Galactic Center Series by Robert Silverberg, Ursula K. Le Guin, Greg Bear, Joe Haldeman, Orson Scott Card, David Brin, Nancy Kress, Dan Simmons, Frederik Pohl, Anne McCaffrey, Gregory Benford, Robin Sachs

Death came in on sixteen legs. So begins a novella set in the Galactic Center series, “A Hunger for the Infinite.” Now this novella and much other writing about the science and fiction in the series, appears in one volume. Unique in literature, the series comes from the author’s own scientific research. The series took a quarter century to complete, and Benford traces his own research into the strange structures there, first discovered in the 1980s... moreDeath came in on sixteen legs. So begins a novella set in the Galactic Center series, “A Hunger for the Infinite.” Now this novella and much other writing about the science and fiction in the series, appears in one volume. Unique in literature, the series comes from the author’s own scientific research. The series took a quarter century to complete, and Benford traces his own research into the strange structures there, first discovered in the 1980s. Critics have described the six novels as “magnificent” by “the most rigorous of hard SF writers.” The series has been called “one of the greatest sf series ever written,” “a major achievement in realizing the potential of hard SF not only as speculation, but as literature,” with “a bardic heft worthy of Poul Anderson.” “No one has surpassed this ground-breaking achievement in mapping the unmappable depths of space, time, and consciousness.” For the first time, all the depth surrounding the series is collected in one volume. less

Contains Introduction EssayCover Artist: Don Dixon2019: NASA astronaut Nigel Walmsley is sent on a mission to intercept a rogue asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Ordered to destroy the comet, he instead discovers that it is actually the shell of a derelict space probe - a wreck with just enough power to emit a single electronic signal...2034: Then a reply is heard... moreContains Introduction EssayCover Artist: Don Dixon2019: NASA astronaut Nigel Walmsley is sent on a mission to intercept a rogue asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Ordered to destroy the comet, he instead discovers that it is actually the shell of a derelict space probe - a wreck with just enough power to emit a single electronic signal...2034: Then a reply is heard. Searching for the source of this signal that comes from outside the solar system, Nigel discovers the existence of a sentient ship. When the new vessel begins to communicate directly with him, the astronaut learns of the horrors that await humanity. For the ship was created by an alien race that has spent billions and billions of years searching for intelligent life...to annihilate it.In the Ocean of Night is a 1977 hard science fiction novel by Gregory Benford. It is the first novel in his Galactic Center Saga. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1977. It was first published as a novelette in the May/June 1972 edition of Worlds of If Science Fiction. less

In 2021, radio astronomy on the Moon reveals the presence of life by a nearby red dwarf, on a tide-locked planet.[1] To investigate, Earth's governments convert a space colony into Lancer, a Bussard ramjet powered interstellar ship based on the design of a crashed alien ship discovered in the Mare Marginis. In 2061, it arrives and discovers a primitive race of nomads, broadcasting using organs adapted to emit and receive electromagnetic radiation... moreIn 2021, radio astronomy on the Moon reveals the presence of life by a nearby red dwarf, on a tide-locked planet.[1] To investigate, Earth's governments convert a space colony into Lancer, a Bussard ramjet powered interstellar ship based on the design of a crashed alien ship discovered in the Mare Marginis. In 2061, it arrives and discovers a primitive race of nomads, broadcasting using organs adapted to emit and receive electromagnetic radiation. A curious satellite is discovered in orbit, at least a million years old, roughly when a meteor shower destroyed the EMs' civilization. less

After the events of Across the Sea of Suns, small groups of humans have settled on other star systems. However, there is a constant threat from the Mechs, a civilization of machines left over from other civilizations and evolved to see all biological civilization as unstable and dangerous.Great Sky River tells the story of the Bishop family, who fight for their very existence on the planet Snowglade, which has been taken over by the Mechs... moreAfter the events of Across the Sea of Suns, small groups of humans have settled on other star systems. However, there is a constant threat from the Mechs, a civilization of machines left over from other civilizations and evolved to see all biological civilization as unstable and dangerous.Great Sky River tells the story of the Bishop family, who fight for their very existence on the planet Snowglade, which has been taken over by the Mechs. The Bishops are one of a number of families on Snowglade, all named for chess pieces. These "families" are more like clans or tribes. All use cybernetic implants and mechanical aids to enhance their perceptions and physical abilities. Personalities of dead members of the Family can be stored in memory tabs and accessed by plugging them into ports implanted in the neck. Bodily functions, such as the sexual drive, can be turned off to remove distractions. The Families seem to be equipped for long conflicts and periods of privation, continually migrating to avoid the Mechs. less

Now in a new, revised edition, the fourth book of the Nebula Award-winning author's Galactic Center series is a classic tale of man's future and fate--and the greatest mystery from outer space that humanity has ever encountered.

Containing the remnants of humanity from the planet Snowglade, the spaceship Argo hurtles toward its uncertain destiny, the bold and brilliant Captain Killeen at its helm. But he has grown increasingly isolated and anguished in command. The ship’s gardens are failing, its voyagers face starvation, and there are dark whispers within, talk of mutiny. Killeen’s will, however, remains as strong as ever, his determination to reach the True Center of the galaxy bordering on obsession... moreContaining the remnants of humanity from the planet Snowglade, the spaceship Argo hurtles toward its uncertain destiny, the bold and brilliant Captain Killeen at its helm. But he has grown increasingly isolated and anguished in command. The ship’s gardens are failing, its voyagers face starvation, and there are dark whispers within, talk of mutiny. Killeen’s will, however, remains as strong as ever, his determination to reach the True Center of the galaxy bordering on obsession.Amid a mad swirl of incandescent suns and ghostly blue clouds of galactic dust, beset by hostile worlds controlled by the mechs—a vast and violent artificial intelligence whose only meaning, only mission, is the complete extermination of the human race—Killeen pursues his desperate search, convinced his people’s one hope of survival lies in the True Center. The crew has followed him this far on faith, a faith now being tested to the limit. Even his own son Toby, groomed for leadership, is beginning to question his father’s command.As the Argo undertakes a perilous quest into the unknown, Toby faces his own journey into the mysteries of adulthood. Like the others in this Family of voyagers, Toby’s spine contains microchip implants holding the memories—the legacy—of his race. But just as the technology designed to save his people may tear Toby himself apart, so his father’s desperate gamble to save the Argo may plunge the ship and its inhabitants into a cosmic pit of all-consuming fire. less

The universe of the mind is a limitless expanse of wonders, filled with worlds and secrets that cannot be fully explored within the pages of a single novel. Here, science fiction's most beloved and highly honored writers revisit their best-known worlds in perhaps the greatest concentration of science fiction ever in one volume.

A Hunger for the Infinite, which first appeared in Robert Silverberg's "Far Horizons" anthology, is a novella that takes place in the universe of "The Galactic Center Saga", detailing a galactic war between mechanical and biological life. Here, the pilots had made it to True Center in order to destroy something, anything, important to the Mechs, but Paris had something else on his mind. A story of the Mantis, and the decline of humans beginning in 3600 AD.

This new, special edition of the classic concluding volume of this defining series by the eminent physicist and Nebula Award-winning author contains a teaser chapter from Benford's new hardcover, "The Sunborn."