NOT ONLY STRANGER THAN YOU IMAGINE, STRANGER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE

In a distant future when humans no longer need spaceships, but hurtle between the stars faster than light, propelled and protected by implants in their bodies, the galaxy has been divided between two battling factions who contend for dominance by economic maneuvering. Each side is determined to overwhelm the other, and is likely to abandon the "Econo-War" for a genuine shooting war if it thinks that defeat is imminent. Only one thing can avert the looming disaster: a talisman of great, almost supernatural power which has been lost for millennia on a minor world called Earth.

Here, The Econo-War is collected in one continuous novel-length narrative for the first time, along with other dazzling visions of future worlds: A planet where well-meaning busybodies from Earth try to "cure" the inhabitants of their craving for the exotic drug chocolate ... another planet where insects dimly recall myths of the humans who gave them intelligence before departing for the stars, and wonder if the strange creatures will ever return ... a brilliant concert pianist whose twin is the target of an inexplicable assassination plot which he must foil—because he and his "twin" share the same brain ... an intelligent weapon which was instructed billions of years ago to obliterate a race, but whose mission was frustrated by a slight malfunction—until now . . . and much more by a unique and original master of science fiction adventure.

"In the 1960s, Myers' stories came pouring out—almost every one of them excellent, ranging from the chilling to some of the wittiest science fiction stones ever written." —Eric Flint and Guy Gordon

Publisher's Note: Among insiders, Baen Books has become quite renowned for its penchant for "rediscovering" great SF, and Eric Flint has become famous for compiling and editing old greats. You probably haven't met "Verge Foray" (pen-name of Howard L. Myers) before. Well, lucky you; this is your chance to test out Baen's reputation, and Eric's, plus you have a pretty good shot at several hours of solid, edifying entertainment. —Jim Baen

DOW JONES
MEETS DARKEST SORCERY!

E.Godz, Inc.'s stock-in-trade was magic. When Edwina Godz inherited the family corporation, she immediately put to work all the sorcery she knew, taking shamans on board as subsidiaries, and raking in the benefits of the material world, including big profits and a high-selling stock.

Unfortunately, Edwina's two children hated each other's guts, and if she stepped aside and let them take over the company, it was certain to go down the tubes. So she decided to let them fight it out for dominance using all the tricks of both corporate in-fighting and wizardly warfare that she had taught them.

It's no holds (or spells) barred—and may the most evil and ruthless sorcerer win!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Robert Asprin was the New York Times bestselling author of the Phule's Company series of space adventures and the nationally bestselling Myth Adventures series of humorous fantasies. He was the creator and editor of the Thieves' World series, the first shared universe series in fantasy and science fiction. Asprin makes his home in New Orleans.

Esther Friesner is a winner twice over of the coveted Nebula Award (for the Year's Best Short Story, 1995 and 1996), and is the author of twenty-nine novels and more than one hundred short stories. She has also edited six anthologies, including the very popular Chicks in Chainmail series for Baen. Her works have been published in the UK, Japan, Germany, Russia, France, and Italy. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children, two rambunctious cats, and a fluctuating population of hamsters.

The Convulsing Earth had shattered Civilization
—and Something Was Moving In To Pick Up The Pieces

• Mal was heading across an America ravaged by worldwide earthquakes when he ran into a dying stranger who babbled of men who weren't really men. The stranger had an unusual gold coin in his pocket which no expert could identify, and soon, Mal was to discover some things who wanted that coin were on his trail....

• Steve Dravek awoke in a nightmarish city and immediately had to fight for his life against ruthless organ-stealing gangs. His last memories are of a vanished time from over a century ago. And someone is hunting him through the dark city, someone who seems to know him better than he knows himself....

• The commander of the spaceship fleet that just annihilated the enemy armada has decided to become world dictator unless his second in command can stop him....

• A national test condemns a man to a life of unskilled labor, unless he can find a way around the system....

A full-length novel, and a host of short novels and more fill an action-packed volume by the master of science fiction adventure.

Praise for Keith Laumer:

"Spare, clean prose style and muscular storytelling technique , . . when the final word is read, the reader comes away with both a sense of completion and a desire for the tale to go on ... forever, if possible."
—David Weber

"You're about to have fun," —David Drake

"One of the most productive and popular writers of science fiction."
* —Ben Bova

"... adventure tales that are brisk, light and sardonic,.,."
—Publishers Weekly

"Laumer is a master,.," —Seattle Times

"Tautly written and endless suspense ... excellent..,." — VOYA

The Planet Tyss has Only One Resource: Soldiers.
But They are Very Good Soldiers . . .

Three Complete Novels in the Popular Regiment Series in One Volume

The planet Tyss is so poor that it has only one exportable resource: its fighting men. Each year three regiments are sent forth into the galaxy. Hiring their services is very expensive, but well worth it, for the Tyss secret training makes their soldiers into mystic warriors, irresistible in battle. And when they offered to train soldiers from off their planet, the Confederation of Worlds jumped at the chance, using their personnel selection technology to pick the greatest potential warriors out of their planets-wide database of psych profiles. What they didn't know was that the new warriors were soon going to be necessary for the Confederation's very survival—because an invading force from another part of the galaxy is approaching with superior firepower and more advanced technology, and only the secret training of Tyss can give even a slight hope of stopping the invaders.

"An outstanding writer." —C. J. Cherryh

"A polished and inventive writer." —Spider Robinson

"An outstanding science fiction novelist." —Rave Reviews

"He creates a variety of believable and interesting characters and involves them in a story that will keep the reader guessing—and turning pages—to the very end." —West Coast Review of Books

ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH ...

With the defenses of the Southern Appalachians sundered, the only thing standing between the ravening Posleen hordes and the soft interior of the Cumberland Plateau are the veterans of the 555th Mobile Infantry.

Dropped into Rabun Pass, with a couple of million Posleen behind them and fourteen million to the front, the only question is which will run out first: power, bullets or bodies.

But they have a hole card: far to the north the shattered SheVa Nine, nicknamed "Bun-Bun," is undergoing a facelift. Rising from its smoking ashes is a new weapon of war, armed with the most advanced weaponry Terra has ever produced, capable of facing both the Posleen hordes and their redoubtable space-cruisers. Capable of dealing out Hell as only SheVa Nine can.

But when push comes to vaporization, if Mike O'Neal and the other members of the 555th are going to survive, it will come down to how much Posleen butt Bun-Bun can kick.

Prepare to eat antimatter, Posleen-boy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Ringo had visited 23 countries and attended 14 schools by the time he graduated high school. This left him with a wonderful appreciation of the oneness of humanity and a permanent aversion to foreign food. He chose to study marine biology and really liked it. Unfortunately the pay was for beans. So he turned to quality control database management, where the pay was much better. His highest hopes were to someday upgrade to SQL Server, at which point, he thought, his life would be complete. But then Fate took a hand: John has become a professional science fiction writer, and is in the early stages of becoming fabulously wealthy, which his publisher has assured him is the common lot of science fiction writers who write for Baen Books. In addition to his own enthusiastically received military SF series—A Hymn Before Battle, Gust Front, When the Devil Dances, and now Hell's Faire—he is collaborating with New York Times best-selling author David Weber on a new SF adventure series: March Upcountry, March to the Sea, and March to the Stars, with more to come.

With his bachelor years spent in the airborne, cave diving, rock-climbing, rappelling, hunting, spear-fishing, and sailing, the author is now happy to let other people risk their necks. He prefers to write science fiction (both alone and in collaboration with David Weber) raise Arabian horses, dandle his kids and watch the grass grow. Someday he may even cut it. But not today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe he'll just let the horses eat it.

A NEW SERIES SET
IN THE "HONORVERSE"OF
HONOR HARRINGTON

The Star Kingdom's ally Erewhon is growing increasingly restive in the alliance because the new High Ridge regime ignores its needs. Added to the longstanding problem of a slave labor planet controlled by hostile Mesans in Erewhon's stellar backyard, which High Ridge refuses to deal with, the recent assassination of the Solarian League's most prominent voice of public conscience indicates the growing danger of political instability in the Solarian League—which is also close to Erewhon.

In desperation, Queen Elizabeth tries to defuse the situation by sending a private mission to Erewhon led by Captain Zilwicki, accompanied by one of her nieces. When they arrive on Erewhon, however, Manticore's envoys find themselves in a mess. Not only do they encounter one of the Republic of Haven's most capable agents—Victor Cachat—but they also discover that the Solarian League's military delegation seems up to its neck in skullduggery.

And, just to put the icing on the cake, the radical freed slave organization, the Audubon Ballroom, is also on the scene—led by its notorious and ruthless assassin, Jeremy X.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

David Weber: New York Times best-selling Honor Harrington series, arguably the most popular series in science fiction, which has led to reviewers comparing him to C.S. Forester, celebrated creator of Captain Horatio Hornblower. Weber's work ranges from epic fantasy (Oath of Swords, The War God's Own) to breathtaking space opera (Path of the Fury, The Apocalypse Troll, Empire from the Ashes) to military science fiction with in-depth characterization (the Honor Harrington novels). With John Ringo, he inaugurated the Prince Roger series of space adventures with March Upcountry and has continued it with March to the Sea and March to the Stars. Weber and his wife Sharon live in South Carolina with their three children.

Eric Flint: is a new master of science fiction. His alternate-history novel 1632 received lavish critical praise from all directions and enjoyed high sales. The sequel, 1633, written in collaboration with David Weber, has also been highly praised and popular. His first novel, Mother of Demons, was picked by Science Fiction Chronicle as a best novel of the year. He has also shown a powerful gift for humorous fantasy adventure with Forward the Mage and The Philosophical Strangler, which Booklist described as "Monty Python let loose in Tolkien's Middle Earth." With David Drake he has collaborated on five novels in the popular "Belisarius" series, and is working on the sixth, The Dance of Time. A longtime labor union activist with a master's degree in history, he currently resides in Indiana with his wife Lucille.

W200304 April 2003 Monthly Baen Bundle

The Service of the Sword

by David Weber

Kaspar's Box

by Jack L. Chalker

Interstellar Patrol

by Christopher Anvil
edited by Eric Flint

The Cold Equations

by Tom Godwin and Eric Flint

Exiles at the Well of Souls

by Jack L. Chalker

When the Devil Dances

by John Ringo

PLANET OF THE DEMIGODS

Antor Trellig, head of a ruthless interstellar syndicate, had seized a super-computer with godlike powers, which could make him omnipotent. The Council offered master criminal Mavra Chang any reward if she stopped Trellig—and horrible lingering death if she failed. Given that choice, Chang set out on Trellig's trail, hoping she could turn the mission to her own profit. But neither Trellig nor Chang had taken the Well World into consideration. ...

Built by the Markovians billions of years ago, when the now-vanished godlike race had unlocked all the secrets of space and time, the Well World controlled the very design of the entire cosmos. Trellig and Chang suddenly were drawn across space to the mysterious planet, to awaken in new alien bodies and find themselves in the middle of a battle where strange races fought desperately, with the control of all the Universe as the prize.

Praise 'for a Master Storyteller:

"A powerful storyteller."
—Orson Scott Card, Washington Post Book World

"Splendid adventure...'." —Publishers Weekly

"A master!" '
—Fantasy and Science Fiction

The Secret of the Three Kings
is Revealed at Last

For centuries, interstellar prospectors had searched for the fabled Worlds of the Three Kings, the lost El Dorado of the galaxy. But if any found it, they were never heard from again. The mad cyborg Prophet, Ishmael Hand, discovered the mysterious system, with artifacts indicating a superhuman technology, and he had refused to reveal its location before vanishing forever into history.

Two more recent expeditions have found the Three Kings. A starfaring evangelist—Doctor Karl Woodward, preacher and leader of the starship The Mountain—followed a clue and found it, but never returned. Then a spacegoing salvage team followed Woodward's trail, and also vanished.

Now a chance encounter between what's left of the once-mighty human military with an inexplicable alien force has brought an armed expedition to the third planet of the Three Kings, Kaspar. They will join forces with the survivors of the first two expeditions, who have been marooned both by alien powers and by human treachery, as they at last encounter the alien minds behind the mysterious triple planetary system—and they will face a decision that may determine the fate of the entire human race!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jack L. Chalker is one of science fiction's most prolific and popular authors, with a readership numbering in the hundreds of thousands. His bestselling novels and series include The Changewinds, Midnight at the Well of Souls and its sequels, "The Quintara Marathon" trilogy, the "Soul Rider" series, the "Rings of the Master" series, and others. His novels have been translated into many foreign languages and many have been book club selections. He is a familiar figure at SF conventions, often as a guest speaker, frequently as toastmaster. He lives in Maryland with his wife and sons.

THE UNIVERSE DOESN'T CARE

A pilot is on an emergency mission to a planet whose colony is doomed if he doesn't get there fast. He has just enough fuel to reach the planet—then he finds that he has a stowaway, a young girl wanting to be with her brother on the colony. If the pilot spaces the girl, the ship will barely make it to the planet. If he does not, the ship will crash and both of them as well as the colony will die. What will he do This story rocked science fiction when it first appeared.

Also in this volume is Godwin's long-unavailable novel The Survivors, which poses another problem in survival: If hostile aliens have marooned you and hundreds of other people on a nearly uninhabitable planet, how do you not only manage to endure, but to get revenge as well

This is a massive volume by a master of science fiction adventure, with added dimensions of speculation and cold, hard realism.

Publisher's Note: The novel The Survivors has been published separately.

"['The Cold Equations'] is one of the most popular and controversial hard sf stories of the last fifty years. ..."
—David G. Hartwell, The Ascent of Wonder

"The touchstone story for hard-core science fiction is Tom Godwin's 'The Cold Equations'."
—James Gunn, The Road to Science Fiction, Vol. Ill

"[Tom Godwin's SF] exhibited a fine clarity of conception, and considerable narrative verve. ..."
—John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

"The impact [of 'The Cold Equations' on publication] was immediate .... The impact of the story . . . remains the same now as then."
—Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss,The Astounding-Analog Reader

WELCOME AGAIN TO THE MANY
WORLDS OF HONOR HARRINGTON

Lady Dame Honor Harrington isn't alone. Her life touches others—and their lives touch hers—directly, or indirectly, whether as a naval officer, steadholder, or duchess.

In this collection, Jane Lindskold gives us the story of a prince on the brink of maturity and an extraordinary young Grayson woman named Judith—a victim of Masadan brutality, who confronts insurmountable odds in a desperate effort to lead her sisters to freedom— or—death among the stars.

Timothy Zahn weighs in with a story of the heavy cruiser HMS Fearless; a brilliant young tactical officer on temporarily detached duty; Solarian con men; secret weapons that aren't quite what they seem to be; naval spies, spooks, and dirty tricks; courage and honor; and a surprising glimpse into one of Admiral Sonja Hemphill's most crucial technological innovations.

John Ringo offers his unique blend of nonstop action and deliciously skewed humor in two offerings. The Peep planet of Prague and its brutally repressive StateSec regime will never be the same again after the unscheduled, unofficial, and thoroughly catastrophic visit by a pair of Manticoran Marines with a most peculiar taste in their holiday destinations. And then there's the question of what an explosively expanding navy does with the personnel who can't quite cut the mustard.

Eric Flint tells us the story of an idealistic young StateSec officer who finds himself in the right place at the right time following the fall of Oscar Saint-Just. Young Victor Cachat could influence the loyalty of an entire sector ... if he's only lucky enough to manage to stay alive long enough to try.

And finally, David Weber gives us the tale of the first Grayson midshipwoman on her "snotty cruise" at a time when internal tensions threaten the entire future of the Manticoran Alliance and people are about to rediscover the Fact that the Peeps are far from the only predators hiding in the stars.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND HOST

David Weber is the brightest star in the new century's science fiction firmament. He is often compared to C.S. Forester (the celebrated creator of Captain Horatio Hornblower), is the recipient of critical praise worthy of Heinlein or Asimov, and has hordes of voracious fans clamoring for more and more Weber. Fortunately for them, Weber keeps steadily producing more and more books. His novels range from epic fantasy (Oath of Swords, The War God's Own) to breathtaking space opera (Path of the Fury, Empire from the Ashes) to military science Action with in-depth characterization (the celebrated New York Times bestselling Honor Harrington series, War of Honor being the latest). Reviewers call Weber "irresistible . . . masterful" (Publishers Weekly), "highly entertaining" (Booklist), "outstanding . . . superb . . . Excellent" (Wilson Library Bulletin), "remarkable" (Kliatt), "the best" (Dragon), "worth shouting about" (Philadelphia Weekly Press), "great" (Locus), and "the best writer around today" (FosFax). Readers call Weber similar things, but mostly they call the Baen offices several times a week demanding more from their main man. Weber lives in South Carolina with his wife Sharon.

W200303 March 2003 Monthly Baen Bundle

Empire From the Ashes

by David Weber

Conqueror

by David Drake and S. M. Stirling

Here There Be Dragonnes

by Mary Brown

Darkness and Dawn

by Andre Norton

The Genesis Machine

by James P. Hogan

The Isle Beyond Time

by L. Warren Douglas

ALL HAIL THE CONQUEROR!

With the aid of a sentient battle computer from before the collapse of interstellar civilization, Raj Whitehall has come close to reuniting the entire planet of Bellevue. Because of his victories and because of the way he won them, Raj is loved by the people—and his army would follow him to Hell. Even those closest to him, his band of sworn companions and his wickedly subtle but utterly loyal wife, hold him in awe.

And that's the problem. For though Raj battles only in the name of his emperor and has proven his loyalty again and again, still the half-mad jealousy and fear of Barholm Clerett is about to give Raj no choice but to revolt or face death by torture. Raj Whitehall, Hammer of the Barbarians, Sword of the Spirit of Man, has always been ready to bear any burden, pay any price for final victory.

Now his fate is on him.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

S.M. Stirling instantly became known as a talented new writer of military SF for his highly acclaimed, widely-read "Draka" series, which began with Marching Through Georgia. His collaborative novel with Anne McCaffrey, The City Who Fought, was a national bestseller. In addition to his popular General series, written in collaboration with David Drake, he has also collaborated with Jerry Pournelle on both the best-selling Man-Kzin Wars series and the Falkenberg's Legion series, recently collected in one volume as The Prince. His alternate history series which began with Island in the Sea of Time has also been very popular. He lives with his wife in Santa Fe, NM.

Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, former bus driver, and now bestselling author, David Drake tells a military story like no other. His readers recognize that he can take them where no one else can, with gut-wrenching description that puts them face-to-face with the enemy, and in the midst of the action right on the battlefield. He helped create the audience for mercenary military science fiction with his best-selling "Hammer's Slammers" books. Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake has a wife, a son, and various pets.

GOOD AND EVIL...

She defeated a demon and imprisoned a mad druid in a crystal serpent's egg. She changed the course of history, and never doubted which side she was on. Now the rules have changed. In the shifting landscapes Celts call the otherworld, friends may be foes, good deeds yield evil results, and childhood fantasies become adult nightmares.

Braving pillaging Vikings on the Loire, battling a crazy sorcerer in the Broceliande forest, and confronting the nine Gallicenae, druidesses who rule the Isle of the Dead, the only friend Pierrette can trust may be the Evil one himself, the Eater of Gods.

And now the last battle looms, a battle in which Pierrette, she who would save the Past and the Future, can trust no one and nothing, not even the devil she thought she knew.

[The Sacred Pool, first of Pierrette's adventures is] "Immensely readable and elegantly simple in execution . . . this vivid reimagining of Western humanity's turbid adolescence engages, enchants and enthralls."
—Publishers Weekly [starred review]

"[Simply Human is] highly entertaining and full of action ... a divertingly strange future, one that should appeal equally to fans of sf and fantasy adventure." —Locus

NO NIGHT LASTS FOREVER ...

Centuries after the civilized world destroyed itself in a dimly-remembered final war, a few rebels courageously searched through the shattered cities/ trying to regain old knowledge.

One was Fors-driven from his clan for the crime of being a mutant. Though his people had long searched the remnants of the old world to regain the knowledge and skills of their ancestors, the land to the north was forbidden. Having nothing to lose, Pars and his feline companion set out to the north, little realizing what a staggering discovery they would make.

Elsewhere/ Sander also searched-for the Before People who were said to have survived the great devastation. Then he encountered Fanyl, engaged in her own quest for the knowledge of the Before People. And soon they would find themselves threatened by an ancient evil which destroyed not just lives, but minds as well....

Publisher's Note: Darkness and Dawn has been previously published in parts as Star Man's Son and No Night Without Stars. This is their first combined publication.

"The sky's no limit to Andre Norton's imagination ... a superb storyteller."
—The New York Times

"Extraordinary!" —Washington Post "Imaginative and exciting."
—San Francisco Chronicle

"Gripping adventure that will keep the reader on the edge of his seat until the final page."
—Seattle Times

"First rate entertainment. . . you should not miss it!"
—Fantasy & Science Fiction

WE HAVE A JOB FOR YOU ...

Just a routine day in lunar orbit. That's all Lieutenant Commander Colin Maclntyre, USN, expected. Only a simple training mission to test a new survey instrument intended for the first manned American-Russian interstellar flight.

What he got was just a bit different.

First, there was the fact that Earth didn't actually have a Moon.

Then there was the three thousand-kilometer diameter alien starship pretending it was the Moon. And the millennia-old cybernetic intelligence that shanghaied him to serve as its crew.

Colin might have been forgiven for thinking that those were enough surprises for any one man, but there were a few other small problems.

Like the deadly mutiny which had been raging longer than the human race had existed on Earth ... and still wasn't over.

Or like the millions of other starships, crewed by genocidal aliens dedicated to the extermination of all possible competing life forms, which just happened to be headed straight towards Earth.

Or like the interstellar empire whose aid offered humanity's only hope for survival... except for the minor fact that its last emperor and all of his subjects had died forty-five thousand years ago.

Add in the occasional homicidal terrorist, religious fanatics convinced that the only good Maclntyre was a dead Maclntyre, a bic-weapon capable of killing every living thing on any planet, a super-bomb which could take out whole worlds, a starship drive which could destroy complete solar systems, and the need to organize the entire planet Earth— and all of its warring, mutually murderous factions—for a probably hopeless last-ditch defense, and Colin was convinced that things were just about as bad as they could possibly get.

Until he found out whose job it had just become to fix all those problems, of course....

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Undeniably the science fiction phenomenon of the decade, New York Times bestselling author David Weber is often compared to C.S. Forester (the celebrated creator of Captain Horatio Hornblower) and is the recipient of critical praise worthy of Heinlein or Asimov. His hordes of voracious fans clamor for more and more Weber. Fortunately for them, Weber keeps steadily producing book after book with first printings that sell out almost immediately, then go back into printing after printing after printing. His novels range from epic fantasy (Oath of Swords, The War God's Own) to breathtaking space opera (Path of the Fury, Empire from the Ashes] to military science fiction with in-depth characterization (the celebrated and awesomely popular Honor Harrington series, War of Honor being the latest installment). Reviewers call Weber "highly entertaining," (Booklist), "outstanding . .. superb ... excellent" (Wilson Library Bulletin), "remarkable" (Kliatt), "the best" (Dragon), "worth shouting about" (Philadelphia Weekly Press), "great" (Locus), and "the best writer around today" (FosFax). Readers call Weber similar things, but mostly they call the Baen offices several times a week demanding more from their main man. Weber and his wife Sharon live in South Carolina.

THE RING'S THE THING ...  Thing was a young girl who hid beneath a mask. Her companions included a crow, a toad, a goldfish, and a kitten. Never had a more unlikely band of unheroic heroes set off on a difficult and dangerous quest. But Thing had a ring with unusual powers. . . . Summer was an orphan who only wanted to find a husband and settle down. But first she had to help out a blind knight with amnesia and a winged pig. But how to get those two, as well as a raggle-tail assortment of other creatures in distress, to the far-distant place where they belonged Summer owned almost nothing—except a certain magic ring. ... Summer was cast adrift in London by the untimely death of her parents. Then an uncle left her a legacy that would lift her up from poverty—if she took a dragon's egg into uncharted Asia. The task was daunting and time was short, but her late uncle had also left her a very remarkable ring. ...

Three very unusual heroines in widely separated eras, each wearing for a time a ring made from a unicorn's horn, a ring with extraordinary powers. . . .

"People who think they hate fantasies are going to like this one."
—USA Today

"Endearing characters. . . . Brown's incredible journey is a find."
—Publishers Weekly

"Compelling ... a rare treat for fantasy lovers."
—Library Journal

"Don't miss this brilliantly conceived, superbly crafted, and eminently beguiling fantasy foray."
—Romantic Times

W200302 February 2003 Monthly Baen Bundle

Warlord

by David Drake and S. M. Stirling

Grimmer Than Hell

by David Drake

The Guardians of the Flame

by Joel Rosenberg

A Plague of Demons

by Keith Laumer
edited by Eric Flint

Martian Knightlife

by James P. Hogan

Pyramid Scheme

by Dave Freer and Eric Flint

THE SECRET MASTERS OF THE WORLD—
WERE A PACK OF WOLVES

When John Bravais was sent on a secret mission to observe a war in North Africa he found out more than it was safe for him to know—even after he had secretly been surgically transformed so that he was as strong as a Bolo tank, and nearly as tough: Wolf-like aliens, invisible to the ordinary eye, were harvesting the brains of the fallen fighters! Bravais might have become the Ultimate Warrior, but still he was only one man against A Plague of Demons.

An alien probe has randomly selected a human to test to his limits and find how serious an opponent the human race might be. They have picked the wrong man. Test to Destruction.

A ship is lost in action and only one has survived the alien attack. He alone knows the secret that can stop the aliens in their tracks, but his own side is convinced he is a traitor or worse; he is about to face his ignominious end, his End as a Hero.

One officer has kept a lonely vigil on an isolated planet for years, watching for the alien enemy, forgotten by the bureaucracy that sent him there—then the enemy arrived, and the alarm signal had to be sent, in spite of the alien ship looming over the colony. Thunderhead.

Includes one full-length novel, five short novels, and more in an action-packed volume of the very best by the master of interstellar adventure.

Praise for Keith Laumer:

"Spare, clean prose style and muscular storytelling technique . . . when the final word is read, the reader comes away with both a sense of completion and a desire for the tale to go on ... forever, if possible." —David Weber

"You're about to have fun." —David Drake

"Laumer is a master ..." —Seattle Times

"Tautly written and endless suspense . . . excellent. ..." —VOYA

"Keith Laumer is one of science fiction's most adept creators. . ." —Savannah News-Press

YOU DON'T NEED SAINTS TO FACE
RUTHLESS ENEMIES—YOU NEED HEROES!

THE FLEET

The Khalians are weasel shaped and weasel vicious; their main concern with humanity is the way humans taste. Behind the Khalians are others: stronger, smarter, and more vicious still.

Captain Miklos Kowacs and the men and women of Marine Reaction Company 121, the Headhunters, have faced the Khalians on the front lines: now they're taking the war to the enemy, freeing captured planets from their bestial conquerors and penetrating even the Khalian horneworld.

But the worst dangers to Kowacs and his Headhunters come from traitors who wear the same uniform!

The only chance of defeating the Ichtons is to capture one one alive. No human battlefleet could hope to do that—but just maybe a lone scout like Sergeant Dresser could.

Anyway, he has to try. The Ichtons don't conquer their enemies: they destroy them utterly.

In the not-too-distant future, government cameras watch every soul in North America. Only the most cunning and powerful imagine they can commit a crime and escape punishment, and they become the prey of hunters like Jed Lacey.

Lacey has neither hopes nor fears, and he has no mercy at ad. There's never been anybody better at what he does.

There've always been men and women willing to stand between humanity and the worst the universe has to offer. The trouble is, they can't stay human and do their jobs—and they must do their jobs.

David Drake is a Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, former bus driver, and bestselling author of many different types of science fiction and fantasy. Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake, his wife, and various pets live in Chatham County, NC, where he writes every day.