Tesla Crane, a brilliant inventor and an heiress, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between the Moon and Mars. She's travelling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and the festering chowderheads who run security have the audacity to arrest her spouse. Armed with banter, martinis and her small service dog, Tesla is determined to solve the crime so that the newlyweds can get back to canoodling and keep the real killer from striking again.

"Shades of Milk and Honey" is an intimate portrait of Jane Ellsworth, a woman ahead of her time in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality. But despite the prevalence of magic in everyday life, other aspects of Dorchester's society are not that different: Jane and her sister Melody's lives still revolve around vying for the attentions of eligible men.

Jane resists this fate, and rightly so: while her skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face, and therefore wins the lion's share of the attention. At the ripe old age of twenty-eight, Jane has resigned herself to being invisible forever. But when her family's honor is threatened, she finds that she must push her skills to the limit in order to set things right--and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.

This debut novel from an award-winning talent scratches a literary itch you never knew you had. Like wandering onto a secret picnic attended by "Pride and Prejudice" and "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell," "Shades of Milk and Honey" is precisely the sort of tale we would expect from Jane Austen...if only she had been a fantasy writer.

Finalist for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of cutting-edge science fiction from the hit podcast, Escape Pod. Escape Pod has been bringing the finest short fiction to millions of ears all over the world, at the forefront of a new fiction revolution. This anthology gathers together fifteen stories, including new and exclusive work from writers such as from Cory Doctorow, Ken Liu, Mary Robinette Kowal, T. Kingfisher and more. From editors Mur Laffterty and S.B. Divya comes the science fiction collection of the year, bringing together bestselling authors in celebration of the publishing phenomenon that is, Escape Pod.

The Third in the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award-Winning Series Two worlds. One humanity. It's 1963, and riots and sabotage plague the space program. The climate change caused by the Meteor is becoming more and more clear, but tensions are rising, and the IAC's goal of getting humanity off Earth is threatened. Astronaut Nicole Wargin lives two lives; one as a politican's smiling wife on Earth, and the other as an astronaut on the newly-established Moon Base. But when sabotage strikes, she finds that her two worlds are colliding - with deadly consequences. 'The Lady Astronaut series might be set in an alternate past, but they're cutting-edge SF novels that speak volumes about the present.' -The Verge

The Second in the Nebula and Locus Award-Winning Series One large step for humankind... It's 1961, and the Earth's gaze is turning to Mars. The Moon colony is well established, but tensions are rising on Earth-both from those who see themselves being left behind on a disaster-laden planet, and those who don't believe in equality for all. But even with personal sacrifices and political tensions, Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, dearly wants to go on the first mission to Mars-despite everything that stands in her way.

A meteor decimates the U.S. government and paves the way for a climate cataclysm that will eventually render the earth inhospitable to humanity. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated timeline in the earth's efforts to colonize space, as well as an unprecedented opportunity for a much larger share of humanity to take part. One of these new entrants in the space race is Elma York, whose experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition's attempts to put man on the moon. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn't take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can't go into space, too - aside from some pesky barriers like thousands of years of history and a host of expectations about the proper place of the fairer sex. And yet, Elma's drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions may not stand a chance.

In Regency England, Jane Ellsworth of Dorchester is a woman ahead of her time. Not only is she highly skilled in the manipulation of glamour - plucking strands from the Ether to create genteel magical illusions - she's also ambitious for her art, and dreams of being recognised as a glamourist of note in her own right, as men are permitted to. First and foremost, however, a lady of quality must marry well, and alas Jane's ambitions do not extend to her romantic prospects. Compared to her beautiful sister Melody, Jane feels invisible to suitors, and is resigned to a life of spinsterhood. But when her beloved family comes under threat, Jane uses her magical skills to put things right, which attracts the attention of professional glamourist Mr Vincent . . . and unwittingly wanders in to a love story of her own.

Continuing the grand sweep of alternate history laid out in The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky looks forward to 1961, when mankind is well-established on the moon and looking forward to its next step: journeying to, and eventually colonising, Mars. Of course the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but could the International Aerospace Coalition ever stand the thought of putting a woman on such a potentially dangerous mission? Could Elma knowingly take the place of other astronauts who have been overlooked because of their race? And could she really leave behind her husband and the chance to start a family? This gripping look at the real conflicts behind a fantastical space race will put a new spin on our visions of what might have been.

"Kowal's short works are difficult to classify, often poignant or tragic, and always spectacularly written . . . [sending] readers off on a breathless trip to the stars." - Publishers Weekly (STARRED) Celebrated as the author of five acclaimed historical fantasy novels in the Glamourist series, Mary Robinette Kowal is also well known as an award-winning author of short science fiction and fantasy. Her stories encompass a wide range of themes, a covey of indelible characters, and settings that span from Earth's past to its near and far futures as well as even farther futures beyond. Alternative history, fairy tales, adventure, fables, science fiction (both hard and soft), fantasy (both epic and cozy)-nothing is beyond the reach of her unique talent. WORD PUPPETS-the first comprehensive collection of Kowal's extraordinary fiction-includes her two Hugo-winning stories, a Hugo nominee, an original story set in the world of "The Lady Astronaut of Mars," and fourteen other show-stopping tales.

Up-and-coming fantasist Mary Robinette Kowal enchanted fans with her novels "Shades of Milk and Honey" and "Glamour in Glass," which introduced Regency glamourists Jane and David Vincent. In "Without a Summer," Jane and Vincent take a break from their international travels. But in a world where magic is real, nothing--even the domestic sphere--is quite what it seems.

After a dramatic trip to Belgium, Jane and Vincent go to Long Parkmeade to spend time with Jane's family, but quickly turn restless. The spring is unseasonably cold, and no one wants to be outside. Mr. Ellsworth is concerned by the harvest, since a poor one may imperil Melody's dowry. And Melody has concerns of her own, given an inadequate selection of eligible bachelors locally.

When Jane and Vincent receive a commission from a prominent London family, they take it, and bring Melody with them. They hope the change of scenery will do her good and her marriage prospects--and mood--will be brighter in London. Talk here frequently turns to increased unemployment of coldmongers and riots in nearby villages by Luddites concerned that their way of life is becoming untenable. With each passing day, it's more difficult to avoid getting embroiled in the intrigue, which does not really help Melody's chances for romance. It doesn't take long for Jane to Vincent realize that in addition to arranging a wedding, they must take on one small task: solving a crisis of national proportions.

Some storytellers use the distant future as the setting to make fantastic extrapolations and to explore compelling ideas. In this volume, however, the writers look forward a mere decade and present stunning scenarios, reveal exciting possibilities and warn against the harrowing pitfalls that may lie just a few steps ahead of us. What will life be like ten years from now? Sixteen extraordinary writers offer their own mind-bending answers to that question, their spectacular 2020 Visions...

Theodore Sturgeon Award finalist, 2010

A. Bertram Chandler Award for Outstanding Achievement in SF, 2010

***

"The Qualia Engine" is a worthy addition to the long line of superman-in-hiding stories that stretches all the way back to Olaf Stapledon, with notable stops along the way... A dense story with a rich nougat vein of well-observed human emotion. --Gardner Dozois, "Locus"

***

Sharply told, very funny at times, and ultimately very powerful. --Rich Horton, "Locus"

***

From the infinite universes of quantum theory to the mysteries of mind and heart, from mythic depths to the end of humanity, Damien Broderick speaks all the voices of SF in a bravura display of storytelling. In this first US collection of his best short stories, the multi-award winning Dean of Australian Science Fiction takes us to a dozen worlds at the limits of imagination.

***

Tactile details are integral to Broderick's work. They offer a window into the minds of his characters. But he won't spoon-feed you. This is fiction that is "smart" and takes an engaged reader to get all the layers.

As you read this book, you'll find that every story is an exploration of a different facet of that most important element of being human. Not just emotions, or pain or even love, but "consciousness."

Together, this collection creates its own Qualia Engine. --Mary Robinette Kowal, winner of the 2008 John W. Campbell Award

***

"This Wind Blowing, and This Tide" is a beautiful story. The speculation is fascinating, but the heart of the story is a single father mourning his dead son (as signaled by the perfect title, taken from Rudyard Kipling). --Rich Horton, "Locus"

***

Making a welcome splash with some fine new stories. --Jonathan Strahan, "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year"

Mary Robinette Kowal stunned readers with her charming first novel "Shades of Milk and Honey," a loving tribute to the works of Jane Austen in a world where magic is an everyday occurrence. This magic comes in the form of glamour, which allows talented users to form practically any illusion they can imagine. "Shades" debuted to great acclaim and left readers eagerly awaiting its sequel. "Glamour in Glass" follows the lives of beloved main characters Jane and Vincent, with a much deeper vein of drama and intrigue.
In the tumultuous months after Napoleon abdicates his throne, Jane and Vincent go to Belgium for their honeymoon. While there, the deposed emperor escapes his exile in Elba, throwing the continent into turmoil. With no easy way back to England, Jane and Vincent's concerns turn from enjoying their honeymoon...to escaping it.
Left with no outward salvation, Jane must persevere over her trying personal circumstances and use her glamour to rescue her husband from prison...and hopefully prevent her newly built marriage from getting stranded on the shoals of another country's war.

Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Harford, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force. Each soldier heading for the front is conditioned to report to the mediums of the Spirit Corps when they die so the Corps can pass instant information about troop movements to military intelligence. While Ben is away at the front, Ginger discovers the presence of a traitor. Without the presence of her fiance to validate her findings, the top brass thinks she's just imagining things. Even worse, it is clear that the Spirit Corps is now being directly targeted by the German war effort. Left to her own devices, Ginger has to find out how the Germans are targeting the Spirit Corps and stop them. This is a difficult and dangerous task for a woman of that era, but this time both the spirit and the flesh are willing...