Publisher: Wildside Press
The exploration ship found them in a hollow under the asteroid's surface. It was like a dungeon, completely bare—except for a few words that glowed on a wall. And the words were in English!
An unidentified space ship lands in a Colorado lake. Equipped with a paralyzing ray weapon, the creatures begin taking human prisoners. A loan land surveyor and a journalist are trapped inside the Army cordon, which is helpless against the mysterious enemy. Can they stop the aliens before it is too late? (Summary by Mark Nelson)Show book
The Sky Was Full of Ships by Theodore Sturgeon - They tried Gordon Kent for murder–but who was really responsible? Sykes died, and after two years they tracked Gordon Kemp down and brought him back, because he was the only man who knew anything about the death. Kemp had to face a coroner's jury in Switchpath, Arizona, a crossroads just at the edge of the desert, and he wasn't too happy about it, being city-bred and not quite understanding the difference between "hicks" and "folks." The atmosphere in the courtroom was tense. Had there been great wainscoted walls and a statue of blind Justice, it would have been more impersonal and, for Kemp, easier to take. But this courtroom was a crossroads granger's hall in Switchpath, Arizona. The presiding coroner was Bert Whelson, who held a corncob pipe instead of a gavel. At their ease around the room were other men, dirt-farmers and prospectors like Whelson. It was like a movie short. It needed only a comedy dance number and somebody playing a jug. But there was nothing comic about it. These hicks were in a position to pile trouble on Kemp, trouble that might very easily wind up in the gas chamber. The coroner leaned forward. "You got nothin' to be afeard of, son, if your conscience is clear." "I still ain't talking. I brought the guy in, didn't I? Would I of done that if I'd killed him?" The coroner stroked his stubble, a soft rasping sound like a rope being pulled over a wooden beam. "We don't know about that, Kemp. Hmm. Why can't you get it through your head that nobody's accusing you of anything? You're jest a feller knows something about the death of this here Alessandro Sykes. This court'd like to know exactly what happened." He hesitated, shuffled. "Sit down, son," said the coroner. That did it. He slumped into the straight chair that one of the men pushed up for him, and told this story.Show book
A deadly race unfolds on the hostile planet in this science fiction adventure by the six-time Hugo Award–winning author. The surface of Venus is the most hellish place in the solar system. The ground is hot enough to melt aluminum. The air pressure is so high it has crushed spacecraft landers as though they were tin cans. The sky is perpetually covered with clouds of sulfuric acid. The atmosphere is a choking mixture of carbon dioxide and poisonous gases. This is where Van Humphries must go. Or die trying. His older brother perished in the first attempt to land a man on Venus, years before, and his father had always hated Van for surviving when his brother died. Now his father is offering a ten-billion-dollar prize to the first person to land on Venus and return his oldest son’s remains. To everyone’s surprise, Van takes up the offer. But what Van Humphries will find on Venus will change everything—our understanding of Venus, of global warming on Earth, and his knowledge of who he is. . . . Praise for Venus “Venus scorches.” —Kansas City Star “Bova proves himself equal to the task of showing how adversity can temper character in unforeseen ways.” —The New York Times “The author’s excellence at combining hard science with believable characters and an attention-grabbing plot makes him one of the genre’s most accessible and entertaining storytellers.” —Library JournalShow book
Blood stains her Celtic home and kingdom. The warrior Druid princess will do anything to retake her kingdom. Although Catrin is the rightful heir to the Celtic throne in Britannia, she is lucky to be alive. After witnessing the slaughter of her family at the hands of her half-brother, who was aided by the Romans, she is enslaved by a Roman commander. He disguises her as a boy in the Roman Legion with the belief that she is an oracle of Apollo and can foretell his future. The sole bright spot in her miserable new life is her forbidden lover Marcellus, the great-grandson of the famed Roman General Mark Antony. But Marcellus has been wounded and his memories of Catrin and their secret marriage were erased by a dark Druidess. Though Marcellus reunites with Catrin in Gaul and becomes her ally as she struggles to survive the brutality of her Roman master, he questions the legitimacy of their marriage and hesitates to help her escape and retake her kingdom. If their forbidden love and alliance are discovered, her dreams of returning to her Celtic home with Marcellus will be shattered.Show book
Helena and the oracular bookstore Abernathy’s stopped an attack by the alien invaders’ human allies and destroyed their attempt at a second oracle, giving the Wardens much-needed victories. Now, after months of fighting a defensive war, the Wardens plan a direct assault on the enemy stronghold. But as the battle approaches, Abernathy’s has other plans. The oracle directs Helena to contact four ordinary people with extraordinary talents whose abilities will change the course of the war. Convincing them to join the fight challenges Helena’s persuasive powers to the extreme. If she fails, it will mean the deaths of thousands—including those Helena loves most.Show book
Rudi MacKenzie continues his trek across the land that was once the United States of America. His destination: Nantucket, where he hopes to learn the truth behind the Change that rendered technology across the globe inoperable. During his travels, Rudi forges ties with new allies in the continuing war against the Prophet, who teaches his followers that God has punished humanity by destroying technological civilization. And one fanatical officer in the Sword of the Prophet has been dispatched on a mission: to stop Rudi from reaching his destination by any means necessary.Show book
