THE PORTALS

Panther/Granada paperback, 1978. Cover artwork by Peter Gudynas.

Rear cover/synopsis.

FUTURE MAN: BRAVE NEW WORLD OR GENETIC NIGHTMARE?

Granada hardback, 1984. Cover painting by Peter Gudynas.

In the final phase man will become master of his own evolution as well as that of all other living things. 

Thanks to Jerry Boucher who made me aware of this book and the similarity of a certain Peter Gudynas painting similar to the cover of Frederik Pohl's Man Plus, which I posted a few weeks ago.

This book (with obligatory Asimov foreword) is sort of disappointingly not concerned with science fiction per se, rather the application of speculative fiction, theories as well as modern science and medicine in real life (circa 1984). Topics include evolution, the biological revolution, mastering the environment, diseases, ageing, engineering people, mind control and scenarios for the future of mankind. The majority of illustrations are photographs of a medical or scientific nature, but there's a few paintings by Gudynas, Peter Goodfellow, Terry Oakes and others have artwork credits in the acknowledgements section but I do not recognize which images are theirs.

Life underwater.

Man modified for life underwater.

Man modified to live in space by Peter Gudynas.

Man modified for war.

MAN PLUS

Panther SF paperback, 1978. Front cover illustration by
Peter Gudynas.

Rear cover synopsis: 

"Man Plus is a haunting vision of to-morrow's man - less mortal than monster, more machine than flesh and blood... 

Man Plus is a desperate top-level plan to save mankind and satisfy the sinister predictions of a government computer... 

Man Plus is Frederik Pohl's stunning new novel of an all-too-plausible future where man must be biologically modified for survival on an alien planet before he exterminates himself on Earth."

STARWORLD

Granada paperback, 1988. Cover illustration by Peter Gudynas.

"STARWORLD EXPLODES WITH REVOLUTION 

The twilight planet of Halvmork is free. The Earth space fleet has left to guard Homeworld and to prepare for the ultimate, cataclysmic showdown. For a moment, the entire galaxy seems to hold its breath... 

For Jan Kulozik, exiled on Halvmork, this is the moment of decisions. Will he find himself a leader of a new society...or an eternal slave to the absolute power of Earth? 

Starworld completes the epic To The Stars trilogy with one of the most breathtaking space sequences yet seen in science fiction."

WHEELWORLD

Grafton / Panther SF paperback, 1988 reprint. Cover illustration by
Peter Gudynas.

"WHEELWORLD 

An unforgiving planet where the sun is about to rise and will not set for another four years; where an ancient peasant hierarchy still rules a society equipped with the highest technology; where the people are dependent on visiting ships as they are on the very air that they breathe; home for some, but for Jan Kulozik it is an eternal prison. 

And when the ships don't come, Jan finds himself at the centre of an epic struggle for power...and survival. 

Wheelworld is the second visionary volume in Harry Harrison's phenomental To the Stars trilogy."

HOMEWORLD

Granada SF paperback, 1980. Cover illustration by Peter Gudynas.

"HOMEWORLD IS HEAVEN ON EARTH 

IF YOU DON'T ASK QUESTIONS... 

Homeworld is stable at last, hundreds of years after the collapse of the 20th Century economy. For the millions of proles, life is still a grim ordeal, but for the lucky few, like Engineer Jan Kulozik, there is every kind of luxury. Except one. On Homeworld, where everything and everyone is monitored by the faceless power of government, there is no freedom. 

Jan Kulozik knew nothing of the Resistance; he probably didn't want to. But suddenly, he is part of it. And running for his life... 

The first volume in Harry Harrison's epic To the Stars trilogy, Homeworld is one of the most stark and compelling visions of the future since 1984."

CAPELLA'S GOLDEN EYES

Granada / Panther SF paperback, 1982. Cover illustration by
Peter Gudynas.

"For over a century, the human colonists on the planet Gaia have prospered under the guidance of the M'threnni. But when David arrives in the capital Helixport and makes contact with the aliens, he begins to learn the terrifying truth about them. From that moment on he is in mortal danger, for the M'threnni, far from being silent benefactors, may turn out to be the deadliest of cruel dictators..."

DIMENSION OF MIRACLES

Panther Science Fiction paperback, 1977. Front cover illustration
by Peter Gudynas.

"When Thomas Carmody wins the jackpot in the Intergalactic Sweepstakes, he is whisked off to galactic headquarters to claim his prize in person. But when he arrives in outer space, the only problem is - how does he get back to Earth? The odyssey home takes him through the most extraordinary worlds, populated by extraordinary people. And over all looms the terror of his personal predator - a monster of many guises, designed and created specially for devouring Carmodys..."

THE GODS LOOK DOWN

Panther SF paperback, 1978. Cover illustration by Peter Gudynas.

"ANCIENT DREAM...FUTURE MACHINE 

When an ancient religious text reveals that nuclear physics existed on medieval Old Earth and that a machine capable of creating a new species of man appeared in Biblical times, the scientists on Earth IVn are completely mystified. It seemed that someone or something had been tampering with history and using humanity for its own secret purpose. 

Only Queghan, the intrepid Myth Technologist could hope to unveil this extraordinary enigma. For queghan possessed the power to cross the twin barriers of time and space, to penetrate the distant past and link it to the mythical future..."

BUG JACK BARRON

Panther SF paperback, 1979 reprint. Cover illustration by
Peter Gudynas.

"ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS EVER WRITTEN... 

The place: America. The time: not so very far in the future. Marijuana's legal and advertised on TV; politics are more screwed-up than ever; there's a black separatist state of Mississippi. Against this backdrop, Jack Barron, anarchic mass-media man and heroic womanizer, uncovers a conspiracy of evil cloaking a horrific secret. His choice is agonising. Should he throw in his lot with the conspiracy and gain the greatest prize anyone could hope for? Or should he use his power to blow the story open - and the world apart...? 

Vivid, brutal, erotic and chillingly plausible, Bug Jack Barron has been hailed as a masterpiece and condemned as 'depraved'. The reader must make up his own mind."

THE MARTIAN INCA

Panther SF paperback, 1978. Cover illustration by Peter Gudynas.

"BRAIN-BLAST ON MARS 

When a Russian spacecraft carrying soil samples from Mars crashes on a remote Bolivian village, the Indians who salvage it fall into a mysterious comatose condition. Only two recover, and on re-awakening, they are conscious of a strange new awareness of themselves and the world outside. Julio, indeed, believes himself to be the Inca - the divine imperial ruler - reborn. 

Meanwhile, up in space a manned American vessel is on its way to Mars. After the 240 million mile voyage, tension on the ship is high and when at last Mars is reached, the deadly soil adds an extra dimension to an already explosive situation... 

What constituent of the Martian soil is causing its literally mind-blowing effects? The answer may be the missing clue to a vital discovery about Man's evolutionary potential..."