Edging Into the Future

Edging Into the Future
Author: Veronica Hollinger
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2002-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780812218046

"The savvy critical essays in this provocative collection investigate the interface between science fiction and postmodern culture. . . . Highly recommended for readers at all levels."—Choice

Discursive Intersexions

Discursive Intersexions
Author: Michaela Koch
Publisher: transcript Verlag
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2017-06-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3839437059

Life narratives and fiction that represent experiences of hermaphroditism and intersex are at the core of Michaela Koch's study. The analyzed texts from the 19th to the early 21st century are embedded within and contrasted with contemporary debates in medicine, psychology, or activism to reveal the processes of negotiation about the meaning of hermaphroditism and intersex. This cultural studies-informed work challenges both strictly essentialist and constructivist notions. It argues for a differentiated perspective on intersex and hermaphrodite experiences as historically contingent, fully embodied, and nevertheless discursive subject positions.

Speaking Stones

Speaking Stones
Author: Stephen Leigh
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0062030973

Returning to the enigmatic planet first introduced in his compelling Dark Water's Embrace, Stephen Leigh thoughtfully examines issues of prejudice and race relations among the descendants of the world's marroned human survivors and its native inhabitants. On the faraway planet Mictlan, a tiny human society has had to sruggle with severe and often disturbing complications to adapt to their desolate surroundings. There were physical mutations and birth defects among them, then an uneasy coexistence with the Miccail, an indigenous tri-gendered intelligent species. Most startling of all was the evolution of a third human sex: the Sa, or midmale. Now the fragile peace that governs the humans and the Miccail is shattered after a young human Sa child is kidnapped, igniting all the half-buried animosities smoldering between the two groups, as savagery and violence break out across the planet. The answer may lie in an imposing carved monolith--the Speaking Stone that contains the secrets of the ancient Miccail religion. Facing annhilation at the hands of its warring civilizations, the planet's only chance for survival hinges on deciphering the stone's cryptic hierloglyphs.Returning to the enigmatic planet first introduced in his compelling Dark Water's Embrace, Stephen Leigh thoughtfully examines issues of prejudice and race relations among the descendants of the world's marroned human survivors and its native inhabitants. On the faraway planet Mictlan, a tiny human society has had to sruggle with severe and often disturbing complications to adapt to their desolate surroundings. There were physical mutations and birth defects among them, then an uneasy coexistence with the Miccail, an indigenous tri-gendered intelligent species. Most startling of all was the evolution of a third human sex: the Sa, or midmale. Now the fragile peace that governs the humans and the Miccail is shattered after a young human Sa child is kidnapped, igniting all the half-buried animosities smoldering between the two groups, as savagery and violence break out across the planet. The answer may lie in an imposing carved monolith--the Speaking Stone that contains the secrets of the ancient Miccail religion. Facing annhilation at the hands of its warring civilizations, the planet's only chance for survival hinges on deciphering the stone's cryptic hierloglyphs.

Gothic Science Fiction

Gothic Science Fiction
Author: S. MacArthur
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2015-05-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1137389273

Gothic Science Fiction explores the fascinating world of gothic influenced science fiction. From Frankenstein to Doctor Who and from H. G Wells to Stephen King, the book charts the rise of a genre and follows the descent into darkness that consumes it.

Crystal Memory

Crystal Memory
Author: Stephen Leigh
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2011-09-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1614171335

It is now 2170, but decades ago, the Great Bust wrecked Earth's economies and trapped humankind in their own solar system. Then the T'Raijek came, flaunting their power and their stardrive, and inflaming those who were determined to obtain the T'Raijek's advanced technology at any cost. Any cost at all... Free Trader Jemi Charidilis knows little of these tensions. She is simply trying to wrest a living by hauling cargo from Earth to the few outposts in near space. But unexpectedly her ship is attacked and disabled. When she is rescued, Jemi finds that two years of her memories have been stolen from her, including the death of her son Kenis. Who had done this, and why? The answer is bound up in the very fate of mankind as Jemi risks her life to uncover the truth. "A blend of action, fantasy, and science fiction, with effective underpinnings of philosophy and history." -- Bob Hahn (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Old Venus

Old Venus
Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 584
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0804179859

Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Carson of Venus to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury’s “The Long Rain” to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis’s Perelandra, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth’s next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century’s space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life. But don’t despair! This new anthology of sixteen original stories by some of science fiction’s best writers—edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois—turns back the clock to that more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination. Join our cast of award-winning contributors—including Elizabeth Bear, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Mike Resnick, Eleanor Arnason, Allen M. Steele, and more—as we travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries. FEATURING ALL-NEW STORIES BY Eleanor Arnason • Elizabeth Bear • David Brin • Tobias S. Buckell • Michael Cassutt • Joe Haldeman • Matthew Hughes • Gwyneth Jones • Joe R. Lansdale • Stephen Leigh • Paul McAuley • Ian McDonald • Garth Nix • Mike Resnick • Allen M. Steele • Lavie Tidhar And an Introduction by Gardner Dozois

The Bones of God

The Bones of God
Author: Stephen Leigh
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2011-09-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1614171343

It is 2558 AD. Mankind has reached the stars, but only because the alien Stekoni race has given us their technology. For humankind, the Zakkaist Church -- a melding of the three largest monotheistic religions -- rules both politically and religiously. But in the veils between the stars, the voice of an alien God roars, and the coming of a new messiah has been foretold: the Sartius Exori. The Black Beginning. Colin Fairwood, a cynical and horribly scarred man, hears that voice, but he ignores it until a miraculous escape from death leaves him with strange powers and a bitter faith. "It cost me an entire night's sleep... A mystic novel with a gritty and courageous sense of realism. The ending was absolutely perfect." -- L. Neil Smith, author of 'Tom Paine Maru' "Complex, intriguing, unfailingly interesting. I recommend it enthusiastically!" -- C. J. Cherryh, award-winning author. "THE BONES OF GOD is easily the best and most important novel of Stephen Leigh's burgeoning career." -- Mike Resnick, award-winning author. "This is a fascinating book, thoughtful and thought-provoking." - Sue Thomason, reviewing in "Paperback Inferno"

Caribbean's Keeper

Caribbean's Keeper
Author: Brian Boland
Publisher: Warriors Publishing Group
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2016-09-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

This debut thriller by a US Coast Guard aviator will take you onto a cutter fighting drug runners at sea—and into the terrifying world of modern-day pirates. Lt. Junior Grade Cole Williams has always been at home on the sea, racing sailboats and crewing yachts during his time as a cadet at the United States Coast Guard Academy. But when he reports aboard a cutter patrolling the Caribbean, he can’t seem to please the command, and his attempts to do the right thing always seem to land him in hot water. At the end of a cruise on which he serves admirably during open-ocean rescues and in hot pursuit of drug runners, Cole is unceremoniously kicked out of the Coast Guard for what the command deems reckless behavior and a bad attitude. Dejected and disillusioned, he decides to go rogue—and make a few unsanctioned runs for the smugglers he’s already spent so much time chasing. Navigating devious and dangerous twists and turns, Cole shifts from modern-day pirate to criminal fugitive. Ultimately, he’ll be forced to choose between staying on the wrong side of the law or taking a deadly risk for the Joint Task Force charged with stemming the flow of illegal narcotics. While seldom in the headlines, the southern border of the United States has been a battleground for years, and the men and women of the US Coast Guard have fought tirelessly to keep lethal substances off the nation’s streets. In his debut novel, author Brian Boland shares a story born from more than a decade of experience fighting the war on drugs.

The Cole Williams Story

The Cole Williams Story
Author: Brian Boland
Publisher: Warriors Publishing Group
Total Pages: 700
Release: 2020-07-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Anthology containing: Caribbean's Keeper: This debut thriller by a US Coast Guard aviator will take you onto a cutter fighting drug runners at sea—and into the terrifying world of modern-day pirates. Lt. Junior Grade Cole Williams has always been at home on the sea, racing sailboats and crewing yachts during his time as a cadet at the United States Coast Guard Academy. But when he reports aboard a cutter patrolling the Caribbean, he can’t seem to please the command, and his attempts to do the right thing always seem to land him in hot water. At the end of a cruise on which he serves admirably during open-ocean rescues and in hot pursuit of drug runners, Cole is unceremoniously kicked out of the Coast Guard for what the command deems reckless behavior and a bad attitude. Dejected and disillusioned, he decides to go rogue—and make a few unsanctioned runs for the smugglers he’s already spent so much time chasing. Navigating devious and dangerous twists and turns, Cole shifts from modern-day pirate to criminal fugitive. Ultimately, he’ll be forced to choose between staying on the wrong side of the law or taking a deadly risk for the Joint Task Force charged with stemming the flow of illegal narcotics. While seldom in the headlines, the southern border of the United States has been a battleground for years, and the men and women of the US Coast Guard have fought tirelessly to keep lethal substances off the nation’s streets. In his debut novel, author Brian Boland shares a story born from more than a decade of experience fighting the war on drugs. Graves in the Sand: Living an idyllic life in the Normandy region of France, former Coast Guard officer and reformed drug smuggler Cole Williams wants nothing more than to put his turbulent past behind him. The lure of open seas still calls, but he’s content to work at a bakery and spend quality time with the love of his life and a baby daughter they both adore. And then Cole’s sordid smuggling transgressions suddenly surface like a marauding submarine. He’s snatched back into a dark world where oceans are simply avenues for criminal enterprise. Blackmailed with threats of prison or worse, Cole is forced to join a small international team working to prevent the infiltration of terrorists into America. The plan is to plant him among smuggling rings running drugs, weapons, human beings, and any other lucrative cargo by sea into the U.S. via the Gulf of Mexico. Ensconced as a mole among brutal criminal bands, Cole must navigate dangerous waters to uncover a deadly plot that threatens thousands of innocents in his homeland. Cole Williams may not survive his return to sea, but he has no choice. To survive, he will have to swim with killer sharks or be eaten by them. Boland tells a thrilling tale...and he knows how to keep a reader turning the pages. --Timothy J. Lockhart, Virginian-Pilot