Maxima Library

Editor: Harry Turtledove

With its dual portrait of generals Grant and Lee on opposing sides of the Roman Civil War, the jacket of editor Turtledove's solid third alternative military history anthology neatly evokes this popular subgenre. While there's no such story, Robert E. Lee must decide, as the ambassador to Britain of a victorious but ostracized Confederacy, where his true loyalties lie in Lee Allred's provocative "East of Appomattox." Similarly, Roland J. Green's " 'It Isn't Every Day of the Week' " shows how altering the outcome of a few minor incidents can turn history on its head, making General "Old Hickory" Jackson and the Cherokee Nation allies when the U.S. is drawn into the Napoleonic wars. Chris Bunch's "Murdering Uncle Ho" vividly demonstrates the wisdom of "be careful what you wish for" in the book's most intensely drawn battle sequences; this tale of an alternative Vietnam War draws some disturbing parallels with Iraq, as does Turtledove's own "Shock and Awe." Esther M. Friesner's "First, Catch Your Elephant" may not tell us much about Hannibal, but it succeeds marvelously as comedy.

The Horror Writers Association Presents

BLOOD LITE

...a collection of entertaining tales that puts the fun back into dark fiction, with ironic twists and tongue-in-cheek wit to temper the jagged edge.

Charlaine Harris reveals the dark side of going green, when a quartet of die-hard environmentalists hosts a fundraiser with a gory twist in "An Evening with Al Gore"...In an all-new Dresden Files story from Jim Butcher, when it comes to tracking deadly paranormal doings, there's no such thing as a "Day Off" for the Chicago P.D.'s wizard detective, Harry Dresden...Sherrilyn Kenyon turns a cubicle-dwelling MBA with no life into a demon-fighting seraph with one hell of an afterlife in "Where Angels Fear to Tread"...Celebrity necromancer Jaime Vegas is headlining a sold-out séance tour, but behind the scenes, a disgruntled ghost has a bone to pick, in Kelley Armstrong's "The Ungrateful Dead." Plus tales guaranteed to get under your skin — in a good way — from Janet Berliner Don D'Ammassa Nancy Holder Nancy Kilpatrick J. A. Konrath and F. Paul Wilson Joe R. Lansdale Will LudwigsenSharyn McCrumb Mark Onspaugh Mike Resnick Steven SavileD. L. Snell Eric James Stone Jeff Strand Lucien Soulban Matt Venne Christopher Welch

So let the blood flow and laughter reign — because when it comes to facing our deepest, darkest fears, a little humor goes a long way!

An anthology of stories edited by Loren L Coleman and Martin H Greenberg

Sixteen original stories about magic-fueled crimes and those who investigate them

When magic is used for criminal purposes, all sorts of ethical and logistical questions arise beyond the realm of everyday law and order.

Now, sixteen top tale-tellers offer fascinating new stories of those who commit magic crimes, those who investigate them, and those who prosecute them. From a young woman who uses out-of-body excursions to research paranormal crimes to a bookie who's been paying for hex protection against magical interference to an artist who does divination through his sketched visions which may lead to a murderer's undoing, here are powerful tales of magical crimes and punishments.

An anthology of stories

Move over, vampires. Make room for the hottest creatures in fantasy: werewolves. Most people think werewolves are creatures of ancient legend, associated with prowling darkened forests and terrifying peasants in medieval cottages. But what about today's werewolf in modern society? Has twenty-first century life changed the rules and lifestyles of the contemporary lycanthrope? Are wolf packs communicating online via social networks? Could the person who at first glance looks like an average commuter (on the early train, to avoid the rising of the full moon) be one of them? Have werewolves infiltrated every level of government? Full Moon City answers these questions, and many more. Featuring contributions from bestselling fantasy luminaries, this collection of spellbinding stories puts the fun back into dark fiction.

An all-original collection of twenty-seven stories by some of today’s most inventive authors about alien encounters with humans-from the aliens’ perspective.

Tra le leggende che si raccontano nei bazar e nelle taverne degli astroporti ce n’è una che riguarda un mostro interstellare detto “il Mangiatore d’Anime” ma chiamato anche in altri modi, come “la Bestia dei Sogni” o “lo Spolveratore dello Spazio” . Gli ingenui non ci credono affatto a questa leggenda, e la gente più seria ci crede solo fino a un certo punto. Ma chi ci tenesse a saperne di più, vada al Tchaka’s Bar di Northpoint, un pianeta verso il centro della Galassia, e chieda di un vecchio ubriacone che chiamano l’Antico Marinaio. Lui una volta l’ha intravisto, il Mangiatore d’Anime.

Contents

“Introduction: Return to Venusport,” by Gardner Dozois. Copyright © 2015 by Gardner Dozois.

“Frogheads,” by Allen M. Steele. Copyright © 2015 by Allen M. Steele.

“The Drowned Celestial,” by Lavie Tidhar. Copyright © 2015 by Lavie Tidhar.

“Planet of Fear,” by Paul McAuley. Copyright © 2015 by Paul McAuley.

“Greeves and the Evening Star,” by Matthew Hughes. Copyright © 2015 by Matthew Hughes.

“A Planet Called Desire,” by Gwyneth Jones. Copyright © 2015 by Gwyneth Jones.

“Living Hell,” by Joe Haldeman. Copyright © 2015 by Joe Haldeman.

“Bones of Air, Bones of Stone,” by Stephen Leigh. Copyright © 2015 by Stephen Leigh.

“Ruins,” by Eleanor Arnason. Copyright © 2015 by Eleanor Arnason.

“The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss,” by David Brin. Copyright © 2015 by David Brin.

“By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers,” by Garth Nix. Copyright © 2015 by Garth Nix.

“The Sunset of Time,” by Michael Cassutt. Copyright © 2015 by Michael Cassutt.

“Pale Blue Memories,” by Tobias S. Buckell. Copyright © 2015 by Tobias S. Buckell.

“The Heart’s Filthy Lesson,” by Elizabeth Bear. Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Wishnevsky.

“The Wizard of the Trees,” by Joe R. Lansdale. Copyright © 2015 by Joe R. Lansdale.

“The Godstone of Venus,” by Mike Resnick. Copyright © 2015 by Kirinyaga Inc.

“Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan,” by Ian McDonald. Copyright © 2015 by Ian McDonald.

Remember the werewolves of classic stories and films, those bloodthirsty monsters that transformed under the full moon, reminding us of the terrible nature that lives within all of us? Today's werewolves are much more suave — and even sexy — and they've moved from British moors to New York City lofts, shaved, and got jobs. But as the tales of these writers will show you, they remain no less wild and passionate, and they still tug at the part of our being where a wild animal used to be.

Running With the Pack

includes stories from Carrie Vaughn, Laura Anne Gilman, and C.E. Murphy, and they will convince you that despite their gentrification, werewolves remain as fascinating and terrifying as ever.

Join the military, they said.

See far-flung worlds, they said.

Meet interesting creatures, and kill them all.

Soldiers fighting aliens in unforgiving landscapes, where every breath could be their last.

Featuring stories by Mike Resnick, Alan Baxter, Tim Marquitz, Steve Lewis, and others.

From near-future to far-future, featuring some of the best writers working in the field today.

Today, in order to honor the magnificent career of Jack Vance, one unparalleled in achievement and impact, GEORGE R.R. MARTIN and GARDNER DOZOIS, with the full cooperation of Jack Vance, his family, and his agents, suggest a Jack Vance tribute anthology called

Songs of the Dying Earth

, to encourage the best of today's fantasy writers to return to the unique and evocative milieu of The Dying Earth, from which they and so many others have drawn so much inspiration, to create their own brand-new adventures in the world of Jack Vance s greatest novel.

Half a century ago, Jack Vance created the world of the Dying Earth, and fantasy has never been the same. Now, for the first time ever, Jack has agreed to open this bizarre and darkly beautiful world to other fantasists, to play in as their very own. To say that other fantasy writers are excited by this prospect is a gross understatement; one has told us that he'd crawl through broken glass for the chance to write for the anthology, another that he'd gladly give up his right arm for the privilege that's the kind of regard in which Jack Vance and The Dying Earth are held by generations of his peers.

An anthology of stories

Paranormal crime stories by bestselling fiction writers like Anne Perry, Michael Stackpole, Laura Resnick, and more.

Paranormal crime stories by bestselling fiction writers like Kelley Armstrong, Anne Perry, Simon R. Green, Patricia Briggs, and more. A massive, monumental volume of paranormal crime fiction by bestselling authors. Gripping tales of mayhem include both novellas and short stories like 'Stalked by,' by Kelley Armstrong, 'The Judgment' by worldwide bestselling author Anne Perry, 'Appetite for Murder' by Simon R. Green, ', 'Road Dogs' by Norman Partridge, 'The Hex Is In' by Mike Resnick, 'Doppelgangster' by Laura Resnick, the chilling 'If Vanity Doesn't Kill Me' by Michael A. Stackpole, and many, many, more.

Compiled and edited by the world's most prolific anthologist – the award-winning Martin H. Greenberg – this is the biggest paranormal crime book on the market and the ultimate collection for crime lovers, ghost hunters, and thrill seekers everywhere. Also included are multiple stories by New York Times bestselling authors. The Best Paranormal Crime Stories Ever Told is a new book in the series, which includes The Best Hunting Stories Ever Told and The Best Fishing Stories Ever Told.

The future holds endless possibilities…

Here are 16 intriguing visions of tomorrow

Features stories by: Esther M. Friesner

Brenda Cooper

Kevin J. Anderson

P. R. Frost

Mike Resnick and James Patrick Kelly

Lisanne Norman

Dean Wesley Smith

Irene Radford

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

And more

For all of those who thought that by now that they'd be driving along the skyways in their own personal jet car, who assumed that humans would have established bases on the Moon and Mars, or that diseases would have been conqured, the aging process slowed to a crawl, and war eliminated along with social injustice-here are 16 stories of futures that might someday be reality.

Theodore Roosevelt: president, naturalist, explorer, author, cowboy, police commissioner, deputy marshal, soldier, taxidermist, ornithologist, and boxer. Everyone knows about that.

But how about vampire hunter?

Or African king?

Or Jack the Ripper's nemesis?

Or World War I doughboy?

Mike Resnick (the most-awarded short story writer in science fiction history, according to Locus) has been the biographer of these other Teddy Roosevelts for almost two decades. Here you will find a familiar Roosevelt, but in unfamiliar surroundings stalking a vampire through the streets of New York, or a crazed killer down the back alleys of Whitechapel, coming face-to-face with the devastation of 20th Century warfare, waging an early battle for women's suffrage, applying all his skills to bring American democracy to the untamed African wilderness, or coming face-to-face with one of H. G. Wells' Martian invaders in the swamps of Cuba.

And, as Winston Churchill said of the Arthurian legends, if these stories aren't true, then they should have been.

Enjoy.

Power. We all want it, they've got it — witches, warlocks, sorcerers, necromancers, those who peer beneath the veil of mundane reality and put their hands on the levers that move the universe. They see the future in a sheet of glass, summon fantastic beasts, and transform lead into gold… or you into a frog. From Gandalf to Harry Potter to the Last Airbender, wizardry has never been more exciting and popular. Enter a world where anything is possible, where imagination becomes reality. Experience the thrill of power, the way of the wizard. Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams (The Living Dead) brings you thirty-two of the most spellbinding tales ever written, by some of today's most magical talents, including Neil Gaiman, Simon R. Green, and George R. R. Martin.

A young boy finds a boring-looking book at a yard sale, but quickly becomes engrossed in the adventures of the author. In his uneventful adulthood, he rediscovers the book and hs passion for the narrative brings the author to life in his own back yard.

In Visions of Liberty, ten top science fiction writers, several of them Hugo or Nebula awardwinners, create ten very different futures in which Government does not exist and explore the possibilities of a truly free society. Among the roster: Hugo winner and Grand Master Jack Williamson; Michael Resnick, winner of four Hugos and a Nebula, and author of the international best seller, Santi-Ago; Michael A. Stackpole, author of eight New York Times best sellers; best-selling novelist Jane Undskold, New York Times best-selling author James P. Hogan, Robert J. Sawyer, winner of the Nebula Award for best novel of the year; and more.

As threats to liberty arise in our own time, so it will be in the future. In this volume, a stellar cast of Science Fiction luminaries consider how the future might be different—and how freedom might truly triumph.