ORIGINAL ANTHOLOGY featuring rollicking, tongue-in-cheek tales of women warrior fighting against the stodgy and in the name of freedom of expression, Chicks in Chainmail style!

Alchemy changes more than dross into gold. It changes steampunk stories into stories of magical transformation. These thirteen stories combine science and magic into do-not-miss alternate history stories that span the globe. Travel with a soul-stealing carnival, meet the Grand Dangoolie, put on some perfect perfume, and sample some magical chocolate. These adventures grace the pages of the most creative volume of Fiction River yet.

Edited by Mercedes Lackey ... the voices of other authors add their own special touches to the ancient land where Heralds “Chosen” from all walks of life by magical horse-like Companions patrol their ancient kingdom, dispensing justice, facing adversaries, and protecting their monarch and country from whatever threatens. Trained rigorously by the Herald’s Collegium, these special protectors each have extraordinary Gifts: Mindspeaking, FarSeeing, FarSpeaking, Empathy, Firestarting and ForeSeeing, and are bonded for life with their mysterious Companions. Travel with these astounding adventurers in sixteen original stories.

Edited by Mercedes Lackey ...among Ms. Lackey's many novels, few are as critically-acclaimed and beloved as those of the Elemental Masters. The novels in this series are loosely based on classic fairy tales, and take place in a fantasy version of turn-of-the-century London, where magic is real and Elemental Masters control the powers of Fire, Water, Air and Earth.

The great Star League general, Aleksandr Kerensky. Colonel Archer Christifori, a man with a score to settle. Neilson Geist, on Christmas patrol. MechWarrior Joanna of Clan Jade Falcon. A Sandoval scion. An eleven-year-old girl. Northwind Highlanders. A prisoner of war. They all have two things in common.

A universe torn apart by unending warfare.

A mission, to stand up against the darkness.

This compilation contains a selection of eighteen of 2004's best fiction pieces, as well as an all new story about young Kerensky by Loren L. Coleman!

When people embark on blind dates, they never quite know what they will find-and the dates in these mostly modern- day urban tales go far beyond the usual expectations.

Here, these 17 romantic hopefuls encounter surprise first dates with the likes of Zeus and William Shakespeare; Medusa wreaks havoc upon Internet predators; a woman is cursed to see the truth about her dates after drinking a little wine; and more.

Bars and taverns are a time-honored human tradition--the perfect gathering places to trade news and gossip, to hang out, to complain, to celebrate, or just somewhere travelers can pass the time. Each has its own special and loyal clientele, though some welcome all comers.

But what will such watering holes be like in the future? What form might they take on distant worlds--some human-run, some not--and on space stations? Who would be likely to frequent such places, and what tales would they have to tell?

Here are fifteen original yarns that take you bar-hopping around the galaxy to places where you'll encounter: An alien life-form that needs to be drunk to get drunk. . . .A reporter on the trail of the true story about a legendary space pilot. . . .A couple of spacers who'd been led to a bar they might never blast out of again. . . .A saloon where time travelers might run out of time. . . .And more interstellar adventures that will have you wishing you could belly up to the bar-or its alien equivalent-and spend and evening taking in these tales beyond your wildest imagining. . .

In this follow-up to the bestselling Captain's Table series of books, nine new Star Trek® captains belly up to the bar to tell their tales of adventure and romance, of triumph and tragedy, of duty and honor, of debts paid and prices exacted. Edited by Keith DeCandido.

Our seventh anthology features original Star Trek®, Star Trek: The Next Generation®, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine®, Star Trek: Voyager®, and Star Trek: Enterprise™ stories written by Star Trek fans, for Star Trek fans!
Featuring new stories by new writers and a few contest veterans, Strange New Worlds VII spans the entire Star Trek universe from the original days of Captain Kirk and throughout the tenures of Captains Picard, Sisko, and Janeway and back in time again to Archer. Each of these unforgettable stories explores the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives.

In the sixth year of its ongoing mission, the Strange New Worlds writing competition has once again sought out exciting new voices and imaginations among Star Trek's vast galaxy of fans. After scanning countless submissions for signs of style and originality, the judges are proud to report that the universe of amazing Star Trek writers just keeps expanding.

Strange New Worlds VI features twenty-three never-before-published stories spanning the twenty-second to the twenty-fourth centuries, from the early days of Captain Jonathan Archer to James T. Kirk and his crew to the later generations of Captains Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. These memorable new tales explore and examine the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives