The sisters of the Order of Saint Rita captain their living ship into the reaches of space in Lina Rather's debut novella, Sisters of the Vast Black. A Golden Crown Literary Society Award Finalist Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own. When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care—and that of the galactic diaspora—are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The sisters of the Order of Saint Rita navigate the far reaches of space and challenges of faith in Sisters of the Forsaken Stars, the follow-up to Lina Rather's Sisters of the Vast Black, winner of the Golden Crown Literary Society Award. “We lit the spark, maybe we should be here for the flames.” Not long ago, Earth’s colonies and space stations threw off the yoke of planet Earth’s tyrannical rule. Decades later, trouble is brewing in the Four Systems, and Old Earth is flexing its power in a bid to regain control over its lost territories. The Order of Saint Rita—whose mission is to provide aid and mercy to those in need—bore witness to and defied Central Governance’s atrocities on the remote planet Phyosonga III. The sisters have been running ever since, staying under the radar while still trying to honor their calling. Despite the sisters’ secrecy, the story of their defiance is spreading like wildfire, spearheaded by a growing anti-Earth religious movement calling for revolution. Faced with staying silent or speaking up, the Order of Saint Rita must decide the role they will play—and what hand they will have—in reshaping the galaxy. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In celebration of Pride, Tor.com Publishing presents four critically acclaimed novellas featuring LGBTQ+ characters. With Miranda in Milan, debut author Katharine Duckett reimagines the consequences of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, casting Miranda into a Milanese pit of vipers and building a queer love story that lifts off the page in whirlwinds of feeling. After the tempest, after the reunion, after her father drowned his books, Miranda was meant to enter a brave new world. Naples awaited her, and Ferdinand, and a throne. Instead she finds herself in Milan, in her father’s castle, surrounded by hostile servants who treat her like a ghost. Whispers cling to her like spiderwebs, whispers that carry her dead mother’s name. And though he promised to give away his power, Milan is once again contorting around Prospero’s dark arts. With only Dorothea, her sole companion and confidant to aid her, Miranda must cut through the mystery and find the truth about her father, her mother, and herself. NPR calls Every Heart a Doorway "a mini-masterpiece of portal fantasy — a jewel of a book that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics". Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex AWARD winner, World Fantasy and British Fantasy Award finalist, and Tiptree Honor List title. Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children No Solicitations No Visitors No Quests Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world. But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things. No matter the cost. The sisters of the Order of Saint Rita captain their living ship into the reaches of space in Lina Rather's debut novella, Sisters of the Vast Black. Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own. When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care—and that of the galactic diaspora—are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself. Sorcerer of the Wildeeps is the Crawford Award-winning novella that Wired listed as one of their twenty-five all-time favorite books. Critically acclaimed author Kai Ashante Wilson makes his commercial debut with this striking, wondrous tale of gods and mortals, magic and steel, and life and death that will reshape how you look at sword and sorcery. Since leaving his homeland, the earthbound demigod Demane has been labeled a sorcerer. With his ancestors' artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight. The two of them are the descendants of the gods who abandoned the Earth for Heaven, and they will need all the gifts those divine ancestors left to them to keep their caravan brothers alive. The one safe road between the northern oasis and southern kingdom is stalked by a necromantic terror. Demane may have to master his wild powers and trade humanity for godhood if he is to keep his brothers and his beloved captain alive. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The definitive guide and a must-have collection of the best short science fiction and speculative fiction of 2019, showcasing brilliant talent and examining the cultural moment we live in, compiled by award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan. With short works from some of the most lauded science fiction authors, as well as rising stars, this collection displays the top talent and the cutting-edge cultural moments that affect our lives, dreams, and stories. The list of authors is truly star-studded, including New York Times bestseller Ted Chiang (author of the short story that inspired the movie Arrival), N. K. Jemisin, Charlie Jane Anders, and many more incredible talents. An assemblage of future classics, this anthology is a must-read for anyone who enjoys the vast and exciting world of science fiction.

AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE DARK TOWER SERIES—INCLUDING BOOK-BY-BOOK ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT INTO STEPHEN KING'S CREATIVE PROCESS. In 1970, Stephen King embarked on what would become the crowning achievement in his literary career-the Dark Tower. The seven-volume series, written and published over a period of 30 years, was inspired by Robert Browning's poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," as well as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and the spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone. With the full cooperation of Stephen King himself, The Road to the Dark Tower examines the epic journey of the author to complete a story that threatened to overwhelm him. In this indispensable companion, Bev Vincent presents a book-by-book analysis of each volume in the series, tracing the Dark Tower's connections to King's other novels including The Stand, Insomnia, and Hearts in Atlantis, and offering insights from the author about the creative process involved in crafting his lifelong work-a work that has consumed not only Stephen King, but his legion of devoted readers. This is essential reading for any Dark Tower-or Stephen King-fan.

Learning from the Women. This is the tenth anniversary edition of a Pilgrim Press favorite. Jesus and Those Bodacious Women is well known for its new spins on the stories of biblical women such as Mary Magdalene, the Bent-over Woman, Queen Esther, and Mary, among others. The tenth anniversary edition contains spins on the stories of five additional biblical women: Vashti, Jezebel, Cozbi (the prostitute in the Book of Numbers), Dorcas, and Lydia.

The Sisters of the Crescent Empress is the second book in Leena Likitalo's Waning Moon Duology, a fabulous historical fantasy based on the lives of the Romanov sisters. We all think we know how the story ends... With the Crescent Empress dead, a civil war has torn the empire asunder. No one seems able to stop the ruthless Gagargi Prataslav. The five Daughters of the Moon are where he wants them to be, held captive in an isolated house in the far north. Little Alina senses that the rooms that have fallen in disrepair have a sad tale to tell. Indeed, she soon meets two elderly ladies, the ghosts of the house's former inhabitants. Merile finds the ghosts suspiciously friendly and too interested in her sisters. She resolves to uncover their agenda with the help of her two dogs. Sibilia isn't terribly interested in her younger sisters' imaginary friends, for she has other concerns. If they don't leave the house by spring, she'll miss her debut. And while reading through the holy scriptures, she stumbles upon a mystery that reeks of power. Elise struggles to come to terms with her relationship with Captain Janlav. Her former lover now serves the gagargi, and it's his duty to keep the daughters confined in the house. But if the opportunity were to arise, she might be able sway him into helping them flee. Celestia is perfectly aware of the gagargi coming to claim her rather sooner than later. She's resolved to come up with a plan to keep her sisters safe at any cost. For she knows what tends to happen to the sisters of the Crescent Empress. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In this unique ethnography of urban southern Catholicism - one of the few substantial studies of modern African-American Catholics since the 1920s - Gary W. McDonogh employs a decade of anthropological and historical research to explore the contradictions and survival of black and Catholic parishes in Savannah. Given the disfranchisement of African Americans in the South as well as nativist responses to Catholics among both blacks and whites, those who are black and Catholic in Savannah constitute a double minority whose lives McDonogh explores by examining the interaction of community, church, and individual. A city divided for two centuries by conflicts over culture, class, and race, Savannah is permeated by ambiguous identities that often end up before the altar. Religion thus serves as a cultural language through which urban life can be observed as well as a system of belief and identity shared by blacks and Catholics. This multidisciplinary study links ethnography to wider debates on symbolism, gender, class, and cultural power. The vivid voices, memories, ritual and social acts, and observations of Savannah provide the basis for comparative insights and theoretical generalizations on communities within the United States and on a broad range of urban and religious issues.

Although Katharine Drexel has been the subject of several biographies, they have tended to treat her as a perfect human being whom the Church later transformed into a saint. Katherine and the Sisters Who Shared Her Vision moves beyond the story of the heiress’s individual life devoted to God and shines a light on the work she did, assisted by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Drexel could have lived comfortably, wealthy and privileged, as a Philadelphia philanthropist but chose to found a religious congregation of women dedicated to working within Black and Indigenous communities—without receiving the bulk of the money left by Drexel's father. The author’s careful examination of the work Drexel and her Sisters accomplished in Philadelphia and elsewhere shows impacts on the Church while also revealing racial issues at work in the story. This brings a critical perspective to Drexel's ministry to further our understanding of the Black Catholic community and renew our commitment to the difficult, ongoing conversation about race in America.