Short stories and science writing from a Robert A. Heinlein Award winner: “Allen Steele is among the best.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch In Rude Astronauts, Allen Steele presents some of his finest stories—including the Diamondback Jack Trilogy and his first published story, “Live from the Mars Hotel”—along with excerpts of the nonfiction science writing with which he made his name. In Steele’s universe, the stars are cold, space is big, and it’s the normal people who make things interesting.
Tom Easton has served as the monthly book review columnist for Analog Science Fiction for almost three decades, having contributed during that span many hundreds of columns and over a million words of penetrating criticism on the best literature that science fiction has to offer. His reviews have been celebrated for their wit, humor, readability, knowledge, and incisiveness. His love of literature, particularly fantastic literature, is everywhere evident in his essays. Easton has ever been willing to cover small presses, obscure authors, and unusual publications, being the only major critic in the field to do so on a regular basis. He seems to delight in finding the rare gem among the backwaters of the publishing field. "A reviewer's job," he says, "is not to judge books for the ages, but to tell readers enough about a book to give them some idea of whether they would enjoy it." And this he does admirably, whether he's discussing the works of the great writers in the field, or touching upon the least amongst them. This companion volume to "Periodic Stars" (Borgo/Wildside) collects another 250 of Easton's best reviews from the last fifteen years of "The Reference Library." No one does it better, and no other guide provides such lengthy or discerning commentary on the best SF works of recent times. Complete with Introduction and detailed Index.
The future of an orbiting space colony is threatened by a fugitive and the assassin on her trail in this science fiction adventure from three-time Hugo Award winner Allen Steele Skycorp has always expected the near-Earth space colony Clarke County to serve as a cash cow, bringing the corporate behemoth a substantial return on its investment through food production and tourism. Now that the Church of Elvis is planning a major revival meeting on the colony, the execs anticipate that the devout and the curious alike will be rocketing to Clarke County in droves. Its residents, however, would prefer to be left alone, and there has even been some dangerous talk of freedom and independence from Earth. It’s Sheriff John Bigthorn’s job to keep the peace on the colony, but his work may prove more difficult than usual in the upcoming days—especially following the unexpected arrival of a frightened young woman carrying money and important data she’s stolen from her gangster ex-boyfriend. With an ice-cold assassin called the Golem on the runaway’s tail, the holy “Living Elvis” stirring up the faithful, and revolution in the wind, Bigthorn will have to lay off the peyote and stay particularly sharp if he hopes to prevent total chaos and bloodshed . . . and perhaps even save his floating artificial world.
"An anthology celebrating hard science fiction presents a series of stories that emphasize science and technology, in a collection featuring such authors as Poul Anderson, Iain M. Banks, Stephen Baxter, and Nancy Kress."--Worldcat.
Three-time Hugo Award–winning author Allen Steele imagines an alternate history rooted in an actual historical possibility: What if the race to space had occurred in the early days of World War II? It’s 1941, and Wernher von Braun is ordered by his fuhrer to abandon the V-2 rocket and turn German resources in a daring new direction: construction of a manned orbital spacecraft capable of attacking the United States. When the top secret plan is leaked to Franklin Roosevelt, the president has only one logical response: The United States must build their own spacecraft to destroy it. Robert Goddard, inventor of the liquid-fuel rocket, agrees to head the classified project. So begins a race against time between two secret military programs and two brilliant scientists whose high-stakes competition will spiral into a deadly game of political intrigue and unforeseen catastrophes played to the death in the brutal skies above America.
Allen Steele, author of Arkwright, gives us a thrilling piece of science fiction pulp with Avengers of the Moon Curt Newton has spent most of his life hidden from the rest of humankind, being raised by a robot, an android, and the disembodied brain of a renowned scientist. This unlikely trio of guardians has kept his existence a closely guarded secret after the murder of Curt's parents. Curt's innate curiosity and nose for trouble inadvertently lead him into a plot to destabilize the Solar Coalition and assassinate the president. There's only one way to uncover the evil mastermind—Curt must become Captain Future. With the permission of the Edmond Hamilton estate, Allen Steele revives the exciting adventures of Captain Future.
Explore fascinating, often chilling “what if” accounts of the world that could have existed—and still might yet . . . Science fiction’s most illustrious and visionary authors hold forth the ultimate alternate history collection. Here you’ll experience mind-bending tales that challenge your views of the past, present, and future, including: • “The Lucky Strike”: When the Lucky Strike is chosen over the Enola Gay to drop the first atomic bomb, fate takes an unexpected turn in Kim Stanley Robinson’s gripping tale. • “Bring the Jubilee”: Ward Moore’s novella masterpiece offers a rebel victory at Gettysburg which changes the course of the Civil War . . . and all of American history. • “Through Road No Wither”: After Hitler’s victory in World War II, two Nazi officers confront their destiny in Greg Bear’s apocalyptic vision of the future. • “All the Myriad Ways”: Murder or suicide, Ambrose Harmon’s death leads the police down an infinite number of pathways in Larry Niven’s brilliant and defining tale of alternatives and consequences. • “Mozart in Mirrorshades”: Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner explore a terrifying era as the future crashes into the past—with disastrous results. . . . as well as “The Winterberry” by Nicholas A. DiChario • “Islands in the Sea” by Harry Turtledove • “Suppose They Gave a Peace” by Susan Shwartz • “Manassas, Again” by Gregory Benford • “Dance Band on the Titanic” by Jack L. Chalker • “Eutopia” by Poul Anderson • “The Undiscovered” by William Sanders • “The Death of Captain Future” by Allen Steele • and “Moon of Ice” by Brad Linaweaver The definitive collection: fourteen seminal alternate history tales drawing readers into a universe of dramatic possibility and endless wonder.
This book provides unique access to the story of how scientists were accepted into the American Space Programme, and reveals how, after four difficult decades, the role of the heroic test pilot astronaut has been replaced by men and women who are science orientated space explorers.
