Maxima Library

Ecological disaster has left the English countryside a wasteland. Humanity faces extinction, unless Greybeard and his wife Martha are successful in their quest for the scarcest and most precious of resources: human children.

Review

“Greybeard is one of those hidden gems, a rare find that makes you kick yourself for not discovering it sooner, a masterful piece of literary science fiction and a poignant tale of human mortality.”

(5/5 stars) SFBOOK

“…brilliant and highly recommended.”

SFFWORLD.COM

“A truly impressive achievement.”

Observer

“Mr Aldiss’ novel is suffused with grief at the loss of children… he uses the genre novel to explore themes of importance to him.”

P. D. James

Helliconia is a planet that, due to the massively eccentric orbit of its own sun around another star, experiences seasons that lasts eons. Whole civilisations grow in the Spring, flourish in the Summer and then die in the brutal winters. The human-like inhabitants have been profoundly changed by their experience of this harsh cycle.

Helliconia is a planet that, due to the massively eccentric orbit of its own sun around another star, experiences seasons that lasts eons. Whole civilisations grow in the Spring, flourish in the Summer and then die in the brutal winters. The human-like inhabitants have been profoundly changed by their experience of this harsh cycle. In orbit above the planet a terran mission struggles to observe and understand the effects on society of such a massive climatic impact. Massive, thoroughly researched, minutely organised, full of action, pulp references and deep drama this is a classic trilogy.

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In this science fiction classic (1962) based on Hothouse, Hugo Best Short Story Winner of 1962, we are transported millions of years from now, to the boughs of a colossal banyan tree that covers one face of the globe. The last remnants of humanity are fighting for survival, terrorised by the carnivorous plants and the grotesque insect life.

Wiele opowiadań tego tomu reprezentuje ten właśnie, tak trafnie scharakteryzowany przez Vonneguta, nurt science-fiction. Większość z nich to utwory nowe, dające pojęcie o aktualnym stanie światowej fantastyki; jedynie opowiadania Bradbury’ego, Asimova, Wyndhama i Tunel pod światem Pohla pochodzą z lat wcześniejszych. Ogromna większość światowej literatury fantastyczno-naukowej pochodzi z angielskiego obszaru językowego. W obrębie tego wielkiego „wspólnego rynku” fantastyki przyznawane są dwie najpoważniejsze nagrody literackie. Nagroda „Hugo”, nazwana tak na cześć amerykańskiego autora i wydawcy Hugo Gernsbacka, przyznawana jest od 1953 roku na dorocznych konwencjach miłośników fantastyki. Nagradza się nią zresztą nie tylko utwory literackie. W roku 1969 na przykład nagrodę specjalną otrzymali kosmonauci Armstrong, Aldrin i Collins „za najlepsze lądowanie na Księżycu”. Nagrodę „Nebula” przyznaje stowarzyszenie amerykańskich autorów fantastyki w czterech kategoriach w zależności od rozmiarów utworu.

Wielu spośród autorów tego tomu to nazwiska nowe dla polskiego czytelnika. Brian W. Aldiss (ur. 1925) uważany jest powszechnie za postać numer jeden w brytyjskiej fantastyce naukowej. Zdobył już nagrody „Hugo” i „Nebula”. Amerykanin Keith Laumer (ur. 1925) architekt, lotnik i dyplomata pisze opowiadania-alegorie o świecie, w którym żyjemy. Jego opowiadanie W kolejce, zamieszczone w kilku antologiach, było jednym z najpoważniejszych kandydatów do nagrody „Nebula” w 1970 roku. Henry Slesar przejął od Fredricka Browna berło w dziedzinie krótkich opowiadań, jednak najkrótszy z utworów zamieszczonych w tym tomie wyszedł spod pióra Tuli Kupferberga, amerykańskiego satyryka, autora dwóch poradników: 1001 sposobów, jak żyć bez pieniędzy, i 1001 sposobów, jak umknąć poboru do wojska. Niezwykle ciekawe w pomyśle i kunsztownie skonstruowane opowiadanie D. I. Massona jest pierwszym i bodajże jedynym dziełem niemłodego angielskiego profesora-językoznawcy.

W Związku Radzieckim literatura fantastyczno-naukowa cieszy się ogromną popularnością, ale większość wydawanych książek z tej dziedziny stanowią przekłady. Wśród autorów radzieckich palmą pierwszeństwa w dziedzinie powieści fantastycznych dzierżą niezmiennie bracia Strugaccy. W krótkich formach uznanie czytelników zdobyli Ilja Warszawski, Dymitr Bilenkin i Kirył Bułyczow. Władlen Bachnow wydał dotychczas jeden tom opowiadań fantastycznych, w których dał się poznać jako wytrawny humorysta i satyryk. Żartobliwe opowiadanie Aleksandra Szalimowa jest raczej nietypowe dla twórczości tego pisarza, którego opowiadania są zwykle mocno osadzone w realiach naukowych.

Polską fantastykę reprezentują dwaj autorzy młodzi wiekiem, ale mający już na swoim koncie samodzielne zbiory opowiadań: Andrzej Czechowski i Janusz A. Zajdel, którego nowy tom ukaże się w serii „Fantastyka-Przygoda”, oraz trzej debiutanci.

Tom zamyka artykuł Andrzeja Trepki rozważający teoretyczne możliwości istnienia różnych form życia w Kosmosie oraz ciekawy materiał o Księżycu z prasy radzieckiej.

Un monde sans aucune importance: sauf pour ses habitants!

El decenio 1956-1965 marca una época crítica para la ciencia ficción. La reciente respetabilidad del género motivó la atención, muchas veces peligrosa, del cine y la televisión. El inicio de la Era espacial en octubre de 1957 parecía confirmar aquello de que la realidad supera a la ficción.

Pero la crisis condujo a la renovación del género: cuantitativa, por la aparición de una pléyade de nuevos autores; cualitativa, por la revolución de la tématica, que abandona de una vez por todas la fascinación por la cacharrería espacial, sentándose nuevas normas de calidad, como demuestra el presente volumen.

– Recopilación, Prefacio e Introducción de Michael Ashley

Curiosity was discouraged in the Greene tribe. Its members lived out their lives in cramped Quarters, hacking away at the encroaching ponics. As to where they were—that was forgotten. Roy Complain decides to find out. With the renegade priest Marapper, he moves into unmapped territory, where they make a series of discoveries which turn their universe upside-down… Non-Stop is the classic SF novel of discovery and exploration; a brilliant evocation of a familiar setting seen through the eyes of a primitive.

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Science Fiction maestro Brian Aldiss at the top of his writing powers in a rare foray into literary fiction. With a sparse elegance, Aldiss crafts a heart-breaking, heart-fixing novella delving into ideas of selfhood and human connection. Published in beautiful new collector's livery.

'The best contemporary writer of science fiction.'

Guardian Hugh Billing is sad. After making his fortune in the music industry decades ago, for years Hugh has been drifting. Shuttling between the US and UK on business, his life has become a testament to monotony. With every trip through customs he becomes more customary. With every departure he seems to leave a little more behind. But when his mother's death returns him to London, Hugh draws just enough hope and courage to travel on a different journey; from loneliness and loss of purpose through to somewhere beyond just survival. Writing at the height of his powers and with a sparse elegance, Aldiss departs from science fiction to craft a...

It started a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), back in 1969, when British author Brian W. Aldiss published a short story in

Harper's Bazaar

, entitled “Supertoys Last All Summer Long.” It challenged the whole public thought on machines and the idea of robots. And it also managed to pique the interest of director Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick acquired the rights to the story from Aldiss in November of 1982, and had hopes to make it into a feature film. Aldriss, however, was skeptical, noting, “while Arthur [C. Clark]'s story looks outwards to the solar system, my story looks inwards,” referring to another of Kubrick's films, which was based upon Clark's short story, “The Sentinel.” (Aldiss has written a very nice Foreword, entitled “Attempting to Please,” preceding his latest book,

Supertoys Last All Summer Long: And Other Short Stories of Future Time.

The Foreword encompasses the “joking” relationship he and Kubrick had. The book also contains the two sequels to the original story, as well as several other stories — All fairly interesting, especially for science fiction readers.

Another disagreement that arose was that Kubrick had continually fashioned the story after “Pinnochio,” which Aldiss strictly objected to — “I could not or would not see the parallels between David, my five-year-old android, and the wooden creature who becomes human. It emerged that Stanley wished David to become more human, and wished, also, to have the Blue Fairly materialise. Never consciously rewrite old fairy stories, I say,” Aldiss comments in his Foreword.

Aldiss was quickly wheeled out of the picture at about 1990. Kubrick took on “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” rechristened it A.I., and continued to work on his little “Pinnochio”-esque fairy tale, bringing in others, such as Sara Maitland and Ian Watson. (

Visual-Memory.co.uk

has compiled a nice little history of the Stanley Kubrick side of A.I., so I don't feel the need to write it, when they've already done a wonderful job. Click the link to read more.) Aldiss went onto other things. Then, in 1999, Stanley Kubrick passed away. During the past 9 years or so, Kubrick had kept his friend Steven Spielberg very involved in the film, the two of them faxing over 900 pages of notes back and forth. When Kubrick passed away, his brother-in-law Jan Harlan Kubrick decided to pass the film along to Spielberg, whom Kubrick frequently had said would be the perfect director for the film.

And so it was. Steven Spielberg started up on the film, scrapping the numerous other scripts and treatments which Stanley Kubrick had gathered, and completely rewriting the script solely by himself, his first screenwriting job since

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

. It was also during this time that it occurred to Brian Aldiss to re-read his short story — It occurred to him that the story of a young boy rejected by his mother could be continued. And so he wrote the two follow-ups, “Supertoys When Winter Comes” and “Supertoys in Other Seasons.” After completion, he passed both short stories onto Spielberg, who liked the ideas presented in them and purchased the rights to the two stories — Now, by an amicable arrangement with Warner Brothers, Spielberg had acquired all three Supertoy stories.

The human species has begun to racket about the galaxy. When they reach the planet Grudgrodd, they come across another space-faring species. It’s a case of instant dislike. The gentle Utods do not feel pain, they change sex as the planet changes suns, they live long pleasurable lives, free of stress. They wallow in their own middens. But ‘Civilisation is the distance man has placed between himself and his excreta’. So the carnage begins.

Halfway through the 21st century, an organization with members from each industrialized nation has found a way to colonize Mars. Owing to Earth’s economic collapse, the colony is cut off from the mother planet. The head of the colony wants to create Utopia—some, however, want to go home.