Фрэнсис Легран был знаменитым актёром. За свою жизнь он сыграл множество театральных ролей и умер знаменитым. Последние пять лет жизни он провёл затворником, создавая коллекцию своих портретов, статуй, фотографий, бюстов, эскизов и т. п. — всего набралось 237 штук. Спустя некоторое время после смерти старика в дом, где хранится коллекция и живёт вдова, приезжает сын актёра — неудачник и алкоголик. Пока был жив отец, над сыном всегда висел его авторитет и воля. Жизнь молодого человека не сложилась. Однажды, когда матери не было дома, парень напился в очередной раз и портреты отца заговорили с ним…

Первый международный гроссмейстерский турнир с участием компьютера. В нем сошлись непогрешимая машинная логика и склонная к ошибкам, но неординарная и извращенная человеческая

The Staff of Life suddenly and disconcertingly sprouted wings — and mankind had to eat crow!

Vermaard door Tijdruimte voor springers, In de macht van morgen, de Zwaarden-reeks (met Fafhrd & de Grijze Muizer), zag zijn beroemdste werk, De Zwerver, bekroond met een Hugo Award. Als er plotseling een stralende paars en gele planeet aan de Aardse hemel verschijnt, breekt er een rampzalige tijd aan. De maan wordt verpletterd, vergruizeld en verslonden; aardbevingen en stortvloeden teisteren de machteloze wereld. Nederland loopt weer eens onder… Belevenissen van een willekeurige groep mensen, meegesleurd in een adembenemende visie van Grootmeester Leiber

With a career spanning more that 50 years, Fritz Leiber was named Science Fiction Grand Master and easily won ever major award in fantasy and horror. His work has influenced generations of writers and fans. Yet, while his novels have been readily available for years, his fantastic short fiction is less easily found. This collection seeks to change that, presenting rare tales by a true Grand Master. Assembled from magazine submissions, fanzines, and even “lost” manuscripts discovered amongst the author’s personal papers HORRIBLE IMMAGININGS includes the following short stories: Horrible Imaginings; The Automatic Pistol; Crazy Annaoj; The Hound; Alice and the Allergy; Skinny’s Wonderful; Answering Service; Scream Wolf; Mysterious Doings in the Metropolitan Museum; When Brahma Wakes; The Glove; The Girl With the Hungry Eyes; While Set Fled; Diary in the Snow; and The Ghost Light. See why Fritz Leiber is a must-read for any fan of science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Suspense, surprise, wit, and weirdness—they’re all here for old fans to welcome back and new readers to discover

Il Grande Tempo è uno dei più strani e affascinanti romanzi di fantascienza moderni. Alla sua pubblicazione, la XVII Convention mondiale di Science-Fiction gli assegnò il premio Hugo per il miglior romanzo dell’anno. Il concetto su cui si basa è grandioso: una guerra di viaggiatori nel tempo, che si muovono nel passato e nel futuro, mescolandosi alle battaglie di tutte le epoche, lungo un arco di miliardi di anni. Gli stessi protagonisti provengono dai tempi e dai luoghi più disparati, e per alcuni di loro il corso stesso della storia è diverso dal nostro: è il caso del comandante tedesco che proviene da un mondo dove il nazismo ha vinto la seconda guerra mondiale e il Reich si estende da Chicago agli Urali, o del gentleman americano proveniente da un Sud che non ha conosciuto la guerra di secessione. Strappati alle loro “linee di vita” poco prima della morte, e reclutati per combattere contro un avversario che vuole cambiare il corso della Storia su tutti i mondi della Galassia, i protagonisti entrano in una nuova dimensione di vita, dove più nulla può essere certo, e dove la loro stessa vita è sottoposta a forze cosmiche che continuano a plasmarla e ad alterarla senza fine. Un romanzo insolito ed estremamente originale, che fin dal suo apparire è stato salutato come un classico della narrativa di fantascienza. Vincitore del premio Hugo per il miglior romanzo in 1958

Un racconto sugli universi paralleli con un protagonista d’eccezione ed una Terra dove dirigibili e auto elettriche reggono i trasporti del mondo. Anche pubblicato come “Fermate quello Zeppelin!”. Vincitore dei premi Hugo e Nebula per il miglior racconto breve (Short Story) in 1976

It’s much later. The question is...how late?

Voici l’histoire moderne d’un apprenti sorcier, et de sa créature qui se mit à ravager le monde

Klasyczna opowieść SF, jeden z najczęściej filmowanych w Hollywood utworów SF (4 ekranizacje). Historia żony profesora uniwersyteckiego, która praktykuje magię voodoo, aby dopomóc mężowi w karierze naukowej. Niestety, okazuje się, że żony konkurentów męża do stanowisk na uczelni, to także czarownice. Konflikt jest nieunikniony

Nostra Signora delle Tenebre è una agghiacciante fantasy urbana, ambientata nella metropolis di San Francisco. Ma anche la modernissima San Francisco, con le sue colline, la sua baia assolata e i suoi grattacieli altissimi e rilucenti, può diventare il regno del terrore quando strane ombre cominciano ad aggirarsi furtive tra i caseggiati. Per Franz Westen, vedovo, scrittore di racconti del soprannaturale per la televisione, l’incubo comincia all’improvviso, quando, una notte, si affaccia alla finestra del suo appartamento per scrutare con il binocolo le luci della città ed è testimone di una scena inquietante: là, sulla cima di Corona Heights, la solitaria ed erta collinetta che si leva proprio nel cuore di San Francisco, c’è una strana figura dal colorito brunastro che si agita e si muove in maniera sinistra, come se fosse impegnata in qualche misterioso rituale o danza magica. Ha così inizio una terribile persecuzione, cui Franz tenterà invano di sottrarsi e che forse è collegata in qualche modo con un vecchio volume affascinante e sibillino, pieno di misteriose citazioni e di strani discorsi sulle moderne megalopoli e sulle arcane entità che le infestano, i “paramentali”, esseri d’origine azoica “più infidi dei ragni e delle donnole”

Perduta in uno spazio brulicante di stelle, sola in una nera giungla di vuoto cosmico, la Terra ha sognato per migliaia d'anni la propria solitudine. Come in una grande casa abitata da vecchi abitudinari, nella quale nessuno viene mai a rendere visita, così gli abitanti della Terra pensano che nessuno possa venirli a trovare da quel nero abisso scintillante di punti luminosi che splende sopra le nostre teste, di notte. Come la Luna è stata una fedele compagna della Terra nella sua solitudine celeste, così le stelle sono state soltanto immagini remote, indistinte, piccole fiamme sospese nel cielo, inaccessibili e straniere e incorporee. Ma un giorno qualche viaggiatore, lasciando la strada lontana, potrebbe venire a bussare alla porta della vecchia casa; un giorno qualcosa potrebbe avvicinarsi, strisciando, nella giungla nera degli spazi cosmici. Quel giorno potrebbe essere vicino, in un cosmo dove le forze del tempo e del caso si muovono secondo schemi che la mente umana non riesce neppure a intuire. E cosa accadrebbe, se uno dei punti luminosi nel cielo… una delle stelle lontane… apparisse d'un tratto enorme, come un globo sanguigno e minaccioso, nei cieli notturni della Terra? Se la fedele compagna delnostro pianeta, la Luna, fosse risucchiata e cancellata dal cielo? Inizierebbe allora una lunga, infinita notte di novilunio. Un grande cielo color ardesia, dove le stelle brillano rade e fievoli, sopra coste battute da gigantesche maree, tra grandi cataclismi ed eventi ancor più bizzarri, una notte di novilunio che opera strani prodigi sulla mente e sul cuore degli uomini, facendo emergere tutto ciò che di migliore, e di peggiore, di nobile, e di volgare, costituisce l'essenza della natura umana. In questa notte di novilunio, forse il genere umano comincerebbe a conoscere se stesso… Vincitore del premio Hugo per il miglior romanzo in 1965

Questo romanzo di uno dei «padri» della fantascienza, Fritz Leiber, assume oggi una modernità sconcertante, perché ha saputo esprimere nel modo più netto i dubbi e le perplessità dell’uomo contemporaneo di fronte a delle realtà che paiono inspiegabili. La scienza «ufficiale» riesce a giustificare compiutamente tutti i fatti che vediamo accadere intorno a noi? Forse molte risposte dovrebbero essere cercate in una conoscenza più antica e dimenticata, che poneva come chiave di volta dell’universo i poteri indefiniti della mente umana. Metà della razza umana, si chiede Fritz Leiber, pratica ancora, attivamente, le arti arcane? Forse tutte le donne sono streghe? Un uomo, un uomo moderno, che è uno studioso, è costretto a convincersi di sì: la sua stessa moglie ne è la prova. E non basta. Altre tre donne, mogli di suoi colleghi, fanno uso delle conoscenze scientifiche dei mariti, dando alla magia un impulso moderno, per assicurarsi successo e vantaggi materiali. Contendono l’una con l’altra. Esperimentano la loro forza. Si distruggono a vicenda invocando antiche forze del male. E quando egli costringe la moglie ad astenersi da tali pratiche, la rende inerme di fronte alle male arti delle altre

Sometime during a three-year drunk in San Francisco, Franz Westen, a pulp author, bought two strange books. One was Megapolisomancy—a “science of cities”—by the black magician and socialite Thibaut de Castries; the other an early journal of Clark Ashton Smith, a writer of horror stories. As Westen tries to piece his life together, these books draw him to the ashes of a wealthy, brilliant and degenerate bohemian cult, and to a grotesque living world of technological curses. One morning, while examining the city through binoculars, Franz glimpses a priest-like dancing figure on a desolate hill. Fascinated and vaguely horrified, he investigates. The hill is deserted but now he sees the faceless spectre across the city, in his own apartment! Paranoia creeps over Franz; he knows intuitively that he has been selected by this entity. Somehow he must break its hold over him. His two eerie books have the answers. In Megapolisomancy Franz discovers an occult science of vicious demons—“paramental entities”—who are intimately related to urban design and engineering. And in the diary of Smith, a disciple of Thibaut de Castries, Franz sees the personalities of the sorcerer and his circle. He goes back to the San Francisco of the 1900s and the Dionysian members of the Bohemian Club—Jack London, the poets George Sterling and Nora May French, Earl Rogers, Gertrude Atherton, Ambrose Bierce. For a brief, heady time, de Castries used these people in his paramental experiments. Hounded through the city by ravenous ghosts and at the end of his wits, Franz finally confronts his curse, the embodiment of the paramental force: Our Lady of Darkness. Fritz Leiber has written a subtle and elegant book. His realm is the arcane point where technology and mystery, science and horror, meet. Our Lady of Darkness is a terrifying and ethereal work of science fiction

First appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in July 1969. In Aug 1979 published as part of the collection of the same title (Collancz, 0-575-02709-6). Won Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1970. Nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1970

Before Fritz Leiber sat down to tell us what lay in the heart and mind of a kitten named Gummitch, he had already behind him a considerable career as writer ("Gather, Darkness!", the award-winning "The Big Time," and scores of other memorable stories), editor (of a popular scientific magazine) and, of all things, Shakespearean actor (following in the footsteps of the older Fritz Leiber, his father). Surely he has at least as much before him; and it is with confidence and glee that we contemplate the fact that the future may hold many more stories from his as moving and insighted as—

The anthology contains fourteen stories, selected by Frederik Pohl as the cream from the earlier six volumes of “Star Science Fiction Stories”. There is a three page introduction by the editor, Frederik Pohl, and a brief introduction to each story.  These are all good stories, well worth reading, even if some of them are a little dated, though that’s hardly surprising given it’s around sixty years since they first appeared

Swords Against Death is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the second volume in the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters. The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. The pieces in Swords Against Death follow the duo as they shake the dust of Lankhmar from their feet in the wake of the deaths their of their first loves. There follow a miscellaneous series of adventures from their wanderings

Robin Wayne Bailey forges ahead with the new adventures of the popular characters Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, in this first book in a new series of novels set in Fritz Leiber's legendary world of Nehwon--a sequel to Leiber's own "Ill-Met in Lankmar". Years ago, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser turned their backs on the city of Lankhmar and the painful memories it held. But now, a deadly plague, spawned from a sorcerer's curse, sweeps through the streets of Lankhmar, eating its victims from the inside and laying waste to the once-vibrant city. The two reluctant heroes are called forth once again to face Lankhmar's winding alleys - and the old ghosts who lurk in them!

Swords and Deviltry is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the first volume in the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters. The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. The pieces in Swords and Deviltry introduce the duo and their relationship, present incidents from their early lives in which they meet their first lady-loves, and relate how afterwards in the city of Lankhmar the two met and allied themselves with each other, and lost their first loves through their defiance of the local Thieves' Guild

Swords and Ice Magic is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the sixth volume in the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters. The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. In Swords and Ice Magic the duo face a series of challenges from Death of greater or lesser subtlety, the pique of deities they formerly worshiped whose names they now rarely even take in vain, a voyage to the strange equatorial ocean of Nehwon, and recruitment to succor Nehwon's Iceland, the legendary Rime Isle, menaced by Sea Mingols and a pair of refugee gods

Swords in the Mist is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the third volume in the complete seven volume edition of the collected stories devoted to the characters. The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. In Swords in the Mist the duo confronts the mystically concentrated hate of the citizens of Lankhmar, go their separate ways during a period of hard times, the Mouser becoming an enforcement thug and Fafhrd an acolyte of a newly introduced religion, recuperate after their reconciliation with a sea voyage, invade the boudoir of an absent sea deity, traverse a passage to another world, and there undertake a bizarre quest to the Castle Mist

When H.P. Lovecraft first introduced his macabre universe in the pages of Weird Tales magazine, the response was electrifying. Gifted writers — among them his closest peers — added sinister new elements to the fear-drenched landscape. Here are some of the most famous original stories from the pulp era that played a pivotal role in reflecting the master’s dark vision. FANE OF THE BLACK PHARAOH by Robert Bloch: A man obsessed with unearthing dark secrets succumbs to the lure of the forbidden. BELLS OF HORROR by Henry Kuttner: Infernal chimes ring the promise of dementia and mutilation. THE FIRE OF ASSURBANIPAL by Robert E. Howard: In the burning Afghan desert, a young American unleashes an ancient curse. THE ABYSS by Robert A. W. Lowndes: A hypnotized man finds himself in an alternate universe, trapped on a high wire between life and death. AND SIXTEEN MORE TALES OF ICY TERROR

Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) is best known as a fantasy writer, but his achievements and influence are also considerable in the horror and science fiction fields. One of his major SF works is the Change War series, about rival time-traveling armies locked in a bitter, age-old war for control of existence; the battles frequently alter the course of human history. The most important work of Leiber's Change War series is the Hugo Award-winning novel The Big Time, in which doctors, entertainers, and wounded soldiers find themselves treacherously trapped with an activated atomic bomb inside the Place, a room existing outside of space-time. It's not one of Leiber's strongest novels: the cutesy-girlish narrative voice is unconvincing, while the demands of describing time travel and time paradoxes inevitably strain the prose. But The Big Time is a tense, claustrophobic SF mystery, and possibly the ultimate locked-room whodunit. Won Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1958

Here is a modern tale of an inner-directed sorcerer and an outer-directed sorcerer’s apprentice … a tale of— THE CREATURE FROM CLEVELAND DEPTHS By FRITZ LEIBER

Hugo and Nebula award-winning Fritz Leiber is a science-fiction grand master with an unparalleled ability to discern the stranger side of the universe. The Green Millennium is set in a futuristic human society based on our own. The regimented, regulated and bureaucratized life style led by the misanthropic Phil Gish leaves him feeling vaguely dissatisfied and emotionally cut off from other people. He is surprised when a pure green cat appears in his room, a cat who makes him feel happier and more alive than he has ever felt. Phil decides to call the cat Lucky, hoping his life will take a turn for the better. If you consider different as change for the better, then Gish really has got something in Lucky-something that everyone else wants-including the Mob, the FBI, some nude aliens, and a gorgeous mystery woman. When Lucky seems to vanish into thin air, Phil will do anything to get him back, even if it means challenging the very powers that rule his world

The Knight and Knave of Swords is a fantasy short story collection by Fritz Leiber featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It is chronologically the seventh and last volume in the complete seven volume edition. The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories follow the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon. In The Knight and Knave of Swords the duo has settled permanently on Rime Isle with their new wives, their bands of followers taking on the role of peaceful traders. The first two stories concentrate on this settling-in process, while the final two deal with various magical curses and afflictions suffered by the protagonists

Every short story in this wonderfully varied collection has one thing in common: each features some alteration in history, some divergence from historical reality, which results in a world very different from the one we know today. As well as original stories specially commissioned from bestselling writers such as James Morrow, Stephen Baxter and Ken MacLeod, there are genre classics such as Kim Stanley Robinson’s story of how World War II atomic bomber the Enola Gay, having crashed on a training flight, is replaced by the Lucky Strike with profoundly different consequences

Stories of the fall of civilisation, the destruction of the Earth and the end of the Universe itself The last sixty years have been full of stories of one or other possible Armageddon, whether by nuclear war, plague, cosmic catastrophe or, more recently, global warming, terrorism, genetic engineering, AIDS and other pandemics. These stories, both pre- and post-apocalyptic, describe the fall of civilization, the destruction of the entire Earth, or the end of the Universe itself. Many of the stories reflect on humankind’s infinite capacity for self-destruction, but the stories are by no means all downbeat or depressing — one key theme explores what the aftermath of a cataclysm might be and how humans strive to survive

It was a utopian future for writers. The invention of the wordmill – nicknamed the "Silver Egghead" – did all the hard work, grinding out endless stories for an insatiable public. All the writers had to do was cash their checks and pose for publicity photos. One day the writers revolted. The time had come to get back to business, so they destroyed the wordmills. Then they discovered that they had nothing to say

They had a dark talent the world had lost…. Carr Mackay had an okay job, a beautiful woman and a lot of big plans—a pathway marked for himself through life. But one day he met a beautiful, frightened girl who didn’t quite belong in this world. An something began. Irrevocably. Something that diverted him forever from his path, shook the sleepy dust from his eyes and brought him to a startling confrontation with the furthest limits of life, death—and an alien, terrifying danger…

All eyes were watching the eclipse of the Moon when the Wanderer — a huge, garishly colored artificial world — emerged. Only a few scientists even suspected its presence, and then, suddenly and silently, it arrived, dwarfing and threatening the Moon and wreaking havoc on Earth’s tides and weather. Though the Wanderer is stopping in the solar system only to refuel, its mere presence is catastrophic. A tense, thrilling, and towering achievement. Won Hugo Award for the Best Novel in 1964

THIS WAY TO THE END TIMES: Classic Tales of the Apocalypse, gathers 21 compelling, gripping stories of the not-too-distant demise of the earth as we know it. And what a collection. From little-known, brilliant tales by sci-fi legends Jules Vernes and Olaf Stapledon, to intense short works by sci-fi masters Ursula K. Le Guin, Connie Willis, Jack Vance, and Brian W. Aldiss, to haunting works by contemporary authors Dale Bailey, Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, Karen Haber and Megan Arkenberg, THIS WAY TO THE END TIMES paves the road to the fantastical future, alternating humor with grit, and hope with ghastly post apocalyptic visions. Guest editor Robert Silverberg—beloved sci-fi master—hand-picked each story, and offers an introduction to each, as well as an introduction to the anthology as a whole. A unique collection for longtime and new fans of speculative fiction, THIS WAY TO THE END TIMES roars into the future wide-eyed and full speed ahead. Complete list of

Anche pubblicato come “Ricercato... un nemico”, “Cercasi nemico” e “Cercasi... un nemico”

Zuerst beobachteten nur ein paar Wissenschaftler das Herannahen des Planeten »Wanderer«. Dann war er plötzlich für alle Menschen sichtbar und spürbar — ein neuer Planet, der an Naturgewalt alles übertraf was die Erde in ihrer langen Evolution erlebt hatte. Dieses Phänomen machte aus der Erde einen Ameisenhaufen. Der »Wanderer« brachte den Menschen den Tod. Aber für viele bedeutete er einen neuen Lebensinhalt. Für Millionen von Menschen, die wie Ameisen über die schwankende Kruste unseres Planeten hasteten, kam der »Wanderer« als Schrecken, um die Kenntnisse der Wissenschaft zu widerlegen, um die Welt zu zerstören — aber vielleicht auch, um Herz und Verstand der Menschen zu öffnen ... Dieses weitgespannte Werk des amerikanischen Autors wurde auf der Londoner Weltkonvention als bester Roman des Jahres 1965 mit dem internationalen SF-Preis ausgezeichnet

Artificial intelligence in 100 stories. To ready us for the inevitable, here are 100 of the best short stories ever written--most of them by humans--about robots and artificial minds. Read them while you can, learn from them, and make your preparations... From 1837 through to the present day, from Charles Dickens to Cory Doctorow, this collection contains the most diverse collection of robots ever assembled. Anthropomorphic robots, invertebrate AIs, thuggish metal lumps and wisps of manufactured intelligence so delicate if you blinked you might miss them. The literature of robots and artificial intelligence is so wildly diverse, in both tone and intent, that our stories form six thematic collections. It's Alive! is about inventors and their creations. Following the Money drops robots into the day-to-day business of living. Owners and Servants considers the human potentials and pitfalls of owning and

Na ziemskiej orbicie pojawia się, po wyjściu z nadprzestrzeni, olbrzymi obcy statek kosmiczny wielkości małej planety. Zszokowani Ziemianie obserwują jak obcy pojazd zaczyna rozwalać nasz Księżyc, wchłaniając go w siebie…

Устав от людских грехов и постоянных войн, Время обратилось вспять. И главный герой обречен вечно следовать за ним в прошлое

Свой автоматический пистолет Инки Козакс очень любил и никому не доверял, — не давал даже трогать. Любовь эта была настолько фанатична и необъяснима, что порой даже пугала подельников Инки по алкогольному бизнесу. Но кое-кто из них все-таки заинтересовался его автоматическим пистолетом…

Велик вклад Лейбера в мистическую литературу, недаром он считается одним из создателей современной формы этого жанра. Огромное влияние на него оказали произведения Говарда Лавкрафта, у которого он увлеченно учился и чье творчество самым деятельным образом популяризировал

Что случилось бы с нашим миром, если бы однажды история сошла с известного пути? Может быть, в исламизированной Европе остались бы слабые и малочисленные анклавы христианства? Или Адольф Гитлер увлекся дирижаблестроением вместо разжигания чудовищной воины? Или Владимир Ленин сбежал от эсеровского мятежа в Одессу? Или Католическая церковь подвергла дарвинизм беспощадной судебной расправе? А бомба, не попав по Хиросиме, заставила бы Японию капитулировать? Двадцать пять исторических развилок. Двадцать пять великолепных рассказов, написанных знаменитыми мастерами жанра Альтернативная история — весьма древний и почтенный жанр, даром что фантастика. Еще в «Истории Рима» Тита Ливия подробно и всерьез рассматриваются события, которые могли последовать, вздумай Александр Македонский повести свои армии не на восток, а на запад. Вот бы Рим обрадовался… С тех давних пор ни ученые мужи, ни писатели-фантасты не отказывали себе в удовольствии поставить очередной мысленный эксперимент на тему «Что было бы, если?..» В настоящей антологии собраны рассказы, авторы которых виртуозно жонглируют вероятностями и создают новые реальности, неизменно притягивающие читательское внимание. Здесь вы найдете произведения, созданные признанными мастерами жанра, такими как Стивен Бакстер, Джеймс Мороу, Фриц Лейбер, Марк Лэйдлоу, Гарри Тертлдав, Иэн Маклеод и другими. Некоторые рассказы написаны специально для этого сборника

Тема конца света, одна из основных в научной фантастике, на протяжении многих лет будоражит умы людей. Мы с содроганием и невольным любопытством представляем себе момент гибели всего сущего, втайне надеясь получить шанс заново отстроить этот мир. В данной антологии собраны произведения, воплощающие различные сценарии того, как жизнь на Земле может быть уничтожена в результате чумы или потопа, ядерной войны или столкновения с кометой, инопланетного вторжения или вырвавшихся из-под контроля новейших технологий. Свою интерпретацию апокалипсиса предлагают такие мастера, как Стивен Бакстер, Фриц Лейбер, Фредерик Пол, Аластер Рейнольде, Роберт Сильверберг и многие другие. Грозные предостережения и подробные инструкции по выживанию для тех, кто помнит, что каждый день может стать последним

Сборник представляет ранее не издававшимся роман Майкла Муркока «Багряная игра», повести Урсулы Ле Гуин, Мервина Пика, Кита Ломера и рассказы признанных мастеров англо-американской фантастики, отмеченных высшими литературными премиями — «Хьюго» и «Небыола». Новые переводы, раскованная нестандартность формы и стиля, и — Нечто Странное, мрачное и зловещее, что неизменно встречает героев в запутанных лабиринтах блестяще сконструированной авторами реальности

…очень трудно отличить психически здоровых от психически больных. Лейбер задался таким вопросом, который произвел на меня в свое время очень сильное впечатление: сумасшествие есть отклонение от психической нормы; но если сумасшедших становится большинство, то изменяется и норма… В. Баканов

Симистер наслаждался жизнью, радуясь, что живым остался после ужасных событий Второй мировой войны. Но вот однажды, почтальон принес посылку, которая, возможно, попала к нему по ошибке. Но преступлений нацистов никто не забыл

Американская научная фантастика. Сборник представляет не только разнообразие жанров и индивидуальность творческих манер выбранных авторов, но и знакомит с произведениями, ранее запретными для советского читателя

На орбите вокруг Земли, присоединенные к исследовательскому спутнику, висят прозрачные шары, в которых живут люди, которые по разным причинам не нашли себе места на Земле: битники, дзен-буддисты, хиппи, и прочие, которых добропорядочный обыватель обычно называет «всякий сброд». И были они полностью довольны своей жизнью, пока новая администрация спутника не решила выселить их обратно на Землю…

Размышления солдата в самый разгар военных действий…

Премия за достижения в научной фантастике (Премия "Хьюго") в 1958 г. (категория "Роман"). Миллиарды лет идет война между двумя тайными организциями «Пауками» и «Змеями» и ещё миллиарды лет она будет продолжаться. Вперед и назад по времени — бесконечная война за Будущее и Прошлое. Поле битвы — наша память и наша жизнь. В середине войны вне времени и пространства есть Место — где усталые воины времени могут немного отдохнуть