Challenges
David Weber, editor
(hardcover)
In Honor Harrington’s day, the Star Kingdom of Manticore is the wealthiest star nation on a per capita basis in the entire galaxy. But that was not always true. Pioneers, especially interstellar pioneers, must be tough, smart, and self-reliant, and the people who built the Star Kingdom knew that. In the process of overcoming the lethal challenges of early settlement, they became the people who could one day produce Honor Harrington, Elizabeth Winton, and the remarkable people willing to stand in the path of the People’s Republic of Haven’s insatiable advance . . . These are their stories!
All original stories by David Weber, Marisa Wolf, Jacob Holo, Dan Butler, Thomas Pope, and Jane Lindskold.
Perdition’s Storm
Brian Trent
(trade paperback)
Before the world fell, Silvio Cipriano was a contract-killer for the Italian Mafia. When the H7D3 virus came to Italy, Silvio worked to forget his past, to build a different future. Fighting to protect his loved ones from the zombie hordes, he organized the survivors, raised them up from the ashes, and gave them hope. Now, a new enemy has arisen. Worse than the zombies, and bent on conquering the planet one struggling settlement at a time, they’ve set their sights on Italy and Silvio’s fragile trade road . . . with no idea what’s awaiting them.
Ringer
Joelle Presby
(trade paperback)
It is a time of humanity’s exuberant expansion throughout the Solar System. We have colonies on the Moon, Mars, as far as Saturn’s rings. And we’re heading out even further. But it does mean that we’re stretched thin, and that every person who is part of the great experiment must do their part. To include the least likely scion of a famous explorer family: the Sadous. The Sadous were in space exploration from the start of the space elevators in Africa, and they remain powerful to this day. But power draws envy, and for 12-year-old Calypso, life ain’t so easy. Especially when her family head out, leaving her alone on Saturn’s ring station with her grandparents in charge.
Shadow of Victory
David Weber
(trade paperback)
The Mesan Alignment has a plan—one it’s been working on for centuries. A plan to remake the galaxy and genetically improve the human race—its way. Until recently, things have gone pretty much as scheduled, but then the Alignment hit a minor bump in the road called the Star Empire of Manticore. So the Alignment engineered a war between the Solarian League, the biggest and most formidable interstellar power in human history. To help push things along, the Alignment launched a devastating sneak attack which destroyed the Royal Manticoran Navy’s industrial infrastructure. But even the best laid plans can have unintended consequences, and one of those consequences may just be a new dawn of freedom for oppressed star nations everywhere.
Crisis at Proxima
Travis S. Taylor & Les Johnson
(mass market paperback)
First contact with the seemingly impossible human civilization at Proxima Centauri is not going well. The Earth ships sent to render aid have not been able to reverse the contagion ravaging their population and, worse, many Proximans are now wondering if the humans from Earth are there for other, not so charitable, reasons. Can the extinction-level disaster faced at Proxima be reversed by the combined ingenuity of scientists from both worlds working together?
Beyond the Rift
John Ringo &
Lydia Sherrer
Lynn Raven thought she was simply earning a fortune. Instead, she finds she’s fighting for humanity’s very survival. The world’s best and brightest have come together to give humanity a chance, and now Lynn has to find her place in the war effort. Boldness and competence are no longer a gaming mask to put on, but a vital mindset shift she needs to survive. Can Lynn and her online persona, Larry, become one, and if they do, will it be enough? The world doesn’t know the apocalypse it faces, and there are forces determined to re-shape society into their preferred image.
The Redline Heist
Michael Mersault
Sophisticated, megarich thrillseekers drawn to a backwater system of the Confederated Worlds find more than they expected within the catacombs of a mysterious alien base: not only the anachronistic road warrior theme park where 20th Century “Old Earth” motor vehicles are raced for riches and glory, but an alien secret that has hidden within the asteroid for millennia. While the super-rich conduct business, Warren Springer Stowe, self-professed acquisitions expert, and Cherry Aisha, veteran of the infamous Blue Light Brigade, become motorsport gladiators in a deadly series of high-speed clashes–and discover treasure beyond either’s greatest imaginings.
In Enemy Hands
David Weber
Honor Harrington’s career has its ups and its downs. She’s survived ship-to-ship battles, assassins, political vendettas, and duels. She’s been shot at, shot down, and just plain shot, had starships blown out from under her, and made personal enemies who will stop at nothing to ruin her, and somehow she’s survived it all. But this time she’s really in trouble. Put into solitary confinement, separated from her officers and her treecat Nimitz, and subjected to systematic humiliation by her gaolers, Honor’s future has become both bleak and short. Yet bad as things look, they’re about to get worse . . . for the Peeps.
Monster Hunter Nemesis
Larry Correia
Sworn to serve and protect the United States of America from all monsters by one of the country’s founding fathers, Agent Franks has only one condition to the agreement: the government is never, ever allowed to make more like him. Project Nemesis: in a secret location, using sophisticated technology and advanced genetic engineering, the director of the very agency Franks works for is making more like him. And the director is not content with making one. Nope, he’s making thirteen. Now all bets are off, and Hell hath no fury like a monster betrayed.
Diviner’s Bow
Sharon Lee &
Steve Miller
The Oracle has Seen the end of Civilization. Reactions to this are—mixed. On the one hand, foresight is a notoriously erratic Gift. On the other, can Civilization—or the Haosa—afford to assume that the prophecy is an error? And if the Oracle has Seen truly—is it possible to change the future? While well-meaning people struggle to mitigate disaster, others are looking forward to profiting from the end of the world. In the meantime, the Tree-and-Dragon Trade Team is about to propose Colemeno as a trade-hub. And the lives of two small children may be the thread that binds the future—or unravels it.
Steve Davidson is the publisher of Amazing Stories.
Steve has been a passionate fan of science fiction since the mid-60s, before he even knew what it was called.
