Научная фантастика
Различные книги в жанре Научная фантастикаDecimated
Long before their award-nominated and awarded stories and novels, these two writers word-jammed together, learning the music of story writing and the blood and bones of distinctive prose. And all these early efforts were published! Here they are again, together in one place–ten riveting stories of science fiction–as entertaining as they were fun to write–including the previously unpublished tale, «The Standard Crisis Scenario»!
Dream of Venus and Other Science Fiction Stories
Pamela Sargent published the first novel in her «Venus» trilogy, Venus of Dreams, in 1986; it was followed by Venus of Shadows (1988) and Child of Venus (2001). For the first time, Dream of Venus collects the short fiction set against the backdrop of the author's Venus novels, comprising four stories written after the trilogy had been completed. As Sargent writes in her Introduction: «Characters and stories existing in the interfaces of the novels began to speak to me.» These are tales that can be enjoyed both for themselves and by longtime fans of the Venus trilogy.
Voice of the Conqueror
Albert Simpkins, a mild-mannered theater projectionist, dreams of the inventions that that he can create–and when he finally has an opportunity to realize his vision, he sets himself up as the «Voice of the Conqueror,» a supposed alien lifeform in orbit around the Earth, whose sole intent is to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction. But even the best-imagined notions sometimes go awry, and when several individuals–including one of Albert's daughters–are killed under mysterious circumstances, he's arrested and charged with murder. Simpkins knows that he isn't responsible for the deaths, but how can he prove the impossible? Unless…the unthinkable is actually true! A marvelous SF puzzler from the golden era of the pulp magazines!
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book One
How far would you go to avenge the one you love? Would you go beyond death?<P>Born into the stifling confines of French upper society, Babette Varanus never thought that she would have to answer that question. Surrounded by wealth yet ostracized by her peers, Babette had little interest in love until she met Korbinian, a scandalous German baron with the audacity to regard her as his equal. But when the intrigues of her grandfather's enemies conspire to tear them apart, Varanus will embark upon a journey of vengeance, love, and redemption that will take her beyond the limitations of mortality and reveal to her the dark forces that command humanity from the shadows. Faced with madness, murder, hidden cults, and erudite vampires, does she have the strength to withstand the storm that rises against her?
Fugitive of Time
Gordon Fryer, a young, unemployed engineer, finds a post as a scientific guinea pig and assistant to an elderly scientist, Dr. Royd. But the result of Royd’s experiment predicts the exact hour and day of Gordon's death–a mere thirteen years hence–with a series of photographs of the future. Fryer makes a deadly enemy of Royd’s butler, Blessington, who targets him with poison-pen letters, but when his campaign culminates in attempted murder, Blessington is imprisoned. Fryer and his new wife and Dr. Royd then collaborate to create several wonders of modern science, including an artificial eye that restores sight to the blind. But can Fryer circumvent his predicted death and escape his supposed destiny–or is Time fixed in an unwavering pattern that no man can ever evade? An intriguing, highly entertaining story of a scientific genius who becomes a true…Fugitive of Time!
A Vision of Hell
The people of the Euchronian Millennium had been reminded of the Underworld that existed beneath the platform on which they had constructed their better, cleaner, safer world–leaving the original surface of Earth a dark, dreary, and forgotten place. That awareness had become a political pawn, which many different people were trying to manipulate in their own interests. In the meantime, the search for more information about what actually existed in the Underworld went on, tentatively and ineptly. The hunter sent to help clarify the situation brought back a sensational prize, and revealed it to the world–but in so doing, he triggered an unexpected and unprecedented reaction, which changed the whole nature of the game, gave the people of Heaven a vision of Hell, and threw the fate of both worlds into the balance. The second novel in the exciting Realms of Tartarus series!
The Face of Heaven
After laboring for thousands of years, the people of Earth, fleeing ecological disaster, have built a new, clean, stable world on a worldwide platform erected over the entire land surface of the Earth. Everything is going well–except for Carl Magner, the man who's been having bad dreams. He shouldn't be having dreams at all, because dreams have been banished from the society of the Euchronian Millennium, but somehow he is, and his dreams are showing him the «Underworld.» The real surface of the Earth, the Underworld that the Euchronian Millennium has left behind, still maintains life, human and otherwise, life that's adapted to a world without sky or sun, still evolving in response to extreme environmental challenges. Dreams are only dreams, but they're a provocation nevertheless, not merely for Carl Magner, but for the whole of Euchronian society. Can Heaven be truly Heaven, if Hell still festers in its entrails? The first book in a stunning SF trilogy, The Realms of Tartarus!
Trekmaster
On the planet Bear Ridge, Thomas Jefferson Shepherd is King, fighting to bring his long-lost colony world to high-tech standards, and claim a place among the Federation of Planets. But Bear Ridge has a feudal society, and TJ must overcome political treachery, revolt, and assassination in his attempt to move his world forward. To rule, TJ had to survive the Trek: climbing and crossing two deadly mountain ridges, and locating and befriending the Webbines, the indigenous intelligent species. Now TJ's son and heir, Michale, is making the Trek to challenge his father for the throne. Can TJ beat the massive odds against him and his planet? Can he win a place for Bear Ridge among the federated worlds? Indeed…can he even survive? A grand SF adventure novel that believably mixes medieval intrigue and swordplay with high technology!
The World Menders
Branoff IV is a planet famous for its aristocratic culture and mistreatment of its indigenous population. When Cedd Farrari and a team of Cultural Survey experts are sent to Branoff IV to help bring about a shift to democratic goverment, the world seems an ideal candidate for political change. But all is not as it seems… A thrilling science fiction novel from the author of All the Colors of Darkness!
Silence is Deadly
Twenty agents of the Galactic Sythesis are missing on the Silent Planet of Kamm – the victims, it seems, of the most powerful death ray the universe has ever known. But how could the primitive technology of the Kammians have produced such a weapon? And why would they unleashed its power against the Sythesis? It's Jan Darzek's mission to find out…