Search Worlds Without End

In the star system ThreeSys, three members of the elite human "Meshed" caste have used their great gifts for evil purposes -- enslaving the lower orders in the addictive dreams of a powerful narcotic. Now hunted by those seeking bloody retribution, Corey, Annmarie, and Eve-along with Eve's lower caste lover, Naverdi -- must flee to Paradise, the first world in ThreeSys to know the curse of human habitation. But something is waiting for them on the now abandoned planet -- a sinister being that can turn their own powers against them, an entity that has broken down all barriers between virtual and real; a creature that has chosen Naverdi to bear its offspring into the world.

The Cure for Everything

Nebula Award winning short story. It was originally published on Sci Fiction, June 22, 2000. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection (2001), edited by Gardner Dozois, and the Nebula Awards Showcase 2003, edited by Nancy Kress.

The Golem

Everything is a Graveyard

Nebula Award nominated short story. It first appeared in the anthology Black Heart, Ivory Bones (2000), edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. It can also be found in the collection The Cure for Everything (2013).

The Worm in Every Heart

Gemma Files

IN THE SHADOWS OF WAR AND HISTORY, THE MIRROR BETWEEN MAN AND MONSTER BREAKS... From the haunted hills of Roman Britain to the sewers of occupied Warsaw... in the bloodied streets of Revolutionary Paris, and the anarchy World War II Shanghai... out of the wilds of America, India, Africa and Europe... down the long savage darkness of the centuries, monsters have fed upon us. They are shapeshifters, vampires, sorcerers and spirits--things named only in myth, and things for which we have no name. They are our demons, our reflections, our desires and our nightmares. And all too often, they are... only human.

In this second collection from Gemma Files--featuring the award-winning 'The Emperor's Old Bones' (winner of the 1999 International Horror Guild Award for Best Short Fiction), and five never-before-published stories--we tour the overlooked intersections between wilderness and civilization where secret dances of fear and pain are performed and hunters and hunted change roles.

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Nancy Kilpatrick
Nigredo
Ring of Fire - (1995)
The Guided Tour - (1996)
Year Zero - (2001)
Flare - (1994)
Bottle of Smoke - (1998)
Fly-by-Night - (1993)
In the Poor Girl Taken by Surprise - (2004)
A Single Shadow Make - (1994)
The Land Beyond the Forest - (1994)
Sent Down - (2004)
The Kindly Ones
By the Mark
The Emperor's Old Bones - (1999)
The Narrow World - (2001)
Afterword - interview of Gemma Files

Jason Fischer

"He flicked the coin onto the table and it spun lazily, resting on tails. An eagle, squatting on a cactus, snake held aloft in its beak. Cinco pesos, the worn script read..."

Within these covers, you will find murderous dropbears, zombie kangaroos and undead camels. Poignant endings to the world mash-up with muscle car battles, featuring feral killers that make Mad Max look like the Disney channel.

Everything is a Graveyard delves into the fantastic, the horrifying, the sad and the just plain weird.

Neverwhere

Neil Gaiman

Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

Extraordinary Engines

Nick Gevers

Steampunk Anthology

Contains:

Steampunch by James LovegroveStatic by Marly Youmans
Speed, Spped the Cable by Kage Baker
Elementals by Ian R. MAcLeod
Machine Maid by Margo Lanagan
Lady Witherspoon's Solution by James Morrow
Hannah by Keith Brooke
Petrolpunk by Adam Roberts
American Cheetah by Robert Reed
Fixing Hanover by James VanderMeer
The Lollygang Save the World on Accident by Jay Lake
The Dream of Reason by Jeffrey Ford

Extrasolar

Nick Gevers

Among the brilliant visionary scenarios in Extrasolar: military antagonists meet in the atmosphere of a gas giant; gifted children hijack a starship to search out a new home; a superjovian world yields mysterious and much-coveted gemstones; aliens find our solar system disconcertingly paradoxical; a feminist SF writer of the Seventies crafts liberating exoplanetary dreams; the habitats aboard a gargantuan spaceship cater to the needs of truly exotic aliens; and scientists eagerly seeking exoplanets confront a devastating truth. And then there are songs of home and far away and bitter exile; intelligence calling to intelligence across light years and species barriers; utterly immersive dives into perilous planetary atmospheres; brave responses to enigmatic messages from the stars; a machine embracing a Gothic destiny; and a truly different kind of space opera.

Table of Contents:

Holdfast - Alastair Reynolds
Shadows of Eternity - Gregory Benford
A Game of Three Generals - Aliette de Bodard
The Bartered Planet - Paul Di Filippo
Come Home - Terry Dowling
The Residue of Fire - Robert Reed
Thunderstone - Matthew Hughes
Journey to the Anomaly - Ian Watson
Canoe - Nancy Kress
The Planet Woman By M.V. Crawford - Lavie Tidhar
Arcturean Nocturne - Jack McDevitt
Life Signs - Paul McAuley
The Fall of the House of Kepler - Ian R. MacLeod
The Tale of the Alcubierre Horse - Kathleen Ann Goonan

Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense

Nick Gevers
Jack Dann

Seventeen all-new stories illuminate the steampunk world of fog and fear!

Modern masters of the supernatural weave their magic to revitalize the chilling Victorian and Edwardian ghostly tale: here are haunted houses, arcane inventions, spirits reaching across the centuries, ghosts in the machine, fateful revelations, gaslit streets scarcely keeping the dark at bay, and other twisted variations on the immortal classics that frighten us still.

Is Anybody Out There?

Nick Gevers
Marty Halpern

Beyond our skies... and imaginations.

Are we alone in the universe, and if not, who else-or what else-is out there? Here are thought-provoking stories that explore such questions as: Do intelligent species invariably destroy themselves by nuclear war or ecological collapse? Are the sentient aliens that do exist just too far away? Do they exist in forms beyond our comprehension? Are they among us, but undetectable? These are just some of the possibilities explored by a stellar lineup of contributors.

Contents:

Introduction: Here Comes Everyone - essay by Paul J. McAuley
The Word He Was Looking for Was Hello - short story by Alexander C. Irvine
Residue - short story by Michael Arsenault
Good News from Antares - short story by Yves Meynard
Report from the Field - short story by Lezli Robyn and Mike Resnick
Permanent Fatal Errors - short story by Jay Lake
Galaxy of Mirrors - short story by Paul Di Filippo
Where Two or Three - short story by Sheila Finch
Graffiti in the Library of Babel - short story by David Langford
The Dark Man - short story by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
One Big Monkey - short story by Ray Vukcevich
The Taste of Night - short story by Pat Cadigan
Timmy, Come Home - short story by Matthew Hughes
A Waterfall of Lights - short story by Ian Watson
Rare Earth - short story by Felicity Shoulders and Leslie What
The Vampires of Paradox - short story by James Morrow
About the Authors - essay by uncredited
About the Editors - essay by uncredited

Other Earths

Nick Gevers
Jay Lake

Eleven original stories about the different paths our world might've taken...

Alternate history explores the many possible directions our world could follow if certain key events didn't occur at all or were changed in some crucial way. Is our Earth the only Earth, our reality the only one that exists? Or are there many parallel worlds and societies, some very similar to ours, some barely recognizable?

What if...
Lincoln had never become president, and the Civil War had never taken place?
Columbus never discovered America, and the Inca developed a massive, technologically advanced empire?
Magic was real and a half-faery queen ruled England?
Hitler and Germany won the war because America never got involved?
Many of the world's religions were totally commercialized, their temples run like casinos, religions deisgned purely for profit?
An author discovered a book written by an alternate version of himself?

These are just some of the possible pathways that you can take to explore the Other Earths that may be waiting just one event away...

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Nick Gevers and Jay Lake
This Peaceable Land; or, The Unbearable Vision of Harriet Beecher Stowe - novelette by Robert Charles Wilson
The Goat Variations - short story by Jeff VanderMeer
The Unblinking Eye - short story by Stephen Baxter
Csilla's Story - novelette by Theodora Goss
Winterborn - short story by Liz Williams
Donovan Sent Us - short story by Gene Wolfe
The Holy City and Em's Reptile Farm - short story by Greg van Eekhout
The Receivers - novelette by Alastair Reynolds
A Family History - short story by Paul Park
Dog-Eared Paperback of My Life - novella by Lucius Shepard
Nine Alternate Alternate Histories - short story by Benjamin Rosenbaum

The Book of Dreams

Nick Gevers

To dream is to enter inner worlds of terror and revelation, to look the collective unconscious in the face. In this ground-breaking anthology, five modern masters of the fantastic conjure especially potent encounters with the stuff of the sleeping mind, unveiling dark hints about who (or what) we truly are, about our uncertain relationships with the waking world. The stories in The Book of Dreams are bold ventures into the kingdom of Morpheus, upon which individual destinies crucially depend--or perhaps the destiny of the entire human species.

Table of Contents:

7 - The Prisoner - novelette by Robert Silverberg
29 - Dream Burgers at the Mouth of Hell - novelette by Lucius Shepard
59 - Testaments - short story by Jay Lake
85 - Rex Nemorensis - short story by Kage Baker
105 - 86 Deathdick Road - short story by Jeffrey Ford

Empress of Forever

Max Gladstone

A wildly successful innovator to rival Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, Vivian Liao is prone to radical thinking, quick decision-making, and reckless action. On the eve of her greatest achievement, she tries to outrun people who are trying to steal her success.

In the chilly darkness of a Boston server farm, Viv sets her ultimate plan into motion. A terrifying instant later, Vivian Liao is catapulted through space and time to a far future where she confronts a destiny stranger and more deadly than she could ever imagine.

The end of time is ruled by an ancient, powerful Empress who blesses or blasts entire planets with a single thought. Rebellion is literally impossible to consider--until Vivian Liao arrives. Trapped between the Pride--a ravening horde of sentient machines--and a fanatical sect of warrior monks who call themselves the Mirrorfaith, Viv must rally a strange group of allies to confront the Empress and find a way back to the world and life she left behind.

Manhattan in Reverse

Peter F. Hamilton

In 1998 Peter F. Hamilton, the master of space opera and top ten bestselling author, published his first collection of short stories in A Second Chance at Eden. Manhattan in Reverse is his return to short fiction. This includes 'Manhattan in Reverse,' an original story featuring Hamilton's popular detective Paula Myo, from his bestselling Commonwealth series.

From 'Watching Trees Grow' and a murder mystery set in an alternative Oxford in the 1800s, to 'The Forever Kitten' and the questions of eternal youth and the sacrifice required to pursue this, these stories deal with intricate themes and sociological issues. They take an intriguing look at what it is it that makes us enduringly human.

With all his usual wonderfully imagined futuristic technology, complex characters and brilliantly conceived storytelling, Peter F. Hamilton shows yet again what makes him Britain's number one science fiction writer.

This fabulous collection contains a total of seven short stories:

Watching Trees Grow
Footvote
If at First...
The Forever Kitten
Blessed by an Angel
The Demon Trap
Manhattan in Reverse

The Forever Kitten

Peter F. Hamilton

This short story originally appeared in Nature, July 28, 2005. It can also be found in the anthology Year's Best SF 11 (2006), edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer. The story is included in the collection Manhattan in Reverse (2011).

Read the full story for free at Nature.

I Who Have Never Known Men

Jacqueline Harpman

Ursula K. LeGuin meets The Road in a post-apocalyptic modern classic of female friendship and intimacy.

Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl--the fortieth prisoner--sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.

Things That Never Happen

M. John Harrison

Over the last thirty years, M. John Harrison has been inspiring readers and writers alike across the world. His return to science fiction in 2002 with the magnificent space opera LIGHT was a monumental triumph, shortlisted for every major award in the genre. He combines brilliant storytelling with complex plots and evocative, mesmerising writing. THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN is M. John Harrison's definitive collection of short fiction, twenty-four dazzling stories of science fiction and fantasy; the perfect introduction to one of Britain's most brilliant writers.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: The Limits of Vision(aries) - (2002) - essay by China Miéville
Author's Introduction - (2002) - essay
Settling the World - (1975) - short story
Running Down - (1975) - novelette
The Incalling - (1978) - novelette
The Ice Monkey - (1980) - short story
Egnaro - (1981) - novelette
The New Rays - (1982) - short story
Old Women - (1984) - short story
The Quarry - (1983) - short story
A Young Man's Journey to London - (1985) - novelette
The Great God Pan - (1988) - novelette
Small Heirlooms - (1987) - short story
The Gift - (1988) - novelette
Suicide Coast - (1999) - short story
The Neon Heart Murders - (2000) - short story
Black Houses - (1998) - short story
Science & The Arts - (1999) - short story
The East - (1996) - short story
The Horse of Iron and How We Can Know It and Be Changed by It Forever - (1989) - short story
Gifco - (1992) - novelette
Empty - (1995) - novelette
Seven Guesses of the Heart - (1996) - short story
I Did It - (1996) - short story
Anima - (1992) - short story
Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring - (1994) - novelette
Story Notes - (2002) - essay

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology

Shane Hawk
Theodore C. Van Alst Jr

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai'po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear--and even follow you home.

These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples' survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.

Featuring stories by:

Norris Black • Amber Blaeser-Wardzala • Phoenix Boudreau • Cherie Dimaline • Carson Faust • Kelli Jo Ford • Kate Hart • Shane Hawk • Brandon Hobson • Darcie Little Badger • Conley Lyons • Nick Medina • Tiffany Morris • Tommy Orange • Mona Susan Power • Marcie R. Rendon • Waubgeshig Rice • Rebecca Roanhorse • Andrea L. Rogers • Morgan Talty • D.H. Trujillo • Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. • Richard Van Camp • David Heska Wanbli Weiden • Royce Young Wolf • Mathilda Zeller

You Pretend Like You Never Met Me, and I’ll Pretend Like I Never Met You

Maria Dahvana Headley

This short story originally appeared Lightspeed Magazine, September 2018. It can also be found in the anthology The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year: Volume Thirteen (2019), edited by Jonathan Strahan.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

Five Ways Jane Austen Never Died

Samantha Henderson

This short story originally appeared in The Fortean Bureau, March 2005. It can also be found in the anthology Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2006 Edition, edited by Rich Horton.

Listen to the full story for free at PodCastle.

We'll Be Together Forever

Joseph Allen Hill

This short story originally appeared in Lightspeed, April 2015.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

The Edge of Never

Robert Hoskins

Table of Contents:

11 - The World Beyond - essay by Robert Hoskins
17 - An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street - novelette by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
43 - The Rat That Could Speak - short story by Charles Dickens
49 - An Inhabitant of Carcosa - short story by Ambrose Bierce
55 - Lost Hearts - short story by M. R. James
68 - The Yellow Sign - novelette by Robert W. Chambers
92 - The Sealman - short story by John Masefield
97 - A Night in Malnéant - short story by Clark Ashton Smith
105 - Werewoman - novelette by C. L. Moore
135 - Shottle Bop - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
167 - Armageddon - short story by Fredric Brown
174 - The Cheaters - novelette by Robert Bloch
198 - Legal Rites - novelette by Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl
233 - O Ugly Bird! - short story by Manly Wade Wellman
252 - Journeys End - short story by Poul Anderson
265 - The Man Who Liked - short story by Robert Hoskins
270 - Nightmare Gang - short story by Dean R. Koontz
281 - Elephants - short story by Barry N. Malzberg

Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro

From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, comes an unforgettable edge-of-your-seat mystery that is at once heartbreakingly tender and morally courageous about what it means to be human.

Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it.

Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but its only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is.

Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date.

Library of Congress subject headings for this publication: Women Fiction, England Fiction, Cloning Fiction, Organ donors Fiction, Donation of organs, tissues, etc, Fiction

Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel

Julian K. Jarboe

In this debut collection of body-horror fairy tales and mid-apocalyptic Catholic cyberpunk, memory and myth, loss and age, these are the tools of storyteller Jarboe, a talent in the field of queer fabulism. Bodily autonomy and transformation, the importance of negative emotions, unhealthy relationships, and bad situations amidst the staggering and urgent question of how build and nurture meaning, love, and safety in a larger world/society that might not be "fixable."

Table of Contents:

The Marks of Aegis
Here You Are, Near Me
Self Care
The Nothing Spots Where Nobody Wants to Stay
The Heavy Things
The Seed and The Stone
We Did Not Know We Were Giants
The Android That Designed Itself
As Tender Feet of Cretan Girls Danced Once Around an Altar of Love
Estranged Children of Storybook Houses
My Noise Will Keep The Record
Wake Word
Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel
First Contact, Communion
I Am a Beautiful Bug!
The Thing in Us We Fear Just Wants Our Love

Everything Under

Daisy Johnson

Words are important to Gretel, always have been. As a child, she lived on a canal boat with her mother, and together they invented a language that was just their own. She hasn't seen her mother since the age of sixteen, though - almost a lifetime ago - and those memories have faded. Now Gretel works as a lexicographer, updating dictionary entries, which suits her solitary nature.

A phone call from the hospital interrupts Gretel's isolation and throws up questions from long ago. She begins to remember the private vocabulary of her childhood. She remembers other things, too: the wild years spent on the river; the strange, lonely boy who came to stay on the boat one winter; and the creature in the water - a canal thief? - swimming upstream, getting ever closer. In the end there will be nothing for Gretel to do but go back.

Daisy Johnson's debut novel turns classical myth on its head and takes readers to a modern-day England unfamiliar to most. As daring as it is moving, Everything Under is a story of family and identity, of fate, language, love and belonging that leaves you unsettled and unstrung.

Everard's Ride

Diana Wynne Jones

A collection published by the New England Science Fiction Association to mark Diana's appearance as Guest of Honour at the 1995 Boskone SF convention. The introduction is by fantasy author Patricia Wrede.

Contents:

Everard's Ride
Nad and Dan and Quaffy
The Shape of the Narrative in The Lord of the Rings (essay)
No One
Dragon Reserve, Home Eight
The Master
The Plague of Peacocks
The True State of Affairs

Every River Runs to Salt

Rachael K. Jones

The Pacific Ocean is a big thing to steal, and Quietly's roommate Imani never does anything small. But then Imani goes and dies, and Quietly is left to travel to the Under-Ath (the underworld beneath Athens, Georgia), with angry gods at her heels, to clean up the mess Imani left behind and try to rescue her friend.

What Everyone Remembers

Rahul Kanakia

This short story originally appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, #64 January 2012. It can also be found in the anthology Clarkesworld: Year Six (2014).

Read the full story for free at Clarkesworld.

Several People are Typing

Calvin Kasulke

Gerald, a mid-level employee of a New York--based public relations firm has been uploaded into the company's internal Slack channels--at least his consciousness has. His colleagues assume it's an elaborate gag to exploit the new work-from home policy, but now that Gerald's productivity is through the roof, his bosses are only too happy to let him work from... wherever he says he is.

Faced with the looming abyss of a disembodied life online, Gerald enlists his co-worker Pradeep to help him escape, and to find out what happened to his body. But the longer Gerald stays in the void, the more alluring and absurd his reality becomes.

Meanwhile, Gerald's colleagues have PR catastrophes of their own to handle in the real world. Their biggest client, a high-end dog food company, is in the midst of recalling a bad batch of food that's allegedly poisoning Pomeranians nationwide. And their CEO suspects someone is sabotaging his office furniture. And if Gerald gets to work from home all the time, why can't everyone? Is true love possible between two people, when one is just a line of text in an app? And what in the hell does the :dusty-stick: emoji mean?

In a time when office paranoia and politics have followed us home, Calvin Kasulke is here to capture the surprising, absurd, and fully-relatable factors attacking our collective sanity... and give us hope that we can still find a human connection.

And Never Mind the Watching Ones

Keffy R. M. Kehrli

This short story originally appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Issue Six, September/October 2015. It can also be found in the anthology Not One of Us: Stories of Aliens on Earth (2018), edited by Neil Clarke.

Read the full story for free at Uncanny Magazine.

Miss Nobody Never Was

James Patrick Kelly

This short story originally appeared in Lightspeed, December 2013.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

Ninety Percent of Everything

Jonathan Lethem
John Kessel
James Patrick Kelly

Nebula-nominated Novella

Mysterious aliens have landed on Earth, but nobody can figure out what they want. Enter Liz Cobble, a frustrated professor of sapientology who finds herself swept up in a madcap romantic adventure with an eccentric billionaire and an architect who designs flying buildings.

This story was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 1999, self-published by the authors in 2011, and included in The Collected Kessel (2012).

The Best Christmas Ever

James Patrick Kelly

Hugo-nominated Short Story

The last man on Earth is depressed, and the robots charged with his care are at a loss as to how to shake him out of it. They concoct an elaborate scheme to have Christmas in May. After all, at the end of history, who cares if the dates are a little off?

This story was originally published by Sci Fiction, May 26, 2004, later anthologized in Science Fiction: The Best of 2004 (2005) and Season of Wonder (2012), and collected in The Wreck of the Godspeed and Other Stories (2008).

Read this story online for free at the Sci Fiction archive.

All the Things We Never See

Michael Kelly

Distilled through the occluded lens of weird fiction, Michael Kelly's third collection of strange tales is a timely and cogent examination of grief, love, identity, abandonment, homelessness, and illness. All cut through with a curious, quiet menace and uncanny melancholy.

Table of Contents:

Six Haiku - poem
These White Sorrows - short fiction
One Final Breath - short fiction
The Face That Looks Back at You - (2010) - short story
The Wounded Bird - (2011) - short story
Bait - (2013) - short fiction
A Crack in the Ceiling of the World - (2011) - short fiction
October Dreams - (2012) - short story
Desert of Sharp Sorrows - (2007) - short story by Jonathan William Hodges and Michael Kelly
Blink - (2012) - short story
Midnight Carousel - (2002) - poem
Some Other You - (2013) - short fiction
Hark at the Wind - (2011) - short story
Other Summers - (2013) - short fiction
Another Knife-Grey Day - (2015) - poem
Absolution - (2013) - short fiction
All the Things We Never See - (2009) - short fiction
Eight Untitled Haiku - (2002) - poem
Different Skins - (2009) - short story
Tears from an Eyeless Face - (2015) - short story
The White-Face at Dawn - (2012) - short story
Turn the Page - (2013) - short fiction
A Guttering of Flickers - (2011) - short story
Hungry, the Rain-God Wakens - (2015) - poem
Conversations with the Dead - (2012) - short story
The Beach - (2013) - short fiction
Down the Rabbit Hole - (2009) - short fiction
This Red Night - (2013) - short story
Pieces of Blackness - (2013) - short fiction
A Quiet Axe - (2015) - short story
The Woods - (2009) - short story

Every Angel Is Terrifying

John Kessel

WFA nominated short story. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October-November 1998. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Twelfth Annual Collection (1999), edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Crossroads: Tales of the Southern Literary Fantastic (2004), edited by F. Brett Cox and Andy Duncan, and Tails of Wonder and Imagination (2010), edited by Ellen Datlow. It is included in the collection The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories (2008).

Read the full story for free at the Baen website.

Everything that Isn't Winter

Margaret Killjoy

Does a renewed world still have a place for those who only know how to destroy? While defending a tea-growing commune in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, one person seeks an answer.

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.

One Hour, Every Seven Years

Alice Sola Kim

This short story originally appeared in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Issue 49, May 2017. It can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2018, edited by Rich Horton.

Everybody Sees the Ants

A. S. King

Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.

But Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the daily mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?

Michael L. Printz Honor recipient A.S. King's smart, funny and boldly original writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope with the shrapnel life throws at you and taking a stand against it

Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales

Stephen King

The first collection of stories Stephen King has published since Nightmares & Dreamscapes nine years ago, Everything's Eventual includes one O. Henry Prize winner, two other award winners, four stories published by The New Yorker, and "Riding the Bullet," King's original e-book, which attracted over half a million online readers and became the most famous short story of the decade.

"Riding the Bullet," published here on paper for the first time, is the story of Alan Parker, who's hitchhiking to see his dying mother but takes the wrong ride, farther than he ever intended. In "Lunch at the Gotham Café," a sparring couple's contentious lunch turns very, very bloody when the maître d' gets out of sorts. "1408," the audio story in print for the first time, is about a successful writer whose specialty is "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Graveyards" or "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Houses," and though Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel doesn't kill him, he won't be writing about ghosts anymore. And in "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French," terror is déjà vu at 16,000 feet.

Whether writing about encounters with the dead, the near dead, or about the mundane dreads of life, from quitting smoking to yard sales, Stephen King is at the top of his form in the fourteen dark tales assembled in Everything's Eventual. Intense, eerie, and instantly com-pelling, they announce the stunningly fertile imagination of perhaps the greatest storyteller of our time.

Table of Contents:

"Autopsy Room Four"
"The Man in the Black Suit"
"All That You Love Will Be Carried Away"
"The Death of Jack Hamilton"
"In the Deathroom"
"The Little Sisters of Eluria"
"Everything's Eventual"
"L. T.'s Theory of Pets"
"The Road Virus Heads North"
"Lunch at the Gotham Café"
"That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French"
"1408"
"Riding the Bullet"
"Luckey Quarter

Better Than Ever

Alex Kirs

Nebula Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1965 and can aslo be found in the anthology 11th Annual Edition: The Year's Best S-F (1966), edited by Judith Merril.

Happily Ever After

John Klima

Once Upon A Time... in the faraway land of Story, a Hugo-winning Editor realized that no one had collected together the fairy tales of the age, and that doorstop-thick anthologies of modern fairy tales were sorely lacking...

And so the Editor ventured forth, wandering the land of Story from shore to shore, climbing massive mountains of books and delving deep into lush, literary forests, gathering together thirty-three of the best re-tellings of fairy tales he could find. Not just any fairy tales, mind you, but tantalizing tales from some of the biggest names in today's fantastic fiction, authors like Gregory Maguire, Susanna Clarke, Charles de Lint, Holly Black, Alethea Kontis, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Patricia Briggs, Paul Di Filippo, Gregory Frost, and Nancy Kress. But these stories alone weren't enough to satisfy the Editor, so the Editor ventured further, into the dangerous cave of the fearsome Bill Willingham, and emerged intact with a magnificent introduction, to tie the collection together.

And the inhabitants of Story--from the Kings and Queens relaxing in their castles to the peasants toiling in the fields, from the fey folk flitting about the forests to the trolls lurking under bridges and the giants in the hills--read the anthology, and enjoyed it. And they all lived... Happily Ever After.

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Bill Willingham
A Night in the Lonesome November - short fiction by Bill Willingham
The Seven Stage a Comeback - (2000) - poem by Gregory Maguire
And In Their Glad Rags - short fiction by Genevieve Valentine
The Sawing Boys - (1994) - novelette by Howard Waldrop
Bear It Away - (2000) - short story by Michael Cadnum
Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower - (2000) - novella by Susanna Clarke
The Black Fairy's Curse - (1997) - short story by Karen Joy Fowler
My Life as a Bird - (1996) - novelette by Charles de Lint
The Night Market - (2004) - short story by Holly Black
The Rose in Twelve Petals - (2002) - short story by Theodora Goss
The Red Path - short fiction by Jim C. Hines
Blood & Water - (2008) - short story by Alethea Kontis
Hansel's Eyes - (2000) - short story by Garth Nix
He Died That Day, in Thirty Years - (2002) - novelette by Wil McCarthy
Snow in Summer - (2000) - short story by Jane Yolen
The Rose Garden - (2004) - novelette by Michelle West
The Little Magic Shop - (1987) - short story by Bruce Sterling
Black Feather - (2007) - short story by K. Tempest Bradford
Fifi's Tail - short fiction by Alan Rodgers
The Faery Handbag - (2004) - novelette by Kelly Link
Ashputtle - (1994) - novelette by Peter Straub
The Emperor's New (and Improved) Clothes - (1999) - short story by Leslie What
Pinocchio's Diary - short fiction by Robert J. Howe
Little Red - (1993) - short story by Wendy Wheeler
The Troll Bridge - short fiction by Neil Gaiman
The Price - (1999) - short story by Patricia Briggs
Ailoura - (2002) - novelette by Paul Di Filippo
The Farmer's Cat - (2005) - short story by Jeff VanderMeer
The Root of the Matter - (1993) - novelette by Gregory Frost
Like a Red, Red Rose - (1993) - novelette by Susan Wade
Chasing America - (2006) - novelette by Josh Rountree
Stalking Beans - (1993) - short story by Nancy Kress
Big Hair - (2000) - short story by Esther M. Friesner
The Return of the Dark Children - (2002) - short fiction by Robert Coover

Every Hour of Light and Dark

Nancy Kress

This short story originally appeaed in Omni, Winter 2017. It can also be found in the anthology The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3 (2018), and The Eagle Has Landed: 50 Years of Lunar Science Fiction (2019), both edited by Neil Clarke.

I Never Liked You Anyway

Jordan Kurella

Eurydice is dead, and hell is a school. She has to learn Hauntings, Baking Disasters, Threads of Fate, and all the other classes a newly dead soul needs to master before they're ready for what comes next.

Eurydice is still processing the disastrous relationship that sent her into the land of the dead almost as soon as she was married to the brilliant love of her life, Orpheus. She'll tell you how he swept her off her feet, and how their polyamourous group swept each other up in music and art and art theory and a life of creation from destruction, but mostly just destruction. But, this isn't their story.

Eurydice is dead, and failing all her classes, and she knows Orpheus is coming to get her out. Not that he cares, but that's not what she wants. And, she's the only one who truly knows how Orpheus and Eurydice's story ends.

Midnight in Everwood

M. A. Kuzniar

Nottingham, 1906

Marietta Stelle longs to be a ballerina but, as Christmas draws nearer, her dancing days are numbered -- she must marry and take up her place in society in the New Year. But, when a mysterious toymaker, Dr Drosselmeier, purchases a neighbouring townhouse, it heralds the arrival of magic and wonder in Marietta's life.

After Drosselmeier constructs an elaborate theatrical set for her final ballet performance on Christmas Eve, Marietta discovers it carries a magic all of its own -- a magic darker than anyone could imagine. As the clock chimes midnight, Marietta finds herself transported from her family's ballroom to a frozen sugar palace, silent with secrets, in a forest of snow-topped fir trees. She must find a way to return home before she's trapped in Everwood's enchanting grip forever.

In the darkness of night, magic awaits and you will never forget what you find here...

An Evening with Severyn Grimes

Rich Larson

This short story originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, July-August 2017. It can also be found in the anthologies The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Twelve (2018), edited by Jonathan Strahan, The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fifth Annual Collection (2018), edited by Gardner Dozois, and The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3 (2018), edited by Neil Clarke.

The Day Before Forever

Keith Laumer

Nebula Award nominated novella. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1967. The story can also be found in the collections The Day Before Forever and Thunderhead (1968) and Future Imperfect (2003).

The Day Before Forever and Thunderhead

Keith Laumer

Table of Contents:

The Day Before Forever - (1967) - novella
Thunderhead - (1967) - novelette

Every Day

David Levithan

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

Every morning, A wakes in a different person's body, a different person's life. There's never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It's all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally, A has found someone he wants to be with--day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate listeners as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A's world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

Never After

Rebecca Lickiss

Once upon a time the anxious Prince Althelstan went in search of a bride...

His restless cousin, Lady Vevila, went in search of adventure...

His friend Mazigian, proud graduate of the Recondite University, went in search of employment...

And each found what they were looking for--by following a folktale to a remote castle buried in thorns and briars. Behind its foreboding walls, one princess and three identical princes are cursed to eternal sleep. And it's going to take a mysterious dwarf named Rumplestiltskin, an enchanted toad, a wicked stepmother, and one even more wicked miracle to wake them. All it takes is one kiss, give or take a few, and a fairy tale really can come true.

Believers' World

Robert W. Lowndes

Everything about the worlds of Ein, three habitable planets in this strange hyperspace, gave the appearance of magic; yet beneath this Arabian Nights culture was a technology far in advance of Earth. And when Laird Dondyke, fugitive, arrived on Speewry, he found himself caught up in an intricate webwork of intrigue, whose purpose was to funnel vital scientific information back to Earth.

But that was only the smallest part of it, for while the theocratic culture on all three planets was the same, each maintained that it, and it alone, was the world of the true prophet of Ein, and the other two worlds were creations of evil. And each of the planets actually possessed the means to destroy the other two worlds completely--when Ein willed!

Dondyke found himself caught up in this maze when he saw a vision and a ghost within a few minutes of each other on the streets of Einwill, capital of Speewry. The vision was a golden-haired girl and the ghost a red-haired youth the image of Dondyke's brother, Bruce--the brother for whose untimely death Laird Dondyke felt guilt-ridden. He would have to help Tom Corey in whatever way he could, wherever this led him.He was an Unbeliever, as were many Earthmen who had come here to settle on these worlds, but some had become converts to the fantastic religion that permeated every atom of this culture, and Dondyke learned that faith raised an impenetrable barrier between him and Alanna. But when he accepted conversion, he discovered that his troubles had only begun.

Here is an ironic tale of adventure and romance in a strange world of super-science, where everything came down to a matter of faith.

Severance

Ling Ma

Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine: her work, watching movies with her boyfriend, avoiding thoughts of her recently deceased Chinese immigrant parents. So she barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps the world.

Candace joins a small group of survivors, led by the power-hungry Bob, on their way to the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. Should she escape from her rescuers?

A send-up and takedown of the rituals, routines and missed opportunities of contemporary life, Severance is a moving family story, a deadpan satire and a heartfelt tribute to the connections that drive us to do more than survive.

Nevermore

Ian R. MacLeod

This short story originally appeared in the anthology Dying for It: More Erotic Tales of Unearthly Love (1997), edited by Gardner Dozois, and was reprinted in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 1998, and in Clarkesworld Magazine, #95 August 2014. It can also be found in the anthologies:

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection (1998), edited by Gardner Dozois
Supermen: Tales of the Posthuman Future (2002), also edited by Dozois
Beyond Flesh (2002), edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

The story is included in the collections Past Magic (2006) and Snodgrass and Other Illusions: The Best Short Stories of Ian R. MacLeod (2013).

Read the full story for free at Clarkesworld.

Evolution Never Sleeps

Elisabeth Malartre

This short story originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 1999. It can also be found in the anthology Year's Best SF 5 (2000), edited by David G. Hartwell.

The People's Republic of Everything

Nick Mamatas

Welcome to the People's Republic of Everything?of course, you've been here for a long time already. Make yourself at home alongside a hitman who always tells the truth, no matter how reality has to twist itself to suit; electric matchstick girls who have teamed up with Friedrich Engels; a telepathic boy and his father's homemade nuclear bomb; a very bad date that births an unforgettable meme; and a dog who simply won't stop howling on social media.

The People's Republic of Everything features a decade's worth of crimes, fantasies, original fiction, and the author's preferred text of the acclaimed short novel Under My Roof.

Table of Contents:

Introduction by Jeffrey Ford
Walking with a Ghost
Arbeitskraft
The People's Republic of Everywhere and Everything
Tom Silex, Spirit-Smasher
The Great Armored Train
The Phylactery
Slice of Life
North Shore Friday
The Glottal Stop
The Spook School
A Howling Dog
Lab Rat
Dreamer of the Day
We Never Sleep
Under My Roof

Gravesend, or, Everyday Life in the Anthropocene

Paul J. McAuley

Gravesend, or, Everyday Life in the Anthropocene by Paul McAuley was first published in Asimov's Science Fiction, March-April 2023.

Rose is discharged from the army after an encounter with a psych bomb leaves her with lasting trauma and occasional intrusive hallucinations. She washes up in a commune of almost hippie-ish "oldsters," who are making a living in a hot and humid marsh near the mouth of the now-flooded River Thames. Rose is attracted by rumors of "soul chips" and a man who inherited his séance-giving aunt's house who might be looking for them. She meets him and that sets off an unexpected path of investigation -- he doesn't particularly care about them, but someone does, enough to steal ones from his house whenever his aunt's projection system for the housed AI "souls" is turned on. Rose dreams of finding someone to buy the remaining stash and get enough money for treatment at a clinic in the Czech Republic rumored to be able to actually cure people with her kind of trauma. But is that the way of life in the Anthropocene?

Read the full story for free here.

Nothing Ever Happens in Rock City

Jack McDevitt

Nebula Award nominated short story. Originally appeared in Artemis #5, Summer 2001. It can also be found in the Nebula Awards Showcase 2004, edited by Vonda N. McIntyre, and the collections Outbound (2006) and Cryptic: The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt (2009).

Read the full story for free at the Baen website.

Time Travelers Never Die

Jack McDevitt

When physicist Michael Shelborne mysteriously vanishes, his son Shel discovers that he had constructed a time travel device. Fearing his father may be stranded in time-or worse-Shel enlists the aid of Dave MacElroy, a linguist, to accompany him on the rescue mission.

Their journey through history takes them from the enlightenment of Renaissance Italy through the American Wild West to the civil-rights upheavals of the 20th century. Along the way, they encounter a diverse cast of historical greats, sometimes in unexpected situations. Yet the elder Shelborne remains elusive.

And then Shel violates his agreement with Dave not to visit the future. There he makes a devastating discovery that sends him fleeing back through the ages, and changes his life forever.

Time Travelers Never Die

Jack McDevitt

Hugo and Nebula Award nominated novella. It originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, May 1996. The story can also be found in the anthologis Time Machines: The Greatest Time Travel Stories Ever Written (1997), edited by Bill Adler, Jr. and The Best Time Travel Stories of All Time (2003), edited by Barry N. Malzberg. It is included in the collections Standard Candles (1996) and Cryptic: The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt (2009). It was expanded to the full novel Time Travelers Never Die in 2009.

Fever

Deon Meyer

Nico Storm and his father, Willem, drive a truck filled with essential supplies through a desolate land. They are among the few in the world, as far as they know, to have survived a devastating virus that has swept over the planet. Their lives turned upside down, Nico realizes that his superb marksmanship and cool head mean he is destined to be his father's protector, even though he is still only a boy.

Willem Storm, though not a fighter, is both a thinker and a leader, a wise and compassionate man with a vision for a new community that survivors will rebuild from the ruins. And so Amanzi is founded, drawing Storm's "homeless and tempest-tost"--starting with Melinda Swanevelder, whom they rescue from brutal thugs; Hennie Fly, with his vital Cessna plane; Beryl Fortuin and her ragtag group of orphans; and Domingo, the man with the tattooed hand, whom Nico immediately recognizes as someone you want on your side. And then Sofia Bergman arrives, the most beautiful girl Nico has ever seen, who changes everything.

So the community grows, and with each step forward, as resources increase, so do the challenges they must face--not just from the attacks of biker brigands, but also from within. Nico undergoes an extraordinary rite of passage in this brand new world, testing his loyalty to the limits. Looking back later in life, he recounts the traumatic events that led to the greatest rupture of all--the murder of the person he loves most.

Propulsively readable, Fever is a gripping epic of humanity striving for a noble vision against its basest impulses.

Memory

Teresa P. Mira de Echeverría

Memory explores the nature of oppression, genetic engineering, non-binary relationships, and--you guessed it--memory, on a colony on a terraformed Mars.

Never the Twain

Kirk Mitchell

I was all very simple...well, sort of. All Howard Hart had to do was to go back in time and make sure that Mark Twain's literary career fizzled out.

Why? Because Howard is the last living descendant of the obscure novelist Brette Harte, and he's convinced that with just a little help Harte and not Twain will become wealthy and respected. And that would leave Howard heir to literary immortality.

But along the way, Howard encounters some problems. The Civil War, the Gold Rush, and a ravishing young lady of pleasure--to name a few. And suddenly, time traveling isn't what it used to be... and neither is history.

Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa

Kenji Miyazawa

Kenji Miyazawa is one of modern Japan's most beloved writers, a great poet and a strange and marvelous spinner of tales, whose sly, humorous, enchanting, and enigmatic stories bear a certain resemblance to those of his contemporary Robert Walser. John Bester's selection and expert translation of Miyazawa's short fiction reflects its full range from the joyful, innocent "Wildcat and the Acorns," to the cautionary tale "The Restaurant of Many Orders," to "The Earthgod and the Fox," which starts out whimsically before taking a tragic turn. Miyazawa also had a deep connection to Japanese folklore and an intense love of the natural world. In "The Wild Pear," what seem to be two slight nature sketches succeed in encapsulating some of the cruelty and compensations of life itself.

An Ever-Expanding Flash of Light

Timothy Mudie

This short story originally appeared in Lighspeed, September 2017.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed Magazine.

Reverse Documentary

Marisela Navarro

Dino is a documentary filmmaker, haunted by the ghost of his ex-girlfriend who was killed in a car crash while with another man. As Dino shoots his latest documentaryon the vandalism occurring in the woods of his hometown, he tries to move on from her unexpected death. But when his life starts to look up, the ghost encroaches on his property. The focus of the film begins to blur as the lens of the camera shifts onto Dino, the director succumbing to his ghostly obsession.

You Will Never Know What Opens

Mari Ness

This short story originally appeared in Lightspeed, December 2017.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

Ever After

Susan Palwick

This novelette originally appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, November 1987. It can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection (1988), edited by Gardner Dozois, The Year's Best Fantasy: First Annual Collection (1988), edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, and The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 14 (1988), edited by Arthur W. Saha. The story is included in the collection The Fate of Mice (2007).

Everything Belongs to the Future

Laurie Penny

Time is a weapon wielded by the rich, who have excess of it, against the rest, who must trade every breath of it against the promise of another day's food and shelter. What kind of world have we made, where human beings can live centuries if only they can afford the fix? What kind of creatures have we become? The same as we always were, but keener.

In the ancient heart of Oxford University, the ultra-rich celebrate their vastly extended lifespans. But a few surprises are in store for them. From Nina and Alex, Margo and Fidget, scruffy anarchists sharing living space with an ever-shifting cast of crusty punks and lost kids. And also from the scientist who invented the longevity treatment in the first place.

Everything Belongs to the Future is a bloody-minded tale of time, betrayal, desperation, and hope that could only have been told by the inimitable Laurie Penny.

The Club Dumas

Arturo Perez-Reverte

"A cross between Umberto Eco and Anne Rice. . . .Think of The Club Dumas as a beach book for intellectuals." --New York Daily News

Lucas Corso, middle-aged, tired, and cynical, is a book detective, a mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found hanged, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, Corso is brought in to authenticate the fragment.

The task seems straightforward, but the unsuspecting Corso is soon drawn into a swirling plot involving devil worship, occult practices, and swashbuckling derring-do among a cast of characters bearing a suspicious resemblance to those of Dumas's masterpiece. Aided by a mysterious beauty named for a Conan Doyle heroine, Corso travels from Madrid to Toledo to Paris in pursuit of a sinister and seemingly omniscient killer. Part mystery, part puzzle, part witty intertextual game, The Club Dumas is a wholly original intellectual thriller by the internationally bestselling author of The Flanders Panel and The Seville Communion.

Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea

Sarah Pinsker

This Nebula-nominated novelette originally appeared in Lightspeed, February 2016. It can also be found in the anthology The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 2 (2017), edited by Neil Clarke.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea: Stories

Sarah Pinsker

Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea is one of the most anticipated SFF collections of recent years. Pinsker has shot like a star across the firmament with stories multiply nominated for awards as well as Sturgeon and Nebula award wins.

The baker's dozen stories gathered here (including a new, previously unpublished story) turn readers into travelers to the past, the future, and explorers of the weirder points of the present. The journey is the thing as Pinsker weaves music, memory, technology, history, mystery, love, loss, and even multiple selves on generation ships and cruise ships, on highways and high seas, in murder houses and treehouses. They feature runaways, fiddle-playing astronauts, and retired time travelers; they are weird, wired, hopeful, haunting, and deeply human. They are often described as beautiful but Pinsker also knows that the heart wants what the heart wants and that is not always right, or easy.

Table of Contents

"A Stretch of Highway Two Lanes Wide" (2014) short story
"And We Were Left Darkling" (2015) short story
"Remembery Day" (2015) short story
"Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea" (2016) novelette
"The Low Hum of Her" (2014) short story
"Talking with Dead People" (2016) short story
"The Sewell Home for the Temporally Displaced" (2014) short story
"In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind" (2013) novelette
"No Lonely Seafarer" (2014) short story
"Wind Will Rove" (2017) novelette
"Our Lady of the Open Road" (2015) novelette
"The Narwhal" short story
"And Then There Were (N - One)" (2017) novella

Never-Contented Things

Sarah Porter

Bound by haunting tragedies, Ksenia Adderley and Joshua Korensky have shared a home as foster siblings since they were children. Despite their opposite personalities?Ksenia is prickly, mistrustful, Josh, flamboyant and outgoing?they are fiercely protective of one another. As teens, they've grown even closer. Some say unnaturally so.

With Ksenia's eighteenth birthday approaching, their guardians expect her to move out. They want to free Josh of his obsession with the foster-sister whom they regard as a strange, unhealthy influence. But they don't understand the depths of Josh's feelings for Ksenia and how desperate he is to ensure they stay together?forever.

The one called Prince understands all too well. Attracted by the intensity of Josh's desires and Ksenia's fears, he can grant them a home among his kind: beautiful creatures not of this earth. All they have to do is surrender their very humanity and succumb to the cruel whims of Prince and his fae courtiers...

Three Days to Never

Tim Powers

In this bizarrely entertaining metaphysical thriller, 12-year-old Daphne Marrity and her father find themselves embroiled in an almost incomprehensibly complex international conspiracy (with supernatural overtones) when Daphne steals a videotape labeled "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" from her grandmother's house. Suddenly, the Israeli secret service seems to be after them, and the two are swept into an adventure that involves, among other things, time travel, assassins, and a shrunken talking head.

The Book On the Edge of Forever: The Facts, the Figures, and the Delusions Behind Harlan Ellison's Never-Published Anthology

Christopher Priest

Awards: nominated for Hugo Award - Best non-fiction, 1994

An enquiry into the facts behind the non-appearance of a science fiction anthology called The Last Dangerous Visions, a project that was originally announced in 1971 but which was never in fact completed or delivered to the publisher, let alone published. Constantly hyped and boasted about by its editor, Harlan Ellison, and frequently promised for imminent completion, the incontinently overlength book has been subjected to years of editorial procrastination. As contributors began to ask when their work would be appearing, Mr Ellison announced false publication dates at regular intervals, and produced untrue testimony from hapless acquaintances saying (apparently under duress) that they had personally seen the completed manuscript. None of this was true and could not be, and none of it would in fact matter but for two things.

Firstly, a lot of writers have seen their stories held in limbo for several years (and in most cases for decades). Secondly, many writers who tried to recover their work to have it properly published have been treated abusively by Mr Ellison. Examples of his bullying tactics abound, and many are reported by the victims in the pages of this book. For this latter reason, and the understandable wish to enjoy a quiet life, most of the contributors have preferred to abandon their stories. To this day the manuscripts (most of them produced on typewriters!) remain somewhere in the depths of Mr Ellison's house. Of course, in the forty years (plus) that this storm in a teacup has been continuing, some of the writers have given up writing altogether and a large number of them have died without seeing their work in print.

Christopher Priest's short book on the subject was written more than twenty years ago in the spirit of investigative journalism, and treated the matter as one of professional concern. Even as long ago as that, Mr Ellison's unfinished project had become scandalous. Priest contacted many of the victims direct and assembled a collection of letters, reports, personal accounts and experiences, and from these mounted a dispassionate account of the rudeness, inefficiency and waste of time that have characterized dealings with Mr Ellison. This book is the only published critical account of the saga of incompetence and untruths. On publication, an attempt at a lawsuit of course followed. Mr Ellison is someone who never misses a chance to proclaim his commitment to free speech, except when the freedom is exercised about him.

In spite of Mr Ellison's attempts to persuade people that The Book on the Edge of Forever has vanished without trace, it remains available.

Amazon publishes a number of notably partisan reviews, both pro and con the book, and extracts can be read in the reviews section of this website. One of these (headlined Meanspirited Jealousy) takes partisanship to a new high, or low: signed only as being written by "A reader", it bears all the hallmarks of Mr Ellison's own unmistakable writing style: florid overstatement and a fog of half-truths intended to cloud the issue. Well worth a visit to witness the great man in action, a rare sight. (The whole thing can be read on the reviews page for this title; see link above.)

The Forever Watch

David Ramirez

All that is left of humanity is on a thousand-year journey to a new planet aboard one ship, the Noah, which is also carrying a dangerous serial killer...

As a city planner on the Noah, Hana Dempsey is a gifted psychic, economist, hacker, and bureaucrat, and is considered "mission critical". She is nonreplaceable, important, essential - but after serving her mandatory Breeding Duty, the impregnation and birthing that all women are obligated to undergo - her life loses purpose, as she privately mourns the child she will never be permitted to know.

When policeman Leonard Barrens enlists her and her hacking skills in the unofficial investigation of this mentor's death, Dempsey finds herself increasingly captivated by both the case and Barrens himself. According to Information Security, the missing man has simply "retired" - nothing unusual is cited, such as the mutilated remains Barrens found in the old man's apartment. Unraveling this cover-up reveals a growing list of mutilated victims and suspicious deaths - evidence to suggest a serial killer is operating onboard the ship. As Barrens and Dempsey delve through lost dataspaces and plunge deep into the uninhabited regions of the ship, they discover that the answer could be far worse.

What they do with that answer will determine the fate of all humanity in this thrilling page-turner.

Every Hill Ends with Sky

Robert Reed

This short story originally appeared in the anthology Carbide Tipped Pens: Seventeen Tales of Hard Science Fiction (2014), edited by Ben Bova and Eic Choi. It can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2015, edited by Rich Horton.

What>We>Will>Never>Be

Robert Reed

This novella was first published in Asimov's Science Fiction, July/August 2023.

Every Bird a Prince

Jenn Reese

A girl's quest to save a forest kingdom is intertwined with her exploration of identity...

The only time Eren Evers feels like herself is when she's on her bike, racing through the deep woods. While so much of her life at home and at school is flying out of control, the muddy trails and the sting of wind in her face are familiar comforts.

Until she rescues a strange, magical bird, who reveals a shocking secret: their forest kingdom is under attack by an ancient foe--the vile Frostfangs--and the birds need Eren's help to survive.

Seventh grade is hard enough without adding "bird champion" to her list of after-school activities. Lately, Eren's friends seem obsessed with their crushes and the upcoming dance, while Eren can't figure out what a crush should even feel like. Still, if she doesn't play along, they may leave her behind... or just leave her all together. Then the birds enlist one of Eren's classmates, forcing her separate lives to collide.

When her own mother starts behaving oddly, Eren realizes that the Frostfangs--with their insidious whispers--are now hunting outside the woods. In order to save her mom, defend an entire kingdom, and keep the friendships she holds dearest, Eren will need to do something utterly terrifying: be brave enough to embrace her innermost truths, no matter the cost.

Eversion

Alastair Reynolds

Doctor Silas Coade has been tasked with keeping his crew safe as they adventure across the galaxy in search of a mysterious artifact, but as things keep going wrong, Silas soon realizes that something more sinister is at work, and this may not even be the first time it's happened.

In the 1800s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it's up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.

Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies

Lindsay Ribar

Twin Peaks meets Stars Hollow in this paranormal suspense novel about a boy who can reach inside people and steal their innermost things--fears, memories, scars, even love--and his family's secret ritual that for centuries has kept the cliff above their small town from collapsing.

Aspen Quick has never really worried about how he's affecting people when he steals from them. But this summer he'll discover just how strong the Quick family magic is--and how far they'll go to keep their secrets safe.

With a smart, arrogant protagonist, a sinister family tradition, and an ending you won't see coming, this is a fast-paced, twisty story about power, addiction, and deciding what kind of person you want to be, in a family that has the ability to control everything you are.

You Have Never Been Here

Mary Rickert

Sturgeon Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in the anthology Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology (2006), edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel. It was later reprinted in Lightspeed, January 2012. The story is included in the collections Holiday (2010) and You Have Never Been Here: New and Selected Stories (2015).

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

You Have Never Been Here: New and Selected Stories

Mary Rickert

The body of this book is built on hard, political stories that encompass the gentle wisdom of the ages. There is cruelty and love. War and regeneration. Rickert has long been an undiscovered master of the short story and this survey collection, including new work, will bring her to a wide, astonished audience. Rickert's first collection, Map of Dreams, received the Crawford and World Fantasy awards and stories in this collection have received the Shirley Jackson and World Fantasy awards.

Table of Contents:

Memoir of a Deer Woman
Journey into the Kingdom
The Shipbuilder
Cold Fires
The Corpse Painter's Masterpiece
The Christmas Witch
Holiday
The Chambered Fruit
The Mothers of Voorhisville
You Have Never Been Here

Whatever Knight Comes

Ryan Row

This short story originally appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, #226, May 2017. It can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2018, edited by Rich Horton.

Read the full story for free at Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

A Time for Every Purpose

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Nebula Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Amazing Stories, May 1990. There are no other known publications at this time.

Everywhere

Geoff Ryman

Sturgeon Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in Interzone, #140, February 1999. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual Collection (2000), edited by Gardner Dozois, and Year's Best SF 5 (2000), edited by David G. Hartwell. It is included in the collection Paradise Tales (2011).

Never Never Stories

Jason Sanford

Spaceships which pass through the sky like endless clouds. A woman whose skin reveals the names of sailors fated to die at sea. A virus which causes people who touch each other to turn into crystalline trees. From Nebula Award-nominated author Jason Sanford comes his first short story collection, Never Never Stories.

Ranging from science fiction to fantasy, stories contained in Never Never Stories have won the Interzone Readers' Poll, been nominated for the BSFA Award, longlisted for the British Fantasy Award, and printed in multiple magazines and book anthologies including Year's Best SF. The collection also contains new material including a never-before-published story, a brand-new introduction, and an original essay on archeology and fantasy.

Table of Contents:

The Ships Like Clouds, Risen by Their Rain - (2008)
When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees - (2008)
Where Away You Fall - (2008)
Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows - (2009)
Rumspringa - (2007)
Freelanga - (2007)
Peacemaker, Peacemaker, Little Bo Peep - (2010)
Memoria - (2010)
Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime - (2010)
Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas - (2010)
A Twenty-First Century Fairy Love Story - (2010)
Maps of the Bible - (2008)
The Dragon of Tin Pan Alley - (2011) (first publishing)
The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola - (2010)

Everything You Ever Wanted

Luiza Sauma

You wake up. You go to work. You don't go outside for twelve hours at a time. You have strategy meetings about how to use hashtags. After work you order expensive drink after expensive drink until you're so blackout drunk you can't remember the circumstances which have led you to waking up in bed with your colleague. The next day you stay in bed until the afternoon, scrolling through your social media feeds and wondering why everyone else seems to be achieving so much.

Sometimes you don't get out of bed at all.

Then you hear about Life on Nyx, a programme that allows 100 lucky winners the chance to escape it all, move to another planet and establish a new way of life. One with meaning and purpose. One without Instagram and online dating. There's one caveat: if you go, you can never come back.

But you aren't worried about that.

After all, what on Earth could there possibly be to miss?

Fever Dream

Samanta Schweblin

Shirley Jackson Award-nominated Novella

A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She's not his mother. He's not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family.

Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale. One of the freshest new voices to come out of the Spanish language and translated into English for the first time, Samanta Schweblin creates an aura of strange psychological menace and otherworldly reality in this absorbing, unsettling, taut novel.

Reefsong

On the Day You Spend Forever with Your Dog

After narrowly escaping death in a forest fire, Angie Dinsman found herself under the control of the World Life Company. They promptly equipped her with webbed hands and gills--creating a half-fish, half-woman. Her mission is to uncover secret research files on the water world of Lesaat. But first she has to undergo the terrifying process of learning to breathe underwater. After mastering the basics of survival, she faces an insurmountable challenge: finding the information that could end starvation on Earth while sabotaging the company's evil plans.

Adam R. Shannon

This Sturgeon Award nominated short story originally appeared in Apex Magazine, December 2018.

Read the full story for free at Apex Magazine.

Forever Knight: A Stirring of Dust

Susan Sizemore

When a string of decapitated murder victims is discovered, vampire detective Nick Knight suspects a recently released former inmate who had killed his wife the same way, but he wonders if one of his own kind is really responsible.

Original work; TV tie-in.

Everyone Bleeds Through

Jack Skillingstead

This short story originally appeared in Realms of Fantasy, October 2007. It can also be found in the anthology Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition, edited by Rich Horton. The story is included in Are You There and Other Stories (2009).

Cassandra in Reverse

Holly Smale

If you had the power to change the past... where would you start?

Cassandra Penelope Dankworth is a creature of habit. She likes what she likes (museums, jumpsuits, her boyfriend, Will) and strongly dislikes what she doesn't (mess, change, her boss drinking out of her mug). Her life runs in a pleasing, predictable order... until now.

She's just been dumped.
She's just been fired.
Her local café has run out of banana muffins.

Then, something truly unexpected happens: Cassie discovers she can go back and change the past. One small rewind at a time, Cassie attempts to fix the life she accidentally obliterated, but soon she'll discover she's trying to fix all the wrong things.

Everything You Need

Michael Marshall Smith

An aimless driver in the mountains comes upon something that s both more and less than he hoped for. A child discovers why you should always stay in bed if you wake up in the middle of the night. A homeowner unpacks the wrong bag of groceries, and comes to suspect his neighbors might have secrets that he doesn t want to know. A cable shopping channel presenter is confronted with disgruntled customers from a VERY long way out of town... and a man sets himself to rid the world of one of its most famous lies, and winds up destroying himself instead. Michael Marshall Smith s last short story collection was hailed as 'stellar' by Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) and a 'major publishing event' by Ellen Datlow, and it won the International Horror Guild Award. You re invited to return to the short fiction of New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Michael Marshall Smith: it is Everything You Need.

Table of Contents:

This Is Now - (2004)
Unbelief - (2010)
Walking Wounded - (1997)
The Seventeenth Kind - (2007)
A Place for Everything - (2007)
The Last Barbeque - (2012)
The Stuff that Goes on in Their Heads - (2011)
Unnoticed
The Good Listener
Different Now - (1997)
Author Of The Death
Sad, Dark Thing - (2011)
What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night - (2009)
The Things He Said - (2007)
Substitutions - (2010)
The Woodcutter
Everything You Need
Story Notes (Everything You Need)

Every Day Is the Full Moon

Carlie St. George

This short story originally appeared in Lightspeed, December 2016.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

River Rats

A paddle wheeler cruises up the Mississippi, delivering mail and hosting an occasional concert. A scene straight out of the nineteenth century? Not quite. This Mississippi is a toxic brown river. And the paddle wheeler is run by the River Rats, a troop of orphans who survived the Flash, a nuclear holocaust. What were once huge cities are now plague-ridden ruins haunted by gangs of savage children. And the concerts the Rats play are post-apocalyptic rock and roll--a music as rough and ragged as the musicians who perform it.

When the Rats rescue a stranger from the river, all the troubles of the old world suddenly threaten to end their travels forever.

The Glass Magician

New York 1905 – The Vanderbilts. The Astors. The Morgans. They are the cream of society – and they own the nation on the cusp of a new century.

Thalia Cutler doesn't have any of those family connections. What she does know is stage magic, and she dazzles audiences with an act that takes your breath away.

That is, until one night when a trick goes horribly awry. In surviving, she discovers that she can shapeshift, and has the potential to take her place among the rich and powerful.

But first, she'll have to learn to control that power... before the real monsters descend to feast.

The Serpent's Egg

The conspirators gathered... from all walks of life. the soldier, the gambler, the minstrel, the scholar. The Queen's own waiting woman. The Queen's own son. They gathered to prove the treachery of a duke who wanted the kingdom for his own. But the duke had the trust of the queen. And the sorcery of the Serpent's Egg.

When the King Comes Home

Her Smoke Rose Up Forever

Good King Julian of Aravis has been dead for two hundred years, but his kingdom still misses him. The current occupant of the throne is old and witless and has no heir. The true ruler of Aravis is the powerful Prince Bishop, who controls both church and state.

When the King comes home, all wishes will be granted.

Hail Rosmer wants to be an artist-not an ordinary artist, but a great artist, as great as the fabled Maspero, who painted the famous Archangel altarpiece in the Palace of Aravis and made Good King Julian's crown.

When the King comes home, all dreams will be made real.

One day, Hail sees a man catching fish from the river and eating it raw. The man's clothes are antique in fashion. He looks exactly like King Julian of Aravis. And there begins an adventure that takes Hail and her enigmatic companion from palace to wilderness to battlefield and teaches her, and the rest of Aravis, what happens when the King comes home in sober reality.

Reunion on Neverend

John E. Stith

A man returning for a high school reunion on a distant colony finds an old flame in trouble--trouble that he's uniquely qualified to deal with.

Never in This World

Idella Purnell Stone

Stories of the light fantastic - deliciously chilling, weirdly wonderful, frighteningly entertaining...

This is the stuff that daring dreams are made of...

shapes of things, sounds of things, somewhere, sometime - but NEVER IN THIS WORLD

Table of Contents:

Introduction (Never in This World) - (1971) - essay by Idella Purnell Stone
The Ambulance Made Two Trips - (1960) - short story by Murray Leinster
Dodger Fan - (1957) - short story by Will Stanton
Look Out! Duck! - (1957) - novelette by Randall Garrett
A Prize for Edie - (1961) - short story by J. F. Bone
Little Anton - (1951) - novelette by Reginald Bretnor
Dreamworld - (1955) - short story by Isaac Asimov
Make Mine Homogenized - (1960) - novelette by Rick Raphael
Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot - (1959) - short story by Reginald Bretnor
Rebel - (1962) - short story by Ward Moore
Senhor Zumbeira's Leg - (1962) - novelette by Felix Marti-Ibanez
Or Else - (1953) - short story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
Critique of Impure Reason - (1962) - novelette by Poul Anderson

The Forever Man

Allen Stroud

Nominated for the BSFA Awards 2017!

"One day I will be too old for the shadows. What kind of monster will I be then?"

One minute Andrew Pryde is in a library, reading; the next, he's staring at the body of a young girl lying between the bookshelves, with a policewoman standing over him. In the blink of an eye, his world has unravelled.

In his desperate quest to clear his name, he'll have to suspend all disbelief. And who exactly is Ronald Gibbs, the nerdy youth with a dark twist, who seems to hold so many answers to the mystery? Could this strange man, who spends his days on Internet chatrooms trying to prove the existence of magic and other worlds, somehow be involved in the girl's death?

All the while, Andrew is plagued by disturbing visions and nightmares. As the police close in, the two men are forced to band together to seek the truth about strange disappearances, portals, and the occult. Can they find the murderer and rescue a girl who's already dead?

Every Song Must End

Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

This short story originally appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Issue 27, March-April 2019.

Read the full story for free at Uncanny.

Diamonds Aren't Forever

S. P. Somtow

Sturgeon Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in the anthology David Copperfield's Tales of the Impossible (1995), edited by Janet Berliner and David Copperfield. The story is included in the collection Dragon's Fin Soup (1998).

We See Everything

William Sutcliffe

A gripping and powerfully relevant thriller set in a reimagined London where drone surveillance is the norm. We See Everything, from internationally bestselling author William Sutcliffe, simmers with tension and emotion.

Lex lives on The Strip - the overcrowded, closed-off, bombed-out shell of London. He's used to the watchful enemy drones that buzz in the air above him.

Alan's talent as a gamer has landed him the job of his dreams. At a military base in a secret location, he is about to start work as a drone pilot.

These two young men will never meet, but their lives are destined to collide. Because Alan has just been assigned a high-profile target. Alan knows him only as #K622. But Lex calls him Dad.

Love Is Never Still

Rachel Swirsky

This novelette originally appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Issue 9, March-April 2016.

Read the full story for free at Uncanny Magazine.

Welcome to Forever

Nathan Tavares

Fox is a memory editor -- one of the best -- gifted with the skill to create real life in the digital world. When he wakes up in Field of Reeds Center for Memory Reconstruction with no idea how he got there, the therapists tell him he was a victim in a terrorist bombing by Khadija Banks, the pioneer of memory editing technology turned revolutionary. A bombing which shredded the memory archives of all its victims, including his husband Gabe.

Thrust into reconstructions of his memories exploded from the fragments that survived the blast, Fox tries to rebuild his life, his marriage and himself. But he quickly realises his world is changing, unreliable, and echoing around itself over and over.

As he unearths endless cycles of meeting Gabe, falling in love and breaking up, Fox digs deep into his past, his time in the refugee nation of Aaru, and the exact nature of his relationship with Khadija. Because, in a world tearing itself apart to forget all its sadness, saving the man he loves might be the key to saving us all.

Lost in the Never Woods

Aiden Thomas

When children go missing in the small coastal town of Astoria, people look to Wendy for answers.

It's been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town's children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers' mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town.

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don't do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what's waiting for her in the woods.

James Tiptree, Jr.

These 18 darkly complex short stories and novellas touch upon human nature and perception, metaphysics and epistemology, and gender and sexuality, foreshadowing a world in which biological tendencies bring about the downfall of humankind. The Nebula Award-winning short story "Love Is the Plan, the Plan Is Death," the Hugo Award-winning novella "The Girl Who Was Plugged In," and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novella "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" are included.

Table of Contents

Introduction - essay by John Clute
The Last Flight of Dr. Ain - (1969)
The Screwfly Solution - (1977)
And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side - (1972)
The Girl Who Was Plugged In - (1973)
The Man Who Walked Home - (1972)
And I Have Come Upon This Place by Lost Ways - (1972)
The Women Men Don't See - (1973)
Your Faces, O My Sisters! Your Faces Filled of Light! - (1976)
Houston, Houston, Do You Read? - (1976)
With Delicate Mad Hands - (1981)
A Momentary Taste of Being - (1975)
We Who Stole the Dream - (1978)
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever - (1974)
Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death - (1973)
On the Last Afternoon - (1972)
She Waits for All Men Born - (1976)
Slow Music - (1980)
And So On, and So On - (1971)

Out of the Everywhere and Other Extraordinary Visions

James Tiptree, Jr.

Ten tantalizing tales of man, woman and child - and their cosmic connections...

Contents:

Angel Fix (1974)
Beaver Tears (1976)
Your Faces, O My Sisters! Your Faces Filled of Light! (1976)
The Screwfly Solution (1977)
Time-Sharing Angel (1977)
We Who Stole the Dream (1978)
Slow Music (1980)
A Source of Innocent Merriment (1980)
Out of the Everywhere (1981)
With Delicate Mad Hands (1981)

Every Inch a King

Harry Turtledove

Otto of Schlepsig is risking his neck as an acrobat in a third-rate circus in the middle of nowhere when news arrives that the land of Shqiperi has invited Prince Halim Eddin to become its new king. Otto doesn't know the prince from Adam, but he does happen to look just like him-a coincidence that inspires Otto with a mad plan to assume Halim's identity and rule in his stead. True, Shqiperi is an uncivilized backwater, but even in uncivilized backwaters kings live better than acrobats. Plus, kingship in Shqiperi comes with a harem. Rank, as they say, has its privileges.

With his friend Max, a sword-swallowing giant whose chronic cough makes every performance a potential tonsillectomy, Otto embarks on a rollicking journey filled with feats of derring-do, wondrous magic, and beautiful maidens-well, beautiful women. And that's before he enters a royal world that is truly fantastical.

Nevertheless, She Persisted

Uncredited

She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.

Three short lines, fired over social media in response to questions of why Senator Elizabeth Warren was silenced on the floor of the United States Senate on February 7th, 2017, for daring to read aloud the words of Coretta Scott King. As this message was transmitted across the globe, it has become a galvanizing cry for people of all genders in recognition of the struggles that women have faced throughout history. It also serves as a reminder of the cyberpunk nature of our everyday lives, as technology can weave our hearts and minds in unity toward a greater cause.

And, as many have pointed out, these three lines read as if they are the opening passage to an epic and ageless tale.

March 8th is International Women's Day, which the United Nations describes as "when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political." More than celebratory, International Women's Day is aspirational, striving toward a more gender-inclusive world. Speculative fiction has had an impact in fostering this egalitarian dream through creative expression and critique. After all, science fiction in particular was born with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, written in the "Year without a Summer" while tumultuous storms raged over Lake Geneva. This dream was the utopia penned by Muslim feminist Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain in her 1905 story "Sultana's Dream", and the same year Charlotte Perkins Gilman published Herland in Forerunner magazine. In the decades since, women have provided some of the most crucial and insightful voices in our community.

International Women's Day is also inspirational. In collaboration with colleagues Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Lee Harris, Liz Gorinsky, Marco Palmieri, and Miriam Weinberg, we have assembled this flash fiction collection featuring several of the best writers in SF/F today. Together these authors share unique visions of women inventing, playing, loving, surviving, and -- of course -- dreaming of themselves beyond their circumstances.

Table of Contents:

"Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Are Full of Light!" by Kameron Hurley
"God Product" by Alyssa Wong
"Alchemy" by Carrie Vaughn
"Persephone" by Seanan McGuire
"Margot and Rosalind" by Charlie Jane Anders
"Astronaut" by Maria Dahvana Headley
"More than Nothing" by Nisi Shawl
"The Last of the Minotaur Wives" by Brooke Bolander
"The Jump Rope Rhyme" by Jo Walton
"Anabasis" by Amal El-Mohtar
"The Ordinary Woman and the Unquiet Emperor" by Catherynne M. Valente

This book can be downloaded for free from your preferred retailer here.

Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home

Genevieve Valentine

This novelette originally appeared in Clarkesworld, Issue 121, October 2016. It can also be found in the anthologies The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 11 (2017), edited by Jonathan Strahan, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017, edited by Rich Horton, and The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017, edited by John Joseph Adams and Charles Yu.

Read the full story for free at Clarkesworld.

The Battle of Forever

A. E. Van Vogt

For thousands of years, mankind had survived in leisure behind the barrier. In miniature form, men had evolved a physiology and a philosophy of peace and contemplation. Modyun was to be the first to enlarge his body to the massive proportions of ancient times and then to go out to explore the world where animal-men had established their realms. His quest was to lead him to a darkness he had never expected and an uncertain future with which humanity might not be able to cope.

To Live Forever

Jack Vance

In the far-future city of Clarges, you can live forever – if you can make the grade. In Clarges, everyone competes for the ultimate prize: immortality. Gavin Waylock had that prize – the live-forever rank of Amaranth, but lost it when he was accused of murder. Now, after seven years in hiding he begins again the struggle to reach the top. But a strong-willed woman,The Jacynth Martin, is determined to see him fail – and failure means death.

The Spatterlight Press e-book is available under the alternate title Clarges.

Never Trust a Dead Man

Vivian Vande Velde

When Selwyn, a farmer, is accused of murdering his rival, Farold, he is sealed in the village burial cave with Farold's moldering corpse to await starvation--or worse. Worse comes along quickly in the form of a witch who raises Farold from the dead.

Selwyn thought he disliked Farold when he was alive, but that was nothing compared to working by the dead man's side as they search for the real killer.

The Forever House

Tim Waggoner

In Rockridge, Ohio, a sinister family moves into a sleepy cul de sac. The Eldreds feed on the negative emotions of humans, creating nightmarish realms within their house to entrap their prey. Neighbors are lured into the Eldreds' home and faced with challenges designed to heighten their darkest emotions so their inhuman captors can feed and feed well. If the humans are to have any hope of survival, they'll have to learn to overcome their prejudices and resentments toward one another and work together. But which will prove more deadly in the end, the Eldreds... or each other?

The Forever Endeavor

Chuck Wendig

Dale Gilooly has a problem. Well, Dale has a lot of problems. Addiction. Rent. A girlfriend he let slip away.

But Dale has a solution. It's a Box. And it will let him go back 10 minutes in time. Enough to fix his new mistakes as they happen. And give him an edge to fix the old ones that haunt him.

Oh, and one other problem: Where did these other Dales come from?

Walter Bard has a problem. Well, Walter has twenty problems. Each of them a body buried in a pumpkin patch. And... they're all the same. Down to the teeth.

But Walter has a solution. It's his job. Solutions. He's a detective, after all.

The Everlasting Exiles

Wallace West

Willard Hamilton Bentham Ill was but one of many, in many different groups, who wanted to be in on the ground floor when exploitation of the moon became a reality. And this was very close, for American and Russian rockets had landed on the moon simultaaneiysky, and each commander had taken possession in the name of his councy.

It was a tense international situation, but for the moment, the world was trying to be rational--the question was refered to the International Court of Justice in the Peace Palace at The Hague. And as this was going on, Willard Hamilton Bentham III dreamed...

He was in an arena so huge that he barely could make out rippling frescoes on its tarther wall. He was one of thousands perched in ranks that ran out of sight to left and right.

"Fledges!" Avron, the Mistress, was so distant she seemed a dot on the central dais, but her thought coiled strong, like smoke through wet leaves. "Fledges, the Council has spoken. This is the end... and the beginning.

A war with an enemy. which had been driven out of space and back to his own planet--but this was only a temporary victory. The choice was between exterminating the enemy or retreating, since energy metals and other natural resources were nearly exhausted. They would not consider the first alternative. Said The Avron: "To win and impose a dictated peace, we would be forced to employ mass terror, the only language The Enemy understand. Do that and we become The Enemy brutal, callous, and incapable of further evolution. When equally matched opponents fight to the death... the few survivors always refurn to barbarism.

Contact must be maintained with The Enemy. The Avron called for spies. Volunteers would be placed in a deep sieep and their personalities impressed upon the germ plasm of enemies now captive, who would be freed. "They will lie dormant in the bodies of these hosts and, if need be, those of their descendants, generation after generation.

Many spies would be needed, for if the family line of a host came to an end, that would be the end of the Fledge sleeping within the host. And when an emergency arose, a post-hypnotic suggestion would arouse the sleeper.

William Hamilton Bentham Ill awoke, and remembered that he was Glath. Two personalities in his body were struggling for control--Bentham and Glath, the Fledge. Glath knew he must contact the others, if there were others. He finally got an answer from Tani--who turned out to be inhabiting the body of a thirteen-year old slum girl in Brooklyn. Mura and the others did not answer.

What awakened them? Bentham knew when he found that the expeditions to the moon had uncovered a pylon radiating into space. And with the third expedition under Colonel Kane, one man had been left behind to set up equipment.

Together, Glath and Tani tried to arouse Mura--and they received a reply. Mura was in the man left behind on the moon; Mura knew the meaning of the pylon--and Mura was insane, determined to destroy The Enemy. One cobalt bomb on Moscow would set off the final war on Earth, and this is what Mura intended.

Every Mountain Made Low

Alex White

Loxley Fiddleback can see the dead, but the problem is... the dead can see her.

Ghosts have always been cruel to Loxley Fiddleback, especially the spirit of her only friend, alive only hours before. Loxley isn't equipped to solve a murder: she lives near the bottom of a cutthroat, strip-mined metropolis known as "The Hole," suffers from crippling anxiety and doesn't cotton to strangers. Worse still, she's haunted.

She inherited her ability to see spirits from the women of her family, but the dead see her, too. Ghosts are drawn to her like a bright fire, and their lightest touch leaves her with painful wounds.

Loxley swears to take blood for blood and find her friend's killer. In doing so, she uncovers a conspiracy that rises all the way to the top of The Hole. As her enemies grow wise to her existence, she becomes the quarry, hunted by a brutal enforcer named Hiram McClintock. In sore need of confederates, Loxley must descend into the strangest depths of the city in order to have the revenge she seeks and, ultimately, her own salvation.

April Fool's Day Forever

Kate Wilhelm

Nebula Award nominated novella. It originally appeared in the anthology Orbit 7 (1970), edited by Damon Knight. The story is included in the collection The Infinity Box (1975).

Forever Yours, Anna

Kate Wilhelm

Nebula Award winning and Hugo Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in Omni, July 1987. The story can be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection (1988), edited by Gardner Dozios, The 1988 Annual World's Best SF, edited by Arthur W. Saha and Donald A. Wollheim, Nebula Awards 23 (1989) edited by Michael Bishop and Visions of Wonder (1996), edited by David G. Hartwell and Milton T. Wolf. It is included in the collection And the Angels Sing (1992).

Evermore, or, The Lies That Bind

Sean Williams

This novelette originally appeared in Altair, Issue Four, August 1999. It can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual Collection (2000), edited by Gardner Dozois. The story is included in the collection Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams (2008).

The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever

Daniel H. Wilson

This short story originally appeared in the anthology Carbide Tipped Pens: Seventeen Tales of Hard Science Fiction (2014), edited by Ben Bova and Eric Choi. It can also be found in the anthology The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015, edited by Joe Hill and John Joseph Adams. The story is included in the collection Guardian Angels & Other Monsters (2018).

Everland

Paul Witcover

WFA nominated novella. The story originally appeared in the collection Everland and Other Stories (2009).

Everland and Other Stories

Paul Witcover

Table of Contents:

Introduction - essay by Elizabeth Hand
After Ivy - shortfiction by Paul Witcover
Changeling - shortfiction by Paul Witcover
Everland - shortfiction by Paul Witcover
Left of the Dial - (2004) - novella by Paul Witcover
Lighthouse Summer - (1991) - novelette by Paul Witcover
Mayaland - (1986) - shortfiction by Paul Witcover
Moonlight Becomes Magenta - (1988) - shortstory by Paul Witcover
Red Shift - (1984) - shortfiction by Paul Witcover
The Cats of Thermidor - (1987) - shortstory by Paul Witcover
The Silver Ghosts - shortfiction by Paul Witcover
Twilight of the Dogs - shortfiction by Paul Witcover
Where Balloons Go - shortfiction by Paul Witcover

The History of Living Forever

Jake Wolff

A chemistry student falls for his teacher and uncovers a centuries-old quest for the elixir of life

The morning after the death of his first love, Conrad Aybinder receives a bequest. Sammy Tampari was Conrad's lover. He was his teacher. And, it turns out, he was not just a chemist, but an alchemist, searching for a mythic elixir of life. Sammy's death was sudden, yet he somehow managed to leave twenty years' worth of his notebooks and a storage locker full of expensive, sometimes baffling equipment in the hands of his star student. The notebooks contain cryptic "recipes," but no instructions; they tell his life story, but only hint at what might have caused his death. And Sammy's research is littered with his favorite teaching question: What's missing?

As Conrad pieces together the solution, he finds he is not the only one to suspect that Sammy succeeded in his quest. And if he wants to save his father from a mysterious illness, Conrad will have to make some very difficult choices.

Every Boy's Book of Science Fiction

Donald A. Wollheim

Contents:

11 - Introduction (Every Boy's Book of Science Fiction) - essay by Donald A. Wollheim
15 - The Gravity Professor - [Tubby Maguire] - (1921) - short story by Ray Cummings
28 - The Four-Dimensional Roller-Press - [Four Dimensional... - 1] - (1927) - short story by Bob Olsen
43 - The Infra-Medians - (1931) - short story by Sewell Peaslee Wright
65 - The White Army - (1929) - short story by Dr. Daniel Dressler
101 - Dr. Lu-Mie - (1934) - short story by Clifton B. Kruse
121 - The Living Machine - (1935) - short story by David H. Keller, M.D.
143 - A Conquest of Two Worlds - (1932) - novelette by Edmond Hamilton
182 - The Asteroid of Gold - (1932) - short story by Clifford D. Simak
203 - In the Scarlet Star - (1933) - novelette by Jack Williamson
232 - King of the Gray Spaces - (1943) - short story by Ray Bradbury (variant of R Is for Rocket)
251 - Suggested Readings in Science-Fiction - essay by uncredited

Everything Must Go

Brooke Wonders

This short story originally appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, #74 November 2012. It can also be found in the anthologies The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2013, edited by Paula Guran, and Clarkesworld: Year Seven (2015), edited by Sean Wallace and Neil Clarke.

Read the full story for free at Clarkesworld.

Never Have I Ever

Isabel Yap

Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap's debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'.

Table of Contents:

Good Girls - (2015) - short story
A Cup of Salt Tears - (2014) - short story
Milagroso - (2015) - short story
A Spell for Foolish Hearts - short story
Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez? - (2014) - short story
Syringe - short story
Asphalt, River, Mother, Child - (2018) - short story
Hurricane Heels (We Go Down Dancing) - [Hurricane Heels - 1] - novelette (variant of Hurricane Heels 2016)
Only Unclench Your Hand - (2016) - short storyby Isabel Yap
How to Swallow the Moon - (2018) - novelette
All the Best of Dark and Bright - (2012) - short story
Misty - (2013) - short story
A Canticle for Lost Girls - novelette

Everdead

Rio Youers

The sound of everything combined is one long exhilarated scream.

San Antonio, Ibiza. A non-stop carnival for the young, where excess reigns and rules are made to be broken. But this summer, something else has joined the party. Something cruel and dark-hearted. An evil that moves through the night with an appetite for sin.

Toby Matthews has come to San Antonio to recover from a broken heart, and it seems that beautiful Cass Tait may be the cure. But as their relationship begins to bloom, they stumble upon an unspeakable darkness. They stare evil in the eye, they see its true heart, and know that only they can stop it. Before the sun goes down, they must decide whether to run... or whether to stand like heroes and fight. This is the hunting ground. The live wire. Where hearts were made to beat harder. This is San Antonio... one long exhilarated scream.

Gateways To Forever: The S-F Magazines from 1970 to 1980

Mike Ashley

This third volume in Mike Ashley's study of the science-fiction magazines, focuses on the turbulent years of the 1970s, when the United States emerged from the Vietnam War into an economic crisis. It saw the end of the Apollo moon programme and the start of the ecology movement. This proved to be one of the most complicated periods for the science-fiction magazines. Not only were they struggling to survive within the economic climate, they also had to cope with the death of the father of modern science fiction, John W. Campbell, Jr., while facing new and potentially threatening opposition. The market for science fiction diversified as never before, with the growth in new anthologies, the emergence of semi-professional magazines, the explosion of science fiction in college, the start of role-playing gaming magazines, underground and adult comics and, with the success of Star Wars, media magazines. This volume explores how the traditional science-fiction magazines coped with this, from the death of Campbell to the start of the major popular science magazine Omni and the first dreams of the Internet.

Everything is Made of Letters

Sofía Rhei

A man risks his life by carefully forging bibliographic references in a parallel Barcelona; at the Cyclotech, a woman strives to keep the storytelling different engine safe from ignorant hands that could get words lost; off-planet, an interpreter gives an account of her language learning process involving a realistic alien doll that claims to be a sentient being... Words boast a heavy, at times disturbing, weight of their own across these alternative realities in which language rules supreme, fleshed out by the mind of one of the most prolific writers in contemporary Spanish genre fiction.

Contents:

1 - Techt - (2016) - novelette (trans. of Techt 2015)
31 - The BubbleLon Cyclotech - (2015) - novelette (trans. of La cicloteca de BubbleLon 2014)
67 - Secret Stories of Doors - (2016) - short story
88 - Learning Report - short story
112 - You Cannot Kill Frownyflute! - short fiction

The Inheritors / The Gateway to Never

A. Bertram Chandler

The Inheritors

He was a cunning, ruthless opportunist who paid when he had to and stole when he could - but never whan there was the slightest chance of getting caught. That's what had John Grimes worried: here was Kane directly under the watchful eyes - and guns - of a Federation Survey vessel, openly engaging in kidnapping and trafficking in human flesh!
Despite the fact that the beautiful inhabitants of this Lost Colony faced a fate worse than death, a more cautious - or less gallant - officer would do nothing - secure in the knowledge that regardless of appearances there would be some loophole that placed the Law squarely on Kane's side. But Grimes, being Grimes, would have to act - knowing full well that to "interfere with a merchantmen on her lawful occasions" meant a blasted career... and knowing too that Drongo Kane never broke the law...

Gateway to Never

The air was alive with the vicious buzzing of the stun-guns. The smuggler was frozen in his squatting posture, paralyzed, unable to stir so much as a finger. But the robot moved. Its drive unit hammered shockingly and unrhythmically and it shot straight upwards. Beams from hastily switched on police searchlights swept the sky like the antennae of disturbed insects - then caught it, held it, a tiny bright star in a firmament that had never known any stars. At least four machine rifles were hammering, and an incandescent tracer arched upwards with deceptive slowness.
The lieutenant had drawn his laser pistol and the purple beam slashed across the darkness, power-wasting and desperate. Some hapless night-flying creature caught by the sword of lethal light exploded smokily.

It might have the machine rifles that found their mark, it might have been the laser pistol. Nobody ever knew. But the broken beat of the inertial drive ceased abruptly and the robot was falling, faster and faster...

"Down!" shouted somebody. "Get down!"

Falling Toward Forever

Gordon Eklund

As a mercenary soldier of fortune, Calvin Waller has grown used to danger. Danger is the air he breathes. But when he find himself thrown from the midst of an African battle into a primitive farm community of the future, he is naturally disoriented. Trained as he is, he quickly get his bearings and begins a new and different battle... only to be thrown again. He is being manipulated. Falling Toward Forever is the story of his search for The Manipulator, and for himself. A strange and wonderful search... for the Manipulator holds all the strings.

NightWhere

The Man Who Lived Forever / The Mars Monopoly

She yearned to go beyond... but some curtains should never be opened.

When Rae broached the idea of visiting an underground sex club, Mark didn't blink. He should have. Because NightWhere is not your usual swingers club. Where it’s held on a given night… only those who receive the red invitations know. Soon Rae is indulging in her lust for pain. And Mark is warned by a beautiful stranger to take his wife away before it's too late.

But it’s already too late. Because Rae hasn't come home. Now Mark is in a race against time - to find NightWhere again and save his wife from the mysterious Watchers who run the club. To stop her from taking that last step through the degradations of The Red into the ultimate BDSM promise of The Black. More than just their marriage and her life are at stake: Rae is in danger of losing her soul...

Anna Hunger
R. DeWitt Miller
Jerry Sohl

The Man Who Lived Forever

His first thousand years were the easiest.

The Mars Monopoly

Find your fortune in the sky - by permission of the Mars monopoly.

The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything

John D. MacDonald

To ever-loyal Kirby Winter, multimillionaire Uncle Omar left nothing -- nothing but a gold watch and a sealed letter to be opened in one year. But Kirby is destined to inherit the magical power to freeze time in its tracks. Power like that promises unlimited wealth, wealth that can't buy love, but does make a down payment on a lot of deadly trouble. In a universe without time, can Kirby stay one step ahead?

Monteverde: Memoirs of an Interstellar Linguist

Lola Robles

Translated from the Spanish by Lawrence Schimel

Terran scholar Rachel Monteverde journeys to Aanuk, a paradisiacal planet famous for both its beaches and the generosity of its nomadic inhabitants. The aanukiens are not the only people on the planet, however: Rachel is eager to meet the Fihdia, a cave-dwelling people who share a congenital condition that makes them blind. Rachel's relentless determination to communicate with them despite the Aanukien's dismissal and the Fihdia's secretiveness will yield more than she ever hoped for.

The Country You Have Never Seen: Essays and Reviews

Joanna Russ

In 1959, at the age of 22, Joanna Russ published her first science fiction story, "Nor Custom Stale," in The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy. In the forty-five years since, Russ has continued to write some of the most popular, creative, and important novels and stories in science fiction. She was a central figure, along with contemporaries Ursula K. Le Guin and James Tiptree, in revolutionizing science fiction in the 1960s and 1970s, and her 1970 novel, The Female Man, is widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential depictions of a feminist utopia in the entire genre.

The Country You Have Never Seen gathers Joanna Russ's most important essays and reviews, revealing the vital part she played over the years in the never-ending conversation among writers and fans about the roles, boundaries, and potential of science fiction. Spanning her entire career, the collection shines a light on Russ's role in the development of new wave science fiction and feminist science fiction, while at the same time providing fascinating insight into her own development as a writer.

Lost Everything

Brian Francis Slattery

From the author of the critically acclaimed literary SF novels Spaceman Blues and Liberation comes an incandescent and thrilling post-apocalyptic tale in the vein of 1984 or The Road.

In the not-distant-enough future, a man takes a boat trip up the Susquehanna River with his most trusted friend, intent on reuniting with his son. But the man is pursued by an army, and his own harrowing past; and the familiar American landscape has been savaged by war and climate change until it is nearly unrecognizable.

Lost Everything is a stunning novel about family and faith, what we are afraid may come to be, and how to wring hope from hopelessness.

A College of Magics

A College of Magics: Book 1

Teenager Faris Nallaneen is the heir to the small northern dukedom of Galazon. Too young still to claim her title, her despotic Uncle Brinker has ruled in her place. Now he demands she be sent to Greenlaw College. For her benefit he insists. To keep me out of the way, more like it!

But Greenlaw is not just any school-as Faris and her new best friend Jane discover. At Greenlaw students major in... magic.

But it's not all fun and games. When Faris makes an enemy of classmate Menary of Aravill, life could get downright... deadly.

A Scholar of Magics

A College of Magics: Book 2

Things Will Never Be the Same: Selected Short Fiction, 1980 - 2005

Glasscastle. University of dreaming towers and distant bells, pompous dons and disputatious undergraduates, exquisite architecture and grass that can choke you to death if you walk on it without the proper escort. On the surface, it is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in England. But underneath, its magic is ancient and dangerous.

Samuel Lambert, sharpshooter, adventurer, late of the Wyoming plains and Kiowa Bob's Wild West Show, has been invited to Glasscastle to contribute his phemomenally accurate shooting eye to the top secret Agincourt Project. The only dangers he expects to face are British snobbery, heavy dinners, and tea with the Provost's pretty wife. But when the Provost's stylish sister Jane comes to town, things get much more exciting.

This sparkling sequel to A College of Magics is a whirlwind of secret weapons, motor cars, mysterious assaults and abductions, thugs in bowler hats, and a mild-mannered don who is heir to a magical power greater than all Glasscastle. The resulting tale is as funny as a Gilbert and Sullivan Victorian romp, with the wit and suspense of a Dorothy Sayers mystery and a dash of John Wayne thrown in for good measure.

Ruby Fever

A Hidden Legacy: Book 6

Ilona Andrews

An escaped spider, the unexpected arrival of an Imperial Russian Prince, the senseless assassination of a powerful figure, a shocking attack on the supposedly invincible Warden of Texas, Catalina's boss... And it's only Monday.

Within hours, the fate of Houston--not to mention the House of Baylor--now rests on Catalina, who will have to harness her powers as never before. But even with her fellow Prime and fiancé Alessandro Sagredo by her side, she may not be able to expose who's responsible before all hell really breaks loose.

A Howard Waldrop Reader: Book 1

Howard Waldrop

Contains:

Nebula- and WFA-winning, Hugo-, Balrog- and Locus-nominated Novelette "The Ugly Chickens"
Hugo-, Nebula- and Locus-nominated Short Story "Flying Saucer Rock and Roll"
Nebula- and Locus-nominated Short Story "Heirs of the Perisphere"
Nebula-, Sturgeon-, and Locus-nominated Short Story "The Lions Are Asleep This Night"
Locus-winning and Hugo-nominated Short Story "Night of the Cooters"
Hugo-, Nebula-, Sturgeon-, Asimov's-, and Locus-nominated Novelette "Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance?"
Sidewise-nominated Short Story "US"
WFA- and Locus-nominated Short Story "The Dynasters: Vol. 1: On The Downs"
Hugo-nominated Novelette "The King of Where-I-Go"

In Things Will Never Be the Same, Waldrop has chosen 16 of his best short stories and written a new afterword to each. The book opens with the multiple award-winner "The Ugly Chickens," in which a chance remark on a bus leads a young researcher into backwoods Mississippi to discover the real fate of the dodo.

It closes with a tale of alternate realities, "The King of Where-I-Go," somehow combining the polio epidemic of the early 1950s, the famous ESP experiments at Duke, and a man's love for H.G. Wells's The Time Machine.

As usual, Waldrop generates a lot of his narrative electricity by conjoining seemingly unlikely thematic material. In "Flying Saucer Rock and Roll," he blends UFO scares, the 1965 New York blackout and a singing competition between two doo-wop groups, the Kool-Tones and Bobby and the Bombers.

"The Sawing Boys" retells the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale "The Bremen Town Musicians" in the style of Damon Runyon, setting the story in the Kentucky backwoods.

"The Lions Are Asleep This Night" imagines an alternate Africa in which young Robert Oinenke composes an Elizabethan-style drama about the "tragicall death of King Motofuko."

The best Waldrops tend to mix the humorous and wistful. What if robotic versions of Mickey, Donald and Goofy, designed for an amusement park, were the last creatures on Earth? What if the Martians landed in Pachuco County, Tex., back in the late 19th century, and a kind of Slim Pickens character was the sheriff in charge of keeping the peace? What if Chiron the centaur grew old and during the reign of Julian the Apostate needed help to make his way back to his original homeland, the as yet undiscovered America? (In a neat touch, Waldrop's narrator refers to Christians and their idiotic schism as being a danger to "decent gods-fearing folk.")

In "French Scenes," he even reveals how young Parisian filmmakers, such as François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, interpreted American gangster movies.

When Neville Brand in "Riot in Cell Block 11" gets shot at with a Thompson submachine gun, he yells: "Look out, Monty! They got a chopper! Back inside!" But what the Cahiers du Cinema people hear is "Steady, mon frère! Let us leave this place of wasted dreams."

In "Heart of Whitenesse," which Waldrop himself seems to view as his most compacted and densely allusive work, Christopher Marlowe is sent up the frozen Thames on a secret mission to kill Dr. Faustus.

- The Washington Post

Table of Contents:

Introduction (Things Will Never Be the Same) - essay
The Ugly Chickens - (1980) - novelette
Afterword (The Ugly Chickens) - essay
Flying Saucer Rock and Roll - (1985) - novelette
Afterword (Flying Saucer Rock and Roll) - essay
Heirs of the Perisphere - (1985) - shortstory
Afterword (Heirs of the Perisphere) - essay
The Lions Are Asleep This Night - (1986) - novelette
Afterword (The Lions Are Asleep This Night) - essay
Night of the Cooters - [War of the Worlds] - (1987) - shortstory
Afterword (Night of the Cooters) - essay
Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance? - (1988) - novelette
Afterword (Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance?) - essay
Wild, Wild Horses - (1988) - shortstory
Afterword (Wild, Wild Horses) - essay
French Scenes - (1988) - novelette
Afterword (French Scenes) - essay
Household Words; Or, the Powers-That-Be - (1994) - shortstory
Afterword (Household Words; Or, the Powers-That-Be) - essay
The Sawing Boys - (1994) - novelette
Afterword (The Sawing Boys) - essay
Heart of Whitenesse - (1997) - shortstory
Afterword (Heart of Whitenesse) - essay
Mr. Goober's Show - (1998) - shortstory
Afterword (Mr. Goober's Show) - essay
US - (1998) - shortstory
Afterword (US) - essay
The Dynasters: Vol. 1: On The Downs - (1999) - shortstory
Afterword (The Dynasters: Vol. 1: On The Downs) - essay
Calling Your Name - (2003) - shortstory
Afterword (Calling Your Name) - essay
The King of Where-I-Go - (2005) - novelette
Afterword (The King of Where-I-Go) - essay

The Inheritors / The Gateway to Never

Ace Double: The Saga of Commodore John Grimes: Book 2

A. Bertram Chandler

Table of Contents:

The Gateway to Never - [John Grimes - 19] - novel by A. Bertram Chandler
The Inheritors - [John Grimes - 6] - novel by A. Bertram Chandler

From Every Storm

Adventures in the Liaden Universe: Book 35

Steve Miller
Sharon Lee

From Every Storm is a chapbook compilation of three Liaden Universe® stories, one of them never before published. The storms of the title spring not so much from the desert or the deep blue sea but from the minds and hearts of humanity, where greed wars with truth and justice, and where sometimes the supposed end of storm is a mere hurricane eye portending greater potential for damage ahead.

First up is Standing Orders, a finalist for 2022's WSFA's Small Press Award for Short Fiction, originally published in Derelict, a 2021 ZNB anthology. What happens at the end of a war that no one really won, where victory came at the price of acting more like the enemy than the High Command ever should?

Next is the previously unissued Songs of the Fathers a story dealing with Shan yos'Galan's sometime trade partner Lomar Fasholt and her family as they struggle to follow her Mother's religion as it morphs from loving to acquisitive, from flexible to aggressively rule-bound. Lomar's a good mother and wife but her self-exiled family's suffered greatly through this storm of changes. Will they find hope amidst the tumult?

Finally, there's From Every Storm a Rainbow, the 2021 holiday story from Baen.com, wherein Sinit Caylon comes face to face with the perfidy of her absent brother while the accountant's guild is trying to help Clan Mizel come about after years of of her mother's abdication of responsibilities to Ran Eld. Sinit thinks the storm must be about over until it become obvious that between them her mother and brother may have fatally endangered the clan's brightest future.

The Everything Box

Another Coop Heist: Book 1

Richard Kadrey

Reminiscent of the edgy, offbeat humor of Chris Moore and Matt Ruff, the first entry in a whimsical, fast-paced supernatural series from the New York Times bestselling author of the Sandman Slim novels--a dark and humorous story involving a doomsday gizmo, a horde of baddies determined to possess its power, and a clever thief who must steal it back... again and again.

22000 B.C. A beautiful, ambitious angel stands on a mountaintop, surveying the world and its little inhabitants below. He smiles because soon, the last of humanity who survived the great flood will meet its end, too. And he should know. He's going to play a big part in it. Our angel usually doesn't get to do field work, and if he does well, he's certain he'll get a big promotion.

And now it's time....

The angel reaches into his pocket for the instrument of humanity's doom. Must be in the other pocket. Then he frantically begins to pat himself down. Dejected, he realizes he has lost the object. Looking over the Earth at all that could have been, the majestic angel utters a single word.

"Crap."

2015. A thief named Coop--a specialist in purloining magic objects--steals and delivers a small box to the mysterious client who engaged his services. Coop doesn't know that his latest job could be the end of him--and the rest of the world. Suddenly he finds himself in the company of The Department of Peculiar Science, a fearsome enforcement agency that polices the odd and strange. The box isn't just a supernatural heirloom with quaint powers, they tell him.

It's a doomsday device. They think...

And suddenly, everyone is out to get it.

Every Sky a Grave

Ascendance: Book 1

Jay Posey

Far in the future, human beings have seeded themselves amongst the stars. Since decoding the language of the universe 8,000 years ago, they have reached the very edges of their known galaxy and built a near-utopia across thousands of worlds, united and ruled by a powerful organization known as the Ascendance. The peaceful stability of their society relies solely on their use of this Deep Language of the cosmos.

But this knowledge is a valuable secret, and a holy order of monastics known as the First House are tasked with monitoring its use and "correcting" humanity's further development. Elyth is one such mendicant, trained as a planetary assassin, capable of infiltrating and ultimately destroying worlds that have been corrupted, using nothing more than her words.

To this end, Elyth is sent to the world Qel in response to the appearance of a forbidden strain of the Deep Language that was supposed to have died out with its founder over seven hundred years prior. What she finds on the backwater planetoid will put her abilities to the test and challenge what she knows of the Deep Language, the First House, and the very nature of the universe.

Every Star a Song

Ascendance: Book 2

Jay Posey

Elyth--a former agent of the religious arm of the Ascendance, The First House--is on the run after the events of Every Sky a Grave, when she and the fugitive Varen Fedic exposed the darker side of Ascendance hegemony on a planet called Qel. Though she just wishes to put the past (and Varen) behind her, she is soon tracked and cornered by the Ascendance agents. Surprisingly, they aren't there for punishment. Instead, they offer her a deal in exchange for her help in exploring a new planet that seems to have appeared out of nowhere. If she agrees, her sins against the Ascendance and the First House will be forgiven.

Elyth reluctantly agrees to join the team of elite agents (including some former allies-turned-enemies) but almost as soon as they touch down on the planet's surface, things start to go awry. Strange sounds are heard in the wilderness, horrifying creatures are seen stalking the forests, and even the landscape itself seems to change during the night.

But as expedition members start dying, two things become clear: the planet is conscious, and it's trying to kill them.

Fevered Star

Between Earth and Sky: Book 2

Rebecca Roanhorse

The great city of Tova is shattered. The sun is held within the smothering grip of the Crow God's eclipse, but a comet that marks the death of a ruler and heralds the rise of a new order is imminent.

The Meridian: a land where magic has been codified and the worship of gods suppressed. How do you live when legends come to life, and the faith you had is rewarded?

As sea captain Xiala is swept up in the chaos and currents of change, she finds an unexpected ally in the former Priest of Knives. For the Clan Matriarchs of Tova, tense alliances form as far-flung enemies gather and the war in the heavens is reflected upon the earth.

And for Serapio and Naranpa, both now living avatars, the struggle for free will and personhood in the face of destiny rages. How will Serapio stay human when he is steeped in prophecy and surrounded by those who desire only his power? Is there a future for Naranpa in a transformed Tova without her total destruction?

Grievers

Black Dawn: Book 1

Adrienne Maree Brown

Grievers is the story of a city so plagued by grief that it can no longer function.

Dune's mother is patient zero of a mysterious illness that stops people in their tracks--in mid-sentence, mid-action, mid-life--casting them into a nonresponsive state from which no one recovers. Dune must navigate poverty and the loss of her mother as Detroit's hospitals, morgues, and graveyards begin to overflow. As the quarantined city slowly empties of life, she investigates what caused the plague, and what might end it, following in the footsteps of her late researcher father, who has a physical model of Detroit's history and losses set up in their basement. She dusts it off and begins tracking the sick and dying, discovering patterns, finding comrades in curiosity, conspiracies for the fertile ground of the city, and the unexpected magic that emerges when the debt of grief is cleared.

Wicked Ever After

Blud: Book 4

Delilah S. Dawson

Delilah S. Dawson's award-winning Blud series comes full circle as Tish and Criminy, stars of Wicked as They Come, embark on a sexy and harrowing final adventure in a world RT Book Reviews calls "delightfully edgy with hidden charms."

Ever since landing in the magical world of Sang and falling in love with dashing ringmaster Criminy Stain, Tish has been waiting for the axe to fall. Until her dying grandmother's last breath on Earth, Tish can't bring herself to give up her all-too human frailty and commit to life on Sang as a youthful, long-lived Bludman like her handsome husband. But when a peculiar twist of fate delivers Tish's grandmother to Sang, an unexpected chain of events forces Tish and Criminy to embark on one last wild adventure. From old friends to new and into the lair of terrifying enemies, the couple's love and longevity will be pushed to the brink by each harrowing encounter. Is blud thicker than blood, and can Tish and Crim find their wicked ever after?

Here, There & Everywhere

Bonaventure-Carmody: Book 1

Chris Roberson

When Roxanne Bonaventure is eleven years old, a dying woman gives her a gift that changes her life utterly. With the strange device called the 'Sofia', she is granted the ability to travel anywhere in space and time, not only through times that were and will be, but also through the worlds that could have been and might someday be.

Everville

Book of The Art: Book 2

Clive Barker

On the borderland between this world and the world of Quiddity, the sea of our dreams, sits Everville.For years it has lived in ignorance of the gleaming shore on which it lies.But its ignorance is not bliss. Opening the door between worlds, Clive Barker delivers his characters into the heart of the human mystery; into a place of revelation, where the forces which have shaped our past--and are ready to destroy our future--are at work.

Nevermore

Cal Leandros: Book 10

Rob Thurman

People die.

Everyone knows that. I knew it intimately as everyone in my life died thanks to my one seemingly harmless mistake. I'd brought down Heaven, lifted up Hell, and set the world on fire, all due to one slip of the memory.

I forgot the pizzas...

Caliban is a dead man. The Vigil, a group devoted to concealing the paranormal from humanity, has decided Cal has stepped out of the shadows once too often, and death is the only sentence. They plan to send a supernatural assassin into the past to take down the younger, less lethal Cal.

But things change when The Vigil makes one last attempt on Caliban's life in the present--and end up destroying everyone and everything he cares about.

Now, Cal has to save himself, warn those closest to him, and kill every Vigil bastard who stole his world. But if he fails, he and everyone in his life will be history...

The Guinevere Deception

Camelot Rising: Book 1

Kiersten White

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution--send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife... and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name--and her true identity--is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old--including Arthur's own family--demand things continue as they have been, and the new--those drawn by the dream of Camelot--fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

Cat Scratch Fever

Cat Scratch Fever: Book 1

Tara K. Harper

Tsia had dreamed all her life of becoming a guide, attuned to her world through a telepathic gate to another lifeform. At last, she took the guide virus that would mutate her body to create the gate she so desperately craved. But the lifeform her body took was the one lifeform forbidden--the felines, who had scouted the planet for the First Droppers and, in exchange, been promised their freedom forever from human domination. By laws of the Guide Guild and the First-Landing Pact, she could never call to the cats, never speak with them, never approach them. But then capture and imprisonment, torture and slavery took the place of an empty future. Suddenly Tsia's only hope lay with her gate--and once she had touched the cats, there would be no turning back...

Cataract

Cat Scratch Fever: Book 2

Tara K. Harper

On Risthmus, the Landing Pact was law: felines were off limits. And for ten years Tsia, the rogue guide, had tried to honor that Pact and ignore the irresistible pull of her forbidden link to the cats.

For ten years, she had hidden among the mercenaries. But now her latest mission was going awry. A crash landing was followed by one deadly mishap after another. The cougar cub Tsia had rescued from a storm refused to leave her -- even when she tried to send it away.

Tsia could save the mission -- if she deliberately broke the Landing Pact to enter the mind of the cat and command his help. But if she was found out, punishment would be the loss of her biogate, her telepathic link with the felines. Her past was about to catch up with her, and only if she faced it -- and used it -- could she hope to forge a new future...with the cats!

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Chaos Walking: Book 1

Patrick Ness

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown.

But Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets.

Or are there?

Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence.

Which is impossible.

Prentisstown has been lying to him.

And now he's going to have to run...

Every Dead Thing

Charlie Parker: Book 1

John Connolly

Tortured and brilliant private detective Charlie Parker stars in this thriller by New York Times bestselling author John Connolly.

Former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker is on the verge of madness. Tortured by the unsolved slayings of his wife and young daughter, he is a man consumed by guilt, regret, and the desire for revenge. When his former partner asks him to track down a missing girl, Parker finds himself drawn into a world beyond his a world where thirty-year-old killings remain shrouded in fear and lies, a world where the ghosts of the dead torment the living, a world haunted by the murderer responsible for the deaths in his family--a serial killer who uses the human body to create works of art and takes faces as his prize. But the search awakens buried instincts in instincts for survival, for compassion, for love, and, ultimately, for killing.

Aided by a beautiful young psychologist and a pair of bickering career criminals, Parker becomes the bait in a trap set in the humid bayous of Louisiana, a trap that threatens the lives of everyone in its reach. Driven by visions of the dead and the voice of an old black psychic who met a terrible end, Parker must seek a final, brutal confrontation with a murderer who has moved beyond all notions of humanity, who has set out to create a hell on the serial killer known only as the Traveling Man.

In the tradition of classic American detective fiction, Every Dead Thing is a tense, richly plotted thriller, filled with memorable characters and gripping action. It is also a profoundly moving novel, concerned with the nature of loyalty, love, and forgiveness. Lyrical and terrifying, it is an ambitious debut, triumphantly realized.

The Last Guardian of Everness

Chronicles of Everness: Book 1

John C. Wright

Young Galen Waylock is the last watchman of the dream-gate beyond which ancient evils wait, hungry for the human world. For a thousand years, Galen's family stood guard, scorned by a world which dismissed the danger as myth. Now, the minions of Darkness stir in the deep, and the long, long watch is over. Galen's patient loyalty seems vindicated.

That loyalty is misplaced. The so-called Power of Light is hostile to modern ideas of human dignity and liberty. No matter who wins the final war between darkness and light, mankind is doomed either to a benevolent dictatorship or a malevolent one. And so Galen makes a third choice: the sleeping Champions of Light are left to sleep. Galen and his companions take the forbidden fairy-weapons themselves. Treason, murder, and disaster follow. The mortals must face the rising Darkness alone.

Mists of Everness

Chronicles of Everness: Book 2

John C. Wright

Young Galen Waylock is the last watchman of the Dream Gate, beyond which the ancient evils wait, hungry for the human world. For a thousand years, Galen's family has stood guard, scorned by a world that dismissed the danger as myth. Even Galen's father deserted their post. Discarding his belief in the other world, he left Castle Everness and the lonely coast of Maine to travel the world as a soldier.

But the warning bell has sounded in the dream world, unheeded. Now, the minions of Darkness have stirred in the deep and the long watch is over. An army of mythic monsters has invaded our world, and Galen and his friends have begun to fight them. To join the battle with universal darkness, even his father returns. The forces of light have gathered in Castle Everness, which must stand, or all is lost.

Nevernever

Chronicles of the Borderlands: Wolfboy of Bordertown: Book 2

Will Shetterly

Growing up is hard to do... especially if, like Ron, you've been cursed (blessed?) and changed into a half wolf/half human. But though he may look strange, there is nothing weird about his loyalty to his newfound friends, or in his attempts to stay true to himself in the deadly, shifting world of Bordertown.

The End-of-Everything Man

Chronicles of the King's Tramp: Book 2

Tom De Haven

When the fearsome Epicene threatens to realease the deadly Last Humans and destroy the universe, Jack, the King's Tramp, must catch the Mage of Four and prevent disaster.

Now, Then, and Everywhen

Chronos Origins: Book 1

Rysa Walker

When two time-traveling historians cross paths during one of the most tumultuous decades of the twentieth century, history goes helter-skelter. But which one broke the timeline?

In 2136 Madison Grace uncovers a key to the origins of CHRONOS, a time-travel agency with ties to her family's mysterious past. Just as she is starting to jump through history, she returns to her timeline to find millions of lives erased?and only the people inside her house realize anything has changed.

In 2304 CHRONOS historian Tyson Reyes is assigned to observe the crucial events that played out in America's civil rights movement. But a massive time shift occurs while he's in 1965, and suddenly the history he sees isn't the history he knows.

As Madi's and Tyson's journeys collide, they must prevent the past from being erased forever. But strange forces are at work. Are Madi and Tyson in control or merely pawns in someone else's game?

Slaves of the Volcano God

Cineverse Cycle: Book 1

Craig Shaw Gardner

When PR man Roger Gordon tries to escape the monotony of his humdrum job by trying out his Captain Crusader Decoder Ring, he is taken by surprise when his favorite B-movies come to life, and he is soon involved in a world of danger, action, adventure and romance.

Bride of the Slime Monster

Cineverse Cycle: Book 2

Craig Shaw Gardner

With Roger stranded without a Captain Crusader Decoder Ring, Dr. Dread triumphant, and the Slime Monster intent on making Delores his bride, is the Cineverse doomed to B-movie oblivion?

Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies

Cineverse Cycle: Book 3

Craig Shaw Gardner

A terrible change has come to the Cineverse. In all its many movie worlds, bad guys win, good guys perish, and boy doesn't even get girl. Only Captain Crusader (until recently plain old Roger Gordon) can put things right-but the Captain has problems of his own.

Never Cry Werewolf

Crimson Moon: Book 5

L. A. Banks

The last fight between the werewolf clans spilled onto the streets of New Orleans - and now the whole city's on red alert. Martial law has gone into effect. Mediums, ghost hunters, and other supernatural pundits have taken over the media, swarming the Big Easy to expose the hard truth about lycanthropes. And to make matters worse, a beastly killer is clawing up humans...

Secret government operative Sasha Trudeau doesn't like what she's seeing - a series of brutal and bloody slayings that appear to be wolf-like attacks. It might be the work of a copy cat killer - vampire or Unseelie or some other enemy of the Seelie clan. But while Sasha races to find suspects and motives, the panic level is rising - and the city's human population is clamoring for an all-out wolf hunt...

The Severed Streets

Detective Inspector James Quill: Book 2

Paul Cornell

Desperate to find a case to justify the team's existence, with budget cuts and a police strike on the horizon, Quill thinks he's struck gold when a cabinet minister is murdered by an assailant who wasn't seen getting in or out of his limo. A second murder, that of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, presents a crime scene with a message... identical to that left by the original Jack the Ripper.

The new Ripper seems to have changed the MO of the old completely: he's only killing rich white men. The inquiry into just what this supernatural menace is takes Quill and his team into the corridors of power at Whitehall, to meetings with MI5, or 'the funny people' as the Met call them, and into the London occult underworld. They go undercover to a pub with a regular evening that caters to that clientele, and to an auction of objects of power at the Tate Modern.

Meanwhile, in Paul Cornell's The Severed Streets, the Ripper keeps on killing and finally the pattern of those killings gives Quill's team clues towards who's really doing this....

Daggerspell

Deverry Cycle Act 1: Deverry: Book 1

Even as a young girl, Jill was a favorite of the magical, mysterious Wildfolk, who appeared to her from their invisible realm. Little did she know her extraordinary friends represented but a glimpse of a forgotten past and a fateful future. Four hundred years-and many lifetimes-ago, one selfish young lord caused the death of two innocent lovers. Then and there he vowed never to rest until he'd rightened that wrong-and laid the foundation for the lives of Jill and all those whom she would hold dear: her father, the mercenary soldier Cullyn; the exiled berserker Rhodry Maelwaedd; and the ancient and powerful herbman Nevyn, all bound in a struggle against darkness. . . and a quest to fulfill the destinies determined centuries ago. Here in this newly revised edition comes the incredible novel that began one of the best-loved fantasy seers in recent years--a tale of bold adventure and timeless love, perilous battle and pure magic. For long-standing fans of Deverry and those who have yet to experience this exciting series, Daggerspell is a rare and special treat.

Darkspell

Deverry Cycle Act 1: Deverry: Book 2

On the long roads of Deverry ride two mercenaries whose fates like hidden deep in that of their own land. But Lord Rhodry, exiled from the dragon court of Aberwyn, has yet to discover his true parentage, and his swordmaster-lover, Jill, has barely glimpsed her awesome powers. Meanwhile, the ancient sorcerer Nevyn, held back by his vows from boldly intervening in their lives, can only watch and wait as Rhodry and Jill move ever closer to danger. For as the two struggle to recover the Great Stone, the mystic jewel that guides the conscience of the kingship of Deverry, malevolent dark masters are weaving terrifying spells against them--and displacing messengers of death.

Katharine Kerr has extensively rewritten Darkspell, incorporating major changes in the text, making this her definitive edition. Here the epic saga that began with the Daggerspell continues--a tale of might and magic, lust and glory, dark danger and poignant desires that echo from Deverry's sapphire waters to its secret mountain caverns. It's a spellbinding story destined to please fantasy lovers everywhere.

The Bristling Wood

Deverry Cycle Act 1: Deverry: Book 3

Against the passionate sweep of Deverrian history, the powerful wizard Nevyn has lived for centuries, atoning for the sins he committed in his youth.

The Dragon Revenant

Deverry Cycle Act 1: Deverry: Book 4

For years the provinces of Deverry have been in turmoil; now the conflict escalates with the kidnapping of Rhodry Maelwaedd, heir to the throne of Aberwyn. Intent on rescuing him, his beloved Jill and the elven wizard Salamander infiltrate the distant land of Bardex, where Rhodry is held captive. Tied to Deverry by obligation and circumstance, the immortal wizard Nevyn begins to see that all the kingdom's problems can be traced to a single source: a master of dark magics, backed by a network of evil that stretches across the sea. Now Nevyn understands that he too is being lured away to Bardek--and into a subtle, deadly trap designed especially for him.

Katharine Kerr's novels of the Kingdom of Deverry unfold in a world of stunning richness and depth. Her vivid portrayal of characters caught in a complex web of fate and magic captures the imagination with a realism that few can match. Now she retums to this enchanted kingdom, where the wheels of destiny are tuming anew.

A Time of Exile

Deverry Cycle Act 2: The Westlands: Book 1

The world of Deverry: an intricate tapestry of fate, past lives, and unfathomable magic. With A Time Of Exile, Katharine Kerr opens new territory in The Deverry Saga, exploring the history of the Elcyion Lacar, the elves who inhabit the country west of Deverry. It is years since the half-elven Lord Rhodry took the throne of Aberwyn. When Rhodry's lost lover, Jill-now a powerful wizard-comes to Aberyn and tells him it's time he accepted his elven heritage, Rhodry faces the most difficult choice of his life. But with Jill's help and that of a human wizard named Aderyn who has lived for years in the westlands, Rhodry begins to understand how his life is connected not just to his own people, but to the Elcyion Lacar as well. At last, destiny begins to unravel its secrets, revealing Aderyn's true purpose among the elves-and the god' deeper design behind Rhodry's dual heritage.

A Time of Omens

Deverry Cycle Act 2: The Westlands: Book 2

Drawing on Celtic lore, the Deverry series has become a popular staple of the modern fantasy reader's library. Now A Time of Omens signals the intertwining of the two world of the series: Deverry, the world of humans and elves, and the astral plane, where powerful immortals dwell.

Days of Blood and Fire

Deverry Cycle Act 2: The Westlands: Book 3

In the peaceful land of the Rhiddaer, Jahdo the ratcatcher's son stumbles upon a secret meeting between a city council man and a dangerous, mysterious woman. Suddenly the boy is tangled in a web of intrigue and black magic that drags him far from home. In the company of a blind bard, Jahdo must travel to Deverry to unravel the evil that binds him. But there the boy is caught up in dangers far greater than he has ever known. Two powerful sorcerers--one human, the other elven--are battling to save the country from a goddess gone mad. Their strongest ally is the mercenary soldier Rhodry Maelwaedd, a berserker bound to both women by fate and magic . . . and to the dragon upon whom all their live may depend.

Days Of Blood And Fire begins an exciting new chapter in the chronicles of Deverry and the Westlands, with a story suited to new readers and loyal fans alike.

Days of Air and Darkness

Deverry Cycle Act 2: The Westlands: Book 4

Acclaimed author of the dazzling cycle of fantasy novels set in Deverry and the Westlands, Katharine Kerr continues her epic saga of humanity as a shift of power on the astral plane brings change to the world of men...

The city of Cengarn is under siege. Armies both astral and physical are massing for and against the goddess Alshandra, who seeks to prevent the birth of one fate-bound child. It falls to the dweomermaster Jill and her allies to protect the child's human mother, Princess Carra--and Deverry's already foretold future--by magic and by might. But as the warrior Rhodry wings toward the battle on dragonback, he cannot know that soon he will face his ancient enemy, Alshandra's high priestess Raena, who will use any means to destroy him. Their confrontation could turn the tide of the siege--and change the fate of Deverry forever.

The Red Wyvern

Deverry Cycle Act 3: The Dragon Mage: Book 1

Katharine Kerr's richly imagined cycle of novels set in Deverry and the Westlands has earned a devoted following--and a reputation as the finest Celtic fantasy being written today. Now she returns to Deverry's war-ravaged past....

In a kingdom torn by civil war, young Lillorigga seeks to shield her dawning powers from her cruel mother Merodda's manipulation. Mistress of a magic that, untamed, could kill her, Lilli brings her terrifying visions under the kindlier tutelage of the mysterious dweomermaster, Nevyn. But soon she must choose between her own clan and the true king who fights to claim his rightful throne, between sanctuary and blood feud, loyalty and love. Little does she dream that the slaughter she invites, and the malevolence she defies, could stalk her across the ages...twisting and twining the strands of timeless destinies.

The Black Raven

Deverry Cycle Act 3: The Dragon Mage: Book 2

For the devoted followers of the dazzling Deverry and Westlands cycle, Katharine Kerr continues the magical epic saga she began in The Red Wyvern.

The Black Raven

Her latest tale shifts effortlessly between the shattered lands of the Rhiddaer and Dun Deverry itself. At the historic end of the Civil Wars, Lilli, newly apprenticed to the dweomer, fights with her untried powers to save her beloved Prince Maryn from evil. Centuries later, in the city of Cerr Cawnen, the old evil awakens yet again when the sorceress Raena schemes to destroy Rhodry Maelwaedd, her bitter enemy during life after life. But her malice will draw the intervention of astral powers--and unleash the ravaging rage of Rhodry's guardian dragon. Only another untried dweomer can buy safety for the city and the berserker himself--and only at a most fearsome price....

The Fire Dragon

Deverry Cycle Act 3: The Dragon Mage: Book 3

Katharine Kerr has enchanted readers with her magical Deverry and Westlands cycle, and now she brings to a breathtaking conclusion the epic saga begun with The Red Wyvern and The Black Raven.

The final chapter begins in the holy city as it rises from the ashes of Deverry's long wars. Prince Maryn prepares to claim the high kingship, but still the rebel Boar clan stands fast against him. And at court, his illicit passion for the young dweomer apprentice, Lilli, threatens to revive a curse that only she -- at her own peril -- can lift.

It is a drama that will be played out centuries later in the city of Cerr Cawnen. Among the many who take refuge in the lakeside citadel, nestled in a volcano's shadow, are a Westfolk band guided by the elven enchantress Dallandra and protected by Rhodry Maelwaedd and his fiery guardian dragon.

Meanwhile, from the north come the savage Horsekin slavers, ancient foe of the Westfolk, now bent on the domination of Cerr Cawnen. They are awaited by the sorceress Raena, their self-sworn high priestess and the votary of an evil goddess. Now, as Rhodry and Raena renew their timeless enmity, the fate of the city and every soul within it hangs in the balance -- and on an act of self-sacrifice dangerous beyond imagining.

The Gold Falcon

Deverry Cycle Act 4: The Silver Wyrm: Book 1

Orphaned by a cholera epidemic, Neb and his young brother are sent to the desolate farm of their last living relative. But when the savage Horsekin tribes begin raiding the villages along Deverry's western border, the brothers must flee for their lives. A chance encounter with Salamander-a bard and master of dweomer magic-proves their salvation, as he brings them to the shelter of Tieryn Cadryc's dun. Here Neb finds love with his soulmate Branna only to be dragged into a war for the very survival of the kingdom. And though both Neb and Branna are gifted with dweomer magic, they are also facing powerful enemies they have fought before in past lives they no longer remember.

The Spirit Stone

Deverry Cycle Act 4: The Silver Wyrm: Book 2

Elven prince Dar has called upon his allies, the dwarven folk of the Northern mountains and the human men of Deverry in the East, to take arms against their mutual enemy, the fanatical Horsekin, whose imminent invasion of the Westlands will place the entire realm in danger...

The Shadow Isle

Deverry Cycle Act 4: The Silver Wyrm: Book 3

The wild Northlands hold many secrets, among them the mysterious island of Haen Marn, the mountain settlements of Dwarveholt, and the fortified city of Cerr Cawnen. All three communities-and the alliance of humans, elves, and dwarves-are threatened by the religious fanaticism of the Horsekin. Only the magic of Dallandra and Valandario and the might of the powerful dragons, Arzosah and Rori, can save the Northlands from conquest.

The Silver Mage

Deverry Cycle Act 4: The Silver Wyrm: Book 4

The Horsekin are assembling along Prince Dar's northern border, and the Deverry alliance doesn't have the men or resources to prevent their enemies from moving into the wilderness areas known as the Ghostlands. But then the Dwrgi folk and the dragons come to Dar's aid, tipping the balance in their favor and offering Dar's people a chance to defeat the Horsekin once and for all.

Sword of Fire

Deverry: The Justice War: Book 1

The Siege of Mt. Nevermind

The bards are the people's voice--and their sword.

All over the kingdom of Deverry, the common people are demanding reform of the corrupt law courts. In Aberwyn, the situation catches fire when Gwerbret Ladoic, second in authority only to the High King, allows a bard to starve to death rather than hear their grievances.

Guildwoman Alyssa, a student at the local scholars' collegium, and Lady Dovina, the gwerbret's own daughter, know that evidence exists to overthrow the so-called traditional legal system, if they can only get it into the right hands. The powerful lords will kill anyone who threatens their privileges.

To retrieve the proof, Alyssa must make a dangerous journey that will either change her life forever--or end it.

Forever Autumn

Doctor Who New Series: Book 16

Mark Morris

It is almost Halloween in the sleepy New England town of Blackwood Falls. Autumn leaves litter lawns and sidewalks, paper skeletons hang in windows and carved pumpkins leer from stoops and front porches. The Doctor and Martha soon discover that something long-dormant has awoken in the town, and this will be no ordinary Halloween. What is the secret of the ancient chestnut tree and the mysterious books discovered tangled in its roots? What rises from the local churchyard in the dead of night, sealing up the lips of the only witness? And why are the harmless trappings of Halloween suddenly taking on a creepy new life of their own? As nightmarish creatures prowl the streets, the Doctor and Martha must battle to prevent both the townspeople and themselves from suffering a grisly fate...

Never Knew Another

Dogsland Trilogy: Book 1

J. M. McDermott

Fugitive Rachel Nolander is a newcomer to the city of Dogsland, where the rich throw parties and the poor just do whatever they can to scrape by. Supported by her brother Djoss, she hides out in their squalid apartment, living in fear that someday, someone will find out that she is the child of a demon. Corporal Jona Lord Joni is a demon's child too, but instead of living in fear, he keeps his secret and goes about his life as a cocky, self-assured man of the law. The first book in the Dogsland Trilogy, Never Knew Another is the story of how these two outcasts meet.

Dragonlance: Chaos War: Book 5

Fergus Ryan

A miraculous machine... and a nightmare!

Innova, a young gnomish recluse finds himself in a terrible situation. Tried in a gnomish court for an unfortunate accident and sentenced to spend months at the bottom of Mt. Nevermind tuning gnomeflingers, young Innova makes an incredible discovery. The whole gnomish society is changed by one machine that, unlike any other gnomish invention, makes the entire mountain run like clockwork.

In the face of this, Commander Halion Khargos of the Knights of Tahkisis must fulfill his Vision, sent to him by the Dark Queen Tahkisis. He must take Mt. Nevermind.

Fergus Ryan tells the amazing story of the gnomes of Mt. Nevermind during the upheval of the Chaos War. And because they're gnomes, their adventures are punctuated with two or three explosions.

Hederick the Theocrat

Dragonlance: Villains: Book 4

Ellen Dodge Severson

Death to Heretice!

The words ring through the treetop city of Solace night and day. Hederick, as leader of the Seeker religion in Solace and self-ordained conscience of Krynn, leads an Inquisition and vows to stop only when all who follow magic and the old gods are dead And Takhisis, Queen of Darkness, smiles.

Hederick faces the false priest who led him to Seekerism, a thief fleeing death sentence, the beautiful white-robed mage who loves Hederick despite herself, and the power of the vallenwood trees themselves.

Ellen Dodge Severson's DRAGONLANCE novels include Kindred Spirits (with Mark Anthony) and Steel and Stone. This, her third novel, tells the story of the demagogue Hederick, one of Krynn's most nefarious villains.

The Villains series explores the corrupted origins of the malevolent minions of Takhisis, Queen of Darkness.

Sometime Never...

Eighth Doctor Adventures: Book 67

Justin Richards

This Week: A hideous misshapen creature releases a butterfly. Next Week: The consequences of this simple action ensure that history follows its predicted path... Sometime: In the swirling maelstrom of the Time Vortex, The Council of Eight maps out every moment in history and take drastic measures to ensure it follows their predictions. But there is one elemental force that defies prediction, that fails to adhere to the laws of time and space... A rogue element that could destroy their plans merely by existing. Already events are mapped out and defined. Already the pieces of the trap are in place. The Council of Eight already knows when Sabbath will betray them. It knows when Fitz will survive the horrors in the Museum of Anthropology. It knows when Trix will come to his help. It knows when the Doctor will finally realize the truth. It knows that this will be: Never.

In the Land of the Everliving

Eirlandia: Book 2

Stephen R. Lawhead

Stephen R. Lawhead, the critically-acclaimed author of the Pendragon Cycle continues his Eirlandia Celtic fantasy series with In the Land of the Everliving.

Conor and his sword companions must leave the safety of the faéry kingdom for the barbarian Scálda threaten to overrun Eirlandia.

As he fights for his people's survival, Conor discovers that several of the clan leaders have betrayed their nation by aiding the Scálda. The corruption is such that Conor and his men choose to become outcasts, clan-less and open to attack by friend and foe alike.

They form their own warband... and the beginning of a legend as Conor unites the common people of Eirlandia to drive the poison from their land.

The Emperor of Everything

Emancipator: Book 2

Ray Aldridge

Slavery is the corporate foundation of the powerful Pangalic Worlds where Ruiz Aw leads a dangerous double life, as an enforcer for the Art League that so brutally controls its slaves and as an Emancipator dedicated to eradicating the cruel business.

After escaping from a herd of slaves, and voyaging across the perilous and magical world of Sook, he and his band of refugees become trapped in a rotting city called SeaStack. The biomechanical city, however, has secrets that no one can begin to fathom. Ruiz must use his skills to kill for money, and the battle for safety just might reveal a secret that will challenge the foundations of the universe.

The War in the Waste

Ever: Book 1

Felicity Savage

Crispin is a "circus baby, " born in a caravan, working as a daemon handler and aerialist - until an accident on the high wire casts him out into a world even stranger than the circus that nurtured him. Crispin falls headlong into the arms of Rae, an orphan girl of equally exotic origins. And soars in daemon-powered biplanes over the wastelands of the Raw, joining the awesome battle between Ferupe's slow-dying Queen and her adversary, the Lizard Significant.

The Daemon in the Machine

Ever: Book 2

Felicity Savage

The epic battle joined in EVER Part One: The War in the Waste continues in the second volume of Felicity Savage's groundbreaking trilogy, The Daemon in the Machine.

Fleeing the trap laid for them by the treacherous David Burns, Crispin and Mickey strike out for Okimako, where Mickey is reunited with the family he abandoned to join the Disciples. Crispin struggles to reconcile his apocryphal visions with the political realities of Okimako. Meanwhile, on the far side of the continent, Rae faces the appalling truth about the cult to which she has attached herself.

Kirekune is winning the war in the Wraithwaste, but a Significant victory will have terrible consequences for humans and daemons alike

Trickster in the Ashes

Ever: Book 3

Felicity Savage

Since his birth in the back of a truck, Crispin Kateralbin has been a daemon handler, a trapeze artist, a fighter pilot, a street entertainer, a deckhand, a dock laborer, and a wanted man.

Now the war that divided Oceania for a hundred years is over, and Crispin has achieved wealth and anonymity as a middleman for a drug-smuggling monopolist.

On the far side of the continent, Crispin's first lover Rae Akila has joined a cult that worships daemons.

And in Okimako, Mickey Ash fights Greater Significance for the right to live.

When these three come together again, the world will change.

Sun River

Everfair

Nisi Shawl

Princess Mwadi of Everfair teams up with American actress Rima Bailey on a reconnaissance mission in Egypt in an attempt to thwart the European spies intent on destabilizing Everfair and its business interests...

Originally published on 6 December 2023, read it for free at Tor.com

Everfair

Everfair: Book 1

Nisi Shawl

Everfair is a wonderful Neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier. Fabian Socialists from Great Britian join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo's "owner," King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.

Nisi Shawl's speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. Everfair is not only a beautiful book but an educational and inspiring one that will give the reader new insight into an often ignored period of history.

Kinning

Everfair: Book 2

Nisi Shawl

The Great War is over. Everfair has found peace within its borders. But our heroes' stories are far from done.

Tink and his sister Bee-Lung are traveling the world via aircanoe, spreading the spores of a mysterious empathy-generating fungus. Through these spores, they seek to build bonds between people and help spread revolutionary sentiments of socialism and equality -- the very ideals that led to Everfair's founding.

Meanwhile, Everfair's Princess Mwadi and Prince Ilunga return home from a sojourn in Egypt to vie for their country's rule following the abdication of their father King Mwenda. But their mother, Queen Josina, manipulates them both from behind the scenes, while also pitting Europe's influenza-weakened political powers against one another as these countries fight to regain control of their rebellious colonies.

Will Everfair continue to serve as a symbol of hope, freedom, and equality to anticolonial movements around the world, or will it fall to forces inside and out?

The Prodigal Sun

Evergence: Book 1

Sean Williams
Shane Dix

Morgan Roche, commander in the intelligence arm of the Commonwealth Empires, has been charged with protecting the AI known as The Box on a secret voyage across the galaxy. But en route her ship is ambushed by the Dato Bloc, and she is forced to crash-land on a nearby prison planet.

MAROONED ON SCIACCA'S WORLD:
Battling deadly inmates and treacherous guards, she fights her way through a hostile environment toward her only hope of escape, the mysterious Adoni Cane at her side. A genetically enhanced warrior with a past not even he can fathom, he could be the savior of the human race, or its downfall - but either way, Morgan Roche won't survive without him...

The Prodigal Sun is a re-imagined, re-written version of The Unknown Soldier - with the elements of the failed gaming world Cogal removed, and the characters and storyline set in a new universe.The Unknown Soldier was an Aurealis Best SF Novel nominee and a Ditmar Best Long Fiction nominee.

The Dying Light

Evergence: Book 2

Sean Williams
Shane Dix

Morgan Roche is a renegade, fleeing the agents she used to work for in the Commonwealth of Empires. Her quest to understand Adoni Cane has led her to a terrible truth. He is one of a breed of genetically enhanced warriors that once terrorized the galaxy. And there might be more of them, waking up to begin fighting anew.

AN INTERSTELLAR TRAP:
A whole solar system has disappeared, wiped from the universe in an attempt to snare just one super-soldier like Cane. In an attempt to come to grips with her enemy, Morgan Roche and The Box travel willingly into the trap, but find themselves ensnared in ever-thicker tangles of deception and intrigue. Who is The Box, and is what its agenda, really? The answer will rock Roche's world right down to the foundations.

The Dark Imbalance

Evergence: Book 3

Sean Williams
Shane Dix

The ruins of Sol System have been empty for thousands of years. A place of death and mystery, it is shunned by all--until now.

DEADLINE TO DESTRUCTION:
Renegade intelligence agent Morgan Roche arrives hot on the heels of the clone warriors--enemies she has been charged by the High Humans to stop before they destroy everything. What she finds--the largest fleet assembled in half a million years, with no central authority, no-one in charge--threatens to stretch her resources beyond their limit.

There, under the light of the star called Sol, Morgan Roche will uncover the final truth about the AI called The Box, about the man called Adoni Cane, and about the High Human called the Crescend. That truth will cost her dearly...

Planesrunner

Everness: Book 1

Ian McDonald

Multiple-award-winning author making his YA debut

There is not one you. There are many yous. There is not one world. There are many worlds. Ours is one of billions of parallel earths.

When Everett Singh's scientist father is kidnapped from the streets of London, he leaves young Everett a mysterious app on his computer. Suddenly, this teenager has become the owner of the most valuable object in the multiverse-the Infundibulum-the map of all the parallel earths, and there are dark forces in the Ten Known Worlds who will stop at nothing to get it. They've got power, authority, and the might of ten planets-some of them more technologically advanced than our Earth-at their fingertips. He's got wits, intelligence, and a knack for Indian cooking.

To keep the Infundibulum safe, Everett must trick his way through the Heisenberg Gate his dad helped build and go on the run in a parallel Earth. But to rescue his Dad from Charlotte Villiers and the sinister Order, this Planesrunner's going to need friends. Friends like Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, her adopted daughter Sen, and the crew of the airship Everness.

Can they rescue Everett's father and get the Infundibulum to safety? The game is afoot!

Be My Enemy

Everness: Book 2

Ian McDonald

Everett Singh has escaped with the Infundibulum from the clutches of Charlotte Villiers and the Order, but at a terrible price. His father is missing, banished to one of the billions of parallel universes of the Panoply of All Worlds, and Everett and the crew of the airship Everness have taken a wild Heisenberg jump to a random parallel plane. Everett is smart and resourceful, and from the refuge of a desolate frozen Earth far beyond the Plenitude, where he and his friends have gone into hiding, he makes plans to rescue his family. But the villainous Charlotte Villiers is one step ahead of him.

The action traverses three different parallel Earths: one is a frozen wasteland; one is just like ours, except that the alien Thryn Sentiency has occupied the Moon since 1964, sharing its technology with humankind; and one is the embargoed home of dead London, where the remnants of humanity battle a terrifying nanotechnology run wild. Across these parallel planes of existence, Everett faces terrible choices of morality and power. But he has the love and support of Sen, Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, and the rest of the crew of Everness as he learns that the deadliest enemy isn't the Order or the world-devouring nanotech Nahn - it's himself.

Empress of the Sun

Everness: Book 3

Ian McDonald

World-hopping, high-action adventure starring a smart boy with computer skills and a tough girl who pilots a blimp

The airship Everness makes a Heisenberg Jump to an alternate Earth unlike any her crew has ever seen. Everett, Sen, and the crew find themselves above a plain that goes on forever in every direction without any horizon. There they find an Alderson Disc, an astronomical megastructure of incredibly strong material reaching from the orbit of Mercury to the orbit of Jupiter.

Then they meet the Jiju, the dominant species on a plane where the dinosaurs didn't die out. They evolved, diversified, and have a twenty-five million year technology head-start on humanity. War between their kingdoms is inevitable, total and terrible.

Everness has jumped right into the midst of a faction fight between rival nations, the Fabreen and Dityu empires. The airship is attacked, but then defended by the forces of the Fabreen, who offers theEverness crew protection. But what is the true motive behind Empress Aswiu's aid? What is her price?

The crew of the Everness is divided in a very alien world, a world fast approaching the point of apocalypse.

Everybody Comes to Cosmo's

Exchameleon: Book 3

Ron Goulart

COSMO NEVER DRINKS WITH CUSTOMERS

When Ben Jolson, shapeshifter extraordinaire and former member of the galactic Chameleon Corps, is once again pressed into service as a private detective, he doesn't expect much trouble, Janella Quintillion, aging owner of the galaxy's largest Shobot corporation, has hired Jolson to find her long-lost sister--heir to the family billions.

The twisted trail leads to Cosmo's, a huge orbiting spa/casino/nightclub/hotel satellite. But lots of people--humand, ratmen, broken-down robots, cyborgs, beautiful women, and all the usual suspects--are looking for the Quintillion heiress... with murder on their minds.

All the clues point to the mysterious Cosmo himself... but who--or what--is he?

Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells, Vol. 1

Failure Frame: Book 1

Failure Frame: I Become the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells, Vol. 2

EPIC FAIL

Abruptly catapulted into a fantasy world, Mimori Touka and his classmates have been summoned by the world's resident goddess to serve as heroes. Luckily, most of the students display amazing skills upon arrival--except for Mimori, whose abilities bottom out at a measly E-rank. With no further use for him, the goddess banishes Mimori to a dungeon from which no one has ever returned alive. Yet, as it turns out, Mimori's skills aren't so much worthless as they are abnormal. Abnormally powerful, even. If Mimori can only claw his way back to the surface, nothing will stand in his way from getting revenge.

Failure Frame: Book 2

Failure Frame: I Become the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells, Vol. 3

IT'S PAYBACK TIME

Mimori Touka has made it out of the inescapable Ruins of Disposal using his so-called "useless" skills, and now he only has one thing on his mind--revenge! But the foul Goddess who sent him to his death is too powerful for a head-on attack. First, he needs someone to watch his back, and who better than the beautiful, fugitive elf princess who keeps crossing his path? The two outcasts make a great team, but terrifying enemies are closing in--including a knight named Civit Garland, the the strongest human in the world.

Failure Frame: Book 3

Failure Frame: I Become the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells, Vol. 4

FIGHT ANOTHER DAY

After defeating the strongest human in the world with his "useless" spells, Mimori Touka's quest for vengeance is back on track! He knows he's still too weak to defeat the foul Goddess, so he sets out to find more information about the Forbidden Magic that could be key to taking her down. His search will bring him into the path of a corrupt duke, a fierce beastwoman gladiator, and a fighting tournament where the stakes are life and death!

Failure Frame: Book 4

Failure Frame: I Become the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells, Vol. 5

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

While Mimori's journey for revenge takes him all over this magical, dangerous world, his classmates are fulfilling their destinies as "heroes" by facing off against the hordes of the Demon King. Despite the cruel world she's found herself in, S-class hero and ex-class rep Sogou Ayaka still wants to protect her weaker classmates--from their enemies, and from the cruel whims of the Goddess. But when it's just her up against an army of monsters, can she even save herself?

Failure Frame: Book 5

BATTLE AND BETRAYAL

The invasion has begun. The Demon King's armies are bearing down on the humans, ravaging the main forces from country after country. The heroes from another world, once the students of Class 2-C, are fighting for their lives against impossible odds. But when a figure in a black robe and fly mask appears on the battlefield, will this mysterious person turn the tide? And how will Mimori Touka use his incredible abilities in the face of a continent-wide war?

The Far Side of Forever

Far Side of Forever: Book 1

Sharon Green

Laciel, a sorceress, and five specially chosen companions, must recover the Balance Stone from its mysterious thief or face the destruction of their world.

Hellhound Magic

Far Side of Forever: Book 2

Sharon Green

When Laciel the Sorceress returned home after completing her quest for the Balance Stone, it was to find Morgiana, her mentor and foster mother, gone. Then word arrived that Morgiana was in danger, held captive on a hellish world as the High King's consort!

Darkfever

Fever: Book 1

MacKayla Lane's life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she's your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks...until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death-a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone-Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister's killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed-a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae....

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane-an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women-closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book-because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands....

Bloodfever

Fever: Book 2

I used to think my sister and I were just two nice southern girls who'd get married in a few years and settle down to a quiet life. Then I discovered that Alina and I descend, not from good wholesome southern stock, but from an ancient Celtic bloodline of powerful sidhe-seers, people who can see the Fae. Not only can I see the terrifying otherworldly race, but I can sense the sacred Fae relics that hold the deadliest of their magic.

When my sister was found dead in a trash-filled alley in Dublin, I came over to get answers. Now all I want is revenge. And after everything I've learned about myself, I know I have the power to get it....

MacKayla Lane's ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland's shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh-a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V'lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them....

Faefever

Fever: Book 3

The New York Times bestselling author of Darkfever and Bloodfever returns to Dublin's Fae-infested shores in a bold, sensual new novel. Hurtling us into a realm of seduction and shadows, Karen Marie Moning tells the enthralling tale of a woman who explores the limits of her mysterious powers as she enters a world of ancient sorcery--and confronts an enemy more insidious than she could ever have imagined.

He calls me his Queen of the Night. I'd die for him. I'd kill for him, too. When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister's journal, she is stunned by Alina's desperate words. And now MacKaylaknows that her sister's killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac's quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V'lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows' Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds--with devastating consequences....

Dreamfever

Fever: Book 4

In New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning's stunning novel, the walls between human and Fae worlds have come crashing down. And as Mac fights for survival on Dublin's battle-scarred streets, she will embark on the darkest adventure of her life.

MacKayla Lane lies naked on the cold stone floor of a church, at the mercy of the Fae master she once swore to kill. Far from home, unable to control her sexual hungers, MacKayla is now fully under the Lord Master's spell.

He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister's murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac's every thought--and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.

As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V'lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister's diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac's greatest enemy delivers a final challenge.

It's an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth--about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons... and about the world she thought she knew.

Shadowfever

Fever: Book 5

"Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it's good."

MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister's murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh--a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.

Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master's penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac's journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world... or destroy it.

Fever House

Fever House: Book 1

Keith Rosson

When leg-breaker Hutch Holtz rolls up to a rundown apartment complex in Portland, Oregon, to collect overdue drug money, a severed hand is the last thing he expects to find stashed in the client's refrigerator. Hutch quickly realizes that the hand induces uncontrollable madness: Anyone in its proximity is overcome with a boundless compulsion for violence. Within hours, catastrophic forces are set into motion: Dark-op government agents who have been desperately hunting for the hand are on Hutch's tail, more of the city's residents fall under its brutal influence, and suddenly all of Portland stands at the precipice of disaster....

But it's all the same for Katherine Moriarty, a singer whose sudden fame and precipitous downfall were followed by the mysterious death of her estranged husband--suicide, allegedly. Her trauma has made her agoraphobic, shackled within the confines of her apartment. Her son, Nick, has moved home to care for her, quietly making his living working for Hutch's boss.

When Hutch calls Nick in distress, looking for someone else to take the hand, Katherine and Nick are plunged into a global struggle that will decimate the walls of the carefully arranged life they've built. Mother and son must evade both crazed, bloodthirsty masses and deceitful government agents while exorcising family secrets that have risen from the dead--secrets, they soon discover, that might hold the very key to humanity's survival.

The Devil By Name

Fever House: Book 2

Keith Rosson

Five years after the event that drove most of the global population to madness, the world is overrun with the "fevered" - once-human, zombielike creatures drawn indiscriminately to violence and murder. In a campaign to restabilize the country, the massive corporation known as Terradyne Industries has merged with the U.S. government in a partnership of dubious motives, quarantining major American cities behind towering walls and corralling the afflicted there with the hope, they say, of developing a vaccine.

In Portland, where it all began, guilt-ridden detective John Bonner scours the city's darkest corners for clues to humanity's redemption. In New England, Katherine Moriarty mourns the devastating losses of her husband and son while in hiding from Terradyne. And across the ocean in France, a sixteen-year-old girl named Naomi Laurent discovers she has a disturbing and powerful gift - which may just be the key to the world's salvation.

The Fever King

Feverwake: Book 1

Victoria Lee

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks--refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister's offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister's son--cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful--and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he's willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

The Electric Heir

Feverwake: Book 2

Victoria Lee

Six months after Noam Álvaro helped overthrow the despotic government of Carolinia, the Atlantians have gained citizenship, and Lehrer is chancellor. But despite Lehrer's image as a progressive humanitarian leader, Noam has finally remembered the truth that Lehrer forced him to forget--that Lehrer is responsible for the deadly magic infection that ravaged Carolinia.

Now that Noam remembers the full extent of Lehrer's crimes, he's determined to use his influence with Lehrer to bring him down for good. If Lehrer realizes Noam has evaded his control--and that Noam is plotting against him--Noam's dead. So he must keep playing the role of Lehrer's protégé until he can steal enough vaccine to stop the virus.

Meanwhile Dara Shirazi returns to Carolinia, his magic stripped by the same vaccine that saved his life. But Dara's attempts to ally himself with Noam prove that their methods for defeating Lehrer are violently misaligned. Dara fears Noam has only gotten himself more deeply entangled in Lehrer's web. Sooner or later, playing double agent might cost Noam his life.

The Forever Hero

Forever Hero

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

L. E. Modesitt, Jr's first major work was a trilogy of SF adventure novels published as paperback originals in the 1980s: Dawn for a Distant Earth, The Silent Warrior, and In Endless Twilight. Together they form The Forever Hero.

Thousands of years in the future, Earth is a desolate ruin. The first human ship to return in millennia discovers an abandoned wasteland inhabited only by a few degenerate or mutated human outcasts. But among them is a boy of immense native intelligence and determination who is captured, taken in, and educated, and disappears--to grow up to become the force behind a plan to make Earth flower again. He is, if not immortal, at least very long-lived, and he plans to build an independent power base out in the galaxy and force the galactic empire to devote centuries and immense resources to the restoration of the ecology of Earth.

Dawn for a Distant Earth

Forever Hero: Book 1

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

L. E. Modesitt, Jr's first major work was The Forever Hero trilogy of SF adventure novels published as paperback originals in the 1980s, of which Dawn for a Distant Earth was the first title in the series.

Forever Hero: Book 2

Forever Hero: Book 3

L.E. Modesitt, Jr.s first major work was a trilogy of SF adventure novels published as paperback originals in the 1980s: Dawn for a Distant Earth, The Silent Warrior, and In Endless Twilight. Together they form The Forever Hero.

Thousands of years in the future, Earth is a desolate ruin. The first human ship to return in millennia discovers primitive remnants of humanity. And among them is a boy of immense native intelligence and determination who grows up to become the force behind a plan to make Earth flower again.

Forever Bound

Forever War

This novelette originally appeared in the anthology Warriors (2010), edited by Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin. It was reprinted in Clarkesworld, Issue 130, July 2017.

Read the full story for free at Clarkeswordl.

The Forever War

Forever War: Book 1

Private William Mandella is a hero in spite of himself -- a reluctant conscript drafted into an elite military unit, and propelled through space and time to fight in a distant thousand-year conflict. He never wanted to go to war, but the leaders on Earth have drawn a line in the interstellar sand -- despite the fact that their fierce alien enemy is unknowable, unconquerable, and very far away. So Mandella will perform his duties without rancor and even rise up through the military's ranks... if he survives. But the true test of his mettle will come when he returns to Earth. Because of the time dilation caused by space travel the loyal soldier is aging months, while his home planet is aging centuries -- and the difference will prove the saying: you never can go home....

Forever Peace

Forever War: Book 2

In the year 2043, the Ngumi War rages. Limited nuclear strikes have been used on Atlanta and two enemy cities, but the war goes on, fought by 'soldierboys' -- indestructible war machines operated by remote control by soldiers hundreds of miles away.

Julian Class is one of these soldiers, and for him war is truly hell. The psychological strain of being jacked-in to his soldierboy -- and the genocidal results -- are becoming too much to bear. Now he and his companion, Dr Amelia Harding, have made a terrifying scientific discovery, which could literally take the universe back to square one. Except that for Julian, the discovery isn't so much terrifying as tempting....

Forever Free

Forever War: Book 3

Evermeet: Island of Elves

William Mandela is a genetic throwback, one of the small group of humans who fought and survived the Forever War. They returned to find humanity has evolved into a group mind called Man. Surrounded by a society that is too autocratic and intrusive, living a dull existence which cannot compare to the certainties of combat and feeling increasingly alienated, the veterans plan an escape to the future by means of space travel and relativity. But when their ship starts to fail, their journey becomes a search for the Unknown, the elusive entity responsible.

Forgotten Realms

Elaine Cunningham

Serene, beautiful, inviolate.

Rich in magic and treasure, to those who hear of its legends it is the ultimate paradise. To the beleagured elves of Toril it is the ultimate refuge. But to many it is the ultimate prize.

At the heart of its story is Amlaruil, Queen of All Elves. When Evermeet comes under massive, devastating attack, her sacrifice holds the last hope of saving the elven homeland.

The Sword Never Sleeps

Forgotten Realms: The Knights of Myth Drannor: Book 3

Ed Greenwood

The thrilling conclusion to Ed Greenwood's latest epic!

Florin Falconhand and his friends have always wanted adventure--but when it finally finds them, it turns out to be a lot more than they bargained for. Over the course of The Knights of Myth Drannor, the Knights learn the true meaning of adventure, honor, and what it means to be a hero.

Gauntlgrym

Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt 7: Neverwinter: Book 1

Drizzt joins Bruenor on his quest for the fabled dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym: ruins said to be rich with ancient treasure and arcane lore. But before they even get close, another drow and dwarf pair stumbles across it first: Jarlaxle and Athrogate. In their search for treasure and magic, Jarlaxle and Athrogate inadvertently set into motion a catastrophe that could spell disaster for the unsuspecting people of the city of Neverwinter-a catastrophe big enough to lure even the mercenary Jarlaxle into risking his own coin and skin to stop it. Unfortunately, the more they uncover about the secret of Gauntlgrym, the more it looks like they can't stop it on their own. They'll need help, and from the last people they ever thought to fight alongside again: Drizzt and Bruenor.

Neverwinter

Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt 7: Neverwinter: Book 2

With the last of his trusted companions having fallen, Drizzt is alone--and free--for the first time in almost a hundred years. Guilt mingles with relief, leaving Drizzt uniquely vulnerable to the persuasions of his newest companion--Dahlia, a darkly alluring elf and the only other member of their party to survive the cataclysm at Mount Hotenow. But traveling with Dahlia is challenging in more ways than one. As the two companions seek revenge on the one responsible for leveling Neverwinter--and nearly Luskan as well--Drizzt finds his usual moral certainty swept away by her unconventional views. Forced to see the dark deeds that the common man may be driven to by circumstance, Drizzt begins to find himself on the wrong side of the law in an effort to protect those the law has failed. Making new enemies, as his old enemies acquire deadly allies, Drizzt and Dahlia quickly find themselves embroiled in battle--a state he's coming to enjoy a little too much.

Charon's Claw

Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt 7: Neverwinter: Book 3

In the 3rd book of the #4 New York Times best-selling Neverwinter Saga, Drizzt draws his swords once more to aid his friends. His lover, Dahlia Sin'felle, can speak of nothing but the moment she will face the Netherese lord Herzgo Alegni once again. Drizzt has already followed a trail of vengeance beside Dahlia. Can he justify one more battle to settle a grudge he does not understand? Artemis Entreri too seeks vengeance. He offers to aid Dahlia in her mission to destroy Alegni. But Charon's Claw, Alegni's sentient sword, dominates Entreri's movements--if not his mind. And then there's the way Entreri looks at Dahlia. Can Drizzt trust his old foe?

The Last Threshold

Forgotten Realms: The Legend of Drizzt 7: Neverwinter: Book 4

Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream

In the final book of the #4 New York Times best-selling Neverwinter Saga, Drizzt Do'Urden navigates a winding path littered with secrets and lies. Tangled up in his companion Dahlia's dark secrets, the ties that once held her close to Drizzt threaten to tear as her bonds to his former foe, Artemis Entreri, continue to grow. Meanwhile, in the caverns of Gauntlgrym, the drow Tiago Baenre enlists the help of Bregan D'aerthe in his quest to destroy Drizzt. While making promises they may not keep, the agents of the elite drow mercenary group hide plans of their own. Determined to stand for what's right in the Realms once again, Drizzt forges a new road north--toward Icewind Dale. Will his new companions follow? Can he fight the darkness alone? Either way, he knows now where he's headed--back to the only place that's ever felt like home.

Man of Many Minds

George Hanlon: Book 1

E. Everett Evans

GALAXY IN DANGER!

Somewhere, somehow, the first moves have been made--the pattern is beginning to emerge. Someone--or something--is on the way to supreme power over all the planets held by Man.

And the Interstellar Corps is helpless to meet the threat--no normal man can hope to penetrate the conspiracy.

But--the Corps has a man sho isn't normal, a man with a very strange weapon... his mind.

Exciting! Strange! Extraordinary! One of the most unusual science fiction adventures ever published.

Alien Minds

George Hanlon: Book 2

E. Everett Evans

The ability to read minds is a mixed blessing, so learns George Hanlon, Secret Operative of the Inter-Stellar Corps.

His unique gift helps him with his assignments, of course -- except that he has a lot of trouble with alien minds. He encounters a whole planet full of alien minds on Estrella when the semi-human inhabitants of this Earth-like world of another sun decide that they want nothing to do with the Federation Planets. Hanlon's investigation's lead him into complications and troubles, all of which contribute to the entertainment of this tale of intrigue on a distant world.

Holy Ground Trilogy: Book 2

Judith Moffett

Hefn aliens arrive on Earth in a multi-faceted exploration of human and alien relationships. By the author of The Ragged World.

Life Everlasting and Other Tales of Science, Fantasy and Horror

Hyperion Classics of Science Fiction: Book 10

David H. Keller

Contents:

Introduction (Life Everlasting and Other Tales of Science, Fantasy and Horror) - (1947) - essay by Sam Moskowitz
A Piece of Linoleum - (1933) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
Heredity - (1947) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
Life Everlasting - (1934) - novella by David H. Keller, M.D.
No More Tomorrows - (1932) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
The Boneless Horror - (1929) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
The Cerebral Library - [Taine - 7] - (1931) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
The Dead Woman - (1934) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
The Face in the Mirror - (1947) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
The Thing in the Cellar - (1932) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
The Thirty and One - [Tales from Cornwall - 4] - (1938) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.
Unto Us a Child is Born - (1933) - shortstory by David H. Keller, M.D.

Infinity Plus One

Infinity Plus: Book 1

Nick Gevers
Keith Brooke

Infinity Plus collects together stories from some of the leading names in speculative fiction. In 1997 the Infinity Plus website was launched at www.infinityplus.co.uk to showcase some of the best in SF, fantasy and horror fiction.

Table of Contents:

3 - Editors' Notes (Infinity Plus One) - essay by Keith Brooke and Nick Gevers
5 - Introduction (Infinity Plus One) - essay by Peter F. Hamilton
9 - Radio Waves - novelette by Michael Swanwick
31 - The Second Window - short story by Patrick O'Leary
35 - Lovestory - novelette by James Patrick Kelly
57 - Ghost Dancing with Manco Tupac - novelette by Jeff VanderMeer
83 - Home Time - novelette by Ian R. MacLeod
117 - A Spy in the Domain of Arnheim - novelette by Michael Bishop
133 - Memories of the Flying Ball Bike Shop - short story by Garry Kilworth
153 - Kitsune - short story by Mary Gentle
167 - God's Foot - short story by Tony Daniel
187 - Tomorrow Town - [The Diogenes Club] - novelette by Kim Newman
217 - Jack Neck and the Worrybird - novelette by Paul Di Filippo
237 - Old Soldiers - short story by Kit Reed
255 - The Lunatics - novelette by Kim Stanley Robinson

Infinity Plus Two

Infinity Plus: Book 2

Nick Gevers
Keith Brooke

Table of Contents:

7 - Introduction (Infinity Plus Two) - essay by John Clute
11 - Swiftly - novelette by Adam Roberts
53 - Faithful - short story by Ian McDonald
63 - The Witch's Child - short story by Lisa Goldstein
73 - Behold Now Behemoth - short story by Stephen Baxter
87 - Cheering for the Rockets - [Jerry Cornelius - 29] - short story by Michael Moorcock
101 - Emptiness - short story by Brian Stableford (trans. of Le Vide)
119 - The Genius Freaks - short story by Vonda N. McIntyre
139 - Bear Trap - novelette by Charles Stross
163 - Untitled 4 - short story by Paul Park
177 - The Rift - novelette by Paul J. McAuley
207 - Dark Calvary - [Tartarus - 8] - novelette by Eric Brown
237 - The Old Rugged Cross - novelette by Terry Bisson
261 - The Arcevoalo - novelette by Lucius Shepard

Demon Drums

Island Warrior: Book 1

Iuti Mano is a legend of her time. She is a fierce warrior whose energy has been drained by watching those around her suffer and die. Determined to regain her inner calm, she severs her bonds with Mano Niuhi, the honored shark that bestowed its magic and power on generations of her family. But even though she has slain her source of power, she is still plagued by the continuing war ravaging her land. A resident evil force that is increasing its power has disturbed her sabbatical on the uninhabited island she chose for its solitude. When a sorceress tries to steal her power and the mythical Demon Drummers stalk Iuti in order to crown her the Mother Drum, her quest for peace is disturbed. She must use her remaining power to defeat the dark magic that haunts the tranquility of her island paradise.

Storm Caller

Island Warrior: Book 2

Legendary island warrior Iuti Manu is seeking refuge from her murderous brothers across the Empty Sea. Accompanied by Tarawe, the Storm Caller, Iuti flees her brothers' revenge for destroying the family's totem, the shark god. But the sea does not live up to its name. On what is supposed to be an empty, wet wasteland is a distant island. On this island mirage, the earth is rumbling and the dolphins are battling the birds for possession of the air as well as the sea. The only inhabitants are bloodthirsty bird-worshippers who are searching for a fresh sacrifice. Iuti must battle her nemesis alone, but only when the Storm Caller has mastered the art of controlling the winds and water. Together they help repair the broken magic of the sea.

Sorcerous Sea

Island Warrior: Book 3

Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot

War is a distant memory on the island, and life should be returning to the former days of calm and abundance. Yet evil is spreading throughout the land, leaving disturbances and distress in its wake. People are reporting that they have seen strange sights out upon the water. Children are missing from the islands and also from the mainland, while hungry sharks in search of food swim closer to land than ever before. What is upsetting the delicate balance of the land and the sea? Iuti Mano, kinswoman of the sharks, is beginning to suspect that her violent history is catching up with her. She has killed the god of the sharks in order to free herself, but now, with her beloved children joining the ranks of the missing, she must fight to restore that which she had most wanted to slay...

Into Everywhere

Jackaroo: Book 2

Paul J. McAuley

The Jackaroo, those enigmatic aliens who claim to have come to help, gave humanity access to worlds littered with ruins and scraps of technology left by long-dead client races. But although people have found new uses for alien technology, that technology may have found its own uses for people. The dissolute scion of a powerful merchant family, and a woman living in seclusion with only her dog and her demons for company, have become infected by a copies of a powerful chunk of alien code. Driven to discover what it wants from them, they become caught up in a conflict between a policeman allied to the Jackaroo and the laminated brain of a scientific wizard, and a mystery that spans light years and centuries. Humanity is about to discover why the Jackaroo came to help us, and how that help is shaping the end of human history.

Fox Forever

Jenna Fox Chronicles: Book 3

Mary E. Pearson

Locke Jenkins has some catching up to do. After spending 260 years as a disembodied mind in a little black box, he has a perfect new body. But before he can move on with his unexpected new life, he'll have to return the Favor he accepted from the shadowy resistance group known as the Network.

Locke must infiltrate the home of a government official by gaining the trust of his daughter, seventeen-year-old Raine, and he soon finds himself pulled deep into the world of the resistance--and into Raine's life.

In Fox Forever, Mary E. Pearson brings the story she began in The Adoration of Jenna Fox and continued in The Fox Inheritance to a breathtaking conclusion as Locke discovers that being truly human requires much more than flesh and blood.

Every Breath You Take

Jensen Murphy, Ghost For Hire: Book 3

Chris Marie Green

Ever wonder what happens after you die? Well, as a ghost, Jensen Murphy could tell you--and the truth is much stranger than anything you could imagine...

I never accomplished much when I was alive. As an average eighties California beach bum, I, Jensen Murphy, didn't have any direction. But since I've joined Boo World, I've found a calling. Now, I'm a supernatural investigator, using my ghostly skills to spook confessions out of bad guys.

But being a paranormal PI is taking its toll. Spirits are hounding me for justice day and night, and, now, a ghost hunting TV show is digging up dirt on my unsavory demise that I'd rather keep buried. Worst of all, a seriously evil specter is making my afterlife hell by hurting the people and ghosts I care about. To stop him, I'll need assistance from a higher power--only the price I'll have to pay for that help could be my very soul...

Every Last Drop

Joe Pitt Casebooks: Book 4

Charlie Huston

It's like this: a series of bullet-riddled bad breaks has seen rogue Vampyre and terminal tough guy Joe Pitt go from PI for hire to Clan-connected enforcer to dead man walking in a New York minute. And after burning all his bridges, the only one left to cross leads to the Bronx, where Joe's brass knuckles and straight razor can't keep him from running afoul of a sadistic old bloodsucker with a bad bark and a worse bite. Even if every Clan in Manhattan is hollering for Joe's head on a stick, it's got to be better than trying to survive in the outer-borough wilderness.

So it's a no-brainer when Clan boss Dexter Predo comes looking to make a deal. All Joe has to do to win back breathing privileges on his old turf is infiltrate an upstart Clan whose plan to cure the Vyrus could expose the secret Vampyre world to mortal eyes and set off a panic-driven massacre. Not cool. But Joe's all over it. To save the Undead future, he just has to wade neck-deep through all the archenemies, former friends, and assorted heavy hitters he's crossed in the past. No sweat? Maybe not, but definitely more blood than he's ever seen or hungered for. And maybe even some tears-over the horror and heartbreaking truth about the evil men do no matter who or what they are.

Gateway to Never

John Grimes Saga: Book 6

A. Bertram Chandler

Number six in the collected adventures of the legendary John Grimes of the Galactic Rim series. Contains Chandler classic novels and collections:

The Gateway to Never
The Dark Dimensions
The Way Back

Pipe-smoking, action-loving spaceship commander Lieutenant John Grimes (think Captain Kirk with more of a navy, salty attitude) moves out of the Federation navy and finds his true calling adventuring along the spaceways of the galactic rim.

Kate and Cecelia: Book 1

Patricia C. Wrede
Caroline Stevermer

Two girls contend with sorcery in England's Regency age

Since they were children, cousins Kate and Cecelia have been inseparable. But in 1817, as they approach adulthood, their families force them to spend a summer apart. As Cecelia fights boredom in her small country town, Kate visits London to mingle with the brightest lights of English society.

At the initiation of a powerful magician into the Royal College of Wizards, Kate finds herself alone with a mysterious witch who offers her a sip from a chocolate pot. When Kate refuses the drink, the chocolate burns through her dress and the witch disappears. It seems that strange forces are convening to destroy a beloved wizard, and only Kate and Cecelia can stop the plot. But for two girls who have to contend with the pressures of choosing dresses and beaux for their debuts, deadly magic is only one of their concerns.

The Grand Tour

Kate and Cecelia: Book 2

Patricia C. Wrede
Caroline Stevermer

On their honeymoons, Kate and Cecelia confront a plot against Europe

Ocean voyages do not agree with wizards, and seasickness during the Channel crossing is the price Cecelia must pay for her budding magical skill. As her nausea ebbs, she is comforted by her new husband, James, and the knowledge that at long last they are on their honeymoon. In their company is Cecelia's cousin Kate, newly minted as the Marchioness of Schofield, and her husband Thomas. The shared journey guarantees the two couples a happy start to married life, if they can survive the perils of the Continent.

In Calais, a mysterious woman visits Cecelia with a package intended for Thomas's mother. Inside is an alabaster flask of noble manufacture, one of the royal artifacts that have been vanishing all over Europe as part of a magical plot against the French crown. This is no simple honeymoon: On their tour of Europe, Kate and Cecelia must save the monarchy from an emperor-in-exile named Napoleon.

The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After

Kate and Cecelia: Book 3

Patricia C. Wrede
Caroline Stevermer

Now married with children, Cecelia and Kate must face a threat to the wizarding world

It's been a decade since Kate and Cecelia foiled Napoleon's plot to reclaim the French crown. The cousins now have estates, children, and a place at the height of wizarding society. It is 1828, and though magic remains at the heart of the British Empire, a new power has begun to make itself felt across England: the steam engine. As iron tracks crisscross the countryside, the shaking of the locomotives begins to disrupt the workings of English magic, threatening the very foundations of the Empire.

A foreign wizard on a diplomatic mission to England vanishes, and the Prime Minister sends Cecelia's husband to investigate. In order to accompany her husband to the north of England, Cecelia leaves her children in Kate's care. As Cecelia and James fight for the future of magic, Kate is left with a no less daunting problem: how to care for a gaggle of disobedient, spell-casting tots.

Never

Lightbringer: Book 3

K. D. McEntire

The Lightbringer trilogy's dramatic conclusion!

The Never is on the brink of destruction by the Lady Walker. Wendy, shorn of her Light by the Reapers, must be the one to save it from the beasts between the worlds. Now no more powerful than an average spirit, Wendy reluctantly strikes a balance between Elise, the new Reaper matriarch, and Jane, a Reaper gone rogue. Torn between her duty to her friends, the Riders, and her duty as the Lightbringer, Wendy must rush to learn the secrets left behind.

She must make the ultimate sacrifice to bring the worlds into balance once more... even if it costs her very soul.

The Forever Knight

Lukien: Book 4

John Marco

Lukien is the Bronze Knight, beloved by his kingdom and renowned in battle throughout his world. After betraying his king and losing his beloved, he wishes only for death, but rather than die, Lukien is given a chance for redemption: to be the protector of the Inhumans--those fragile mortals who live deep in the desert, far from the prying eyes of their world. These remarkable individuals have been granted magical powers in exchange for the hardships and handicaps life has handed them. And Lukien, now immortal himself, must be their champion. But how can one man, even an immortal warrior, protect hundreds from a world of potential enemies?

The Forever Machine

Masters of Science Fiction: Book 26

Frank Riley
Mark Clifton

The government ordered it built: a thinking machine that could foresee catastrophe and eliminate human error. Research trainee Joe Carter sees another possibility--create a machine that will make ordinary people telepathic--and immortal.

This Galaxy Novel is available for free on the Internet Archives.

The Man Who Never Missed

Matador: Book 1

Steve Perry

Once a ruthless soldier, Emile Khadaji has disappeared from the Confederation-with a secret plan to destroy it all in the name of freedom.

The Fever Code

Maze Runner: Book 5

James Dashner

Book five in the blockbuster Maze Runner series that spawned a movie franchise and ushered in a worldwide phenomenon! Don't miss the highly-anticipated series conclusion that finally reveals the story of how Thomas and WICKED built the Maze. Also look for James Dashner's newest bestselling series--The Mortality Doctrine: The Eye of Minds, The Rule of Thoughts, and The Game of Lives!

Once there was a world's end.
The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled.
Then came a plague, and fever spread across the globe. Families died, violence reigned, and man killed man.
Next came WICKED, who were looking for an answer. And then they found the perfect boy.
The boy's name was Thomas, and Thomas built a maze.
Now there are secrets.
There are lies.
And there are loyalties history could never have foreseen.
This is the story of that boy, Thomas, and how he built a maze that only he could tear down.
All will be revealed.

The Maze Runner and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials are now major motion pictures featuring the star of MTV's Teen Wolf, Dylan O'Brien; Kaya Scodelario; Aml Ameen; Will Poulter; and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. The third movie, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, will hit screens in 2018.

Fever Season

Merovingen Nights: Book 3

C. J. Cherryh

In Angel with the Sword, Hugo Award-winning author C.J. Cherryh introduced readers to Merovingen. Once again, she has assembled a series of closely linked tales by herself and other top writers such as Lynn Abbey and Janet and Chris Morris that continue the wonder of Merovingen.

Table of Contents:

Fever Season - short story by C. J. Cherryh
Hearts and Minds - novelette by Chris Morris
Fever Season (reprised) - short fiction by C. J. Cherryh
A Plague on Your Houses - short fiction by Mercedes Lackey
Fever Season (reprised) [2] - short fiction by C. J. Cherryh
War of the Unseen Worlds - novelette by Leslie Fish
Fever Season (reprised) [3] - short fiction by C. J. Cherryh
Night Ride - novelette by Nancy Asire
Fever Season (reprised) [4] - short fiction by C. J. Cherryh
Life Assurance - novelette by Lynn Abbey
Fever Season (final reprise) - short fiction by C. J. Cherryh
Instant Karma - novelette by Janet Morris
Fever Season (song) - poem by Mercedes Lackey and C. J. Cherryh
Mist Thoughts (A Waltz with a Limp) - poem by Mercedes Lackey and C. J. Cherryh
Merovingian Songs: Partners - poem by Mercedes Lackey and C. J. Cherryh
Index of Isles and Buildings by Regions - essay by uncredited
Merovan Ecology - essay by uncredited

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Morrigan Crow: Book 1

Jessica Townsend

A breathtaking, enchanting new series by debut author Jessica Townsend, about a cursed girl who escapes death and finds herself in a magical world--but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart--an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests--or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

Fever Crumb

Mortal Engines Prequels: Book 1

Philip Reeve

A stunning, new novel by master storyteller Philip Reeve.

Fever Crumb is a girl who has been adopted and raised by Dr. Crumb, a member of the order of Engineers, where she serves as apprentice. In a time and place where women are not seen as reasonable creatures, Fever is an anomaly, the only female to serve in the order. Soon though, she must say goodbye to Dr. Crumb-nearly the only person she's ever known-to assist archeologist Kit Solent on a top-secret project. As her work begins, Fever is plagued by memories that are not her own and Kit seems to have a particular interest in finding out what they are. Fever has also been (cont'd)

singled out by city-dwellers who declare her part Scriven. The Scriveners, not human, ruled the city some years ago but were hunted down and killed in a victorious uprising by the people. If there are any remaining Scriven, they are to be eliminated. All Fever knows is what she's been told: that she is an orphan. Is Fever a Scriven? Whose memories does she hold? Is the mystery of Fever, adopted daughter of Dr. Crumb, the key to the secret that lies at the heart of London?

Neverness

Neverness Universe: Book 1

The universe of Neverness is intriguingly complex. filled with extraordinary beings. There are the Alaloi, who have chosen to return to the Neanderthal state ... the Order of Pilots which reworks the laws of time and physics to catapult its members through dense regions of 'thickspace' ... the Solid State Entity, a vast brain made up of moon-sized biocomputers... and the leldra, a legendary race of aliens that seeded the galaxy aeons ago with its DNA and so began the evolutionary cycle.

Against this rich backdrop unfolds the story of young, headstrong Mallory Ringess, a novitiate of the Order of Pilots. Against all odds he has penetrated the Solid State Entity - and made a stunning discovery. A discovery that could unlock the secret of immortality hidden among the Alaloi....

The Remembrancer's Tale

Neverness Universe: Book 3

What happens when a man tasked with developing perfect memory forgets the most important thing in the universe.

After a cataclysmic stellar war, peace has come to the trillion human beings who live on the Civilized Worlds. In Neverness, the City of Light, the pilots of the Order of Mystic Mathematicians resume their ancient quest to discover the real purpose of the human race. Crucial to their success will be a mastery of the One Memory, believed to hold the secret of how humanity might evolve.

Thomas Rane is the Order's Lord Remembrancer. He has become the teacher to a new generation of humans called the Asta Siluuna -- the star children -- and so has a crucial part to play in the development of the human race. But at the end of the war, his beloved -- the mysterious and beautiful Maria -- died.

Memory is strange, and Rane comes to believe that Maria might have survived the storm. Perhaps a memory virus left over from the war has robbed her of her identity and she wanders the streets of Neverness, lost and alone. Perhaps she's still out there, among the stars.

The Broken God

Neverness Universe 2: A Requiem for Homo Sapiens: Book 1

THE GOD PROGRAM IS UP AND RUNNING

Into its maze of colour-coded streets of ice a wild boy stumbles, starving, frostbitten and grieving, a spear in his hand: Danlo the Wild, a messenger from the deep past of man. Brought up far from Neverness by the Alaloi people, neanderthal cave-dwellers, Danlo alone of his tribe has survived a plague - because he Is not, as he thought, a misshapen neanderthal, but human, with immunity engineered Into his genes. He learns that the disease was created by the sinister Architects of the Universal Cybernetic Church. The Architects possess a cure which can save other Alaloi tribes. But the Architects have migrated to the region of space known as the Vild, and there they are killing stars.

All of civilization has converged on Neverness through the manifold of space travel. Beyond science, beyond decadence, sects and disciplines multiply there. Danlo, his mind shaped by primitive man, brings to Neverness a single long-lost memory that will challenge them all.

The Wild

Neverness Universe 2: A Requiem for Homo Sapiens: Book 2

A galactic search for the truth fires this magnificent epic of war and discovery on both a human and cosmic scale.

The Wild: a chaotic place where ten elite lightship pilots dared to venture. A place where one of those pilots, Danlo wi Soli Ringess, will learn the fate of his father. Did Mallory Ringess die during that first expedition to the Wild? Or did he become a god? Opinions vary, but Danlo's search is focused on one objective: the truth. It is a truth that will not only reveal his father's assassin, but could also lay bare the secret to a killer virus that only Danlo survived.

War in Heaven

Neverness Universe 2: A Requiem for Homo Sapiens: Book 3

A Devil in Every Dark Corner

RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON

Danlo wi Soli Ringess has returned from the Vild, the first lightship pilot to escape that hellish region of fractured space and deadly supernovas where giant computer-gods make war on each other.

But the Civilized Worlds face their own threat of war. A fanatical cult has seized the fabled city of Neverness and plans to take over the galaxy. Though the cult worships Danlo's long-lost father as a god, he casts his lot with its opponents--and is sent to Neverness to try to reason with its leaders. Instead he must fight to survive: against the warrior-poet who has vowed to take his life, the madman with a star-killing weapon and a grim ultimatum, the charismatic leader of the cult--once Danlo's greatest friend, now his fiercest enemy--and his own unbreakable vow never to harm a living thing.

A contemporary master of speculative fiction and incomparable world-building, David Zindell continues his monumental epic that sweeps us from the outer reaches of the galaxy to the inner depths of the human mind, a stirring cosmic drama of a man of peace torn between the implacable cosmic forces of divinity and destruction.

Nevernight

Nevernight: Book 1

Jay Kristoff

Nevernight is the first in an epic new fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author, Jay Kristoff.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father's failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father's former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, a sixteen year old Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic ? the Red Church. Treachery and trials await her with the Church's halls, and to fail is to die. But if she survives to initiation, Mia will be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the only thing she desires.

Revenge.

Godsgrave

Nevernight: Book 2

Jay Kristoff

In a land where three suns almost never set, a ruthless assassin continues her quest for vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church hierarchy think she's far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she's no closer to ending the men who destroyed her familia; in fact, she's told directly that Consul Scaeva is off limits. But after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia's suspicions about the Red Church's true motives begin to grow.

When it's announced that Scaeva will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end him. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between love and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.

Darkdawn

Nevernight: Book 3

Jay Kristoff

The greatest games in Godsgrave's history have ended with the most audacious murders in the history of the Itreyan Republic.

Mia Corvere, gladiatii, escaped slave and infamous assassin, is on the run. Pursued by Blades of the Red Church and soldiers of the Luminatii legion, she may never escape the City of Bridges and Bones alive. Her mentor Mercurio is now in the clutches of her enemies. Her own family wishes her dead. And her nemesis, Consul Julius Scaeva, stands but a breath from total dominance over the Republic.

But beneath the city, a dark secret awaits. Together with her lover Ashlinn, brother Jonnen and a mysterious benefactor returned from beyond the veil of death, she must undertake a perilous journey across the Republic, seeking the final answer to the riddle of her life. Truedark approaches. Night is falling on the Republic for perhaps the final time.

Can Mia survive in a world where even daylight must die?

Muse and Reverie

Newford: Book 18

Charles de Lint

From the master of contemporary urban fantasy, a new collection of "Newford" stories

The city of Newford could be any city in North America, bursting with music, commerce, art, love, hate, and, of course magic. Magic in the sidewalk cracks, myth at the foundations of its great buildings, enchantment in the spaces between its people.

In novels like Moonheart, Forests of the Heart, The Onion Girl, and The Mystery of Grace, and in a series of story collections, urban fantasy master Charles de Lint has explored that magic and those spaces, bringing to life a tapestry of people from all walks of life, each looking for a spark of the miraculous to shape their lives and transform their fate.

Here, in the fifth of the story collections, we reencounter old friends such as Jilly, Sophie, and the Crow Girls. We breathe in intimations of the world beyond death, and of magic beyond time. Longtime readers and newcomers alike will find themselves under Charles de Lint's unique spell.

The Stars Never Rise

Nina Kane: Book 1

Rachel Vincent

Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.

When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble.

To keep them both alive, Nina will need to put her trust in Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?

Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her.

The Flame Never Dies

Nina Kane: Book 2

Rachel Vincent

Nina Kane was born to be an exorcist. And since uncovering the horrifying truth--that the war against demons is far from over--seventeen-year-old Nina and her pregnant younger sister, Mellie, have been on the run, incinerating the remains of the demon horde as they go.

In the badlands, Nina, Mellie, and Finn, the fugitive and rogue exorcist who saved her life, find allies in a group of freedom fighters. They also face a new threat: Pandemonia, a city full of demons. But this fresh new hell is the least of Nina's worries. The well of souls ran dry more than a century ago, drained by the demons secretly living among humans, and without a donor soul, Mellie's child will die within hours of its birth.

Nina isn't about to let that happen... even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Forever Odd

Odd Thomas: Book 2

Dean Koontz

I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it. Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He's just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that's why he's won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope.

You're invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

Midnight Never Come

Onyx Court: Book 1

Marie Brennan

In hidden catacombs beneath London, a second Queen holds court: Invidiana, ruler of faerie England, and a dark mirror to the glory above. In the thirty years since Elizabeth ascended her throne, fae and mortal politics have become inextricably entwined, in secret alliances and ruthless betrayals whose existence is suspected only by a few.

Two courtiers, both struggling for royal favor, are about to uncover the secrets that lie behind these two thrones. When the faerie lady Lune is sent to monitor and manipulate Elizabeth's spymaster, Walsingham, her path crosses that of Michael Deven, a mortal gentleman and agent of Walsingham's. His discovery of the "hidden player" in English politics will test Lune's loyalty and Deven's courage alike. Will she betray her Queen for the sake of a world that is not hers? And can he survive in the alien and Machiavellian world of the fae? For only together will they be able to find the source of Invidiana's power -- find it, and break it . . . .

A breathtaking novel of intrigue and betrayal set in Elizabethan England; Midnight Never Come seamlessly weaves together history and the fantastic to dazzling effect.

Otherworldly Investigations: Book 1

Amanda Braun Boe

Thirty-two-year-old Imogen Abernathy is fed up with being a witch. And she's definitely had enough of her family's ghost and monster-hunting business, Otherworldly Investigations. But when her younger sister, Carmen, has an otherworldly mishap, Imogen has no choice but to return home to face her past and her deep mistrust of witchcraft. Drawn back into the world of magic, Imogen and Carmen begin investigating a series of grisly murders that may be linked to the mysterious Thistle Witch, a powerful entity with demonic abilities. As magical creatures flee from the Thistle Witch, the sisters realize that they have to tap into old and dangerous witchcraft if they have any hope of defeating this sinister threat. Can they find a way to protect themselves, their family, and the world of magic before the Thistle Witch unleashes her gruesome murder machine?

A Devil in Every Dark Corner is the first novel in the Otherworldly Investigations series, which follows Imogen and Carmen Abernathy as they try to aid clients with their paranormal and cryptid quandaries. Along the way, both sisters must also decide what exactly they want in the sometimes-messy world of witchcraft.

Fever Dream

Pendergast: Book 10

Lincoln Child
Douglas Preston

As he stalks his wife's traitors from Scotland to New York City, Special Agent Pendergast discovers layers of deception and conspiracy that will shatter everything he believed to be true.

Yesterday, Special Agent Pendergast still mourned the loss of his beloved wife, Helen, who died in a tragic accident in Africa twelve years ago

Today, he discovers she was murdered

Tomorrow, he will learn her most guarded secrets, leaving him to wonder: Who was the woman I married? Why was she murdered? And, above all... Who murdered her?

Revenge is not sweet: It is essential.

The Boy Who Waterskied to Forever

Quintana Roo

James Tiptree, Jr.

Hugo Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1982. The story is included in the collection Tales of the Quintana Roo (1986).

Staying Dead

Retrievers: Book 1

Manhattan's night life just got weirder...

It starts as a simple job -- but simple jobs, when you're dealing with the magical world, often end up anything but.

As a Retriever, Wren Valere specializes in finding things gone missing -- and then bringing them back, no questions asked. Normally her job is stimulating, challenging and only a little bit dangerous. But every once in a while...

Case in point: A cornerstone containing a spell is stolen and there's a magical complication. (Isn't there always?) Wren's unique abilities aren't enough to lay this particular case to rest, so she turns to some friends: a demon (minor), a mage who has lost his mind, and a few others, including Sergei, her business partner (and maybe a bit more?).

Sometimes what a woman has to do to get the job done is enough to give even Wren nightmares....

Curse The Dark

Retrievers: Book 2

Once more Wren Valere's game plan has taken an unexpected direction. She'd agreed to a bargain with one supersecret magic-watching outfit to protect her and her partner on their last job. But now the Silence is trying to wedge them apart.

On the one hand, ever since she and Sergei began to talk about their "relationship," things have been tricky. On the other, though... Well, no one better try to stand between Wren and Sergei when danger is near!

So now they are off to Italy in search of a missing artifact, without any information other than the fact that it's very old, very dangerous and everyone who gets too close disappears. Still, when compared with what's going on at home (lonejacks banding together, a jealous demon, tracking bugs needing fumigation, etc.) maybe disappearing wouldn't be so bad....

As if!

Bring It On

Retrievers: Book 3

Wren Valere used to have a simple life. Her partner Sergei would negotiate the terms of the Retrieval--all right, the theft--and she would use her magical Talent to carry it out. Paycheck deposited, on to the next job.

Now? Her relationship with Sergei is even more complicated (sex will do that). Her fellow lonejacks are trying to organize against the Mage's Council. The nonhuman population of Manhattan is getting fed up with being ignored and abused. And the Council? Well, they have an agenda of their own, and it's not one the lonejacks are going to like.

When it comes down to choosing sides, the first rule of the lonejack credo is "Don't get involved." But when friends are in danger, and the city you love is at risk, sometimes getting into the thick of things is all you can do....

Burning Bridges

Retrievers: Book 4

Wren Valere used to be almost invisible. But now she's not only being seen, she's getting involved.

Recent attacks against nonhuman Fatae have escalated into hate crimes against magic users in general--humans included. With the Mage Council distracted by internal power struggles, Wren is guilted into stepping up as spokesperson for the fragilely united Fatae and lonejack communities....

And, because the cosmos deems her without enough complications, her partner-lover Sergei is drowning in his own problems. But not only can't she help him--she's the cause.

With lives on the line--including her own--Wren's going to have to break the lonejack credo, ditch her long-cherished invisibility and take a stand.

But burning bridges can be deadly....

Free Fall

Retrievers: Book 5

The Cosa Nostradamus is in disarray; the Truce holding violence in check has been broken. Magical Manhattan is at war, and Wren Valere is left without her partner/lover Sergei, whose past loyalties keep him from her side just when she needs him the most.

Hoping to keep herself occupied, Wren takes a job-- but what should have been an ordinary Retrieval instead forces her to realize that it is time to do more. It is time for the Cosa to take the battle to the enemy.

But she'll do it her way. The Retrievers' way. Sneaky, smart--and with maximum damage possible. What was lost will be found, what was stolen will be Retrieved. And this war will be ended, once and for all.

Wren Valere always finishes the job. Always.

Blood from Stone

Retrievers: Book 6

The Brick Moon: from the papers of Captain Frederic Ingham

Wren Valere's job is driving her crazy. She's still Manhattan's most sought-after Retriever, but after last year's deadly confrontation with the Silence, all this magic-user wants is a break. With her apartment going co-op and her relationship with the demon P.B. putting stress on her romance with partner Sergei, is Wren finally ready to settle down to a more stable existence?

Not likely.

Because when you're good, trouble always finds you. Wren's next assignment puts her on the wrong side of a child-snatcher--and a collision course with her past. But to save a friend--and protect her future--Wren must pull off the most important Retrieval of her life... and for once magic isn't on her side.

Severed Souls

Richard and Kahlan: Book 3

Terry Goodkind

From the far reaches of the D'Haran Empire, Bishop Hannis Arc and the ancient Emperor Sulachan lead a vast horde of Shun-Tuk and other depraved "half-people" into the Empire's heart, raising an army of the dead in order to threaten the world of the living. Meanwhile, far from home, Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell must defend themselves and their followers from a series of terrifying threats, despite a magical sickness that depletes their strength and which, if not cured, will take their lives...sooner rather than later.

"Richard saw the point of a sword blade sticking out from between the man's shoulder blades. He spun back toward Richard after throwing the woman out of the opening, ready to attack. It seemed impossible, but the man looked unaffected by the blade that had impaled him through the chest.

It was then, in the weak light from the fire pit off to the side, that Richard got his first good look at the killer.

Three knives were buried up to their brass cross-guards in the man's chest. Only the handles were showing. Richard saw, too, the broken end of a sword blade jutting out from the center of the man's chest. The point of that same blade stuck out from the man's back.

Richard recognized the knife handles. All three were the style carried by the men of the First File.

He looked from those blades that should have killed the big man, up into his face. That was when he realized the true horror of the situation, and the reason for the unbearable stench of death."

From Terry Goodkind, author of the Sword of Truth series, comes a sweeping new novel of Richard Rahl, Kahlan Amnell, and their world.

Ron Miller Science Fiction Classics: Book 25

Edward Everett Hale

"The Brick Moon" is a short story by Edward Everett Hale, published serially in The Atlantic Monthly starting in 1869. It is a work of speculative fiction containing the first known depiction of an artificial satellite.

"The Brick Moon" is written as if it were a journal. It describes the construction and launch into orbit of a sphere, 200 ft. in diameter, built of bricks. It is intended as a navigational aid, but is accidentally launched with people aboard. They survive, and so the story also provides the first known fictional description of a space station.

Sam Gunn Forever

Sam Gunn: Book 2

Ben Bova

Sam Gunn has a nose for trouble, money and women--though not necessarily in that order. He's a hero without peer... or scruples; a man with the ego and stature of a Napoleon, the business acumen of a P.T. Barnum, and the raging hormones of a newly pubescent teenage boy. He's Sam Gunn, the finest astronaut NASA ever trained... and dumped.

But more than money, more than women, Sam Gunn loves justice! (Though he does dearly love women and money.) Whether he's suing the Pope, coming to the aid of voluptuous twin sisters in the "virtual sex" trade, or on trial for his life on charges of interplanetary genocide, you can be sure of one thing: this pint-sized space jockey will meet every challenge with a smile on his lips, an ace up his sleeve... and a blaster in his pocket!

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Aboard Torch Ship Hermes - shortfiction
Statement of the Rt. Hon. Jill McD. Meyers - shortfiction
Acts of God - (1995) - novella
Statement of Juanita Carlotta Maria Rivera y Molina - shortfiction
Sam's War - (1994) - novella
Statement of Lawrence V. Karsh - shortfiction
Nursery Sam - (1996) - novelette
Statement of Clark Griffith IV - shortfiction
Tourist Sam - (1998) - novella
Statement of Steven Achernar Wright - shortfiction
Sam and the Prudent Jurist - (1997) - novella
Afterword: Aboard Torch Ship Hermes - shortfiction

Daemons are Forever

Secret Histories: Book 2

Simon R. Green

The Drood family is all that stands between Humanity and all the forces of darkness. They were supposed to protect the world, but ended up ruling it. Eddie Drood discovered the lies at the heart of his family, and brought them down. For his sins, they put him in charge: to run the family, and to redeem it. Eddie feels the need to prove to the world that the Drood family is as strong as it ever was. So he decides to wipe out one of Humanity's greatest enemies, the soul eaters known as the Loathly Ones. But once started on this venture, he discovers that the Loathly Ones are just the forerunners of something far worse; the Many-Angled Ones, the Hungry Gods, descending from a higher dimension to consume every living thing in this world. Eddie Drood has got his work cut out for him...

Never Deal with a Dragon

Shadowrun: Secrets of Power: Book 1

Robert Charrette

The year is 2050. The power of magic and the creatures it brings have returned to the earth, and many of the ancient races have re-emerged. Elves, Orks, Mages, and lethal Dragons find a home in a world where mana, technology, and human flesh have melded into deadly urban predators. And the multinational mega-corporations that run the world hoard the only thing of real value--information.

For Sam Verner, living in the womb of the Renraku conglomerate was easy, until his sister disappeared and the façade of the corporate reality began to disintegrate. Now he wants out, but to "extract" himself he has to slide like a whisper through the deadly shadows the corporations cast, into a completely different world where his first wrong move may be his last... the world of Shadowrun.

Way of the Pilgrim

Shane Evert: Book 1

Gordon R. Dickson

Shane, a gifted linguist, has spent his life learning the language of the old and powerful alien race that has conquered Earth. He has learned it so well that the interstellar masters, old hands at enslaving planets, regard him as a valuable servant.

But Shane has a secret. One day, in a rebellious moment, he invented The Pilgrim: a mysterious figure who incites rebellion and vanishes unseen, leaving a distinctive icon behind him.

Now the human underground is preparing to rebel. Shane knows how hopeless their rebellion will be. He knows, as well, that he will be unable to keep himself from taking part.

Forever

Shiver Trilogy: Book 3

Maggie Stiefvater

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater.

Then.
When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love transformed from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

Now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be hunted in one final, spectacular kill.

Forever.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future will all collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

Unto Zeor, Forever

Sime/Gen: Book 6

Jacqueline Lichtenberg

In a time much like that of early twentieth-century Earth, Digen Farris, Head of the legendary House of Zeor and a Sime healer, goes into Gen Territory to become a doctor by Gen law. He falls in love with a Gen woman who is not at all what she seems. Ultimately, he must choose between his Sime heritage and his Gen love--a choice that will shape humanity's future destiny.

Thornwood

Sisters Ever After: Book 1

Leah Cypess

For years, Briony has lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Rosalin, and the curse that has haunted her from birth--that on the day of her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle and cause everyone in the castle to fall into a 100-year sleep. When the day the curse is set to fall over the kingdom finally arrives, nothing--not even Briony--can stop its evil magic.

You know the story.

But here's something you don't know. When Briony finally wakes up, it's up to her to find out what's really going on, and to save her family and friends from the murderous Thornwood. But who is going to listen to her? This is a story of sisterhood, of friendship, and of the ability of even little sisters to forge their own destiny. The first in a three-book series of fairy tale retellings, these are the stories of the siblings who never made it into the storybook.

Glass Slippers

Sisters Ever After: Book 2

Leah Cypess

Meet Cinderella's third "wicked" stepsister, Tirza. For years, Tirza has lived with the shame of what her family did to Cinderella. Against everyone's advice, Cinderella--now Queen Ella--took a chance on young Tirza. She gave Tirza a home in the castle instead of banishing her. The queen told everyone Tirza was good and kind, not cruel like her older sisters.

But now Queen Ella's famous glass slippers are missing, and there's only one suspect...

Tirza may have tried them on... but she didn't steal them. Now she must find the true thief before she loses her royal home. But as Tirza gets closer to the truth, she finds herself getting closer to something else: her sisters, who might not be quite as evil as Cinderella claims.

Dead Ever After

Sookie Stackhouse: Book 13

Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse has one last adventure in store.

Life has taken her from a waitress in Merlotte's Bar, Bon Temps, to part owner; from social outcast to the heart of her community; from a vampire's girlfriend to the wife of one of the most powerful vampires in the state.

She has survived explosions, revolutions and attempts on her life. Sookie has endured betrayal, heartbreak and grief... and she has emerged a little stronger, and little wiser, every time.

But with life comes new trials...

The question is, in the end: who will love, who will live, and who will be dead ever after?

Never the Same Door

Space Corporation: Book 1

John Rankine

A man does not step into the same river twice. He never goes through the same door.

To Kurt Yardley, this is amply borne out by the train of circumstance which follows the forced landing of his freighter Charib on the bleakly inhospitable plains of an unlisted planet. Life has evolved without a familiar organic base and is ready to defend itself against the encroachment of another species. Its very structure could bring unimaginable wealth to metal-hungry cultures and there are those on Charib who are prepared to sidestep the Inter Galactic Code of consideration for all forms of life in pursuit of personal gain.

Yardley, fighting for survival on two fronts, faces his personal moment of truth in a confrontation which takes him to the threshold of destruction. In Asia Vance, a blonde navigation executive, finds reason to make a new start in human relations which have previously gone badly for him. Commitment is giving hostages to fortune and, in the struggle for existence, puts a handicap weight on the sensitive. When he is finally brought to face a replay of an old situation, he cannot, by his own efforts, exorcise the ghosts of his past.

Speaking Dreams

Speaking Dreams: Book 1

A runaway slave sold into the service of troubled Emirate diplomat Mira LoDire, Costa, a female breeder, finds herself drawn to her reluctant mistress and discovers that her troubling visions may hold the key to defying ruthless Faraqui domination.

Hand of Prophecy

Speaking Dreams: Book 2

The Never-Ending Sacrifice

A galaxy whirls in conflict as tyrant slavers prepare to reclaim the frontier planets wrested from them generations ago. Living on one of the forfeited worlds they covet most is Frenna, bred for bondage and given a virus that guarantees two decades of youth for servitude, followed by an agonizing death. But then she learns an amazing secret: the end is not inevitable. There is an escape. An antidote. A cure.

Yet Frenna's escape is into an exotic, bloodswept world, a fierce arena where muscled slaves wage brutal battles for their masters' amusement. Frenna has become a medic: her job is to administer a mercifully quick end to the mortally wounded. But she still carries the secret of freedom. And as warships arrive in conquest, this last hope must survive in a murderous domain of monstrous holograms and irresistible deadly potions. In the final frenzy, sisters and lovers, killers and saviors, all will be swept together in a maelstrom of annihilation, survival and redemption.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Una McCormack

Continuing the post-television Deep Space Nine saga, this original novel shows the fall of the Cardassian empire as seen through the eyes of a young man with a foot in two worlds.

Rugal is an orphaned Cardassian who has been raised by the people his race once conquered, the Bajorans. Reluctantly repatriated to Cardassia as a teenager, Rugal becomes the living witness to the downfall of the proud people to whom he was born, first by the invading Klingons, then during the Cardassians' unholy pact with the Dominion--a partnership that culminated in a near-genocide. Through it all, Rugal's singular perspective illuminates the choices that brought the Cardassians to their ruin... even as he learns that the Cardassian soul is not as easy to understand as he imagined.

The Star to Every Wandering

Star Trek: The Original Series: Crucible: Book 3

David R. George III

In A Single Moment

...the lives of three men will be forever changed. In that split second, defined paradoxically by both salvation and loss, they will destroy the world and then restore it. Much had come before, and much would come after, but nothing would color their lives more than that one, isolated instant on the edge of forever.

In A Single Moment

...James T. Kirk, displaced in time, allows the love of his life to die in a traffic accident, thereby preserving Earth's history. Returning to the present, he continues a storied career as a starship captain, opening up the galaxy. But as he wanders among the stars, the incandescence that once filled his heart remains elusive.

In A Single Moment

...that haunts James T. Kirk throughout his life, he preserved the timeline at the cost of his happiness. Now, facing his own death, the very fabric of existence collapses across years and light-years, forcing him to race against -- and through -- time itself, until he comes full circle to that one bright star by which his life has always steered.

The City on the Edge of Forever

Star Trek: The Original Series: Episode Novelizations

Harlan Ellison

The original teleplay that became the classic Star Trek episode, with an expanded introductory essay by Harlan Ellison 'The City on the Edge of Forever' has been surrounded by controversy since the airing of an "eviscerated" version-which subsequently has been voted the most beloved episode in the series' history.

In its original form, 'The City on the Edge of Forever' won the 1966-67 Writers Guild of America Award for best teleplay. As aired, it won the 1967 Hugo Award (the only teleplay ever to do so!). 'The City on the Edge of Forever' is, at its most basic, a poignant love story. Ellison takes the reader on a breathtaking trip through space and time, from the future, all the way back to 1930s America. In this harrowing journey, Kirk and Spock race to apprehend a renegade criminal and restore the order of the universe. It is here that Kirk faces his ultimate dilemma: a choice between the universe-or his one true love.

This edition makes available this astonishing teleplay as Ellison intended it to be aired. The author's introductory essay (expanded by 15,000 words from the limited edition) reveals all of the details of what Ellison describes as a "fatally inept treatment" of his creative work. Was he unjustly edited, unjustly accused, and unjustly treated?

Lewis Carroll

Starmont Reader's Guide: Book 47

Beverly Lyon Clark

A now classic monograph on the Life, Work, and enduring Influence of Lewis Carroll.

Stars and Stripes Forever

Stars and Stripes: Book 1

Harry Harrison

On November 8, 1861, a U.S. navy warship stopped a British packet and seized two Confederate emissaries on their way to England to seek backing for their cause. England responded with rage, calling for a war of vengeance. The looming crisis was defused by the peace-minded Prince Albert. But imagine how Albert's absence during this critical moment might have changed everything. For lacking Albert's calm voice of reason, Britain now seizes the opportunity to attack and conquer a crippled, war-torn America.

Ulysses S. Grant is poised for an attack that could smash open the South's defenses. In Washington, Abraham Lincoln sees a first glimmer of hope that this bloody war might soon end. But then disaster strikes: English troops have invaded from Canada. With most of the Northern troops withdrawn to fight the new enemy, General William Tecumseh Sherman and his weakened army stand alone against the Confederates. Can a divided, bloodied America defeat England, or will the United States cease to exist for all time?

The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales: The Evolution of Modern Fantasy and Horror

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 8

Justin Everett
Jeffrey Shanks

When the pulp magazine Weird Tales appeared on newsstands in 1923, it proved to be a pivotal moment in the evolution of speculative fiction. Living up to its nickname, "The Unique Magazine," Weird Tales provided the first real venue for authors writing in the nascent genres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Weird fiction pioneers such as H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, Catherine L. Moore, and many others honed their craft in the pages of Weird Tales in the 1920s and 1930s, and their work had a tremendous influence on later generations of genre authors.

In The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales: The Evolution of Modern Fantasy and Horror, Justin Everett and Jeffrey Shanks have assembled an impressive collection of essays that explore many of the themes critical to understanding the importance of the magazine. This multi-disciplinary collection from a wide array of scholars looks at how Weird Tales served as a locus of genre formation and literary discourse community. There are also chapters devoted to individual authors--including Lovecraft, Howard, and Bloch--and their particular contributions to the magazine.

As the literary world was undergoing a revolution and mass-produced media began to dwarf high-brow literature in social significance, Weird Tales managed to straddle both worlds. This collection of essays explores the important role the magazine played in expanding the literary landscape at a very particular time and place in American culture. The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales will appeal to scholars and aficionados of fantasy, horror, and weird fiction and those interested in the early roots of these popular genres.

Table of Contents:

ix - Introduction: Weird Tales -- Discourse Community and Genre Nexus - essay by Jeffrey Shanks and Justin Everett [as by Justin Everett and Jeffrey H. Shanks]
3 - "Something That Swayed as If in Unison": The Artistic Authenticity of Weird Tales in the Interwar Periodical Culture of Modernism - essay by Jason Ray Carney
15 - Weird Modernism: Literary Modernism in the First Decade of Weird Tales - essay by Jonas Prida
29 - The Lovecraft Circle and the "Weird Class": "Against the Complacency of an Orthodox Sun-Dweller" - essay by Dániel Nyikos
51 - Strange Collaborations: Weird Tales's Discourse Community as a Site of Collaborative Writing - essay by Nicole Emmelhainz
63 - Gothic to Cosmic: Sword-and-Sorcery Fiction in Weird Tales - essay by Morgan Holmes [as by Morgan T. Holmes]
83 - A Nameless Horror: Madness and Metamorphosis in H. P. Lovecraft and Postmodernism - essay by Clancy Smith
105 - Great Phallic Monoliths: Lovecraft and Sexuality - essay by Bobby Derie
119 - Evolutionary Otherness: Anthropological Anxiety in Robert E. Howard's "Worms of the Earth" - essay by Jeffrey Shanks [as by Jeffrey H. Shanks]
131 - Eugenic Thought in the Works of Robert E. Howard - essay by Justin Everett
153 - Pegasus Unbridled: Clark Ashton Smith and the Ghettoization of the Fantastic - essay by Scott Connors
173 - "A Round Cipher": Word-Building and World-Building in the Weird Works of Clark Ashton Smith - essay by Geoffrey Reiter
187 - C. L. Moore, M. Brundage, and Jirel of Joiry: Women and Gender in the October 1934 Weird Tales - essay by Jonathan Helland
193 - Weird Tales, October 1934 (cover) - (1934) - interior artwork by Margaret Brundage (variant of cover art for Weird Tales, October 1934)
194 - The Black God's Kiss - (1934) - interior artwork by H. R. Hammond
201 - Psycho-ology 101: Incipient Madness in the Weird Tales of Robert Bloch - essay by Paul W. Shovlin
211 - "To Hell and Gone": Harold Lawlor's Self-Effacing Pulp Metafiction - essay by Sidney Sondergard

Nevermore

Supernatural: Book 1

Keith R. A. DeCandido

Twenty-two years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America...and he taught them how to kill it.

Sam and Dean have hit New York City to check out a local rocker's haunted house. But before they can figure out why a lovesick banshee in an '80s heavy-metal T-shirt is wailing in the bedroom, a far more macabre crime catches their attention. Not far from the house, two university students were beaten to death by a strange assailant. A murder that's bizarre even by New York City standards, it's the latest in a line of killings that the brothers soon suspect are based on the creepy stories of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe.

Their investigation leads them to the center of one of Poe's horror classics, face-to-face with their most terrifying foe yet. And if Sam and Dean don't rewrite the ending of this chilling tale, a grisly serial killer will end their lives forevermore.

The Dragon Queen

Tales of Guinevere: Book 1

Alice Borchardt

Born into a world of terrible strife, where war is constant and weapons are never far from the hands of men or women, Guinevere, daughter of a mighty pagan queen, is a threat to her people and a prize to the dreaded sorcerer Merlin. Sent into hiding, she grows up under the protection of a shapeshifting man-wolf and an ornery Druid. But even on the remote coast of Scotland, where dragons feed and watch over her, she is not safe from the all-seeing High Druid Merlin. He knows the young beauty's destiny, and he will stop at nothing to prevent what has been foretold. For if Guinevere becomes Queen and Arthur, King, they will bring a peace to the land that will leave the power-hungry Merlin a shriveled magician in a weary cloak.

Yet Guinevere possesses power of her own--dazzling power to rival even that of Merlin. Summoned from her home by forces she cannot fathom, she travels from the Underworld to an Otherworld of the Past, at each step calling on ancient powers to aid her way. When young Guinevere proves her mettle to an embarrassed Merlin, even her faithful dragon protectors cannot prevent the evil that the sorcerer rains down. Seeking revenge, Merlin banishes Arthur to a world from which the only escape is death. Now Guinevere must face Merlin's wrath without him--and prove that she is worthy of being Arthur's Queen.

The Raven Warrior

Tales of Guinevere: Book 2

Alice Borchardt

Born of the Highlands, along Pictish shores washed by the icy North Sea, Guinevere, Queen of the Dragon People, has become a woman. She has taken the power offered to her by the Dragon Throne. Now there is no turning back. In order to protect her beloved homeland from the obscene greed of the Saxon raiders, Guinevere knows she must launch an attack. The sub-chiefs refuse to fall in line with her plans (because what does this young thing, barely a woman, know of warfare?) and give her an army of the useless, the outcast, the weakest of their young boys and girls. But the war party must proceed. If it fails, the command of both land and sea will fall to the enemy.

Always Forever

The Age of Misrule: Book 3

Mark Chadbourn

The Eternal Conflict between the Light and Dark once again blackens the skies and blights the land. On one side stand the Tuatha de Danaan, golden-skinned and beautiful, filled with all the might of angels. On the other are the Fomorii, monstrous devils hell-bent on destroying all human existence. And in the middle are the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons, determined to use the strange power that binds them to the land in a last, desperate attempt to save the human race. Church, Ruth, Ryan, Laura and Shavi have joined forces with Tom, a hero from the mists of time, to wage a guerrilla war against the iron rule of the gods.

ALWAYS FOREVER is the stunning conclusion of a powerful fantasy saga by one of Britain's most acclaimed young writers.

The Everlasting Rose

The Belles: Book 2

Dhonielle Clayton

Camellia Beaureguard, the former favorite Belle, must race against time to find the ailing Princess Charlotte, who has disappeared without a trace. The evil queen Sophia's imperial forces will stop at nothing to keep Camille, her sister Edel, and her loyal guard, Rémy, from returning Charlotte to the palace and her rightful place as queen. With the help of an underground resistance movement called the Iron Ladies--a society that rejects beauty treatments entirely--and the backing of alternative newspaper the Spider's Web, Camille uses her powers, her connections, and her cunning to outwit her greatest nemesis, Sophia, and attempt to restore peace to Orléans. But enemies lurk in the most unexpected places, forcing Camille to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice to save her people.

The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949

The Best Science Fiction Stories: Book 1

The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1950

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Trends in Modern Science-Fiction - (1949) - essay by Melvin Korshak
Preface - (1949) - essay by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty
Mars Is Heaven! - (1948) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
Ex Machina - (1948) - novelette by Lewis Padgett
The Strange Case of John Kingman - (1948) - shortstory by Murray Leinster
Doughnut Jockey - (1948) - shortstory by Erik Fennel
Thang - (1948) - shortstory by Martin Gardner
Period Piece - (1948) - shortstory by J. J. Coupling
Knock - (1948) - shortstory by Fredric Brown
Genius - (1948) - novelette by Poul Anderson
And the Moon Be Still as Bright - (1948) - novelette by Ray Bradbury
No Connection - (1948) - shortstory by Isaac Asimov
In Hiding - (1948) - novelette by Wilmar H. Shiras
Happy Ending - (1948) - novelette by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore

The Best Science Fiction Stories: Book 2

The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1951

Table of Contents:

Sort of Introduction - (1950) - essay by Vincent Starrett
Preface - (1950) - essay by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty
Private Eye - (1949) - novelette by Lewis Padgett
Doomsday Deferred - (1949) - shortstory by Will F. Jenkins
The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast - (1949) - shortstory by Theodore Sturgeon
Eternity Lost - (1949) - novelette by Clifford D. Simak
Easter Eggs - (1949) - novelette by Robert S. Carr
Opening Doors - (1949) - novelette by Wilmar H. Shiras
Five Years in the Marmalade - (1949) - shortstory by Robert W. Krepps
Dwellers in Silence - (1948) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
Mouse - (1949) - shortstory by Fredric Brown
Refuge for Tonight - (1949) - novelette by Robert Moore Williams
The Life-Work of Professor Muntz - (1949) - shortstory by Murray Leinster
Flaw - (1949) - shortstory by John D. MacDonald
The Man - (1949) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
About the Authors - (1950) - essay by uncredited

The Best Science Fiction Stories: Book 3

The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1952

Table of Contents:

Introduction - (1951) - essay by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty
The Santa Claus Planet - (1951) - novelette by Frank M. Robinson
The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out - (1950) - shortstory by Reginald Bretnor
The Mindworm - (1950) - shortstory by C. M. Kornbluth
The Star Ducks - (1950) - shortstory by Bill Brown
Not to Be Opened- - (1950) - novelette by Roger Flint Young
Process - (1950) - shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
Forget-Me-Not - (1950) - novelette by William F. Temple
Contagion - (1950) - novelette by Katherine MacLean
Trespass! - (1950) - shortstory by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson
Oddy and Id - (1950) - shortstory by Alfred Bester
To Serve Man - (1950) - shortstory by Damon Knight
Summer Wear - (1950) - shortstory by L. Sprague de Camp
Born of Man and Woman - (1950) - shortstory by Richard Matheson
The Fox and the Forest - (1950) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
The Last Martian - (1950) - shortstory by Fredric Brown
The New Reality - (1950) - novelette by Charles L. Harness
Two Face - (1950) - shortstory by Frank Belknap Long
Coming Attraction - (1950) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber

The Best Science Fiction Stories: Book 4

The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1953

Table of Contents:

Introduction - (1952) - essay by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty
The Other Side - (1951) - shortstory by Walter Kubilius
Of Time and Third Avenue - (1951) - shortstory by Alfred Bester
The Marching Morons - (1951) - novelette by C. M. Kornbluth
A Peculiar People - (1951) - shortstory by Betsy Curtis
Extending the Holdings - (1951) - shortstory by David Grinnell
The Tourist Trade - (1951) - shortstory by Wilson Tucker
The Two Shadows - (1951) - novelette by William F. Temple
Balance - (1951) - shortstory by John Christopher
Brightness Falls from the Air - (1951) - shortstory by Idris Seabright
Witch War - (1951) - shortstory by Richard Matheson
At No Extra Cost - (1951) - shortstory by Peter Phillips
Nine-Finger Jack - (1951) - shortstory by Anthony Boucher
Appointment in Tomorrow - (1951) - novelette by Fritz Leiber
The Rats - (1951) - shortstory by Arthur Porges
Men of the Ten Books - (1951) - shortstory by Jack Vance
Generation of Noah - (1951) - shortstory by William Tenn
Dark Interlude - (1951) - shortstory by Fredric Brown and Mack Reynolds
The Pedestrian - (1951) - shortstory by Ray Bradbury
About the Authors (The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1952) - (1952) - essay by uncredited

The Best Science Fiction Stories: Book 5

T. E. Dikty
Everett F. Bleiler

Table of Contents:

Editors' Preface - (1953) - essay by T. E. Dikty and Everett F. Bleiler
Trematode, a Critique of Modern Science-Fiction - (1953) - essay by Alfred Bester
The Fly - (1952) - shortstory by Arthur Porges
Ararat - (1952) - novelette by Zenna Henderson
Counter-Transference - (1952) - novelette by William F. Temple
The Conqueror - (1952) - shortstory by Mark Clifton
Machine - (1952) - shortstory by John Jakes
The Middle of the Week After Next - (1952) - shortstory by Murray Leinster
The Dreamer - (1952) - shortstory by Alfred Coppel
The Moon Is Green - (1952) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
I Am Nothing - (1952) - shortstory by Eric Frank Russell
Command Performance - (1952) - novelette by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Survival - (1952) - novelette by John Wyndham
Game for Blondes - (1952) - shortstory by John D. MacDonald
The Girls from Earth - (1952) - novelette by Frank M. Robinson
Lover, When You're Near Me - (1952) - novelette by Richard Matheson
Fast Falls the Eventide - (1952) - shortstory by Eric Frank Russell
About the Authors (The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1953) - essay by uncredited

The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1954

The Best Science Fiction Stories: Book 6

The Best Paranormal Crime Stories Ever Told

Table of Contents:

Editors' Preface - essay by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty
Icon of the Imagination - essay by Fritz Leiber
DP! - (1953) - shortstory by Jack Vance
The Big Holiday - (1953) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
The Collectors - (1953) - shortstory by G. Gordon Dewey and Max Dancey
One in Three Hundred - (1953) - novelette by J. T. McIntosh
Wonder Child - (1953) - novelette by Joseph Shallit
Crucifixus Etiam - (1953) - shortstory by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
The Model of a Judge - (1953) - shortstory by William Morrison
The Last Day - (1953) - shortstory by Richard Matheson
Time Is the Traitor - (1953) - novelette by Alfred Bester
Lot - (1953) - novelette by Ward Moore
Yankee Exodus - (1953) - shortstory by Ruth M. Goldsmith
What Thin Partitions - (1953) - novelette by Mark Clifton and Alex Apostolides
A Bad Day for Sales - (1953) - shortstory by Fritz Leiber
About the Authors - essay by uncredited
Index, the Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1949- - essay by uncredited

The Best Stories Ever Told: Book 3

Martin H. Greenberg

Paranormal crime stories by bestselling fiction writers like Kelley Armstrong, Anne Perry, Simon R. Green, Patricia Briggs, and more. A massive, monumental volume of paranormal crime fiction by bestselling authors. Gripping tales of mayhem include both novellas and short stories like "Stalked," by Kelley Armstrong, "The Judgment" by worldwide bestselling author Anne Perry, "Appetite for Murder" by Simon R. Green, , "Road Dogs" by Norman Partridge, "The Hex Is In" by Mike Resnick, "Doppelgangster" by Laura Resnick, the chilling "If Vanity Doesn’t Kill Me" by Michael A. Stackpole, and many, many, more.

Contents:

ix - Introduction (The Best Paranormal Crime Stories Ever Told) - essay by John Helfers
1 - Appetite for Murder - [Nightside] - (2008) - short story by Simon R. Green
21 - Star of David - [Mercy Thompson Universe] - (2008) - novelette by Patricia Briggs (variant of The Star of David)
57 - If Vanity Doesn't Kill Me - [Trick Molloy] - (2009) - novelette by Michael A. Stackpole
83 - Grave-Robbed - [Vampire Files (P. N. Elrod)] - (2007) - novelette by P. N. Elrod
117 - The Judgment - (2004) - short story by Anne Perry
137 - The Angel of the Lord - [Uncle Abner] - (1911) - short story by Melville Davisson Post
157 - Special Surprise Guest Appearance by... - (2004) - short story by Carole Nelson Douglas
175 - Occupational Hazard - [Harry the Book] - (2007) - short story by Mike Resnick
189 - She's Not There - (2009) - short story by Steve Perry
213 - Hostile Takeover - [Haunted House & Nathan the Ghost] - (2007) - short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
241 - Doppelgangster - (2004) - short story by Laura Resnick
261 - The Necromancer's Apprentice - (2004) - short story by Lillian Stewart Carl
283 - The Night of Their Lives - (1995) - short story by Max Allan Collins
303 - Road Dogs - (2008) - novelette by Norman Partridge
349 - Ninja Rats on Harleys - (2009) - short story by Elizabeth Vaughan [as by Elizabeth A. Vaughan]
373 - Stalked - [Women of the Otherworld Short Fiction - 34] - (2007) - novelette by Kelley Armstrong
409 - Corpse Vision - [Faerie Justice] - (2009) - novelette by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
449 - The Unicorn Hunt - (2005) - novelette by Michelle West
491 - About the Authors (The Best Paranormal Crime Stories Ever Told) - essay by uncredited

The Battle of Evernight

The Bitterbynde: Book 3

Cecilia Dart-Thornton

Once upon a time the great Faeran high king, Angavar, became trapped in mortal Erith along with his twin brother - and nemesis - Morragan 'the Raven Prince', when the gate to the Faeran Realm was closed on them. . . Now, many centuries later, the fugitive who calls herself Tahquil has at last discovered the truth. She is being hunted down by the Raven Prince because she alone can reopen the gate to the Fair Realm, so Morragan plans to use her for his escape from exile. However, Tahquil's mind is still clouded by a potent spell called the Bitterbynde, and she is also dying from a mystical wasting disease. The cure, and the final answers to the mystery of her past, can only be found in Evernight - at the fortress of the Raven Prince himself. Nothing can prepare Tahquil for the horror that is Evernight. Here magic rules, the sun is banished -- and the Raven Prince's whims shape the very nature of existence. As Morragan's wights and Angavar's knights become locked in a battle that could engulf all of Erith, Tahquil's quest for the truth finally hinges on a desperate choice. If she opens the Gate, will she thereby save two worlds -- or instead destroy everything she holds dear?

The Severed Thread

The Bone Spindle: Book 2

Leslie Vedder

Fi has awakened the sleeping prince, but the battle for Andar is far from over. The Spindle Witch, the Witch Hunters, and Fi's own Butterfly Curse all stand between them and happily ever after.

Shane has her partner's back. But she's in for the fight of her life against Red, the right hand of the Spindle Witch who she's also, foolishly, hellbent on saving.

Briar Rose would do anything to restore his kingdom. But there's a darkness creeping inside him--a sinister bond to the Spindle Witch he can't escape.

All hopes of restoring Andar rest on deciphering a mysterious book code, finding the hidden city of the last Witches, and uncovering a secret lost for centuries--one that just might hold the key to the Spindle Witch's defeat. If they can all survive that long...

Everran's Bane

The Chronicles of Rihannar: Book 1

Sylvia Kelso

What does the dragon know?

The kingdom of Everran is dying, razed by a dragon that came out of nowhere to burn its oil groves and devastate its vineyards and kill its folk. Everran was safe, prosperous, and contented, with peaceful lords, a strong king, and beautiful queen. What has it ever done to earn a curse? But legend says a dragon's coming always has a cause. If no enemy has bespelled the country, is there something wrong in Everran itself? Despite its prosperity and its peace and its royal couple who have not yet had a child?

Soldiers cannot stop the dragon. There is no help in Everran's neighbors, and none in legend or history. Why has the dragon come? What does the dragon know? Answering its riddle will explain the ruin of a kingdom - and turn its ruler into something less than human but very much more than a man.

Lord Foul's Bane

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever: Book 1

Stephen R. Donaldson

He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternate world on which he suddenly found himself.

Yet the Land tempted him. He had been sick; now he seemed better than ever before. Through no fault of his own, he had been outcast, unclean, a pariah. Now he was regarded as a reincarnation of the Land's greatest hero--Berek Halfhand--armed with the mystic power of White Gold. That power alone could protect the Lords of the Land from the ancient evil of the Despiser, Lord Foul. Except that Covenant had no idea how to use that power....

The Illearth War

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever: Book 2

Stephen R. Donaldson

After scant days in his "real" world, Thomas Covenant finds himself again summoned to the Land. There, forty bitter years have passed, while Lord Foul, immortal enemy of the Land, moves to fulfill his prophecy of doom.

The Council of Lords find their spells useless, now that Foul the Despiser holds the Illearth Stone, ancient source of evil power. At last High Lord Elena turns in desperation to Covenant and the legendary white gold magic of his ring....

The Power that Preserves

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever: Book 3

Stephen R. Donaldson

Twice before Thomas Covenant had been summoned to the strange otherworld where magic worked. Twice before he had been forced to join with the Lords of Revelstone in their war against Lord Foul, the ancient enemy of the Land.

Now he was back--to a Land ravaged by the armies of Lord Foul. The Lords were besieged and helpless. No place was safe, and Foul's victory seemed certain. Only Covenant could avert it. Desperately and without hope, he set out to confront the might of the Enemy. Along with him traveled a Giant, a Bloodguard, and the madwoman he had wronged. And in Foul's Creche, Lord Foul grew in power with each new defeat for the Land....

The Man Who Never Was: The Collected Short Fiction, Volume Six

The Collected Short Fiction of R. A. Lafferty: Book 6

R. A. Lafferty

In a career that began in 1959 and continued until his death in 2002, R.A. Lafferty garnered the admiration of authors and editors including Robert A.W. Lowndes, Harlan Ellison, A.A. Attanasio, Gene Wolfe, Michael Swanwick and many, many others. His body of short fiction is comprised of well over 200 stories and, despite his vast popularity, there was never a concerted effort made to produce a comprehensive collection of his short fiction, until now.

Welcome once again to the sometimes nightmarish, occasionally hilarious, always fascinating universe created by the incomparable R. A. Lafferty. The stories in this sumptuous volume are some of Lafferty's finest -- taut and terrifying, yet pungent with his uniquely cynical tone.

He stares down mercilessly at a world gone quietly mad. "The Man Who Never Was" treads across the thin line between reality and illusion, thickening the haze that separates who we are from who we pretend to be. "Maleficent Morning" is about undoing the unthinkable, a masterful take on themes that range from the myth of Aladdin's Lamp to the curse of "The Monkey's Paw." Coursing between nightmare and waking, its folksiness makes it all the more jarring.

"Groaning Hinges of the World" is a dark fable about a world overtaken by depravity, more relevant now than ever. "Long Teeth" is a strange brew of grue, gore, and greed, a corrosive narrative about the cyclical effect of avarice. "Day of the Glacier" is a prescient, literally spine-chilling account of a climatic catastrophe fueled by paranoia and militarism. "Three Shadows of the Wolf" is a suspenseful, fanciful, and undeniably moody mystery about the hunt for an elusive and very intelligent werewolf.

This special Centipede Press edition is graced with a poignant introduction by Neil Gaiman, a combination valentine and tribute to his favorite writer that incorporates an incisive interview Gaiman conducted with Lafferty. "I like almost all my short stories," Lafferty declared. He undoubtedly loved the ones contained between these covers. Dig in, and savor one of fantasy literature's most ferociously imaginative authors.

Contents:

Introduction by Neil Gaiman
The Man Who Never Was
Something Rich and Strange
Maleficent Morning
What's the Name of That Town?
Tongues of the Matagorda
The End of Outward
Oh Tell Me Will It Freeze Tonight
Quiz Ship Loose
Horns on Their Heads
And Mad Undancing Bears
Groaning Hinges of the World
Long Teeth
Slow Tuesday Night
Rainbird
Brain Fever Season
Day of the Glacier
Three Shadows of the Wolf
Lord Torpedo, Lord Gyroscope
Or Little Ducks Each Day
Marsilia V
Afterword by John Pelan

Covenant

The Curburide Chronicles Series: Book 1

In a small town with a strange history of teen suicides, a group of five women have made a pact with a demon and must sacrifice their firstborn.

To the residents of the sleepy coastal town of Terrel, the cliffs of Terrel's Peak are a deadly place, an evil place where terrible things happen. Like a series of mysterious teen suicides over the years, all on the same date. Or other deaths, usually reported as accidents. Could it be a coincidence? Or is there more to it? Reporter Joe Kieran is determined to find the truth.

Kieran's search will lead him deep into the town's hidden past, a past filled with secrets and horror, and to the ruins of the old lighthouse atop the tragic cliffs. He will uncover rumors and whispered legends -- including the legend of the evil entity that lives and waits in the caves below Terrel's Peak...

Sacrifice

The Curburide Chronicles Series: Book 2

When Ariana, a dangerously insane woman who has dedicated her life to unleashing demons into the mortal world through many human sacrifices, gets close to completing her blood-drenched mission, three people join forces to stop the madness.

Redemption

The Curburide Chronicles Series: Book 3

One Little Room an Everywhere

The final chapter of the story of Joe Kieran and Alex and Ariana.

Alex hadn't really considered what would happen after she dragged Ariana through the portal in a desperate bid to close the gate between worlds. She hadn't given sacrificing herself a thought; she'd just wanted to end the demonic summoning before it was too late.

But when Alex wakes up on the other side, in the world of the Curburide, she has to think fast if she ever wants to see Joe Kieran, or Earth, again. Her only ally is an occult serial killer. Demons are searching for both of them, and there's nothing demons love more than human fear and pain. They feed on it. In the world of the Curburide, the demons are everywhere.

And they're hungry.

Never Fade

The Darkest Minds: Book 2

Alexandra Bracken

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children's League call Ruby 'Leader', but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children's League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America's children and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future and who now wouldn't recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

The Empire

K. J. Parker

This short story was originally published in Eclipse Online, October 22, 2012. It was collected in Academic Exercises (2014).

Read this story for free at Eclipse Online.

The Blood-Born Dragon

The Everlands Cycle: Book 1

J.C. Rycroft

A bond she didn't choose.
A love she can't escape.
A creature so powerful it bends the limits of time...

Smart, sassy, and sanguine, Des Mildue is a traveling sellsword in Rescalin, a dry and dusty kingdom full of rogues, opportunists, and thieves. She keeps her nose clean, brazens it out with a blade when she can't, and keeps others at arm's length where they can't mess up her plans.

That is, until a sword fight gone wrong leaves her tied by blood to the first dragon hatched in centuries. Suddenly, Des has to contend with a new voice in her head: haughty, willful Esquidamelion. Des wants to leave Squid by the roadside, but the blood bond has other ideas.

With half the world on their tail - including Liv, her beautiful, faithless ex who Des is definitely over - Des must search for answers for why so many are willing to kill, maim and torture to get their hands on Squid. But she's beginning to suspect her blood bond has tied her not only to a dragon, but to a fight for Rescalin's future...

...and no one else even knows it's at risk.

If you like the kind of story that grabs you by the shirtfront and hauls you through mystery, magic, adventure and betrayal, with a side of sapphic romance, pick up The Blood-Born Dragon...

The Timeless Legion

The Everlands Cycle: Book 2

J.C. Rycroft

A dragon stolen.
A love betrayed.
A legion lost to time...

Des is a mess.

The sellsword has been betrayed yet again by her ex-lover, and separated from her bonded dragon, Squid. And now she's been turfed out of her last sanctuary. Lost without her dragon, her only comfort lies at the bottom of a glass of ale. Or nine.

But as much as she might long for it, her death would only give the Emperor what he wants: the opportunity to bond with her dragon and use its power to become immortal. To mount a rescue, Des must cross a militarised border. When her oldest friend appears carrying permission to travel to Ascelin, she knows she'll do whatever it takes to get her dragon back - even play the man she couldn't marry.

In Ascelin, though, she finds everything she's ever held dear is at risk. The Emperor's avarice will no longer be satisfied with using the dragons' mastery of time only to avoid death, and he's turning to conquest. Des must save Squid, confront old mistakes and unravel the threads of time to find the secret at the heart of the world before the Emperor uses the force of history to wreak his will.

If you love the kind of story that draws you deep into magic, mystery, dragons, romance and betrayal, grab your copy of The Timeless Legion today!

Enchantress

The Evermen Saga: Book 1

After losing their parents in the last doomed uprising, two siblings will find themselves at the center of an epic struggle for power.

When Ella witnesses an enchanter saving her brother's life, she knows what she wants to be. But the elite Academy expects tuition fees and knowledge. Meanwhile her brother, Miro, dreams of becoming one of the world's finest swordsmen, wielding his nation's powerful enchanted weapons in defense of his homeland.

After Miro departs for war, the void he leaves in Ella's life is filled by a mysterious foreigner, Killian. But Killian has a secret, and Ella's actions will determine the fate of her brother, her homeland, and the world.

The Hidden Relic

The Evermen Saga: Book 2

With the fate of their homeland still in jeopardy, siblings Ella and Miro must face the Primate's evil as he discovers a new technique: a method to extract essence from human blood.

The Primate has been temporarily defeated, but his home was once inhabited by the Evermen, and their ancient secrets still remain. As the mysterious Evrin sets out to destroy everything he can, the Primate stumbles upon an ancient book that tells of a hidden relic with unfathomable power--and he will stop at nothing to find it.

Realizing the solution to defeating the Primate and saving the Empire is tied to the hidden relic, Ella, Miro, Killian, and the desert prince Ilathor must race to reach the relic before the Primate... or suffer disastrous consequences.

The Path of the Storm

The Evermen Saga: Book 3

Two years have passed since the war, yet without essence the Empire's economy has collapsed. Trade is at a standstill, famine sets in, and, with no food and no essence, the people begin to riot.

In the midst of the growing unrest, Miro struggles to balance his life with Amber against his resolve to keep threats to the Empire at bay. His sister, Ella, helps to build the machinery the Empire desperately needs, but she longs to find Killian and believes his powers will be needed in the conflict to come.

News of a wedding brings a much-needed ray of hope to the weary people. But as citizens and leaders gather from afar for the festivities, an evil threat shatters the fragile peace: one of the Evermen has returned. And he will not rest until he has completely destroyed the humans he despises.

The Lore of the Evermen

The Evermen Saga: Book 4

The Grisha Universe: The Grisha

The Lord of the Night is coming. The future of civilization is at stake.

Miro is in the Imperial capital to prepare the Empire for the onslaught. He knows his homeland lies directly in the enemy's path but struggles to form the alliances he needs.

As the high lords bicker, Ella seeks Killian's help. But, amid the growing tensions, their responsibilities drive them apart, as Killian can't be seen to favor Ella's homeland.

Against a backdrop of old hurts, guilty secrets, and shaky new allegiances, people of all nations and abilities must learn to trust one another again, and form a united front against a powerful enemy intent on destroying them once and for all.

The Summer Dragon

The Evertide: Book 1

Todd Lockwood

The debut novel from the acclaimed illustrator--a high fantasy adventure featuring dragons and deadly politics.

Maia and her family raise dragons for the political war machine. As she comes of age, she hopes for a dragon of her own to add to the stable of breeding parents. But the war goes badly, and the needs of the Dragonry dash her hopes. Her peaceful life is shattered when the Summer Dragon--one of the rare and mythical High Dragons--makes an appearance in her quiet valley. The Summer Dragon is an omen of change, but no one knows for certain what kind of change he augurs. Political factions vie to control the implied message, each to further their own agendas.

And so Maia is swept into an adventure that pits her against the deathless Horrors--thralls of the enemy--and a faceless creature drawn from her fears. In her fight to preserve everything she knows and loves, she uncovers secrets that challenge her understanding of her world and of herself.

The Forever Ship

The Fire Sermon: Book 3

Francesca Haig

Book Three in the critically acclaimed The Fire Sermon trilogy--The Hunger Games meets Cormac McCarthy's The Road in this richly imagined post-apocalyptic series by award-winning poet Francesca Haig.

The Evergreen Heir

The Five Crowns of Okrith: Book 4

A. K. Mulford

Neelo Emberspear, heir to the throne and realm, would never leave the library if they could help it. They certainly never asked for a kingdom or a husband to rule it with. But when their mother, the troubled queen, disastrously lights the castle on fire Neelo knows duty can be put off no longer.

No matter how charming everyone else finds fae warrior Talhan Catullus, this is not what Neelo chose.

Fighting to save their mother's life and throne, Neelo is astonished when the written word brings them closer than ever to their cavalier new fiancé. But a dark force is rising, which not only threatens their love, but the entire continent.

The Lies of the Ajungo

The Forever Desert: Book 1

Moses Ose Utomi

One boy's epic quest to bring water back to his city and save his mother's life. Prepare to enter the Forever Desert...

They say there is no water in the City of Lies. They say there are no heroes in the City of Lies. They say there are no friends beyond the City of Lies. But would you believe what they say in the City of Lies?

In the City of Lies, they cut out your tongue when you turn thirteen, to appease the terrifying Ajungo Empire and make sure it continues sending water. Tutu will be thirteen in three days, but his parched mother won't last that long. So Tutu goes to his oba and makes a deal: she provides water for his mother, and in exchange he will travel out into the desert and bring back water for the city. Thus begins Tutu's quest for the salvation of his mother, his city, and himself.

The Truth of the Aleke

The Forever Desert: Book 2

Moses Ose Utomi

An epic fable about truth, falsehood, and the shackles of history...

The Aleke is cruel. The Aleke is clever. The Aleke is coming.

500 years after the events of The Lies of the Ajungo, the City of Truth stands as the last remaining free city of the Forever Desert. A bastion of freedom and peace, the city has successfully weathered near-constant attacks from the Cult of Tutu, who have besieged it for three centuries, attempting to destroy its warriors and subjugate its people.

Seventeen-year-old Osi is a Junior Peacekeeper in the City. When the mysterious leader of the Cult, known only as the Aleke, commits a massacre in the capitol and steals the sacred God's Eyes, Osi steps forward to valiantly defend his home. For his bravery he is tasked with a tremendous responsibility?destroy the Cult of Tutu, bring back the God's Eyes, and discover the truth of the Aleke.

The Forever Sea

The Forever Sea: Book 1

Joshua Phillip Johnson

On the never-ending, miles-high expanse of prairie grasses known as the Forever Sea, Kindred Greyreach, hearthfire keeper and sailor aboard harvesting vessel The Errant, is just beginning to fit in with the crew of her new ship when she receives devastating news. Her grandmother--The Marchess, legendary captain and hearthfire keeper--has stepped from her vessel and disappeared into the sea.

But the note she leaves Kindred suggests this was not an act of suicide. Something waits in the depths, and the Marchess has set out to find it.

To follow in her grandmother's footsteps, Kindred must embroil herself in conflicts bigger than she could imagine: a water war simmering below the surface of two cultures; the politics of a mythic pirate city floating beyond the edges of safe seas; battles against beasts of the deep, driven to the brink of madness; and the elusive promise of a world below the waves.

Kindred finds that she will sacrifice almost everything--ship, crew, and a life sailing in the sun--to discover the truth of the darkness that waits below the Forever Sea.

The Endless Song

The Forever Sea: Book 2

Joshua Phillip Johnson

After setting fire to the Forever Sea and leaving the surface world behind, Kindred Greyreach dives below to find a Seafloor populated by roving bands of scavengers. Among them, Kindred discovers a familiar face working to save the Sea from the continued spread of the Greys and the ravages of the world above. But when Kindred finds herself at odds with a faction below the Sea, she and her friends will have to use every power available to them--including their link to the surface world--to forestall disaster.

Meanwhile, above, a boy named Flitch, son of the Baron of the Borders, finds himself caught in a dangerous political crisis as survivors from Arcadia and the Once-City arrive on the Mainland. As monsters from the depths of the Sea begin to surface near the Mainland's shores, Flitch must also navigate a crisis closer to home. As Flitch, his family, and their allies search for solutions, the truth they seek may lay hidden in old stories and long-held family secrets.

Above and below, Flitch and Kindred must work together to save themselves, their loved ones, and the Forever Sea itself.

The Girl From Everywhere

The Girl From Everywhere: Book 1

Heidi Heilig

Sixteen-year-old Nix Song is a time-traveller. She, her father and their crew of time refugees travel the world aboard The Temptation, a glorious pirate ship stuffed with treasures both typical and mythical. Old maps allow Nix and her father to navigate not just to distant lands, but distant times - although a map will only take you somewhere once. And Nix's father is only interested in one time, and one place: Honolulu 1868. A time before Nix was born, and her mother was alive. Something that puts Nix's existence rather dangerously in question...

Nix has grown used to her father's obsession, but only because she's convinced it can't work. But then a map falls into her father's lap that changes everything. And when Nix refuses to help, her father threatens to maroon Kashmir, her only friend (and perhaps, only love) in a time where Nix will never be able to find him. And if Nix has learned one thing, it's that losing the person you love is a torment that no one can withstand. Nix must work out what she wants, who she is, and where she really belongs before time runs out on her forever.

The Ship Beyond Time

The Girl From Everywhere: Book 2

Heidi Heilig

Nix has spent her whole life journeying to places both real and imagined aboard her time-traveling father's ship. And now it's finally time for her to take the helm. Her future lies bright before her -- until she learns that she is destined to lose the one she loves.

Desperate to change her fate, Nix sails her crew to a mythical utopia to meet another Navigator who promises to teach her how to manipulate time. But everything in this utopia is constantly changing, and nothing is what it seems. Not even her relationship with Kash: best friend, thief, charmer extraordinaire.

The Too-Clever Fox

Leigh Bardugo

In Ravka, just because you avoid one trap, it doesn't mean you'll escape the next. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo's upcoming novel, Siege and Storm, the second book in the Grisha Trilogy.

This story is included in the collection The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (2017).

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.

The Boy Who Would Live Forever

The Heechee Saga: Book 6

Frederik Pohl

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.

Life, the Universe and Everything

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Book 3

Douglas Adams

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads--so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the white killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.

They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler, who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vicepresident of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-head honcho of the Universe; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.

How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert "universal" Armageddon and save life as we know it--and don't know it!

Every Which Way But Dead

The Hollows: Book 3

Kim Harrison

There's no witch in Cincinnati tougher, sexier, or more screwed up than bounty hunter Rachel Morgan, who's already put her love life and her soul in dire jeopardy through her determined efforts to bring criminal night creatures to justice.

Between "runs," she has her hands full fending off the attentions of her blood-drinking partner, keeping a deadly secret from her backup, and resisting a hot new vamp suitor.

Rachel must also take a stand in the war that's raging in the city's underworld, since she helped put away its former vampire kingpin -- and made a deal with a powerful demon to do so that could cost her an eternity of pain, torment, and degradation.

And now her dark "master" is coming to collect his due.

Ever After

The Hollows: Book 11

Kim Harrison

Witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan needs to save the demonic realm of the Ever After in the eleventh entry in the New York Times bestselling Hollows series from supernatural adventure master Kim Harrison.

When Rachel sets off a chain of events that could lead to the end of the world - demonic and human - she must use her gifts to save those closest to her while preventing an apocalypse.

Satisfying and sexy, a visit to the Hollows will take readers on a wild journey that will capture their imagination. Fans of Charlaine Harris and Stephenie Meyer won't be able to resist Kim Harrison's alternative universe - urban fantasy Cincinnati complete with vampires, witches, and other enchanting creatures - where spine-tingling adventures and fast-paced action are the norm.

Everfree

The Idlewild Trilogy: Book 3

Nick Sagan

A small group of humans has survived the apocalyptic epidemic called Black Ep, a disease that ravaged the world and left them alone on Earth. Their conflicting ideas about how a new, much less populated planet ought to be governed, however, are a source of terrible strife. The early "post-humans" believed in The Doctrine: "The post-plague world is a collective. We're all in this together. Let's look out for each other, share the dirty work, give the needy what they need."

Inevitably, though, as more survivors are roused from their frozen sleep, there are those who disagree. People who remember power are waking up to a new world, and they do not intend to wait their turn....

You Will Never Be The Same

The Instrumentality of Mankind

Cordwainer Smith

Table of Contents:

No, No, Not Rogov! - (1959)
The Lady Who Sailed the Soul - (1960) - novelette by Cordwainer Smith and Genevieve Linebarger
Scanners Live in Vain - (1950)
The Game of Rat and Dragon - (1955)
The Burning of the Brain - (1958) -
Golden the Ship Was - Oh! Oh! Oh! - (1959) - shortstory by Cordwainer Smith and Genevieve Linebarger
Alpha Ralpha Boulevard - (1961)
Mark Elf - (1957)

The Liminal War

The Liminal People

Ayize Jama-Everett

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.

The Liminal People

The Liminal People: Book 1

Ayize Jama-Everett

Membership in the razor neck crew is for life. But when Taggert, who can heal and hurt with just a touch, receives a call from the past he is honor bound to try and help the woman he once loved try to find her daughter. Taggert realizes the girl has more power than even he can imagine and has to wrestle with the nature of his own skills, not to mention risking the wrath of his enigmatic master and perhaps even the gods, in order keep the girl safe. In the end, Taggert will have to delve into the depths of his heart and soul to survive. After all, what really matters is family.

The Entropy of Bones

The Liminal People: Book 3

Ayize Jama-Everett

Chabi doesn't realize her martial arts master may not be on the side of the gods. She does know he's changed her from being an almost invisible kid to one that anyone -- or at least anyone smart -- should pay attention to. But attention from the wrong people can mean more trouble than even she can handle. Chabi might be emotionally stunted. She might have no physical voice. She doesn't communicate well with words, but her body is poetry.

Union Forever

The Lost Regiment: Book 2

William R. Forstchen

Colonel Andrew Keane and his blue-coated soldiers were not the first humans time-space-warped to a world so familiar yet so foreign. Humans abounded on the perverse planet-humans treated like cattle by the alien warrior overlords. Keane's Civil War weaponry defeated the swords, spears and crossbows of his monstrous adversaries. And part of the human population was freed, but the other part became puppets of the overlords in a vast counterattack. Now it was human vs. human, gun vs. gun, ironclad against ironclad, as the empires of Roum and Cartha clashed in gut-wrenching, soul-stirring struggle for the future of a world beyond time.

Never Sound Retreat

The Lost Regiment: Book 6

William R. Forstchen

It has been 10 years since a group of American Civil War soldiers was swept away from the battlefields of Earth to a distant world - where the only place for a human is as a slave to an alien race. But even though they are far from home, the members of the Union 35th Main regiment still embody the radical ideas of democracy and freedom - and they're willing to lay down their lives rather than sound retreat!

The Greatest Story Ever Told

The Martian Quartet: Book 4

Una McCormack

New York Times' best-selling author Una McCormack delivers a breathless, stirring tale of bravery, love, passion, and the desire to be free, set against a strictly hierarchical Mars

Iss, a humble kitchen slave who likes to tell stories, finds herself caught up in perhaps the greatest story of them all. Little does she imagine when she stumbles on the small rebellion of Seffish, Crith, and the other dance-fighters she admires so much, how far that rebellion will spread. An ordinary soul caught up in extraordinary events, Iss soon finds herself at the heart of an uprising that threatens to overthrow the social order and reshape a world.

The Forest of Forever

The Minotaur Trilogy: Book 2

Thomas Burnett Swann

The Minotaur Trilogy was written out of order.

The Never Tilting World

The Never Tilting World: Book 1

Rin Chupeco

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon?until one sister's betrayal split their world in two. A Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in eternal night, the other scorched beneath an ever-burning sun.

While one sister rules the frozen fortress of Aranth, her twin rules the sand-locked Golden City?each with a daughter by their side. Now those young goddesses must set out on separate, equally dangerous journeys in hopes of healing their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

The Ever Cruel Kingdom

The Never Tilting World: Book 2

Rin Chupeco

After a treacherous journey and a life-shattering introduction to a twin neither knew she had, sisters Haidee and Odessa expected to emerge from the Great Abyss to a world set right. But though the planet is turning once again, the creatures of the abyss refuse to rest without another goddess's sacrifice.

To break the cycle, Haidee and Odessa need answers that lie beyond the seven gates of the underworld, within the Cruel Kingdom itself. The shadows of the underworld may hunger to tear them apart, but these two sisters are determined to heal their world--together.

The Suicide Exhibition

The Never War: Book 1

Justin Richards

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 Blood Red City

The Never War: Book 2

Justin Richards

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.

Santa Steps Out: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups

The Santa Claus Chronicles: Book 1

Robert Devereaux

"Visions far tastier than sugarplums dance in Santa's head tonight..."

His generosity is legendary. He has a devoted wife, a crack team of sky-borne reindeer, hordes of industrious elves, and the love of good little boys and girls around the globe. But what dark desire now propels him into the lascivious clutches of a certain fairy? And who was he before sleigh and workshop, in times forgotten?

She munches on molars, summons drowned sailors to her pleasure, and recalls, sharp as a pinprick, her life as the most savage of ash nymphs. Why then is she stuck, night after night, hovering above pillows to leave coins for gap-toothed brats? More important, how quickly can she captivate the jolly old elf to the north?

He's huge, fluffy, lonesome, and unbearably horny. On his Easter rounds, he contrives, as often as possible, to get a grip on himself and stare into interesting bedrooms. But who in the world will throw him down and ravage him as the lovers under his gaze ravage one another?

For the answers, unknot that bright red bow, tear off those wrappings, and enjoy!

Happily Ever After

The Selection

Kiera Cass

Meet Prince Maxon before he fell in love with America, and a girl named Amberly before she became queen. See the Selection through the eyes of a guard who watched his first love drift away and a girl who fell for a boy who wasn't the prince. This gorgeous collection features four novellas from the captivating world of Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series--two of which appear here in print for the first time--as well as exclusive, never-before-seen bonus content.

Table of Contents:

The Prince - (2014)
The Guard - (2014)
The Queen - (2015)
The Favorite - (2015)

The Several Minds

The Sixth Perception: Book 2

Dan Morgan

The growth of their powers had been quiet and steady and untroubled at first. Once the group's keystone was shaky--the brain of their central member contained two minds whose differences did not complement each other, but clashed brutally--perhaps, fatally for them all.

Everything Under Heaven

The Uncanny Dinosaurs

Anya Ow

This short story originally appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Issue 23, July-August 2018.

Read the full story for free at Uncanny.

And Seven Times Never Kill Man

Thousand Worlds

George R. R. Martin

Hugo Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, July 1975. The story can also be found in the anthology Heads to the Storm (1989), edited by Sandra Miesel and David Drake. It is included in the collections Songs of Stars and Shadows (1977), Nightflyers (1985) and GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003).

Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky: Book 1

Veronica Rossi

Fighting to survive in a ravaged world, a Dweller and a Savage form an unlikely alliance in New York Times bestselling author Veronica Rossi's "unforgettable dystopian masterpiece" (Examiner.com).

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive. A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption.

Through the Ever Night

Under the Never Sky: Book 2

Veronica Rossi

A world-defying love is put to the ultimate test in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling sequel to Veronica Rossi's "masterpiece," Under the Never Sky (Examiner.com ). In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, bestselling author Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

Into the Still Blue

Under the Never Sky: Book 3

Veronica Rossi

Worlds kept them apart. Destiny brought them together. Outside the dome of Reverie, Aria and Perry are struggling to keep their people from tearing each other apart. Their situation is desperate, and with the Aether storms worsening time is running out for them to rescue Cinder from Hess and Sable. Cinder is both the key to unlock the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, so Aria and Perry assemble an unlikely team to attempt a daring rescue mission. They know that in a dying world, the bond of friendship is what matters most.

A Touch of Fever

Warehouse 13: Book 1

Greg Cox

Hidden away in the Badlands of South Dakota, Warehouse 13 is a top-secret repository for historical artifacts imbued with dangerous supernatural properties. Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering are ever on the lookout for loose artifacts threatening to ruin the world's day. Their mission: Snag it, bag it, tag it.

Reports of a genuine psychic healer, along with a simultaneous epidemic of mysterious illnesses, lead Myka and Pete on a hazardous investigation that stretches from a carnival sideshow back to the bloody history of the Civil War. But when Pete is infected with a deadly disease, Myka and the rest of the team, including Artie Nielsen and Claudia Donovan, must track down a pair of cursed gloves before a madman unleashes a virulent plague upon America!

Archaon Everchosen

Warhammer: Archaon: Book 1

Rob Sanders

Archaon, the Everchosen was once a man, a devout servant of the warrior-god Sigmar. What could cause such a soul to fall to the worship of the Dark Gods? What dark events could have put a knight of the Empire on the path to becoming the harbinger of the world's end?

In the north of the world the forces of Chaos gather, awaiting their moment to strike. At their head is the Everchosen, the warrior who will lead the final, cataclysmic assault that will usher in the End Times and the reign of the Ruinous Powers. But he was not always thus - he was once a man, a devout servant of the warrior-god Sigmar. What could cause such a soul to fall to the worship of the Dark Gods? What dark events could have put a knight of the Empire on the path to becoming the harbinger of the world's end? And just who was the man who will become known to all as Archaon?

Every Heart a Doorway

Wayward Children: Book 1

Seanan McGuire

Tiptree and Hugo Award nominated novella.

Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things.

No matter the cost.

The Land You Never Leave

West of West: Book 2

Angus Watson

The David Gemmell Award-shortlisted author of Age of Iron returns with the second book in his epic West of West trilogy, in which a mismatched group of refugees must battle animals and monsters, an unforgiving land and each other as they cross a continent to fulfill a prophecy.

Welcome to the Badlands...

Newly and uneasily allied, two tribes from different worlds set off across the Ocean of Grass. Their mission is to fulfill a prophecy and take Ottar the Moaner west of west, to save mankind.

In their way are the denizens of the Badlands, the most terrifying and powerful collection of murderers and monsters the world has ever seen.

Evernight

Wild Cards Stories: Book 10

Victor Milán

Candace Sessou is known to be many things: the ace known as The Darkness, a skilled negotiator in the field of diplomacy, a refugee with neither home nor family after fleeing a war-torn Congo. When she hears that her brother Marcel also survived but is now on the run as a wanted terrorist, Candace tracks him to the Parisian underground... only to strike a deal with dangerous forces in order to save both their lives.

The City That Never Sleeps

Wild Cards Stories: Book 15

Walton Simons

"There's never a shortage of people other people want dead." Spector felt on familiar footing now that he saw the entire game.

All a hit man wants can be as simple as a bottle of bourbon and a time to dream, but when you're Spector, the work never ends, in Walton "Bud" Simons' Tor.com Original, The City That Never Sleeps.

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.

Berlin is Never Berlin

Wild Cards Stories: Book 18

Marko Kloos

For over 25 years, the Wild Cards universe has been entertaining readers with stories of superpowered people in an alternate history. "Berlin is Never Berlin" by Marko Kloos draws upon the seedier side of the city, beyond the dance club lights and all-night parties, as one bodyguard with a certain feline distinction goes on the prowl....

Khan only had one job: chauffeur and guard an American wealthy socialite and her friends. When his client Natalie Scuderi gets nabbed by the Georgian mafia, this joker-ace has no choice but to go underground and rescue her.

"Losing the man's daughter on the job would be a fatal black mark on his professional resume. Khan had never lost a client, and he wasn't about to start a habit."

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.

Winter's Orbit

Winter's Orbit: Book 1

Everina Maxwell

A famously disappointing minor royal and the Emperor's least favorite grandchild, Prince Kiem is summoned before the Emperor and commanded to renew the empire's bonds with its newest vassal planet. The prince must marry Count Jainan, the recent widower of another royal prince of the empire.

But Jainan suspects his late husband's death was no accident. And Prince Kiem discovers Jainan is a suspect himself. But broken bonds between the Empire and its vassal planets leaves the entire empire vulnerable, so together they must prove that their union is strong while uncovering a possible conspiracy.

Their successful marriage will align conflicting worlds.

Their failure will be the end of the empire.

Ocean's Echo

Winter's Orbit: Book 2

Everina Maxwell

Rich socialite, inveterate flirt, and walking disaster Tennalhin Halkana can read minds. Tennal, like all neuromodified "readers," is a security threat on his own. But when controlled, readers are a rare asset. Not only can they read minds, but they can navigate chaotic space, the maelstroms surrounding the gateway to the wider universe.

Conscripted into the military under dubious circumstances, Tennal is placed into the care of Lieutenant Surit Yeni, a duty-bound soldier, principled leader, and the son of a notorious traitor general. Whereas Tennal can read minds, Surit can influence them. Like all other neuromodified "architects," he can impose his will onto others, and he's under orders to control Tennal by merging their minds.

Surit accepted a suspicious promotion-track request out of desperation, but he refuses to go through with his illegal orders to sync and control an unconsenting Tennal. So they lie: They fake a sync bond and plan Tennal's escape.

Their best chance arrives with a salvage-retrieval mission into chaotic space?to the very neuromodifcation lab that Surit's traitor mother destroyed twenty years ago. And among the rubble is a treasure both terrible and unimaginably powerful, one that upends a decades-old power struggle, and begins a war.

Tennal and Surit can no longer abandon their unit or their world. The only way to avoid life under full military control is to complete the very sync they've been faking.

Can two unwilling weapons of war bring about peace?

Esrever Doom

Xanth Series: Book 37

Piers Anthony

Piers Anthony's 37th adventure in Xanth changes the Mood to one of Doom!

Kody woke up in a hospital bed, not knowing how he got there. Before his questions could be answered, he was told that he was about to undergo surgery, and that there could be some side effects.... And then he woke up again, this time in Xanth.

Kody is the only person in Xanth who has not been affected by a dreadful spell that reverses how people see each other. What was adorable is now loathsome. What was ugly is now beautiful. What was loved is now hated. Kody has clearly arrived just in time! Only he has any hope of reversing the spell, turning Esrever Doom into Reverse Mood.

Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952

Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: Book 1

Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953

Table of Contents:

Introduction (Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952) - essay by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty
Izzard and the Membrane - (1951) - novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
...And Then There Were None - (1951) - novella by Eric Frank Russell
Flight to Forever - (1950) - novella by Poul Anderson
The Hunting Season - (1951) - novella by Frank M. Robinson
Seeker of the Sphinx - (1951) - novella by Arthur C. Clarke (variant of The Road to the Sea)

Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: Book 2

Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954

Table of Contents:

Introduction (Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953) - (1953) - essay by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty
Firewater - (1952) - novella by William Tenn
Category Phoenix - (1952) - novella by Lyle G. Boyd and William C. Boyd [as by Boyd Ellanby]
Surface Tension - [Pantropy] - (1952) - novelette by James Blish
The Gadget Had a Ghost - (1952) - novelette by Murray Leinster
Conditionally Human - (1952) - novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: Book 3