Maxima Library

A man looking for psychotherapy is accidentally sold a Martian therapeutic machine — with unexpected consequences.

First published in

Galaxy 1956/7

The story was published in 1957 by Bantam Books as a part of

the Pilgrimage to Earth

collection of science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley.

It's well established now that the way you put a question often determines not only the answer you'll get, but the type of answer possible. So ... a mechanical answerer, geared to produce the ultimate revelations in reference to anything you want to know, might have unsuspected limitations.

A visitor should be fed, but this one could eat you out of house and home ... literally!

Long ago, one of the gods fashioned an artifact called the silver tiassa. To Devera the Wanderer, it was a pretty toy to play with. To Vlad Taltos, it was a handy prop for a con he was running. To the Empire, it was a tool to be used against their greatest enemies — the Jenoine. To the Jhereg, it was a trap to kill Vlad. The silver tiassa, however, had its own agenda. Tiassa will cover more than ten years in Vlad’s life — and, to the delight of longtime fans, will bring him together with Khaavren, from The Phoenix Guards and its sequels. Who may be Vlad’s new best friend — or his most terrible enemy.

From King of Ashes to Queen of Storms, it’s all built up to this—the thrilling conclusion to legendary New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic Firemane saga.

Dzur is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the tenth book of the Vlad Taltos series, originally published in 2006 by Tor Books. It takes place immediately after Issola, the previous novel. Following the events of Issola, Vlad wants some respite and asks to be sent to his favorite restaurant in South Adrilankha, Valabar's. Shortly after he is seated, he is joined by Telnan, a Dzur and Sethra Lavode's apprentice to restart the Lavode order that was destroyed following the events detailed in The Viscount of Adrilankha.

Dark and powerful forces threaten the world of Garn once more in this second novel in legendary New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic fantasy series, the Firemane Saga. Hatushaly and his young wife Hava have arrived in the prosperous trading town of Beran’s Hill to restore and reopen the fire-damaged Inn of the Three Stars. They are also preparing for the popular midsummer festival, where their friends Declan and Gwen will be wed. But Hatu and Hava are not the ordinary loving couple they appear to be. They are assassins from the mysterious island of Coaltachin, home to the powerful and lethal Nocusara, the fearsome "Hidden Warriors." Posing as innkeepers, they are awaiting instructions from their masters in the Kingdom of Night. Hatu conceals an even more dangerous secret. He is the last remaining member of the legendary Firemanes, the ruling family of Ithrace.

The first volume in legendary master and New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic heroic fantasy series, The Firemane Saga—an electrifying tale of two young men whose choices will determine a world’s destiny.

There is only one thing that Jefferson Nighthawk, the original Widowmaker, really wanted to do and that was retire on a far away planet and raise a garden. There were still two clones of him to keep the peace and carry on his legend. Unfortunately for him, his two clones have come to a disagreement. When a widowmaker takes on a widowmaker everyone runs for cover. There is only one man who can stand up to the clones of the Widowmaker... the Widowmaker himself.

He was the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy, the consummate killing machine, a man known only as the Widowmaker. Now, after a century of being cryogenically frozen, Jefferson Nighthawk has a new lease on life--and new enemies who want him dead…

On Deluros VIII, Jefferson Nighthawk rests in DeepSleep until a cure is found for the disease that dooms him. At least, that would be the case if he wasn’t the Widowmaker, the most remarkable killing machine in the galaxy. There are those who will pay whatever it takes to hire a man with his talents. Or should we say clone…

Jefferson Nighthawk has married and retired. He hopes to spend the rest of his life tending his garden on a small isolated world. And why shouldn't he? After all he left two clones of himself behind to handle all the dangerous assignments that fell to the Widowmaker. Until the day he learns that the two clones have finally met and one has almost killed the other. Why? He doesn't know.

Gifted with the power to see the future and manipulate events and minds, Penelope Bailey is a force of nature feared by many. Everyone of power across the galaxy has sought to either control her or kill her since she was a child, but she has managed to survive…

People across the galaxy have feared Penelope Bailey ever since she was a child. She has the power to see the future and manipulate events—and minds. Governments and criminals sought to control her, and hundreds of bounty hunters like the Iceman once tried to capture her. But Penelope eluded them all and disappeared…

Larger than life, they stride the untamed galaxy. Heroes and villains, spacers and bounty hunters, with legendary names like Cemetery Smith, the Forever Kid, the Iceman, the Mock Turtle. But the most dangerous, and wanted, being in the universe is a frightended little girl with the unearthly power to foresee, control, or destroy. Her name is Penelope Bailey. The furure will call her…

Adventurers seeking a lost fiancee and cathedral enter the Empty Lands, where even Roman Legions get slaughtered.

Final book in the Phoenix Legacy trilogy. In an empire on the brink of implosion, the Society of the Phoenix is the only alternative to catastrophe, yet it is regarded by the rulers of the Concord as treasonable and a greater threat than the ominous rumblings of a Bond uprising. The Phoenix is led by Alex Ransom, formerly known as Alexand, the first born of the House of DeKoven Woolf—but he now lies in an underground infirmary, critically wounded and comatose after a vital foray into Concord territory.

Shadow of the Swan is a novel by M. K. Wren. Alex Ransom commands the space fleet involved in a revolution.

Sword of the Lamb is a science fiction novel by American author M. K. Wren. Alexand, first born of the House of Dekoven Woolf seeks liberty for his people.

Zelazny wrote seven short stories set in the Amber multiverse. In 2019 Amber Limited released the short stories as a collection titled "Seven Tales in Amber" with an introduction by Warren Lapine.

Krondor: Jimmy and the Crawler is the fourth story in The Riftwar Legacy by fantasy author Raymond E. Feist. It is a novella combining concepts outlined for 2 additional novels (Krondor: The Crawler & Krondor: The Dark Mage) which were intended and subsequently canceled due to issues with Sierra, the producers of the Krondor computer games.

Athyra is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the sixth book in his Vlad Taltos series, set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. Vlad has traveled through Dragaera for over two years. He now wears normal clothing, has discarded most of his assassin arsenal, and has lost a finger. While entering the village of Smallcliff, he meets Savn, a Teckla boy apprenticed to the local physicker.

Twenty years ago, top agents from the CIA and KGB banded together to bring down the Matarese Circle, an international cabal of power brokers and assassins whose sole objective was to achieve worldwide economic domination. Now the bloody Matarese dynasty is back—and the only man with the power to stop it may have already run out of time. CIA case officer Cameron Pryce is hot on the trail of the new Matarese alliance. His only chance to terminate its ruthless activities is to follow the trail of blood money and stone-cold killers right to the heart of its deadly conspiracy. From the Hamptons to London's Belgrave Square, Matarese assassins have already struck with brutal efficiency, eliminating all who stand in their way. Their chain of violence is impossible to stop—until Pryce gets a rare break. One of the Matarese's victims survives long…

A MATTER OF HONOUR shows world best-selling author, Jeffrey Archer, writing at the very height of his compelling powers. Not since John Buchan’s THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS has a novel of pursuit and suspense unravelled with such breathtaking pace.
Adam Scott listens to the reading of his father’s will, aware that the financial benefit can only be pitiful. The colonel, after all, had nothing to leave — except a letter he had never opened himself, a letter, Adam fears, which can only bring further dishonour to the family name.
Should Adam open the letter and discover what had caused his father to leave the regiment in disgrace and force him to resign his commission? His mother begs him not to, but the moment he does so he realises his life can never be the same again. The contents leave him no choice but to follow a course that his father would have described as “A MATTER OF HONOUR”
Colonel Scott’s bequest leads Adam first to a Russian icon of Saint George and the Dragon that had once belonged to the last Tsar, before being left to Colonel Scott himself. Now the Russians want it back, having discovered its secret which could change the balance of world power.
Thus begins a story that no reader will be able to put down until the final page. Jeffrey Archer, author of KANE AND ABEL and FIRST AMONG EQUALS, has achieved his greatest triumph to date.

FIENDISH SUSPENSE. SHOCKING TWISTS. TWELVE DIABOLICAL TALES. New York Times bestselling author and highly acclaimed storyteller Jeffery Deaver - the undisputed "grand master of the plot twist" (Booklist) - returns with a dazzling new collection of short stories. In these twelve electrifying tales (including six written just for this anthology) Deaver proves once again his genius for the unexpected-in his world, appearances are always deceiving. A devoted housekeeper embarks on a quest to find the truth behind her employer's murder. A washed-up Hollywood actor gets one last, high-stakes chance to revive his career. A man makes an impulsive visit to his hometown, and learns more about his past than he bargained for. Two Olympic track hopefuls receive terrorist threats. And Deaver's beloved series characters Lincoln Rhyme, Kathryn Dance, and John Pellam return in stories now in print for the first time.

У другому романі «Бондіани» славетний «агент 007» отримує нове завдання — вилетіти на Ямайку, щоб встановити походження золотих монет, котрі нелегально потрапляють на американський ринок. Йому протистоїть чорношкірий велет «Містер Біґ», суперник розумний і талановитий. Двобій обіцяє бути запеклим... Бонда підстерігатиме безліч небезпек: акули і баракуди, скорпени та електричні скати, бомби-«ананасики» та озброєні до зубів бандити... Але в кінці небезпечного шляху на Джеймса чекатиме справжня коштовність — дівчина на ім’я Солітер...

Magician's End is a 2013 fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the third book in his The Chaoswar Saga trilogy and the 30th, and final book in his Riftwar Cycle series. An uneasy quiet has settled upon Midkemia in the wake of a surprise invasion. But the land is far from peaceful. Leaderless, the Kingdom is on the brink of anarchy and civil war, unless Hal conDoin, Duke of Crydee, and his brothers can rally their allies to crown a new king. They must move quickly, for war has left the land vulnerable to an agency of horrific destruction not of this world. No one is safe, not even the Star Elves whose city deep in the Grey Tower Mountains has come under attack by an ancient darkness that seeks to extinguish every living thing in Midkemia. Yet the bravery of determined warriors—brothers in blood and arms—is not enough to ensure the Kingdom's preservation without the magic of the Master Sorcerer Pug.

A Kingdom Besieged is a fantasy novel by American writer by Raymond E. Feist, the first book in the trilogy The Chaoswar Saga, the final saga in The Riftwar Cycle.

At the Gates of Darkness is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the second book of his Demonwar Saga and the 26th book in his Riftwar Cycle. The remnants of the Conclave of Shadows, led by Pug, struggle to defeat evil magician Belasco before the Demon horde arrives in Midkemia.

Rides a Dread Legion is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book in The Demonwar Saga. Ten years after the cataclysmic events of Wrath of a Mad God, Midkemia now faces a new danger thought buried in myth and antiquity. A lost race of elves, the taredhel or 'people of the stars', have found a way across the universe to reach Midkemia.

Wrath of a Mad God is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the third and final book in the Darkwar Saga. On the world of the Dasati, Pug and the other Conclave members must find a way to save their people from the magician, Leso Varen, and the wrath of the mad god he has awoken. Miranda must find a way to save herself from the clutches of the Deathpriests who have her held captive on the world of Kelewan.

Into a Dark Realm is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the second book in the Darkwar Saga. Leso Varen has moved to wreak havoc on the world of Kelewan and Pug and the Conclave of the Shadows are determined to find him, only to find out he has stolen a body of a Tsurani magician. Meanwhile, Pug, Magnus, Nakor and Ralan Bek lead a desperate expedition into the Dasati realm hoping to find the key to defeating the enemy who threatens their homeworld.

Flight of the Nighthawks is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book in the Darkwar Saga. Leso Varen is still at large and the Conclave of the Shadows must find a way to neutralize ten thousand magical warriors that are hidden in a cave on the other side of the world. In Kelewan, Magnus and the Tsurani magicians are studying a Talnoy and discover that is a beacon for a huge army of alien invaders. Meanwhile, Kaspar, Talwin and Caleb have been sent to The Empire of Great Kesh to uncover a nest of Night Hawks who are plotting to overthrow the government.

A SHIVERING OF WORLDS

Deep in the Chalk, something is stirring. The owls and the foxes can sense it, and Tiffany Aching feels it in her boots. An old enemy is gathering strength.

This is a time of endings and beginnings, old friends and new, a blurring of edges and a shifting of power. Now Tiffany stands between the light and the dark, the good and the bad.

As the fairy horde prepares for invasion, Tiffany must summon all the witches to stand with her. To protect the land. Her land.

There will be a reckoning …

THE FINAL DISCWORLD® NOVEL

Illustrations by Paul Kidby.

To the consternation of the Patrician, Lord Vetinari, a new invention has arrived in Ankh-Morpork — a great clanging monster of a machine that harnesses the power of all of the elements: earth, air, fire and water. This being Ankh-Morpork, it’s soon drawing astonished crowds, some of whom caught the zeitgeist early and arrive armed with notepads and very sensible rainwear.

Moist von Lipwig is not a man who enjoys hard work. As master of the Post Office, the Mint and the Royal Bank his input is, of course, vital… but largely dependent on words, which are fortunately not very heavy and don’t always need greasing. However, he does enjoy being alive, which makes a new job offer from Vetinari hard to refuse.

Steam is rising over Discworld, driven by Mr Simnel, the man wi’ t’flat cap and sliding rule who has an interesting arrangement with the sine and cosine. Moist will have to grapple with gallons of grease, goblins, a fat controller with a history of throwing employees down the stairs and some very angry dwarfs if he’s going to stop it all going off the rails …

Exile's Return is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the third book in the Conclave of Shadows trilogy, part of The Riftwar Cycle. Kaspar, former Duke of Olasko, finds himself alone and without provisions on the continent of Novindus on the other side of the world after being removed from power by the Conclave of Shadows (in King of Foxes, the preceding novel). His desire for revenge must be put aside as he struggles to survive in a harsh unfamiliar land. He happens upon a farm, where his only choice is to work for food and shelter. As he is no longer under the magical influence of Leso Varen, the evil necromancer who had manipulated him while in Olasko, he begins to show compassion, and atone for his past deeds.

King of Foxes is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the second book in the Conclave of Shadows trilogy, part of The Riftwar Cycle. An exceptionally skilled swordsman, young Tal Hawkins was the only survivor of the massacre of his village - rescued, recruited, and trained by the mysterious order of magicians and spies, the Conclave of Shadows. Now one of the secret society's most valuable agents, he gains entrance into the court named Duke of Olasko, the bloodthirsty and powerful despot whose armies put Tal's village to the sword, by posing as a nobleman from the distant Kingdom of the Isles.

Talon of the Silver Hawk is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the first book in the Conclave of Shadows trilogy, part of The Riftwar Cycle. Evil has come to a distant land high among the snow-capped mountains of Midkemia, as an exterminating army wearing the colors of the Duke of Olasko razes village after village, slaughtering men, women, and children without mercy. And when the carnage is done, only one survivor remains: a young boy named Kieli. A youth no longer, there is now but one road for him to travel: the path of vengeance. And he will not be alone.

The Knight and Knave of Swords

is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the seventh and last volume in the complete seven volume edition.

The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. In

The Knight and Knave of Swords

the duo has settled permanently on Rime Isle with their new wives, their bands of followers taking on the role of peaceful traders. The first two stories concentrate on this settling-in process, while the final two deal with various magical curses and afflictions suffered by the protagonists.

Swords and Ice Magic

is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the sixth volume in the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters.

The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. In

Swords and Ice Magic

the duo face a series of challenges from Death of greater or lesser subtlety, the pique of deities they formerly worshiped whose names they now rarely even take in vain, a voyage to the strange equatorial ocean of Nehwon, and recruitment to succor Nehwon's Iceland, the legendary Rime Isle, menaced by Sea Mingols and a pair of refugee gods.

The Swords of Lankhmar is a fantasy novel by Fritz Leiber, featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the fifth volume of the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters.

Swords Against Wizardry is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber and Harry Fischer, featuring their sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Fischer's contribution was limited to ten thousand words of The Lords of Quarmall. The book is chronologically the fourth volume of the complete seven-volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters.

Swords in the Mist

is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the third volume in the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters.

The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. In

Swords in the Mist

the duo confronts the mystically concentrated hate of the citizens of Lankhmar, go their separate ways during a period of hard times, the Mouser becoming an enforcement thug and Fafhrd an acolyte of a newly introduced religion, recuperate after their reconciliation with a sea voyage, invade the boudoir of an absent sea deity, traverse a passage to another world, and there undertake a bizarre quest to the Castle Mist.

Swords Against Death

is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the second volume in the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters.

The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. The pieces in

Swords Against Death

follow the duo as they shake the dust of Lankhmar from their feet in the wake of the deaths their of their first loves. There follow a miscellaneous series of adventures from their wanderings.

Swords and Deviltry

is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the first volume in the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters.

The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. The pieces in

Swords and Deviltry

introduce the duo and their relationship, present incidents from their early lives in which they meet their first lady-loves, and relate how afterwards in the city of Lankhmar the two met and allied themselves with each other, and lost their first loves through their defiance of the local Thieves' Guild.