Defending Elysium

Defending Elysium
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Dragonsteel, LLC
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2021-11-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1938570278

As Brandon Sanderson’s #1 bestselling Skyward series celebrates its third volume, Cytonic, travel back in time to the origin of Cytonics in the novella Defending Elysium. Centuries before Spensa looked skyward from the planet Detritus—back on Old Earth before it was lost—Jason Write faced a crucial question: was humanity ready to join galactic society? When faster-than-light communications were discovered by a small telephone company in 2071, alien species such as the Tenasi and Varvax overheard them and came to visit Earth. Because the Phone Company controls all communications with the aliens, their operatives like Jason operate above the law. Now, on the space platform Evensong, one of the Phone Company’s scientists has gone missing before surfacing in a hospital with amnesia, and Jason is sent to investigate. Right as he arrives, the body of a murdered Varvax ambassador is discovered, sure to cause a galactic incident. Coln Abrams of the United Intelligence Bureau seizes the opportunity to investigate Jason as he deals with the crisis. This could be the UIB’s chance to discover the Phone Company’s secrets—how does FTL communication work, and what is Jason hiding? Winner of Spain’s UPC Award for Science Fiction in 2007.

Firstborn

Firstborn
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Tor Books
Total Pages: 57
Release: 2010-07-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429952989

In Brandon Sanderson's riveting "Firstborn," a Tor.com Original short story, much glory is expected of the son of a High Duke of the interstellar Empire. And expected. And still expected, despite endless proof that young Dennison Crestmar has no talent whatsoever for war. But the life Dennison is forced to live will have its surprising lessons to impart. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Starsight

Starsight
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2019-11-26
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0399555811

The #1 New York Times bestseller! From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Reckoners series, the Mistborn trilogy, and the Stormlight Archive comes the second book in an epic series about a girl with a secret in a dangerous world at war for humanity's future. All her life, Spensa's dreamed of becoming a pilot and proving herself a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned there were crushing. The rumors of her father's cowardice are true--he deserted his Flight during battle against the Krell. Worse, though, he turned against his team and attacked them. Spensa is sure that there's more to the story. And she's sure that whatever happened to her father that day could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars--and what they revealed to her was terrifying. Everything Spensa has been taught about her world is a lie. Humankind has always celebrated heros, but who defines what a hero is? Could humanity be the evil the galaxy needs to be protected from? Spensa is determined to find out, but each answer she discovers reveals a dozen new questions: about the war, about her enemies, and even, perhaps, about Spensa herself. But Spensa also discovered a few other things about herself--and she'll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to. "Sanderson delivers a cinematic adventure that explores the defining aspects of the individual versus the society. . . . Fans of Sanderson will not be disappointed." --SLJ "It is impossible to turn the pages fast enough." --Booklist "He's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times bestseller The Name of the Wind, on Brandon Sanderson.

Skyward

Skyward
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Total Pages: 532
Release: 2018-11-06
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0399555773

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From Brandon Sanderson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Reckoners series, Words of Radiance, and the internationally bestselling Mistborn series, comes the first book in an epic new series about a girl who dreams of becoming a pilot in a dangerous world at war for humanity's future. Spensa's world has been under attack for decades. Now pilots are the heroes of what's left of the human race, and becoming one has always been Spensa's dream. Since she was a little girl, she has imagined soaring skyward and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with her father's--a pilot himself who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, leaving Spensa's chances of attending flight school at slim to none. No one will let Spensa forget what her father did, yet fate works in mysterious ways. Flight school might be a long shot, but she is determined to fly. And an accidental discovery in a long-forgotten cavern might just provide her with a way to claim the stars. Praise for Skyward: A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year "Startling revelations and stakes-raising implications...Sanderson plainly had a ball with this nonstop, highflying opener, and readers will too."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review "With this action-packed trilogy opener, Sanderson offers up a resourceful, fearless heroine and a memorable cast...[and] as the pulse-pounding story intensifies and reveals its secrets, a cliffhanger ending sets things up for the next installment."--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "It is impossible to turn the pages fast enough."--Booklist "Sanderson delivers a cinematic adventure that explores the defining aspects of the individual versus the society...[and] fans of [his] will not be disappointed."--SLJ Praise for Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners series: #1 New York Times Bestselling Series "Another win for Sanderson . . . he's simply a brilliant writer. Period."--Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind "Action-packed."--EW "Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store."--AV Club

Sunreach (Skyward Flight: Novella 1)

Sunreach (Skyward Flight: Novella 1)
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2021-09-28
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0593566610

From #1 bestselling author Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson comes the first of three Skyward series novellas, each told from the perspective of a different member of the team back on Detritus. Read FM's story between Starsight and Cytonic. When a planet-destroying Delver suddenly appears in the sky of Detritus and vanishes just as suddenly, FM knows that the last free human society got lucky. Her Skyward Flight companion, Spensa, figured out how to draw this Delver away, but it won’t be so easy next time. The forces of the Galactic Superiority will be back—and if the Defiant Defense Force can’t figure out a way to escape the planet, humanity’s destruction is only a matter of time. Spensa’s mission to infiltrate the Superiority unveiled the secret to their hyperdrives—a cytonic slug species called the Taynix. Now FM’s flightleader, Jorgen, has found a large group of Taynix hiding in the caverns far below Detritus’s surface. FM and Jorgen must work together with the engineer Rig to awaken the mysterious alien Alanik and unlock the powers of the Taynix, or humanity will be trapped. With Spensa’s friend Minister Cuna of the Superiority stranded at the outpost of Sunreach, they need to figure out how to rescue them—or the Superiority government will be in the sole clutches of those who want to wipe out Detritus once and for all. Praise for Skyward An Instant New York Times Bestseller A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year • "Startling revelations and stakes-raising implications . . . Sanderson plainly had a ball with this nonstop, highflying opener, and readers will too." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review • "With this action-packed trilogy opener, Sanderson offers up a resourceful, fearless heroine and a memorable cast." —Publishers Weekly, starred review • "It is impossible to turn the pages fast enough." —Booklist

A Door Into Ocean

A Door Into Ocean
Author: Joan Slonczewski
Publisher: Orb Books
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2000-10-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429963654

Joan Slonczewski's A Door into Ocean is the novel upon which the author's reputation as an important SF writer principally rests. A ground-breaking work both of feminist SF and of world-building hard SF, it concerns the Sharers of Shora, a nation of women on a distant moon in the far future who are pacifists, highly advanced in biological sciences, and who reproduce by parthenogenesis--there are no males--and tells of the conflicts that erupt when a neighboring civilization decides to develop their ocean world, and send in an army. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Perfect State

Perfect State
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Dragonsteel, LLC
Total Pages: 67
Release: 2015-03-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 193857009X

A 2016 HUGO AWARD NOMINEE FOR BEST NOVELLA From the author of Legion and the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive comes an action-filled novella about privilege, culture clash, and expectations. God-Emperor Kairominas is lord of all he surveys. He has defeated all foes, has united the entire world beneath his rule, and has mastered the arcane arts. He spends his time sparring with his nemesis, who keeps trying to invade Kai's world. Except for today. Today, Kai has to go on a date. Forces have conspired to require him to meet with his equal—a woman from another world who has achieved just as much as he has. What happens when the most important man in the world is forced to have dinner with the most important woman in the world?

The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm
Author: Robert Jordan
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 792
Release: 2009-10-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780765302304

Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready. The final volume of the Wheel of Time,A Memory of Light,was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson,New York Timesbestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor---his wife, Harriet McDougal---to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presentsThe Gathering Stormas the first of three novels that will make upA Memory of Light.This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era. In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward---wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders---his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself. Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower---and possibly the world itself. The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

The Black Tower

The Black Tower
Author: P. D. James
Publisher: Vintage Canada
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2012-05-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 030740269X

Commander Dalgliesh is recuperating from a life-threatening illness when he receives a call for advice from an elderly friend who works as a chaplain in a home for the disabled on the Dorset coast. Dalgliesh arrives to discover that Father Baddeley has recently and mysteriously died, as has one of the patients at Toynton Grange. Evidently the home is not quite the caring community it purports to be. Dalgliesh is determined to discover the truth of his friend's death, but further fatalities follow and his own life is in danger as he unmasks the evil at the heart of Toynton Grange.

Stung

Stung
Author: Bethany Wiggins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2013-04-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0802734197

When the honeybee population disappears and a pandemic sweeps across the planet, the government tried a bio-engineered cure even deadlier than the problem. Branded with the mark of the vaccine, Fiona must navigate this new dystopian world. But there's no cure for being stung. . . Fiona doesn't remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered-her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right wrist-a black oval with five marks on either side-that she doesn't remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. And she's right. When the honeybee population collapsed, a worldwide pandemic occurred and the government tried to bio-engineer a cure. Only the solution was deadlier than the original problem--the vaccination turned people into ferocious, deadly beasts who were branded as a warning to un-vaccinated survivors. Key people needed to rebuild society are protected from disease and beasts inside a fortress-like wall. But Fiona has awakened branded, alone-and on the wrong side of the wall . . . Don't miss these other books by Bethany Wiggins: Stung: Stung Cured The Transference Trilogy: The Dragon's Price The Dragon's Curse Shifting