Best Selling Books by John Brunner

Three visionary sci-fi novels from the Hugo Award–winning author whose dystopian prescience made him “one of the most important” (SF Site). British science fiction master John Brunner remains one of the most influential and respected authors of all time, and now many of his classic works are being made available to new generations of readers. The very definition of timeless, Brunner’s skillful and often frightening political and social commentary takes its place alongside the most iconic works of Arthur C. Clarke, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood, and George Orwell. The Sheep Look Up: In a near future of poison air and soaring health hazards, environmentalist Austin Train is on the run—from the insurrectionists who want him to lead and the government that wants him dead, in this Nebula Award Finalist. “An arresting diary of what’s in store for us.” —The Washington Post The Crucible of Time: On a planet hurtling precariously through space, an alien civilization struggles for generations against ice ages and catastrophic meteors while scientists slowly develop the technology that will ultimately save them. “Impeccably detailed, and beautifully thought out, even to the fascinating alien personalities, speech patterns, and thoughts: Brunner in top form.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review The Jagged Orbit: In this Nebula Award Finalist, a journalist tries to expose the corrupt director of a mental hospital in a dystopian future where drug abuse, organized crime, and the inhumane treatment of anyone deemed “insane” have all but destroyed social order. “One of his most trenchant dystopias, yet it is as irresistible as it is biting.” —SFReviews.net

The interstellar Bridge System was the greatest invention in the long history of cosmic humanity. Spread through dozens of planets, men and their societies had drifted apart in isolation until the Bridge came to link together humanity''s multifold worlds . . . and had affirmed once more that all men were brothers and sisters under the skin. But the far away world of Azreal was the exception, the one dissident world that refused the Bridge. It became the task of two agents, a man and a woman, to bring Azreal back into manshape unity, to ferret out the hidden reasons for the stubborn refusal. The problem, with its perils and high risks, was to involve more than just secrets, for Manshape is John Brunner novel that deals with the very fabric of civilization . . .

A stardropper got its name from the belief that the user was eavesdropping on the stars. But that was only a guess . . . nobody really knew what the instrument did. The instrument itself made no sense scientifically. A conventional earpiece, an amplifier, a power source - all attached to a small vacuum box, an alnico magnet, and a calibrated ''tuner''. What you got from all this was some very extraordinary noises and the conviction that you were listening to beings from space and could almost understand what you were hearing. What brought Special Agent Dan Cross into the stardropper problem was the carefully censored news that users of the instrument had begun to disappear. They popped out of existence suddenly - and the world''s leaders began to suspect that somehow the fad had lit the fuse on a bomb that would either destroy the world or change it forever. (First published 1972)

Once the city of Carrig stood supreme on this planet that had been settled by space refugees in the distant, forgotten past. From every corner of this primitive lost world caravans came to trade - and to view the great King-Hunt, the gruesome test by which the people of Carrig chose their rulers. Then from space came new arrivals. And with them came their invincible death guns and their ruthless, all-powerful tyranny. Now there would be no King-Hunt in Carrig, or hope for the planet-unless a fool-hardy high-born named Saikmar and a beautiful Earthling space-spy named Maddalena, could do the impossible . . . (First published 1969)

Because of a twist in the structure of Time, three strangers were brought unexpectedly together: Red Hawkins of California, Chantal Vareze of London and a man from the 41st Century. Their meeting seemed an impossible prank of a universe gone mad - but it turned out to be quite otherwise. For it seemed there was a war going on throughout space and time. A war fought by men of different epochs, on planets of different cultures, but for a cause that all could acknowledge - the very continued existence of creation itself. And the coming together of these three very unlikely people - a modern man, a lovely girl and a futurian soldier - was to prove the master stroke of a super-science strategy that had already brought humanity to the THRESHOLD OF ETERNITY.

A mutant species from the sea unleashes a tide of terror in this horror thriller from “one of the most important science fiction authors” (SF Site). In Double, Double, a random collection of strangers converges on a seaside town, not knowing one another and having nothing in common. A mystery from the sea, a shape-shifter, begins to take over the people and produce oddly behaving duplicates of them. A combination of scientific knowledge and a little luck may be all that stands between mankind and an alien invasion. For each generation, there is a writer meant to bend the rules of what we know. Hugo Award winner (Best Novel, Stand on Zanzibar) and British science fiction master John Brunner remains one of the most influential and respected authors of all time, and now many of his classic works are being reintroduced. For readers familiar with his vision, this is a chance to reexamine his thoughtful worlds and words, while for new readers, Brunner’s work proves itself the very definition of timeless.

When Ivan Wright stepped out of his mountain cabin, rifle in hand, to investigate the sound of a strange helicopter, he stepped right into the middle of a galactic crisis. For the crew of that odd aircraft were not men such as he''d ever seen before - and when he tried to oppose them, he found himself hurled uncontrollably into oblivion. He awoke to find himself considered as a kidnapped barbarian from a backward planet in a galaxy of advanced civilizations - yet one who somehow held in his own hands the key to all their futures!

The Acre was the only part of an entire world where Earthmen were allowed to live as they pleased and as they were accustomed. For elsewhere on Quallavarra, humanity was forced into servitude by the Vorra, THE SUPER BARBARIANS, who has somehow managed to conquer space. But within the Acre, the underling Terrestrials had cooked up a neat method of keeping teir conquerors from stamping them out altogether. They had uncovered a diabolical Earth secret the Vorra couldn''t abide - and yet couldn''t do without.

She appeared in our world naked, defenceless, unable to say a word anyone could understand. Her origin was at first simply a puzzle, then a scientific enigma, and finally a series of terrifying surmises that her most fascinated investigator was afraid to probe. But probe he must, for somehow he knew that this strange girl was a key to the kind of information science had sought for centuries. But the more he uncovered from the depths of her mind, the deeper became the quicksand into which his own was sinking. (First published 1967)

Kynance Foy was young, beautiful, intelligent an highly trained in both qua-space physics and business law when she left Earth to seek her fortune in the interstellar outworlds. But she found that the further she got from Earth, the tougher became the competition from the environment-hardened populations of these young worlds . . . and by the time she reached the planet Nefertiti, she was facing poverty. Then, unexpectedly, a wonderful opportunity opened up for her: the job of Planetary Supervisor of the fabulously wealthy world called Zygra, where exotic pelts costing a million credits each were grown. The salary was huge, and at the end of the year''s tour of duty she would be transported free of charge back to Earth, where she would be a very wealthy young woman. There had to be a catch to it, she thought as she signed the contract. And, of course, there was. (First published 1966)

Everything about the planet revolving about Sigma Draconis seemed to indicate that here was a world that could be made into a second Earth. It was fertile and lacked native inhabitants and dangerous beasts. Then what was troubling the pioneer colony that had landed and set up shop there? Was it really possible just to create a new Earth on any vacant world waiting a landing? Or was there a lot more to planetary ecologies than humanity realized?

The Corps Galactica, the Galaxy''s police force, had pledged itself to a policy of non-interference with the backward Zarathustra Refugee Planets. Langenschmidt, the Corps chief on the planet Cyclops, was content with this ruling. After all, if the refugee planets could form their own civilizations from scratch, logically they would come up with cultures suited to their own needs. However, when the case of Justin Kolb came to his attention, Langenschmidt was forced to rethink the problem. Kolb''s accident with the wolfshark revealed to the Corps'' medicos the leg-graft that had been performed on him. It was a perfect match - only its gene-pattern wasn''t Cyclopean, and limb-grafting wasn''t practised on Cyclops. Where had the leg come from, who had been the unknown repairmen, and wasn''t this something that might be violating galactic law? (First published 1965)

Howson was a runt. Twisted, ugly, crippled. The kind of guy people just didn''t want to know. But when he took a deep breath, braced himself and projected his thoughts thousands of miles into space, they were all over him. Howson''s telepathic powers were like nothing they''d ever known before . . . and he became the greatest curative telepathist in the world. But when they put him to work chasing people''s nightmares deep down inside their minds, could they be expected to cope with what the runt found in there? More importantly, could Howson? First published in 1964.

Whether or not he had wanted to turn back at the last minute, he couldn''t have - the wave of dirty, hungry people carried him helplessly along in their fervour reach the temple. Like dope addicts, he told himself, they don''t even care about themselves, only about the thing that is inside the temple! He remembered the day ten years ago when his older brother had been made a Warden of Asconel, a prosperous and happy planet, and he and his other brothers had left in the interests of their people. Now they returned to a world where a fanatical cult had usurped the Warden''s chair, and men and women were offering themselves up as human sacrifices to Belizuek - whoever or whatever that being from beyond the galaxy was . . . I''ll find out, he told himself grimly, when I enter these doors . . . (First published 1965)

By the twenty-first century the world was drowning in its own population. A solution had to be found quickly - and it was, in ''gravi-power''. Wonderful, unending source of power - only the scientists knew that its use was reducing the Earth''s distance from the sun at a dangerous rate. But if another planet''s gravi-power could harnessed . . . An expedition was launched to Mars, known to be uninhabited - except that a woman was wandering around its surface who claimed she had come from another galaxy to warn Earth of a terrible menace, and there was a huge poly-hedron of metal emanting a force very much like that of gravipower. Someone else had discovered it! A thousand years ago, or now? Friend, or enemy? (First published 1965)

The mercenary Stepsons leave Sanctuary behind in this tenth volume of the shared-world fantasy anthology series. As Tempus and his mercenary army, the Stepsons, depart from war-torn Sanctuary, there are some who view it as a return to normal. Yet what is normal in this city of thieves and adventurers? Laborers arrive to help in the rebuilding efforts, but some of these able-bodied men are disappearing. An assassin seeks revenge for his brother, and others aim to instill peace in the community while vicious rivalries emerge from Sanctuary’s rubble. And a struggle for power seems to be brewing . . . If this is your kind of “normal,” then enter an action-packed world of sword and sorcery in this shared-world anthology featuring stories by some of fantasy’s best authors: Robert Lynn Asprin, Mark C. Perry, Janet Morris, David Drake, John Brunner, Lynn Abbey, and Andrew Offutt.

Tileman could make our fantasies come true - create reality from your dreams - for a very high fee. Catering to the desires of London''s most powerful - and decadent - figures, Tileman had top-level connections to guarantee him protection and influence. But he had killed Laird Walker''s best friend - and Walker, the dead man''s sister, and a bizarre nightclub entertainer began a private war on Tileman...a war whose final battle was unimaginable horror.

ANNOUNCING THE TOURIST EXPERIENCE THAT IS THE TALK OF THE GALAXY! MEET: The Cryogenic resurrectee Rinpoche Gibbs. He''s not surprised to awaken in the twenty-fourth century, cured of cancer. He is, however, very surprised by everything else... The incredibly beautiful Nixy Anangaranga-Jones, who may or may not be haunted by ghosts, but to whom the unexpected always happens... The Yelignese Chief Bureaucrat - the Esteemed Thingitude in charge of restoring Earth who can''t quite grasp what human history is all about... Spotch from the planet Trigon, whose trip to Earth really did cost an arm and a leg... The amazing Cardinal Numbernine and Her Wiliness Pope Joan II - religion may be gone, but the church will endure forever... The adolescent Sherlock Holmes and his Biker Street Irregulars...

A Pandora''s box of evil Freitas had commanded the engineers of his vast, world-wide empire to build him a device that could ransack the past. Now all the riches of the ages were his for the taking. But mere wealth was not what Freitas was after. Supreme power was what he sought, and from the past he picked the men and women who could help him gain absolute mastery over his rivals. But one thing he had not reckoned on - the power these creatures fro the past would have over him, the reign of terror about to begin...

The far-flung fingers of Earth''s civilisation touched many corners of the galaxy, and among them was the beautiful planet Yan. Here the colonists lived a peaceful, almost idyllic life, amid ancient and secret relics, co-existing with their strange and compatible neighbours. The arrival of Gregory Chart, the greatest dramatist ever, whose productions were played out in the skies, and whose actors were also the audience, could only disrupt and destroy once the Yanfolk were aroused from their dreaming indifference . . . (First published 1972)

''How short a time a century really is . . .'' The speaker was Immortal Karmesin, and he had lived a thousand years. He stood, a gigantic figure against the rush of time, a permanently open channel for the infants of the galaxy to explore the deep past. He was anathema to the Phoenixes, for their creed was that of birth in death, of regeneration in destruction. And he knew that he - one man - had to unravel the Phoenix mystery, or live to watch it bring fiery death to all the planets of man . . . (First published 1963)

Missing Game of Thrones? Dare to "be pulled into political intrigues, watch new gods replace old, and witness fortunes rise and fall and rise again" (Book Riot). A classic series for a new generation of fantasy adventure fans, Thieves'' World® paved the way for the shared-world anthology tradition with epic worldbuilding, unforgettable characters, and nonstop action thanks to the legendary authors who contribute to it. The series''s groundbreaking debut features stories by John Brunner, Lynn Abbey, Poul Anderson, Andrew J. Offutt, Robert Lynn Asprin, Joe Haldeman, Christine DeWees, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, who populate the lawless city of Sanctuary with orphans and wizards, fortune tellers and emperors, merchants and madams, spies, assassins, and, of course, thieves. "Sanctuary was the city where anything could happen, where characters created by some of the best fantasy writers of the generation crossed paths and shared adventures." — Black Gate "A bold and daring experiment in fantasy storytelling . . . We are introduced to the cast of characters, including beggars and crime lords, wizards and soldiers, minstrels and thieves, as this new chapter in the life of Sanctuary begins, life under the governorship of Prince Kadakithis." —Fantasy-Faction

He was the most dangerous fugitive alive, but he didn’t exist! Nickie Haflinger had lived a score of lifetimes . . . but technically he didn’t exist. He was a fugitive from Tarnover, the high-powered government think tank that had educated him. First he had broken his identity code—then he escaped. Now he had to find a way to restore sanity and personal freedom to the computerized masses and to save a world tottering on the brink of disaster. He didn’t care how he did it—but the government did. That’s when his Tarnover teachers got him back in their labs . . . and Nickie Haflinger was set up for a whole new education.

It was carnival time on Earth. Prosperity was at its peak; science had triumphed over environment; all human needs were taken care of by computers, robots and androids. There was nothing left for humans to do but enjoy, themselves . . . to seek pleasure where they found it, without inhibitions and without thinking of the price. Then an android died - in a senseless, brutal murder. And young Derry Horn was shocked out of his boredom and alienation. His life of flabby ease had not prepared him for a fantastically dangerous mission to outlying, primitive stars - but now, at last, he had a reason for living. And even when he found himself a prisoner of ruthless slavers, even when he learned the shocking truth about what the androids really were and where they came from . . . even when he saw all the laws of the orderly, civilised universe he knew turned upside-down and inside-out . . . he fought on. For that universe had to be shattered and reborn - even if Derry Horn and the Earth he had irrevocably left behind died in the process! (First published 1968)

Nineteen light years from Earth, on Sigma Draconis, an international space team stumbles upon the first evidence of another highly advanced civilization in the universe. Tragically, however, the Draconians are extinct and have been for a hundred thousand years. What mysterious disaster destroyed man''s nearest neighbour in the colossal emptiness of space? And will the same fate befall Earth? The answers, as Earth degenerates into squabbles, paranoia and self-destruction, are vital. But how to begin the almost insuperable task of cracking the enigma of a long-buried and utterly alien culture?

Each major advance in the technology of communication or transportation has brought profound transformations and dislocations to human society. Three of science fiction''s greatest authors-Larry Niven, Jack Vance, John Brunner-explore what would happen if teleportation were invented. Suppose it were possible, technologically and economically, to transport oneself to any point on the earth''s surface in virtually instantaneous travel? Let us have trips in time as well as in space... a quick passport not merely from Brooklyn to Arabia but to Arabia in the time of Mohammed, tours to the dawn of history or to the end of time. If all things are possible, if all gates stand open, what sort of world will we have? This is the challenge Robert Silverberg poses, to which three of science fiction''s highest award-winners have responded with a trio of short novels displaying the variety and scope that outstanding literary craftsmen can bring to the same basic concept. In "Flash Crowd" Larry Niven describes some of the social perils that may follow instantaneous travel. In "You''ll Take the High Road" John Brunner''s hero finds that man''s technological accomplishments are steadily matched by his perfection of the snafu. "Rumfuddle" is Jack Vance''s eerie tale of historical coincidences.

"Once there was a mighty empire spanning the stars. once there had been great emperors ruling hundreds of inhabited planets, patrolling the star lanes with fleets of starcruisers, built to the perfection of a technology never before reached by man. And like all empires in human history, that one, the greatest of them all, declined and fell. Its colony worlds were left to themselves, falling into a galactic Dark Age of ignorance, barbarism, superstition. But they had one heritage in common--the imperial starships still functioned. They were self-repairing, foolproof, impervious, and obeyed the commands of any who reached their simplified controls."--Pg. [4] of cover.

Science fiction-roman.

An enduring classic, this book offers a dramatic and prophetic look at the potential consequences of the escalating destruction of Earth. In this nightmare society, air pollution is so bad that gas masks are commonplace. Infant mortality is up, and everyone seems to suffer from some form of ailment. The water is polluted, and only the poor drink from the tap. The government is ineffectual, and corporate interests scramble to make a profit from water purifiers, gas masks, and organic foods. Environmentalist Austin Train is on the run. The Trainites, environmental activists and sometime terrorists, want him to lead their movement. The government wants him in jail, or preferably, executed. The media wants a circus. Everyone has a plan for Train, but Train has a plan of his own. This suspenseful science fiction drama is now available to a new generation of enthusiasts.