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In To Conquer Chaos, John Brunner gives us a heaping helping of classic planetary science fiction adventure. The barrenland is a mystery and an enigma, a dangerous and terrifying place that none who enter ever return from. More than three hundred miles around, it has existed far longer than collective memory can guess, and all too often, strange beasts emerge from it and kill at random.

Conrad lives on the edge of the barrenland and is haunted by visions of its past as a haven, populated by magical people who could travel between worlds. He meets Jervis Yenderman, a soldier who has knowledge of the visions and who believes that within the barrenland is an island of human survivors--and that one man has escaped it within recent memory.

A guided tour though the many worlds of a New York Times best-selling master of authentic science fact and riveting science fiction.

James P. Hogan stands among the foremost writers of science fiction today, and is renowned for his ability to combine accurate science from the cutting edge of present-day research with living, breathing characters in fast-paced, suspenseful stories. Catastrophes, Chaos & Convolutions gives Hogan's thousands of avid readers both a solid-chunk of high-quality science fiction and a look behind the scenes, as Hogan describes how his work came to be written, with biographical details. Add a dash of science fact articles, often on controversial topics (suppose, for example, that Velikovsky was right and the orthodox scientists wrong), and you have a volume that is an essential purchase for Hogan fans everywhere.

Table of Contents:

• The Guardians - (2005) - novelette
• Getting Better Connected - essay
• Impossible Rhymes - (1998) - poem
• Frog Fantasies - (1998) - essay
• Convolution - (2001) - novelette
• The Modern Medievalism - essay
• Global Flooding - (2000) - essay
• Word Games - (2000) - essay
• The Tree of Dreams - (2005) - novella
• Nuclear Waste - (1998) - essay
• Who Will Remember the Deep End? - (2003) - essay
• The Trouble With Utopias - essay
• Decontamination Squad - (2005) - shortfiction
• The Cosmic Power Grid - essay
• Sword of Damocles - novella
• Cryptic Crossword - (2000) - essay
• More Globes Warming - (2003) - essay
• Animal Quackers - (2004) - essay
• Take Two - (2001) - novelette
• Intelligence Test - essay
• Old, Unimproved Model - essay
• Children Need to Get Out and Play - (2003) - essay
• Pioneer 10 Signing Off - (2003) - essay
• The Falcon - (2005) - novelette
• Crossword Solution - essay

An acclaimed fantasy author navigates the world between myth and chaos in this compelling exploration of identity, told with a Caribbean lilt.

Sixteen-year-old Scotch struggles to fit in: at home she's the perfect daughter, at school she's provocatively sassy, and thanks to her mixed heritage, she doesn't feel she belongs with the Caribbeans, whites, or blacks. And even more troubling, lately her skin is becoming covered in a sticky black substance that can't be removed. While trying to cope with this creepiness, she goes out with her brother— and he disappears. A mysterious bubble of light just swallows him up, and Scotch has no idea how to find him. Soon, the Chaos that has claimed her brother affects the city at large, until it seems like everyone is turning into crazy creatures. Scotch needs to get to the bottom of this supernatural situation ASAP before the Chaos consumes everything she's ever known, and she knows that the black shadowy entity that's begun trailing her every move is probably not going to help.

A blend of fantasy and Caribbean folklore, at its heart this tale is about identity and self acceptance—because only by acknowledging her imperfections can Scotch hope to save her brother.

Althus is an anarchist, a Phantom Dragon. Vade is a Whisper?an Imperial agent.

Their love was never meant to survive.

In a world of magical empires and the anarchists that would tear them down, A Necessary Chaos is the story of Althus and Vade, assigned to spy on the other by opposing sides. But now that they've both caught feelings, where will their loyalties fall? They must each decide if they'll follow orders or find a way to make their romance thrive beyond the lies.

In the futuristic world in which he lives, Dante McCall, the only person not genetically identical to everyone else, is branded a freak, banished from Earth, and stranded among a strange starfaring culture.

His name was Jai Vedh, he was an Earthman. But his ship had blown up on a star voyage and now he was a castaway on an uncharted Earthlike planet. The human colony there had developed telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation and the damnedest social system you could imagine had grown out of those abilities.

Zero is a young film maker who believes his whole life and career are mapped out before him. That is, until the night he and his friends walk into a rock club... and are caught in a dazzling trap that spans worlds.

They are dropped onto a dreamlike planet whose surrealistic beauty cannot hide its grotesque reality. Fool's Hope ? a world, so stunningly bizarre, nightmares are irrelevant. Here, abductees ? both human and alien ? are pitted against a neverending succession of hellish parasites, carnivores, shape-changers, and symbiotes.

Yet the greatest enemy of all could be human. When former professor Harmon Fiskle is transformed by the Current ? (a roving mutagenic force) ? he is freed to pursue his megalomaniacal nature. He advocates a depraved policy of social Darwinism, and forges a grotesque alliance of Twists: men and women who have sacrificed their own humanity to become monstrous mutations of their former selves.

With an entire world at stake, only Zero can solve the mystery of Fool's Hope... if it isn't already too late.

Olivia Nikitas, a hardened journalist whose specialty is war zones, has been reporting from the front lines of the civil war in Aleppo, Syria. When Brian, an aid worker she reluctantly fell in love with, dies while following her into danger, she'll do anything to bring him back. In a makeshift death chamber beneath an ancient, sacred site, a strange technology is revealed to Olivia: the power to remake the future by changing the past.

Following her heart and not her head, Olivia brings Brian back, accidentally shifting the world to the brink of nuclear and biological disaster. Now she must stay steps ahead of the guardians of this technology, who will kill her to reclaim it, in order to save not just herself and her love, but the whole world.

The Great Tyrant rules the solar system with absolute terror. Only one man dares to fight back.

The time is the 24th century. Humankind populates the entire solar system from icy Pluto to boiling Mercury. Great domed cities, humming factories, hordes of workers, all feed the power of the dictatorship that controls all life. Only a small group among the cowed population dares rebel in a struggle that pits democracy against tyranny.

But there is a third force at work as well. A mysterious band of assassins whose final solution to the problem of humanity's fate is as terrifying as it is irresistible - one of them is known as the AGENT OF CHAOS.

Last trip out to the only world that spans two universes!

They named the planet Chaos X, because one hemisphere was not in this universe--and no one who ventured there would ever return. They named the other universe Ultra, because it was beyond the laws of the Milky Way galaxy.

It was only by means of Ultra's non-Euclidean physics that men could travel the starways. They named the ruler of that "immobile" planet Fury, because that was the effect of his power on people.

But they were afraid to call Craig Star Gazer by any other name, because he was the space captain who was going to cross into Fury's domain and wrench his loved one from Ultra's power--and this was something that no one had ever done before except the legendary Orpheus.

The more man learns, the more dangerous he becomes. The greater the civilization, the greater the chaos it eventually unleashes...
If you discovered the secret of immortality, to whom would you give it? To the scientists, the politicians, the military? To the Americans? The Russians? The Chinese?
If you weren't after power or money or fame but really wanted to increase human happiness, what would you do with your secret? Go underground? Run away? Pray that you might outlive civilization and be given the chance to start it all over again?
And if the authorities found you, what would they do?
Here is a chilling, provocative and unforgettable novel about the present and the future of mankind.

Mask of Chaos

On the masked world, the law is the deepest secret.

Mike was apprehensive about being stranded on Tome. But the peaceful city and the exquisite masks everyone wore somehow allayed his fears. The sculptured expressions of tranquility and the ghostly, frail smiles lulled him into serenity.

He soon compared his plight on Tome to a sojourn in Eden--until Mike met a flame-haired woman with an apple. She taught him to see the horror behind the masks, to look beyond what people and things "seem" to be.

But then again, he wasn't what he seemed to be. He didn't need a mask. He was a mask.

The Star Virus

They stole the focus of futurity.

We demand that you hand over the object.

Impossible. Ownership is in the hands of our clients.

Human ownership of the object is not admissible. Streall claim is absolute. You will notify of where-abouts.

It is already in transit.

We will intercept. Notify.

You claim must be made through the courts.

Human courts mean nothing to the Streall. Either you comply or Streall fleets will occupy the Kantor system.

Plan for Chaos is a never-before published novel by post-apocalyptic British science fiction writer John Wyndham (1903-69), best known for his "cozy catastrophe" novel about a venomous class of fictional plants, The Day of the Triffids. Written simultaneously with that well-known volume, which has been in print continuously since its publication in 1951, Plan for Chaos makes a fascinating companion to the author's most famous work and offers a new angle on a writer often considered the direct descendent of the legendary H.G. Wells and an influence on such innovators as Ray Bradbury and Margaret Atwood.

In a city that could well be New York, a series of identical women are found dead in suspicious circumstances. Magazine photographer Johnny Farthing, who is reporting on the suspected murders, is chilled to discover that his fiancée looks identical to the victims too - and then she disappears. As his investigations spiral beyond his control, he finds himself at the heart of a sinister plot that uses cloning to revive the Nazi vision of a world-powerful master race... Part detective noir, part dystopic thriller, Plan for Chaos reveals the legendary science fiction novelist grappling with some of his most urgent and personal themes.

The Pisstown Chaos is a novel about disease and forced-relocation. Political power seems to be solely in the hands of one Reverend Herman Hooker, an "American Divine" who revels in the peoples' suffering as they are "shifted" (separated from — and then randomly coupled with — one another) by decree every five years. There are up-shifts, down-shifts, and side-shifts, but no attempt to make harmonious pairings. Chaos rages on as parasitic infestations spread and the Reverend rules with an iron fist from his Templex headquarters, spouting platitudes to the ever-moving masses.

The Dark Elf Naitachal, once a Necromancer who gained power by depriving others of their life forces, is now happy in the more peaceful role of Bard. But shadows from his past linger.

Naitachal's Dark Elf clan sees him as the worst of traitors for daring to turn towards the Light. They mean to take revenge. They create a trap, the Chaos Gate, a sorcerous portal that is meant to draw him into their lands and into their power.

Only Kevin, once Naitachal's apprentice, now a full Bard and Count in his own castle, stands between the Dark Elf and certain doom. But can even the powers of Bardic Magic be enough to vanquish the Darkness?

Sent to the planet Towne to prevent an invasion by the secret Black Dragon Society, Cassie Suthorn and Camacho's Caballeros find a world that has descended into faction-ridden turmoil, with a hostile population that rejects all outside intervention.

When a mysterious entity starts hacking into social networks and chat rooms to instigate paranoia and violence in the real world, it's up to Steph and her new friend, Nell, to find a way to stop it – with the help of their benevolent AI friend, CheshireCat.

Earth's Stellar Commando has placed their secret agent Commander Bron on a planet where they hope he will be able to find out the coordinates of a rival space empire, the Destroyers. Bron is there to impersonate a famous scientist of interest to the Destroyers, and has been given implants through which a monitoring team can see what he sees, hear what he hears and talk to him, even when separated by interstellar distances.

The plot hinges on a fictional science, the study of the entropic patterns of Chaos, which allows predictions of events with an accuracy that was not before possible. Both Earth and the Destroyers--and specifically Bron himself--are discovered to be the target of an extraterrestrial interstellar murder campaign that was hatched 700 million years ago. He succeeds in joining together the Earth and Destroyer fleets and confronts the aliens, to discover that his destiny is inextricably entangled with theirs.

A sunflare, a meteorite strike, a tachyon storm - all natural disasters - were wiping out the best brains of mankind at a rate of a thousand times greater than normal.

The Director of ChaosCenter laid it out bluntly: "All our evidence suggests that a device that can alter probability exists. For want of a better name we call it the Chaos Weapon. Somebody, somewhere, wants us cut back - and hard. Unless we find that Chaos Weapon and destroy it, it's going to destroy us!"

When John Bandicut encounters an alien intelligence on Neptune's moon Triton, his life changes irrevocably. Urged by the alien quarx now sharing his mind, he accepts an audacious mission—to steal a ship and hurtle across the solar system in a desperate bid for Earth's survival.

Book 1 of The Chaos Chronicles, by the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity's End—with a new Afterword by the author.

For John Bandicut, Earth is but a memory. Stranded at the edge of the galaxy in a structure populated with beings from a thousand worlds, Bandicut finds unexpected friends—only to be caught up in a cascade of forces that threaten the Shipworld itself. Confronting an entity known as the boojum, Bandicut discovers greater peril than ever in his journey into the unknown. Volume 2 of The Chaos Chronicles, from the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity's End.

Flung back into the galaxy to an alien ocean world, John Bandicut and his companions find themselves plunged into the deepsea realm of the Neri. What will they find in the Neri's failing undersea city, or in the terrifying object of the deep abyss that threatens this world? Vol. 3 of The Chaos Chronicles continues the hard-SF saga inspired by chaos theory, from the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity's End.

Mission: travel to a nebula called Starmaker. Discover what is threatening not just the star nursery, but every world within a thousand light-years.

As this fourth volume of The Chaos Chronicles opens, John Bandicut and his companions are tired. Would it be too much to ask for a little rest? Apparently so. They reach an interstellar waystation, only to find it being hammered by shock waves from the nearby Starmaker, known to Bandicut as the Great Orion Nebula.

What's the cause? No one knows. But they need to find out, not only because their present shelter is threatened with destruction, but because sentient stars in the nebula are dying. And the danger could cascade across thousands of light-years, threatening uncounted worlds--including Earth.

Aboard a ship called The Long View, Bandicut and his band of exiles journey not just into the perils of a star-forming nebula, but into confrontation with a billion-year-old adversary of life as they know it. Whatever chance they have of stopping the terrifying Mindaru may be found only in the fiery heart of an intelligent sun.

The starstream is beautiful. But beauty turns deadly when an ancient AI bent on destruction uses it to travel uptime, to our near-future.

The Mindaru are dead. Or so exiled-Earthman John Bandicut and his alien companions believe, when they return to Shipworld after saving the Orion Nebula and countless inhabited worlds. But now another horde from this ancient and malicious AI colony is swarming toward the present from its birthplace deep in the past. Their opening: a temporal disturbance in the starstream, a hyperspatial thoroughfare used by myriad civilizations. The disturbance emanates from the planetary defenses of nearby Karellia, whose people know nothing of the starstream or the galaxy-threatening Mindaru.

Only Bandicut and his friends have the knowledge and experience to act. But several of Bandicut's company have gone missing. Bandicut and Li-Jared must team with the pandimensional Ruall and her gokat -- the oddest aliens Bandicut has met since the shadow-people -- and journey to Karellia to find a way to cut off the timestream.

Separated from the others, Ik meets another human of Earth -- a former lover of Bandicut's! -- and embarks with her on a perilous mission far back into deep time, seeking a way to stop the Mindaru at their source. They must thread a maze of impossible decisions. Can they tap the wisdom of the alien yaantel, known to the humans as the translator, to help them through?

Welcome my friends! Welcome... to "The Land!"

Tricked into a world of banished gods, demons, goblins, sprites and magic, Richter must learn to meet the perils of The Land and begin to forge his own kingdom. Actions have consequences across The Land, with powerful creatures and factions now hell-bent on Richter's destruction.

Can Richter forge allegiances to survive this harsh and unforgiving world or will he fall to the dark denizens of this ancient and unforgiving realm?

A tale to shake "The Land" itself, measuring 10/10 on the Richter scale, how will Richter's choices shape the future of The Land and all who reside in it? Can he grow his power to meet the deadliest of beings of the land? When choices are often a shade of grey, how will Richter ensure he does not become what he seeks to destroy?

PS - Gnomes Rule

"We are life takers and heart breakers," Richter shouted. "Let's go!"

Richter and Sion are at it again! Even more of what you loved in the first book! Leveling, world building, awesome items, and what's that you say? Sure! Why not? What's a little necrophilia between friends!?!

Join your favorite Chaos Seed as he answers the call of adventure and deals with the invaders, greedy dwarves, and a wood elf that keeps telling him he has a pretty mouth!

Welcome back my friends!

Welcome back... to The Land!

Everything is not well in The Land. The dead lay restless in their graves and Richter's actions have not gone unnoticed. He arrogantly tried to create something good. How could he not understand that the forces of destruction would demand their due... in blood.

Richter will learn that his earlier sacrifices were nothing. Not when compared to what will be taken. His enemies will leave him broken, but then they will learn something as well. The wrath of a chaos seed is not to be taken lightly!

Come my friends.

Come live the life your soul was meant to live!

Come back... to The Land!

The Mist Village has an insidious history. Terrible atrocities have etched themselves into the very sones of The Land. Just beneath the thin veener of joy and life, the sins of the past lie in wait. Richter will lean that some debts do not just fade away, and more importantly, must be paid.

Luckily, he is not alone. The village itself comes alive as his people show thier worth. Fighters and smiths, magicians and hunters, Richter's people prove the old adage; 'It take a village, to crush your enemies!'

This is a world of wonder and horror.

This is a world of pain and joy.

This is the world that you were meant to fight for.

Welcome back my friends.

Welcome back... to The Land!

The Mist Village has come alive. Richter is not alone. The various peoples he has saved prove their worth as hunters, smiths, builders and warriors. Experience their joys and triumphs, their pains and sorrows. Richter's settlement will show its worth. It is time for the village to grow.

Join Richter and Sion as they quest to tame the wild forest around the village. The village is an amazing resouce, but the demands it places upon the chaos seed are great! The Companions will risk their lives to provide for the people of the Mist Village, while the drums of war can be heard just over the horizon!

This is a world of wonder and horror.

This is a world of pain and joy.

This the world of monsters... and the brave men who battle them.

Welcome back my friends!

Welcome back... to The Land!

Welcome my friends! Welcome... to "The Land!"

"This is the world you were meant to fight for!"

The time of hiding has passed. The Mist Village will make itself known. Goblins have invaded Richter's lands. Though the first incursion has been defeated, the anger of Chaos Seed remains. Those who challenge Richter's power will learn there is a reason all creatures fear the mist... it is the home of monsters.

For the first time, Richter takes the battle to his enemies. He will live up to his name, and the very Land will shake with this power. With his allies, the Wood Sprites of Nadria, the army of the Mist Village marches to war. Richter has been a healer, an enchanter, a dungeon diver, and a killer. Now he becomes something more. He becomes a RAIDER!

This is a world of wonder and horror. This is a world of pain and joy. This is the world of monsters... and the brave men who battle them.

Welcome back my friends!

Welcome back... to The Land!

In The Land: Predators, the Mist Village has harnessed its power. Core buildings, Professional fighters and now, their own Dungeon, the settlement is primed to grow into a kingdom of true power and magic. The path to power has not been without risk, however. The MistVillage has been noticed.

Evil nobles from the Kingdom of Law, bloodthirsty goblins fromthe Serrated Mountains, an undead lord with a penchant for human sacrifice and fanatical kobolds from the Depths, all plot the village's destruction. The predators are circling. Richter's people are horribly outnumbered by foes whose own power has been entrenched for thousands of years.

Richter and Sion need to be stronger than ever before. Luckily, they are. New skills have been learned, stronger enchantments have been wrought and the hundreds of villagers have answered the call to adventure. The Companions do not stand alone. While many eyes have turned towards the mists, wanting to take the treasures within, the Mist Village stares back with a simple message.

Come and get it!

Welcome my friends! Welcome...to "The Land"!

The battle of the dead was won, but at a great cost. Sion, leader of the Mist Village, was left with only pain and regret as Richter was claimed by the abyss.

What no one but the abandoned chaos seed knows is that he narrowly avoided the curse of the lich Singh, a curse that still hangs above his head. Now, surrounded by miles of darkness and tons of crushing rock, Richter has to find his way back into the light.

The only problem is that this monster of a man is being pursued by monsters, a demon, and his own foolish choices. Faced with all the dangers of the deep dark, what will Richter say when the buried horrors of The Land come a calling and asked if he's paid his dues?

Well he'll look right back, stare that horror in the eye, and say, "Yes sir, the check is in the mail!"

Welcome back my friends!

Welcome back... to The Land!

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown.

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

Or are there?

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

Which is impossible.

Prentisstown has been lying to him.

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

Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order.

But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer?

And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode...

The Ask and the Answer is a tense, shocking and deeply moving novel of resistance under the most extreme pressure.

Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others.

Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape.

As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there be peace when they’re so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await?

But then a third voice breaks into the battle, one bent on revenge…

The electrifying finale to the award-winning Chaos Walking trilogy. Publishing May 2010 in the UK, Ireland and Australia, and September 2010 in the United States and Canada.

The Darkness is coming...

The Kingdom is plagued by rumour and instability. Kingdom spies in Kesh have been disappearing - either murdered, or turned to the enemy side. Information has become scant and unreliable; but one thing appears clear. Dark forces are on the move... Since Pug and the Conclave of Shadows enforced peace after the last Keshian invasion, the Empire has offered no threat. But now factions are rising and Jim Dasher reports mobilizations of large forces in the Keshian Confederacy.

As the men of the West answer the King's call to muster, Martin conDoin - left as caretaker of Crydee Keep - will suddenly be confronted with the vanguard of an invading army. He reminds himself that he is a year older than his legendary ancestor, Prince Arutha, was when he stood firm against the Tsurani invasion, but Arutha had an army to command, and Martin is left with old men and young boys.

Massive events are about to unfold, events which threaten the future of all human life in Midkemia...

The penultimate volume of the mighty Riftwar Cycle

War rages in Midkemia but behind the chaos there is disquieting evidence of dark forces at work.

Jim Dasher's usually infallible intelligence network has been cleverly dismantled; nowhere is safe. He feels that the world is coming apart at the seams and is helpless to protect his nation.

Quiet palace coups are underway in Roldem and Rillanon; and King Gregory of the Isles has yet to produce an heir. In each kingdom a single petty noble has risen from obscurity to threaten the throne.

Lord Hal of Crydee and his great friend Ty Hawkins, champion swordsman of the Masters' Court, are entrusted with the task of smuggling Princess Stephané and her lady-in-waiting, the lovely but mysterious Lady Gabriella, out of Roldem to a place of greater safety. But is there any safe haven to be found?

Meanwhile, Hal's younger brothers Martin and Brendan are attempting to hold the strategic city of Ylith against an onslaught of Keshian Dog Soldiers, and a mysterious force from beneath the sea. The Kingdom might lose Crydee and recover; but if Ylith falls, all is lost.

An unknown player appears to orchestrating these conflicts. Can Pug and the Conclave of Shadows track down this source before Midkemia is destroyed?

Discover the fate of the original black Magician, Pug, as prophecy becomes truth in the last book of the Riftwar Cycle.

THE FINAL VOLUME IN THE EPIC RIFTWAR CYCLE.

The dragons are calling...

Civil war is tearing apart the Kingdom of the Isles, for the throne lies empty and rivals are converging. Having spirited his beloved Princess Stephané safely out of Roldem, Hal--now Duke of Crydee--must turn his attention to the defence of the ancient realm so that a king can be anointed by the Congress of Lords, rather than by right of might.

But the greatest threat may well lie out of the hands of men. Somewhere in the Grey Towers Mountains something not of this world is emerging. It will require that alliances be made between mortal enemies if disaster is to be averted.

Elves and men must stand together, ancient heroes must rise again, dragons must fly and Pug, Magnus and the other magic-users of Midkemia must be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice if the whole world is to be saved.

Kaylin Neya is a Hawk, part of the elite force tasked with keeping the City of Elantra safe. Her past is dark, her magic uncontrolled, and her allies unpredictable. And nothing has prepared her for what is coming, when the charlatans on Elani Street suddenly grow powerful, the Oracles are thrown into an uproar and the skies rain blood….

The powerful of Elantra believe that the mysterious markings on Kaylin's skin hold the answer, and they are not averse to using her—how ever they have to—in order to discover what it is.

Something is coming, breaking through the barriers between the worlds. But is it a threat that Kaylin needs to defend her city against—or has she been chosen for another reason entirely?

This second anthology features tories by Bradley and other authors explain myths of the planet Darkover and fill in gaps in its history.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Sword of Chaos) - (1982) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• After Landfall - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• A Gift of Love - short story by Diana L. Paxson
• The Cycles of Legend - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Dark Lady - short story by Jane Brae-Bedell
• A Legend of the Hellers - short story by Terry Tafoya
• In the Hundred Kingdoms - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• In the Throat of the Dragon - novelette by Susan Shwartz
• Wind-Music - short story by Mary Frances Zambreno
• Escape - short story by Leslie Williams
• Rebirth - short story by Elisabeth Waters
• A Sword of Chaos - novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Between the Ages - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Di Catenas - short story by Adrienne Martine-Barnes
• Of Two Minds - short story by Susan Hansen
• Through Fire and Frost - short story by Dorothy J. Heydt
• In the Days of the Comyn - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• The Way of a Wolf - short story by Lynne Holdom
• Cold Hall - (1982) - short story by Aly Parsons
• The Lesson of the Inn - (1978) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Confidence - short story by Phillip Wayne
• The Empire and Beyond - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Camilla - short story by Patricia Matthews [as by Patricia Mathews]
• Where the Heart Is - short story by Millea Kenin
• Skeptic - short story by Lynn Mims
• A Recipe for Failure - short story by Millea Kenin

Wilfred Mott is very happy: his granddaughter, Donna, is back home, catching up with family and gossiping about her journeys, and he has just discovered a new star and had it named after him. He takes the Tenth Doctor with him to the naming ceremony. But the Doctor soon discovers something else new, and worryingly bright, in the heavens – something that is heading for Earth. It's an ancient force from the Dark Times. And it is very, very angry...

An ancient ogre empire threatens cataclysm for all in this new Dragonlance(R) trilogy!

With a dire enemy now seated on the throne of the minotaur empire, the one-handed half-breed ogre Golgren returns to his own realm on the mainland and uses brutal means to consolidate his power and forge unlikely alliances. He must cope with an elite band of sorcerers, whose magical tactics are not easily thwarted. These Ogre Titans--led by their inner circle, the Black Talon--emerge as his greatest rivals. Golgren's obsession to resurrect the glorious past of the ogre race will engulf humans and elves, but may ultimately be decided by a deadly, capricious god.

A journey into peril.

Cyrsania, high priestess of the Temple of Paladine, is blind to the beauty of the world but not to the joy of her faith. Lately, though, her communion with the god of light has become distant. Now a mysterious stone has come into her possession. Its power compels her to undertake a merilous quest, accompanied by a strange band of companions.

Together they endure the burning heat of Kyrnn's most violet summer as they struggle toward their destination: the Temple at Neraka.

If they reach it, their world will be transformed forever.

This novel, set in the time of the Chaos War, brings to life the story of Crysania, a Revered Daughter of Paladine, and Dalamar, the dark elf.

Treason within, war from without.

Torn asunder by the nightmares of a mad king, the elven realm of Silvanesti has nearly been restored to its former grandeur. But the elf Porthios, returning to his homeland, launches a rebellion against young Gilthas, his own nephew.

Gilthas's troubles are multiplied by threats from green dragons and from the Knights of Takhisis. Now, with Porthios at his throat, Gilthas must choose between blood and honor.

Douglas Nile's new Dragonlance novel is filled with treachery and intrigue among the elves during the Chaos War, the backdrop for The New York Times best-selling novel; Dragons of Summer Flame.

During the hottest summer in memory, minotaurs fight against the Knights of Takhisis, into whose hands their god Sargonnas has delivered them. In the midst of the conflict, the armies of Chaos plunge into the heart of Ansalon.

Now the minotaur warrior Aryx must unite his people and their enemy, the knights, against the monstrous servants of Chaos. If he succeeds, the two sides may forge a bond that will change Krynn for all time.

If he fails, then they will all perish.

A miraculous machine... and a nightmare!

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

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

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

The Chaos War Rages

For fans of Dragons of Summer Flame, this is a new short-story collection, featuring the brave heroes, dark villains, differing races, and all varieties of dragons of one of the most popular fantasy worlds -- Krynn.

Edited by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, this volume highlights familiar and beloved characters (and creatures), filling in some intriguing gaps of lost Dragonlance history.

Table of Contents:

• Eyes of Chaos - (1997) - shortstory by Sue Weinlein Cook
• The Noble Folly - (1997) - shortstory by Mark Anthony
• Lessons of the Land - (1997) - novelette by Linda P. Baker
• The Son of Huma - (1997) - novelette by Richard A. Knaak
• Personal - (1997) - shortstory by Kevin T. Stein
• The Dragon's Eye - (1997) - shortstory by Adam Lesh
• Dragonfear - (1997) - shortstory by Teri McLaren
• Tavern Tales - (1997) - shortstory by Jean Rabe
• The Dragon's Well - (1997) - shortstory by Janet Pack
• The Magnificent Two - (1997) - novelette by Nick O'Donohoe
• There Is Another Shore, You Know, Upon the Other Side - (1997) - novelette by Roger E. Moore
• The First Gully Dwarf Resistance - (1997) - novelette by Chris Pierson
• The Star-Shard - (1997) - shortstory by Jeff Grubb
• Master Tall and Master Small - (1997) - shortstory by Margaret Weis and Don Perrin
• Icewall - (1997) - novelette by Douglas Niles

The prequel series to The Ghost King comes to an explosive end!

Cadderly journeys home to the Edificant Library, hoping to rebuild his shattered life--but the chaos curse has one last surprise in store for him. Failure means the loss of his beloved Danica, success might usher in a new era for the followers of Denier.

Explore the unexplored - enter The Wilds of the Forgotten Realms!

On the border of a dangerous, magically unstable area called the Plaguewrought Lands, the leader of a cult seeking the spread of this wild magic and an alchemist who wants to control it join forces and create an elixir that allows pilgrims to survive the Plaguewrought Lands. But only one can succeed. A young man with strange powers and a priestess of the god of death will help determine who.

When an exploration ship from Freehold discovered a planet with intelligent lifeforms - the first which humans had ever encountered - it should have been the most important event in history. And it might be - for all the wrong reasons. Corporations on Freehold were eager to sell high-tech toys to the Ithkuil, as the inhabitants called themselves, which had the potential to disrupt their society. But, then, another ship arrived, full of idealistic do-gooders determined to keep the Ithkuil in their unspoiled state of nature. The whole thing was turning into a cross between a Marx Brothers farce and a Kafkaesque nightmare, with a potential for Greek tragedy. Contact with a more advance civilization might pose a danger to the Ithkuil, but it definitely was becoming more dangerous to the human factions, and the situation was a powder keg just waiting for a spark to cause a very deadly explosion!

The battle for the throne is over. The war for the galaxy is just beginning.

Hail Bristol, infamous galactic gunrunner and former runaway princess, never expected to inherit the throne of Indrana. But after avenging the murder of her entire family and cleansing the Empire of usurpers in a bloody civil war, the former outlaw must fulfill her duties to her people. Hail retires her gun and throws herself into the rebuilding of her Empire.

Her hard-won peace is short-lived. When Indrana's closest ally asks Hail to intervene in an interstellar military crisis, she embarks on the highest stakes diplomatic mission the Empire has ever faced. Caught between two alien civilizations at each other's throats, she must uncover each side's true intentions before all of humanity becomes collateral damage in a full-blown galactic war.

Fifth book in Seanan McGuire's funny and fast-paced urban fantasy InCryptid series featuring ballroom dancer and monster expert Verity Price.

Verity Price is back on the West Coast and getting back into the swing of the family business: cryptozoology. She's rescuing cryptids from bad situations, protecting them from monster-hunters, and generally risking life and limb for the greater good, with her ex-Covenant partner/husband, Dominic, by her side. Her ballroom dance career is behind her--or so she thinks. When Verity gets the call from the producers of Dance or Die, the reality show she almost won several years before, she finds the lure impossible to resist, and she and Dominic are off to L.A. for one last shot at the big time.

Of course, nothing is that simple. When two contestants turn up dead, Verity will need every ally she can find with the investigation, without blowing her cover...

Devastated by the death of his closest friend, renegade Inquisitor Jac Draco renounces his fanatical faith in the God-Emperor and surrenders himself to the dark powers of Chaos in the hope of raising his friend from death.

Rex Bader has finally solved the mystery of who is trying to kill the Director of the first L-5 space colony. The Mafia? The KGB? Anti-Space fanatics? Answer: all three. The question now is can Rex continue to protect the Director against his many enemies. If he can't the history of man in space may be short indeed.

Veranix Calbert is The Thorn--the street vigilante-turned-legend--and a danger to Willem Fenmere, the drug kingpin of Dentonhill. Veranix is determined to stop Fenmere and the effitte drug trade, especially when he discovers that Fenmere is planning on using the Red Rabbits gang in his neighborhood. But Veranix is also a magic student at the University of Maradaine, and it's exam week. With his academic career riding on his performance, there's no time to go after Fenmere or the Red Rabbits. But when a series of pranks on campus grow deadly, it's clear that someone has a vendetta against the university, and Veranix may be the only one who can stop them...

When Evangeline Hollis spent a night of passion with the darkly seductive Alec Cain, she had no idea that she'd be punished for it years later. Branded with the Mark of Cain, Eve was thrust into a life of hunting demons as penance.

Living with the Mark--and the two sexy brothers who come with it--was trouble enough. But then Eve ran over Satan's hellhound during training. Now Satan, incensed at the loss of his pet, has put a bounty on Eve's head, and every demon in the country wants to be the one to deliver her.

Meanwhile, Eve's formerly insatiable one-night stand is acting distant. Cain says he still wants Eve, and she believes him, but scorching hot sex isn't enough. Not after knowing what it was like to have more.

As Cain's role in Eve's life becomes more and more uncertain, Abel doesn't hesitate to step in.

Colene, Darius, and the magnificent telepathic horse Sequiro, travelling companions from Virtual Mode and Fractal Mode, face their most dangerous adventure ever as they pass freely from one universe to the next. They are joined by a most unlikely companion: Burgess, a tentacled creature from a world where evolution went entirely differently from the path it took for us. And their travels take them to a place that in some ways is the strangest of all - a place called Earth.

In a world where magic is real, werewolf Steve Matuchek and powerful witch Virginia Graylock are paired together in the war to stop the invading Caliphate forces from taking over America. Their mission: stop the enemy from unleashing their superweapon--a genie in a bottle. And that is only the beginning of an adventure that will take them quite literally to Hell and back...

Now married with three rambunctious children, Steve and Ginny once again find themselves fighting for their country as they try to stop a plot to sabotage America's first manned mission to the moon (in an alternate history timeline, that is). But they will need help from a loyal cadre of magical allies if they hope to avert a catastrophe...

She escaped the slavepens of Lyland--a beautiful girl with hair the color of summer sun, eyes as blue as the heavens, and a body that invited love.

Rescued by sorcerer priests, she was schooled in every art of weaponry and combat. Her sword stained by the blood of legions, no man could defeat her.

With her mysterious companion-mentor Spellbinder, and a great black bird to watch over them, Raven journeyed forth to her destiny--and the happy day of slaughtering Karl ir Donwayne, the cruel master who had tortured her mercilessly as a slave...

Under the nom de guerre of Gar Pike, renegade psychic wizard Magnus D'Armand travels the stars fighting injustice and oppression, like his father, Rod Gallowglass, the Warlock in Spite of Himself. But unlike his famous father, Magnus refuses to play the rules, sowing the seeds of freedom and revolution throughout the galaxy.

The Rogue Wizard has met his match--a crumbled civilization on a distant colony planet, where all hope has been lost to war and greed. The history and knowledge of the colonists has been forgotten over the centuries, and the people have reverted to a medieval state. It seems impossible to restore peace and order--until Gar discovers the hidden knowledge harbored in the countryside's hollow hills.

The world of the Runelords is drastically changed. It has been magically combined with a parallel world, causing widespread destruction and chaos. Lands have sunk below the sea and elsewhere mountains have risen from it. Thousands have died, and humankind faces extinction.Borenson and Myrrima must journey to save their realm from total devastation, but the landscape is not all that has been altered. In the change, Borenson has merged with a monstrous creature from another world, Aaath Ulber. Not only is he transformed physically, but his behaviour also begins to evolve - he is becoming a berserker warrior. And as the dark rulers of this new world play a byzantine game of politics, this warrior is now the most significant pawn in that game.

Isaac Asimov's renowned Foundation Trilogy pioneered many of the familiar themes of modern science fiction and shaped many of its best writers. With the permission and blessing of the Asimov estate, the epic saga left unfinished by the Grand Master himself now continues with this second masterful volume.

With Hari Seldon on trial for treason, the Galactic Empire's long-anticipated migration to Star's End is about to begin. But the mission's brilliant robot leader, R. Daneel Olivaw, has discovered a potential enemy far deadlier--and closer--than he ever imagined. One of his own kind.

A freak accident erases the basic commandments in humaniform robot Lodovik Trema's positronic brain. Now Lodovic's service to humankind is no longer bound by destiny, but by will. To ensure his loyalty, Daneel has Lodovic secretly reprogrammed. But can he be trusted? Now, other robots are beginning to question their mission--and Daneel's strategy. And stirrings of rebellion, too, are infecting their human counterparts. Among them is a young woman with awesome psychic abilities, a reluctant leader with the power to join man and robot in a quest for common freedom.or mutual destruction.

Fear comes from the hands of prophets...

The final installment of the Shadowdance series finds Haern the Watcher returning to his beloved city of Veldaren, only to find it has collapsed into chaos. The Sun Guild has conquered the former thief guilds, destroying the peace Haern fought so hard to obtain. The Trifect is their next target, and Alyssa Gemcroft must reach out to whatever allies she can obtain, even if it means casting aside longtime friends. As the chaos grows, so does the power of the dark god Karak who lays siege to Veldaren. If the city falls, the world will suffer greatly.

The legendary Thren Felhorn, broken, guileless, and rejected by his own son, holds the fate of the entire city in his hands. Unless Haern can stop his father, Thren will at last have the legacy of fire and destruction he has always desired.

Father or son; some choices must be made in blood.

More than 200,000 years ago, the ancient Iconians created a network of interdimensional Gateways providing instantaneous transportation across unimaginable distances. Once known as the "Demons of Air and Darkness," the Iconians mysteriously vanished many millennia ago, never to return -- or so it was believed.

Summoned to an emergency briefing at Starfleet Headquarters, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is stunned to discover that the legendary Iconians have returned at last, and are offering to sell the secrets of their advanced technology to the Federation. To prove their sincerity, they have reactivated their long-abandoned Gateways, but the results have been strife and chaos throughout the entire Alpha Quadrant. Now Picard and his crew must contend with feuding Klingons and Romulans as the captain seeks to discover the sinister truth behind the Iconians' unexpected rebirth!

The Federation races to discover the culprits of several terrorist attacks, sending their flagship, the USS Prometheus, to stop war breaking out in the galaxy.

The situation in the Lembatta Cluster is deteriorating rapidly. Fleets from the Federation and Klingon Empire are heading for the borders. The crews of the U.S.S. Prometheus and I.K.S. Bortas are racing against time to break the cycle of violence that is spreading through the Alpha Quadrant. Adams and Kromm are on the trail of a secret weapons facility, but instead discover an enemy from their pasts who seems utterly unstoppable. Together, they search for the answers to their questions, before the galaxy goes down in flames.

Beyond the edge of the galaxy lies the Unknown Regions: chaotic, uncharted, and near impassable, with hidden secrets and dangers in equal measure. And nestled within its swirling chaos is the Ascendancy, home to the enigmatic Chiss and the Nine Ruling Families that lead them.

The peace of the Ascendancy, a beacon of calm and stability, is shattered after a daring attack on the Chiss capital that leaves no trace of the enemy. Baffled, the Ascendancy dispatches one of its brightest young military officers to root out the unseen assailants. A recruit born of no title, but adopted into the powerful family of the Mitth and given the name Thrawn.

With the might of the Expansionary Fleet at his back, and the aid of his comrade Admiral Ar'alani, answers begin to fall into place. But as Thrawn's first command probes deeper into the vast stretch of space his people call the Chaos, he realizes that the mission he has been given is not what it seems.

And the threat to the Ascendancy is only just beginning.

A Secret is Concealed. A StarBridge Telepath Senses the Truth. Can a Bloodbath Be Averted?

A newly discovered feline species seeks admission to the Cooperative League of Systems. Skillful at dialog... and deception... they are hiding a terrible secret. A secret that would disqualify them from CLS membership. A secret that has created seething pockets of underground rebellion. A secret that could plunge their world into chaos.

The discovery of violet gold, a vital fuel for steam-powered machines, propelled the empire of Great Liang into an age of prosperity. But for Chang Geng, a young man raised on the impoverished northern border, the concerns of the empire are as distant as the stars above.

When raiders from the north attack Chang Geng's small village, he discovers that the life he knows is a lie. His mother, his teacher, and even his godfather whom he trusted more than any other, Shen Shiliu, are not what they seem. As enemy nations close in, Chang Geng follows his godfather to the heart of the imperial capital, where a greater fate lies in store for him.

ENEMIES FROM WITHOUT AND WITHIN

Four years ago, Chang Geng and Gu Yun parted in anger. When fate draws them together again, Chang Geng, a once-awkward teen, is now an elegant and adroit young man.

But storms lie ahead. As Great Liang faces foreign pressure from without, Gu Yun finds himself embroiled in turmoil within the imperial court. Meanwhile, as the curse in Chang Geng's blood grows, his feelings for his godfather become more painful to subdue by the day. How much longer can he keep Gu Yun from learning his secret... and what will happen when he can hide it no more?

CAPITAL UNDER SIEGE

With the Westerners and their allies pressing in on all sides, the empire of Great Liang enters its darkest hour. Under these desperate conditions, Gu Yun leads the beleaguered Black Iron Battalion to hold the borders. Meanwhile, Chang Geng makes his move in the imperial court, sweeping corrupt officials aside in an effort to stabilize the nation before it's too late.

As the two struggle to hold the tattered pieces of the empire together, Gu Yun uncovers a shocking truth about the curse slowly tightening its grip on Chang Geng's mind. But are the deepest secrets of Cheng Geng's past enough to move even the iron heart of the nation's most fearsome general?

Voechenkais a city under siege. Decimated by the Battlemage War, its dead now walk the city at night, attacking survivors, calling their names and begging the living to join them beyond the grave.

Tammy is a watchman sent to the city to investigate, so the ruling powers can decide whether to help Voechenka or leave it to its grisly fate.

Zannah is a pariah in Voechenka - making up for her people's war crimes by protecting refugees who fear her far more than they fear their unearthly attackers.

Balfruss is a scholar, a traveler... and the infamous mage who single-handedly ended the war.

No one else may enter or leave the city - so if this ragtag group of survivors can't figure out what is going on, they'll live out their last few, short days within its walls.

And night is coming on fast...

For Al Larson it all began with his death in a fire-fight in Vietnam. He woke from this certain death to find himself alive - in a body and a world that was not his own! Transformed into an elven warrior, he became an unsuspecting pawn of the Norse gods, claimed as a weapon by both the forces of Chaos and of Law. Faced with challenges that would take him to Hel and back, Al made a place for himself in a land of swordsmen and spell-casters, and, after slaying one god, he found himself leagued with sorceresses and a master thief in the endless battle against Chaos.

But when Al and Shadow the thief slew the Chaos dragon, they unleashed a magical force beyond anyone's power to contain. And Al and his companions would be forced to work a desperate magic to flee back to a twentieth century America which was not quite the one from which Al had originally come. But Chaos would not let Al, Shadow, and the Dragonrank mages Silme and Astryd escape so easily, and, a mortal man once again, Al would find himself caught in a desperate fight to save everyone he held dear, as Chaos pursued him into the heart of New York City.

For centuries after a devastating battle between the immortals, humanity has been protected from the Chaos realm by an invisible barrier known as the Legacy.

But sealed behind the weakening barrier, the traitor Daemron makes one last, desperate bid for freedom: he casts his most deadly spell and curses four unsuspecting children.

Born under the Blood Moon, they are destined to wield Daemron's talismans of power, to either save the barrier - or bring it crashing down...

Beset on all sides by mortal and supernatural enemies, The Children of Fire - four mortals touched by the power of Chaos - are in search of the Talismans that can put a stop to an ancient enemy of the Gods.

But in doing so, they unleash a flood of Chaos magic on the land - leaving death, destruction and a vengeful queen in their wake...

The Legacy, a magical barrier protecting humanity from Chaos, has crumbled.

Four unlikely champions, each touched with Chaos magic at birth, are all that can stop the return of Daemron the Slayer. Armed with the Talismans of power the four champions, the Children of Fire, must find the Keystone, a fabled place where, or so it is said, the Legacy can be restored.

But even the noblest heart can be twisted by the tainted magic of Chaos...

Three generations ago 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 Breakwater Agreement, a seventy-year-old alliance between his family and the High Temple of Kara'zul, domain of the fire priestesses.

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. A journey perilous in the best of conditions is made more so by their pursuers: rogue telepathic magic-users called the Vkortha who will stop at nothing to recover Ariadel, who has witnessed their forbidden rites.

Together, Vidarian and Ariadel will navigate more than treacherous waters: Imperial intrigue, a world that has been slowly losing its magic for generations, secrets that the priestesshoods have kept for longer, the indifference of their elemental goddesses, gryphons—once thought mythical—now returning to the world, and their own labyrinthine family legacies. Vidarian finds himself at the intersection not only of the world's most volatile elements, but of colliding universes, and the ancient and alien powers that lurk between them.

In the sequel to Sword of Fire and Sea, Vidarian Rulorat faces the consequences of opening the gate between worlds. elemental magic is awakening across the planet after centuries of dormancy, bringing with it magically-powered wonders including flying ships and ancient automata; empires leap into war over long disputed territory as their technologies shift; the spirit of his oldest friend, Ruby—killed in the immediate aftermath of the gate's opening—is trapped inside one of the gems used to open the gate; and Ariadel, his one great love, isn't speaking to him. Called into service by the desperate young emperor of Alorea, Vidarian must lead sky ships in a war against the neighboring southern empire, train the demoralized imperial Sky Knights to ride beasts that now shapeshift, master his own amplified elemental magic, and win back Ariadel—all without losing his mind. 

Compounding his task is a political minefield laid by the Alorean Import Company, which may or may not be fomenting war across the planet, and a shapeshifter that bonds to Vidarian during his early attempts to subdue the rogue bird-like seridi—a wolf pup that will prove to be the fabled bridge between sky and earth magics, an electricity elemental that takes the shape of a dragon upon maturity: the lance of earth and sky.

Vidarian Rulorat, called the Tesseract, a powerful magic-user whose abilities spread across multiple elements, finds himself at war with the Alorean Import Company, a powerful cabal of merchants wealthy enough to buy nations. By opening the gate between worlds, Vidarian released the Starhunter, goddess of chaos. With her coming, wild magic returned to the world of Andovar, bringing with it shape- changers and strange awakened elemental technologies, including many-sailed ships powered by air magic, and mechanical automata lit from within by earth and fire.

Now, Vidarian discovers that the Alorean Import Company is determined to eliminate two- thirds of this new life on Andovar in the hopes of hoarding more magic for themselves in a new, worldwide plutocracy. Along with his human, gryphon, and shapechanger allies, he must stop the Company if he is to safeguard any future for the diverse life of Andovar, including his and Ariadel's newborn daughter. With the existence of whole species hanging in the balance, Vidarian is locked in a race for the future of the world.

Pulled from the sea, pierced by arrows and close to death, Knot has no memory of who he was, and a Tiellan woman, whose people have long been oppressed by humans, is married to and abandoned by Knot on the same day.

In her search for him, she will discover her control of magic but risks losing herself entirely. Their fates and those of others will intertwine in a land where magic and daemons are believed dead, but dark forces still vie for power.

A new religion is rising, gathering followers drawn by rumors of prophetess Jane Oden. Her sister Cinzia--one-time Cantic priestess--is by her side, but fears that Jane will lead them to ruin. For both the Church and the Nazaniin assassins are still on their trail, and much worse may come. Knot, his true nature now revealed if not truly understood, is haunted by the memories of others, and is not the ally he once was. Astrid travels to Tinska to find answers for her friend, but the child-like vampire has old enemies who have been waiting for her return. And beyond the Blood Gate in the northern empire of Roden, a tiellan woman finds herself with a new protector. One who wants to use her extraordinary abilities for his own ends...

The Nine Daemons are on the rise.

Once believed dead and gone, Daemons have found a way back into the world. But the only people who can withstand their assault are spread across the face of the Sfaera.

Free at last from the influence of assassins and emperors alike, the psimancer Winter sails back to her hometown--only to find a new trouble stirring. Meanwhile, the heretic sisters Jane and Cinzia Oden are beset by supernatural attacks. And soon their allies, the vampire-girl Astrid and the former assassin Knot, must face the terrifying Black Matron.

As new battles are fought, the Daemons creep ever closer to freedom, and the legend of the Chaos Queen may soon be made anew.

All parties converge on the capital city, Triah - Cinzia and the Odenites to establish their new religion and appeal against a charge of heresy; Knot and Astrid to find answers in the vampire girl's past; and Winter has come to conquer the city, at the head of a tiellan army. But Winter is still struggling with her addictions and anger; Knot's efforts to be reunited with her can only lead to disappointment. Cinzia cannot free herself from a terrible bargain. And as the battle lines are drawn, the true nature of the goddess Canta, and the Odenites' final purpose, will soon be revealed...

Nothing is as it seems.

Sfaera-shattering revelations reveal there is more to the Nine Daemons--and Canta--than anyone could have imagined, and deep in the heart of Triah, a threat that has lurked below the surface for years finally rises, gathering unimaginable power.

Knot, still reeling from a shocking death, tries to put himself back together in time to fight. Two ex-Nazaniin assassins, Code and Kali, form an unlikely alliance. Cinzia, more suspicious than ever of her sister Jane Oden--Canta's prophetess--rallies as many people as she can to save the Sfaera from imminent destruction. And Winter, the Chaos Queen herself, realizes she must finally choose sides and face the greatest test of her life: finding the humility to seek help.

Deep in the heart of Triah, a threat that has lurked below the surface for years finally rises, gathering unimaginable power. Only the unlikely alliance formed between the two former Nazaniin assassins, Code and Kali, stands in its way.

Characters old and new join forces to preserve life as they know it. The darkest night the Sfaera has ever known is about to end, but whether it ends in daylight or destruction remains to be seen.

Corwin finds his world dissolving around him when his father Oberon, disguised as Corwin's friend, steals the Jewel of Judgment so that he may defeat the evil Brand, in a conclusion to the first Amber series.

Merle Corey, son of the great Prince Corwin of Amber, has been pursued through shadow by unknown enemies and left trapped in an Alice in Wonderland world - a bar with the Mad Hatter serving and the Cheshire Cat grinning malevolently. In a dramatic escape from a monstrous Jabberwock, Merle embarks upon a fantastic adventure, leading him back to the Court of Amber and finally to a confrontation at the Keep of Four Worlds, and here he learns the strange secrets of the Courts of Chaos and their role in his destiny.

On the brink of achieving the crown of Chaos, Merlin, aka Merle Corey, is challenged with silencing a murderous discord between Amber and Chaos and freeing a captive royal father who is under a villain's spell.

What if your teachers taught you everythingexcept who you really are?

For Amelia and her friends, the strict English boarding school she lives in is all she has ever known. The sprawling estate, bordered by unknown territory on all four sides, is both orphanage, academy, and prison. The school has a large staff, but only five students, none of whom know what their real names are, or even how old they are.

Precocious and rebellious, all five teenagers are more than just prodigies. Amelia can see in four dimensions. Victor can control the molecular arrangement of matter. Vanity can find secret passageways where none existed before. Colin is a psychic. Quentin is a warlock.

And, as time goes by, theyre starting to suspect that none of them are entirely human...

John C. Wright established himself at the forefront of contemporary fantasy with Orphans of Chaos, which launched a new epic adventure.

Wright's new fantasy, continuing in Fugitives of Chaos, is about five orphans raised in a strict British boarding school who begin to discover that they may not be human beings. The students at the school do not age, while the world around them does. The orphans have been kidnapped from their true parents, robbed of their powers, and raised in ignorance by super-beings: pagan gods, fairy-queens, Cyclopes, sea-monsters, witches, or things even stranger.

Amelia is apparently a fourth-dimensional being; Victor is a synthetic man who can control the molecular arrangement of matter around him; Vanity can find secret passageways through solid walls; Colin is psychic; Quentin is a warlock. Each power comes from a different paradigm or view of the inexplicable universe, and they should not be able to co-exist under the same laws of nature. They must learn to control their strange abilities in order to escape their captors. Something very important must be at stake in their imprisonment.

Titans of Chaos completes John Wright's The Chronicles of Chaos. Launched in Orphans of Chaos--a Nebula Award Nominee for best novel in 2006, and a Locus Year's Best Novel pick for 2005--and continued in Fugitives of Chaos, the trilogy is about five orphans raised in a strict British boarding school who discovered that they are not human.

The students have been kidnapped, robbed of their powers, and raised in ignorance by super-beings. The five have made incredible discoveries about themselves. Amelia is apparently a fourth-dimensional being; Victor is a synthetic man who can control the molecular arrangement of matter; Vanity can find secret passageways through solid walls; Colin is a psychic; Quentin is a warlock. Each power comes from a different paradigm or view of the universe. They have learned to control their strange abilities and have escaped into our world: now their true battle for survival begins.

As the youngest member of her High House, Catarina von Hasenberg is used to being underestimated, but her youth and flighty, bubbly personality mask a clever mind and stubborn determination. Her enemies, blind to her true strength, do not suspect that Cat is a spy - which makes her the perfect candidate to go undercover at a rival House's summer retreat to gather intelligence on their recent treachery.

Cat's overprotective older sister reluctantly agrees, but on one condition: Cat cannot go alone. Alexander Sterling, a quiet, gorgeous bodyguard, will accompany her, posing as her lover. After Cat tries, and fails, to ditch Alex, she grudgingly agrees, confident in her ability to manage him. After all, she's never found a person she can't manipulate.

But Alex proves more difficult - and more desirable - than Cat anticipated. When she's attacked and nearly killed, she and Alex are forced to work together to figure out how deep the treason goes. With rumors of widespread assaults on Serenity raging, communications down, and the rest of her family trapped off-planet, Catarina must persuade Alex to return to Earth to expose the truth and finish this deadly battle once and for all.

But Cat can't explain why she's the perfect person to infiltrate hostile territory without revealing secrets she'd rather keep buried....

Chaos is everywhere as the Lord of the Nexus orders his servant Haplo and the human child known as Bane to further their master's work on Arianus, the realm of air. But their one time companion Alfred has been cast into the deadly Labyrinth. And somehow the assassin Hugh the Hand has been resurrected to complete his dark mission. More important, the evil force that Haplo and Alfred discovered on Arianus has escaped. As Haplo's doubts about his master grow deeper, he must decide whether to obey the Lord of the Nexus or betray the powerful Patryn...and endeavor to bring peace to the universe.

On a dodecahedral world in thrall to the tyrannical, war-obsessed Hrag dynasty, no one could stop the Bloodlord from sending troops over the Edge to Florengia, invading its major cities, and offering them a choice between strict colonial rule and immediate and total destruction. When the doge of Celebre was faced with this ultimatum, he gave his children up as hostages so that the rest of Celebre might live. Thus the four young Florengians were taken from their homes and scattered across the Vigaelian face.

Fifteen years later, and you'd never guess that they're siblings. Fabia was adopted by a wealthy landowner and spoiled rotten, Orlando desperately yearns to overcome his Florengian blood and fight for the Vigaelian army, Benard is a flighty but talented artist, and Wisdom has it that Dantio, the eldest, died fighting his captors. But when Celebre suddenly takes on crucial political significance, one of the siblings must return home to serve as Celebre's puppet ruler, and the others must be eliminated so that there are no rival claimants to the throne.

It's going to be tough enough finding one another, let alone deciding whether enough kinship remains after fifteen years apart that the siblings will care to help each other out of their respective predicaments. If they're feeling particularly altruistic, the Celebres might even take on the bonus round: trying to save Dodec from the culture of death and war imposed on it by its evil warlords.

One thing's for certain: the Celebre children are going to have a lot of adjusting to do...

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

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

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

As the planetoid Thanatos Minor explodes into atoms, a specially-fitted cruiser escapes the mass destruction and hurtles into space only a step ahead of hostile pursuit. On board Trumpet are a handful of bedraggled fugitives from an outlaw world - old enemies suddenly and violently thrown together in a desperate bid for survival.

Among this unlikely crew of allies are Morn Hyland, once a UMC cop, now a prisoner to the electrodes implanted in her brain; her son, Davies, "force-grown" to adulthood by the alien Amnion and struggling to understand his true identity; the amoral space buccaneer Nick Succorso, whose most daring act of piracy could be his last; and Angus Thermopyle, unstoppable cyborg struggling to wrest control of his own mind from his UMC programmers.

Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, thank you very much. But no matter what she does, people persist in dying around her--and only she seems to be able to solve the crime. After fleeing to an alien space station in hopes that the lack of humans would stop the murders, a serial killer had the nerve to follow her to Station Eternity. (Mallory deduced who the true culprit was that time, too.)

Now the law enforcement agent who hounded Mallory on Earth has come to Station Eternity, along with her teenage crush and his sister, Mallory's best friend from high school. Mallory doesn't believe in coincidences, and so she's not at all surprised when someone in the latest shuttle from Earth is murdered. It's the story of her life, after all.

Only this time she has more than a killer to deal with. Between her fugitive friends, a new threat arising from the Sundry hivemind, and the alarmingly peculiar behavior of the sentient space station they all call home, even Mallory's deductive abilities are strained. If she can't find out what's going on (and fast), a disaster of intergalactic proportions may occur...

It's 1907 in the icily beautiful New Venice, and the hero of the city's liberation, Brentford Orsini, has been deposed by his arch-rival -- who immediately assigns Brentford and his friends on a dangerous diplomatic mission to Paris.

So, Brentford recruits his old friend and louche counterpart, Gabriel d'Allier, underground chanteuse and suffragette Lillian Lake, and the mysterious Blankbate--former Foreign Legionnaire and leader of the Scavengers, the city's garbage collecting cult--and others, for the mission.

But their mode of transportation--the untested "transaerian psychomotive"--proves faulty and they find themselves transported back in time to Paris 1895 ... before New Venice even existed. What's more, it's a Paris experiencing an unprecedented and crushingly harsh winter.

They soon find themselves involved with some of the city's seediest, most fascinating inhabitants. But between attending soirees at Mallarmé's house, drinking absinthe with Proust, trying to wrestle secrets out of mesmerists, and making fun of the newly-constructed Eiffel Tower, they also find that Paris is a city full of intrigue, suspicion, and danger.

For example, are the anarchists they encounter who are plotting to bomb the still-under construction Sacre Coeur church also the future founders of New Venice? And why are they trying to kill them?

And, as Luminous Chaos turns into another lush adventure told in glorious prose rich in historical allusion, there's the biggest question of them all: How will they ever get home?

Sanda and Tomas are fleeing for their lives after letting the most dangerous smartship in the universe run free. Now, unsure of who to trust, Sanda knows only one thing for certain -- to be able to save herself from becoming a pawn of greater powers, she needs to discover the secret of the coordinates hidden in her skull.

But getting to those coordinates is a problem she can't solve alone. They exist beyond a dead gate -- a Casimir gate that opened up into a dead-end system without resources worth colonizing, and was sealed off. To get through the dead gate, she needs the help of the enemy Nazca. But some Nazca are only interested in the chip in her head -- and they'll crack her open to get to it.

Sealed in a giant amber cell, the two horned demons at Rainbow Bridge were the greatest discovery of all time. But now these creatures of legend have awakened and escaped - leaving an all-too-real trail of mutilated victims. The three major empires of the universe have no choice but to follow the demons...

Into their shattered cell - and into another dimension.

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

In A Day of Fallen Night, we are swept back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.

Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms -- but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory's purpose.

To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow -- exactly where she wants to be.

The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother's past is coming to upend her fate.

When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.

Candar is being invaded and Lerris must become the greatest wizard of all time-or see his whole world destroyed.

The saga of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., has become one of the standard works of fantasy in the 1990s. VOYA says, "Modesitt's logical structure of the interrelationship of order and chaos, magic and technology, is one of the most through in modern fantasy. The personal growth of his characters and the depiction of their world, it well-written and credible - and involves the reader... The serious fantasy reader will revel in Modesitt's work." Launched with The Magic of Recluce, the novels of Recluce have gone on to sell over a million copies in paperback.

The most recent of the Recluce novels, Fall of Angels, introduced the engineer/smith Nylan, the only man among the leadership of the company of "angels" marooned on a high plateau in the west of Candar, and perhaps the one person most responsible for their survival. But the angels are a matriarchal band, and so Nylan must leave his companions and seek a life elsewhere. He travels down from the plateau into the world of warring kingdoms and strange magics with his companion, Ayrlyn, the healer, and his infant son. They are in search of a place to lead a peaceful life, but they look different from the locals, and their talents are most valued in battle - and so the war between chaos and order begins again.

The Chaos Balance is the seventh book of the saga of Recluce.

The biggest fantasy from L. E. Modesitt, Jr. to date, Colors of Chaos is the story of the White Chaos wizard Cerryl: his education in life and love, and his rise to power in the magicians guild of Fairhaven. This is the direct sequel to The White Order, which told of Cerryl's boyhood and youth, and takes place at the same time as the events in Modesitt's earlier novel, The Magic Engineer. Yet it stands alone, the longest Recluce novel, a portrayal of the growth and change of character and of the strengths and weaknesses of an age-old civilization held together by the power of magic.

Ceryl, now a full mage in The White Order, must prove himself indispensible to Jeslek, the High Wizard. Whether through assassination, effective gorvernance of occupied territory or the fearless and clever direction of troops in battle, Ceryl faces many harrowing obstacles, not the least of which is Anya, the plotting seductress who's the real power behind the scenes of the white wizards. With his wits, his integrity, and the support of his love, the Black healer Leyladin, he must survive long enough to claim his rightful spot within the ruling heirarchy of the White Order.

This is a must-read for followers of the Saga of Recluce, offering a unique, sympathetic point of view of the White Chaos wizards-the forces that throughout history have opposed the magicians of Recluce.

Colors of Chaos is the ninth book in the saga of Recluce.

Kharl is the best cooper in Brysta, one of the major cities in Nordla, and his life has been as ordered and dependable as his barrels. His trouble begins when he saves a neighbor's daughter from the violent advances of two upper-class men. Then he rescues an actual rape victim he finds unconscious in an alley, a blackstaffer -- a young expatriate mage -- from Recluce, and that makes his wife very uneasy. The culprit in both cases turns out to have been Egen, the cruel and corrupt son of the local ruler. When the blackstaffer is mysteriously murdered in Kharl's cooperage, Kharl is jailed, tried, and flogged, and in a shocking turnaround released--and his consort executed for the murder, which she did not commit. Egen again. Kharl ends up on the run, with just a handful of coins and a few clothes, but he also takes the slain woman's black staff and her book, The Basis of Order, which explains the principles of its power. The diligent cooper is about to learn a new, very different skill.

Wellspring of Chaos is the twelfth book in the Recluce Saga and takes place roughly 60 years after the close of The Order War (Recluce #4). It is Modesitt at the top of his form, returning to his most famous fantasy world, yet does not require previous knowledge of Recluce to be enjoyed. It's publication is sure to be one of the fantasy milestones of the year.

Having fled the invasion on Araldis, Mira Fedor travels to the nearest Orion League planet seeking aid for her devastated world, but the authorities seem more interested in stealing her bio-ship, Insignia, than in rendering help. While Mira flees from world to world, Araldis burns. Why is the initiate Tekton taking such extreme measures just to acquire a mineral alloy? Why do so many of the protagonists in this galaxy-wide drama have links to the Stain Wars? And what part does the Sole Entity—literally, God—have to play?

In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Fires of Heaven, we plunge again into Robert Jordan's extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world;

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne--and where an unexpected visitor may change the world....

In Emond's Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta'veren to ta'veren and prepares to march....

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally....And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway....

The world has fallen to a relentless enemy beyond reason or mercy. With no remorse they rend the planet with tooth and nail.

One man stands against the scourge of death that consumes all.

Teamed with a genius survivalist and a teenage girl, he must flee the teeming dead, the evils of humans left unchecked, and those that would seek to use him. His best weapon to stave off the horrors of this new world? His wit.

Edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey. Cover art by Gary Ruddell. Cover: A Beysib execution.

Welcome to Sanctuary, a city of outlaws and advernturers in a world of war and wizardry, peopled with colorful characters created by today's top fantasy adventure talents, including:

• David Drake
• C.J. Cherryh
• Janet Morris
• Diana L. Paxson
• Lynn Abbey
• Robert Lynn Asprin

In this fierce and fascinating fifth volume, Thieves' World is invaded by the not-quite-human Beysib, golden-skinned conquerors whose taste for evil is equaled only by their thirst for blood.

Contents:

• Dramatis Personae by Lynn Abbey
• Introduction by Robert Lynn Asprin
• High Moon by Janet Morris
• Necromant by C.J. Cherryh
• The Art of Alliance by Robert Lynn Asprin
• The Corners of Memory by Lynn Abbey
• Votary by David Drake
• Mirror Image by Diana L. Paxson

The Tide Lords have gathered in Jelidia and find they must find the Chaos Crystal that brought them to this world. It is discovered that Elyssa, Scard Crasii, Warlock's cruel immortal mistress knows the location of the Chaos crystal and with every immortal searching for the crystal the stakes are high.

When the person he loves most dies in tragic circumstances, the mysterious protagonist of The Map of Chaos does all he can to speak to her one last time and confess the secret he didn't dare tell her while she was alive. A session with the most renowned medium of all time seems to offer the only solution, but the experience unleashes terrible forces that bring the world to the brink of disaster. Salvation can only be found in The Map of Chaos, an obscure book that he is desperate to find. In his search, he is given invaluable help by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carroll, and of course by H.G. Wells, whose Invisible Man seems to have escaped from the pages of his famous novel to sow terror among mankind. They alone can discover the means to save the world and to find the path that will reunite the lovers separated by death.

In the dark and gothic world of Warhammer, the ravaging armies of the Ruinous Powers sweep down from the savage north to assail the lands of men. Realm of Chaos is a searing collection of a dozen all-action fantasy short stories set in those desperate times.

This is the action-packed novelization of Namco's hit computer game of war on a formidable scale. The dark forces of Chaos are an ever-present threat to the civilized lands of the Empire. Their regular incursions call for mankind to defend its life to the last man if necessary. It is a crucible where heroes are made and legends are born! When a young commander is caught up in this carnage of war, he must prove his honor by tracking down and destroying one of the most feared enemy leaders. With massive promotion alongside the computer game, this thrilling novel is sure to satisfy the battle-hungry appetites of games players and Warhammer fans alike!

CL Werner's latest tale follows the last warrior of a fierce Norse tribe as he sets out on a perilous quest deep into the dreaded Chaos Wastes, a land of magic and madness that lies far to the north of the Empire. Hideous monsters, ravenous daemons, even the landscape itself threaten him and his warrior band on every step of the journey. What price must a mortal pay to steal the treasure of Nurgle - the god of pestilence and decay?

The Skulltaker is a feared champion of Khorne, a lone warrior of hideous strength and power who kills all who lie in his path. Blood for the Blood God tells the tale of this terror of the north, as he stalks his prey with an iron determination and a dark purpose.

Hoche has dedicated his life to fighting the corrupting powers of the Chaos, and now he is persuaded to join a covert group dedicated to combating its terrifying forces. But Hoche soon learns that the lines between good and evil are blurred-until he makes a shocking discovery about himself that changes his destiny forever.

Former Empire solider Karl Hoche has spent his life hunting down the dark forces of Chaos. But after developing a mutation himself, Karl struggles to come to terms with becoming his own most hated enemy. Distraught, he reverts to what he knows best--the destruction of Chaos. But when he begins to garner a reputation as the near mythical Chaos Hunter, he becomes a more attractive target for those who seek out heretics.

Continuing his crusade against the evil forces of Chaos, former Empire warrior Karl Hoche finds himself the target of the Witch Hunters of the Old World and becomes trapped in the city of Middenheim as the dark hordes of Chaos lay siege.

In this first book in a new trilogy, Kurt Leitzig, a knight in the Count of Ostermark's bodyguard, hides his shameful past as the son of a family condemned and burned by witch-hunters. However, when another with hunt brews, Kurt discovers that when the powers of Chaos become involved he cannot trust those closest to him--perhaps not even himself.

Following the cataclysmic events in "The Claws of Chaos, Kurt Leitzig sits uneasily as the chosen warrior of the Gods. With the villagers of Fjaergard becoming angered by his life of luxury, Kurt is forced to prove his mettle. Promising riches beyond their wildest dreams, Kurt sails off with a war party to the fabled lands of Araby, where he discovers a seemingly deserted city of rising pyramids, forgotten tombs--and an newly awakened army that has been dead for thousands of years....

Once a noble warrior of the Empire, Kurt Leitzig has fallen prey to the evil clutches of Chaos, and his former lover, Ursula, must risk everything to raise an army to stop him from being transformed into a daemon that would destroy the Warhammer world, in the fantastical conclusion of the Slave to D