New Releases by Tobias S. Buckell

For decades, science fiction has compelled us to imagine futures both inspiring and cautionary. Whether it''s a cryptic message encountered by a survey ship, the discovery of alien life in the distant reaches of space, a window into a future Earth, or the adventures of well-meaning AI, science fiction inspires our imagination and delivers a lens through which we can view ourselves and the world around us. At the very heart of the genre is short fiction, the secret lab that has introduced many of the new ideas, techniques, and voices prominent across all other media. In The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Eight, Hugo and Locus Award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a comprehensive year-in-review of 2022''s short fiction markets and selects thirty-one of its best stories from the wealth of magazines, anthologies, podcasts, and collections that make up the field. In these pages you''ll find works by both the new and established authors who are setting the pace for science fiction today and into tomorrow. Start your journey here.

☆ IBPA Book Award Silver Winner for Neurodivergent Communities "[A] dazzling exploration of the extraordinary potential within the neurodivergent mind. By transplanting these unique perspectives into fantastical realms, the authors masterfully illuminate the challenges and triumphs of those who see the world differently." —Erin Garcia, host of the podcast ASK! Autism Support and Knowledge A diverse, hopeful book of neurodiversity-themed science fiction short stories, poetry, and art for anyone who loves science fiction, who cares about neurodiversity, or who wants to see optimistic visions of the future. Would neurodiversity be an advantage in an encounter with aliens? Let''s find out! Heartbroken starships. Human-sized hamster balls. Superpowers unleashed by anxiety. A planet covered in mathematical fidgets. And we finally learn why aliens abduct cows. A diverse, hopeful anthology of neurodiversity-themed science fiction short stories, poetry and art for anyone who loves science fiction, who cares about neurodiversity, or who wants to see optimistic visions of the future. Featuring stories, poems and art from Tobias S. Buckell, M. D. Cooper, Ada Hoffmann, Jody Lynn Nye, Cat Rambo, and nearly forty other contributors, The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters was edited by Anthony Francis, author of the award-winning urban fantasy novel Frost Moon, and Liza Olmsted, editor of the writing inspiration book Your Writing Matters. The Neurodiversiverse includes themes of autism, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, synesthesia, several kinds of anxiety, avoidant attachment disorder, dissociative disorder, and more.

Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance and Other Stories is Tobias S. Buckell''s seventh short fiction collection and is comprised of 15 stories, several of which are original to the collection or were previously only available through his Patreon. This collection ranges from galactic adventures to intimate explorations of humanity—sometimes in the same story—rich with a sense of wonder and deft storytelling. This collection includes the following stories: Io, Robot A Jar of Goodwill Pale Blue Memories Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance The Mighty Slinger Sunset Chi''s Cargo Destination Day Blues The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex Five Point Three Milligrams By the Warmth of Their Calculus DW The Very Last Curator of What Little Remains of the Western World A Girl and Her Rover The Longest Distance

From the legends of Atlantis, El Dorado, and Shangri-La to classic novels such as King Solomon''s Mine, The Land That Time Forgot, and The Lost World, readers have long been fascinated by the idea of lost worlds and mythical kingdoms. Read short stories featuring the discovery of such worlds or kingdoms--stories where scientists explore unknown places, stories where the discovery of such turns the world on its head, stories where we''re struck with the sense of wonder at realizing that we don''t know our world quite as well as we''d thought. Featuring new tales by today''s masters of SF&F: Tobias S. Buckell James L. Cambias Becky Chambers Kate Elliott C.C. Finlay Jeffrey Ford Theodora Goss Darcie Little Badger Jonathan Maberry Seanan McGuire An Owomoyela Dexter Palmer Cadwell Turnbull Genevieve Valentine Carrie Vaughn Charles Yu E. Lily Yu

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #45. This is an fun issue, and I’ve selected Tobias S. Buckell’s fantasy “The Fisher Dragon” as the cover story. (I must admit to having a fondness for dragons. The very first story I sold professionally, way back at the dawn of time when I was 16 years old, was about a dragon. And they appear in several of my novels, most notably Master of Dragons.) Thanks to acquiring editor Cynthia Ward for selecting it. Black Cat’s other acquiring editors are represented in this issue, too—Michael Bracken selected an original mystery from John M. Floyd, and Barb Goffman has a tale about a retired detective by Steve Hockensmith (whose “Holmes on the Range” series of historical mystery stories are must-reads, as far as I’m concerned. Check then out if you get a chance.) And last (but not least), Darrell Schweitzer unearthed one of his paleo-interviews for us—this time with Craig Shaw Gardner. It''s from the 1990s, when Gardner had just become a best-selling author, thanks to his Batman movie novelization. And we have classics by George O. Smith, Henry Kuttner, and many others, including a 1915 Nick Carter mystery novel. And, of course, a modern solve-it-yourself mystery from Hal Charles (the writing team of Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet). Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “From Ten to Two” by John M. Floyd [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “An Eggceptional Solution” Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Frank” by Steve Hockensmith [Barb Goffman Presents short story] The Bush-Rancher, by Harold Bindloss [novel] The Suicide, by Nicholas Carter [novel] Non-Fiction: “Speaking with Craig Shaw Gardner” [Interview with Darrell Schweitzer] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Fisher Dragon”by Tobias S. Buckell [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Catspaw,” by George O. Smith [short story] “The Half-Haunted,” by Manly Wade Wellman [short story] “The Sea-Witch,” by Nictzin Dyalhis [short story] “Chameleon Man,” by Henry Kuttner [short story]

The lutanist Khalil has always served the failing king loyally--and as repayment for his services, the king''s general dispatches the peaceful minstrel to slay the dreaded dragon Moloch.

Traffic is piling up, and strange things are headed your way in this new story collection by World Fantasy Award-winning author Tobias S. Buckell. In these twenty-seven stories you’ll find inhabitants of a small town who won’t vaccinate against a zombie plague, a lone sentry keeping motorists from stumbling into something ancient and evil, a man who puts stranded ghosts to rest, an ex-soldier traveling the seas who trades his new life of hardship for a return to swords and blood, and many more tales of speculative fiction. u200bBuckell’s fertile imagination is on display in Shoggoths in Traffic and Other Stories as he comments on edgy issues of injustice and offers a thorny path to discover the human heart and all the strange things humans do. All the while, he keeps you looking over your shoulder, waiting for rush hour to end.

The New York Times bestseller—part of the expanded universe based on the award-winning video game series Halo! 2535. It is the first, desperate days of the Human-Covenant War, and the United Nations Space Command has enacted “the Cole Protocol” to safeguard Earth and its inner colonies from discovery by its merciless alien foe. Many are called upon to rid the galaxy of lingering navigation data that could potentially reveal the location of Earth and ensure the destruction of humanity. Among those tasked with eliminating any trace of such dangerous information is Navy Lieutenant Jacob Keyes—now saddled with a top-secret mission by the Office of Naval Intelligence…one that will take him to a corner of the galaxy where nothing is as it seems. Out beyond the Outer Colonies lies the planet Hesiod, a gas giant surrounded by a vast asteroid belt. As the Covenant continues to glass the human-occupied planets near Hesiod, many of the survivors, aided by a stronghold of human insurrectionists, are fleeing to the asteroids for refuge. They have transformed the tumbling satellites into a tenuous yet ingenious settlement known as the Rubble—and have come face-to-face with a Covenant settlement of Kig-Yar…yet somehow survived. News of this unlikely treaty has spread to the warring factions. Luckily for the UNSC, this uneasy alliance is in the path of the Spartan Gray Team, a three-person renegade squad whose simple task is to wreak havoc from behind enemy lines in any way they see fit. But the Prophets have also sent their very best—an ambitious and ruthless Elite whose quest for nobility and rank is matched only by his brutality…

An unabridged collection spotlighting the “best of the best” science fiction stories published in 2017 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. In “My English Name,” by R. S. Benedict, an intelligent alien, who parasitizes an English teacher in China, falls in love. After a victorious space battle, an indentured robot finds a refugee who makes an offer it can’t refuse in “Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance” by Tobias S. Buckell. In “The Moon is Not a Battlefield,” by Indrapramit Das, an Indian soldier retires on Earth after spending most of her life on the Moon. A young woman joins the U.S. Army to fight terrorists after aliens arrive on Earth bearing tech gifts unevenly dispersed to humans in “Dear Sarah” by Nancy Kress. In “An Evening with Severyn Grimes,” by Rich Larson, a gifted hacker uses cyberspace to extract pay back on the rich businessman who put her in prison. Set in the author’s hexarchate universe, an ex-Kel super soldier is enlisted to retrieve a weapon of mass destruction stolen by a rogue general in “The Chameleon’s Gloves” by Yoon Ha Lee. In “The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata, on a dying Earth, an architect remotely building a monument to mankind on Mars receives a message from an abandoned Mars colony. A petty meat counterfeiter is blackmailed into forging T-bone steaks for an anonymous thug in “A Series of Steaks” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. In “The Residue of Fire,” by Robert Reed, a torturer tries to cope with one of his alien victims who witnessed a pivotal moment in the lives of two immortals, in this Great Ship tale. And finally, in this Revelation Space tale, a starship captain wakes from hibernation with her ship stalled next to an alien artifact and a mutiny in progress in “Night Passage” by Alastair Reynolds.

WINNER OF THE WORLD FANTASY AWARD FOR BEST COLLECTION From award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell comes a fantasy novel told in four parts about a land crippled by the use of magic, and a tyrant who is trying to rebuild an empire—unless the people find a way to resist. Khaim, The Blue City, is the last remaining city in a crumbled empire that overly relied upon magic until it became toxic. It is run by a tyrant known as The Jolly Mayor and his devious right hand, the last archmage in the world. Together they try to collect all the magic for themselves so they can control the citizens of the city. But when their decadence reaches new heights and begins to destroy the environment, the people stage an uprising to stop them. In four interrelated parts, The Tangled Lands is an evocative and epic story of resistance and heroic sacrifice in the twisted remains surrounding the last great city of Khaim. Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell have created a fantasy for our times about a decadent and rotting empire facing environmental collapse from within—and yet hope emerges from unlikely places with women warriors and alchemical solutions.

An original full-length novel set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! It has been six years since the end of the Covenant War...and yet on the planet Carrow, a world on the edge of the Joint Occupation Zone, a decisive new battle suddenly erupts. Human colonists and the alien Sangheili have already been living a tension-filled coexistence in this place, with Unified Earth Government envoy Melody Azikiwe attempting to broker a lasting peace between their two species. But as civil war now engulfs the Sangheili, Melody must act on an additional covert assignment courtesy of the Office of Naval Intelligence: free the SPARTAN-IIs known as Gray Team, held in stasis since the end of the war by a cunning Elite fleetmaster consumed with vengeance. And none can anticipate the ongoing violence leading to the discovery of an even greater, unstoppable threat—one hidden for eons below the surface of the planet...

A sensational short story collection in the expansive universe of HALO, the New York Times bestselling series! Launch once more into galaxy-spanning conflict and legendary heroism…shards of an ever-expanding journey where human and alien alike find their finest hours in facing their greatest challenges. These scattered stories span untold millennia, from the age of the ancient custodial race known as the Forerunners…to the aftermath of the Covenant’s bloody war against humanity…and even the shocking events surrounding the resurrection of the mysterious Guardians. Halo: Fractures explores mythic tales of bravery and sacrifice that blaze brightly at the very heart of the Halo universe. Featuring electrifying works from such acclaimed authors as: Tobias Buckell • Troy Denning • Matt Forbeck • Kelly Gay • Christie Golden • Kevin Grace • Morgan Lockhart • John Jackson Miller • Frank O’Connor • Brian Reed • Joseph Staten • James Swallow

A storm is coming.... Introducing a pulse-pounding technothriller by the New York Times bestselling author of Arctic Rising Prudence "Roo" Jones never thought he''d have a family to look after—until suddenly he found himself taking care of his orphaned teenage nephew. Roo, a former Caribbean Intelligence operative, spends his downtime on his catamaran dodging the punishing hurricanes that are the new norm in the Caribbean. Roo enjoys the simple calm of his new life—until an unexpected package from a murdered fellow spy shows up. Suddenly Roo is thrown into the center of the biggest storm of all. Using his wits—and some of the more violent tricks of his former trade—Roo begins to unravel the mystery that got his friend killed. When a polished and cunning woman claiming to be murdered spy''s sister appears, the two find themselves caught up in a global conspiracy with a weapon that could change the face of the world forever. In Hurricane Fever, New York Times bestselling author Tobias Buckell (Arctic Rising, Halo: The Cole Protocol) has crafted a kinetic technothriller perfect for fans of action-packed espionage within a smartly drawn geo-political landscape. Roo is an anti–James Bond for a new generation. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Global warming has transformed the Earth, and it''s about to get even hotter. The Arctic Ice Cap has all but melted, and the international community is racing desperately to claim the massive amounts of oil beneath the newly accessible ocean. Enter the Gaia Corporation. Its two founders have come up with a plan to roll back global warming. Thousands of tiny mirrors floating in the air can create a giant sunshade, capable of redirecting heat and cooling the earth''s surface. They plan to terraform Earth to save it from itself—but in doing so, they have created a superweapon the likes of which the world has never seen. Anika Duncan is an airship pilot for the underfunded United Nations Polar Guard. She''s intent on capturing a smuggled nuclear weapon that has made it into the Polar Circle and bringing the smugglers to justice. Anika finds herself caught up in a plot by a cabal of military agencies and corporations who want Gaia Corporation stopped. But when Gaia Corp loses control of their superweapon, it will be Anika who has to decide the future of the world. The nuclear weapon she has risked her life to find is the only thing that can stop the floating sunshade after it falls into the wrong hands. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

When humanity expanded beyond the safety of Earth to new stars and horizons, they never dreamed what dangers they would encounter there. When the alien juggernaut known as the Covenant declared holy war upon the fragile human empire, millions of lives were lost—but, millions of heroes rose to the challenge. In such a far-reaching conflict, not many of the stories of these heroes, both human and alien, have a chance to become legend. This collection holds eleven stories that dive into the depths of the vast Halo universe, not only from the perspective of those who fought and died to save humanity, but also those who vowed to wipe humanity out of existence. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Welcome to Chilo, a planet with corrosive rain, crushing pressure, and deadly heat. Fortunately, fourteen-year-old Timas lives in one of the domed cities that float 100,000 feet above the surface, circling near the edge of a monstrous perpetual storm. Above the acidic clouds the temperature and pressure are normal. But to make a living, Timas like many other young men, is lowered to the surface in an armored suit to scavenge what he can. Timas''s life is turned upside down when a strange man crash lands on the city. The newcomer is fleeing an alien intelligence intent on invading the planet and discovering the secret hidden deep inside the perpetual storm—a secret that could lead to interplanetary war. As the invaded cities fall silent one by one, Chilo''s citizens must race against time to stop the enemy. And Timas will find out what kind of man he has become in the harsh conditions of Chilo''s surface. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“First-class space adventure, with tip-top characterization, action, and world-building.”—Booklist on Ragamuffin

The only hope for a planets delivery from the fearsome Azteca lies in a mythical artifact said to be hidden somewhere in the frozen north. Tobias S. Buckell is a dazzling new voice, and "Crystal Rain" is an explosive debut.--Hugo Award winner Robert J. Sawyer ("Hominids").