ENTER THE ADMINISTRATION
Peretz spends his days navigating the bureaucracy of the Administration, the institute tasked with governing the Forest below. Except no one ever seems to go there, and his attempts only trap him further within the workings of this strange organisation.
ENTER THE FOREST
Candide cannot remember how he got to the Forest, and he is certain he belongs somewhere else. Determined to escape, he finds that all paths lead him round strange bends and into encounters with bizarre creatures.
NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
This classic SF novel sees Boris and Arkady Strugatsky meditate on how little man can understand of the wider world, and in doing so produce one of the great literary works to come out of Soviet Russia.
Mesklin is a vast, inhospitable, disc-shaped planet, so cold that its oceans are liquid methane and its snows are frozen ammonia. It is a world spinning dizzyingly, a world where gravity can be a crushing 700 times greater than Earth's, a world too hostile for human explorers. But the planet holds secrets of inestimable value, and an unmanned probe that has crashed close to one of its poles must be recovered.Only the Mesklinites, the small creatures so bizarrely adapted to their harsh environment, can help. And so Barlennan, the resourceful and courageous captain of the Mesklinite ship Bree, sets out on an heroic and appalling journey into the terrible unknown. For him and his people, the prize to be gained is as great as that for mankind...Hal Clement's MISSION OF GRAVITY is universally regarded as one of the most important and best loved novels in the genre. The remarkable and sympathetic depiction of an alien species and the plausible and scientifically based realisation of the strange world they inhabit make it a major landmark in the history of hard SF.
Zaproszenie na spacer po warszawskiej Pradze większość z Czytelników potraktowałby zapewne jak ponury żart. A jednak warto zobaczyć jedyną dzielnicę stolicy ocalałą z wojennej pożogi. Piękne parki, wspaniałe ZOO, stadion narodowy, odrestaurowane secesyjne kamienice.Jednak wieczorem... wieczorem proponuję, by zostali z nami jedynie ci, którzy są gotowi na ryzyko. Na Starej Pradze w okolicach bazaru Różyckiego, Brzeskiej, czy trochę dalej, na Stalowej, możemy spotkać ludzi, którzy nie będą patrzeć z sympatią na obcych. Nie lękaj się jednak, Czytelniku, będę twoim przewodnikiem. W labiryncie zaniedbanych uliczek, na podwórkach-studniach czy też w obskurnych bramach albo podejrzanych knajpach poznasz poetów, pisarzy, żołnierzy z wielu wojen, muzyków, ale także mistrzów włamu, genialnych fałszerzy, niezrównanych graczy w trzy karty. Książąt występku. Dotrzymają nam towarzystwa panie trudniące się negocjowalną miłością.Część napotkanych postaci nie będzie pochodzić z naszego czasu, część nie będzie nawet ludźmi. Tu już nawet ja, prażanin z dziada pradziada, nie mogę gwarantować bezpieczeństwa. Cóż, jest ryzyko, jest zabawa. Odważni proszę za mną! Skręcamy z Targowej w Ząbkowską, porzucamy nudną rzeczywistość, zanurzamy się w magicznych Szmulkach.
Cat’s Cradle, one of Vonnegut’s most entertaining novels, is filled with scientists and G-men and even ordinary folks caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world’s most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature. At one time, this novel could probably be found on the bookshelf of every college kid in America; it’s still a fabulous read and a great place to start if you’re young enough to have missed the first Vonnegut craze.
Vonnegut has a way of helping his readers enter into this end-of-the-world story. Jonah, the first-person narrator, wants to write a book about the end of the world – so naturally his topic is the inventor of the atomic bomb, Dr. Frank Hoenikker, and what the people surrounding him were doing on the day the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It is his research that leads him to Hoenikker’s children, old acquaintances and, finally, on a journey that goes completely different than expected…
The protagonist himself spoils parts of his story right at the beginning of the book, but I will do my best to keep the review spoilerfree. Personally, I didn’t even read the blurb, I just dug right into the book. Maybe that added to the wonder I felt washing over me on every page. Truth be told, I picked this as my second-chance-for-Vonnegut book because it is fairly slim (yes, I am ashamed of myself).
The style is both simple and complicated. Vonnegut uses simple words and short, precise sentences to tell a story that folds back onto itself, that jumps back and forth in time and expects the reader to know things that are only revealed much later. I see how this may turn certain people off, for me it only added to the charm and the mystery of this novel. I like having to work my brain to figure out what’s going on. The revelations are just that much more satisfying. The many, very short chapters make for a nice reading experience and give you the illusion that you can stop after this chapter or that chapter – only to find yourself continuing because it’s just that good.
The year is 2110. Humankind is entering a new golden age. But when an amateur astronomer points his telescope at just the right corner of the night sky, he sees disaster hurtling toward Earth: a chunk of rock that could annihilate civilization.
While a few fanatics welcome the apocalyptic destruction as a sign from God, the greatest scientific minds of Earth desperately search for a way to avoid the inevitable. On board the starship Goliath, Captain Robert Singh and his crew must race against time to redirect the meteor from its deadly collision course. Suddenly they find themselves on the most important mission in human history - a mission whose success may require the ultimate sacrifice.
Private William Mandella is a reluctant hero in an interstellar war against an unknowable and unconquerable alien enemy. But his greatest test will be when he returns home. Relativity means that for every few months' tour of duty centuries have passed on Earth, isolating the combatants ever more from the world for whose future they are fighting.The Earth he knew is dead. The one he returns to . .. unrecognisable. Winner of the Nebula, Locus and Hugo awards, The Forever War was the first title selected for the SF Masterworks series when it launched in 1999.Inspired by Haldeman's experience in the Vietnam War, it has been seen as a critical work of anti-war SF. 'This is an enraged and enraging classic that deserves a place alongside Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter as an expression of the pain caused by Vietnam'- Guardian'The book is near perfect'- infinity plus'This book is not only one of the best military science fiction books ever written, but is one of the finest works of modern American literature' - TordotcomWelcome to The Best Of The Masterworks: a selection of the finest in science fiction
Welcome to the Best of the Masterworks: a selection of the finest in science fiction-What does it mean to be human when you're part of the machine? Synners are synthesizers - not machines, but people. They take images from the brains of performers, and turn them into a form which can be packaged, sold and consumed. They don't use the net, they are the net.Everything is automated. Everything is synthetic. But when the technology starts to fail, the terrifying question remains: what is a human? Winner of the 1992 Arthur C.Clarke Award, Synners was Pat Cadigan's early stories, and cemented her place in the core of the cyberpunk movement, and has even inspired academic works. Lauded for her complex characters and plots, and seen as a stalwart of feminist SF, Cadigan has gone on to win another Clarke and a Hugo for subsequent works. -'Racingly told, linguistically acute, simultaneously pell-mell and precise in its detailing' - The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'Ambitious, brilliantly executed .. . Cadigan is a major talent' - William Gibson'Pat Cadigan is the undisputed Queen of Cyberpunk' - The Fantasy Hive
Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth ... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are hungry for Neville's blood.By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilisation. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn. How long can one man survive like this?Winner of the Bram Stoker Prize for Vampire Novel of the Century, I Am Legend is a stunning blend of science fiction and horror.'The most clever and riveting vampire novel since Dracula' - Dean Koontz'Books like I Am Legend were an inspiration to me' - Stephen King'It is, by turns, scary, thrilling, tragic, witty and - ultimately - uplifting' - James LovegroveWelcome to The Best Of The Masterworks: a selection of the finest in science fiction
An extraordinary epic, set a million years in the future, in the time of a dying sun, when our present culture is no longer even a memory. The torturer's apprentice, Severian, exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his prisoners, is now the Lictor of Thrax, a city far distant from his home. But it is not long before Severian must flee this city, too, and journey again into the world.Embattled by friends and enemies alike, pursued by monstrous creatures, the one-time torturer's apprentice must overcome hitherto unimagined perils, as he moves closer to fulfilling his ultimate destiny. This edition contains the concluding two volumes of this four-volume novel, The Sword of the Lictor and The Citadel of the Autarch.
Only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of the total annihilation of the universe. They are Arthur Dent, homeless Englishman currently marooned in the deep past; his friend Ford Prefect, temporarily insane to see if he likes it, also marooned; Slartibartfast, once of the planet builders of Magrathea; Zaphod Beeblebrox, ex-confidence trickster and part-time galactic president; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox. In other words: we're doomed.
Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler, former hack and 'console cowboy' who crashed and burned. His nerves were damaged and thus cut off from the digital matrix, he slouches through life. Until he meets Molly, an augmented 'razorgirl', who offers him a deal on behalf of a shadowy man called Armitage.His nerves repaired and matrix access restored, in exchange for a single job. But it's not so simple - unless he completes the job, sacs of poison will explode inside him and cripple him again. And the job? That might be impossible.The first novel to win the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer has become a seminal part of SF history, coining the term 'cyberspace' and lighting a fuse on the Cyberpunk movement. Part thriller, part warning, it is one of the 20th century's most potent visions of the future.'A ground-breaking success' - Empire'Gibson is better than almost anybody at noticing what's genuinely interesting about the world' - Ned Beauman'Neuromancer is a book of exquisitely observed detail' - Eileen GunnWelcome to The Best Of The Masterworks: a selection of the finest in science fiction
Merlin is a Prince of Chaos and Amber, Corwin's son and heir. He has grown up knowing that his legacy is to one day follow in his father's footsteps, live up to his father's legend. When Corwin goes missing, that day comes far sooner than he could ever have expected.Merlin must find his own identity as the ruler of the worlds, and discover what kind of King he wants to be. Will he be a warrior like his father, or embrace his own path as a hacker-magician?A generation after Corwin's rise to the throne, Merlin is aided by powers beyond anything Corwin could have imagined. The epic magic from The Chronicles of Amber is wielded alongside sentient computers, a vorpal sword, and the ghosts of those who came before.Featuring the Locus award-winning Trumps of Doom, the Locus nominated Blood of Amber and Sign of Chaos, and the final two novels Knight of Shadows and Prince of Chaos, the Second Chronicles of Amber continues the epic story of Amber and the Shadow worlds.
Sirius is Thomas Trelone’s great experiment – a huge, handsome dog with the brain and intelligence of a human being. Raised and educated in Trelone’s own family alongside Plaxy, his youngest daughter, Sirius is a truly remarkable and gifted creature. His relationship with the Trelones, particularly with Plaxy, is deep and close, and his inquiring mind ranges across the spectrum of human knowledge and experience.
But Sirius isn’t human and the conflicts and inner turmoil that torture him cannot be resolved …
Gully Foyle, Mechanic’s Mate 3rd Class.
EDUCATION: none
SKILLS: none
MERITS: none
RECOMMENDATIONS: none
That’s the official verdict on Gully Foyle, unskilled space crewman.
But right now he is the only survivor on his drifting, wrecked spaceship, and when another space vessel – the Vorga – ignores his distress flares and sails by, Gully becomes obsessed with revenge. He endures 170 days alone in deep space before finding refuge on the Sargasso Asteroid and returning to Earth to track down the crew and owners of the Vorga. But, as he works out his murderous grudge, Gully Foyle also uncovers a secret of momentous proportions …
Jason Taverner has a glittering TV career, millions of fans, great wealth and something close to eternal youth. He is one of a handful of brilliant, beautiful people, the product of top-secret government experiments forty years earlier. But suddenly, all records of him vanish. He becomes a man with no identity, in a police state where everyone us closely monitored. Can he ever be rich and famous again? Or was that life just an illusion?
A uniquely powerful novel of a society in decay. On a planet whose very nature is a mystery a massive decrepit city is pulled along a massive railway track, laying the line down before it as it progresses into the wilderness.
The society within toils under an oppressive regime, its structures always on the point of collapse, the lives of its individuals lived in misery. No one knows where they are going, why they are going or what they will find when they get there.
The ending of the novel provides one of the most profound twists in SF.
Winner of the BSFA Award for best novel, 1974
The Principle of Simultaneity is a scientific breakthrough which will revolutionize interstellar civilization by making possible instantaneous communication. It is the life work of Shevek, a brilliant physicist from the arid anarchist world of Anarres.
But Shevek’s work is being stifled by jealous colleagues, so he travels to Anarres’s sister-planet Urras, hoping to find more liberty and tolerance there. But he soon finds himself being used as a pawn in a deadly political game.
Ragle Gumm is an ordinary man leading an ordinary life, except that he makes his living by entering a newspaper contest every day – and winning, every day.
But he gradually begins to suspect that his life – indeed his whole world – is an illusion, constructed around him for the express purpose of keeping him docile and happy. But if that is the case, what is his real world like, and what is he actually doing every day when he thinks he is guessing ‘Where Will The Little Green Man Be Next?’
Seven years after the day of the bombs, Point Reyes was luckier than most places. Its people were reasonably normal – except for the girl with her twin brother growing inside her, and talking to her. Their barter economy was working. Their resident genius could fix almost anything that broke down. But they didn’t know they were harbouring the one man who almost everyone left alive wanted killed…
A whisperjewel from Gwen Delvano calls Dirk t’Larien across space and beyond the Tempter’s Veil to Worlorn, a dying Festival planet of rock and ice. Warlorn is slowly drifting through twilight to neverending night; as the planet sinks into darkness, so its inhabitants face annihilation.
Seven years ago, on Avalon, Gwen was Dirk’s lover, his Guenevere; now she wears the jade-and-silver bond of Jaantony Riv Wolf high-Ironjade Vikary, a barbarian visionary, an outcast from his own people for his acts of violence. And Garse Janacek, Jaan’s *teyn*, his shieldmate, is also bound to Gwen – in hatred. Dirk, a rogue and a wanderer, is called to be saviour of the three who are bonded together in love and hate.
But in breaking their triangle, he could lose all …
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