The Dragon Masters
Man against dragon. Each bred for slaughter.
“The Dragon Masters is a story grounded in genetic engineering, but the science is so far advanced that it could be considered magic.” The Science Encyclopedia
Man against dragon. Each bred for slaughter.
“The Dragon Masters is a story grounded in genetic engineering, but the science is so far advanced that it could be considered magic.” The Science Encyclopedia
Harlan Ellison is probably best known as a script writer for sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV series such as the original Outer Limits, The Hunger, Logan's Run, and Babylon Five. But his range is much broader than that, encompassing stories, novels, essays, reviews, reminiscences, plays, even fake autobiographies. The Essential Ellison, a special limited edition personally signed and numbered by Ellison, contains 74 unabridged works, including such classics as "A Boy and His Dog," "Xenogenesis," and "Mefisto in Onyx."
Harlan Ellison's masterwork of myth and terror as he seduces all innocence on a mind-freezing odyssey into the darkest reaches of mortal terror and the most dazzling heights of Olympian hell in his finest collection.
Deathbird Stories is a collection of 19 of Harlan Ellison's best stories, including Edgar and Hugo winners, originally published between 1960 and 1974. The collection contains some of Ellison's best stories from earlier collections and is judged by some to be his most consistently high quality collection of short fiction. The theme of the collection can be loosely defined as God, or Gods. Sometimes they're dead or dying, some of them are as brand-new as today's technology. Unlike some of Ellison's collections, the introductory notes to each story can be as short as a phrase and rarely run more than a sentence or two. One story took a Locus Poll Award, the two final ones both garnered Hugo Awards and Locus Poll awards, and the final one also received a Jupiter Award from the Instructors of Science Fiction in Higher Education (discontinued in 1979). When the collection was published in Britain, it won the 1979 British Science Fiction Award for Short Fiction.
"His stories will rivet you to the floor and change your heartbeat...as unforgettable a chamber of horror, fantasy and reality as you'll ever experience." -Gallery
"Brutally and flamboyantly shocking, frequently brilliant, and always irresistibly mesmerizing." -Richmond Times-Dispatch
Contents:
· Introduction: Oblations at Alien Altars
· The Whimper of Whipped Dogs · ss Bad Moon Rising, ed. Thomas M. Disch, Harper&Row, 1973
· Along the Scenic Route [“Dogfight on 101”] · ss Adam Aug’69; Amazing Sep’69
· On the Downhill Side · ss Universe 2, ed. Terry Carr, Ace, 1972
· O Ye of Little Faith · ss Knight Sep’68
· Neon · ss The Haunt of Horror Aug’73
· Basilisk · ss F&SF Aug’72
· Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes · nv Knight May’67
· Corpse · ss F&SF Jan’72
· Shattered Like a Glass Goblin · ss Orbit 4, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam’s, 1968
· Delusion for a Dragon Slayer · ss Knight Sep’66
· The Face of Helene Bournouw · ss Collage Oct’60
· Bleeding Stones · ss Vertex Apr’73
· At the Mouse Circus · ss New Dimensions I, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1971
· The Place with No Name · ss F&SF Jul’69
· Paingod · ss Fantastic Jun’64
· Ernest and the Machine God · nv Knight Jan’68
· Rock God · ss Coven 13 Nov’69
· Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38°54’N, Longitude 77°00’13"W · nv F&SF Oct’74
· The Deathbird · nv F&SF Mar’73
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.
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.
Wizardry, transforming its master into a cloud of fine mist...cloning, duplicating the ideal man ten times over...Utopia, in a city where almost everyone is perfectly happy...
Ursula Le Guin, author of The Earthsea Trilogy, has a special way of blending stirring adventure with fantasy that has made comparison with such masters as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien inevitable.
Now, in The Wind's Twelve Quarters, seventeen of her favorite stories reaffirm Ursula Le Guin as one of America's outstanding writers.
CONTENTS:
Foreword
Semley's Necklace
April in Paris
The Masters
Darkness Box
The Word of Unbinding
The Rule of Names
Winter's King
The Good Trip
Nine Lives
Things
A Trip to the Head
Vaster than Empires and More Slow
The Stars Below
The Field of Vision
Direction of the Road
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
The Day Before the Revolution
The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize, Ursula K. Le Guin is renowned for her lyrical writing, rich characters, and diverse worlds. The Wind's Twelve Quarters collects seventeen powerful stories, each with an introduction by the author, ranging from fantasy to intriguing scientific concepts, from medieval settings to the future.
Including an insightful foreword by Le Guin, describing her experience, her inspirations, and her approach to writing, this stunning collection explores human values, relationships, and survival, and showcases the myriad talents of one of the most provocative writers of our time.
Introduction · Algis Budrys · in
The Phantom of Kansas · nv Galaxy Feb ’76
Air Raid [as by Herb Boehm] · ss IASFM Spr ’77
Retrograde Summer · nv F&SF Feb ’75
The Black Hole Passes · nv F&SF Jun ’75
In the Hall of the Martian Kings · na F&SF Feb ’77
In the Bowl · nv F&SF Dec ’75
Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance · nv Galaxy Jul ’76
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank · nv Galaxy May ’76
The Persistence of Vision · na F&SF Mar ’78
The most honored anthology of fantastic fiction ever published, featuring the works of such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Bloch, Philip K. Dick, Larry Niven, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson, Damon Knight, J.G. Ballard, John Brunner, Frederik Pohl, Roger Zelazny and Samuel Delany.
Contents
xi • Foreword: Year 2002 (Dangerous Visions 35th Anniversary Edition) • (2002) • essay by Michael Moorcock
xiii • Introduction: Year 2002 (Dangerous Visions 35th Anniversary Edition • (2002) • essay by Harlan Ellison
xxiii • Foreword 1-The Second Revolution • (1967) • essay by Isaac Asimov
xxxiii • Introduction: Thirty-Two Soothsayers • (1967) • essay by Harlan Ellison (variant of Thirty-Two Soothsayers)
xxxix • Foreword 2-Harlan and I • (1967) • essay by Isaac Asimov
1 • Evensong • (1967) • shortstory by Lester del Rey
9 • Flies • (1967) • shortstory by Robert Silverberg
21 • The Day After the Day the Martians Came • (1967) • shortstory by Frederik Pohl (variant of The Day the Martians Came)
30 • Riders of the Purple Wage • (1967) • novella by Philip José Farmer
105 • The Malley System • (1967) • shortstory by Miriam Allen deFord
115 • A Toy for Juliette • (1967) • shortstory by Robert Bloch
128 • The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World • (1967) • novelette by Harlan Ellison
154 • The Night That All Time Broke Out • (1967) • shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
169 • The Man Who Went to the Moon - Twice • (1967) • shortstory by Howard Rodman
181 • Faith of Our Fathers • (1967) • novelette by Philip K. Dick
216 • The Jigsaw Man • [Known Space] • (1967) • shortstory by Larry Niven
231 • Gonna Roll the Bones • (1967) • novelette by Fritz Leiber
256 • Lord Randy, My Son • (1967) • shortstory by Joe L. Hensley
272 • Eutopia • (1967) • novelette by Poul Anderson
295 • Incident in Moderan • [Moderan] • (1967) • shortstory by David R. Bunch
299 • The Escaping • (1967) • shortstory by David R. Bunch
305 • The Doll-House • (1967) • shortstory by James Cross
326 • Sex and/or Mr. Morrison • (1967) • shortstory by Carol Emshwiller
338 • Shall the Dust Praise Thee? • (1967) • shortstory by Damon Knight
344 • If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister? • (1967) • novella by Theodore Sturgeon
390 • What Happened to Auguste Clarot? • (1967) • shortstory by Larry Eisenberg
396 • Ersatz • (1967) • shortstory by Henry Slesar
404 • Go, Go, Go, Said the Bird • (1967) • shortstory by Sonya Dorman
412 • The Happy Breed • (1967) • shortstory by John Sladek [as by John T. Sladek ]
433 • Encounter with a Hick • (1967) • shortstory by Jonathan Brand
439 • From the Government Printing Office • (1967) • shortstory by Kris Neville
447 • Land of the Great Horses • (1967) • shortstory by R. A. Lafferty
458 • The Recognition • (1967) • shortstory by J. G. Ballard
472 • Judas • (1967) • shortstory by John Brunner
483 • Test to Destruction • (1967) • novelette by Keith Laumer
510 • Carcinoma Angels • (1967) • shortstory by Norman Spinrad
523 • Auto-da-Fé • (1967) • shortstory by Roger Zelazny
532 • Aye, and Gomorrah . . . • (1967) • shortstory by Samuel R. Delany