Maxima Library

A new short story collection by Mercedes Lackey, Fiddler Fair demonstrates her wide range as a writer, running the gamut from her beloved Bardic fantasies to urban fantasy set in the modern world, from science fiction adventure to chilling horror.

Learn what happens when animal rights fanatics try to "liberate" genetically reconstructed dinosaurs. Follow Lawrence of Arabia into the desert to meet a power beyond human comprehension, and be with King Arthur, reborn into the present day, when he again gains possession of the enchanted sword Excalibur. And, in a very weird encounter of the most bizarre kind, learn why an alien from a UFO took an unusual interest in a battered Chevy pickup truck.

Stories include:

How I Spent my Summer Vacation

Aliens Ate My Pickup

Small Print

Last Rights

Dumb Feast

Dance Track

Jihad

Balance

Dragon's Teeth

The Cup and the Cauldron

Once and Future

Fiddler Fair

The Enemy of My Enemy

In Lammas Night a young weaver of spells is persuaded to bide a while in a small village, to make their village spells and keep the Dark at bay. As part of their persuasion, the villagers have given her the house of her predecessor. Not knowing that his spirit lingers there, she unwittingly breaks the spell that laid him. Now, a half-seen phantom courts her. He is either her lover for all time, the only she will ever know- or a wicked spirits' seeming, the aim of which is to entrap her in a fate unspeakable.

Will she call him to her or banish him forever? Now is the time of choosing, the Witching on Lammas Night. Magic Dark and Light are in perfect balance. She begins the casting of her spell....

Stories include:

"Introduction" by Josepha Sherman

"Lammas Night" by Mercedes Lackey

"Hallowmas Night" by Mercedes Lackey

"Harvest of Souls" by Doranna Durgin

"The Heart of the Grove" by Ardath Mayhar

"Miranda" by Ru Emerson

"Demonheart" by Mark Shepherd

"Sunflower" by Jody Lynn Nye

"Summer Storms" by Christie Golden

"A Choice of Many" by Mark Garland

"The Captive Song" by Jospha Sherman

"Midsummer Folly" by Elisabeth Waters

"The Mage, the Maiden and the Hag" by S.M. Stirling and Jan Stirling

"The Road Taken" by Laura Anne Gilman

"A Wandering of Wizard-Kind" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

"Circle of Ashes" by Stephanie D. Shaver

"A Choice of Dawns" by Susan Schwartz

"Miranda's Tale" by Jason Henderson

"Lady of Rock" by Diana L. Paxson

"Before" by Gael Baudino

The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published annually since 1966, reprinting the winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).  The editor, selected by SFWA’s anthology Committee (chaired by Mike Resnick), is American science fiction and fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey. This year’s Nebula winners are Ursula Vernon, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nancy Kress, and Jeff VanderMeer, with Alaya Dawn Johnson winning the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.

Praise for Nebula Awards Showcase 2014:

“There is not a story in the bunch that is not engaging to the reader…. This is an excellent book for lovers of science fiction.”

Praise for Nebula Awards Showcase 2013:

“Featuring writing of the highest quality in the genre, this compilation is certain to appeal to those demanding imaginative fiction.”

“Essential fare for short story aficionados, even though some of the contents have appeared in other collections.”

Jennifer Talldeer, is a private investigator. She is also Kestral-Hunts-Alone, an apprentice shaman learning modified tribal magic from her grandfather. She is called in to investigate possible sabotage at a local construction site where Indian artifacts have been found. Initially a run-of-the-mill investigation, it quickly spirals into a mess involving an old flame, Medicine and Native spirits running amok and an ancient evil once defeated by Jennifer's ancestor that has come back seeking revenge.

Mercedes Lackey

"She'll keep you up long past your bedtime." —New York Times bestselling author Stephen King

In an isolated land where the lure of the "Moontide" leads to shipwrecks, a woman is torn between obeying her father or her king. When she chooses to follow a Fool, she discovers magic she'd never expected . . . at a price that might be too high . . .

Tanith Lee

"Few writers today can match the sheer beauty and inventiveness of Tanith Lee's writing." —Millennium Science Fiction and Fantasy

Struggling under the curse of a dead comrade, Clirando, a warrior priestess unready to face the powers trapped within her, must face "The Heart of the Moon" to reveal what has been hidden . . .

C.E. Murphy

"A swift pace, a good mystery, a likeable protagonist, magic, danger — Urban Shaman has them in spades." —Jim Butcher, author of the bestselling series The Dresden Files

In "Banshee Cries," ritual murders under a full moon lead Jo Walker to confront a Harbinger of Death. Maybe this "gift" she has is one she shouldn't ignore — because the next life she has to save might be her own!