Hard Science Fiction Space

Tales of Dune collects eight of Herbert and Anderson’s Dune short stories, ranging from the period of the Butlerian Jihad to the time of young Paul Atreides to a story set during the events of the novel Dune to the very end of Frank Herbert’s future history.

NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE An outsider who can travel between worlds discovers a secret that threatens the very fabric of the multiverse in this stunning debut, a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging. WINNER OF THE COMPTON CROOK AWARD FINALIST...

Covert agent Sigmund Ausfaller is Earth's secret weapon, humanity's best defense against all conspiracies, real and imaginary, and all foes both human and alien. Who better than a brilliant paranoid to expose the devious plots of others?

But Sigmund may finally have met his match in Nessus, representative of the secretive Puppeteers, the elder race who wield vastly superior technologies.

For decades, the spacefaring species of known space have battled over the largest artifact - and grandest prize - in the galaxy: the all-but-limitless resources and technology of the Ringworld. Now, without warning, the Ringworld has vanished, leaving behind three rival war fleets. If the fallen civilization of the Ringworld can no longer be despoiled of its secrets, the puppeteers will be forced to surrender theirs - everyone knows that they are cowards. But the crises converging upon the trillion puppeteers of the Fleet of Worlds go far beyond even the onrushing armadas.

The Genevians are at war with Nietzschea...and they’re losing. In a last-ditch hope, the Genevian mech program was founded. Its goal to augment humans into cyborg fighting machines; mechanized warriors sent to hold the front lines against an enemy that was storming a hundred worlds. Yet few wished to undergo the brutal process, and so criminals were used, their minds enslaved by control chips and obedience enforced through discipline.

Commander Joe Pikeman has his share of demons. But after a long deployment, he just wants to enjoy some home leave with his daughter. The galaxy has other plans. His last assignment takes him to Earth, humanity’s deserted homeworld. There, he finds Earth’s last settlement littered with the bodies of the people who lived there. As he hunts down those responsible, he runs head-first into some galaxy-shaking questions.

The Republic, the Opters, and a strange Crystalline race of unknown origin all meet in a series of titanic battles. Commodore Straker summons thousands of ships, but he soon learns he’s technologically outclassed by the enemy. With traditional victory impossible, the race is on for each side to destroy the key worlds of the other. Billions die, entire planets are destroyed. Even while the war rages, dark suspicions grow. There are traitors in the midst of the chaos. Straker realizes the worst enemy is the one you believed to be your ally....

Nothing brings change like war. A surge of new tech. New weapons. New tactics. To lead a crew to victory, a captain must understand change. He must understand command and that it is a test. A test most men fail. He must be brilliant. Resourceful. Every second. Of every day. And at night during scarce moments of rest, he must sleep the sleep of the righteous. The time has come for Commander Tad Thatcher to look in the mirror. The time has come to ask himself...am I that kind of man?

The legendary battle-carrier UFS Phoenix is on the run in Outer Neutral Space. Lieutenant Commander Erik Debogande and Major Trace Thakur are determined to use neutral territory to broker a peace between humanity's warring factions, away from Fleet's strong arm. But as machinations in Fleet Command send a legendary warrior from Trace's past on a sworn path to kill her, there arises in the territory of an insectoid foe an ancient enemy from the nightmares of Spiral history, bent on Phoenix's destruction….

Ein Jahr ist seit den Geschehnissen auf der Venus vergangen. Holmgren hat alles verloren: seine Kameraden, seine große Liebe – und den Glauben an die Zukunft. Unverhofft holt ihn ein alter Bekannter für eine allerletzte Mission zurück. Diesmal steht das Schicksal aller Menschen und Pneumoiden auf dem Spiel. Denn während Europäer, Amerikaner und Chinesen einen brüchigen Frieden aushandeln, braut sich ein neuer Sturm zusammen, der alles zu zerstören droht.

Kaum haben es Holmgren und seine Begleiter unter Aufbietung ihrer letzten Kräfte zurück auf die Raumstation Utopia geschafft, entbrennt der Konflikt um das Sonnensystem mit neuer Intensität. Die Außerirdischen schlagen schnell und hart zu. Durch das sogenannte Kessler-Syndrom, eine undurchdringliche Trümmerwolke im Erdorbit, ausgelöst durch eine künstlich erzeugte Sonneneruption, wird der Großteil der Menschheit auf der Erdoberfläche eingesperrt. Die Nationen versinken im Chaos, die Raumfahrt bricht zusammen, und im Sonnensystem herrscht Ausnahmezustand.

One starship will either save Earth or destroy her. A century ago our star erupted, destroying Earth's wormhole network and closing off trade with her colonized planets. After being out of contact with the younger worlds for so many years, humanity is shocked when a huge ship appears at the edge of the solar system. Our outdated navy investigates, both curious and fearful. What they learn from the massive vessel shocks the planet.

Commodore Straker's rebellion grows in strength - but his enemies are growing even faster. Faced with a dozen rebel planets in their territory, the Mutuality finally takes notice of the upstart known as the Liberator, and they gather a vast fleet to crush him. Preparing for a titanic interstellar battle, it's clear Straker has no chance. His tiny enclave of free planets can't survive the weight of 1000 worlds. His own officers realize this, and some of them begin to turn against him....

A nuclear terror plot is thwarted just outside Washington, D.C. And it's an election year. Mandisa "Mandi" Nkosi is a young reporter who, while on a trip to Johannesburg to connect with her roots, is contacted by an anonymous source with evidence that material seized from a nuclear terror plot will point squarely at one of humanity's most important companies as the supplier.

When a shipwrecked stranger washed up on the beach near research scientist Samantha Bryton's home, she was unaware that he was something more than human. He said his name was Turner Pascal - but Pascal was dead, killed in a car wreck. This man only held the remainder of Pascal's consciousness in a technologically enhanced humanoid body.

The Earth Cruiser Agamemnon is destroyed in combat, and the search for answers begins. The veteran crew of Borag gets the assignment, and the race is on. Sgt. Starn of Red Company must visit the disaster site, perform a search and rescue mission, and return to Mars alive. What kind of technology could destroy an Earth warship so easily? Why is a single life-pod found floating, transponder pinging away—with no one aboard? Most important of all, what is the prowling alien super-ship going to do next?

Late in the 21st century, Earth receives what looks like an urgent plea for help from planet Proxima Centauri b in the closest star system to the Sun. Astrophysicists suspect a massive solar flare is about to destroy this heretofore-unknown civilization. Earth's space programs are unequipped to help, but an unscrupulous Russian billionaire launches a secret and highly-specialized spaceship to Proxima b, over four light-years away.

March 15th, Earth Year 2290. The day the aliens returned. The memories are still fresh. Of colonies burning. Of millions dying in agony. Fifty years later, we’ve built up our strength. Using a wormhole, we colonized both sides of the galaxy. It was the worst mistake we could have made. Our enemy has returned and the wormhole has collapsed. Commander Thatcher finds himself on the wrong side of the divide. Separated from his pregnant wife by countless light years. He’s just been given command of a light armored cruiser. His first command.

There is a milestone in the evolution of every sentient race, a Tech Singularity Event, when the species achieves transcendence through its technological advances. Now the creatures known as humans are near this momentous turning point. But an armed threat is approaching from deepest space, determined to prevent humankind from crossing over that boundary - by total annihilation if necessary.

They’re here. They’ve arrived. And they’re all eyes. The Voltarian scouting party - illegal aliens extraordinaire - on a top-secret expedition led by one Jettero Heller, Royal Officer of the Fleet. His mission: rescue the planet from pollution - and make it safe for the upcoming invasion. His problem: The planet may not want to be saved - and the invasion may just be a trick.