Most Popular Books by Byron Preiss

The tale begins over three-hundred years ago, when the Fair People—the goblins, fairies, dragons, and other fabled and fantastic creatures of a dozen lands—fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. With them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten-thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full color paintings and verses of The Secret. Yet The Secret is much more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People''s treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: the Toll Trolls, Maitre D''eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to them all. Many "armchair treasure hunt" books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues.

ufeff“Dragonworld goes far beyond the flashy pyrotechnics of contemporary fantasy and fantasy illustration. Joe Zucker is a superlative and original illustrator, and he reveals a rare and astonishing gift for infusing a richness of character into his pictures, which do justice to Byron Preiss''s and Michael Reaves''s compelling story.” —Maurice Sendak “Until now, there have been only two real grandmasters of modern epic fantasy—J.R.R. Tolkien and Ann McCaffrey. With the team of Preiss and Reaves, there are three, and may they write and write and write.” —United Press International Somewhere beyond the northern mists lies a land where dreams live and dragons are real. This is the tale of the twilight of the dragons, of two nations plunged into war by a tragic misunderstanding, of a shy dreamer''s incredible voyage of peace to a long-forgotten land where nightmares are born. A magnificent creation, a sweeping epic of high fantasy set in a richly imagined world, vividly brought to life with over eighty pages of stunning illustrations by Joseph Zucker.

You''re alone in a prehistoric pine forest when a hugedinosaur comes roaring at you. You decide how the story will go.

Some of the world''s best-known authors of the fantastic and the mysterious explore the legend of Bram Stoker''s classic and seductive monster. From Hugo and Stoker Award-winning author Dan Simmons'' extraordinary portrait of life and torture in modern Romania, to W.R. Philbrick''s chilling story of a doctor who meets a vampire in need of a cure, to Karen Robards'' glimpse at the life of the smallest vampire of them all— here are spectacular vampire stories transcending time and space.

ufeffWeird Heroes is a collective effort to do something new: to approach three popular heroic fantasy forms—science fiction, the pulps and the comics—from different and exciting directions. Each story in this book is experimental. There are revitalizations of classic fantasy themes such as time travel and jungle adventure. There is innovative use of some of the most dynamic graphic story talent in the world, from Philippino illustrator Alex Nino to American cartoonist Ralph Reese. There is a strong and conscious effort to encourage storytelling which does not rely on violence as a primary source of drama. Weird Heroes is a collective effort to give back to heroic fiction its thrilling sense of adventure and entertainment—the heartbeat of the old pulps. The pulps used heroes to bring fiction to a grand level of excitement—a level which incorporated the reader into the experience. Weird Heroes refreshes that concept of fiction as an adventure in itself, without relating to the new wave of violence and pornography in the production of exciting stories. Weird Heroes is a collection of memorable firsts. It represents the first major publication of prose stories by both science fiction and graphic story writers. Within volumes 1 and 2 you will find the first published appearances of famous pulp biographer Philip Jose Farmer’s epic pulp character, “Greatheart Silver.” You’ll be witness to the first major book publication of an interview with award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer, Fritz Leiber. You’ll experience the insanity of Superman author Elliot S. Maggin’s “Gonzo Storytelling” and discover the new hero by a literary descendant to Dashiell Hammett on Secret Agent X-9, Archie Goodwin. Weird Heroes contains the first American book illustration work by award-winning Spanish artist Esteban Maroto. Jim Steranko and Neal Adams, two titans of the modern graphic story field, appear for the first time under the same cover in Volume 2. Tom Sutton, an unsung hero of the comics with a comedic style that blends Kurtzman, Elder, and Eisner, also makes his book debut with five plates for “Showdown at Shootout.”

What if your dad were president of the United States? Some of the most famous people in the world would visit your house, and you''d have a new room to explore every day of the month. And you might meet some residents of the White House that nobody''s heard of, like the family of bats living in the basement, an anteater named Agatha who lives in the garden shed, and a blue bear. Each season with these new friends would bring new adventures. Perhaps you''d solve a mystery with the help of a Secret Service agent. Or you could take a trip to the spooky Vampire State Building—and hope you live to tell about it! Originally published as The Bat Family. Illustrated.

Features the complete text of the constitution and its 26 amendments; plus essays and commentary by some of America''s leading statesmen.

In this haunting and provocative collection, some of the best-known authors of the fantastic and the mysterious explore the legends and lore of witches and witchcraft. From Dean Koontz’s tale of a witch’s revenge on a purse-snatcher to Jane Yolen’s story of sorcery in old Scotland, from S.P. Somtow’s eerie look at Magic in modern-day Hollywood to Tanith Lee’s story of enchantment in an exotic land—here are spectacular stories transcending time and place. Stories by Various Authors Introduction by Philip José Farmer Cover art by Bruce Jensen Illustrations by Lars Hokanson

This work collects stories by biggest names in horror including Anne Rice, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Gene Wolfe, Kevin J. Anderson and others. Remakes of movies such as "Dawn of the Dead" and the AMC series "The Walking Dead" prove continued interest in the undead. This work features review mailings to horror websites and magazines. It celebrates the strange and unusual, some of the best-known authors of the fantastic and the horrific explore the myths and legends surrounding a creature both dead and the undead...the zombie! From Anne Rice''s chilling portrait of a woman more dead than alive to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro''s future where nobody dies forever, from Nina Kirki Hoffman''s powerful story of the dead returned for love to Gene Wolfe''s tale of computer—driven corpses—here are the spectacular zombie stories of the modern age!

An Illustrated Novel “A truly fine novel by a truly fine writer.”—Theodore Sturgeon An incredible man from another world stranded on earth searching the stars for a way home. Caliban knew when he opened his faceted eyes that he had been thrust through a bizarre warp to a strange world. But how could he return to his home plant Balthar...to discover the truth about his love Lady Jerilyn? Caliban meets a young woman whose paintings reveal the land of his birth. Her mind holds the secret to Caliban''s struggle—but the government is closing in fast. With his alien strength and the ability to distort perception, Caliban faces the threat of two different worlds.

A young boy finds life in the White House, where his father is always busy, very lonely, and so finds a family of bats and other friends to share adventures with.

It is the year 3000, and the Batman of that era lies dead. Civilization''s only remaining hope against the threat of the group known as the Skulp resides in the boy who survives the Dark Knight...if he can only prevail where his mentor failed. What will the Earth of 3000 A.D. be like...and how will its heroes cope with the otherworldly threats confronting it? ROBIN 3000 is the first Robin Elseworlds story, and the first Elseworlds story in two parts.

After the death of the Batman of 3000 A.D., that era''s Robin and his allies are captured by Batman''s killers, the Skulp, and tricked into helping their plot to control interplanetary civilizations.

In this mythic and wondrous collection, some of the best-known authors of the fantastic explore the legends and lore of the fire-breathing creatures that have captured the imagination of adventure lovers everywhere – dragons. From S.P. Somtow’s dramatic tale of an ancient dragon owned by a family in modern Thailand to Ursula K. Le Guins’s classic story of the power of a dragon’s naming, from Tanith Lee’s portrait of a dying dragon to Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg’s look at a dragon whose love for a human woman could spell doom for the whole Earth—here are spectacular dragon stories transcending time and place..

Consists of essays by astronomers, speculations by science fiction authors, and illustrations by space artists.

This renowned museum houses some of the most coveted masterpieces in the world. Illustrated with full-color images, this art ebook details the history of the museum and gives brief overviews of some of its cherished paintings from masters such as Ingres and Delacroix.

A puedo-autobiographical view of the Beach Boys, including interview excerpts, historical narrative, lyrics, photographs and illustrations.

Manet, Monet Renoir, Degas—these and other Impressionists are profiled in this accessible ebook. Features full-color images of some of these artists’ best-known works, such as Manet’s Olympia, Monet’s Impression: Sunrise, and Degas’s Orchestra of the Opéra, this guide is sure to make an impression.

Are we alone in this cosmos, or do we yet have to come to terms with the actual existence of alien life? Never before has so much time and concentrated effort been spent by so many scientists and writers in the pursuit of the answer to this fundamental question. In this extraordinary book, major scientists involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence known as SETI explain their work and reveal their secret thoughts. Now, in joining them here, are some of the best speculative thinkers, from Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov to Gregory Benford, who address the major philosophical questions involved. Intriguing, suspense-filled and intense, this book promises to deliver more than just mundane facts and theory.

In this book, we gather together the scientists, the intellectuals, and the artists, to learn about and speculate upon the cosmos. The world right now desperately needs both the physicist and the dreamer. G-d has blessed us with the most magnificent world imaginable. We have barely made the first steps in seeing all the light in the darkness. Perhaps it is the dreamer who will find out the nature of dark matter; perhaps it is the scientist who will find solutions to needless hunger and mindless war. For them both, the bounty of the Earth and the cosmos is the currency of hope. Humanity must use what it has been blessed with to survive. Then, as in Paul Simon’s phrase, we all might be dancing together “with diamonds on the soles of our shoes.” They will be the diamonds of the stars and it will be a dance of peace.

Confessions continues the fast-paced excitement of the hard-bitten detective Martin Jackson and Cornelia, his beautiful stripper and hit-woman client introduced in our book Skin In Darkness published in 2006.Following the death of a minor league writer, a mysterious woman whose own past is full of contradictions is called in to investigate his life and to discover the lost manuscript of his memoirs, as they may incriminate VIPs.

When the town mouse and the country mouse visit each other, they find they prefer very different ways of life.

In this strange and exciting collection, some of the best-known authors of fantasy explore the intricacies and speculations of human encounters with aliens. THE ULTIMATE ALIEN offers such a variety of stories, from Arthur C. Clarke''s classic tale of the exploration of Venus, to Robert Silverberg''s examination of an interspecies marriage. Mike Resnick and Nicholas A. DiChario''s take a hilarious look at an alien radio broadcast, while to Nina Kiriki Hoffman''s shares an intense study of a woman taken over by a plant-like creature. THE ULTIMATE ALIEN presents some spectacular stories transcending time and space.

From funk to soul to disco to punk, The Rhino History of Rock ''n'' Roll: The ''70s presents a colorful, in-depth account of the grooviest decade in music. The first in a series of books from Rhino Records, the book includes an original CD of classic ''70''s tunes and interviews.

Past, present and future of the dinosaur.

Produced to coincide with the annual Great American Smoke-Out, this book offers parents concrete methods to prevent children from starting this deadly habit. It includes a quiz for kids on their knowledge of smoking and its effects, an organ by organ breakdown of how tobacco affects the body, a timeline on the popularity of tobacco, and more.

In the same successful format as The Planets and The Universe, here is another spectacular, fully illustrated journal--this time focusing on the small, the microscopic and the nearly invisible. 40 illustrations.

The reader''s decisions determine what adventures will occur during a trip back in time to the fourteenth century to learn more about the Order of the Garter.

When Little Blue gets lost from his herd, he is forced to learn to use his wits.