"Most days, Masha Maximow was sure she'd chosen the winning side. In her day job as a counterterrorism wizard for an transnational cybersecurity firm, she made the hacks that allowed repressive regimes to spy on dissidents, and manipulate their every move. The perks were fantastic, and the pay was obscene. Just for fun, and to piss off her masters, Masha sometimes used her mad skills to help those same troublemakers evade detection, if their cause was just. It was a dangerous game and a hell of a rush. But seriously self-destructive. And unsustainable. When her targets were strangers in faraway police states, it was easy to compartmentalize, to ignore the collateral damage of murder, rape, and torture. But when it hits close to home, and the hacks and exploits she's devised are directed at her friends and family--including boy wonder Marcus Yallow, her old crush and archrival, and his entourage of naïve idealists--Masha realizes she has to choose. And whatever choice she makes, someone is going to get hurt.--

For once, business is going well for Quark, even if the inhabitants of Deep Space Nine don't seem to appreciate his talents. He's just about to clinch the deal of a lifetime ... when he suddenly finds himself right in the middle of a major dispute between Bajor and the Ferengi Alliance. The Grand Nagus Zek is refusing to sell one of the lost Orbs of the Prophets to the Bajoran government, and Bajor's response is to ban all Ferengi trading activity within Bajoran space. Quark finds himself losing both his bar and his freedom, with only his cunning and his lobes left to help him get back on top - and prevent an interstellar war!

The Nebula Awards are the Academy Awards of science fiction, the finest works each year in the genre as voted by the members of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The Nebula Awards anthology series has now reached its thirty-fifth year. This edition contains the complete award-winning texts by Ted Chiang, Mary A. Turzillo, Leslie What, and Octavia E. Butler (an excerpt from her novel The Parable of the Talents ); a report on the field ("still inarguably dynamic") by Gary K. Wolfe; runner-up stories by David Marusek and Michael Swanwick; an early story by 2000 Grand Master Brian W. Aldiss; and 2000 Author Emeritus Daniel Keyes's account of how he wrote Flowers for Algernon . In his introduction, editor Robert Silverberg looks back wryly at Damon Knight, the beginnings of SFWA, and the first Nebula banquets.

In this contemporary poetic retelling of the iconic myth, a teenage girl fleeing an abusive home takes refuge in the woods with a fairy-tale witch.

Commander Toad leads the lean green space machine "Star Warts" to find new worlds but runs into trouble when he sets course for home.

Ten-year-old Rob thought he knew all there was to know about his parents, but suddenly things have changed. Why do Mom and Dad keep warning him not to ask too many questions? Could aliens from another world really have replaced his parents? And what's happened to Snappy, the family dog? Soon Rob's writing down all the latest weird developments in a notebook entitled REASONS WHY MY PARENTS ARE ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE. Can he figure it out before it's too late? It's another eerily fun thriller from the inventive mind of R.L. Stine.

Girl in Landscape finds Jonathan Lethem once again twisting forms and literary conventions to create a dazzling, completely unconventional tale that manages to move and amaze the reader at the same time. In his new novel, Lethem blends elements as diverse as John Ford's classic Western "The Searchers" and Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita in an utterly unique way. The heroine is fourteen-year-old Pella Marsh, whose mother dies just before her family flees a post-apocalyptic Brooklyn for the frontier of a recently discovered planet. Hating her ineffectual father, and troubled by a powerful attraction to a virile but dangerous loner who holds sway over the little colony, Pella sets out on a course of discovery that will have tragic and irrevocable consequences for the humans in the community and the ancient inhabitants, known only as archbuilders. Girl in Landscape is a daring exploration of the violent nature of sexual awakening, a meditation on language and perception, and an homage to the great American tradition of the Western.

1st Orbit Futura 1986 paperback fine condition. In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Eighteen stories edited by the master of science-fiction, Isaac "No Life of Their Own" by Clifford D. Simak"The Accountant" by Robert Sheckley"Novice" by James M. Schmitz"Child of Void" by Margaret St. Claire"When the Bough Breaks" by Lewis Padgett"A Pail of Air" by Fritz Leiber"Junior Achievement" by William Lee"Cabin Boy" by Damon Knight"The Little Terror" by Will F. Jenkins"Gilead" by Zenna Henderson"The Menace From Earth" by Robert Heinlein"The Wayward Cravat" by Gertrude Friedberg"The Father-Thing" by Philip K. Dick"Star Bright" by Mark Clifton"All in a Summer Day" by Ray Bradbury"It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby"The Place of the Gods" by Stephen Vincent Benet"The Ugly Little Boy" by Isaac Asimov

"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.

Master storyteller and bestselling author Steven Pressfield returns with a stunning, chillingly plausible near-future thriller about the rise of a privately financed and global military industrial complex. The year is 2032. The third Iran-Iraq war is over; the 11/11 dirty bomb attack on the port of Long Beach, California is receding into memory; Saudi Arabia has recently quelled a coup; Russians and Turks are clashing in the Caspian Basin; Iranian armored units, supported by the satellite and drone power of their Chinese allies, have emerged from their enclaves in Tehran and are sweeping south attempting to recapture the resource rich territory stolen from them, in their view, by Lukoil, BP, and ExxonMobil and their privately-funded armies. Everywhere, military force is for hire. Oil companies, multi-national corporations and banks employ powerful, cutting-edge mercenary armies to control global chaos and protect their riches. Even nation states enlist mercenary forces to suppress internal insurrections, hunt terrorists, and do the black bag jobs necessary to maintain the new New World Order. Force Insertion is the world's merc monopoly. Its leader is the disgraced former United States Marine General James Salter, stripped of his command by the president for nuclear saber-rattling with the Chinese and banished to the Far East. A grandmaster military and political strategist, Salter plans to take vengeance on those responsible for his exile and then come home...as Commander in Chief. The only man who can stop him is Gilbert "Gent" Gentilhomme, Salter's most loyal foot soldier, who launches a desperate mission to take out his mentor and save the United States from self destruction. Infused with a staggering breadth of research in military tactics and steeped in the timeless themes of the honor and valor of men at war that distinguish all of Pressfield’s fiction, The Profession is that rare novel that informs and challenges the reader almost as much as it entertains.

The national bestselling saga of Robert Silverberg's stunning imagination continues in the first new hardcover Majipoor novel in nearly a decade. As a prequel to Silverberg's earlier Majipoor novels . Sorcerers of Majipoor provides a deep, dark vision for the background of the conflict inLord Valentine's Castle and Valentine Pontifex. Treachery and wizardry run rampant under the reign of the mighty Pontifex, as both the rightful and the unworthy heirs to the throne anxiously await his demise. Korsibar, son of the current Coronal, plots with his twin sister and ambitious companions to seize the power of the Coronal when his father ascends to the throne of the Pontifex. But the burdens of the crown and scepter exact more of a price than Korsibar is prepared to pay. His rival fights to take his appointed place as keeper of his beloved Majipoor...and to resbackse order to the utter chaos that has befallen their world. "Silverberg has created a big planet, chock-a-block with life and potential sbacksies." -- The Washing Post

PASSENGERS In this Nebula Award winning short story, unseen visitors can come without warning and inhabit our minds for days at a time. Taking over our bodies, controlling our will for their own selfish, immoral joyrides. Society makes adaptations in its mores and taboos. Since people being ridden have no volition in their actions, they are best ignored. And any action—crime, murder, or rape committed while one in ridden is best forgotten and ignored if at all possible. Becoming conscious after such an psychic invasion is disorienting. For one man who has flashes of memory of his time being “ridden” by a passenger, memories of an uncontrolled sexual encounter impels him to break society’s taboo of forgetting this chance encounter. And he becomes, perversely, compelled to seek her out. “Passengers” is not the only highly-acclaimed masterpiece included within. The other four stories were nominated for multiple major SF awards—and highlight the author’s mastery of the language and his capacity to engage the reader fully in worlds of his own making. Included in this collection are such classic tales as “The Macauley Circuit”, “A Thief in Ni-Moya”, and “Lion Time in Timbuctoo”.

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.

ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN . . . All humankind was watching that day in 1969. And yet only a handful knew the real mission behind America's triumph in the space race: to explore the alien ship that has crashed on the far side of the moon. Decades later, scientists are still struggling to understand the technology found on board--though with the treacherous Decepticons after it, a powerful force must be at stake. The only hope of averting a crisis is to reawaken Sentinel Prime, the long-lost leader of the Autobots--but who knows what else remains in the shadows, hidden from man and machine?

When Peter Parker was bitten by a genetically enhanced spider, he became much more than the shy, introverted high school student he had always been. Possessing the proportionate strength, speed, agility, and webshooting powers of a spider, he sought to use his newfound abilities to achieve wealth and fame. But after his beloved Uncle Ben was murdered by the criminal Peter once had an opportunity to apprehend, the grief-stricken youth soon realized that with great power comes great responsibility. Now, Peter wages a oneman crusade against crime in the costumed identity of the amazing Spider-Man! FULL SYNOPSIS TO COME

Eoin Colfer meets Rick Riordan--with a little Margaret Peterson Haddix sprinkled on top--in this hilarious sci-fi series from New York Times bestselling authors Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman. ​ When fourteen-year-old Noah falls from the trees on his classmate Sahara, he doesn't understand how, or why, he would have been up there. It's just one more in a string of strange things happening to Noah lately. Like when he keels over and every muscle in his body freezes when confronted by bullies. And when he vanishes into the background at a moment he doesn't want to be noticed. And when he unexpectedly blasts Sahara with a bird shriek while flapping his arms uncontrollably in the middle of a school dance. What does it all mean? And why do there suddenly seem to be so many mysterious people trying to kill him? Noah's friend Ogden has an idea...but like all of Ogden's ideas, it's out there. Way out there... Read all The N.O.A.H. Files: I Am the Walrus Shock the Monkey The Dog Days Are Over

Beneath the sewer grates and manholes of the city lies a strange and secret world called the Downside. Every Downsider knows that it's forbidden to go Topside, and most fear a collision of the two worlds. But fourteen-year-old Talon is curious about what goes on above ground, and one day he ventures out in search of medicine for his ailing sister. There he meets Lindsay, who is as curious about Talon's world as he is about hers. When Lindsay visits the Downside for the first time, she marvels at the spirit of the Downsiders, and the way they create works of art from topside "trash," like old subway tokens and forgotten earrings. As awed as she is by the Downside, however, she also questions its origins, and when she finds out that this fantastic world is not all it appears to be, she is determined to tell Talon the truth. Then a construction accident threatens to crush Talon's world, and his loyalty is put to the test. Can the truth save the Downside, or will it destroy an entire civilization? Neal Shusterman takes readers on an amazing journey into a place that's only a few steps away, yet beyond their wildest dreams.

In Children of God, Mary Doria Russell further establishes herself as one of the most innovative, entertaining and philosophically provocative novelists writing today. The only member of the original mission to the planet Rakhat to return to Earth, Father Emilio Sandoz has barely begun to recover from his ordeal when the So-ciety of Jesus calls upon him for help in preparing for another mission to Alpha Centauri. Despite his objections and fear, he cannot escape his past or the future. Old friends, new discoveries and difficult questions await Emilio as he struggles for inner peace and understanding in a moral universe whose boundaries now extend beyond the solar system and whose future lies with children born in a faraway place. Strikingly original, richly plotted, replete with memorable characters and filled with humanity and humor, Children of God is an unforgettable and uplifting novel that is a potent successor to The Sparrow and a startlingly imaginative adventure for newcomers to Mary Doria Russell’s special literary magic.

Fawcett Crest, 1976, paperback. One of several printings. Includes a bibliography, an introduction by Asimov, and these STORIES: Marooned Off Vesta (1939); Nightfall (1941); The C-Chute (1951); The Martian Way (1952); The Deep (1952); The Fun They Had (1951); The Last Question (1956); The Dead Past (1956); The Dying Night (1956); Anniversary (1959); The Billiard Ball (1967); Mirror Image (1972).