Diane Ackerman's lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth. "Delightful . . . gives the reader the richest possible feeling of the worlds the senses take in."--The New York Times. (Literature--Classics & Contemporary)

Charles Beaumont (January 2, 1929 – February 21, 1967) was a prolific American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres. He is remembered as a writer of classic Twilight Zone episodes, such as "The Howling Man", "Miniature", "Printer's Devil", and "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You", but also penned the screenplays for several films, among them 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, The Intruder and The Masque of the Red Death. Novelist Dean R. Koontz has said, "Charles Beaumont was one of the seminal influences on writers of the fantastic and macabre." Charles Beaumont's classic story, "The Beautiful People," was originally published in If Worlds of Science Fiction, September 1952.

A brand new series from the Author of TIMERIDERS!

Part 3 of the Davron serial. Captain Belle is using the device which can save her and her crew or kill her. But is Davron the evil genius set on destroying the Earth and the Venom, or is there something even more dangerous to contend with? A decision has to be made, but one member of her crew is not convinced. Sides have to be taken and the future of the human race could be determined by one man.Part 3 of the Davron serial. Captain Jazz Belle is using the device which can save her and her crew or even kill her. But is Davron the evil genius set on destroying the Earth and the Venom, or is there something even more dangerous to contend with? The decision has to be made, and one member of her crew is not convinced. Sides have to be taken and the future of the human race could be determined by one man.

You, the ungrateful fool, who dare to destroy your soul. We are the keepers of all things pure and righteous. In taking your soul, we are destroying the evil you have so carelessly allowed to enter your most prized possession.Caeles Novo and his camera are in search of you.Actor-turned-writer Jean-Claude Keyes boards a train bound for Stratford, Ontario, Canada and the world-famous Stratford Shakespeare Festival. His intent is to finish writing his insider's biography of leading actor Seamus O'Reilly, see old friends, and perhaps re-kindle his affair with actress Alessandra Edel. But, as Keyes says to himself, things are never the same when you go back to a place you have known, no matter how well. The fire of deadly emotion beneath the glamour and glitter of the world of the stage emerges when Keyes discovers the body of Alan Wales, a young, arrogant actor, murdered outside the theatre during a performance of MACBETH. A cast of directors, designers, and theatrical stars become suspects, and Keyes becomes a reluctant sleuth.

Jules Verne (1828-1905) is one of the most recognizable names in Western literature, coming to be known as one of the Fathers of Science-Fiction. Although he studied to be a lawyer and held stock trading jobs, he quickly learned that he had a knack for weaving adventurous stories of travels and expeditions. It didn’t hurt that one of his teachers may have been inventor Brutus de Villeroi, who created the first submarine for the U.S. Navy. Verne wrote about air travel and space travel 50 years before either was possible. 

School For The Blind 2.0 is the re-release of a cut chapter vignette from The Past Forward that focuses on a dream of a character at the beginning of her journey to becoming one of the greatest heroes of the Tin Universe. And it has new cover!!!The origin of this e-book was a timeworn paper notebook which contained hundreds of my hand-written song lyrics and poems, some dating back more than 30 years…so I figured it was high-time that I get some of my favorites out there into cyberspace for the sake of prosperity. For the most part the themes in this volume follow that old tried-and-true spirit of rebelliousness; including topics such as sex, drugs, rock n roll, love and lust to name a few. But on the more serious side it also delves into some deeper existential themes such as war and peace, death and loss, loneliness and religious spiritually, so hopefully there is something in this collection for everyone.

In 2072 Earth faces the ultimate extinction event. A race against time begins, to send a starship to a distant planet, where the remains of humanity can survive. Only a small number will be chosen, and among the contenders only the most resourceful will have a chance. Exodus is a high tech scifi space opera with claustrophobic tension and deep conspiracy against the backdrop of impending disaster.Accolades for Exodus:"Wow! I was truly impressed by this book. I love when science fiction writers combine science, politics and psychology. For me the mix was just right""This book is science fiction in great form. It doesn't just make you think about the future, it really makes you think about the world around you today" When mankind faces extinction, how can anyone survive?In 2072, Earth faces the ultimate extinction event. In an America turned authoritarian, a race against time begins. To send a starship to a distant planet, where the remains of humanity can survive. Only a small number will be chosen for this final endeavor to save mankind from extinction, and among the contenders only the most resourceful will have a chance.But while the government wants to choose loyal subjects in order to create another version of the society they have engineered, there are those who secretly conspire to let the starfarers choose their own destiny, free from the bonds of their mother world.As mankind on Earth faces its final blow, the selected few set course for Aurora, more than 40 light years away!Follow Tina Hammer, scramjet pilot and officer, Kenneth Taylor, Harvard professor and alienated by the nation he once held so dear, Maria Solis, daughter to one of the richest men in the world, a girl who would never have been chosen, except for her dad's money, on their various paths toward the greatest adventure in human history.Exodus is the first installment of the Exodus Trilogy."A race through the end of the Earth - excellent SF""Very well written and reads fast and easy in the style of other great sci fi writers such as Randolph Lalonde and Jack Campbell"

An old man named Robert tells the tale of a stranger having a scary horseback ride through forests with man eating dinosaurs to children.The stranger screamed "Ahh!"The horse he was on reared up nearly knocking him off her back. He kept a hand hold on the reins forcing him to stay on the horse's saddle. He gripped the reins tighter and forced the mare to stand despite rearing up on her back legs. The stranger eyed the bushes clustered around a tree gathered ahead in front of him. He eyed them with green eyes sight of night vision clear as day with his blue Humanoid eyes. He narrowed his eyes glaring at the bushes as they rumbled along with the gathering trees nearby. The rumbling was making his senses blare warning giving him a fearful feeling. He continued to stiffen as the bushes showed a group of fanged teeth dinosaurs unsure of their species' names. They gave up roaring sounds while baring fanged teeth that looked like their size were humanoid heights to him. He eyed the dinosaurs that charged towards him while giving off sounds that made him think it was related to hunger to him. He forced the horse to move by kicking her sides with his feet hearing her whinny sound of terror...

"Variety is the soul of pleasure," And variety is what this comprehensive new collection of Connie Willis is all about. The stories cover the entire spectrum, from sad to sparkling to terrifying, from classics to hard-to-find treasures with everything in between -- orangutans, Egypt, earthworms, roast goose, college professors, mothers-in-law, aliens, secret codes, Secret Santas, tube stations, choir practice, the post office, the green light on Daisy's dock, weddings, divorces, death, and assorted plagues, from scarlet fever to "It's a Wonderful Life." And a dog. Famous for her "sure-hand plotting, unforgettable characters, and top-notch writing," Willis has been called, "the most relentlessly delightful science fiction writer alive," and there are numerous examples here. Among them, Willis's most famous stories -- the Hugo- and Nebula-Award-winning "Fire Watch" and "Even the Queen" and "The Last of the Winnebagos" -- along with undiscovered gems like Willis's heartfelt homage to Jack Williamson, "Nonstop to Portales." Her magical Christmas stories are here, too, from "Newsletter" to "Just Like the Ones We Used to Know..." which last year was made into the TV movie, Snow Wonder, starring Mary Tyler Moore. We've collected stories from throughout Willis's career, from early ones like "Cash Crop" and "Daisy, in the Sun," right up to her newest stories, including the wonderful "The Winds of Marble Arch." There's literally something for everyone here. If you're a diehard Willis fan, you'll be delighted with hard-to-find treasures like the until-now uncollected, "The Soul Selects Her Own Society..." If you've never read Connie Willis, this is your chance to discover "A Letter from the Clearys" and, well, "Chance." To say nothing of, "At the Rialto," the funniest story ever written about quantum physicists. And Willis's chilling, "All My Darling Daughters." And...oh, there are too many great stories here to list and pleasures galore. So enjoy! --subterraneanpress.com

The story of this utopian novel takes up immediately after the events of the novel “Looking Backward” with the main characters from the first novel, Julian West, Doctor Leete, and his daughter Edith. West tells his nightmare of return to the 19th century to Edith, who is sympathetic. West’s citizenship in the new America is recognized, and he goes to the bank to obtain his own account, or “credit card,” from which he can draw his equal share of the national product. He learns that Edith and her mother do not normally wear the long skirts he has seen them in (they had been wearing them so as not to offend his 19th century sensibilities): when Julian tells Edith that he would not be shocked to see them dressed in the modern fashion, Edith immediately runs into the house and comes out dressed in a pants suit. Clothing has revolutionised and is now made of strengthened paper, recycled when dirty, and replaced at very little cost (shoes and dishes are made of variations on the same substance). Julian learns that women are free to compete in many of the same trades as men; the manager of the paper factory he visits with Edith is a woman. Edith herself is in the second year of the three year general labor period required of everyone before choosing a trade, but has taken leave to spend time with Julian. The two tour a tenement house, in which no one now lives, kept as a reminder of the evils of private capitalism. Julian opens his safe (a device unknown in 2000 outside museums). Dr. Leete sees his mortgages and securities not as long-obsolete claims to ownership interest in things, but rather in people and their labor. The papers are worthless except as antiques, as most papers of the sort were burned at the conclusion of the economic transition, in a great blaze on the former site of the New York Stock Exchange. The gold coins in the safe are admired for their prettiness, but are also worthless. Julian learns more about the world of the year 2000. Handwriting has been virtually replaced by phonograph records, and jewelry is no longer used, since jewels are now worthless. Julian is amazed by a television-like device, called the electroscope. World communication is simplified, since everyone now speaks a universal language in addition to their native tongue. Not only are there motor cars, but also private air cars. Everyone is now vegetarian, and the thought of eating meat is looked upon with revulsion. The book concludes with an almost uninterrupted series of lectures from Dr. Leete and other characters, mostly concerning how the idyllic state in which West has arrived was achieved.

Newt Run is a town that shouldn't exist, a town of artists, drug dealers, miners and steam. It’s a town at the center of a broken universe, and broken universes have the bad tendency to fall apart.A town at the center of a broken universe, Newt Run was never meant to exist; it is a town of artists, drug dealers, miners and steam. There are holes here, gaps in the fabric of things, and some of them are wide enough for people to slip through. Rumours have been spreading about disappearances in the mines, and someone has been defacing the town's walls with rings of painted blood. Strangest of all are the tales of outsiders - mysterious visitors who can only be seen by users of the drug known as powder.Navigating this world is C, a powder dealer who is about to discover that his profession is far more dangerous than he's ever imagined, and Isaac, a writer struggling to come to grips with the end of an affair. Inextricably intertwined, the actions of these two men will determine the fate of Newt Run.

Ever wonder why a man. . .Dying of cancer. . .Constantly hiding from vicious killers. . .And living in a hole in the ground. . .is called. . .LUCKY MISHKA?Ever wonder why a man. . .Dying of cancer. . .Constantly hiding from vicious killers. . .And living in a hole in the ground. . .is called. . .LUCKY MISHKA?The world has destroyed itself in a nuclear holocaust. Survivors live where and how they can. If you've never known the old world you don't miss it.Mishka has made a life for himself and for reasons even he doesn't understand, he cares for all life in any form. He lives where he can and how he can. His only true fear is the odd people who ride loud "chines" and go around killing things, including people. To protect himself, his animals, and now Plebo, his young friend, he finds a magnificent hole in the ground as his famous hider.Then the danger comes again, in force.

An intelligent youth discovers an alien device of staggering power, and he eventually intuits its function. In doing so, he discovers that capability without wisdom is dangerous, including for him. Time, space and creation are at his command, and ultimately he does great harm before all becomes rolled up in a surprise ending.The Brane Skip device designed in the twenty-second century is intended to move a spaceship between the membranes of reality in order to get around the universal speed limit: 'Thou shall not go faster than light'. The theory behind the device is unproven, the technology experimental, but if there are side paths through the universe of normal space, there should be short cuts where speed limits simply don't apply.The unmanned tests of the Brane Skip are inconclusive. The probes wink out and then back into existence, but all they record in between is a mysterious gray haze. No one knows where they go. But they must go somewhere. The automated systems can't say. It's time to send volunteers.The Brane Skip seems like magic to Lisa Chang, the young engineer in command the first crewed test flight, and Chang doesn't believe in magic. But she does believe in the mission. Humanity must explore space in order to survive and prosper, and she feels honored to be among the first to go where no one has gone before. She does not know what will happen when the Brane Skip device engages. She thinks it will do nothing. She fears it will explode. What she does not expect is popping out adrift in space and on a collision course with a fantasy version of Earth, complete with dragons, orcs, and wizards.Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens.