Fantasy Adventure

Published in chronological order, with extensive story and bibliographic notes, this series not only provides access to stories that have been out of print for years, but gives them a historical and social context. Series editors Scott Conners and Ronald S. Hilger excavated the still-existing manuscripts, letters and various published versions of the stories, creating a definitive "preferred text" for Smith's entire body of work. This second volume of the series brings together 20 of his fantasy stories.

When Peter finds himself on a strange planet, drafted into a war by alien abductors, his only goal is to be one of the few to survive the war and return home to Earth. Peter is one of thousands who get abducted every year, as payment to the aliens. The aliens have given humans portal travel, healing serums, and other advanced alien technology. The quality of life has improved, but everything has a price.

The New York Times best-selling master of alternate history delivers the captivating first novel in his new World War II series. Harry Turtledove imagines how the war in Europe would have ended had British prime minister Chamberlain refused to allow Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland.

A world recovering from a devastating plague. A brutal enemy threatening invasion. A young man seeking to escape the shadow of his father. A ship manned by a crew of fresh academy graduates. A top-secret experimental propulsion system. A questionable alliance with a mysterious green-eyed woman. What destiny has in store for the crew of the UES Aurora is far greater than any of them could ever imagine. And this is only the beginning....

A ship under siege. A world on the brink of civil war. A distraught people seeking a new beginning. A battle weary crew that can barely hold it together. Even a legend can use a little help from time to time. The crew of the Aurora, the Karuzari, and the Corinairans must find a way to work together, or else they may all perish.

Eco-terrorists unleash the worst attack the world has ever seen. Over 25,000 autonomous combat drones are released in Manhattan. Hundreds of thousands are dead, and the entire island is evacuated and quarantined in just a few days' time. Ten years later, Manhattan is still empty of humans, with the exception of the salvage specialists of the most watched reality show in history: Zone War. Produced live and unedited, the show follows five teams of armored vehicle specialists who brave the active drones to recover lost riches and collect bounties on dead ones.

The government has accelerated their super soldier program. Their new Virtual Reality system is the perfect tool to train soldiers for the coming war. There is a shortage of enlisted men and women that possess the "talent". Everyone from athletes to professional gamers must be sorted and vetted. Humanity is on the line. Lucius is one of those lucky few selected to participate in Codename: Freedom, a new game that promises to push Virtual Reality to the ultimate level.

A world divided... A ship under construction… A military scrambling to prepare a defense... A moment that everyone hoped would never come... The Earth Defense Force must find a way to defend their world against invasion by the Jung Empire. More importantly, they must protect their newest ship, the UES Celestia, as she may be their last hope.

Matthew's life takes a crazy turn when a simple holiday visit turns into a crazy adventure. Swapping his marketing desk for an unexpected inheritance—the bookstore left behind by his uncle—he's led to a hidden portal. This isn't just any portal; it leads to a realm. A new world of dungeons, quests, and game-like mechanics. Matthew emerges on the other side to find himself not only in the realm of Dunnishire but also as a Royal Duke in the land of Inneshys. As he navigates courtly life, he inadvertently sets off ripples that threaten to disrupt the delicate balance in the new world.

What happens when you suddenly find yourself in a reality of untold possibilities, in a place where technology and magic are indistinguishable? Every game location is a transformed physical world connected to others through an interstellar network of portals. Every player "avatar" is a living physical body with incredible survival traits. Once in this dreamscape, it would be unwise to not seize the moment! There are, however, a couple of catches.

Lieutenant Becky Keller’s brain is fitted with a processing core which can outthink and outfly the most advanced battle computers in the Space Corps. Joe Nation is packed with so many augmentations, he can’t remember which parts of his body are real anymore. All he knows is covert ops, and there’s no one better than Nation. The pair of them are given a mission - infiltrate the Isob-2 processing facility of a semi-hostile alien species known as Estral and find out if they’re breaking the terms of a peace treaty.

Jon-Tom just wanted to go home. Trapped in a world where animals speak and magic is real, the American college student yearned for an ordinary dorm-room life. But here his music has magical power — even if he can’t control it — which may be able to save the world from the army of the Plated Folk, whose sinister queen plans on killing and eating every warm-blooded mammal she can get her pincers on and taking over their lands.

Kylie got into journalism to write important stories. Ones about gargoyles and dryads, elemental warriors, and thwarted magical attacks on her city. The bigger the story, the better. So when she lands the opportunity to ask an enchanted everlasting tree for the answer to any question she desires, she doesn't have to think about it. She wants the story of a lifetime. So does her nemesis, Nathan.

The world has Fallen, but life goes on.... Matthew Kade was a corporate assassin - one of the best agents Obsidian Corporation had. But then the bombs began falling, and the old world ended. Now he must navigate the new world he finds himself in, a world where the strongest survive, and the weaker do their bidding...or die. Kade was always one of the strongest, though, so when a rich man’s daughter goes missing, he turns to Kade to find her and bring her back. But she has already been gone three days, and in the Fallen World, that is an eternity.

Born in the quiet village of Shambala, Kalki Hari, son of Vishnuyath and Sumati, has no idea about his heritage until he is pitted against tragedies and battles. Whisked into the province of Keekatpur, which is under the fist of Lord Kali, Kalki sees the ignominy of death trumping life all around him. He learns that he has been born to cleanse the world he lives in, for which he must journey to the North and learn the ways of Lord Vishnu’s Avatar, from an immortal who wields an axe.

Being a mercenary has made Sophia an expert at kicking butt, and her heritage has made her a professional at hiding in plain sight. Sophia is Fireborn, the supernatural community's public enemy number one. Fireborns have the ability to absorb magic - a gift that turns them into insane, power-hungry murderers. After years on the run, Sophia and her sister have finally found a home for themselves and jobs at the Mercenary Guild. Killing monsters may be hard work, but she doesn't need magic to do it. And as long as she keeps her powers under wraps, they're safe.

Max Best is not living his—ahem—best life. His job's a drag, his home's a shooting gallery, his hopes are nil, and lately, even his beloved game of football has devolved from a chaotic, ecstatic delight into a cold, calculating equation complete with stats, tech terms, and mindless lingo. But then Max rescues a mysterious old man from a mugging. "Nick" seems friendly enough . . . until he innocently asks his savior, "Would you sell your soul to be a top football manager?" Naturally, Max says yes, and in that instant, everything changes.

Esther is a stowaway. She's hidden herself away in the Librarian's book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her - a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.

Regan was a robotics scientist that caused the robot takeover of the world. When his last creation finally completes his plan to free himself, it destroys the world in the process. Destruction offers him a second chance to test his wits and cunning in another world. Now tasked with a goal that would upset the balance of a new world, Regan might be a bit more than the people of the world can handle.

A lazy and wussy ex-gamer, Phil becomes one of the few humans who receive a mysterious alien piece of wetware that allows them to see the world through an augmented-reality interface very similar to those used in an MMORPG game. Guided by its stats and messages, Phil begins to level up, gradually transforming himself and his life. He even opens his own business in order to help his friends and complete strangers who acquire a newfound respect for him, assisting him in his travails.