Three novels of adventure among the stars from the Science Fiction Grand Master and author of Across a Billion Years. In The Chalice of Death, Hallam Navarre is tasked by his alien master to seek out a fabled weapon on the homeworld of a once-mighty, but long-fallen, empire that is all but forgotten: a planet called Earth. In Starhaven, Johnny Mantell is a fugitive who finds sanctuary on an artificial world run by criminals, only to discover that every haven has its price. And in Shadow on the Stars, Baird Ewing travels to distant Earth on a desperate mission to save his colony from rapacious aliens, but becomes swept up in a bigger war—a war in time as well as space. As a young man, Robert Silverberg was a science fiction prodigy, turning out top-flight stories in the blink of an eye. Even in those early years, his prose showed evidence of the literary and imaginative qualities that would make him a giant in the field who would go on to win multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards—as this trio of space adventures attests.

Three complete novels of mystery in space from Grand Master Robert Silverberg explode back into print for the first time in decades in this thrilling new Planet Stories collection! These extremely scarce tales originally appeared in the legendary Ace Double novel series, and represent a future multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author bridging the explosive, action-oriented science fiction adventures of the early pulps with more introspective themes of the new wave that swept sci-fi in the 1960s. In The Chalice of Death, a human from the far edge of space must track down the legendary planet that birthed his race tens of thousands of years ago. For the legends hold that the long-forgotten Earth holds the Chalice of Life, and the Chalice of Life holds immortality! In Starhaven, interplanetary fugitive Johnny Mantell flees authorities to the artificial pirate world known as Starhaven, sanctuary for the criminals and misfits of space. There he finds a new home for himself -- as well as questions about his past, his future, and his identity! In Shadow on the Stars, deep space colonist Baird Ewing returns to Earth for the first time in the thousand years since his ancestors first departed, seeking aid against the aliens who seek to destroy his colony. But the weapon he finds upon the ancient Earth can save only one planet, and Ewing must choose between his two home worlds.

Living Life, Facing Death offers a reflective perspective on how dying fits into our living, whether we are facing our own death, or that of a loved one. It is for those who would like to think deeply about the many meanings death can have as the formative culminating event of a human life.

In the year she served as a chaplain in a hospital “death ward,” Dana Trent accompanied more than 200 people—and their families—on their passage from life to death. Dessert First gathers those stories and lessons, as well as others from her journey with her dying mom, to illuminate the complexity of death and grief, and how we all might better prepare for a “good death.” Dessert First is a deeply personal, touching, and sometimes humorous look at death and dying, and the ways we cope and create meaning for the inevitable end of life. A full appendix includes religious, spiritual, practical, and legal resources for the reader and their loved ones.

Drawing upon his sincere appreciation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and his decades of service in various roles, Colbert S. Cartwright gives a lively picture of the people who have chosen as their symbol the communion chalice. His purpose is to help these people understand their rich heritage and unique characteristics. (Back cover).

At a conference on “The Last Things” at a Jesuit University in Boston, a thief slinks onto the campus to steal a precious chalice which is the centerpiece of the conference. A policewoman, with the help of the Jesuits, investigates the theft and unravels other, more serious, crimes. The subjects of the conference are “heaven,” “hell,” “purgatory,” and “judgment.”

After a spell is put on his father, Nick Rostov must find the Chalice of Immortality to save his father's life.