THE PERFECT SERVANT (NOT!)

He looked like a cross between a dragon and a catfish, and he could bend iron bars into pretzels with a flick of his hand. But what Zdim the mild-mannered demon really was, was a scholar of logic and philosophy. That's why when Zdim was drafted for a year's servitude on the mortal plane he felt that a monumental administrative error had been made.

And even though Zdim resolved to be absolutely obedient and to do exactly what he was told, the wizard who employed him soon agreed…

NEW ENTRY IN THE BEST‑SELLING BOUNDARY SERIES.

Lost in the dark, half a year into their journey to the colony world of Tantalus, Sakura Kimei, her family, and her best friend, the alien "Bemmie" nicknamed Whips, are torn from the safety of their colony ship. In a crippled lifeboat, they had one chance to find a habitable world. But even then, they would find that their apparent salvation was a world of a thousand secrets.

Listen to the authors discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

W201502 February 2015 Monthly Baen Bundle

Castaway Planet

by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor

It's Up to Charlie Hardin

by Dean Ing

Cobra Outlaw

Cobra Rebellion: Book Two
by Timothy Zahn

Cauldron of Ghosts

by David Weber & Eric Flint

As Time Goes By

edited by Hank Davis

The Sea Without a Shore

by David Drake

The Complete Compleat Enchanter

by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt

In the realms of fantasy, the battlefield is where heroism comes alive, magic is unleashed, and legends are made and unmade. From the War of the Ring, Tolkien’s epic battle of good versus evil, to The Battle of the Blackwater, George R.R. Martin’s grim portrait of the horror and futility of war, these fantastical conflicts reflect our highest hopes and darkest fears, bringing us mesmerizing visions of silver spears shining in the sun and vast hordes of savage beasts who threaten to destroy all that we hold dear.

Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams is sounding the battle cry and sixteen of today’s top authors are reporting for duty, spinning never-before-published, spellbinding tales of military fantasy, including a Black Company story from Glen Cook, a Paksenarrion story from Elizabeth Moon, and a Shadow Ops story by Myke Cole. Within these pages you’ll also find World War I trenches cloaked in poison gas and sorcery, modern day elite special forces battling hosts of the damned, and steampunk soldiers fighting for their lives in a world torn apart by powers that defy imagination.

Featuring both grizzled veterans and fresh young recruits alike, including Tanya Huff, Simon R. Green, Carrie Vaughn, Jonathan Maberry, and Seanan McGuire, Operation Arcana is a must for any military buff or fantasy fan. You’ll never look at war the same way again.

CONTRIBUTORS:
Elizabeth Moon
Tobias Buckell & David Klecha
Myke Cole
Jonathan Maberry
Genevieve Valentine
Django Wexler
Yoon Ha Lee
Weston Ochse
Myke Cole
Ari Marmell
Tanya Huff
Carrie Vaughn
TC McCarthy
Glen Cook
Simon R. Green
Seanan McGuire
Linda Nagata

Listen to the author discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

The complete Harold Shea stories from SF master L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, together at last! In these five tales of the fantastic, psychologist Harold Shea and his colleagues travel to parallel worlds where magic works, and in which mythologies, legends, and literal fantasies of our world can be reached by a system of symbolic magic. The five stories collected in The Complete Compleat Enchanter explore the worlds of Norse mythology, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Irish mythology and more. Includes the complete text of the previous collections The Castle of Iron, Wall of Serpents, and The Incompleat Enchanter.

Rollin Hobart thought he was a logical, sensible man--until he was transported to a world that was perfectly logical but not sensible in the least.

A reluctant hero using his modern knowledge but finding that things don't work quite the way he’s used to. But he’s got to try, because nobody else can save the world--and unless Hobart succeeds, he and his new friends are going to be horribly and realistically dead.

“Love’s not time’s fool,” Shakespeare wrote, though he might have added that men and women can be both love and time’s fools. For time and love are universally experienced, yet mysterious and only dimly understood. Here’s a collection of stories with both transcendental mysteries in high gear, as lovers, happy and otherwise, are caught in bizarre twists of time. On hand to twist time into pretzel shapes, if not into Moebius strips, are best-selling and award-winning authors such as Poul Anderson, John Wyndham, Christopher Priest, Richard McKenna, Michael Swanwick, Charlie Jane Anders, Tony Daniel, Sarah A. Hoyt, and more, as cupid hops aboard a time machine and the course of true love not only may not run smooth, but may run backwards and even sideways.

Includes stories by Richard McKenna (Nebula Award winning story), author of the award-winning novel The Sand Pebbles; John Wyndham, author of the mega-bestseller The Day of the Triffids; multiple-award winning author Poul Anderson, multiple award-winner Christopher Priest, author of The Prestige (BSFA Award winning novel); Charlie Jane Anders (Hugo Award winning story which is currently being developed for TV); Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winning author Michael Swanwick; Hugo Award finalist and Asimov’s Reader’s Choice Award winner Tony Daniel; Prometheus Award winner Sarah A. Hoyt; and more.

Listen to the authors discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

ORIGINAL TRADE PAPERBACK. SEQUEL TO COBRA SLAVE.

Cobra warriors: technologically enhanced human warriors designed to combat an implacable alien menace. Now, and not for the first time, the Cobras are facing trouble from their own kind.

The Broom clan of Cobra warriors finds itself pressed between two star empires headed for war. On the planet Aventine, the Broom's homeworld, pater familia Paul Broom has been taken prisoner by Commodore Santeros, an implacable operative of the Dominion of Man. Paul is due to have his memories sifted through by the dreaded and often destructive Dominion MindsEye in order to root out the location of legendary Qasamaa planet where huge advances in military hardware, particularly a svelte powered armor, might give the Dominion of Man an edge in a coming war with the alien Troft. Santeros hopes to strike a deal with Qasama and, if a deal cannot be struck, then Santores and the Dominion are prepared to take what they want.

Elsewhere on Aventine and in the galaxy beyond, rebellion is brewing against Dominion atrocities and Dominion scheming, with outlaw Cobra warriors Lorne and Jody Broom in the vanguard.

Meanwhile, Cobra Jason Broom poses as an escaped slave on a secret Troft prison planet where humans are sent to gladiatorial combat to the death for Troft amusement and wagering. He is seeking information on Troft factions, for not every Troft wants war with humankind, and if he can identify moderate elements, he may save the Cobra worlds, and head off a massive interstellar war in the bargain.

The stage is set for adventure with one family of Cobra heroes once again fighting for freedom and peace in a galaxy on the edge of war.

Listen to the author discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

An adventure‑filled coming of age story set in World War II era Austin, Texas.

It is the summer of 1944, and young teen Charlie Hardin has been set loose on the streets of Austin, Texas with only one command from his parents: stay out of trouble. Charlie means to do just that. He never wants to disobey, but sometimes in a boy's life situations come up that he cannot ignore and still be true‑blue to his own restless soul. And when that time comes . . .

It's up to Charlie Hardin.

It's up to Charlie Hardin when a secret path over a wall topped with glass shards needs cutting through an ancient oak, even if that means venturing out on the brittle ends of tree limbs where any fall could break an arm, a leg–or a neck.

It's up to Charlie Hardin when a dog‑shooting neighbor must be taught to keep his hands off Charlie's loyal best friend, even if that means inventing the world's most effective long‑range pumpkin slingshot.

And it's up to Charlie Hardin to explore a boy‑sized storm culvert that leads into darkness simply because that's what a red‑blooded boy has to do, even if it leads to the heart of a perilous criminal plot built on Nazi schemes and greed.

Charlie understands that, no matter the cost, when danger arrives at his doorstep, to be brave, resolute, clever–and sometimes just a tiny bit nuts–is the only thing that counts, when all is said and done. For the one surefire ingredient every glorious summer adventure always requires is a willing and resolute adventurer. And in Austin, Texas, in the summer of 1942, that adventurer comes in the form of one unstoppable young teenager named Charlie Hardin!

Download the comprehensive Teacher’s Guide here.

Listen to the author discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

Being an expert in information searches, image processing and enhancement, pattern matching, and data forensics earned Jason Wood a lot of money – from private contracts and working with the police. And it was a nice, comfortable job most of the time. But then an informant showed up dead on his doorstep, a photograph didn't show someone who'd been in the viewfinder when the picture was taken, and Jason's world is suddenly turned upside‑down.

Against things that violate the very reality he thought he understood, Jason has only three weapons: his best friend Sylvie, his talent for seeing patterns… and his ability to think beyond the pattern and see a solution that no one else imagined. Against the darkness of the unknown, the greatest weapon is the light of reason.

A vastly expanded and revised edition of Digital Knight, Ryk E. Spoor's first published novel, Paradigms Lost adds two brand new adventures for Jason and includes many chapters of additional material within the originals.

From New York Times best‑seller and science fiction and fantasy mistress of adventure Mercedes Lackey, Book #4 in the pulse‑pounding SECRET WORLD saga of modern‑day humans with superpowers. The metaheroes deal with the consequences of their superpowers, but the evil Thulian threat lies in wait.

Destroying the Thulian North American Headquarters has not made life easier for ECHO, or the world. The Thulians continue their attacks, first in unpredictable incursions, then with another all‑out assault on ECHO, orchestrated against ECHO headquarters across the world.

Dominic Verdigris has not given up on his effort to obtain The Seraphym for himself, in order to use her to avert his own fate at the hands of the Thulians. Nor have the heroes of ECHO and the CCCP found life anything but harder.

Belladonna's duties have increased a thousand‑fold, and now she has responsibility for the lives of every metahuman in ECHO on her conscience. Obviously using the intelligence gathered from the raid on the North American Thulian base to find the main Headquarters is of paramount importance‑‑but once it is found, can she manage to convince the armies of the world to follow ECHO into an all‑out attack?

Then Red Saviour risks everything on a risky gambit of her own: send her "wolves" of the CCCP to find the Thulian Headquarters, despite the dangers, and despite the consequences of blowing everything on this hazardous gambit that could very well end, not in victory, but with the world in flames.

BOOK ONE IN A BRAND NEW SERIES by Nebula and Hugo Award Winner Catherine Asaro set in the world of her Skolian Empire universe

Major Bhaajan, a former military officer with Imperial Space Command, is now a hard‑bitten P.I. with a load of baggage to deal with, and clients with woes sometimes personal, sometimes galaxy‑shattering, and sometimes both. Bhaajan must sift through the shadows of dark and dangerous Undercity—the enormous capital of a vast star empire—to find answers.

Ninjas versus Slave Drivers! Book 2 in the Shadow Warrior saga.

When Ran, the Shadow Warrior, is dispatched to investigate rumors of an invasion massing to the north, he signs on as protection for a trade caravan. But once underway, the caravan is attacked by an overwhelming force of slavers who take Ran and several others captive. Dragged into the bowels of the earth as slave labor for a despot‑in‑exile eager to reclaim his throne, Ran must make a desperate escape with his friends if he has any hope of uncovering the truth about the invasion above ground. But there's more at play than a mere power struggle in the catacombs, and the earth does not give up its secrets easily—even for Ran, the Shadow Warrior.

Listen to the author discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

W201501 January 2015 Monthly Baen Bundle

Strands of Sorrow

by John Ringo

Spell Blind

by David B. Coe

Carousel Seas

by Sharon Lee

Slavers of the Savage Catacombs

by Jon F. Merz

Come and Take Them

by Tom Kratman

Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs

by Mike Resnick and Robert T. Garcia

Spheres of Influence

by Ryk E. Spoor

Sequel to National Bestseller Carousel Sun.

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED

Welcome to Archers Beach in the Changing Land, the last and least of the Six Worlds, where magic works, sometimes, and the Guardian husbands the vitality of the land and everyone on it ‑‑ earth spirit and plain human alike.

Kate Archer, Guardian and carousel‑keeper, has been busy making some changes of her own, notably beginning a romantic relationship with Borgan, the Guardian of the Gulf of Maine, Kate's opposite number, and, some would say, her natural mate.

Oh, and she's been instrumental in releasing the prisoners that had been bound into the carousel animals ‑‑ which she's inclined to think is a good thing. . .

Until a former sea goddess sets up housekeeping in the Gulf of Maine, challenging Borgan's authority; endangering Kate and everything she holds precious.

. . .because the goddess has fallen in love in Borgan; and she'll stop at nothing to possess him.

Archers Beach is about to suffer a sea‑change ‑‑ and the question is whether Kate can survive it.

Nationally best‑selling co‑creator of the Liaden Universe® saga, Lee brings high energy action and romance to this tale of contemporary fantasy and redemption.

Listen to the author discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

Book #1 in The Case Files of Justis Fearsson, a new contemporary fantasy series from fantasy all‑star David B. Coe.

Justis Fearsson is a private investigator on the trail of a serial killer in Phoenix, Arizona. Justis is also a weremyste—a person with a wizard’s gifts and the ability to see into the paranormal world. Unfortunately, weremystes also tend to go crazy on the full moon—which is why Justis is no longer a cop.  Hard to explain those absences as anything but mental breakdown. But now an old case from his police detective days has come back to haunt him, literally, as a serial killer known as the Blind Angel strikes again. His signature stroke: burning out the victims’ eyes with magic.  Now the victims are piling up, including the daughter of a senator, and Justis must race to stop the Blind Angel before he, she, or it kills again. There’s only one clue he’s got to go on: the Blind Angel is using the most powerful magic Justis has ever encountered, and if he doesn’t watch his own magical step, he may end up just as dead as the other vics.

Listen to the author discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

BOOK 4 AND CONCLUSION OF THE BLACK TIDE RISING SERIES FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST‑SELLING AUTHOR. Sequel to Islands of Rage and Hope, To Sail a Darkling Sea, and Under a Graveyard Sky.

With the world consumed by a devastating plague that drives humans violently insane, what was once a band of desperate survivors bobbing on a dark Atlantic ocean has now become Wolf Squadron, the only hope for the salvation of the human race. Banding together with what remains of the U.S. Navy, Wolf Squadron, and its leader Steve Smith, not only plans to survive—he plans to retake the mainland from the infected, starting with North America. 

Smith's teenage daughters have become zombie hunters of unparalleled skill, both at land and on the sea, and they may hold the key to the rebirth of civilization on a devastated planet.

Download the Reader’s Group Discussion Guide here.

Set in the blazing future of Voice of the Whirlwind, “Wolf Time” continues the story of the mercenary Reese, who finds herself in the employ of a shadowy corporation intent on killing its own rogue employees. Not only is Reese assigned the impossible task of attacking an asteroid outpost whose defenders know perfectly well she’s coming, but she discovers that her greatest danger may come from her own side . . .

From Walter Jon Williams, the master of hard-boiled speculative fiction.

Ric has survived a rival’s attempt to poison him, but the hospital AIs pegged him as a suspect character with no job history and a suspicious amount of cash on his person, and they kept the treatments coming until he was broke.

Now he needs a new source of funds, and the hospital which stole his money is chock-full of a new neurohormone that’s worth a fortune. All Ric needs is to manipulate a street gang into committing the crime for him, and then he’ll betray everyone and live happily ever after.

But maybe he hasn’t counted on a new technology aimed at turning him into the star of a very nasty reality show . . .

From Walter Jon Williams, the master of hard-boiled speculative fiction.

An alternative-history classic nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards!

Young Mary Godwin has run away with the married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, but a chance encounter places them in the path of Lord Byron, the Hero of Waterloo. Byron wants Mary, and is willing to use Mary’s young, reckless sister Claire as a pawn in his heartless schemes. Exactly how heartless, and how audacious is only revealed on a storm-tossed lake in Switzerland, a tragic encounter that produces not only an alternate history, but an alternate literary monster, a new Frankenstein for a new world...