Humanity is split into a dying physical world for the poor and an extravagant virtual world for the wealthy. Years ago, Skylar Cruz crossed over to the App World for a chance at a better life, and her family stayed behind in the Real World. Now Skye is a virtual teenager, surrounded by glamorous...  more

Humanity is split into a dying physical world for the poor and an extravagant virtual world for the wealthy. Years ago, Skylar Cruz crossed over to the App World for a chance at a better life, and her family stayed behind in the Real World. Now Skye is a virtual teenager, surrounded by glamorous apps and expensive downloads—yet she’s never felt like she fits in, and all she wants is to see her mother and sister again. Skye is desperate and ready to risk everything to unplug from the App World. But she soon learns that the only person she can trust—in either world, including friends and family—is herself.

Halfling Tildi Summerbee leads a typical, unexciting life, tending house while her brothers manage the family farm... until a thraik attack decimates her family. In an effort to provide for Tildi, the town's leaders prepare an arranged marriage and take control of her assets. After all,...  more

Halfling Tildi Summerbee leads a typical, unexciting life, tending house while her brothers manage the family farm... until a thraik attack decimates her family. In an effort to provide for Tildi, the town's leaders prepare an arranged marriage and take control of her assets. After all, a female halfling in incapable of handling such things on her own. Tildi see matters differently. Assuming the guise of her brother Teldo, Tildi disappears. She plans to accept Teldo's position as an apprentice to a great wizard. But fantastic dangers lurk around every corner, and the education she is about to receive might be more than she bargained for. An Unexpected Apprentice is a quest for discovery in a marvelous world of magic and danger where prejudices are not unlike those in our very own.

Las Vegas bar owner Trixa Iktomi deals in information. And in a city where unholy creatures roam the neon night, information can mean life or death. Not that she has anything personal against demons. They can be sexy as hell, and they're great for getting the latest gossip. But they also...  more

Las Vegas bar owner Trixa Iktomi deals in information. And in a city where unholy creatures roam the neon night, information can mean life or death. Not that she has anything personal against demons. They can be sexy as hell, and they're great for getting the latest gossip. But they also steal human souls and thrive on chaos. So occasionally Trixa and her friends have to teach them some manners. When Trixa learns of a powerful artifact known as the Light of Life, she knows she's hit the jackpot. Both sides --  angel and demon -- would give anything for it. But first she has to find it. And as Heaven and Hell ready for an apocalyptic throwdown, Trixa must decide where her true loyalty lies -- and what she’s ready to fight for. Because in her world, if you line up on the wrong side, you pay with more than your life...

Night after night, Gil found herself dreaming of an impossible city where alien horrors swarmed from underground lairs of darkness to destroy mankind and all the works of men. But when the wizard Ingold Inglorion crossed the Void to ask sanctuary for the last Prince of Dar, she learned her...  more

Night after night, Gil found herself dreaming of an impossible city where alien horrors swarmed from underground lairs of darkness to destroy mankind and all the works of men. But when the wizard Ingold Inglorion crossed the Void to ask sanctuary for the last Prince of Dar, she learned her dreams had been true visions of a strange reality. On Ingold's world, the monstrous Dark had been mere legends for 3,000 years. But now, for unknown reasons, they were ravening savagely across the land, and therre was no escape from their foul powers and insatiable hungers. Attempting to help Ingold, Gil and Rudy, a young drifter, were drawn into the nightmare world of the Dark. There they had to remain -- unless they could solve the mystery of the Dark. Then, before they could realize their fate, the Dark struck!

Captain Vidarian Rulorat's great-grandfather gave up an imperial commission to commit social catastrophe by marrying a fire priestess. For love, he unwittingly doomed his family to generations of a rare genetic disease that follows families who cross elemental boundaries. Now Vidarian, the...  more

Captain Vidarian Rulorat's great-grandfather gave up an imperial commission to commit social catastrophe by marrying a fire priestess. For love, he unwittingly doomed his family to generations of a rare genetic disease that follows families who cross elemental boundaries. Now Vidarian, the last surviving member of the Rulorat family, struggles to uphold his family legacy, and finds himself chained to a task as a result of the bride price his great-grandfather paid: The priestess Endera has called upon Vidarian to fulfill his family's obligation by transporting a young fire priestess named Ariadel to a water temple far to the south, through dangerous pirate-controlled territory. Vidarian finds himself at the intersection not only of the world's most volatile elements, but of the ancient and alien powers that lurk between them...

Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called "the touch." (Comes in handy when you're traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.) Then her dad turns up dead, but still walking, and Dru knows she's next. Even worse,...  more

Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called "the touch." (Comes in handy when you're traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.) Then her dad turns up dead, but still walking, and Dru knows she's next. Even worse, she's got two guys hungry for her affections, and they're not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever -- or whoever -- is hunting her?

A woman of perfect beauty is too big for perfect grace as a ballerina; she will never be more than an understudy. Stardance is the story of one such, one with the body of Venus di Milo and a talent greater than Pavlova's. But if there is an answer, genius will find it; Shara Drummond goes to...  more

A woman of perfect beauty is too big for perfect grace as a ballerina; she will never be more than an understudy. Stardance is the story of one such, one with the body of Venus di Milo and a talent greater than Pavlova's. But if there is an answer, genius will find it; Shara Drummond goes to Space, where her life is devoted to creating a weightless art form that is to Dance as three dimensions are to two. Then the aliens arrive, beings of pure light who dance forever between the stars. And so it falls to Shara Drummond to prove that the human race is...human. By her Stardance. 

Moonfall, the picturesque community nestled in the mountains of Southern California, is a quaint hamlet of antique stores and craft shops run by the dedicated nuns of St. Gertrude's Home for Girls. As autumn fills the air, the townspeople prepare for the festive Halloween Haunt, Moonfall's most...  more

Moonfall, the picturesque community nestled in the mountains of Southern California, is a quaint hamlet of antique stores and craft shops run by the dedicated nuns of St. Gertrude's Home for Girls. As autumn fills the air, the townspeople prepare for the festive Halloween Haunt, Moonfall's most popular tourist attraction. Even a series of unsolved deaths over the years hasn't dimmed Moonfall's renown. Maybe because anyone who knew anything about them has disappeared. Now, Sara Hawthorne returns to her hometown...and enters the hallowed halls of St. Gertrude's where, twelve years before, another woman died a horrible death. In Sara's old room, distant voices echo in the dark and the tormented cries of children shatter the moon-kissed night. But that's just the beginning. For Sara Hawthorne is about to uncover St. Gertrude's hellish secret...a secret she'll carry with her to the grave... "Tamara Thorne has become one of those must-read horror writers." --Horror World Acclaim For Tamara Thorne's Haunted "...a wonderful, terrifying book...a worthy successor to The Shining and Ghost Story."--Nancy Holder, New York Times bestselling author "Don't read it if you have something else to do...it just might have to wait." --After Hours "Combines eerie eroticism with page-turning terror." --Pasadena Weekly

This novel of a young servant girl who finds the warrior within herself--and radically alters the peaceful-but-oppressive world in which she lives--is the final volume in Elizabeth Lynn's World Fantasy Award-winning trilogy."A marvelous blend of fantasy and realism." --Marion Zimmer...  more

This novel of a young servant girl who finds the warrior within herself--and radically alters the peaceful-but-oppressive world in which she lives--is the final volume in Elizabeth Lynn's World Fantasy Award-winning trilogy."A marvelous blend of fantasy and realism." --Marion Zimmer Bradley"Astonishing." --Theodore Sturgeon"A fine ear for the right word and a fine eye for action." --Vonda McIntyre"Unusual, powerful and beautiful." --John Varley"A book of depth and vigor and surprises." --Robert Silverberg"Her women have dignity and strength." --Marge Piercy"An adventure story for humanists and feminists." --Joanna Russ

Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile kingdoms. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire -- a...  more

Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile kingdoms. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire -- a dangerous gift for the future queen of a land where magic is forbidden. Now Denna has to learn the ways of her new kingdom while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses before her coronation -- and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine, sister of her betrothed. When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two work together, they discover there is more to one another than they thought -- and soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more. But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms -- and each other.

“A dead-serious thriller (with a funny bone)” (The New York Times Book Review), from the author of the New York Times bestselling Spellman Files series, comes the story of a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past. Forty-eight...  more

“A dead-serious thriller (with a funny bone)” (The New York Times Book Review), from the author of the New York Times bestselling Spellman Files series, comes the story of a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past. Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It’s not the first time. She meets Blue, a female bartender who recognizes the hunted look in a fugitive’s eyes and offers her a place to stay. With dwindling choices, Tanya-now-Amelia accepts. An uneasyâۥand dangerousâۥalliance is born. It’s almost impossible to live off the grid in the twenty-first century, but Amelia-now-Debra and Blue have the courage, the ingenuity, and the desperation, to try. Hopscotching from city to city, Debra especially is chased by a very dark secret. From heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, we are left to wonder…can she possibly outrun her past? The Passenger’s white-knuckled plot and unforeseeable twists make one thing for certain: the ride will leave you breathless. “When the answers finally come, they are juicy, complex, and unexpected. The satisfying conclusion will leave readers rethinking everything and immediately turning back to the first page to start again. Psychological suspense lovers will tear through this thriller” (Library Journal, starred review).

Deadly awakeningWhen robotics expert Megan O'Flannery is offered the chance to direct MindSim's cutting-edge program to develop a self-aware android, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project is trouble plagued--the third prototype "killed" itself, and the RS-4 is unstable. Megan will...  more

Deadly awakeningWhen robotics expert Megan O'Flannery is offered the chance to direct MindSim's cutting-edge program to develop a self-aware android, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project is trouble plagued--the third prototype "killed" itself, and the RS-4 is unstable. Megan will descend into MindSim's underground research lab in the Nevada desert, where she will be the sole human in contact with the RS-4, dubbed Aris. Programmed as part of a top-secret defense project, the awakening Aris quickly proves to be deviously resourceful and basically uncontrollable. When Megan enlists the help of Raj Sundaram, the quirky, internationally renowned robotics genius, the android develops a jealous hostility toward Raj--and a fixation on Megan. But soon she comes to realize that Raj may be an even greater danger--and that her life may depend on the choice she makes between the man she wants to trust and the android she created.From the Paperback edition.

A brain orbiting the earth in a capsule, its human body gone, its onetime body. A novel written from the point of view of the brain told in the 3rd person close up — too close for comfort. A brain that has been surgically divorced and lifted out of that body that had been...  more

A brain orbiting the earth in a capsule, its human body gone, its onetime body. A novel written from the point of view of the brain told in the 3rd person close up — too close for comfort. A brain that has been surgically divorced and lifted out of that body that had been terminally ill, we will learn — an engineer who had been suffering from radiation and had agreed to be used in a solar experiment — though he is perhaps of hardly more than passing concern in a tale whose growing is here and now under light which is alive in a capsule with green growing things . A solar energy experiment that changes unexpectedly.  A brain hooked up to instruments and nutrients in a space capsule, monitoring its physiological self, transmitting information along the Concentration Loop to scientists on Earth, whom it knows only by sound as the Good Voice, the Acrid Voice. Groping for words, memory, links, a grasp of what is happening to it, the brain, this stunned thing, begins to go beyond its assigned functions. It becomes more than IMP, a NASA acronym for Interplanetary Monitoring Platform. It is ImpPlus. Awakening, always awake, growing, we learn, not only as it relearns words and itself, fragments of memories from its terrestrial life and other data rich and fascinating, but growing a strange new body. When it develops an autonomous intellect and affective life and cuts itself off from ground control in the unraveling drama of this growth, what can be its fate in collaboration with the sun and still more than the sun?

"Do you like war games? Can you believe playing pieces might come alive? ASdventure is the keynote offered in this scientific fantasy where the imaginery becomes real. "Six road companions travel under a wizard's geas to encounter and destroy unknown evil . . .

The ensorceled gems that once held all humans in sway now power a hundred small kingdoms, but the monarchy of Mountfalcon is suddenly in dire peril.  For the Queen has unwittingly lost the realm-sustaining, jeweled Chaos Machine --  a castastrophe that could tear the kingdom...  more

The ensorceled gems that once held all humans in sway now power a hundred small kingdoms, but the monarchy of Mountfalcon is suddenly in dire peril.  For the Queen has unwittingly lost the realm-sustaining, jeweled Chaos Machine --  a castastrophe that could tear the kingdom apart.  Captain of the Queen's Guard, Wilrowan Blackheart has been entrusted with the Machine's recovery -- an undertaking that slowly reveals a horrific conspiracy spreading far beyond Mountfalcon's borders, as the deposed Maglore plot to reduce the unsuspecting human world to rubble and flames. But unbeknownst to him, another has also embarked on the same mission:  a determined crusader of strength and substance...the only woman Blackheart has ever loved, but can never possess.

Beneath the twin suns Ellistar and Deneob, the Realm of Infinitera is menaced by the Dark One and his minions, the Illcreatures. And in these strange times has come a thing never seen before: a stat which has tumbled from the sky, holding a power of evil even more dangerous than the Dark One...  more

Beneath the twin suns Ellistar and Deneob, the Realm of Infinitera is menaced by the Dark One and his minions, the Illcreatures. And in these strange times has come a thing never seen before: a stat which has tumbled from the sky, holding a power of evil even more dangerous than the Dark One himself.Now, to save the Realm, the High Bishop charges a lonely group of travelers with a crucial task: carrying the mightiest weapon every known, the Thunderwood Staff, to safety in the Holy city of Norivika.Running before the storm, the doughty band must traverse the world, and learn the true nature of the Fallen Star, in order to stave off the Dark...

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic.  For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.  Amani...  more

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic.  For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.  Amani Al’Hiza is all three.  She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead. Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on mythical horse -- or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.

In a world where strong enough talent can engender magic, the family of the Royal Cartographer stands in a unique position. For these bold relations not only draw the maps, but also explore uncharted territories, expanding and updating the existing knowledge about the world. Only sometimes,...  more

In a world where strong enough talent can engender magic, the family of the Royal Cartographer stands in a unique position. For these bold relations not only draw the maps, but also explore uncharted territories, expanding and updating the existing knowledge about the world. Only sometimes, drawing a new land can be enough to bring it into being. And when tragedy strikes the family, the tormented dreams of one young woman feed back to the Royal Cartographer himself, sending him slowly mad. And maybe also creating a new land where those dreams have become a tangible reality...

A millennium ago magicians fought a war, and smashed the world into a thousand pieces. In partial expiation these same sorcerers cast spells to set the fragments to floating about each other in the Abyss, to inform them with a proper gravity, and to supply them and the space that separates them...  more

A millennium ago magicians fought a war, and smashed the world into a thousand pieces. In partial expiation these same sorcerers cast spells to set the fragments to floating about each other in the Abyss, to inform them with a proper gravity, and to supply them and the space that separates them with an atmosphere that men and beasts may breathe. But that was long ago: in a thousand years even sorcerers grow old, and so do their spells. Now the doom that was forstalled is at hand. Already pieces of the Shattered World begin to collide. Soon all will meet, and coalesce, and melt into molten Chaos.

Twelve all-original tales of technology--from robots and androids to computers with minds of their own--include contributions from such science fiction authors as Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Ron Collins, Jody Lynn Nye, Paul Dellinger, and others. Fresh from the data banks of today's most popular...  more

Twelve all-original tales of technology--from robots and androids to computers with minds of their own--include contributions from such science fiction authors as Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Ron Collins, Jody Lynn Nye, Paul Dellinger, and others. Fresh from the data banks of today's most popular science fiction writers comes this all-new collection of original tales. The subject is technology-from robots and androids to computers with minds of their own-and the stories definitely give new meaning to the words "intelligent life. Contains: A Helping Hand; Keepers of Earth; Freddy Nearby; Lies of Omission; K-232; Sacrifices; Horse Power; Take Two; Left Foot on a Blind Man; the Protected; Fallen Faces By The Wayside; Power Play

The Yellow City is in crisis. The wells are running dry, and the Sun Mages have been unable to call the rains. Frustrated and impotent, Mages across the land can no longer work the magic that once ran their empire. Now the magic lies solely in the hands of a few women-the first ever to have...  more

The Yellow City is in crisis. The wells are running dry, and the Sun Mages have been unable to call the rains. Frustrated and impotent, Mages across the land can no longer work the magic that once ran their empire. Now the magic lies solely in the hands of a few women-the first ever to have developed magical powers. The men's anger knows no bounds-and that hatred spills over in a series of violent attacks. Now, Raeshaldis, Summer Concubine, and Pomegranate Woman, three uneducated and unskilled women, must band together and use their new powers to save both their country and themselves.

Blending the space operatics of Star Wars and the swagger of Guardians of the Galaxy, Michael Moreci's Black Star Renegades is a galaxy-hopping adventure that blasts its way from seedy spacer bars to sacred temples guarded by deadly creatures?all with a cast of misfit characters who have nowhere...  more

Blending the space operatics of Star Wars and the swagger of Guardians of the Galaxy, Michael Moreci's Black Star Renegades is a galaxy-hopping adventure that blasts its way from seedy spacer bars to sacred temples guarded by deadly creatures?all with a cast of misfit characters who have nowhere to go and nothing to lose. SyFy Wire?January Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Pick Up as soon as Possible The Verge?18 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Read in January Chicago Review of Books?Best New Books of January Cade Sura holds the future of the galaxy in his hands: the ultimate weapon that will bring total peace. He didn?t ask for it, he doesn?t want it, and there?s no worse choice to wield it in all of space, but if he doesn?t, everyone?s totally screwed. The evil Praxis kingdom is on the cusp of having every star system under its control, and if that happens, there?ll be no contesting their cruel reign. Especially if its fanatical overlord, Ga Halle, manages to capture Cade and snag the all-powerful weapon for herself. Cade can?t hide from Praxis, and he can?t run from the destiny that?s been shoved into his hands. So he only has one option: He has to fight. Cade?s not going to let destiny send him on a suicide run, though. With some help from his friends?rebels and scoundrels alike?Cade?s going to use this weapon to chart a new destiny for the galaxy, and for himself. He just has to do so before everyone around him discovers that he?s a complete and total fraud.

THE CHICKS ARE BACK! CELEBRATING FEARLESS AND FEARSOME FEMALES WITH ALL-NEW STORIES. Featuring all-new stories inspired by the classic Chicks in Chainmail series! A boy and his dog. A girl and her tank. Tropes have been with us throughout all of history. Any girl would gladly trade in her...  more

THE CHICKS ARE BACK! CELEBRATING FEARLESS AND FEARSOME FEMALES WITH ALL-NEW STORIES. Featuring all-new stories inspired by the classic Chicks in Chainmail series! A boy and his dog. A girl and her tank. Tropes have been with us throughout all of history. Any girl would gladly trade in her skimpy armor for a tank. While a little bit of chainmail can take a chick far, heavy armor can take one even farther. Besides, what’s not to love about Chicks in Tank Tops? From pure near-future military science fiction to Pride and Prejudice with zombies, AI tanks, and true love! All-new stories by: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, David Drake, Jody Lynn Nye, Kevin Ikenberry, Esther Friesner, Joelle Presby, Robert E. Hampson, A.C. Haskins, Lydia Sherrer & David Sherrer, G. Scott Huggins, Philip Wohlrab, Marisa Wolf, and Jason Cordova & Ashley Prior.

Orphaned as a child, Octavia Leander was doomed to grow up on the streets until Miss Percival saved her and taught her to become a medician. Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred...  more

Orphaned as a child, Octavia Leander was doomed to grow up on the streets until Miss Percival saved her and taught her to become a medician. Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred realm. But the airship on which she is traveling is plagued by a series of strange and disturbing occurrences, including murder, and Octavia herself is threatened. Suddenly, she is caught up in a flurry of intrigue: the dashingly attractive steward may be one of the infamous Clockwork Daggers—the Queen’s spies and assassins—and her cabin-mate harbors disturbing secrets. But the danger is only beginning, for Octavia discovers that the deadly conspiracy aboard the airship may reach the crown itself.

A Crown With a Mind of its Own...   When Liras-ven Tsormelezok set off into his garden that morning, he knew he could claim some sort of royal ancestry -- but then, so could most of the rest of the population of Averidan. Therefore, being named King while pruning his klimflower vines...  more

A Crown With a Mind of its Own...   When Liras-ven Tsormelezok set off into his garden that morning, he knew he could claim some sort of royal ancestry -- but then, so could most of the rest of the population of Averidan. Therefore, being named King while pruning his klimflower vines was a trifle unexpected. But that was only the first of the surprises waiting for Liras. For example, he discovered that the Crystal Crown of the Kings of Averidan could not only speak to him-it could kill him, if it decided he shouldn't be king. And then were certain other inheritances from the late king: a war about which he knew nothing, and a royal bride-to-be with whom he could not speak. No wonder Liras decided to make a run for it...

When a young sorceress is exiled to teach magic to a clan of assassins, she will find that secrets can be even deadlier than swords. Ileni is losing her magic. And that means she's losing everything: her position as the rising star of her people, her purpose in life, and even the young man...  more

When a young sorceress is exiled to teach magic to a clan of assassins, she will find that secrets can be even deadlier than swords. Ileni is losing her magic. And that means she's losing everything: her position as the rising star of her people, her purpose in life, and even the young man she loves. Sent to the assassins' cave hidden deep within the mountains, she expects no one will ever hear from her again. The last two sorcerers sent died within weeks of each other. Accidents? Or something more sinister? As Ileni navigates the dangers -- both natural and human -- of the caves, she'll discover secrets that have been kept for decades. And she'll find an ally in Sorin, the deadly young man who could be the assassins' next leader. With Sorin determined to protect her, sparks -- magical and romantic -- will fly. But will even he understand the choice she must make in the end?

They used to say that no one could blend mystery and science fiction, but that theory was dashed decades ago with the publication of Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man and Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel. Since then, the two fields have crossbred, producing sf mysteries in every style,...  more

They used to say that no one could blend mystery and science fiction, but that theory was dashed decades ago with the publication of Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man and Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel. Since then, the two fields have crossbred, producing sf mysteries in every style, from locked-romm to noir. We at the SFBC especially love the Chandler-esque tales, whose hard-bitten sleuths stalk crime down the dark alleys of space. So we jumped at Mike Resnick's suggestion that we do a book called Down These Dark Spaceways, featuring six original novellas exclusive to the Club. These stories have never been published anywhere else, and each one is written by a top-notch writer who shares our passion for a good sf mystery. On Robert Sawyer's Mars, flesh-and-blood humans and human-to-robot transfers hunt fossils, hoping to make a killing. And a killing is what private eye Alexander Lomax has on his hands when a missing transfer turns up dead--with no sign that a living consciousness ever existed inside it. Robert Reed revisits the huge worldship of Marrow to tell the story of Pamir, a fallen Captain who changes identities whenever his anonymity is threatened. Now he must help the ship's powerful second-in-command unravel the mystery around a murdered alien--one of the many husbands of a woman named Sorrel--or his long-held secrets will be revealed. In Jack McDevitt's far-future universe, a boating accident pulls P.I. Kristi Walker into a tangled case of alien art, conspiracy, and murder. In David Gerrold's Hollywood, a "preventive interception" agency uses timequakes to stop crime before it happens, but one operative finds himself personally involved in his latest job--saving a lost boy from a 1960s serial killer. Catherine Asaro describes a matriarchal military dynasty that secludes its men, as Major Bhaajan searches for a runaway prince through the City of Cries. And Mike Resnick shows the dangers that arise when a private eye finds himself doubling as a guardian angel to the son of an interstellar kingpin. Today nobody will deny that you can write a good sf mystery story. We hope that after you finish this book, you'll find yourself thinking it ought to be done more often.

Dragons are trained to fight to the death, and two determined teens help free them in this spellbinding saga. Training a dragon to be a fighting champion is the only way to freedom for fifteen-year-old Jakkin.

Mega corporations, more powerful than any one planetary government, use their agents to race each other for resources across the galaxy. The agents, or psi-techs, are implanted with telepath technology. The psi-techs are bound to the mega-corps -- that is, if they want to retain their...  more

Mega corporations, more powerful than any one planetary government, use their agents to race each other for resources across the galaxy. The agents, or psi-techs, are implanted with telepath technology. The psi-techs are bound to the mega-corps -- that is, if they want to retain their sanity. Cara Carlinni is an impossible thing -- a runaway psi-tech. She knows Alphacorp can find its implant-augmented telepaths, anywhere, anytime, mind-to-mind. So even though it's driving her half-crazy, she's powered down and has been surviving on tranqs and willpower. So far, so good. It's been almost a year, and her mind is still her own. She's on the run from Ari van Blaiden, a powerful executive, after discovering massive corruption in Alphacorp. Cara barely escapes his forces, yet again, on a backwater planet, and gets out just in time due to the help of straight-laced Ben Benjamin, a psi-tech Navigator for Alphacorp's biggest company rival. Cara and Ben struggle to survive a star-spanning manhunt, black-ops raids, and fleets of resource-hungry raiders. Betrayal follows betrayal, and friends become enemies. Suddenly the most important skill is knowing whom to trust.