The assassinated Shah Jahan lies entombed beside his beloved wife in the Taj Mahal, while their offspring drag the Mughal Empire into a deadly struggle over the succession to the Peacock Throne. The diplomatic and trade mission from the United States of Europe, made up largely of Americans transplanted in time by the Ring of Fire, sides with Princess Jahanara and her brother Dara Shikoh. As the conflict deepens, junior members of the mission travel east to buy opium needed by the USE’s doctors. The USE came only to trade for goods and medicine, but now they are enmeshed in the greatest civil war of India’s magnificent past—and the fight for a new, brighter future!

The UN has invaded the Freehold of Grainne, a bastion of libertarian government in a galaxy of authoritarianism. Grainne must form an organized force from the shattered remnants of their military, and from grimly determined, but underequipped and outnumbered, insurgents. Their war is for their very way of life. They'll do everything and anything to stop this invasion, using whatever means are available. They mean to make the enemy suffer. Quod vulnera curare potes. Physical wounds heal. But Defiance? Defiance is to the death—or victory!

With stories by Kevin J. Anderson and Kevin Ikenberry, Michael Z. Williamson and more!

Daslakh is an AI with a problem. Its favorite human, a young man named Zee, is in love with a woman who never existed. But in the Tenth Millennium a billion worlds circle the Sun, home to a quadrillion beings. Zee is convinced she’s out there somewhere. Then Zee helps Adya—a girl, but definitely not his dream girl—escape a gang of crooks. To get away, the pair must join the hunt for the Godel Trigger, a legendary weapon left over from the ancient war between humans and machines. Now Daslakh must aid in the search, keep Zee's love life on the right track, and make sure that nobody discovers the real secret of the Godel Trigger—for that would spell doom for men, machines, and the Solar System itself!

To celebrate the mass market paperback publication of Catherine Asaro’s latest Major Bhaajan novel The Vanished Seas, Baen Ebooks has major discounts on all ebooks by Catherine Asaro, including $2 off The Vanished Seas!

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In James L. Cambias's new novel, The Godel Operation, a boy and his AI search the billion worlds that orbit our Sun for the girl of his dreams. Which got us thinking, SF is full of all manner of helpful AIs and droids (and not a few unhelpful ones). Tell us who (what?) your favorite is and why for a chance to win a signed copy of The Godel Operation.

It's award season! If you loved a particular Baen book or story, we encourage you to nominate and/or vote for it. For reference, here's a handy guide to all the works we published in 2020, which are eligible for awards.

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Last month, we asked you to write us “trillionaires in space” joke, based on the concept of Wil McCarthy’s novel, Rich Man's Sky. Congrats to Nathan Glasser! He wins a copy of Rich Man's Sky, signed by author Wil McCarthy.

Coming soon to the Baen Free Radio Hour: Eric Flint and Griffin Barber on Ring of Fire series entry 1637: The Peacock Throne. Michael Z. Williamson and anthology authors talk about Freehold Defiance. And James L. Cambias discusses far-future SF adventure novel The Godel Operation.