Most Popular Books by John Barnes

The first book in a new post-apocalyptic trilogy from "a master of the genre" Heather O''Grainne is the Assistant Secretary in the Office of Future Threat Assessment, investigating rumors surrounding something called "Daybreak." The group is diverse and radical, and its members have only one thing in common-their hatred for the "Big System" and their desire to take it down. Now, seemingly random events simultaneously occurring around the world are in fact connected as part of Daybreak''s plan to destroy modern civilization-a plan that will eliminate America''s top government personnel, leaving the nation no choice but to implement its emergency contingency program...Directive 51.

The story of one of the most fascinating women of all time—Maria Eva Duarte, who rose from poverty to become one of the richest, most powerful women in the world. Eva Perón was a star and a legend during her lifetime, one of the most alluring women of the twentieth century. Through the hit Broadway musical Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber, her story became famous, and with the release of the film starring Madonna as Eva Perón, her life became a media obsession once again. Evita, as she preferred to style herself, was the beautiful and legendary woman who rose up from poverty to become the hypnotically powerful first lady of Argentina. To millions of poor people, she was a savior; to her enemies, she was a monstrous dictator. In this riveting biography, John Barnes explores the astonishing paradox of this champion of the poor who attacked the rich and, in the process, made herself the wealthiest woman in the world.

The war for a million Earths spreads to an alternate eighteenth century in the second book of the epic science fiction series the Timeline Wars John Barnes has reinvented alternate-history science fiction in his ingenious saga of the battle to save the multiverse from enslavement by an alien enemy who can transcend time and reality. In the second volume of his remarkable trilogy, the war moves to a new battlefield: a different colonial America still happily tied to the British crown, where miraculous machines prowl the skies. There are a million different Earths across an infinite number of timelines—and every one of them is in peril. Former Pittsburgh private investigator Mark Strang is now a fully trained and blooded Crux Ops special agent, dedicated to the fight against the alien Closers who are invading every Earth in every time. Now the eternal struggle is carrying Strang to a different 1775 Boston, home of astounding technologies, where the colonists remain fiercely loyal to their king across the ocean. Something is rotten in England, though, and Strang must ally himself with the well-respected commander George Washington, the Duke of Kentucky, to derail a terrifying Closer plot and put this world’s history back on its proper course. But the enemy has unleashed a secret weapon that could permanently shift the balance: an unstoppable agent of destruction . . . named Mark Strang.

First in the series blending alternate history, time travel, and detective thriller, from a Nebula and Hugo Award nominee. There are a million different Earths across an infinite number of timelines—and every one of them is in peril. Mark Strang became a bodyguard and private investigator when terrorists killed his family; now he spends his days protecting Pittsburgh’s helpless and abused. But while on a mission to save the life of a ten-year-old girl, Strang is inexplicably cast into an alternate reality, transported to a different time on another Earth, where America was defeated in the Second World War and now suffers under the brutal yoke of Nazi oppression. Joining up with the remnants of the Resistance in the Free Zone—and allied with such notable commanders as George Patton and John F. Kennedy—Strang is suddenly a marked man and the last hope in a desperate fight for freedom, not only on this world but on countless others. For a war unlike any other is raging across time and dimensions, threatening every possible Earth, including Strang’s own. And the enemy will not rest until the entire multiverse is in chains. In his epic and action-packed science fiction saga the Timeline Wars, John Barnes takes alternate-history SF to new heights, ingeniously reinventing and reinvigorating a genre popularized by such acclaimed authors as Harry Turtledove while joining the stellar ranks of Robert Heinlein and Joe Haldeman.

Based on a series of lectures for adult students, this lively and entertaining book proves that, far from being a dusty, dull subject, geometry is in fact full of beauty and fascination. The author''s infectious enthusiasm is put to use in explaining many of the key concepts in the field, starting with the Golden Number and taking the reader on a geometrical journey via Shapes and Solids, through the Fourth Dimension, finishing up with Einstein''s Theories of Relativity. Aimed at a general readership, the text makes accessible complex subjects such as Chaos and Fractals. It includes a wealth of the author''s own illustrations and features appendices on related topics. Equally suitable as a gift for a youngster or as a nostalgic journey back into the world of mathematics for older readers, John Barnes'' book is the perfect antidote for anyone whose maths lessons at school are a source of painful memories. Where once geometry was a source of confusion and frustration, Barnes brings enlightenment and entertainment.

Shatter the line between fiction and fantasy... The life of an award-winning novelist probably bears more resemblance to "normal" than most fans would want to believe. But every once in awhile, strange things are bound to erupt around those most equipped to document them... so imagine what renowned science fiction writer John Barnes might do when he finds himself in one of the wildest, most rollicking hard-SF adventures to hit print in years. Barnes'' college friend Travis Bismark always brought back plenty of great stories from his job as an industrial spy. This time, over a few beer- and coffee-fueled chat sessions, Travis unravels a tale about his current case too tall for even an SF author to believe: a Gaudeamus machine that bends physics in order to make possible both teleportation and time travel, and how it gets stolen--twice; a grad student-cum-prostitute who deals in telepathy-inducing drugs that let her "download" top-secret documents from her client''s brains, a romp through Colorado and New Mexico during which each episode and character is more bizarre than the last; and the internet meme that seems to tie it all together. Barnes'' playful commentary on Travis'' story and his own life as a SF writer and drama teacher, interspersed with their everyday interactions with a group of funny, compelling friends, is related in a surprising and non-traditional narrative that blurs the line between fact, fiction, and metafiction.

The sequel to A Million Open Doors and Earth Made of Glass Special agent Giraut Leones, betrayed by his superior and closest friend, swore he would never work for the Office of Special Projects again--but now he must. A new movement on Earth seeks to use the recorded personalities of the dead as helpless virtual reality playthings, and to the worlds of the Thousand Cultures--where the reborn are accepted as normal citizens--it''s a monstrous crime. If Giraut cannot stop Earth from ratifying its plans, the tenuous structure of interstellar human civilization will collapse. Complicating matters, Giraut''s brain now hosts a second consciousness-the revived mind of his long-dead friend Raimbaut. Together, Giraut and Raimbaut must confront their shared past while struggling with a deadly present. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

An eloquent and thought-provoking book on racism and prejudice by the Liverpool and England football legend John Barnes. John Barnes spent the first dozen years of his life in Jamaica before moving to the UK with his family in 1975. Six years later he was a professional footballer, distinguishing himself for Watford, Liverpool and England, and in the process becoming this country''s most prominent black player. Barnes is now an articulate and captivating social commentator on a broad range of issues, and in The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism he tackles head-on the issues surrounding prejudice with his trademark intelligence and authority. By vividly evoking his personal experiences, and holding a mirror to this country''s past, present and future, Barnes provides a powerful and moving testimony. The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism will help to inform and advance the global conversation around society''s ongoing battle with the awful stain of prejudice.

The Return is a tale about the kind of space adventure that could happen today—and that will happen tomorrow. As told by Buzz Aldrin, who''s been there ... and who''s already helped change the world. Former astronaut Scott Blackstone''s dream of opening outer space to visits from everyday people is under attack. His pilot program has been marred by a fatal accident, he''s out of a job, and he''s being sued for a billions dollars. And it''s beginning to seem that the "accident" wasn''t at all accidental. Then the endless conflict between India and Pakistan heats up ... and Pakistan explodes a nuclear device in the upper atmosphere, frying electronics on earth and in space, and putting the crew of the International Space Station at risk. With the Shuttle fleet grounded, only a secret skunkworks project known to Scott and his old friends can save the space station''s stranded crew. "As real as it gets." — New York Post

In an alternate Roman Empire, the ultimate battle is being waged for domination of the multiverse in the epic conclusion of the war for a million Earths There are a million different Earths across an infinite number of timelines—and every one of them is in peril. John Barnes’s ingenious science fiction saga the Timeline Wars reaches a breathtaking climax in Caesar’s Bicycle as former Pittsburgh private investigator–turned–Crux Op agent Mark Strang pursues the alien Closer enemy to a new battleground: an alternate ancient Rome of Caesar and Pompey. Strang’s investigation into the disappearance of a fellow ATN operative has carried him along a new timeline to a Roman Empire at once strikingly similar and remarkably different from the one recalled in history books on his own Earth. What he discovers is a world in the process of radical transformation through the introduction of new technologies, centuries before their time, by both sides in the war for the multiverse—enemy Closers and ATN alike. And this time, Strang’s mission carries a new urgency, for the timelines are becoming dangerously unstable and mysteriously starting to close. To prevent the total enslavement of every one of the million Earths, Strang himself will now have to make history. But by ensuring that an infamous assassination actually does take place, Mark Strang could be condemning himself to the most horrible death the Romans ever devised.

At the end of the twenty-first century, Earth is under the control of a single intelligence, the apparently benign One True. Mars, meanwhile, is slowly terraforming, and the human settlers there are still free of One True''s control...but they need a pressure suits to survive outside, and it will be a century or more before the planet''s fit for terrestrial life. Terpsichore Murray is growing up on Mars. She wants to quit school and become, like her father, an ecoprospector. He has other ideas: he wants her to stay in school. He does want her along on his next long trip but only to conduct a group of younger kids from the highlands at Mars''s equator back to school in Wells City. What happens next will change Terpsichore, will change Mars, and will open the door to a new chapter in the history of intelligent beings in the solar system . . . all of them. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

It is the year 2129 . . . and fame is all that matters Susan and her friends are celebutantes. Their lives are powered by media awareness, fed by engineered meals, and underscored by cynicism. Everyone has a rating; the more viewers who ID you, the better. So Susan and her almost-boyfriend Derlock cook up a surefire plan: the nine of them will visit a Mars-bound spaceship and stow away. Their survival will be a media sensation, boosting their ratings across the globe. There''s only one problem: Derlock is a sociopath. Breakneck narrative, pointed cultural commentary, warm heart, accurate science, a kickass heroine, and a ticking clock . . . who could ask for more?

Joshua Ali Quare wakes in 2109 at the age of 140 in a strong youthful body with no memory of his past, to find he is at the center of a vast and deadly conspiracy. The only clues to his identity are the records he has left--messages from the man he once was... As Quare journeys through his past, he discovers he has been a key figure in the history of a turbulent, violent century--soldier, criminal, assassin, spy. A century filled with killing plagues and warring cults, ruthless corporations and dying nations. A century where treachery is often the only way to survive. Now someone is looking for him. Someone from his past. And Quare must learn the terrifying secret of his history before it unleashed devastating consequences for the future of the human race. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A collection of stories and poems by members of the Libertarian Futurist Society, a movement which thinks that space will liberate man. He will be "happier, healthier and smarter, " says the editor in the introduction. A group of writers including Poul Anderson, John Barnes, Gregory Benford, Ray Bradbury, and others offers stories about the twenty-third century, where individual societies outside of Earth have evolved into a galactic federation without formalized government known as Free Space.

An unabridged collection of the “best of the best” science fiction stories written in 2011 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “Dying Young,” by Peter M. Ball, cyborgs, clones and post-humans collide with a dragon bent on revenge in a post-apocalptic space western. “Martian Heart,” by John Barnes, chronicles a teenage couple taken to Mars as indentured servants in a “rags to riches” tale. In “Canterbury Hollow,” by Chris Lawson, two lovers on a planet orbiting a killer sun share their few remaining weeks together before they die. “The Choice,” by Paul McAuley, set in the author’s Jackaroo universe, follows two boys who set sail to investigate a beached alien vessel on the English coast. In “After the Apocalypse,” by Maureen McHugh, a mother and daughter traverse a ravaged U.S. in a tale that takes on McCarthy’s, The Road, from a female viewpoint. “Purple,” by Robert Reed, tells of a blind and maimed young man convalescing in an off-world menagerie of wayward alien species, prior to returning to Earth. In “Laika’s Ghost,” by Karl Schroeder, a Russian and an American search the steppes of the former U.S.S.R. for metastable weapons that terrorists could use to make nuclear bombs. “Bit Rot,” by Charles Stross, follows post-humans struggling to survive after their generation ship is struck by a Magnetar ray in this clever zombies-in-space tale. In “For I Have Laid Me Down on The Stone of Loneliness and I’ll Not Be Back Again,” by Michael Swanwick, Irishmen plot to strike back against alien occupiers by enlisting an Irish American tourist to their cause. Finally, Steve Rasnic Tem, tells of a young man awakened from suspended animation, on a future Earth, with the technological know-how of plant-like aliens in “At Play in the Fields.”

The climactic conclusion of the epic begun in A Million Open Doors

An Apollo 11 astronaut and the Nebula Award–nominated author of Directive 51 present a novel that “conveys the wonder and promise of space” (Publishers Weekly). Born the year of the Moon landing, Chris Terence spends his life fighting to return humanity to that pinnacle. An engineering student with dreams of spaceflight, he finds upon graduation that the United States no longer has need for astronauts. Years of bureaucratic meddling have reduced the space program to a shell of itself, and it will take the greatest scientific find in history to send humanity skyward once more. After years battling budget hawks, Chris finally gets his chance to walk on the Moon. While there, he finds evidence of an ancient alien civilization, the Tiberians, who visited Earth’s satellite eight thousand years before. Understanding what happened to those long-forgotten travelers will define the lives of Chris and his son, as they fight against all odds to unlock the secrets of the universe. “The collaboration of the first man to pilot a moon lander (Aldrin) with a major voice in contemporary science fiction (Barnes) has produced a fascinating chronicle of man’s first encounter with alien intelligence” (Booklist).

For more than a year, Heather O’Grainne and her small band of heroes, operating out of Pueblo, Colorado, have struggled to pull the United States back together after it shattered under the impact of the event known as Daybreak. Now they are poised to bring the three or four biggest remaining pieces together, with a real President and Congress, under the full Constitution again. Heather is very close to fulfilling her oath, creating a safe haven for civilization to be reborn. But other forces are rising too—forces that like the new life better... In a devastated, splintered, postapocalyptic United States, with technology thrown back to biplanes, black powder, and steam trains, a tiny band of visionaries struggles to re-create Constitutional government and civilization itself, as a new Dark Age takes shape around them.

A riveting SF novel from a very skillful writer.