Most Popular Books by Sean Williams

What if future criminals played games of skill for their freedom? Would spellcasters dare use magic to skew chance in their favor? What if aliens judged us based on the games we play? Can a dying woman literally cheat Death? Games are about more than winning and losing. They''re about risk and reward, strategy and blind fortune, our need to win and our fear of being outplayed. And when magic and science infuse a game, the stakes can be of cosmic importance. Each move could decide life or death. Are you ready to play? In this anthology, seventeen of today''s leading fantasy and science fiction authors explore the role games play in worlds both seen and unseen. Join Aliette de Bodard, Jennifer R Povey, Ed Greenwood, Cory Swanson, David Hankins, Cat Rambo, Wulf Moon, Jo Miles, James Alan Gardner, Karen Aria Lin, Mike Rimar, Eric Choi, Tris Lawrence, Mark Silcox, Melissa Yi, Michael Picco, and Sean Williams as they share with us games played for unimaginable stakes. The board is set, the cards are dealt—now it''s GAME ON!

In the searing finale to the Last Man trilogy, Supreme Commander Ian stands up for his country and his family as the war rages on! The fight marches right up the East Coast straight into Washington, DC, where the Pirate Army and new warriors they meet along the way make their final stand to defend freedom against the Femtheist Herself, Wilma the Wicked, and Artemis the Killer Huntress. In order to make the ultimate defense, Ian must fight harder than ever before, learn how to break through the boundaries of his own body, and test the limits of the people who are fighting with him. But when the bullets run out and the body count rises, will Ian, Mandy, Lee, and their fellow generals find a way to save the country they know and love? Pick up Final Bout today, and take a final stand against the tyranny of Femtheism!

Seemingly returned from the dead, the assassin Starkiller, who has been purged of his memories, reunites with beautiful Imperial fighter pilot Juno Eclipse to fight back against Darth Vader and avoid permanent enslavement to the dark side of the Force

Sal and his friend Shilly have been joined by a third refugee, Skendar, by the time they make their way to the remote island that is the home of the famous, feared Haunted City, home of the Sky Wardens. Sal''s great aunt, the Syndic, is also there, and she is determined to keep Sal under control, even if she has to imprison him to do it. But there are greater threats even than that. The ghosts that live behind the ancient glass of the City are restless. No one can say why they are stirred up and no one has any idea what they can do if they act. The golem is determined to make Sal do its bidding and will not stop short of murder to obtain his obedience. It appears that the Weavers have plans as well, yet no one knows, or will admit knowing, whether the legendary Weavers even exist or what they are. Beset on all sides by dangerous powers and controlling agendas, Sal must find a way to choose his own path . . . or submit to a fate not of his own making.

Based on the online game developed by BioWare and LucasArts, this novel is set in the Old Republic--thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader--and contains characters from the game.

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....

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.

Sal''s life has been thrown into turmoil and he is on the run, from more than one pursuer, it appears. He is accompanied by his newfound friend Shilly and he is not entirely sure where he wants to go—but Shilly is. She wants to find her teacher Lodo''s old teacher, the Mage Van Haasteren, which means they must head north to the Interior, where Sal''s mother was born. The journey is over rugged, mountainous country on the Old Line and it is dangerous. The Sky Warden Shom Behenna is after them and they must risk all to reach the Divide and get across to the other side, not even knowing if the Stone Mages will help them.

A great misdeed has been committed. It was the cover-up of the true fruit of knowledge. The church and the government both seek to prevent us from finding this truth because they know that it means an end to their comfort. The true purpose of the fruit of knowledge is to reconnect each one of our individual minds to God. It was not forbidden by God, the church and the government forbid us from eating it because they seek to keep us under control. Break free from their deception. Awaken your spiritual mind and find God''s love for yourself. This book proves that Jesus was inspired by the psychedelic experience and deciphers the Gospel of Thomas in order to complete Jesus'' true message and teachings. Your eternal life depends on you reading this book.

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 ...

Bright Star of the West examines the life, repertoire, and influence of Ireland''s greatest sean-nos (old-style) singer, Joe Heaney (1919-1984). Best known for popularing this form of Gaelic a cappella folk song in the United States, authors Sean Williams and Lillis Ó Laoire reveal the ways in which Heaney''s life story demonstrates the intertwining of music with political memory and cultural understanding.

Clarkesworld is a Hugo Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction (new and classic works), articles, interviews and art. Our April 2014 issue contains: Original Fiction by Michael Swanwick ("Passage of Earth"), Benjanun Sriduangkaew ("Autodidact"), Kali Wallace ("Water in Springtime") and Sean Williams ("The Cuckoo"). Classic stories by Susan Palwick ("Going After Bobo") and Dominic Green ("Shining Armor"). Non-fiction by Julie Novakova ("Realms of Dark, Deep and Cold"), an interview with Ben Tanzer, an Another Word column by Daniel Abraham, and an editorial by Neil Clarke

M. T. Anderson meets Cory Doctorow in the exciting sequel to Twinmaker, from #1 New York Times bestseller Sean Williams, who also coauthors the Troubletwisters series with Garth Nix. Clair and Jesse have barely been reunited when the world is plunged into its biggest crisis since the Water Wars. The d-mat network is broken. The world has ground to a halt. People are trapped, injured, dying. It''s the end of the world as Clair knows it—and it''s partly her fault. Now she''s been enlisted to track down her friend Q, the rogue AI who repeatedly saved her life—and who is the key to fixing the system. Targeted by dupes, abandoned by her friends, and caught in a web of lies that strike at the very essence of who she is, Clair quickly finds powerful and dangerous allies. But if she helps them, will she be leading her friend straight into a trap? Caught between pro- and anti-d-mat philosophies, in a world on the brink of all-out war, Clair must decide where she stands—and who she stands with, at the end.

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 to shreds by the savage 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 ago. Deciphering the enigmatic secrets of Zonama Sekot just might turn the tides of a relentless war. Aboard the Jade Shadow, Luke, his wife Mara, Jacen Solo, and other Jedi head off into the Unknown Regions, where rumors and clues suggest Zonama Sekot might be found. Yet the mission has barely begun when the searchers stumble into a horrific battle. The Imperial Remnant, in retreat from the mighty Yuuzhan Vong, is about to be destroyed. It would seem those aboard the Jade Shadow have little choice but to leave the Empire to its fate. But these are no ordinary space travelers, they are Jedi. . . . Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!

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.

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.

This book points out the undeniable similarities between The Gospel of Thomas, the psychedelic experience, the mystic path, and the near death experience in order to put together the big picture and expose the truth about our existence. Can you put together the similarities and understand the TRUTH that organized religion and the government have sought to keep from us? Do you have the ears to HEAR?