Nicholas van Rijn, the most flamboyant member of the Polesotechnic League of star traders, could see dark times ahead. Fellow league members were using tactics verging on outright piracy, and others were all too eager to sell starships and high-tech weapons to alien barbarians. A planet not previously known for interstellar commerce suddenly revealed a secret fleet of armed starships, and started building an empire. Even if Van Rijn and his right-hand man David Falkayn could find a way to stop this blatant aggression, the glory days of the League were over. Hereafter, for its own protection against well-armed alien marauders the Earth must maintain a strong military fleet, and one charismatic man would found an empire that would learn nothing of the lessons history taught about the fates of other empires as it began annexing other star systems, whether they wanted to join the Terran Empire or not . . .

This is the third volume in the first complete edition of Poul Anderson's Technic Civilization saga, and it includes a classic novella which appears here in book form for the first time. And the next volume begins the adventures of Poul Anderson's other legendary character, Captain Sir Dominic Flandry.

Best-selling author  Fred Saberhagen created three popular series: his Berserker stories and novels telling of the endless war of humans and their alien allies against the Berserkers, gigantic robot battleships programmed by an unknown extinct race to destroy all life in the galaxy; his high fantasy Lost Swords series; and his Dracula series, the first novels to tell a story from the vampire's point of view. In a book that will be irresistible for the thousands of Saberhagen fans, all three series are represented here, as well as gems from his other series, including his first-published story and his last-written story, marking the endpoints of a remarkable writer's remarkable career that spanned more than four decades As Joan Spicci Saberhagen writes in her foreword, "Even Fred's most ardent fans will have a fresh look at his talents. Whatever the setting, Fred's stories provide fast moving action and a thought provoking theme."

It began as a favor to a woman
trying to get away from an abusive husband.

Jon Moore grew up in a prison laboratory. When he escaped with nothing but his body's nanotech enhancements and more anger than even a long lifetime could wash away, an entire planet died behind him.  Memories of the things he'd done still haunted him; because of them, he often ended up helping those in need.

His kindnesses frequently didn't work out well. This one really didn't work out well.  It hurled Jon and Lobo, the intelligent assault vehicle and Jon's only friend, down an accelerating, ever more dangerous spiral involving:

• Private armies and government covert ops teams

• A courtesan who always seems a step ahead of him

• Rival superpowers that define Good in terms of their own advantage and Ethics as whatever doesn't get in the way of their Good

• And a brilliant, amoral scientist to whom human beings are just more experimental animals--and who might be Lobo's creator.

Jon and Lobo take the reader on a headlong rush through armed enemies and untrustworthy allies and encounter what just might be the worst danger their partnership will face: the truth.

About the Author

Mark L. Van Name, whom John Ringo has said is "going to be the guy to beat in the race to the top of SFdom," has worked in the high-tech industry for over 30 years and today runs a technology assessment company in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. A former Executive for Ziff Davis Media and a national technology columnist he's published over a thousand computer-related articles and multiple science fiction stories in a variety of magazines and anthologies, including the Year's Best Science Fiction. Jon & Lobo stories have appeared in a Baen anthology and Jim Baen's Universe.

John G. Hemry's novels featuring Lieutenant Paul Sinclair have been hailed as "Superior military SF" (Booklist) and "military science fiction at its best" (Rumbles Magazine). Now, Sinclair finds himself fighting for justice once more—and the danger is closer than ever before . . .

After a long tour as legal officer aboard the star ship USS Michaelson Paul Sinclair is anticipating shore duty. Too bad it's canceled when a group of religious fanatics hijacks a freighter and invades an asteroid. Fearing they could threaten the earth with asteroid debris, starships from several countries converge on the scene. But their mission turns deadly when the South Asian Alliance opens fire on the asteroid.

After the smoke clears, Paul suspects the Michaelson's rules of engagement have been compromised—suspicions that are confirmed when NCIS asks him to work covertly as a spy. Someone onboard the Michaelson's is selling secrets, and to uncover the traitor, Paul must walk the dangerous line between duty and honor . . .

TWO SERIES, ONE AUTHOR:
THE HEMRY E-BOOK MEGABUNDLE
—ONLY FROM BAEN!
Stark's War series

"A gripping tale of military science fiction, in the tradition of Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Haldeman's Forever War." 

—Absolute Magnitude on Stark's War.

" [H]igh caliber military science fiction . . .non-stop action and likable characters."

—Midwest Book Review on the "Stark" series.

Fight for Honor on the Moon and Beyond!

Welcome to a perfectly imagined near future in space that's a heartbeat away from our own present.  Humans have colonized the Moon, and now that the place is exporting actual resources back to Earth, old rivalries assert themselves.  A vastly more bureaucratic and oligarchic United States claims sole ownership. Opposing them: a consortium of rogue states and brigand nations who are just as vile—and full of politically-correct, self-righteous outrage to boot. It's hypocrisy versus mendacity on an interplanetary scale. And, of course, the enlisted soldiers and non-coms once again get the screws applied first, last, and always. Not to mention the hapless colonial civs who have the bad luck to be thrust into a shooting war on a world that's already deadly by definition!

Enter Sergeant Ethan Stark. Community college dropout. Enlisted grunt. Magna cum laude graduate of the school of hard knocks. Somewhere along the way, Stark has acquired the instinct for courage, bravery, and honor so sorely missing within the officer corps of the new military.

So what to do when your officers are malignant careerists or utter fools   Stark tries everything. Judiciously ignore them. Finesse a way around them. And when mutiny is inevitable (and the only just course available) Stark knows his task is to make sure the mutineers WIN. Yep, one old truth still applies: the guys and gals at the sharp end of the stick had better hang together—or they will most assuredly hang separately!

Expert extrapolation.  Human and humane characters.  The drama of space-based battle, up close and personal!  This series has it all. If you're looking for military science fiction with that touch of realism, retired U.S. Naval Officer (U.S. Naval Academy, '78), John G. Hemry delivers: a first-rate tale-spinner who knows the military from the inside out. 

"[An] absorbing and credible novel of space navies and justice . . . outstanding suspense, realism, and characterization."
—Booklist on John G. Hemry's "JAG in Space" series.

Welcome to the U.S. Space Navy, circa 2100 A.D.   Do words like duty, principle, and responsibility still mean something  Lieutenant and Judge Advocate Officer Paul Sinclair thinks they do. Sinclair's convinced that if humanity is to survive long-term in space, justice (and an airtight bulkhead) is all that stands between humanity and rapid extinction.

Here is the entire Sinclair saga—courtroom drama, grand adventure, spaceship battles. They're all here. But most of all this is the epic tale of a good man surrounded by very fallible, very human characters—all jammed together in a tin can in space and sent on the adventure of a lifetime. Four entries in the intrepid and compelling "JAG in Space" chronicles, together for the first time.

First: The Caine Mutiny is revisited in the outer solar system, as the captain of Sinclair's ship, the U.S.S. Michaelson, obliterates a seemingly unarmed vessel that shows signs of gearing up for attack. Unfortunately, it's all a deadly mistake. Looks like court-martial time for a certain trigger-happy commander. But a greater principle is at stake: the captain of a ship alone in the depths of  space possesses a great and terrible freedom that must be protected, or the lives of the crew will be in even greater danger. For Sinclair, the time has come to take a stand for what is just—even if he happens to hate his commanding officer's guts!

Then: A suspicious fire rages in the propellant compartment of the Michaelson. When the investigation implicates a young commander whose father just happens to be an admiral, Sinclair faces the combined wrath of his superiors who are quite clear they expect nothing short of exoneration. Will Sinclair fold and let a non-com's career go down in flames  You must be thinking of another JAG. 

Next: Sinclair's girlfriend and engineering officer, Jen Shen, is onboard as the Maury, the Michaelson's sister ship, explodes in a ball of destructive fury. Even worse news: someone aboard intentionally detonated the ship. Someone with ties to the enemy South Asian Alliance military. Could Jen be the saboteur

Finally: a fanatical, Branch-Davidian-like cult takes illegal possession of an asteroid big enough to cause another extinction event on Earth. But as reprisal threatens to become slaughter, Sinclair is faced with a moral nightmare: can the death of innocent children ever be justified  Even when there's a treacherous spy to catch and a system-wide war to avert

The John G. Hemry mega-volume will be available in the reader-friendly, unencrypted formats Baen Ebooks is known for.  Titles include Stark's War, Stark's Crusade, Stark's Command, as well as A Just Determination, Burden of Proof, Rule of Evidence and Against All Enemies in the Paul Sinclair "JAG in Space" series.

For the next three months, the combined works- seven complete novels—will go for $30. No dead tree crumble; no shipping fees. Then, AFTER the three months is up (April 2009), the e-volume "dissolves" and we'll offer the individual ebook titles for $5 each.

Discover one of the best-kept secrets in military SF: the complex, adventurous worlds of John G. Hemry!

Stark's War

by John G. Hemry

Stark's Command

by John G. Hemry

Stark's Crusade

by John G. Hemry

A Just Determination

by John G. Hemry

Burden of Proof

by John G. Hemry

Rule of Evidence

by John G. Hemry

Against All Enemies

by John G. Hemry

The struggle for justice among the stars is a never-ending fight . . .

At the very edge of South Asian Alliance territory, the USS Michaelson is conducting maneuvers alongside her sister ship, the USS Maury, in a show of military strength. The Michaelson's legal officer, Lieutenant Paul Sinclair, is pleased, since his girlfriend. Lieutenant Jen Shen, is serving aboard the Maury as an engineer. The operation is going by the numbers—until the Maury is wracked by devastating explosions and its engineering section is destroyed.

Paul is overjoyed when Jen is found alive, but his happiness is short-lived. Jen, as the sole survivor in Engineering, is suspected of negligence—or worse, sabotage—and faces court-martial. Now Paul must find out what really caused the explosions. But the more he learns, the more he faces the terrible possibility that the woman he loves may be guilty of sabotage and murder . . .

Aboard the galactic cruise USS Michaelson, every sailor knows the dangers of life among the stars. But not all perils come from the cold of deep space—some come from within . . .

When a freak explosion on the Michaelson takes out most of Forward Engineering, an investigation is ordered. It would seem that a chief petty officer—who was killed in the accident—broke regulations by making difficult repairs alone and caused the conflagration himself. But the ship's legal officer, Lieutenant Paul Sinclair, leams of evidence that points to a cover-up—involving a rising star in the officer corps who may have ordered the dead man to work alone. The problem is, all of Sinclair's evidence is circumstantial—and the suspect is the son of a powerful vice admiral. Now, pressured from all sides, Sinclair must risk his name, his naval career, and his future to find the truth and see justice done . . .

JAG in Space

Ensign Paul Sinclair has been assigned to the orbiting, military spacecraft, USS Michaelson, as its sole legal advisor. But when the ship's captain faces court-martial following the destruction of a civilian research vessel, Sinclair finds himself defending a doomed officer.

When the American Lunar colony was threatened, he served his country in battle. But when high ranking officers betrayed him and his soldiers, he had only one choice—rebellion. Now Sergeant Ethan Stark is in charge of a rebel organization he never intended to create, and the United States has just joined forces with its former enemy to insure his destruction.

Stark has no intention of compromising his honor, even in the face of impossible odds. He and his soldiers have no desire to fight American forces, but they are willing to pay any price to defend the rights of the colonists they were sent to protect. Now Stark and his soldiers must fend off deadly aggression from their own country without igniting a full scale civil war.

"When it comes to combat, Hemry delivers."
—William C. Dietz, author of Death Day

"John Hemry has perfectly captured the machismo of the professional soldier and the camaraderie that develops in any good military unit—the sense of interdependence, the confidence that one's comrades are the only ones to be fully trusted."
—Rick Sheiley, author of Spec Ops Holding the Line

The United States military forces on the moon have overthrown their high-ranking officers and placed Sergeant Ethan Stark in command. Instead of just issuing orders, Stark confides in his fellow sergeants in hopes of forging an army based on mutual respect. Now, in addition to fighting a merciless enemy on the moon's surface, Stark must contend with the U.S. government's reaction to his mutiny . . . .

The moon's American civilian colony has offered to assist the military with food and supplies on one condition: that Stark's troops back the colony's plea for independence. In order to survive, civilian and soldier must learn to trust each other as one man's cause becomes a crusade . . . .

"John Hemry has perfectly captured the cynicism of the professional soldier and the camaraderie that develops in any good military unit—the sense of interdependence, the confidence that one's comrades are the only ones to be fully trusted."
—Rick Shelley, author of Colonel

The United States of America reigns over Earth as the last surviving superpower. To build a society free of American influence, foreign countries have inhabited the moon, taking advantage of the natural resources to earn their own riches. Now the U.S. military has been ordered to wrest control of Earth's satellite from their rivals. Sergeant Ethan Stark must train his squadron to fight in an airless atmosphere at one-sixth normal gravity against a desperate enemy. Ensuring his team's survival means choosing between which orders to obey—and which to ignore. . .

"Gripping. Sgt. Stark is an unforgettable character. . . Stark's War reads as if Hemry has been there"
—Jack McDevitt, author of Moon Fall and Infinity Beach

"A rip roaring race through tomorrow's battlefield, where knowledge is power, but stupidity still reigns. Hemry's debut is a great yarn—and a thoughtful cautionary tale"
—Mike Moscoe, author of The Price of Peace

"John Hemry has perfectly captured the cynicism of the professional soldier and the camaraderie that develops in any good military unit—the sense of interdependence, the confidence that one's comrades are the only ones to be fully trusted/'
—Rick Shelley, author of Major

TAKE BACK THE BLOODY VEIL

With a new destroyer command under him, now-Captain Daniel Leary and master spy Lady Adele Mundy are off to the backwater Veil region on a diplomatic mission.  Did we say diplomatic   Yeah, right. What they find is a local warlord ready to throw Cinnabar from the region, a vile aristocrat dealing in slave labor—and a huge Republic of Cinnabar Navy defeat that has thrown the entire sector under the crushing heel of the vile Alliance.

Time to fight back—and that Alliance stronghold in the nearby Monserrat cluster looks awfully vulnerable. Okay, actually, it looks impregnable to any but a determined Leary and Mundy. But should they achieve the impossible yet again, they do have an occupying army nearby—if only they can free it from its chains!

"[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera."
—Publishers Weekly on the "Cinnabar" series.

"Drake couldn't write a bad action scene at gunpoint."
—Booklist

"Karl Latte, best man ever worked for me. Unconventional...."

Auri cocks an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean "

"Independent as hell. Born five centuries too late, sees himself as a knight in black ostrich hide. Used to be a cop, but doesn't give a rat's hind end about law. Convince him you're the underdog, and he'll never quit—not while he breathes."

"And you think you can sell him "

"I can sell him."

"Why should I believe you this time "

"He's saavy, tough, survival instincts of a mink."

She opens the door to go, "He's so damned good, why doesn't he work for you "

Tate had hoped she wouldn't ask. "Something happened, he walked away."

"What "

He says nothing.

With an exasperated laugh, she appraises him with a slow shake of her head, eyes industrial diamond. "Little boys and their secrets. Okay, lets try this: Give me a reason to stay or I'm gone."

Heart stone, Tate looks out over the waters of 2030 L.A.. Did Judas feel this way "He reads minds, that reason enough "

She shuts the door, sits, leans forward, eager, "So, tell me."

OH NO! HUMANS FROM EARTH!

Late in the 21st century nuclear war once again loomed on the horizon. And this time there would be no escape. But an American probe has discovered a second life-bearing planet waiting with open biosphere for refugees from Earth; so that freedom, and the human race itself, shall not perish from the universe, the Americans launch a crash project to colonize Chiron.

There's only one problem: the science and engineering of the time are not up to the task of transporting living humans between star systems. The answer: send a "colony" of frozen sperm and ova, and use robots to quicken them at the other end. Then use humanlike robots to raise the resulting children.

Amazingly, it works. The children and their children's children are happy, healthy, and steeped in the ideals of America's Founders. They are everything their home-planet sponsors could have hoped for except that they really mean it about all that liberty stuff.

But now the Earthmen have had their war, survived, rebuilt'and come to Chiron in new fast ships. They're the government. They've come to help. But the damned Colonials have such an attitude.

W200905 May 2009 Monthly Baen Bundle

In the Stormy Red Sky

by David Drake

Diamond Star

by Catherine Asaro

Fires of Freedom

by Jerry Pournelle

Voyage From Yesteryear

by James P. Hogan

Slanted Jack

by Mark L. Van Name
(119,600 words)

Genesis

by Paul Chafe

To Outlive Eternity

by Poul Anderson

The struggle for independence on two colony worlds—Mars in the not-so-distant future, and a distant world circling another star in the far future, both threatened by powerful forces and faceless bureaucrats.

 Birth of Fire: A teenage delinquent on a crowded, corrupt Earth, Garrett was given a choice: rot in prison on Earth, or be deported to Mars to work in the colony there. But on Mars he would find an inner strength that he had never known before, and when Mars revolted against the multinational corporations that controlled the colonist's lives, Garrett was on the front lines in the battle for planetary freedom.

  King David's Spaceship: Set in the same universe as the New York Times best seller, The Mote in God's Eye. A new Empire has arisen and is annexing Earth's surviving colony worlds. Haven had fallen back to a nineteenth century level of technology, and the basic requirement for a colony world to be admitted to the Empire as a full-fledged member with the right of self-government is that the colony have space travel. Unless Haven can somehow develop a spaceship, and quickly, the planet will be ruled by Imperial agents and the inhabitants will be little more than medieval serfs.

  Two complete novels in one volume by New York Times best-selling author Jerry Pournelle, telling of the eternal struggle of freedom against tyranny throughout the galaxy.

About the Author

 Jerry Pournelle is a reigning master of military science fiction, widely known for his novels of John Christian Falkenberg and his legion of interstellar mercenaries. His other novels include Janissaries, Exiles to Glory, High Justice, King David's Spaceship and Starswarm. With Larry Niven, he has collaborated on a string of New York Times best-selling novels, including Lucifer's Hammer, The Mote in God's Eye, Footfall, and many more. He and his wife live in Los Angeles.

Del was a rock singer. He was also the renegade son of the Ruby Dynasty, which made his career choice less than respectable, and gave him more to worry about than getting gigs and not getting cheated by recording companies, club owners, or his agent. For one thing, the Ruby Dynasty ruled the Skolian Imperialate, an interstellar Empire, which had recently had a war with another empire, the Eubian Concord. For another, Del was singing on Earth, which was part of a third interstellar civilization, and one which had an uneasy relationship with the Imperialate.

Del undeniably had talent, and was rapidly rising from an unknown fringe artist to stardom. But, with his life entangled in the politics of three interstellar civilizations, whether he wanted that or not, talent might not be enough. And that factor might have much more effect than his music on the lives of trillions of people on the thousands of inhabited worlds across the galaxy.

TAKE BACK THE BLOODY VEIL

With a new destroyer command under him, now-Captain Daniel Leary and master spy Lady Adele Mundy are off to the backwater Veil region on a diplomatic mission.  Did we say diplomatic   Yeah, right. What they find is a local warlord ready to throw Cinnabar from the region, a vile aristocrat dealing in slave labor—and a huge Republic of Cinnabar Navy defeat that has thrown the entire sector under the crushing heel of the vile Alliance.

Time to fight back—and that Alliance stronghold in the nearby Monserrat cluster looks awfully vulnerable. Okay, actually, it looks impregnable to any but a determined Leary and Mundy. But should they achieve the impossible yet again, they do have an occupying army nearby—if only they can free it from its chains!

"[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera."
—Publishers Weekly on the "Cinnabar" series.

"Drake couldn't write a bad action scene at gunpoint."
—Booklist

Over the past two decades, few authors have garnered the critical acclaim and fan following of Elizabeth Moon, Nebula Award-winning author of The Speed of Dark, The Deed of Paksenarrion, and Remnant Population.

Moon Flights, the definitive Elizabeth Moon short story collection, represents the highlights of an impressive career. Gathering together fifteen tales of fantasy, alternative history, and science fiction, Moon Flights features an original story, "Say Cheese," set in the Vatta's War cosmology, and an all-new introduction by Anne McCaffrey, legendary creator of the Dragonriders of Pern series.

Ranging from humorous high fantasy tales of "The Ladies' Aid & Armor Society" to gritty, realistic chronicles of far-flung militaristic space opera, former marine Elizabeth Moon's storytelling mastery and eye for painstaking detail is evidenced in each of the tales contained herein. When honor, politics, and personal relationships clash against backdrops of explosive battles and larger-than-life action, the result is the breathtaking and astounding fiction found in Moon Flights.