LEGENDARY WARRIORS—THE ONLY HOPE OF A CONQUERED EARTH

Damon Lathe and his blackcollar combat team face their most serious challenge. On one of the conquered human colony worlds is a Ryqril tactical center through which flows an entire sector's worth of military data. If the blackcollars can find a way inside, it could tip the balance in the current Ryqril-Chryselli war. It could even start humanity on the path back to ultimate freedom.

But the Ryqril aren't sitting idly by. Under threat of reprisals against his world, Prefect Jamus Galway of Plinry is already on the case. His plan: to turn the blackcollars and their combat skill into unknowing tools of the Ryqril. His hidden ace: a clone duplicate of Lathe's ally Allan Caine, ready to be slipped into Lathe's inner circle.

It will be the blackcollars' most important mission. It may also be their last.

Praise for the science fiction of Timothy Zahn:

"Zahn keeps the story moving at a breakneck pace, maintaining excitement."—Publishers Weekly

". . . finely wrought space adventure [with] social, political and emotional complications, all of which Zahn treats with his usual skill." —Booklist

In Dreams Begin Adventure!

We've all had the dream. A looming presence. Menace. The struggle to wake. But when a modern day woman finds she can't return to reality so easily, then it's time for the nightmare to be faced. For all true things can be found in dreams. And now Drew must find the courage and resolve to fight for her life—and to rescue the mysterious other who is trapped there with her. The other who may be her soul's mortal enemy—or its one true love.

A lyrical debut fantasy novel from a talented new teller-of-tales!

Journeys, Battles, and Legends!

"Do you ever find yourself trapped in a nightmare that you know, even as you dream, is a nightmare "
—from From Dream to Dream, by gifted new Baen author, Arlene Golds.

He was a New Kind of Soldier,
Created for a New Kind of War!

Soldier . . .
The colony worlds Adirondack and Silvern fell to the Troft forces almost without a struggle. Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground—with forces the Trofts did not even suspect. Thus were created the Cobras, a guerilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye, yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation . . . and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Jonny Moreau would learn the uses—and abuses—of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a Cobra.

Mercenary . . .
If anyone had told Jonny Moreau the Cobras would one day take orders from the alien Troft, he would have laughed without humor. He'd lost too many friends during the Troft war, though the Cobras triumphed in the end. Now, though, the Troft were trading partners—and they feared what might be a mutual danger: A new race, ruthless and tenacious, that threatened human space as well as Troft. And the offer was five new planets for the overcrowded Cobra worlds. Jonny's son Justin would carry the Moreau name to danger . . . and learn that it takes more than a Cobra father to make a Cobra son.

Governor . . .
Corwin Moreau is governor of Aventine, but the fact that the Moreau family has held power for so long is beginning to generate bad feelings in the Cobra Worlds Council. But Corwin's niece, Jasmine, faces the greatest challenge. Her only ambition is to become a Cobra—but no woman has ever been accepted to the Academy or ever will be, if her opponents have their way. Until a mission arises that demands her expertise, and requires that she be given the deadly Cobra implants. Because the enemy, too, knows that there are no female Cobras, and Jasmine can infiltrate without being suspected . . . she thinks. . . .

The Complete Cobra Generational Saga,
by the New York Times Best-Selling Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Timothy Zahn is a winner of the coveted Hugo Award for his novella, Cascade Point and is author of the New York Times best-selling Star Wars novel, Heir to the Empire. Born in Chicago, he earned a B.S. in physics from Michigan State University and an M.S. in physics from the University of Illinois. Selling his first story to Analog in 1978, he quickly attracted attention as a new writer of "hard" science fiction, based on real, cutting-edge science. In addition to his novels for Baen set in the Cobra universe, he has also written such popular series as the "Blackcollar," "Conqueror," and "Dragonback" novels. Zahn has written over twenty novels, including the recent works Angelmass and Manta's Gift. He and his family currently live in Oregon.

GET READY FOR A GIANT, MIND-EXPANDING DOSE OF THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION EVER WRITTEN BY THE GREATEST SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF ALL TIME!

When readers first encounter science fiction, they find adventures on other planets and in future worlds, explorations of future technology and its implications, and extrapolations of social trends and warnings of where they may lead—but they also encounter concepts heretofore undreamed of, and the impact on the readers' thinking does nothing less than turn their world upside down.

Now, David Drake, Jim Baen and Eric Flint gather together some of the greatest science fiction ever written in one volume, with each story chosen for a startling breakthrough concept which left readers stunned and changed the course of science fiction.

In the Golden Age of science fiction, the science fiction magazines weren't given titles such as Astounding, Amazing, Startling, etc., for nothing! Pick up this generous serving of the very best of science fiction and prepared to be astounded, amazed, startled—and entertained.

ABOUT THE EDITORS

David Drake was attending Duke University Law School when he was drafted. He served the next two years in the Army, spending 1970 as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th armored Cavalry in Viet Nam and Cambodia. Upon return he completed his law degree at Duke and was for eight years Assistant Town Attorney for Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He has been a full-time freelance writer since 1981. Besides the bestselling Hammer's Slammers series, his books for Baen include With the Lightnings and its sequel Lt. Leary, Commanding, Ranks of Bronze, Starliner, All the Way to the Gallows, Redliners, and many more. His most recent novel is The Way to Glory, the latest in his popular Lt. Leary series.

Jim Baen is Editor-in-Chief of Baen Books, and is renowned throughout the science fiction field for his taste and ability to select authors with strong storytelling ability and steer them to commercial success. Prior to founding Baen Books, he was the editor of the legendary science fiction magazine Galaxy, the science fiction editor of Ace Books, and an editor at Tor Books.

Eric Flint's impressive first novel, Mother of Demons (Baen), was selected by SF Chronicle as one of the best novels of 1997. His next solo novel, 1632, sold out its first hardcover printing and went back to press almost immediately, and received enthusiastic critical praise. With David Drake he has written five popular novels in the Belisarius series. Flint has also begun a highly-praised fantasy adventure series, so far comprising The Philosophical Strangler and Forward the Mage. Flint received his masters degree in history from UCLA and was for many years a labor union activist. He lives in East Chicago, IN, with his wife.

THE NEWEST NOVEL IN ONE OF
SCIENCE FICTION'S MOST POPULAR SERIES

Harry Silver has already had a lifetime of trouble from ordinary Berserkers®, the automated killing machines programmed an age ago to denude the galaxy of life. Now when his own family is kidnapped, he faces a deviant machine, a good fit for some or all of the Galactic Dictionary's definitions of ROGUE:

(1) A deceitful, double-dealing evildoer .. .

(4) A fierce elephant or stamodont that has been banished from the herd . . .

(10) Having a peculiarly malevolent or unstable nature . . .

(11) No longer loyal, affiliated, or recognized, and hence not governable or accountable . . . erring, apostate.

— Galactic Dictionary of the Common Tongue

Ordinary Berserkers armed with weapons powerful enough to kill an entire planet were enough of a nightmare. What worse deviltry will a killing machine gone rogue attempt—and even if Silver can stop it, will he ever see his family alive again

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fred Saberhagen is the author of many popular science fiction and fantasy series. His Berserkers® have menaced the universe for over 40 years. His "Swords" and "Lost Swords" stories have caught the imagination of many fantasy readers. Equally intriguing are Saberhagen's exploits in the area of historical fantasy where figures such as Hitler and Lincoln, Daedalus and the pharaohs, populate his alternate worlds. On the border of history and fantasy Saberhagen has created a unique picture of an old favorite, Dracula. More recent is the "Book of the Gods" series, a new telling of the ancient myths. Many of his works also appear in tape and e-book format. Before abandoning himself to imagination, he served in the US Air Force, worked as a civilian electronics technician, and wrote and edited articles on science and technology for the Encyclopedia Britannica. Born and raised in Chicago, he now lives and works with his wife, Joan Spicci, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Additional information on Fred Saberhagen and his work can be found at his website: www.berserker.com

Powered by a revolutionary laser-driven stardrive, the first interstellar spaceship would reach the double planet that circled Barnard's Star in a mere twenty years. Some of the world's finest scientists were aboard that ship, and they would arrive prepared for adventure, danger and-to them, most important of all-the thrill of scientific discovery. But what they would find, both in terms of danger and discovery, would surpass all their expectations.

Unlike so much "far out" science fiction this novel is based on solid scientific reasoning by a world-class physicist. The weird intelligences of Rocheworld are imaginary, but we could start work on Forward's laser-driven starprobe tomorrow.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Sometimes it takes a big book to bring life to a big concept; a much shorter, substantially different version of this novel was published in hardcover in 1982 (paperback from Baen), but that version was rushed to publication before the author was ready. Now, with an additional 50 thousand words-longer than most novels!-Robert Forward offers us the novel that Flight of the Dragonfly should have been: ROCHEWORLD! If you liked Flight of the Dragonfly you'll love Rocheworld

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Robert L. Forward writes science fiction novels and short stories, and science fact books and magazine articles. He is also a consulting scientist specializing in exotic physical phenomena and advanced space propulsion. Dr. Forward obtained his Ph.D. in Gravitational Physics from the University of Maryland. For his thesis he constructed and operated the world's first bar antenna for the detection of gravitational radiation. The antenna is now on display in the Smithsonian museum.

For 31 years, from 1956 until 1987, when he left in order to spend more time writing, Dr. Forward worked at the Hughes Aircraft Company Research Laboratories in Malibu, California in positions of increasing responsibility, culminating with the position of Senior Scientist on the staff to the Director of the Laboratories. During that time he constructed and operated the world's first laser interferometer gravitational radiation detector, invented the rotating gravitational mass sensor, published over 65 technical publications, and was awarded 18 patents.

From 1983 to the present, Dr. Forward has had a series of contracts from the Astronautics Laboratory of the U.S. Air Force Systems Command (formerly the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory) to explore the forefront of physics and engineering in an attempt to find new energy sources that will produce breakthroughs in space power and propulsion. He has published journal papers and contract reports on antiproton annihilation propulsion, laser beam and microwave beam interstellar propulsion, negative matter propulsion, light-levitated perforated sail communication satellites, space warps, and a method for extracting electrical energy from vacuum fluctuations.

In addition to his professional work, Dr. Forward has written over 70 popular science articles for publications such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica Yearbook, Omni, New Scientist, Science Digest, Science 80, Analog, and Galaxy. His most recent science fact books are FUTURE MAGIC and MIRROR MATTER: PIONEERING ANTIMATTER PHYSICS (with Joel Davis). His science fiction novels are DRAGON'S EGG and its sequel STARQUAKE, MARTIAN RAINBOW, and ROCHEWORLD (formerly THE FLIGHT OF THE DRAGONFLY). The novels are of the "hard" science fiction category, where the science is as accurate as possible.

Dr. Forward is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and Editor of the Interstellar Studies issues of its Journal, Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Senior Member of the American Astronautical Society, and a member of the American Physical Society, Sigma Xi, Sigma Pi Sigma, National Space Society, and the Science Fiction Writers of America.

SOMETHING VERY REAL IS THREATENING TO TERMINATE OUR PLANET. SOMETHING FROM OUTSIDE . . . .

Bill Van Wyk knows only that something is seriously wrong: statistical analysis proves it. Olaf Siggurdsson knows the approximate destruct time, but not what to do about it.

Vie and Tory Merlin have at least some idea of what needs to be done, but accomplishing it is something else, nonetheless they set out together, in a pickup truck and a white Caddy, to save reality as we know it ... though not, perhaps, as it is.

THE REALITY MATRIX is an incredible adventure novel—and it is also just plain incredible in its integration of the Tao of physics, computer modeling, cosmology, and games, among other things. Its people are memorably human, its premises . . . unusual.