Infinite Stars

Continuing the definitive space opera anthology series. Today's most popular writers produce new stories in their most famous universes, alongside essential and seminal short fiction from past masters. The definitive collection of explorers and soldiers, charting the dark frontiers of our expanding universe. Amongst the infinite stars we find epic sagas of wars, tales of innermost humanity, and the most powerful of desires - our need to create a better world. The second volume of seminal short science fiction, featuring twenty-six new stories from series such as Wayfarers, Confederation, The Lost Fleet, Waypoint Kangaroo, Ender, Dream Park, the Polity and more. Alongside work from tomorrow's legends, revisit works by masters who helped define the genre: Arthur C. Clarke, Jack Campbell, Becky Chambers, Robert Heinlein, George R.R. Martin, Susan R. Matthews, Orson Scott Card, James Blish, E.E. "Doc" Smith, Tanya Huff, Curtis C. Chen, Seanan McGuire, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, Gardner Dozois, David Farland, Mike Shepherd, C.L. Moore, Neal Asher, Weston Ochse, Brenda Cooper, Alan Dean Foster, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kevin J. Anderson, David Weber and C.J. Cherryh. Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers brings you the essential work from past, present, and future bestsellers as well as Grand Masters of science fiction.

The seductive thrill of uncharted worlds, of distant galaxies… and the unknown threats that lurk in the vastness of the cosmos. From Foundation to Lensman, Star Wars to Guardians of the Galaxy, space opera continues to exert its magnetic pull on us all. INFINITE STARS This is the definitive collection of original short stories by many of today’s finest authors, writing brand new adventures set in their most famous series. Herein lie canonical tales of the Honorverse, the Lost Fleet, Dune, Vatta’s War, Ender Wiggin, the Legion of the Damned, the Imperium, and more. Also included are past masterpieces by authors whose works defined the genre, including a Miles Vorkosigan adventure, a story from the author of the Dragonriders of Pern, and a rare tale co-authored by the screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back. Nebula and Hugo Award winners, New York Times bestsellers, and Science Fiction Grand Masters—these authors take us to the farthest regions of space.

“Vero, you remember you once said there were people who would follow me to the gates of hell?” “A figure of speech.” “We’d better find them. That’s where we’re going.” After the defeat of the evil Dominion forces at Farholme, Commander Merral D’Avanos prepares a task force to rescue thirty hostages captured by the fleeing Margrave Lezaroth. Merral’s only hope is that he can get to the hostages before they’re taken to Lord-Emperor Nezhuala at the Blade of Night—the nexus of the Dominion’s power. But in order to get there, Merral and his crew will have to survive a perilous trip through Below Space. Meanwhile, news of the Dominion’s defeat at Farholme reaches Ancient Earth but is tempered by the sobering truth of the enemy’s growth and strength. It is now clear that an attack on the Assembly is imminent, but how far should the Assembly go to stop it? And does the real danger lie in the Dominion or in the subtle evil that has arrived at the heart of the Assembly itself? The Infinite Day is the thrilling conclusion to the epic Lamb among the Stars series that has readers and critics raving.

“There are at least two kinds of games,” states James Carse as he begins this extraordinary book. “One could be called finite; the other infinite.” Finite games are the familiar contests of everyday life; they are played in order to be won, which is when they end. But infinite games are more mysterious. Their object is not winning, but ensuring the continuation of play. The rules may change, the boundaries may change, even the participants may change—as long as the game is never allowed to come to an end. What are infinite games? How do they affect the ways we play our finite games? What are we doing when we play—finitely or infinitely? And how can infinite games affect the ways in which we live our lives? Carse explores these questions with stunning elegance, teasing out of his distinctions a universe of observation and insight, noting where and why and how we play, finitely and infinitely. He surveys our world—from the finite games of the playing field and playing board to the infinite games found in culture and religion—leaving all we think we know illuminated and transformed. Along the way, Carse finds new ways of understanding everything from how an actress portrays a role, to how we engage in sex, from the nature of evil, to the nature of science. Finite games, he shows, may offer wealth and status, power and glory. But infinite games offer something far more subtle and far grander. Carse has written a book rich in insight and aphorism. Already an international literary event, Finite and Infinite Games is certain to be argued about and celebrated for years to come. Reading it is the first step in learning to play the infinite game.

A journey to the International Space Station: the making of the biggest media project ever filmed in orbit. The Infinite documents the making of the ground-breaking immersive VR experience shot entirely aboard the International Space Station. Artists and astronauts joined forces to capture life in the cosmos as never before. In this oversize publication, brand-new views of space and stunning production shots reveal the human imagination's limitless potential. In Summer 2021, PHI and EMMY(R) Award-winning digital entertainment pioneers Felix & Paul Studios will launch the public into an infinite universe. A ground-breaking immersive VR exhibition will enable the audience to visit the ISS, where they encounter experiments, zero-gravity living, and breathtaking spacewalks. Beautifully designed, The Infinite features interviews with leaders in VR and contemporary art. It perfectly complements the exhibition's role in rendering the innovation and collaboration in humanity's quest for the skies.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last, a bold framework for leadership in today’s ever-changing world. How do we win a game that has no end? Finite games, like football or chess, have known players, fixed rules and a clear endpoint. The winners and losers are easily identified. Infinite games, games with no finish line, like business or politics, or life itself, have players who come and go. The rules of an infinite game are changeable while infinite games have no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers—only ahead and behind. The question is, how do we play to succeed in the game we’re in? In this revelatory new book, Simon Sinek offers a framework for leading with an infinite mindset. On one hand, none of us can resist the fleeting thrills of a promotion earned or a tournament won, yet these rewards fade quickly. In pursuit of a Just Cause, we will commit to a vision of a future world so appealing that we will build it week after week, month after month, year after year. Although we do not know the exact form this world will take, working toward it gives our work and our life meaning. Leaders who embrace an infinite mindset build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations. Ultimately, they are the ones who lead us into the future.

Sometime in the distant past, some fourteen billion years ago, all that is and all that was burst into creation in a tumultuous event. Time and space had no meaning before this genesis event that sparked creation. Cosmic Entity describes how space and time--the universe--came from nothing--a perfect balance of positive and negative energy. All matter that exists today, from the rings of Saturn to the dirt beneath your feet, was created from the seething fireball when the infant universe was less than one second old. This raw material existed in the form of protons (or hydrogen). Cosmic Entity explains how the elements were formed, how matter is synthesized within the cores of stars, and how supernovae (exploding stars) serve to create even heavier elements and seed the galaxies with this raw material. A billion or so years after creation, give or take an eon, the universe expanded and cooled enough for interesting structures--beautiful spiral and elliptical islands of stars called galaxies--to form from the sea of matter. Galaxies grouped together into clusters and colossal super cluster walls of galaxies evident today.

Science, Truth, and Meaning presents a scientific and philosophical examination of our place in the world. It also celebrates how diverse, scientific knowledge is interconnected and reducible to common foundations.The book focuses on aspects of scientific truth that relate to our understanding of reality, and confronts whether truth is absolute or relative to what we are. Hence, it assesses the meaning of the scientific deductions we have made and how they have profoundly influenced our conception of life and existence.The subtitle is 'From Wonder to Understanding', which is a paraphrased quote from Einstein, who said that the search for scientific truth is ' ... a continual flight from wonder to understanding'.In addressing the goal of advancing our understanding of our place in the world, this book also reveals the development and details of diverse sciences, their connections and achievements, and that while perhaps the same fundamental questions exist, they are seen in the light of an ever-refined scientific perspective on reality.Why the book is needed: many popular science books have been written, aimed at different levels of subject expertise, and nearly all treat their specific subject in isolation. Few attempt to link different sciences to their common foundations, and those that do are written by physicists. Since human knowledge is derived by, and relates to, the biological organism that human beings are, then such a book written from a biological perspective represents a novel perspective on the integration of science, and addresses new questions. This is such a book.Impressive aspects: the depth, breadth, consistency, and clarity of the work.