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"Ballroom Blitz" by Veronica Schanoes is a contemporary fairy tale about a young man, who with his eleven brothers, have been cursed to remain in a rock club for their bad behavior. Their only shot at freedom might be the twelve sisters who one day enter the club.

Read the full story for free at Tor.com.

Hugo Award winning short story. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 2000 and was reprinted in Lightspeed, May 2012. The story can also be found in the anthologies Year's Best SF 6 (2001), edited by David G. Hartwell, The Hard SF Renaissance (2002), edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, and New Skies: An Anthology of Today's Science Fiction (2003), edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden. It is included in the collection Different Kinds of Darkness (2004).

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

Halcyon Blithe, being a young man of good breeding and lineage as well as endowed with those qualities and abilities of a sorcerous nature and wishing to fulfill his full potential, is ready to assume his proper place in the world. He aims to seek his fortune among those who tend and sail the awesome nautical juggernauts-the dragonships. With this is mind, Blithe gladly accepts his rank as Midshipwizard and becomes a member of the crew who man the dragonships-vessels which harness the bodies and strength of living dragons with seafaring technology.

Combining elements of Hornblower with Harry Potter, and Robert Louis Stevenson with Robin Hobb, Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe is a nautical tale rich in magic and intrigue. A tale set against a panorama of fantastic naval battle as we follow the career of a young midshipwizard as he moves up through the ranks of His Majesty's Navy.

His yeoman voyage now behind him, Blithe must now accept new responsibilities as he ascends to the rank of:

DRAGONFRIGATE WIZARD HALCYON BLITHE.

In the latest chapter of the young wizard's nautical education he finds himself second in command of a captured enemy vessel that must engage a demonship in combat before returning to port. Upon his return he is assigned duty on a dwarven dragonship where he and his shipmates encounter the deceit of politics and diplomacy before they can regain the security of their Arcanian dragonship and the company of their trusted crewmates.

Combining elements of Hornblower with Harry Potter, and Robert Louis Stevenson with Robin Hobb, the Halcyon Blithe are nautical tales rich in magic and intrigue set against a panorama of fantastic naval battles as we follow the career of a young midshipwizard as he moves up through the ranks of His Majesty's Navy.

A thrilling tale of survival as dragon-like monsters invade, and two unlikely heroes must save humanity from annihilation...

When the monsters came, the power went out. Towns and cities became darkened ruins, and terrified survivors fled west, trailed by the blitz, dragon-like creatures screeching down from the sky enshrouded in lightning, delivering death.

The old world is ending, but not all hope is lost.

Left behind is a timid dreamer, Thomas, and a brash and outspoken daredevil, Cassie. When their paths unexpectedly cross, they must outwit both monsters and humans alike on an epic journey across a dangerous ravaged landscape if they hope to do the impossible: Reignite hope. Defeat the blitz. Save humanity.

In this heart-pounding adventure, two teens must venture into the unknown to save humanity from dragon-like monsters...

Thomas and Cassie found hope where the shadow road ended. Now they must forge a future for themselves and their newfound community of people left behind after the blitz ravaged their homes. But the journey ahead is dangerous.

Thomas and Cassie separate, each seeking important clues to the origin of the blitz, while surviving threats at every turn. They must find a way to send the terrifying dragon-like monsters back where they came from. Could answers lie in a mythical world beneath our own?

This post-apocalyptic adventure blends heartfelt friendship with high stakes action in an unforgettable tale of survival against all odds.

A new recruit to the most powerful supernatural intelligence agency on Earth is accused of going rogue and must go on the run to clear her name.

September, 1940. Three women of the Checquy, the secret organization tasked with protecting Britain from supernatural threats, stand in the sky above London and see German aircraft approach. Forbidden by law to interfere, all they can do is watch as their city is bombed. Until Pamela, the most sensible of them, breaks all the rules and brings down a Nazi bomber with her bare hands. The three resolve to tell no one about it, but they soon learn that a crew member is missing from the downed bomber. Charred corpses are discovered in nearby houses and it becomes apparent that the women have unwittingly unleashed a monster.

Through a city torn by the Blitz, the friends must hunt the enemy before he kills again. Their task will take them from the tunnels of the Underground to the halls of power, where they will discover the secrets that a secret organization must keep even from itself.

Today. Lynette Binns, a librarian with a husband and child, is a late recruit to the Checquy, having discovered only as an adult her ability to electrify everyday objects with her touch. After completing her training, she is assigned to examine a string of brutal murders and quickly realizes that all bear the unmistakable hallmark of her own unique power. Unable to provide an alibi and determined to prove her innocence, she flees, venturing into the London underworld to find answers. But now she is prey, being tracked by her own frighteningly capable comrades.

As Lyn fights off powered thugs and her own vengeful colleagues, she will find that the solution to the murders and to the mystery of her own past lies in the events of World War II, and the covert actions of three young women during the Blitz.