Half Past Human


Book Description

A novel of dystopian future in the tradition of SOYLENT GREEN and H.G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE, with an introduction by Ken MacLeod Tinker was a good citizen of the Hive - a model worker. But when he was allowed sexual activation he found Mu Ren who, like him, harboured forbidden genes. And so began the cataclysm. But in a world where half-wild humans are hunted for sport - and food - can anyone overthrow the Hive? Greater by far than its stunted, pink-blooded citizens, the Hive is more than prepared to rise and crush anyone who challenges its supremacy ...




Science Fiction Quotations


Book Description

In this unprecedented collection of science fiction and fantasy quotations, the reader revisits the stunning moment when Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein monster first comes to life; witnesses the transformation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde; is present when Bruce Wayne resolves to become Batman; and overhears the cosmic conclusions of The Incredible Shrinking Man. Drawing upon two centuries of the vast and provocative literature of science fiction and fantasy, this comprehensive book presents more than 2,900 quotations from wide-ranging sources, including science fiction and fantasy stories, novels, films, and television programs. The quotations are organized by topic—alien worlds; darkness and light; robots, androids, and cyborgs; machines and technology; weapons; and more than one hundred others. The reader will encounter the wit and wisdom of renowned authors (H. G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin) along with definitive versions of such important statements as Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics and Star Trek’s Prime Directive. With its thorough index, this book is both an invaluable resource for the writer or scholar and an irresistible page-turner for the curious browser.




Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literature


Book Description

This reference tracks the development of speculative fiction influenced by the advancement of science and the idea of progress from the eighteenth century to the present day. The major authors and publications of the genre and significant subgenres are covered. Additionally there are entries on fields of science and technology which have been particularly prolific in provoking such speculation. The list of acronyms and abbreviations, the chronology covering the literature from the 1700s through the present, the introductory essay, and the dictionary entries provide science fiction novices and enthusiasts as well as serious writers and critics with a wonderful foundation for understanding the realm of science fiction literature. The extensive bibliography that includes books, journals, fanzines, and websites demonstrates that science fiction literature commands a massive following.




An Informal History of the Hugos


Book Description

Engaged, passionate, and consistently entertaining, this is a book for those who enjoyed Walton's previous collection of essays from Tor.com, the Locus Award-winning What Makes This Book So Great.The Hugo Awards, named after pioneer science fiction publisher Hugo Gernsback, and voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Society, have been given out since 1953. They are widely considered the most prestigious award in science fiction.Between 2010 and 2013, Jo Walton wrote a series of posts for Tor.com, surveying the Hugo finalists and winners from the award's inception up to the year 2000. Her contention was that each year's full set of finalists generally tells a meaningful story about the state of science fiction at that time.Walton's cheerfully opinionated and vastly well-informed posts provoked valuable conversation among the field's historians. Now these posts, lightly revised, have been gathered into this book, along with a small selection of the comments posted by SF luminaries such as Rich Horton, Gardner Dozois, and the late David G. Hartwell.




Darkness Folding Inward, Light Emerging


Book Description

This long awaited sequel to The Dreamkeeper Messages explains the scope and nature of the psychic and prophetic visions that the author, Dr. Deborah Harmes, has experienced since childhood. Filled with fascinating visions that travel both backwards and forwards in time and background history about Deborah's relationship with the otherworldly being she calls The Dreamkeeper. The discussion of the nature of time helps to explain why many of us occasionally feel that we are living in the wrong lifetime. The section of information on Remote Viewing discusses just how far back in history that type of psychic viewing really goes. You might be quite surprised at what went on during World War II! This book also contains important information about time travel, global climate and atmospheric change and the creation of hybrid and robotic humans. We are living in challenging times and this book helps to both explain that and offer non-religious spiritual guidance.




Narrative Strategies in Science Fiction and Other Essays on Imaginative Fiction


Book Description

Eight essays on science fiction and fantasy: "Narrative Strategies in Science Fiction," "Immortality in Science Fiction," "Why There Is (Almost) No Such Thing as Science Fiction," "Perfectibility and the Novel of the Future," "In Search of a New Genre," "Ecology and Dystopia," "Cosmic Horror," and "Growing Up as a Superhero." Complete with bibliography and index.




Heroes of the Metal Underground


Book Description

The only encyclopedic and definitive book on American indie metal! If all you know about metal music was what was heard on commercial radio, then you don’t know metal at all. Heroes of the Underground profiles 600 American bands from every town and city in the United States who ever released a record. Metal bands exploded during the 1980s. Influenced by the heavy sounds coming out of Britain via Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, young guitar shredders turned the amps up and played harder and faster. American record companies scooped up a few bands and signed them to major label recording deals (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax), but that left hundreds of bands—and their fans—trying to get their songs heard. These intrepid metal bands borrowed a page from punk’s DIY handbook and did it themselves. Regional favorites. Hometown heroes. Tour van veterans. Bands who invested their life savings into recording and pressing their songs onto albums for a shot at immortality on vinyl. Fans remember these bands with joy. Collectors seek these records like the Holy Grail. And in Heroes of the Metal Underground, author Alex Anesiadis compiles the details of these bands and their records. Whether you’re a true or baby metalhead, Heroes of the Metal Underground will become your guide to all things metal.




Computational Principles of Mobile Robotics


Book Description

Now in its third edition, this textbook is a comprehensive introduction to the multidisciplinary field of mobile robotics, which lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computational vision, and traditional robotics. Written for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in computer science and engineering, the book covers algorithms for a range of strategies for locomotion, sensing, and reasoning. The new edition includes recent advances in robotics and intelligent machines, including coverage of human-robot interaction, robot ethics, and the application of advanced AI techniques to end-to-end robot control and specific computational tasks. This book also provides support for a number of algorithms using ROS 2, and includes a review of critical mathematical material and an extensive list of sample problems. Researchers as well as students in the field of mobile robotics will appreciate this comprehensive treatment of state-of-the-art methods and key technologies.




Science Fact and Science Fiction


Book Description

Science fiction is a literary genre based on scientific speculation. Works of science fiction use the ideas and the vocabulary of all sciences to create valid narratives that explore the future effects of science on events and human beings. Science Fact and Science Fiction examines in one volume how science has propelled science-fiction and, to a lesser extent, how science fiction has influenced the sciences. Although coverage will discuss the science behind the fiction from the Classical Age to the present, focus is naturally on the 19th century to the present, when the Industrial Revolution and spectacular progress in science and technology triggered an influx of science-fiction works speculating on the future. As scientific developments alter expectations for the future, the literature absorbs, uses, and adapts such contextual visions. The goal of the Encyclopedia is not to present a catalog of sciences and their application in literary fiction, but rather to study the ongoing flow and counterflow of influences, including how fictional representations of science affect how we view its practice and disciplines. Although the main focus is on literature, other forms of science fiction, including film and video games, are explored and, because science is an international matter, works from non-English speaking countries are discussed as needed.




The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature


Book Description

Using a combination of historical and thematic approaches, this volume engages with the fascinating and complex genre of utopian literature.