New Releases by Sean Williams

Morgan Roche, commander in the intelligence arm of the Commonwealth Empires, has been charged with protecting the AI known as The Box on a secret voyage across the galaxy. But en route her ship is ambushed by the Dato Bloc, and she is forced to crash-land on a nearby prison planet. MAROONED ON SCIACCA’S WORLD: Battling deadly inmates and treacherous guards, she fights her way through a hostile environment toward her only hope of escape, the mysterious Adoni Cane at her side. A genetically enhanced warrior with a past not even he can fathom, he could be the savior of the human race, or its downfall--but either way, Morgan Roche won’t survive without him… “THE PRODIGAL SUN is a close-knit personal story told on a galaxy-sized canvas. Filled with action as well as intriguing ideas.” --Kevin J Anderson “With echoes of vintage Jack Williamson and Poul Anderson, as well as Niven, Asimov and Vinge, Williams and Dix proudly continue a vital tradition, proving SF as diverse a field as ever.” --Asimov''s “[A] very satisfying classic Golden Age-style yarn…. strongly recommended” --Locus “Space opera of the ambitious, galaxy-spanning sort... fast and furious action.” --New York Review of SF

In this “dazzling adventure” from the New York Times–bestselling author, a man adrift in space finds himself facing the edge of madness (Jack McDevitt). The Frank Tipler is just one of a thousand survey vessels sent out into the bubble of space surrounding Earth, seeking habitable worlds and signs of advanced life. Its crew has stumbled across artifacts left behind by a benevolent trader species, but the decision to study them is fraught with danger and uncertainty. The Tipler''s crew consists of forty flawed electronic copies of human beings, some of them profoundly damaged—and Earth stopped responding to signals over a century ago. Caught between madness and political machinations, Alander stands on the brink of what might be the greatest discovery humanity has ever made—and a gift that humanity can’t afford to accept. “ECHOES OF EARTH is a dazzling adventure, sweeping the reader along from marvel to wonder, and it includes one of the most heart-stopping moments I''ve encountered in a novel in years.” —Jack McDevitt “[The] book can''t be discussed or even described without spoiling some of the surprises, which are mutually reinforcing as well as juicy in themselves. I will, however, give in to the temptation to drop a few more of the names that came to mind as I was reading: the Three Gregs (Bear, Benford, Egan), Linda Nagata, and Frederik Pohl…. As the first of a series... ECHOES promises to rev its Ideas right past the red-line and drive them hard.” —Locus “The science in Dix and Williams’s work shines, entrancing with its glitter and innovation… and you won’t find any of their novels without fully-fleshed out characters, complex plots, vivid settings and thoughtful exploration of issues.” —SF Site “The authors have already made a name for themselves as writers of intelligent space opera, and ECHOES OF EARTH is sure to further bolster that reputation. The book is chock full of marvelous events, cosmic significance, mysterious alien motivations, and the wonder of outer space.” —Science Fiction Chronicle Winner of the Ditmar Award.

The ruins of Sol System have been empty for thousands of years. A place of death and mystery, it is shunned by all--until now. DEADLINE TO DESTRUCTION: Renegade intelligence agent Morgan Roche arrives hot on the heels of the clone warriors--enemies she has been charged by the High Humans to stop before they destroy everything. What she finds--the largest fleet assembled in half a million years, with no central authority, no-one in charge--threatens to stretch her resources beyond their limit. There, under the light of the star called Sol, Morgan Roche will uncover the final truth about the AI called The Box, about the man called Adoni Cane, and about the High Human called the Crescend. That truth will cost her dearly… “Space opera of the ambitious, galaxy-spanning sort” --New York Review of SF “Space opera, like its grand musical cousin, couldn''t exist without duplicity, ambition, lust, stupidity, and greed, and by the time the fat lady sings, whole worlds can be laid waste - and, oddly enough, it''s this recognition of pain and evil as the generating forces of adventure that make A Dark Imbalance so satisfying.” --Locus “A story that twists and turns back on itself and keeps the reader always off-balance. There is danger, adventure and a labyrinth of loyalties. Excellent.” --SF Site Winner of the Aurealis Award. (Formerly published as A DARK IMBALANCE)

The sole survivors of the human race... and their time is running out. In the wake of Earth’s fall, Peter Alander has just one choice: to use the alien Gifts left behind on his distant colony world to warn other missions of their impending demise, a second wave of alien ships, this time intent on destroying everything in their path. Without the Gifts, humanity would have no hope at all--although no one truly understands them, and it is becoming increasingly certain that the very use of them is what draws the enemy on. Out of the dark comes help from an entirely unexpected quarter. Peter Alander and his fellow survivors are not the only victims of the terrible Starfish. But what if the cost of that help is too high? What if the price is humanity itself? “This book shines” —Cinescape “High adventure in deep space for fans of far-future SF.” —Library Journal Nominated for the Aurealis and Ditmar Awards.

On the brink of extinction, a suicide mission is humanity’s last hope. The Gifts of an alien race called the Spinners gave Peter Alander hope for the future of humanity. All the Gifts did, though, was draw down the wrath of the Starfish, another alien race apparently intent on wiping out all forms of competition. Caught between the two, humanity faces the hard decision of evolving into something else entirely simply to survive. As their new alien allies prepare to leave human space forever, a handful of survivors band together to make one last attempt to communicate with their enemies. A single ship will leap into the very heart of the Starfish fleet, attempting to find reason where none exists… “Space opera can be a very comforting, cozy mode, with its interstellar empires and royalty and guilds. But when dramatic Darwinian forces are brought into play, as here, space opera can become a kind of bracing, near-apocalyptic tale.” —Paul di Filippo “A melodramatic (or space-operatic) take on Stapledon, a grittier, bleaker take on Clarke…. a vision very different from the triumphalism of traditional SF adventure, but its darkness seems entirely appropriate to the twenty-first century we actually inhabit.” —Locus Nominated for the Aurealis Award.

The year is 2438. Humanity has migrated to the stars in discrete waves, driven by evolving technologies and new ways of being human. The far-flung Arc Systems struggle under the yoke of their newest rulers—Exarchs from Sol, whose monopoly on faster-than-light communication gives them absolute control of a growing interstellar empire. But humans weren’t the first to conquer the stars, and the discovery of an alien artifact promising transport between systems threatens to undermine the Exarchs’ power. Revolutionary leader Melilah Awad seeks an alliance to unlock Geodesica’s secrets with VOIDship pilot Palmer Eogan, a lover she lost to the Dark more than two centuries earlier. What they find could be more dangerous than anyone--human or more than human--could imagine….

An alien artifact’s mysteries could spark humanity’s collapse in the second novel of the Geodesica Duology from the New York Times–bestselling authors. Revolution spreads like wildfire through humanity’s interstellar empire, sparked by the opening of Geodesica and the destruction of an entire inhabited system. But who was ultimately responsible? And who will pay the price? Melilah Awad and Palmer Eogan delve deeper into Geodesica’s ancient alien labyrinth than anyone has ever dared, hoping to unravel its secrets before the hunter-killers from Earth bring them down. Former Exarch of Bedlam, Isaac Forge Deangelis, finds his grip on sanity slipping as his very reason for existing is ripped from him. While a rebel Exarch and Palmer Horsfall, grieving for her lost sister, form an alliance that might tear humanity’s interstellar empire apart . . . Praise for the Geodesica Duology “Splendid fun, brimming with heroes, villains, chicanery, neat imaginative details, some seriously cool space battles, and one of the most mind-twisting alien artifacts ever imagined.” —Alastair Reynolds, award-winning author “Williams and Dix have a flair for combining slam-bang adventures, intriguing characters and cutting-edge scientific and philosophical speculations, resulting in books that elevate your adrenaline and your intellect. This latest series is no exception to their reign.” —Paul di Filippo, author of The Big Get-Even “Williams and Dix are writing first-class MMPB space opera, chock full of what we’ve come to hope for; antagonists, allies and alien artifacts in perfectly balanced doses.” —Agony Column

The adventure continues in this third book in the New York Times bestselling series. Erdas is a land of balance. A rare link, the spirit animal bond, bridges the human and animal worlds. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan each have this gift-and the grave responsibility that comes with it.But the Conquerors are trying to destroy this balance. They''re swallowing whole cities in their rush for power-including Meilin''s home. Fed up with waiting and ready to fight, Meilin has set off into enemy territory with her spirit animal, a panda named Jhi. Her friends aren''t far behind . . . but they''re not the only ones.The enemy is everywhere.

Alaya Dawn Johnson Clair lives in a world revolutionised by d-mat, a global teleport system that allows people to transport themselves instantaneously around the world. When a coded note promises Improvement - the chance to change your body any way you want, making it stronger, taller, more beautiful - Clair thinks it''s too good to be true but her best friend, Libby, is determined to give it a try. What starts as Libby''s dream turns into Clair''s nightmare when Libby falls foul of a deadly trap. With the help of Jesse, the school freak, and a mysterious online friend called Q, Clair''s attempt to protect Libby leads her to an unimagined world of conspiracies and cover ups. Soon her own life is at risk, and Clair is chased across the world in a desperate race against time.

M. T. Anderson meets Cory Doctorow in this teen debut from #1 New York Times bestseller Sean Williams, who also coauthors the Troubletwisters series with Garth Nix. When a coded note promises improvement—the chance to change your body any way you want, making it stronger, taller, more beautiful—Clair thinks it''s too good to be true, but her best friend, Libby, falls into a deadly trap. With the help of the school freak and a mysterious stranger, Clair races against the clock and around the world to save Libby, even as every step draws her deeper into a deadly world of cover-ups and conspiracies. Action and danger fuel this near-future tale of technology, identity, and the lengths one girl will go to save her best friend.

New York Times–Bestselling Authors: Magically gifted twins must find a treasure before it falls into the wrong hands in a tale with “plot twists aplenty” (Booklist). Jack and Jaide Shield are troubletwisters—gifted with magic and cursed by The Evil, a force that will stop at nothing to destroy their world. Now an old man in an even older house has died mysteriously. The house holds something very important to The Evil—and Jack and Jaide must race to find it, even though they don’t know what it looks like or where it is. But Jack and Jaide aren’t the only ones searching for the treasure. And as the mystery gets bigger and bigger, they’re not sure who they can trust. Even friends are beginning to act suspicious. And their father, who should be their strongest ally, is leading them into treacherous territory. At the heart of all magic is mystery, and at the heart of this mystery is nothing less than the key to controlling magic. It’s going to take the two troubletwisters to the edge of their Gifts in order to figure this one out. “Exploring the ideas of secrets, self-identity, and trust, and with plot twists aplenty and intriguing new characters, this one delivers.” —Booklist

Focus: Irish Traditional Music is an introduction to the instrumental and vocal traditions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as Irish music in the context of the Irish diaspora. Ireland''s size relative to Britain or to the mainland of Europe is small, yet its impact on musical traditions beyond its shores has been significant, from the performance of jigs and reels in pub sessions as far-flung as Japan and Cape Town, to the worldwide phenomenon of Riverdance. Focus: Irish Traditional Music interweaves dance, film, language, history, and other interdisciplinary features of Ireland and its diaspora. The accompanying CD presents both traditional and contemporary sounds of Irish music at home and abroad.

Can twins Jack and Jaide find the mysterious Golden Card of Translocation and make it out of Rourke Castle alive? When eccentric Young Master Rourke dies in suspicious circumstances, troubletwisters Jack and Jaide are sent on a mission by their father to retrieve a lost Golden Card from somewhere within the vast Rourke estate. But secret agents for The Evil are also in pursuit of the card, and the troubletwister twins know that whoever finds it first will gain access to a Gift more powerful or terrible than any other. Together they negotiate secret passages, talking parrots and animated suits of armour, while trying to control their own fledgling Gifts. It rapidly becomes impossible to know who to trust and who might be an agent - even among those closest to them.

Tadpoles in the Torrens is alive with people, places and creatures from our everyday lives and from the quirky imaginations of poets. There are talking dogs, migrating spiders, old horses, twisted fairy tales, riddles, bike races and adventures in the country and city. Here are poems by some of South Australia''s best children''s writers.

The Jedi move one step closer to saving the embattled galaxy-only to confront a formidable wall of resistance.... The harrowing search for Zonama Sekot if finally over for Luke Skywalker, Jacen Solo, and others aboard the Jade Shado. But joy turns to alarm when the living planet sends a defiant message: it refuses to follow them back to a galaxy full of war, exploitation, and misery. While Luke works feverishly to persuade the elusive planet to reconsider, the Yuuzhan Vong launch a full- scale attack aimed at the heart of the new alliance. Sent to defend a major communicating base, Han and Leia find themselves hopelessly outnumbered. Reinforcements are just too far away to help before everything is destroyed. So the courageous pair must now fight an unrelenting battle against staggering odds. Whether they actually survive is another matter....

The second of a mass-market original trilogy charting the beginning of the galaxy''s victory over the dreaded Yuuzhan Vong alien invaders. Under the leadership of Luke Skywalker and a combined Jedi-government council, the newly formed Galatic Federation of Free Alliances is doggedly fighting back--and winning. Luke is on a quest for a legend, in hope of bringing back the ultimate answer to the war. And a mysterious prophet has risen among the Yuuzhan Vong lower castes to turn Yuuzhan Vong culture on its ear. This adventure includes major storylines for favorite characters, both old and new.

As the bloodied and weary galaxy faces battle once more, the Jedi take on the formidable task of bringing the last of the Empire into the light-From the ashes of the New Republic, torn apart by the Yuuzhan Vong forces, the newly formed Galactic Alliance has risen, determined to bring peace to the entire galaxy. But first the Yuuzhan Vong must be contained once and for all. And so Luke Skywalker seeks a world long lost to legend: Zonama Sekot, a sentient planet believed to have repelled an invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong decades before. Deciphering the enigmatic secrets of Zonama Sekot just might turn the relentless tides of war-

In a glacial lake at the top of the world‚ salvation and destruction await ... Haunted by a ghost from the future‚ Shilly and her man?kin allies are drawn into the snowbound mountains on a mission to save the world. Yod‚ trapped by the Castillo twins in the Void Beneath‚ may finally be breaking free. Hard on Shilly’s heels are Sal and his father‚ and an uneasy alliance of Sky Wardens‚ Panic and foresters. The stakes are high as ancient forces struggle for ascendancy‚ including the strange and alien glast‚ and a dragon with its own agenda. If the Goddess rises from her Tomb‚ the fate of the Ice Eaters will be sealed and they will kill anyone who tries to get in their way . . .

New York Times–Bestselling Authors: “This gripping fantasy for the middle-grade set delivers magic and delightful dollops of ick.” —Kirkus Reviews Ever since they moved to the town of Portland, many bizarre things have happened to Jaide and Jack Shield. The twins have discovered their own magical powers—and have seen how they can go horribly wrong. They have met cats who talk and humans who keep silent about deep, dark secrets. And they have begun their fight against a deadly force known only as The Evil. Still, Jaide and Jack have yet to meet the strangest resident of Portland. It’s a creature that only comes out at night, a beast that defies human description. Jaide and Jack have never seen it . . . but they’re about to. And when they do, destruction and disaster won’t be too far away . . .

Twins Jaide and Jack Shield discover that their father and grandmother are "wardens," tasked with defending portals and humanity from evil, but their lives change forever when they learn that they share the same powers.

Mit Star Wars: The Old Republic präsentieren BioWare und LucasArts - Schöpfer des erfolgreichen Videospiels Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - ein neuartiges Multiplayer-Online-Rollenspiel, das es den Spielern ermöglicht, ihr eigenes Star Wars Abenteuer 3500 Jahre vor dem Aufstieg Darth Vaders zu erleben. New York Times Bestsellerautor Sean Williams erweckt das Spiel mit seinem neuesten Roman Star Wars: The Old Republic: Eine unheilvolle Allianz zum Leben. Tassaa Bareesh, eine Matriarchin des Hutt- Verbrecherkartells, lädt zu einer Auktion, die in der ganzen Galaxis Aufmerksamkeit erregt. Sowohl Abgesandte der Republik als auch des Sith Imperiums werden auf den Plan gerufen, um Nachforschungen anzustellen. Darunter auch ein Jedi-Padawan, der wild entschlossen ist, das Richtige zu tun, eine ehemalige Soldatin der republikanischen Eliteeinheit Blackstar, die ihren Namen reinwaschen will und ein geheimnisvoller Mandalorianer mit einer ganz persönlichen Agenda. Keiner dieser Gäste hat allerdings die Absicht an der Versteigerung teilzunehmen. Ihr Ziel liegt verborgen in einer nahezu unerreichbaren Schatzkammer. Die verkohlten Reste eines explodierten Sternkreuzers enthalten den Schlüssel zum Reichtum einer ganzen Welt. Doch der Schatz birgt tödliche Gefahren. Am Ende werden Sith und Jedi, Republik und Imperium zu einer historischen Entscheidung gezwungen. Eine Entscheidung, zu der sie kein Vermittler - egal ob helle oder dunkle Seite der Macht - jemals hätte zwingen können. Sie müssen zusammenarbeiten, um eine Bedrohung aufzuhalten, die die gesamte Galaxis zerstören könnte.

New York Times–Bestselling Authors: After their house blows up, twelve-year-old twins discover a strange new world in this “enjoyable romp” (Publishers Weekly). Jaide and Jack Shield’s lives are changing in a very, very strange way. The weather is turning against them. Magical disasters occur when they’re around. And a mysterious explosion has just destroyed their house . . . from the inside. Without knowing why, the twins are stolen away to live with Grandma X—a relative they’ve never, ever met. At Grandma X’s house, things are even stranger. Weather vanes point in the opposite direction of the wind. Doors appear and disappear. Cats talk. Jaide and Jack don’t know the reason behind all this strangeness. They don’t know that they’re troubletwisters, and that they must defend the world against a dark, evil force. The time has come for them to discover the truth—and the powers that come with the truth. Are they ready? “Full of adventure and the unexpected, the first book in Nix and Williams’s new series is delightfully twisted. The pacing is perfect, the setting is eerily dark, the faceless Evil rings true, and the resolution is satisfying.” —Booklist

This book explores the life and performance practices of the Irish sean-nØs singer Joe Heaney (1919-1984). Born in Connemara, Heaney grew up speaking the Irish language on a windswept coastal landscape, where he absorbed a rich oral heritage in Irish and in his second language, English.

A unique, integrative, team-centered approach to writing and formatting technical documents Technical Professionals: Do you have difficulty producing high-quality documents with multiple contributors when faced with a tight deadline? Do you need a process that enables global team members to collaborate online as they produce sophisticated documents? Do you prefer the ease of a WYSIWG desktop publishing tool like Microsoft Word rather than more complex software like LaTeX? Professors and Graduate Students: Do you want to streamline the process of writing multi-investigator papers, reports, proposals, and books? Do you spend a lot of time formatting documents instead of thinking and writing? Do you write research papers in Microsoft Word and then need to convert them to LaTeX for your thesis? Do you write research papers in LaTeX and then need to convert them to Microsoft Word when embarking on collaborations with your colleagues from industry? Undergraduate Students: Do you need to write a research paper and don''t know where to start? Do you need to collaborate with classmates on a long paper and find yourself lost in organizational details rather than immersed in the content? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, Technical Writing for Teams: The STREAM Tools Handbook is for you. It provides an easy-to-learn system that streamlines individual and collaborative writing, allowing you and your teams to instantly become more productive and create the highest quality documents in a minimum amount of time. Introduced here are the STREAM Tools—Scientific and Technical wRiting, Editing, And file Management Tools—which unlock your collaborators'' potential and addresses team dynamics, separation of duties, and workflow. You''ll see how to ensure compatibility among multiple writers, achieve consistent formatting, organize content, integrate bibliographic databases, automate the process of document preparation, and move content between Microsoft Word and LaTeX. Checklists, guidelines, and success stories are also included to help you operate as efficiently as possible. From planning and editing documents to solving common team writing problems to managing workflow, Technical Writing for Teams: The STREAM Tools Handbook is the one-stop reference that allows teams to collaborate successfully and create unified, effective documents.

Ollie really has his work cut out for him this time. Getting safely to the Fixers'' home world is just the first step. Then he has to find out what their plan is, seal up the holes in the multiverse, and get home again, all before his parents wake up and find him gone. Psychic typewriter - check. Telepathic TV - check. Wicked widget - check. He needs every advantage imaginable-and all the help from himself he can get.

In a remote city on the edge of two worlds, where blood has power and water is more precious than freedom, three far-flung friends unite on a quest to save their families. Sal Hrvati’s estranged father has brought more into the world than the woman he loved. Instead of saving her from the Void Beneath, he has summoned an unknown creature—a creature with a mission of its own and a past that stretches back to the beginning of the world. The quest to find both of them entangles Sal and his companions in a hunt for magical treasure on the floor of the Divide, a mighty crack in the earth inhabited by creatures that are not remotely human. Desert landscapes and dirigibles feature in a fast-paced fantasy that combines romance, adventure, and humor with an original take on magic. The Books of the Cataclysm take inspiration from many arcane and mythological sources. In positing that this world is just one of many "realms," three of which are inhabited by humans during various stages of their lives, it begins in the present world but soon propels the reader to a landscape that is simultaneously familiar and fantastic.

Private detective Jonah McEwen is wanted for murder. Someone has been killing women who resemble Marylin Blaylock, his former colleague and ex-lover. The latest grisly discovery is right on his doorstep. He is the obvious suspect. The problem? He has been in a coma for three years - a coma he has no memory of entering. And there''s worse to come. Using matter transporter technology, or "d-mat," a serial killer know only as the Twinmaker has been brutally torturing and killing perfect facsimiles of his victims and leaving the originals alive. As legal arguments rage about whether this even constitutes murder, Jonah finds himself in the awkward position of defending his innocence when his own exact copy might actually be guilty. Set in a time where the lines between human and machine are increasingly blurred, The Resurrected Man explores the future of terrorism, law enforcement, and globe-spanning conspiracies. A perfect blend of suspense and science fiction, the novel follows the complexities of Jonah and Marylin''s relationship and their quest to find the killer before he strikes again, as well as unravelling the tensions between Jonah and his father - a man who has been dead for three years but who might yet hold the key to everything... Nominated for the Aurealis Award and winner of the Ditmar Award, The Resurrected Man was hailed as a "tour de force" in Australia, the author''s home country, and described as "compulsively readable" by Locus.

A prequel to the upcoming multi-player online game follows a smuggler''s discovery of a rich treasure that sparks a competition involving the Republic, the Empire, the Hutts and the Jedi High Council, all of whom are manipulated by an enigmatic spy. Video game tie-in.

Eo''s Castle was just the beginning of Ollie''s troubles. Armed with nothing but a psychic typewriter, Ollie resumes his quest to get back home-to the street where nothing works quite right, and the sinister Fixers are breaking holes in much more than the sidewalk. Instead he finds himself on a rescue mission in deep space, fighting pirates who are more machine than human, with a cat who wishes he was human . . .

The Divide is flooded, at great cost of human - and inhuman - life. Far from home, Sal, Shilly and Skender seek the source of the deluge in the legendary Hanging Mountains, traveling in a magical ship of bone. New threats await them in the fog forests of the Panic, and new tests of their friendship. Caught in a conflict that erupts between two long-forgotten civilizations, they struggle to discern ally from foe, and to find trust when it is needed most. In their wake comes the Homunculus, vessel and prison of the Castillo twins - sole, strange survivors of the catastrophe that changed the world forever, a thousand years ago. Their mission is paramount, their urgency contagious. Something much darker and deadlier than the Swarm is stirring in the heart of the mountains. And for Habryn Kail, already assumed dead by his masters, it might really be the finish of him, this time ...