Books published by publisher Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club

Alanna of Trebond wants to be a knight. Therefore she, disguised as the boy "Alan", swaps places with her twin brother Thom, to go to the royal palace in the city of Corus to try for knighthood. Throughout the four novels Alanna meets many friends, including George, the charming and mischievous King of Thieves; the lovable but unkempt scholar Sir Myles of Olau; sharp Gareth "Gary" of Naxen; gentle giant Raoul of Goldenlake; beautiful Princess Thayet of Sarain; deadly Liam the Shang Dragon; and Prince Jonathan of Conte, Alanna's best friend and sometimes lover. She also meets several foes, including Ralon of Malven, and Duke Roger of Conte, Jonathan's charming but sly cousin, who is later portrayed as an ambitious and murderous madman. Alanna also acquires a new pet-her mysterious black cat Faithful, who, true to his name, keeps her from harm. Faithful is hinted to be an immortal, but his origins remain unknown. (In the Beka Cooper Trilogy- Terrier- it is guessed that Faithful- known as Pounce- is a constellation named The Cat that has come down to earth.) Besides her physical battles (overcoming her ineptness with a sword and learning to use her small stature to her own advantage), she also has trouble accepting her sex, magic, and overcoming both her temper and her stubbornness, which gets her frequently into trouble. She becomes emotionally entangled with George, Liam, and Jonathan, and matures as a result. After being adopted into a Bahzir tribe, she learns to embrace her magic as part of her and use it, learning to wield it wisely without fear. The Song of the Lioness is a series of young adult fantasy novels published in the 1980s by Tamora Pierce. The series consists of four books: Alanna: The First Adventure (1983), In the Hand of the Goddess (1984), The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986) and Lioness Rampant (1988).

Even in the Holllows - Cincinnati's home to all supernatural folk - vampires and werewolves can make strange bedfellows. Just ask Rachel Morgan, private investigator and witch. First her never-do-well boyfriend disappears into the night. Then the hunky protege of vampire crimelord Piscary starts eyeing her curves... not to mention her throat. Throw in a demon or two keen to singe her hide - or take her soul - and you'd think she was the poster child for doom instead of one savvy spellcaster. Luckily she shares her business and the deconsecrated church she calls home with roomies Ivy, lithe living vampire, and Jenks, the world's crankiest pixie. For it'll take more than boots to grind down the hell-magic and mayhem that surround her. EVERY WHICH WAY BUT DEAD finds Rachel in a battle of wits and spells, going head to head with nemesis Trent Kalamack and the dark magic he's long ago forged in becoming a drug lord. Who would have guessed Rachel's own father had been his partner? But as she

The Immortals by Tamora Pierce, is the story of Sarrasri (known as Daine), a parentless girl with an extraordinary talent. Daine finds a job that takes her and her pet Cloud from her home country of Galla to the kingdom of Tortall where she finds a new life and a new family, and learns that she has the magical ability known as "Wild Magic," which enables her to speak to animals, heal them, and take their shape as well as bend them to her will. She makes new friends with creatures, including the black-robe mage Numair Salmalin, a young dragon named Skysong (nicknamed Kitten), the lioness, Alanna of Trebond, King Jonathan, and Queen Thayet of Tortall. This single-volume omnibus includes all four volumes of the series: Wild Magic, Wolf-Speaker, Emperor Mage, and The Realms of the Gods.

In all the universe, Amber is the only true world. All others are Shadows, playthings for Amber's royal family -- sibling rivals who vault between worlds using tarot-like Trump cards and walk the labyrinthine Pattern, which confers the power to manipulate reality. Far removed from his native land, Merlin, son of Corwin of Amber and Dara of Chaos, has tried to build himself a normal Earthly life -- a life free of the cabals, vendettas and feuds that have torn his family apart. And he's done quite well for himself. . . except when it comes to April 30th. Because on that day, every year for the past eight years, someone -- or something -- has tried to kill him. Gunshots. Fires. Gas leaks. Car accidents. This year's attempt comes in the form of a huge, dog-like beast that tears his former girlfriend to bits -- and tries to do the same to him. Somebody must have it in for him, but who?

Exclusive 3-in-1 harcover book. Includes A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA: The windswept isles of Earthsea were famous for wizards, and the greatest of all was Ged, called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth. Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.THE TOMBS OF ATUAN: Chosen to serve the Ancient and Nameless Powers of the Earth, Tenar is taken away from her home and family to become Arha, the Priestess Ever Reborn, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. While learning her way throughthe gloomy Labyrinth that is her domain, she encounters Ged, a wizard come to steal the Tombs' greatest treasure. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, a light as forbidden in the Tombs as wizards are in the Kargad Lands....THE FARTHEST SHORE: Ill-tidings have arrived on the Isle of the Wise: The springs of wizardry are drying up. Driven to seek the source of the trouble, Archmage Ged embarks on a perilous journey with the boy-prince, Arren. Their travels take them to a land cursed with a strange soul sickness, to an encounter with Orm Embar, the greatest of the world's dragons, and into the realm of death itself. For if the balance of magic is not restored, darkness will overtake the world. Jacket art by Leo and Diane Dillon. (422 pp.)

In The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov first introduced Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw, who would later become his favorite protagonists. The book's central crime is a murder, which takes place before the novel opens. Roj Nemmenuh Sarton, a Spacer Ambassador, lives in Spacetown, the Spacer outpost just outside New York City. For some time, he has tried to convince the Earth government to loosen its anti-robot restrictions. One morning, he is discovered outside his home, his chest imploded by an energy blaster. The New York police commissioner charges Elijah with finding the murderer. Elijah must work with a Spacer partner, a highly advanced robot who is visually identical to a human, named R. Daneel Olivaw, even though Elijah, like many Earth residents, has a low opinion of robots. Together, they search for the murderer and try to avert an interstellar diplomatic incident. Like its famous predecessor, The Nakes Sun is a whodunit story, in addition to being science fiction. The story arises from the murder of Rikaine Delmarre, a prominent scientist of Solaria, a planet politically hostile to Earth. Elijah Baley is called in to investigate, at the request of the Solarian government. He is again partnered with the humaniform robot R. Daneel Olivaw. The Robots of Dawn is the third novel in Asimov's Robot series. Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw team up to solve the roboticide of a robot identical to Olivaw on the Spacer world of Aurora. The robot's inventor, Han Fastolfe, has been implicated. Fastolfe, who was last seen in The Caves of Steel, is the best roboticist on Aurora. He has admitted that he is the only person with the skill to have done it, although he denies doing it. Fastolfe is also a prominent member of the Auroran political faction that favors Earth. Implication in the crime threatens his political career; therefore, it is politically expedient that he be exonerated.

Back in 1974, the SFBC dubbed The Mote In God's Eye "a modern masterpiece to rank with Dune and Stranger in a Strange Land. . . one of the most exciting, suspenseful and literate science fiction novels of the past decade." And as space-opera spectacle, it has withstood the test of time -- a true original, as clever as it is imaginative. Set in the year 3017, when man has long colonized space, it tells an engrossing tale of first contact, utterly inhuman aliens who harbor a dark secret, and humanity's unique solution to a potentially dangerous situation. The Alderson drive has made it possible for humans to shunt between systems in zero time, and, having never encountered another intelligent species, man reigns supreme. Or so it seems -- only a ship appears out of nowhere, bearing an emissary from a civilization totally alien in creed and culture, yet our equal in power and technology. Before contact can be established, the emissary is accidentally killed, and a danger signal transmitted across space. Commander Roderick Blaine of the Imperial Space Navy knows full well the implications of that unfortunate encounter. Now he and his crew are forced to make a desperate voyage to find the visitor's home world and try to convince its alien inhabitants of humanity's good will. But will they listen? Will they accept Earth's offer to be equal partners in a peaceful universe? Or will they permit nothing less than an all-out galactic war for supremacy?

THIS EDITION ISSUED BY THE SCIENCE FICTION BOOK CLUB IN 2006. Collection of stories first published in 1975, by one of the most award-winning living fantasists. Introduction: Oblations at Alien Altars (1975) by Harlan Ellison. STORIES: The Whimper of Whipped Dogs (1973); Along the Scenic Route (1969); On the Downhill Side (1972); O Ye of Little Faith (1968); Neon (1973); Basilisk (1972); Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes (1967); Corpse (1972); Shattered Like a Glass Goblin (1968); Delusion for a Dragon Slayer (1966); The Face of Helene Bournouw (1960); Bleeding Stones (1973); At the Mouse Circus (1971); The Place with No Name (1969); Paingod (1964); Ernest and the Machine God (1968); Rock God (1969); Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W (1974); The Deathbird (1973).

Reason Cansino isn't like other 15 year olds. For one thing, she's spent most of her life in the Australian Outback on the run from grandmother Esmeralda - a real life witch. For another, Reason got her ame because her mother, Sarafina, like it better than Logic or Rationality or Intellect - all good words representing the calm, ordered certainty that opposed Esmeralda's world. Suddenly Magic is real... and Reason is Magic! 566 Pages.

The golden-scaled K'da warrior Daycos is perfectly content to remain with his symbiont companion of ten years as their battle cruiser flees the Valahgua, the aliens responsible for destroying his home. But a Valahguan ambush forces their ship to crash-land on an unknown world, and only Draycos survives. With his bondmate dead, a weakened, marooned Draycos faces certain death if he cannot find a replacement within hours. But Jack Morgan, 14-year-old part-time thief and full-time fugitive, has managed to survive -- and stay ahead of the law -- while hiding his space craft on this remote planet with the help of the computerized personality of his late (and professionally dishonest) uncle Virge. When Jack investigates the crash site for salvage, Draycos discovers to his surprised relief that Jack can serve as a K'da symbiont and persuades the boy to accept the relationship. In exchange, Draycos offers Jack his considerable warrior skills in keeping ahead of the interstellar police. Jack and Draycos may make an uneasy team, but together they prove far greater than the sum of their parts. In a far-flung race across space, against time, and for a noble people, Jack and Draycos will boldly face the threat of the Valahgua at every turn. But facing each other is even more interesting....