Maxima Library

A million years prior to the dawn of

Homo sapiens

, two immortal, shapeshifting aliens roam the Earth with little memory of their origin or their purpose. Later in the year 2019, an artifact is discovered off the coast of Samoa, buried deep beneath the ocean floor. The mysterious find brings two alien beings—the “changeling” and the “chameleon”—together again, to ponder the meaning of the object and its relationship to each other. Both immortals try to seek each other out and use the artifact to find their origins, one harbouring good intentions while the other is extremely hostile.

Won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2005.

A volume of visions of future wars, fought with weapons out of nightmare, by today’s top writers of military science fiction, as well as some writers who are not usually associated with military SF, such as best-selling writer Gregory Benford, and award-winning author Kristine Katherine Rusch. Also present are Michael Z. Williamson, author of the strong selling novels “Freehold” and “The Weapon”, award-winning author of “Bolo Strike”, William H. Keith, and more.

Through the centuries, weapons have changed radically, but the soldier has remained much the same. But in the future, soldiers, too, may undergo radical changes. As editor Joe Haldeman puts it, “Weapons are an extension of the soldier, and also an extension of the culture or species that produced the soldier. And they are sometimes more dangerous to the soldier than the enemy…”

La guerra, ci insegna l’autore, non è mai una cosa piacevole. E in una guerra che dura 1200 anni, le probabilità di sopravvivenza sono prossime a zero. Iniziata nel 1997, la guerra contro la razza extraterrestre dei Taurani si trascina avanti pesantemente, un secolo dopo l’altro. I soldati che la combattono viaggiano tra le stelle a velocità prossime a quelle della luce, e invecchiano soltanto di pochi mesi ad ogni viaggio, mentre i secoli si susseguono rapidamente sulla Terra: una Terra che ad ogni licenza diventa sempre più irriconoscibile.

Il soldato Mandella inizia come fuciliere: è di leva, non ama né la vita militare né il modo con cui gli alti comandi trattano lui, i suoi compagni e in sostanza anche il nemico. Ma, nonostante queste sue avversioni, il semplice espediente di non farsi uccidere in qualche scaramuccia o in qualche esercitazione (assai più pericolose che non i veri combattimenti) lo porta a diventare maggiore, a capo di qualche… secolo. E parallelamente all’inglorioso svolgersi della Guerra Eterna, vediamo i cambiamenti della società terrestre in 1200 anni: i mutamenti di abitudini e di prospettive culturali, estrapolati da Haldeman in modo quanto mai plausibile. Un grande romanzo, che ha giustamente meritato i massimi premi della fantascienza.

Ha vinto i premi: Premio Nebula per miglior romanzo in 1975. Premio Hugo per miglior romanzo in 1976. Premio Locus per miglior romanzo in 1976.

Od wielu pokoleń wędrują po Ziemi dwie nikomu nieznane istoty. Obcy nie wiedzą o sobie nawzajem, ale zachowują szczątkowe wspomnienia tajemniczego zatopionego reliktu i upodobanie do morskich głębin. Jedna z istot, uzurpator, przetrwała dzięki przystosowaniu, przybierając kształty wielu różnych organizmów. Druga, kameleon, przeżyła wyłącznie dlatego, że niszczy wszystko, co jej zagraża. Teraz podniesiony wreszcie z dna morza przez biologa morskiego Russella Suttona relikt wzywa do siebie obie istoty. Przez tysiąclecia na Ziemi żyły dwa niezniszczalne stworzenia… ale kameleon uważa, że jest tam miejsce tylko dla jednego z nich.

Powieść otrzymała nagrodę Nebula w 2004 r.

Iniciada en 1997, la guerra con los taurinos se arrastra desde hace siglos. Pasando de un mundo a otro a velocidades superiores a la de la luz, las tropas de la guerra interminable envejecen sólo unos pocos días mientras en la Tierra pasan los años; una Tierra más y más irreconocible en cada nueva visita.

Premio Nebula en 1975; premios Hugo y Locus en 1976.

Lightspeed

(

www.lightspeedmagazine.com

) is the critically-acclaimed, online science fiction magazine edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. Each month, Lightspeed features a mix of originals and reprints, from a variety of authors—from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven't heard of yet. Now, in Lightspeed: Year One, you will find all of the fiction published in Lightspeed's first year, from new stories such as Nebula Award finalists, Vylar Kaftan’s “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” and “Arvies” by Adam-Troy Castro, and Carrie Vaughn’s Hugo Award-nominee “Amaryllis,” to classic reprints by Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and more.

This stellar collection of Jewish science fiction and fantasy carries on in the tradition of its companion volume—the enduring classic Wandering Stars—breaking new ground with every story.

Trouble with mothers; invading aliens and demons; the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah… all these phenomena and more are tackled in these tales from a creative group of extraordinary writers. We go to the edges of the universe, finding humor, pain and humanity in the unlikeliest of places and situations. Filled with wit, vigor and sharp insight, this is a fantastic feast for the imagination that will intrigue and delight everyone who picks it up, Jew and non-Jew alike.

Contents

“Introduction: Return to Venusport,” by Gardner Dozois. Copyright © 2015 by Gardner Dozois.

“Frogheads,” by Allen M. Steele. Copyright © 2015 by Allen M. Steele.

“The Drowned Celestial,” by Lavie Tidhar. Copyright © 2015 by Lavie Tidhar.

“Planet of Fear,” by Paul McAuley. Copyright © 2015 by Paul McAuley.

“Greeves and the Evening Star,” by Matthew Hughes. Copyright © 2015 by Matthew Hughes.

“A Planet Called Desire,” by Gwyneth Jones. Copyright © 2015 by Gwyneth Jones.

“Living Hell,” by Joe Haldeman. Copyright © 2015 by Joe Haldeman.

“Bones of Air, Bones of Stone,” by Stephen Leigh. Copyright © 2015 by Stephen Leigh.

“Ruins,” by Eleanor Arnason. Copyright © 2015 by Eleanor Arnason.

“The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss,” by David Brin. Copyright © 2015 by David Brin.

“By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers,” by Garth Nix. Copyright © 2015 by Garth Nix.

“The Sunset of Time,” by Michael Cassutt. Copyright © 2015 by Michael Cassutt.

“Pale Blue Memories,” by Tobias S. Buckell. Copyright © 2015 by Tobias S. Buckell.

“The Heart’s Filthy Lesson,” by Elizabeth Bear. Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Wishnevsky.

“The Wizard of the Trees,” by Joe R. Lansdale. Copyright © 2015 by Joe R. Lansdale.

“The Godstone of Venus,” by Mike Resnick. Copyright © 2015 by Kirinyaga Inc.

“Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan,” by Ian McDonald. Copyright © 2015 by Ian McDonald.

Grad-school dropout Matt Fuller is toiling as a lowly research assistant at MIT when, while measuring subtle quantum forces that relate to time changes in gravity and electromagnetic force, his calibrator turns into a time machine. With a dead-end job and a girlfriend who has left him for another man, Matt has nothing to lose taking a time machine trip himself—or so he thinks.

Explosive and provocative battles fought across the boundaries of time and space—and on the frontiers of the human mind.

Science fiction's finest have yielded this definitive collection featuring stories of warfare, victory, conquest, heroism, and overwhelming odds. These are scenarios few have ever dared to contemplate, and they include:

-"Superiority": Arthur C. Clarke presents an intergalactic war in which one side's own advanced weaponry may actually lead to its ultimate defeat.

-"Dragonrider": A tale of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern, in which magic tips the scales of survival.

-"Second Variety": Philip K. Dick, author of the short story that became the movie Blade Runner, reaches new heights of terror with his post apocalyptic vision of the future.

-"The Night of the Vampyres": A chilling ultimatum of atomic proportions begins a countdown to disaster in George R. R. Martin's gripping drama.

-"Hero": Joe Haldeman's short story that led to his classic of interstellar combat, The Forever War.

-"Ender's Game": The short story that gave birth to Orson Scott Card's masterpiece of military science fiction.

. . . as well as stories from Poul Anderson, Gregory Benford, C. J. Cherryh, David Drake, Cordwainer Smith, Harry Turtledove and Walter John Williams.

Guaranteed to spark the imagination and thrill the soul, these thirteen science fiction gems cast a stark light on our dreams and our darkest fears—truly among the finest tales of the 20th century.

Astronomy professor Aurora ‘Rory’ Bell gets a message from space that seems to portend the arrival of extraterrestrial visitors. According to her calculations, whoever is coming will arrive in three months— on New Year’s Day, to be exact.

A crowded and poisoned Earth is moving toward the brink of the last world war—and is certainly unprepared to face invasion of any kind. Rory’s continuing investigation leads her to wonder if it could be some kind of hoax, but the impending ‘visit’ takes on a media life of its own. And so the world waits. But the question still remains as to what, exactly, everyone is waiting for…

The very best short SF fiction of any given year as recommended and nominated by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: the best novella, novelette and short story. Here you will find the cream of the crop of science fiction and fantasy - startling ideas, the intricate construction of new worlds and mind-bending experimental writing. This anthology includes not only the Nebula Award-winning works in each short-form category, but also all the nominees in the novelette and short story categories. Here you will find colourful fantasy, outstanding speculative fiction, steampunk, edgy writing on the fringes of the mainstream and uncompromisingly hard SF in stories set in the distant past, an off-kilter present day, the far future or some times in between.

Pur di far partire la prima astronave interstellare gli scienziati sono disposti a mettere in scena un gigantesco imbroglio, e alla fine questo si rivelerà un bene.

Vincitore del premio Hugo e Locus per il miglior racconto breve

(Short Story)

in 1977.

Nominato per il premio Nebula in 1977.

In War Stories: New Military Science Fiction, editors Andrew Liptak and Jaym Gates collects short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors dealing with the effects of war prior, during, and after battle to soldiers and their families.

War is everywhere. Not only among the firefights, in the sweat dripping from heavy armor and the clenching grip on your weapon, but also wedging itself deep into families, infiltrating our love letters, hovering in the air above our heads. It’s in our dreams and our text messages. At times it roars with adrenaline, while at others it slips in silently so it can sit beside you until you forget it’s there.

Join Joe Haldeman, Linda Nagata, Karin Lowachee, Ken Liu, Jay Posey, and more as they take you on a tour of the battlefields, from those hurtling through space in spaceships and winding along trails deep in the jungle with bullets whizzing overhead, to the ones hiding behind calm smiles, waiting patiently to reveal itself in those quiet moments when we feel safest. War Stories brings us 23 stories of the impacts of war, showcasing the systems, combat, armor, and aftermath without condemnation or glorification.

Instead, War Stories reveals the truth.

War is what we are.

Joe Haldeman’s “adept plotting, strong pacing, and sense of grim stoicism have won him wide acclaim” (The Washington Post) and numerous honors for such works as The Forever War, The Accidental Time Machine, and the Marsbound trilogy. Now, the multiple Hugo and Nebula award–winning author pits a lone war veteran against a mysterious enemy who is watching his every move—and threatens him with more than death unless he kills for them.

Wounded in combat and honorably discharged nine years ago, Jack Daley still suffers nightmares from when he served his country as a sniper, racking up sixteen confirmed kills. Now a struggling author, Jack accepts an offer to write a near-future novel about a serial killer, based on a Hollywood script outline. It’s an opportunity to build his writing career, and a future with his girlfriend, Kit Majors.

But Jack’s other talent is also in demand. A package arrives on his doorstep containing a sniper rifle, complete with silencer and ammunition—and the first installment of a $100,000 payment to kill a “bad man.” The twisted offer is genuine. The people behind it are dangerous. They prove that they have Jack under surveillance. He can’t run. He can’t hide. And if he doesn’t take the job, Kit will be in the crosshairs instead.