Paul McAuley is a British author of science fiction. His works often explore themes such as genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and the future of humanity. McAuley is known for his detailed world-building and complex characters. His stories delve into the dark and intricate aspects of technology and its impact on society.
On the eve of the Medici Pope's visit, an assassin has struck down an assistant to the immortal Raphael. It is a crime that draws a young artist named Pasquale and the investigative reporter Niccolo Macchiaveglia into the deepest shadows of their gray city--where there are fouler deaths to follow, and grave intrigues of war, withccraft and science. HC: AvoNova.
Confluence is riven by a civil war fired by the heresies of the last humans, the Ancients of Days. And the Great River, lifeblood of the inhabited part of the world, is failing. Yama was found as a baby on the breast of a dead woman in a boat on the Great River. He has two ambitions: to fight against the heretics, and to solve the mystery of his birth. Yama has the ability to control the machines which maintain the fabric of the world. As he journeys, so his powers increase, but his understanding of them is still limited and he finds himself becoming the unwilling focus of a dispute in the ancient and gigantic Palace of the Memory of the People.
'A writer of dazzling range, luminous intelligence and great humanity' Alastair Reynolds
Untold millennia ago, the Preservers made the world called Confluence and peopled it with ten thousand extraordinary bloodlines shaped from beasts of every sort Then the Preservers abandoned their creation -- leaving behind their law, their bureaucracies, and their trillions of machines, awake or slumbering, in the soil and the water and the air. In the gods' absence war came and a dangerous heresy arose that split the world in two. But a babe swept in on the great river, cradled in the arms of death -- the last and, perhaps, greatest of a remarkable bloodline -- signaling the beginning of the end times. And as Yama grows to young manhood, every hairbreadth escape and unanticipated adventure will bring him one step closer to the staggering truth about his heritage and his purpose ... and about a world that is not what it appears to be.
Widely believed to be Terry Gilliam's best film, Brazil's brilliantly imaginative vision of a retro-futuristic bureaucracy has had a lasting influence on genre cinema. Exploring its complex history and relationship with other dystopias, Paul McAuley explains why this satire on the unchecked power of the state is more relevant than ever.
In these nine extraordinary tales, acclaimed author Paul J. McAuley illuminates the unseen and the unimaginable with brilliant prose and incandescent conceptual daring. These stories explore the wonders and dangers of biotechnology and its and travel from a distant alternate past to a breathtaking far-flung future. in sixteenth century Venice, transformed by a premature Industrial Revolution, a physician mourning his daughter's passing meets a mountebank with the power to raise the dead. In a tomorrow of raw and terrible beauty, revolutionaries struggle to free genetically engineered creatures fated to die in combat games and violent sexual encounters. And ten million years in the future, on an artificial world orbiting an immense black hole, a civilization of awesome strangeness and complexity created -- and abandoned -- by God-like Preservers is about to meet the human ancestors of its makers. Enter "The Invisible Country" -- and prepare to be dazzled.
World War Terminus had left the Earth devastated. Through its ruins, bounty hunter Rick Deckard stalked, in search of the renegade replicants who were his prey. When he wasn�t �retiring� them with his laser weapon, he dreamed of owning a live animal -- the ultimate status symbol in a world all but bereft of animal life. Then Rick got his chance: the assignment to kill six Nexus-6 targets, for a huge reward. But in Deckard�s world things were never that simple, and his assignment quickly turned into a nightmare kaleidoscope of subterfuge and deceit -- and the threat of death for the hunter rather than the hunted...
The planet Elysium is long settled, but troubles lay underneath the seeming paradise. Citizens of the Port of Plenty have benefited from new technology, but settlers across the planet are left to fend for themselves.
This exotic, fast-paced space opera turns on a single question: who decides what it means to be human?
Science fiction as short fiction is a favorite form of the genre, and David G. Hartwell's Year's Best series consistently delivers humor, drama, style, and surprises. The Sixth Edition features a diverse array of stories, showcasing the creativity of various authors. Highlights include Paul J. McAuley's novelette "Reef," David Brin's thought-provoking short story "Reality Check," and Robert Silverberg's engaging "The Millennium Express." Tananarive Due's "Patient Zero" and Ken MacLeod's "The Oort Crowd" add depth to the collection, while M. Shayne Bell's "The Thing About Benny" and Brian Stableford's "The Last Supper" offer unique narratives. Joan Slonczewski's "Tuberculosis Bacteria Join UN" and Howard Waldrop's "Our Mortal Span" explore intriguing concepts, complemented by David Langford's "Different Kinds of Darkness." Norman Spinrad's "New Ice Age, or Just Cold Feet?" and Stephen Dedman's "The Devotee" further enrich the anthology. Other notable contributions include Chris Beckett's "The Marriage of Sky & Sea," Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Birthday of the World," and Greg Egan's novella "Oracle." The collection concludes with memorable stories from Nancy Kress, Brian W. Aldiss, Stephen Baxter, and Ted Chiang, ensuring a captivating reading experience for fans of the genre.
The Jackaroo gave humanity access to alien worlds and technologies, yet we still know nothing about them. As humanity spreads wider into the universe, will we discover what secrets they are hiding?
In the brilliant new hard SF novel from Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Paul McAuley, a war between human and posthuman civilisations is about to erupt.
Across a massive structure hanging in space, the lucidor hunts a criminal. The maps of the world are under attack from an unknown genetic invader, but nothing is more important than justice.
This collection of four novellas of humanity's struggle for survival in the far future features "Watching Trees Grow" by Peter F. Hamilton; "Reality Dust" by Stephen Baxter; "Making History" by Paul McAuley; and "Tendeleo's Story" by Ian McDonald.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD-winning author Paul McAuley concludes his thrilling epic of war between post-humans in the far future.
WHAT WILL BECOME OF US? In the deep future beyond the burn line of the Anthropocene and the extinction of humanity, the city states of an intelligent species of bear have fallen to a mind-wrecking plague. The bears' former slaves, a peaceable, industrious and endlessly curious people, believe that they have inherited the bounty and beauty of their beloved Mother Earth. But are they alone? After the death of his master, a famous scholar, Pilgrim Saltmire vows to complete their research into sightings of so-called visitors and their sky craft. To discover if they are a mass delusion created by the stresses of an industrial revolution, or if they are real - a remnant population of bears which survived the plague, or another, unknown intelligent species. Risking his reputation and his life, Pilgrim's search for the truth takes him from his comfortable home in the shadow of a great library to his tribe's former home on the chilly coast of the far south, and the gathering of a dangerous cult in the high desert. Whether or not the visitors are real, one thing is certain. Pilgrim's world and everything he thought he knew about his people's history will be utterly changed. McAuley's fabulous far future, impacted by the consequences of global warming, colonisation and historical injustices, explores and reflects our own challenges while telling a fast paced story of discovery and adventure.
Traveling to the center of the galaxy to confront an invisible enemy that had drawn the earth into war decades earlier and now threatens to destroy the universe, psychic Dorthy Yoshida is unaware of her destined role in humanity's final battle. Reprint.
It's 2025 and the Earth is irreparably damaged. Then a miracle. Scientists at the Chinese Martian base have discovered the 'Chi' - an active micro-organism several kilometres below the surface. It has super evolved and is able to swap DNA at will, maximizing its survival whatever the environment.
A dazzling new science fiction novel from the multiple award winning author of SOMETHING COMING THROUGH
The story of Wei Lee, the most unlikely Messiah since L.Ron Hubbard. It is set on Mars 600 years after the Yankees tried to terraform it, and failed, and 500 years after the Red Chinese took over and finished the job. The author won the Philip K. Dick Award for "Eternal Light".
The aliens are here. And they want to help. The extraordinary new project from one of the country's most acclaimed and consistently brilliant SF novelists of the last 30 years. The Jackaroo have given humanity fifteen worlds and the means to reach them. They're a chance to start over, but they're also littered with ruins and artifacts left by the Jackaroo's previous clients. Miracles that could reverse the damage caused by war, climate change, and rising sea levels. Nightmares that could forever alter humanity - or even destroy it. Chloe Millar works in London, mapping changes caused by imported scraps of alien technology. When she stumbles across a pair of orphaned kids possessed by an ancient ghost, she must decide whether to help them or to hand them over to the authorities. Authorities who believe that their visions point towards a new kind of danger. And on one of the Jackaroo's gift-worlds, the murder of a man who has just arrived from Earth leads policeman Vic Gayle to a war between rival gangs over possession of a remote excavation site. Something is coming through. Something linked to the visions of Chloe's orphans, and Vic Gayle's murder investigation. Something that will challenge the limits of the Jackaroo's benevolence ...
In 21st century Europe, ravaged by the changes of war and technology, gene hacker Alex Sharkey is a bare step ahead of the police and the Triads. When he helps a super-smart girl turn a genetically-engineered doll into a new species, he doesn't realize he's giving history a dangerous shove.
A superb SF novel from one of the genre's most accomplished writers.
A step-by-step guide to repairing pottery and porcelain, from the simplest plate to the most complex figurine. There is advice on which materials to use, the methods and techniques of joining, and how to disguise the join afterwards. The authors also discuss how much work to do in terms of conservation and restoration, and offer suggestions. The volume should be suitable for home-owners, collectors and ceramists of all levels.
Een jonge vrouwelijke rechercheur raakt verzeild in een luguber virtueel spel op leven en dood waarbij ze een psychopathische computerfreak moet uitschakelen.
Als der Westen mit seinem TerraForming-Projekt des mars gescheitert ist, versuchen es die Chinesen - indem sie kurzerhand ihre Mißliebigen Tibeter dort ansiedeln, und die tun ihre Arbeit mit Erfolg. Bald fängt es in den Wüsten des Roten Planeten an zu sprießen. Eine zweite Erde entsteht. Doch Fünfhundert Jahre später kehrt der Staub zurück. Und mit ihm die Gespenster der Vergangenheit.
Continuano i Mammoth Book curati da Stephen Jones. Dopo Terrore, Vampiri, Zombi e Lupi Mannari, questa volta il protagonista è Frankenstein. L'antologia inizia con il romanzo originale, il Frankenstein di Mary Shelley e continua con una panoramica dei migliori racconti e romanzi brevi che sull'argomento. I Racconti: Frankenstein, ovvero il Prometeo moderno di Mary W. Shelley Una nuova vita di Ramsey Campbell Il creatore di R. Chetwind-Hayes Meglio morto di Basil Copper La Creatura cerca conforto di Nancy Kilpatrick Gli omini di Robert Bloch El Sueño de la Razón di Daniel Fox Pithecanthropus Rejectus di Manly Wade Wellman In pratica un omicidio di John Brunner L'ultimo treno di Guy N. Smith Il mastino di Frankenstein di Peter Tremayne L'invenzione madre di Graham Masterton L'eredità di Frankenstein di Adrian Cole Comunicazione interrotta di Dennis Etchison Il mostro di Poppi di Lisa Morton Illusione di vita di Karl Edward Wagner Una donna completa di Roberta Lannes Ultima chiamata per i figli dello shock di David J. Schow Chandira di Brian Mooney Il paradiso del collezionista di Kim Newman La tentazione del dottor Stein di Paul J. McAuley Ricevere è meglio di Michael Marshall Smith Punto d'arrivo di David Case Frankenstein di Jo Fletcher
Florenz 1518. Politik, Verschwörung, Mordopfer und Liebesaffären stellen das Leben des jungen Malers Pasquale auf den Kopf. Er könnte der Nächste sein, der aus dem Weg geräumt werden soll. Involviert sind Leonardo da Vinci, Raffael, Michelangelo, Papst Leo X. und viele nicht so berühmte, aber nicht weniger rätselhafte und spannende Gestalten. Der Roman verknüpft die Elemente des Thrillers, des historischen Romans und der Phantasie zu einem detaillierten Portrait der Renaissance, wie sie hätte sein können...
Lidé, kteří v daleké budoucnosti osídlili umělou planetu upravenými zvířecími rasami, jež obdařili inteligencí, zmizeli za horizontem událostí, stále jsou však na Konfluenci uctívámi jako Ochránci. Mladý Yamamanama se po dlouhém a obtížném putování, během něhož získává a zase ztrácí přátele, dozvídá, že je potomkem Stavitelů, mocné pokrevní linie, která podle příkazů Ochránců planetu zkonstruovala. Jeho narození je však dosud zahaleno tajemstvím, neboť všichni Stavitelé jsou již celé věky mrtví. Yamu se snaží ovlivnit záhadná Angela, která se vrátila s lodí Předků dnů z cesty dlouhé pět milionů let a zasela na Konfluenci kacířské myšlenky, kvůli nimž se nyní vede válka. Yama zoufale prchá před prefektem Corinem, padne však do léčky zrádného doktora Dismase, jemuž se podařilo Yamu zákeřným úskokem ovládnout a využívá jeho schopností proti vojsku teokratů. Yamu čeká boj na život a na smrt s lidmi i zdivočelými stroji, aby však mohl zachránit i Konfluenci, musí se vydat na strastiplnou cestu nejen do vesmíru, ale i proti proudu času.
Když Alfie Flowers zahlédne na stěně jedné severolondýnské restaurace podivný symbol, okamžite si vybaví příhodu z dětství, kdy při prohlížení starého dokumentu, který patřil jeho otci, ztratil vědomí. Co má společného graffiti se vzpomínkami na otce, kterého jeho povolání fotografa zaválo do všech koutů světa, až se jednoho dne nevrátil? Alfiemu nedává ten zvláštní symbol spát a začne hledat jeho tvůrce a přesvědčením, že by se mohl dozvědět více o své minulosti a události, na kterou se do té doby pokoušel zapomenout.
Florencie, 1518. Úžasné stroje Leonarda da Vinciho fungují a průmyslová revoluce se uskutečňuje o celá staletí dříve. Když se Pasqual, mladý malíř, spojí s novinářem Machiavellim při vyšetřování vraždy v uzavřené věžní místnosti, narazí na konspiraci v politice, na nekromancii a další úkladné vraždy. A jak procházejí florentskými ulicemi osvětlenými acetylénovými lampami, získávají stále více důkazů o tom, že i oni jsou na seznamu mrtvých. Objevte svět, který nikdy neexistoval, ve kterém se malebnými ulicemi Florencie prohánějí parní automobily, kde parní stroje pracují v manufakturách a dílnách, kde Leonardo da Vinci rozvíjí svůj technický talent na úkor svého uměleckého potenciálu a kde se tajemná Mona Lisa obává o svého manžela. Svět, který namísto umělců ovládají umělečtí řemeslníci a technika vítězí nad múzami. Tento román je představitelem tzv. steampunku, subžánru SF, který byl pojmenován zhruba v 80. letech dvacátého století. Jde o spojení sf rekvizit původně s viktoriánskou dobou, dnes až se středověkem.
