John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris Libros

The Outward Urge is a sf novel by John Wyndham which is a collection of linked short stories, originally published in four issues of the magazine "New Worlds Science Fiction" . The collection was originally published with those four chapters in 1959. A 5th chapter was included in later versions. It was originally published in the November 1960 issue of New Wolds as a separate short story, 'The Emptiness of Space'. The stated authorship has a peculiar history. It was published as cowritten by John Wyndham & Lucas Parkes, but they were different pen-names for the same writer. He had used the pen-name Lucas Parkes earlier in his career. Unlike most of his novels, The Outward Urge was closer to typical hard sf & his publishers decided they wanted to use the Wyndham & Parkes byline because it was "not your usual Wyndham style". It's future history set from 1994 to 2194. With chapters at 50-year intervals, it tells the story of the exploration of space, with space stations in Earth orbit, then moon bases, landings on Mars in 2094, Venus in 2144, & the asteroids. This is told thru Troon family members who play an important part in the exploration of space, since they all feel "the outward urge", the desire to travel further into space. They all "hear the thin gnat-voices cry, star to faint star across the sky"--a quote from The Jolly Company by Rupert Brooke. In 1994 "Ticker" Troon is killed foiling a Soviet missile attack on a British space station, & is later awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. In 2044 a major nuclear war between the USSR & the West wipes out most of the Northern Hemisphere, leaving Brazil as the main world power, which then claims that "Space is a province of Brazil". However Australia eventually emerges as a serious rival.

Francis Saxover and Diana Brackley, two scientists investigating a rare lichen, discover it has a remarkable property: it retards the aging process. Francis, realising the implications for the world of an ever-youthful, wealthy elite, wants to keep it secret, but Diana sees an opportunity to overturn the male status quo by using the lichen to inspire a feminist revolution. As each scientist wrestles with the implications and practicalities of exploiting the discovery, the world comes ever closer to learning the truth . . . Trouble With Lichen is a scintillating story of the power wielded by science in our lives and asks how much trust should we place in those we appoint to be its guardians?

The island of Tanakuatua seems like heaven to the 40 people who go there in order to create a utopian society, but soon they start to die in a horrible way and it seems that something strange and deadly is out there in the jungle.

A space opera set on Mars by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” What if alien life-forms included autonomous, conscious machines? An international prize is offered to the first man to complete an interplanetary journey. For British pilot Dale Curtance, it is the ultimate challenge; he must build a ship, assemble a top-notch crew, and beat the Russians and the Americans, too. Soon the Gloria Mundi heads for Mars. There’s only one problem: a stowaway named Joan Shirning. At first, the men resent Joan’s presence. But they come to realize that she is the only one who has firsthand knowledge of the Martians—or at least the intelligent beings that will one day replace them. . . .