The balance point of interplanetary Cold War II between Earth and monolithic Yavet tips unexpectedly toward peace. Covert ops Captain Jazen Parker and his sharp shooting lover and partner Kit Born slide from world saving hazardous duty to escorting a telepathic alien monster home from Earth to mate. And the two of them are forced to consider a quiet domestic future together.

But when old enemies’ thirsts for power and revenge, Jazen’s problematic past, and his former girlfriend, upset Jazen and Kit’s personal balance point, the two cold warriors find their relationship, and their very survival, tested as never before.

Lost in space, and from one another, they must each penetrate Yavet, the universe’s most insular and repressive world, then foil a plot that could turn Cold War II hot and nuclear—or die trying. 

#3 in the science fiction adventure Orphan’s Legacy series.

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

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 2015.

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.

Disaster
by Ryk E. Spoor When the Lion Feeds
by John Lambshead Lion Country
by Whit Williams The Adventurer and the Toad
by Ryk E. Spoor Chimera
by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller We Fly
by K.B. Rylander The 100 MPG Carburetor and Other Self-Evident Truths
by Robert Buettner New Moon Wolf
by David B. Coe The Teacher
by Robert Conroy and J.R. Dunn Not For Ourselves Alone
by Charles E. Gannon Kiss From a Queen
by Jeff Provine Ember of the Past
by Mike Kupari Imperium Resource
by Jody Lynn Nye The Siege of Denver
by Brendan DuBois

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 2016.

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.

Adrift
by Terry Burlison Training and Truth
by Ryk E. Spoor Touchstone
by Sonia Orin Lyris Trouble: The Changeling and the Phooka
by Dave Freer Moonlet Sonata
by William Ledbetter Cadet Cruise
by David Drake 71
by David Brin Wise Child
by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller Dear Ammi
by Aimee Ogden Bringer of Fire
by David Carrico Rock, Meet Hard Place (Part 1)
by Peter Nealen Rock, Meet Hard Place (Part 2)
by Mike Kupari The Lavender Paladin
by Shawn Snider Starhome
by Michael Z. Williamson Tethers
by William Ledbetter The Trouble with Millennials
by Robert Buettner

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 2019.

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.

The Testimony of the Traitor Ratul by Larry Correia
Today I Remember by Martin L. Shoemaker
Extracurricular by Wm. Mark Simmons
Waiting for the Talisman by P.C. Hodgell
Voodoo Magic by Robert Buettner
Burners by Matt McHugh
Treason Properly by J.J. Cragun
Talk Girl by Wil McCarthy
Weeping Willikers by Aaron Michael Ritchey
A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Next Giant Leap by Patrick Chiles

ORIGINAL TRADE PAPERBACK

STOP THE NAZI A-BOMB

In September 1939, Nazi Holocaust mastermind Heinrich Himmler conscripts brilliant physicist Peter Winter to devise a secret weapon of supreme power, and to create a revolutionary aircraft to deliver it. Peter, and his Jewish wife, Rachel, know they may only be able to slow Himmler down, and not stop him from developing the ultimate weapon.

NAZI MADNESS AND TERRORIST EVIL COMBINE

In modern-day Pakistan, the elite terrorist known as the Asp survives a U.S. drone strike, then undertakes a solo mission to penetrate America’s heartland to wreak destruction. Meanwhile, ambitious aircraft historian Cassidy Gooding and irascible Colorado cowboy Frank Luck unlock an aviation relic’s secret and discover the terrible truth the Asp may be closing in on.

THE TARGET: AMERICA

Now high atop North America’s backbone, old secrets collide with new, and Cass and Frank must prevent the possible massive devastation of an American city—or die trying. If they fail?

MILLIONS MAY PERISH

At twenty-three, Jazen Parker has completed his Legion hitch a hero. But in four months, he'll have a price on his head. Worse, he's lost his past, and he can’t find his future. Worst of all, he's chosen to search for them on the deadliest planet known to mankind.

When Jazen reluctantly hires on to a Trueborn Earthman tycoon's safari to bag a deadly trophy, the reluctant mercenary finds himself shipped out to Downgraded Earthlinke 476, the outpost at the end of the universe known to everyone except its tourism bureau as "Dead End."

But the hunt goes terribly wrong, and Jazen must survive a tough, beautiful local guide who hates mercenaries, an eleven ton beast that can crush main battle tanks with one claw tied behind its back, and the return of a nightmare that has haunted Jazen since birth. Then Jazen learns that the stakes are not merely his own life, but the fate of an entire alien race.

About the Author

Robert Buettner was born July 7, 1947 in Manhattan, grew up in Cleveland and eventually slid west to Colorado. He earned a B.A. from the College of Wooster, with Honors in geology, then studied as a National Science Foundation Fellow in Paleontology at the University of Cincinnati, earning a Juris Doctorate. He worked in mining as a rig hand and prospector in the Sonoran Desert of Southwest Texas and the mountains of Alaska, and worked his way through law school as a petroleum geologist. He practiced natural resources law while serving out his Army Reserve Intelligence Commission as a Captain. He has been writing fiction since 1994. When not writing, he’s run marathons, climbed mountains, snowboarded and scuba'd. He currently lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge north of Atlanta with his family and more bikes than a grownup needs.

An exciting future thriller from nationally best‑selling author of the Orphan's Legacy science fiction saga. A face‑off with killers in order to guard a secret that could change humanity forever.

LIVE FOREVER—OR DIE TRYING

When the world’s richest man is the victim of a car bomb and literally blown off the Golden Gate Bridge the attack is attributed to terrorists and the world moves on. But some still wonder. Was Manuel Colibri targeted because, as Silicon Valley rumor has it, he was about to make the dream that people alive today can live to be one thousand come true?

Two people are pursuing the truth. Tech journalist Kate Boyle and recovering Iraq war veteran Ben Shepard race through the Bay Area chasing the only clues the reclusive Colibri left behind. They discover not only each other but a cosmic secret that can change human history—and may cost them their lives.

Second in the hard-hitting military science fiction Orphan's Legacy series. Ace intelligence operative Lt. Jazen Parker parachutes into a giant habitat known as Paleozoic on a mission to bring down the local politicos. He quickly realizes he's been handed a near-impossible task. Paleozoic is a politically quarantined nightmare world with a culture confined to iron rivet technology and a ruling regime a bit to the right of Heinrich Himmler. Jazen's inclined to abandon this particular hellhole to its ways—that is, until he uncovers a plot afoot that will throw a five hundred-planet alliance into the death-throes of anarchy.

So the local Nazis must go. Unfortunately, all Jazen's got to work with is a handful of rust-bucket tanks, a retread rebellion, and two strong, beautiful women who love him, but think he's tilting at windmills and is about to get himself killed. What they don't know is, once committed, Jazen Parker is the best there is when it comes to getting the dirty job done on the ground. It's the local bullies who are about to be taught a lesson in losing.

The Icarus Plot

by Timothy Zahn

Tower of Silence

by Larry Correia

Into the Vortex

by Charles E. Gannon

Wraithbound

by Tim Akers

Joy to the world . . . or, joy to the worlds! Let heaven and nature—and also the supernatural—sing. A Cosmic Christmas presents twelve stories of Christmas in very unusual circumstances, ranging from vampires to robots, from the hills of Appalachia to a high orbit space station, all celebrating the holiday in their own, off-beat ways.

New York Times best-selling author Larry Correia sends his popular tough guy detective and magicwielder, Jake Sullivan, on a special case at Christmas time, while visions of tommy guns dance in the heads of the thugs he's up against. Mark L. Van Name's Lobo, an A.I. housed in a pocket battle starship, drops his usual cynical pose to help a troubled family at Christmas time. Nebula Award-winner Catherine Asaro tells of a romantic Yuletide weekend that turns into a mystery in a futuristic high-tech house. New York Times best seller Mercedes Lackey offers a Christmas ghost the likes of which Scrooge never encountered. George O. Smith, a star of the Golden Age of science fiction, is on hand with an episode from his classic Venus Equilateral series, in which a Christmas celebration on a gigantic space station is interrupted by the arrival of a ruthless interplanetary criminal, who didn't drop by to hand out presents. And much more, in a holiday package that any fan of science fiction and fantasy would be delighted to find under their tree, on any planet.

Europe has spiraled into chaos. A conspiracy years in the making combined with general unrest lead to upheaval and revolution. In the midst of the murderous disorder, mercenary Michael Valentine is in Europe with a small team of his Exodus personnel trying to track down the evil and highly dangerous Katarina Montalban. She has initiated a mysterious plot to do away with those who stand between her and ultimate power. The team is on their own, with few friends, few resources—and racing against the clock. Both Valentine and Lorenzo will have to risk some dangerous alliances if they're to succeed.

Meanwhile, Valentine’s friend, one‑time enemy, and sometime partner Hector Lorenzo finds himself in a dungeon owned by Asian drug lord Sala Jihan. He must make a deal that may lead him to cross paths with Valentine again. If two of the most effective killers in existence hunt, even the pandemonium in Europe may be just the first act in an orgy of destruction.

Michael Valentine, veteran and former member of an elite private military company, has been recruited by the government to conduct a secret counter-terror operation in the Persian Gulf nation of Zubara. The unit is called Dead Six. Their mission is to take the fight to the enemy and not get caught.

Lorenzo, assassin and thief extraordinaire, is being blackmailed by the world's most vicious crime lord. His team has to infiltrate the Zubaran terrorist network and pull off an impossible heist or his family will die. When Dead Six compromises his objective, Lorenzo has a new job: Find and kill Valentine.

As allegiances are betrayed and the nation descends into a bloody civil war, Lorenzo and Valentine must face off. Two men. Two missions. Only one will win.

IF IT'S WAR YOU WANT . . . The best of military epic fantasy as the bestselling Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series continues.

The Great Extermination has begun.

In the Capitol, Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan hatches a plot to kill every member of the untouchable caste in all of Lok, down to the last man, woman, and child. As a member of the Order of Inquisition, Vokkan has no official say in the creation of Law, but he has powerful allies willing to do his bidding. Through them, he has convinced the Judges that the genocide will be swift, complete, and without complication. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Lord Protector Devedas has sworn to uphold the Law. Once, he and the traitor Ashok Vadal had been like brothers. Now, he hunts Vadal and the Sons of the Black Sword, heretics and rebels who seek to live outside the rule of the Law. All Devedas must do is find and kill his best friend and order will be restored to Lok.

The rebels seek the secret kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Thera, a paradise where water is pure and food plentiful, where there are no castes, where the people rule themselves, and are not slaves to the Capitol. Ashok Vadal is not sure he believes in such a Paradise, but he—along with his allies—does seek refuge in the rebellion’s hideout in Akershan. But Vadal, a former High Protector who has turned his back on the corrupt Law, will not merely wait meekly, hoping that fleeing to Akershan will spare the rebellion from the clutches of the Great Extermination. No, if it’s a war the Capitol wants, Vadal, who has faced down gods and demons, will be all too willing to give it to them.

NEW FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION STORIES WITH A HARDBOILED NOIR TWIST—FOCUSING ON THE MEAN STREETS OF THE CITY

“Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.” —Raymond Chandler

Humans have always been fascinated by darkness. Especially the darkness of a city at night, when the black sky is made ever more inky by the pools of illumination dropped under streetlights. We harken to the sound of streetcars in the distance. We are drawn to the garish flash of club signs and marquees. We love the danger of shadowed alleyways, of wealth and poverty living side by side.

We love the city. It’s a part of us.

Whether the mean streets be in an alternate past charmed with dark magic or the dirty alleyways of futuristic crowded space stations, the city—and its darkened streets—will always fascinate us. Here then, an anthology of all new stories of science fiction and fantasy with a hardboiled noir twist that acknowledge that the city is a living, breathing entity . . . and it isn’t always on our side.

Stories by: Laurell K. Hamilton, Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell, Mike Massa, Steve Diamond, Robert E. Hampson, Chris Kennedy, Marisa Wolf, Griffin Barber, Robert Buettner, Hinkley Correia, Casey Moores, Patrick M. Tracy, and Dan Willis.

Eleutherios
by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Seven Miles
by T.C. McCarthy To Spec
by Charles E. Gannon Skyspark
by Ryk E. Spoor The Krumhorn and Misericorde
by Dave Freer Pittsburgh Backyard and Garden
by Wen Spencer Haunts of Guilty Minds
by John Lambshead The Lamplighter Legacy
by Patrick O'Sullivan Dog's Body
by Sarah A. Hoyt The Sorcerer of Daigawa
by Jon F. Merz Sweothi City
by Larry Correia Out of True
by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Mars Farts
by Ben Bova The Virgin of Hertogenbosch
by David Drake Murder on the Hochflieger Ost
by Frank Chadwick

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 2019.

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.

The Testimony of the Traitor Ratul by Larry Correia
Today I Remember by Martin L. Shoemaker
Extracurricular by Wm. Mark Simmons
Waiting for the Talisman by P.C. Hodgell
Voodoo Magic by Robert Buettner
Burners by Matt McHugh
Treason Properly by J.J. Cragun
Talk Girl by Wil McCarthy
Weeping Willikers by Aaron Michael Ritchey
A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Next Giant Leap by Patrick Chiles

Hero of the people Ashok Vadal lives! Now, he must face down enemies on all sides if he and the Sons of the Black Sword are to have any hope of destroying the evil Capitol in a new entry in NYT best-selling author Larry Correia’s Saga of the Forgotten Warrior epic fantasy series.

In a land where the Age of Law reigns supreme and the casteless are condemned to live as untouchables, rebellion brews, and the forgotten gods whisper of a hero’s return.

THE BATTLE RAGES

Once a Protector enforcing the Capitol’s strict laws with an iron fist, Ashok Vadal discovers his entire life is built on lies. The ancient black steel sword chose him not for his bloodline but for his spirit, thrusting him into a destiny fraught with peril and glory. The Capitol is in chaos, teetering on the brink of collapse as the Great Extermination spreads its dark shadow across the land. The casteless, descendants of the once-great kings, are hunted to extinction. Their only hope lies in Ashok Vadal, now a fugitive, and Thera, the prophet of the forgotten gods.

Thera’s visions and unyielding spirit rally the Sons of the Black Sword, fierce warriors sworn to overthrow the tyrannical Capitol and restore balance. As Ashok traverses deserts, battles sea demons, and navigates political treachery, he grapples with his identity and the heavy burden of his newfound purpose. Alongside him are allies old and new: Jagdish, the strategic commander of the Sons; Gutch, a resourceful criminal-turned-ally; and Devedas, his former brother-in-arms now caught in the Capitol’s ruthless power struggles.

Meanwhile, Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan, a master manipulator with his own dark agenda, strikes a secret pact with ancient demons, promising them the annihilation of the casteless in exchange for godlike power. As the demonic invasion begins, Ashok and his companions must unite to combat threats both human and supernatural. Lines between friend and foe blur, battles rage, and the fate of Lok hangs in the balance.

Ashok Vadal may desire redemption and vengeance, but in a world where gods and demons once walked, a warrior’s heart and a black steel sword turns out to be mankind’s last hope.

THRILLING SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURE FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHORS LARRY CORREIA AND JOHN BROWN

The Heart of a Warrior

Once, Jackson Rook was a war hero. Raised from boyhood to pilot an exosuit mech, he’d fought gallantly for the rebellion against the Collectivists. But that was a long time ago, on a world very far away.

Now, Jackson Rook is a criminal, a smuggler on board the Multipurpose Supply Vehicle Tar Heel. His latest mission: steal a top-of-the-line mech called the Citadel and deliver it to the far-flung planet Swindle, a world so hostile even the air will kill you. The client: a man known only as the Warlord. Rook has been in the smuggling business long enough to know that it’s best to take the money and not ask questions. But Rook cannot stand by and watch as the Warlord runs roughshod over the citizens of Swindle, the way the Collectivists did on his homeworld. For all his mercenary ways, Rook is not a pirate. And deep within the smuggler, the heart of a warrior still beats.

Jake Sullivan is a war hero, a private eye-and an ex-con. He's free because he has a magical talent, being able to alter the force of gravity in himself and objects in his vicinity, and the Bureau of Investigation calls on him when they need his help in apprehending criminals with their own magical talents. But the last operation he was sent along to help with went completely wrong, and Delilah Jones, the woman the G-men were after, who just happened to be an old friend of Jake's in happier times, had a lot of magical muscle with her, too much muscle for the cops to handle, even with Jake's help.

It got worse. Jake found out that the Feds had lied to him about Delilah being a murderer as well as a bank robber, and they had lied about this being his last job for them-he was too valuable for them to let him go. And things were even worse than Jake imagined. There was a secret war being waged by opposing forces of magic-users, and Jake had no idea that he had just attracted the attention of one side, whose ruthless leaders were of the opinion that Jake was far too dangerous to be permitted to live...

About the Author

Larry Correia is hopelessly addicted to two things: guns and B-horror movies. He has been a gun dealer, firearms instructor, accountant, and is now a very successful writer. He shoots competitively and is a certified concealed weapons instructor. Larry resides in Utah with his very patient wife and family. His first novel, Monster Hunter International is now in its third printing.

The final novel in New York Times best-selling author Larry Correia’s epic fantasy Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series.

What happens after the War of the Gods?

The answer lies in the Heart of the Mountain . . .

Ashok Vadal was chosen by a powerful weapon to be its bearer. As a Protector, an elite roving law-enforcer, his path to leader of the Sons of the Black Sword has been anything but straight

Thera Vane, a child of privilege, has become the reluctant prophet of an illegal and forgotten god—whose prophecies are proving all too correct, if frustratingly unclear about the war between demon and man.

Ashok’s erstwhile sword brother, Lord Protector Devedas, was meant to be a puppet king, but he and his wife, a court scholar, have other plans. And possibly even access to the lore that will let them triumph.

Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan is a man of ambition. He’s set in motion all that was necessary to destroy the current order and install Lord Protector Devedas as a tyrant. But Vokkan has a vision beyond control of the continent. He would challenge even the gods. . . .

It seems the time of prophecy and the Age of Law is over: it is time the prophecies will be fulfilled.

LARRY CORREIA'S BEST-SELLING EPIC FANTASY SERIES, SAGA OF THE FORGOTTEN WARRIOR, CONTINUES.

Ashok Vadal was once a member of the highest caste in all of Lok. As a Protector, he devoted his life to upholding the Law, rooting out those who still practiced the old ways and delivering swift justice with his ancestor blade Angruvadal. None was more merciless than he in stamping out the lingering belief in gods and demons among the casteless. His brutality was legendary and celebrated.

But soon Ashok learned that his life to that point had been a lie. He himself, senior member of the Protector Order, was casteless. He had been nothing more than an unwitting pawn in a political game. His world turned upside down and finding himself on the wrong side of the Law, he began a campaign of rebellion, war, and destruction unlike any Lok had ever seen.

Thera had been first daughter of Vane. A member of the Warrior Order, she had spent her life training for combat. Until a strange sight in the heavens appeared one day. Thera was struck by lighting and from that day forward she heard the Voice. A reluctant prophet with the power to see into the future, she fought alongside Ashok Vadal and his company of men known as the Sons of the Black Sword until a shapeshifting wizard with designs on her powers of precognition spirited her away. He holds her prisoner in the House of Assassins.

Ashok Vadal and the Sons of the Black Sword march to rescue Thera. With his sword Angruvadal, Ashok was unstoppable. But Angruvadal is gone, shattered to pieces on the demon possessed husk of a warrior. Now, Ashok must fight without the aid of the magic blade for the first time. Thera’s life depends on it.

But there is much more at risk in the continent of Lok. Strange forces are working behind the scenes. Ashok Vadal and the Sons of the Black Sword are caught up in a game they do not fully understand, with powerful forces allied against them.

Ashok no longer knows what to believe. He is beginning to think perhaps the gods really do exist.

If so, he’s warned them to stay out of his way.

They would do well to listen.

A knight of Cygnar follows a strict moral code. His integrity is beyond reproach. He holds himself to the highest standards whether dealing with friend or foe. And he values honor above all.

The year is 606 AR, and Cygnar is sorely pressed by its enemies both at home and abroad. The Cygnaran military is desperate for soldiers with the skill, strength, and bravery to take up the devastating galvanic weaponry of the new Storm Division. Every soldier is valuable, even those fallen from the honor expected of a Storm Knight. A group of such men—thieves, drunkards, and worse—comprise the Sixth Platoon. All they need is someone to lead them.

Lieutenant Hugh Madigan, a peerless warrior knighted during the reign of the deposed king, has spent years in obscurity, punished for his loyalty to the former monarch. Now he has been ordered back to the front and given command of the Sixth, his task to turn a platoon of miscreants into elite soldiers fit to be called Storm Knights.

Time is short, and war is coming. One way or another, Lieutenant Madigan must lead his men into the storm.

The Malcontents are back in action! Into the Wild, the new novel from acclaimed author Larry Correia, picks up the story begun in Correia’s first entry in the series, Into the Storm.

Now under the leadership of the reluctant Lieutenant Kelvan Cleasby, the Sixth Platoon of Storm Knights has been ordered to accompany an archeological expedition from the Royal Cygnaran University deep into the Wyrmwall Mountains. There, the scholarly team from the university will investigate an ancient site of potentially great historical value while the Malcontents stand around playing bodyguards and wishing for just a little excitement.

But what seems a simple enough assignment rapidly turns into a test of the platoon’s survival skills—a seemingly abandoned fort, the lone survivor of a horrifying attack, and a ferociously territorial tribe may be more than even the Malcontents can handle. And even once they know the monsters they face, escape may well be impossible—it’s never as easy to get out as it is to get into the wild.

OMNIBUS EDITION OF ALL THE HARD-HITTING MILITARY THRILLER DEAD SIX NOVELS from the creator of the multiple New York Times best-selling Monster Hunter series Larry Correia and the best-selling science fiction author Mike Kupari. Includes the novels Dead Six, Swords of Exodus, Alliance of Shadows, plus two short stories and an all-new introduction from the authors.

The Dead Six series is an inventive and action-packed military adventure series with a touch of conspiracy and big dollop of descriptive firepower! Now, for the first time, all of the Dead Six novels are available in a single omnibus edition. Inside you will find:

Dead Six: Michael Valentine has been recruited by the government to conduct a secret counter-terror operation in the Persian Gulf nation of Zubara. The unit is called Dead Six. Their mission is to take the fight to the enemy and not get caught. Lorenzo, assassin and thief extraordinaire, is being blackmailed by the world's most vicious crime lord. His team has to infiltrate the Zubaran terrorist network and pull off an impossible heist or his family will die. When Dead Six compromises his objective, Lorenzo has a new job: Find and kill Valentine.

Swords of Exodus: On the far side of the world, deep in former Soviet Central Asia, lies a stronghold called the Crossroads. It is run with an iron fist by a brutally effective warlord. Enter Lorenzo, thief extraordinaire, and Michael Valentine, implacable mercenary warrior. Their task: team with a shadowy organization of modern day Templars and take down a brutal slave lord.

Alliance of Shadows: Europe has spiraled into chaos. In the midst of the disorder, mercenary Michael Valentine and his team are trying to track down an evil woman bent on total power. They’re on their own, with few friends, few resources—and racing against the clock.

Plus, two short stories set in the Dead Six universe: "Sweothi City" by Larry Correia, and the two-part short story "Rock, Meet Hard Place" by Mike Kupari and Peter Nealen.

Features a brand-new introduction by Correia and Kupari!

Dirty Harry meets Twilight. #3 in the break-out series and a follow-up to Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter Vendetta.

Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he's also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be a werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business. But another force is working to bring about the creation of a whole new species of werewolf. When darkness falls, the final hunt begins, and the only thing standing in their way is a handful of locals, a lot of firepower, and Earl Harbinger's stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead.

Lexile Score: 730

The chaos god Asag has been quiet since the destruction of the City of Monsters, but Monster Hunter International knows that he is still out there, somewhere—plotting, waiting for his chance to unravel reality.

When Owen and the MHI team discover that one of Isaac Newton’s Ward Stones is being auctioned off by Reptoids who live deep beneath Atlanta, they decide to steal the magical superweapon and use it to destroy Asag once and for all. But before the stone can be handed off, it is stolen by a mysterious thief with ties to MHI and the Vatican’s Secret Guard.

It’s a race against time, the Secret Guard, a spectral bounty hunter, and a whole bunch of monsters to acquire the Ward Stone and use it against Asag. For as dangerous as the chaos god is, there is something much older—and infinitely more evil—awakening deep in the jungles of South America.

NEW ENTRY IN THE BESTSELLING MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL SERIES BY DRAGON AWARD WINNING AUTHORS LARRY CORREIA AND SARAH A. HOYT

When Owen Pitt and the rest of the Monster Hunter International crew are called away to mount a month’s-long rescue mission in a monster-infested nightmare dimension, Julie Shackleford—Owen’s wife and descendant of MHI founder Bubba Shackelford—is left behind. Her task: hold down the fort and take care of her new baby son Ray. Julie’s devoted to the little guy, but the slow pace of office work and maternity leave are starting to get to her. But when a routine field call brings her face-to-face with an unspeakable evil calling itself Brother Death, she’ll get more excitement than she ever hoped for.

Julie is the Guardian of a powerful ancient artifact known as the Kamaresh Yar, and Brother Death wants it. In the wrong hands, it could destroy reality as we know it. Julie would die before giving it up.

Then Ray goes missing, taken by Brother Death. The price for his safe return: the Kamaresh Yar. If Julie doesn’t hand over the artifact it means death—or worse—for baby Ray. With no other choice left to her, Julie agrees to Brother Death’s demands. But when you’re dealing with an ancient evil, the devil is in the details.

To reclaim her son, Julie Shackleford will have to fight her way through necromantic death cults, child-stealing monsters, and worse. And she’ll have to do it all before Brother Death can unleash the Kamaresh Yar.

It’s one woman against an army of monsters. But Julie Shackelford is no ordinary woman—she’s one tough mother!

The Monster Hunter series:
Monster Hunter International
Monster Hunter Vendetta
Monster Hunter Alpha
Monster Hunter Legion
Monster Hunter Nemesis
Monster Hunter Siege
Monster Hunter Guardian

The Monster Hunter Memoirs series by Larry Correia and John Ringo:
Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge
Monster Hunter Memoirs: Sinners
Monster Hunter Memoirs: Saints

Welcome to Monster Hunter International.

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.

It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

It's actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way. With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves.

Business is good . . .

About the Author

 Larry Correia is hopelessly addicted to two things: guns and B-horror movies. He lists his occupations: gun dealer, firearms instructor, accountant, and writer, and is part owner of FBMG (Fuzzy Bunny Movie Guns) a company specializing in firearms and movie props. He shoots competitively and is a certified concealed weapons instructor. Larry resides in Utah with his very patient wife and family. He has also designed a special patch for the agents of Monster Hunter International, Inc. As he puts it, "If you don't look good while you're killing stuff, then you're not really a monster hunter."

Lexile Score: 710

Who was Kindrie's father
What triggered the massacre of the Knorth women
What happened the night Jame got driven out by Ganth

Jamethiel Priest's-Bane first entered our lives when she walked out of the Haunted Lands on the opening page of God Stalk in 1982 with the haunts on her trail, searching for her ten-year older twin brother Tori to give him their father's sword and ring. But what was she doing in the Haunted Lands in the first place What happened that caused her to leave her home

For the past 20 years, this has been one of the biggest mysteries of Jame's background. The answers to those questions—and others—are found in the pages of this collection.

Blood & Ivory: A Tapestry presents eight original stories by P. C. Hodgell, three of them written especially for this collection. These stories explore different facets of Jame's life and background and weave a lush and complex picture of this enigmatic figure. Also included are new introductions to the stories, as well as maps and drawings by P. C. Hodgell.

When Jame returned to Knorth hall to help her brother Torisen name all the fallen fighters' death banners stored there, she made the disturbing discovery that those banners splattered with their owners' blood also have trapped their owners' souls. She also found a contract proving her cousin Kindrie to be legitimate, proving that there are three full-blooded Knorth. Three full-blooded Knorth means that the Three-Faced God can be manifested—something that none of the three are likely to want to do, if they have any choice in the matter.

Returning with this unwelcome knowledge to school at Tentir, Jame continued to dodge the attentions of an unwanted admirer, strengthen her link to her feline hunting ounce, work with the rathorn colt Death's-head to insure that it doesn't resume its attempts to kill her, and, of course, kept causing plenty of unintended havoc. She also had to help fight off attacks from hillmen, repel a stampede of yarkcarn (think warthogs the size of mammoths), fight in the Winter War (a mock conflict—or, at least, that's how it was supposed to be), and solve the mystery behind the death of her evil uncle, who somehow is still spectrally manifesting himself in nasty ways. No doubt about it—Jame is back, and with a vengeance, as the popular and critically-praised fantasy adventure series continues.

"Hodgell has crafted an excellent and intricate fantasy with humor and tragedy, and a capable and charming female hero. Highly recommended."
—Library Journal

New Entry in the Kencyrath Series.

SOMETHING IS PREYING ON THE GODS OF TAI-TASTIGON

A crucial moment draws nigh leading to the ultimate showdown between Jame Knorth and Perimal Darkling, the supernatural entity that has pursued Jame’s people, the Kencyr, across multiple universes, destroying all in its wake. Can the Kencyr finally make an effective stand, or will another world fall into shadow?

But now news arrives from Tai-tastigon, the vast city that formed Jame into the master thief, wily fighter, and godling-in-the-making that she has become.

It seems something is preying on the gods of Tai-tastigon. The new Pantheon is falling, and the ancient city is in turmoil. The self-serving, beguiling demi-god leader of the Thieves Guild has coerced Jame into finding the soul of his missing brother by holding hostage people she loves. She reluctantly returns to find a Tai-tastigon in turmoil, with citizen pitted against citizen, and day and night-time folk at one another’s throats. It seems many in the vast Lower Town have lost their shadows—not so funny when you realize that a shadow is cast by a soul.

DISAPPEARING SOULS

Some of the affected have gone mad. Some wander like ravening wraiths, attacking even family members by tooth and nail. Which means something is taking—or destroying—souls in the city.

What’s more, in the city’s Temple District fearful gods are finding their very beings drained. Some have become so diminished they hide in the robes of their priests like mewling babes. Across the city, murder and mayhem have erupted. But whatever demon-wrought madness is afoot in Tai-tastigon will have to face the ultimate avatar of the god That-Which-Destroys. That would be one Jame Knorth.

WHERE JAME KNORTH GOES, CHAOS WILL FOLLOW!

Tai-tastigon is burning.

The whole city is in an uproar. And the cause, Jame, and her friend Marc have fled. They are making their way through mountain passes, far too late in the season, hoping to find Jame's brother Tori somewhere on the other side.

Nothing ever goes easily for Jame, least of all this journey. As hints of the past she has forgotten—of dark and horrid years in the house of Gerridon, betrayer of her people, the Kencyrath, and her god—come to the surface, she encounters changers from the house of Gerridon, wanting to bring her back into that dark place. Arrin-ken, catlike creatures who are nevertheless a part of her own people, find and judge her. Bandits, brigands and strange remnants from the past of her people—which suggest a dim future for them, their god and their hope of defeating the great enemy, Perimal Darkling—arise to haunt her. But her determination to find her brother and to avoid falling into eternal darkness only grows stronger.

Meanwhile Tori, who is Highlord of the Kencyrath, leads the wayward lords of the Kencyrath with uneasy grace. He is a compromise for them, a way of avoiding endless battle between them. But he can bind them together only so long as he can tread a narrow way between their varied needs and desires. When a vast and unexpected danger threatens, he must call up the host—the troops that each lord must muster—but in so doing he threatens his own position and his sanity, for he cannot avoid the attention this calls to him, attention that seems to bring changers who want to kill him, and odd nightmares that seem to suggest a future he does not want and the reappearance of a sister he both loves and fears.

Jame and Marc appeared first in God Stalk, where Jame discovered that she had odd powers and that she did not need a past to change forever the future of those around her. In this second book, she is just as hard on her friends, and her enemies, as she was in the first. But knowing her past, knowing how near she is always to the brink of a personal disaster she cannot accept, she must now consider each step she takes more carefully. This does not mean that either she, or for that matter, Tori, will ever be less than wild and unexpected. It only means that both must count and accept the cost of their actions. It is a way of living neither is prepared for.

P. C. Hodgell writes:

It's been nearly four years now since I finished God Stalk. For Jame, my heroine, only three days have passed. In the interim, however, I've written stories set five or six years in her future, notably "Stranger Blood," which will be in Robin McKinley's Imaginary Lands anthology later this year. In other words, life and fantasy are as confused as ever.

For my part, I'm preparing to make one last stab at my doctoral dissertation, although I'd rather be starting the third novel. Well, there will be time for that too. Jame certainly hasn't run out of adventures, and I look forward to chronicling them. Her life goes on, much faster and more furiously than mine. I'm reminded of the Stephen Leacock hero who jumped on his horse and galloped madly off in all directions—except that Jame and I are both going somewhere, or at least I sincerely hope so. At any rate, the

A NEW KENCYRATH NOVEL!

Jamethiel Knorth, Priest’s Bane and Dream-Weaver, has returned victorious from Tai-tastigon, 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.

The Gift of Music
by Sharon Lee The Aristocrat and the Free Man
by Robert Conroy Stealing Arturo
by William Ledbetter Magic and Other Honest Lies
by Robert Buettner Soft Casualty
by Michael Z. Williamson Songs of Waste and Wood
by P.C. Hodgell The Last Secret of Mary Bowser
by Steve White Low Arc
by Sean Monaghan Balance
by Marina J. Lostetter A Thing of Beauty
by Charles E. Gannon An Imperium Pursuit
by Jody Lynn Nye Picket Ship
by Brad R. Torgersen The Golden Knight
by K. D. Julicher Bare Snow Falling on Fairywood
by Wen Spencer Bait and Switch
by Ryk E. Spoor The night don't seem so lonely
by Sharon Lee Long Nights Moon
by David B. Coe

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 2019.

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.

The Testimony of the Traitor Ratul by Larry Correia
Today I Remember by Martin L. Shoemaker
Extracurricular by Wm. Mark Simmons
Waiting for the Talisman by P.C. Hodgell
Voodoo Magic by Robert Buettner
Burners by Matt McHugh
Treason Properly by J.J. Cragun
Talk Girl by Wil McCarthy
Weeping Willikers by Aaron Michael Ritchey
A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Next Giant Leap by Patrick Chiles

GOD STALKER

Jame is a Kencyr. Kencyrs are not native to the planet where they now live. For thirty centuries they have been the weapon that their Three-Faced God has used against the power of the Perimal Darkling. And though they have fought well, the Darkling has come to planet after planet, and the Kencyrs have moved on.

Jame knows this as she stumbles out of the hilly, barren Haunted Lands into the city of Tai-tastigon. But she knows little else. She does not remember where she has been or what she has done for the last ten years of her life. Her memory goes back only a week or two—to finding her home destroyed and all her family dead.

In Tai-tastigon Jame begins a new life that seems to be at odds with all that the Kencyrs stand for. Kencyrs are honest and just, but Jame becomes an apprentice to the most renowned thief in the powerful Thieves' Guild. Kencyrs are confirmed monotheists, yet Jame explores the rituals and activities of the thousands of gods, templed and untempled, in this religious center; she even kills a god and then resurrects him. And at the inn, the Res aB'tyrr, where she lives, she finds herself using the most sacred dances of her people, dances she does not even remember learning, for the entertainment and sometimes the destruction of the inn's patrons.

Within herself Jame finds power she does not want and doubts she defies her heredity to harbor. She moves through the rich and bloody stew of Tai-tastigon like a hot spice. Her probings, to find herself and to discover what her powers mean to her and her people, combined with influences already at work, very nearly destroy the city. And yet, they bring her face to face with a destiny she must accept.

This is the first of several books.

Richly-alluring High Fantasy from a Master Fantasist Ripe for Rediscovery!

Have you been looking for a fantasy world-builder on the level of Patricia McKillip, Guy Gavriel Kay, Fritz Leiber or—dare we say it Yes, we dare!—J.R.R.Tolkien himself P.C. Hodgell is nigh.

Welcome to the world of the Kencyrath, where ivory-armored, carnivorous horses travel in herds called "rages," pretty butterflies might very well suck your life's blood, and tree leaves migrate south for the winter. It's a dangerous and beautiful place where it's easy to get yourself killed. And resurrected. And possibly become bound to somebody else's soul in the process.

Not your ordinary high fantasy landscape. And Jamethiel Priest's-bane is far from your average high fantasy heroine. This is one fantasy character who never does the expected.

First of all, Jame's youth was spent in a desert wasteland in the shadow of Perimal Darkling, infested with haunts, where life and death, animate and inanimate, often overlapped. As for food, think in terms of screaming carrots and reproachful potato eyes following you around the kitchen. As for the cabbage heads and what was in them, we won't even discuss that. She hates the Highborn, whom she sees as manipulative and power-mad. She'd rather be a thief (albeit a curiously honorable one), and she'd much rather spend time with her soul-bound snow leopard than in the Kencyrath Ladies House. Unfortunately, Jame discovers that not only is she one of the despised Highborn, she happens to be the long lost daughter of the mad Highlord Ganth and the well-nigh mythic Jamethiel Dream-weaver. As such, she possesses the power to call souls out of their bodies and slay the occasional god or two (as well as resurrect them!).

To say the least, Jame leads a complicated life, not helped by the current Highlord, Torisen, her twin brother who fears her darkling blood and is (somehow) ten years her senior. But one thing is for certain: even though destruction often follows in Jame's wake, she is never, ever passive. This is one heroine whose curiosity and competence (she survived two years in the world of the darkling damned, after all) are always at the forefront. She has two mottos: "Some things need to be broken," and "If I knew what I was doing, I probably wouldn't be doing it." Sometimes cities fall as a result (ask the inhabitants of Tai-tastigon). But, more often than not, Jame finds a way to move one step closer to her ultimate destiny: a confrontation with the unthinkably alien being called Perimal Darkling that threatens existence itself.

Darkly droll, as intricate as many a Medieval tapestry, the Kencyr books are a controlled explosion of carefully-crafted creativity—which is exactly what one would expect from an author who is a) a master stain-glass artist and art knitter; b) an experienced horsewoman (who, nonetheless, holds the stable's record for falling off); and, last but not least, c) an accomplished scholar specializing in the 19th century novel, notably those of Dickens and Sir Walter Scott.

So here they are. The God Stalker Chronicles. Every Kencyrath book and short story ever published, collected in one e-volume and available from Baen Books' WebScriptions (www.webscriptions.net). This volume contains: God Stalk, Dark of the Moon, Seeker's Mask, Blood and Ivory (the highly-sought-after "Jamethiel" short story collection), and To Ride the Rathorn.

The megavolume will be released April 15, 2007, and will be available in the reader-friendly, unencrypted formats WebScriptions is known for. No need to track each volume down on a dead tree (and, in the Kencyr universe, the smarter trees run away from would-be harvesters, anyway!) For the next three months, the complete works will go for $20. As always, we'll let the math do the selling on this one. Try not to faint when you factor in the shipping costs. AFTER the three months is up, this special collection will no longer be available for sale at this price and we'll offer each individual God Stalker Chronicles ebook title for $5 each. (Still a great deal, of course!)

God Stalk

by P. C. Hodgell

Dark of the Moon

by P. C. Hodgell

Seeker's Mask

by P. C. Hodgell

To Ride a Rathorn

by P. C. Hodgell

Blood and Ivory: A Tapestry

by P. C. Hodgell

Jame is one of the last of the Kencyrath line, born to battle a world-destroying Lord of Darkness and resuscitate her ancestral heritage. Jame's youth was spent hard and low in a desert wasteland. Now she has discovered her past and her heritage as Highborn—and, with it, the power to call souls out of their bodies and slay the occasional god or two (as well as to resurrect them).

First, though, Jame must survive the politics and dangers of haunted Tentir College, a school for warriors where she's a student. At Tentir, Jame saves a young protégé from possession by a powerful, evil soul in search of a body, while combating jealous students who see her as a danger to their ambition for power and want her expelled—and blinded and dead, in the bargain! To make matters worse, she's challenged to a mounted combat duel to decide who is Tentir "top gun"—a competition she must win to graduate. It's trial by fire, as Jame moves closer to a magnificent destiny she both fears—and knows she must face.

Two epic novels of fantasy adventure in one volume:

Seeker's Mask: After an epic adventure that will become the stuff of legend, Jame has been reunited with her older brother Torisen and with her people, the Kencyrath. But when she is placed in the Women's Halls and expected to become a normal, quiet Kencyr lady, normal and quiet are not what the Women's Halls are going to get. Shadow Guild Assassins, ghosts, and other strange beings are soon after her, sprung not only from her own adventurous past but from the tragic, mysterious events that nearly annihilated her family in her father's time.

To Ride a Rathorn: Jame's adventures continue as she arrives at the randon military college Tentir to face cut-throat competition and find even more buried, poisonous family secrets. The Kencyr have a phrase, "to ride a rathorn," referring to a task too dangerous either to accomplish or to give up. This is true for Jame both figuratively, given her military career in a college which no Highborn girl has ever attended before, and literally, in that she is being stalked by one of these murderous, ivory-clad creatures whose mother she killed and who is now after her blood.     All in all, Jame's school days are shaping up to be anything but golden. 

"Hodgell has crafted an excellent and intricate fantasy with humor and tragedy, and a capable and charming female hero. Highly recommended." — 

  Publisher's Note: Seeker's Bane has been previously published as two separate novels, Seeker's Mask and its sequel To Ride a Rathorn.

About the Author:
Pat Hodgell can't remember a time when she wasn't passionately interested in science fiction and fantasy. She's sold stories to such anthologies as Berkley Showcase, Elsewhere III, and Imaginary Lands and has also published four novels. God Stalk and Dark of the Moon, the novels included in The God Stalker Chronicles, begin her critically praised fantasy saga which is concerned not! only with high adventure, but also with questions of personal identity, religion, politics, honor, and arboreal drift. She earned her doctorate at the University of Minnesota with a dissertation on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, and is a graduate of both the Clarion and the Milford Writers Workshops. Recently retired, she was a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in modern British literature and composition, and teaches an distant training course on science fiction and fantasy for the University of Minnesota. Pat lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in a nineteenth-century wood-framed house, which has been in her family for generations. In addition to writing and teaching, she attends science fiction conventions, collects yarn, knits, embroiders, raises cats, and makes her own Christmas cards.

Obedience. Self-restraint Endurance. Silence. . .

These are the duties of a Highborn lady, and like the veils, masks and tight-fitting underskirts female Kencyr students are obliged to wear, Jame finds them damnably constricting. Sent here by her brother Torisen, Highlord of the Kencyrath, she has tried valiantly to fit in, but the unruly girl can't help throwing the quiet Women's Halls into an uproar.

It's not entirely Jame's fault, though. While Tori's vain and vicious consort treats her like an underling, the Kencyr Matriarchs, determined to winnow out her secrets, scheme to use her to their own advantage. And her own brother wants nothing to do with her. On top of this, Shadow Guild assassins have come hunting her, eager to fulfill a long-held contract to dispose of the last of the powerful Knorth clan. It's no wonder that Jame decamps.

In the company of her telepathic hunting cat, Jorin, a runaway priestling named Kindrie, and a chance-met squad of cadets, she sets out to rescue a friend from a cruel and ambitious Kencyr lord who seeks the deadly Book Bound in Pale Leather. Dodging ghostwalkers and shadow assassins, riding weirdingstorms and peripatetic trees, Jame discovers that her life is tangled up in a much larger purpose. For the war against Perimal Darkling cannot resume until three terrible objects of power, and the avatars who will wield them, appear. And she just might be one of them. . . .

The long-sought third book in P.C. Hodgell's intricate and engaging fantasy series follows the warrior-magician Jame as she battles enemies both in and out of the Women's Halls at Gothregor.

"One of the very few true and original voices to write in the field of fantasy."
—Charles de Lint, from the introduction

Destruction is in Jame Knorth’s nature. Literally. She is the avatar a god known as That-Which-Destroys, the god of chaos and ruin. Yet Jame is also a noblewoman within an ancient race, and the designated heir of her twin brother Torisen Knorth, High Lord of the Kencyrath. Jame’s people are fleeing, world by world, from a terrible enemy that has pursued them through a multitude of universes. Its name is Perimal Darkling.

Obeying instructions from her brother, Jame sets out with a force of Southron warriors to reestablish the long-fallen castle keep of Tagmeth. By Jame’s side is Lyra, a devious Kencyrath noble girl who is determined not to be forced into a marriage with a man she despises. Jame’s old friends Mark and Brier Iron-thorn stand with her, as well: Marc, steward and organizer of Jame’s household and Brier, the only captain under her command wholly sworn to support Jame no matter the cost. Jame finds more allies in the forest surrounding the ancient keep where the wild people of the woodlands, the Merikit, hold court. And Jame’s adopted mother, Gran Cyd, matriarch and queen of the Merikit, may once again provide the voice of calm that Jame requires to survive her own tempestuous nature.

Jame sets about establishing Tagmeth as an outpost against the gathering power of Perimal Darkling. But Tagmeth hides a secret, a gateway to a mystery that may save this world from eternal darkness—or plunge it to destruction and ruin all the sooner. It is up to Jame to find her way through Perimal Darkling’s traps, and to come to terms with the god of pandemonium and destruction within her who grows stronger every day. If she succeeds it may be that Perimal Darkling can finally be defeated after eons of fear and flight. And if she fails, yet another world will fall to darkness forever.

Jame is a Kencyr. Kencyrs are not native to the planet where they now live. For thirty centuries they have been the weapon that their Three-Faced God has used against the power of the Perimal Darkling. And though they have fought well, the Darkling has come to planet after planet, and the Kencyrs have moved on.

Jame knows this as she stumbles out of the hilly, barren Haunted Lands into the city of Tai-tastigon. But she knows little else. She does not remember where she has been or what she has done for the last ten years of her life. Her memory goes back only a week or two—to finding her home destroyed and all her family dead.

In Tai-tastigon Jame begins a new life that seems to be at odds with all that the Kencyrs stand for. Kencyrs are honest and just, but Jame becomes an apprentice to the most renowned thief in the powerful Thieves' Guild. Kencyrs are confirmed monotheists, yet Jame explores the rituals and activities of the thousands of gods, templed and untempled, in this religious center; she even kills a god and then resurrects him. And at the inn, the Res aB'tyrr, where she lives, she finds herself using the most sacred dances of her people, dances she does not even remember learning, for the entertainment and sometimes the destruction of the inn's patrons.

Within herself Jame finds power she does not want and doubts she defies her heredity to harbor. She moves through the rich and bloody stew of Tai-tastigon like a hot spice. Her probings, to find herself and to discover what her powers mean to her and her people, combined with influences already at work, very nearly destroy the city. And yet, they bring her face to face with a destiny she must accept.

Kothifir the Great, ruled by an obscenely obese god‑king, peopled with colorful, dueling guilds, guarded by the Southern Host of the Kencyrath. Here Jame arrives, only to find that the turbulent city claims more of her attention as the Talisman than the Host’s training fields do as a second year randon cadet.

Mysteries abound: Caravans plunge deep into the hostile Southern Wastes and return laden with fabulous riches ‑‑ from what source, and why do they crumble to dust if not claimed by the god‑king’s touch? Karnids from Urakarn prowl the shadows, preaching the return of their mysterious prophet. An unstable Kencyr temple rumbles in the outer, decayed rings of the city. Then too, someone in the Host’s camp is trying to get Jame killed.

In order to save the present, Jame must search the past, be it fifteen years ago when as a boy her brother Torisen arrived here, unknown and unwanted, or three thousand years ago when the Wastes were a great sea ringed with rich civilizations. Somehow, Tori survived. Somehow, the cities of the plain were destroyed in one catastrophic night. Now Kothifir's gods have lost their power and its proud towers are falling. What curse out of the past has struck it? Jame, a potential Nemesis, must try to stop the destruction‑‑without undoing time itself.

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

To Ride a Rathorn

P. C. Hodgell,'s latest high fantasy novel, is the sequel Seeker's Mask, which in turn follows "God Stalk and Dark of the Moon (collected in the Meisha Merlin omnibus, Dark of the Gods).

These are the chronicles of Jamethiel Priest's-bane, otherwise known as Jame, as she struggles to find a place in a universe full of danger, intrigue, and more than a bit of downright lunacy. The current novel's title To Ride a Rathron, comes from the Kencyr phrase that refers to someone attempting something insane, but it is too dangerous for them to stop. The reference is also to a certain young rathorn (think of an armor-plated, carnivorous unicorn with a nasty temper) who is after Jame for killing his mother and about to catch up with her.

At Tentir, Jame faces cut-throat competition and finds even more buried, poisonous family secrets. Not only is the Caineron heir sent to humiliate her, but a charming Ardeth Highborn arrives hell-bent on seducing her. Then too, what is she to make of the mysterious White Lady who haunts her dreams, or of the growling monster that prowls Tentir's hallways and is said to eat young cadets for breakfast For she is learning Tentir has secrets of its own, and it is fighting for its soul. Under political pressure that threatens to compromise its independence, it looks to its Commandant, an honorable man; but also a Caineron. As the college tests Jame, so she tests it. "Some things need to be broken."

Thirty‑three shorter tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time in two mega‑volumes.  Seventeen tales to start with in Volume One!

The nationally best‑selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados for their wit, world‑building, strong characterizations, tender romance, and edge‑of‑the‑chair action.

Since 1995, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller also created shorter tales, illuminating additional facets of the Liaden experience. Here is a vast tapestry of tales of the scouts, artists, traders, priestesses, sleight of hand magicians, and pilots who fill the Liaden Universe® with the excitement, action, and romance that readers of the hit series have come to adore. 

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

BOOK 2 in The First Liaden Universe® Collection. Fifteen short tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans.

Thirty-three shorter tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time in two mega-volumes. Fifteen tales complete Volume Two!

The nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados for their wit, world-building, strong characterizations, tender romance, and edge-of-the-chair action.

Since 1995, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller also created shorter tales, illuminating additional facets of the Liaden experience. Here is a vast tapestry of tales of the scouts, artists, traders, priestesses, sleight of hand magicians, and pilots who fill the Liaden Universe® with the excitement, action, and romance that readers of the hit series have come to adore.

Celebrating 25 Years of the Liaden Universe®

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

BOOK 3 in the multivolume Liaden Universe® short fiction collection. Tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans. The nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados for their wit, world-building, strong characterizations, tender romance, and edge-of-the-chair action. Since 1995, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller also created shorter tales, illuminating additional facets of the Liaden experience. Here is a vast tapestry of tales of the scouts, artists, traders, priestesses, sleight of hand magicians, and pilots who fill the Liaden Universe® with the excitement, action, and romance that readers of the hit series have come to adore. Contains all new entries published after 2011.

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

BOOK 4 in the multivolume Liaden Universe® short fiction collection. Tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans.

For more than thirty years, the Liaden Universe® novels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have captivated readers with their unique blend of action adventure, science fiction, and romance. In addition to twenty-one novels (and counting) Lee and Miller have written dozens of shorter works based in the Liaden Universe®, featuring the strong characterization, detailed world-building, wit, and derring-do that readers of the series adore.

This fourth volume collecting Lee and Miller’s shorter Liaden Universe® stories features four novelettes, two novellas, and two short stories—including the celebrated linked stories, "Block Party" and "Degrees of Separation."

Sure to delight longtime fans and newcomers alike, these tales highlight why the nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados, with detailed world-building, strong characterizations, compelling romance, and edge-of-the-chair action in stories that range from cosmic to comic.

Tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans.

STORYTELLING ON AN EPIC SCALE

For more than thirty years, the Liaden Universe® novels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have captivated readers with their unique blend of action adventure, science fiction, and interpersonal relationships. In addition to twenty-one novels (and counting), Lee and Miller have written dozens of shorter works based in the Liaden Universe®, featuring the strong characterization, detailed worldbuilding, wit, and derring-do that readers of the series adore.

Sure to delight longtime fans and newcomers alike, these tales highlight why the nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados, with amazing settings, strong characterizations, compelling romance, and edge-of-the-chair action in stories that range from cosmic to comic.

NEW NOVEL IN THE NATIONALLY BEST-SELLING LIADEN UNIVERSE® SERIES. Sequel to national bestseller Neogenesis.

Exiled from Liad after bombing a city to save it from The Department of the Interior’s infernal weapons and plans, Clan Korval has gone to ground on the back-water planet Surebleak, whose people are as untamed as its weather. The old Boss-controlled fiefdoms largely fell to Pat Rin yos’Phelium’s influence, but the world is restive, the influx of outworld lawyers, guns, and money a brewpot for armed dissatisfaction.

Far beyond the surface of frigid Surebleak Korval’s farflung trade network needs a serious reset to recover from exile. From flagship Dutiful Passage to the experimental—if centuries old—self-aware Bechimo co-captained by the Delm’s blood-sister Theo Waitley, the clan’s ships are prowling space lanes seeking trade. Meanwhile, Old Tech from a failed universe—the ancient but revived Tinsori Light—and the machinations of the mysterious Uncle are coalescing into dangerous opportunity or nefarious trap.

And the Department of the Interior is not done with Clan Korval yet. They seek a final fully reckoned revenge, with Surebleak and Korval’s ships and people everywhere in the crosshairs.

A Liaden Universe® Novel "LEE AND MILLER STRIKE SPACE OPERA GOLD."
 —Robin Wayne Bailey

Once a brilliant First-in Scout, Val Con yos'Phelium was "recruited" by the mysterious Liaden Department of Interior and brainwashed into an Agent of Change—a ruthless covert operative who kills without remorse.

Fleeing the scene of his latest murderous mission, he finds himself saving the life of ex-mercenary Miri Robertson, a tough Terran on the run from a team of interplanetary assassins. Thrown together by circumstances, Val Con and Miri struggle to elude their enemies and stay alive without slaying each other—or surrendering to the unexpected passion that flares between them.

"I was mesmerized, awed, and totally entertained. I am hooked by the Liaden world. Bravo!"
—Mary Balogh

"Full of action, exotic characters, plenty of plot, and even a touch of romance. OUTSTANDING."
—Booklist

"You may never care about a cast of characters more or await their return with more anticipation."
—SF Site

Now with a new afterword by authors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller!

THIRTY YEARS AND COUNTING: The 30th Anniversary edition of Agent of Change, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s rousing intro to the star-spanning Liaden Universe.®

IT STARTS WITH A MAN WHO WAS NOT WHAT HE SEEMED

“The man who was not Terrence O’Grady had come quietly.”

Introducing Val Con yos’Phelium—interstellar spy, starship pilot, musician, and incidentally, a brother to Clutch Turtles. Running from an assassination he comes upon Miri Robertson, a not-so-retired mercenary soldier born to trouble on a back world and facing disastrously uneven odds in a firefight with her former employer’s enemies. Forced to intervene, Val Con becomes a target himself, and the pair are hunted, hounded across space, becoming unwilling partners of necessity. Facing terrible danger from within and without, their own skills and training argue that one of them must die if either is to survive. But Val Con has faced tricky situations before, and he's not about to let something like impossible odds get him down.

A new novel in the popular and exciting science fiction Liaden Universe® series. Over a half million Liaden Universe® books sold with an audience that keeps growing!

Beset by the angry remnants of the Department of the Interior, challenged at every turn by opportunists on their new homeworld of Surebleak, and somewhat low on funds, Clan Korval desperately needs to reestablish its position as one of the top trading clans in known space. To this end, Master Trader Shan yos'Galan, aboard Korval's premier trade ship, Dutiful Passage, is on a mission to establish new business associations and to build a strong primary route that links well with existing Loops and secondary routes.

But reestablishing trade and preserving the lives of the few remaining members of the clan aren't all of Korval's problems. Matters come to a head as Dutiful Passage, accustomed to being welcomed and feted at those ports on its call-list, finds itself denied docking, and blacklisted, while agents of the DOI mount armed attacks on others of Korval's traders, under the very eyes of port security systems.

Traveling with Dutiful Passage on this unsettling journey is Padi yos'Galan, the master trader's heir and his apprentice. Padi is eager to make up for time lost due to Korval's unpleasantness with the Department of the Interior. She is also keeping a secret so intense that her coming of age, and perhaps her very life, is threatened by it.

Contains two shorter works set in Lee and Miller's Liaden Universe®: Short story "A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom," which first appeared on Baen.com; original novelette "Ambient Conditions"; and an authors' foreword.

"Galaxy Ballroom" explores the rift that has opened in the Scouts subsequent to Korval's removal to the planet Surebleak, and the consequences of loyalty. "Ambient Conditions" details a dark time in Liaden history, and looks at what happens when discarded people are given power, and must choose how to use it.

Together again for the first time.

Three stories set in the Liaden Universe®, featuring characters who may not embrace honor fully.

Included are: “Excerpt from Two Lives”, “Dark Secrets”, and “Revolutionists”.

All three stories have been previously published.

Assistant Trader Jethri Gobelyn is an honest, hardworking young Terran who knows  a lot about living onboard his family's space going trade ship 'Gobelyn's Market', something about trade, finance, and risk taking and a little bit about Liadens.

Oddly enough, it's the little bit he knows about Liadens that seems likely to make his family's fortune—and his own. In short order, however, Jethri Gobelyn is about to learn a lot more about Liadens . . . like how far they might go to protect their name and reputation. Like the myriad of things one might say—intentionally or not—with a single bow. Like how hard it is to say "I'm sorry!" in Liaden. Like how difficult it is to deal with a beguiling set of Liaden twins who may very well know exactly what he's thinking . . . . Soon it became clear that as little as he knew about Liadens, he knew far less about himself. With his very existence a threat to the balance of trade, Jethri needs to learn fast, or become a pawn in a game that will destroy all he has come to hold dear.

Lee and Miller's award-winning Liaden Universe® series has garnered high praise for master level world building, deft characterization, and action-packed plots. These are not characters. They are real people, whose lives we have been privileged to share.
—Jennifer Dunne, SFRomance

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller know how to write one blazing story. Luckily for us, they can keep the adventurer — and the romantic — inside each of us supplied. Royally.
—Usa DuMond, Contributing Editor and Senior Reviewer for SFSite

Baltimore-born Jen Pierce is starting to settle into her new job as a reporter at the Wimsy Voice, and her new life in small-town Wimsy, Maine. The town's busy enough to keep a reporter hopping, though violence is usually on the level of one neighbor punching another in the nose after they've both had too much beer. Then, in very short order, a handsome stranger moves to town, and a local preacher is murdered at the barn-raising for a newly settled Wiccan couple. Jen's bucolic life is about to get interesting.

To survive, humans need air, water, a place to stand, a place to sleep, and sustenance. Bread is a good start for sustenance. Don Eyr and Serana were survivors who came to Low Port—it gave them air, water, a place to stand and a place to make bread. The place to sleep meant they needed a certain amount of safety and to get that they founded a bakery at the corner of Crakle and Toom, brought in others seeking to survive in the midst of the poverty and ignorance, and built a tiny bastion of a self-sufficient community dedicated to raising competent, alert children who understood decency.

Low Port toughs tried to break the bakery and a planet-shaking blast from the skies nearly did it in, but the bakery was hope, and people who have hope will fight to keep it.

This chapbook collects four stories about sustenance, all about the bakery, its people, and its influence. ″Degrees of Separation,″ ″Fortune’s Favors,″ and "Block Party" are reprints. The novelette ″Our Lady of Benevolence″ appears here for the first time.

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.

The long‑awaited sequel to Carousel Tides, enchanting contemporary fantasy by Sharon Lee, award‑winning co‑creator of the popular Liaden Universe® saga. When magic meets mundane, sparks fly: these are exciting times in Archers Beach, Maine! A unprecedented Early Season has united townies and carnies in an effort expand into a twelve‑month resort, recapturing the town's former glory.

Kate Archer, owner‑operator of the vintage wooden carousel, is caught up in the excitement—and is quite possibly the cause of it. Because Kate leads a double life, as carny, and as Guardian of the land. Her recent return to the home she had forsaken has changed the town's luck—for the better—and energized the trenvay—earth and water spirits who are as much citizens of the Beach as their mundane counterparts.

But the town's new energy isn't the only change afoot. Joe Nemeier, the local drug lord, whose previous magical consultant was vanquished by Kate, has acquired a new ally—and this one plays with fire.

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

About Carousel Tides:

Kate Archer left home years ago, swearing that she would die before she returned to Maine. As plans go, it was a pretty good one — simple and straightforward.
Not quite fast enough, though.
Before she can quite manage the dying part, Kate gets notice that her grandmother is missing, leaving the carousel that is the family business untended.
And in Archers Beach, that means ‘way more trouble than just a foreclosure.

Advanced Praise for Carousel Tides:

“Carousel Tides pulls you into the chill foggy reality of peeling-paint sand-grit coastal Maine outside of tourist season and then hands you something else — the hidden world lurking in shadows or under the land’s surface or just offshore, where Black Dogs hunt the night and selkies toss unpleasant truths over their shoulders before diving into the next wave. In the center of this, Kate Archer tends and guards one of the spookiest carousels this side of Ray Bradbury and wonders what has happened to her grandmother. The old woman sent her a letter, left papers deeding over the carousel and old house and the Land (meaning much more than property), and vanished, telling the spirits of the land and sea that she expected to be back before the turning of the year.

“Now March has come and gone and Kate must return from self-exile to take up powers and responsibilities she has renounced, or dying will be the least of her problems...
“Sharon Lee weaves fantasy into reality so deftly that you scarcely notice when you slip across the edge. And once you’re there, the story’s own magic won’t let you turn back from the strong characters, deep mysteries, and even deeper danger.” —James A. Hetley, author of Dragon’s Eye, Dragon’s Teeth, and Dragon’s Bones * * * “Proof that contemporary fantasy is alive and well and living beyond the big city limits — Carousel Tides is a worthy inheritor to Charles DeLint’s Newford series, and magical in its own right. Delightful.” — Laura Anne Gilman, author of Hard Magic * * * “Sharon Lee is one of my all-time favorite authors, a gifted storyteller whose work never fails to enchant. With Carousel Tides she gives her fans another opportunity to spend time with fascinating characters, bringing them to life in a place that becomes so real you can smell the salt air around you. Her fine hand with detail never lets the suspense falter, as mystery, folklore, and magic are artfully interwoven into a thoroughly engaging tale. Carousel Tides will leave you eagerly awaiting the next novel by this master.” —Jan Burke, author of The Messenger, Bones, and Bloodlines * * * “Sharon Lee’s finely observed detail evokes magic in Maine and gives conviction to six alternate, richly-inhabited universes.” — Rob Weisbrot, author of Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules, the Legendary Journeys: The Official Companion * * * “Carousel Tides is a gripping, enthralling read that I didn’t want to put down for any reason. From its beautifully detailed small-town Maine setting to a cosmology that manages to be unique and familiar at the same time, this book demonstrates the best of what urban fantasy can be. It’s rare that I find a book I can recommend without any reservations; Carousel Tides is one of those books.” — Seanan McGuire, author of Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, and An Artificial Night

A Liaden Universe® Novel

On the run from interplanetary assassins, covert operative Val Con yos'Phelium and former mercenary sergeant Miri Robertson have wound up stranded on a distant planet with no rescue in sight. Until they figure out a way back to Liad, these two lost souls must find a way to trust each another—and let their love heal the dark wounds of their past. . . .

Back on Liad, Shan yos'Galan, Val Con's cousin and foster brother, and his life-partner, Priscilla Mendoza, have initiated their own search for the missing member of Clan Korval. But what they don't know is that those who seek to destroy Val Con and Miri are just as determined to bring down Clan Korval. All the deadly enemy needs is someone to unwittingly lead them to their target. . . .

"Val Con and Miri are the most romantic couple in SF!"
—Susan Krinard, author of Touch of the Wolf

"You may never care about a cast of characters more or await their return with more anticipation."
—SF Site

"Full of action, exotic characters, plenty of plot, and even a touch of romance. OUTSTANDING."
—Booklist

Times are perilous, violence rife, and the future uncertain. Success and the survival of all you hold dear may hinge on how you manage change.

Some people advise that we “Embrace Change!” Other people realize that change has edges, and if you embrace it the wrong way, it may feel a lot more like a knife than a bromide when it touches your guts.

Here are two Lee and Miller stories set in the Liaden Universe®, "Street Cred," original to this chapbook; and "Wise Child," reprinted from Baen.com. Both stories with the complications arising from decisive change, and decisive Change Management at the point of peril.