Most Popular Books by Poul Anderson

Ace Lieutenant Dominic Flandry was not a man easily swayed from his duty to the Empire; not, that is, until galactic vice king Leon Ammon offered him a million-credit bribe, a voluptuous woman called Djana, and a chance to explore a dark and treasure-laden moon. Yet within the desolate peaks and valleys of that strange world of ice and shadows, Flandry found more than he had bargained for. Supposedly barren, the planet swarmed with a hideous race of strange, inhuman creatures, infernally controlled by a deranged and brilliant computer brain. Each, like a piece in a bizarre and vicious chess game, was programmed to kill. And although Flandry did not know it - so was the woman he loved.

In a war waged against Black Magic, the fact that Steve is a werewolf and his wife is a highly skilled witch is not unusual. But their adventures prove very unusual, even for their world, when they are given the task of neutralizing an enemy''s ultimate weapon--the world''s most powerful demon.

The Man Who Meant To Kill A Martian Bold and ruthless, he was famed throughout the System as a big-game hunter. From the firedrakes of Mercury to the ice-crawlers of Pluto, he''d slain them all. But his trophy-room lacked one item; and now Riordan swore he''d bag the forbidden game that roamed the red deserts . . . a Martian The night whispered the message. Over the many miles of loneliness it was borne, carried on the wind, rustled by the half-sentient lichens and the dwarfed trees, murmured from one to another of the little creatures that huddled under crags, in caves, by shadowy dunes. In no words, but in a dim pulsing of dread which echoed through Kreega''s brain, the warning ran -- "They are hunting again. They are hunting me."

A grand adventure of the mighty thewed barbarian, from one of Fantasy''s biggest names Conan, The name has inspired generations, one that resounds through time immemorial. Yet it all began with a handful of stories from Robert E. Howard. In the decades since, there have been feature films, television and comic book series, and numerous spin-off novels. In 1979, Poul Anderson—winner of a staggering eight Hugo and three Nebula Awards—wrote what is regarded as one of the finest adventures in the canon of Conan: Conan the Rebel. Conan the barbarian and Belit, his raven-haired beauty, lead a band of savage pirates striving to free Belit''s people from the iron grip of an evil reptile god and its cruel minions. Striking at the heart of tyranny, Conan must break the chains of oppression before eternal darkness claims them all. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Another war, the most terrible nuclear disaster in the history of man has scorched and crippled all life on the surface of earth. In a few isolated zones human survival has occurred. Among these groups the birth rate is said to be phenomenal. There are reports of strange mutations of the human species appearing as frequently as fifty or sixty in a hundred births. Only a few of these strange mutations have been strong enough to survive, but some are reported to be reproducing their kind. A physical and mental examination of these freaks is being undertaken at the present time.

Courageous space explorers embark on a mission to make contact with alien races light years away, while the Earth they leave behind ages twelve hundred centuries It’s the most exciting discovery since humankind first began watching the skies: SETI scientists detect starship “trails” in a galaxy many light years from Earth, and at long last the dream of human-to-alien contact is attainable. But the courageous crew of starfarers assembled to take on the monumental endeavor must sacrifice the only lives they’ve ever known and the people they love; the Earth will have aged many thousands of years when—and if—they are finally able to return. Still, their hunger for knowledge of the universe and the extraterrestrial races that inhabit it is too great to deny, and the Envoy rockets off into the vast unknown. It’s a perilous mission that will profoundly change everyone it touches—even as the passing millennia transform the Earth in ways no one could ever have imagined. Of all the science fiction extrapolators to emerge in the twentieth century, none were more visionary and few as prolific as the great Poul Anderson. Starfarers, his ingeniously imagined space exploration adventure, still stands tall among the most intelligent, enthralling, and unforgettable science fiction novels ever written. This ebook includes the bonus stories “Ghetto” and “The Horn of Time the Hunter.”

The legendary Nicholas van Rijn had, of course, been right all along. Just as he had foreseen, the Polesotechnic League - that great empire of merchant princes - had flowered and then crumbled into the vastness of space. The same fate would befall the Terran Empire that succeeded it. Even heroes like Dominic Flandry lived under the shadow of their eventual extinction - the ever-hungry darkness that would take him and his world in the end. But for those who came after, those wretched heirs of Terran civilisation, the darkness was no impending tragedy. This time they were facing the reality of... THE LONG NIGHT

This acclaimed fantasy classic of men, elves, and gods is at once breathtakingly exciting and heartbreakingly tragic. Published the same year as The Fellowship of the Ring, Poul Anderson’s novel The Broken Sword draws on similar Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon sources. In his greed for land and power, Orm the Strong slays the family of a Saxon witch—and for his sins, the Northman must pay with his newborn son. Stolen by elves and replaced by a changeling, Skafloc is raised to manhood unaware of his true heritage and treasured for his ability to handle the iron that the elven dare not touch. Meanwhile, the being who supplanted him as Orm’s son grows up angry and embittered by the humanity he has been denied. A pawn in a witch’s vengeance, the creature Valgard will never know love, and consumed by rage, he will commit a murderous act of unspeakable vileness. It is their destiny to finally meet on the field of battle—the man-elf and his dark twin, the monster—when the long-simmering war between elves and trolls finally erupts with a devastating fury. And only the mighty sword Tyrfing, broken by Thor and presented to Skafloc in infancy, can turn the tide in a terrible clashing of faerie folk that will ultimately determine the fate of the old gods. Along with such notables as Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner Poul Anderson is considered one of the masters of speculative fiction. This edition contains the author’s original text.

Werewolf Steve Matuchek and witch Ginny Graylock defend America in this fantasy duology from the multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author. Operation Chaos: In a world where magic is real, werewolf Steve Matuchek and powerful witch Virginia Graylock are paired together in the war to stop the invading Caliphate forces from taking over America. Their mission: stop the enemy from unleashing their superweapon—a genie in a bottle. And that is only the beginning of an adventure that will take them quite literally to Hell and back . . . “Operation Chaos was one of the truly fine fantasies of the 1970s, a fantasy whose magic was so splendidly engineered that you felt it was as logical—and as likely—as our real technology.” —Harry Turtledove “A great read, from a master writer at the top of his game.” —GirlsWithGuns.org Operation Luna: Now married with three rambunctious children, Steve and Ginny once again find themselves fighting for their country as they try to stop a plot to sabotage America’s first manned mission to the moon (in an alternate history timeline, that is). But they will need help from a loyal cadre of magical allies if they hope to avert a catastrophe . . . “An enjoyable tale by a veteran writer who knows exactly what he’s doing.” —Publishers Weekly

With this new novel, science fiction and fantasy grandmaster Poul Anderson has crafted a powerful story of a mighty queen, magic, and the mastery of ancient nations. Blending characters both historical and mythological, Mother of Kings is the tale of Gunnhild, Queen of England and Norway, who loomed so large in the tenth century-at the end of the Age of the Vikings-that she became a figure of legend, even of myth. As a child of just seven summers, Gunnhild finds herself fascinated with the powers of a witchwoman who is a concubine of her father''s, a powerful Norse chieftain. She also finds another fascination in handsome and lordly Eirik, son of their king. When her mother dies, Gunnhild promises, "I will never yield," and that, "through me, our blood shall flow greatly." Gunnhild has learned from her chieftain father the way the powerful use the weak. But there are other lessons and other powers she seeks. Sent away to learn the magic of a pair of shamans, Gunnhild becomes a Spaewife-a knower of the Gods, a master in the ways of witchcraft and sorcery. Aided by her new abilities, Gunnhild marries Eirik. She is destined to become queen, and her magic is a fearsome complement to Eirik''s strength. But Eirik''s enemies are cunning, and Gunnhild is soon without his might. If Gunnhild can keep the promise she made as a child to never yield, her family''s blood will flow greatly, and the sons she bore Eirik will each become a king. Her own struggles, though, are far from over . . . .

Flandry, here a captain, undergoes a series of adventures: He is abducted by the Scothians, an alien race hoping to invade the Terran Empire; rescues the Emperor''s kidnapped granddaughter; meets Aycharaych, his nemesis in league with the Merseians; and investigates a previously unencountered alien race that has invaded the distant colonial world of Vixen.

Early in the 21st century the world is enjoying an uneasy peace, with a distinct division between the "straight" society and the various fringe groups that go to form the Byworld. Tension grows, however, over the presence of an alien spaceship that is orbiting the world, bearing a single occupant - the Sigman. It appears that no-one knows how to communicate with the Sigman; no-one knows the purpose of his visit. Until two people - one "straight" and the other a Byworlder - solve the problems involved; and in so doing trigger off a series of violent plots and counterplots that mount to a frenetic climax.

“Themes of a colorful assortment of stories range from life on other planets to alternative history . . . a perfect introduction to his perennial genius.” —Booklist Poul Anderson himself has put together a retrospective collection of his recent writings, fiction and nonfiction, under the title All One Universe. This is the first major Poul Anderson collection in a decade. It encompasses all his strengths as a teller of tales and, in addition, provides a running commentary in the story notes and in the essays on other literary figures such as Rudyard Kipling, Johannes B. Jensen, and John W. Campbell, Jr., commentary that illuminates the fiction, gives personal insight into the mind of this fine writer, and provides a unifying personality for All One Universe. All One Universe, then, represents the new best of Poul Anderson. It is a rich, varied selection of quintessential science fiction as well as four essays, mostly from recent years, by one of the great science fiction writers of the century. His stories are filled with roaring energy, the soul of poetry, and dark imaginings. “A fine introduction to one of SF’s masters.” —Starlog “Fact and fiction, shaped by one of SF’s keenest minds, are mingled in this collection . . . On the whole, All One Universe is a collection which does its creator proud while delighting his fans.” —Rapport “Poul Anderson’s writings have been at a remarkably high, consistent level of quality for nearly fifty years, now. All One Universe is a book for anyone interested in either SF or in craftsmanship.” —David Drake

Captain Sir Dominic Flandry was a top man in the Intelligence Corps of the Imperial Terrestrial Navy. He knew that on the outer edges of the empire, civilisation was spread hideously thin. The stars faded towards barbarism, with the great evil Empire of Merseia beyond. But there were times when Flandry abandoned his senior position of command to go out into the field. Then he operated like the cool and brilliant agent he was, a ruthless, highly-trained professional. And in these three fast-moving adventures Captain Dominic Flandry shows that a space-age secret agent has to stay on top of the job - or succumb to nameless horrors.

Following the advice of his father, young Charlie Stuart travels to a planet 200 light years from Earth and there finds himself involved in a political struggle.

Science fiction-noveller, som alle beretter om begivenheder der medførte, at menneskene og ythrianerne i fællesskab koloniserede planeten Avalon

Poul Anderson''s Tau Zero is an outstanding work of science fiction, in part because it combines two qualities that are often at odds in this genre: an interest in the emotional lives of its characters and a fascination with all things technological and scientific. In Tau Zero these components are not merely fused; they work together with a remarkable synergy that makes the novel much more than just a deep space adventure story. The novel centers on a ten-year interstellar voyage aboard the spaceship Leonora Christine, and it opens with members of the crew preparing for their departure from earth. It is an especially moving departure because they know that while they are aboard the ship and traveling close to the speed of light, time will be passing much more quickly back home. As a result, by the time they return everyone they know will have long since died. From practically the very first page, therefore, Tau Zero sets the scientific realities of space travel in dramatic tension with the no-less-real emotional and psychological states of the travelers. This is a dynamic Anderson explores with great success over the course of the novel as fifty crewmembers settle in for the long journey together. They are a highly-trained team of scientists and researchers, but they are also a community of individuals, each trying to make a life for him or herself in space. This is the background within which the action of the novel takes place. Anderson carefully depicts the network of relationships linking these people before the real plot begins to unfold. The voyage soon takes a unexpected and disastrous turn for the worse. The ship passes through a small, uncharted, cloudlike nebula that makes it impossible for the crew to decelerate the ship. The only hope, in fact, is for the ship to speed up. But acceleration towards the speed of light means that time outside the spaceship passes even more quickly, and the crew finds itself hurtling deeper into space and further into the future.

Following the fortunes of people who have been given the gift of immortality, this book follows them from the dawns of their respective civilizations to the present day. The author has also written Orion Shall Rise, The Long Night and Dancer from Atlantis.

Aeneas is the powder keg of the universe, a frontier planet where rebellion is a way of life--and death. Smarting under the thumb of the Terran Empire after an almost successful war against Imperial rule, the Aeneans are swept up in a fanatical religious movement that promises the return of the Elder Race.

Winner of seven Hugo and three Nebula Awards, Poul Anderson is one of science fiction''s supreme masters. In Harvest of Stars, Anderson''s most ambitious novel to date, Earth lies crushed in the grip of totalitarianism. To save her planet, Kyra Davis is sent on a mission to liberate the last bastion of freedom--and rescue its legendary leader.