Orphans of the Sky is a compelling science fiction novel that combines two novelettes: "Universe" and "Common Sense", both originally published in 1941. The story unfolds within the confines of a massive spaceship, known simply as the Ship.
Hugh, the protagonist, has always been taught that the Ship is on a sacred voyage to the distant star, Centaurus. This journey is believed to be a metaphor for achieving spiritual enlightenment. To the inhabitants, the Ship represents the entirety of existence, a seemingly endless expanse of metal corridors.
The Ship's universe is maintained by the sacred Convertor, ensuring that lights shine and air flows. Yet, lurking in the upper reaches of the Ship are the muties, grotesque figures thought to be either evil beings or a divine population control mechanism.
When Hugh is captured by the muties, he encounters their leader, Joe-Jim, a unique individual with two heads on one body. Through this encounter, Hugh learns the startling truth about the Ship's true mission among the stars. The question remains: Can he convince his people of this truth before it's too late? Can he become the one to navigate the Ship?
The Confederation is on the brink of collapse, both politically and economically, as the 'possessed' infiltrate more worlds. Quinn Dexter is on the loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she acquires strange and powerful allies whose goals don't quite match her own.
The campaign to liberate Mortonridge from the possessed degenerates into a horrendous land battle, the kind not seen by humankind for six hundred years. Meanwhile, Joshua Calvert and Syrinx fly their starships on a mission to find the Sleeping God—an alien race believes this enigmatic entity holds the key to overthrowing the possessed.
As time runs out for civilization, those who fight on must join forces and form new alliances. But an enemy's enemy isn't always a friend. The war is desperate on all fronts, with battles fought on a scale unseen for centuries. Rumors suggest an ancient space-faring race faced this same threat and survived with the help of the Sleeping God. If it truly exists, it might be our only hope to avert catastrophe.
Not every fallen angel comes from heaven...
The ancient menace has finally escaped from Lalonde, shattering the Confederation's peaceful existence. Those who succumbed to it have acquired godlike powers, but now follow a far from divine gospel as they advance inexorably from world to world.
On planets and asteroids, individuals battle for survival against the strange and brutal forces unleashed upon the universe. Governments teeter on the brink of anarchy, the Confederation Navy is dangerously over-stretched, and a dark messiah prepares to invoke his own version of the final Night.
In such desperate times, the last thing the galaxy needs is a new and terrifyingly powerful weapon. Yet Dr Alkad Mzu is determined to retrieve the Alchemist - so she can complete her thirty-year vendetta to slay a star. This means Joshua Calvert has to find Dr. Mzu and bring her back before the Alchemist can be reactivated.
But he's not alone in the chase, and there are people on both sides who have their own ideas about how to use the ultimate doomsday device.
Rama Revealed is a science fiction novel that concludes the Rama series, co-authored by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. This final installment picks up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of The Garden of Rama.
The story follows Nicole Wakefield as she escapes from imprisonment. The colony, once a hopeful settlement, has turned into a brutal dictatorship, terrorizing both humans and their alien neighbors. Nicole's journey takes her across the Cylindrical Sea to the mysterious island called New York, where she reunites with her husband and family.
However, their reunion is short-lived as they are pursued and forced to flee into the subterranean corridors inhabited by the enigmatic octospiders. As they delve deeper, they face the challenge of determining whether these creatures are allies or adversaries.
This epic adventure is filled with massive scope and extraordinary revelations, offering a stunning conclusion to the generations-long odyssey of the Rama starship.
Rama II takes you on an exhilarating space journey, a trip no reader will want to miss. Years ago, the enormous and enigmatic alien spacecraft called Rama sailed through our solar system, offering mind-boggling proof that life existed—or had existed—elsewhere in the universe.
Now, at the dawn of the twenty-third century, another ship is discovered hurtling towards us. A crew of Earth's best and brightest minds is assembled to rendezvous with the massive vessel. Armed with everything we know about Raman technology and culture, they embark on their mission.
But nothing can prepare them for what they are about to encounter on board Rama II: cosmic secrets that are startling, sensational—and perhaps even deadly.
When 2001: A Space Odyssey first shocked, amazed, and delighted millions in the late 1960s, the novel was quickly recognized as a classic. Since then, its fame has grown steadily among the multitudes who have read the novel or seen the film based on it.
Yet, along with almost universal acclaim, a host of questions has grown more insistent through the years:
Who or what transformed Dave Bowman into the Star-Child? What purpose lay behind the transformation? What would become of the Star-Child?
What alien purpose lay behind the monoliths on the Moon and out in space?
What could drive HAL, a stable, intelligent computer, to kill the crew? Was HAL really insane?
What happened to HAL and the spaceship Discovery after Dave Bowman disappeared?
Now all those questions and many more have been answered. In this stunning sequel to his international bestseller, Clarke has written what will truly be one of the great books of the '80s. Cosmic in sweep, eloquent in its depiction of Man's place in the Universe, and filled with the romance of space, this novel is a monumental achievement.