Set in the middle of the 21st century, The Simulacra is the story of a USA where the whole government is a fraud & the President is an android. Against this backdrop Dr. Superb, the sole remaining psychotherapist, is struggling to practice in a world full of the maladjusted. Ian Duncan is desperately in love with the first lady, Nicole Thibideaux, who he has never met. Richard Kongrosian refuses to see anyone because he's convinced his body odor is lethal. The fascistic Bertold Goltz is trying to overthrow the government. With wonderful aplomb Dick brings this story to a crashing conclusion & in classic fashion shows there is always another layer of conspiracy beneath the ones we see.

After thwarting a deadly coup and saving the alliance between their worlds, Cara and Aelyx have finally earned a break. Their tiny island colony is everything they dreamed it would be―days spent gathering shells on the beach and nights in each other’s arms. But the vacation is short-lived. The treaty between Earth and L’eihr has awakened an ancient force that threatens to destroy them all. The Aribol, mysterious guardians charged with maintaining interstellar peace, deem the alliance a threat to the galaxy. They order a separation of the races, decreeing humans and L’eihrs must return to their own planets within the month or face extinction. In fact, they already have agents in place on Earth, ready to begin. With the clock ticking, Aelyx and Cara assemble a team of colonists and race back to Earth, where they unite with old friends to solve the mystery of who the Aribol are, what they want, and the real reason the alliance has provoked them. As tensions build to a full-scale war, Aelyx and Cara must fight harder than ever―not just for their future, but for the survival of both their worlds.

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare s finesse to Oscar Wilde s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library.

She had rejected her noble birthright and embraced the freedom only a man could claim. She was Romilly who lived among the beasts of hill and forest and communicated with them, who tried humanity and turned it down for its evils and jealousies. She had the MacAran Gift, the rare Laran that conferred mastery over hawk and horse.

David Weber and his guests invite you to return to Honor Harrington's universe. Join young Honor and her treecat Nimitz as they face hostile weather and a hostile superior on a rescue mission. And more!

Contents: · Preface · pr · My Sister’s Brother [“Open to Me, My Sister”] · na F&SF May ’60 · Skinburn · ss F&SF Oct ’72 · The Alley Man · na F&SF Jun ’59 · Father’s in the Basement · ss Orbit 11, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam’s, 1972 · Toward the Beloved City · nv Signs and Wonders, ed. Roger Elwood, Revell, 1972 · Polytropical Paramyths · ai · Don’t Wash the Carats · ss Orbit 3, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam’s, 1968 · The Sumerian Oath · ss Nova 2, ed. Harry Harrison, Walker, 1972 · Only Who Can Make a Tree? · ss F&SF Nov ’71 · The Last Rise of Nick Adams · ss Chrysalis 2, ed. Roy Torgeson, Zebra, 1978 · The Freshman · ss F&SF May ’79 · Uproar in Acheron · ss The Saint Detective Magazine (UK) Nov ’61 · An Exclusive Interview with Lord Greystoke [“Tarzan Lives”; Tarzan] · ss Esquire Apr ’72 · Sexual Implications of the Charge of the Light Brigade [from “Riders of the Purple Wage”] · ex Dangerous Visions, ed. Harlan Ellison, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967 · The Obscure Life and Hard Times of Kilgore Trout · ss Moebius Trip Dec ’71 · Thanks for the Feast · pr · Thanks for the Feast: Notes on Philip José Farmer · Leslie A. Fiedler · bg Moebius Trip; ; as “Getting Into the Task of Now Pornography”, Los Angeles Times Apr 23 ’72

These fourteen science fiction stories reveal Lem’s fascination with artificial intelligence and demonstrate just how surprisingly human sentient machines can be. “Astonishing is not too strong a word for these tales” (Wall Street Journal). Translated and with an Introduction by Michael Kandel.

Nebula Award Finalist: In the second book of the Fault Lines Trilogy, Tim Powers dazzles with a dark and extraordinary urban fantasy set in an otherworldly LA, as a young boy finds himself targeted by malevolent ghost hunters There is a Los Angeles that few people can see, a shadowed metropolis of ghosts, ghost hunters, and ghost junkies who crave the addictive rush of inhaled spirits. When eleven-year-old Koot Hoomie Parganas decides to flee the constrictive grasp of his New Age parents, he inadvertently steps into this world. Escaping with his parents’ most prized possession, Koot is soon the object of the most intense supernatural manhunt in history. On an ordinary day, Los Angeles can be treacherous; this “other” LA could prove downright fatal for an unsuspecting youngster who’s suddenly the target of every hungry ghost hunter prowling the City of Angels. But Koot will not be taken easily. And though not everyone racing to Koot’s side means him harm, they are greatly outnumbered by malevolent forces driven by a terrible, undeniable need. Expiration Date is the second book in the Fault Lines Trilogy, which begins with Last Call and concludes with Earthquake Weather. At once exhilarating and terrifying, this book is a bravura display of the brilliant, bold invention that has moved bestselling author Peter Straub to declare World Fantasy and Philip K. Dick award-winner Tim Powers “one of my absolute favorite writers.”

Who are the followers of the Sith? Devoted to the study of the dark side of the Force, they live an underground existence . . . but their threat is growing. Although they do not have Sith power, they are on a constant search for it. Nothing--not even the Jedi--will get in their way. Dr. Lundi is the leader of the Sith followers. As he gets closer to attaining a Sith Holocron, he comes face-to-face with Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan. Ten years later, when the Sith followers reappear, Obi-Wan and his own apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, must rely on Lundi to help them. But he is to be feared, not trusted. The Sith are on the rise. The Jedi must stop them.

Kristen Simmons's Metaltown, where factories rule, food is scarce, and hope is in short supply.* *The rules of Metaltown are simple: Work hard, keep your head down, and watch your back. You look out for number one, and no one knows that better than Ty. She’s been surviving on the factory line as long as she can remember. But now Ty has Colin. She’s no longer alone; it’s the two of them against the world. That’s something even a town this brutal can’t take away from her. Until it does. Lena’s future depends on her family’s factory, a beast that demands a ruthless master, and Lena is prepared to be as ruthless as it takes if it means finally proving herself to her father. But when a chance encounter with Colin, a dreamer despite his circumstances, exposes Lena to the consequences of her actions, she’ll risk everything to do what’s right. In Lena, Ty sees an heiress with a chip on her shoulder. Colin sees something more. In a world of disease and war, tragedy and betrayal, allies and enemies, all three of them must learn that challenging what they thought was true can change all the rules. An enthralling story of friendship and rebellion, Metaltown will have you believing in the power of hope. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

I should not exist. But I do. Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . . For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Honor Harrington in trouble: Having made him look the fool, she's been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and set up for ruin by a superior who hates her. Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station. The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens. Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling, the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so-called "Republic" of Haven is Up to Something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser with an armament that doesn't work to police the entire star system. But the people out to get her have made one mistake. They've made her mad!

Amidst intergalactic civilization’s penumbra, Agents Max and Miranda intercept feral aliens stalking the unwary humans. When the agents become the hunted, they must overcome deceit, voracious creatures, and romantic distractions.Agents Max and Miranda fall tonsil-deep into betrayal.On their first mission together, Max and Miranda hunt a predatory alien on Earth. Max has survived missions through sheer indestructibility and persistence, but this has cost the lives and limbs of less durable teammates. This time, he is determined to keep his new partner alive. When Max becomes dinner for an alien ruler, Miranda begins doubting her decision to become an agent.A threat grows with every bite.Together, Agents Max and Miranda must overcome deceit, conflicting evidence, and evisceration to stop a growing menace on Earth and apprehend a traitor to the Intergalactic Secret Service.

The Nebula Award–winning author of The Forever War explores a world where time is money—and for some, both are running out . . . The Stileman Process is a medical miracle: Every ten years or so, you can restore youth and health to your aging, ailing body—as long as you can pay the enormous fee. The scientific advancement has altered the twenty-first-century world even more than space travel. Dallas Barr is one of the oldest men on Earth, and now he needs to repeat the procedure. But while scrambling desperately for his next essential million, he meets Maria, a woman from a previous life—and makes two chilling discoveries: Not all Stileman “immortals” were created the same. And their days may be more numbered than they think . . . From the author of The Hemingway Hoax and Camouflage, and the recipient of multiple science fiction honors including the Hugo, John W. Campbell, and Robert A. Heinlein Awards, Buying Time is “a mystery/SF hybrid that exhibits the author at his most inventive. . . . The action is fast and furious” (Publishers Weekly).

It is capable of alaraf drive: instantaneous travel between two points of space. Three of these special ships were built to explore and make contact with the many sentient races inhabiting the universe. Suddenly, one of the ships mysteriously disappears. And then it is discovered that an unidentifiable creature is marauding through the universe, totally annihilating intelligent life on planet after planet. Ramstan, a thoughtful and moral man, becomes a fascinated yet reluctant pawn in the hands of the strange forces which arise to fight the deadly destroyer. Ultimately, he is the one man who, in a fearful race against time, can stop the destruction. But what price must he pay for becoming the savior of intelligent-kind? The Unreasoning Mask is Farmer at his best: fast-paced, complex, slightly mystical, high-action adventure.