the Black Company ... Majipoor. For years, these have been some of the names that have captured the hearts of generations of readers and embodied the sword and sorcery genre. And now some of the most beloved and bestselling fantasy writers working today deliver stunning all-new sword and sorcery stories in an anthology of small stakes but high action, grim humor mixed with gritty violence, fierce monsters and fabulous treasures, and, of course, swordplay. Don't miss the adventure of the decade!Contents:- Introduction: Check Your Dark Lord at the Door by Lou Anders & Jonathan Strahan- Goats of Glory by Steven Erikson- Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company by Glen Cook- Bloodsport by Gene Wolfe- The Singing Spear by James Enge- A Wizard in Wiscezan by C.J. Cherryh- A Rich Full Week by K.J. Parker- A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet by Garth Nix- Red Pearls: An Elric Story by Michael Moorcock- The Deification of Dal Bamore: A Tale from Echo City by Tim Lebbon- Dark Times at the Midnight Market by Robert Silverberg- The Undefiled by Greg Keyes- Hew the Tintmaster by Michael Shea- In the Stacks by Scott Lynch- Two Lions, a Witch, and the War-Robe by Tanith Lee- The Sea Troll's Daughter by Caitlín R. Kiernan- Thieves of Daring by Bill Willingham- The Fool Jobs by Joe Abercrombie

    As tiny and inconspicuous as it may seem, That-Which-Had-Been exhibits an unexpected and varied gift for survival, as it journeys implacably toward its ultimate destination. Along the way, it meets a rich array of ordinary human beings, some of whom assist it along its way, others who impede its progress, none of whom have any idea of its existence.From whence comes the strange, but universal, experience of deja vu? Why do some people exhibit a wisdom far beyond their age and experience - persons reincarnationists refer to as 'old souls'? Joseph Wurtenbaugh in this short story offers a fascinating and tantalizingly plausible explanation for these phenomena, presented in a natural setting that brims with adventure and exhilarating possibility. Not to be missed by anyone who enjoys science fiction or thinking outside the box.

    Ballard. The Venus Hunters. London: Gollancz, 1986. First hardcover edition, first printing. Octavo. 142 pages.

    Here is a riveting collection of novellas exploring the fascinating relationship between eroticism and horror. In his most ambitious work ever, Simmons reveals the exquisite conjunction of love and death that will keep readers awake and reading all night.

    Lots of suspense, mystery, and romance. No cliffhangers! Altering the Ego My boss told me to hire a psychiatrist to do an evaluation on a client. It should have been a simple thing. We were an investigative firm. Our client is most definitely not a serial killer. My task? Hire a shrink. Get her to agree that the client isn’t a psychopath. Boom. Except the boom wasn’t my task getting checked off my list. It was more like my life exploding into a million pieces because nothing is simple when it comes to Dr. Harley Seward. The woman is mental health dynamite and when I’m around her there is no shrinking going on. Cat’s Claw The world is full of a whole lot of sickos. That’s no real surprise. Since I’m a private investigator by trade, I might be biased. But right now I’m looking at a whole string of bodies and a justice system that wants to put the wrong man in jail. So pardon me if I’m not real impressed with the local detectives right now. And double pardon me if I have orders from my boss to get in their way and make myself a regular nuisance while I try to get these guys to do their job. Not that it’s a hardship since the guy I’m following around happens to be the best looking guy in the department. Of course he’s also a big of an odd duck. He seems to be immune to my charm and that is what I call a challenge. Judge Not Someone is threatening to kill my mother. Of course it’s not that I’ve never felt like the woman needed a few good threats, but I’m her daughter. That’s sort of my right. See my mother is a judge and someone really wants to sway her opinion on a case she’s currently presiding over. So what better way to do that than to threaten her family? Of course if the idiots knew her at all they’d focus on my sister. She’s the favorite. But me? I’m the tough one. My mother might be willing to turn down a little help from an outside private investigations company, but I’m not. If a super hot investigator named Zeke wants to help me find out who’s threatening my family. I’m all in. No matter what it takes. Bending the Rules I am sick to death of my job as a private investigator and ready for a change. Is there a man out there who doesn’t cheat, lie, or completely wimp out when the chips are down? If there is, I can’t find him, and that absolutely includes the parade of MMA fighters I’ve been dating recently. Of course my search for Mr. Nonexistent will have to wait until after I deal with the joker that my boss has ordered me to work with on his current pet project. Not only does he live upstairs, but he’s also a lawyer. The fact that he sort of fascinates me is irrelevant. Really. If my boss’s daughter wasn’t such a good friend, I think I would have walked away. When it All Falls Down Letting my wife divorce me was probably the stupidest thing I ever did. I would never say that out loud though and I’ll deny it if anyone asks. Colleen is an amazing woman. I just wish she would stay out of the way and let me use every resource at my fingertips to find our daughter. Does the woman not understand that the city is a powder keg and we’re running around out there with matches? I know what to do. I know where to look. I’ve got a crack team of investigators and I’ve assembled all of the specialists I could ever want. In the end though, it’s going to take both of us to find our little girl.

    Tinged with a taste of terror!"Collector's Items:" A lot of people want to get Augie Kolodney, the fattest, toughest racketeer in America; but no one wants to get and keep him the way Dr. Glendon, connoisseur of precious "one-of-a-kinds," does..."The Messiah on Mott Street:" As his grandfather lies dying, a little boy searches the ghetto for a miracle maker and finds a black mailman who is the true Messiah - or the Angel of Death..."The Different Ones:" Poor Victor, born helpless and deformed, tormented by children and adults alike... until he finds peace on a horror-filled planet."Lindemann's Catch:" The hardest fishing captain out of Boston ran his ship and his men with an iron hand; right up until the day he netted a monster..."Suggestion:" Harvey Hemple always wanted to be the life of the party - until he became the death of it...Tune in to more great tales of terror on Rod Serling's Night Gallery!

    Escape into the fantastic worlds of Charles Dickens, J.M. Barrie, Graham Greene, Harlan Ellison, and others found in these 38 magical tales.

    However, when unexpected guests attend Akira and Zane's wedding, her life will change forever. But for better or for worse? For fans of the Tassamara series, this short story (16,000 words) takes place at the wedding of the main characters from A Gift of Ghosts, after the events of A Gift of Time. One reviewer calls it, "a super fun, sassy, and supernatural story you don't want to miss!"

    The companion volume to Seek!, Rucker's selected nonfiction, Gnarl! brings together three dozen of the writer's best science fiction short stories. His first major story collection in 17 years, the volume includes a number of previously unanthologized stories, including tales cowritten with Marc Laidlaw, Paul Di Filippo, and Bruce Sterling. Classics such as "The Fifty-Seventh Franz Kafka," a timely meditation on the paradoxes of cloning, are side by side with works of pseudomemoir like "The Indian Rope Trick Explained." The Rucker formula - cutting-edge physics, a wild but perversely logical imagination, and a decidedly punk attitude - illuminates this new collection.

    They’re just there for a steal and a quick buck, but what they don’t realize is that they’ve come for a whole different reason: the Devil’s Shopkeep awaits.

    She transforms herself into the longed-for princess, but the spell is broken and… read the story to find out what happens.Illustration from one of the thirty-one stories present in the first collection of “Fairytales and Fables Never Told”.

    It will also include FREE the full length novel 2nd Kill and the short story Denial when they upload in late 2014. A $19.00 value for $3.99!!! **Warning, this collection includes GRAPHIC crime scenes and taut thrills. Please do not buy this collection unless you have a strong stomach and don't scare easily! Praise for the Darc Murders Collection... "I really really like this series.....not my usual reading, as I normally read paranormal romance/HEA stories... work is a refreshing break for me of my usual reading material. Definitely not for the faint of heart---gory and violence is graphically described, possibly giving you not-so-nice dreams. This is a great deal for all the books included." L.Ludwig Amazon Reviewer "This series of books really captivated me. I have always loved murder mysteries and would definitely recommend the Darc Collection to all... delivers 5 Stars in each of these books... has become one of my all time favorite authors, because no matter what book I read by her I am never disappointed!!!" Guinevere Amazon Reviewer Overview: The collection includes... Devolved - the prequel/crossover short story to the Harbinger Series and 3rd Body 3rd Body - Just try not to lose your head Detached*exclusive to the collection - the bridge short story between 3rd Body and 2nd Kill 2nd Kill*exclusive to the collection - the full-length sequel to 3rd Body (will upload late 2014) Denial *exclusive to the collection- the bridge short story between 2nd Kill and 1st Body More Praise for the Darc Murders Collections... "WOW, just WOW! I don't think I've ever come across such a gruesome series of crime scenes! Further knowing each of the scenes were booby trapped, had me cringing and then to read the full spectre of the carnage, left me in equal parts awe and queasiness of the macabre imaginings of the writers! They pulled out the big guns! There was gore galore! Luckily, I like that in a thriller, it makes the suspense that much higher and the take down of the bad guy that much more satisfying. What I didn't expect was to be so enchanted by the characters. I loved the eclectic mix, from the brilliant but emotionally challenged Detective with Aspergers to his laid back empathetic partner plus the razor sharp mind of the child psychologist consultant and the adorable and brave sole survivor, little Janey. All these nuances and traits give a rich tapestry to the book and endear you to the clever writing of... Ben." Kizzle79 Amazon Reviewer "I definitely recommend the Darc Murders Collection. The character development is phenomenal, story development is superb-- I thoroughly enjoyed reading both 9th Circle and 7th Sin; the story telling entwined with the characteristics of Darc's aspergers is incredibly entertaining. Not for the faint of heart, lots of gore and suspense, great mysteryseries." Tetch Amazon Reviewer If you are a fan of characters such as Alex Cross and Hannibal or movies like 7 and Saw, The Darc Murders Collection is sure to shock and satisfy. **If you were looking for Hopkin's latest crime thriller collection, search under The Nursery Rhyme Murders Collection. **If you were looking for The #1 Police Procedural/Hard Boiled mystery series that includes the blockbuster, Plain Jane search under The Harbinger Collection

    V. Larson! This 60,000 word book is an Anthology of short stories. Most are Science Fiction mixed with Horror. Others might be called Dark Fantasy... Many have been published previously in various magazines.The Barrier – What does it take to go faster than light?Symptoms of Godhood – How far can you modify a body and still call the results human?Discharged – A long war and an even longer stay in an automated hospital.Teeth at Bedtime – Technology follows us everywhere.The Insect Requirement – Great sacrifices are required for Earth’s early colonists.Blind Eyes – If we can design our own children, how far will we go?TA96 – Do our genes belong to us?Zundra’s Movies – A future where video is created with the mind, and insanity is fun to watch.Pinball – A young man builds his own watchdog.Love Aboard the Kamadeva – A love triangle between two desperate souls and a digital mirage.Starplay – A window into the universe becomes a door.The One-Way Gang – Leaving Earth is easy, but you can never come back.Rusted Metal – What has spent the last century in the basement?Lunar Lotto – Death comes instantly to outlaws in vacuum.The Rollers – Crime has been mostly eliminated by removing all forms of cash... Mostly.

    Within these pages you will encounter a train to the underworld, a feral bicycle, a thief with peculiar eating habits, an amnesiac superhero, a haunted zoot suit, star-crossed monsters, fallen angels on vacation and other wonders. From fast-paced sorcerer-punk to weird Westerns, from the loss of childhood innocence to the heat death of the universe, these stories will delight, surprise and move you.

    Table of Contents: * Editor's Introduction (Rick Katze) 6 * Poul Anderson (Greg Bear) 7 * Call Me Joe 11 * Prayer in War 36 * Tomorrow's Children 37 * Kinnison's Band 57 * The Helping Hand 58 * Wildcat 77 * Clausius' Chaos 100 * Journey's End 101 * Heinlein's Stories 107 * Logic 108 * Time Patrol 129 * The First Love 156 * The Double-dyed Villains 157 * To a Tavern Wench 177 * The Immortal Game 178 * Upon the Occasion of Being Asked to Argue That Love and Marriage Are Incompatible 186 * Backwardness 187 * Haiku 195 * Genius 196 * There Will Be Other Times 222 * The Live Coward 223 * Ballade of an Artificial Satellite 240 * Time Lag 241 * The Man Who Came Early 266 * Autumn 283 * Turning Point 284 * Honesty 294 * The Alien Enemy 295 * Eventide 307 * Enough Rope 308 * The Sharing of Flesh 329 * Barbarous Allen 353 * Welcome 354 * Flight to Forever 360 * Barnacle Bull 399 * To Jack Williamson 411 * Time Heals 412 * MacCannon 425 * The Martian Crown Jewels 426 * Then Death Will Come 438 * Prophecy 439 * Sea Burial 444 * Einstein's Distress 444 * Kings Who Die 445 * Ochlan 466 * Starfog 467