Even though Captain Jelena Marchenko has Starseer talents, such as telepathy and telekinesis, she has grown up feeling ostracized by the Starseer community. She longs for an opportunity to prove that she deserves a place among them.  When an old friend of the family shows up, seeking transportation to the site of an ancient Starseer relic, Jelena believes this may be her chance to prove herself. If she helps Abelardus recover an artifact that's important to the Starseer community, perhaps she’ll finally be invited to join. But once they are on their way to the site, she starts to question what Abelardus plans to do with the artifact—and if he even has the right to dig it up. Further, she wonders why it’s been left alone for centuries. Is there a reason nobody tried to recover it before? And is it worth risking the lives of herself and her crew to win the good regard of strangers? 

Roy Malcolm has always been fascinated by space travel. And when he wins a voyage to the Inner Space Station as a game show prize, he's sure it's the trip of a lifetime. Before long, Roy is taken in by the young crew-and shares their adventures and lives. One of Arthur C. Clarke's earliest novels, Islands in the Sky is particularly noteworthy for its description of geostationary communications satellites. While this technology was nonexistent during the writing of this book, it later became commonplace-and Clarke is credited with the first practical descriptions of such technology. This book is compelling not just as a fictional tale, but as an example of the prescient power of Clarke's vision.

Long months have passed since Siris and the God King, enemies betrayed together, were left to rot in the prison at the Vault of Tears. Their true enemy - the Worker of Secrets, creator of the Infinity Blade itself - now reigns. Upon finally obtaining freedom, Siris must unravel plots that seem to make no sense, lead a rebellion with no direction, and fight against the division with his very heart. The secrets unraveled will dig backward in time toward the origins of the Deathless and the true nature of the world itself... From #1 bestselling author Brandon Sanderson and ChAIR entertainment, creators of the blockbuster Infinity Blade video game series, comes the second novel in the epic Infinity Blade saga. This latest take delves deeper into the fantastical world of Infinity Blade, a world of mystery and intrigue where magic and technology are indistinguishable, and even life and death are not as they seem.

The First Rule of Torching: Cleanse with fire. Josh is by far the best zombie Torcher around—at least, he is in his virtual-reality zombie-hunting game. Josh has quickly risen through the player ranks, relying on the skill, cunning, and agility of a real Torcher. The Second Rule of Torching: Save all humans. But luckily for Josh, zombies exist only in the virtual world. The real zombie war is now more than fifteen years in the past, and the battle to defeat the deadly epidemic that devastated his family—and millions of others—is the stuff of history lessons. The Third Rule of Torching: You can't bring them back. Charlie is the top-ranked player in the game. Since all the players are shrouded in anonymity, Josh never expects Charlie to be a girl—and he never expects the offer she makes him: to join the underground gaming league that takes the virtual-reality game off the screen and into the streets. Josh is thrilled. But the more involved he gets, the more he realizes that not everything is what it seems. Real blood is spilling, members of the team are disappearing, and the zombies in the game are acting strange. And then there's the matter of a mysterious drug called Z. . . .

In Finch, mysterious underground inhabitants known as the gray caps have reconquered the failed fantasy state Ambergris and put it under martial law. They have disbanded House Hoegbotton and are controlling the human inhabitants with strange addictive drugs, internment in camps, and random acts of terror. The rebel resistance is scattered, and the gray caps are using human labor to build two strange towers. Against this backdrop, John Finch, who lives alone with a cat and a lizard, must solve an impossible double murder for his gray cap masters while trying to make contact with the rebels. Nothing is as it seems as Finch and his disintegrating partner Wyte negotiate their way through a landscape of spies, rebels, and deception. Trapped by his job and the city, Finch is about to come face to face with a series of mysteries that will change him and Ambergris forever.

When a robot defies his programming, is he broken? Or is he something else? A short story of 5,000 words.

What if Adolf Hitler was alive?When Jack Carter’s grandfather suddenly passes away, he receives a leather journal, as well as plenty of money, under the promise that he will continue Grandpa Carter’s search for the truth. Jack soon discovers a world beneath our own feet, filled with predatory creatures and strange humanoid beings.What if Adolf Hitler was alive?When Jack Carter’s grandfather suddenly passes away, he receives a leather journal, as well as plenty of money, under the promise that he will continue Grandpa Carter’s search for the truth. With the help of two of his closest friends, Jack soon discovers a world beneath our own feet, filled with predatory creatures and strange humanoid beings. A sanctuary that time has somehow forgotten.

Ha’ven Ha’darra is the Crown Prince for the Curizans, an advanced species known for their technology. They may not have the power to shift like the Valdier or the Sarafin but they have hidden powers of their own that they guard. Not even his best friends, Creon Reykill of the Valdier or Vox d’Rojah of the Sarafin, are aware of the powers he holds within his deadly frame. Ha’ven is happy to help out his Valdier friend when he calls. There are only two things that satisfy the restlessness inside him – a good fight and an even better evening with a hot, willing female. He has no desire to settle down like his two friends have. He enjoys having his freedom and the wide sample of females at his disposal. All of that changes when he catches a glimpse of the delicate beauty who looks through him as if he doesn’t even exist. His blood calls to her, his magic aches to meld with hers, but she blocks his every advance. Emma Watson’s life was perfect. Her love for music and dance let her escape the overwhelming shyness that she suffered from all her life. When she is invited to travel with a group to promote music and dance for children in South America, she believes it is the perfect chance to discover who she can really be. Everything changes when she is kidnapped by a powerful drug lord. Beaten and forced to watch the torture of other women, she withdrawals into the world she feels safest – the one inside herself. When she is rescued by creatures not of this world, they heal her physical wounds but cannot touch the ones deep inside her. She has given up on ever returning to her world and has little hope for the future. That is why she does not understand why one aggravating male suddenly won’t leave her alone. She wants nothing to do with men! They cause nothing but heartache and pain. She had been on the receiving end of their fists to know that! Why would she want one that could crush her with one hand? No woman has ever turned Ha’ven Ha’darra down and he isn’t about to accept his mate doing it. He will show her that not all men are the same, even if he has to kidnap her and take her to his world to do it. He plans to show her the power she has hidden deep inside her and open her heart to the love he has in his. Now, he just has a few extra problems to overcome. Her Valdier protectors have given him six months to change her mind about wanting to return to them, a traitor is trying to kill them both, and they have crashed on a remote moon. Can he unlock her magic in time to save their love or will the traitor, determined to kill them, destroy her before he can?

This book is one of the classic book of all time.A Princess of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the first of his famous Barsoom series. It is also Burroughs' first novel, predating his Tarzan stories. He wrote it between July and September 28, 1911, going through four working titles; initially, he was going to call it My First Adventure on Mars, then The Green Martians, Dejah Thoris, Martian Princess, and finally Under the Moons of Mars. The finished story was first published under the last of these titles in All-Story as a six-part serial in the issues for February-July 1912. For the serial publication, the author's name was given as "Norman Bean"; Burroughs had chosen the pseudonym of "Normal Bean" as a type of pun stressing that he was in his right mind, being concerned he might suffer ridicule for writing such a fantastic story. The effect was spoiled when a typesetter changed "Normal" to "Norman" on the assumption that the former was a typographical error. The story was later published as a complete novel under the present title by A. C. McClurg in October 1917. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the story is considered a classic example of 20th century pulp fiction.

Jonah and Katherine embark on a chilling journey to discover the Northwest Passage in this new installment of the New York Times bestselling series that brings history to life. Teenager John Hudson vanished from history in 1611: While searching for the Northwest Passage, mutineers cast him and his explorer father adrift in the icy waters of James Bay. When Jonah and Katherine meet John in the past, moments before the mutiny is to occur, they think it will be easy to rescue him from history. But the unexpected appearance of a man who claims to know a secret route to the Northwest Passage complicates matters. He seems serious about leading the ship further west, but Jonah and Katherine grow more and more suspicious—and more and more frustrated that they can’t quite remember the actual history or Canadian geography. And when their former enemies, Gary and Hodge, show up, apparently having escaped from time prison, Jonah and Katherine understand that a lot more is at stake than just one boy’s life….

Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here In his most ambitious project to date, award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson utilizes years of research and cutting-edge science in the first of three novels that will chronicle the colonization of Mars. For eons, sandstorms have swept the barren desolate landscape of the red planet. For centuries, Mars has beckoned to mankind to come and conquer its hostile climate. Now, in the year 2026, a group of one hundred colonists is about to fulfill that destiny. John Boone, Maya Toitavna, Frank Chalmers, and Arkady Bogdanov lead a mission whose ultimate goal is the terraforming of Mars. For some, Mars will become a passion driving them to daring acts of courage and madness; for others it offers and opportunity to strip the planet of its riches. And for the genetic "alchemists, " Mars presents a chance to create a biomedical miracle, a breakthrough that could change all we know about life...and death. The colonists place giant satellite mirrors in Martian orbit to reflect light to the planets surface. Black dust sprinkled on the polar caps will capture warmth and melt the ice. And massive tunnels, kilometers in depth, will be drilled into the Martian mantle to create stupendous vents of hot gases. Against this backdrop of epic upheaval, rivalries, loves, and friendships will form and fall to pieces--for there are those who will fight to the death to prevent Mars from ever being changed. Brilliantly imagined, breathtaking in scope and ingenuity, Red Mars is an epic scientific saga, chronicling the next step in human evolution and creating a world in its entirety. Red Mars shows us a future, with both glory and tarnish, that awes with complexity and inspires with vision. From the Paperback edition.

"Razor Sharp Beyond the Edge. Harlan Ellison's stories and essays have been on the cutting edge of contemporary American Literature for over 40 years, but he stubbornly refuses to abandon the use of a manual typewriter. He's involved in every medium from television drama to comic books, and his works have been translated into 26 languages. Although he's won more awards for his writing than any living fantasist, Harlan still refuses to eat lima beans. In May 1996, White Wolf announced what is still its most ambitious publishing program for a single author: the first 20 volumes of the collected fiction, essays, teleplays and columns of the writer whom The Washington Post calls ""one of the great living American short story writers"." The first volume of this series, containing An Edge in My Voice and Over the Edge, is now available in trade paperback. Both books have been completely revised, updated and expanded for the hardcover publication, and this trade edition has been re-edited as well".

The maestro storyteller and reporter provocatively argues that what we think we know about speech and human evolution is wrong. Tom Wolfe, whose legend began in journalism, takes us on an eye-opening journey that is sure to arouse widespread debate. The Kingdom of Speech is a captivating, paradigm-shifting argument that speech—not evolution—is responsible for humanity's complex societies and achievements. From Alfred Russel Wallace, the Englishman who beat Darwin to the theory of natural selection but later renounced it, and through the controversial work of modern-day anthropologist Daniel Everett, who defies the current wisdom that language is hard-wired in humans, Wolfe examines the solemn, long-faced, laugh-out-loud zig-zags of Darwinism, old and Neo, and finds it irrelevant here in the Kingdom of Speech.