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  • Book cover of Today I Am Carey

    REMARKABLE DEBUT NOVEL FROM CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR MARTIN L. SHOEMAKER. Shoemaker proves why he has consitently been praised as one of the best story writers in SF today with this touching, thoughtful, action-packed debut novel, based on his award-winning short story Today I am Paul. TODAY Mildred has Alzheimer's. As memories fade, she acquires the aid of a full-time android to assist her in everyday life. Carey. Carey takes care of Mildred, but its true mission is to fill in the gaps in Mildred’s past. To bring yesterday into today by becoming a copy. But not merely a copy of a physical person. A copy from the inside out. I AM After Mildred passes, Carey must find a new purpose. For a time, that purpose is Mildred’s family. To keep them safe from harm. To be of service. There is Paul Owens, the overworked scientist and business leader. Susan Owens, the dedicated teacher. And Millie, a curious little girl who will grow up alongside her android best friend. And Carey will grow up with her. Carey cannot age. But Carey can change. CAREY Carey struggles. Carey seeks to understand life’s challenges. Carey makes its own path. Carey must learn to live. To grow. To care. To survive. To be. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for Today I Am Carey: "Kindness, love, and compassion make Carey an empathetic character through which to view Shoemaker's complex, beautiful world."—Publishers Weekly “. . . takes readers on a journey of self-discovery, coming of age, and ultimately life itself. . . . Carey’s development as a character is fascinating. VERDICT This exploration of artificial life in the vein of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot provides fresh insight into the human experience.”—Library Journal "Martin Shoemaker proves conclusively that while a science fiction novel must have the trappings of science fiction, it is at its strongest when it is about people, even an artificial (but emotional) person named Carey."—Mike Resnick “A dazzling ride through the near future. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I’ve never seen anything remotely like it.”—Jack McDevitt “Martin Shoemaker is a rare writer who can handle the challenges of dealing with future technology while touching the human heart. This is a must-read!"—David Farland, New York Times Best-selling Author Praise for the work of Martin L. Shoemaker: "Martin Shoemaker’s ‘Black Orbit’ is a more conventional Analog adventure, and a very good example of such . . . a really solid story." — Rich Horton, Locus Online "['Bookmark'] is an exceptional example of how to discuss deep moral and philosophical issues while maintaining a tight narrative that brings the reader along. This story will be added to the required readings for my SF classes. – Robert L Turner III, Tangent Online

  • Book cover of Today I Remember

    From a Nebula Award–nominated author, “insight and imagination infuse the stories of this eclectic collection. . . . Powerful . . . sure to draw in readers.” (Publishers Weekly) In Today I Remember, Martin L. Shoemaker—award-winning author of Today I Am Carey and The Last Dance—shares stories written as tributes to the people who inspired him in his life and his writing. A circus acrobat relives tragedy and triumph Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest creation exceeds even his vision A manager must save a space colony from starvation An Alzheimer’s patient and her android caretaker experience life through her delusions A girl must keep her father alive after an accident on the Moon A Lunar rescue squad races to find a lost transport ship A vampire's assistant must help him to face the great detective A young man in Nigeria talks with the spirit of the wood A dying patient volunteers for an experiment with unforeseen side-effects A teacher must teach her students to survive the wreck of their spaceship A young law student returns to Haiti to rescue his dead grandfather from the Bokor Each story begins with an explanation of how it came to be and who inspired it. These are some of Martin’s best stories—and best memories.

  • Book cover of The Year's Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 8

    An unabridged collection spotlighting the “best of the best” science fiction stories published in 2015 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “My Last Bringback,” by John Barnes, an expert on restoring the memories of Alzheimer's patients becomes her own patient.A young man living in a bubble habitat on the ocean floor of Venus must deal with terraforming gone awryin “The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss,” by David Brin. In“Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight,” winner of the British Science Fiction Association Award, byAliette de Bodard,the death of a scientist in the Dai Viet interstellar empire is mourned. The shipmind of a cobbled together fighter spacecraft and its pilot press on under dire circumstances in “Damage” by David Levine. An aristocrat’s trip to Venus, in search of her disgraced brother, is memorialized by papercuts of flora native to this planet in “Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan,” by Ian McDonald. In “The Audience,” by Sean McMullen, a spacecraft’s trek to another planet discovers a malevolent species interested in Earth. An AI is on a mission to the outer reaches of the solar system to found a sanctuary in a posthuman universe in “Empty,” by Robert Reed. In “A Murmuration,” by Alastair Reynolds, a scientist struggles to publish a paper on her exhilarating findings on the flocking behavior of birds. In the dystopian future of “Two-Year Man,” by Kelly Robson, a janitor brings a mutant baby home to his wife hoping to fill their lives with love. And finally, an android medical attendant, capable of mimicking family members, cares for an Alzheimer’s patient in “Today I Am Paul,” by Martin L. Shoemaker.

  • Book cover of On On Being a Dictator

    Two successful authors explain their simple method for vastly increasing your writing productivity! New York Times–bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson has written 160 books—nearly fifteen million words!—most of them by dictating into a hand-held recorder while hiking. Award-winning novelist and Nebula Award–nominated short story writer Martin L. Shoemaker dictates chapters and stories while driving, turning his daily commute into a productive work session. If you’re tired of being stuck in a chair behind a desk, and want to write more without sacrificing your health and sanity, learn how you can write while: *Hiking or just going for a stroll *Driving *Watching your kids play at the park *Taking a bath These two die-hard “dictators” share their techniques and insights into how dictation can help you: *Improve your writing productivity *Use otherwise lost time to brainstorm, plot, develop characters, write articles, and more *Get inspired by leaving your confined office and gaining a fresh perspective elsewhere *Stay in shape while writing On Being a Dictator, part of the Million Dollar Writing Series, will help you think outside the box, consider a different writing method, and up your game in the fast-paced, ever-changing world of publishing.

  • Book cover of The Year's Top Short SF Novels 4

    Short novels are movie length narratives that may well be the perfect length for science fiction stories. This unabridged collection presents the best-of-the-best short science fiction novels published in 2013 by current and emerging masters of this vibrant form of story-telling. In “Earth I,” by Stephen Baxter, asearch among the stars to ferret out the origins of mankind amidst the Xaian normalization digs up many surprises. In “Success,” by Michael Blumlein, a brilliant but erratic biologist studying epigenetics struggles to hang on to his grip on everyday life as he writes his ground-breaking tome. In “Feral Moon,” by Alexander Jablokov, the Alliance military is invading Phobos to retrieve dead bodies for later repatriation, but the stiff resistance is putting the operation in serious doubt. In “The Weight of the Sunrise,” by Vylar Kaftan, winner of both the Nebula Award and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, the Incan empire is offered a vaccine, to contain a smallpox out-break, by a Virginian raising funds for the American war against the British. In “One,” by Nancy Kress, a boxer down on his luck gains the ability to read minds and grapples round-after-round with the consequences. In the Great Shipstory “Precious Mental,” by Robert Reed, an immortal captain who has been living incognito for hundreds of years is kidnaped to help salvage an ancient derelict spaceship. Finally, in the Poirot-like mystery “Murder on the AldrinExpress,” by Martin L. Shoemaker, murder is suspected in the death of the leader of a Mars expedition when evidence of sabotage is uncovered.

  • Book cover of UML Applied

    UML Applied: A .NET Perspective is the first book to examine the two worlds of Unified Modeling Language (UML) and .NET concurrently. The core of this book provides a set of proven, hands-on, team-oriented exercises that will have you solving real-world problems with UML faster than when using any other approach—often in under a day. Author Martin Shoemaker also demonstrates how to use Rational XDE for effective model-driven development. From the author: “In teaching UML to my students, nothing has been as effective as 'Five-Step UML,' a process I devised by stripping away, one piece at a time, everything that got in the way of learning UML. Eventually, I was left with five simple, clear steps that show the students why and how to use UML, by having them start the class by actually solving problems with UML. After they learn the why and the how, they're motivated to learn the what: the details of the UML notation. And they have a lot of fun in the process. Now 'Im using Five-Step UML to teach .NET analysis and design in a larger framework. I call it model-driven development—UML models as the central artifacts of the development process, with other artifacts (code, tests, documents, even estimates and schedules) all deriving from the models. With this book, I've collected my Five-Step UML and model-driven development thoughts into one complete package. I also give a UML perspective of the .NET Common Language Runtime and the .NET Framework, providing a graphical overview that complements the online help.”

  • Book cover of Blue Collar Space

    The future doesn't just happen... Somebody has to build it. Martin L. Shoemaker, author of "Today I Am Paul," presents stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary work. Planning, exploring, constructing... living and growing and dying... across the Solar System. Includes these award-winning stories: Scramble (second place, Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award, 2012) Unrefined (third place, Writers of the Future, 2014) Racing to Mars (first place, Analog Analytical Laboratory award, 2016) Plus seven more stories!

  • Book cover of Cosmic Hooey

    A collection of original and remarkable Digital Science Fiction Short Story titles from new, established, and award winning science fiction writers, including: Scramble - by Martin L. Shoemaker Prospect of a World I Dream - by Alex Kane Across the Terminator - by David Tallerman Plotting War - by Chuck Rothman Picking Up Plans in Palma - by Matthew W. Quinn Burying Engines - by Marilyn K. Martin Catch a Fallen Star - by Jennifer Campbell-Hicks A Moment of Clarity - by R.L. Robinson & E.C. Forbes Entangled - by Rachael Acks Water Finds Its Path - by Robert Lowell Russell We know you'll enjoy these terrific science fiction stories. For more titles please consider visiting DigitalScienceFiction.com today.

  • Book cover of Last Dance

    At the heart of a mystery unfolding in space, the opposing forces make a treacherous journey between Earth and Mars. In space, mutiny means death--that's why Inspector General Park Yerim is taking her investigation so seriously. The alleged mutineer is Captain Nicolau Aames, whose command of the massive Earth-Mars vessel Aldrin has come under fire. The vast System Initiative says he disobeyed orders, but his crew swears he's in the right. En route to Mars, Park gathers testimony from the Aldrin's diverse crew, painting a complex picture of Aames's character: his heroism, his failures, even his personal passions. As the investigation unfolds, Park finds herself in the thrall of powerful interests, each pushing and pulling her in a fiery cosmic dance. Corruption, conflicting loyalties, and clashing accounts make it nearly impossible to see the truth in fifty million miles of darkness, and Park faces danger from every direction. All eyes are on her: one way or another, her findings will have astronomical implications for the Aldrin and the future of space travel.

  • Book cover of Final Frontier

    Strap yourself in for the adventure of our generation! 50 years after the moon landings, the commercialization of space travel is finally here, but do we still know how to dream? Final Frontier recalls the heady thrill of the Apollo era and glimpses wonders yet to come. Inside, find a dozen uplifting stories of humor, tragedy, sacrifice and good old fashioned cussedness by today's award-winning authors--plus a healthy dose of optimism. All that, plus a forward by a NASA astronaut and a piece by Spider Robinson, inspired by Robert Heinlein and set to music by David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash. The Final Frontier is open for business! Includes 5 award-winning stories! Contributors:Spider Robinson Stanley G. Love Mike Barretta Marianne J. Dyson Sean Monaghan K. B. Rylander Matthew S. Rotundo Ronald D. Ferguson Martin L. Shoemaker Nancy Fulda Philip A. Kramer David D. Levine Patrick Lundrigan David Walton C. Stuart Hardwick