And when the carnage is done, only one survivor remains: a young boy named Kieli. A youth no longer, there is now but one road for him to travel: the path of vengeance. And he will not be alone. Under the tutelage of the rescuers who discovered him, Kieli will be molded into a sure and pitiless weapon. And he will accept the destiny that has been chosen for him ... as Talon of the Silver Hawk.But the prey he so earnestly stalks is hunting him as well. And Talon must swear allegiance to a shadowy cause that already binds his mysterious benefactors -- or his mission, his honor,and his life will be lost forever.

    Two very different heroes who are fighting to protect the helpless in worlds that are wondrous, terrifying, and alien.

    Far-reaching in scope and imagination, Lord of Snow and Shadows embarks on a journey like no other—into a shape-shifting world teeming with political intrigue, astonishing magic, and passions both dark and light.Raised by his protective mother in the sunny clime of the south, Gavril Andar knows nothing of his father—or the ominous legacy that awaits him. But his innocence is about to be shattered. The man who ruled the wintry kingdom of Azhkendir, a man infused with the burning blood of the dragon-warrior known as Drakhaoul, has been murdered by his enemies. It is his fiery, chameleonlike blood that pulses through Gavril’s veins. The news is Gavril’s first taste of death—but it will not be his last. For blood is the liquid that seals his fate.Expected by clan warriors from the north to avenge his father’s murder—and still his unquiet ghost—Gavril is kidnapped. He soon learns that becoming Drakhaon means not only ascending to the throne of Azhkendir but changing, in subtle ways at first, into a being of extraordinary power and might. A being that must be replenished with the blood of innocents in order to survive. Ensconced in Kastel Drakhaon with no means of escape from the icebound kingdom, and carefully watched by neighboring rulers waiting to move against him, the untested Gavril must fight to retain his human heart and soul in the face of impending war—and the dark instincts that threaten to overpower him.Man and beast, spymaster and insurgent, nature and the netherworld--all collide in phenomenal twists and turns. A masterwork of adventure fantasy, Lord of Snow and Shadows will leave you stunned—and longing for more.

    Thirty years ago, an elven prince led an expedition in search of a legendary magic said to be more powerful than any in the world. Of all those who set out on that ill-fated voyage, not one has ever returned. Until now. The rescued elf carries a map covered with mysterious symbols–and Walker Boh, the last of the Druids, has the skill to decipher them. But someone else understands the map’s significance: the Ilse Witch, a ruthless young woman who wields a magic as potent as his own. She will stop at nothing to possess the map–and the magic it leads to. Thus begins the first volume of a dazzling new adventure in one of the most popular fantasy series of our time

    In recognition of his service to the Emperor of Kitai, Shen Tai has been sent a mysterious and dangerous gift: 250 Sardian horses. Wisely the gift comes with the stipulation that the horses must be claimed in person. Otherwise, he would probably be dead already.

    Donaldson makes a triumphant return to his New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series with a quartet of new novels that take place ten years after Covenant's ultimate sacrifice as savior of the Land.

    Jones's Sword of Shadow seriesAs a newborn Ash March was abandoned--left for dead at the foot of a frozen mountain. Found and raised by the Penthero Iss, the mighty Surlord of Spire Vanis, she has always known she is different. Terrible dreams plague her and sometimes in the darkness she hears dread voices from another world. Iss watches her as she grows to womanhood, eager to discover what powers his ward might possess. As his interest quickens, he sends his living blade, Marafice Eye, to guard her night and day.Raif Sevrance, a young man of Clan Blackhail, also knows he is different, with uncanny abilities that distance him from the clan. But when he and his brother survive an ambush that plunges the entire Northern Territories into war, he yet seeks justice for his own . . . even if means he must forsake clan and kin.Ash and Raif must learn to master their powers and accept their joint fate if they are to defeat an ancient prophecy and prevent the release of the pure evil known as the End Lords.

    Thomsen. Legendary science fiction writers, and citizen warriors, deliver science fiction military adventure tales on a grand scale. Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Laumer, Wolfe, and other greats. Giants of science fiction. Plus all new fiction by recent vets who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military veterans all. Gritty takes on future combat. Penetrating looks into the warrior’s character, the harsh reality of a life under arms, and how society deals with those it desperately needs and often fails to honor as it should.Contents: Nature and Nurture (2010) • essay by John Ringo Field Test [Bolo] (1976) / short story by Keith Laumer Allamagoosa (1955) / short story by Eric Frank Russell Exploration Team [Colonial Survey] (1956)/ novelette by Murray Leinster Superiority (1951) / short story by Arthur C. Clarke The Horars of War (1970) / short story by Gene Wolfe Fireproof (1949) / short story by Hal Clement Peace with Honor [Falkenberg's Legion] (1971) / novelette by Jerry Pournelle Under the Hammer [Hammer's Slammers] (1974) / short story by David Drake Time Piece (1970) / short fiction by Joe Haldeman [as by Joe W. Haldeman] Neither Sleet, Nor Snow, Nor Alien Invasion ... (2010) / short fiction by Dave Freer Light (2010) / short fiction by Kacey Grannis The Question (2010) / short fiction by Patrick A. Vanner The Price [Freehold] (2010) / novelette by Michael Z. Williamson Earth's First Improved Chimp Gets a Job as a Janitor (2004) / short story by John Ringo The Long Watch [Future History] (1949) / short story by Robert A. Heinlein About the Authors (Citizens) (2010) • essay by uncredited About the Editors (Citizens) (2010) • essay by uncredited.

    To be Deryni in a land ruled by the all-powerful Church is to be branded an outcast. But now, young Prince Kelson is about to assume the throne after the mysterious death of his father. He must be told of his magical heritage. For his legacy is being challenged by a woman who does not hesitate to lay full claim to her Deryni powers. And to face her in magical combat, Kelson must learn a lifetime’s worth of magic in a few short days.If he loses, he dies as his father did. And if he wins, he is King—but all the world will know that he is also Deryni…

    R. Martin, author of A Game of ThronesIt's spring on Nantucket and everything is perfectly normal, until a sudden storm blankets the entire island. When the weather clears, the island's inhabitants find that they are no longer in the late twentieth century...but have been transported instead to the Bronze Age! Now they must learn to survive with suspicious, warlike peoples they can barely understand and deal with impending disaster, in the shape of a would-be conqueror from their own time.

    In their time, long before the rise of the native civilizations, they had terrorized a hundred worlds—not from villainy but from folly, from tampering with the strands that held a universe together.Now the task was to uproot these Gates, destroy their potency for mischief, take horror out of the hands of the few who hungered for power by misuse of the Gates.This is the story of one such Gate and one such world.

    Now he turns his imagination to the short story in these spectacular tales of outer space, cyberspace, ancient gods, modern demons, and mortal horror, includingPanhandler A predatory lawyer encounters a fabled boyhood hero and falls victim to the less innocent intrigues of eternal youth.Growth Not even his minidrag Pip can save Flinx from the overly intimate advances of an intruder who goes entirely too far. Basted A lowly, hen-pecked Egyptian discovers that the Pharaoh’s tomb holds exactly what he needs for a whole new life.The Killing of Bad Bull A man with a knack for getting gambling’s one-armed bandits to give it up finds himself at the top–of several hit lists.At Sea A poor Scandinavian captain forced into running drugs is shown a way out of his desperate straits with the help of five beautiful blondes who are simply out-of-this-world. Open Exceptions to Reality to find these amazing stories and nine other irresistibly unearthly tales!

    The Prophecy was fulfilled—or so it seemed. While the strange child Errand was growing up in the Vale of Aldur with Polgara and Durnik, showing only occasional flashes of inexplicable knowledge and power, Garion was learning to rule and to be the husband of his fiery little Queen Ce’Nedra. Eleven years passed.Then suddenly the Voice of Prophecy cried out a warning: “Beware Zandramas!” Not even Belgarath the Sorcerer knew who or what Zandramas was. But Garion discovered hints in a previously obscured part of the Mrin Codex. Worse, he learned that the Dark Prophecy was still waging its ancient struggle against the Prophecy of Light. Again, great evil was brewing in the East. And again, Garion found himself a pawn, caught between the two ancient Prophecies, with the fate of the world somehow resting on him.

    Then, as quickly and inexplicably as it had struck, the disease–dubbed Transcription Divergence Syndrome (TDS)–vanished, leaving behind a population divided into three new branches of humanity: giant gray-skinned argos, hairless seal-like betas, and grotesquely obese charlies.Paxton Abel Martin was fourteen when TDS struck, killing his mother, transforming his preacher father into a charlie, and changing one of his best friends, Jo Lynn, into a beta. But Pax was one of the few who didn’t change. He remained as normal as ever. At least on the outside.Having fled shortly after the pandemic, Pax now returns to Switchcreek fifteen years later, following the suicide of Jo Lynn. What he finds is a town seething with secrets, among which murder may well be numbered. But there are even darker–and far weirder–mysteries hiding below the surface that will threaten not only Pax’s future but the future of the whole human race.

    For a time, they are safe, but the forces of the Dragon Army are in pursuit.As Tanis and Flint seek out a haven in the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, the rest of the companions face their own challenges. Raistlin is strangely drawn to the haunted fortress known as Skullcap. Sturm seeks the legendary Hammer of Kharas, the forging tool of the fabled dragonlances, while Tika Waylan must make a perilous journey to rescue those she loves from certain death.