Evolution Fiction

All life as we know it is carbon-based and reliant on sources of liquid water and energy for its survival; it is also, of course, known from just one planet: the Earth, a world perfectly suited to host life. But across a universe of at least 100 billion habitable, earthlike worlds, life cannot be restricted to just this one place. Or can it?

When most of the galaxy is hunting you down, life is pretty tough. It does help if you have one of the fastest ships in the galaxy, a homicidal axe, lots of money, and a foolproof plan. Which involves recruiting as many crazy b*****ds as possible to the crew!

She kills without mercy. On her 13th birthday, Thalliya watched her entire family get slaughtered. The humans cut off their fins and hung their heads from their Viking ships. Left cradling what few pieces remained of her twin, Thalliya screamed to the gods for vengeance. Answered by the Goddess of Love and War, Thalliya now guards the seas without mercy. He fights without fear. Ragnor is hired to take care of the mermaid terrorising the Western seas. With 17 kills under his belt, he thinks little of venturing into the Mouth of Hel.

While carrying out historical research at an Ontario asylum, psychiatrist Harry Karlinsky comes across a familiar surname in the register. Could the "Thomas Darwin of Down, England" be a relative of the famous Charles Darwin?In a narrative woven from letters, photographs, historical documents, and illustrations, what emerges is a sketch of Thomas’s life - the last of 11 children born to Charles Darwin. It tells of his obsession with extending his father’s studies into the realm of inanimate objects - kitchen utensils, to be precise.

The disgraced justice keeper Grecken Slade conducts a campaign of terror to gain control of the "key": a mysterious piece of Overseer technology. Facing him is Jena Morane, who leads a rag-tag band of resistance fighters to protect innocent civilians from Slade's wrath. Meanwhile, Jack Hunter and Harry Carlson search for the three ciphers that will grant them access to the key and the secrets buried therein.

From the day he was born into this world, Andy never stood a chance. Raised by abusive drug addicted parents, he was brutally tortured daily. Andy became numb to the world around him and developed a disdain for the people in it. As he grew, the constant abuse caused his youthful mind to finally snap. Liberating himself from his parents at 17, he now has a new mission in life. He will be the worlds most notorious serial killer.

Elodie Belrose deconstructs conventional understandings of the flapper prototype through an astute critique of Fitzgerald's short stories "Bernice Bobs Her Hair", "Diamond as Big as the Ritz", "Winter Dreams", "The Ice Palace", and many other tales of the Jazz Age. Belrose also offers one of the best concise historical accounts on the rise of the flapper's prominence in 1920's America. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short fiction offers a contrasting, untold narrative of the flapper’s impact on American society when compared to his novels. The flapper was not the catalyst for a grand American ...

It's five months since the nightmare Year Six school trip to Crater Lake and something has gone very wrong in Lance's home town of Straybridge. There's been an explosion at the university, a mysterious test creature is missing and no one is allowed in or out of the town. On top of this, Lance has lost touch with his friends since starting at his new school. And now his mum has been acting strangely since they started decorating the Christmas tree.

Isla Perdida has been untouched by humans for hundreds of years. Until now. A team of researchers has landed on the rocky shores of this dangerous landscape and discover that a horrific predator is waiting for them. It doesn't take long for this deadly arachnid to make its way from the humid island jungle to the American mainland. As this new threat terrorizes Southern Florida, a murderous infection begins to spread. Victims are piling up, and death is not the worst of it.

At 16 years old, Kala is the sole survivor in her family after the first wave of zombie infections tore through her hometown in southern Florida, only to then be gunned down by an FBI sharpshooter while trying to escape the diseased city with her friends. When she finally wakes up, she finds herself in a dangerous new America. Her only hope is to travel north with her newfound companions, where they hope to find food, shelter, and protection.

Berry Barry and his companions are back after their battle with the Flesh-Cursed creatures that lurked within the southern border wall mists. Barry, Fogwarth, and Ak-Lok, along with their newest tag-along, Goomba, must now return to the Mothric Kingdom and report what they have found back to the king.

Shay has followed Xander and joined his mysterious scientific cult at their remote Scottish compound. She's desperately searching for Callie, who went missing before the start of the epidemic that kills 95 percent of cases and leaves a tiny number of survivors with astonishing new powers. Can Shay uncover the truth about the origins of the epidemic, find Callie and perhaps even rekindle her relationship with Kai? Or will Xander's grand plans destroy them all for ever?

Something more awful than death lurks in the aftermath of the fall of mankind... Evolution. Plants struggled for many years to survive in a manmade concrete prison. Now they have evolved into horrid creatures feeding on the most abundant of food sources as the human race hides in fear. Can a mousy teen, an autistic man, and a brave subway dweller truly be the world's last hope?

Sightlines are guides to popular fiction, pointing out the richness of texts that are too often read only in a cursory fashion. Ian McDonald is a major SF writer, whose 'River of Gods' (2004) won the British Science Fiction Association award for Best Novel, and was shortlisted for the corresponding Hugo, Arthur C. Clarke, and British Fantasy Society awards. 'Chaga' (published in the US as 'Evolution’s Shore') is the first novel of his ‘Chaga Saga’ (1995–2000), about a very unusual alien invasion of Kenya and the southern hemisphere. It was short-listed for the John W. Campbell ...

Genre Fiction Sightlines are guides to popular fiction, pointing out the richness of texts that are too often read only in a cursory fashion. Ian McDonald is a major SF writer, whose 'River of Gods' (2004) won the British Science Fiction Association award for Best Novel, and was shortlisted for the corresponding Hugo, Arthur C. Clarke, and British Fantasy Society awards. 'Chaga' (published in the US as 'Evolution’s Shore') is the first novel of his ‘Chaga Saga’ (1995–2000), about a very unusual alien invasion of Kenya and the southern hemisphere. It was short-listed for the John W. ...

The world as Irvin knew it had blinked out of existence. Nothing of humanity had survived the cataclysmic "end of days." While the threat of complete destruction darkened the skies, Irvin struggled below. Minute by minute, he strove to come to terms with his loss of identity and feelings of isolation. His only companions and protection were from a small group of cyborgs, and his only hope was to adjust to his new reality and to wait for his family's promised return.

They say most people meet the person they will marry while in high school. Balancing one another perfectly, Holly Ryan and Declan James were together through most of college - until their relationship blew up, leaving Declan with more questions than answers. For the past two years, Declan has tried everything he can think of to earn Holly's forgiveness, but even if he manages to help her let go of the past and give them another chance at happiness, she still has a secret. Not to mention, she can't get over the revolving door of women he seems to have coming in and out of his apartment.

Claymore Straker is a fugitive with a price on his head. He's wanted by the CIA for acts of terrorism he did not commit; his best friend has just been murdered; and Rania, the woman he loves, has disappeared. Betrayed by those closest to him, he must flee the sanctuary of his safe house in Cornwall and track her down.

A hammer no mortal can lift. A flame-haired fiery storm god. A comic book alien-hero-god who defends humanity. The swastika. Even the name "Thursday" ("Thor's Day"). Despite the virtual disappearance of the indigenous Norse religion and mythology several centuries ago, modern society still regularly encounters the storm god Thor, who continues to be brought back to life in the form of literature and was recently the protagonist in a big-budget Hollywood movie.

School is out in the summer of 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. For Frances Robinson, a 15-year-old daydreamer with a crush on her teacher, John T. Scopes, summer vacation promises tennis and Coca-Colas from her father's drug store. But when Frances' father, the school board chairman, has Scopes arrested for teaching evolution, the sleepiest place on earth becomes a hotbed for famous thinkers, including H.L. Mencken, Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan.