None are more memorable than her Witch World novels. Simon Tregarth, a man from our own world, escapes his doom through the gates to the Witch World. There he aids the witch Jaelithe's escape from the hounds of Alizon, only to find himself embroiled in a deeper war against an even deadlier foe: the Kolder.

    At the centre of much of the intrigue is Casmir, the ruthless and ambitious king of Lyonesse. His beautiful but otherworldly daughter, Suldrun, is part of his plans. He intends to cement an alliance or two by marrying her well. But Suldrun is as determined as he and defies him. Casmir coldly confines her to the overgrown garden that she loves to frequent, and it is here that meets her love and her tragedy unfolds. Political intrigue, magic, war, adventure and romance are interwoven in a rich and sweeping tale set in a brilliantly realized fabled land.

    Readers only familiar with such masterpieces as The Dragonbone Chair and Talchaser’s Song will be delighted to discover that in his short fiction, Williams has been able to explore myriad new possibilities and adventures.Previously collected in multiauthor anthologies and limited hardcover editions, these superlative talks of dragons, super-soldiers, wizards, cyberpunks, heroes, and fools are now available together for the first time in an affordable trade paperback edition. These stories showcase the exhilarating breadth of Williams’ imagination, in stories hearkening to the tales of such classic fantasists as J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, Ray Bradbury, and Peter S. Beagle. Included is an original tale written specifically for this volume.The Very Best of Tad Williams is a true delight to those who have imagined themselves in fantastic worlds beyond the everyday and mundane.TABLE OF CONTENTSThe Old Scale GameThe Storm DoorThe Stranger’s HandsChild of an AncientCityThe Boy Detective of Oz: An Otherland StoryThree Duets for Virgin and NosehornDiary of a DragonNot with a Whimper, EitherSome Thoughts Re: Dark DestroyerZ is for...Monsieur Vergalant’s CanardThe Stuff that Dreams are Made OfFish Between FriendsEvery Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the AirA Stark and Wormy KnightBlack SunshineAnd Ministers of Grace

    Howard's Almuric is a savage planet of crumbling stone ruins and debased, near-human inhabitants. Into this world comes Esau Cairn, Earthman, swordsman, murderer. Only he can overthrow the terrible devils that enslave Almuric, but to do so he must first defeat the inner demons that forced him to abandon Earth. Filled with vile beasts and thrilling adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Almuric is one of Howard's few novels, and an excellent yarn from one of America's most distinct literary voices.

    Helpless, doomed, into the graveyard of space floats the wrecked freighter Pallas.

    It is set in a world where chaos rules. One man — the man with many names, but one nature - is charged with creating order out of the warring forces of nature.

    But still, Tim is -- or was -- his brother, and Mike must do what he can.For Mike this is the beginning of an adventure beyond imagining, an adventure that will put him in constant peril of his life as he shuttles between past, present and future of an alternate reality, fighting beside the descendants of the Incas as they battle to erase Pizarro's bloody footprints from the New World, and secure the reality of their own existence.But is the "alternate reality" really an alternate, or is Mike actually struggling to erase the very future that gave him birth? The answer lies in the source of all his troubles and his only hope of survival: THE MASK OF THE SUN

    Will is immersed in the culture of the Alliance, a splinter group of the Aliomenti. He'll learn their secrets... and more about himself and his destiny than he ever imagined possible.PRESERVING HOPE (Book 2)Will meets a young girl named Elizabeth Lowell, resident of a hidden village, daughter of the leader of that village, and one forced against her will to bear the burden of learning the secrets the villagers seek to learn. Elizabeth has secrets of her own, though, and Will must ensure that the revelation of those secrets doesn't result in the girl's death... as it did for her mother.ASCENT OF THE ALIOMENTI (Book 3)Drawing upon his business and life experiences, Will transforms the Aliomenti into a global financial powerhouse awash in technological advances that would astound their human peers. But when power and wealth turn to paranoia, Will must decide if the group can be saved--or if the actions of the Leader of the Aliomenti mean a permanent separation is inevitable. Continue the journey with Birth of the Alliance, available now!(amazon.com/dp/B00EECLODW)

    Dick! Here are "The Defenders," in which mankind has taken refuge beneath the Earth's surface, leaving all-out war to robots ... "Beyond Lies the Wub," in which a highly philosophical Martian creature finds itself on the wrong end of the dinner table ... "The Crystal Crypt," in which the last Terran ship from Mars finds terrorists aboard ... and "Beyond the Door," a most unusual story in which an abusive husband ends up with more than he bargains for!

    But when the government bans professional fighting, his life spirals out of control. Convicted of murder, he's sentenced to life in prison. But all of the felons he's ever known have disappeared from Earth, never to return. He's about to find out firsthand what happened to them. He'll have to stay alive amongst Earth’s most ruthless felons if he wants to survive … and become the first man to escape from Oz.

    The low-lands were unbearable. Thick jungles of rank growth covered the ground. The air was depressing and enervating. Men could live there, but it was a sickly, fever-ridden existence. The whole population of the earth desired the high lands and as the low country became more unbearable, men forgot their two centuries of peace.They fought destructively, each for a bit of land where he might live and breathe. Then men began to die, men who had persisted in remaining near sea-level. They could not live in the poisonous air. The danger zone crept up as the earth-fissures tirelessly poured out their steady streams of foul gas. Soon men could not live within five hundred feet of sea level. . . .

    1942, the year the first fission reactor was constructed, is defined as the year 1 A.E. (Atomic Era). In 1973, a nuclear war devastates the planet, eventually laying the groundwork for the emergence of a Terran Federation, once humanity goes into space and develops antigravity technology.It's important to note that many of these stories work fine as stand-alone books and you don't necessarily have to read them in order.The story "The Edge of the Knife" (Book One) occurs slightly before the war, and involves a man who sees flashes of the future. It links many key elements of Piper's series.Most of the stories take place during the next millennium, during the age of the two Federations. Most notable among these novels Little Fuzzy, which concerns the recognition of a peculiar alien species as sapient, and the efforts of the two species to learn to live together on the Fuzzies' home adopted world of Zarathustra.The Federation collapses in the System States War and following Interstellar Wars (a bit of which can be seen in Book Eight: The Cosmic Computer), leading to a lengthy time of instability, during which there is no central human power. Space Viking is set in this chaotic period.Piper's future history resemble in some ways Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, and was probably influenced by it.This volume includes two of the most loved science fiction stories ever written:Little Fuzzy--The story revolves around determining whether a small furry species discovered on the planet Zarathustra is sapient. Along the way a gentle kind of libertarianism that emphasizes sincerity and honesty is advocated. But things are not as simple or as nice as they appear to be...Space Viking--One day, a starship rediscovered the Old Federation. Civilization had collapsed, presumably due to the war; many of the planets had regressed to varying stages of semi-barbarism. Taking advantage of the situation, space vikings proceeded to raid the poorly defended Federation worlds over the next three hundred years for loot.In the face of this isolation and the political instability, Lucas Trask, seeks to avenge his wife's murderer and discover his true destiny...In this volume:Book One: The Edge of the KnifeBook Two: OmnilingualBook Three: Four-Day PlanetBook Four: Uller UprisingBook Five: NaudsonceBook Six: Little FuzzyBook Seven: Oomphel in the SkyBook Eight: The Cosmic ComputerBook Nine: Space VikingBook Ten: A Slave is a SlaveBook Eleven: Ministry of DisturbanceBook Twelve: The KeeperA must-read for classic sci-fi and pulp-fiction fans!

    L. Moore created Jirel, ruler of Joiry, in reaction to the beefy total-testosterone blood-and-thunder tales of '30s pulp magazines, but Jirel is no anti-Conan. She's a good Catholic girl, stubbornly purposeful, relentless in pursuit of enemies or vengeance, hard-boiled and a little stupid, and cannot be distracted by mere physical attractiveness. Indeed, in Jirel's world, beauty = decadence = corruption. Were these stories written today, inevitably Jirel would have a lot of hot sex, but as they were first published in Weird Tales between 1934-1939, sexual attraction is mostly only vividly implied. No loss. Jirel's journeys through unnatural landscapes and her battles with supernatural opponents are still wonderful to read, and though newcomers Red Sonja and Xena are more famous now, Jirel rules as the archetypal, indomitable redheaded swordswoman in chain mail and greaves, swinging her "great two-edged sword."Contents:· Jirel Meets Magic · nv Weird Tales Jul ’35 · Black God’s Kiss · nv Weird Tales Oct ’34 · Black God’s Shadow · nv Weird Tales Dec ’34 · The Dark Land · nv Weird Tales Jan ’36 · Hellsgarde · nv Weird Tales Apr ’39

    The RIFT Saga begins here.In the ruins of what was once North America lays the Covenant, a nation forged by the iron will of the Moon people, who descended from their dusty refuge on the Moon after the Fall. The Moon people are wealthy, ruled by a strong government who protects its citizens from the dangers from outside their borders. Their greatest achievement is having learned the secret of immortality, and every citizen has the opportunity to live nearly forever if they choose to, a life of riches and abundance.The English are the descendants of the original inhabitants of this place, and they live very different lives from that of the Moon people. They only live to serve the greater good, and citizenship is something few have the opportunity to earn. At the age of fifty all non-citizens are subjected to mandatory euthanasia. In order to maintain a sustainable society, they are told.Every year a number of girls and boys at the age of eighteen are selected for Service to the State. The brightest and most talented are sent to become Students. The strong, the fighters and the athletes become Janissaries, a band of soldiers protecting the northern border from the enemies of the Covenant. The Wardens, a secretive organization known to operate far to the west, near the Rift, which makes up the border to the wastelands, sometimes choses one or two initiates, but nobody knows what becomes of them. And then there is the Corpus, where the whip rules and backs are bent.Those who complete their Service, may become citizens. And although they will never be equal to the Moon people, they will have access to all the riches and opportunities granted by the Covenant leadership to its citizens.As Sue is nearing Selection Day, she secretly hopes to be chosen, despite having to leave her mother and brother behind. She doesn't crave glory or wealth though. A man or woman with citizen status can do a lot of good, and although few return to their home towns, Sue hopes to return to give her family a better life on the other side of Service.But the Covenant is rotten to the core, and as she begins to learn its secrets, Sue must question everything she has always taken for granted. Soon she will find herself in dire peril, for she has seen the truth and there will be no turning back after that...This science fiction dystopian trilogy is set more than two centuries after the events of Exodus, in a future dystopian society forged from the ashes of global disaster."Mr. Christensen has absolutely found his genre, and I hope he keeps the stories coming!"

    Invasion is book one of the Secret World Chronicle, and comes packed with bonus content, including several short stories also taking place in the Secret World universe.