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Full title Accelerando [permalink]
Language English
Author Charles Stross (author)
Publisher Ace Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 2005
ISBN 0-441-01284-1 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Online version Link
Pages 390
Synopsis

Manfred Macx, a heavily augmented transhuman in the early 21st century, is a visionary and a so-called venture altruist: He roams the world, giving ideas away for free and turning paradigms upside-down as a matter of course. The novel follows him towards a technological singularity, his daughter Amber through it, and her son, Sirhan, after it.
Review

This novel is somewhat special in that it is chuck full of jargon (e.g. 419) and techno-speculation (e.g. utility fog). Have a dictionary handy if you want to avoid being drowned in it. It's when you understand all of it, if only superficially, that the novel becomes the brilliant flair of wild ideas that it is.
Images Right flap of Accelerando.Back of Accelerando.Spine of Accelerando.Front of Accelerando.Left flap of Accelerando.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Part 1: Slow Takeoff
    • 1: Lobsters
    • 2: Troubadour
    • 3: Tourist
  • Part 2: Point of Inflection
    • 4: Halo
    • 5: Router
    • 6: Nightfall
  • Part 3: Singularity
    • 7: Curator
    • 8: Elector
    • 9: Survivor
Full title Airframe [permalink]
Language English
Author Michael Crichton (author)
Publisher Ballantine Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1997
Original publication year 1996
ISBN 0-345-41299-0 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 431
Synopsis

A passenger plane goes into a series of deep dives and climbs, killing three and injuring many. The novel spans the week following the accident, and follows the team who tries to clear it up.
Images Back of Airframe.Spine of Airframe.Front of Airframe.
Full title The Alternate Asimovs [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1986
Pages 320
Synopsis

Contains Grow Old Along with Me (which became Pebble in the Sky), The End of Eternity (which became a novel with the same name), and two versions of Belief (the unpublished and the published versions).

Grow Old Along with Me takes place in the Galactic Era (when humans have colonized millions of worlds) and deals with an Earth plot to take revenge at the rest of the Galaxy for its poor treatment of the Earth, and to establish the Earth as the ruling world. (As a side-note, no one in the Galaxy really knows if humanity originated on a single planet, or if they originated on several worlds more or less simultaneously and, when each planet became space-faring, met and interbred to form the humanity that is the Galactic Empire. Most adhere to the latter, which they call the Merger Theory. The former is called the Radiation Theory and is believed by a small sect on Earth calling themselves the Ancients.)

The End of Eternity is a time travel short story about the so-called Eternals who live in Eternity and alter the realities of different centuries by making quantum changes.

Belief is a story about Roger Toomey who one morning discovers that he can levitate, and centers around his attempts at getting his fellow physicists to believe him. The two versions (the unpublished and the published) differ only in the endings. My favorite of these is by far the published version of Belief (Asimov preferred the unpublished one), because it tells a beautiful story in a beautiful way. My least favorite is The End of Eternity, because time travel is full of paradoxes (and I really dislike paradoxes).
Full title Apocalypsopolis [permalink]
Language English
Author Ran Prieur (author)
Categories Apocalyptic and science fiction
Publication year 2004
Online version Link
Synopsis

An asteroid of respectable size plunges into the Pacific, starting the apocalypse. The novel follows a group of people through it.
Review

Overall the story is very gripping, but at times I felt there were too many characters to make each of them stand out, which made it harder to sympathize with them. The writing is good and the pacing is OK; I definitely recommend it.
Full title The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1986
Pages 249
Synopsis

Perhaps The best non-robot non-Foundation science fiction of Isaac Asimov would be a more fitting, if longer, title for the book. This is an anthology of stories chosen by Asimov himself, with commentary preceding each story.
Full title The Best Science Fiction Stories [permalink]
Language English
Authors Michael Stapleton (editor), A. E. van Vogt, Alfred Bester, Algis Budrys, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Porges, Bill Brown, Bob Shaw, Brian W. Aldiss, Chad Oliver, Clifford D. Simak, Daphne Castell, E. M. Forster, Francis Donovan, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber, Garry Kilworth, H. G. Wells, Harry Harrison, Isaac Asimov, J. G. Ballard, James Alexander, James Blish, John Wyndham, Larry Niven, Philip K. Dick, Poul Anderson, Ray Bradbury, Raymond Z. Gallun and Samuel Youd (Pseudonym: John Christopher)
Publisher Hamlyn
Categories Anthology and science fiction
Publication year 1977
ISBN 0-600-38243-5 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 750
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Introduction by Michael Stapleton
  • In the Abyss by H. G. Wells
  • The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster
  • The Lost Machine by John Wyndham
  • The Man from Beyond by John Wyndham
  • Old Faithful by Raymond Z. Gallun
  • Madness from Mars by Clifford D. Simak
  • The First Martian by A. E. van Vogt
  • Dormant by A. E. van Vogt
  • The Star Ducks by Bill Brown
  • Coming Attraction by Fritz Leiber
  • —And the Moon Be Still as Bright by Ray Bradbury
  • The Fly by Arthur Porges
  • Youth by Isaac Asimov
  • The Deep by Isaac Asimov
  • Zero Hour by Ray Bradbury
  • Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury
  • Second Variety by Philip K. Dick
  • The Ruum by Arthur Porges
  • Worrywart by Clifford D. Simak
  • The New Wine by John Christopher
  • Survival by John Wyndham
  • Hobson's Choice by Alfred Bester
  • Between the Dark and the Daylight by Algis Budrys
  • The Short Life novella by Francis Donovan
  • Repeat Performance by Bob Shaw
  • The Voices of Time by J. G. Ballard
  • Green Thumb by Clifford D. Simak
  • Before Eden by Arthur C. Clarke
  • Call Me Dumbo by Bob Shaw
  • Far From This Earth by Chad Oliver
  • Wife to the Lord by Harry Harrison
  • The Life Preservers by Harry Harrison
  • The Hunter at His Ease by Brian W. Aldiss
  • We All Die Naked by James Blish
  • The Wicked Flee by Harry Harrison
  • Transit of Earth by Arthur C. Clarke
  • Rammer by Larry Niven
  • A Little Knowledge by Poul Anderson
  • Process by A. E. van Vogt
  • We Purchased People by Frederik Pohl
  • Esmeralda by Daphne Castell
  • The Hibbie by James Alexander
  • Let's Go to Golgotha! by Garry Kilworth
  • Acknowledgments
Full title Cloud Atlas [permalink]
Language English
Author David Mitchell (author)
Publisher Random House
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 2004
ISBN 978-0-375-50725-0 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 509
Synopsis

Six separate stories running from the late 1800s into the deep future are interwoven in various ways. The chapters first tell the first part of each story until the middle chapter, where then the second parts of the stories are told in reverse order (see the structure, you'll understand).
Review

I watched the movie before reading the book (in fact, watching the movie spurred me into reading it), so my review is naturally colored by that. I loved the movie, and the book is even better.

It's extremely well-written, and the tone of each chapter is fitting for the time period. The language of the chapters that take place in the future is also apt. An example from the chapter "Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After", set in the deep future:

Yay, Old'uns' Smart mastered sicks, miles, seeds an' made miracles ord'nary, but it din't master one thing, nay, a hunger in the hearts o' humans, yay, a hunger for more.

I strongly recommend this novel. It's a joy to read from start to finish.
Images Back of Cloud Atlas.Spine of Cloud Atlas.Front of Cloud Atlas.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing (Part 1)
  • Letters from Zedelghem (Part 1)
  • Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 1)
  • The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 1)
  • An Orison of Sonmi~451 (Part 1)
  • Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After
  • An Orison of Sonmi~451 (Part 2)
  • The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 2)
  • Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 2)
  • Letters from Zedelghem (Part 2)
  • The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing (Part 2)
Full title The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke [permalink]
Language English
Author Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher Victor Gollancz Ltd
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 2001
ISBN 978-1-85798-323-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 966
Synopsis

A collection of virtually every short story of Arthur C. Clarke. See Structure for links to some of them.
Review

The stories are of varying quality, although most are very good (and some are truly excellent). As this is a compilation, it's hard to give a verdict, but I definitely recommend it to you if you're a Clarke fan.
Images Back of The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke.Spine of The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke.Front of The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Travel by Wire!
  • How We Went to Mars
  • Retreat from Earth
  • Reverie
  • The Awakening
  • Whacky
  • Loophole
  • Rescue Party
  • Technical Error
  • Castaway
  • The Fires Within
  • Inheritance
  • Nightfall
  • History Lesson
  • Transience
  • The Wall of Darkness
  • The Lion of Comarre
  • The Forgotten Enemy
  • Hide-and-Seek
  • Breaking Strain
  • Nemesis
  • Guardian Angel
  • Time's Arrow
  • A Walk in the Dark
  • Silence Please
  • Trouble with the Natives
  • The Road to the Sea
  • The Sentinel
  • Holiday On the Moon
  • Earthlight
  • Second Dawn
  • Superiority
  • 'If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth...'
  • All the Time in the World
  • The Nine Billion Names of God
  • The Possessed
  • The Parasite
  • Jupiter Five
  • Encounter In the Dawn
  • The Other Tiger
  • Publicity Campaign
  • Armaments Race
  • The Deep Range
  • No Morning After
  • Big Game Hunt
  • Patent Pending
  • Refugee
  • The Star
  • What Goes Up
  • Venture to the Moon
  • The Pacifist
  • The Reluctant Orchid
  • Moving Spirit
  • The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch
  • The Ultimate Melody
  • The Next Tenants
  • Cold War
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • Security Check
  • The Man Who Ploughed the Sea
  • Critical Mass
  • The Other Side of the Sky
  • Let There Be Light
  • Out of the Sun
  • Cosmic Casanova
  • The Songs of Distant Earth
  • A Slight Case of Sunstroke
  • Who's There?
  • Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Orbiting...
  • I Remember Babylon
  • Trouble With Time
  • Into the Comet
  • Summertime on Icarus
  • Saturn Rising
  • Death and the Senator
  • Before Eden
  • Hate
  • Love That Universe
  • Dog Star
  • Maelstrom II
  • An Ape About the House
  • The Shining Ones
  • The Secret
  • Dial F for Frankenstein
  • The Wind from the Sun
  • The Food of the Gods
  • The Last Command
  • The Light of Darkness
  • The Longest Science-Fiction Story Ever Told
  • Playback
  • The Cruel Sky
  • Herbert George Morley Roberts Wells, Esq.
  • Crusade
  • Neutron Tide
  • Reunion
  • Transit of Earth
  • A Meeting With Medusa
  • Quarantine
  • siseneG
  • The Steam-Powered Word Processor
  • On Golden Seas
  • The Hammer of God
  • The Wire Continuum (with Stephen Baxter)
  • Improving the Neighbourhood
Full title The Complete Robot [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1982
Pages 680
Synopsis

This is a collection of robot stories that he wrote between 1940 and 1976. They're not grouped chronologically, but by theme (and this works really well). The stories, of course, revolve around robots; non-humanoid, immobile, metallic, and humanoid (there's even an android in the last story, but I've already spoiled too much).
Review

Some of these stories are amazing, and you should go pick up this anthology now. My favorites are A Boy's Best Friend, Victory Unintentional, Segregationist, Evidence, Feminine Intuition, and The Bicentennial Man.
Full title Dangerous Visions [permalink]
Language English
Authors Harlan Ellison (editor), Isaac Asimov (foreword), Diane Dillon (illustrator), Leo Dillon (illustrator), Brian W. Aldiss, Carol Emshwiller, Damon Knight, David R. Bunch, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber, Henry Slesar, Howard Rodman, J. G. Ballard, James Cross, Joe L. Hensley, John Brunner, John Sladek, Jonathan Brand, Keith Laumer, Kris Neville, Larry Eisenberg, Larry Niven, Lester del Rey, Miriam Allen deFord, Norman Spinrad, Philip José Farmer, Philip K. Dick, Poul Anderson, R. A. Lafferty, Robert Bloch, Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, Samuel R. Delany, Sonya Dorman and Theodore Sturgeon
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1975
Pages 544
Synopsis

An anthology with short stories which each presents a "dangerous vision" (although I would call them "visions for thought").
Review

These thirty-two stories are all excellent in their own ways, but some stand out as superbly excellent. I've transcribed these and put them on my Short Stories page. They are Shall the Dust Praise Thee?, Evensong, The Malley System, Carcinoma Angels, and A Toy For Juliette. These are teasers, and I believe no further review is necessary. Go buy this book.
Images Back of Dangerous Visions.Spine of Dangerous Visions.Front of Dangerous Visions.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Foreword 1: The Second Revolution
    Isaac Asimov
  • Foreword 2: Harlan and I
    Isaac Asimov
  • Introduction: Thirty-Two Soothsayers
    Harlan Ellison
  • EVENSONG Lester del Rey
  • FLIES Robert Silverberg
  • THE DAY AFTER THE DAY THE MARTIANS CAME Frederik Pohl
  • RIDERS OF THE PURPLE WAGE Philip José Farmer
  • THE MALLEY SYSTEM Miriam Allen deFord
  • A TOY FOR JULIETTE Robert Bloch
  • THE PROWLER IN THE CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Harlan Ellison
  • THE NIGHT THAT ALL TIME BROKE OUT Brian W. Aldiss
  • THE MAN WHO WENT TO THE MOON—TWICE Howard Rodman
  • FAITH OF OUR FATHERS Philip K. Dick
  • THE JIGSAW MAN Larry Niven
  • GONNA ROLL THE BONES Fritz Leiber
  • LORD RANDY, MY SON Joe L. Hensley
  • EUTOPIA Poul Anderson
  • "A Pair of Bunch"
  • INCIDENT IN MODERAN David R. Bunch
  • THE ESCAPING David R. Bunch
  • THE DOLL-HOUSE Jame Cross
  • SEX AND/OR MR. MORRISON Carol Emschwiller
  • SHALL THE DUST PRAISE THEE? Damon Knight
  • IF ALL MEN WERE BROTHERS, WOULD YOU LET ONE MARRY YOUR SISTER? Theodore Sturgeon
  • WHAT HAPPENED TO AUGUSTE CLAROT? Larry Eisenberg
  • ERSATZ Henry Slesar
  • GO, GO, Go, SAID THE BIRD Sonya Dorman
  • THE HAPPY BREED John T. Sladek
  • ENCOUNTER WITH A HICK Jonathan Brand
  • FROM THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Kris Neville
  • LAND OF THE GREAT HORSES R. A. Lafferty
  • THE RECOGNITION J. G. Ballard
  • JUDAS John Brunner
  • TEST TO DESTRUCTION Keith Laumer
  • CARCINOMA ANGELS Norman Spinrad
  • AUTO-DA-FÉ Roger Zelazny
  • AYE, AND GOMORRAH... Samyel R. Delany
Full title Deception Point [permalink]
Language English
Author Dan Brown (author)
Publisher Pocket Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 2002
Original publication year 2001
ISBN 0-671-02738-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 558
Synopsis

NASA discovers a meteoric rock under the Milne Ice Shelf which contains a fossil, and the story centers around this remarkable find. Involved in their own ways are a senator, a senator's daughter, a senator's aide, the U.S. President, and several organizations.
Images Back of Deception Point.Spine of Deception Point.Front of Deception Point.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Acknowledgments
  • Author's Note
  • Prologue
  • [133 unnamed chapters]
  • Epilogue
Full title Discoveries [permalink]
Language English
Authors Alan Lothian (introduction), Arthur C. Clarke, Bob Shaw, Greg Bear, Ian McDonald, Ian Watson, Mike McQuay, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Holdstock and Tricia Sullivan
Publisher Victor Gollancz Ltd
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1995
ISBN 0-575-06258-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 190
Synopsis

I can't remember where I got this book, but I reckon it's pretty rare to come across as it's not normally sold, but was given away free with the October 1995 issue of BBC Focus. It's an anthology of short science fiction stories from budding British authors.
Review

A few of the stories fell flat, but some are good (I really enjoyed Blood Music). If you happen to come across it, you might want to buy it, if only for its rarity.
Images Back of Discoveries.Spine of Discoveries.Front of Discoveries.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Introduction
  • Prison Dreams
    Paul J. McAuley
  • Blood Music
    Greg Bear
  • The Charisma Trees
    Robert Holdstock
  • Dark Night in Toyland
    Bob Shaw
  • Virtually Lucid Lucy
    Ian Watson
  • Morpheus
    Tricia Sullivan
  • Winning
    Ian McDonald
  • extract from Richter 10
    Arthur C. Clarke and Mike McQuay
Full title Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? [permalink]
Alternative title Blade Runner
Language English
Author Philip K. Dick (author)
Publisher Ballantine Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1982
Original publication year 1968
ISBN 0-345-35047-2 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 216
Images Back of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.Spine of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.Front of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.
Full title The End of Eternity [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher HarperCollins
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 2000
Original publication year 1959
ISBN 978-0-586-02440-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 189
Synopsis

Mankind has opened Eternity, and a group of people there constantly interfere with the Centuries to iron out mistakes and keep mankind safe.
Review

I normally don't like time-travel stories because they're confusing. This one is also pretty confusing, but it's well-written confusion, and I can recommend it on that point alone.
Images Back of The End of Eternity.Spine of The End of Eternity.Front of The End of Eternity.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Chapter One: Technician
  • Chapter Two: Observer
  • Chapter Three: Cub
  • Chapter Four: Computer
  • Chapter Five: Timer
  • Chapter Six: Life-Plotter
  • Chapter Seven: Prelude to Crime
  • Chapter Eight: Crime
  • Chapter Nine: Interlude
  • Chapter Ten: Trapped!
  • Chapter Eleven: Full Circle
  • Chapter Twelve: The Beginning of Eternity
  • Chapter Thirteen: Beyond the Downwhen Terminus
  • Chapter Fourteen: The Earlier Crime
  • Chapter Fifteen: Search Through the Primitive
  • Chapter Sixteen: The Hidden Centuries
  • Chapter Seventeen: The Closing Circle
  • Chapter Eighteen: The Beginning of Infinity
Full title Expanded Universe [permalink]
Language English
Author Robert A. Heinlein (author)
Publisher Baen Publishing Enterprises
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 2007
Original publication year 1980
ISBN 978-0-7434-9915-6 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 705
Synopsis

A collection of short stories and essays, the essays focusing for the most part on WWII and the atomic bomb.
Review

A really nice read. I especially liked How to Be a Survivor, Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon, and Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You.
Images Back of Expanded Universe.Spine of Expanded Universe.Front of Expanded Universe.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Life-Line
  • Successful Operation
  • Blowups Happen
  • Solution Unsatisfactory
  • The Last Days of the United States
  • How to Be a Survivor
  • Pie from the Sky
  • They Do It with Mirrors
  • Free Men
  • No Bands Playing, No Flags Flying—
  • A Bathroom of Her Own
  • On the Slopes of Vesuvius
  • Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon
  • Pandora's Box
  • Where To?
  • Cliff and the Calories
  • Ray Guns and Rocket Ships
  • The Third Millennium Opens
  • Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?
  • "Pravda" Means "Truth"
  • Inside Intourist
  • Searchlight
  • The Pragmatics of Patriotism
  • Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You
  • Larger than Life
  • Spinoff
  • The Happy Days Ahead
Full title Expedition to Earth [permalink]
Language English
Author Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher Ballantine Books
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1982
Original publication year 1953
ISBN 0-345-31057-8 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 165
Images Back of Expedition to Earth.Spine of Expedition to Earth.Front of Expedition to Earth.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
Full title Fantastic Voyage [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1966
ISBN 0-553-27572-0 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 186
Synopsis

Miniaturization is reality, but indefinite miniaturization isn't; that knowledge resides within the brain of Jan Benes, a scientist who defects to the West. Unfortunately, there is an assassination attempt which leaves Benes comatose, and a blood clot develops in his brain. A team of scientists are miniaturized and injected into Benes' body in a submarine rudimentarily outfitted with a laser and have only 60 minutes to remove the clot before they are de-miniaturized (which would make the submarine expand and in the process kill Benes).
Images Back of Fantastic Voyage.Spine of Fantastic Voyage.Front of Fantastic Voyage.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • 1. Plane
  • 2. Car
  • 3. Headquarters
  • 4. Briefing
  • 5. Submarine
  • 6. Miniaturization
  • 7. Submergence
  • 8. Entry
  • 9. Artery
  • 10. Heart
  • 11. Capillary
  • 12. Lung
  • 13. Pleura
  • 14. Lymphatic
  • 15. Ear
  • 16. Brain
  • 17. Clot
  • 18. Eye
Full title Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1987
Pages 385
Synopsis

Not a sequel to Fantastic Voyage, this novel revolves around neurophysiologist Albert Jonas Morrison and his crew's journey into the brain of a scientist by way of miniaturization. Morrison has some fringe theories on how the mind works and how it is theoretically possible to amplify brain waves and, in effect, sense thoughts. For this reason, his fellow scientists don't respect him very much, and for this reason, he is hired (read the book and you'll understand) by a team of Russian scientists who want Morrison and his computer to join them in a mission inside a man's brain to sense his thoughts.
Review

The story, in essence, is the same as that of Fantastic Voyage, except that FV is a straight novelization of the movie script (the novel appeared before the movie, interestingly) while FVII is the same story as Asimov would have told it. I prefer the latter because the conundrums of miniaturization are discussed in much greater detail as Morrison is extremely sceptical about it at first.
Full title Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales [permalink]
Language English
Authors Groff Conklin (editor), Isaac Asimov (editor), A. E. van Vogt, Alan Bloch, Alan E. Nourse, Alan Nelson, Albert Hernhuter, Anthony Boucher, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Feldman, Arthur Porges, Avro Manhattan, C. M. Kornbluth, Cleve Cartmill, Damon Knight, David Grinnell, Edward G. Robles, Edward Grendon, Eric Frank Russell, Evelyn E. Smith, Frank M. Robinson, Fredric Brown, Fritz Leiber, H. B. Hickey, Howard Schoenfeld, Idris Seabright, Jack Finney, James Causey, James H. Schmitz, John D. MacDonald, John Lewis, John P. McKnight, Karen Anderson, Lion Miller, Mack Reynolds, Marion Gross, Mildred Clingerman, Peter Cartur, Poul Anderson, Ralph Williams, Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Sheckley, Roger Dee, S. Fowler Wright, Stuart Friedman, T. P. Caravan, Theodore Sturgeon, W. Hilton-Young, Walt Sheldon, Will Stanton, William Tenn and Winston K. Marks
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1963
ISBN 0-684-84296-3 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 287
Synopsis

Fifty short-short stories from fifty different authors are collected here.
Review

Almost all of the stories are truly excellent, and I have transcribed some of the best ones and put them on my Short Stories page (Men Are Different, Texas Week, The Haunted Space Suit, and Counter Charm). Go there for a sample before you buy the book. (You will buy it, remember.)
Images Back of Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales.Spine of Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales.Front of Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales.
Full title Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions [permalink]
Language English
Author Edwin A. Abbott (author)
Categories Classic, mathematics, novel and science fiction
Publication year 1884
Online version Link
Pages 68
Synopsis

Flatland chronicles the adventure of A. Square, a being in Flatland. Flatland consists of only two dimensions, as opposed to Pointland, which consists of zero dimensions, Lineland, which consists of one dimension, and Spaceland (the one we inhabit), which consists of three dimensions. It describes at length the society in Flatland, and how they go about tasks that we Spacelanders find trivial. For instance, everyone is a Polygon. The more equal all its angles and the more sides it has, the higher its social rank. Lowest are women (or the Frailer Sex, as they are often called) who are mere Lines and have no chance of rising in rank. Then come the Triangles, which are men. Then Squares (of which the narrator, A. Square, is naturally a member), Pentagons, Hexagons, Heptagons, Octagons, etc. The more sides a Polygon has, the closer it gets to being a Circle. They're the top leaders of every aspect of Flatland's society.
Review

Flatland is a classic, and even though it's written in the 1880s in Victorian English, it's still eminently readable (and funny). You might have to read a little carefully at first to get used to the age of the language, but once you've picked it up you'll have no trouble enjoying this excellent story.
Full title Flatterland: Like Flatland, only more so [permalink]
Language English
Author Ian Stewart (author)
Publisher Basic Books
Categories Mathematics, novel and science fiction
Publication year 2001
ISBN 978-0-7382-0675-2 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 294
Synopsis

Flatterland is sort of an unofficial sequel to Abbott's classic Flatland, written in modern non-Victorian English. Although Victorian English gave the original a pretty classy feel, Flatterland doesn't disappoint. Its aim is similar to that of the original: To explain new mathematical concepts to lay people in lay language.
Review

The book succeeds brilliantly. It's filled with illustration to help visualize the concepts, and the stories around which the concepts are introduced are reminiscent of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (well, the fact that chapters have names like The Topologist's Tea-Party and Along the Looking-Glass probably helps), and this gives the book a whimsical tone (that's a benefit). Here's a sample:

"Is Planiturth's universe built from mathematics? Or is mathematics built by the minds of Planiturthians? Planiturthian mathematicians would like to think that their universe is built from mathematics, but that's only natural, after all. Planiturthian physicists would like to think that the Planiturthian universe is built from physics. Planiturthian biologists would like to think that the Planiturthian universe is built from biology. Planiturthian philosophers would like to think that the Planiturthian universe is built from philosophy. (Let me tell you a secret: it is. The fundamental unit of the Planiturthian universe is the philosophon, a unit of logic so tiny that only a philosopher could hope to split it.)"

The book also ventures a little into physics, explaining things like the Schrödinger's cat, the double-slit experiment, time travel, and forces. But the meat of the book is mathematics.
Images Back of Flatterland.Spine of Flatterland.Front of Flatterland.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • From Flatland to Flatterland
  • 1 The Third Dimension
  • 2 Victoria's Diary
  • 3 The Visitation
  • 4 A Hundred and One Dimensions
  • 5 One and a Quarter Dimension
  • 6 The Topologist's Tea-Party
  • 7 Along the Looking-Glass
  • 8 Grape Theory
  • 9 What is a Geometry?
  • 10 Platterland
  • 11 Cat Country
  • 12 The Paradox Twins
  • 13 The Domain of the Hawk King
  • 14 Down the Wormhole
  • 15 What Shape is the Universe?
  • 16 No-Branes and P-Branes
  • 17 Flatterland
  • 18 The Tenth Dimension
Full title The Gods Themselves [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1990
Original publication year 1972
ISBN 0-553-28810-5 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 293
Images Back of The Gods Themselves.Spine of The Gods Themselves.Front of The Gods Themselves.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  1. Against Stupidity...
  2. ... The Gods Themselves...
  3. ... Contend in Vain?
Full title Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1990
Pages 416
Synopsis

The first part is an anthology of short stories, while the two last parts are non-fiction dealing with concepts in science fiction and on writing science fiction, respectively.
Full title Life, the Universe and Everything [permalink]
Language English
Author Douglas Adams (author)
Categories Humor and science fiction
Publication year 1982
Pages 160
Full title The Man in the High Castle [permalink]
Language English
Author Philip K. Dick (author)
Publisher Vintage Books
Categories Alternate history and science fiction
Publication year 1992
Original publication year 1962
ISBN 0-679-74067-8 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 259
Synopsis

The Axis powers of Japan and Germany wins WWII and divide the world among themselves. The story follows a small number of characters in this alternate history. The title comes from a fictitious novel called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, written by Hawthorne Abendsen. Grasshopper is about an alternate history (from the novel's point of view) where the Allied forces won WWII. Being a heretical notion, Abendsen perpetuates a myth that he lives in a fortified house (castle); hence the title.
Review

It was a riveting read, but I was left wondering what the point of the novel was.
Images Back of The Man in the High Castle.Spine of The Man in the High Castle.Front of The Man in the High Castle.
Full title The Martian Chronicles [permalink]
Language English
Author Ray Bradbury (author)
Publisher William Morrow
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 2006
Original publication year 1950
ISBN 978-0-380-97383-5 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 268
Synopsis

A collection of short stories woven together into a coherent whole. The stories concern Mars, and humanity's efforts to colonize it.
Review

I really enjoyed all the "chapters" (short stories), but "Usher II" really stood out, being an homage to E. A. Poe. Definitely recommended.
Images Right flap of The Martian Chronicles.Back of The Martian Chronicles.Spine of The Martian Chronicles.Front of The Martian Chronicles.Left flap of The Martian Chronicles.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • January 2030: Rocket Summer
  • February 2030: Ylla
  • August 2030: The Summer Night
  • August 2030: The Earth Men
  • March 2031: The Taxpayer
  • April 2031: The Third Expedition
  • June 2032: —And The Moon Be Still As Bright
  • August 2032: The Settlers
  • December 2032: The Green Morning
  • February 2033: The Locusts
  • August 2033: Night Meeting
  • October 2033: The Shore
  • November 2033: The Fire Balloons
  • February 2034: Interim
  • April 2034: The Musicians
  • May 2034: The Wilderness
  • 2035-2036: The Naming of Names
  • April 2036: Usher II
  • August 2036: The Old Ones
  • September 2036: The Martian
  • November 2036: The Luggage Store
  • November 2036: The Off Season
  • November 2036: The Watchers
  • December 2036: The Silent Towns
  • April 2057: The Long Years
  • August 2057: There Will Come Soft Rains
  • October 2057: The Million-Year Picnic
Full title The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect [permalink]
Language English
Author Roger Williams (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1994
Online version Link
Pages 175
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Chapter 1: Caroline at Play
  • Chapter 2: Lawrence Builds a Computer
  • Chapter 3: Caroline and Anne-Marie
  • Chapter 4: After the Night of Miracles
  • Chapter 5: Caroline Approaches
  • Chapter 6: After the Change
  • Chapter 7: Caroline and Lawrence
  • Chapter 8: After the Fall
Full title Nightfall [permalink]
Language English
Authors Isaac Asimov (author) and Robert Silverberg (co-author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1990
Pages 352
Synopsis

Follows the planet Kalgash, a planet with perpetual daylight due to having six suns, through a devastating astronomical event that only occurs every 2049 years (termed a Year of Godliness by the book's religious fanatics, the Apostles of Flame). The Apostles of Flame propagate the idea that on a precise day (Theptar the 19th, as it happens), there will be total Darkness, everyone will go mad, and the Stars will shoot fires from the skies, all as a vengeance from the gods for the wicked and sinful ways of the planet's inhabitants. A band of scientists, initially opposed to the Apostles' ideas, eventually realize, through new evidence (archaeological and astronomical), that some of what the Apostles propagate is true. Unfortunately, the population at large believes neither the Apostles nor the scientists.
Review

Nightfall was originally a short story and people generally prefer the short story version because the book just draws it out. I will have to read the short story before I can draw a proper verdict, but I'll tentatively say, "read this book."
Full title The Planiverse: Computer Contact With a Two-Dimensional World [permalink]
Language English
Author A. K. Dewdney (author)
Publisher Copernicus
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 2001
Original publication year 1984
ISBN 0-387-98916-1 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 246
Synopsis

A group of computer programmers working under a professor discovers that the 2D simulation program they've developed, 2Dworld, is somehow connected with an actual two-dimensional world inhabited by intelligent creatures. They establish contact with Yendred, and through him, they learn a lot about his world.
Review

This book is a sort of unofficial sequel to Abbott's famous Flatland, and it's one hell of a riveting read. I'm having a hard time making up my mind as to which of the unofficial sequels (Ian Stewart's Flatterland and Dionys Burger's Sphereland) are the superior; they're all simply really, really good.
Images Back of The Planiverse.Spine of The Planiverse.Front of The Planiverse.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Preface to the Millennium Edition
  • 2Dworld
  1. Arde
  2. A House by the Sea
  3. On Fiddib Har
  4. Walking to Is Felblt
  5. City Below Ground
  6. The Trek
  7. The Punizlan
  8. Institute
  9. Traveling on the Wind
  10. High on Dahl Radam
  11. Drabk the Sharak of Okbra
  12. Higher Dimensions
  • Ardean Science and Technology
  • Acknowledgments
Full title Revolt on Alpha C [permalink]
Language English
Authors Robert Silverberg (author) and William Meyerriecks (illustrator)
Publisher Scholastic Book
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1959
Original publication year 1955
ISBN 0-590-05435-X [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 118
Synopsis

Larry Stark, a Space Patrol Academy cadet on board the Carden, is completing his post-graduate space cruise (required to become an officer), a trip to Alpha Centauri's colonized fourth planet. Unknown to him and his crew, the planet is under revolt, and Stark is required to make some hard choices about where his loyalties lie.
Review

It was a very pleasant read; the book is definitely a page-turner, but the ending is rather sudden. I'd like to read more of what happens after the end.

A quote:

Larry caught glimpses of the great beasts living below—living without any suspicion that the planet was no longer theirs, that its possession was being contested by two groups of absurd pygmies from another star.
Images Back of Revolt on Alpha C.Spine of Revolt on Alpha C.Front of Revolt on Alpha C.
Full title Robot Dreams [permalink]
Language English
Authors Isaac Asimov (author) and Ralph McQuarrie (illustrator)
Publisher Ace Books
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 2004
Original publication year 1986
ISBN 0-441-01183-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 333
Images Back of Robot Dreams.Spine of Robot Dreams.Front of Robot Dreams.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Introduction
  • Little Lost Robot
  • Robot Dreams
  • "Breeds There a Man...?"
  • Hostess
  • Sally
  • Strikebreaker
  • The Machine That Won the War
  • Eyes Do More Than See
  • The Martian Way
  • Franchise
  • Jokester
  • The Last Question
  • Does a Bee Care?
  • Light Verse
  • The Feeling of Power
  • Spell My Name With an S
  • The Ugly Little Boy
  • The Billiard Ball
  • True Love
  • The Last Answer
  • Lest We Remember
Full title Robot Visions [permalink]
Language English
Authors Isaac Asimov (author) and Ralph McQuarrie (illustrator)
Publisher Roc Books
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 1991
Original publication year 1990
ISBN 0-451-45064-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 482
Synopsis

This is an anthology of a few stories that are (perhaps paradoxically) not found in The Complete Robot, and a few essays about robots and computers in general.
Images Back of Robot Visions.Spine of Robot Visions.Front of Robot Visions.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Introduction: The Robot Chronicles

Stories

  • Robot Visions
  • Too Bad!
  • Robbie
  • Reason
  • Liar!
  • Runaround
  • Evidence
  • Little Lost Robot
  • The Evitable Conflict
  • Feminine Intuition
  • The Bicentennial Man
  • Someday
  • Think!
  • Segregationist
  • Mirror Image
  • Lenny
  • Galley Slave
  • Christmas Without Rodney

Essays

  • Robots I Have Known
  • The New Teachers
  • Whatever You Wish
  • The Friends We Make
  • Our Intelligent Tools
  • The Laws of Robotics
  • Future Fantastic
  • The Machine and the Robot
  • The New Profession
  • The Robot As Enemy?
  • Intelligences Together
  • My Robots
  • The Laws of Humanics
  • Cybernetic Organism
  • The Sense of Humor
  • Robots in Combination
Full title Sphereland: A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and an Expanding Universe [permalink]
Language English
Authors Dionys Burger (author) and Cornelie J. Rheinboldt (translator)
Publisher Thomas Y. Crowell Company
Categories Mathematics and science fiction
Publication year 1968
Original publication year 1965
Pages 205
Synopsis

Somewhat of a sequel to Flatland, Sphereland continues in the same vein, explaining three dimensions to two-dimensional creatures. The pace and mode of writing is pretty similar to the original, and I very much liked that. The novel things that Sphereland does is two-dimensional space exploration and explaining a curved line to a one-dimensional being (and thus setting up the explanation for why two-dimensional beings would have problems understanding a plane curved into a sphere, and by extension how three-dimensional beings would have trouble understanding how to curve a sphere around a hyper-sphere).
Images Back of Sphereland.Spine of Sphereland.Front of Sphereland.
Structure [Toggle visibility]

A Look at FLATLAND A Fantasy About the Fourth Dimension by A. Square

  • 1 Flatland and Its Inhabitants
  • 2 Dream Vision of Lineland
  • 3 The Visit of the Sphere
  • 4 To the Land of Three Dimensions
  • 5 Dishonored

SPHERELAND A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and and Expanding Universe by A. Hexagon

  • PART I The Straight World
    • 1 Changed Times
    • 2 Easing of Class Consciousness
    • 3 Explorers' Trips
    • 4 The Trees, the Wildlife, and the Sea
    • 5 The Trip Around the World
    • 6 The Earth Is Round
    • 7 New Year's Eve
    • 8 The Sphere Reformed
  • PART II Congruence and Symmetry
    • 9 Pedigrees and Mongrels
    • 10 Little Red Riding Shoe
    • 11 A Magic Trick
    • 12 Vision of Lineland
    • 13 The Vertato Case
    • 14 Experiments in Spaceland
  • PART III Curved Worlds
    • 15 A Rumor
    • 16 The Visit
    • 17 Amazing Results
    • 18 An Impossible Problem
    • 19 Strange Triangles
    • 20 The Faculty
    • 21 Vision of Circleland
    • 22 Revelations by the Sphere
    • 23 Problems
    • 24 The Shortest Way
  • PART IV Expanding Worlds
    • 25 Distant Views
    • 26 Telemetry
    • 27 Increasing Distances
    • 28 Hunting for the Cause
    • 29 Expanding Circleland
    • 30 Expanding Sphereland
    • 31 Miracles in Spaceland
    • 32 Misunderstood
  • Index
Full title Starship Troopers [permalink]
Language English
Author Robert A. Heinlein (author)
Publisher Ace Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1987
Original publication year 1959
ISBN 0-441-78358-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 263
Synopsis

A classic military SF book. An alien arachnid race launches a meteor upon unsuspecting Earth which crushes Buenos Aires, plunging the two races into war.
Review

There's a lot of monolog from the protagonist's teacher in History and Moral Philosophy, Jean V. Dubois. For me, this is really the meat of the book. The rest is character development and furtherance of the story.

There is a movie based on the novel with the same name, and it follows the novel really closely. The only things missing from it are the jump-suits the troopers wear and the so-called neo-dogs, dogs with their intelligence amped to approximately human retardedness level that are used for reconnaissance.
Images Back of Starship Troopers.Spine of Starship Troopers.Front of Starship Troopers.
Full title Stranger in a Strange Land [permalink]
Language English
Author Robert A. Heinlein (author)
Publisher Ace Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1987
Original publication year 1961
ISBN 0-441-79034-8 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 438
Synopsis

A man born of human parents but raised on Mars arrives on Earth and goes on to learn as much about it as possible. He learns about religion and eventually founds his own church (which turns out to be more of a school than a church) where he teaches Martian so that Martian concepts can be readily communicated and understood; things like levitation, teleportation, and telepathy are available so long as you learn the language. The title is a reference to the Bible. From the KJV, Exodus 2:22:

"And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land."

This book is also the book from which the term 'grok' comes. See the Jargon file entry on grok.
Review

I think the portrayal of Michael (the man from Mars) as he learns more and more about Earth is very well-written and his progression is reflected in his speech pretty well.
Images Back of Stranger in a Strange Land.Spine of Stranger in a Strange Land.Front of Stranger in a Strange Land.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Part One HIS MACULATE ORIGIN
  • Part Two HIS PREPOSTEROUS HERITAGE
  • Part Three HIS ECCENTRIC EDUCATION
  • Part Four HIS SCANDALOUS CAREER
  • Part Five HIS HAPPY DESTINY
Full title Time Gate [permalink]
Language English
Authors Gregory Benford (author), Pat Murphy (author), Poul Anderson (author), Robert Sheckley (author) and Robert Silverberg (author)
Publisher Baen Publishing Enterprises
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1989
ISBN 0-671-69850-8 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 277
Synopsis

It's the future, and simulating near-perfect replicas of people in software is routine. At first it's used for entertainment, simulating historical figures from the past, but it isn't long before things get interesting...

Each chapter is written by a different author, and deals with two famous persons from the past: Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another is about Francisco Pizarro and Socrates, The Resurrection Machine about Cicero and Bakunin, Statesmen about Friedrich Hohenzollern and Machiavelli, The Rose and the Scalpel about Joan of Arc and Voltaire (who, without spoiling too much, have a Great Debate), and finally How I Spent My Summer Vacation is about Queen Victoria and some unknown girl (too say more would spoil).

Almost all of the book is about the interactions between the historical figured themselves, and the interplay between them and their creators.
Review

A pretty interesting read. It's not every day you get to see Socrates trick one of the Spanish Conquistadors into one of his famous dialogues! The idea of the book is interesting, but I think the book would be even better if it were written by a single author. In fact, its multiple authorship detracts from the quality, I feel, but it's nevertheless worth a read.
Images Back of Time Gate.Spine of Time Gate.Front of Time Gate.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another, Robert Silverberg
  • The Resurrection Machine, Robert Sheckley
  • Statesmen, Poul Anderson
  • The Rose and the Scalpel, Gregory Benford
  • How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Pat Murphy
Full title To Open the Sky [permalink]
Language English
Author Robert Silverberg (author)
Publisher Ballantine Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Publication year 1967
Pages 222
Synopsis

The story, despite taking up a meager two hundred pages, is pretty epic, spanning almost a century, and follows a small cast of long-lived characters. Earth has colonized Venus and Mars, and two religious factions, The Brotherhood of the Immanent Radiance and its offshoot Transcendent Harmony both have a piece of the puzzle that would allow man to reach the stars. In reality, the religious orders are merely fronts for scientific research (to say much more would spoil). Their icons and litanies and prayers are entirely scientific, and merely take on the clothing of a religious order. The book opens with The Electromagnetic Litany, which I can't help but quote in its entirety:

And there is light, before and beyond our vision, for which we give thanks.

And there is heat, for which we are humble.

And there is power, for which we count ourselves blessed.

Blessed be Balmer, who gave us our wavelengths. Blessed be Bohr, who brought us understanding. Blessed be Lyman, who saw beyond sight.

Tell us now the stations of the spectrum.

Blessed be long radio waves, which oscillate slowly.

Blessed be broadcast waves, for which we thank Hertz.

Blessed be short waves, linkers of mankind, and blessed be microwaves.

Blessed be infrared, bearers of nourishing heat.

Blessed be visible light, magnificent in angstroms. (On high holidays only: Blessed be red, sacred to Doppler. Blessed be orange. Blessed be yellow, hallowed by Fraunhofer’s gaze. Blessed be green. Blessed be blue for its hydrogen line. Blessed be indigo. Blessed be violet, flourishing with energy.)

Blessed be ultraviolet, with the richness of the sun. Blessed be Xrays, sacred to Roentgen, the prober within.

Blessed be the gamma, in all its power; blessed be the highest of frequencies.

We give thanks for Planck. We give thanks for Einstein. We give thanks in the highest for Maxwell.

In the strength of the spectrum, the quantum, and the holy angstrom, peace!
Images Back of To Open the Sky.Spine of To Open the Sky.Front of To Open the Sky.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Blue Fire 2077
  • The Warriors of Light 2095
  • Where the Changed Ones Go 2135
  • Lazarus Come Forth 2152
  • To Open the Sky 2164
Full title The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Two [permalink]
Language English
Authors George Mann (editor), Brenda Cooper, Chris Roberson, Dan Abnett, David Louis Edelman, Dominic Green, Eric Brown, Karl Schroeder, Kay Kenyon, Mary Robinette Kowal, Michael Moorcock, Neal Asher, Paul Di Filippo, Peter Watts and Robert Reed
Publisher Solaris Books
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year 2008
ISBN 978-1-84416-542-1 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 413
Images Back of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction.Spine of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction.Front of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Introduction (George Mann)
  • iCity (Paul Di Filippo)
  • The Space Crawl Blues (Kay Kenyon)
  • The Line of Dichotomy (Chris Roberson)
  • Fifty Dinosaurs (Robert Reed)
  • Mason's Rats: Black Rat (Neal Asher)
  • Blood Bonds (Brenda Cooper)
  • The Eyes of God (Peter Watts)
  • Sunworld (Eric Brown)
  • Evil Robot Monkey (Mary Robinette Kowal)
  • Shining Armor (Dominic Green)
  • Book, Theatre, and Wheel (Karl Schroeder)
  • Mathralon (David Louis Edelman)
  • Mason's Rats: Autotractor (Neal Asher)
  • Modem Times (Michael Moorcock)
  • Point of Contact (Dan Abnett)
Full title Consider Phlebas [permalink]
Language English
Author Iain M. Banks (author)
Publisher Orbit Books
Categories Novel, science fiction and space opera
Series Culture (1/9)
Publication year 1987
ISBN 1-85723-138-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 471
Synopsis

A hunted Mind is forced to escape to Schar's World and both the Culture and the Idirans (fierce tripedal warriors) want it. The book's protagonist, Bora Horza Gobuchul, is a Changer who works for the Idirans to retrieve the Mind, and the book follows his adventure.
Images Back of Consider Phlebas.Spine of Consider Phlebas.Front of Consider Phlebas.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Prologue
  • 1. Sorpen
  • 2. The Hand of God 137
  • 3. Clear Air Turbulence
  • 4. Temple of Light
  • State of play: one
  • 5. Megaship
  • 6. The Eaters
  • Interlude in darkness
  • 7. A Game of Damage
  • 8. The Ends of Invention
  • State of play: two
  • 9. Schar's World
  • 10. The Command System: Batholith
  • State of play: three
  • 11. The Command System: Stations
  • 12. The Command System: Engines
  • 13. The Command System: Terminus
  • 14. Consider Phlebas
  • Appendices: the Idiran-Culture war
    • Reasons: the Culture
    • Reasons: the Idirans
    • The war, briefly
  • Dramatis personae
  • Epilogue
Full title The Player of Games [permalink]
Language English
Author Iain M. Banks (author)
Publisher Orbit Books
Categories Novel, science fiction and space opera
Series Culture (2/9)
Publication year 1988
ISBN 1-85723-146-5 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 309
Synopsis

Jernau Morat Gurgeh, a Culture citizen, has played games all his life, and is an expert at it. Being bored with success, he accepts to travel to the Empire of Azad to play one the most complex games known to the galaxy, coincidentally named Azad. The game is played on multi-layered checker boards with dice and cards, and features several different pieces, all with different strengths, weaknesses, and attributes. It is said that the moves one is able to execute in the game are so subtle that an experienced player would be able to figure out a lot about his opponent by watching him play (such as his outlook on life and his political stance). The game is so central to the society of Azad that the winner of the game is automatically the next Emperor.
Images Back of The Player of Games.Spine of The Player of Games.Front of The Player of Games.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • One: Culture Plate
  • Two: Imperium
  • Three: Machina Ex Machina
  • Four: The Passed Pawn
Full title Use of Weapons [permalink]
Language English
Author Iain M. Banks (author)
Publisher Orbit Books
Categories Novel, science fiction and space opera
Series Culture (3/9)
Publication year 1990
ISBN 1-85723-135-X [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 368
Synopsis

The Culture hires a mercenary, Cheradenine Zakalwe, to do their dirty work, while Zakalwe tries to piece together a terrible secret in his past.
Review

Banks fans apparently see this novel as the epitome of Culture novels. I hated it, save for the weird party in which people deliberately mutilate themselves and the curious method by which Zakalwe's body is being rebuilt after he's been beheaded. Why do I hate it? The structure. The story follows two threads, one going forward in time and another going backward; the chapters alternate between these two. I wasn't too confused by this, but I was annoyed. Perhaps I should re-read it. If you plan on reading the Culture novels, don't start with this one.
Images Back of Use of Weapons.Spine of Use of Weapons.Front of Use of Weapons.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Acknowledgment
  • 'Slight Mechanical Destruction'
  • Prologue
  • 1. The Good Soldier
    • One
      • XIII
    • Two
      • XII
    • Three
      • XI
    • Four
      • X
    • Five
  • 2. An Outing
      • IX
    • Six
      • VIII
    • Seven
      • VII
    • Eight
      • VI
    • Nine
      • V
  • 3. Remembrance
    • Ten
      • IV
    • Eleven
      • III
    • Twelve
      • II
    • Thirteen
      • I
    • Fourteen
  • Epilogue
  • Zakalwe's Song
Full title The State of the Art [permalink]
Language English
Author Iain M. Banks (author)
Publisher Orbit Books
Categories Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Series Culture (4/9)
Publication year 1991
ISBN 1-85723-030-2 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 216
Images Back of The State of the Art.Spine of The State of the Art.Front of The State of the Art.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • 1. Road of Skulls
  • 2. A Gift from the Culture
  • 3. Odd Attachment
  • 4. Descendant
  • 5. Cleaning Up
  • 6. Piece
  • 7. The State of the Art
  • 8. Scratch
Full title Inversions [permalink]
Language English
Author Iain M. Banks (author)
Publisher Orbit Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Culture (6/9)
Publication year 1998
ISBN 1-85723-763-3 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 406
Synopsis

The chapters alternate between telling the story of Vosill, a king's physician, and DeWar, a Protector's bodyguard. Vosill and DeWar reside on opposite sides of a mountain where they tend to their masters (in their own ways), and although they never actually meet, there is subtle evidence that they know each other (but to say more would spoil).
Review

This isn't a Culture novel per se. It isn't even a science fiction novel, per se. The entire story is set in something resembling medieval Earth, with kings, generals, horse riding, and concubines. That having been said, there are subtle hints at the novel's SFness, but to pick them up you need to read the previous Culture novels.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, despite its non-SFness. I think Vosill may have saved it.
Images Back of Inversions.Spine of Inversions.Front of Inversions.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Prologue
  • 1. The Doctor
  • 2. The Bodyguard
  • 3. The Doctor
  • 4. The Bodyguard
  • 5. The Doctor
  • 6. The Bodyguard
  • 7. The Doctor
  • 8. The Bodyguard
  • 9. The Doctor
  • 10. The Bodyguard
  • 11. The Doctor
  • 12. The Bodyguard
  • 13. The Doctor
  • 14. The Bodyguard
  • 15. The Doctor
  • 16. The Bodyguard
  • 17. The Doctor
  • 18. The Bodyguard
  • 19. The Doctor
  • 20. The Bodyguard
  • 21. The Doctor
  • 22. The Bodyguard
  • 23. The Doctor
  • 24. The Bodyguard
  • Epilogue
Full title The Stars, Like Dust [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Orb Publications
Category Science fiction
Series Empire (1/3)
Publication year 2009
Original publication year 1951
ISBN 978-0-7653-1915-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 235
Synopsis

Biron Farrill wakes up in his dorm room in the University of Earth to discover a radiation bomb. He then has to quickly escape and figure out who the assassin is.

The title is taken from a (fictional, to my best knowledge) poem:

"The stars, like dust, encircle me
In living mists of light;
And all of space I seem to see
In one vast burst of sight."
Images Back of The Stars, Like Dust.Spine of The Stars, Like Dust.Front of The Stars, Like Dust.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • 1. The Bedroom Murmured
  • 2. The Net Across Space
  • 3. Chance and the Wrist Watch
  • 4. Free?
  • 5. Uneasy Lies the Head
  • 6. That Wears a Crown
  • 7. Musician of the Mind
  • 8. A Lady's Skirts
  • 9. And an Overlord's Trousers
  • 10. Maybe!
  • 11. And Maybe Not!
  • 12. The Autarch Comes
  • 13. The Autarch Remains
  • 14. The Autarch Leaves
  • 15. The Hole in Space
  • 16. Hounds!
  • 17. And Hares!
  • 18. Out of the Haws of Defeat!
  • 19. Defeat!
  • 20. Where?
  • 21. Here?
  • 22. There!
  • Afterword
  • About the Author
Full title Pebble in the Sky [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Grafton
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Empire (3/3)
Publication year 1987
Original publication year 1950
Pages 226
Review

Asimov almost never disappoints, and this book is no exception. It's a well-paced and thrilling novel with interesting characters. In particular (as is common with Asimov's novels), the dialog is excellent and abundant.
Images Back of Pebble in the Sky.Spine of Pebble in the Sky.Front of Pebble in the Sky.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Chapter One: Between One Footstep and the Next
  • Chapter Two: The Disposal of a Stranger
  • Chapter Three: One World — Or Many?
  • Chapter Four: The Royal Road
  • Chapter Five: The Involuntary Volunteer
  • Chapter Six: Apprehension in the Night
  • Chapter Seven: Conversation With Madmen?
  • Chapter Eight: Convergence at Chica
  • Chapter Nine: Conflict at Chica
  • Chapter Ten: Interpretation of Events
  • Chapter Eleven: The Mind That Changed
  • Chapter Twelve: The Mind That Killed
  • Chapter Thirteen: Spider Web at Washenn
  • Chapter Fourteen: Second Meeting
  • Chapter Fifteen: The Odds That Vanished
  • Chapter Sixteen: Choose Your Side!
  • Chapter Seventeen: Change Your Side!
  • Chapter Eighteen: Duel!
  • Chapter Nineteen: The Deadline That Approached
  • Chapter Twenty: The Deadline That Was Reached
  • Chapter Twenty-One: The Deadline That Passed
  • Chapter Twenty-Two: The Best is Yet to Be
  • Afterword
Full title Ender's Game [permalink]
Language English
Author Orson Scott Card (author)
Publisher Tor Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ender's Game (1/6)
Publication year 1994
Original publication year 1985
ISBN 0-812-55070-6 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 324
Synopsis

Three brilliant children, Ender, Peter, and Valentine Wiggin, all rise to excellence and help the human race in their own ways. The book primarily follows Ender as he advances to become a great military leader and strategist. It is set against the backdrop of a major inter-stellar war with the Buggers, a hive-mind entity of insect-like beings, who, humanity believes, wish to wipe them all out.

The military leaders in the International Fleet (I.F.) monitor children and pick out exceedingly bright ones to go to Battle School to become commanders, and Ender is picked out after he successfully defends himself against a school bully, determined to beat him down so badly that neither he (nor his entourage) would dare mess with him again. He accepts and is shipped to the Battle School, where he rises through the ranks quickly and starts winning more and more mock battles.
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Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • 1. Third
  • 2. Peter
  • 3. Graff
  • 4. Launch
  • 5. Games
  • 6. The Giant's Drink
  • 7. Salamander
  • 8. Rat
  • 9. Locke and Demosthenes
  • 10. Dragon
  • 11. Veni Vidi Vici
  • 12. Bonzo
  • 13. Valentine
  • 14. Ender's Teacher
  • 15. Speaker for the Dead
Full title Speaker for the Dead [permalink]
Language English
Author Orson Scott Card (author)
Publisher Tor Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ender's Game (2/6)
Publication year 1994
Original publication year 1986
ISBN 0-812-55075-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 382
Synopsis

The book follows a family on the Catholic colony planet Lusitania and centers around the xenologers who find an intelligent porcine alien race there which does some (to them) bizarre things. In a manner that I won't spoil, Ender is entwined into the story.
Review

I like Speaker for the dead better than Ender's Game. There are more major characters, which is good, but also many more minor characters, which I didn't like. But the porcine alien race, which the inhabitants of Lusitania call pequeninos, were interesting enough to save the book for me. I also think Ender is an excellent speaker, and he's a likeable character.
Images Back of Speaker for the Dead.Spine of Speaker for the Dead.Front of Speaker for the Dead.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Introduction
  • Some People of Lusitania Colony
  • Pronouncing Foreign Names
  • Prologue
  • 1. Pipo
  • 2. Trondheim
  • 3. Libo
  • 4. Ender
  • 5. Valentine
  • 6. Olhado
  • 7. The Ribeira House
  • 8. Dona Ivanova
  • 9. Congenital Defect
  • 10. Children of the Mind
  • 11. Jane
  • 12. Files
  • 13. Ela
  • 14. Renegades
  • 15. Speaking
  • 16. The Fence
  • 17. The Wives
  • 18. The Hive Queen
Full title Xenocide [permalink]
Language English
Author Orson Scott Card (author)
Publisher Tor Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ender's Game (3/6)
Publication year 1992
Original publication year 1991
ISBN 0-812-50925-0 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 592
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Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Acknowledgments
  • Pronunciation
  • 1. A Parting
  • 2. A Meeting
  • 3. Clean Hands
  • 4. Jane
  • 5. The Lusitania Fleet
  • 6. Varelse
  • 7. Secret Maid
  • 8. Miracles
  • 9. Pinehead
  • 10. Martyr
  • 11. The Jade of Master Ho
  • 12. Grego's War
  • 13. Free Will
  • 14. Virus Makers
  • 15. Life and Death
  • 16. Voyage
  • 17. Ender's Children
  • 18. The God of Path
Full title Children of the Mind [permalink]
Language English
Author Orson Scott Card (author)
Publisher Tor Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ender's Game (4/6)
Publication year 1997
Original publication year 1996
ISBN 0-812-52239-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 370
Images Back of Children of the Mind.Spine of Children of the Mind.Front of Children of the Mind.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Acknowledgments
  • 1. "I'm Not Myself"
  • 2. "You Don't Believe in God"
  • 3. "There Are Too Many of Us"
  • 4. "I Am a Man of Perfect Simplicity!"
  • 5. "Nobody Is Rational"
  • 6. "Life Is a Suicide Mission"
  • 7. "I Offer Her This Poor Old Vessel"
  • 8. "What Matters Is Which Fiction You Believe"
  • 9. "It Smells Like Life to Me"
  • 10. "This Has Always Been Your Body"
  • 11. "You Called ME Back from Darkness"
  • 12. "Am I Betraying Ender?"
  • 13. "Till Death Ends All Surprises"
  • 14. "How They Communicate with Animals"
  • 15. "We're Giving You a Second Chance"
  • 16. "How Do You Know They Aren't Quivering in Terror?"
  • 17. "The Road Goes On without Him Now"
  • Afterword
Full title Ender's Shadow [permalink]
Language English
Author Orson Scott Card (author)
Publisher Tor Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ender's Shadow (1/4)
Publication year 2000
Original publication year 1999
ISBN 0-812-57571-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 469
Synopsis

Ender's Shadow follows Bean, a friend of Ender's in Battle School, as he grows up on the harsh streets of Rotterdam, gets accepted by the I.F., and is taken to Battle School. From there it's basically another view of Card's first book in the Ender series, Ender's Game.
Review

Card is very good at drama and dialog, and I think this book showcases that very well. I also like the characters he develops very much. A good read.
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Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Foreword
  • I. URCHIN
    • 1. Poke
    • 2. Kitchen
    • 3. Payback
    • 4. Memories
  • II. LAUNCHY
    • 5. Ready or Not
    • 6. Ender's Shadow
    • 7. Exploration
    • 8. Good Student
  • III. SCHOLAR
    • 9. Garden of Sofia
    • 10. Sneaky
    • 11. Daddy
    • 12. Roster
  • IV. SOLDIER
    • 13. Dragon Army
    • 14. Brothers
    • 15. Courage
    • 16. Companion
  • V. LEADER
    • 17. Deadline
    • 18. Friend
    • 19. Rebel
    • 20. Trial and Error
  • VI. VICTOR
    • 21. Guesswork
    • 22. Reunion
    • 23. Ender's Game
    • 24. Homecoming
  • Acknowledgments
Full title Shadow of the Hegemon [permalink]
Language English
Author Orson Scott Card (author)
Publisher Tor Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ender's Shadow (2/4)
Publication year 2001
Original publication year 2000
ISBN 0-812-56595-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 451
Images Back of Shadow of the Hegemon.Spine of Shadow of the Hegemon.Front of Shadow of the Hegemon.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • I. VOLUNTEERS
    • 1. Petra
    • 2. Bean
    • 3. Message in a Bottle
    • 4. Custody
    • 5. Ambition
  • II. ALLIANCES
    • 6. Code
    • 7. Going Public
    • 8. Bread Van
    • 9. Communing with the Dead
    • 10. Brothers in Arms
  • III. MANEUVERS
    • 11. Bangkok
    • 12. Islamabad
    • 13. Warnings
    • 14. Hyderabad
    • 15. Murder
  • IV. DECISIONS
    • 16. Treachery
    • 17. On a Bridge
    • 18. Sayagraha
    • 19. Rescue
    • 20. Hegemon
  • Afterword
Full title Shadow Puppets [permalink]
Language English
Author Orson Scott Card (author)
Publisher Tor Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ender's Shadow (3/4)
Publication year 2003
Original publication year 2002
ISBN 0-765-34005-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 375
Synopsis

The novel follows Bean, Petra, Achilles, Peter, and Suriyawong and the political developments on Earth after the Formics are defeated.
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Structure [Toggle visibility]
  1. GROWN
  2. SURIYAWONG'S KNIFE
  3. MOMMIES AND DADDIES
  4. CHOPIN
  5. STONES IN THE ROAD
  6. HOSPITALITY
  7. THE HUMAN RACE
  8. TARGETS
  9. CONCEPTION
  10. LEFT AND RIGHT
  11. BABIES
  12. PUTTING OUT FIRES
  13. CALIPH
  14. SPACE STATION
  15. WAR PLANS
  16. TRAPS
  17. PROPHETS
  18. THE WAR ON THE GROUND
  19. FAREWELLS
  20. HOME
Full title Shadow of the Giant [permalink]
Language English
Author Orson Scott Card (author)
Publisher Tor Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ender's Shadow (4/4)
Publication year 2006
Original publication year 2005
ISBN 0-812-57139-8 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 371
Synopsis

The story of Ender's jeesh (comrades) is further elaborated, taking place entirely on Earth.
Review

I hesitate a little to classify this as science fiction, because it feels more like a political thriller. It was a good read, but in the end I was left disappointed. I'm no Card fan, but if you are, perhaps you'll get something more out of it.
Images Back of Shadow of the Giant.Spine of Shadow of the Giant.Front of Shadow of the Giant.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  1. MANDATE OF HEAVEN
  2. MOTHER
  3. COUP
  4. BARGAIN
  5. SHIVA
  6. EVOLUTION
  7. AN OFFER
  8. ENDER
  9. PENSION
  10. GRIEF
  11. AFRICAN GOD
  12. ALLAHU AKBAR
  13. FOUND
  14. VIRLOMI'S VISITORS
  15. RATIFICATION
  16. JEESH
  17. BOATS
  18. YEREVAN
  19. ENEMIES
  20. PLANS
  21. PAPERS
  22. RUMORS OF WAR
  23. COLONIST
  24. SACRIFICE
  25. LETTERS
  26. SPEAK FOR ME
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Full title Prelude to Foundation [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Foundation (1/7)
Publication year 1988
Pages 528
Full title Forward the Foundation [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Foundation (2/7)
Publication year 1993
Pages 464
Full title Foundation [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Foundation (3/7)
Publication year 1951
Pages 255
Full title Foundation and Empire [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Foundation (4/7)
Publication year 1952
Pages 247
Full title Second Foundation [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Foundation (5/7)
Publication year 1991
Original publication year 1953
ISBN 0-553-29336-2 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 279
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Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • PROLOGUE

PART I SEARCH BY THE MULE

  • 1 TWO MEN AND THE MULE
    First Interlude
  • 2 TWO MEN WITHOUT THE MULE
    Second Interlude
  • 3 TWO MEN AND A PEASANT
    Third Interlude
  • 4 TWO MEN AND THE ELDERS
    Fourth Interlude
  • 5 ONE MAN AND THE MULE
  • 6 ONE MAN, THE MULE—AND ANOTHER
    Last Interlude

PART II SEARCH BY THE FOUNDATION

  • 7 ARCADIA
  • 8 SELDON'S PLAN
  • 9 THE CONSPIRATORS
  • 10 APPROACHING CRISIS
  • 11 STOWAWAY
  • 12 LORD
  • 13 LADY
  • 14 ANXIETY
  • 15 THROUGH THE GRID
  • 16 BEGINNING OF WAR
  • 17 WAR
  • 18 GHOST OF A WORLD
  • 19 END OF WAR
  • 20 "I KNOW..."
  • 21 THE ANSWER THAT SATISFIED
  • 22 THE ANSWER THAT WAS TRUE
Full title Foundation's Edge [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Foundation (6/7)
Publication year 2004
Original publication year 1982
ISBN 0-553-29338-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 449
Images Back of Foundation's Edge.Spine of Foundation's Edge.Front of Foundation's Edge.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Prologue
  • 1. Councilman
  • 2. Mayor
  • 3. Historian
  • 4. Space
  • 5. Speaker
  • 6. Earth
  • 7. Farmer
  • 8. Farmwoman
  • 9. Hyperspace
  • 10. Table
  • 11. Sayshell
  • 12. Agent
  • 13. University
  • 14. Forward!
  • 15. Gaia-s
  • 16. Convergence
  • 17. Gaia
  • 18. Collision
  • 19. Decision
  • 20. Conclusion
  • Afterword by the Author
Full title Foundation and Earth [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Foundation (7/7)
Publication year 2004
Original publication year 1986
ISBN 0-553-58757-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 499
Images Back of Foundation and Earth.Spine of Foundation and Earth.Front of Foundation and Earth.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • PART I GAIA
    • 1. The Search Begins
    • 2. Toward Comporellon
  • PART II COMPORELLON
    • 3. At the Entry Station
    • 4. On Comporellon
    • 5. Struggle for the Ship
    • 6. The Nature of Earth
    • 7. Leaving Comporellon
  • PART III AURORA
    • 8. Forbidden World
    • 9. Facing the Pack
  • PART IV SOLARIA
    • 10. Robots
    • 11. Underground
    • 12. To the Surface
  • PART V MELPOMENIA
    • 13. Away from Solaria
    • 14. Dead Planet
    • 15. Moss
  • PART VI ALPHA
    • 16. The Center of the Worlds
    • 17. New Earth
    • 18. The Music Festival
  • PART VII EARTH
    • 19. Radioactive?
    • 20. The Nearby World
    • 21. The Search Ends
Full title Halo: The Flood [permalink]
Language English
Author William C. Dietz (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Halo (2/7)
Publication year 2003
Pages 352
Synopsis

A spaceship, The Pillar of Autumn, takes a wrong turn in hyperspace (called Slipstream Space in the Haloverse) and ends up having to crash-land on a ringworld nearby. John-117 (a super soldier popularly called Master Chief, in a battle armor) is tasked with the safe-keeping of the ship's enigmatic AI, Cortana, and the novel chronicles his attempts at rendezvousing with The Pillar of Autumn after having used an escape pod to disembark from it.
Review

The book is a straight novelization of the game, and it suffers a bit from that fact (if you've played the game then you know that a good deal of the game is repetitive shooting). A good chunk of the book is devoted to viewing the action from other perspectives, which is good. In the end, though, it's a mediocre book. I can't recommend it if you're not a Halo fan.
Full title Planetes 1 [permalink]
Language English
Author Makoto Yukimura (author)
Publisher Tokyopop
Categories Manga and science fiction
Series Planetes (1/5)
Publication year 2003
ISBN 1-59182-262-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 238
Images Back of Planetes 1.Spine of Planetes 1.Front of Planetes 1.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • //Phase 1// A Stardust Sky
  • //Phase 2// A Girl from Beyond the Earth
  • //Phase 3// A Cigarette Under Starlight
  • //Phase 4// Scenery for a Rocket
  • //Phase 5// Ignition
Full title Planetes 2 [permalink]
Language English
Author Makoto Yukimura (author)
Publisher Tokyopop
Categories Manga and science fiction
Series Planetes (2/5)
Publication year 2004
ISBN 1-59182-509-1 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 238
Images Back of Planetes 2.Spine of Planetes 2.Front of Planetes 2.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • //Phase 6// Running Man
  • //Phase 7// Tanabe
  • //Phase 8// A Black Flower Named Sakinohaka (Part 1)
  • //Phase 9// A Black Flower Named Sakinohaka (Part 2)
  • //Phase 10// Lost Souls
  • //Phase 11// СПАСИБО
Full title Planetes 3 [permalink]
Language English
Author Makoto Yukimura (author)
Publisher Tokyopop
Categories Manga and science fiction
Series Planetes (3/5)
Publication year 2004
ISBN 1-59182-510-5 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 227
Images Back of Planetes 3.Spine of Planetes 3.Front of Planetes 3.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • //Phase 12// A Cat in the Evening
  • //Phase 13// Windmillville
  • //Phase 14// Boy and Girl
  • //Phase 15// A Day of Kyakurai
  • //Phase 16// Hachimaki
  • //Extra Phase// Red Star/While Ball
Full title Planetes 4/1 [permalink]
Language English
Author Makoto Yukimura (author)
Publisher Tokyopop
Categories Manga and science fiction
Series Planetes (4/5)
Publication year 2004
ISBN 1-59532-208-6 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 197
Images Back of Planetes 4/1.Spine of Planetes 4/1.Front of Planetes 4/1.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • //Phase 17// How to Make a Hundred Friends
  • //Phase 18// Just Like Guskou Sudori
  • //Phase 19// Dog Days
  • //Phase 20// Man's Best Friend
  • //Phase 21// Little Girls and Underdogs
Full title Planetes 4/2 [permalink]
Language English
Author Makoto Yukimura (author)
Publisher Tokyopop
Categories Manga and science fiction
Series Planetes (5/5)
Publication year 2005
ISBN 1-59532-467-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 195
Images Back of Planetes 4/2.Spine of Planetes 4/2.Front of Planetes 4/2.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • //Phase 22// A Crying Dog
  • //Phase 23// A Running Dog
  • //Phase 24// A Barking Dog
  • //Phase 25// 45 Minutes at the Speed of Light
  • //Phase 26// What a Wonderful World
Full title Rendezvous with Rama [permalink]
Language English
Author Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Rama (1/4)
Publication year 1990
Original publication year 1972
ISBN 0-553-28789-3 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 243
Synopsis

A large cylindrical object is spinning so fast through the solar system that humans want to take a look at it before it whizzes past them. They dispatch the Endeavour to intersect its orbit and quickly discover that the cylinder is a spaceship of some kind designed by an intelligent species. Once they make it aboard Rama, the crew meticulously describe the interior of it and you should eventually get a really good feel for its construction. The novel details the crew's discoveries aboard Rama.
Images Back of Rendezvous with Rama.Spine of Rendezvous with Rama.Front of Rendezvous with Rama.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Chapter 1 * Spaceguard
  • Chapter 2 * Intruder
  • Chapter 3 * Rama and Sita
  • Chapter 4 * Rendezvous
  • Chapter 5 * First EVA
  • Chapter 6 * Committee
  • Chapter 7 * Two Wives
  • Chapter 8 * Through the Hub
  • Chapter 9 * Reconnaissance
  • Chapter 10 * Descent into Darkness
  • Chapter 11 * Men, Women, and Monkeys
  • Chapter 12 * The Stairway of the Gods
  • Chapter 13 * The Plain of Rama
  • Chapter 14 * Storm Warning
  • Chapter 15 * The Edge of the Sea
  • Chapter 16 * Kealakekua
  • Chapter 17 * Spring
  • Chapter 18 * Dawn
  • Chapter 19 * A Warning from Mercury
  • Chapter 20 * Book of Revelation
  • Chapter 21 * After the Storm
  • Chapter 22 * To Sail the Cylindrical Sea
  • Chapter 23 * N.Y., Rama
  • Chapter 24 * Dragonfly
  • Chapter 25 * Maiden Flight
  • Chapter 26 * The Voice of Rama
  • Chapter 27 * Electric Wind
  • Chapter 28 * Icarus
  • Chapter 29 * First Contact
  • Chapter 30 * The Flower
  • Chapter 31 * Terminal Velocity
  • Chapter 32 * The Wave
  • Chapter 33 * Spider
  • Chapter 34 * His Excellency Regrets...
  • Chapter 35 * Special Delivery
  • Chapter 36 * Biot Watcher
  • Chapter 37 * Missile
  • Chapter 38 * General Assembly
  • Chapter 39 * Command Decision
  • Chapter 40 * Saboteur
  • Chapter 41 * Hero
  • Chapter 42 * Temple of Glass
  • Chapter 43 * Retreat
  • Chapter 44 * Space Drive
  • Chapter 45 * Phoenix
  • Chapter 46 * Interlude
Full title Rama II [permalink]
Language English
Authors Arthur C. Clarke (author) and Gentry Lee (co-author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Rama (2/4)
Publication year 1990
Original publication year 1989
ISBN 0-553-28658-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 466
Synopsis

Seventy years after the first book, a second Rama spacecraft enters our solar system, and an expedition is again sent to rendezvous with it. They board it as easily as the first crew boarded the first spacecraft, but they soon discover a few differences between the two craft.
Review

This book (and the subsequent ones) contains a lot character development, as they are written primarily by Lee. In this one, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but it takes off eventually, really.
Images Back of Rama II.Spine of Rama II.Front of Rama II.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Rama Revisited
  • 1 Rama Returns
  • 2 Test and Training
  • 3 Crew Conference
  • 4 The Great Chaos
  • 5 After the Crash
  • 6 La Signora Sabatini
  • 7 Public Relations
  • 8 Biometry
  • 9 Diastolic Irregularity
  • 10 The Cosmonaut and the Pope
  • 11 St Michael of Siena
  • 12 Ramans and Romans
  • 13 Happy New Year
  • 14 Good-bye, Henry
  • 15 Encounter
  • 16 Rama Rama Burning Bright
  • 17 Death of a Soldier
  • 18 Postmortem
  • 19 Rite of Passage
  • 20 Blessed Slumber
  • 21 Pandora's Cube
  • 22 Dawn
  • 23 Nightfall
  • 24 Sounds in the Darkness
  • 25 A Friend in Need
  • 26 Second Sortie
  • 27 To Catch a Biot
  • 28 Extrapolation
  • 29 The Hunt
  • 30 Postmortem II
  • 31 Orvieto Prodigy
  • 32 New York Explorer
  • 33 Missing Person
  • 34 Strange Companions
  • 35 Into the Pit
  • 36 Impact Course
  • 37 Marooned
  • 38 Visitors
  • 39 Waters of Wisdom
  • 40 Alien Invitation
  • 41 A Friend Indeed
  • 42 Two Explorers
  • 43 Exobiological Psychology
  • 44 Another Lair
  • 45 Nikki
  • 46 The Better Part of Valor
  • 47 Progressive Matrices
  • 48 Welcome Earthlings
  • 49 Interaction
  • 50 Hope Springs Eternal
  • 51 Escape Harness
  • 52 Flight 302
  • 53 Trinity
  • 54 Once a Hero
  • 55 The Voice of Michael
  • 56 An Answered Prayer
  • 57 Three's Company
  • 58 Hobson's Choice
  • 59 Dream of Destiny
  • 60 Return to Rama
  • 61 Endangered Spacecraft
  • 62 The Final Hour
  • Acknowledgments
Full title The Garden of Rama [permalink]
Language English
Authors Arthur C. Clarke (author) and Gentry Lee (co-author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Rama (3/4)
Publication year 1992
Original publication year 1991
ISBN 0-553-29817-8 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 518
Images Back of The Garden of Rama.Spine of The Garden of Rama.Front of The Garden of Rama.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Acknowledgments
  • Nicole's Journal
  • At the Node
  • Rendezvous at Mars
  • Epithalamion
  • The Trial
Full title Rama Revealed: The Ultimate Encounter [permalink]
Language English
Authors Arthur C. Clarke (author) and Gentry Lee (co-author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Rama (4/4)
Publication year 1995
Original publication year 1994
ISBN 0-553-56947-3 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 602
Images Back of Rama Revealed.Spine of Rama Revealed.Front of Rama Revealed.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Acknowledgments
  • Prologue
  • Escape
  • The Rainbow Connection
  • The Emerald City
  • War in Rama
  • Return to the Node
Full title Ringworld [permalink]
Language English
Author Larry Niven (author)
Publisher Ballantine Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Ringworld (1/4)
Publication year 1970
ISBN 0-345-33392-6 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 342
Synopsis

A group of four individuals (two humans and two aliens) end up together on an expedition to a ringworld, a huge structure around a sun, akin to a slender rubber band around a speck of sand. The book chronicles their adventures on it.
Images Back of Ringworld.Spine of Ringworld.Front of Ringworld.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  1. Louis Wu
  2. And His Motley Crew
  3. Teela Brown
  4. Speaker-to-Animals
  5. Rosette
  6. Christmas Ribbon
  7. Stepping Discs
  8. Ringworld
  9. Shadow Squares
  10. The Ring Floor
  11. The Arch of Heaven
  12. Fist-of-God
  13. Starseed Lure
  14. Interlude, with Sunflowers
  15. Dream-Castle
  16. The Map Room
  17. The Eye of the Storm
  18. The Perils of Teela Brown
  19. In the Trap
  20. Meat
  21. The Girl from Beyond the Edge
  22. Seeker
  23. The God Gambit
  24. Fist-of-God
Full title The Caves of Steel [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Robot (1/4)
Publication year 1991
Original publication year 1954
ISBN 0-553-29340-0 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 270
Images Back of The Caves of Steel.Spine of The Caves of Steel.Front of The Caves of Steel.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Introduction
  • 1. Conversation with a Commissioner
  • 2. Round Trip on an Expressway
  • 3. Incident at a Shoe Counter
  • 4. Introduction to a Family
  • 5. Analysis of a Murder
  • 6. Whispers in a Bedroom
  • 7. Excursion into Spacetown
  • 8. Debate over a Robot
  • 9. Elucidation by a Spacer
  • 10. Afternoon of a Plain-clothes Man
  • 11. Escape along the Strips
  • 12. Words from an Expert
  • 13. Shift to the Machine
  • 14. Power of a Name
  • 15. Arrest of a Conspirator
  • 16. Questions Concerning a Motive
  • 17. Conclusion of a Project
  • 18. End of an Investigation
Full title The Naked Sun [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Robot (2/4)
Publication year 1957
Pages 288
Full title The Robots of Dawn [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Publisher Bantam Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Robot (3/4)
Publication year 1994
Original publication year 1983
ISBN 0-553-29949-2 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 435
Images Back of The Robots of Dawn.Spine of The Robots of Dawn.Front of The Robots of Dawn.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • 1 Baley
  • 2 Daneel
  • 3 Giskard
  • 4 Fastolfe
  • 5 Daneel and Giskard
  • 6 Gladia
  • 7 Again Fastolfe
  • 8 Fastolfe and Vasilia
  • 9 Vasilia
  • 10 Again Vasilia
  • 11 Gremionis
  • 12 Again Gremionis
  • 13 Amadiro
  • 14 Again Amadiro
  • 15 Again Daneel and Giskard
  • 16 Again Gladia
  • 17 The Chairman
  • 18 Again the Chairman
  • 19 Again Baley
Full title Robots and Empire [permalink]
Language English
Author Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Robot (4/4)
Publication year 1985
Pages 383
Full title 2001: A Space Odyssey [permalink]
Language English
Author Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher Roc Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Space Odyssey (1/4)
Publication year 2000
Original publication year 1968
ISBN 0-451-45799-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 297
Images Back of 2001.Spine of 2001.Front of 2001.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • To Stanley: In Memoriam
  • Foreword to the Millennial Edition
  • Foreword
  • Part One: Primeval Night
    • Chapter 1: The Road to Extinction
    • Chapter 2: The New Rock
    • Chapter 3: Academy
    • Chapter 4: The Leopard
    • Chapter 5: Encounter in the Dark
    • Chapter 6: Ascent of Man
  • Part Two: TMA-1
    • Chapter 7: Special Flight
    • Chapter 8: Orbital Rendezvous
    • Chapter 9: Moon Shuttle
    • Chapter 10: Clavius Base
    • Chapter 11: Anomaly
    • Chapter 12: Journey by Earthlight
    • Chapter 13: The Slow Dawn
    • Chapter 14: The Listeners
  • Part Three: Between Planets
    • Chapter 15: Discovery
    • Chapter 16: Hal
    • Chapter 17: Cruise Mode
    • Chapter 18: Through the Asteroids
    • Chapter 19: Transit of Jupiter
    • Chapter 20: The World of the Gods
  • Part Four: Abyss
    • Chapter 21: Birthday Party
    • Chapter 22: Excursion
    • Chapter 23: Diagnosis
    • Chapter 24: Broken Circuit
    • Chapter 25: First Man to Saturn
    • Chapter 26: Dialogue with Hal
    • Chapter 27: "Need to Know"
    • Chapter 28: In Vacuum
    • Chapter 29: Alone
    • Chapter 30: The Secret
  • Part Five: The Moons of Saturn
    • Chapter 31: Survival
    • Chapter 32: Concerning E.T.'s
    • Chapter 33: Ambassador
    • Chapter 34: The Orbiting Ice
    • Chapter 35: The Eye of Japetus
    • Chapter 36: Big Brother
    • Chapter 37: Experiment
    • Chapter 38: The Sentinel
    • Chapter 39: Into the Eye
    • Chapter 40: Exit
  • Part Six: Through the Star Gate
    • Chapter 41: Grand Central
    • Chapter 42: The Alien Sky
    • Chapter 43: Inferno
    • Chapter 44: Reception
    • Chapter 45: Recapitulation
    • Chapter 46: Transformation
    • Chapter 47: Star-Child
Full title 2010: Odyssey Two [permalink]
Language English
Author Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher Ballantine Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Space Odyssey (2/4)
Publication year 1984
Original publication year 1982
ISBN 0-345-30306-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 335
Images Back of 2010.Spine of 2010.Front of 2010.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Author's Note
  • I * Leonov
    • 1. Meeting at the Focus
    • 2. The House of the Dolphins
    • 3. SAL 9000
    • 4. Mission Profile
    • 5. Leonov
  • II * Tsien
    • 6. Awakening
    • 7. Tsien
    • 8. Transit of Jupiter
    • 9. The Ice of the Grand Canal
    • 10. A Cry from Europa
    • 11. Ice and Vacuum
  • III * Discovery
    • 12. Downhill Run
    • 13. The Worlds of Galileo
    • 14. Double Encounter
    • 15. Escape From the Giant
    • 16. Private Line
    • 17. Boarding Party
    • 18. Salvage
    • 19. Operation WINDMILL
    • 20. Guillotine
    • 21. Resurrection
  • IV * Lagrange
    • 22. Big Brother
    • 23. Rendezvous
    • 24. Reconnaissance
    • 25. The View From Lagrange
    • 26. Probation
    • 27. Interlude: True Confessions
    • 28. Frustration
    • 29. Emergence
  • V * A Child of the Stars
    • 30. Homecoming
    • 31. Disneyville
    • 32. Crystal Spring
    • 33. Betty
    • 34. Valediction
    • 35. Rehabilitation
    • 36. Fire in the Deep
    • 37. Estrangement
    • 38. Foamscape
    • 39. In the Pod Bay
    • 40. "Daisy, Daisy..."
    • 41. Graveyard Shift
  • VI * Devourer of Worlds
    • 42. The Ghost in the Machine
    • 43. Thought Experiment
    • 44. Vanishing Trick
    • 45. Escape Maneuver
    • 46. Countdown
    • 47. Final Flyby
    • 48. Over the Nightside
    • 49. Devourer of Worlds
  • VII * Lucifer Rising
    • 50. Farewell to Jupiter
    • 51. The Great Game
    • 52. Ignition
    • 53. A Gift of Worlds
    • 54. Between Suns
    • 55. Lucifer Rising
  • Epilog: 20,001
  • Acknowledgments
Full title 2061: Odyssey Three [permalink]
Language English
Author Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher Ballantine Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Space Odyssey (3/4)
Publication year 1989
Original publication year 1988
ISBN 0-345-35879-1 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 271
Images Back of 2061.Spine of 2061.Front of 2061.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Author's Note
  • I * The Magic Mountain
    • 1. The Frozen Years
    • 2. First Sight
    • 3. Reentry
    • 4. Tycoon
    • 5. Out of the Ice
    • 6. The Greening of Ganymede
    • 7. Transit
    • 8. Starfleet
    • 9. Mount Zeus
    • 10. Ship of Fools
    • 11. The Lie
    • 12. Oom Paul
    • 13. "No One Told Us to Bring Swimsuits..."
    • 14. Search
  • II * The Valley of Black Snow
    • 15. Rendezvous
    • 16. Touchdown
    • 17. The Valley of Black Snow
    • 18. Old Faithful
    • 19. At the End of the Tunnel
    • 20. Recall
  • III * Europan Roulette
    • 21. The Politics of Exile
    • 22. Hazardous Cargo
    • 23. Inferno
    • 24. Shaka the Great
    • 25. The Shrouded World
    • 26. Night Watch
    • 27. Rosie
    • 28. Dialog
    • 29. Descent
    • 30. Galaxy Down
    • 31. The Sea of Galilee
  • IV * At The Water Hole
    • 32. Diversion
    • 33. Pit Stop
    • 34. Car Wash
    • 35. Adrift
    • 36.The Alien Shore
  • V * Through the Asteroids
    • 37. Star
    • 38. Icebergs of Space
    • 39. The Captain's Table
    • 40. Monsters from Earth
    • 41. Memoirs of a Centenarian
    • 42. Minilith
  • VI * Haven
    • 43. Salvage
    • 44. Endurance
    • 45. Mission
    • 46. Shuttle
    • 47. Shards
    • 48. Lucy
  • VII * The Great Wall
    • 49. Shrine
    • 50. Open City
    • 51. Phantom
    • 52. On the couch
    • 53. Pressure Cooker
    • 54. Reunion
    • 55. Magma
    • 56. Perturbation Theory
    • 57. Interlude on Ganymede
  • VIII * The Kingdom of Sulfur
    • 58. Fire and Ice
    • 59. Trinity
  • IX * 3001
    • 60. Midnight in the Plaza
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • Addendum
Full title 3001: The Final Odyssey [permalink]
Language English
Author Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher Ballantine Books
Categories Novel and science fiction
Series Space Odyssey (4/4)
Publication year 1998
Original publication year 1997
ISBN 0-345-42349-6 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 274
Images Back of 3001.Spine of 3001.Front of 3001.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Prologue: The Firstborn
  • I. Star City
    • 1. Comet Cowboy
    • 2. Awakening
    • 3. Rehabilitation
    • 4. A Room with a View
    • 5. Education
    • 6. Braincap
    • 7. Debriefing
    • 8. Return to Olduvai
    • 9. Skyland
    • 10. Homage to Icarus
    • 11. Here Be Dragons
    • 12. Frustration
    • 13. Stranger in a Strange Time
  • II. Goliath
    • 14. A Farewell to Earth
    • 15. Transit of Venus
    • 16. The Captain's Table
  • III. The Worlds of Galileo
    • 17. Ganymede
    • 18. Grand Hotel
    • 19. The Madness of Mankind
    • 20. Apostate
    • 21. Quarantine
    • 22. Venture
  • IV. The Kingdom of Sulfur
    • 23. Falcon
    • 24. Escape
    • 25. Fire in the Deep
    • 26. Tsienville
    • 27. Ice and Vacuum
    • 28. The Little Dawn
    • 29. The Ghosts in the Machine
    • 30. Foamscape
    • 31. Nursery
  • V. Termination
    • 32. A Gentleman of Leisure
    • 33. Contact
    • 34. Judgement
    • 35. Council of War
    • 36. Chamber of Horrors
    • 37. Operation DAMOCLES
    • 38. Preemptive Strike
    • 39. Deicide
    • 40. Midnight: Pico
    • Epilogue
  • Sources and Acknowledgments
  • Valediction
Full title The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [permalink]
Language English
Author Douglas Adams (author)
Categories Humor, novel and science fiction
Series The Hitchhiker's Guide
Publication year 1979
Pages 224
Full title The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [permalink]
Language English
Author Douglas Adams (author)
Categories Humor and science fiction
Series The Hitchhiker's Guide
Publication year 1980
Pages 208
Full title So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish [permalink]
Language English
Author Douglas Adams (author)
Categories Humor, novel and science fiction
Series The Hitchhiker's Guide
Publication year 1984
Pages 224

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