In these pages, Robert Jeschonek will take you on a tour of the wildest places and people you've never imagined. You've never met anyone quite like Nona Stiletto, the sexy cyborg exterminator who takes on a planet of alien monsters...Thal Simoleon, baseball player of the future, condemned to death for losing the World Series...Cilla Franklin, an American teacher whose students are naked killer savages...Mike the Future Man, a high tech time traveler fighting to find a missing child...Vicky Dozen, the bioengineering genebilly whipping up rhinoporcupines in Best Virginia...or Philippa the cross-dressing Conquistadora of outer space. Don't miss these edgy, exciting, and surprising science fiction tales by a Star Trek and Doctor Who author. It’s the latest collection from award-winning storyteller Robert Jeschonek, a master of unique and unexpected science fiction that really packs a punch.
The mysteries and marvels of the science fiction world are brought to life in this compilation of stories representing the work of major authors in this field.
Paolo Bacigalupi's debut collection demonstrates the power and reach of the science fiction short story. Social criticism, political parable, and environmental advocacy lie at the center of Paolo's work. Each of the stories herein is at once a warning, and a celebration of the tragic comedy of the human experience. The eleven stories in Pump Six represent the best Paolo's work, including the Hugo nominee "Yellow Card Man," the nebula and Hugo nominated story "The People of Sand and Slag," and the Sturgeon Award-winning story "The Calorie Man."
Six classic science fiction stories and commentary that illustrate and explain key algorithms or principles of artificial intelligence. This book presents six classic science fiction stories and commentary that illustrate and explain key algorithms or principles of artificial intelligence. Even though all the stories were originally published before 1973, they help readers grapple with two questions that stir debate even today: how are intelligent robots programmed? and what are the limits of autonomous robots? The stories—by Isaac Asimov, Vernor Vinge, Brian Aldiss, and Philip K. Dick—cover telepresence, behavior-based robotics, deliberation, testing, human-robot interaction, the “uncanny valley,” natural language understanding, machine learning, and ethics. Each story is preceded by an introductory note, “As You Read the Story,” and followed by a discussion of its implications, “After You Have Read the Story.” Together with the commentary, the stories offer a nontechnical introduction to robotics. The stories can also be considered as a set of—admittedly fanciful—case studies to be read in conjunction with more serious study. Contents “Stranger in Paradise” by Isaac Asimov, 1973 “Runaround” by Isaac Asimov, 1942 “Long Shot” by Vernor Vinge, 1972 “Catch That Rabbit” by Isaac Asimov, 1944 “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss, 1969 “Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick, 1953
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE • An outsider who can travel between worlds discovers a secret that threatens the very fabric of the multiverse in this stunning debut, a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging. WINNER OF THE COMPTON CROOK AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS AWARD • “Gorgeous writing, mind-bending world-building, razor-sharp social commentary, and a main character who demands your attention—and your allegiance.”—Rob Hart, author of The Warehouse ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—NPR, Library Journal, Book Riot Multiverse travel is finally possible, but there’s just one catch: No one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying—from disease, turf wars, or vendettas they couldn’t outrun. Cara’s life has been cut short on 372 worlds in total. On this dystopian Earth, however, Cara has survived. Identified as an outlier and therefore a perfect candidate for multiverse travel, Cara is plucked from the dirt of the wastelands. Now what once made her marginalized has finally become an unexpected source of power. She has a nice apartment on the lower levels of the wealthy and walled-off Wiley City. She works—and shamelessly flirts—with her enticing yet aloof handler, Dell, as the two women collect off-world data for the Eldridge Institute. She even occasionally leaves the city to visit her family in the wastes, though she struggles to feel at home in either place. So long as she can keep her head down and avoid trouble, Cara is on a sure path to citizenship and security. But trouble finds Cara when one of her eight remaining doppelgängers dies under mysterious circumstances, plunging her into a new world with an old secret. What she discovers will connect her past and her future in ways she could have never imagined—and reveal her own role in a plot that endangers not just her world but the entire multiverse. “Clever characters, surprise twists, plenty of action, and a plot that highlights social and racial inequities in astute prose.”—Library Journal (starred review)
In these pages, Robert T. Jeschonek will take you on a tour of the wildest places and people you've never imagined. You've never met anyone quite like Heavy, the alien wheeler-dealer with a hundred faces...Imago, the stained glass robot on the trail of the last proto-Christ...Vladimir Lenin, a shapeshifting alien who starts the Communist Revolution...Father Obregon, the genetically-modified space priest...Grist Halcyon, sleepless pilot of a deadly Battlenaut war machine...or the Freedom Shell, an assistive exoskeleton with a murderous mind of its own. This volume includes six scifi e-book stories and novelettes for one low price. Don't miss these edgy, exciting, and surprising science fiction tales by award-winning Star Trek and Doctor Who author Robert T. Jeschonek, a master of unique and unexpected science fiction that really packs a punch. Simon & Schuster, DAW Books, and DC Comics have published his work.
100 science fiction stories make up this massive collection. Works and authors include: The Dictator by Milton Lesser Diplomatic Immunity by Robert Sheckley Direct Wire by Clee Garson Disaster Revisited by Darius John Granger Disqualified by Charles Louis Fontenay Dogfight--1973 by Dallas McCord Reynolds The Doorway by Evelyn E. Smith The Dope on Mars by John Michael Sharkey The Double Spy by Dan T. Moore Double Take by Richard Wilson Dr Heidenhoff's Process Droozle by Frank Banta Duel on Syrtis by Poul William Anderson The Dueling Machine by Benjamin William Bova and Myron R. Lewis Earthsmith by Milton Lesser The Eel by Miriam Allen DeFord The Ego Machine by Henry Kuttner Egocentric Orbit by John Cory The Einstein See-Saw by Miles John Breuer Elegy by Charles Beaumont The Envoy, Her by Horace Brown Fyfe Equation of Doom by Gerald Vance The Eternal Wall by Raymond Zinke Gallun The Ethical Way by Joseph Farrell The Executioner by Frank Riley Exile from Space by Judith Merril Expediter by Dallas McCord Reynolds The Eyes Have It by Philip Kindred Dick Fair and Warmer by E. G. von Wald Faithfully Yours by Lou Tabakow Far from Home by J.A. Taylor A Feast of Demons by William Morrison Fee of the Frontier by Horace Brown Fyfe Feet Of Clay by Phillip Hoskins Feline Red by Robert Sampson Felony by James Causey Field Trip by Gene Hunter Per Cent Prophet by Gordon Randall Garrett A Filbert Is a Nut by Rick Raphael A Fine Fix by R. C. Noll The First Day of Spring by Mari Wolf Flamedown by Horace Brown Fyfe Flight From Tomorrow by Henry Beam Piper Through Tomorrow by Stanton Arthur Coblentz Fly By Night by Arthur Dekker Savage The Flying Cuspidors by V. R. Francis Foreign Hand Tie by Gordon Randall Garrett Forever by Robert Sheckley Forget Me Nearly by Floyd L. Wallace Forsyte's Retreat by Winston Marks Foundling on Venus by John de Courcy and Dorothy de Courcy The Fourth Invasion by Henry Josephs Freudian Slip by Franklin Abel The Frightened Planet by Sidney Austen Frigid Fracas by Dallas McCord Reynolds G-r-r-r...! by Roger Arcot The Gallery by Roger Phillips Graham Gambler's World by John Keith Laumer Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith Generals Help Themselves by M. C. Pease Genesis by H. Beam Piper George Loves Gistla by James McKimmey Get Out of Our Skies! by E. K. Jarvis The Gift Bearer by Charles Louis Fontenay A Gift For Terra by Fox B. Holden The Glory of Ippling by Helen M. Urban The Good Neighbors by Edgar Pangborn Goodbye, Dead Man! by Tom W. Harris Graveyard of Dreams by Henry Beam Piper The Graveyard of Space by Milton Lesser The Great Potlatch Riots by Allen Kim Lang Hall of Mirrors by Fredric Brown Ham Sandwich by James H. Schmitz The Hammer of Thor by Charles Willard Diffin Hanging by a Thread by Gordon Randall Garrett Ending by Fredric Brown and Dallas McCord Reynolds The Happy Man by Gerald Wilburn Page The Happy Unfortunate by Robert Silverberg Hard Guy by H. B. Carleton Hate Disease by William Fitzgerald Jenkins The Heads of Apex by Francis Flagg Heist Job on Thizar by Gordon Randall Garrett The Hell Ship by Raymond Alfred Palmer The Cosmos by Clifford Donald Simak The Helpful Hand of God by Tom Godwin Helpfully Yours by Evelyn E. Smith Horn's X-Ray Eye Glasses by Dwight V. Swain High Dragon Bump by Don Thompson High Man by Jay Clarke The Hills of Home by Alfred Coppel The Hitch Hikers by Vernon L. McCain The Hohokam Dig by Theodore Pratt The Holes and John Smith by Edward W. Ludwig Holes, Incorporated by L. Major Reynolds Home is Where You Left It by Adam Chase Homesick by Lyn Venable Homo Inferior by Mari Wolf The Honored Prophet by William E. Bentley The Hoofer by Walter M. Miller
Cannonballs and laser beams fly as blazing battle rages between a fleet of pirate ships and a squadron of alien fighters. Demonic aliens board the ships and let loose high-tech ray beams on hardened pirates armed with pistols and cutlasses. In the heart of the flame and fury roars fearless Blackbeard himself, commanding his men in a last-ditch struggle to save all humankind from bloodthirsty conquerors from another world. Perhaps Blackbeard's own dark connection to the aliens will give him an edge against them, if his own closest ally, Stede Bonnet, does not mount a mutiny against him first. Can Blackbeard and the greatest pirates of his day use their seafaring savagery to win the war for the future of humanity? It all comes down to pirates versus aliens as the greatest battle ever to rock the seven seas rushes toward an explosive finale. Don't miss this exciting tale by award-winning storyteller Robert T. Jeschonek, a master of hard-hitting science fiction that really packs a punch. Reviews "Robert Jeschonek is a towering talent..." – Mike Resnick, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author "Robert Jeschonek is the literary love child of Tim Burton and Neil Gaiman..." – Adrian Phoenix, critically acclaimed author of The Maker's Song series and Black Dust Mambo "Jeschonek ́s stories are delightfully insane, a pleasure to read..." – Fabio Fernandes, Fantasy Book Critic
"When a group of orphans discover they have a common connection, plucky heroine Phoebe leads them in a daring escape from their orphanage to an uninhabited moon. But their idyllic paradise is shattered when the powerful corporate boss who caused the deaths of their parents sends a relentless henchman to track them down. Now, with nowhere left to turn and tired of being on the run, these resourceful kids decide there's only one thing left to do: Fight back!"--Publisher's web site.
