A bizarre kidnapping case leads FBI Special Agent Jasper Wilde into the mysterious world of a strange religious cult. At the scene of the kidnapping itself, a frightening apparition is seen. Then, a hideously mutilated corpse is found nearby. Something wicked has come to the normal-seeming Chicago suburbs. Soon, open warfare erupts. And as the FBI agents race to intervene to put a stop to the horrors, they come to understand and accept that something very ancient and very evil has surfaced in the world—or, perhaps, something that is very, very alien.

Get Iron Angels eARC here.

From the distant past to the far future, those who carry the sword rack up commendations for bravery. They are men and women who, like the swords they carry, have been forged in blood. These are their stories. In medieval Japan, a surly ronin is called upon to defend a village against a thieving tax collector who soon finds out it's not wise to anger an old, tired man. In the ugliest fighting in the Pacific Theater, an American sergeant and a Japanese lieutenant must face each other, and themselves. And, when a planet fragments in violent chaos, seven Freeholders volunteer to help protect another nation's embassy against a horde. Featuring all-new stories by Michael Z. Williamson, Larry Correia, Tom Kratman, Tony Daniel, Michael Massa, Peter Grant, John F. Holmes, and many more.

Get Forged in Blood eARC here.

Lord Wulf von Dunstig is in deep trouble. He is surrounded by invading enemies and kingdoms fallen into chaos. Ursel Keiler wishes she could control her errant heart as easily as she can guide the flight of an arrow to a target. She tries to escape into the woodlands she adores, only to be pulled back by a band of desperate and brave warriors who need her help. But aiding them will lead Ursel straight to Wulf von Dunstig, and to the heartache she is fleeing. Now Wulf, Ursel and their friends must find a way to unite the land of Shenandoah against a powerful Roman inquisitor. Yet there is hope even in the deepest and darkest places of the world, and all may depend upon Wulf and Ursel forging a powerful weapon drawn from the heart of a dragon—THE AMBER ARROW.

Get The Amber Arrow eARC here.

Major Bhaajan achieved the impossible. Born to the Undercity, she broke free from crushing poverty and crime to become a military officer. Now retired from military duty, she walks the mean streets of Undercity as a private investigator. And she is about to embark on her most challenging case yet. Summoned by no less than the Ruby Pharaoh herself, Major Bhaajan is tasked with finding a killer. But this is no ordinary murderer. The Ruby Pharaoh witnessed a Jagernaut cut down Assembly Councilor Tap Benton—which shouldn’t have been possible. The Jagernauts are the elite of the elite soldiers in the Imperial Space Command. What’s more, the spinal node implanted in all Jagernauts should have prevented the murder. But the Ruby Pharaoh is sure of what she saw, and she has reason to believe that the Jagernaut will kill again.

Get The Bronze Skies eARC here.

In the future, a gaming company is accomplishing what governmental space agencies tried and failed to do: they’re slowly making Mars suitable for human habitation. But to do so they’ll need the help of a team of gamers back on planet Earth. One such gamer is Blake; his remote-controlled rover is Feldspar. But not all Martian exploration is done from the safety of an ergonomic chair in front of a computer desk back on Earth. Astronauts still make the dangerous trip to the Red Planet. And where human space flight is concerned, things can go very wrong very quickly. Now, Blake and his intrepid rover are all that stand between one astronaut and certain death in “Feldspar,” the grand prize winner of the 2017 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award.

Read “Feldspar” by Philip Kramer here.

On Mars, the first baby born off-Earth is due to arrive in six months. The only problem: humans aren’t suited to gestating on the high-radiation, low-gravity Red Planet. If the kid is going to be the first Martian, the hub’s doctors are going to have to administer some very advanced treatments. Treatments they don’t have. The next supply rocket from Earth will arrive too late to be of any use. But humankind didn’t colonize space by being timid. One man on Mars thinks he has the solution to getting the required medicines in time. It’s a longshot; one that will require a feat of engineering, a lot of luck, and maybe some old-fashioned magic. “Bullet Catch” is the first runner up in the 2017 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Contest.

Read “Bullet Catch” by Stephen Lawson here.

We’ve all seen it a hundred times. Our intrepid human hero sets foot on an alien world only to be greeted by bug-eyed monsters, scantily clad space vixens, or some combination of the two. Living side-by-side with aliens on strange new worlds is an entertaining notion . . . but how realistic is it? If there’s one thing our various probes and landers have taught us, it’s that the universe is a pretty inhospitable place. In this month’s new nonfiction essay, Nebula Award winner William Ledbetter explores some likely ways humankind might make a new home for ourselves out there in the vastness of outer space.

Read “Bug-Eyed Monsters Versus the World Builders” by William Ledbetter here.

Baen Books is pleased to announce the third annual Year’s Best Military and Adventure Science Fiction Readers’ Choice Award. The award honors the best of the best in this grand storytelling tradition, and its winner will receive an inscribed plaque and a $500 prize. And YOU are the judge! Choose your favorite story from the contents of The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Vol. 3 and reward its author for excellence.

Find out more here.

Coming soon to the Baen Free Radio Hour: J.R. Dunn discusses his collaboration with the late Robert Conroy on alternate history novel The Day After Gettysburg, and editor David Afsharirad leads a roundtable of authors talking about their stories in the third annual collection of The Year’s Best Adventure and Military SF. Missed past episodes? No problem. We’ve got every episode archived for your listening pleasure.

Listen to the Baen Free Radio Hour now.

Don’t forget to check out the Baen new book releases here. Enter the May Contest here. And for upcoming appearances by Baen authors and editors, check here.