Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction's top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs's Carson of Venus to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury's "The Long Rain" to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis's Perelandra, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth's next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century's space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life. But...

In the most dangerous district of the city, the Fifth Ward, Rem and Torval have been perfecting their good cop, bad cop routine while protecting residents from drug-dealing orcs, mind-controlling elves, uncooperative mages, and humans being typical humans.But when a perplexing case of arson leads to a series of gruesome, unsolvable murders, the two partners must challenge their own assumptions and loyalties if they are to preserve their partnership, wrest justice from the chaos, and keep their ward from tearing itself apart. "A brilliant premise, wonderfully told. A city that breathes, and heroes you can't help but root for." — Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld"A glorious tour through fantasy's seamier side. A wilder ride than Middle Earth, and you'll love every minute of it!" — Jon Hollins, author of the Dragon Lords seriesFor more from Dale Lucas, check out The Fifth...

"The Land Of The Free" Is No Longer Free The new President of the United States is sharing the wealth, rewriting the Constitution, and changing the National Anthem. America's liberals are thrilled with the election of the first foreign-born candidate. But when President Ohmshidi begins to implement his radical agenda-banning oil production, slashing military budgets, and establishing a "New World Order"-our once-great nation becomes easy pickings for a deadly new wave of Muslim extremists, who rename America...the Islamic Republic of Enlightenment. It's Time To Take Back America Enter Jake Lantz, a battle-seasoned army major and ace helicopter pilot who refuses to stand by and watch his country go down in flames. Assembling a ragtag team of action-ready soldiers and patriots, Jake establishes Firebase Freedom-America's last defense against the violent, lawless thugs and "Army of Allah" that has taken over. Jake's mission: Take back America. Give the people...

Alex has a good life. Being a unique half demon, he’s used his powers to conquer feral vampires, the darkness inside him, and help ghosts in need. But there’s one more challenge that will be his strongest. Marrying Cindy, the love of his life.Jack has been cursed by a witch’s magic for two hundred years. Unable to sleep, unable to die, his only hope for peace lies with young Kevin, a pure witch.Kevin has his own problems. Controlling the forces of magic is only the beginning. He’s lost, unsure of himself, trying to find his place in the world. Now, a man named Jack is asking him to perform magic he didn’t even know existed.A wedding, a witch that needs guidance, an invulnerable man with anger issues, and a new threat, with evil intentions. Four-hundred-year-old vampire Victoria may finally be in over her head.

Formed during the reign of Elizabeth I, the post of the Royal Occultist was created to safeguard the British Empire against threats occult, otherworldly, infernal and divine. It is now 1920, and the title and offices have fallen to Charles St. Cyprian. Accompanied by his apprentice Ebe Gallowglass, they defend the battered empire from the forces of darkness. In the wake of a séance gone wrong, a monstrous killer is summoned from the depths of nightmare by a deadly murder-cult. The entity hunts its prey with inhuman tenacity even as its worshippers stop at nothing to bring the entity into its full power… It’s up to St. Cyprian and Gallowglass to stop the bloodthirsty horror before another notch is added to its gory tally, but will they become the next victims of the horror guised as London’s most famous killer? In the tradition of William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost-Finder, Josh Reynolds presents the Adventures of the Royal Occultist. Join Charles St. Cyprian and Ebe Gallowglass as they race to halt the workings of a sinister secret society and put an end to the monstrous manifestation in THE WHITECHAPEL DEMON!