Helliconia Summer

Brian Wilson Aldiss

J. Cape, 1983 - Fiction - 398 pages

Winner of two Hugo Awards, one Nebula Award, and named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, Brian W. Aldiss has, for over fifty years, continued to challenge readers' minds with literate, thought-provoking, and inventive fiction. Now, E-Reads is proud to make available in eBook format the classic works of Aldiss. Now with a New Introduction by the Author HELLICONIA SUMMER Book Two of the Helliconia Trilogy 2012 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the original publication of HELLICONIA SPRING, the first volume of the Helliconia Trilogy, and E-Reads celebrates that anniversary with a brand-new re-publication of the entire trilogy, complete with map and afterward material compiled for a follow-up release of the whole series. Helliconia is a world in a very eccentric orbit about its home star which results in a very, very long "year" orbit around the central sun. After long decades of frozen winter, signs of the long-awaited thaw begin to show and an entire civilization essentially existing in suspended animation once again emerges into a world growing warmer, greener and more hospitable climatically. Old knowledge must re-emerge. Old customs begin to repeat--and old conflicts arise once again, renewed in misunderstanding, disagreement and violence. From Brian Aldiss: NASA's telescopes in 2011 detected a planet with two suns, a lesser sun and a bigger sun. Some astronomers thought this was impossible but of course it is precisely what Helliconia is all about. As yet, it seems that the planet involved is called Kepler 16B. I think they should call it Helliconia--in acknowledgement of the way in which science fiction writers can be totally perceptive about something, without necessarily making predictions. Several fans and readers wrote to me pointing to this discovery in deep space. Some of them lauded my prescience.... So here's a case where what in general was considered to be impossible has proved to be possible. This discovery surely adds depth and weight to the Helliconia Trilogy. "There's the sense, even after such a long career, that (Aldiss) may still have something astonishing left to say." -- Locus Magazine Other E-Reads titles from Brian W. Aldiss: Helliconia Spring; Helliconia Summer; Helliconia Winter; Greybeard; Earthworks; Galaxies Like Grains of Sand; Cryptozoic ; The Shape of Further Things; The Dark Light Years; Barefoot in the Head; and The Squire Quartet, including Life in the West; Forgotten Life; Remembrance Day; and Somewhere East of Life.

Contents

• The Seacoast of Borlien: 3
• Some Arrivals at the Palace: 19
• A Premature Divorce: 36

About the author

Brian W. Aldiss was born in Dereham, United Kingdom on August 18, 1925. In 1943, he joined the Royal Signals regiment, and saw action in Burma. After World War II, he worked as a bookseller at Oxford University. His first book, The Brightfount Diaries, was published in 1955. His first science fiction novel, Non-Stop (Starship in the United States), was published in 1958. He wrote more than 80 books including Hothouse, Greybeard, The Helliconia Trilogy, The Squire Quartet, Frankenstein Unbound, The Malacia Tapestry, Walcot, and Mortal Morning. His short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long was the basis for the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He has received numerous awards for his work including two Hugo Awards, the Nebula Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and an OBE for services to literature. He was also an anthologist and an artist. He was the editor of 40 anthologies including Introducing SF, The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus, Space Opera, Space Odysseys, Galactic Empires, Evil Earths, and Perilous Planets. He was an abstract artist and his first solo exhibition, The Other Hemisphere, was held in Oxford in August-September 2010. He died on August 19, 2017 at the age of 92.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Helliconia Summer; Book 2 of Helliconia trilogy, Brian Wilson Aldiss; Volume 2 of Helliconia, Brian Wilson Aldiss
• Author: Brian Wilson Aldiss
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: J. Cape, 1983
• Original from: the University of California
• Digitized: Apr 16, 2007
• ISBN: 0224018485, 9780224018487
• Length: 398 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Fantasy / Epic