An assassin sent from the frozen North on a mortal mission. A mighty empire under siege by its oldest enemy. Four royal children in exile or captivity, bent on avenging their father’s death. Prepare yourself to be astonished and transported by Acacia. Leodan Akaran, ruler of the Known...  more

An assassin sent from the frozen North on a mortal mission. A mighty empire under siege by its oldest enemy. Four royal children in exile or captivity, bent on avenging their father’s death. Prepare yourself to be astonished and transported by Acacia. Leodan Akaran, ruler of the Known World, has inherited generations of apparent peace and prosperity, won ages ago by his ancestors. A widower of high intelligence, he presides over an empire called Acacia, after the idyllic island from which he rules. He dotes on his four children and hides from them the dark realities of traffic in drugs and human lives on which their prosperity depends. He hopes that he might change this, but powerful forces stand in his way. And then a deadly assassin sent from a race called the Mein, exiled long ago to an ice-locked stronghold in the frozen north, strikes at Leodan in the heart of Acacia while the Mein unleash surprise attacks across the empire. On his deathbed, Leodan puts into play a plan to allow his children to escape, each to his or her separate destiny. And so his children begin a quest to avenge their father's death and restore the Acacian empire -- this time on the basis of universal freedom. Acacia is a thrilling work of the imagination that creates an all-enveloping and mythic world that will carry readers away. It is a timeless tale of heroism and betrayal, of treachery and revenge, of primal wrongs and ultimate redemption. David Anthony Durham has re-imagined the epic narrative for our time in a book that will surely mark his break-through to a wide audience.

Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she's albino. She’s a terrific athlete, but can't go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits. And then she discovers something amazing -- she is a...  more

Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she's albino. She’s a terrific athlete, but can't go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits. And then she discovers something amazing -- she is a "free agent," with latent magical power. Soon she’s part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too?

Change or die: the only options available on the Durallium Company-owned planet GP. The planet's deadly virus had killed most of the original colonists -- and changed the rest irrevocably. Centuries after the colony had lost touch with the rest of humanity, the Company returned to exploit...  more

Change or die: the only options available on the Durallium Company-owned planet GP. The planet's deadly virus had killed most of the original colonists -- and changed the rest irrevocably. Centuries after the colony had lost touch with the rest of humanity, the Company returned to exploit GP, and its forces found themselves fighting for their lives. Afraid of spreading the virus, the Company had left its remaining employees in place, afraid and isolated from the natives. Then anthropologist Marghe Taishan arrived on GP, sent to test a new vaccine against the virus. As she risked death to uncover the natives' biological secret, she found that she, too, was changing, and realized that not only had she found a home on GP -- she herself carried the seeds of its destruction . . .

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service...  more

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose--to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch.

The Lord of the Radch has given Breq command of the ship Mercy of Kalr and sent her to the only place she would have agreed to go -- to Athoek Station, where Lieutenant Awn's sister works in Horticulture. Athoek was annexed some six hundred years ago, and by now everyone is fully civilized....  more

The Lord of the Radch has given Breq command of the ship Mercy of Kalr and sent her to the only place she would have agreed to go -- to Athoek Station, where Lieutenant Awn's sister works in Horticulture. Athoek was annexed some six hundred years ago, and by now everyone is fully civilized. Or should be -- but everything is not as tranquil as it appears. Old divisions are still troublesome, Athoek Station's AI is unhappy with the situation, and it looks like the alien Presger might have taken an interest in what's going on. With no guarantees that interest is benevolent.

Ancillary Mercy is the stunning conclusion to the trilogy that began with Ancillary Justice, the only novel ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards. For a moment, things seemed to be under control for Breq, the soldier who used to be a warship. Then a search of Atheok Station's...  more

Ancillary Mercy is the stunning conclusion to the trilogy that began with Ancillary Justice, the only novel ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards. For a moment, things seemed to be under control for Breq, the soldier who used to be a warship. Then a search of Atheok Station's slums turns up someone who shouldn't exist and a messenger from the mysterious Presger empire arrives, as does Breq's old enemy, the divided, heavily armed, and possibly insane Anaander Mianaai - ruler of an empire at war with itself. Breq could flee with her ship and crew, but that would leave the people of Athoek in terrible danger. Breq has a desperate plan. The odds aren't good, but that's never stopped her before.

Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability--with a glance, a gesture, a word--to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in...  more

Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability--with a glance, a gesture, a word--to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gift against another. Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill. In this beautifully crafted story, Ursula K. Le Guin writes of the proud cruelty of power, of how hard it is to grow up, and of how much harder still it is to find, in the world's darkness, gifts of light.

Ansul was once a peaceful town filled with libraries, schools, and temples. But that was long ago, and the conquerors of this coastal city consider reading and writing to be acts punishable by death. And they believe the Oracle House, where the last few undestroyed books are hidden, is seething...  more

Ansul was once a peaceful town filled with libraries, schools, and temples. But that was long ago, and the conquerors of this coastal city consider reading and writing to be acts punishable by death. And they believe the Oracle House, where the last few undestroyed books are hidden, is seething with demons. But to seventeen-year-old Memer, the house is a refuge, a place of family and learning, ritual and memory--the only place where she feels truly safe.     Then an Uplands poet named Orrec and his wife, Gry, arrive, and everything in Memer's life begins to change. Will she and the people of Ansul at last be brave enough to rebel against their oppressors?     A haunting and gripping coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of violence, intolerance, and magic, Voices is a novel that readers will not soon forget.

Young Gav can remember the page of a book after seeing it once, and, inexplicably, he sometimes “remembers” things that are going to happen in the future. As a loyal slave, he must keep these powers secret, but when a terrible tragedy occurs, Gav, blinded by grief, flees the only...  more

Young Gav can remember the page of a book after seeing it once, and, inexplicably, he sometimes “remembers” things that are going to happen in the future. As a loyal slave, he must keep these powers secret, but when a terrible tragedy occurs, Gav, blinded by grief, flees the only world he has ever known. And in what becomes a treacherous journey for freedom, Gav’s greatest test of all is facing his powers so that he can come to understand himself and finally find a true home. This third book in the Annals of the Western Shore series is an epic story of survival and self-discovery that speaks to the power of new beginnings, and most importantly, of hope.  Includes maps.

On the island of Normost, in the kingdom of Windward, 13-year-old Cerinthe Gale is a folk healer who dreams of being a dancer. When her mother falls ill, Cerinthe fights to save her — but fails. She blames herself for her mother’s death, gives up healing, and decides to pursue dance....  more

On the island of Normost, in the kingdom of Windward, 13-year-old Cerinthe Gale is a folk healer who dreams of being a dancer. When her mother falls ill, Cerinthe fights to save her — but fails. She blames herself for her mother’s death, gives up healing, and decides to pursue dance. Cerinthe travels across Windward to audition at the School of the Royal Dancers, which accepts her even though she is a commoner. It should be the beginning of a brilliant future, but Cerinthe feels an emptiness she can’t identify. A disagreement with a young man, a conflict with a cruel teacher, a rivalry with an aristocratic classmate, Elliana, and a meeting with a mederi — a healer with magical powers — add to her anguish. When the rivalry between the two girls causes a terrible accident, Elliana’s life hangs in the balance. Cerinthe faces the same awful choice she had faced with her mother: Should she try to heal Elliana herself or hope that the mederi arrives in time? Only the song of the Sea Maid holds the answer.Aria of the Sea is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Book Sense 76 Recommended Children’s Book, and a New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age.

A provocative novel that upends the history of the transatlantic slave trade, reversing and reexamining notions of savagery and civilization, as it follows a young woman?s journey to freedom. Award-winning writer Bernardine Evaristo?s novel Blonde Roots asks: What if the history of the...  more

A provocative novel that upends the history of the transatlantic slave trade, reversing and reexamining notions of savagery and civilization, as it follows a young woman?s journey to freedom. Award-winning writer Bernardine Evaristo?s novel Blonde Roots asks: What if the history of the transatlantic slave trade had been reversed and Africans had enslaved Europeans? How would that have changed the ways that people justified their inhuman behavior? And how would it inform our cultural attitudes and the insidious racism that still lingers?and sometimes festers?today? We see this tragicomic world turned upside down through the eyes of Doris, an Englishwoman who is kidnapped one day while playing hide-and-seek with her sisters in the fields near their home. She is subsequently enslaved and taken to the New World, as well as to the imperial center of Great Ambossa. She movingly recounts experiences of tremendous hardship and dreams of the people she?s left behind, all while journeying toward an escape into freedom. A poignant and dramatic story grounded in provocative ideas, Blonde Roots is a genuinely original, profoundly imaginative novel.

Alana Quick is the best damned sky surgeon in Heliodor City, but repairing starship engines barely pays the bills. When the desperate crew of a cargo vessel stops by her shipyard looking for her spiritually-advanced sister Nova, Alana stows away. Maybe her boldness will land her a long-term gig...  more

Alana Quick is the best damned sky surgeon in Heliodor City, but repairing starship engines barely pays the bills. When the desperate crew of a cargo vessel stops by her shipyard looking for her spiritually-advanced sister Nova, Alana stows away. Maybe her boldness will land her a long-term gig on the crew. But the Tangled Axon proves to be more than star-watching and plasma coils. The chief engineer thinks he's a wolf. The pilot fades in and out of existence. The captain is all blond hair, boots, and ego... and Alana can't keep her eyes off her. But there's little time for romance: Nova's in danger and someone will do anything - even destroying planets - to get their hands on her!

An utterly fresh new voice joins the SF/fantasy field with this compelling story of Afro-Caribbean magic, ancient spirits who rule human lives, and a young woman forced to fend for herself in a 21st-century Toronto that has fallen into economic collapse.

As they approach adulthood, Cat Barahal and her cousin Bee think they understand the society they live in and their place within it. At a select academy they study new airship technologies and the dawning Industrial Revolution, but magical forces still rule. Drawn into a labyrinth of politics...  more

As they approach adulthood, Cat Barahal and her cousin Bee think they understand the society they live in and their place within it. At a select academy they study new airship technologies and the dawning Industrial Revolution, but magical forces still rule. Drawn into a labyrinth of politics involving blood and old feuds, Cat is betrayed by her family and forced to marry a powerful Cold Mage. As she is carried away to live a new life, fresh dangers threaten her every move and secrets form a language she cannot read. At least, not yet.

Cat Barahal and her beloved cousin Bee think they have reached a safe place to shelter. But the Cold Mages who are conspiring to take them prisoner are closing in. The warlord who hopes to conquer all Europa is convinced their destiny is to aid him, whether they want to or not. And the man Cat...  more

Cat Barahal and her beloved cousin Bee think they have reached a safe place to shelter. But the Cold Mages who are conspiring to take them prisoner are closing in. The warlord who hopes to conquer all Europa is convinced their destiny is to aid him, whether they want to or not. And the man Cat was forced to marry is back, as vainly arrogant and annoyingly handsome as ever. Worst of all, as Hallows' Night approaches, powers hidden deep within the spirit world are rising. Cat must seek allies against these threats and figure out who to trust, for if she makes the wrong choices, she'll lose everything. Only one thing is certain. When Hallows' Night comes the Wild Hunt will ride -- and it feeds on mortal blood. 

Trouble, treachery, and magic just won't stop plaguing Cat Barahal. The Master of the Wild Hunt has stolen her husband Andevai. The ruler of the Taino kingdom blames her for his mother's murder. The infamous General Camjiata insists she join his army to help defeat the cold mages who...  more

Trouble, treachery, and magic just won't stop plaguing Cat Barahal. The Master of the Wild Hunt has stolen her husband Andevai. The ruler of the Taino kingdom blames her for his mother's murder. The infamous General Camjiata insists she join his army to help defeat the cold mages who rule Europa. An enraged fire mage wants to kill her. And Cat, her cousin Bee, and her half-brother Rory, aren't even back in Europa yet, where revolution is burning up the streets. Revolutions to plot. Enemies to crush. Handsome men to rescue. Cat and Bee have their work cut out for them.

On the Fives court, everyone is equal. And everyone is dangerous. Jessamy’s life is a balance between acting like an upper-class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners.  But away from her family, she can be whomever she wants when she sneaks out to train for the...  more

On the Fives court, everyone is equal. And everyone is dangerous. Jessamy’s life is a balance between acting like an upper-class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners.  But away from her family, she can be whomever she wants when she sneaks out to train for the Fives, an intricate, multilevel athletic competition that offers a chance for glory to the kingdom’s best competitors. Then Jes meets Kalliarkos, and an improbable friendship between the two Fives competitors—one of mixed race and the other a Patron boy—causes heads to turn. When Kal’s powerful, scheming uncle tears Jes’s family apart, she’ll have to test her new friend’s loyalty and risk the vengeance of a royal clan to save her mother and sisters from certain death. In this imaginative escape into an enthralling new world, World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott’s first young adult novel weaves an epic story of a girl struggling to do what she loves in a society suffocated by rules of class and privilege.

World Fantasy and Nebula Award finalist Kate Elliott breaks new ground in a brilliantly original new fantasy set in a unique world of fabled cities, mysterious gods, and terrible dangers. From the first page readers will be swept up in the story of Mai and Captain Anji, as they become unwitting...  more

World Fantasy and Nebula Award finalist Kate Elliott breaks new ground in a brilliantly original new fantasy set in a unique world of fabled cities, mysterious gods, and terrible dangers. From the first page readers will be swept up in the story of Mai and Captain Anji, as they become unwitting players in a conflict that began many years earlier, and which will shake the foundations of their land. For hundreds of years the Guardians have ruled the world of the Hundred, but these powerful gods no longer exert their will on the world. Only the reeves, who patrol on enormous eagles, still represent the Guardians' power. And the reeves are losing their authority; for there is a dark shadow across the land that not even the reeves can stop. A group of fanatics has risen to devour villages, towns, and cities in their drive to annihilate all who oppose them. No one knows who leads them; they seem inhumanly cruel and powerful. Mai and Anji, riding with a company of dedicated warriors and a single reeve who may hold a key to stopping the deadly advance of the devouring horde, must try, or the world will be lost to the carnage. But a young woman sworn to the Goddess may prove more important than them all . . . if they are not too late. A haunting tale of people swept up by the chaos of war, this is superlative fantasy adventure, rich in texture, filled with color and excitement, masterfully crafted by a brilliantly gifted storyteller.

The captivating, bestselling Spirit Gate swept readers into the turbulent world of the Hundred, where the peace and order of life under the protection of the immortal Guardians has given way to chaos and violence. In the face of a vast horde of marauders led by a rogue Guardian, the bravery and...  more

The captivating, bestselling Spirit Gate swept readers into the turbulent world of the Hundred, where the peace and order of life under the protection of the immortal Guardians has given way to chaos and violence. In the face of a vast horde of marauders led by a rogue Guardian, the bravery and resourcefulness of a lone eagle-reeve and others who risk their lives for the common good have prevented death and destruction from overwhelming the Hundred. In Shadow Gate, the enthralling sequel, the source of corruption of the Guardians is still a mystery to the mortals who fight to withstand the forces that have turned against them. And when three new Guardians emerge, a struggle begins among the immortals, with nothing less at stake than the future of the land and its gods. With all the color, excitement, and narrative power that have made Kate Elliott an enormously popular writer, Shadow Gate weaves a powerful spell of action, romance, and magic that will entrance legions of readers.

In Spirit Gate and Shadow Gate, Kate Elliott took readers to the fascinating world of the Hundred, a land teeming with an array of cultures, gods, and conflicts blighted by the shadow of chaos and destruction. Now, with the same intensity and dramatic sweep that has brought this epic to life,...  more

In Spirit Gate and Shadow Gate, Kate Elliott took readers to the fascinating world of the Hundred, a land teeming with an array of cultures, gods, and conflicts blighted by the shadow of chaos and destruction. Now, with the same intensity and dramatic sweep that has brought this epic to life, Elliott returns to the exquisitely crafted cities and landscapes of the Hundred, in a thunderous conclusion to the saga. In the darkness of war and destruction, forces gather to reclaim the peace: Those immortal Guardians who still serve justice seek a means to end the devastating reign of one of their own; a hired outlander army struggles to halt the advance of the horde that has despoiled vast lands and slaughtered countless people in its murderous wake, while still guarding against a burgeoning threat from an aggressively expansionist empire; and the eagle reeves who have long been the only law enforcers of the Hundred struggle to reorganize after a devastating massacre has decimated their numbers. But even as these forces give hope to those who would live in peace, a terrible danger looms: a traitor with Imperial ambitions, the most dreaded, least anticipated threat of all… In the unfolding drama of political upheaval and violent change, nothing is certain, as alliances dissolve and power shifts with the unpredictability of a desert sandstorm. A riotous epic with the vast breadth and excitement only masterful storyteller Kate Elliott can summon, Traitors’ Gate will leave her many readers begging for more.

A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to his great surprise, secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule. It is as assignment Cazaril dreads, for it must...  more

A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to his great surprise, secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule. It is as assignment Cazaril dreads, for it must ultimately lead him to the place he most fears: the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies who once placed him in chains now occupy lofty positions. but it is more than the traitorous intrigues of villains that threaten Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle here, for a sinister curse hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion and all who stand in their circle. And only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge -- an act that will mark the loyal, damaged servant as a tool of the miraculous ... and trap him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death.

Follow Lois McMaster Bujold, one of the most honored authors in the field of fantasy and science fiction, to a land threatened by treacherous war and beset by demons -- as a royal dowager, released from the curse of madness and manipulated by an untrustworthy god, is plunged into a desperate...  more

Follow Lois McMaster Bujold, one of the most honored authors in the field of fantasy and science fiction, to a land threatened by treacherous war and beset by demons -- as a royal dowager, released from the curse of madness and manipulated by an untrustworthy god, is plunged into a desperate struggle to preserve the endangered souls of a realm.

This is the story of generations intermarrying, getting along, fighting, and resolving differences in the Quaker way on a ship outfitted more like a pueblo than a tin can.  Survivors of a disaster on Earth, a group of Esperanto-speaking Quakers travel through space in search of a new home,...  more

This is the story of generations intermarrying, getting along, fighting, and resolving differences in the Quaker way on a ship outfitted more like a pueblo than a tin can.  Survivors of a disaster on Earth, a group of Esperanto-speaking Quakers travel through space in search of a new home, a new planet to colonize.   After many generations and more than a century of travel they reach a planet whose inhospitable climate causes them to debate staying in the safe cocoon of their ship.  Arguments break out, some people urging a landing, others wanting to find something better.

Even as a young girl, Jill was a favorite of the magical, mysterious Wildfolk, who appeared to her from their invisible realm. Little did she know her extraordinary friends represented but a glimpse of a forgotten past and a fateful future. Four hundred years -- and many  lifetimes --...  more

Even as a young girl, Jill was a favorite of the magical, mysterious Wildfolk, who appeared to her from their invisible realm. Little did she know her extraordinary friends represented but a glimpse of a forgotten past and a fateful future. Four hundred years -- and many  lifetimes -- ago, one selfish young lord caused the death of two innocent lovers. Then and there he vowed never to rest until he'd rightened that wrong -- and laid the foundation for the lives of Jill and all those whom she would hold dear: her father, the mercenary soldier Cullyn; the exiled berserker Rhodry Maelwaedd; and the ancient and powerful herbman Nevyn, all bound in a struggle against darkness. . . and a quest to fulfill the destinies determined centuries ago. 

Centuries ago, the moon Anarres was settled by utopian anarchists who left the Earthlike planet Urras in search of a better world, a new beginning. Now a brilliant physicist, Shevek, determines to reunite the two civilizations that have been separated by hatred since long before he was...  more

Centuries ago, the moon Anarres was settled by utopian anarchists who left the Earthlike planet Urras in search of a better world, a new beginning. Now a brilliant physicist, Shevek, determines to reunite the two civilizations that have been separated by hatred since long before he was born. The Dispossessed is a penetrating examination of society and humanity -- and one man's brave undertaking to question the unquestionable and ignite the fires of change.

For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant...  more

For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received. But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin -- barely of age herself -- finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours. Five years in the writing by one of science fiction's most honored authors, Doomsday Book is a storytelling triumph. Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.

Rose has always felt out of place in her family, a wanderer in a bunch of homebodies. So when an enormous white bear mysteriously shows up and asks her to come away with him--in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family--she readily agrees. The bear takes Rose to a distant castle,...  more

Rose has always felt out of place in her family, a wanderer in a bunch of homebodies. So when an enormous white bear mysteriously shows up and asks her to come away with him--in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family--she readily agrees. The bear takes Rose to a distant castle, where each night she is confronted with a mystery. In solving that mystery, she loses her heart, discovers her purpose, and realizes her travels have only just begun. As familiar and moving as "Beauty and the Beast" and yet as fresh and original as only the best fantasy can be, East is a novel retelling of the classic tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," a sweeping romantic epic in the tradition of Robin McKinley and Gail Carson Levine.

A Door into Ocean is the novel upon which the author's reputation as an important SF writer principally rests. A ground-breaking work both of feminist SF and of world-building hard SF, it concerns the Sharers of Shora, a nation of women on a distant moon in the far future who are pacifists,...  more

A Door into Ocean is the novel upon which the author's reputation as an important SF writer principally rests. A ground-breaking work both of feminist SF and of world-building hard SF, it concerns the Sharers of Shora, a nation of women on a distant moon in the far future who are pacifists, highly advanced in biological sciences, and who reproduce by parthenogenesis -- there are no males -- and tells of the conflicts that erupt when a neighboring civilization decides to develop their ocean world, and send in an army.

Across the galactic Fold, Raincloud Windclan and her family wend their way toward Elysium - a pristine, technologically advanced city of scientists, teachers, politicians and intergalactic bankers that floats serenely on the surface of a water world....Raincloud has come at the request of...  more

Across the galactic Fold, Raincloud Windclan and her family wend their way toward Elysium - a pristine, technologically advanced city of scientists, teachers, politicians and intergalactic bankers that floats serenely on the surface of a water world....Raincloud has come at the request of Elysium's leaders, who urgently need her linguistic and diplomatic skills to help avert an impending war....But it is scientific knowledge that attracts her husband....For he fervently wishes to share with his own people the Elysians' greatest achievement: immortality....

Idealistic Brother Rod and the Spirit Brethren sponsor an orphaned children's colony on the harsh and inhospitable alien planet Prokaryon. But the entire planet's ecosystem is too structured, too controlled, to be natural. So when Proteus Unlimited, a greedy interstellar corporation...  more

Idealistic Brother Rod and the Spirit Brethren sponsor an orphaned children's colony on the harsh and inhospitable alien planet Prokaryon. But the entire planet's ecosystem is too structured, too controlled, to be natural. So when Proteus Unlimited, a greedy interstellar corporation decides to strip-mine and then terraform the planet, the search for the intelligences behind the environment becomes a race against time. And what will happen to the orphans if the surface of the planet is boiled off?

Police officer Dora Henry is investigating the bizarre murders of three geneticists. Meanwhile, strange things are happening everywhere she turns. Weeds are becoming trees; trees are becoming forests. Overnight, a city is being transformed into a wild and verdant place. And, strangest of...  more

Police officer Dora Henry is investigating the bizarre murders of three geneticists. Meanwhile, strange things are happening everywhere she turns. Weeds are becoming trees; trees are becoming forests. Overnight, a city is being transformed into a wild and verdant place. And, strangest of all, Dora can somehow communicate with the rampaging flora. A potential civilization-ending catastrophe is in the making. The nearer Dora gets to a murderer--and to the truth--the more seemingly disparate events begin to entwine. And the answers she seeks today to the salvation of humankind may lie in afar distant future. . .one which is suddenly much closer than anyone imagines. An exhilarating and enchanting novel that deftly combines fantastic invention with insight and a social conscience, from one of the most lyrical and important voices in contemporary speculative fiction.

At the edge of the known world, an ancient nomadic tribe faces a new enemy-an Empire fueled by technology and war. A young spiritwalker of the Aniw and a captain in the Ciracusan army find themselves unexpectedly thrown together. The Aniw girl, taken prisoner from her people, must teach the...  more

At the edge of the known world, an ancient nomadic tribe faces a new enemy-an Empire fueled by technology and war. A young spiritwalker of the Aniw and a captain in the Ciracusan army find themselves unexpectedly thrown together. The Aniw girl, taken prisoner from her people, must teach the reluctant soldier a forbidden talent - one that may turn the tide of the war and will surely forever brand him an outcast.From the rippling curtains of light in an Arctic sky, to the gaslit cobbled streets of the city, war is coming to the frozen north. Two people have a choice that will decide the fates of nations - and may cast them into a darkness that threatens to bring destruction to both their peoples.

The first book in C.J.Cherryh's eponymous series, Foreigner begins an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient alien race. From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the Foreigner series has become a true...  more

The first book in C.J.Cherryh's eponymous series, Foreigner begins an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient alien race. From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the Foreigner series has become a true science fiction odyssey, following a civilization from the age of steam through early space flight to confrontations with other alien species in distant sectors of space. It is the masterwork of a truly remarkable author.

For all those who enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale comes a captivating novel set in a frightening future. Human civilization has evolved into a dual society where walls enclose the peaceful women and keep the warrior men out, and yet there is a gate between them for those who dream.

In a landmark epic of fantasy and storytelling, Philip Pullman invites readers into a world as convincing and thoroughly realized as Narnia, Earthsea, or Redwall.  Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is...  more

In a landmark epic of fantasy and storytelling, Philip Pullman invites readers into a world as convincing and thoroughly realized as Narnia, Earthsea, or Redwall.  Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors.  First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe.  He leaves Lyra in the care of  Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her.  In this multilayered  narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title.  All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being.  And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.  

Two men rebel together against tyranny -and then become rivals- in this first sweeping book of an epic fantasy series from Ken Liu, recipient of Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.  Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like...  more

Two men rebel together against tyranny -and then become rivals- in this first sweeping book of an epic fantasy series from Ken Liu, recipient of Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.  Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet, in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, and shapeshifting gods. Once the emperor has been overthrown, however, they each find themselves the leader of separate factions - two sides with very different ideas about how the world should be run and the meaning of justice. Fans of intrigue, intimate plots, and action will find a new series to embrace in the Dandelion Dynasty.

In Katsa's world, the "Graced," those gifted in a particular way, are marked by eyes that are different colors. Katsa's Grace is that she is a gifted fighter, and, as such, she is virtually invincible. She is in the service of her tyrannical uncle, king of one of the seven...  more

In Katsa's world, the "Graced," those gifted in a particular way, are marked by eyes that are different colors. Katsa's Grace is that she is a gifted fighter, and, as such, she is virtually invincible. She is in the service of her tyrannical uncle, king of one of the seven kingdoms, and she is forced to torture people for infractions against him. She has secretly formed the Council, which acts in the service of justice and fairness for those who have been accused and abused. Readers meet her as she is rescuing the father of the Lienid king, who has been abducted. The reasons for his capture are part of a tightening plot that Katsa unravels and resolves, with the help of Prince Po, the captive's grandson. He has his own particular Grace, and he becomes Katsa's lover and partner in what becomes a mortally dangerous mission.

She is the last of her kind ... It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is...  more

She is the last of her kind ... It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.

What could be more commonplace than grass, or a world covered over all its surface with a wind-whipped ocean of grass? But the planet Grass conceals horrifying secrets within its endless pastures. And as an incurable plague attacks all inhabited planets but this one, the prairie-like Grass...  more

What could be more commonplace than grass, or a world covered over all its surface with a wind-whipped ocean of grass? But the planet Grass conceals horrifying secrets within its endless pastures. And as an incurable plague attacks all inhabited planets but this one, the prairie-like Grass begins to reveal these secrets -- and nothing will ever be the same again...

On the eve of World War I, an all-female society is discovered somewhere in the distant reaches of the earth by three male explorers who are now forced to re-examine their assumptions about women's roles in society.

"A triumph of the imagination. Rich, complex, impossible to put down."Alice HoffmanIn the middle of the twenty-first century, life as we know it has changed for all time. Shira Shipman's marriage has broken up, and her young son has been taken from her by the corporation that runs her zone, so...  more

"A triumph of the imagination. Rich, complex, impossible to put down."Alice HoffmanIn the middle of the twenty-first century, life as we know it has changed for all time. Shira Shipman's marriage has broken up, and her young son has been taken from her by the corporation that runs her zone, so she has returned to Tikva, the Jewish free town where she grew up. There, she is welcomed by Malkah, the brilliant grandmother who raised her, and meets an extraordinary man who is not a man at all, but a unique cyborg implanted with intelligence, emotions--and the ability to kill....From the imagination of Marge Piercy comes yet another stunning novel of morality and courage, a bold adventure of women, men, and the world of tomorrow.

Extraordinary new talent Madeline Howard begins an epic trilogy of magic and power, hidden birthrights and prophecies, with The Hidden Stars, the first book of The Rune of Unmaking. In a world devastated by a cataclysmic war between the wizards and mages, the Empress Ouriána has...  more

Extraordinary new talent Madeline Howard begins an epic trilogy of magic and power, hidden birthrights and prophecies, with The Hidden Stars, the first book of The Rune of Unmaking. In a world devastated by a cataclysmic war between the wizards and mages, the Empress Ouriána has seized the throne, proclaiming herself the Divine Incarnation of the Devouring Moon. Appointing twelve priests to perform her rites, she rules with a tight rein of evil sorcery. The priests, once men, have become twisted with magic, making them monstrous -- mutated. They bring destruction wherever they ride, and one kingdom after another falls, enslaved into darkness. Yet signs and portents appear, puzzling the seers, and a tale begins to grow. A rumor of a young girl, talented and hidden, who is destined to end Ouriána's tyrannous reign ... if she can survive long enough to do so. And so a brave band of wizards and heroes ride out in search of the hidden princess, pursued by the fury of the dark goddess herself.

Trying to escape her embarrassing immigrant mother, Vimbai moves into a dilapidated house in the dunes... and discovers that one of her new roommates has a pocket universe instead of hair, there's a psychic energy baby living in the telephone wires, and her dead Zimbabwean grandmother is...  more

Trying to escape her embarrassing immigrant mother, Vimbai moves into a dilapidated house in the dunes... and discovers that one of her new roommates has a pocket universe instead of hair, there's a psychic energy baby living in the telephone wires, and her dead Zimbabwean grandmother is doing dishes in the kitchen. When the house gets lost at sea and creatures of African urban legends all but take it over, Vimbai turns to horseshoe crabs in the ocean to ask for their help in getting home to New Jersey.

Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck charm, is vital to success. And in the case of the students at New Avalon Sports High, it might just determine whether you make the team, pass a class, or...  more

Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck charm, is vital to success. And in the case of the students at New Avalon Sports High, it might just determine whether you make the team, pass a class, or find that perfect outfit. But for 14-year-old Charlie, having a Parking Fairy is worse than having nothing at all -- especially when the school bully carts her around like his own personal parking pass. Enter: The Plan. At first, teaming up with arch-enemy Fiorenza (who has an All-The-Boys-Like-You Fairy) seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart's desire, it isn't at all what she thought it would be like, and she'll have resort to extraordinary measures to ditch her fairy. The question is: will Charlie herself survive the fairy-ditching experiment? From the author of the acclaimed Magic or Madness trilogy, this is a delightful story of fairies, friendships, and figuring out how to make your own magic.

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is...  more

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with a pair of cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate - and gods and mortals - are bound inseparably together.

Grade 6-9 - It is the year 2154. Unemployment is rife, many workers having been replaced by robots, and teenagers, as they graduate from school, are either assigned jobs or an unemployed status. Lisse and seven of her classmates are relegated to a DA (Designated Area) for unemployment together....  more

Grade 6-9 - It is the year 2154. Unemployment is rife, many workers having been replaced by robots, and teenagers, as they graduate from school, are either assigned jobs or an unemployed status. Lisse and seven of her classmates are relegated to a DA (Designated Area) for unemployment together. As they begin to explore the area, they hear about something called The Game, and eventually receive an invitation to participate. By computer simulation, they experience life in an unfamiliar, wild setting. After several sessions, the game intensifies. Several days into a particularly difficult situation, they realize it is no longer a game, but reality, and when, gazing at the night sky, they see no familiar constellations, they know they are no longer on Earth. The future Hughes creates is a logical extension of the disasters of the present day. The characters are likable individuals, each with traits or skills that complement the others. As they grow in ability to work cooperatively, readers will easily accept their selection to populate a new planet. Life there is primitive, but they succeed in making not only useful, but also beautiful necessities of daily life; there are many satisfactions for these latter-day Robinson Crusoes. This is both a first-rate adventure/survival story and a cautionary tale.

The first book in Kate Elliott's acclaimed Jaran series-the groundbreaking story of a young woman coming of age on an alien planet...and her effect on the human race's survival.

CONFRONTATION OF CONQUERORS In jARAN, Kate Elliott introduced us to the planet Rhui, an interdicted, low-technology, human-populated world, and to the nomadic jaran tribes, a people on the brink of uniting under one charismatic warlord, Ilya Bakhtiian. AN EARTHLY CROWN returns us to Rhui as the...  more

CONFRONTATION OF CONQUERORS In jARAN, Kate Elliott introduced us to the planet Rhui, an interdicted, low-technology, human-populated world, and to the nomadic jaran tribes, a people on the brink of uniting under one charismatic warlord, Ilya Bakhtiian. AN EARTHLY CROWN returns us to Rhui as the jaran tribes, led by Ilya, are sweeping across the plains to conquer the settled lands, city by city. At Ilya's side, and a partner in his victories, is his wife Tess, a woman of whose true origins Ilya himself is unaware. For Tess, born on Earth, is the sister and only heir of Charles Soerensen, leader of the failed rebellion against the alien Chapalii Empire and now a Duke of the Empire. Charles, who has continued his subversive activities against the alien overlords, now finds himself caught in a deadly game of interstellar politics and realizes that he must go to Rhui to reclaim both his heir and knowledge long hidden there of an ancient rebellion against the Empire. But once there, Charles finds himself caught in a battle of wills with Ilya, who is equally adamant about keeping Tess on Rhui. Yet what neither realizes is that Tess has her own agenda for the future, and that this clash of powers may prove the death knell of both the jaran tribes and the human rebellion.

On the planet Rhui, the jaran tribes, under the leadership of Ilya Bakhtiian and his Earth-born wife Tess, continue their campaign of conquest. Meanwhile, the stakes are escalating in two other battles as well. "A solidly drawn alien race, galactic-scale politics, intrigue, warfare, even a...  more

On the planet Rhui, the jaran tribes, under the leadership of Ilya Bakhtiian and his Earth-born wife Tess, continue their campaign of conquest. Meanwhile, the stakes are escalating in two other battles as well. "A solidly drawn alien race, galactic-scale politics, intrigue, warfare, even a crackling love story".--Katharine Kerr.

This fourth novel in Kate Elliott's richly detailed and compelling series about the Jaran skillfully weaves together many new strands in this worlds-spanning tale of conquest and rebellion. Full of unexpected plot twists and political machinations, romance and warfare, it is an epic that will...  more

This fourth novel in Kate Elliott's richly detailed and compelling series about the Jaran skillfully weaves together many new strands in this worlds-spanning tale of conquest and rebellion. Full of unexpected plot twists and political machinations, romance and warfare, it is an epic that will strongly appeal to today's readers.

In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and amongst the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers - the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe ...and...  more

In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and amongst the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers - the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe ...and kill those judged corrupt. But when a conspiracy blooms within Gujaareh's great temple, Ehiru - the most famous of the city's Gatherers - must question everything he knows. Someone, or something, is murdering innocent dreamers in the goddess' name, stalking its prey both in Gujaareh's alleys and the realm of dreams. Ehiru must now protect the woman he was sent to kill - or watch the city be devoured by war and forbidden magic.

Gujaareh, the city of dreams, suffers under the imperial rule of the Kisuati Protectorate. A city where the only law was peace now knows violence and oppression. And nightmares: a mysterious and deadly plague haunts the citizens of Gujaareh, dooming the infected to die screaming in their sleep....  more

Gujaareh, the city of dreams, suffers under the imperial rule of the Kisuati Protectorate. A city where the only law was peace now knows violence and oppression. And nightmares: a mysterious and deadly plague haunts the citizens of Gujaareh, dooming the infected to die screaming in their sleep. Trapped between dark dreams and cruel overlords, the people yearn to rise up -- but Gujaareh has known peace for too long. Someone must show them the way. Hope lies with two outcasts: the first woman ever allowed to join the dream goddess' priesthood, and an exiled prince who longs to reclaim his birthright. Together, they must resist the Kisuati occupation and uncover the source of the killing dreams... before Gujaareh is lost forever.

From the author of the award-winning, internationally bestselling Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, an enchanting collection of stories. Set in versions of England that bear an uncanny resemblance to the world of Strange and Norrell, these stories are brimming with all the ingredients of good...  more

From the author of the award-winning, internationally bestselling Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, an enchanting collection of stories. Set in versions of England that bear an uncanny resemblance to the world of Strange and Norrell, these stories are brimming with all the ingredients of good fairy tales: petulant princesses, vengeful owls, ladies who pass their time in embroidering terrible fates, endless paths in deep, dark woods, and houses that never appear the same way twice. Their heroines and heroes include the Duke of Wellington, a conceited Regency clergyman, an eighteenth-century Jewish doctor, Mary, Queen of Scots, Jonathan Strange, and the Raven King himself. The Ladies of Grace Adieu is the perfect introduction to a world where charm is always tempered by eerieness, and picaresque comedy is always darkened by the disturbing shadow of Faerie. The ladies of Grace Adieu -- On Lickerish Hill -- Mrs. Mabb --The Duke of Wellington misplaces his horse -- Mr. Simonelli, or, the fairy widower -- Tom Brightwind, or, how the fairy bridge was built at Thoresby -- Antickes and frets -- John Uskglass and the Cumbrian charcoal burner

in The Aeneid, Vergil’s hero fights to claim the king’s daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is destined to found an empire. Lavinia herself never speaks a word in the poem. Now, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice in a novel that takes us to the half-wild world of ancient Italy, when...  more

in The Aeneid, Vergil’s hero fights to claim the king’s daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is destined to found an empire. Lavinia herself never speaks a word in the poem. Now, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice in a novel that takes us to the half-wild world of ancient Italy, when Rome was a muddy village near seven hills. Lavinia grows up knowing nothing but peace and freedom, until suitors come. Her mother wants her to marry handsome, ambitious Turnus. But omens and prophecies spoken by the sacred springs say she must marry a foreigner—that she will be the cause of a bitter war—and that her husband will not live long. When a fleet of Trojan ships sails up the Tiber, Lavinia decides to make her own destiny, and she tells us what Vergil did not: the story of her life, and of the love of her life. Lavinia is a book of love and war, generous and austerely beautiful, from a writer working at the height of her powers.

Genly Ai is an emissary from the human galaxy to Winter, a lost, stray world. His mission is to bring the planet back into the fold of an evolving galactic civilization, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own culture and prejudices and those that he encounters. On a planet where...  more

Genly Ai is an emissary from the human galaxy to Winter, a lost, stray world. His mission is to bring the planet back into the fold of an evolving galactic civilization, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own culture and prejudices and those that he encounters. On a planet where people are androgynous, and may be either gender at will, this is a broad gulf indeed. The inventiveness and delicacy with which Le Guin portrays her alien world are not only unusual and inspiring, they are fundamental to almost all decent science fiction that has been written since.

Contains the complete three book trilogy: 1) Dawn 2) Adulthood Rites 3) Imago The acclaimed trilogy that comprises LILITH'S BROOD is multiple Hugo and Nebula award-winner Octavia E. Butler at her best. Presented for the first time in one volume, with an introduction by Joan...  more

Contains the complete three book trilogy: 1) Dawn 2) Adulthood Rites 3) Imago The acclaimed trilogy that comprises LILITH'S BROOD is multiple Hugo and Nebula award-winner Octavia E. Butler at her best. Presented for the first time in one volume, with an introduction by Joan Slonczewski, Ph.D., LILITH'S BROOD is a profoundly evocative, sensual -- and disturbing -- epic of human transformation. Lilith Iyapo is in the Andes, mourning the death of her family, when war destroys Earth. Centuries later, she is resurrected -- by miraculously powerful unearthly beings, the Oankali. Driven by an irresistible need to heal others, the Oankali are rescuing our dying planet by merging genetically with mankind. But Lilith and all humanity must now share the world with uncanny, unimaginably alien creatures: their own children. This is their story...

In 1514 Hungary, peasants who rose up against the nobility rise again ? from the grave. In 1633 Al-Shouf, a mother keeps demons at bay with the combined power of grief and music. In 1775 Paris, as social tensions come to a boil, a courtesan tries to save the woman she loves. In 1838 Georgia, a...  more

In 1514 Hungary, peasants who rose up against the nobility rise again ? from the grave. In 1633 Al-Shouf, a mother keeps demons at bay with the combined power of grief and music. In 1775 Paris, as social tensions come to a boil, a courtesan tries to save the woman she loves. In 1838 Georgia, a pregnant woman's desperate escape from slavery comes with a terrible price. In 1900 Ilocos Norte, a forest spirit helps a young girl defend her land from American occupiers. These gripping stories have been passed down through the generations, hidden between the lines of journal entries and love letters. Now 27 of today's finest authors ? including Tananarive Due, Sofia Samatar, Ken Liu, Victor LaValle, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sabrina Vourvoulias ? reveal the people whose lives have been pushed to the margins of history. For bibliographies and author notes on some of the stories, settings, and history in Long Hidden, visit http://longhidden.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Sofia Samatar - "Ogres of East Africa" Thoraiya Dyer - "The Oud" Tananarive Due - "Free Jim's Mine" S. Lynn - "Ffydd (Faith)" Sunny Moraine - "Across the Seam" Rion Amilcar Scott - "Numbers" Meg Jayanth - "Each Part Without Mercy" Claire Humphrey - "The Witch of Tarup" L.S. Johnson - "Marigolds" Robert William Iveniuk - "Diyu" Jamey Hatley - "Collected Likenesses" Michael Janairo - "Angela and the Scar" Benjamin Parzybok - "The Colts" Kima Jones - "Nine" Christina Lynch - "The Heart and the Feather" Troy L. Wiggins - "A Score of Roses" Nghi Vo - "Neither Witch Nor Fairy" David Fuller - "A Deeper Echo" Ken Liu - "Knotting Grass, Holding Ring" Kemba Banton - "Jooni" Sarah Pinsker - "There Will Be One Vacant Chair" Nnedi Okorafor - "It's War" Shanaé Brown - "Find Me Unafraid" Nicolette Barischoff - "A Wedding in Hungry Days" Lisa Bolekaja - "Medu" Victor LaValle - "Lone Women" Sabrina Vourvoulias - "The Dance of the White Demons"

For fifteen years, Reason Cansino has lived a life on the run. Together with her mother, Sarafina, she has moved from one place to another in the Australian countryside, desperate not to be found by Reason's grandmother Esmeralda, a dangerous woman who believes in magic. But when Sarafina...  more

For fifteen years, Reason Cansino has lived a life on the run. Together with her mother, Sarafina, she has moved from one place to another in the Australian countryside, desperate not to be found by Reason's grandmother Esmeralda, a dangerous woman who believes in magic. But when Sarafina suffers a breakdown, Reason is forced to move in with her grandmother in Sydney. The moment Reason walks through Esmeralda's back door and finds herself on a New York City street, she's confronted by an unavoidable truth-magic is real. This thrilling novel will bring readers through revelation upon revelation, leading to Reason's ultimate discovery of the price she must pay if she uses her magic.

Fifteen-year-old Reason Cansino has learned the painful truth that she— like her mother, grandmother, and new friends Tom and Jay-Tee—must make a choice: to use the magic that lives in her blood and die young, or refuse to use the magic and lose her mind. Now a new threat leaves Reason...  more

Fifteen-year-old Reason Cansino has learned the painful truth that she— like her mother, grandmother, and new friends Tom and Jay-Tee—must make a choice: to use the magic that lives in her blood and die young, or refuse to use the magic and lose her mind. Now a new threat leaves Reason stranded alone in New York City, struggling to control a power she barely understands. But could the danger she faces also hold the key to saving her life? Magic Lessons is the stunning follow-up to Larbalestier's lavishly praised debut novel, Magic or Madness, called a "radiant gem" and a "fierce, hypnotic novel" in starred reviews.

The people Reason Cansino loves most are all in danger. Reason's mother, Sarafina, has disappeared from the mental hospital in Sydney with Reason's evil grandfather, Jason Blake. Jay-Tee, the closest thing Reason has to a best friend, has used all of her magic and faces death at any...  more

The people Reason Cansino loves most are all in danger. Reason's mother, Sarafina, has disappeared from the mental hospital in Sydney with Reason's evil grandfather, Jason Blake. Jay-Tee, the closest thing Reason has to a best friend, has used all of her magic and faces death at any moment. Only Reason can find the answers within her family's magic to save everyone who matters most to her.  

Zoya Kundara has lived on the space vessel Star Road for two hundred fifty years. As its Ship Mother, kept alive in a state of pseudoimmortality, she has provided wisdom and counsel to succeeding generations of its crew, self-exiled survivors of earth’s great plague. But now, to escape the...  more

Zoya Kundara has lived on the space vessel Star Road for two hundred fifty years. As its Ship Mother, kept alive in a state of pseudoimmortality, she has provided wisdom and counsel to succeeding generations of its crew, self-exiled survivors of earth’s great plague. But now, to escape the ravages of space radiation, the giant starship has returned to earth, only to discover a world on the verge of extinction, its barren surface blanketed in a crystalline substance that resembles ice and that is slowly, inexorably encapsulating the planet. Zoya is chosen as emissary to this strange new earth, and now she must approach its denizens and find a suitable home for her desperate crew among the shrinking lands.But what she finds shakes Zoya to her core: groups of humans huddled like moles in underground techno-warrens called preserves, and a pseudospiritual order known as the Ice Nuns, who seek control of the physics-defying crystals and enslave their disciples in their crazed quest for truth. For on this once green land, Ice and the science behind it are now the only God–and mastering this grand ecology of information the only higher calling. Allies are few and far between, but somehow Zoya must uncover the secrets of Ice and halt its expansion. That is, if the snow witches don’t get her first...

Jessica is an African-American journalist, as ambitious as she is bright. She is chasing the biggest story of her life, a story that strikes closer to home than she knows. Dawit is an immortal, whose ancient thirst for wisdom leads him to break the first commandment of his kind: not to fall...  more

Jessica is an African-American journalist, as ambitious as she is bright. She is chasing the biggest story of her life, a story that strikes closer to home than she knows. Dawit is an immortal, whose ancient thirst for wisdom leads him to break the first commandment of his kind: not to fall in love. Together they are about to pay the ultimate price for their ambition...and their desire.

The New Women of Wonder: Recent Science Fiction Stories By Women About Women Today, science-fiction writers have begun to create more realistic women characters than they did in the past, and more women are writing science fiction than ever before. The most innovative of their stories, in...  more

The New Women of Wonder: Recent Science Fiction Stories By Women About Women Today, science-fiction writers have begun to create more realistic women characters than they did in the past, and more women are writing science fiction than ever before. The most innovative of their stories, in addition to being engaging science fiction, not only treat women convincingly, but explicitly address feminist concerns and emphasize future possibilities. This collection of science-fiction stories represents the best of the new women writers. Contents: Introduction by Pamela Sargent View from the Moon Station by Sonya Dorman Screwtop by Vonda N. McIntyre The Warlord of Saturn’s Moons by Eleanor Arnason The Triumphant Head by Josephine Saxton The Heat Death of the Universe by Pamela A. Zoline Songs of War by Kit Reed The Women Men Don’t See by James Tiptree, Jr. Debut by Carol Emshwiller When It Changed by Joanna Russ Dead in Irons by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Building Block by Sonya Dorman Eyes of Amber /byJoan D. Vinge

More Women of Wonder: Science Fiction Novelettes by Women About Women An impressive collection of novelettes and short stories Sequel to Sargent's original Women of Wonder anthology. Stories by women writers who explore the projections and possibilities of future worlds and the changing...  more

More Women of Wonder: Science Fiction Novelettes by Women About Women An impressive collection of novelettes and short stories Sequel to Sargent's original Women of Wonder anthology. Stories by women writers who explore the projections and possibilities of future worlds and the changing roles, perspectives, and choices of women who live in those worlds. Contents: Introduction by Pamela Sargent; * Jirel Meets Magic / C. L. Moore; * The Lake of the Gone Forever / Leigh Brackett; * The Second Inquisition / Joanna Russ; * The Power of Time / Josephine Saxton; * The Funeral / Kate Wilhelm; * Tin Soldier / Joan D. Vinge; * The Day Before the Revolution / Ursula K. Le Guin; Further Reading About the Authors About the Editor

DAW Collector's Book 589 First published in 1984, Native Tongue earned wide critical praise and cult status, not only among science fiction fans but among followers of women's literature and feminist theory and language buffs of all persuasions. Often compared to the futurist fiction...  more

DAW Collector's Book 589 First published in 1984, Native Tongue earned wide critical praise and cult status, not only among science fiction fans but among followers of women's literature and feminist theory and language buffs of all persuasions. Often compared to the futurist fiction of Margaret Atwood and James Tiptree, Jr., Suzette Haden Elgin's gripping dystopian vision is enlivened and enriched by her wry wit, her fierce intellect, and her faith in the subversive power of language and of women's collective action. Set in the twenty-second century after the repeal of the Nineteenth Amendment, the novel reveals a world where women are once again property, denied civil rights and banned from public life. In this world, Earth's wealth relies on interplanetary commerce, for which the population depends on linguists, a small, clannish group of families whose women breed and become perfect translators of all the galaxies' languages. The linguists wield power, but live in isolated compounds, hated by the population and in fear of class warfare. But a group of women is destined to challenge the power of men and linguists. Nazareth, the most talented linguist of her family, is exhausted by her constant work translating for the government, supervising the children's language education in the Alien-in-Residence interface chambers, running the compound, and caring for the elderly men. She longs to retire to the Barren House, where women past childbearing age knit, chat, and wait to die. What Nazareth does not yet know is that a clandestine revolution is going on in the Barren Houses: there, word by word, women are creating a language of their own to free them of men's domination. Their secret must, above all, be kept until the language is ready for use. The women's language, Láadan, is only one of the brilliant creations found in this stunningly original novel, which combines a page-turning plot with challenging meditations on the tensions between freedom and control, individuals and communities, thought and action. A com! plete work in itself, it is also the first volume in Elgin's acclaimed Native Tongue trilogy.

Once upon a winter's night, a poor crofter trades his daughter Camille to wed Prince Alain of the Summerwood in exchange for a lifetime of riches. Though love blossoms between Camille and the prince, he is haunted by sadness and will not allow her to see his unmasked face. Believing she can...  more

Once upon a winter's night, a poor crofter trades his daughter Camille to wed Prince Alain of the Summerwood in exchange for a lifetime of riches. Though love blossoms between Camille and the prince, he is haunted by sadness and will not allow her to see his unmasked face. Believing she can lift whatever curse has been bestowed upon him, Camille acts on her own-- with devastating results, all she loves is swept away. Now, to regain what she has lost, she must embark on a desperate quest through the hinterlands of Faery, seeking a mysterious place lying somewhere east of the sun and west of the moon....

A Book of Wonders for Grown-Up Readers Every once in a great while a book comes along that reminds us of the magic spell that stories can cast over us -- to dazzle, entertain, and enlighten. Welcome to the Arabian Nights for our time -- a lush and fantastical epic guaranteed to spirit...  more

A Book of Wonders for Grown-Up Readers Every once in a great while a book comes along that reminds us of the magic spell that stories can cast over us -- to dazzle, entertain, and enlighten. Welcome to the Arabian Nights for our time -- a lush and fantastical epic guaranteed to spirit you away from the very first page…. Secreted away in a garden, a lonely girl spins stories to warm a curious prince: peculiar feats and unspeakable fates that loop through each other and back again to meet in the tapestry of her voice. Inked on her eyelids, each twisting, tattooed tale is a piece in the puzzle of the girl’s own hidden history. And what tales she tells! Tales of shape-shifting witches and wild horsewomen, heron kings and beast princesses, snake gods, dog monks, and living stars -- each story more strange and fantastic than the one that came before. From ill-tempered “mermaid” to fastidious Beast, nothing is ever quite what it seems in these ever-shifting tales -- even, and especially, their teller. Adorned with illustrations by the legendary Michael Kaluta, Valente’s enchanting lyrical fantasy offers a breathtaking reinvention of the untold myths and dark fairy tales that shape our dreams. And just when you think you’ve come to the end, you realize the adventure has only begun….

Every once in a great while a book comes along that reminds us of the magic spell that stories can cast over us -- to dazzle, entertain, and enlighten. Welcome to the Arabian Nights for our time -- a lush and fantastical epic guaranteed to spirit you away from the very first...  more

Every once in a great while a book comes along that reminds us of the magic spell that stories can cast over us -- to dazzle, entertain, and enlighten. Welcome to the Arabian Nights for our time -- a lush and fantastical epic guaranteed to spirit you away from the very first page…. Secreted away in a garden, a lonely girl spins stories to warm a curious prince: peculiar feats and unspeakable fates that loop through each other and back again to meet in the tapestry of her voice. Inked on her eyelids, each twisting, tattooed tale is a piece in the puzzle of the girl’s own hidden history. And what tales she tells! Tales of shape-shifting witches and wild horsewomen, heron kings and beast princesses, snake gods, dog monks, and living stars -- each story more strange and fantastic than the one that came before. From ill-tempered “mermaid” to fastidious Beast, nothing is ever quite what it seems in these ever-shifting tales -- even, and especially, their teller. Adorned with illustrations by the legendary Michael Kaluta, Valente’s enchanting lyrical fantasy offers a breathtaking reinvention of the untold myths and dark fairy tales that shape our dreams. And just when you think you’ve come to the end, you realize the adventure has only begun….

Women may hold up more than half the sky on earth, but it has been different in heaven: science fiction still is very much a preserve of male protagonists, mostly performing by-the-numbers quests. In The Other Half of the Sky, editor Athena Andreadis offers readers heroes who happen to be women,...  more

Women may hold up more than half the sky on earth, but it has been different in heaven: science fiction still is very much a preserve of male protagonists, mostly performing by-the-numbers quests. In The Other Half of the Sky, editor Athena Andreadis offers readers heroes who happen to be women, doing whatever they would do in universes where they're fully human. Contributors Melissa Scott, Alex Jablokov, Nisi Shawl, Sue Lange, Vandana Singh, Joan Slonczewski, Terry Boren, Aliette de Bodard, Ken Liu, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Martha Wells, Kelly Jennings, C. W. Johnson, Cat Rambo, Christine Lucas, Jack McDevitt

In a small Chinese village during the Tang Dynasty, an unsure young woman has managed to elude the conventions of her society to become a gifted paper mage-one who creates magic with the ancient art of paper folding. Because her gifts are in demand for the protection they can offer, Xiao Yen...  more

In a small Chinese village during the Tang Dynasty, an unsure young woman has managed to elude the conventions of her society to become a gifted paper mage-one who creates magic with the ancient art of paper folding. Because her gifts are in demand for the protection they can offer, Xiao Yen must leave behind her beloved family and embark on a dangerous mission. Yet she has no idea that this looming adventure will shape the very woman she is to become.

Lauren Olamina is an empath, crippled by the pain of others. Cloistered inside a neighborhood enclave in a U.S. where the distance between the haves and the have-nots has widened to a gaping chasm, she lives a protected life. But one night, violence explodes, and the walls of her neighborhood...  more

Lauren Olamina is an empath, crippled by the pain of others. Cloistered inside a neighborhood enclave in a U.S. where the distance between the haves and the have-nots has widened to a gaping chasm, she lives a protected life. But one night, violence explodes, and the walls of her neighborhood are smashed, annihilating Lauren's family and friends -- all she loves and knows. Now the empath must face the world outside. Leading a tiny band of desperate followers through a thousand miles of Hell, she is a prophet bearing nothing but the promises of new life and a new faith ... Earthseed.

Octavia E. Butler continues the compelling story of Lauren Olamina and her struggle for survival in a socially and economically depressed California in the 2030s. Convinced that her quiet community, Acorn, should chart humankind's destiny by leaving Earth and peacefully colonizing the stars,...  more

Octavia E. Butler continues the compelling story of Lauren Olamina and her struggle for survival in a socially and economically depressed California in the 2030s. Convinced that her quiet community, Acorn, should chart humankind's destiny by leaving Earth and peacefully colonizing the stars, Lauren and her faithful followers make preparations. But the sudden collapse of society and the reckless rise of fanatics threaten Acorn's very existence. Now, with her followers brutally enslaved and her own daughter stolen from her, Lauren must fight back to save the new world order...or die trying.

Margaret Atwood returns with a shrewd, funny, and insightful retelling of the myth of Odysseus from the point of view of Penelope. Describing her own remarkable vision, the author writes in the foreword, “I’ve chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve...  more

Margaret Atwood returns with a shrewd, funny, and insightful retelling of the myth of Odysseus from the point of view of Penelope. Describing her own remarkable vision, the author writes in the foreword, “I’ve chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesn’t hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I’ve always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself.”

A journey through madness and maniaOn the island of Faranor in the kingdom of Windward, twelve princesses dance their shoes to shreds each night. No one knows why. Not the king or queen. Not the knights, lords, or ladies-in-waiting. When the queen blames the royal shoemaker, his apprentice,...  more

A journey through madness and maniaOn the island of Faranor in the kingdom of Windward, twelve princesses dance their shoes to shreds each night. No one knows why. Not the king or queen. Not the knights, lords, or ladies-in-waiting. When the queen blames the royal shoemaker, his apprentice, Phoenix Dance, puts her life at risk to solve the mystery. She braves magic spells, dragons, evil wizards, and the treachery of the princesses themselves. As Phoenix faces these dangers, she finds herself caught in the dangerous dance inside herself – a dance of darkness and light, a dance that presents her with the greatest challenge of her life.This captivating companion to Aria of the Sea weaves a retelling of Grimm’s fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses with the story of a young woman’s inward journey toward an understanding of a scary, unpredictable part of her own nature.

Welcome to Riverside, where the aristocratic and the ambitious battle for power in the city's ballroom, brothels and boudoirs. Into this alluring world walks Katherine, a well-bred country girl versed in the rules of conventional society. Her mistake is thinking that they apply. For...  more

Welcome to Riverside, where the aristocratic and the ambitious battle for power in the city's ballroom, brothels and boudoirs. Into this alluring world walks Katherine, a well-bred country girl versed in the rules of conventional society. Her mistake is thinking that they apply. For Katherine's host and uncle, Alec Campion, aka the Mad Duke Tremontaine, is in charge here—and to him, rules are made to be broken. When Alec decides it would be more amusing for his niece to learn swordplay than to follow the usual path to marriage, her world changes forever. Blade in hand, it's up to Katherine to navigate a maze of secrets and scoundrels and to gain the self-discovery that comes to those who master: the privilege of the sword.

The Benevolent Satrapy rule an empire of forty-eight worlds, linked by thousands of wormholes strung throughout the galaxy. Human beings, while technically “free,” mostly skulk around the fringes of the Satrapy, struggling to get by. The secretive alien Satraps tightly restrict the...  more

The Benevolent Satrapy rule an empire of forty-eight worlds, linked by thousands of wormholes strung throughout the galaxy. Human beings, while technically “free,” mostly skulk around the fringes of the Satrapy, struggling to get by. The secretive alien Satraps tightly restrict the technological development of the species under their control. Entire worlds have been placed under interdiction, cut off from the rest of the universe. Descended from the islanders of lost Earth, the Ragamuffins are pirates and smugglers, plying the lonely spaceways around a dead wormhole. For years, the Satraps have tolerated the Raga, but no longer. Now they have embarked on a campaign of extermination, determined to wipe out the unruly humans once and for all. But one runaway woman may complicate their plans. Combat enabled, Nashara is more machine than flesh, and she carries inside her a doomsday weapon that could reduce the entire galaxy to chaos. A hunted fugitive, she just wants to get home before she’s forced to destroy civilization -- and herself.

Imagine the moment when the present ends, and the future begins - when the world we knew is no more and a brave new world is thrust upon us. Gathering stories by nine of today's most incisive minds, Seeds of Change confronts the pivotal issues facing our society today: racism, global warming,...  more

Imagine the moment when the present ends, and the future begins - when the world we knew is no more and a brave new world is thrust upon us. Gathering stories by nine of today's most incisive minds, Seeds of Change confronts the pivotal issues facing our society today: racism, global warming, peak oil, technological advancement, and political revolution. Many serve as a call to action. How will you change with the future? These nine stories sow seeds of change across familiar and foreign territory, from our own backyards to the Niger Delta to worlds not yet discovered. Pepper, the mysterious mercenary from Tobias S. Buckell's Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, works as an agent for change - if the price is right - in "Resistance." Ken MacLeod envisions the end-game in the Middle East in "A Dance Called Armageddon." New writer Blake Charlton imagines a revolutionary advance in cancer research in "Endosymbiont." Award-winning author Jay Lake tackles technological change and the forces that will stop at nothing to prevent it in "The Future by Degrees." Other stories by K.D. Wentworth, Jeremiah Tolbert, Mark Budz, Ted Kosmatka, and Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu range from the darkly satirical to the exotic. All explore the notion that change will come.

Niger, West Africa, 2070: After a nuclear fallout in the early twenty-first century, the earth's civilization has been completely transformed. Magic, mysticism, and mind-blowing technology now rule the world. In West Africa, fourteen-year old Ejii struggles to master her own magical powers. When...  more

Niger, West Africa, 2070: After a nuclear fallout in the early twenty-first century, the earth's civilization has been completely transformed. Magic, mysticism, and mind-blowing technology now rule the world. In West Africa, fourteen-year old Ejii struggles to master her own magical powers. When her world is completely upended after she witnesses her father's death, Ejii faces a unique opportunity to explore her power and realize her destiny.

The colony planet Fremont is joyous, riotous, and very wild. Its grasses can cut your arms and legs to ribbons, the rinds of its precious fruit can skewer your thumbs, and some of the predators are bigger than humans. Meteors fall from the sky and volcanoes erupt. Fremont is verdant, rich,...  more

The colony planet Fremont is joyous, riotous, and very wild. Its grasses can cut your arms and legs to ribbons, the rinds of its precious fruit can skewer your thumbs, and some of the predators are bigger than humans. Meteors fall from the sky and volcanoes erupt. Fremont is verdant, rich, beautiful, and dangerous. Fremont's single town, Artistos, perches on a cliff below rugged mountains. Below Artistos lie the Grass Plains, which lead down to the sea. And in the middle of the Grass Plains, a single silver spaceship lies quiet and motionless. The seasons do not dull it, nor do the winds scratch it and the fearful citizens of Aristos won't go near it. Chelo Lee, her brother Joseph, and four other young children have been abandoned on the colony planet. Unfortunate events have left them orphaned in a human colony that abhors genetic engineering and these six young people are genetically enhanced. With no one to turn to, Chelo and the others must now learn how to use their distinct skills to make this unwelcome planet home, or to find a way off it. They have few tools and an old crazy woman who wanders the edges of town, spouting cryptic messages; their appreciation and affection for each other; a good dose of curiosity; and that abandoned silver space ship that sits locked and alone in the middle of the vast grass plain.

Ever since the morning Molly woke up to find that her parents hadvanished, her life has become filled with terrible questions. Where have her parents gone? Who is this spooky old man who's taken her to live with him, claiming to be her great-uncle? Why does he never eat, and why does he lock her...  more

Ever since the morning Molly woke up to find that her parents hadvanished, her life has become filled with terrible questions. Where have her parents gone? Who is this spooky old man who's taken her to live with him, claiming to be her great-uncle? Why does he never eat, and why does he lock her in her room at night? What are her dreams of the Skeleton Man trying to tell her? There's one thing Molly does know. She needs to find some answers before it's too late.

The imperious Winter colonists have ruled the planet Tiamat for 150 years, deriving wealth from the slaughter of the sea mers. But soon the galactic stargate will close, isolating Tiamat, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will begin. All is not lost if Arienrhod, the ageless,...  more

The imperious Winter colonists have ruled the planet Tiamat for 150 years, deriving wealth from the slaughter of the sea mers. But soon the galactic stargate will close, isolating Tiamat, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will begin. All is not lost if Arienrhod, the ageless, corrupt Snow Queen, can destroy destiny with an act of genocide. Arienrhod is not without competition as Moon, a young Summer-tribe sibyl, and the nemesis of the Snow Queen, battles to break a conspiracy that spans space.

Sequel To The Hugo Award-Winning Bestseller The Snow Queen The Summer Queen is the extraordinary sequel to one of science fiction's most celebrated novels, The Snow Queen. Set in a fully realized universe of wonders, this spectacular space epic, itself a finalist for the Hugo Award, is...  more

Sequel To The Hugo Award-Winning Bestseller The Snow Queen The Summer Queen is the extraordinary sequel to one of science fiction's most celebrated novels, The Snow Queen. Set in a fully realized universe of wonders, this spectacular space epic, itself a finalist for the Hugo Award, is one of the most remarkable novels in the field. A story that spans millennia, from the ruins of an ancient interstellar empire to the planets of the Hegemony that rules human space, The Summer Queen is the multi-layered story of Tiamat, a world where the dolphin-like mers are harvested for the youth-prolonging serum extracted from their blood. But Tiamat is much more, for beneath Carbuncle, its capital, lies the old empire's greatest secret: an enormous forgotten technology which, though decaying, continues to affect the fates of the fallen empire's remnant cultures via the sybil-network -- a data bank that binds the past and the future in its web of knowledge, As the Smith, genius mastermind of the hidden interstellar Brotherhood, tries feverishly to unlock its secrets, BZ Gundhalinu desperately strives to save the Hegemony, while the Summer Queen herself dares to create a new future for her people and her planet. And though each is acting alone, their fates will entwine in an astonishing climax that will change the universe forever.

By order of His Royal Majesty Philippe de Savin-Journia y Sabria, Anne de Vernase is hereby summoned to attend His Majesty's Court at Merona... Anne de Vernase rejoices that she has no talent for magic. Her father's pursuit of depraved sorcery has left her family in ruins, and he...  more

By order of His Royal Majesty Philippe de Savin-Journia y Sabria, Anne de Vernase is hereby summoned to attend His Majesty's Court at Merona... Anne de Vernase rejoices that she has no talent for magic. Her father's pursuit of depraved sorcery has left her family in ruins, and he remains at large, convicted of treason and murder by Anne's own testimony. Now, the tutors at Collegia Seravain inform her that her gifted younger sister has died in a magical accident. It seems but life's final mockery that cool, distant Portier de Savin-Duplais, the librarian turned royal prosecutor, arrives with the news that the king intends to barter her hand in marriage. Anne recognizes that the summoning carries implications far beyond a bleak personal future - and they are all about magic. Merona, the royal city, is beset by plagues of rats and birds, and mysterious sinkholes that swallow light and collapse buildings. Whispers of hauntings and illicit necromancy swirl about the queen's volatile sorcerer. And a murder in the queen's inner circle convinces Anne that her sister's death was no accident. With no one to trust but a friend she cannot see, Anne takes up her sister's magical puzzle, plunging into the midst of a centuries-old rivalry and coming face-to-face with the most dangerous sorcerer in Sabria. His name is Dante.

Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy.  An anthology of original new stories by leading African, Asian, South Asian and Aboriginal authors, as well as North American and British writers of color.  Stories of imagined futures abound in Western writing. Writer and editor Nalo...  more

Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy.  An anthology of original new stories by leading African, Asian, South Asian and Aboriginal authors, as well as North American and British writers of color.  Stories of imagined futures abound in Western writing. Writer and editor Nalo Hopkinson notes that the science fiction/fantasy genre "speaks so much about the experience of being alienated but contains so little writing by alienated people themselves".  It's an oversight that Hopkinson and Mehan aim to correct with this anthology. The book depicts imagined futures from the perspectives of writers associated with what might loosely be termed the 'third world'.  It includes stories that are bold, imaginative, edgy; stories that are centered in the worlds of the 'developing' nations; stories that dare to dream what we might develop into.  The wealth of postcolonial literature has included many who have written insightfully about their pasts and presents. With So Long Been Dreaming they creatively address their futures. Introduction (So Long Been Dreaming) • essay by Nalo Hopkinson Deep End / shortstory by Nisi Shawl Griots of the Galaxy / novelette by Andrea Hairston Toot Sweet Matricia / shortstory by Suzette Mayr Rachel / shortstory by Larissa Lai Terminal Avenue / shortstory by Eden Robinson When Scarabs Multiply / shortstory by Nnedi Okorafor [as by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu] Delhi / shortstory by Vandana Singh Panopte's Eye / shortstory by Tamai Kobayashi The Grassdreaming Tree / shortstory by Sheree R. Thomas The Blue Road: A Fairy Tale / shortstory by Wayde Compton The Forgotten Ones / shortstory by Karin Lowachee Native Aliens / shortstory by Greg van Eekhout Refugees / novelette by Celu Amberstone Trade Winds / shortstory by Devorah Major Lingua Franca / shortstory by Carole McDonnell Out of Sync (1992) / shortstory by Ven Begamudré The Living Roots / shortstory by Opal Palmer Adisa Journey Into the Vortex (1997) / shortstory by Maya Khankhoje Necahual / shortstory by Tobias S. Buckell Final Thoughts (Afterword, So Long Been Dreaming) • essay by Uppinder Mehan .

Thirteen-year-old Nita, tormented by a gang of bullies because she won't fight back, finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension. Something stopped Nita's hand as it ran along the bookshelf. She looked and found that one of the books had a...  more

Thirteen-year-old Nita, tormented by a gang of bullies because she won't fight back, finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension. Something stopped Nita's hand as it ran along the bookshelf. She looked and found that one of the books had a loose thread at the top of its spine. It was one of those So You Want to Be a ... books, a series on careers. So You Want to Be a Pilot, and a Scientist ... a Writer. But this one said, So You Want to Be a Wizard. I don't believe this, Nina thought. She shut the book and stood there holding it in her hand, confused, amazed, suspicious--and delighted. If it was a joke, it was a great one. If it wasn't... ? ----------- First book in the Nita and Kit "Young Wizards" series.

Doctor Impossible -- evil genius, would-be world conqueror -- languishes in prison. Shuffling through the cafeteria line with ordinary criminals, he wonders if the smartest man in the world has done the smartest thing he could with his life. After all, he's lost every battle he's ever...  more

Doctor Impossible -- evil genius, would-be world conqueror -- languishes in prison. Shuffling through the cafeteria line with ordinary criminals, he wonders if the smartest man in the world has done the smartest thing he could with his life. After all, he's lost every battle he's ever fought. But this prison won't hold him forever. Fatale -- half woman, half high-tech warrior -- used to be an unemployed cyborg. Now, she's a rookie member of the world's most famous super-team, the Champions. But being a superhero is not all flying cars and planets in peril -- she learns that in the locker rooms and dive bars of superherodom, the men and women (even mutants) behind the masks are as human as anyone. Soon I Will Be Invincible is a wildly entertaining first novel, brimming with attitude and humor -- an emotionally resonant look at good and evil, love and loss, power and glory.

They were idealists, scientists, and pioneers. Their ship was more than a mere spacecraft: Starfarer was both a habitat and an experiment, unfurling its solar sails to a rendezvous with the unknown, from which it's predecessor never returned. Yet for Victoria MacKenzie, scientist and leader...  more

They were idealists, scientists, and pioneers. Their ship was more than a mere spacecraft: Starfarer was both a habitat and an experiment, unfurling its solar sails to a rendezvous with the unknown, from which it's predecessor never returned. Yet for Victoria MacKenzie, scientist and leader of the ship's revolutionary command structure, the first and greatest danger came not from space -- but from earth itself. A shifting political landscape has turned the government against the voyage, and now the mission's controllers are demanding a new regime of martial law. To MacKenzie it is clear that Starfarer is being co-opted for a military purpose. To save the mission she must do the unthinkable: hijack the ship and continue the peaceful search for extraterrestrial life -- even at the risk of nuclear suicide!

It is 1969, and Ruba has just moved to Mississippi from Haiti to live with her Grandmother Jones. This world is very different from her old life, where she spent days beachcombing with Ba, her maternal grandmother, and learning the lore of magic and history that she holds close. But magic isn't...  more

It is 1969, and Ruba has just moved to Mississippi from Haiti to live with her Grandmother Jones. This world is very different from her old life, where she spent days beachcombing with Ba, her maternal grandmother, and learning the lore of magic and history that she holds close. But magic isn't welcome in her new grandmother's house. Ruba struggles to understand her strange surroundings and the hate that comes at her from some of the white people in town. It isn't long before Ruba finds herself threatened by the KKK and drawn into the fight for civil rights. But a hurricane barreling toward the coast changes everything, bringing Ruba and her family a measure of justice and a new acceptance.

"Samatar's sensual descriptions create a rich, strange landscape, allowing a lavish adventure to unfold that is haunting and unforgettable." ?Library Journal *starred review*"Thoroughly engaging and thoroughly original. A story of ghosts and books, treachery and mystery, ingeniously conceived...  more

"Samatar's sensual descriptions create a rich, strange landscape, allowing a lavish adventure to unfold that is haunting and unforgettable." ?Library Journal *starred review*"Thoroughly engaging and thoroughly original. A story of ghosts and books, treachery and mystery, ingeniously conceived and beautifully written. One of the best fantasy novels I've read in recent years."?Jeffrey Ford"Mesmerizing?a sustained and dreamy enchantment. A Stranger in Olondria reminds both Samatar's characters and her readers of the way stories make us long for faraway, even imaginary, places and how they also bring us home again."?Karen Joy Fowler"Gorgeous writing, beautiful and sensual and so precise?a Proustian ghost story."?Paul Witcover"Imagine an inlaid cabinet, its drawers within drawers filled with spices, roses, amulets, bright cities, bones, and shadows. Sofia Samatar is a merchant of wonders, and her A Stranger in Olondria is a bookshop of dreams."?Greer GilmanIn this hypnotic debut Jevik the pepper merchant's son dreams of far Olondria. Raised by his tutors on the written dreams of the distant city, when he gets the opportunity to travel there, his life is thrown off track when he is haunted by the ghost of a girl whom he must face down before he can go free. Reading has never been so seductive, so dangerous.Sofia Samatar is an American of Somali and Swiss German Mennonite background. Her writing has appeared in Clarkesworld, Stone Telling, Apex, and Strange Horizons. She wrote A Stranger in Olondria in Yambio, South Sudan, where she worked as an English teacher. She has worked in Egypt and now lives in the USA with her family.

Tor Leonne ... the heart of the Dominion of Annagar, where the games of state are about to become a matter of life or death - and where those who seek to seize the crown will be forced to league with a treacherously cunning ally ... Tor Leonne, ancestral seat of power where Serra Diora Maria...  more

Tor Leonne ... the heart of the Dominion of Annagar, where the games of state are about to become a matter of life or death - and where those who seek to seize the crown will be forced to league with a treacherously cunning ally ... Tor Leonne, ancestral seat of power where Serra Diora Maria di'Marano--the most sought-after beauty in the land, a woman betrayed by all she holds dear--may strike the first blow to change the future of dominion and Empire alike... Averalaan Arammarelas ... that most ancient city of civilized cities, the home of the Essalieyan Imperial court, has long been a center of magic both dark and bright. And though the Empire won its last war with the Dominion, and survived a devastating, magic-fueled battle with a far deadlier foe, both those victories were not without their cost.... But now the realm is on the brink of a far greater confrontation, faced with an unholy alliance that could spell the end of freedom for all mankind.

"In The Telling...Le Guin combines the gifts of a pure storyteller at the height of her powers with a wise and passionate heart and the disciplined, ceaselessly questioning mind of a true philosopher." (Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn) From award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin...  more

"In The Telling...Le Guin combines the gifts of a pure storyteller at the height of her powers with a wise and passionate heart and the disciplined, ceaselessly questioning mind of a true philosopher." (Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn) From award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin comes a highly anticipated addition to her acclaimed Hainish cycle, "a social anthropology of the future, fascinating and utterly believable." (Peter S. Beagle) Once a culturally rich world, the planet Aka has been utterly transformed by technology. But an official observer from Earth named Sutty has learned of a group of outcasts who live in the wilderness. They still believe in the ancient ways and still practice its lost religion-the Telling. Intrigued by their beliefs, Sutty joins them on a sacred pilgrimage into the mountains...and into the dangerous terrain of her own heart, mind, and soul. "Spellbinding." (The Denver Post) "Sings true in every line...simple and profound." (Los Angeles Times) "The Telling will make you anticipate tomorrow a bit differently than you did yesterday." (Denver Rocky Mountain News) "Powerfully moving...This is humanist SF at its best, Le Guin in top form." (Faren Miller, Locus)

From Publisher's Weekly: In this delightful first novel, the opening salvo of a trilogy, Novik seamlessly blends fantasy into the history of the Napoleonic wars. Here be dragons, beasts that can speak and reason, bred for strength and speed and used for aerial support in battle. Each nation has...  more

From Publisher's Weekly: In this delightful first novel, the opening salvo of a trilogy, Novik seamlessly blends fantasy into the history of the Napoleonic wars. Here be dragons, beasts that can speak and reason, bred for strength and speed and used for aerial support in battle. Each nation has its own breeds, but none are so jealously guarded as the mysterious dragons of China. Veteran Capt. Will Laurence of the British Navy is therefore taken aback after his crew captures an egg from a French ship and it hatches a Chinese dragon, which Laurence names Temeraire. When Temeraire bonds with the captain, the two leave the navy to sign on with His Majesty's sadly understaffed Aerial Corps, which takes on the French in sprawling, detailed battles that Novik renders with admirable attention to 19th-century military tactics. Though the dragons they encounter are often more fully fleshed-out than the stereotypical human characters, the author's palpable love for her subject and a story rich with international, interpersonal and internal struggles more than compensate.

Captain Laurence had commanded a ship in the Royal Navy, but was relegated to the aviator corps after bonding with the hatchling from the dragon egg his ship found aboard a French prize his ship had seized. He and Temeraire, the hatchling, are a team now, and at the opening of Throne of Jade, he...  more

Captain Laurence had commanded a ship in the Royal Navy, but was relegated to the aviator corps after bonding with the hatchling from the dragon egg his ship found aboard a French prize his ship had seized. He and Temeraire, the hatchling, are a team now, and at the opening of Throne of Jade, he won't accept that the admiralty wants to send Temeraire back to China and him, Laurence, to trick the dragon into going. But Temeraire, it turns out, is a Celestial, hence among the very finest of dragons, and the Chinese ambassador insists he be returned. Temeraire agrees to go only if Laurence does, too, and after an adventurous transit--transporting dragons by sea from England to China with eighteenth-century sailing technology is no picnic--the English party arrives to face the intrigues of the Chinese court. The court is an eye-opener for the aviators. Dragons aren't treated as servants or beasts of burden, as they are in Europe, but as lords and princes. Temeraire, or Lung Tien Xiang, is an imperial prince, with kin in Peking. But Cain and Abel also exist among dragons, and a trail of intrigue begun in London excitingly climaxes at the imperial court.

After their fateful adventure in China, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty?s Aerial Corps and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are waylaid by a mysterious envoy bearing urgent new orders from Britain. Three valuable dragon eggs have been purchased from the Ottoman Empire, and Laurence and...  more

After their fateful adventure in China, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty?s Aerial Corps and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are waylaid by a mysterious envoy bearing urgent new orders from Britain. Three valuable dragon eggs have been purchased from the Ottoman Empire, and Laurence and Temeraire must detour to Istanbul to escort the precious cargo back to England. Time is of the essence if the eggs are to be borne home before hatching. Yet disaster threatens the mission at every turn?thanks to the diabolical machinations of the Chinese dragon Lien, who blames Temeraire for her master?s death and vows to ally herself with Napoleon and take vengeance. Then, faced with shattering betrayal in an unexpected place, Laurence, Temeraire, and their squad must launch a daring offensive. But what chance do they have against the massed forces of Bonaparte?s implacable army?

Tragedy has struck His Majesty?s Aerial Corps, whose magnificent fleet of fighting dragons and their human captains valiantly defend England?s shores against the encroaching armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. An epidemic of unknown origin and no known cure is decimating the noble dragons?...  more

Tragedy has struck His Majesty?s Aerial Corps, whose magnificent fleet of fighting dragons and their human captains valiantly defend England?s shores against the encroaching armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. An epidemic of unknown origin and no known cure is decimating the noble dragons? ranks?forcing the hopelessly stricken into quarantine. Now only Temeraire and a pack of newly recruited dragons remain uninfected?and stand as the only means of an airborne defense against France?s ever bolder sorties. Bonaparte?s dragons are already harrowing Britain?s ships at sea. Only one recourse remains: Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, must take wing to Africa, whose shores may hold the cure to the mysterious and deadly contagion. On this mission there is no time to waste, and no telling what lies in store beyond the horizon or for those left behind to wait, hope, and hold the line.

Laurence and Temeraire have betrayed the British. They have foiled their attempts to inflict death upon the French dragons by sharing the cure they found in Africa with their enemy. But following their conscience has a price. Laurence feels he must return to face the consequences, and as soon as...  more

Laurence and Temeraire have betrayed the British. They have foiled their attempts to inflict death upon the French dragons by sharing the cure they found in Africa with their enemy. But following their conscience has a price. Laurence feels he must return to face the consequences, and as soon as they land they are taken into custody. Laurence is condemned to the gallows and Temeraire faces a life of captivity in the breeding grounds. None of their friends or allies can come to their aid, for every hand is needed elsewhere. Britain is completely unprepared for Bonaparte invasion and the advanced tactics of his own celestial dragon -- Temeraire's mortal enemy...

When young Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away -- home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. While she is learning her way through the dark...  more

When young Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away -- home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. While she is learning her way through the dark labyrinth, a young wizard, Ged, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, and together, he and Tenar escape from the darkness that has become her domain.  

Jane Navio is the resource manager of Phoecea, an asteroid colony poised on the knife-edge of hard vacuum and unforgiving space. A mishap has dumped megatons of water and methane out the colony?s air lock, putting the entire human population at risk.Jane discovers that the crisis may have been...  more

Jane Navio is the resource manager of Phoecea, an asteroid colony poised on the knife-edge of hard vacuum and unforgiving space. A mishap has dumped megatons of water and methane out the colony?s air lock, putting the entire human population at risk.Jane discovers that the crisis may have been engineered by the Martian crime syndicate, as a means of executing a coup that will turn Phocaea into a client-state. And if that wasn't bad enough, an AI that spawned during the emergency has gone rogue?and there?s a giant x-factor in the form of the transhumanist Viridian cult that lives in Phocaea's bowels.Jane?s in the prime of her career?she?s only a bit over a century old?but the conflict between politics and life-support is tearing her apart. To save her colony and her career, she?s going to have to solve several mysteries at once?a challenge that will put her up against all the difficulties, contradictions, and awkward compromises entailed in the human colonization of outer space.

What is Un Lun Dun? It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too?including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is...  more

What is Un Lun Dun? It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too?including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book. When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.

The government's psychic experiment brings about first contact -- or is it a prelude to invasion?

Death year plus twenty... Imprisoned behind airwalls erected by mysterious alien benefactors called "Angelbees," small enclaves of humans have managed to survive the terrible nuclear winter. Now, two decades after Armageddon, young Isabel Garcia-Chase has finally come of age. And...  more

Death year plus twenty... Imprisoned behind airwalls erected by mysterious alien benefactors called "Angelbees," small enclaves of humans have managed to survive the terrible nuclear winter. Now, two decades after Armageddon, young Isabel Garcia-Chase has finally come of age. And she burns with a dangerous, rebellious fever for knowledge, for freedom... and for the staggering truth about the enigmatic extraterrestrial creatures who may have destroyed a planet in order to save it.

Warm Worlds and Otherwise is a short story collection by Alice Sheldon (under the pen name James Tiptree, Jr) that was first published in 1975. This collection is notable for its introduction, in which Robert Silverberg wrote that he found the theory that Tiptree was female "absurd", that the...  more

Warm Worlds and Otherwise is a short story collection by Alice Sheldon (under the pen name James Tiptree, Jr) that was first published in 1975. This collection is notable for its introduction, in which Robert Silverberg wrote that he found the theory that Tiptree was female "absurd", that the author of these stories could only be a man. When it was later revealed that Tiptree was a woman, a postscript by Silverberg was added to the collection. Contents "Who Is Tiptree, What Is He?" (introduction by Robert Silverberg) "All the Kinds of Yes" "The Milk of Paradise" "And I Have Come Upon This Place by Lost Ways" "The Last Flight of Dr. Ain" "Amberjack" "Through a Lass Darkly" "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" (winner of the Hugo Award for novella in 1974) "The Night-Blooming Saurian" "The Women Men Don't See" "Fault" "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" (winner of the Nebula Award for short story in 1974) "On the Last Afternoon"

Postcolonial Speculative Fiction Anthology focuses on the themes of colonialism and cultural imperialism--on the viewpoints of the colonized. Sixteen authors share their experiences of being the silent voices in history and on the wrong side of the final frontier; their fantasies of a reality in...  more

Postcolonial Speculative Fiction Anthology focuses on the themes of colonialism and cultural imperialism--on the viewpoints of the colonized. Sixteen authors share their experiences of being the silent voices in history and on the wrong side of the final frontier; their fantasies of a reality in which straight, cis, able-bodied, rich, anglophone, white males don't tell us how they won every war; and their revenge against the alien oppressor settling their "new world." Contents: Preface (We See a Different Frontier) • essay by Aliette de Bodard; Introduction (We See a Different Frontier) • essay by Fábio Fernandes and Djibril al-Ayad; The Arrangement of Their Parts / Shweta Narayan; Pancho Villa's Flying Circus / Ernest Hogan; Them Ships / Silvia Moreno-Garcia; Old Domes / J. Y. Yang; How to Make a Time Machine Do Things That Are Not in the Manual, or The Gambiarra Method /Fábio Fernandes; A Bridge of Words / Dinesh Rao; Droplet / Rahul Kanakia; Lotus / Joyce Chng; Dark Continents / Lavie Tidhar; A Heap of Broken Images / Sunny Moraine; Fleet / Sandra McDonald; Remembering Turinam / N. A. Ratnayake; I Stole the D.C.'s Eyeglass / Sofia Samatar; Vector / Benjanun Sriduangkaew; Forests of the Night / Gabriel Murray; What Really Happened in Ficandula / Rochita Loenen-Ruiz; Afterword (We See a Different Frontier) • essay by Ekaterina Sedia.

A multi-dimensional explosion hurls the starship's few passengers across the galaxies and onto an uncharted barren tundra. With no technical skills and scant supplies, the survivors face a bleak end in an alien world. One brave woman holds the daring answer, but it is the most desperate one...  more

A multi-dimensional explosion hurls the starship's few passengers across the galaxies and onto an uncharted barren tundra. With no technical skills and scant supplies, the survivors face a bleak end in an alien world. One brave woman holds the daring answer, but it is the most desperate one possible. Elegant and electric, We Who Are About To... brings us face to face with our basic assumptions about our will to live. Originally published in 1977, this is one of the most subtle, complex, and exciting science fiction novels ever written about the attempt to survive a hostile alien environment. It is characteristic of Russ's genius that such a readable novel is also one of her most intellectually intricate.

Publisher's Weekly: "Well-known for young adult novels (The Shadow Speaker; Zahrah the Windseeker), Okorafor sets this emotionally fraught tale in postapocalyptic Saharan Africa. The young sorceress Onyesonwu—whose name means Who fears death?—was born Ewu, bearing a mixture...  more

Publisher's Weekly: "Well-known for young adult novels (The Shadow Speaker; Zahrah the Windseeker), Okorafor sets this emotionally fraught tale in postapocalyptic Saharan Africa. The young sorceress Onyesonwu—whose name means Who fears death?—was born Ewu, bearing a mixture of her mother's features and those of the man who raped her mother and left her for dead in the desert. As Onyesonwu grows into her powers, it becomes clear that her fate is mingled with the fate of her people, the oppressed Okeke, and that to achieve her destiny, she must die. Okorafor examines a host of evils in her chillingly realistic tale—gender and racial inequality share top billing, along with female genital mutilation and complacency in the face of destructive tradition—and winds these disparate concepts together into a fantastical, magical blend of grand storytelling."

Connie Ramos, a woman in her mid-thirties, has been declared insane. But Connie is overwhelmingly sane, merely tuned to the future, and able to communicate with the year 2137. As her doctors persuade her to agree to an operation, Connie struggles to force herself to listen to the future and its...  more

Connie Ramos, a woman in her mid-thirties, has been declared insane. But Connie is overwhelmingly sane, merely tuned to the future, and able to communicate with the year 2137. As her doctors persuade her to agree to an operation, Connie struggles to force herself to listen to the future and its lessons for today....From the Paperback edition.

Eleven tales. Not the first such anthology (e.g., Kindred Spirits, 1984) but easily the best. James Tiptree, Jr.'s razor-sharp "Houston, Houston, Do You Read" features some male astronauts precipitated into a future where only women survive. Joanna Russ' devastating "The Mystery of the...  more

Eleven tales. Not the first such anthology (e.g., Kindred Spirits, 1984) but easily the best. James Tiptree, Jr.'s razor-sharp "Houston, Houston, Do You Read" features some male astronauts precipitated into a future where only women survive. Joanna Russ' devastating "The Mystery of the Young Gentleman" concerns a member of a secret telepathic sisterhood, obliged to masquerade as a man. Both these tales are brilliant feminist pieces; the homosexual elements are merely consequences, not prime movers. "Lollipop and the Tar Baby" is a typically unpredictable, inventive, unclassifiable John Varley effort, about contending mother/daughter clones and a talking black-hole; again, the homosexual element is incidental. And the sexual references in Samuel R. Delany's famous "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-precious Stones" are wholly ambiguous. Two stories do explore homosexuality in some detail: a typically sensitive work from Edgar Pangborn, and a clever "lost colony" variant from Rand B. Lee. Elsewhere, there's a Darkover yam from Marian Zimmer Bradley, plus vampires, androids, alien invaders, and god-players. Fine work nearly all round, and probably destined for a wider audience, given sf fans' omnivorous tendencies, than the editors ("as lesbian and gay readers") seem to think.

In the northern Ooni Kingdom, fear of the unknown runs deep, and children born dada are rumored to have special powers. Thirteen-year-old Zahrah Tsami feels like a normal girls he grows her own flora computer, has mirrors sewn onto her clothes, and stays clear of the Forbidden Greeny Jungle. ...  more

In the northern Ooni Kingdom, fear of the unknown runs deep, and children born dada are rumored to have special powers. Thirteen-year-old Zahrah Tsami feels like a normal girls he grows her own flora computer, has mirrors sewn onto her clothes, and stays clear of the Forbidden Greeny Jungle. But unlike other children in the village of Kirki, Zahrah was born with the telling dadalocks. Only her best friend, Dari, isn't afraid of her, even when something unusual begins happeningsomething that definitely makes Zahrah different. The two friends determine to investigate, edging closer and closer to danger. When Dari's life is threatened, Zahrah must face her worst fears alone, including the very thing that makes her different. In this exciting debut novel by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, things aren't always what they seemmonkeys tell fortunes, plants offer wisdom, and a teenage girl is the only one who stands a chance at saving her best friend's life.

Seemingly the only person left alive after a nuclear war, a sixteen-year-old girl is relieved to see a man arrive into her valley until she realizes that he is a tyrant and she must somehow escape. Sixteen-year-old Ann Burden believes herself to be the only survivor of a nuclear war. Living on a...  more

Seemingly the only person left alive after a nuclear war, a sixteen-year-old girl is relieved to see a man arrive into her valley until she realizes that he is a tyrant and she must somehow escape. Sixteen-year-old Ann Burden believes herself to be the only survivor of a nuclear war. Living on a surprisingly lush and fertile farm, Ann is shocked to see a stranger arrive on her land. After secretly observing the man for several days, Ann comes to his aid when he falls ill from bathing in a contaminated stream. As she nurses the man back to health, Ann has no idea that he will soon become her most dangerous enemy.

Published earlier in Britain as In the Chinks of the World Machine (1988). An analysis of contemporary science fiction written by women to support Lefanu's thesis that science fiction is the ideal form for the fusion of feminist politics and the imagination. The first half of the book is a...  more

Published earlier in Britain as In the Chinks of the World Machine (1988). An analysis of contemporary science fiction written by women to support Lefanu's thesis that science fiction is the ideal form for the fusion of feminist politics and the imagination. The first half of the book is a general survey, the second half focuses on the writings of James Tiptree, Jr., Ursula K. Le Guin, Suzy McKee Charnas, and Joanna Russ.

The celebrated author offers her thoughts on a broad range of subjects, including literary criticism, the state of science fiction writing today, and government and governmental policies. Talks and essays: The space crone -- Is gender necessary? Redux -- Moral and ethical implications...  more

The celebrated author offers her thoughts on a broad range of subjects, including literary criticism, the state of science fiction writing today, and government and governmental policies. Talks and essays: The space crone -- Is gender necessary? Redux -- Moral and ethical implications of family planning -- It was a dark and stormy night -- Working on 'the lathe' -- Some thoughts on narrative -- World-making -- Hunger -- Places names -- The princess -- A non-Euclidean view of California as a cold place to be -- Facing it -- Reciprocity of prose and poetry -- A left-handed commencement address -- Along the Platte -- Whose lathe? -- The woman without answers -- The second report of the shipwrecked foreigner to the Kadanh of Derb -- Room 9, car 1430 -- Theodora -- Science fiction and the future -- The only good author? -- Bryn Mawr commencement address -- Woman / wilderness -- The carrier bag theory of fiction -- Heroes -- Prospects for women in writing -- Text, silence, performance -- 'Who is responsible?' -- Conflict -- 'Where do you get your ideas from?' -- Over the hills and a great way off -- The fisherwoman's daughter -- Reviews: The dark tower / C.S. Lewis -- Close encounters, star wars, and the tertium quid -- Shikasta / Doris Lessing -- Two from venom: Freddy's book and Vlemk / John Gardner ; The marriage between zones three, four and five / Doris Lessing-- Kalila and Dimna / retold by Ramsay Wood -- Unfinished business / Maggie Scarf -- Italian folktales / Italo Calvino -- Peake's progress / Mervyn Peake -- The sentimental agents / Doris Lessing -- Difficult loves / Italo Calvino-- 'Forsaking kingdoms': five poets -- The mythology of North America / John Bierhorst -- Silent partners / Eugene Linden -- Outside the gates / Molly Gloss -- Golden days / Carolyn See

Archaeologists and anthropologists discover other civilizations; science fiction writers invent them. In this collection of her major essays, Marleen Barr argues that feminist science fiction writers contribute to postmodern literary canons with radical alternatives to mainstream patriarchal...  more

Archaeologists and anthropologists discover other civilizations; science fiction writers invent them. In this collection of her major essays, Marleen Barr argues that feminist science fiction writers contribute to postmodern literary canons with radical alternatives to mainstream patriarchal society. Because feminist science fiction challenges male-centered social imperatives, it has been marginalized and dismissed from the canon—thus, lost in space.Moving beyond feminist science fiction itself, Barr goes on to examine other literary genres from the perspective of 'feminist fabulation'—a term she has coined to encompass science fiction, fantasy, utopian literature, and mainstream literature that critiques patriarchal fictions. Discussing the works of such writers as Margaret Atwood, Joanna Russ, Salman Rushdie, Paul Theroux, Ursula Le Guin, Herman Melville, Saul Bellow, Edgar Allan Poe, and Marge Piercy, Barr illuminates feminist science fiction's connections to other literary traditions and contemporary canons. Her critical analysis yields a new and expanded understanding of feminist creativity.

THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS. FOR THE LAST TIME. A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with...  more

THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS. FOR THE LAST TIME. A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

When the Dragon Ships began to tear through the trade lanes and ravage coastal towns, the hopes of the archipelago turned to the Windspeakers on Tash. The solemn weather-shapers with their eyes of stone can steal the breeze from raiders' sails and save the islands from their wrath. But the...  more

When the Dragon Ships began to tear through the trade lanes and ravage coastal towns, the hopes of the archipelago turned to the Windspeakers on Tash. The solemn weather-shapers with their eyes of stone can steal the breeze from raiders' sails and save the islands from their wrath. But the Windspeakers' magic has been stolen, and only their young apprentice Shina can bring their power back and save her people. Tazir has seen more than her share of storms and pirates in her many years as captain, and she's not much interested in getting involved in the affairs of Windspeakers and Dragon Ships. Shina's caught her eye, but that might not be enough to convince the grizzled sailor to risk her ship, her crew, and her neck."The Drowning Eyes is a magic- and wind-filled adventure, peopled with excellent and strong characters.  

Renata Ghali believed in Lee Suh-Mi’s vision of a world far beyond Earth, calling to humanity. A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution, and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything to follow Suh-Mi...  more

Renata Ghali believed in Lee Suh-Mi’s vision of a world far beyond Earth, calling to humanity. A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution, and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything to follow Suh-Mi into the unknown. More than twenty-two years have passed since Ren and the rest of the faithful braved the starry abyss and established a colony at the base of an enigmatic alien structure where Suh-Mi has since resided, alone. All that time, Ren has worked hard as the colony's 3-D printer engineer, creating the tools necessary for human survival in an alien environment, and harboring a devastating secret. Ren continues to perpetuate the lie forming the foundation of the colony for the good of her fellow colonists, despite the personal cost. Then a stranger appears, far too young to have been part of the first planetfall, a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to Suh-Mi. The truth Ren has concealed since planetfall can no longer be hidden. And its revelation might tear the colony apart...

THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS... FOR THE LAST TIME. The season of endings grows darker as civilization fades into the long cold night. Alabaster Tenring -- madman, world-crusher, savior -- has returned with a mission: to train his successor, Essun, and thus seal the fate of the Stillness...  more

THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS... FOR THE LAST TIME. The season of endings grows darker as civilization fades into the long cold night. Alabaster Tenring -- madman, world-crusher, savior -- has returned with a mission: to train his successor, Essun, and thus seal the fate of the Stillness forever. It continues with a lost daughter, found by the enemy. It continues with the obelisks, and an ancient mystery converging on answers at last. The Stillness is the wall which stands against the flow of tradition, the spark of hope long buried under the thickening ashfall. And it will not be broken.