John Brunner

A rich & varied collection of the best short fantasy fiction of the last two centuries. Escape into the fantastic worlds of Charles Dickens, J.M. Barrie, Graham Greene, Harlan Ellison, and others found in these 38 magical tales.

In CHILDREN OF THE THUNDER, Brunner creates another near-contemporary vision of a world gone awry and proposes a peculiarly disturbing and frightening solution. Starting separately, a small number of very smart and uniquely talented children, none more than fourteen years old, create lucrative designer drugs, kill a Marine commando in unarmed combat, run a sex-ring of chilling depravity. None of them are even punished for their crimes. Combine powers of mental control and irresistible suggestion with creative and completely amoral intelligence and you have the recipe for a super-race of world-savers--or for the subjugation of all humanity to a new form of collective evil. "One of the most important science fiction authors. Brunner held a mirror up to reflect our foibles because he wanted to save us from ourselves." --SF Site For each generation, there is a writer meant to bend the rules of what we know. Hugo Award winner (Best Novel, STAND ON ZANZIBAR) and British science fiction master John Brunner remains one of the most influential and respected authors of all time, and now E-Reads is pleased to re-introduce many of his classic works. For readers familiar with his vision, it's a chance to re-examine his thoughtful worlds and words, while for new readers, Brunner's work proves itself the very definition of timeless.

John Brunner has got the imagination, I'll grant him that much. What he doesn't have is the writing skill. "Foreign Constellations" collects eight of his best-known stories from the 70's, published in various magazines but not previously appearing in book form. His subjects range from the near future to the far far future, and from mass famine to wacky conspiracy theories to child raising. But while he sees intriguing possibilities, he rarely pursues them far enough. In "The Easy Way Out", a spaceship crash on a distant planet leaves only two survivors, a doctor and a spoiled rich boy. One of them holds the titular piece of technology, a device which allows the user to escape into an ideal virtual reality world, but eventually kills them. Should they turn on the device and enjoy a few last hours of perfect living, or leave it off a hope for the small chance of rescue? An interesting dilemma to be sure, but the story arc doesn't really have much to say about it beyond the obvious. Brunner's writing could define the word utilitarian: "His heart sank. Of all the people aboard, he would have chosen this man last to be his companion after the crash: Andrew Solichuk, who had never tired of informing anyone and everyone of how wealthy and influential his family was back on Earth and had complained endlessly about the food, the lack of comfort and amenities, the tase of the air, and the company he had to endure." (p. 31) It gets the point across, but it sure doesn't sparkle or make you want to sing the praises of Brunner's wordsmithing. The later stories in this collection are the better ones. My favorite would have to be "What Friends Are For". A futuristic couple's child runs out of control due to bad parenting.

A story about colonists on an alien world, and the psychological effects thereof.

The world is awash in civic decay, military coups and revolutionary governments, bands of believers ('Godheads') roaming the streets and turning plastic crosses into assault weapons. One scientist has discovered a new kind of viral drug, VC, which has the power to drastically alter the human mind. It could save civilization but at what cost? And who has the right to make a decision about whether or not to use it? Brunner at his thought-provoking, action-packed best.

In a near future, the air pollution is so bad that everyone wears gas masks. The infant mortality rate is soaring, and birth defects, new diseases, and physical ailments of all kinds abound. The water is undrinkable—unless you’re poor and have no choice. Large corporations fighting over profits from gas masks, drinking water, and clean food tower over an ineffectual, corrupt government. Environmentalist Austin Train is on the run. The “trainites,” a group of violent environmental activists, want him to lead their movement; the government wants him dead; and the media demands amusement. But Train just wants to survive.

Set in 2010, mostly in the United States, this award-winning novel tells the stories of a large cast of characters as they cope with a world population of seven billion, legislation for eugenics, information overload, future shock, and an all-knowing super-computer named Shalmaneser. Innovative for its time and genre, the book belongs to the "new wave" of science fiction beginning to be written in the late Sixties.

When racial hatred turns to murderous menace . . . First a rocket ship loses its engines on take-off and is destroyed. On board - an important extra-terrestrial visitor. Next someone slams into the sealed vehicle used for transporting aliens around in the lethal atmosphere of Earth. Then the vital controlled environment for the Tau Cetian delegation is sabotaged. Oxygen leaks in, and the aliens are half burnt alive. Even if it means brutal murder, The Stars Are For Man League is determined to shatter the harmony between Earth and civilizations on other planets - and to keep mankind supreme among the alien life forms. Only one man can stop them - a man who unknowingly nurses a viper in his bosom . . . First published in 1965.