W200210 October 2002 Monthly Baen Bundle

War of Honor

by David Weber

More Than Honor

by David Weber, David Drake and S. M. Stirling

Echoes of Honor

by David Weber

Seas of Venus

by David Drake

The Tide of Victory

by Eric Flint and David Drake

Fallen Angels

by Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven and Michael Flynn

Bolo Strike

by William H. Keith Jr.
created by Keith Laumer

IT ALL HAPPENED SO FAST

One minute the two space Hab astronauts were scoop-diving the atmosphere, the next they'd been shot down over the North Dakota Glacier and were the object of a massive manhunt by the United States government.

That government, dedicated to saving the environment from the evils of technology, had been voted into power because everybody knew that the Green House Effect had to be controlled, whatever the cost. But who would have thought that the cost of ending pollution would include not only total government control of day-to-day life, but the onset of a new Ice Age

Stranded in the anti-technological heartland of America, paralyzed by Earth's gravity, the "Angels" had no way back to the Space Habs, the last bastions of high technology and intellectual freedom on or over the Earth. But help was on its way, help from the most unlikely sources ....

Join # 1 national bestsellers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle and Michael Flynn in a world where civilization is on the ropes, and the environmentalists have created their own worst nightmare: A world of

THE MOST COLORFUL MYTH
FROM SCIENCE FICTION'S
GOLDEN AGE IS REBORN IN
SEAS OF VENUS

Earth is a dead cinder beyond the dense clouds. On a terraformed Venus the land is ruled by savage plants and the even more savage beasts that prey on them, while monsters out of nightmare swim though the globe-girdling seas. Mankind huddles in domed underwater Keeps, living a purposeless static existence—dedicated to pleasure but destined for oblivion later if not sooner.

Only the Free Companions, the mercenaries who fight proxy wars for the Keeps, live on the surface of Venus. Their warships course the seas, battling one another in struggles to decide victory or defeat for one day, life or death for a few individuals. The Free companions live till they die with the searing thrill of danger, and their deeds bring excitement and color to the bored residents of the Keeps; but Mankind is doomed unless something changes.

Few are willing to risk their lives for that change, battling both the terrifying environment and the ruthless oligarchs for whom the status quo means a lifetime of luxury. But there are a handful of courageous visionaries in the Keeps and in the Free Companies where death is a way of life!

"Only a few of us have enough willpower, when a new Dick Francis or the latest volume of a David Drake series comes out in hardcover, to wait for the paperback."
-David Friedman, Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life

"... the best in military science fiction. Recommended...."
-Booklist

"... the master of the mercenary science fiction novel. He has developed a following... just short of cult proportions."
-Rave Reviews

"Drake is one of the most gifted users of historical and military raw materials at work today."
-Chicago Sun-Times

NO ONE WANTED ANOTHER WAR

Thomas Theisman didn't. After risking his life and a fresh round of civil war to overthrow the Committee of Public Safety's reign of terror and restore the Republic of Haven's ancient Constitution, an interstellar war was the last thing he wanted.

Baron High Ridge didn't. The Prime Minister of Manticore was perfectly happy with the war he had. No one was shooting anyone else at the moment, and as long as he could spin out negotiations on the formal treaty of peace, his government could continue to milk all those "hostilities only" tax measures for their own partisan projects.

His Imperial Majesty Gustav didn't. Now that the fighting between the Star Kingdom and the Havenites had ended, the Andermani Emperor had his own plans for Silesia, and he was confident he could achieve them without a war of his own.

Protector Benjamin didn't. His people had made too deep a commitment to the Manticoran Alliance, in blood as well as treasure, for him to want to risk seeing it all thrown away.

And Honor Harrington certainly didn't. The "Salamander" had seen the inside of too many furnaces already, knew too much about how much war cost.

Unfortunately, what they wanted didn't matter....

W200209 September 2002 Monthly Baen Bundle

Conrad's Time Machine

by Leo Frankowski

The Prince

by Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling

Eternal Frontier

by James H. Schmitz
edited by Eric Flint

Foreign Legions

by David Drake

Honor Among Enemies

by David Weber

THE LAST, BEST HOPE OF MANKIND

In the 21st century, the Soviet-American CoDominium had kept the peace, both on Earth and among the far-flung star colonies. But now the CoDominium is dying, and its death-throes will be terrible; already the nations arm for their final bat-de. The Earth seems doomed, and mankind's sole hope for a future worth having rests on a planet called Sparta, a planet where American idealists have raised once more the banner of a liberty that has been forgotten amid the corruptions and tyrannies of Earth.

The Spartans have hired John Christian Falkenberg, born leader and military genius, and his mercenary legion to train them. If Falkenberg succeeds, the tattered remnants of civilization may still be welded into a single galaxy-spanning free society. But Grand Senator Bronson, de facto ruler of the nation that once was the USA, is determined that Falkenberg and Prince Lysander of Sparta will fail, and Spartan independence will be crushed forever....

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jerry Pournelle is a reigning master of military science fiction, author of the series of novels about John Christian Falkenberg and his legion of interstellar mercenaries, and many other works, such as Janissaries, Exiles to Glory, High Justice, King David's Spaceship, Starswarm, and others. With Larry Niven he has collaborated on a string of bestselling novels, including Lucifer's Hammer, The Mote in God's Eye, Footfall, and many more. He holds advanced degrees in psychology, statistics, engineering, and political science, and has been involved professionally in all these fields. He and his wife live in Los Angeles.

S.M. Stirling is the author of the Draka trilogy. Set in a parallel universe, a nation founded on slavery and the United States battle for domination of the world. The trilogy was recently republished in one huge volume as The Domination. Stirling has also written Drakon, a novel of a Draka warrior hurled into our world, and edited a companion volume, Drakas! Among his collaborations are the popular General series with David Drake, the novel, The Children's Hour, with Jerry Pournelle, and the national bestseller, The City Who Fought, with Anne McCaffrey. He and his wife live in Santa Fe, NM.

Born to Be Weird...

When Tom Kolczyskrenski got his discharge papers from the Air Force, he decided to look up his old pals—and the world would never be the same. At one time, the oddly mismatched trio had been roommates, then they'd gone their separate ways. Tom, for lack of money, enlisted in the Air Force to learn electronics. The other two had finished college, lan McTavish going into mechanical engineering and a job with GM, and Jim Hasenpfeffer into behavioral science, leading to his having gotten a Department of Defense grant to—this is serious stuff, now—study social interactions in motorcycle gangs.

So the three set out to be their own motorcycle gang. But these easy riders had barely begun to closely observe their own interactions when they ran across a strange perfectly hemispherical hole in the ground where a house used to be, with everything that had been in the sphere of influence slowly materializing in bits and pieces in the surrounding area. And they found the plans for the machine that had done this, and were sure they could duplicate it and get rich. But before long they would be wishing they had kept on being the three musketeers on bikes, instead of the three stooges of time travel....

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leo Frankowski is widely known for the popular "Cross-Time Engineer" series, which has gone through six novels to date, with translated editions in three languages. He is also the author of Copernick's Rebellion, a novel of a future based on a revolution in the biological sciences, of which The SF Site writes, "I have never read anything as original as Copernick's Rebellion , . . [it's] on my top 10 list." His other novels for Baen are A Boy and His Tank and The Fata Morgana. Frankowski was nominated for the John W. Campbell award for best new writer. He has held more than a hundred different positions, ranging from scientist in an electro-optical research lab to chief engineer to company president. His work in chemical and optical instrumentation has earned him several patents. Currently a writer and consulting engineer, he lives with his new Russian wife and teenage daughter in Tver, Russia.

Ape Man, Space Man

Earth's colonists have spread throughout the cosmos, and have almost divided into two separate species. One is the Swimmers, who have adapted to living in zero-gravity, and regard themselves as the next step in evolution, and those who prefer to live on the surface of a planet as little better than apes. The latter group, the Walkers, are not about to say farewell to the planets they grew up on, and think the Swimmers are not so much advanced as deranged.

Crowell, born a Swimmer but now a Walker by choice, is caught in the middle as the two sides seem headed for war. Then he discovers the true cause of the altercation: a hidden alien race moving behind the scenes to provoke a war so that they can pick up the pieces after the two sides have obliterated each other. And if Crowell cannot head off the war and convince both sides of the existence of the real enemy, both branches of the human race may be headed for untimely extinction.

This full-length novel and much more, fill a huge volume from the master of science fiction adventure.

"Much has been made of the 'sense of wonder' that science fiction evokes, and believe me, there was nothing to evoke that sense quite like the worlds of James Schmitz. . . . Thank you, James Schmitz, wherever you are. And thank you, Eric Flint and Jim Baen, for bringing his Right Stuff back again."
 —Mercedes Lackey

"Take my advice and buy TWO copies of this book! You'll want to lend it to friends and (trust me on this: I have years of experience to back up the observation) once people get their hands on a Schmitz book, they don't let go!"
— Janet Kagan, Hugo-winner and author of Uhura's Song

W200208 August 2002 Monthly Baen Bundle

1633

by Eric Flint and David Weber

For King and Country

by Robert Asprin and Linda Evans

Heris Serrano

by Elizabeth Moon

Med Ship

by Murray Leinster
edited by Eric Flint

Janus

by Andre Norton

Field of Dishonor

by David Weber

Star Soldiers

by Andre Norton

FROM THE HEART OF BELFAST
COMES A TERRORIST THREAT
THAT SPELLS DOOM FOR BRITAIN'S
ONCE AND FUTURE KING . . .
AND THE REST OF US AS WELL

What SAS Captain Trevor Stirling doesn't know may kill him—along with every man, woman, and child alive. Stirling thinks his mission is simple: follow a terrorist into the year AD 500 to stop a Northern Irish fanatic bent on murder. If the terrorist succeeds in killing Artorius, the Briton Lord of Battle and the most revered icon of British history, before his greatest military victory, the time-space continuum will fracture, destroying the British nation. And, coincidentally, the rest of the world.

In a tale where no one is ever quite who or what they seem, hidden enemies and unexpected allies play out a drama of 21st-century terrorism against the backdrop of Arthurian Britain at its darkest hour. One man, alone in time, struggling to save an entire universe from extinction, must choose between duty to his mission and the growing conviction that he should forsake everything he holds dear to follow a higher duty—to risk it All,

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Robert Asprin is the nationally best-selling author of the "Phule's Company" series of space adventures and the New York Times 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.

Linda Evans is coauthor with Robert Asprin of four novels in the "Time Scout series" for Baen. An expert on weapons both modern and ancient, she puts her expertise to good use in her science fiction. She has also written the novel Far Edge of Darkness (Baen). She lives in Archer, FL.

AMERICAN FREEDOM AND JUSTICE
VS. THE TYRANNIES OF
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

The new government in central Europe, called the Confederated Principalities of Europe, was formed by an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians led by Mike Stearns who were transplanted into 17th-century Germany by a mysterious cosmic accident. The new regime is shaky. Outside its borders, the Thirty Years War continues to rage. Within, it is beset by financial crisis as well as the political and social tensions between the democratic ideals of the 20th-century Americans and the aristocracy which continues to rule the roost in the CPE as everywhere in Europe.

Worst of all, the CPE has aroused the implacable hostility of Cardinal Richelieu, the effective ruler of France. Richelieu has created the League of Ostend in order to strike at the weakest link in the CPE's armor—its dependence on the Baltic as the lifeline between Gustav Adolf's Sweden and the rest of his realm.

The greatest naval war in European history is about to erupt. Like it or not, Gustavus Adolphus will have to rely on Mike Stearns and the technical wizardry of his obstreperous Americans to save the King of Sweden from ruin.

Caught in the conflagration are two American diplomatic missions abroad: Rebecca Stearns' mission to France and Holland, and the embassy which Mike Stearns sent to King Charles of England headed by his sister Rita and Melissa Mailey. Rebecca finds herself trapped in war-torn Amsterdam; Rita and Melissa, imprisoned in the Tower of London.

And much as Mike wants to transport 20th-century values into war-torn 17th-century Europe by Sweet Reason, still he finds comfort in the fact that Julie, who once trained to be an Olympic marksman, still has her rifle . . .

David Weber is best known for his New York Times bestselling 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 Armageddon Inheritance] 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 Upcountrij and has continued it with March to the Sea. Weber and his wife Sharon live in South Carolina.

Eric Flint is a new master of alternate-history science fiction. His 1632, prequel to 1633, received lavish critical praise from all directions and enjoyed high sales. 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, the next of which will be 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.

THE TWO FACES OF NAILL RENFRO

Impoverished and without hope, Naill Renfro sells himself into indentured servitude, and is transported across the galaxy to the far-off jungle world of Janus. Naill hopes to work off his debt and begin his life again. But the harsh masters of Janus are destroying the priceless treasures of the planet's ancient culture—and when Naill, entranced by the beauty of an alien artifact, is caught trying to hide it, he is exiled and left to die in the jungle.

But Naill inexplicably begins to remember another life, in another time—a time when he was not human, but something else-, a native of this world, in the days before its civilization fell. And he is not the only one. . . . Embarking on a quest to find his alien heritage, Naill will discover the mysterious source of his strange new memory, and the fate of the others of his kind. And when he does, he will defend his newfound people against the human and alien invaders despoiling their world!

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

"[In Judgment on Janus] the plot is dazzling, the settings wonderful/and the author's imagination is in full gear."
—Library Journal

"With its word-rich invention of enchantment, [Judgment On Janus] . . . captivates the reader with a songlike weaving of the unknown."
—The Horn Book

"[Victory on Janus is] a fast-moving adventure story set in a vivid imaginary world."
—Booklist

WHO YA GONNA CALL
MED SERVICE!

Scattered through the galaxy are thousands of worlds colonized by humans. Many have native microbes dangerous to the human immigrants. Others have diseases brought to them accidentally—or on purpose—by visiting ships. When millions of lives are threatened, it's a job for the Interstellar Medical Service, and a Med Ship is sent to solve the problem.

Calhoun is the best the Med Service has, and hard experience has taught him that often the major obstacle to curing the sick is ... the sick. And removing that kind of obstacle may take very strong medicine. To find a cure for a disease, Calhoun has the help of his small animal companion Murgatroyd, a formal—a species with the most powerful immune system in the galaxy. But to find a cure for hysteria, prejudice, crime, and even war is much more complicated, requiring considerable ingenuity. Fortunately, ingenuity is something that Calhoun has in good supply...

"Murray Leinster was not only a very good writer, he was a pioneer. He invented the field of parallel-universe stories with his "Sidewise in Time," and his "First Contact" set the pattern for all the stories that followed of—well—of first contact with alien civilizations. The wondrous thing about his work is that those great, trend-setting stories read as fresh and timely today as they did all those years ago." —Frederik Pohl

"The Dean of modern science fiction!" —Time

W200207 July 2002 Monthly Baen Bundle

Paying the Piper

by David Drake

Alternate Generals II

by Harry Turtledove

Bolos VI: Cold Steel

by Keith Laumer

The Veil of Years

by L. Warren Douglas

LEADERSHIP MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE . . .

... as history demonstrates. But there are other factors at work. Would Sir Francis Drake have as easily put paid to the Spanish Armada if a typhoon hadn't softened up the enemy first What if history were given a twist or two, and great commanders on land and sea had more (or fewer) forces, better (or worse) weather, quicker (or slower) communications, better supplies (or none at all) Just suppose, for example, General Billy Mitchell had not been court-martialed for advocating air power, and happened to be leading training flights of warplanes at Pearl Harbor in December 1941

As it happens, to find out the answer to that question, pick up the first book in the series, Alternate Generals, from Baen. This new volume has even more fascinating speculations in alternate history science fiction, turning history upside down and inside out as leaders who have made their mark on our history make different marks in a very different world.

The possibilities are endless. . . .

FOR THE FIRST TIME—ALL OF
LORD DARCY'S AMAZING ADVENTURES
IN ONE HUGE VOLUME

Welcome to a world . . . where Richard the Lion-Hearted did not die in the year 1199, but went on to found the mightiest and most stable empire in history . . . where the laws of Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP) have been codified, but those of physics remain unsuspected ... where magic is a science, and science is an art.

Meet the greatest detective of all time, Lord Darcy, Chief Investigator for the Duke of Normandy, and his assistant, Master Sorcerer Scan O'Lochlainn. In a world where crime and the occult walk hand in hand, a world of murder and magic, they combine occult skills and uncanny powers of deduction to bring criminals to the King's Justice and thwart those who plot against the Realm.

It's urban fantasy by gaslight in a world where magic is an everyday occurrence, and no matter whether murder is committed by magic most foul or by more mundane means, crime still does not pay—as long as Lord Darcy is on the case.

"He has combined the best of the fantasy and detective genres— and made them work as science fiction."
—Marion Zimmer Bradley

"I cannot count the number of times I have read Too Many Magicians [included in Lord Darcy]—each time with the same pleasure."
—Andre Norton

"Randall Garrett's most satisfying and enduring literary accomplishment is the Lord Darcy series."
—Robert Silverberg

"Garrett's best work . . . ingenious, and the world Lord Darcy inhabits is rich and believable."
—A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction

THE THIN STEEL LINE

Spreading throughout the galaxy, the human race finds that some of its new neighbors are very unfriendly. But when threats arise, the humans know what to do: Break out the Bolos!

Gigantic tanks, with enough firepower for an army, controlled by a human-level artificial intelligence, and programmed to defend their creators at all costs, the Bolos have been decisive factors in battle since the time centuries ago when humans still warred with each other. Now they battle on star systems across the galaxy to defend us all.

The dangers are great, but the Bolos are faithful and fearless. And though Bolos can sometimes be destroyed, they never surrender! The saga of Keith Laumer's greatest creation, the Bolo continues. And though the Bolos are formed from cold steel, they have warmer hearts than many of the flesh-and-blood creatures they protect.

"If you're a Bolo fan, buy this. . . ."—StarQuest

"Well worth your interest and money . . . Recommended." —Tails of Wonder

"A good addition to the Bolo mythos . . . fun, entertaining. . . ." —Heliocentric Network

Maybe the tariff dispute on Planner's World could've have been settled by arbitration, but when war broke out, the United Cities hired the best mercenaries money could buy:

Lt. Arne Huber was old enough to be a veteran but still young enough to have principles. He commanded a platoon of combat cars, leading from the front because he was a Slammers officer and that's the only place you can lead.

From Huber's first minutes on Plattner's World, he was in the middle of hot, flaming war. He knew that wasn't going to change until the Slammers either left the planet or his relatives back on Friesland got a coffin with a warning to bury it unopened.
 

FOR THE LOCALS, THE WAR WAS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE;
TO THE SLAMMERS, IT WAS A PAYCHECK

A score of separate states and factions fought to rule Plattner's World. That was bad enough, but the planet's great wealth had attracted not only mercenaries but a worse kind of looter: interstellar investors with no qualms about making a profit on blood, so long as the profit was high enough and the blood came from somebody else.

From a weed-grown landing strip to the narrow corridors of a modern office building, Arne Huber's survival depended on quick reflexes and the blazing cyan hellfire of his gun. He and his troopers didn't like some of the choices they had to make—but they'd make them regardless, because they were the Slammers and it was their job.

DECEIT AND BETRAYAL WERE THE ONLY CERTAINTIES

Arne Huber and his platoon had to face government officials with private agendas, politicians with armies of street thugs, and a hostile armored division with the most powerful tanks on the planet. The climax would come as it always did, when the Slammers slugged it out with the best the enemy could throw at them. Tank cannon, automatic weapons, and the world-shattering thunder of massed artillery would turn the night into

an inferno and a slaughterhouse.

Arne Huber and his troopers knew they could die, because they'd watched friends die on every planet where they'd served. Maybe they could even be beaten—

BUT NOBODY'D BEATEN THE SLAMMERS YET!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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 bestselling 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. In addition to his celebrated novels of Hammer's Slammers, his works for Baen include With the Lightnings and its sequel, Lt. Leary, Commanding, as well as Starliner, Ranks of Bronze, Redliners, the General series (with S.M. Stirling) and the Belisarius series (with Eric Flint), the latest of which is The Tide of Victory, and many more.

W200206 June 2002 Monthly Baen Bundle

The Amazing Dr. Darwin

by Charles Sheffield

The Short Victorious War

by David Weber

Bug Park

by James P. Hogan

The Sacred Pool

by L. Warren Douglas

NOT THAT DARWIN—HIS GRANDFATHER!

 18th Century Europe: It is an age when superstition is beginning to give way to the force of human reason, and no man so fully embodies the spirit of the times as Dr. Erasmus Darwin. Thinker, healer, and explorer of the bizarre and the seemingly supernatural, no mystery can stand for long against Darwin's enlightened analysis. And there are far more mysteries than history knows. . . .

For Erasmus Darwin's world is filled with oddities that most cannot believe: from unknown beings lurking just outside the boundaries of civilization, to anomalies that even the greatest natural philosophers will be hard-pressed to explain, to mysterious deaths that give rise to fears of malevolent sorcery.

And when the renowned Dr. Darwin is called upon to heal a man dying of an ailment that seems impossible, he has no idea that it is the beginning of a quest that will lead him to the darkest corners of Europe, and a stunning encounter with the most famous inhabitant of a certain Scottish loch. . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles Sheffield, a mathematician and physicist, is a past president of both the American Astronautical Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America, and the chief scientist of the Earth Satellite Corporation. He has published over a hundred technical papers and monographs on such subjects as nuclear physics, gravitational field analysis, and general relativity, and an equally large body of popular science articles for the layman. He serves as a science reviewer for several prominent publications.

In science fiction, Dr. Sheffield has received the coveted Nebula and Hugo Awards, as well as the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for his novel for Baen, Brother to Dragons. His other SF novels for Baen include The Mind Pool and its sequel, The Spheres of Heaven, Between the Strokes of Night, Convergent Series, and Transvergence. He is also the author for Baen of Borderlands of Science: How to Think Like a Scientist and Write Science Fiction, which is both a nonfiction survey of current scientific frontiers and an explanation of how a science fiction writer can write SF using bona fide scientific knowledge. Which is just the sort of SF that Dr. Sheffield has been writing for some time now, to the resounding acclaim of readers and critics alike.