New Releases by Walter Jon Williams

“Walter Jon Williams has succeeded in creating the perfect contemporary space opera, revved up and ready to take the SF genre by force with all the artistry and panache one could ask for.” --Enigma “This is a hugely fun ride. It has empires crashing, civil wars, aliens, humans, scheming clans, plucky young heroes and villains fighting battles in huge starships--- what more can you ask for?” --Alien Online The Empire of the Shaa has collapsed into civil war. The alien Naxids, striving for dominion, have already won a massive victory, and stand ready to take the capital. Two star-crossed lovers, the young officers Gareth Martinez and Caroline Sula, have developed a plan to thwart Naxid rule, but first they must overcome the opposition of the entrenched political establishment, as well as their own distrust of one another. Only then can they enter combat, and try to reunite the sundered empire. “Walter Jon Williams has been compared to writers as diverse as Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen; both comparisons, bizarrely, make sense. This is classic space opera, elegantly written and beautifully plotted.” --Guardian

“Walter Jon Williams has succeeded in creating the perfect contemporary space opera, revved up and ready to take the SF genre by force with all the artistry and panache one could ask for.” --Enigma “This is a hugely fun ride. It has empires crashing, civil wars, aliens, humans, scheming clans, plucky young heroes and villains fighting battles in huge starships--- what more can you ask for?” --Alien Online “Walter Jon Williams has been compared to writers as diverse as Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen; both comparisons, bizarrely, make sense. This is classic space opera, elegantly written and beautifully plotted.” --Guardian For millennia the alien Shaa have ruled their empire with a merciless hand. But soon their rule will end, and their subject species are already beginning to bid for power. Will their ruthless competition lead to bloody chaos, or a tyranny even worse than that of the Shaa? Cadet Caroline Sula is a brilliant, beautiful, brittle officer with a deadly secret that could bring her career crashing in ruins. Lt. Gareth Martinez is a provincial who struggles for recognition by the glittering lords of the empire. Together they discover that one of the empire’s subject races is planning a murderous conquest that will leave humanity helpless, and soon they’re in a fight against overwhelming odds to save humanity’s last hope from extinction.

From Walter Jon Williams, the author of Hardwired and Implied Spaces, comes this bleeding-edge collection of SF stories, including the Nebula-winning "Daddy''s World" and "The Green Leopard Plague." Other stories include "Lethe," "The Last Ride of German Freddie," "Pinocchio," and "Incarnation Day." So high-powered is this collection that three stories were nominated for Nebula Awards, one for a Hugo, and one for a Sidewise Award. The collection includes extensive annotations by the author and an introduction by Charles Stross. From a STARRED REVIEW in Publisher''s Weekly: "In this provocative, entertaining collection of nine reprints, Williams (Implied Spaces) brings together tales of the College of Mystery as well as other explorations of the gray region where psyche and technology meet. Standouts include the Nebula-winning Daddy''s World, in which a young boy finds himself trapped in a nightmare not of his making; The Last Ride of German Freddie, an alternate history in which Friedrich Nietzsche meets Wyatt Earp; Incarnation Day, wherein humanity raises its children as computer programs; and the title story, another Nebula winner, about a utopian society''s birth and psychological effects. Coupled with extensive notes from the author, these stories invite readers to share and enjoy Williams''s extensive knowledge of history, psychology, and culture."

A classic work from Walter Jon Williams, “Daddy’s World” earned the Nebula Award in 2001. Little Jamie lives with his family in an eerily perfect environment, entertained by characters from literature, sung to sleep at night by the Woman in the Moon. But cracks begin to appear in Jamie’s world that reveal rifts within his family, and he begins to see the terrifying reality behind the walls of his life, and to understand that perfection has its price . . .

ROMANZO BREVE (78 pagine) - FANTASCIENZA - Aveva dedicato tutta la vita allo studio degli abissi e dei suoi immensi e misteriosi abitanti. Romanzo finalista ai premi Hugo e Nebula "Emersione" è la storia di Anthony, biologo marino che ha dedicato la sua vita allo studio delle balene e degli Abitanti degli Abissi, oscure e immense creature oceaniche. Solo raccogliendo dati preziosi e lavorando al largo, lontano dal mondo umano che tanto lo ha segnato, Anthony riesce ad affogare i dolori di un passato travagliato. Giovane in un mondo di vecchi immortali, profondamente segnato, a volte violento, Anthony dovrà infine fare i conti con se stesso e con le scelte della sua vita quando incontrerà Philana, una donna altrettanto problematica, anch''essa amante dei cetacei e degli oceani. Solo insieme riusciranno ad affrontare le difficoltà di un universo ostile e alieno, in cui convivono esseri intelligenti e pacifici come le balene e alieni potentissimi e imperscrutabili provenienti da un''altra dimensione. Una storia possente e tormentata, tempestosa come i mari del pianeta alieno, in cui si alternano momenti di rara violenza e autodistruzione ad altri di umana passione e tenerezza. Nato nel 1953 a Duluth nel Minnesota, Walter Jon Williams si è laureato in letteratura inglese all''università del Nuovo Messico, dove attualmente vive e lavora. Autore di una ventina di romanzi, tra cui ricordiamo "Hardwired" (1986), "La voce del vortice" (1987), "Stazione Angelica" (1989"), Aristoi" (1992), "Metropolitan" (1995")", di sceneggiature cinematografiche e televisive e di numerosi racconti, ha vinto due volte il premio Nebula, la prima nel 2001 con il racconto "Daddy''s world" e, successivamente, nel 2004, con "L''era del flagello" ("The Green Leopard Plague"), pubblicato in Italia nella collana Odissea Delos Books. Autore eclettico e dotato, Walter Jon Williams ha attraversato varie fasi nella sua carriera. Dopo un inizio influenzato da Roger Zelazny, è poi diventato uno degli esponenti di spicco del cyberpunk degli inizi degli anni novanta con il gradevole "I guerrieri dell''interfaccia" "(Hardwired)", per poi raggiungere la piena maturità con opere come "La voce del vortice", "Stazione Angelica, Aristoi." Apparso sulla prestigiosa Asimov SF Magazine e candidato allo Hugo e al Nebula nel 1989 come miglior romanzo breve, "Emersione" ("Surfacing") è la terza novella di Walter Jon Williams che pubblichiamo in questa collana, dopo "Elegia per angeli e cani" e "Il giorno dell''incarnazione".

"Jane Austen meets P.G. Wodehouse--- IN SPACE!" After years of struggle, Drake Maijstral has been rated Number One Burglar by the Imperial Sporting Commission. Surely by now he deserves a vacation— and he fully intends to take one, on Earth. But valuable items keep disappearing, and it’s clear that Maijstral, the master thief to end all master thieves, is being preyed upon by another expert burglar. Maijstral would very much like to solve this mystery, but unfortunately people keep challenging him to duels, and he’s become enmeshed in conspiracies laid by two very attractive, very dangerous ladies. And to make things worse, the corpse of Maijstral’s father has been stolen— a corpse that is dead, but still senile. Rock of Ages is the third hilarious Drake Maijstral adventure by the New York Times best-selling author Walter Jon Williams.

"Jane Austen meets P.G. Wodehouse--- IN SPACE!" One obsessed cop. Two master thieves. A very small island in space. And The Greatest Treasure in the Empire. Silverside Station is a small asteroid resort catering to the rich, the famous, and the celebrated— but is it big enough for both Drake Maijstral (the devious hero of The Crown Jewels) and Geoff Fu George (rated the galaxy’s top burglar by the Imperial Sporting Commission), both of whom have set their sights on the Eltdown Shard, a fabulous jewel that captures the light of a dying sun, a jewel that dangles around the comely throat of the Duchess Roberta, a beautiful and dashing heiress who clearly has plans of her own. Mayhem and hilarity at the only possible result. House of Shards continues the droll adventures of Drake Maijstral— thief, devout coward, and reluctant hero— as he schemes his way to the top of the ratings.

Peleng is a planet ripe for the plucking, and Drake Maijstral is an Allowed Burglar rated in the Top Ten by the Imperial Sporting Commission. But what should be a simple case of breaking-and-plundering turns into an intergalactic crisis when Maijstral steals something so rare, so valuable, so utterly desirable, that everyone wants it— including well-armed Imperial spies, gun-toting human militias, a homicidal maniac with a very large sword, and a fanatical countess with a really, really nasty croquet habit. The Crown Jewels, by award-winning author Walter Jon Williams, is sophisticated science fiction comedy at its best.

A Philip K Dick Award-nominated novel. Eight hundred years ago Doran Falkner gave humanity the stars, and he now lives with his regrets on a depopulated Earth among tumbledown ruins and ancient dreams brought to life by modern technology. But word now comes that alien life has been discovered on a distant world, life so strange and impossible that the revelation of its secrets could change everything. A disillusioned knight on the chessboard of the gods, Doran must confront his own lost promise, his lost love, and his lost humanity, to make the move that will revive the fortunes both of humans and aliens . . . "Knight Moves is an engrossing and evocative read, a tale of immortality and love and death rendered in a style that reminds me more than a little of the early Roger Zelazny. Williams’ people are intriguing and sympathetic, and his portrait of an Earth left transformed and empty by a humanity gone to the stars, where aliens dig among ancient ruins for old comic books while the creatures of legends stir and walk again, will linger in my memory for a long time. Williams is a writer to watch, and– more importantly– to read." –--George R.R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones "Knight Moves uses an unmatched cast of characters, human and otherwise, to tell an intriguing story." –-- Fred Saberhagen, author of the Book of Swords Trilogy

"The Rift would be a very good beach book, if you could put it down long enough to get into the water." —— The San Diego Union Tribune FRACTURE LINES PERMEATE THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES. Some comprise the New Madrid fault, the most dangerous earthquake zone in the world. Other fracture lines are social—— economic, religious, racial, and ethnic. What happens when they all crack at once? Caught in the disaster as cities burn and bridges tumble, young Jason Adams finds himself adrift on the Mississippi with African-American engineer Nick Ruford. A modern-day Huck and Jim, they spin helplessly down the river and into the widening faults in American society, encountering violence and hope, compassion and despair, and the primal wilderness that threatens to engulf not only them, but all they love... " A breakout book that you''ll swear the author lived" —— SF Age "I don''t like disaster novels. I would not have even glanced at The Rift if it weren''t backed by Walter Jon Williams'' reputation for excellence. And I definitely would not have kept reading if Williams hadn''t demonstrated on every page that he deserves his reputation. The result? I was so engrossed in—— and engaged by ——The Rift that I forgot that I don''t like disaster novels. This book is an impressive achievement.” —— Stephen R. Donaldson, New York Times bestselling author of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant "The Rift is bloody wonderful! Williams brings an historic disaster back for an encore and metaphorically flattens it again. This is the stuff for which sleep is lost--and awards are made." —— Dean Ing "The Rift shakes up the world like it''s never been shaken before." —— Fred Saberhagen "[For fans of the disaster novel] Williams delivers the requisite thrills and setpieces—— but he also, to paraphrase Conrad, offers a bit of that truth for which they forgot to ask." —— Locus

NOMINATED FOR A NEBULA AWARD. Walter Jon Williams’ classic science fantasy Metropolitan is once again available for a new generation of readers. Aiah has fought her way from poverty and discovered a limitless source of plasm, the mysterious substance that powers the world-city. Her discovery soon involves her with Constantine, the charismatic, dangerous, seductive revolutionary who plans to overthrow, not simply the government, but the cosmic order . . . “A spectacular blend of fantastic science, high politics, and low intrigue . . . Williams’s world and characters are richly imagined yet utterly real.” —Melissa Scott “Entertaining . . . Williams understands that science fiction can breathe life into language . . . [His] writing is always lean, lively and engaging." New York Times Book Review “Blends SF aspects with noir stylings to create a potent atmosphere or urban dystopia . . . Ever the expert storyteller, Williams provides more than enough suspense.” Publishers Weekly

Loren Hawn is a traditional Western peace officer walking the streets of 21st Century New Mexico, and seemingly unaware that times have changed. And when a dying man named Randal falls out of a bullet-riddled car and dies in Loren’s arm, Loren finds he isn’t the only man living in the wrong time--- because he remembers pulling Randal’s dead body out of a wrecked car twenty years before. He knows the car belongs to a scientist who works at the high-security laboratory built on the outskirts of town, and he knows that if he doesn’t work fast, all evidence of a crime will disappear into national security vaults. In order to bring justice back to his community, Loren will have to risk everything, his life, his job, his faith, and his family. The Chicago Sun-Times said, "This is a novel that works marvelously on a variety of levels--- as an adventure story, a trek through personal entanglements, a study in detailed police techniques and an elightening lesson in theoretical science. And if that isn''t enough, it also offers a totally unexpected ending.

Nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Award, City on Fire returns to the world-city of Metropolitan, a city dominated by plasm, the magical substance capable of both creation and destruction. With her help, Aiah’s lover Constantine has established himself in the metropolis of Caraqui, a nation dominated by corrupt officials, gangsters, and the genetically altered known as the “twisted.” Here they hope to create a revolution in the cosmic order--- but first they must fend off treachery, war, and the threat of Taikoen, the “hanged man,” a deadly creature that lives within plasm itself. Aiah must fight not only for her revolution and for her place in the world, but for Constantine’s very soul.

“Well-developed characters, an intriguing plot and a clear-eyed view of the double-edged sword called change make [AMBASSADOR OF PROGRESS] an engrossing book...” LIBRARY JOURNAL “Williams has an above-average knack for fast pacing, gritty realism, and high-tech details.” BOOKLIST An interstellar catastrophe has left humanity scattered on dozens of primitive worlds. Fiona is an emissary to one such world, charged with helping the inhabitants of Echidne rise from barbarism. But once she’s arrived on the planet, she finds herself in the middle of a war... the Brodaini, the world’s most ferocious warriors, have risen in revolt against their overlords. The combat soon threatens to become a war of extermination. Fiona is a neutral. But Echidne is proving a perilous place for neutrals...

ORPHANS OF DEEP SPACE . . . They’re outlaws now. Created to serve a function grown obsolete, haunted by the holographic ghost of their father, Ubu and Maria have lived their entire lives skating along the edge of extinction. Now they and their ship Runaway are in flight both from the law and from a predatory clan of competitors. They’re going to come back rich, or not at all. But what they find in the depths of space isn’t wealth, but a secret so startling that Ubu and Maria will need every last reserve of guile, cunning, and intelligence just to survive . . . “No one can accuse Williams of failing to grow with each new major work . . . Straight-forward space adventure with a strong picaresque flavor. The pacing is brisk, the high-tech details vivid, the rewards to readers considerable.” ---Booklist “Williams colorfully invokes the life of the trader families and their honkeytonk space stations. With its emphasis on youth, beauty, sex, and mischief, [ANGEL STATION] also conjures a contemporary mood agreeably distinct from its futuristic settings.” --Publishers Weekly “Williams has it all.” --Analog “Williams is a skillfully literate addition to the stylish new generation of science fiction writers.” ---Chicago Tribune

In a frigate stolen from his own navy, Captain Favian Markham races to New Orleans with the dispatches he’s captured from a British warship— dispatches making it clear that the city will soon be the target of a British fleet and an invading army. But Favian finds New Orleans a city of intrigue, where Creoles conspire against the Americans, where streetfighters cloak their murders under the Code Duello, the pirate Jean Laffite battles the Navy, and a cabal of elite soldiers conspire to hand the city to the enemy— and where two sensuous Creole women, Eugenie and Campaspe, vie for his favor. In order to resist the coming invasion, Favian must fight his way clear of conspiracy and unite the divided city, and soon discovers that in order to buy time for the defenders, he must sacrifice his own ship, and his own career, in a hopeless fight against an overwhelming power . . .

Captain Favian Markham, USN, is a man surrounded by secrets. Secrets that will be revealed when he is court-martialled for losing his ship. Secrets held by his mistress Caroline. The secrets of enemy spies signaling to British ships over the horizon. And the greatest secret of the War of 1812, a secret which will be revealed once Favian breaks the enemy blockade in The Macedonian, a frigate stolen from his own government . . . The Macedonian, originally published as by "Jon Williams," is one of the works of historical fiction with which Walter Jon Williams began his career.

Devastated by the loss of his family, Gideon Markham has retreated to his ship and the life of the sea. Heir to a privateering tradition, he brings his schooner into the Gulf of Mexico to wage unremitting war on the British who threaten America’s freedom. But the puritanical Gideon finds the Gulf a strange and threatening place, and soon he must face Jean Laffite’s pirates, a mutiny, an attack by Red Stick Creeks, and a British invasion . . . none of which he finds as baffling and alarming as Maria-Anna de Suarez, an attractive widow who gambles at cards, brandishes a pair of pistols, and plans to lead an expedition into the heart of enemy territory, with Gideon as her guide and pawn. Originally published as The Yankee, this is one of the action-packed historical novels with which Walter Jon Williams began his career.

Favian Markham is a rising young American officer in during the War of 1812. As commander of the small, slow brig Experiment, he must break the British blockade and take his outgunned vessel on a daring raid into the Narrow Seas of England. On his desperate journey he faces duels, rivalries, ambitious politicians, yardarm-to-yardarm combat, and the deadly beauty of a foreign courtesan. Yet his greatest battle is not with the enemy, but with his own divided nature . . . Brig of War (originally published as The Raider) is one of the historical novels with which Walter Jon Williams began his career.

RACCONTO LUNGO (54 pagine) - FANTASCIENZA - Alison è una ragazza brillante e geniale. Ha solo un problema: è virtuale, e nel mondo futuro ipotizzato da Walter Jon Williams non tutti i giovani virtuali riescono a sopravvivere fino alla maggiore età.... In tutte le società, in tutte le epoche, la transizione dalla giovinezza all''età adulta, il momento in cui si diventa maggiorenni, è un punto di svolta profondo e significativo, a volte addirittura rischioso. Ma mai quanto nella società futura che così brillantemente ci viene descritta da Walter Jon Williams in questo racconto, in cui la riuscita nel passaggio alla maggior età fa la differenza tra ricevere un corpo, e una vita, oppure... essere cancellati. Bello e toccante, "Il giorno dell''incarnazione" ("Incarnation Day", uscito sulla prestigiosa antologia di Jack Dann e Gardner Dozois "Escape from Earth" nel 2006) è una variazione sul tema del mondo virtuale e dell''essenza dell''umanità, e si basa sul presupposto che i giovani manterranno le loro prerogative di vivacità, intelligenza e rabbia contro gli adulti anche se il loro essere viene rimosso dalla carne e da un corpo tradizionale. Nato nel 1953 a Duluth nel Minnesota, Walter Jon Williams si è laureato in letteratura inglese all''università del Nuovo Messico, dove attualmente vive e lavora. Autore di una ventina di romanzi, tra cui ricordiamo "Hardwired" (1986), "La voce del vortice" (1987), "Stazione Angelica" (1989"), Aristoi" (1992), "Metropolitan" (1995")", di sceneggiature cinematografiche e televisive e di numerosi racconti, ha vinto due volte il premio Nebula, la prima nel 2001 con il racconto "Daddy''s world" e, successivamente, nel 2004, con" L''era del flagello" ("The Green Leopard Plague"), pubblicato in Italia nella collana Odissea Delos. Autore eclettico e dotato, Walter Jon Williams ha attraversato varie fasi nella sua carriera. Dopo un inizio influenzato da Roger Zelazny, è poi diventato uno degli esponenti di spicco del cyberpunk degli inizi degli anni novanta con il gradevole "I guerrieri dell''interfaccia" "(Hardwired)", per poi raggiungere la piena maturità con opere come "La voce del vortice", "Stazione Angelica, Aristoi."

The Wild Cards universe has been thrilling readers for over 25 years. In Walter Jon Williams''s "Prompt. Professional. Pop!" shows that to make it in Hollywood, it''s not enough to be beautiful and talented, you''ve also got to take advantage of every opportunity that pops up. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A brand-new Wild Cards novel, edited by New York Times #1 bestselling author George R. R. Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass

ROMANZO (132 pagine) - FANTASCIENZA - Il primo capolavoro di Walter Jon Williams, un romanzo affascinante che racconta le avventure decadenti di un gruppo di immortali, ispirato alle opere del grande RogerZelazny. Lamoral è un ricchissimo principe teutonico della famiglia Thurn und Taxis, che ha ascendenze fino alle dinastie medievali germaniche e possiede una quantità imprecisata di terreni e castelli. Assieme ad altri nobili o ricchi industriali del vicino futuro fa parte del Giro delle Feste e vive in un mondo di sogno, ibernato per gran parte del tempo e isolato dalle miserie e dalle guerre che sconvolgono la vita dei comuni mortali. Il Giro delle Feste fa il tour del sistema solare, passando dalle calde Bermuda alle gelide distese di Ariele e delle lune di Urano, nella decadente mondanità di amori turbinosi e improvvisi, coi sensi assopiti da droghe nuove come il Lilt, per la gioia dei milioni di osservatori silenziosi che assistono da lontano alle avventure degli immortali. Ma anche in questo nuovo paradiso terrestre si aggira il serpente dell''invidia e della violenza: la morte di un importante protagonista del Giro porterà lo scompiglio in un equilibrio già instabile, in un susseguirsi di avvincenti avvenimenti che cambierà radicalmente lo stato del circo degli immortali. Un romanzo affascinante, ambientato in un mondo creato da Roger Zelazny e narrato con uno stile lirico e barocco che riprende in maniera esemplare quello del grande maestro e ispiratore. Nato nel 1953 a Duluth nel Minnesota, Walter Jon Williams si è laureato in letteratura inglese all''università del Nuovo Messico, dove attualmente vive e lavora. Autore di una ventina di romanzi, tra cui ricordiamo "Hardwired" (1986), "La voce del vortice" (1987), "Stazione Angelica" (1989"), Aristoi" (1992), "Metropolitan" (1995")", di sceneggiature cinematografiche e televisive e di numerosi racconti, ha vinto due volte il premio Nebula, la prima nel 2001 con il racconto "Daddy''s world" e, successivamente, nel 2004, con" L''era del flagello" ("The Green Leopard Plague"), pubblicato in Italia nella collana Odissea Delos. Autore eclettico e dotato, Walter Jon Williams ha attraversato varie fasi nella sua carriera. Dopo un inizio influenzato da Roger Zelazny, è poi diventato uno degli esponenti di spicco del cyberpunk degli inizi degli anni novanta con il gradevole "I guerrieri dell''interfaccia" "(Hardwired)", per poi raggiungere la piena maturità con opere come "La voce del vortice", "Stazione Angelica, Aristoi." Questo "Elegia per angeli e cani", del 1990, è uno splendido omaggio a Roger Zelazny. Scritto in origine come seguito del classico "The Graveyard Heart" di Zelazny, rappresenta uno dei momenti più alti della carriera di WJW, sia per lo stile lirico ed evocativo sia per la magnifica narrazione di un vicino futuro dove, ai drammi della normale umanità, si contrappone la vita spensierata di un gruppo di ricchi aristocratici che vivono in un mondo fatato, alternando decenni di ibernazione a momenti di feste sfarzose.

Short novels are movie length narratives that may well be the perfect length for science fiction stories. This collection presents the best-of-the-best short science fiction novels published in 2012 by current and emerging masters of this vibrant form. In "In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns," by Elizabeth Bear, Police Sub-Inspector Ferron investigates the murder of genetics engineer, Dexter Coffin, who has been turned inside out, in a cutting edge biomedical lab set in a not too distant future India. In Jay Lake''s"The Stars Do Not Lie," Morgan Abutti is soon in fear for his life when he tries to announce his discovery of something in the stars that contradicts the creation myth of a major religion on his planet. In "The Weight of History, the Lightness of the Future," also by Jay Lake, set in the author''s "Sunspin" series, the Howard Immortal, Before Michaela Cannon, and an untrustworthy shipmind investigate the cause of the Mistake, an alien attack on human civilization with an EMP weapon that occurred more than a thousand years ago and wiped out most of its technology. In "Sudden, Broken and Unexpected," by Steven Popkes, a burnt-out, talented musician is hired to help a world-class rock star divaloid, an electronic construct, prepare for her new world tour. There''s only one problem, the musician passionately despises divaloids. In Robert Reed''s"Eater-of-Bone," marooned human colonists, from the "Great Ship," fight for dominance on a planet inhabited by smaller, weaker, and less intelligent aliens. Finally, in "The Boolean Gate," by Walter Jon Williams, set in the 19th century, an elderly Samuel Clemens escapes his Mark Twain persona through his friendship with Nicola Tesla. As Tesla''s inventions come to fruition, Twain suspects that Tesla has opened up a gateway to an alien intelligence.

This is Walter Jon Williams’ first published work, one of the historical novels with which he began his career. The American Revolution is throwing up a new breed of hero, Yankee privateers who dare the might of the Royal Navy to slash at British commerce. Foremost among them are the three Markham brothers, Jehu, Josiah, and Malachi, who link their destiny to that of their young nation, and seek their fortune in the cannon’s mouth.

À bord de l''Olympia, les deux héros parcourent le multivers et ses Probabilités un peu au hasard, jusqu''à ce qu''un manque de vivres les pousse à se poser sur la station Supra, avant-poste du multivers...

In the war against the ruthless Yuuzhan Vong, the fall of Coruscant leaves the New Republic divided by internal strife, and on the verge of bowing to conquest. But those who steadfastly refuse to consider surrender-Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, and their children and comrades-in-arms-are determined to seize victory against overwhelming odds. And now, finally, there are signs that the tide may be turning in the New Republic''s favor. After capturing crucial Yuuzhan Vong intelligence, Jedi fighter-pilot Jaina Solo prepares to lead a daring surprise strike against an enemy flagship. Meanwhile, Jaina''s brother Jacen-liberated from the hands of the enemy and newly schooled in an even greater mastery of the Force by the Jedi Knight Vergere-is eagerly poised to bring his unique skills to bear against the invaders. And on Mon Calamari, the New Republic''s provisional capital, the retired, ailing hero Admiral Ackbar has conceived a major tactical plan that could spell the beginning of a swift end for the Yuuzhan Vong. Yet even as opposing squadrons face off in the depths of space, intrigue runs rampant: in the heated political race for Chief of State . . . in the shadows where Yuuzhan Vong spies plot assassinations . . . and in the inscrutable creature Vergere, a Jedi Knight whose allegiance is impossible to predict. And as Luke Skywalker sets about reestablishing the Jedi Council, the growing faction opposed to the ways of the Force unveil a terrifying weapon designed to annihilate the Yuuzhan Vong species. But in doing so, they may be dooming the New Republic to becoming the very thing it has sworn to fight against-and unleashing the power of the dark side.

"Walter Jon Williams really knows how to play power chords in the ''key of wonder'' and in Implied Spaces he''s gone to town on the guitar solo!" --Charles Stross "Implied Spaces pioneers a new genre of SF--- the ''Sword and Singularity'' novel. Williams combines fantasy tropes believably with nanotech, bleeding-edge infotech speculation, classic smashing-planets space opera, and intriguingly human, or possibly post-human characters along with a fast-moving plot and a quirky sense of humor in a melance that''s cosmological, theological, ontological, comic, and thoroughly entertaining." ---S.M. Stirling The mysterious swordsman Aristide wanders the multiverse with his talking cat Bitsy, both of them in search of the "implied spaces," the accidents of architecture in a world that is itself artificial and created by a supreme intelligence. While exploring the pre-technological world of Midgarth, Aristide discovers a plot that threatens to shake the multiverse to its foundations, a sinister enemy intent on laying all humanity in his thrall. Aristide must surmount war, plague, death, the loss of love, and cosmic havoc in order to finally confront the enemy, whose secret brings all reality into questions . . .

The time of reckoning is close at hand. Events in the New York Times bestselling Star Wars The New Jedi Order series take a decisive turn, as the heroes of the New Republic prepare for their most volatile clash yet with the enemy—from without and within. In the war against the ruthless Yuuzhan Vong, the fall of Coruscant leaves the New Republic divided by internal strife, and on the verge of bowing to conquest. But those who steadfastly refuse to consider surrender—Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, and their children and comrades-in-arms—are determined to seize victory against overwhelming odds. And now, finally, there are signs that the tide may be turning in the New Republic’s favor. After capturing crucial Yuuzhan Vong intelligence, Jedi fighter-pilot Jaina Solo prepares to lead a daring surprise strike against an enemy flagship. Meanwhile, Jaina’s brother Jacen—liberated from the hands of the enemy and newly schooled in an even greater mastery of the Force by the Jedi Knight Vergere—is eagerly poised to bring his unique skills to bear against the invaders. And on Mon Calamari, the New Republic’s provisional capital, the retired, ailing hero Admiral Ackbar has conceived a major tactical plan that could spell the beginning of a swift end for the Yuuzhan Vong. Yet even as opposing squadrons face off in the depths of space, intrigue runs rampant: in the heated political race for Chief of State . . . in the shadows where Yuuzhan Vong spies plot assassinations . . . and in the inscrutable creature Vergere, a Jedi Knight whose allegiance is impossible to predict. And as Luke Skywalker sets about reestablishing the Jedi Council, the growing faction opposed to the ways of the Force unveil a terrifying weapon designed to annihilate the Yuuzhan Vong species. But in doing so, they may be dooming the New Republic to becoming the very thing it has sworn to fight against—and unleashing the power of the dark side. Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!

By day Dagmar Shaw orchestrates vast games with millions of players spanning continents. By night, she tries to forget the sound of a city collapsing in flames around her. She tries to forget the faces of her friends as they died in front of her. She tries to forget the blood on her own hands. But then an old friend approaches Dagmar with a project. The project he pitches is so insane and so ambitious, she can''t possibly say no. But this new venture will lead her from the world of alternate-reality gaming to one even more complex. A world in which the players are soldiers and spies and the name of the game is survival.