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High Couch of Silistra (Silistra Quartet)

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High Couch of Silistra (Silistra Quartet)
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High Couch of Silistra is a story of sex, power, metaphysics and adventure told from the perspective of one world’s most desirable courtesan.

FOR ADVENTUROUS READERS ONLY

“We are all bound,” is the great truth of Silistra: Bound by biological necessity and genetics, the men and women of Silistra struggle to sort Nature from Nurture – where Nature always wins.

Welcome to Silistra, a glimpse of a far distant future wherein a civilization proclaims the greatest feat an individual can perform is to produce one child, yet distrusts the sciences that brought them to the verge of extinction. Here women and men coexist uneasily in a society ravaged by war, technology, and infertility, each vying for power, seeking dominion over one another.

Be warned, if your tastes run to simplistic plots, throbbing organs, swooning damsels or kick-boxing women in men’s armor, Silistra may be too challenging. Misogynists, misanthropes, misandrists, or fans of political diatribe, this is not the book for you.

High Couch of Silistra, first of the notorious Silistra Quartet, brings us to a realm where thought alters probability, where creativity is inextricably linked to the urge to own and dominate, and where the universe itself is amenable to a focused mind. Rooted deeply in humanity’s mythic past yet unaware of the planet Earth, High Couch of Silistra begins one woman’s quest for self-knowledge – with surprising results.

Beyond the Ranges

Beyond the Ranges
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For Jason Graham, the world ends not with a bang, not even with much of a whimper.

One second, he’s sitting in a restaurant in Mobile, Alabama, chatting with a server, the next he finds himself in a strange room, rescued by mysterious alien benefactors. Seems the world did end, though how and why are something of a mystery.

Now, Jason—and five hundred million other humans—are in orbit around an Earthlike world that is abundant in natural resources and totally untamed. For the newly awakened humans, this is a chance to start society with a clean slate and a bright future. For Jason, who has knocked about aimlessly in several different careers in his Earth life, it’s an opportunity to unleash his creativity and ambition and see what he can really do.

Interplanetaries: The Complete Interplanetary Tales of Clark Ashton Smith

Interplanetaries: The Complete Interplanetary Tales of Clark Ashton Smith
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Clark Ashton Smith (1893–1961) is best known for creating exotic worlds of fantasy, such as the lost continent Zothique, set in the far future, the arctic realm of Hyperborea, and the medieval domain of Averoigne. It is less widely known that Smith was a pioneer in science fiction, as his tales appeared extensively in such pulp magazines as Wonder Stories and Amazing Stories and had a marked influence on the science fiction of his day.

Mars was a favored locale for several significant tales, including the cosmic horror masterpiece “The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis.” “Seedling of Mars” is one of several tales in this volume that broaches the distinctive subgenre of “green horror”—horror that results from deadly animated plants. This motif first found expression in Smith’s early prose poem “The Flower-Devil,” and he utilized it in such tales as “Vulthoom,” “The Demon of the Flower,” and others.

The remote planet Xiccarph is the setting for two tales, “The Maze of the Enchanter” and “The Flower-Women.” One of Smith’s most expansive tales, “The Monster of the Prophecy,” is set on Antares, while the late story “Phoenix” is grimly apocalyptic in its setting in the far future, with most of the Earth’s inhabitants killed off.

Clark Ashton Smith’s mastery of a prose-poetic idiom lends a distinctive flavor to his interplanetary tales. Far from being naively optimistic adventures into the depths of space, they exhibit a rueful doubt as to the place of human beings in an immense and hostile universe.

This volume, edited by leading Clark Ashton Smith scholar Ronald S. Hilger, contains an illuminating preface by Nathan Ballingrud.

Straight Outta Dodge City

Straight Outta Dodge City
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Baen’s Weird Western Fantasy and Horror Anthology Series Becomes a Trilogy!

It’s the final showdown between heroes and darkness in the Old West. And boy, howdy . . . it’s a doozy! Humans versus monsters. Supernatural beings versus greater evils. We even throw in a dinosaur or two for fun. Come explore the untold myths of the west, one more time!

Joe Lansdale [Bubba Ho-Tep, Hap & Leonard] takes us on a train ride of the dammed in hopes of rescuing one innocent soul. Mercedes Lackey’s [SERRAted Edge series, Valdemar Universe] duty-bound man races to claim sacred land. Jonathan Maberry [V-Wars, Joe Ledger] introduces us to a half-Comanche hired gun running out of time against some murderous ghosts. Alt-History legend Harry Turtledove [Videssos Cycle] gives us a West . . . slightly askew from our own. And James A. Moore [Predator: Hunters and Hunted] pits skinwalker against kachina in a Western anthology any historian would love!

Plus Irene Radford looks for a new home for a house demon, Eytan Kollin raises golems, Kim May battles a mythical creature while dangling from an airship, and much, much more!

Just when you thought it was safe to go West again, comes the third anthology in the Straight Outta series!

Tuf Voyaging: A Novel by George R. R. Martin

Tuf Voyaging: A Novel by George R. R. Martin
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Long before A Game of Thrones became an international phenomenon, #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin had taken his loyal readers across the cosmos. Now back in print after almost ten years, Tuf Voyaging is the story of quirky and endearing Haviland Tuf, an unlikely hero just trying to do right by the galaxy, one planet at a time.
 
Haviland Tuf is an honest space-trader who likes cats. So how is it that, in competition with the worst villains the universe has to offer, he’s become the proud owner of a seedship, the last remnant of Earth’s legendary Ecological Engineering Corps? Never mind; just be thankful that the most powerful weapon in human space is in good hands—hands which now have the godlike ability to control the genetic material of thousands of outlandish creatures.

Armed with this unique equipment, Tuf is set to tackle the problems that human settlers have created in colonizing far-flung worlds: hosts of hostile monsters, a population hooked on procreation, a dictator who unleashes plagues to get his own way . . . and in every case, the only thing that stands between the colonists and disaster is Tuf’s ingenuity—and his reputation as a man of integrity in a universe of rogues.

“A rich blend of adventure, humor, compassion and all the other things that make being human worthwhile.”—Analog
 
“A new facet of Martin’s manysided talent.”—Asimov’s

Stellar Stories: Science Fiction & Wonder

Stellar Stories: Science Fiction & Wonder
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Eight stories of rockets and robots, monsters and Martians, fistfights and beauties, wonders and awe…

A young man’s blind date is kidnapped by Martians and he is drawn into her secrets. A brotherhood outside of time seeks to mend a Solar System devastated by lunatic machines. Men from a Plutonian research base confront metaphysical chaos on Charon. Two runaway sisters resolve to rescue the implanted helper-sentience of a deceased warrior. And more!

Queen of the Martian Catacombs: The Illustrated Stark (Eric John Stark by Leigh Brackett)

Queen of the Martian Catacombs: The Illustrated Stark (Eric John Stark by Leigh Brackett)
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Trouble is brewing on Mars… With civil war about to erupt, Eric John Stark has been sent to investigate an apocalyptic warlord recruiting mercenaries. More disturbing than the promise of a full scale war to unify the Martian city states is the claim that Delgaun’s ally, Kynon of Shun, has at his disposal ancient sorceries that grant him powers of life and death.

Why Kynon’s mistress, the beautiful Berild, takes an interest in Stark, the mercenary swordsman finds himself caught in a web of lief, betrayal, and evil magic. Can Stark unravel the mysteries of the lost Martian tribe and pull Mars back from the brink of war? The mysterious Berild is prepared to kill to keep the secret buried in the deserts of Mars–or offer it up on a plate to stark if he will help her conquer the Red Planet!

An all-new, fully-illustrated edition of Leigh Brackett’s classic Sword & Planet adventure!

See also he next adventures of Eric John stark : the skaith trilogy

The Soldier (Rise of the Jain trilogy- polity universe)

The Soldier (Rise of the Jain trilogy- polity universe)
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The Soldier is the first novel in the no-holds barred Rise of the Jain series, by bestselling science fiction author Neal Asher.

Her mission is vital. Her failure is unthinkable.

A corner of space swarms with alien technology, a danger to all sentient life. It’s guarded by Orlandine, who must keep it contained – as it could destroy entire civilizations. An alien intelligence shares her vigil. But she doesn’t share everything with Dragon . . .

Orlandine is hatching a plan to obliterate this technology, removing its threat forever. For some will do anything to exploit this ancient weaponry, created by a long-dead race called the Jain. This includes activating a Jain super-soldier, which may breach even Orlandine’s defences.

Meanwhile, humanity and the alien prador empire also watch this sector of space, as neither can allow the other to claim its power. However, things are about to change. The Jain might not be as dead as they seemed and interstellar war is just a heartbeat away.

The action continues in The Warship.

Dark Intelligence: Transformation Book One (Transformations trilogy – polity universe)

Dark Intelligence: Transformation Book One (Transformations trilogy - polity universe)
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One man will transcend death to seek vengeance. One woman will transform herself to gain power. And no one will emerge unscathed…

Thorvald Spear wakes in a hospital to find he’s been brought back from the dead. What’s more, he died in a human vs. alien war that ended a century ago. Spear had been trapped on a world surrounded by hostile Prador forces, but Penny Royal, the AI inside the rescue ship sent to provide backup, turned rogue, annihilating friendly forces in a frenzy of destruction and killing Spear. One hundred years later the AI is still on the loose, and Spear vows for revenge at any cost.

Isobel Satomi ran a successful crime syndicate, but after competitors attacked she needed power and protection. Negotiating with Penny Royal, she got more than she bargained for: Turning part-AI herself gave Isobel frightening power, but the upgrades hid a horrifying secret, and the dark AI triggered a transformation that has been turning her into something far from human…

Spear hires Isobel to track Penny Royal across worlds to its last known whereabouts. But he cheats her in the process and quickly finds himself in her crosshairs. As Isobel continues to evolve into a monstrous predator, it’s clear her rage will eventually win out over reason. Will Spear finish his hunt before he himself becomes the hunted?

Dark Intelligence is the explosive first novel in a brand new trilogy from military SF master Neal Asher and a new chapter in his epic Polity universe.

The Skinner (Spatterjay trilogy – polity universe)

The Skinner (Spatterjay trilogy - polity universe)
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