Most Popular Books by John Brunner

The brilliant 1969 Hugo Award-winning novel from John Brunner, Stand on Zanzibar, now included with a foreword by Bruce Sterling Norman Niblock House is a rising executive at General Technics, one of a few all-powerful corporations. His work is leading General Technics to the forefront of global domination, both in the marketplace and politically---it''s about to take over a country in Africa. Donald Hogan is his roommate, a seemingly sheepish bookworm. But Hogan is a spy, and he''s about to discover a breakthrough in genetic engineering that will change the world...and kill him. These two men''s lives weave through one of science fiction''s most praised novels. Written in a way that echoes John Dos Passos'' U.S.A. Trilogy, Stand on Zanzibar is a cross-section of a world overpopulated by the billions. Where society is squeezed into hive-living madness by god-like mega computers, mass-marketed psychedelic drugs, and mundane uses of genetic engineering. Though written in 1968, it speaks of now, and is frighteningly prescient and intensely powerful. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In a world drowning in data, a fugitive tries to outrun the forces that want to reprogram him, in this smart, edgy novel by a Hugo Award–winning author. Constantly shifting his identity among a population choking on information, innovation, and novelty, Nickie Haflinger is a most dangerous outlaw, yet he doesn''t even appear to exist. As global society falls apart in all directions, with corporate power run amok and personal freedom surrendered to computers and bureaucrats, Haflinger is caught and about to be re-programmed. Now he has to try to escape once again, defy the government—and turn the tide of organizational destruction, in this visionary science fiction novel by the author of The Sheep Look Up and Stand on Zanzibar. "Brunner writes about the future as if he and the reader were already living in it." — The New York Times Book Review "When John Brunner first told me of his intention to write the book, I was fascinated—but I wondered whether he, or anyone, could bring it off. Bring it off he has, with cool brilliance. A hero with transient personalities, animals with souls, think tanks and survival communities fuse to form a future so plausibly alive it as twitched at me ever since." —Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock "One of the most important science fiction authors. Brunner held a mirror up to reflect our foibles because he wanted to save us from ourselves." —SF Site

"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"--Publisher.

An alien race struggles to survive on an uninhabitable planet in this "impeccably detailed and beautifully thought out" novel from a Hugo Award winner ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review). On a planet besieged with cosmic dust, where meteors of all sizes frequently hit, wiping out entire civilizations, a strange alien species struggles against extinction over the course of millennia. As their star grows hotter, melting ice caps and causing more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, higher levels of radiation lead to higher rates of mutation. Plants that had been edible become poisonous or die off altogether. Watching their dire situation only get worse, the planet''s scientists finally acknowledge that to survive long-term, the inhabitants will have to abandon their fraught home world and become a space-faring species. In a story that spans millennia, Hugo Award–winning author and British science fiction master John Brunner introduces us to an alien race that takes control of their own evolution and builds the technological society that will be their way into space. "One of the most important science fiction authors. Brunner held a mirror up to reflect our foibles because he wanted to save us from ourselves." — SF Site

When racial hatred turns to murderous menace . . . First a rocket ship loses its engines on take-off and is destroyed. On board - an important extra-terrestrial visitor. Next someone slams into the sealed vehicle used for transporting aliens around in the lethal atmosphere of Earth. Then the vital controlled environment for the Tau Cetian delegation is sabotaged. Oxygen leaks in, and the aliens are half burnt alive. Even if it means brutal murder, The Stars Are For Man League is determined to shatter the harmony between Earth and civilizations on other planets - and to keep mankind supreme among the alien life forms. Only one man can stop them - a man who unknowingly nurses a viper in his bosom . . . First published in 1965.

Hugo Award Finalist: "Story plotting holding much in common with chess . . . An exciting political thriller in the vein of Graham Greene" (Speculiction). In The Squares of the City, Brunner takes the moves of a classic championship chess game and uses them as the structure to build a novel about a revolution in a South American country obsessed with chess and dominated by a dictator who sees people as pawns in his game of power and survival. Intriguing premise, dramatic story, future setting, great entertainment. "One of the most important science fiction authors. Brunner held a mirror up to reflect our foibles because he wanted to save us from ourselves." —SF Site

He was ''The Visitor'' . . . in a society revolutionised and troubled by a transportation device that let you walk through a door and be anywhere in the world - instantly. He was ''The Visitor'' . . . at a time when unauthorised travel had caused the violent deaths of countless millions and the survivors were quaking in fear. He was ''The Visitor'' . . . in a world where the invasion of privacy was the ultimate crime and where his obsession with visiting places where he had no right to be led him on a perilous adventure towards his own destruction.

The third Thieves'' World® anthology—with stories by fantasy''s favorite authors—curated by the New York Times–bestselling author of the Myth series. Times are hard, and the citizens of Sanctuary are not their greedy, immoral, grifting selves. But desperate times call for desperate measures, which means the bad guys are about to up their game. No one is safe from Sanctuary''s evil charms—not the fish in the waters, not the prince''s own Hell Hound guards, not even Satan himself. " Shadows also includes another story by Offutt that reinforces my opinion that he is incapable of writing a bad story for this series. A number of the tales are Tempus stories, with several of our other recurring characters also making appearances. By virtue of Tempus'' unique relationship with the god Vashanka, these stories also bring us back toward the storyline of the competing deities, and help us to look forward to new developments in the fourth book. All in all, Shadows is the strongest book amongst the first three publications." —Fantasy-Faction

War looms over Sanctuary in the fifth Thieves'' World® anthology compiled by the New York Times–bestselling author of the Phule''s Company series. The invasion by the Beysibs, an amphibious humanoid race, brings unusual prosperity to the city of Sanctuary. But underneath the glittering façade lies a ticking time bomb, for the nefarious residents of Sanctuary don''t take kindly to an invasion—well-meaning or otherwise . . . Join Janet Morris, C. J. Cherryh, Robert Lynn Asprin, Lynn Abbey, David Drake, and Diana L. Paxson as their stories unravel the fates of Sanctuary''s favorite liars, thieves, assassins, and warriors. "Abbey . . . understands Sanctuary and its characters. She also knows how to write a short story with a strong main character, a riveting plot that contains twists and turns, and a satisfying resolution. Best story in the book . . . Lalo is the most interesting of all of the characters in Thieves'' World and his stories are always interesting. Paxson . . . spins an interesting and well written yarn that closes the book nicely." —brianbookreviews.blogspot.com

A classic fantasy series, Thieves'' World® pioneered shared-world anthologies with epic worldbuilding, unforgettable characters, and nonstop action. 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 ). 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

Thirteen stories of the past, present, and future from the Hugo Award–winning author of Stand on Zanzibar. In Out of My Mind, John Brunner, in mid-career, selects a double-handful and more of what he considers his best work to date, thirteen stories that represent—under the three categories in which he classifies them: Past, Present, Future—his most challenging and entertaining stories, from present-day fear of nuclear annihilation to a loving, yet also terrifying infinite loop in time that includes a sideways step outside the universe as we know it. Put yourself in the hands of a master and take your imagination for a series of thrill-rides. "One of the most important science fiction authors. Brunner held a mirror up to reflect our foibles because he wanted to save us from ourselves." —SF Site

Nebula Award Finalist: Mankind has been reduced to slavery by technology and surveillance, in this near-future novel from the author of Stand on Zanzibar. In The Jagged Orbit, Brunner, writing at the peak of form that allowed him to create Stand on Zanzibar, takes a long, hard, disturbing, and hilarious look at the near and not-so-distant future. Catastrophic changes due to rampant drug abuse, uncontrolled violence, high-level government corruption, inhumane treatment of the too-readily defined "insane," and the accompanying collapse of the social order are wreaking havoc on the world we recognize and turning it into a reality we must fear and hope to avoid. Brunner tells a spine-chilling tale of where the world could possibly go that is all too believable and real for our comfort. "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, it is a chance to reexamine his thoughtful worlds and words. For new readers, Brunner''s work proves itself the very definition of timeless.

This "story of a severely handicapped man in a Dystopic world . . . very much reminds you of the Cyberpunk novels that would appear 20 years later" (Wanderings). In A Whole Man, a baby boy is born in a hospital surrounded by the chaos of battle and civil unrest. The birth is unremarkable and little noted, but the child, Gerald Howson, turns out to be very special. He is afflicted by infirmities and bodily flaws, but his mind becomes a miraculous device, capable of telepathic marvels that can, and do, change the world. But the power fantasies that sometimes tempt him are deadly to those near him and can ultimately threaten the whole of the world. And a man in a physical envelope that inspires pity and fright turns out to be the embodiment of a superman. This ebook was originally published in the United Kingdom under the title Telepathist. 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, it is a chance to reexamine his thoughtful worlds and words, while for new readers, Brunner''s work proves itself the very definition of timeless.

"Speculation is compounded with suspense" in these thirteen short works of sci-fi from the Hugo Award–winning author of Stand on Zanzibar—"Genuine startlers" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Collected when Brunner was at the peak of his writing form, this even dozen of his short stories, with a bonus poem thrown into the mix, offers provocative ideas and thrilling action mixed with conceptions of the inevitable future, the inventable future, the alternate future, the future to be avoided, and the future that is sometimes right now. A heady brew. 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.

A whirlwind of fantasy action and adventure descends on Thieves'' World®—as related by C. J. Cherryh, Diana L. Paxson, Andrew J. Offutt, and others. Welcome back to Sanctuary, "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). The Thieves'' World® series continues with a story line created by Robert Lynn Asprin, C. J. Cherryh, Diana L. Paxson, Lynn Abbey, Janet Morris, and Andrew J. Offutt. In Storm Season, immortal warrior Tempus Thales and his nemesis, the crime lord Jubal, go head to head in fast-paced exploits that bring the simmering tension between them to a boil. "Much of Storm Season pertains to the conflict between Asprin''s gladiator/crime lord Jubal and Morris'' Tempus, and the other stories work to move this plotline along, while telling their own tales. Offutt, as usual, steals the show with a Shadowspawn story . . ." —Fantasy-Faction

One journey. Six stories. Mind-blowing fantasy from the Hugo Award winner, "one of the most important science fiction authors" (SF Site). In The Compleat Traveller in Black, six linked tales, comprising one of Brunner''s rare ventures into fantasy, relate the legend of a man with many names, who travels the world with a staff made of light and performs his eternal duty by bringing order to a world filled with chaos. What he dispenses is always asked for but not always welcomed by the recipients. And the world becomes, step by slow step, a better place for those who remain. 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.

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.

Science fiction-roman.