Chrono Spasm
James Axler
Science Fiction & Fantasy / Comics / Thriller
SURVIVAL INSTINCT Remnants of humanity have managed to regroup after a global nuclear showdown that decimated the planet. But life in Deathlands is a far cry from actual living. And the survivors must believe they'll find something better, because surrendering to the inhospitable forces of a nuked world means giving in to death. Or worse. HELL FREEZES OVER Fear and human depravity permeate the frigid air in a once-dynamic Alaskan city. Ryan Cawdor and his group of survivalists go on red alert the moment they set foot on the forbidding tundra, but regardless, they find themselves rounded up by cannibal coldhearts. The companions quickly discover there's a fate much worse than becoming food. Dangerous new experiments are taking place in a long-abandoned military base and, in the bitter heart of the frozen North, new horrors reach out to poison their hope for a better tomorrow.
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Judgment Plague
James Axler
Science Fiction & Fantasy / Comics / Thriller
HUMAN OFFENSIVE Though the Cerberus Rebels have battled unfathomable odds to defend mankind, victory and sovereignty remain far from assured. As enemies of otherworldly origin push the warriors' power to the limit, a very human menace emerges, eager to grind them all to dust. DOOMSDAY CONTAGION Brothers-in-arms Kane and Grant upheld the inflexible laws of Cobaltville until they finally turned their backs on its wicked regime. Now a fresh threat brings them back to the barony--a mysterious plague that kills with impunity. It soon becomes clear that this murderous pestilence isn't the result of some random mutation, but the product of a dark and twisted mind. With the disease spreading rapidly, the Cerberus warriors can only hope they're not too late--or too vulnerable--to save humanity from being snuffed out by one of its own.
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The Drums of Fu-Manchu
Sax Rohmer
Mystery & Thrillers / Science Fiction & Fantasy
Immediately before World War II, Fu-Manchu decides to kill or control the world's war-mongering dictators, to pave the way for his own plans. The rapid-fire action moves from London to Venice to Paris, and involves various arcane and scientific forms of torture and death.BONUS FEATURE: The Blue Monkey", the second of three "lost adventures of Nayland Smith." It appeared in Collier's in 1931, then in the short story collection Tales of East and West.
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Hardwired
Walter Jon Williams
Science Fiction & Fantasy / Short Stories
Earth lies prostrate beneath the lash of the Orbital powers, and Earth’s Balkanized nations have no choice but to let the Orbitals plunder their remaining wealth. Below the zone of Orbital control, buttonheads, panzerjocks, dirtgirls, and hustlers scramble for their ticket out of the gravity well.But now, if the criminal underworld and the guerilla underground can join forces, there is a chance to shift the balance of power— in a war fought on the ground by hardwired commandos, in the air by high-flying deltajocks, and by genius hackers in the neural interface.As Roger Zelazny said, “Hardwired” is a tough, sleek juggernaut of a story, punctuated by strobe light movements, coursing to the wail of jets and the twang of steel guitars— glittering, nasty, and noble— and told in a style perfectly suiting its content. It has all of my favorite things— blood, love, fire, hate and a high ideal or two. I wish I’d written this one.”From Publishers WeeklyAfter his thoughtful, elegant novel Knight Moves, Williams wrenchingly shifts gears for this heavy-metal adventure. It is set with acknowledgement in Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley, when corporate Orbitals control what's left of a postwar America, now balkanized and armed to the teeth. Ex-fighter pilot Cowboy, "hardwired" via skull sockets directly to his lethal electronic hardware, teams up with Sarah, an equally cyborized gun-for-hire, to make a last stab at independence from the rapacious Orbitals. The story, though, is buried under an elaborate techno-punk style of the sort William Gibson popularized in Neuromancer. In both cases, it is a pose, a baroque nostalgia for Hemingway and film noir; it only plays at nihilism, terror and despair. The best effect is Williams's future version of a brain-scrambled vet: a dead buddy of Cowboy's whose scattered bits and pieces of computer memory now constitute a ragged semblance of a man. Such nuggets are hard to find amid the amplified, rock-'n-roll prose. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review''Hardwired is a tough, sleek juggernaut of a story, punctuated by strobe-light movements, coursing to the wail of jets and the twang of steel guitars--glittering, nasty, and noble--and told in a style perfectly suiting its content. It has all my favorite things--blood, love, fire, hate, and a high ideal or two. I wish I'd written this one.'' --Roger Zelazny, Hugo, Locus, and Nebula award-winning author''Williams' use of language is as explosive and as techno tinged as the world he describes. Reading the book is like taking a jet ride across a futuristic America, with acceleration forcing you back in your seat all the way.'' --Tom Von Malder, writer and arts critic''Heavy-metal adventure.'' --Publishers Weekly
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BRIDAL JEOPARDY
Rebecca York
Science Fiction & Fantasy / Romance / Cooking, Food & Wine
P.I. Craig Branson finds himself falling for a woman he should be staying far away from Love at first sight can't begin to describe the attraction detective Craig Branson feels when he locks eyes with gorgeous Stephanie Swift. It's more powerful, passionate and deeply emotional than anything he's ever felt. But the P.I. is in New Orleans to track down a killer...not to have a fling. Still, he can't resist the intense sexual pull he feels the first time he kisses Stephanie. He'll risk everything to rescue her from her rich, possessive fiancé. Taking her on the run, Craig faces danger from two relentless pursuers--one who would expose the secret of their bond...and one who would keep him from his soul mate forever.
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Selected Stories by Fritz Leiber
Fritz Leiber
Science Fiction & Fantasy
From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. The versatility of SFWA Grand Master Leiber (1910–1992) is ably demonstrated by these 17 superb stories, each of which has wonder blazing at its core. Smoke Ghost places a classic ghost story in a modern urban setting, while the dread in Coming Attraction reflects the uneasiness of the cold war. The powerful Gonna Roll the Bones explores man's compulsion toward self-destruction, while a different archetype is revealed in The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, which reveals the vampiric seduction of modern consumerism. There are three tales of adventurous rogues Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, including the Nebula Award–winning Ill Met in Lankhmar, in which youthful derring-do leads to heart-wrenching tragedy. Longtime fans and new readers alike will treasure this accessible and wide-ranging collection. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product DescriptionFritz Leiber's work bridges the gap between the pulp era of H. P. Lovecraft and the Paperback era of P. K. Dick, and arguably, is as influential as both these authors. From a historical context, Leiber in fact knew both of the authors, and his work can be seen as a bridge connecting the many different flavors of genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Edited by award-winning editors Jonathan Strahan and Charles Brown, this new collection of the grand master's fiction covers all facets of his work, and features an Introduction by Neil Gaiman and an Afterword by Michael Chabon.
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