Seizes the glittering loose ends of empire, ecology and mysticism and weaves them together into a seamless, brilliant tapestry of a human ecology evolving to transcend worlds and time.

Not far into our future, the dazzling technology that runs our world turns against us. Controlled by a childlike?yet massively powerful?artificial intelligence known as Archos, the global network of machines on which our world has grown dependent suddenly becomes an implacable, deadly foe. At Zero Hour?the moment the robots attack?the human race is almost annihilated, but as its scattered remnants regroup, humanity for the first time unites in a determined...

"Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he's alive. And even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive....

Le Guin's Hainish series begins with the assumption that centuries ago humanoids from the planet Hain ventured through the solar system establishing colonies on various planets including Earth. For mysterious reasons these colonies lose all contact and knowledge of each other until the 21st century when an attempt is made to establish a galactic league. Individual stories in this loosely organized series explore the inherent communication difficulties...

In the future, false identities, government lies and death threats keep Luke from being safe with his new identify when the younger brother of the boy whose name Luke has taken shows up at school.

Andrew "Ender" Wiggins is the result of a desperate breeding experiment, combined with years of harsh and unforgiving training. Ender thinks he is only playing computer simulated war games--in fact, he is commanding the last great fleet to earth. In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" lives with his kind...

Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known -- and feared -- as the man christened Muad'Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne -- and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence. And even as House Atreides begins...

When young Hari Seldon arrives on Trantor, he is unaware of the perilous politics that are brewing. After he presents his paper on psychohistory, he becomes the most wanted man in the Empire.

The dead are walking, men die impossible deaths, and it seems as though reality itself has become unstable: All are signs of the imminence of Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, when Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, must confront the Dark One as humanity's only hope. But Rand dares not fight until he possesses all the surviving seals on the Dark One's prison and has dealt with the Seanchan, who threaten to overrun all nations this side of the Aryth Ocean...

How shall we begin? This is the story of a book called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy —not an Earth book, never published on Earth and, until the terrible catastrophe occurred, never seen or even heard of by any Earthman. Nevertheless, a wholly remarkable book. or This is the story of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , a number-one best seller in England, a weekly radio series with millions of fanatic listeners, and soon to be a television...