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Book Best of Apex Magazine

    Book Details:
  • Author : Jason Sizemore
  • Publisher : Apex Publications
  • Release : 2016-01-12
  • ISBN :
  • Pages : 257 pages

Download or read book Best of Apex Magazine written by Jason Sizemore and published by Apex Publications. This book was released on 2016-01-12 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology collects some of the best original short fiction published in Apex Magazine in its first six years. The stories include our numerous award-nominated works, our readers' Story of the Year selections, and personal favorites chosen by Apex Magazine editor-in-chief Jason Sizemore and managing editor Lesley Conner. TABLE OF CONTENTS Jackalope Wives by Ursula Vernon Going Endo by Rich Larson Candy Girl by Chikodili Emelumadu If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love by Rachel Swirsky Advertising at the End of the World Keffy R.M. Kehrli The Performance Artist by Lettie Prell A Matter of Shapespace by Brian Trent Falling Leaves by Liz Argall Blood from Stone by Alethea Kontis Sexagesimal by Katharine E.K. Duckett Keep Talking by Marie Vibbert Remembery Day by Sarah Pinsker Blood on Beacon Hill by Russell Nichols The Green Book by Amal El-Mohtar L’esprit de L’escalier by Peter M. Ball Still Life (A Sexagesimal Fairy Tale) by Ian Tregillis Build a Dolly by Ken Liu Multo by Samuel Marzioli Armless Maidens of the American West by Genevieve Valentine Pocosin by Ursula Vernon She Gave Her Heart, He Took Her Marrow by Sam Fleming Also includes a foreword by Jason Sizemore and afterword by Lesley Conner.

Book The Best of World SF

    Book Details:
  • Author : Lavie Tidhar
  • Publisher : Ad Astra
  • Release : 2021
  • ISBN : 1800240406
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book The Best of World SF written by Lavie Tidhar and published by Ad Astra. This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "26 new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction, selected by Lavie Tidhar. The Best of World SF draws together stories from across the spectrum of science fiction - expect robots, spaceships and time travel, as well as some really weird stuff - representing twenty-one countries and five continents."--Provided by publisher

Book Best of Apex Magazine

Download or read book Best of Apex Magazine written by Jason Sizemore and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthologies features some of the best original short fiction we've published in Apex Magazine. The content include our numerous award-nominated works, our readers' Story of the Year selections, and personal favorites chosen by Apex Magazine editor-in-chief Jason Sizemore and managing editor Lesley Conner.That's right! All of the best stories in one place!Cover art by Adrian Borda.TABLE OF CONTENTSJackalope Wives by Ursula VernonGoing Endo by Rich LarsonCandy Girl by Chikodili EmelumaduIf You Were a Dinosaur, My Love by Rachel SwirskyAdvertising at the End of the World Keffy R.M. KehrliThe Performance Artist by Lettie PrellA Matter of Shapespace by Brian TrentFalling Leaves by Liz ArgallBlood from Stone by Alethea KontisSexagesimal by Katharine E.K. DuckettKeep Talking by Marie VibbertRemembery Day by Sarah PinskerBlood on Beacon Hill by Russell NicholsThe Green Book by Amal El-MohtarL'esprit de L'escalier by Peter M. BallStill Life (A Sexagesimal Fairy Tale) by Ian TregillisBuild a Dolly by Ken LiuMulto by Samuel MarzioliArmless Maidens of the American West by Genevieve ValentinePocosin by Ursula VernonShe Gave Her Heart, He Took Her Marrow by Sam Fleming

Book Pimp My Airship

    Book Details:
  • Author : Maurice Broaddus
  • Publisher : Apex Publications
  • Release : 2019-05-21
  • ISBN :
  • Pages : 378 pages

Download or read book Pimp My Airship written by Maurice Broaddus and published by Apex Publications. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Warning: Don’t Believe the Hype! All the poet called Sleepy wants to do is spit his verses, smoke chiba, and stay off the COP’s radar—all of which becomes impossible once he encounters a professional protestor known as (120 Degrees of) Knowledge Allah. They soon find themselves on the wrong side of local authorities and have to elude the powers that be. When young heiress Sophine Jefferson’s father is murdered, the careful life she’d been constructing for herself tumbles around her. She’s quickly drawn into a web of intrigue, politics and airships, joining with Sleepy and Knowledge Allah in a fight for their freedom. Chased from one end of a retro-fitted Indianapolis to the other, they encounter outlaws, the occasional circus, possibly a medium, and more outlaws. They find themselves in a battle much larger than they imagined: a battle for control of the country and the soul of their people. The revolution will not be televised!

Book The Apex Book of World SF  Volume 1

Download or read book The Apex Book of World SF Volume 1 written by Lavie Tidhar and published by Apex Publications. This book was released on 2010-03-14 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Apex Book of World SF, edited by Lavie Tidhar, features award-winning science fiction and fantasy short stories from Asia, Eastern Europe and around the world. The world of speculative fiction is expansive; it covers more than one country, one continent, one culture. Collected here are sixteen stories penned by authors from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Israel, Pakistan, Serbia, Croatia, Malaysia, and other countries across the globe. Each one tells a tale breathtakingly vast and varied, whether caught in the ghosts of the past or entangled in a postmodern age. Among the spirits, technology, and deep recesses of the human mind, stories abound. Kites sail to the stars, technology transcends physics, and wheels cry out in the night. Memories come and go like fading echoes and a train carries its passengers through more than simple space and time. Dark and bright, beautiful and haunting, the stories herein represent speculative fiction from a sampling of the finest authors from around the world. Table of Contents: S.P. Somtow (Thailand) — “The Bird Catcher” Jetse de Vries (Netherlands) — “Transcendence Express” Guy Hasson (Israel) — “The Levantine Experiments” Han Song (China) — “The Wheel of Samsara” Kaaron Warren (Australia/Fiji) — “Ghost Jail” Yang Ping (China) — “Wizard World” Dean Francis Alfar (Philippines) — “L’Aquilone du Estrellas (The Kite of Stars)” Nir Yaniv (Israel) — “Cinderers” Jamil Nasir (Palestine) — “The Allah Stairs” Tunku Halim (Malaysia) — “Biggest Baddest Bomoh” Aliette de Bodard (France) — “The Lost Xuyan Bride” Kristin Mandigma (Philippines) — “Excerpt from a Letter by a Social-realist Aswang” Aleksandar Žiljak (Croatia) — “An Evening in the City Coffehouse, With Lydia on My Mind” Anil Menon (India) — “Into the Night” Mélanie Fazi (France, translated by Christopher Priest) — “Elegy” Zoran Živković (Serbia, translated by Alice Copple-Tošić) — “Compartments” Cover art and design by Sarah Anne Langton. Reviews: “From S.P. Somtow’s World Fantasy Award-winning “The Bird Catcher,” a restrained horror tale of a young boy’s friendship with Thailand’s most infamous human “monster,” to “Wizard World,” Galaxy Award winner Yang Ping’s story of high-tech gamers, this extraordinary anthology of 16 tales introduces English-speaking readers to some of the world’s best writers of sf, horror, fantasy, and metafiction. Contributors include Jamil Nasir (Palestine), Aleksandar Ziljak (Croatia), Guy Hasson (Israel), Kaaron Warren (Australia/Fiji), and Jetse de Vries (Netherlands). VERDICT This literary window into the international world of imaginative fiction, the first in a new series, is sure to appeal to adventurous sf fans and readers of fiction in translation." —Library Journal “The great thing about Tidhar’s collection is that it is full of such masterpieces. You do have to get used to having your mind warped as if by some powerful psychedelic. You’ll definitely feel that way after Zoran Zivkovic and his Godot-like explorations. Or after Guy Hassan’s thought experiment about the nature of mind and thought. But once you get used to the idea, you can settle in and enjoy the ride.” —42SciFi-Fantasy.com, Randy Lazarus "These stories deserve to be heard!" —Frederik Pohl

Book Plague Birds

    Book Details:
  • Author : Jason Sanford
  • Publisher : Apex Publications
  • Release : 2021-09-21
  • ISBN :
  • Pages : 399 pages

Download or read book Plague Birds written by Jason Sanford and published by Apex Publications. This book was released on 2021-09-21 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Glowing red lines split their faces. Shock-red hair and clothes warn people to flee their approach. They are plague birds, the powerful merging of humans and artificial intelligences who serve as judges and executioners after the collapse of civilization. And the plague birds’ judgment is swift and deadly, as Crista discovered as a child when she watched one kill her mother. In a world of gene-modded humans constantly watched over by benevolent AIs, everyone hates and fears the plague birds. But to save her father and home village, Crista becomes the very creature she fears the most. And her first task as a plague bird is hunting down an ancient group of murderers wielding magic-like powers. As Crista and her AI symbiote travel farther from home than she ever imagined, they are plunged into a strange world where she judges wrongdoers, befriends other outcasts, and uncovers an extremely personal conspiracy that threatens the lives of millions. Plague Birds is a genre-bending mix of science fiction and dark fantasy and the epic story of a young woman who becomes one of the future’s most hated creatures, with a killer AI bonded to her very blood.

Book The Apex Book of World SF  Volume 4

Download or read book The Apex Book of World SF Volume 4 written by Mahvesh Murad and published by Apex Publications. This book was released on 2015-08-14 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now firmly established as the benchmark anthology series of international speculative fiction, volume 4 of The Apex Book of World SF sees debut editor Mahvesh Murad bring fresh new eyes to her selection of stories. From Spanish steampunk and Italian horror to Nigerian science fiction and subverted Japanese folktales, from love in the time of drones to teenagers at the end of the world, the stories in this volume showcase the best of contemporary speculative fiction, wherever it’s written. Cover art and design by Sarah Anne Langton. "Important to the future of not only international authors, but the entire SF community." —Strange Horizons Featuring: Vajra Chandrasekera (Sri Lanka) — "Pockets Full of Stones" Yukimi Ogawa (Japan) — "In Her Head, In Her Eyes" Zen Cho (Malaysia) — "The Four Generations of Chang E" Shimon Adaf (Israel) — "Like a Coin Entrusted in Faith" (Translated by the author) Celeste Rita Baker (Virgin Islands) — "Single Entry" Nene Ormes (Sweden) — "The Good Matter" (Translated Lisa J Isaksson and Nene Ormes) JY Yang (Singapore) — "Tiger Baby" Isabel Yap (Philippines) — "A Cup of Salt Tears" Usman T Malik (Pakistan) — "The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family" Kuzhali Manickavel (India) — "Six Things We Found During the Autopsy" Elana Gomel (Israel) — "The Farm" Haralambi Markov (Bulgaria) — "The Language of Knives" Sabrina Huang (Taiwan) — "Setting Up Home" (Translated by Jeremy Tiang) Sathya Stone (Sri Lanka) — "Jinki and the Paradox" Johann Thorsson (Iceland) — "First, Bite a Finger" Dilman Dila (Uganda) — "How My Father Became a God" Swabir Silayi (Kenya) — "Colour Me Grey" Deepak Unnikrishnan (The Emirates) — "Sarama" Chinelo Onwualu (Nigeria) — "The Gift of Touch" Saad Z. Hossain (Bangaldesh) — "Djinns Live by the Sea" Bernardo Fernández (Mexico) — "The Last Hours of the Final Days" (Translated by the author) Natalia Theodoridou (Greece) — "The Eleven Holy Numbers of the Mechanical Soul" Samuel Marolla (Italy) — "Black Tea" (Translated by Andrew Tanzi) Julie Novakova (Czech Republic) — "The Symphony of Ice and Dust" Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Netherlands) — "The Boy Who Cast No Shadow" (Translated by Laura Vroomen) Sese Yane (Kenya) — "The Corpse" Tang Fei — "Pepe" (Translated by John Chu) Rocío Rincón (Spain) — "The Lady of the Soler Colony" (Translated by James and Marian Womack)

Book The Year s Best Science Fiction  Thirty Fifth Annual Collection

Download or read book The Year s Best Science Fiction Thirty Fifth Annual Collection written by Gardner Dozois and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2018-07-03 with total page 854 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The multiple Locus Award-winning annual collection of the year's best science fiction stories. In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self-evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fifth Annual Collection, the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world. This venerable collection brings together award-winning authors and masters of the field. Featuring short stories from acclaimed authors such as Indrapramit Das, Nancy Kress, Alastair Reynolds, Eleanor Arnason, James S.A. Corey & Lavie Tidhar, an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre.

Book The Apex Book of World SF  Volume 3

Download or read book The Apex Book of World SF Volume 3 written by Lavie Tidhar and published by Apex Publications. This book was released on 2014-06-30 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Apex Book of SF series has proven to be an excellent way to sample the diversity of world SFF and to broaden our understanding of the genre's potentials." --Ken Liu, winner of the Hugo Award and author of The Grace of Kings These stories run the gamut from science fiction, to fantasy, to horror. Some are translations (from German, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Swedish), and some were written in English. The authors herein come from Asia and Europe, Africa and Latin America. Their stories are all wondrous and wonderful, and showcase the vitality and diversity that can be found in the field. They are a conversation, by voices that should be heart. And once again, editor Lavie Tidhar and Apex Publications are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to bring them to our readers. Table of Contents: Introduction -- Lavie Tidhar Courtship in the Country of Machine-Gods -- Benjanun Sriduangkaew (Thailand) A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight -- Xia Jia (China) Act of Faith -- Fadzilshah Johanabos (Malaysia) The Foreigner -- Uko Bendi Udo (Nigeria) The City of Silence -- Ma Boyong (China) Planetfall -- Athena Andreadis (Greece) Jungle Fever -- Zulaikha Nurain Mudzor (Malaysia) To Follow the Waves -- Amal El-Mohtar (Lebanon/Canada) Ahuizotl -- Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas (Mexico) The Rare Earth -- Biram Mboob (Gambia) Spider's Nest -- Myra Çakan (Germany) Waiting with Mortals -- Crystal Koo (Philippines) Three Little Children -- Ange (France) Brita's Holiday Village -- Karin Tidbeck (Sweden) Regressions -- Swapna Kishore (India) Dancing on the Red Planet -- Berit Ellingsen (Korea/Norway) Cover art by Sophia Tuska.

Book Fudoki

    Book Details:
  • Author : Kij Johnson
  • Publisher : Tor Books
  • Release : 2004-10-01
  • ISBN : 1466800658
  • Pages : 320 pages

Download or read book Fudoki written by Kij Johnson and published by Tor Books. This book was released on 2004-10-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In her skillful debut novel, Kij Johnson took the classic Japanese myth of the fox who dared to become a woman to win true love and created The Fox Woman, a luminous, lyrical tale of love, desire, joy, and the nature of the soul. Set in the same universe as The Fox Woman, this time Kij Johnson takes on another animal totem and enters the world of the creature who comes to be known as Kagaya-hime, a sometime woman warrior, occasional philosopher, and reluctant confidante to noblemen. And who may or may not be the figment of the imagination of an aging empress who is embarking on the last journey of her life, setting aside the trappings of court life and reminiscing as she follows the paths that are leading her to the nunnery and death. Fudoki is the tale of a being who starts her journey on the kami, or spirit road, as a humble-if ever a being such as a Cat can be humble-small tortoiseshell feline. She has seen her family destroyed by a fire that decimated most of the Imperial city. This loss renders her taleless, the only one left alive to pass on such stories as The Cat Born the Year the Star Fell, the Cat with a Litter of Ten, the Fire-Tailed Cat. Without her fudoki-self and soul and home and shrine-she cannot keep the power of her clan together. And she cannot join another fudoki because, although she might be able to win a place within another clan, to do so would mean that she would cease to be herself. So a small cat begins an extraordinary journey. Along the way she will attract the attention of old and ancient powers, including gods who are curious about this creature newly come to Japan's shores, and who choose to give the tortoiseshell a human shape. And who set her on a new kami road, where Kagaya-hime will have to choose a way to find what happiness she can. Weaving a haunting story of one being's transformation and journey of discovery with the telling of another's long life set against the backdrop of the courtly rituals of Imperial power, Kij Johnson has written a powerful novel about the nature of freedom and the redemptive power of transformation--if only one is brave enough to risk it all. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Book The Seventh Bride

    Book Details:
  • Author : T. Kingfisher
  • Publisher : 47north
  • Release : 2015
  • ISBN : 9781503949751
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book The Seventh Bride written by T. Kingfisher and published by 47north. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young Rhea is a miller's daughter of low birth, so she is understandably surprised when a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up on her doorstep and proposes marriage. Since commoners don't turn down lords--no matter how sinister they may seem--Rhea is forced to agree to the engagement. Lord Crevan demands that Rhea visit his remote manor before their wedding. Upon arrival, she discovers that not only was her betrothed married six times before, but his previous wives are all imprisoned in his enchanted castle. Determined not to share their same fate, Rhea asserts her desire for freedom. In answer, Lord Crevan gives Rhea a series of magical tasks to complete, with the threat "Come back before dawn, or else I'll marry you." With time running out and each task more dangerous and bizarre than the last, Rhea must use her resourcefulness, compassion, and bravery to rally the other wives and defeat the sorcerer before he binds her to him forever.

Book The Best of Uncanny Magazine

Download or read book The Best of Uncanny Magazine written by Lynne M. Thomas and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Best of Uncanny features some of the uncanniest stories and poetry in Science Fiction/Fantasy today, by its current leading voices. Immerse yourself in 44 original science fiction and fantasy stories and poems from the first 22 issues of Uncanny Magazine.

Book China Mountain Zhang

    Book Details:
  • Author : Maureen F. McHugh
  • Publisher : Hachette UK
  • Release : 2016-11-03
  • ISBN : 1473214637
  • Pages : 349 pages

Download or read book China Mountain Zhang written by Maureen F. McHugh and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2016-11-03 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'I am Zhang, alone with my light, and in that light I think for a moment that I am free.' Imagine a world where Chinese Marxism has vanquished the values of capitalism and Lenin is the prophet of choice. A cybernetic world where the new charioteers are flyers, human-powered kites dancing in the skies over New York in a brief grab at glory. A world where the opulence of Beijing marks a new cultural imperialism, as wealthy urbanites flirt with interactive death in illegal speakeasies, and where Arctic research stations and communes on Mars are haunted by their own fragile dangers. A world of fear and hope, of global disaster and slow healing, where progress can only be found in the cracks of a crumbling hegemony. This is the world of Zhang. An anti-hero who's still finding his way, treading a path through a totalitarian order - a path that just might make a difference.

Book The Best of Abyss   Apex Volume One

Download or read book The Best of Abyss Apex Volume One written by Wendy S. Delmater and published by Abyss & Apex Publishing LLC. This book was released on 2009-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthology contains imaginative stories and poetry by science fiction and fantasy's rising stars including Ken Scholes, Lisa Mantchev, Jude-Marie Green, Yoon Ha Lee, Jay Lake, and Justin Stanchfield.

Book Appalachian Undead

    Book Details:
  • Author : Eugene Johnson
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 2012-10-01
  • ISBN : 9781937009069
  • Pages : 222 pages

Download or read book Appalachian Undead written by Eugene Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost Heaven... Or is it? Is Appalachia as mysterious and wonderful as people say? Or does its enduring beauty hold something dark. Something dreadful. Something very hungry for our flesh. Can the people of the region stand up against the hordes of the Undead and thrive as they have thrived under other worst circumstances? Appalachian Undead takes a look at the dark side of Appalachia, where the Undead walk, driven by old magic and worse, their hunger for us. Nestled in the safety of the hills, the inhabitants have thrived and adapted even to the worst of conditions, but can they survive against an army that never tires and never stops feeding? With new intriguing tales of the Undead, this anthology contains work by some of the best names in horror, including Jonathan Maberry, Gary A. Braunbeck, Tim Lebbon, Elizabeth Massie, Lucy Snyder, Bev Vincent, Tim Waggoner and many more. Table of Contents: When Granny Comes Marchin' Home Again - Elizabeth Massie Calling Death - Jonathan Maberry Hide and Seek - Tim Waggoner Twilight of the Zombie Game Preserve... - S. Clayton Rhodes Being in Shadow - Maurice Broaddus Sitting up with the Dead- Bev Vincent The Girl and the Guardian - Simon McCaffery Repent, Jessie Shimmer! -Lucy Snyder Almost Heaven -Michael Paul Gonzalez On Stagger - G. Cameron Fuller We Take Care of Our Own - John Everson Sleeper - Tim Lebbon Reckless - Eliot Parker Company's Coming - Ronald Kelly Black Friday - Karin Fuller Spoiled - Paul Moore Miranda Jo's Girl - Steve Rasnic Tem Times Is Tough in Musky Holler - John Skipp & Dori Miller Long Days to Come - K. Allen Wood Hell's Hollow - Michael West Brother Hollis Gives His Final Sermon from a Rickety Make-Shift Pulpit in the Remains of a Smokehouse that now Serves as His Church - Gary A. Braunbeck Introduction by S.G. Browne (author of Breathers: A Zombie's Lament) Special Afterword by Fangoria Magazine editor Rebekah McKendry

Book The Weight of Chains

Download or read book The Weight of Chains written by Lesley Conner and published by . This book was released on 2015-09-20 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gilles de Rais has control over every aspect of his life: the servants he employs, the village he lords over, the carefully crafted visage he shows to the world. He dictates where his subjects live, what they eat, if they live or die. He has ultimate power and wields it with a flourish to conceal the dark desires that lurk behind his smile and the despair within his castle in Machecoul. When a wizard tasked with raising a demon loses control of the beast, Gilles's tight grasp on his world begins to slip. His cook plans to flee, taking her son away from the dangers of the castle. His guard wants to claim Gilles's lifestyle as his own. His wizard frantically searches for a way to survive both his lord and the demon he has called into the world. And the villagers - like Jeanetta and her family -move through life in Machecoul too consumed with the task of surviving day to day, and oblivious to the turmoil building within the castle that is threatening to break out and consume them all.

Book Galactic Hellcats

    Book Details:
  • Author : Marie Vibbert
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 2021-03-09
  • ISBN : 9781952283079
  • Pages : pages

Download or read book Galactic Hellcats written by Marie Vibbert and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-09 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ki is a petty thief. Her best friend wills her his solo-flyer-call it a space motorcycle: temperamental, fast as hell, and expensive to maintain. Any reasonable person would sell it to get off the street, but Ki isn't reasonable.Margot is a military vet at loose ends. She blows her entire back pay on a solo-flyer, adecision she instantly regrets but can't bring herself to undo. Margot meets Ki and thinks she's the sympathetic friend she needs when she feels most alone. Ki thinks Margot is an easy markfor food money. They're both right, but lunch leads to a joy ride to planet Ratana, whereMargot is arrested by border control.Ki enlists Ratanese local Zuleikah, a bored rich girl who can think of no stupider, and therefore better, way to spend her time than busting someone out of jail. Together they rescue Margot, but find themselves trapped on a hostile planet on the cusp of civil war.When Zuleikah convinces them that their best bet for escape is to kidnap-er, rescue-Prince Thane from his dreary role in the crumbling monarchy, it results in a chase across the desert and into the farthest reaches of the universe. If they can learn to trust each other, and if the repo men, cops, and three different galactic governments don't catch them, the Galactic Hellcats might just use their solo-fliers to carve a place for themselves among the stars.