Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

In the world of Pern, there are few things more important than the ability to sing and write songs. But when Piemur's voice changes, he is given a new task. Pern is in danger once again, and Piemur is assigned a bold mission to the Southern Hold. He must learn the Oldtimers' secret and help Pern rediscover its lost heritage.

Slaying the minotaur was only the beginning. Theseus's legendary exploits continue in this magnificent tale of mythological adventure in classical Greece. Picking up where The King Must Die left off, this stirring sequel recounts Theseus's triumphant return from Crete to become King of Athens.

Killashandra, one of the most gifted singers on Ballybran, is drawn like a magnet to the song of crystal. In order to work with crystal, singers are infected with a symbiotic life form that heals them and gives them near eternal life—but slowly destroys their memories. Since crystal singing brings Killashandra ecstasy, she doesn't mind the initial small annoyances of memory loss. What she hadn't counted on was the loneliness she felt when her heart still remembered what her mind had forgotten—the names of her friends and lovers.

A huge space station on the fringes of human space, SSS-900 is controlled by the brain of Simeon, a shellperson who relieves his daily monotony by replaying computer simulations of great battles. When a battered, jury-rigged ship appears to threaten the station, they rescue the people who are fleeing from the vicious Kolnari pirates. As the Kolnari take over the station, the stationers and the Bethelites from the rescued ship must devise ways to work together to fight the invaders. Will Simeon become the only thing standing between ruthless alien pirates and total destruction?

In a future uncomfortably close to the present day, the apocalypse has surpassed all expectations. Hideous demons roam the streets in an orgy of terror, drawing pleasure from torturing humans as sadistically as possible. Ira, a young San Francisco artist, becomes involved with a strange group of scientists and philosophers desperately trying to end the bloody siege. But the most shocking revelation is yet to come.

Who better to narrate today's best science-fiction stories than today's favorite science-fiction stars? This exciting collection features many.

The Hollow Hills recreates the suspense and excitement of an ancient legend—how Merlin the Enchanter, prophet, visionary, and adviser to kings—keeps Arthur, the future king of Britain, safe. Merlin keeps watch over Arthur in remote secrecy, safe from the warring kings and Saxons who plot against his father, King Uther. Haunted by dreams of the magical sword Caliburn, which has been hidden for centuries, Arthur must claim the fabled sword to become the true High King of Britain. When Uther Pendragon is killed in battle, the time of destiny is at hand.

In the second book of the Brainship series, a new "shellperson"—someone born with grave physical disabilities that required her human body to be encased in a massive titanium column—is provided a direct link between her mind and the computer of her ship, XN-935.

From Anne McCaffrey comes a collection of captivating short stories that focuses on everything from spaceship adventure and shifting time-storms to ghosts and romance. The title story, set in the world of the Dragonriders of Pern series, tells of Aramina, a teenage girl who hears dragons and is relentlessly pursued for her ability. Aramina's mother fears losing her daughter completely to the life of a dragonrider, but McCaffrey has another fate in mind for her young heroine.

Sita Dulip has missed her flight out of Chicago. But instead of listening to garbled announcements in the airport, she discovers a method of bypassing the crowds at the desks, a nasty lunch, whimpering children, their punitive parents, and the blue plastic chairs bolted to the floor: she changes planes—literally. Sita discovers entire planes of existence and visits societies not found on Earth—bizarre societies that share similarities with Earth's cultures and sometimes open doors into the alien.

In the remnants of a space vehicle, sleeps Ellen Ripley, a woman who has battled a monstrous enemy twice. The first time, the creature killed the entire whole crew of the Nostromo. The second time, it slaughtered a dozen of death-dealing Marines. Now on a bleak planet that houses a horde of defiant prisoners, Ripley will have to fight the ultimate alien horror one more time, a final encounter she may not survive.

Slavers and planet pirates have wreaked havoc in the galaxy for far too long, and now the fate of the galaxy is placed in the hands of the Generation Warriors. But before they can set about executing their plan, Sassinak is ordered to FedCentral to testify against slavers; her great-great-great-grandmother, Lunzie, discovers the true nature of a new friend; Fordeliton investigates the connection between the super-rich and the planet pirates; Dupaynil is exiled to Seti space; and Aygar is out to prove he has brains and brawn.

Raised in the wild by the mighty ape Kala, Tarzan the ape-man must learn to talk with the animals, swing through the trees, and fight great predators to survive in the jungle. Along with him are his childhood friends, Tanto the elephant, Ska the vulture, and Numa the lion. When white men invade his paradise, Tarzan's life is forever changed, for it is then that he meets Jane Porter, the first white woman he has ever seen. Set amid the vibrant colors and sounds of the savage African jungle, Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic work takes listeners on a glorious, adventurous, and romantic journey.

Young Alvin was born the seventh son of a seventh son. By his birthright, he possesses magical powers and is destined to become something great, perhaps even a Maker. Indeed, Alvin is special. But the boy remains vulnerable to dark forces who reach out to destroy him and are willing to do anything to keep him from growing up. Carefully weaving the lore and the folk-magic of the men and women who settled a continent—as well as the beliefs of the tribes who were there before them—Orson Scott Card has created a fascinating alternate frontier America.

Ready for a story? Here's a selection of some of the finest science fiction shorts of recent years, including stories from Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, William Gibson, Robert Sheckley, Terry Bisson, Avram Davidson, and Philip K. Dick.

These stories are set in the familiar quasi-medieval worlds to which modern listeners are accustomed, and also stories rooted in the authentic myth-constructs of high antiquity, along with several that depend for their power on the juxtaposition of fantastic situations and terribly contemporary aspects of modern life on Earth. Together these stories make up a collection which provides reassuring proof of fantasy's eternal power in this technological age.

Learn the truth behind the mask of Hollywood in these 10 bizarre tales of dreams and dream weavers, movies and movie-makers, by some of the most respected fantasy writers of our time.

Day by day the sentient planet of Petaybee is learning to recognize and understand the meaning of outside stimuli, to respond to those stimuli, to communicate its own needs and desires...even to use human speech. But few outsiders truly care for the feelings and intelligence of what they perceive to be a giant hunk of rock or a mere oddity—and the Petaybeans have their hands full trying to protect their beloved planet from the sudden influx of visitors. Some of Petaybee's staunchest champions are kidnapped and held for ransom, and the Petaybeans are faced with an impossible decision.

On icy Petaybee, the planet itself seems to be orchestrating its own evolution, but the planet is also rich in resources, and a ruthless company is poised to take advantage. Yana, an ex-company soldier with strong ties to the planet, tries to intervene. She and her friends must find a way to prove that Petaybee is more valuable to the company alive than dead.

This is the classic story of the young Theseus - Prince of Troizen, King of Eleusis and Athens, slayer of the Minotaur. Mary Renault's powerful novel captures the modern imagination by weaving myth, legend, history, and fiction into the story of a young hero's search for his destiny, or moira. If you like The King Must Die, try The Bull from the Sea.