Aliens

O que parecia ser uma estrela cadente, uma linha flamejante perpassando Maybury, no Reino Unido, era na verdade uma invasão extraterrestre. Um amontoado de máquinas trípedes – comandadas por marcianos – passou a marchar sobre os arredores de Londres, exterminando humanos a seu bel-prazer mediante raios de calor e liberação de substâncias venenosas. Espalharam pânico, terror e consolidaram a Guerra.Esse é o ponto de partida de A guerra dos mundos, publicada originalmente em 1897 no periódico britânico Pearson’s Magazine e considerada por especialistas a obra fundamental da ficção científica. O livro em questão serviu como base para múltiplas adaptações para teatro, rádio, televisão e cinema e, apesar de ter sido uma das primeiras obras do autor enquanto romancista, já deixa evidente seu talento singular.Dono de uma originalidade marcante em seu estilo, H. G. Wells consolidou ao longo de sua carreira literária um imaginário que se provou altamente fértil, tornando-se conhecido por seu dinamismo, vigor e exuberância. A guerra dos mundos também ficou famosa como crítica feita de forma voraz ao avanço assombroso do imperialismo europeu – e à subsequente erradicação de espécies animais e populações indígenas nativas das colônias britânicas. Além disso, pode ser considerada uma metáfora acerca da seleção natural e do darwinismo social, demonstrando o conhecimento do autor nos mais variados campos do saber.

Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe. And then he sees the flying saucer. Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders. No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it. It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar? At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.

The alien forces known as the Lankies are gathering on the solar system’s edge, consolidating their conquest of Mars and setting their sights on Earth. The far-off colony of New Svalbard, cut off from the rest of the galaxy by the Lanky blockade, teeters on the verge of starvation and collapse. The forces of the two Earth alliances have won minor skirmishes but are in danger of losing the war. For battle-weary staff sergeant Andrew Grayson and the ragged forces of the North American Commonwealth, the fight for survival is entering a catastrophic new phase.Forging an uneasy alliance with their Sino-Russian enemies, the NAC launches a hybrid task force on a long a stealth mission to breach the Lanky blockade and reestablish supply lines with Earth. Plunging into combat against a merciless alien species that outguns, outmaneuvers, and outfights them at every turn, Andrew and his fellow troopers could end up cornered on their home turf, with no way out and no hope for reinforcement. And this time, the struggle for humanity’s future can only end in either victory or annihilation.

For centuries, men and women have manned lighthouses to ensure the safe passage of ships. It is a lonely job, and a thankless one for the most part. Until something goes wrong. Until a ship is in distress. In the 23rd century, this job has moved into outer space. A network of beacons allows ships to travel across the Milky Way at many times the speed of light. These beacons are built to be robust. They never break down. They never fail. At least, they aren't supposed to.

Includes a brand-new Binti story! Collected for the first time in a trade paperback omnibus edition, the Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning Binti trilogy, the story of one extraordinary girl's journey from her home to distant Oomza University.In her Hugo- and Nebula-winning novella, Nnedi Okorafor introduced us to Binti, a young Himba girl with the chance of a lifetime: to attend the prestigious Oomza University. Despite her family's concerns, Binti's talent for mathematics and her aptitude with astrolabes make her a prime candidate to undertake this interstellar journey.But everything changes when the jellyfish-like Medusae attack Binti's spaceship, leaving her the only survivor. Now, Binti must fend for herself, alone on a ship full of the beings who murdered her crew, with five days until she reaches her destination.There is more to the history of the Medusae--and their war with the Khoush--than first meets the eye. If Binti is to survive this voyage and save the inhabitants of the unsuspecting planet that houses Oomza Uni, it will take all of her knowledge and talents to broker the peace.But even if Binti achieves this remarkable feat, it's not the end of her story. For this lone Himba woman, now bonded with a Medusa and forever changed by this bond, still must find a way to survive and thrive at Oomza University amid swirling interspecies biases. And eventually, she must return home to test the strength of the fragile peace she worked so hard to win.Collected now for the first time in omnibus form--and introducing a new Binti story--follow Binti's journey in this groundbreaking sci-fi trilogy.