Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Science Fiction

It is summer, in the probably distant future, and Artie Lindstrom - the wizard behind a remotely-triggered jar lid opener that became the weapon that defeated the Martian invasion, a water desalinization machine that inadvertently produced gin, and a death ray gun that obliterated Venus during the Three-Day War - has sketched out plans for an anti-gravity machine not much bigger than a mini-fridge.

The short story "Doctor" chronicles a fear of a virus that has already decimated one planet and is so deadly that there is no cure for it. Planets that are known to have chlorphage are quarantined from the rest of the galaxy. Unknown to others, a small girl who is infected manages to board an interplanetary ship and the ship's doctor tries to combat the virus.

Seven Tales by Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) is a collection of science fiction short stories written by the Hugo and Nebula award-winning author and published by the pulp science fiction magazines of the 1950s. This anthology includes "Sales Pitch", a tale of future consumerism and robot salesmen; "The Crawlers", a story of mutant children born of radiation; "Meddler", a stern warning on the dangers of time travel: "Prominent Author", the tale of a transportation device that travels through the fourth dimension, and more.

On Mars, the dust is yellow, and microscopically fine. With the result that it penetrates to the sensitive lung tissues of a human being, causing distress. Crossing the street toward the dive set into the towering wall of the cliff overhead, Jim Ronson sneezed violently. He wished fervidly that he might get another glimpse of what Robert Heinlein, two centuries before, had nostalgically called The Cool Green Hills of Earth, and again smell air that had no dust in it.

The year is 2232. Earth is grossly overpopulated. The nations of the world, working through the United Nations, have authorized a global bureau known as the Bureau of Population Equalization (Popeek), whose goal it is to relocate people from overcrowded areas to the less densely populated parts of the planet. A highly unpopular euthanasia program weeds out newborns who have may have defective genes and accelerates the death of the incurable.

Kept away from her grandmother for most of her life, young Natalie stumbles upon a secret hidden in the old woman's drawings: communications from another world. She quickly finds herself learning not only of an alien race, but the many dark truths that pulled her family apart.

Kendro, King of the Aonise, can do nothing to prevent their sun from collapsing, consuming their home planet, Letháo, in a single fiery blast. Running out of time and options, he evacuates the entire population, setting off into the unknown galaxy in four crowded ships. Under constant danger from their ancient enemy, the Zefron, treasonous dissent seeps into his inner circle. Threatened inside and out, Kendro struggles with whom to trust, until a mysterious vision finally brings hope to the distraught king.

Brothers Greg and Tom Hunter are shocked at the news that their father Roger had died in an accident while prospecting for ore in the Asteroid Belt, but a too-generous buy-out offer from the powerful but unethical Jupiter Equilateral Corporation suggests it may not have been an accident at all. Roger had hit something big - really big - and Greg and Tom want to find out what. But will they live long enough to solve the mystery out in the lawless Belt with an evil corporation poised to jump their claim?

How many dimensions are there? In The Other Now, Murray Leinster takes us to a place where more than one Now may exist. At least that is what Jimmy and Jane believe. Haynes, Jimmy's lawyer friend, believes Jimmy suffers from post-traumatic shock after a tragic auto accident. That is, before a revelation.

Denton Cassal is a sales engineer on a sales trip to Tunney 21. His mission is to recruit an engineer for his company, Neuronics Inc., with the aid of an electronic implant called Dimanche. On the way, Cassal has a transfer point on the planet of Godolph. Unfortunately, his transfer doesn't go as smoothly as he wants, and he now seems stranded on Godolph. There is something strange about travelers on Godolph, as Cassal quickly learns.

From the author of Psycho, a Lovecraftian tale of Arkham, town of eldritch horrors and monsters. Gangsters and unspeakable creatures mix in a tale to tell around a campfire - or in a haunted house, if you dare!

Minos is such a lovely planet, as the crew of the space cruiser Explorer discover. Not a thing seems wrong with it. Excepting the food perhaps. And a disease that really isn't. They are surprised to learn they are not the first humans to arrive on Minos. In fact, there is a small colony on Minos whose inhabitants have one odd detail in common, as the Explorer's crew is soon to discover.

For many years, the protagonist and his uncle, Dr. Elihu Whipple, have nurtured a dark fascination with an ancient, abandoned house on Benefit Street in Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Whipple has made extensive records tracking the mysterious yet apparently coincidental sickness, madness, and death of many who have lived in the house over its 150-year existence.

Think you know the classic story by Mary Shelley? It bears little resemblance to the Hollywood tale told and retold dozens of times for the screen. Veteran narrator David Gilmore takes you on the complete horrifying journey as it was actually penned in 1816. Includes Shelley's backstory of how she was challenged to come up with a riveting tale by her husband while on a vacation.

Conger, a skilled hunter, is being sent on a very special and peculiar mission: to seek out and kill the founder of the church. There are only two problems: No one knows what the founder looks like, and...he's been dead for two centuries! But Conger has one identifying clue - the founder's skull.

From Marion Zimmer Bradley, acclaimed author of The Mists of Avalon: Race Cargill, Terran Secret Service officer assigned to the planet Wolf, is running for his life. A blood feud with Rakhal, his one-time mentor, best friend, and brother-in-law, means Race must flee the intricate nonhuman society on Wolf, but Rakhal's kidnapping of Race's niece changes the game.

What if...a machine could murder one person while implicating another for the crime? An alien being looked like livestock but spoke like a philosopher? Earth was ruined by war, and Mars was humanity's only hope? Robots were created to wage an unending war on the ravaged surface of Earth while man hid underground? Peeking into the future showed a worse result with each look?

Edgar Rice Burroughs tells us the story of the lost English prince, Richard, whom fate turns into an outlaw preying on the nobility of England. With tons of adventure, cross, and double cross, this tale will keep you engrossed from beginning to end.

What is The Ideal? Renowned science fiction author Stanley Grauman Weinbaum explores individuality and artificial intelligence in this classic story.

Written in 1915, Beyond Thirty is a fascinating tale of the future after World War I as seen from 1915 - as the carnage and slaughter on the fields of France stunned the world, and men of good will all wondered where civilization was headed. For Edgar Rice Burroughs, "The Great War" results in a two century division between the eastern and western hemispheres. Inhabitants of Pan-America are forbidden to cross the 30th parallel. Europe and the Old World are forever cut off from America.