“A superb collection, a splendid and much-needed book. Andersonhas cleared away the dross and shown us the golden roots of fantasybefore it became a genre.” –Michael Moorcock, author of The EternalChampion Many of today’s top names in fantasy acknowledgeJ.R.R. Tolkien as the author whose work inspired them to createtheir own epics. But which writers influenced Tolkien himself? In acollection destined to become a classic in its own right,internationally recognized Tolkien expert Douglas A. Anderson,editor of The Annotated Hobbit, has gathered the fiction of themany gifted authors who sparked Tolkien’s imagination. Included areAndrew Lang’s romantic swashbuckler “The Story of Sigurd,” whichfeatures magic rings and a ferocious dragon; an excerpt from E. A.Wyke-Smith’s The Marvelous Land of Snergs, about creatures who wereprecursors to Tolkien’s hobbits; and a never-before-published gemby David Lindsay, author of A Voyage to Arcturus, a novel thatTolkien praised highly both as a thril
Determined to overreach his humanity and assert hisuntrammelled individual will, Raskolnikov, and impoverished studentliving in the St. Petersburg of the Tsars, commits an act of murderand theft and sets into motion a story which, for its excruciatingsuspense, its atmospheric vividness, and its profundity ofcharacterization and vision, is almost unequaled in the literaturesof the world. The best known of Dostoevsky's masterpieces, CrimeAnd Punishment can bear any amount of rereading without losing adrop of its power over our imagination.
One thousand years after the Jupiter mission to explore themysterious Monolith had been destroyed, after Dave Bowman wastransformed into the Star Child, Frank Poole drifted in space,frozen and forgotten, leaving the supercomputer HAL inoperable. Butnow Poole has returned to life, awakening in a world far differentfrom the one he left behind--and just as the Monolith may bestirring once again . . .
With several Hollywood Heinlein adaptations about to belaunched (including "Starship Troopers" by the director of "TotalRecall"), this SF superstar is shining brighter than ever. Tocelebrate his success, Del Rey is reissuing the author's classicworks back into the forefront, beginning with "The Door intoSummer", the story of a modern-day--and future-time--Rip VanWinkle.
The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or,through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders givein to it byhuman beings except where such orders would conflict with the FirstLaw. 3) A robot must protect its own existence aslong as such protection does not conflict with the First or SecondLaw. With this, Asimov changed our perception ofrobots forever when he formulated the laws governing theirbehavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of therobot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitiveorigins in the present to its ultimate perfection in thenot-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may berendered obsolete. Here are stories of robots gone mad, ofmind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robotpoliticians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told withthe dramatic blend of science fact science fiction thatbecame Asmiov's trademark.
Straight from the heart of #1 New YorkTimes bestselling author Nora Roberts--a trade paperback collectionof three of her favorite novels. With over 85 million copies of her books inprint, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts is one ofthe most prolific and popular writers of our time. Now, three ofher favorite novels--Tonight and Always, A Matter of Choice, andEndings and Beginnings--are collected in a beautiful new tradepaperback edition that will find a special place in the hearts ofreaders everywhere. "There's no mystery about why Roberts is abestselling author...she delivers the goods with panache and wit."--Publishers Weekly "Aconsistently entertaining writer." --USAToday "Roberts has a warm feel for her charactersand an eye for the evocative detail." --ChicagoTribune "Roberts is indeed a word artist, paintingher story and her characters
Arthur C. Clark, creator of one of the world's best-lovedscience fiction tales, revisits the most famous future everimagined in this NEW YORK TIMES bestseller, as two expeditions intospace become inextricably tangled. Heywood Floyd, survivor of twoprevious encounters with the mysterious monloiths, must againconfront Dave Bowman, HAL, and an alien race that has decided thatMankind is to play a part in the evolution of the galaxy whether itwishes to or not.
On its mysterious voyage through interstellar space, a massivealien starship carries its human passengers to the end of agenerations-long odyssey. But the great experiment designed by theRamans has failed, and Rama III has become a battleground. Fleeinga tyrant, a band of humans ventures into the nether regions of theship, where they encounter an emerald-doomed lair ruled by thefabulously advanced octospiders. As the octospiders lure the humansdeeper into their domain, the humans must decide whether thecreatures are their allies of enemies. All the while, Rama IIIcontinues its inexplorable journey towards the node, where theclimax of their voyage awaits the stunning revelation of the trueidentity of the beings behind this glittering trek across thecosmos.
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I live in luxe Fifth Avenue apartments and attend Manhattan's most exclusive private schools. We're smart, we've inherited classic good looks, we wear fantastic clothes, and we know how to party. We can't help it-we were born this way. Our story begins with three inseparable, completely gorgeous fifteen-year-olds, Serena van der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, and Nate Archibald. Blair's loved Nate and his glittering green eyes since she was in Bonpoint onesies. Too bad Nate wishes Blair's beautiful best friend, Serena, was the one with the crush. And Serena has a secret she's keeping from them both. Hmmm, something tells me these best friends may not be as close as we thought. . . . How do I know all this? Because I know everything-and lucky for you, I can't keep a secret. So sit back while I untangle this messy little tale and tell you how it all began. Admit it, you're already falling for me. You know you love me
Everybody who is anybody is seen at the glittering partiesheldin millionaire Jay Gatsby's mansion in West Egg, east ofNew York. The riotous throng congregates in his sumptuous garden,coollydebating Gatsby's origins and mysterious past. None of thefrivoloussocialites understands him, and among various rumours is theconviction that 'he killed a man'. A detached onlooker,Gatsby isoblivious to the speculation he creates, though always seems to bewatching and waiting, but what for no one knows.As the tragic storyunfolds, Gatsby's destructive dreams andpassions are revealed,leading to disturbing consequences. Abrilliant evocation of 1920shigh society, The Great Gatsby peels away the layers of thisglamorous world to display the coldness and cruelty at itsheart.
When a dying millionaire hires Philip Marlowe to handle theblackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, Marlowe findshimself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography,seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he getscaught up in. "Chandler writes like a slumming angel and invest sthe sun-blinded streets of Los Angelos with a romanticpresence."--Ross Macdonald
Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young womanfinds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters addressedominously to 'My dear and unfortunate successor'. Her discoveryplunges her into a world she never dreamed of - a labyrinth wherethe secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fateconnect to an evil hidden in the depths of history. In those fewquiet moments, she unwittingly assumes a quest she will discover isher birthright - a hunt for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, themedieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of theDracula myth. Deciphering obscure signs and hidden texts, readingcodes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions, andevading terrifying adversaries, one woman comes ever closer to thesecret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definitionof evil. Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumentalproportions - a captivating tale that blends fact and fantasy,history and the present with an assurance
In Victorian England, an orphan girl is sent to a countryestate to work for-and ultimately woo-its young heiress, on behalfof a mysterious benefactor known as Gentleman.
andquot; The best novel of James Michener's career.andquot;Milwaukee JournalGold fever swept the world in 1897. The chance foruntold riches sent thousands of dreamers on a perilous trek towardtheir fortunes, failures, or deaths. Follow four Englisharistocrats and their Irish servant as they misguidedly haul theirdreams across cruel Canadian terrain toward the Klondike goldfields.
Without warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear inthe skies above every major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords,in fifty years, they eliminate ignorance, disease, and poverty.Then this golden age ends--and then the age of Mankindbegins....
