieutenant Robin Lefler's mother died in a shuttle explosion ten years ago. So is the woman being held prisoner in Thallonian space really her? If it is, what is her connection to the mysterious woman holding a weapon that could doom entire worlds? With the lives of billions at stake, Robin Lefler, Captain Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur must find the answers before time runs out for them and for the struggling remnants of the once-great Thallonian Empire.

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.

One day, while playing in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, David and Leilah are thrilled to discover a real wizard living behind the little black door in Washington Square Arch. Alas, he is only a second-class wizard, he tells them, and sometimes he has trouble with his spells. So when the Wizard accidentally turns David's Scottish terrier, D. Dog, into a statue and the statue is stolen by Mr. Pickwell, a nasty antiques dealer, it's up to David and Leilah to get D. Dog back--before Mr. Pickwell sells him!

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.

"It was totally impossible for Cliaand to wage interstellar war...but the crazy little planet was winning, whatever the odds. And there wasn't much the peaceful galaxy could do...." 196 pages

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.

science fiction

Contains seventeen stories that explore every aspect of our universe.

Volume 1: Jamie Madrox comes face-to-face with the thing that terrifies him the most: having to make a decision. The divisiveness of Civil War has spread to his own team: Half of them want to cooperate with the government; the other half wants to take a stand against it. It's Jamie's choice that may well decide whether X-Factor stays together or cracks apart. And matters aren't being helped by Quicksilver, who offers Rictor the opportunity to get his powers back -- but at what price? Plus: They've been a thorn in X-Factor's side since the beginning, and now things are coming to a head. X-Factor's newest assignment causes them to again cross paths with their arch rivals, Singularity Investigations. The result is revelations that strike to the very core of who and what Jamie Madrox is. -- Volume 2: Jamie Madrox comes face-to-face with the thing that terrifies him the most: having to make a decision. The divisiveness of Civil War has spread to his own team: Half of them want to cooperate with the government; the other half wants to take a stand against it. It's Jamie's choice that may well decide whether X-Factor stays together or cracks apart. And matters aren't being helped by Quicksilver, who offers Rictor the opportunity to get his powers back -- but at what price? Plus: They've been a thorn in X-Factor's side since the beginning, and now things are coming to a head. X-Factor's newest assignment causes them to again cross paths with their arch rivals, Singularity Investigations. The result is revelations that strike to the very core of who and what Jamie Madrox is.

As crows return to the skies over Masalyar, dark magic is at work. When Annat's brother vanishes from his university, the young shaman and her aunt Yuste set out to find him. But soon they learn that Malchik is not the only one in danger; a Magus from Sklava wants to raise an old enemy from the dead, and for that he needs both Malchik and Annat's souls, and the heart of their father, thrice-powerful shaman Yuda Vasilyevich. With Annat and Malchik captive in the Glass Mountain, an army under the Doyen of Ademar marching on their homeland and a trap laid for Yuda, Yuste may be the only one who can save her family - and her country. But Yuste lost her powers years ago; and her only allies are a burned-out shaman-detective, an old warrior, and the Doyen's youngest son. In the forests of the North, Yuste must confront her true self, her twin brother - and the wolves.

Fast paced and funny, the second book of the Seelie Wars trilogy is the perfect middle grade fantasy read! In The Hostage Prince , Prince Aspen and midwife’s apprentice Snail tried to prevent a war—but started one instead. Chased by two armies, Aspen and Snail find refuge with the actors of Professor Odds’s traveling troupe, dodging soldiers, Border Lords, a hungry troll, assorted other faeries, and a cloaked spy. Will they make it out? Is any place safe for the two of them? And who, exactly, is the mysterious Professor Odds, who seems to have his own hidden powers and agenda?