Phoenix Pick: 180 books

Only children can colonize the planet Prokaryon, genetically modified for a world whose chemistry kills unaltered adults. A colony of orphans struggles to survive, and finds the planet hides strange secrets. The Prokaryan landscape is ordered, as if by unseen gardeners, hidden "masters"...

Fine literary writing meets Science Fiction. A thematic tour-de-force exploring the concept of being human through the eyes of imperfect protagonists struggling with their demons.

Here is an eclectic collection of science fiction stories (and three short poems) by multiple-award-winning author Michael Flynn, author of such acclaimed titles as Eifelheim (Hugo nominee) and Firestar (called a "knockout" by the San Diego Tribune). This collection itself includes...

Aliens are spying on Earth from one of the four worlds that make up the Warden Diamond. But it is impossible to send agents to any of the four worlds because of unique microscopic symbionts that make it impossible for visitors to leave the Diamond.Seeking a unique solution, each of the four...

Humans live deep within an apparently lifeless planet covered by massive ice sheets. Having to survive in confined spaces has bred a unique culture where deference and non-confrontation make co-existence possible.Osaji’s opportunities are limited by the need to care for her aging grandmother....

Set in the same universe as Arkfall (although a totally independent story), The Ice Owl tells a tale capturing that moment when we start to lose our childhood...when we start to realize that our parents and the “grown-ups” are just as flawed as we are...everyone struggling to deal with their own...

Hal Clement, one of the all-time greats of science fiction, was defining hard science fiction before such distinctions were even being thought of. He once described his approach to writing: “[T]he rules must be quite simple. They are; for the reader of a science-fiction story, they consist of finding...

Long ago, an alien "searcher" ship flew too close to a star gone nova. Though heavily damaged, the ship landed on Titan, one of Saturn's moons. Attempting to fulfill its original function of seeding suitable planets for exploitation, the ship creates a bewildering society of self-replicating...

In this spectacular sequel to the acclaimed Code of the Lifemaker, James Hogan returns to the strange world of Titan, inhabited by bizarre self-conscious robots. Little is known about the civilization that gave birth to these machine intelligences, until scientists discover blocks of embedded...

There is a certain magic growing up with life-long friends. The charmed existence became almost dream-like with two young boys growing up in a small neighborhood surrounded by an old, dense forest. But what happens when fantasies start becoming all too real? Grotesque and bloody rites give...

First contact was never supposed to be like this.A sudden rift appears in near-earth space, causing electronic components to permanently fail and cause total chaos. As Earth's fragile technological society disintegrates, no one can answer the obvious question — what is the rift, and...

The descendants of humans marooned on the strange planet known as Mictlan have survived against almost impossible odds and have reached a tentative peace with themselves and the native inhabitants. Perhaps the most terrifying change has been the development of a third human gender—the mid-male...

Carlos Theopelli had been dead for years, and no one cared about his life’s work: the so-called “Destiny Matrices.” As far as most people were concerned, Theopelli was just another crackpot scientist, and pretty much a jerk, to boot. But not to Angela. And not to the mage-dwarf Caleb...

Bessas of Zariaspa is a young officer in the Immortals regiment, sworn to protect and obey his King at all costs. The King wishes immortality and to that end tasks Bessas to find items that make an immortality potion, including the blood of a dragon and the ear of a king.The Dragon of the Ishtar...