Pinkelponker. Funny name. Dangerous planet. It's one of the darkest secrets in the human-inhabited space—a planet under a centuries-long quarantine. A planet of mutant seers and psychics whose very existence threatens the galactic balance of power. But a young boy with extraordinary precognitive abilities has surfaced, and a cult leader seeking ultimate power wants to possess him, body and soul. Now the boy's future rests with a treacherous con man and with the one person who can understand the boy's strange destiny. For it is a destiny that master mercenary Jon Moore shares—since he, too, is a son of Pinkelponker!
Military SF with an adventurous flourish—here is the second entry in Mark Van Name's thoughtful and hard-hitting "Jon and Lobo" saga!
Tell the truth: you flat-out love science fiction and fantasy. Time travel. Space opera. Alternate history. Doesn't matter. What you love is the story. The great idea. The adventure and action. That good old-fashioned science fiction staple, the Sense of Wonder.
We know exactly how you feel. Here's the best of the best: new science fiction tales told by the likes of David Drake, Gregory Benford, Gene Wolfe, Esther Friesner, Mike Resnick, John Barnes, and L. E. Modesitt, Jr. The list of award-winning story-tellers and brilliant new talent goes on and on. More important: here are stories that grip you. Transport you. Expand your universe. Make you late for important appointments like bedtime and supper!
Edited by New York Times best-seller and creator of the hugely-popular "Ring of Fire" series, Eric Flint, a master story-teller in his own right, these tales are all taken from the e-pages of Jim Baen's Universe, the new standard in science fiction storytelling created and inspired by publisher and editor Jim Baen, whose nose for a great story made him a science fiction legend!
"[T]he story comes first and foremost."—Eric Flint, Jim Baen's Universe Editor-in-Chief
The Future is Coming, and It’s Going to be Hilarious! First Time in Paperback for This Wildly Comic Look by a Best-Selling and Award-Winning Writer at Several Possible—and Bizarre—Tomorrows, Including Two Complete Novels
Ben Bova, best-selling and award-winning author of the “Grand Tour” and “Asteroid Wars” series, takes a sardonic look at the humorous possibilities of future technology.
The Starcrossed: Bill Oxnard, a young technological genius, had perfected true three-dimensional television, making ordinary TV obsolete. He thought he would be rich and famous—but he hadn’t realized how deranged the executives running the industry were; nor what sort of programs they were planning to broadcast using the new process in the maniacal quest for ratings.
Cyberbooks: Carl Lewis has a dream—to make books accessible and affordable to every person in the country, and thinks his “cyberbook,” about as large and as cheap as a pocket calculator, will make it possible for anyone to download books directly and cheaply. But he has no idea what he’s about to get into, nor does his contact at Bunker Books, lovely but naïve aspiring editor Lori Tashkajian. Will they survive this foray into the cut-throat world of big publishing? And just who is suddenly murdering all those nice elderly people on the streets of New York, anyway?
These two full-length novels of twistedly comic, but very possible futures, plus six shorter but equally witty works, add up to a generous volume of futuristic fun and hilarious high-tech.
The Union of Arcana has expanded through the portals linking parallel universes for over a century and a half. In that time, its soldiers and sorcerers have laid claim to one uninhabited planet after another—all of them Earth, and in the process, the Union has become the most powerful, most wealthy civilization in all of human history. But now the Union's scouts have discovered a new portal, and on its far side lies another human society, Sharona, which has also been exploring the Multiverse, and the first contact between them did not go well. Arcana is horrified by the alien weapons of its sudden opponents, weapons its sorcerers cannot explain, weapons based upon something called . . . science. But Sharona is equally horrified by Arcana's "magical" weapons. Neither side expected the confrontation and each thinks the other fired first. But as the initial disastrous contact snowballs into all-out warfare, both sides can agree on one thing. The portal which brought them together is Hell's Gate itself!
"Magic and high tech collide in this exciting military SF novel from bestseller Weber and Evans, the first of a new series. . . . The authors treat both societies sympathetically and realistically, with human vices and virtues evenly distributed."—Publishers Weekly
Once before, the sentient races in the known part of the galaxy had united against alien invaders. Decades have since passed and new generations have grown complacent . . . dangerously so.
Long ago, much of the population of an entire planet fled their world before its sun went nova in thousands of ships, each one larger than a city. Now, the armada has arrived at the world they intend to make their new home. They regard the fact that the planet is already colonized by humans as a mere inconvenience, and their mode of communication is so different from anything humans use that they do not consider humans and their allies to be truly intelligent.
This time, the races of the old alliance will not have to worry about becoming an invader's meal— but that will be small comfort if these new invaders decide that genocide is justified for their own survival. . . .
Every schoolboy knows the history: in the twelfth century, Mordred the Great defeated his father. King Arthur - known as "Arthur the Tyrant"—and founded the Pendragon Empire. Now, half a millenium later, the Empire's flag flies over much of Europe, Asia, and the New World, ably defended by the knights of the Order of Crown, Shield, and Dragon, who carry swords, each containing the soul of someone of great power. These are no ordinary swords, for a single red sword can defeat an army or leave a city in flaming ruins.
But now, as if manipulated by some unseen masterminds, supernatural menaces are threatening the empire. This time, even the knights and their swords of power may not be enough to hold back the forces of darkness. . . .
". . . the seafaring action is convincing and detailed, the characters are appealing. . . . [Readers] should be well satisfied with the promise of more tales to come."
—Amazing Stories
". . . rousing . . . with derring do, fights, and high adventure The characters are likeable. . ."
Linda Evans 
