Kirjahaku

Strange, haunting, bizarre, cosmic, transcendent...all of these describe this collection of short stories from three-time Hugo nominee John L. Flynn, Ph.D.. Journey into his wondrous imagination...to the last great library where a robot librarian awaits the return of its human patrons...to the planet Jupiter where strange lifeforms halt the progress of a mining platform...to a ravaged wasteland where the last survivors practice a strange ritual...to a warm, tropical beach where a creature of the night stalks its prey...to the city of tomorrow where two homeless vets struggle against an evil corporate raider...to a bizarre crime scene which baffles even the world's greatest detective...and to other shadow worlds which are filled with visionary, often surreal intensity.

Earth invaded by Mars Millions incinerated by heat ray Panic grips nation as Martian tripods advance on Washington Remember the headlines? They said it wouldn't happen here, and then, wave after wave, the Martians attacked the Earth with a vengeance. H.G. Wells' great novel, The War of the Worlds, chronicled the first wave. Then Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast, followed by George Pal's 1953 movie. The Martians kept coming This book is a tribute to Wells and those radio, television, comic book, and film adaptations that have been inspired by it. This second edition includes material on the Steven Spielberg blockbuster (with Tom Cruise), the two Pendragon adaptations, Mars Attacks, Independence Day, The Great Martian War 1913-1917, War of the Worlds: Goliath, the 2019 BBC miniseries, the 2019 8-part Fox-Studio Canal series, and plenty more...

A San Francisco detective puts her life on the line to stop a doomsday cult from stoking the fires of Armageddon in this tense thriller.When Det. Kate Dawson is called to investigate a mass murder, she has no idea how grim and disturbing the situation truly is. The charismatic leader of End Times Ministries has ordered his followers to put their own children to death. Many of the followers willingly complied, believing it to be part of God’s plan. As the Chosen Ones, they are destined to inherit the Earth. And the time has come for them to prepare for a holy war.With murderous fanatics hell-bent on starting Armageddon, Kate knows she must find the diabolical mastermind behind their horrifying crusade. But as San Francisco descends into violent chaos, and the Doomsday clock ticks closer to midnight, it may be too late to stop an apocalyptic plot already in motion.

When a woman dies under mysterious circumstances aboard Air Force One, a San Francisco detective uncovers presidential conspiracies and cover-ups.When Insp. Kate Dawson is called in the wee hours of the morning, she had no idea what would be waiting for her on the tarmac of San Francisco International Airport. Air Force One landed with a corpse in the lavatory, and everyone on board is a suspect—including Madame President, the First Man, and a slew of reporters and other presidential personnel.The female victim was engaging in kinky foreplay at the time of her death. Did her penchant for limited oxygen simply go too far? Or did someone take advantage of her compromised position and finish her off? Kate’s highly sensitive investigation is about to uncover international politics, conspiracies, affairs, and cover-ups—all involving the First Family.

A San Francisco detective must stop a deadly conspiracy from terrorizing the city through the subway system.When a BART car arrives at its destination with twenty-four dead passengers, detective Kate Dawson must find out who is responsible. Her investigation takes her from the treacherous back streets of Chinatown to a luxurious chateau nestled in the Northern California hills. But nothing in this case is what it first appears.Pitted against a young rival in the department who covets her job, Kate must face a brother and sister duo of illegal arms dealers and a deadly underground organization known as Task Force Red. And when a runaway train loaded with deadly toxin speeds toward game one of the World Series, it’s up to Kate to protect the crowds gathered at the stadium . . . where the President of the United States is scheduled to throw the first pitch.

The murder of a San Francisco sex worker puts a female detective on the trail of a geopolitical conspiracy against America in this international thriller.What begins as the simple murder of a sex worker becomes so much more as Insp. Kate Dawson follows the clues to a human trafficking ring which specifically targets Asian women. But as the G-20 Summit in San Francisco draws closer, Kate realizes that the stakes are much higher than she could have imagined. The disappearance of five Asian women appears to be connected to the schemes of a mad North Korean general. With a nuclear submarine deployed into American waters, he’s planning to bring about economic chaos across the West. As world leaders and economists converge on the annual summit, Kate must prevent terror from breaking out at the G-20.

2001-Beyond the Infinite: Kubrick's Space Odyssey at 50 and Counting... is a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of one of the greatest films ever made. When 2001: A Space Odyssey opened on April 3, 1968, science fiction films were not very well regarded by critics; in fact, most considered them to be juvenile with little intellectual or artistic value. Except for a few clever efforts, like Forbidden Planet and Planet of the Apes, they were mostly low budget quickies that featured lurid monsters and cardboard rocketships. The New York film critics hated Stanley Kubrick's epic space adventure, in part, because he defied their expectations by producing a literate work of science fiction. Ironically, their reviews didn't stop moviegoers from lining up at the box office. A few understood what Kubrick was trying to do. Some just went for the spectacle, while many others dropped acid and waited for the light show to take them on the ultimate trip. Today, audiences have come to regard 2001 as a masterpiece not only for its technical achievements in special effects but also for its hopeful, possibly prophetic vision of the future. Three-time Hugo nominee John L. Flynn documents the production of the film, from Arthur Clarke's initial short story through Kubrick's final edit; looks at the motion picture's critical reception, and speculates on what the film was trying to say. He then concludes with interviews with several of the original cast members, including HAL-9000, and looks at the film's lasting legacy. A must read for science fiction fans and fans of the film.

Celebrate the heroic swagger of Agent 007 with the ultimate fan’s guide to all things James Bond.For millions of American men who grew up in the 1950s and 60s, James Bond was the ultimate masculine icon. He was stylish, smart, and sophisticated. He was ready for adventure, unafraid of danger, and irresistible to women. In short, he was everything his young male fans wanted to be. In this volume, authors Bob Blackwood and John L. Flynn think back on the importance of James Bond in their lives, and the lessons they learned from his movies and novels. Covering everything from cars and clothes to how to order a martini, this is a loving celebration of the man they call “Bond, James Bond.”

A cautionary tale of the horrors that can ensue when man experiments with nature, from the father of science fiction, H.G. Wells. A lonely island in the Pacific. The sinister scientist who rules it. And the strange beings who dwell there... This is the scenario for H. G. Wells's haunting classic, one of his most intriguing and visionary novels. Living in the late nineteenth century and facing the impact of Darwin's theory of evolution, Wells wrote this chilling masterpiece about the characteristics of beasts blurring as the animals turn into men. Dr. Moreau, a scientist expelled from his homeland for his cruel vivisection experiments, finds a deserted island that gives him the freedom to continue torturous transplantations and create hideous creatures with manlike intelligence. But as the brutally enforced order on Moreau's island dissolves, the true consequences of his experiments emerge, and his creations revert to beasts more shocking than nature could devise. A genius of his time, H. G. Wells foresaw the use of what he called the "atom bomb," the practice of gene-splicing, and men landing on the moon. Now, when these have become part of everyday life, his dark fable serves as a compelling reminder of the horrors that reckless experiments with nature can produce. With an Introduction by Nita A. Farahany and an Afterword by Dr. John L. Flynn

Adrift in a dinghy, Edward Prendick, the single survivor from the good ship Lady Vain, is rescued by a vessel carrying a profoundly unusual cargo - a menagerie of savage animals. Tended to recovery by their keeper Montgomery, who gives him dark medicine that tastes of blood, Prendick soon finds himself stranded upon an uncharted island in the Pacific with his rescuer and the beasts. Here, he meets Montgomery's master, the sinister Dr. Moreau - a brilliant scientist whose notorious experiments in vivisection have caused him to abandon the civilised world. It soon becomes clear he has been developing these experiments - with truly horrific results. A shipwreck in the South Seas, a palmy paradise where a mad doctor conducts vile experiments, animals that become human & then "beastly" in ways they never were before - -it's the stuff of high adventure. It's also a parable about Darwinian theory, a social satire in the vein of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels & a bloody tale of horror. As Wells himself wrote: "The Island of Dr. Moreau is an exercise in youthful blasphemy. Now & then, though I rarely admit it, the universe projects itself towards me in a hideous grimace. It grimaced that time, & I did my best to express my vision of the aimless torture in creation."