Most Popular Books by Poul Anderson

Swordsman of Lost Terra by Poul Anderson is a thrilling science fiction adventure set in a post-apocalyptic, alien world. The novel combines elements of sword and planet with space opera, creating a dynamic and immersive narrative. The story follows a heroic quest in a futuristic setting where the remnants of a once-great galactic empire are threatened by new challenges. As the protagonist battles through futuristic warfare and encounters alien civilizations, he embodies the classic traits of a swordsman in an epic struggle for survival and justice. The novel''s rich world-building and action-packed plot highlight Anderson''s skill in blending adventurous elements with deep, speculative themes. The hero''s journey through this exotic, dystopian landscape captures the essence of high-stakes conflict and exploration, offering readers an engaging mix of adventure and science fiction that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

More than just a collection of some of Poul Anderson''s most acclaimed works, Going for Infinity is both a celebration and a memoir of Anderson''s distinguished sixty-year career in science fiction and fantasy. Along with several Hugo and Nebula Award-winning stories, Anderson also shares autobiographical musings, and fond memories as he looks back at a lifetime spent crafting many of science fiction''s most memorable adventures. Between the short story and novel excerpts collected here, which range over the entire length of Anderson''s career, he reminisces about his experiences, including his encounters with such peers and colleagues as John W. Campbell, Anthony Boucher, "Gordy" Dickson, Jack Vance, Clifford Simak, and Harlan Ellison. Going for Infinity provides a firsthand look at six decades of science fiction and fantasy, as lived by one of the field''s most honored contributors. From the moons of Saturn to the shores of an enchanted isle, the astounding breadth of Poul Anderson''s imagination is on ample display throughout this once-in-a-lifetime collection, along with a personal glimpse into the man himself.

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 . . . .

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."

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.

In a thrilling collection of hard science fiction stories, a master of speculative fiction envisions a volatile future when Earth''s colonies throughout the galaxy attempt to break free from home-world rule On a spaceship rocketing toward the stars, an official council meets to discuss how to censor history for the benefit of a new generation in space—which stories to preserve and which ones to discard forever . . . Golden-age hard science fiction luminary Poul Anderson approached the future with a mixture of excitement, hope, and skepticism. In Tales of the Flying Mountains, the multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner offers stories from a new war of independence and beyond—portending a time when a North American government on Earth will take up arms against its own rebellious children colonizing the cosmos, then exploring the shape of the universe in the war''s aftermath. Firmly based in hard science and human nature, here are seven excursions into a distant tomorrow, from the tense saber rattling preceding the hostilities to the establishment and growth of the independent Asteroid Republic. Whether he''s spinning an imaginative yarn about the courageous crew of an unarmed state-of-the-art commercial space station using every resources at hand to battle a military incursion from the home world or chronicling a space colony''s desperate gamble to thwart a government takeover by moving an entire asteroid, Anderson builds truly breathtaking worlds and imagines astonishing yet eminently credible future scenarios while infusing his unforgettable tales with intelligence, compassion, surprise, and humanism.

Winner of the British Fantasy Award: The ancient legend of the Danish Viking king is retold in a tale of vengeance, battles, magic, and monsters. In the court of the Anglo-Saxon king, a visiting storyteller regales the assembled nobles with the enthralling tale of her faraway land''s most revered hero: the Viking Hrolf Kraki. Born of an incestuous union into a royal family with a history of violence, jealousy, usurpation, and murder, Hrolf assembled a loyal band of the mightiest champions in the realm and expanded his small kingdom through wisdom, courage, and conquest. Unbeaten on the battlefield, his great deeds and victories became legends throughout the North as he ushered in an era of peace and prosperity. But Hrolf''s desire for vengeance was ever the warrior-king''s driving force, as he sought the truth about his father''s murder. This obsession would threaten Hrolf''s life and his rule—and ultimately bring his great kingdom to ruin. Poul Anderson, one of the acknowledged giants of twentieth-century fantasy, employs his unparalleled storytelling talents to bring Denmark''s great Viking king to life. A saga that predates the stories of King Arthur and his knights and Shakespeare''s Hamlet, while echoing the Oedipus and Beowulf myths, the Norse legend of Hrolf Kraki takes on a new and breathtaking richness in this classic novel the Guardian described as "full of thrills."

The virtual persona of a long-dead visionary entrepreneur threatens to incite a revolution from space that could topple Earth''s powerful and repressive religious-technological dictatorship in this ingenious science fiction classic In the future, individual freedom is a thing of the past. North America is a police state controlled by the Avantist government, a despotic, techno-religious ruling order that promises an impending transcendence for the oppressed. Space, however, remains free, thanks to Anson Guthrie''s powerful Fireball Corporation. Guthrie''s corporeal self died many generations ago, but his essence lives on, preserved forever in a computerized state that enables him to inspire his loyal employees and adherents to keep reaching for the farthest stars. But now the totalitarian enemy, led by sadistic secret policeman Enrique Sayre, has gained possession of a Guthrie download, intending to subvert it to the Avantist cause, thereby breaking Fireball''s hold on the cosmos. The corporation is doomed unless ace pilot Kyra Davis can smuggle a still-unreconstructed version of Guthrie out of enslaved America and rocket him to the moon and beyond, where Fireball''s virtual creator can attempt to stoke the flames of revolution—and change the direction of his world. A truly remarkable work from one of science fiction''s all-time greats, Harvest of Stars might be the most ingenious and ambitious novel of Grand Master Poul Anderson''s acclaimed and prolific career. Thoughtful and adventurous, rich in imagination and integrity, it offers definitive proof of the seven-time Hugo Award–winning author''s unparalleled mastery in the field of speculative fiction.

From the winner of eight Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards comes an entirely new novel of the Time Patrol--the far-future agency charged with responsibility for the stable continuity of human history, plus all the previous tales in the series available in one volume. Original.

Three science fiction novelettes all have as their main character, Nicholas Van Rijn, 21-century interstellar trader. For contents, see Author Catalog.