Reception: Classic

The Humanoids by Jack Williamson

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The Humanoids by Jack Williamson
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The story takes place thousands of years in the future when humankind has spread out and settled much of the galaxy. A powerful new technology called rhodomagnetics has emerged. On a distant planet called Wing IV, the new science resulted in weapons that wiped out most of the population. The inventor, wracked with guilt, then used rhodomagnetics to build the “humanoids”, perfect sleek black androids, all identical and all controlled by a central transmitter on Wing IV..He imbued them with a Prime Directive: “To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men From Harm”. But the robots were too powerful and their prime directive robbed human life of meaning wherever they went. They are rapidly spreading throughout the galaxy, and they appear to be irresistible..

 

Clay Forester is a scientist working in a weapons laboratory on a distant planet, when a vast army of robotic “humanoids” land and, as they have done on countless other worlds, take control of every aspect of human society. The official line is to “guard men from harm”, but in fact the humanoids deny any meaningful freedom to their human victims. Forester tries to fight back, with the help of a vagabond band of “psychophysical” adepts with amazing transphysical powers. Forester’s long fight against the strictures and despotic “protections” offered by the humanoids makes a fascinating tale, which Damon Knight called “without a doubt, one of the most important science-fantasy books of its decade.”
Author’s self-revealing Afterword, “Me And My Humanoids”, also included.

“Without a doubt, one of the most important science-fantasy books of its decade.”
– Damon Knight

“On looking back over his long and influential career, I have no hesitation in placing Jack Williamson on a level with the two other American giants, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.”
– Arthur C. Clarke

Darker Than You Think by Jack Williamson

Darker Than You Think by Jack Williamson
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While researching a story on a mysterious box brought back from Mongolia, newspaper reporter Will Barbee meets the intriguing and seductive April Bell. After a series of frighteningly vivid dreams, and a string of murders that leave his close friends dead, Barbee starts to piece together the mystery of shapeshifter and werewolf April Bell, and comes to realize his part in the murders. As the truth starts to emerge, Barbee struggles with the reality of his past, and what this box and its contents mean to his future.

Written by Jack Williamson, the only writer to receive both SFWA’s Grand Master Award and the Horror Writer of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

“On looking back over his long and influential career, I have no hesitation in placing Jack Williamson on a level with the two other American giants, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.”
– Arthur C. Clarke

“Darker Than You Think yields sheer enjoyment, generating wonder and suspense as Williamson springs his sequence of trapdoors with the effortless agility of a master”
– Peter Straub

“A giant in the field of science fiction…When you’re the acknowledged Dean of Science Fiction, you’re allowed to coast a little. Jack is the only writer around who has demonstrably improved with every passing decade.”
– Mike Resnick

“I think the first SF novel I ever read was his book Seetee Shock, although it wasn’t until I read his novel of shapechangers, Darker than You Think, as a teenager, that I knew I was a fan.”
-Neil Gaiman

“He is a man of extraordinary talent and consummate humility, of penetrating intelligence and great kindness, a scholar and a gentleman. We are unbelievably lucky to have him as one of the forefathers of the field.”
– Connie Willis

“Not only is he (Jack Williamson) one of the best-loved figures in the field of science fiction, he has been a pioneering writer, breaking ground in new areas long before most of us had learned how to read.”
– Ben Bova

“Like the best of… wines, vintage Williamson travels well.”
– David Weber

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
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ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE‘S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME

Detective Sam Spade is a private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. When his partner is killed during a stakeout, he is drawn into the hunt for a fantastic treasure with a dubious provenance—a golden bird encrusted with jewels. Also on the trail are a perfumed grifter named Joel Cairo, an oversized adventurer named Gutman, and Spade’s new client Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime.

These are the ingredients of Dashiell Hammett’s coolly glittering gem of detective fiction, a novel that has haunted generations of readers.

The Land That Time Forgot (complete Edgar Rice Burroughs caspak trilogy)

The Land That Time Forgot (complete Edgar Rice Burroughs caspak trilogy)
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Set during the turmoil of World War I, Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy The Land that Time Forgot transports readers to an amazing lost world. This attractive new edition contains all three novels in the classic Caspak trilogy–The Land that Time Forgot, The People that Time Forgot, and Out of Times Abyss–as well as Burroughss original map of Caspak and a glossary.

When a German U-boat sinks their ship, British and American survivors commandeer the enemy submarine. Going far off-course into the South Seas, they end up on the mysterious island of Caspak, where savage human tribes exist alongside several species of dinosaurs and other forms of prehistoric life.

Will they ever be able to escape?

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

Kim by Rudyard Kipling
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1901 (the first) edition. illustrated

“Kim” is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning English author Rudyard Kipling. “Kim” is listed on the BBC’s The Big Read poll of the UK’s “best-loved novel.”Book is considered by many to be Kipling’s masterpiece, one of the best stories in English about India.It is a tale of adventure, a drama of a boy, a mystical story that unfolds against the backdrop of “The Great Game”, the political conflict between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. Story is set after the Second Afghan War (ended 1881).

The story is set after the Second Afghan War (which ended in 1881), but before the Third (fought in 1919)

Kim (Kimball O’Hara) is the orphaned son of an Irish soldier and a poor Irish mother, living a vagabond existence in India under British rule in the late 19th century. Kim earns his living by begging and running small errands on the streets of Lahore. He becomes lama’s disciple, is trained as an English spy, travels around the India, performs spy missions.

 

Tarzan of the Apes Hardcover by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan of the Apes Hardcover by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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Complete and unabridged hardcover edition.

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the classic tale of adventure, survival, and self-discovery that introduced the world to the legendary hero, Tarzan. The story follows the life of John Clayton, a young man who is orphaned and raised by apes in the African jungle, and who comes to be known as Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle.

As Tarzan grows into a powerful and fearless warrior, he finds himself torn between his loyalty to his adoptive family and his desire to explore the world beyond the jungle. Along the way, he battles against savage beasts, contends with rival tribes, and falls in love with a beautiful woman named Jane Porter. Through it all, Tarzan remains determined to uncover the truth about his past and forge his own destiny.

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ writing style is both vivid and engaging, bringing the African jungle to life with its lush descriptions and thrilling action scenes. The characters are well-developed and relatable, with Tarzan standing out as a hero who inspires with his courage, cunning, and compassion. The themes of self-discovery, survival, and love are timeless, making Tarzan of the Apes a timeless classic that continues to captivate and inspire generations of readers.

Edgar Rice Burroughs complete Venus serie (Carson Napier)

Edgar Rice Burroughs complete Venus serie (Carson Napier)
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Pirates of Venus
Carson Napier set out for Mars in a secret interplanetary rocket but found himself instead on a different world—the cloud-hidden planet Venus. Venus was a startling world—semi-private, semi-civilized. It was a place of unmapped oceans dotted with great islands; a world whose trees pierced the clouds and whose cities squatted on their branches; a planet whose inhabitants included men, half-men, and monsters, all struggling with each other for dominance.

Lost on Venus
Carson Napier begins this book in the Room of the Seven Doors. He can leave any time he wants, but six of the seven doors lead to hideous deaths; only one is the door of life. After navigating his way out of this logic puzzle, Carson continues his quest to rescue the planet’s fairest princess. He pursues this with single-mindedness, even though more terrible dangers lie ahead; even though the princess wishes neither his help or his affection; even though her people will execute him if he enters their country! Such is the honor of an Earthman’s pledge.

Carson of Venus
On the mist-shrouded planet of Venus, advanced civilizations blessed with eternal youth co-existed with cities haunted by the living dead, while bloodthirsty man-beasts stalked the luminous nights. Earthman Carson Napier knew how to survive the planet’s many perils-but now a merciless tribunal had condemned Carson’s beloved princess Duare to death. To save her life, the courageous Earthman stole the only airplane on Venus. But on the lovers’ flight to freedom, they learned that Duare’s father had been captured by a mad dictator. Across uncharted oceans teeming with fierce sea monsters, and through skies where man had never flown before, Carson of Venus risked his life to thwart an evil tyrant’s plan.

Escape on Venus
With his beloved princess, Duare, at his side, Carson Napier has once again managed to escape the scheming webs of Amtor’s fearsome powers—only to fall prey to a hideous race of humanoid amphibians, ruled by the dread king Tyros the Bloody. But Carson is far more than a fugitive and a captive: he is the only Earthman to have penetrated the forbidding clouds surrounding Venus, there to become a pirate, an explorer, and finally a prince of her cities.

The Wizard of Venus
Carson Napier is trapped in the castle of an insane Venusian “wizard” who holds the local population in thrall through the use of hypnotic powers. Napier, who is possessed of comparable powers he has hitherto utilized solely to transmit his account of his Venusian adventures back to Earth, successfully counters the tyrant and frees his victims.

The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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part of a trilogy of novel following the adventures of the Professor Challenger, followed by The Poison Belt and The Land of Mist

The Lost World is a novel released in 1912 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin of South America where prehistoric animals (dinosaurs and other extinct creatures) still survive. It was originally published serially in the popular Strand Magazine and illustrated by New-Zealand-born artist Harry Rountree during the months of April–November 1912. The character of Professor Challenger was introduced in this book. The novel also describes a war between indigenous people and a vicious tribe of ape-like creatures.

Edward Malone, a young reporter for the Daily Gazette, asks his editor for a dangerous assignment to impress the woman he loves, Gladys, who wishes for a great man capable of brave deeds and actions. His task is to approach the notorious Professor Challenger, who dislikes the popular press intensely and physically assaults intrusive journalists. The subject is to be his recent South American expedition which, surrounded by controversy, guarantees a hostile reaction. As a direct approach would be instantly rebuffed, Malone instead masquerades as an earnest student.

On meeting the professor he is startled by his overwhelming intellect – his intimidating physique too – but believes his ruse is succeeding. Seeing through the masquerade, then confirming Malone’s scientific knowledge is non-existent, Challenger erupts in anger and forcibly throws him out. Malone earns his respect by refusing to press charges with a policeman who saw his violent ejection into the street. Challenger ushers him back inside and, extracting promises of confidentiality, eventually reveals he has discovered living dinosaurs in South America.

At a tumultuous public meeting in which Challenger experiences further ridicule, Malone volunteers for an expedition to verify the discoveries. His companions are to be Professor Summerlee, and Lord John Roxton, an adventurer who helped end slavery on the Amazon; the notches on his rifle showing how many slavers he killed doing so.

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson
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This acclaimed fantasy classic of men, elves, and gods is at once breathtakingly exciting and heartbreakingly tragic.

Published the same year as The Fellowship of the Ring, Poul Anderson’s novel The Broken Sword draws on similar Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon sources. In his greed for land and power, Orm the Strong slays the family of a Saxon witch—and for his sins, the Northman must pay with his newborn son. Stolen by elves and replaced by a changeling, Skafloc is raised to manhood unaware of his true heritage and treasured for his ability to handle the iron that the elven dare not touch. Meanwhile, the being who supplanted him as Orm’s son grows up angry and embittered by the humanity he has been denied. A pawn in a witch’s vengeance, the creature Valgard will never know love, and consumed by rage, he will commit a murderous act of unspeakable vileness.

It is their destiny to finally meet on the field of battle—the man-elf and his dark twin, the monster—when the long-simmering war between elves and trolls finally erupts with a devastating fury. And only the mighty sword Tyrfing, broken by Thor and presented to Skafloc in infancy, can turn the tide in a terrible clashing of faerie folk that will ultimately determine the fate of the old gods.

Along with such notables as Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner Poul Anderson is considered one of the masters of speculative fiction.

Hoka! Hoka! Hoka! by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson

Hoka! Hoka! Hoka! by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson
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THE HOKAS ARE BACK IN THIS CLASSIC OF HUMOROUS SF FROM POUL ANDERSON AND GORDON R. DICKSON.

The Interbeing League had been formed to make contact with new intelligent races in the galaxy and offer them membership. But when the League encountered the Hokas, furry creatures strongly resembling the teddy bears of Earth, the League’s agent, Alexander Jones, could have been excused for wishing he had a simpler assignment than making sense out of the Hokas—such as singlehandedly stopping an interstellar war.

Not that the fuzzy aliens were unfriendly. In fact, they loved everything about humans, and adopted various Terram cultures wholesale and in every little detail—but with a bit of confusion about the differences between fact and fiction. So, if the Hokas suddenly started outing out the parts in a rip-roaring, shoot-em-up western, or brought to life the London of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a pip-puffing, deerstalker-wearing Hoka, or suddenly decided to fly the Jolly Roger and lead a life of adventure and piracy on the high seas, mate—well, that was to be expected. And as the Hokas threw themselves wholeheartedly into progressively wilder worlds from Terran history and fiction, Jones could be excused for feeling that his grip on reality was hanging by a single, thin, increasingly frayed thread.

At the publisher’s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Praise for the Hokas stories:

“You aren’t apt to find a more gleeful book of S.F.”—The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

“. . . the funniest s-f ever written.”—A Reader’s Guide to Science Fiction