The once invincible human empire has crumbled, and refugees struggle to survive on backwater colonies and broken ghettos on the fringes of the galaxy. Worst of all, any child born with a spark of psychic potential is hunted down by elite telepathic operatives of the ruling alien government. But now, with the entire species on the brink of extinction, everything is about to change… For nearly ten years Jenavian Vale has faithfully served the Convectorate as a Spider, tracking down and capturing potential telepaths before their powers grow out of control. But when she finally catches up to her latest target, she realizes he is more than just another rogue “Fly”— he is none other than Markus Coveri, her former partner and the only Spider to have ever defected. And he holds the key to an ancient secret that could change the course of human history. As the chase begins, Jen must pit her loyalty for the Convectorate against the fate of her own beleaguered species…and her loyalty to the Spiders against the life of her only friend. THE SPIDER AND THE FLY is an action-packed adventure full of colorful characters, dazzling space battles, and galaxy-spanning conspiracies—in other words, the consummate Space Opera (160,000 words).

    New issues are released on the first Tuesday of every month. EDITORIAL Words from the Editor-in-Chief—Jason Sizemore FICTION A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies — Alix Harrow Work, and Ye Shall Eat — Walker McKnight Ghost Marriage — P. Djeli Clark Excerpt: Return to the Lost Level — Brian Keene NONFICTION Interview with Alix Harrow — Andrea Johnson Interview with Cover Artist Justin Adams — Russell Dickerson A Discussion with Tal M. Klein, Author of The Punch Escrow — Lesley Conner COLUMNS Between the Lines with Laura Zats and Erik Hane Page Advice with Mallory O'Meara and Brea Grant

    Who is the man he kills, the woman he shoots, and what is the Eden Plague? Fleeing the shadowy Company, Daniel turns to fellow soldiers. He fights back, seeks the woman, and wants answers. A secret threatens world stability and a conspiracy could change everything.

    Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface, they had seen a hospital train discharging the wounded, people who had been showered with sleet. He remembered the way they had looked, the expression on their faces, or as much of their faces as was left. It had not been a pleasant sight.There had been a lot of that at first, in the early days before the transfer to undersurface was complete. There had been a lot, and it hadn't been very difficult to come across it.Taylor looked up at his wife. She was thinking too much about it, the last few months. They all were."Forget it," he said. "It's all in the past. There isn't anybody up there now but the leadys, and they don't mind.""But just the same, I hope they're careful when they let one of them down here. If one were still hot--"

    Her father was the world's leading geneticist, and humanity's best hope of beating a devastating virus. Then, hidden beneath Cole's genehacked enhancements she finds a message of hope: Lachlan created a vaccine.Only she can find and decrypt it, if she can unravel the clues he left for her. The closer she gets, the more she finds herself at risk from Cartaxus, a shadowy organization with a stranglehold on the world's genetic tech. But it's too late to turn back.There are three billion lives at stake, two people who can save them, and one final secret that Cat must unlock. A secret that will change everything.

    This short story goes back to the event and gives additional insight. How do Rukh and Harlow fare through the disaster? How does the chief handle the destruction of everything he’s ever known? This one of the Slice of Life Short Stories and intended to be read after Barbarian’s Taming. It is NOT a stand alone. It is, however, intended to provide extra character insight for those who want to visit the ice planet for a little bit longer.

    Live out your fantasies for $1,000 a day at Westworld -- the ultimate resort!Murder, violence, wild sexual abandon, any human desire is fulfilled by totally computerized, humanoid robots programmed for your pleasure alone...Until a small computer casualty spreads like wildfire and one man stands alone against the berserk machines bent on total slaughter!Written in script format, with pictures from the movie.

    It was for the Isolation War that the American government contracted the ParaGen Corporation to manufacture the Partials—our last hope in reclaiming energy independence from China. And it was on these fields of battle that the seeds of humanity's eventual destruction were sown.Isolation takes us back to the front lines of this war, a time when mankind's ambition far outstripped its foresight. Heron, a newly trained Partial soldier who specializes in infiltration, is sent on a mission deep behind enemy lines. What she discovers there has far-reaching implications—not only for the Isolation War, but for Partials and humans alike long after this war is over.A powerful take of our world on the brink, Isolation gives readers a glimpse into the history from which Partials was born—as well as clues to where the Partials Sequence is heading next.

    They say that night would follow day in an endless dance. They say that dawn rose, dusk fell, and we worshiped both sun and stars. That was a long time ago. The dance has died. The world has fallen still. We float through the heavens, one half always in light, one half always in shadow. Like the moth of our forests, one wing white and the other black, we are torn. My people are the fortunate. We live in daylight, blessed in the warmth of the sun. Yet across the line, the others lurk in eternal night, afraid... and alone in the dark. I was born in the light. I was sent into darkness. This is my story.

    From the firedrakes of Mercury to the ice-crawlers of Pluto, he'd slain them all. But his trophy-room lacked one item; and now Riordan swore he'd bag the forbidden game that roamed the red deserts . . . a Martian!The night whispered the message. Over the many miles of loneliness it was borne, carried on the wind, rustled by the half-sentient lichens and the dwarfed trees, murmured from one to another of the little creatures that huddled under crags, in caves, by shadowy dunes. In no words, but in a dim pulsing of dread which echoed through Kreega's brain, the warning ran --"They are hunting again. They are hunting me."

    The colony ship they arrived on is aflame. The rest of their contingent is dead. They've only received half their training, and they are being asked to conquer an entire planet. Before they can, however, they must first survive each other. In this gritty tale of youths struggling to survive, Hugh Howey fuses the best of young adult fantasy with the piercing social commentary of speculative fiction. The result is a book that begs to be read in a single sitting. An adventurous romp that will leave readers exhausted and begging for more.

    Seventeen year old Cassandra Wild thought living in the chaos of her mother’s home daycare and dealing with her developing feelings for Bryce, her new Martial Arts’ instructor, was a struggle, until the night her world turned upside down.When an untested vaccine kills more than just a rampant flu virus, Cassie learns how to survive in a world where the dead walk, and the living…run!

    Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.

    The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind—hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out eons ago. After all this time, there’s no telling how they’ve devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.N. K. Jemisin’s Emergency Skin is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

    Short flashback that occurs between "The Scorch Trials" and "The Death Cure."