Showing results by author "Poul Anderson" in All Categories

Imagine the surprise an immigrant tailor receives when a statue he receives in payment for his work is actually a fairy that can grant him three wishes. Perhaps he was right to attempt to turn down the wishes. Of course that's easy to say once the wishes run out. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Security takes place in a future America, where control and efficiency are emphasized, and unquestioned loyalty is required. Nobody wants a repeat of the disastrous war that happened 75 years previous, and sacrifices must be made to ensure the ultimate peace. At least that's what Dr. Allen Lancaster, a pyhsicist and Project Chief thinks, until a top secret branch of Security decides his planned vacation will be spent on a mission in space.

Sir Dominic Flandry is now an admiral, but takes little joy in his new rank. He sees the rot in the Terran Empire on every hand and knows that the Long Night will inevitably fall upon the galaxy. His consolation is that measures he has taken while doing what he can to postpone the empire's final collapse may shorten the coming galactic dark age and hasten the rise of a new interstellar civilization. In the meantime, he'll enjoy the comforts of a decadent civilization - and he'll always be ready for one more battle against the empire's enemies.

These stories are set in the familiar quasi-medieval worlds to which modern listeners are accustomed, and also stories rooted in the authentic myth-constructs of high antiquity, along with several that depend for their power on the juxtaposition of fantastic situations and terribly contemporary aspects of modern life on Earth. Together these stories make up a collection which provides reassuring proof of fantasy's eternal power in this technological age.

Anderson includes Wizards, Witches, Monsters, Fish-people, blackmail, battles and scheming, all taking place on a faraway planet in this fast-paced and engaging tale. No wonder he was the winner of seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

The way we feel about another person or about objects is often bound up in associations that have no direct connection with the person or object, at all. Often, what we call a "change of heart" comes about sheerly from a change in the many associations which make up our present viewpoint. Now, suppose that these associations could be altered artificially, at the option of the person who was in charge of the process.

Renowned sci-fi writer Poul Anderson came up with a gem of an idea for this story. Is Simon Delgatty human or alien? His quest to rescue his kidnapped human father is thwarted when he himself becomes a prisoner. His training at the Psychotechnic Institute is put to the test as he tries to thwart a megalomaniac’s evil plan and rescue his father. Even the FBI gets involved in the form of a beautiful young agent.

Poul Anderson was one of America's premier science-fiction and fantasy writers. This collection shows his incredible versatility, with everthing from a humorous short story to two sci-fi/fantasy novellas. Titles in this collection are: "The Sentitive Man", "Duel on Syrtis", "Witch of the Demon Seas", "The Burning Bridge", "Industrial Revolution", "The Virgin of Valkarion", "Security", "Sentiment, Inc", and "Innocent at Large".

Valgolia, a planet in the Epsilon Eridani star system, conquered Earth generations ago, but their conquest was incomplete. While Valgolians made possible greater prosperity, universal health, and interstellar trade for all Earthlings, the factional frictions of Earth - race against race, religion against religion, culture against culture - continue to bedevil the Valgolian's vision of a peaceable world for all mankind.

The way we feel about another person, or about objects, is often bound up in associations that have no direct connection with the person or object at all. Often, what we call a "change of heart" comes about simply from a change in the many associations which make up our present viewpoint. Now, suppose these associations could be altered artificially, at the option of the person who was in charge of the process.

With "wonderfully logical detail...exciting storytelling and moving characterization" (Anthony Boucher), science fiction master Poul Anderson explores what happens when the next stage of evolution is thrust upon humanity and animals. As Earth passes out of a magnetic field that has suppressed intelligence for eons, the mental capacity for all mammals increases exponentially, radically changing the structures of society.

The Burning Bridge is the story of fleet of ships seeking to colonize a distant planet. The trip is so long that most of the 3,000 passengers are kept in cryogenic sleep. As the fleet approaches the point of no return it receives a short message from Earth which may change everything; but the few that are awake will not have to make a life altering decision for everyone.

Many centuries in the future, no great destiny for humankind exists on Earth. The Lunarians, genetically engineered human adaptations bred to survive on the moon, have spread out toward the stars. But not even their colony on distant Proserpina is free from the suffocating influence of the Teramind, the vast network of intelligent machines that preserves order and logic in the universe.

"- Vous ferez l'affaire. Sans conteste. - L'affaire pour quoi ? Everard se pencha ; il sentit son pouls s'accélérer. - Pour la Patrouille. Vous allez devenir une sorte de policier. - Ouais ? Où ça ? - Partout. Et en tout temps." Préparez-vous à une surprise... Voyez-vous, notre société, quoique légale, ne constitue qu'une façade... et une source de fonds. Notre vraie fonction, c'est de patrouiller le temps.

Voici venue l'heure des ultimes aventures de Manse Everard et ses collègues de la Patrouille du temps au service de l'Histoire... Des aventures qui conduiront nos héros depuis la préhistoire jusqu'à une étrange variante de notre XXe siècle, en passant par la Bactriane du IIIe siècle avant notre ère et le Moyen Âge italien. Car les Exaltationnistes menacent toujours, sans parler d'un danger plus grand encore qui pourrait bien annihiler jusqu'à la Patrouille elle-même... et nous avec !

Le troisième volet inédit en audio d'un des plus grands classiques de la SF moderne ! Manse Everard et ses collègues sont loin d'en avoir fini avec les pirates temporels avides de réécrire notre Histoire. Au programme de ce troisième tome : Stella Maris, Rome et ses guerres dans les marches de l'Empire, au sein des royaumes Nord, au tout début de l'ère chrétienne, l'équilibre de l'Histoire étant alors fragile, Manse Everard accompagné pour l'occasion de Janne Floris surveille de près le déroulement des évènements.

L'homme a inventé le voyage dans le temps. Désormais, pour l'humanité, rien ne sera jamais plus comme avant. Et si cette révolution promet des perspectives phénoménales, c'est aussi la porte ouverte à toutes les dérives, tous les dangers. Ces dangers sont la raison d'être de la Patrouille du temps : à la fois préserver notre Histoire (et donc, notre présent !) mais aussi mieux la connaître.

Terre. XXIIIe siècle. Cinquante astronautes. Vingt-cinq femmes, vingt-cinq hommes, parmi les meilleurs dans leurs domaines : astrophysiciens, mathématiciens, biologistes, astronavigateurs... partent pour un impressionnant voyage : rejoindre l'étoile Beta Virginis à trente-deux années-lumière de la Terre. Ils disposent pour ce faire du plus stupéfiant des vaisseaux, le Leonora Christina, dernier né de sa génération, un navire capable de puiser son énergie au cœur même de l'espace et d'évoluer à des vitesses relativistes.

Colin Fraser is set to marry the girl of his dreams when suddenly she changes her mind and says she is madly in love with another older man whom she had disliked. She is also acting very strangely. Colin suspects some kind of foul play and is determined to find out what is going on. He discovers that his girlfriend has been part of secret strange experiments in mind control that could have world-shaking consequences.

"Sentiment, Inc." is a sci-fi short story by Poul William Anderson, published in 1957. The work chillingly explores themes of thought-manipulation in interpersonal relationships. What if you could control and alter associations and viewpoints of the human mind? What about the eventual consequences?