Showing results by narrator "William Hope" in All Categories

My name is Rex. I am a good dog.... Rex is also seven feet tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy-calibre weaponry, and a deadly weapon in a dirty war. He's part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, southeastern Mexico. He has the intelligence to carry out his orders and feedback implants to reward him when he does. All he wants to be is a Good Dog, and to do that he must do exactly what Master says.

The Galactic Empire has prospered for 12,000 years. Nobody suspects that the heart of the thriving Empire is rotten, until psychohistorian Hari Seldon uses his new science to foresee its terrible fate. Exiled to the desolate planet Terminus, Seldon establishes a colony of the greatest minds in the Empire, a Foundation which holds the key to changing the fate of the galaxy.

The First Foundation has been defeated, crushed by the formidable mental powers of the Mule. But whispers of the mysterious Second Foundation, the only hope of defeating the Mule, are beginning to spread. Surviving members of the First Foundation also fear the secret powers of the Second Foundation, vowing to find and destroy it. However, the location of the Second Foundation remains shrouded in mystery. Finding it will lead the Foundation to the opposite end of the Galaxy, where the fate of Seldon’s two Foundations awaits.

Scottish author George MacDonald Fraser took the loutish bully from Thomas Hughes’ Tom Brown's Schooldays and gave him a new lease of life. Over the course of 12 novels, caddish anti-hero Flashman swashbuckled his way around the British Empire, playing a key role in some of the 19th century’s most significant events.

Faced with determining the fate of the galaxy, Golan Trevize hesitantly chose to hand over the rule of the galaxy to planet Gaia. Two mysteries now remain: who has erased the records of Earth – and why? Determined to ensure his choice was right, Golan sets off with Janov Pelorat and Bliss, to answer these questions once and for all. But nothing could prepare them for the secrets which await them on Earth. Secrets which predate history as they know it, and will change its significance forever.

Twenty of the finest science fiction short stories from one of the genre’s greatest writers, Isaac Asimov. Isaac Asimov was the Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the founder of robot ethics, and one of the world’s most prolific authors of fiction and non-fiction. Asimov’s short fiction has been enjoyed by millions for more than half a century. Many of the stories in this collection are classics of the genre, including ‘Ring Around the Sun’, which follows two self-declared best pilots on their journey from Earth to Venus, passing within twenty-two million miles of the Sun.

What happens when a robot begins to question its creators? What would be the consequences of creating a robot with a sense of humour? Or the ability to lie? How do we truly tell the difference between man and machine? In I, Robot, Asimov sets out the Three Laws of Robotics - designed to protect humans from their robotic creations - and pushes them to their limits and beyond.

Could a robot ever show true creativity? Is it wise to trust self-driving cars? Will robotic body parts transform human beings into machines? Will organic technology allow robots to become human? Featuring Dr. Susan Calvin, Donovan and Powell, and the detective Elijah Baley, hero of the Robot novels, this is the ultimate collection of short stories from a genius of the genre.

Mars. The red planet. A new frontier for humanity: a civilisation where humans can live in peace, lord and master of all they survey. But this isn't Space City from those old science-fiction books. It's more like Hell City, built into and from a huge crater. There's a big silk canopy over it, feeding out atmosphere as we generate it, little by little, because we can't breathe the air here. I guess it's a perfect place to live, if you want to live on Mars. At some point I must have wanted to live on Mars, because here I am.

When you don't know The Rules it's hard to stay safe. After a traumatic incident, Aster finds that her blood work comes back with some unusual readings. Unsurprising, as she's the last of an alien race called the Kibsu. But Aster doesn't know this. Immediately, Aster finds herself the focus of a hunt, with her mortal enemies, the Trackers, on one side, and the American government on the other. There seems to be nowhere she can run. But help often comes from the most unexpected quarter.

Two centuries have passed since Elijah Baley’s actions on Aurora sent settlers from Earth to new worlds all over the galaxy. The Spacer planet of Solaria has been abandoned by humans, though countless robots remain. When settlers arrive to salvage them, something unthinkable happens – the robots attack. Accompanied by Gladia Delmarre and the robots Daneel and Giskard, a descendant of Elijah Baley sets out for Solaria to investigate, a quest that will lead them to a vast, catastrophic conspiracy and a revolution in the Three Laws of Robotics.

Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born Indian mystic and tantric master, is second only to Skakyamuni as the most famous figure in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In the ninth century, he journeyed across the Himalayan Mountains to establish Buddhism for the people of Tibet. This legendary tale interweaves narration with timeless advice to all spiritual practitioners. Here, in English for the first time, is the complete story of how Buddhism was planted in Tibet.

How could robots be used in a time of war? Could a robot be raised like a child? Could we allow them to have children of their own? Is there any human profession that could never be performed by a robotic replacement? In The Rest of the Robots, robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin and engineers Powell and Donovan return to investigate many more puzzling anomalies and catastrophic malfunctions.

Ex-cop Bierce has been in prison for over 20 years, following his conviction for the murders of his wife and son. He has no memory of the tragedy and has never been able to say with certainty that he didn't do it - except he cannot imagine why on earth he would have killed his beloved family.

Metropolitan newspaper writer Zack Walker has a knack for stumbling onto deadly stories. But it's one that his good friend Trixie Snelling doesn't want told that's about to unleash a storm of trouble. As a professional dominatrix in the suburbs, Trixie has her share of secrets, but Zack has no idea what she's really hiding when a local newspaperman threatens to do an exposé on her - not until Zack finds a dead body strapped to the bondage cross in her basement dungeon.

The crew of an oceanic research vessel goes missing in the Pacific along with their mini submarine. An evangelical media star holds a rally next door to a cinematic convention in LA. The cops know there's going to be trouble, but what they didn't foresee was the presence of a Glaswegian photographer with an indecipherable accent and a strong dislike of hypocrisy or of a terrorist who seems to have access to plutonium as well as Semtex.

The definitive collection of short fiction by Isaac Asimov, supreme master of the science fiction genre continues with Volume Three of the Complete Stories. The Good Doctor was always ahead of his time and his work stands today as the clearest expression of our collective hopes and fears for the future. But the ever-expanding popularity of his stories with young and old fans alike is explained by their wit, zest and human interest.

One hot, humid day in July 1944, the Gestapo abducted 15-year-old Henry and his mother, forcing them onto cramped cattle cars in the Łódź Polish Ghetto. Like so many Jews before them, they had been selected to disappear–they were being sent to Auschwitz.

An unknown vessel, not of this world, materialises in London. A colossal figure towering over the city, it makes no move. Is this a peaceful first contact or the prelude to an invasion? Every child has nightmares. But the only thing scarier than little Eva Reyes' dreams - apocalyptic visions of death and destruction - is the habit they have of coming true. Scientist Dr Rose Franklin has no memory of the last few years. The strangers she works with say she died, and was brought back to life. The question is not just how...but why?

This wickedly candid memoir that Ava Gardner dared not publish during her lifetime offers a revealing self-portrait of the film legend's life and loves in Hollywood's golden age. Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood's great stars during the 1940s and '50s, an Oscar-nominated leading lady who co-starred with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, among others. But this riveting account of her storied life and career had to wait for publication until after her death, so concerned was Gardner with its frankness.