Melusine is a sorcerer's apprentice, funny and dynamic, who does everything possible to become a powerful witch. Unfortunately, she's not always successful, and very often her tricks turn against her and her circle. Pumpkins, all sorts of monsters, a haunted castle, a charming prince-everything is there for the greatest pleasure of the readers. Girls or boys, nobody will be bored with Melusine! In this first volume, the charming little witch is working as a nanny in a castle in Transylvania. The lady of the house is a very bad-tempered phantom, her husband is quite a cool vampire, and the footman is a sort of Frankenstein with an exceptionally limited intellect. In short, nothing out of the ordinary...
Melusine decides to make love potions, but she'd better be careful: One too many drops of libidinous toad's saliva and the decoction will be explosive; minus three hairs off an enamoured bat and the charming prince will become a hideous monster.
Melusine is a sorcerer's apprentice, funny and dynamic, who does everything possible to become a powerful witch. Unfortunately, she's not always successful, and very often her tricks turn against her and her friends... But tremble, poor mortals, for it's the return of Halloween, the day of witches and the walking dead! This festival of demons must be celebrated with dignity, with great smashing of pumpkins and rotten tricks. The opportunity rises for Melusine and her friends to show what they can do... And then to start a new storm of gags and catastrophes!
Professor Kessler's experiment continues, but the powers of his test
subjects are growing at a phenomenal rate. He calls upon Sofi,
herself a guinea pig for him once, and who loathes him, to oversee
the teenagers ... and track them down when they inevitably escape. But
are his calculations as good as he thinks? Is it not already too late
to hope to control the five geniuses - or even to stop the invasion, as the number of enemy incursions suddenly skyrockets?
To save humanity from a mortal threat, an unscrupulous scientist
conducts a dangerous experiment on five teenagers, hoping to turn
them into weapons. Volume 1 of 2. In the near future, Earth is
falling to a catastrophic alien invasion: giant beetle-like creatures
emerge without warning from spatio-temporal rifts, wipe out resistant
in a certain zone, then seal it behind a completely impenetrable
barrier. Entire sections of the planet have already been lost
forever. With conventional weaponry powerless, the USA authorise a
program that will turn five teenagers into pure geniuses. Will the
test subjects find a defence, though ... or will they become out of
control themselves?
Colonists from the entire solar system converge on the mother planet for the 2276 celebrations.
Among the influx of humanity is Duncan Makenzie, scientist-administrator from the underground colony of Titan, one of the outer moons of Saturn. Makenzie is not just on Earth for the celebrations, though; he has a delicate mission to perform - for his world, his family and himself . . .
Melusine, the young witch-in-training, divides her time between studying at the sorcery school and working au pair at the local vampire's castle. That's a lot of pressure, and she needs some distractions and fun too. So, what better way to take your mind off things than a good old-fashioned session of story telling with your friends? Dragons, enchanters, princes and princesses all get the fairy tale treatment - except, well, Melusine's no fairy...
Take out your nicest shrouds, dust off your coffins, and slick your spider webs: Melusine invites you to the great vampire ball. The little witch is back in a new series of gags, dreadfully funny as always. All her family is there: the witches Adrazelle and Cancrelune, of course, but also Mister and Madam, the owners of the haunted castle.
Divided between the tensions of behind-the-scenes preparations in London and the drama of the launch-pad in Australia, this vintage Arthur C. Clarke novel recounts the events leading up to an epoch-making interplanetary space flight.
Precise in his recording of facts, perceptive in his intuitions, Clarke's historian hero is the ideal narrator of this epic chain of events.
Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, and made into one of the most influential films of all time, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY remains a classic work of science fiction fifty years after its original publication.
The discovery of a black monolith on the moon leads to a manned expedition deep into the solar system, in the hope of establishing contact with an alien intelligence. Yet long before the crew can reach their destination, the voyage descends into disaster . . .
Brilliant, compulsive and prophetic, Arthur C. Clarke's timeless novel tackles the enduring theme of mankind's place in the universe.
Praise for Arthur C. Clarke:
'The king of science fiction . . . His influence continues to inform the genre' Guardian
'Arthur C. Clarke is awesomely informed about physics and astronomy, and blessed with one of the most astounding imaginations ever encountered in print' New York Times
'Arthur C. Clarke is one of the truly prophetic figures of the space age . . . The colossus of science fiction' New Yorker
'Dazzling' Time
Arthur C. Clarke's classic in which he ponders humanity's future and possible evolution
When the silent spacecraft arrived and took the light from the world, no one knew what to expect. But, although the Overlords kept themselves hidden from man, they had come to unite a warring world and to offer an end to poverty and crime. When they finally showed themselves it was a shock, but one that humankind could now cope with, and an era of peace, prosperity and endless leisure began.
But the children of this utopia dream strange dreams of distant suns and alien planets, and begin to evolve into something incomprehensible to their parents, and soon they will be ready to join the Overmind ... and, in a grand and thrilling metaphysical climax, leave the Earth behind.
When the US Navy's new, state-of-the-art missile disappears after its test launch, panic ensues - if it ends up anywhere near civilians, the consequences could be massive. Where has it gone? What has happened?
Seemingly unconnected, journalist Carol Dawson is investigating the unusual sightings of whales in Miami, which may or may not be linked to the missing rocket. Armed with Oceanographic research equipment, Carol charters a boat skippered by Nick Williams and Jefferson Troy and heads to the Gulf of Mexico.
What they find can barely be explained but could be worth untold riches.
While Carol, Nick and Jefferson attempt to uncover the origin of the mysterious artefact they have discovered, they must dodge treasure hunters, the government, and consider the origin of humanity itself. Is this the First Contact? Or is it the last?
Since the beginning of time it had worked its will on humanity, and for as long as man could remember, he had struggled against its power. But in the 21st century the battle was won: the sea, mankind's age-old enemy, had finally been conquered.
Professionals like Walter Franklin now patrolled the infinite savannahs of the oceans, harvesting from the plankton prairies as crop which kept the world fed. But like that other great frontier, space, the sea had not yet yielded up all its secrets. And men like Franklin would never rest until its every fathomless mystery had been challenged . . .
Time is running out for the passengers and crew of the tourist cruiser Selene, incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust. On the surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the mercilessly unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment.
A brilliantly imagined story of human ingenuity and survival, A FALL OF MOONDUST is a tour-de-force of psychological suspense and sustained dramatic tension by the field's foremost author.
Shortlisted for the Hugo Award, 1963.
By Space Possessed brings together Clarke's essays on travel to the planets and beyond in a form where they can be read individually or as a continuing narrative. It describes the history of an enthusiasm that took a Somerset farm boy to international fame, starting with the delightful, self-deprecating humour of the early days of British Interplanetary Society and proceeding to deeper concerns when at last the early daydreams, mocked by so many, began to come radiantly true. Along the way there are delights of Clarke's prediction of the Moon landing, the lecture which prompted Bernard Shaw to join the British Interplanetary Society and the birthpangs of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Humanity's future lies in space. These ever-topical essays, covering crucial years of interplanetary speculation and exploration show that one man, Arthur C. Clarke, has always been capable of foreseeing possibilities and probabilities, and opening up magnificent vistas to those willing to look with unblinkered eyes and minds. This is a testament to his vision.
Arthur C. Clarke has been one of the most influential commentators on - and prophets of - the communications technology which has created the global village. Now, drawing partly on his own sometimes very personal writings, he provides an absorbing history and survey of modern communications.
The story begins with the titanic struggles to lay transatlantic telegraph cables in the nineteenth century. Fighting against widespread scepticism, lack of funds, technical disasters and setbacks - and against the Atlantic itself, above and below the surface - the pioneers achieved the seemingly impossible and by 1858 Britain and America were linked by Telegraph.
Nearly a century later, as the first transatlantic telephone cable was being laid, the technology that would rival and perhaps even supersede it was undergoing its painful birth as scientists developed the communications satellite precisely as Clarke first described in his famous 1945 article Wireless World, 'Extra-terrestrial Relays', reprinted in this book.
The rivalry between cable and satellite continued through the decades. Communication satellites (Comsats) performed even beyond the most optimistic expectations, but cable fought back with the development of the transistor. Then, in one of the most dramatic and unexpected breakthroughs in any technology, the potential of cable systems was transformed. The development of fibre optics technology meant that once more the seabeds of the world began to be draped with the newest and most sophisticated artefacts of human engineering.
It is an enthralling story, filled with extraordinary events and people, and Arthur C. Clarke brings all his storytelling flair and scientific expertise to bear on it. The result is a superb combination of history, comment and challenging speculation.
Arthur C. Clarke acquired his first science fiction magazine - a copy of Astounding Stories - in 1930, when he was 13. Immediately he became an avid reader and collector: and, soon enough, a would-be-writer. The rest is history. Now, in Astounding Days, he looks back over those impressed by him, discussing their scientific howlers, and their remarkable proportion of predictive bulls-eyes - and writing of his early life and career. Written with relaxed good humour, Astounding Days is full of fascinating comment and anecdote.
In addition to being one of Science Fiction's greatest writers, Sir Arthur C. Clarke was also one of our foremost thinkers and visionaries, producing a number of highly readable and important non-fiction works. Report of Planet Three is a collection of 23 essays on the future of Man and his technology, including essays on space, satellite communications, the internet, alien contact, UFO debunking and relativity.
First published in 1965, this brilliant, prescient book is divided into three sections:
The first concerns space travel and other aspects of the new space age: how our concept of time must be modified when we travel long distances, the space seas of tomorrow, uses of the moon, how lower gravity will affect the sports of space colonists and other fascinating ideas.
The second part is about communications satellites, a field in which the author has already played the role of true prophet.
The third section ranges widely over the side implications of the space age - scientific meddling, the lunatic fringe and the moral obligations of scientists.
A fast-moving mystery adventure by one of the world's greatest ever SF writers
It is 2010. In two years' time it will be the centennial of the sinking of the Titanic. Two of the world's most powerful corporations race to raise the vessel but there are other powers at work, and chaos theory comes into play as plans progress - and six preserved bodies are found.
This novel incorporates two of Arthur C.Clarke's passions - deep sea exploration and future technology - in a fast-moving tale of mysetry and adventure. As operations proceed, the perfectly preserved body of a beautiful girl is found. She was not on the ship's passenger lists.
The quest to uncover the secrets of the wreck and reclaim her becomes an obsession ... and for some, a fatal one.
A Story of the People of the Sea
The adventure begins when Johnny, who has run away from home and hidden aboard an intercontinental hovership, is shipwrecked in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. Stranded on a raft, and in an apparently hopeless situation, he is propelled by a pack of dolphins towards an island in the Great Barrier Reef, a famous centre for Dolphin Research.
Professor Kazan, the director of research, shares Johnny's bewilderment as to the reason for the dolphin rescue operation and arranges for Johnny to stay on the island to assist in unravelling the mystery. In the chapters that follow, Johnny learns how to communicate with dolphins, explores the coral reef, goes skin-diving at night, survives a fearful hurricane, unearths a horrifying underwater conspiracy, and, in an intensely exciting final episode, makes a dangerous 100 mile tip on surfboard towed, turn and turn about, by his two closest dolphin friends.
A stunning new companion series to 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY from the world's most important SF writer and his acknowledged heir
1885, the North West Frontier. Rudyard Kipling is witness to a bizarre encounter between the British army and what appears to be an impossibly advanced piece of Russian technology. And then to a terrifying intervention by a helicopter from 2037. Before the full impact of this extraordinary event has even begun to sink in, Kipling, his friends and the helicopter crew stumble across Alexander the Great's army. Mankind's time odyssey has begun.
It is a journey that will see Alexander avoid his premature death and carve out an Empire that expands from Carthage to China, beating the time-slipped army of Ghenghis Khan in a battle outside the ruins of Babylon in the process. And it will present mankind with two devastating truths. Aliens are amongst us and have been manipulating our past and our future. And that future extends only as far as 2037, for that is the date Earth will be destroyed.
This is SF that spans countless centuries and carries cutting edge ideas on time travel and alien intervention. It shows two of the genre's masters at their groundbreaking best.
Two of the biggest names in SF together again; the sequel to the acclaimed TIME'S EYE
The observatory on the moon has the proof. Life on earth will be incinerated in April 2037 by a massive solar flare. It is building down and it is unstoppable. With only 18 months until doomsday mankind must unite and embark on the most ambitious engineering project ever: the construction, at the La Grange point between the sun and the earth, of a deflecting mirror the diameter of our home planet. The price of failure? Extinction.
One scientist, an expert on the sun, predicted the flare. One person who knew nothing about the sun nevertheless knew the exact date that life on earth would come to an end. She had witnessed the bizarre time dislocations brought by the 'eyes'. She knows who is responsible.
This is hard SF in the grand tradition of the genre.
