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It was the autumn of 1628, and the Batavia, the Dutch East India Company's flagship, was loaded with a king's ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java. The Batavia was the pride of the company's fleet, a tangible symbol of the world's richest and most powerful commercial monopoly. She set sail with great fanfare, but the Batavia and her gold would never reach Java.

In The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and best-selling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters - many of them set in their authors' best-loved worlds. Join today's finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do.

From the dragon-filled Temeraire series and the gothic magical halls of the Scholomance trilogy, through the realms next door to Spinning Silver and Uprooted, this stunning collection takes us from fairy tale to fantasy, myth to history, and mystery to science fiction as we travel through Naomi Novik’s most beloved stories.

Tom Novak is a troubled soul with a dark and bloody past. A former refugee, Royal Marine and member of the elite Special Reconnaissance Regiment, he now finds himself struggling with the deadening routine of day-to-day policing. When he is deployed undercover to infiltrate a gang of people traffickers, things go badly wrong. Faced with an impossible choice, his cover is blown, and he finds himself on the run from the Serbian mafia and even his fellow police colleagues.

Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He's even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he's Spider Man. But lately Miles' Spidey-sense has been on the fritz. When a misunderstanding leads to his suspension from school, Miles begins to question his abilities.

Phillip's brothers, Cameron and Ethan, are now happily married. The family boat-building business is starting to thrive. And the Quinns are closer than ever to keeping Seth permanently protected from his errant mother who would sell her own son rather than loving him the way the Quinns do.

An evil wind blows through Midkemia. Dark legions have risen up to crush the Kingdom of the Isles and enslave it to dire magics. The final battle between Order and Chaos is about to begin in the ruins of the city called Sethanon. Now, Pug, the master magician sometimes known as Milamber, must undertake an awesome and perilous quest to the dawn of time to grapple with an ancient and terrible Enemy for the fate of a thousand worlds.

I expected my new assistant to be professional and punctual, but all I'm getting are dirty looks and rude comments. I should fire the little hellion, but instead all I can think about is bending her over my desk and breaking every rule I've ever made for myself. One look. One touch. One night. If we break the rules, our lives will never be the same again. Good thing rules were made to be broken. And besides, it feels so good to tempt the boss.

Nitro is a story about much more than WCW and the Monday Night Wars. It is a story of an era, a time in which the media and cultural landscape precipitated - and later supported - pro wrestling's mainstream popularity. It is a story of how a company made in the image of an intuitively brilliant risk-taker betrayed its original promise. It is a story of how a handful of men, each struggling with their own limitations, facilitated a public obsession that changed television forever.

Young nobleman d’Artagnan has arrived in Paris intent on joining the guardians of King Louis XIII. He befriends the regiment’s most formidable musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and together they unite in their commitment to uphold justice. Soon, a royal indiscretion thrusts them into an audacious escapade of courtly intrigue, thwarted romance, and daring rescue. But it’s the Machiavellian schemes of a powerful enemy and the wicked seductions of an ingenious female spy that will be their greatest challenges.

Kisa Volkova is the only daughter of Kirill "the Silencer" Volkov, head of the infamous Red bosses of New York's Russian Bratva. Her life is protected, but it's also a virtual prison. Her father's savage treatment of his rivals and his lucrative and coveted underground gambling ring - the Dungeon - ensure that too many enemies lurk at their door. She dreams to be set free.

Wizard scouts are the elite, deep-recon forces of the Intergalactic Empire. They are a mix of technology and magic-like abilities. Richard has been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become one of these legendary soldiers. All he has to do is make it through the Wizard Scout Academy. But with a TAC officer who hates his guts, will he even be allowed to graduate. To make matters worse, the Empire has been attacked and soon finds itself in a major war.

March 1912: 24-year-old Elspeth Dunn, a published poet, has never seen the world beyond her home on Scotland’s remote Isle of Skye. So she is astonished when her first fan letter arrives, from a college student, David Graham, in far-away America. As the two strike up a correspondence - sharing their favorite books, wildest hopes, and deepest secrets - their exchanges blossom into friendship, and eventually into love. June 1940: At the start of World War II, Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret, has fallen for a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Her mother warns her against seeking love in wartime, an admonition Margaret doesn’t understand....

Great ideas often come from a simple spark: A soccer player on the New Zealand national team notices all the unused wool his country produces and figures out a way to turn them into shoes (Allbirds). A former Buddhist monk decides the very best way to spread his mindfulness teachings is by launching an app (Headspace). A sandwich cart vendor finds a way to reuse leftover pita bread and turns it into a multimillion-dollar business (Stacy’s Pita Chips).

The day of the Great Battle has finally arrived as the forces of light and dark face off in one last desperate attempt that will seal the fate of the three galaxies. As armies of demons, angels, humans, elves, gnomes, dwarves, spirit-animals, and dragons clash, mortals and immortals alike struggle for survival. Armored assault vehicles and soldiers equipped with advanced technology weapons fight shoulder to shoulder alongside magic users and elves wielding swords and spears. Above it all, fleets of space-going dreadnaughts slug it out in the cold vacuum of space for domination.

They call me 901. I am a monster, a killer, a champion. In the blood pit I am a god. I have no name, no family, and no identity. When master says fight, I fight...until I am the only one left standing. I have one goal, to fight so well that I am freed. I don't need friends, I don't need women. They are weaknesses. I am strong. Until I see her. She is gorgeous and kind and off-limits to me. She was stolen as a child to be the worst type of slave, and now master wants her.

Taken by the Jakhua Clan as a teen, 194 was stripped of his name, identity, and free will, meticulously honed to be a ruthless killing machine. This is a role he resents with every fiber of his being but one he embraces to gain back the precious leverage the Georgians wield as their weapon of control: his younger sister, 152.

I was taken. Taken from the world I created for myself. I’m not alone, I’m one of many girls locked in this castle awaiting something. We’re to be sold like animals for slaughter to rich men who will do God knows what to us. I won’t let this happen.

On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every 24 hours - it comes every 28 years. Now the Sun is just a sliver of light on the horizon. The weather is turning cold and the shadows are growing long. Because sunset triggers the tide to roll out hundreds of miles, the islanders are frantically preparing to sail south, where they will wait out the long night. Marin and her twin brother, Kana, help their anxious parents ready the house for departure. Locks must be taken off doors. Furniture must be arranged. Tables must be set. The rituals are puzzling - bizarre, even.

Long ago, the world fell into twilight, when the great empires of old consumed each other in sorcerous cataclysms. In the south, the Star Towers fell, swallowed by the sea, while the black glaciers descended upon the northern holdfasts, entombing the cities of Min-Ceruth in ice and sorcery. Then from the ancient empire of Menekar, the paladins of Ama came, putting every surviving sorcerer to the sword and cleansing their taint from the land. The pulse of magic slowed, fading like the heartbeat of a dying man. But after a thousand years, it has begun to quicken again.