Mercedes Lackey

Eric Flint

Dave Freer

At last-the sequel to The Witches of Karres. Three top writers continue the bewitching adventures begun in one of science fiction's most beloved novels. First time in paperback. It just wasn't fair! Captain Pausert had foiled the deadliest of space pirates and eliminated the threat of the Worm World, yet his troubles kept piling up. Sent on a secret mission to stop the nanite plague, a self-aware disease that could devastate whole worlds, he quickly found that someone had convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, which led to a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs. And while Goth and the Leewit, two of the notorious witches of Karres, could do amazing things, ship repair was not in their line. So he stopped at the next planet for repairs, but found that somehow his bank account had been cut off, and the authorities were looking for someone matching his description. There was only one thing to do-join the circus! An interstellar traveling circus, that is. All the galaxy loves a clown-as long as Pausert, Goth and the Leewit can keep their disguises from slipping. The show must go on-or the galaxy is doomed!

The Wizard of Karres

A New Sequel to The Witches of Karres. Two Top Writers Continue the Bewitching Adventures Begun in One of Science Fiction’s Most Beloved Novels. As Captain Pausert had often had occasion to observe, life just wasn’t fair! Hadn’t he (with the help of the notorious witches of Karres, of course) outmaneuvered the deadliest of space pirates and eliminated the threat of the Worm World (as told in The Witches of Karres), after which, at the least, he deserved some time off. No such luck, though, as the Empress herself sent him on a secret mission to stop the nanite plague, but an enemy had somehow convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, so after a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs all three of them joined an interstellar traveling circus (don’t ask!) in order to save the galaxy once again (as told in The Wizard of Karres). Time for a vacation? Don’t be ridiculous—there’s a new urgent mission that has Captain Pausert’s name on it! This new novel finds the long-suffering Captain and the two young Karres witches—Goth, who vows she will marry him when she grows up, and her younger sister The Leewit—being sent off to investigate mysterious and ominous events in the notorious Chaladoor region of space. Goth soon becomes aware that unknown but surely inimical forces are tracking them, and in order to foil them she takes a desperate route to travel back in time and meet Pausert as a young boy. Meanwhile, the Captain and the Leewit find themselves in the middle of their own desperate situation in the Chaladoor. Whoever it was who said that a change was as good as a vacation never met any of the Witches of Karres—nor experienced their amazing talent for getting Captain Pausert into trouble.

The Sorceress of Karres

NEW ENTRY IN THE WITCHES OF KARRES SERIES BY NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR ERIC FLINT & DAVE FREER Captain Pausert just can’t catch a break! First, he became the mortal enemy of his fiancée, his home planet, the Empire—and even the Worm World, the darkest threat to mankind in all of space. All because he helped rescue three slave children from their masters. Of course, these three young women were the universally feared witches of Karres—but how was he to know that?! And after he defeated the Worm World (with the help of the witches, of course), the Empress herself had sent him on a secret mission to stop a nanite plague that was raging across the galaxy. But an enemy had somehow convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, so after a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs, Pausert and the witches of Karres joined an interstellar traveling circus in order to save the galaxy. Now Pausert and the witches of Karres roam the spaceways again, this time dealing with a slaver-culture that somehow makes slaves happy to be in servitude, and a quest for a long-lost alien pet, during which the youngest witch, the Leewit, begins to come to her full powers as a healer—and of course generates chaos in her wake. For Pausert, it’s all in a day’s work. But would it be too much to ask for a vacation? About The Shaman of Karres: “This latest adventure of Pausert and the witches is full of all the whimsy, derring-do, and absurd hijinks that you’d expect. I dare any reader to get through ten pages without smiling.”—Analog About the Witches of Karres series: "This sequel [to The Witches of Karres] does honor to the original. . . a rolilicking ride. . . a rousing conclusion. . . "—Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine "Matches Schmitz's narrative style and high standard of humor, imagination, and absurdity. . . . Fans of humorous science fiction will enjoy this outing.”—School Library Journal on The Wizard of Karres About All the Plagues of Hell by Eric Flint & Dave Freer: “. . . a compelling tale of political, military, and magical conflict . . .”—Booklist About Eric Flint: “A master of the genre.”—Booklist “An SF author of particular note . . . one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure.” —Publishers Weekly About Dave Freer: “Dave Freer always delivers compelling, fast-moving and addictive fantasy adventures.”—Garth Nix

The Shaman of Karres

Dragon's ring

Dog and dragon

Three Top Writers Continue the Epic Fantasy Adventure Begun in the Best-Seller The Shadow of the Lion. Prince Manfred and his mentor and bodyguard, the deadly warrior Erik, survived dangers and enemies both natural and supernmatural, and if they thought that their new mission was going to be anything but more of the same, they soon gave up on that hope. Returning from Jerusalem, they and their escort of knights of the Holy Trinity are escorting an envoy of II Khan Mongol to the lands of the Golden Horde-between the Black Sea and the Carpathians, which happen to be eastern bastion against their old enemies, the demon Chernobog and his possessed puppet, the Jangellion. Unfortunately, what began as a diplomatic mission leads to Manfred and his knights being caught up in an inter-clan civil war, rescuingh a fugitive woman and her injured brother, and becoming involved in the problems of Prince Vlad, Duke of Valahia, who has been held as a hostage by King Emeric og Hungary until freed by Countess Elizabeth Batholdy to use as bait to capture a gropu pf nonhumans. Instead, the wolflike nonhumans, who masquerade as gypsies, free Prince Vlad, and help him to return to his homeland to raise revolt against Hungary and to renew age-old magics. Manfred and Erik are forced into an alliance of convenience between the Golden Horde and the ancient magical forces of Valahia, as directed by the troubled Vlad. The magic calls for blood and Vlad is deathly afraid of it-and at the same time, is irresistibly drawn toward it...

Much Fall of Blood

The Demon Chernobog-Foiled but Not Defeated in The Shadow of the Lion-is Back to Conquer Venice. First Time in Paperback. Venice had been thrown into chaos by the scheming of Chernobog, who came within a hair of seizing absolute power, but was thwarted by the guardian Lion-spirit, who awoke to protect his city from the power-mad demon. But the power of the Lion does not extend beyond Venice, and Chernobog has a new ally in the King of Hungary, who has laid siege to the island of Corfu as the first step in his plan to seize control of the Adriatic from Venice. Trapped on the island is the small band of heroes who awoke the Lion and blocked Chernobog's power grab before. They are far from the Lion's power to help them, but as Manfred and Erik lead a guerrilla movement to fight the Hungarian invaders, Maria discovers that the ancient magical powers of the island are coming to life again, stirred by the siege. If she can make an alliance with them, she may be able to repel the invaders-but not without paying a bitter personal price. . . .

This Rough Magic

The smallest thing can change the path of history. The year is 1976, and the British Empire still spans the globe. Coal drives the world, and the smog of it hangs thick over the canals of London. Clara Calland is on the run. Hunted, along with her scientist mother, by Menshevik spies and Imperial soldiers, they flee Ireland for London. They must escape airships, treachery and capture. Under flooded London's canals they join the rebels who live in the dank tunnels there. Tim Barnabas is one of the under people, born to the secret town of drowned London, place of anti-imperialist republicans and Irish rebels, part of the Liberty - the people who would see a return to older values and free elections. Seeing no further than his next meal, Tim has hired on as a submariner on the Cuttlefish, a coal fired submarine that runs smuggled cargoes beneath the steamship patrols, to the fortress America and beyond. When the ravening Imperial soldiery comes, Clara and her mother are forced to flee aboard the Cuttlefish. Hunted like beasts, the submarine and her crew must undertake a desperate voyage across the world, from the Faeroes to the Caribbean and finally across the Pacific to find safety. But only Clara and Tim Barnabas can steer them past treachery and disaster, to freedom in Westralia. Carried with them--a lost scientific secret that threatens the very heart of Imperial power.

Cuttlefish

In 1537 Venice, Marco and Benito Valdosta take on the mission to stop the evil sorcerer Chernobog and the monster that he has sent to destroy the city, while fleeing the assassins sent by the vicious Duke of Milan, who is out to destroy the ancient House of Valdosta. 35,000 first printing.

The Shadow of the Lion

Chip Connolly was a conscripted grunt in trouble: stuck behind enemy lines with a bunch of cyber-uplifted rats and bats. Rats with human speech, but with rat priorities: sex, food and strong drink. And the bats were revolutionaries planning to throw off the human yoke -- with high explosive. Then there was the girl they'd rescued. Rich. Beautiful. With a passionate crush on her "heroic" rescuer. Her entourage was a screwball Alien tutor, and a cyber-uplifted lemurlike pet galago with delusions of being the world's greatest lover. Of course things only got worse. Seven rats, five bats, a galago, two humans, a sea-urchin-like alien and an elderly vineyard tractor without brakes...against several million inimical aliens. He was going to die. Mind you, not dying could be even more terrible. That girl might get him.

Rats, Bats & Vats

This new steampunk adventure is a race around the world. Tim Barnabas is a submariner from the Cuttlefish, a coal fired submarine. Clara Calland is the daughter of a scientist who carries a secret formula that threatens British Imperial power. After a daring chase across the globe, they have brought the secret to Westralia. Here, much of Australia is simply too hot to be habitable by day. People are nocturnal, living underground and working outside at night. To cross the deserts they use burrowing machines know as "steam moles." With the Cuttlefish out of action, her crew takes jobs on these submarine-like craft. Duke Malcolm, of the Imperial Security Service, transports Clara's rebel-father to a prison in Eastern Australia, hoping to bait her into attempting a rescue. Clara looks to Tim for help, only to find he has fled a racist incident into the desert. She takes a steam mole in search of him. The two head to Eastern Australia, where they discover an invading force with plans to take Westralia. Forced to survive in the desert, they encounter the intolerance meted out to the aboriginal people. Can they save Westralia from falling under British rule? And should they?" From the Hardcover edition.

The Steam Mole

NEW ENTRY IN THE WITCHES OF KARRES SERIES BY NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR ERIC FLINT & DAVE FREER Captain Pausert just can’t catch a break! First, he became the mortal enemy of his fiancée, his home planet, the Empire—and even the Worm World, the darkest threat to mankind in all of space. All because he helped rescue three slave children from their masters. Of course, these three young women were the universally feared Witches of Karres—but how was he to know that?! And after he defeated the Worm World (with the help of the witches, of course), the Empress herself had sent him on a secret mission to stop a nanite plague that was raging across the galaxy. But an enemy had somehow convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, so after a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs, Pausert and the witches of Karres joined an interstellar traveling circus in order to save the galaxy. Now Pausert and the witches of Karres roam the spaceways again, this time dealing with a slaver-culture that somehow makes slaves happy to be in servitude, and a quest for a long-lost alien pet, during which the youngest witch, The Leewit, begins to come to her full powers as a healer—and of course generates chaos in her wake. For Pausert, it’s all in a day’s work. But would it be too much to ask for a vacation? At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About the Witches of Karres series: "This sequel [to The Witches of Karres] does honor to the original. . . a rolilicking ride. . . a rousing conclusion. . . "—Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine Fans of humorous science fiction will enjoy this outing.”—School Library Journal on The Wizard of Karres About All the Plagues of Hell by Eric Flint & Dave Freer: “. . . a compelling tale of political, military, and magical conflict . . .”—Booklist About Eric Flint: “A master of the genre.”—Booklist “An SF author of particular note . . . one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure.” —Publishers Weekly About Dave Freer: “Dave Freer always delivers compelling, fast-moving and addictive fantasy adventures.”—Garth Nix

ALIENS: BEWARE OF LOW-FLYING AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY Chip Connolly was a conscripted grunt in trouble. Here he was, stuck behind enemy lines with a bunch of cyber-uplifted rats and bats. Rats with human speech, but with rat values. Rats that knew what was worth fighting for: sex, food and strong drink. True, they were holed up on a ruined wine-farm with enough brandy to swim in. Trouble was, there wasnt much food. And with shrew-metabolism the rats had to eat. He was next on the menu. The bats were no help: they were crazy revolutionaries planning to throw off the yoke of human enslavementwith high explosive. As if that wasnt bad enough, there was the girl theyd rescued. Rich. Beautiful. With a passionate crush on her heroic rescuer. She came with added extras: a screwball Alien tutor, and a cyber-uplifted pet galagoa tiny little lemurlike-critter with a big mouth and delusions about being the worlds greatest lover. So: hed volunteered for a suicide mission. Of course things only got worse. The whole crew decided to come along. Seven rats, five bats, a galago, two humans, a sea-urchin-like alien and an elderly vineyard tractor without brakes . . . against several million inimical aliens. He was going to die. Mind you, not dying could be even more terrible. That girl might get him. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Rats, Bats and Vats

Lyonesse: a world formed by magic, where a dark power struggle is underway between an ancient sorceress with her shadow army and the human subjects of Lyonesse's power-mad wizard. The only spark of hope is a prophecy that tells of a Defender who will one day come and set things to right. Young Meb doesn't think she's obligated to be the prophesied Defender of Lyonesse, but she is adept at the universe-folding skill of Planomancy and has been trained by a world-walking trouble shooter of the multiverse, the great Dragon Fionn himself¾a dragon who is desperately searching the universes for his lost Meb, whom he's come to love. As the legions of Shadow Hall gather and with the Dragon Fionn fast on the way, magical battle is joined, and the destiny of universes hangs upon the courage in one young woman's heart. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Dog and Dragon

Captain Pausert has foiled the deadliest of space pirates and eliminated the threat of the Worm World, yet his troubles just keep piling up. He decides there is only one thing to do - join the circus An interstellar travelling circus that is

The team of bats and rats, accompanied by their human leader, sets out to persuade the military bureaucracy that they are about to be invaded by an alien conspiracy, joining forces with Fluff to save the world.

The Rats, the Bats & the Ugly

In an alternate 15th century where magic still is part of life, the Holy Roman Empire rules Europe. Constantinople is under siege by the Venetians and their allies. Hekate, Goddess of Crossroads, presides over the conflict and carnage as alternate visions of civilization collide. And since Constantinople is the crossroad city of east and west, and it is here that Italian captain Benito Valdosta must deal with the powerful magical manifestation of the Weeping Woman, a disguised Hekate, in order to save his daughter and to destroy the fleets of the Chernobog assembling in the Black Sea before they can cut into the soft underbelly of Europe. With land battle, naval action, cunning assassinations, and heartbreak aplenty¾not to mention the ongoing conflict between Lord of the Dead Aidonus and Benito for the love of a woman, civilization is at the crossroads and choices must be made that will bring victory and freedom for centuries to come¾or a new Dark Age. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Burdens of the Dead

Tim Ryan can't shake the feeling that he is different from other teens, and not in a good way. For one thing, he seems to have his own personal poltergeist that causes fires and sets him up to be arrested for shoplifting. As a result Tim has been sent to live on a rundown farm on a remote island off the coast of Australia with his crazy grandmother, a woman who seems to talk to the local spirits, and who refuses to cushion Tim from facing his difficulties. To make matters worse, Tim is expected to milk cows, chase sheep, and hunt fish with a spear. But he's been exiled to an island alive with ancient magic—land magic that Tim can feel in his bones, and sea magic that runs in his blood. If Tim can face down the danger from drug‑runners, sea storms, and the deadly threat of a seal woman who wishes to steal him away for a lingering death in the land of Faery, he may be able to claim the mysterious changeling heritage that is his birthright, and take hold of a legacy of power beyond any he has ever imagined. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About A Mankind Witch, by Dave Freer: “Good characterization, ripsnorting action and an ingenious plot make this a feast. . .” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) About Dave Freer: "Dave Freer's stories are always well‑plotted, fast‑paced and—most of all—a lot of fun to read."—Eric Flint, New York Times best‑selling creator of the Ring of Fire series “Dave Freer always delivers compelling, fast‑moving and addictive fantasy adventures.”–Garth Nix, New York Times best‑selling author of The Keys to the Kingdom series

Changeling's Island

Make Tracks to the Stars! 0 Ye civilized of Earth: send forth your outcasts, your primitive throwbacks, your religious fundamentalists, your sexual separatists¾and heck, you can even toss in your totalitarian crackpots in the bargain. Pack them all in sealed habitats, rocket them into space, and pronounce good riddance to those lunatics, oddballs and losers! But if you happen to be an alien explorer stranded on that ship and looking to find a way home Well then, your one chance lies in seeking out the true iconoclasts in a sea of nutcase societies¾for verily, it is only the absolutely original and terminally weird who shall inherit the stars! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). "[T]he sharpest moments in this giddy entertainment are those where [Flint and Freer] blithely skewer human mores." ¾Publisher's Weekly on Rats, Bats & Vats

Slow Train to Arcturus

ALIEN INVASION PLEASE COMPLETE FORM J23-B, IN QUINTUPLICATE. Victory! The triumphal return of the cyber-uplifted rats and bats is greeted with the reward the HAR Army traditionally gives its best: Arrest, detention without trial, and a firing squad at dawn. Chip Connolly, vat-bred other-ranker hero, comes home from conquest of several million alien Magh', to find that was the easy bit. The real enemy, the enemy within, has not yet even begun to fight. Now, the rats and bats have to raise the revolution. Or, at least make sure that someone with opposable thumbs survives to open screw-caps. The alien menace lurks in their midst, since the aliens have harnessed that most dangerous foe against them: human bureaucracy. They have to take on the secret police and an alien starship armed with missiles and lasers. All they have is superglue, an armored golf-cart and a delight in mayhem. Surely, they are doomed. But wait: who is this hero leaping through the darkness He's a macho hidalgo without peer. His voice is like thunder. . . . His lemur-like body would fit in a soup-cup. However, his waistcoat is immaculate. Only Fluff can save them now, with a bit of help from Elvis. And some burnin' love. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Dave Freer

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