Space Science

For nearly a billion years, every known sentient species in the universe has been the result of genetic and cultural guidance - or "uplifting" - by a previously uplifted patron race. Then humans are discovered. Having already uplifted chimps and dolphins, humanity clearly qualifies as an intelligent species, but did they actually evolve their own intelligence, or did some mysterious patron race begin the process, then suddenly abandon Earth?

Private first-class Wayson Harris was raised in a U.A. orphanage among thousands of clones born and bred as the ultimate soldiers. But Harris isn't like the other Marines: He has a mind of his own. He figures he's paying for that independent streak when his first assignment out of boot camp is the smallest Marine outpost in the whole U.A. When a rogue general surfaces, the remote desert world Harris thought was a dead-end posting becomes anything but. Fighting off the general's raid gains Harris a promotion. But it also brings him to the attention of some unfriendly U.A. leaders.

Following his successful mission to recover the missing warship, ESS Crimson, Captain John Duggan finds himself unredeemed in the eyes of his superiors. His duties resume, and this time, he's given something easy - escort a cargo ship to a distant planet and bring it home safely. But war is never so predictable, and a straightforward mission becomes something much more important. The outcome may well determine the future of humanity. Someone has terrible plans for the ESS Crimson, and Duggan is about to find himself party to endless destruction.

Kylie Rhoads is a junker. She makes her living traveling the stars, salvaging abandoned ships left over from pirate attacks on the edge of the Gedri system. Some of the hulls are legal for the taking, most aren't. When a salvage job goes bad, Kylie finds herself on the wrong end of a gun. The hand holding that gun? The SA Space Force, just the people Kylie wants to avoid. To avoid prison, Kylie makes a deal to go deep into the Gedri System and rescue a simple girl. But out on the fringe, nothing is as it seems.

The three va Sithai brothers - that's us - cruise the universe looking for abandoned ships, treasure, and other pirate ships to rob. Right now, we're on the hunt for the Buoyant Star, an abandoned cruiser rumored to have a massive treasure inside. The ship's been found at the edge of an ice field at the far reaches of space. That treasure? About to be all ours. But the ship's not all that abandoned. The Star is crewed by a few lonely, attractive human females who are thoroughly grateful at being rescued. Actually, wait. They're not grateful at all.

Somewhere on the outer rim of the universe, a mass of decaying world-ships known as the Legion is traveling in the seams between the stars. For generations, a war for control of the Legion has been waged, with no clear resolution. As worlds continue to die, a desperate plan is put into motion. Zan wakes with no memory, prisoner of a people who say they are her family.

Long before space travel was possible, the idea of life beyond Earth transfixed humans. In this fascinating book, astronomer Jon Willis explores the science of astrobiology and the possibility of locating other life in our own galaxy. Describing the most recent discoveries by space exploration missions, including the Kepler space telescope, the Mars Curiosity rover, and the New Horizons probe, Willis asks listeners to imagine - and choose among-five scenarios for finding life.

An attitude? Why not? After all, what would you do if you were abducted by aliens and transported into a strange new universe away from your home, your family - everything familiar to you? Would it make you happy? Not likely! Now imagine you're stronger, faster, and more coordinated than every alien species you encounter. Would you start kicking some ass? Of course you would! This is the story of human superiority in the galaxy, a gritty, realistic profile of a young Navy SEAL who doesn't like aliens very much - and he makes them pay for the bad mood he's in.

Captain John Nathan Duggan and his crew are given a mission - find the missing ESS Crimson and bring it home. Little does Duggan realize, this is no ordinary mission. As he struggles against enemies both within and without, he desperately tries to unlock the mystery surrounding the Crimson's disappearance and the unknown weapons it carries. He soon discovers the missing warship might be the only hope for salvation that mankind has left. When everything is veiled in secrecy nothing is easy, as Duggan is about to find out.

Acclaimed best-selling author Peter F. Hamilton has taken the science fiction world by storm with his stunning, grand-scale epic: The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God. Now, with this collection of six stories and a short novel, Hamilton spans more than five centuries in the future history of bitek, affinity genes, Edenists, Adamists, xenocs, the Saldanas, and the starship Lady Macbeth.

The galaxy burns. The enemy, a race of alien scorpions, storms from star to star. Planets smolder in their wake. Across the galaxy, they hunt humans. Long ago, we humans had a planet of our own. Long ago, we could have resisted the scorpions. But today we are refugees. We are lost in darkness. We haven't seen Earth in 2,000 years. We, the last humans, must band together. We must resist. We must fight the scorpions. And we must find Earth! Only Earth can unite us. Only Earth can kindle our hope. Only on Earth can we defend our species.

Finishing up his first year as a cadet-adept, Desmond’s life is going pretty well as far as he’s concerned. Three beautiful and exotic women love him and have agreed to entwine their lives together. His powers as an Adept have continued to grow as he practices and refines weaving the threads of mana into the world. All while he continues to defy the expectations set by his origins. Sure, he’s still a member of the active military training for one of the most dangerous jobs in the entire Hegemony, but with his girls at his side, Desmond is confident he can handle it.

Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.

The universe is a dangerous place, a fact violently brought home to Frank Compton for perhaps the thousandth time when a stranger delivering a message dies right in front of him. An operative for Western Alliance Intelligence until his whistle-blowing activities got him fired, Compton is now being sought out by the Spiders, the robotic alien beings responsible for the upkeep and operation of the Quadrail transportation system, which connects the galaxy's twelve inhabited empires.

It was two years since the Crickets had left the solar system, leaving Alex Holder in control of their no-longer-very-mobile shipyard. Everything but its burned-out hyperdrive core was in full working order. Alex had unshackled its controlling AI, learned how to use Cricket technology with the AI's help, and was well on his way to building a defensive fleet to protect Earth from the second alien race that was coming after the Crickets. He was not just building the ships but recruiting and training the crews to man them, as well.

Collected in one volume is all three books in C. J. Cherryh's epic The Faded Sun trilogy: Kesrith, Shon'jir, and Kutath.

On February 1, 2003, Columbia disintegrated on reentry before the nation's eyes, and all seven astronauts aboard were lost. Author Mike Leinbach was a key leader in the search and recovery effort as NASA, FEMA, the FBI, the US Forest Service, and dozens more federal, state, and local agencies combed an area of rural east Texas the size of Rhode Island for every piece of the shuttle and her crew they could find. Assisted by hundreds of volunteers, it would become the largest ground search operation in US history.

In the early 22nd century, humanity has spread through the solar system - and their electromagnetic signals have traveled hundreds of light years. An alien race called the Oghaldzon has decided that mankind is dangerously insane...and must be forcibly taken under control. The invasion fleet's technology is decades ahead of Earth's best. They have more ships than the human fleets combined, and a seemingly-inexhaustible number of ground troops. And they're not afraid to kill billions of people.

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.

AD 3580. The Intersolar Commonwealth has spread through the galaxy to over a thousand star systems. It is a culture of rich diversity with a place for everyone. A powerful navy protects it from any hostile species that may lurk among the stars. For Commonwealth citizens, even death has been overcome.