Sinistri presagi indicano che da Antiqua è salpata una flotta di navi: navi nere, cariche di neri guerrieri, di strani animali capelluti e di armi che portano una morte senza volto. La guerra è imminente. Il Bene e il Male, come nel più epico dei racconti, esploderanno in una battaglia cruenta alla quale parteciperanno anche forze soprannaturali e magiche. Tutti i popoli del continente, superate le antiche divisioni, si uniranno a combattere con l’esercito del Cervo, guidato dal valoroso Dulkancellin. Gli uomini di pace si trasformeranno in guerrieri, e i guerrieri in eroi. La salvezza del continente dipende dal loro coraggio

Lightspeed (www.lightspeedmagazine.com) is the critically-acclaimed, online science fiction magazine edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. Each month, Lightspeed features a mix of originals and reprints, from a variety of authors - from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven''t heard of yet. Now, in Lightspeed: Year One, you will find all of the fiction published in Lightspeed''s first year, from new stories such as Nebula Award finalists, Vylar Kaftan''s "I''m Alive, I Love You, I''ll See You in Reno" and "Arvies" by Adam-Troy Castro, and Carrie Vaughn''s Hugo Award-nominee "Amaryllis," to classic reprints by Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and more.

Lightspeed (www.lightspeedmagazine.com) is the critically-acclaimed, online science fiction magazine edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams. Lightspeed publishes all types of science fiction, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between. Each month, Lightspeed features a mix of originals and reprints, from a variety of authors—from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven't heard of yet. Now, in Lightspeed: Year One, you will find all of the fiction published in Lightspeed's first year, from new stories such as Nebula Award finalists, Vylar Kaftan’s “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” and “Arvies” by Adam-Troy Castro, and Carrie Vaughn’s Hugo Award-nominee “Amaryllis,” to classic reprints by Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and more.

Maps in a Mirror brings together nearly all of Orson Scott Card’s short fiction written between 1977 and 1990. For those readers who have followed this remarkable talent since the beginning, here are all those amazing stories gathered together in one place, with some extra surprises as well.For the hundreds of thousands who are newly come to Card, here is chance to experience the wonder of a writer so versatile that he can handle everything from traditional narrative poetry to modern experimental fiction with equal ease and grace. The brilliant story-telling of the Alvin Maker books is no accident; the breathless excitement evoked by the Ender books is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience.In this enormous volume are forty-six stories, plus ten long, intensely personal essays, unique to this volume. In them the author reveals some of his reasons and motivations for writing, with a good deal of autobiography into the bargain.From book flaps:THE SHORT FICTION OF ORSON SCOTT CARD brings together nearly all of Card’s stories, from his first publications in 1977 to work as recent as last year. For those readers who have followed this remarkable talent since the beginning, here are all those amazing stories gathered together in one place, with some extra surprises as well. For the hundreds of thousands who are newly come to Card, here is a chance to experience the wonder of a writer so talented, so versatile that he can handle everything from traditional narrative poetry to modern experimental fiction with equal ease and grace. The brilliant story-telling of the Alvin Maker books is no accident; the breathless excitement evoked by ENDER’S GAME is riot a once-in-a-lifetime experience.In this enormous volume are 46 stories, broken into five books: Ten fables and fantasies, fairy tales that sometimes tell us truths about ourselves; eleven tales of dread—and commentary that explains why dread is a much scarier emotion than horror; seven tales of human futures—science fiction from a master of extrapolation and character; six tales of death, hope, and holiness, where Card explores the spiritual side of human nature; and twelve lost songs.The Lost Songs are a special treat for readers of this hardcover volume, for here are gathered tales which will not see print again. Here are Card’s stories written for Mormon children, a pair that were published in small literary magazines, a thoughtful essay on the writing of fiction, and three major works which have, since their original publication, been superseded by novel-, or more than novel-length works. First, there is the original novella-length version of Card’s Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel, ENDER’S GAME. Then there is “Mikal’s Songbird”, which was the seed of the novel SONGMASTER; “Mikal’s Songbird” will never be published again. And finally, the narrative poem “Prentice Alvin and the No-Good Plow”—here is the original inspiration for the Alvin Maker series, an idea so powerful that it could not be contained in a single story, or a hundred lines of verse, but is growing to become the most original American fantasy ever written.MAPS IN A MIRROR is not just a collection of stories, however complete. This comprehensive collection also contains nearly a whole book’s worth of original material. Each section begins and ends with long, intensely personal introductions and afterwords; here the author reveals some of his reasons and motivations for writing what he writes—and a good deal of autobiography into the bargain.ORSON SCOTT CARD grew up in Utah and attended Brigham Young University, where he studied drama. Card’s early writing career was devoted to plays; he had his own theater company, which was successful for a number of years. Card spent his missionary years in Brazil, learning to speak fluent Portuguese. He now lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife and three children.

En un futuro no demasiado lejano, un pequeño grupo de científicos e historiadores dedican sus horas a estudiar el pasado con una nueva máquina de observación a través del tiempo, la TruSite II.Por desgracia su mundo es un lugar trágico: la especie humana ha quedado reducida a una población de menos de mil millones de personas tras un siglo de guerras y plagas, de sequía, de inundaciones y de hambrunas. Ha habido demasiadas extinciones, demasiada tierra ha quedado envenenada y baldía. La gente que sobrevive lucha por renovar el planeta, mientras los especialistas observan el pasado en busca de las causas de su terrible presente.Un día, sin embargo, al contemplar la terrible matanza de las tribus caribeñas a manos de los españoles, que conducidos por Cristóbal Colón se dirigen a La Hispaniola, la observadora Tagin descubre que la mujer a quien está estudiando también la ve a ella y, a su vez, interpreta esa imagen como un mensaje de los dioses. ¿Podría alterarse el pasado? ¿Seria correcto que un pequeño grupo de observadores actuara deforma que, de tener éxito, hiciera desaparecer una línea temporal, aunque fuera la suya propia? ¿Se justificaría su acción si, gracias a ella, se evitara la muerte de todo el planeta?

What if you could not only travel any location in the world, but to any possible world?We can all imagine such “other worlds”—be they worlds just slightly different than our own or worlds full of magic and wonder—but it is only in fiction that we can travel to them. From The Wizard of Oz to The Dark Tower, from Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass to C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, there is a rich tradition of this kind of fiction, but never before have the best parallel world stories and portal fantasies been collected in a single volume—until now.Review“Anthologist Adams presents readers with a wide variety of alternate Earths, some only slightly askew and others completely unfamiliar. […] Adams’s selections are mirrors reflecting one other with the best images of alternate realities. Readers will greatly enjoy this exploration of our world's foremost and ascendant speculative authors.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)“Reminds longtime readers of fantasy and sci-fi what we love about the genre, while also and aptly demonstrating to newcomers that these stories are about so much more than dragons and multitentacled monsters. It comes highly recommended to both and all.”—Bookgasm

Mieszkańcy księstwa Mueller na planecie Spisek tylko z pozoru żyją w średniowieczu. Choć mieszkają w zamkach i toczą wojny używając broni rodem z czasów europejskiego rycerstwa, posiedli imponującą wiedzę z zakresu inżynierii genetycznej. Wszyscy Muellerowie mają właściwość natychmiastowego gojenia się ran, a nawet regeneracji utraconych lub bezpowrotnie uszkodzonych części ciała. Co jakiś czas jednak w wyniku eksperymentów pojawiają się mutacje… Jeżeli tylko ktoś okaże się być mutantem, traci wszystko i przestaje być uznawany za istotę ludzką. Syn i spadkobierca księcia, Lanik, jest mutantem i tajemnica ta wychodzi na jaw. Dla Lanika chwila ta nie jest początkiem upadku. Wprost przeciwnie…