The lighter side of the dark side from Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kelley Armstrong, Nancy Holder, Nancy Kilpatrick, J. A. Konrath and F. Paul Wilson, Joe R. Lansdale, Sharyn McCrumb, Mike Resnick and many more.

Matthew Reddy and the crew of the destroyer Walker, swept from the WWII Pacific into an alternate world, have allied with the mammalian Lemurians against the warlike reptilian Grik. The Lemurians are vastly outnumbered, and so it is good fortune that Reddy finally reunites with Mahan, the other American destroyer that passed through the rift. Not so good is the fact that the Japanese battleship Amagi also went through the rift and has joined the Grik.

When the Good Magician Humfrey's son Hugo suddenly vanishes, his disappearance sends a collection of colourful characters on a perilous pair of parallel quests. Among them are Debra, a pretty young girl beset by an obnoxious curse; Hugo's beloved wife Wira, whose sightlessness is balanced by a talent for sensitivity; Happy and Fray, a pair of sprightly storm-spirits; Nimbus, the Demon Xanth's own son; and the mysterious outlaw known as the Random Factor.

Anvil's classic stories of humans dealing with alien agendas.

The head of the powerful Cortez Cabal - a family that makes the mob look like amateurs - has a little problem in Miami: a gang of wealthy, bored offspring of supernaturals is getting out of hand, and half-demon Hope Adams is chosen to infiltrate. As spells, astral projections, and pheromones soar across South Beach, Hope weaves her way through its elite hot spots, posing as upscale eye candy and reading the auras of the clientele - and potential marks. As it turns out, Hope is a little too good at this job. And soon she's in a little too deep, needing to be bailed out by her jewel-thief werewolf ex-boyfriend and by the Cortez heir himself.

Robyn Peltier moved to Los Angeles after her young husband's sudden death to become the PR consultant to Portia Kane - the world's most famous celebutante wannabe. But when her client is gunned down in the back room of a nightclub, Robyn is suddenly on the run as the prime suspect in the murder. But Robyn has gotten herself in the middle of a turf war between two powerful Otherworld cabals who'll spill any amount of blood - human and inhuman - to protect what they consider theirs for all eternity. It is up to Hope Adams to keep Robyn alive.

With rogue wolves savaging both human and paranormal worlds, Sasha's team has to destroy the rogues and isolate the deadly toxin that's poisoned their blood. But soon Sasha is thrust into a full-scale supernatural war for supremacy - and the only man left who Sasha can turn to might be the biggest danger to her of all - and in more ways than one.

Eilan, known to the Romans as Helena, a British princess raised on the holy isle of Avalon, must bridge the pagan world of the goddess and the new Christian empire founded by her own son, Constantine. To do so she must embark on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Graphic novel -- Chicago wizard Harry Dresden is called in when a mysterious but brutal mauling leaves a zoo guard dead. Harry's investigation put him in danger of attack from things that won't, if they get him, even leave a stain on the ground.

Zoey Redbird's stay at vampyre finishing school becomes more unpleasant as she finds herself shunned by her so-called friends. The only two left are undead and unMarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows is wrong.

Twenty-two masters of horror and fantasy give Van Helsing, the vampire hunter from Bram Stoker's Dracula, his due as they reimagine the adventures of the greatest foe of the most evil vampire in literary history. Includes stories by Tanith Lee, Joe Hill, Chris Roberson, and Christopher Golden.

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir, a human-vampire hybrid, but unlike most dhampirs she has managed to maintain her sanity. But now her Uncle Dracula (yes, "the" Dracula), cruelest among vampires, has escaped his prison. And her father wants Dory to work with gorgeous master vampire Louis-Cesare to put him back in.

Featuring Cherrhyh's short stories, novellas, and novelettes - including the award-winning story, Cassandra, and a new novella written specifically for this book.

A mathematician who produces a short proof of Fermat's Last Theorem draws the attention of shadowy government organizations. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone on Earth, an alien fleet is approaching the planet at a significant percentage of the speed of light. Their mission: to exterminate the dangerous species of primates known as homo sapiens.

Deep inside the top secret facility that houses America's Strategic command in Omaha, the nation's military commanders are playing a nuclear war game. but they don't know that the war has already begun - in space. Financed by Iran, a rogue Russian scientist destroys military surveillance and communications satellites with a powerful electromagnetic beam weapon. Soon the united States will be completely blind, and the Iranians will launch a nuclear-tipped Shahab 4 missile into the underbelly of Europe.

35 of the best and brightest in a golden age of Australian fiction, including Garth Nix, Terry Dowling, Sean McMullen, Kim Wilkins, Sara Douglass, A. Bertram Chandler, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, Stephen Dedman, Trudi Canavan, John Birmingham, Margo Lanagan, Janeen Webb, Isobelle Carmody, and many others.

300,000 words of fiction and poetry, including works by Billy Collins, Ted Chiang, Karen Joy Fowler, Elizabeth Hand, Glen Hirshberg, Joyce Carol Oates, and new World Fantasy Award winner M. Rickert. With impeccably researched summations of the field by the editors, Honorable Mentions, and articles by Edward Bryant, Charles de Lint and Jeff VanderMeer on media, music and graphic novels.

When elderly garage owner Jim Firgesson decides to retire and sell his business, customer Chris Harman, a record company owner, tips him off to a development in Marin County that needs a garage. Al Miller, a mechanic who sublets part of Jim's lot, believes Harman to be a crook and sets out to thwart the deal.

As the war with the Ramanthian continues, Captain Santana's love -- diplomat Christine Vanderveen -- copes with growing shortages, treacherous allies, and her own emotions. Yet when she meets the charismatic newly elected president of the Clone Republic, she finds herself torn between old love and new loyalty. As Christine fights her own divided heart, light years away, Santana is in a battle for his life. And this battle may be his last.

After a decree makes books interactive in order to boost lagging readership, Goliath's invention of a trans-fictional tourist bus puts Thursday in the position of having to side with the enemy to prevent a greater evil that threatens the very fabric of the reading experience.

The planet Miran had sent a spaceship to rendezvous with the enormous vessel that was approaching their star system. The vessel's design was odd - a multitude of separate globular habitats in a framework - and most of the alien team that entered one of the habitats were slaughtered by savage creatures called "humans." One alien had barely managed to escape to another habitat where the humans were more friendly, if rather technologically backward. But he needed to get back to his spaceship, and he would need one human's help to do that. They would have to travel through several more habitats, each one isolated from the other, each with its own bizarre dangers and customs. And friendliness toward strangers was not one of those customs.

A power-mad Washington bureaucrat has press-ganged several of the survivors of the first excursion into the pyramid's worlds and sent them, along with a team trained in surgical strikes, to either bring back a missing VIP from mythological Greece or, failing that, kill him. However, they miss their myth, and end up in the world of the Norse gods. Dealing with those Gods is a challenge in itself, but Ragnarok is coming, with the end of the world. And even a hard-headed maintenance man may have trouble fixing "that" problem!

This is the fateful story of an ancient pre-human artifact of great power, and the people who found it. Starting with Captain Amos January, who quickly loses it, and then the others who fought, schemed, and killed to get it, we travel around the complex, decadent, brawling, mongrelized interstellar human civilization the artifact might save or destroy. Collectors want the Dancer, pirates take it, rulers crave it, and they'll all kill if necessary to get it.

The sons of Attila's great officers wage battle as the dramatic confrontation between Rome's last emperor and Rome's barbarian conqueror leads the fall of a mighty empire.

The penultimate (second-to-last) book in the series. At last we're given an answer to the question that's been hanging for 35 years: who is the father of Philip Lynx aka Flinx?

Arjun arrives in Ararat just as a magnificent winged creature swoops and sails over the city. For it is the day of the return of that long-awaited, unpredictable mystical creature: the great Bird. As the creature soars across the land, shifting topography, changing the course of the river, and redrawing the territories of the city's avian life, crowds cheer and guns salute in a mix of science and worship. Then comes the time for the Bird's power to be trapped - within the hull of a floating warship called Thunderer, an astounding and unprecedented weapon. Hurtled into this convulsing world is Arjun, an innocent who will unwittingly unleash a dark power beyond his imagining.

Three mediums, live on network television, link together hoping to overcome the life-death barrier. As viewers watch the mediums go slack-jawed and catatonic, all the graves within 300 miles open up and spill out their soulless contents. Corpses walk forth in search of their living loved ones. They are not, it quickly becomes apparent, intent on a joyful reunion.

Descending into darkness, about to be overwhelmed by evil, those people still free are powerless to stop the coming dawn of a savage new world, while Richard faces the guilt of knowing that he must let it happen. Alone, he must bear the weight of a sin he dare not confess to the one person he loves - and has lost. So, will Richard get over it before the end of the series? This volume is his last chance.

In Romania, the estate of master vampire Aleksei Rachlav has become the headquarters for those paramortals who stand against Dracula's army. And soldier and paramortal psychologist Gillian Key finds herself with a new group of clients. One is straight out of legend - a disfigured, masked man who haunts a Pariaian opera house and who becomes Aleksei's rival for Gillian's heart.

Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and twelve other masters of the genre offer all-new stories on werewolves and the holidays.

When an old friend destroys himself by walking into sunlight right in front of her, Eleisha is shocked. And what she finds afterwards points to how very sick of his existence her friend had become - piling drained corpses in the basement and keeping records of other vampires' real names and addresses. That's a problem. Because now there are policemen on the case: two very special humans with some gifts of their own. They know who Eleisha is, and, even more dangerous, what she is.

The best fantasy prose written in 2007.

Kyrie Smith, a young panther shifter, must decide where she will stand: with her group or with humanity at large. And she'll have to do it while both older shifters and her boyfriend Tom Ormson - a dragon shifter - push her from quandary to quandary and police detective Rafiel Thrall - a lion shifter - demands her help in solving mysterious murders. Someone - or something - has been killing shifters in large numbers, and the most ancient and powerful of shifters are converging on the city to find the killer. And anyone, human or shifter, who gets in their way will be eliminated without mercy.

Joe Pitt has now been ejected from the mainstream of Manhattan Vampyre existence and now lives in a hovel, shadowed by Yankee Stadium. But even here he is vulnerable.

Genghis Khan matures from the young boy of WOLF OF THE PLAINS to the great Conqueror.

After a terrible construction site accident takes Edgar Freemantle's right arm and scrambles his memory and his mind, he takes up sketching as therapy. He moves to Duma Key on the Florida Coast as his sketches gradually take on greater and greater power.

After a few months of letting witchcraft slide, Jane Madison discovers that not using her powers has her rapidly losing them. Meanwhile, her warder is avoiding her, her familiar has moved out, her mother is abandoning her again and her grandmother is -- getting married? Staking everything on a last-ditch spell that backfires spectacularly, Jane is left full of questions. Will her powers return? Will she find true love? Will she talk her grandmother out of orange and silver bridesmaids' dresses?

In 1910, in an alternate London, a penniless young dancer is visited by a cat who convinces her to impersonate a famous Russian ballerina. This leads her to minor stardom. The real ballerina has fallen victim to an evil troll who takes over her body and kills her patrons, drinking their life essences in order to strengthen his powers. And soon, the troll focuses his dark attentions on the young dancer...

A thirteen year old orphan named Magpie escapes a life of slavery in the gem mines when he is chosen by one of the magical Companion horses of Valdemar to be trained as a Herald. Thrust into the center of a legend in the making, Magpie discovers talents he never knew he had - and witnesses the founding of the great Heralds' Collegium.

Lafayette O'Leary was barely scraping by as a draftsman until an experiment with self-hypnosis catapulted him into the world of Artesia, an exotic land complete with swordplay, beautiful princesses, and very large and hungry dragons. And unless O'Leary can somehow become the hero he had always dreamed of being, he was going to be a dragon's lunch. And that was only the beginning, as O'Leary began to understand the secret of the multiple universes, each with its own opportunities for exciting adventure - and very evil adversaries and terrifying dangers. THE TIME BENDER, THE WORLD SHUFFLER and THE SHAPE CHANGER in one volume.

These fourteen tales explore the challenges that students of the magical arts may face in a high school of their very own: just a few of the magical adventures that will await you when you enter Salem Township Public High School #4a, otherwise known as Witch High.

The sequel to THE STORMCALLER. The eyes of the Land are on the minor city of Scree, suffering from an unnatural drought and surrounded by volatile mercenary armies that may be its only salvation. The city is a strange sanctuary for a fugitive abbot, kings and princes, lords and monsters, a motley cast who walk the sun-scorched streets as the city begins to tear itself apart. The Twilight Reign is coming, and nothing lies beyond the reach of its shadow.

A young Russian tourist is murdered while visiting the Dungeons of Edinburgh. The Watches are immediately aware that there is a renegade vampire on the loose. But Anton, on arriving in Scotland, begins to realize that there is much more to the story than a wildcat vampire and a single murder. Aided by Thomas, the head of Edinburgh's Night Watch, Anton investigates and ruminates, and becomes aware that a team of unlicensed Others are hunting for a fabled magical treasure, hidden in the sixth level of the Twilight by Merlin himself.

Though May Northcott's heart belongs to Gabriel, leader of the silver dragons, being stuck in Abaddon has significantly cooled down her love life. Especially since a demon lord is trying to woo her. Looks like May will have to barter to gain her freedom and fulfill her destiny by Gabriel's side.

Liir, an adolescent boy last seen hiding in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch, is shattered in spirit as well as in form. At the Cloister of Saint Glinda the silent novice Candle tends to him, willing him back to life with her unusual musical gifts. What dark force left Liir in this condition? Is he really Elphaba's son? He has her broom and her cape - but what of her powers?

What does the Lion know of the whereabouts of the Witch's boy, Liir? What can Yackle reveal about the auguries of the Clock of the Time Dragon? And what of the Grimmerie, the magic book that vanished as quickly as Elphaba? Is destiny ever arbitrary? Can those tarnished by infamy escape their sobriquets - cowardly, wicked, brainless, criminally earnest - to claim their own histories, to live honorably within their own skins before they're skinned alive?

A contagion suddenly begins to decimate hold after hold, paying no heed to distinctions of birth. With Threadfall scant years away, the Dragonriders dare not expose themselves to infection, and so it will fall to the young Kindan and his fellow Harper Hall apprentices to bravely search for a cure and save humanity. The price of failure is unthinkable. But the price of success may be even harder to bear.

The myth of a lost city carved of precious jade has proven irresistible to many in Mithgar. Now Aravan, captain of the Elven ship Eroean, has undertaken a quest to find it. With his true love Aylis, the Magekind Seeress, beside him and a crew of men and dwarves, he sets sail to follow the lure of legend.

The vile witch Hradian sets events in motion to free her master, the wizard Orbane, who's been trapped in the Castle of Shadows. But her scheme results in unforeseen consequences-threatening not only the world of Faery but that of mortals as well. Rising to the challenge, the heroes and heroines of Winterwood, Summerwood, Springwood, and Autumnwood join forces to rally humans and Fey alike to a cause that may be lost before it begins.

Jake Mendoza comes to live in Smokehill National Park, home to the few remaining dragona dragons - which are now extinct in the wild. On his first overnight solo trek, Jake finds a dragona dragon dying next to the human she killed. The dragon has just given birth, and one of the babies is still alive. What Jake decides to do will determine not only their futures, but the future of Smokehill itself.

Two Esmay Suiza novels in one omnibus volume: ONCE A HERO and RULES OF ENGAGEMENT.

Three veterans of a war to save an empire are called back by the empire that discarded them to fight a terrifying new threat from beyond the worlds.

The engineer Ziani Vaatzes engineered a war to be reunited with his family. The deaths were regrettable, but he had no choice. Duke Valens dragged his people into the war to save the life of one woman - a woman whose husband he then killed. He regrets the evil he's done, but he, equally, had no choice. Secretary Psellus never wanted to rule the Republic, or fight a desperate siege for its survival. As a man of considerable intelligence, he knows that he has a role to play - and little choice but to accept it. The machine has been built. All that remains is to set it in motion.

A wave comes to a South Pacific island and wipes out the Nation that was upon it. The wave deposits upon the island the British schooner Sweet July. When the wave recedes there are two people left living, one from the schooner, one from the island.

The myths and legends that still, even in this benighted age, persist in the Discworld.

Alien, the multiverse, the Illuminati: every conspiracy theory you've ever heard - they're all here, wrapped in a plot that will leave Dan Brown fans breathless.

The symptoms have been studied, the diagnosis is confirmed, the prognosis is bleak. The universe will cease to exist in just 12 hours - 12 hours during which time all of the loose ends must be tied up, all of the Big Questions answered, and all of the Ultimate Truths revealed. It promises to be a somewhat hectic half-day. During which a Brentford shopkeeper will complete a sitting room for God, a Chiswick woman will uncover the Metaphenomena of the Multiverse, an aging supervillain will put the finishing touches to his plans for transdimensional domination, serious trouble will break out at the New Messiah's Convention in Acton, and a Far-Fetched Fiction author will receive Divine Enlightenment. Will the universe end with a bang or a whimper - or something else entirely, possibly involving a time-traveling Elvis Presley with a sprout in his head?

Real magic pervades this Massachusetts village, practiced by powerful adepts descended from the original Salem witches. But a curse has made it impossible for any resident to step beyond the town line. And now a fierce, ancient god who feeds on terror - and blood - is descending upon Raine's Landing - and for the entire trapped population there can be no escape - not even in death.

The sequel to INTO THE LOOKING GLASS. William Weaver, PhD. and SEAL Chief Adams are back and Bill got himself a ship! The former SSBN "Nebraska" has been converted, using mostly garage mechanics and baling wire, into a warp ship ready to go "out there." But as everyone knows, the people who really are going to bear the brunt are the poor Security guys, Force Recon Marines who are kept in the dark and fed manure all day. That is until they land on an alien planet, get partially wiped out and then load back up again.

When a minority race of telepaths is suspected of causing a near-devastating tidal wave, Private Kaylin Neya is summoned to Court - and into a PR nightmare. To ease racial tensions, the emperor has commissioned a play, and the playwright has his own ideas about who should be the focus. But Kaylin works her best magic behind the scenes, and though she tries to stay neutral, she is again drawn into a world of politics -- and murder.

Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. She can't even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!

The Rogue Hunters, immortals who are associated with the Argeneaus and actually work for the Council, hunt vampires who've broken their laws - namely by biting mortals.

Awakened by the password "humbug", Ebenezer Scrooge is back - this time as a ghost in the computer of workaholic Monica Banks.

In this novel of secret sorceries and forbidden desires, the mystic Cammon must put aside his personal feelings for Princess Amalie while he reads the souls of her suitors for any potential threats. But Cammon is unable to read Amalie, and he begins to suspect that she herself possesses magic powers-a revelation which would put her life in danger, and throw the kingdom into chaos.

Once there were seven friends who called themselves 'The Underground'. For them there was nothing but drugs, music, and yearning for something that really mattered. Knowing they would drift apart, they decided to throw a last private party at creepy old Curtis Manor. But on the other side of the mirrors a corrupt, voracious force watched: neither fully living nor truly dead, a soulless spirit of evil that had been cultivating its powers for over two hundred years. The Underground were shattered. One died. One disappeared. The survivors, scarred inside and out, refused to face the truth of what had really happened. Until now. One has gone back through the mirror. And now the remaining friends are forced to confront the demons of their own pasts to free the thousands of souls trapped in Curtis Manor, as the reunited Underground meets the Underground Railroad of souls.

An assassin without peer, Caine is a living legend born from one of the highest-rated reality shows ever made. That season, Caine almost single-handedly defeated-and all but exterminated-the fiercest of all tribes: the Black Knives. Now, thirty years later, he returns to the scene of his greatest triumph-some would say greatest crime-at the request of his adopted brother Orbek, the last of the true Black Knives. But where Caine goes, danger follows.

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

The Soviet Union won the Cold War. More than a century later, for Gianfranco and Annarita, teenagers growing up in Milan, life in a heavily regimented, surveillance-rich command economy is dreary. The biggest excitement in their lives is a wargame shop called The Gladiator, which runs tournaments, and stocks marvelous complex games. Abruptly, the shop is shut down. Security Police are searching for the shop's proprietors, who've vanished into thin air leaving behind sets of fingerprints that aren't in the records of any government on earth. Only one staffer is left: Gianfranco and Annarita's friend Eduardo. He comes to them in secret with an astonishing story: he's from another timeline, accidentally left behind when the store was evacuated. The only way Eduardo can get home is if Gianfranco and Annarita can help him reach one of the other time trader sites in this world - and the Security Police will be on their tails all the way there.

Azoth wants out of the warrens and he has a plan - to find the assassin Durzo Blint and convince Blint to take him on as an apprentice. Under Blint's tutelage Azoth will learn the Way of Shadows: creating poisons, using the shadows to be invisible and altering his appearence. Fostered by a baron, raised by an assassin, he will infiltrate the highest levels of court. His friends will be princes - and his enemies will be legendary. Recommended.

During a bloody war against an army of vampires, Arkeley gave up his own life to save others. Except he didn't exactly die - he accepted the curse and became a vampire himself. Caxton is now faced with the task of destroying a vampire who knows all her tactics. Yet she knows she must finish Arkeley before he succeeds in his quest to exterminate his own family, one member at a time.

The vampire Count Saint-Germain, disguised as a missing Hungarian nobleman, is on a spy mission in the heart of Czarist Russia. Almost by the power of his will alone, it seems, Peter the Great is wrestling the city that will one day be St. Petersburg out of swampland. Representatives of the heads of all European states are living in tiny, frigid, wooden homes as they jockey for power and influence over the Czar. When a man shows up claiming to be the Count Saint-Germain, the vampire must figure out how to protect his title and wealth without revealing either his true identity or his True Nature.

Felix Gomez has survived aliens, nymphomaniacs, and X-rated bloodsuckers. But now the aliens are back in a fiendish conspiracy to kidnap earth women, and only Felix stands between these intruders and their hapless prey. But when an army hit man attacks Felix and fellow vampire (and sexper) Carmen, only the astonishing erotic powers of the undead Kama Sutra may be able to save them.

Looking for a break, archaeologist Annja Creed visits France to indulge one of her greatest fantasies: finding D'Artagnan's lost sword, which been missing since the seventeenth century. But once on site, Annja discovers that the artifact holds the key to a fortune - and a certain relic hunter won't stop until he gets everything he wants - including Annja.

When Destiny McCree wakes up beside a dead man on an Oregon beach, she knows only this: she has to keep moving, keep searching, and keep one step ahead of the forces that have been pursuing her from the heart of Scotland to this isolated spot. Why? A glimmering serpent-shaped ring is the one clue she has - and a bargaining chip in a most dangerous game. Enter Trae Wilson, a master thief with a sexy, knowing grin and a secret agenda of his own.

Kane and the team learn of a secret doomsday weapon rumored to be hidden in Russia - on another astral plane. But mysterious interlopers have tapped into Cerberus intelligence, forcing their bid to control the Death Cry. And if Cerberus can manifest the Death Cry into reality - the potential for one last global holocaust becomes a death race.

An unpublished demonic memoir is brought to light. Jakabok, or Mr. B., as he is known, is a minion of hell with a plan to cast the world into darkness and despair -- a plan thwarted by a young apprentice of Johannes Gutenberg who buried the one and only copy of this manuscript in 1438.

The Firstborn have sought to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic. But they've been waiting for something. What is it? And what will we learn when we confront the Firstborn face to face?

Modern parables of love, death, and transformation are peppered with melancholy in this extraordinary collection of contemporary fantasy.

It all began with Ragnarok, with the Children of the Light and the Tarnished ones battling to the death in the ice and the dark. At the end of the long battle, one Valkyrie survived, wounded, and one valraven - the steeds of the valkyrie. Because they lived, Valdyrgard was not wholly destroyed. Because the valraven was transformed in the last miracle offered to a Child of the Light, Valdyrgard was changed to a world where magic and technology worked hand in hand. 2500 years later, Muire is in the last city on the dying planet, where the Technomancer rules what's left of humanity. She's caught sight of someone she has not seen since the Last Battle: Mingan the Wolf is hunting in her city.

For Karigan G'ladheon, the call of magic in her blood is too strong to resist. Karigan returns to the Green Riders, the magical messengers of the king, to find she's badly needed. Rider magic has become unstable, many Riders have been lost, and the Rider corps is seriously threatened. The timing couldn't be worse. An ancient evil, long dormant, has reawakened, and the world is in peril.

When united mankind squares off to battle the Slugs for a precious interstellar crossroad, Army emissary Jason Wander will discover that the most dangerous enemy may be the one he least expects.

FALLING FREE and DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY in one volume.

With the ending of the war against the Roche, dragons and dragonmasters have been cast aside. An old concern re-emerges - who is savaging the dragons in their native land? Hal and his comrades embark on a new crusade to discover the threat to dragons and man.

Tavi of Calderon, now Captain of the First Aleran Legion realizes that the Vord are a far greater peril than the Canim. An alliance must be forged between the Aleran and Cane despite centuries of hatred. and he must defy the law and lead his legion before the vord descends on them all. Recommended.

At the close of ENDER'S GAME Ender is offered the choice of living in isolation on Eros, at one of the Hegemony's training facilities, but instead the twelve-year-old chooses to leave his home world and begin the long relativistic journey out to the colonies. With him went his sister Valentine, and the core of the artificial intelligence that would become Jane.The story of those years has never been told... until now.

John Bandicut and several aliens and artificial intelligences have been thrown together by a force greater than themselves to prevent cataclysmic disasters on an interstellar scale. Now, before they can take a break after a world-saving mission, they are pulled into a waystation that is being threatened by highly destructive gravity waves. The waves are part of a much larger problem. Something is causing stars to become unstable and go prematurely nova - they're being murdered.

Concludes the romantic fantasy duology. Lady Lea, a princess blessed by light, and sister to the Emperor Caelan, was kidnapped by Lord Shadrael, a warrior consumed by darkness and taken to the Shadowlands.

Sequel to THE FAR KINGDOMS. Captain Rali Emilie Antero commands a troop of women warriors on a voyage, off the known map and into magical discovery, to the legendary Far Kingdoms.

Fred the Mermaid has taken the bait and chosen to date Artur, Prince of the Black Sea, over human marine biologist Thomas. And just in time. The existence of the Undersea Folk is no longer a secret, and someone needs to keep them from floundering in the media spotlight. Fred has all the right skills for that job, but has a hard time when her real father surfaces and tries to overthrow Artur's regime.

In the year 2886, in the midst of the intergalactic war that has been raging nonstop for nearly a decade, Intelligence locates the gargantuan hidden homeworld of humankind's dedicated foe, the brutal, unstoppable Xul. The time has come for the courageous men and women of the 1st Marine Interstellar Expeditionary Force to strike the killing blow. But misguided politics on an Earth that no longer supports their mission could prove the Marine's greatest enemy - as they plunge bravely into the maelstrom of conflict - and into the heart of a million-year-old mystery.

Now the servants of the forbidden Gods of Palomir call forth The Worm, an ancient thing that threatens to devour all life in the newly formed kingdom and make way for the reign of dark Gods, now awakened to ambitions of worship and dominion. Some are bad...and some are worse.

The world itself has suffered a magical upheaval. The ocean has receded and the Isles have become the higher ground of a newly formed continent. But the new continent is a patchwork of geography from the distant past and future, peopled by creatures from all times and places. Garric and his companions must now struggle for the survival of humanity.

Admiral Simpson of Grantville frantically races against time to finish the USE Navy's ironclad ships - desperately needed to break the Ostender blockade of the Baltic ports. A commando unit sent to England by Mike Stearns prepares to rescue the Americans being held in the Tower of London. In Amsterdam, Rebecca Stearns continues three-way negotiations with the Prince of Orange and the Spanish Cardinal-Infante who has conquered most of the Netherlands. And, in Copenhagen, the captured young USE naval officer Eddie Cantrell tries to persuade the King of Denmark to break with the Ostender alliance, all while pursuing a romantic involvement with one of the Danish princesses.

You, a lifelong student of the Orc, will surely want this book in your home, displayed prominently on a shelf in whichever portion of those dank premises that you've designated as parlour. Then, when you receive there your unfortunate visitors, perhaps missionaries or census-takers, you will always have the advantage. Finding themselves at a loss for conversation, they will look around your slovenly hovel, catch glimpse of this book, and then, without fail, seize upon the very topic on which you are now, having read the book, an indisputable expert.

Captain Boylan and his crew have been given the straightforward task of delivering four scientists - two men, one woman, and one thranx - to the planet Quofum, setting up camp while the experts investigate flora and fauna, then ferrying them safely home. But Quofum is full of surprises, with a biodiversity so extreme that reason cannot provide an explanation for it. And soon other questions emerge, such as "Which of us here is the murderer?" and "Hey! Where's our spacecraft?".

Thorn is a member of the Pilot's Guild - those who possess the magical ability to navigate Crosspointe's deadly seas. When a malevolent master within the Guild bans him from the sea, it seems his life is over. Then he is kidnapped and forced to serve aboard a rogue ship. He finds himself battling a mad captain, a mutinous crew and the sea itself - while trying to find a saboteur and learn the secret of the ship's cargo.

To find out what really happened when Acton came through DeathPass a millennium ago, Bramble agrees to risk her life - and perhaps her soul - on a voyage of discovery. Meanwhile, Ash, tormented by his past, must return to the Deep to find his father and uncover the Travellers' secret songs. He thought he had learnt all the ancient music. What has his father kept from him - and why?

Though rewarded by Amunhotep's patronage, Huy feels imprisoned by the gift Thoth has imposed on him and longs for the pleasures of those he see around him, especially love, which seems forever lost to him. But when the King calls for his help, Huy has no choice.

Stories featuring the undead: from vampires to mummy con artists. Includes stories from Sarah Hoyt, Laura Resnick, Friesner, Yarbro, Foster, Radford, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jay Lake, S. M. Stirling and more.

Rod Everlar is a writer who mysteriously finds himself drawn into a fantasy world of his own creation. Once there he discovers that three dark wizards dominate the land. Facing danger at every turn he must learn how to seize control of Falconfar and defeat the spreading corruption.

The dark Queen Andais has ordered her half-mortal niece Meredith to conceive an heir. Despite the heroic and indefatiguable efforts of a series of consorts, Meredith has not produced the desired result. So now, pursued by the accusations of King Taranis, she and her bodyguard retreat to Los Angeles. Luckily there is a large male population on hand there to help Meredith out with her chore.

Not everyone in faerie is pleased with the news that Meredith has given birth to an heir, and conspirators from every court in the realm plot against her and her's. They seek to strip her guards, her lovers, from her by poisoned word or cold steel. But Meredith still has supporters, and even friends, among the goblins and the sluagh, who will stand by her.

Here are Howard's greatest horror tales, all in their original, definitive versions. Some of Howard's best-known characters-Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, and sailor Steve Costigan among them-roam the forbidding locales of the author's fevered imagination, from the swamps and bayous of the Deep South to the fiend-haunted woods outside Paris to remote jungles in Africa.

Yim is a young woman suddenly cast into slavery, a gifted seer with a shocking secret-and a great destiny. Honus is a Sarf, a warrior dedicated to the service of the compassionate goddess Karm. A Sarf's sole purpose is to serve a holy person called a Bearer. But Honus's Bearer has been killed by the minions of an evil god known only as the Devourer. Masterless and needing someone to bear his pack, Honus purchases Yim for the price of ten coppers-and their fates are forever entwined.

When Nigel Oldhall hires on to pilot a magic carpetship under the name of Enoch Jones, it seems the perfect way for him to travel without attracting attention. For the English nobleman has in his possession the two most powerful jewels in the universe. His mission is to return them to their shrine in deepest Africa, restoring order to the world-and to his life. But he doesn't count on being attacked by Chinese pirates-or being held captive by a shape-shifting beauty.

Thorn St. Croix is a neomage, human in appearance, but able to twist left-over creation energy to his will. Nearly driven insane by her powers, she is smuggled out of an Enclave where she'd been confined by the seraphs and now lives among humans, channeling her gift of stone-magery into jewelry making. But when Thaddeus Bartholomew, a dangerously attractive policeman, tells her that her ex-husband has been kidnapped, Thorn risks revealing her identity to find him. And for Thorn, the punishment for revelation is death.

Foreign immigration has led to racial tension in Darworth. Investigative journalist Nick looks for a connection between a mysterious newcomer - whom the Africans know and fear - and the desecration of a local cemetary.

Korean war veteran Lance Porter is roaming the streets of San Francisco, with no idea what to do with his life, when an encounter with a group of Beat poets fills his head with strange ideas and sets him off on a hunt for the Holy Grail.

Power-mad, sociopathic computer-geek billionaire Walter Cheeseman wants to take over the Earth. Aqualung, a mysterious blues musician who also has superhuman tech skills, might be the catalyst for the resistance - or he might just be the pawn of artificial intelligences. To thwart the takeover, the orbitals and the moon colonies secede from Earth. And then something like the Singularity happens, but no one is quite sure.

William Heaney has identified one thousand five hundred and sixty-seven smoky figures dwelling on the shadowy fringes of human life, influencing our decisions with their sweet and poisoned voices. After a series of seemingly unconnected personal encounters with a beautiful and captivating woman met in the company of an infuriating poet, a troubled and damaged veteran of Desert Storm with demons of his own, and an old school acquaintance with whom he shared a mystical occult ritual, William Heaney's life is thrown in a direction he does not fully comprehend.

2514 A.D.: An unstoppable alien force is advancing on Earth, wiping out the Unified Authority's colonies one by one. It is up to Wayson Harris, an outlawed model of a clone, and his men to make a last stand on the planet of New Copenhagen, where they must win the battle and the war - or lose all.

While mere mortals deck the halls and shop, an angry demon lord is plotting an all out onslaught against the entire human race. Enter Stryker, the adopted brother of the legendary Dark-Hunter, Acheron. As Stryker prepares to engage in battle against the ultimate predator he must also face the deadly rage of his ex-wife Zephyra.

Six stories.

Amy Redwing is dedicated to the cause of rescuing endangered golden retrievers, and so none are surprised when she risks her life to save Nickie, nor when she takes the female golden into her home. But the joy Nickie brings to the household is quickly undercut by a series of eerie incidents, and the unmistakable sense that someone is watching Amy's every move. Soon the subtle threats escalate into a series of terrifying assaults on all Amy holds dear.

Former enforcer Mason would normally be concerned with finding ghosts and vampires stalking the Castro section of San Francisco. Fortunately, Halloween provides the perfect explanation for the abundance of ghouls. But someone is trying to possess his old flame, Sarah. Now, with the help of his magical dog Louie, Mason must uncover the black magician responsible.

A collection of Lumley's novellas set in H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulu Mythos.

King Bridei is a man with a mission. His wish to unite his kingdom seems almost within his grasp but there are forces working to undo his dream. He sends Faolan, his most trusted advisor (who is also a master assassin and spymaster) out into the world to ferret out the truth of who is friend and who is foe. Along the way Faolan will uncover many truths. Some may hold the key to Bridei's future. But more important, they may unlock the secrets that Faolan has held deep within his soul for decades. And offer him the chance of redemption.

The chieftains of Sevenwaters have long been custodians of a vast and mysterious forest. Human and Otherworld dwellers have existed there side by side, sharing a wary trust, until the spring when Lady Aisling of Sevenwaters finds herself expecting another child - a new heir to Sevenwaters. Then the family's joy turns to despair when the baby is taken from his room and something unnatural is left in his place. To reclaim her newborn brother, Clodagh must enter the shadowy Otherworld and confront the powerful prince who rules there.

In 1946 an alien virus that rewrites human DNA was accidentally unleashed in the skies over New York City. It killed ninety percent of those it infected. Nine percent of those who survived mutated into tragically deformed creatures. And one percent gained superpowers. Now: all-original stories in this universe from Martin himself, along with Daniel Abraham, Michael Cassutt, and Stephen Leigh, among others.

When young Fiona impresses a queen dragon, she doesn't realize the perils and privileges that come with her new role. The challenges of becoming a Weyrwoman - co-leader of an entire dragon Weyr - can be overwhelming, and then, on top of it all, she faces the possibility of losing her dragon to the sickness that has already claimed so many others. Now Fiona is forced to confront the question: What is she willing to give up in order to truly be a queen rider?

The year is 2255. The academy that trained the starfarers is long gone and veteran star pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins spends her retirement supporting fund-raising efforts for The Prometheus Foundation, a privately funded organization devoted to deep space exploration. But when a young physicist unveils an efficient star drive capable of reaching the core of the galaxy, Hutch finds herself back in the deepest reaches of space, and on the verge of discovering the origins of the deadly Omega clouds that continue to haunt her. Recommended.

Vicki Greene, a celebrated but mind-wiped writer, sent antiquities dealer Alex Benedict a cryptic message and a large sum of money. The answers to the mystery of what has happened to Vicki lie on the most remote of human worlds in a secret connected to a decades-old political upheaval.

All of humanity and its alien allies have joined together to battle the Hive - a force of pure destruction sweeping through the galaxy. But when the leader of the Roman world is assassinated tensions escalate - and Captain John Farragut is forced to lead a mission into the heart of Hive territory in search of a man who's been "dead" for decades.

The Empire of Rome has declared war against the United States and attacked Earth. And even as the Merrimack retaliates against the Empire's homeworld, the world-devouring alien Hive makes its move against Earth.

Changing schools when she moves to Forks, Washington, 17 year old Bella falls for Edward, a high school senior. He's a vampire, it turns out. She's slightly reassured to learn that his clan hunts only wildlife. Teen romance has its challenges when prey falls for predator.

Mykella, the eldest daughter of the Lord-Protector of Lanachrona, discovers that someone is diverting significant sums of money from her father's treasury. There are attempts to remove Mykella and her sisters from Tempre by marrying them off to lords in neighbouring lands, and fatal and near fatal accidents occur to members of her family and trusted retainers. While Mykella develops a solid idea of who stands behind it all, every attempted solution is used to discredit her. How can she save their father and land?

Some people escape paying the price for using magic by offloading it onto an innocent. When Allison finds a boy dying from a magical offload that has her father's signature all over it, she is thrown back into the world of black magic.

Two Murdoc Jern novels, THE ZERO STONES and UNCHARTED STARS, in one omnibus volume.

Young halfer Juhq is still growing into his job as Grandmagister when the wizened wizard Craugh returns with warnings. Juhq must unlock the secrets contained in the journals of his now-absent mentor, Rover, while continuing his own search for a trilogy of books. He will learn the origins of the legendary sword, Seaspray.

When you've lost what you love most, a life in hell comes easy.

Hoping for a better life, five war veterans colonize an abandoned island. They take with them everything they could possibly need - food, clothes, tools, weapons, even wives. But an unanticipated discovery shatters their dream and replaces it with a very different one. The colonists feel sure that their friendship will keep them together. Only then do they begin to realize that they've brought with them rather more than they bargained for. For one of them, it seems, has been hiding a terrible secret from the rest of the company. And when the truth begins to emerge, it soon becomes clear that the war is far from over.

In Anavatan, the city of the Silver Lake, the Gods manifest themselves on an all-too-regular basis, and it is hard to survive if you are not pledged to one of the deities. Now, Brax, Spar, and Graize have discovered their destinies. Grown into their powers, they are about to face off in a confrontation that will spark a war and see the rise of a new player among the Gods themselves.

Death - dark, glib, handsome as the devil, has arrived in Felport with a posse composed of a half-insane necromancer and the reanimated corpse of John Wilkes Booth, and he isn't leaving until he gets what he came for. With the Founders' Ball just around the bend, drawing together the brightest, meanest, and most dangerous of Felport's magical elite, the last thing that Marla, Felport's chief sorcerer, needs is all-out war with the King of the Underworld, but that's exactly what she's got.

The crew of the Vorpal Blade discovers that their ship has been infested by a scorpion-like alien species and their new commander is not getting along with almost everybody. And what is that weird noise the ship makes every time it's in hard maneuvers?

Grayson of Concordia, known on countless worlds as the Duke of Ombra, is a mercenary, a sorcerer of shadows - a man whose soul is consumed by darkness. For Gray, the bleak savagery in his heart is manifest in an entity he calls Shad. He has long resisted Shad's enticements, but when he is hired to kidnap a fire witch, he seizes the chance to restore his soul-no matter the cost. Cenda's heart is ash. Since the death of her precious baby daughter, life has lost all meaning for the fire witch. Slowly, she has worked to master her powers and go on living. But when she encounters Gray, her will is no match for her desire. But her love may not survive the terrible discovery of Gray's betrayal.

Geralt is a witcher, a man whose own magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. But he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the monsters and demons that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it's quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he's going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster.

Kris Longknife has been assigned to The Wasp, the best warship beyond the Rim of Human Space. But while hunting for pirates, Kris stumbles upon something. It is a plan to kill one of the members of the aristocratic Peterwald family - and the would-be killers are setting her up as the assassin.

A troubled Warrior Rider named Wen faces her greatest challenge in the last place she ever expected: behind the walls of a great family estate known as Fortune, where Wen has been hired to guard the young heiress. Once there, she will find that fate has other plans for her.

She is Rhia, bound to the Spirit of Crow and gifted with vision. In a world besieged by escalating conflict, fate has marked her to deliver the Reawakened from oppression. Now, with a mighty army of Descendants threatening to crush what's left of her people's magic, she must trust an ancient prophecy and accept the power that is her birthright - the power of life and death itself.

Semma's warlord Sterren has been hired to resist an enemy invasion. His army is composed of incompetent generals, and untrained, unequipped and inebriated soldiers.

Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. The Godking's successful coup has left Kylar's master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession. But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit?

85 years after Ponce de Leon returns with his prize, Spain sends an armada against England and gains a victory through the laser weapons that were wielded by odd-looking beings in monk's garb. Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by her advisor, Dr. Dee, flees to the New World hoping to discover the source of the new weapons.

Blood has power and water is more precious than freedom: three friends unite this city on the frontier between two worlds on a quest to save their families.

Followup to BLOODLINE. Jack's pursuit of a legendary Japanese katana is impeded by the numerous other parties with the same goal. His usual method is to maneuver all sides into a bloody melee from which he will waltz away with the prize. Of course, when things don't go as planned, Jack must improvise -- and he hates to improvise.

The two leaders of separate shape-shifting tribes - the hard-headed Kimber and the beautiful Maricara -- must fight a common enemy -- and their passion for each other.

A collection of classic, humorously twisted sf tales together with the full-length novel THE STEEL, THE MIST AND THE BLAZING SUN, and its prequel novella.

As the Lords of Death -- Mexican pirates -- raid their stockpiles, Ryan and the other contemplate the rumour of cities deep in South American that survived the blast intact.

Non-fiction. Soon robots will be everywhere, performing surgery, exploring hazardous places, making rescues, fighting fires, handling heavy goods. Cyborgs will be less obvious. These additions to the human body are interior now, as rebuilt joints, elbows and hearts. Soon we will cross the line between repair and augmentation, probably first in sports medicine, then spreading to everyone who wants to make a body perform better and last longer.

Morgan Kingsley, exorcist, is possessed herself, by Lugh, a king among demons. He's prying into her body, her mind, even her sex life. And he's just pulled Morgan into a power struggle that could have devastating consequences for both the human and demon worlds. But Morgan still has a job to do: investigating the highly bizarre possession of the son of a wealthy Philadelphia couple. That hunt leads Morgan into a realm of sexual depravity, then a terrifying kidnapping.

Calvin Bryson has hidden himself away from the world, losing himself in his work and his collection of rare and quirky books. He never meant to let so much time go by without visiting his aunt and uncle in the tiny town of New Cyprus, California. When he gets there, he'll discover the town's strange secrets and a mysterious group dedicated to preserving and protecting holy relics - a modern day incarnation of the legendary Knights Templar.

Includes an all-new interview with Bujold, essays on crafting the Vorkosigan universe, articles on the biology, technology and sociology of the planet Barrayar, appreciations of the novels by various experts, maps, a complete timeline of the series and more.

When Tavi and his legions guide the Canim safely to their lands, his worst fears are realized. The dreaded Vord - the enemy of Aleran and Cane alike - have spent the last three years laying waste to the Canim homeland. And when the Alerans are cut off from their ships, they find themselves with no choice but to fight shoulder to shoulder if they are to survive.

On the backs of the Imperial and Summer fleets, Arefaine returns to Efften's forbidden shores to reclaim her birthright. Brophy and Shara race to stop her, and they all head toward the confrontation that will reveal the truth about Arefaine's past and force her to make a choice that could doom their world.

Geologist Paul Reece must descend from the rain jungle down through 20,000 feet of solid rock. With Paul's expertise, the mining company can unearth a windfall - unless Paul decides to bury them first. But Paul isn't alone in his quest. Congo's mystics have prepared for this day.

Fear is the fastest-growing crop on Haulover, a newly colonized planet where someone-or something-is destroying isolated farmhouses. Impossible missions are a matter of course for Fourth Force Recon's second platoon squads, and the situation at Haulover-with no witnesses and few clues-is no exception. But this assignment turns out to be even tougher and bloodier than usual because the devastation is a ploy-to lure the nine Marines into a trap, and to force them to bust the Confederation's terrible secret wide open.

Roger Bascombe has sent his fiance, Celeste Temple, a note stating that their engagement is terminated. Celeste is determined to find out why. Adopting a disguise she follows Roger to the forbidding Harschmort Manor. There she enters a world that is by turns seductive and shocking and discovers a conspiracy that is unbelievably terrifying.

West of Theft, on a vast stretch of ocean known as the Wastes, the free-ship Suncurl pilots its way along the Lees of Laughter's End, away from the city of Lamentable Moll. Aboard the ship, three passengers have become the subject of the crew's gossip: the luckless manservant Emancipor Reese, and his masters, the homicidal necromancers known as Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. But a bizarre force pursues them along the cursed sea-lane known as Laughter's End, even as an arcane thing awakens aboard the Suncurl. What secrets do the captain and her First Mate conceal from the rest of the crew? What lurks in the darkness of the ship's hold? And what of the eunuch's strange behavior... or his frightening offspring?

While the old entrenched rulers and manipulators continue to plot against this new upstart nation, everyday life goes on in Grantville, the town lost in time, with librarians, firefighters, and garbage collectors trying to make do under unusual circumstances. And what better place for an undercover spy from France than working with the garbage collectors, examining 20th century machines that others throw out and copying the technology (though he wishes one device - the paper shredder - had been left behind in the future).

17 original stories about the "City of Cats", set in a world that exists on the same plane as humans, yet is hidden from us. Friesner, Byers, Rabe, Vardeman, Vaughan, Stover, Greenwood, Wurts are among the contributors.

Occult investigator Quincey Morris and his "consultant," white witch Libby Chastain, are hired to free a family from a deadly curse that appears to date back to the Salem witch trials. Fraught with danger, the trail finds them stalking the mysterious occult underworlds of Boston, San Francisco, New Orleans and New York, searching out the root of the curse. After surviving a series of terrifying attempts on their lives, the two find themselves drawn inexorably towards Salem itself - the very heart of darkness.

Benford, Rusch, Michael Z. Williamson, and William Keith are among those with visions of future wars fought with weapons out of nightmares.

Jayne Heller arrives in Denver to deal with her murdered uncle's estate and finds herself immediately embroiled in her uncle's struggle against a cabal of evil wizards called the Invisible College.

Lily's job as one of Satan's Chosen comes with plenty of perks. Still, being dumped by the first mortal she's fallen in love with in centuries has put her in a serious funk. However, there are plenty of distractions -- too many, as it turns out.

Rachel Morgan, witch and runner, must now pay for willingly trafficking in forbidden demon magis. Unfortunately, there was one person her wits and wiles couldn't save. Searching for the truth behind her love's murder, Rachel treads a dangerous path, filled with deadly menace and shocking surprises - including a powerful demon determined to claim her and a family secret that throws her entire life into question. If she is ever to live free, she must walk willingly into the demonic ever-after in search of long lost knowledge.

40 years have passed since Empress Ouriana became the Divine Incarnation of the Devouring Moon. With 12 deadly sorcerers as priests, she rules the land in darkness. The only hope is one foreordained princess who has vanished behind enemy lines. A brave band of heroes has only a short time to reach her. And Ouriana has wakened the ancient terrors of legend.

Includes, among others of Howard's great fanstasy and horror stories, his last Conan, "Red Nails". Also includes his weird verse.

Sequel to BLOODRING. Neomage Thorn St. Croix must rescue a fallen seraph, imprisoned deep under the mountains. And there too the armies of Darkness assemble.

Noetos and his reluctant companion are on the run. Hiding a powerful artifact from merciless pursuers, they know that time is against them. As the storm approaches, Noetos uses this to his advantage - but realizes that something terrible is about to be unleashed. A continent away, Lenares now leads the Cosmographers following the death of her mistress. Trained to detect the presence of the Gods, she can find no evidence of the Father. Is it possible that a god can be dead? Could the resulting imbalance be the source of the worsening cataclysms? Noetos and Lenares only have pieces of the puzzle - and the reality is far more terrifying than they could ever imagine.

Three dragon siblings are among the last of a dying breed, and the final hope for their species' survival. AuRon, Wistala, and Copper find themselves at odds over the coming human war. AuRon thinks dragons should have no part in the affairs of humans. Wistala believes dragons and man can peacefully co-exist. And Copper has designs of his own on the world. And the civilized humans who have turned to Copper for assistance against their savage enemies have just given him the perfect opportunity to fulfill his plans.

More than thirty years ago, Katherine Kurtz changed the face of fantasy with the Deryni Chronicles. In 2005, Ace published a newly revised and expanded Deryni Checkmate in hardcover. Now, that edition is available in mass market for the first time.

16 Valdemar stories, including a new novella from Lackey, and stories from Tanya Huff, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Fiona Patton, Judith Tarr, Rosemary Edghill and others.

Pushing forty and alone, Pia Thomason heads to Europe hoping to find romance. What she finds are two very handsome, very mysterious, and very undead men. And she learns that where vampires are concerned, love isn't the only thing at stake.

When Sophie Garou's boyfriend Heath starts spending long nights at the office with his new assoicate - a dead-ringer for Career Day Barbie - she smells trouble. However, more troubling is the fact that the Houston werewolf pack has sniffed her out -- either you're with us, or against us, she's told.

The 23rd century is a time of optimism, expansion and diversity in the lunar colonies - but an age of repression on Earth. The clash of ideologies explodes into the Quiet War. The colonies and their bid for independence is defeated -- but the struggle continues -- and now there's talk of another war. Recommended.

There have been four victims already. Famed for their beauty and one-of-a-kind artistic gifts, they were murdered in the most shocking ways imaginable and their corpses stolen. Now the famed diva Maria de Livnova is arriving in Tristopolis - a city literally powered by the massive necroflux generators that process the dead - and it is up to Lieutenant Donal Riordan to make sure she ends her limited engagement alive. But Riordan isn't the only one watching de Livnova.

Elric of Melnibone. Traitor. Savior. Lover. Thief. Last king of a fallen empire whose cruelty was surpassed only by its beauty. Sustained by drugs and the vampiric powers of his black sword, Stormbringer, haunted by visions of a tragic past and a doomed future, Elric wanders the world in quest of oblivion. But the great lords of Law and Chaos have other plans for this tormented adventurer. Illustrated by Steve Ellis, and featuring a foreword by Holly Black.

Followup to the ORCS: FIRST BLOOD trilogy. Stryke and his band of Orcs, having found the Orc homeland hidden in another dimension, attempt to find peace for their race and escape the ever-greedy, savage expansion of mankind.

Cole Wickerson is violently initiated into the hidden world of vampires and werewolves and is trained to become a Skinner, one of the humans who hunt shape-shifting monsters and bloodsuckers.

An island at the edge of a world-spanning ocean harbours the descendants of men and women who long ago fled a world ruined by magical and technological excess. Amid a web of conspiracy and betrayal, three people threaten to shatter the island's fragile peace. Scheming Lord Ghar, faithful to lost gods and forbidden lore, plays an intricate power game; Lady Vashmarna, an iron-willed ruler, conceals a guilty secret behind her noble facade; and Moth, a poor, irreverent novice, holds perhaps the darkest power of all: a mysterious link to a shadowy force that may prove to be humanity's final hope-or its ultimate doom. BC author.

15 years ago Ariane Kedros piloted a ship on a mission that obliterated an entire solar system. Branded a war criminal she was given a new identity and a new life to protect her from retribution. But now 12 of her wartime colleagues are dead, assassinated by someone who has uncovered their true identities. And her superiors in the Autonomist army have placed her directly in the assassin's line of fire on a peacekeeping mission that will decide the fate of all humanity.

Sequel to CALLY'S WAR. Cally O'Neal is officially dead. In her over 40 years of being an active secret agent she hasn't used her real name, much less spoken to her sister. So when her sister Michelle O'Neal (the first human Sohon mentat), interrupts an important mission by seemingly appearing out of thin air, it's an unexpected reunion. And not likely to be good news.

On an Alpinadoran lake, just below Ancient Badden's magical ice castle, several societies, caught in the web of their own conflicts, are oblivious to Ancient Badden's devastating plans to destroy them. Bransen becomes the link between the wars, and if he fails, all who live on the lake will perish, and all of northern Honce will fall under the shadow of the merciless and vengeful Samhaists.

Battle-scarred centurions Macro and Cato are in Palmyra, a desert kingdom that Rome and Parthia are ready to do battle over. Under siege by superior numbers, the cohort faces annihilation. Yet Palmyra must not be allowed to fall.

What do you get when you mix a squid-headed Ancient One, a mystical force-five hurricane, Rasputin's privates, the city of New Orleans and an undead Captain Nemo. Christopher Csejthe is going to find out.

With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways - and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better... . Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training - especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince - and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians. If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies...

When the Covenant entered the Thetti star system after a 200 year frozen voyage her crew awoke to find a new world ripe for colonization. But Tam, the mission's leader, begins to suspect that the situation is less than perfect when a strange light appears over the planet and one of the moons goes missing.

Sequel to SINGER OF SOULS. Young busker Douglas is at the Edinburgh arts festival and takes some drugs. Suddenly he can see the fey folk who invisibly share Edinburgh's ancient streets - in all their beauty and terrifying cruelty. Worse, they can see him, and they're determined to draw him into their own internecine wars - wars that are fought to the death.

In a world that has an eighth continent: Atlantis lies between Europe and the East Coast of Terranova. It is a land of opportunity, luring dreamers from around the globe with its natural resources and the promise of a new beginning for those willing to brave the wonders of an unexplored land.

Three chilling novellas from L. A. Banks, Tananarive Due, and Brandon Massey explore ghosts and hauntings by drawing upon African and African-American ancestral myths and beliefs. Dangerous secrets surface as a generation-old feud comes to bone-chilling new life; a man is handed an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past; and ancestors who haunt the nights of two children make their mark on both the dead and the living.

Logan Gyre is king of Cenaria, a country under siege, with a threadbare army and little hope. He has one chance - a desperate gamble, but one that could destroy his kingdom. In the north, the new Godking has a plan. If it comes to fruition, no one will have the power to stop him. Kylar Stern has no choice. To save his friends-and perhaps his enemies-he must accomplish the impossible: assassinate a goddess.

The last freelance PI on earth, Zach Johnson has been hired to track down a young beauty who happens to be a deadly secret weapon for the World Council. Figuring girls just want to have fun, he follows Natasha to various vacation destinations, but she eludes him, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

As the crusade to liberate the Sabbat Worlds continues, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt leads the Tanith First-and-Only into an unforgiving new warzone, the fortress world of Jago. As the enemy assaults increase in fury, Gaunt and his regiment must face the terror of the present alongside the ghosts of their past, for only in death does duty end.

One of the Imperium's most celebrated Titan Legions, stopping at the forge world of Orestes for refit and repair, is attacked by a force of Chaos Titans. Just as war spreads, a religious schism begins to tear the Adeptus Mechanicus apart.

Ulther Whitsun is a fixer. When you've got a problem, if you can't find someone to take care of it, he's your man. Ulther works for money, plain and simple. But a simple job lands him in the middle of a revolution, not choosing sides may doom him to an early grave.

The ghost of a murder victim hunts down his killer - fueled by vengeance and seething with bloodlust. Ghost whisperer Melinda investigates and discovers that the ghost has fixed its sights on the wrong guy. The real killer is not happy with Melinda's interference and turns his homicidal rage on her, apparently undeterred by the prospect of having two ghosts hunting him.

Archeologist Jacob Ramsey's decision on how to employ the information given to him by a dying alien will determine the fate of worlds throughout the galaxy.

While travelling to Marienburg to fulfil a last request from his dying father, Felix and the Dwarf Trollslayer Gotrek meet their old acquaintance Max Schreiber. The Imperial wizard has been sent north to investigate some disturbing magical phenomena off the coast of the Empire. Pretty soon, the heroic duo and their companions find themselves unexpectedly caught up in a new adventure, fighting for their lives against the dark elves!

These are the voyages of the USS Da Vinci. Their mission: to solve the problems of the galaxy, one disaster at a time. Starfleet veteran Captain David Gold, along with his crack Starfleet Corps of Engineers team led by former Enterprise engineer Commander Sonya Gomez, travel throughout the Federation - and beyond - to fix the unfixable, repair the irreparable, and solve the unsolvable.

If the dwarves can stay alive long enough they can find their way to a new future.

The Arcane Brotherhood has long held the city of Luskan in their power, but when corruption eats away at their ranks, Captain Deudermont comes to the rescue of a city that has become a safe haven for the Sword Coast's most dangerous pirates. But rescuing a city from itself may not be as easy as Deudermont thinks, and when Drizzt can't talk him out of it, he'll be forced to help.

Young Luke realizes that the galaxy will tailspin into the Dark Side unless he dedicates his life to reviving the Jedi Order.

The beautiful and deadly vampire Genevieve Dieudonne is one of the Black Library's best-loved characters. This collection contains DRACHENFELS, GENEVIEVE UNDEAD, BEASTS IN VELVET and SILVER NAILS.

Shopping for wedding gifts with your fiance is enjoyable, unless like Gwen you witness a Weevil massacre in the shopping centre. A trip to the zoo is a great day out, until a date goes tragically wrong and Ianto is badly injured by stolen alien tech. And Halloween is a day of fun and frights, before unspeakable monsters invade the streets of Cardiff and it's no longer a trick or a treat for the terrified population. Torchwood can control small groups of scavengers, but now someone has given large numbers of predators a season ticket to Earth!

Thorn is a Dark Lantern sent undercover to a summit in the monstrous kingdom of Droaam. The beasts of Droaam demand recognition from the kingdoms of Khorvaire and Breland wants to know how its neighbours will react. Thorn is also expected to take the opportunity to recover something long ago stolen by the mysterious Sheshka, Queen of the Medusas.

Dr. Elizabeth Lense returns home to Earth to find that her estranged mother - renowned archaeologist Jennifer Almieri - is dead, and the investigation into her death is being handled by Starfleet. Meanwhile Bart Faulwell also returns to Earth, looking forward to a reunion with his lover Anthony Mark. But the reunion is far less satisfying than he'd been expecting. Two crew members face major crossroads in their lives.

Darth Bane has created the "Rule of Two", which states that the new Sith Order will consist only of two: a Master, and an apprentice. Now, with his new apprentice, he sets in motion his plans. [CANADIAN author].

The official prequel to the game.

Although demons and conquerors have made much of the troubles Krasus has been forced to contain, it is the dragons, his own kind, that disturb him most. Their stirrings portend dark times ahead. A cataclysmic conflict approaches that could end with all Azeroth ablaze in arcane fire.

The Borg are using a secret passage through subspace to attack the Federation. Picard must find the right one and lead a counterstrike against an impending invasion.

As the flames of treachery spread outwards through the Imperium, Horus mobilises those forces who are loyal to him, and plots to subvert or destroy those who aren't. A battle is being fought for the heart and soul of all the Imperial forces - the Astartes, the Imperial Army, the Titan Legions and more. The story of the civil war on Mars, and the genesis of the Dark Mechanicum.

After a long and distinguished career defending the Imperium from its many enemies, Commissar Cain is enjoying a well-deserved retirement on Perlia, teaching in a schola progenium. But when a Black Crusade threatens the sector, all able-bodied citizens must rise to the defence, including Cain and his cadets. As the forces of Chaos overwhelm Perlis, can the wily commissar prove himself to be a real hero of the Imperium one last time?

The half-fiend Kaanyr Vhok finally arrives at the destination he has sacrificed so much to achieve - he is in the heart of Celestia with his lover and consort, the succubus Aliisza, only to find that the House of the Triad is falling apart, and he is bound by a vengeful Aliisza and a renegade angel into trying to save it - not exactly the goal he had in mind.

17 year old Jim Kirk is barely scraping by in San Francisco, haunted by horrific memories from his past. Then, caught up in interplanetary intrigue, and trying to protect his brother and a girl, he finds himself in jail beside a 19 year old alien boy named Spock, who has uncovered a plot to sell Vulcan artifacts. The pair strike an uneasy alliance that leads to them both being offered the choice of jail - or joining Starfleet.

Rhys, the monk of Majere, accompanied by his dog Atta and the kender Nightshade, is given the dangerous assignment of guarding the crazed god Mina, escorting her on a long, strange journey to the mysterious place known as Godshome, where Mina hopes to find the answer to the riddle of her existence. Their path is fraught with peril, for the undead Beloved want to make Mina their leader, even as the death knight Krell wants to seize her and Galdar tries to deliver Mina to her most hated enemy.

The legendary dark hero Skulltaker seeks to make his reputation in the grim wastes of the Realm of Chaos, a magical, macabre landscape of terrifying daemons and dreaded monsters. By slaying and subjugating all that stand before him, Skulltaker will carve out a place in destiny and become an immortal legend.

In the grim Old World, the Empire is in as much danger from the enemy within as the armies of invaders that attack its borders. Foremost among its protectors are the witch hunters, templars of Sigmar sworn to track down the evil and the corrupt, no matter where they hide, and how hard they fight. Follow the story of Witch Hunter Matthias Thulmann as he ruthlessly tracks down witches, heretics and mutants. Contains three classic Witch Hunter novels and many short stories.

There are many stories in Krynn - and history is watching. The Journeyman is charged to use the ancient Anvil of Time to travel back along the river of time and find the lost stories that fell between the pages of the history books. He finds Bradok Axeblade. A chance meeting in a pub turns into a dire warning of impending apocalypse, and Bradok and a determined band of dwarves must brave the dark of the underworld, facing strange new dangers and horrors long hidden from the light. Hunger, fatigue, betrayal, and death await them, all in their quest to find safety in an alien environment - the surface world.

When a wandering swordmage, trained by the elves of Myth Drannor, returns to his boyhood home on the windswept shores of the Moonsea, he finds that corruption has taken hold, leaving his friends and family open to a devastating evil.

Standing at the mouth of the River Reik, the exotic port city of Marienburg is at constant alert against its enemies. Watch-Captain Kurt Schnell and his men have their work cut out when a plague of unnatural events drives the citizens to a state of despair and madness. But these merely herald the arrival of the real enemy - a necromancer. Can Kurt rally the city's defenders before Marienburg is turned into a realm of the living dead?

The Crucible of Tira Miron is one of the holiest relics of the Church of the Silver Flame, and a symbol of the Church's power in Thrane. When two rivals of that power infiltrate the Church to seize the relic, it's as much a race to catch the thieves before the Crucible slips away as it is a race to seize the artifact and all the power it implies.

It is established in common law that if a publisher is too secretive and/or disorganized to provide a description of a title he wants you to buy, if the publisher wants you to purchase a pig in a poke under the equally established principle of caveat emptor, a bookseller may without fear of censure simply make up a description and insert it into his catalogue. The problem with that, I've learned, is that eventually the author (or his agent) will google up your description and go absolutely ballistic on you, no matter how you invoke precedent. This is, therefore, a pig in a poke.

Raidon Kane is one of those upon whom the blue fire confers mystical mutation - it burned the sigil of the amulet he wears into his chest and bound him with all the power and responsibility it entails. With everyone he knows and cares about dead, Raidon must find within himself the strength to lead the fight against the rise of an elder evil.

Our oceans are being drained in order to fuel the aliens' motherships, and our scientists are treated like wanted criminals. And the aliens have pods of preserved humans destined for even more sinister purposes. Just when Earth's doom seems inevitable, agents of an alien civilization from another planet arrive in answer to humanity's desperate call for help. But can these other aliens be trusted?

The stunning conclusion to the Twilight War! One of the Forgotten Realms world's most compelling villains - the Archwizards of Shade - have come down from their flying city with their sights set on the merchant realm of Sembia. They come in the guise of allies, but have invasion and empire as their ultimate aim. The fate of Sembia may be sealed, but Erevis Cale still has a shocking destiny that will end in his destruction - if he's lucky.

The half-breed ogre, Golgren, at last Grand Khan of all his people, must abandon everything to embark on a quest he can trust to no other. The Fire Rose is a mysterious artifact that could prove the salvation - or destruction - of his growing empire. Safrag, the new master of the Ogre Titans, is just as eager to claim the precious artifact and promote his own might.

Picard and Riker unite to stop the Borg's march through known space. But both starships are no match for the Borg armada. All hope is pinned on one last, desperate plan.

From inception to completion, construction of the unprecedented Death Star is awash in the intrigues, hidden agendas, unexpected revelations, and daring gambits of those involved on every level. Soldiers and slaves, loyalists and Rebels, spies and avengers, the innocent and the evil-all their paths and fates will cross and intertwine as the Death Star moves from its maiden voyage to its final showdown.

An exorcist brings into light the ghost of a merciless tyrant -- who unleashes an onslaught of disease and terror.

Sequel to DARK APOSTLE. Ever driven by his lust for power, Marduk, now Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers Chaos Space Marine Legion, strives to unlock the secrets of an ancient and deadly artefact. This quest throws him and the Word Bearers into a deadly warzone and a desperate battle between their Imperial enemies and the alien dark eldar. Surrounded by foes, this could be the Dark Apostle's sternest test yet.

1957: a squad of Russian soldier forces Indiana Jones along as they plunder a top-secret government warehouse looking for the Ark of the Covenant. The Russians are forestalled, but their next move takes Indy into the depths of the Amazon on a desperate rescue mission.

FIFTEEN HOURS, DEATH WORLD and REBEL WORLD: three novels set upon the myriad theatres of battle of the Warhammer 40,000 universe that focus on the Imperial Guard.