Alternate Gerrolds

Everyday themes as diverse as exploration, the fight against evil, laboratory experiments, and self-improvement are presented in this new anthology of short stories from David Gerrold. Largely consisting of stories featuring an alternative history, and often written for Mike Resnick's Alternative series, the stories range from funny to horrifying and lighthearted to profound. In "Franz Kafka, Superhero!" Kafka employs his unusual metamorphosis to fight evil throughout the world and take on even Sigmund Freud. Two characters who hope to better themselves experience "The Seminar from Hell," while "The Firebringers" features Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Stewart as soldiers charged with dropping the first atom bomb. Taking an archaeological turn, a team of anthropologists struggles with understanding the artifacts of a mysterious alien race in "Digging in Gehenna." With wit and imagination, these pieces provide a rare and intriguing addition to any Gerrold collection.

David Gerrold takes you on a tour of alternate universes ... universes where Santa Claus isn't nice and the best man is actually elected president; where Ronald Reagan and Gregory Peck command the plane carrying the first atomic bomb and John F. Kennedy stars in the hit show ''star Track,'' where Franz Kafka doesn't write fiction and the Devil holds educational seminars. Introduction by Mike Resnick.

She was born in the moonstar's shadow when the storms of Satlik raged their worst. Because of this, Jobe was different. The family never spoke of it, but everyone knew Jobe was special. So Jobe came to know of it, too. She had a destiny beyond that of Choice, beyond that moment when she would finally have to decide for Reethe, Mother of the World, or for Dakka, Father, Son, and Lover. For the others it was easy, but not for her, not for Jobe. So she was sent to Option, the island of learning, to make her choice and become who she must be. And slowly, ever so slowly, Jobe retreated from the world, from the time of decision. Then the ultimate cataclysm wracked the planet, threatening all her people had struggled to create, and Jobe came forth at last to fulfill her destiny and begin the quest that the moonstar had set for her so many years ago… Nebula award nominee for best novel of the year (1977). Originally published as Moonstar Oddessy.

Presents articles on the science fiction genre of literature, including authors, themes, significant works, and awards.

David Gerrold burst onto the science fiction scene in the late sixties with more Hugo and Nebula nominations than any other writer had ever received at the beginning of his career. His first collection of stories, With a Finger in My I, showcased his remarkable range. The jewel in that collection was "In the Deadlands," a bizarre and disturbing journey into a landscape of madness—not so much a story as a sculpture made of words. Nominated for the Nebula award for best novelette of the year, "In the Deadlands" has been out of print for 40 years. This new collection contains all the stories from With a Finger in My I, plus four other works written in the same period, with revealing notes from the author.

In the prequel to Voyage of the Star Wolf, the starship Roger Burlingame is obsolete as it drifts through space on the brink of collapse. Yet, as its demoralized crew hopes for reassignment and its weary captain counts the days before his promotion to a desk job, a fanatical first officer named Korie refuses to succumb to apathy. He believes he has seen the enemy—no more than a blip on a screen—and he's sure he can defeat them. Korie knows he will need these men—even if they hate him—to hold the Burlingame together until the final confrontation. But as they drift ever deeper into space, following quarry that may be only a figment of their first officer's imagination, the crew of the Burlingame must decide whether Korie is a savior or a madman—whether he is leading them to glory or certain annihilation. Originally published as Yesterday's Children.

H.A.R.L.I.E. (Human Analog Replication, Lethetic Intelligence Engine) is an artificially intelligent machine. David Auberson, the psychologist responsible for guiding HARLIE from childhood into adulthood, struggles to understand his erratic behavior. When humans begin vocalizing their wishes that HARILIE be shut down, he has to prove his existence and value to his warm-blooded counterparts. Throughout HARILIE's fight to stay alive, Auberson discovers the machine has vast knowledge and understanding of life, love, and logic, posing the philosophical question whether or not HARLIE is human, and for that matter, what it means to be human. Nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novel of the Year, the themes of love and discovery in When HARLIE was One are even more important today than when first published.

Six hunters and two official guides are going on the trip of their lifetime. Their destination? Earth as it was a hundred million years ago, long before human dominion, when the great hot-blooded dinosaurs ruled supreme. Each of the time travelers has a different motive. Some are on the strange safari for pay. Others are taking a psychological and sexual holiday from civilization. There are women who wanted to show themselves the equal of men—and men out to test and prove their manhood. But whatever their drives and desires, their strengths and weaknesses, the ultimate horror awaits them.