Books in A Bantam spectra book series

Vividly imagined, stunningly prophetic, and epic in scope, The Diamond Age is a major novel from one of the most visionary writers of our timeDecades into our future, a stone’s throw from the ancient city of Shanghai, a brilliant nanotechnologist named John Percival Hackworth has just broken the rigorous moral code of his tribe, the powerful neo-Victorians. He's made an illicit copy of a state-of-the-art interactive device called A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer Commissioned by an eccentric duke for his grandchild, stolen for Hackworth's own daughter, the Primer’s purpose is to educate and raise a girl capable of thinking for herself. It performs its function superbly. Unfortunately for Hackworth, his smuggled copy has fallen into the wrong hands.Young Nell and her brother Harv are thetes—members of the poor, tribeless class. Neglected by their mother, Harv looks after Nell. When he and his gang waylay a certain neo-Victorian—John Percival Hackworth—in the seamy streets of their neighborhood, Harv brings Nell something special: the Primer.Following the discovery of his crime, Hackworth begins an odyssey of his own. Expelled from the neo-Victorian paradise, squeezed by agents of Protocol Enforcement on one side and a Mandarin underworld crime lord on the other, he searches for an elusive figure known as the Alchemist. His quest and Nell’s will ultimately lead them to another seeker whose fate is bound up with the Primer—a woman who holds the key to a vast, subversive information network that is destined to decode and reprogram the future of humanity.

In celebration of the publication of the sequel Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman comes this special edition of the classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, a novel that transcends genre to stand as one of the most significant literary works of our time.In the Utah desert, Brother Francis of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz has made a miraculous discovery: the relics of the martyr Isaac Leibowitz himself, including the blessed blueprint and the sacred shopping list. They may provide a bright ray of hope in a terrifying age of darkness, a time of ignorance and genetic monsters that are the unholy aftermath of the Flame Deluge. But as the spellbinding mystery at the core of this extraordinary novel unfolds, it is the search itsel—for meaning, for truth, for love—that offers hope to a humanity teetering on the edge of an abyss.A timeless and still timely masterpiece, A Canticle for Leibowitz is a classic that ranks with Brave New World and 1984.

The center of our galaxy is magnificant, wondrous - and utterly deadly. Located there is an enormous black hole, a pit into which a million suns have fallen. Against this haunting starscape, a small human band flees from an enemy it cannot hope to combat - enormously superior artificial minds embodied in great insectlike machines. This last remnant of humanity is led by Killeen, a man elevated to command in desperate times by his luck and daring. He manages to reach a new planet, where he encounters vast wonders - a planet-coring cosmic string, an organic life-form the size of an entire world, and another group of humans led by a strange messianic ruler - and he faces even greater dangers from the most awesome beings the band has yet to confront. Their battle for survival reaches overwhelming dimensions. But they will gain an un expected ally. And they will figure in the new order of life developing at the Galactic Center.

The winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, Connie Willis has thrilled countless readers with her enthralling science fiction novels that entertain as well as enlighten. Now this superb writer captures the timeless essence of generosity and goodwill in a magical collection of Christmas stories that showcase her remarkable talent while taking us on breathless journeys to fascinating realms filled with wonder and joy.This enchanting group of eight tales--two of which are original to this collection--begins with the title story, "Miracle," in which an office worker hopes that her handsome colleague will finally notice her at the company Christmas party. But her carefully devised plans go awry when her guardian angel takes it upon himself to show her the true meaning of love. In the cautionary tale "In Coppelius's Toyshop," the motto What Goes Around Comes Around serves as an eerie reminder to a jaded narcissist who finds himself trapped in a crowded toy store at Christmastime.In the touching "Adaptation," the Ghosts of Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come pay a visit to a lonely bookstore clerk, who discovers that the best gift of all is to give--even when his one wish for the holidays doesn't come true. "Inn" presents the inspiring story of a choir singer who gives shelter on a cold winter night to a homeless man and his pregnant wife--only to learn later that there's much more to the couple than meets the eye. And "Epiphany" follows three unwitting, modern-day wisemen on a quest unlike any they've ever experienced.A treasure to cherish anytime of the year, this collection boldly reimagines the stories of Christmas and serves as a testament to Connie Willis's unique genius and skill in bringing the extraordinary to life while conveying the power of human compassion and love.

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.

Few writers have successfully blended hard science and speculation with fully realized characters as Gregory Benford has in his critically acclaimed novels. Now he draws us into a vortex of mystery and danger at the heart of the galaxy in his dazzling new epic drama, Furious Gulf.Containing the remnants of humanity from the planet Snowglade, the spaceship Argo hurtles toward its uncertain destiny, the bold and brilliant Captain Killeen at its helm. But he has grown increasingly isolated and anguished in command. The ship's gardens are failing, its voyagers face starvation, and there are dark whispers within, talk of mutiny. Killeen's will, however, remains as strong as ever, his determination to reach the True Center of the galaxy bordering on obsession.Amid a mad swirl of incandescent suns and ghostly blue clouds of galactic dust, beset by hostile worlds controlled by the mechs - a vast and violent artificial intelligence whose only meaning, only mission, is the complete extermination of the human race - Killeen pursues his desperate search, convinced his people's one hope of survival lies in the True Center. The crew has followed him this far on faith, a faith now being tested to the limit. Even his own son Toby, groomed for leadership, is beginning to question his father's command.As the Argo undertakes a perilous quest into the unknown, Toby faces his own journey into the mysteries of adulthood. Like the others in this Family of voyagers, Toby's spine contains microchip implants holding the memories - the legacy - of his race. But just as the technology designed to save his people may tear Toby himself apart, so his father's desperate gamble to save the Argo may plunge the ship and its inhabitants into a cosmic pit of all-consuming fire.In this extraordinary novel, part of an interconnected series of novels that began with In the Ocean of Night and continued in Across the Sea of Suns, Great Sky River, and Tides of Light, Gregory Benford explores the fundamental nature of human development and discovery. Across the gulf that stretches between fear and faith, past and future, we watch in wonder as an age-old quest continues...the quest for the fulfillment of an individual, for the evolution of a species, for the immortality of the soul.