He was a fully grown man, alone in dense forest, with no trail to show where he had come from and no memory to tell who — or what — he was. His eyes were not the eyes of a human.
The forest people took him in and raised him almost as a child, teaching him to speak, training him in forest lore, giving him all the knowledge they had. But they could not solve the riddle of his past, and at last he had to set out on a perilous quest to Es Toch, the City of the Shining, the Liars of Earth, the Enemy of Mankind. There he would find his true self ... and a universe of danger.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of a former penal colony on the Moon against its masters on the Earth. It is a tale of a culture whose family structures are based on the presence of two men for every woman, leading to novel forms of marriage and family. It is the story of the disparate people, a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic who become the movement's leaders, and of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to the revolt's inner circle, who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.
The Earth colony of Landin has been stranded on Werel for ten years—and ten of Werel's years are over 600 terrestrial years. The lonely and dwindling human settlement is beginning to feel the strain. Every winter—a season that lasts for 15 years—the Earthmen have neighbors: the humanoid hilfs, a nomadic people who only settle down for the cruel cold spell.
The hilfs fear the Earthmen, whom they think of as witches and call the farborns. But hilfs and farborns have common enemies: the hordes of ravaging barbarians called gaals and eerie preying snow ghouls. Will they join forces or be annihilated?
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the spice melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
The Invincible is a gripping science fiction novel by the renowned Polish writer Stanisław Lem, first published in 1964. It follows the journey of an interstellar 2nd-class cruiser, aptly named Invincible, as it lands on the bleakly uninhabited planet of Regis III. The mission: to investigate the mysterious loss of its sister ship, Condor.
Maintaining the highest security measures, the crew embarks on a daring search for the lost Condor. Meanwhile, the scientists among them delve into researching the enigmatic planet, striving to identify any lurking dangers. As they explore, they stumble upon unknown structures, reminiscent of an Earth city, and eventually find the Condor some three hundred kilometers away (roughly 186 miles).
As the story unfolds, the crew encounters beings that have seemingly evolved from autonomous, self-replicating machines, possibly the remnants of a "robot war." Navigating this strange new world, they are forced to confront the classic quandary: what actions should humanity take when faced with the limits of its knowledge?
Lem masterfully blends elements of mystery and adventure, challenging his characters—and readers—to confront the inexplicable and the bizarre, pushing the boundaries of human understanding.
Enoch Wallace is an ageless hermit, striding across his untended farm as he has done for over a century, still carrying the gun with which he had served in the Civil War. But what his neighbors must never know is that, inside his unchanging house, he meets with a host of unimaginable friends from the farthest stars.
More than a hundred years before, an alien named Ulysses had recruited Enoch as the keeper of Earth's only galactic transfer station. Now, as Enoch studies the progress of Earth and tends the tanks where the aliens appear, the charts he made indicate his world is doomed to destruction. His alien friends can only offer help that seems worse than the dreaded disaster. Then he discovers the horror that lies across the galaxy...
Told with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut's cult tale of global destruction preys on our deepest fears of witnessing Armageddon and, worse still, surviving it. Dr Felix Hoenikker, one of the founding 'fathers' of the atomic bomb, has left a deadly legacy to the world. For he's the inventor of 'ice-nine', a lethal chemical capable of freezing the entire planet.
The search for its whereabouts leads to Hoenikker's three eccentric children, to a crazed dictator in the Caribbean, to madness. Felix Hoenikker's Death Wish comes true when his last, fatal gift to humankind brings about the end, that for all of us, is nigh...
To the outside world, the Mordon Labs existed solely for experiments in preventive medicine… but in reality, they were secret laboratories for the development of germ warfare. The most carefully hidden secret was the Satan Bug — a strain of toxin so deadly that the release of one teaspoon could annihilate mankind.
Late one night, the Mordon security officer was found murdered outside that lab. And the Satan Bug was missing...
It was a dark and stormy night. Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe. Meg Murray, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their mother are having a midnight snack on a dark and stormy night when an unearthly stranger appears at their door. He claims to have been blown off course, and goes on to tell them that there is such a thing as a "tesseract," which, if you didn't know, is a wrinkle in time.
Meg's father had been experimenting with time-travel when he suddenly disappeared. Will Meg, Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin outwit the forces of evil as they search through space for their father? A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.
NAME: Valentine Michael Smith
ANCESTRY: Human
ORIGIN: Mars
Valentine Michael Smith is a human being raised on Mars, newly returned to Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love.
Atlas Shrugged is a narrative that intertwines ethics, metaphysics, politics, economics, and sex. It is the story of a man who said he would stop the motor of the world, and did. Is he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators? The reader is invited to discover the answer through a mystery story that integrates a ruthlessly brilliant plot structure with an irresistible suspense.
The novel presents an astounding panorama of human life - from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy, to the great steel industrialist who does not know he is working for his own destruction, to the philosopher who becomes a pirate, to the composer who gives up his career on the night of his triumph, to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad, to the lowest track worker in her Terminal tunnels.
Atlas Shrugged is not only a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller but also a masterful depiction of the potential of human greatness, portrayed with all the poetry and power of one of the twentieth century's leading artists.
After the fall of the American Ayatollahs as foretold in Stranger in a Strange Land and chronicled in Revolt in 2100, the United States of America at last fulfills the promise inherent in its first Revolution: for the first time in human history, there is a nation with Liberty and Justice for All.
No one may seize or harm the person or property of another, invade his privacy, or force him to do his bidding. Americans are fiercely proud of their re-won liberties and the blood it cost them. Nothing could make them forswear those truths they hold self-evident.
Nothing except the promise of immortality...
After a nuclear World War III has destroyed most of the globe, the few remaining survivors in southern Australia await the radioactive cloud that is heading their way and bringing certain death to everyone in its path. Among them is an American submarine captain struggling to resist the knowledge that his wife and children in the United States must be dead. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from somewhere near Seattle, and Captain Towers must lead his submarine crew on a bleak tour of the ruined world in a desperate search for signs of life.
On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare.
A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain.
On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley, sent from the streets of New York with his positronic partner, the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder that has rocked Solaria to its foundations.
The victim had been so reclusive that he appeared to his associates only through holographic projection. Yet someone had gotten close enough to bludgeon him to death while robots looked on.
Now Baley and Olivaw are faced with two clear impossibilities: Either the Solarian was killed by one of his robots—unthinkable under the laws of Robotics—or he was killed by the woman who loved him so much that she never came into his presence!
La ltima pregunta, una obra maestra de la ciencia ficci n, es, tal y como afirm su autor en repetidas ocasiones, «por encima de toda duda, mi favorita entre todas las historias que he escrito en mi carrera». ¿Es posible revertir el inevitable final del Universo, o el mundo debe acabar de todas formas? Es la pregunta que desde un d a del siglo XXI, hasta generaciones y generaciones posteriores en el tiempo, hacen los humanos a los ordenadores.
En un relato aparentemente sencillo sobre un asunto sobrecogedor, el fin de los d as, Asimov demuestra, una vez m s, una mente preclara y una mano maestra para sobrecoger al lector y dejarlo en vilo, incluso despu s de la lectura.
While on holiday, Scott Carey is exposed to a cloud of radioactive spray shortly after he accidentally ingests insecticide. The radioactivity acts as a catalyst for the bug spray, causing his body to shrink at a rate of approximately 1/7 of an inch per day.
A few weeks later, Carey can no longer deny the truth: not only is he losing weight, he is also shorter than he was and deduces, to his dismay, that his body will continue to shrink.
Richard Matheson's novel follows through its premise with remorseless logic, with Carey first attempting to continue some kind of normal life and later having left human contact behind, having to survive in a world where insects and spiders are giant adversaries. And even that is only a stage on his journey into the unknown.
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.
The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.
Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.
City is a captivating series of interconnected stories, forming a tapestry of legends, myths, and campfire tales told by Dogs about the twilight of human civilization. These stories revolve around the Webster family, renowned for their remarkable achievements, including designing the ships that propelled humans to the stars and bestowing Dogs with the gift of speech and robots to aid them.
The narrative unfolds over the course of 10,000 years, through the eyes of the Webster family and the immortal robot Jenkins. It touches upon themes dear to 1940s science fiction: robots, genetic engineering, space exploration, domed cities, hiveminds, telepathy, and parallel worlds.
As humanity's influence wanes, the Dogs, bred to eschew violence, inherit the Earth. The stories, imbued with a pastoral serenity, explore the enduring question of which of humanity's creations will ultimately claim the stars.
Foundation and Empire is the second novel in Isaac Asimov's classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series. The epic saga continues as the Foundation, led by its founding father, the psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and utilizing superior science and technology, has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets.
Now the Foundation faces a new challenge. The Empire, once the mightiest force in the Galaxy, is in its death throes, yet it remains a significant threat. An ambitious general, intent on restoring the Empire's glory, directs the Imperial fleet towards the Foundation, placing the planet of scholars and scientists in peril.
The situation becomes even more dire with the appearance of a mysterious entity known as the Mule, who possesses powers beyond anything previously known to humanity. The Mule's capabilities are beyond human comprehension, and it remains unclear who—or what—the Mule truly is. As the darkness threatens to overwhelm the light, the courage of a few may be all that stands between humanity and annihilation.
With nail-biting suspense and nonstop action, Foundation and Empire explores humanity's perpetual struggle against the forces of chaos and the brave efforts to maintain enlightenment and civilization amidst the vast and tumultuous sea of stars.
Second Foundation is the third book in Isaac Asimov's classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series. The novel narrates the story of a secretly developed Second Foundation, which exists to protect the first from the threats of a deadly mutant and a corrupt First Foundation seeking control of the galactic empire.
The fate of the Foundation rests upon young Arkady Darell, a fourteen-year-old girl burdened with a terrible secret. As the scientists prepare for a final showdown with the Mule, the survivors of the First Foundation embark on a desperate search. They, too, wish to find and destroy the Second Foundation before it has the chance to destroy them.
Unforgettable and thought-provoking, Second Foundation is a tale of adventure and ideas that spans the Galaxy. It is a powerful narrative about humankind's struggle to preserve the fragile light of wisdom against the threat of its own dark barbarism.
In 1951, John Wyndham published his novel The Day of the Triffids to moderate acclaim. Fifty-two years later, this horrifying story is a science fiction classic, touted by The Times (London) as having "all the reality of a vividly realized nightmare."
Bill Masen, bandages over his wounded eyes, misses the most spectacular meteorite shower England has ever seen. Removing his bandages the next morning, he finds masses of sightless people wandering the city. He soon meets Josella, another lucky person who has retained her sight, and together they leave the city, aware that the safe, familiar world they knew a mere twenty-four hours before is gone forever.
But to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, one must survive the Triffids, strange plants that years before began appearing all over the world. The Triffids can grow to over seven feet tall, pull their roots from the ground to walk, and kill a man with one quick lash of their poisonous stingers. With society in shambles, they are now poised to prey on humankind. Wyndham chillingly anticipates bio-warfare and mass destruction, fifty years before their realization, in this prescient account of Cold War paranoia.
The first novel in Isaac Asimov's classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series—For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years.
To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.
The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are among the most influential in the history of science fiction, celebrated for their unique blend of breathtaking action, daring ideas, and extensive worldbuilding. In Foundation, Asimov has written a timely and timeless novel of the best—and worst—that lies in humanity, and the power of even a few courageous souls to shine a light in a universe of darkness.
The Illustrated Man is a collection of eighteen science fiction short stories by American writer Ray Bradbury. A recurring theme throughout the stories is the conflict of the cold mechanics of technology and the psychology of people. The book presents itself with an ingenious framework, opening and closing with a nameless narrator who meets the Illustrated Man—a wanderer whose entire body is a living canvas of exotic tattoos.
What's even more remarkable, and increasingly disturbing, is that the illustrations are themselves magically alive, each unfolding its own story. These tales explore a variety of themes, including virtual reality, stranded astronauts, and alien invasions, making the collection a marvelous quilt of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The stories included in this collection were mostly written in the 1940s and 1950s, showcasing Bradbury's timeless talent for storytelling that will continue to captivate readers for generations to come.
I, Robot is a fixup novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories, which originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950, are woven together by a framing narrative. In this narrative, the fictional Dr. Susan Calvin tells each story to a reporter in the 21st century.
The stories share a theme of the interaction of humans, robots, and morality. Together, they tell a larger story of Asimov's fictional history of robotics. The collection explores profound questions such as: What is human? And is humanity obsolete?
Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are central to the narrative:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
These laws lay the foundation for a bold new era of evolution, opening up enormous possibilities—and unforeseen risks. As humans and robots struggle to coexist on Earth and in space, the future of both hangs in the balance. I, Robot not only changes our perception of robots but also challenges the timeless myth of man's dream to play god—with all its rewards and terrors.
The Veldt is a gripping tale of technology and its unforeseen consequences. In this futuristic narrative, the advanced technology of a house first pleases, then increasingly terrifies its occupants. The story explores the delicate balance between convenience and dependency, raising questions about the role of technology in our lives.
As the house begins to take on a life of its own, the family must confront their deepest fears and the realization that their reliance on technology may have gone too far. Ray Bradbury masterfully crafts a cautionary tale that remains relevant in today's tech-driven world.
Perelandra, the second book in C. S. Lewis's acclaimed Space Trilogy, continues the adventures of the extraordinary Dr. Ransom. Pitted against the most destructive of human weaknesses, temptation, the great man must battle evil on a new planet — Perelandra — when it is invaded by a dark force. Will Perelandra succumb to this malevolent being, who strives to create a new world order and who must destroy an old and beautiful civilization to do so? Or will it throw off the yoke of corruption and achieve a spiritual perfection as yet unknown to man? The outcome of Dr. Ransom's mighty struggle alone will determine the fate of this peace-loving planet.
The Cosmic Trilogy relates the interplanetary travels of Ransom, C.S. Lewis's ill-informed and terrified victim who leaves Earth much against his will. In the first book of the trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, published by the Bodley Head in 1938, Ransom encounters the imaginary and delightful world of Macalandra.
In the second book, Perelandra (1943), Ransom is transported to a world of sweet smells and delicious tastes, a new Garden of Eden in which is enacted, with a difference, the story of Temptation.
That Hideous Strength (1945) completes the trilogy and finds Dr. Ransom returned from his travels in space and living in an English university town - where the Senior Common Room is given a mysterious depth, a more than earthly dimension which such things, in the author's view, always have in life.
C.S. Lewis believed that popular science was the new mythology of his age, and in The Cosmic Trilogy he ransacks the uncharted territory of space and makes that mythology the medium of his spiritual imagination.
Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine” (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history's keenest observers of human nature and civilization.
Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New World also speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.
“Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English.” —Chicago Tribune
Un mundo feliz es un clásico de la literatura del siglo XX, una sombría metáfora sobre el futuro. La novela describe un mundo en el que finalmente se han cumplido los peores vaticinios: triunfan los dioses del consumo y la comodidad y el orbe se organiza en diez zonas en apariencia seguras y estables. Sin embargo, este mundo ha sacrificado valores humanos esenciales, y sus habitantes son procreados in vitro a imagen y semejanza de una cadena de montaje.
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy collects five of Douglas Adams's classic science fiction works in one volume. This series takes readers on a hilarious journey through space and time with Arthur Dent, a man who finds himself an unwitting adventurer in the cosmos after the Earth is destroyed to make way for a galactic freeway.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Arthur Dent discovers the meaning of life (or lack thereof) with the help of Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and the depressed robot Marvin.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Arthur and company search for a decent meal, leading to encounters with bizarre beings and escapades across the galaxy.
Life, the Universe and Everything: Our heroes confront the sinister inhabitants of planet Krikkit who, tired of gazing upon the universe, decide it's high time to destroy it.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish: Arthur Dent returns to Earth, questioning his past interstellar adventures, but a cryptic gift reminds him that reality is often stranger than fiction.
Mostly Harmless: Just as Arthur starts to settle into a semblance of normal life, chaos ensues, and he must navigate further cosmic conundrums.
Also included is the short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe", which offers more of Adams's trademark wit and insight into the human condition—albeit from the perspective of extraterrestrial beings and the odd, often perplexing universe they inhabit.
One of the most thrilling science fiction adventures of all time.
A huge sea monster has attacked and wrecked several ships from beneath the sea. Professor Arronax bravely joins a mission to hunt down the beast. He goes aboard the Nautilus, a secret submarine helmed by the mysterious Captain Nemo.
At first, the mission is exciting, as Nemo takes Arronax on a voyage around the underwater world. But when things start to go wrong, Arronax finds there's no escape from the Nautilus -- he is now Captain Nemo's captive!
In the far future, travel is made possible by controlled wormholes made in the fabric of space-time. Crystal, a young woman freshly graduated from university, finds herself on her first job aboard the base-ship 'Crossing Paths'. Workplace politics and a romance make it complicated. The last thing she needs are the frightening errors beginning to crop up on her maps...
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered - fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.
But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.
Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.
Under the guidance of Netty, Abby concocts her plans to abduct the wildlife at the Big Cat Sanctuary in Sarasota. She enlists the help of the handsome Italian yacht captain, Cobby and his son Kane, forcing her to expose the changes to her body, including her hidden wings. Hiding her plans from Jose, he departs on his own mission to find his adopted mother and sisters, leaving Abby to draw closer to the charming and capable Captain Cobby.
Young Scotty embarks on a romance with a young rich local girl named Chloe who suffers from the mysterious death of her mother and the constant absences of her father.
Life moves expeditiously toward the climax at Chloe’s father’s mansion on Bird Key as strange connections and revealed identities collide with political intrigue and murder, leaving Chloe and Jose traumatized. Joining them in the frantic dash to a yacht moored on the key enabling them to make their escape, wildlife and all, to Tampa Bay, is Kenya, a sassy and striking young pregnant black girl; and Peter, their trusted attorney that falls victim to Armoni and Ginger Mae’s plot, leaving him dangerously scarred and emotionally ruined. During their escape to Tampa Bay ahead of the cops and devastation from the sky, it becomes clear that Scotty might be the mysterious One, as foretold by Caesar, the iconic Siberian tiger that attaches himself to Echo and Scotty.
The sixth book in the New York Times bestselling Expanse series.
A revolution brewing for generations has begun in fire. It will end in blood.
The Free Navy - a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships - has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.
James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network. But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun.
As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny, and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante's problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.
Barely getting home from work? Tired of your annoying boss and over-competitive colleagues? Frustrated with your tax deductions? All of the above? Then read on! Join our unlikely hero, Ayel, as he makes his way through overpriced cab fares, paranormal bloggers, beggars with babies, camwhores, flying cars, and giant robots.
In 1986, an alien spaceship crashed on the Spratly Islands containing an unlimited energy source and a vast supply of advanced technology. Fast forward to 2016, and China owns the islands now. With a behemoth Chinese company controlling the country’s economy, Ayel tries to survive his daily life as a simple corporate employee. His life turns upside down when a ghost from his past returns to haunt him. With strange twists and conspiracies, Ayel may just find his boring life to be a little more interesting.
In a time when secrets and lies were the foundations of life, someone has discovered the truth. And they are going to tell.
Jules knows what her predecessors created. She knows they are the reason life has to be lived in this way.
And she won't stand for it.
But Jules no longer has supporters. And there is far more to fear than the toxic world beyond her walls.
A poison is growing from within Silo 18.
One that cannot be stopped.
Unless Silo 1 steps in.
Jarra is stuck on Earth while the rest of humanity portals around the universe. But can she prove to the norms that she’s more than just an Earth Girl?
2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an ‘ape’, a ‘throwback’, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.
Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at the back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.
A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to the planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on a collision course with their shelter.
Netty’s influence transcends a full century as the United States evolves to a point of politically driven economic collapse. The year is 2033 as a young mother, abused by her shiftless husband, heroically decides to remove her two sickly children, Scotty and Abby, from the mean streets of their government subsidized tenement town of Short Hills, New Jersey to the hills and old farmland of Sussex County. There they unite with a Latino family that adopted Jose, a young boy from Costa Rica, traumatized at the age of seven by the brutal murder of his parents and the kidnapping of his infant sister. The two families unite to pool finances, creating the love and bonds that will enable them to survive the psychotic attention of Armoni, a soul damaged beyond redemption, discovery of Baby’s miraculous offspring, Echo; and their subsequent body changes.
Through the efforts of Echo who develops an unexplained passion for the curly haired dog, Barney, they flee the clutches of Armoni after the murder of Armoni’s sidekicks by Echo, to Sarasota, Florida, one of the last remaining enclaves of wealth in the U.S. Scotty learns to utilize Echo as a co-conspirator in his intrigue to thwart the efforts of heinous people that prey on the lives of creatures in their environmentally rich new home, where the insidious miscreant, Armoni, tracks them; dragging along Ginger Mae, a New York City prostitute looking for opportunity with her mute child, Daisy; bringing brutality and violence to all. Having fallen in love, the young Abby and Jose draw close, only to be separated by the transcendental Netty, who tries to use Abby as a conduit in her plan to rescue as much wildlife as they can before despicable political events bring on the specter of Armageddon.
Lorna, Jennifer, and Seth struggle to reach the Hive amid the chaos of Armageddon. Their bodies and minds wasted, will Lorna survive long enough to rat out Seth's psychotic cruelty? And what of the innocent child Suzy that has been kidnapped by Doc Benjamin's tribe of female enslaving barbarians? What fate awaits the beloved planet Earth?
The Hive is now one big happy family, romance is in the air as our survivors become mysteriously fit and robust, pheromones and testosterone fly as all accept the new law of the Hive: protect the animals at all cost.
Netty, Wil, and Baby now hold the power with the help of the terrifying Kreyven. Shock after shock ensues as the survivors unravel most of the mysteries of the Hive and mourn unexpected deaths. The overriding surprise will be a complete blast from Netty's past, tying up all of the unanswered questions from Baby.
Crop circles magically appear in Farmer Johnson’s field. A mysterious light sweeps over the night sky and awakens Farmer Johnson and Gilbert, the boy next door.
Curious, Gilbert ventures out to discover the source of the light and stumbles into a beautiful Martian girl sitting in a crop circle. Farmer Johnson also investigates the strange light, and thinking that Gilbert and Aoléon are vandals, he chases them. But they sprint to Aoléon’s saucer and escape only to be pursued by the U.S. Air Force.
Gilbert has never been attacked by swarms of giant killer robots. Never met strange aliens from other worlds. Never skyboarded across a megalopolis hidden deep inside an extinct volcano. Never trekked across a vast Martian desert. And never been eaten alive by a gigantic slor (well, almost never, unless you count Billy the fat bully at school).
And luckily, he has never ever confronted an evil ruler of Mars bent on conquering the Earth to steal its cows. Never...until now! This may be the adventure Gilbert always wished for. If only he can survive.
Join Gilbert and Aoleon in this exciting middle-grade science fiction and fantasy adventure!
The clock is ticking for the human race.
Max Dumerick has spent his life doing the dirty work of the highest bidder. When his last job awakens his reluctant conscience, he finds himself teaming up with an unlikely duo to try to stop a would-be god.
When Melanie Edwards realizes she is being hunted, her desire to protect her family forces her to make hard choices… ones that will lead her into the belly of the beast.
Abandoned by the woman he loves and left with nothing but infrequent, cryptic messages, Ryan Edwards stumbles across evidence of the coming apocalypse... and must make a choice between warning the world and protecting his daughter.
Ghost In The Machine is a mature space opera romance filled with strong language, some violence, a good heaping of romance, some steamy bits, a few crazy aliens, one very confused android, an empathic girl with emotional issues who tends to trip herself up, and a crew of space agents who seem to enjoy making their Central Director yank out her hair.
Love is like a wormhole. You stumble onto it blindly, it sucks you in and takes you somewhere completely unexpected. You can’t fight it, because that would tear your ship apart. You can’t control it, either. All you can do is set your thrusters on glide and let it take you where it’s going to take you.
Going against the rules of her Vesparian Sisterhood, which seeks to keep its entire existence a secret, Orynn is thrown into the open by a request for help that she could not refuse. Seeking to reconcile past mistakes and gain a forgiveness she feels she does not deserve, the control over her empathic abilities is put to the test when the darkness that lives within her spirit threatens to once again destroy any piece of happiness that she allows herself to find.
As a Mechatronic Automaton, Ethan defines his world through a set of logically defined values and understandings. Encountering Orynn throws his system out of balance as he tries to decide if he should trust the feelings he is developing, or if he should follow the logic telling him that she is trying to control him for some unknown purpose. Should he keep her at a distance despite his want to bring her near, or should he follow the heart he swears he does not have? As his understanding of her develops, he begins to question all of his preconceived notions about both himself and the universe around him.
Hard to Be a God follows Anton, an undercover operative from future Earth, on a mission to an alien planet inhabited by human beings whose society remains in the Middle Ages.
The novel's core idea explores how human progress often involves cruelty and bloodshed, with religion and blind faith serving as tools of oppression against emerging scientific disciplines and enlightenment.
Don Rumata, masquerading as an arrogant nobleman, dueler, and brawler, is sent to the medieval kingdom of Arkanar to observe and save what he can. He faces the challenge of his orders, which restrict him from killing, despite his desire to save the kingdom from Don Reba, the first minister to the king.
With his doubt, compassion, and deep love for a local girl named Kira, Rumata's role becomes complex as he navigates the kingdom's political machinations.
This translation by Olena Bormashenko reintroduces one of the most profound Soviet-era novels to an eager audience.
Akcja najnowszej powieści Jacka Dukaja toczy się w alternatywnej rzeczywistości, gdzie I wojna światowa nigdy nie wybuchła. Jest rok 1924, a Królestwo Polskie wciąż zamrożone jest pod władzą cara i w Belle Epoque. Warszawę skuwa lód – w środku lata burze śnieżne zasypują drogi.
Lute, nieziemskie anioły Mrozu, spacerują ulicami miast, zamrażając prawdę i fałsz. Benedykt Gierosławski, zdolny matematyk, ale i niepoprawny hazardzista, na zlecenie carskiego Ministerstwa Zimy zostaje wysłany Ekspresem Transsyberyjskim do skutego lodem Irkucka, skąd ma wyruszyć na poszukiwanie swojego ojca, podobno potrafiącego porozumiewać się z aniołami mrozu – lutymi.
Tysiąc rubli gotówką wydobyłby Benedykta z długów, ale czy misja nie jest przypadkiem zbyt niebezpieczna? Szybko okazuje się, że dla Benedykta będzie to podróż, która odmieni jego życie…
Fabuła Lodu wprost skrzy się od zapierających dech w piersiach zwrotów akcji, intryg politycznych, miłosnych, kryminalnych i gospodarczych, naukowych i metafizycznych; wypełniona fascynującymi postaciami, z akcją rozpiętą między brudnymi oficynami carskiej Warszawy, luksusami Ekspresu Transsyberyjskiego na tle lodowej Azji, irkuckimi salonami bogatego mieszczaństwa polskiego, a także podniebnym pałacem generała-gubernatora.
Jest powieścią, na jaką czekali wszyscy miłośnicy prawdziwej przygody, inteligentnej, pobudzającej intelekt i wyobraźnię, zmieniającej nasz pogląd na rzeczywistość. To opowieść o Historji, czyli o tym, co nie istnieje. To kolejny literacki majstersztyk Jacka Dukaja, dzięki któremu czytelnicy będą mogli poznać nie tylko fascynującą, mrożącą krew w żyłach "inną możliwą" historię świata, ale również będą mieli okazję wraz z bohaterem powieści odbyć niezwykłą podróż ekspresem transsyberyjskim i stanąć oko w oko z Innym.
Shadow Team is the third book in the Starbirth series. Lock Harford, a teleporter who can move his body through a dark matter dimension using the power of his mind, knows that the only way to release Britain from the grip of marauding teleporter criminals is to fight like with like.
His employers want him to head a team of enhanced-ability operatives whose special powers will be created by controlled procedures—rather than substance abuse of the illegal drug Starbirth. The dubious quality of candidates delays the process. Among them is Jimmy Mackenzie, the SAS trooper Harford knows well, who is joined by rookies Postie and Dave.
The fledgling team’s unique and memorable characters develop with likeability despite their flaws. Together, with Harford, they enter an uncertain future in which ‘defending the realm’ becomes a personal fight for their lives.
At the same time, Harford is under personal attack and he has to protect his family as well as his country against dark threats emerging from the madness of Starbirth addiction, hindered by devastating treachery closer to home.
Shadow Team GB is the third book in the Starbirth series and each book can be read as a stand-alone. The set of characters in Harford, Jimmy, Dave and Postie combine in a tale of brotherhood and humour. They take the rules, break the rules and they become so four-dimensional that the reader will miss their cohesion when the book is finished.
Dhimas and Ruben are two students pursuing their studies in the United States. Dhimas is attending George Washington University, while Ruben is at John Hopkins Medical School. They first meet at a vibrant party hosted by a student association in America. Initially, they engage in a conversation that pits them against each other due to their backgrounds: Dhimas hails from a wealthy family, whereas Ruben is a scholarship student.
After Ruben tries serotonin, they grow closer, discussing topics ranging from science and technology to Ruben's revelation of being gay. Unexpectedly, Dhimas also reveals he is gay, and they become a couple, despite living in separate apartments. They believe this distance keeps their relationship fresh and exciting.
During their meeting at the party, they pledge to create a masterpiece, a work or research that bridges various branches of science. This novel is not just a romance; it is a wide-ranging exploration that touches hearts and minds.
Scott Moreno, a settler on Mars, and Andrew Moreno, an eco-terrorist militant of the Greenwar, are twins separated by the vast distances between the Red Planet and Earth. As children, they always experienced a strange connection that intensifies with stress. Can the power of will and the desire for human reunion reverse entropy?
This novel, set in Mars and Earth in the year 2104, is a rationalist story that draws a parallel between the communication of particles and the human mind from conception. Inspired by Alejandro Dumas' novel, "The Corsican Brothers," the story narrates the intricacies of living on Mars, coupled with the regret over family distance in an era where Earth has achieved ecological stability through terrorist struggle and begins to dismiss the colonization of the Red Planet.