Born of Ice

      Sherrilyn Kenyon
     Born of Ice

*In the Ichidian Universe where The League is law, most live in fear. We fight back. Welcome to a world where corrupt assassination politics dominate everyone. It’s kill or be killed. Welcome back to the future…and meet hell's new breed of heroes.* Devyn Kell spent his life in service to the League until he learned of the double dealing and backstabbing that was costing innocent people their lives. Refusing to play those politics, he became a Runner; someone who makes sure planets get the weapons, medicine and supplies they need to survive. May the gods have mercy on any who get in his way, because he definitely won’t. Alix Garran is a woman on the run from a past she can’t escape. Signing on to work for Devyn as a System’s Engineer, she finds a cause she can fight for—and a man she can respect. But as Alix’s past catches up to her, and Devyn’s old enemies turn lethal, they have to fight together…or fall alone, in *Born of Ice*, the third bestselling League novel from Sherrilyn Kenyon.

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    Muse of Fire

      Dan Simmons
     Muse of Fire

Since the publication of Song of Kali in 1985, Dan Simmons has produced a substantial body of fiction notable for its vigor, variety, and sheer imaginative reach. His latest, a novella-length tale of startling originality, beautifully embodies these qualities, reaffirming Simmons's position as one of the finest storytellers of our time. Muse of Fire takes place in a remote future age in which the human enterprise has all but ground to a halt. Earth, drained of its oceans and populated largely by the dead, is little more than a distant memory. The scattered human remnants occupy the lowest rung of a Gnostic hierarchy that dominates both their secular and spiritual lives. Against this backdrop, Simmons introduces the Earth's Men, a wandering troupe of players dedicated to presenting the works of Shakespeare to every accessible corner of the settled universe. The story begins on the planet known as 25-25-261B, a regular stop on the players' interstellar tour. A routine performance of Much Ado About Nothing is in progress when an unprecedented event occurs. A band of Archons—members of the usually invisible ruling caste—enter the makeshift theater and join the audience. In doing so, they change the course of human—and non-human—history. What follows is an intellectual adventure story of astonishing richness and depth in which disparate species face each other across an insurmountable divide, their only point of contact the indelible language of William Shakespeare, the story's true muse. Skillfully deploying the elements of traditional science fiction—advanced technologies, alien encounters, strange new worlds—Muse of Fire entertains and illuminates while celebrating the best, most durable elements of our cultural legacy. It is a work of wit, erudition, and tightly compressed grandeur that only Dan Simmons could have written.

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    Pearl's Dragon

      S. E. Smith
     Pearl's Dragon

You are never too old for love! Pearl is the grandmother most people want to hide. There is one dragon-shifting warrior who is happy to kidnap her. Internationally acclaimed author S.E. Smith presents another scorching hot story sure to become one of your favorites! Asim Kemark has lived a long, lonely life. It is his pledge to his former king and to Mandra Reykill that keeps him, his dragon, and his symbiot from going mad. He has given up on finding his true mate and devotes himself to caring for the wide assortment of creatures on Mandra and Ariel's mountain retreat. The last thing he expects to happen when he visits the palace is to lose control of his dragon and his symbiot after they sense their true mate. Before he knows it, he has kidnapped her! Pearl St. Claire is enjoying a new adventure - learning to live on an alien planet. As a mature woman in her sixties, she thought she had experienced just about everything life could throw at her - only to discover she hasn't really experienced anything yet! She is both amused and exasperated when one of the dragon-shifting aliens kidnaps her, believing she is his true mate. Life is no longer boring or lonely as Asim courts the enchanting and spirited, human woman, but he isn't the only one who has noticed Pearl or the unusual animals under his care. When poachers attack, determined to steal the exotic creatures under his protection - including Pearl and a new clutch of alien eggs from Earth - he will do everything he can to protect them. Can one dragon keep the most precious creatures under his care safe, or will he lose the biggest battle of his life? Read on for a special bonus story! First time available on Amazon! The Great Easter Bunny Hunt: A Dragonlings of Valdier short story! Alien eggs can only mean one thing - an adventure! A pile of unusual eggs leads to an exciting Easter egg hunt for the kids and the adults alike in this delightful holiday tale. The children must work together to recover Jabir's coveted eggs after the Great Easter Bunny is caught taking them away. Can the Dragonlings and their besties save the day?

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    My Real Children

      Jo Walton
     My Real Children

It's 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. "Confused today," read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. She forgets things she should know—what year it is, major events in the lives of her children. But she remembers things that don’t seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead. She remembers the bomb that killed President Kennedy in 1963, and she remembers Kennedy in 1964, declining to run again after the nuclear exchange that took out Miami and Kiev. Her childhood, her years at Oxford during the Second World War—those were solid things. But after that, did she marry Mark or not? Did her friends all call her Trish, or Pat? Had she been a housewife who escaped a terrible marriage after her children were grown, or a successful travel writer with homes in Britain and Italy? And the moon outside her window: does it host a benign research station, or a command post bristling with nuclear missiles? Two lives, two worlds, two versions of modern history. Each with their loves and losses, their sorrows and triumphs. My Real Children is the tale of both of Patricia Cowan's lives...and of how every life means the entire world.

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    Dangerous Women

      George R. R. Martin
     Dangerous Women

The Dangerous Women anthology contains following stories: - Introduction by Gardner Dozois - “Some Desperado” by Joe Abercrombie - A Red Country story - “My Heart is Either Broken” by Megan Abbott - “Nora’s Song” by Cecelia Holland - “The Hands That Are Not There” by Melinda Snodgrass - “Bombshells” by Jim Butcher - A Harry Dresden story - “Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn - “Wrestling Jesus” by Joe R. Lansdale - “Neighbors” by Megan Lindholm - “I Know How to Pick ’Em” by Lawrence Block - “Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell” by Brandon Sanderson - A Cosmere story - “A Queen in Exile” by Sharon Kay Penman - “The Girl in the Mirror” by Lev Grossman - A Magicians story - “Second Arabesque, Very Slowly” by Nancy Kress - “City Lazarus” by Diana Rowland - “Virgins” by Diana Gabaldon - An Outlander story - “Hell Hath No Fury” by Sherilynn Kenyon - “Pronouncing Doom” by S.M. Stirling - An Emberverse story - “Name the Beast” by Sam Sykes - “Caretakers” by Pat Cadigan - “Lies My Mother Told Me” by Caroline Spector - A Wild Cards story - “The Princess and the Queen” by George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire story

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    Spares

      Michael Marshall Smith
     Spares

They were raised for one chilling purpose.... A loner, an ex-cop, Jack Randall is the dangerous veteran of a savage war. All he's held dear has long been destroyed. For the last five years, he's been hiding out on a Spares Farm, guarding those who've been prisoners from birth. Now he's on the run with seven of the Farm's inmates (well, six and a half), and the people who own them will do anything to get them back. What's worse, Jack is on a head-on collision course with a cold-blooded killer with one purpose: to cancel Jack once and for all. Jack has a tough decision to make: keep running or even the score. Either way spells trouble...the kind of trouble most people run screaming from. Who are the Spares? And what is their purpose? That is the most shocking revelation of all. From the Paperback edition.

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    Robot Uprisings

      Daniel H. Wilson
     Robot Uprisings

Humans beware. As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives. With contributions from a mix of bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming writers, and including a rare story by “the father of artificial intelligence,” Dr. John McCarthy, Robot Uprisings meticulously describes the exhilarating and terrifying near-future in which humans can only survive by being cleverer than the rebellious machines they have created.

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    Targeted

      Evangeline Anderson
     Targeted

A warrior sworn to kill or die trying… A woman going through a deadly transformation… Can they reach safety together? Or have both of them been Targeted for death? Emily Brooks is just an unremarkable girl living a boring existence--she teaches kindergarten, has a small house on the north end of Tampa, and tries not to envy her sister's perfect life. But Emily holds a remarkable secret within--one that won't stay hidden much longer. She is about to become something and someone completely different--that is, if she lives long enough to undergo the transformation. Tragar is a Beast Kindred with tragedy in his past. Pain and loss have driven him from the Kindred way of life and into a new career--that of a deadly Verrak assassin. The Verrak take an oath to kill every target they contract for or die trying. Now Emily is in his crosshairs but the moment he gets close enough to her, his sharp Kindred senses tell him something is different about this particular target. Emily is a Khalla--a rare female who some say embody the essence of the Goddess herself. She is a treasure beyond compare. Tragar is well aware that his own choices have left him unfit to serve her but at least he can protect her until he can find someone worthy on his home planet of Rageron. But there are dark forces in their way. Tragar's oath to kill can not be broken lightly. And there is a shadowy figure rising from the darkness who wishes to claim Emily's life. Can the fallen warrior guide and protect Emily to the place she truly belongs? Or will he die trying? You'll have to read Targeted to find out.

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    Intragalactic Expo

      Doc Watto
     Intragalactic Expo

At the heart of our galaxy lies the Intragalactic Expo, an exhibition centre promoting tourism between planets. A couple of unlikely travel companions arrive; a slow and steady sloth from Earth being led by an impatient alien girl. Together they meet otherworldly characters along the way and witness the magnificence of mega-structures rivalling the pyramids. Welcome to the Intragalactic Expo.The era of war is over, but what was forged in war will not easily yield to peace. For the crew of the long range survey vessel Sevastopol the legacy of war will find them in the form of a mysterious distress call. In a distant region of space far from help they will have to overcome threats from across the technological and natural spectrum as well as the unexpected dangers carried within if they ever hope to return home.

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    Bightmares

      Tymber Dalton
     Bightmares

[Ménage Amour: Erotic Sci-Fi Ménage a Quatre Romance, M/M/M/F, with M/M, reverse harem] Dr. Emilia Hypatia is settling into life in space with her three husbands on board the DSMC exploration vessel Tamora Bight. Spending five years with Aaron, Caph, and Ford will be no sacrifice. Despite a shared tragedy in the men’s past that nearly took Aaron’s life and left emotional scars that still haunt him to this day, Emi’s love has gone a long way toward healing and completing their lives. A space colony distress signal calls the Tamora Bight on its first mission, and Emi is forced into a race against time. Not only to save the colonists from the mysterious disease ravaging their men, but also to save her men from an old vengeance born of their grief-filled past. When Aaron is stricken with the illness, the stakes multiply. Will she find a cure for the “rage” in time, or will all their dreams turn into inescapable nightmares?

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    Feast of the Elfs

      John C. Wright
     Feast of the Elfs

Gilberic Parzival Moth is a strange and lonely boy who has grown up without a father, raised by a single mother who moves from town to town in fear of something she will not name. His only friends are animals, with whom he has always been able to speak. And although he has begun to learn about his true heritage, he also discovers that the modern world is not always friendly towards monster-killing knights errant, particularly when the police find them covered in blood. But the long arm of the Twilight world reaches even into the jail cells of Asheville, North Carolina. Gilberic soon finds himself bound to the service of an ancient writ and a higher law, and traveling to eldritch places filled with enchanted creatures, immortal lords and ladies, and dangerous temptations. FEAST OF THE ELFS is the second book of THE GREEN KNIGHT'S SQUIRE, the first volume of MOTH & COBWEB, an astonishing new series about magical worlds of Day, Night, and Twilight by John C. Wright. John C. Wright is one of the living grandmasters of science fiction and the author of THE GOLDEN AGE, AWAKE IN THE NIGHT LAND, and IRON CHAMBER OF MEMORY, to name just three of his exceptional books. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, for the Hugo Award, and his novel SOMEWHITHER won the 2016 Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel at Dragoncon.

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    Heretic Dawn

      Robert Merle
     Heretic Dawn

1572: Returning from his studies in Montpellier, Pierre de Siorac is ambushed by a jealous Périgord nobleman. A duel ensues, and Pierre must subsequently travel to Paris, to seek his pardon from the King. The capital city and the royal court are a disorienting new environment for Pierre: a world of sweet words and fierce pride, where coquettish smiles hide behind fans, and murderous intents behind elegant bows; a world of genteel tennis matches and deadly swordplay, whose elaborate social graces mask a simmering tension that will soon explode to engulf the entire city in one of history's most infamous bouts of butchery - and signal the dawn of a new and bloody era in the history of France. Here, Pierre faces the greatest challenge of his young existence - to make his way through this deceptively dangerous milieu, to win a royal pardon, and finally to escape from Paris with his life, and the lives of his beloved companions, intact. From the Trade Paperback edition.

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