The fortress-city of Pingwot, besieged for six centuries, has attracted the Universal Church's attention by flaunting pre-apocalyptic technology. Father Bertolo is sent to discover the source of their sudden enlightenment. He fears the citizens of Pingwot have stumbled on an ancient cache of information, but the truth is much worse: he might have to call down a Holy Crusade to destroy the city and save mankind from destroying itself yet again.

Toval has defied his oath to save a conquered princess from a fellow soldier's assault. The two of them have managed to flee, but with the dreaded Black Cloaks on their trail, their chances of getting very far are slim. With the odds this stacked against them, it would be absolute insanity for them to attempt to rescue her father from an Imperial garrison.

Azad and his brother Mikar are about to become very rich men...provided the mob doesn't come for their money right away and the gigawatts of electricity they're playing with don't fry them. All they have to do is go where no human can survive and make a trade with aliens they've never met. Azad might be more optimistic about their chances if he'd had time for a trial run.

Having killed for a total stranger, Imperial soldier Toval must now run for his life. He can navigate the forest as skillfully as any wolf, but the rebel woman fleeing with him cannot. If only he weren't infatuated, he would do the smart thing and leave her to her own fate. Without weapons or coin, they must avoid the nightmarish Black Cloaks and escape the Empire.

The Narixan people have rebelled, but the Empire has quickly crushed them. As punishment for their insurrection, they must be scattered throughout the vast imperial lands. Toval, one of many soldiers tasked with enforcing the decree, is part of a unit responsible the remnants of the Narixan royal family, and he can't ignore Princess Indrah. Can he resist her charms, or will she turn him into a rebel as well?

If the long-feared war has truly started, Seattle sits in the path of destruction. Mayor Ray Huang is as prepared as any bureaucrat can be, but he knows even the best plans rarely make it past the first shot. His citizens will survive, at least: in a slick new era of technological and economic warfare, there's no need to kill people, and combat robots go out of their way to avoid bloodshed. But Ray quickly learns that no matter how efficient and safe machines are, it's the people who can't...

A legendary swordsman needs one final battle to bring down the decaying empire that killed his family. Will a boy with the countenance of a king convince him to save himself, or is there nothing left to save?

A fatal accident destroys former rock star Carl Patterson's quest to turn his life around and make peace with his estranged daughter. His search for answers uncovers a secret worth killing for, putting him on a collision course with a man that does whatever it takes to win.

A Boston physicist, aided by a prodigy and doomsday prophetess, must escape a magic-driven world before his foreign presence destroys it.

Sales wizard Joe Yount is an enviable guy: always the life of the party, lovely wife, quick with a funny story. Unfortunately, he's been unemployed for a while. That's why the opportunity Doctor Zemek gives him is too good to pass up. The paycheck will be nice, but what could be better than helping to cure cancer and save the planet? If only he could put a finger on why his new employer creeps him out so intensely, he could really enjoy the new job.

Jack is a winner who grinds his competitors into the dirt. His wife's lover is about to find that out in the harshest way possible. But Jack finds out he's been playing by the wrong set of rules...

Tarton's colony has survived an alien attack. He and his settlers may not have time to pick up the pieces, because the horde of knife-limbed swarmers aren't intelligent, and didn't come from their planet. Without any clues about who or what unleashed the attack, he may need to swallow his pride and call on Gianna, his ex, for help. But even her psionic gift may not be enough to reveal the magnitude of the threat to humanity.