A savagely lacerating satire, this is an example of the sort of literature of ideas sf was before commercial formulae & interminable series took over. A lot of today's readers won't get it & may be pissed off by its unresolved ending. But it's a very good story—though perhaps not quite as good as the socially conscious SF Brunner was producing during his peak a decade previous—& its unapologetic defiance of convention is a breath of fresh air when nearly everything today seems an attempt at a franchise & some authors are happier chugging out Star Wars novels for an easy paycheck than coming up with original sf. Players at the Game of People is an attack on the leisure class, that fundamentally European institution of bygone days translated into a near-future milieu. Godwin Harpinshield is one of a select number who've entered into this quasi-Faustian arrangement with mysterious beings referred to as "owners." His every desire is catered to. He always gets the best table, the best women. He can travel across the globe & even, apparently, through time in the endless & yet increasingly futile pursuit of pleasure. He has only one obligation: he must recruit someone. This he does by rescuing a pathetic & naturally vulnerable young prostitute from her dead-end lifestyle while she still has a spark of hope & ambition. While it isn't altruistic, this act spells the beginning of the end. Unexpectedly, he meets the girl's mother, who's come looking for her. This encounter not only offers up a surprising personal revelation, it also prompts him to be bold about questioning the nature of the owners & what they're getting out of all this. Brunner deliberately leaves several aspects of his story unexplained, not the least of which is who the owners are. While this won't make those folks happy who have to have boldface explanations for everything, the novel as it is wouldn't have worked as well without these elements of mystery. By leaving certain key questions up for speculation, he puts you squarely on the same playing field with Harpinshield. A book that could have been terribly obscure is made more accessible, not to mention suspenseful. The cynicism won't appeal to all. There are a few early scenes which come off as uncomfortably racist & sexist by today's standards. But readers who appreciate a dark, satirical edge to their fiction—stories that neither let you off the hook easily nor spell everything out—will find this bitterly ironic yet truthful tale a winner.--T. M. Wagner (edited)

David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling and extraordinary science fiction ever written.  Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War--a New York Times bestseller--together make up one of the most beloved sagas of all time.  Brin's tales are set in a future universe in which no species can reach sentience without being "uplifted" by a patron race.  But the greatest mystery of all remains unsolved: who uplifted humankind? As galactic armadas clash in quest of the ancient fleet of the Progenitors, a brutal alien race seizes the dying planet of Garth.  The various uplifted inhabitants of Garth must battle their overlords or face ultimate extinction.  At stake is the existence of Terran society and Earth, and the fate of the entire Five Galaxies.  Sweeping, brilliantly crafted, inventive and dramatic, The Uplift War is an unforgettable story of adventure and wonder from one of today's science fiction greats. From the Paperback edition.

Riding into a war that's heating up on the border, Ward, the new lord of Hurog, is sure he's on the fast track to glory. But soon his mission takes a deadly turn. For he has seen a pile of magical dragon bones hidden deep beneath Hurog Keep. The bones could prove to be dangerous in the wrong hands, and Ward is certain his enemies will stop at nothing to possess them.

This story is written with the same multiple narrator style as William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Its about the reaction people have when they find out that the moon has started to rotate closer to the earth and will eventually cause the destruction of the planet. It primarily focuses on a young couple and their decision to have a baby or not when destruction is barely more than a year away.The moon is rotating closer and closer to the earth like a clock counting down the seconds to our destruction. With only a year remaining until the catastrophic event, Earth’s scientists race to find a solution to save the planet. A couple struggles over the decision of trying to conceive a baby or not. A man fights with the young moon cultists who strip naked and rub the apples from his tree all over their bodies during their nightly ritual. Another man tries to reconcile with his son before their time runs out. What will happen to them and the rest of humanity?

Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here VIRTUAL REALITY? The territory of Veelox has achieved perfect harmony. Fifteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon arrives on this territory in pursuit of the evil Saint Dane, but all is peaceful on Veelox—because it's deserted. The inhabitants have discovered a way to enter their own personal dream worlds, where they can be whomever they want, wherever they want. Their bodies lie in stasis while their minds escape to this dream realm. Fresh from his battle with Saint Dane in 1937 Earth, Bobby is confident that they can defeat whatever Saint Dane has planned for this world. But once Bobby enters the virtual world, will he be able to resist the lure of the ultimate in escapism?

Atop a twisting,  canyon-climbing road, a witch lurks in a fortress  built strong to keep out dragons and ogres. In  another part of the countryside, a young orphan is  maturing into a beautiful woman in the enchanted  village that is her home. Somewhere nearby, a young man  is seeking adventure after running away from his  family's small farm. Suddenly a strange and  terrible prophecy sets off a chain of events that will  bring these three together in the heroic, romantic,  and thrilling tale of an age-old battle. From the Paperback edition.

Glamorous actress Jacey Rayner somehow helps John F. Kennedy steer clear of his Dallas assassination but an even larger national catastrophe awaits, one where Jacey nearly loses her own life. Through a miraculous series of events she becomes a spiritual healer who exists in two different dimensions and helps rescue desperately ill children.Many people believe that people in America lost their collective innocence on November 22, 1963, when John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. What if, through a small twist of fate he somehow avoided the assassination and survived? What kind of world would we live in? The novel "Meanwhile in the World where Kennedy Survived" explores that very question through a story told through the eyes of four main characters. The opening chapters explore the machination by which the president averts death and alludes to the grim repercussion that occurs. Jacey Rayner, the glamorous actress who plays a role in diverting fate survives her own catastrophe more than a year later, while filming an action movie in the waters off the Bahama Islands. Her near death experience leaves her with a mysterious ability to exist in two different dimensions and play the role of a spiritual healer. Decades later, struggling young journalist Dorina Pettit learns of the urban myths surrounding Jacey Rayner and the science fiction television show in which she appeared. While investigating the story as a possible piece for the magazine where she works, she learns of the web of deceit and betrayal of the producers, actors and actresses involved with the television show and how they affected a science fiction movie producer of the present day: H.R. Lewandowski. Dorina and her young attorney boyfriend Mitch discover the shocking secrets of the special effects behind H.R. Lewandowski's "Portals Beyond" movies.

An ancient craft, long forgotten, adrift alone, sending out a distress call.Simply trying to get back home.Imagine it's surprise when it discovers someone from its homeworld.(Doctor Who fanfic, written under creative commons terms)Teenaged George Lock didn't know what to expect when he went to live with Great Uncle Harry after both of his parents were killed in an apparent auto accident. The good news was, Harry's suburban Chicago yard was incredible forest and jungle, his huge quirky house was a treasure trove of magic elf books and other artifacts, and a really cute girl lived next-door. The bad news was that the forested backyard hid a portal to another universe that was inhabited by both elves and their more powerful enemies. Through it came immense Evil tainted Horde dragons that threatened all life on Earth, and an even more Evil witch with a taste for humans. According to ancient elf legends it was up to a White Dragon and his Chosen to stop the all-powerful Dark One and his Horde from consuming all life in the multiverse, and according to Harry the Chosen One might be young George.

After a genetic mutation has left the human species sterile and doomed to extinction, the citizens of New Sebastian live long and luxurious lives, thanks to Rejuvenation. But when Jericho and Gabrielle, two specimens from the Rejuvenation supply farm, escape prior to being harvested, the dark truth threatens the existence of the last society on Earth.After a genetic mutation has left the human species sterile and doomed to extinction, the citizens of New Sebastian live long and luxurious lives, thanks to Rejuvenation. But when Jericho and Gabrielle, two specimens from the Rejuvenation supply farm, escape prior to being harvested, the dark truth threatens the existence of the last society on Earth.The cure for the Deathshead plague has created a genetic mutation that has left the human species sterile and doomed to extinction. But in the last known civilization on Earth, the citizens experience long and luxurious lives, through a process known as Rejuvenation.Jericho and Gabrielle spend their simple lives in the Village dreaming of their future together, and barely notice the metallic humanoid Guardians that ensure obedience. But when she scans positive for the plague and is permanently sent away to the mysterious Quarantine, Jericho enters a frantic battle to find and save her.Jonah and his wife enjoy their carefree lives in New Sebastian, and Rejuvenation every twenty or so years keeps them eternally young and healthy. But when Jonah discovers the dark secret behind their long and privileged lives, he struggles with the bitter choice of continuing to live his long life or facing the horrific discovery head on. As Jonah helps Jericho and Gabrielle attempt to escape, they find that they are on a predefined path which leads to the last hope for the survival of the human species, and the salvation of mankind.

The last big budget exploration mission for NASA has gone wrong. The first of eight Seeker spacecraft sent to our nearest stars has come to life. What has happened? What if the newly sentient probe reaches its Mission Objective and finds life? Can humanity afford to make its first contact with an alien race though an ambassador they have created, but do not know?The last big budget exploration mission for NASA has gone wrong. Eight remote spacecraft were sent to our nearest stars. Seeker One was sent to Alpha Centauri and it has come to life. NASA engineers are desperate to find out what has happened, but with a 6 month communications gap, how can they react in time before Seeker One reaches its Mission Objective and finds life? Can humanity afford to make its first contact with an alien race though an ambassador they have created, but do not know?

Erwin Richter, surveyor for hire, scoured dark crevices of the net in service to major corporations. Upon revisiting a back door he established during a former assignment to Silica Corporation, Erwin donned his virtual avatar and crept quietly through layers of files to stumble upon a virtual shaft of projects buried in a forgotten file tree. What secrets did the corporation decide to forget?Many little girls in Ireland borrow the dresses for their First Holy Communion from their big sisters or cousins. This is the tale of a girl who finds that her cousin's beautiful dress just does not fit her. She comes up with a clever, so she thinks, solution to the problem.This is an "Auntie Book" a short book to be read on a visit to a nephew or niece.

Bound together for the first time, the four books of the New York Times bestselling Books of Ember series are speculative fiction at its finest. The series begins with the groundbreaking dystopian novel The City of Ember, the story of a girl, a boy, and their beleaguered city. Through the sequel, The People of Sparks, the prequel, The Prophet of Yonwood, and the satisfying conclusion, The Diamond of Darkhold, author Jeanne DuPrau offers a vision of hope that, while sometimes flickering against the darkness, ultimately shines through, like the bright dawning of a new world.

A cursed book. A missing professor. Some nefarious men in gray suits. And a dreamworld called the Troposphere? Ariel Manto has a fascination with nineteenth-century scientists--especially Thomas Lumas and The End of Mr. Y, a book no one alive has read. When she mysteriously uncovers a copy at a used bookstore, Ariel is launched into an adventure of science and faith, consciousness and death, space and time, and everything in between. Seeking answers, Ariel follows in Mr. Y’s footsteps: She swallows a tincture, stares into a black dot, and is transported into the Troposphere--a wonderland where she can travel through time and space using the thoughts of others. There she begins to understand all the mysteries surrounding the book, herself, and the universe. Or is it all just a hallucination?

They came from the distant plant called Morningside on a desperate quest for aid from Heaven Belt. Heaven Belt -- the fabulous asteroid system that was, so legend said, as rich as old Earth. But before the starship Ranger could even explain its mission, it was attacked by the people of the outermost asteroid. For civil war had long since transformed the Belters into isolated societies slowly dying out for lack of technology and natural resources. Crippled, with most of its crew dead, the Ranger soon became a valuable technological prize fought over by everyone in the Belt. And for the Ranger's crew, what began as a mission of hope became a breathtaking race for survival.