When flying machines descend from the sky, my world is thrown into chaos. Who are these terrible metal monsters? Then they begin throwing red poison into the sky, and it's obvious we need a plan. Fast. A tall, purple-eyed swordsman saves me and says he’ll stop at nothing to protect me. But I feel the same about my people. Who will win this battle of wills? And will it be in time to save us all?Last night I thought there could be nothing worse than waking up to the same dull routine. The insanity of doing the same thing every day, but expecting a change.As it turns out, I was wrong.When great flying machines descend from the sky, my world is thrown into chaos. Who are these terrible metal monsters? Until today, I never imagined aliens existed. But when they begin throwing red poison into the sky—it's obvious we need to find a plan. Fast.How can I fight these creatures from space?What I need is a warrior, and the tall, purple-eyed swordsman who saves me seems to fit the bill. He takes me up in his metal space ship and shows me things I’ve never seen before. And his kisses make me want him more each time our lips meet.But when the hard-headed warrior tells me he’ll stop at nothing to protect me, he quickly finds I feel the same about my people. Who will win this battle of wills? And will it be in time to save us all?

In *Island*, his last novel, Huxley transports us to a Pacific island where, for 120 years, an ideal society has flourished. Inevitably, this island of bliss attracts the envy and enmity of the surrounding world. A conspiracy is underway to take over Pala, and events begin to move when an agent of the conspirators, a newspaperman named Faranby, is shipwrecked there. What Faranby doesn't expect is how his time with the people of Pala will revolutionize all his values and—to his amazement—give him hope.

Maia is a fifteen-year-old peasant beauty growing up in poverty beside Lake Serrelind. Seduced by her stepfather and betrayed by her jealous mother, Maia finds herself in the hands of slave-traders to be sold as a concubine. She attracts the attention of General Kembri who uses her to obtain information from her admirers and her adventures uncover a plot for civil war. Proclaimed as a heroine, she finds that one sinister result of fame is to have enemies in high places and Maia has to struggle for survival through treachery, cruelty, lost love and a final flight through a wild empire to escape a crumbling regime.

Meet Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the unforgettable boy-hero of *Ender's Game*--winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novel--and enter his Universe through this collection of stories. "The Polish Boy" is John Paul Wiggin, the future father of Ender. In the years between the first two Bugger Wars, the Hegemony is desperate to recruit brilliant military commanders to repel the alien invasion. They may have found their man--or boy--in John Paul Wiggin.... In "Teacher's Pest"-a novella written especially for this collection--a brilliant but arrogant John Paul Wiggin, now a university student, matches wits with an equally brilliant graduate student. "The Investment Counselor" is set after the end of the Bugger Wars. Banished from Earth and slandered as a mass murderer, twenty-year-old Andrew Wiggin wanders incognito from planet to planet as a fugitive--until a blackmailing tax inspector compromises his identity and threatens to expose Ender the Xeoncide. Also reprinted here is the original award-winning novella, "Ender's Game," which first appeared in 1977.

From George R. R. Martin’s Introduction to *Warriors: “People have been telling stories about warriors for as long as they have been telling stories. Since Homer first sang the wrath of Achilles and the ancient Sumerians set down their tales of Gilgamesh, warriors, soldiers, and fighters have fascinated us; they are a part of every culture, every literary tradition, every genre. All Quiet on the Western Front, From Here to Eternity, and The Red Badge of Courage *have become part of our literary canon, taught in classrooms all around the country and the world. Our contributors make up an all-star lineup of award-winning and bestselling writers, representing a dozen different publishers and as many genres. We asked each of them for the same thing—a story about a warrior. Some chose to write in the genre they’re best known for. Some decided to try something different. You will find warriors of every shape, size, and color in these pages, warriors from every epoch of human history, from yesterday and today and tomorrow, and from worlds that never were. Some of the stories will make you sad, some will make you laugh, and many will keep you on the edge of your seat.” Included are a long novella from the world of Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, a new tale of Lord John by Diana Gabaldon, and an epic of humanity at bay by David Weber. Also present are original tales by David Ball, Peter S. Beagle, Lawrence Block, Gardner Dozois, Joe Haldeman, Robin Hobb, Cecelia Holland, Joe R. Lansdale, David Morrell, Naomi Novik, James Rollins, Steven Saylor, Robert Silverberg, S.M. Stirling, Carrie Vaughn, Howard Waldrop, and Tad Williams. Many of these writers are bestsellers. All of them are storytellers of the highest quality. Together they make a volume of unforgettable reading. Contents 11 • Introduction: Stories from the Spinner Rack • essay by George R. R. Martin 21 • The King of Norway • novelette by Cecelia Holland 53 • Forever Bound • [Forever War] • novelette by Joe Haldeman 85 • The Triumph • novelette by Megan Lindholm [as by Robin Hobb ] 119 • Clean Slate • [Kitty Tolliver] • novelette by Lawrence Block 145 • And Ministers of Grace • novelette by Tad Williams 177 • Soldierin' • novelette by Joe R. Lansdale 201 • Dirae • novelette by Peter S. Beagle 225 • The Custom of the Army • [Lord John Grey] • novella by Diana Gabaldon 287 • Seven Years from Home • novelette by Naomi Novik 321 • The Eagle and the Rabbit • novelette by Steven Saylor 351 • The Pit • novelette by James Clemens [as by James Rollins ] 377 • Out of the Dark • novella by David Weber 457 • The Girls from Avenger • novelette by Carrie Vaughn 489 • Ancient Ways • [Emberverse II] • novelette by S. M. Stirling 521 • Ninieslando • novelette by Howard Waldrop 543 • Recidivist • shortstory by Gardner Dozois 561 • My Name is Legion • novelette by David Morrell 589 • Defenders of the Frontier • novelette by Robert Silverberg 619 • The Scroll • novelette by David Ball 649 • The Mystery Knight: A Tale of the Seven Kingdoms • [Dunk and Egg • 3] • novella by George R. R. Martin

Jonah thought that after his last adventure in 1903, he and his sister Katherine would have a break from time travel for a while. For the first time, he’s willing to look into his own identity in the past, and he thinks this is his chance. But he barely has time for a single Google search before he, Katherine, and their friend Chip are tricked and zapped back to 1918--and to the house where the Romanov family was imprisoned after the Russian Revolution. Trapped without a fully working Elucidator, the three kids still hope they can escape and save the lives of Anastasia and Alexei Romanov. But is it possible to change time that much when modern-day scientists have identified the entire Romanov family’s remains? Description from http://haddixbooks.com/books/risked.html.

The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone. The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side, and militia foot-soldiers on the other, devastating the cities, and overrunning the countryside. But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons and strategic geniuses of their own. When the American dream shatters into violence, who can hold the people and the government together? And which side will you be on? Orson Scott Card is a master storyteller, who has earned millions of fans and reams of praise for his previous science fiction and fantasy novels. Now he steps a little closer to the present day with this chilling look at a near future scenario of a new American Civil War.

Like its ambitious companion novel, Replica, this far-reaching novel by powerhouse bestselling author Lauren Oliver digs deep into questions of how to be a human being in a world where humanity cannot be taken for granted. In the world outside the Haven Institute, Lyra and Caelum are finding it hard to be human—and neither of them knows where they belong or who they can trust. When Caelum leaves without warning to pursue the dream of a place he belongs, Lyra follows him, convinced that together they will hunt down a cure for the illness that’s slowly consuming her mind. But what they uncover is a shocking connection to their past—even as their future seems in danger of collapsing. After discovering the uncomfortable truth about her connection to the Haven Institute, Gemma struggles to return to her normal life. But when she learns that her controlling and powerful father has new plans for Lyra and Caelum, Gemma and her boyfriend, Pete, leave in the middle of the night to warn them of the danger they face.When an untimely accident derails them, they are mistaken for the escaped replicas and seized by strangers hired to capture them. The Haven Institute wasn’t destroyed after all, and now Gemma is the one behind the walls. Lyra’s and Gemma’s stories can be read separately—with either story first—or in alternating chapters, but no matter which way you turn the book, the two distinct stories combine into one breathtaking experience for both heroines and readers alike.

On the island of Ponape in the South Pacific, the cold light of a full moon washes over the crumbling ruins of an ancient, vanished civilization. Unleashed from the depths is the Dweller, a glittering, enigmatic force of monstrous terror and radiant beauty that stalks the South Pacific, claiming all in its path. An international expedition led by American Walter Goodwin races to save those who have fallen victim to the Dweller. The dark mystery behind the malevolent force is Muria, a forgotten, mythic world deep within the earth that is home to a legendary people intent on reclaiming what was theirs long ago. This commemorative edition of The Moon Pool features an introduction by Robert Silverberg

*On September 15, 1946, a biological weapon created by an alien race was accidentally detonated above the streets of New York City, killing countless numbers of men, women, and children. But those who survived the initial explosion soon began to wish they had died also, once they discovered they had been forever mutated by the virus unleashed in the blast. . . . * When the first volume in the Wild Cards series made its debut in 1986, it caused a sensation in the science fiction and fantasy communities. Here were stories of superpowered beings in a real world setting, detailing the lives of Aces those given superhuman powers by the Wild Cards virus and Jokers those whom the virus transformed into freaks and monsters. Over the course of fifteen volumes, the world created by editor George R.R. Martin and some of SF's most talented writers was explored through the eyes of both Aces and Jokers across the globe. In this all-new collection of Wild Cards stories, the spotlight is on the most unusual Wild Cards of them all the Deuces. As you'll discover in this thrilling collection, their role in the Wild Cards Universe is just as important as that of the Aces and the Jokers. In fact, their actions have affected the course of Wild Cards history. Set in an alternate, shared-world universe, Deuces Down is the one place you'll find such never-before-told tales as John J. Miller's exciting 1969 World Series between the Baltimore Orioles and the Brooklyn Dodgers; Michael Cassutt's first moon landing, when the whole world wasn't watching; Walton Simons' Great New York City Blackout of 1977; Melinda M. Snodgrass's account of Grace Kelly's mysterious disappearance during the filming of The French Lieutenant's Woman. It's a strange and terrifying world, where anything can happen. A world of Wild Cards.

Four men and a woman are reduced to a microscopic fraction of their original size, sent in a miniaturized atomic sub through a dying man's carotid artery to destroy a blood clot in his brain. If they fail, the entire world will be doomed.

Ax and the Animorphs find new hope when they learn that he is not the only non-infected Andalite on Earth.

Humanity's complex relationship with technology spirals out of control in this first book of an all-new trilogy from "the owner of the most powerful imagination in science fiction" (Ken Follett). In 2204, humanity is expanding into the wider galaxy in leaps and bounds. A new technology of linked jump gates has rendered most forms of transporation--including starships--virtually obsolete. Every place on earth, every distant planet mankind has settled, is now merely a step away from any other. And all seems wonderful...until a crashed alien spaceship is found on a newly-located world 89 light years from Earth, harboring seventeen human victims. And of the high-powered team dispatched to investigate the mystery, one is an alien spy... Bursting with tension and big ideas, this standalone series highlights the inventiveness of an author at the top of his game, as the interweaving story lines tell us not only how humanity arrived at this moment, but also the far-future consequences that spin off from it.

In 1977, two extraodinary spacecraft called Voyager were launched to the stars. Affixed to each Voyager craft was a gold-coated copper phonograph record as a message to possible extra-terrestrial civilizations that might encounter the spacecraft in some distant space and time. Each record contained 118 photographs of our planet; almost 90 minutes of the world's greatest music; an evolutionary audio essay on "The Sounds of Earth"; and greetings in almost sixty human languages (and one whale language). This book is an account, written by those chiefly responsible for the contents of the Voyager Record, of why they did it, how they selected the repertoire, and precisely what the record contains.