Two populated solar systems of the Kepren Cluster Alliance mysteriously vanished. The frantic Alliance leaders’ desperate evacuation plan was adamantly rejected—until a third system vanished. Later a lone planet vanishes; its freed moon may destroy Kepren, dooming billions. A select team must return, resolve a cosmic intrigue, confront a conflict of universes, and strive to prevent disaster.Far above the Milky Way, the inhabitants of a densely populated stellar cluster struggle with the terrifying mystery of two complete solar systems vanishing without a trace, leaving no clue to who the perpetrators might be. A desperate plan was first rejected and then reluctantly accepted when a third solar system vanished. Since only populated systems have attracted this destroyer of worlds, the Kepren Cluster Alliance's entire population is evacuated, then hidden in forced-hibernation chambers carved deep underground in remote, previously uninhabited planets. Then a lone planet vanishes, leaving its moon behind. The orphaned moon is catapulted on a trajectory toward a mutually destructive collision with Kepren's automated control center, threatening to doom the sleeping billions forever. The original plan had recognized the need for a non-hibernated emergency team. However -- fearing the destroyer's detection -- a small group was evacuated to an isolated part of the galaxy after undergoing radical memory blockages. So ADIZ, a machine intelligence, must travel to the team's far-distant location, convince them of their true identities, and secure their return to avert the impending devastation. Their desperate journey exposes them to a mysterious higher intelligence, time paradoxes, and locations outside the known space-time continuum as they strive to solve a cosmic intrigue, confront a conflict of universes, and prevent total disaster…* * * *An intricately crafted story, Mission Beyond The Stars blends richly developed characters with faster-than-light travel, inter-dimensional transport, multiple universes, and unplanned time-travel. Those characters are tested and bonded in compelling adventures woven together with themes of cosmic confrontation and quiet courage, maddening mystery and clashing intrigue, mystical encounters and quests for higher consciousness.

It's the most advanced computer role-playing game ever: When you play you're really there in a dark dream teeming with evil creatures, danger-filled fortresses, and malevolent sorceries. The game plugs directly into your brain--no keyboard, no modem, no monitor. And for game hacker Arvin Rizalli and his friends, no cash up front, no questions asked . . . and no hope of rescue when the game goes horribly, deathly wrong.

Otto and Raven are desperate to rescue their friends from the clutches of Anastasia Furan, head of the evil Disciples organisation. First they must track down the location of the Glasshouse, the prison where Furan trains children to become ruthless assassins. But Otto is also being hunted. The three months that Otto has spent following his ‘expulsion’ from H.I.V.E. have given the Artemis Section – an elite division of the American intelligence services that specialises in capturing the toughest targets and reports only to the President – an opportunity to locate him. Deadlock – the eighth book in the breathtaking H.I.V.E. series – continues the high-octane adventures of the supremely talented criminal team, with central characters forced to question everything that Nero has taught them and to confront the consequences of life as a villain, set against the backdrop of a daring high-tech prison break where nothing is quite as it seems.

In the year 2085, Benny Love is pretty used to surviving on what he and his family can scavenge on Earth. But when he wins a scholarship for a life-changing trip to visit the Lunar Taj, the first-ever resort on the Moon, Benny thinks he finally has a chance to give his family a better life. Benny can’t wait to fly his very own Space Runner, practice reverse bungee jumping, and explore craters on the dark side of the Moon. But he gets more than he expected when he and the other kids discover the Moon has secrets no one else knows about. Benny is a long way from home—and soon there might not be an Earth to go back to.

Scattered about the galaxy were the time-space Gates of a vanished but not forgotten alien race. In their time, long before the rise of the native civilizations, they had terrorized a hundred worlds—not from villainy but from folly, from tampering with the strands that held a universe together. Now the task was to uproot these Gates, destroy their potency for mischief, take horror out of the hands of the few who hungered for power by misuse of the Gates. This is the story of one such Gate and one such world.

In order to successfully defend a teenager accused of murder, Dallas attorney Stan Turner must prove that an alien spacecraft flew over central Texas!Stan is called out to Possum Kingdom Lake in central Texas where there's been a tragic Jeep accident. The teenage driver, Steven Caldwell, survives unscathed but his passenger dies. It appears to be just another tragic auto accident until the sheriff discovers Steven and the victim were in love with the same girl. When Steven is charged with murder, he insists the accident wasn't his fault. He claims he was distracted by an alien spacecraft flying overhead. At first Stan thinks his client's story is ridiculous, but as his investigation progresses he discovers his client may be telling the truth.

ham (noun) [hæm] 1 the hind leg of a hog, salted, smoked, and cured 2 second son of Noah 3 somebody who performs in an exaggerated showy style -always hamming it up Just when you thought you knew everything about ham, you discover that ham is also: 4 a reason to laugh about everyday life, and 5 an irresistible collection of humorous essays from a man who was born to entertain us. In sixteen brilliantly observed true stories, Sam Harris emerges as a natural humorist in league with David Sedaris, Chelsea Handler, Carrie Fisher, and Steve Martin, but with a voice uniquely his own. Praised by the Chicago Sun-Times for his "manic, witty commentary," and with a storytelling talent the New York Times calls "New Yorker– worthy," he puts a comedic spin on full-disclosure episodes from his own colorful life. What better place to find painfully funny material than in growing up gay, gifted, and ambitious in...

This fast-paced action novel is set in a future where the world has been almost destroyed. Like the award-winning novel Freak the Mighty, this is Philbrick at his very best. It's the story of an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz, who begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to the planet. In a world where most people are plugged into brain-drain entertainment systems, Spaz is the rare human being who can see life as it really is. When he meets an old man called Ryter, he begins to learn about Earth and its past. With Ryter as his companion, Spaz sets off an unlikely quest to save his dying sister -- and in the process, perhaps the world.

I was born on Earth, not Kurra. I'm not human,even though I try to be. My people, the Imria, think I'm a little unusual because of that. They call me an Earthsider: as if I've crossed a line, chosen a side. Gone native. Before she met her girlfriend Reese, before she knew the role she would play in the fate of two worlds, Amber was a fifteen-year-old Imrian torn between two identities. Imrian by blood, Amber was forced to hide her true self to pass as human during the time she spent on earth. And even when she returns to Kurra, her human experiences, including first love and heartache, still separate her from her fellow Imrians. But when Amber undergoes kibila, a traditional Imrian coming-of-age ceremony during which Amber will choose her name and identity for the next fifteen years, she will be forced to either accept her role in both worlds or forge her own path. Malinda Lo's digital exclusive novella companion to Adaptation and Inheritance takes readers on a journey through Amber's past, giving fans a glimpse into her life on Kurra and a deeper understanding of one of Adaptation's most compelling characters.

AD 3580. The Intersolar Commonwealth has spread through the galaxy to over a thousand star systems. It is a culture of rich diversity with a place for everyone. A powerful navy protects it from any hostile species that may lurk among the stars. For Commonwealth citizens, even death has been overcome. At its centre is a massive black hole. This Void is not a natural artefact. Inside there is a strange universe where the laws of physics are very different to those we know. It is slowly consuming the other stars of the galactic core - one day it will have devoured the entire galaxy. Inigo, a human, has started to dream of a wonderful existence of the Void. He has a following of millions of believers. They now clamour to make a pilgrimage into the Void to live the life they have been shown. Other starfaring species fear their migration will cause the Void to expand again. They are prepared to stop them no matter what the cost. And so the pilgrimage begins . . .

Ijon Tichy is the only human who knows for sure whether the self-programming robots on the moon are plotting a terrestrial invasion. But a highly focused ray severs his corpus collosum. Now his left brain can’t remember the secret and his uncooperative right brain won’t tell. Tichy struggles for control of the lost memory and of his own two warring sides. Translated by Elinor Ford with Michael Kandel. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

A SF short story, inspired by Neal Asher's Polity novels, offering an alternative genesis for Earth Central, its all encompassing AI. A survey and mining team sent to Titan get rather more than they expected.Every night little Johnny would lie in his bed and read his favorite comic book series "The Boogeyman." Johnny’s big sister Betty would tease him about his comic book on a daily basis, and say things like, "Johnny if you don't stop reading those stupid comic books the boogeyman is going to get you." She would come in his room and yank the comic book out of his hands and throw it across the room. The more his sister tormented him, the more anger for his sister was mounting.Finally one night as he was reading about the boogeyman his sister yanked the comic book out of his hands and started tearing the pages out of the comic book. She said as she was laughing "Sorry, Johnny, but it's for your own good."Johnny replied, "I wish you were dead."

Mark is happy . . . or at least he thinks so. Suzy is a living dream, but is this the thing that dreams are made of? Is it an illusion . . . but one that satisfies and haunts him at the same time? Or is it a reality formed by a nebulous entity, and locked firmly in his consciousness? Perhaps it for you, dear reader, to decide.With T.H.E.I., Karl Tutt, the master of mayhem and murder, he launches into a new genre . . . one that asks questions of a future that lurks just over a hideous horizon. Meet Mark . . . a man who has everything, a life that is perfect and a woman who honors his every desire. And if he has it all, why do the visions . . . the uncertainty . . . the demons . . . invade his mind and chase him into what could be his own personal hell?

Bruce Stevens is a young buyer for a big discount house when he meets the recently divorced Susan Faine. She suggests that he might like to manage her ailing typewriter store and he leaps at the suggestion. Then he realizes that Susan was his teacher when he was in fifth grade. In spite of that, they are married within days. And then the odd compulsions and instabilities start to interfere with their plans. Milton Lumky, the paper salesman in whose area they live, is uneasy about their future...

The epic conclusion to Ann Aguirre's USA Today-bestselling Razorland trilogy. The horde is coming. Salvation is surrounded, monsters at the gates, and this time, they're not going away. When Deuce, Fade, Stalker, and Tegan set out, the odds are against them. But the odds have been stacked against Deuce from the moment she was born. She might not be a Huntress anymore, but she doesn't run. With her knives in hand and her companions at her side, she will not falter, whether fighting for her life or Fade's love.Ahead, the battle of a lifetime awaits. Freaks are everywhere, attacking settlements, setting up scouts, perimeters, and patrols. There hasn't been a war like this in centuries, and humans have forgotten how to stand and fight. Unless Deuce can lead them. This time, however, more than the fate of a single enclave or outpost hangs in the balance. This time, Deuce carries the banner for the survival of all humanity.