Only the most talented storytellers create worlds that are beyond fantasy, worlds that become realities. In 'Legends' the reader can visit the most fabulous worlds ever created – by Terry Pratchett, Anne McCaffrey, George R.R. Martin, Tad Williams and Robert Jordan.

'The biggest names in contemporary fantasy have written novellas set in their most popular worlds. Fortunately, the standard matches the notion; maybe the contributors were spurred on by group rivalry' 'Time Out'

'An essential buy for every fantasy fan' 'SFX'

Without Lazar's guiding hand and presence, the Stone Palace of Percheron has become a different place. Young Zar Boaz, mistrusting of his mother, Herezah, but too inexperienced to stand on his own, seeks counsel from the suddenly changed and secretive Vizier, who has a sinister agenda of his own.

As Herezah privately grieves for Lazar, she hatches an audacious plot to destroy the odalisque Ana, who flouts the rules of the harem but has found a measure of protection in having caught the eye of Zar Boaz. And Ana shoulders a tremendous burden of guilt as she matures from a beautiful girl into a stunning young woman . . . and fears what her future in the harem might hold.

Yet Lazar, unbeknownst to nearly everyone in the palace, is slowly recovering on a secret island. As he struggles to return to health, war from a distant realm threatens Percheron, and, as the cyclical battle of the gods continues to build, the first of the Goddess's disciples falls into the grip of the demon Maliz. Success or failure--for both Percheron and Lyana--hinges on Lazar, whose illness has left him with a new gift he fears is a curse, and if he cannot take action soon, all may well be lost.

New galaxy-hopping, picaresque adventure from a master storyteller. Sf grand master Vance's latest is a tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler about a young man, Myron Tany, who has taken a degree in space studies but has much to learn when he first boards a ship. Myron is in thrall to his zany aunt, who has heard of a faraway fountain of youth and sets off in her space yacht to find it. Her captain flatters her agreeably, and when Myron points out that the man is a swindler, she won't hear of it and maroons poor Myron on an inhospitable planet with barely his passage home. Luckily, the tramp cargo vessel Glicca is just then in need of a supercargo, and Myron signs on with cool, competent Captain Maloof, Chief Engineer/gambler Schwatzendale, and Chief Steward/photographer Wingo. The four enjoy a string of rare adventures on a spectacular series of planets. They acquire as passengers a group of pilgrims (and their mysterious luggage), or rather, pirates masquerading as religious pilgrims, and engage in to-the-death struggles with the pirates' pursuers; on Terce, Myron narrowly avoids being skinned (there is a flourishing trade in human skins) and eaten. Finally, they encounter a Swiftian, legalistic planet on which one may be punished or betrothed for the slightest whimsical offense. Myron is bound to commit one...

Pandora's Star is the first part of Hamilton's epic Commonwealth Saga duology - a fantastic galaxy-spanning novel from the master of space opera. At the edge of the galaxy something awakens - and it's coming for us Earth AD 2329: Humanity has colonized over four hundred planets, all interlinked by wormholes. For the first time in mankind's history there is peace. Then a star over a thousand light years away suddenly vanishes, imprisoned inside a force field of immense size. Yet who - or what - has that sort of technology? And what could this mean for us? Only a faster-than-light starship, captained by ex-NASA astronaut Wilson Kime, can reach that distance to investigate. However, what if there was a very good reason to seal off an entire star system? Also, getting in could prove easier than the worst possible outcome - stopping something else from getting out. The Commonwealth Saga duology concludes with Judas Unchained. 'The best book Hamilton has written in years' - Guardian 'Anyone who begins this won't be able to put it down' - Publishers Weekly

'Epic in scope, its worldbuilding as intricate as filigree. The Final Strife sings of rebellion, love, and the courage it takes to stand up to tyranny, following three women whose journeys will keep you gripped to the last' -Samantha Shannon, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree The Empire rules by blood Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control. Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance. Clear is the blood of the servants, of the crushed, of the invisible. The Aktibar - a set of trials held every ten years to find the next Ember rulers of the Empire - is about to begin. All can join but not just anyone can win; it requires great skill and ingenuity to become the future wardens of Strength, Knowledge, Truth and Duty. Sylah was destined to win the trials and be crowned Warden of Strength. Stolen by blue-blooded rebels she was raised with a Duster's heart; forged as a weapon to bring down from within the red-blooded Embers' regime of cruelty. But when her adopted family were brutally murdered those dreams of a better future turned to dust. However, the flame of hope may yet be rekindled because Sylah wasn't made to sparkle, she was born to burn. And it's up to her whether she rules the empire or destroys it.

Immerse yourself in the thrilling world of Star Wars: The High Republic with this incredibly illustrated guide to the golden age of the Jedi! Set centuries before the Skywalker Saga, this book is the ultimate in-universe guide to the Jedi Knights of Star Wars: The High Republic, providing fascinating insight into a time of valiant heroes, terrifying monsters, and daring exploration. You will also uncover the mysteries of the Force and learn about the technology of the Jedi Order, including its starfighters and the unique lightsaber designs of this incredible era. Featuring stunning original illustrations and exclusive new revelations, this striking book is an essential collectible that will transport you to the galaxy's gilded age.

The astonishing sequel to Children of Time, the award-winning novel of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.

Thousands of years ago, Earth's terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life - but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth. Then humanity's great empire fell, and the program's decisions were lost to time.

Aeons later, humanity and its new spider allies detected fragmentary radio signals between the stars. They dispatched an exploration vessel, hoping to find cousins from old Earth.

But those ancient terraformers woke something on Nod better left undisturbed.

And it's been waiting for them.For more from Adrian Tchaikovsky, check out:

Children of Time

The post-apocalyptic modern classic with an introduction by novelist John Banville. In a burned-out America, a father and his young son walk under a darkened sky, heading slowly for the coast. They have no idea what, if anything, awaits them there. The landscape is destroyed, nothing moves save the ash on the wind and cruel, lawless men stalk the roadside, lying in wait. Attempting to survive in this brave new world, the young boy and his protector have nothing but a pistol to defend themselves. They must keep walking. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Road is an incandescent novel, the story of a remarkable and profoundly moving journey. In this unflinching study of the best and worst of humankind, Cormac McCarthy boldly divines a future without hope, but one in which, miraculously, this young family finds tenderness. An exemplar of post-apocalyptic writing, The Road is a true modern classic, a masterful, moving and increasingly prescient novel. This edition is part of the Picador Collection, a series of the best in contemporary literature, inaugurated in Picador's 50th Anniversary year.

Book three of the celebrated Deverry series, an epic fantasy rooted in Celtic mythology that intricately interweaves human and elven history over several hundred years. Over a thousand years ago the People of Deverry were driven from their splendid kingdom by their enemy, the Hordes, and forced to find sanctuary in the remote forests in the east of their lands where they eventually settled. Succeeding generations remembered these terrible events as the Burning - and they never forgot the cities, towns and marvels of the far, far west. DAWNSPELL, the third compelling volume in Katharine Kerr's epic Deverry series, continues the bold saga of Nevyn, Rhodry and Jill as they battle with the evil forces threatening the world of Deverry in the decades that follow the Burning.

Ray Bradbury is a painter who uses words rather than brushes--for he created lasting visual images that, once observed, are impossible to forget. Sinister mushrooms growing in a dank cellar. A family's first glimpse at Martians. A wonderful white vanilla ice-cream summer suit that changes everyone who wears it. A great artist drawing in the sand on the beach. A clunky contraption made out of household implements to help some kids play a game called Invasion. The most marvelous Christmas display a little boy ever saw. All those images and many more are inside this book, a new trade edition of thirty-one of Bradbury's most arresting tales--timeless short fiction that ranges from the farthest reaches of space to the innermost stirrings of the heart. Ray Bradbury is known worldwide as one of the century's great men of imagination. Here are thirty-one reasons why.Ray Bradbury is a painter who uses words rather than brushes--for he created lasting visual images that, once observed, are impossible to forget. Sinister mushrooms growing in a dank cellar. A familys first glimpse at Martians. A wonderful white vanilla ice-cream summer suit that changes everyone who wears it. A great artist drawing in the sand on the beach. A clunky contraption made out of household implements to help some kids play a game called Invasion. The most marvelous Christmas display a little boy ever saw. All those images and many more are inside this book, a new trade edition of thirty-one of Bradburys most arresting tales--timeless short fiction that ranges from the farthest reaches of space to the innermost stirrings of the heart. Ray Bradbury is known worldwide as one of the centurys great men of imagination. Here are thirty-one reasons why.

Find. Claim. Profit. In a post-war galaxy littered with scrap, it's the salvager's motto. And with a fast ship and a lust for adventure, Rion Forge has certainly made her mark on the trade. When the discovery of a wrecked UNSC cruiser brings Rion's past back to haunt her, stirring fresh hope into a decades-old wound, she's hell-bent on finding answers: What really happened to her father and his ship, the Spirit of Fire?

Arzosah, and the dwarven axemen are rushing to aid the town of Cengarn, under seige from the massive Horsekin army.

Meanwhile, within the town walls, the Princess Carra – and her precious unborn child – is under the protection of the sorcerers Jill and Dallandra who eagerly await the arrival of their allies.

Only by destroying Alshandra can there ever be peace between Horsekin and humankind. But it seems to be an impossible task…

With a 'Time of Justice', Katharine Kerr concludes her epic Westlands cycle and creates a new masterpiece of fantasy fiction.

“This grand saga is by a wide margin the best Celtic fantasy around”
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

An original novel set in the Halo Universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! Molly Patel was only seven years old when the alien alliance known as the Covenant destroyed her homeworld and killed her family. As one of the few to escape the glassing of Paris IV, and despite the United Nations Space Command winning the war on behalf of humanity, Molly never forgot how much she had lost. Nine years later, when her adoptive parents-research scientists specializing in ancient Forerunner technology-are called to the mysterious and wondrous place known as Onyx, Molly vehemently objects. It's not so much that Molly's concerned about relocating to inside a spherical construct the diameter of an entire solar system, but the fact that she also has to live alongside members of the same alien species that murdered her family. And when the Servants of the Abiding Truth, a violent ex-Covenant sect under the guidance of the notorious Pale Blade, somehow makes its way inside this supposedly impregnable sphere, Molly is now forced to consider if she and her new parents have made a terrible and fatal mistake in coming here...

Zero Dark Thirty meets The Social Network in this "clever...gritty" (Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings) science fiction thriller about artificial intelligence, sentience, and labor rights in a near future dominated by the gig economy-from Hugo Award nominee S.B. Divya. Welga Ramirez, executive bodyguard and ex-special forces, is about to retire early when her client is killed in front of her. It's, 2095 and people don't usually die from violence. Humanity is entirely dependent on pills that not only help them stay alive but allow them to compete with artificial intelligence in an increasingly competitive gig economy. Daily doses protect against designer diseases, flow enhances focus, zips and buffs enhance physical strength and speed, and juvers speed the healing process. All that changes when Welga's client is killed by The Machinehood, a new and mysterious terrorist group that has simultaneously attacked several major pill funders. The Machinehood operatives seem to be part human, part machine, something the world has never seen. They issue an ultimatum: stop all pill production in one week. Global panic ensues as pill production slows and many become ill. Thousands destroy their bots in fear of a strong AI takeover. But the US government believes the Machinehood is a cover for an old enemy. One that Welga is uniquely qualified to fight. Welga, determined to take down the Machinehood, is pulled back into intelligence work by the government that betrayed her. But who are the Machinehood, and what do they really want? A "fantastic, big-idea thriller" (Malka Older, Hugo Award finalist for The Centenal Cycle series) that asks: if we won't see machines as human, will we instead see humans as machines?

December 2553. Less than a year after the end of the Covenant War, a string of violent incidents continues to threaten the tenuous peace in human-held space ... culminating in the assassination of UNSC fleet admiral Graselyn Tuwa and the abduction of her family. It is a provocation so outrageous that the Office of Naval Intelligence must retaliate swiftly and ferociously-but only after its operatives identify her killer and rescue the hostages. This mission will be the first for homicide-detective-turned-ONIoperative Veta Lopis and her young team of Spartan-IIIs, and something feels wrong from the start. The obvious suspect is an infamous Brute who leads the Keepers of the One Freedom, an ex-Covenant splinter group in fierce opposition to the UNSC. But Lopis and her team soon realize that the truth is much more insidious than they could ever have imagined, and with Fred-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058 of Blue Team for combat support, they must stop a plan hatched in the bowels of the secret research station Argent Moon-a plan so sinister it could destroy all those still reeling from thirty years of intergalactic conflict ...

Specifications: 2-1/2-inch vinyl figure of Hedwig with a button that plays Hedwig's sounds from the Harry Potter films. Bonus sticker book: Mini sticker book includes 8 full-colour stickers. Perfect gift: A unique and keepsake item for all fans of Harry Potter. Officially licensed: Authentic collectible. Copyright (c) 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment. WIZARDING WORLD characters, names, and related indicia are (c) & (TM) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WB SHIELD: (c) & (TM) WBEI. Publishing Rights (c) JKR. (s23)

This book presents the adventures of Rhodry Maelwaedd! It is many years since Lord Rhodry took the throne of Aberwyn, yet his half-elven blood keeps him so young that his people suspect magic. Elven magic. And they aren't sure they like it. Then his lost lover, Jill, now a powerful sorceress, returns. She tells him it is time to accept his elven heritage. Rhodry is persuaded to take drastic action and stages his own death. It's an act that will lead him to the mysterious Westlands. And force him to confront his destiny. Whether he likes it or not. Katharine Kerr shot to fame with her highly original saga of the land of Deverry. Her smooth writing, warm characters and enticing plots won her legions of readers. Now with "A Time of Exile" she begins an exciting new series which reveals her gifts in even greater abundance. "Katharine Kerr is one of my favourites in the fantasy field and one of the few writers who have been able to grasp the true essence of the Celtic myth! She uses all five physical senses to the greatest effect. When you open one of her books, there's a great rush of sensory detail. For that reason, combined with a wolf's nose of a sense for storytelling, I read Katharine Kerr: and you should too" - John Gilbert. "Fear, an excellent example of high fantasy, Kerr's supremely confident, stylish presentation, along with a compelling storyline, place this very much at the thoughtful and quality end of the fantasy spectrum"- The Dark Side".

It has been six years since the end of the Covenant War ...and yet on the planet Carrow, a world on the edge of the Joint Occupation Zone, a decisive new battle suddenly erupts. Human colonists and the alien Sangheili have already been living a tension-filled coexistence in this place, with Unified Earth Government envoy Melody Azikiwe attempting to broker a lasting peace between their two species. But as civil war now engulfs the Sangheili, Melody must act on an additional covert assignment courtesy of the Office of Naval Intelligence: free the Spartan-IIs known as Gray Team, held in stasis since the end of the war by a cunning Elite fleetmaster consumed with vengeance. And none can anticipate the ongoing violence leading to the discovery of an even greater, unstoppable threat-one hidden for eons below the surface of the planet...

The Deep

In a twilight land, two warring powers -- the Reds and the Blacks -- play out an ancient game of murder and betrayal. Then a Visitor from beyond the sky arrives to play a part in this dark and bloody pageant. From the moment he is found by two women who tend to the dead in the wake of battles, it is clear that the great game is to change at last.

Beasts

It is the day after tomorrow, and society has been altered dramatically by experimentation that enables scientists to combine the genetic material of different species, mixing DNA of humans with animals. Loren Casaubon is an ethologist drawn into the political and social vortex that results with Leo -- a creature both man and lion -- at its center.

Engine Summer

A young man named Rush That Speaks is growing up in a far distant world -- one that only dimly remembers our own age, the wondrous age of the Angels, when men could fly. Now it is the "engine summer of the world," and Rush goes in search of the Saints who can teach him to speak truthfully, and be immortal in the stories he tells. The immortality that awaits him, though, is one he could not have imagined.

The thrilling follow-up to Mickey7, soon to be a major motion picture by Academy Award-winning director Bong Joon-Ho. Surviving isn't living, even for an Expendable. Mickey7's antimatter gambit paid off. He's out of the Expendable game and doing whatever else he can to help support the threatened colony on the ice world Niflheim. But the colony now desperately needs the one thing he doesn't want to give them: the antimatter in the bomb he claimed the alien creepers have. Without it, the colony won't survive the coming years. With it, the colony leader can finally get rid of Mickey7 for good. But the planet's indigenous races have their own plans for Mickey7 and the human colony. They want the colony resources, all of them, and they won't stop until they've devoured every last scrap.

A special edition hardcover that celebrates the 10th anniversary of James S. A. Corey's modern masterwork of science fiction. This 10th anniversary edition hardcover includes: A striking new cover Stained edges and illustrated endpapers A black and magenta foil case A reversible cover that features the full, uncropped artwork of the original cover art A new introduction from the authors From New York Times-bestselling and Hugo award-winning author James S. A. Corey comes the first book in the genre-defining space opera series, The Expanse, introducing a captain, his crew, and a detective as they unravel a horrifying solar system wide conspiracy that begins with a single missing girl. Now a Prime original series. HUGO AWARD FOR BEST SERIES Humanity has colonized the solar system--Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond--but the stars are still out of our reach. Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for--and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why. Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything. Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations--and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe. "Interplanetary adventure the way it ought to be written." --George R. R. Martin The Expanse Leviathan Wakes Caliban's War Abaddon's Gate Cibola Burn Nemesis Games Babylon's Ashes Persepolis Rising Tiamat's Wrath Leviathan Falls Memory's Legion The Expanse Short Fiction Drive The Butcher of Anderson Station Gods of Risk The Churn The Vital Abyss Strange Dogs Auberon Memory's Legion

From 1981 to 1986, The Daily Star ran a Judge Dredd comic strip written by John Wagner and Alan Grant and illustrated by Ron Smith. Appearing in collected forms only haphazardly well over twenty years ago, this is the first time the entire collection has been reprinted and assembled in one volume. This collection contains the daily and weekend strips.