Joshs ultimate fantasy and science-fiction guide.
Explore Josh's Ultimate Fantasy and Science-Fiction Guide for the best book recommendations in fantasy and sci-fi. Discover must-read titles, hidden gems, and expert picks for every fan!
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Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
A stunning tour de force filled with transcendent awe and wonder, Hyperion is a masterwork of science fiction that resonates with excitement and invention, the first volume in a remarkable epic by the multiple-award-winning author of The Hollow Man. On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands. Praise for Dan Simmons and Hyperion “Dan Simmons has brilliantly conceptualized a future 700 years distant. In sheer scope and complexity it matches, and perhaps even surpasses, those of Isaac Asimov and James Blish.”—The Washington Post Book World “An unfailingly inventive narrative . . . generously conceived and stylistically sure-handed.”—The New York Times Book Review “Simmons’s own genius transforms space opera into a new kind of poetry.”—The Denver Post “An essential part of any science fiction collection.”—Booklist
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The Fall of Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
“State of the art science fiction . . . a landmark novel.”—Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine Now, in the stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, Simmons returns us to a far future resplendent with drama and invention. On the world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing—nothing anywhere in the universe—will ever be the same. Praise for The Fall of Hyperion “One of the finest SF novels published in the past few years.”—Science Fiction Eye “A magnificently original blend of themes and styles.”—The Denver Post
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Endymion
by Dan Simmons
The multiple-award-winning science fiction master returns to the universe that is his greatest triumph--the world of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion --with a novel even more magnificent than its predecessors. Dan Simmons's Hyperion was an immediate sensation on its first publication in 1989. This staggering multifaceted tale of the far future heralded the conquest of the science fiction field by a man who had already won the World Fantasy Award for his first novel (Song of Kali) and had also published one of the most well-received horror novels in the field, Carrion Comfort. Hyperion went on to win the Hugo Award as Best Novel, and it and its companion volume, The Fall of Hyperion, took their rightful places in the science fiction pantheon of new classics. Now, six years later, Simmons returns to this richly imagined world of technological achievement, excitement, wonder and fear. Endymion is a story about love and memory, triumph and terror--an instant candidate for the field's highest honors.
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Rise of Endymion
by Dan Simmons
The magnificent conclusion to one of the greatest science fiction sagas of our time The time of reckoning has arrived. As a final genocidal Crusade threatens to enslave humanity forever, a new messiah has come of age. She is Aenea and she has undergone a strange apprenticeship to those known as the Others. Now her protector, Raul Endymion, one-time shepherd and convicted murderer, must help her deliver her startling message to her growing army of disciples. But first they must embark on a final spectacular mission to discover the underlying meaning of the universe itself. They have been followed on their journey by the mysterious Shrike--monster, angel, killing machine--who is about to reveal the long-held secret of its origin and purpose. And on the planet of Hyperion, where the story first began, the final revelation will be delivered--an apocalyptic message that unlocks the secrets of existence and the fate of humankind in the galaxy.
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The Phoenix Guards
by Steven Brust
Khaavren of the House of Tiassa arrives in the heart of the Draegaran Empire with only his good breeding and his "tolerable" swordsmanship to protect. But when he joins the rambunctious Phoenix Guards, he and his rowdy comrades must save the Empire from collapse . . . and invasion.
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Five Hundred Years After
by Steven Brust
Khaavren, Pel, Aerich, and Tazendra meet again after five hundred years, just as an uprising in Dragaera threatens the Imperial Orb and begins to change their world.
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Issola
by Steven Brust
Vlad Taltos, a sometime assassin currently on the run from his former associates, is tracked down in his jungle hideout by a most improbable party: Lady Teldra, who has come to enlist Vlad's help.
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Taltos
by Steven Brust
Steven Brust's first three novels featuring assassin Vlad Taltos and his jhereg companion were collected in one volume as The Book of Jhereg. The Book of Taltos continues the adventure with books four and five in the series -Taltos and Phoenix. Vlad Taltos is an assassin unlike no other. Not only is he quick with a sword, but he also possesses a gift for witchcraft conjuring. The latest addition to his already formidable arsenal is a leathery-winged jhereg who shares a telepathic link with Vlad -making him twice as deadly The adventures chronicled in Taltos and Phoenix find Vlad accepting a job in the Land of the Dead, but a living human being cannot walk the paths of the dead and return, alive, to the land of men. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), the Demon Goddess is willing to rescue him - if Vlad is willing to grant her a favor in return.
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Orca
by Steven Brust
Granted, walking around with two jhereg on your shoulders is not the best disguise for an ex-assassin wanted all over the Empire. But a young boy saved his life and then needs help, Vlad Taltos pays his debt--even if it means uncovering a financial scandal big enough to bring down the House of the Orca and the entire Empire.
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Teckla
by Steven Brust
Vlad Taltos, an assassin, takes the side of the Teckla, peasants who are in revolt against the Empire and his own family, the House of Jhereg.
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Yendi
by Steven Brust
Vlad Taltos tells the story of his early days in the House Jhereg, how he found himself in a Jhereg war, and how he fell in love with the wonderful woman, Yendi, who killed him.
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Phoenix
by Steven Brust
When the Demon-Goddess saves him from a certain death, Vlad must pay her back with his professional services as an assassin.