The mantis cyborgs: insectlike, cruel, and determined to wipe humanity from the face of the galaxy. The Fleet is humanitys last chance: a multi-world, multi-national task force assembled to hold the line against the aliens overwhelming technology and firepower. Enter Harrison Barlow, who like so many young men of wars past, simply wants to serve his people and partake of the grand adventure of military life. Only, Harrison is not a hot pilot, nor a crack shot with a rifle. What good is a Chaplains Assistant in the interstellar battles which will decide the fate of all? More than he thinks. Because while the mantis insectoids are determined to eliminate the human threat to mantis supremacy, they remember the errors of their past. Is there the slightest chance that humans might have value? Especially since humans seem to have the one thing the mantes explicitly do not: an innate ability to believe in what cannot be proven nor seen God. Captured and stranded behind enemy lines, Barlow must come to grips with the fact that he is not only bargaining for his own life, but the lives of everyone he knows and loves. And so he embarks upon an improbable gambit, determined to alter the course of the entire war. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Chaplain's War: "Solid hard SF with the frisson of well thought through action. Much to enjoy!" - Dr. Gregory Benford multiple Nebula award-winning creator of the Galactic Center saga About Brad Torgersen: Brad Torgersen can write something technical and complex, yet still give it real emotional depth. He's one of the most talented authors I've ever read." -Larry Correia, author of the best-selling Monster Hunter series "Brad R. Torgersen shows why he's going to be a power in this field for years to come."- Mike Resnick, multiple Hugo Award winning author and editor Brad Torgersen is a writer who's done a lot and come up the hard way... and the depth of his writing shows it, especially in understanding the nuts and bolts of technology and the souls of those who use it." - L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

ORIGINAL TRADE PAPERBACK THE WAYPOINT TO ULTIMATE POWER! Over a millennium in the past, humans fleeing Earth in slower-than-light vessels discovered the Waywork, an abandoned alien superhighway system that allows instantaneous travel from star to star. The problem: there are a finite number of Waypoint nodes—and the burgeoning population of humans is hemmed in as a result. Furthermore, humanity is divided into contending Starstates. One of the strongest is based on an oligarchy ruling families, but still mostly democratic. The other is a totalitarian nightmare. War seems inevitable. Now a new Waypoint appears. Might it lead to the long-lost creators of the Waywork? If so, there may be knowledge and technology that will tip the balance in the coming war. Three people race to make it to the new Waypoint—and beyond. These include Wyodreth Antagean, the reluctant son of an interstellar shipping magnate, Lady Garsina Oswight, the daring daughter of a royal family, and Zuri Mikton, a disgraced flag officer seeking redemption. They are facing an implacable foe in Golsubril Vex, a merciless, but highly effective, autocrat from the Waywork’s most brutal regime. Vex is determined to control the new Waypoint and whatever revelation or power lies on the other side. Now humanity’s fate—to live in freedom or endless dictatorship—depends on just what that revelation might be. And who gets there first. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Chaplain's War: "Torgersen mixes the spiritual aspects of the book with subtlety, integrating questions about God and faith into the story organically. The result is thought provoking questions arising as part of an entertaining story . . . Torgersen [also] doesn't shy away from conflict, violence, or space battles."—Futures Past and Present "Solid hard SF with the frisson of well thought through action. Much to enjoy!"—Gregory Benford, multiple Nebula award-winning creator of the Galactic Center saga About Brad R. Torgersen: "Brad Torgersen can write something technical and complex, yet still give it real emotional depth. He's one of the most talented authors I've ever read."—Larry Correia "Brad R. Torgersen shows why he's going to be a power in this field for years to come."—Mike Resnick "Brad Torgersen is a writer who's done a lot and come up the hard way... and the depth of his writing shows it, especially in understanding the nuts and bolts of technology and the souls of those who use it." —L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Five by Five: No Surrender is the second collection in the series of short novels by five masters of military science fiction. In these pulse-pounding tales, the best (or worst) soldiers in the galaxy are pitted against powerful aliens on distant battlefields. In William C. Dietz’s Legion of the Damned® story, Legio Patria Nostra, the insectoid Ramanthians have occupied Earth, and the Confederacy of Sentient Beings turn to the xenophobic Hudathans for help. But Hudathan relics have been stolen by ex-legionnaire thieves—and the Hudathans won't join the Confederacy unless Legion Captain Deacon Smith can get them back. Set in the world of Harlan Ellison’s classic Outer Limits episode “Soldier,” Kevin J. Anderson’s Prisoner of War follows a set of warriors in a never-ending future war, men bred for nothing but the battleground, and how they cope with the horrors of peace. When expensive, classified shipments of military hardware go missing, Conflux Armed Forces policewoman Kalliope Reardon follows the trail far outside the boundaries of the civilized galaxy, and into the heart of occupied enemy territory in Brad R. Torgersen’s Reardon’s Law. When A. C. Cade was exposed as a fraud, Cade’s son makes himself into the elite father pilot he believed his father was, defending Earth against a desperate alien invader which has no use for humankind and absolutely nothing to lose in Dagger Team Seven by R. M. Meluch. In Coffee Black Sea, the saga of the Dollgangers from Aaron Allston’s Big Plush (Five by Five Vol. 1) continues. Bow, BeeBee, Lina, and new ’gangers escalate the risks of their quest for survival . . . by turning their eyes to the stars.

Tis the Season for 14 magical, macabre and merry tales to make your Holidays Fantastic. Gingerbread houses, caroling carolers, brightly trimmed trees, big family dinners, pristine snowfalls-the familiar pleasures of the season. But what better pleasure is there than a good holiday story? So open this winter solstice sampler and indulge in fully festive fantasies, nightmares before Christmas, and stunning space-age celebrations. These stories will warm hearts and minds like a blazing Yule log. Fantastic Holiday Stories by Kevin J. Anderson, Mercedes Lackey, Mike Resnick, Kristine Rusch, Jonathan Maberry, Eric James Stone, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Quincy J. Allen, Ken Scholes, Sam Knight, David Boop, Heather Graham, Brad R. Torgersen, and Patricia Briggs.

"For well over a century, Monster Hunter International has kept the world safe from supernatural threats small and large. Now MHI opens their archives for the first time to reveal the secret history of the world's most elite fighting force. Discover what happened when Agent Franks took on the Nazis. See how the Vatican's Combat Exorcists deal with Old Ones in Mexico. Featuring all new tales from Jim Butcher, John Ringo, Jessica Day George and many more"--

Flying at the Speed of Night . . . Following in the successful footsteps of his previous short fiction collection ("Lights in the Deep") award-winning and award-nominated Science Fiction author Brad R. Torgersen is back with twelve new tales. From the edges of explored space, to the depths of the artificial soul. At once breaking the limits of human endurance, while also treading the tender landscapes of the human heart. Originally appearing in the pages of Analog magazine, Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show magazine, Mike Resnick's Galaxy's Edge magazine, and elsewhere, these stories are collected here for the first time; with commentary and anecdotes from the author. Introductions by bestsellers L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Kevin J. Anderson, and Dave Wolverton (Farland.)

Loosely based on Larry Niven's 1973 novella "Flash Crowd," Red Tide continues to examine the social consequences of the impact of having instantaneous teleportation, where humans can instantly travel long distances in milliseconds. This is a theme that has fascinated the author throughout his career and even appears in his seminal work Ringworld, where the central character celebrates his birthday by instantly teleporting himself to different time zones, extending his "birthday." The author also discusses the impact of such instantaneous transportation in his essay, "Exercise in Speculation: The Theory and Practice of Teleportation." Larry Niven is joined by two younger writers, Brad R. Torgersen and Matthew J. Harrington, as they take on this challenging idea and further develop the theories and concepts that Niven originally presented in "Flash Crowd."

Ten astounding tales by triple award nominee Brad R. Torgersen. Go on fantastic new adventures at the bottom of Earth's oceans and at the edge of the solar system. Meet humans who are utterly alien and aliens who are all too human. Originally featured in the pages of Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine as well as Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show, these stories are gathered here for the first time, along with anecdotes and other commentary from the author. Introductions by Stanley Schmidt, Mike Resnick and Allan Cole. Features the stories Ray of Light (2012 Hugo & Nebula nominee), Outbound (2011 Analog Readers Choice Award winner), and Exanastasis (2010 Writers of the Future Award winner).

Fourteen outstanding authors. Fourteen extraordinary stories. One bestselling universe.It's the Twenty-Second Century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There's just one catch: we are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.Enter the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separates Humans from the majority of the other races. Enter a galaxy not only of mercenaries, but also of Peacemakers, bounty hunters, and even a strung out junkie in the way of a hired assassin.Edited by bestselling authors and universe creators Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy, "A Fistful of Credits" includes all-new stories in the Four Horsemen universe by a variety of bestselling authors--and some you may not have heard of...yet. The fourteen authors take on various aspects of the universe, giving you additional insight into a galaxy that isn't at war...but definitely isn't at peace. There's only one thing for sure--anything's possible for a fistful of credits!Inside you'll find:Foreword by Dr. Charles E. Gannon"The Last Alpha" by Mark Wandrey"Breach of Contract" by Terry Mixon"Paint the Sky" by Jason Cordova"Surf and Turf" by Jon R. Osborne"Stand on It" by Kevin Ikenberry"Lost and Found" by Jon Del Arroz"Gilded Cage" by Kacey Ezell"Legends" by Christopher Woods"With the Eagles" by Doug Dandridge"Dead or Alive" by Paul Corcoran"Hide and Seek" by Christopher Nuttall"Information Overload" by Charity Ayres"Enough" by Chris Kennedy"CASPer's Ghost" by Brad R. Torgersen