検索キーワード： 著者 "John Scalzi" すべてのカテゴリー

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce—and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater.

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

At 75 years old, John Perry is after a fresh start - so, naturally, he joins the army. Earth's military machine can transform elderly recruits, restoring their lost youth. But in return, its Colonial Defence Force demands two years of hazardous service in space. This is how Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA. A genetically enhanced and upgraded new body, ready for battle. But upgrades alone won't keep Perry safe. He'll be fighting for his life on the front line as he defends humanity's colonies.

Zachary Quinto - best known for his role as the Nimoy-approved Spock in the recent Star Trek reboot and the menacing, power-stealing serial killer, Sylar, in Heroes - brings his well-earned sci-fi credentials and simmering intensity to this audio-exclusive novella from master storyteller John Scalzi. One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone - 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don't know.

When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.

Look outward beyond the stars with six stories from bestselling visionary authors. An AI awakens to its purpose. A researcher seeds a thousand new worlds for one more chance at love. A murder rocks the crew of an interstellar ship. With a sweeping sense of wonder, these stories explore the galaxy . . . and the horizons of humanity’s potential.

John Perry was living peacefully on one of humanity's colonies - until he and his wife were offered an opportunity these ex-supersoldiers couldn't resist. To come out of retirement and lead a new frontier world. However, once on the planet, they discover they've been betrayed. For this colony is a pawn in an interstellar game of war and diplomacy. Humanity's Colonial Union has pitched itself against a new, seemingly unstoppable alien alliance dedicated to ending all human colonization.

Three hostile alien races have united against humanity, determined to halt our expansion into space. The mastermind behind this lethal alliance is a traitor - Charles Boutin. He was a Colonial Defence Force scientist with access to their biggest military secrets. Now the CDF's only hope is to discover Boutin's plan. Trouble is, Boutin's dead. As a supersoldier created from Boutin's own DNA, Jared Dirac may have answers.

The world has changed. Now, when someone is murdered, they almost always come back to life—and there are professionals, called “dispatchers”, who kill in order to save lives, to give those near the end a second chance. Tony Valdez is a dispatcher, and he has never been busier. But for as much as the world has changed, some things have stayed the same. Greed, corruption, and avarice are still in full swing.

For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.

Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District–the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself. And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.

Il collasso del Flusso, il percorso interstellare tra i pianeti dell'Interdipendenza, è accelerato. Interi sistemi stellari – e miliardi di persone – stanno per essere tagliati fuori dal resto della civiltà umana. Le previsioni scientifiche sono concordi: il crollo è imminente... eppure, anche se l'evidenza è ovvia e insormontabile, molti cercano ancora di razionalizzare, ritardare e trarre profitto da questi ultimi giorni di uno dei più grandi imperi che l'umanità abbia mai conosciuto.

Zoé a quinze ans lorsqu'elle atterrit sur Roanoke avec ses parents adoptifs, ex-officiers des Forces de défense coloniale. Ce qui devait être une colonie pionnière se révèle rapidement un piège diabolique conçu pour anéantir le Conclave, une coalition extraterrestre s'opposant à l'expansion humaine à travers l'espace. Mais parmi les colons isolés et désarmés se trouve Zoé, témoin impuissant des événements, simple pion sur l'échiquier galactique... et déesse vivante pour toute une race d'extraterrestres depuis que son père biologique leur a fait don de la conscience.

John Perry a vendu la mèche : confinée sur sa planète, tenue à l'écart des progrès technologiques, l'humanité de la Terre n'est qu'un vivier où l'Union coloniale, l'humanité des étoiles, puise ses soldats et ses colons. Outrés par cette révélation, quitte à rompre avec leurs protecteurs en disgrâce, les peuples de la Terre ne seront-ils pas tentés de se rapprocher du Conclave, la puissante fédération d'extraterrestres qui a décrété l'arrêt de l'expansion coloniale interstellaire ?

Le temps a passé depuis l'époque où la Terre alimentait docilement les Forces de défense coloniale en main-d'œuvre. Bientôt, l'Union sera à court de soldats, laissant les colonies humaines vulnérables face aux peuples du Conclave, qui n'attendent que le premier signe de faiblesse pour détruire l'humanité à genoux. Mais dans les tréfonds de l'espace se profile également un groupe anonyme, dressant les humains les uns contre les autres et manipulant le conflit imminent contre le Conclave.

"...et ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants." Le dernier livre audio des aventures de John Perry commence là où beaucoup d'histoires se terminent : dans un pur bonheur familial. John est devenu l'ombudsman d'un petit village d'une lointaine colonie humaine. Sa femme Jane en est le shérif, elle apprend à être humaine et regarde les constellations d'étoiles. Zoé se contente, elle, de grandir. Mais le virus de l'aventure conduit la famille dans une entreprise plus risquée : la direction d'une nouvelle colonie.

Tu t'appelles Jared. Ta mère est une cuve et ton esprit n'est pas le tien. Tu as parlé à soixante secondes, marché à deux minutes et pris la navette à une heure dix. Ton avenir ? Il ne t'appartient pas. À deux semaines, tu intégreras le corps d'élite des Forces de défense coloniale, les "Brigades fantômes". Au nom de l'humanité, toi qui n'es pas vraiment humain.

"J'ai fait deux choses le jour de mes soixante-quinze ans : je suis allé sur la tombe de ma femme. Puis je me suis engagé." À soixante-quinze ans, l'âge requis, John Perry n'est pas le seul à intégrer les Forces de défense coloniale, billet pour les étoiles, mais sans retour. Rien ne le retient plus sur Terre. Combien d'années peut-il espérer vivre ?

Welcome to the new world, in which murder is all but a thing of the past. Because when someone kills you, 999 times out of 1,000, you instantly come back to life. In this world, there are dispatchers - licensed killers who step in when you’re at risk of a natural or unintentional death. They kill you - so you can live.

New York Times best-selling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps 15 short takes on the holiday season - interviews with holiday notables, "informational" articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s - and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.