Books published by publisher Spectra Books

For the devoted followers of the dazzling Deverry and Westlands cycle, Katharine Kerr continues the magical epic saga she began in The Red Wyvern.The Black RavenHer latest tale shifts effortlessly between the shattered lands of the Rhiddaer and Dun Deverry itself. At the historic end of the Civil Wars, Lilli, newly apprenticed to the dweomer, fights with her untried powers to save her beloved Prince Maryn from evil. Centuries later, in the city of Cerr Cawnen, the old evil awakens yet again when the sorceress Raena schemes to destroy Rhodry Maelwaedd, her bitter enemy during life after life. But her malice will draw the intervention of astral powers--and unleash the ravaging rage of Rhodry's guardian dragon. Only another untried dweomer can buy safety for the city and the berserker himself--and only at a most fearsome price....

Nebula and Hugo award-winning author David Brin continues his bestselling Uplift series in this second novel of a bold new trilogy. Imaginative, inventive, and filled with Brin's trademark mix of adventure, passion, and wit, Infinity's Shore carries us further than ever before into the heart of the most beloved and extraordinary science fiction sagas ever written.For the fugitive settlers of Jijo, it is truly the beginning of the end. As starships fill the skies, the threat of genocide hangs over the planet that once peacefully sheltered six bands of sapient beings. Now the human settlers of Jijo and their alien neighbors must make heroic--and terrifying--choices. A scientist must rally believers for a cause he never shared. And four youngsters find that what started as a simple adventure--imitating exploits in Earthling books by Verne and Twain--leads them to the dark abyss of mystery. Meanwhile, the Streaker, with her fugitive dolphin crew, arrives at last on Jijo in a desperate search for refuge. Yet what the crew finds instead is a secret hidden since the galaxies first spawned intelligence--a secret that could mean salvation for the planet and its inhabitants...or their ultimate annihilation.From the Paperback edition.

In Brightness Reef and Infinity's Shore, David Brin boldly returned to the Uplift universe he so brilliantly invented in the Nebula and Hugo award-winning trilogy Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War. Now he concludes this second trilogy with his most imaginative and emotionally powerful novel to date--the shattering epic of a universe poised on the brink of revelation...or annihilation.After centuries of mutual peace, the "sooner" experiment on planet Jijo is coming to a tragic end. The six fugitive races that escaped there from the Five Galaxies have been discovered by ancient enemies. The terrifying Jophur have plans for the exiled inhabitants: a program of genocide and forced breeding to suit their own perverted needs.The Jijoans' only hope is the very ship that inadvertently led the Jophur to their obscure planet. The Earthship Streaker, crewed by uplifted dolphins, commanded by an untested human, engages the Jophur in a desperate race to a mysterious point in space that could well mean the destruction of them both. Yet more than just the fate of Jijo hangs in the balance. For Streaker carries a cargo of ancient artifacts that may unlock the secret of the Progenitors, the mythical race that first brought sapience to the galaxies. Some believe a dire prophecy is already coming to pass: an age of terrifying changes in time and space that could end galactic civilization.Against this apocalyptic backdrop, sapient beings, both human and alien, must come together to face the ultimate crisis. An uplifted chimpanzee scout must overcome prejudice and his own limitations to survive the bizarre terrors of increasingly unstable hyperspace. A brilliant scientist attempts to wrest order from onrushing chaos. Streaker's commander will push the limits of courage and skill as she plunges her crew headlong into the unknown. And two lovers from Jijo, prisoners of the Jophur, embark on a perilous journey, which will either transform them...or destroy them.Already dozens of white dwarf stars stand ready to explode, as if guided by an unseen hand, while countless reclusive Old Ones gather in search of ultimate transcendence.As worlds are sundered and hyperspace becomes impassable, the survival of sentient life in the universe rests on an improbable hope: that age-old antagonists of different races can at last recognize the unity of all consciousness.Once again David Brin has combined brilliant intellectual speculation, dazzling characterization, and breakneck action in a novel that reaches the pinnacle of achievement: a galactic panorama of wonder and wisdom, insight and adventure, in which he reveals mysteries that may lie at the heart of the universe.

The three laws of Robotics:1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov's trademark.

In the second breathtaking volume of Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy, a new tide of glory and terror sweeps forward the story of the Vestrit clan, their liveship Vivacia, and all who strive to possess her. As the ancient tradition of Bingtown's Old Traders slowly erodes under the cold new order of a corrupt ruler, the Vestrits anxiously await the return of their liveship--a rare magic ship carved from sentient wizardwood, which bonds the ships mystically with those who sail them. And Althea Vestrit waits even more avidly, living only to reclaim the ship as her lost inheritance and captain her on the high seas. But the Vivacia has been seized by the ruthless pirate captain Kennit, who holds Althea's nephew and his father hostage. Althea and her onetime sea mate Brashen resolve to liberate the liveship--but their plan may prove more dangerous than leaving the Vivacia in Kennit's ambitious grasp....

A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain Isaac Asimovs Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together Like most people left behind on an overpopulated Earth New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors who distrusted all Earthmen was strained from the start Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner R Daneel Olivaw Worst of all was that the R stood for robot and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme Now it is dying But only Hari Sheldon creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory can see into the futureto a dark age of ignorance barbarism and warfare that will last thirty thousand years To preserve knowledge and save mankind Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire both scientists and scholarsand brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a fututre generations He calls his sanctuary the Foundation But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire Mankinds last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice submit to the barbarians and be overrun or fight them and be destroyed

Classics of high fantasy, Ursula K. Le Guin's three previous Earthsea novels--A W izard Of Earthsea, The Tombs Of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore--have been compared with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and C.S Lewis' Narnia stories as being among the genre's greatest creations. Now the fourth and final volume, Tehanu, brings to a conclusion the remarkable Earthsea cycle with a revelation of wisdom, wonder, and literary wizardry. Once she'd been a priestess, quest-companion to a powerful mage, a student of high magic. Then she gave it all up to be a farmer's wife on Gont, content to lead a simple life. But Tenar was not born to live her days in peace, away from great events. A dying wizard and an abused child were the first to call her back to the path she had abandoned. For the end of the adventure beckoned and Tenar would be there along with the dragons, mages, and the young king himself to share in the unforgettable fate of the kingdom known as Earthsea.