Five-Twelfths of Heaven
by Melissa Scott
from Baen
Armor of Light, The
by Melissa Scott
from New England Science Fiction Association
This is the first hardcover edition of the alternate history novel by Scott and Barnett.
The Jazz
by Melissa Scott
from Tor Books
Misinformation, PR, disinformation, rumors, spinning, lies--in the near future, the art of untruth has evolved into the jazz: virtual-reality Internet theatre, an entertainment for the cognoscenti and a source of pain and scandal for those who believe what they see, read, or experience. Tin Lizzy has escaped her troubled criminal adolescence to become one of the premiere design programmers of the jazz. But when she agrees to design the back-tech for a teenage boy's brilliant jazz scenario, she discovers too late that Keyz created his jazz with a sophisticated program stolen from a Hollywood studio. Now Lizzy is a criminal again, a desperate fugitive on the run with Keyz through the dangerous underground of the 21st century, fleeing cops, bounty hunters, studio detectives, and a powerful, ruthless CEO who has a secret to preserve, and boundless resources and vindictiveness.
Quietly, outside the hot, critical spotlight turned upon the original cyberpunks and second-generation cyberwunderkind Neil Stephenson, Melissa Scott has become one of the strongest, most productive, and least street-glamour-blinded cyberpunks writing at the turn of the millennium. This is not entirely a surprise; in 1986, she won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She is also a two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for best science fiction novel. If you haven't read Melissa Scott, The Jazz is a fine place to start. --Cynthia Ward
Tin Lizzy, a respected Jazz artist with a checkered past, is a theatrical Web site designer who does backgrounds for Jazz productions. When a nifty new script shows up on the web, Lizzy is surprised to learn it came from a teenage boy named Keyz. It turns out Keyz used his parents' access codes to borrow a Hollywood studio's editing program- the true, hidden source of the studio's success. Now the studio head wants to lock him in jail and throw away the key.
So Lizzy rescues him and takes him on the road, across the altered landscape of twenty-first century USA, trying to stay one step ahead of the police . . . . and the vengeance of a megalomaniac CEO.
The Jazz is a road chase novel of the future, filled with shady characters, close calls, and colorful neat ideas.
Conceiving the Heavens: Creating the Science Fiction Novel
by Melissa Scott
from Heinemann Drama
Aliens, spaceships, life on Mars, other worlds, cloning, coming back from the future, new species - science fiction pervades our imaginations and increasingly ourselves. But how does an author write these stories so that they are believable and meaningful? Called "one of today's most provocative young writers" by Science Fiction Bookselling, Melissa Scott is clearly a master of writing science fiction. In Conceiving the Heavens, Scott shares her successful techniques and insight to help would-be science fiction writers turn their ideas into workable stories. Topics discussed include: the need for good writing - not just good ideas the specialized techniques necessary for science fiction writing characterization, settings, invented languages, and research training to think "what if?" exercises and mind games to expand imaginations artistic intention and responsibility writing science fiction as a profession and being a pro at it problems unique to the science fiction field a glossary of science fiction terms. Whether you are of this world or some other one, Conceiving the Heavens will help you successfully write about places you could only dream of.
Empress of Earth: The Silence Leigh Trilogy
Shadow Man
In the future, humanity has developed five distinct sexes due to the effects of a drug that allows faster-than-light travel. The Concorde worlds have officially recognized all five sexes, but on the isolated planet Hara those in between male and female are considered mutations who must choose to live as one of the two traditional sexes. When Hara regains contact with the Concorde worlds, it's an opportunity for Warreven--a "herm"--to break the long-standing role society has forced on him. But it will also put him in the center of a political battle that will span the stars. Shadow Man won the 1996 Lambda Award.
Melissa Scott's Shadow Man is a gripping and thought-provoking look at a strange future. In this future, five human sexual identities are recognized throughout the galaxy, and humanity has adjusted to this new culture. Except on Hara, where everyone must choose to be a man or a woman and that decision is final. "Impressive. . . . A book that compares favorably with the gender-bending SF classics, Triton and The Left Hand of Darkness."--Booklist.
The Garden (Star Trek Voyager, No 11)
by Melissa Scott
from Star Trek
Low on food and desperate to replenish their supply, the USS Voyager crew discovers a planet abundant in healthy vegetation. In order to get the food the crew must trade technology with the inhabitants of the planet. Before that, the crew are forced to join the battle as the planet's enemy attacks.
Trouble and Her Friends
by Melissa Scott
from Tor Science Fiction
India Carless, alias Trouble, got out ahead of the feds and settled down to run a small network for an artist's co-op.
Now someone has taken her name and begun to use it for criminal hacking. So Trouble returns. Once the fastest gun on the electronic frontier, she had tried to retire-but has been called out for one last fight. And it's a killer.
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