Aurora Award Finalist.? The colony ship, The Last Chance, has fled a plague-poisoned Earth with the remnants of the human race. Launched before completion of its biosphere, the ship is only partly self-sustaining. Humanity has to find a new home—and time is running out. It isn’t called The Last Chance for nothing. When they find the planet, it seems a dream come true. Earth-like, breathable atmosphere, unpopulated. They name it Aurora, for the beauty that dances in its skies. At least, it had seemed beautiful at the time. Now they aren’t so sure. Now people are dying. Gar Franck is the ship’s communication expert. When signs point to a non-human intelligence on the planet, Gar becomes the key to communicating with it. But how can he communicate with an alien being when he can’t even talk to his autistic son, Anton, or his increasingly distant wife, Clara? "There are two stories in "Symphony"...both converge in a spectacular, explosive finale. Smith's prose is poetic and evocative. He creates an intricate fabric of light, color, and sound with effortless flair. The story’s fluid style and the abundance of complex, wrenching emotions [make this] another recommended story in this issue." —Eugie Foster and Marsha Sisolak, Tangent Online "A strong SF-nal story about a 'sentient light symphony' that objects to humans colonizing 'its planet.' How would you communicate with such and how would it react to a baby who lacks all 'human baggage' are some of the issues addressed here. (A+)" —Fantasy Book Critic

Aurora Award Finalist.? Alexander King has everything--wealth, power, a business empire over which he rules. But lately, the corporate game in which he excels has lost its thrill for him. He needs a new game. And then, on the crowded streets of Toronto, in the dead cold of winter, she appears before him. The Dancer. Achingly beautiful, half-naked, and dancing to a song that only she and King seem to hear, she becomes King’s new obsession, an obsession that draws him into a journey through a secret world hidden within the city he thought he knew…and to a very special club. "'The Dancer at the Red Door,' with its mix of oblique horror, urban fantasy, and monsters ... recalls British horror novelist Clive Barker at his most disturbingly fanciful." —Quill and Quire "An excellent story … urban fantasy at its best." —Fantasy Book Critic "...intriguing meditation on escapism...evoking Gaiman's Neverwhere, the obligatory helping of Lovecraft, plus a touch of something like Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut" —Strange Horizons "Just as the song of the city leads King throughout his journey, so too does it lead the reader throughout Douglas Smith's beautifully crafted 'The Dancer at the Red Door.' The writing is lean and evocative; every element of the story works double-time as setting informs character, action creates mood, and nothing is superfluous. The song becomes a living, breathing creature which, more so than hearing, I could feel viscerally as I read Doug's wonderful story. Highly, highly recommended." —Rainbow Dragon Recommends

Vaya is an immortal Valkyrie and favorite daughter of Odin All Father, sworn to carry dead heroes from the battlefields of Earth to live forever in Valhalla. One day, she intervenes on the battlefield to save the life of a soldier who has captured her heart, and is forced by Odin to choose between immortality and the man she loves. Vaya chooses love, not knowing that the hardest choice still lies ahead of her. "…exemplifies the best elements of Douglas Smith’s writing. A Valkyrie falls for her hero, gives up her immortality for him then has to make that inevitable and awful choice afterwards. As always, even for such a brief time, there is so much life in these characters. I don’t bother to marvel at how quickly I come to care for Douglas Smith’s people anymore, it’s a given." —SF Crowsnest Reviews "A gripping portrayal of Vaya, a Valkyrie, and the ultimate sacrifices one makes for love." —SFRevu

Herbert de Renich, citoyen luxembourgeois, toujours amoureux d'Amalia, pourtant devenue la femme du terrible amiral allemand Von Treischke, se retrouve à bord du Vengeur, un sous marin extraordinaire, con?u pour le plaisir mais surtout pour la guerre, par un américain masqué - les ?tats-Unis n'étant pas encore en guerre - qui, pour venger sa femme, souhaite ch?tier les crimes allemands et fait ainsi subir les pires tortures à ses prisonniers. Herbert se retrouve mêlé à la bataille invisible - puisqu'elle est électrique - que se livre les troupes de l'américain et des allemands autour d'un fabuleux trésor enfoui dans la baie de Vigo... Vaste fresque rendant hommage à Jules Verne, ce roman de guerre fait appel à la science-fiction pour dénoncer une fois encore les atrocités allemandes. Le thème du combat subaquatique et du trésor est repris d'un projet d'aventure de Rouletabille que Leroux a abandonné pour ?entrer en guerre?.

Aurora Award WINNER. The Walker is a child of the two Realms of the Continuum, a prince of Order and of Chaos—and a rebel against both. When he falls in love with an ephemeral, a mortal woman who is the key to the balance between the Realms, he triggers a struggle for her life—and the fate of her universe. "A very different sort of tale. ... A cosmic story of gods which seems to be inspired by the works of Michael Moorcock, and I think he would not be ashamed of it." —SF Crowsnest Reviews "A tale of epic love when a mortal gets caught between a battle of the gods. Smith reminds us that we have the potential to change the world around us and that self-sacrifice can be a means of making the world around us better." —Speculating Canada "The descriptions here have cosmic sweep…" —Locus Online

King Arthur and the Kinghts of the Round Table Complete Works World's Best Collection This is the best King Arthur Collection available, including the most complete set of the Arthurian legends plus many extra free bonus materials. The Most Complete Collection Available In this irresistible collection we include all 11 complete Books (more than 130 chapters) from Thomas Malory (published by William Caxton) of the legendary epic ‘Le Morte D’ Arthur’. We also give you all the other, rare stories of the other famous Knights of the Round Table. Plus, we include additional bonuses covering Arthur related mythologies, including Celtic Mythology and other British and European Legends. Everything Arthur related in one, amazing comprehensive compilation. Works Included: Le Morte D’ Arthur -The legendary, famous compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of romance? tales about the legendary King Arthur. One of the best-known works of the English language and Arthurian literature. It coves the grand adventures and complete stories of the beloved characters, from Arthur himself, to Merlin, to Tristram, Launcelot and Guinevere, Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s sister, and even Mordred, Arthur’s villainous son. Who was the Real King Arthur? -?A special analysis of the 'suspects', written specifically for this collection. Additional Sir Gawayne Stories -?Additional stories of the popular Sir Gawayne, including the well known fairy tale: ‘Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight’ The Mabinogion -?11 classic stories from Welsh and Celtic mythology, known as prime examples of folktales, and early medieval and Iron age narratives, even including more stories of King Arthur. Myths And Legends Of The Celtic Race -?Devoted to explaining the fascinating and expansive Celtic mythology, as well as chapters on Celtic history and information on the Druids. Hero-Myths Of The British Race And Legends Of The Middle Ages -?A rich exploration into more British, as well as European and Middle Age mythology. It includes chapters about many Heroic Sagas, such as Charlemagne, Beowulf, and Robin Hood. Get This Collection Right Now This is the best King Arthur and Arthurian Legends collection you can get, so get it now and start enjoying and being drawn into the magnificent world of myth and legend like never before!

La suite du Ch?teau noir... Les noces dont il est question dans le titre concerne Ivana et notre sympathique reporter...

“The Blazing World”, is a Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World, better known as The Blazing World, is a 1666 work of prose fiction by English writer Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle. It has been described as an early fore-runner of science fiction.??Here on this Figure Cast a Glance.?But so as if it were by Chance,?Your eyes not fixt, they must not Stay,?Since this like Shadowes to the Day?It only represent's; for Still,?Her Beauty's found beyond the Skill?Of the best Paynter, to Imbrace?These lovely Lines within her face.?View her Soul's Picture, Judgment, witt,?Then read those Lines which Shee hath writt,?By Phancy's Pencill drawne alone?Which Peces but Shee, can justly owne.??To The Duchesse of Newcastle, ?On Her New Blazing-World.??Our Elder World, with all their Skill and Arts,?Could but divide the World into three Parts:?Columbus, then for Navigation fam'd,?Found a new World, America 'tis nam'd;?Now this new World was found, it was not made,?Onely discovered, lying in Time's shade.?Then what are You, having no Chaos found?To make a World, or any such least ground??But your Creating Fancy, thought it fit?To make your World of Nothing, but pure Wit.?Your Blazing-World, beyond the Stars mounts higher,?Enlightens all with a C?lestial Fier.??William Newcastle.

-THE DOUBLE- centers on a government clerk who goes mad. It deals with the internal psychological struggle of its main character, Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, who repeatedly encounters someone who is his exact double in appearance but confident, aggressive, and extroverted, characteristics that are the polar opposites to those of the toadying "pushover" protagonist. ??The motif of the novella is a doppelganger (Russian "dvoynik"), known throughout the world in various guises such as the fetch. * * *? It was a little before eight o’clock in the morning when Yakov Petrovitch Golyadkin, a titular councillor, woke up from a long sleep. He yawned, stretched, and at last opened his eyes completely.?For two minutes, however, he lay in his bed without moving, as though he were not yet quite certain whether he were awake or still asleep, whether all that was going on around him were real and actual, or the continuation of his confused dreams. ??Very soon, however, Mr. Golyadkin’s senses began more clearly and more distinctly to receive their habitual and everyday impressions. The dirty green, smoke-begrimed, dusty walls of his little room, with the mahogany chest of drawers and chairs, the table painted red, the sofa covered with American leather of a reddish colour with little green flowers on it, and the clothes taken off in haste overnight and flung in a crumpled heap on the sofa, looked at him familiarly. At last the damp autumn day, muggy and dirty, peeped into the room through the dingy window pane with such a hostile, sour grimace that Mr. Golyadkin could not possibly doubt that he was not in the land of Nod, but in the city of Petersburg, in his own flat on the fourth storey of a huge block of buildings in Shestilavotchny Street.

"THERE was once upon a time a king who had a garden; in that garden was an apple tree, and on that apple tree grew a golden apple every year."?These stories are the golden apples that grew on the tree in the king's garden; grew and grew and grew as the golden years went by; and being apples of gold they could never wither nor shrink nor change, so that they are as beautiful and precious for you to pluck today as when first they ripened long, long ago.??Perhaps you do not care for the sort of golden apples that grew in the king's garden; perhaps you prefer plain russets or green pippins? Well, these are not to be despised, for they also are wholesome food for growing boys and girls; but unless you can taste the flavor and feel the magic that lies in the golden apples of the king's garden you will lose one of the joys of youth.??No one can help respecting apples (or stories) that gleam as brightly today as they did hundreds and thousands of years ago, when first the tiny blossoms ripened into precious fruit.??"Should you ask me whence these stories,?Whence these legends and traditions?With the odors of the forest,?With the dew and damp of meadows?"—??I can say only that the people were telling fairy tales in Egypt, in Joseph's time, more than three thousand years ago; and that grand old Homer told them in the famous "Odyssey," with its witches and giants, its cap of darkness, and shoes of swiftness. Old nurses and village crones have repeated them by the fireside and in the chimney corner; shep-herds and cowherds have recounted them by the brookside, until the children of the world have all learned them by heart, bequeathing them, generation after generation, as a priceless legacy to their own children. Nor must you fancy that they have been told in your own tongue only. Long, long before the art of printing was known, men and women of all nations recited these and similar tales to one another, never thinking that the day would come when they would be regarded as the peculiar property of youth and childhood. ?

Irrepressible, intergalactic good-time guy Octavius wakes in a grey room. He has many questions - not least of which is how he came to be there. Making good use of his quick wit and pretty face, Octavius embarks on a series of adventures in which he strives to uncover the secrets of his past and unravel the mystery of the Indigo Dragon. This funny and inventive story will entertain fans of science fiction, fantasy and saucy humour.

There are, roughly speaking, two distinct types of Scottish Fairy Tales. There are what may be called "Celtic Stories," which were handed down for centuries by word of mouth by professional story-tellers, who went about from clachan to clachan in the "High-lands and Islands," earning a night's shelter by giving a night's entertainment, and which have now been collected and classified for us by Campbell of Isla and others.??These stories, which are also common to the North of Ireland, are wild and fantastic, and very often somewhat monotonous, and their themes are strangely alike. They almost always tell of some hero or heroine who sets out on some dangerous quest, and who is met by giants, generally three in number, who appear one after the other; with whom they hold quaint dialogues, and whom eventually they slay. Most of them are fairly long, and although they have a peculiar fascination of their own, they are quite distinct from the ordinary Fairy Tale.

Her ?ey ?evresiyle etkile?imsel bütünlükte anlaml? olmaktad?r. Soral?m yine de; Bütünü par?alar?ndan fazlas? yapan nedenler nelerdir? Evrende neyin ifadesiyiz? Canl?l?k, bilin?, ruh, duygular art?k anla??labilir midir? Canl?l?k h?z farklar?ndan m? olu?maktad?r? H?zl? bile?enimiz olan elektri?in; canl?l???n ve bilincimizin olu?umunda nas?l bir etken olmaktad?r? Bizleri olu?turanlardan beden, duygular, bilin?, ruh diye tan?mlad?klar?m?z aras?nda ba?lant?lar nas?l kurulmaktad?r? Sorular?, günümüzde enerjiler aras? ba?lant?, etkile?im nas?l kurulmaktad?r? Sorusu gibi oldu?u, yani her?ey gibi onlar?nda enerji oldu?u anla??lm??t?r. Ruh olarak tan?mlad?k, zihin-beden aras?nda ba?lant?y? kurmaya, duygular? anlamaya ?al??t?k. Bilincin, alg?n?n tüm bunlarla nas?l bir ili?kisi olabilece?ini sorgulad?k. Genelde ?yle oluyor ya, bütünün ?nce par?alar?n? anlamaya, par?alara ay?r?p anlamaya ?al??man?n sorunlar?n?n izlerini sürüp bütünle olan etkile?imini g?rmeye y?neliyoruz. Zaman?n i?inde zaman ge?irmemize ra?men bilincimizle, canl?l???m?zla nas?l ba?lant?l? oldu?unu g?rmezden geldik. Günümüz dünyas?n?n ula?t??? bilgi, ya?amsal deneyimlerin kaydedilip aktar?lmas?, izledi?imiz filmlerden tutun da, deneyimlerimizin h?zl? etkile?imiyle zaman aral?klar?n? orduk. S?n?r sistemimize benzeyen internet a?lar? olu?turduk. ?nsanl?k olarak yapay zekalar geli?tirdik. Hücre ile beden benzeri; canl?yla tüm canl?l???n, ekosistemin, varl???n etkile?im ?rüntüsü oldu?unu, etkile?imsel ?rüntüde anlam? oldu?unu ??rendik. Belki de olu?turdu?umuz yeni anlamlar gelecekte olu?acaklar?n par?alar?d?r. De?i?im devam ediyor. G?rünen o ki, canl?lar bu evrenin en ileri evrensel enerji alanlar?d?r. Soral?m kendimize; Evrende canl?l?ktan daha anlaml? bir ?ey var m?d?r? Dünya bilinci ?a?lard?r. Biriktirdi?i bilgi ve deneyimlerini, olu?umun ba?lang?c?ndan itibaren nesiller boyu aktarm??, ekosistemiyle bir bütün olarak evrilmi?tir. Ula?t??? bilin? halini ?evresiyle etkile?imsel d?ngü i?inde hep yeniden ?ekillendirmi?tir. D?nü?ümsel etkile?imin hi?bir zaman?n?n ayn? olmay??? temel evrensel durumun etkisiyle de zamanda evrilmi? ve günümüz dünyas?n?n paradigmas?na ula?m??t?r. Evrimsel ?rüntüye paralel geli?en teknolojik entegrasyonla bilgi, zamanda ?ok yo?un etkile?ebilmi?tir. Dünya üzerinde artan s?n?r hücresi say?s? yani artan canl? say?s?n?n olumlu bir yan? ise, bilginin etkile?imini art?rm?? olmas?d?r. Platon’un idealar dünyas?nda var olan?n kendi ba??na var olamayaca??n?, var olan?n ?ncül bir mükemmeli olmal? dü?üncesiyle hareket etti?i g?rülüyor. Bu dü?ünceye bi ele?tiriyle ba?lay?p daha sonra ele?tiriyide ele?tirelim. Diyelim ki bu dü?ünceye evrimin, zaman?n itiraz? var. Buna b?yle devam edersek ba?lang?? i?inde, uzaylar i?inde ba?layan evrenler olsa bile bugünki mant?k yine en ba?a d?nmemizi s?ylüyor. Yani ilk nas?l olu?tu? Bu olu?um ?ncesi uzay diyeyim en mükemmel saf hali olan B?R nas?l olu?tu. 1’de ise hi?bir ?zellik olmamal? yani nas?l olurda idea’lar oradan kaynaklan?r. Demek ki varl?k olu?umu bi süre?, evrim olur gibi. Sondan ba?a d?nsekte bi süre?, ba?tan ba?lam?? olsakta bi süre?. Bu ifadeler B?R d?ngüsü i?inde do?ru olabilir. ?dealar nereden geldi ?ünki sonu? olarak idealar B?R de olmamal? ?ünkü B?R farkl?l?k bar?nd?rm?yor. Asl?nda her ?eyi B?R kapsar, o kaynak potansiyeller alan?d?r. Haliyle her ?eyle ayn? alandad?r. Bi nevi potansiyeller alan?yla varl?k ayn? ?eydir, benzerdir. O halde Platon’un idealar kuram?n?n kayna?? ve kendisi bu evrendedir, bu evrendir. Günümüz bilim dünyas?nda ?oklu evrenler dü?üncesi olduk?a yayg?nd?r. O halde evrenlerin oldu?u daha dev uzaysal kaynaklar, alanlar olmal?d?r. ??te B?R belkide bizimde i?inde evrildi?imiz vede k?smen farkl?la?t???m?z her ?eyin kayna??, alan?d?r. Evren büyük tabii ancak büyüklük hep yan?lt?c? olmaya devam etmi?tir. Belkide hiper bir uzay hatta uzaylar alan?nda olabiliriz. Belki ama e?er do?ru b? dü?ünce ?ekliyse bu ilk soruyu yinede de?i?tirmiyor. ?lk ba?lang?? diye bir ?ey var m??

The full translated text of 'An Account of Egypt', the ancient manuscript by the 'Father of History', Greek historian Herodotus. This is not only a fascinating look into the history of Ancient Egypt, but also a look into Herodotus' own world-view, as an exemplar of Greek thinking at the time.

A collection of fables about fishing by fabled anthropologist Andrew Lang.

A fascinating look into what life was like in Britain at the beginning of the formation of the English people: the Anglo-Saxons.

The memoirs of the famous Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad.

The Renaissance,' a word which means being born again, or a new awakening, when men began to draw real pictures of real things and fill the world with images of beauty.Now it is the stories of the men of that time, who put new life into Art, that I am going to tell you--men who learned, step by step, to paint the most beautiful pictures that the world possesses.In telling these stories I have been helped by an old book called The Lives of the Painters, by Giorgio Vasari, who was himself a painter. He took great delight in gathering together all the stories about these artists and writing them down with loving care, so that he shows us real living men, and not merely great names by which the famous pictures are known. It did not make much difference to us when we were little children whether our pictures were good or bad, as long as the colours were bright and we knew what they meant. But as we grow older and wiser our eyes grow wiser too, and we learn to know what is good and what is poor. Only, just as our tongues must be trained to speak, our hands to work, and our ears to love good music, so our eyes must be taught to see what is beautiful, or we may perhaps pass it carelessly by, and lose a great joy which might be ours.So now if you learn something about these great artists and their wonderful pictures, it will help your eyes to grow wise. And some day should you visit sunny Italy, where these men lived and worked, you will feel that they are quite old friends. Their pictures will not only be a delight to your eyes, but will teach your heart something deeper and more wonderful than any words can explain.

A fantastic historical adventure novel set in 17th Century America by the master of juvenile fiction William Henry Giles Kingston.

A fantastic look at the great Ancient Greek authors. Covers Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato and Demosthenes.

Set in the fictional Canadian village of Avonlea, which was also the setting for Montgomery's 'Anne of Green Gables' series, this collection of short stories have been delighting readers of all ages around the world for nearly a century.