In January of 2011 we started posting free short stories we thought might be of interest to Baen readers. The first stories were Space Hero by Patrick Lundrigan, the winner of the 2010 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Contest, and Tanya, Princess of Elves, by Larry Correia, author of Monster Hunter International and set in that universe. As new stories are made available, they will be posted on the main page, then added to this book (to save the Baen Barflies the trouble of doing it themselves). This is our compilation of short stories for 2024.

As is usual with such copyrighted material from Baen, the contents may be copied and shared but NOT sold. All commercial rights are reserved to Baen Books.

CLASSIC SF STORIES FOR ANYONE THINKING ABOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Imperium Sine Fine

Step back in time and traverse the stars with classic stories that reimagine the grandeur of the Roman Empire—with a science fiction twist.

From the vastness of interstellar conquests to the intricate politics of alien worlds, these tales blend history and imagination, exploring what might have been if Rome had extended its reach beyond the cosmos.

Join us as we uncover the stories that blend the glory of the past with the possibilities of the future—where the empire never truly fell, but soared among the stars.

A relentless alien pursues a beleaguered squad of soldiers through time and reality, while the Elderwatch monitors their fates, unraveling the intertwining stories of survival and annihilation.

When does the hunter become the hunted? How does a single image change the story to something . . . else?

In Dancing with Destruction, we get to find out. Nine stories from some of the top authors in military science fiction will tell the tale of the poor, hapless soldiers and an apex predator in hot pursuit.

Featuring stories from David Weber & Marisa Wolf, Nick Cole & Jason Anspach, Kacey Ezell, Jacob Holo & Edie Skye, Rick Partlow, Joelle Presby, Blaine Pardoe, Nick Steverson & Melissa Olthoff, and Jason Cordova.

In the end, it’s not about who is the hunted or the hunter, but who is willing to dance . . .

Interstellar medic Melanie Mooney races against time to save her patients while unraveling cosmic mysteries and navigating the dangers of space, all while longing for the Earth she left behind.

Find a Way Home

Everything is relative. Einstein said so.

After years of traversing the galaxy as an emergency medic, Melanie Mooney is learning this in a personal way. With each run to a far-flung star system, she is taken ever farther from her former life, and not only in distance. The penalty for zipping around the galaxy at light speed means time is moving slower for her than it is back home, and the difference is adding up. If Melanie ever hopes to return, she must do so before the Earth she knew becomes as unrecognizable to her as the alien worlds of the Galactic Union.

Intergalactic travel is expensive, far beyond anything Melanie can afford with her Medical Corps pay. There may yet be a way to not only get a free ride home, but in a manner that would avoid the pernicious effects of relativity. It’s risky, and will force Melanie to place her trust in some unsavory characters, including the last person in the galaxy she wants to be caught dead with.

The trick will be not getting caught dead or hopelessly lost in dimensions of the universe where no human or alien belongs. That’s a lot for a woman who just wants to go home.

In a desperate fight for humanity's survival, Captain Saef Sinclair-Maru must lead the powerful private warship Salahdiin and an unlikely alliance against genocidal forces, balancing the demands of shareholders with the heart of a rebellion.

Piracy, War, and Humanity's Last Stand

The heavy cruiser Salahdiin is the most powerful private warship in the history of the Myriad Worlds, and bears a Letter of Marque, the Imperial charter for legalized piracy. As the most successful fighting captain of the Imperial Fleet, Saef Sinclair-Maru is the ideal choice to command the privateer, but exchanging egotistical admirals for demanding shareholders carries its own unique challenges, particularly when the fate of humanity lies in the balance.

While war rages within the Imperium, few comprehend the inhuman instigators at the heart of the conflict or their genocidal ambitions, but Saef and his counterpart, Inga, draw a surprising coterie of allies to their campaign of desperate resistance, including spy master Winter Yung, former Molo Ranger Kyle Whiteside, and even Erik Sturmsohn, a Thorsworld war chieftain sworn to overthrow the emperor.

Together, in the face of approaching annihilation, they each must choose: Obedience to the edicts of their leaders, or loyalty to a deeper motivation that defines the very heart of humanity.

Artorius and his team must race against time to thwart a looming clash between two ancient powers, navigating a treacherous landscape where their actions could rewrite history and spark a catastrophic conflict.

In a world where history can be rewritten at will, the threads of destiny intertwine in ways no one could have foreseen.

Years after their groundbreaking journey into the past, Artorius and his team stumble upon a devastating revelation: the Chinese government has dispatched five time-travelers and a trove of advanced technology back to 165 CE, during the waning days of the Han dynasty. While believing they were guiding Rome toward a new era of modernization and unity, the emergence of Chinese influence threatens to unravel everything they have fought for.

As whispers of innovation ripple through the ancient world, Artorius and his companions realize they are in a race against time—not just to protect their vision for a united future, but to prevent a catastrophic clash that could bring about nuclear war centuries sooner than they ever imagined.

With their own presence now at risk of exposure, they must navigate the treacherous waters of politics, technology, and culture in a world caught between two colossal powers. As the balance of history teeters on a knife's edge, loyalties will be tested, alliances forged, and the very fabric of fate will hang in the balance.

When a prank bonds Harper Tavros to a fierce griffin instead of the dragon she always dreamed of, she must battle her doubts and rise to the front lines, forging an unbreakable alliance to save her country from impending doom.

Together we fly, divided we fall.

All Harper Tavros ever wanted was to be a dragon rider.

But after a prank goes wrong, she ends up soul bonded to a griffin. Now, she'll have to learn an entirely new skillset before she ends up on the front lines of a war her country is slowly losing.

If she's going to make a difference, she'll need to rise up from the ruin of her dreams and embrace a new path. One that includes her accidental bondmate, an utterly ridiculous, insanely brave griffin. But in order to form a strong enough bond to defend their country, they'll need to keep the pressures of war, loss, and doubt from tearing them apart. Because the only way Harper and her griffin will survive is together.

It was just a dot of light . . .

. . . a dot of light that appeared out of nowhere. Stephanie Bronson thought she might have found a distant supernova. Instead, what she’d found was something more than a thousand miles across, moving towards the Sun at almost a third the speed of light from the constellation of Lupus, the Wolf. Even more frightening, the object—called Fenrir, after the Norse Wolf of the World’s End—was slowing down. It was not a comet or even a rogue planet.

It was an alien vessel.

And despite the increasingly detailed and insistent messages of greeting from Earth, it showed no sign of responding. As the world braced itself for the arrival of the immense, frighteningly silent alien visitor, Stephanie held hope that they still might communicate with Fenrir—until something happened that no one had imagined: Fenrir flared and its drive died, leaving the huge ship careening out of control to a fiery death inside the orbit of Venus.

There was—just possibly—a chance for Earth to act—to rescue the now-shipwrecked “Fens.” But even Stephanie—or those trying to stop her and the rescue ship Carpathia—could not imagine that not merely the fate of the aliens, but that of Earth itself, would be decided by Fenrir.

Conspiracy Theories Meet Superhero Reality

ALL IT TAKES

It’s there for anyone to see: There are dark forces at work on the world, working to destroy civilization. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing. We need a good guy.

NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES—BUT SOME DO

For a generation, individuals have arisen with super powers, able to change the course of history, or at least save a few lives. But these people have free will—and not all choose to work for the forces of good. We need someone with an unblotted escutcheon, a Galahad for the 21st Century, someone pure of ethics and morality.

NOT THAT KIND OF GOOD GUY

What we get is Michael: the product of a broken childhood, raised in the foster system of one of America’s most dangerous inner cities, his wisdom comes from drug addicts and whores. Maybe he’s not the hero we asked for, but he’s the hero we need. And he’s about to hit puberty.

Behind the Veil

by John Ringo and Lydia Sherrer

The King of FlorCubaTamp

by Michael Z. Williamson

Fate and Fury

by A.C. Haskins

Flag in Exile

by David Weber

Storm Furies

by Wen Spencer

The Eccentrics

by Tim Akers

August 2025 Ebook TBD

The Winds of Fate

by S.M. Stirling

The Presence Malign

by Michael Mersault

The Long Way Home

by Patrick Chiles

Dancing with Destruction

edited by Jason Cordova

Monster Hunter Legion

by Larry Correia

Beyond the Ranges

By John Ringo with James Aidee

Whether it was a blessed miracle or a disastrous catastrophe, the arrival of Grantville in Europe in the year 1631 created changes that are long-lasting and spreading wider and wider as time passes. In 1634, Louis DeGeer—statesman, merchant, and player of the game of princes—having extracted as much information and technology as he could out of Grantville, makes his move to establish a new state in the Rhineland, a republic that would draw on much of the political philosophy brought back through the Ring of Fire by Grantville. There are those in the westlands of Germany and the Rhine Valley who aren’t happy about that. Louis’ enemies draw on all the forces of the status quo to oppose his efforts. Louis discovers that it will take strength and determination, coupled with careful preparation and planning, to face them. And the ultimate confrontations will leave things up for grabs until the final moments.

Fenrir

by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor

Rise from Ruin

by Melissa Olthoff

All Roads Lead to Rome

edited by Hank Davis and David Afsharirad

The Icarus Plot

by Timothy Zahn

The Icarus Changeling

by Timothy Zahn

Hyde & Seek

by Simon R. Green

Essen Defiant

by Kim Mackey and David Carrico

After saving the world, reluctant sorcerer Thomas Quinn just wants a quiet life running his shop in Philadelphia, but with a tribunal looming and his knack for trouble still intact, he may find himself pulled back into a battle for humanity once again.

Thomas Quinn, Reluctant Sorcerer of the Arcanum

What’s the reward for a job well done? For the Roman general Belisarius, it was a trial and conviction. Thomas Quinn, sorcerer, after having just saved the world this side of the veil, is hoping for a gentler fate from the tribunal called to pass judgment on him. But after centuries of putting his life on the line for humanity, he just doesn’t have a lot of patience with protocol.

In fact, he’s never been known for tact or subtlety, and one of these days that may get him trouble. Again. For the time being, the reward for doing his job? It’s back to Philadelphia, back to his little shop of esoteric goods—and back to the range, just in case he’s needed to save the world one more time.

A relentless alien pursues a beleaguered squad of soldiers through time and reality, while the Elderwatch monitors their fates, unraveling the intertwining stories of survival and annihilation.

When does the hunter become the hunted? How does a single image change the story to something . . . else?

In Dancing with Destruction, we get to find out. Nine stories from some of the top authors in military science fiction will tell the tale of the poor, hapless soldiers and an apex predator in hot pursuit.

Featuring stories from David Weber & Marisa Wolf, Nick Cole & Jason Anspach, Kacey Ezell, Jacob Holo & Edie Skye, Rick Partlow, Joelle Presby, Blaine Pardoe, Nick Steverson & Melissa Olthoff, and Jason Cordova.

In the end, it’s not about who is the hunted or the hunter, but who is willing to dance . . .

Interstellar medic Melanie Mooney races against time to save her patients while unraveling cosmic mysteries and navigating the dangers of space, all while longing for the Earth she left behind.

Find a Way Home

Everything is relative. Einstein said so.

After years of traversing the galaxy as an emergency medic, Melanie Mooney is learning this in a personal way. With each run to a far-flung star system, she is taken ever farther from her former life, and not only in distance. The penalty for zipping around the galaxy at light speed means time is moving slower for her than it is back home, and the difference is adding up. If Melanie ever hopes to return, she must do so before the Earth she knew becomes as unrecognizable to her as the alien worlds of the Galactic Union.

Intergalactic travel is expensive, far beyond anything Melanie can afford with her Medical Corps pay. There may yet be a way to not only get a free ride home, but in a manner that would avoid the pernicious effects of relativity. It’s risky, and will force Melanie to place her trust in some unsavory characters, including the last person in the galaxy she wants to be caught dead with.

The trick will be not getting caught dead or hopelessly lost in dimensions of the universe where no human or alien belongs. That’s a lot for a woman who just wants to go home.

CLASSIC SF STORIES FOR ANYONE THINKING ABOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Imperium Sine Fine

Step back in time and traverse the stars with classic stories that reimagine the grandeur of the Roman Empire—with a science fiction twist.

From the vastness of interstellar conquests to the intricate politics of alien worlds, these tales blend history and imagination, exploring what might have been if Rome had extended its reach beyond the cosmos.

Join us as we uncover the stories that blend the glory of the past with the possibilities of the future—where the empire never truly fell, but soared among the stars.

When a prank bonds Harper Tavros to a fierce griffin instead of the dragon she always dreamed of, she must battle her doubts and rise to the front lines, forging an unbreakable alliance to save her country from impending doom.

Together we fly, divided we fall.

All Harper Tavros ever wanted was to be a dragon rider.

But after a prank goes wrong, she ends up soul bonded to a griffin. Now, she'll have to learn an entirely new skillset before she ends up on the front lines of a war her country is slowly losing.

If she's going to make a difference, she'll need to rise up from the ruin of her dreams and embrace a new path. One that includes her accidental bondmate, an utterly ridiculous, insanely brave griffin. But in order to form a strong enough bond to defend their country, they'll need to keep the pressures of war, loss, and doubt from tearing them apart. Because the only way Harper and her griffin will survive is together.

In the wild chaos of a post-apocalyptic Florida panhandle, a reluctant hero navigates a zombie-infested hellscape, battling madmen and hurricanes, all while reluctantly donning the crown of the Narco King—because when the world goes mad, someone's got to rule the freak show!

INHALE TO THE KING, BABY!

It’s just a law of the universe: Whenever there’s a power vacuum, something will rise to fill it. You might not always like what rises to the top, though. . . .

After the Fall, after the plague that turned a significant portion of humanity into mindless zombies or corpses, the people who weren’t turned had to do whatever it took to survive. Down in the Florida panhandle, life wasn’t easy for the survivors. They needed a system to keep them going, someone to organize them to fight against the ravaging zombies, raging hurricanes, and each other. Luckily, even though mainstream culture was destroyed, a parallel structure was already in place.

LONG LIVE THE KING!

But uneasy lies the crown on the head of a man with even the vestiges of human dignity. Eric Magnus Lamont might just be the right man, in the right place, at the right time.

THE KING OF FLORCUBATAMP!