(based on 7 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Henry Kuttner, with an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale

Swords and Spells in Lost Atlantis!

Explore the origins of sword and sorcery with Henry Kuttner’s Elak of Atlantis! Published in Weird Tales to satisfy fans of Conan the Barbarian in the wake of Robert E. Howard’s death, these four stories depict a brutal world of flashing swords and primal magic, touched by a hint of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos. Never collected in a mass-market edition since their publication in the late 1930s, these exciting tales helped to establish a genre and are a critical part of any fantasy library. Also included in this collection are Kuttner’s two rare and equally groundbreaking Prince Raynor stories from 1939’s Strange Tales.

Dive into these seminal, thrilling adventure tales from one of the most important writers in science fiction and fantasy, and discover for yourself why Elak of Atlantis is renowned by scholars as a major step in the evolution of a genre.

“He had a kind of magic all writers wish they possessed. Some of us can fake it a little, but Kuttner, he wasn’t faking. He was the real deal.” —Joe R. Lansdale, award-winning author of “Bubba Ho-Tep”

Contents:

• Introduction: "Kuttner Sharpens His Literary Sword" by Joe R. Lansdale
• Elak of Atlantis:
  • "Thunder in the Dawn"
  • "The Spawn of Dagon"
  • "Beyond the Phoenix"
  • "Dragon Moon"
• Prince Raynor:
  • "Cursed be the City"
  • "The Citadel of Darkness"

224-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN: 1-60125-046-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-046-9

"I rather liked them very much, as Kuttner's imagination is every bit as sharp as C. L. Moore's though it takes a different direction, and because his prose is much the cleaner and the stories move. —Dave Truesdale, Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine

"An entertaining collection of sword & sorcery tales." —George T. Dodds, SFSite.com

About the Author

Ray Bradbury once referred to Henry Kuttner as "a neglected master... a man who shaped science fiction and fantasy in its most important years." Born in Los Angeles, Henry Kuttner (1915–1958) sold his first story, "The Graveyard Rats," to Weird Tales in 1936, the same year in which he wrote a fan letter to rising science fiction author C.L. Moore, mistakenly believing her to be a man. The two were married in 1940, and in the years that followed they collaborated constantly, publishing under at least 17 pseudonyms, most notably Lewis Padgett and Keith Hammond. Along with Elak of Atlantis and Prince Raynor, both of which were created before his marriage to Moore, Kuttner's most popular solo works were the Gallegher stories, tales about an inventor who could only build robots while drunk, and who upon sobering immediately forgot their purposes. As a friend of H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, Kuttner also contributed several stories to the Cthulhu mythos. In addition to writing scripts for television in collaboration with Moore, Kuttner wrote several stories that have since been translated to film, most recently "Mimsy Were the Borogroves," released as The Last Mimsy. In the years since his untimely death from a heart attack at 43, Kuttner has been cited as an influence by everyone from Marion Zimmer Bradley to Roger Zelazny, and both Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury have dedicated novels to him.

(based on 9 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Leigh Brackett, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock

Enter Eric John Stark, adventurer, rebel, wildman. Raised on the sun-soaked, savage world of Mercury, Stark lives among the people of the civilized solar system, but his veneer of calm masks a warrior’s spirit. In the murderous Martian Drylands the greatest criminals in the galaxy hatch a conspiracy of red revolution. Stark’s involvement leads to the forgotten ruins of the Martian Low Canals, an unlikely romance, and a secret so potent it could shake the Red Planet to its core.

In a special bonus novel, People of the Talisman, Stark ventures to the treacherous polar icecap of Mars to return a stolen talisman to an oppressed people.

The Secret of Sinharat and People of the Talisman make an excellent introduction to the work of Leigh Brackett, a pillar of science fantasy and one of the greatest writers to work in the genre. Talented enough to co-write The Big Sleep with William Faulkner and influential enough to write the original screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back, Brackett’s fiction is no less distinguished than her movie work and never fails to deliver thrills and wry smiles.

Contents:
• Introduction: "Stark Rides Again" by Michael Moorcock
• The Secret of Sinharat
• People of the Talisman

240-page softcover trade paperback ISBN: 1-60125-047-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-047-6

"FIVE STARS. Highly recommended!" —Fred Kiesche, SFSignal.com

"The Eric John Stark stories are clearly in the must read segment of the genre." —George T. Dodds, SFSite.com

About the Author

Though Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915–1978) was one of the most prominent science fiction authors of her time, she was equally adept in both crime fiction and westerns. While many of her early stories, beginning with "Martian Quest" in 1940, were science fantasy with a strong adventure theme, her first novel, "No Good From a Corpse"(1944), was a hard-boiled detective mystery that so impressed director Howard Hawks that he had his staff call in "this guy Brackett" to help William Faulkner write the script for The Big Sleep. The film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is considered a shining example of film noir, and launched Brackett's scriptwriting career, which would go on to include such notable pictures as Rio Bravo, The Long Goodbye, and the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back, which was written shortly before her death and later revised significantly. During this time, however, she maintained her status as a pulp science fiction icon, writing numerous stories and occasionally collaborating with protégé Ray Bradbury or husband Edmond Hamilton. It was during this busy period that she created her most famous character, criminal and wild-man Eric John Stark, an anti-hero who allowed her to explore colonialism's affect on native cultures, a theme that pervades much of her work. Despite her death from cancer in 1978, Brackett's works live on today as some of the most important in the genre.

(based on 5 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by C.L. Moore, with an introduction by C.J. Cherryh

75th Anniversary Edition!

From the crumbling temples of forgotten gods on Venus to the seedy pleasure halls of old Mars, Northwest Smith blazes a trail through the underbelly of the solar system in 13 action-packed stories you won’t soon forget.

Among the best-written and most emotionally complex stories of the Pulp Era, the tales of intergalactic smuggler Northwest Smith still resonate strongly 75 years after their first publication. A staple of Weird Tales in its Golden Age, C.L. Moore’s stories appeared alongside work by H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith, forming the backbone of the “unique magazine’s” approach to science fiction and planetary adventure.

For the first time ever, all of Northwest Smith’s adventures have been collected in a single volume, including “Quest of the Starstone,” which pairs Smith with Moore’s other famous creation, the fierce swordswoman Jirel of Joiry!

Contents:
• Introduction: "Teaching the World to Dream" by C. J. Cherryh
• "Shambleau"
• "Black Thirst"
• "Scarlet Dream"
• "Dust of Gods"
• "Julhi"
• "Nymph of Darkness"
• "The Cold Gray God"
• "Yvala"
• "Lost Parade"
• "The Tree of Life"
• "Quest of the Starstone"
• "Werewoman"
• "Song in a Minor Key"

"A delightful blend of classic science fiction, wonderful settings and some of the most memorable monsters you've never encountered."—Fred Kiesche, SFSignal.com

"If you're bored by the Saw franchise's literally mechanical twists and intrigued by the concept of crossbreeding Clark Ashton Smith with Star Wars, then try Northwest of Earth: A whole lot of bang for surprisingly little buck."—Gemma Files, FearZone.com

"For me 'Shambleau' remains one of the finest horror stories I've ever read even though it comes wrapped inside a pulp science fiction story."—Ed Gorman, editor of Pulp Masters

384-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-081-0

About the Author

Twenty years after her death, Catherine Lucille Moore (1911–1987) remains one of the most influential female fantasy authors of all time. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Moore published her first story in Weird Tales in 1933, where it met with immediate success and earned praise from contemporaries such as H.P. Lovecraft. In a time when female authors were still marginalized and practically unheard of in genre fiction, Catherine hid her gender by publishing under the name C.L. Moore. She proceeded to write high-profile stories for Weird Tales and Astounding for the next decade, earning particular acclaim for her characters Jirel of Joiry, the first strong female protagonist in the sword and sorcery genre, and daring spaceman Northwest Smith. Moore met science fiction author Henry Kuttner in 1936 when he wrote her a fan letter, mistakenly believing her to be a man, and in 1940 the two were married. Together the couple collaborated on numerous stories and scripts for television shows under their own names and at least 17 pseudonyms, of which Lewis Padgett and Keith Hammond are the most recognized. In 1998 C. L. Moore was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

(based on 8 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Robert E. Howard, with an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale

The creator of Conan looks to the stars in one of fantasy’s most enduring science fantasy classics!

Robert E. Howard’s Almuric is a savage planet of crumbling stone ruins and debased, near-human inhabitants. Into this world comes Esau Cairn, Earthman, swordsman, murderer. Only he can overthrow the terrible devils that enslave Almuric, but to do so he must first defeat the inner demons that forced him to abandon Earth.

Filled with vile beasts and thrilling adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Almuric is one of Howard’s few novels, and an excellent yarn from one of America’s most distinct literary voices.

160-page softcover trade paperback ISBN: 1-60125-043-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-043-8

About the Author

Born in Peaster, Texas, Robert Ervin Howard (1906–1936) is cited by many as the father of the sword-and-sorcery genre. With his action-packed style and such notable characters as Kull, Solomon Kane, Red Sonya, and the instantly recognizable Conan the Cimmerian, Howard rose quickly to become one of the greatest pulp authors of all time, publishing hundreds of stories that dominated the pages of Weird Tales. In addition to fantasy, Howard also achieved substantial success in genres from western to horror, and alongside his success with Conan is equally known for his contributions to the Cthulhu mythos through correspondence with H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. Though his career was cut short by his suicide at the age of 30, Howard remains an icon of the pulp era, and the characters he created continue to inspire film, games, and other media, giving him an impact on the fantasy genre that's still felt a century after his birth.

(based on 7 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Michael Moorcock, with an introduction by Roy Thomas

Blades of Mars!

Once before, physicist and warrior Michael Kane’s experiments in matter transmission catapulted him across space and time to the verdant and war-torn Mars of the distant past, only to wrench him back home at his greatest moment. Now, desperate to return to the princess he loves and the kingdom he left behind, Kane throws himself once more into the ether, and finds himself again on Mars—but this time confronted with man-sized spiders, ancient mutated races, and a brutal civil war between the planet’s familiar Blue Giants. Can it be that he’s arrived thousands of years too late to find his beloved Shizala?

The creator of Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock remains one of the most honored science fiction and fantasy authors of all time. With Kane of Old Mars, Moorcock’s Eternal Champion returns with interplanetary adventure in the best Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition.

“Michael Moorcock was one of the best... one who could turn a pastiche into something far more than mere imitation, a house of art in its own right.” —Roy Thomas, Former Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics

160-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-082-7

About the Author

Michael Moorcock (1939– ) has been recognized since the 1960s as one of the most important speculative fiction writers alive. Born in London, Moorcock began editing the magazine Tarzan Adventures at the age of 15, and quickly gained notoriety for his character Elric of Melniboné, an anti-hero written as a deliberate reversal of recurring themes he saw in the writings of authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert E. Howard. Many of his works, including both the Elric books and those of his popular androgynous secret agent Jerry Cornelius, are tied together around the concept of the Eternal Champion, a warrior whose many incarnations battle to maintain the balance between Law and Chaos in the multiverse, a term popularized by Moorcock referring to many overlapping dimensions or realities. In addition, Moorcock has also been recognized for his non-genre literary work, and his influence today extends into music, film, and popular culture. His writing has won numerous critical accolades, including the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement award, and in 2002 he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Gary Gygax, with an introduction by Ed Greenwood

Death on the River Nylle!

Death has come to the Ægyptian city of On, and only Magister Setne Inhetep, wizard-priest and detective in the service of Pharaoh, has a chance of solving the mystery in time to stop a rebellion. When a chance encounter with a hired killer leads to a front-row seat at a royal assassination, Setne is thrown into a web of deceit and danger that touches everyone from the halls of power to the church of the evil god Set. Along with a seductive former slave and a hard-bitten detective with a mind as sharp as Setne’s (and a tongue even sharper), the Magister must unravel a plot that goes deeper than anyone can imagine, and touches on forces even more dangerous than Set himself.…

The father of fantasy roleplaying and the co-creator of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Gary Gygax has had more influence on modern fantasy than any author since J. R. R. Tolkien. Dive into Gygax’s lavishly imagined vision of ancient Egypt and discover a fantastic mystery from the man who redefined a genre.

208-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-083-4

About the Author

In 1974, Gary Gygax (1938–2008) co-created the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, forever changing the face of fantasy. The hand-assembled first print run of 1000 boxed rulesets sold out in nine months, and by 1978 the game’s explosion in popularity warranted a three-volume harcover rules expansion called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons authored by Gygax. The release of AD&D coincided with the explosive popularity that catapulted the game into a true cultural phenomenon, introducing fantasy to a generation of new readers. D&D’s literary roots drew upon the sword and sorcery work of authors like Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, and Robert E. Howard, and by the mid-1980s D&D’s publisher, TSR, began to release their own line of fantasy fiction.

Thus was born Gord the Rogue, Gygax’s rakish, metropolitan thief whose daring adventures span seven novels: Saga of Old City, Artifact of Evil, Sea of Death, City of Hawks, Night Arrant, Come Endless Darkness, and Dance of Demons. Years later he introduced a new character, the crime-solving Ægyptian wizard-priest Magister Setne Inhetep, in a trilogy of novels: The Anubis Murders, The Samarkand Solution, and Death in Delhi.

Gygax's importance to American popular culture was solidified with an animated cameo alongside Al Gore, Stephen Hawking, and Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols in a 2000 episode of Futurama.

(based on 4 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Leigh Brackett, with an introduction by Ben Bova

Beware the Dark Man!

When Eric John Stark’s foster father Simon Ashton goes missing on the barbaric planet of Skaith, the hard-bitten mercenary journeys to the dying world intent on bringing him back, even if it means taking on an entire civilization single-handed. Once there, however, he finds himself at the center of a mysterious prophecy about the Dark Man from another world, a symbol of hope to an oppressed people seeking freedom in the stars. Accompanied by a small band of heroes, including a beautiful prophetess, Stark must brave sadistic mobs, slavers, telepathic hounds, cannibalistic wizards, and the genetically altered remnants of the planet’s former civilization before finally confronting the malicious Lords Protector in their citadel at Worldheart. But will he arrive in time to save Ashton?

Talented enough to co-write The Big Sleep with William Faulkner and imaginative enough to pen the original screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back, Brackett never fails to deliver breathtaking worlds and fantastic adventure.

“We feel for Eric John Stark. We want him to succeed, to win against the forces of evil... When Stark bleeds, we bleed. When he feels pain or cold, we feel it too. The dangers he faces are our dangers, and his ultimate triumph is our own.” —Ben Bova, award-winning author of Mars

200-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-084-1

About the Author

Though Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915–1978) was one of the most prominent science fiction authors of her time, she was equally adept in both crime fiction and westerns. While many of her early stories, beginning with "Martian Quest" in 1940, were science fantasy with a strong adventure theme, her first novel, "No Good From a Corpse"(1944), was a hard-boiled detective mystery that so impressed director Howard Hawks that he had his staff call in "this guy Brackett" to help William Faulkner write the script for The Big Sleep. The film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is considered a shining example of film noir, and launched Brackett's scriptwriting career, which would go on to include such notable pictures as Rio Bravo, The Long Goodbye, and the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back, which was written shortly before her death and later revised significantly. During this time, however, she maintained her status as a pulp science fiction icon, writing numerous stories and occasionally collaborating with protégé Ray Bradbury or husband Edmond Hamilton. It was during this busy period that she created her most famous character, criminal and wild-man Eric John Stark, an anti-hero who allowed her to explore colonialism's affect on native cultures, a theme that pervades much of her work. Despite her death from cancer in 1978, Brackett's works live on today as some of the most important in the genre.

(based on 4 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Michael Moorcock, with an introduction by Samuel R. Delany

Barbarians of Mars!

Once an American physicist whose experiments in matter transmission catapulted him across space and time, Michael Kane has grown comfortable in his new role as a prince of ancient Mars. Yet now a new peril threatens his adopted homeland—a plague called the Green Death, spread by zealots who are more machines than men. In order to find a cure, Kane and his Blue Giant comrade Hool Haji will need to cross oceans, battle hideous mutants and barbarians, and perhaps even sacrifice his adopted kingdom. But can all the swords and airships in the world prevail against an enemy that cannot be killed?

The creator of Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock remains one of the most honored science fiction and fantasy authors of all time. With Kane of Old Mars, Moorcock’s Eternal Champion returns with interplanetary adventure in the best Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition.

“Michael Moorcock [was] the most influential editor of science fiction in the English-speaking world... one of the important writers not just to cross the barrier between science fiction and literature but to melt it—as with a blowtorch! No one had a greater impact on the field than Moorcock.” —Samuel R. Delany, Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning author of Dhalgren

Though Masters of the Pit reads as a thrilling self-contained novel, its characters and locales are also featured in City of the Beast and Lord of the Spiders, both previously released under the Planet Stories line.

160-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-104-6

About the Author

Michael Moorcock (1939– ) has been recognized since the 1960s as one of the most important speculative fiction writers alive. Born in London, Moorcock began editing the magazine Tarzan Adventures at the age of 15, and quickly gained notoriety for his character Elric of Melniboné, an anti-hero written as a deliberate reversal of recurring themes he saw in the writings of authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert E. Howard. Many of his works, including both the Elric books and those of his popular androgynous secret agent Jerry Cornelius, are tied together around the concept of the Eternal Champion, a warrior whose many incarnations battle to maintain the balance between Law and Chaos in the multiverse, a term popularized by Moorcock referring to many overlapping dimensions or realities. In addition, Moorcock has also been recognized for his non-genre literary work, and his influence today extends into music, film, and popular culture. His writing has won numerous critical accolades, including the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement award, and in 2002 he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

(based on 5 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Gary Gygax, with an introduction by Erik Mona

Gygax's Final Fantasy!

Action abounds in this new, never-before-published novel from the author who redefined a genre!

The underworld of the Iberian Peninsula is a dangerous place, filled with cutthroats and swindlers, and no pair is more infamous than the gaunt man known as Ferret and the broad-shouldered mercenary Raker. Yet when the swashbuckling comrades are framed for the one crime they didn’t commit, the scoundrels are faced with a choice: bring the true culprits to justice, or dance a gallows jig. In order to do so, they’ll need to pull out all their tricks, stretching magic and muscle to their limit as they invade castles, battle subterranean monsters, and bluff their way through courts of nobles and shape-shifters in their search for revenge. Yet can even this canny, ruthless duo prevail against the beautiful witch that plots their downfall?

The father of fantasy roleplaying and the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax has had more influence on modern fantasy than any author since J. R. R. Tolkien. Now, in the last novel written before his death, dive into Gygax’s lavishly imagined version of medieval Europe and discover a sword-swinging romp of high adventure and loose morals.

“A pioneer of the imagination.” —The New York Times

“One of America’s most talented writers.” —The Guardian

Infernal Sorceress takes place on Aerth, a fantastic planet informed by Earth in the Dark Ages and medieval period. It's also the setting for Gygax's novels The Anubis Murders and The Samarkand Solution, also available from Planet Stories.

264-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-117-6

About the Author

In 1974, Gary Gygax (1938–2008) co-created the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, forever changing the face of fantasy. The hand-assembled first print run of 1000 boxed rulesets sold out in nine months, and by 1978 the game’s explosion in popularity warranted a three-volume harcover rules expansion called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons authored by Gygax. The release of AD&D coincided with the explosive popularity that catapulted the game into a true cultural phenomenon, introducing fantasy to a generation of new readers. D&D’s literary roots drew upon the sword and sorcery work of authors like Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, and Robert E. Howard, and by the mid-1980s D&D’s publisher, TSR, began to release their own line of fantasy fiction.

Thus was born Gord the Rogue, Gygax’s rakish, metropolitan thief whose daring adventures span seven novels: Saga of Old City, Artifact of Evil, Sea of Death, City of Hawks, Night Arrant, Come Endless Darkness, and Dance of Demons. Years later he introduced a new character, the crime-solving Ægyptian wizard-priest Magister Setne Inhetep, in a trilogy of novels: The Anubis Murders, The Samarkand Solution, and Death in Delhi.

Gygax's importance to American popular culture was solidified with an animated cameo alongside Al Gore, Stephen Hawking, and Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols in a 2000 episode of Futurama.

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $16.99

Unavailable

Editor: James Lowder

Adventure without limits!

For the last twenty years, shared world book lines have launched or furthered the careers of some of the most recognizable names in fantasy and science fiction, introducing these talented writers to millions of readers around the world. But telling tales set in a franchise means an author must often play by someone else’s rules. What types of stories are allowed, how an epic plot impacts a setting, even whether a beloved character lives or dies—in a shared world, the author does not get the final word on any of these decisions.

But what happens when those same writers break out and create stories in settings entirely under their control? In Worlds of Their Own, bestselling author and award-winning editor James Lowder (The Book of All Flesh, Prince of Lies) brings together some of the heaviest hitters in fantasy and science fiction—from New York Times bestsellers R. A. Salvatore, Michael A. Stackpole, and Elaine Cunningham to master world-builders Gary Gygax and Ed Greenwood—and turns them loose, collecting stories that showcase just what these remarkably inventive minds can create when they’re given free reign over every word on every page...

Contents:
• Introduction: "The Last Word Matters" by James Lowder
• "Mather’s Blood" by R.A. Salvatore
• "Keeping Score" by Michael A. Stackpole
• "The Oaths of Gods" by Nancy Virginia Varian
• "The Doom of Swords" by Greg Stolze
• "Catch of the Day" by Jeff Grubb
• "Ghosts of Love" by Steven Savile
• "The Wisdom of Nightingales" by Richard E. Dansky
• "The Guardian of the Dawn" by William King
• "How Fear Came to Ornath" by Ed Greenwood
• "The Admiral’s Reckoning" by J. Robert King
• "Memories and Ghosts" by Monte Cook
• "Three Impossible Things" by Lisa Smedman
• "Near the End of the World" by Greg Stafford
• "Confession" by Paul S. Kemp
• "Lorelei" by Elaine Cunningham
• "The Unquiet Dreams of Cingris the Stout" by James Lowder
• "On the Off-Ramp of the Intergalactic Superhighway" by Will McDermott
• "Twistbuck’s Game" by Gary Gygax

368-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-118-3

Editor James Lowder recently sat down with Flames Rising to discuss the creation of this book. You can read his interview here.

About the Editor

James Lowder has worked extensively on both sides of the editorial blotter, with both shared world and creator-owned projects. He’s authored several bestselling novels, including Prince of Lies (1993) and Knight of the Black Rose (1991), published short fiction in such anthologies as Truth Until Paradox (1995) and Shadows Over Baker Street (2003), and written comic book scripts for DC, Devil’s Due, Moonstone, and the city of Boston. He’s written hundreds of feature articles and book, film, and game reviews for such diverse magazines as Dragon, Sci-Fi Universe, and The New England Journal of History, and published roleplaying game material for AD&D, Call of Cthulhu, Marvel Super Heroes, and the World of Darkness. As an editor, he’s directed book lines or series for TSR, Green Knight Publishing, and CDS Books, and has helmed a dozen critically acclaimed anthologies, including The Book of All Flesh (2001), Path of the Bold (2004), and Hobby Games: The 100 Best (2007). He’s been a finalist for the International Horror Guild Award and the Stoker Award, and is a multiple Origins Award winner. While he cannot claim to have written the book on shared world fiction, he can at least say that he penned the entry on the subject for The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy (2005).

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Otis Adelbert Kline, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock

Rebels on the Red Planet!

Considered by many to be the only true equal of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Otis Adelbert Kline was a master of the sword and planet genre. From his position on the original editorial staff of Weird Tales and as the literary agent for Conan creator Robert E. Howard, Kline helped shape the face of science fiction as we know it.

Now, in its first complete edition since 1933, Kline brings us the story of Harry Thorne, outcast scion of a wealthy East Coast family, who agrees to swap bodies with a Martian noble, thrusting him into a fierce and vibrant world of strange beasts and stranger people, where a man's future is determined by the strength of his sword arm. Tasked with tracking down and neutralizing another Earthman before he establishes a corrupt empire, and trapped between the love of two beautiful and dangerous women, will Harry Thorne wind up a slave in the dolorous baridium mines, or will he step forward and claim his destiny as a swordsman of Mars?

This is the first complete edition of The Swordsman of Mars published since the story's original appearance in Argosy Magazine in 1933. Popular editions released in the 1960s featured viciously cut prose in order to fit the story into a standard novel format.

"Tall tales in a great and venerable American tradition... prepare to relish the red planet as you've never known it."
    —Michael Moorcock, award-winning creator of Elric of Melniboné

"It would be a shame if Kline remained unknown to today's readers—he is really a good writer, and his prose, though not so stylish as Burroughs, is almost mesmerizing."
    —Fantasy Book Critic

"What The Swordsman of Mars is can be summed up in one word: Fun. Those looking for a transcendent literary experience won't find it here. Those looking for a rollicking good time, however, will, and to them I say welcome to Mars; you're going to enjoy the trip."
    —Richard Dansky, Green Man Review

"I enjoyed the book enormously, but that's not all. You can enjoy almost any piece of writing if you approach it with the lowest possible expectations (and, yes, I am thinking of Lin Carter's multifarious pastiches here). I came away from it with considerable respect for Otis Adelbert Kline as a writer of fantastic fiction."
    —James Enge, Black Gate Magazine

"A slice of pulp history."
    —Morgan Holmes, The Robert E. Howard United Press Association

224-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-105-3

About the Author

Known today primarily as the literary agent of Conan creator Robert E. Howard and supposed rival of Edgar Rice Burroughs, in his day Otis Adelbert Kline (1891–1946) was nearly as popular as Howard and Burroughs themselves. Though Kline's famous feud with Burroughs, in which the two published competing Mars and Venus books in constant attempts to one-up each other, may have been the creation of imaginative fans, there can be no doubt that the two authors shared both style and subject matter. Indeed, Kline has frequently been called Burroughs's only true competitor. While he produced only a handful of novels before his death at the age of 55, Kline's presence on the original editorial staff of Weird Tales and his sword-swinging romances on the red and green planets did much to influence the genre, and his legacy lives on in the tradition of sword and planet novels to this day.

(based on 3 ratings)

by Leigh Brackett, with an introduction by F. Paul Wilson

In The Secret of Sinharat and The Ginger Star, mercenary Eric John Stark traveled to the dying world of Skaith in search of his missing foster father, only to find himself hunted by the government and the subject of a revolutionary prophecy. Now, with the help of a beautiful seer, a handful of battle-scarred freedom fighters, and a pack of telepathic hounds capable of killing legions with their minds, Stark must topple the Wandsmen's corrupt regime before they close the world's starport and leave him stranded in a galactic backwater. To do so, he'll have to cross desert wastes where the tribes of the nomadic Hooded Men wage endless war, earn the trust of the winged Fallarin who command the killing winds, and rouse a cowed people to war against their oppressors. But can a motley band of revolutionaries overthrow the government of an entire planet and help its people reach the stars?

Talented enough to co-write The Big Sleep screenplay with William Faulkner and imaginative enough to pen the original screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back, Leigh Brackett is a giant in the science-fiction field, and Eric John Stark is her finest character. An introduction by F. Paul Wilson (Repairman Jack, The Tomb) introduces Stark to new readers and sets the scene for one of the warrior's finest planetary adventures!

"The Skaith novels share [Edgar Rice Burroughs's] muscular protagonists and headlong pace, but Leigh Brackett's style is head and shoulders above."—F. Paul Wilson, bestselling author of the Repairman Jack series

224-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-135-0

About the Author

Though Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915–1978) was one of the most prominent science fiction authors of her time, she was equally adept in both crime fiction and westerns. While many of her early stories, beginning with "Martian Quest" in 1940, were science fantasy with a strong adventure theme, her first novel, "No Good From a Corpse"(1944), was a hard-boiled detective mystery that so impressed director Howard Hawks that he had his staff call in "this guy Brackett" to help William Faulkner write the script for The Big Sleep. The film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is considered a shining example of film noir, and launched Brackett's scriptwriting career, which would go on to include such notable pictures as Rio Bravo, The Long Goodbye, and the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back, which was written shortly before her death and later revised significantly. During this time, however, she maintained her status as a pulp science fiction icon, writing numerous stories and occasionally collaborating with protégé Ray Bradbury or husband Edmond Hamilton. It was during this busy period that she created her most famous character, criminal and wild-man Eric John Stark, an anti-hero who allowed her to explore colonialism's affect on native cultures, a theme that pervades much of her work. Despite her death from cancer in 1978, Brackett's works live on today as some of the most important in the genre.

(based on 7 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Henry Kuttner, with an introduction by Piers Anthony

Hailed as a “neglected master” by Ray Bradbury and “the best fantasy ever” by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Henry Kuttner has been an inspiration to science fiction and fantasy authors for generations. In The Dark World, Kuttner brings us his most enchanting adventure yet, the story of a World War II airman thrust into a weird and ominous realm of mutants and magic.

Edward Bond is not alone in his mind. Haunted by strange events during the war, he returns home to discover he now shares his body with his identical twin from an alternate dimension, the evil wizard Ganelon. Sucked through a portal to the Dark World, Bond finds himself trapped between two warring factions. On one side is the Coven: a werewolf, an immortal, and a beautiful witch eager to acknowledge Ganelon as their sinister ruler. On the other is the white sorceress Freydis and her band of forest rebels that want nothing more than to see the warlock’s head on a spike. Will Edward/Ganelon join with the rebels to release the oppressed world from the grip of a tyrannical, sacrifice-hungry god—or embrace the Coven to become the world’s greatest villain?

An undisputed fantasy classic from the author of Elak of Atlantis, Henry Kuttner's The Dark World once more takes its place in the Sword and Sorcery pantheon!

144-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-136-7

About the Author

Ray Bradbury once referred to Henry Kuttner as "a neglected master... a man who shaped science fiction and fantasy in its most important years." Born in Los Angeles, Henry Kuttner (1915–1958) sold his first story, "The Graveyard Rats," to Weird Tales in 1936, the same year in which he wrote a fan letter to rising science fiction author C.L. Moore, mistakenly believing her to be a man. The two were married in 1940, and in the years that followed they collaborated constantly, publishing under at least 17 pseudonyms, most notably Lewis Padgett and Keith Hammond. Along with Elak of Atlantis and Prince Raynor, both of which were created before his marriage to Moore, Kuttner's most popular solo works were the Gallegher stories, tales about an inventor who could only build robots while drunk, and who upon sobering immediately forgot their purposes. As a friend of H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, Kuttner also contributed several stories to the Cthulhu mythos. In addition to writing scripts for television in collaboration with Moore, Kuttner wrote several stories that have since been translated to film, most recently "Mimsy Were the Borogroves," released as The Last Mimsy. In the years since his untimely death from a heart attack at 43, Kuttner has been cited as an influence by everyone from Marion Zimmer Bradley to Roger Zelazny, and both Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury have dedicated novels to him.

(based on 2 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Gary Gygax, with an introduction by James Lowder

The Crown Jewels of the Maharajah of Delhi have been stolen, and only Magister Setne Inhetep, wizard-priest and detective in the service of the Ægyptian pharaoh, can get them back! Along with his beautiful amazon bodyguard Rachelle, Inhetep must face pirates and assassins, death cultists and black magic in order to voyage across thousands of miles to the lands of the Peacock Throne. Yet once there, the wizard-priest’s problems are only compounded. For in addition to the machinations of an evil witch, rebels intent on killing anyone assisting the current regime, and the cruel whims of the diabolical maharajah himself, Setne’s actions might just bring him up against Kali, Goddess of Death...

The father of fantasy roleplaying and co-creator of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Gary Gygax has had more influence on modern fantasy than any author since J. R. R. Tolkien. Take a ride through his dark and mysterious vision of ancient India and uncover a fantastic mystery from the man who redefined a genre.

"Gary Gygax serves up a thrilling fantasy yarn, steeped in the essence of the consulting detective tale and spiced with plenty of pulp adventure!"
    —James Lowder, bestselling author of Prince of Lies

216-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-137-4

About the Author

In 1974, Gary Gygax (1938–2008) co-created the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, forever changing the face of fantasy. The hand-assembled first print run of 1000 boxed rulesets sold out in nine months, and by 1978 the game’s explosion in popularity warranted a three-volume harcover rules expansion called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons authored by Gygax. The release of AD&D coincided with the explosive popularity that catapulted the game into a true cultural phenomenon, introducing fantasy to a generation of new readers. D&D’s literary roots drew upon the sword and sorcery work of authors like Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, and Robert E. Howard, and by the mid-1980s D&D’s publisher, TSR, began to release their own line of fantasy fiction.

Thus was born Gord the Rogue, Gygax’s rakish, metropolitan thief whose daring adventures span seven novels: Saga of Old City, Artifact of Evil, Sea of Death, City of Hawks, Night Arrant, Come Endless Darkness, and Dance of Demons. Years later he introduced a new character, the crime-solving Ægyptian wizard-priest Magister Setne Inhetep, in a trilogy of novels: The Anubis Murders, The Samarkand Solution, and Death in Delhi.

Gygax's importance to American popular culture was solidified with an animated cameo alongside Al Gore, Stephen Hawking, and Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols in a 2000 episode of Futurama.

(based on 2 ratings)

by Leigh Brackett, with an introduction by George Lucas

The revolution is here. In The Ginger Star and The Hounds of Skaith, mercenary Eric John Stark traveled to the dying world of Skaith only to find himself haunted by a dangerous prophecy that made him an enemy of the state. With the help of a beautiful wise woman, a handful of battle-scarred insurgents, and a pack of vicious telepathic hounds capable of killing with their minds, Stark rallied half a world to the cause of freedom. Yet not everything went as planned. Betrayed and left to die on a savage planet, Stark and his foster-father Simon Ashton must ally with cannibals and feral warriors to topple an empire and bring an enslaved civilization to the stars. But in fulfilling the prophecy, will Stark sacrifice that which he values most?

Talented enough to co-write The Big Sleep with William Faulkner and imaginative enough to pen the original screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back, Brackett never fails to deliver breathtaking worlds and fantastic adventure. In this stunning conclusion to her Skaith trilogy, Brackett brings her gritty vision of the galaxy to life as never before, and proves once again why she remains a reigning queen of science fiction.

“Leigh took science fiction and lifted it above the genre preconceptions. This is fiction at its most exciting, in the hands of master storyteller.”
    —George Lucas, Creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones

232-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-138-1

About the Author

Though Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915–1978) was one of the most prominent science fiction authors of her time, she was equally adept in both crime fiction and westerns. While many of her early stories, beginning with "Martian Quest" in 1940, were science fantasy with a strong adventure theme, her first novel, "No Good From a Corpse"(1944), was a hard-boiled detective mystery that so impressed director Howard Hawks that he had his staff call in "this guy Brackett" to help William Faulkner write the script for The Big Sleep. The film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is considered a shining example of film noir, and launched Brackett's scriptwriting career, which would go on to include such notable pictures as Rio Bravo, The Long Goodbye, and the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back, which was written shortly before her death and later revised significantly. During this time, however, she maintained her status as a pulp science fiction icon, writing numerous stories and occasionally collaborating with protégé Ray Bradbury or husband Edmond Hamilton. It was during this busy period that she created her most famous character, criminal and wild-man Eric John Stark, an anti-hero who allowed her to explore colonialism's affect on native cultures, a theme that pervades much of her work. Despite her death from cancer in 1978, Brackett's works live on today as some of the most important in the genre.

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Otis Adelbert Kline, with an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale

Sentenced to Death!

A master of the sword and planet genre, Otis Adelbert Kline is considered by many to be the only true equal of Edgar Rice Burroughs. From his position on the original editorial staff of Weird Tales and as the literary agent for Conan creator Robert E. Howard, Kline was instrumental in shaping the face of science fiction as we know it.

Now, in its first complete edition since 1934, Kline blasts off to Mars with the story of Jerry Morgan, a disgraced American soldier convinced he has nothing left to live for. Nothing, that is, until his eccentric scientist uncle offers to make him the first man to explore the Red Planet in person. Transported through space by powers beyond his understanding, Jerry lands on Mars only to find himself sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. Hunted by both sides of a vicious civil war and spurned by the beautiful princess he loves, Jerry Morgan is left with only one choice: to unite the slaves and malcontents of the Red Planet beneath his own banner, and take the throne himself as an outlaw of Mars.

“Enough action for three novels... court intrigue, treachery, weird inhabitants, sword fighting, and one hot mama.” —Joe R. Lansdale, award-winning author of “Bubba Ho-Tep”

304-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-151-0

About the Author

Known today primarily as the literary agent of Conan creator Robert E. Howard and supposed rival of Edgar Rice Burroughs, in his day Otis Adelbert Kline (1891–1946) was nearly as popular as Howard and Burroughs themselves. Though Kline's famous feud with Burroughs, in which the two published competing Mars and Venus books in constant attempts to one-up each other, may have been the creation of imaginative fans, there can be no doubt that the two authors shared both style and subject matter. Indeed, Kline has frequently been called Burroughs's only true competitor. While he produced only a handful of novels before his death at the age of 55, Kline's presence on the original editorial staff of Weird Tales and his sword-swinging romances on the red and green planets did much to influence the genre, and his legacy lives on in the tradition of sword and planet novels to this day.

(based on 3 ratings)

by Leigh Brackett, with an introduction by Nicola Griffith

Matthew Carse was a Martian archaeologist turned looter, selling priceless historical relics for his own gain, until the sword of a fallen god sent him hurtling back in time to a Mars still lush with life. Captured by the cruel and beautiful princess of a degenerate empire, Carse must ally with the rebellious Sea Kings and their strange psychic allies in order to defeat the tyrannical people of the Serpent. Yet even if he can conquer the enemy’s alien super-science, Carse still faces an even greater danger—the dark god that lurks inside his own skin.

Talented enough to co-write The Big Sleep with William Faulkner and imaginative enough to pen the original screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back, Leigh Brackett never fails to deliver breathtaking worlds and fantastic adventure.

“A love song and eulogy to a planet ...a hymn to the lost past of a Mars that never was.”
    —Nicola Griffith, award-winning author of Ammonite and Slow River

“Fiction at its most exciting, in the hands of a master storyteller.”
    —George Lucas, creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones

176-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-152-7

About the Author

Though Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915–1978) was one of the most prominent science fiction authors of her time, she was equally adept in both crime fiction and westerns. While many of her early stories, beginning with "Martian Quest" in 1940, were science fantasy with a strong adventure theme, her first novel, "No Good From a Corpse"(1944), was a hard-boiled detective mystery that so impressed director Howard Hawks that he had his staff call in "this guy Brackett" to help William Faulkner write the script for The Big Sleep. The film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is considered a shining example of film noir, and launched Brackett's scriptwriting career, which would go on to include such notable pictures as Rio Bravo, The Long Goodbye, and the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back, which was written shortly before her death and later revised significantly. During this time, however, she maintained her status as a pulp science fiction icon, writing numerous stories and occasionally collaborating with protégé Ray Bradbury or husband Edmond Hamilton. It was during this busy period that she created her most famous character, criminal and wild-man Eric John Stark, an anti-hero who allowed her to explore colonialism's affect on native cultures, a theme that pervades much of her work. Despite her death from cancer in 1978, Brackett's works live on today as some of the most important in the genre.

(based on 7 ratings)

Our Price: $12.99

Unavailable

by Henry Kuttner, with an introduction by F. Paul Wilson

Hounded by creditors and heckled by an uncooperative robot, a binge-drinking inventor must solve the mystery of his own machines before his dodgy financing and reckless lifestyle catch up to him.

This complete collection of Kuttner’s five classic "Gallegher" stories presents the author at the height of his imaginative genius. A foreword by popular modern novelist F. Paul Wilson (Repairman Jack, The Keep) provides an entertaining introduction to some of the greatest humorous science fiction ever published in the pulps!

120-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-153-4

Contents:
• "...But They Do Have Tales" (introduction by F. Paul Wilson)
• "Introduction" (by C.L. Moore)
• "Time Locker"
• "The World is Mine"
• "The Proud Robot"
• "Gallegher Plus"
• "Ex Machina"

Table of Contents

"Time Locker" Spread

"The Proud Robot" Spread

About the Author

Ray Bradbury once referred to Henry Kuttner as "a neglected master... a man who shaped science fiction and fantasy in its most important years." Born in Los Angeles, Henry Kuttner (1915–1958) sold his first story, "The Graveyard Rats," to Weird Tales in 1936, the same year in which he wrote a fan letter to rising science fiction author C.L. Moore, mistakenly believing her to be a man. The two were married in 1940, and in the years that followed they collaborated constantly, publishing under at least 17 pseudonyms, most notably Lewis Padgett and Keith Hammond. Along with Elak of Atlantis and Prince Raynor, both of which were created before his marriage to Moore, Kuttner's most popular solo works were the Gallegher stories, tales about an inventor who could only build robots while drunk, and who upon sobering immediately forgot their purposes. As a friend of H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, Kuttner also contributed several stories to the Cthulhu mythos. In addition to writing scripts for television in collaboration with Moore, Kuttner wrote several stories that have since been translated to film, most recently "Mimsy Were the Borogroves," released as The Last Mimsy. In the years since his untimely death from a heart attack at 43, Kuttner has been cited as an influence by everyone from Marion Zimmer Bradley to Roger Zelazny, and both Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury have dedicated novels to him.

(based on 4 ratings)

Our Price: $14.99

Unavailable

by A. Merritt, with an introduction by Tim Powers

War among the gods!

Amateur archaeologist John Kenton didn’t know what he expected when he broke open the stone block from Babylon, but it wasn’t to be hurled through time and space into an ageless conflict. On a golden ship in a strange dimension of endless sea, the goddess of love and vengeance lies locked in an eternal stalemate with the god of the underworld—and the coming of an outsider might just tip the balance once and for all. With the beautiful priestesses of Ishtar and the pale warriors of the Black God both seeking to bend him to their own ends, will Kenton become a slave of alien powers, or take up his sword and prove himself the true master of the Ship of Ishtar?

A major inspiration for H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, A. Merritt remains one of the most celebrated fantasists of all time. This complete edition, introduced by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates), presents The Ship of Ishtar as it was meant to be read, with original illustrations by pulp legend Virgil Finlay—a classic not to be missed.

"The most remarkable presentation of the utterly alien and non-human that I have ever seen... [a] unique type of strangeness which no one else has been able to parallel."
    —H.P. Lovecraft

Introduction by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, The Stress of Her Regard).

192-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-177-0

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $14.99

Unavailable

by Piers Anthony, with an introduction by Chris Roberson

The Most Dangerous Game

From Piers Anthony, New York Times bestselling author of the Xanth series, comes an exotic tale of time travel and space adventure.

After facing a brutal death at the hands of enemy tribesmen upon the Eurasian steppe, the 9th-century warrior-chieftain Alp awakes in a world of “demons”—sinister businessmen who have brought him fifteen hundred years into the future to make him a soulless pawn in a ruthless game that spans the stars. Based on secret records of Earth’s past, the Game sets players in the roles of historical figures, pitting them against one another in a decadent and deadly fight for supremacy. For Alp, however, war is never a game. With his own execution imminent, Alp must adapt quickly to both his new century and the strange rules of the Game world, facing off in bloodthirsty battles against the most notorious figures in history. For if Alp doesn’t emerge victorious, he’ll never live to claim the woman he loves...

Introducer Chris Roberson (Paragaea: A Planetary Romance, Iron Jaw and Hummingbird) provides an introduction to the book and its formative effect on his own successful writing career.

First printing in 16 years!

128-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-182-4

About the Author

A New York Times bestseller many times over, Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (1934– ) is one of the most prominent and prolific science fiction and fantasy authors of all time. In addition to over a hundred unrelated novels, his wildly popular Xanth series is currently 34 books long and growing, its unique brand of lighthearted fantasy remaining a high-profile staple of the genre since its inception in 1977. As a result of his enormous body of work, Piers can claim to have published a book for every letter of the alphabet, from Anthonology to Zombie Lover. Many of his popular novel series have been optioned for film, and the Xanth series has spawned both computer and board games. 

(based on 7 ratings)

Our Price: $15.99

Unavailable

by Manly Wade Wellman, with an introduction by Mike Resnick

There’s a traveling man that the Carolina mountain folk call Silver John for the silver strings strung on his guitar. In his wanderings, John encounters a parade of benighted forest creatures, mountain spirits, and shapeless horrors from the void of history with only his enduring spirit, playful wit, and the magic of his guitar to preserve him.

Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John is one of the most beloved figures in fantasy, a true American folk hero of the literary age. The Planet Stories edition of Who Fears the Devil? collects—for the first time—all of John’s adventures published throughout Wellman’s life, including two stories about John before he got his silver-stringed guitar that have never previously appeared in a Silver John collection. Lost, out-of-print, or buried in expensive hardcover editions, the seminal, unforgettable tales of Who Fears the Devil? stand ready for a new generation to continue the folk tradition of Silver John!

Introduction by Mike Resnick (Stalking the Unicorn, Starship: Mutiny).

208-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-188-6

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $14.99

Unavailable

by Piers Anthony, with an introduction by Robert Vardeman

From New York Times best selling author Piers Anthony, creator of the Xanth series, comes a lost classic of apocalypse and redemption. Uncounted generations from now, civilization lies shattered in the aftermath of the Blast. To survive in the bleak landscape of this savage, post-apocalyptic future, the fiercest warriors of humanity’s disorganized tribes clash in individual combat, risking death and dishonor in the ritual battle circle.

But for the exiled warrior Sos, this desolate future is not enough. Tutored by a small group of humans hoarding the advanced technology of a bygone age, Sos sets out to climb the ladder of his barbaric world, sacrificing all he holds dear to raise up his people from darkness. But just as his plans near fruition, Sos uncovers the terrible secret of his world—a secret that launches him on a path not to liberate the planet for his people, but to destroy it...

128-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-194-7

About the Author

A New York Times best seller many times over, Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (1934– ) is one of the most prominent and prolific science fiction and fantasy authors of all time. In addition to over a hundred unrelated novels, his wildly popular Xanth series is currently 34 books long and growing, its unique brand of lighthearted fantasy remaining a high-profile staple of the genre since its inception in 1977. As a result of his enormous body of work, Piers can claim to have published a book for every letter of the alphabet, from Anthonology to Zombie Lover. Many of his popular novel series have been optioned for film, and the Xanth series has spawned both computer and board games.

(based on 6 ratings)

Our Price: $17.99

Unavailable

by Hugh Cook, with an introduction by China Miéville

A boy of sixteen, swordsmith’s apprentice Drake Douay loves nothing more than booze, loose women, and causing endless amounts of trouble. Yet when he’s sentenced to death by the merciless ogre king of his homeland, Drake has no choice but to sign on with two warring and ragtag gangs of pirates. Thus begins a life of adventure, treachery, and debauchery as Drake sails a strange world of high magic and forgotten technology, driven ever onward by his unrequited lust for the red-skinned priestess Zanya. Yet even the monstrous, insectile Swarms of the south are nothing compared to the trouble Drake finds when he returns home to discover that his former master has become the head of a new religion. And killing Drake is its first commandment...

Never before published in a North American edition, The Walrus & the Warwolf blends fierce sword and sorcery with vivid world building to create a classic of modern fantasy. This edition also comes complete with never-before-seen illustrations and an insightful introduction by award-winning fantasy author China Miéville (Perdido Street Station, The Scar).

Read China Miéville's introduction to the book in its entirety here.

464-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-214-2

Due to a printing error, three pages are missing from the book, and are available here (40 KB zip/PDF) as a free PDF.

(based on 5 ratings)

Our Price: $14.99

Unavailable

by Matthew Hughes, with an introduction by Jay Lake

When professional duelist Conn Labro escapes indentured servitude as the star player of Horder’s Emporium, he abandons the gaming world of Thrais and sets out on an interstellar journey filled with murder, deceit, and self-discovery. His only friend on Thrais, discovered dead and tortured, left him enough money to buy himself out of his contract and a curious encrypted “bearer deed” to a mysterious property on the distant edge of the galactic Spray. With the seductive, secretive showgirl Jenore Mordene at his side and a villainous pleasure cult dogging his every move, Labro sets out to learn the truth behind his bearer deed and more about his own past than he had ever dared bargain for.

For the first time ever in paperback, this thrilling, vividly imagined new science fiction novel from rising star Matthew Hughes (The Commons, Majestrum, The Spiral Labyrinth) provides atmospheric adventure in the classic tradition while layering on complex, fascinating societies and future cultures with the deft touch of a master storyteller. Set in Hughes’s universe of the Archonate, in the “Penultimate Age of Man,” Template features unforgettable characters, lyrical language, and a stirring starscape glittering with the myriad worlds of the distant future.

“Matthew Hughes plays with worlds and cultures and concepts in a lushly textured way, creating a rococo universe full of clever conceits, maddening difficulties, rich satire and more, all in clean, elegant prose that catches the reader's interest and carries you smoothly through a story that's by turns intriguing, exciting, amusing and in the end, very satisfying.”
    —Kurt Busiek

192-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-264-7

(based on 7 ratings)

Our Price: $15.99

Unavailable

edited by James L. Sutter

See Where it all Began!

Nobody starts at the top. Long before they were household names, all of the superstar science fiction and fantasy authors in this anthology were just fans with stories and dreams. Now, for the first time ever, fifteen of the genre’s most important authors have come together to show off their first published SF stories, many of them rare and never before collected. All fifteen stories come complete with brand-new retrospective critiques and interviews from the authors themselves, discussing the stories’ geneses, humorous anecdotes surrounding the stories’ publication, and what the authors know now about writing that they wish they’d known then. An invaluable look at the origins of speculative fiction’s greatest minds, and bursting with insightful advice for beginning writers, this book is a must for any science fiction or fantasy fan, aspiring author, or teacher.

Stories include:
• Piers Anthony: "Possible to Rue"
• Greg Bear: "Destroyers"
• Ben Bova: "A Long Way Back"
• David Brin: "Just a Hint"
• Cory Doctorow: "Craphound"
• William Gibson: "Fragments of a Hologram Rose"
• Nicola Griffith: "Mirrors and Burnstone"
• Joe Haldeman: "Out of Phase"
• China Miéville: "Highway 61 Revisited"
• Larry Niven: "The Coldest Place"
• Kim Stanley Robinson: "In Pierson’s Orchestra"
• Spider Robinson: "The Guy with the Eyes"
• R. A. Salvatore: "A Sparkle for Homer"
• Charles Stross: "The Boys"
• Michael Swanwick: "Ginungagap"

240-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-266-1

(based on 2 ratings)

Our Price: $15.99

Unavailable

By Michael Moorcock & Joe R. Lansdale

Planet Stories presents two science fantasy adventures in one volume from literary legends Michael Moorcock and Joe R. Lansdale!

Moorcock's Sojan the Swordsman revisits the author's very first published character, the original incarnation of the Eternal Champion. Rewritten and expanded from its original appearance, this is the tale of the hero Sojan Shieldbearer as he travels across the planet Zylor encountering strange races and even stranger monsters in a fast-paced adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Leigh Brackett.

In Lansdale's never-before-published novella Under the Warrior Star, Olympic fencing contender Braxton Booker is hurtled into universe in miniature, where he must lead the inhabitants of the forest world of Juna against their oppressive overlord—a tentacled, mind-probing monstrosity known only as The One.

180-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-288-3

About the Authors

Michael Moorcock is a Grand Master of fantasy whose books featuring the Eternal Champion have been genre best-sellers for decades. A recent reprint series featuring his most popular character, the albino swordsman Elric of Melniboné, has introduced his Eternal Champion to a generation of new readers. Sojan the Swordsman is the very first incarnation of the Eternal Champion, and a key part of Moorcock's multi-decade multiversal continuity.

Joe R. Lansdale is a Grand Master of horror and the winner of the British Fantasy Award, the American Horror Award, the Edgar Award, and seven Bram Stoker Awards for excellence in genre fiction. Many of Lansdale's tales have been adapted to film and television, including the cult classic movie Bubba Ho-Tep.

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $15.99

Unavailable

By Manly Wade Wellman with an introduction by David Drake

In the 1930s, an unusual tale appeared in the influential Amazing Stories magazine. Unlike the usual yarns of robots and interstellar travel, “Battle in the Dawn” featured the brutal exploits of Hok, humanity’s first hero. Written by Pulitzer Prize-nominee Manly Wade Wellman (Who Fears the Devil?), who would later achieve fame for his American folktales of Silver John and beat out William Faulkner for a prestigious writing award, this hit story spawned several additional adventures, in which Hok battles unrelenting cavemen, explores lost Atlantis, discovers new technology, and charts a new destiny for humanity.

Now, for the first time ever, Planet Stories presents a complete authorized collection of all of Wellman’s rare Hok the Mighty tales, including an unfinished story fragment and a brand-new introduction by Wellman’s longtime friend, fantasy author David Drake.

Full stories include:
• Battle in the Dawn
• Hok Goes to Atlantis
• Hok Draws the Bow
• Hok and the Gift of Heaven
• Hok Visits the Land of Legends
• Day of the Conquerors

272-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-289-0

About the Author

Winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award, the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Locus Award for best novel and best compilation, Manly Wade Wellman is one of the best-regarded writers of the Pulp Age, and a foundational figure in the development of fantasy fiction.

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $15.99

Unavailable

By Robert Silverberg with a new introduction by the author

Science-fiction legend Robert Silverberg reflects on some of his earliest, least-reprinted tales in this new Planet Stories collection! Between 1956 and 1958, Silverberg contributed dozens of short stories and novellas to the digest pulps, each written in the bombastic, high-adventure style of the original Planet Stories magazine. Since then, those tales have re-appeared only rarely (and sometimes never again) in long out-of-print paperback anthologies. This volume, the first of three to come this year, features seven hard-to-find classic Silverberg novellas:

• Slaves of the Star Giants
• Spawn of the Deadly Sea
• The Flame and the Hammer
• Valley Beyond Time
• Hunt the Space-Witch!
• The Silent Invaders
• Spacerogue

Never before collected in a single edition, these stories reveal the early action-packed tales of one of speculative fiction's most important voices!

272-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-329-3

(based on 3 ratings)

Our Price: $15.99

Unavailable

By Robert Silverberg with a new introduction by the author

Three classic science fiction novels from Grand Master Robert Silverberg return to print for the first time in more than 40 years! These never-reprinted tales originally appeared in the influential Ace Double novel series, and represent a future multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author bridging the explosive, action-oriented science fiction adventures of the early pulps with more introspective themes of the new wave that swept sci-fi in the 1960s.

In The Planet Killers, the Security Computers of Earth Central determine that the frontier world of Lurion will launch an all-out attack on Earth in 67 years, sending Agent Roy Gardner to the rough-and-tumble planet to ensure that doesn't happen—even if it means blowing Lurion to interstellar dust!

In The Plot Against Earth, Lloyd Catton, humanity's first agent of the Interworld Commission on Crime, must work with skeptical, suspicious alien agents to bust a hypnojewel racket that threatens the whole of the galaxy. Trailing the deadly, mind-sapping gems to the source unveils a multi-planet conspiracy, leaving Catton few allies in his frantic mission to save Earth itself!

In One of Our Asteroids is Missing, independent miner John Storm discovers an impossible asteroid rich with fabulously valuable metals and minerals, only to find his claim stolen, along with all computer records indicating that he had ever existed! Hunted by mining conglomerates and desperate to restore his jackpot find, Storm sets out into space to find his missing rock—only to discover that his find was far more valuable than he could have ever imagined.

Never before reprinted since their original appearances and with a new introduction by the author, these three novels of science fiction adventure blaze back onto the scene, revealing early masterworks of one of the genre's most gifted and celebrated storytellers!

304-page softcover trade paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-336-1

(based on 2 ratings)

Our Price: $15.99

Unavailable

By Robert Silverberg with a new introduction by the author

Three complete novels of mystery in space from Grand Master Robert Silverberg explode back into print for the first time in decades in this thrilling new Planet Stories collection. These extremely rare tales originally appeared in the legendary Ace Double novel series, and represent a future multiple Hugo and Nebula award-winning author bridging the rollicking, action-oriented science fiction adventures of the early pulps with more introspective themes from the new wave that swept SF in the 1960s. From the shadowy secrets of Old Earth in The Chalice of Death to the mysterious pirate world in Starhaven and the time-shrouded superweapon of humanity’s ancestors in Shadow on the Stars, these three novels of science fiction mystery blaze back onto the scene in this brand-new collection, revealing the early masterworks of one of the genre’s most gifted and celebrated storytellers!

In The Chalice of Death, a human from the far edge of space must track down the legendary planet that birthed his race tens of thousands of years ago. For the legends hold that the long-forgotten Earth holds the Chalice of Life, and the Chalice of Life holds immortality!

In Starhaven, interplanetary fugitive Johnny Mantell flees authorities to the artificial pirate world known as Starhaven, sanctuary for the criminals and misfits of space. There he finds a new home for himself—as well as questions about his past, his future, and his very identity itself!

In Shadow on the Stars, deep space colonist Baird Ewing returns to Earth for the first time in the thousand years since his ancestors first departed, seeking aid against the aliens who seek to destroy his colony. But the weapon he finds upon the ancient Earth can save only one planet, and Ewing must choose between his two home worlds.

Seldom or never reprinted since their original appearances and with a new introduction by the author, these three novels of science fiction adventure blaze back onto the scene, revealing early masterworks of one of the genre’s most gifted and celebrated storytellers!

320-page softcover trade paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-377-4