(Science fiction)

This novel, His Wisdom The Defender, is the worst novel I have ever read. I can say that with confidence, because although I expect that I have started reading still worse novels, I never finished them. So why did I finish this one? Simply because Simon Newcomb is regarded, correctly, as the greatest, or at least one of the greatest, of all astronomers who have ever lived, and I am a professional astronomer. I wanted to know the mind of Newcomb better, and now, sadly, I do. I might add that I have recently learned that this same Simon Newcomb is regarded by professional economists as, you guessed it, the greatest, or at least one of the greatest, of all economists. The publication date of the novel is 1900; the story unfolds over the period 1941 to 1946. The hero, Professor Archibald Campbell (clearly Newcomb himself) goes on leave so as to develop inventions; an aircraft shaped like a dirigible powered by coal plus etherine and therm (sic), capable of rising above the atmosphere and going at high speed to anywhere in the world. Cambell builds a huge fleet of them of various kinds (one kind are called daddies) and recruits American crews for them and determines to bring eternal peace and harmony to the world by unilaterally attacking several European nations, which he does. He captures the Kaiser, and releases him when Germany has collapsed under the air attack by Campbell. The result is that, on the second last page of the novel, and I quote, -students assembled in the grounds of Harvard shouted with their clarion voices, Rah! Rah! Rah! the Defender-, and Campbell goes on to benevolently rule the world. Sheesh! Richard Conn Henry henry@jhu.edu P.S. see

Depicts the adventure of three Englishmen who uncover a pair of 250,000 year old super-humans in suspended animation. The super-humans, awakened, view Europe in the midst of the First World War and decide that human civilization must be destroyed.

As creeping secularism and godless humanism triumph over traditional morality, it creates a world that has been divided into three powerblocks, where religious doctrine is not tolerated and euthanasia is practiced widely. In Britain, the Royal Family has been deposed; institutions of higher learning have been closed, and a politician intent on power in the name of peace is intent on the destruction of religion. The world now has only three main religious forces: Catholicism, Secular Humanism, and "the Eastern religions." As a shrinking Church stands resolutely against him, laws are passed which require all the world's people to formally disavow the existence of God or be executed without trial.

x, 322 p. ; 22 cm

A key backlist title from the author of Cocaine Nights, Empire of the Sun and Crash, now in PerfectBound e-book.

"Study of the outer solar system began almost 400 years ago, in 1610, when Galileo made his first telescopic observations and discovered Jupiter's four larger moons. Later that same year Galileo aimed his telescope at Saturn and was the first to see its rings. Because of the less-than-adequate resolving power of his telescope, he didn't realize what they were (he reported seeing "cup handles") and it wasn't until 45 years later, in 1655, that Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens described the true form of the rings. Not until 1781, when Sir William Herschel discovered Uranus, were any planets beyond Saturn known to exist." "Most of the rest of what we know of our outer solar system has been learned in the last 30 years, beginning with the Pioneer and Voyager missions of the 1970s to Jupiter and beyond. And a staggering amount has been learned in those three decades, some of it far more fascinating and complex than had ever been foreseen. Theories of planetary evolution and behavior have been revised again and again in the face of hard data returned by the scientific instruments of solar system exploration missions years in length. In the summer of 1989, Voyager 2 did a flyby of Neptune, the first spacecraft to do so, a full 12 years after it was launched." "The Galileo spacecraft, launched in 1989, was the first outer solar system orbiter, going into orbit around Jupiter in 1995 to begin a two-year intensive study of the planet. Galileo released the first-ever probe into the atmosphere of another planet. The Cassini spacecraft was launched in 1997, spent seven years reaching Saturn, and then went into orbit to begin a multi-year study of the Saturnian system." "On January 14, 2005, Cassini released the Huygens probe, which entered the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and parachuted to the surface, radioing scientific observations back to Cassini for relay to Earth. Titan's atmosphere resembles that of primordial Earth and scientists feel that much can be learned about our own world's evolution by studying what's happening now on Titan. Cassini and Huygens are the latest spacecraft in an ongoing long-term effort that has become international in scope, exploring the solar system to help understand the past and prepare for the future. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET

Two sisters are captured by visitors from another planet

vi, 301 p. 21 cm

Science fiction classic about the rise, fall and subsequent rise of a civilization where the peak catastrophe is known as the "crazy eddy point". Introduces the concept of frictionless toilets that don't have any water in them but I suspect the authors didn't think it all the way through - I don't recall a negative air pressure that would keep odours in their rightfull place. Nevertheless a fascinating read. I haven't read this for donkeys years which is why I'm searching for an e-copy.

An adventurous fiction by William Le Queux. Richard Scarsmere befriended Omar, the heir to the throne of Mo while both studying in boarding school of Dr Treager. One day, Omar was summoned by his mother Naya, The Great White Queen to return to Mo at once. Fearing traps and assasination attempts, Omar leaved immediately without any notice accompanied by Scarsmere; who dreaded the prospect of working as factory clerk proposed by his maternal uncle to be commenced next year. Therefore, began his adventure to Mo, where no stranger had set it foot.

vi, 245 p. 21 cm

314 p. 22 cm

Ron Barron never expectied to see Clonar again. Clonar, the boy who alone had survived the crash of an interstllar saucer-ship near Ron's home, had been rescued by his people and returned to Rorla, a planet in the Great Galaxy of Andromeda, almost a million light-years from Earth. When he left, he assured Ron that communication between Rorla and Earth would be impossible. Yet only a year later, Ron listened with growing excitement to Clonar's voice coming over the interstellar communication system, inviting Ron and his family to journey to Rorla to attend a conference of the Galactic Federation. None of the Barrons could have known that Clonar's invitation was violently opposed by the Rorlans, nor that on Rorla was an unknown enemy who resented their coming - a man who saw Earth's destruction as a necessity. And it was a bitter coincidence that that man should be in charge of the colony of delegates. As representatives of a planet whose civilization was considered dangerous and too inferior for membership in the Federation, the Barrons found themselves at the mercy of suspicious and hostile strangers bent on proving Earth's civilization unsalvageable. Not until Ron's father becomes an innocent party to an assassination plot, do they fully realize to what extent the Rorlans will carry their deception. Climaxed by a shocking courtroom scene in which Ron stands trial for Earth, this sequel to Raymond Jones's SON OF THE STARS is an intricately plotted tale of what could happen if earth were to come face to face with long-established civilizations of Outer Space.

When an asteroid threatens to destroy their space island, the sole survivors of the destruction of the Earth must find a new place to go to.

395, 349 p. 21 cm

301 p. 21 cm

No human being had ever seen the Trisz, not even so much as a picture of them. They looked as the name sounds — Trisz, their ap­pearance as illusive as wind rippling water. Yet the Trisz had conquered Earth and its peoples in generations past, and on one could escape their ever-watchful presence. No one except the Scarlet Order of Men, the one planet-wide organization that Earth's elusive masters tolerated. Only the most favored of the People could enter the Institute, as children, to undergo rigorous training. Those unfit for the Order became Blue Brethren, servants and guides of the People, aiding and instructing them as loyal members of society, under the rule of the benevolent Trisz. Few were the Students selected for initiation into the Scarlet Order. These few learned the scientific secrets behind the philosophy taught by the Blue Brethren, learned mental disciplines and psychic powers which enabled them to perform what would seem to be miracles. And Initiates learned the truth about the Trisz — that these seemingly benevolent rulers had not only destroyed the human civilization that existed before their coming, but were also looting the planet's energy. For the Trisz fed on pure energy; and little by little, Earth was being robbed of all that made it habitable. Only a small fraction of its water still remained, and most of the planet was a desert. Kor Danay had completed his nineteen-year course of training, and was ready for his initiation tests — tests which he, and the other five in his class, would either pass or perish in the attempt. Before the day was over, if he still lived, he would be a Scarlet Sage, ready to enter the secret struggle against the Trisz. The struggle would be long and bitter, for all his powers; the Men had succeeded in concealing their true nature from the Trisz, but were still far short of scientific knowledge and attainments needed to win Earth, and save what was left of its people. Kor Danay prepared to take the Oath of Manhood, elated with his success in mastering the "Fire Out of Heaven," a voluntary test which none had passed before. Then, to his consternation, he found himself required to take this pledge - “I do solemnly vow: never in vanity or pride... to demonstrate my powers... to any living thing... nor to use my powers against any of the People... except that my life be in danger... nor against any of the Trisz. This I most solemnly swear... that I will face death before the Trisz... and will let my life be lost... rather than disclose the secret powers of the Men to them.” What did this pledge mean? Why had he spent nineteen years in developing himself into the superb weapon that every Man was, if he must vow not to use his power? Here is an absorbing novel of the future; of the superscience of man; and of one, believing himself chosen to play the hero, who found he must plumb the depths of humility, with no hope before him other than a mean and ignoble death.

A young member of an underwater colony tries to overcome her fear of sharks and other creatures that threaten her everyday life.

Teen-aged Don Miller felt lucky to be one of the few aboard the atomic-powered submarine, the TRITON, on its first official depth test run. Even when the ship began to falter and the diving planes jammed, neither he nor the rest of the crew realized they were fighting a losing battle against an unknown enemy. Quick repairs and a frantic attempt to surface brought renewed hope to the crew until they spotted strange-looking "bubble men" lashing through the water on creatures supposed to have been extinct millions of years before. All efforts to fight off the sea men failed, and the crew of the crippled TRITON had no alternative but to let their captives drag them toward the giant "bubble city" resting on the ocean floor. Lester del Rey has written here an intriguing tale of an outcast race that had migrated into the sea with a secret power that shut out the sea waters. As prisoners of a superstitious and frightened people, Don and the others frantically plotted their escape from "a city of no return." How Don finally turns the Atlanteans' weakness into a weapon and nearly wrecks the city with fear fills this story with breathless suspense. Besides providing thrill-packed reading for teen-agers, ATTACK FROM ATLANTIS suggests fascinating answers to legends that cannot die until men conquer the last barrier of this planet and find out for themselves what lies hidden beneath the mysterious sea.