JEFFREY A. CARVER

No man can live and work on the ocean floor without the occasional visit mainside. At least, thats the policy when you work the North Atlantic seabed at the NorthAtStat nuclear power station. But for one man, the surface-side R&R is anything but restful. Can he readjust to life on the surface? Jeffrey A. Carvers first published story appeared originally in 1974. 6000 words.First appeared in Fiction Magazine; later reprinted in the anthology Wet Visions.

Flung to an alien ocean world, John Bandicut and his companions find themselves plunged into the deepsea realm of the Neri. What will they find in the Neris failing undersea city, or in the terrifying object of the deep abyss? Book 3 of The Chaos Chronicles continues the hard-SF saga inspired by chaos theorywith an all-new Afterword by the Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End.

When John Bandicut sets out across the surface of Triton, hes hardly ready for the storm of chaos thats about to blow through his life. The alien quarx that soon inhabits his mind is humanitys first contact with an alien lifea contact Bandicut can reveal to no one. The quarx, part of an ancient galactic civilization that manipulates chaos theory to predict catastrophic events, seeks to prevent a cometary collision that could destroy the Earth. But it must have help. If Bandicut chooses to trust the quarx, he must break all the rulesindeed, sacrifice his life as he knows itto prevent humanitys greatest cataclysm. Leaving friends and lover behind, hurtling across the solar system in a stolen spaceship, Bandicut can only pray that his actions will save the Earth. Even if he doesnt live to see it again. From the Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End. DRM-free ebook edition.Original print edition by Tor Books. Now in trade paperback from Starstream Publications. Also available as an audiobook, narrated by Grammy winner Stefan Rudnicki!REVIEWS AND QUOTES:One of the best SF novels of the year Science Fiction Chronicle"Jeff Carver is a hard sf writer who gets it righthis science and his people are equally convincing. Neptune Crossing combines his strengths, from a chilling look at alien machine intelligence, to cutting-edge chaos theory, to the pangs of finite humans in the face of the infinite. If you like intriguing ideas delivered in an exciting plot, this is your meat." Gregory Benford"Masterfully captures the joy of exploration." Publishers Weekly"Reveals an alien encounter brushing hard against a soul, and takes us from there to the far reaches of the cosmos, all with the sure touch of a writer who knows his science. Jeff Carver has done it again!" David Brin"A complex and believable protagonistan ordinary man rising to extraordinary circumstancesand an alien presence that is at once convincingly strange and deeply real. Im really glad to have read this one." Melissa Scott, author of Dreamships and Trouble and Her Friends"One of the very best things Carver has written, a traditional adventure filled with mystery and wonder and featuring a likable and believable protagonist thrust onto a stage for which he is ill prepared." Science Fiction Chronicle"A roaring, cross-the-solar-system adventure of the first water. The kind of stuff that made us all love science fiction." Jack McDevitt, author of Seeker and Chindi"High-octane space adventure: mystery, humor, theoretical physics, and one of the more interesting SF aliens youve likely encountered in a long while." Allen Steele"With works such as The Infinity Link... and his popular Star Rigger novels, Carver won acclaim as a master craftsman of compelling hard science fiction. This captivating opener to a new series incorporating the emerging science of chaos theory should keep that reputation flourishing... Carver has created yet another electrifying scenario as well as a winning combination in Bandicut and the sometimes vulnerable yet superintelligent quarx. First-rate entertainment." Booklist

A galaxy in peril...The story begun in The Reefs of Time continues. The time-tides caused by Karellias defenses have brought the malicious Mindaru AI out of the deep past into the present, threatening Bandicut and Li-Jared, who have arrived at the backwater planetLi-Jareds homeworldto find it on the brink of interplanetary war. Somehow they must forge a peace between Karellia and its neighboring world if the Mindaru threat is to be broken.Back on Shipworld, Ik and Julie Stone risk their lives a second time to stop the Mindaru at their source: a planet near the galactic core, a billion years in the past. Can Antares, the beautiful humanoid who also loves Bandicut, help them? What of Bria the gokat? And Amaduse, the most influential librarian in Shipworld?And in the deep time of the galaxys early history, by the light of a million suns, the Mindaru do hideous things to an innocent species. The Mindaru plan for the altered creatures bears momentous possibilities even the deadly AI cannot predict.Time is critical. Time is elastic. And time is running out.Conclusion of the unmissable two-part "Out of Time" sequence begun in The Reefs of Time, from Jeffrey A. Carver, Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End.PRAISE FOR THE REEFS OF TIME / CRUCIBLE OF TIME:"Classic science fiction with engaging characters and richly imagined worlds!" Greg Bear; author of The Unfinished Land and The War Dogs Trilogy"Jeffrey A. Carvers remarkable long-awaited duology The Reefs of Time / Crucible of Time is a welcome addition to The Chaos Chronicles, certifying his continuing mastery of action and adventure at the boundaries of space opera and hard SF." Steve Miller, co-author of The Liaden UniversePRAISE FOR THE CHAOS CHRONICLES:"Carver does his usual outstanding job of juggling multiple viewpoints and plot threads while casting his protagonists adventures against a sweeping, intergalactic backdrop. Yet Bandicuts story is ultimately a very human one about determination, seat-of-the-pants ingenuity, and courage in the face of overwhelming danger." Booklist"Another splendid adventure, with intriguing puzzles, first-rate problem-solving, and an impressive array of alien characters, motives, and methods." Kirkus (starred review)"Reveals an alien encounter brushing hard against a soul, and takes us from there to the far reaches of the cosmos, all with the sure touch of a writer who knows his science. Jeff Carver has done it again!" David Brin"Remarkably expansive vision." Analog"A dazzling, thrilling, innovative space opera." Kirkus"Fertile imagination and... a host of engagingly sympathetic characters." Library Journal

A lone survivor lurks in a ruined space station, facing certain death or capture. Earth has been saved from herself, her warring human children abducted by the Saviors to a forced promise of peace. Now theyre coming for him. Can the human spirit survive in the face of the Saviors overwhelming force? First appeared in Galileo magazine, from the Nebula-nominated author of The Chaos Chronicles and Eternitys End. 7000 words

Starstream!A great interstellar migration has begun, down the grand, ethereal highway known as the starstreamfrom the remnant of the Betelgeuse supernova to the center of the Milky Way. Who could have predicted the wonders of the starstream, or the perils it would unleashincluding the Throgs, shadowy beings of n-space that seem to understand only death and destruction? But life goes on, dangers or no, and colonists pour down the starstream seeking new worlds. Aboard starship Charity are many such colonists, including one Claudi Melnik, a child of uncommon talentsand an AI named Jeaves, with purposes of his own. When the unthinkable occurs, Claudi must face alone the challenge of the Throgs. And no one, not even Jeaves, could have predicted the final confrontationor imagined where unexpected allies would be found.Triumphant sequel to the bestselling From a Changeling Star, Down the Stream of Stars is a daring journey across the gulf between human and alien, to the heart of consciousness itself.Named one of the best science fiction novels of the year by Science Fiction Chronicle. DRM-free ebook edition. Original print publication by Bantam Spectra.REVIEWS:"It was no surprise that...Jeffrey Carvers Down the Stream of Stars would have heavy emphasis on science as well as good writing...." Don DAmmassa, in Science Fiction Chronicle"Carvers ingenuity is everywhere apparent." Locus"I enjoyed it immensely. Carver provides another wild ride through a deranged cosmos. His imagination is matched only by his compassion. Marvelous effort!" Jack McDevitt, author of Seeker and Chindi.

The starstream is beautiful. But beauty turns deadly when an ancient AI bent on destruction uses it to travel uptime, to humanitys future.The Mindaru are dead. Or so exiled-Earthman John Bandicut and his alien companions believe, after their intervention to save the Orion Nebula and surrounding worlds. But now a part of this ancient and malicious AI colony is swarming toward the present from its birthplace deep in the past. Their opening: a temporal disturbance in the starstream, a hyperspatial thoroughfare used by myriad civilizations. The disturbance emanates from the planetary defenses of nearby Karellia, whose people know nothing of the starstream or the galaxy-threatening Mindaru.Only Bandicut and his friends have the knowledge and experience to act. But when several of the company go missing, he and Li-Jared must team with the pandimensional Ruall and her gokatthe oddest aliens Bandicut has met since the shadow-peopleand journey to Karellia to find a way to cut off the timestream.Meanwhile, on Shipworld, the "missing" Ik meets another human of Eartha former lover of Bandicutsand embarks with her on a perilous mission far back into deep time, seeking a way to stop the Mindaru at their source.The Chaos Chronicles returns at last in The Reefs of Time, part one of a heartstopping, two-part adventure. Concluded in Crucible of Timeavailable now from Nebula-nominated Jeffrey A. Carver!PRAISE FOR THE REEFS OF TIME / CRUCIBLE OF TIME:"Classic science fiction with engaging characters and richly imagined worlds!" Greg Bear; author of The Unfinished Land and The War Dogs Trilogy"Jeffrey A. Carvers remarkable long-awaited duology The Reefs of Time / Crucible of Time is a welcome addition to The Chaos Chronicles, certifying his continuing mastery of action and adventure at the boundaries of space opera and hard SF." Steve Miller, co-author of The Liaden Universe"Rich, dignified prose wedded to excellent and imaginative storytelling on the grandest scale. If youve grown weary of the hasty, hyperkinetic stories and styles that typify so many other independently-published novels, come home to Jeffrey Carvers timeless and triumphant The Reefs of Time." Charles E. Gannon, author of the Caine Riordan world"Mind-blowing in its complexity... I settled in to enjoy a wild ride." Ann Tonsor Zeddies, author of Riders of Leviathan and Steel HelixPRAISE FOR THE CHAOS CHRONICLES:"Remarkably expansive vision." Analog"Masterfully captures the joy of exploration." Publishers Weekly"Master craftsman of compelling hard science fiction." BooklistOne of the best SF novels of the year Science Fiction Chronicle"A dazzling, thrilling, innovative space opera." Kirkus

Blackmailed!Wrongly discredited as a space pilot, Panglor Balef is doomed to die in space, if sheer luck doesnt bring him through. But luck has never been in Panglors cards. Bad enough to be coerced into a mission of murder and suicide, he must also contend with Aloa young woman, stowaway, and impossible companion. Neither of them, nor his empathic ou-ralot, could possibly anticipate the journey through space-time they are about to embark on, through a door to an insane reality from which there is almost certainly no return. It could be the discovery of the millennium, but the only way home is to journey even further into the heart of madness.The stunning prequel to the famed Star Rigger Universe of Jeffrey A. Carver, Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End and The Chaos Chronicles.Reviews for Panglor:"An original and very charming novel, with a particularly unusual protagonist." Publishers Weekly"Panglor is an interesting and different novel... a fun read." Future LifeReviews for other works by Jeffrey A. Carver:"Masterfully captures the joy of exploration." Publishers Weekly"Jeffrey Carver imagines wonders and allows us to share his vision." Terry Carr, editor of Universe and numerous "Best of the Year" anthologies"What is evident in Carvers work is a wonderful ability to deal sensitively with the interrelationships of characters and their environments." Galileo Magazine"Carver writes powerfully and clearly and has produced a book that is likely to find an audience among hard SF readers." Booklist"Carver is a strong SF writer, with a good feel for both the hard SF elements and the people he populates them with." Amazing Stories"One of the few hard SF writers whose characters are as interesting as the deep science." Melissa Scott, author of Dreamships and Trouble and Her Friends

Adrift in space! His shipmates dead, star rigger Gev Carlyle is adrift in the Flux, the subjective hyperspace that carries ships between the stars. His lone companion, and sole hope for survival, is a suicidal catlike alien named Cephean. Only a compatible rigger team, their visions meshed in psychic unity, can safely harness the turbulent currents of the Fluxand Carlyles ship is sailing inexorably toward the deadly maelstrom of the Hurricane Flume. For even a chance at survival, he needs Cepheans help. But the price for that is a complete merging of minds and memories. And Carlyle, at war with his own past, dreads that union more than death itself.A grand space adventure, from the Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End and The Chaos Chronicles."A novel of character-change, maturation, abandonment of illusions and discovering-of-self . . . its an engaging science fantasy and the novel will leave you saying to yourself, Yeah!" Richard E. Geis, Galaxy"Learning to communicate, to accept change, to understand the past, to express intimacy become rites of passage for the human Gev Carlyle and his felinoid cynthian crewmate Cephean." Publishers Weekly

Five science fiction stories to ignite the imagination. Explore an Earth being devoured by entropy, in the ultimate runaway environmental crisis. Dive the depths of the sea to prevent the mother of all oil spills. Rocket into space as a tourist. Mine the asteroids with your enhanced border collie, in the can-do spirit of classic science fiction. These stories appeared in publications as varied as Science Fiction Age, F&SF, and the Boston Sunday Herald. They include Carvers first published short fiction, and his most recent. With new introductions, all from the author of The Chaos Chronicles and Eternitys End.Contents:Reality School: In the Entropy ZoneOf No ReturnSeastate ZeroRocket Ride!Dog Star

"Reality shapers"-- the children whose job it is to keep the forces of disorder at bay, to "maintain" reality for humanity. It sounds like grand, even godlike work, and some oppose it for just that reason. But with a deadly entropic fold threatening to destroy the world, a handful of children must assume the most perilous job in human history. First appeared in Science Fiction Age. 12,700 words

When star pilot Jael rebels against an abusive captain and flies the "mountain route" through the Flux, she dismisses a legend claiming that dragons lurk waiting for unwary riggers. But appear they do, challenging Jael to a fight to the death. This story appeared originally in the anthology Dragons of Darkness, edited by Orson Scott Card. 9000 words, plus excerpt from the novel that followed."Though All the Mountains Lie Between" formed the seed of two novels, Dragons in the Stars and Dragon Rigger, both published in print by Tor Books. They are available in the omnibus Dragon Space (in the authors edition, available on Smashwords), or individually (in E-Reads editions, available in most other ebook stores).

An omnibus of three novels: Neptune Crossing, Strange Attractors, and The Infinite Sea. When John Bandicut encounters alien sentience on Triton, his life changes foreverfrom sacrificing everything to save Earth, to confronting a malicious entity at the edge of the galaxy, to fathoming the abyss of an alien ocean. A major hard-SF adventure from the Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End.Complete with new Afterwords on the writing of each novelexclusive to the ebook editions!Individual novels originally appeared in print from Tor Books.

Stars are dying.John Bandicut and his companions are summoned to a star-cloud called Starmaker, known to humans as the Orion Nebula, to discover what force threatens newborn starsand possibly every world within a thousand light-years. Their journey takes them not just into the perils of a stellar nursery, but into confrontation with the Mindaru, a billion-year-old AI and adversary of life as they know it. The task is daunting. But with the aid of Deep and Dark, sentient clouds who are perhaps the strangest beings they have met yet in their exceedingly strange journey, there may be hope.Back on Triton, Julie Stonebriefly Bandicuts lover before he was transported away to a new life at the edge of the galaxyencounters the enigmatic translator, the alien entity that first drew Bandicut into his extraordinary adventures. Julie must face her own life-or-death decision in defense of the Earthwhile for Bandicut and company, whatever chance they have of stopping the terrifying Mindaru will be found only in the fiery heart of an intelligent sun.Sunborn continues the harrowing journey through the tumultuous worlds of The Chaos Chronicles, from the Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End.REVIEWS:"Leaps quite madly from pot to kettle to frying pan to fire. The pace never lets up...[a] remarkably expansive vision." Analog"Carver gives us the ultimate cosmic aliens while juggling stars and supernovas. Dazzling." Jack McDevitt, author of Seeker and Chindi"Carvers latest addition to The Chaos Chronicles... ensures his place among the most inventive of contemporary authors of hard sf and speculative theory. Filled with startling ideas and ingenious plot twists, this sf adventure (along with its series predecessors) belongs in most sf collections. Library Journal"Carver does his usual outstanding job of juggling multiple viewpoints and plot threads while casting his protagonists adventures against a sweeping, intergalactic backdrop. Yet Bandicuts story is ultimately a very human one about determination, seat-of-the-pants ingenuity, and courage in the face of overwhelming danger." Booklist

Into a dying star!Beneath the roiling surface of Betelgeuse, scientists anxiously await the one man essential to the success of Starmuse, the greatest engineering project in human history. But on Kantanos World, Willard Ruskin battles invisible agents for control of his life, his physical form, and even his memories. Drawn into a conflict from which not even death will free him, Ruskin must find a way to reach Betelgeuse before his enemies sabotage Starmuseand humanitys future among the stars. A harrowing journey from inside the human cell... to the mind of a dying star.A stunning blend of hard science fiction with moving characterization, both human and otherwise. Introduces the robot Jeaves, familiar to readers of The Chaos Chronicles. From the Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End.Original print publication by Bantam Spectra. A Locus bestseller.DRM-free ebook edition."Starts with a bang and keeps getting better. Carver handles not one, but two hot topics, and presents both vividly." David Brin, author of Existence and Startide Rising"Running from the micro to the macro and back again, redefining sentience, space-time, and perhaps humanity along the way, From a Changeling Star is a fast-paced puzzler, rich in invention, and Jeffrey A. Carvers most ambitious book to date." Roger Zelazny"As audacious and imaginative as the best of John Varley, with characters as memorable as those of Sturgeon or Zelazny, and with one of the most powerful endings in science fiction, this book will both hold and reward your attention." Spider Robinson, author of The Stardance Trilogy and Variable Star"Carver does an excellent job of tickling your sense of wonder, and in the end he leaves you both satisfied and craving another serving of his considerable talent." --Tom Easton, Analog

For John Bandicut, Earth is but a memory. Stranded outside the galaxy in a vast structure peopled by a thousand races, Bandicut finds unexpected friendsonly to be caught up in a cascade of irresistible forces. Confronting an entity known as the boojum, Bandicut discovers that the Shipworld itself is in peril, and only he can intervene. Book 2 of The Chaos Chronicleswith an all-new Afterword.

War between the stars.It was started by an AI, and few humans even knew there was a war at all. But now people are dying, and the AI wants it to stop. But a war is easier to start than to stop, and the computer cant alter its course without outside help. When the Gnostic Control System searches for conspirators, it chooses its friends carefully... Pali: a brooding public relations director. Ramo: a flamboyant senso-dancer and sculptor, who prefers a musical jamdam to serious conversation. Sage: an awkward systems designer, for whom the AI rapture-field is realer than life. And three of the alien Ell: Harybdartt, who would rather die with dignity than betray his people; Lingrhetta, who tries to unravel the meaning of human dance and music, pain and love; and Moramaharta, the binder, who must persuade his fellow decision-makers to risk everything for the sake of a fragile bridge of understanding across the stars.A thought-provoking novel from the award-winning author of Eternitys End and The Chaos Chronicles, and recipient of the Frank Herbert Lifetime Achievement Award for science fiction writing.REVIEWS:"The story is meaty and satisfying. I enjoyed this one greatly." Analog Science Fiction"An absorbing, suspenseful novel of first contact and interstellar war. Its a complex book, requiring concentration from the reader, and is well worth the effort."Aboriginal SF"A lively dance of ideasfirst contact, interstellar war, artificial intelligence, alien cultureand it moves at a rapid pace, from Earth through cyberspace to the Horsehead Nebula, and various points between. Its well-worth the trip ticket." Roger Zelazny

A Planet of Secrets Starship rigging once bound the galaxy together. But that piloting art has been lost, and the worlds of humanity now struggle to stay connected through slower technologies. The ocean world Ernathe may hold the key to the rediscovery of rigging, through a plankton-derived, psychoactive drug called mynalar. But a plankton-harvesting colony on Ernathe has come under attack... from a mysterious sea people, the Nalenid.A young pilot named Seth Perland may be the one who can establish communication with the almost-human Nalenid. A sea-woman named Loela takes a keen interest in Seth and develops a special focus on him. Focus, he will learn, can mean lovebut it can also mean radically other things for different Nalenid. Focus is the key to understanding their inexplicable behaviorfrom seemingly aimless meddling with human activity to the crafting of enigmatic undersea grottos. Focus could also be the key to humanitys goala means of exploring the "world within the world," tantalizingly reminiscent of star rigging. But can Seth find a way to reconcile the desires of human civilization with those of these strange sea-beings?A touching story of love and personal discovery, Seas of Ernathe takes us on a journey first into the heart of a mysterious ocean people, and laterif he can succeedtoward relearning the art that once knit the galaxy together. Seas of Ernathe was Jeffrey A. Carvers first full-length tale of what was to become his popular Star Rigger Universe. Set farthest into the future of all the Star Rigger stories, Seas of Ernathe sets a stage for a new cycle of star-faring history. From the Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End and The Chaos Chronicles, and the 2022 recipient of the Frank Herbert Lifetime Achievement Award for writing science fiction.REVIEWS:"Jeffrey Carver imagines wonders and allows us to share his vision." Terry Carr"A wonderful ability to deal sensitively with the interrelationships of characters and their environments... [Carver succeeds] in creating a race and milieu that is not only a good solution to his mystery, but is emotionally effective and believable." Galileo Magazine

A realm at war. The star dragons struggle under the oppression of an unseen foea creature of terrible power, who seeks to shape all of space-time into a web of subjugation and death. The Dream Mountain, source of knowledge and life to the dragons, is held by the enemy; and yet, hope burns in the dragons hearts. According to ancient prophecy, One will come from outside to challenge the darkness. Star pilot Jael LeBrae may be that savior. Once before, she aided the dragons in their struggle, and now she must return to face at last the terrible wrath of Tar-skel. But if the prophecy holds true, the price of victory over the darkness will be Jaels own life.Captivating sequel to Dragons in the Stars, Dragon Rigger is science fiction with mythic dimension, from the Nebula-nominated author of Eternitys End and The Chaos Chronicles.REVIEWS:"Dragon Rigger is a most excellent adventure that would make a grand movie if it were not that the special effects budget would surely be quite brutal even in this age of computer animation.... If there is a motto for this novel, it is solidarnosc, solidarity, the power to be gained by sticking with ones friends, even by sacrificing for the good of others...there is immense verve, energy, momentum, and power...the reader stays with Carver all the way." Thomas A. Easton, Analog"A refreshingly unique setting and excellently realized characters." Publishers Weekly

Starship lost in eternity...Ghost ship Impris, lost during the War of a Thousand Suns, is the stuff of legend. Her very name conjures the perils of interstellar travel. But no mere legend, she is realglimpsed on occasion in the hyperdimensional Flux, and then gone. Her passengers and crew live on in a strange limbo, their fate hopelessly caught up in quantum defects in space-time, interstellar piracy, and galactic coverup.To the pirates of Golen Space, she is a perfect lure, drawing passing ships to their doom. Many innocent star riggers have been captured in such raids and forced to pilot for the murderous pirates. One such rigger, Renwald Legroeder, makes a daring escape and flees to the presumed safety of the Centrist Worlds. But instead of finding asylum, he is framed for treason.Something is terribly wrong in the Guild of Riggers and the government that should be protecting him. To clear his name--and perhaps to avert a disastrous war between worldshe must escape a second time, and partner with the amphibious Narseil to return to the Deep Flux and search for the lost Impris. Legroeders journey takes him back into the heart of raider territory, where he encounters a bewildering array of motives, conspiracies, and even deep-cyber romance. Forging friendships and finding love in the unlikeliest of places, Legroeder must nevertheless put his life on the line to protect the innocent, and preserve a shaky interstellar peace.A finalist for the Nebula Award, Eternitys End stands as a highlight of the Star Rigger saga, and one of Jeffrey A. Carvers most memorable novels. Can be read as a stand-alone book, or as part of the future history.PRAISE FOR ETERNITYS END:"True love, cognitive dissonance, divisions among the enemy, ambitious schemes, another missionthis one deeper than anyone has ever gone before into the substrata of the Fluxand a final resolution that leaves the reader both breathless and satisfied." Analog"You dont want to wait for the paperback." Science Fiction Chronicle"A mesmerizing tale of human perseverance and courage under pressure that updates the legend of the Flying Dutchman." Library Journal"Carver never runs out of new plot twists to keep the reader coming back for more." The Washington Post