Product Description
Having barely escaped death at the hands of ruthless corporations who have pursued him across the harsh lunar wasteland, teenager Charles Dingillian faces yet another fateful decision: no longer able to return to his home on Earth, Charles and his two brothers must choose a new planet to call home. But which one?

Charles has come into possession of a prototype HARLIE unit so revolutionary and state-of-the-art that corporations will stop at nothing - including murder - to control it. Earth is in a state of social and economic meltdown. The battle for domination between rival corporations has gone interplanetary. Charles and the HARLIE unit escape capture on Earth, but the hunt for them intensifies when they are discovered to be on the moon. The stakes have escalated to full-scale war. For Charles, everyone is his enemy. No one can be trusted.

Charles has been at war before: only that was a personal civil war waged between him and his parents. In an effort to end the strife once and for all thirteen-year-old Charles took the drastic step of "divorcing" his parents. When against all odds he succeeded, he won his freedom. He and his brothers are now free to do what they choose. To go where they want.

Freedom for Charles and his brothers means passage on a starship to a colony Outbeyond. There they will use HARLIE to help build a better world. But freedom also means exile. From his home. From his friends. From everything he has ever known. And even his chance for a new life on a remote planet is put in jeopardy when a critical malfunction with the HARLIE unit seemingly threatens the integrity of the voyage. However, a faction of passengers on board the Brightliner Cascade may pose an even greater risk.

A risk not even an intelligence as powerful as a HARLIE unit can avert.
Amazon.com Review
This satisfying conclusion to David Gerrold's Dingillian series continues the story of 13-year-old Charles, his idiosyncratic family, and the artificial intelligence HARLIE as they seek a new home in the stars. Before Charles can even board the ship for his new colony world, he finds himself again swept up in adventure and political turmoil. With the voyage finally underway, the focus turns to social conflict as Charles must find answers to disturbing questions about HARLIE--and himself--while a faction of passengers disrupts the voyage with potentially fatal consequences for everyone on board.

This is a young adult novel that older adults will also find appealing. Charles is an engaging and sympathetic adolescent science fiction hero--smart, prickly, wrestling with hard lessons in adult responsibility. Readers new to the series should be patient: backstory is revealed gradually, so as not to interrupt the smooth mix of action and the scientific, philosophical, and religious questions that propel this thoughtful coming-of-age story. --Roz Genessee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

David Gerrolds writting always cuts to the bone
I have read just about everything David Gerrold has written and this the third book in the Dillinger trilogy doesn't disappoint. It is Gerrold at his best, making you feel what it is to be young and facing adult issues, hope and hurt, in the midst of a solid science fiction backdrop.

HARLIE vs. Religion
The Dingillian saga concludes in this third volume.Charles "Chigger" and his family are trying to decide where to go from the Moon.They will take the HARLIE unit with them.Everyone still wants the unit to help survive the polycrisis Earth is having.

But the moment the family makes up their mind, the roller coaster of events takes off again.HARLIE and its abilities represent survival and power for many groups and colonies.Their bids for possession and control drive the Dingillians on.

Once on their way things are still not perfect.Charles may have found true love but religion has reared up and started questioning HARLIE's nature.

Religion, good, evil, and being human are some of the big issues dealt with in this volume.Again Gerrold does a masterful job of blending large doses of philosophy into the action in ways that don't slow down the plot.

The book's end leaves room for further adventures of HARLIE and the Dingillian family.Let's hope we see some of them.

Hienlein would approve
This is the third book in of the Dingillian stories. It is a great book. It has a very Heinlein feel to it. If Robert A. Heinlein was still alive I think he would approve of the story. This story goes over the first two books a little to much, for my liking but if a person has not read the first two books you can still get in to the story and enjoy it. Over all I realy enjoy how Gerrold looks at how and why religion looks at artificial intelligence. I also enjoyed the love story between Chigger and J'mee. Check it out and also check out Jumping off the Planet and Bouncing off the Moon.

The three books in this series are excellent
These are excellent books - Jumping Off the Planet, Bouncing Off the Moon, and Leaping to the Stars, especially for adolescents and teens.Having read SF for 50 years I found them to be well written, well plotted, believable and interesting - in some ways reminiscent of Heinlein's best juveniles but with more "human" characters (always Heinlein's weakness).With a 13 year old story teller/protagonist, the series touches on such topics as artificial intelligence, sentience, "who am I", good/evil, the purpose/role of government, and economics.It starts with a believable future Earth (nearing apocolyptic status) scenario, the science is believable and fairly well, if lightly, explained.Lots of adventures, dilemmas, rescues, and some romance.And interesting to see how an originally disfunctional family learns to become functional and a family.A "coming of age" tone for the protagonist as he discovers "who am I".Worth reading, and if you want to introduce an adolescent or teenager to SF, this is a good series to start with.
If you are a parent thinking about these books for your child, note that there is a homosexual relationship in the series.I don't find this a problem, but you might.

Entertaining, but falling short of the predecessors
The third book of the Dingilliad certainly is entertaining. Chigger is still fun to listen to, and his escapades interesting to follow. However, the freshness of the first book has worn off, and funny Alexei, who carried much of the second book, stays on Luna. The endings of the first and second books (the court scenes that never really fit into the story and examined moral dilemmas) have been expanded to cover most of the third book - much of it now reads like a thinly disguised philosophical primer on questions such as "What makes me me?", "What is good?", "What is evil?", "What is the social contract?" and so on. Chigger has to burden himself with finding answers to these, with the help of Harlie, whom the author seems to have misused as his personal lecturing professor. I feel that the answers that are worked out fall short of what I had expected when being presented the questions and have a stale, flat quality to them.

Having read the other two books in the series, I'm glad I got to read one more, because I got to like Chigger and his family, but I feel the third book doesn't live up to the ones that came before. It is still an enjoyable read, partly because apart from the philosophy, the author presents interesting questions/problems about and neat solutions to space flight and colonisation, partly because Chigger is just an interesting character (though he's become rather strange - a philosopher with occasional delusions of grandeur or, should I say, heroic ambitions - I liked him better before)

Despite all the misgivings I had about this, I would love to read a fourth book about Outbeyond colony. ... Read more

Product Description
Humanity tries to escape enslavement by intergalactic aliens. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Engaging and witty
I wish there were more books written in this vein. An incident near the beginning where our hero engages in diplomacy with an amphibious alien in a fish tank is hilarious and sets the whacky tone for the rest of the book. Gerrold could have made a whole series set in this world.

Find the Answer to the Cosmic Question!
And the question is:
"Why should you never play chess with a dragon?"

In the distant future, man isn't a whole lot smarter than he is today.We join the great horde in the galaxy thinking thateverything is for free.When the bill comes due, it's a shocker.

But wefind out quickly through our cast that the whole things a rigged game beingplayed with loaded dice; con artists abound; and talk is definitely notcheap.

This book is a fast but delightful read. The alien cultures areneatly delivered with insight into their way of doing things.Andphilanthopists they're not.

I strongly recommend "Chess With aDragon" especially if you have a sense of humor.

Short summary: Can mankind repay an information debt?
Chess with a dragon is one of the faster reading books I have seen. Although it may look like 150 or so pages, the large number of chapters, and layout at the chapters makes the actual length more like 100pages.

Short is not bad. This is a really enjoyable, very goodbook.

The title "Chess with a Dragon" does not refer to anactual game; rather, at the point where the good guys are in the worstpossible shape, one of them has to, hrmm, "negotiate", with analien creature from a race called the Dragons.

Without spoiling thebook: The story takes place in the far future. Man has found the stars, orbeen found by them; man has been introduced into the galactic society, thatrevolves around the galactic library, an information storehouse that racescan "borrow" information from (running up an information debt),or repay by adding new information to.

As the story opens, mankind isinformed that the credit limit has been reached, and it is time to makepayment plans. Of course, the race that has purchased the information debtwants one type of collection plan, that isn't necessarily favorable tomankind's future existance. ... Read more

Product Description
Welcome to David Gerrold's imagination. In this volume, some of Gerrold's finest writing is brought together in an eclectic mix of poeces that display his many voices in one unique package. From outer space to earthly concerns, from human sensibility to inner darkness, David Gerrold offers us real characters to care for, varied persectives to consider, and exciting worlds to explore. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

No more new projects please
A great book, with lots of enjoyable moments. However, it just further insults his fans who have been waiting fifteen years for The War Against the Chtorr series to be completed. Gerrold is a great author, but he should stop releasing new works and collections until he finishes the series that brought him the most fans. Yes, A Method for Madness is supposed to be released soon, but that has been delayed more than Guns N Roses "Chinese Democracy" and I fear the quality may be similar when eventually released. Please Mr Gerrold; finish what you started before doing anything else new.

An exceptional gathering of his diverse talents
Long-time fans of science fiction will readily recognize the name of David Gerrold, who began writing professionally in 1967 but who made his name in writing the popular Star Trek episode 'Trouble with Tribbles'. Since then he's moved on to explore the universe of Hugo, Nebula and other top science fiction writing awards, and THE INVOLUNTARY HUMAN gathers the best of his writings under one cover, displaying his many talents. Genre fans - especially those who knew Gerrold's works primarily from Star Trek fame - will find this an exceptional gathering of his diverse talents.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Blood, fire and the involuntary human
On my weekly, traditional browse through Galaxy Bookshop (Sydney, Australia), I swung past the "G" section to check out if David Gerrold's latest "War of the Chtorr" title was out yet. I was surprised to see a 477 pp hardcover omnibus, "The Involuntary Human" - and even more surprised to see that this book publishes the complete text of Gerrold's controversial (and axed) "Star Trek: The Next Generation" script, the excellent "Blood and Fire" (pp 69-135).

Recently, "Blood and Fire" was rewritten as an installment of his "Voyage of the Star Wolf" original SF book series, and it was even more recently announced that the story was being revamped as a TOS story for the "Star Trek: New Voyages" fan films. Now we can finally own a hardcover copy of the original TNG script.(Previously, the author sold copies in script binding, via the Internet and at conventions, for HIV/AIDS charities. I was fortunate enough to have read it in 1988.)

In addition, this new hardcover volume includes: new foreword and afterword to "Blood and Fire"; a preview chapter from his eagerly-awaited, long-delayed, next "War of the Chtorr" title; the original, previously-unpublished version of "Chess with a Dragon"; quotes from his "Solomon Short" limited chapbook; and several fascinating short story reprints from various SF magazines.

I highly recommend this collection. But if you want a copy, hurry. "The Involuntary Human" is said to be limited to 1000 hand-numbered, (some autographed, some also slipcased) copies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Trekkies!
This was a very hard to find book and worth the effort. It was in better condition than listed and I got it fairly fast.

FROM BACK COVER
THE COMPLETE STORY OF ONE OF STAR TREK'S MOST POPULAR EPISODES:

* From first draft to final shooting script.

* The how and why of TV writing.

* Three previously unpublished episodes.

* Working on the STAR TREK lot.

* Personal stories of the stars.

* 32 pages of Photos

* Original Illustrations by Tim Kirk.

* MORE! MORE! MORE!

Complete story of one of the best TOS episodes.
This book is an in depth analysis of this signature TOS episode.Behind the scenes info, pictures and other tidbits about Tribbles. ... Read more

Product Description
A genetically altered vampiric race known as the Phaestor threaten to overrun the galaxy, but the opposition--an outnumbered band of malcontents--fights savagely to preserve their freedom. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Could have been shorter, but still entertaining.
I love David Gerrold's writing and sense of humor (for one thing, we seem to have similar opinions of lawyers).I hadn't known that "A Covenant of Justice" even existed until I found "Under the Eye of God" in a used book store, read it, was left dangling, immediately found "A Covenant of Justice" used on Amazon, ordered it, and have now found closure.This duology is a little more "out there" than some of his other books, but still an entertaining read.I just wish that he would finish The Chtorr series!

Worth my time
This is the second, and last, book of the series ( I know, a duology is weird).

The thing about Gerrold's writing, in my opinion, is that it's rarely about a particular plot or character, it's really about humanity. If you've read his relatively popular War Vs the Chtorr series you may know what I mean.

His works are always humorous with amusing main characters and thought provoking ideas about what humanity is. Unfortunately, the plot often feels like it's added on or is simply there to give the characters something to do.

This particular book and its predecessor are no exception. If the plot had been a little more compelling I'd be giving it five stars.

In the end though I was entertained and will probably remember parts of these books for years to come. To me that is worth four stars. ... Read more

Product Description
Everyday themes as diverse as exploration, the fight against evil, laboratory experiments, and self-improvement are presented in this new anthology of short stories from David Gerrold. Largely consisting of stories featuring an alternative history, and often written for Mike Resnick's Alternative series, the stories range from funny to horrifying and lighthearted to profound. In "Franz Kafka, Superhero!" Kafka employs his unusual metamorphosis to fight evil throughout the world and take on even Sigmund Freud. Two characters who hope to better themselves experience "The Seminar from Hell," while "The Firebringers" features Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Stewart as soldiers charged with dropping the first atom bomb. Taking an archaeological turn, a team of anthropologists struggles with understanding the artifacts of a mysterious alien race in "Digging in Gehenna." With wit and imagination, these pieces provide a rare and intriguing addition to any Gerrold collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Decent collection, but puts off earlier commitments
A great book, with lots of enjoyable moments. However, it just further insults his fans who have been waiting fifteen years for The War Against the Chtorr series to be completed. Gerrold is a great author, but he should stop releasing new works and collections until he finishes the series that brought him the most fans. Yes, A Method for Madness is supposed to be released soon, but that has been delayed more than Guns N Roses "Chinese Democracy" and I fear the quality may be similar when eventually released. Please Mr Gerrold; finish what you started before doing anything else new. ... Read more

Product Description
On a small planet called Thoska-Roole, a loosely allied band of humans, androids, and bioforms make one last stand against the dominance of Phaestor, a race of genetically engineered killing machines. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fast paced pulp Sci Fi
This book is an entertaining read.The Dragons, vampires, and specialcorner of the Universe where it takes place.Good book to take to the beach in Brasil or Argentina to get your mind off the other reads.

A great one for sci-fi lovers
A fast paced adventure about vampires in space that had more than I could have expected including bounty hunters, talking dragon elite guard, and gender type females (go figure).A book definately worth reading, especially if you're a fan of David Gerrold, though it is nothing like theChtorr series, which the evil man never finished (I'm dying for the 5thbook). ... Read more

Product Description
In the prequel to Voyage of the Star Wolf, first officer Jonathan Korie drives his captain and the crew of their obsolete starship on a fanatical, possibly disastrous search for an enemy that may be a phantom. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good Reading
I liked this book very much and plan on reading more of his work. Thanks for the great read.Rick

Good 'real' science fiction. Ship in space, crew, conflicts etc.
Although it got a bit odd towards the end, the whole book is interesting and is a good look at the problems faced in deep space by a crew on a military starship.The StarWolf books however are MUCH better.

Intrigue of Leadership
However unrelated to the books "The Star Wolf" and "The Middle of Nowhere" David Gerrold uses many of his characters to create an intriguing crew chasing an enemy that may or may not exist.Not so muchcentered around the chase itself but on the crew's psychology, reacting toa Captain who holds no authority and a First Officer which drives the crewto the edge with his obsession for the kill.Although somewhat muddled indetails at times, "Starhunt" had me absolutely riveted for thelast third of the book.Any bore this book may offer is completely worththe ending, especially if you've read "The Star Wolf" or"The Middle of Nowhere." ... Read more

Product Description
Containing over 75 selected games, this compilation represents a spectrum of entertainment software designed for a DOS-based system. It includes an installation routine, and maps, hints, cheats and utilities are provided for selected games. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fun, fun fun!
In so many ways, the best way to measure improvements in computer hardware and software is to examine the progress of computer games. Many computer old-timers, including this reviewer, remember the first text based and crude graphics games. The fighters in those cases all looked something like <-*-> or (=*=). But even that was enough to keep us riveted to the screen for hours, neglecting all body functions until things reached critical mass. And now, the animation is nearly real time and the images approach that of television. Such quality is a tribute to all those people who have worked so hard in what is truly a labor of love.
Every item in this collection of eighty-seven shareware and freeware games is of high caliber and this is quite possibly the cheapest form of entertainment that one can purchase. Even if one month is spent examining each game, it will take 7.25 years before you complete the book. The author has sifted through a large collection of current games and picked out those considered to be the best. Some people get to have all the fun! Of course, there is some consolation in "working hard" to obtain the knowledge needed to write this review. Loading and running the games is easy and some also involve sound.
A definitive collection of high quality games that will leave your backside numb, I give it my wholehearted endorsement. And now, back to work, I may have to write more on this subject later.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission. ... Read more

Product Description
First Science Fiction Book Club Printing. Includes The Voyage of the Star Wolf, The Middle of Nowhere, and Blood and Fire. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

SPACE OPERA THAT SINGS
I HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED GOOD SPACE OPERA AND THIS ONE IS TRULY WORTH A LISTEN. ITS A REAL SHAME THAT THIS TRIO OF STORIES NEVER MADE IT TO THE SCREEN BECAUSE THEY ARE SO MUCH BETTER THAN A LOT OF WHAT HAS MADE IT THERE. A RARE COMBINATION OF CHARACHERS YOU CAN CARE ABOUT AND ENJOY AND A CLEVER, RATIONAL, AND HONEST PLOT LINE THAT JUST SWEEPS YOU ALONG. I HAD NO DESIRE TO PUT THIS STORY DOWN UNTIL I HAD COME SADLY TO ITS END, UNLIKE MANY BOOKS I HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO LATELY. THE STORIES CONTAIN INTERESTING REFERENCES TO OTHER STORIES AND CHARACTERS WHICH WILL BE FAMILIAR TO THOSE WHO ENJOY THE SPACE OPERA GENRE. ALSO ENJOYABLE ARE THE INTROS AND THE AFTERWARD BY THE AUTHOR WHICH GO INTO THE BACKROUND OF THE STARWOLF IDEA. TRULY GREAT FUN AND I HOPE THE AUTHOR RETURNS TO THIS STORY LINE AND CONTINUES THE SAGA OF THE STAR WOLF.

A standard "ww2 in space" series
Story:
The Star Wolf is a cursed ship, on its first voyage it ends up leading the enemy Morthans to the staging to the secret staging area for the alliance, which ends up causing the alliance fleet to be mauled and the Star Wolf to become a pariah. The situation goes down hill from there. Crewing this ship is the unlucky commander Korie and a bunch of oucasts, green horns, and screwups who no matter how well they do never seem to catch a break and go from one desperate situation to the next.The part chronicles how the Star-Wolf ends up becoming a paraih ship and how commander Korie starts his cycle of never getting promoted to captin, the second part takes place right after the first and details how Korie saves his ship from being decommisoned and goes a little deeper into to the background of the ship and why it can't shake its undeserved reputation and why Korie cannot be promoted. The third and final part apparently takes part a couple years after the first two and details how the star wolf and crew prevent a deadly bio-weapon from being released.
-----
All and all this isn't a bad collection of stories. In between the stories it's pointed out that this evolved from a Star Trek story that was deemed to dark/contriversial for its time and how the The Star Wolf series keeps getting rewritten to be produced on TV but then gets shot down for some reason or another.Its roots show as it seems that the story can move at a break neck pace somtimes and then slow down to deal with a specific incident. Usually this occurs where a montage of scenes would be shown to show time passing, a good example is in the first book when Hardesty comes aboard. He goes from chewing out the Korie to ordering the ship out of Dry Dock whithin a page or two, the ship completly fixed. There are also some parts where hints are dropped about the character's past but never explored. This is pointed out by the author and the commentators throughout the book so is not as glaring as it could have been. All and all its a nice fast read and if you want to see what could have been and maybe someday will be a TV show give it a shot.
m.a.c

So-So Trek-Like SciFi
This book is comprised of 3 short novels, and reads a lot like SciFi stories from the 70's/80's.It is written by David Gerrold, who's previous major claims to fame are: 1) He wrote the screenplay for the famous 60's original Star Trek episode THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES, and 2) He wrote THE WORLD OF STAR TREK in the early 70's, which was "the bible" for the first generation of Trekkies.

In the author's afterward, he explains that many of the original ideas used for THE STAR WOLF books were created as part of screenplays for a proposed television series (sort of "WWII in Space"), which never came to fruition.

While the main hero of the stories is Jon T. Korie, who becomes the captain of THE STAR WOLF, the real main character is the ship and ship's computer AI named HARLIE.Most of the characters are believable, and the protaganists are likeable, which is one of the saving features of these stories.

The book weighs in at almost 750 hardcover pages, but there is a lot of "white space", and I'd say it is the equivalent in actual content to a "normally formatted" 600 page hardcover book.I actually prefer this formatting approach - because, due to the way I usually read books in spurts, the numerous short titled sections make it easier to take breaks, and remember where you are in the story.

Following are brief reviews of the three stories contained in this anthology:

THE VOYAGE OF THE STAR WOLF(1990) *** - Descriptions of the ship and ship's computer are interesting, and there are a lot of interesting little sub-plots involving certain crewmembers.The bad guys (the Morthans) are monstrously evil and hateable - however, when THE STAR WOLF docks with a ship whose entire crew has been killed by a single Morthan "Ambassador", the ensuing scenes get too far-fetched, and appear to have come straight out of teenage terror flicks like HALLOWEEN or FRIDAY THE 13th... although this does lead up to one "laugh out loud" punchline, delivered in a James Bond style.

THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE(1995) *** - True to its TV screenplay roots, the story plays out like a two hour episode of Star Trek: Voyager, with numerous intertwined threads of plots.The main plot involves Korie trying to keep command of "his ship" which has just been scheduled to be decommissioned and parted out the rest of the fleet.But Korie drags his feet, and clandestinely works to outfit it for battle in the "logistical jungle" starport war environment, preparing for battle against the "evil Morthan menace".A major subplot thread involves the travels of the super-green, just-arrived and clueless crewmember Gatineau, who is sent by his engineering superior to search the ship for "A Mobius Wrench" (a codeword used by area supervisors to subject newcomers to a barrage of orientation and cross-training)... and the FRIDAY THE 13th type silly antics continue, with an "imp" planted by the Morthan killed in the first story.

BLOOD AND FIRE(2003) **1/2 - Different type of plots than those from first two stories, but no new technology and few new characters.The main Korie character's "plight" is starting to get boring... one of the more interesting/likeable characters gets killed off. ... Read more

Product Description
Sending young people on extraordinary adventures in which they discover their worlds and themselves is one of science fiction's grand traditions. ... Read more

Product Description
Fall 1979, final issue. Cover art by Stephen Fabian illustrating Hellhole by David Gerrold. Also: The Things That Are Gods [Traveler in Black] by John Brunner; The Starshow: John O'Hara's Last Show on Earth and Follow the Red Wagons [Circus World] by Barry B. Longyear; The Jaren by Barry B. Longyear [as by Frederick Longbeard]; Where Do You Get Your Ideas? by Barry B. Longyear [as by Mark Ringdalh]; The Boom in Science Fiction (essay) by Isaac Asimov; Media Reviews: Under the Rainbow: Science Fiction in Hollywood by Craig Miller. Interior art George Barr, Fabian, Jack Gaughan. NOTE - all copies have a few pages affected by minor printer's flaws (pages 32 and 37 slightly blurred, ink blot on page 75). ... Read more