Artifact
by Gregory Benford

Archaeologists have unearthed a strange artifact buried in a 3500-year-old Mycenaen tomb. A small cube of black rock topped with an amber horn, it contains the heat of a sun within and its discovery has unleashed a global storm of intrigue and espionage, and has led nations to the brink of war. And now a team of dedicated scientists must unlock the secrets of its origins and its purpose, before a mysterious relic that may have already obliterated one world destroys another.

A modern answer to Clarke's book "Against the Fall of Night.". He shows how Alvin missed the point, how humans are just tiny players in a universe too complicated for one of them to understand fully. He gives details, describing Alvin's differences from present day humans. He writes conflict---people struggle and grow or die. Adjectives are everywhere---nuances, careful descriptions of sight and sounds, and of how his characters feel.

From the Nebula Award-winning author of "Timescape" comes a provocative adventure that blends compelling human drama with cutting-edge physics. When a brilliant young physicist's experiment goes awry, the ensuing explosion leaves behind a wonderful sphere made of nothing yet known to science--an object that opens a vista onto an entirely different universe.

This ambitious, hard SF anthology includes five completely new short novels by living masters of the genre--all set at least ten thousand years in the future. Contributors include Poul Anderson, Charles Sheffield, Joe Haldeman, Greg Bear, and Donald M. Kingsbury.

The strength of this novel is the unique premise of building a colony on a moving comet and it's scientifically plausible solutions to the scary dangers they encounter. It's definetely hard sci-fi, that is filled with techy stuff, but very well done and well thought out. Starting off slowly and working to a moderate head, this advanture/drama encapsulizes all different elements: A microcosm of society complete with human interaction, idealogical divisions, and eventually, conflict. Scientific mysteries appearing at every bend.  What happens when totally unknown lifeforms are attracted to the warmth of the human-occupied tunnels? Will the crew defeat them? Will the crew be defeated? Or could there be a third option...?
Finally, how will Earth greet its returning heroes? Will they be seen as humanity's greatest triumph, or its greatest threat?

The Jovian Astronautical-Biological Orbital Laboratory, a.k.a. "the Can", is the only home 17-year-old Matt Bohles has ever known. Concerned about the aging space station's failure to find evidence of alien life on Jupiter or its moon, the cost-conscious powers back home have determined that all non-essential personnel must be evacuated. Now, unless Matt can somehow prove himself to be an invaluable member of the scientific team, he faces exile to a dangerous, frightening, and unfamiliar place: Earth.

The complete version of the unforgettable masterpiece that went from Nebula Award-winner to a timeless classic. Aliens have come to Earth in search of a man who knows the stars, and that man is Bradley Reynolds. They want to know whether the sun loves us. And what Reynolds finds in the end is a transformation so glorious as to be far beyond his capacity to dream--a universe where beings are collected like songs.

In the epic conclusion to the Galactic Center series, the hope of human survival comes down to one man, an ancient scientist from the distant past who leads a struggle against a gigantic race called the Old Ones.

A gigantic asteroid the size of a mountain, Shiva is set to hit Earth with the force of a hundred thousand nuclear bombs, poised to destroy all life on Earth and blast the human race into instant extinction. Only a last-ditch space mission has a chance of saving the Earth--or what's left of it after the first asteroid rainshower.

Since 1953, the annual Hugo Awards presented at the World Science Fiction Convention have been as coveted by SF writers as is the Oscar in the motion picture field--and SF fans recognize it as a certain indicator of the finest in science fiction. Now bestselling author Gregory Benford presents the Hugo winners for 1992, 1993, and 1994 in a book that will be a must-buy for all SF readers.