Showing results by author "Kristine Kathryn Rusch" in All Categories

In the years following the invasion of the Fey, Blue Isle has maintained an uneasy peace. But the marriage between the Islander prince, Nicholas, and the Fey king's granddaughter, Jewel, has not brought their peoples together in true unity, as they had hoped. And worse, the firstborn son that Nicholas and Jewel had hoped would bring the Fey and the Islanders alike to accept their union has proven to be an empty husk of a child, seen by both races as an ill omen.

Somewhere in the galaxy, millions suddenly perish in a blinding instant of pain, anguish, and despair, a disruption of the Force so shocking, it is felt by Luke at his Jedi academy on Yavin 4 and by Leia at home on Coruscant. It is a deed that rivals the terrifying power of the Death Star, the long-destroyed weapon of the defeated Empire.

As a young recruit, brilliant engineer Nadim Crowe accidentally destroys an entire Scrapheap full of ships. Now, decades later, he ends up on the crew of the Renegat, the only ship in the Fleet ever sent on a mission backward to investigate an ancient Scrapheap. Something invaded that Scrapheap, and the Fleet wants to know what. Or who. The Renegat: The only ship the Fleet dares risk. The Renegat: A ship of misfits and screw-ups sent on an impossible mission. All alone in deep space.

In the world of speculative fiction… Your favorite authors… Have selected best new voices of the year.

Boss loves to dive historical ships, derelict spacecraft found adrift in the blackness between the stars. Sometimes she salvages for money, but mostly she's an active historian. She wants to know about the past--to experience it firsthand. Once she's dived the ship, she'll either leave it for others to find or file a claim so that she can bring tourists to dive it as well. It's a good life for a tough loner, with more interest in artifacts than people.

Watch out - the Earth just fell into a dark sun's orbit! Or maybe you'd rather visit a theme park called Hell? These are just two of the strange and unnerving tales you'll find in this collection of great science fiction and fantasy stories.

On Jupiter's moon, Callisto, a mysterious Recovery Man kidnaps Rhonda Shindo after he terrorizes and then abandons her brilliant 13-year-old daughter, Talia. While authorities on Callisto search for Rhonda, her employers at the Aleyd Corporation try to gain custody of Talia. Somehow, Callisto authorities realize, she's part of the crime, even though she was left behind.

Officer Noelle DeRicci is investigating a murder in Armstrong, the domed colony on the Moon. The victim was one of the Disappeared - outlaws in hiding who are wanted for crimes against alien civilizations - whose family had her brought home, believing she was no longer in danger.

The Moon barely survived the devastation of Anniversary Day. The second round of attacks planned to kill millions more. With the life of every human and alien on the Moon hanging in the balance, the Moon's chief security officer Noelle DeRicci races to discover the identity of the masterminds behind the attacks before it's too late. Desperate to find answers, DeRicci turns to Retrieval Artist Miles Flint and Detective Bartholomew Nyquist for the kind of help only Flint and Nyquist can provide.

Four years ago, a bomb destroyed part of the dome protecting Armstrong, the largest city on the Moon. Now, as the city celebrates its survival with an event it calls Anniversary Day, a larger threat looms - one that begins with the murder of the mayor, and spreads across the moon itself.

The fate of the Alliance hangs in the balance as the masterminds behind the Anniversary Day bombings trigger the final stages of a plan decades in the making. A plan that will bring about the total destruction of every dome on the Moon.

The Moon, shaken by the Anniversary Day tragedies, deals with devastation. The Earth Alliance believes another attack imminent, but no one knows where or when it will strike. Just like no one knows who ordered the attacks in the first place. The Moon’s chief security office, Noelle DeRicci, does her best to hold the United Domes government together. But Retrieval Artist Miles Flint, dissatisfied with the investigation into the Anniversary Day events, begins an investigation of his own.

Are vampires a bloodthirsty menace to mankind? Or simply misunderstood creatures struggling to survive? After hearing these seven stories, you'll be able to decide for yourself. From the horrifying to the humorous, some of today's finest authors share stories about one of mankind's oldest imagined evils, the vampire. From F. Paul Wilson's title story to Esther Friesner's comic tale of rival teens trying to best one another, these stories bring vampires to (un)life, in all their majesty and terror.

For a conquered people, a long-forgotten magic holds their only hope. Blue Isle's capital lies in ruins, leveled by the new invasion force of Fey. But to hold his conquest, Black King Rugad must capture his two half-Islander, half-Fey great-grandchildren: the fiery Arianna and the gentle Gift. For one of them will inherit the Black Throne, and Rugad will not rest until he owns them both, body and soul. Yet, in the wily and courageous Arianna, this legendary warrior may have met his match.

The looming threat of another attack spurs the moon’s chief security officer, Noelle DeRicci, to uncover the identity of the masterminds behind the Anniversary Day bombings before they strike again....

Blue Isle, scene of a violent clash between its human native and the magical Fey, has now become the center of attention of the Fey king, Rugad. He is returning to finish the Fey invasion begun years ago but thwarted by the discovery that Blue Islander holy water was fatal to the aggressors. That stalemate has produced a wary coexistence, even intermarriage between royal families of the two races, but Rugad wants only one thing: total domination--and he will stop at nothing to get it

The conflict on Blue Isle is rapidly reaching a head when one unexpected event suddenly gives the Islanders a fighting chance. Adrian's son Luke, chafing under Fey rule, leads a group of his fellow farmers in a secret strike against a Fey outpost.

The answers Captain Jonathan "Coop" Cooper and the crew of the Ivoire seek lie in the Boneyards. But an encounter from Coop's recent past shows up to haunt him, an encounter he never told Boss about, an encounter that could threaten her future, his life, and the fragile peace between the Alliance and the Empire.

While survivors search for missing loved ones and the rich and powerful set plans in motion to capitalize on the Moon's misfortune, one ruthless man vows to uncover those responsible for the attacks on the Moon. Luc Deshin, the most feared man in Armstrong, knows all too well the bombings could have killed the wife and son he loves more than life itself. To protect his family, Deshin immerses himself in a criminal network he fought long and hard to leave behind.

Retrieval Artist Miles Flint is on a personal mission - to bring down the corrupt law firm of Wagner, Stuart, and Xender. Then a journalist working with him is murdered, and Miles may be next. But before he can begin to investigate, he has a more personal crisis to deal with - his daughter Talia is missing. Talia - one of six clones of Miles' long-dead child - has gone off to find the other five. As Miles pursues her, he begins to fear that her search for her "sisters" and his for the killer are on a collision course...