The Scattered Pearls Belt is a string of habitats under tight military rule . . . where the powerful have become all too comfortable in their positions, and their corruption. But change is coming, with the arrival of Quynh: the mysterious and enigmatic Alchemist of Streams and Hills. To Minh, daughter of the ruling prefect of the Belt, Quynh represents a chance for escape. To Hoà, a destitute engineer, Quynh has a mysterious link to her own past . . . and holds a deeper, more sensual appeal. But Quynh has her own secret history, and a plan for the ruling class of the Belt. A plan that will tear open old wounds, shake the heavens, and may well consume her. A beautiful exploration of the power of love, of revenge, and of the wounds of the past, this fast-paced, heart-warming space opera is set against a backdrop of corruption, power and political scheming in the far reaches of the award-winning Xuya universe.

Xích Si: bot maker, data analyst, mother, scavenger. But those days are over now-her ship has just been captured by the Red Banner pirate fleet, famous for their double-dealing and cruelty. Xích Si expects to be tortured to death-only for the pirates' enigmatic leader, Rice Fish, to arrive with a different and shocking proposition: an arranged marriage between Xích Si and herself. Rice Fish: sentient ship, leader of the infamous Red Banner pirate fleet, wife of the Red Scholar. Or at least, she was the latter before her wife died under suspicious circumstances. Now isolated and alone, Rice Fish wants Xích Si's help to find out who struck against them and why. Marrying Xích Si means Rice Fish can offer Xích Si protection, in exchange for Xích Si's technical fluency: a business arrangement with nothing more to it. But as the investigation goes on, Rice Fish and Xích Si find themselves falling for each other. As the interstellar war against piracy intensifies and the five fleets start fighting each other, they will have to make a stand-and to decide what kind of future they have together... An exciting space opera and a beautiful romance, from an exceptional SF author. "Intense, gripping, and beautifully-realized" Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun

The Scattered Pearls Belt is a string of habitats under tight military rule . . . where the powerful have become all too comfortable in their positions, and their corruption. But change is coming, with the arrival of Quynh: the mysterious and enigmatic Alchemist of Streams and Hills. To Minh, daughter of the ruling prefect of the Belt, Quynh represents a chance for escape. To Hoà, a destitute engineer, Quynh has a mysterious link to her own past . . . and holds a deeper, more sensual appeal. But Quynh has her own secret history, and a plan for the ruling class of the Belt. A plan that will tear open old wounds, shake the heavens, and may well consume her. A beautiful exploration of the power of love, of revenge, and of the wounds of the past, this fast-paced, heart-warming space opera is set against a backdrop of corruption, power and political scheming in the far reaches of the award-winning Xuya universe.

The multi-award-winning author of The House of Shattered Wings continues her Dominion of the Fallen saga as Paris endures the aftermath of a devastating arcane war . . . As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, the great Houses of Paris, ruled by fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital. House Silverspires was once the most powerful, but just as it sought to rise again, an ancient evil brought it low. Phillippe, an immortal who escaped the carnage, has a singular goal - to resurrect someone he lost. But the cost of such magic might be more than he can bear. In House Hawthorn, Madeleine the alchemist has had her addiction to angel essence savagely broken. Struggling to live on, she is forced on a perilous diplomatic mission to the underwater dragon kingdom - and finds herself in the midst of intrigues that have already caused one previous emissary to mysteriously disappear . . . As the Houses seek a peace more devastating than war, those caught between new fears and old hatreds must find strength - or fall prey to a magic that seeks to bind all to its will. 'A superb blend of intrigue, mystery and magic and urban fantasy; it's brilliantly written; and the story is gripping' Civilian Reader

Since 2006, Clarkesworld Magazine has been entertaining science fiction and fantasy fans with their brand of unique science fiction and fantasy stories. Collected here are all thirty-four stories published in the sixth year of this Hugo Award-winning magazine. Contents: Introduction by Neil Clarke Scattered Along the River of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard All the Painted Stars by Gwendolyn Clare Prayer by Robert Reed A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight by Xia Jia And the Hollow Space Inside by Mari Ness What Everyone Remembers by Rahul Kanakia The Bells of Subsidence by Michael John Grist The Switch by Sarah Stanton Sunlight Society by Margaret Ronald A Militant Peace by David Klecha and Tobias S. Buckell All the Young Kirks and Their Good Intentions by Helena Bell In Which Faster-Than-Light Travel Solves All of Our Problems by Chris Stabback The Womb Factory by Peter M. Ferenczi Draftyhouse by Erik Amundsen All the Things the Moon is Not by Alexander Lumans Fade to White by Catherynne M. Valente Astrophilia by Carrie Vaughn If The Mountain Comes by An Owomoyela From Their Paws, We Shall Inherit by Gary Kloster Sirius by Ben Peek Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop by Suzanne Church Iron Ladies, Iron Tigers by Sunny Moraine Mantis Wives by Kij Johnson Pony by Erik Amundsen Robot by Helena Bell The Found Girl by David Klecha and Tobias S. Buckell muo-ka's Child by Indrapramit Das Honey Bear by Sofia Samatar The Smell of Orange Groves by Lavie Tidhar Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes by Tom Crosshill You Were She Who Abode by E. Catherine Tobler Staying Behind by Ken Liu Immersion by Aliette de Bodard About the Authors Clarkesworld Census About Clarkesworld

An epic murder mystery set on the crumbling streets of a Paris torn apart by a magical war . . . 'Lyrical, sophisticated, lush, suspenseful' Ken Liu Paris in the aftermath of the Great Magicians War. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black, thick with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France's once grand capital. House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, now lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls. Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen, an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man wielding spells from the Far East. They may be Silverspires' salvation; or the architects of its last, irreversible fall . . . Readers can't put down The House of Shattered Wings: 'An intense, beautiful, brutal journey written with an eye for the stunning, vivid detail and the cruel demands of duty, loyalty, and leadership' Kate Elliot 'I was absolutely gripped by this novel the whole way. It is such a beautiful, powerful, genuinely haunting fantasy' Goodreads reviewer, 'Incredibly atmospheric: you can almost see yourself walking the streets of Paris, seeing the polluted, black Seine for yourself, surrounding Notre Dame and Des Magasins' Goodreads reviewer, 'A fascinating take on fallen angels in 1930s Paris . . . I was quite taken by the prose and the world building in this as well as rich and complex characters' Goodreads reviewer, 'A suspenseful supernatural narrative focusing on fallen angels as they fight for power in a post-apocalyptic Paris that boasts brilliant worldbuilding, powerful prose and a cast of terrifically conflicted characters' Goodreads reviewer,