New Releases by Jack McDevitt

In Nebula Award–winning author Jack McDevitt’s ninth installment in the beloved Alex Benedict science fiction mystery series, humanity discovers new intelligent life lightyears away—only for it to disappear without a trace. Centuries after a war with the Mutes, the first aliens to be encountered by humankind, a startling new discovery in the far reaches of the Orion Nebula appears. On a planet with conditions favorable to life, explorer vessel The Columbia comes across a small town seemingly inhabited by an intelligent species not yet discovered. But when a highly publicized follow-up mission is sent to make contact mere months later, the entire town has vanished, leaving no trace—or such is presumed to be the case until Alex Benedict and his archaeological crew show up to investigate. Officially, their mission is to find concealed artifacts that may have been left behind, but the team’s real goal is to solve the mystery of how these aliens disappeared so rapidly—and why. In turns terrifying and miraculous, the answers raise the stakes for every member on board as they look to make their mark on history. Nebula Award–winning author Jack McDevitt, whom Stephen King has called “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke,” brings back Alex, Chase, and Gabe for another brilliantly crafted science fiction mystery.

From Nebula Award–winning author Jack McDevitt comes the eighth installment of the Alex Benedict series featuring Gabe triumphantly reuniting with Alex and Chase to retrieve a possible alien artifact—which may lead them to solve the greatest archaeological mystery of their careers. After being lost in space for eleven years, Gabe has returned, and is trying to find a new life for himself after being presumed dead—just as Alex and Chase are relearning how to live and work with him. But when a seemingly alien artifact goes missing from Gabe’s old collection, a mystery is uncovered concerning its origins and it grants everyone an opportunity to dive into solving it as a team, once again. When a lead on the artifact is tied to a dead pilot’s sole unrecorded trip, another clue leads to one of the greatest mysteries of the age: the infamous disappearance of a team of scientists aboard a space station orbiting a black hole—the Amelia Earhart of their time. With any luck, Alex, Chase, and Gabe may be on the trail of the greatest archaeological discovery of their careers. Nebula Award winner Jack McDevitt, who Stephen King has called “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke,” has created another terrific science fiction mystery in his beloved Alex Benedict series.

Born in 1842, Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer who wrote many popular books about science and astronomy, together with a number of novels which we would now consider to be science fiction. He was a contemporary of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, though his works never achieved their level of popularity. Omega: The Last Days of the World is an English translation of Flammarion’s novel La Fin du Monde, published in 1893. The book’s fictional premise is the discovery of a comet on a collision course with the Earth in the 25th century. However, this is mostly a pretext on which Flammarion can hang his interesting scientific speculations about how the world will end, together with philosophical thoughts about war and religion. Much of the scientific description he uses in the book, while accurately representing the knowledge and thinking of his time, has today been superseded by modern discoveries. For example, we now know the source of the Sun’s energy to be nuclear fusion rather than being due to gravitational contraction and the constant infall of meteorites. When talking about the ills of society, however, Flammarion could well be talking about today’s world. For example, he excoriates the vast waste of society’s resources on war, and demonstrates how much more productive each nation’s economy would be without it. He also depicts the media of his future world as having been entirely taken over by commercial interests, publishing only what will excite the greatest number of readers rather than serving the public interest. Omega ranges over a vast period of time, from prehistory through to millions of years in the future when mankind has been reduced to the last two doomed individuals. Nevertheless, the book ends on a hopeful and inspiring note. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

“A unique take on aliens and how civilizations might arise on other planets” from the Nebula Award–winning author of Starhawk (Booklist). In the eighth installment in the popular The Academy series, Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins discovers an interstellar message from a highly advanced race that could be her last chance for a mission before the program is shut down for good. Hutch has been the Academy’s best pilot for decades. She’s had numerous first contact encounters and even became a minor celebrity. But world politics have shifted from exploration to a growing fear that the program will run into an extraterrestrial race more advanced than humanity and war. Despite taking part in the recent scientific breakthrough that rejuvenates the human body and expands one’s lifespan, Hutch finds herself as a famous interstellar pilot with little to do, until a message from an alien race arrives. The message is a piece of music from an unexplored area. Despite the fact that this alien race could pose a great danger and that this message could have taken several thousand years to travel, the program prepares the last interstellar ship for the journey. As the paranoia grows, Hutch and her crew make an early escape—but what they find at the other end of the galaxy is completely unexpected. “Recounts a very timely victory for scientific advancement and universal compassion over xenophobia. Academy fans will appreciate this solid addition to the series.” —Publishers Weekly “The Long Sunset continues the author’s long-standing prominence in influential works of science fiction.” —Amazing Stories “A solidly engrossing entry in this agreeable and reliable series.” —Kirkus Reviews

The Nebula Award–winning author of the Alex Benedict novels and the Priscilla Hutchins novels returns to the world of Ancient Shores in a startling and majestic epic. A star gate more than ten thousand years old has been discovered on a Sioux reservation in North Dakota. Travel through the gate currently leads to three equally mysterious destinations: (1) an apparently empty garden world, dubbed Eden; (2) a maze of underground passageways; or (3) a space station with a view of a galaxy that appears to be the Milky Way. The race to explore and claim the star gate quickly escalates, with those involved dividing into opposing camps who view the teleportation technology either as an unprecedented opportunity for scientific research or a disastrous threat to security. In the middle of the maelstrom stands Sioux Chairman James Walker. One thing is for certain: Questions about what the star gate means for humanity’s role in the galaxy cannot be ignored. Especially since travel through the star gate isn’t necessarily only one way...

Imagine a Holmes Without his Boswell... Or, as is the case with the volume you now hold in your hands, imagine a Holmes without the voice of Watson. Is there a difference? After all, we have learned about the great detective not through his own voice and eyes, but through that of his loyal companion, his dear friend, his Boswell. What might we be missing? Who else could tell of the great detective''s feats? Find out as today''s best Sherlock Holmes authors including Derrick Belanger, Luke Kuhns, Kieran Lyne, David Marcum, Jack McDevitt, Richard Paolinelli, David Ruffle, Geri Schear, Don Smith, Elizabeth Varadan, Daniel Victor, and Marcia Wilson tell stories from the perspectives of: Sherlock Holmes Mrs Hudson Colonel Sebastian Moran Raymond Chandler Inspector Lestrade Winston Churchill Violet Hunter Henry Mencken and many others... Experience Holmes like never before as you go Beyond Watson! Includes a special introductory toast from Mark Levy, BSI

An antiquities dealer travels to Earth to search for an artifact of the early space age and to search for an interstellar transport that vanished 11 years prior.

The classic first-contact science fiction novel that launched the career of Jack McDevitt, the national bestselling author of Coming Home—now revised from the original edition, and featuring a new foreword. From a remote corner of the galaxy a message is being sent. The continuous beats of a pulsar have become odd, irregular…artificial. It can only be a code. Frantically, a research team struggles to decipher the alien communication. And what the scientists discover is destined to shake the foundations of empires around this world—from Wall Street to the Vatican…

A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy ISSUE 11: November 2014 Mike Resnick, Editor Shahid Mahmud, Publisher Stories by: Leena Likitalo, Robert Silverberg, James Aquilone, Maureen McHugh, Alex Shvartsman, Jack Skillingstead, Ralph Roberts, Jack McDevitt, Marina J. Lostetter, Lou J. Berger Serialization: Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp Columns by: Barry Malzberg, Gregory Benford Book Reviews: Paul Cook. Interview: Joy Ward interviews Eric Flint Galaxy''s Edge is a bi-monthly (every two months) magazine published by Phoenix Pick, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Arc Manor, an award winning independent press based in Maryland. Each issue of the magazine has a mix of new and old (reprint) stories, a serialization of a novel, columns by Barry Malzberg and Gregory Benford, book reviews by Paul Cook and an interview conducted by Joy Ward.

Priscilla Hutchins has been through many experiences. This is the story of her first unforgettable adventure… Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins has finally completed a nerve-bending qualification flight for her pilot’s license. But faster-than-light travel is still a new reality, and the World Space Authority is still learning how to manage long-range missions safely. To make matters worse, efforts to prepare two planets for colonization are killing off native life-forms, outraging people on Earth. With low demand for space pilots, Priscilla finds a job on the bridge of an interstellar ship, working for the corporation that is responsible for the terraforming. Her work conditions include bomb threats, sabotage, clashes with her employers—and a mission to a world, adrift between the stars, that harbors a life-form unlike anything humanity has ever seen...

THE ALEX BENEDICT COLLECTION brings together sci-fi master Jack McDevitt''s stellar first three novels in the award-winning Alex Benedict series. Perfect for fans of Ray Bradbury and Joe Haldeman. In A TALENT FOR WAR, Alex Benedict unearths a piece of information with the power to rewrite history and expose interstellar hero Christopher Sim as a fraud. On his quest for the truth Alex will venture into an unknown alien galaxy and face something stranger than he could ever have imagined. In POLARIS, Alex Benedict is determined to solve the mystery of the luxury space yacht that never returned from its interstellar journey sixty years ago. The search party found Polaris empty and adrift in space and now Alex must travel across the stars in a life-threatening mission to discover the truth. In the Nebula award-winning SEEKER, Alex Benedict is convinced that he has stumbled across an artefact from the infamous transport ship that fled a religious dictatorship in twenty-seventh-century America. Alex and his pilot Chase are taken into the very heart of danger on the deadly trail to Seeker.

Famine. Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the End of the World. In science fiction, the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm. But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild. THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH will tell their stories. Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME focuses on life after the apocalypse. THE END IS NIGH features all-new, never-before-published works by Hugh Howey, Paolo Bacigalupi, Jamie Ford, Seanan McGuire, Tananarive Due, Jonathan Maberry, Scott Sigler, Robin Wasserman, Nancy Kress, Charlie Jane Anders, Ken Liu, and many others.

Two science fiction masters—Jack McDevitt and Mike Resnick—team up to deliver a classic thriller in which one man uncovers the hidden history of the United States space program… “Houston, we have a problem…” Formerly a cynical, ambitious PR man, Jerry Culpepper finally found a client he could believe in when he was hired as NASA’s public affairs director. Proud of the Agency’s history and sure of its destiny, he was thrilled to be a part of its future. But public disinterest and budget cuts changed that future. Now, a half century after the first Moon landing, Jerry feels like the only one with stars in his eyes. Then a fifty-year-old secret about the Apollo XI mission is revealed, and he finds himself embroiled in the biggest controversy of the twenty-first century, one that will test his ability—and his willingness—to spin the truth about a conspiracy of reality-altering proportions...

On les nomme les Bâtisseurs de Monuments. Ils ont laissé de grandes œuvres plastiques ici et là dans la proche Galaxie. Chacune différente. Leurs inscriptions défient la traduction. Pourtant toutes sont belles. Bouleversantes. Mais âgées de plus de vingt mille ans. Ensuite, plus rien. Que sont devenus les Bâtisseurs de Monuments ? À l’aube de ce XXIIIe siècle, le chemin des étoiles est ouvert. Pour la Terre où l’équilibre écologique est rompu, où l’humanité court à la catastrophe, c’est peut-être la voie du salut. Mais pour Priscilla Hutchinson, pilote spatiale, et les archéologues qu’elle rejoint sur le site de la planète Quraqua, commence une quête effrénée qui les conduira de monde en monde afin de comprendre le mystère de civilisations extraterrestres terrassées et disparues.

''A writer who is a storyteller first and a science fiction writer second. In his ability to absolutely rivet the reader, it seems to me that he is the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke'' Stephen King The year is 2255. The Academy that trained the starfarers is long gone and veteran pilot Priscilla ''Hutch'' Hutchins spends her retirement supporting fund-raising efforts for The Prometheus Foundation, a privately funded organization devoted to deep space exploration. But when a young physicist unveils an efficient star drive capable of reaching the core of the galaxy, Hutch finds herself back in the deepest reaches of space, and on the verge of discovering the origins of the deadly Omega clouds that continue to haunt her.

''No one writing today is better than McDevitt at combining galaxy-spanning adventure with the genuine novel of ideas'' Washington Post Book World A civilization-destroying Omega cloud has switched direction, heading straight for a previously unexplored planetary system - and its alien society. A handful of brave humans must try to save an entire world ... without revealing their existence. ''McDevitt handles the back story so adroitly that readers unfamiliar with earlier volumes in this series should have no trouble following the action'' New York Times Book Review

''Jack McDevitt is that splendid rarity, a writer who is a storyteller first and a science fiction writer second. In his ability to absolutely rivet the reader, it seems to me that he is the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke'' Stephen King Alex Benedict receives a cryptic message asking for help from celebrated writer Vicki Greene, who then voluntarily has her memory erased. She has no memory of her past life, or even of her plea for assistance. But she has transferred an enormous sum of money to Alex, also without explanation. The answers to this mystery lie on the most remote of human worlds. There Alex and his pilot companion, Chase Kolpath, will uncover a secret connected to a decades-old political upheaval, a secret that somebody desperately wants hidden, though the price of that silence is unimaginable.

''You should definitely read Jack McDevitt'' Gregory Benford Forty-one years ago, renowned physicist Dr. Christopher Robin vanished. Before his disappearance, his fringe science theories about the existence of endless alternate universes had earned him both admirers and enemies. Now his widow has died and Alex Benedict has been asked to handle the auction of the physicist''s artifacts - leading the public to once again speculate on the mystery surrounding Robin''s disappearance. Did he finally find the door between parallel universes that he had long sought? Intrigued, Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath embark on their own investigation as they follow the missing man''s trail into the unknown to uncover the truth - a truth people are willing to kill to protect...

Jack McDevitt''s gripping SF adventure POLARIS once again proves this Nebula-Award winning author to be a master of the genre. ''Combines hard science fiction with mystery and adventure in a wild tour of the distant future. Stellar plotting, engaging characters, and a mastery of storytelling'' Library Journal The luxury space yacht Polaris carried an elite group of the wealthy and curious thousands of light-years from Earth to witness a spectacular stellar phenomenon. It never returned. The search party sent to investigate found the Polaris empty and adrift in space, the fate of its pilot and passengers a mystery. Sixty years later, Alex Benedict is determined to find the truth about Polaris - no matter how far he must travel across the stars, no matter the risk.

The Nebula-Award winning novel from the multi-award winning SF master Jack McDevitt. Also a Campbell Award finalist. Third in the acclaimed Alex Benedict series. When Alex Benedict, interstellar dealer of antiquities, examines a seemingly unremarkable artefact, he is convinced it is from the infamous Seeker - a transport ship which fled the religious dictatorship in 27th century America. With the help of his pilot, Chase Kolpath, he follows a deadly trail to the Seeker, now strangely adrift in a system barren of habitable worlds. But their discovery raises far more questions than it answers, drawing Alex and Chase into the very heart of danger.

Jack McDevitt''s A TALENT FOR WAR takes Alex Benedict into the heart of an alien galaxy in a thrilling interstellar adventure. ''A real writer has entered our ranks, and his name is Jack McDevitt'' Michael Bishop, Nebula-winning author Everyone knows the legend of Christopher Sim. An interstellar hero with a rare talent for war, he changed mankind''s history forever when he forged a rag-tag group of misfits into the weapon that broke the alien Ashiyyur. But now, in a forgotten file, Alex Benedict has found a startling piece of information. If it is true, then Christopher Sim was a fraud. If he is to see it through, Alex Benedict will have to follow the dark track of a legend, into the heart of an alien galaxy, where he will confront a truth far stranger than anything he could have imagined...

It is 1938, and the president embarks on a secret mission to reconnect with the people who need him. He hitches a ride with a thirteen-year-old boy who is on his own journey of a lifetime, and together they travel across the cotton fields of Arkansas in the boy''s Lincoln Zephyr convertible. When the Secret Service director''s plan goes awry, the pair are set upon by a schizophrenic jailbird, and the joy of traveling becomes a race for survival. My Friend the President is a fun-filled adventure that will be enjoyed by young and old alike.

Essays by space scientists and engineers on the coolest ways and means to get humanity to the stars along with stories by an all-star assortment of talespinners abounding with Hugo and Nebula award winners: Ben Bova, Mike Resnick, Jack McDevitt, Michael Bishop, Sarah A. Hoyt and more. Some humans may be content staying in one place, but many of us are curious about whatu0090s beyond the next village, the next ocean, the next horizon. Are there others like us out there? How will we reach them? Wonderful questions. Now get ready for some highly informative and entertaining answers. At the publisher''s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

In the year 2204, tragedy and terror forced a scientific team to prematurely evacuate Maleiva III. Nineteen years later, a rogue moon hurtling through space is about to obliterate the last opportunity to study this rare, life-supporting planet. With less than three weeks left before the disaster, superluminal pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins -- the only even remotely qualified professional within lightyears of the ill-fated planet -- must lead a small scientific team to the surface to glean whatever they can about its lifeforms and lost civilizations before time runs out. But catastrophe awaits when they are stranded on this strange and complex world of puzzles and impossibilities. And now Hutch and her people must somehow survive on a hostile world going rapidly mad -- as the clock ticks toward apocalypse for a doomed enigma now called...

When physicist Michael Shelborne mysteriously vanishes, his son Shel discovers that he had constructed a time travel device. Fearing his father may be stranded in time—or worse—Shel enlists the aid of linguist Dave MacElroy to accompany him on the rescue mission. Their journey through history takes them from the enlightenment of Renaissance Italy through the American Wild West to the civil-right upheavals of the 20th century. Along the way, they encounter a diverse cast of historical greats, sometimes in unexpected situations. Yet the elder Shelborne remains elusive. And then Shel violates his agreement with Dave not to visit the future. There he makes a devastating discovery that sends him fleeing back through the ages, and changes his life forever.

Interstellar antiquities dealer Alex Benedict and his assistant Chase Kolpath travel to the most remote of human worlds and uncover a secret connected to a decades-old political upheaval-a secret that somebody desperately wants hidden.

Nebula-winning author of the Alex Benedict series:A woman steals a starship to find her long-lost clone-sister in a “masterly” novel of first contact (Library Journal). We are alone. That is the verdict, after centuries of Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence missions and space exploration. The only living things in the Universe are found on the Nine Worlds settled from Earth, and the starships that knit them together. Or so it’s believed, until Dr. Kimberly Brandywine sets out to find what happened to her clone-sister Emily, who, after the final unsuccessful manned SETI expedition, disappeared along with the rest of her ship’s crew. Following a few ominous clues, Kim discovers the ship’s log was faked. Something happened out there in the darkness between the stars, and she’s prepared to go to any length to find answers. Even if it means giving up her career . . . stealing a starship . . . losing her lover. Kim is about to discover the truth about her sister—and about more than she ever dared imagine. “Gripping mystery . . . an altogether splendid, satisfying puzzle.” —Kirkus Reviews “Will hold readers in thrall.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Exquisitely timed revelations maximize suspense . . . fine characterization and world building.” —Booklist