William F. Wu

A man without a memory, trapped in a city of robots gone wild. At his side, a mysterious woman who claims to know who he is, but refuses to tell him. Together they must find an insane cyborg stalking the streets of Robot City, a time bomb indistinguishable from ordinary robots. The young man's name is Derec. The identity of his femail companion and the location of the cyborg are just two of the mysteries he must solve within the fantastic confines of a most unlikely metropolis.

Isaac Asimov's Cyborg

Marauder (Isaac Asimov's Robot City)

Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time: Book2

Predator (Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time)

Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time: Book 1

Walter Jon Williams

Max Gladstone

Stephen Leigh

Carrie Vaughn

Cherie Priest

Christopher Rowe

Mary Anne Mohanraj

An original collection of interwoven short stories set in the Wild Cards universe, where an alien virus mutates some and grants superpowers to others, created by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones An alien virus ravages the world, with effects as random as a hand of cards. Those infected either draw the black queen and die, draw an ace and receive superpowers, or draw the joker and are bizarrely mutated. Croyd Crenson is the Wild Card’s greatest failure—and its greatest success. Dubbed “The Sleeper,” he randomly undergoes hibernations that can span days, weeks, or even months. After each hibernation, he awakens with a new appearance and set of powers—sometimes a joker, sometimes an ace, and sometimes a combination of both—until exhaustion claims him and his next inevitable sleep shuffles the cards anew. Ever since his initial infection in 1946, he’s awoken in a singular body—until now. His latest awakening has left him split into six different incarnations, each of them a self-contained piece of the original and each with a unique look and ability. One of them, at least, recognizes this for the disaster that it is, and tasks the clever and elusive Tesla—a joker with ace powers—to locate and gather the remaining five versions of himself before sleep claims them again and leaves Croyd permanently fractured. What follows is a journey through Croyd’s long and colorful life, through the lens of some who have encountered the world’s most unusual wild carder. And as Tesla delves deeper into the investigation, he’ll have to work fast, because not every Croyd is as amiable as the first—and they’ll do whatever it takes to survive. Featuring stories from: Christopher Rowe • Carrie Vaughn • Cherie Priest • William F. Wu • Walter Jon Williams • Stephen Leigh • Mary Anne Mohanraj • Max Gladstone • Edited by George R. R. Martin • Assisted by Melinda M. Snodgrass

A Novel in Stories

George R. R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: Sleeper Straddle

Invader

Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time

Emperor (Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time)

Warrior

Isaac Asimov's Robots In Time: Book 3

Dictator (Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time)

From Jack London to the creators of Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan, many American authors (including such notables as Bret Harte and Ambrose Bierce) wrote about Chinese American characters as the spearhead of the "Yellow Peril" threat. As a literary theme, the fear of this threat focuses on specific issues, including possible military invasion, perceived competition to the white labor force from Asian workers, the alleged moral degeneracy of Asian people, and potential genetic mixing of Anglo-Saxons with Asians, who were considered biologically inferior. In this book William F. Wu analyzes the growth and development of these literary attitudes and shows through plot dissection and colorful excerpts how writers perpetuated the Yellow Peril idea through the images they projected of Chinese Americans.

Chinese Americans in American Fiction, 1850-1940

The Yellow Peril

This study examines the way Americans of Chinese descent were portrayed in American literature between 1850 and 1940. Their depictions are compared to historical events that were occurring at the time the works of literature were published. This edition has additions and corrections compared to the original hardback edition published in 1982. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ My purpose in writing this work has been to explore the depiction of Chinese immigrants and their descendants in American fiction, from the mid-nineteenth century entry of the first Chinese immigrants in significant numbers, to the eve of World War II. I consider both the immigrant Chinese and the American-born generations that followed them to be Chinese Americans, but will sometimes identify the groups separately in recognition of the fact that the historical experience and treatment of the immigrants in fiction has been different from that of their descendants. The fiction treated in this study includes short stories and novels both by white Americans and Asian Americans. I am defining the term Yellow Peril as the threat to the United States that some white American authors believed was posed by the people of East Asia. As a literary theme, the fear of this threat focuses on specific issues, including possible military invasion from Asia, perceived competition to the white labor force from Asian workers, the alleged moral degeneracy of Asian people, and the potential genetic mixing of Anglo-Saxons with Asians, who were considered a biologically inferior race by some intellectuals of the nineteenth century. The Chinese immigrants were the first target of this attention, since they were the first Asian immigrants to reach the United States in large numbers. This study will focus on American fiction about Chinese Americans in an attempt to analyze the growth and development of attitudes about them. My thesis is that the Yellow Peril is the overwhelmingly dominant theme in American fiction about Chinese Americans in the years with which this study is concerned. It is expressed through the variety of images of the Chinese Americans that appear, especially in their relation to, and their role as part of, the United States. The historical causes and literary subject matter change, but the theme neither disappears nor abates. Each work of fiction has been studied individually for the images it contains. Prior to the turn of the century, the Yellow Peril is perceived only as stemming from the Chinese. In the twentieth century, especially in the pulps, the Japanese joined the Chinese as a perceived menace to Europe and North America. The overall process of evaluation relies primarily on detailed analyses of the characters under consideration. This has been done with an awareness that the American public as a whole sometimes did not distinguish carefully among Asian ethnic groups, so that events involving one Asian ethnic group often affected the image of another. Some works are obscure and these have been quoted at greater length than more available ones. Relatively few critical sources have been cited; this is due to a dearth of relevant studies. The less important works of fiction have naturally received little critical attention and, often, when such attention was concerned with pertinent stories, the authors had little or nothing to say about the depiction of Chinese Americans. This observation is intended only as an explanation, and not as a value judgement of earlier scholarship with different goals.

Chinese Americans in American Fiction, 1850 to 1940

In this alternate world, a parody of old stories and movies about Chinatown, three recent college graduates of Chinese and Japanese descent celebrate graduation with a dinner in Anglotown. Pals Ken, Andy, and Garth joke and harass each other at dinner, but Ken’s curiosity grows. Cindy Smith, hostess, offers to take him into the back where he can see the secrets of Anglotown. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ “I’ve heard Angotown has all kinds of underground tunnels, secret rooms and passageways,” said Ken. “Maybe it’s just urban myth, but the rumors go way back.” “Urban myth,” said Garth. ”Let’s look for the Loch Anglotown Monster, too.” Andy laughed and gave Garth a whack on the arm. Ken parked and led his friends up the sidewalk, looking around. He didn’t remember the name of the restaurant. It was a weeknight, with few tourists out. Some of the tourist-based businesses in Anglotown had the pointed windows, steep gables, and gingerbread of Victorian homes. The shapes created other-worldly shadows, hinting at ghosts from when California was mostly Anglo and Hispanic. Other buildings reflected Colonial Revival, meaning a rectangular shape, two or three stories, symmetrical façades, brick or wood siding, pillars, and windows with shutters. Yet none of it seemed quite right; the shutters were just for show, nailed against the front walls, and many structures had been added awkwardly. Signs, written in archaic lettering, swung in the breeze from horizontal posts out front that evoked New England or Britain itself. None of it seemed to belong in Los Angeles, yet it all belonged in Anglotown. “Smells good,” said Andy. “Is that meatloaf cooking?” “I smell pot roast.” Garth, who knew about all kinds of food, raised his head and breathed in. “Hey, does this hakujin restaurant you like have cheap prime rib?” Ken ignored him, eyeing a narrow storefront jammed between a big seafood restaurant with a Cape Cod front and a bank with a Victorian-era façade. “Chillicothe Katfish Kitchen” was painted on the door above “Genuine Missouri-Style Cuisine.”

Goin' Down To Anglotown

Derec, el protagonista de esta inmortal saga deberá hacer frente a un cyborg con problemas psicológicos y una sed de destrucción más propia de un humano. En Cyborg Derec y Katherine, la misteriosa acompañante del protagonista, encuentran al único superviviente de una nave de pasajeros que ha tenido que hacer un aterrizaje de emergencia en el planeta, un planeta habitado únicamente por robots. Lo que ellos no saben es que Jeff, el superviviente, es en realidad un cyborg con problemas psicológicos y unas ansias de destrucción insaciables. Derec también tendrá que descubrir la verdadera identidad de su acompañante Katherine y encontrar el modo de abandonar ese misterioso planeta habitado por robots y sin rastro de humanos por ninguna parte. William F. Wu nos ofrece una historia inquietante y llena de acción con un estilo muy parecido al de Asimov y con la presencia de dilemas éticos que volverán a probar a las omnipresentes Leyes de la Robótica. En concreto, nos mostrará los peligros inherentes a insertar un cerebro humano, corruptible y perecedero, en el poderoso cuerpo de un robot. En una introducción previa a la novela, el propio Asimov ya nos advierte que si un cyborg es mitad humano y mitad robot la parte humana más difícil de reemplazar por una máquina es el cerebro, que es precisamente la parte en la que se concentra el mal. Razones para comprar la obra: - Isaac Asimov ha permitido, por primera vez, a otros autores recrear su universo, pero, eso sí, ha coordinado y supervisado personalmente las obras. - El auge actual de la ciencia ficción ha generado un público que demanda obras de calidad y novedosas y esta obra reúne ambas condiciones. - El estilo de los autores y los personajes y situaciones recuerdan al mejor Asimov así que los seguidores más fieles no quedarán defraudados. - El estilo del autor se acerca mucho al del propio Asimov así, el lector pensará que está leyendo una aventura del genio de la ciencia ficción. Una obra trepidante en la que Derec y Katherine deberán enfrentarse a una fuerza superior a ellos mismos y con una inmensa capacidad de destrucción. Una obra de acción no exenta de las cuestiones éticas características del universo asimoviano. “Derec y Ariel deben encontrar a un cyborg loco que pasea por las calles de Robot City como una bomba de relojería, indistinguible de los otros robots, pero con una capacidad destructora como sólo una mente humana puede imaginar.” (http://tienda.cyberdark.net) “Seis libros comprenden esta serie que rinde homenaje al maestro de la ciencia ficción, Isaac Asimov (por y para siempre....), y en especial, a su obra Yo, robot, publicando la serie de Robot City.” (http://www.casadelibrosperdidos.com) Para comenzar a leer la obra: www.book2look.es/book/9788499674469

Cyborg

Daniel Eng Zisuey works at a combined resort and religious shrine. An American, he majored in drama and has a great job. He portrays himself on stage as one of his own ancestors reborn, because his benefactor, Eng Sen, used ancient DNA to clone him. When some worshippers have a tragedy, Daniel wants out. Then he learns Eng Sen does not consider quitting to be in the job description. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ Eng Sen staggered to his feet on stage left, sweating heavily; now his silk suit was rumpled and his tie askew. He snatched the cordless mike clipped to the robe of a priest. He wheezed as he spoke into the mike. ?I am Eng Sen, owner of this island,? he said harshly in Cantonese. ?This temple is here for all of you, for all of us, for the whole Eng clan!? ?It?s here to steal your money!? Daniel shouted, now holding his mike. Eng Sen waved the acolytes up toward Daniel. ?If this man has betrayed your trust, he has betrayed me as well! I have been fooled, too!? The crowd shouted angrily in many voices, confused. Daniel saw the acolytes hoisting up onto the dais. He summoned dignity and authority into his voice. ?I am Eng Zisuey,? he intoned in Cantonese. ?I am the Zhou Xian of this clan. I?m a man, not a ghost!? Several acolytes got their footing on the dais. Daniel dropped the mike and fled stage right; behind him, the crowd roared again. He skipped down a staircase, then flung off the flapping white undertunic. Daniel ran down the hall in his shoes and underwear. Leitch would not be at his dressing room door so early in the ritual. Ahead of the acolytes, he palmed open his dressing room door, slipped inside, and palmed it shut. He knew Personal Security had key access to his dressing room and house. Grabbing a shirt and pants, he palmed open the tunnel to get his passport from his desk. Then he realized some guards could be headed there already. ÿ ÿ With the clothes under his arm, he yanked open the door to the balcony and stepped out into the cool, humid evening air. He closed the door softly and vaulted over the wooden rail of the balcony to the cushion of pine-needled ground. In deep shadows, he paused to dress. Daniel heard voices shouting inside his dressing room. Warily, he moved down the rough, uneven mountainside in the darkness. Leitch had never hidden his contempt for Daniel, and might relish the chance to have his men brutally punish the privileged Original Ancestor who had now endangered the salaries of them all. Daniel had to get off the island. *** At midnight, Daniel neared the docks, gasping for breath and slimy with sweat. Peering around a corner, he saw Personal Security officers where they usually did not patrol. Eng Sen had not sent a general alert to island security; Grandfather wanted Daniel brought back quietly. ?Dan,? a woman whispered behind him. He whirled, ready to run despite his exhaustion. ?I thought you might come to the docks,? Meilin whispered in English. ?I?ve watched for you. I live nearby. You may sleep on my couch.? Daniel studied her. Then he glanced at the Personal Security guards around the corner. If she wanted to turn him in, she could call them. ?All right. I can?t leave anyhow. No wallet or passport.? Meilin pulled him out into the street by his arm and raised her voice. ?You lousy drunk! You?ve shamed our entire family. Come on!? Playing along, Daniel weaved and staggered against her, keeping his face averted from the Personal Security guards. No one stopped them.

Island of the Ancestor

Leung Soey, white-haired at the age of 73, desperately needs the gold that a wealthy client from Singapore, Kwan Douhak, will pay him to translate at a very personal gathering. Kwan Douhak seeks his long-lost half-sister. In the center of this meeting, Leung Soey has knowledge and power to tip the scales the way he wants?with a fortune in gold waiting for him, depending on the choice he makes. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ "Four grams of gold transferred to your account when she arrives, and twenty grams if she is my sister.? ?That was the deal.? Ah Soey spoke gruffly, belying how desperately he needed the money. Four grams would pay his most urgent debts; twenty more would arrange rent, new clothes, and a small staff to open the consulting office he had planned for years. ?I will know her,? said Kwan Douhak, as though trying to convince himself. ?Our reunion should be private.? ?You two will not be alone just because I leave. She will have some sort of escort.? Kwan Douhak glanced up, startled. ?You said she never married, that Kwan was her birth surname.? ?That?s right. Kwan never married, but she adopted nearly every child ever orphaned by disease or accident on this colony. I imagine she will have one of her grown children or grandchildren with her. She will want her own interpreter.? ?Why? You speak English.? ?She will not trust me to interpret.? Kwan Douhak eyed Ah Soey suspiciously. ?I thought you knew her -- was that not the reason you could arrange this meeting even though she is a recluse?? ?That does not mean she will trust me to interpret when I am on your payroll. I contracted work with her company a couple of times ten or fifteen years ago, but I did not work directly under her. Back then, my boss said she personally approved my selection.? Kwan Douhak nodded grudging acceptance of his explanation. Ah Soey did not say,ÿthirty years ago I knew her even better, but you haven?t paid me to tell you about that.

Kwan Tingui

In this science fiction satire of westerns, after the American West was destroyed in a series of biological disasters, rebuilding it is a lot like building it in the first place, but there are crucial differences. For example, new, partly mechanical cattle with computer brains are called steerites. They speak and sing a lot more than the original steers. Most of the cowboys, outlaws, and lawmen are partly mechanical, too, except for those few humans called control-naturals. That group has to keep all their original equipment, just like the original cowboys. Louie Hong is one of those control-naturals, and life isn't easy for him. Most folks look down on a man who doesn't have at least one bionic hand. Yet Louie Hong is determined to make his way in the new Wild West. All Hong has to do is explain to the bounty hunters who are after him for robbing a bank, and the outlaw gang that is after him for stealing the loot, that he hadn't done any of it. With a little bit of luck, and the help of Chuck, his steerite companion, Hong hopes to find a home on the range that nobody can take away—not outlaws, not bounty hunters, not cyborgs, not even singing steerites. In Hong on the Range, William F. Wu has returned to the high-tech Wild West world of his Hugo and Nebula Award finalist short story, "Hong's Bluff," and written a rousing, funny science fiction saga complete with cyborg cowboys and outlaws. It is an exciting and witty subgenre of science fiction: The cyber western. This novel was chosen by the American Library Association, Booklist, and the Library Journal for their recommended and best of the year lists. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ First I could only see that something large was displacing the tall buffalo grass ahead. Then I reached the spot and found a steerite lying down with his steel legs neatly folded underneath him. They gleamed silver in the sun and his hinged metal tail swished back and forth, its brush swatting the flies that buzzed around the natural hide of his meaty, biological middle. As I pulled my battered hat off by the brim and squinted at the steerite, he turned his steel bovine head toward me, short horns and all. "Hi, there," I said. "Hello," he answered pleasantly. He had been programmed with excellent enunciation and a trace of a Boston accent. "Good day to you. Where are you bound?" I untied my red bandana and wiped off my forehead with it. "I'm going to Femur to look for a job. Pardon my asking, but ... have you lost your herd? What are you doing here?" "I am merely waiting. Have I lost my herd? More accurately, my herd has been rustled." "Rustled?" "I dutifully escaped. None of my comrades succeeded in this endeavor. Since our trail crew ran off, I have no trail boss to whom I must report. Nor am I honor bound to join the herd after it has been rustled." I nodded toward the mark stamped onto the shining metal base of his tail, where it extended from his natural hindquarters. "Waiting for what? You still have your serial number." "Oh, yes. I am fully programmed and ready to report to any authority who can restore me to my legal owner." "Who's that?" "I don't know. We get basic programming for herding, pasturing, and speech, but little precise data. Of course, we can accumulate information as we go, but no one ever told me the owner's name or where to locate him." "I guess the trail crew was supposed to get you there?” "Indeed they were, those cowardly louts." He lowered his head modestly. "I am led to believe that my mechanical parts are quite expensive. Not to mention my beef."

Hong on the Range

Mac Tom, who creates artificial humans, searches on a chaotic Free Night for the woman he created to be the love of his life. On Free Nights, however, all artificials become independent. Free Nights had been granted to prevent the creation of willing slaves and drones. Mac has until midnight to find Davi Leiko in a crowded party atmosphere and to persuade her to stay with him. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ Mac looked upon her with jealousy and loss as he walked toward her. She swayed forward and back as she played the game, watching the rolling silver balls with quick brown foxy eyes. Her arms, like all of her, were smooth and fleshy but firm, tanned just slightly tawny, like all of her, outside her bikini line. ?You shouldn?t have left.? Mac spoke quietly, not wanting to throw her off her game. ?It?s Free Night. Everybody?s out.? She kept her eyes on the game, and snapped another ball into play. ?Everybody who?s full and everybody who?s near fullness.? ?You aren?t ready yet. Just one more week. Or two.? ?I feel ready.? She smiled pleasantly, and glanced at him for his reaction. ?I just wanted you right, first. You don?t have ? well, a couple of things.? ?I don?t?? She pursed her lips, trying to hide an impish smile. ?Don?t I look like I have everything?? ?You know what I mean. Your anger is still missing, and a sense of personal insult ? the desire for revenge if someone hurts you. You?ll be helpless out here. Also, that one front tooth of yours isn?t right. The gum around it is gray instead of pink.? Davi Leiko turned full-front to look at him, ignoring the bouncing bells and lights and silver ball rolling around in her game. Her flowing black hair was swept away from her face in a frame of slight waves. She was stunningly gorgeous, of course; that?s how he?d decided to make her. ?You can?t force me back. I know that. I?m at stage nine now.? Davi Leiko looked up at him ingenuously, as the silver ball in the machine rolled unchallenged between the flippers and clunked somewhere out of sight.

Davi Leiko Till Midnight

Cyborg: Isaac Asimov's Robot City, Book 3, by Wu, William F.

The Hugo- and Nebula-nominated story "Hong's Bluff" leads this new collection of science fiction stories by longtime writer William F. Wu. Some stories are light-hearted and others dramatic, about alternate worlds, cyborgs, clones, nanotech, war-games, and life in space, often with subjects involving Americans of Chinese descent. A new introduction and afterword to each story enhance this book. ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~ In the glare of the spotlight, Daniel Zisuey Eng stood on the high dais in the Temple of Eng Zisuey, wearing his traditional black Chinese robe of embroidered silk and a white undertunic. Now at the end of the ritual, he watched the crowd standing far below him. The sweet smoke of incense wafted past, mixed with acrid smoke left by firecrackers set off earlier. “Farewell,” Daniel’s voice boomed in English over the speakers. From the traditional Chinese orchestra, the fast banging of a light-weight gong built to a crescendo. Those below gazed up at Daniel in awe, curiosity, or skepticism, the majority of them also surnamed Eng. A few shouted insults; others called entreaties, even prayers. He calmly remained behind the altar of carved teak that was now covered with sacrifices of cash, pledges, jewelry, even children’s toys. “Yi lu ping an,” Daniel intoned in Mandarin, wishing the crowd a peaceful journey. “Yet lu ping on,” he repeated in Cantonese. As always, Daniel waited for a line of acolytes to form below the dais so no one could jump the rail and climb up to him. At the gong’s final crash, the spotlight went out, signaling the end of the ritual. In the sudden darkness, he whirled and strode off the dais, stage right. Twenty-eight years old, Daniel had been worshipped as a spirit reborn for nearly all of his adult life. ***** “’Nother day, ’nother dollar, Danny-boy.” At Daniel’s dressing-room door, Eric Leitch, the tall, brawny Chief of Personal Security, smirked at Daniel as he spoke in his Aussie-accented English, his sun-bleached flat-top standing stiff over his broad, square-jawed face. “The acolytes are escortin’ the crowd out in order; A-Okay, green lights all ’round.” “Good,” Daniel muttered in annoyance, palming the doorplate to slip inside and close it again. He had no liking for his blue-uniformed Personal Security bodyguards. Even the acolytes were guards who wore traditional robes over their uniforms during the rituals. Chief Leitch spent most of his shift watching the temple grounds on monitors in his office. His unit worked for Mr. Eng Sen, as Daniel did–his nominal grandfather, a tycoon whose business empire owned Eng Zhouxian Do, this island near Hong Kong. The light came on in Daniel’s lavish dressing room at the rear of the temple—“backstage,” in the jargon of his UCLA major in Theater Arts. A man’s voice, dry with age, came on the room’s speakers in Cantonese. “Ah Suey, are you there? Keep your stage makeup on.” “I’m here,” Daniel answered in the same language, recognizing Eng Sen’s voice. “Screen on.” He flopped down in a tan leather-covered recliner, tired as always from the evening’s effort. The far wall brightened with the video image of the man he called “Grandfather.” Seventy-two years old, Eng Sen wore his white hair short and had age spots removed by laser treatment. His bland, roundish face smiled with cold courtesy from a high, black leather chair; sunlight backlit him like a halo. “I’m calling from my London office, Ah Suey. Remain in costume; I’ve instructed a new assistant of mine to bring visitors to you even as we speak.” “A major sacrifice, Grandfather?” Daniel fought to keep disgust out of his voice as he pushed up from the recliner. “My assistant, Meilin Lei, will handle the financial matters.” “I know what to do, Grandfather,” Daniel said obediently.

Intricate Mirrors

A man without a memory, in a city of robots gone wild. At his side a mysetrious woman whose own identity he as reconstructed, and whose memories of him may be true or false. The young man calls himself Derec. In the shattering climax to his quest he discovers the shocking secret of his true identity. Tormented by a nightmarish disease, Derec maust face the genius Dr. Avery and compel him to reveal the truth.

Perihelion

Isaac Asimov's Robot City

In the second entry of this follow-up series to Isaac Asimov's Robot City, an experimental robot and his team of human experts must find and disable the MC Governor robot lost in an age of pirates and cutthroats. Their target is a robot determined to survive. Illustrations.

William F. Wu

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