Rick Boatright, co-author of this month’s Ring of Fire series debut trade paperback, 1637: Dr. Gribbleflotz and the Soul of Stoner passed away recently after an acute illness. Rick, who was known and beloved by the 1632 writing community as the go-to resource for engineering notes, ideas, and suggestions, was also the author of a plethora of stories and novellas.

This September we remember Rick Boatright with a great sale on Baen ebooks with which he was associated.

This story is set within the world of Dave Bara’s October science fiction novel Trinity, the first entry in the Trinity’s Children series. Bara is the author of The Lightship Chronicles Series including Impulse, Starbound, and Defiant. His other works include Saint Cochrane's World, Speedwing and stories in anthologies Infinite Stars, Star Destroyers, and The Chronicles of Davids. Dave grew up as a fan of the Gemini and Apollo space programs and dreamed of being an astronaut one day. Since that time he has restricted his journeys into space to the written word. He lives in the Pacific Northwest. His web page is: http://www.davebara.info/.

The 5 Suns Navy marine was battering on the window of the escape pod with the butt of his rifle. Inside, Jared Clement, former captain of the Rim Confederation gunship Beauregard, looked to his former XO and lover, Elara DeVore.

“I guess there’s nothing to it now,” he said. “We have to blow the hatch or they’ll start using their rifles to cut their way in.”

DeVore reached over to him and took his hand reassuringly. “No more cards to play,” she said.

“I love you, Elara.”

She squeezed his hand even tighter. “I love you, Jared. Whatever happens from here on out, never forget that.”

Instead of replying, he merely nodded, then reached up for the exterior com button. “Stand back from the pod. I am going activate the explosive bolts to release the hatch in thirty seconds.” He could hear muted grumbling at that, but eventually the marines started backing up.

M. Elizabeth Ticknor is the grand prize recipient of the 2021 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. She lives in Southeast Michigan. Her interests include drawing, painting, and tabletop role-playing. Her preferred gaming systems are World of Darkness, Pathfinder, and 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Here web site can be found here.

For nearly a decade, thousands of original fantasy stories from around the world have been submitted for the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. This year, the grand prize was taken home by M. Elizabeth Ticknor for her story “Echoes of Meridian.” Congratulations!

A gust of wind danced between the lean-tos and leather tents of the Wendren camp, carrying the sweet promise of deer and rabbits that lurked in the woods beyond. Drora’s claws twitched with anticipation. Her tongue flicked, unbidden, across her teeth. This was the fourteenth anniversary of her adoption into the Wendren tribe and the perfect day for a hunt.

Her adoptive father, Cers, sat in front of the tent they shared, carving spokes for a broken wagon wheel. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. How could he just sit there, ignoring the enticing scents that beckoned from the horizon? Concentration twisted the tattoos on his head into eldritch patterns as he worked the morning away, oblivious as ever to the call of the wilderness. He’d sit there all day if she let him.

Not that I will.

Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for over forty years, a war gamer for over fifty, and an avid reader of science fiction for even longer. His experience in nuclear engineering and power systems began as a naval officer. Experience after the USN includes design, construction, inspection, enforcement, and assessment with a nuclear utility, an architect engineering firm, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC).

Stars recycle and so must we if we are to travel between them.

Stars have practiced recycling from near the beginning

The ordinary matter of the early universe was mostly hydrogen with some helium. Population III stars formed out of that primordial mix (with trace amounts of lithium and beryllium) and fused more hydrogen into helium. Those stars had comparatively short lifespans ending in supernovas (or other stellar events such as becoming black holes) and spreading heavier elements into space where they—along with hydrogen—became part of Population II stars.

To all of those who expressed interest and support for Baen's Bar in recent weeks, we are happy to announce it is back on-line, though with some changes. Baen is handing the Bar over to its users, and will henceforth be run by SFF Forums, LLC, and may be found at https://www.baensbar.net. Returning users will be able to use the Bar as usual, but new members will have to make a purchase at baen.com before they can log in. (Note: New users will not have to buy a book; there is a Bar tipjar option so they may contribute to the maintenance of the forum).

—Toni Weisskopf for SFF Forums

Baen Books announces the top ten finalists for the 2021 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award for best original fantasy short story.

Contest Jointly Sponsored by Baen Books and The National Space Society Honors Positive Fictional Takes on Space Exploration