EMPIRE GAMES by Charles Stross

Hugo Award-winning author Charlie Stross hits the ground running with Empire Games, provocative techno-thriller and fresh storyline in the Merchant Princes universe.

It’s 2020. Two nuclear superpowers across timelines, one in the midst of a technological revolution and the other a hyper-police state, are set on a collision course. Each timeline’s increasingly desperate paratime espionage agencies are fumbling around in the dark, trying to find a solution to the first-contact problem that doesn't result in a nuclear holocaust.

And two paratime travellers, Ministry of Intertemporal Research and Intelligence Commissioner Miriam Burgeson and newly minted spy Rita Douglas—a mother and her long-lost, adopted daughter—are about to find themselves on opposite sides of the confrontation.

"Stross is not a writer who aims to leave his readers reassured: One can’t tell which way he’s going to go, nor whose side he’s on. No one beats him at hypertech either." —The Wall Street Journal

"Absorbing." —Kirkus Reviews
"The keen eye and what-if imagination of Charles Stross fuel a fresh look at alternate worlds." —David Brin, author of Existence

​CHARLES STROSS is the author of the bestselling Merchant Princess series, the Laundry series, and several stand-alone novels including Glasshouse, Accelerando, and Saturn's Children. Born in Leeds, England, in 1964, Stross studied in London and Bradford, earning degrees in pharmacy and computer science. His first novel, Singularity Sky, appeared in 2003. He has won the Hugo Award twice. He lives with his wife in Edinburgh, Scotland, in a flat that is slightly older than the state of Texas.

On Sale ​December 5, 2017 from Tor Books. 9780765337597. $15.99 USD.

​WORLD'S END by Joan D. Vinge​

​B​ook two of Joan Vinge's beloved Snow Queen cycle of classic science fiction, back in print!

When BZ Gundhalinu’s irresponsible older brothers go missing in World’s End, a badlands rumored to drive people mad, he begrudgingly goes after them. The further in he travels, the stranger things get.

“Sure to captivate more subjects for one of the reigning queens of science fiction.” —Publishers Weekly on World’s End

“Vinge weaves a complex web of tangled love affairs, secret cabals, political intrigue, and high adventure centering around a unique woman and her visionary gift. The breadth and richness of [The Summer Queen] invite comparison with Frank Herbert’s Dune and Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy. A masterpiece of world-building.” —Library Journal (starred) on The Summer Queen

JOAN D. VINGE is the winner of two Hugo Awards, one for her novel The Snow Queen. She has written nearly twenty books, including her Cat novels, Psion, Catspaw, and Dreamfall, and the other Snow Queen cycle novels,World's End, The Summer Queen, and Tangled Up in Blue. She has had a number of bestselling film adaptations published, including the #1 bestselling The Return of the Jedi Storybook and novelizations of Return to Oz and Willow, among others. She lives in Arizona.

​On Sale December 26, 2017​ from Tor Books. 9780765381781. $17.99 USD.

THE SWORD OF MIDRAS by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott

The thrilling prequel to Shroud of the Avatar from Portalarium!

The world died during the Fall.

Abandoned by the mighty Avatars and their Virtues, the people who remained were left defenseless in an untamed land. That is, until the Obsidians came. Through dark sorcery and overwhelming force the Obsidian Empire brought order to chaos, no matter the cost.

Aren Bennis is a Captain in the Obsidian Army who has seen enough of what a world without Virtue looks like and is willing to do whatever it takes to establish a lasting peace. But after finding a magical sword that only he can wield, a sword his trusted scout, Syenna, claims is a blade once used by the legendary Avatars, Aren is thrown into a far more unfamiliar battle. One fought with whispered words and betrayal instead of swords and arrows.

Running out of allies, Aren's only hope for survival is to discover the true nature of the ancient weapon he wears at his side. In order to do that, Aren will have to turn to the empire's enemies and, in doing so, he will discover what order at the hands of the Obsidians really means.

TRACY HICKMAN has been publishing game designs, books, and stories for more than thirty-five years. In addition, he is a New York Times bestselling coauthor of many novels, including the original Dragonlance Chronicles. Hickman lives in Utah.

RICHARD GARRIOTT DE CAYEUX is a video game designer, collector, and private astronaut. In 2006 Richard was awarded with two industry honors for his work in the games business: selection into The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards.

On Sale December 5, 2017 from Tor Books. 9780765382313. $16.99 USD​