Like A New Star

Clash of the Aliens, Book 4
by M.B. Wood

Disappeared

by Lucienne Diver

ECHO One: Tales from the Secret World Chronicles

by Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin, Dennis K. Lee, and Veronica Giguere

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.

Two novels of elvish lore and modern noir.

Beyond World’s End:
Eric Banyon, elvish knight and bard, moves back to the Big Apple to finish his interrupted education at Juilliard School of Music. Soon Eric discovers that unscrupulous researchers have created a drug to unlock magical powers in humans—and something evil from Underhill plans to use those human powers to dominate World Above. But Eric is one bard who is going to let no such thing happen.

Spirits White as Lightning:
Eric Banyon has more to worry about than passing his courses at Juilliard. The evil elf lord Aerune, whose love was killed by mortal men, is determined to destroy the human race. Eric’s only hope of stopping Aerune is to trap him inside a magical maze—but first he must journey to the heart of Aerune’s realm and trick the elf lord into a deadly chase.

And Less Than Kind HEIR TO A THRONE—OR TO A GRAVE

When it became certain that Edward VI was dying, the duke of Northumberland, who had been ruling England in his name, made a plan that would let him hold onto his power. He dared not let Mary come to the throne because she was fiercely Catholic and he had espoused the Protestant cause. And he did not want Elizabeth to rule because he knew her imperious nature would never defer to him. But there was more than one puppet master at work: The evil elf lord Vidal Dhu had no intention of losing the flood of power the misery of Mary's reign would bring the Dark Court, and intervened so that Mary was proclaimed queen.

Urged by her Chancellor and the Imperial ambassador to order Elizabeth's death, Mary chose a different path to insure that Elizabeth would never reign. Mary decided to marry and bear a child to be the Catholic heir. Vidal Dhu, replete with power from the pain and terror of Mary's burning of heretics, agreed with Mary. Vidal Dhu had very special plans for Mary's child. And since Oberon and Titania had disappeared, there now was no one except the double pair of twins to stand between the mortals of England and the rule of Evil.

Mercedes Lackey is the New York Times best-selling author of the Bardic Voices series and the SERRAted Edge series (both Baen), the Heralds of Valdemar series (DAW), and many more. She was one of the first writers to have an online newsgroup devoted to her writing. Among her popular Baen titles are The Fire Rose, The Lark and the Wren, and The Shadow of the Lion (with Eric Flint and Dave Freer). She lives in Oklahoma.

Roberta Gellis is author of over 25 novels in different fields. Her many awards include: The Silver and Gold Medal Porgy for historical novels from West Coast Review of Books and the Golden Certificate and Golden Pen from Affaire de Coeur. From Romantic Times she has received both the Award for Best Novel in the Medieval Period and also the Lifetime Achievement Award for Historical Fantasy, and the Romance Writers of America have presented her with their Lifetime Achievement Award. Her previous fantasy titles for Baen are Bull God and Thrice Bound.

Praise for Mercedes Lackey:

"She'll keep you up long past your bedtime."— Stephen King

"A writer whose work I've loved all along." — Marion Zimmer Bradley

"[Lackey is] an undoubted mistress of the well-told tale." — Booklist

"Lackey is one of the best storytellers in the field." — Locus

"(Lackey's fantasy] leaves us simultaneously satisfied and longing for more." — Realms of Fantasy

"[Lackey] packs as much action, suspense and twisting of conventions into one novel as many writers invest in whole trilogies." — Amazing Stones

Praise for Roberta Gellis:

"A superb storyteller of extraordinary talent."

— John fakes

"[Roberta Gellis is] a master of the medieval historical."— Publishers Weekly

"One of the romance genre's most formidable talents. . . ."— Romantic Times

"Ms. Gellis has become an extraordinary mythteller." — The Paperback Forum

"Let's hope the world of fantasy can steal Gellis from romance novels more often."

— Science Fiction Chronicle

"Roberta Gellis has already established herself as a great author in the |romantic fantasy genre. . . ."

— Affaire de Coeur

Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill are the biggest names in the urban fantasy subgenre-where elves, banshees, trolls, and even stranger creatures walk modern city streets, their presence, and even their existence unsuspected by the human inhabitants. Now these two present a volume of all new urban fantasy, with a stellar lineup of the best new fantasy writers, such as Roberta Gellis, Dave Freer and Eric Flint, Diana Paxton, and more-including two new stories and an afterword by Mercedes Lackey herself, as well as a story by Rosemary Edghill. This is an indispensable volume for fans of urban fantasy in general, and the thousands of fans of Mercedes Lackey in particular.

About the Authors

Mercedes Lackey is known for several bestselling fantasy series, including the Heralds of Valdemar and Bardic Voices series, work that ranges from historical fantasy to grittily realistic urban fantasy set in the modern world. In only a decade she has made her mark as one of the brightest stars of fantasy. She lives in Oklahoma where she can be found prying the talons of birds of prey she is attempting to nurse back to health out of her hands.

Rosemary Edghill, after holding the usual array of Weird Writer jobs, including freelance graphic designer and vampire killer, has settled down to a career as a full-time writer, publishing popular urban fantasies as well as novels in genres ranging from romance to mystery. Her latest book for Baen is The Warslayer.

THIS IS YOUR SOUL
ON DRUGS

After the events chronicled in Bedlam's Bard, world-saving bard and magician Eric Banyon moves into his new New York apartment hoping to settle down to the quiet life. No such luck: his building is a safe-house for a group of occultist Guardians protecting the city from supernatural evil. And there's a new evil for them to guard against....

When unethical drug researchers discover that they can induce amazing mental powers using psychotropic drugs, they begin planning to raise a drug-enslaved army of mercenaries and grow very, very rich. But this gets the attention of Aerune mac Audelaine, lord of the dark Unseleighe Sidney, who hopes to use the drugs to break through to the human world and feed on the suffering there. Both plans will bring terror to the world-and both are threatened by the very existence of Eric Banyan.

With his possibly loyal companions-a beautiful elven half-breed and a gargoyleEric heads for a three-way battle of wizardry that will determine Gotham's fate-and his own.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mercedes Lackey, author of the bestselling Heralds of Valdemar and Bardic Voices series, began life as a child and has been attempting to rectify that error ever since. Named for actress Mercedes McCambridge, she has been trying with no success to get the Benz automobile authorities to recognize the natural link between her name and theirs, and offer her the use of an M100 or some variety of high-end sports car for gratis. This, too, has had a distinct lack of success. Other than writing she can be found at various times prying the talons of the birds of prey she is attempting to nurse back to health out of her hands, endangering her vision by creating various forms of Art Beadwork, and cross-stitching dragons, gryphons, and other semi-mythological fauna. At the moment, her hair is red, her favorite color is green, and she is covered by various members of her flock of pet parrots, cockatoos and macaws, all of which are trying to help her type8shgalal-akejbejks9ife.

Rosemary Edghill, after holding the usual array of Weird Writer Jobs, including freelance graphic designer and vampire killer, settled down to a career as a full-time writer. She has written three books in the Twelve Treasures series, urban fantasies about elves and subways, as well as books in genres ranging from romance to mystery. She has also collaborated with such masters of fantasy as Marion Zimmer Bradley and Andre Norton. Of this collaboration, Mercedes Lackey writes, "I needed a new partner for our Bedlam Bards series ... Rosemary was the only possible writer who was sharp enough!" Her web page can be found at http://www.sff.net/people/eluki

Two Top-Selling Sequels
to Anne McCaffrey's
The Ship Who Sang
in One Volume

Two novels in one large volume, both set in the same universe as The Ship Who Sang: The Ship Who Searched: Tia, a bright and spunky seven-year old contracted an unknown neural disorder which made her lose control of her body. So she became a shell person—controlling a spaceship as if it were her body and searching for the origin of the disease that laid her low, so that no other little girl will ever suffer the fate of The Ship Who Searched. PartnerShip: Nancia is a brand new member of the elite Courier Service of the Central Worlds. She's the "brains" of an advanced interstellar ship. The last thing she needed was a cynical "brawn" partner like Forister. But idealistic Nancia and worldly-wise Forister together just might save the galaxy. Neither of them would be satisfied to go through life in a glorified wheelchair; like Helva, The Ship Who Sang, they decided to strap on a spaceship!

"Quite entertaining . . . captures the spirit of The Ship Who Sang . . . a single, solid plot. . . ." —Locus

"Splendidly paced and filled with lively characters . . . [PartnerShip is] excellent entertainment." —Rave Reviews

"A perfect combination of SF, adventure, and romance, this is sure to please a wide variety of readers." —Kliatt

"[The Ship Who Searched is] superb . . . Lackey and McCaffrey have created a marvelous love story in an exciting science fictional setting and then topped it all off with an ingeniously spiffy resolution." —Rave Reviews

NEW ENTRY IN THE SERRATED EDGE SERIES FROM NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR MERCEDES LACKEY AND CODY MARTIN.

When Staci was first shunted off to the backwater town of Silence, Maine, to live with her alcoholic mother, she thought her life was over. Silence had none of the amenities a typical teen in the twenty-first century considered essential: no cell service and barely any internet connectivity. But Staci soon learned that Silence was more than a town left behind by progress. The first family of Silence, the Blackthorns, liked the town that way. The Blackthorns were dark elves who fed off the misery of the residents of Silence.

But now, all that's changing for the better. With the help of Staci and her friends, the Blackthorns have been all but defeated. Industry is returning to Silence, and Staci's mom is improving with each passing day. There's even a cute new busboy at the diner.

But evil dies hard. And Staci, now a mage-in-training, senses that the Blackthorns have not yet given up the fight. The soul of Silence is on the line, and it is up to Staci and her friends to fight back against the encroaching darkness.

In an alternate 15th century where magic still is part of life, the Holy Roman Empire rules Europe. Constantinople is under siege by the Venetians and their allies.  Hekate, Goddess of Crossroads, presides over the conflict and carnage as alternate visions of civilization collide.  And since Constantinople is the crossroad city of east and west, and it is here that Italian captain Benito Valdosta must deal with the powerful magical manifestation of the Weeping Woman, a disguised Hekate,  in order to save his daughter and to destroy the fleets of the Chernobog assembling in the Black Sea before they can cut into the soft underbelly of Europe.

With land battle, naval action, cunning assassinations, and heartbreak aplenty—not to mention the ongoing conflict between Lord of the Dead Aidonus and Benito for the love of a woman, civilization is at the crossroads and choices must be made that will bring victory and freedom for centuries to come—or a new Dark Age.

Elvish Conspiracies Afoot! Heroine, Arise!

Trouble, trouble, the plots do bubble! King Henry VIII has finally joined his unmerry wives in the afterlife, and the Unseleighe Sidhe, the Dark Elves, are bent on subverting the English throne and bringing back the sorrow, horror and despair of the Middle Ages. After all, that's what made the bad old days so much fun — for them!

Enlightenment's hope A mere fourteen-year-old girl. A bright and adaptable fourteen-year-old to be sure, but still—what chance has such a young thing against the Unseleighe Sidhe's tangled web of treachery and depravity

A pretty good one. You see, the girl's name is Elizabeth, and that fiery red hair is no lie. Whether immortal lord or malicious mortal, young Elizabeth Tudor's enemies cross her at their peril!

Two hugely-popular master storytellers of historical fantasy brew up an elvish conspiracy for the ages in this exciting sequel to This Sceptr'd Isle and Ill Met By Moonlight.

"[Mercedes] Lackey. . . produces elegant, compelling fantasy."
—Publishers Weekly on best-selling High Priestess of Fantasy, Mercedes Lackey.

"[K]nowledgeable readers. . .will enjoy the interplay between elven intervention and historical fact."
—Publishers Weekly on Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis's This Sceptr'd Isle.

New York Times best-selling authors S.M. Stirling, Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Jody Lynn Nye return with four novellas. The cat-like Mrem, our heroes, battle the deep reptilian intelligence of humanoid dinosaurs in a Bronze Age world. After the extinction asteroid does notstrike Earth, the dinosaurs keep evolving–but so do the mammals. We mammals have achieved humanlike shapes, but now it’s cold‑blooded, magic‑using reptiles against the hot‑blooded, hot‑tempered descendants of cats.

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

A massive collection of wonderous science fiction and fantasy stories from New York Times best-selling Mercedes Lackey. Includes Fiddler Fair and Werehunter for the first time in one volume.

Fiddler Fair
Running the gamut from her beloved Bardic fantasies to urban fantasy set in the modern world, from science fiction adventure to chilling horror, this is Mercedes Lackey at her best. Animal rights fanatics try to "liberate" genetically reconstructed dinosaurs. Lawrence of Arabia meets a power beyond human comprehension, and King Arthur is reborn into the present day when he again gains possession of the enchanted sword Excalibur.

Werehunter
A young woman who has been given the power to transform herself into a leopard, but she now finds herself pursued by a hunter who is more than human. Skitty, ship's cat extraordinaire, and telepathic problem-solver, saves the day on a spaceship. Return to the world of the Heralds of Valdemar series, and much more. Plus, Merecedes Lackey's celebrated occult detective Diana Tregarde, attends a gathering of romance writers and encounters a visitor whose passionate desire is for fresh, warm blood.

"She'll keep you up past your bedtime."--Stephen King

"A writer whose work I've loved all along"--Marion Zimmer Bradley

A COMMAND PERFORMANCE BY
FANTASY'S GRAND DIVA

Mercedes Lackey has, in a few short years, soared to the peak of the fantasy field, and her thousands of enthusiastic readers clamor for more and more. Now comes a volume demonstrating the wide range of her talent, running the gamut from her beloved Bardic fantasies to urban fantasy set in the modern world; from science fiction adventure to chilling horror. And throughout Fiddler Fair, Lackeys sheer storytelling skill will hold the reader spellbound. Learn what happens when animal rights fanatics try to "liberate" genetically reconstructed dinosaurs. Follow Lawrence of Arabia into the desert to meet a power beyond human comprehension; and be with King Arthur, reborn into the present day, when he again gains possession of the enchanted sword Excalibur. And, in a very weird encounter of the most bizarre kind, learn why an alien from a UFO took an unusual interest in a battered Chevy pickup truck.

Fiddler Fair is a feast for the multitudes of Lackey fans everywhere—and for new readers, a powerful introduction to the most significant new fantasy writer of the decade.

Bouquets from Colleagues and Critics for Mercedes Lackey:

"She'll keep you up long past your bedtime."—Stephen King

A writer whose work I've loved all along."—Marion Zimmer Bradley

. . . with [Lackey], the principal joy is story: she sweeps you along and never lets you go."—Locus

. . . remarkable . . . high-octane adventure and sharp social commentary."—Dragon

"An undoubted mistress of the well-told tale." —Booklist

. . . above all else, Lackey can tell a good story . . . highly, highly recommended . . . ."—Kliatt

A MAGICAL MANIAC IS LOOSE IN ALANDA!

A magical murderer is loose in Alanda. The victims are always women, always lower-class, and the weapon is always a three-sided stiletto, most often found among Church regalia. But the killers are never churchmen, and they always commit suicide immediately after the bloody deed.

Tal Rufen is just a simple constable. But he really cares about his job, and when one of these murder/suicides happens on his beat he becomes obsessed. His superiors don't care—the victims will never be missed, and their murderers are already justly dead. But every instinct Tal Rufen has cries out that he has seen only one small piece of a bigger and much nastier puzzle....

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mercedes Lackey has a degree in biology from Purdue University. Like many writers, she has worked at a variety of jobs including short stints as a waitress, security guard, telephone surveyor and artist's model. A longer period of time was spent as a computer programmer for American Airlines. What she is most known for, however, and what has inspired a national fan club of over one thousand members, are her inventive fantasy novels. She lives outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her husband and collaborator, artist Larry Dixon, and their ever growing menagerie. Larry and Misty are both members of SOAR (Support Our American Raptors), sponsors of the Sutton Avian Research Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and continue to work rehabilitating birds to live in the wild.

Also in this series:

Bardic Voices: The Lark & the Wren
Bardic Voices: The Robin & the Kestrel
Bardic Voices: The Eagle & the Nightingale
Bardic Choices: A Cast of Corbies
  (with Josepha Sherman)

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 2020.

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 Red Sea by Mercedes Lackey and Cody Martin
Adrift by Frank Chadwick
The Policeman's Daughter by Wil McCarthy
Peregoy's Wolves by Nancy Kress
Chasing Your Tail by Peter J. Wacks
Bagala Devi Objective by M.T. Reiten
Sacrifices by D.J. Butler
Humanslayer by G. Scott Huggins
The Hero Business by Tim Akers
At the Seams by Jacob Holo
The Red Ship by Marc Miller
Preferred Seating by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

GOD (AND ELFLAND) SAVE THE QUEEN

Peace reigns in Elfland. Incredibly, King Oberon and his exquisite but willful queen, Titania, are at peace with one another. But still the FarSeers of the Selieghe Court are uneasy. They fear trouble is coming to the mortal world of England, which is close to Elfhame Avalon. King Henry VIII is ageing but the futures shown when the FarSeers lift the great crystal lens are unchanged. The rule of the son Great Harry finally succeeded in begetting will bring gray lives and a misery of dull oppression to England. Worse will come if his eldest daughter comes to the throne--a queen warped by fanaticism who might easily summon the Inquisition to rule by torture and fire, burning out heresy ... and every bright aspect of life. The prize at the end of the rainbow is the possibility of a red-haired queen with lion-gold eyes, brilliant with interest and curiosity, welcoming the blossoming of art, music, and literature. But now the last image is flickering, edged in a dark menace.

Years before, Prince Vidal had tried to seize the child Elizabeth and replace her with a simulacrum who would soon die. Vidal had been wounded almost to death in the attempt—-but so also had Denoriel, Elizabeth's principal protector. Denoriel is now healing--but so, unbeknownst to those of the Bright Court, is Vidal. And when Vidal wakes to himself, his determination to hurl England into a new dark age is fiercer than ever, fueled by his fury over his defeat and injury. Also, his Dark Court feeds on human suffering and dark emotions. To ensure his own power, he must at all costs prevent Elizabeth from coming to the throne. To gain this goal, Vidal has set in motion a plan of which Denoriel and his comrades are dangerously unaware. . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mercedes Lackey is the author of the Bardic Voices series and the SERRAted Edge series (both Baen), the Heralds of Valdemar series (DAW), and many more. Of her writing, Stephen King has stated, "She'll keep you up long past your bedtime," and Locus raved, "Lackey is one of the best storytellers in the field." She has her own fan club with over 1,000 members, and was one of the first writers to have an online newsgroup devoted to her writing. Among her popular Baen titles are The Fire Rose, The Lark and the Wren, and The Shadow of the Lion (with Eric Flint and Dave Freer). She lives in Oklahoma.

Roberta Gellis is author of over 25 novels in different fields. New York Times best-selling author John Jakes has called her "a superb storyteller of extraordinary talent," Publishers Weekly has termed her "a master of the medieval historical," and Romantic Times has praised her as "a master spinner of tales." Her many awards include: The Silver and Gold Medal Porgy for historical novels from West Coast Review of Books and the Golden Certificate and Golden Pen from Affaire de Coeur. From Romantic Times she has received both the Award for Best Novel in the Medieval Period and also the Lifetime Achievement Award for Historical Fantasy. And the Romance Writers of America have presented her with their Lifetime Achievement Award. Her previous fantasy titles for Baen are Bull God and Thrice Bound.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
—and Quite Deadly . . .

Eric Banyon, better known as Bedlam's Bard, is finally about to graduate from Julliard and enter the Real World and so, with the help of a psychiatrist who specializes in the problems of magicians, he's finally coming to terms with his past. But a spur-of-the-moment trip home to Boston to visit his parents brings him more trouble than even Eric thought possible.

Meanwhile, his Bardic apprentice Hosea has discovered that the young homeless children in New York's shelters have created a bizarre mythology about a demon called Bloody Mary who preys on young children—and somehow Bloody Mary has taken on an independent life and now stalks the streets of the city.

And for some reason, she's after Eric as well. . . .

Praise for the Bedlam's Bard Series:

"[Spirits White as Lightning is] fast, furious, and completely absorbing . . . make no mistake, this is a good series." —Booklist

"Lively and original, rich in clever ideas . . . Lackey is one of the best storytellers in the field, and this is among her best." —Locus

"This is a fast-paced, suspenseful, action-packed page turner." —VOYA

"[Lackey] shows a sure touch with the wonder and adventure that characterize the best fantasy writers." —Romantic Times

Prince Manfred and his mentor and bodyguard, the deadly warrior Erik, survived dangers and enemies both natural and supernatural, and if they thought that their new mission was going to be anything but more of the same, they soon gave up on that hope. Returning from Jerusalem, they and their escort of knights of the Holy Trinity are escorting an envoy of II Khan Mongol to the lands of the Golden Horde-between the Black Sea and the Carpathians, which happen to be eastern bastion against their old enemies, the demon Chernobog and his possessed puppet, the Jangellion.

 Unfortunately, what began as a diplomatic mission leads to Manfred and his knights being caught up in an inter-clan civil war, rescuing a fugitive woman and her injured brother, and becoming involved in the problems of Prince Vlad, Duke of Valahia, who has been held as a hostage by King Emeric of Hungary until freed by Countess Elizabeth Batholdy to use as bait to capture a group of nonhumans. Instead, the wolflike nonhumans, who masquerade as gypsies, free Prince Vlad, and help him to return to his homeland to raise revolt against Hungary and to renew age-old magics.

Manfred and Erik are forced into an alliance of convenience between the Golden Horde and the ancient magical forces of Valahia, as directed by the troubled Vlad. The magic calls for blood and Vlad is deathly afraid of it—and at the same time, is irresistibly drawn toward it . . .

Eric Banyon, also known as Bedlam's Bard, managed to rescue his young brother Magnus from what seemed to be a killer demon (in Mad Maudlin), but now he must rescue Magnus again, this time from their tyrannical parents.

Eric does not look forward to the battle, but is confident he can gain custody. His financial sources are virtually unlimited, his friend Ria Llewellyn heads the most high-powered law firm in New York, and in a pinch he and his friends can use to magic powers, even flummoxing a DNA test, it comes to that.

What Eric does not know is that his parents are allied with the evangelist Billy Fairchild, who himself is a tool of the evil Unseleighe elves, who feed off human sorrow and suffering. Fairchild specializes in getting "bad" children to shape up, which is accomplished by letting a soulsucker—malevolent creature from the elf world—drain the victim of all talent, creativity, and will, leaving an obedient zombie husk behind.

If Magnus and his friend Ace, who is also on the run from her twisted parents, fall into Fairchild's hands, they will join the Unseleighe's zombie ranks. And Eric's bardic magic may not be enough to save them.

The Sword of Knowledge, Book 3

THE FALL ACCORDING TO C.J. CHERRYH

The Roman Empire. Imagine its fall. Now imagine that warring time with cannon—and a working system of magic. C.J. Cherryh did. In The Sword of Knowledge, Cherryh has explored the fall of empires and the impact of technological knowledge while replacing the repressed religion of the Christians with a Church of Knowledge.

In A Dirge for Sabis we saw the Sabirn Empire fall to barbarians because the rulers were too inflexible to make use of the technology available to them.

Wizard Spawn opens centuries later, with the Sabirn empire a blighted memory and the barbarians established as the new and oppressive rulers.

Now another half millennium has passed, and new barbarians are on the rise. It will be a battle of barbarian vigor vs. The Sword of Knowledge in Reap the Whirlwind!

NEW YORK TIMES BEST‑SELLING AUTHOR. ENTRY #9 IN MERCEDES LACKEY'S CELEBRATED SERRATED EDGE URBAN FANTASY SERIES!

Teenager Staci’s father has just remarried, and now she finds herself being shunted aside by her new stepmother. Shunted all the way to the run-down and dying Maine town of Silence, in fact, and the custody of her alcoholic mother.

It gets worse. Silence seems to be stuck in the proverbial stone age. There’s no cell phone service except at the very top of a bluff outside of town, no internet except dialup, and not one familiar franchise or business. Staci’s mom seems to have gotten even worse since the last time Staci lived with her. The only bright spots in the whole place are a friendly waitress at the diner, and a bookstore where she meets a gaggle of geeks and gamers.

But all is not as it seems in Silence. There are strange things moving beneath the shabby surface, terrible plots in play, and deadly players in the game, and Staci is about to find herself caught up in the middle of it all.

Like A New Star

Clash of the Aliens, Book 4
by M.B. Wood

Disappeared

by Lucienne Diver

ECHO One: Tales from the Secret World Chronicles

by Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin, Dennis K. Lee, and Veronica Giguere

NEW ENTRY IN THE SERRATED EDGE SERIES FROM NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR MERCEDES LACKEY AND CODY MARTIN.

When Staci was first shunted off to the backwater town of Silence, Maine, to live with her alcoholic mother, she thought her life was over. Silence had none of the amenities a typical teen in the twenty-first century considered essential: no cell service and barely any internet connectivity. But Staci soon learned that Silence was more than a town left behind by progress. The first family of Silence, the Blackthorns, liked the town that way. The Blackthorns were dark elves who fed off the misery of the residents of Silence.

But now, all that's changing for the better. With the help of Staci and her friends, the Blackthorns have been all but defeated. Industry is returning to Silence, and Staci's mom is improving with each passing day. There's even a cute new busboy at the diner.

But evil dies hard. And Staci, now a mage-in-training, senses that the Blackthorns have not yet given up the fight. The soul of Silence is on the line, and it is up to Staci and her friends to fight back against the encroaching darkness.

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 2020.

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 Red Sea by Mercedes Lackey and Cody Martin
Adrift by Frank Chadwick
The Policeman's Daughter by Wil McCarthy
Peregoy's Wolves by Nancy Kress
Chasing Your Tail by Peter J. Wacks
Bagala Devi Objective by M.T. Reiten
Sacrifices by D.J. Butler
Humanslayer by G. Scott Huggins
The Hero Business by Tim Akers
At the Seams by Jacob Holo
The Red Ship by Marc Miller
Preferred Seating by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

NEW YORK TIMES BEST‑SELLING AUTHOR. ENTRY #9 IN MERCEDES LACKEY'S CELEBRATED SERRATED EDGE URBAN FANTASY SERIES!

Teenager Staci’s father has just remarried, and now she finds herself being shunted aside by her new stepmother. Shunted all the way to the run-down and dying Maine town of Silence, in fact, and the custody of her alcoholic mother.

It gets worse. Silence seems to be stuck in the proverbial stone age. There’s no cell phone service except at the very top of a bluff outside of town, no internet except dialup, and not one familiar franchise or business. Staci’s mom seems to have gotten even worse since the last time Staci lived with her. The only bright spots in the whole place are a friendly waitress at the diner, and a bookstore where she meets a gaggle of geeks and gamers.

But all is not as it seems in Silence. There are strange things moving beneath the shabby surface, terrible plots in play, and deadly players in the game, and Staci is about to find herself caught up in the middle of it all.

Like A New Star

Clash of the Aliens, Book 4
by M.B. Wood

Disappeared

by Lucienne Diver

ECHO One: Tales from the Secret World Chronicles

by Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin, Dennis K. Lee, and Veronica Giguere