Metaphysical Science

Hugo Award winner Elizabeth Bear has won high praise for her thought-provoking science fiction. The second in Bear’s powerful Jacob’s Ladder series, Chill finds the generation starship Jacob’s Ladder with a new captain—Perceval. As Perceval struggles with the ship’s recent damage, remnants of the rebellion still linger and a threat to the crew grows.

"The Stalker" is Eighth Tower's tribute to the cinematic masterpiece "Stalker" (1979) by Russian director Andrej Tarkowskij. Tarkowskij 's second science fiction film after Solaris, "Stalker" is based on a novel by the Strugackij brothers, Arkadij and Boris, renowned authors of Soviet science fiction. The novel, titled "Roadside Picnic," was released in 1971. Tarkovskij adapted the basic literary work, written in the form of dispatches and intelligence reports, inspired by the Tunguska event of 1908—a probable impact in a remote Siberian area of a meteorite or possibly a comet. The Zone ...

From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.

✨ To the Future Us: Step into Stellar Whisper 001 · The Reply Project，and become part of the reply. At the moment when the universe was about to reboot and time collapsed to zero, a message in a bottle was launched from Earth, drifting slowly toward the future, passing through thirty-three layers of cosmic frequency. Inside the bottle: a softly glowing blue lotus, an ever-beating flicker of a heart, and a letter, with blurred ink and a tender voice: "Dear Future, If you still remember love, please deliver this letter to someone who can understand it." The bottle wandered across star ...

Returning to the Yucatan wasn’t what Hank had in mind when he and Nicole discussed taking time away from their mind-numbing research inside ATLAS headquarters. Nevertheless, the two archaeologists are asked to travel to Chichen Itza and investigate the last thing they were trained for, something a bit over their heads professionally. A murder has been committed, witnessed by one of their trusted contacts. Once they arrive and the whole story revealed, Hank and Nicole quickly understand why they, in particular, were called. A secret has been uncovered, one that Ponce de Leon failed to find...

Would you kill to save a life? In order to save those closest to him, Tristan has stepped closer to darkness. In order to save Tristan, Simon must do the impossible. When Monty uses blood magic, he enters a schism - which puts him, and everyone close to him, in mortal danger. His use of blood magic has alerted the Black Orchid, a mage sect tasked with apprehending and eliminating dark mages. Now, Simon, with help from Monty’s closest allies and family, must find a way to stop him from going over to the darkness.

What do you do when pirates kidnap you for a ransom and a mad scientist injects you with a powerful and inevitably fatal concoction of aether? You get revenge. Matilda Katrine Myra is no one special, but her pirate abductors don’t know that. When they boldly kidnap her from an airship and sweep her away into the deadly wasteland of mutants and poisonous radiation, her life becomes a day to day battle to evade death. And she’s much closer to death than ever. A mad scientist has injected her with toxic condensed aether, the air of the gods, and now she’ll need frequent doses just to ...

Turns out, I'm not on Earth. Not on another planet, either. Everything is much worse. We ended up in an inhabited Circle of an ancient Dyson sphere that replaced the Solar System six galactic turns ago. There is no moon and no stars, and giant Ygg-Trees play the role of the sun. How can this be? Nobody knows. The locals call this place Unity, and it's governed by strict laws. Here, there are ordinary people and Ascendants capable of performing miracles with the aid of Slates and Runes. There are Watchers and the legacy of the ancient Kel civilization, celestial islands and mysterious Domains.

Millions of people are confronting aliens that authorities say do not exist. Now Whitley Strieber, author of the #1 best seller Communion, which detailed his own close encounters, returns with The Grays, a mind-bending journey behind the curtain of secrecy that surrounds the subject of aliens. This audiobook will make you think deeply, not only about the mystery of who the Grays are, but who exactly we are.

Evil lurks in the desolate Barrens of Krymzyn. For millions of Eras, predators with insatiable cravings have prowled the wasteland. When a traitor of the Delta enters their realm, the solitary beasts may finally have a leader to unite them. As the new order emerges from the Barrens, Chase and Sash begin their lives together. Chase fights to prove he belongs in Krymzyn while the powers inside Sash flourish in ways no one could have imagined. But a vengeance from the wasteland is soon unleashed upon them. Trapped deep in the Barrens, Chase's only escape is into the Infinite Expanse. Unaware ...

An unexpected event that should bring joy to Chase and Sash ends up driving a wall of separation between them. For the first time since being in Krymzyn, Chase doubts his ability to adhere to the customs of that world. After a surprising resolution to the conflict, a greater threat to Chase and Sash arises. Unknown to the people of the Delta, the Murkovin are secretly amassing an army. Well-hidden training camps are forming across the immense Barrens. When Chase and another Traveler stumble upon one, a vicious battle erupts. Severely wounded and trapped in the Barrens, their only chance for...

“A stunning fantasy adventure!” . . . author Roxanne Kade. Journey with Chase to a strange land where dark, ominous clouds never move, ancient trees violently spring to life during Darkness, and people seem to live without emotion. Doctors tell him they’re hallucinations, but he knows his visits are real. She’s there—Sash—and she’s more real than anyone he’s ever known. His visits stop but, as years pass, the memories haunt Chase. Without warning, the young man suddenly finds himself again in a world called Krymzyn. Arriving during Darkness, he’s rescued from death by the ...

Elite soldier lineage. Cursed by a magic she can’t reveal. When she shatters the peace, can she stop the bloodshed? Landra Hux lives on the edge of the lies she tells and her family’s heritage. Hiding her despised aura-seeing abilities, the girl with gold-flecked hair is shocked when her Chief Warrior father challenges her to a ritual knife fight… and she wins. But when she discovers her victory promotes her to next-in-command over her militaristic people, she must keep her secret or risk a deadly revolt. Can the heir-apparent rise to the challenge, or will her forbidden gift bring ...

It’s not what you see, but what you can’t… The contemporary world is ours when a justice driven vigilante searching for purpose arrives and is on the verge of being assassinated by life forms from the unseen world. Riches of the world rain down on Tom Shelton as universal chaos swirls all around him. Guided by three powerful women he finds his purpose. Together they discover the truth that will change the world as we know it forever. .

Robert Baxter once reveled in the intoxicating delights of Atopia - the man-made island where humans lose themselves in a world of boundless virtual realities. Now, Bob has returned to immerse himself in this mind-altering, consciousness-sharing refuge from the eroding Earth. But something is very wrong. Bob feels a tidal wave of doom cresting above the pleasure dome that is Atopia. As alternate universes perish, the salvation of all he loves - and all that exists - rests with Bob alone.

Time's Arrow tells the story, backwards, of the life of Nazi war criminal, Doctor Tod T. Friendly. He dies and then feels better, breaks up with his lovers as a prelude to seducing them and mangles his patients before he sends them home.

After journeying across the stars, a man from Earth finds himself lost among the scarlet deserts, black cliffs and semi-sentient oceans of Tormance, a world lit by the star Arcturus. Pulled northward by the sound of drums, and undergoing strange physical transformations, the Earthman's adventures with the planet's inhabitants begin to shine with arcane significance - ending finally in startling and unforgettable revelations.

The story is set in the fantasy world of Aurduin where a shape-shifting raven, Orobai, who has lived for thousands of years, discovers a mysterious crystal egg that unexpectedly transforms into a young girl. Created by the mythical Illan to preserve the ancient wisdom of the Altfein-Aryat and protect Aurduin from a prophecy of apocalyptic destruction, Orobai must uncover the identity of the girl, Miraanni, protect her from mysterious pursuers from the west, and travel across Aurduin in search of a safe refuge.

Dystopian. Biology shapes reality... One woman's mythic search for self-realization in a distant tomorrow... Her sensuality was at the core of her world, her quest beyond the civilized stars. Aristocrat. Outcast. Picara. Slave. Ruler. "Engrossing characters in a marvelous adventure." - Charles N. Brown, Locus Magazine "The amazing and erotic adventures of the most beautiful courtesan in tomorrow's universe" - Frederik Pohl "The best single example of prostitution used in fantasy is Janet Morris' Silistra series... Estri's character is most like that of Ishtar who describes herself as "'a ...

Meet Simon Strong, an immortal detective about to enjoy a night out on the town. He’s planned this date for weeks and tonight is the night. When Tristan Montague, Simon’s partner and resident cranky mage, advises Simon against this course of action, Simon declares his freedom to see whomever he chooses. There’s only one problem. Her name is Michiko and she doesn’t share well.