Series:

Fred Hoyle's World of Science Fiction

3 total works

Cover of Three Classic Novels

Three Classic Novels

by Fred Hoyle

Published 12 May 2016

In addition to being the man who coined the term 'the Big Bang', world-renowned astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle also produced a fine body of science fiction. This omnibus contains three of his SF novels: Ossian's Ride, October the First Is Too Late & Fifth Planet, co-written with his son, Geoffrey Hoyle.

Ossian's Ride: The year is 1970. Sealed behind an impenetrable barrier in the south of Ireland, the Industrial Corporation of Eire startles the rest of the world with its efficiency, its brilliance . . .

October the First Is Too Late: Unusual solar activity has played havoc with terrestrial time: England is in the '60's, but in France, it is 1917 and WWI is still raging in western Europe . . .

Fifth Planet: Another star is due to pass close to the sun, close enough for conventional spacecraft to reach it. Signs of chlorophyll are detected on one of the worlds, suggesting that it supports life. Rival Soviet and US expeditions are launched to visit it. But what will they find on the 'Fifth Planet'?

Cover of Comet Halley

Comet Halley

by Fred Hoyle

Published 24 June 2015
Returning to the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge after a spell at the nuclear research labs of CERN in Geneva, Professor Isaac Newton is plunged into the centre of a baffling mystery. One of his research students, Mike Howarth, has picked up strange signals on his satellite telemetry equipment, signals that appear to emanate from a passing comet. Not long after he has passed the vital data into Isaac Newton's hands, Howarth is found dead. Soon after that, it becomes clear that some people in very high places - including the Kremlin and the White House - are more than a little interested in the remarkable events taking place at the Cavendish. But with the arrival of that most majestic of all celestial bodies, Comet Halley, a third and infinitely more powerful superpower enters the scene. And the Comet's extraordinary intentions - not to mention its devastating methods of communicating them to Earth - promise a new dawn for humanity.

Cover of Element 79

Element 79

by Fred Hoyle

Published 24 June 2015

Can immortal man ever outwit the airlines? What if dumb animals could be trained to 'appreciate' the communications media of the human world? How does Number 38, Zone 11, respond when he sees a U.F.O? What happens to Slippage City when the Devil decides to think big?

These - plus a remarkable sex comedy - are some of the intriguing themes of Element 79, the new Hoyle galaxy that ranges the full scientific spectrum and beyond into the furthest reaches of the imagination. Author Fred Hoyle is an internationally renowned astronomer and much of his fiction is rooted in the realm of what is possible - scientifically and psychologically - on earth and in space, in the present and the future. His visions of his fellow humans is disquieting, hilarious, and sometimes frightening; his social commentary is often etched in acid. In Element 79 Mr Hoyle steps forward to take a backward glance at the world - deftly balancing his followers between the unreal and the real, between a chuckle and a shudder.