What if Americans were the terrorists, and a more civilized superpower found it necessary to put us down? What if contemporary Christian ministers preached salvation through murder of non-believing foreigners, and the US government recruited child suicide-assassins for this purpose? If you were an American living in such a crazed society, what would you do? If you were a civilized outsider, how would you deal with these insane savages? The Holy Land poses such predicaments, and more. In an attempt to save the Minervans from oppression in the central galaxy, the liberal Western Galactic Empire has relocated the sect to their ancient homeland of Kennewick, Washington. The fundamentalist fanatics ruling the USA find the presence of pagans in the holy city intolerable, however, and they launch an interstellar campaign of mass destruction in protest. Now, cast in a universe gone mad, the primitive Earthling POW Sergeant Hamilton and his case officer, the sophisticated Minervan priestess (3rd class) Aurora, must find the way out, or neither side will survive. In this madcap role-reversed science-fiction satire on the Mideast crisis and the War on Terrorism, the gloves come off. Written with wit and verve by Heinlein Award winner Robert Zubrin, the author of The Case for Mars, Entering Space, and First Landing, The Holy Land takes science fiction back to its Swiftian roots. Rarely since Czech humanist Karel Capek aimed his 1936 War with the Newts at fascism and appeasement has the medium been mobilized to such pointed effect. "A satiric tour de force" - School Library Journal "The duplicity, mendacity, and hypocrisy that characterize the present predicament in the Middle East are laid bare in Zubrin's engaing romp, with verve and biting wit." - National Review Online "Nothing is spared from Zubrin's satiric pen: religion, politics, economics, sex, war, psychology, philosophy - all are the objects of his barbs....The Holy Land is a surprisingly fine follow-up to Zubrin's other fictional and non-fiction works." - The Rocky Mountain News "It's a hoot." - The San Diego Union-Tribune.

A brand new work by the Grandmaster of Science Fiction, Robert Silverberg (with a sequel novella by Alvaro Zinos-amaro). *** What happens when the immortals of Earth are suddenly faced with their ultimate destruction? *** Hanosz Prime, a near-immortal (though not truly so, not being of true Earth stock) travels to humanity's ancient home to discover the ultimate answer to humanity's end.

Now ibooks proudly presents a collection of Silverberg's best short fiction, as selected by the author. The 1950s: The Road to Nightfall, The Macauley Circuit, Sunrise on Mercury, Warm Man. The 1960s: To See the Invisible Man, Flies, Passengers, Nightwings, Sundance. The 1970s: Good News from the Vatican, Capricorn Games, Born with the Dead, Schwartz Between the Galaxies. The 1980s: The Far Side of the Bell-Shaped Curve, The Pope of the Chimps, Needle in a Timestack, Sailing to Byzantium, Enter a Soldier. Later, Enter Another. The 1990s: Hunters in the Forest, Death Do Us Part, Beauty in the Night. The 2000s: The Millennium Express, With Caesar in the Underworld.

The Beatrix Gates is a colorful mix of science fiction, magic realism, memoir, and myth exploring themes of spirituality and transformation. Courage and cowardice contend in a literary odyssey unlike any other. Written especially for this volume, "Trans Central Station" is Pollacks personal and political take on the transgender experience then and now, and tomorrow? "Burning Beard" is a fiercely revisionist Bible tale of plague and prophecy told through a postmodern prose of many colors. "The Woman Who Didnt Come Back" is about just what it says. And there is of course PM Press usual and unusual Outspoken Interview. --Publisher

Calling Captain Future by Edmond Hamilton Curtis Newton, the Wizard of Science, and his trio of Futuremen blaze a trail across the stars to forestall the coup of Dr. Zarro—leader of a Legion of Peril! Jewel of Mars by H.L. Gold Men of Honor by Will Garth The Human Termites by Dr. David H. Keller Adventure House Published: 08/16 ISBN: 1-59798-586-4 ISBN-13: 978-1-59798-586-4 124 pages

"An extravaganza . . . fertile invention and forceful style . . . Mr. Kersh's many admirers will undoubtedly devour this highly flavoured hotch-potch with avidity." - Julian Maclaren-Ross, Sunday Times "[F]irst-rate Kersh, richly peopled with the odd bit roles he sketches so well and written with style and individuality." - Anthony Boucher, New York Herald Tribune "Sometimes funny, sometimes nightmarish, always first-class entertainment." - Basil Davenport, New York Times Journalist George Oaks and his friend Albert Kemp, a mystery novelist, are on their way to meet their friend, the celebrated philosopher Dr. Monacelli. But when a clerical mix-up leads to their meeting the American gangster Monty Cello instead, Oaks and Kemp quickly find themselves caught up in a bizarre and dangerous plot involving a murdered reporter, a missing scientist, and a group of powerful madmen with a plan to destroy the world as we know it. It's a race against time as Oaks and Kemp must infiltrate the villains' stronghold and save humanity before it's too late! Equal parts hard-boiled crime novel and apocalyptic science fiction tale, The Great Wash (1953) is one of the most exciting novels by Gerald Kersh (1911-1968), who is best known for his classics Night and the City (1938) and Fowlers End (1957). Fowlers End and four volumes of Kersh's strange and brilliant short fiction are also available from Valancourt.

Hawkes never wanted the assignment on Mars. Yet when the Martian mining colonies threatened a revolution that would have left Earth starved of resources, he accepted that he was probably the only man who could handle the job. Now, with the corrupt rule of big business broken, and Hawkes himself in place as prime minister of Mars, the planet named for the god of war seems on its way to a peaceful future. But the Martian miners are inexperienced at freedom, and can be manipulated by people adroit at arranging "facts" to create false impressions - politicians such as Michael Carri, Earth's Senate majority leader, a sworn enemy to Hawkes. Carri had encouraged the revolution on Mars, after which, he hoped, the miners would have been so thoroughly crushed that Earth could have looked forward to years of virtual slave labor. He was not pleased when Hawkes brokered a peaceful solution, or when papers were signed that promised the miners improved conditions and a share in the profits of their labor. Assassination attempts have already shown Benton Hawkes that the road ahead is not to be as smooth as he hoped, but he is prepared to take all the steps necessary to see that the people of Mars live free at last.

The third book in the phenomenal, bestselling series, begun with TekWar and continued in TekLords. Jake Cardigan is ecstatic when his ex-wife's lover, powerful TekLord Bennett Sands, is finally incarcerated. But when Jake's son and Sands' daughter disappear, Jake must enter the ruins of a 21st-century London and confront a deranged killer in a showdown to the death. Entertaining --Locus.

William Shatner, known and loved as Star Trek's Captain James T. Kirk, delivers more suspense adventure in this latest novel in the Tek series. Critics have hailed his best-selling debut novel, TekWar, as being "as tough and scrappy as Captain Kirk" (The Wall Street Journal), praised TekLords for its "fast-paced action, high-tech gloss" (Library Journal), and called the author of TekLab "a good writer" of whom they "await his next" (Nashville Banner). In Tek Vengeance, investigator Jake Cardigan faces his most dangerous - and most heartbreaking - job ever. Beautiful Beth Kittridge, whom he has come to love more and more after rescuing her from the drug-dealing Teklords in TekWar, must go to Berlin to testify against one of the most dangerous Teklords of all. Jake wants to protect her - but he has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to obtain information from the dying daughter of a former Tek operative in Brazil. She'll talk only to Jake, and so he has no choice but to go, hoping to be back in time to travel with Beth. But as one thing after another seems to conspire to keep Jake and his sidekick, Gomez, busy in Brazil, he can't help but think he's been set up - and that Beth is in deadly danger. From Brazil to Berlin to Vienna, Jake and Gomez are off on a chase that may spell the end for the dealers in the vicious electronic drug Tek. This time Jake has the help of Dan, his son, who appears finally to believe that his father is one of the good guys, as well as that of the colorful cast of characters - human and robot - that fans of the world of Tek have come to expect

William Shatner, Star Trek's much-loved Captain James T. Kirk, returns with another suspenseful adventure novel in the Tek series. Investigator Jake Cardigan is back, this time hired to look into the disappearance of beautiful heiress Alicia Bower. As the daughter of the world's wealthiest robotics industrialist, Alicia has lived an exciting, eventful life, and her family is not concerned. They think this is just another impetuous departure with some handsome young man. But her current boyfriend, who believes she loves him and has changed her ways, thinks Alicia is in danger, and he turns to Jake Cardigan for help. Jake has his own problems. The murder of Beth, the woman he loved (in The Vengeance), has left him lonely and bitter. Still, Jake's son Dan and his trusted sidekick Sid Gomez persuade him to take on the case. His beloved Beth is beyond his help, but Alicia Bower may still be alive and in need of rescue. And even if Jake had tended to discount her boyfriend's emotional plea, the attempts that begin immediately on his own life are enough to convince him that something of deadly importance is going on.

In Tek Power, the drug lords who control Tek put forth a new and audacious plan. President Warren Brookmeyer has a problem with Tek: while he insists that he uses the drug only for an occasional lift, others in his administration have convinced him that the American people would not respond well if they were to learn that their president is a Tek user. Reluctantly, Brookmeyer has agreed to go into a rehabilitation facility in secret, and to allow an android simulation to replace him for the short time it will take to train himself away from Tek. The President's advisors have assured him that the robot stand-in will be successful. Mechanix International turns out a very good product. The American public will never know that handsome Vice President Jim McCracklin is actually reporting to an android - for a very brief time, of course. But President Brookmeyer is wise to be uneasy about the plan. What he cannot know is that his most trusted advisors are on the Tek payroll - and that when he returns from his vacation looking like a new man, the country will be surprised to hear speeches from the White House that make substantial changes in his previous policies. Particularly surprising will be his new position on Tek, downplaying the importance of eliminating the Tek cartel .... As they have in the past, the Teklords have failed to figure in the efforts of investigator Jake Cardigan and his tireless assistant Gomez. Summoned on what appears to be quite a different case, Cardigan and Gomez gradually unravel a tangled web of intrigue that leads to the top ranks of government.

Jake Cardigan's partner, Sid Gomez, has always liked the ladies (after all, he married four of them). But when wife number two calls asking for his help--and then disappears--Sid is immediately reminded of her ongoing addiction to the drug Tek. Jake knows about Tek from hard personal experience. And Sid's saved his neck more than once. Jake figures that they're in this one together--a decision that will take them deeper into the underworld of Tek, a place where death is as real as the gun in your face.

In Tek Money, Jake Cardigan tries to relax. But as he enjoys a rare night out at the theater, his son Dan has a frightening experience at the Cardigans' beachfront home. A seemingly deranged man, muttering to himself about nightmare visions that torment him, comes looking for Jake - and then dies suddenly, as Dan tries to find out what he wants. So begins an unwelcome sequence of events. First Dan is accused of murdering the man. Once the police realize that accusation is ridiculous, suspicion falls on Jake: the dead man is Peter Traynor, a Tek addict, a friend of Jake's from the bad old days, when the drug had a strong hold on them both. The murderer did Traynor in with a Tek "sizzler", a powerful chip that plugs directly into the user's brain, starts by giving him wonderful visions, and ends by producing uncontrollable hallucinations. Traynor has literally died of fear. Jake had not seen Traynor in years, but the police are still suspicious. In the meantime, it appears that everybody else in Traynor's past wants Jake's help in solving the crime. The dead man's sister, who has no money but does have a tremendous chip on her shoulder, wants to hire Jake - as long as somebody else pays. The dead man's ex-wife, a mysteriously wealthy woman, also wants to hire Jake, and she'll pay plenty - but it isn't exactly clear that a solution to the crime is what she wants for her money. Jake knows that his own good name is on the line until he finds the real killer.

"MERGE Raleigh Redman loved Nicci Charbon until she left him heartbroken. Then he hit the lotto for $26 million, quit his minimum wage job and set his sights on one goal: reading the entire collection of lectures in the Popular Educator Library, the only thing his father left behind after he died. As Raleigh is trudging through the eighth volume, he notices something in his apartment that at first seems ordinary but quickly reveals itself to be from a world very different from our own. This entity shows Raleigh joy beyond the comforts of $26 million dollars....and merges our world with those that live beyond. DISCIPLE Hogarth "Trent" Tryman is a forty-two year old man working a dead-end data entry job. Though he lives alone and has no real friends besides his mother, he's grown quite content in his quiet life, burning away time with television, the internet, and video games. That all changes the night he receives a bizarre instant message on his computer from a man who calls himself Bron. At first he thinks it's a joke, but in just a matter of days Hogarth Tryman goes from a data entry clerk to the head of a corporation. His fate is now in very powerful hands as he realizes he has become a pawn in a much larger game with unimaginable stakes--a battle that threatens the prime life force on Earth. "--

Simeon Krug has a vision--and the vast wealth necessary to turn dream into reality. What he wishes is to communicate with the stars, to answer signals from deep space. The colossal tower he's constructing for this purpose soars above the Arctic tundra, and the seemingly perfect androids building it view Krug as their god. But, Krug is only flesh-and-blood, and when his androids discover the truth, their anger knows no bounds...and it threatens much more than the tower. "...a multi-levelled work of high adventure, considerable tension and social consciousness."--Harlan Ellison.

Edward Davis, a rookie of the Time Service, has already made several successful jumps to the past. Now he is given his most important mission. *** Two members of the Service have disappeared in ancient Egypt and Edward Davis's assignment is to locate and rescue them. *** But is he ready for all that Egypt has to offer and for the surprising truths he discovers as he explores this ancient land of myths and mysteries-truths that jeopardize his own mission and return back to the future?

Book by Silverberg, Robert

Somehow, for all my outward pretence of cold-eyed professionalism, all my insistence that writing is simply a job like any other, I've discovered to my surprise and chagrin that there's more than that going on around here, that I write as much out of karmic necessity and some inescapable inner need to rededicate my own skills constantly to my-what? My craft? My art? My profession? I wrote these stories because the only way of earning a living I have ever had has been by writing, but mainly, I have to admit, I wrote these stories because I couldn't not write them. Well, so be it. They involved me in a lot of hard work, but for me, at least, the results justify the toil. I'm glad I wrote them. Writing them, it turns out, was important for me, and even pleasurable, in a curiously complex after-the-fact kind of way. May they give you pleasure now too. -Robert Silverberg, from his Introduction

It promises to be the greatest voyage of exploration in human history. From the stagnant, placid society of twenty-third-century Earth comes an idea so powerful that it seizes the imagination of all humankind. A starship will be sent deep into the unknown galaxy in search of habitable worlds, with the hope that the challenge of colonization will somehow rekindle the dying human spirit. Fifty men and women are chosen to crew the Wotan, each nursing his or her own secret dreams and fears. Their leader is the stoic year-captain, drawn to the dangerous mission by his lifelong quest for meaning. The single most important member of the crew is the blind Noelle, whose telepathic link with her blind twin sister on Earth provides the Wotan's only contact with Earth as it speeds through the pearl-gray twilight of unfathomable nospace. The worlds that the Wotan encounters are both strange and inhospitable, and with each disappointment its mission seems more and more hopeless. Then Noelle's mind-link with Earth is inexplicably broken, and the crew begin to despair, fearing they've been condemned to wander alone through the vastness of space forever, cut off from any contact with humankind. But when Noelle unexpectedly senses a massive alien presence in the vast vacuum of deepest space, the crew suddenly realize that their every assumption about life and the universe may prove dead wrong.