A Bantam spectra book

Harry Harrison, an acknowledged master of imaginative fiction, broke new ground with West of Eden. He brought to vivid like the world as it might have been, where dinosaurs survived, where their intelligent descendants challenged humans for mastery of Earth, where a young hunter named Kerrick grew among the dinosaurs and rose to become their most feared enemy.Now, the awesome saga continues in Winter in Eden...A new ice age threatens Earth. Facing extinction, the dinosaurs must employ their mastery of biology to swiftly reconquer human territory. Desperately, Kerrick launches an arduous quest to rally a final defense for humankind. With his beloved wife and young son, he heads north to the land of the whale hunters, east into the enemy's stronghold, and south to a fateful reckoning with destiny.Not since Dune has there been a work of such majestic scope and conception—a monumental epic of passion, courage, and triumph.

Nebula and Hugo award-winning author David Brin continues his bestselling Uplift series in this second novel of a bold new trilogy. Imaginative, inventive, and filled with Brin's trademark mix of adventure, passion, and wit, Infinity's Shore carries us further than ever before into the heart of the most beloved and extraordinary science fiction sagas ever written.For the fugitive settlers of Jijo, it is truly the beginning of the end. As starships fill the skies, the threat of genocide hangs over the planet that once peacefully sheltered six bands of sapient beings. Now the human settlers of Jijo and their alien neighbors must make heroic--and terrifying--choices. A scientist must rally believers for a cause he never shared. And four youngsters find that what started as a simple adventure--imitating exploits in Earthling books by Verne and Twain--leads them to the dark abyss of mystery. Meanwhile, the Streaker, with her fugitive dolphin crew, arrives at last on Jijo in a desperate search for refuge. Yet what the crew finds instead is a secret hidden since the galaxies first spawned intelligence--a secret that could mean salvation for the planet and its inhabitants...or their ultimate annihilation.From the Paperback edition.

A massive alien starship carries its human passengers to the end of their generations-long odyssey and toward an epic confrontation with the mysterious Ramans.

Sometimes the price of destiny is higher than anyone imagined....Dark Magic, Hidden DestinyFor three centuries a divine prophecy and a line of warrior queens protected Skala. But the people grew complacent and Erius, a usurper king, claimed his young half sister's throne. Now plague and drought stalk the land, war with Skala's ancient rival Plenimar drains the country's lifeblood, and to be born female into the royal line has become a death sentence as the king fights to ensure the succession of his only heir, a son. For King Erius the greatest threat comes from his own line -- and from Illior's faithful, who spread the Oracle's words to a doubting populace.As noblewomen young and old perish mysteriously, the king's nephew -- his sister's only child -- grows toward manhood. But unbeknownst to the king or the boy, strange, haunted Tobin is the princess's daughter, given male form by a dark magic to protect her until she can claim her rightful destiny. Only Tobin's noble father, two wizards of Illior, and an outlawed forest witch know the truth. Only they can protect young Tobin from a king's wrath, a mother's madness, and the terrifying rage of her brother's demon spirit, determined to avenge his brutal murder....From the Paperback edition.

From inside front cover: EXILES from a world devastated by fear and political strife. HEROES who first must conquer their own conflicts before the greater goal can be won. PIONEERS, hundreds of men and women chosen to seek a new future, to chart a new destiny. They soared to the heart of a comet, led by three remarkable and very human people: CARD OSBORN: The troubled leader of an increasingly improbable mission. Silently, he calls upon his bottomless strength to carry the weight of hundreds of frightened, tormented lives. SAUL LINTZ: The brilliant biologist who works feverishly to heal the stricken crew. Ultimately, he undertakes a desperate experiment to delve into the very essence of life -- and death. VIRGINIA HERBERT: The gifted cybernetics technician, the woman both men love. She breaks the barrier of artificial intelligence and must now ho one step beyond into a melding of mind and machine.

Michael and Jillian Dansky seemed to have it all--a happy marriage, two successful careers, a bright future. But late one October evening, all that changed. Driving home from a Halloween masquerade, Michael momentarily nods off behind the wheel--and wakes to find nothing is the same.Standing by his car is the little girl he came within a breath of running down. She leads Michael to her "home," an empty house haunted by whispers, and sends him away with a haunting whisper of her own: "come find me." But in the weeks to follow, it's clear that someone--or some thing--doesn't want Michael to find her: ominous figures in grey coats with misshapen faces are following him everywhere. And then Jillian wakes one morning replaced by a cold, cruel, vindictive woman Michael hardly recognizes as his wife. Michael must now search not only for the lost girl, but for a way to find the Jillian he's always loved, and to do so he must return to where the nightmare began. Down an isolated lane where he'll find them, or die trying.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Somewhere in the galaxy, millions suddenly perish—a disruption of the Force so shocking it is felt by Luke at his Jedi academy and by Leia on Coruscant. While Leia must deal with an assassination attempt, a rumored plot against the New Republic, and allegations that Han Solo is involved, Luke seeks out a former Jedi student who may hold the key to the mass destruction. But Brakiss is only the bait in a deadly trap set by a master of the dark side who is determined to rule as emperor. He's targeted Luke, Leia, and Leia's Jedi children to die. Then billions will follow, in a holocaust unequaled in galactic history.

In a sorely oppressed America of the near future, Mary and Layla attempt to unite two distinct factions--the Tribes and the Underground--in a rebellion against the General, a tin-pot dictator with dreams of glory.

John Crowley's cunning alchemy of the here and now and the nevermore, of history and dream history, of the actual and the possible: the most daring and greathearted fiction yet by the award-winning author of Little, Big. Does the world have a secret history, encoded in myth and legend, reflected in the very windings of our brains? Born with the talents to be a real historian, but clinging to a minor teaching job, Pierce Moffett watches the great Parade of the '60s go by him, and wonders. He's still wondering years later when, jilted and newly jobless, he gets off a bus by chance in the Faraway Hills and steps unawares into a story that has been awaiting him there. Does the world have a plot? It's what Rosie Rasmussen wants to know, too. Will her life have the fearful symmetry of the lives led inside the books she reads? Rosie, newly returned to her childhood environs in the Faraways, is reading the historical romances of dead Fellowes Kraft one after another to see her through the hard realities of a divorce. There is another history in Kraft's vivid novels; there are angels and Elizabethan magicians and the boy Shakespeare; once upon a time these tales entranced Pierce Moffett too, and teased him with the traces of a very large story indeed....

Collection of essays about space exploration, contact with ancient alien civilizations, debunking of charlatans, and the encounter with Stanley Kubrik for 2001: A Space Odyssey movie production.

From back cover Warner paperback February 2005: Trying to escape the relentless mechs, the last humans from the planet Snowglade take their ancient starship on a dangerous course straight into the Eater, the black hole at the galactic center. Hungry and desperate, the refugees begin to question the leadership of Captain Killeen, who believes the center holds their one hope of survival. Meanwhile, Killeen's son Toby struggles with the microchips that were implanted in his spine -- a technology that now threatens his sanity. Caught between their genocidal pursuers and peril in the galactic center, Killeen and Toby bring humanity to its final destiny.

Maia and her twin sister must leave their home to seek their fortunes. On their journey they endure hardship, hunger, imprisonment, bloody battles with pirates and separation. Maia meets a traveler who threatens the delicate balance of their society.

No species has ever reached for the stars without the guidance of a patron - except perhaps mankind. Did some mysterious race begin the uplift of humanity aeons ago? Circling the sun, under the caverns of Mercury, Expedition Sundiver prepares for the most momentous voyage in history - a journey into the boiling inferno of the sun.

This is a prequel to the famous Dune series written by the authors father Frank Herbert, and is one of a long series of books which pre-date the famous Dune books....others include Dune House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and The Winds of Dune. The various series by Brian Herbert, written after his father's death HAVE HAD A MIXED RECEPTION, some liking the continuation of his father's concept and others feeling the books didn't have the atmospheric feel of the original series and were playing on Frank Herbert's fame

"It's 1999 in Cyprus, an ancient island bejeweled with blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers and littered with rusting land mines, corroding barbed wire, and illegal sewage dumps. Here, in the Turkish half of the island, the ever-enterprising Leggy Starlitz has alighted, pausing on his mission to storm the Third World with the "G-7" girls, the cheapest, phoniest all-girl band ever to wear Wonderbras and spandex. And his market is staring him in the face: millions of teenagers trapped in a world of mullahs and mosques, all ready to blow their pocket change on G-7's massive merchandising campaign - and to wildly anticipate music the group will never release.". "Leggy's brilliant plan means doing business with some of the world's most dangerous people. His business partner is the rich and connected Mehmet Ozbey, a man with many identities and a Turkish girlfriend whose beauty and singing voice could blow G-7 right out of the water. His security chief is Pulat Romanevich Khoklov, who learned to fly MiG combat jets in Afghanistan and now pilots Milosevic's personal airplane. Among these thieves, schemers, and killers, Leggy must act quickly and decisively. Bombs are dropping in Yugoslavia. Y2K is just around the corner. And the only rule to live by is that the whole scheme stops before the year 2000.". "But Leggy gets a surprise when the daughter he's never met arrives on his doorstep. A major fan of G-7, she is looking for a father - and her search forces Leggy to examine his life before making a madcap journey in search of a father of his own. It's a detour that puts his G-7 Zeitgeist in some real jeopardy. For in Istanbul, Leggy's former partners are getting restless, and the G-7 girls are beginning to die."--BOOK JACKET.

Welcome to Riverside, where the aristocratic and the ambitious battle for power and prestige in the city's labyrinth of streets and ballrooms, theatres and brothels, boudoirs and salons. Into this alluring and alarming world walks a bright young woman ready to take it on and make her fortune. A well-bred country girl, Katherine knows all the rules of conventional society. Her biggest mistake is thinking they apply.Katherine's host and uncle, Alec Campion, the capricious and decadent Mad Duke Tremontaine, is in charge here--and to him, rules are made to be broken. When he decides it would be far more amusing for his niece to learn swordplay than to follow the usual path to ballroom and husband, her world changes forever. And there's no going back. Blade in hand, it's up to Katherine to find her own way through a maze of secrets and betrayals, nobles and scoundrels--and to gain the power, respect, and self-discovery that come to those who master...

Filled with adventure and danger, intrigue and romance, this thrilling new fantasy from Sarah Hoyt follows the quest for a rare treasure--by a man of rare breed--in a magical Victorian British Empire that never was....British gentleman and were-dragon Peter Farewell has embarked on a daunting task: to recover the Soul of Fire, a magical ruby said to lie at the heart of British-controlled India. But finding one stone in the heart of a land simmering on the cusp of rebellion, and rife with hostile magics, seems an impossible task--until Peter saves the life of a young virgin fleeing a distasteful arranged marriage. For unknown to Sofie Warington, the flawed gem that is all that is left of her dowry is the very one Peter has been seeking. And if Peter can keep her safe from the sinister factions desperate to gain control of both Sofie and her dowry, he will find more than a jewel; he will find his heart's destiny.From the Paperback edition.

From multiple award-winning author David Brin comes this extraordinary collection of tales and essays of the near and distant future, as humans and aliens encounter the secrets of the cosmos--and of their own existence. In "Dr. Pak's Preschool" a woman discovers that her baby has been called upon to work while still in the womb. In "NatuLife" a married couple finds their relationship threatened by the wonders of sex by simulation. In "Sshhh . . . " the arrival of benevolent aliens on Earth leads to frenzy, madness . . . and unimaginable joy. In "Bubbles" a sentient starcraft reaches the limits of the universe--and dares to go beyond. These are but a few of the challenging speculations in Otherness, from the pen of an author whose urgent and compelling imaginative fiction challenges us to wonder at the shape and the nature of the universe--as well as at its future.From the Paperback edition.

From back cover Bantam Spectra paperback July 2001: HUMANITY IS RUNNING OUT OF TIME The settled universe is filled with terraformed worlds linked by timeshafts -- temporal wormholes in deep space. These timeshafts are the only way to travel the vast distances between the stars. The Chronologic Patrol is charged with guarding the timeshaft wormholes and preventing time paradoxes at all costs. But one critical mission ends in disaster, turning Anton Koffield, captain of the Upholder, int a dark legend... As ships carrying relief supplies to a crippled planet approach a timeshaft, they are mercilessly set upon by mysterious attackers -- their crews are murdered and the sanctity of time itself is at risk. In response, Koffield is forced to do the unthinkable: he must stop the invasion by destroying the timeshaft. Marooned eighty years in the future, he lives as a cursed figure, the villain who killed a world. And his odyssey through time has only just begun....

After a prolonged decline, the Catholic Church receives a new lease of life when it discovers a way to resurrect the dead. Final volume in a multifaceted series on the far future.

The story of an engineer who creates a device to raise a girl capable of thinking for herself reveals what happens when a young girl of the poor underclass obtains the device.

360 p. ; 18 cm

Best book ever

Raheiran Special Forces captain Gillaine Davre has just woken up in some unknown space way station, wondering where the last three hundred years have gone. The last thing she remembers is her ship being attacked. Now it seems that while she was time-traveling, she was ordained a goddess.... Gillaine's only hope of survival rests with dangerously seductive Admiral Mack Makarian, who suspects her of being a smuggler--or worse. But he can't begin to imagine the full extent of it. For Gillaine is now Lady Kiasidira, holy icon to countless believers, including Mack--a man who inspires feelings in her that are far from saintly...feelings she knows are mutual. But when their flirtation is interrupted by a treacherous enemy from the past, Gillaine's secret--and secret desires--could destroy them both....From the Paperback edition.

From back cover Warner paperback August 2004: Nearly 100,000 years after first contact with the machines that dominate the universe, only a few hundred humans survive. Trapped on Snowglade, a barren world near the center of the galaxy, Killeen and his child Toby of the Bishop Tribe are primitive scavengers, homeless and hunted by the ruling "mechs." Then suddenly, a strange cosmic entity -- neither organic, nor cybernetic nor living matter -- reaches out from a black hole to speak with Killeen. But can the fallen descendant of starfarers understand this alien being in time -- and seize his only chance to save his family and mankind from final annihilation?

A collection of short stories by Connie Willis about the spirit and theme of Christmas. Contents: Miracle Inn In Coppelius's Toyshop The Pony Adaptation Cat's Paw Newsletter Epiphany A Final Word (from Connie Willis) Twelve Terrific Things to Read... (Christmas stories) And Twelve to Watch (Christmas movies)

"Agnes Grey, a young child growing up in Houston, Texas in the early sixties, is troubled by her mother's depressive and erratic mood swings. She escapes to a delusional dream state where she finds that her made-up relationships are more gratifying and often more tangible than her real ones. A beloved porcelain doll whispers unintelligible mutterings to her well into the night. An enigmatic high-school boyfriend appears upon command to silently fulfill her adolescent desires. A handsome and soulful English poet steals her away to serve as his devoted muse..."--BOOK JACKET. "Aunt Marjorie, whose cameo appearances are peppered with tales of life abroad, warns Agnes that she must be prepared to deal with the consequences of what she wishes for. And as Agnes approaches and enters adulthood, her fantastical relationships and their consequences become deceptively real, with a chilling and bizarre aftermath."--BOOK JACKET.

A provocative, insightful yet chilling tale of the very possible near future. A world where the oil driven industrial/military complex is replaced by a purely medically driven bureaucracy. Originally initiated as an emergency measure that was enacted to save the world from man made plagues and retro-viruses, the bureaucracy slowly evolves into a world culture that is obsessed with the ideal of longevity. An entire generation bends the will and resources of the world to combat the effects of aging and the extension of the human lifespan. The result; a slowly stagnating geriatric hierarchy that refuses to die and relinquish power. The young have become a tiny minority who are becoming strident,despondent and even militant in a world where they may never be aloud to "come of age". The story revolves around a mid-level bureaucrat (Mia) who is granted access to a radical new and experimental rejuvenation treatment as a reward for good service and behavior. The conflict of newly rediscovered youth and the geriatric bureaucracy that she helped to create is compelling and even poignant. The author's insights and critical examination of the ideas of aging,life extension and the ultimate cost of government control/interference/regulation in and of the lives of the people are particularly relevant to this day .

Of all of Harry Harrison's many great books and series, the Stainless Steel Rat series with Slippery Jim DiGriz stands apart. In this book, Jim is out for revenge against Captain Garth - neither the rank nor the name are real - who is responsible for the death of Jim's mentor, The Bishop. Nothing is ever simple, a pretty straightforward desire to throttle Garth gets morphed into Jim joining - albeit through a back door - the army of Garth's home world, a rapid rise and fall of rank of the self promoting type, and ends with Jim fighting against the army to save a pacifist planet and people whom Garth would enslave and kill without mercy. Plenty of action and the reader isn't ever bored.

California, the not so distant future. Berry, ex-cop/private security, looking to just make ends meet. Chevette, a young bicycle messanger. A murder, a secret missing, and a murderer closing in on Chevette. Berry is the only thing standing between him and Chevette. Can he keep her alive long enough to figure why, and how to stop it? Multi-national corporations, reality tv, a world gone just a bit more ragged than our own. Murder, mystery, real people just trying to get by or survive another day in an harsh world. Big dome private communities and shanty towns built on the discarded remains of a bridge we all know. High tech meets duct tape and superglue. With his unique style and flair, Gibson spins a tale set in a world just to the left of ours.