"A heady, infectious celebration."—The New Yorker"Shaughnessy's voice is smart, sexy, self-aware, hip . . . consistently wry, and ever savvy."—Harvard ReviewBrenda Shaughnessy's heartrending third collection explores dark subjects—trauma, childbirth, loss of faith—and stark questions: What is the use of pain and grief? Is there another dimension in which our suffering might be transformed? Can we change ourselves? Yearning for new gods, new worlds, and new rules, she imagines a parallel existence in the galaxy of Andromeda.From "Our Andromeda":Cal, faster than the lightest light,so much faster than love,and our Andromeda, that dream,I can feel it living in us like weare its home. Like it remembers usfrom its own childhood.Oh, maybe, Cal, we are home,if God will let us live here,with Andromeda inside us,doesn't it seem we belong?Now...

Pray for salvation . . . Pray for daylight . . . Murder has pulled Mira out of the shadows and back into the living world . . . As the fire-wielding enforcer of the nightwalker coven wrestles with the mind-destroying ghosts of her dark past, the slaying of a senator's daughter in Savannah threatens to expose her kind to the brilliant light of day. The dawn of chaos has come. The naturi have broken free of their eternal prison to feed on the defenseless and unbelieving of an unprepared Earth. Mira and Danaus—vampire and vampire slayer—must unite to prevent the annihilation of their separate races. But for Danaus the challenge is intensified, for he must also fight the bori who covets his soul. And Mira, the nightwalker he must protect—whose power is the Earth's last hope—is rapidly going insane.

When a good man is hard to find, there’s only one thing left to do. Buy one. As far as Gabrielle is concerned, her life isn’t at all a mess. It’s simply taught her a hard lesson—never rely on anyone else for her own happiness. It’s not that she’s against having sex. Far from it. It’s just that if it comes with strings tied to the word “love”, she’ll pass. Now if only she could stop her sister and friends from trying to show her the error of her solitary ways. Especially after their latest trick—hiring a male prostitute for her birthday. In all his time as a male escort, Jack’s never met anyone as intriguing as down-to-earth Gabe. Or as determined to refuse his charms. She has no idea whom she’s dealing with, though. Jack’s a consummate professional in all aspects of his chosen field. Including coercion. One minute, Gabe is agreeing to a night of no-strings sex. The next, she’s staring up at a man who turns her body and soul inside out. Jack is staring down at a woman he can’t imagine never seeing again. Both are suddenly aware there are only two ways this could end: a match made in heaven…or sheer disaster. Warning: Explicit sex, illegal sexual practices, zombies, a clown, and the strangest minigolf course ever conceived.

Melita Pargeter, widow of much-loved crook Mr Pargeter, embarks on an escapade to prove the innocence of her beloved friend, builder ‘Concrete Jacket’, who has been arrested for murder. Someone has set him up – but who? Mrs P calls on her band of ex-cons to help her trap the real killer.

SUMMARY: Five years ago rival space pirate captains Val Blue and Dake Sureblood stole one incredible night together. But their brief, passionate history ended with the assassination of Val's father and the condemnation of Dake's clan. Now Val struggles to prove her mettle—to herself and to the dissenters amid her own people. Every successful raid is a boot heel ground into the burning memory of Dake Sureblood—and their secret son is a constant reminder of their shared past….Ambushed and captured before he can clear his name, Dake Sureblood returns from a hell like no other to expose the true killer of Val's father. But as the identity of their enemy becomes chillingly clear, the former lovers must put aside their mistrust and join forces to protect their clans and their precious son.

Science Fiction. 65970 words long.

On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for a race known as ?The Long Walk.? If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying...On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for a race known as ?The Long Walk.? If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying...

Product Description This Halcyon Classics ebook collection contains fifty classic science fiction short stories and novellas by more than forty different authors. Most of the stories in this collection were published during the heyday of popular science fiction magazines from the 1930s to the 1960s.Included within this work are stories by H. Beam Piper, Phillip K. Dick, Walter M. Miller, Roger Aycock, Edmond Hamilton, Stephen Marlowe, Randall Garrett, Mack Reynolds, H.B. Fyfe, and many others. This collection includes an active table of contents for easy navigation.ONCE UPON A PLANETBy J. J. AllertonMR. PRESIDENTBy Stephen ArrTHE FRIGHTENED PLANETBy Sidney AustenPET FARMBy Roger D. AycockTHE PLOTTERSBy Alexander BladeLOVE STORYBy Irving E. Cox, Jr.THE TRAPBy Betsy CurtisCLEAN BREAKBy Roger Dee THE VARIABLE MANBy Philip K. DickUNIFORM OF A MANBy Dave DryfoosCATEGORY PHOENIXBy Boyd EllanbySKIN GAMEBy Charles E. FritchLET THERE BE LIGHTBy Horace B. FyfeSUITE MENTALEBy Randall GarrettTHE MEASURE OF A MANBy Randall GarrettTHE SPHERE OF SLEEPBy Chester S. GeierA THOUGHT FOR TOMORROWBy Robert E. GilbertBOOMERANG BULLETSBy James A. GoldthwaiteTHE DOOR INTO INFINITYBy Edmond HamiltonBEYOND THE THUNDERBy H. B. HickeyFEET OF CLAYBy Phillip HoskinsTHE UNLEARNEDBy Raymond F. JonesPROJECT HUSHBy Phillip KlassTAPE JOCKEYBy Tom LeahyOOGIE FINDS LOVEBy Berkeley LivingstonBREEDER REACTIONBy Winston MarksBROWN JOHN'S BODYBy Winston MarksEARTHSMITHBy Stephen MarloweWORLD BEYOND PLUTOBy Stephen MarloweTHE HITCH HIKERSBy Vernon L. McCainLIFE SENTENCEBy James McConnellTHE AMBASSADORBy Sam Merwin, Jr.WAY OF A REBELBy Walter Miller, Jr.OF TIME AND TEXASBy William F. NolanTHY NAME IS WOMANBy Kenneth O'HaraTHE HELL SHIPBy Ray PalmerTHE MERCENARIESBy H. Beam PiperTHE OCTOPUS CYCLEBy Irvin Lester and Fletcher PrattTHE SWORDBy Frank QuattrocchiCODE THREEBy Rick RaphaelTHE COMMON MANBy Mack ReynoldsTHE BOOKBy Michael ShaaraPROBABILITYBy Louis TrimbleSUCCESS STORYBy Robert TurnerTHE JUDAS VALLEYBy Gerald VanceMOON GLOWBy G. L. VandenburgWHEN THE MOON TURNED GREENBy Hal K. WellsTHE END OF TIMEBy Wallace WestPLANET OF THE GODSBy Robert Moore WilliamsTHE GOD IN THE BOXBy Sewell Peaslee Wright

To her surprise, Lady Mallory Byron finds herself walking down the aisle with the last man she ever expected to ask for her hand . . . . Everyone knows the Byron brothers are "mad, bad and dangerous." Now their sister shockingly discovers she's the newest talk of the Ton when she marries the scandalous Earl of Gresham. Faced with a tragic loss, she'd sought comfort from him as a family friend. But soon consolation turned to passion, scandal—and a wedding! In the bridal bed, she finds pleasure beyond her wildest dreams. But can nights of wicked delight change friendship into true love? Charming rakehell Adam, Earl of Gresham, has secretly loved Mallory for years. He lost her once to another man, but now he has a second chance to win her love—and plans to do so by any means necessary. Will Mallory's heart give him what he so dearly desires? Or is the past too much to overcome?

Luna St. Germaine had always been the perfect daughter. Mainly because her father accepted nothing less. Even if that perfection was brought about because of drugs used to contain the nature side of her. Lydia Jones knew she was created in a dish and baked in an oven for nine months. Then she stumbled on a new path.

This dramatic action-adventure is the story of murder, coming of age and retribution. A young Terry Kingston witnesses the separate murders of his parents. As he grows to manhood, he trains to take his revenge on those responsible. Nearing his ultimate target, he meets Gordon MacMaster, a professional assassin who can more than beat him at his own game.