"Guinevere comes alive--a strong, resourceful, and compassionate woman, accessible to modern folk . . . McKenzie makes a quantum leap in defining the character of Guinevere as a real, flesh-and-blood woman. The Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot triangle comes alive as well--believable, poignant, and bearing the seeds of tragedy."--KATHERINE KURTZOn the night of Guinevere's birth, a wise woman declares a prophecy of doom for the child: She will be gwenhwyfar, the white shadow, destined to betray her king, and be herself betrayed. Years pass, and Guinevere becomes a great beauty, riding free across Northern Wales on her beloved horse. She is entranced by the tales of the valorous Arthur, a courageous warrior who seems to Guinevere no mere man, but a legend. Then she finds herself betrothed to that same famous king, a hero who commands her willing devotion. Just as his knights and all his subjects, she falls under Arthur's spell. At the side of King... Views: 66
While the Elven Exiles struggle for survival in the distant kingdom of Khur, the elves remaining in Qualinesti face persecution, enslavement, and extermination. Amid great suffering and unrelieved evil, a rebel leader -- masked, anonymous, and with strange powers -- appears, determined to cleanse the land of invaders. Meanwhile, Kerianseray, the Lioness, Kagonesti general and wife of Speaker Gilthas, finds herself magically transported from certain death in Khur to equally dire straits in her former homeland. As Gilthas leads the elves across the trackless desert in search of a new home, the Lioness fights ruthless slavers and crosses paths with the mysterious masked revolutionary of Qualinesti. Views: 66
People like to think that money and love are opposites. Anna Moore, tax inspector A2 Grade, has come to be less sure ...'John Law is Anna's latest client, and her most formidable challenge. The 'Cryptographer', people call him. He is mysterious and charming, the world's first quadrillionaire, the inventor of an unbreakable code, the creator of the world's first great electric currency.In the new millenium, it is no longer quite acceptable to admire the rich. But Law is both distrusted and admired more than most, more than Anna understands. That will have to change. Rule number one: information is the inspector's greatest weapon. And Anna needs to know - what is it that a man like John Law would seek to hide, and why?From the acclaimed author of Underground and The Love of Stones, The Cryptographer is a brilliant vision of the London of tomorrow and a thrilling and unforgettable story of codes, love and money. Views: 66
Widely regarded as the one essential book for every science fiction fan, The Year's Best Science Fiction (Winner of the 2002 Locus Award for Best Anthology) continues to uphold its standard of excellence with more than two dozen stories representing the previous year's best SF writing. This year's volume includes Ian R. MacLeod, Nancy Kress, Greg Egan, Maureen F. McHugh, Robert Reed, Paul McAuley, Michael Swanwick, Robert Silverberg, Charles Stross, John Kessel, Gregory Benford and many other talented authors of SF, as well as thorough summations of the year and a recommended reading list.From BooklistStalwart sf fans will most likely find Dozois' twentieth stout annual anthology as satisfying as any of its predecessors. The authors represented in it range from multiple-award winners Gregory Benford, Nancy Kress, and John Kessel to skilled newcomers Molly Gloss and Chris Beckett. In-betweeners in terms of prize winning and output include Ian MacLeod, Ian McDonald, Bruce Sterling, and Eleanor Arnason, who should write much more. Dozois has again cast his net widely, drawing Geoff Ryman's entry from a chapbook and Walter Jon Williams' from the electronic media. As usual, sf magazines are leading resources, with Asimov's and Fantasy and Science Fiction leading the pack in total contributions and Inter zone coming in third. Selections from original anthologies are fewer this year, though. As long as the short story remains an important form for sf, Dozois' anthologies will be required reading for the genre's fans. Roland GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedReview“Hugo-winner Dozois presents SF that is both provocative and literate in this respected annual anthology.... Exotic settings, memorable characters and challenging themes are par for the course here. Once again Dozois has gathered together a stunning array of the best in shorter SF.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)“Without question, the Dozois SF annuals deserve rosettes.... For all libraries, absolutely.”—Kirkus Reviews Views: 66
Chi Vu takes the central figure in a traditional Buddhist folktale, a deranged killer who wears his victims' fingers in a garland around his neck, and turns him into a menacing abbatoir worker who carries bloody chunks of meat home to his lodgings in plastic bags, in this suburban Gothic tale set in 1980s Melbourne, when the flight of Vietnamese refugees to Australia was at its height. The novella gives a compelling insight into the relations formed between refugees who have been displaced from their families or their communities, and lead isolated lives haunted by suspicion and fear. At the same time the novella's macabre humour and surreal effects point to redemptive possibilities, in demonstrating how these old fears are played out and resolved in their new settings. Views: 66
Three thrilling adventures from Science Fiction Grand Master Robert Silverberg As a young man, Robert Silverberg was a science fiction prodigy, turning out top-flight stories in the blink of an eye. Though written quickly, Silverberg's early prose already showed evidence of the literary and imaginative qualities that would make him a giant in the field—as this trio of space adventures attests. In The Chalice of Death, Hallam Navarre is tasked by his alien master to seek out a fabled weapon on the homeworld of a once-mighty, but long-fallen, empire that is all but forgotten: a planet called Earth. In Starhaven, Johnny Mantell is a fugitive who finds sanctuary on an artificial world run by criminals, only to discover that every haven has its price. And in Shadow on the Stars, Baird Ewing travels to distant Earth on a desperate mission to save his colony from rapacious aliens, but becomes swept up in a bigger war—a... Views: 66
Change or die. These are the only options available on the planet Jeep. Centuries earlier, a deadly virus shattered the original colony, killing the men and forever altering the few surviving women. Now, generations after the colony has lost touch with the rest of humanity, a company arrives to exploit Jeep–and its forces find themselves fighting for their lives. Terrified of spreading the virus, the company abandons its employees, leaving them afraid and isolated from the natives. In the face of this crisis, anthropologist Marghe Taishan arrives to test a new vaccine. As she risks death to uncover the women’s biological secret, she finds that she, too, is changing–and realizes that not only has she found a home on Jeep, but that she alone carries the seeds of its destruction. . . . Ammonite is an unforgettable novel that questions the very meanings of gender and humanity. As readers share in Marghe’s journey through an alien world, they too embark on a parallel journey of fascinating self-exploration Views: 66
A terrorist hunt through the streets of New York puts Mack Bolan on a much more urgent crisis. A Shiite-Mafia drug connection, ruled by a powerful cartel of fanatics and independent warlords, is preparing to supply huge quantities of bargain-basement drugs to bring Iran's holy war right to America's doorstep.
Posing as a maverick heroin dealer, the Executioner stages a raid that begins in Cyprus and ends in Lebanon's deadly Bekaa Valley, where unwelcome visitors never leave alive. Bolan enlists the aid of rebel factions on his desperate mission to destroy the cartel at its stronghold.
Those who profit in war and human suffering are about to discover the high cost of living… and dying. Views: 66
From AE Publications comes 4 filthy tales, featuring hardcore graphic sex, anal, alpha males, femdom, lesbians, threesomes, romance, bdsm, rough sex and more. Adults only. 18+ Views: 66
