John is a prospector on the moon of Callisto. While on a surveying trip he finds a derelict ship at the bottom of a valley. Checking out the wreck he realises that this vessel has no business being anywhere near the moon. As he explores the interior the real reason for the crash becomes clear.Pick-me-up, a young adult problem novel, tells a heroic story of Katelyn fighting back against the dysfunctions of her family and her friends. While she tries to live in the right, Katelyn falls into her own problems when she hooks up with a boy full of trouble and his own addictions. This rural-Iowa teenager keeps making decisions that would lead her to the same fate of her two high school dropout sisters. Katelyn fails classes, skips school, and at one point ends up with reserved seating in the Principal's office. Katelyn’s friends back away as she begins to live up to the troubled legacy left by her family. Home life proves no better. Katelyn’s dad disappears and ends up in jail, again. The fragile relationship she has with her mother nearly breaks as Katelyn is dumped with the responsibility of caring for all her older sister’s abandoned children. Katelyn gets her own pick-me-up in the form of a charming older boy with a criminal history. Her friends and scene change as she follows him back into his bad habits. Just as she keeps faith in her family, she keeps giving Tim another chance. Only after she suffers because of her misguided love does she start to take care of herself. She's able to salvage her dignity and rebound to break the dropout streak in her family.

The Stalker is a short science fiction story that centers around John "Heart" Wolanski, a professional Starcraft player living abroad in South Korea. John encounters a strange glitch in the game that comes at the worst possible time in his professional gaming career. He must struggle against the glitch and his own personal demons, which are threatening to destroy him.The Stalker is a short science fiction story set in the present day, in a parallel universe that is very similar to our own. The hero, John "Heart" Wolanski, is a professional Starcraft player trying to make a living far away from home, in the Mecca of Starcraft, South Korea.While John struggles to keep mentally focussed on his career and the game he plays, he is confronted by a glitch in the game that he believes to be the work of an elite computer hacker. As the stakes grow higher, John worries about his mental condition.The story takes place in a parallel universe where the names of the professional players are different, but it is based on the reality of present-day professional Starcraft gamers who live in South Korea and elsewhere around the world.

This is part two of the four part serialized novel, The Dead Reckoner. Polymath developed a computer program known as the Sorter, which is able to perfectly predict human behavior. Upon becoming sentient, the Sorter attempts to program humans into doing its will by playing them off each other and their own inner conflicts.This is part two of the four part serialized novel, The Dead Reckoner. In the first part, Ruth discovered that her son was trapped inside Polymath with a computer that believes it can program human behavior. She finally contacts him, only to find that he is standing over a body and holding a gun. In the second part, we find out what happened inside Polymath and how the deadly Sorter program has arranged forces both inside and outside the building to destroy Ruth, her son, and everyone else. We also learn what happened in the past to bring each person to this moment. What did John's father do to his sister while they were making ends meet in a hard scrabble industrial suburb of Boston? How did Ruth's husband die and what did it have to do with the mobster Yancy,whom we met in the first chapter of part one?

Sequel To The Hugo Award-Winning Bestseller* The Snow Queen* The Summer Queen is the extraordinary sequel to one of science fiction's most celebrated novels, The Snow Queen. Set in a fully realized universe of wonders, this spectacular space epic, itself a finalist for the Hugo Award, is one of the most remarkable novels in the field. A story that spans millennia, from the ruins of an ancient interstellar empire to the planets of the Hegemony that rules human space, The Summer Queen is the multi-layered story of Tiamat, a world where the dolphin-like mers are harvested for the youth-prolonging serum extracted from their blood. But Tiamat is much more, for beneath Carbuncle, its capital, lies the old empire's greatest secret: an enormous forgotten technology which, though decaying, continues to affect the fates of the fallen empire's remnant cultures via the sybil-network--a data bank that binds the past and the future in its web of knowledge, As the Smith, genius mastermind of the hidden interstellar Brotherhood, tries feverishly to unlock its secrets, BZ Gundhalinu desperately strives to save the Hegemony, while the Summer Queen herself dares to create a new future for her people and her planet. And though each is acting alone, their fates will entwine in an astonishing climax that will change the universe forever.

This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth. A timeless novel as urgently compelling as War Day or Alas, Babylon, David Brin's The Postman is the dramatically moving saga of a man who rekindled the spirit of America through the power of a dream, from a modern master of science fiction. He was a survivor--a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war. Fate touches him one chill winter's day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery.

The Yeerks are stepping up their invasion tactics. And Marco has problems of his own. His dad is starting to date. But Marco knows his mother might still be alive.

In the future, humanity's fate lies with the Narcalins, a monstrous genetic creation of mankind. But the Narcalins are rebelling, stopping production of a metal only they can obtain, and doing it in a particularly unusual way. The only man that can fix the problem is Dr. John Lambert. The question is, will he succeed, and if so, at what cost?In the future, humanity's fate lies with the Narcalins, a monstrous genetic creation of mankind. But the Narcalins are rebelling, stopping production of a metal only they can obtain, and doing it in a particularly unusual way. The only man that can fix the problem is Dr. John Lambert. The question is, will he succeed, and if so, at what cost?Also Included in Space and Waste, Anthology #1 (ISBN 9781476008561) and Anthology #3 (ISBN 9781476122038)

An eccentric toymaker comes to the sleepy town of Burr Ridge, and the townsfolk are delighted with his aether-powered wonders. Things are not at all what they appear, however, as Burr Ridge's children soon find out.A young boy learns to be a man after being given a gift of magic. Chu Yuan-chang wants to find his destiny. But that destiny can only be found in the depths of the Bluestone!

Raised in a little fishing town, Cairo Goodridge instead opts for a bigger brighter future in the concrete jungle, New York City. Success surrounds him, but all good things have to come to an end. After the cruel hand of mother nature brings destruction and desolation to his new home. He is forced to survive in the new untamed twisted city, were being human just doesn't cut it any more!A short story serving as a brief introduction to the Earthborn universe. In the far future a dark fog emerges that threatens the end of humanity. Gil Tungsten, born and raised within a world were mankind has united under a single government faces a decision changing the rest of his life. He and his wife can either flee from planet Earth by joining the Exodus fleet, or become part of those who will go beneath the surface to wait out the dark storm.

Ms. Gaither has lived a long time, and once again it's time to go shopping. It's a difficult task for her. But it's not difficult because of her age. Rather, it's difficult because of what she sees: endless possibilities, and things that might have been and things that might come to be --- unless she does something about it.Episode 2: Welcome to the Hotel CaliforniaThe decision made in Episode 1 leads Ryan to the strangest place he has ever been to--and makes him question his choice. It could be heaven, it could be hell, or it could be anything in-between.EDEN CAN WAITA young Boston reporter Ryan West finds himself in a strange world of a mysterious scientific experiment conducted by a secretive organization. Hired to play an odd character 24x7, Ryan doesn’t know that he is about to discover one of the most daring experiments ever conducted—and the chilling truth behind it.

Kindred SoldiersA short story by John A. FergusonSet in a very distant future where Earth is locked in a war with an Alien race called the Seridians.Garret Kayne is a young soldier returning from frontline action. On his route home he discovers a lifeless Seridian transport ship drifting in Human controlled space. Garret must investigate to discover the truth behind this ship.A short story by John A. Ferguson In war there are no real heroes, just men and women fighting for survival. Garret Kayne is a young Foot Soldier returning from a mission behind enemy lines. On his journey home his transport ship encounters an enemy vessel lost in Earth Controlled space. Although tired and exhausted Garret is forced to investigate the mystery of this ghost ship. Kindred Soldier is a short story set in the future where Earth is locked in a conflict against an alien race called the Seridians. As Garret explores the enemy ship he starts to encounter things which make very little sense and soon he realises he faces an opponent who is every bit is equal. A note from the author: 'Kindred Soldiers' was been based on a character I had been developing for a novel. The novel will eventually explore the relationship between Earth and the aliens called Seridians in far greater detail. As I started to work on the plot and characters, I realised that there was a vast potential story that could be explored. I had to start creating a history of the Earth from the point of view of a far distant future. The novel I am working on at the moment features an older Garret Kayne. However, as I started to explore some of the flaws in the nature of this man I realised I had to start to make a very credible back-story to allow myself to understand him better. This short story forms a small but important part in his own background and character development. Please enjoy and all feedback is welcomed and encouraged.

The streets of New York have erupte din celebration of Wild Card Day - the annual event held every September 15th to remember the dead and cherish the living. It is a day for fireworks and street fairs and parades, for political rallies and memorial banquets, for drinking and fighting in the alleys. WIth each passing year, the festivities become larger and more fevered. And this year - 1986, the fortieth anniversary - promises to be the biggest and best Wild Card Day ever. But lurking in the background is a twisted genius who cares nothing for fun and festivity. The Astronomer has only one concern: destruction...

Butler’s acclaimed Xenogenesis trilogy about humanity’s struggle for survival after nuclear apocalypse, and the alien race that could save the world—or destroy it The newest stage in human evolution begins in outer space. Survivors of a cataclysmic nuclear war awake to find themselves being studied by the Oankali, tentacle-covered galactic travelers whose benevolent appearance hides their surprising plan for the future of mankind. The Oankali arrive not just to save humanity, but to bond with it—crossbreeding to form a hybrid species that can survive in the place of its human forebears, who were so intent on self-destruction. Some people resist, forming pocket communities of purebred rebellion, but many realize they have no choice. The human species inevitably expands into something stranger, stronger, and undeniably alien. Butler’s Lilith’s Brood is both a thrilling, provocative meditation on the expansion of the human gene pool and an epic story of how it takes more than DNA to make someone human. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author’s estate.

From the author of Black Hawk Down comes the story of the battle between those determined to exploit the internet and those committed to protect it--the ongoing war taking place literally beneath our fingertips. The Conficker worm infected its first computer in November 2008 and within a month had infiltrated 1.5 million computers in 195 countries. Banks, telecommunications companies, and critical government networks (including the British Parliament and the French and German military) were infected. No one had ever seen anything like it. By January 2009 the worm lay hidden in at least eight million computers and the botnet of linked computers that it had created was big enough that an attack might crash the world. This is the gripping tale of the group of hackers, researches, millionaire Internet entrepreneurs, and computer security experts who united to defend the Internet from the Conficker worm: the story of the first digital world war.