In a dark future universe, human technology has not significantly halted human violence, scientists roam a distant star system selling an opium-like drug, and plans are made to fuse human DNA with a lifeform called the Grub in hopes of finally erasing humankind's most violent tendencies.

In a brutal age of bloodshed and miracles where dark sorcery has extinguished the sun, the fate of Western Europe, Africa--and perhaps all the world--rests in the hands of a warrior woman named Ash. The undefeated legions that are the army of Carthage rampage across the kingdoms of Europe. Beneath a sunless sky, Burgundy alone stands in the path of the Visigoth horde and their legendary slave general, the Faris. Deep in enemy territory lies a living stone idol of frightening power that must be destroyed if anyone is to survive, a being that whispers in Ash’s soul, that has guided her through every military campaign, that only she and her enemy--her twin--can hear. But there is an even greater evil that lurks at Carthage, one that created the stone idol and shaped Ash’s existence. It plots with deadly purpose the final annihilation that will wipe Burgundy from the face of the earth. For Burgundy lies at the heart of it all--the richest prize in Europe and the key to the world--the jewel of the Carthaginian campaign. In a brutal age of bloodshed and miracles where dark sorcery has extinguished the sun, the fate of Western Europe, Africa--and perhaps all the world--rests in the hands of a warrior woman named Ash. The undefeated legions that are the army of Carthage rampage across the kingdoms of Europe. Beneath a sunless sky, Burgundy alone stands in the path of the Visigoth horde and their legendary slave general, the Faris. Deep in enemy territory lies a living stone idol of frightening power that must be destroyed if anyone is to survive, a being that whispers in Ash’s soul, that has guided her through every military campaign, that only she and her enemy--her twin--can hear. But there is an even greater evil that lurks at Carthage, one that created the stone idol and shaped Ash’s existence. It plots with deadly purpose the final annihilation that will wipe Burgundy from the face of the earth. For Burgundy lies at the heart of it all--the richest prize in Europe and the key to the world--the jewel of the Carthaginian campaign. 432 p

Kathleen Ann Goonan’s first novel, Queen City Jazz, propelled her into the front ranks of speculative fiction. Her lyrical and imaginative renderings of a near future transfigured by the wonders and dangers of nanotechnology provide readers tantalizing glimpses of scientific advances just beyond the cutting edge...and the unpredictable human consequences following in their wake. Now comes Goonan’s most ambitious, penetrating look yet into the exotic future already flowering around us--and perhaps within us. It begins with silence. A powerful electromagnetic pulse high in the atmosphere triggers a communications blackout, causing electronics and computers to fail the world over. In that moment of anachronistic quiet, a brilliant astronomer named Zeb Aberly, scouring the heavens with equipment of his own design, makes the discovery of a lifetime: the pulse originated in space--and it carried a message from an intelligent source. But Zeb is not alone. Shadowy forces within the government seek to decipher the message and to keep its existence secret at all costs. Fleeing for his life into the back streets and alleys of Washington, D.C., Zeb embarks on an odyssey that could cost him his family, his sanity, and everything he loves. And it begins with murder. In New Orleans, mob boss Marie Laveau--a descendant of the famous voodoo priestess--is brutally gunned down by nameless, faceless enemies. But Marie’s vast wealth has purchased the best life insurance of all: resurrection. Reborn by means of nanotechnology, Marie discovers that her husband and young daughter were also hit, their bodies too badly damaged to be repaired. Now she will stop at nothing to track down and punish those responsible. But her quest will lead beyond vengeance, into the very technology that saved her...and a conspiracy linked to the mysterious event now known as the Silence. Recurring at unpredictable intervals, the Silence renders electronic-based technology unreliable and dangerous. A substitution must be found before civilization collapses; breakthroughs in nanotech and advances in genetic engineering give hope of a new kind of communication in the future. But now, as babies born around the world in the months following the first Silence grow to adulthood, demonstrating uncanny physical and mental characteristics that bring suspicion and violence, nanotech plagues unleashed by ecoterrorists and fearful governments wreak havoc on an already panicked populace. The eye of the apocalyptic storm is a radically transformed New Orleans, where Marie Laveau works feverishly to build a safe haven for the hunted and oppressed, gathering the best and the brightest to build her utopia dream. But time is running out. With the military might of a new and repressive world order ranged against her, Marie’s only hope lies in the most dangerous piece of nanotechnology ever devised: A technology capable of saving the human race--or destroying it. 448 p

Impending personal tragedy is dimming the brilliant light of Dr. Benjamin Knowlton's world. On the threshold of their greatest achievement, the renowned astrophysicist's beloved wife and partner -- ex-astronaut-turned astronomer -- is dying. But something looms alarningly on the far edge of the solar system: at once a scientific find of unparalleled importance that could ensure the Knowltons' immortality, and a potential earth-shattering cataclysm that dwarfs their private one. For Benjamin and Channing have discovered "Eater," an eons-old black hole anomaly that devours stars and worlds. Yet its most awesome and devasting secrets are still to be revealed...and feared.

One A Thief... The renowned theif Livak employed her great courage and cunning to escape the evil, mindbending sorcery of the Elietimm -- with the help of Ryshad, the noble swordsman who stole the beautiful bandit's heart. Now a fortune awaits her and her beloved, if Livak can secure a powerful, ancient, and forgotten magic that the Empire seeks to defend itself from its enemies. But there are others who covet the secrets of these lost arts....

Einarinn's greatest warrior, the swordsman Ryshad, has sworn to protect his lord, Messire D'Olbriot, even if it means watching his love, the beautiful thief Livak, embark on a dangerous quest to find the lost aetheric magic on her own. But shadow and intrigue lie over the land, and a journey to recover magical artifacts leads the swordsman back to the lost colony of Kellarin, whose settlers have only recently been awoken from centuries of enchanted sleep. Amidst the intricate halls and deadly intrigues of this royal court, even the most cautious of strategems can fail, and Ryshad must fight to save the future of Einarinn itself.

A force for good. . . or evil? Destiny and tragedy placed an awesome power in the hands of young Mathew Lewin. But is he its master -- or its pawn? Needing shelter from his enemies, Mathew Lewin has come to a kingdom neighboring the one he saved by harnessing the might of the ring. The haven he has chosen, however, is anything but safe. Treachery and mysterious murder plague this land and its giant king, threatening a devastating civil war and giving rise to dangerous suspicions aimed at the boy who seeks sanctuary. But Mat fears the destructive resources at his fingertips -- he must learn their secrets or be destroyed by them -- and his quest has led him here. Now, to find the answers he covets, he must confront another who wields the power . . . and venture into an enchanted place of darkness where the truest and most terrible of evils dwells.

The long–awaited conclusion to the epic tale of Mathew Lewin, a young man who is chosen for a remarkable destiny, in this final exciting installment from Mitchell Graham. It has been three years since we've last seen Mathew Lewin, who has been hiding incognito for the past few years in his long quest to infiltrate Teanna's palace and retrieve the ring. Now Mat finally has a chance to get close to Teanna and the ring, as an opportunity to become a fencing instructor in the Nyngary Royal Guard presents itself. But there is much danger in the world. The Orlocks are a rising threat –– now living above ground in total control of a third of Elgaria, they plan to divide between themselves the surviving countries in their quest to annihiliate all of humanity. Even with her ring Teanna knows she can't fight the coming battle alone and a strange alliance forms between her and Mathew as they team up with their allies, the Zargoth and Coribar, in the ultimate battle between humans and Orlocks.

LONGTUSK continues the story begun in Stephen Baxter's critically acclaimed MAMMOTH. The second novel of a trilogy it takes the story that spans millions of years back to its genesis with the story of one of mammoth kinds first heroes - the bull LONGTUSK, whose heroic example inspired the actions of MAMMOTH's heroine, SILVERHAIR. LONGTUSK is responsible for leading the mammoths away from the first incursion of the dreaded human hunters, taking them to safety on the Asian landmass and in so doing changing the very architecture of Earth' prehistoric geology. Although an anthropomorphic fantasy LONGTUSK is full of the trademark strengths of narrative exuberance, epic vision and detailed research that have made Baxter such a pre-eminent SF writer around the world. But more than anything it continues the job of bringing mammoths to live as richly imagined complex animals with a fully realised myth cycle all their own. 320p

Beckoned by the Emperor Valerius, Crispin, a renowned mosaicist, has arrived in the fabled city of Sarantium. Here he seeks to fulfill his artistic ambitions and his destiny high upon a dome that will become the emerror's magnificent sanctuary and legacy. But the beauty and solitude of his work cannot protect his from Sarantium's intrigue. Beneath him the city swirls with rumors of war and conspiracy, while otherworldly fires mysteriously flicker and disappear in the streets at night. Valerius is looking west to Crispin's homeland to reunite an Empire -- a plan that may have dire consequences for the loved ones Crispin left behind. In Sarantium, however, loyalty is always complex, for Crispin's fate has become entwined with that of Valerius and his Empress, as well as Queen Gisel, his own monarch exiled in Sarantium herself. And now another voyager -- this time from the east -- has arrived, a pysician determined to make his mark amid the shifting, treachearous currents of passion and violence that will determine the empire's fate.

Dreams. Vows. Prophecies. Destiny. The Navoran Empire is wealthy, powerful - -and slowly falling under the sway of the Empress’s corrupt and sinister adviser. The Shinali nation has been reduced to a single clan on a small strip of land. They cling to their traditional ways, awaiting a hero out of legend. All Gabriel Eshban Vala has ever wanted is to be a healer. It has been this way since his seventh year, when he witnessed a brutal act he was helpless to stop. But he never forgot the eyes of the dying Shinali woman who asked him for help. From that day forward, Gabriel withstood the demands of his father, his family, and even his Empress in order to pursue his dreams of healing the sick. So what could an ancient prophecy foretelling his powerful nation’s downfall have to do with him? When a chance meeting on a lonely plain brings him into the land of the Shinali, Gabriel develops a deep respect for these people and grows more and more disenchanted with his place among the powerful rulers of the Navoran Empire. Now, caught between loyalty to his Navoran roots and love for the Shinali people, Gabriel must make a single choice. The fate of two nations hangs in the balance. And so does Gabriel’s own life. Sherryl Jordan has written an extraordinary and deeply moving tale of fate, hope, loyalty -- and the ability of one man to change destiny.

The boy-king Arthor has beaten back the berserker wolf warriors of the Saxon god, uniting his island kingdom -- but at a terrible cost. For the Grail, the chalice of the Last Supper and the magical shield of Britain, has been stolen. Without the Grail’s protection, Britain lies parched and barren, a demon-haunted landscape where sulfurous vapors taint ther air. To find the Grail, Arthor’s mother, Ygrane, must strike a dark bargain with Bright Night, elf-prince of the "pale people,"in the hollow hills. Merlin must use his magic to show the way. But it is Arthor himself who must confront the Serpent, Sword in hand. A.A.. Atanasio’s epic retelling of humankind’s most powerful legend weaves together, for the first time, the hallowed yarn of ancient Arthurian lore and the shimmering strands of modern quantum science.

Winter's icy grasp is loosening on the world. The Emerald Queen's vanquished army has its broken back to the Bitter Sea. And treachery is its only recourse. A lackey has declared himself Lord of the defeated, amassing the still fearsome remnants of a ruthless fighting force together for one final assault on a weakened, vulnerable realm. For the warriors who remained steadfast against terrible numbers, for the courageous souls who barely survived a devastating onslaught upon their homeland, the time to rebuild and renew has not yet come. The war is not over in Midkemia. And Jimmy and Dash--two young noble brothers who stand at the center of a gathering storm--are impelled to action that could secure a tenuous peace...or turn triumph into catastrophe. The demon is no more. The enemy has been routed. But all is not well...