Most Popular Books by Julian May

In the year 2051, Earth stood on the brink of acceptance as full member of the Galactic Milieu, a confederation of worlds spread across the galaxy. Leading humanity was the powerful Remillard family, but somebody--or something--known only as "Fury" wanted them out of the way. Only Rogi Remillard, the chosen tool of the most powerful alien being in the Milieu, and his nephew Marc, the greatest metapsychic yet born on Earth, knew about Fury. But even they were powerless to stop it when it began to kill off Remillards and other metapsychic operants--and all the suspects were Remillards themselves. Meanwhile, a Remillard son was born, a boy who could represent the future of all humanity. His incredible mind was more powerful even than his brother Marc''s--but he was destined to be desroyed by his own DNA...unless Fury got to him first!

In Pliocene Europe, warring races of aliens and humans face a new threat from North America in the third novel of the Locus Award–winning sci-fi series. A group of misfits from the twenty-second century have travelled six million years back in time to the Pliocene Epoch. But instead of an uninhabited paradise, they discover a land overrun with two alien races—each possessing great psychic powers—locked in bitter war. After escaping the knightly Tanu, a group of humans forms an uneasy alliance with the dwarfish Firvulag. But even after they succeed in destroying the Tanu capital, the war is far from over. Aiken Drum, a human with awesome mental powers, has usurped the Tanu throne. Aiken faces opposition from skeptical Tanu factions, as well as the revitalized Firvulag, who now out-number the Tanu-human coalition that Aiken has patched together. But another menace emerges to threaten Aiken''s rule: a group of fearsome rogues from the year 2083, who have been living quietly in North America for decades. Led by Marc Remillard, they now seek to take advantage of the chaos in King Aiken''s Many-Colored Land in order to seize control of the time-portal. The Nonborn King features the same blend of adventure, rich pageantry, humor, and fantastic eroticism that characterized The Many-Colored Land and The Golden Torc.

The author of the acclaimed Pliocene Quartet offers an in-depth guide to a saga that “has most closely matched J. R. R Tolkien''s achievement” (San Francisco Chronicle). With its richly imagined universe and large cast of finely-drawn characters, Julian May’s Saga of Pliocene Exile has won devoted fans across the globe who find new layers, details, and ideas with each reading. In the words of Isaac Asimov''s Science Fiction Magazine: “Julian May has made a new and fresh masterwork in the genre and has irrevocably placed herself among the great of fantasy and science fiction.” Covering all four novels—The Many-Colored Land, The Golden Torc, The Nonborn King, and The Adversary—this reading guideoffers a plot chronology, the author''s original maps, a descriptive listing of all the characters, and three delightful interviews with May herself. Beyond that, it gives the reader a chance to explore further the surroundings of a world six million years in the past. The glossary gives information on metapsychology, on the futuristic science of the Galactic Milieu, and on the exotic world of the Tanu and Firvulag. In all, A Pliocene Companion is a must for followers of the Saga.

The 21st century was drawing to a close, and metapsychic humankind was poised at last to achieve Unity -- to be admitted into the group mind of the already unified alien races of the Galactic Milieu. But a growing corps of rebels was plotting to keep the people of Earth forever separate in the name of human individuality. And the rebels had a secret supporter: Fury, the insane metapsychic creatrue that would stop at nothing to claim humanity for itself. Fury''s greatest enemy was the mutant genius Jack the Bodiless, whose power it craved. But Jack would never be a tool for Fury . . . And so it turned to Dorothea Macdonald, a young woman who had spent a lifetime hiding her towering mindpowers from the best mind readers of the Milieu. But she could not hide them from Fury -- or from Jack. Time and again she rejected their advances, unwilling to be drawn into the maelstrom of galactic politics or megalomaniacal dreams. And in the end, no one -- not Jack, not Fury, not even the Galactic Milieu -- would be a match for the awesome powers of the girl who would come to be called Diamond Mask . . .

Relates the history of Baltimore''s famous football team, detailing their Super Bowl game against the Dallas Cowboys in 1971.

In the year 2034, Theo Quderian, a French physicist, made an amusing but impractical discovery: the means to use a one-way, fixed-focus time warp that opened into a place in the Rhone River valley during the idyllic Pliocene Epoch, six million years ago. But, as time went on, a certain usefulness developed. The misfits and mavericks of the future—many of them brilliant people—began to seek this exit door to a mysterious past. In 2110, a particularly strange and interesting group was preparing to make the journey—a starship captain, a girl athlete, a paleontologist, a woman priest, and others who had reason to flee the technological perfection of twenty-second-century life. Thus begins this dazzling fantasy novel that invites comparisons with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ursula Le Quin. It opens up a whole world of wonder, not in far-flung galaxies but in our own distant past on Earth—a world that will captivate not only science-fiction and fantasy fans but also those who enjoy literate thrillers. The group that passes through the time-portal finds an unforeseen strangeness on the other side. Far from being uninhabited, Pliocene Europe is the home of two warring races from another planet. There is the knightly race of the Tanu—handsome, arrogant, and possessing vast powers of psychokinesis and telepathy. And there is the outcast race of Firvulag—dwarfish, malev-o olent, and gifted with their own supernormal skills. Taken captive by the Tanu and transported through the primordial European landscape, the humans manage to break free, join in an uneasy alliance with the forest-dwelling Firvulag, and, finally, launch an attack against the Tanu city of light on the banks of a river that, eons later, would be called the Rhine. Myth and legend, wit and violence, speculative science and breathtaking imagination mingle in this romantic fantasy, which is the first volume in a series about the exile world. The sequel, titled The Golden Torc, will follow soon.

A brief history describing the games and players of the Los Angeles team that won three NFC West titles in a row.

The world''s metapsychics hone their skills in order to ban together to create a peaceful, harmonious planet, but there are some who want to put their powers to an evil use.

Twelve years after the princess Haramis, Kadiya, and Anigel wielded the three-part Scepter of Power to vanquish the sorcerer Orogastus, the Archimage Haramis is visited by a fugitive who brings dire news. A sorcerer has escaped from the Klimilon, remote Land of Fire and Ice, to established himself through force of magic as Portolanus, Master of Tuuzamen. Haramis''s talisman cannot--or will not--tell her whether Portolanus is the long-banished Orogastus, but it brings ominous intelligence: The sorcerer has brought from his exile a magical object that can unbound the three talismans of the Scepter, transferring their powers from the sisters to Portolanus himself. Even more fearsome, Haramis''s talisman reveals a grave threat to the unity of the sisters and the future of Ruwenda . . .for the sacred Black Trillium contained within the amulet worn by each sister has changed, its petals stained the color of blood.

“Fascinating . . . May has cemented her position as one of this generation''s foremost storytellers. . . .This satisfying end to a remarkable feat of the imagination is a necessary purchase.”—Library Journal By the mid-twenty-first century, humanity is beginning to enjoy membership in the Galactic Milieu. Human colonies are thriving on numerous planets, life on Earth is peaceful and prosperous, and as more humans are being born with metapsychic abilities, it will not be long before these gifted minds at last achieve total Unity. But xenophobia is deeply rooted in the human soul. A growing corps of rebels plots to keep the people of Earth forever separate, led by a man obsessed with human superiority: Marc Remillard. Marc''s goal is nothing less than the elevation of human metapsychics above all others, by way of artificial enhancement of mental faculties. His methods are unpalatable, his goal horrific. And so Marc and his coconspirators continue their work in secret. Only the very Unity he fears and abhors can foil Marc''s plans. And only his brother, Jack the Bodiless, and the young woman called Diamond Mask can hope to lead the metaconcert to destroy Marc, Unify humanity, and pave the way for the Golden Age of the Galactic Milieu to begin . . . “A certain crowd-pleaser.”—Kirkus Reviews

First published in 1968, this engrossing and beautiful picture book about wildlife on Isle Royale is available again Isle Royale, “the big island” of this book, is a wilderness national park in Lake Superior and home to a unique and fascinating ecosystem of animals, most notably the iconic wolf and majestic moose. Here is author Julian May’s story about the island’s beginning, the kinds of animals that came to populate it, and their effects on the pristine landscape. Among them were the moose, who swam to the island from the distant shore to fend off starvation. The moose found conditions on Isle Royale so favorable that they reproduced quickly—but then faced another food shortage. The wolves arrived by floating to the island on an ice floe in winter and soon became important to the island’s ecology as successful predators of the moose. Complementing this fascinating text, John Schoenherr’s magnificent illustrations convey the strength of these animals and the beauty of the island that is their home. First published in 1968, and reprinted here with a new note by renowned wolf expert L. David Mech, The Big Island is an enchanting introduction to the wilderness and wildlife of Isle Royale.

As a world crumbles, three royal sisters must reclaim a lost magic to rescue their shattered home from a plague of ancient malevolence. The story that began with Black Trillium—the brainchild of Julian May, Andre Norton, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, three of fantasy fiction’s greats—takes glorious flight in Sky Trillium as author May carries the magnificent saga of magic, sisterhood, and destiny to breathtaking new heights. The Petals of the Living Trillium—Anigel the Queen, Kadiya the Warrior, and Haramis the Archimage—have defeated great evil to keep their realm safe, thanks in part to three magical talismans dating back to the War of Enchantment that nearly destroyed the world in the time of the Vanished Ones. Now, with one relic missing and another rendered powerless, the World of the Three Moons is vulnerable—and a devastating outbreak of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters suggests that a dark and terrible magic is descending once again. The last hope for the planet’s salvation lies in the fabled Sky Trillium, but its creation depends on the three sisters being able to recover what was stolen from them and escape the poisonous intrigues of the royal court, banding together one more time to forge a Scepter of Power. But the old wounds of an ancient war continue to fester—and the Star Men are waiting to see the Petals wither and fall.

Exiled to a remote planet in the Perseus Spur, the rebellious Asahel Frost becomes Helmut Icicle, a man without a past. But someone remembers Asahel Frost enough to have him assassinated, which brings Frost back to life. Helmut is caught in a conspiracy as convoluted as it is deadly.

An origin story of Julian May’s Galactic Milieu Trilogy and a link to her Saga of Pliocene Exile—“a superb piece of speculative fiction” (Library Journal). They have always been among us—the telepaths, the persons possessing higher mind-powers that have been called “metapsychic”—but they have always been few and far between and their abilities weak or erratic. Until now . . . Human evolution makes a quantum leap. And all over the world, people begin to be born with extraordinary minds. Some of them are geniuses and some are very ordinary. But all of these metapsychic operants have mind-powers that “normal” humanity considers amazing—and dangerous. Intervention paints this advent of Homo superior in a broad and colorful chronicle that begins in 1945 and culminates in 2013. Its many characters reveal the impact of higher mind-powers upon the possessors themselves, upon their “normal” associates, and upon a troubled society striving to avoid nuclear annihilation. The metapsychic operants are secretive and fearful at first. When they reveal themselves they are regarded with awe, exploited, and finally persecuted. They are torn by the dilemma of what role to play: are they destined to save the “normal” from global war, even if it means that they must use their mental powers to subjugate the race that gave birth to them? The book’s principal protagonists are members of the Remillard family of New Hampshire—whose descendants are featured in Julian May’s worldwide bestselling Saga of Pliocene Exile. Intervention details with humor, thundering action, and scientific insight a world where the human mind does much more than think—a world that is fantastic, but by no means implausible.

A simple discussion of the physical characteristics and probable origins of the races of the world.

A lovable rogue takes on an evil genius to topple an intergalactic conspiracy in this dazzling sequel to Perseus Spur, by an author Library Journal calls one of this generation''s foremost storytellers.

Describes the life of the sea otter and its importance to the balance of nature.

In the final novel of the award-winning sci-fi saga, both humans and aliens face destruction as a new time-portal opens a path back to the twenty-second century. Human time-travelers from the sophisticated Galactic Milieu of the twenty-second century came to the Pliocene Epoch seeking a Garden of Eden. What they found was slavery under the knightly Tanu race, who had been exiled to Earth from a far galaxy. Freed by the usurper Aiken Drum, the humans enjoy a brief period of dominance. But now King Aiken''s rule is threatened by the dwarfish Firvulag, who scheme to destroy both humans and Tanu in an ultimate Gotterdammerung. This menace becomes almost incidental when Aiken discovers that his realm is about to be invaded by another human who possesses psychic powers even greater than his own. Marc Remillard, the instigator of the Metapsychic Rebellion, nearly conquered the Galactic Milieu before escaping through the time-portal after his defeat. Marc and his followers are out to overthrow Aiken just as a new time-gate is about to be built—one that will provide a two-way portal between the Many-Colored Land and the future world of the Milieu. The Adversary brings Julian May’s Locus Award-winning series—which also includes The Many-Colored Land, The Golden Tore, and The Nonborn King—to a rousing climax.

Simple text and drawings describe the development of a baby within the mother and the process of birth.

Briefly describes the earliest Indian civilizations on the North American continent and traces the evolution of their culture from prehistory to the arrival of the white settlers.

Describes the geographic features of the ocean floor and the methods that man has developed to study the area in greater detail.

From the author of The Many-Colored Land comes the saga of a land beyond the horizon, where the quest for power is eternal, where magic and mystery are feared above all, and one man sought to reign. On a remote island, far in the Boreal Sea, four kingdoms have struggled against one another since time out of mind. Most mysterious is the marshland kingdom of Moss—feared by the others and ruled by the Sorcerers. Soon, all will be put in peril’s way. In recent years, three of the kingdoms have suffered fearsome volcanic eruptions that choke crops, famine among people, and an ailing leader on his deathbed. Only Moss, poverty-stricken and desolate at the best of times, seems untroubled. But Prince Conrig of Cathra, who waits patiently as his father, the king, wastes slowly away, is in league with his lover, the seductive sorceress Princess Ullanoth of Moss. And if their secret alliance succeeds in its goal, the warring kingdoms of High Blenholme will be united once and for all—under the iron hand of one supreme rule.

Relates simply how animals through the ages have laid eggs as a means of preserving their species.

Describes the microscopic animal and plant life that inhabits fresh and salt water emphasizing their importance in the food chain.

Three fan-favorite authors present “a classic fantasy quest involving mysterious wizards, rites of passage, and the salvation of a kingdom” (Library Journal). Peace has long reigned in Ruwenda thanks to the magical protection of the Archimage Binah. The realm’s devoted guardian is aging, however, and her magic is weakening. When the kingdom’s triplet princesses were still infants, Binah gave each of them the mystical power of the Black Trillium. But the unthinkable occurs too soon, and Ruwenda is overrun by the ravaging armies of neighboring Labornok before the sisters, Haramis, Kadiya, and Anigel, have time to learn how to use their great gift. Forced to flee, the young princesses must follow their separate destinies through a dangerous and unfamiliar world of Oddlings and enemies—for only the combined power of three magical talismans can help them defeat the malevolent sorcerer who has brought chaos and death to their once-idyllic home. But it will take new kinds of strength and wisdom to confront the great evil that has descended on the World of the Three Moons. Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre Norton, three of the most honored names in fantasy fiction, have joined forces to create an extraordinary world and culture in the first book of the remarkable Saga of the Trillium, a breathtaking tale of duty, peril, love, and magic.

A powerful malevolence reemerges in a terrifying new guise to threaten a feuding royal family and enslave the realm in the continuation of the acclaimed Saga of the Trillium Twelve years have passed since three princesses joined together to defeat the powerful evil poisoning their kingdom, but over time their relationship has become strained. When impetuous Kadiya, devoted champion of the aboriginal Oddlings, loses the talisman entrusted to her, she and her sisters, Anigel the noble Queen and wise Haramis the Archimage, will need to put their differences aside or see the world they protect obliterated—for the return of a malevolence they believed had been vanquished threatens the fragile security of Ruwenda and the future of the World of Three Moons. The fugitive wizard Portolanus—originally believed to be merely a lesser magician and an intolerable windbag—has gained the ability to magically unbind the sisters’ tripart Scepter of Power. And woe to the world when the enemy’s true face is finally revealed—for it has turned the petals of the sacred Black Trillium, encased in amulets worn around the necks of three royal siblings, an ominous blood red. A beloved author of science fiction and fantasy, Julian May created the World of the Three Moons in collaboration with her fellow fantasy fiction luminaries Andre Norton and Marion Zimmer Bradley in the classic novel Black Trillium. She takes the reins alone with Blood Trillium, the breathtaking continuation of the thrilling saga of sisterhood, magic, and a broken family reuniting to save a world.

A brief introduction to genes and chromosomes and their importance to heredity.

A brief history describing the games and the players of the San Francisco football team.

Discusses the history, habits, and characteristics of wild turkeys and the breeding of domestic turkeys.

Describes the physical characteristics, life cycle, and history of the small whitetail deer of the Florida Keys that until recently were in danger of becoming extinct.

A biography of the first Latin player to be elected to Baseball''s Hall of Fame.

Explains where snow comes from and the ways in which man has learned to cope with it and use it for recreation.

A brief biography of the Norwegian explorer who attempted to prove several theories about migration of peoples through his voyages.