Bøger udgivet af Random House Worlds

Thousands of years ago, the mad emperor Lokan controlled the Nightsword--and imposed his twisted desires on all that lived. Then Lokan mysteriously vanished behind the Maelstrom Wall, into the quantum chaos of the galactic core. But legend says that somewhere behind the Wall, the Nightsword is hidden, its awesome energies waiting to be used again . . . for good or evil.When Earther astronaut Jeremy Griffiths donned the Mantle of Kendis-Dai and became blessed--and perhaps cursed--with infinite knowledge, he learned the exact direction of Lokan's ill-fated route. And now the secrets stored in his head have made him the target of everyone who has ever coveted the Nightsword for their own ends. Griffiths wants only to get his crew safely home to Earth--and to impress the bewitching, bewildering Merinda Neskat. Yet he is caught firmly in the middle of galactic agendas beyond his control, and this new quest will prove to be the challenge of a lifetime . . .

At long last, the New York Times bestselling series that launched the Star Wars saga into the next generation and into thrilling new territory reaches its spectacular finale. Side by side, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, their children, and their comrades in the Galactic Alliance rally for their last stand against the enemy that threatens not only the galaxy, but the Force itself.The Galactic Alliance's hard-won success in countering the Yuuzhan Vong onslaught has proven all too brief—and the tide has turned once more to the invaders' advantage. Having overcome the sabotage strategies of the Jedi and their allies, the marauding aliens have pushed deeper into the galaxy and subjugated more worlds in their ruthless quest for domination. Coruscant has been remade into a Yuuzhan Vong stronghold. The remnants of the resistance are struggling to form a united front. Luke, Mara, and Jacen are missing in action. Clearly the stage is set for endgame. Now, as Han and Leia receive the chilling news that hundreds of high-ranking Galactic Alliance prisoners face slaughter in a sacrifice to the enemy's bloodthirsty gods, Luke and his team try desperately to convince the living world of Zonama Sekot to join the Jedi's final campaign against the Yuuzhan Vong. Yet even as they speak, a lone space station is all that stands between Alliance headquarters on Mon Calamari . . . and wave after wave of ferocious enemy forces waging their most decisive assault.At the same time, the Jedi's alliances throughout the galaxy are being tested—and the chances of victory jeopardized—by rogue factions determined to deploy the lethal weapon that will exterminate the Yuuzhan Vong . . . and perhaps countless other species. And among the Yuuzhan Vong themselves, the threat of revolt has reached a boiling point—as the oppressed underclass and powerful officials alike fear their Supreme Overlord's mad actions will provoke the wrath of the gods.Ultimately, for both the forces of invasion and resistance, too much has been sacrificed —and too much is at stake—to ever turn back. And now, nothing can stand in the way of seizing victory . . . or facing annihilation.

Award-winning author and radio personality Ellen Kushner's inspired retelling of an ancient legend weaves myth and magic into a vivid contemporary novel about the mysteries of the human heart. Brimming with ballads, riddles, and magical transformations, here is the timeless tale of a charismatic bard whose talents earn him a two-edged otherworldly gift. A minstrel lives by his words, his tunes, and sometimes by his lies. But when the bold and gifted young Thomas the Rhymer awakens the desire of the powerful Queen of Elfland, he finds that words are not enough to keep him from his fate. As the Queen sweeps him far from the people he has known and loved into her realm of magic, opulence-and captivity-he learns at last what it is to be truly human. When he returns to his home with the Queen's parting gift, his great task will be to seek out the girl he loved and wronged, and offer her at last the tongue that cannot lie.

The 21st century was drawing to a close, and metapsychic humankind was poised at last to achieve Unity -- to be admitted into the group mind of the already unified alien races of the Galactic Milieu. But a growing corps of rebels was plotting to keep the people of Earth forever separate in the name of human individuality. And the rebels had a secret supporter: Fury, the insane metapsychic creatrue that would stop at nothing to claim humanity for itself. Fury's greatest enemy was the mutant genius Jack the Bodiless, whose power it craved. But Jack would never be a tool for Fury . . . And so it turned to Dorothea Macdonald, a young woman who had spent a lifetime hiding her towering mindpowers from the best mind readers of the Milieu. But she could not hide them from Fury -- or from Jack. Time and again she rejected their advances, unwilling to be drawn into the maelstrom of galactic politics or megalomaniacal dreams. And in the end, no one -- not Jack, not Fury, not even the Galactic Milieu -- would be a match for the awesome powers of the girl who would come to be called Diamond Mask . . .

While chaos reigned in the Eastern Lands, the Keep of Dare stood as a bastion against war and bandits and the spawn of unnatural sorceries. Then twin blows rocked the citadel: the fearsome Alketch army mounted siege, even as young Prince Tir was snatched from the heart of the Keep. Behind the terror was the depraved, hook-handed general Vair na-Chandros. He had learned that the royal child possessed forbidden wisdom: a secret with which the bloodthirsty Vair intended to conquer the world.One single man posed a threat to Vair's vaunting ambition: the legendary warrior known as the Icefalcon. Banished by his own people and scorned as a barbarian by others, only he could hope to free the boy from Vair's clutches. With his sister Cold Death--a sorcerer whose magic was as sharp as her tongue--the Icefalcon embarked on a dangerous mission of rescue and redemption.Braving nightmare demons and the endless hordes of Vair's inhuman soldiers, he shadowed Vair and his small captive beyond the reaches of the known world. And when the boy led Vair to the forgotten Keep of the Shadow at the End of Time, the Icefalcon would face his greatest battle . . . for his prince, for his honor, and for all eternity.

"Niven has come up with an idea about as far out as one can get. . . . This is certainly classic science fiction-the idea is truly the hero."-Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine When leaving Earth, the crew of the spaceship Discipline was prepared for a routine assignment. Dispatched by the all-powerful State on a mission of interstellar exploration and colonization, Discipline was aided (and secretly spied upon) by Sharls Davis Kendy, an emotionless computer intelligence programmed to monitor the loyalty and obedience of the crew. But what they weren't prepared for was the smoke ring-an immense gaseous envelope that had formed around a neutron star directly in their path. The Smoke Ring was home to a variety of plant and animal life-forms evolved to thrive in conditions of continual free-fall. When Discipline encountered it, something went wrong. The crew abandoned ship and fled to the unlikely space oasis. Five hundred years later, the descendants of the Discipline crew living on the Smoke Ring no longer remember their origins. Earth is more myth than memory, and no recollection of the State remains. But Kendy remembers. And just outside the Smoke Ring, Discipline waits patiently to make contact with its wayward children.

In The Mirror of Her Dreams, the dazzling first volume of Mordant's Need, New York Times bestselling author Stephen R. Donaldson introduced us to the richly imagined world of Mordant, where mirrors are magical portals into places of beauty and terror. Now, with A Man Rides Through, Donaldson brings the story of Terisa Morgan to an unforgettable conclusion. . . .Aided by the powerful magic of Vagel, the evil Arch-Imager, the merciless armies are marching against the kingdom of Mordant. In its hour of greatest need, two unlikely champions emerge. One is Geraden, whose inability to master the simplest skills of Imagery has made him a laughingstock. The other is Terisa Morgan, transferred to Mordant from a Manhattan apartment by Geraden's faulty magic. Together, Geraden and Terisa discover undreamed-of talents within themselves—talents that make them more than a match for any Imager . . . including Vagel himself.Unfortunately, those talents also mark them for death. Branded as traitors, they are forced to flee the castle for their lives. Now, all but defenseless in a war-torn countryside ravaged by the vilest horrors Imagery can spawn, Geraden and Terisa must put aside past failures and find the courage to embrace their powers—and their love—before Vagel can spring his final trap.

"ENTERTAINING AND INTELLIGENT . . . This book is pure class all the way. . . . The final page is a great climax.”-StarburstThe Republic is decaying, even under the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was elected to save the galaxy from collapsing under the forces of discontent. On the tiny but strategic planet of Ansion, a powerful faction is on the verge of joining the growing secessionist movement. At the Chancellor's request, the Jedi Council sends two Jedi Knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luminara Unduli, along with their Padawans Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee, to stabilize the planet's population. To succeed, the Jedi will have to fulfill near-impossible tasks, befriend wary strangers, and influence two great armies, stalked all the while by an enemy sworn to see the negotiations collapse and the mission fail. . . .

The New York Times bestselling Star Wars series The New Jedi Order enthralls readers with its epic drama and thrilling adventure. Now readers will pierce the very heart of darkness. . . .It is a solemn time for the New Republic, as the merciless Yuuzhan Vong continue their campaign of destruction. The brutal enemy has unleashed a savage creature capable of finding—and killing—Jedi Knights. And now Leia Organa Solo faces a terrible ultimatum. If the location of the secret Jedi base is not revealed within one week, the Yuuzhan Vong will blast millions of refugee ships into oblivion. As the battered but still unbroken Jedi scramble to deal with the newest onslaught, Leia's son Anakin lays out a daring plan. He will lead a Jedi strike force into the heart of enemy territory in order to sabotage the Yuuzhan Vong's deadliest weapons. There, with his brother and sister at his side, he will come face-to-face with his destiny—as the New Republic, still fighting the good fight, will come face-to-face with theirs. . . .

When H. P. Lovecraft first introduced his macabre universe in the pages of Weird Tales magazine, the response was electrifying. Gifted writers-among them his closest peers-added sinister new elements to the fear-drenched landscape. Here are some of the most famous original stories from the pulp era that played a pivotal role in reflecting the master's dark vision. FANE OF THE BLACK PHARAOH by Robert Bloch: A man obsessed with unearthing dark secrets succumbs to the lure of the forbidden. BELLS OF HORROR by Henry Kuttner: Infernal chimes ring the promise of dementia and mutilation. THE FIRE OF ASSHURBANIPAL by Robert E. Howard: In the burning Afghan desert, a young American unleashes an ancient curse. THE ABYSS by Robert A. W. Lowndes: A hypnotized man finds himself in an alternate universe, trapped on a high wire between life and death. AND SIXTEEN MORE TALES OF ICY TERROR . . . THE THING ON THE ROOF by Robert E. Howard THE SEVEN GEASES by Clark Ashton Smith THE INVADERS by Henry Kuttner THE THING THAT WALKED ON THE WIND by August Derleth ITHAQUA by August Derleth THE LAIR OF THE STAR-SPAWN by August Derleth & Mark Schorer THE LORD OF ILLUSION by E. Hoffmann Price THE WARDER OF KNOWLEDGE by Richard F. Searight THE SCOURGE OF B'MOTH by Bertram Russell THE HOUSE OF THE WORM by Mearle Prout SPAWN OF THE GREEN ABYSS by C. Hall Thompson THE GUARDIAN OF THE BOOK by Henry Hasse MUSIC OF THE STARS by Duane W. Rimel THE AQUARIUM by Carl Jacobi THE HORROR OUT OF LOVECRAFT by Donald A. Wollheim TO ARKHAM AND THE STARS by Fritz Leiber

The Marines were told it was a simple peasant rebellion-but the mission proved to be far deadlier. . . .Gunny Charlie Bass isn't the only Marine mystified by the order sending the entire 34th to put down a few seditious serfs on planet Kingdom. Rumors swirl of a deadly alien invasion. But few believe that such sentient beings exist. Except Gunny Bass and the Marines of the 3rd platoon, who once fought enemy aliens called Skinks-fierce, fanatical fighters with hideous weapons who attack for no other reason but to kill.Then, while slogging through Kingdom's fetid swamps, the Marines are attacked by awesome unseen weapons that could destroy half a platoon with one shot. Clearly they are facing no normal enemy. And if their adversaries are Skinks, one FIST isn't enough. Third platoon's orders are to penetrate deeper into the bloody jungle hell-and find out what happens when a few good men bite the bullet. . . .