Europe has spiraled into chaos. A conspiracy years in the making combined with general unrest lead to upheaval and revolution. In the midst of the murderous disorder, mercenary Michael Valentine is in Europe with a small team of his Exodus personnel trying to track down the evil and highly dangerous Katarina Montalban. She has initiated a mysterious plot to do away with those who stand between her and ultimate power. The team is on their own, with few friends, few resources—and racing against the clock.

Sergeant Samuel Morgan Campbell had been in plenty of tight spots before, but nothing like this. His ship, the Outward Initiative, has been destroyed. Now, stranded on Lifeboat LS‑88—all systems dead, light‑years from any known colony—he and his crew of half-trained children will have to repair systems with no tools, navigate with no computers, and land a shuttle whose controls were more than half‑destroyed. And if they manage all of that, then the real challenge begins. The only planet in range has secrets that even Sergeant Campbell cannot imagine.

Hey there, boils and ghouls! It’s October, which means all us happy haunts here at Baen are in a Halloween kind of mood. The horror genre is generally the go-to for all things monstrous, but science fiction is no slouch when it comes to things that go bump in the night—or outside the spaceship’s airlock door. We’ve got our list of our favorite science fiction monsters, but wanted to know yours. Send us your top three in an email to enter a drawing to win a copy of Alliance of Shadows, signed by Larry Correia and Mike Kupari.

Find out more here.

Last month we asked you what 21st century work of science fiction or fantasy you thought deserved to be taught in schools. Congrats to Robert H. Woodman! He wins a copy of The Span of Empire, signed by Eric Flint and David Carrico.

Read the winning entry here.

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