Once upon a time, the world was neatly divided into prosperous and backward economies. Babies were plentiful, workers outnumbered retirees, and people aspiring towards the middle class yearned to own homes and cars. That world—and those rules—are over. By 2030, a new reality will take hold, and before you know it:

• There will be more grandparents than grandchildren

• The middle-class in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will outnumber the US and Europe combined

• The global economy will be driven by the non-Western consumer for the first time in modern history

• There will be more global wealth owned by women than men

• There will be more robots than workers

• There will be more computers than human brains

• There will be more currencies than countries

According to Mauro F. Guillen, the only way to truly understand the global transformations underway—and their impacts—is to think laterally. That is, using peripheral vision, or approaching problems creatively and from unorthodox points of view. Rather than focusing on a single trend—climate-change or the rise of illiberal regimes, for example—Guillen encourages us to consider the dynamic inter-play between a range of forces that will converge on a single tipping point—2030—that will be, for better or worse, the point of no return.

A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

The incredible true story of the decade-long quest to bring down Paul Le Roux—the creator of a frighteningly powerful Internet-enabled cartel who merged the ruthlessness of a drug lord with the technological savvy of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

It all started as an online prescription drug network, supplying hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of painkillers to American customers. It would not stop there. Before long, the business had turned into a sprawling multinational conglomerate engaged in almost every conceivable aspect of criminal mayhem. Yachts carrying $100 million in cocaine. Safe houses in Hong Kong filled with gold bars. Shipments of methamphetamine from North Korea. Weapons deals with Iran. Mercenary armies in Somalia. Teams of hit men in the Philippines. Encryption programs so advanced that the government could not break them.

The man behind it all, pulling the strings from a laptop in Manila, was Paul Calder Le Roux—a reclusive programmer turned criminal genius who could only exist in the networked world of the twenty-first century, and the kind of self-made crime boss that American law enforcement had never imagined. For half a decade, DEA agents played a global game of cat-and-mouse with Le Roux as he left terror and chaos in his wake. Each time they came close, he would slip away. It would take relentless investigative work, and a shocking betrayal from within his organization, to catch him. And when he was finally caught, the story turned again, as Le Roux struck a deal to bring down his own organization and the people he had once employed.

Award-winning investigative journalist Evan Ratliff spent four years piecing together this intricate puzzle, chasing Le Roux's empire and his shadowy henchmen around the world, conducting hundreds of interviews and uncovering thousands of documents. The result is a riveting, unprecedented account of a crime boss built by and for the digital age.

Antes de alcanzar fama mundial con la saga Canción de Hielo y Fuego, George R. R. Martin publicó cuentos y novelas de fantasía, terror y ciencia ficción. Con extraordinarias dotes narrativas y una capacidad magistral para crear mundos y personajes, se ha ganado el respeto de los lectores y la ovación de los jurados de prestigiosos premios literarios.

Este segundo volumen recopila lo mejor de la ciencia ficción de George R. R. Martin, presentando relatos con escenarios futuristas y misiones espaciales extremas, sirviendo como el telón de fondo perfecto para extraterrestres que enfrentan situaciones profundamente humanas.

Entre los clásicos destacados se encuentra la novela corta «Viajeros de la noche», que envuelve a la tripulación de una nave en una atmósfera inquietante, comandada por un misterioso viajero en una expedición para descubrir a los volcryn, una mítica raza de nómadas interestelares que nadie ha visto jamás.

Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today.

After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, reminds us it needn't be this way—and in some places it isn't. Rutger Bregman's TED Talk about universal basic income seemed impossibly radical when he delivered it in 2014. A quarter of a million views later, the subject of that video is being seriously considered by leading economists and government leaders the world over. It's just one of the many utopian ideas that Bregman proves is possible today.

Utopia for Realists is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think can happen. From a Canadian city that once completely eradicated poverty, to Richard Nixon's near implementation of a basic income for millions of Americans, Bregman takes us on a journey through history, and beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he champions ideas whose time have come.

Every progressive milestone of civilization—from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy—was once considered a utopian fantasy. Bregman's book, both challenging and bracing, demonstrates that new utopian ideas, like the elimination of poverty and the creation of the fifteen-hour workweek, can become a reality in our lifetime. Being unrealistic and unreasonable can in fact make the impossible inevitable, and it is the only way to build the ideal world.

After walking through the portal in the Tower of Swallows while narrowly escaping death, Ciri finds herself in a completely different world... an Elven world. She is trapped with no way out. Time does not seem to exist and there are no obvious borders or portals to cross back into her home world.

But this is Ciri, the child of prophecy, and she will not be defeated. She knows she must escape to finally rejoin The Witcher, Geralt, and his companions - and also to try to conquer her worst nightmare. Leo Bonhart, the man who chased, wounded, and tortured Ciri, is still on her trail. And the world is still at war.

Translated from original Polish by David French, The Lady of the Lake is part of the New York Times bestselling series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games, making it an essential read for fans of The Witcher universe.

The Witcher series continues with Baptism of Fire where the Wizards Guild has been shattered by a coup, leaving Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher, seriously injured. In a world where dark times have befallen, Geralt is rendered helpless until his recovery. Amidst a raging war and the threat to the future of magic, those sorcerers who remain are fiercely determined to safeguard it.

Geralt's mission is to find and rescue one girl - Ciri, the heir to the throne of Cintra, who has vanished. A rumour leads to the Niflgaard court where she is believed to be preparing to marry the Emperor. Despite his injuries, Geralt must undertake this crucial rescue mission.

The Time of Contempt is the second book in the internationally acclaimed Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski. Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster slayer known as a Witcher, is tasked with protecting Ciri, a young girl with a powerful prophetic gift. Her abilities could change the world for better or worse, but only if she can survive to harness them.

The story unfolds amidst a backdrop of political turmoil, with a coup threatening the Wizard's Guild and war ravaging the lands. As Geralt faces a life-threatening injury, Ciri disappears, holding the fate of the world in her hands. This novel is a continuation of the epic saga that has captivated fans through both its literary form and its adaptations into video games and a Netflix series. Translated from the original Polish by David French, this tale of magic, adventure, and intrigue will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability. Adam One, the kindly leader of the God's Gardeners--a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, as well as the preservation of all plant and animal life--has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life.

Two women have survived: Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, a God's Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa where many of the treatments are edible. Have others survived? Ren's bioartist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers, survivors of the mutual-elimination Painball prison? Not to mention the shadowy, corrupt policing force of the ruling powers...

Meanwhile, gene-spliced life forms are proliferating: the lion/lamb blends, the Mo'hair sheep with human hair, the pigs with human brain tissue. As Adam One and his intrepid hemp-clad band make their way through this strange new world, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move. They can't stay locked away... By turns dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and uneasily hilarious, The Year of the Flood is Atwood at her most brilliant and inventive.

Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. In the wake of the Godking's violent coup, both his master and his closest friend are dead. His friend was Logan Gyre, heir to Cenaria's throne, but few of the ruling class survive to mourn his loss. So Kylar is starting over: new city, new companions, and new profession. But when he learns that Logan might be alive, trapped and in hiding, Kylar faces an impossible choice. He could give up the way of shadows forever, and find peace with his young family. Or Kylar could succumb to his flair for destruction, the years of training, to save his friend and his country - and lose all he holds precious.

The Hero of Ages, Book Three of Mistborn, is the climactic conclusion to the epic fantasy saga written by Brandon Sanderson. To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. However, this act has brought back the Deepness—the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists—along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes, threatening humanity's very existence.

Having narrowly escaped death by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture searches for clues left by the Lord Ruler that may save the world. Meanwhile, Vin is wracked with guilt for unwittingly releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin desires nothing less than the end of the world, and with its near omniscience and ability to warp reality, stopping it seems an impossible task. Vin must tread carefully, as even discussing plans with Elend could lead to Ruin learning their strategies.

Bringing together intense action, intricate plotting, and deep character development, The Hero of Ages is a testament to Sanderson's ability to weave together a narrative that both captivates and inspires.

It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then retire them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!

By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, sheep. They've even built humans. Immigrants to Mars receive androids so sophisticated they are indistinguishable from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans can wreak, the government bans them from Earth. Driven into hiding, unauthorized androids live among human beings, undetected.

Rick Deckard, an officially sanctioned bounty hunter, is commissioned to find rogue androids and retire them. But when cornered, androids fight back--with lethal force.

The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler—the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years—has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves.

As Kelsier's protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her.

Stopping assassins may keep Vin's Mistborn skills sharp, but it's the least of her problems. Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn't run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won't get easier with three armies—one of them composed of ferocious giants—now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler's hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.

As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

One summer night, when Dumbledore arrives at Privet Drive to collect Harry Potter, his wand hand is blackened and shriveled, but he does not reveal why.

Rumors and suspicion spread through the wizarding world – it feels as if even Hogwarts itself might be under threat.

Harry is convinced that Malfoy bears the Dark Mark: could there be a Death Eater amongst them?

He will need powerful magic and true friends as, with the help of Dumbledore, he investigates Voldemort’s darkest secrets.

Cloud Atlas, authored by David Mitchell, is a visionary novel that combines elements of adventure, mystery, and philosophical speculation. The narrative begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary traveling from the Chatham Isles to California. During his journey, he becomes acquainted with Dr. Goose, who treats him for a rare brain parasite.

The story then leaps to Belgium in 1931, where we meet Robert Frobisher, a disinherited composer who finds himself in the household of an ailing maestro. The narrative continues to shift, taking us to the West Coast in the 1970s with Luisa Rey, a reporter uncovering a conspiracy, and then to various other settings including a near-future Korean superstate and a post-apocalyptic Hawaii.

The unique structure of Cloud Atlas sees the narrative fold back on itself, with characters' fates intertwining across time and space. It's a novel that questions the nature of reality and identity, and how our actions reverberate through history. Mitchell's work is as playful as it is profound, earning it the status of a modern classic and a worldwide phenomenon.

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride.

Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again.

In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The Shadow is rising to cover humankind. In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken?

In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn. In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland. In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve. Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn...

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now . . .

Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished.

Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

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.

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.

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.