New Releases by Marie Brennan

This is the 4th episode in the first season of Born to the Blade, an 11-episode serial from Serial Box. This episode written by Michael R. Underwood. For centuries the Warders'' Circle on the neutral islands of Twaa-Fei has given the countries of the sky a way to avoid war, settling their disputes through formal, magical duels. But the Circle''s ability to maintain peace is fading: the Mertikan Empire is preparing for conquest and the trade nation of Quloo is sinking, stripped of the aerstone that keeps both ships and island a-sky. When upstart Kris Denn tries to win their island a seat in the Warder’s Circle and colonial subject Oda no Michiko discovers that her conquered nation''s past is not what she''s been told, they upset the balance of power. The storm they bring will bind all the peoples of the sky together...or tear them apart.

This is the 3rd episode in the first season of Born to the Blade, an 11-episode serial from Serial Box. This episode written by Cassandra Khaw. For centuries the Warders'' Circle on the neutral islands of Twaa-Fei has given the countries of the sky a way to avoid war, settling their disputes through formal, magical duels. But the Circle''s ability to maintain peace is fading: the Mertikan Empire is preparing for conquest and the trade nation of Quloo is sinking, stripped of the aerstone that keeps both ships and island a-sky. When upstart Kris Denn tries to win their island a seat in the Warder’s Circle and colonial subject Oda no Michiko discovers that her conquered nation''s past is not what she''s been told, they upset the balance of power. The storm they bring will bind all the peoples of the sky together...or tear them apart.

This is the 2nd episode in the first season of Born to the Blade, an 11-episode serial from Serial Box. This episode written by Marie Brennan. For centuries the Warders'' Circle on the neutral islands of Twaa-Fei has given the countries of the sky a way to avoid war, settling their disputes through formal, magical duels. But the Circle''s ability to maintain peace is fading: the Mertikan Empire is preparing for conquest and the trade nation of Quloo is sinking, stripped of the aerstone that keeps both ships and island a-sky. When upstart Kris Denn tries to win their island a seat in the Warder’s Circle and colonial subject Oda no Michiko discovers that her conquered nation''s past is not what she''s been told, they upset the balance of power. The storm they bring will bind all the peoples of the sky together...or tear them apart.

Aufmerksame Leser wissen bereits, wie sich die belesene und zielstrebige Isabella auf den historischen Weg gemacht hat, der sie eines Tages zur führenden Drachenforscherin der Welt machen würde. In diesem beeindruckend offenherzigen Nachfolger blickt Lady Trent auf die nächsten Schritte ihrer glorreichen (und gelegentlich skandalösen) Karriere zurück. Drei Jahre nach ihrer schicksalhaften Reise durch die abschreckenden Gebirge von Vystrana ignoriert Lady Trent gängige Konventionen und bricht zu einer Expedition auf, die sie auf den wilden, kriegszerrütteten Kontinent Erga führt. Dort liegt die Heimat solch exotischer Drachenarten wie die Grasschlangen der Savanne, Baumschlangen und die geheimnisvollste von allen, die legendären Sumpfwürmer der Tropen. Die Expedition gestaltet sich als schwierig. In Begleitung einer alten Freundin und einer Thronerbin auf der Flucht, muss sich Isabella drückender Hitze, gnadenlosen Fiebern, Palastintrigen, Klatsch und Tratsch und anderen Bedrohungen stellen, um ihre grenzenlose Faszination alles Drachen betreffende zu befriedigen. Selbst wenn sie dafür tief in den verbotenen Dschungel vordringen muss, der gemeinhin die Grüne Hölle genannt wird. Dort werden ihr Mut, ihr Einfallsreichtum und ihre wissenschaftliche Neugierde auf Proben gestellt, wie sie es bislang noch nicht erlebt hat.

Lady Trent ist die herausragendste und erfolgreichste Drachenforscherin der Welt. Einst war sie ein junges Mädchen, vernarrt in Bücher und lernbegierig, das den erstickenden Konventionen ihrer Zeit trotzte und ihren guten Ruf, ihre Zukunft und ihre zarte Haut aufs Spiel setzte, um ihre wissenschaftliche Neugier zu befriedigen. Nun endlich liegt die wahre Geschichte dieser beispiellosen Pionierin vor. In ihren eigenen Worten berichtet Lady Trent über ihre aufregende Expedition in die Berge von Vystrana, wo sie die erste von vielen historischen Entdeckungen machte, die sie und die Welt für immer verändern sollten.

Some people play roleplaying-games for the challenge; others play them for the story. Award-winning fantasy author and freelance game writer Marie Brennan is unabashedly in the latter camp. In these essays she looks at tabletop and live-action RPGs from a narrative perspective, exploring the ways the framework of a game can generate and support (or undermine) your tale. Whether you are a player or a game master, Dice Tales offers insights on every facet of RPG storytelling, including: * generating characters with rich narrative potential * scaling plot as PCs become more powerful * managing the interaction between rules and roleplay * campaign planning at different stages * the social dynamics of collaborative creation * and more!

True story of deprivation

Isabelle Trent, devenue célèbre, n''en a pas fini de déplaire à la bonne société du Scirland (qui doit beaucoup à l''Angleterre victorienne). Notre impétueuse naturaliste, après avoir transformé sa demeure en une sorte d''université pour jeunes femmes désireuses de s''instruire, entreprend de monter une expédition afin d''étudier les dragons du monde entier et, l''espère-t-elle, révolutionner leur taxonomie. Comble d''inconvenance, cette fois, Jake, le fils d''Isabelle et de son défunt mari, est du voyage. Le voilier Basilic débute son périple dans le Grand Nord où Isabelle étudie (en pantalon) les serpents de mer, puis passe par un pays qui serait peut-être le Mexique, se fait chasser du Yélang et visite enfin les îles volcaniques de l''hémisphère Sud, où elle en apprend davantage sur la civilisation des Draconiens qui ont dominé le monde dans l''antiquité. Au cours de ce voyage, le lecteur est aussi témoin d''une nouvelle étape de la vie sentimentale d''Isabelle ; quant à la présence de son fils, elle donne lieu à moult touches ironiques et tendres, car elle découvre que Jake ne s''intéresse qu''à une chose : la mer et tout ce qui s''en rapproche - mais pas aux dragons.

A dragon naturalist and an explorer prone to igniting scandals, Lady Trent reveals what she discovered in the Sanctuary of Wings, behind the territory of Scirland''s enemies.- Novelist.

Sous la plume raffinée et sans pitié de Marie Brennan, retrouvez les aventures d''Isabelle Trent, naturaliste mondialement connue qui a consacré sa vie à l''étude des dragons. "Bien que peu de gens soient assez âgés pour s''en souvenir, et encore moins assez impolis pour en parler, je fus autrefois vilipendée dans les feuilles à scandales. [...] C''est à cette époque de mon existence que je fus accusée de fornication, de haute trahison et d''être la plus mauvaise mère de tout le Scirland. C''est plus que la plupart des femmes peuvent réaliser en l''espace d''une vie et j''admets que j''éprouve une sorte de fierté perverse à y être parvenue. Ce livre est également, bien entendu, le récit de mon expédition en Erigie. Les avertissements de ma première préface s''appliquent toujours : si les descriptions d''actions violentes, de maladies, de mets étrangers au palais des habitants du Scirland, de religions étranges, de nudité en public ou de gaffes diplomatiques idiotes sont susceptibles de vous gêner, fermez ce livre et passez à quelque chose de plus plaisant. Mais je peux vous assurer que j''ai survécu à tous ces événements ; il est donc probable que vous survivrez à leur lecture."

In the Labyrinth of Drakes, the thrilling new book in the acclaimed fantasy series from Marie Brennan, the glamorous Lady Trent takes her adventurous explorations to the deserts of Akhia. Even those who take no interest in the field of dragon naturalism have heard of Lady Trent''s expedition to the inhospitable deserts of Akhia. Her discoveries there are the stuff of romantic legend, catapulting her from scholarly obscurity to worldwide fame. The details of her personal life during that time are hardly less private, having provided fodder for gossips in several countries. As is so often the case in the career of this illustrious woman, the public story is far from complete. In this, the fourth volume of her memoirs, Lady Trent relates how she acquired her position with the Royal Scirling Army; how foreign saboteurs imperiled both her work and her well-being; and how her determined pursuit of knowledge took her into the deepest reaches of the Labyrinth of Drakes, where the chance action of a dragon set the stage for her greatest achievement yet. The Lady Trent Memoirs 1. A Natural History of Dragons 2. The Tropic of Serpents 3. Voyage of the Basilisk 4. In the Labyrinth of Drakes 5. Within the Sanctuary of Wings At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The thrilling adventure of Lady Trent continues in Marie Brennan''s Voyage of the Basilisk . . . Devoted readers of Lady Trent''s earlier memoirs, A Natural History of Dragons and The Tropic of Serpents, may believe themselves already acquainted with the particulars of her historic voyage aboard the Royal Survey Ship Basilisk, but the true story of that illuminating, harrowing, and scandalous journey has never been revealed—until now. Six years after her perilous exploits in Eriga, Isabella embarks on her most ambitious expedition yet: a two-year trip around the world to study all manner of dragons in every place they might be found. From feathered serpents sunning themselves in the ruins of a fallen civilization to the mighty sea serpents of the tropics, these creatures are a source of both endless fascination and frequent peril. Accompanying her is not only her young son, Jake, but a chivalrous foreign archaeologist whose interests converge with Isabella''s in ways both professional and personal. Science is, of course, the primary objective of the voyage, but Isabella''s life is rarely so simple. She must cope with storms, shipwrecks, intrigue, and warfare, even as she makes a discovery that offers a revolutionary new insight into the ancient history of dragons. The Lady Trent Memoirs 1. A Natural History of Dragons 2. The Tropic of Serpents 3. Voyage of the Basilisk 4. In the Labyrinth of Drakes 5. Within the Sanctuary of Wings At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Seven tales of supernatural horror . . . A maiden in a tower. A grandmother in a cottage. A stranger at a ball. None of them are what they seem, in this collection of very brief stories from fantasy author Marie Brennan. The dark forest of fairy tales hides things more perilous than wolves and wicked stepmothers. Are you prepared for what you’ll find? TABLE OF CONTENTS * The Snow-White Heart * Footprints * Shadows’ Bride * Tower in Moonlight * The Wood, the Bridge, the House * Kiss of Life * Waiting for Beauty Total length: 40 pages, including Story Notes

Marie Brennan offers an intriguing new spin on the classic tale of Penelope and Odysseus. By day she crafts; by night she unmakes. Surely somewhere, in all the myriad crossings of the threads, there is a future in which all will be well. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Dans un monde de fantasy, deux soeurs vont changer le monde. Miryo est une sorcière, d’antiques traditions lui imposentde traquer et tuer sa soeur jumelle, Mirage pour maîtriser enfin ses pouvoirs magiques. Mais Miryo et Mirage sont les deux faces d’une même entité, et poussées par une force mystérieuse elles vont s’unir en un être unique, défiant ainsi les commandements millénaires des premières enchanteresses. Devenue Mirei, elle est désormais la sorcière la plus puissante qui soit. Mais les cabales de sorcières sont divisées : pour certaines, elle est un miracle, pour d’autres une abomination qu’il faut détruire à tout prix, l’incarnation du mal qui détruira le monde. Les deux camps se forment et se préparent à s’affronter sans merci pour le destin du monde.

Three years after her fateful journeys through Vystrana, the widowed Mrs Camherst defies convention to embark on an expedition to the savage, war-torn continent of Eriga, home of the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics. Accompanied by an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella must brave heat, fevers and palace intrigues to satisfy her boundless fascination with all things draconian

For to see mad Tom o''Bedlam, ten thousand miles she''s traveled. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Everyone knows Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world''s preeminent dragon naturalist. Here, at last, in her own words, is the story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, prospects, and her life to satisfy scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the mountains of Vystrana, where she made discoveries that would change the world.

LONDON, 1625. A young gentleman lies murdered in a Coldharbour alley. Before his death, he uncovered secrets that could threaten the mortal world above and the faerie world below. Now, to find the murderer and protect both realms, Sir Michael Deven will need the help of a man with reason to hate the fae of the Onyx Court — the victim’s own brother. A novella of the Onyx Court, set between Midnight Never Come and In Ashes Lie.

The ground-breaking, boundary-pushing, award-nominated series of fantasy anthologies series returns for a fourth installment through the miracle of Kickstarter, bringing you eighteen brand new tales of beauty and strangeness. You''ll find the light-hearted and the bleak, the surreal become familiar and the familiar turned inside-out. Each story leads you into unmapped territory, there to find shock and delight. With stories by Yves Meynard, Ian McHugh, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Richard Parks, Gemma Files, Yukimi Ogawa, A.C. Wise, Marie Brennan, Alisa Alering, Tanith Lee, Cat Rambo, Shira Lipkin, Corinne Duyvis, Kenneth Schneyer, Camille Alexa, Benjanun Sriduangkaew, Patricia Russo and Barbara Krasnoff. Table of Contents “Our Lady of the Thylacines” by Yves Meynard “The Canal Barge Magician’s Number Nine Daughter” by Ian McHugh “On the Leitmotif of the Trickster Constellation in Northern Hemispheric Star Charts, Post-Apocalypse” by Nicole Kornher-Stace “Beach Bum and the Drowned Girl” by Richard Parks “Trap-Weed” by Gemma Files “Icicle” by Yukimi Ogawa “Lesser Creek: A Love Story, A Ghost Story” by A.C. Wise “What Still Abides” by Marie Brennan “The Wanderer King” by Alisa Alering “A Little of the Night” by Tanith Lee “I Come from the Dark Universe” by Cat Rambo “Happy Hour at the Tooth and Claw” by Shira Lipkin “Lilo Is” by Corinne Duyvis “Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer” by Kenneth Schneyer “Three Times” by Camille Alexa “The Bees Her Heart, the Hive Her Belly” by Benjanun Sriduangkaew “The Old Woman With No Teeth” by Patricia Russo “The History of Soul 2065″ by Barbara Krasnoff Praise for Clockwork Phoenix 4 This book is in several distinct ways a look into the future: the future of fantasy and science fiction, diverse, strange, and wonderful; the future of these individual writers, many of whom are at or near the beginning of careers which promise to be interesting; and, additionally, the future of publishing, in which a crowd-sourced publication from a very small press can produce, and can present professionally and beautifully, work which is at the height of what is being written in genre. This particular phoenix has risen from its ashes triumphant. — Strange Horizons Clockwork Phoenix 4, much like its predecessors, is a high quality, well-organized, engaging anthology. — Tor.com A first rate series of anthologies … The book is stylistically of a piece with its predecessors — a set of well-written stories occupying multiple subgenres, usually in the same story, often ambiguously. — Locus The tone ranges from dark to heartwarming and simple. The overall quality is high … Several of the pieces are quite challenging. Readers will do well to pick up a copy. — Locus Online What makes this fourth edition so special is that it belongs to an impassioned community of writers and readers who went above and beyond to make it happen. … All eighteen [stories] have the power to pull the reader out of his own reality and transport or transform them entirely. — Cabinet des Fées This 4th volume of Clockwork Phoenix contains an excellent diversity of speculative fiction ranging from cold and hopeless to harsh but victorious and warm and fulfilling. It was a pleasure to read. — Tangent Online What kind of stories will you find in Clockwork Phoenix 4? Only those that are magical, imaginative, heart-wrenching, just plain bizarre, forward-looking, backward-looking, biological, romantic, hopeful, darkly funny and openly frightening. All the words that describe the best speculative fiction you’ve ever read apply. In fact, if this isn’t the epitome of speculative fiction, I don’t know what is. — Little Red Reviewer

Marie Brennan begins a thrilling new fantasy series in A Natural History of Dragons, combining adventure with the inquisitive spirit of the Victorian Age. You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon''s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one''s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . . All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world''s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day. Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever. "Saturated with the joy and urgency of discovery and scientific curiosity." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) on A Natural History of Dragons An NPR Best Book of 2013 The Lady Trent Memoirs 1. A Natural History of Dragons 2. The Tropic of Serpents 3. Voyage of the Basilisk 4. In the Labyrinth of Drakes 5. Within the Sanctuary of Wings At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The third volume in the ground-breaking, genre-bending, boundary-pushing CLOCKWORK PHOENIX anthology series, now available in digital format. Includes critically-acclaimed and award-nominated stories by Marie Brennan, Tori Truslow, Georgina Bruce, Michael M. Jones, Gemma Files, C.S.E. Cooney, Cat Rambo, Gregory Frost, Shweta Narayan, S.J. Hirons, John Grant, Kenneth Schneyer, John C. Wright, Nicole Kornher-Stace and Tanith Lee. With a whimsical introduction and new afterword by Nebula Award-nominated editor Mike Allen. CONTENTS The Gospel of Nachash • Marie Brennan Tomorrow Is Saint Valentine''s Day • Tori Truslow Crow Voodoo • Georgina Bruce Your Name Is Eve • Michael M. Jones Hell Friend • Gemma Files Braiding the Ghosts • C.S.E. Cooney Surrogates • Cat Rambo Lucyna''s Gaze • Gregory Frost Eyes of Carven Emerald • Shweta Narayan Dragons of America • S.J. Hirons Where Shadows Go at Low Midnight • John Grant Lineage • Kenneth Schneyer Murder in Metachronopolis • John C. Wright To Seek Her Fortune • Nicole Kornher-Stace Fold • Tanith Lee Praise for CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 3 . . . . Allen’s third volume of extraordinary short stories reaches new heights of rarity and wonder. Marie Brennan sets the bar high with “The Gospel of Nachash,” a fine reinterpretation of the Adam and Eve legend from a fresh perspective. Tori Truslow’s scholarly “Tomorrow Is Saint Valentine’s Day” tells the story of the Great Ice Train and its encounter with the merfolk on the Moon. Gemma Files’s “Hell Friend” and C.S.E. Cooney’s “Braiding the Ghosts” are sinister, spine-tingling ghost stories. Cat Rambo deals with realism and escapism in her futuristic “Surrogates,” where appearances and reality are mutable. Shweta Narayan’s “Eyes of Carven Emerald” eloquently rewrites the history of Alexander the Great to include mechanical entities. Without a wrong note, all the stories in this anthology admirably fulfill Allen’s promise of “beauty and strangeness.” — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review With a balance of new names and established authors, the third Clockwork Phoenix installment collects some magnificent interpretations of fantastic ideas. “The Gospel of Nachash” opens, Marie Brennan’s haunting tale of the beginning of time, and a very interesting reinterpretation of a gospel it is, too. Tanith Lee’s “Fold” is a story of a man who wrote love letters to the people he saw passing beneath his window, and only left his apartment once. Gemma Files’ “Hell Friend” is really a heart-warming ghost story; Georgina Bruce’s “Crow Voodoo” is an unnerving take on something common to fairy tales; and Gregory Frost’s “Lucyna’s Gaze” starts off sweet, and grows more awful with every revealed detail. Clockwork Phoenix delivers on its promise of both beauty and strangeness, and adds in some fright and a few new ways of looking at old tropes. All in all, it’s a very successful collection of thematically similar, but wildly varied in subject, works. — Booklist CLOCKWORK PHOENIX is a series of anthologies from Norilana Books, edited by Mike Allen, that bears the subtitle “New Tales of Beauty and Strangeness”. This seems a quite appropriate subtitle — the stories really do seem attempts at evoking both beauty and the strange. This makes them consistently interesting . . . There is a mixture of wild science fiction (as with John C. Wright’s “Murder in Metachronopolis”, a convoluted time travel mystery) with what seems best called slipstream (say, Tanith Lee’s curious “Fold”, about a man who sends people paper airplane love letters) with out and out fantasy. One of the latter is my favorite here: C. S. E. Cooney’s “Braiding the Ghosts”, in which a girl goes to her grandmother after her mother’s death, and learns from the older woman the secret of “braiding” ghosts — which is to say enslaving them. So ghosts are the servants of the older woman. But the girl is not so happy with this . . . especially when she falls for the ghost she is forced to braid. And the ghosts — are they happy? Read the story and find out . . . lovely stuff. — Locus For the past three years editor Mike Allen has been publishing his unique CLOCKWORK PHOENIX anthologies, inviting authors like Tanith Lee and Catherynne M. Valente to give us their take on the concepts of, as the title has it, “beauty and strangeness.” The result has been a critical and artistic success and, if volume three is any indication, the spell won’t be lifting any time soon. Allen continues to assemble some of the most adventurous, beauteous, and just plain weird stuff our current crop of speculative authors are capable of producing. Adventurous minds are invited to attend. — Strange Horizons

When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. Until now... Created by the merging of witch and doppelganger, Mirei is a unique being. Her extraordinary magic makes her the most poweful witch alive -- and a notorious social outcast. While Satomi, the leader of the witches'' ruling Primes, hails Mirei as a miracle, rival Primes proclaim that Mirei is an evil abomination...and that those who champion her must be destroyed. Now the different witch factions engage in a bloody war with magic, treachery, and murder. But both sides may be fighting for nothing. For the power that the rebel Primes fear, the magic that Mirei alone possesses, is killing her.

When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. But what happens when the doppelganger survives? Mirage, a bounty hunter, lives by her wits and lethal fighting skills. She always gets her mark. But her new mission will take her into the shadowy world of witches, where her strength may not be a match against powerful magic. Miryo is a witch who has just failed her initiation test. She now knows that there is someone in the world who looks like her, who is her: Mirage. To control her powers and become a full witch, Miryo has only one choice: to hunt the hunter and destroy her.

Continuarea romanului Istoria naturala a dragonilor SERIE NOMINALIZATA LA PREMIILE HUGO 2018 La trei ani dupa expeditia in muntii Vystrana Isabella Camherst a devenit deschizatoare de drumuri pentru studiul stiintific al dragonilor. Acum o noua provocare ii trezeste interesul: continentul Eriga caminul unor specii fascinante de serpi de iarba de copaci si mai ales al legendarului dragon de mlastina. Dar expeditia nu va fi una usoara. Isabella va trebui sa infrunte o caldura toropitoare intrigi de palat barfe si multe alte pericole pentru a-si satisface curiozitatea fata de dragoni. Chiar si sa se aventureze in jungla numita Iadul Verde unde curajul si curiozitatea ei stiintifica vor fi puse la incercare mai aprig ca niciodata. „Aceasta a doua parte a amintirilor Isabellei este la fel de incredibil de sincera si directa ca prima povestita in stilul alert si puternic al lui Brennan. Protagonista este deopotriva admirabila formidabila si fascinanta. Cititorule nu intarzia sa faci cunostinta cu Isabella Trent!“ Kirkus