Showing results for "Literature and Science" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Known as ‘The Father of Science Fiction’, Herbert George Wells’ writing career spanned over 60 years. He was a writer of novels, short stories, nonfiction books and articles. As a young man, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London, sparking his infamous vocation as a science fiction writer. Introduced by film director and H. G. Wells fanboy Eli Roth, this collection features unabridged recordings of the novels performed by Hugh Bonneville, Jason Isaacs, Sophie Okonedo, David Tennant and Alexander Vlahos.

Born in the quiet village of Shambala, Kalki Hari, son of Vishnuyath and Sumati, has no idea about his heritage until he is pitted against tragedies and battles. Whisked into the province of Keekatpur, which is under the fist of Lord Kali, Kalki sees the ignominy of death trumping life all around him. He learns that he has been born to cleanse the world he lives in, for which he must journey to the North and learn the ways of Lord Vishnu’s Avatar, from an immortal who wields an axe.

It’s not easy making the career jump from office-supplies-store middle manager to heroic interdimensional adventurer. At least, Jason tries to be heroic, but it's hard to be good when all your powers are evil. He’ll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters...and that’s just on the first day. He’s going to need courage, he’s going to need wit, and he’s going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, he’s going to need pants.

After a defeat at the hands of Lord Kali, Kalki Hari must journey towards the Mahendragiri mountains with his companions to finally become the avatar he is destined to be. But the road ahead is not without peril.... Not only is he trapped by the cannibalistic armies of the Pisach, he is also embroiled in the civil war of the Vanars. And in midst of all this, he meets a face from the legends.

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a house in London, he soon discovers some strange and shocking things about his new client. And then some strange things start happening back in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby, a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.

In this new recording, Paapa Essiedu breathes new life into the classic tale. Robert Louis Stevenson's dark psychological fantasy follows a respectable London lawyer as he investigates the strange relationship between his old friend Dr Henry Jekyll and the evil Edward Hyde. Its sensitive portrayal of man's dual nature is moving, beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.

Fifteen-year-old Maya and Arjun find their placid world suddenly overturned, when their favourite history teacher is found brutally murdered. The death shocks the students at the school and baffles the police. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger’s reappearance after 5000 years strikes fear into the hearts of powerful members of a secret society, called the Sangha. Who is he and what is he after? What secrets are Arjun’s uncle and mother hiding, and why do they inexplicably decide to leave town for an unknown destination?

In 2048, Sam Bixler is a brilliant scientist working for Telos, the world's most powerful corporation. Little does she know that a shocking secret about a deadly virus lurks within Telos, setting her on a thrilling and dangerous journey.

A Pallava prince travels to Cambodia to be crowned king, carrying with him secrets that will be the cause of great wars many centuries later. A Buddhist monk in ancient China treks south to India, searching for the missing pieces of a puzzle that could make his emperor all-powerful. A Neolithic tribe fights to preserve their sacred knowledge, oblivious to the war drums on the Indo-China border. Meanwhile, far away in the temple town of Kanchipuram, a reclusive scientist deciphers ancient texts even as a team of secret agents shadows his every move.

Kalki Hari arrives at Indragarh to find out that his brother has been taken prisoner, his beloved is about to be butchered and the city is embroiled in a ghastly war with the Naga queen and Dakshini king. Armed with a mighty sword forged by a god, he fights to take the city back from his nemesis, the evil Kali. But the Avatar of Vishnu is at a crossroads. It is his destiny to fight the last battle with Adharm and obliterate evil from this world. However, he has stumbled upon a terrible truth over the course of his journey...a truth that may change everything.

A young wife becomes obsessed with the wallpaper in the room of her holiday home in The Yellow Wallpaper. A man is tormented by the embalmed hand of his deceased uncle in The Beast with Five Fingers. For the protagonists of these three supernatural stories, ghostly terror lurks beneath the surface of ordinary life, and reality can all too easily fray at the seams.... Evocatively read by three of our finest actors, and with atmospheric music, these eerie, enthralling tales are perfect listening for dark winter nights.

Lukas Aguilar does not believe in gods. Despite—or perhaps because of—his deep knowledge of mythology and lore, Lukas has always valued what is practical, factual, and verifiable, eschewing faith for what he can see right in front of him. That is, until an earthquake destroys his home, and he wakes up in a dark cavern infested with bloodthirsty and unearthly creatures, wielding strange powers and hearing an even stranger voice in his head claiming to be a goddess.

Merritt Alder is done with Earth. The planet is polluted and overpopulated, and its people are hungry. Earth's first colony, Galena, is a pioneer world 10,000 light years away. It has clean air, unpolluted water, and continents of arable land. Anyone can start a new life…if they can get there. For Merritt, the journey is only the beginning. Obstacles arise every step of the way, forcing compromise and sacrifice. And not everyone on his ship is pure of heart. The bonds he forges on the journey will be the key to surviving on another world—a world anyone has yet to fully explore.

In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris and horror.

As a vampyr who was born to fulfill a prophecy, my life was planned before I was created. I obeyed every rule, and I became the perfect vampyr, but one night changed everything. Rejected by the man who was destined for me, who was supposed to love me forever, I do the only thing I can. I flee into the night, nursing my broken heart. Being a rejected mate corrupts the soul, however, and in this game of Courts and Kings, nobody wins. Nobody except the monsters in the shadows.

Four spine-tingling short stories from masters of the genre, read by Michael Maloney, Eleanor Bron and Andrew Sachs: 'The Phantom Coach' by Amelia B. Edwards; 'The Judge’s House' by Bram Stoker; 'The Tapestried Chamber' by Sir Walter Scott; 'The Man of Science' by Jerome K. Jerome.

Alex is broke. He's pretty much always been broke. A misspent youth led to mistakes that led to convictions and plea deals. No career, no education, no hope. Now he has a chance to make things right for him and his family when the newest immersive MMO comes with the ability to convert money earned in the game into real currency. Well, it's cryptocurrency, but that's real-ish, right?

Andrew Sachs reads these four classic stories of suspense - "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens, "The Haunted Doll's House" by M. R. James, "The Room in the Tower" by E. F. Benson, and "The Bus-Conductor" by E. F. Benson. These spine-tingling tales, from the golden age of the ghost story, are sure to leave you with a creeping sense of dread.

A mysterious radio signal is picked up from a neighboring star system. A group of experts is brought to the floor of the Grand Canyon to investigate its origin and its meaning as the planet suffers one natural disaster after another. Cut off from the rest of the world, they must question everything, including each other, if they hope to solve the mystery.

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Neil Clarke has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year's writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome "sensawunda" that the genre has to offer.