Blindsight

      Peter Watts
     Blindsight

Two months since the stars fell. Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around Earth like a luminous fist, screaming to the heavens as the atmosphere burned them to ash. Two months since that moment of brief, bright surveillance by agents unknown. Two months of silence while a world holds its breath. Now some half-derelict space probe hears a whisper from the edge of the solar system: a faint signal sweeping the cosmos like a lighthouse beam. Whatever's out there isn't talking tous. It's talking to some distant star, perhaps. Or perhaps to something closer.

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    Byzantium Endures: Pyat Quartet

      Michael Moorcock
     Byzantium Endures: Pyat Quartet

Byzantium Endures, the first of the Pyat Quartet, introduces one of Michael Moorcock's most magnificent creations - Maxim Arturovitch Pyatnitski. Born in Kiev on the cusp of the twentieth century, he discovers the pleasures of sex and cocaine and glimpses a sophisticated world beyond his horizons before the storm of the October Revolution breaks. Still a student at St Petersburg, he is deflected into more immediate concerns, caught up in the rip-tide of history.

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    The Memory of Mars

      Raymond F. Jones
     The Memory of Mars

"As soon as I'm well we'll go to Mars for a vacation again," Alice would say. But now she was dead, and the surgeons said she was not even human. In his misery, Hastings knew two things: he loved his wife; but they had never been off Earth! A reporter should be objective even about a hospital. It's his business to stir others' emotions and not let his own be stirred. But that was no good, Mel Hastings told himself. No good at all when it was Alice who was here somewhere, balanced uncertainly between life and death. Alice had been in Surgery far too long. Something had gone wrong. He was sure of it. He glanced at his watch. It would soon be dawn outside. To Mel Hastings this marked a significant and irrevocable passage of time. If Alice were to emerge safe and whole from the white cavern of Surgery she would have done so now. Mel sank deeper in the heavy chair, feeling a quietness within himself as if the slow creep of death were touching him also. There was a sudden far distant roar and through the window he saw a streak of brightness in the sky. That would be the tourist ship, the Martian Princess, he remembered. That was the last thing Alice had said before they took her away from him. "As soon as I'm well again we'll go to Mars for a vacation again, and then you'll remember. It's so beautiful there. We had so much fun—"

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    Uprising

      Justin Kemppainen
     Uprising

The Citizens of Haven have finally realized their dream; separation. They have ascended. A new layer has been placed upon the city, sealing anyone they deem unfit down below.In the dark slums beneath the city, something has been set in motion that will usher in a change. Something that will rattle the city of Haven to its core and forever alter the lives of everyone within.Take a very ordinary, very unhappy 14 year old boy, Phoenix. He's bored by school, hates his step-father, feels like he has no control over his life. In fact, the only things he does like are computer games and martial arts.Add a smart, miserable 14 year old girl, Jade. She's the youngest of seven girls; teased and picked on; a misfit; her own mother doesn't get her. All she likes is books and botany.Throw both these kids into a computer game - 80AD - AND into their avatar's bodies. Phoenix and Jade aren't 14 year old kids any longer. They're 17 year old warriors, confused and trapped in an ancient world of warfare, magic and death. They're stuck in 80AD Britain To Phoenix, it's fun - a gamer's dream come true. To Jade, it's a nightmare. In order to get home, they have to play out Level One of 80AD. They have to find the Jewel of Asgard. To do that, they must face murderous thieves, creatures of the Dywyllwch Brennau, uncanny powers of the Druids and the might of the invading Roman army.Can they master their new bodies and survive in Iron Age Britain?Can they beat the Romans to the Jewel and win Level One?Will they make it home or will they be defeated by their arch-enemy, Feng Zhudai?If he wins, they are stuck in 80AD forever - but is that so bad?Cover Art by Jason Seabaugh of Avatar Art

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    In Constant Contact

      Tom Lichtenberg
     In Constant Contact

The good folks at World Weary Avengers are at it again. They have a device that keeps you in continual contact with a "professional friend", guaranteed to always be there, whenever you need them, to be whatever you need them to be, but with friends like these, who knows what could go wrong? (Book Three of the "All Geeked Up" trilogy)The good folks at World Weary Avengers are at it again. Now they've come up with a device that keeps you in continual contact with a "professional friend", someone guaranteed to always be there, whenever you need them, to be whatever you need them to be. Now it's up to Kandhi Clarke and her team of test engineers to make sure if does what it's supposed to, and not what it's not, before this latest tech-astrophe is let loose on the world. (Book Three of the "All Geeked Up" trilogy)

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    Tiger By the Tail Pull

      Poula Anderson
     Tiger By the Tail Pull

A Dominique Flyndry story.On a one woman mission, hunderworld intelligence gathering led to one drink too many, and she finds herself kidnapped in the clutches of a barbarian space princess. The problem for the barbarians is that they do not know what they have in their clutches, as Flyndry starts her manipulations to prevent a Galactic War with the Terran Empire.A Gender Switch Adventure.Dark Tales of FantasyWhen evil things happen to good people there never is a happy ending!An Anthology of magic and mayhem.Set in a world of Dark Sorcery, where sacrificed life brings forth the vilest of magic.And Creatures of Chaos, bent on destruction, subvert the morals of good.In the end, Evil Things will happen to Good People.

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    New York 2140

      Kim Stanley Robinson
     New York 2140

It is 2140. The waters rose, submerging New York City. But the residents adapted and it remained the bustling, vibrant metropolis it had always been. Though changed forever. Every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. Through the eyes of the varied inhabitants of one building, Kim Stanley Robinson shows us how one of our great cities will change with the rising tides. And how we too will change.

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    Torch of Freedom

      David Weber
     Torch of Freedom

The Direct Sequel to Crown of Slaves. Two New York Times Best-Selling Authors Again Join Forces in a New Novel in David Weber’s Honor Harrington Universe.      As the slavemasters of Mesa plot against the Star Empire of Manticore and the newly liberated slave planet of Torch, Anton Zilwicki and the notorious Havenite secret agent Victor Cachat set off on a dangerous mission to uncover the truth concerning a wave of mysterious assassinations that have been launched against Manticore and Torch. Most people are sure that the Republic of Haven is behind the assassinations, but Zilwicki and Cachat suspect others of being the guilty party. Queen Berry of Torch was one of the targets of the unknown assassins. The former head of the Ballroom slave liberation organization, Jeremy X—now one of Torch's top officials, but still considered by many the most dangerous terrorist in the galaxy—calls in some past favors owed to him. In response, a security officer from Beowulf arrives in Torch to take charge of Queen Berry's security—a task made doubly difficult by the young monarch's resentment of bodyguards and the security officer's own growing attachment to her. Meanwhile, powerful forces in the Solarian League are maneuvering against each other to gain the upper hand in what they all expect to be an explosive crisis that threatens the very existence of the League itself.

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    Gloriana

      Michael Moorcock
     Gloriana

Queen Elizabeth I of England (ruled in late 1500's), also known as Gloriana and Good Queen Bess, has been a source of endless fascination for centuries. There are many movies (Elizabeth made Cate Blanchett's career) and dozens of books, not to mention Web sites devoted to her. While there was great strife during her reign, Elizabeth I was one of the most beloved monarchs of all time, and her period is known as the Golden Age of English history. Some of the world's greatest luminaries came from her country in that period, including William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, and Sir Walter Raleigh. A fable satirizing Spenser's The Faerie Queene and reflecting the real life of Elizabeth I. GLORIANA, OR THE UNFULFILL'D QUEEN tells of a woman who ascends to the throne upon the death of her debauched and corrupted father, King Hern. Gloriana's reign brings the Empire of Albion into a Golden Age, but her oppressive responsibilities choke her, prohibiting any form of sexual satisfaction no matter what fetish she tries. Her problem is in fact symbolic of the hypocrisy of her entire court. While her life is meant to mirror that of her nation¿an image of purity, virtue, enlightenment, and prosperity the truth is that her peaceful empire is kept secure by her wicked chancellor Montfallcon and his corrupt network of spies and murderers, the most sinister of whom Captain Quire, is commissioned to seduce Gloriana and thus bring down Albion and the entire empire.

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    Aquari

      DD White
     Aquari

Aquari the immortal cosmic being becomes involved with galactic beings that send him to the planet Tze-Doldus-2 in order to find out what happened to the legendary Star-Door that once existed there. The Star-Door was a masterpiece of galactic architecture that united the 2nd Age galactic civilization with 15 Star-Door wormhole generators, as well as many other wonders.Aquari is a cosmic photonic being from a time in the first age of the galaxy when this galaxy was a quasar. Aquari is possibly almost as old as the galaxy itself, and at over 700 times the speed of light Aquari is also the fastest thing ever known to exist. Throughout the ages of this galaxy called Magphoreus, Aquari has become acquainted with uncountable numbers of terrestrial beings that live on planets, and also galactic beings who have evolved beyond the confines of a planet. Aquari's explorations bring him to the company of some nomadic galactic beings known as Eagolim who are descendants of the ancient Nephapricans. The Eagolim send Aquari across half the galaxy to the galactic core to meet other descendants of Nephapricans called the Eigalli. The Eigalli tell Aquari they have found the legendary lost Star-Door star called Tze-Doldus, and that the Star-Door planet Tze-Doldus-2 still exists. Tze-Doldus was one of the 15 legendary stars that made up the core of the 2nd Age galactic civilization known as Nephapricus. Nephapricus fell along with the 2nd Age of Magphoreus. The Nephapricans were talented galactic architects who created many technological wonders, as well as the 15 Star-Doors that united the 15 legendary stars of the empire with gigantic wormhole generators. Now one of the long lost stars has been found, and Aquari is the cosmic being that the Eigalli have summoned to send there. Much has changed however, in the nearly 4 billion years since the Fall of Nephapricus. Now an entirely new intelligent terrestrial life form has evolved on the Star-Door planet Tze-Doldus-2, which they call Urania. On Urania they live around the giant dome-shaped mountain oblivious to the still working wormhole generating Star-Door beneath it. The builders of these Star-Doors also didn't just disappear from the galaxy back in the 2nd Age of Magphoreus. The ancient Nephapricans are now more than mere galactic beings. Now they are immortal beings who still oversee Magphoreus, and they worry about the galactic architecture they had left behind during their careless earlier 2nd Age galactic evolution. Aquari the cosmic being is about to be involved with events that will determine the destiny of the current 3rd Age of Magphoreus. So far the current 3rd Age of Magphoreus has been a disappointing dark age fading in the shadow of the 2nd Age glory that was once called Nephapricus.

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    Take Me Home

      Duncan James
     Take Me Home

A farmer and his wife, on a shopping visit to their quiet Hampshire village, find a young boy wandering in the High Street. Nobody appears to be looking for the boy, who is obviously a stranger and lost. The couple offer to look after him until he can be traced, but they soon discover that he is stranger than they think.Five Flash Fiction horror pieces, all under 1000 words. Each piece also includes a brief afterword from the author with a bit of background on where he got the idea for the story.A little insight into the life and mind of a horror writer.Approx. 7000 words (roughly 28 pages)Includes:- "The Professional Crier"The tears of high school outcast Penny Circe can bring back the dead. At least temporarily.- "I Spy With My Little Eye"Anthony Monsano has gone through hell to finally find himself in possession of the round box. The question is, what’s inside?- "Run, Rabbit. Run."Pete Cantrell hates jackrabbits. Unfortunately, his home is surrounded by them. And something else as well.- "The Death He Expected"A group of boys on a midnight, full moon trip to an Indian burial site get more than just a practical joke.- "Another Oldie But Goodie"Retirement home resident Margaret Daniels is hearing music that no one else can hear, a song she hasn’t heard in almost 50 years.

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    Courageous

      Jack Campbell
     Courageous

The Lost Fleet continues its perilous journey home. Badly damaged and low on supplies, the Alliance Fleet is raiding Syndic mines for raw materials-and Captain "Black Jack" Geary hopes they can continue to remain one step ahead of their enemies. But the Syndics are the least of Geary's worries when he learns of the existence of aliens with the power to annihilate the human race.

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