Search Worlds Without End

It has been said (by Mark Twain) that "If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." In this volume we explore the many and manifest reasons why humans should voluntarily accord first place in space to their feline brethren.

Table of Contents:

• 3 - The Game of Rat and Dragon - [The Instrumentality of Mankind] - short story by Cordwainer Smith
• 21 - Mouse - short story by Fredric Brown
• 33 - Ship of Shadows - novelette by Fritz Leiber
• 83 - Schrödinger's Cat - short story by Ursula K. Le Guin
• 93 - Tales of a Starship's Cat - poem by Judith R. Conly
• 97 - Who's There? - short story by Arthur C. Clarke
• 103 - Bullhead - novelette by David Drake
• 143 - Ordeal in Space - [Future History] - short story by Robert A. Heinlein
• 161 - Space-Time for Springers - [Gummitch the Cat] - short story by Fritz Leiber
• 175 - The Tail - short fiction by M. J. Engh
• 179 - Well Worth the Money - short story by Jody Lynn Nye
• 203 - Chanur's Homecoming (Chapter 12) - short fiction by C. J. Cherryh
• 231 - Duty Calls - [The Fleet] - novelette by Anne McCaffrey
• 263 - Black Destroyer - [Space Beagle] - novelette by A. E. van Vogt
• 299 - The Pride - short fiction by P. J. Beese and Todd Cameron Hamilton
• 327 - The Ballad of Lost C'mell - [The Instrumentality of Mankind] - novelette by Cordwainer Smith
• 351 - The Man Who Would Be Kzin - [Man-Kzin Wars] - novella by Greg Bear and S. M. Stirling

You are cordially invited to explore the many worlds of modern fantasy, with an array of the field's brightest stars as your guides. Masters of Fantasy presents a glittering roster of today's most popular fantasy writers, offering brand new adventures set in their most popular series.

Table of Contents:

• 1 - From Category to Genre in a Bookselling Sense or When Sales and Popularity Begin to Command Respect - essay by Brian M. Thomsen
• 5 - Out of the Deep - [Valdemar] - novelette by Mercedes Lackey
• 29 - Earthborne - [Witch World Universe] - short story by Andre Norton
• 47 - Mything in Dreamland - [Myth Adventures] - novelette by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye
• 69 - Race for the Sky - [The Bifrost Guardians] - novelette by Mickey Zucker Reichert
• 95 - Shadamehr and the Old Wive's Tale - [Sovereign Stone] - short story by Don Perrin and Margaret Weis
• 115 - Serenade - [Spellsinger] - novelette by Alan Dean Foster
• 145 - Child of Prophecy - [The Wars of Light and Shadow] - novelette by Janny Wurts
• 169 - The Afterlife of St. Vidicon of Cathode - [Saint Vidicon] - novelette by Christopher Stasheff
• 197 - The Elf House - [Lord of the Isles] - short story by David Drake
• 211 - Gifts - [Paksenarrion Universe] - novelette by Elizabeth Moon
• 233 - The Amorous Broom - [John Justin Mallory] - short story by Mike Resnick
• 245 - Web of Deception - [Bahzell - 5] - novel by David Weber

Three Masters of Military Science Fiction
Three Great Science Fiction Series:

• Honor Harrinqton
• Hammer's Slammers
• Belisarius

Three Short Novels in One Volume

Before she saved the galaxy, she was "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington"-- New York Times bestselling author David Weber reveals how Honor Harrington's long and brilliant career began with an encounter with "pirates" who turned out to be much more than they seemed....

Another day, another planet at war. But in David Drake's "Choosing Sides," Lieutenant Huber stepped off the starship right into an ambush. The attackers didn't survive, but neither did far too many of Huber's troops--and Slammers aren't supposed to get caught in ambushes. Now, to redeem himself, Huber is being sent on a special mission that may be his last. But even so, the enemy will learn the cost of killing even a single one of Colonel Hammer's Slammers....

If the enemy thought General Belisarius was tough, wait until they meet the wife of one of his soldiers in Eric Flint's "Island." She was wed just before her husband left with Belisarius to fight an evil from beyond time. Now her husband is wounded, and she is going to travel a thousand miles to reach his side--and few who get in her way will live to regret it....

Contents:

• 1 - Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington - [Honor Harrington Universe Short Fiction] - (2001) - novella by David Weber
• 145 - Islands - [Belisarius] - novella by Eric Flint
• 215 - Choosing Sides - [Hammer's Slammers] - novella by David Drake

Table of Contents:

• Prologue and Interludes - short fiction by Bill Fawcett
• 4 - Facing the Enemy - novelette by David Drake
• 27 - Trading Up - short story by Barbara Delaplace and Mike Resnick
• 38 - Goblin's Children - novelette by Christopher Stasheff
• 83 - The Eyes of Texas - short story by Shariann Lewitt
• 109 - Starlight - short story by Jody Lynn Nye
• 133 - Comrades - short story by S. M. Stirling
• 151 - Gung Ho - poem by Judith R. Conly
• 153 - Blind Spot - novelette by Steve Perry
• 180 - The Stand on Luminos - novelette by Robert Sheckley
• 211 - Killer Cure - short story by Diane Duane
• 231 - A Transmigration of Soul - novelette by Janet Morris

Table of Contents:

• Prologue and Interludes - short fiction by Bill Fawcett
• 3 - Deadfall - novelette by Scott MacMillan
• 32 - Hearing - novelette by Christopher Stasheff
• 65 - Charity - short story by Shariann Lewitt
• 85 - Medic - novelette by Mercedes Lackey and Mark Shepherd
• 117 - Taken to the Cleaners - short story by Peter Morwood
• 126 - Imperatives - poem by Judith R. Conly
• 128 - You Can't Make an Omelet - short story by Esther M. Friesner
• 148 - Joint Ventures - novelette by Don John Dugas
• 178 - The Handmaiden - short story by Diane Duane
• 197 - Shooting Star - short story by Jody Lynn Nye
• 216 - Battle Offering - novelette by Katherine Kurtz
• 242 - Failure Mode - novelette by David Drake

Table of Contents:

• Lost Legion - [Bethany Martins 1] - novelette by S. M. Stirling
• Camelot - novelette by Shariann Lewitt
• The Legacy of Leonidas - novella by Andrew Keith
• Ploughshare - novella by Todd McCaffrey
• Ghosts - short story by Barry N. Malzberg and Mike Resnick
• The Ghost of Resartus - novelette by Christopher Stasheff
• Operation Desert Fox - novelette by Larry Dixon and Mercedes Lackey
• As Our Strength Lessens - short story by David Drake

Table of Contents:

• Ancestral Voices - [Bethany Martins 2] - novelette by S. M. Stirling
• Sir Kendrick's Lady - novelette by Shariann Lewitt
• You're It - novelette by Shirley Meier
• Shared Experience - novella by Christopher Stasheff
• The Murphosensor Bomb - novelette by Karen Wehrstein
• Legacy - novelette by Todd McCaffrey
• Endings - short fiction by William R. Forstchen

Table of Contents:

• The Sixth Sun - [Bethany Martins 3] - novella by S. M. Stirling
• The Traitor - novelette by David Weber
• Yesterday's Gods - novelette by William R. Forstchen and John Mina
• Memories of Erin - novelette by Robert Greenberger
• Hold Until Relieved - novelette by William H. Keith, Jr.
• A Question of Valor - novelette by Todd McCaffrey [as by Todd Johnson]
• In the Flesh - novelette by John DeCamp and Steve Perry
• And Don't Come Back - novelette by Mark Thies
• A Time to Kill - novella by David Weber
• A Brief History of Human Expansion Beyond Concordiat Space - essay by Linda Evans

Table of Contents:

• Incursion - novella by Mark Thies
• Rook's Gambit - novelette by John Mina
• The Sky Is Falling - novella by Dean Wesley Smith and J. Steven York
• Brothers - novelette by William H. Keith, Jr.

Table of Contents:

• Prologue (Cold Steel) - short fiction by uncredited
• The Greater Machine - novella by Dean Wesley Smith and J. Steven York
• Though Hell Should Bar the Way - novel by Linda Evans

The year's best science fiction and fantasy in one essential volume.

An annual commemoration, the Nebula Awards are presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to those members whose imaginations refine and re-define the infinite storytelling possibilities found within the genre. The Nebula Awards Showcase represents the best of the best in fantasy in one indispensible collection.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Nebula Awards Showcase 2010) - essay by Bill Fawcett
• Early SF in the Pulp Magazines - essay by Robert Weinberg
• The Space Time Pool - (2008) - novella by Catherine Asaro
• The Golden Age - (2009) - essay by David Drake
• Powers (excerpt) - novella by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Science Fiction in the Fifties - essay by Robert Silverberg
• Selected Commentaries - essay by Algis Budrys
• Rules of the Game - (1996) - shortstory by Kate Wilhelm
• A Chance Remark - essay by Martin H. Greenberg
• Writing SF in the 60s - essay by Frederik Pohl and Elizabeth Anne Hull
• Pride and Prometheus - (2008) - novelette by John Kessel
• Science Fiction in the 1970s: The Tale of the Nerdy Duckling - essay by Kevin J. Anderson
• Trophy Wives - (2008) - novelette by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• Into the Eighties - essay by Lynn Abbey
• Talking About Fangs - (1995) - shortstory by M. J. Engh
• Science Fiction in the 1990s: Waiting for Godot... or Maybe Nosferatu - essay by Mike Resnick
• Place Mat by Moebius - (2007) - poem by Greg Beatty
• Eating Light - (2007) - poem by F. J. Bergmann
• The Seven Devils of Central California - (2007) - poem by Catherynne M. Valente
• Flora's Dare (excerpt) - shortfiction by Ysabeau S. Wilce
• Medium with a Message - essay by Jody Lynn Nye
• WALL-E (excerpt from script) - shortfiction by Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon
• The Acceptance Speech of the Bradbury Award Winner - essay by Joss Whedon
• An Appreciation of the Grand Master Harry Harrison - essay by Tom Doherty
• The Streets of Ashkelon - (1962) - shortstory by Harry Harrison

They are a great family of witches and warlocks, alchemists and spellcasters. From generation to generation, from the Old World to the Salem trials and beyond, they hand down their secrets, their potions, even their family familiar... a will-o'-the-wisp called Willow. They are masters of sorcery, of power, of love. They are... The Crafters

Table of Contents:

• vii - Prologue (The Crafters) - short fiction by Bill Fawcett
• 1 - The Alchemist and the Witch - novelette by Christopher Stasheff
• 35 - Of Art and Science - poem by Judith R. Conly
• 37 - A Cup of Chaos - novelette by Wendy Wheeler
• 61 - The Seal of Solomon - novelette by Robert Sheckley
• 84 - The Seeing Stone - short story by Jody Lynn Nye
• 103 - Education - novelette by Doug Houseman and Anna O'Connell
• 135 - A Little Learning - novelette by Esther M. Friesner
• 160 - A Spell for Brass Buttons - novella by Ru Emerson
• 210 - The Summoning - short story by Katherine Kurtz
• 224 - Unholy Alliance - novelette by Morgan Llywelyn
• 245 - Epilogue (The Crafters) - essay by Bill Fawcett

Witches and warlocks, alchemists and scientists, the Crafters are a talented family. The birth of a new nation sees the beginning of a clan whose far-flung branches take root in the civilized cities and on the wild frontier.

In this second bewitching volume, a new generation of Crafters must come to terms with their Talent in an age of science and reason. Spread across the globe, the descendants of Amer Crafter are a varied lot, from proud Americans to spoiled young English gentry.

Table of Contents:

• ix - Prologue (Blessings and Curses) - essay by Bill Fawcett
• 1 - Belonging - short story by Barbara Delaplace
• 12 - Franklin's Salamander - short story by Wendy Wheeler
• 32 - "... A Fortune in Ireland" - novelette by Morris G. McGee
• 57 - Her American Cousin - novelette by Esther M. Friesner
• 100 - Whose Ghost There? - novella by Christopher Stasheff
• 153 - Ironsides and Cottonseed Oil - novelette by Ru Emerson
• 191 - Miss Crafter's School for Girls - novelette by Jody Lynn Nye
• 225 - The Dream Country - novelette by Robert Sheckley
• 256 - Oppression - poem by Judith R. Conly
• 257 - Remember the Almost - short story by Morgan Llywelyn
• 269 - A Cursed Booty - short story by Brian M. Thomsen

The Fleet is mankind's last line of defense against the vicious Khalia. This is their story-told by the masters of this universe.

Contributors: Anne McCaffrey, Poul Anderson, Margaret Weis, Steve Perry, David Drake, Janet Morris, Jody Lynn Nye, John Brunner, Bill Fawcett, E. Gary Gygax, Robert Sheckley

The shared-world military science fiction anthology series continues-with stories by:

Christopher Stasheff, Jody Lynn Nye, Judith R. Conly, Janny Wurts, Robert Sheckley, Shariann Lewitt, Piers Anthony, Mike Resnick, Bill Fawcett, Janet Morris, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, David Drake

They've tasted defeat. Now the men and women of the Fleet live only for victory.

The soldiers of the alliance come from different worlds and cultures, but share one mission: to reclaim occupied space from the savage Khalian invaders. These are their stories.

National bestselling authors in the breakthrough military science fiction series.

The Fleet must destroy a human foe capable of infiltrating the Fleet itself.

Includes stories by:

Anne McCaffrey, Katherine Kurtz and Scott McMillan, David Drake, Christopher Stasheff, Janny Wurts, Diane Duane and Peter Norwood, N. Lee Wood, Bill Fawcett, Jody Lynn Nye

Humanity joins forces with its centuries-old enemy, the Khalians, to combat a common foe--the Syndicate of Families, which stands poised to seize control of the known universe.