Johanna Sinisalo0.0 The Eusistocratic Republic of Finland has bred a new human sub-species of receptive, submissive women, called eloi, for sex and procreation, while intelligent, independent women are relegated to menial labor and sterilized so that they do not carry on their "defective" line. Vanna, raised as an eloi but secretly intelligent, needs money to help her doll-like sister, who has disappeared. Vanna forms a friendship with a man named Jare, and they become involved in buying and selling a stimulant known to the Health Authority to be extremely dangerous: chili peppers. Then Jare comes across a strange religious cult in possession of the Core of the Sun, a chili so hot that it is rumored to cause hallucinations. Does this chili have effects that justify its prohibition? How did Finland turn into the North Korea of Europe? And will Vanna succeed in her quest to find her sister, or will her growing need to satisfy her chili addiction destroy her?
L. Neil Smith0.0 When Shaalara of the Alteen Zirnaath, a sapient, medium-sized spider of the jumping variety came into Eichra Oren's office to commission the Assessor of p'Na and his symbiote, canine detective Sam Otusam, to find the location of her fiancE, they were not expecting the 'accidents' that impeded their research, or the taking on even more unusual clients along the way.
For conducting an investigation on the Elders' planet is not an easy task. The Elders--large squid-like Superbeings--had 'Appropriated' species from all across the omniverse, plucking sapient races from alternate Earths, where they had faced extinction, or simply fascinated their new omnipotent benefactors.
While the Elders' had introduced the Appropriated Persons and their descendants to a world where there were no wars, and gifted them with lifetimes that averaged a thousand years--at least--it had long been determined that the peaceful beings should not have taken these species from their Earths; there was a sense of unease rising within the populace.
Eichra Oren's primary role as an Assessor of p'Na was to assess the actions of his clients, and determine whether they had atone for them--at the edge of his sword, or otherwise--but what of the Elders' actions? Those directly involved with the Appropriation had long since ended their lives, when the moral implications of their actions had been made clear to them. But what about the rest of the Elders?
Why were there whispers of new Appropriations? And who was the mysterious new race threatening Earth?
Eichra and Sam were determined to find out.... And maybe, just maybe, find a runaway groom along the way.
Ken MacLeod0.0 Sentient machines work, fight and die in interstellar exploration and conflict for the benefit of their owners - the competing mining corporations of Earth. But sent over hundreds of light-years, commands are late to arrive and often hard to enforce. The machines must make their own decisions, and make them stick.
With this new found autonomy come new questions about their masters. The robots want answers. The companies would rather see them dead.
The Corporation Wars: Dissidence is an all-action, colorful space opera giving a robot's-eye view of a robot revolt.
Ken MacLeod0.0 DIE FOR THE COMPANY, LIVE FOR THE PAY
And the ultimate pay-off is DH-17, an Earth-like planet hundreds of light years from human habitation.
Ruthless corporations vie over the prize remotely, and war is in full swing. But soldiers recruited to fight in the extremities of deep space come with their own problems: from A.I. minds in full rebellion, to Carlos 'the Terrorist' and his team of dead mercenaries, reincarnated from a bloodier period in earth's history for one purpose only - to kill.
But as old rivalries emerge and new ones form, Carlos must decide whether he's willing for fight for the company or die for himself.
Ken MacLeod continues the Corporation Wars trilogy in this action-packed science fiction adventure told against a backdrop of interstellar drone warfare, virtual reality, and an A.I. revolution.
The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable fortune filtering down when their 97-year-old patriarch dies. Yet America’s soaring national debt has grown so enormous that it can never be repaid. Under siege from an upstart international currency, the dollar is in meltdown. A bloodless world war will wipe out the savings of millions of American families.
Their inheritance turned to ash, each family member must contend with disappointment, but also – as the effects of the downturn start to hit – the challenge of sheer survival.
Recently affluent Avery is petulant that she can’t buy olive oil, while her sister Florence is forced to absorb strays into her increasingly cramped household. As their father Carter fumes at having to care for his demented stepmother now that a nursing home is too expensive, his sister Nollie, an expat author, returns from abroad at 73 to a country that’s unrecognizable.
Perhaps only Florence’s oddball teenage son Willing, an economics autodidact, can save this formerly august American family from the streets.
This is not science fiction. This is a frightening, fascinating, scabrously funny glimpse into the decline that may await the United States all too soon, from the pen of perhaps the most consistently perceptive and topical author of our times.
Роберт Хайнлайн3.9 Дэвид Маккинон расквасил нос хаму и был за это осужден. В качестве наказания предоставлялся выбор — психологическая перестройка, устраняющая тенденцию наносить ущерб другим людям, или отчуждение от Государства путем высылки в Ковентри.
Маккинон отказался от лечения и был отправлен в Ковентри, где столкнулся с гораздо более асоциальными людьми...
Редьярд Киплинг5.0 Середина двадцать первого века. Район Северный Иллинойс внезапно отключился от планетарной сети, его представители предъявляют прибывшим из Лондона представителям Воздушного Контрольного Совета странные требования — что-то о свободе собраний и волеизъявлении посредством сбора каких-то бумажек с какими-то пометками...
Вернор Виндж0.0 После разрушительной Мировой войны с применением ядерного и бактериологического оружия, Северное полушарие Земли стало непригодно для жизни. Цивилизация сохранилась только в Южном полушарии, но технологически человечество оказалось отброшено на сотню лет назад. В это время на Землю прибывают представители инопланетной цивилизации. Они начинают вести переговоры об освоении зараженных северных земель. Но земляне подозревают, что планы пришельцев идут намного дальше...
Курт Воннегут4.1 Гаррисон Бержерон — обычный проблемный подросток. Впрочем, нет, не совсем обычный — это детина двухметрового роста и поразительного ума, что уж совсем никак не приветствуется в обществе Всеобщего Равенства. Да и причини он какие-то особенные проблемы, никому до них и дела не будет, даже родителям...
Джек Уильямсон4.2 Землю наводнили черные гуманоидные роботы с Винг-IV и быстро вытеснили с рынка обыкновенных андроидов. Из-за этого Андерхилл, торговец андроидами, разорился. В его доме появился постоялец Следж. Именно он изобрел этих гуманоидов, которые управляются из единого центра и чересчур усердно служат людям, тем самым обрекая любое общество на застой и вымирание.
