The Shockwave Rider

Related Posts
Babylon Babies

“What makes the novel so haunting is its vision of a near future in which society has fractured along every possible national, tribal and sectarian fault line.”—The New York Times Book Review In the hidden “flesh and chip” breeding grounds Read more

Simulacron-3

Published in 1964 Simulacron-3 is one of the earliest novel of a simulated reality. A virtual-reality novel from a time before virtual reality, Simulacron-3 is a prophetic tale of a future where nothing is as it appears to be. Douglas Read more

The Shockwave Rider
Date:
MainCategory:
Genre:
Lenght:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

In a world drowning in data, a fugitive tries to outrun the forces that want to reprogram him, in this smart, edgy novel by a Hugo Award–winning author.

Constantly shifting his identity among a population choking on information, innovation, and novelty, Nickie Haflinger is a most dangerous outlaw, yet he doesn’t even appear to exist. As global society falls apart in all directions, with corporate power run amok and personal freedom surrendered to computers and bureaucrats, Haflinger is caught and about to be re-programmed. Now he has to try to escape once again, defy the government—and turn the tide of organizational destruction, in this visionary science fiction novel by the author of The Sheep Look Up and Stand on Zanzibar.

“Brunner writes about the future as if he and the reader were already living in it.” —The New York Times Book Review

“When John Brunner first told me of his intention to write the book, I was fascinated—but I wondered whether he, or anyone, could bring it off. Bring it off he has, with cool brilliance. A hero with transient personalities, animals with souls, think tanks and survival communities fuse to form a future so plausibly alive it as twitched at me ever since.” —Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock

“One of the most important science fiction authors. Brunner held a mirror up to reflect our foibles because he wanted to save us from ourselves.” —SF Site

Berserker (Saberhagen’s Berserker Series)

Berserker (Saberhagen's Berserker Series)
MainCategory:
Type:
Lenght:
Seriesize:

Long ago, in a distant part of the galaxy, two alien races met—and fought a war of mutual extinction. The sole legacy of that war was the weapon that ended it: the death machines, the BERSERKERS. Guided by self-aware computers more intelligent than any human, these world-sized battle craft carved a swath of death through the galaxy—until they arrived at the outskirts of the fledgling Empire of Man.
These are the stories of the frail creatures who must meet this monstrous and implacable enemy—and who, by fighting it to a standstill, become the saviors of all living things.
This is Saberhagen’s classic book length collection of the first eleven Berserker stories. Meet Berserker hunter extraordinaire Johann Karlsen, his evil brother Felipe Nogara, The Third Historian of the Carmpan Race, gallant fighters of the killer machines and the deranged killer machine, Mr. Jester.

The Dracula Tape (Saberhagen’s Dracula Series Book 1)

The Dracula Tape (Saberhagen's Dracula Series Book 1)
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
trope:
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Reception:
The never before told story behind the legend of Count Dracula! The story of the Count’s greatest love, Mina Harker, and the bloodthirsty vampire hunters whose cruel pursuit drove the master of the night to actions ever more ruthless. The Count Dracula sets the record straight …
Saberhagen created this serie to retold the Bram Stoker story from  Dracula’s point of view. The vampires in his serie are depicted as being capable of both good and evil
He was later hired to  write the novelization of the 1992 movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula due to the success of this serie.

Empire of the East (3 book omnibus)

Empire of the East (3 book omnibus)
MainCategory:
Type:
Lenghts: ,
Seriesize:

In the distant future, society has crumbled. Dark forces now rule the land, keeping all humans under their oppressive thumbs.
In the darkness of the shadows and whispered on the winds, there is talk of a rebellion. In the swamps, a small band has formed. Determined to regain their freedom, the rebellion, heavily outnumbered, plans to overthrow an army of thousands . . . with the help of one incredible weapon.
It is only a legend, a story left over from the Old World before magic and the wizards came to the land. A weapon of technology. It is the mystical Elephant, and whoever masters it holds the key to freedom, or defeat.
One young man, determined to avenge the death of his family, sets out to join the rebellion and find Elephant. What he discovers will change everything.

A new novel has been published in 2006 25 years after the last :

Ardneh’s Sword: Continuing the Empire of the East Saga

The Forge of God

The Forge of God
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:

This doomsday masterpiece from the author of Eon and Hull Zero Three was a finalist for the Hugo and Nebula awards.

On July 26, Arthur Gordon learns that Europa, the sixth moon of Jupiter, has disappeared. Not hiding, not turned black, but gone.

On September 28th, Edward Shaw finds an error in the geological records of Death Valley. A cinder cone was left off the map. Could it be new? Or, stranger yet, could it be artificial? The answer may be lying beside it—a dying Guest who brings devastating news for Edward and for Planet Earth.

As more unexplained phenomena spring up around the globe—a granite mountain appearing in Australia, sounds emanating from the earth’s core, flashes of light among the asteroids—it becomes clear to some that the end is approaching, and there is nothing we can do.

In The Forge of God, award-winning author Greg Bear describes the final days of the world on both a massive, scientific scale and in the everyday, emotional context of individual human lives. Facing the destruction of all they know, some people turn to God, others to their families, and a few turn to saviors promising escape from a planet being torn apart. Will they make it in time? And who gets left behind to experience the last moments of beauty and chaos on earth?

Nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards, The Forge of God is an engrossing read, breathtaking in its scope and in its detail.

Eon (The Way Book 1)

Eon (The Way Book 1)
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

From the New York Times–bestselling author of War Dogs: A novel that “may be the best constructed hard SF epic yet” (The Washington Post).

In a supernova flash, the asteroid arrived and entered Earth’s orbit. Three hundred kilometers in length, it is not solid rock but a series of hollowed-out chambers housing ancient, abandoned cities of human origin, a civilization named Thistledown. The people who lived there survived a nuclear holocaust that nearly rendered humanity extinct—more than a thousand years from now.

To prevent this future from coming to pass, theoretical mathematician Patricia Vasquez must explore Thistledown and decipher its secret history. But what she discovers is an even greater mystery, a tunnel that exists beyond the physical dimensions of the asteroid. Called the Way, it leads to the home of humanity’s descendants, and to a conflict greater than the impending war between Earth’s superpowers over the fate of the asteroid, in “the grandest work yet” by Nebula Award–winning author Greg Bear (Locus).

The Peace War

The Peace War
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:

First in a quintessential hard-science fiction adventure, Hugo Award-winning author Vernor Vinge’s The Peace War follows a scientist determined to put an end to the militarization of his greatest invention–and of the government behind it.

The Peace Authority conquered the world with a weapon that never should have been a weapon–the “bobble,” a spherical force-field impenetrable by any force known to mankind. Encasing governmental installations and military bases in bobbles, the Authority becomes virtually omnipotent.

But they’ve never caught Paul Hoehler, the maverick who invented the technology, and who has been working quietly for decades to develop a way to defeat the Authority. With the help of an underground network of determined, independent scientists and a teenager who may be the apprentice genius he’s needed for so long, he will shake the world.

Messenger of Zhuvastou

In a future where the people of Earth have managed to somewhat unite under hegemonic governments, the universe has at last been explored and discovered.

Earth-born playboy Moris Keniston arrives in customs, wanting to go surface-side of the mysterious and hostile planet Sovold. Galactic rules dictate that he may not disturb the burgeoning culture, and therefore undergoes a physical transformation to match the one of the peoples on the planet.

With shaved head and skin dyed beige, he dons the green tunic of a Messenger of Zhuvastou, known as Zhogs – a knight to the people of this world – giving him almost free reign to pursue his mission.

He is hunting the beautiful Elaine Dixon, who has fled to this primitive planet for reasons unknown.

Though Keniston is the son of a Galactic Senator, an athlete of interplanetary reknown, and survivor of a historic starship disaster, he finds himself wholly unprepared for life on Sovold.

Only his athlete’s reflexes and history of fencing save him at first. However, in his quest to pursue Elaine, he meets companions that help him grow into the man he is meant to be – and finds his true purpose along the way.

Messenger of Zhuvastou is a roaring adventure in new cultures and brotherly bonding that is sure to satisfy any sci-fi enthusiast.

Praise for Andrew J Offutt:

“Great entertainment of epic scope” – Poul Anderson

“One of the major players from the sword and sorcery boom from the 70s” – Adventures Fantastic

“Offers a new dimension in heroic fantasy.” – Jerry Pournelle

Chieftain of Andor

Robert Cleve does not belong. On Earth, he is out of his depth – a semi-barbarian, an atavist in the modern world.

But one day, he answers an ad that will change his life forever.

He is offered an opportunity to live in another man’s body – on another planet, many parsecs away. A man with no ties, decisive mind, and sound body, Cleve is selected to take over the body of warrior chief Doralan Andrah, who is pivotal on his world of Andor, but whose mind is dying.

Cleve’s adjustment to the semi-primitive world is hard and fast – just how Cleve thrives.

He quickly adapts to the new body and skills, learning to become the warrior he knew he always could be.

But his memories of Earth and our treatment of sorcery leaves him vulnerable in a way he never anticipated.

Soon, he finds himself surrounded by a cloud of confusion, assaulted from all sides by unfamiliar and unalloyed powers.

His odyssey begins into the deepest depths of Andor, but he is woefully underprepared for the nameless terrors that await him…
Chieftain of Andor is a gripping sci fi/fantasy adventure, as one man finds himself beset from all sides in a world that is not his own. Will he thrive, or will Andor claim him as its prize?

Praise for Andrew J Offutt:

“Great entertainment of epic scope” – Poul Anderson

“One of the major players from the sword and sorcery boom from the 70s” – Adventures Fantastic

“Offers a new dimension in heroic fantasy.” – Jerry Pournelle

The Sign of the Moonbow (A Cormac mac Art Fantasy)

The Sign of the Moonbow (A Cormac mac Art Fantasy)
Date:
MainCategory:
trope:
Lenght:
Reception:

Cormac mac Art is a character created by Robert E.Howard, a viking contemporary of king Arthur. He wrote 4 short stories featuring him but they were rejected by the magazines and rediscovered later by Richard L. Tierney who finished and published them.

Unfortunately they’re not on amazon however starting in 1975 Andrew Jefferson Offut wrote 6 novels featuring Cormac mac Art all available on amazon.

This one is the tird and the only available on kindle

A world shrouded in darkness…

For the first time in ebook, here is Andrew J Offutt’s iteration of Robert E. Howard’s character Cormac mac Art, the headstrong Irish Viking who roved and adventured during the time of King Arthur.

Having travelled far and wide, Cormac mac Art and Wulfhere Hausakluifr have finally imprisoned the undying sorcerer, Thulsa Doom. The two heroes suspend him from the mast the ship, finding it is the only way in which he cannot use his magic; but still, he lives.

Bas the Druid soon unveils a prophecy that may change that. They must find a crowned woman and place in her hands the skull of the undying wizard, if the mysterious curse is to be lifted.

All seems well as they set out to find this prophesied woman. But disaster strikes as the evil wizard, unable to escape his fate, vanishes into another dimension – taking the ship and his captors with him…