In these labors, there is one friend that they can count on, day in and day out . . . he’s a constant companion in their headsets with the Smack and Crack, Sno Bro, and other music they love, as well offering a seemingly endless stream of friendship and encouragement: the morning DJ on Company Radio Channel D, Robin Whitlake. But, Robin is more than a warm human voice in the endless night, he is a man with a heroic, yet deadly and dangerous secret past that could condemn him to death at any time. Disfigured and aging rapidly, he must work harder and harder to project the youth and vitality that he brings to his broadcasts, all the while wondering when and if his past will catch up with him. On 14 January 2314, it did. A disaster in the mining colony brings the heroic and deadly elements of Robin’s past into sudden collision. Not only must he decide whether to subject himself to possible execution, Robin has to call upon all his professionalism as a broadcaster, the skills he spent decades honing in his former life, and the Morse code abilities of a red-headed, pig-tailed Space Scout named Elaine, in a desperate “Hail Mary” improvisation with thousands of innocent lives hanging in the balance. Good Morning Vendemiatrix is an 8800 word stand-alone novelette set in the “Man of War” universe. Fans of Honsinger’s other work will recognize the setting and be treated to a cameo appearance by a familiar character, while new readers will not find themselves “lost in space.” It is a humorous and exciting piece of shorter fiction written to be enjoyed by all Science Fiction readers.

    Teenager Miranda Candle finds a mysterious necklace and is suddenly transported to The Nex, the bizarre city at the center of all possible universes, where she falls in with a pair of would-be revolutionaries-the skinshifter Howlaa and the bodiless Wisp-fighting the oppressive regime of the city-state's Regent and his army of steam colossi, cynical cyborgs, and the depraved royal orphans. This is a classic story filled with new twists. Featured in this volume are two related bonus stories, "Dream Engine" and "We Go Back."

    Fantasy takes us through doorways of magic and wonder. For more than a decade award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan has sifted through tens of thousands of stories to select the best, the most interesting, the most engaging science fiction and fantasy to thrill and delight readers. Contents: “The Mocking Tower”, Daniel Abraham (The Book of Swords) “Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue”, Charlie Jane Anders (Boston Review) “Probably Still the Chosen One”, Kelly Barnhill (Lightspeed) “My English Name”, R. S. Benedict (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction) “Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance”, Tobias Buckell (Cosmic Powers) “Though She Be But Little”, C.S.E. Cooney (Uncanny) “The Moon is Not a Battlefield”, Indrapramit Das (Infinity Wars) “The Hermit of Houston”, Samuel R. Delany (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction) “The Discrete Charm of the Turing Machine”, Greg Egan (Asimov’s Science Fiction) “Crispin’s Model”, Max Gladstone (Tor.com) “Come See the Living Dryad”, Theodora Goss (Tor.com) “Bring Your Own Spoon”, Saad Z. Hossain (The Djinn Falls in Love) “Babylon”, Dave Hutchison, 2084 “The Faerie Tree”, Kathleen Kayembe (Lightspeed) “Fairy Tale of Wood Street”, Caitlin R Kiernan (Sirenia Digest) “The Worshipful Society of Glovers”, Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny) “An Evening with Severyn Grimes”, Rich Larson (Asimov’s Science Fiction) “The Chameleon’s Gloves”, Yoon Ha Lee (Cosmic Powers) “The Smoke of Gold is Glory”, Scott Lynch (The Book of Swords) “Sidewalks”, Maureen McHugh (Omni) “Concessions”, Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali (Strange Horizons) “The Martian Obelisk”, Linda Nagata (Tor.com) “The Secret Life of Bots”, Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld) “A Series of Steaks”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld) “Belladonna Nights”, Alastair Reynolds (The Weight of Words) “Eminence”, Karl Schroeder (Chasing Shadows) “The Lamentation of their Women”, Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com) “Confessions of a Con Girl”, Nick Wolven (Asimov’s Science Fiction) “Carnival Nine”, Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies)

    Eleven exploratory ships carrying humans escaping a degenerating Earth are discovered by a more advanced space-faring civilization, the Ildaran Empire. The empire helps the refugees - by now the several-generations-later offspring of the original voyagers - settle suitable planets and sends diplomats with a few of them to Earth to establish trade and diplomatic relations.Meanwhile, both Terran and Ildaran authorities bring hidden agendas to their first-contact discussions, and asEarth attempts to become a player in this new arena, its ambassadors are thrust into a foreign world of alien life forms, backstabbing politics, bitter feuds, and a deadly struggle to become the supreme force in the universe.

    Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem andGeorge Orwell to Stevie Smith; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outerspace.

    Avian Flu. Ebola. Every year, the infectious disease changes—but the threat remains the same. We've all read the headlines. We all know the score. Our interconnected world is at a uniquely dangerous moment. The potential for an epidemic progressing to a catastrophic level has never been higher. The question is: what are we going to do about it? What happens when medicine fails and society has to make the hard choices to take the severe steps necessary to stop the inevitable? Mandatory quarantine. A month ago, the term seemed like something out of science fiction. Today, we know better. Quarantine might be the only thing that will keep us alive. Q is the story of a regular cop, Benjamin Grady, who suddenly finds himself on the front line of an unyielding, terrifying epidemic. His job is simple—to quarantine the Probables, those most likely to be carrying a deadly disease. But Grady quickly learns that no amount of training, no amount of lectures from the experts at the CDC or the military infectious disease specialists can prepare him for a society on the verge of losing the war to a microscopic, unrelenting scourge. Ripped from the headlines, meticulously researched, Q lays bare the truth behind the quarantine laws that are already on the books, and what it would mean to implement them on a national scale. At this very moment, we are closer to the edge than ever before. Whether we realize it or not, America is one poorly contained infected airliner, one disease-ridden subway car away from full-scale martial law. Q is a true story. It just hasn't happened yet.

    The senders, calling themselves the Ankor, claim a colossal gamma ray burst from a supernova will engulf the Earth in less than a year, sterilising all life. But they provide no proof … only demands that all countries must prepare to build an enormous shield in orbit around the Earth. Francis MacKenzie, industrialist and private owner of the UK’s only satellite launch facility, says there’s no alternative but to accept the Ankor position and mobilise immediately. Tim Boston is not convinced the Ankor can be trusted but as a divisional head in MacKenzie’s flagship bioengineering company, he won’t risk biting the hand that feeds him. Samantha Turner may do though, despite her ongoing commitment to Tim not to cause trouble. Scroll Up And Buy It Today

    Clarke, Nancy Kress, Lawrence Watt-Evans, George Zebrowski, Philip K. Dick, and many more! Included are:OUT OF ALL THEM BRIGHT STARS, by Nancy KressTHE HANGING STRANGER, by Philip K. DickWALKING JOHN AND BIRD, by Neal AsherTHE SYMPHONIC ABDUCTION, by Hannes BokTHE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD, by Arthur C. ClarkeHILLARY ORBITS VENUS, by Pamela SargentMAYBE JUST A LITTLE ONE, by Reginald BretnorTHE ULTROOM ERROR, by Jerry SohlREMEMBRANCE OF THINGS TO COME, by Lawrence Watt-EvansTHE ASTRONAUT FROM WYOMING, by Adam-Troy Castro & Jerry OltionPRIDE, by Mary A. TurzilloCAT AND MOUSE, by Ralph WilliamsTHE RECORD, by Forrest J Ackerman and Ray BradburyTHE NEW REALITY, by Reginald BretnorWHAT HATH ME? by Henry KuttnerBRIDGE OF SILENCE, by George ZebrowskiSUN’S UP, by A.A. Jackson IV and Howard WaldropCONSIGNMENT, by Alan E. NourseTHE SYNDIC, by C.M. KornbluthAFTER BONESTELL, by Jay LakeTHE JEWELS OF APTOR, by Samuel R. DelanyTHE MISSISSIPPI SAUCER, by Frank Belknap LongMEMBERSHIP DRIVE, by Murray F. YacoCANCER WORLD, by Harry Warner, Jr.EGOCENTRIC ORBIT, by John CoryAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for more entries in the Megapack series, covering everything from science fiction and fantasy to horror, westerns, pulp fiction, adventure, ghost stories, and much, much more!

    So what will future wars be like? And what will cause them: religion, politics, resources, refugees, or advanced weaponry itself? Watson and Whates present a collection of gripping SF stories which explores a daunting gamut of possible future conflicts: nuclear tactics and enhanced soldiery, terrorism and cyberware, intelligent robotic machines and even war with aliens.

     In the near future, humanity builds a colony on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. They tunnel into the ice to explore the dark oceans beneath the moon's surface, searching for signs of extraterrestrial life. What they find will change them forever, setting humanity on a path to the stars. But the old conflicts and hatreds of Earth are not so easily escaped. Will human colonists on distant planets and moons create a paradise or a horrifying dystopia?

    But when a bio-technological monstrosity known as a farm squats on their land, Joe and Maddie must confront not only it, but also their own hopes and dreams.Originally issued in print as part of the short story collection: Wireless. New York : Ace Books, 2009.1 sound disc (45 min.)

    Mist Encounter is a short story written by Timothy Zahn and illustrated by Doug Shuler, originally published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 7 by West End Games in August 1995.

    Having abandoned his insane primarch and brothers many years ago, he doesn’t know what he’s done wrong, but he’s sure he doesn’t want to be captured. What will happen when he discovers that his Legion has fallen into heresy? And where will his loyalties lie?Learn the fate of the Chief Librarian of the XIII Legion, former servant of Konrad Curze. The first Horus Heresy Night Lords story from John French is both an insight into changes that have taken place within the XIII Legion over the course of the Great Crusade, and a fascinating glimpse into the underworld slums of ancient Terra itself.

    Corey. Set two hundred years in the future, where man has colonized the outer asteroid belt, The Expanse follows the case of a missing girl that brings together a hardened detective and a rogue ship captain in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history. "Drive" highlights a key moment in The Expanse universe whose ramifications set the foundation for the show.The story is a prequel taking place approximately 150 years prior to the main series, concerning Solomon Epstein and his invention of the Epstein drive.