As the war between Earth and Mars heats up, threatening the potential destruction of both parties, Alex Smith and his Martian friend, Big Guy, are caught right in the middle--between the humans and the aliens, between various factions of their own people, between the inherent difficulty of establishing communication between two such dissimilar intelligences. Unless Alex can find some way of bridging the gulf between the worlds, both sides will be left vulnerable to the threat posed by a third, much more dangerous alien race that's targeting both worlds. The stunning conclusion to the War of Two Worlds Trilogy!

In this lavish fortieth-anniversary tribute to the blockbuster film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, New York Times bestselling author J. W. Rinzler draws back the curtain to reveal the intense drama and magnificent wizardry behind the hit movie—arguably the fan favorite of the Star Wars Saga. Following his The Making of Star Wars, the author has once again made use of his unlimited access to the Lucasfilm Archives and its hidden treasures of previously unpublished interviews, photos, artwork, and production mementos. The result is a comprehensive behind-the-scenes, up-close-and-personal look at the trials and triumphs, risks and close calls, inspiration, perspiration, and imagination that went into every facet of this cinematic masterpiece. Here’s the inside scoop on: • the evolution of the script, from story conference and treatment to fifth draft, as conceived, written, and rewritten by George Lucas, famed science-fiction author Leigh Brackett, and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan • the development of new key characters, including roguish hero Lando Calrissian, sinister bounty hunter Boba Fett, and iconic Jedi Master Yoda • the challenges of shooting the epic ice planet battle in the frozen reaches of Norway and of conjuring up convincing creatures and craft—from tauntauns and snowspeeders to Imperial walkers • the construction of a life-sized Millennium Falcon and the swamp planet Dagobah inside a specially built soundstage in Elstree Studios • the technique behind master Muppeteer Frank Oz’s breathing life into the breakthrough character Yoda • the creation of the new, improved Industrial Light & Magic visual effects facility and the founding of the now-legendary Skywalker Ranch In addition, of course, are rare on-the-scene interviews with all the major players: actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and David Prowse; director Irvin Kershner; producer Gary Kurtz; effects specialists Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett; composer John Williams; and many others. Punctuating the epic account is a bounty of drawings, storyboards, and paintings by Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, and Ivor Beddoes, along with classic and rare production photos. An added bonus is a Foreword by acclaimed director Ridley Scott. The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is a fittingly glorious celebration of an undisputed space-fantasy movie milestone. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

The leadership of a country under an immense pressure from the world community to reform its atrocious political system, decided to send a spaceship loaded with world-renowned scientists to undertake a make believe research programme on the moon for a period of one year. This decoy did not go as planned and the spaceship, which was largely controlled by computers from Earth, could not land on the moon. Unfortunately, an attempt to bring it back to Earth failed when it bounced off the Earth’s atmosphere and proceeded to fly away at an ever-increasing speed. The marooned scientists developed various means of passing the time while they awaited the inevitable death. However, after nearly a year of wandering through the universe the spaceship landed on a planet, which turned out to be Mars but with conditions completely at variance with what is known on Earth about this planet. What the Martians learnt about the socio-political conditions on Earth displeased them enormously. They therefore sent the scientists back with an ultimatum for the world’s leadership, asking Earth to change its ways so that an acceptable interplanetary discourse could be established. The leadership of the world threw down the gauntlet and embarked upon a secret mission to bomb Mars out of existence. This was detected by the Martians and set the two planets on a collision course, with the winner of the encounter not much in doubt.

Illustrated with photographs from Soviet Venus and Mars probes, images of spacecraft, diagrams of flight paths and maps of landing sites, this book draws on published scientific papers, archives, memoirs and other material. The text reviews Soviet engineering techniques and science packages, as well the difficulties which ruined several missions. The program’s scientific and engineering legacy is also addressed, within the Soviet space effort as a whole.

When the first Martian capsule lands, Alex Smith is drawn to the scene out of curiosity and wonder. But soon he must flee, when the great alien striders begin devastating the countryside and harvesting the living bodies of men and women to drain their blood. Smith wanders south, being drafted into the Army, witnessing major battles between the Martians and the American troops, and following the trail of destruction all the way to San Francisco. There he finds a city deserted of human life. Mankind seems doomed, unless... A grand science-fiction adventure, inspired by H. G. Wells's War of the Worlds. War of Two Worlds, Book One.

Erik John Stark is sent on a perilous mission into the Valkis and encounters the Queen of the Martian Catacombs.ExcerptThe leader of the four men rode slowly toward the tor, his right arm raised.His voice carried clearly on the wind. "Eric John Stark!" he called, and the dark man tensed in the shadows.The rider stopped. He spoke again, but this time in a different tongue. It was no dialect of Earth, Mars or Venus, but a strange speech, as harsh and vital as the blazing Mercurian valleys that bred it."Oh N'Chaka, oh Man-without-a-tribe, I call you!"There was a long silence. The rider and his mount were motionless under the low moons, waiting.Eric John Stark stepped slowly out from the pool of blackness under the tor."Who calls me N'Chaka?"The rider relaxed somewhat. He answered in English, "You know perfectly well who I am, Eric. May we meet in peace?" Stark shrugged. "Of course."He walked on to meet the rider, who had dismounted, leaving his beast behind. He was a slight, wiry man, this EPC officer, with the rawhide look of the frontiers still on him. His hair was grizzled and his sun-blackened skin was deeply lined, but there was nothing in the least aged about his hard good-humored face nor his remarkably keen dark eyes."It's been a long time, Eric," he said.Stark nodded. "Sixteen years." The two men studied each other for a moment, and then Stark said, "I thought you were still on Mercury, Ashton.""They've called all us experienced hands in to Mars." He held out cigarettes. "Smoke?"Stark took one. They bent over Ashton's lighter, and then stood there smoking while the wind blew red dust over their feet and the three men of the patrol waited quietly beside the Banning. Ashton was taking no chances. The electro-beam could stun without injury.Presently Ashton said, "I'm going to be crude, Eric. I'm going to remind you of some things.""Save it," Stark retorted. "You've got me. There's no need to talk about it.""Yes," said Ashton, "I've got you, and a damned hard time I've had doing it. That's why I'm going to talk about it."His dark eyes met Stark's cold stare and held it.

Sixty years in the future, the planet Mars is, for the most part, ruled by a powerful supercomputer network called the Instrumentality. The Instrumentality knows no fear. However, it will know fear because the Quakers are coming! The Quakers are coming! The future is elusive. Nevertheless, this book is based on the real numbers whose pattern has been set over the last hundred and twenty in science and technology. So the future depicted here is a very real possibility. The Religious Society of Friends (aka Quakers) was founded in the seventeenth century; however, its ideas are very easily applied to the twenty-first century.