Best of
Alternate-History

2006

Temeraire: In the Service of the King


Naomi Novik - 2006
    In His Majesty's Service also includes an exclusive original Temeraire short story. Capt. Will Laurence is serving with honor in the British Navy when his ship captures a French frigate harboring most a unusual cargo-an incalculably valuable dragon egg. When the egg hatches, Laurence unexpectedly becomes the master of the young dragon Temeraire and finds himself on an extraordinary journey that will shatter his orderly, respectable life and alter the course of his nation's history. Thrust into England's Aerial Corps, Laurence and Temeraire undergo rigorous training while staving off French forces intent on breaching British soil. But the pair has more than France to contend with when China learns that an imperial dragon intended for Napoleon-Temeraire himself- has fallen into British hands. The emperor summons the new pilot and his dragon to the Far East, a long voyage fraught with peril and intrigue. From England's shores to China's palaces, from the Silk Road's outer limits to the embattled borders of Prussia and Poland, Laurence and Temeraire must defend their partnership and their country from powerful adversaries around the globe. But can they succeed against the massed forces of Bonaparte's implacable army?

His Majesty's Dragon


Naomi Novik - 2006
    When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

Deadlands Reloaded (Savage Worlds; S2P10200)


Shane Lacy Hensley - 2006
    The guns of the Civil War are silent thanks to a tense cease fire between North and South. California is shattered by the Great Quake of '68, a new superfuel called ghost rock is revealed in the flooded channels and buried in the cliff faces that loom above. Powerful Rail Barons strive to be the first to complete a transcontinental railroad, and the Great Rail Wars exact a bloody toll on an American frontier divided between not only the Union and Confederacy, but the Sioux Nation, the Mormon state of Deseret, and the Independent Commonwealth of California. Amid the chaos, fortunes can be made by those bold enough to make their way West. These brave souls have more than plain old human violence to contend with. Something's going on in the West, something downright nasty. Fear stalks the land like a hungry beast, and abominations from man's myths and nightmares haunt the High Plains. Legends tell of ancient and powerful beings that thrive on the fear created by these horrific creatures. All around, the night grows darker and the shadows grow longer as evil twists the land. Arrayed against the forces of darkness are the heroes of the Weird West: Grim gunslingers, spell slinging hucksters, brilliant mad scientists, and wizened Indian shamans stake their souls and fortunes on the battle against the evils of the frontier, and often lay down their very lives for the cause of righteousness and light. And sometimes, death is not the end. Back in the Saddle! Deadlands: The Weird West returns, with the popular Savage Worlds game engine under the hood. Within these pages, you'll find all the rules you need to build a posse of heroes, and all the dirt the Marshal (that's the game master, partner) needs to bury 'em. We've also got a whirlwind tour of the Weird West, complete with a whole passel of nasty varmints and critters to vex adventurous souls. If your posse's the ambitious t

The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee


Thomas Fleming - 2006
    The Civil War is over and the South lies in ruins. But for some, the former slaveholders have not been punished enough. A cabal of powerful men, led by Charles A. Dana, the Assistant Secretary of War, plot to break the spirit of the South once and for all--by convicting General Robert E. Lee of treason and hanging him like a common criminal. To this end, they have convened a secret military tribunal in Lee's former home in Arlington, Virginia. Jeremiah O'Brien of The New York Tribune, a long-time protege of Dana's, is the only reporter allowed to attend the trial. His exclusive reports on this momentous event, and the book he intends to write, will surely make his fortune. Yet as the trial proceeds, pitting the general against his accusers, O'Brien finds himself torn between his loyalty to Dana, his love for a beautiful Confederate spy, and his growing respect and compassion for Lee himself. The young reporter is supposed to be only an observer, but, in the end, it is O'Brien who must evaluate the evidence . . . and determine the true meaning of honor.Written by acclaimed author and historian Thomas Fleming, The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee brings to life a fascinating chapter in American history that might well have happened--and perhaps truly did.

Conflagration


Mick Farren - 2006
    The Republic of the Carolinas and the Virginia Freestate have already fallen to the invading Mosul, a ravening, barbaric horde led by an evil fundamentalist priesthood. Only the Kingdom of Albany, with aid from the Norse Alliance of Britain and Scandinavia, remains free to continue the struggle.Against the hellspawn controlled by the Mosul stands The Four, a supernatural entity comprised of four youngsters from disparate backgrounds: Argo, the back-country hick; Jesamine, the slave-concubine; Raphael the Hispanian cannon-fodder conscript; and Cordelia, the spoiled aristocrat. Together, they alone have managed to combat the Mosul's Dark Things.The army of Albany moves south to attempt to free Virginia and The Four go along in support. The battle engages cavalry, infantry, and artillery -- but the Mosul have other weapons in their arsenal, and as The Four try desperately to protect their comrades from other-worldly foes, they catch fleeting glimpses of two albino children, the White Twins. Even the enigmatic Yancey Slide has no clue as to what kind of threat the twins may represent.

Pellucidar: The Inner World, Vol 2


Edgar Rice Burroughs - 2006
    In the living world inside our earth danger lurks at every turn as a new empire grows. In the second volume of Leonaur's Pellucidar: the Inner World series two complete novels, Tanar of Pellucidar and Tarzan at the Earth's Core, continue the story of David Innes, the intrepid explorer who is forging a new empire in the savage inner world that is more alien than any distant planet. Everything we expect of an Edgar Rice Burroughs tale is here: beautiful, scantily clad maidens, mighty warriors, civilizations both sophisticated and savage, a menagerie of weird and wonderful creatures and Tarzan, one of the greatest heroes in all of literature. This is unforgettable and timeless scientific romance in the great tradition!