In the Hall of the Martian King

In the Hall of the Martian King
Author: John Barnes
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013-11-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1480456985

DIVDIVWith the soul of thirty-sixth-century humanity at stake, Jak Jinnaka steps in . . . now we’re really in trouble /divDIV Jak Jinnaka parlayed his powerful family connections, unearned media fame, and consistent dumb luck into a cushy job as vice procurator of the Martian moon Deimos, an office he precariously maintains alongside his top-secret post as a station chief for Hive Intelligence—two soft jobs for an already rich, handsome, single young man in a fun-loving colonial outpost./divDIV Sadly, when his boss takes a well-deserved vacation, it looks like Jak may actually have to do a little work—keep local trade humming, maintain the Hive’s hegemony, prevent the boss’s pretty teenage niece’s internship from becoming front-page celebrity gossip, and make sure his rambunctious visiting uncle Sib doesn’t cause international incidents among the thousands of prickly petty kingdoms on Mars./divDIV Then, in one of the pettiest kingdoms of all, the lifelog of the man who wrote the Wager—a set of principles that guides all human life in the thirty-sixth century—is discovered, and the race is on for control of the holiest relic in a thousand years, with Jak in the lead and all of the devils and angels of his past howling at his heels. /divDIV/div/div

Mars

Mars
Author: Markus Hotakainen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2010-03-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0387765085

This absorbing book tells the story of Mars since the dawn of mankind's curiosity for celestial wonders. It covers everything, right from our ancient beliefs, through the revolution in our concepts of the cosmos around us in the 1600s, to the present day knowledge and beyond. It takes the reader on a journey all the way to the futuristic visions of science fiction and terraformed Mars with conditions suitable to Earth life. The story is told in a readable form with an absence of technical jargon. The text is supported by informative imagery and a simple, but inspiring layout with some special features such as a "flip movie" of the rotation of Mars.

Imagining Mars

Imagining Mars
Author: Robert Crossley
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2011-01-03
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0819571059

Mars in the human imagination from the invention of the telescope to the present For centuries, the planet Mars has captivated astronomers and inspired writers of all genres. Whether imagined as the symbol of the bloody god of war, the cradle of an alien species, or a possible new home for human civilization, our closest planetary neighbor has played a central role in how we think about ourselves in the universe. From Galileo to Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert Crossley traces the history of our fascination with the red planet as it has evolved in literature both fictional and scientific. Crossley focuses specifically on the interplay between scientific discovery and literary invention, exploring how writers throughout the ages have tried to assimilate or resist new planetary knowledge. Covering texts from the 1600s to the present, from the obscure to the classic, Crossley shows how writing about Mars has reflected the desires and social controversies of each era. This astute and elegant study is perfect for science fiction fans and readers of popular science.

A Princess of the Aerie

A Princess of the Aerie
Author: John Barnes
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2013-11-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1480456977

DIVDIVJak Jinnaka is off to save a princess yet again—except . . ./divDIV Ostensibly a diplomat, really a spy in training, Jak Jinnaka has such a gift for getting into trouble that his fellow students have voted him “most likely to have a war named after him.” His latest offense against cultural sensitivity would have ended his career at his junior year—except that the Academy is thoroughly corrupt, Jak has powerful and wealthy friends, and there’s an easier way for the dean of students to get rid of him: Jak’s ex-girlfriend, Princess Shyf of Greenworld (one of hundreds of nations in a space station the size of the moon), sends a cry for help that will conveniently take Jak one hundred eighty-five million miles out of the dean’s hair./divDIV /divDIVJust like that, Jak is off to save Shyf in the name of true love, the Aerie for the sake of liberty, and his own potential for a lucrative and undemanding government job./divDIV /divDIVBut Shyf has found a very unpleasant use for Jak, and now that she’s got him, she might not let him go./divDIV/div/div

Tales of the Madman Underground

Tales of the Madman Underground
Author: John Barnes
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 544
Release: 2009-06-25
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1101081937

Wednesday, September 5, 1973: The first day of Karl Shoemaker's senior year in stifling Lightsburg, Ohio. For years, Karl's been part of what he calls "the Madman Underground" - a group of kids forced (for no apparent reason) to attend group therapy during school hours. Karl has decided that senior year is going to be different. He is going to get out of the Madman Underground for good. He is going to act - and be - Normal. But Normal, of course, is relative. Karl has five after-school jobs, one dead father, one seriously unhinged drunk mother . . . and a huge attitude. Welcome to a gritty, uncensored rollercoaster ride, narrated by the singular Karl Shoemaker.

Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler
Author: Gerry Canavan
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2016-10-31
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0252099109

"I began writing about power because I had so little," Octavia E. Butler once said. Butler's life as an African American woman--an alien in American society and among science fiction writers--informed the powerful works that earned her an ardent readership and acclaim both inside and outside science fiction. Gerry Canavan offers a critical and holistic consideration of Butler's career. Drawing on Butler's personal papers, Canavan tracks the false starts, abandoned drafts, tireless rewrites, and real-life obstacles that fed Butler's frustrations and launched her triumphs. Canavan departs from other studies to approach Butler first and foremost as a science fiction writer working within, responding to, and reacting against the genre's particular canon. The result is an illuminating study of how an essential SF figure shaped themes, unconventional ideas, and an unflagging creative urge into brilliant works of fiction.

Silent Interviews

Silent Interviews
Author: Samuel R. Delany
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2018-08-14
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 081957192X

Collected interviews featuring the Nebula Award–winning author and his thoughts on topics like literary criticism, comic books, race, and sexuality. For nearly three decades, Samuel R. Delany’s science fiction has transported millions of readers to the fringes of time, technology, and outer space. Now Delany surveys the realms of his own experience as a writer, critic, theorist, and gay Black man in this collection of written interviews, a type of guided essay. Because the written interview avoids the “mutual presence positioned at the semantic core” of traditional interview, Delany explains, “a kind of cut remains between the participants—a fissure in which the truths there may be more malleable, less rigid.” Within that fissure Delany pursues the breadth and depth of his ideas on language and theory, the politics of literary composition, the experience of marginality, and the philosophical, commercial, and personal contexts of writing today. Gathered from sources as diverse as Diacritics and The Comics Journal, these interviews reveal the broad range of Delany’s thought and interests. “Delany has a unique place in late twentieth century letters. A lifelong inhabitant of the margins, both social and literary, he has used his marginalized status as a lens to focus his astute observations of American literature and society. From these interviews his voice emerges, provocative, precise, and engaging.” —Kathleen Spencer, University of Nebraska “Samuel R. Delany never shies away from contestable positions or provocative opinions. In his fiction, Delany can write like quicksilver, and in lectures or panel discussions, he is easily SF’s most articulate spokesperson in academia. . . . There is much here that is not covered in Delany’s critical or autobiographical writings, and much that anyone seriously interested in SF—or many of Delany’s other favorite topics—ought to consider.” —Locus “Delany is fascinating whether discussing SF, comics, or his experiences as a Black American, and this collection . . . is as entertaining as it is informative.” —Science Fiction Chronicle “Yevgeny Zamyatin? Stanislaw Lem? Forget it! Delany is both, with a lot of Borges and Bruno Schultz thrown in.” —Village Voice

Sequels

Sequels
Author: Janet G. Husband
Publisher: American Library Association
Total Pages: 793
Release: 2009-07-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0838909671

A guide to series fiction lists popular series, identifies novels by character, and offers guidance on the order in which to read unnumbered series.

Brave new words

Brave new words
Author: Jeff Prucher
Publisher:
Total Pages: 376
Release:
Genre:
ISBN: 0195305671