Magnum books

"El Dorado. The golden man. Those doughty adventurers who first began to probe the secrets of the New World were fascinated by whispers of treasure beyond belief somewhere in the mountains of Colombia. There, said the native Indians, lived a people "rich in gold" with a chief who once a year as part of a religious ritual covered himself with the precious metal's dust. So began an incredible saga of adventure - Spaniards, Germans, French, British, Dutch and Portuguese sprawled across an almost unknown continent in their search for a phantom. The New World replaced the Old World's mythology of unbounded riches in legendary places in the deserts and cities of the Mediterranean and Asia. From a golden man, El Dorado grew into a city of gold and drew untold numbers to death. It became the metaphor for the unattainable. Sir Walter Raleigh, England's hero, great adventurer and man of letters, died on the block because he, too, caught the fever of El Dorado. He and countless others failed to prove its existence was no legend. But they discovered a continent. Victor von Hagen, himself an explorer and traveller of no mean accomplishment, has followed their footsteps through jungles and country where disease and other hazards turned death into monotonous tragedy. He has no need to dramatise the people and events he has documented; his approach to the vast tapestry and his presentation results in the greatest real-life adventure stories yet told. The myths of the heroics of the questers for the Golden Fleece and the Holy Grail become minor narratives alongside von Hagen's brilliant and exciting account of the actual events and the men who precipitated them." -- dust jacket.

London just before the Great Exhibition of 1851. In this sequel to The Winter Spring, the Winter sisters, Lettice and Isabella are at the height of success. Lettice is married to Henry DAvenant, England's most renowned actor, and their theatrical partnership is famous. Isabella, a young widowed viscountess is a glittering and courted hostess. Lettice and Henry tour America with great success, but their marriage is threatened when a rising young actress joins their company in New York. Then Isabella's cousin, Robert, makes what seems to be a hopelessly unsuitable marriage.

The first seven chapters of Philip K. Dick's The Crack in Space were first published as Cantata-140 in Fantasy and Science Fiction (07/1964). Cantata-140 was expanded from the short story Stand-By (Amazing 10/1963). The Gollancz 2003 edition of Cantata-140 is the text of The Crack in Space, not the novella published in 1964.

They plugged Michael Yarrow into the new ETHANAC computer to see what would happen before they used it on someone important. It was meant to enhance a secret agent's abilities to penetrate any computer, military or civilian, anywhere—but if it had hidden dangers, better to use up an insignifi- cant lab technician than a trained agent. ... When the amiable but not-too-bright Yarrow was connected to ETHANAC, his mind was flooded and expanded almost intolerably—that was what the planner had expected. What they hadn't counted on was that ETHANAC could discover new horizons, too... MOTHER AND CHILD The king's men left Etaa’s husband, Hywel the smith, smashed on the rocks below the cliffs and bore her to their master's bed. The Neaane were the masters of their world, their power supported by the living Gods who walked among them, and they feared no reprisal from the despised Kotaane. But suddenly there were raids, and fire and death in the night . . . and the Kotaane were led by a gaunt, maimed figure known as the Smith. Only the Gods could save the Neaane—but the Gods had turned against them.

After reading "Last and First Men", I approached Olaf's next masterpiece, "Star Maker" ( first published in 1937), with some disbelief as to how on earth he could possibly better the span, pathos and magnanimity he had already laid out. A quick scan of the appendices yielded the impression that this book would embrace not just the tiny fragment of history that was mankind's stay in the universe, but that all history of the universe would be described, and that of other universes too. All of this in less pages than "Last and First Men"! My immediate reaction was simply, "No way, Jose" and I wondered how he was going to set about such an immense task. The vehicle used was, of course, the best man has going for him - his imagination. A contemplative man is whisked off on an imaginary journey through space and time by an ever-gathering mass consciousness. He describes how galaxies of stars formed from nebulae that were born flying apart from each other, how these cooling nebulae condensed into galaxies of stars, and how the rare occurrences of young stars that passed each other, formed planets, and how, on a few rare planets, intelligent life evolved. He shows how certain conditions inhibit the appearance of life, or intelligent life, and how certain evolutionary pathways cause life to stagnate or wipe itself out. He puts mankind's existence into perspective in both universal time and space. There are touching moments and there are exciting battles. There is both tragedy and comedy. There are uplifting victories and crushing defeats. Far from being stuffy, this book is really a very good read indeed, considering the scope of its subject. The final few short chapters really have you reading a couple of paragraphs, and then putting the book down to have a long ponder over what has just been addressed. And the book's climax leaves you with lifelong matters to mull over - one of these being, "Boy, and I thought I was pretty intelligent..."

Imagine that the Black Death of 1348 destroyed most of Europe's people instead of only one-fourth. As a result the Turks rule Europe, Africa is the world's cultural center, and America in 1963, is a semi-savage continent governed by Aztecs. North America is the setting where a young Englishman seeks fortune and adventure.