But his reason for choosing this career was even less common, perhaps even unique. This story was first published in BEDLAM'S EDGE, Aug 2005.

    In order to get free of it, he'll need to use every bit of his trader cunning. If he does it just right, he might stay out of prison. With a little luck, he'll even manage to turn a profit.He's given up his old ways--mostly--thanks to his cushy life on a PAC space station. But behind his mild-mannered shopkeeper's facade, he's hiding a whole lot more.Sometimes you have to break the rules to do the right thing.The Cost of Business is a quiet story of cleverness and empathy. For some heroes, wits are much stronger than firepower.Books in the Dragonfire Station universe in written order: (each series is self-contained and need not be read in order)Dragonfire Station Book 1: Translucid Dragonfire Station Book 2: Fragments Dragonfire Station Book 3: Coalescence (series complete) Intersections: Dragonfire Station Short Stories Mercenary Warfare Book 1: Selling Out Mercenary Warfare Book 2: Blood Money Mercenary Warfare Book 3: Hell to Pay Mercenary Warfare Book 4: Calculated Risk Mercenary Warfare Book 5: Going for Broke (series complete) Chains of Command Book 1: New Blood Chains of Command Book 2: Blood and Bone Chains of Command Book 3: Cut to the Bone Chains of Command Book 4: Out for Blood(series complete)

    But the life of one Brentford schoolboy is turned upside down when he is sent on a mission by a Venusian he finds in his Daddy's allotment shed, and with Barry the Time Sprout lodged in his head to act as his guardian angel, the sky really is the limit.For the boy has to pose as the famous detective Lazlo Woodbine, and his travels will take him to an alternative future, where a vast pleasure palace space liner orbits the Earth, and where one Count Ilya Rostof is planning a celebration of Queen Victoria's ninetieth year on the throne. He will travel to the fabled Garden on Venus, and even to Heaven to meet with God - a rather nice man named Terrance. But even as these events are taking place, what of the nefarious schemes of Lord Willoughby Chase, of Professor Mandelbrot and the silly boys and their plans to fly a spacecraft into the Sun, and what of the etherial Poppett and the fabled vegetable lamb of Tartary? Never mind Lady Raygun and a group of fanatical space pirates ...A work of surreal brilliance from the mind of Robert Rankin, combining ecumenical ponderings with breathless space opera, and jaw dropping imagination.

    Forbidden by international accords to engage in combat, the "dog soldiers" lend their skills to the regular Army units, sniffing out IEDs and guarding the troops against things that go bump in the night. Sergeant Decker and his 300th comrade, Sergeant Sobieski, are assigned to a Forward Operating Base deep in the mountains of Afghanistan when they have to face a local threat far more dangerous than roadside bombs or insurgent ambushes.

    Monica Esteban grew up poor, on occasion helping her single mother clean houses. That’s when she first saw the big white house on Pine Terrace. Her mother called her princess and told her that one day she would marry a rich prince and live in a castle. The castle she dreamed of was the big white house. But that would never happen on a cop’s salary. At least that’s what she thought until she received an inconceivable dinner invitation from the most unlikely man imaginable. Dinner is everything she hoped it would be. Dan Emery is a perfect gentleman, making the next two months pass like a fairy tale…until her dream comes to an end and she finds out just how much it costs to live in the big white house on Pine Terrace. Don’t miss any of these exciting stories from Thriller 2: The Weapon by Jeffery Deaver Remaking by Blake Crouch Iced by Harry Hunsicker Justice Served by Mariah Stewart The Circle by David Hewson Roomful of Witnesses by R.L. Stine The House on Pine Terrace by Phillip Margolin The Desert Here and the Desert Far Away by Marcus Sakey On the Run by Carla Neggers Can You Help Me Out Here? by Robert Ferrigno Crossed Double by Joe Hartlaub The Lamented by Lawrence Light Vintage Death by Lisa Jackson Suspension of Disbelief by Tim Maleeny A Calculated Risk by Sean Chercover The Fifth World by Javier Sierra Ghost Writer by Gary Braver Through a Veil Darkly by Kathleen Antrim Bedtime for Mr. Li by David J. Montgomery Protecting the Innocent by Simon Wood Watch Out for My Girl by Joan Johnston Killing Time by Jon Land Boldt’s Broken Angel by Ridley PearsonOriginally published in THRILLER 2 (2009),edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Clive Cussler.

    As Brad struggles to understand the conflict between the aliens, as well as his place in the universe, he learns one group threatens Earth's security and the other wants something entirely different. All Brad wants is to return home to his family, but not until he embarks on the greatest adventure of his life. The book takes the reader on a wild mental roller coaster ride, with surprises at every twist and turn.

    Angry Birds, the world's favorite mobile game franchise, is now the world's favorite digital comic! This issue's featured story, "Propiganda" by Jeff Parker and César Ferioli is sure to slingshot it's way into your heart!

    On the world is a cathedral, ancient and run down – but with an icon at its heart, a warrior-woman with a bloodied rose on her chest. Is this a symbol that Saint Mina, founder of the Order, once walked on this world? Augusta is determined to find out…

    Ranging from the 19th to the 20th centuries, writers include James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, Richard Edward Connell, Henri Nathaniel Hawthorne, Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Jack London, Henri Ringgold Wilmer Lardner, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant and Edgar Allan Poe.

    The animals seem intelligent enough, and Red recruits Slim to help him train the odd creatures to do circus tricks. But the boys are about to discover their playthings aren’t exactly animals—and they’ve allowed themselves to be caught for a reason . . . Youth is a riveting tale from the author of countless classics, including I, Robot and the Foundation Trilogy, which won the Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series.

    

    Her brother is missing. One retired assassin must confront her past to save his future… Immortal Kat Dubois has traded in her sword for a flask. Hard drinking helps ease the grisly memories of her former trade: an assassin of immortals. She’s perfectly content to spend eternity in her Seattle tattoo parlor…until the mysterious disappearance of her brother finally brings her out of retirement. With a charmed deck of tarot cards and her trusty sword, Kat sets off to track down her brother and save his soul. A wicked corporation and a laundry list of old rivals stand in the way of her quest. For someone with an eternity to live, Kat's chances of unraveling the mystery become less likely with each passing second… The Kat Dubois Chronicles is a tough-girl urban fantasy series set in Seattle, WA. If you like intense action, gritty characters, unconventional magic, and Egyptian mythology, then you'll love this unique, fast-paced adventure. Perfect for fans of Kim Harrison, Karen Marie Moning, and Nalini Singh! This collection includes 350,000 words of mythology, action, and supernatural suspense: Ink Witch Outcast Underground Soul Eater Judgement Afterlife Also written in the Echo World: The Echo Trilogy Collection: The Complete Series What readers are saying: "I love, love, love, LOVE THIS SERIES!!!" "I love stories where the female is anything but a damsel in distress! She kicks butt and takes no excuses from those whose butts are being kicked!" "Loved the Puget Sound setting! Also loved the wonderful use of mythology!" "If you want a great escape from reality for awhile, I highly recommend this series." "So beyond amazing!! MUST READ!!"

    R. Martin's Wild Cards multi-author shared-world universe has been thrilling readers for over 25 years. Now, in addition to overseeing the ongoing publication of new Wild Cards books (like 2011's Fort Freak), Martin is also commissioning and editing new Wild Cards stories for publication on Tor.com. Daniel Abraham's "When We Were Heroes" is an affecting examination of celebrity, privacy, and the different ways people deal with notoriety and fame--problems not made easier when what you're famous for are superpowers that even you don't fully understand.At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

    They've been having some serious problems with the white stuff—not snow, but cocaine—and their highly-paid, isolated, somewhat stir-crazy employees have been overdosing at an alarming rate. Kate's job is to identify the dealer and staunch the flow before more people die. It's never that simple, of course.In Play with Fire, Kate and friends stumble across a naked, decaying corpse in the woods. Judged death by misadventure by the Troopers, Kate's sense of justice demands that she launch her own investigation, leading her to ask some very uncomfortable questions of a frontier faith community. Questions that might drive someone to kill…again.In Blood Will Tell, Kate is forced to involve herself in Native politics, attending the annual Federation convention in Anchorage and investigating the deaths of several board members. Opposition to a new development project seems to have been the link tying the victims together, but when Kate poses the question that all detective work begins with—cui bono?—she finds there are more suspects on the list than not.Also included: the two Kate Shugak short stories, "Wreck Rights" and "Cherchez la Femme."

    Introduction by Robert Silverberg. Afterwords by Norman Spinrad, Vonda N McIntyre, Robert Sheckley, Philip Jose Farmer, Thomas M Disch, and Edward Bryant.