"In the First Year came the Plague, and in the Tenth Year the Burning, and afterwards came the Grooglemen out of the Dead Lands...."—A History of the New World From the Beginning to the Present Day, by Absolom Steerforth, Speaker of the Amity Crossroads Assembly.

"On Suivi Point" first appeared in Cosmic Tales: Adventures in the Far Future, T. K. F. Weisskopf, ed. Baen Books, 2005. +++ "A Death in the Working" first appeared in Murder by Magic, Rosemary Edghill, ed., Warner/Aspect, October 2004.

"So cool! Sort of like if the Pope and Aleister Crowley had written James Bond."-- Rosemary EdghillContains:"Stealing God"The Holy Grail has vanished and it's up to Peter Crossman to get it back."Selling the Devil"A headless corpse, a holy sword, and a missing girl; Peter Crossman has until dawn to find the common link."Sleeping Kings"The Spear of Destiny was supposed to be safely hidden. Why do a bunch of cultists think they have ...

Told in the spirit of an old sailor's fireside tale, "Jenny Nettles" is a middle-grade supernatural story set on the high seas, featuring true-to-life historical detail, real seafaring superstitions, and a delicate introduction to the atrocities suffered by the Scottish Highlanders after the Battle of Culloden and the Jacobite Rebellion. First published in Bruce Coville's Book of Spine Tinglers, "Jenny Nettles" provides a spooky scare and an engaging gateway to learning more.A spec...

Contains:Bad Blood (short story)Nobody Has to KnowUp the Airy MountainEcdysisPhilologos; or, A Murder in Bistrita

"I want you to witness something that the world has never before seen," Professor Haversham said, pouring himself another glass. "A machine like no other!"

We're part of the cover-up!Did you know that there is a secret government agency dedicated to creating conspiracy theories? It's true! It's on Facebook!But it's not in this book. Our conspiracy theories are all fiction. At least, that's what we want you to think! Certainly, we did invite fiction writers to weigh in on conspiracy theories. The result includes (of course) the Masons and dragons (David Clements), the Bavarian Illuminati (Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald) and t...

Called to duty at last, Lieutenant John Nevis faces his assignment with trepidation. Boarding the USS Nicodemus—a sloop of war built in a single night at the top of the world—Nevis wonders uneasily at its strange aura of power, its cannonballs of virgin brass . . . and its uncanny ability to glide swiftly through the waters without steam or sail. As great armies clash all around them, the mission of Lieutenant Nevis and the Nicodemus crew is shrouded in an impenetrable gr...

When Val Sherwood and her friends went for a hike with the Sunset Hills Ecology Club, they didn't expect to see more than the usual wildlife. But when stories told around the camp fire came true, Val had to find a way to live 'til morning.The first published work by the award-winning and best-selling team of Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald, reprinted here for the first time, "Bad Blood" inspired a series of three young-adult horror novels.

Before her adventures begin in the acclaimed Mageworlds series, Beka Rosselin-Metadi was just trying to be a regular spacer, flying under an assumed name so she could experience life out from under the constant shadow of her famous war-hero parents. Her first shore-leave is on the avaricious asteroid of Suivi Point, where she and shipmate Ignaceu LeSoit set out to find themselves a good time. The good time finds them first, though, as Ignac' is kidnapped and Beka is dragged into a murder p...

The Moon is FullBeware the Beast…Discover the terrifying secret of the things that howl in the night. Explore the dark legacy of Bad Blood–in three chilling novels by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald….Bad BloodIt started with a group of teenagers telling scary stories around a campfire. No one believed Jay's wild tale of moonlight and werewolves. They thought he was kidding when he said, "By morning, you'll all be dead." But Valerie saw the strange hunger i...

Ahead of its time on its original publication, Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald's Mythopoeic Fantasy Award-winning dark medieval fantasy Knight's Wyrd is perfect for contemporary tastes.Tor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure.With an introduction written for this edition by Sherwood Smith.On the eve ...