<div>The Hugo Award&ndash;winning author&rsquo;s &ldquo;most memorable short stories . . . a tribute from those who best knew his work&mdash;his friends, fellow writers, and editors&rdquo; (SFRevu). George Alec Effinger was a true master of satirical Science Fiction. Before his death in 2002, he gained the highest esteem amongst his peers for his pitch-perfect stylistic mimicry and his great insight into the human condition. Despite a life filled with chronic illness and pain, Effinger was a prolific novelist and short story writer, earning multiple Nebula and Hugo Award nominations. LIVE! FROM PLANET EARTH represents a very special look at the many works of this unique genius. These 22 short pieces have been specifically selected and introduced by his fellow writers and editors, from Michael Bishop to Jack Dann, Mike Resnick to Neil Gaiman. Each writes about his or her memories of Effinger and his legacy. Included are &ldquo;The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything&rdquo; in which Earth is visited by benevolent aliens who happen to have annoying opinions about everything. &ldquo;Everything but Honor&rdquo; goes along as a black physicist time-travels to 1860 to murder a Civil War general. Also included here are Effinger&rsquo;s O.Niemand stories, which perfectly mimic the styles of Steinbeck, Hemingway and Twain. The results are a tour de force sure to please existing fans and make new fans of anyone who reads them. </div>

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Live! From Planet Earth

<div>A California medieval scholar is pulled into a far-off magical world&mdash;and a fight to save mankind&mdash;in this novel by a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author. As a student of medieval history, Gil Patterson is a woman familiar with dark stories. She knows well the Crusades, the Black Death, and the other horrors of the Middle Ages, but it is another kind of atrocity that has begun to haunt her dreams. She sees forces of evil assaulting a beleaguered kingdom, whose kind people are on the brink of annihilation, and awakes each morning in a cold sweat. Gil dismisses the dreams until a wizard appears in her apartment. He has crossed into her dimension, passing through the fraying fabric of the universe, to ask her help. For mankind to survive he must protect an infant prince, whom he plans to hide in Gil&#39;s world. The student of history is about to get much closer to evil than she ever imagined. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

The Time of the Dark

<div>From a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author, three novels of a modern-day medievalist beset by murder and magic&mdash;&ldquo;A fabulously talented writer&rdquo; (Charlaine Harris). As a student of medieval history, Gil Patterson is a woman familiar with dark stories. She knows the Crusades, the Black Death, and the other horrors of the Middle Ages all too well, but it is another kind of atrocity that has begun to haunt her dreams. She sees forces of evil assaulting a beleaguered kingdom, whose kind people are on the brink of annihilation, and awakes each morning in a cold sweat. In The Time of the Dark, Gil dismisses the dreams until a wizard appears in her apartment. He has crossed into her dimension, passing through the fraying fabric of the universe, to ask her help. For mankind to survive he must protect an infant prince, whom he plans to hide in Gil&#39;s world. She is about to get much closer to evil than she ever imagined. In The Walls of Air and The Armies of Daylight, Gil and Rudy know the world is no longer safe and there is nowhere to hide from the Dark. Since the Dark Ones returned, the world has been laid to waste. The land&rsquo;s wizards have been slaughtered, its cities destroyed, and its people scattered in terror. Few have witnessed more of the destruction than Gil and Rudy, and both of them will need all their strength to survive this final challenge. Ingold, the master wizard, has devised a spell to hide the user from the deathly stare of the Dark, and he intends to use it to strike at their very heart. Finally, Gil, Rudy, and the rest of mankind&rsquo;s survivors will take the offensive, bringing an end to this terrible war, for better or for worse.</div>

Overdrive

The Darwath Series

<div>Magic and technology collide in the first book of the Windrose Chronicles by the New York Times&ndash;bestselling author and &ldquo;fabulously talented writer&rdquo; (Charlaine Harris). In a world where wizards are relegated to ghettos, it is no surprise to see one murdered in the street. But for Stonne Caris, a young warrior monk who sees the killing and gives chase to the culprit, there is nothing ordinary about seeing a murderer disappear into a black, inky portal. The Archmage sends him in search of Antryg Windrose&mdash;a half-mad mage who understands the nature of these passages between dimensions. On the other side of the Void is Joanna, a programmer as mild as Caris is deadly. She has spent her life in cubicles, staring into computer terminals, as far from heroism as she can get. But when the power that is crossing between dimensions draws her through the Void, she finds herself battling to save a world she never even knew existed. With intricate worldbuilding and complex plot twists, The Silent Tower is a compelling introduction to one of this generation&rsquo;s greatest female fantasy writers. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

The Silent Tower

<div>An aging wizard and his apprentice venture into a world where magic has died, hoping to save it before the same fate befalls their own Jaldis does not believe it at first. When the old wizard&mdash;blind, tongueless, able to see and speak through magic alone&mdash;peers into the Void between dimensions, he sees something terrible: a world where magic is dead, and whose inhabitants scream for someone to rescue them. Such a place must be studied, for if it is possible to kill magic, then that terrible fate could threaten his own world, too. With the help of his apprentice, Rhion, the wizard prepares for the treacherous crossing. To make the journey, they must withstand the hatred that their own world has for magic&mdash;a powerful force that the ignorant would wipe out if they could. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection. </div>

The Rainbow Abyss

<div>An idealistic young prince convinces an aging warrior and a struggling witch to help him kill the dragon that is terrorizing his kingdom As a vicious dragon stalks the Southlands, Crown Prince Gareth ventures to the forbidding North in search of the only man who can kill it. He is Lord Aversin, the Dragonsbane, whose dragon-slaying days have won him renown across the land. But when Gareth finds Lord Aversin, he discovers the mighty hero is squat and bespectacled, the ruler of a mud-village who admits that he killed the dragon not with a lance, but with ignoble poison. Still, he&rsquo;ll have to do. Gareth and Aversin set off in company with Jenny Waynest, a witch with great ambitions but disappointingly puny powers&mdash;a ragtag crew destined to become legendary, or die in the attempt. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection. </div>

Dragonsbane

<div>First in the series from a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author and &ldquo;fabulously talented writer&rdquo; featuring a brilliant mercenary and his fierce female partner (Charlaine Harris). Gifted with courage, strength, and the intelligence to know when to fight, Sun Wolf is the greatest mercenary in a land overrun by war. With his first lieutenant, Starhawk&mdash;a woman more deadly than any man&mdash;at his side, he has laid waste to countless cities, taking the best of their treasures for himself, and distributing the rest among his bloodthirsty crew. Then a woman comes to him, an emissary from the town of Mandrigyn, a lush port city recently sacked by a powerful, mad wizard of unmatched abilities. She offers Sun Wolf untold riches for the use of his army, but the captain is not fool enough to wage war against a magician. He refuses her offer, but that is not the end of it. The women of Mandrigyn can be very persuasive. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

The Ladies of Mandrigyn

<div>The bestselling author&rsquo;s epic fantasy trilogy comes to a dramatic end. The &ldquo;cold, tense, creeping dread lasts right up until the final confrontation&rdquo; (Tor.com). Since the Dark Ones returned, the world has been laid to waste. The land&rsquo;s wizards have been slaughtered, its cities destroyed, and its people scattered in terror, and few have witnessed more of the destruction than Rudy and Gil&mdash;two ordinary Californians who found their way across the Void, and took up arms in defense of a strange and magical world. She learned the ways of war, while he found within himself the powers of a great wizard. Both of them will need all their strength to survive this final challenge. Ingold, the master wizard, has devised a spell to hide the user from the deathly stare of the Dark, and he intends to use it to strike at their very heart. Finally, Rudy, Gil, and the rest of mankind&rsquo;s survivors will take the offensive, bringing an end to this terrible war, for better or for worse. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

The Armies of Daylight

<div>A &ldquo;tense and nerve-wracking&rdquo; adventure in the epic fantasy trilogy from the New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of The Time of the Dark (Tor.com). Once upon a time, Gil and Rudy lived simple lives. Until they met Ingold, she was an ordinary PhD candidate and he was a drifter, whiling away his life riding motorcycles under the California sun. But wizards have a way of complicating things. Ingold brought them across the Void, where an evil known as the Dark threatened to devour civilization whole. Civilization&rsquo;s hopes rested on an infant prince, and to protect him Gil and Rudy had to draw on newfound powers&mdash;she as a warrior, and he as a wizard. With Ingold&rsquo;s help they escaped the Dark, and led a hardy band of survivors to a far-away keep, where humanity could be safe for a time. But now that time is past, and there is nowhere to hide from the Dark. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

The Walls of Air

<div>From the New York Times&ndash;bestselling author: A vampire alliance may turn the Thames blood red in &ldquo;one of the best vampire novels of the decade&rdquo; (Booklist). After a career in her Majesty&rsquo;s secret service, James Asher&rsquo;s quiet London retirement was shattered when the immortal, Don Simon Ysidro, solicited his help, ushering James and his physician wife, Lydia, into the vampire underworld. But now it is Lydia who needs Ysidro&rsquo;s assistance. Her husband is going it alone on the trail of an Austrian spy who is forging a potentially catastrophic alliance with the undead&mdash;a secret coalition that has unwittingly lured James into very mortal danger. Lydia can&rsquo;t let that happen. She and Ysidro embark on their own pursuit that snakes across the continent from London to Vienna and finally to Constantinople, where an elaborate power struggle between the living and the dead has just begun. It is one that is plunging all of them into the heart of a terrifying conspiracy&mdash;with the fate of the entire British Empire at stake. Following Those Who Hunt the Night, the second book in the James Asher series &ldquo;captures both the subtle ambiance of turn-of-the-century political intrigue and the even more baroque pathways of the human and the inhuman heart [with] its rich atmosphere and vibrant characters&rdquo; (Library Journal). This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

Traveling with the Dead

<div>From a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author, the tale of a mercenary who must master his newfound magic to battle a powerful evil. After a lifetime of brutal war, which he survived only through strength and daring, the mercenary Sun Wolf was shocked to discover within himself an inclination toward magic. Accompanied by his lieutenant, Starhawk, he travels across the forbidding desert to the land of Wenshar, where witchcraft is said to flourish. There he seeks out a witch with powers far beyond her years, who is rumored to have mastered the ancient art of white magic. But when he and Starhawk finally reach her, there is evil in the air&mdash;an evil against which all their might is useless. Sun Wolf must learn to harness his newfound powers&mdash;or be taken by this sinister trap. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

The Witches of Wenshar

<div>A novel of sword and sorcery from the &ldquo;fabulously talented&rdquo; New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of The Witches of Wenshar (Charlaine Harris). For years, Sun Wolf and his gang of cutthroats were the most feared mercenaries in the land. When Sun Wolf learned he could work magic, he and his lieutenant&mdash;the fearsome Amazon Starhawk&mdash;left the gang behind so that he could learn to harness his new powers, and his men went their own way. A year later, the old crew reaches out to Sun Wolf for his help. A string of rotten luck has befallen their latest campaign, and they have begun to suspect a curse. Their arrows break; their food rots; their tunnels cave in. They have heard rumors of Sun Wolf&rsquo;s magical abilities, and beg for his help. But when he goes after whatever is targeting his men, he finds himself up against the deadliest force he has ever encountered. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

The Dark Hand of Magic

<div>Three fantasy novels of war and wizardry by a &ldquo;fabulously talented&rdquo; New York Times&ndash;bestselling author (Charlaine Harris). In The Ladies of Mandrigyn, a brilliant mercenary must lead his army against the forces of the most powerful wizard alive. Gifted with courage, strength, and the intelligence to know when to fight, Sun Wolf is the greatest mercenary in a land overrun by war. With his first lieutenant, Starhawk, at his side, he has laid waste to countless cities, taking the best of their treasures for himself, and distributing the rest among his bloodthirsty crew. Then a woman comes to him, an emissary from the town of Mandrigyn, a lush port city recently sacked by a powerful, mad wizard of unmatched abilities. She offers Sun Wolf untold riches for the use of his army, but the captain is not fool enough to wage war against a magician. He refuses her offer, but that is not the end of it. The women of Mandrigyn can be very persuasive. In The Witches of Wenshar, to harness his newfound magical powers, Sun Wolf must cross the desert in search of a witch who can teach him the ways of sorcery. Accompanied by his lieutenant, Starhawk, he travels across the forbidding desert to the land of Wenshar, where witchcraft is said to flourish. There he seeks out a witch with powers far beyond her years, who is rumored to have mastered the ancient art of white magic. But when he and Starhawk finally reach her, there is evil in the air&mdash;an evil against which all their might is useless. Sun Wolf must learn to harness his newfound powers&mdash;or be taken by this sinister trap. In The Dark Hand of Magic, Sun Wolf must use his immature magical powers to rescue his old army from an evil wizard&rsquo;s curse. A string of rotten luck has befallen his old crew&rsquo;s latest campaign, and they have begun to suspect a curse. Their arrows break; their food rots; their tunnels cave in. They have heard rumors of Sun Wolf&rsquo;s magical abilities, and beg for his help. But when he goes after whatever is targeting his men, he finds himself up against the deadliest force he has ever encountered. </div>

The Sun Wolf and Starhawk Series Books 1–3

<div>From a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author: A former spy is recruited to unmask a vampire hunter in this Locus Award Winner. James Asher, a retired member of the Queen&rsquo;s secret service in Edwardian England, has settled into quietude as an Oxford professor of philology with his physician wife, Lydia. But his peace is shattered when he&rsquo;s confronted by a pale aristocratic Spaniard named Don Simon Ysidro, who makes an outlandish claim that someone is killing his fellow vampires of London, and he needs James&rsquo;s help to ferret the culprit out. The request also comes with a threatening ultimatum: Should James fail, both he and his wife will die. With James&rsquo;s talent for espionage and Lydia&rsquo;s scientific acumen and keen analytical mind, the couple begins an investigation that takes them from the crypts of London to the underworld circles of the unliving to the grisly depths of a charnel house in Paris. Now James and Lydia must believe in the unbelievable&mdash;if they&rsquo;re to survive another night in the shadow of Don Simon Ysidro. This first book in the James Asher series is &ldquo;one of the more memorable vampire novels of recent years&mdash;smoothly written, suspenseful, awash in moral ambiguity, and rich in vampire lore . . . a must-read for vampire fans&rdquo; (Kirkus Reviews). Barbara Hambly gives &ldquo;Anne Rice a run for her money&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly) and &ldquo;Don Simon is unforgettable&rdquo; (Charlaine Harris). This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from her personal collection.</div>

Those Who Hunt the Night

<div>A computer programmer must rescue an imprisoned wizard to save the universe in this sequel to The Silent Tower from the New York Times&ndash;bestselling author. There was a time when Joanna Sheraton knew nothing of the Void. She was an ordinary computer programmer, toiling in a cubicle in air-conditioned Southern California comfort, unaware that sinister forces had penetrated her universe. But from across the interdimensional divide, an evil mage had put in motion a scheme for eternal life, by transferring himself into a computer that feeds on Earth&rsquo;s life force. Called upon to help by the wizard Antryg, Joanna could do nothing more than delay. At the end of her first sojourn across the Void, Antryg was imprisoned and their task seemed hopeless. Now she must depart from Earth once more, to rescue Antryg and save humanity. She is friendless, and the dark mage&rsquo;s forces hound her every step. But a good hacker is not easily deterred. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection. </div>

The Silicon Mage

<div>In ancient Rome, a poor philosopher races to rescue his kidnapped lover before she is abused by the sinister Christian cult The son of a wealthy Roman family, Marcus gave up the prestige and riches that were his birthright to devote himself to philosophy. His noble mind attracted Tullia, a Senator&rsquo;s daughter whose father wanted her to have nothing to do with the penniless intellectual. The news that she is to marry a prosperous merchant shatters Marcus, who goes to her house, hoping to plead his case, only to see her attacked and abducted by disguised ruffians. That she was kidnapped is tragedy enough, and it gets worse when he learns who took her: the sinister Christian cult. He knows not what vile rituals they will expose her to, and he does not want to find out. His lover in danger, the philosopher must turn warrior before it is too late. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection. </div>

Search the Seven Hills

<div>From a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author: A wizard must return from his Earthly exile when his lover, a computer programmer, is kidnapped by an otherworldly evil. Joanna Sheraton is in love with a wizard. Once an ordinary Californian computer programmer, her life was upended when she was first taken across the Void to a world of magic, where an evil mage threatened to destroy that world and ours. With the help of Antryg, a brilliant wizard who quickly stole her heart, she learned to navigate that strange other land and saved the universe from destruction. When the sinister king sentenced Joanna and her lover to death, they fled back to Earth, to live quietly under the California sun. But their troubles have followed them. A stranger dressed in wizard&rsquo;s garb kidnaps Joanna, and Antryg gives pursuit back across the Void. What he finds is a world once again in peril, and he must give aid to the Wizard&rsquo;s Council that condemned him if he is ever to see his love again. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection. </div>

Dog Wizard

<div>From a New York Times&ndash;Bestselling author: An apprentice wizard must fight to escape a world he doesn&rsquo;t understand: 1940 Germany. When the wizard Jaldis heard the cry from beyond the Void, telling of a world where magic was dead and begging for his aid, he and his apprentice, Rhion, went to help. Crossing the Void takes all of their strength, and when Rhion awakes on the other side, he learns that the task is beyond them. Jaldis is dead, and the portal home gone with him. Now he is trapped in a place called Earth, in a nation beset from all sides by its enemies. The men who called him here need a wizard to save them, and though Rhion is but a novice, he will have to do. He may even find a way home, but only if he can find a way to serve this mysterious empire that they call the Third Reich. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

The Magicians of Night

<div>A Hollywood diva. A Chinese curse. A suspense-filled fantasy from the New York Times&ndash;bestselling author &ldquo;who can write well in any genre&rdquo; (Charlaine Harris). It is 1923, and silent film reigns in Hollywood. Of all the starlets, none is more beloved than Chrysanda Flamande, a diva as brilliant as she is difficult to manage. Handling her falls to Norah, widow of Chrysanda&rsquo;s dead brother. She has always done her job well, but she was never equipped to deal with murder. When a violent killing shocks Chrysanda&rsquo;s entourage, and other weird happenings swiftly follow, Norah begins to suspect that some strange power is stalking the star. In Chinatown she receives warning that a curse has been placed on the actress as vengeance for wearing a sacred amulet in one of her films&mdash;and this curse could mean death for all who surround her. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection.</div>

Bride of the Rat God

<div>New York Times&ndash;bestselling author: After a premonition of death, a young wizard-in-training attempts to stop her sister&rsquo;s wedding. It&rsquo;s normal for a young girl to be jealous of her sister&rsquo;s impending wedding, and Kyra is jealous indeed. A plain looking young magic student whose incipient wizardly abilities have done nothing to attract the attentions of the boys of her town, she is not surprised to learn that her sister has caught the eye of one of the city&rsquo;s wealthiest merchants. But she is alarmed by some of the signs that are coming up in her prognostication lessons. Water turns to blood, the death card haunts her tarot practice, and finally she has a specific vision: that her sister will die the day she takes her vows. Using every trick in her small magic arsenal, Kyra attempts to disrupt the wedding, going up against a force more powerful than any magic: an impatient bride. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&rsquo;s personal collection. </div>

Stranger at the Wedding

<div>A &ldquo;brilliant collection&rdquo; of short stories set in a &ldquo;marvelously realized, imaginary Muslim city&rdquo; from the Hugo and Nebula Award&ndash;winning author (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Long identified as a science fiction writer, except in his own eyes, George Alec Effinger had some of his biggest critical and commercial success with a series even he recognized and characterized as SF. Set in the marvelously realized, imaginary Muslim city of Budayeen, the three novels, When Gravity Fails, A Fire in the Sun and The Exile Kiss garnered rave reviews, award nominations and a wide readership. In addition, Effinger came to be recognized as one of the foundational writers of cyberpunk. Although the novels are perhaps how Budayeen and their hero, Marid Audran, are best known, there are a handful of shorter pieces that add to the vividly drawn and deeply authentic picture of an imagined world and seven short stories, the first part of an uncompleted novel and a story fragment add to the mental images of this exotic and yet somehow completely familiar city and world that Effinger created. This book was originally published by Golden Gryphon Press and comes with a Forword and story notes by Effinger&#39;s widow, Barbara Hambly. The lead story in this collection, &quot;Schrodinger&#39;s Kitten,&quot; won the Hugo, Nebula and Seiun Awards. </div>

Budayeen Nights

<div>The vampire hunting spy goes to China to investigate a new form of Undead lurking among Peking&rsquo;s criminal underworld in this &ldquo;lush and delicious read&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). China, 1912. James Asher, his brilliant wife Lydia, and the old occultist and vampire hunter Dr. Solomon Karlebach have journeyed to the new-born Republic of China to investigate the rumor that a mindless breed of Undead known as the Others have begun to multiply in the hills west of Peking. Even vampires fear the Others, but some factions of the criminal underworld plan to turn the powerful horde into an unstoppable weapon. Alongside his old vampire partner, Don Simon Ysidro, Asher embarks on a dangerous hunt. But meanwhile, somewhere in the city&rsquo;s labyrinth, the Peking vampires&mdash;known as the Magistrates of Hell&mdash;are waiting with their own sinister agenda. &ldquo;Balancing the excitement of dangerous chases through mines full of Undead with the intellectual satisfaction of solving a political mystery, this is a lush and delicious read.&rdquo; &mdash;Publishers Weekly</div>

The Magistrates of Hell

<div>Free man of color Benjamin January travels to Washington, DC, to track down a missing mathematician in this &ldquo;excellent&rdquo; pre&ndash;Civil War mystery (Publishers Weekly, starred review). New Orleans, 1838. Living in antebellum New Orleans as a free man of color, Benjamin January has always taken whatever work he could find. But when he suddenly loses his job playing piano at extravagant parties, he finds himself taking on an entirely new&mdash;and exceedingly dangerous&mdash;enterprise. Sugar planter Henri Viellard has hired Benjamin to travel with him to Washington, DC. Henri&rsquo;s friend, an elderly English mathematician named Selwyn Singletary, was last seen in Washington before he went missing. With Benjamin&rsquo;s help, Henri intends to track him down. Plunged into a murky world of spies, slave snatchers, and dirty politicians, Benjamin uncovers a coded secret that he attempts to decipher with the help of a young Edgar Allan Poe. But a powerful ring of conspirators doesn&rsquo;t want the secret known. And they&rsquo;re ready to kill anyone who gets in their way.</div>

Good Man Friday

<div>A young woman rises from the streets to battle a sinister evil in this magical fantasy adventure by the bestselling author of the Darwath series. Something is amiss with the world&rsquo;s magic. Spells don&rsquo;t work the way they used to&mdash;when they work at all. Only the powers of the Crystal Mages remain as they were, powers founded on the use of the mystical element adamis, the harvesting of which has enslaved the peoples of the Twilight Lands. They need a hero. At the same time, ravenous beasts have begun to appear, legendary creatures that seem to be proof against any magic. And Clea Stylachos, granddaughter of a great sage of the Twilight people, has reason to fear that the Crystal Mages, instead of seeking to defeat these insanely destructive monsters, are attempting to weaponize them in their quest for power. Clea&rsquo;s only hope to save her people is a wizard who retains his power, one who will not betray her, either to the great merchant houses or to the all-entangling web of the Crystal Mages. But that wizard&mdash;Ithrazel the Cursed, destroyer of a city and magically imprisoned to suffer undying, unremitting torment&mdash;wants nothing to do with saving the world, helping a hero, or unraveling the terrible secret at the heart of the Crystal Mages&rsquo; plans. From the slums and tunnels of the slave-city of Morne, to the watery wilderness of the Twilight lands, to the halls of her father&rsquo;s palace and the spell-soaked mysteries of the Crystal Mages&rsquo; House of Glass, Clea works to untwist the deadly riddles of magic and monsters&mdash;to free her mother&rsquo;s disenfranchised people from slavery under her father&rsquo;s conquering forces. To save her mageborn brother from the Crystal Mages&rsquo; power; to control a sorcerer legendary for his deed of evil; to keep her own small band of friends one step ahead of her father&rsquo;s troops and the Crystal Order&rsquo;s spells. She is the Iron Princess, and she knows she must prevail or die. But at what cost to herself? &ldquo;Rich and complex, The Iron Princess is an absolute treat for fantasy fans. With thrilling characters and lush, nuanced world-building, this one will burn a hole through the nightstand and leave readers with wild dreams of family secrets, dynastic intrigue, and unexpected heroes who are so much more than they appear.&rdquo; &mdash;Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker Praise for New York Times&ndash;bestseller Barbara Hambly &ldquo;A fabulously talented writer.&rdquo; &mdash;Charlaine Harris, bestselling author &ldquo;I think what is really special about [Hambly&rsquo;s] books . . . is a richness of setting combined with a cast of characters that you&rsquo;d love to actually know.&rdquo; &mdash;SFSite &ldquo;Elegant, intelligent, and entertaining.&rdquo; &mdash;Publishers Weekly, starred review on Dragonshadow</div>

Barbara Hambly
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Books By Barbara Hambly (22 Books)