Poul Anderson was one of the seminal figures of twentieth-century science fiction. Named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1997, he produced an enormous body of standalone novels and series fiction and was equally at home in the fields of heroic fantasy and hard SF. He was a meticulous craftsman and a gifted storyteller, and the impact of his finest work continues, undiminished, to this day.Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson's Worlds is a rousing...

In New York City in the early 1930s, a man is poisoned on a crowded streetcar during rush hour. Everyone sees Longstreet die—but no one sees the killer. Inspector Thumm's few clues all lead up a blind alley. He finally seeks the aid of Drury Lane—retired Shakespearean actor, master of disguise, and amateur sleuth. Seated amid the splendor of the vast medieval halls of his castle on the Hudson, Drury Lane hears the story from the inspector. He knows who the murderer is right away, but he re...

In one of his earliest cases, Ellery Queen confronts a murder in blue blood.From the very beginning, the Khalkis case struck a somber note. It began, as was peculiarly harmonious in the light of what was to come, with the death of an old man. Georg Khalkis, internationally famous art dealer and collector, died of heart failure. After his funeral, his attorney found that the will was missing and immediately called in the district attorney.When Inspector Queen and his son, El...

You are invited to a murder.That was how the invitations should have read when aged millionaire Hendrik Brass sent out his messages to six oddly assorted men and women who knew neither him nor each other. All arrived at the isolated Brass mansion, lured by the tantalizing promise of fabulous wealth. But from the moment the shining brass doors of the grotesquely constructed house swung shut behind them, they began to realize they had been enticed into playing parts in a mon...

With nearly half of marriages ending in divorce, an increasing number of people deciding not to have kids, and more people than ever identifying as LGBT, modern life is clearly in the need of modern relationship advice. Sex from Scratch analyzes the facets of contemporary relationships through the struggles, opinions, and experiences of a diverse group of individuals living in nontraditional relationships. Rather than telling readers how to snag a partner and find "true love," it ...

Once upon an evil time, there was a wicked old woman with a mammoth shoe company worth many millions of dollars, a henpecked husband, and six miserable children. Then one day death came visiting the vast Potts mansion—and began claiming its inhabitants one by one. It was then that Ellery Queen was invited to sup on this nightmare brew of diabolical murder and baffling mystery—in a case that made the most horrific crimes in his entire career seem like fairy tales. As he endeavors to solve t...

John Lovering Benedict had more than most men—more money, more mansions, more cars, but most of all more women, including three ex-wives with little in common but their extraordinary physiques. For Ellery Queen the question was which one of them had bashed in Benedict's skull with a hunk of iron statuary? The clues were many … but puzzling. All had been planted at the scene of the crime, but by whom, and for what purpose? And who was the last woman in John Benedict's life?

Ellery Queen returned to Wrightsville to solve the mystery of a rich man—believed poor—who died of “old age,” a poor man—believed rich—who committed suicide, and a scholarly drunk who disappeared. Shortly it occurred to Queen that the puzzle had a pattern. A twisted mind was committing murder according to an old nursery rhyme! Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief … and to at least one person in town, the chief was Ellery Queen.

An exciting mystery by the masterly Ellery QueenMadman or murderer? That was the question and it was Police Inspector Omar Collins who had come up with the answer. All he had to go on was: the victim—Earl Genneman, wealthy president of Genneman Labs; the scene—right in the middle of a busy state park; the murder weapon—a shotgun that was still missing; the witnesses—Myron Retwig, Red Kershaw, Bob Vega, and Buck James, all friends or employees of the deceased; the motive—unknown; th...

This is a collection of timeless westerns from some of the most well known authors of the genre.Included here are the following stories: “The Little Gold Miners” by Joaquin Miller, “Bulger’s Reputation” by Bret Harte, “The Leaf of Red Rose” by W. H. H. Murray, “The Secret of Macarger’s Gulch” by Ambrose Bierce, “The Californian’s Tale” by Mark Twain, “Twelve O’Clock” by Stephen Crane, “The Vengeance of Padre Arroyo” by Gertrude Atherton, “A Deal in Wheat” by Frank ...

When Abigail Doorn was wheeled into the operation room at the Dutch Memorial Hospital, her face was strangely blue and bloated. A wire had been tightly wound around her neck. The strongest suspect, because he stood to benefit by the death of this wealthy old woman, was her protégé, the famous Dr. Janney. Just before her death he received a strange caller—one whose name he would not divulge.Ellery Queen, having come to the hospital to visit his old friend Dr. Minchen, had been prese...

David Breashears, the first American to scale Everest twice, was a veteran of nine previous Himalayan filmmaking expeditions when he agreed to lead what became his most challenging filmmaking experience. The expedition was organized by large-format motion picture producer MacGillivray Freeman Films and comprised an international team of climbers. Their goal was to carry a specially modified forty-eight-pound IMAX motion picture camera to the summit of Everest and return from the top of the...