At last, _Up Through an Empty House of Stars_ brings together the best of the never before collected SF reviews and articles that helped build David Langford's towering reputation since 1980. Complementing the review columns collected in _The Complete Critical Assembly_ and the knockabout essays and squibs in _The Silence of the Langford_, this volume's 100 glittering selections mix serious critical insight with the inimitable Langford wit. In 2002 David Langford won his sixteenth Hugo award as Best Fan Writer, for critical and humorous commentary on SF. In the same year his occasionally scandalous SF newsletter _Ansible_ won its fifth Hugo. Langford also received the 2001 Hugo for best short story, and the 2002 Skylark Award. Here he shines a unique light on classics like Ernest Bramah, G.K. Chesterton, Robert Heinlein and Jack Vance, and analyses major SF -- and major clunkers, and minor eccentrics -- of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, continuing to the latest by such current stars as Gene Wolfe and China Mi, ville. Plus witty asides on crime fiction and its SF links, gleeful examination of writing so bad it's almost good, and (even at his most serious) turns of phrase to make you laugh aloud

A reproduction of G.K. Chesterton's "The Ballad of the White Horse" that is accompanied by Robert Austin's woodcuts and a thorough introduction to the epic poem.

Starcombing contains eighty-five newly collected pieces of David Langford's witty commentary on the SF/fantasy scene - columns, articles, reviews, essays, even a few short-short stories from the famous 'Futures' page in Nature. Compulsive reading, crammed with insights and laughs.

This critical history explores the concept of the multi-generational interstellar space voyage in science fiction between 1934, the year of its appearance, into the 21st century. It defines and analyzes what became known as the "generation starship" idea and examines the science and technology behind it, also charting the ways in which generation starships manifest themselves in various SF scenarios. It then traces the history of the generation starship as a reflection of the political, historical, and cultural context of science fiction's development.

When a nativity display on public property is torched by a former US Senator, the media spotlight falls on the forgotten small town of Leonard, Texas, and the new pastor of its only church—Adam Wells. Emboldened by the prospect of leading his tiny congregation in a nationally-televised, first amendment debate that he considers to be a “fight for the heart and soul of America,” Pastor Wells determines not to let anything or anyone, including his wife and his rebellious sixteen-year old daughter, stand in his way. But when an old high school friend unexpectedly shows up in their small town and a past secret is revealed, Pastor Wells’ constitutional crusade collides with an even greater fight—the fight for the heart and soul of his marriage, his daughter, and, even his own life. In this modern-day story of betrayal, forgiveness, and finally redemption, Adam Wells discovers, for the first time, the meaning of the story he’s been preaching all his life...and his desperate daughter understands what really is beyond the farthest star. Award-winning authors, Bodie and Brock Thoene, have written an emotional and authentic drama based on a screenplay by Andrew Librizzi and now a major motion picture.