Trade paperback humorous military science fiction anthology. Featuring a mix of classic science fiction reprints and original stories by Baen regulars. Includes stories by David Drake, Frederik Pohl, Howard F. Waldrop, Christopher Anvil and more. CATCH-22 IN OUTER SPACE? War, as the general said, is hell, but it also has its humorous moments, though the humor may be grim, and you _had to be thereÓ to get the joke. War is likely to continue into the future, and into space, no matter how many idealistic speeches are made and U.N. sponsored treaties get signed, and so will the wartime jokes, ranging from slapstick to gallows humor. And if _you had to be thereÓ to get the point, some of the best writers in science fiction are on board to put you there . . . David Drake, the Dean of military science fiction, turns to fantasy and shows the result of having a combat balloon manned by halflings of dubious competence. Frederik Pohl tells of the invasion of Earth by aliens with impenetrable force shields, and how a goldbricking soldier with all the ethics of a career politician became an unlikely (and unwilling) hero. Herbert Gold considers the lighter (?) side of the strategy of M.A.D. (Mutual Assured Destruction). Theodore R. Cogswell, in a story which the Science Fiction Writers of America voted into their Science Fiction Hall of Fame, presents an isolated planets outpost, left behind after the collapse of galactic civilization, and the psychological subterfuge that kept morale from failing. Steven Utley and Howard F. Waldrop, in a Nebula Award and Locus Award-nominated work of alternate history, report on General George Armstrong Custers ill-fated mission when he and his dirigible-borne paratroopers were attacked by Chief Crazy Horses biplane squadron. Christopher Anvil shows that when aliens with overwhelming technological superiority invade Earth, their campaign can completely unravel because the local conditions are nothing like those back home. (A tornado is just moving air¾how could that be dangerous?) And more! Future war may be future hell¾but therell also be future hilarity. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

The New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things and What to Say Next delivers a poignant and hopeful novel about resilience and reinvention, first love and lifelong friendship, the legacies of loss, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. "A luminous, lovely story about a girl who builds a future from the ashes of her past." --KATHLEEN GLASGOW, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future. Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing. Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope. Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers?

THE ALIENS ARE AMONG US! “Where is everybody?” Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi once asked after a discussion about the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. To sum up the Fermi Paradox, if the billions of stars in our galaxy have planets with intelligent life on them, why hasn’t anyone visited us? But maybe they have, and we just haven’t noticed—and that’s the way they want it. And if they are here in secret, why are they here? Are they tourists? Anthropologists, perhaps? Or journalists sending stories back about the quaint habits of the primitives? Or maybe the extraterrestrial equivalent of hunters or fishermen? (Any odd disappearances in your neighborhood lately?) An enemy already within the gates? Or a refugee seeking sanctuary? Gourmets looking for exotic foreign food? Alien criminals hiding out? Alien cops looking for those alien criminals? No missionaries—at least not yet—and there doesn’t seem to be a Galactic Peace Corps. They might happen to look close enough to human to pass, or they might be masters of disguise. Or they might be so incomprehensibly different that we don’t even notice that they’re here. The secret visitors are revealed by such luminaries as Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, Spider Robinson, William Tenn, and more. And if any alien visitors want to check out the local natives’ speculations herein, feel free. Please pay with local currency, of course. At the publisher’s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for previous anthologies edited by Hank Davis: About Time Troopers: "The editors’ mastery of the military SF and time travel subgenres is evident in their thoughtful selections. Fans of literate speculative fiction will hope for more from these experts." —Publishers Weekly Cosmic Corsairs: “Who doesn’t like space pirates? (Well, their victims I guess, but that’s beside the point.) . . . Hank Davis has a fine sense for choosing a wide mix of stories, and this book is no exception. No story is like another, yet they manage to form a whole greater than the parts. From sapient ships to piratical sibling rivalry, pirate detectives to ingenious captives seeking freedom, from alien biology to orbital mechanics, the stories share some of the same elements—pragmatic thinking, moral complexity, loyalty, and betrayal. Definitely a fun one." —Analog In Space No One Can Hear You Scream: “[T]he 13 tales in this collection blend sf with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres . . . offers strong tales by the genre’s best storytellers.” —Library Journal “[F]irst-rate science fiction, demonstrating how short stories can still entertain.” —The Galveston County Daily News A Cosmic Christmas 2 You: “This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions. . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings . . . a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.” —Publishers Weekly As Time Goes By: “As Time Goes By . . . does an excellent job of exploring not only romance through time travel—relationships enabled or imperiled by voyaging through time—but the intrinsic romance of time travel itself. . . . The range of styles and approaches is as wide as the authors' sensibilities and periods might suggest . . . full of entertaining and poignant stories . . . ” —Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, IntergalacticMedicineShow.com About Star Destroyers, coedited by Christopher Ruocchio: “. . . spectacular space battles and alien contacts . . . themes of military ethics, the uses of artificial intelligence, and the limits of the capacity of the human mind. . . . it is the human interactions and decisions that ultimately drive the stories. . . . will appeal to fans of military and hard science fiction and any readers fascinated by the possibilities of space travel." —Booklist “. . . stories of giant spaceships at war, at peace, and in the often-gray areas between. . . . a worthy addition to a long tradition of ship-based fiction, and its authors portray captains, arcane astrogators, and civilian child passengers with equal depth. It’s recommended for fans of military SF and space adventure." —Publishers Weekly “. . . you’d probably expect some tight, action-filled space opera stories of giant space battles . . . and there’s some of that. But there are also espionage stories, rescue missions, political conflicts, alternate histories, even a few humorous tales. . . . each author took the premise in a different direction . . . if I had to identify one common feature to all the stories, it would be that they’re all fun. . . . Like it says, big ships blowing things up. What’s not to like?" —Analog

Classic stories of science fiction featuring powered armor: Tales from the Golden Age through the current era featuring military, police, and civilians utilizing powered armor. Stories by Joe Haldeman, Christopher Ruocchio, Jason Cordova, and more! MEN, MACHINES, AND TOMORROW’S BATTLEFIELDS War is planned violence . . . or, at least, it starts out that way. And even if plans go awry, the violence is indispensable. Today’s soldiers have far more firepower on a per-man basis than the doughboys of a century ago, and there is no reason to believe that this trend will not extend into the future. Imagine a revival of suits of armor, but with structural strength undreamed of by medieval knights, and powered by built-in motors, giving each soldier the invulnerability of a tank, but even more mobility, and mechanical muscle strong enough to carry light artillery, rocket launchers, laser cannon, and weapons not even on the drawing boards yet. Add on the ability to fly, or at least jump for a kilometer at a time, using rocket boosters, or even powerful leg motors, or a combination of both. The stuff that superheroes are made of, hanging in every fighting man or woman’s closet, ready to wear. If it’s possible, history teaches us, it will be done. But don’t expect a nation or planet possessing such battalions of super-powered soldiers to not worry about attack by an enemy . . . there’s no reason why the enemy won’t have its own armored infantry. Keep the midnight oil burning and the R&D rolling. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek by expert dreamers putting the battle-hardened reader at the sharp end of tomorrow. At the publisher’s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for anthologies edited by Hank Davis and David Afsharirad: “This intriguing anthology explores the human race’s violent potential [but] also bends toward exploration and the triumph of the human spirit, with brave tales [that] take the reader on a fascinating, thoughtprovoking, enjoyable journey . . . ” —Publishers Weekly on The Year’s Best Military SF and Space Opera, starred review

STORIES OF ALIEN CONTACT GONE WRONG. Will it be, "Greeting, fellow Sentients" or, "Nice PlanetÊwe'll take itî? These stories from SF greats answer the question, "Are we alone in the universe?" with a resounding, "No, but we wish we were!" When the first contact between humans and aliens from another planet happens, will they say, _Take me to your leader,î or is _Surrender, puny primitive bipedsî more likely? Or maybe, _Hello there, Im selling the latest edition of the Galactic Encyclopedia, and no planet should be without a set,î might be the first words from the alien visitor. Ever since H.G. Wells wrote The War of the Worlds, science fiction writers have speculated on what the first contact might be like. From attacking invaders to wise and benevolent visitors who are ready to solve all our problems for us, from horror stories to hilarious satire, with all the stops in between, including plenty of tales in which the aliens are the ones who wish theyd stayed at home and never come across Earth and its inhabitants. With stories by such science fiction masters as Poul Anderson, David Drake, William Tenn, Sarah A. Hoyt, Tony Daniel, and more, this is a collection filled with chills, thrills, and laughter, all reporting on what happens when First Contact turns into Worst Contact. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for anthologies edited by Hank Davis: A Cosmic Christmas 2 You: _This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings, this anthology is a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.îÊPublishers Weekly In Space No One Can Hear You Scream: _From Arthur C. Clarke's interplanetary riff on the lonely night's walk ("A Walk in the Dark") to George R.R. Martin's award-winning classic of irresponsible alien pet ownership ("Sandkings"), the 13 tales in this collection blend sf with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres. VERDICT: Including selections by Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Sheckley, Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Monette, and other stars, this seasonal collection offers strong tales by the genre's best storytellers.î ÊLibrary Journal

NEW FICTION AND CLASSICS OF THE GENRE COLLECTED BY THE EDITORIAL TEAM BEHIND SPACE PIONEERS AND OVERRULED! SPACE PIRATES! Words that conjure up rousing tales of adventure, derring-do, brave heroes battling the scurvy vermin of the galaxy. Those vermin have taken to pillaging cargo ships and, even worse, space liners, relieving the helpless passengers of their valuables, and worse with the comely women passengers, then spacing the lot—unless one or more of the aforementioned brave heroes arrive in the nick of time, and turn the tables, making the spaceways safe again for the innocent and helpless. On the other hand, perhaps the pirate captain is a woman, and it’s the comely male passengers who need rescuing. And on the third hand (we’re talking space pirates here, possibly aliens with four or more arms), perhaps those ships traversing the interstellar void are not so innocent, and the pirates, fighting an evil despotic star empire and defending the freedom of the space lanes, are the good guys and gals. The possibilities are many, and the daring exploits set the blood racing in the veins of any reader with even a trace of buccaneering spirit in their hidden self. So board a battered but spaceworthy fighting starship with such star-spanning and award-winning crewmates as Robert Silverberg, Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, Larry Niven, Fritz Leiber, and Sarah A. Hoyt, plus James H. Schmitz, James Blish, Gregory Benford, and more, and set sail—er, thrusters—for a universe of freebooting adventure! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for previous anthologies edited by Hank Davis: In Space No One Can Hear You Scream: “[T]he 13 tales in this collection blend sf with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres . . . offers strong tales by the genre’s best storytellers.” —Library Journal “[F]irst-rate science fiction, demonstrating how short stories can still entertain.” —The Galveston County Daily NewsM A Cosmic Christmas 2 You: “This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions. . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings . . . a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.” —Publishers Weekly As Time Goes By: “As Time Goes By . . . does an excellent job of exploring not only romance through time travel—relationships enabled or imperiled by voyaging through time—but the intrinsic romance of time travel itself. . . . The range of styles and approaches is as wide as the authors' sensibilities and periods might suggest . . . full of entertaining and poignant stories . . .” —Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, IntergalacticMedicineShow.com About Star Destroyers, coedited by Christopher Ruocchio: “[S]pectacular space battles and alien contacts . . . themes of military ethics, the uses of artificial intelligence, and the limits of the capacity of the human mind. . . . It is the human interactions and decisions that ultimately drive the stories. . . . Will appeal to fans of military and hard science fiction and any readers fascinated by the possibilities of space travel.”—Booklist “[S[tories of giant spaceships at war, at peace, and in the often-gray areas between. . . . A worthy addition to a long tradition of ship-based fiction, and its authors portray captains, arcane astrogators, and civilian child passengers with equal depth. It’s recommended for fans of military SF and space adventure.”—Publishers Weekly “[Y]ou’d probably expect some tight, action-filled space opera stories of giant space battles . . . and there’s some of that. But there are also espionage stories, rescue missions, political conflicts, alternate histories, even a few humorous tales. . . . Each author took the premise in a different direction . . . if I had to identify one common feature to all the stories, it would be that they’re all fun. . . . Like it says, big ships blowing things up. What’s not to like?”—Analog

WHAT COULD GO WRONG . . . ? Progress! It’s wonderful—though it sometimes has unexpected and undesirable side effects. Read the long warning list of possible side effects on a medicine bottle’s label sometime . . . the part in really tinyprint. But surely the benefits of modern technology outweigh the drawbacks. Until they don’t. Remember how increasingly deadly weapons, from the machine gun to the H-bomb, were supposed to make war too horrific to even be contemplated? Didn’t happen. The cell phone has made it possible to phone from almost anywhere—too bad if you wanted to be out of reach. And civilization is so big and complicated, that a breakdown of any part can have disastrous consequences. Modern transportation makes it possible to get anywhere in a hurry, though traffic jams and overextended airports may slow the hurry part to a crawl. And it also can ensure that a new disease can go all over the planet in a few days. Then, there’s the sheer complexity of society itself, from interminable waits at the DMV to trying to get tech help on the phone (“Your call is important to us . . .”). And that’s just the present day. What new technologies, new ways of organizing (or disorganizing) society, new confused and confusing government bureaucracies, new ways for small disgruntled groups to wreak havoc, and worse, will the future bring? Will privacy keep eroding? Could computers and robots take over? Maybe they wouldn’t want to. And if the pace of modern life is driving you batty, just wait to see what’s on the horizon. Exploring such scary, yet fascinating, possibilities are such masters of science fiction as Robert A. Heinlein, Sarah A. Hoyt, Fritz Leiber, Gordon R. Dickson, Lester del Rey, Christopher Anvil, Fredric Brown, and more, writers who have seen the future—and it may not work . . . At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for previous anthologies edited by Hank Davis In Space No One Can Hear You Scream “. . . the 13 tales in this collection blend sf with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres . . . offers strong tales by the genre’s best storytellers.” —Library Journal “. . . first-rate science fiction, demonstrating how short stories can still entertain.” —Galveston County Daily News A Cosmic Christmas 2 You “This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings . . . a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.” —Publishers Weekly As Time Goes By “As Time Goes By . . . does an excellent job of exploring not only romance through time travel—relationships enabled or imperiled by voyaging through time—but the intrinsic romance of time travel itself . . . The range of styles and approaches is as wide as the authors' sensibilities and periods might suggest . . . full of entertaining and poignant stories . . .” —Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, IntergalacticMedicineShow.com

ORIGINAL MASS MARKET. STORIES OF THINGS FROM SPACE. Mostly very, very bad things that want to harm humans and destroy Earth. Or take it for their own. Original stories and reprints of classics from the scary side of science fiction! THE THINGS ARE COMING . . . As we all know, in space, no one can hear you scream. Which doesn’t mean that anyone is safe just because they’re standing on the soil of planet Earth, because if a thing from out there drops in, screaming probably won’t save you. Earth has spawned myriad unpleasant life forms which are bad news for humans, ranging in size from the Ebola virus to the great white shark up to the Tyrannosaurus Rex (extinct, fortunately for us)—and that’s just one planet. What even more deadly life forms might the billions of planets in our galaxy have spawned? And suppose the things are intelligent and capable of crossing space and coming here . . . Considering that very possibility are the masters of science fiction starring in this book, including Robert Silverberg, David Drake, Sarah A. Hoyt, James H. Schmitz, Fritz Leiber, Robert Sheckley, Murray Leinster and John W. Campbell, as well as classic stories of extraterrestrial horrors by H.P. Lovecraft, George Allan England and more. E.T. might have been happy eating Reese’s Pieces, but other visitors from the void might have less dainty appetites. And there are probably worse things than merely being eaten . . . At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for previous anthologies edited by Hank Davis: In Space No One Can Hear You Scream “. . . the 13 tales in this collection blend SF with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres. . . . offers strong tales by the genre’s best storytellers.”—Library Journal “. . . first-rate science fiction, demonstrating how short stories can still entertain.”—Galveston County Daily News A Cosmic Christmas 2 You: “This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions. . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings . . . a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.”—Publishers Weekly As Time Goes By: “As Time Goes By . . . does an excellent job of exploring not only romance through time travel—relationships enabled or imperiled by voyaging through time—but the intrinsic romance of time travel itself. . . . The range of styles and approaches is as wide as the authors' sensibilities and periods might suggest . . . full of entertaining and poignant stories . . .”—Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, IntergalacticMedicineShow.com

_Loves not times fool,Ó Shakespeare wrote, though he might have added that men and women can be both love and times fools. For time and love are universally experienced, yet mysterious and only dimly understood. Heres a collection of stories with both transcendental mysteries in high gear, as lovers, happy and otherwise, are caught in bizarre twists of time. On hand to twist time into pretzel shapes, if not into Moebius strips, are best-selling and award-winning authors such as Poul Anderson, John Wyndham, Christopher Priest, Richard McKenna, Michael Swanwick, Charlie Jane Anders, Tony Daniel, Sarah A. Hoyt, and more, as cupid hops aboard a time machine and the course of true love not only may not run smooth, but may run backwards and even sideways. Includes stories by Richard McKenna (Nebula Award winning story), author of the award-winning novel The Sand Pebbles; John Wyndham, author of the mega-bestseller The Day of the Triffids; multiple-award winning author Poul Anderson, multiple award-winner Christopher Priest, author of The Prestige (BSFA Award winning novel); Charlie Jane Anders (Hugo Award winning story which is currently being developed for TV); Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winning author Michael Swanwick; Hugo Award finalist and Asimovs Readers Choice Award winner Tony Daniel; Prometheus Award winner Sarah A. Hoyt; and more.

Trying to get your message heard? Build an iconic brand? Welcome to the battlefield. The story wars are all around us. They are the struggle to be heard in a world of media noise and clamor. Today, most brand messages and mass appeals for causes are drowned out before they even reach us. But a few consistently break through the din, using the only tool that has ever moved minds and changed behavior—great stories. With insights from mythology, advertising history, evolutionary biology, and psychology, viral storyteller and advertising expert Jonah Sachs takes readers into a fascinating world of seemingly insurmountable challenges and enormous opportunity. You’ll discover how: • Social media tools are driving a return to the oral tradition, in which stories that matter rise above the fray • Marketers have become today’s mythmakers, providing society with explanation, meaning, and ritual • Memorable stories based on timeless themes build legions of eager evangelists • Marketers and audiences can work together to create deeper meaning and stronger partnerships in building a better world • Brands like Old Spice, The Story of Stuff, Nike, the Tea Party, and Occupy Wall Street created and sustained massive viral buzz Winning the Story Wars is a call to arms for business communicators to cast aside broken traditions and join a revolution to build the iconic brands of the future. It puts marketers in the role of heroes with a chance to transform not just their craft but the enterprises they represent. After all, success in the story wars doesn’t come just from telling great stories, but from learning to live them.