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The Dying Earth #1

Tales of the Dying Earth

Name: Tales of the Dying Earth
Rating: 4.12 (6057 reviews)
Author: Jack Vance

Jack Vance December 1, 1998

4.12 6.1k Ratings

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Synopsis

Jack Vance is one of the most remarkable talents to ever grace the world of science fiction. His unique, stylish voice has been beloved by generations of readers. One of his enduring classics is his 1964 novel, The Dying Earth, and its sequels–a fascinating, baroque tale set on a far-future Earth, under a giant red sun that is soon to go out forever.

This omnibus volume comprised all four books in the series
The Dying Earth
The Eyes of the Overworld
Cugel’s Saga
Rialto the Marvellous

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The Dying Earth

★ 3.88

Jack Vance

Seekers of wisdom and beauty include lovely lost women, eccentric wizards and man-eating melancholy deodands. Twk-men ride dragonflies and trade information for salt. There are monsters and demons. Each being is morally ambiguous: the evil are charming, the good are dangerous.

The Nine Billion Names of God

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Arthur C. Clarke

ARTHUR C. CLARKE'S FAVORITE STORIES

THE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD -- A short-term course for computer the way to God.

TROUBLE WITH TIME -- Martian time proves that crimes doesn't pay!

NO MORNING AFTER -- Drink, drink and be merry, for tomorrow there will be no morning after...

THE POSSESSED -- Or, why the lemmings drowned.

ENCOUNTER AT DAWN -- The day the gods came to Earth.

THE SENTINEL -- The story which inspired 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY; when man sets off the galactic burglar alarm, who will answer the call?

Nightfall

★ 4.06

Isaac Asimov

In 1941, Astounding Science Fiction magazine published a short story by a little-known writer named Isaac Asimov. The story was called "Nightfall", and many years later it has long been recognized as a classic, its author a legend. Now, the Grand Master of Science Fiction teams with Robert Silverberg, one of the field's top award-winning authors, to explore and expand an apocalyptic tale that is more spellbinding today than ever before -- Nightfall: The Novel.

Imagine living on a planet with six suns that never experiences darkness. Imagine never having seen the stars. Then, one by one the suns start to set, gradually leading into darkness for the first time ever. Kalgash is a world on the edge of chaos, torn between the madness of religious fanaticism and the unyielding rationalism of scientists. Lurking beneath it all is a collective, instinctual fear of the Darkness. For Kalgash knows only the perpetual light of day; to its inhabitants, a gathering twilight portends unspeakable horror. And only a handful of people on the planet are prepared to face the truth, their six suns are setting all at once for the first time in over two thousand years, signaling the end of civilization as it explodes in the awesome splendor of Nightfall.

Encompassing the psychology of disaster, the tenacity of the human spirit, and, ultimately, the regenerative power of hope, Nightfall is a tale rich in character and suspense that only the unique collaboration of Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg could create.

City

★ 4.08

Clifford D. Simak

Librarian's Note: Alternate cover edition available here.

Simak's City is a series of connected stories, a series of legends, myths, and campfire stories told by Dogs about the end of human civilization, centering on the Webster family, who, among their other accomplishments, designed the ships that took Men to the stars and gave Dogs the gift of speech and robots to be their hands.

I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories

★ 4.04

Ray Bradbury

The mind of Ray Bradbury is a wonder-filled carnival of delight and terror that stretches from the verdant Irish countryside to the coldest reaches of outer space. Yet all his work is united by one common thread: a vivid and profound understanding of the vast set of emotions that bring strength and mythic resonance to our frail species. Ray Bradbury characters may find themselves anywhere and anywhen. A horrified mother may give birth to a strange blue pyramid. A man may take Abraham Lincoln out of the grave—and meet another who puts him back. An amazing Electrical Grandmother may come to live with a grieving family. An old parrot may have learned over long evenings to imitate the voice of Ernest Hemingway, and became the last link to the great man. A priest on Mars may confront his fondest dream: to meet the Messiah. Each of these magnificent creations has something to tell us about our humanity—and all of their fates await you in this new trade edition of twenty-eight classic Bradbury stories and one luscious poem. Travel on an unpredictable and unforgettable literary journey—safe in the hands of one of the century's great men of imagination.

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★ 4.13

Ray Bradbury

That The Illustrated Man has remained in print since being published in 1951 is fair testimony to the universal appeal of Ray Bradbury's work. Only his second collection (the first was Dark Carnival, later reworked into The October Country), it is a marvelous, if mostly dark, quilt of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In an ingenious framework to open and close the book, Bradbury presents himself as a nameless narrator who meets the Illustrated Man--a wanderer whose entire body is a living canvas of exotic tattoos. What's even more remarkable, and increasingly disturbing, is that the illustrations are themselves magically alive, and each proceeds to unfold its own story, such as "The Veldt," wherein rowdy children take a game of virtual reality way over the edge. Or "Kaleidoscope," a heartbreaking portrait of stranded astronauts about to reenter our atmosphere--without the benefit of a spaceship. Or "Zero Hour," in which invading aliens have discovered a most logical ally--our own children. Even though most were written in the 1940s and 1950s, these 18 classic stories will be just as chillingly effective 50 years from now. --Stanley Wiater

Contents:

· Prologue: The Illustrated Man · ss *
· The Veldt [“The World the Children Made”] · ss The Saturday Evening Post Sep 23 ’50
· Kaleidoscope · ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Oct ’49
· The Other Foot · ss New Story Magazine Mar ’51
· The Highway [as by Leonard Spalding] · ss Copy Spr ’50
· The Man · ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Feb ’49
· The Long Rain [“Death-by-Rain”] · ss Planet Stories Sum ’50
· The Rocket Man · ss Maclean’s Mar 1 ’51
· The Fire Balloons [“‘In This Sign...’”] · ss Imagination Apr ’51
· The Last Night of the World · ss Esquire Feb ’51
· The Exiles [“The Mad Wizards of Mars”] · ss Maclean’s Sep 15 ’49; F&SF Win ’50
· No Particular Night or Morning · ss *
· The Fox and the Forest [“To the Future”] · ss Colliers May 13 ’50
· The Visitor · ss Startling Stories Nov ’48
· The Concrete Mixer · ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Apr ’49
· Marionettes, Inc. [Marionettes, Inc.] · ss Startling Stories Mar ’49
· The City [“Purpose”] · ss Startling Stories Jul ’50
· Zero Hour · ss Planet Stories Fll ’47
· The Rocket [“Outcast of the Stars”] · ss Super Science Stories Mar ’50
· Epilogue · aw *

The Complete Robot

★ 4.33

Isaac Asimov

THE COMPLETE ROBOT is the definitive anthology of Asimov's stunning visions of a robotic future…

In these stories, Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age: when Earth is ruled by master-machines and when robots are more human than mankind.
Contents

9 • Introduction (The Complete Robot) • (1982) • essay by Isaac Asimov
15 • A Boy's Best Friend • (1975) • short story by Isaac Asimov
19 • Sally • (1953) • short story by Isaac Asimov
41 • Someday • (1956) • short story by Isaac Asimov
55 • Point of View • [Multivac] • (1975) • short story by Isaac Asimov
59 • Think! • (1977) • short story by Isaac Asimov
70 • True Love • (1977) • short story by Isaac Asimov
77 • Robot AL-76 Goes Astray • (1942) • short story by Isaac Asimov
93 • Victory Unintentional • (1942) • short story by Isaac Asimov
117 • Stranger in Paradise • (1974) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
151 • Light Verse • (1973) • short story by Isaac Asimov
157 • Segregationist • (1967) • short story by Isaac Asimov
164 • Robbie • (1940) • short story by Isaac Asimov (variant of Strange Playfellow)
191 • Let's Get Together • (1957) • short story by Isaac Asimov
211 • Mirror Image • [Elijah Bailey / R. Daneel Olivaw] • (1972) • short story by Isaac Asimov
231 • The Tercentenary Incident • (1976) • short story by Isaac Asimov
253 • First Law • [Mike Donovan] • (1956) • short story by Isaac Asimov
257 • Runaround • [Mike Donovan] • (1942) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
280 • Reason • [Mike Donovan] • (1941) • short story by Isaac Asimov
302 • Catch That Rabbit • [Mike Donovan] • (1944) • short story by Isaac Asimov
329 • Liar! • [Susan Calvin] • (1941) • short story by Isaac Asimov
350 • Satisfaction Guaranteed • [Susan Calvin] • (1951) • short story by Isaac Asimov
368 • Lenny • [Susan Calvin] • (1958) • short story by Isaac Asimov
385 • Galley Slave • [Susan Calvin] • (1957) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
427 • Little Lost Robot • [Susan Calvin] • (1947) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
459 • Risk • [Susan Calvin] • (1955) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
490 • Escape! • [Susan Calvin] • (1945) • short story by Isaac Asimov
518 • Evidence • [Susan Calvin] • (1946) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
546 • The Evitable Conflict • [Susan Calvin] • (1950) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
575 • Feminine Intuition • [Susan Calvin] • (1969) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
605 • ... That Thou Art Mindful of Him • (1974) • novelette by Isaac Asimov (variant of —That Thou Art Mindful of Him!)
635 • The Bicentennial Man • (1976) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
683 • A Last Word • (1982) • essay by Isaac Asimov

THE COMPLETE ROBOT is the ultimate collection of timeless, amazing and amusing robot stories from the greatest science fiction writer of all time, offering golden insights into robot thought processes. Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics were programmed into real computers thirty years ago at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - with surprising results. Readers of today still have many surprises in store...

I, Robot

★ 4.21

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Isaac Asimov's I, Robot launches readers on an adventure into a not-so-distant future where man and machine , struggle to redefinelife, love, and consciousness—and where the stakes are nothing less than survival. Filled with unforgettable characters, mind-bending speculation, and nonstop action, I, Robot is a powerful reading experience from one of the master storytellers of our time.

I, ROBOT

They mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on perhaps its greatest adventure: the invention of the first positronic man. It was a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities—and unforeseen risks. For the scientists who invented the earliest robots weren't content that their creations should ' remain programmed helpers, companions, and semisentient worker-machines. And soon the robots themselves; aware of their own intelligence, power, and humanity, aren't either.

As humans and robots struggle to survive together—and sometimes against each other—on earth and in space, the future of both hangs in the balance. Human men and women confront robots gone mad, telepathic robots, robot politicians, and vast robotic intelligences that may already secretly control the world. And both are asking the same questions: What is human? And is humanity obsolete?

In l, Robot Isaac Asimov changes forever our perception of robots, and human beings and updates the timeless myth of man's dream to play god. with all its rewards—and terrors.
--front flap

Tales of the Dying Earth

More in The Dying Earth Series

The Dying Earth

Books similar to Tales of the Dying Earth

The Dying Earth

The Nine Billion Names of God

Nightfall

City

I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories

The Illustrated Man

The Complete Robot

I, Robot

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