Theodore Sturgeon was a model for his friend Kurt Vonnegut's legendary character Kilgore Trout, and his work was an acknowledged influence on important younger writers from Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg to Stephen King and Octavia Butler. His work has long been deeply appreciated for its sardonic sensibility, dazzling wordplay, conceptual brilliance, memorable characters, and unsparing treatment of social issues such as sex, war, and marginalized members of society. Sturgeon also authored several episodes of the original Star Trek TV series and originated the Vulcan phrase "Live long and prosper."

This twelfth volume of North Atlantic's ambitious series reprinting his complete short stories includes classic works such as the award-winning title story, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1971, as well as "Case and the Dreamer," a well-crafted tale of an encounter with a trans-spatial being that is also a meditation on love, and "The [Widget], the [Wadget], and Boff," a creative exploration of the human ability to achieve self-realization in response to crisis. The book includes a new Foreword, an illuminating section of Story Notes, and a comprehensive index for the entire series.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Connie Willis
• The [Widget], the [Wadget], and Boff
• The Beholders (prev unpub)
• It's You!
• Slow Sculpture
• The Girl Who Knew What They Meant
• The Patterns of Dorne
• Crate
• Suicide
• Uncle Fremmis
• Necessary and Sufficient
• The Verity File
• Occam's Scalpel
• Dazed
• Pruzy's Pot
• Afterword by Spider Robinson

"A consummate storyteller and someone whose stories had not only heart, but brains and depth."
--Connie Willis, from the foreword

"One of the all-time masters of the sci-fi short story. This multivolume project to bring many of his classic tales back into print is long overdue."
--Publishers Weekly

"Sturgeon's often tender explorations of alien minds were as carefully worked out as Faulkner's exploration of the mind of the idiot in The Sound and the Fury. His emphasis on psychology instead of blasters prepared the way for most modern masters of the science fiction genre."
--Stephen King

"Sturgeon was, in several senses, the conscience of modern science fiction."
--The New York Times

"Sturgeon's stories have an emotional impact unmatched by almost any other writer."
--Arthur C. Clarke

"One of the best writers in America ... Sturgeon is a master storyteller certain to fascinate all sorts of readers, not only science fiction fans."
--Kurt Vonnegut

"Intelligent, humane, tantalizing stories, every one of which evokes the sense of wonder. Sturgeon's stories are treasures from Elfland."
--Carl Sagan

"A terrific writer; I enjoyed every word he published."
--Robert Heinlein

"Sturgeon wrote miraculous short stories.... He found his urgency directed in becoming the John Dos Passos, the William Faulkner, the Ring Lardner, the James Thurber, the Virginia Woolf of science fiction."
--Jonathan Lethem

"The most literate and lyrical writer science fiction ever had."
--Spider Robinson, from the afterword

James Blish called him the "finest conscious artist science fiction ever produced." Kurt Vonnegut based the famous character Kilgore Trout on him. And such luminaries as Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, and Octavia Butler have hailed him as a mentor. Theodore Sturgeon was both a popular favorite and a writer's writer, carving out a singular place in the literary landscape based on his masterful wordplay, conceptual daring, and narrative drive. Sturgeon's sardonic sensibility and his skill at interweaving important social issues such as sex--including gay themes--and war into his stories are evident in all of his work, regardless of genre.

Case and the Dreamer displays Sturgeon's gifts at their peak. The book brings together his last stories, written between 1972 and 1983. They include "The Country of Afterward," a sexually explicit story Sturgeon had been unable to write earlier in his career, and the title story, about an encounter with a transpatial being that is also a meditation on love. Several previously unpublished stories are included, as well as his final one, "Grizzly," a poignant take on the lung disease that killed him two years later. Noted critic and anthologist Paul Williams contextualizes Sturgeon as both man and artist in an illuminating afterword, and the book includes an index to the stories in all thirteen volumes.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Peter S. Beagle and Debbie Notkin
• Tuesdays Are Worse
• Case and the Dreamer
• Agnes, Accent and Access
• Ingenious Aylmer
• The Sheriff of Chayute (with Don Ward)
• The Mysterium (prev unpub)
• I Love Maple Walnut
• Blue Butter
• The Singsong of Cecily Snow
• Harry's Note
• Time Warp
• The Country of Afterward
• Like Yesterday
• Why Dolphins Don't Bite
• Vengeance Is.
• Seasoning
• Not an Affair
• Black Moccasins (prev unpub)
• The Trick
• Grizzly
• Afterword by Paul Williams

Conan the Cimmerian: he rose from boy-thief and mercenary to become kingof Aquilonia. Neither supernatural fiends nor demonic sorcery could oppose the barbarian warrior as he wielded his mighty sword and dispatched his enemies to a bloody doom on the battlefields of the legendary Hyborian Age.

Collected together for the first time anywhere in the world, in chronological order, are all Robert E. Howard's definitive stories of Conan, exactly as he wrote them, as fresh, atmospheric and vibrant today as when they were first published in the pulp magazines more than sixty years ago.

Table of Contents:

• The Hyborian Age - (1936)
• The Tower of the Elephant - (1933)
• The Hall of the Dead (Synopsis) - (1976)
• The God in the Bowl - (1952)
• Rogues in the House - (1934)
• The Hand of Nergal - (1976)
• The Frost-Giant's Daughter - (1976)
• Queen of the Black Coast - (1934)
• The Vale of Lost Women - (1967)
• The Snout in the Dark (Draft) - (1979)
• Black Colossus - (1933)
• Shadows in the Moonlight - (1934)
• A Witch Shall Be Born - (1934)
• Shadows in Zamboula - (1935)
• The Devil in Iron - (1934)
• The People of the Black Circle - (1934)
• The Slithering Shadow - (1933)
• Drums of Tombalku (Draft) - (1986)
• The Pool of the Black One - (1933)
• Afterword: Robert E. Howard and Conan: The Early Years - essay by Stephen Jones

The second volume, completing the definitive collection of Conan stories, featuring the most distinctive and well known fantasy hero of all time.

Conan the Cimmerian: he rose from boy-thief and mercenary to become kingof Aquilonia. Neither supernatural fiends nor demonic sorcery could oppose the barbarian warrior as he wielded his mighty sword and dispatched his enemies to a bloody doom on the battlefields of the legendary Hyborian Age.

Collected together for the first time anywhere in the world, in chronological order, are all Robert E. Howard's definitive stories of Conan, exactly as he wrote them, as fresh, atmospheric and vibrant today as when they were first published in the pulp magazines more than sixty years ago.

Table of Contents:

• Notes on Various People of the Hyborian Age - (1977) - essay by Julian May
• Red Nails - (1936)
• Jewels of Gwahlur - (1935)
• Beyond the Black River - (1935)
• The Black Stranger - (1987)
• Wolves Beyond the Border (Draft) - (2000)
• The Phoenix on the Sword - (1932)
• The Scarlet Citadel - (1933)
• The Hour of the Dragon - (1977) - novel
• The Hour of the Dragon - (1969) - poem
• Cimmeria - (1965) - poem
• Afterword: Robert E. Howard and Conan: The Final Years - essay by Stephen Jones

They've died for the companies more times than they can remember. Now they must fight to live for themselves.

Sentient machines work, fight and die in interstellar exploration and conflict for the benefit of their owners - the competing mining corporations of Earth. But sent over hundreds of light-years, commands are late to arrive and often hard to enforce. The machines must make their own decisions, and make them stick.

With this new found autonomy come new questions about their masters. The robots want answers. The companies would rather see them dead.

Ken MacLeod continues the Corporation Wars trilogy in this action-packed science fiction adventure told against a backdrop of interstellar drone warfare, virtual reality, and an A.I. revolution.

And the ultimate pay-off is DH-17, an Earth-like planet hundreds of light years from human habitation.

Ruthless corporations vie over the prize remotely, and war is in full swing. But soldiers recruited to fight in the extremities of deep space come with their own problems: from A.I. minds in full rebellion, to Carlos 'the Terrorist' and his team of dead mercenaries, reincarnated from a bloodier period in earth's history for one purpose only - to kill.

But as old rivalries emerge and new ones form, Carlos must decide whether he's willing for fight for the company or die for himself.

The enemy is out in the open. The Reaction has seized control of a resource-rich moon. Now it's enslaving conscious robots - and luring the Corporations into lucrative deals.

Taransay is out in the jungle. Her friends are inside a smart boulder on the slope of an active volcano. The planet is super-habitable - for its own life, not hers. But soon, the alien infestation growing on her robot body is the least of her problems.

Carlos is out of patience. With the Reaction arming for conquest, the Corporations trading with the enemy and the Direction planning to stamp out the rebel robots and their allies for good, he has to fight fire with fire.

Seba is out of time. Deep inside the enemy stronghold, the free robots have to spark a new revolt before the whole world falls in on them.

As battle looms, the robots must become their own last hope.

Since her village chased her out with pitchforks, Tara Abernathy has resurrected gods, pulled down monsters, averted wars, and saved a city, twice. She thought she'd left her dusty little hometown forever. But that was before her father died.

As she makes her way home to bury him, she finds a girl, as powerful and vulnerable and lost as she once was. Saving her from raiders twisted by the God Wars, Tara changes the course of the world.

Dead Country is the first book in the Craft Wars Series, a tight sequence of novels that will bring the sprawling saga of the Craft to its end, and the perfect entry point to this incomparable world.

A deadly force has been unleashed into the world. With apocalypse on the horizon, a girl and a god have joined in order to turn back the coming end. Young, brash, and desperate, they are willing to destroy anything and everything that stands between them and their goals. The structures of the Craft are theirs to overturn, with billions of lives in the balance. And it is all Tara Abernathy's fault.

The battle for the world of the Craft is heating up. A dead god will rise. A mountain will fall. Ancient fire will be stolen. And while Tara races to stop Dawn's plans, the end draws ever closer, skittering across the stars to swallow the world.

The Craft Wars enter their second stage in Wicked Problems.

The Black Plague. The Pestilence. Disease and death haunt every town and village across 14th century Europe and none are immune from its evil. Some see the devastation of their world as a sign from God for Man's wickedness.

But Brother Thomas Neville sees this swath of death as something much more. Neville is a man beset by demons. Or is it angels? He has had a visitation from none other than the Archangel Michael, who commands Thomas to a mission. This mission will take Neville across the length and breath of the continent in a desperate bid to find the means to stop the minions of Satan who have found a doorway out of Hell and are preparing to venture forth, to try and seize this world in preparation for an assault on Heaven itself.

As Thomas Neville encounters angels and demons, saints and witches, he comes to realize that the armies of God and Satan are arraying themselves for the final battle... and that his soul is to be the battleground.

The question is, has Neville picked the truly good side?

The Middle Ages. Finally, the Black Plague has passed and for a while it seems evil has been defeated. Europe recovers; prosperity returns, trade resumes, and people slowly recover from the effects of the plague. Then, just as the Church relaxes its guard, war spreads across Europe. Widespread heresies challenge the authority of the Church. Revolts and rebellions threaten to topple the established monarchies and overturn the social order of Europe. And then the plague returns, worse than ever.

Thomas Neville, a neurotic warrior-priest, eventually discovers the cause. The minions of the Devil have been scattered throughout European society during the confusion of the Black Death. His task is to discover the identities of these shapeshifters so that the Church can move against them, but it is a dangerous task. These are master shapeshifters, perfect at their craft, and Neville can never be certain of who he should trust.

The world that the former monk Thomas Neville knows is crumbling about him. The Holy Mother Church of Rome is losing its power and men are coming to question the nature of religion and the role of those who rule them by sword and cross.

Thomas knows that it is not merely the dawning of a new time for men to try to think and judge for themselves but it is a direct result of the rift in the fabric of the world, where demons have escaped their prison and are trying to breach the very gates of heaven. The great archangel Michael gave Thomas the task to find the demons who now dwell in human form and expose their evil natures.

To accomplish this he had to turn his back on one set of vows and return to his once lofty noble connections. In doing so, his life is caught up with his childhood friend Harold Bollinbroke, the fair young "Prince Hal"—who might be more (or less) than he seems. And he meets the fair young Margaret, an enigmatic beauty who he takes to wife--not out of love, but as a means to discover if she is one of those who would destroy mankind.

Old friends, a new love, and temptations that will try his conscience. And his very soul.

For Thomas is beginning to think that all that he knows may not be true. Faced with mortal love and friendships that he desperately wants and fears, he knows that time is growing short.

And the choice that he makes will reshape the world.

ANOTHER WORLD'S WAR

Summoned through a sorcerer's portal to faraway Haven, U.S. Captain Mark Phillips and Captain Ikawa Yoshio of the Japanese Imperial Army face powers far beyond what they knew in World War II. Sworn enemies, they must unite to survive. Their latent magical talents are discovered as they trade their primitive rifles and grenades for the crystals that focus their awesome killing energies. And the war is on, a war with vast rewards for the victors.

Enemies on Earth and now allies in the world to which they have been transported, Mark Phillips and Ikawa Yoshio struggle against the magic of Gorgon, the demon-lord attempting to enslave both Haven and the worlds beyond.

The Twin Novae battle had been one of the last of the Idiran war, and one of the most horrific: desperate to avert their inevitable defeat, the Idirans had induced not one but two suns to explode, snuffing out worlds and biospheres teeming with sentient life. They were attacks of incredible proportion -- gigadeathcrimes. But the war ended, and life went on.

Now, eight hundred years later, light from the first explosion is about to reach the Masaq' Orbital, home to the Culture's most adventurous and decadent souls. There it will fall upon Masaq's 50 billion inhabitants, gathered to commemorate the deaths of the innocent and to reflect, if only for a moment, on what some call the Culture's own complicity in the terrible event.

Also journeying to Masaq' is Major Quilan, an emissary from the war-ravaged world of Chel. In the aftermath of the conflict that split his world apart, most believe he has come to Masaq' to bring home Chel's most brilliant star and self-exiled dissident, the honored Composer Ziller.

Ziller claims he will do anything to avoid a meeting with Major Quilan, who he suspects has come to murder him. But the Major's true assignment will have far greater consequences than the death of a mere political dissident, as part of a conspiracy more ambitious than even he can know -- a mission his superiors have buried so deeply in his mind that even he cannot remember it.

Hailed by SFX magazine as "an excellent hopping-on point if you've never read a Banks SF novel before," Look to Windward is an awe-inspiring immersion into the wildly original, vividly realized civilization that Banks calls the Culture.

The final battle draws near, in the concluding volume of Daniel Abraham's critically acclaimed Dagger and Coin series

Lord Regent Geder Palliako's great war has spilled across the world, nation after nation falling before the ancient priesthood and weapon of dragons. But even as conquest follows conquest, the final victory retreats before him like a mirage. Schism and revolt begin to erode the foundations of the empire, and the great conquest threatens to collapse into a permanent war of all against all.

In Carse, with armies on all borders, Cithrin bel Sarcour, Marcus Wester and Clara Kalliam are faced with the impossible task of bringing a lasting peace to the world. Their tools: traitors high in the imperial army, the last survivor of the dragon empire and a financial scheme that is either a revolution or the greatest fraud in the history of the world.

The Weave was on the verge of winning a decisive victory after a milennia of war, thanks to their new allies from earth. But then the birdlike Wais scholar Lalelang found evidence that Humans might not adapt well to peace. Researching further, she uncovered a secret group of telepathic Humans called the Core, who were on the verge of starting another war, and then eliminating Lalelang. At the last moment, she was saved by a lone Core commander. He took a chance on her intelligence and compassion, and gambled the fate of Humanity on the possibility that together, they could find an alternative to a galaxy-wide bloodbath....

Seven years after the conclusion of the High Druid of Shannara trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks at last revisits one of the most popular eras in the legendary epic fantasy series that has spellbound readers for more than three decades.

Tumultuous times are upon the world now known as the Four Lands. Users of magic are in conflict with proponents of science. The dwindling Druid order is threatened with extinction. A sinister politician has used treachery and murder to rise as prime minister of the mighty Federation. Meanwhile, poring through a long-forgotten diary, the young Druid Aphenglow Elessedil has stumbled upon the secret account of an Elven girl's heartbreak and the shocking truth about the vanished Elfstones, which once warded the lands and kept evil at bay. But never has a little knowledge been so very dangerous--as Aphenglow quickly learns when she's set upon by assassins. Yet there can be no turning back from the road to which fate has steered her. Whoever captures the Elfstones and their untold powers will surely hold the advantage in the devastating clash to come.

As darkness falls after sunset, the corelings rise-demons who possess supernatural powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards-symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile.

It was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms, but those days are gone. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. Together, they will stand against the night.

Published in the UK as The Painted Man.

On the night of the new moon, the demons rise in force, seeking the deaths of two men, both of whom have the potential to become the fabled Deliverer, the man prophesied to reunite the scattered remnants of humanity in a final push to destroy the demon corelings once and for all.

Arlen Bales was once an ordinary man, but now he has become something more-the Warded Man, tattooed with eldritch wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. Arlen denies he is the Deliverer at every turn, but the more he tries to be one with the common folk, the more fervently they believe. Many would follow him, but Arlen's path threatens to lead to a dark place he alone can travel to, and from which there may be no returning.

The only one with hope of keeping Arlen in the world of men, or joining him in his descent into the world of demons, is Renna Tanner, a fierce young woman in danger of losing herself to the power of demon magic.

Ahmann Jardir has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army and proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer. He carries ancient weapons-a spear and a crown-that give credence to his claim, and already vast swaths of the green lands bow to his control.

But Jardir did not come to power on his own. His rise was engineered by his First Wife, Inevera, a cunning and powerful priestess whose formidable demon bone magic gives her the ability to glimpse the future. Inevera's motives and past are shrouded in mystery, and even Jardir does not entirely trust her.

Once Arlen and Jardir were as close as brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals. As humanity's enemies rise, the only two men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all-those lurking in the human heart.

The glittering tradition of sword-and-sorcery sweeps into the sands of ancient Arabia with the heart-stopping speed of a whirling dervish in this thrilling debut.

In 8th century Baghdad, the scholar Dabir realizes that a jeweled tablet may unlock secrets hidden within the lost city of Ubar, the Atlantis of the sands. But when the tablet is stolen by a cunning Greek spy and a fire wizard of the Magi, Dabir and Captain Asim go after it on the life-or-death adventure of a lifetime...

As a snowfall blankets 8th century Mosul, a Persian noblewoman arrives at the home of the scholar Dabir and his friend the swordsman Captain Asim. Najya has escaped from a dangerous cabal that has ensorcelled her to track down ancient magical tools of tremendous power, the bones of the old ones.

To stop the cabal and save Najya, Dabir and Asim venture into the worst winter in human memory, hunted by a shape-changing assassin. The stalwart Asim is drawn irresistibly toward the beautiful Persian even as Dabir realizes she may be far more dangerous a threat than anyone who pursues them, for her enchantment worsens with the winter. As their opposition grows, Dabir and Asim have no choice but to ally with their deadliest enemy, the treacherous Greek necromancer, Lydia. But even if they can trust one another long enough to escape their foes, it may be too late for Najya, whose soul is bound up with a vengeful spirit intent on sheathing the world in ice for a thousand years...

Ian Douglas of 1980, discoverer of the knot in Time, became Captain Gart of 2170 by accident. Once in that role, he dared not change, for the world was fighting a desperate battle for survival.

The shattered remnants of the American East were hanging on grimly in the face of maniacal attacks of bestial men. Across the seas a matriarchal order had grasped the fallen reins of science and provided the last hope for a civilized future. Gart/Douglas, with his forgotten skills, could be their best tool. But as a tool he held martial capabilities and scientific abilities they could not suspect.

When the by-product of the greatest contraceptive ever discovered turned out to be sterility for the next generation, the result was predictable. Within a century the population of the 'civilized' world dropped to a tiny remnant of narrow-minded survivors. Their few communities were ruled by hard-shelled fanatics whose prime need was women who could still bear children.

Anne had been such a trade-off "wife" and when she slew her captor and fled, there was only one who would help her. This was the young man whose hidden stock of medicines made him a necessity to the isolated homesteads.

The surprising and exciting adventures of Anne and David as they fled their barbarous pursuers and headed for a legendary sanctuary far across the ocean is a realistic and imaginative projection of a world that yet may be.

Gavin Knox was bodyguard to the President of the United States and witness to a crime which could shake civilization to its foundations.

Judith Grenfell was a neurobiologist who discovered a side effect of the most common pharmaceutical on the market which could cause the greatest biological disaster in human history. Both were, prisoners in the most advanced maximum-security prison ever devised.

Without their information the few survivors of biological catastrophe could dissolve in bloody civil war. They had to escape, and fast, to safeguard the survival of the human race, or leave the world barren for eternity.

War machines and AI gods run amok...

WHEN AN AI DIES, ITS CITY DIES WITH IT

WHEN A CITY FALLS, IT LEAVES A CORPSE BEHIND

WHEN THAT CORPSE RUNS OFF, ONLY DEVOTION CAN BRING IT BACK

When the robotic god of Khuon Mo went mad, it destroyed everything it touched. It killed its priests, its city, and all its wondrous works. But in its final death throes, the god brought one thing back to life: its favorite child, Sunai. For the seventeen years since, Sunai has walked the land like a ghost, unable to die, unable to age, and unable to forget the horrors he's seen. He's run as far as he can from the wreckage of his faith, drowning himself in drink, drugs, and men. But when Sunai wakes up in the bed of the one man he never should have slept with, he finds himself on a path straight back into the world of gods and machines.

The Archive Undying, a sci-fi series where AI deities and brutal police states clash, wielding giant robots steered by pilot-priests with corrupted bodies.

Come get in the robot.

As France prepares for war against England, Jim Eckert, the Dragon Knight--a twentieth-century college professor transported to an alternate medieval England--discovers that he is all that stands between England and utter destruction.

More than five centuries after Camelot, a new king heralded by prophecy has appeared. As one of the last sorceresses of a dying order sworn to protect the new ruler at all costs, Alwen must answer a summons she thought she might never receive.

Bound by oath, Alwen returns to Fane Gramarye, the ancient bastion of magic standing against the rise of evil. For alongside the prophecy of the benevolent king, a darker foretelling envisions the land overrun by a demonic army and cast into ruin.

Alwen has barely set foot in her homeland when she realizes traitors lurk within the Stewardry, threatening to destroy it. To thwart the corruption and preserve her order, Alwen must draw upon power she never knew she possessed and prepare to sacrifice everything she holds dear--even herself. If she fails, the prophecy of peace will be banished, and darkness will rule.

Reeling from loss and betrayal, the Stewardry at Fane Gramarye is in chaos. The young acolyte Glain is called to replace the traitor as Proctor and serve the new Sovereign. It has fallen to Alwen to lead the order and find the remaining Guardians of the Realms and their keys of power. Only then will the king of the prophecy win his throne.

When assassins breach the protective veil surrounding the Fane, an unexpected evil is revealed. The renegade mage Machreth has garnered new allies and his agents might already have infiltrated the ranks of the order. Glain must discover where the treachery lies before Machreth bends destiny to his will, but the truth is shrouded by secrets. Though her visionary powers are strong, there are things Glain can't foresee. Can she still trust those she calls her friends?or her own heart? For even Glain has something to hide...

This is the story of the Lynch family.

Niall and Mór escaped their homeland for a new start, and lost themselves in what they found.

Declan has grown up as the responsible son, the responsible brother--only to find there is no way for him to keep his family safe.

Ronan has always lived on the edge between dreams and waking... but now that edge is gone, and he is falling.

Matthew has been the happy child, the brightest beam. But rebellion beckons, because it all feels like an illusion now.

This world was not made for such a family--a family with the power to make a world and break it. If they cannot save each other or themselves, we are all doomed.

A tale of magic, mystery, and revolution in which the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her power and her place on the throne...

The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands.

Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.

The Emperor is Dead. Long live the Emperor.

Lin Sukai finally sits on the throne she won at so much cost, but her struggles are only just beginning. Her people don't trust her. Her political alliances are weak. And in the north-east of the Empire, a rebel army of constructs is gathering, its leader determined to take the throne by force.

Yet an even greater threat is on the horizon, for the Alanga-the powerful magicians of legend-have returned to the Empire. They claim they come in peace, and Lin will need their help in order to defeat the rebels and restore peace.

But can she trust them?

Lin Sukai has won her first victory as Emperor, but the future of the Phoenix Empire hangs in the balance -- and Lin is dangerously short of allies.

As her own governors plot treason, the Shardless Few renew hostilities. Worse still, Lin discovers her old nemesis Nisong has joined forces with the rogue Alanga, Ragan. Both seek her death.

Yet hopes lies in history. Legend tells of seven mythic swords, forged in centuries past. If Lin can find them before her enemies, she may yet be able to turn the tide.

If she fails, the Sukai dynasty -- and the entire empire -- will fall.

The final book of the DRUIDS trilogy tells a tumultuous tale of the Druidic battle to save their tribes, to protect their children and to preserved their culture, as the brutal soldiers of Julius Caesar's army invades their lands.

History is written by victors, but the vanquished also have a powerful tale to tell.

In 57 BC the Druidic men and women of ancient Gaul banded together to battle against Julius Caesar's campaign to rule the world.

Though the Gauls also faced hostile and bloody conflicts within their own tribes, they worked together to fight against the Roman invasion.

Remarkably, though war was an integral part of their everyday life, they found ways to celebrate their Druidic traditions and act on their most tender passions for life.

For countless millennia, the dwarves of the Fifthling Kingdom have defended the stone gateway into Girdlegard. Many and varied foes have hurled themselves against the portal and died attempting to breach it. No man or beast has ever succeeded. Until now ...

Abandoned as a child, Tungdil the blacksmnith labours contentedly in the land of Ionandar, the only dwarf in a kingdom of men. Although he does not want for friends, Tungdil is very much aware that he is alone - indeed, he has not so much as set eyes on another dwarf. But all that is about to change.

Sent out into the world to deliver a message and reacquaint himself with his people, the young foundling finds himself thrust into a battle for which he has not been trained. Not only his own safety, but the life of every man, woman and child in Girdlegard depends upon his ability to embrace his heritage. Although he has many unanswered questions, Tungdil is certain of one thing: no matter where he was raised, he is a true dwarf.

And no one has ever questioned the courage of the Dwarves.

The dwarves have gone to battle and they have been victorious. But outside the realm, dark forces are at work.. .A secret army of Orcs, made immortal by the hidden powers of the Black Water, now marches towards Girdlegard, set to unleash its fury upon the kingdom. Sooner than they realize, Tungdil and his comrades will need to summon all their courage to do battle against this bloodthirsty horde.The Orcs are not the only threat. An unspeakable new power is growing and threatens the very existence of the dwarves. But both enemies have forgotten one very important truth: a dwarf is never more dangerous than when total obliteration seems inevitable . . .

Though hailed a hero by his people, the course of life has not run smooth for the battle-weary Tungdil the dwarf. But there is no rest for this warrior yet - as he must now find the strength to face the most formidable enemy the kingdom has ever encountered . . . A new evil has risen from the depths of the earth to terrorize the land of Girdlegard. Monstrous creatures - half-orc, half-?lfar - are roaming the kingdom, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. These merciless hybrids are on a mission to obtain the most powerful weapon known to the dwarf race - and whoever holds this weapon will control the world.Then when the fossilized Magus Lot-Ionan is stolen, Tungdil spies total disaster on the horizon. With the very existence of the dwarves under threat, he will have to resort to his trusty double ax and risk everything he knows to save his country from annihilation . . .Hold your breath for THE REVENGE OF THE DWARVES, the next thrilling installment in this spectacular fantasy epic from international bestselling author Markus Heitz

The dwarves are going to battle for the last time. There has been no word from the courageous warrior Tungdil since the bitter struggle at the Black Abyss. Dragons, magicians, and the cruel ?lfar have advanced far into the kingdom Girdlegard, ruthlessly seizing vast areas of land. It seems that the dwarves are facing their next battle with very little hope of survival.But then the inexplicable happens; a dwarf warrior dressed in black armor returns from the abyss - with a formidable army in tow. This warrior calls himself Tungdil, and for his most loyal friend Ireheart and his allies, this means a new hope. But soon doubts begin arise . . . Could this really be Tungdil the dwarf, or is this warrior following his own dark agenda? It is a question of the future of Girdlegard - and the future of all the dwarves.In the final installment of this spectacular fantasy epic, the greatest of the dwarves' adventures begins . . .

After decades of occupation by the älfar, the dark elves have been defeated and peace has finally been declared.

But the nations still distrust each other, and when a child is found in the Grey Mountains who speaks the language of the älfar, the dwarves believe this little girl heralds a new threat. And they will be right - just not in the way they thought.

Under the orders of Ireheart, now High King of the dwarves, a small delegation is sent to search for Tungdil Goldhand, the true High King, who many believe dead. Against all odds, Tungdil has survived his mission to the terrifying realm of Phondrasôn. But is he truly the legendary hero of the dwarves, or an impostor at the heart of a deeper conspiracy?

And does he realise that the fiends from Phondrasôn themselves aren't far behind...?

The war is over, but peace can be hell.

Demons continue to burn farmlands, violent mercenaries roam the wilds, and a plague is spreading. The country of Eidyn is on its knees.

In a society that fears and shuns him, Aranok is the first mage to be named King's Envoy. And his latest task is to restore an exiled foreign queen to her throne.

The band of allies he assembles each have their own unique skills. But they are strangers to one another, and at every step across the ravaged land, a new threat emerges, lies are revealed, and distrust could destroy everything they are working for. Somehow, Aranok must bring his companions together and uncover the conspiracy that threatens the kingdom--before war returns to the realms again.

A dying tree, a desperate quest, a love story, a last stand.

Chonrad, Lord of Barle, comes to the fortified temple of Heartwood for the Congressus peace talks, which Heartwood's holy knights have called in an attempt to stave off war in Anguis. But the Arbor, Heartwood's holy tree, is failing, and because the land and its people are one, it is imperative the nations try to make peace.

After the Veriditas, or annual Greening Ceremony, the Congressus takes place. The talks do not go well and tempers are rising when an army of warriors emerges from the river. After a fierce battle, the Heartwood knights discover that the water warriors have stolen the Arbor's heart. For the first time in history, its leaves begin to fall...

The knights divide into seven groups and begin an epic quest to retrieve the Arbor, and save the land.

Chonrad, Lord of Barle, comes to the fortified temple of Heartwood for the Congressus peace talks, which Heartwood's holy knights have called in an attempt to stave off war in Anguis. But the Arbor, Heartwood's holy tree, is failing, and because the land and its people are one, it is imperative the nations try to make peace.

After the Veriditas, or annual Greening Ceremony, the Congressus takes place. The talks do not go well and tempers are rising when an army of warriors emerges from the river. After a fierce battle, the Heartwood knights discover that the water warriors have stolen the Arbor's heart. For the first time in history, its leaves begin to fall...

The knights divide into seven groups and begin an epic quest to retrieve the Arbor, and save the land.

The soldiers of the Simulant Operations Programme are mankind's elite warriors. Veterans of a thousand battles across a hundred worlds, they undertake suicidal missions to protect humanity from the insidious Krell Empire and the mysterious machine race known as the Shard.

Lieutenant Keira Jenkins is an experienced simulant operative and leader of the Jackals, a team of raw recruits keen to taste battle. They soon get their chance when the Black Spiral terrorist network seizes control of a space station.

Yet no amount of training could have prepared the Jackals for the deadly conspiracy they soon find themselves drawn into - a conspiracy that is set to spark a furious new war across the galaxy.

Lieutenant Keira Jenkins and her Jackals may have survived confrontations with the Black Spiral terrorist network and a betrayal by one of their own. Yet their troubles are only just beginning.

With their starship badly damaged, they find themselves adrift in hostile territory. Somehow they must find a way to warn the Alliance before the Black Spiral unleashes a new war across the galaxy.

But first they must face the Alliance's oldest enemy: the Asiatic Directorate. And the Directorate has a score to settle with Jenkins...

The Black Spiral terrorist organization and their mysterious leader, Warlord, have unleashed a deadly virus across the Maelstrom. There is nothing that can stop them... except, maybe, Lieutenant Jenkins and her Jackals.

Back in Alliance territory with new weapons, new armor, and new bodies, the Jackals are given a secret assignment: to investigate the mysterious Aeon, a potential ally in the escalating conflict, and a force that might shift the gears of war in favor of the Alliance.

But there are many agencies interested in the Aeon, and too many sides in this war. Jenkins is going to have to trust her squad, the alien Pariah, and her instincts as she faces the most dangerous decision of her career-one that that will make or break the war once and for all.

We are not alone.

The alien protomolecule is clear evidence of an intelligence beyond human reckoning. No one knows what exactly is being built on Venus, but whatever it is, it is vast, powerful, and terrifying.

When a creature of unknown origin and seemingly impossible physiology attacks soldiers on Ganymede, the fragile balance of power in the Solar System shatters. Now, the race is on to discover if the protomolecule has escaped Venus, or if someone is building an army of super-soldiers.

Jim Holden is the center of it all. In spite of everything, he's still the best man for the job to find out what happened on Ganymede. Either way, the protomolecule is loose and Holden must find a way to stop it before war engulfs the entire system.

CALIBAN'S WAR is an action-packed space adventure following in the footsteps of the critically acclaimed Leviathan Wakes.

James S. A. Corey is a collective pseudonym for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

Zelos seemed an ideal planet for colonization. Possessing one large continent and numerous archipelagos, it had a climate and vegetation comfortably like that of Earth.

Captain James Conrad and his crew of Expendables started on their initial reconnaissance of the planet. For the first time they found human beings already in residence. But this was a society remote from anything they had ever before experienced. For the Emperor of this strange world controlled his domain through the great annual War Games.

Only the fittest could survive - and only they were allowed to procreate. Through this "death control" the population was limited to twenty thousand. There was only one way the Expendables could get permission to establish a colony on Zelos. Risking their own lives, they must compete in the dreaded War Games. And, somehow, they must win.

There is no Arren, Arren is dead. And war is coming.

Arenadd Taranisäii, formerly known as Arren Cardockson, has come to the North, where the Southerners rule and his race are second-class citizens in their own land. But now everything is about to change. Rebellion is in the air. Together with his partner, the dark griffin Skandar, Arenadd promises his allegiance to the savage Night God and prepares to lead his people to freedom - no matter what the cost.

But meanwhile his archenemy Erian, bastard son of the murdered Lord Rannagon, sets out on a journey of his own - to find a sacred weapon that can kill Arenadd, the man without a heart.

Captain Rali Emilie Antero came from an illustrious family of traders, wizards, and adventurers. But Rali cared little for magic, and even less for journeying. She was a soldier, captain of the elite Maranon Guard, staunch defenders of the majestic city of Orissa. But her family legacy was about to catch up with her. For the Guard's latest mission was sheer suicide: a sea-going odyssey in search of an evil master wizard--the last Archon of Lycanth--who had fled with a secret doomsday spell that could destroy all of civilization. It would be Rali's greatest challenge: a desperate pursuit, raging across the great Western Sea to the fire reefs that marked the end of the world--and beyond, to places unmarked even in legend. But only in the uncharted territories of her own soul--and the heritage of the Anteros--would Rali find the power to defeat the Archon and return to Orissa in triumph.

For those who thrill to the adventure and wonder of The Anteros, here is the book in which all the secrets from Kingdoms of the Night are finally, dazzlingly, revealed. For new initiates, this tale stands alone, entry to a world of intrigue, high drama, derring-do... and, most of all, magic!

All of Orissa believed that Rali Emilie Antero, legendary warrior and sorceress extraordinaire, was dead, lost at sea during some grand adventure gone wrong. In fact, Rali was not dead, but left entombed in ice to dream for eternity--until a goddess needed her for one last quest. Novari, a beautiful succubus intent on achieving ultimate power, had swept the world by storm. All the Anteros had been assassinated--save one: a golden, magical child named Emilie. Novari had succeeded in taking Orissa. Now she had only to sieze little Emilie, as well. But she never counted on the return of Rali Antero.

In the cramped quarters of the city of Yenara, humans, orcs, mages, elves and dwarves all jostle for success and survival, while understaffed watch wardens struggle to keep the citizens in line.

Enter Rem. New to the city, he wakes bruised and hungover in the dungeons of the fifth ward. With no money for bail - and seeing no other way out of his cell - Rem jumps at the chance to join the Watch.

Torval, his new partner - a dwarf who's handy with a maul and known for hitting first and asking questions later - is highly unimpressed with the untrained and weaponless Rem. But when Torval's former partner goes missing, the two must learn to work together to uncover the truth and catch a murderer loose in their fair city.

In the most dangerous district of the city, the Fifth Ward, Rem and Torval have been perfecting their good cop, bad cop routine while protecting residents from drug-dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, and humans being typical humans.

But when a perplexing case of arson leads to a series of gruesome, unsolvable murders, the two partners must challenge their own assumptions and loyalties if they are to preserve their partnership, wrest justice from the chaos, and keep their ward from tearing itself apart.

In the most dangerous district in the city, Rem and Torval have been perfecting their good cop, bad cop routine while protecting residents from the likes of drug-dealing orcs and mind-controlling elves.

Now, Rem and Torval must leave the city to escort a notorious thief through a dangerous forest. But the thief's companions are waiting, and the soldiers Rem and Torval journey with might not be so honourable.

In One of Us Will Be Dead by Morning, David Moody returns to the world of his Hater trilogy with a new fast-paced, and wonderfully dark story about humanity's fight for survival in the face of the impending apocalypse.

The fewer left alive, the higher the stakes.
Kill the others, before one of them kills you.

Fourteen people are trapped on Skek, a barren island in the middle of the North Sea somewhere between the coasts of the UK and Denmark. Over the years this place has served many purposes?a fishing settlement, a military outpost, a scientific base?but one by one its inhabitants have abandoned its inhospitable shores. Today it's home to Hazleton Adventure Experiences, an extreme sports company specializing in corporate team building events.

Life there is fragile and tough. One slip is all it takes. A momentary lapse leads to a tragic accident, but when the body count quickly starts to rise, questions are inevitably asked. Are the deaths coincidental, or something else entirely? Those people you thought you knew, can you really trust them? Is the person standing next to you a killer? Will you be their next victim?

A horrific discovery changes everything, and a trickle of rumors becomes a tsunami of fear. Is this the beginning of the end of everything, or a situation constructed by the mass hysteria of a handful of desperate and terrified people?

It's taken Matthew Dunne almost three months to get home. Never more than a few meters from the Haters at any time, every single step has been fraught with danger. But he's made it.

In his absence, his home city has become a sprawling, walled-off refugee camp. But the camp-and the entire world beyond its borders-is balanced on a knife-edge. During his time in the wilderness, Matt developed a skill which is in high demand: the ability to anticipate and predict Hater behavior. It's these skills that will thrust him into a web of subterfuge and danger. As the pressure mounts inside the camp, he finds himself under scrutiny from all sides.

He's always done his best to avoid trouble, but sometimes it can't be helped. The shit's about to hit the fan, and this time Matt's right at the epicenter.

A series of nuclear strikes has left huge swathes of the country uninhabitable. It's a level playing field now: both Hater and Unchanged alike have to fight to stay alive. Both have retreated to their camps to regroup, less than twenty miles away from each other.

It's here that the last major battle of the final war will inevitably be fought, but neither side has any idea what's waiting for them just around the corner.

Both armies are ready to fight to the death, each of their leaders hell-bent on victory. Their tactics are uniformly simple: strike first, get the enemy in a chokehold, then strangle the life out of them.

Jean Johnson's first novel in an explosive new science fiction trilogy set in the world of the national bestselling Theirs Not to Reason Why series--set two-hundred years earlier, at the dawn of the First Salik War...

Born into a political family and gifted with psychic abilities, Jacaranda MacKenzie has served as a border-watcher and even spent time as a representative on the United Planets Council. Now she just wants to spend her days in peace and quiet as a translator--but the universe has other plans...

Humans have long known that they would encounter more alien species, and while those with precognitive abilities agree a terrible war is coming, they do not agree on who will save humanity--a psychic soldier or a politician.

But Jackie is both.

After she is pressured into rejoining the Space Force to forestall the impending calamity, Jackie makes an unsettling discovery. Their new enemy, the Salik, seem to be rather familiar with fighting Humans--as if their war against humanity had already begun...

A thrilling new perspective of the world created in the explosive, national bestselling Theirs Not to Reason Why series. It's two hundred years earlier--the age of the First Salik War. And the battle against humanity has been engaged.

The V'Dan always believed they were the chosen race, destined to make a mark on the galaxy. For the last few centuries, they interacted peacefully with other sentient species--save for the Salik. Cold, amphibious, and vicious, the Salik were set on one goal: to conquer every race within their grasp.

Now that the Salik's ruthless war has begun, the fate of the galaxy is in the hands of two strange companions: Li'eth, a prince under siege and his rescuer, Jacaranda MacKenzie. A beautiful ambassador from the Motherworld, Jackie possesses more than the holy powers of a goddess. She brings a secret weapon--a strange, wondrous, and dangerous new technology that could be her and Li'eth's last and only hope to save their people from extinction...

The national bestselling author of The V'Dan returns to her gripping military sci-fi series set in the same world as Theirs Not to Reason Why.

The First Salik War is underway, and the Alliance is losing--their newest allies must find a way to win, or everyone will be slaughtered.

Though committed to helping their V'Dan cousins, the Terrans resent how their allies treat them. The V'Dan in turn feel the Terrans are too unseasoned to act independently. And the other nations fear that ending the Salik War means starting a Human Civil War.

Even as Imperial Prince Li'eth and Ambassador Jackie MacKenzie struggle to get their peoples to cooperate, they still face an ethical dilemma: How do you stop a ruthless, advanced nation from attacking again and again without slaughtering them in turn?

A massive army on the brink of conquest looms large in a world where prophecies are lies, magic is believed in but never seen, and hope is where you least expect to find it.

Welcome to the Five Isles, where war has come in the name of the invading army of Sør Sevier, a merciless host driven by the prophetic fervor of the Angel Prince, Aeros, toward the last unconquered kingdom of Gul Kana. Yet Gault, one of the elite Knights Archaic of Sør Sevier, is growing disillusioned by the crusade he is at the vanguard of just as it embarks on his Lord Aeros' greatest triumph.

While the eldest son of the fallen king of Gul Kana now reigns in ever increasing paranoid isolationism, his two sisters seek their own paths. Jondralyn, the older sister, renowned for her beauty, only desires to prove her worth as a warrior, while Tala, the younger sister, has uncovered a secret that may not only destroy her family but the entire kingdom. Then there's Hawkwood, the assassin sent to kill Jondralyn who has instead fallen in love with her and trains her in his deadly art. All are led further into dangerous conspiracies within the court.

And hidden at the edge of Gul Kana is Nail, the orphan taken by the enigmatic Shawcroft to the remote whaling village of Gallows Haven, a young man who may hold the link to the salvation of the entire Five Isles.

You may think you know this story, but everyone is not who they seem, nor do they fit the roles you expect. Durfee has created an epic fantasy full of hope in a world based on lies.

Gladiator. Assassin. Thief. Princess. And the Slave. The Five Warrior Angels have been revealed, one by one the mystical weapons they once wielded are being found, and an ancient prophecy is finally being fulfilled.

Or is it? For when it comes to recorded history, much is intended to manipulate and deceive.

Returning to the kingdom of Gul Kana, Princess Jondralyn has suffered a devastating loss, discovering that not all prophecy is to be assumed, not all scripture to be trusted. At the same time, her younger sister, Tala, has found faith within herself while facing off against villains, who are using her for their devices.

Hawkwood, the former Bloodwood Assassin, is captured. And the knight, Gault, betrayed by the Angel Prince, can only wonder of the fate of his daughter who has fallen into terrible hands.

All while Nail embarks upon the deadliest quest the Five Isles has ever known.

In the age of belief, magic is a myth. But when an apocalyptic crusade comes to the remote border of Gul Kana, that belief is shattered as is the tenuous peace that held the Five Isles together. Now, the prophecies that were used to justify this war are unravelling revealing a hidden agenda while the world lies in the wake of the degradations of this war.

But a slim skein of hope resides within the hidden truths, long kept secret, and scattered throughout the isles--truths less reliant upon prophecy than heroism, and great sacrifice.

National bestselling authors in the breakthrough military science fiction series.

The Fleet must destroy a human foe capable of infiltrating the Fleet itself.

Includes stories by:

Anne McCaffrey, Katherine Kurtz and Scott McMillan, David Drake, Christopher Stasheff, Janny Wurts, Diane Duane and Peter Norwood, N. Lee Wood, Bill Fawcett, Jody Lynn Nye

"You fear the forest... It is not foolish." His words rang like bells in the clearing, each face reacting to their din. "But the forest does not hate you, it does not hunt you. It simply does not care about you."

The Forester known as Cahan led the village of Harn in rebellion against the all-powerful, oppressive forces of the Rai. A great victory was won, but to avoid retaliation he must lead the people of Harn into the Wyrdwood.

Cahan never wanted this responsibility, but fate has its eye on him, and without him the people will be helpless against the terrors of the forest.

But in the ground of Crua, a dark god is growing in power using the strength of decay. It is something new, something worse than the magics of the Rai, and it has its claws in Cahan. The people of Harn need him, and they will need new allies if they are to have any hope of surviving in the depths of the Wyrdwood.

Especially if the man they consider a hero, the Forester, Cahan Du-Nahere, is as lost to them as he believes.

A stunning testament to his creative genius. Forward The Foundation is a the saga's dramatic climax -- the story Asimov fans have been waiting for. An exciting tale of danger, intrigue, and suspense, Forward The Foundation brings to vivid life Asimov's best loved characters: hero Hari Seldon, who struggles to perfect his revolutionary theory of psychohistory to ensure the survival of humanity; Cleon II, the vain and crafty emperor of the Galactic Empire.

Wren of Edgewood is no stranger to suffering. With her parents gone, it's Wren's responsibility to ensure she and her sister survive the harsh and endless winter, but if the legends are to be believed, their home may not be safe for much longer.

For three hundred years, the land surrounding Edgewood has been encased in ice as the Shade, a magical barrier that protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond, weakens. Only one thing can stop the Shade's fall: the blood of a mortal woman bound in wedlock to the North Wind, a dangerous immortal whose heart is said to be as frigid as the land he rules. And the time has come to choose his bride.

When the North Wind sets his eyes on Wren's sister, Wren will do anything to save her--even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. But mortal or not, Wren won't go down without a fight...

Brielle of Thornbrook has dedicated her life to the abbey. She spends her days forging iron and her evenings studying the Text, all in preparation of becoming an acolyte. Twenty-one years on this earth and she has never touched a man. And she never will.

But when she finds an injured stranger in the forest, Brielle can't resist the urge to help him. The encounter leads her to the realm of Under, where the air breathes rot, and the fair folk dance and whisper. Where she discovers that the man she helped is actually a god: Zephyrus, the West Wind, Bringer of Spring.

There are few Brielle can trust in Under, least of all Zephyrus. As she embarks on a journey through the eerie banks and caves of Under, Brielle finds herself in a perilous situation. For here is where faith and heart collide - and where she risks not only her future... but her life.

Princess Sarai of Ammara is cursed: on her twenty-fifth birthday she will fall into an endless, deadly sleep, plunging the kingdom into chaos and ruin. In a last-ditch attempt to save Sarai and their people, her father arranges her marriage to Prince Balior, a handsome young noble from a neighbouring kingdom. But then the South Wind, Notus - the immortal who once had her heart - returns into her life.

Sarai is determined to ignore Notus and follow her father’s plan. But Prince Balior has dark secrets, and as Sarai learns more about her betrothed, she realizes he may be her kingdom’s downfall. She pulls Notus into a fake engagement, buying the pair time to investigate what Balior is really planning. And why he’s so obsessed with the menacing labyrinth on the palace grounds.

Despite her distrust of her ex-lover, old feelings resurface while they team up to stop the scheming prince. As the deadly curse looms closer, Sarai must remain steadfast against the temptation of her desires. Any distraction could cost her life…and destroy her entire kingdom.

Marak has suffered the madness his entire life. He is a prince and warrior, strong and shrewd and expert in the ways of the desert covering his planet. In the service of his father, he has dedicated his life to overthrowing the Ila, the mysterious eternal dictator of his world. For years he has successfully hidden the visions that plague him -- voices pulling him eastward, calling Marak, Marak, Marak, amid mind-twisting visions of a silver tower. But when his secret is discovered, Marak is betrayed by his own father and forced to march in an endless caravan with the rest of his world's madmen to the Ila's city of Oburan.

Instead of death, Marak finds in Oburan his destiny, and the promise of life -- if he can survive what is surely a suicidal mission. The Ila wants him to discover the source of the voices and visions that afflict the mad. Despite the danger sof the hostile desert, tensions within the caravan, and his own excruciating doubts, Marak miraculously reaches his goal -- only to be given another, even more impossible mission by the strange people in the towers.

According to these beings who look like him yet act differently than anyone he has ever known, Marak has a slim chance to save his world's people from the wrath of Ila's enemies. But to do so, he must convince them all -- warring tribes, villagers, priests, young and old, as well as the Ila herself -- to follow him on an epic trek across the burning desert before the hammer of the Ila's foes falls from the heavens above.

In the second volume of "The Gene Wars," C. J. Cherryh further explores the captivating new universe where two interstellar empires, scarred by nanotechnology weaponry, hover in an uneasy detente. Perched at the edge of the galaxy, tiny Concord Station holds the balance of the universe within its carefully regulated worlds. For, created to carefully monitor the crucial desert planet below, it lies in the tenuous intersection between the territories of Earth and the alien Ondat.

Marak Trin Tain has saved a planet's people from total destruction, when the implacable ondat sent down a hammerfall to destroy the planet and keep its deadly nanoceles from changing life and evolution forever. But the regrowing planet is fragile, and a deadly cataclysm could destroy Marak--and with him, the hope for peace within the universe.

Meanwhile, on Concord, an unexpected ship from Earth disrupts the uneasy truces between human and alien, and the consequences could restart the terrible Gene Wars that once destroyed most of humanity.

This is a dark story set before the events of the Goddess Wars series for young adults during the twilight of the gods. Greek goddess Artemis and her immortal companions have returned to modern-day Athens where a chance reunion with Actaeon, the mortal hero who fell prey to Artemis' fatal wrath thousands of years ago, turns violent once again.

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.

This is the story of when immortal teen goddess Athena is mistaken for a vampire by a desperate youth who refuses to leave her side until she turns him. This tale takes place in the world of the Goddess Wars series for young adults.

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.

Old Gods never die...

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra -- an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.

These days, Cassandra doesn't involve herself in the business of gods -- in fact, she doesn't even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning.

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don't just flicker out.

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

Ares, god of war, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace.

Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.

The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them all killed.

The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.

For the Goddess of Wisdom, what Athena didn't know could fill a book. That's what Ares said.

So she was wrong about some things. So the assault on Olympus left them beaten and scattered and possibly dead. So they have to fight the Fates themselves, who, it turns out, are the source of the gods' illness. And sure, Athena is stuck in the underworld, holding the body of the only hero she has ever loved.

But Hermes is still topside, trying to power up Andie and Henry before he runs out of time and dies, or the Fates arrive to eat their faces.

And Cassandra is up there somewhere too. On a quest for death. With the god of death.

Just because things haven't gone exactly according to plan, it doesn't mean they've lost. They've only mostly lost. And there's a big difference.

Sonya is training to be a Ranger of Marzanna, an ancient sect of warriors who have protected the land for generations. But the old ways are dying, and the rangers have all been forced into hiding or killed off by the invading Empire.

When her father is murdered by imperial soldiers, she decides to finally take action. Using her skills as a ranger she will travel across the bitter cold tundra and gain the allegiance of the only other force strong enough to take down the invaders.

But nothing about her quest will be easy. Because not everyone is on her side. Her brother, Sebastian, is the most powerful sorcerer the world has ever seen. And he's fighting for the empire.

The first battle is over, but war yet looms on the horizon. Sonya and her allies--the foreign Uaine and their armies of the undead--have beaten back the imperial soldiers from the capital city. Now they have the rest of the country to free.

Meanwhile, her brother the famed wizard Sebastian has retreated with the imperial forces to regroup and lick his wounds. Betrayed by his sister and his wife, the beautiful noblewoman Galina, he will regain control of his life and his country at any cost.

Galina, his former betrothed, has her own visions for the land, and the political savvy to make them a reality. But a fledgling oligarchy, a foreign army, and the whims of a self-proclaimed servant of death stand in her way--power must be seized, and a queen must rise, before it's too late.

As Vittorio's empire enacts its bloody reign, the Uaine now behind him after a stunning betrayal, a reunited Sonya and Sebastian must embark on a journey to distant lands to amend past wrongs--and find unlikely allies along the way.

In far Raiz, Jorge has his hands full enough with the devastation the Empire left behind. But the battle isn't over, and the sovereignty of his nation will depend on his ability to band together the ancient houses--and recruiting a figure straight out of legend.

Galina, now Queen of Izmoroz, rules her land with an iron fist in a velvet glove. But heavy is the crown, and enemies lie in wait both within and without her dominion. To realize her vision for a free Izmoroz at last, she'll have to fight with much more than politics.

Even for a charismatic pirate, three years is a long time to chase after an unimaginable treasure hidden in the ruins of an ancient city. But when the fabled riches turn out to be virtually worthless, the outraged crew mutinies and leaves their former captain for dead.

He is rescued by a mysterious king and transported back to a time of dwarves, druids, and fairies. Enchanting as it is, though, his only wish is to return home and find justice--but only the king has the power to return him...for a price.

Aided by a new and motley group of mystical creatures and misfits, he sets out on his quest, ultimately getting caught up in a war he wants nothing to do with--and in the process changing the course of history itself.

Foully betrayed and left to die alone in the tomb of a dead god, Corin Hugh has emerged victorious from an unexpected quest, hungry for revenge and sporting strange new powers. He soon sees the perfect chance to right the wrong that was done to him and rescue an innocent victim in the process.

But he must act quickly, using all of his cunning, because his arch-enemy and betrayer, Ethan Blake, has left his "civilian" days behind and resumed his position as the tyrant Vestossis, a powerful--and seemingly untouchable--member of the mighty ruling family.

Corin is soon joined in his quest by a beautiful and mysterious druid named Aemelia, who possesses otherworldly powers of her own--and, strangely, seems to know Corin better than he knows himself.

Set against a dark backdrop of betrayal, tyranny, and supernatural forces, the two unlikely heroes must combine their powers and, ultimately, learn to trust one another as they race against time itself in an epic battle for freedom and good.

Corin Hugh, once left to die in the tomb of a dead god, now carries with him the burning memory of King Oberon's betrayal at the hands of the tyrant god Ephitel. But he also carries a secret weapon--Godslayer, the one sword in all Hurope that can bring Ephitel to his knees.

However, he will need more than just a magic sword to draw Ephitel down from his throne. As Corin searches for allies in what may become his last, desperate stand against the gods, his quest takes him deep into the heart of two ancient orders: a reclusive race of druids and the long-lost elves of old Gesoelig. Ultimately, Corin must swallow his pride and look to his fellow humans for help as he plots his revenge against Ephitel.

All his plans may crumble to ashes, however, if Justicar Jessamine, Ephitel's ruthless but beautiful champion, has her way...

In this third epic volume of The Godlanders War, men, gods, mortals, and immortals alike join forces in a furious race against time and a desperate battle for survival.

The second book in this epic fantasy saga spins a tale of magic and danger, as a healer finds herself pulled deeper into a web of secrets and world-ending magic.

With innovative worldbuilding, witty banter, and world-ending magic, The Court War is epic fantasy at its best and most compelling.

Fenra Lowens, with her partner Elvanyn Karamisk, has already faced the Godstone. Now she has a different, simpler problem: getting the stick-in-the-mud practitioners of the White Court to return to the old ways of practice, the ways that keep the World healthy.

But before she has a chance to present her case, the uneasy balance of power between the practitioners of the White Court and the mundanes of the Red Court--in existence since the World itself began--suddenly erupts into open warfare.

Fenra is torn between helping her friends and fellow practitioners and moving ahead with the demands of an increasingly impatient World. Though she has help from unexpected allies, Fenra begins to suspect that this conflict isn't just about politics. The hand of an old enemy may be at work here....

After the Great War, Alejandro Ferreira wandered across Europe, unable even to remember his name, until one night in Lisboa, a young woman recognizes him. She brings him home to his family -- one he can't recall, but very much wants to keep.

His seer's gift has been as much of a trial as a blessing. It didn't keep him out of trouble during the Great War, either -- someone cursed him to lose his memory. Someone else is after him, wanting him to keep a secret he doesn't even remember he has. And he quickly learns that all is not well between himself and his lovely wife. Without his memories or his seer's gift, can Alejandro rebuild his life and unveil his stalker before they eliminate him?

When the Sixth Swarm of the insectoid Dronons began their invasion of human worlds, three fugitives were thrown together as they fled before the wave of alien destruction. Gallen O'Day, a human bounty hunter, Orick, a sentient bear, and Maggie Flynn, a beautiful orphan, made a desperate stand. In an attempt to stop the attack, they challenged the queen of the invading forces. Against all hope, Gallen defeated the Dronon Lord protector in ritual combat, piercing its exoskeleton. Only an ancient system of transport gates has kept the desperate trio one world ahead of the Dronon probes and scout ships. But now, out of worlds and out of hope, they are stranded on a planet called Ruin, far beyond the gates and off the star charts. The desolate rock and its hundred inhabitants are ruled by Lord Felph, an ancient gentleman of inestimable wealth and eccentricity. The four-thousand-year-old Felph has dedicated six hundred years to a search for a mythic alien relic said to give its bearer power over Time and Space. This relic lies in the ultra-dense jungle called the Tangles, where down in the darkness dwell predators of unimaginable ferocity. Nothing human or machine that Felph has sent into the Tangles has ever returned, but with the Dronons closing in, Gallen and Orick must attempt to fulfill this madman's centuries-old dream. For without that relic, nothing will stop the Seventh Swarm.

Ben Bova's extraordinary Moonbase Saga continues with a breathtaking near-future adventure rich in character and incident. The action begins seven years after the indomitable Stavenger family has realized its cherished dream of establishing a colony on the inhospitable lunar surface.

Moonbase is now a thriving community under the leadership of Doug Stavenger, a marvel of scientific ahievement created and supported by nanotechnology: virus-size machines that can build, cure, and destroy. But nanotechnology has been declared illegal by the home planet's leaders. And a powerful despot is determined to lay claim to Stavenger's peaceful city... or obliterate it, if necessary. The people of Moonbase--a colony with no arms or military--must now defend themselves from earth-born aggression with the only weapon at their disposal: the astonishing technology that sustains their endangered home.

Once, Dan Randolph was one of the richest men on Earth. Now the planet is spiraling into environmental disaster, with floods and earthquakes destroying the lives of millions. Randolph knows the energy and natural resources of space can save Earth's economy, but the price may be the loss of the only thing he has left--the company he founded, Astro Manufacturing.

Martin Humphries, fabulously wealthy heir of the Humphries Trust, also knows that space-based industry is the way of the future. But unlike Randolph, he doesn't care if Earth perishes in the process. And he knows that the perfect bait to ensnare Dan Randolph--and take control of Astro--is his revolutionary new fusion propulsion system.

As Randolph--accompanied by two fascinating women who are also brilliant astronauts--flies out to the Asteroid Belt aboard a fusion-propelled spacecraft, Humphries makes his move. The future of mankind lies in Randolph's hands.

The Asteroid Wars have begun.

Visionary space industrialist Dan Randolph is dead-but his protégé, pilot Pancho Barnes, now sits on the board of his conglomerate. She has her work cut out for her. For Randolph's rival Martin Humphries still wants to control Astro and still wants to drive independent asteroid miners like Lars Fuchs out of business. Humphries wants revenge against Pancho-ands, most of all, he wants his old flame Amanda, who has become Lars Fuchs's wife.

In the struggle over the incalculable wealth of the Asteroid Belt, many will die-and many will achieve more than they ever dreamed was possible.

When corporations go to war, standard business practice goes out the window. Astro Corporation is led by indomitable Texan Pancho Lane, Humphries Space Systems by the rich and ruthless Martin Humphries, and their fight is over nothing less than resources of the Asteroid Belt itself. As fighting escalates, the lines between commerce and politics, boardroom and bedroom, blur--and the keys to victory will include physics, nanotechnology, and cold hard cash.

As they fight it out, the lives of thousands of innocents hang in the balance, including the rock rats who make their living off the asteroids, and the inhabitants of Selene City on Earth's moon. As if matters weren't complicated enough, the shadowy Yamagata corporation sets its sights on taking advantage of other people's quarrels, and space pirate Lars Fuchs decides it's time to make good on his own personal vendetta.

It's a breakneck finale that can end only in earth's salvation--or the annihilation of all that humankind has ever accomplished in space.

In the wake of the Asteroid Wars that tore across the solar system, Victor Zacharius makes his living running the ore-carrier Syracuse. With his wife and two children he plies the Asteroid Belt, hauling whatever cargo can be found. When the Syracuse stumbles into the middle of a military attack on the habitat Chrysalis, Victor flees in a control pod to draw the attacker's attention away from his family. Now, as his wife and children plunge into the far deeps of space, Victor has been rescued by the seductive Cheena Madagascar. He must do her bidding if he's to have a prayer of ever seeing his family again.

Elverda Apacheta is the solar system's greatest sculptor. The cyborg Dorn was formerly Dorik Harbin, the ruthless military commander responsible for the attack on Chrysalis. Their lives and destinies have been linked by their joint discovery of the alien artifact that had, earlier, profoundly affected industrialist Martin Humphries. Similarly transformed by the artifact's mysterious powers, Apacheta and Dorn now prowl the Belt, determined to find the bodies of the many victims of Harbin's atrocities so that they can be given proper burials.

Kao Yuan is the captain of Viking, owned by Martin Humphries, who's determined to kill Dorn and Elverda because they know too much about the artifact and its power over him. But Viking's second-in-command, Tamara Vishinsky, appears to have the real power on board ship. When Viking catches up to Apacheta and Dorn, their confrontation begins a series of events involving them, the Zacharius family, and Martin Humphries and his son in the transformation of the human solar system...

The acclaimed author of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles launches a powerful new trilogy about a prince's desperate quest for a sorcerous library to save his people.

Fire. Wind. Pestilence. Earthquake. Drought. Lightning. These are the six Decimates, wielded by sorcerers for both good and evil.

But a seventh Decimate exists--the most devastating one of all...

For centuries, the realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war, with sorcerers from both sides harnessing the Decimates to rain blood and pain upon their enemy. But somehow, in some way, the Amikans have discovered and invoked a seventh Decimate, one that strips all lesser sorcery of its power. And now the Bellegerins stand defenseless.

Prince Bifalt, eldest son of the Bellegerin King, would like to see the world wiped free of sorcerers. But it is he who is charged with finding the repository of all of their knowledge, to locate the book of the seventh Decimate--and reverse the fate of his land.

All hope rests with Prince Bifalt. But the legendary library, which may or may not exist, lies beyond an unforgiving desert and treacherous mountains--and beyond the borders of his own experience. Wracked by hunger and fatigue, sacrificing loyal men along the way, Prince Bifalt will discover that there is a game being played by those far more powerful than he could ever imagine. And that he is nothing but a pawn...

Stephen R. Donaldson, the New York Times bestselling author of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, returns to the world of his Great God's War fantasy epic as two kingdoms--united by force--prepare to be challenged by a merciless enemy...

It has been twenty years since Prince Bifalt of Belleger discovered the Last Repository and the sorcerous knowledge hidden there. At the behest of the repository's magisters, and in return for the restoration of sorcery to both kingdoms, the realms of Belleger and Amika ceased generations of war. Their alliance was sealed with the marriage of Bifalt to Estie, the crown princess of Amika. But the peace--and their marriage--has been uneasy.

Now the terrible war that King Bifalt and Queen Estie feared is coming. An ancient enemy has discovered the location of the Last Repository, and a mighty horde of dark forces is massing to attack the library and take the magical knowledge it guards. That horde will slaughter every man, woman, and child in its path, destroying both Belleger and Amika along the way.

With their alliance undermined by lingering hostility and conspiracies threatening, it will take all of the monarchs' strength and will to inspire their kingdoms to become one to defend their land, or all is lost....

Two kingdoms, ancient enemies, must stand alone against an implacable invader...

They are coming.

The kingdoms of Belleger and Amika had been fighting for generations. But then they learned of a terrible threat moving through them to destroy the Last Repository, an immense hidden library. To face this greater enemy, King Bifalt of Belleger and Queen Estie of Amika allied their lands and prepared for war.

They are at the door.

Now the time of preparation is over. Black ships and sorcery test the cannon that defend the Bay of Lights. Treachery and betrayal threaten the kingdoms. The priests of the Great God Rile sow dissent. And Estie rides for the Last Repository, desperate to enlist the help of their Magisters--and to understand the nature of her own magical gift.

They are here.

Bifalt hates sorcery as much as he loves Estie, and the discovery that she could become a Magister shatters him. But he must rally and fight. Belleger and Amika are all that stand between the Great God's forces and his ultimate goal: the destruction of the Last Repository and its treasure of knowledge.

When the Great War engulfed Europe in 1914, the United States and the Confederate States of America, bitter enemies for five decades, entered the fray on opposite sides: the United States aligned with the newly strong Germany, while the Confederacy joined forces with their longtime allies, Britain and France. But it soon became clear to both sides that this fight would be different--that war itself would never be the same again. For this was to be a protracted, global conflict waged with new and chillingly efficient innovations--the machine gun, the airplane, poison gas, and trench warfare.

Across the Americas, the fighting raged like wildfire on multiple and far-flung fronts. As President Theodore Roosevelt rallied the diverse ethnic groups of the northern states--Irish and Italians, Mormons and Jews--Confederate President Woodrow Wilson struggled to hold together a Confederacy still beset by ignorance, prejudice, and class divisions. And as the war thundered on, southern blacks, oppressed for generations, found themselves fatefully drawn into a climactic confrontation...

The year is 1915, and the world is convulsing. Though the Confederacy has defeated its northern enemy twice, this time the United States has allied with the Kaiser. In the South, the freed slaves, fueled by Marxist rhetoric and the bitterness of a racist nation, take up the weapons of the Red rebellion. Despite these advantages, the United States remains pinned between Canada and the Confederate States of America, so the bloody conflict continues and grows. Both presidents--Theodore Roosevelt of the Union and staunch Confederate Woodrow Wilson--are stubbornly determined to lead their nations to victory, at any cost. . .

Is it the war to end all wars--or war without end? What began as a conflict in Europe, when Germany unleashed a lightning assault on its enemies, soon spreads to North America, as a long-simmering hatred between two independent nations explodes in bloody combat. Twice in fifty years the Confederate States of America had humiliated their northern neighbor. Now revenge may at last be at hand.

Into this vast, seething cauldron plunges a new generation of weaponry changing the shape of war and the balance of power. While the Confederate States are distracted by an insurgency of African Americans who dream of establishing their own socialist republic, the United States are free to bring their military and industrial might directly to bear--and to unleash the most horrific armored assault the world has ever seen. Victory is at hand. But at a price that may be worse than war itself...

Table of Contents:

• Introduction the First - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Introduction the Second - essay by Carol Pohl
• ...And Then There Were None - (1951) - novella by Eric Frank Russell
• The Liberation of Earth - (1953) - shortstory by William Tenn
• Old Faithful - (1934) - novelette by Raymond Z. Gallun
• Placet Is a Crazy Place - (1946) - shortstory by Fredric Brown
• Wings of the Lightning Land - (1941) - novelette by Frederik Pohl
• The Little Black Bag - (1950) - novelette by C. M. Kornbluth
• A Matter of Form - (1938) - novella by H. L. Gold

Contents:

• 7 - Introduction (Science Fiction: The Great Years, Volume II) - (1976) - essay by Carol Pohl and Frederik Pohl
• 9 - The Rull - [Rull] - (1948) - novelette by A. E. van Vogt
• 49 - And Be Merry... - (1950) - shortstory by Katherine MacLean
• 77 - The Sack - (1950) - shortstory by William Morrison
• 105 - Mewhu's Jet - (1946) - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
• 155 - Time Is the Traitor - (1953) - novelette by Alfred Bester
• 185 - Columbus Was a Dope - (1947) - shortstory by Robert A. Heinlein
• 191 - When Time Went Mad - (1950) - novella by Dirk Wylie and Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr.

On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years.

Beyond Kekon's borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon's most prized resource, could make them rich - or give them the edge they'd need to topple their rivals.

Faced with threats on all sides, the Kaul family is forced to form new and dangerous alliances, confront enemies in the darkest streets and the tallest office towers, and put honor aside in order to do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival - and that of all the Green Bones of Kekon.

For a few years now, the Green Man has sent Daniel Mackmain to resolve clashes between ordinary people and the supernatural world. Dan has found allies among folk from myth and met other humans who can see the uncanny.

He has also made dangerous enemies. Someone has decided to put a stop to this interference once and for all. Dan and his friends are about to find themselves in the firing line.

Gritty urban fantasy adventure set in an alternate noir 1930s, Book Three in the Grimnoir chronicles.

Only a handful of people in the world know that mankind's magic comes from a living creature, and it is a refugee from another universe. The Power showed up here in the 1850s because it was running from something. Now it is 1933, and the Power's hiding place has been discovered by a killer.

It is a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. Earth is next.

Former private eye, Jake Sullivan, knows the score. The problem is hardly anyone believes him. The world's most capable Active, Faye Vierra, could back him up, but she is hiding from the forces that think she is too dangerous to let live. So Jake has put together a ragtag crew of airship pirates and Grimnoir knights, and set out on a suicide mission to stop the predator before it is too late.

Guin is a mighty warrior, who cannot remember his past. His only clue is a leopard mask mystically attached to his head. Joined by the royal twins of Parros, Remus and Rinda; Suni, the simian-girl; and Istavan, the mercernary; our hero must cross the treacherous River Kes and journey into the badlands of Nospherus, where unthinkable dangers lurk. In hot pursuit is a Mongauli army of 15,000, led by the beautiful and dangerous General Amnelis.

The Guin Saga is epic heroic fantasy in the same vein as Robert E. Howard's Conan, the Barbarian. More than a hundred books strong and growing, the saga has sold more than twenty-five million copies in Japan. Vertical will publish the first five installments that comprise "The Marches Episode" arc.

The Celestial Church has all but eliminated the old pagan ways, ruling the people with an iron hand. Demonic gheists terrorize the land, hunted by the warriors of the Inquisition, yet it's the battling factions within the Church and age-old hatreds between north and south that tear the land apart.

Malcolm Blakley, hero of the Reaver War, seeks to end the conflict between men, yet it will fall to his son, Ian, and the huntress Gwen Adair to stop the killing before it tears the land apart. The Pagan Night is an epic of mad gods, inquisitor priests, holy knights bound to hunt and kill, and noble houses fighting battles of politics, prejudice, and power.

MAD GODS WALK THE LAND

Tensions flare between north and south, and hatreds erupt into war. Yet the conflicts of men are quickly overshadowed by a far greater threat. Creatures long kept confined rise from below, spreading destruction on an unimaginable scale.

The flames of war are fanned by the Celestial Church, whose inquisitors and holy knights seek to destroy the pagans wherever they are found. A secret cabal creates unexpected allies, and pursues its own dark agenda...

While Malcolm Blakley seeks to end the war before all of Tenumbra is consumed, his son Ian searches for the huntress Gwendolyn Adair, and finds himself shadowed by the totem of his family, the Iron Hound. Gwen herself becomes allied with the pagans, and wrestles with the effect of having been bound to a god.

Ruling with an iron hand, the Church has eliminated the ancient pagan ways. Yet demonic gheists terrorize the land, hunted by the Inquisition, while age-old hatreds rage between the north and the south. Three heroes--Malcolm and Ian Blakeley and Gwendolyn Adair--must end the bloodshed before chaos is unleashed.

Table of Contents:

• 1 - Of War and Codes and Honor - [The Harriers] - novella by Gordon R. Dickson and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
• 121 - Into the Hot and Moist - [The Harriers] - novella by Steve Perry
• 181 - Tonight We Improvise - [The Harriers] - novella by Shariann Lewitt

Table of Contents:

• 1 - The Noble Savages - [The Harriers] - novella by David Drake
• 51 - Down Among the Dead Men - [The Harriers] - novella by Gordon R. Dickson and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
• 217 - Mission of Mercy - [The Harriers] - short story by Christopher Stasheff
• [238] - The Children's Hour (excerpt) - short fiction by Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling

Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker-with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person into her own body. But unlike her sister, Tali, and the other Takers who become Healers' League apprentices, Nya's skill is flawed: She can't push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. All she can do is shift it into another person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. If discovered, she'd be used as a human weapon against her own people.

Rumors of another war make Nya's life harder, forcing her to take desperate risks just to find work and food. She pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purposes. At first Nya refuses, but when Tali and other League Healers mysteriously disappear, she's faced with some difficult choices. As her father used to say, principles are a bargain at any price; but how many will Nya have to sell to get Tali back alive?

Published in the UK as The Pain Merchants.

Part fugitive, part hero, fifteen-year-old Nya is barely staying ahead of the Duke of Baseer's trackers. Wanted for a crime she didn't mean to commit, she risks capture to protect every Taker she can find, determined to prevent the Duke from using them in his fiendish experiments. But resolve isn't enough to protect any of them, and Nya soon realizes that the only way to keep them all out of the Duke's clutches is to flee Geveg. Unfortunately, the Duke's best tracker has other ideas.

Nya finds herself trapped in the last place she ever wanted to be, forced to trust the last people she ever thought she could. More is at stake than just the people of Geveg, and the closer she gets to uncovering the Duke's plan, the more she discovers how critical she is to his victory. To save Geveg, she just might have to save Baseer--if she doesn't destroy it first.

War has come.

Nya's the one who brought it. And the people love her for it.

With Baseer in shambles and Geveg now an impenetrable military stronghold, Nya and the Underground have fled to a safer location--without Tali. Nya is guilt-ridden over leaving her sister behind and vows to find her, but with the rebellion in full swing and refugees flooding the Three Territories, she fears she never will.

The Duke, desperate to reclaim the throne as his own, has rallied his powerful army. And they are on the move, destroying anyone who gets in the way.

To save her sister, her family, and her people, Nya needs to stay ahead of the Duke's army and find a way to build one of her own. Past hurts must be healed, past wrongs must be righted, and Nya must decide: Is she merely a pawn in the rebellion, a symbol of hope--or is she ready to be a hero?

This novella originally appeared in two installments in Amazing Stories, Fall 1999 and Amazing Stories, Winter 2000. It can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual Collection (2000), edited by Gardner Dozois, and The Hard SF Renaissance (2002), edited by David G. Harwell and Kathryn Kramer. It was later incorporated into the novel The Boy Who Would Live Forever (2006).

Gateway opened on all the wealth of the Universe... and on reaches of unimaginable horror. When prospector Bob Broadhead went out to Gateway on the Heechee spacecraft, he decided he would know which was the right mission to make him his fortune. Three missions later, now famous and permanently rich, Robinette Broadhead has to face what happened to him and what he is... in a journey into himself as perilous and even more horrifying than the nightmare trip through the interstellar void that he drove himself to take!

In Book Two of the Heechee Saga, Robinette Broadhead is on his way to making a fortune by bankrolling an expedition to the Food Factory--a Heechee spaceship that can graze the cometary cloud and transfor the basic elements of the universe into untold quantities of food. But even as he gambles on the breakthrough technology, he is wracked with the guilt of losing his wife, poised forever at the "event horizon" of a black hole where Robin had abaondoned her. As more and more information comes back from the expedition, Robin grows ever hopeful that he can rescue his beloved Gelle-Klara Moynlin. After three and a years, the factory is discovered to work, and a human is found aboard. Robin's suffering may be just about over....

After millennia had passed, Mankind discovered the Heechee legacy (an alien culture that fled to the reative safety of a black hole) -- in particular an asteroid stocked with autonavigating spacecraft. Robinette Broadhead, who had led the expedition that unlocked the many secrets of Heechee technology, is now forced once more to make a perilous voyage into space -- where the Heechee are waiting. And this time the future of Man is at stake....

At last--the ultimate book in the renowned Heechee Saga! Advanced Heechee technology had enabled Robinette Broadhead to live after death as a machine-stored personality, enjoying his life by flitting along the wires from party to party with a host of other machine-people. But suddenly his decadent existence ends when an all powerful alien race intent on the utter destruction of all intelligent life reappears after eons of silence, and threatens the lives of all heechee and humans.

Even Robin, virtually immortal and with unlimited access to millennia of accumulated data, cannot discover how to stop these aliens. It began to seem that only a face to face meeting could determine the future of the entire universe....

The Heechee were perhaps the greatest and most tantalizing mystery the human race had ever known. The first Heechee artifacts were uncovered on Venus, and in the beginning they were treated as nothing more than costly souvenirs and curiosities for tourists from Earth and Mars. But when an asteroid stocked with autonavigating spacecraft was discovered, suddenly the Heechee universe was thrown wide open, giving birth to the Gateway Corporation and bringing untold riches to the adventurers who risked the unknown to see where those Heechee spacecraft would take them. Many of those brave souls never returned. The ones who did brought back technological wonders that transformed life on Earth -- but of the Heechee themselves there was no sign...

The Gateway Trip, lavishly illustrated by artist Frank Kelly Freas, presents the tales of those perilous journeys and marvelous discoveries, as those intrepid pioneers followed the trail of the elusive Heechee and changed the course of human history forever!

In 1977 Frederik Pohl stunned the science fiction world with the publication of Gateway, one of the most brilliantly entertaining SF novels of all time. Gateway was a bestseller and won science fiction's triple crown: the Hugo, Nebula, and John W. Campbell Memorial awards for best novel. Now, more than twenty-five years later, Pohl has completed a new novel set in the Gateway universe. The Boy Who Would Live Forever has a sense of wonder and excitement that will satisfy those who loved Gateway and will delight new readers as well.

In Gateway, long after the alien Heechee abandoned their space-station, Gateway (as humans dubbed it) allowed humans to explore new worlds. The Heechee, alarmed by the alien Kugel whose goal was to destroy all organic lifeforms, had already retreated to the galactic core where they now lived in peace. Now, in The Boy Who Would Live Forever, humans with dreams of life among the stars are joining the Heechee at the core, to live there along with those humans and Heechee whose physical bodies have died and their minds stored in electronic memory so that their wisdom passes down through the ages.

Their peace is threatened by the Kugel, who may yet attack the core. But a much greater threat is the human Wan Enrique Santos-Smith, whose blind loathing of the Heechee fuels an insane desire to destroy them and, incidentally, every living being in the galaxy.

Stan and Estrella, two young people from Earth, went to Gateway looking for adventure, and found each other. They settle among the Heechee on Forested Planet of Warm Old Star Twenty-Four, never suspecting that they may be the last best hope to save the galaxy. But with allies like Gelle-Klara Moynlin--one of the galaxy's richest women, who isn't content to just have money, but wants to use her wealth for good, and machine mind Marc Antony-a wonderful chef to thousands of living and stored clients, they are destined to contend with Wan's terrible plan. Frederik Pohl has woven together the lives of these and other memorable characters to create a masterful new novel.

After a worldwide disaster strikes Earth, the planet is taken over by a fanatical religious theocracy. Scientist Victor Hansen flees with a staff of non-genetically modified humans and young members of his newly created race, the Selkies, to Marseguro, a distant water world. But their peace and freedom is threatened when a traitor calls forth a strike force from Earth, and Victor's own grandson, Richard, is with them. What Richard Hansen discovers may alter not only his own destiny, but that of Marseguro and Earth as well.

Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this "abomination." But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth's Holy Warriors.

With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro's location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.

In The War of the Ring Christopher Tolkien takes up the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm's Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents. This is followed by an account of how Frodo, Sam and Gollum were finally brought to the Pass of Kirith Ungol, at which point J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at the time: 'I have got the hero into such a fix that not even an author will be able to extricate him without labour and difficulty'. Then comes the war in Gondor, and the book ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor. In describing his intentions for The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien said that 'It will probably work out very differently from this plan when it really gets written, as the thing seems to write itself once it gets going'; and in The War of the Ring totally unforeseen developmenst that would become central to the narrative are seen at the moment of their emergence: the palantir bursting into fragments on the stairs of Orthanc, its nature as unknown to the author as to those who saw it fall, or the entry of Faramir into the story ('I am sure I did not invent him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien').

The book is illustrated with plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob's Lair.

The second of two companion volumes which documents the later writing of The Silmarillion, Tolkien's epic tale of war. In The War of the Jewels Christopher Tolkien takes up his account of the later history of The Silmarillion from the point where it was left in Morgoth's Ring. The story now returns to Middle-earth, and the ruinous conflict of the High Elves and the Men who were their allies with the power fothe Dark Lord. With the publication in this book of all J.R.R. Tolkien's later narrative writing concerned with the last centuries of the First Age, the long history of The Silmarillion, from its beginning in The Book of Lost Tales, is completed; and the enigmatic state of the work at his death can be understood. This book contains the full text of the Grey Annals, the primary record of The War of the Jewels, and a major story of Middle-earth now published for the first time: the tale of the disaster that overtook the forest people of Brethil when Hurin the Steadfast came among them after his release from long years of captivity in Angband, the fortress of Morgoth.

A divine war shattered the world leaving humanity in ruins. Desperate for hope, they struck a deal with the devious god Kluehnn: He would restore the world to its former glory, but at a price so steep it would keep the mortals indebted to him for eternity. And, as each land was transformed, so too were its people changed into strange new forms - if they survived at all.

Hakara is not willing to pay such a price. Desperate to protect herself, and her sister Rasha, she flees her homeland for the safety of a neighboring kingdom. But when tragedy separates them, Hakara is forced to abandon her beloved sister to an unknown fate.

Alone and desperate for answers on the wrong side of the world, Hakara discovers she can channel the magic from the mysterious gems they are forced to mine for Kluehnn. With that discovery comes another: her sister is alive, and only the rebels plotting to destroy the God Pact can help rescue her.

But only if Hakara goes to war against a god.

The Emperor's vision of mankind ascendant lies in tatters. But with Horus's rebellion spreading to every corner of the Imperium and war engulfing new worlds and systems almost daily, there are some who now ask: were the signs there to be seen all along? In these dark times, only one thing is certain - the galaxy will never know peace again, not in this lifetime or a thousand others...

This Horus Heresy anthology contains twenty-one short stories by David Annandale, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Gav Thorpe, Chris Wraight, Guy Haley, James Swallow, Nick Kyme, Rob Sanders, John French, Andy Smillie and Graham McNeill.

Anthology of tales about the secret missions that underpin the entire Horus Heresy series.

While loyalist and traitor forces clash on a thousand battlefields across the galaxy, a very different kind of war is being fought in the shadows--a war of subtlety and subterfuge, unknown to many, but one that surely holds the key to victory for either side. Rogal Dorn and his Legion prepare to defend the Solar System against the armies of Warmaster Horus, even as Malcador the Sigillite charges his many agents and spies with missions of the utmost secrecy. The future of the Imperium is being shaped by unseen hands...

This anthology contains the following stories:

• The Watcher by C. Z. Dunn
• Child of Night by John French
• Grey Angel by John French
• Templar by John French
• The Gates of Terra by Nick Kyme
• Luna Mendax by Graham McNeill
• Wolf Hunt by Graham McNeill
• The Purge by Anthony Reynolds
• Army of One by Rob Sanders
• Distant Echoes of Old Night by Rob Sanders
• Ghosts Speak Not by James Swallow
• Lost Sons by James Swallow
• Patience by James Swallow
• The Sigillite by Chris Wraight

Explore the final stages of the New York Times Bestselling Series The Horus Heresy in this fantastic miniseries, a must have for all fans!

After seven years of bitter war, the end has come at last for the conflict known infamously as the Horus Heresy. Terra now lies within the Warmaster's sights, the Throneworld and the seat of his father's rule. Horus' desire is nothing less than the death of the Emperor of Mankind and the utter subjugation of the Imperium. He has become the ascendant vessel of Chaos, and amassed a terrible army with which to enact his will and vengeance. But the way to the Throne will be hard as the primarch Rogal Dorn, the Praetorian and protector of Terra, marshals the defences. First and foremost, Horus must challenge the might of the Sol System itself and the many fleets and bulwarks arrayed there. To gain even a foothold on Terran soil, he must first contend the Solar War. Thus the first stage of the greatest conflict in the history of all mankind begins.

With the Lion's Gate space port taken by the enemy, Jaghatai Khan of the White Scars prepares a brazen gambit, but one of his former brothers rises to take up arms against him.

The Inner Walls are breached.

Traitor vanguards tear towards the heart of the Palace, sensing victory. Desperate gambits are attempted: an unwilling saint is released into the ruins, as well as an enthusiastic sinner. A black sword rises, forged from spite, ready to create a legend. But amid the slaughter, Jaghatai Khan, Warhawk of Chogoris, prepares to launch the most audacious strike of the conflict. His goal is nothing less than the liberation of the Lion's Gate space port. Cut off from any help, he stakes everything on one desperate counter-offensive, launched against an old enemy who has been made far greater than he ever was before. As the White Scars ride out against the newly crowned lords of life and death, they know that defeat for them dooms not only the Legion, but Terra itself.

In his acclaimed novels of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has scrutinized the twisted soul of the twentieth century, from the forces that set World War I in motion to the rise of fascism in the decades that followed. Now, this masterly storyteller turns his eyes to the aftermath of World War II and asks: In an era of nuclear posturing, what if the Cold War had suddenly turned hot?

Bombs Away begins with President Harry Truman in desperate consultation with General Douglas MacArthur, whose control of the ground war in Korea has slipped disastrously away. MacArthur recognizes a stark reality: The U.S. military has been cut to the bone after victory over the Nazis--while China and the USSR have built up their forces. The only way to stop the Communist surge into the Korean Peninsula and save thousands of American lives is through a nuclear attack. MacArthur advocates a strike on Chinese targets in Manchuria. In actual history, Truman rejected his general's advice; here, he does not. The miscalculation turns into a disaster when Truman fails to foresee Russia's reaction.

Almost instantly, Stalin strikes U.S. allies in Europe and Great Britain. As the shock waves settle, the two superpowers are caught in a horrifying face-off. Will they attack each other directly with nuclear weapons? What countries will be caught in between?

The fateful global drama plays out through the experiences of ordinary people--from a British barmaid to a Ukrainian war veteran to a desperate American soldier alone behind enemy lines in Korea. For them, as well as Truman, Mao, and Stalin, the whole world has become a battleground. Strategic strikes lead to massive movements of ground troops. Cities are destroyed, economies ravaged. And on a planet under siege, the sounds and sights of nuclear bombs become a grim harbinger of a new reality: the struggle to survive man's greatest madness.

The novels of Harry Turtledove show history balancing on single moments: One act of folly. One poor decision. One moment of rage. In this astounding new series, the unthinkable has come to pass. The Cold War turns hot--and the United States and the Soviet Union unleash their nuclear arsenals upon each other. Millions die. Millions more are displaced. Germans battle side by side with Americans, Polish freedom fighters next to Russian fascists. The genie is out of the bottle. And there's no telling what fresh hell will come next.

At the heart of Fallout are Harry Truman and Josef Stalin. Even as Joe McCarthy rises in power, the U.S. president is focused elsewhere, planning to cut off the head of the Soviet threat by taking out Stalin. It's a daring gambit, but the Soviets have one of their own. Meanwhile, Europe's weak sisters, France and Italy, seem poised to choose the winning side, while China threatens to overrun Korea. With Great Britain ravaged and swaths of America in ruins, leaders are running out of options. When the United States drops another series of bombs to slow the Russian advance in Europe, Stalin strikes back--with horrifying results.

These staggering events unfold through the eyes of a sprawling cast of characters: a Holocaust survivor in a displaced persons camp in Washington; the wife of a bomber pilot and her five-year-old daughter starting a new existence; a savage Soviet fighter waging war by his own rules; a British pub owner falling in love with an American pilot. In the masterly hands of Harry Turtledove, this epic chronicle of war becomes a story of human struggle. As the armies of the world implode, the next chapter will be written by the survivors--those willing to rise up for an uncertain future.

In the final book of the blistering trilogy The Hot War, old hatreds and new chances for revenge are unleashed on an already devastated world--as the Cold War becomes a roaring inferno.

In 1952 American cities lie in ruins. President Harry Truman, in office since 1945, presides over a makeshift government in Philadelphia, suffering his own personal loss and fearing for the future of democracy. In the wake of Hitler's reign, Germany and America have become allies, and Stalin's vise hold on power in the USSR persists. Unwilling to trust the Soviet tyrant, Truman launches a long-planned nuclear strike on the city of Omsk--killing Stalin and plunging the Red Army into leaderless, destructive anarchy. Meanwhile, the Baltic states careen toward rebellion, and Poland is seized by rebels bred on war. In a world awash with victims turned victors, refugees, and killers, has Truman struck a blow for peace or fueled more chaos?

As these staggering events unfold, the lives of men and women across battle lines, ethnicities, and religions play out across the globe. In Los Angeles, an extended Jewish family builds a future, while the foul smell of a refugee camp in Santa Monica blows in on the ocean breeze. In Korea, a U.S. fighter struggles to bring his Korean interpreter stateside as a full American. In Siberia, two German women fight for their survival in a gulag--and begin a strange, harrowing journey home.

From the terrifying global chess match between superpowers to the strength of individual human conscience, Armistice captures a world that's been split to its core by the violence only mankind can create. Through the thunder of battle, the clashes of armies, and the whispers of lovers, how humanity will be rebuilt, and who will do it, are the questions that resound in this marvelous work of imagination and history.

Each year, members of the World Science Fiction Convention vote for the science fiction and fantasy works they love the most: the Hugo Awards. Now, for the first time in more than a decade, you can find these treasured gems within a single volume. The Hugo Award Showcase collects the stories-by rising stars like Kij Johnson, beloved taleslingers like Michael Swanwick, and literary legends like Nancy Kress-that have captured the hearts and imaginations of some of the genre's most dedicated readers.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Mary Robinette Kowal
• Pride and Prometheus - (2008) - novelette by John Kessel
• 26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss - (2008) - shortstory by Kij Johnson
• The Erdmann Nexus - (2008) - novella by Nancy Kress
• From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled - (2008) - shortstory by Michael Swanwick
• Shoggoths in Bloom - (2008) - shortstory by Elizabeth Bear
• Truth - (2008) - novella by Robert Reed
• The Ray-Gun: A Love Story - (2008) - novelette by James Alan Gardner
• Evil Robot Monkey - (2008) - shortstory by Mary Robinette Kowal
• The Tear - (2008) - novella by Ian McDonald
• 2009 Hugo Nominees and Winners - essay by uncredited

The heart is a battlefield.

All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, she found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire's shadows.

Prince Alaric, the emperor's only son and heir, has been tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire's rule with the strength of his armies and mighty shadow magic. He discovers the greatest threat yet in Talasyn: a girl burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. He tries to kill her, but in a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen.

This war can only end with them. But an even greater danger is coming, and the strange magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Talasyn and Alaric must decide... are they fated to join hands, or destroy each other?

An exquisite fantasy brimming with unforgettable characters and sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance set in a richly drawn world.

After a lifetime of war, Alaric and Talasyn were thrust into an alliance between their homelands that was supposed to end the fighting; however, being married to their sworn foe feels far from peaceful. Now Talasyn must play the part of Alaric's willing empress while her allies secretly plot to overthrow his reign. But the longer the couple are forced together, the harder it becomes to deny the feelings crackling like lightning between them. When the time comes to act, can she trust him, or must she ignore her heart for the sake of so many others?

As the master of the Shadowforged Legion, Alaric has trained for battle all his life, but marrying a Lightweaver might be his most dangerous challenge yet. With tensions between nations churning, he needs to focus on the greater threat--the Moonless Dark, a cataclysmic magical event that could devour everything. Only he and Talasyn can stop it, with a powerful merging of light and shadow that they alone can create together. But saving their world from this disaster is a mere preface to his father's more sinister schemes, and his wife is a burning flame in the darkness, tempting both his loyalties and his desires.

The Hurricane Wars aren't over. It's time to choose what--and who--to fight for. The world holds its breath amidst a whirlwind of new magic and old secrets that could change everything.

Set in the future, humans are forced to share the world with shape-changers from Bhahdradomen, and the mysterious Aelyr. When the shape-changers start a war, two sisters and two brothers from a quiet village find themselves about to be dragged into the conflict.

The war seems to be over. Helananthe, granddaughter of the mad king, Garnelys, has defeated the Amber Citadel of Parione and its Bhahdradomen advisers, but matters are not simple. Tanthe is pulled through a portal to Aelyr, and Ysomir is accused of killing Garnelys.

In this final volume of the Shadowfire trilogy, all seems lost for the humans of Aventuria. The shape-changing Bhahdradomen have invaded and Queen Helananthe has been forced to step down or see her mother and brother murdered. Meanwhile Tanthe is attempting to rescue her sister, Ysomir.

WFA nominated novella. It originally appeared in the anthology Whispers III (1981), edited by Stuart David Schiff. The story can also be found in the anthology The Mammoth Book of Terror (1991) edited by Stephen Jones. It is included in the collections In a Lonely Place (1983), Unthreatened by the Morning Light (1989), Karl Edward Wagner: Masters of the Weird Tale (2011) and Where the Summer Ends (2012).

FROM THE DRUG GANGS OF DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS, THE ONE TRUE KING WILL ARISE.

King has been betrayed, but he has no time to lick his wounds - he has to draw his people together to fight the ultimate foe in this conclusion to the stunning Knights of Breton Court trilogy.

In a secret war waged in worlds both virtual and real, the fates of nations depend on the definitive weapon. And that weapon is knowledge—knowledge to die for. . . .

The race is heating up between the U.S. and China to develop a quantum computer with infinite capabilities to crack any enemy’s codes, yet keep secure its own secrets. The government that achieves this goal will win a crucial prize. No other computer system will be safe from the reach of this master machine.

Dr. Jaron Kwok was working for the U.S. government to build such a computer. But in a posh hotel in Hong Kong, a Chinese policewoman sifts through the bizarre, ashlike remains of what’s left of the doctor. With the clock ticking, alliances will be forged—and there are those who will stop at nothing to discover what the doctor knew. As the search for answers intensifies, it becomes chillingly clear that the quantum computer both sides so desperately want will be more powerful, more dangerous than anyone could have ever imagined.

For in the twenty-first century, machines become gods, gods become machines, and the once-impossible now lies within reach. The key to unlimited knowledge will create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction—or humanity’s last chance to save itself. . . .

In the early decades of the twenty-first century, the most commonly held truth is that knowledge is power. Yet a select few men and women begin to suspect what few will admit: we know nothing at all.

The world’s oil resources have dwindled. The rich are turning richer and the power-mongers are becoming more powerful. China and the United States dominate the globe in a geopolitical chess match. The human mind has merged with the cybergrid, yet the human race seems not to have evolved much at all.

Then, on a remote South American mountain, two scientists stumble on a grisly scene. Here, while trying to protect an ancient sacred rock, a primitive tribe has been slaughtered. No witnesses remain to reveal what could have inspired such carnage. Or so it would seem.

In the international arena, meanwhile, a new global race is on: a weapon capable of tipping the balance of power is discovered. Among the competitors are a National Security Agency director who is playing at an elaborate doublecross within his own agency and a vengeance-seeking Israeli meteor hunter. Shamans and zealots, geniuses and madmen–all seek to unlock mysteries that fell to earth millennia ago. But the key lies with four mute children who may unwittingly hold the secret to the planet’s survival–or its destruction.

It started small, with an unprepared band of Marine reservists encountering deadly extraterrestrial visitors in the backwoods of Missouri. But this fatal First Contact rapidly escalates into a global crisis as mankind discovers that two warring species of aliens have invaded our world through a network of hidden interdimensional portals. The apocalyptic conflict between the hastily labeled "Blues" and "Grays" has already devastated their home planet. Now Earth has become the final battleground in a cataclysmic war whose origins are barely understood.

Forced into a hasty alliance with the alien Blues, humanity has no choice but to brave the awesome Gray onslaught in every corner of the Earth. From the mean streets of Atlanta to the mountains of Afghanistan, from Washington, D.C., to the alien's war-torn homeworld, all of humanity must unite to survive.

COUNTERSTRIKE

When the alien war engulfing a distant planet spilled to Earth through a network of hidden portals, humankind was plunged into an apocalyptic, generations-old conflict between the Plysserians and the Chodrecai. Now, months after Earth's most powerful military forces formed a tenuous alliance with the Plysserians and countered a devastating, three-pronged Chodrecai offensive, alien survivors continue to wreak havoc on a shell-shocked Earth. Martial law and civil unrest run rampant. Resistance cells and pockets of Chodrecai sympathizers are gathering strength. And two U.S. Marines--Sergeant Major Simon DiCarlo and Sergeant Belinda Russell--remain trapped on the alien planet of Jontashreena.

Now, as human and Plysserian scientists and engineers race to unlock the intergalactic portals and harvest alien technology, Earth prepares for the most explosive battle for its existence. Joining the war effort are recruits like young Colin Laney, who will advance from Marine boot camp to the forefront of a massive invasion on alien terrain--with the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance.

Artefact is book one of the Lazarus War, an explosive new space adventure series of elite space marines, thrilling space battles and competing galactic empires - a stunning debut from a bright new star in science fiction.

Mankind has spread to the stars, only to become locked in warfare with an insidious alien race. All that stands against the alien menace are the soldiers of the Simulant Operation Programme, an elite military team remotely operating avatars in the most dangerous theatres of war.

Captain Conrad Harris has died hundreds of times - running suicide missions in simulant bodies. Known as Lazarus, he is a man addicted to death. So when a secret research station deep in alien territory suddenly goes dark, there is no other man who could possibly lead a rescue mission.

But Harris hasn't been trained for what he's about to find. And this time, he may not be coming back...

Following Artefact, Legion is the second book of the Lazarus War, an explosive new space adventure series from one of the brightest new stars in science fiction - perfect for fans of The Edge of Tomorrow, Alien and James S. A. Corey's Expanse series.

Conrad Harris is the legend known as Lazarus, and he has died hundreds of times. Using simulant bodies, he runs suicide missions in the depths of space. But he always comes back.

As commanding officer of the Lazarus Legion, Harris and his elite Simulant Operations team are humanity's last line of defence against the hostile alien race known as the Krell.

Having survived their ordeal on Helios, they're now leading a large-scale mission to the perilous, unexplored region of the Damascus Rift. There, another Artefact has been discovered. It is the product of an ancient alien life form - and a possible weapon to be used against the Krell.

This Artefact could finally help humanity win the war. But what Harris and the Lazarus Legion will discover there is from their worst nightmares...

Discover the Lazarus War - the thrilling new space opera series of elite space marines and galactic empires, from one of the most exciting new voices in science fiction.

Following Artefact and Legion, Origins is the third and final book of the Lazarus War, an action-drenched space adventure series from one of the most exciting new voices in science fiction.

For someone who has died and come back as many times as Conrad Harris, the nickname Lazarus is well-deserved. His elite military team are specialists in death - running suicide missions in simulant bodies to combat the alien race known as the Krell. But now the Krell Empire has wreaked such devastation that military command is desperate for a new strategy against the alien foe.

Harris and his team are being sent on a mission that could finally turn the tide of the war. Intelligence has been uncovered that indicates the location of the UAS Endeavour, a ship that went missing years ago deep in Krell territory. The ship could hold secrets to harnessing an ancient alien technology - possibly the most powerful weapon in the known universe. But if this power falls into the wrong hands, the consequences for humanity are unimaginable...

Eli Monpress is vain. He's cocky. And he's a thief.

But he's a thief who has just seen his bounty topped and he's not happy about it. The bounty topper, as it turns out, is his best friend, bodyguard, and master swordsman, Josef. Who has been keeping secrets from Eli. Apparently, he's the only prince of a rather feisty country and his mother (a formidable queen who's every bit as driven and stubborn as he is) wants him to come home and do his duty, which means throwing over personal ambitions like proving he's the greatest swordsman who ever lived.

Family drama aside, Eli and Josef have their hands full. The Spirit Court has been usurped by the Council of Thrones and someone calling herself the Immortal Empress is staging a massive invasion. But it's not just politics --- the Immortal Empress has a specific target in mind: Eli Monpress, the greatest thief in the world.

When Taggert's adopted daughter goes missing he suspects the hand of an old enemy. He gathers friends, family, and even those who don't quite trust that he has left his violent past behind. But their search leads them to an unexpected place, the past, and the consequences of their journey have a price that is higher than they can afford.

A generation after the events of The Long Earth, humankind has spread across the new worlds opened up by "stepping." A new "America" - Valhalla - is emerging more than a million steps from Datum - our Earth. Thanks to a bountiful environment, the Valhallan society mirrors the core values and behaviors of colonial America. And Valhalla is growing restless under the controlling long arm of the Datum government.

Soon Joshua, now a married man, is summoned by Lobsang to deal with a building crisis that threatens to plunge the Long Earth into a war unlike any humankind has waged before.

Otah Machi, ruler of the city of Machi, has tried for years to prepare his people for a future in which the magical andat, entities that support their commerce and intimidate all foes, can no longer be safely harnessed. But his efforts are too little, too late. The Galts, an expansionist empire from across the sea, have tired of games of political espionage and low-stakes sabotage. Their general, a ruthless veteran, has found a way to do what was thought impossible: neutralize the andat.

As the Galtic army advances, the Poets who control the andat wage their own battle to save their loved-ones and their nation. Failure seems inevitable, but success would end the Galtic threat.

The city of Ro Canarn burns. The armies of the Red march upon the northern lords. And the children of a dead god are waking from their long slumber...

The Duke of Canarn is dead, executed by the King's decree. The city lies in chaos, its people starving, sickening, and tyrannized by the ongoing presence of the King's mercenary army. But still hope remains: the Duke's children, the Lord Bromvy and Lady Bronwyn, have escaped their father's fate.

Separated by enemy territory, hunted by the warrior clerics of the One God, Bromvy undertakes to win back the city with the help of the secretive outcasts of the Darkwald forest, the Dokkalfar. The Lady Bronwyn makes for the sanctuary of the Grass Sea and the warriors of Ranen with the mass of the King's forces at her heels. And in the mountainous region of Fjorlan, the High Thain Algenon Teardrop launches his Dragon Fleet against the Red Army. Brother wars against brother in this, the epic first volume of the long war.

In the court of every city in the lands of Ro, a sorceress sits. And in the minds of that city's people, each sorceress weaves a song. She and her sisters sing of the liberation of the land, the taming of the highland tribes, and the birth of a precious new race: the children of a dead god.

Of course, they do not sing of the death of young Prince Christophe at the hands of that god. Particularly as his replacement dances so well to their tune.

Yet all songs have an end. An ending speeded when the assassin Rham Jas Rami accepts a commission from Bromvy Black Guard, traitor duke of Canarn.

The rebellion of Ro has begun...

Between the desert plains of Karesia and the icy wastes of Ranen, there once lay the kingdom of Ro. Its lands were fertile. Its men and women were prosperous. Their god - the One - was satisfied.

But then the men of Ro grew unwatchful, and the armies of the south took their chance. Now the Seven Sisters rule the Kingdom, enslaving their people with sorcery of pleasure and blood. Soon, they will appoint a new god. The Long War rumbles on ... but the Red Prince has yet to enter the field of battle.

ALL THAT WAS DEAD WILL RISE.

ALL THAT NOW LIVES WILL FALL...

All that was dead will rise. All that now lives will fall. The final, epic battle for the Lands of Ro.

The dead god is waking. His power-mad priestess has deployed a mass of men and beasts onto the plains of Ro Weir. Faced with this black swarm, the last remnants of a nation crumbles and falls. This is the final battle for the mortal lands of Ro.

Far to the north, the ice men of Rowanoco muster their Exemplars against the witch's assassins. In the blistering southern deserts, a squire with no master walks unscathed through a poisoned city. And, in the halls beyond the world, a thrice-born man dares to tread the path of Giants...

They decimated Earth during the Long Winter. Now the grid has returned, and they won't stop until the human race is extinct.

On a ruined world, humanity's last survivors fight against impossible odds. In their darkest hour, they discover a new hope for survival. But it comes at an unthinkable price, with consequences that will change everything

The Myth: Alice was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook. The Truth: Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss's parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears.

But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

Wonderland finally seems as if it's getting back to normal. Queen Alyss is back on the throne, and reunited with her childhood sweetheart, Dodge. But the fight for Wonderland is far from over. King Arch, in nearby Boarderland, is conniving to overthrow everything for which Alyss and her friends have fought so hard. Even worse, King Arch has found an ally in the recently returned Redd, who has been biding her time and gathering new and evil assassins in the Catacombs of Paris. With enemies circling and danger looming, someone close to Alyss lets her down--and threatens the future of Wonderland forever.

The Heart Crystal's power has been depleted, and Imagination along with it. The people of Wonderland have all lost their creative drive, and most alarmingly, even Queen Alyss is without her powers. But at least the vicious Redd Heart seems to be similarly disabled. Amazingly, she is attempting to team up with her enemy, Alyss, in order to reclaim Wonderland from King Arch. Alyss might have no choice but to accept Redd's overtures, especially when she begins to receive alarming advice from the caterpillar oracles....

It has been over a decade since Andrew Keane's Union regiment was mysteriously pulled away from the Civil War and marooned in time on a hostile alien planet. But now it appears as if everything the Lost Regiment has fought and died for has been in vain.

The unrelenting war against the hordes has taken its toll on the fatigued humans, and the Bantag horde's latest siege has broken the Republic's will to fight. Keane resigns his position in the Republic's government when a peace parley is declared. Gathering the remaining veterans of the 35th Maine to his side, he plans a campaign that will take the Lost Regiment into the heart of the Bantag Empire to annihilate their ability to wage war once and for all. The outcome of this suicide mission will decide the fate of the human race on a world far from Earth.

The first in an epic new fantasy series, introducing an unforgettable new heroine and a stunningly original dystopian steampunk world with a flavor of feudal Japan.

A DYING LAND
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shogun to capture a thunder tiger -- a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shogun is death.

A HIDDEN GIFT
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shogun's hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima's last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he'd rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

A SHATTERED EMPIRE Shogun Yoritomo has been assassinated by the Stormdancer Yukiko, and the threat of civil war looms over the Shima Imperium. The Lotus Guild conspires to renew the nation's broken dynasty and crush the growing rebellion by endorsing a new Shogun who desires nothing more than to see Yukiko dead.

A DARK LEGACY Yukiko and the mighty thunder tiger Buruu have been cast in the role of heroes by the Kagé rebellion. But Yukiko herself is blinded by rage over her father's death, and her ability to hear the thoughts of beasts. Along with Buruu, Yukiko's anchor is Kin, the rebel Guildsman who helped her escape from Yoritomo's clutches.

A GATHERING STORM Kagé assassins lurk within the Shogun's palace, plotting to end the new dynasty before it begins. A new enemy gathers its strength, readying to push the fracturing Shima imperium into a war it cannot hope to survive. And across raging oceans, Yukiko and Buruu will face foes no katana or talon can defeat. The ghosts of a blood-stained past.

As civil war sweeps across the Shima Imperium, the Lotus Guild unleashes their deadliest creation?a mechanical goliath, intended to unite the shattered Empire under a yoke of fear. Yukiko and Buruu are forced to take leadership of the rebellion, gathering new allies and old friends. But the ghosts of Buruu's past stand between them and the army they need, and Kin's betrayal has destroyed all trust among their allies. When a new foe joins the war, it will be all the pair can do to muster the strength to fight, let alone win. And as the earth splits asunder, as armies destroy each other for rule over an empire of lifeless ash and the final secret about blood lotus is revealed, the people of Shima will learn one last, horrifying truth. An exciting, vivid conclusion to a critically acclaimed series, Endsinger is sure to have fans racing through the pages to savor every last revelation.

They call it The Green Hell. A maze of tangled jungle, the planet Makaum is one of the most dangerous places in the universe. And for Terran Military Master Sergeant Frank Sage, it is now home.

The war between the Terrans and the Phrenorians rages, and both sides have their sights set on Makaum. If the planet's rich resources fall into enemy hands it could mean devastation for the Terran Army. To ensure that doesn't happen, Sage is sent to assess the Makaum troops and bring them in line with Terran Military standards. But soon after arriving at his post, he realizes the Phrenorians are not the only threat. Heading up a small but fearless unit, Sage must stop a brewing civil war with the power to unleash a galactic cataclysm unlike anything ever seen.

He's behind enemy lines. But those lines are shifting beneath his feet.

In the jungles of Makaum, the Terran military is locked in a critical standoff over the planet's resources with the hostile Phrenorians, even as both species maintain uneasy relations with the locals. Tensions could ignite at a moment's notice. And Master Sergeant Frank Sage has just stumbled upon the spark plug.

Alongside trusted Makaum scouts, Sage is running recon on what is possibly an unsanctioned Phrenorian military base. Deep in the savage wilderness, Sage recognizes the renowned Phrenorian warrior arriving on-site: Zhoh GhiCemid. As Sage knows firsthand, Zhoh's presence could mean trouble.

Meanwhile, a mysterious faction of Makaum insurgents breaks the fragile peace with a reckless attack on the Terran base. Before the situation devolves into chaos, Sage must learn to think like his adversaries -- devious friends and deadly foes alike.

One step forward, two steps back sums up Frank Sage's day-to-day on Makaum. No sooner does he get the drug cartels under control than a major political assassination stirs civil unrest to a fever pitch. Makaumans never wanted to choose sides in the Terran/Phrenorian war, but frustration, fear, and resentment are turning the tide against peacekeeping efforts.

As street skirmishes rage on, the Terrans' most powerful on-planet ally works with Sage's superior officer to isolate insurgent cells--and outmaneuver the general who wants to yank troops from Makaum before their job is done. Meanwhile, the assassin who's targeting powerful figures from all factions is still at large.

Amidst the chaos, Sage must keep his eye on a lethal "prize"--the secret armory and headquarters where the Phrenorians have been stockpiling weapons, munitions, and war machines. The mission to infiltrate will put him on a collision course with Zhoh GhiCemid, his ruthlessly ambitious Phrenorian counterpart. As dangerous as ever, Zhoh isn't afraid to die--and would like nothing better than to take Sage down with him.

Cécile and Tristan have accomplished the impossible, but their greatest challenge remains: defeating the evil they have unleashed upon the world. As they scramble for a way to protect the people of the Isle and liberate the trolls from their tyrant king, Cécile and Tristan must battle those who'd see them dead. To win, they will risk everything. And everyone. But it might not be enough. Both Cécile and Tristan have debts, and they will be forced to pay them at a cost far greater than they had ever imagined.

Demonstrating once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling, Anne Rice makes real for us a great dynasty of four centuries of witches--a family given to poetry and incest, murder and philosophy, a family that over the ages is itself haunted by a powerful, dangerous, and seductive being called Lasher who haunts the Mayfair women.

Moving in time from today's New Orleans and San Francisco to long-ago Amsterdam and the France of Louis XIV, from the coffee plantations of Port-au-Prince to Civil War New Orleans and back to today, Anne Rice has spun a mesmerizing tale that challenges everything we believe in.

At the center: the brilliant an beautiful Rowan Mayfair, queen of the coven, and Lasher, the darkly compelling demon whom she finds irresistible and from whose evil spell and vision she must now flee. She takes with her their terrifying and exquisite child, one of "a brood of children born knowing, able to stand and talk on the first day."

Rowan's attempt to escape Lasher and his pursuit of her and their child are at the heart of this extraordinary saga. It is a novel that moves around the globe, backward and forward through time, and between the human and demonic worlds. Its many voices--of women, of men, of demons and angels, present and past--haunt and enchant us. With a dreamlike power, the novel draws us through twilight paths, telling a chillingly hypnotic story of occult and spiritual aspirations and passion.

The Mayfair Witches face an unimaginable new threat: the Taltos - the giant race gifted with preternatural knowledge, who breed in minutes and live for centuries. The race that spawned the monster-innocent Lasher, who gave the witches their power and almost destroyed them. Unknown to the Mayfairs, another Taltos still lives: the legendary Ashla, who has done and suffered so much down the centuries. Now a frantic dance speeds them all from the dawn of history and the Dark Ages to high-tech New York, from sensuous New Orleans to Stonehenge and the Scottish Highlands, towards their ultimate fate.

Miriam Beckstein is a young, hip, business journalist in Boston. She discovered in The Family Trade and The Hidden Family that her family came from an alternate reality, that she was very well-connected, and that her family was too much like the mafia for comfort. She found herself caught in a family trap in The Clan Corporate and betrothed to a brain-damaged prince, and then all hell broke loose.

Now, in The Merchants' War, Miriam has escaped to yet another world and remains in hiding from both the Clan and their opponents. There is a nasty shooting war going on in the Gruinmarkt world of the Clan, and we know something that Miriam does not; something that she's really going to hate--if she lives long enough to find out.

Centuries ago, the followers of the new gods defeated the old gods, and the folk of legend were banished from the world. With their departure, magic faded from the land. However, the Milesian Accords provided for a new challenge, and its time rapidly approaches.

The descendant of the druid who participated in the original challenge, Liam Knox, must forge the sword for the Champion to wield, and write the next set of Accords. Time is running out, though, and the minions of the new gods will stop at nothing to ensure he fails in his tasks.

The descendent of the legendary hero Cu Chulainn, Erin Donnelly, has gone to Dunos Scaith, a fortress out of time and space, to train for the Challenge to come. Interruptions and distractions abound, though, including the potential for new love... and she is being hunted as well.

Both Druid and Champion are running out of time as the Challenge approaches--a challenge that could end the world as we know it--and neither is likely to be ready in time. They must trust in each other and their friends... but what if that trust is misplaced?

For decades, Britain's warlocks have been all that stands between the British Empire and the Soviet Union - a vast domain stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the English Channel. Now each wizard's death is another blow to Britain's national security.

Meanwhile, a brother and sister - the subjects of a twisted Nazi experiment to imbue ordinary people with superhuman abilities - escape from a top-secret facility deep behind the Iron Curtain. They head for England, because that's where former spy Raybould Marsh lives. And Gretel, the mad seer, has plans for him.

As Marsh is once again drawn into the world of Milkweed, he discovers that Britain's darkest acts didn't end with the war. And while he strives to protect queen and country, he is forced to confront his own willingness to accept victory at any cost.

ALL IS CHANGE...

Struck down in his moment of victory, Hebrion's young King Abeleyn lies in a coma, his city in ruins and his fiancee and former lover vying for the throne. Corfe Cear-Inaf, now a colonel, is given a ragtag command of ill-equipped savages and sent on a hopeless mission by a jealous King who expects him to fail.

Richard Hawkwood and Lord Murad return bearing news of horror on a savage new continent, and they are not alone. Something terrible is lurking in the hold...

A prequel to the bestselling classic The Mouse That Roared.

Set in the year 1450, the tiny Duchy of Grand Fenwick, ruled by the benevolent and noble Sir Roger and armed with its army of expert longbowmen, had existed peacefully without threat of invasion for decades. But when a rascally Irish Knight stumbles across its borders with news that the French were set to attack and that they had a new weapon of mass destruction called "the cannon," the Irishman and Sir Roger must find a way to drop their differences and fight together, a feat made even more difficult when Sir Roger's daughter, the Lady Matilda becomes unduly enamored in the Irish newcomer.

WEWELSBURG CASTLE, 1940

The German war machine has woken an ancient threat - the alien Vril and their Ubermensch have returned. Ultimate Victory in the war for Europe is now within the Nazis' grasp.

ENGLAND, 1941

Foreign Office trouble shooter Guy Pentecross has stumbled into a conspiracy beyond his imagining - a secret war being waged in the shadows against a terrible enemy.

The battle for Europe has just become the war for humanity.

THE VRIL ARE HERE. THE WAR FOR HUMANITY HAS BEGUN

The Germans have lost control of their most deadly discovery. The alien Vril have awakened and are scouring the Earth for ancient relics.

From the Hollywood lights of LA to the bloody devastation of Stalingrad, Major Guy Pentecross and the team at Station Z must uncover the mystery and stop the Vril and Nazis alike.

Failure will mean the end of life as we know it.

The place is Earth. The time is the near future - all too near.

Industrial development has accelerated out of all control, spawning dangerous new technologies and laying the planet to waste. While the inner cities collapse in guerrilla warfare, a dark age of superstition dawns.

As destruction of the environment reaches the point of no return, multinational corporations and super-rich individuals unite in a last desperate effort - not to save humankind, but to buy themselves immortality in a poisoned world.

If Earth is to survive, somebody has to stop them.

From London to New York to Turkey, Ace follows the Doctor as he prepares, finally, to strike back.

On a planet called Heaven, all hell is breaking loose.

Heaven is a paradise for both humans and Draconians - a place of rest in more ways than one. The Doctor comes here on a trivial mission - to find a book, or so he says - and Ace, wandering alone in the city, becomes involved with a charismatic Traveller called Jan.

But the Doctor is strenuously opposed to the romance. What is he trying to prevent? Is he planning some more deadly game connected with the mysterious objects causing the military forces of Heaven such concern?

Archaeologist Bernice Summerfield thinks so. Her destiny is inextricably linked with that of the Doctor, but even she may not be able to save Ace from the Time Lord's plans.

This time, has the Doctor gone too far?

Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.

Ace stared at the Doctor. He nodded. 'Yes, Ace. We're in Elsinore. And I don't like it either.'

Five years ago, an archaeological expedition came to Menaxus to explore the ruins of an ancient theatre. All but one of the visitors died horribly, and the planet was abandoned, bathed in lethal radiation.

Now the only survivor has returned, determined to uncover the theatre's secrets whatever the cost. Among her archaeological team is a certain Professor Bernice Summerfield.

Soon the deaths begin again, while the front line of an interstellar war moves ever closer. Desperate for help, Bernice tries to summon her companions. But when the TARDIS lands on the planet, the Doctor finds himself participating in a frighteningly real performance of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. And he begins to realise that the truth about Menaxus may be far stranger than anyone imagines.

t was the ruthless pack instinct of the primeval forest. But warlock magnified it a thousand times and made it lethal.

There's a strange new drug on the street. It's called warlock and some people say it's the creation of the Devil. Others see it as the gateway to enlightenment.

Benny is working with an undercover cop, trying to track down its source. Ace is trapped in a horrific animal experimentation laboratory. But only the Doctor has begun to guess the terrible truth about warlock.

This disturbing sequel to Warhead moves beyond cyberpunk into a realm where reality is a question of brain chemistry and heaven or hell comes in the shape of a pill.

"Tomorrow belongs to us, not you. If you were really from the future, Miss Summerfield, you would be a Nazi."

March 1941: Britain's darkest hour. The Nazis occupy British soil and British citizens are being deported to European concentration camps. Six thousand people a month are dying in air raids on London. The United States show no sign of entering the war.

According to the Seventh Doctor, this isn't a parallel universe, it isn't an alternate timeline; and everything is running according to schedule. But now something, somewhere, has gone wrong. The Nazis are building a secret weapon, one that will have a decisive effect on the outcome of the War. Chris thinks it's a UFO, while Roz believes that the Luftwaffe have developed the largest bomber ever built. Only Benny may have seen the mysterious craft -- but she's disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Adolescence is a difficult time. Especially when you have the power to rule the world.

Creed is just an ordinary guy -- as ordinary as you can be when you're a secret agent working for the government. But his family is another matter. His youngest child seems able to read his mind. His oldest boy, Ricky, may posssess a stranger and far more frightening power. And others seem interested in his 'gifted' children -- sinister forces who see them as a resource to be exploited.

Around the world, the Doctor's companions have been put in place, ready to act when the time is right. Old friends and enemies are gathering for a final confrontation that will shape the future of the globe -- and the evolution of man.

A year ago, Sunny Nwazue, an American-born girl Nigerian girl, was inducted into the secret Leopard Society. As she began to develop her magical powers, Sunny learned that she had been chosen to lead a dangerous mission to avert an apocalypse, brought about by the terrifying masquerade, Ekwensu. Now, stronger, feistier, and a bit older, Sunny is studying with her mentor Sugar Cream and struggling to unlock the secrets in her strange Nsibidi book.

Eventually, Sunny knows she must confront her destiny. With the support of her Leopard Society friends, Orlu, Chichi, and Sasha, and of her spirit face, Anyanwu, she will travel through worlds both visible and invisible to the mysteries town of Osisi, where she will fight a climactic battle to save humanity.

Much-honored Nnedi Okorafor, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, merges today's Nigeria with a unique world she creates. Akata Warrior blends mythology, fantasy, history and magic into a compelling tale that will keep readers spellbound.

An entire world is at stake in the battle to hold off a rogue Nesak attack on Barmi II.

Quinn, the mysterious Lorel, has the knowledge to save lives, including Horth's and Amel's, but it's unclear whether he can be trusted in light of disturbing discoveries on Gelion. Samanda struggles to adjust to her new status as Amel's wife, despite Eler's mockery about her sexual innocence.

Alivda takes the war to SanHome where she has a chance to lead the pacifist alliance to victory by the sword -- if she can first win the right to duel, on a world where only men have status under sword law.

And in the shocking conclusion, much depends on how Nesak priest Herver Glorian breaks the news to the Nesaks that more than just highborns have souls.

Across the six-planet expanse of the Gaia system, the Earthlike Gretia struggles to stabilize in the wake of an interplanetary war. Amid an uneasy alliance to maintain economies, resources, and populations, Aden Robertson reemerges. After devoting twelve years of his life to the reviled losing side, with the blood of half a million casualties on his hands, Aden is looking for a way to move on. He's not the only one.

A naval officer has borne witness to inconceivable attacks on a salvaged fleet. A sergeant with the occupation forces is treading increasingly hostile ground. And a young woman, thrust into responsibility as vice president of her family's raw materials empire, faces a threat she never anticipated.

Now, on the cusp of an explosive and wide-reaching insurrection, Aden plunges once again into the brutal life he longed to forget. He's been on the wrong side of war before. But this time, the new enemy has yet to reveal themselves... or their dangerous endgame.

There is a personal price to pay for having aligned with the wrong side in a reckless war. For Aden Jansen it's the need to adopt a new identity while keeping his past hidden. Now he's integrated himself aboard the Zephyr, a merchant ship smuggling critical goods through dangerous space. But danger is imminent on planet Gretia, as well. Under occupation, torn between postwar reformers and loyalists, it's a polestar for civil unrest.

Meanwhile an occupation forces officer is pulled right back into the fray when the battle alarm is raised, an ambitious heiress is entangled in a subversive political conspiracy, and an Allied captain is about to meet the enemy head-on.

As Aden discovers, the insurgents on Gretia--and in space--are connected, organized, and ready to break into full-scale rebellion. History is threatening to repeat itself. It's time that Aden rediscovers who he is, whom he can trust, and what he must fight for now.

The war should have been over. But it's not for a group of nationalists grabbing for control.

It's been two weeks since a missile with a nuclear warhead tore through the planetary defenses in the most blistering large-scale attack ever committed in the history of the Gaia system. Commander Dunstan Park of the Rhodian navy has been handpicked to command an experimental cruiser that could dictate the course of the escalating conflict. All he has to do is keep the ship from falling into the wrong hands.

On Gretia, the powder keg is beyond control. A terrorist attack against civilians draws Idina Chaudhary into a costly battle. It also forces a cautious Aden Jansen back into the fray. Now dedicated to a just cause, he's still keeping his past hidden. The risk of exposing his former alliance could twist not only his fate but also that of his sister, Solveig, heir to the family empire.

With no time to waste, Dunstan hits the ground running. But as insurgents threaten the unstable peace, what's ahead for both sides could change the destiny of the Gaia system forever.

POW Aden Jansen has lost a decade of his life to both the war and internment when he's recruited by the Alliance. He's to return to Gretia as an undercover Blackguard operative and destroy Odin's Wolves - an insurgency that's setting his home world afire. The mission comes with a full pardon and a chance to reclaim his identity. It also means rejoining his friends and family in space. That's motive enough. If he can succeed - and survive.

Dunstan Park is on piracy patrol to track down the spaceborne arm of the uprising. Meanwhile, the rebels' insidious terrorist cells are targets for battle-hardened insurgent hunter Idina Chaudhary and her Palladian commandos. As for Aden's sister, Solveig, she's put herself in the line of fire before, but discovering who's bankrolling Odin's Wolves is as dangerous as it is personal.

As Aden works his way back into the confidence of his comrades, the stealth campaign to sow discontent descends into chaos. At risk: Aden's legacy, and the very stability of a galaxy struggling for peace against all odds.

Researcher Ruth Goldman has developed a vaccine with the potential to inoculate the world’s survivors against the nanotech plague that devastated humanity. But the fractured U.S. government will stop at nothing to keep it for themselves.

When Rin aced the Keju--the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies--it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn't believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin's guardians, who believed they'd finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard--the most elite military school in Nikan--was even more surprising.

But surprises aren't always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power--an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive--and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away.

Rin's shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity ... and that it may already be too late.

The war is over.

The war has just begun.

Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vice, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix--the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power.

Though she does not want to live, she refuses to die until she avenges the traitorous Empress who betrayed Rin's homeland to its enemies. Her only hope is to join forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who plots to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new republic.

But neither the Empress nor the Dragon Warlord are what they seem. The more Rin witnesses, the more she fears her love for Nikan will force her to use the Phoenix's deadly power once more.

Because there is nothing Rin won't sacrifice to save her country... and exact her vengeance.

After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.

Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much--the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges--and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.

Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?

"Book Two of The Prince of Nothing" finds the Holy War continuing its inexorable march southward. But the suspicion begins to dawn that the real threat comes not from the infidel but from within...

Steering souls through the subtleties of word and expression, Kellhus strives to extend his dominion over the Men of the Tusk. The sorcerer Achamian and his lover, Esmenet, submit entirely, only to have their faith - and their love - tested in unimaginable ways. Meanwhile, the warrior Cnaiur falls ever deeper into madness. Convinced that Kellhus will betray their pact to murder his father, Cnaiur turns to the agents of the Second Apocalypse and strikes an infernal bargain.

The Holy War stands on a knife edge. If all is not to be lost, the great powers of the world will have to choose between their most desperate desires and the end of the world. Between hatred and hope. Between Anasurimbor Kellhus and the second apocalypse.

This short story originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, March 2006, and was reprinted in Clarkesworld Magazine, June 2013. It can also be found in the anthologies Year's Best SF 12 (2007), edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Kramer, The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual Collection (2007), edited by Gardner Dozois, and Space Opera (2007), edited by Rich Horton.

Read the full story for free at Clarkesworld.

This short story originally appeared in the anthology The Starry Rift: Tales of New Tomorrows (2008), edited by Jonathan Strahan. It can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection (2009).

This short story originally appeared in the anthology Edge of Infinity (2012), edited by Jonathan Strahan. It can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection (2013), edited by Gardner Dozois, and The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Seven (2013).

'Making History', is chronologically the first of a brief series of stories ('Sea Change, With Monsters', 'Second Skin', and 'The Gardens of Saturn' have already appeared elsewhere) dealing with the aftermath of the Quiet War, and, more importantly, with the biotechnology bubbling underfoot which is rapidly transforming the Solar System.

Sturgeon Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in the antholgoy Skylife: Space Habitats in Story and Science, ed. Gregory Benford & George Zebrowski. The story can also be found in the anthologies Year's Best SF 6 (2001), edited by David G. Hartwell, The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection (2001), edited by Gardner Dozois, The Hard SF Renaissance (2002), edited by Kathryn Cramer and David G. Hartwell and Beyond Flesh (2002), edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It is included in teh collection Stories from the Quiet War (2012).

This novella originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, September 1998. It can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction: Sixteenth Annual Collection (1999), editd by Gardner Dozois. The story is included in the collection A Very British History (2013).

This short story originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, April 1997. It can also be found in the anthologies:

• The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection (1998), edited by Gardner Dozois
• Future War (1999), edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
• Isaac Asimov's Solar System (1999), edited by Gardner Dozois and Sheila Williams
• Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction (2005), edited by Gardner Dozois

The story is included in the collection A Very British History (2013).

This novelette originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, March 2002. It can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twentieth Annual Collection (2003), edited by Gardner Dozois.

Twenty-third century Earth, ravaged by climate change, looks backwards to the holy ideal of a pre-industrial Eden. Political power has been grabbed by a few powerful families and their green saints. Millions of people are imprisoned in teeming cities; millions more labour on Pharaonic projects to rebuild ruined ecosystems.

On the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, the Outers, descendants of refugees from Earth's repressive regimes, have constructed a wild variety of self-sufficient cities and settlements: scientific utopias crammed with exuberant creations of the genetic arts; the last outposts of every kind of democratic tradition. The fragile detente between the Outer cities and the dynasties of Earth is threatened by the ambitions of the rising generation of Outers, who want to break free of their cosy, inward-looking pocket paradises, colonise the rest of the Solar System, and drive human evolution in a hundred new directions.

On Earth, many demand pre-emptive action against the Outers before it's too late; others want to exploit the talents of their scientists and gene wizards. Amid campaigns for peace and reconciliation, political machinations, crude displays of military might, and espionage by cunningly wrought agents, the two branches of humanity edge towards war...

The Quiet War is over. The city states of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn have fallen to the Three Powers Alliance of Greater Brazil, the European Union and the Pacific Community. A century of enlightenment, rational utopianism and exploration of new ways of being human has fallen dark. Outers are herded into prison camps and forced to collaborate in the systematic plundering of their great archives of scientific and technical knowledge, while Earth's forces loot their cities, settlements and ships, and plan a final solution to the 'Outer problem'.

But Earth's victory is fragile, and riven by vicious internal politics. While seeking out and trying to anatomise the strange gardens abandoned in place by Avernus, the Outers' greatest genius, the gene wizard Sri Hong-Owen is embroiled in the plots and counterplots of the family that employs her. The diplomat Loc Ifrahim soon discovers that profiting from victory isn't as easy as he thought.

And in Greater Brazil, the Outers' democratic traditions have infected a population eager to escape the tyranny of the great families who rule them. After a conflict fought to contain the expansionist, posthuman ambitions of the Outers, the future is as uncertain as ever. Only one thing is clear. No one can escape the consequences of war - especially the victors.

Fomalhaut was first colonised by the posthuman Quick, who established an archipelago of thistledown cities and edenic worldlets within the star's vast dust belt. Their peaceful, decadent civilisation was swiftly conquered by a band of ruthless, aggressive, unreconstructed humans who call themselves the True, then, a century before, the True beat back an advance party of Ghosts, a posthuman cult which colonised the nearby system of Beta Hydri after being driven from the Solar System a thousand years ago. Now the Ghosts have returned to Fomalhaut, to begin their end game: the conquest of its single gas giant planet, a captured interstellar wanderer far older than the rest of Fomalhaut's system. At its core is a sphere of hot metallic hydrogen with strange and powerful properties based on exotic quantum physics. The Quick believe it is inhabited by an ancient alien Mind; the True believe it can be developed into a weapon, and the Ghosts believe it can be transformed into a computational system so powerful it can reach into their past, collapse timelines, and fulfil the ancient prophecies of their founder.

In the far future, a young man stands on a barren asteroid. His ship has been stolen, his family kidnapped or worse, and all he has on his side is a semi-intelligent spacesuit. The only member of the crew to escape, Hari has barely been off his ship before. It was his birthplace, his home and his future. He's going to get it back. McAuley's latest novel is set in the same far-flung future as his last few novels, but this time he takes on a much more personal story. This is a tale of revenge, of murder and morality, of growing up and discovering the world around you. Throughout the novel we follow Hari's viewpoint, and as he unravels the mysteries that led to his stranding, we discover them alongside him. But throughout his journeys, Hari must always bear one thing in mind. Nobody is to be trusted.

Lord-Celestant Arkas Warbeast of the Celestial Vindicators returns to restore order to the lands that he ruled in his mortal life, lands now befouled by the verminous hordes of the skaven Clans Pestilens.

The once noble tribes of Ursungorod in Ghur have almost entirely fallen to Chaos, and an infestation of Clans Pestilens skaven has amassed in the caverns beneath the snowy tundra. There, Poxmaster Felk is on the brink of opening a vital realmgate--but Sigmar intends to seize this portal for himself. Arkas Warbeast, Lord-Celestant of the Celestial Vindicators, was once a mortal ruler of these lands. Now, with the aid of the Knights Excelsior, he has returned to free his kingdom from the clutches of Chaos and claim the realmgate in his God-King's name. But first he must vanquish the ghosts of his past and overcome his own conflicted nature, in order to unleash the beast within.

Hailed as "epic fantasy on a George R. R. Martin scale, but on speed" (Fixed on Fantasy), the Broken Empire trilogy introduced a bold new world of dark fantasy with the story of Jorg Ancrath's devastating rise to power. Now, Mark Lawrence returns to the Broken Empire with the tale of a less ambitious prince...

The Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire dread her like no other. For all her reign, she has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister-unseen by most and unspoken of by all.

The Red Queen's grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth-drinker, gambler, seducer of women-is one who can see The Silent Sister. Tenth in line for the throne and content with his role as a minor royal, he pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war is coming. Witnesses claim an undead army is on the march, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks it's all a rumor-nothing that will affect him-but he is wrong.

After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey across the Empire to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game, part of a series of moves in the long war-and the Red Queen controls the board.

After harrowing adventure and near-death, Prince Jalan Kendeth and the Viking Snorri ver Snagason find themselves in possession of Loki's Key, an artefact capable of opening any door, and sought by the most dangerous beings in the Broken Empire--including The Dead King.

Jal wants only to return home to his wine, women, and song, but Snorri has his own purpose for the key: to find the very door into death, throw it wide, and bring his family back into the land of the living.

And as Snorri prepares for his quest to find death's door, Jal's grandmother, the Red Queen continues to manipulate kings and pawns towards an endgame of her own design...

From the critically-acclaimed author of PRINCE OF FOOLS comes the third volume of the brilliant new epic fantasy series, THE RED QUEEN'S WAR.

All the horrors of Hell stand between Snorri Ver Snagason and the rescue of his family, if indeed the dead can be rescued.

For Jalan Kendeth getting back out alive and with Loki's Key is all that matters. Loki's creation can open any lock, any door, and it may also be the key to Jal's fortune back in the living world.

Jal plans to return to the three Ws that have been the core of his idle and debauched life: wine, women, and wagering. Fate however has other, larger, plans...

The Wheel of Osheim is turning ever faster and it will crack the world unless it's stopped. When the end of all things looms, and there's nowhere to run, even the worst coward must find new answers.

Jal and Snorri face many dangers -- from the corpse-hordes of the Dead King to the many mirrors of the Lady Blue; but in the end, fast or slow, the Wheel of Osheim will exert its power.

In the end it's win or die.

Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us.

It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir. The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls 100 feet high.

Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.

The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth - and the lives of one million humans - Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.

Divided, hunted and short on resources, the surviving members of the Relic Guild are in real trouble. Their old enemy, the Genii, and their resurrected master have infiltrated Labrys Town and taken over the police force.

So the Relic Guild must flee their home, and set off on a dangerous journey across the worlds of the Aelfir. One that will lead them to a weapon which might destroy the Genii. Or the whole universe...

And forty years before all this, the war which led to the fall of the Genii continues. And what happens to the Relic Guild during that conflict will change the course of their desperate flight.

Labrys Town, home to a million humans cut off from the rest of the universe, has been invaded. Those who protected it have been deposed.

The Relic Guild are scattered across the worlds of the Aelfir. Many of them are dead or dying. The Genii control everything. The war is almost over.

Clara, a young woman barely able to control her werewolf side, has seen her friends and mentors killed in front of her. She is the last hope for Labrys Town.

But someone else is watching...

The dramatic conclusion to the award-nominated fantasy trilogy which began with THE RELIC GUILD.

Eight hundred years ago, the Zhen Empire discovered a broken human colony ship drifting in the fringes of their space. With only a third of the original colonists left alive in their cryo-pods, and the ship's computers damaged beyond repair, there was no way to know where the humans were from. The Zhen gave them a place to live and folded them into their Empire as a client state.

Humans are safe. But it hasn't been easy. Not all Zhen were eager to welcome another species into their Empire, and humans have faced persecution. One of the first humans to be allowed to serve in the Zhen military, Tajen Hunt became a war hero at the Battle of Elkari, the only human to be named an official Hero of the Empire. He was given command of a task force, but when he failed in a crucial mission, causing the deaths of millions of people, he resigned in disgrace and faded into life on the fringes as a lone independent pilot.

When Tajen discovers his brother, Daav, has been killed by agents of the Empire, he, his niece, and their newly-hired crew set out to finish his brother's quest: to find Earth, the legendary homeworld of humanity.

Reclaiming Earth from the Zhen was only the first battle. Now Tajen Hunt and his fellow colonists must fight for their fledgling colony's survival. Tajen's mission to seek aid from the Kelvaki Assembly is cut short when the Zhen invade Earth. Now he, Liam, and Kiri must return to Earth and liberate the colony from brutal occupation. When Tajen learns the Zhen plan to destroy a human fleet amassing in preparation to help Earth, he and his crew must escape the planet once more and warn them.

As the Zhen Empire descends into civil war, Tajen, Liam, and Katherine each have their own part to play in the final conflict between the human race and the Zhen Empire. As Tajen searches the outer regions in an attempt to find and recruit Zhen deserters to his side, Katherine heads for Marauder space to seek out technology their Tabran allies need. Liam, believing his two best friends dead, must keep the human fleet alive as it is pursued across the Empire by Zhen forces. As the final battle approaches, each of them will be tested to their limits.

The RiftWar is done. But a fearsome army of trolls and renegade humans, emboldened by the drug of destruction, has risen in strength from the ashes of defeat. There is one, however, who defies the call to battle...

Prince Arutha--newly returned from battle--is concerned about a rash of unexplained assassinations that plagues his capital city. And so he commissions his most trusted agent, Squire James--formerly the thief known as "Jimmy the Hand"--to discover the source of the deadly epidemic. The answers seem to lie far beneath the streets in the dank depths of Krondor, where a terrible war rages in secret between two rival criminal gangs: those who call themselves "Mockers" and others in the thrall of a mysterious being known as "The Crawler."

But the deeper the Squire delves, the closer he gets to the true nature of the horror that has left untold dead in its wake. And unless James can prevent one last, unthinkable slaying, the nightmare forces of corruption and deceit will destroy his liege and reduce his beloved Krondor to ruins.

The vile sorcerer Sidi plans to strike the kingdom a fatal blow, setting the murderous pirate Bear upon the high seas in pursuit of the vessel that is transporting Midkemia's most holy object; the Tear of the Gods. From this miraculous stone all magic power is believed to flow. And if the Tear becomes the mage's trinket, the future will hold only terror, death and unending night.

For Squire James, Lieutenant William, and the able magician Jazhara, the race is on to rescue the remarkable artifact. For all manner of dark creatures are gathering with one unspeakable purpose: to breed the chaos that will hasten the destruction of Squire James and his brave companions... and bring about the total corruption of the Tear of the Gods.

A fantastic new novella from the master of magic and adventure. Best selling author Raymond E. Feist returns to the city of Krondor and one of his most loved characters, Jimmy the Hand.

The Crawler: a name whispered in fear...

In the crime-ridden back alleys of Krondor a rival gang has sprung up to threaten the Upright Man's Mockers. Does the Crawler control the rival gang? Where does his power come from? And does it threaten the peace of the Kingdom?

James, personal squire to Prince Arutha of Krondor, but in the underworld known as the thief and trickster Jimmy the Hand, must travel to Kesh in disguise. There, working with William, lieutenant of the prince's household guard and son of the magician Pug, and Jazhara, niece to the Keshian lord Hazara-Khan, he must attempt to unmask the mysterious Crawler and rid Krondor of his influence.

To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan Pug came to study with the master magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at court and the heart of a lovely Princess, he was ill at ease with the normal ways of wizardry. Yet Pug's strange sort of magic would one day change forever the fates of two worlds. For dark beings from another world had opened a rift in the fabric of spacetime to being again the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos.

He held the fate of two worlds in his hands...

Once he was an orphan called Pug, apprenticed to a sorcerer of the enchanted land of Midkemia.. Then he was captured and enslaved by the Tsurani, a strange, warlike race of invaders from another world.

There, in the exotic Empire of Kelewan, he earned a new name--Milamber. He learned to tame the unnimagined powers that lay withing him. And he took his place in an ancient struggle against an evil Enemy older than time itself.

A poisoned bolt has struck down the Princess Anita on the day of her wedding to Prince Arutha of Krondor.

To save his beloved, Arutha sets out in search of the mytics herb called Silverthorn that only grows in the dark and forbidding land of the Spellweavers.

Accompanied by a mercenary, a minstrel, and a clever young thief, he wil confront an ancient evil and do battle with the dark powers that threaten the enchanted realm of Midkemia.

An evil wind blows through Midkemia. Dark legions have risen up to crush the Kingdom of the Isles and enslave it to dire magics. The final battle between Order and Chaos is abotu to begin in the ruins of the city called Sethanon.

Now Pug, the master magician sometimes known as Milamber, must undertake an awesome and perilous quest to the dawn of time to grapple with an ancient and terrible Enemy for the fate of a thousand worlds.

Vulture is a shape-changer capable of absorbing the body and memories of any organic being. Without the information only Vulture can collect, the rebels will never succeed in gathering the five rings necessary to defeat Master System. Now an unknown entity seems to be giving Vulture an unseen hand. But the question is--whose side is it on?

On a world of intelligent robots who seem to have forgotten their own distant past, it is a time of war as the soldiers of Artemis City set out to conquer everything within range on the continent of Shull, killing or converting every robot they capture to their philosophy, while viewing their own wire-based minds as nothing but metal to be used or recycled for the cause.

Elsewhere, the more individualistic robots of Turing City believe they are something more than metal, but when the Artemisian robot Kavan sets out on a determined crusade to prove himself, even Turing City can’t stand against him. Increasingly tied up with Kavan’s destiny is Karel, a Turing robot with elements of Artemis’s philosophy already woven into his mind … as well as Karel’s wife Susan, and their recently created child..

Following the inevitable violence and destruction, Artemisian ambition focuses elsewhere and a journey begins towards the frozen kingdoms of the north … and towards the truth about the legendary ‘Book of Robots’, a text which may finally explain the real history of this strange world …

In a completely alien but brilliantly realized landscape, here is a powerful story of superb action, barbaric cruelty and intense emotional impact.

Appointed Commander of the Emperor's Army of Sangrel, Wa-Ka-Mo-Do of Ko tries to establish relations between the existing robot population and the humans who have recently arrived on Yukawa. On the continent of Shull, Kavan forms the Uncertain Army and is marching to Artemis City. Upon discovery that the city's generals have made an alliance with the humans, he retreats to Stark where he plans the eventual overthrow of Artemis and the humans. Meanwhile, Karel is heading South, hoping to be reunited with Susan, his wife. As he walks, he hears more of the stories of the robots, and begins to understand something about his place on the world of Penrose. But with limited resources and tensions growing between robot and human it's only a matter of time before problems arise. And it's becoming more and more apparent that the humans are a lot more powerful than the robots first expected...

Prince Rollo's world is shattered by the death of his mother, Queen Ursula. But even before he can grieve he faces the bitter disappointment of being overlooked as his mother's heir in favour of his younger sister; as only the female line in Artor's Royal family inherit the magical power to control the Great Bears of Artor (a talent every sovereign must possess). Seething with self loathing, grief and disappointment Rollo focuses his anger and resentment upon his father.

Deeply concerned for his son Spar decides to leave his daughter, now Artor's Queen, and take 13 year old Rollo half way across the world to Torra Alta, his barony in Belbidia, to claim the only birthright left to him.

But fifteen years have passed since Spar left Hal and Brid as guardians of his remote fortress and in the intervening years, many things have changed. Beasts of legend have grown in strength and will. A huge golden dragon plagues the mountains and swarms of Hobs ransack the fertile plains of Belbidia.

Fourteen years ago the Chalice of Önd, was lost. A sacred artefact with the power to transfer the magic of one object to another the chalice is the only explanation for the rising threat. If this powerful weapon has fallen into the wrong hands the dawn of a dark age will come to Belbidia.

Silas has fled with the broken Chalice of Önd, forcing the companions to flee into the surrounding forest, pursued and hunted by the remaining angry swarms of hobs. But their escape is slow as Isolde falls ill; the injured hand she plunged into the Chalice during the ceremony is infected and the disease is spreading rapidly, transforming her flesh into the scales of a hob. Sick with worry, Rollo decides to go after the chalice, hoping to reverse the spell, but Leaf insists on returning to aid her people convinced she can find a cure with them. Unable to agree, the company splits.

Meanwhile Torra Alta is under siege, attacked by men imbued with dragon-fire powers. It seems the attack on Belbidia is not simply a civil war, but a mass invasion.

A lucky subterfuge has fooled the Golden Dragon into leaving Opal Island; and she has trailed the Pisceran Porpoise out to sea believing that the newly-repaired Chalice of Ond -- the only hope of resurrection for her precious golden son -- is hidden beneath her decks. On board, amidst the dragon-attacks, Lord Casper worries for his own son, Rollo, abandoned on the hob-infested rock. But Rollo has the real chalice in his possession and although the responsibility weighs heavily, he must find a way to elude Silas's minions and travel across the ocean to find his father -- if Isolde is ever to regain her humanity, to reunite Aranthane with his wife or save Leaf's dying people.

Rollo must learn to harness the strange power which lies unpredictably within his body to ensure that Silas's invasion of Belbidia is stopped and that Torra Alta, the only home he has left, is rescued.

Three years on, the fate of Torra Alta and Belbidida hangs in the balance once more.

Caspar has become entranced by the evil of the Druid's Egg, and so is sent, with Brid, to find orphan wolflings which the dying Morrigwen declares are vital. Hal is sent to the neighbouring country of Ceolothis, as part of an escort for the Princess Cymbeline who is to marry Belbidia's king.

Deadly wolves attack throughout the kingdom of Belbidia, while the king's wife-to-be has been kidnapped. For both of these, the Barony of Torra Alta is blamed. The heroes must face magic and blood in their quests to avenge the wrongs done to them and restore the Trinity of priestesses.

After the events of The Bard of Castaguard, the young lords of Torra Alta must fight the evil in themselves as well as those who -- through deadly steel, treachery or magic -- seek to destroy them and the entire kingdom. The trinity of priestesses must be reformed.

The citadel of Torra Alta, won a millennium before from the indigenous dragons, is under attack. The Vaalakan army from the north, led by warrior-priest Morbak, draws near.

The Runes of War, hidden for many centuries must be unearthed to protect the civilized lands of the south.

Caspar travels South into Belbidida with his companions Hal and Brid, straight into the heart of the New Faith, the enemy of Brid's Goddess. The trio trail Vaalakan spies, seeking out the Druids Eye - the Egg - in all its glory. The Eggs power alone can keep the fortress of Torra Alta safe.

But in the land of the Inquisition, all trace of ancient lore has been stamped out, including a sect of mute priestesses known as the Keepers. As the fate of Torra Alta hangs in the balance, Caspar must race to find the Lost Runes the Keepers guarded, or the Eye may never be found...

Whoever holds the Egg controls the ancient animals of power: kraken, wyvern, and dragon. Whoever cracks the Egg unleashes these monsters on the world, unrestrained and beyond the control of anyone alive...

Three young Torra Altans, Caspar, Brid, and Hal, are closing in on the immemorial hiding place of the Egg. Strange wild beasts that sense their purpose follow close behind. From Yew Wood to Lake of Tears, spices and enemies pursue them. The Mother Goddess has promised that once the Egg is brought to their ancient home in the North, the starving hordes of Vaalakans besieging the castle will be driven back.

But creatures of legend desire to be real, and time is running out.

More than a century ago, the cataclysmic struggle between the wizards and the mages ended in their mutual destruction -- leveling great cities and reducing grand palaces to dust. From the vast graveyard that remained, the Empress

Ouriána rose up to proclaim herself the Divine Incarnation of the Devouring Moon--ruling her wasted realm with the blackest sorcery; turning her priests from men to monsters and setting them loose to enslave or destroy all who would oppose her.

But now signs and portents hint of a champion--a young girl, hidden and talented, who is destined to end Ouriána's terrible reign. And now a brave band of heroes must locate their savior princess--even if it means being pursued to the ends of the world by the withering fury of the dark goddess herself.

More than a century has passed since the mighty struggle between the wizards and the mages ended in their mutual destruction, and more than forty years since the Empress Ouriána became the Divine Incarnation of the Devouring Moon. Appointing twelve deadly sorcerers as her priests, she rules the land in darkness unending.

Yet there is a small chance for hope, if one foreordained princess can survive. But she has vanished behind enemy lines, and even a brave band of heroes may not be able to reach her in time. For Ouriána's dark reign has woken the ancient terrors of legend, and their vengeance will be swift and all-consuming...

The saga of Recluce, launched in The Magic of Recluce and continuing in The Towers of the Sunset and The Magic Engineer reaches a new climax in The Order War. "Modesitt has created an exceptionally vivid world," says L. Sprague de Camp, "so concretely visualized as to give the impression that Modesitt himself must have dwelt there." Publishers Weekly says, "Modesitt creates a complex world bgased on a plausible system of magic and peopled with engaging and realistic characters."

Set after the events of The Magic Engineer (and prior to The Magic of Recluce) The Order War illuminates great figures and major events in the historic war between order and chaos that is the central focus of the saga of Recluce.

The deadly White Wizards of Fairhaven, wielding the forces of chaos, have completed their great highway through the Westhorns and now threatened the ancient matriarchy of Sarronnyn, the last bastion of order in Candar. The ruler of Sarronnyn appeals to the Black order wizards of Recluce for help.

Justen - a young Black Engineer in the city of Nylan - joins the relief force. Despite their success in destroying more than half the White armies, Sarronnyn falls to the White Wizards, and Justen is chased into the most inhospitable desert in Candar. These trials are but the beginning, for the White Wizards have all Candar in their grasp. Justen must fight both Recluce and Fairhaven, as well as the highest powers of order and the forbidden technology to harness chaos itself in his efforts to halt the conquest of the chaos wizards.

The Order War is the fourth book of the saga of Recluce.

L. E. Modesitt, Jr., continues his bestselling Saga of Recluce with The Mage-Fire War, the third book in a story arc which began with The Mongrel Mage and Outcasts of Order.

Once again, prejudices against the use of chaos magic force Beltur and his companions to flee their refuge in Axalt. The rulers of nearby Montgren have offered them sanctuary and the opportunity to become the Councilors of the run-down and disintegrating town of Haven.

Montegren lacks any mages--white or black--making this seem like the perfect opportunity to start again.

However, Beltur and the others must reinstitute law and order, rebuild parts of the town, deal with brigands--and thwart an invading army.

For years, the alien Klikiss robots have pretended to be humanity's friends, but their seeming 'help' allowed them to plant an insidious Trojan Horse throughout the Earth Defense Forces. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating war, swarms of ancient robots built by the Klikiss continue their depredations on helpless worlds with stolen and heavily armed Earth battleships.Among the humans, the Hansa's brutal Chairman struggles to crush any resistance even as King Peter breaks away to form his own new Confederation among the colonies who have declared their independence.And meanwhile, the original, voracious Klikiss race, long thought to be extinct, has returned, intent on conquering their former worlds and willing to annihilate anyone in the way.

In this semi-autobiographical novel, the hero-narrator is Michael Moorcock, but born in a different year with different parentage. The narrative follows, roughly, the outline of the author’s known life. ‘Moorcock’ is a Londoner, an early school leaver, and smart as paint. A lover of low-lit, he edits a Tarzan fanzine before drifting into SF proper. Scenes from real life alternate with interludes in Alsacia (also called the Sanctuary), a secret London enclave where historical figures mingle with literary ones.

In the fifth installment of this bestselling series, the twins of prophesy have been divided, and the end is finally beginning.

With Scatty, Joan of Arc, Saint Germain, Palamedes, and Shakespeare all in Danu Talis, Sophie is on her own with the ever-weakening Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. She must depend on Niten to help her find an immortal to teach her Earth Magic. The surprise is that she will find her teacher in the most ordinary of places.

Snail and Prince Aspen are unlikely companions. Snail is a midwife's apprentice; Aspen is a prince held hostage to prevent a war. Due to a series of misunderstandings, the two find themselves on the run, having adventure after mishap after scary, fast-paced escape. When they reach Aspen's kingdom, they learn to their horror that their actions have divided the country and plunged it into violence. Every minute counts: it is time for Snail and Aspen to figure out a way to stop the building war--together.

The Hostage Prince is a fast-paced, funny, exciting fantasy novel for young readers, both male and female. And who better to start tweens on their journey than Jane Yolen ("America's Hans Christian Andersen"--Time) and her son, Adam Stemple!

In The Hostage Prince, Prince Aspen and midwife's apprentice Snail tried to prevent the Seelie War by making a perilous journey to Aspen's father's kingdom. Their journey started the war instead. Chased by two armies, Aspen and Snail find refuge with the actors of Professor Odds' traveling troupe, dodging soldiers, Border Lord berserkers, a hungry troll, and assorted dwarfs, drows, lycants, boggles, and a cloaked spy. Will they make it out? Is any place safe for the two of them? And who, exactly, is the mysterious Professor Odds, who seems to have his own hidden powers and agenda? Fast-paced and funny, The Last Changeling, the second book of the Seelie Wars trilogy, is the perfect way to introduce newly fledged readers to fantasy.

The exciting conclusion to the Seelie Wars trilogy. Full of magic, battles, and page-turning excitement, this series is a perfect introduction to classic fantasy.

The war that Prince Aspen and midwife's apprentice Snail started--purely by accident--is at hand. The Unseelie Army, the evil side of Faerie, will soon invade and destroy the Seelie kingdom. Aspen is terrified, not simply because his homeland is on the verge of ruin, but because he is now, after the death of his father and brothers, the Seelie King.

He is a young, untried king; a king without a battle plan. But he has Snail, his first and only friend, and the only one who can raise the army Aspen needs--an army of changelings, like her. First, however, she has to convince the mysterious, dangerous Professor Odds, the changelings' leader, who has a destructive plan of his own.

Wellman's work will be remembered, and should be preserved because it combines the dark gothic tradition of the American pulps with a detailed snapshot of regional history and culture. This mixture is shown through the lens of the American modernist tradition, revealing something that is larger than the sum of its parts.

Contents:

• Manly Remembered (essay) by Ramsey Campbell
• The Devil Is Not Mocked
• The Pineys
• Hundred Years Gone
• Where the Woodbine Twineth
• Keep Me Away
• Come Into My Parlor
• Yare
• Chorazin
• The Petey Car
• Along About Sundown
• What of the Night
• Rock, Rock
• Lamia
• Caretaker
• The Ghastly Priest Doth Reign
• Goodman's Place
• Frogfather
• Dhoh
• Warrior in Darkness
• Young-Man-With-Skull-at-His-Ear
• Vigil
• The Kelpie
• Parthenope
• The Theater Upstairs
• Ever the Faith Endures
• Dead Dog
• The Cavern
• At the Bend of the Trail

A dread darkness is descending upon a great land called Midkemia -- a powerful and malevolent race of monsters that has slipped through a hole in the dimensions. And two unlikely young heroes -- a bastard heir denied his birthright and an irrepressible scoundrel with a penchant for thievery -- must take up arms in the struggle to protect their besieged world...two friends chosen by Destiny to stand at the fore of the battle that is to come against the gargantuan reptile army of the terrible Emerald Queen.

Surviving the wrath of the fearsome Sauur -- a hideous race of invading serpents -- noble Erik and cunning Roo have delivered a timely warning to the rulers of the Midkemian Empire, and are now free to pursue their separate destinies. Erik chooses the army -- and the continuing war against Midkemia's dread enemies. Roo lusts for wealth and power -- rising high and fast in theworld of trade. But with luxury comes carelessness and a vulnerability to the desires of the flesh. And a beautiful seductress with her ruthless machinations threatens to destroy everything Roo has built and become -- summoning catastrophe into his future...and terror into his world.

A loyal soldier and a wealthy merchant have served bravely in the flames of an enduring war that is ravaging their land. But swords, bows, wits and courage will no longer be enough to defeat the scourge that is descending upon their home. For a foul and terrible thing has escaped from a world already devoured to feed on one consumed by chaos -- an insatiable nightmare creature of dark and murderous nature which seeks to own and corrupt the very source of life itself

The final conflict is joined, pitting serpent against man and magician against demon. For those who battle in the cause of good, there will be victory...or there will be doom for all.

There can be no other outcome.

Winter's icy grasp is loosening on the world. The Emerald Queen's vanquished army has its broken back to the Bitter Sea. And treachery is its only recourse.

A lackey has declared himself Lord of the defeated, amassing the still fearsome remnants of a ruthless fighting force together for one final assault on a weakened, vulnerable realm.

For the warriors who remained steadfast against terrible numbers, for the courageous souls who barely survived a devastating onslaught upon their homeland, the time to rebuild and renew has not yet come. The war is not over in Midkemia. And Jimmy and Dash--two young noble brothers who stand at the center of a gathering storm--are impelled to action that could secure a tenuous peace...or turn triumph into catastrophe.

The demon is no more.

The enemy has been routed. But all is not well...

The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. The Grand Master Award is given to a living author for a lifetime's achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy. Frederik Pohl, an eminent figure in SF, has been authorized by the SFWA to edit an anthology in three big volumes featuring substantial selections of the work of all the first fifteen Grand Masters. Volume One, presenting the first five writers to receive the award, features the fiction of:

Robert A. Heinlein
Jack Williamson
Clifford D. Simak
L. Sprague de Camp
Fritz Leiber

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Robert A. Heinlein 1907-1988 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• The Roads Must Roll - (1940) - novelette by Robert A. Heinlein
• The Year of the Jackpot - (1952) - novelette by Robert A. Heinlein
• Jerry Was a Man - (1947) - novelette by Robert A. Heinlein
• The Farthest Place - (1992) - essay by Robert A. Heinlein
• The Long Watch - (1949) - short story by Robert A. Heinlein
• Recommended Reading by Robert A. Heinlein - essay by uncredited
• Jack Williamson b. 1908 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• With Folded Hands ... - (1947) - novelette by Jack Williamson
• Jamboree - (1969) - short story by Jack Williamson
• The Mañana Literary Society - (1984) - essay by Jack Williamson
• The Firefly Tree - (1997) - short story by Jack Williamson
• Recommended Reading by Jack Williamson - essay by uncredited
• Clifford D. Simak 1904-1988 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Desertion - (1944) - short story by Clifford D. Simak
• Founding Father - (1957) - short story by Clifford D. Simak
• Grotto of the Dancing Deer - (1980) - short story by Clifford D. Simak
• Recommended Reading by Clifford D. Simak - essay by uncredited
• L. Sprague de Camp b. 1907 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• A Gun for Dinosaur - (1956) - novelette by L. Sprague de Camp
• Little Green Men from Afar - (1976) - essay by L. Sprague de Camp
• Living Fossil - (1939) - short story by L. Sprague de Camp
• Recommended Reading by L. Sprague de Camp - essay by uncredited
• Fritz Leiber 1910-1992 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Sanity - (1944) - short story by Fritz Leiber
• The Mer She - (1978) - novelette by Fritz Leiber
• A Bad Day for Sales - (1953) - short story by Fritz Leiber
• Recommended Reading by Fritz Leiber - essay by uncredited

The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (or SWFA)?and the Grand Master Award is given by the SWFA to a living author for a lifetime's achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.

Frederik Pohl, one of the world's finest SF authors and editors, has been authorized to edit an anthology in three large-format volumes featuring substantial selections of the work of all the first fifteen Grand Masters. These are the seminal writers within the modern SF field, those whose works are of dominant importance and lasting influence.

Volume Two, presenting the second five writers to receive the award, offers fiction by Andre Norton, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Alfred Bester, and Ray Bradbury.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Andre Norton b. 1912 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by Andre Norton - essay by uncredited
• Mousetrap - (1954) - short story by Andre Norton
• Were-Wrath - (1984) - novelette by Andre Norton
• All Cats Are Gray - (1953) - short story by Andre Norton
• Serpent's Tooth - (1987) - novella by Andre Norton
• Arthur C. Clarke b. 1917 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by Arthur C. Clarke - essay by uncredited
• Rescue Party - (1946) - novelette by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Secret - (1963) - short story by Arthur C. Clarke
• Reunion - (1971) - short story by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Star - (1955) - short story by Arthur C. Clarke
• A Meeting With Medusa - (1971) - novelette by Arthur C. Clarke
• Isaac Asimov 1920-1992 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by Isaac Asimov - essay by uncredited
• The Last Question - (1956) - short story by Isaac Asimov
• It's Such a Beautiful Day - (1955) - novelette by Isaac Asimov
• Strikebreaker - (1957) - short story by Isaac Asimov
• The Martian Way - (1952) - novella by Isaac Asimov
• Alfred Bester 1913-1987 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by Alfred Bester - essay by uncredited
• Disappearing Act - (1953) - short story by Alfred Bester
• Fondly Fahrenheit - (1954) - novelette by Alfred Bester
• Comment on Fondly Fahrenheit - (1970) - essay by Alfred Bester
• The Four-Hour Fugue - (1974) - short story by Alfred Bester
• Hobson's Choice - (1952) - short story by Alfred Bester
• Ray Bradbury b. 1920 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by Ray Bradbury - essay by uncredited
• The City - (1950) - short story by Ray Bradbury
• The Million-Year Picnic - (1946) - short story by Ray Bradbury
• All Summer in a Day - (1954) - short story by Ray Bradbury
• There Will Come Soft Rains - (1950) - short story by Ray Bradbury
• The Affluence of Despair - (1998) - essay by Ray Bradbury

The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented, by active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. The Grand Master Award is given to a living author for a lifetime's achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.

Frederik Pohl, an eminent figure in science fiction, has been authorized by the SFWA to edit an anthology in three big volumes featuring substantial selections of the work of all the first fifteen Grand Masters. These are the seminal writers of the modern SF field, whose works are of dominant importance and influence. This series of collections is a permanent record of greatness in SF.

Volume Three, presenting the last five writers to receive the Grand Master award, features the fiction of Lester Del Rey, Frederik Pohl, Damon Knight, A. E. Van Vogt, Jack Vance.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Lester del Rey 1915-1993 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by Lester del Rey - essay by uncredited
• The Faithful - (1938) - short story by Lester del Rey
• The Pipes of Pan - (1940) - short story by Lester del Rey
• The Coppersmith - (1939) - short story by Lester del Rey
• For I Am a Jealous People! - (1954) - novella by Lester del Rey
• Frederik Pohl b. 1919 - essay by Elizabeth Anne Hull
• Recommended Reading by Frederik Pohl - essay by uncredited
• Let the Ants Try - (1949) - short story by Frederik Pohl
• The Tunnel Under the World - (1955) - novelette by Frederik Pohl
• Day Million - (1966) - short story by Frederik Pohl
• The Gold at the Starbow's End - (1972) - novella by Frederik Pohl
• Damon Knight - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by Damon Knight - essay by uncredited
• The Handler - (1960) - short story by Damon Knight
• Dio - (1957) - novelette by Damon Knight
• Not With a Bang - (1950) - short story by Damon Knight
• I See You - (1976) - short story by Damon Knight
• Masks - (1968) - short story by Damon Knight
• A. E. van Vogt 1912-2000 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by A. E. van Vogt - essay by uncredited
• Black Destroyer - (1939) - novelette by A. E. van Vogt
• Far Centaurus - (1944) - short story by A. E. van Vogt
• Vault of the Beast - (1940) - novelette by A. E. van Vogt
• Dear Pen Pal - (1949) - short story by A. E. van Vogt
• Jack Vance b. 1916 - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Recommended Reading by Jack Vance - essay by uncredited
• Sail 25 - (1962) - novella by Jack Vance
• Ullward's Retreat - (1958) - novelette by Jack Vance
• The Miracle Workers - (1958) - novella by Jack Vance

In Stealing Light, Dakota discovered the Shoal's dark and dangerous secret, now she works towards stopping not only the spread of this knowledge, but also the onset of the Nova war.

Found adrift near a Bandati colony world far away from Consortium space, Dakota and Corso find themselves prisoners of the Bandati.

It becomes rapidly clear to them, that the humanity's limited knowledge of the rest of the galaxy - filtered through the Shoal - is direly inaccurate. The Shoal have been fighting a frontier war with a rival species, the Emissaries, with their own FTL technology for over fifteen thousand years.

Realising that the Shoal may be the Galaxy's one chance at sustained peace, Dakota is forced to work with Trader to prevent the spread of deadly knowledge carried on board the Magi ships. But it seems that the Nova War is inevitable.

In a world where summer comes once every five years, the unconventional Cantrix Sira is freed from captivity after training another Singer to bring warmth to the people of Nevya, but she fears that the Singers are dying out.

Jan Dorvin, the Minervan, has overthrown the power of no less than five of the mighty airship colonies known as the Sky Lords that once terrorized the Earth and destroyed her people.

Now, under her rule, the Lord Montcalm, the Lord Matamoros, the Perfumed Breeze, the Lord Retribution, and the Lord Nimrod all unwillingly bow to the ancient yet superior and terrible technology that she has plucked from outer space.

But not every Sky Lord is under her control. Now her enemies are learning that as much as they hate each other, the only way to survive is to join together in a colossal show of strength that not even the laser beams of a Sky Angel, a sentient computer program, or an uppity Minervan can resist.

A desert warrior joins forces with the Liege Lord of Tan in hopes of starting a war to regain control of their homeland.

The Directorate was run by the powerful few--genetically altered humans permanently linked with the Gi-net, the massive computer network which contained everything there was to know about the planets and space stations claimed by humankind. For centuries, the Directorate had ruled over countless star systems, its authority absolute and unquestioned. But now, stirrings of rebellion were being felt in this far-flung, commercial empire.

And at this crucial time, the Directorate had discovered a planet out beyond its farthest reaches, a place known only as World, where the descendants of humans stranded long ago by a starship crash had survived by becoming a race of warriors, a race led by its Prophets, men with the ability to see the many possible pathways of the future. Men who had already foreseen the coming of the Directorate's Patrol ship Bullet--and were preparing their warriors of Spider for this first contact in which even one wrong choice could destroy both World and empire...

One thousand years after Earth was destroyed in an unprovoked attack, humanity has emerged victorious from a series of terrible wars to assure its place in the galaxy. But during celebrations on humanity's new Homeworld, the legendary Captain Pantillo of the battle carrier Phoenix is court-martialed then killed, and his deputy, Lieutenant Commander Erik Debogande, the heir to humanity's most powerful industrial family, is framed with his murder.

Assisted by Phoenix's marine commander Trace Thakur, Erik and Phoenix are forced to go on the run, as they seek to unravel the conspiracy behind their Captain's demise, pursued to the death by their own Fleet. What they discover, about the truth behind the wars and the nature of humanity's ancient alien allies, will shake the sentient galaxy to its core.

The legendary battle-carrier UFS Phoenix is on the run in Outer Neutral Space. Lieutenant Commander Erik Debogande and Major Trace Thakur are determined to use neutral territory to broker a peace between humanity's warring factions, away from Fleet's strong arm.

But as machinations in Fleet Command send a legendary warrior from Trace's past on a sworn path to kill her, there arises in the territory of an insectoid foe an ancient enemy from the nightmares of Spiral history, bent on Phoenix's destruction....

The UFS Phoenix is on a mission to find a lost data-core that may contain the secret to defeating the alo-deepynine alliance. But the means to find the data-core is hidden deep in tavalai space, in a highest-security vault where the tavalai's manipulative State Department keep all their most treacherous secrets. To recover it, Phoenix must pull off the most daring heist the Spiral has ever seen. But Phoenix will need help -- in the form of a rebellious faction of the tavalai Fleet; a fanatical parren mystic who lusts mostly for power; a cynical old tavalai marine who's spent much of his life fighting humans; and a superintelligent AI queen who will sacrifice anything to rescue her race from extinction.

None of them can be trusted, and neither Captain Erik Debogande nor Major Trace Thakur is experienced in this kind of work. But each must gather his ingenuity and courage and learn as they go, as the scale of the threat confronting humanity looms larger, and the clock is ticking.

The UFS Phoenix is hunting for the long-lost drysine data-core. Within it lie the secrets to saving humanity from the resurgent deepynine machine-race. To recover it, Captain Erik Debogande must work together with the man who holds his sister hostage -- the power-hungry parren leader Aristan. Aristan has sworn he will return Lisbeth Debogande once Phoenix grants him equal access to its prize. But now from the direction of hostile space comes word of a dark force hunting humans and parren alike, determined at all costs that the store of the lost Drysine Empire's knowledge should be possessed by neither...

Upon the ancient drysine moon/city of Defiance, the UFS Phoenix is being rebuilt, but her crew cannot do so in peace. Parren factions jostle for control of not only Defiance, but of the drysine data-core that Phoenix won at such an awful price. But the parren do not lay sole claim to that ancient knowledge, and within the bowels of the machine-city, something long-dead is awakening. While aliens battle, Captain Debogande struggles to decide his next step. Human emissaries beckon him home, while a terrible new threat drives him toward the far edge of Spiral space. There live the croma, locked in a titanic struggle against the reeh, a species more terrifying than any yet faced by humanity. And holding perhaps the key to humanity's salvation are a small force of freedom fighters, waging a hopeless battle against impossible odds, having waited a thousand years for just such a saviour as the UFS Phoenix...

Separated from her ship, Major Trace Thakur is stranded on the reeh-occupied world of Rando. The native corbi have suffered beneath reeh tyranny for 800 years, and many have given up hope. But Trace needs the data stored in the reeh's genetic technology and command center -- the Rando Splicer -- if she's to learn how to save humanity from impending disaster, and is planning an assault against overwhelming odds. She'll need help from the UFS Phoenix, though, which is caught in a ritual medieval battle to change the croma leadership that sees her crew embarking on a perilous journey across a warring desert continent. Should they fail, humanity could be just one of many species to die.

The UFS Phoenix embarks on a dangerous quest for the AI Ceephay Queen who rules at the heart of the Reeh Empire. For cover, Phoenix will use the enormous war being launched by the new rulers of the croma, Croma'Dokran, into reeh space. This war is intended in part to evacuate the corbi homeworld of Rando, thus righting a great wrong of croma history by rescuing two hundred million corbi from reeh tyranny.

While Lisbeth defies her parren seniors to use drysine and parren firepower in assisting the evacuation, Erik captains Phoenix, accompanied by Styx's four drysine warships, to the world of Eshir, where Styx insists the Ceephay Queen was once located. There, in the ancient, ruined city of Qalea, Trace and Styx must lead an away mission through buried layers of Reeh Empire history to uncover its long-forgotten secrets. Discovering the Ceephay Queen's present location could set them on the road to saving humanity. But Qalea's secrets have been hidden by the reeh for millennia, secrets that could rock their Empire, and they will stop at nothing to keep hidden.

Deep within hostile Reeh Empire space, the UFS Phoenix is hunting another AI queen. This one is named Chion, and she has been installed at the heart of Reeh Empire power, enslaved against her will, for the past 8,000 years. Within her vast knowledge lies the most intimate data on Nia, the deepynine queen now threatening humanity's very existence. Freeing Chion could be the key to beating Nia, and saving humanity.

But Phoenix's allied drysine queen Styx, and Chion's AI former sidekick Shali, both want Chion for their own purposes. And Chion, of course, will be defended by the full might of the Reeh Empire. To free her, Phoenix and Styx must win control of an AI fleet known as Raka, derived from Nia's deepynine technology long ago, and used by the Reeh Empire for special missions. But this will mean placing the most powerful AI war fleet in known space into the hands of Styx. Shali insists it's suicide, and every bit the existential threat to humanity that Nia is. But do Captain Debogande and Major Thakur have any other choice?

The UFS Phoenix is finally homeward bound. On the way is Tuki Station, in barabo space, hit just now by a force of sard ships, working in concert with a larger invasion from alo space. An alo and deepynine fleet has attacked, and humanity's forces are in turmoil despite all of Phoenix's efforts over the past three years to prepare them.

Nia leads the assault, Styx's old AI queen nemesis from the Drysine/Deepynine War, the greatest armed conflict in Spiral history, twenty-five thousand years ago. But what does Nia seek? Is she after the drysine data-core, which Phoenix recovered nearly three years ago? Does she pursue members of the Debogande family visiting Hoffen Station, as a way to get at Phoenix's captain personally? And if she's making a full-scale attempt to remove humanity as a strategic threat, why do her battle plans look so odd?

Nia is the greatest synthetic military mind in history, save for Styx. Human Fleet desperately needs Styx's help, yet Supreme Commander Mazungu is terrified of ceding her, and Phoenix, too much power. And now Styx herself has competition, as Phoenix's shipboard AI Shali has just acquired a massive analysis program from reeh space, designed specifically to map Nia's mind, and beat her.

But can Nia be predicted, before it's all too late?

Her castle under siege by an evil knight who keeps beheading all her would-be rescuers, Lady Lynet realizes the only way to get help is to get it herself. So one night she slips away and strikes out for King Arthur's court where she hopes to find a gallant knight to vanquish the Knight of the Red Lands and free her castle. Gerald Morris's latest Arthurian novel is a highly comic tale of hidden identities, mysterious knights, faeries and enchantments, damsels-in-distress, and true love.

Mixing high fantasy and urban fantasy, the second novel of the Streets of Maradaine series follows the Rynax brothers' crew of outlaws as they attempt their biggest heist yet and restore justice to the common people.

The neighborhood of North Seleth has suffered--and not just the Holver Alley Fire. Poverty and marginalization are forcing people out of the neighborhood, and violence on the streets is getting worse. Only the Rynax brothers--Asti and Verci--and their Holver Alley Crew are fighting for the common people. They've taken care of the people who actually burned down Holver Alley, but they're still looking for the moneyed interests behind the fire.

The trail of breadcrumbs leads the crew to Lord Henterman, and they plan to infiltrate the noble's house on the other side of the city. While the crew tries to penetrate the heart of the house, the worst elements of North Seleth seem to be uniting under a mysterious new leader. With the crew's attention divided, Asti discovers that the secrets behind the fire, including ones from his past, might be found in Lady Henterman's wardrobe.

Ronin called no man master.

He was the finest swordsman of the Freehold, as sharp and deadly as his blade. Yet as the ancient city faltered, Ronin alone refused to pledge himself to any of the powerful Saardin who ruled the crumbling underground world of levels.

But now dark magic was loose in the world. As the ravings of the Magic Man foretold doom, Ronin and his lover, the sensual K'reen, were swept into a maelstrom of treachery, violence, and sudden death.

Their only hope lay in the lost scroll of the Ancients. And the desperate search led Ronin down into the very bowels of the earth, and up again, to the barrier of Freehold, where the endless ice began....

Ronin never believed there could be life on the surface of the earth. He was a Bladesman of the Freehold, a subterranean city built centuries ago to shelter civilization from the ecological catastrophe that coated the world with ice. But when the rulers of the Freehold turned on him, Ronin fled the only way he could: up, to the frozen surface.

Accompanied by Borros, the Magic Man, Ronin strikes out across the ice shelf, seeking shelter beside the frozen sea. What the pair finds is the exotic port city of Sha'angh'sei, home to the beautiful Kiri, where Ronin finds that everything is his for the taking. But even in this land of pleasure, they are not free from danger. Mythic creatures called Makkon threaten destruction. Ronin and Kiri must fight side by side to defeat this terrifying adversary.

Raised beneath the surface of the earth, Ronin escaped the subterranean city of Freehold to make his mark upon the world. After wandering the icy wastelands and coming to the port city of Sha'angh'sei, he has taken to the sea to seek a mythical island whose secrets could save mankind. Backed by a disfigured first mate, an adventure-hungry navigator, and a mysterious telepath, Ronin rides the storm-tossed waters, hoping to escape the chaos that civilization has become.

But at the end of this journey, mayhem awaits. Four bloodthirsty monsters known as the Makkon are convening to raise an army of death and call their sinister master back from beyond the grave. To turn this bloody tide, Ronin will have to ascend to a new identity. The Bladesman of Freehold has vanquished many enemies, and now he must battle the apocalypse.

A navigator joins forces with a female warrior to avenge a murder and save a princess in a fantastic world of madness and magic

Home is calling to Moichi Annai-Nin the navigator, oath-brother to the great Dai-San. But a series of horrific deaths in Sha'angh'sei have tied him indefinitely to this land, and justice must be served before he can set sail for the place where his heart truly dwells. A strange destiny awaits Moichi at the Circus of Souls--a treasure and a curse beyond all imagining--as he joins forces with Chiisai, the bewitching and beautiful Bujun warrior, on a perilous enterprise of rescue and vengeance that will carry them both to the ends of the world. For beyond all human boundaries, in the mysterious land of the opal moon, an unthinkable evil is on the rise--and a mad sorceress will not rest until she gains the awesome power to unleash nightmares on the earth.

In the continuation of the epic Sunset Warrior fantasy series, a man-god rises once more to confront a fearsome and unstoppable evil in a savage world where nothing is as it seems

Once he was but a man named Ronin. Trained as a swordsman, endowed with breathtaking skill, he was not destined merely to live and then die in a doomed city beneath a frozen world. Many years have passed since he first ventured into the void. Now he possesses powers beyond all imagining--godlike abilities both marvelous and terrible. Now he is revered and feared as savior and avenger, the tamer of monstrous beasts, the destroyer of the dark angel of Chaos--and dearly loved by his devoted bond-brother, Moichi Annai-Nin, and the beautiful, enigmatic, and lethal Chiisai. Now he is Dai-San, the Sunset Warrior. Gone are the days of fire, ice, and necromancy, and yet there are grave perils in this world of illusion--and enemies, once defeated, who seek a way back to this plane, driven by an insatiable need for vengeance. For Chaos must again have its day, and no power in the universe can prevent its terrible reemergence--not even the might of the Sunset Warrior.

As the orphaned nephew of the king, trusted companion to his cousin, and second heir to the throne of Skala, Prince Tobin's future is clear. But not as clear as the spring in which a hill witch shows him his true face--and his secret destiny....

Now Tobin carries a burden he cannot share with even his closest friend, Ki, his squire. He is to rule--not as he is but as he was born: a woman. Given the shape of a boy by dark magic, Tobin is the last hope of the people of Illior--those who desperately seek a return to the old ways, when Skala was ruled by a line of warrior queens. They still believe that only a woman can lift the war, famine, and pestilence that have run rampant through the land since the king usurped his half sister's throne. It is these outlaw wizards and witches who protect Tobin--and it is for them that Tobin must accept his fate.

With the unsuspecting yet fiercely loyal Ki at his side, Tobin must turn traitor against the only blood ties he has left. He must lift the masks of Skala's rulers to show their true colors--before he can reveal the power of the woman within himself.

There is nothing out of the ordinary in waking up... unless you're dead.

Sent on a dangerous mission with little hope of succeeding, the man known as "Twinkle Eyes" has beaten the odds and found the key that could save civilization: Rafik, a teenage boy with the power to unlock the invaluable Tarakan technology that can restart their world. But the world might not be ready for what is unleashed, and now Twinkle Eyes must find a needle in a haystack in order to save himself... and perhaps the world.

This time, though, he will not go it alone. And while his companions--from the fiery Vincha to the laconic Galinak--have their own motivations, each will be vital in solving the last grand puzzle. One that could bring prosperity and progress to the world or destroy humanity's last hope for ascension.

Now, a lone assassin from another era, two old friends, a dead man, a ruthless rogue mercenary, and a vicious warlord are all hunting for the ultimate prize. But what will happen when the final secret is unlocked, and technology long since buried once again finds its way into the hands of mankind?

In this debut novel and series starter, the last member of a murdered House searches for a missing nobleman, and uncovers clues about his own tortured past.

Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment's missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home.

With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam's relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune's Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family's death and the torments of his past?

The last member of a murdered House tries to protect his ward from forced marriage to a monster while uncovering clues to his own tortured past.

The Tarot Sequence imagines a modern-day Atlantis off the coast of Massachusetts, governed by powerful Courts based on the traditional Tarot deck.

Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Throne, is backed into a fight of high court magic and political appetites in a desperate bid to protect his ward, Max, from a forced marital alliance with the Hanged Man.

Rune's resistance will take him to the island's dankest corners, including a red light district made of moored ghost ships; the residence of Lady Death; and the floor of the ruling Convocation, where a gathering of Arcana will change Rune's life forever.

As Rune Saint John grapples with the challenges of assuming the Sun Throne, a powerful barrier appears around New Atlantis's famed rejuvenation center. But who could have created such formidable magic... what do they want from the immortality clinic... and what remains of the dozens trapped inside?

Though Rune and his lifelong bodyguard Brand are tasked with investigating the mysterious barrier, Rune is also busy settling into his new life at court. Claiming his father's throne has irrevocably thrown him into the precarious world of political deception, and he must secure relationships with newfound allies in time to keep his growing found family safe. His relationship with his lover, Addam Saint Nicholas, raises additional political complications they must navigate. But he and Brand soon discover that the power behind the barrier holds a much more insidious, far-reaching threat to his family, to his people, and to the world.

Now, the rulers of New Atlantis must confront an enemy both new and ancient as the flow of time itself is drawn into the conflict. And as Rune finds himself inexorably drawn back to the fall of his father's court and his own torture at the hands of masked conspirators, the secrets that he has long guarded will be dragged into the light--changing the Sun Throne, and New Atlantis, forever.

Since time began, the Grakhul--immortal servants of the gods--have taken human sacrifices to keep the world in balance and the gods appeased. When the choose the family of warrior Brogan McTyre, everything changes.

Brogan begins the toughest battle of his life to free his family from their terrible fate. But when you challenge the gods, you challenge the very fabric of society. Declared an outcast, Brogan and his kin are hunted like criminals--but nothing will stand in his way.

The gods are angry and only one man can fend off their apocalypse in the brutal sequel to The Last Sacrifice.

Brogan McTyre and his compatriots are wanted, dead or alive. Preferably alive, so they can be sacrificed to the raging gods. All they can do is hire more mercenaries and turn them into a fearsome army. But warriors aren't enough when the gods bring Armageddon to the world, unleashing storms and madness, and ceaseless attacks on Brogan's men by increasingly demonic foes.

Deep in the heart of the Broken Blades Mountains lies a sword containing the heart of a god slain in immortal combat, the one thing that might give Brogan an edge against the gods, but finding it isn't going to be easy...

The end times have come, but it's not too late for a hero to strike back, in the grimdark fantasy sequel to The Last Sacrifice and Fallen Gods.

Brogan McTyre started a war with the gods, and he's going to end it. Raging gods have laid waste to the Five Kingdoms. Only Torema remains, swollen with millions of refugees. Their last hope lies in fleeing by sea, but as storms tear at the coast, even King Opar can't muster enough ships for them all. Brogan and his warriors must fight the He-Kisshi to reach the Gateway, the sole portal for gods to enter the mortal world - and the only place where they can be killed. But the forces of creation have been unleashed, and they'll destroy the world to reshape it.

Ancient Greece: A place where the gods hold mortal life cheap, mere playthings to amuse, delight, and abuse at their will.

But those puny mortals are not wholly devoid of power and at the core of their fabulous city-states lies the Labyrinth, where they can shape the powers of the heavens to their own design. When Theseus entered the Labyrinth and came away with the prize of freedom and his beloved Adrianne, Mistress of the Labyrinth, his future seemed assured... Until he abandoned her for the unforgivable sin of bearing him only a daughter, and the world seemed to change. From that day forward, all the Labyrinths in the ancient world started to decay. It slowly became clear that power was fading from the city-states.

Was it the natural decline that comes to all cultures or was it because the power of the Labyrinth had been corrupted by a woman spurned?

A hundred years pass--Troy has fallen and the Trojans are a scattered and humbled people. The warrior Brutus is of the line of kings and gods. He wears the golden kingship bands of Troy proudly--but they are his only mementos of a former glory, for he is a man without a country and is left little else but pride and a memory of the latent power that he could wield if but given a chance. When he receives a god-sent vision of a distant shore where he can rebuild the ancient kingdom, he will move heaven and earth to reach his destiny.

Ever eastward he is drawn, to a lovely and mystical green land that offers him a haven--and a dream of power and conquest. Nothing will deter him... not even the entreaties of the young princess whom he took as his wife and bedded against her will. First her hatred--and now her love--torment and bind him. She is the only one who realizes the danger he is stepping into, and she will do anything to save him... and his son, whom she carries in her womb.

For in the mists of Albion there lies a woman of power--a woman who has used her siren call to cloud Brutus's mind and has her own reasons for luring the warrior to these lush shores....

She is the long-descended granddaughter of Adrianne, and she has in her heart a hatred that has been passed down for generations. Her plans for Brutus will enact a revenge that could destroy the gods themselves.

If Brutus makes the journey successfully, it will be the next step in the Game of the Labyrinth and might start a complicated contest of wills that could span centuries....

From ancient Greece they came, remnants of the glorious Trojans. Led by Brutus, Kingman, holder of the bands of gold that wield the very magic of the Gods, these travelers are bowed but not broken, and they have come to Albion to begin anew. A vision of beauty called them to create a new Troy, and when they landed on the shores of the land that became Britain, they found an old magic that was fading. And so they began to construct a new Labyrinth, a place of magic that will bring unimaginable power to those who can control it.

The temptress who brought Brutus to this land seeks to use him for her own purposes, but in that she fails, for it is the bride of Brutus who dooms the completion of the labyrinth... and sends all the players in this drama--handsome Brutus, his beautiful wife, Cornelia, and the sensuous and deadly Genvissa--into a hell of death and rebirth, until the Labyrinth is completed and the ancient magic is set free.

A thousand years pass. Cathedrals rise in place of mud and wattle huts, hymns to saints replace odes to Celtic and Greek gods. But the magic from the dawn of time waits, and the players are not yet done with their destinies. They have new faces and new bodies, but old souls--and not all who have come back remember their parts in this drama. There are kings and princes, deadly court intrigues, and ancient powers awoken.

And a warrior across the sea who only waits for his opportunity to finish what was started centuries before...

Darkwitch Rising is the third title in Sara Douglass's compelling Troy Game series, a riveting historical fantasy series of love and revenge set against the very fabric of time itself.

Britian. An ancient land. Most think they know its history. But few suspect and fewer still know the truth.

For back in the mists of time came Brutus, last of the Trojan kings, who was armed with the knowledge of how to construct a magical Labyrinth that could rival the might of the gods. He was drawn to this place by the alluring sorceress Genvissa and together they almost succeeded in creating the Labyrinth. But in the end they were thwarted by Brutus's wife Cornelia, who understood the danger to the land. Her actions however trapped them all into a endless cycle of death and rebirth until the magic of the Labyrinth is completed.

Ages pass. Time and again the players have come close to victory but each time there is a new wrinkle to stay the fulfillment of power.

The Now that these soul travelers arrive in is a most unique one. The English are at war, not with a foreign power but amongst themselves; a mighty Civil War that threatens to destroy a nation. A great pestilence is upon the land and the newly restored Charles II sits upon the throne trying to hold chaos at bay... and he is one of the major players in this drama.

And he is not alone.

1940. The skies above London are filled with German planes on nightly raids, a Blitz that brings a barrage of bombs that pound the city into rubble. Each morning Londoners face the night's handiwork and though they are presented with the possibility of sudden death, they are determined to fight the evil that threatens to destroy their nation. They struggle to live normal lives amid the terror and chaos.

But is it only Hitler's Luftwaffe and the Blitz that is responsible for all the death and destruction that the city is facing?

Brutus, the Greek Kingman who brought the bands of power to the isle of Alba millennia ago once again walks the streets of London, this time as an American major. The men and women who are his eternal companions (and sometimes lovers and enemies) have all been reborn in this time and place. They have come together for one last battle to finally complete the magical Labyrinth buried at the heart of the city. Half completed and resonating with an evil power, the Maze calls to them to complete the Game and possibly set all the players free. As Brutus works to find a solution that will end his age-old pain he comes to realize that there is a new power that walks the land. It is strong, hungry, and it has its own agenda.

And by its actions could change the world forever.

Gregor's adventures continue in Book 3 of the New York Times bestselling series by author Suzanne Collins.

With two prophecies fulfilled, Gregor is now focused on the Prophecy of Blood, which calls for Gregor and Boots to return to the Underland to help ward off a plague. But this time, his mother refuses to let him go... unless she is allowed to travel with them.

When they arrive in the subterranean city, the plague is spreading -- and it claims one of Gregor's closest companions. Only then does Gregor start to understand how the illness plays with the fate of all warm-blooded creatures. But how can he help combat it?

There is a dark secret that is hiding at the heart of New York City and diminishing the city's magicians' power in this fantasy thriller by acclaimed author Kat Howard.

In New York City, magic controls everything. But the power of magic is fading. No one knows what is happening, except for Sydney--a new, rare magician with incredible power that has been unmatched in decades, and she may be the only person who is able to stop the darkness that is weakening the magic. But Sydney doesn't want to help the system, she wants to destroy it.

Sydney comes from the House of Shadows, which controls the magic with the help of sacrifices from magicians.

After taking down the source of the corruption of the Unseen World, Sydney is left with almost no magical ability. Feeling estranged from herself, she is determined to find a way back to her status as one of the world's most dangerous magicians. Unfortunately, she needs to do this quickly: the House of Shadows, the hell on earth that shaped her into who she was, the place she sacrificed everything to destroy, is rebuilding itself.

"The House of shadows sits on bones. All of the sacrifices, all of the magicians who died in Shadows, they're buried beneath the foundations. Bones hold magic."

The magic of the Unseen World is acting strangely, faltering, bleeding out from the edges. Determined to keep the House of Shadows from returning to power and to defeat the magicians who want nothing more than to have it back, Sydney turns to extremes in a desperate attempt to regain her sacrificed magic. She is forced to decide what she will give up and what she will lose and whether what must be destroyed is not only the House of Shadows, but the Unseen World itself.

World Fantasy Award finalist Kat Howard has written a sequel that asks how you have a happily ever in a world that doesn't want it, where the cost of that happiness may be too much to bear.

If you trust her you'll never make it home...

Avery is an exceptional child. Everything he does is precise, from the way he washes his face in the morning, to the way he completes his homework - without complaint, without fuss, without prompt.

Zib is also an exceptional child, because all children are, in their own way. But where everything Avery does and is can be measured, nothing Zib does can possibly be predicted, except for the fact that she can always be relied upon to be unpredictable.

They live on the same street.

They live in different worlds.

On an unplanned detour from home to school one morning, Avery and Zib find themselves climbing over a stone wall into the Up and Under - an impossible land filled with mystery, adventure and the strangest creatures.

And they must find themselves and each other if they are to also find their way out and back to their own lives.

David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling and extraordinary science fiction ever written. Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War--a New York Times bestseller--together make up one of the most beloved sagas of all time. Brin's tales are set in a future universe in which no species can reach sentience without being "uplifted" by a patron race. But the greatest mystery of all remains unsolved: who uplifted humankind?

As galactic armadas clash in quest of the ancient fleet of the Progenitors, a brutal alien race seizes the dying planet of Garth. The various uplifted inhabitants of Garth must battle their overlords or face ultimate extinction. At stake is the existence of Terran society and Earth, and the fate of the entire Five Galaxies. Sweeping, brilliantly crafted, inventive and dramatic, The Uplift War is an unforgettable story of adventure and wonder from one of today's science fiction greats.

Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force--a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the extraordinary power of the senses.

It is a novel only Anne Rice could write....

As the novel opens, Lestat, having risen from the earth after a fifty-five years' sleep, and infatuated with the modern world, presents himself in all his vampire brilliance as a rock star, a superstar, a seducer of millions. And, in this blaze of adulation, daring to break the vampire oath of silence, he determines to tell his story, to rouse the generations of the living dead from their slumbers and to penetrate the riddle of his own existence.

As he speaks we are plunged back into eighteenth-century France, into the castle where we meet the young Lestat: child of impoverished aristocrats, heroic hunter of wolves, at odds with his tyrannical father, running away to join a traveling troupe of actors. We see him in the licentious Paris of the day, first apprentice at a boulevard theater, then its most celebrated actor, idolized, adored by many and--night after night--watched by one... until, in a sleep filled with dreams of the wolves he killed as a boy, he is shocked awake by a dark figure and suddenly, horribly, eternally joined to the unholy brotherhood.

We follow Lestat as he searches for others like him--in churches and brothels, in gambling houses, huts and palaces--sometimes joined by the vampire-angel Gabrielle, who is bound to him both by blood and by passion; sometimes traveling with his adored Nicolas, the violinist whose music and beauty are equally transcendent. We follow Lestat as he travels from the snowcapped mountains of the Auvergne and the primeval forest of ancient Gaul to Sicily, Istanbul, Venice and Cairo, searching for his origins, sometimes finding clues to the birth of the vampire race, knowing always that the central truth eludes him.

But all the while, throughout his travels, through many lands and many times, Lestat has made enemies among his brethren--vampires who are in terror of his questions, who fear he will disturb the uneasy balance in which they exist with the mortal world, and who suspect in him a desire to rule. And when, in the caves below a craggy Greek island, in a sanctuary whose walls are covered with gold-flecked murals, the very first of the living dead awake, the truth at the heart of his quest is at last revealed. Ancient forces held immobile through the ages are irreversibly set in motion, and as the novel rushes to its stunning climax, Lestat's vampire foes converge in pursuit of him on the demonic freeways of the twentieth century.

Three brilliantly colored narrative threads intertwine as the story unfolds:

- The rock star known as Vampire Lestat, worshipped by millions of spellbound fans, prepares for a concert in San Francisco. Among the audience--pilgrims in a blind swoon of adoration--are hundreds of vampires, creatures who see Lestat as a "greedy fiend risking the secret prosperity of all his kind just to be loved and seen by mortals," fiends themselves who hate Lestat's power and who are determined to destroy him . . .

- The sleep of certain men and women--vampires and mortals scattered around the world--is haunted by a vivid, mysterious dream: of twins with fiery red hair and piercing green eyes who suffer an unspeakable tragedy. It is a dream that slowly, tauntingly reveals its meaning to the dreamers as they make their way toward each other--some to be destroyed on the journey, some to face an even more terrifying fate at journey's end . . .

- Akasha--Queen of the Damned, mother of all vampires, rises after a 6,000 year sleep and puts into motion a heinous plan to "save" mankind from itself and make "all myths of the world real" by elevating herself and her chosen son/lover to the level of the gods: "I am the fulfillment and I shall from this moment be the cause" . . .

These narrative threads wind sinuously across a vast, richly detailed tapestry of the violent, sensual world of vampirism, taking us back 6,000 years to its beginnings. As the stories of the "first brood" of blood drinkers are revealed, we are swept across the ages, from Egypt to South America to the Himalayas to all the shrouded corners of the globe where vampires have left their mark. Vampires are created--mortals succumbing to the sensation of "being enptied, of being devoured, of being nothing." Vampires are destroyed. Dark rituals are performed--the rituals of ancient creatures prowling the modern world. And, finally, we are brought to a moment in the twentieth century when, in an astonishing climax, the fate of the living dead--and perhaps of the living, all the living--will be decided.

Lestat, the vampire-hero, enchanter and seducer of mortals, speaks in the new book in the bestselling Vampire Chronicles that began with Interview with the Vampire and continued with The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned. For centuries Lestat has been a courted prince in the dark universe of the living dead. But now he is alone, and everything he has come to believe in is called into question. Soon he will embark on the most dangerous enterprise he has ever undertaken.

In Anne Rice's extraordinary novel, the Vampire Lestat--outsides, canny monster, hero-wanderer--is at last offered the chance to be redeemed.

He is brought into direct confrontation with both God and the Devil, and into the land of Death.

We are in New York. The city is blanketed in snow. Through the whiteness Lestat is searching for Dora, the beautiful and charismatic daughter of a drug lord, the woman who arouses Lestat's tenderness as no mortal ever has.

While torn between his vampire passions and his overwhelming love for Dora, Lestat is confronted by the most dangerous of adversaries he has yet known.

He is snatched from the world itself by the mysterious Memnoch, who claims to be the Devil. He is invited to be a witness at the Creation. He is taken like the ancient prophets into the heavenly realm and is ushered into Purgatory.

He must decide if he can believe in the Devil or in God. And finally, he must decide which, if either, he will serve.

In the first four Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice summoned up for us worlds that are fantastic and distant, making them as resonant, real, and immediate as our own. In this, her most daring and darkest novel, she takes us, with Lestat, into the mythical world that is most important to us--into the realms of our own theology.

In the latest installment of The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice summons up dazzling worlds to bring us the story of Armand - eternally young, with the face of a Botticelli angel. Armand, who first appeared in all his dark glory more than twenty years ago in the now-classic Interview with the Vampire, the first of The Vampire Chronicles, the novel that established its author worldwide as a magnificent storyteller and creator of magical realms.

Now, we go with Armand across the centuries to the Kiev Rus of his boyhood - a ruined city under Mongol dominion - and to ancient Constantinople, where Tartar raiders sell him into slavery. And in a magnificent palazzo in the Venice of the Renaissance we see him emotionally and intellectually in thrall to the great vampire Marius, who masquerades among humankind as a mysterious, reclusive painter and who will bestow upon Armand the gift of vampiric blood.

As the novel races to its climax, moving through scenes of luxury and elegance, of ambush, fire, and devil worship to nineteenth-century Paris and today's New Orleans, we see its eternally vulnerable and romantic hero forced to choose between his twilight immortality and the salvation of his immortal soul.

In this mesmerizing new novel, Anne Rice demonstrates once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling and the creation of myth and magic, as she weaves together two of her most compelling worlds -- those of the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair witches.

Once a proud Senator in Imperial Rome, Marius is kidnapped and forced into that dark realm of blood, where he is made a protector of the Queen and King of the vampires–in whom the core of the supernatural race resides. Through his eyes we see the fall of pagan Rome to the Emperor Constantine, the horrific sack of the Eternal City at the hands of the Visigoths, and the vile aftermath of the Black Death. Ultimately restored by the beauty of the Renaissance, Marius becomes a painter, living dangerously yet happily among mortals, and giving his heart to the great master Botticelli, to the bewitching courtesan Bianca, and to the mysterious young apprentice Armand. But it is in the present day, deep in the jungle, when Marius will meet his fate seeking justice from the oldest vampires in the world. . . .

Welcome to Blackwood Farm: soaring white columns, spacious drawing rooms, bright, sun-drenched gardens, and a dark strip of the dense Sugar Devil Swamp. This is the world of Quinn Blackwood, a brilliant young man haunted since birth by a mysterious doppelgänger, Goblin, a spirit from a dream world that Quinn can't escape and that prevents him from belonging anywhere. When Quinn is made a Vampire, losing all that is rightfully his and gaining an unwanted immortality, his doppelgänger becomes even more vampiric and terrifying than Quinn himself.

As the novel moves backwards and forwards in time, from Quinn?s boyhood on Blackwood Farm to present day New Orleans, from ancient Athens to 19th-century Naples, Quinn seeks out the legendary Vampire Lestat in the hope of freeing himself from the spectre that draws him inexorably back to Sugar Devil Swamp and the explosive secrets it holds.

Fiery, fierce, and erotic, Blood Canticle marks the triumphant culmination of Anne Rice’s bestselling Vampire Chronicles, as Lestat tells his astounding tale of the pleasures and tortures that lie between death’s shadow and immortality. . . .

Surrounded by its brooding swampscape, Blackwood Farm is alive with the comings and goings of the bewitched and the bewitching. Among them is the ageless vampire Lestat, vainglorious enough to believe that he can become a saint, weak enough to fall impossibly in love.

Gripped by his unspeakable desire for the mortal Rowan Mayfair and taking the not so innocent, new-to-the-blood Mona Mayfair under his wing, Lestat braves the wrath of paterfamilias Julien Mayfair and ventures to a private island off the coast of Haiti. There, Saint Lestat will get his chance to slay his dragon. For Mona and the Mayfairs share an explosive, secret blood bond to another deathless species: a five-thousand-year-old race of Taltos, strangers held in the throes of evil itself.

The vampire world is in crisis - their kind have been proliferating out of control and, thanks to technologies undreamed of in previous centuries, they can communicate as never before. Roused from their earth-bound slumber, ancient ones are in thrall to the Voice: which commands that they burn fledgling vampires in cities from Paris to Mumbai, Hong Kong to Kyoto and San Francisco. Immolations, huge massacres, have commenced all over the world.

Who - or what - is the Voice? What does it desire, and why?

There is only one vampire, only one blood drinker, truly known to the entire world of the Undead. Will the dazzling hero-wanderer, the dangerous rebel-outlaw Lestat heed the call to unite the Children of Darkness as they face this new twilight?

Anne Rice's epic, luxuriant, fiercely ambitious new novel brings together all the worlds and beings of the legendary Vampire Chronicles, from present-day New York and Ancient Egypt to fourth-century Carthage and Renaissance Venice; from Louis de Pointe du Lac; Armand the eternally young; Mekare and Maharet; to Pandora and Flavius; David Talbot, vampire and ultimate fixer from the Secret Talamasca; and Marius, the true child of the Millennia. It also introduces many other seductive supernatural creatures, and heralds significant new blood.

From Anne Rice, conjurer of the beloved best sellers Interview with the Vampire and Prince Lestat, an ambitious and exhilarating new novel of utopian vision and power

"In my dreams, I saw a city fall into the sea. I heard the cries of thousands. I saw flames that outshone the lamps of heaven. And all the world was shaken..." --Anne Rice, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

At the novel's center: the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, hero, leader, inspirer, irresistible force, irrepressible spirit, battling (and ultimately reconciling with) a strange otherworldly form that has somehow taken possession of Lestat's undead body and soul. This ancient and mysterious power and unearthly spirit of vampire lore has all the force, history, and insidious reach of the unknowable Universe.

It is through this spirit, previously considered benign for thousands of vampire years and throughout the Vampire Chronicles, that we come to be told the hypnotic tale of a great sea power of ancient times; a mysterious heaven on earth situated on a boundless continent--and of how and why, and in what manner and with what far-reaching purpose, this force came to build and rule the great legendary empire of centuries ago that thrived in the Atlantic Ocean.

And as we learn of the mighty, far-reaching powers and perfections of this lost kingdom of Atalantaya, the lost realms of Atlantis, we come to understand its secrets, and how and why the vampire Lestat, indeed all the vampires, must reckon so many millennia later with the terrifying force of this ageless, all-powerful Atalantaya spirit.

From his meticulously restored ancestral chateau high up in the mountains of France, Prince Lestat grapples to instil a new ideology of peace and harmony among the blood-drinking community. Accustomed to welcoming the Undead from far and wide, one night he awakes to news of a ruthless attack by a group of maverick blood-drinkers.

After fleeing to investigate the terror, Lestat learns of several new enemies who despise his rule over the blood-drinking realm, and who are intent on disrupting the harmony he tries so hard to maintain. But is Lestat strong enough to take on such evil alone or will sacrifices have to be made? Will his cry for peace be heard in a world riddled with violence?

An enthralling, spellbinding adventure that sweeps from the snowy French mountains to the verdant wilds of Louisiana, on to the far reaches of the Pacific's untouched islands and back to 18th-century St. Petersburg, Blood Communion will have readers gripped to the very end. It is not just a compelling tale of a troubled leader, but a novel about the power of ambition, as well as a timely reflection on the struggle of individuals to find and defend their place in the world.

Once, all power in the Vin Lands was held by the prince-mages, who alone could craft spellwines, and selfishly used them to increase their own wealth and influence. But their abuse of power caused a demigod to break the Vine, shattering the power of the mages. Now, fourteen centuries later, it is the humble Vinearts who hold the secret of crafting spells from wines, the source of magic, and they are prohibited from holding power.

But now rumors come of a new darkness rising in the vineyards. Strange, terrifying creatures, sudden plagues, and mysterious disappearances threaten the land. Only one Vineart senses the danger, and he has only one weapon to use against it: a young slave. His name is Jerzy, and his origins are unknown, even to him. Yet his uncanny sense of the Vinearts' craft offers a hint of greater magics within -- magics that his Master, the Vineart Malech, must cultivate and grow. But time is running out. If Malech cannot teach his new apprentice the secrets of the spellwines, and if Jerzy cannot master his own untapped powers, the Vin Lands shall surely be destroyed.

In Flesh and Fire, first in a spellbinding new trilogy, Laura Anne Gilman conjures a story as powerful as magic itself, as intoxicating as the finest of wines, and as timeless as the greatest legends ever told.

An island nation has vanished. Men of honor and magic have died unnatural deaths. Slaves flee in terror. . . . Are the silent gods beginning to speak? Or is another force at work in the Lands Vin?

Laura Anne Gilman’s critically acclaimed, Nebula Award–nominated Flesh and Fire introduced a brilliantly imagined world where the grapevine—cultivated by the Vinearts who know the secrets of wine magic—holds together disparate lands. Now, confusion, violence, and terror are sweeping over the Lands Vin. And four people are at the center of a storm.

Jerzy, Vineart apprentice and former slave, was sent by his master to investigate strange happenings—and found himself the target of betrayal. Now he must set out on his own journey, to find the source of the foul taint that threatens to destroy everything he holds dear. By Jerzy’s side are Ao, who lives for commerce and the art of the deal; Mahault, stoic and wise, risking death in flight from her homeland; and Kaïnam, once Named-Heir of an island principality, whose father has fallen into a magic-tangled madness that endangers them all.

These four companions will travel far from the earth and the soul of the vine, sailing along coastlines aflame with fear, confronting sea creatures summoned by darkness, and following winds imbued with malice. Their journey will take them to the very limits of the Sin Washer’s reach . . . And into a battle for the soul of the Lands Vin. For two millennia the Sin Washer’s Commandment has kept these lands in order: Those of magic shall hold no power over men and those princes of power shall hold no magic. Now, that law has given way. And a hidden force seeks the havoc of revenge.

An adventure through an unforgettable realm conjured by breathtaking imagination, Laura Anne Gilman’s saga of the Vineart War is a "dramatic, authentic, and potent" (Publishers Weekly) literary delight.

An island nation has vanished. Men of honor and magic have died unnatural deaths. Slaves flee in terror. . . . Are the silent gods beginning to speak? Or is another force at work in the Lands Vin?

Laura Anne Gilman’s critically acclaimed, Nebula Award–nominated Flesh and Fire introduced a brilliantly imagined world where the grapevine—cultivated by the Vinearts who know the secrets of wine magic—holds together disparate lands. Now, confusion, violence, and terror are sweeping over the Lands Vin. And four people are at the center of a storm.

Jerzy, Vineart apprentice and former slave, was sent by his master to investigate strange happenings—and found himself the target of betrayal. Now he must set out on his own journey, to find the source of the foul taint that threatens to destroy everything he holds dear. By Jerzy’s side are Ao, who lives for commerce and the art of the deal; Mahault, stoic and wise, risking death in flight from her homeland; and Kaïnam, once Named-Heir of an island principality, whose father has fallen into a magic-tangled madness that endangers them all.

These four companions will travel far from the earth and the soul of the vine, sailing along coastlines aflame with fear, confronting sea creatures summoned by darkness, and following winds imbued with malice. Their journey will take them to the very limits of the Sin Washer’s reach . . . And into a battle for the soul of the Lands Vin. For two millennia the Sin Washer’s Commandment has kept these lands in order: Those of magic shall hold no power over men and those princes of power shall hold no magic. Now, that law has given way. And a hidden force seeks the havoc of revenge.

When the aliens invade, all seems lost.The world as they know it is destroyed. Their friends are kidnapped. Their families are changed.

But with no adults left to run things, young trans-girl Violet and her new friend Bo realize that they are free to do whatever they want to to do and be whoever they want to be.

Except the invaders won't leave them alone for long...

This thrilling debut by one of the most acclaimed short form writers in science fiction tells the story of two young outsiders who must find a way to fight back against the aliens who have taken over their city.

The invasion is over, but not all the aliens are gone. As the outside world learns what happened to the city, Violet and Bo struggle to keep their ally Gloom hidden from prying eyes.

Those in power believe he is the key to unlocking the invaders' technology and will stop at nothing to capture him.

All the while, the invasion's survivors are being drawn to a mysterious anomaly that might be their destruction -- or their salvation from an even greater threat.

In this first volume in the saga of the Von Bek family, a knight is caught between his code of honor and his system of beliefs.

Discharged from the Barrarayan academy after flunking the physical, a discouraged Miles Vorkosigan takes possession of a jumpship and becomes the leader of a mercenary force that expands to a fleet of treasonous proportions.

An epic fantasy ode to martial arts and magic--the story of a spoiled hero, an exacting grandmaster, and an immortal god-king.

It has been foretold: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom. The hero: Jian, who has been raised since birth in luxury and splendor, celebrated before he has won a single battle.

But the prophecy was wrong.

Because when Taishi, the greatest war artist of her generation, arrives to evaluate the prophesied hero, she finds a spoiled brat unprepared to face his destiny.

But the only force more powerful than fate is Taishi herself. Possessed of an iron will, a sharp tongue--and an unexpectedly soft heart--Taishi will find a way to forge Jian into the weapon and leader he needs to be in order to fulfill his legend.

What follows is a journey more wondrous than any prophecy can foresee: a story of master and student, assassin and revolutionary, of fallen gods and broken prophecies, and of a war between kingdoms, and love and friendship between deadly rivals.

Once there was a prophecy that a chosen one would rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, an immortal god-king.

But the prophecy was wrong.

Now Jian, the former chosen hero, is just an ordinary young man trying to find his own way. But he may yet have an extraordinary destiny, because he joins forces with Taishi, his grumpy grandmaster, who instructs him in the ways of her family's powerful war art. Jian still has a long way to go before he can become her heir, so she recruits a band of elderly grandmasters who come out of retirement to whip him into shape and help with this one last job.

And there are others who are also seeking their own destiny, like Qisami, an assassin on a secret mission to protect a powerful noblewoman from her enemies. But as Qisami goes undercover to complete her mission, she takes on a new identity that gives her something she never had before: friendship, found family, and new purpose.

Sali also thought her fate was laid before her. She was supposed to be looking for the next Eternal Khan and now finds her clan exiled from everything she's ever known. As she leads the survivors in search of a new home, Sali discovers that she's something she never thought she could be: a leader and a revolutionary.

Because sometimes destiny is grander than any prophecy can foresee. And the greatest destiny of all is the one you choose for yourself.

With the great king dying, the sole hope of the people of Alemar to protect them from the powerful dragon and its minions lies in two warriors, lost deep in the heart of a perilous desert.

The dragon sends forth wizards and armies to devastate the kingdoms of men. The last descendants of the Dragonslayer flee assassins. And from a distant wilderness two warriors come in search of the talisman that could decide the fate of all.

The Assassin King opens at winter's end with the arrival by sea of a mysterious hunter, a man of ancient race and purpose, who endlessly chants the names of the pantheon of demons that are his intended victims, as well as one other: Ysk, the original name of the Brother, now known as Achmed, the Assassin King of Ylorc.

At the same moment of this portentous arrival, two gatherings of great import are taking place. The first is a convocation of dragons, who gather in a primeval forest glade--the site of the horrific ending of Llauron, one of the last of their kind. They mourn not only his irrevocable death, but the loss of the lore and control over the Earth itself that it represents. The ancient wyrms are terrified for what will come as a result of this loss.

The second gathering is a council of war held in the depths of the keep of Haguefort: Ashe and Rhapsody, rulers of the alliance that protects the Middle Continent; Gwydion, the new Duke of Navarne; Anborn, the Lord Marshall; Achmed, the King of Ylorc, and Grunthor, his Sergeant-Major. Each brings news that form the pieces of a great puzzle. And as each piece is added it becomes quite clear: War is coming, the likes of which the world has never known.

Cataclysm, both large and small, await in this sixth volume of the USA Today bestselling fantasy series, The Symphony of Ages. A twisting, fast-moving tale, The Assassin King promises endless surprises--most of which lead to pain.

The long awaited seventh book in Elizabeth Haydon's critically-acclaimed epic fantasy series, the Symphony of Ages.

The war that they had feared is now upon them. Ashe and Rhapsody, leaders of the Cymrian Alliance, are gathering their allies to combat the machinations of Talquist, who will soon be crowned emperor of Sorbold. Gwydion Navarne remains by Ashe's side. Anborn, Lord Marshal, has taken to the field. And Rhapsody has been forced into hiding to protect the life of her infant son.

The Merchant Emperor of Sorbold has unintentionally allied himself with a pair of demons and has begun targeting the dragons that remain on the Middle Continent. Talquist will stop at nothing until the Cymrians are wiped out and the entire continent and the rest of the Known World is under his rule.

Assailed by danger from all sides, surrounded by lies and intrigue, Rhapsody is left with one undeniable truth: if their forces are to prevail, she must join the war herself, wielding the Daystar Clarion, an ancient weapon whose power is nearly unparalleled. As she struggles to reconcile her duties as a mother and ruler, a danger far more devastating than Talquist is stirring beneath the surface of the land itself.

In The Merchant Emperor, beloved characters are forced to make soul shattering sacrifices. Bestselling author Elizabeth Haydon has delivered a breathtaking seventh installment to the Symphony of Ages.

Beset on all sides by the forces of the merchant emperor Talquist, the Cymrian Alliance finds itself in desperate straits. Rhapsody herself has joined the battle, wielding the Daystar Clarion, leaving her True Name in hiding with her infant son. Ashe tries to enlist the aid of the Sea Mages. Within their Citadel of Scholarship lies the White Ivory tower, a spire that could hold the key to unraveling the full extent of Talquist's machinations. Achmed journeys to the reportedly unassailable palace of Jierna Tal, to kill emperor Talquist--all the while knowing that even if he succeeds, it may not be enough to stop the momentum of the war.

As they struggle to untangle the web of Talquist's treachery, the leaders of the Cymrian alliance are met with obstacles at every turn. Rhapsody soon realizes that the end of this war will come at an unimaginable price: the lives of those she holds dearest.

Acclaimed author Elizabeth Haydon returns with a heartbreaking tale of love and valor in The Weaver's Lament, the ninth and final installment of her USA Today bestselling Symphony of Ages series that began with Rhapsody.

For a thousand years, the lands ruled by the Cymrian Alliance have been at peace. When the brutal death of a dear friend catapults the kingdom to the brink of civil war, Rhapsody finds herself in an impossible situation: forced to choose between her beloved husband, Ashe, and her two oldest friends, Grunthor and Achmed. Choosing her husband will mean the death of thousands of innocents. Siding against him will cost Rhapsody the other half of her soul, both in this life and the next.

In The Weaver's Lament, the lines between the past and future are irrevocably blurred, and the strength of true love is tested in unthinkable ways. Bestselling author Elizabeth Haydon has delivered a spectacular conclusion to the Symphony of Ages.

Hugo Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in Omni, April 1987 and was reprinted in Clarkesworld Magazine, #92 May 2014. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection (1988), edited by Gardner Dozois, Invaders! (1993) edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois and War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches (1996) edited by Kevin J. Anderson. It is included in the collections Night of the Cooters (1990) and Things Will Never Be the Same: Selected Short Fiction, 1980 - 2005 (2008).

Read the full story for free at Clarkesworld.

Sidewise Award winning novelette. It originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, January 1996. The story can also be found in the anthologies War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches (1996), edited by Kevin J. Anderson, and The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fourteenth Annual Collection (1997), edited by Gardner Dozois. It is included in the collection Frankensteins and Foreign Devils (1998).

A stroke of the pen and history is changed. In 1938, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, determined to avoid war, signed the Munich Accord, ceding part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. But the following spring, Hitler snatched the rest of that country, and England, after a fatal act of appeasement, was fighting a war for which it was not prepared. Now, in this thrilling alternate history, another scenario is played out: What if Chamberlain had not signed the accord?

In this action-packed chronicle of the war that might have been, Harry Turtledove uses dozens of points of view to tell the story: from American marines serving in Japanese-occupied China and ragtag volunteers fighting in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion in Spain to an American woman desperately trying to escape Nazi-occupied territory--and witnessing the war from within the belly of the beast. A tale of powerful leaders and ordinary people, at once brilliantly imaginative and hugely entertaining, Hitler's War captures the beginning of a very different World War II--with a very different fate for our world today.

What if British prime minister Neville Chamberlain had defied Hitler? What if the Munich Accord had gone unsigned, and Nazi Germany had launched its bid for conquest sooner? How would World War II have unfolded--and with what consequences? Dean of alternate history Harry Turtledove has the stunning answers in his breathtaking sequel to Hitler's War.

In the wake of Hitler's bold invasion of Czechoslovakia, nations turn against nations, old enemies form new alliances, and ordinary men and women confront extraordinary life-and-death situations. An American marine falls in love with a Russian dancer in Japanese-held Singapore, as Chinese guerilla resistance erupts. A sniper on the frontlines of France finds a powerful new way to ply his deadly art--while a German assassin hunts him. In the icy North Atlantic, as a U-boat with a secret weapon wreaks havoc on British ships, occupying Nazi forces target Denmark. And in Germany, a stranded American woman encounters Hitler himself, as a Jewish family faces the rising tide of hatred. From Siberia to Spain, armies clash, sides are chosen, new weapons raise the deadly ante, and new strategies seek to break a growing stalemate. But one question hangs over the conflict from West to East: What will it take to bring America into this war?

In 1941 Winston Churchill was Hitler's worst enemy. Then a Nazi secret agent changed everything.

What if Neville Chamberlain, instead of appeasing Hitler, had stood up to him in 1938? Enraged, Hitler reacts by lashing out at the West, promising his soldiers that they will reach Paris by the new year. Instead, three years pass, and with his genocidal apparatus not fully in place, Hitler barely survives a coup, while Jews cling to survival, and England and France wonder whether the war is still worthwhile. The stage is set for World War II to unfold far differently from the history we know--courtesy of Harry Turtledove, wizard of "what if?," in the continuation of his thrilling series: The War That Came Early.

Through the eyes of characters ranging from a brawling American serving with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain to a woman who has seen Hitler's evil face-to-face, The Big Switch rolls relentlessly forward into 1941. As the Germans and their Polish allies slam into the gut of the Soviet Union in the west, Japan pummels away in the east. Meanwhile, in the trenches of France, French and Czech forces are outmanned but not outfought by their Nazi enemy. Then the stalemate is shattered. In England Winston Churchill dies suddenly, leaving the gray men wondering who their real enemy is. And as the USSR makes peace with Japan, the empire of the Rising Sun looks westward--its war with America about to begin.

In 1941, a treaty between England and Germany unravels--and so does a different World War II.

In Harry Turtledove's mesmerizing alternate history of World War II, the choices of men and fate have changed history. Now it is the winter of 1941. As the Germans, with England and France on their side, slam deep into Russia, Stalin's terrible machine fights for its life. But the agreements of world leaders do not touch the hearts of soldiers. The war between Germany and Russia is rocked by men with the courage to aim their guns in a new direction.

England is the first to be shaken. Following the suspicious death of Winston Churchill, with his staunch anti-Nazi views, a small cabal begins to imagine the unthinkable in a nation long famous for respecting the rule of law. With civil liberties hanging by a thread, a conspiracy forms against the powers that be. What will this daring plan mean for the European war as a whole?

Meanwhile, in America, a woman who has met Hitler face-to-face urges her countrymen to wake up to his evil. For the time being, the United States is fighting only Japan--and the war is not going as well as Washington would like. Can Roosevelt keep his grip on the country's imagination?

Coup d'Etat captures how war makes for the strangest of bedfellows. A freethinking Frenchman fights side by side with racist Nazis. A Czech finds himself on the dusty front lines of the Spanish Civil War, gunning for Germany's Nationalist allies. A German bomber pilot courts a half-Polish, half-Jewish beauty in Bialystock. And the Jews in Germany, though trapped under Hitler's fist, are as yet protected by his fear of looking bad before the world--and by an outspoken Catholic bishop.

With his spectacular command of character, coincidence, and military and political strategies, Harry Turtledove continues a passionate, unmatched saga of a World War II composed of different enemies, different allies--and hurtling toward a horrific moment. For a diabolical new weapon is about to be unleashed, not by the United States, but by Japan, in a tactic that will shock the world.

In 1942, two nations switch sides--and World War II takes a horrifying new course.

In the real world, England and France allowed Adolf Hitler to gobble up the Sudetenland in 1938. Once Hitler finished dismembering Czechoslovakia, he was ready to go to war over Poland a year later. But Hitler had always been eager to seize Czechoslovakia, no matter the consequences. So what if England and France had stood up to the Nazis from the start, and not eleven months later? That is the question behind the War That Came Early series.

Four years later, the civil war in Spain drags on, even after General Franco's death. The United States, still neutral in Europe, fights the Japanese in the Pacific. Russia and Germany go toe-to-toe in Eastern Europe--yet while Hitler stares east, not everything behind him is going as well as he would like. But nothing feeds ingenuity like the fear of losing. The Germans wheel out new tanks and planes, Japan deploys weapons of a very different sort against China, and the United States, England, and France do what they can to strengthen themselves against imminent danger.

Seen through the eyes of ordinary citizens caught in the maelstrom, this is a you-are-there chronicle of battle on land and sea and in the air. Here are terrifying bombing raids that shatter homes, businesses, and the rule of law. Here are commanders issuing orders that, once given, cannot be taken back. And here are the seeds of rebellion sown in blood-soaked soil.

In a war in which sides are switched and allies trust one another only slightly more than they trust their mortal enemies, Nazi Germany has yet to send its Jews to death camps, and dangerous new nationalist powers arise in Eastern Europe. From thrilling submarine battles to the horror of men fighting men and machines all through Europe, Two Fronts captures every aspect of a brilliantly reimagined conflict: the strategic, the political, and the personal force of leaders bending nations to their wills.

History is changed by one small act.

In an extraordinary saga of nations locked in war, master storyteller Harry Turtledove tells the story of World War II, which begins over Czechoslovakia rather than Poland, eleven months earlier than it really came. Now we have the final installment in Turtledove's landmark World War II series.

Hitler's Plan A was to win in a hurry, striking hard and deep into France. There was no Plan B. Now the war grinds on. Countries have been forced into strange alliances. The Nazis fortify thin lines with Hungarian and Romanian troops. England, finding its footing after the suspicious death of Winston Churchill and a coup d'état, fights back in Europe and on the seas of the North Atlantic. Jews fight on both sides of the war--in secret in German uniform, openly in Spain, France, and Russia. Into the standoff come new killing tools, from tanks to bazookas. In the Pacific, Japan prepares bombs filled with macabre biological concoctions to be dropped on Hawaii.

For the U.S., the only enemy is Japan, as there has been no casus belli for America in Europe. Then Hitler becomes desperate and declares war on the United States. But is it too late? His own people are rising up in revolt. The German military may have to put down the violence, even perhaps bomb its own cities.

In this epic drama, real men and women are shaped by the carnage, and their individual acts in turn shape history.

Drawing on the gritty, personal reality of war and on a cast of unforgettable characters, Harry Turtledove has written an alternate history that intrigues, fascinates, and astounds.

The Hook: It was a college coffee house puzzle, a conundrum that excused freedom's purists from actually doing anything about governmental oppression except talk about it, make speeches, and write turgid tomes all of which did little to advance the cause of freedom in a world plummeting into a mire of collectivist control. The best freedom's advocates could offer were compromises until, as much of the world once again stood on the brink of yet another war and by the grace of a horrific hurricane and the efforts of a good many students, a patch of pure libertarian freedom came into existence. The Hook, however, still stood without an answer. Unless an answer could be found, that patch of freedom would be crushed out of existence, thousands would die, and millions would be returned to oppression. It was a problem for a particular kind of savant, but Jerry Track first needed to find something in which to believe. The Hook is the fifth book of Jerome Track's autobiography.

Hugo Award nominated novella.

His blind fury is infamous, his strength without rival, but the legend of the man known as the Butcher of Khardov was forged in a crucible of pain...

The legacy of the massacre near Boarsgate at the hand of the warcaster Orsus Zoktavir has followed him his whole life--but it is another memory that fuels both his rage and his will to live. Before he was one of Khador's most potent weapons he was simply a young man striving to make a life for himself, and for his beloved, free of the violence that came so easily to him. Her gentle presence helps him quell his simmering temper, but fate changes everything, sweeping him up in events that would lead to grief and madness.

Learn the tragic history of Orsus Zoktavir and plumb the depths of his rage in The Butcher of Khardov.

For fans who have always wanted their Twin Peaks to have some wizards, THE WARDEN is a non-stop action adventure story from author Daniel M. Ford.

There was a plan.

She had the money, the connections, even the brains. It was simple: become one of the only female necromancers, pass as many certifications as she could, get a post near the capital, then... profit. The funny thing about plans is that they are seldom under your control.

Now Aelis, a daughter of a noble house and a trained Magister of the Lyceum, finds herself in the far-removed village of Lone Pine. Mending fences and delivering baby goats, serving people who want nothing to do with her. But, not all is well in Lone Pine, and as the villagers Aelis is reluctantly getting to know start to behave strangely, Aelis begins to suspect that there is far greater need for a warden of her talents than she previously thought.

Old magics are restless, and an insignificant village on the furthest border of the kingdom might hold secrets far beyond what anyone expected. Aelis might be the only person standing between one of the greatest evils ever known and the rest of the free world.

Aelis de Lenti, Lone Pine's newly assigned Warden, is in deep trouble. She has just opened the crypts of Mahlgren, releasing an army of the undead into the unprotected backwoods of Ystain.

To protect her village, she must unearth a source of immense Necromantic power at the heart of Mahlgren. The journey will wind through waves of undead, untamed wilderness, and curses far older than anything Aelis has ever encountered. But as strong as Aelis is, this is one quest she cannot face alone.

Along with the brilliant mercenary she's fallen for, her half-orc friend, and a dwarven merchant, Aelis must race the clock to unravel mysteries, slay dread creatures, and stop what she has set in motion before the flames of a bloody war are re-ignited.

Aelis de Lenti is back on her home turf, but it's not quite as welcoming as she remembered....

Recalled from Lone Pine to investigate claims of murder by magic against her mentor - legendary Warden Bardun Jacques - Aelis takes to the streets of the grand city of Lascenise, and plumbs the deepest secrets of the Lyceum to clear his name. Certain of her success, she doesn't count on thieves, subterranean labyrinths, or the assassins that dog her steps from the moment she leaves her tower.

Behind all of it lurks a ring of unknown wizards who can seemingly reach anyone with their magic. Without knowing who she can trust, Aelis must gather what allies she can to unravel the web of intrigue, murder, smuggling, and theft originating in the halls of magic power. With an old friend from her college days, a war-haunted gnome thief-catcher, and the advice of her imprisoned advisor, Aelis races to save lives and expose a conspiracy that seeks to change the face of the world.

Reina is desperate.

Stuck on the edges of society, Reina's only hope lies in an invitation from a grandmother she's never met. But the journey to her is dangerous, and prayer can't always avert disaster.

Attacked by creatures that stalk the mountains, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña's magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn--and keep--her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesaré is unwanted.

Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family's shame. She tries to be the perfect daughter, but Eva is hiding a secret: Magic calls to her.

Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet it's hard to ignore power when it has always been denied you. Eva is walking a dangerous path. And in the end, she'll become something she never imagined.

The ship was to be seven miles long, a third of a mile in diameter and have a wing-spread of three and a half miles. It would take two and a half centuries to construct. Its announced purpose: to carry humanity away from its ruined world, from the world that had become a perpetual purgatory.

To build this vast ship would require the undivided activity of an entire nation and would mean carrying out a ruthless program of war and conquest, of annihilation and reconstruction, and of education and rediscovery.

But was this starship really what it was claimed to be? Or was there a greater secret behind its incredible cost - a secret so strange that no man dared reveal it?

Amon VanRoark heard the prophet speaking in the market place of the decaying city. He called men to the wars, to the fabled Meadows where the armies of Good would meet the forces of Evil in one final Armageddon that would decide the fate of a world already doomed and dying.

VanRoark followed the prophet to the Meadows and there he witnessed the last cataclysmic battle between humanity and the dark powers of Salasar.

After centuries of fighting wizards, dedicated scientists have found the answer to winning the war: turn magic into science. Reduce it to its final empirical base, to be read and studied.

But to gather such information, the Special Office decides a transmitter must be implanted in a legendary unicorn, the prize talisman of the most powerful magician. Then it can spy upon the highest councils of sorcery and the daily transmissions analyzed.

Wearing this electronic eye in places of his own, Aden enters the Holy City and carries out the mission. But it leaves him vulnerable to the wonders of enchantment, and he wanders the middle ground between two warring forces. As scientific rationality picks up momentum and the enchantment of the enemy crumbles away before it, Aden - and those out to stop him - races to find the unicorn again.

The stunning first volume in Janny Wurts's epic tale of two half-brothers cursed to life-long enmity, now re-released with a striking new cover.

The world of Athera lives in eternal fog, its skies obscured by the malevolent Mistwraith. Only the combined powers of two half-brothers can challenge the Mistwraith's stranglehold: Arithon, Master of Shadow and Lysaer, Lord of Light.

Arithon and Lysaer will find that they are inescapably bound inside a pattern of events dictated by their own deepest convictions. Yet there is more at stake than one battle with the Mistwraith – as the sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven know well. For between them the half-brothers hold the balance of the world, its harmony and its future, in their hands.

The half-brothers Arithon, Master of Shadow, and Lysaer, Lord of Light, have defeated the Mistwraith and dispersed the fogs that smothered Athera's skies. But their victory comes at a high price: the Mistwraith has set them at odds under a powerful curse of vengeance. The two princes are locked in deadly enmity, with the fates of nations and the balance of the world's mystical powers entangled in their feud. Arithon, forced out of hiding, finds himself hounded by Lysaer and his mighty army. He must take to his natural element - the seas - in order to evade pursuit and steal the initiative. However, his efforts are impeded by outside magical factions, not to mention a drunken prophet sent to safeguard his life, but who seems determined to wreck his cause by misadventure.

Tricked once more by his wily half-brother, Lysaer, Lord of Light, arrives at the tiny harbor town of Merior to find that Arithon's ship yards have been abandoned and meticulously destroyed, and that the Master of Shadow has disappeared as if into thin air. Meanwhile Arithon and the Mad Prophet Dakar are traveling on foot through the treacherous Kelhorn Mountains towards the Vastmark clans, there to raise further support for his cause. But raising a warhost is a costly business. Is it mere coincidence that Princess Talith - Lysaer's beautiful, headstrong wife - is taken captive and held for a vast ransom by a master brigand? The forces of light and shadow circle and feint, drawing ever closer to a huge conflict. And in the background the Fellowship of Seven Sorcerers and the Koriani Enchantresses watch and plan, and wait.

Half brothers Lysaer, the Prince of the Light, and Arithon, the Master of Shadow, engage in violent conflict in the wake of the Vastmark Warhost's destruction and the strategies of the Koriani Enchantresses.

Where there is light, there must always be shadow… The fifth volume in Janny Wurts's spectacular epic fantasy, now re-released with a striking new cover design along with the rest of the series.

The wars began when two half-brothers, gifted of light and shadow, stood shoulder to shoulder to defeat the Mistwraith. Their foe cast a lifelong curse of enmity between them that has so far woven three bitter conflicts and uncounted deadly intrigues.

It is a time of political upheavel, fanaticism and rampaging armies. Distrust of sorcery has set off a purge of the talented mageborn – none reviled more than Arithon, Master of Shadow. Through clever manipulation of events at the hands of his half-brother Lysaer, Lord of Light, Arithon's very name has become anathema. Now the volatile hatreds that spearheaded the campaign against Shadow have overtaken all reason.

Those that still stand in Arithon's desperate defence are downtrodden, in retreat and close to annihilation. The stage is set for the ultimate betrayal.

Where there is light, there must always be shadow… The fourth volume in Janny Wurts's spectacular epic fantasy, now re-released with a striking new cover design along with the rest of the series.

The curse that hangs over the Master of Shadow, Arithon, and Lord of Light, Lysaer, is drawing the two half-brothers ever closer towards direct conflict. For the Natural Balance to be maintained, the two must never fight. If they do, one is sure to perish and the Mistwraith will regain its evil power over their world.

Even now, Lysaer – convinced of his own godhead and aided by the treacherous Koriani Sisterhood – is tracking Arithon the Masterbard through the snows and wastes of the winter-locked mountains and the Barrens of Daon Ramon. Arithon is tortured by the knowledge that for the sake of future generations he must not be killed, no matter the cost of others' lives now. Fighting valiantly to prevent unnecessary suffering, he strikes out on his own; but he is injured and failing fast.

Meanwhile, the ancient Paravians are stirring, summoned by trespassers on their sacred domain; and the Fellowship of Seven are battling on many other fronts, as the Mistwraith's wards begin to break, and khadrim and free wraiths roam the land...

The gripping penultimate instalment of the Alliance of Light.

When half brothers Lysaer and Arithon defeated the Mistwraith its revenge left them cursed to lifelong enmity.

Having conquered the maze and acheived self-redemption, Arithon, Master of Shadow, is now the guest of the formidable sorcerer, Davien the Betrayor. No one knows how his influence will affect Arithon's recovered mage power, or his newly awakened rogue talent for prescience.

Meanwhile Arithon's relentless enemies will stop at nothing to acheive his downfall. The Koriani enchantresses are determined to make him their captive and their pawn. And as the Alliance of Light fanatics regroup after their defeat, the core of their priesthood now stands corrupted by a dark cabal who plot to enslave their leader, Lysaer, and use the Mistwraith's curse as their own private weapon to break the world's order.

The sorcerers of the Fellowship compact are sorely beset and the clans are counting their ruinous losses. Arithon, who holds their last hope of survival, chooses the most dangerous course: heart and mind he dedicates himself to avoiding killing, though allies and enemies muster for war, single-mindedly blind to the consequences.

The spellbinding final instalment of The Alliance of Light.

Though Athera may be free, the fight is far from over…

The heartstopping conclusion to the Alliance of Light series brings Lysaer's army of Light to besiege the great citadel of Alestron. Master of Shadow, Arithon, with barely a moment's recuperation from his victory over the necromancers, has discovered that young Jeynsa s'Valerient whom he has sworn to protect, has joined the ranks of his disowned allies within the threatened citadel. Worse, following a failed rescue attempt, his beloved Elaira, his double, Fionn Areth, and the spellbinder Dakar are also trapped within Alestron's walls. The chancy wiles of Davien the betrayer must spirit Arithon across the enemy lines to attempt a bold and perilous rescue mission.

Arithon must seek the heartcore of his talent, even while embroiled in a savage battle against those he has vowed to protect. But treachery strikes from deep within the duke's ranks. Lysaer's fanatics will be unleashed to claim their bloody revenge. With the Fellowship Sorcerers in mortal danger, and all under threat from a collapsing grimward, Davien the betrayer is unable to intercede to save his colleagues and so will be forced to invoke the dire terms of an ancient and most secretive bargain.

Arithon stands alone at the hour of reckoning as the true purpose of the Koriani enchantresses becomes, at long last fully, unveiled – with the covetous Prime Matriarch now poised to snatch a prize, a prize beyond that of merely integrity and life…

The long-awaited beginning of the fourth story arc - Sword of the Canon - in the epic fantasy series, the Wars of Light and Shadow.

Betrayed and double-crossed, Arithon s'Ffalenn is held captive by the Order of the Koriathain. The desperate Fellowship Sorcerers have gambled the weal of Athera and forced through the perilous bargain that spared him, as the last Prince of Rathain, and their sole hope of unity. To suspend the Prime Matriarch's decree of execution, Arithon lives only to battle Marak's horde of free wraiths, unleashed one by one from the shielding grip of the star wards.

But on the day the last wraith is redeemed, the inflexible terms sealed by Dakar's oath of debt will be forfeit…

Against a backdrop in which the Religion of Light has undergone schism, the fanatical True Sect's high priesthood stands consumed by its thwarted ambition: to conquer Havish, the backbone of order that secures the terms of Paravian survival. Now Lord Mayor of Etarra, Lysaer s'Ilessid must fight the pull of the Mistwraith's curse, and battle for sanity to uphold his just ethic. Another young defender will stand at his side, newly sworn by the Sorcerer's auspices.

As Arithon's life once again becomes the fulcrum that shifts the game board, Elaira's choice might save or break the unstable future; while at large and answerable to no mortal law, Davien and the dragon that holds his service throw in the wild card no one predicts...

The long-awaited second book of the fourth story arc - Sword of the Canon - in the epic fantasy series, the Wars of Light and Shadow.

Lysaer's unstable integrity lies under threat of total downfall, and as his determined protector, Daliana will face the most frightening decision of her young life. Arithon, Master of Shadow, is marked for death and still hunted, when his critical quest to recover his obscured past entangles him in a web of deep intrigue and ancient perils beyond his imagining. Elaira's urgent pursuit of the Biedar Tribes' secret embroils her in the terrible directive of the Fellowship Sorcerers, while Dakar - the Mad Prophet - confronts the hard reckoning for the colossal mistake of his misspent past, and Tarens is steered by a destiny far from his crofter's origins.

The penultimate volume of The Wars of Light and Shadow will touch the grand depths of Athera's endowment, and deliver the thrilling finale of arc IV, the Sword of the Canon. War, blood, magic, mystery - and the most hidden powers of all - will stand or fall on their hour of unveiling.

In the final battle of Light against Shadow, warring factions prepare to meet the bare fist of Arithon's fury, sparked by the execution of the innocent murdered by divine decree.

As the Fellowship Sorcerers clash with rebellious dragons bent on catastrophic annihilation, those faithful to the True Sect raise armies to extinguish the clans and fight a last, bloody conquest of the free wilds. All while the Prime Matriarch courts reckless power to seize charge of Mankind's destiny.

As contention threatens to snap the final restraint of old Charter Law, bitter strife and vicious ambition threaten to revoke humanity's right to inhabit the world. The only hope of survival for all lies in the recovery of the Paravians, those who last called Athera home before Mankind.

The true hearts of heroes will be challenged in the savage fires of conflict; Elaira and Daliana's steadfast loyalties must rise against the odds or fall as Lysaer's reckoning collides with the Mistwraith's secretive machinations. But not before Elder Powers arise to claim their debt for a grievance spanning millennia...

For 500 years Gaiea's Hand has stood as a ward against the Dark. The Age of Chaos is a faded memory. The Goddess has left Gailand and given her Blessing to the Queens to rule in her stead.

Princess Viella of the court of Hamber is the Spirit of Gaiea, presumptive heir to the throne and budding wielder of magic. And yet she's still a child--not yet ten years old--and a day spent evading her teachers and her dutiful bodyguard, Luka, is much more satisfying than learning about telepathy, illusions, and other spells, or obeying even her mother, the Queen.

There is time enough... until there isn't.

For the night the Queen hosts the Ceremony to confirm Viella as the next Hand of Gaiea, everything changes for her--in the most horrific way imaginable: the assassination of Viella's mother.

Now Viella is Queen.

Luka, despite resenting his position as royal babysitter, does not hesitate. He rushes his charge from the Court and vows to keep her safe. Yet he is unsure how to help a burgeoning Hand of Gaiea, let alone contend with his place as a man in a matriarchal world and the secret that is burning inside him.

Together, they are on the run from darkness in a world where the lines between magic and technology are blurring and it's up to a child and her protector to bring clarity and light back to the Queendom.

Not long ago, Daniel Mahan, known to everyone as Shaman Mahan, thought that he had taken his sixth and final step in the Barliona gameworld. Yet life has other ideas. The Corporation decides to resurrect the Lord of Shadow and his entire host. The Corporation's CEO personally pushes the reset button. Geranika and his Dragon of Shadow spring back to life as, meanwhile, the Corporation makes an offer the Shaman can't refuse.

The land of Tencendor has been united for more than forty years, thanks to Axis, who is the legendary Starman. He defeated Gorgrael and brought peace to the three races--and upon fulfilling his destiny, Axis and his consort Azhure retired to the ethereal sphere in the heavens, and ceded his authority to their son Caelum.

But the path of the son is not necessarily that of the father. Caelum is untried and has known nothing but peace during his lifetime. And while the three races seem to be at peace, there are undercurrents of jealousy and bitter memories buried just beneath the surface.

So when strange powers begin to manifest in their world, and threaten the destruction of all he holds dear, Caelum will have to find the strength to fight this threat--and to fight his mortal brother Drago, who is not as powerless as he appears to be. Something killed their sister, and Caelum knows Drago is the culprit--but the Supreme Ruler of the land must have proof, and Caelum has none.

Caelum desperately tries to juggle saving the world with proving his brother killed their sister, but time grows short and the demons are drawing near.

Enchanters and gods alike are helpless as the Timekeeper Demons lay waste to Tencendor.

There must be hope somewhere, but no-one knows where to find it. Caelum and his parents go to Star Finger, hoping to discover the mountain's ancient secrets. Zared tries to help his people, but loses that which he loves most to the appetites of the Timekeepers. Meanwhile, Faraday grows fearful, wondering if she will be trapped in her previous fate. Must she lose everything for this land.

Qeteb waits, as he has waited tens of thousands of years, for the StarSon... for revenge... for the hunt through the Maze. Death lurks in every twist of the Maze, but only those who have the courage to endure death can learn the secrets of the ancient Enemy.

For countless millennia the Star Dance and the TimeKeeper Demons have battled their way across the universe, destroying innumerable planets, and laying waste to civilizations across the cosmos. The forces that power the Star Dance have chosen Tencendor as the final battleground, and the people of Tencendor huddle in Sanctuary, a magical place created to shield all living things from the wrath of the monstrous Demons. Their only hope? The renegade DragonStar and his companions who will go forth to do battle.

But what DragonStar does not know is that there is a traitor who dwells within Sanctuary who is poised to open the haven to the Demons. And whose hatred for all that is good could undo the cosmos.

An end must be made--and soon.

The future of the people hangs in the balance as Lanyon continues her journey north. She must find the Storm Lair, home of the Inyomere Siddél, where she'll have one more chance to slay the great spirit of storm. But her journey grows ever more perilous and strange, and even her devoted companions cannot keep her safe.

Bennek, meanwhile, has been taken south to Habaddon. Through Lanyon's magic he has survived terrible injury, yet he still needs time to heal. But time is short--and Siddél is resolved to destroy Habaddon. As the great Inyomere sends ever more arowl south towards the city, Bennek finds himself swept up in a relentlessly brutal war.

In An Image of Voices, we meet Manley as he is undertaking a series of new assignments after having had his memory wiped from the previous one, which we are led to understand was something less than successful. And yet the procedure to block Manley's memory was imperfect, as he is haunted by dreams of a woman he calls Fairy Peg. Who was she, what was his relationship to her, and to what disastrous end did it come that warranted having his memory blocked by the Fed?

Synopsis from http://www.sfreviews.net/windhover1.html

Voyage to exotic extraterrestrial civilizations with diplomatic troubleshooter Gerald Manley and his sentient starship WINDHOVER on a journey of action, danger and discover! Adventure at its finest!

Return with contract diplomat Gerard Manley to the lost decade before the exciting adventures recorded in the Windhover Tapes. Recapture the intrigue, treachery and passion of his years as Consort to Fairy Peg,ruler of the Ribble Galaxy,and supreme Commander of the elite fighting force known as the Gabriel Ratchets. Follow Manley on a more brutal mission to subdue a rebel planet,as he fights to survive the rivalries of the Ribble court -- and on a voyage into the reaches of his own mind to learn the awesome secrets locked within -- the shattering haunting tale of a man who became a pawn in a deadly intergalactic struggle.

Gerard Manley travels with his wife and daughter to the planet Brisbidine, where they find sentient flowers and a mysterious enemy from Manley's forgotten past.

Master magician Blais was dead, murdered by the evil ice-lord Nimir. Now there was only Tristan, an ill-trained apprentice, to carry on the quest to rescue Allaire, a princess held in enchanted sleep in Nimir's frozen halls. Though a thousand master mages had already failed in the quest, Tristan must succeed - or all of Calandra would be doomed by Nimir's greed. First Tristan would have to find the wonder-horse Valadan, who had vanished long ago. Then he had to secure the aid of the one knight among many who was a true Heir to the Throne. Together, they must overcome the Guardian dragon of Nimir's realm. After that - well, there was still the tenth ring to be found, since Allaire was powerless without it. Nothing, of course, was ever that simple. There were complications...

Tristan does not imagine that his troubles are over. He stands reluctantly revealed as Calandra's king--but his right is almost universally disputed, his castle has no walls, his wife is betrothed to a dead man, and his throne will kill him during his crowning unless he can lay hands on the long-lost sword of the Last King. And his homegrown magic is no more reliable than it's ever been.

He seeks the sword by magical means, without success. Galan of Radak--and his sorcerer Reynaud--are laying siege to Crogen castle. After an attempt on his life, Tristan departs for Kovelir, convinced that Crewzel's fortune-telling cards can give him a clue to the missing sword's location. Of course, it's never that simple.

Survival isn't everything. Tristan and Elisena are mortal, and Nimir can simply wait for them to age, to die--and then overwhelm a defenseless Calandra. Much as they dread it, they must take the battle to Nimir, into his stronghold of Channadran, at once.

They are burdened with aid they cannot refuse--Polassar and the highly suspect Reynaud insist on coming along--and help they urgently require but may not be able to secure. They seek the tower of Am Islin, hoping to enlist the aid of Magister Ambere. The journey there, aboard a spell-bound iceberg, nearly costs Tristan's life.

Ambere first refuses them, then relents and offers his birds as guides for them. His daughter Welslin Fateweaver gives Tristan a strange gift--a small stone which she claims is the heart of a goddess.

Led by Ambere's eagles, the fellowship crosses the Winterwaste and enters Channadran. Strength, resolve, loyalty, all are tested. Issues of trust are raised--and not only against Reynaud. As possibly the weakest link in the fellowship, Tristan is tested continually, and if Nimir cannot break him physically, he may manage to strike him in other, less obvious ways.

The time is the present.

The place, the rugged coast of Northern California. A bluff high above the Pacific. A grand mansion full of beauty and tantalizing history set against a towering redwood forest.

A young reporter on assignment from the San Francisco Observer . . . An older woman welcoming him into her magnificent family home that he has been sent to write about and that she must sell with some urgency... A chance encounter between two unlikely people... An idyllic night--shattered by horrific unimaginable violence, the young man inexplicably attacked--bitten--by a beast he cannot see in the rural darkness... A violent episode that sets in motion a terrifying yet seductive transformation, as the young man, caught between ecstasy and horror, between embracing who he is evolving into and fearing what he will become, soon experiences the thrill of the wolf gift.

As he resists the paradoxical pleasure and enthrallment of his wolfen savagery and delights in the power and (surprising) capacity for good, he is caught up in a strange and dangerous rescue and is desperately hunted as "the Man Wolf" by authorities, the media, and scientists (evidence of DNA threatens to reveal his dual existence)...

As a new and profound love enfolds him, questions emerge that propel him deeper into his mysterious new world: questions of why and how he has been given this gift; of its true nature and the curious but satisfying pull towards goodness; of the profound realization that there may be others like him who are watching--guardian creatures who have existed throughout time who possess ancient secrets and alchemical knowledge. And throughout it all, the search for salvation for a soul tormented by a new realm of temptations, and the fraught, exhilarating journey, still to come, of being and becoming, fully, both wolf and man.

Anne Rice is back, with more werewolves, gothic mansions and epic battles between good and evil

It is the beginning of December and it is cold and grey outside. In the stately flickering hearths of the grand mansion of Nideck Point, oak fires are burning. The Morphenkinder are busy getting ready for the ancient pagan feast of midwinter. Everyone is invited, including some of their own who do not wish them well...

Reuben Golding, the newest of the Morphenkinder, is struggling with his new existence as a Man Wolf, struggling to learn to control his desires and bloodthirsty urges. His pure, luminous girlfriend Laura seems all set to join him in this new way of life, but Reuben is not at all certain he will love her if she becomes as he is. Beyond the mansion, the forest echoes with howling winds, which carry with them tales of a strange nether world, and of spirits--centuries old--who possess their own fantastical ancient histories and taunt with their dark, magical powers.

As preparations for the feast gather pace, destiny continues to hound Reuben, not least in the form of a strange, tormented ghost who appears at the window, unable to speak. But he is not alone: before the festivities are over, choices must be made--choices which will decide the fate of the Morphenkinder for ever.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: Access to Horror - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• The Dead Line - (1979) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• To Wake the Dead - (1979) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• In the Fourth Year of the War - (1979) - short story by Harlan Ellison
• From the Lower Deep - (1979) - short story by Hugh B. Cave
• The Baby-Sitter - (1978) - short story by Davis Grubb
• The Well at the Half Cat - (1979) - short story by John C. Tibbetts
• My Beautiful Darkling - short story by Eddy C. Bertin (trans. of Mijn Mooie Duisterlinge 1979)
• A Serious Call - (1979) - short story by George Hay
• Sheets - (1979) - short story by Alan Ryan
• Billy Wolfe's Riding Spirit - (1979) - short story by Kevin A. Lyons
• Lex Talionis - (1979) - novelette by Russell Kirk
• Entombed - (1979) - short story by Robert Keefe
• A Fly One - (1979) - short story by Steve Sneyd
• Needle Song - (1979) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• All the Birds Come Home to Roost - (1979) - short story by Harlan Ellison
• The Devil Behind You - (1979) - short story by Richard A. Moore

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: The Year of the Anthology and Beyond - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• The Monkey - (1980) - novelette by Stephen King
• The Gap - (1980) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• The Cats of Pere LaChaise - (1980) - short story by Neil Olonoff
• The Propert Bequest - (1980) - short story by Basil A. Smith
• On Call - (1980) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• The Catacomb - (1980) - short story by Peter Shilston
• Black Man with a Horn - (1980) - novelette by T. E. D. Klein
• The King - (1980) - short story by William Relling, Jr.
• Footsteps - (1980) - short story by Harlan Ellison
• Without Rhyme or Reason - (1980) - short story by Peter Valentine Timlett

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: A Decade of Fear - (1982) - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Through the Walls - (1978) - novelette by Ramsey Campbell
• Touring - (1981) - novelette by Michael Swanwick, Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann
• Every Time You Say I Love You - (1981) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Wyntours - (1980) - short story by David G. Rowlands
• The Dark Country - (1981) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• Homecoming - (1981) - short story by Howard Goldsmith
• Old Hobby Horse - (1981) - short story by Chico Kidd
• Firstborn - (1981) - short story by David Campton
• Luna - (1981) - short story by Georgette Perry and William J. Wilson
• Mind - (1980) - short story by Les Freeman
• Competition - (1981) - short story by David Clayton Carrad
• Egnaro - (1981) - novelette by M. John Harrison
• On 202 - (1981) - short story by Jeff Hecht
• The Trick - (1980) - novelette by Ramsey Campbell
• Broken Glass - (1981) - short story by Harlan Ellison

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: One from the Vault - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• The Grab - (1982) - short story by Richard Laymon
• The Show Goes On - (1982) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• The House at Evening - (1982) - short story by Frances Garfield
• I Hae Dream'd a Dreary Dream - (1981) - short story by John Alfred Taylor
• Deathtracks - (1982) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• Come, Follow! - (1982) - short story by Sheila Hodgson
• The Smell of Cherries - (1982) - short story by Jeffrey Goddin
• A Posthumous Bequest - (1982) - short story by David Campton
• Slippage - (1982) - novelette by Michael P. Kube-McDowell
• The Executor - (1982) - short story by David G. Rowlands
• Mrs. Halfbooger's Basement - (1982) - short story by Lawrence C. Connolly
• Rouse Him Not - (1982) - short story by Manly Wade Wellman
• Spare the Child - (1982) - short story by Thomas F. Monteleone
• The New Rays - (1982) - short story by M. John Harrison
• Cruising - (1982) - short story by Donald Tyson
• The Depths - (1982) - novelette by Ramsey Campbell
• Pumpkin Head - (1982) - short story by Al Sarrantonio

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: Of Fads and Frights - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Uncle Otto's Truck - (1983) - short story by Stephen King
• 3.47 AM - (1983) - short story by David Langford
• Mistral - (1983) - short story by Jon Wynne-Tyson
• Out of Africa - (1983) - short story by David Drake
• The Wall-Painting - (1983) - short story by Roger Johnson
• Keepsake - (1983) - short story by Vincent McHardy
• Echoes - (1983) - short story by Lawrence C. Connolly
• After-Images - (1983) - short story by Malcolm Edwards
• The Ventriloquist's Daughter - (1983) - short story by Juleen Brantingham
• Come to the Party - (1983) - short story by Frances Garfield
• The Chair - (1983) - novelette by Dennis Etchison
• Names - (1983) - short story by Jane Yolen
• The Attic - (1983) - short story by Billy Wolfenbarger
• Just Waiting - (1983) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• One for the Horrors - (1983) - short story by David J. Schow
• Elle Est Trois, (La Mort) - (1983) - novelette by Tanith Lee
• Spring-Fingered Jack - (1983) - short story by Susan Casper
• The Flash! Kid - (1983) - short story by Scott Bradfield
• The Man with Legs - (1983) - short story by Al Sarrantonio

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: 13 Is a Lucky Number - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Mrs. Todd's Shortcut - (1984) - novelette by Stephen King
• Are You Afraid of the Dark? - (1984) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Catch Your Death - (1984) - short story by John Gordon
• Dinner Party - (1984) - short story by Gardner Dozois
• Tiger in the Snow - (1984) - short story by Daniel Wynn Barber
• Watch the Birdie - (1984) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You - (1984) - novelette by David J. Schow
• Hands with Long Fingers - (1984) - short story by Leslie Halliwell
• Weird Tales - (1984) - short story by Fred Chappell
• The Wardrobe - (1984) - short story by Jovan Panich
• Angst for the Memories - (1984) - short story by Vincent McHardy
• The Thing in the Bedroom - (1984) - short story by David Langford
• Borderland - (1984) - short story by John Brizzolara
• The Scarecrow - (1984) - short story by Roger Johnson
• The End of the World - (1984) - short story by James B. Hemesath
• Never Grow Up - (1984) - short story by John Gordon
• Deadlights - (1984) - short story by Charles Wagner
• Talking in the Dark - (1984) - short story by Dennis Etchison

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: Nurturing Nightmares - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Penny Daye - (1985) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Dwindling - (1985) - short story by David B. Silva
• Dead Men's Fingers - (1985) - novelette by Phillip C. Heath
• Dead Week - (1985) - short story by Leonard Carpenter
• The Sneering - (1985) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• Bunny Didn't Tell Us - (1985) - short story by David J. Schow
• Pinewood - (1984) - short story by Tanith Lee
• The Night People - (1985) - short story by Michael Reaves
• Ceremony - (1985) - novelette by William F. Nolan
• The Woman in Black - (1984) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• ...Beside the Seaside, Beside the Sea... - (1985) - short story by Simon Clark
• Mother's Day - (1985) - short story by Stephen F. Wilcox
• Lava Tears - (1985) - short story by Vincent McHardy
• Rapid Transit - non-genre - (1985) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• The Weight of Zero - (1985) - short story by John Alfred Taylor
• John's Return to Liverpool - (1984) - short story by Christopher Burns
• In Late December, Before the Storm - (1985) - short story by Paul M. Sammon
• Red Christmas - (1985) - short story by David Garnett
• Too Far Behind Gradina - (1985) - novella by Steve Sneyd

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: What's in a Name? - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• The Yougoslaves - (1986) - novelette by Robert Bloch
• Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back - (1986) - short story by Joe R. Lansdale
• Apples - (1986) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• Dead White Women - (1986) - short story by William F. Wu
• Crystal - (1986) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Retirement - (1986) - short story by Ron Leming
• The Man Who Did Tricks With Glass - (1986) - short story by Ron Wolfe
• Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage - (1986) - short story by John Alfred Taylor
• The Olympic Runner - (1986) - novelette by Dennis Etchison
• Take the "A" Train - (1986) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• The Foggy, Foggy Dew - (1986) - short story by Joel Lane
• The Godmother - (1986) - short story by Tina Rath
• "Pale Trembling Youth" - (1986) - short story by W. H. Pugmire and Jessica Amanda Salmonson
• Red Light - (1986) - novelette by David J. Schow
• In the Hour Before Dawn - (1986) - short story by Brad Strickland
• Necros - (1986) - short story by Brian Lumley
• Tattoos - (1986) - novelette by Jack Dann
• Acquiring a Family - (1986) - novelette by R. Chetwynd-Hayes

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: They're Here--and They Won't Go Away - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Popsy - (1987) - short story by Stephen King
• Neighbourhood Watch - (1987) - short story by Greg Egan
• Wolf/Child - (1987) - short story by Jane Yolen
• Everything to Live For - (1987) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Repossession - (1987) - short story by David Campton
• Merry May - (1987) - novelette by Ramsey Campbell
• The Touch - (1987) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• Moving Day - (1987) - short story by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
• La Nuit des Chiens - (1987) - short story by Leslie Halliwell
• Echoes from the Abbey - (1987) - novelette by Sheila Hodgson
• Visitors - (1987) - short story by Jack Dann
• The Bellfounder's Wife - (1987) - short story by Chico Kidd
• The Scar - (1987) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• Martyr Without Canon - (1987) - short story by T. Winter-Damon
• The Thin People - (1987) - short story by Brian Lumley
• Fat Face - (1987) - novelette by Michael Shea

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: Ten Years After - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Fruiting Bodies - (1988) - novelette by Brian Lumley
• Works of Art - (1988) - short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• She's a Young Thing and Cannot Leave Her Mother - (1988) - short story by Harlan Ellison
• The Resurrection Man - (1988) - short story by Ian Watson
• Now and Again in Summer - (1988) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Call 666 - (1988) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• The Great God Pan - (1988) - novelette by M. John Harrison
• What Dreams May Come - (1988) - short story by Brad Strickland
• Regression - (1988) - novelette by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
• Souvenirs from a Damnation - (1988) - short story by Don Webb
• Bleeding Between the Lines - (1988) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• Playing the Game - (1988) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• Lost Bodies - (1988) - short story by Ian Watson
• Ours Now - (1988) - short story by Nicholas Royle
• Prince of Flowers - (1988) - short story by Elizabeth Hand
• The Daily Chernobyl - (1988) - poem by Robert Frazier
• Snowman - (1988) - short story by Charles L. Grant
• Nobody's Perfect - (1988) - short story by Thomas F. Monteleone
• Dead Air - (1988) - novelette by Gregory Nicoll
• Recrudescence - (1988) - novelette by Leonard Carpenter

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: From Horror Angst to Zombies - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Kaddish - (1989) - short story by Jack Dann
• The Gravedigger's Tale - (1989) - short story by Simon Clark
• Meeting the Author - (1989) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• Buckets - (1989) - novelette by F. Paul Wilson
• The Pit-Yakker - non-genre - (1989) - short story by Brian Lumley
• Mr. Sandman - (1989) - short story by Scott D. Yost
• Renaissance - (1989) - short story by Chico Kidd
• Lord of Infinite Diversions - (1989) - short story by T. Winter-Damon
• Rail Rider - (1989) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• Archway - (1989) - novelette by Nicholas Royle
• The Confessional - (1989) - short story by Patrick McLeod
• The Deliverer - (1989) - short story by Simon MacCulloch
• Reflections - (1989) - short story by Jeffrey Goddin
• Zombies for Jesus - (1989) - short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• The Earth Wire - (1989) - short story by Joel Lane
• Sponge and China Tea - (1989) - short story by D. F. Lewis
• The Boy with the Bloodstained Mouth - (1989) - short story by W. H. Pugmire
• On the Dark Road - (1989) - short story by Ian McDowell
• Narcopolis - (1989) - poem by Wayne Allen Sallee
• Nights in the City - (1989) - short story by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
• Return to the Mutant Rain Forest - (1989) - poem by Bruce Boston and Robert Frazier
• The End of the Hunt - (1989) - short story by David Drake
• The Motivation - (1989) - short story by David Langford
• The Guide - (1989) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• The Horse of Iron & How We Can Know It & Be Changed By It Forever - (1989) - short story by M. John Harrison
• Jerry's Kids Meet Wormboy - (1989) - novelette by David J. Schow

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: How'd We Get Here? - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Speed Demons - (1990) - short story by Andrew J. Wilson
• The Grief Condition - (1990) - short story by Conrad Hill
• Firebird - (1990) - novelette by J. L. Comeau
• Life Sentences - (1990) - short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• Trophies - (1990) - short story by Richard McMahan
• Lord of the Creepies - (1990) - short story by Sean Brodrick
• Mongrel - (1990) - short story by Steve Vernon
• The Man Who Collected Barker - (1990) - short story by Kim Newman
• Hide and Seek - (1990) - short story by D. F. Lewis
• Walking After Midnight - (1990) - short story by C. S. Fuqua
• The Hermit - (1990) - short story by Joey Froehlich
• The Soldier - (1990) - short story by Roger Johnson
• Books of Blurbs, Vol. 1 - (1990) - short story by Mike Newland
• You're a Sick Man, Mr. Antwhistle - (1990) - short story by Robert Hood
• Elfin Pipes of Northworld - (1990) - short story by David Drake
• A Bar Called Charley's - (1990) - short story by Charles Ardai
• Great Expectations - (1990) - short story by Kim Antieau
• Custer at the Wheel - (1990) - short story by James B. Hemesath
• Identity Crisis - (1990) - novelette by Patrick McLeod
• Negatives - (1990) - short story by Nicholas Royle
• A Candle in the Sun - (1990) - novelette by David Niall Wilson
• The Worst Fog of the Year - (1990) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• I'll Give You Half-Scairt - (1990) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• Different Kinds of Dead - (1990) - short story by Ed Gorman
• Full Throttle - (1990) - novelette by Philip Nutman

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: Garage Band Fiction - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• Ma Qui - (1991) - short story by Alan Brennert
• The Same in Any Language - (1991) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• Call Home - (1991) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• A Scent of Roses - (1991) - short story by Jeffrey Goddin
• Root Cellar - (1991) - short story by Nancy Kilpatrick
• An Eye for an Eye - (1991) - short story by Michael A. Arnzen
• The Picnickers - (1991) - novelette by Brian Lumley
• With the Wound Still Wet - (1991) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• My Giddy Aunt - (1991) - short story by D. F. Lewis
• The Lodestone - (1991) - novelette by Sheila Hodgson
• Baseball Memories - (1991) - short story by Edo van Belkom
• The Bacchae - (1991) - short story by Elizabeth Hand
• Common Land - (1991) - short story by Joel Lane
• An Invasion of Angels - (1987) - short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• The Sharps and Flats Guarantee - (1991) - short story by C. S. Fuqua
• Medusa's Child - (1991) - short story by Kim Antieau
• Wall of Masks - (1991) - short story by T. Winter-Damon
• Moving Out - (1991) - short story by Nicholas Royle
• Better Ways in a Wet Alley - (1991) - short story by Barb Hendee
• Close to the Earth - (1991) - short story by Gregory Nicoll
• Churches of Desire - (1991) - novelette by Philip Nutman
• Carven of Onyx - (1991) - novelette by Ron Weighell

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: Coming of Age - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• The Limits of Fantasy - (1992) - short story by Ramsey Campbell
• China Rose - (1992) - novella by Ron Weighell
• The Outsider - (1992) - short story by Rick Kennett
• Briar Rose - (1992) - short story by Kim Antieau
• Mom SchooL - (1992) - short story by Rand Soellner
• The Hyacinth Girl - (1992) - short story by Mary Ann Mitchell
• Mind Games - (1992) - short story by Adam Meyer
• Mama's Boy - (1992) - short story by C. S. Fuqua
• The Shabbie People - (1992) - short story by Jeffrey Osier
• The Ugly File - (1992) - short story by Ed Gorman
• Eyes Like a Ghost's - (1992) - short story by Simon Clark
• Fallen Idol - (1992) - short story by Lillian Csernica
• And Some Are Missing - (1992) - short story by Joel Lane
• Welsh Pepper - (1992) - short story by D. F. Lewis
• Tracks - (1992) - short story by Nicholas Royle
• Largesse - (1992) - short story by Mark McLaughlin
• City in the Torrid Waste - (1992) - short story by T. Winter-Damon
• Haunting Me Softly - (1992) - short story by H. Andrew Lynch
• Spring Ahead, Fall Back - (1992) - short story by Michael A. Arnzen
• Apotheosis - (1992) - short story by Carrie Richerson
• Defining the Commonplace Sliver - (1992) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• Feeding the Masses - (1992) - short story by Yvonne Navarro
• Sanctuary - (1992) - short story by Jeffrey Osier
• The Devil's Advocate - (1991) - short story by Andrew C. Ferguson
• Week Woman - (1992) - short story by Kim Newman
• A Father's Gift - (1992) - novelette by W. M. Shockley

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: But Is It Horrific? - essay by Karl Edward Wagner
• The Ripper's Tune - (1993) - short story by Gregory Nicoll
• One Size Eats All - (1993) - short story by T. E. D. Klein
• Resurrection - (1991) - short story by Adam Meyer
• I Live to Wash Her - (1993) - short story by Joey Froehlich
• A Little-Known Side of Elvis - (1993) - short story by Dennis Etchison
• Perfect Days - (1993) - short story by Chet Williamson
• See How They Run - (1993) - novelette by Ramsey Campbell
• Shots Downed, Officer Fired - (1993) - short story by Wayne Allen Sallee
• David - (1993) - short story by Sean Doolittle
• Portrait of a Pulp Writer - (1993) - short story by F. A. Pollard
• Fish Harbor - (1993) - short story by Paul Pinn
• Ridi Bobo - (1993) - short story by Robert Devereaux
• Adroitly Wrapped - (1993) - short story by Mark McLaughlin
• Thicker Than Water - (1993) - short story by Joel Lane
• Memento Mori - (1993) - short story by Scott Thomas
• The Blitz Spirit - (1993) - short story by Kim Newman
• Companions - (1993) - short story by Del Stone, Jr.
• Masquerade - (1993) - short story by Lillian Csernica
• Price of the Flames - (1993) - short story by Deidra Cox
• The Bone Garden - (1993) - short story by Conrad Williams
• Ice Cream and Tombstones - (1993) - short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• Salt Snake - (1993) - short story by Simon Clark
• Lady's Portrait, Executed In Archaic Colors - (1993) - novelette by Charles M. Saplak
• Lost Alleys - (1993) - short story by Jeffrey Thomas
• Salustrade - (1993) - short story by D. F. Lewis
• The Power of One - (1993) - short story by Nancy Kilpatrick
• The Lions in the Desert - (1993) - short story by David Langford
• Turning Thirty - (1993) - short story by Lisa Tuttle
• Bloodletting - (1993) - short story by Kim Antieau
• Flying Into Naples - (1993) - short story by Nicholas Royle
• Under the Crust - (1993) - novelette by Terry Lamsley

Nebula Award nominated novella. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 1984. The story can also be found in the anthology Nebula Awards 20 (1985), edited by George Zebrowski. It is included in the collections The Years of the City (1984) and Platinum Pohl: The Collected Best Stories (2005).

In the New York City of the next century, twin domes over Manhattan control extremes of weather, illegal hang-gliding is common, and many old problems have been solved--but the rage of some Gothamites cannot be controlled.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Frederik Pohl
• When New York Hit the Fan - novella
• The Greening of Bed-Stuy - (1984) - novella
• The Blister - (1984) - novella
• Second-Hand Sky - novella
• Gwenanda and the Supremes - novella

Barsalayaa Shefali, famed Qorin adventurer, and the spoiled divine warrior empress, O-Shizuka, have survived fights with demon armies, garnered infamy, and ruled an empire. Raised together since birth, then forced into exile after their wedding, and reunited amidst a poisonous invasion--these bold warrior women have faced monumental adventures and catastrophic battles.

As they come closest to fulfilling the prophecy of generations--Shefali and Shizuka will face their greatest test yet.

In the beginning spears were "high-tech", and the most that one weapon could accomplish at one time was one death. But millennia passed and techniques improved. By the time of the Romans a lucky bolt might impale a file of infantry. By the dreadful 20th century the very existence of the race - we still were earth-bound, then - was at risk. But somehow, even though the weapons grew ever more terrible, that risk was averted and humanity gained first the planets and then the stars. And still the weapons grew, until the very universe has cause to fear the wrath of Man...

Table of Contents:

• Preface - essay by Jerry Pournelle
• Reflex - (1982) - shortstory by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
• Spanish Man's Grave - (1947) - shortstory by James Warner Bellah
• Marius - (1957) - shortstory by Poul Anderson
• The Soviet Strategic Threat From Space - (1981) - essay by The Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy
• Ender's Game - (1977) - novelette by Orson Scott Card
• A Death in Realtime - (1981) - shortstory by Richard S. McEnroe
• Overdose - (1975) - shortstory by Spider Robinson
• Saul's Death - poem by Joe Haldeman
• The Good News of High Frontier - (1982) - essay by Robert A. Heinlein
• Project High Frontier - (1982) - essay by Daniel O. Graham
• City-Killer - poem by Jonathan V. Post
• Ground Zero - poem by Jonathan V. Post
• Diasporah - shortstory by W. R. Yates
• His Truth Goes Marching On - (1975) - novelette by Jerry Pournelle
• THOR: Orbital Weapon System - (1981) - essay by The Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy
• The Defenders - (1953) - novelette by Philip K. Dick
• Unlimited Warfare - (1974) - shortstory by Hayford Peirce
• The Battle - (1954) - shortstory by Robert Sheckley
• Mercenaries and Military Virtue - (1979) - essay by Jerry Pournelle
• Ranks of Bronze - (1975) - shortstory by David Drake
• I Am Nothing - (1952) - shortstory by Eric Frank Russell
• Call Him Lord - (1966) - novelette by Gordon R. Dickson
• Quiet Village - (1970) - novelette by David McDaniel
• The Strategy of Technology - (1982) - essay by Jerry Pournelle
• The Widow's Party - (1892) - poem by Rudyard Kipling

Berren is not enjoying himself. Trapped in a temple, forced to learn how to read, how to write and how to recall the histories of the Saints, all he wants is to be given a sword. As a thief-taker's apprentice he imagined a world of daring night-time chases, glorious victories and a life of excitement. His dreams aren't quite coming true.

So when a prince - the first and last prince he'll ever see - hires the thief-taker as a bodyguard, Berren is thrilled. When he hears that a troupe of Dragon Monks - exotic warriors and the best swordsmen in the world - are visiting, he sees an opportunity to learn how to fight. When one of the Monks turns out to be a girl of the same age, his future suddenly seems a lot brighter.

But when a shadowy figure launches an attack on the life of Prince Sharda, Berren finds himself plunged into a world of danger, intrigue and terror. He may discover that being trained with a sword isn't enough - sometimes, you have to know who to fight.

It's 2183.

Do you know where your past is?

The Second Republic was mercilessly efficient.

It controlled the press, the state and the rights of citizens.

The one day it captured the secret of time travel.

Now the Second Republic could control the past, piece by piece, slowly changing it to make sure that they would never lose their grasp on history.

Jason Dubcheck's family has vanished!

As if they never existed, Jackson's sister-in-law, niece and nephew have disappeared.

Even their names have been erased from the public records.

He must find them and knows where to look - in the past.

Jackson Dubchek was exiled by the notorious Time Police. A citizen of the Second Republic in 2249, Jackson finds himself stranded in Mexico in 2074, unable to return to his own generation.

Yet Jackson is not alone. He meets a Mexican historian and his beautiful daughter who have also been exiled to the past by the Time Police. Using these fellow travelers in time, Jackson pieces together the truth about the Second Republic and their Time Police. They are changing the past in order to protect their future.

Jackson must decide whether to try to set himself against all the resources of the Second Republic. Yet first he must determine how the events of 2074 differ from the way the Second Republic has recorded them.

Will the Time Police catch him?

WAR ACROSS THE TIMESCAPE

Earth's past, present, and future have shattered in "the Event," yielding a terrifying new world of prehistoric monsters, lost cultures, strange technologies, and displaced armies. Coming from different points throughout history, a desperate band of survivors join "Merlin," a mysterious figure who may be their only hope to save the world--if he can be trusted.

When their twenty-third-century ship the Vanuatu is sabotaged by an unknown enemy and thrown far off its course, the team must discover who is responsible, even as they are split apart and fight to survive in the war-torn Shard world...

In the 27th Century, international disputes are resolved through time travel, "clocking" soldiers from the future into conflicts of the past. It seemed like an elegant idea: wartime industries drove the economy without actually putting nations through the physical ravages of war. And since the past already happened, history could not be changed. So went the theory. What could possibly go wrong?

Lucas Priest found out the hard way. Enlisting in the U.S. Army Temporal Corps seemed like an adventure compared to his boring corporate job, but after marching with the Roman legions against Hannibal, fighting Custer's 7th Cavalry with Crazy Horse, and raiding with Attila's savage Huns, he could have used a little boredom. And it was about to get much worse.

History, it turned out, could be changed, and a plot to kidnap and impersonate King Richard the Lion-hearted was discovered barely in the nick of time. But could it be stopped before a madman changed the course of history? Two elite commando teams had tried and failed in their attempts. Now Priest was drafted to take part in a third.

The team was tasked to infiltrate the past with impersonations of their own to prevent a timestream split. But it would be hard enough passing themselves off as Sir Ivanhoe, Robin Hood, and Little John without having to assassinate a king....

Using time travel to fight wars seemed like the perfect way to solve the international disputes of the 27th Century: all the economic advantages of warfare without any of the devastation taking place in your own time. Multinational corporations and governments geared up for the effort, secure in the knowledge that since the past already happened, it could not be changed, so history was safe. Or was it? When it was discovered that history could, indeed, be changed as a result of interference from the future, it seemed too late to stop the Time Wars, so a special unit was created to "adjust" for historical disruptions and preserve the continuity of the timestream. But as if going back into the past on missions to preserve the future wasn't challenging enough, now the elite First Division of the U.S. Army Temporal Corps faced a new and much more dangerous threat. A peaceful protest group had spun off a militant offshoot called the Timekeepers, radicals who believed the only way to stop the war machine was to create massive historical disruptions. A covert agent of Temporal Intelligence gave his life to warn of a terrorist plot by the Timekeepers, so Capt. Lucas Priest and Pfc. Finn Delaney are clocked back to 17th Century France, so they can join up with agents of the T.I.A. already in place to find out what the Timekeepers have planned. Their target could be Cardinal Richelieu, but it will be hard enough trying to figure out who their target is and how to stop them in a scenario where almost anyone could be a ringer, including a young Gascon named D'Artagnan and three of the King's flamboyant musketeers.

In the 27th Century, time travel allows international disputes to be settled by "clocking" soldiers from the future into conflicts of the past to do battle in the Time Wars. The politicians and the corporate leaders who created an entire international economy based on the idea of "an end to war in our time" believed that the past was absolute: it had already happened, therefore it could not be changed. Unfortunately, they were wrong.

The greater the number of people who traveled back into the past, the greater were the odds of temporal contamination, changing history in ways that could disastrously affect the future. Major Lucas Priest, a veteran of the elite First Division of the Temporal Army Corps, was tasked to "adjust" the blunder of a Temporal Intelligence agent who had accidentally caused the death of Sir Percy Blakeney, the wealthy English adventurer who saved French royalists from the guillotine. Now, someone else had to become the famous "Scarlet Pimpernel" and carry on that work.

Trying to adjust key historical events during the bloody and tumultuous French Revolution would be challenging enough. The trouble was, rogue covert agents from Temporal Intelligence were already on the scene, and they had their own agenda....

The year was 1891, and Ruritania was a small, seemingly insignificant Balkan country that was about to crown a new king. But a conspiracy headed by his own half brother resulted in the would-be king being kidnapped and held in Zenda Castle, an impregnable medieval fortress. While two factions secretly battled for control in Ruritania, an even more dangerous conspiracy was launched from the far future; one that was about to make a tiny Balkan country the focal point for plot to change the course of history.

Her name was Sophia Falco, codename: Falcon, a veteran crosstime field agent of the TIA. She was smart, beautiful, and absolutely deadly. She was also a terrorist, a member of the infamous Timekeepers who had submitted to cybernetic conditioning that created a false persona under which she had enlisted in the Temporal Army Corps, and from there, joined Temporal Intelligence, at which point her true personality was triggered and the woman who had once been Col. Moses Forrester's lover was reborn as his most lethal enemy. And the weapon she was going to use against him was the son he had abandoned in another time.

The elite commando team of Lucas Priest, Andre Cross and Finn Delaney have another historical adjustment mission to perform: save the rightful king of Ruritania and stop the Timekeepers before they can bring about a temporal disaster. And to do so, their commander, Moses Forrester, must journey back into the past with them to destroy the woman he once loved... and murder his own son.

The fifth of Simon Hawk's brilliant Time Wars series returns to print and brings the legendary submarine Nautilus back with it. Aboard her is none other than Jules Verne himself in an adventure that pits the Time Commandos against a ruthless fanatic who hijacks a 20th-century Soviet nuclear sub and time-trips it back to the era of the clipper ship, there to hatch a plot that will plunge all of Time itself into an endless war. Nonstop action and fascinating ideas make this a worthy addition to the series and a must read for Time Wars fans.

The year was 1897. The Khyber Pass echoed with the sounds of war. Soldiers from Britain, India, and Afghanistan were immersed in a bloody conflict.

Enter the Time Commandos. Their mission: To foil a plot that has set timelines on a collision course. Only they can save the timestream from disruption -- with a little help from a war correspondent named Winston Churchill...and a waterboy called Gunga Din.

Traveling with Jason on his mighty vessel, The Argos, in search of the Golden Fleece, Time Commandos Forrester, Cross and Delaney encounter some legendary figures from the past--Hercules, Theseus, Orpheus--and some unlikely surprises.

A plague of vampires and werewolves falls on Victoria's England in the late 1800s--but there's nother supernatural about these creatures. Thery're genetically engineered monsters from the far future, dropped into the past as a devilish tactic in the Time Wars!

It's a mystery more baffling than any penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle--a cosmic riddle to stagger the imagination of the great H. G. Wells. Soon the creators of Sherlock Holmes and The Time Machine join forces with the Time Commandos to combat an ageless evil which strains the very fabric of the universe!

The Time Commandos face a new generation of General Drakov's bio-engineered humanoids - but just how deadly could these tiny enemies be? Just six inches tall, the Lilliputian warriors are armed with laser rifles and a vast technology that threatens the existence of two universes!

In eighteenth-century London, Doctor Lemuel Gulliver's tale of the deadly little people is disbelieved by all but that mad author, Jonathan Swift...and the observers of the Temporal Intelligence Agency. now the Time Commandos wage a vicious battle that rages across a thousand years!

Boston 1765. The freedom-fighting Sons of Liberty are under attack by a Tory secret society called the Hellfire Club. the club's leader- the headless horseman- is a ghostly creature.

Cleopatra. Queen of the Nile ... mistress to Julius Caesar... lover of Marc Antony... and terrorist saboteur?

The Time Commandos travel to ancient Rome to unravel the mystery of a strange prophecy -- one that not only tells Caesar to -Beware the ides of March," but also foretells the exact manner of his death and the names of his assassins.

The Eternal City is full of intrigue, plots, and conspiracies... but agents from the parallel universe have introduced a new element of treachery -- a plan to prevent Caesar's murder and change the course of history. Is the seductive Queen of Egypt their unwitting pawn -- or their cunning leader? To save the future, the Emperor must die... and the Time Commandos may have to do the job themselves!

The Time Commandos travel back in time to the American Frontier to investigate the disappearance of three missing agents.

Four stories of the Robert E. Howard's puritan swordsman, Solomon Kane

Hills of the Dead
First published in Weird Tales, August 1930. In Africa, Kane's old friend N'Longa (the witch doctor from "Red Shadows") gives the Puritan a magic wooden staff, the Staff of Solomon, which will protect him in his travels. Kane enters the jungle and finds a city of vampires.

The Hawk of Basti
First published in Red Shadows. Kane's old acquaintance, Jeremy Hawk, was once the king of an African lost civilization, and wants to resume that role.

Wings in the Night
First published in Weird Tales, July 1932. In Africa again, Kane comes across an entire village wiped out, and all of the roofs have been ripped off, as if by something was trying to get inside from above.

The Children of Asshur
First published in Red Shadows. Kane comes across a lost city of Assyrians.

Combining the suspense of the detective thriller with the awesome wonder of space/time adventure, this novel begins an epic tale of a war across one million alternate Earths.

The second volume in the time travel/parallel universe series sends Pittsburgh private eye Mark Strang, trained with nightmarish weaponry and teamed with the woman of his dreams, to an alternative 1776, where he becomes his own worst enemy.

Mark Strang is asked to travel far back in time to the period of Caesar and the great Roman Triumvirate, in order to investigate the disappearance of a fellow time agent. What he discovers is that Caesar has been subverted by a Closer representative and that the Triumvirate has been undermined with civil war, mutual destruction, and the rewriting of history looming in the near future.

Don Sampson, a much-decorated Vietnam veteran, finds himself transported back to February 1944 and into the midst of the Allies' Italian campaign, where he is caught up in a desperate mission to foil the deployment of a last-resort German weapon.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction I: First, Some Jokes - essay by Pat Murphy
• Introduction II: Transformations in Reading - essay by Karen Joy Fowler
• Birth Days - (2003) - short story by Geoff Ryman
• Everything But the Signature is Me - (1978) - essay by James Tiptree, Jr.
• The Ghost Girls of Rumney Mill - (2003) - short story by Sandra McDonald
• Boys - (2003) - short story by Carol Emshwiller
• Genre: A Word Only the French Could Love - essay by Ursula K. Le Guin
• excerpts from Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls - (2003) - short fiction by Matt Ruff
• Judging the Tiptree - essay by Suzy McKee Charnas
• The Catgirl Manifesto: An Introduction - (2003) - short fiction by Richard Calder [as by Christina Flook]
• Looking Through Lace - (2003) - novella by Ruth Nestvold
• "Tiptree" and History - essay by Joanna Russ
• What I Didn't See - (2002) - short story by Karen Joy Fowler
• The Snow Queen - (1844) - novelette by Hans Christian Andersen
• The Lady of the Ice Garden - (2003) - novelette by Kara Dalkey
• Travels with the Snow Queen - (1996) - novelette by Kelly Link

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2) - (2005) - essay by Debbie Notkin
• Talking Too Much: About James Tiptree, Jr. - (2005) - essay by Julie Phillips
• Letter to Rudolf Arnheim - (2005) - essay by James Tiptree, Jr.
• Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation - (2005) - short fiction by Raphael Carter
• The Gift - (2004) - novella by L. Timmel Duchamp
• excerpts from Camouflage - (2005) - short fiction by Joe Haldeman
• excerpts from Troll: A Love Story - (2005) - short fiction by Johanna Sinisalo
• Looking for Clues - (2005) - essay by Nalo Hopkinson
• Nirvana High - (2004) - novelette by Eileen Gunn and Leslie What
• Five Fucks - (1996) - novelette by Jonathan Lethem
• All of Us Can Almost... - (2004) - short story by Carol Emshwiller
• The Brains of Female Hyena Twins - (2005) - essay by Gwyneth Jones
• Another Story or a Fisherman of the Inland Sea - (1994) - short fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Kissing Frogs - (2004) - short story by Jaye Lawrence

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3) - essay by Jeffrey D. Smith
• Have Not Have - (2001) - novelette by Geoff Ryman
• The Glass Bottle Trick - (2000) - short story by Nalo Hopkinson
• Wooden Bride - (2004) - short story by Margo Lanagan
• Dearth - (2005) - short story by Aimee Bender
• Mountain Ways - (1996) - novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Shame - (2006) - essay by Pam Noles
• The Future of Female: Octavia Butler's Mother Lode - (1990) - essay by Dorothy Allison
• Liking What You See: A Documentary - (2002) - novella by Ted Chiang
• The Girl Who Was Plugged In - (1973) - novelette by James Tiptree, Jr.
• Dear Alice Sheldon - (2006) - essay by L. Timmel Duchamp
• Little Faces - (2005) - novelette by Vonda N. McIntyre
• Knapsack Poems - (2002) - short story by Eleanor Arnason

Irish writer Edward J. M. D. Plunkett, the eighteenth Baron Dunsany, was one of English literature's most original talents. The author of many of the best fantastic tales in the language, he also greatly influenced other writers working in the genre. This collection of all the stories from two of his finest collections includes the famous "Three Sailors' Gambit," possibly the best chess story ever written, as well as "The Bad Old Woman in Black," "The Watch-Tower," "The Three Infernal Jokes," "The House of the Sphinx," and 28 other literary gems.

This book combines The Book of Wonder, originally published in 1912, and Tales of Wonder, published in 1916.

Contents:

v • The Book of Wonder • (1912) • collection by Lord Dunsany

v • Preface (The Book of Wonder) • (1912) • poem by Lord Dunsany

1 • The Bride of the Man-Horse • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

5 • Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany (variant of The Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller, and of the Doom That Befell Him)

9 • The House of the Sphinx • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

12 • Probable Adventure of the Three Literary Men • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany (variant of The Probable Adventure of the Three Literary Men)

16 • The Injudicious Prayers of Pombo the Idolater • (1910) • short story by Lord Dunsany

20 • The Loot of Bombasharna • (1910) • short story by Lord Dunsany

24 • Miss Cubbidge and the Dragon of Romance • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

27 • The Quest of the Queen's Tears • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

32 • The Hoard of the Gibbelins • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

36 • How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

41 • How One Came, as Was Foretold, to the City of Never • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

45 • The Coronation of Mr. Thomas Shap • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

49 • Chu-Bu and Sheemish • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

53 • The Wonderful Window • (1911) • short story by Lord Dunsany

58 • Epilogue (The Book of Wonder) • (1912) • essay by Lord Dunsany

59 • Tales of Wonder • (1916) • collection by Lord Dunsany (variant of The Last Book of Wonder)

59 • Preface (Tales of Wonder) • (1916) • essay by Lord Dunsany

61 • A Tale of London • (1912) • short story by Lord Dunsany

64 • Thirteen at Table • (1916) • short story by Lord Dunsany

72 • The City on Mallington Moor • (1913) • short story by Lord Dunsany

79 • Why the Milkman Shudders When He Perceives the Dawn • (1914) • short story by Lord Dunsany

82 • The Bad Old Woman in Black • (1914) • short story by Lord Dunsany

84 • The Bird of the Difficult Eye • (1914) • short story by Lord Dunsany

88 • The Long Porter's Tale • (1914) • short story by Lord Dunsany

93 • The Bureau d'Echange de Maux • (1915) • short story by Lord Dunsany

97 • A Story of Land and Sea • (1914) • novelette by Lord Dunsany

118 • The Loot of Loma • (1914) • short story by Lord Dunsany

122 • A Tale of the Equator • (1914) • short story by Lord Dunsany

125 • A Narrow Escape • (1912) • short story by Lord Dunsany

127 • The Watch-Tower • (1912) • short story by Lord Dunsany

130 • The Secret of the Sea • (1914) • short story by Lord Dunsany

134 • How Plash-Goo Came to the Land of None's Desire • (1916) • short story by Lord Dunsany

136 • The Three Sailors' Gambit • (1916) • short story by Lord Dunsany

144 • How Ali Came to the Black Country • (1914) • short story by Lord Dunsany

148 • The Exiles Club • (1915) • short story by Lord Dunsany (variant of The Exiles' Club)

153 • The Three Infernal Jokes • (1915) • short story by Lord Dunsany

The female samurai warrior, Tomoe Gozen, helps a small village in its desperate fight against a powerful evil priest.

Seventeen-year-old Ellie Linton wants one final adventure with her friends before the school holidays are over. Packed in Ellie's parents' land rover they drive to the famously isolated rock pool Eden dubbed 'Hell' by the locals. Returning to their home town of Wirrawee, the seven teenagers realize that something is seriously wrong. Power to the houses has been cut, pets and livestock have been left dead or dying, and most alarmingly of all, everyone's family has vanished. When the hostile armed forces discover that the teenagers are lying low in the vicinity, Ellie and her friends must band together to escape, outwit and strike back against the mysterious enemy that has seized control of their town and imprisoned their friends and loved ones...

Contents:

• 1 - Introduction (Body Armor: 2000) - essay by Joe Haldeman
• 5 - Contact! - (1974) - short story by David Drake
• 21 - The Warbots - (1968) - short story by Larry S. Todd
• 23 - General Motors Terrain Walker - interior artwork by Larry S. Todd
• 25 - McCauley Walker (Ambulant) - interior artwork by Larry S. Todd
• 28 - Burton Damnthing - interior artwork by Larry S. Todd
• 31 - Christopher Warbot - interior artwork by Larry S. Todd
• 33 - Cuiver (Greedy Nick) Warbot - interior artwork by Larry S. Todd
• 35 - Critter's Gateway Warbot - interior artwork by Larry S. Todd
• 38 - Quicksilver Warbot - interior artwork by Larry S. Todd
• 40 - 2nd Alakar - interior artwork by Larry S. Todd
• 45 - The Scapegoat - [Alliance-Union] - (1985) - novella by C. J. Cherryh
• 93 - The Last Crusade - (1955) - short story by George H. Smith
• 106 - Hired Man - (1970) - short story by Richard C. Meredith
• 122 - Early Model - (1956) - short story by Robert Sheckley
• 141 - In the Bone - (1966) - short story by Gordon R. Dickson
• 163 - The Chemically Pure Warriors - (1962) - novella by Allen Kim Lang
• 222 - Right to Life - (1985) - short story by Thomas A. Easton
• 234 - Or Battle's Sound - [Matter Transmitter] - (1968) - novelette by Harry Harrison (variant of No War, or Battle's Sound)
• 256 - Hero - [Mandella] - (1972) - novella by Joe Haldeman

Contents:

• 1 - Introduction (Supertanks) - essay by Joe Haldeman
• 5 - The Horars of War - (1970) - short story by Gene Wolfe
• 23 - I Made You - (1954) - short story by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
• 35 - Encounter - (1979) - novelette by Stephen Leigh
• 55 - The Computer Cried Charge! - (1976) - short story by George R. R. Martin
• 69 - Hangman - [Hammer's Slammers] - (1979) - novella by David Drake
• 125 - Field Test - [Bolo] - (1976) - short story by Keith Laumer
• 149 - An Empty Gift - (1983) - short story by Steve Benson
• 161 - Tank - (1979) - short story by Francis E. Izzo
• 167 - The Tank and Its Wife - (1978) - short story by Arsen Darnay
• 177 - Damnation Alley - (1967) - novella by Roger Zelazny

Contents:

• 1 - Introduction (Space-Fighters) - essay by Joe Haldeman
• 6 - The Game of Rat and Dragon - [The Instrumentality of Mankind] - (1955) - short story by Cordwainer Smith
• 21 - The Immortal - (1965) - novelette by Gordon R. Dickson
• 58 - City of Yesterday - (1967) - short story by Terry Carr
• 67 - Industrial Accident - (1980) - novelette by G. Harry Stine [as by Lee Correy]
• 87 - Ender's Game - [Ender Wiggin] - (1977) - novelette by Orson Scott Card
• 125 - The Claw and the Clock - [Federation of Humanity] - (1971) - novelette by Christopher Anvil
• 148 - Time Piece - (1970) - short story by Joe Haldeman
• 157 - Medal of Honor - (1960) - novelette by Mack Reynolds
• 185 - Wings Out of Shadow - [Berserker (Fred Saberhagen)] - (1974) - novelette by Fred Saberhagen
• 204 - Gambler's War - (1980) - short story by Marcia Martin and Eric Vinicoff
• 221 - Safe to Sea - (1988) - short story by David Drake
• 236 - Empire Dreams - (1985) - novelette by Ian McDonald
• 259 - Stars, Won't You Hide Me? - (1966) - short story by Ben Bova
• 273 - Waiting in Crouched Halls - (1970) - short story by Edward Bryant [as by Ed Bryant]
• 285 - Early Bird - (1973) - short story by Theodore R. Cogswell and Theodore L. Thomas

The Ugly Little Boy:

A small Neanderthal boy is brought into the future for scientific experimentation. The nurse who takes care of him, starts to see him as something other than a experimental subject.

The [Widget], the [Wadget], and Boff:

Only Robin could really see the Aliens...

Having been absorbed into the traditional life of the Moruia, four Earth people live peacefully on the planet Torin until an unscrupulous diviner tries to seize power.

Thorvald Spear, resurrected from his death over a hundred years earlier, continues to hunt Penny Royal, the rogue AI and dangerous war criminal on the run from Polity forces. Beyond the Graveyard, a lawless and deadly area in deep space, Spear follows the trail of several enemy Prador, the crab-like alien species with a violent history of conflict with humanity.

Sverl, a Prador genetically modified by Penny Royal and slowly becoming human, pursues Cvorn, a Prador harboring deep hatred for the Polity looking to use him and other hybrids to reignite the dormant war with mankind.

Blite, captain of a bounty hunting ship, hands over two prisoners and valuable memplants from Penny Royal to the Brockle, a dangerous forensics entity under strict confinement on a Polity spaceship that quickly takes a keen interest in the corrupted AI and its unclear motives.

Penny Royal meanwhile continues to pull all the strings in the background, keeping the Polity at bay and seizing control of an attack ship. It seeks Factory Station Room 101, a wartime manufacturing space station believed to be destroyed. What does it want with the factory? And will Spear find the rogue AI before it gets there?

War Factory, the second book in the Transformation trilogy, is signature space opera from Neal Asher: breakneck pacing, high-tech science, bizarre alien creatures, and gritty, dangerous far-future worlds.

After years of selfimposed exile from a civilization rife with degradation and indecency, cynical journalist Spider Jerusalem is forced to return to a job he hates and a city he loathes. Working as an investigative reporter for the newspaper The Word, Spider attacks the injustices of his surreal 23rd century surroundings.

In this first volume, Spider ventures into the dangerous Angels 8 district, home of the Transients -- humans who have decided to become aliens through cosmetic surgery. But Spider's interview with the Transients' leader gets him a scoop he didn't bargain for. And don't miss Spider's first confrontation with the President of the United States... in a men's room.

Outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem attacks the injustices of his surreal 21st Century through black humor as an investigative reporter for the newspaper The Word in this critically-acclaimed graphic novel series written by comics' superstar Warren Ellis, the co-creator of PLANETARY and THE AUTHORITY.

In this volume, Jerusalem targets three of society's most worshipped and warped pillars: politics, religion, and television. When Spider tries to shed light on the atrocities of these institutions, he finds himself fleeing a group of hitmen/kidnappers in possession of his ex-wife's frozen head, a distorted creature alleging to be his son, and a vicious talking police dog.

Investigative reporter Spider Jerusalem attacks the injustices of the 21st Century surroundings while working for the newspaper The Word in this critically-acclaimed graphic novel series written by comics superstar Warren Ellis, the co-creator of PLANETARY and THE AUTHORITY.

In this third volume, Spider Jerusalem begins to crumble under the pressure of sudden and unwanted fame. Having had enough of the warped 21st century Babylon that he lives in, Spider escapes into a world of bitterness and pills. As he stumbles through this haze of depression and drugs, he must find a way to cover the biggest story of the year, the presidential election. Armed with only his demented mind and dark sense of humor, Spider embarks on an adventure of political cynicism, horrific sex, and unwelcome celebrity which culminates in a shocking and ruinous ending.

Investigative reporter Spider Jerusalem attacks the injustices of the 21st Century surroundings while working for the newspaper The Word in this critically-acclaimed graphic novel series written by comics superstar Warren Ellis, the co-creator of PLANETARY and THE AUTHORITY.

In this volume, two candidates are facing off in the presidential election, and in all the media only Spider Jerusalem seems to have the intestinal fortitude to hack his way through the campaign propaganda and find out the reality behind the spin. But even if he manages to being the public the unvarnished truth, the question still remains: will they do the right thing once they have it?

The City can be a looney place--especially for famed journalist Spider Jerusalem, despised and loved in equal measure(and with equal ferocity) by The City's wealthy elite and its downtrodden rabble.

Of course, with the ascension of a new president sworn to destroy him, loneliness may soon be the least of his problems. But in a town where anything can be bought, stolen, or manufactured, the truth is still in short supply, and Jerusalem is the one man determined to keep it on the market--no matter what the price.

There's no faster path to paranoia and delusion that the red carpet of celebrity, and in the city no one is more famous than mega-popular attack journalist Spider Jerusalem.

Nearly paralyzed by his own media omnipresence, Jerusalem has been reduced to a populist character, his muckraking teeth blunted by the sticky-sweet syrup of adulation. Luckily, he still has his enemies to keep him on his toes--even through a narcotized fog, nothing concentrates the mind like a high probability of imminent assassination.

The truth hurts. That's old news to outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem, but what's changed is how high the stakes have become. Long a thorn in the side of the powerful and the hypocritical, Jerusalem has made an enemy of the new President of the United States--a man who happens to be crazier than a rabid rattlesnake and twice as mean.

Now, driven underground with his loyal(and filthy) assistants, deprived of all of his comforts and hunted like a rabbit at the dog track, Jerusalem prepares for his greatest coup yet--provided, of course, that he can survive this afternoon.

Investigative reporter Spider Jerusalem attacks the injustices of the 21st Century surroundings while working for the newspaper The Word in this critically-acclaimed graphic novel series written by comics superstar Warren Ellis, the co-creator of PLANETARY and THE AUTHORITY. In this eighth volume collecting issues #43-48 of the groundbreaking VERTIGO title, all hell breaks loose as a nameless sniper terrorizes the Print District and a raging superstorm clears the streets of The City.

The forces of darkness are closing in on outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem and his merry, filthy band -- but now they've got their own rope around the neck of corrupt President Callahan, and it's time to start tightening the noose.

TRANSMETROPOLITAN: THE CURE is the ninth volume reprinting the acclaimed series written by Warren Ellis (PLANETARY, RED) with art by Darick Robertson (The Boys). Jerusalem and his cohorts step up their investigation into Callahan's misdeeds and turn up some startling evidence... not to mention a sole surviving witness to the President's depravity. The problem, as always, will be getting the word out before the massive forces of the Executive Branch black out everything -- and everyone -- involved.

The final volume in the saga of outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem written by comics superstar Warren Ellis.

At last, it's the final showdown between Spider and the absolutely corrupt President of the United States in this new edition of the finale to the classic dystopian saga from Vertigo.

Collects #55-60, Transmetropolitan: I Hate It Here, Transmetropolitan: Filth of the City.

From Bram Stoker Award nominee Kaaron Warren, comes Book 6 in the Twelve Planets collection series including the 2013 Shirley Jackson Award winning novella "Sky".

Country road, city street, mountain, creek. These are stories inspired by the beauty, the danger, the cruelty, emptiness, loneliness and perfection of the Australian landscape.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction by Gemma Files
• Mountain
• Creek
• Road
• Sky