These were the last weeks and days before the end of the world, before total destruction overwhelmed Earth and every living thing on the surface of the planet. No one knew exactly how long they had before the sun turned nova and destroyed not only Earth but all of the other planets in the Solar System. For mankind, the only excape lay in flight to the stars, to Alpha Centauri, more than four light years distant.The hyperdrive, capable of carrying them there at close to the speed of...

They came out of the great abyss which lay around the Earth, from the planet of a star so distant that it could not be seen with the naked eye. Their purpose was survival and the conquest of Earth. They were alien and possessed a mysterious force which lay at the very origin of human comprehension; the ability to enter into a man's mind, to make him think the thoughts they chose, to make him hear and see and feel the things they wanted.Against such a force there seemed no defence; ...

Earth was a crowded world of vast cities, manned by robots who carried out all of the menial tasks, who saw to it that everything contained functioning normally. Interplanetary travel was now an established fact. The planets favourable to Man's existence had been colonised but where, as yet, under-developed according to Earth standards.In the whole of the Solar System, mankind was supreme. There was life on Mars, Venus and the outer moons of Jupiter and Saturn, but nothing which co...

The novels of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. His Culture books combine breathtaking imagination with exceptional storytelling, and have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.'Banks is a phenomenon' William GibsonTwo and a half millennia ago in a remote corner of space, beside a trillion-year-old dying sun from a different universe, the artifact ap...

The novels of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. His Culture books combine breathtaking imagination with exceptional storytelling, and have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.'Banks is a phenomenon' William GibsonIt was one of the less glorious incidents of a long-ago war.It led to atrocities on an extraordinary scale. To the destruction of...

The works of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. With breathtaking imagination and extraordinary storytelling, they have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.'Banks is a phenomenon' William GibsonThe State of the Art is the only collection of Iain M. Banks's short fiction and includes the acclaimed Culture novella of the same name.Fro...

Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, and made into one of the most influential films of all time, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY remains a classic work of science fiction more than fifty years after its original publication.The discovery of a black monolith on the moon leads to a manned expedition deep into the solar system, in the hope of establishing contact with an alien intelligence. Yet long before the crew can reach their destination, the voyage descend...

This is the gripping story of the collision between two vastly different human civilisations. One is Earth in the early 21st century, rushing toward self-inflicted nuclear doom. The other is the distant world of Mollan, whose inhabitants have achieved great longevity and the power to transport themselves instantly from star to star.Bob Shaw's novel unfolds a tale which spans thousands of years and the reaches of interstellar space. On Earth's side, there is Denny Hargate, whose ind...

This is an amazing collection of some of the best short fiction ever written in the SF genre, by an author acclaimed as 'the mastersinger of space opera' The Times This collection includes ZIMA BLUE, one of the standout episodes in Netflix's LOVE, DEATH AND ROBOTSWith an introduction by noted SF critic Johnathan Strahan, this collection of twenty short stories, novellettes and novellas includes ZIMA BLUE, one of the standout shorts ...

A group of scientists. An object buried under the ice. A terrifying fight for survival.When a group of scientific researchers, isolated in Antarctica, stumble across an alien spaceship buried in the ice it seems like an incredible opportunity.The alien pilot can just be seen - a shadowy figure frozen just a short depth into the ice. It looks as though he survived the crash only to be flash-frozen on the Antarctic plateau.The team fight the frozen co...

Two hundred years ago mankind found Orbitsville, a vast sphere whose habitable inner surface comprised living space equivalent to five billion Earths. The resulting migration was enthusiastic - and nearly total.Earth itself is a backwater now, a place with which the people of Orbitsville maintain only marginal contact. But just because it's backward doesn't mean it isn't dangerous.

The Vortex Blaster is a science fiction novella by American author E. E. ”Doc” Smith. It was first published in 1941. The novella is part of E.E. "Doc" Smith's classic Lensman series.Uncontrolled, terribly violent Atomic Vortices are slowly destroying civilization on every human planet throughout the galaxy.Nothing can contain or stop them despite the lensmen's best efforts until one destroys the home and family of "Storm" Cloud, the brilliant atomic physic...