Fantasy Patrick

They have absolute power; after all, they are the ones with the weapons. The only other armed agency, the Peacemaker Guild, is far smaller and unable to bend them to their will. But absolute power has the tendency to corrupt absolutely, and this is becoming increasingly apparent as the guild’s members pursue their hidden agendas.

Humankind has escaped a dying Earth and set out to find a new home among the stars aboard an immense generation ship affectionately named the Ark. Bryan Benson is the Ark's greatest living sports hero, enjoying retirement working as a detective in Avalon, his home module. The hours are good, the work is easy, and the perks can't be beat. But when a crew member goes missing, Bryan is thrust into the center of an ever-expanding web of deception, secrets, and violence.

Like the thousands of clones before him, Lieutenant Wayson Harris was born and bred as the ultimate soldier. But he is unique, possessing independence of thought - and an addiction to the rage of battle. So when he and other clone survivors of the New Copenhagen debacle are sent to cool their heels in an isolated "relocation camp," Harris feels on edge. And with good reason.

From Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, here are the best stories of 2002, written by four of the most respected writers of our day: Robert Silverberg, James Patrick Kelly, Ian Watson, and Gregory Benford. Also try The Best of Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine and The Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine 2002.

Fionn Boyle, Storm Keeper of Arranmore, is facing the fight of his life. The terrifying all-powerful sorceress Morrigan has been raised from the dead and has sealed off the island from all help. Fionn is the only thing that stands between her and a dark future. He’s got to find a way to defeat her. But there are some terrible choices in store for Fionn, as the dark sorcerer begins to take his nearest and dearest for her own. With only two candles left to burn, will Fionn master his powers in time to stop her?

Die Heiligenlegende zum Monat März: Der heilige Bischof Patrick. Legenden - das sind Geschichten, die seit zweitausend Jahren erzählt und immer wieder aufgeschrieben wurden, Geschichten von Mut und Glaubensstärke, von Wundern und Visionen, von Menschen, die für das Gute einstanden, im Glauben lebten und dem Tod furchtlos ins Auge sahen. Enthält die Legende des heiligen Bischofs Patrick, Patron von Irland.

After prospecting for gold in Arizona, Confederate Civil War hero John Carter stumbles upon a mysterious cave - a portal, it turns out, to the ecologically endangered planet Mars. Once there, he finds his place with a tribe of green Martians, and his newfound powers in the reduced Martian gravity make him an important figure in their war against a rival tribe. At the heart of this conflict lies the beautiful Dejah Thoris, the kidnapped Princess of Helium. Rescuing her soon becomes paramount, for only she can help Carter save the dying planet he now calls home.

Matheus Taylor didn't ask to be murdered. To be fair, the percentage of people actually asking to be murdered is probably small enough to be safely ignored, but he felt it was worth stating regardless. His life might have been ordinary, but it was his life and he wasn't done with it yet. Quin didn't care. A 1,700-year-old Roman, Quintus Livius Saturnius had a different view of morality than most people. Killing Matheus and hijacking his undead existence seemed perfectly acceptable to him.

The mission Jonah White Eagle and his Fierce Eagle Company had taken was nearly impossible. Land on the middle of a 7.5-mile-high plateau, walk six miles to the edge of the cliff, and scale down the 39,000-foot-high cliffs to the foothills of the canyon below. Nothing to it, right? But then there was the swamp they had to cross, full of large indigenous life forms that thought Humans made good snacks. And the rivers, full of other killers, they would have to negotiate.

I’ve taken on my first-ever apprentice. A mage of my bloodline, Alec is as headstrong as he is powerful, his magic bolstered by a shifty trickster god. If that weren’t enough, I’ve been recruited into an NYPD task force on missing persons. Cases in the city are exploding, a little girl among the most recently disappeared. But just as I uncover a bizarre lead, I’m yanked back to the shadow realm - a darker, more dangerous New York - where a nefarious entity has targeted Alec in order to get to me.

Leo and Remi have saved the wacky, wonderful Whippet Hotel, but their adventures aren't over. Anything is possible on the field of wacky inventions: some are scary (like a genetically altered twelve-foot chicken); some are dangerous (like a pond full of electric eels); some are completely out of control; and somehow, Leo and Remi will take it all in stride.

Melanie Mooney thought she was just doing her job when she came upon an unusual accident in the deep woods late one night. Acting alone, what she found was nothing like she’d expected. What followed was even more unexpected. Recruited by emissaries of a galaxy-spanning civilization, Melanie is thrust into a world she thought only existed in supermarket tabloids. As the first human in the Galactic Union Medical Corps, she cares for extraterrestrials in desperate need of a medic who can ignore the fact that they’re nothing like any patient she’s ever seen, even on their best days.

Locked away for a crime he didn't commit, Patrick spends his days in lockup making sure every hardened criminal behind bars with him knows he's the biggest and baddest of them all. But with the help of his handy little gift of teleportation, his nights are spent watching a certain green-eyed goddess from the shadows. When he discovers a couple of Inheritors stalking her one night, he realizes the obstacle of explaining who and what he is to Emma might not be the biggest battle they face.

Mankind’s wanderlust will eventually carry our species to the stars. Earth’s pioneers have always risen to the challenge of exploring our planet’s remote rain forests, highest mountain peaks, deepest ocean abysses, and deadly frozen polar caps. Answering the wanderlust deep within us is exactly what motivated the colonists of Byanntia to brave the dangers of space travel. Their reward is the opportunity to test their mettle against an alien planet - to explore an unknown environment and attempt to survive on their own terms.

The Blood Countess — Elizabeth Bathory, a true monster of history — is one of the most infamous serial killers. Said to have murdered 650 young women for their blood, she believed bathing in it would preserve her vitality and beauty. It's a story that has always fascinated archaeologist and TV host Annja Creed. Something so fantastic could only be a story. So what is Annja to make of the girl she finds dying on the side of the road…from blood loss?

Not Alone: First Encounter is a prequel to the globally acclaimed Not Alone series, set several years before two worlds collide under the weight of the grandest conspiracy of all time. For the first time ever, First Encounter lifts the curtain on a deadly series of events surrounding the initial meeting between the ruthless Richard Walker - untouchable head of the controversial Interspace Defense Agency - and a young truth-seeker from Birchwood, Colorado....

Deep in an archaeological dig in England's Midlands, Annja locates a braided necklace around a mummified king's neck. Made of an unusual material - not quite obsidian, but gleaming with multihued color - the torc is an astonishing find. But someone knows exactly what the torc means. And he will do anything to get his hands on the Tear of the Gods. When the dig is compromised and innocent archaeologists are slain, even Annja herself is left for dead. Now she is fleeing for her life, not knowing the terrifying truth about the relic she risks everything to protect.

Having upset the Hamelyn Piper's dastardly plan to build an army through songs of mind control, 13-year-old Piper, Patch Brightwater, must foil the escaped villain's next sinister plot: assembling a suit of immortal armor. Accompanied by Wren, a girl cursed to live as a rat, and Barver, a fire-breathing dracogriff, Patch seeks the aid of old friends, legendary heroes, and a near-dead sorcerer.

Join Alex and his friends as they travel to the troubled city of Zenkova. Tasked with unraveling the baffling disappearance of Lady Zura’s mentor, Alex finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue and danger. Zenkova teeters on the brink of chaos, gripped by a series of mysterious murders that sow fear and unrest among its inhabitants. From highborn advisors to common folk, no one is safe from the killer.

With the threat of a war against the monarchy higher than ever before, Mercy Validus is faced with his biggest challenge yet— a fight for his life, those he cares for, and his own sanity. His foundation begins to crumble as his friendships with Sylas Bellator and Caligo Tenerbis become strained, and he begins to understand just how much power he truly holds. He watches as both Sylas and Caligo begin to deteriorate in front of him as his true inability to protect those he cares for becomes evident.