Atlantis Endgame

For the first time in paperback--a new Time Traders adventure in which Time Patrol stalwart Ross Murdock journeys back in time to find out what happened to the fabled civilization of Atlantis.

Every age has characteristic inventions that change the world. In the 19th century it was the steam engine and the train. For the 20th, electric and gasoline power, aircraft, nuclear weapons, even ventures into space. Today, the planet is awash with electronic business, chatter and virtual-reality entertainment so brilliant that the division between real and simulated is hard to discern. But one new idea from the 19th century has failed, so far, to enter reality—time travel, using machines to turn the time dimension into a two-way highway. Will it come true, as foreseen in science fiction? Might we expect visits to and from the future, sooner than from space? That is the Time Machine Hypothesis, examined here by futurist Damien Broderick, an award-winning writer and theorist of the genre of the future. Broderick homes in on the topic through the lens of science as well as fiction, exploring some fifty different time-travel scenarios and conundrums found in the science fiction literature and film.

Presents articles on the science fiction genre of literature, including authors, themes, significant works, and awards.

There are secret powers that might get you locked up or spirited away. And then there are the secrets that get you shunned. The first kind are surprisingly un-useful at helping with the second. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

R and R Between a Rock and a Hard Place Dylan Hunt and the Crew of the Andromeda Ascendant have been fighting the good fight to re-establish the Systems Commonwealth. They need some serious rest and relaxation. Fortunately, they arrive at Paradise Drift, an ideal spot for a quick vacation. In the drift, the crew can play at pirates, medieval knights, gladiators--almost anything imaginable--in the virtual gaming scenarios concocted for visitors' pleasure. Since the drift wishes to join the New Systems Commonwealth, the crew is given carte blanche to enjoy all of the drift's facilities for free. This is a welcome gift for the weary crew, but it doesn't take long for complications to arise. First, Trance Gemini vanishes without a trace. Then their tech-wizard Seamus Harper visits a harem, only to be confronted by a woman from his past who has a knife and a score to settle. Even worse, Pilot Beka Valentine is relentlessly pursued by a bounty hunter who desperately wants to claim the price on her head. And Captain Dylan Hunt hasn't been worrying about his losing streak at a glamorous gambling parlor, until he discovers that gambling debts on the drift are anything but virtual. Little does Dylan know, he could end up paying for his debts with his head! Meanwhile, back on the ship, warrior Tyr Anasazi and ship's AI Rommie are forced to defend the Andromeda Ascendant against aggression from an unlikely source. What follows is an exciting, suspenseful deep-space adventure that will surely satisfy viewers of the TV series and readers with a taste for space opera. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Quag Keep was the first novel based on the world of Dungeons & Dragons by the legendary grand mistress of SF/Fantasy, Andre Norton. Once, they were role-playing gamers in our world. They came from different places and different backgrounds. Now they're summoned together by some magical force...to a land that mirrors the games they used to play. Quag Keep Can they band together to unlock the secret of their summoning--and rescue from the legendary Quag Keep the person who may be able to return them home? At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Andre Norton, the celebrated author of Witch World and many other fantasy adventures, offers a new novel unique among her works, set in a realm not dissimilar to northern England in the sixteenth century: also, the Dismals of Northern Alabama are the model for part of the exotic setting. Drucilla, Sabina, and Tamara, identical sisters born to Desmond, Earl of Skorpys, understand the price of being princesses in a realm bordered by fractious neighbors. For generations their land has been plagued by incursions, raiding parties, and more serious conflicts with Gurlyon, the land to their North. But when these three plucky young ladies are kidnapped as part of a plot to undermine their father's domain, they are taken to a mysterious realm where they experience terrors unlike anything they could imagine. Their captors, fearing pursuit, thrust the princesses into a deep recess in a bizarre underworld called the Dismals. Once there, they must fend off hideous creatures, and a young man who claims to be lord of this dark, forbidding realm. Not sure whether he is friend or foe, they must depend on their wits, on each other, and on the mind-link that binds them together. Only thus can they escape the bizarre nether-realm they must roam in search of a way home. Their travails test them in ways they cannot foresee, both physically and magically. Powerful forces work against them, but together they may yet escape, and help right the wrong that brought them to the strange realm in the first place. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Laris is a young orphaned ex-refugee gifted with the beast master ability allowing her to communicate with animals. Her closest companion is a remarkably intelligent and mysterious cat-like creature named Prauo, whose origin is shrouded in mystery. Laris, having made a home for herself with the Quades, a family of Arzor ranchers, also has become friends with beast masters Tani and Hosteen Storm, who help her develop her beast master skills. When Laris inherits a spaceship from a distant relative, she realizes that she might now fulfill her dream of finding Prauo's home planet. But it won't be easy, and she is relieved when she is able to convince her new extended family to embark with her on a journey into the unknown depths of space. What Laris and her friends find in space, however, tests their beast master abilities and threatens their lives. Prauo's homeworld is beset by dangers the intrepid travelers could not have anticipated. It will take all of their talents and experience to get back to Arzor alive. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Dueling Magics Born into a family with magical powers, Aisling is a young witch who fights to protect her homeland of Kars. Unfortunately, the biggest threat to Kars is her older brother, Kirion, who has chosen to use his powers for evil, and years ago forced Aisling into exile. Since Aisling’s departure, Kirion has tightened his hold on Shastro, the Duke of Kars. Through Shastro, Kirion’s dark influence works to subjugate the entire realm. With her younger brother Keelan helping her, Aisling returns, in disguise, to undermine Kirion’s power and defeat the evil duke. But as Aisling gets closer to Shastro, the Duke takes a liking to her, and she finds herself questioning her mission. But when a neighboring clan lays siege to Kars, Aisling and Keelan realize they must act, lest Kirion bring even more death and suffering to Kars’ loyal subjects than he has already caused. Using all the magic, persistence and ingenuity she can summon, Aisling must somehow find a way to avoid the attention of her dangerous older brother, save the people from his murderous sorcery, and return to their Dukedom the peace and prosperity it once knew. A main selection of the Science Fiction Bookclub