Science Fiction Sci-Fi Books

Book Synopsis''No one writing today is better than McDevitt at combining galaxy-spanning adventure with the genuine novel of ideas'' Washington Post Book WorldTwo hundred years ago, humans made a stunning discovery in the far reaches of the solar system: a huge statue of an alien creature, with an inscription that defied all efforts at translation. Now, as faster-than-light drive opens the stars to exploration, humans are finding other relics of the race they call the Monument-Makers - each different, and each heartbreakingly beautiful. But except for a set of footprints on Jupiter''s moon Iapetus, there is no trace of the enigmatic race that has left them behind. Then a team of scientists working on a dead world discover an ominous new image of the Monument-Makers. Somehow it all fits with other lost civilizations, and possibly with Earth''s own future. And distant past. But Earth itself is on the brink of ecological disaster - there is no time to search for answeTrade ReviewJack McDevitt is that splendid rarity, a writer who is a storyteller first and a science fiction writer second. In his ability to absolutely rivet the reader, it seems to me that he is the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke -- Stephen KingMcDevitt is at his best award-winning style in this intelligent and wide-ranging novel * Kirkus Reviews *With plenty of startling plot twists, a heavy dose of intrigue, and an unusual amount of character development for science fiction, McDevitt holds us fast right through to a thrilling finish * Booklist *It's classic SF with a complex but tight plot and an excellent set of characters ... I seem to like this book more each time I read it * SF Reviews *

Read more less

Book SynopsisPerfect for old fans and new readers alike, High Stakes delves deeper into the world of aces, jokers, and the hard-boiled men and women of the Fort Freak police precinct in a pulpy, page-turning novel of superheroics and Lovecraftian horror.Trade ReviewThis exhilarating 23rd collaborative novel in the WILD CARDS series . . . is a wild ride of good, blood-pumping fun that packs a surprisingly emotional punch for a book that looks on the surface like just another superhero adventure - Publishers WeeklyThe shared-world series known as WILD CARDS has had a long and illustrious history of contributors and achievements - SciFi.comEminently readable, and stands alone well, this has laugh out loud moments, pathos and action aplenty to please even the most discerning of readers [LOWBALL review] - British Fantasy SocietyLowball for me is a winner through and through, I have been counting down the days until there would be another full length book released and I devoured it in one sitting. The characters are memorable and the setting of the story is continuing to give a certain uniqueness. Even though the series has been going on for twenty-two books so far, there is never a dull moment to be found . . . I just cannot get enough of the Wild Cards universe. High quality and should be on everyones reading list . . . Bring on the next please! - The Book Plank

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisArthur C. Clarke was a British science fiction author, inventor and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which also produced the film of the same name. He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947-1950 and again in 1953. Clarke emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956 and lived there until his death in March 2008. He was knighted in 1998.Trade ReviewA first-rate tour de force * The New York Times *Frighteningly logical, believable, and grimly prophetic . . . Clarke is a master * Los Angeles Times *As a science fiction writer, Clarke has all the essentials * The New Yorker *There has been nothing like it for years; partly for the actual invention, but partly because here we meet a modern author who understands that there may be things that have a higher claim on humanity than its own 'survival' * C. S. Lewis *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''No person can be blamed for refusing to read another word of what promises to be a mere imposition upon his credulity.''Julian West, a feckless aristocrat living in fin-de-siècle Boston, plunges into a deep hypnotic sleep in 1887 and wakes up in the year 2000. America has been turned into a rigorously centralized democratic society in which everything is controlled by a humane and efficient state. In little more than a hundred years the horrors of nineteenth-century capitalism have been all but forgotten. The squalid slums of Boston have been replaced by broad streets, and technological inventions have transformed people''s everyday lives. Exiled from the past, West excitedly settles into the ideal society of the future, while still fearing that he has dreamt up his experiences as a time traveller.Edward Bellamy''s Looking Backward (1888) is a thunderous indictment of industrial capitalism and a resplendent vision of life in a socialist utopia. Matthew Beaumont''s lively edition expl

Read more less

An io9 Can’t Miss Science Fiction and Fantasy title in March 2014. Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard. What could possibly go wrong? An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJumper: Griffin’s Story was written by Gould to compliment the 2008 film Jumper starring Samuel L Jackson. The novel explores the life of Griffin O’Connor as he uses his teleportation powers to hunt his parents’ murderers.Trade Review‘[Gould’s] warm, delightful and compulsively readable novel displays assured storytelling skill.’Publishers Weekly

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt was a dark time for the rebel alliance...Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, had been delivered into the hands of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Determined to rescue him, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Lando Calrissian launched a hazardous mission against Jabba's Tatooine stronghold.The Rebel commanders gathered all the warships of the Rebel fleet into a single giant armada. And Darth Vader and the Emperor, who had ordered construction to begin on a new and even more powerful Death Star, were making plans to crush the Rebel Alliance once and for all.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe era of the Old Republic is a dark and dangerous time, as Jedi Knights valiantly battle the Sith Lords and their ruthless armies. But the Sith have disturbing plans—and none more so than the fulfillment of Darth Scabrous’s fanatical dream, which is about to become nightmarish reality.Unlike those other Jedi sidelined to the Agricultural Corps—young Jedi whose abilities have not proved up to snuff—Hestizo Trace possesses one extraordinary Force talent: a gift with plants. Suddenly her quiet existence among greenhouse and garden specimens is violently destroyed by the arrival of an emissary from Darth Scabrous. For the rare black orchid that she has nurtured and bonded with is the final ingredient in an ancient Sith formula that promises to grant Darth Scabrous his greatest desire.But at the heart of the formula is a never-before-seen virus that’s worse than fatal—it doesn’t just kill, it transforms. Now the rotting, ravenous dead are rising, driven by a bloodthirsty hunger for all things living—and commanded by a Sith Master with an insatiable lust for power and the ultimate prize: immortality . . . no matter the cost.Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!

Read more less

Book SynopsisDuring one of Nyssa's experiments, the TARDIS's temporal scanner picks up a message: 'Idra'. Just one word, but enough to draw the Doctor to the Archipelago of Sirius. There, the Autarch is about to announce a new crusade. A mighty war against Seth, Prince of the Dark...

Read more less

Book SynopsisSixteen all-new stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois   From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Carson of Venus to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury’s “The Long Rain” to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis’s Perelandra, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth’s next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century’s space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life.   But don’t despair! This new anthology of sixteen original stories by some of science fiction’s best writers—edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois—turns back the clock to that more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination.   Join our cast of award-winning contributors—including Elizabeth Bear, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Mike Resnick, Eleanor Arnason, Allen M. Steele, and more—as we travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries.   FEATURING ALL-NEW STORIES BY   Eleanor Arnason • Elizabeth Bear • David Brin • Tobias S. Buckell • Michael Cassutt • Joe Haldeman • Matthew Hughes • Gwyneth Jones • Joe R. Lansdale • Stephen Leigh • Paul McAuley • Ian McDonald • Garth Nix • Mike Resnick • Allen M. Steele • Lavie Tidhar   And an Introduction by Gardner Dozois

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAfter narrowly escaping death, Koko Martstellar (ex-corporate mercenary) and Jedidiah Flynn (depressed former sky-cop) are busy putting their lives back together, running a saloon/brothel on The Sixty Islands-the world's most violent and decadent resort. But when bounty agent Jackie Wire comes to collect the outstanding price on Koko's head, it's time again for Koko and Flynn to make tracks. Fleeing pell-mell across the Pacific and shipwrecking along a thought-to-be uninhabitable coast, things only go from bad to worse for our heroes...but, hey, that's the 26th century for you. Buckle up, buttercup. Only the mighty survive.Trade Review"This novel is fast paced, action packed, violent, and just plain fun." - Booklist Review"Fast-paced, wise-ass, crackling with action and snark, this is a science fiction adventure with style and brio." - Count Gore"plenty of fighting, some cool tech (mostly, but not all, military) and sketches of this future society (with emphasis on the pleasure industries)" - Robert McGrath

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE VETERAN BRITISH SPACE PILOT, DAN DAREcontinues his 2000 AD adventures through a hostile universe. Together with his hardened crew, Dan pilots the mighty Space Fortress into battle against the most dangerous entities the galaxy has to offer including giant water worms, an evil doppelganger and the terrifying menace of the Mekon!Known amongst 2000 AD fans for its controversial ‘non-ending’, this volume features the iconic artwork of Britain’s first Comics Laureate, Dave Gibbons.

Read more less

Book SynopsisKylara Vatta has had to leave a glowing future as a military cadet far behind, and now carves out a living in the brutal cut-throat world of interplanetary trading. Her chosen way of life is tough but rewarding and she thinks she is more than capable of holding her own. That is, until a threat emerges that nobody could have forseen . . .'Continues to get better with every volume . . . roll on the next one' GuardianTrade ReviewContinues to get better with every volume . . . roll on the next one -- GUARDIANExcellent plotting and characters support the utterly realistic action sequences -- KIRKUS on MOVING TARGETAn action-packed read, complete with zero-g combat sequences, exploding ship mines, stratagems, and intrigue . . . Definitely recommended -- THE BOOK SMUGGLERS on MOVING TARGET

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom bullied to Burst Linker, one boy grasps his true destiny in this mega-popular and award-winning futuristic series from the author of Sword Art Online!

Read more less

Book SynopsisSeiji Nomi''s scheming from his position atop the school social hierarchy has ceased. Sky Raker has returned to the Accelerated World, and upon joining Nega Nebulus, he and Kuroyukihime have become a force to be reckoned with. But one day, Haruyuki hears the news that the social camera network has been expanded to include the Hermes Cord space elevator, and he realizes what the next stage of the game will be: space. Upon arriving, he gets help from a mysterious operator in taking on the biggest mission in the history of Brain Burst! Plus, Kuroyukihime and Haruyuki have a chance to experience their first overnight event--except that Sky Raker and Fuko end up crashing it!

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe silver wings responsible for the rise of Nega Nebulus, the legion led by Kuroyukihime, are weakening! During the battle with the mysterious Acceleration Research Society, Haruyuki sustained corrosion damage from the revived Chrome Disaster, and he has still been unable to escape its effects. The Seven Kings of Pure Color take this very seriously, and soon they hand down their judgement: purification. Now Haruyuki is faced with a choice--undergo the grueling purification process, or have a bounty on his head and risk being cast out of the Accelerated World altogether!

Read more less

Book SynopsisFollowing the great success of our Gothic Fantasy, deluxe edition short story compilations, Ghosts, Horror, Science Fiction, Murder Mayhem and Crime & Mystery this latest title is packed with dark valleys, high mountain passes, dinosaurs and endless dark creations. Contains a fabulous mix of classic and brand new writing, with authors from the US, Canada, and the UK. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Rachel Verkade, Thomas Canfield, Kevin M. Folliard, David Sklar, David Tallerman, Sara M. Harvey, Sarah L. Byrne, John Walters, Ronald D. Ferguson, Michael Penncavage, James C. Simpson, Rebecca Schwarz, K.G. McAbee, and Mike Adamson. These appear alongside classic stories by authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, H. Rider Haggard, Jonathan Swift and Jules Verne.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of full-cast dramatisations and readings from the bestselling author ‘There’s nobody like Binchy for warming the cockles’ Times Maeve Binchy was one of Britain’s best-loved storytellers and this compilation of her finest fiction, as heard on BBC Radio, demonstrates all the warmth, wit and compassion that made her so popular. Firefly Summer is a moving, humorous novel about a sleepy Irish town facing monumental change, dramatised in six parts with a full cast including David Soul and Lorcan Cranitch. No Nightingales, No Snakes features full-cast dramatisations of five Maeve Binchy short stories, with a distinguished cast including Niamh Cusack, Sam Dale and Harry Towb. The Garden Party contains four short stories specially commissioned for BBC Radio 4, read by Niamh Cusack, Dervla Kirwan, Doreen Hepburn and Stella McCusker. The Homecoming comprises four more stories exclusively written for BBC Radio 4, read by Sean Campion, Joanna Myers, Patricia Hodge and Kate Binchy. Dealing with families, friendship, love, loss, sorrow and joy, these stories will delight all Maeve Binchy fans. Duration: 6 hours approxTrade ReviewThere’s nobody like Binchy for warming the cockles * Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe bravest soldiers. The toughest warriors. The ultimate survivors.Among the stars and across the vast expanses of space, the Galactic Civil War rages. On the battlefields of multiple worlds in the Mid Rim, legions of ruthless stormtroopers—bent on crushing resistance to the Empire wherever it arises—are waging close and brutal combat against an armada of freedom fighters. In the streets and alleys of ravaged cities, the front-line forces of the Rebel Alliance are taking the fight to the enemy, pushing deeper into Imperial territory and grappling with the savage flesh-and-blood realities of war on the ground.Leading the charge are the soldiers—men and women, human and nonhuman—of the Sixty-First Mobile Infantry, better known as Twilight Company. Hard-bitten, war-weary, and ferociously loyal to one another, the members of this renegade outfit doggedly survive where others perish, and defiance is their most powerful weapon against the deadliest odds. When orders come down for the rebels to fall back in the face of superior opposition numbers and firepower, Twilight reluctantly complies. Then an unlikely ally radically changes the strategic equation—and gives the Alliance’s hardest-fighting warriors a crucial chance to turn retreat into resurgence.Orders or not, alone and outgunned but unbowed, Twilight Company locks, loads, and prepares to make its boldest maneuver—trading down-and-dirty battle in the trenches for a game-changing strike at the ultimate target: the very heart of the Empire’s military machine.Trade ReviewImmensely enjoyable * Buzzfeed *As a new entry into the setting, it serves as a vibrant look into the lore backed with a solid story, showing the best and worst of both sides in this war * Starburst Magazine *It’s a real throwback to the 20,000 AD books of old, and seeing this style transplanted into the Star Wars universe is a real treat. In short, Twilight Companyis far better than what is essentially a piece of videogame tie-in merchandise has any right to be * SciFi Now *‘a compelling and realistic story…it is a character-driven story with each character having multiple layers that are slowly peeled away as the story progresses from battle to battle…Battlefront: Twilight Companyhas a truth of realism and purpose for its characters not seen often enough in the Star Wars galaxy.’ 4.5 stars * Star Wars Books & Comics *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha-an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other.There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.Trade Review“if you found the plots hard to follow, or if you skipped the film entirely and just like a good science fiction or fantasy escape, this novelization is worthy of consideration” - Borg.com

Read more less

Book SynopsisEVIL COMES HOMEAs the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity's final stand against the undead hordes, Alice must return to where the nightmare began-Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse. In a race against time Alice will join forces with old friends, and an unlikely ally, in an action packed battle with undead hordes and new mutant monsters. Between regaining her superhuman abilities at Wesker's hand and Umbrella's impending attack, this will be Alice's most difficult adventure as she fights to save humanity, which is on the brink of oblivion.MY NAME IS ALICE. THIS IS THE END OF MY STORY.Trade Review “Resident Evil fans should dig it, and credit goes to Waggoner for injecting it with some personality, instead of cranking out a quick tie-in.” - Dread Central

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTwo dazzling new novellas from the celebrated author of Fahrenheit 451.Two previously unpublished novellas comprise this astonishing new volume from one of science fiction''s greatest living writers. In the first, ''Somewhere a Band is Playing'', newsman James Cardiff is lured through poetry and his fascination with a beautiful and enigmatic young woman to Summerton, Arizona. The small town''s childless population hold an extraordinary secret which has been passed on for thousands of years unbeknownst to the rest of human civilization.In the second novella, ''Leviathan ''99'', the classic tale of Herman Melville''s Moby Dick' is reborn as an interstellar adventure. It recounts the exploits of the mad Captain Ahab, who, blinded by his first encounter with a gigantic comet called ''Leviathan'', pursues his lunatic vendetta across the universe. Born in space and seeking adventure in the skies, astronaut Ishmael Jones joins the crew aboard the Cetus 7 and quickly finds his fate in the handTrade Review‘A meditation on writing, inspiration, ageing and change, all deep themes lightly handled, both elegiac and suspenseful… There are echoes in it not only of Melville, but of Shakespeare, Whitman and Poe … The language sings.’ The Times ‘Brilliant’ DeathRay Praise for Ray Bradbury: 'It is impossible not to admire the vigour of his prose, similes and metaphors constantly cascading from his imagination' Spectator 'Bradbury has a remarkable range of intensity and vision' Sunday Times ‘Bradbury is an authentic original’ Time Magazine ‘No other writer uses language with greater originality and zest. he seems to be an American Dylan Thomas – with discipline’ Sunday Telegraph

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this thrilling collection of stories, John Wyndham, author of the acclaimed classics The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos, conducts ten experiments along the theme of ''I wonder what might happen if . . .''There''s the story of the meteor, which holds much more than meets the eye. In Chronoclasm a man is pursued by his own future. We meet a robot with an overactive compassion circuit.And what happens when the citizens of the future turn the past into a giant theme park?''One of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence'' SpectatorTrade ReviewOne of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence * Spectator *Wyndham has a gift for bizarre plots * Guardian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the depths of Space a new foe rises to do battle with mankind: the British Space Empire is threatened by the lemming-people of Yull, ruthless enemies who attack without mercy, fear or any concept of self preservation. At the call of their war god, the Yull have turned on the Empire, hell bent on conquest and destruction in their rush towards the cliffs of destiny. When the Yullian army is forced to retreat at the battle of the River Tam, the disgraced Colonel Vock swears revenge on the clan of Suruk the Slayer, Isambard Smith's homicidal alien friend. Now Smith and his crew must defend the Empire and civilise the stuffing out of a horde of bloodthirsty lemming-men - which would be easy were it not for a sinister robotics company, a Ghast general with a fondness for genetic engineering and an ancient brotherhood of Morris Dancers - who may yet hold the key to victory.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe “brilliantly realized” (The New York Times Book Review) breakthrough novel from visionary author Neal Stephenson, a modern classic that predicted the metaverse and inspired generations of Silicon Valley innovatorsHiro lives in a Los Angeles where franchises line the freeway as far as the eye can see. The only relief from the sea of logos is within the autonomous city-states, where law-abiding citizens don’t dare leave their mansions.Hiro delivers pizza to the mansions for a living, defending his pies from marauders when necessary with a matched set of samurai swords. His home is a shared 20 X 30 U-Stor-It. He spends most of his time goggled in to the Metaverse, where his avatar is legendary.But in the club known as The Black Sun, his fellow hackers are being felled by a weird new drug called Snow Crash that reduces them to nothing more than a jittering cloud of bad digital karma (and IRL, a vegetative state).Inv

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn a wild and battle-scarred galaxy, assassins, pirates, smugglers, and cutthroats of every description roam at will, fearing only the professional bounty hunters-amoral adventurers who track down the scum  of the universe...for a fee. When Darth Vader seeks to strike at the heart of the Rebellion by targeting Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon, he calls upon six of  the most successful-and feared-hunters, including the merciless Boba Fett. They all have two things in common: lust for profit and contempt for life... Featuring original stories by Kevin J. Anderson, M. Shayne Bell, Daniel Keys Moran, Kathy Tyers and Dave Wolverton.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMaster spies Seregil and Alec are no strangers to peril. Their assignments, nightrunning for wizards and nobles, have led them into many deadly situations. But sometimes the greatest danger can lurk beneath a Traitor's Moon. . . .Wounded heroes of a cataclysmic battle, Seregil and Alec have spent the past two years in self-imposed exile, far from their adopted homeland, Skala, and the bitter memories there. But as the war rages on, their time of peace is shattered by a desperate summons from Queen Idralain, asking them to aid her daughter on a mission to Aurënen, the very land from which Seregil was exiled in his youth. Here, in this fabled realm of magic and honor, he must at last confront the demons of his dark past, even as Alec discovers an unimagined heritage. And caught between Skala's desperate need and the ancient intrigues of the Aurënfaie, they soon find themselves snared in a growing web of treachery and betrayal.

Read more less