Once, not so long ago, A warlock named Vond built an empire in the southern part of the Small Kingdoms. Vond is gone, but his empire survives under the rule of a seven-person Imperial Council and a young regent named Sterren.

The Empire of Vond was hardly trouble-free after Vond's departure. Its neighbors are understandably wary of further expansion, there are questions about how Vond's magic became so potent, and so on. Most of the World, though, doesn't care -- Vond is off there in the southeastern corner of the World, far away from anywhere important.

But one day a dockworker named Emmis watches a Vondish ship arrive in Ethshar of the Spices and finds himself hired as native guide and aide to someone who claims to be Vond's ambassador plenipotentiary to the overlords of the Hegemony of the Three Ethshars.

But who is the Vondish ambassador, really, and what is his true business in Ethshar? And who has followed him to the city?

Garth asked an oracle how he could be remembered forever. The answer sent him into a web of treachery, of ancient secrets and forbidden knowledge, and entangled him in matters far beyond his understanding, until he found himself face to face with the gods of destruction and death.

Ethshar and the Northern Empire have been at war for hundreds of years. No one remembers why anymore or over what. No one dreams it could ever end until a wizard creates a sword that makes its user unbeatable...

Philadelphia, some time in the 21st century - Casper Beech is a corporate drone, a man beaten down by debt, a wage-slave to the Consortium that dominates the American economy. One day his boss sends him in for neural imprinting - to have new job skills implanted directly in his brain, because it's faster and cheaper than training him by older methods. But a computer glitch loads the wrong file, and Casper is programmed with something that has nothing to do with his job. Instead of learning a new software package, he learns a new way of thinking - a mindset designed by a secret government agency for use in enemy nations, and never meant to be unleashed in the United States. Lethal government agents seek to correct the error in a steadily-escalating conflict, while Casper struggles to survive, to remain true to himself despite his new programming, and to find out just what was in... THE SPARTACUS FILE

In the tradition of the old "Ace Doubles" two-in-one books (flip one over to read the second title) -- here is the fifth Wildside Double: the two-volume "War Surplus" series by Lawrence Watt-Evans, "The Cyborg and the Sorcerers" and "The Wizard and the War Machine."

THE CYBORG AND THE SORCERERS

The cyborg code-named "Slant" was sent out as an Independent Reconnaissance Unit during an interstellar war between Earth and its colonies. The fighting ended three hundred years ago, but Slant's computer does not admit this -- he is compelled to carry on as if the war were still raging.

Then he comes across a planet where his sensors register ''gravitational anomalies.'' The computer interprets these as enemy weapons research.

The local inhabitants call the anomalies ''magic.''

THE WIZARD AND THE WAR MACHINE

At the end of The Cyborg and the Sorcerers, Sam Turner was making a life for himself on the planet Dest. He thought he had left the long-lost interstellar war between Earth and its rebellious colonies behind him forever.

"Forever" turned out to be eleven years. That was how long it took for another Independent Reconnaissance Unit to respond to the distress call his ship had sent before it was destroyed.

And this one made his own berserk killer computer look sane.

Every wizard in Ethshar knew that if you needed something special, something difficult to find, that Gresh the Supplier was the man to see. He was expensive, but always delivered. So when the Wizards' Guild finally got fed up with the little green nuisances that called themselves "spriggans," the Guild hired Gresh to fetch them the magic mirror that created the troublesome imps. The wizards thought finding it looked impossible. Gresh thought his methods would do the job. But no one had asked the spriggans what they thought!

Limited to only 500 copies, this is the hardcover edition of the new Ethshar novel from Hugo award-winning author Lawrence Watt-Evans!

Every wizard in Ethshare knew that if you needed something special, something difficult to find, that Gresh the Supplier was the man to see. He was expensive, but always delivered. So when the Wizards' Guild finally got fed up with the little green nuisances that called themselves "spriggans," the Guild hired Gresh to fetch them the magic mirror that had created the troublesome imps in the first place. The wizards thought finding it looked impossible. Gresh thought his methods would do the job.

But no one had asked the spriggans what they thought!

Philadelphia, some time in the 21st century - Casper Beech is a corporate drone, a man beaten down by debt, a wage-slave to the Consortium that dominates the American economy. One day, his boss sends him in for neural imprinting - to have new job skills implanted directly in his brain, because it's faster and cheaper than training him by older methods. But, a computer glitch loads the wrong file, and Casper is programmed with something that has nothing to do with his job. Instead of learning a new software package, he learns a new way of thinking - a mindset designed by a secret government agency for use in enemy nations, and never meant to be unleashed in the United States. Lethal government agents seek to correct the error in a steadily-escalating conflict, while Casper struggles to survive, to remain true to himself despite his new programming, and to find out just what was in...the Spartacus File.

The overman named Garth sought immortal fame. The oracle told him to serve the Forgotten King to get that fame. But this King sent Garth after a basilisk whose gaze could turn men to stone. What sane use could anyone have for a monster like that?

A quest -- a quest in search of dragons and dragon-hunters, and ultimately the secret that lies beneath all the wizardry in Ethshar. Before it reaches its end, it would uncover the terrible mystery of the dragon-hunters -- and give rise to a scheme that would change the face of Ethsharitic magic forever.

"In WORLDS OF SHADOW, Lawrence Watt-Evans tells an exciting tale with memorable characters and relentless action. A must-read for fans of dark fantasy and horror." -- Karen E. Taylor, author of The Vampire Legacy Series

Art Dunham had worked in his father's small-town theater all his life, and had never before seen anything like the group that rented it one summer. The Bringers of Wonder, as they called themselves, wanted to put on a single performance of a play called The Return of Magic -- but is it a play, or something more?

Twelve thousand years in the future, on a planet far, far away, a country boy named Tulzik Ambroz tracks the man who killed his sister Vika, following him across the poisonous crater that is all that remains of the planet's starport, into the great city of Ragbaan. Ragbaan - site of the planet's original settlement, heart of a civilization that has repeatedly risen to astonishing heights of power and technological prowess, only to fall, every time, back into barbarism. How can Tulzik find his quarry in an anarchic city of three million souls, where the technology of the ancients is considered magic? With interior illustrations by Bradley W. Schenck.

Lawrence Watt-Evans, author of the acclaimed Legends of Ethshar and Worlds of Shadows novels, invites readers to embark on a rollicking journey in "A Young Man Without Magic."

Anrel Murneau is a scholar, a young man with no magical ability, even though he is the son of two powerful sorcerers. Anrel's lack of talent bars him from the ruling classes, but he is content to be a simple clerk.

Upon returning to his childhood home after years of study in the capital, Anrel finds his friends and family held under the thumb of the corrupt local lord. When this lord murders Anrel's dear friend, Anrel discovers that even though he's not a sorcerer, he is not without other means to demand justice.

If he can survive life on the run.

Carrying only his sword, a few coins, and his wit, Anrel must leave behind everything he has ever known, trust himself to unexpected allies, and outmaneuver leagues of enemies who will stop at nothing to keep his dangerous ideas from ever being heard. Magic and intrigue collide in a swashbuckling tale of daring escapes, beautiful witches, and one quiet young man's rise to hero--or traitor.