After Archangels materialise over the bloodbaths of WWII, they take up residence in most of the world's major cities. But what would happen if, more than a quarter of a century later, something somehow managed to kill these supreme beings? Killarney knows and, as an agent working for the Bureau, a British agency that's so secret it doesn't officially exist, she finds herself embroiled in the consequences as, one by one, the Archangels die. Assigned to trace a missing cryptographer thought to have information on the murders, she travels from England, through France, heading for the frozen wastes of the USSR. But there's an unknown third party intent on stopping her, and there's God, who also has an agenda. Not knowing who is friend and who is foe, and with only a brief glimpse of a swastika on angel wings as solid information, Killarney struggles to remain alive long enough to glean sufficient information to put together the pieces of the puzzle and complete what is, without them, an impossible mission.

Basoni and her eleven sisters, try to use their various magical powers to defeat Morgeld, the evil sorcerer

When a hole in the fabric of the universe rips open and allows magical creatures from another world into Brooklyn, Tim Desmond finds his life turned upside down

Esther Friesner offers a collection of 12 of her best pieces of short fiction including brand new story, "Ilion", as well as two Nebula award-winning stories. Contents: All Vows (1992) True Believer (1997) "White!" Said Fred (1993) A Birthday (1995) A Pig's Tale (1995) Love, Crystal and Stone (1999) In the Realm of Dragons (1998) Jesus at the Bat (1994) Chanoyu (1999) Ilion (2002) How to Make Unicorn Pie (1999) Death and the Librarian (1994)

The third book in a series of anthologies that chronicle the dark and complex world of vampires, mages, werewolves, wraiths, and changelings in White Wolf's World of Darkness, "Dark Destiny III: Children of Dracula" features original fiction by award-winning authors David Bischoff, Robert J. Sawyer, Rick Hautala, S.P. Somtow, and others.

Parents, friends and neighbours are convinced by Shirley, often in spite of themselves, until everybody is swept away by a belief in the miraculous power of the red-headed child. When Shirley's Guild is founded in support of her, it is a sect and a crusade, as well as a national scandal. Shirley's godmother, witness and chief interpreter all in one, is responsible for scenes unimaginable since the Dark Ages, yet all too real and true. Shirley's Guild offers an insight into the universal human need to have beliefs and find causes, however irrational, and a comment on fundamental truths that is as gripping and entertaining as it is profound. It is truly a fable for our times.

Magister Coelus, the College's young and brilliant theorist, has finally found a student capable of learning theoretical magery at the level at which he can teach it. He invites her to help him with his current research project, which promises to funnel through the hands of one mage more power than any mage has ever had. Ellen, who knows more about both the theory and practice of magic than a first year student should know, refuses, arguing that the Cascade will do more harm than good. When news of the project reaches Prince Kieron, brother and heir of the king and Royal Master of Mages, he insists that it be completed in secret and employed, if at all, only under royal authority. Word has also reached Lord Iolen, Kieron's competent, cold-blooded, and ambitious nephew, with his own ideas of how the Cascade should be used, by whom and for what purpose. Ellen and Coelus must together face the conflicting threats and demands of two arrogant and powerful men, the peril posed by the very existence of the Cascade, and their feelings for each other. Forty years earlier Olver, one of the founders of the College, took the first steps in converting magery from a craft to a science. It is for his successors to deal with the consequences.

The book you hold in your hands is a ticket to the exotic shores of British Hidalgo, a tiny Central American land of jungles and coral reefs, wonderful people and strange customs, strong rum and sunny skies. Collected here for the first time, Avram Davidson's six Jack Limekiller stories create a rich and colorful world where the magical and inexplicable coexist with the outboard motor and the escalation of the American war in Vietnam. British Hidalgo is "a place that you can put your arms around," welcoming and friendly to the visitor, but uncanny beings dwell in the bush and roam along its coast. Afloat and ashore, Jack Limekiller, master of the working sailboat Saccharissa, encounters ghosts of the colonial past and monsters far older. The tropical paradise where Avram Davidson lived and wrote in the 1960s no longer exists in our world, but, as Lucius Shepard writes in his introduction, "That place and time resides here in this little book, complete with dialects, recipes, shanties, magic, duppies, pirates, drunkards, tapirs, manatees, pretty girls, a hero or two, and, of course, ghosts. Open its covers and a mist will boil forth, swirling, many-colored, to surround you -- a mist rife with a myriad distinct voices, bursts of idiosyncratic speech, fragments of all-but-forgotten lore, a strange druggy perfume compounded of the smells of shandygaff, jacaranda, brine, palm oil, gasoline fumes, creosote, orange groves..." Book jacket.

The Last Manuscript of a Master It began with an accident, as if Fate had a plan for Vergil Magus . . . After his trials in the Very Rich City of Averno but before his crowning achievement of a certain magic mirror, the great sorcerer and alchemist finds himself on a journey nothing short of epic. Sure he is slated for death in Rome, Vergil seeks safety in the far reaches of the Empire--and finds a world teeming with wonders and magical oddities. The "unhistoric" sea adventure is a deft mix of fantastic fact and fable, showcasing the author's keen attention to the often forgotten connections between them.

When Zaddik grew up he became one of the most renowned Signbearers in Shemara. But he had not always been wise. The Council of Elders has called him. His first task is to find them. Where are they and how can he find them? What mistake does he make and how can he make it right? This is the long awaited seventh book about the Land Behind the World and is the sequel to Beyond the Outlandish Mountains. The next title in the series is The Signbearers.

Prince Kaveh, the youngest son of the king of the City of Red Clay, is bisexual and completely besotted with Farzin, the engineer his father hired to oversee the improvements to the city's roads and bridges. However, the king doesn't share his positive feelings. After Farzin ends up at the head of the protest that ensues when the workers are only paid a third of their promised wages, he's thrown in prison and is scheduled to be executed. Queen Shulamit, who rules over the neighboring nation of Perach, is eager to assist the desperate prince. She, too, loves justice and has a same-sex partner. She's also hoping Kaveh, with his royal blood, is willing to give her and her sweetheart a legitimate heir in exchange. But can she find a peaceful solution that will pacify the king next door, get his workers fairly paid, and free Farzin? Or will she and her dragon-riding bodyguard Rivka have to go to war?

The sequel to Majyk by Accident follows magician Kendar Gangle and his earth cat, Scandal, as they try to stop a rain of live poultry over Orbix, confront a mad menagerie of revolting animals, and restore the rightful ruler of Wingdingo. Original.

Looks can kill, or so thinks apprentice wizard Kendar Gangle. Curio, the number-one bookcover model, is suspected of foul play when his major rival in the hunk department disappears. Kendar is trying to get to the bottom of things, but that's nearly impossible with his snide feline sidekick and warrior ex-wife in tow!

Harald: A simple family man, a teller of tales, who happens to be the most powerful general of his people, home of the cataphracts, much feared warriors. Some, like the young king of the neighboring kingdom, James of Kaerlia, might underestimate him because he doesn't bother bedeck himself in the court garb to which he was entitled. No one underestimates Harald twice. A hundred years earlier another young king, dreaming of brave deeds and rich plunder east of the mountains, brought a force from the Kingdom to take the Vales. An army three thousand strong tried to force the pass at Raven Stream. A thousand men of the Vales and their allies the Westkin held them. After three days the King?s men gave up and went home. It wasn't water the ravens drank. Four times in the past twenty years the Empire has invaded Kaerlia?s land, seeking to bring it under their rule. Four times were they sent home with their tails between their legs. Now the Empire is sending its best legions again to the north. Only by a return to the grand alliance of Kingdom, Vales & Ladies of the Order can they hope to withstand the disciplined and blooded invading army. But young James has picked a fight with the Order, picked a fight with Harald himself. Young men are not always wise, nor fond of peace. The new king wants war again. And again, the ravens will drink.

Winter, 1981, and fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is wrestling with the fierce power of his imagination. The boundaries between what is real and what is fantasy are dissolving to increasingly dangerous effect. And then he falls in love with Alice . . . WHAT HAPPENS NOW is a mesmerizing story about love, fear and faith. Atmospheric, suspenseful and spiked with black humour, it confirms Jeremy Dyson as one of the most exciting and original writers of his generation.

Nun, Gimel, Hey, Shin Sara finds Chanukah celebrations boring. When her Tante Miriam arrives and gives her a Golden Dreydl, everything changes. The dreydl, an enchanted princess in disguise, takes Sara on a journey to a magical world. When the princess is taken by the Demon King, who possesses the power of the Tree of Life, it is Sara who must use her wit to save the princess and return her to her parents -- King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. A delightful holiday tale that weaves together threads of Jewish folklore and tradition with fantasy and humor.

Following in the footsteps of the landmark collection, Dreaming Down-Under, this new book brings together Australia's greatest fantasy writers and cutting-edge new authors 35 new stories celebrating the wild side of Australian fantasy writing Welcome to the energy, invention and imagination of Australia's finest writers of speculative fiction - from acclaimed international bestsellers to the freshest new voices. ten years ago, Dreaming Down-Under captured the excitement of the wild side of Australian fiction and won a coveted World Fantasy Award. Now it's time to start Dreaming Again ... CONtRIBUtORS: Peter M. Ball, Lee Battersby, John Birmingham, Jenny Blackford, Russell Blackford, Adam Brown, Simon Brown, trudi Canavan, Isobelle Carmody, Paul Collins, Rowena Cory Daniells, Cecilia Dart-thornton, Rjurik Davidson, Stephen Dedman, Sara Douglass, terry Dowling, Jason Fischer, Ben Francisco, Christopher Green, Richard Harland, trent Jamieson, Margo Lanagan, Rosaleen Love, Chris Lynch, Sean McMullen, Jason Nahrung, Garth Nix, Cecily Scutt, Angela Slatter, Aaron Sterns, Dirk Strasser, Lucy Sussex, Janeen Webb, Kim Westwood and Kim Wilkins And including a previously unpublished story from the late great A. Bertram Chandler 'Dreaming Again is at once quintessentially Australian and enticingly other. If you read short fiction you'll want this collection. If you don't, this is a reason to start.' Bookseller + Publisher

The stories we tell are not limited to monsters and harsh otherworlds. Yet the fiction books in the Borealis imprint certainly belong to a world other than our own. This line encompasses our science fiction, fantasy and horror novels and anthologies.