Search Results for: masterworks

This new collection of stories from the multi-award-winning author of DOOMSDAY BOOK and TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG contains:

A Letter from the Clearys
At the Rialto
Death on the Nile
The Soul Selects Her own Society
Fire Watch
Inside Job
Even the Queen
The Winds of Marble Arch
All Seated on the Ground
Last of the Winnebagos

Ten stories – which have all won the HUGO AWARD, the NEBULA AWARD or both – are compulsory reading for the serious science fiction fan.

A young man arrives in the anarchic city of Bellona, in a near future USA. This world has two moons but could otherwise be our own.

The man, known only as ‘the Kid’, begins to write a novel called Dhalgren that begins where it ends.

Dhalgren is about the possibilites of fiction and about the special demands and pleasures of youth culture.

The critically acclaimed and bestselling sequel to HYPERION, from the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Terror, which is now a chilling TV show.

The mysterious Time Tombs are opening and the Shrike that has risen from them may well control the fate of all mankind. The Ousters are laying seige to the Hegemony of Man and the AIs we created have turned against us to build the Ultimate Intelligence; God. The God of Machines. His genesis could mean annihilation for man.

Something is drawing the hegemony, the Ousters, the AIs, the entire universe to the Shrike.

Fourteen people arrive on the strange planet of Delmak-O; they have nothing in common other than a desire to make a fresh start. And they have no idea why they are there and no way of escaping. And then the first murder takes place …

The war had been going on for nearly a year and the Sirian Empire had a huge advantage in personnel and equipment. Earth needed an edge. Which was where James Mowry came in.

If a small insect buzzing around in a car could so distract the driver as to cause that vehicle to crash, think what havoc one properly trained operative could wreak on an unsuspecting enemy. Intensively trained, his appearance surgically altered, James Mowry is landed on Jaimec, the 94th planet of the Sirian Empire. His mission is simple: sap morale, cause mayhem, tie up resources, wage a one-man war on a planet of eighty million.

In short, be a wasp.

First published in 1957, WASP is generally regarded as Eric Frank Russell’s finest novel, a witty and exciting account of a covert war in the heart of enemy territory.

Imagine a distant world where gods walk as men, but wield vast and hidden powers. Here they have made the stage on which they build a subtle pattern of alliance, love, and deadly enmity. Are they truly immortal? Who are these gods who rule the destiny of a teeming world?

Their names include Brahma, Kali, Krishna and also he who was called Buddha, the Lord of Light, but who now prefers to be known simply as Sam. The gradual unfolding of the story – how the colonization of another planet became a re-enactment of Eastern mythology – is one of the great imaginative feats of modern science fiction.

Winner of the Hugo Award for best novel, 1968.

In a clearing of the great forest of the planet Bosk Veld, a strange, ape-like species of alien, the Asadi, act out their almost-incomprehensible rituals, rainbow eyes flashing, spinning like pinwheels.

Egon Chaney, in his anthropological study, ‘Death and Designation Among the Asadi’ has shown how their life-style has apparently degenerated from a level of complex technological sophistication and devolved to a primal simplicity. Long after his disappearance in the forest, his daughter, Elegy Cather, comes to Bosk Veld to carry on his studies of the Asadi where he left off. With her is an intelligent ape, Kretzoi, physically adapted to resemble the aliens.

Together with Thomas Benedict, Chaney’s old partner, Elegy begins to unravel the enigma of the Asadi. As Kretzoi insinuates himself into their rituals, so we are drawn into what is perhaps the most convincing portrayal of the alien yet.

The balance of galactic power in the 31st century revolves around Illyrion, the most precious energy source in the universe. Captain Lorq van Ray’s varied and exotic crew know their mission is dangerous, but they have no idea of Lorq’s secret obsession: to gather Illyrion at source by flying through the very heart of an imploding star.

This is science fiction on the grandest of scales – a cast of thousands set across hundreds of years and in the farthest reaches of Human Space. A prequel to his earlier novel A Fire Upon the Deep, this new novel is epic in scope and a thoroughly riveting read.
A Deepness In the Sky is the story of Pham Nuwen, a small cog in the interstellar trading fleet of the Queng Ho. Both they and the Emergents are orbiting Arachna, a dormant planet which will shortly wake up when its On/Off star relights after decades of darkness. Both groups hope to exploit the coming age of technology and commerce on Arachna. But while the Queng Ho seek only to trade aggressively, the Emergents plans are far more sinister, amounting to little short of genocide . . .

“A tour de force” – New York Times Book Review

“Ambitious, finely detailed and compulsively readable” – Locus

“It is a book that feels fundamentally true; it is a book to live in” – Washington Post

For Kivrin Engle, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity’s history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing a bullet-proof backstory. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.

But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history’s darkest hours.

Winner of both the 1993 Hugo and Nebula Best Novel awards, this is a science fiction classic.

Read what everyone is saying about Doomsday Book:

‘By the time I finished the book, I had the feeling I also spent time living with these medieval men, women and children. The novel is that powerful‘ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘I can’t stop thinking about Doomsday Book. I can’t get the images out of my head. I can’t get the train of thought out of my head. I can’t stop my throat from tightening or my jaw from clenching‘ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘I was fascinated by CW’s take on time travel and the mirroring of the plague in the future with the past’s Black Death, but moreover, the characters snuck up on me and tore my soul apart‘ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘A lovely and heart-wrenching story, highly recommended. It’s much more about the characters than the hard science. Kivrin’s – and the villagers’ – bravery in the face of death and tragedy hit me right in the heart‘ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘This is the mostest bestest time travel novel ever written . . . Connie Willis is just too bloody good‘ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘The strengths of this novel are its attention to Historical details, the engaging and believable characters suitable to an era and the dark but hopeful tones and themes of the story’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘I read this book for the first time about six years ago and barely survived it, I was so involved in everything that was happening. Connie Willis is an amazing writer‘ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

A popular and enduring time travel tale by one of science fiction’s all-time greats

When Dan Davis is crossed in love and stabbed in the back by his business associates, the immediate future doesn’t look too bright for him and Pete, his independent-minded tomcat. Suddenly, the lure of suspended animation, the Long Sleep, becomes irresistible and Dan wakes up 30 years later in the 21st century, a time very much to his liking.

The discovery that the robot household appliances he invented have been mass produced is no surprise, but the realization that, far from having been stolen from him, they have, mysteriously, been patented in his name is. There’s only one thing for it. Dan somehow has to travel back in time to investigate.

He may even find Pete … and the girl he really loves.

The world ended. People survived.

Per Hiero Desteen was a priest, a telepath-and a highly trained killer.

Five thousand years after the apocalyptic event known only as The Death, Hiero is tasked with finding the secrets of the old world, which could protect his civilisation from massing enemies.

The planet is not the same as it used to be. Mutations have changed the way humans and animals live together, the holocaust known as The Death. The Brotherhood of the Unclean wants to wipe out all traces of surviving human society, allowing anarchy to rule the wasteland that once was North America.


Hiero’s journey takes him into the heart of the Brotherhood’s territory. The danger is great if he is caught . . . but even the smallest chance that humanity could be saved is worth the risk.

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.

Against the backdrop of the Gaean Reach, the widely populated region of space where the full diversity of human development is revealed, the story of Jaro Fath unfolds: from wildling orphan to spaceship captain, a tale of adventure and discovery wittily told.

Jaro’s life is directed by an inner voice he cannot account for . . . until he returns to Kammerwelt, described in The Handbook of the Planets as the fourth world in the entourage of Robert Palmer’s Star, drifting in a far-flung sector of the galaxy known as the Dragon’s Maw.

Jaro is haunted by memories of his dead mother’s terror, and he is about to find out why . . .

David’s father doesn’t approve of Angus Morton’s unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. And blasphemies, as everyone knows, should be burned: KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD; WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT.

Little does he realise that his own son – and his son’s cousin Rosalind and their friends – have their own secret aberration which would label them as mutants. And mutants, as everyone knows, should be burned.

But as David and Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery – and death – or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badlands . . .

The Strugatsky brothers’ poignant and introspective novel of first contact that inspired the classic film

Stalker

Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those strange misfits who are compelled by some unknown force to venture illegally into the Zone and, in spite of the extreme danger, collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the Zone and the thriving black market in the alien products. Even the nature of his daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that Red makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile depths.

Readers can’t stop thinking about Roadside Picnic:

‘A story of a horrific yet fascinating place, a story of an ordinary and unlikable man just trying to get by, a philosophical interlude on humanity and its significance or lack thereof, of greed and wonder, and the fever dream of the soul scream. It still speaks to me‘ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘Such an intriguing setting for me, such an unusual take on alien interaction‘ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘It is a thought-provoking, hard-to-put down masterpiece, most probably the best introduction to Soviet science fiction. A must read for any sci-fi fan’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘A fantastic and creative exploration of what first contact might be like’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘The tone of the book is akin to that of some noir works, dark, gritty, getting darker and grittier as the tale wears on . . . Like many great books, the meaning of the ending is left up to the reader’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘A beautifully depressive and wonderfully atmospheric science fiction novel about life on Earth after an alien “Visitation” that leaves humans with more questions than answers . . . Once I started reading it today, I couldn’t stop. The story captured my heart and held my attention’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

‘This is the sort of book that you read and then immediately feel the need to lend it to someone you know so that they can experience and enjoy it themselves . . . I was truly astonished-by both the poignancy and the deceptive(?) simplicity of this relatively short novel’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Trapped in 1877, a historian writes an account of an alternate history of America in which the South won the Civil War.

Living in this alternate timeline, he was determined to change events at Gettysburg. When he’s offered the chance to return to that fateful turning point his actions change history as he knows it, leaving him in an all too familiar past.

In this profound ecological fable, a mysterious plague has destroyed the vast majority of the human race. Isherwood Williams, one of the few survivors, returns from a wilderness field trip to discover that civilization has vanished during his absence.

Eventually he returns to San Francisco and encounters a female survivor who becomes his wife. Around them and their children a small community develops, living like their pioneer ancestors, but rebuilding civilization is beyond their resources, and gradually they return to a simpler way of life.

A poignant novel about finding a new normal after the upheaval of a global crisis.

The award-winning account of a man changed beyond all recognition so that he can be part of a bold experiment to live on Mars

Ill luck made Roger Torraway the subject of the Man Plus Programme, but it was deliberate biological engineering which turned him into a monster – a machine perfectly adapted to survive on Mars. For according to computer predictions, Mars is humankind’s only alternative to extinction. But beneath his monstrous exterior, Torraway still carries a man’s capacity for suffering.

In the tradition of the greatest cyberpunk novels, Blood Music explores the imminent destruction of mankind and the fear of mass destruction by technological advancements.

Blood Music follows present-day events in which the fears concerning the nuclear annihilation of the world subsided after the Cold War and the fear of chemical warfare spilled over into the empty void of nuclear fear. An amazing breakthrough in genetic engineering made by Vergil Ulam is considered too dangerous for further research, but rather than destroy his work, he injects himself with his creation and walks out of his lab, unaware of just quite how his actions will change the world.

Author Greg Bear’s treatment of the traditional tale of scientific hubris is both suspenseful and a compelling portrait of a new intelligence emerging amongst us, irrevocably changing our world.

All alone: an idiot boy, a runaway girl, a severely retarded baby, and twin girls with a vocabulary of two words between them. Yet once they are mysteriously drawn together this collection of misfits becomes something very, very different from the rest of humanity.

This intensely written and moving novel is an extraordinary vision of humanity’s next step.

Far in the future, the craftsmen of the distant planet Halma create goods which are the wonder of the galaxy. But they know little of this. Their society is harshly regimented, its religion austere and unforgiving, and primitive – to maintain standards, even the most basic use of automation is punishable by death.

When Amiante, a wood-carver, is executed for processing old documents with a camera, his son Ghyl rebels, and decides to bring down the system. To do so, he must first interpret the story of Emphyrio, an ancient hero of Halman legend.

In the year 2301, guns are only museum pieces and benign telepaths sweep the minds of the populace to detect crimes before they happen. In 2301 murder is virtually impossible, but one man is about to change that …

Ben Reich, a psychopathic business magnate, has devised the ultimate scheme to eliminate the competition and destroy the order of his society. The Demolished Man is a masterpiece of imaginative suspense, set in a superbly imagined world in which everything has changed except the ancient instinct for murder.

One man must make a journey across a once colonised alien planet. Abandoned by man when it was discovered that the species there were actually sentient, the planet is now a place of mystery. A mystery that obsesses the lone traveller Gundersen and takes him on a long trek to attempt to share the religious rebirthing of the aliens. A journey that offers redemption from guilt and sin.

This is one of Robert Silverberg’s most intense novels and draws heavily on Conrad’s HEART OF DARKNESS. It puts the reader at the heart of the experience and forces them to ask what they would do in the circumstances.

First published in 1970.