Start on a magical nocturnal adventure with "Sammy's Starlight Voyage - A Children's Short Bedtime Story." As the sun dips below the horizon, Sammy, a courageous little boat, sets sail from the safety of the harbor into the enchanting starlit sea. Join Sammy as it glides alongside playful dolphins, meets the awe-inspiring majesty of a gentle whale, and discovers a secret cove where shimmering mermaids wait to greet it. But the voyage isn't all calm seas; Sammy also bravely navigates through heart-stirring storms. This beautifully illustrated tale promises a blend of excitement and serenity, perfect for sending young dreamers off to sleep with visions of adventure and friendship.
"Journey By Starlight follows Albert Einstein and his traveling companion through space and time as they travel on a beam of light from a star 3,200 light-years away to Earth. Along the way, Einstein explains the science behind everything from the origins of the universe to the meaning of life, relativity, black holes, quantum mechanics, climate change, evolution vs. intelligent design, and how the brain works, all delivered in fun, easy-to-understand, bite-sized chunks. Based on the popular blog of the same name, Journey by Starlight has been given the graphic novel treatment, pairing the narrative with fantastic, whimsical artwork" -- from publisher's web site.
Irish-born Anne Bonny is only a teenager when she is left destitute by her mother’s death. Abandoned by her father, she seems destined to be forgotten by the world. But Anne chooses to seek her fortune in the lush tropics of the colonial West Indies, where she passes herself off as a young man named Bonn. She finds work as a ship’s hand, sailing under the command of Calico Jack Rackam, a notorious and charismatic pirate with a bounty on his head. Calico Jack has his heart set on raiding the Madrid Galleon, the richest ship in the Caribbean, which sails from Kingston laden with Cuban gold and Jamaican rum. Bonn is entranced by the sea and by the ship’s violent crew, which includes a mysterious swordfighter named Read, who, it turns out, has a secret life of his own. Calico Jack soon discovers Bonn’s and Read’s true identities, but it is only when the three pirates are captured that their darkest secrets begin to surface. In the shadow of the gallows, a strange twist of fate reveals a shocking betrayal that may save Bonn from death, while permanently changing everything she has known about her past and the world around her. Gorgeously written and full of mystery, intrigue, and startling revelations about gender, race, history, and the human heart, Kingston by Starlight is a once-in-a-lifetime read.
By revealing the facts behind the fiction of some of the finest films in the sci-fi genre, "Fantastic Voyages" offers a novel approach to teaching science: using scenes from science fiction films to illustrate fundamental concepts of physics, astronomy, and biology.
Michael Swanwick, Geoff Ryman, Allen Steele, Nancy Kress, Robert Reed, Michael Cassott, Charles Stross are just some of the high-profile names that feature in this volume of what is now regarded as essential reading for every science-fiction fan. This year's edition includes not just the biggest names in science-fiction writing but also many of its other brightest young talents too, as well as even more stories than ever before. All this, and the usual thorough summations of the year, plus a list of recommended reading, more than upholds an established tradition of value and excellence.
Features the finest science fiction writings from the past two decades of the annual "The Year's Best Science Fiction," including writings from such authors as Greg Bear, Pat Cadigan, Robert Silverberg, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
This collection of literary short fiction combines fantasy, science fiction, and horror in vivid settings, peopled with ordinary humans with normal relationships, and the interaction of the mundane with the fantastic. In "Breathmoss," a young girl must cope with the relationship with her family, love, and a community set in rigid custom, where males are a rarity. In "Verglas," a man must decide to leave his humanity by going native on an ice world or abandon his family. The events leading to the formation of the current government, the repression of Jews and homosexuals, and the horrors of being a closet homosexual in such a regime are examined in "The Summer Isles." Other stories encompass a scientist who searches for extraterrestrial intelligence; a rigid, aged man finding magic by a pool; and an 18-year-old girl who gains the reputation of being a death flower during WWII.
“MacLeod is set to become a writer of the magnitude of Dickens or Tolkien.” —The Guardian Aether is industry, industry is magic and the Great Guilds rule the known world. Raised amid the smokestakes, terraced houses and endless subterranean pounding of the aether engines of the Yorkshire town of Bracebridge, Robert Borrows is nevertheless convinced that life holds a greater destiny than merely working endless shifts for one of the Lesser Guilds. Then, on a day out with his mother to the strange gardens and weirdly encrusted towers of a remote mansion, he encounters a wizened changeling, and the young girl in her charge called Anna, and glimpses a world of wonder, mystery and surprise. From then on, as he flees to London in the hope of escape and advancement, and explores its wide streets and dark alleys, and all the tiers of society from the lowest to the highest, he comes to realize that he holds the keys to secrets far bigger than even he imagined. A dazzling melange of Dickens and Peake, flavored with steampunk and magical realism, yet seen through a kaleidoscopically individual gaze, in The Light Ages, double World Fantasy Award winner Ian R MacLeod has created a novel for this and every age. Praise for The Light Ages: “MacLeod's descriptive powers are so effective that you can visualize every detail... [He] skillfully incorporates literary influences ranging from William Blake to Dickens to 1984 and the working class novels of the 1950s—and arrives at something original. Magical, visionary and enthralling, The Light Ages is award-winning stuff.” —SFX “Totally convincing and vividly written, this book invests the dark streets of London with a magic the reader will never forget... a brilliant writer.” —Tim Powers “A haunting fantasy version of Victorian England... brought to life with compassionate characters and lyrical writing.” —The Denver Post “The novel's industrial alternative London echoes Dickens in its rich bleakness and M. John Harrison's Viriconium in its inventive Gothic complexity. A gripping page-turner. A hearty read. Rising star Ian R MacLeod offers an original political fable rivaling in ambition and execution the very best of today's new science fantasies.” —Michael Moorcock
Gardner Dozois, science fiction's foremost editor, consistently selects the field's best work each year with this showcase anthology. This year's collection presents sterling short stories from veterans and newcomers alike, including Stephen Baxter, Alan Brennert, Carolyn Ives Gilman, James Patrick Kelly, Geoffrey A. Landis, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Reed, William Sanders, Howard Waldrop, and many others. Rounded out with Dozois's insightful Summation of the Year in SF and a long list of Honorable Mentions, this anthology is the book for every science fiction fan.
