Worlds Not Visible follows Newlanders Rabka Samman and Kuri Mafouz as they try to make a life together in a wild and dangerous country. The people of the Newlands fled from the Old Protectorate and the despotism of the Protectorate's rulers. But even in the Newlands, far across the Wustani Sea, all is not peaceful. There, the people are divided into family-based Houses, which are often at odds with one other. And then there are the "others":There are the shreeliala, an aqu...

Descendants of a long-marooned group of humans struggle with mutations and infertility, and if a cure cannot be found they are doomed to extinction.The colony's doctor, Anaïs, herself suffers from a sexual deformity. However, her world is turned upside down when she discovers that the preserved corpse of a long-extinct native race carries exactly the same deformities as herself.What is the connection? And can she find the answer to this mystery that has reached back from ti...

Set in Ireland and Chicago, The Crow of Connemara is the spellbinding tale of Colin Doyle, a young Irish-American musician drawn to his grandfather’s homeland.Entranced by the music and legends of the island, gifted with his grandfather’s journal and a mysterious jewel, and bespelled by dreamlike images of a woman calling to him, Colin feels his inescapable destiny lies across the waters.On the west coast of Ireland, in the Connemara region, the mu...

The Wild Cards universe has been thrilling readers for over 25 years.One act of terrorism changes the life of Michael "Drummer Boy" Vogali forever in Stephen Leigh's "The Atonement Tango." Now without his band, Joker Plague, Michael must figure out a way to re-build his life--and seek revenge.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

This innovative sci-fi novel explores the potential impact of alien infection on humankind as they traverse the stars and find themselves stranded on new and strange planets.Amid the Crowd of Stars is a grand scale science fiction novel examining the ethical implications of interstellar travel, a topic rarely addressed in science fiction novels. What responsibilities do we have to isolate ourselves from the bacteria, viruses, and other life of another worl...

A collection of twelve short stories and novelettes by Stephen Leigh originally published between 1982 and 2009 including "You by Anonymous" selected for Rich Horton's "Best of the Year" anthology.TABLE OF CONTENTS:"Tapestry"Green Stone"Among the Pack Alone"Evening Shadow"Flamestone"Chaos Theory"Staying Still"They Also Serve"Transformation"Sweeter Far Than Flowing Honey"The Gods of Every Other Wednesday Night"You by Anonymous"Each story is prefaced by an introduction giving background on...

First contact was never supposed to be like this.A sudden rift appears in near-earth space, causing electronic components to permanently fail and cause total chaos. As Earth's fragile technological society disintegrates, no one can answer the obvious question — what is the rift, and who or what has created it?A new generation comes of age attempting to answer these questions. Taria Spears, an anthropologist, is selected as part of the crew on the exploratory ship Lightbring...

Carlos Theopelli had been dead for years, and no one cared about his life's work: the so-called "Destiny Matrices." As far as most people were concerned, Theopelli was just another crackpot scientist, and pretty much a jerk, to boot.But not to Angela. And not to the mage-dwarf Caleb Mundo and his pet mindbeast Alice. To them, Theopelli's notebook -- and his corpse -- might be the key to survival. Everything swirled around the confused mind of Joan the Flower Man, who had used pages...

It is now 2170, but decades ago, the Great Bust wrecked Earth's economies and trapped humankind in their own solar system. Then the T'Raijek came, flaunting their power and their stardrive, and inflaming those who were determined to obtain the T'Raijek's advanced technology at any cost. Any cost at all...Free Trader Jemi Charidilis knows little of these tensions. She is simply trying to wrest a living by hauling cargo from Earth to the few outposts in near space. But unexpectedly her ship...

For the first time all of Stephen Leigh's "Alliance Universe" short fiction is collected together in one place. The Alliance Universe was also the setting for the "Hoorka Novels" (SLOW FALL TO DAWN DANCE OF THE HAG and A QUIET OF STONE) and also several short stories including the title story "A Rain of Pebbles" which was chosen as Best Short Story of the Year by the readers of Analog Magazine. The short stories and novelettes included in this collection are:"Answer In Cold Stone"Encount...

The descendants of humans marooned on the strange planet known as Mictlan have survived against almost impossible odds and have reached a tentative peace with themselves and the native inhabitants.Perhaps the most terrifying change has been the development of a third human gender—the mid-male "Sa"—fundamentally changing the meaning of relationships and social structures humans have known for thousands of years.Adjustements to these changes and influences have come at a terr...

There is a certain magic growing up with life-long friends. The charmed existence became almost dream-like with two young boys growing up in a small neighborhood surrounded by an old, dense forest.But what happens when fantasies start becoming all too real? Grotesque and bloody rites give rise to a fey and magical girl who threatens to destroy the last remnants of the boys' idyllic childhood existence...whose mere presence may set the jealous boys at each other's throats.Hi...