Showing results by narrator "Harry Shaw" in All Categories

War and Peace is rightly considered to be one of the most important books ever written. Leo Tolstoy's epic novel chronicles the Napoleonic Wars from the viewpoint of five noble Russian families: Rostov, Bolkonsky, Bezukhov, Drubetskoy and Kuragin. The main story begins in 1805 with Napoleon's impending invasion of Austria, and ends with his disastrous retreat from Moscow in 1813, moving deftly between geopolitics, military strategy, family alliances, religion and philosophy as the men and women of these families try to survive and get ahead.

New Texas: its citizens figure that name about says it all. The Solar League ambassador to the Lone Star Planet has the unenviable task of convincing New Texans that a s'Srauff attack is imminent, and dangerous. Unfortunately it's common knowledge that the s'Srauff are evolved from canine ancestors - and not a Texan alive is about to be scared of a talking dog. But unless he can get them to act, and fast, there won't be a Texan alive, scared or otherwise.

If a society was created entirely by criminals with no memory of their former world, what would they come up with? It couldn't be crazier than Omega, where the religion is the worship of evil, humans are hunted for fun, status is attained one corpse at a time, and life expectancy is three years...if you're lucky. Omega - a fun place to live, if the plants, animals, weather, or your neighbors don't kill you first.

Conan has become King of Aquilonia by slaying its previous king, Numedides. However, Numedides’ heir, Valerius, seeks to depose Conan and assume the throne using the dark powers of Xaltotun, an ancient sorcerer resurrected by Valerius. Follow Conan’s adventures through the lands of Hyboria to retrieve the magic Heart of Ahriman in order to defeat Xaltotun and regain his kingdom!

Metropolis is a classic of science-fiction that created an impact on the literary world which reverberates to this day. Its dramatic presentation of the city-world of the next century stirred the minds of readers with an unforgettable vision of a metropolis grown to Gargantuan proportions, of humanity fighting to keep its soul against the monster world of machinery, robots, and complexity that had been spawned in our own century. The book inspired a movie, possibly the best science-fiction film ever made.

Medieval Robots recovers the forgotten history of fantastical, aspirational, and terrifying machines that captivated Europe in imagination and reality between the ninth and 14th centuries. E. R. Truitt traces the different forms of self-moving or self-sustaining manufactured objects from their earliest appearances in the Latin West through centuries of mechanical and literary invention. This original and wide-ranging study reveals the convergence of science, technology, and imagination in medieval culture.

A drilling machine experiment reveals Pellucidar, a hidden world 500 miles under the Earth's surface. A world with eternal daylight, living dinosaurs, and stone-age humans, ruled by an advanced reptilian race.

An innocent solo airplane excursion plunges Tarzan into a previously unknown jungle valley, where he meets new races of astounding humans. Tarzan finds himself not only enslaved, but imprisoned by an advanced technology that may prevent his return to his former life forever. Tarzan and the Ant-Men is the 10th book in the Tarzan series, continuing the saga a year after Tarzan and the Golden Lion.

World War I infantry captain Ulysses Paxton is transported to Barsoom, where he encounters evil scientist Ras Thavas and his diabolical brain transplant experiments. Paxton falls in love with the beautiful Valla Dia, whose body has been swapped with the cruel Xaxa, Jeddara of Phundahl. Can Paxton save Valla Dia from a hideous fate and win her hand?

There has always been strong sympathy for the poor, meek, downtrodden slave - the kindly little man, oppressed by cruel and overbearing masters. Could it possibly have been misplaced? A classic science fiction novelette by H. Beam Piper, first published in Analog Science Fact-Science Fiction in 1962.

In the distant future, the sun has burned out, plunging the world into perpetual twilight. All of the remaining humanity has dwindled to a single, eight-mile-high pyramid called The Last Redoubt. Horrific creatures have evolved that lurk in the darkness. After a second dying Lesser Redoubt is discovered, one man is determined to rescue its last surviving inhabitant, but that means traversing the unknown and terrifying Night Land.

Considered Machen’s most important and moving work, The Hill of Dreams tells the story of aspiring author Lucian Taylor and his fascination with a relic Roman fort near his hometown in Wales. The story follows Taylor’s real-life explorations, through dream-like memories, and finally obsession and fantasy that will lead to Taylor’s ultimate doom. Arthur Machen was a major influence on many early-20th Century fantasy and horror writers, including H. P. Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, and David Lindsay.

A surprise nuclear attack. An unexpected result for one small town, which may witness the end of the world, but in slow motion, not a fireball. A truly unique science fiction tale by Edmond Hamilton, first published in Galaxy Magazine.

In an alternate time line, technology has advanced civilization where within a few years the world is several centuries ahead. Even though advanced, crime still happens, only now criminals have new ways to cover their tracks. Private eye Martti Seppanen tracks crooks in a Los Angeles that noir detectives would hardly recognize. What happens when the murderer is someone who can control other people mentally? When the murder weapon is a bioengineered disease?

Young Bart Steele’s father is dead. A mysterious stranger tells him his life is in danger, and hands him a ticket aboard a Lhari star cruiser to an unknown destination. He gets on, not knowing where he is going, or why... A fantastic adventure for young adults from sci-fi master Marion Zimmer Bradley.

They were four of the greatest minds in the Universe: two men, two women, lost in an experimental spaceship billions of parsecs from home. And as they mentally charted the Cosmos to find their way back to earth, their own loves and hates were as startling as the worlds they encountered.

After a 10-year absence, John Carter returns to Barsoom. He finds himself among the Therns, a white-skinned race of self-proclaimed gods, who have for eons deceived the Barsoomians elsewhere that the pilgrimage to the Valley Dor is a journey to paradise when it is in fact a valley of death. This is book two of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series.

Poictesme is known as the junkyard planet. A poor, sparse population ekes out a meager existence by scavenging the remains of abandoned military bases left behind after the last interstellar war. Young Conn Maxwell returns from school on Terra with the news that Merlin, a military super-computer, may be among the spoils, which they think might be their ticket out of poverty. But is Merlin just a myth? And if they find it, will it make them rich, or tear them apart?

Thuvia, Princess of Ptarth, is betrothed to Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol, in an arranged marriage. She spurns the advances of a suitor, Astok of Dusar, who then plots to abduct Thuvia and frame Carthoris, son of John Carter, for the crime, igniting a war between Kaol, Ptarth, and Helium.

During an expedition in the Canary Islands, an archeologist discovers a cave containing tablets with unknown writing. When translated, they tell the tale of decline and fall of Atlantis, which for centuries had been the center of the world. The tablets' author, Deucalion, chronicles the usurpation of Atlantis' throne by force, the oppressive rule of Empress Phorenice, the inevitable rebellion and ultimate destruction of Atlantis, the Lost Continent.