Безумные игры продвинутой космической цивилизации выбросили солидную часть современной Западной Вирджинии в позднее европейское средневековье, в самый разгар чудовищной Тридцатилетней войны. Куда только не несли американцы свою 'демократию." Теперь понесли и сюда…

Lady Dame Honor Harrington—starship captain, admiral, Steadholder, and Duchess—has spent decades defending the Star Kingdom of Manticore against all comers. Along the way, she has become the legend known as "the Salamander" from her habit of always being where the fire is hottest . . . and also a national bestseller (Ashes of Victory: #7, The Wall Street Journal). But it’s a big universe, and Honor’s actions affect a lot of lives, not all of them human. And their actions affect her —a lesson "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington" learns years before rising to command rank when a desperate battle against "pirates" who aren’t quite what they seem begins her brilliant career. Closer to home, in "Changer of Worlds," a secret that the alien treecats have kept from their human friends for hundreds of years is about to come out . . . and completely change the relationship between the two species forever. Meanwhile, Eric Flint weighs in with "From the Highlands." Honor can’t be everywhere, so when the People’s Republic of Haven tries to stage a political assassination on Earth, Anton Zilwicki—husband of one of the Star Kingdom’s most revered military martyrs, and father of a young woman who is clearly a chip off the old block—steps into the breach . . . and takes the opportunity to settle some old scores along the way. And finally, Esther McQueen and Oscar Saint-Just square off for their final confrontation in Noveau Paris in "Nightfall."

The Star Kingdom's ally Erewhon is growing increasingly restive in the alliance because the new High Ridge regime ignores its needs. Added to the longstanding problem of a slave labor planet controlled by hostile Mesans in Erewhon's stellar backyard, which High Ridge refuses to deal with, the recent assassination of the Solarian League's most prominent voice of public conscience indicates the growing danger of political instability in the Solarian League-which is also close to Erewhon.In desperation, Queen Elizabeth tries to defuse the situation by sending a private mission to Erewhon led by Captain Zilwicki, accompanied by one of her nieces. When they arrive on Erewhon, however, Manticore's envoys find themselves in a mess. Not only do they encounter one of the Republic of Haven's most capable agents-Victor Cachat-but they also discover that the Solarian League's military delegation seems up to its neck in skullduggery.And, just to put the icing on the cake, the radical freed slave organization, the Audubon Ballroom, is also on the scene-led by its notorious and ruthless assassin, Jeremy X

Lackey, Flint and Freer whip up a luscious bouillabaisse of politics, intrigue, love and black magic set in an "Other-worldly, New-Age Venice." Like the actual 16th-century city-state, the authors' Venice of the 1530s is a dangerous place, filled with as many illicit love affairs as murders. Garbage and occasional dead bodies float in the stinking canals. The city is also a target for would-be foreign conquerors: the Vatican, the Holy Roman Empire, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland, and the small city-state of Ferrara, ruled by Enrico Dell'este, who surreptitiously watches his grandsons, Marco and Benito, the story's water-rat heroes. Around Benito, a thief, and Marco, a canal doctor, swirl a host of characters, major and minor: the men and women who ply the gondolas and rafts; the spy Caesare Aldanto, the boys' supporter; plus courtesans, whores, monks, priests, knights, shamans, undines and the demon Chernobog. Meanwhile, the winged lion of St. Mark's, symbol of Venice, is stirring, and its shadow falls on Marco as the city's future ruler

An anthology of stories edited by Esther M. Freisner and Martin Harry Greenberg In a collection of fantasy stories, warrior women take on pirates invading a charity ball, bring an obnoxious loremaster to justice, protect children from magically-summoned barbarian hordes, and rescue Tokyo from destructive reptiles

EDITORIAL REVIEW: WELCOME AGAIN TO THE MANY WORLDS OF HONOR HARRINGTON Lady Dame Honor Harrington isn't alone. Her life touches others—and their lives touch hers—directly, or indirectly, whether as a naval officer, steadholder, or duchess. In this collection, Jane Lindskold gives us the story of a prince on the brink of maturity and an extraordinary young Grayson woman named Judith - a victim of Masadan brutality, who confronts insurmountable odds in a desperate effort to lead her sisters to freedom-or-death among the stars. Timothy Zahn weighs in with a story of the heavy cruiser HMS Fearless; a brilliant young tactical officer on temporarily detached duty; Solarian con men; secret weapons that aren't quite what they seem to be; naval spies, spooks, and dirty tricks; courage and honor; and a surprising glimpse into one of Admiral Sonja Hemphill's most crucial technological innovations. John Ringo offers his unique blend of nonstop action and deliciously skewed humor in two offerings. The Peep planet of Prague and its brutally repressive StateSec regime will never be the same again after the unscheduled, unofficial, and thoroughly catastrophic visit by a pair of Manticoran Marines with a most peculiar taste in the holiday destinations. And then there's the question of what an explosively expanding navy does with the personnel who can't quite cut the mustard. Eric Flint tells us the story of an idealistic young StateSec officer who finds himself in the right place at the right time following the fall of Oscar Saint-Just. Young Victor Cachat could influence the loyalty of an entire sector . . . if he's only lucky enough to manage to stay alive long enough to try. And finally, David Weber gives us the tale of the first Grayson midshipwoman on her "snotty cruise" at a time when internal tensions threaten the entire future of the Manticoran Alliance and people are about to rediscover the fact that the Peeps are far from the only predators hiding in the stars

Corfu in the 16th century. Key to Asia. Repository of a magic older than history itself. No wonder the demon Chernobog must possess the island- for with it in his grasp, Chernobog can finally crush Venice and defeat his immortal enemy, the Lion of San Marcos, who thwarted his previous bid for absolute power. Now all hope depends on the derring-do of the small band of heroes who fought against the demon before- and the inner strength of one reluctant young heroine. For the ancient powers of Corfu care nothing for either Chernobog's lust for power, or the human desire for freedom. And anyone who would wield the island's primordial magic must pay with a piece of his- or her- soul