Classic science fiction

Book SynopsisWelcome to the Best of the Masterworks: a selection of the finest in science fictionWhen Winston Niles Rumfoord flies his spaceship into a chrono-synclastic infundibulum he is converted into pure energy and only materializes when his waveforms intercept Earth or some other planet. As a result, he only gets home to Newport, Rhode Island, once every fifty-nine days and then only for an hour.But at least, as a consolation, he now knows everything that has ever happened and everything that ever will be. He knows, for instance, that his wife is going to Mars to mate with Malachi Constant, the richest man in the world. He also knows that on Titan - one of Saturn''s moons - is an alien from the planet Tralfamadore, who has been waiting 200,000 years for a spare part for his grounded spacecraft . . . A finalist for the 1960 Hugo Award, The Sirens of Titan was Vonnegut''s second novel. It received wide acclaim, and played with Trade ReviewThe Sirens of Titan is a tour-de-force of sci-fi literature * Empire *

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Book SynopsisMary Shelley’s timeless gothic classic accompanied by the art of legendary illustrator Bernie Wrightson live on in this gorgeous illustrated adaptation of Frankenstein—featuring an introduction by Stephen King.Few works by comic book artists have earned the universal acclaim and reverence that Bernie Wrightson’s illustrated version of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein was met with upon its original release in 1983, which vividly presented the timeless, terrifying tale of one man’s obsession to create life—and the monster that became his legacy. A generation later, this magnificent pairing of art and literature is still considered to be one of the greatest achievements made by any artist in the field. This book includes the complete text of the original groundbreaking novel and approximately fifty original full-page illustrations by Bernie Wrightson—created over a period of seven years—that continue to stun the world with their monumental beauty and uniqueness. This edition also contains introductions by #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King and author Mary Shelley, as well as supplemental material including a history of the novel, a chronology of Mary Shelley’s life and work, and the historical context of Frankenstein for readers.

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Book SynopsisVictorian scientist propel himself into the year 802,701 AD, where he is delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty and contentment in the form of the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man. But he soon realizes that they are simply remnants of a once-great culture.

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Book SynopsisA classic science fiction tale of artifical worlds by one of the great American writers of the 20th centuryGlen Runciter is dead.Or is he?Someone died in the explosion orchestrated by his business rivals, but even as his funeral is scheduled, his mourning employees are receiving bewildering messages from their boss. And the world around them is warping and regressing in ways which suggest that their own time is running out.If it hasn't already.Readers minds have been blown by Ubik:'Sheer craziness, a book defying any straightforward synopsis . . . a unique time travel adventure that could only be concocted from the fertile psychedelic imagination of the incomparable PKD' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'This pre-cyberpunk gigglefest was an absolute joy to behold . . . I would bill it as a Truman Show-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-Barbarella-type of sci-fi' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'If you have not read PKD before I highly recommend Ubik as the gateway into his wonderfully weird fiction. I kind of envy you' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'UBIK is much stranger and more darkly humorous than Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep . . . although there are many humorous elements, overall the story is dark, philosophical, and just plain disorienting. I found the book impossible to put down' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'A darkly humorous blurring of lines between reality and illusion and a concomitant degree of paranoia' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'About eighty decades ahead of its time, only Ubik can help to process the overwhelmingness of the contemporary age. Chock full of post-death theology, psionics, proto-cyberpunk, and retro-retro-retro future nostalgia' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'We spend a great deal of it unsure of what is real and what isn't and some of the ideas Dick manages to throw in as the story progresses had me grinning and shaking my head at the crazy logic of it all' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐Trade ReviewMy literary hero * Fay Weldon *For everyone lost in the endlessly multiplicating realities of the modern world, remember: Philip K. Dick got there first * Terry Gilliam *One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction, Dick made most of the European avant-garde seem like navel-gazers in a cul-de-sac * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis''Tiptree''s narratives of alien worlds and alienation make up one of science fiction''s most vivid and influential bodies of work'' The New York TimesThis landmark collection of short stories shows the feminist pioneer James Tiptree Jr. at her most inventive and daring. Here a fake girl becomes a living advertisement, women choose alien invaders over the men of Earth, a creature discovers that love means death and a pandemic engulfs the planet.''Feminist dystopian fiction owes just as much to this woman - who wrote as a man - as Margaret Atwood'' VoxTrade ReviewTiptree's narratives of alien worlds and alienation make up one of science fiction's most vivid and influential bodies of work * The New York Times *Feminist dystopian fiction owes just as much to this woman - who wrote as a man - as Margaret Atwood. * Vox *Tiptree's work is proof of what she said, that men and women can and do speak both to and for one another, if they have bothered to learn how -- Ursula K. Le Guin

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Book SynopsisFrom Hugo Award winning author Tim Pratt comes a new, high-concept space opera, exploring technology, family and the price we pay to follow our destiny, perfect for fans of Peter F. Hamilton and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

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Book SynopsisA phenomenon across all formats, this 42nd anniversary paperback omnibus contains the complete Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy in five parts, charting the whole of Arthur Dent's odyssey through space and time. Share and enjoy.Collected together in this omnibus are the five titles that comprise Douglas Adams' wildly popular and wholly remarkable comedy science fiction 'trilogy', introductions to each book, expanded material from the Douglas Adams archives plus a bonus short story, Young Zaphod Plays It Safe, and a special undeleted scene . . .The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyOne Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this seems already to be rather a lot to cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun. The Galaxy may offer a mind-boggling variety of ways to be blown up and/or insulted, but it’s very hard to get a cup of tea. The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseWhen all questions of space, time, matter and the nature of being have been resolved, only one question remains - 'Where shall we have dinner?' The Restaurant at the End of the Universe provides the ultimate gastronomic experience, and for once there is no morning after to worry about.Life, the Universe and EverythingFollowing a number of stunning catastrophes, Arthur Dent is surprised to find himself living in a hideously miserable cave on prehistoric Earth. However, just as he thinks that things cannot get possibly worse, they suddenly do. An eddy in the space-time continuum lands him, Ford Prefect, and their flying sofa in the middle of the cricket ground at Lord's, just two days before the world is due to be destroyed by the Vogons. Escaping the end of the world for a second time, Arthur, Ford, and their old friend Slartibartfast embark (reluctantly) on a mission to save the whole galaxy from fanatical robots. Not bad for a man in his dressing gown.So Long, and Thanks for All the FishThere is a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. It's not an easy thing to do, and Arthur Dent thinks he's the only human who's been able to master this nifty little trick - until he meets Fenchurch, the woman of his dreams. Fenchurch once realised how the world could be made a good and happy place. Unfortunately, she's forgotten. Convinced that the secret lies within God's Final Message to His Creation, they go in search of it. And, in a dramatic break with tradition, actually find it . . .Mostly HarmlessArthur Dent has settled down on the small planet Lamuella and has embraced his role as a Sandwich Maker. However, his plans for a quiet life are thrown awry by the unexpected arrival of his daughter. There's nothing worse than a frustrated teenager with a copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in their hands. When she runs away, Arthur goes after her determined to save her from the horrors of the universe. After all - he's encountered most of them before.This publishing phenomenon began as a radio drama and now exists in a number of wildly contradictory versions (including a TV series, a movie and a towel) - this version, produced by Douglas Adams' original publisher, is, at least, definitively inaccurate.Trade ReviewOne of the greatest achievements in comedy. A work of staggering genius -- David WalliamsDazzlingly inventive -- Caitlin MoranFizzing with ideas . . . Brilliant -- Charlie BrookerReally entertaining and fun -- John CleeseMuch funnier than anything John Cleese has written -- Terry JonesI know for a fact that John Cleese hasn’t read it -- Graham ChapmanWho is John Cleese? -- Eric IdleReally entertaining and fun -- Michael PalinI haven’t known many geniuses in my life. Some brilliantly smart people, but only a tiny handful would I class as geniuses. I would class Douglas, because he saw things differently, and he was capable of communicating the way he saw things, and once he explained things the way he saw them, it was almost impossible to see them the way you used to see them -- Neil GaimanHitchhiker’s is packed with that unique energy, all barmy and bristling and bold. This book can be witty, iconoclastic, godless, savage, sweet, surreal, but above all, it dares to be silly. Fiercely, beautifully silly -- Russell T. Davies, writer and producer of Doctor Who

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Book SynopsisVoyager Classics timeless masterworks of science fiction and fantasy.A beautiful clothbound edition of I, Robot, the classic collection of robot stories from the master of the genre.In these stories Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age.Earth is ruled by master-machines but the Three Laws of Robotics have been designed to ensure humans maintain the upper hand:1) A robot may not injure a human being or allow a human being to come to harm2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.But what happens when a rogue robot's idea of what is good for society contravenes the Three Laws?Trade Review‘An exciting science thriller…’New York Times ‘Isaac Asimov was one of the great explainers of the age…It will never be known how many practicing scientists today, in how many countries, owe their initial inspiration to a book, article, or short story by Isaac Asimov’Carl Sagan ‘Asimov displayed one of the most dynamic imaginations in science fiction’Daily Telegraph ‘Asimov’s career was one of the most formidable in science fiction’The Times

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST ALL-TIME SERIESThe Foundation series is Isaac Asimov's iconic masterpiece. Unfolding against the backdrop of a crumbling Galactic Empire, the story of Hari Seldon's two Foundations is a lasting testament to an extraordinary imagination, one that shaped science fiction as we know it today.After a long war which saw the First Foundation emerge victorious, the Second Foundation is now believed to be extinct, and all records of planet Earth's existence have been erased.No one suspects that the Second Foundation could still exist. None, except Council member Golan Trevize, who finds himself ordered to leave Terminus, accompanied by historian Janov Pelorat, in order to find it.Yet this quest will lead an unsuspecting Golan further than he could have possibly imagined closer than ever to Earth, where the fate of the whole galaxy awaits him.Trade Review‘One of the most staggering achievements in modern SF’The Times ‘Isaac Asimov was one of the great explainers of the age…It will never be known how many practicing scientists today, in how many countries, owe their initial inspiration to a book, article, or short story by Isaac Asimov’Carl Sagan ‘Asimov displayed one of the most dynamic imaginations in science fiction’Daily Telegraph ‘Asimov’s career was one of the most formidable in science fiction’The Times

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Book SynopsisA deep and meaningful masterpiece of science fiction, full of heart and mind-bending ideas. A true classic, Vonnegut will make you laugh and have you contemplating the meaning of lifeWhen Winston Niles Rumfoord flies his spaceship into a chrono-synclastic infundibulum he is converted into pure energy and only materializes when his waveforms intercept Earth or some other planet. As a result, he only gets home to Newport, Rhode Island, once every fifty-nine days and then only for an hour.But at least, as a consolation, he now knows everything that has ever happened and everything that ever will be. He knows, for instance, that his wife is going to Mars to mate with Malachi Constant, the richest man in the world. He also knows that on Titan - one of Saturn's moons - is an alien from the planet Tralfamadore, who has been waiting 200,000 years for a spare part for his grounded spacecraft . . .Readers love The Sirens of Titan:'A truly exceptional work by a truly exceptional author expressing some exceptionally powerful ideas' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Vonnegut uses the absurd to explore what makes us human . . . I recommend this book for any fan of Vonnegut or [Douglas] Adams' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'The Sirens of Titan is primarily a parody of trashy pulp science fiction novels, a boisterous, chucklesome book . . . In this sense, The Sirens of Titan, twenty years early, precedes and foreshadows (and, I would say, is superior to) Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'There are plenty of space travels in The Sirens of Titan but it isn't a space opera . . . It is a spaced out satire, a cosmic comedy of manners' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'I went into this expecting a science fiction/satire but instead I got an emotionally moving story about the meaning of life by none other than one of the greatest writers that ever lived. Period' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Funny until it suddenly becomes creepy, to tell you why would be a spoiler though . . . Vonnegut is only using sci-fi as a platform to tell an allegorical story about life, together with an anti-war and anti-religion themes' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This is not just one of Vonnegut's best books. It's one of the best books I've ever read' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐Trade ReviewThe Sirens of Titan is a tour-de-force of sci-fi literature * Empire *

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Book SynopsisIn three fascinating and ground-breaking novellas, John Brunner weaves an ingenious tale of a divergent and compelling timeline, and poses complex questions of how we perceive the fourth dimension and its relation to our own identity.

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Book SynopsisMostly Harmless is the fifth and final part in Douglas Adams' much-loved cult classic series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.This edition includes exclusive bonus material from the Douglas Adams archives, and an introduction by Dirk Maggs, co-producer of BBC Radio 4's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases.Arthur Dent hadn't had a day as bad as this since the Earth had been blown up.After years of galactic wanderings, Arthur finally settles on the small planet Lamuella and becomes a sandwich maker. Looking forward to a quiet life, his plans are thrown awry by the unexpected arrival of his daughter.There's nothing worse than a frustrated teenager with a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in their hands. When she runs away, Arthur goes after her determined to save her from the horrors of the universe.After all – he's encountered most of them before . . .Trade ReviewOne of the greatest achievements in comedy. A work of staggering genius -- David WalliamsDazzlingly inventive -- Caitlin MoranFizzing with ideas . . . Brilliant -- Charlie BrookerI haven’t known many geniuses in my life. Some brilliantly smart people, but only a tiny handful would I class as geniuses. I would class Douglas, because he saw things differently, and he was capable of communicating the way he saw things, and once he explained things the way he saw them, it was almost impossible to see them the way you used to see them -- Neil GaimanIt changed my whole life. It's literally out of this world -- Tom BakerReally entertaining and fun -- Michael PalinHitchhiker’s is packed with that unique energy, all barmy and bristling and bold. This book can be witty, iconoclastic, godless, savage, sweet, surreal, but above all, it dares to be silly. Fiercely, beautifully silly -- Russell T. Davies, writer and producer of Doctor WhoHe had almost a Wodehousian style and some of his phrases and jokes entered our language. He changed the way people spoke -- Stephen FryThere has never been another writer remotely like Douglas Adams. He discovered a completely new genre – scientific wit – and having discovered it he raised it to dizzying heights -- Tony RobinsonQuite good I suppose, if you like brilliantly entertaining books written with a touch of imaginative genius -- Griff Rhys JonesVery occasionally a book comes along that changes the way you laugh and what you laugh about -- Richard DawkinsOne of the world’s sanest, smartest, kindest, funniest voices * Independent on Sunday *Sheer delight * The Times *Magical . . . read this book * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisOne of the very best must-read SF novels of all time.Trade Review'Military science fiction comes in many flavours, and Joe Haldeman's is every bit as satisfying as Heinlein's.' * SciFiNow *

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Book SynopsisPhilip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928, but lived most of his life in California, briefly attending the University of California at Berkeley in 1947. Among the most prolific and eccentric of science fiction writers, Dick's many novels and stories all blend a sharp and quirky imagination with a strong sense of the surreal. By the time of his death in 1982 he had written 36 science fiction novels and 112 short stories. Notable titles amongst the novels include The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968, later used as the basis for the film Blade Runner), Ubik (1969) and A Scanner Darkly (1977). The Man in the High Castle, perhaps his most painstakingly constructed and chilling novel, won a Hugo Award in 1963.Trade ReviewThe most brilliant sci-fi mind on any planet * Rolling Stone *California's own William Blake. Visionary and prophet. Novelist of ideas * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis''Loathsomeness waits and dreams in the deep, and decay spreads over the tottering cities of men. A time will come - but I must not and cannot think!'' H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a reclusive scribbler of horror stories for the American pulp magazines that specialized in Gothic and science fiction in the interwar years. He often published in Weird Tales and has since become the key figure in the slippery genre of ''weird fiction''. Lovecraft developed an extraordinary vision of feeble men driven to the edge of sanity by glimpses of malign beings that have survived from human prehistory or by malevolent extra-terrestrial visitations. The ornate language of his stories builds towards grotesque moments of revelation, quite unlike any other writer.This new selection brings together nine of his classic tales, focusing on the ''Cthulhu Mythos'', a cycle of stories that develops the mythology of the Old Ones, the monstrous creatures who predate human life on earth. It includes the Introduction from Lovecraft''s critical essay, ''Supernatural Horror in Literature'', in which he gave his own important definition of ''weird fiction''. In a fascinating contextual introduction, Roger Luckhurst gives Lovecraft the attention he deserves as a writer who used pulp fiction to explore a remarkable philosophy that shockingly dethrones the mastery of man.Trade ReviewThis book is a testament to Lovecraft's enduring ability to thrill us while simultaneously scaring us stupid, and as such it is very highly recommended. * Ian White, Starburst *Table of ContentsIntroduction Select Bibliography A Chronology of H. P. Lovecraft The Horror at Red Hook The Call of Cthulhu The Colour out of Space The Dunwich Horror The Whisperer in Darkness At the Mountains of Madness The Dreams in the Witch House The Shadow over Innsmouth The Shadow out of Time Appendix: from 'Supernatural Horror in Literature' Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisJoin Mike Ashley on a characterful tour of the most ingenious and often forgotten books from the rich history of classic British science fiction.

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Book SynopsisA brilliant scientist constructs a machine, which, with the pull of a lever, propels him to the year AD 802,701. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Time Machine features an introduction by Dr Mark Bould.The Time Traveller finds himself in a verdant, seemingly idyllic landscape where he is greeted by the diminutive Eloi people. The Eloi are beautiful but weak and indolent, and the explorer is perplexed by their fear of the dark. He soon discovers the reason for their fear - the Eloi are not the only race to have inherited the earth. When his time machine disappears, the Time Traveller must descend alone into the subterranean tunnels of the Morlocks - a terrifying, carnivorous people who toil in darkness - to reclaim it.

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Book SynopsisBefore The Matrix, before Star Wars, before Ender's Game and Neuromancer, there was Dune, the first book in one of the greatest science fiction series ever written.Melange, or 'spice', is the most valuable - and rarest - element in the universe. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world Arrakis.Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.When stewardship of Arrakis is transferred to his house, Paul Atreides must travel to the planet's dangerous surface to ensure the future of his family and his people. But as malevolent forces explode into conflict around him, Paul is thrust into a great destiny beyond his understanding.And in this game of power, only those who can conquer their fear will survive.Trade ReviewA sweeping work of science-fiction that helped define the genre and bring it to the mainstream * The Independent *A sweeping work of science-fiction that helped define the genre and bring it to the mainstream * The Independent *Adapted from Frank Herbert's 1960s opus, Dune is dense, moody and quite often sublime - the missing link bridging the multiplex and the arthouse * The Guardian - 5* *Adapted from Frank Herbert's 1960s opus, Dune is dense, moody and quite often sublime - the missing link bridging the multiplex and the arthouse * The Guardian - 5* *This new adaptation of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel ... it's science-fiction at its most majestic, unsettling and enveloping * Daily Telegraph *This new adaptation of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel ... it's science-fiction at its most majestic, unsettling and enveloping * Daily Telegraph *Dune is this generation's Lord of the Rings trilogy ... firmly grounded in Herbert's book. The author's story of feudal nobles waging war over Arrakis, the only source of a powerful drug known as spice, is thick with conflicting ideas that academics are still unpacking today * The Independent *Dune is this generation's Lord of the Rings trilogy ... firmly grounded in Herbert's book. The author's story of feudal nobles waging war over Arrakis, the only source of a powerful drug known as spice, is thick with conflicting ideas that academics are still unpacking today * The Independent *Dune: science fiction's answer to Lord of the Rings * The Guardian *Dune: science fiction's answer to Lord of the Rings * The Guardian *Dune, more than 50 years after it was first published, is a story that speaks to the issues of our time * BBC Science Focus *Dune, more than 50 years after it was first published, is a story that speaks to the issues of our time * BBC Science Focus *Astonishing in its scope and thought-provoking in its breadth of themes, Dune is an unforgettable fantasy adventure like no other * Woman & Home *Astonishing in its scope and thought-provoking in its breadth of themes, Dune is an unforgettable fantasy adventure like no other * Woman & Home *Astonishing in its scope and thought-provoking in its breadth of themes, Dune is an unforgettable fantasy adventure like no other * Isabelle Broom, womanandhome.com, Best Fantasy Books of All Time *Astonishing in its scope and thought-provoking in its breadth of themes, Dune is an unforgettable fantasy adventure like no other * Isabelle Broom, womanandhome.com, Best Fantasy Books of All Time *

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Book SynopsisA pioneering work of dystopian fiction from one of Sweden''s most acclaimed writersWritten midway between Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four, as the terrible events of the Second World War were unfolding, Kallocain depicts a totalitarian ''World State'' which seeks to crush the individual entirely. In this desolate, paranoid landscape of ''police eyes'' and ''police ears'', the obedient citizen and middle-ranking scientist Leo Kall discovers a drug that will force anyone who takes it to tell the truth. But can private thought really be obliterated? Karin Boye''s chilling novel of creeping alienation shows the dangers of acquiescence and the power of resistance, no matter how futile.Translated with an introduction by David McDuffTrade ReviewThe woman who reimagined the dystopian novel -- Talya Zax * The New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisVOLUME TWO OF TWO''A huge, eye-opening, mind-blowing surprise'' Lisa Tuttle, Guardian A genre-defining-and redefining-collection of fiction''s boldest, most rebellious, and most prescient genre, featuring a smorgasbord of stories from across the globeIn The Big Book of Cyberpunk, award-winning anthologist Jared Shurin brings together over a hundred stories from more than twenty-five different countries. Here are tales that both establish and subvert the classic Cyberpunk tropes and aesthetic [RR1] [SN2] from gritty, near-future noir to pulse-pounding action. Urban rebels undermine their monolithic corporate overlords, daring heists are conducted through back alleys and the darkest parts of the online world, and dangerous new technology, cybernetic enhancements, scheming AIs, corporate mercenaries, improbable weapons and roguish hackers all collide into rich, thrilling entertainment. Set across two volumes, these are stories that examine

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Book SynopsisJohn Wyndham was born in 1903 in the Midlands. After leaving school, he tried his hand at several careers, including farming, law and advertising, before starting to write stories in 1925. During the war he worked as a censor in the Ministry of Information and afterwards served in the Army. The Day of The Triffids was published in 1951, and was followed by many other famous works of science fiction, including The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos. Wyndham died in 1969.Trade Review"A thoroughly English apocalypse, it rivals H. G. Wells in conveying how the everyday invaded by the alien would feel. No wonder Stephen King admires Wyndham so much."--RAMSEY CAMPBELL"John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids is one of my all-time favorite novels. It's absolutely convincing, full of little telling details, and that sweet, warm sensation of horror and mystery."--JOE R. LANSDALE"My son's middle name is Wyndham. Does that tell you how much I respect and revere the late John Wyndham? And The Day of the Triffids is the best of them all. He was a wonderful writer who was able to reinvigorate science fiction with spectacle and true thrills, and do so with a writing voice that created both suspense and elegance. A true master." --ED GORMAN

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Book SynopsisTHE AUTHORATITIVE TEXT "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."The year is 1984. War and revolution have left the world unrecognisable. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, is ruled by the Party, led by Big Brother. Mass surveillance is everything and The Thought Police ensure no individual thinking is allowed. Winston Smith works at The Ministry of Truth, carefully rewriting history. But Winston dreams of freedom, and of rebellion. It is here that he falls in love with Julia, and starts a secret, forbidden affair with her - but in this world nothing can be kept secret, and they are forced to face consequences more terrifying than either of them could have ever imagined.A dystopian masterpiece, this is the powerful and prophetic novel that defined the twentieth century. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT HARRIS

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Book SynopsisProfessor Persikov, an eccentric zoologist, stumbles upon a new light ray that accelerates growth and reproduction rates in living organisms. In the wake of a plague that has decimated the country's poultry stocks, Persikov's discovery is exploited as a means to correct the problem. As foreign agents, the state and the Soviet media all seize upon the red ray, matters get out of hand... Set in 1928 but written four years earlier, during Stalin's rise to power, The Fatal Eggs is both an early piece of science fiction reminiscent of H.G. Wells and a biting, brilliant satire on the consequences of the abuse of power and knowledge.Trade ReviewThe exuberance of it... has to enliven the reader, and make us laugh. -- Doris Lessing Bulgakov was not merely a brilliant observer of what was going on around him, but had an uncanny ability to pick out the particular manifestations of folly and discord which would set the tone of the era to follow. * The Guardian * Cockrell's self-effacing, fluent prose restores the elegant irony of the original, while rising to the challenge of Bulgakov's occasionally abstruse medical lexicon. * TLS *

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Book SynopsisH. G. Wells skilfully combines tension, wit and terror in The Invisible Man, a masterpiece of science fiction. Complete & Unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.A mysterious stranger arrives at a rural Sussex inn on a cold winter’s night with his face obscured by bandages and his body cloaked in a long, heavy coat. He locks himself in his room and spends his stay labouring over chemicals in intricate glass bottles. The villagers, bewildered by what lurks under the bandages, could never be prepared for the terrible truth: that the man is a scientist who has rendered himself invisible and is desperately struggling to find an antidote. He flees to the rugged, cliff-lined coast where, pursued by police and an angry mob, he is intent on murderous revenge.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA giant of 20th-century science fiction * The Guardian *Stanislaw Lem was for 50 years Poland's premier intellectual of the imagination -- John Clute * The Independent *

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Book Synopsis''There were two kinds of landscape characteristic of the inner planets of the Sun: the purposeful and the desolate.''The planet Quinta is pocked with ugly mounds and covered by a spiderweb-like network draped from spindly poles. It is a kingdom of phantoms and of a beauty afflicted by madness. The Earth spaceship Hermes arrives on Quinta with the best of intentions towards the humans'' ''brothers in intelligence''. But something on the planet has gone terribly wrong...

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Book SynopsisA Victorian scientist and inventor creates a machine for propelling himself through time, and voyages to the year AD 802701, where he discovers a race of humanoids called the Eloi. Their gently indolent way of life, set in a decaying cityscape, leads the scientist to believe that they are the remnants of a once great civilization. He is forced to revise this assessment when he comes across the cave dwellings of threatening ape-like creatures known as Morlocks, whose dark underground world he must explore to discover the terrible secrets of this fractured society, and the means of getting back to his own time. A biting critique of class and social equality as well as an innovative and much imitated piece of science fiction which introduced the idea of time travel into the popular consciousness, The Time Machine is a profound and extraordinarily prescient novel.Trade ReviewI personally consider the greatest of English living writers [to be] H.G. Wells. -- Upton Sinclair

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Book Synopsis''This is what literature is meant to be'' Anthony Burgess''O what we ben! And what we come to...'' Wandering a desolate post-apocalyptic landscape, speaking a broken-down English lost after the end of civilization, Riddley Walker sets out to find out what brought humanity here. This is his story.''Funny, terrible, haunting and unsettling, this book is a masterpiece'' Observer''A timeless portrayal of the human condition ... frightening and uncanny'' Will Self''A book that I could read every day forever and still be finding things'' Max PorterTrade ReviewRussell Hoban has brought off an extraordinary feat of imagination and of style ... funny, terrible, haunting and unsettling, this book is a masterpiece. * The Observer *You are syntactically and emotionally and politically absolutely in the book's spell. The way it changes is unbelievable; it is a living thing. -- Max PorterExtraordinary... a hero with Huck Finn's heart, lighting by El Greco and jokes by Punch and Judy... Fiercely imagined and intensely ponderable. * New York Times Book Review *Suffused with melancholy and wonder, beautifully written, Riddley Walker is a novel people will be reading for a long, long time. * Washington Post *This is what literature is meant to be. -- Anthony BurgessThe strongest, most desolate and bewildered voice in modern fiction. In the mental silence that followed the closing of the last page, I wanted to applaud, through tears. * Cosmopolitan *The book has an evangelical effect on people ... Riddley is an absorbing character, Hoban's language has a fantastic, rough poetry and the post-apocalyptic world is chilling and convincing. -- Rachel Seiffert * The Observer *

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Book Synopsis90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin BooksAssuming that I was sane and awake, my experience on that night was such as has befallen no man before'After five years of 'strange amnesia', Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee remains haunted by madness and memories that cannot be real. Desperate for answers he travels to Western Australia, joining an archaeological excavation into Earth's deep past. Journey with Peaslee to discover his fate in the story described by author Lin Carter as Lovecraft's single greatest achievement in fiction'.

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Book Synopsis''See!...The woods are alive! Already the Great Ones are there, and the dance will soon begin! The salve is here! Anoint yourself and come!''One of the greatest writers of the strange and weird, Algernon Blackwood evolved from a teller of ghost stories to a pioneering master of such emergent fictional modes as cosmic horror and nature Gothic. In tales whose settings range from the eerie North Woods of Canada to the mysterious sands of the Egyptian desert, Blackwood blurs the boundaries between human and nonhuman, living and dead, beckoning the reader into strange borderlands where alien forces lurk, waiting for the chance to break through into our world.This new selection of Blackwood''s shorter fiction constitutes the most comprehensive critical edition of his work to date. Included here are such undisputed classics as ''The Wendigo'', ''The Willows'', and ''Ancient Sorceries'', as well as two superbly unsettling novellas, ''The Man Whom the Trees Loved'' and ''A Descent into Egypt'', and ten other stories short and long, drawn from collections spanning Blackwood''s long writing career. Aaron Worth''s introduction and notes situate these tales in the context of Blackwood''s own upbringing in an evangelical Victorian household, as well as in relation to such topics as late-imperial British history and the emergence of modern ecological thought.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography A Chronology of Algernon Blackwood The Wendigo and Other Stories Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisThe New York Times-bestselling author concludes the desperate and action-packed saga of the refugee from the future, and the one naval space officer who believes her, trying to avert the apocalypse as all forces turn against them.

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Book SynopsisThe last Isaac Asimov science fiction collection which contains all of his previously uncollected stories.

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Book SynopsisThe New York Times-bestselling author begins a gripping new saga about a refugee from the future come to save the Earth and the one naval space officer who believes her.

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Book SynopsisA classic collection of stories all told on the skin of a man from the author of Fahrenheit 451.If El Greco had painted miniatures in his prime, no bigger than your hand, infinitely detailed, with his sulphurous colour and exquisite human anatomy, perhaps he might have used this man's body for his artYet the Illustrated Man has tried to burn the illustrations off. He's tried sandpaper, acid, and a knife. Because, as the sun sets, the pictures glow like charcoals, like scattered gems. They quiver and come to life. Tiny pink hands gesture, tiny mouths flicker as the figures enact their stories voices rise, small and muted, predicting the future.Here are sixteen tales: sixteen illustrations the seventeenth is your own future told on the skin of the Illustrated Man.Trade Review‘Ray Bradbury has a powerful and mysterious imagination which would undoubtedly earn the respect of Edgar Allan Poe’ Guardian ‘It is impossible not to admire the vigour of his prose, similes and metaphors constantly cascading from his imagination’ Spectator ‘The sheer velocity of his words is an apocalyptic torrent which sweeps the reader on’ Independent ‘As a science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury has long been streets ahead of anyone else’ Daily Telegraph ‘Readers unfamiliar with what Bradbury at his best can do should look to The Illustrated Man.’ Washington Post ‘No other writer uses language with greater originality and zest. he seems to be a American Dylan Thomas – with dsicipline’ Sunday Telegraph

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Book SynopsisWhen an army of invading Martians lands in England, panic and terror seize the population. As the aliens traverse the country in huge three-legged machines, incinerating all in their path with a heat ray and spreading noxious toxic gases, the people of the Earth must come to terms with the prospect of the end of human civilization and the beginning of Martian rule. Inspiring films, radio dramas, comic-book adaptations, television series and sequels, The War of the Worlds is a prototypical work of science fiction which has influenced every alien story that has come since, and is unsurpassed in its ability to thrill, well over a century since it was first published.Trade ReviewI personally consider the greatest of English living writers [to be] H.G. Wells. -- Upton Sinclair

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Book SynopsisA poignant and brilliant sequel to Dandelion Wine from the author of Fahrenheit 451In Green Town Illinois, Douglas Spaulding is in the midst of a small civil war with the old pitted against the young in this, the second book in Bradbury's semi-fictionalised account of his childhood. As the school board's figure of authority Mr Calvin C. Quartermain attempts to outwit the boys at every turn, their antics increase and become ever more daring and mischevious. Once the shadow of winter draws across Green Town, the boys quickly realise that their enemy is not so much the senior members of their own community, but rather time itself which is ever ebbing away, just beyond the reach of their most daring trick yet: a bold attempt to sabotage the town's clock.Trade Review'It is impossible not to admire the vigour of his prose, similes and metaphors constantly cascading from his imagination.” Spectator "Almost no one can imagine a time or place without the fiction of Ray Bradbury…" The Washington Post 'Bradbury has a remarkable range of intensity and vision' Sunday Times 'The sheer velocity of his words is an apocalyptic torrent which sweeps the reader on' Independent ‘No other writer uses language with greater originality and zest. he seems to be a American Dylan Thomas – with dsicipline’ Sunday Telegraph

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Book SynopsisTwenty of the finest science fiction short stories from one of the genre's greatest writers, Isaac Asimov.

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Book SynopsisAn official tie-in edition of Philip K. Dick''s dazzling speculative novel to accompany the new TV series, executive produced by Ridley Scott. Philip K. Dick''s acclaimed cult novel gives us a horrifying glimpse of an alternative world - one where the Allies have lost the Second World War. In this nightmare dystopia the Nazis have taken over New York, the Japanese control California and the African continent is virtually wiped out. In a neutral buffer zone in America that divides the world''s new rival superpowers, lives the author of an underground bestseller. His book offers a new vision of reality - an alternative theory of world history in which the Axis powers were defeated - giving hope to the disenchanted. Does ''reality'' lie with him, or is his world just one among many others?''The most brilliant science fiction mind on any planet''Rolling Stone''Dick''s finest book, and one of the very best science fiction novels ever published''<Trade ReviewThe most brilliant sci-fi mind on any planet * Rolling Stone *California's own William Blake. Visionary and prophet * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewRobot's technical proficiency and ontological ambitions could be compared to those of Lem at his best, and its author, like Lem, considered himself less an sf writer than a prose-writing philosopher of metaphysical inclinations. With its powerful vision of a society of slaves controlled and abused by a mysterious Mechanism and a stimulating theory of Superbeings, Robot was almost immediately recognized as an instant classic which catapulted Snerg to the rank of Poland's best sf authors * Science Fiction Encyclopedia *

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Book SynopsisPlayer Piano is the debut novel from one of history's most innovative authors, published on Vonnegut's 100th birthday.In Player Piano, the first of Vonnegut's wildly funny and deadly serious novels, automata have dramatically reduced the need for America's work force. Ten years after the introduction of these robot labourers, the only people still working are the engineers and their managers, who live in Ilium; everyone else lives in Homestead, an impoverished part of town characterised by purposelessness and mass produced houses.Paul Proteus is the manager of Ilium Works. While grateful to be held in high regard, Paul begins to feel uneasy about his position - especially after a trip to Homestead. Eventually, Paul makes the decision to rebel against all he's been given, inciting seismic repercussions...'His black logic...gives us something to laugh about and much to fear' New York Times Book ReviewWatch the documentary about his life - Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time - on PrimeTrade ReviewA funny, savage appraisal of a totally automated American society of the future * San Francisco Chronicle *The seeds of his [Vonnegut's] trademarks are here: a satirical eye on the world and deep love for humanity * The Times *

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Book SynopsisA final collection of original short fantasy stories assembles previously uncollected tales, stories about the two-centimeter demon Azael, several fairy tales, and a humorous adventure about Batman's old age from the grandmaster of science fiction.

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Book SynopsisFlamboyant, theatrical and ambitious, Margaret Cavendish was one of the seventeenth century''s most striking figures: a woman who ventured into the male spheres of politics, science, philosophy and literature. The Blazing World is a highly original work: part Utopian fiction, part feminist text, it tells of a lady shipwrecked on the Blazing World where she is made Empress and uses her power to ensure that it is free of war, religious division and unfair sexual discrimination. This volume also includes The Contract, a romance in which love and law work harmoniously together, and Assaulted and Pursued Chastity, which explores the power and freedom a woman can achieve in the disguise of a man.

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Book SynopsisThis handsome gift edition presents H. G. Well''s classic work of science fiction, The War of the Worlds, featuring a luxurious, silver-embossed cover design, gilded page edges and patterned endpapers.In this thrilling tale of alien invasion, H. G. Wells changed the face of the science fiction genre. Following the travails of an unnamed narrator, The War of the Worlds reveals the true terror of life under an implacable and enigmatic foe. Armed with terrifying killing machines, black smoke and Heat-Rays, the Martians arrive in London and quickly subdue the resistance put up by British forces. Faced with extraordinary odds and a world changed beyond all recognition, nothing less than the survival of the human race is at stake. This pocket gift edition contains the classic and unabridged text, presented with a silver embossed cover design, ivory pages, beautifully designed endpapers and silver gil

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Book SynopsisOne of BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World. Frankenstein is the most famous novel by Mary Shelley: a dark parable of science misused. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful hardbacks make perfect gifts for book lovers, or wonderful additions to your own collection. The novel is produced here in its original form and with an afterword by David Pinching.Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but wayward scientist, builds a human from dead flesh. Horrified at what he has done, he abandons his creation. The hideous creature learns language and becomes civilized but society rejects him. Spurned, he seeks vengeance on his creator. So begins a cycle of destruction, with Frankenstein and his 'monster' pursuing each other to the extremes of nature until all vestiges of their humanity are lost. In 1831, Mary Shelley succumbed to conservative pressures and toned down elements of the work; this edition presents the work as originally intended.

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Book SynopsisENTER THE ADMINISTRATIONPeretz spends his days navigating the bureaucracy of the Administration, the institute tasked with governing the Forest below. Except no one ever seems to go there, and his attempts only trap him further within the workings of this strange organisation.ENTER THE FORESTCandide cannot remember how he got to the Forest, and he is certain he belongs somewhere else. Determined to escape, he finds that all paths lead him round strange bends and into encounters with bizarre creatures.NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMSThis classic SF novel sees Boris and Arkady Strugatsky meditate on how little man can understand of the wider world, and in doing so produce one of the great literary works to come out of Soviet Russia.Trade ReviewA marvellous, subtle, funny book -- Eric Korn * Sunday Times *A fantastic vision of extraordinary power, a difficult, demanding but rewarding work * The Times Literary Supplement *The Snail on the Slope may be the most dizzyingly concentrated dose of the Strugatskys' strange and powerful medicine -- Jonathan Letham[Arkady and Boris Strugatsky] open windows in the mind and then fail to close them at all, so that, putting down one of their books, you feel a cold breeze still lifting the hairs on the back of your neck * New York Times *Approached as a meditation on the human inability to comprehend more than a very small part of the universe, this is a surprisingly satisfying, if often perplexing, work * Publisher's Weekly *

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.''The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides.''Scientist Pierre Aronnax and his colleagues set out on an expedition to find a strange sea monster and are captured by the infamous and charismatic Captain Nemo and taken abroad the Nautilus submarine as his prisoners. As they travel the world''s oceans, they become embroiled in adventures and events beyond their wildest dreams. Visionary in its outlook, Vern''s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a legendary science fiction masterpiece.

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Book SynopsisThe definitive editions of Philip K. Dick''s short stories, containing some of the most defining works in the Science Fiction genre.This stunning new edition of Philip K Dick''s work includes the influential ''Adjustment Team'' and ''The Father Thing'', as well as a litany of mind-expanding other works. Work your way through some of the most influential stories from the 20th century, which have had a massive impact on popular culture.''I am bowled over. I am so impressed by the variety in stories, and how interesting the individual story ideas are'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Philip K. Dick is a master of messing with your head in a story'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Enter the Mind of a Genius . . . This collection of short stories by Philip K. Dick are great, thought provoking, funny, and some really frightening'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ є

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Book SynopsisThe graphic novel adaptation of the classic dystopian masterpiece. From Fred Fordham, graphic novelist behind the sensational TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD graphic novel.Originally published in 1932, Brave New World is one of the most revered and profound works of twentieth century literature. Touching on themes of control, humanity, technology, and influence, Aldous Huxley's enduring classic is a reflection and a warning of the age in which it was written, yet remains frighteningly relevant today.With its surreal imagery and otherworldly backdrop, Brave New World adapts beautifully to the graphic novel form. Fred Fordham's singular artistic flair and attention to detail and color captures this thought-provoking novel as never before, and introduces it to a new generation, and countless modern readers, in a fresh and compelling way.Trade Review[A] highly engaging adaptation of the famous novel... Fordham utilises the graphic novel format to the full, with exciting, near-cinematic renderings of the action...that bring the narrative to life, giving Huxley's seminal work a sense of urgency and visual appeal that makes it more readily accessible for a whole new audience, while for the most part staying faithful to the original text * TeachWire *

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