Can science fiction--especially sci-fi cinema--save the world? It already has, many times. Retired officers testify that films like Doctor Strangelove, Fail-Safe, On the Beach and War Games provoked changes and helped prevent accidental war. Soylent Green and Silent Running recruited millions of environmental activists. The China Syndrome and countless movies about plagues helped bring attention to those failure modes. And the grand-daddy of "self-preventing prophecy"-Nineteen Eighty-Four-girded countless citizens to stay wary of Big Brother. It's not been all dire warnings. While optimism is much harder to dramatize than apocalypse, both large and small screens have also encouraged millions to lift their gaze, contemplating how we might get better, incrementally, or else raise grandchildren worthy of the stars. Come along on a quirky quest for unusual insights into the power of forward-looking media. How the romantic allure of feudalism tugs at men and women who benefited vastly from modernity. Or explore why almost every Hollywood film preaches Suspicion of Authority, along with tolerance, diversity and personal eccentricity, and how those messages helped keep us free. No one is spared scrutiny! Not Spielberg or Tolkien or Cameron or Costner... nor Dune or demigods or zombie flicks. Certainly not George Lucas or Ayn Rand! Though some critiques are offered from a lifetime of respect and love... and gratitude.

He was a survivor: a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war. But when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker, his life changes for ever. As he journeys from one isolated community to the next, the old, worn uniform becomes far more than a protection against the unrelenting cold: it's a reminder of how things were before the world collapsed - and a symbol for how things might be again. His story is one of a lie becoming the most important kind of truth. Translated into 25 languages around the world, The Postman is a powerful and affecting novel about survival of the human spirit, from the award-winning author of EXISTENCE and The Uplift novels.

OUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE WAS NEVER A GIVEN. Year after year, humanity has survived the main pitfalls awaiting us - natural disasters, nuclear war, rising seas. But when an alien artefact is found floating in Earth's orbit, it pushes our troubled world to the brink of chaos. Is this a message in a bottle bringing peace and enlightenment from the stars? Or a warning, threatening to destroy what little stability mankind has achieved? The world is divided - holding its breath. Soon we will know the secret of existence. Brilliant and gripping, David Brin's novel of the near future is the work of a modern master of science fiction.

A starship crew of humans and dolphins skirts the brink of interstellar war in this epic adventure by the New York Times-bestselling author of The Postman. We are not alone. Humanity's explorations have revealed galaxies inhabited by millions of intelligent species interacting under ancient traditions. Foremost among said traditions is uplift, which requires all spacefaring races to welcome newcomers into Galactic culture by breeding and genetically guiding each client species to full sapience--but at a price. Patron races demand centuries of indentured servitude from each uplifted client. But is upstart humanity a patron or a client? The Earthship Streaker--crewed by humans and uplifted dolphins and chimpanzees--discovers a derelict armada, perhaps left by the very first patrons, the fabled Progenitors. Suddenly the Five Galaxies teeter on the brink of all-out war as fanatics hunt Streaker for the secret. With a damaged ship and hostile aliens in pursuit, the crew must band together if they hope to survive . . . This book features a new introduction by the author. Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards "An extraordinary achievement." --Poul Anderson, award-winning author of Tau Zero "What a wonderful ride . . . Startide Rising is one of the books that I remember most fondly, out of all I have read, and rereading it thirty years later proved just as enjoyable as the first time. I remain amazed at how many different characters and subplots Brin juggles without a misstep, and the way he keeps the tension and suspense high throughout." --Tor.com "This is one of the outstanding SF novels of recent years." --Publishers Weekly "One of maybe twenty science fiction novels that deserve the label classic." --Time

TIME IS RUNNING OUT Decades from now, an artificial black hole has fallen into the Earth's core. As scientists frantically work to prevent the ultimate disaster, they discover that the entire planet could be destroyed within a year. But while they look for an answer, some claim that the only way to save Earth is to let its human inhabitants become extinct: to reset the evolutionary clock and start over. Earth is the Hugo and Locus Award-nominated novel that, with countless accurate predictions, earned David Brin his reputation as a visionary futurologist.

A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy *** ISSUE 8: May 2014 *** Mike Resnick, Editor *** Shahid Mahmud, Publisher *** Stories by: Tina Gower, Robert Silverberg, Tom Gerencer, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Andrew Liptak, David Brin, Eric Leif Davin, Robin Reed, Nancy Kress, Alex Shvartsman. Serialization: Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp Columns by: Barry Malzberg, Gregory Benford Book Reviews: Paul Cook. Interview: Joy Ward interviews Gene Wolfe

A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Mike Resnick. *** Stories by: Jack Dann, Sabina Theo, Andrea G. Stewart, Catherine Asaro, Eric Cline, David Brin, Alavaro Zinos-Amaro, Kevin J. Anderson, Martin L. Shoemaker, Larry Niven. *** Serialization: Voodoo Planet by Andre Norton. *** Columns by: Barry Malzberg, Gregory Benford Book Reviews: Paul Cook.

rom bestselling author David Brin comes a collected work that takes the reader on a swooping, controversial ride through worlds of fiction, nonfiction and film. Through Stranger Eyes is a freedom-of-expression free-for-all, offering more than two dozen reviews and commentaries that are sure to enlighten and entertain, possibly infuriate, even make you laugh.

From carefully measured views on J.R.R. Tolkien to Brin's infamous, outraged rant about the Star Wars saga, to unusual appraisals of familiar and unfamiliar works, you are guaranteed to come away with perspectives you never imagined before.

As readers, we have enjoyed Brin's fiction - the Uplift universe, books like Sundiver and Earth. Now venture into the mind and world of the journey into the mind of one of the most popular authors alive today, and see what he sees through stranger eyes.

By the year 2137 Europe has become a largely forgotten, savage wilderness. Fierce bands of hunters rove the crumbling ruins of once mighty, war-ravaged cities. On the other side of the Atlantic a prosperous Pan-American Federation has emerged, claiming all lands and seas between the 30th and 175th longitudes and forbidding contact with the rest of the world. All who cross beyond thirty are sentenced to death."" "Beyond Thirty" is the story of Captain Jefferson Turck and the crew of his aero-submarine, who through accident and sabotage are forced beyond the thirtieth longitude and embark on an epic quest to rediscover the legendary lands of the Old World. Their adventures stand as one of Edgar Rice Burroughs's most imaginative and subtly crafted tales. Burroughs wrote the story in 1915 in reaction to the growing horrors of the First World War, and his devastating vision of its consequences provides a haunting and enduring warning for the twenty-first century.

Strange visitors throw a planet of refugees into chaos in this science fiction adventure by the author of New York Times bestseller The Uplift War. Book One in the Uplift Storm Trilogy Centuries ago, the Buyur race abandoned Jijo. Now off-limits to settlers, it's warded by guardian machines who will protect the planet until the Institutes of the Five Galaxies declare Jijo ready--in another million years--for new civilization. But mere laws and guardians can't keep out the desperate. Clandestine bands of "sooners" have sneaked down to the lonely planet. Six intelligent races--all refugees--have bickered . . . then built a new society in the wilds of Jijo, hidden beneath forest canopies. Together they live in harmony--and in fear of the day their illegal colony will be discovered and judgment from the Five Galaxies will rain down upon them. One day a strange starship finally does appear on Jijo. But its owners do not bring law or judgment. Only dire secrets. And they'll do whatever it takes to keep them . . . This book features a new introduction by the author. Hugo Award Finalist "A captivating read . . . Brightness Reef leaves you looking forward to more. It's a worthy addition to what promises to be a great science fiction series." --Star Tribune "Brin is a skillful storyteller. . . . There is more than enough action to keep the book exciting, and like all good serials, the first volume ends with a bang." --The Plain Dealer "A universe that's immensely appealing, leaving readers hungry for more of this exciting, epic adventure." --Publishers Weekly "Tremendously inventive, ambitious work." --Kirkus Reviews "A timely, science fictional contemplation of the refugee experience."--Santa Fe Reporter

A once peaceful planet of refugees faces complete annihilation in this hard science fiction sequel to Brightness Reef. Book Two in the Uplift Storm Trilogy It's illegal to occupy the planet Jijo, but six castaway races have managed to coexist there for some time. They've successfully hidden from watchful law enforcers of the Five Galaxies--until now . . . After making an amazing discovery far away--a derelict armada whose mere existence triggered interstellar war--the Terran exploration vessel Streaker and its crew of humans and dolphins arrive at Jijo in search of sanctuary from the Galactic forces out to destroy them. But they were followed. As behemoth Galactic starships descend upon Jijo, heroic--and terrifying--choices must be made. Together, human and alien settlers must choose whether to fight the invaders or join them. The crew of the Streaker, meanwhile, discovers something that just might save Jijo and its inhabitants . . . or destroy every last one of them. "Well paced, immensely complex, highly literate . . . Superior SF." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "An imaginative drama of excitement and wonder . . . The sheer virtuosity of the prose alone makes this book worth reading." --SF Site

In New York and Baltimore, police cameras scan public areas twenty-four hours a day. Huge commercial databases track you finances and sell that information to anyone willing to pay. Host sites on the World Wide Web record every page you view, and "smart" toll roads know where you drive. Every day, new technology nibbles at our privacy.Does that make you nervous? David Brin is worried, but not just about privacy. He fears that society will overreact to these technologies by restricting the flow of information, frantically enforcing a reign of secrecy. Such measures, he warns, won't really preserve our privacy. Governments, the wealthy, criminals, and the techno-elite will still find ways to watch us. But we'll have fewer ways to watch them. We'll lose the key to a free society: accountability."The Transparent Society" is a call for "reciprocal transparency." If police cameras watch us, shouldn't we be able to watch police stations? If credit bureaus sell our data, shouldn't we know who buys it? Rather than cling to an illusion of anonymity-a historical anomaly, given our origins in close-knit villages-we should focus on guarding the most important forms of privacy and preserving mutual accountability. The biggest threat to our freedom, Brin warns, is that surveillance technology will be used by too few people, now by too many.A society of glass houses may seem too fragile. Fearing technology-aided crime, governments seek to restrict online anonymity; fearing technology-aided tyranny, citizens call for encrypting all data. Brins shows how, contrary to both approaches, windows offer us much better protection than walls; after all, the strongest deterrent against snooping has always beenthe fear of being spotted. Furthermore, Brin argues, Western culture now encourages eccentricity-we're programmed to rebel! That gives our society a natural protection against error and wrong-doing, like a body's immune system. But "social T-cells" need openness to spot trouble and get the word out. "The Transparent Society" is full of such provocative and far-reaching analysis.The inescapable rush of technology is forcing us to make new choices about how we want to live. This daring book reminds us that an open society is more robust and flexible than one where secrecy reigns. In an era of gnat-sized cameras, universal databases, and clothes-penetrating radar, it will be more vital than ever for us to be able to watch the watchers. With reciprocal transparency we can detect dangers early and expose wrong-doers. We can gauge the credibility of pundits and politicians. We can share technological advances and news. But all of these benefits depend on the free, two-way flow of information.

The intrepid Professor Lindenbrock embarks upon the strangest expedition of the nineteenth century: a journey down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the Earth's very core. In his quest to penetrate the planet's primordial secrets, the geologist--together with his quaking nephew Axel and their devoted guide, Hans--discovers an astonishing subterranean menagerie of prehistoric proportions. Verne's imaginative tale is at once the ultimate science fiction adventure and a reflection on the perfectibility of human understanding and the psychology of the questor. As David Brin notes in his Introduction, though Verne never knew the term "science fiction," Journey to the Centre of the Earth is "inarguably one of the wellsprings from which it all began."