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Paratime Police: Complete Sci-Fi Series

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Patton’s Spaceship (The Timeline Wars)

First in the series blending alternate history, time travel, and detective thriller, from a Nebula and Hugo Award nominee. There are a million different Earths across an infinite number of timelines—and every one of them is in peril. Mark Strang Read more

Paratime Police: Complete Sci-Fi Series
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The last novel of this serie has been expanded into another serie from 2000 to 2016 by John F. Carr available here

 

H. Beam Piper’s ‘Paratime Police: Complete Sci-Fi Series’ delves into the riveting exploits of an advanced civilization adept in paratime travel across parallel universes. Within these alternate realities lie the means to replenish their own depleted Earth through trade of unique resources. The series weaves intricate narratives of espionage, control, and the moral high wire walked by the titular Paratime Police, guardians of this precarious status quo. Piper’s prose is rich with speculative imagination, which is grounded within the framework of mid-20th century science fiction aesthetics and philosophies, carving a niche that resonates with aficionados of the genre’s classic era.

Henry Beam Piper’s background as a self-taught polymath, with an insatiable curiosity for history and science, deeply informs the textured world-building of the Paratime series. His foresight in conceptualizing multiverse theory predates its popularity in contemporary science fiction. Piper’s Paratime Police operate under a complex socio-political structure that echoes Cold War tensions, providing a lens for interpreting the nuanced interplay between power, ethics, and the responsibility that comes with technological advancement.

‘Readers seeking a blend of science fiction with historical depth and philosophical underpinnings will find ‘Paratime Police: Complete Sci-Fi Series’ a treasure trove. Piper’s visionary work invites enthusiasts to ponder the ramifications of unchecked innovation while being immersed in tales of suspense and cosmic intrigue. This compilation not only commemorates Piper’s legacy but also serves as a perfect introduction to his thought-provoking explorations of time and reality.

Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (Kalvan series)

Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (Kalvan series)
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Written by H. Beam Piper; it is part of his Paratime series of stories, the first novel  published in 1965 was expanded by John F. Carr from 2000 to 2016 to form the Kalvan series

It recounts the adventures of a Pennsylvania state trooper who is accidentally transported to a more backward parallel universe. It was published posthumously, making it Piper’s final science fiction novel.

The Paratime Police patrol the vast number of alternate time-dimensions. Their aim is to keep the existence of the alternate Earths a secret and prevent these Earths from mixing and destroying each other.

But the Time Police make mistakes sometimes, and they make a big one when a seemingly ordinary Pennsylvania State Trooper named Calvin Morrison is accidentally transported to a more backward parallel universe. Morrison is soon being hailed as Lord Kalvan and is masterminding a campaign that could blow the whole Paratime secret sky-high!

The Dumarest Saga

The Dumarest Saga
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Written from 1967 to 1986 by E.C. Tubb with a last book  published in 2008 2 year before the death of the author

The Dumarest saga was one of the inspiration for the Traveller (role-playing game)

Each story is a self-contained adventure, but throughout the series, Earl Dumarest, the protagonist, searches for clues to the location of his home world, Earth.

The stories are set in a far future galactic culture that is fragmented and without any central government. Dumarest was born on Earth, but had stowed away on a spaceship when he was a young boy and was caught. Although a stowaway discovered on a spaceship was typically ejected to space, the captain took pity on the boy and allowed him to work and travel on the ship. When the story opens in The Winds of Gath, Dumarest has traveled so long and so far that he does not know how to return to his home planet and no-one has ever heard of it, other than as a myth or legend.

This is the tale of Earl Dumarest. Space-wanderer, gladiator-for-hire, seeker of Man’s forgotten home.

Dumarest’s search begins on the ghost-world of Gath, where he becomes unwilling champion of the Matriarch of Kund, and must undergo a fight-to-the-death at stormtime.

Victory could give Dumarest his first clue to the whereabouts of the planet he fled from as a child – an obscure world scarred by ancient wars, which lies countless light years from the thickly populated centre of the galaxy; a world no-one else in the inhabited universe believed exists.

Earth, the birthplace of Man.

 

For the Killing of Kings (The Ring-Sworn Trilogy Book 1)

For the Killing of Kings (The Ring-Sworn Trilogy Book 1)
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Howard Andrew Jones’ powerful world-building brings this epic fantasy to life in For The Killing of Kings, the first book of his new adventure-filled trilogy.

Their peace was a fragile thing, but it had endured for seven years, mostly because the people of Darassus and the king of the Naor hordes believed his doom was foretold upon the edge of the great sword hung in the hall of champions. Unruly Naor clans might raid across the border, but the king himself would never lead his people to war so long as the blade remained in the hands of his enemies.

But when squire Elenai’s aging mentor uncovers evidence that the sword in their hall is a forgery she’s forced to flee Darassus for her life, her only ally the reckless, disillusioned Kyrkenall the archer. Framed for murder and treason, pursued by the greatest heroes of the realm, they race to recover the real sword, only to stumble into a conspiracy that leads all the way back to the Darassan queen and her secretive advisors. They must find a way to clear their names and set things right, all while dodging friends determined to kill them – and the Naor hordes, invading at last with a new and deadly weapon.

SPQR I: The King’s Gambit: A Mystery (The SPQR Roman Mysteries Book 1)

SPQR I: The King's Gambit: A Mystery (The SPQR Roman Mysteries Book 1)
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Historical mystery serie set in the final years of the Roman Republic

by John Maddox Roberts who also wrote Conan pastiche novels (only one is available on kindle you can find it here)

Blackmail, corruption, treachery, murder–the glory that was Rome.

In this Edgar Award-nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes readers back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike, so the garroting of a lowly ex-slaved and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy. But Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger–highborn commander of the local vigiles–was determined to investigate. Despite official apathy, brazen bribes, and sinister threates, Decius uncovers a world of corruption at the highest levels of his government that threatens to destroy him and the government he serves.

The Warlock in Spite of Himself (The Warlock of Gramarye Book 1)

The Warlock in Spite of Himself (The Warlock of Gramarye Book 1)
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SCIENCE AND SORCERY DO NOT MIX–EXCEPT ON GRAMARYE

Skeptical, cynical Rod Gallowglass is a spacefaring man of science who does not believe in magic. He’s also an operative of the agency SCENT, tasked with finding lost colony planets, then guiding them toward democracy and eventual membership in the galactic community.

But when he stumbles across the strange new planet Gramarye, he’s shocked to discover a medieval society full of witches and warlocks, elves and monsters. How is it even possible? Worse, Rod’s advanced technology quickly gets him labeled a warlock, despite his constant denials.

Moreover, the Kingdom is in political turmoil, with a young girl-queen on the brink of civil war with her rebellious lords. Rod slowly discovers off-world organizations are behind the unrest, trying to subtly corrupt Gramarye away from democratic rule. His mission is threatened at every turn by fascists, anarchists, and double-dealing royalists playing vicious political power games for the future of the most unique–and perhaps most important–planet in the galaxy.

Aided only by a coven of teenage witches, a ragtag army of beggars, and his epileptic robot horse Fess, Rod decides the only way to thwart these destructive influences—-both native and off-planet—-is for him to become a part of the local fabric and lead Gramarye as one of their own. But to do so, Rod Gallowglass must put aside his own convictions and beliefs, and become a warlock, in spite of himself.

Metropolitan (Metropolitan dilogy)

Metropolitan (Metropolitan dilogy)
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NOMINATED FOR A NEBULA AWARD. Walter Jon Williams’ classic science fantasy Metropolitan is once again available for a new generation of readers.

Metropolitan is set on an unnamed world where, in the distant past, some agency or agencies enclosed the planet in a barrier known as the Shield. The Shield emits light and heat, incinerates all matter that rises above a certain altitude

Over the millennia the population of the world has grown and all available land surface has been covered with a single city, divided into areas called metropolises that are analogous to nations. The metropolises have governments that span the gamut from democracies to dictatorships; “Metropolitan” is used as a title for powerful individuals who rule entire metropolises.

Life on the planet would be impossible without the existence of plasm, an energy responsive to human will

Aiah has fought her way from poverty and discovered a limitless source of plasm, the mysterious substance that powers the world-city.

Her discovery soon involves her with Constantine, the charismatic, dangerous, seductive revolutionary who plans to overthrow, not simply the government, but the cosmic order . . .

“A spectacular blend of fantastic science, high politics, and low intrigue . . . Williams’s world and characters are richly imagined yet utterly real.” —Melissa Scott “Entertaining . . .

Williams understands that science fiction can breathe life into language . . . [His] writing is always lean, lively and engaging. —New York Times Book Review “Blends SF aspects with noir stylings to create a potent atmosphere or urban dystopia . . . Ever the expert storyteller, Williams provides more than enough suspense.” —Publishers Weekly

Hardwired

Hardwired
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There is also a little known novelette published 3 years after in the same universe available here

Hardwired, the acknowledged inspiration for the games Cyberpunk Red and Cyberpunk 2077, is now available in a deluxe edition for its thirtieth anniversary, with new content by the author.

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 guerrilla 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.

Kane saga by Karl Edward Wagner

Kane saga by Karl Edward Wagner
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Where once the mighty Kane has passed, no one who lives forgets. Now, down the trail of past battles, Kane travels again. To the ruins of a devastated city peopled only with half-men and the waif they call their queen. To the half-burnt tavern where a woman Kane wronged long ago holds his child in keeping for the Devil. To the cave kingdom of the giants where glory and its aftermath await discovery. To the house of death itself where Kane retrieves a woman in love.

The past, the future, the present – all these are one for Kane as he travels through the centuries.

Contents:
“Undertow”
“Two Suns Setting”
“The Dark Muse”
“Raven’s Eyrie”
“Lynortis Reprise”
“Sing a Last Song of Valdese”

The Beast of Maug Maurai, Part One: The Culling

The Beast of Maug Maurai, Part One: The Culling
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Grae Barragns is no hero.
He knows there isn’t a man alive who can fulfill the promise of such a word. But when a caravan transporting a noble family is savaged in the haunted forest of Maug Maurai, Grae is ordered to be a hero. And a villain. It’s a handful for an officer whose last assignment was capturing runaway orchard pigs. Such is the fate of a commoner among the high-born officer corps of the King’s army.
Until now.
Grae is ordered to lead a small squad into the forest to kill the legendary Beast of Maug Maurai. It’s a suicide mission, but if he succeeds he will reap glory, a noble title, lands, and, most importantly, respect.
All he has to do is slay the most dangerous creature in the kingdom with the help of a squad of misfits and criminals, and a philosophical female archer who chips away at his deepest convictions.
Before he sets out Grae receives one last ugly detail. A secret secondary assignment that makes it clear to him why he was chosen to lead the squad. It’s the first order Grae has ever considered disobeying, an order that will force him to choose between his loyalty and his morality. And he’s certain that the wrong choice will plunge the kingdom into civil war.
The Culling is the first of a three-part novel.