Pierre Alien Book order (chronological)

The background to the entire epic and world of Middle-earth, this work serves as the core of Tolkien's imaginative universe. It encompasses the legends of the Elder Days, which provide context for the events in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Begun in 1917, the text was edited by Christopher Tolkien and published posthumously in 1977. Central to the narrative are the three Silmarils, jewels created by the Elven craftsman Feanor, which contain the light of the Two Trees of Valinor. Their theft by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, ignites the major conflicts of the First Age. The work also includes several other significant texts: Ainulindale, detailing the myth of Creation; Valaquenta, describing the nature and power of the gods; Allakabeth, which recounts the downfall of Numenor; and "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," linking to The Lord of the Rings. As Christopher Tolkien notes, the history unfolds from the Music of the Ainur, marking the world's inception, to the departure of the ringbearers from Mithlond at the end of the Third Age. This edition features original illustrations by Ted Nasmith, complementing the illustrated versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

“A daring romp through the solar system and a worthy successor to 2001.”—Carl Sagan Nine years after the disastrous Discovery mission to Jupiter in 2001, a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition sets out to rendezvous with the derelict spacecraft—to search the memory banks of the mutinous computer HAL 9000 for clues to what went wrong…and what became of Commander Dave Bowman. Without warning, a Chinese expedition targets the same objective, turning the recovery mission into a frenzied race for the precious information Discovery may hold about the enigmatic monolith that orbits Jupiter. Meanwhile, the being that was once Dave Bowman—the only human to unlock the mystery of the monolith—streaks toward Earth on a vital mission of its own . . . “Clarke deftly blends discovery, philosophy, and a newly acquired sense of play.”—Time “2010 is easily Clarke’s best book in over a decade.”—The San Diego Tribune