Showing results by publisher "MuseumAudiobooks.com" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

"The Snow Queen" is one of Hans Christian Andersen’s longest and most popular tales. It’s about Gerda and her friend Kai growing up through many adventures. Exploring the struggle between good and evil, it’s a story of a magic mirror, trolls, sorceresses, and power.

Jean Lang (Mrs John Lang, 1867-1932) wrote extensively on Greek, Roman, and Germanic mythology and its interpretation. In Lang’s version of the Icarus myth, there is a strong emphasis on the boy’s duty to fulfill the aspirations of his father, Daedalus.

A Princess of Mars is a science fantasy novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of the Barsoom series. Set on Mars, the story is full of heroic feats and interplanetary romance, against the background of a dying planet with an increasingly arid environment. The humanoid Red Martians who are allies of the protagonist, Carter, control the planet’s system of canals. When Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium is captured by the Tharks, Carter recues her.

In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne is a diary of the observations of Fritz Napoleon Smith, the editor of an influential futuristic newspaper. It is an action-packed tale of technological advances and science fiction scenarios. Some of the predictions were remarkably accurate.

A spaceship crashes on an uninhabited planet, but the pilot survives and requests help, which is expected in six days. The moment he falls asleep, he becomes possessed by some of the warlike people who previously lived there, and who wiped out the planet’s sentient beings. He hears the voices of “Tyle of Rathalar, Tyle of the Blood Mound and the Death Drum”, and of “Iorr of Wendillo, destroyer of infidels”, followed by a chanting chorus of warriors. This is a science fiction story which incorporates elements of psychological horror.

The Warlords of Mars completes Edgar Rice Burroughs’ action-packed Barsoom Trilogy. In the attempt to rescue his wife Dejah Thoris from captivity, John Carter enters the northern polar regions of Mars where he discovers the previously unknown Yellow Martians of Okar under their tyrant Salensus Oll. The tyrant’s nephew Talu assists Carter to enter the realm, and a rebellion is followed by an invasion of the Heliumite fleet.

"The Fight of the Good Ship Clarissa" is an experimental short story by Ray Bradbury. It was first published in the Winter 1940 edition of Futuria Fantasia, credited as "by one who should know better". The story begins with the space rocket Clarissa being nine days out from Venus, while “the members of the crew were also out for nine days”. The narrative then morphs into an incoherent "stream of consciousness", where various scenarios of bizarre wordplay briefly follow one another.

The devil, who lived on the hill across the bay, owned all the rich lands which produced fine crops. One day, St. Michael offered the devil a deal: He would work the land, and they would both share the crops equally. The devil agreed, and Satan declared that he would get everything that grew above the ground, while St. Michael would get the crops that grew underground. So the lands produced nothing but carrots, turnips, onions, and parsnips. Satan was furious, but St. Michael offered to give him everything that grew underground the next year. The following year, all of Satan’s lands were covered with wheat, oats, peas, and cabbage that thrives above ground.

American Indian Fairytales is a collection of Native American folklore retold for children and young adults. Margaret Compton (1852-1903) drew on authentic lore from a wide selection of regions. The tales include "The Story-Teller Himself", "Snowbird and the Water-Tiger", "The Coyote or Prairie Wolf", and "How Mad Buffalo Fought the Thunder-Bird".

The Gods of Mars (1918) is a science fantasy novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the second of Burroughs' Barsoom series. It features the characters John Carter and his wife Dejah. The story opens with John Carter’s return to Mars after a 10-year separation, but unfortunately, he materializes in the one place on Mars from which nobody has ever escaped: Valley Dor, the afterlife. It is populated by two dangerous species, Pirates and Therns.

The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science-fiction novel by the English author H. G. Wells (1866-1946). The story is narrated by Edward Prendick, a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat and left on the island home of Doctor Moreau. An eminent physiologist from London whose experiments in vivisection had been exposed, the doctor fled England and continued his experiments on a remote island where he creates mutant beings from animals.

"A Vision of Judgment" is a short story in nine sections describing a last judgment in which God and the archangel Gabriel laugh at sinners and saints alike. They flee "up the sleeve of God” to take shelter there. All of humanity is then given a second chance on a planet that orbits the "green Sirius."

Frank Richard Stockton (1834-1902) was an author and humorist, best known for a series of fairy tales that were hugely popular during the latter part of the 19th century. Stockton avoided the moralizing common to children's stories of the time, and instead humorously poked fun at the abuse of power, greed, violence, and a host of other human flaws. A griffin (a beast that is a combination of eagle and lion) comes to a town that has his likeness above the church door. Having never seen himself, the griffin becomes entranced with the statue, but his presence frightens the villagers....

A man describes his recurring dreams in which he is a political figure who has given up his position to live with his lover on the island of Capri. Despite never having visited it, the dreamer describes the island in detail. He also recounts the nightmarish end to their life on Capri.

"The Glass Dog" is about a wizard who lived on the top floor of a tenement building, always studying and pondering. He had all the books and formulas of all the wizards who had lived before him. Many folks came to him for help about their troubles, and these interruptions irritated him, so he thought of getting a dog to chase them. The glass blower next door makes him a glass dog, he enchants it to life and at first it serves its purpose well, but many complications arise.

This story by H.G. Wells is about an orchid discovered in the Andaman Islands that feeds on blood. It kills the collector that discovered it, and tries to kill the protagonist, but is killed in the attempt.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic science-fiction novel by Jules Verne. The main character, Professor Otto Lidenbrock, is an eccentric scientist who believes that there are volcanic tubes that go down to the center of the Earth. The professor’s party of three - he’s joined by his nephew Axel and an Icelandic guide Hans - enter Iceland's inactive volcano Snæfellsjökull, in search of the tubes. They face many dangers, including tornadoes, cave-ins, and prehistoric creatures from ancient epochs that would devour them.

A Story of the Days to Come by H.G. Wells is a futuristic novella about two lovers in the dystopian London of the 22nd century. It examines the implications of urbanization and advances in agriculture, medicine, communication, and transportation. The narrative predicts skyscrapers, moving sidewalks, superhighways, mass media, psychotherapy, and intercontinental aircraft.

Of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, The Odyssey serves to some extent as a sequel to The Iliad. The poem describes the journey home of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, after the fall of Troy. In the Greek sources, the Trojan War lasted 10 years, and Odysseus spent 10 more years on the return journey due to the hostility of Poseidon, the god of earth and sea. Odysseus' fantastical adventures include a period of captivity on Calypso’s island, a visit to the lethargic lotus eaters, an encounter with a one-eyed Cyclops, and more.

HG Wells was an incredibly prolific writer who contributed short stories in a variety of genres, including science fiction, dystopian fiction, and gothic horror. Originally published in 1897, Thirty Strange Stories contains tales like "The Triumphs of a Taxidermist", "Pollock and the Porroh Man", "The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham", and "The Stolen Bacillus". "The Red Room" is the horrifying story of a man trapped in a haunted room, but it is never made clear what it is that haunts the room.