The Steps of the Sun

The Steps of the Sun
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2014-09-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0795343108

A billionaire heads to the stars in this “delightful” sci-fi novel from the author of The Man Who Fell to Earth and The Hustler (Newsweek). In a world where America’s power is rapidly being overshadowed by China’s, only one man has the wealth, resources, and courage to seek the mineral resources his country needs to reclaim its greatness. Ben Belson, the richest man in the world, lacks for nothing his wealth can buy—but he is haunted by the memory of a barren and loveless childhood. When he travels to the stars in search of the mineral wealth America needs, he finds more than he bargains for—and gets more than he ever believed was possible. A classic science fiction novel by the author of The Man Who Fell to Earth and The Hustler, The Steps of the Sun is deftly written, richly characterized, and full of surprises. “Engaging and effortlessly readable.” —Publishers Weekly “Warmly involving ‘soft’ sf.” —Kirkus Reviews

Far from Home

Far from Home
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 155
Release: 2014-09-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0795342861

“SF writing of a rare quality” lifts this collection of stories from the renowned author of The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth (Time Out). The author of the competitive pool thriller The Hustler and the groundbreaking sci-fi novel The Man Who Fell to Earth, Walter Tevis was also a master of the short story. His work was published in Playboy, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and many other magazines. This anthology collects some of his best short work. Full of wit, surprise, dark humor, and deep emotion, these stories pack a punch—and are ideal for fans of his longer work or those looking for an introduction to one of America’s most iconic sci-fi writers. “The poetic imprints of a fine writer’s trail.” —The Times (London)

Mockingbird

Mockingbird
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2014-09-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 079534290X

This sci-fi masterpiece is “a moral tale that has elements of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Superman, and Star Wars” (Los Angeles Times Book Review). In a world where the human population has suffered devastating losses, a handful of survivors cling to what passes for life in a post-apocalyptic, dying landscape. People wander, drugged and lulled by electronic bliss, through a barren landscape with no children, no art, and where reading is forbidden. From this bleak existence, a tragic love triangle springs forth. Spofforth, the most perfect machine ever created, runs the world, but his only wish is to die. Paul and Mary Lou are a man and a woman whose passion for each other sparks a jealousy in Spofforth—and provides the only hope for the future of human beings on Earth. Walter Tevis, author of The Hustler, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and The Color of Money, delivers an elegiac dystopia of mankind coming to terms with its own imminent extinction. “Because of its affirmation of such persistent human values as curiosity, courage, compassion, along with its undeniable narrative power, Mockingbird will become one of those books that coming generations will periodically rediscover with wonder and delight.” —The Washington Post

The Man Who Fell to Earth

The Man Who Fell to Earth
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2022-05-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593467477

From the bestselling author of The Queen's Gambit, the landmark science fiction novel that inspired the classic 1976 film starring David Bowie and is the basis for the Showtime series A man wanders into town one day seemingly out of nowhere. He starts by peddling valuables just to get by. But he possesses uncanny scientific knowledge, which he uses to develop technologies of a marvelous nature. In time he builds a corporate empire that propels him to unimaginable wealth—but to what end? His rapid ascent to the highest levels of success is remarkable, but the vision of his enterprise begins to falter as he succumbs to afflictions that feel all-too-human, and the true purpose of his presence here on earth is in grave danger of being abandoned.

The Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2014-09-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 079534306X

Netflix’s most watched limited series to date! The thrilling novel of one young woman’s journey through the worlds of chess and drug addiction.​ When eight-year-old Beth Harmon’s parents are killed in an automobile accident, she’s placed in an orphanage in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. Plain and shy, Beth learns to play chess from the janitor in the basement and discovers she is a prodigy. Though penniless, she is desperate to learn more—and steals a chess magazine and enough money to enter a tournament. Beth also steals some of her foster mother’s tranquilizers to which she is becoming addicted. At thirteen, Beth wins the chess tournament. By the age of sixteen she is competing in the US Open Championship and, like Fast Eddie in The Hustler, she hates to lose. By eighteen she is the US champion—and Russia awaits . . . Fast-paced and elegantly written, The Queen’s Gambit is a thriller masquerading as a chess novel—one that’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. “The Queen’s Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years—for the pure pleasure and skill of it.” —Michael Ondaatje, Man Booker Prize–winning author of The English Patient

The Big Bounce

The Big Bounce
Author: Walter S. Tevis
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Total Pages: 20
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 146555307X

The Hustler

The Hustler
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 173
Release: 2014-09-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0795342985

“If Hemingway had the passion for pool that he had for bullfighting, his hero might have been Eddie Felson” (Time). The novel that inspired the classic film starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, The Hustler tells the story of Fast Eddie Felson, a young pool player who hustles suckers in small towns, looking for stake money so he can reach his goal: a marathon match in Chicago against Minnesota Fats. An exploration of guts, stamina, and character, and of the difference between winners and losers, this tense, gritty tale is “a wonderful hymn to the last true era when men of substance played pool with a vengeance” (Time Out).

The Color of Money

The Color of Money
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2014-09-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0795342942

A legendary pool hustler tries to make a comeback in the novel that inspired the Martin Scorsese film: “A great read, entertainment of a high order” (Los Angeles Times). Fast Eddie Felson was the best in the country. Then he walked out on his talent. He ran a poolroom for the next twenty years, got married, and watched pool games on television. One evening he watches a pool player who reminds him of his old rival, Minnesota Fats, and it sparks something in him. Feeling a sudden grief at the loss of his old self and his old life, he leaves behind his business—and his marriage—and finds Fats, now retired in the Florida Keys. Now the pair is about to embark on a tour of the country together. Eddie hopes to recapture his glory days, but the journey will come with a price . . . The author of the classic The Hustler, which also features Fast Eddie Felson, “is unequaled when it comes to creating and sustaining the tension of a high stakes game. Even readers who have never lifted a cue will be captivated” (Publishers Weekly). “Tevis writes about pool with power and poetry and tension. From the opening scene of this fine book, the reunion between Eddie and Fats twenty years after, the staccato beat of the prose and finely drawn characters grab the reader and don’t let go. You don’t have to like pool to like this book, to appreciate its sense of living on the edge.” —The Washington Post

Walter Tevis Sci-Fi Novels

Walter Tevis Sci-Fi Novels
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 655
Release: 2020-10-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0795351313

Three science fiction novels from the Nebula Award–nominated author of The Hustler and The Color of Money. The Man Who Fell to Earth After his home planet is devastated by war, an alien disguised as a human comes to Earth on a mission to save his people. He begins amassing wealth needed to build a spacecraft to bring his people to join him, but his plans get sidelined when he descends into alcoholism. Mockingbird On a post-apocalyptic Earth where humanity has suffered devastating losses, people are drugged from childhood on, there is no art, and reading is illegal. A suicidal machine runs the world, while the passion between two humans provides the only hope for humankind. The Steps of the Sun When the world’s richest man travels to the stars in search of the mineral wealth America needs to get it out of an energy crisis, he finds more than he bargains for—and gets more than he ever believed was possible . . . “Among the finest science fiction novels . . . . Just beneath the surface it might be read as a parable of the Fifties and of the Cold War. Beneath that as an evocation of existential loneliness, a Christian fable, a parable of the artist. Above all, perhaps, as the wisest, truest representation of alcoholism ever written.” —James Sallis, Fantasy & Science Fiction on The Man Who Fell to Earth “A moral tale that has elements of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Superman, and Star Wars” —Los Angeles Times Book Review on Mockingbird “Engaging and effortlessly readable.” —Publishers Weekly on The Steps of the Sun

The King Is Dead

The King Is Dead
Author: Walter Tevis
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2023-02-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593467531

For the first time ever, a complete collection of short fiction the New York Times bestselling author of The Queen's Gambit Walter Tevis is widely regarded as a master for both his gritty poolhall novels and his brilliant rendering of the world of competitive chess. This long overdue collection establishes Tevis's rightful place as a maestro of the short form, as well. Bringing together the 1981 short story collection Far From Home with a host of other previously unpublished stories from journals and magazines, this entertaining collection showcases Tevis's characteristic perceptiveness, empathy, and range. In one story, a man receives a phone call from his future self and follows their instructions to unpreditcable, calamitous results. In another, a famous actor and a young actress showcase their talent for acting both on and off the stage. Here also are five short stories set in poolhalls, including one that features Fast Eddie Felson and another that was the basis for the novel The Hustler. Here also is his first fictional foray into chess, with a ranked chess player finding fellowship in the prison yard with another player. In all of them, Tevis reminds again and again why his writing has long been revered for its roving curiosity and innate humanity.