The Later Life, Ljudbok
The Later Life is a novel by Dutch author Louis Couperus. The Later Life is the second of four novels that make up the quartet known as 'The Books of the Small Souls', the master work of the foremost author of Dutch literatureSet in the stifling world of turn of the century Dutch aristocracy, the second volume of the 'Books of the Small Souls' quartet, begins where the first volume ended. Constance Van der Welcke has returned to The Hague after her twenty-year exile for a scandalous affair in Rome. Hoping for acceptance by her family and the society of her former 'set', Constance and her husband Henri are now estranged from the family and have given up all ambitions of acceptance in society. Determined to live quietly, they form new friendships - Henri with Constance's niece, Marianne, and Constance with Henri's eccentric old friend, Max Brauws - that lead each of them on a journey of self-discovery. Louis Marie-Anne Couperus (1863 – 1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet. His writings contains a wide variety of genres: lyric poetry, psychological and historical novels, novellas, short stories, fairy tales, feuilletons and sketches. Couperus is considered to be one of the foremost figures in Dutch literature. In 1923, he was awarded the Tollensprijs (Tollens Prize). Translation by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos. Audiobook read by Phil Benson, running time 8 hours, 2 min. Unabridged full version.
Star Born, Ljudbok
Star Born is a science fiction novel by American author Andre Norton.When Raf Kurbi's Terran spaceship burst into unexplored skies of the far planet Astra and was immediately made welcome by the natives of a once-mighty metropolis, Kurbi was unaware of three vital things:One was that Astra already harbored an Earth colony—descended from refugees from the world of the previous century.Two was that these men and women were facing the greatest danger of their existence from a new outburst of the inhuman fiends who had once tyrannized Astra.Three was that the natives who were buying Kurbi's science know-how were those very fiends—and their intentions were implacably deadly for all humans, whether Earth born or STAR BORN.Andre Norton's "Star Born" pictures a human colony in another galaxy, driven away from Earth generations ago by a repressive government. Considered outlaws, the colonists are in permanent hiding.They have developed friendship and cooperation with a local race of "mermen" who are equally at home on land or sea. But that race only took to the sea to escape a malevolent power that hunted them and killed them violently for sport - Those Others.With a global decline in the population and reach of Those Others, contacts are few and the humans have no direct knowlege of them.So it is a major surprise when Dalgard, a human scout on his coming-of-age expedition, along with his "knife-brother" Sssuri of the mermen, run into a party of Those Others who are bent on reclaiming hideous weaponries left behind in one of their abandoned cities... and find that they are being aided by new arrivals from Earth!Star Born was first published in 1957 and is the sequel to The Stars Are Ours! and continues that adventure three generations on.Total Running Time (TRT): 6 hours, 36 min. Reading by Mark F. Smith. Andre Alice Norton (1912-2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy with some works of historical fiction and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name Andre Norton, but also under Andrew North and Allen Weston. She was the first woman to be Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy, first to be SFWA Grand Master, and first inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2005, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, announced the creation of the Andre Norton Award, to be given each year for an outstanding work of fantasy or science fiction for the young adult literature market.
The Death of Ivan Ilyitch, Ljudbok
The Death of Ivan Ilyich, first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, one of the masterpieces of his late fiction, written shortly after his religious conversion of the late 1870s. The novel tells the story of the death, at age 45, of a high-court judge in 19th-century Russia. Living what seems to be a good life, his dreadful relationship with his wife notwithstanding, Ivan Ilyich Golovin bangs his side while putting up curtains in a new apartment intended to reflect his family's superior status in society. Within weeks, he has developed a strange taste in his mouth and a pain that will not go away. Several expensive doctors are consulted, but beyond muttering about blind gut and floating kidneys, they can neither explain nor treat his condition, and it soon becomes clear that Ivan Ilyich is dying…
Aaron's Rod, Ljudbok
Aaron's Rod is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, published in 1922.The protagonist of this picaresque novel, Aaron Sisson, is a union official in the coal mines of the English Midlands, trapped in a stale marriage. He is also an amateur, but talented, flautist. At the start of the story he walks out on his wife and two children and decides on impulse to visit Italy…The biblical title refers to the rod of Aaron in the Old Testament, Moses' brother who built the Golden Calf in the desert for the worship of the Israelites. The rod, his divine symbol of authority and independence, finds its echo in the flute of Aaron Sissons.Aaron's Rod is in places a hastily written text, some critics have argued, with a bitter view of humanity, especially the relationships between men and women. But in recent years its brilliance has been accepted by many critics. Many critics group it with other political or leadership novels by Lawrence, such as Kangaroo and The Plumed Serpent that show a tendency toward some form of authoritarianism or fascism.Reading by Bill Boerst. The last two chapters (37 & 38) are read by Kristine Hand. Total Running Time (TRT): 11h, 40 min.David Herbert Lawrence (1885-1930) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. Lawrence is perhaps best known for his novels Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love and Lady Chatterley's Lover.
The Secret of the Stone Bridge, Ljudbok
In her bed at home in Bromma, Agnes wakes up with a jolt. Something has startled her. Cautiously, she sneaks up to the window and peeks out from behind the curtain. The wind is blowing in the tree canopy outside the house and the darkness is compact. Suddenly something yellow gleams out from behind a little lilac bush. What is that? Agnes closes her eyes, just for a moment. When she opens them again, the light is gone.In Nazaria, the dark despot is pacing about his black palace. Naz-Halham is furious. Once again, his emissary has failed. But now he is to receive his punishment. Tomorrow he will personally cut the man’s heart out of his chest and sacrifice it in the sanctuary brazier. A demonic smile crosses the increasingly insane king’s stiff lips.The Secret of the Stone Bridge is the first part of the Tales of Amornia series. It is an exciting, imaginative story about kings, magicians, gods – and an ordinary girl who is destined to make a journey like no other. Follow Agnes and her grandmother on an adventure that brings them face to face with prophecy, evil and dire challenges.
Doomsday Eve, Ljudbok
Doomsday Eve is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert Moore Williams.WERE THESE STRANGERS IMPERVIOUS TO H-BOMBS?In the midst of the war—that terrible conflict that threatened humanity's total destruction—the "new people" suddenly appeared. Quietly performing incredible deeds, vanishing at will, they were an enigma to both sides. Kurt Zen was an American intelligence officer among the many sent to root them out. He found them. Taken captive in their hidden lair, he waited as the enemy prepared to launch the super missile, the bomb to end all bombs—and all life. If only he could find the source of the new people's power, Kurt alone might be able to prevent obliteration of the Earth.... Doomsday Eve was first published in 1957. Audiobook read by Mark Nelson, running time 4 hours, 32 min. Unabridged full version. Also available as E-Book, ePUB, length 41,400 words, average reading time 3 hours 30 min.Robert Moore Williams (1907–1977) was an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Pseudonyms included John S Browning, H. H. Hermon, Russell Storm and E. K. Jarvis.
Lord Jim, Ljudbok
Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900. An early and primary event is the abandonment of a ship in distress by its crew including the young British seaman Jim. He is publicly censured for this action and the novel follows his later attempts at coming to terms with his past. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Lord Jim #85 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Cousin Pons, Ljudbok
Cousin Pons is one of the final works in Balzac's long novel series titled The Human Comedy. It was published in 1847, along with Cousin Betty, as one of a complementary pair of novels, collectively titled Poor Relations.While Cousin Betty tells the story of a bitter woman who seeks revenge on her wealthier relations, in Cousin Pons, Balzac turns to the story of an timid, innocent man who is exploited and victimized by the wealthier members of his extended family.Balzac offers probing character portraits and an indictment of greed and materialism in this detailed portrait of mid-19th-century French life. He is considered one of the finest European novelists of his century and a significant influence on the development of literary realism.Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories, La Comédie humaine. Many of Balzac's works have been made into or have inspired films, and they are a continuing source of inspiration for writers, filmmakers and critics.Before and during his career as a writer, he attempted to be a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician; he failed in all of these efforts. La Comédie humaine reflects his real-life difficulties, and includes scenes from his own experience.
Poems of William Blake, Ljudbok
Poems of William Blake includes; Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience and The Book of Thel. All three are books of poetry by the English poet and painter, William Blake. The Book of Thel is a poem by William Blake, dated 1789 and probably worked on in the period 1788 to 1790. It is illustrated by his own plates, and is relatively short and easy to understand, compared to his later prophetic books. The metre is a fourteen-syllable line.
Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed, Ljudbok
Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed was Edna Ferber’s first novel, first published in 1911.Dawn, a newspaperwoman working in New York, finds herself back home in Michigan on doctor’s orders. Years of living in boarding-houses and working to pay for the care of her brilliant but mentally ill husband, Peter Orme, have taken their toll.At twenty-eight, Dawn feels like an old woman with no future. But, the loving care of her sister Norah and her family along with the attentions of the handsome German doctor, Ernst Von Gerhard, slowly bring Dawn back to life.With Dr. Von Gerhard’s help, she obtains a newspaper job in Milwaukee and begins a year of new adventures among new people. However, the specter of her husband living in a mental hospital is always present and Dawn fears she may never be free to love again.Edna Ferber (1885-1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big (1924), Show Boat (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), Cimarron (1929; made into the 1931 film which won the Academy Award for Best Picture), and Giant (1952; made into the 1956 Hollywood movie).Ferber's novels generally featured strong female protagonists, along with a rich and diverse collection of supporting characters. She usually highlighted at least one strong secondary character who faced discrimination ethnically or for other reasons; through this technique, Ferber demonstrated her belief that people are people and that the not-so-pretty people have the best character.
Dead Ringer, Ljudbok
Dead Ringer is a science fiction short story by American author Lester del Ray, first published in 1956.There was nothing, especially on Earth, which could set him free—the truth least of all!A newspaperman is hounded from his jobs because he keeps trying to report aliens who can't be killed--they heal, even from death – just like zombies.And now the authorities want to institutionalize him…Dead Ringer was first published in Galaxy Science Fiction November 1956. Total Running Time (TRT): 29 min.Lester del Rey (1915 - 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction imprint of Ballantine Books.Del Rey was awarded the 1972 E. E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction (for the Skylark) by the New England Science Fiction Association and a special 1985 Balrog Award for his contributions to fantasy, voted by fans and organized by Locus Magazine. The Science Fiction Writers of America named him its 11th SFWA Grand Master in 1990.
The Colors of Space, Ljudbok
The Colors of Space is a science fiction novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley.Bart Steele, Space Academy graduate, is on his way home to his father's business - he runs a fleet of spaceships for interstellar travel. The secret for fast interstellar travel though is still tightly kept by the alien race Lhari. An agreement between humans and Lhari has been made that permits humans only to travel in cold sleep as passengers aboard Lhari vessels as to not reveal the secret. Some humans – the Mentorians - have had a slight genetic shift which enhanced their vision to withstand the light levels that the aliens Lhari use and live in. Mentorians perceive a wider optical spectrum than ordinary humans – some can see the ‘eighth color’. Mentorians act as translators, middleman and interpreters between the two races. But their ability sets them apart from the rest of humanity. Bart, half Mentorian, has this ability.Bart, surgically altering his appearance to hire as a Lhari on a homeworld bound Lhari vessel, attempts to steal the secret of the Warp Drive - an attempt on which countless humans spies have failed before.The Colors of Space was first published in book form in 1963.Total Running Time (TRT): 5 hours, 31 min. Reading by Mark Nelson.Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (1930-1999) was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series.
Roxana - The Fortunate Mistress, Ljudbok
Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (full title: The Fortunate Mistress: Or, A History of the Life and Vast Variety of Fortunes of Mademoiselle de Beleau, Afterwards Called the Countess de Wintselsheim, in Germany, Being the Person known by the Name of the Lady Roxana, in the Time of King Charles II) is a 1724 novel by Daniel Defoe.The novel concerns the story of an unnamed "fallen woman", the second time Defoe created such a character (the first was a similar female character in Moll Flanders). In Roxana, a woman who takes on various pseudonyms, including "Roxana" (after Roxana, wife of Alexander the Great), describes her fall from wealth thanks to abandonment by a "fool" of a husband, and movement into prostitution upon his abandonment. Roxana moves up and down through the social spectrum several times, by contracting an ersatz marriage to a jeweler, secretly courting a prince, being offered marriage by a Dutch merchant, and is finally able to afford her own freedom by accumulating wealth from these men.The novel examines the possibility of eighteenth century women owning their own estate despite a patriarchal society, as with Roxanna's celebrated claim that "the Marriage Contract is...nothing but giving up Liberty, Estate, Authority, and every-thing, to the Man". The novel further draws attention to the incompatibility between sexual freedom and freedom from motherhood: Roxana becomes pregnant many times due to her sexual exploits, and it is one of her children, Susan, who come back to expose her, years later, near the novel's close, helping to precipitate her flight abroad, subsequent loss of wealth, and (ambiguous) repentance.The character of Roxana can be described as a proto-feminist because she carries out her actions of prostitution for her own ends of freedom but before a feminist ideology was fully formed, (though Defoe also works to undercut the radicalism of her position); while the book also explores the clash of values between the Restoration court and the middle-class.Published anonymously, and not attributed to Defoe till 1775, Roxana was nonetheless a popular hit in the eighteenth century.Also in 1722, Defoe wrote Moll Flanders, another first-person picaresque novel of the fall and eventual redemption of a lone woman in 17th century England. The titular heroine appears as a whore, bigamist and thief, lives in The Mint, commits adultery and incest, yet manages to retain the reader's sympathy.Moll Flanders and Defoe's final novel Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress are examples of the remarkable way in which Defoe seems to inhabit his fictional (yet "drawn from life") characters, not least in that they are women. The latter narrates the moral and spiritual decline of a high society courtesan.TRT (Total Running Time): 16h, 24 min.Daniel Defoe (c. 1660-1731), was an English trader, writer, journalist and spy, now most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the ...
Black Amazon of Mars, Ljudbok
Black Amazon of Mars is a science fiction novel by Leigh Brackett. This is the third story to feature Brackett’s hero Eric John Stark.This gore drenched story finds Eric John Stark, the barely civilized warrior raised on Mercury struggling to bring a dying Martian friend back to his home city in the North of Mars before he passes away. Unfortunately, his friend does die on the way and lays a most unwanted last request on Stark before the end; to bring a precious stolen talisman back to the city. The journey there introduces the intimidating Black Amazon of Mars.Stark was born on Mercury. His parents were employees of the mineral extraction company Mercury Metals and Mining. After his parents died in a cave-in caused by a quake, Stark was adopted by a tribe of Mercurian aborigines who are described as hairy and possessing snouts. They gave him the name N'Chaka, meaning "the man without a tribe". He believed himself to be one of them, rather than a human, and endured their rigorous way of life in the Mercurian Twilight Belt, surviving by hunting rock-lizards.Before Stark was fully grown, another group of human miners exterminated his tribe, captured Stark and imprisoned him in a cage. They would ultimately have killed him if he had not been rescued by the police official Simon Ashton, who raised Stark to adulthood.The stories of the adult Stark are fast-paced adventures, but Brackett manages to insert more pathos than most authors. Because of his background, Stark is keenly aware of the injustices visited on the planetary "primitives" by the colonialist Earth, and tends to side with them against official bodies.Black Amazon of Mars is the third story to feature Brackett’s hero Eric John Stark, and was later expanded into the novel People of the Talisman. It was first published in Planet Stories magazine in 1951. AUDIO: Reading by Gregg Margarite, running time: 2 hours, 34 min. Unabridged full version. E-book: ePUB, 24.000 words, reading time approximately 2 hours. Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915-1978) was an American author, particularly of science fiction, and has been referred to as the Queen of Space Opera. She was also a screenwriter, known for her work on such films as The Big Sleep (1946), Rio Bravo (1959) and The Long Goodbye (1973). She was the first woman shortlisted for the Hugo Award.
Gobseck, Ljudbok
Gobseck is a novella by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1830.Part of the La Comedie Humane and something of a sequence to Balzac's Father Goriot, the short book's title is the name of the pawn broker/money lender the father Goriot utilized to maintain his spoiled daughters in the luxury he had accustomed them to. This is a continuation of the tale of one of those daughters, Mme Restaud.The plot of Gobseck, is set during the French Restoration, and concerns Anastasie de Restaud, née Goriot. Anastasie de Restaud is the daughter of a rich bourgeois who has married into the aristocracy, but is bored by her marriage, which is loveless and passionless.Anastasie de Restaud has an affair with Maxime de Trailles, and spends her fortune on de Trailles. She turns to the usurer Jean-Esther van Gobseck for financial assistance.Total Running Time (TRT): 2 hours, 36 min.Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories, La Comédie humaine. Many of Balzac's works have been made into or have inspired films, and they are a continuing source of inspiration for writers, filmmakers and critics.Before and during his career as a writer, he attempted to be a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician; he failed in all of these efforts. La Comédie humaine reflects his real-life difficulties, and includes scenes from his own experience.
Our Mr. Wrenn, Ljudbok
Our Mr. Wrenn, the Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man is a 1914 novel by Sinclair Lewis."At thirty-four Mr. Wrenn was the sales-entry clerk of the Souvenir Company. He was always bending over bills and columns of figures at a desk behind the stock-room. He was a meek little bachelor--a person of inconspicuous blue ready-made suits, and a small unsuccessful mustache."Mr. Wrenn, however has a rich inner life embellished by his own imagination. When he comes into a modest inheritance, he feels he ought to learn to get out and wander a bit, and then his education begins. He finds life more "interesting", perhaps than he had "imagined". . .Harry Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright.In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters."His works are known for their insightful and critical views of American capitalism and materialism between the wars. He is also respected for his strong characterizations of modern working women.
Love & Freindship, and Other Early Works, Ljudbok
Love and Freindship [sic] and Other Early Works, A Collection of Juvenile Writings by Jane Austen was first published in 1922 and includes a preface by G. K. Chesterton.This book draws together some of Jane Austen's earliest literary efforts. It includes "Love & Freindship" and "Lesley Castle" both told through the medium of letters written by the characters. It also contains her wonderful "History of England" and a "Collection of Letters" and lastly a chapter containing "Scraps". In these offerings, we may see the beginnings of Miss Austen's literary style. We may also discern traces of characters that we encounter in her later works. G. K. Chesterton in his preface, for example, says of a passage in Love and Freindship; "... is there not the foreshadowing of another and more famous father; and do we not hear for a moment, in the rustic cottage by the Uske, the unmistakable voice of Mr. Bennet?" These works are certainly worth exploring for their own sakes and not simply as historical relics.Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Her realism, biting irony and social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics.From 1811 until 1816, with the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818.In 1994, American literary critic Harold Bloom placed Austen among the greatest Western Writers of all time. In a 2002 poll to determine whom the UK public considers the greatest British people in history, Austen was ranked number 70 in the list of the "100 Greatest Britons". In 2003, Austen's Pride and Prejudice came second in the BBC's The Big Read, a national poll to find the "Nation's best-loved book."
Far From The Madding Crowd, Ljudbok
Far From The Madding Crowd (1874) is English writer Thomas Hardy's fourth novel. The novel is the first to be set in Hardy's fictional county of Wessex in rural south west England. It deals in themes of love, honour and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian England. It describes the farmer Bathsheba Everdene, her life and relationships - especially with her lonely neighbour William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy.Hardy's growing taste for tragedy is also evident in the novel. According to Virginia Woolf, "The subject was right; the method was right; the poet and the countryman, the sensual man, the sombre reflective man, the man of learning, all enlisted to produce a book which . . . must hold its place among the great English novels." The book is often regarded as an early piece of feminist literature, since it features an independent woman with the courage to defy convention by running a farm herself. Although Bathsheba's passionate nature leads her into serious errors of judgment, Hardy endows her with sufficient resilience, intelligence, and good luck to overcome her youthful folly.The novel was listed at number 48 on the BBC's survey The Big Read in 2003. The book finished 10th on the Guardian's list of greatest love stories of all time in 2007. The novel has been dramatised several times, notably in an Oscar-nominated 1967 film directed by John Schlesinger.On publication, critical notices were plentiful and mostly positive. Hardy revised the text extensively for the 1895 (this) edition.Total Running Time (TRT): 14h, 10 min.Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist, in the tradition of George Eliot, he was also influenced both in his novels and poetry by Romanticism, especially by William Wordsworth.Charles Dickens is another important influence on Thomas Hardy. Like Dickens, he was also highly critical of much in Victorian society, though Hardy focused more on a declining rural society.Initially he gained fame as the author of such novels as Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). However, since the 1950s Hardy has been recognized as a major poet, and had a significant influence on The Movement poets of the 1950s and 1960s, including Phillip Larkin.The bulk of his fictional works, initially published as serials in magazines, were set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex and explored tragic characters struggling against their passions and social circumstances. Hardy's Wessex is based on the medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom and eventually came to include the counties of Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon, Hampshire, and much of Berkshire, in south west England.
Time Crime, Ljudbok
Time Crime is a science fiction novel written by H. Beam Piper, originally published in 1955.The Paratime Police had a real headache this time! Tracing one man in a population of millions is easy--compared to finding one gang hiding out on one of billions of probability lines!Time Crime first appeared in Astounding Science Fiction Magazine February and March 1955. Total Running Time (TRT): 4 hours, 10 min. Reading by Mark Nelson.Henry Beam Piper (1904-1964) was an American science fiction author. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" alternate history tales. Piper's stories fall into two camps: stark space opera, such as Space Viking, or stories of cultural conflict or misunderstanding, such as Little Fuzzy or the Paratime stories.
Typee, Ljudbok
Typee; in full: Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life) is American writer Herman Melville's first book, a classic in the literature of travel and adventure partly based on his actual experiences as a captive on the island Nuku Hiva (which Melville spelled as Nukuheva) in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands, in 1842. The title comes from the name of a valley there called Tai Pi Vai. It was Melville's most popular work during his lifetime, but made him notorious as the "man who lived among the cannibals." For 19th century readers, his career seemed to decline afterward, but during the early 20th century it was seen as the beginning of a career that peaked with Moby-Dick (1851).
Empire, Ljudbok
Empire is a science fiction novel by Clifford D. Simak, first published in 1951.In a future time, the solar system is powered by one energy source, controlled by one huge organisation, which has plans to use this control to dominate the planets. Unknown to them, a couple of maverick scientists accidentally develop a completely new form of energy supply and threaten the corporation's monopoly. Naturally, the corporation can't allow this to happen...A stunning story about the manipulation of pure energy, climaxing in interstellar conflict.Total Running Time (TRT): 4 hours, 55 min. Reading by Kevin Green.Clifford Donald Simak (1904 -1988) was an American science fiction writer. He was honored by fans with three Hugo Awards and by colleagues with one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Anna Karenina, Ljudbok
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published 1878. Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered Anna Karenina his first true novel, when he came to consider War and Peace to be more than a novel. Fyodor Dostoyevsky declared it to be "flawless as a work of art". The novel is currently enjoying popularity, as demonstrated by a recent poll of 125 contemporary authors by J. Peder Zane, published in 2007 in "The Top Ten" in Time, which declared that Anna Karenina is the "greatest novel ever written".Anna Karenina is the tragic story of a married aristocrat/socialite and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The story starts when she arrives in the midst of a family broken up by her brother's unbridled womanizing — something that prefigures her own later situation, though she would experience less tolerance by others.The novel explores a diverse range of topics throughout its approximately thousand pages. Some of these topics include an evaluation of the feudal system that existed in Russia at the time -- politics, not only in the Russian government but also at the level of the individual characters and families, religion, morality, gender and social class.Tolstoy's style in Anna Karenina is considered by many critics to be transitional, forming a bridge between the realist and modernist novel. Also of significance is Tolstoy's use of real events in his narrative, to lend greater verisimilitude to the fictional events of his narrative. Characters debate significant sociopolitical issues affecting Russia in the latter half of the nineteenth century, such as the place and role of the Russian peasant in society, education reform, and women's rights. The broad array of situations and ideas depicted in Anna Karenina allows Tolstoy to present a treatise on his era's Russia, and, by virtue of its very breadth and depth, all of human society.The novel has been adapted into various media including opera, film, television, ballet, and radio drama.Audiobook total running time: 36 hours. Unabridged version. 349,686 words - ca 900 pages in the printed edition.Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy; (1828-1910), also known as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Tolstoy was a master of realistic fiction and is widely considered one of the world's greatest novelists. He is best known for two long novels, War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877).Tolstoy is one of the giants of Russian literature. His contemporaries paid him lofty tributes. Fyodor Dostoyevsky thought him the greatest of all living novelists. Later critics and novelists continue to bear testament to Tolstoy's art. Virginia Woolf declared him the greatest of all novelists. James Joyce noted that, "He is never dull, never stupid, never tired, never pedantic, never theatrical!". Thomas Mann wrote of Tolstoy's seemingly guileless artistry: "Seldom did art work so much like nature".
Eugénie Grandet, Ljudbok
Eugénie Grandet, first published in 1833, is one of Honoré de Balzac's finest novels, and one of the first works in what would become his large novel series titled La Comédie Humaine.Set in a provincial town in post-Revolutionary France, the story deals with money, avarice, love, and obsession.A wealthy old miser must manage the passion of his innocent daughter, who later has to navigate on her own the treacherous ways of a world in which money is "the only god."Balzac's meticulous use of psychological and physical detail influenced the development of 19th-century literary realism, in the hands of writers such as Dickens, Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, and Henry James. Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories, La Comédie humaine. Many of Balzac's works have been made into or have inspired films, and they are a continuing source of inspiration for writers, filmmakers and critics.Before and during his career as a writer, he attempted to be a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician; he failed in all of these efforts. La Comédie humaine reflects his real-life difficulties, and includes scenes from his own experience.
Around the Moon, Ljudbok
Around the Moon is a classic science fiction novel by the French writer Jules Verne, a sequel to From the Earth to the Moon. The novel begins with a short chapter to catch you up, if you missed the first book. Then we join our three adventurers in their huge projectile as they gather themselves after the shock of being fired at the Moon from the Columbiad cannon. Perhaps in a nod to Yankee exceptionalism, Verne permits them an extraordinary encounter in space, and better yet – to survive it! But that encounter has a lasting effect: despite all the careful preparations to deposit the projectile on the Moon, it appears the travelers are destined to miss it! (The book is not called “On the Moon”, is it?!) Careful scientists at heart, the former artillerymen in the projectile note every occurrence faithfully in their notebooks, along with the details of their observations of the Moon as they fly past… and round it. That precision might pay off as they try to figure out what happens to them next: will they fly off into space, become an eternal satellite of the Moon, or perhaps, something else? And do they have any way at all to affect that?Around the Moon was first published in 1872. Translated by Louis Mercier. Audiobook read by Mark F. Smith, running time 6 hours, 7 min. Unabridged full version. Jules Verne (1828 – 1905) was a French writer who pioneered the science fiction genre. Many of his novels involve elements of technology that were fantastic for the day but later became commonplace. Verne is the second most translated author in the world (following Agatha Christie), and his works appear in more translations per year than those of any other writer. Verne is one writer sometimes called "The Father of Science Fiction".
The Big Fix, Ljudbok
The Big Fix is a science fiction novella by George O. Smith first published in 1959. Anyone who holds that telepathy and psi powers would mean an end to crime quite obviously underestimates the ingenuity of the human race.Now consider a horserace that had to be fixed...In a future world where everyone can read minds (somewhat), Wally Wilson (cardsharp, bookie) is better than most.Joe Barcelona wants the Kentucky Derby fixed, and leans hard on Wally to do it. But how?The Big Fix was first published in Astounding Science Fiction December 1959.Total Running Time (TRT): 57 min.George Oliver Smith (1911-1981) (also known by the pseudonym Wesley Long) was an American science fiction author. He is not to be confused with George H. Smith, another American science fiction author.Smith wrote mainly about outer space, with such works as Operation Interstellar (1950), Lost in Space (1959), and Troubled Star (1957). Smith continued regularly publishing science fiction novels and stories until 1960. He was given the First Fandom Hall of Fame award in 1980.
The Decay of Lying, Ljudbok
The Decay of Lying – An Observation is an essay by Oscar Wilde included in his collection of essays titled Intentions, published in 1891. Wilde presents the essay in a Socratic dialogue between with Vivian and Cyril, two characters named after his own sons. Their conversation, though playful and whimsical, promotes Wilde's view of Romanticism over Realism. Vivian tells Cyril of an article he has been writing called "The Decay of Lying: A Protest". According to Vivian, the decay of Lying "as an art, a science, and a social pleasure" is responsible for the decline of modern literature, which is excessively concerned with the representation of facts and social reality. He writes, "if something cannot be done to check, or at least to modify, our monstrous worship of facts, Art will become sterile and beauty will pass away from the land."Vivian briefly summarizes the doctrines of the "new aesthetics" in the following terms:- Art never expresses anything but itself.- All bad art comes from returning to Life and Nature, and elevating them into ideals.- Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life. - Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of Art.Audiobook read by Martin Geeson, running time 1 hour, 42 min. Unabridged full version. Also available as E-Book, ePUB, length 12,700 words, average reading time 1 hour, 5 min.
Adventures of Gerard, Ljudbok
These lesser known stories were penned by Conan Doyle during the period between killing off Sherlock Holmes in 1893 and reluctantly resurrecting him some ten years later. The swashbuckling, eponymous hero, Etienne Gerard, is one of Napoleon's gallant French Hussars, who considers himself the finest of them all. Through these "Boys Own Adventures", Conan Doyle pokes gentle fun at both the French and the English. This is the second volume containing eight adventures.
The Dunwich Horror, Ljudbok
The Dunwich Horror is a horror novella by American author H. P. Lovecraft. It is considered one of the core stories of the Cthulhu Mythos.In a rundown farmhouse near isolated, rural Dunwich, a bizarre family conjures and nurtures an evil entity from another realm, with the purpose of destroying the world and delivering it to ancient gods to rule, and only an aged university librarian can stop them. The Dunwich Horror was first published in 1929 in Weird Tales. Kingsley Amis praised The Dunwich Horror in New Maps of Hell, listing it as one of Lovecraft's tales that "achieve a memorable nastiness". Lovecraft biographer Lin Carter calls the story "an excellent tale...A mood of tension and gathering horror permeates the story, which culminates in a shattering climax". In his list of "The 13 Most Terrifying Horror Stories", T.E.D. Klein placed The Dunwich Horror at number four.Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890–1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy, poetry and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction. Audiobook read by Mark Nelson, running time 1 hour, 55 min. Unabridged full version. Also available as E-Book.
Sir Dominick Ferrand , Ljudbok
Sir Dominick Ferrand is a short novel by Henry James, first published in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1892. It was later included in the collection The Real Thing and Other Tales, published in 1893."Levity" is not a word often applied to Henry James, but this story has about it an attractively lighthearted quality. It tells of Peter Baron, a poor, young struggling writer of adequate, if not transcendent, talent, who lives in a dreary London boarding house inhabited also by a mysteriously clairvoyant and beautiful young widow, with her small boy.When Baron buys himself a second-hand writing desk to stimulate the creative juices, he finds carefully hidden within it a cache of letters that appear to compromise a recently deceased statesman. The discovery and his struggle to handle the questions they pose ultimately change his life. Along the way he also discovers, as a fringe benefit, a talent for what Americans (though probably not Jamesians) call Tin Pan Alley.Total Running Time (TRT): 2h, 20 minHenry James, OM (Order of Merit) (1843-1916) was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism.He is best known for a number of novels showing Americans encountering Europe and Europeans. His method of writing from a character's point of view allowed him to explore issues related to consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting. His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and unreliable narrators brought a new depth to narrative fiction.Henry James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916.
The K-Factor, Ljudbok
The K-Factor is a science fiction short story by Harry Harrison, first published in 1960.The human race has reached the stars, colonized many planets and done amazing things in all areas of scientific progress.But humans are still humans and remain both honorable and not so honorable; some with high ideals and others with very low ones indeed.So why hasn't war occurred in several centuries among the hundreds of planets? Has man really changed? Not on your life it hasn't! Science has given man peace but at what cost?“Speed never hurt anybody--it's the sudden stop at the end. It's not how much change that signals danger, but how fast it's changing.... “The K-Factor first appeared in Analog December 1960. Total Running Time (TRT): 1 hour, 2 min.Harry Max Harrison (1925-2012) was an American science fiction author. Harrison is known for his writing, particularly his humorous and satirical science fiction, such as the Stainless Steel Rat series and the novel Bill, the Galactic Hero (which satirises Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers). Harrison is also known for his novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966). The novel was the rough basis for the motion picture Soylent Green (1973).
Second Variety, Ljudbok
Second Variety is a science fiction novella by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1953."The claws were bad enough in the first place—nasty, crawling little death-robots. But when they began to imitate their creators, it was time for the human race to make peace—if it could!"When future war becomes so horrific that humans turn to machines and computers to design ways to kill each other strange things may happen. And DO in this classic Philip K. Dick story!Early victories by the USSR in a global nuclear war cause the United Nations government to retreat to the moon leaving behind troops and fierce autonomous robots called “Claws”, which reproduce and redesign themselves in unmanned subterranean factories.After six bloody years of conflict the Soviets call for an urgent conference and UN Major Joseph Hendricks sets out to meet them. Along the way he will discover what the Claws have been up to, and it isn’t good…Second Variety was first published in the May 1953 edition of Space Science Fiction Magazine.Total Running Time (TRT): 1 hour, 54 min. Reading by Phil Chenevert.Philip Kendrick Dick (1928-1982) was an American science fiction author. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states.In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime.Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, ten popular films based on his works have been produced, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau.In 2005, Time magazine named Dick one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.
Fanny Herself, Ljudbok
Fanny Herself, by Pulitzer Price winning novelist Edna Ferber, was first published in 1917.Fanny Herself is the story of Fanny Brandeis, a young girl coming of age in the Midwest at the turn of the 20th century. It is generally considered to have been based on Ferber’s own experiences growing up in Appleton, Wisconsin.Fanny Herself is the intensely personal chronicle of a young girl growing up Jewish in a small midwestern town. Packed with the warmth and the wry, sidelong wit that made Ferber one of the best-loved writers of her time, the novel charts Fanny's emotional growth through her relationship with her mother, the shrewd, sympathetic Molly Brandeis.Edna Ferber (1885-1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big (1924), Show Boat (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), Cimarron (1929; made into the 1931 film which won the Academy Award for Best Picture), and Giant (1952; made into the 1956 Hollywood movie).Ferber's novels generally featured strong female protagonists, along with a rich and diverse collection of supporting characters. She usually highlighted at least one strong secondary character who faced discrimination ethnically or for other reasons; through this technique, Ferber demonstrated her belief that people are people and that the not-so-pretty people have the best character.
Cousin Betty, Ljudbok
Cousin Betty (La Cousine Bette), published in serial format in 1846, was one of the last and greatest of Balzac's works. It was part of his long novel collection titled La Comédie Humaine.Set in mid-19th century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended family. Betty works with Valérie Marneffe, an unhappily married young lady, to seduce and torment a series of men.As we follow her schemes to bring ruin upon the more privileged members of her family, we see a society in transition. The stability and idealism of the old order give way to a new bourgeois world in which virtue is strangled in the struggle for power and money.In this novel, Balzac searchingly probes the psychology and motivations of his characters: his work influenced the development of literary realism, as practised by writers such as Dickens, Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Proust, and Henry James.Cousin Betty is considered Balzac's last great work. His trademark use of realist detail combines with a panorama of characters returning from earlier novels.A number of film versions of the story have been produced.Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories, La Comédie humaine. Many of Balzac's works have been made into or have inspired films, and they are a continuing source of inspiration for writers, filmmakers and critics. Before and during his career as a writer, he attempted to be a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician; he failed in all of these efforts. La Comédie humaine reflects his real-life difficulties, and includes scenes from his own experience.
Coming Attraction, Ljudbok
Coming Attraction is a science fiction short story by Fritz Leiber originally published in the second issue (November 1950) of Galaxy Science Fiction. The story was nominated for a Retro Hugo Award in 2001.The story is set in Manhattan during a protracted war between the United States and the Soviet Union; midtown Manhattan has been rendered an uninhabitable wasteland by a Soviet "Hell Bomb," though the rest of the city is still occupied. The narrator is a British citizen named Wysten Turner, who is in New York to barter, in exchange for grain, electronic equipment that he suspects will be used in the construction of an American military base on the moon.Coming Attraction was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories published before the creation of the Nebula Awards. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964. It has been anthologized and collected at least 25 times.Total Running Time (TRT): 39 minFritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. (1910-1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright and chess expert. With writers such as Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber can be regarded as one of the fathers of sword and sorcery fantasy, having in fact created the term. Moreover, he excelled in all fields of speculative fiction, writing award-winning work in fantasy, horror, and science fiction.
Status Quo, Ljudbok
Status Quo is a science fiction novella by American author Mack Reynolds, first published in 1962. Status Quo was nominated for the 1962 Hugo Award for short fiction.Larry Woolford is a government agent, tasked with investigating subversive activity. He does everything an ambitious young man should do if he wants to succeed: wear the right clothes, listen to the right music, even drink vodka martinis.Then he stumbles across a conspiracy of Weirds plotting to overthow the entire existing social order. It's a race against time.Can he stop their fiendish plan, and keep America safe for shallow judgements based on status symbols?Status Quo was first published in Analog Science Fact & Fiction August 1961.Total Running Time (TRT): 3 hours, 7 min. Reading by Peter Eastman.Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds (1917-1983) was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont, and Todd Harding.His work is noteworthy for its focus on socioeconomic speculation, usually expressed in thought-provoking explorations of Utopian societies from a radical, sometime satiric, perspective. He was a considerably popular author from the 1950s to the 1970s, especially with readers of science fiction and fantasy magazines.Reynolds was the first author to write an original novel based upon the 1966-1969 NBC television series Star Trek, named Mission to Horatius (1968).
The Wonderful Visit, Ljudbok
The Wonderful Visit is an 1895 fantasy novel by H. G. Wells. An other-worldly creature visits a small English village, and H. G. Wells uses humour and satire to convey some of the imperfections of Victorian society, as ‘angel’ and humans view each other with equal incomprehension.With an angel—a creature of fantasy unlike a religious angel—as protagonist and taking place in contemporary England, the book could be classified as contemporary fantasy, although the genre was not recognised in Wells's time.The Wonderful Visit also has strong satirical themes, gently mocking customs and institutions of Victorian England as well as idealistic rebellion itself.Total Running Time (TRT): 4 hours, 59 min.Herbert George "H. G." Wells (1866-1946) was an English writer, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing textbooks and rules for war games.Wells is one person sometimes called "The Father of Science Fiction", as are Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. His most notable science fiction works include The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau.
The Poison Belt, Ljudbok
Professor Challenger #2 / Three years after the events that took place in The Lost World, Professor Challenger urgently summons his fellow explorers to a meeting. Oddly, he requires each to bring an oxygen cylinder with him. What he soon informs them is that from astronomical data and just-received telegraphs of strange accidents on the other side of the world, he has deduced that the Earth is starting to move through a region of space containing something poisonous to humankind. Shutting themselves tightly up in Challenger’s house, they start to consider what may be done. But as their countrymen start to drop, will their oxygen last long enough to determine and implement a solution?
Ralestone Luck, Ljudbok
Ralestone Luck is a novel by American author Andre Norton.Rupert Ralestone is officially the Marquess of Lorne--but with no family money or prestige, the title is worthless. He and his younger brother and sister return to the old family homestead--Pirate's Haven.Their only hope is to find the family's talisman, a great sword, and restore it to its proper place. If they succeed, the family fortunes will follow…Ralestone Luck was first published in 1938. Total Running Time (TRT): 5 hours, 52 min. Reading by Gabriel Glenn.Andre Alice Norton (1912-2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy with some works of historical fiction and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name Andre Norton, but also under Andrew North and Allen Weston. She was the first woman to be Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy, first to be SFWA Grand Master, and first inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2005, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, announced the creation of the Andre Norton Award, to be given each year for an outstanding work of fantasy or science fiction for the young adult literature market.
The House of the Seven Gables, Ljudbok
The House of the Seven Gables is a Gothic novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England family and their ancestral home. In the book, Hawthorne explores themes of guilt, retribution, and atonement and colors the tale with suggestions of the supernatural and witchcraft. The setting for the book was inspired by a gabled house in Salem belonging to Hawthorne's cousin Susanna Ingersoll and by ancestors of Hawthorne who had played a part in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The book was well received upon publication and later had a strong influence on the work of H. P. Lovecraft. Hawthorne, frequently haunted by the sins of his ancestors in the Salem witch trials, examines guilt, retribution, and atonement in this novel. His Pyncheon family carries a great burden, for almost 200 years, as a result of the dishonest, amoral way that the land on which the titular house sits was acquired. In the Preface to the novel, he states that its moral is that "the wrongdoing of one generation lives into the successive ones and... becomes a pure and uncontrollable mischief." The novel was adapted for the screen in 1940 with Margaret Lindsay as Hepzibah, George Sanders as Jaffrey and Vincent Price as Clifford. In this adaptation, Hepzibah and Clifford were made lovers rather than brother and sister, and the film ends with a double wedding. It was directed by Joe May with a screenplay by Lester Cole. There was also a silent short in 1910 and a remake in 1967. The novel was adapted to a 60-minute television production in 1960 for The Shirley Temple Show with Shirley Temple as Phoebe, Robert Culp as Holgrave, Agnes Moorehead as Hepzibah, and Martin Landau as Clifford. In 1963, United Artists released a horror trilogy film adaptation of three of Hawthorne's stories, with the film titled Twice-Told Tales. The three stories filmed were: "The House of the Seven Gables," "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," and "Rappaccini's Daughter." While done on a relatively low-budget by Hollywood standards, the film is nonetheless regarded as a classic of sorts, with Vincent Price, Sebastian Cabot, and Beverly Garland delivering good performances. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a "w" to make his name "Hawthorne" in order to hide this relation. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his wife and their three children. Hawthorne's works belong to romanticism or, more specifically, dark romanticism, cautionary tales that suggest that guilt, sin, and evil are the most inherent natural qualities of humanity. Many of his works are inspired by Puritan New England, combining historical romance...
Warlord of Kor, Ljudbok
Warlord of Kor is a science fiction novel by Terry Gene Carr.GOD, MACHINE--OR LISTENING POST FOR OUTSIDERS?Horng sat opposite the tiny, fragile creature who held a microphone, its wires attached to an interpreting machine. He blinked his huge eyes slowly, his stiff mouth fumblingly forming words of a language his race had not used for thirty thousand years."Kor was ... is ... God ... Knowledge." He had tried to convey this to the small creatures who had invaded his world, but they did not heed. Their ill-equipped brains were trying futilely to comprehend the ancient race memory of his people. Now they would attempt further to discover the forbidden directives of Kor. Horng remembered, somewhere far back in the fossil layers of his thoughts, a warning.They must be stopped! If he had to, he would stamp out these creatures who were called "humans."Warlord of Kor was first published in 1963.Total Running Time (TRT): 3 hours, 32 min. Reading by Mark Nelson.Terry Gene Carr (1937-1987) was a U.S. science fiction author, editor, and writing instructor, who won four Hugo Awards.