Five years have passed since the Summer of Fire, and the downfall of General Salamander. The outside world has begun to heal, but inside Tartaria, where brother fought brother and whole clans were wiped out, the wounds still run deep and raw. Fear and suspicion have made rebuilding hard, and rumours of a new threat rising in the shadows of the steppe have reached Aberddu. Once again, the Aberddu Adventurers Guild find themselves heading to Tartaria. This time they are in the company of two powerful but eccentric wizards, ostensibly engaged in an attempt to expand the continental portal network. Cosseted and used to their own way, the wizards have little first-hand experience of the world outside the walls of the Mages Guild, and have much to learn about life in the war-torn shell of a once-great nation. The adventurers will have to teach them that there is more to be feared than bad manners, fisticuffs, and unsatisfactory bathroom arrangements as they travel together down the Fireborn Road.
Mulligan is not the best thief in Aberddu, but he is a man with a plan. After he finds Min and her friends scraping a living on the streets of the Poor Quarter, he knows he's going to be quids in. Together, Mulligan and the girls build up a rock-solid ruse. As the Fortescues, they hold the key to the homes of the city's great, good and filthy rich. It seems like the perfect scheme - if Mulligan can avoid getting married off - but nothing this good can last forever. The game they are playing is more complex than they first suppose, and soon enough they are plagued by enemies harder to run from than the militia. Greed, resentment and disloyalty take their toll on the gang. With Min and Mulligan enjoying the high life and Angel disappearing for hours at a time, it seems like they might spoil things for themselves before anybody else has a chance to rumble their little ploy. As four street kids and a con-man take on Aberddu's aristocracy, who exactly is playing whom... and will anybody come up smelling of roses?
In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world through their short stories. This venerable collection brings together award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre. The multiple Locus Award-winning annual compilation of the year's best science fiction stories
Stories Inspired by Famous First Lines Pride and Prejudice meets Macbeth by way of The Wizard of Oz and a dollop of the speculative, in this entertaining anthology where authors get inspiration for short stories from the first lines of famous works of literature. Edited by respected anthologist Gardner Dozois, the collection features Mary Robinette Kowal’s Hugo Award-winning story “The Lady Astronaut of Mars”.
They were born to survive the end of the world. The Hunger Games meets The Princess Trials in this series-starter boxset. Three books. Three romances. Three unforgettable heroines. A girl who clings to hope at the end of the world. She didn't know the safety she lived in was a lie. The monsters are the only ones she can trust. An outsider whose only wish is to protect her sister. Trapped in a dying world, she faces a terrible choice―accept the fate she was born to, or join the enemy she's sworn to destroy. An orphan who finds adventures that reach new realms. She knew she was a witch. No one warned her that magic would force her into battle. If you need romance, crave adventure, and aren't afraid to dive into a dystopian world, In Fire Born is the three-book, series-starter collection for you. In Fire Born includes Girl of Glass, Heart of Smoke, and The Girl Without Magic. Readers rave about the three novels included in the In Fire Born boxset. "I really enjoyed this novel! It's on the same level as The Hunger Games." ― BookBub Review of Girl of Glass "A great dystopian read for fans of The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and the Divergent series." ― BookBub Review of Heart of Smoke "This reminded me of Doctor Who, except from the standpoint of the Doctor's assistant." ― Goodreads Review of The Girl Without Magic Girl of Glass (Girl of Glass, Book One) The world is ending, but Nola has been chosen to survive. Nola has spent her life in the domes, training to protect her little piece of the world within the glass. The mission of the domes is to preserve the human race, not to help the sick and starving. When the fate of an outsider child falls into her hands, Nola dares to venture beyond the security of her home, diving into a world of darkness and vampires. Life within the glass didn't prepare her for the realities of suffering or the depth of forbidden love. Heart of Smoke (Heart of Smoke, Book One) Do the work, steal the goods, keep her sister alive―a simple plan Lanni has been clinging to. With the city burning around her and vampires hiding in the shadows, making it until morning is the best she can hope for. The Girl Without Magic (The Chronicles of Maggie Trent, Book One) Death would have been easier, but the Siren wasn't through with her. The Siren dragged Maggie Trent out of a battle and into her Realm, a land where secrets hide in the shadows and pleasure comes at a price Maggie is unwilling to pay. With the promise of adventure in new worlds, Maggie leaps into a journey of blood and romance. *** In Fire Born is a three-book collection of first-in-series young adult dystopian novels ranging from paranormal romance to portal fantasy. Girl of Glass and Heart of Smoke weave vampires and werewolves into a mid-apocalyptic society, creating a pulse-pounding, end of the world adventure. The Girl Without Magic is a world-hopping YA fantasy featuring the feminism in fiction fans of O'Russell are sure to love. Whether you’re in the mood for love triangles, a friends to lovers twist, or just crave young adult fiction books that feature strong female main characters, In Fire Born is the collection for you. *** In Fire Born is perfect for fans of Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, Victoria Aveyard, Stephenie Meyer, Heidi Catherine, K. A. Riley, Kyla Stone, Kortney Keisel, Marissa Meyer, Kami Garcia, Rick Riordan, Missy Sheldrake, Anthea Sharp, J. C. Gilbert, Meg Collette, and TR Cameron
The tough private investigator. Her femme fatale client. And the monster out to get them. Nobody goes into the wild, the grey deadlands between the five worlds. But when a blonde with a bag full of gold and city's biggest crime lord on her heels comes to me for aid, I can't turn her down. Maybe I’m soft, or maybe I’m crazy, because when the bullets start flying and every gun in town is turned against us, the wild may be the safest place left. Of course, having my client turn out to be a gangland assassin on the run improves the odds a bit... Into the Wild is a noir 1920’s urban fantasy with snappy, quick-witted protagonists, multiple worlds, gangsters, monsters, guns and magic. If you like an equal dose of Glen Cook's Garret P.I. and Larry Correia's Grimnoir Chronicles, you'll love Into the Wild. Get it now.
Qora Paunene Zela has never been able to glimpse the future like other Eyes of the Faulfenzair God... but he's always known where he's supposed to be, so powerfully that he never questioned it, even when it took him off-world on the Faulfenza's prototype warship, and from there into captivity and war among aliens. That those aliens should rescue him seemed fair, since they were the ones responsible for the mess they'd made of the galaxy. To a Faulfenzair's way of thinking, anyway. But the God has called Qora abroad again, and this time even a male who knows he's in the right place at the right time isn't sanguine about the journey. It's one thing to wait on history to unfold... another entirely to follow in the footsteps of one of his people's lost prophets, on the trail of the fourth and final messiah. A lifetime of trusting the God may not be enough preparation for the revelations awaiting Qora at journey's end.... Fireborn's Legacy ties together the history of the Faulfenza, as told in Zafiil, and the intertwined Eldritch and Chatcaavan stories from the books of the Fallowtide Sequence. It also sets the stage for the final conflict that will unite the sapient species of the Peltedverse and all its multiple histories. Let the saga commence!