H. Beam Piper
2) Space Viking
3) Dearest
In this gripping tale of the supernatural, H. Beam Paper strays from the bleakly imagined futures that form the backdrop of most of his stories and focuses instead on a strange spiritual connection that spans centuries. The twist ending will leave readers guessing until the very last page.
4) Little Fuzzy
5) The Answer
In the recent past, a mysterious explosion in New York plunged the world into war. But two scientists remain convinced that that "attack" was not what it appeared to be. In The Answer, they devise an ingenious test to settle the question once and for all.
In this classic slice of golden-age science fiction from prolific writer H. Beam Piper, a chance meeting on a train leads to a fascinating conversation about alternate universes and counterfactual history. But is it all merely idle chit-chat—or could it be something more intriguing?
7) Omnilingual
10) Rebel Raider
In the gripping Civil War story Rebel Raider, H. Beam Piper takes a break from the science fiction that was his typical stock-in-trade and beams readers back into the midst of the conflict that ripped the United States asunder. The tale focuses on the exploits of Confederate leader John Singleton Mosby, who gained acclaim as a ruthless and tactically brilliant raider.
In the gripping short novel "Flight From Tomorrow," the eccentric leader Hradzka finds his life turned upside down in an instant when a reversal of fortune sees him ousted from the throne. To escape certain death, he vanishes into the timestream. Will he ever make it back to the future and the civilization over which he once reigned supreme?
12) Genesis
To the victor go the spoils -- and in the aftermath of a brutal and drawn-out war on the planet Poictesme, an agent is sent to hunt among the smoldering ruins for the most valuable prize of all: Merlin, the most powerful computer the universe has ever known. Will the mission be successful, or will the intrepid technology hunter come home empty-handed?
Science fiction luminary H. Beam Piper was fascinated with the idea of time travel, and it is a theme that appears frequently in his work. This early short story tells the tale of a wounded soldier who awakes after suffering a profound injury on the battlefield. Though he can remember everything about his life as an adult, he has somehow been transported back into his childhood body.
15) The Keeper
Far in the future, one planet has regressed to a primitive, desolate state. The man called The Keeper maintains a lonely vigil there. When some unexpected visitors make an appearance, he learns some startling truths about the planet's place in history—and his own destiny.
Complete contents:
INTRODUCTION: MEET H. BEAM PIPER
TIME AND TIME AGAIN (1947)
HE WALKED AROUND THE HORSES (1948)
POLICE OPERATION (1948)
THE MERCENARIES (1950)
LAST ENEMY (1950)
FLIGHT FROM TOMORROW (1950)
OPERATION R.S.V.P. (1951)
17) Ullr Uprising
18) Last Enemy
Part of H. Beam Piper's popular Paratime series, "Last Enemy" follows the work of researcher Dallona of Hadron, who is attempting to determine whether any aspect of the mind, body or soul survives the process of death. However, when her experiments suggest that sentience does outlast the physical body, and she uncovers a link between this immortality and time travel, Dallona is faced with unforeseen consequences she never expected.
19) The Mercenaries
Should a nation's political climate guide its scientific agenda, or should research exist in a separate realm that's unaffected by these types of considerations? That's the question at the heart of The Mercenaries, a thought-provoking science fiction tale from H. Beam Piper. In a world divided by political schisms, one group of independent scientists fights to preserve its integrity at all costs.
Part of this prolific author's popular Terra-Human Future History series, the tale "The Edge of the Knife" takes place just prior to the devastating world war that occurs in 1973, wiping out much of humanity and leading to the ascendance of a new world order. The story focuses on a protagonist who is plagued by brief glimpses of the future. Many fans regard this story as a thematic touchstone that yokes together much of Piper's oeuvre.
