TWO MASTERS OF HUMOROUS SCIENCE FICTION TOGETHER!

Elves. Leprechauns. Gremlins. Call them what you like.

These little dudes may be the stuff of legend, but they're just as real as you and me. Far from the mythical, magical creatures of rumor, they are actually tiny aliens, marooned for centuries on this miserable mudball known as Earth. And they want just one thing: OFF!

Now, human technology may finally make a reality of their dreams to leave this pathetic planet behind. NASA has a new rocket and it's Mars-bound. All the gremlins need do is hijack it and set a course for their homeworld of Gremla.

The only thing lacking is a hapless human accomplice . . .

THE HOKAS ARE BACK IN THIS CLASSIC OF HUMOROUS SF FROM POUL ANDERSON AND GORDON R. DICKSON.

The Interbeing League had been formed to make contact with new intelligent races in the galaxy and offer them membership. But when the League encountered the Hokas, furry creatures strongly resembling the teddy bears of Earth, the League’s agent, Alexander Jones, could have been excused for wishing he had a simpler assignment than making sense out of the Hokas—such as single-handedly stopping an interstellar war.

Not that the fuzzy aliens were unfriendly. In fact, they loved everything about humans, and adopted various Terram cultures wholesale and in every little detail—but with a bit of confusion about the differences between fact and fiction. So, if the Hokas suddenly started acting out the parts in a rip-roaring, shoot-em-up western, or brought to life the London of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a pipe-puffing, deerstalker-wearing Hoka, or suddenly decided to fly the Jolly Roger and lead a life of adventure and piracy on the high seas, mate—well, that was to be expected. And as the Hokas threw themselves wholeheartedly into progressively wilder worlds from Terran history and fiction, Jones could be excused for feeling that his grip on reality was hanging by a single, thin, increasingly frayed thread.

They're Baaaack!

When a human thinks he's Napoleon Bonaparte, it's time to get out a straitjacket. But when a Hoka thinks he's Napoleon Bonaparte, you'd better believe it! Particularly since there'll be hundreds of other Hokas around who know for a fact that they're the French army, mon amis, even if they're on another planet light years away from Earth, and the forces they're facing aren't the British but very nasty warlike aliens who by all reason should be expected to make mincemeat out of the Hokas.

But when it comes to Hokas, reason does not compute.

These friendly, fuzzy aliens who resemble large teddy bears have a very vivid imagination and have never quite grasped the difference between human fiction and reality, or (in the present case), between past history and the much later and rather different present. Always bet on the Hokas. Even when a young lad and his Hoka tutor find themselves stuck on a planet where they seem to be scheduled to fulfill an ancient (and lethal) prophecy that neither of them had ever heard of until now, Hokas as usual find that reality is merely optional and the good guys—and bears—always win, quicker than you can say

". . . the funniest s-f ever written."
-A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction

"You aren't apt to find a more gleeful book of S-F."
—The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

"I'll bet you can't read just one."
—Philadelphia Weekly Press

One man stands between Earth and a ravening alien horde. Classic military SF in the mode of Starship Troopers and Ender's Game from a master of the genre.

The ravenous aliens known as the Horde make their way across the Universe like locusts, stripping bare entire galaxies and leaving death and destruction in their wake. Now, they stand on the edge of the Milky Way.

It seems all is lost, but the denizens of our galaxy are not content to give up without a fight. To that end, a galaxy-wide defense force has been assembled, with each star system contributing their greatest warrior to the battle.

Enter Miles Vander, the best a tiny backwater like Earth has to offer. Vander may be the key to destroying the Horde. But first he'll have to prove his worthiness to his alien compatriots.

A classic of military sf from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning master of science fiction Gordon R. Dickson.

The long period of civil unrest known as the Frontier Rebellion has come to an end. The Old Worlders of Earth and the colonists of the Pleiades Planets at the edge of known space have at last formed an uneasy peace. But for former Rebel highjacker Culihan O’Rourke, peace will not last long. The aliens known as the Moldaugs have returned from their long absence, and they are demanding the Old Worlders turn over the Pleiades Planets to them. If the Old Worlders fail to do so, the Moldaugs will annihilate the human race. With Old Earth aligned with the aliens against them, the colonists don’t stand a chance. But Cully O’Rourke has faced down long odds before—and he’s not one to give up his home without a fight.

The best of the best from a legendary master of science fiction, the first of two volumes.

The Best of Gordon R. Dickson, Volume I, gathers together fourteen stories, predominantly from the first half of legendary science fiction and fantasy writer Gordon R. Dickson’s career, ranging from the early 1950s through the 1960s, including tales dragons, dolphins, aliens, werewolves, mutants and humans trying to make sense of an infinitely bewildering universe. A maiden aunt is suddenly given superpowers. An alien who looks like a large, sentient rabbit makes ominous announcement which make no sense from behind an impenetrable force shield. Humans besieged by an alien enemy refuse, against all reason, to give up fighting. And much more, in stories running the gamut from exciting adventure to stark tragedy to hysterical comedy. Plus the never before published “Love Story,” written for Harlan Ellison’s legendary, but never published anthology, The Last Dangerous Visions. And stay tuned for The Best of Gordon R. Dickson, Volume II, with another generous display of Dickson’s virtuosity, covering his brilliant career from 1970s to the century’s end.

Earth is but a memory—the real action these days is in The Magnicate, a league of all the human worlds in the galaxy. At the center of the Magnicate is the Hub, a huge artificial world from which control of Human Space flows. The Hub governs, but even so, control sometimes requires force. Enter the Harriers. They are an elite military force created to guard the Hub and do the job that the effete diplomats of the Hub will not and dare not do. There are the Grand Harriers, who acts as a large force, and the Petit Harriers, who are sent on special missions—and tend to have a hell of a lot more fun! Novellas by S.N. Lewitt, Steve Perry, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

The human race had settled more than a hundred worlds before it met the Emerging Planets Fairness Court—six alien species who sit in judgment on all galactic newcomers. Humanity must now pass the EPFC test. Soon the human fleets find themselves under the eyes of stern overseers known as the Mromrosii. It seems the Mromrosii do not like humanity's freewheeling ways. Most of all, they have severe problems with that group of fleet troubleshooters, the Harriers, for whom breaking the rules is sometimes the only way to get the job done. Features novellas by David Drake, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Christopher Stasheff.

We are not alone in the galaxy—not by a long shot. And extra-solar civilization has come calling. Now, Tom Parent, his linguist wife Lucy, and their Great Dane Rex must travel the stars as ambassadors of Earth. Their mission: to prove Humanity deserves to be considered equal to the scores of established alien cultures. Earth’s acceptance hinges on building good relationships with these aliens, and the genteel Parents seem the perfect candidates for wooing extra-terrestrials.

Of course, they’ll have to tread carefully among these brave new worlds that have such creatures in them! Soon what starts as a straight-forward goodwill tour is complicated when Lucy is mistaken for a Wilf—a lifeform that manipulates others toward moral behavior—and Tom accidentally joins a galactic council when he sits in the wrong chair. On top of that, their faithful hound Rex starts talking. And maybe it’s best if we don’t mention the singing gelatin-mold-like alien they have to rescue from becoming dessert.

It’s action and adventure for Tom, Lucy, and Rex, and a laugh-riot for the reader in this classic novel from Science Fiction master Gordon R. Dickson!

A classic of science fiction from SF legend Gordon R. Dickson, winner of three Hugo awards, a Nebula award, and an inductee into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

The Earth is overcrowded. Chosen by lottery, people are shunted off to the far-flung planetary colonies. But winning this lottery is no prize, for the colonist are largely ignored by the people of Earth, considered disposable. Left to defend for themselves, the colonist are plagued by low supplies and are forced to eke out a hardscrabble existence. Worse, they face an ever-looming threat from without: the alien Meda V'Dans, who routinely attack without provocation.

Fortunately, the colonists have the Outposters to protect them. One such Outposter is Mark Ten Roos, a young man with a score to settle against the Meda V'Dans . . . and the will to bring a corrupt system to its knees.

HUMANS OR HEMNOIDS: 
AN UNBEARABLE CHOICE!

Planet Dilbia is in a crucial location for both humans and their adversaries, the Hemnoids. Therefore making friends with the Dilbians and establishing a human presence there is of the utmost importance, which may be a problem, since the bearlike Dilbians; stand some nine feet tall, and have a high regard for physical prowess. They're not impressed by human technology, either. A real man, er, bear doesn't need machines to do his work for him.

But Dilbians are impressed by sharp thinking, and some have expressed a grudging admiration for the logical (and usually sneaky) mental maneuvers that the human "shorties" have used to get themselves out of desperate jams. Just maybe that old human craftiness will win over the Dilbians; to the human side. If not, we lose a nexus, and the Dilbians will learn just how unbearable Hemnoids can be....

"Excellent!" -Science Fiction Review

A MOST UNIQUE APOCALYPSE from Grand Master Gordon R. Dickson

RIDERS ON THE TIME STORM

The time storm had devastated the Earth, and all but a small fraction of humankind has vanished. In the rubble of the world, three survivors had formed an unlikely trio: Marc Despard, determined to find a way to stop the time storm; a leopard, dazed by the storm and following after Despard like a kitten; and a young woman with an unbreakable bond to the leopard.

Now, Marc searches relentlessly for a clue to the nature of the storm, not guessing that the time storm threatens not just the Earth but the entire universe—and that his two companions were the only hope of reversing the distortions in the fabric of the cosmos that were about to bring an end to all of space and time . . .

A classic of post-apocalyptic science fiction from Grand Master Gordon R. Dickson.

When the first expedition from Earth reaches Alpha Centurai III, it makes a starling discovery: all life, including humankind, is governed by the Throne World. The Earth is a mere outpost in a vast star empire.

Jim Keil was a superman on Earth, but on the Throne World he is nothing more than a "wolfling," a trained pet whose sole purpose is to entertain the High-Born. But Jim Keil will show the High-Born that the people of Earth aren't so easily tamed.