The Gods Return

The Gods Return

David Drake

David Drake

The Gods Return is the end of the Crown of the Isles trilogy and the final chapter in the Lord of the Isles. The Fortress of Glass began the tale of how the new kingdom of the Isles is finally created by the heroes and heroines who have been central to the tale: Prince Garric, heir to the throne of the Isles, his consort Liane, his sister Sharina, her herculean sweetheart Cashel, and Cashel's sister Ilna. The Mirror of Worlds followed them on an overland journey to the small kingdoms of the Isles to confirm Garric's succession and subdue, if necessary, any who refused to pledge fealty. In The Gods Return, the Isles have been more or less unified under Garric's rule, but the Change that created the continent, has removed the old Gods of the Isles from reality and released other Gods from other planes of existence. Now the servants of the forbidden Gods of Palomir call forth The Worm, an ancient thing that threatens to devour all life in...
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The Sea Without a Shore

The Sea Without a Shore

David Drake

David Drake

LEARY AND MUNDY RETURN in the RCN SERIES. 10 in the nationally best-selling Republic of Cinnabar Navy space adventure series.Cinnabar's chief spymaster is a mother also--and her son is determined to search for treasure in the midst of a civil war. Who better to hold the boy's hand—and to take the blows directed at him—than Captain Daniel Leary, the Republic of Cinnabar Navy's troubleshooter, and his friend the cyberspy Adele Mundy? The only thing certain in the struggle for control of the mining planet Corcyra is that the rival parties are more dangerous to their own allies than to their opponents. Daniel and Adele face kidnappers, hijackers, pirates and a death squad—even before they can get to their real business of ending the war on Corcyra. Only with planetary peace can the boy they're escorting get on with his mission. The boy thinks the treasure he's looking for is a thousand years old. Daniel and Adele know that it's probably a dream— But if the treasure is real, it just might be tens of thousands of years older than anyone imagines, and incalculably more valuable! About David Drake’s previous RCN novel, *What Distant Deeps:* “Drake deftly weaves a web of political machinations and intrigue that vividly depicts the costs of war. Fans of Patrick O'Brian's Maturin and Aubrey novels will enjoy this intricate, rousing space opera.” –Publishers Weekly About David Drake’s RCN series:“[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera.” –Publishers Weekly “The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!” –Philadelphia Weekly Press “[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes along…character development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs.” –SFReader.com About David Drake:“[P]rose as cold and hard s the metal alloy of a tank…rivals Crane and Remarque…” –Chicago Sun-Times “Drake couldn’t write a bad action scene at gunpoint.” –Booklist**
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Crisis

Crisis

David Drake

David Drake

The Fleet - Pledged to Protect Us All! The fortunes of war make for strange alliances. The Khalians, the sworn enemy of humans for three generations, have joined forces with the Fleet against a common foe: The rutheless and mysterious Syndicate of Families. The Syndicate controls thousands of alien races and worlds, and possesses technology far more advanced than anything the Fleet can send to face them.Even worse, the Syndicate rulers are human traitors, people who can blend in to infiltrate the Fleet. No one knows where the vast Syndicate armada will strike, or where, only that the attack must come - and that the fate of countless worlds will soon be decided somewhere in the icy battlefields of space ... inside The FleetBook 6: Crisis INCLUDING ... Christopher Stasheff - “ORPHANS”Khalian pirates discover that revenge is possible even when victory is not. Poul Anderson - “KINETIC KILL”The weapon was unthinkable.The defense was unbearable. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro -“TARNHELMS”Invisible aliens make perfect assasins - but can the Syndicate keep them under control? Mike Resnick - “PAWNS”War is a game with living pieces - and some of those pieces are expendable. ... and many other stories of The Fleet. Praise for the Fleet:“Should have strong appeal for military SF fans ... the great strength of the volume is in the quality work of the contributors.” - Booklist
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The Heretic

The Heretic

David Drake

David Drake

David Drake’s legendary Raj Whitehall/The General series, stunningly reborn! In a world of muskets, bows and arrows, and reptile riding nomads, a young warrior fights against a totalitarian computer devoted to stasis.ABEL DASHIAN'S WORLD DOESN'T NEED A HERODuisberg is one of thousands of planets plunged into darkness and chaos by the collapse of the galactic republic, but where other worlds have begun to rebuild a star-travelling culture, Duisberg remains in an uneasy balance between mud-brick civilization and bloodthirsty barbarism.The people of Duisberg have a god: Zentrum, a supercomputer from the ancient past. Zentrum has decided avoid another collapse by preventing civilization from rising from where it is. And because even a supercomputer and the powerful religion which it founded cannot block all progress, Zentrum has another tool: every few centuries the barbarians sweep in from the desert, slaughtering the educated classes and cowing the peasants back into submission. These are the Blood Winds, and the Blood Winds are about to blow again.This time, however, there's a difference: Abel Dashian, son of a military officer, has received into his mind the spirit of Raj Whitehall, the most successful general in the history of the planet Bellevue--and of Center, the supercomputer which enabled Raj to shatter his planet's barbarians and permit the return of civilization.One hero can't stop the tide of barbarians unless he has his own culture supporting him. To save Duisberg, Abel must break the power of Zentrum.With the help of Raj and Center, Abel Dashian must become . . . THE HERETIC!About the Raj Whitehall series:“[T]old with knowledge of military tactics and hardware, and vividly described action. . .devotees of military SF should enjoy themselves.”—Publishers Weekly“[A] thoroughly engrossing military sf series . .  . superb battle scenes, ingenious weaponry and tactics, homages to Kipling, and many other goodies. High fun.”—Booklist* *About David Drake:“[P]rose as cold and hard s the metal alloy of a tank … rivals Crane and Remarque …” –Chicago Sun-Times“Drake couldn’t write a bad action scene at gunpoint.” –Booklist About Tony Daniel:“[D]azzling stuff.”–New York Times Book Review“[His work] teems with vivid characters and surprising action.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Daniel proves that the Golden Age of science fiction is right here and now.”–Greg Bear “[A] large cast of utterly graspable humans, mostly military and political folks, of all ranks and capacities and temperments. Daniel has a keen eye for the kinds of in extremis thinking and behavior that such a wartime situation would engender. . . .Following in the footsteps of Poul Anderson and Greg Bear. . .”—Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine on Daniel's Guardian of NightAbout the AuthorThe Army took David Drake from Duke Law School and sent him on a motorized tour of Viet Nam and Cambodia with the 11th Cav, the Blackhorse. He learned new skills, saw interesting sights, and met exotic people who hadn't run fast enough to get away.  Dave returned to become Chapel Hill's Assistant Town Attorney and to try to put his life back together through fiction making sense of his Army experiences.  Dave describes war from where he saw it: the loader's hatch of a tank in Cambodia. His military experience, combined with his formal education in history and Latin, has made him one of the foremost writers of realistic action SF and fantasy. His books include the genre-defining and bestselling Hammer’s Slammers series, the RCN series including What Distant Deeps, In the Stormy Red Sky, The Way to Glory, and many more. His bestselling Hammer's Slammers series is credited with creating the genre of modern Military SF. He often wishes he had a less interesting background.  Dave lives with his family in rural North Carolina.Tony Daniel is the author of five science fiction books, the latest of which is Guardian of Night, as well as an award-winning short story collection, The Robot’s Twilight Companion.  He is Hugo finalist for his story “Life on the Moon,” which also won the Asimov’s Reader’s Choice Award. Daniel’s short fiction has been much anthologized and has been collected in multiple year’s best compilations.  Daniel has also cowritten screenplays for SyFy Channel horror movies, and during the early 2000s was the writer and director of numerous audio dramas for critically-acclaimed SCIFI.COM’s Seeing Ear Theatre. Born in Alabama, Daniel has lived in St. Louis, Los Angeles, Seattle, Prague, and New York City.  He now lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina with his wife and two children.
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Death's Bright Day

Death's Bright Day

David Drake

David Drake

A NEW NOVEL IN THE NATIONALLY BEST-SELLING RCN MILITARY SF SERIES!  Leary and Mundy are back in another military science fiction adventure as they undertake a mission to a distant but critical star system. IT'S JUST A REBELLION IN A DISTANT STAR CLUSTER. Captain Daniel Leary thinks that his marriage will allow him to slip into the quiet role of a naval officer in peacetime. His friend, the spy and cybrarian Adele Mundy, is content to be collating data in her library. But high officials of both superpowers are involved! Those who want Daniel and Adele to become involved in the Tarbell Stars claim that only they can prevent a war between the Republic of Cinnabar and its great rival, the Alliance of Free Stars. The conflict is political, but at the sharp end it means blazing warfare and cold-blooded murder. Daniel and Adele will be at the sharp end. The odds in ships and guns are badly in the enemy's favor. Daniel, Adele, and the crew of the Princess Cecile will do everything humanly possible, but that may not be enough against an enemy battleship. And even if Daniel and his companions succeed in battle, they can't be sure whether their employers really wanted them to win—or whether they even want them alive. All they can do is to race forward, hoping to come through into DEATH'S BRIGHT DAY. About David Drake’s previous RCN novel, *What Distant Deeps: “Drake deftly weaves a web of political machinations and intrigue that vividly depicts the costs of war. Fans of Patrick O'Brian's Maturin and Aubrey novels will enjoy this intricate, rousing space opera.” —Publishers Weekly* About David Drake’s RCN series: “[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera.”—Publishers Weekly “The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!”—Philadelphia Weekly Press “[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes along…character development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs.”—SFReader.com About David Drake: “[P]rose as cold and hard as the metal alloy of a tank…rivals Crane and Remarque…”—Chicago Sun-Times “Drake couldn’t write a bad action scene at gunpoint.”—Booklist RCN series: With the Lightnings Lt. Leary, Commanding The Far Side of the Stars The Way to Glory Some Golden Harbor When the Tide Rises In the Stormy Red Sky What Distant Deeps The Road of Danger   The Sea Without a Shore Death's Bright Day **Review "Drake couldn't write a bad action scene at gunpoint." - Booklist About the Author David Drake was attending Duke University Law School when he was drafted. He served the next two years in the Army, spending 1970 as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Upon return he completed his law degree at Duke and was for eight years Assistant Town Attorney for Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He has been a full-time freelance writer since 1981. His books include the genre-defining and bestselling Hammer’s Slammers series, the nationally bestselling RCN series including In the Stormy Red Sky, The Road of Danger, The Sea without a Shore, and most recently, with John Lambshead, the Citizen series entries Into the Hinterlands and Into the Maelstrom.
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Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey

David Drake

David Drake

Rome, 262 A.D: It had been the capital of the greatest civilization on Earth. Now both city and civilization are dying. Imperial unity has shattered as separatist and usurpers squabble among themselves and greater enemies gather to swallow them all. One man stands between humanity and the Long Night, matching his savage determination against a hopeless future. He is Aulus Perennius, an Imperial secret agent as tough and ruthless as the age in which he lives. Until now, though, his enemies have all been human.
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