New Releases by Charles Stross

From the author of Rule 34 and Halting State, a tale of deception, engineering, and the most unlikely rocket propulsion technology imaginable. "A Tall Tail" by award-winning science fiction author Charles Stross is a Tor.com Original set in a compelling alternative universe. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Darrell Schweitzer interviews seventeen science fiction writers. Included are scintillating conversations with: George R. R. Martin, James Morrow, Jack Dann, Geoffrey A. Landis, Joe W. Haldeman, Zoran Zivkovic, Esther M. Friesner, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Harry Turtledove, Gregory Frost, Tom Purdom, D. G. Compton, Robert J. Sawyer, Charles Stross, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Howard Waldrop.

For outstanding heroism in the field (despite himself), computational demonologist Bob Howard is on the fast track for promotion to management within the Laundry, the supersecret British government agency tasked with defending the realm from occult threats. Assigned to External Assets, Bob discovers the company (unofficially) employs freelance agents to deal with sensitive situations that may embarrass Queen and Country. So when Ray Schiller—an American televangelist with the uncanny ability to miraculously heal the ill—becomes uncomfortably close to the Prime Minister, External Assets dispatches the brilliant, beautiful, and entirely unpredictable Persephone Hazard to infiltrate the Golden Promise Ministries and discover why the preacher is so interested in British politics. And it’s Bob’s job to make sure Persephone doesn’t cause an international incident. But it’s a supernatural incident that Bob needs to worry about—a global threat even the Laundry may be unable to clean up…

An unabridged collection of the “best of the best” science fiction stories written in 2011 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “Dying Young,” by Peter M. Ball, cyborgs, clones and post-humans collide with a dragon bent on revenge in a post-apocalptic space western. “Martian Heart,” by John Barnes, chronicles a teenage couple taken to Mars as indentured servants in a “rags to riches” tale. In “Canterbury Hollow,” by Chris Lawson, two lovers on a planet orbiting a killer sun share their few remaining weeks together before they die. “The Choice,” by Paul McAuley, set in the author’s Jackaroo universe, follows two boys who set sail to investigate a beached alien vessel on the English coast. In “After the Apocalypse,” by Maureen McHugh, a mother and daughter traverse a ravaged U.S. in a tale that takes on McCarthy’s, The Road, from a female viewpoint. “Purple,” by Robert Reed, tells of a blind and maimed young man convalescing in an off-world menagerie of wayward alien species, prior to returning to Earth. In “Laika’s Ghost,” by Karl Schroeder, a Russian and an American search the steppes of the former U.S.S.R. for metastable weapons that terrorists could use to make nuclear bombs. “Bit Rot,” by Charles Stross, follows post-humans struggling to survive after their generation ship is struck by a Magnetar ray in this clever zombies-in-space tale. In “For I Have Laid Me Down on The Stone of Loneliness and I’ll Not Be Back Again,” by Michael Swanwick, Irishmen plot to strike back against alien occupiers by enlisting an Irish American tourist to their cause. Finally, Steve Rasnic Tem, tells of a young man awakened from suspended animation, on a future Earth, with the technological know-how of plant-like aliens in “At Play in the Fields.”

Es el siglo veinticinco. La humanidad ha sido revolucionada por el contacto con el Eschaton, una casi omnipotente inteligencia artificial capaz de controlar los viajes en el tiempo. Mientras, en la Nueva República, toda la tecnología avanzada excepto la necesaria para el viaje interestelar ha sido prohibida. Pero el decadente mundo de Rochald, una colonia de la Nueva República, ha sido revolucionado por la influencia de una misteriosa inteligencia alienígena, El Festival, aparentemente dispuesta a concederles cualquier cosa imaginable a cambio de muy poco. La Nueva República reacciona enviando su flota a través del tiempo para coger al Festival por sorpresa.

Una estrella G2 no explota sin más, así que los supervivientes del planeta Moscú, aniquilado en un suceso así, han lanzado un contraataque contra el responsable más probable: el sistema vecino de Nueva Dresde. Pero Nueva Dresde no es la responsable, y mientras los misiles se aproximan a su objetivo, a Rachel Mansour, representante de los intereses de la Vieja Tierra, se le encomienda la misión de averiguar quién ha sido. Frente a ella se encuentra un enemigo desconocido, y en juego está no solo el destino de Nueva Dresde, sino también el orden del universo entero. Y la única persona que conoce la identidad de ese enemigo es una descreída adolescente que no tiene ni la menor idea de lo que está pasando....

The Cthulhu Mythos is one of the 20th century''s most singularly recognizable literary creations. Initially created by H. P. Lovecraft and a group of his amorphous contemporaries (the so-called "Lovecraft Circle"), The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has taken on a convoluted, cyclopean life of its own. Some of the most prodigious writers of the 20th century, and some of the most astounding writers of the 21st century have planted their seeds in this fertile soil. The Book of Cthulhu harvests the weirdest and most corpulent crop of these modern mythos tales. From weird fiction masters to enigmatic rising stars, The Book of Cthulhu demonstrates how Mythos fiction has been a major cultural meme throughout the 20th century, and how this type of story is still salient, and terribly powerful today. Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

"It contains his previously unpublished novel, Scratch Monkey, an essay about writing the novel, and a second essay about a writer''s view of publishing. The novel is set in the distant future, when humans have spread through the galaxy, physically and virtually. We are not alone; we have created a race of AIs, the Superbrights, to administer and expand the virtual side of our presence in the Milky Way. Oshi Adjani works for a Superbright, traveling to worlds where her Boss cannot go, and solving the problems he has set her. One success reveals a secret of the Superbrights, so the Boss forces her into one last, deadly mission, with her freedom as her reward for doing the impossible."--Amazon.com.

Meet Edinburgh Detective Inspector Liz Kavanaugh, head of the Innovative Crimes Investigation Unit, otherwise known as the Rule 34 Squad. They monitor the Internet for potential criminal activity, analyzing trends in the extreme fringes of explicit content. And occasionally, even more disturbing patterns arise… Three ex-cons have been murdered in Germany, Italy, and Scotland. The only things they had in common were arrests for spamming—and a taste for unorthodox entertainment. As the first officer on the scene of the most recent death, Liz finds herself sucked into an international investigation that isn’t so much asking who the killer is, but what—and if she doesn''t find the answer soon, the homicides could go viral.

Stross''s Merchant Princes series reaches a spectacular climax in this sixth volume. Praised by Nobel laureate Paul Krugman as great fun, this is state-of-the-art, cutting-edge science fiction at its best.

Welcome to the Stasis, the clandestine, near-omnipotent organization that stands at the heart of Charles Stross''s Hugo Award-winning novella, Palimpsest. By mastering the mysteries of the Timegate, the Stasis has repeatedly steered mankind away from the brink of utter extinction. Through countless millennia, through the "mayfly flickerings" of innumerable transient civilizations, its members have intervened at critical junctions, reseeding the galaxy with viable potential survivors. In the process, they have reconfigured the basic structure of the universe, all in the name of human continuity. Pierce is a newly recruited member of the Stasis, serving out a complex twenty- year apprenticeship while struggling to find his way through the paradoxical maze of history (and unhistory) that surrounds him. As his once simple existence expands and replicates over vast stretches of time, Pierce uncovers a new and unexpected destiny, one that will embroil him in the larger purposes of the Stasis and in the ultimate, unresolved fate of humanity itself. Skillfully merging the threads of an individual life with the grandest, most overarching concerns, Palimpsest offers both visionary brilliance and narrative excitement in equal measure. Powerfully imagined, beautifully constructed, and written throughout with great economy of means, it is the kind of mind-expanding mini-epic that only science fiction and only a master practitioner like Charles Stross could produce.

The universe shifts and changes: suddenly you understand, you get it, and are filled with wonder. That moment of understanding drives the greatest science-fiction stories and lies at the heart of Engineering Infinity. Whether it’s coming up hard against the speed of light – and, with it, the enormity of the universe – realising that terraforming a distant world is harder and more dangerous than you’d ever thought, or simply realizing that a hitchhiker on a starship consumes fuel and oxygen with tragic results, it’s hard science-fiction where a sense of discovery is most often found and where science-fiction’s true heart lies. This exciting and innovative science-fiction anthology collects together stories by some of the biggest names in the field, including Gwyneth Jones, Stephen Baxter and Charles Stross.

In Charles Stross''s novel The Atrocity Archive and its sequels, the "Laundry" is a secret British agency responsible for keeping dark interdimensional entitities from destroying the cosmos and, not incidentally, the human race. The battles with creatures from beyond time are dangerous; however, it''s the subsequent bureaucratic paperwork that actually breaks men''s souls. Now, in "Down on the Farm," Laundry veteran Bob Howard must investigate strange doings at another obscure, moth-eaten government agency—evidently a rest home for Laundry agents whose minds have snapped... Charles Stross is the Hugo-winning author of some of the most acclaimed novels and stories of the last ten years, including Singularity Sky, Accelerando, Halting State, the "Merchant Princes" series beginning with The Family Trade, and the story collections Toast and Wireless. In 2010, his Laundry story "Overtime," published on Tor.com, is a finalist for science fiction''s Hugo Award. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

View our feature on Charles Stross'' The Fuller Memorandum. National bestselling author Charles Stross brings back Bob Howard-"a British super spy with a long-term girlfriend, no fashion sense, and an aversion to martinis" (San Francisco Chronicle) Bob Howard is taking a much needed break from the field to catch up on his filing in The Laundry''s archives when a top secret dossier known as The Fuller Memorandum vanishes-along with his boss, who the agency''s executives believe stole the file. Determined to discover exactly what the memorandum contained, Bob runs afoul of Russian agents, ancient demons, and the apostles of a hideous faith, who have plans to raise a very unpleasant undead entity known as the Eater of Souls...

Introduced to readers in the novels The Atrocity Archive and The Jennifer Morgue, the Laundry is a secret British government agency charged with preventing dark interdimensional entities from destroying the human race. Now, in "Overtime," the Laundry is on a skeleton staff for Christmas—leaving one bureaucrat to be all that stands between the world and annihilation by the Thing That Comes Down Chimneys. Written especially for Tor.com''s holiday season, Charles Stross''s novelette is a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award. Charles Stross is the Hugo-winning author of some of the most acclaimed novels and stories of the last ten years, including Singularity Sky, Accelerando, Halting State, the "Merchant Princes" series beginning with The Family Trade, and the story collections Toast and Wireless. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Mit diesem Buch beginnt die Zukunft 2.0 Dein Name: Sue Smith. Dein Job: Police Sergeant in Edinburgh. Dein Auftrag: Herausfinden, was bei Hayek Associates, einer kleinen Softwarefirma, bei einem Einbruch gestohlen wurde. Dein Problem: Der Überfall wurde in einer Online-Spielewelt von einem Dutzend Orks ausgeführt - doch der Schaden geht in die Millionen. Je weiter du ermittelst, umso deutlicher wird dir, dass du hier auf eine hochbrisante Intrige rund um illegale Informationstechnologie und Industriespionage gestossen bist. Und du begreifst: Dies ist kein Spiel ... Der definitive Roman über die Internet-Spielewelten, an denen Millionen von Menschen beteiligt sind.

In ferner Zukunft haben die Menschen aufgehört zu existieren ... Zumindest in ihrer biologischen Form. Es gibt sie noch – auf Datenträgern, als abgespeicherte Bewusstseinseinheiten –, aber sie müssen sich die Welt nun mit ihren eigenen Schöpfungen teilen: Maschinenwesen, die das All kolonisiert haben und den letzten Geheimnissen des Universums auf der Spur sind. Freya Nakamachi-47 wurde als perfekte Konkubine gezüchtet, doch als ihre Produktionslinie auf den Markt kommt, gibt es bereits keine Menschen mehr. Sie nimmt einen Job als Botin an und soll ein Paket vom Merkur zum Mars bringen. Damit gerät sie jedoch in den Fokus mächtiger Wesen, die das mit allen Mitteln verhindern wollen ...

“Stross’s work offers a potent reminder of why short stories used to be the preferred delivery method for science fiction.” – The A.V. Club This selection of speculative fiction runs the gamut—from “Palimpsest,” a decidedly nontraditional time-travel novella, to “Dawn on the Farm,” an adventure of hapless secret agent Bob Howard (star of the Laundry novels: The Atrocity Archives, The Jennifer Morgue, and The Fuller Memorandum). Also included are “MAXOS,” a stunning example of the new flash-fiction form; his Locus Award-winning novella, “Missile Gap”; and “Unwirer,” a collaboration with Cory Doctorow. Rounding out the contents are “A Colder War,” “Rogue Farm,” “Trunk and Disorderly,” and “Snowball’s Chance,” four unique, genre-bending tales that could only come from the limitless imagination of one of the twenty-first century’s most daring visionaries, Charles Stross.

The fifth novel in the continuing saga of the Merchant Princes—SF adventure at its finest!

Bob Howard, geekish demonology hacker extraordinaire for "The Laundry," must stop ruthless billionaire Ellis Billington from unleashing an eldritch horror, codenamed "Jennifer Morgue," from the ocean''s depths for the purpose of ruling the world...

Miriam seeks refuge from the machinations of both the Clan and their opponents by escaping to yet another world, only to discover that there is a nasty war going on in the Gruinmarkt world of the Clan and that unexpected perils await her.

Wir schreiben das 27. Jahrhundert: Der Veteran Robin unterzieht sich einem Eingriff in sein Langzeitgedächtnis, der mit einer Neudefinition seiner Persönlichkeit einhergeht. Dabei wird ihm während der ersten Orientierungsphase klar, dass jemand - oder etwas - versucht, ihn zu töten. Deswegen meldet er sich freiwillig für ein Experiment: Anhand historischer Quellen wurde ein virtueller Raum geschaffen, der der Welt des 21. Jahrhunderts nachempfunden ist. Robin flieht in die bedrückende Atmosphäre dieser Zeit - und muss schnell feststellen, dass er seinen Gegnern genau in die Arme läuft ...

The third book (after The Family Trade and The Hidden Family) in the saga of the Merchant Princes by Charles Stross, in which Miriam gets into deadly trouble. Miriam Beckstein has gotten in touch with her roots and they have nearly strangled her. A young, hip, business journalist in Boston, she discovered (in The Family Trade ) that her family comes from an alternate reality, that she is very well-connected, and that her family is a lot too much like the mafia for comfort. In addition, starting with the fact that women are family property and required to breed more family members with the unique talent to walk between worlds, she has tried to remain an outsider and her own woman. And start a profitable business in a third world she has discovered, outside the family reach (recounted in The Hidden Family). She fell in love with a distant relative but he''s dead, killed saving her life. There have been murders, betrayals. Now, however, in The Clan Corporate, she may be overreaching. And if she gets caught, death or a fate worse is around the bend. There is for instance the brain-damaged son of the local king who needs a wife. But they''d never make her do that, would they? At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

STROSS/HALTING STATE

“ONE NIGHTMARISH PANOPTICON.” – The New York Times When Robin wakes up in a clinic with most of his memories missing, it doesn’t take him long to discover that someone is trying to kill him. It’s the twenty-seventh century, when interstellar travel is by teleport gate and conflicts are fought by network worms that censor refugees’ personalities—including Robin’s earlier self. On the run from a ruthless pursuer and searching for a place to hide, he volunteers to participate in a unique experimental polity: the Glasshouse, a simulated pre-accelerated culture where participants are assigned anonymized identities. But what looks like the perfect sanctuary turns into a trap, placing Robin at the mercy of the experimenters—and at the mercy of his own unbalanced psyche…

The first novel in Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross''s witty Laundry Files series. Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob''s under a desk restoring lost data. His world was dull and safe - but then he went and got Noticed. Now, Bob is up to his neck in spycraft, parallel universes, dimension-hopping terrorists, monstrous elder gods and the end of the world. Only one thing is certain: it will take more than a full system reboot to sort this mess out . . .

Alternative history novella. "It''s 1976 again ... the Cold War is in full swing -- and the earth is flat. It has been flat ever since the eve of the Cuban war of 1962."

Bob Howard est employé par l''agence de renseignements la plus secrète du monde : la Laverie, située dans les sous-sols pouilleux d''une banlieue de Londres - en fait, une administration ubuesque où l''agent Howard, quand il n''est pas occupé à sauver le monde, est forcé d''assister à de fastidieuses réunions. Cette fois, sa mission sera d''une importance cruciale. Un milliardaire américain de l''informatique, Ellis Billington, ayant réussi à s''emparer d''une arme secrète enfermée dans un sous-marin soviétique échoué au fond du Pacifique, Bob est chargé de s''introduire dans son yacht, mouillé en mer des Caraïbes, afin de le neutraliser. Comme l''illustre agent 007, Bob dispose de quelques atouts et gadgets technologiques, et, comme Bond, il doit résister aux charmes d''une redoutable créature, Ramona Random, une beauté fatale qui travaille pour la Chambre noire, l''équivalent US de la Laverie... Un roman époustouflant, hommage à ceux de lan Fleming, qui, à la manière de X-files ou de Men in Black, transcende les genres, mêlant allègrement espionnage, fantastique et nouvelles technologies, avec une touche d''érotisme d''autant plus torride qu''il est souvent aquatique.

The Singularity. It is the era of the posthuman. Artificial intelligences have surpassed the limits of human intellect. Biotechnological beings have rendered people all but extinct. Molecular nanotechnology runs rampant, replicating and reprogramming at will. Contact with extraterrestrial life grows more imminent with each new day. Struggling to survive and thrive in this accelerated world are three generations of the Macx clan: Manfred, an entrepreneur dealing in intelligence amplification technology whose mind is divided between his physical environment and the Internet; his daughter, Amber, on the run from her domineering mother, seeking her fortune in the outer system as an indentured astronaut; and Sirhan, Amber’s son, who finds his destiny linked to the fate of all of humanity. For something is systematically dismantling the nine planets of the solar system. Something beyond human comprehension. Something that has no use for biological life in any form...