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Don't Pick the Flowers
by D. F. JonesWhen experimental drilling on the pacific sea-bed breaks through the earth's thin mantle, vast quantities of nitrogen, trapped for untold millions of years, are released into the atmosphere. As a result, the oxygen in the air becomes dangerously diluted. Whole areas of America are thrown into chaos as the inhabitants literally fight for breath. Two men and two girls put to sea in a yacht in a desperate effort to escape the terror, but terror, in a different and no less deadly form, pursues them relentlessly.
Dragonquest: Dragonflight - Dragonquest - The White Dragon (The Dragon Books #2)
by Anne McCaffreyAnother Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders took to the skies and their magnificent dragons swirled and swooped in space, belching flames that destroyed the shimmering strands before they reached the ground. But F'lar knew he had to find a better way to protect the peoples and lands of Pern, and he had to find it before the rebellious Oldtimers could breed any more dissent...before his brother F'nor would be foolhardy enough to launch another suicide mission...and before the mercurial fire lizards could cause even more trouble.
Dragons, Elves and Heroes
by Lin CarterThere is magic in the grand old tales that have survived through centuries of time. Even the names of the books have a ring that sets the blood pounding - THE VOLSUNG SAGA, THE SHAH-NAMAH, THE MABINOGIAN. From all over the world, from all periods of ancient time, the great myths and heroic tales thunder down through the ages. Each country, each region has its legends. Somewhere, sometime, somehow, some often unknown scribe has set the tales down in permanent form.In this volume, Lin Carter has gathered together samplings from this richest of all sources of adult fantasy and although their original names may sometimes be anonymous, there surely has never been such a pride of taletellers together at one time as we have in DRAGONS, ELVES AND HEROES.
The Electric Sword-Swallowers
by Kenneth BulmerDelilah was beautiful. Delilah was sexy. And Delilah was to blame for all of Ferdie Foxlee's problems. She had let him down at the crucial moment by falling apart. Literally. And in pieces. Her right eye popped, dangling on multicoloured cables. Her right breast spun around and flew off into the distance. As her fuses blew, her smile melted in a blaze of sparks. As an expert in ectoplasmic electronic creations, Ferdie had clearly failed. But eepee experts - even one like Ferdie - are in very high demand. So when he panicked and ran, he ran into the waiting arms of the underworld...
The Fall of Rome
by R. A. LaffertyThe fall of the Roman Empire was the denouement of a long and dramatic confrontation between powerful ideological forces and legendary men. R. A. Lafferty captures the true meaning of both, and examines the people, places, ideas and feelings that led to this epic struggle.Rome's demise was not a simple case of fierce barbarians sacking and subduing a decadent, crumbling city. The author has skillfully balanced the turmoil and illusions of a mighty, dying Empire against the vitality of the aggressive Huns, Vandals, and above all, the Goths. The result is one of the most perceptive and stimulating historical accounts ever written.This is history told and read for sheer pleasure: exciting, splendid and complex. The Fall of Rome is a story of the men and women who made things happen, who were as awesome, poignant, and in some cases, as savage as the era itself.
The Falling Astronauts (Gateway Essentials)
by Barry N. MalzbergThe space programme has finally lost its novelty, and a jaded public hardly notices another moon launch. Skilful PR men preserve the illusion that the missions have become routine.But astronaut Richard Martin can tell a different story. Of panic in deep space, of crewmen pushed beyond breaking point, of official indifference towards his own shattered life.Martin is effectively put under wraps - until the pilot of a moon capsule, loaded with nuclear weaponry goes beserk and a nightmare develops, threatening to engulf the world - a nightmare that only Martin could end.
First Contact
by Hugh WaltersMysterious radio signals were being received from the planet Uranus, and Earth's leading scientists decided that a complete investigation was needed. For the first time, the U.N.E.X.A. planned a two-ship expedition, under the overall command of Chris Godfrey. Serge, Morrey and Tony were of course included, and four other astronauts made up the crew of the two ships.At first the signals made little difference to them, except that they produced violent headaches if listened to for more than a few seconds. But when Chris awoke after a spell of hypothermia and tried to call the other ship he was horrified to hear the sinister sounds from Uranus on the wavelength which connected the two ships with each other and both of them with Control, back on Earth...
The Flame Is Green: The Coscuin Chronicles Book 1
by R. A. LaffertyLet us say that we have a green thing growing forever. Everything that is done is done by it. And on it we also have the red parasite crunching forever; and everything that is undone by that. It is required of each man that he rule over himself in justice, and that he rule over the world in justice. This has gone on forever, though it is hard to trace through garbled history. And it must still is hard to trace through garbled history. And it must still go on forever. For all your own life and for the life of all your children, you will carry on the green battle.
Flight from Rebirth (Prologue Science Fiction Ser.)
by J. T. McIntoshBenny Rice is not what he seems to be. His tests for rebirth reveal all the necessary traits - compassion, health, energy, potential for creativity - but with the intelligence of a moron, which disqualifies him. But Benny's test scores must be re-examined in a crisis that endangers the existence of rebirth - and threatens more than Benny's life!
Gather in the Hall of the Planets
by Barry N. MalzbergScience fiction writer Sanford Kvass has a problem. Three problems, actually. He suffering from terrible writer's block and owes his agent a large sum of money. The last thing he needs is the approaching distraction of the World Science Fiction Convention, with it's obsessive fans, sex-mad SF groupies and professional writers and editors getting drunk and behaving badly.But we said 'three problems', didn't we? The best that can be said about Sanford Kvass' third problem is that it renders his first two irrelevant. Kvass is approached by an alien ( a genuine alien, not a cosplay one) who informs him that the human race is to be tested: an alien will appear at the World Science Fiction Convention, disguised as a human being, and unless Kvass can unmask it, the Earth will be destroyed.Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't present much of a challenge. All he's have to do, is to observe as many people as he could and identify the one who clearly had no experience of normal social interaction. Voila! One unmasked alien.There's just one problem: this is Worldcon . . .
Group Feast
by Josephine SaxtonCora Caley - A woman of fantastic beauty and wealth. A woman who had been denied nothing. Now her most incredible enterprise had been completed. She had transformed acres of Australia' hot and arid desert into lush greenery and in its midst had built The House - a house of unequalled grandeur. And to crown her latest and most splendid achievement she was going to be hostess for the perfect party. She had spared nothing to ensure absolute elegance and lavishness for her guests.Yet, as the party began Cora felt a tremendous sense of failure (she knew Plan X would most assuredly have to be instituted). The party was failing, but only because it somehow seemed to culminated the terrible vacuum of Cora's own life. She was doomed to emptiness and she was terrified.As the party progresses she is confronted by ex-husbands, former lovers, her sister, her daughters, servants and to all she seems on the verge of madness. Maybe she is, but then again maybe her own realization of the sterility of her life is her one sane thought - maybe it is her lifeboat.Weaving through reality and fantasy, Cora reveals herself as Everywoman struggling not only for happiness and love, but for the certainty of her own definite and meaningful character.
The Hunters of Jundagai: Keys to the Dimensions Book 6 (Keys to the Dimensions #6)
by Kenneth BulmerCy Yancey dreamt of being a big game hunter adventuring in Africa. Little did he know that stepping into an alleyway outside his rifle club would lead him to the most important hunt in his life, a hunt that would take Cy much farther than Africa, a hunt through the worlds of the Dimensions, seeking, of all things, Earth! For Yancey, in trying to grab a cab, ends up hitching a ride with Porteurs Zelda and Jorine - escapees from the power of the mysterious Contessa. Fleeing with them, Yancey is bounced from one Dimension to another until he arrives on Jundagai, planet of the Hunters. On Jundagai lies the answer to Yancey's dreams. The Hunt reigns supreme, though often one is not sure what the quarry is. But Jundagai holds still a greater attraction. Jundagai, Yancey's prison, holds the key to home. Yancey has only to find the right lock before death finds him.
The Insane City
by Kenneth BulmerAn all-powerful computer takes control of a great metropolis as a man and a woman are drawn into a love affair that may save - or destroy - their world.
Lallia: The Dumarest Saga Book 6 (DUMAREST SAGA #6)
by E.C. TubbDumarest continues his restless wandering - combing the spaceways for an ancient and almost forgotten planet called Earth. Then, on a primitive world, he fights a giant mutant for the life of the lovely psychic Lallia - and wins a vital clue that could lead him to the end of his quest . . . (First published 1971)
Margaret and I
by Kate WilhelmSomeone is thinking about Margaret. "I wondered about Margaret, and what she would do next. I didn't care unless she went the route of drugs. They make her try and get at me sometimes, and that can be bothersome. She is so terribly afraid of me."Who so casually draws Margaret to the brink of hysteria - then, just as casually, tries to walk away?Her subconsciousness does, when it becomes a living, breathing personality with an ego all its own - setting the stage for a remarkable transformation scarcely envisioned by the science of man.
The Molecule Men and the Monster of Loch Ness (Fred Hoyle's World of Science Fiction)
by Fred Hoyle Geoffrey HoyleDr John West, Cambridge don and private investigator, was present at the trial of an odd duck, R. A. Adcock, who was being most uncooperative in answering questions about a bank robbery. At length, Adcock had made a dash for it from the courtroom - through a glass window, and what should have been a three storey drop to the street. But suddenly, Adcock wasn't there, and at once a swarm of bees came into the courtroom.Thus begins The Molecule Men, which takes many fascinating and terrifying turns to its chilling conclusion.In the second story, the Monster of Loch Ness, Tom Cochrane, an independent scientist, determines to find out why the waters of Loch Ness are inexplicably warming up. What was it that caused the waters of the loch to pour up into the air like the worst rainstorm any of the observers had ever seen? What was at the bottom of the loch?These two short novels by a celebrated father and son team will hold the interest of the science fiction fan from page one on.
The Muller-Fokker Effect (Gateway Essentials)
by John SladekThis novel is about the first truly modern man.His name's Bob Shairp, and he gets completely turned into data and stored on computer tape. (How modern can you get?)Actually, there are quite a few other modern characters (though none so modern as Bob) in this book. There's Wes Davis, who knows the U.S. Army is part of a Black Conspiracy. And Billy Koch, the great faith-healing evangelist who orders a robot replica of himself to share the burden of crusading. And Glen Dale, editor of Stagman magazine and, strangely enough, a virgin. And Wise Bream, god of the Utopi Indians. And others, too numerous to enumerate.
One Million Tomorrows
by Bob ShawThe Price of Eternal LifeIn the 22nd Century, no one had to die of old age: an immortality drug was available to all. Its only drawback was the side-effect that ended a man's sex drive, so most men waited till their youth was fading before they took the final step and became "cools."But Will Carewe became the first man to test a new variety of the drug, one without any side effects at all. The limitless future, a million tomorrows, stretched before him with golden hope - until a series of "accidents" made him realise that someone was trying to murder him.As an immortal Carewe had an infinitely greater stake in remaining alive. So he began the battle to find out who was after him, and why...
Operation Chaos
by Poul AndersonSteve Matuckek Book 1In a war waged against Black Magic, the fact that Steve is a werewolf and his wife is a highly skilled witch is not unusual. But their adventures prove very unusual, even for their world, when they are given the task of neutralizing an enemy's ultimate weapon - the world's most powerful demon.
The Overman Culture
by Edmund CooperA boy's struggle to grasp the forbidden truth about his world...Michael was quite young when he discovered that some of his playmates bled if they cut themselves, and some didn't. For a long time he didn't think about it. Nor did it seem strange to see Zeppelins being attacked by jet fighters above London's force field, or glimpse Queen Victoria walking with Winston Churchill in the Mall. Not at first.But later he thought about these things - he couldn't help it. The world was real, and yet unreal. It was all desperately worrying. So Michael and his friends formed a society to investigate the world around them.Despite the terrible things they discovered, things that made some of them insane, they never actually guessed the truth about the Overman culture. Until Mr Shakespeare told them.
The Queen of the Swords: Corum 2 (Gateway Essentials #2)
by Michael MoorcockThe Second Book of Corum: the Prince in the Scarlet Robe.Fresh from victory over the Chaos Lord, Arioch, Prince Corum must battle the forces of Xiombarg, the dreaded Queen of the Swords, whose armies are close to delivering control of five planes of existence to Chaos, the forces of Law all but defeated.Corum and his allies enter the fray, though the odds are stacked against them. Their only hope lies in locating the advanced weaponry of the fabled City in the Pyramid. But the City is besieged by the forces of Chaos - and the Chaos Lords are now sworn enemies of the Prince in the Scarlet Robe...
The Quest of Kadji
by Lin CarterZarouk, aging warrior and grandfather to young Kadji, implored the boy to dethrone Prince Yakthodah, vile impostor-heir to the throne of the Dragon Emperor. On Haral, his faithful, black Feridoon pony, and with beautiful, redhaired Thyra at his side, Kadji rode East to vanquish his foe - knowing full well that if he failed to decapitate Yakthodah, he would be branded coward . . . and worse!
Sacred Locomotive Flies
by Richard A. Lupoff"If you have any interest at all in satire, SF's New Wave, the Sixties, pop music, comic books, the picaresque tradition in literature, juicy, vigorous, humorous writing, or even such a trivial matter as how the world of 2003 got into the state we daily observe, then you owe it to yourself to read Sacred Locomotive Flies." - Paul Di Filippo
The Sea Beasts (Prologue Science Fiction Ser.)
by A. Bertram ChandlerThey came in armies from under the sea - they possessed an intelligence and cunning beyond any human. These incredible tales were dismissed as the ravings of madmen by marine expert Peter Hollows, and his lovely assistant Sally Brent. But then they appeared... strange and monstrous creatures that Hallows and his expedition might never live to describe.
The Second Trip: The Complete Novels (Gateway Essentials)
by Robert SilverbergManhattan 2012: Nat Hamlin's brilliant career as an artist came to an end the day he went insane and embarked on a murderous rampage ... his sentence: Total Personality Replacement. Lissa loved Nat for his passion, now she loves him again - but as Paul Macy - for his warmth and kindness. Now each personality wants her help in battling the other, for with her Power, the man she chooses can kill the other. Lissa is terrified. She has to send one of her loves to his destruction. If she chooses the wrong man, the horror will never end.