THREE PENRIC AND DESDEMONA NOVELLAS IN THE WORLD OF THE FIVE GODS BY GRANDMASTER LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD

Penric and Desdemona are back in three novellas from Grand Master Lois McMaster Bujold.

“Masquerade in Lodi”
Bastard’s Eve is a night of celebration for most residents in the canal city of Lodi—but not for sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona, who find themselves caught up in the affairs of a shiplost madman, a dangerous ascendant demon, and a very unexpected saint of the fifth god.

“The Orphans of Raspay”
When the ship in which they are traveling is captured by Carpagamon island raiders, Temple sorcerer Penric and his resident demon Desdemona find their life complicated by two young orphans, Lencia and Seuka Corva, who are far from home and searching for their missing father. Pen and Des will need all their combined talents of mind and magic to unravel the mysteries of the sisters and escape from the pirate stronghold.

“The Physicians of Vilnoc”
When a mysterious plague breaks out in the army fort guarding Vilnoc, the port capital of the duchy of Orbas, Temple sorcerer Penric and his demon Desdemona are called upon by General Arisaydia to resurrect Penric’s medical skills and solve its lethal riddle. In the grueling days that follow, Pen will find that even his magic is not enough to meet the challenges without help from dedicated new colleagues—and the god of mischance.

Includes a new introduction, “outroduction,” and suggested reading order by Lois McMaster Bujold.

ONCE A DEFECTOR, NOW A LEADER, JARED CLEMENT MUST RISE TO THE OCCASION OR BE RESPONSIBLE FOR GENOCIDE

Jared Clement has returned to Trinity not as a mere ship captain, but as a 5 Suns Fleet Admiral. With his promotion comes increased responsibility that weighs heavy on his shoulders. Thirty thousand settlers are leaving the dying planets of the Rim, his home, and resettling next to the natives of the planet Bellus.

Clement is responsible for those lives and the lives of the natives, Trinity’s children, and for building a better future for them all. But when his migrant fleet arrives in the Trinity system, they are faced with enemies both old and new. Former Fleet Admiral Elara DeVore has escaped her exile on the planet Alphus and has vanished into parts unknown. Soon, however, Clement discovers she has a new fleet and a new ally, the Solar League from Earth. The Solar League has arrived with a massive fleet and plans on taking Trinity for itself, then forcing the 5 Suns to surrender. With just a small military fleet to accompany the migrants, Clement is faced with the almost impossible task of defending both his people and the natives from becoming slaves of the Solar League.

There wasn’t much money to be made as a Trailblazer, searching out new worlds for possible development. Still, it was safer than the bounty hunter career that had cost Gregory Roarke his left arm six years ago. And thanks to his Kadolian partner Selene’s ultrasensitive sense of smell, they occasionally discovered a medically promising seed or spore they could sell under the table. It was a quiet life, uneventful and mostly legal.

Until Roarke was approached by two men with a proposal: track down a mysterious woman named Tera and, through her, locate a secret project called Icarus.

The challenge was intriguing. The unlimited budget was tempting. But Roarke had a more personal reason to accept the job.

The chance for long-delayed payback.

7 books, $18

The Icarus Plot

by Timothy Zahn

The Jigsaw Assassin

by Catherine Asaro

1812: The Rivers of War

by Eric Flint

The Serpent

by David Drake

The Family Business

by Mike Kupari

To Crush the Moon

by Wil McCarthy

Crescendo of Fire

by Marc Stiegler

Selei City is the capital of the Imerialte and one of the most desired locales in all of the Skolian Empire. But its thin veneer of civilization is cracked when a series of brutal crimes implicates those in political power in a vast conspiracy. Three prominent scientists have lost their lives to a serial killer—and notes at the scenes of the crimes lead to a connection to the Royalist political party.

Major Bhaajan, former military officer turned private detective, is called back to Selei City to solve the crime. Bhaaj and her crew of Undercity Dust Knights plunge into the Byzantine world of Imperial politics—a jigsaw world where none of the pieces seem to fit. As the assassination plot becomes more and more convoluted, Bhaaj is kidnapped, threatened with death, and must fight for her life against the growing number of people threatened by her investigation. Bhaaj has faced all this and more, but now she must deal with something far deadlier—interstellar politics.

In this alternate history of the American frontier and the Jacksonian era, a small change takes place in the Battle of the Horseshoe Bend during the War of 1812. What results is a cascade of new developments that becomes an avalanche. In our world, Ensign Sam Houston, just turned 21, led the charge on the creek barricade in that battle and almost died from a terrible wound that took him a year to recover from. In this world, his wound is minor, so he is able to continue fighting the British—and develop his close relationship with Andrew Jackson much sooner.

Along with a radical Scots-Irish immigrant in the U.S. Army, Patrick Driscoll—one of “the Men of ’98”—Houston organizes a defense of the U.S. Capitol that prevents the British from destroying it and makes him a national hero. He and Driscoll then play a central role in the defense of New Orleans under Jackson’s command. They change the course of that battle in ways that will, over time, transform the relationship between the United States, the Indian tribes of the south, and the slaves brought over from Africa

THE FATES OF UNIVERSES AREN’T THE ONLY THINGS TIME TRAVEL CAN IMPACT

It was supposed to be a routine trip for the members of the Gordian Division, both human and AI: fly out to Saturn, inspect the construction of their latest time machines, then fly back.

But when the division’s top scientist and chief engineer are killed in the same freak accident, suspicions of foul play run deep. Detective Isaac Cho is sent in to investigate, but he has more on his mind than just a new case. His superiors have saddled him with an exchange officer from the neighboring Admin—Special Agent Susan Cantrell—whose notion of proper “law enforcement” involves blowing up criminals first and skipping questions entirely.

Despite his objections, Cho is stuck with an untested partner on a case that increasingly reeks of murder and conspiracy. The unlikely pair must work together to unravel this mystery, and soon they discover their unique combination of skills might just provide the edge they need.

But nothing is ever simple where the Gordian Division is involved.

Not even time itself.

A NEW KENCYRATH NOVEL!

Jamethiel Knorth, Priest’s Bane and Dream-Weaver, has returned victorious from Taitastigon, but trouble dogs the Kencyrath.

There is intrigue among the Highborn. The Randir and his allies want the larger houses to decide for all nine, which would strip the Highlordship from the Knorth. At Omiroth, a senile king struggles against his venal son-in-law—but if neither of these can rule, the next in line is a mother-dominated child. Kindrie Soul-Walker is captured and thrown in a secret dungeon, a political prisoner. And a Kendar administrator, dissatisfied with the use that Jame is making of the gates, schemes against her, and then against her house and her brother, Torisen Black Lord, Highlord of the Kencyrath.

Since being brought forward in time to the post apocalyptic wastelands of what was once his home, life has been pretty hard on Paul. Though it has had two good points, namely Sarah and Heather. But now Coyote wants him to take care of the task that he was brought here to deal with in the first place: Aybem. While it has always been clear that destroying Aybem is supposed to be Riggs' job, Coyote remains unconvinced that Riggs can do it without Paul's help. After seeing just what Riggs is capable of doing, Paul isn't as convinced that he needs to be there, but he also knows he's not going to get any choice in the matter. And of course, just what does happen to you once Coyote no longer needs your help? This is the last book in the Days of the Future Past trilogy, a story of a young man brought forward in time because he came to the attention of Coyote, who thought that the gods' chosen hero just might need some help.

Coyote has a new task for Paul, one that involves him traveling north hundreds of miles over the post-apocalyptic landscape of California, the place that Paul once called home. Thankfully, Sarah and Heather have both decided to go with him and between Heather's shooting skills and Sarah's magical ones; Paul thinks he might just live through whatever scheme Coyote has enlisted him in. If he can live through telling the girls just what Coyote's got him carrying in his pack now of course. At least he's done with Riggs and hopefully won't have to deal with him ever again, nothing could be worse than that after all!

Paul's been having a bad day, perhaps one of the worst days he's ever had. And now into the middle of all this, his instructor just got drafted by some mystical goddess to help save a world. As for Paul? Well, he's really not supposed to be there, and if he thought he was having a bad day before all of this, it just got worse, a lot worse. He's now on a one-way trip, forced to help a man who despises him while at the mercy of the world's biggest trickster.

There’s the new treecat adoptee who needs to be kept from becoming a risk to the carefully guarded secret of just how smart the arboreal inhabitants of Sphinx really are.

There’s the overeager journalist whose campaign to protect the treecats from exploitation as the newest, coolest pet on any planet could threaten the very creatures he seeks to defend.

And there’s the mysterious rash of weird accidents that are plaguing Sphinx’s younger inhabitants—including some of those nearest and dearest to Stephanie.

In trying to get enough proof to get the understaffed authorities of her pioneer planet to act, Stephanie will be called upon to attempt things she never imagined doing—including going undercover into the wilds of the late-night club scene, a realm where her faithful treecat guardian, Lionheart, cannot follow. . . .

8 books, $18

A New Clan

by David Weber and Jane Lindskold

ROBOSOLDIERS: Thank You for Your Servos

edited by Stephen Lawson

Target: Terror

by Michael Z. Williamson

The Shaman of Karres

by Eric Flint and Dave Freer

We Shall Rise

Edited by John Ringo and Gary Poole

Frontier

by Patrick Chiles

Requiem

by Marc Stiegler

Ode to Defiance

by Marc Stiegler

4 Ebooks, $29.96

A Beautiful Friendship

by David Weber

Fire Season

by David Weber and Jane Lindskold

Treecat Wars

by David Weber and Jane Lindskold

A New Clan

by David Weber and Jane Lindskold

Robosoldiers. They take many forms, from disembodied AI to humanlike androids and more. But at their cores beat the cybernetic hearts of warriors! In these stories of hard military SF you will journey to the battlefields of tomorrow with the veterans who have been there and the researchers developing the next phase of battle and get a glimpse into the future of warfare.

New stories from David Drake, Richard Fox, Weston Ochse, Martin L. Shoemaker, T.C. McCarthy, Brad R. Torgersen, and more!

Within a military that prides teamwork, strength in numbers, and camaraderie, the sniper is the outlier. The loner. The specialist whose talent can mean the difference between mission success and disaster—and often between life and death. Kyle Monroe is one member of this exclusive fraternity. Wade Curtis is another. From Pakistan to the tunnels beneath the ruins of Vlad the Impaler’s castle in Romania to the jungles of Indonesia, Monroe and Curtis are the best at what they do: eliminating their nation’s enemies from a distance with one well-placed bullet to the head.

Includes three complete military thriller novels: The Scope of Justice, Targets of Opportunity, and Confirmed Kill.

A BIOTECH RACE AGAINST TIME TO DEVELOP MILITARY-GRADE DRAGONS

Genetic engineer Noah Parker has at last landed the job he’s long coveted: director of dragon design for the Build-A-Dragon Company. With a combination of genetic engineering and a cryptic device known as the Redwood Codex, he and his team can produce living, breathing dragons made-to-order. But sales of dragons have plummeted, and the Build-A-Dragon Company will have to find new revenue streams if it hopes to stay in business. A contract to develop dragons for the U.S. military promises a much-needed lifeline. Yet the specs are more challenging than anything Noah has ever designed. Worse, he learns that a shadow company headed by former CEO Robert Greaves has stolen the dragon-making technology to make a competing bid. Noah’s dragons will face off against those of his old adversary. It’s a head-to-head design competition, with the ethical future of domesticated dragons hanging in the balance.

A COMING-OF-AGE STORY LIKE NO OTHER: CHAIM CAAN, AN OBSERVANT JEW, FINDS HE MUST MAKE SENSE OF HIS PLACE IN THE WORLD WHEN HE DISCOVERS HE HAS BEEN TURNED INTO A VAMPIRE

Chaim Caan was just out for a night of fun, blowing off some steam the way a young man will. After the better part of a year spent in COVID lockdowns, he was ready to let his hair down at a night club. But the fascinating young woman he encountered that night left him with something to remember her by: she turned Chaim into a vampire.

Soon, Chaim finds himself thrust into a weird underground world of mysticism and enchantment as he navigates life as the newly undead, trying to reconcile his beliefs as an observant Jew with the new reality that has been thrust upon him.

He is forced to deal with a lot of change: to his body, to his mind, to his perceptions, to his relationships, and even to his world. He finds himself in parts of the world he had never dreamed of being in, and he finds himself doing things that he had never envisioned being a part of his life.

And if he can come to terms with these changes, this mild-mannered young man might just find himself a hero.

“Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn’t a game for knights.” —Raymond Chandler

In a world of criminals, thugs, con artists, cheats, and swindlers, there must be a man to stand against the powers of darkness and corruption. A man not afraid to walk the mean streets—whether they be those of 1930s Los Angeles, an ancient fantasy realm, or some far-flung planet of a future star empire. He is a man who knows that a “good man” is not always a “nice guy.” But when the chips are down, he understands that a hero does the right thing, even if it means losing everything.

He is Sam Spade. He is Philip Marlowe. He is Rick Deckard. He is Harry Dresden.

He is all these men and more.

Now, join Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell as they present all-new stories of fantasy and science fiction with a hardboiled detective bent by today’s top authors.

Grab the bottle of Scotch from your bottom desk drawer. Light a cigarette. Tilt your fedora back on your head. But don’t forget to watch your back. This is No Game for Knights.

Stories by: Laurell K. Hamilton, Larry Correia, Christopher Ruocchio, Michael Haspil, D.J. Butler, Kacey Ezell, Griffin Barber, Robert Buettner, Sharon Shinn, Craig Martelle, Chris Kennedy, S.A. Bailey, G. Scott Huggins, Nicole Givens Kurtz, and Rob Howell.

Behind enemy lines and displaced in time!

Before the Battle of Trenton, George Washington reputedly threw a coin across the river. What if that coin was a bicentennial quarter?

When a squad of ROTC cadets training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in November 2008 find themselves transported to December 1776 in the days before the Battle of Trenton, they find a Continental Army in disarray and General George Washington contemplating the potential of a bleak future. To make matters worse, they’ve lost a modern M-16 rifle to a roving Hessian patrol. Understanding the ramifications of such a discovery, the cadets have no choice but to report to General Washington. Without ammunition or their own meager supplies, can Cadet Sergeant Jameel Mason and his friends steel Washington’s courage and set the infancy of the United States of America back on track?