Fantasy Science Fiction Adventure

Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more - a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.

Cursed and dying, Thorn has landed at a crossroad. He can either give up and die, or walk a path he never wanted to touch. Reluctantly accepting that his only chance at life rests in corrupt magic, Thorn soon finds himself exploring a world of ancient mysteries, all while trying to hide his tracks from those who want to hunt him down. Pursued by bounty hunters intent on dragging him back in chains, Thorn soon discovers the plot is deeper than he thought. Even the Tardoff clan, one of the powerful challenger families, is intent on capturing him and extracting his knowledge of ancient runes.

Arthur lives with his father, a fallen but proud former noble, in Border Village #49, along with the other good folks condemned to toil in service to the Baron. But Arthur has an edge: a stolen heart card that secretly fell into his possession, thanks to a dragon. It’s a priceless source of power for the Baron and the tyrant will kill to get it back. Invaluable, too, to a young man of spellcasting ambitions.

Enjoying his childhood, he paid no attention to the world, its secrets, or to those around him. Little did he know that his ignorance would be his undoing. Now, as an outcast looked down upon everyone, he has to endure humiliation as he stares into the eyes of the one who took everything from him. Life had taught him that the strong wouldn't hesitate to stab the weak in the back. But what if he became one of the strong?

New York Times best-selling author Eric Flint has received glowing critical praise for his Ring of Fire alternate history series. In this first installment, a West Virginia town is transported from the year 2000 to 1631 Germany at the height of the Thirty Years’ War. Thrust into conflict, the town residents must also contend with moral issues such as who should be considered a citizen.

Born on a forsaken desert planet, Cole Shaw has two options - perish from starvation and disease, or enlist in the New World Republic’s armed forces. He chooses the military. For the first time, he thinks he has a shot at a better life. But survival is not guaranteed. Leading an elite team of mech operators, he is deployed to a frozen planet called Ferrous where dangerous relics of a past war lurk beneath the ice and savage creatures prowl the barren wastelands. Scientists on Ferrous are chasing rumors of godlike technologies buried in the ruins of a long-extinct civilization.

A girl named Charmain must inhabit her ailing great-uncle's time-traveling home full of magical belongings. As Charmain begins a journey of amazing discoveries, she comes to the attention of the powerful sorceress Sophie and an elusive wizard named Howl.

The magic that holds both the Upperworld and the Underworld together is crumbling—fast. And if someone doesn't fix it soon, everyone and everything will die. Maren uses her magic—her connection to the Underworld—to call up the elven shadow king, Kynan, to discuss a prophetic dream. Instead of having a helpful chat, Kynan drags her to the Underworld and demands that she mate with him to repair the magic of the realms.

In the fourth installment of the Star-Crossed Series, we find Eden Matthews a prisoner in the very household she set out to destroy. She is without magic and engaged to the same boy who betrayed her and everyone she loves. With her wedding looming on the horizon, conditions for her people continue to worsen, and her goal of offering her kingdom freedom seems further away than ever. Her brother is free, however, and building a rebellion that hopes to rescue her.

Peter V. Brett has won accolades from critics, fans and fellow authors alike for this riveting debut novel. The Warded Man features a world where demons stalk the night, hunting humans who have long forgotten the magic of their ancestors. But all is not lost, as some hold out hope that a savior will release humanity from the demons' terrifying reign.

Raphael was born with the mark of the dragon. His foster father taught him a mysterious and ancient magic unlike anything seen since the last dragon left the world.

On the world of Marconen, your first Break determines the trajectory of your life. Calvin chose magic. Without proper schooling or a mentor, the boy is dragged by the cruel whims of fate across the face of the planet, blending together different schools of magic and powerful abilities to create something new. But there's a deeper secret behind his success. Why was he born an exile from his country? Why is his System so strange, and why does it keep talking to him? As the march of time continues, something evil grows in power across the ocean.

The Catenan Republic—the Hierarchy—may rule the world now, but they do not know everything. I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilized society in allowing my strength, my drive, and my focus—what they call Will—to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.

Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King's Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert's name. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse - unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances....

Richard Royal has a hard life. He lives in a corrupt, church-controlled dystopia, his family is soon broken, and the only joy to be had comes from the escapism of his full-immersion gaming. Introduced to a new and very illegal game, he finds himself in the body of a dragon, on a quest to find a dark and evil power to serve. But the game is more than it seems, and the dragon is more than a beast. Soon Rich's life is far, far more complicated than he ever expected. And the threats against him grow, both in-game and in realspace.

The newly renamed Vance Turbo has sabotaged his own career at Space Fleet Academy due to a desire to atone for a training accident. Unfortunately, his actions result in him getting press-ganged into an expendable crew of misfits recruited by a legendary starship captain. Their mission? To recover a collection of lost sun-destroying missiles that could restart a galactic war. Unfortunately, Vance is smart enough to know something is wrong with this picture. After all, no sane person would recruit this crew to save the universe.

Diving into a revolutionary new video game, Marcus and his friends escape a stagnant society, entering into a world that defies their wildest imaginations. But from the moment that he logs in, Marcus finds himself separated from his friends and thrown into a remote village under attack by a horde of goblins. Forced into battle, Marcus rallies the beleaguered villagers and, with their help, manages to drive off the invading creatures. With the village in ruins and their supplies spoiled, the villagers turn to Marcus for help in rebuilding the village.

High in the mountains, deep in the safety of a cave, a brood of dragons is born. The four young ones are among the last of a dying breed---the final hope for dragons' survival. But hope shatters when a murderous group of slave-trading dwarves breaks into the cave, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Only young Auron, a rare scaleless gray dragon, manages to escape.

Stranded on the distant planet Tschai, young Adam Reith is the sole survivor of a space mission who discovers the world is inhabited - not only by warring alien cultures but by human slaves as well, taken early in Earth's history. Reith must find a way off the planet to warn Earth of Tschai's deadly existence.

In the Prime Kingdoms, the system dominates everything. It dictates one’s strength, skills, and power. It spawns dungeons and guides the actions of their monsters. But every system has its limits, and it’s about to push four oddball adventurers to theirs.