New Releases by Gregory Benford

Sentinels: A collection of stories and essays by some of Clarke''s many colleagues and friends who were influenced by his writings and thoughts about human possibilities, and who continue as his sentinels by the doors to the future that he opened... Stories and essays by: Isaac Asimov, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, Russell Blackford, Damien Broderick, Pat Cadigan, Sheila Finch, James Gunn, Robert A. Heinlein, A.A. Jackson IV, Christopher McKitterick, Charles Pellegrino, Frederik Pohl, Pamela Sargent, Joan Slonczewski, Allen Steele, Howard Waldrop, Jack Williamson, George Zebrowski.

A scientist facing personal tragedy discovers a sentient black hole targeting humanity in this hard sci-fi thriller from “a superb storyteller” (Houston Post). Dr. Benjamin Knowlton’s private world is crumbling around him. On the threshold of their greatest achievement, the renowned astrophysicist learns that his beloved wife and partner, Channing—an ex-astronaut-turned astronomer—is dying of cancer. Meanwhile, something looms alarmingly on the far edge of the solar system: at once a scientific find of unparalleled importance that could ensure the Knowltons’ immortality, and a potential earth-shattering cataclysm that dwarfs their private one. For Benjamin and Channing have discovered “Eater,” an eons-old black hole anomaly that devours stars and worlds. Yet its most awesome and devasting secrets are still to be revealed . . . and feared. “A celestial horror tale, a cosmological adventure, a literate end-of-the-world epic, and a story bursting with old-fashioned ‘sense of wonder.’” —Orlando Sentinel “Benford spins poetry from textbook phenomena . . . [His] novel proves that scientific wisdom involves the heart and soul as well as the mind.” —The Washington Post Book World “The scientific equivalent of a taut police procedural . . . Benford’s deft, suspenseful weaving of the struggle between Eater and humanity blends two threads with maximal impact.” —Newark Star Ledger “Even in the face of huge events and special effects sequences, Benford manages to keep the characters and the human-scale issues important . . . It’s just this kind of juggling that characterizes the best of Benford’s work . . . Eater is Benford’s most Benfordesque book in quite a while.” —Locus

The classic sci-fi saga continues in this “intriguing and engrossing” first installment of a new trilogy that “extends and embellishes Asimov’s vision” (Kirkus). Isaac Asimov''s Foundation Trilogy is one of the high-water marks of science fiction. It is the monumental story of a Galactic Empire in decline, and the secret society of scientists who seek to shorten the inevitable Dark Age with the science of psychohistory. Now, with the permission—and blessing—of the Asimov estate, the epic saga continues. Fate—and a cruel Emperor''s arbitrary power—have thrust Hari Seldon into the First Ministership of the Empire against his will. As the story opens, Hari is about to leave his quiet professorship and take on the nearly impossible task of administering 25 million inhabited worlds from the all-steel planet of Trantor. With the help of his beautiful bio-engineered "wife" Dors and his alien companion Yugo, Seldon is still developing the science that will transform history, never dreaming that it will ultimately pit him against future history''s most awesome threat.

An archaeologist discovers a mysterious ancient object in Greece that could destroy the world in this science fiction adventure. A small cube of black rock has been unearthed in a 3,500-year-old Mycenaean tomb. An incomprehensible object in an impossible place; its age, its purpose, and its origins are unknown. Its discovery has unleashed a global storm of intrigue, theft, and espionage, and is pushing nations to the brink of war. Its substance has scientists baffled. And the miracle it contains does not belong on this Earth. It is mystery and madness—an enigma with no equal in recorded history. It is mankind’s greatest discovery . . . and worst nightmare. It may have already obliterated a world. Ours is next. Praise for Artifact “What do you get if you cross a James Bond movie with an Indiana Jones movie? A Gregory Benford novel. That seems to be a pretty accurate description of the pace and theme of Artifact. It’s an engaging tale. . . . Artifact skillfully blends physics and archeology with a fast-paced plot worthy of any blockbuster action flick.” —SF Site

The third novel in the award-winning author''s classic Galactic Center series is available once again. "A challenging, pacesetting work of hard science fiction that should not be missed" (Los Angeles Times). Nearly 100,000 years after first contact with the machines that dominate the universe, a few hundred humans survive. Trapped on Snowglade, a barren world near the center of the galaxy, people like Killeen of Family Bishop and his child Toby are primitive scavengers, homeless and hunted by the ruling "mechs." Then suddenly, a strange cosmic entity-neither organic nor cybernetic nor living matter-reaches out from a black hole to speak with Killeen. But can this fallen descendant of starfarers understand this alien being in time-and seize his only chance to save his family and mankind from final annihilation?

Now in a new, revised edition, the fourth book of the Nebula Award-winning author''s Galactic Center series is a classic tale of man''s future and fate--and the greatest mystery from outer space that humanity has ever encountered. Piloting an ancient starship, Killeen and the Bishop tribe escape the mech-ruled world of Snowglade. Seeking refuge on a far away planet, they discover vast wonders-an organic life-form as large as a world, a planet-coring cosmic string, a community of humans ruled by a brutal tyrant, and ultimately an alien race more awesome than any they have encountered. As they battle for survival against these myriad dangers, Killeen and his crew will gain an unforeseen ally-one that may determine humanity''s true destiny...

From the Nebula Award-winning author of "Timescape" and "Foundation''s Fear" comes a hard-science thriller about the race to Mars that will tie into NASA''s upcoming landing on the planet.

Takes a scientist''s imagination to the uttermost ends of time. Set more than a billion years from now, the novel begins with a young woman who yearns to escape the rigid, timeless Earth she knows. So she flees, in the company of an intelligent beast wise beyond recognition. But there are mysterious forces afoot among the planets that she never foresaw. Alien agencies have learned to span parallel universes, ones that lie only a millimeter away but are invisible to any device known to man. Soon these beings confront the travelers and a struggle beyond imagining begins.

This new, special edition of the classic concluding volume of this defining series by the eminent physicist and Nebula Award-winning author contains a teaser chapter from Benford''s, The Sunborn. The final chapter of humanity''s future has begun, and three men hold the key to survival. As the fierce, artificially intelligent mechs pursue their savage and unstoppable destruction of the human race, it soon becomes apparent that three men-three generations in a family of voyagers-are their targets. Toby Bishop, his father Kileen, and his longdead grandfather each carry a piece of the lethal secret that can destroy their relentless pursuers. There is only one problem: They have no idea they possess the only weapon that can save humanity.

From the Nebula Award-winning author comes a newly revised edition of this story in his classic Galactic Center series. 2076: Technology has propelled the world into a new age of enlightenment. Nigel (from In the Ocean of Night) has left Earth to explore space for alien life. But while on this captivating mission, humanity''s birthplace has fallen prey to attack and its seas are seeded with alien lifeforms. Now, Nigel is left to search for the only savior he knows-the one who saved him once before-the alien machine called the "Snark." Having left the solar system and turned traitor to its alien masters, Nigel is unsure of the Snark''s new allegiance. Is the Snark a friend? Or will it also turn on Nigel... proving to be a deadly foe?

Cley est une Originale, une représentante génétiquement pure de la très ancienne race des Ur-humains. Comme les autres membres de sa tribu, elle vit dans la forêt et espère passer ses quelques siècles d''existence à travailler dans la grande Bibliothèque de la Vie. Mais d''étranges formes de vie transdimensionnelles détruisent la Bibliothèque et tuent tous les Originaux de la Terre. A l''exception de Cley. Ces êtres belliqueux attaquent également les Supras, une autre espèce hautement évoluée. Ceux-ci se retrouvent dans l''incapacité de récupérer les connaissances accumulées par les hommes au fil des millénaires et les archives d''ADN perdues dans les ruines de la Bibliothèque. Tout comme ils ne peuvent protéger Cley... Obligée de fuir pour survivre, elle devra s''aventurer au-delà des mondes connus... Avec ce roman, dans la lignée des explorations les plus osées du grand Arthur C. Clarke, avec qui il a longtemps collaboré, Gregory Benford, grand nom de la science-fiction classique, explore de nouveaux concepts dans un foisonnement d''idées passionnant, qui entraîne le lecteur dans des abîmes vertigineux. Un livre formidablement stimulant pour les neurones !

A tale set in the same futuristic world as The Martian Race follows the discovery of a complex life form during the first successful manned mission to Mars, a finding that poses significant questions about life on worlds beyond our solar system. By the author of Timescape and Eater. 20,000 first printing.

What would have happened if history had been different: if the major events that shaped our times had occurred in a different way-or not at all? From a Trojan War in which Helen surrenders to a Civil War fought with robots, from a World War I in which Teddy Roosevelt tries to recapture the glory of San Juan Hill to a World War II in which the race is not for atomic weapons but for orbital rockets, these bold excursions in time depict bizarre new worlds-oddly familiar, disturbingly different.

Un astéroïde menace la Terre. Chargé de l''éliminer, Nigel Walmsley s''aperçoit qu''il s''agit d''une épave spatiale et transgresse ses instructions pour l''explorer et l''étudier. Et lorsque quinze ans plus tard une sonde extraterrestre pénètre dans le système solaire et que les autorités décident de la détruire, Nigel l''insoumis parvient à entrer en contact avec elle avant qu''elle ne s''enfuie. Du coup, Nigel, qui a capté cette pensée étrangère grâce à un implant médical, est devenu l''ambassadeur des Autres, à demi humain, à demi différent. C''est sur la Lune qu''il va rencontrer son destin et modifier celui de toute l''humanité. On y a découvert en effet une autre épave dont l''examen va ouvrir aux hommes le chemin des étoiles. Voici le premier volume de l''immense épopée du Centre galactique dont le deuxième volet À travers la mer des soleils paraîtra en 2003 au Livre de Poche où sont déjà disponibles les titres suivants : La Gronde Rivière du ciel, Marées de lumière et Les Profondeurs furieuses.

Chargé de détruire un astéroïde qui menace d''entrer en collision avec la Terre, Nigel découvre qu''il s''agit en fait de l''épave d''un vaisseau spatial. Transgressant ses ordres, il retarde la mise à feu des explosifs pour l''étudier. Quinze ans plus tard, une sonde extraterrestre pénètre dans le Système solaire. Les autorités décident alors de la détruire et provoquent sa fuite. Nigel, qui cherchait à entrer en communication avec l''entité de cette sonde, capte sa pensée grâce à un implant de surveillance médicale. Ce contact privilégié ainsi que l''examen d''une épave sur la Lune débouche sur la plus grande aventure qu''ait connue l''humanité... Avec Dans l''océan de la nuit puis A travers la mer des soleils, Gregory Benford nous offre les deux premiers volumes de sa fresque du Centre galactique, tout aussi importante que le cycle de Rama d''Arthur C. Clarke.

Physicist and writer Gregory Benford draws from his own research to craft this third collection of science fiction stories, available for the first time in book form.

Collected in this 34th edition are the best science fiction and fantasy works chosen by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. "Exceptionally fine . . . An essential index of one year in SF and fantasy."--"Booklist."

A gripping, masterfully written adventure set against the violent beauty of a planet in the throes of cataclymic transformation, "Against Infinity" is Gregory Benford''s timeless portrait of a young man''s comming of age. On the poisonous, icy surface of Ganymede, a man and a boy are on a deadly hunt.Their prey is the "Aleph"--an unknowable alien artifact that roamed and ruled Ganymede for countless millennia. Indescribable, infinitely dangerous, the Aleph haunts men''s dreams and destroys all efforts to terraform Ganymede into a habitable planet. Now in a modern world ancient struggle is joined, as a boy seeks manhood, a man seeks enlightenment, and a society seeks the power to rule the universe. On the poisonous, icy surface of Ganymede, a man and a boy are on a hunt for the Aleph--an alien artifact that ruled Ganymede for countless millenia, Infinitely dangerous, the Aleph haunts men''s dreams and destroys all efforts to terraform Ganymede into an habitable planet. Now an ancient struggle is joined, as a boy seeks manhood, a man seeks enlightenment, and a society seeks the power to rule the universe.

Hari Seldon n''avait qu''un souhait : rester mathématicien, s''absorber dans la froide précision des nombres. Mais le destin - et le pouvoir arbitraire d''un empereur cruel - va le propulser, malgré lui, au poste de Premier ministre de l''Empire. Au début de l''aventure, Hari est sur le point de quitter son poste de chercheur et de relever le défi presque impossible de gouverner vingt-cinq millions de mondes habités, depuis la planète Trantor. Avec l''aide de la belle Dors, le robot humanoïde qui est sa compagne, et de son protégé, Yugo, Seldon s''efforce de mettre au point la psychohistoire, cette science qui prédira l''avenir, sans jamais imaginer qu''elle lui vaudra d''affronter la menace la plus terrifiante de l''histoire du futur. De la grande et belle science-fiction, fidèle à l''esprit du célèbre Asimov, et même au-delà. L''aventure continue, servie par un auteur qui retrouve le souffle propre à l''épopée de la Fondation.