These were her very own planets, with such fascinating features as the Sea of Morning Opals, the Mountains of White Cloud, wicked Canal cities, and lost lands full of magic and mystery.That girl's name is Leigh Brackett. And today, more than 35 years after selling her first science fiction story, she continues to thrill and excite all lovers of imaginative writing. Her haunting tales of ancient Mars, wind-swept Venus, and remote worlds beyond human technology have become almost instant classics in the genre; and now Edmond Hamilton, Leigh's husband and a great SF writer in his own right, has personally collected ten of her best stories into a beautiful hardcover anthology. Here's a preview of the amazing tales:THE JEWEL OF BAS. There's an ancient legend passed down among the people of the outermost planet. It tells of Bas the Immortal, possessor of the Stone of Destiny—a jewel of such power that owning it gives a man rule over the whole world. Ciaran and Mouse, two unscrupulous gypsies, only half-believed the story until they found themselves at the mercy of Bas's fierce android army ... pawns in a sinister plan to enslave the human race.THE VANISHING VENUSIANS. For years the space colonists had wandered the hellish eternal seas of Venus, seeking the home that was their birthright, death constantly stalking in their wake. And now they were making their final bid—three of their bravest fighting toward a promised land guarded by nightmare creatures. Who would emerge victorious? Close to 4000 desperate people waited anxiously for the answer...THE VEIL OF ASTELLAR. Tough, hardbitten Steve Vance ... once he was human! But three hundred years ago he betrayed his homeland for a race of alien vampires who fulfilled his every desire in return for a small "favor." All he had to do was lure innocent Earth spaceships to their doom on the vampires' world. He knew his soul was forever damned. But there was one way in which he might atone...THE QUEER ONES. Hank Temple was at the editor's desk when the hospital called him in to see the X-rays. They were of a hill girl's illegitimate baby, and they showed insides like no child ever had. That was the beginning ... and the end came on an enshrouded Ozark mountain, with deadly green lightning flickering and a sound in the sky that was not wind or thunder...

    Together with his great riding moose and the young bear who was his friend, he was on an extraordinary mission. For this was five thousand years after the holocaust known as The Death. Now the evil Brotherhood of the Unclean was waging all-out war against the few remnants of normal humanity, determined to wipe out all traces of its emerging civilization. Hiero's task was to bring back a lost secret of the ancients that might save the humans. But his path lay through the very heart of the territory ruled by the Unclean and their hordes of mutated, intelligent, savage beast followers. And the Unclean were waiting for him!

    "What are you doing? And what's that picture doing?"It was one of the Museum's guards."I was going to ask somebody that same question," I told him as austerely as I could manage. "What about this picture? I thought there was a Bocklin hanging here."The guard relaxed. "Oh, I beg your pardon, sir. I thought you were somebody else--the man who brought that thing." He nodded at the picture. "Personally, I think it's plain beastly.""And the Museum has accepted it at last?" I asked.He shook his head. "Oh, no, sir."I, too, came close. There was no plate beneath the painting. But in the lower left-hand corner of the canvas were sprawling capitals, pale paint on the dark, spelling out the word "GOLGOTHA." Beneath these, in small, barely readable script:"I sold my soul that I might paint a living picture.""

    Hall of Mirrors appeared in the December 1953 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.It is a tough decision to make—whether to give up your life so you can live it over again!

    

    Quag Keep was the first novel based on the world of Dungeons & Dragons by the legendary grand mistress of SF/Fantasy, Andre Norton.Once, they were role-playing gamers in our world.They came from different places and different backgrounds.Now they're summoned together by some magical force...to a land that mirrors the games they used to play.Quag KeepCan they band together to unlock the secret of their summoning--and rescue from the legendary Quag Keep the person who may be able to return them home?

    The last few millions of the human race are gathered together in a gigantic metal pyramid, the Last Redoubt, under siege from unknown forces and Powers outside in the dark. These are held back by a Circle of energy, known as the "air clog," powered from the Earth's internal energy. For millennia, vast living shapes - the Watchers - have waited in the darkness near the pyramid: it is thought they are waiting for the inevitable time when the Circle's power finally weakens and dies. Other living things have been seen in the darkness beyond, some of unknown origins, and others that may once have been human.To leave the protection of the Circle means almost certain death, or worse, but as the story commences, the narrator establishes mind contact with an inhabitant of another, forgotten, Redoubt, and sets off into the darkness to find her.

    The novel is set at some indeterminate time in a post-nuclear holocaust future, where science and sorcery co-exist and the Dark Empire of Granbretan (Great Britain) is expanding across Europe.

    In Amtor, cities of immortal beings flourish in giant trees reaching thousands of feet into the sky; ferocious beasts stalk the wilderness below; rare flashes of sunlight precipitate devastating storms; and the inhabitants believe their world is saucer-shaped with a fiery center and an icy rim. Stranded on Amtor after his spaceship crashes, astronaut Carson Napier is swept into a world where revolution is ripe, the love of a princess carries a dear price, and death can come as easily from the blade of a sword as from the ray of a futuristic gun.Illustrations by Thomas Floyd, the original frontispiece by J. Allen St. John, an afterword by Phillip Burger, a glossary of Amtor terms by Scott Tracy Griffin, a map of Amtor drawn by Edgar Rice Burroughs that appeared in the first edition, and an introduction by acclaimed science fiction and horror novelist F. Paul Wilson.

    . .Leif Langdon was suddenly ripped from the 20th century and plunged into the ancient world of The Mirage. But his entrance into this awesome land awakened the slumbering Dwayanu, who in this strange incarnation was also Leif. Thus, two-men-in-one battle with the beautiful witch-woman Lur and the ethereal beauty Evalie for the glory of The Mirage.

    To blow that horn would open up a door through space-time and permit entry to a cosmos whose dimensions and laws were not those our starry galaxy knows.For that other universe was a place of tiers, world upon world piled upon each other like the landings of a sky-piercing mountain. The one to blow that horn would ascend those steps, from creation to creation, until he would come face to face with the being whose brain-child it was.But what if that maker of universes was a madman? Or an imposter? Or a super-criminal hiding from the wrath of his own superiors?The Maker of Universes is unlike any science-fiction novel you have ever read, it is wonderfully unique.

    From out of the deepest, most violent recesses of mankind's collective memory, Kothar the gigantic barbarian strides, the enchanted sword Frostfire glittering in his mighty hand. Lusty, hot-blooded, masterful, unafraid of things real or unreal, Kothar dominates the misty, bloody world before recorded time. Yet, though Kothar's world existed in another age--perhaps another dimension--it springs vividly to life. Mapped, charted, chronicled, Kothar's fantastic world suddenly becomes real--the sorcerers, dragons, witches, evil potions, unspeakable monsters. And Kothar, an epic hero for any age, overshadows everything.Includes the stories:"The Sword of the Sorcerer""The Treasure in the Labyrinth""The Woman in the Witch-Wood"with an introduction by Donald MacIvers, Ph.D.

    His twenty-three international bestsellers have ranged from the beloved Shannara series to stories that tread a much darker path. Armageddon’s Children is a new creation–the perfect opportunity for readers unfamiliar with Brooks’s previous work to experience an author at the height of his considerable storytelling powers. It is a gripping chronicle of a once-familiar world now spun shockingly out of control, in which an extraordinary few struggle to salvage hope in the face of terrifying chaos. Logan Tom is doomed to remember the past and determined to rescue the future. Far behind him lies a boyhood cut violently short by his family’s slaughter, when the forces of madness and hate swept our world after decadent excesses led to civilization’s downfall. Somewhere ahead of him rests the only chance to beat back the minions of evil that are systematically killing and enslaving the last remnants of humanity. Navigating the scarred and poisoned landscape that once was America and guided by a powerful talisman, Logan has sworn an oath to seek out a remarkable being born of magic, possessed of untold abilities, and destined to lead the final fight against darkness.Across the country, Angel Perez, herself a survivor of the malevolent, death-dealing forces combing the land, has also been chosen for an uncanny mission in the name of her ruined world’s salvation. From the devastated streets of Los Angeles, she will journey to find a place–and a people–shrouded in mystery, celebrated in legend, and vital to the cause of humankind . . . even as a relentless foe follows close behind, bent on her extermination. While in the nearly forsaken city of Seattle, a makeshift family of refugees has carved out a tenuous existence among the street gangs, mutants, and marauders fighting to stay alive against mounting odds–and something unspeakable that has come from the shadows in search of prey. In time, all their paths will cross. Their common purpose will draw them together. Their courage and convictions will be tested and their fates will be decided, as their singular crusade begins: to take back, or lose forever, the only world they have.In Armageddon’s Children, Brooks brings his gifts as a mythmaker to the timeless theme of the unending, essential conflict between darkness and light–and carries his unique imaginative vision to a stunning new level. Prepare for a breathtaking tour de force. To those who are new to Terry Brooks, welcome. And to those who have read him for many years: prepare for a dramatic surprise.From the Hardcover edition.

    Science rules the dayside of the globe. Magic rules the World of Night, and Jack of Shadows, Shadowjack the Thief, who broke the Compact and duped the Lord of High Dudgeon, walks in silence and in shadows to seek vengeance upon his enemies.

    Twk-men ride dragonflies and trade information for salt. There are monsters and demons. Each being is morally ambiguous: the evil are charming, the good are dangerous.