They Re Here

THE ALIENS ARE AMONG US! “Where is everybody?” Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi once asked after a discussion about the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. To sum up the Fermi Paradox, if the billions of stars in our galaxy have planets with intelligent life on them, why hasn’t anyone visited us? But maybe they have, and we just haven’t noticed—and that’s the way they want it. And if they are here in secret, why are they here? Are they tourists? Anthropologists, perhaps? Or journalists sending stories back about the quaint habits of the primitives? Or maybe the extraterrestrial equivalent of hunters or fishermen? (Any odd disappearances in your neighborhood lately?) An enemy already within the gates? Or a refugee seeking sanctuary? Gourmets looking for exotic foreign food? Alien criminals hiding out? Alien cops looking for those alien criminals? No missionaries—at least not yet—and there doesn’t seem to be a Galactic Peace Corps. They might happen to look close enough to human to pass, or they might be masters of disguise. Or they might be so incomprehensibly different that we don’t even notice that they’re here. The secret visitors are revealed by such luminaries as Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, Spider Robinson, William Tenn, and more. And if any alien visitors want to check out the local natives’ speculations herein, feel free. Please pay with local currency, of course. At the publisher’s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for previous anthologies edited by Hank Davis: About Time Troopers: "The editors’ mastery of the military SF and time travel subgenres is evident in their thoughtful selections. Fans of literate speculative fiction will hope for more from these experts." —Publishers Weekly Cosmic Corsairs: “Who doesn’t like space pirates? (Well, their victims I guess, but that’s beside the point.) . . . Hank Davis has a fine sense for choosing a wide mix of stories, and this book is no exception. No story is like another, yet they manage to form a whole greater than the parts. From sapient ships to piratical sibling rivalry, pirate detectives to ingenious captives seeking freedom, from alien biology to orbital mechanics, the stories share some of the same elements—pragmatic thinking, moral complexity, loyalty, and betrayal. Definitely a fun one." —Analog In Space No One Can Hear You Scream: “[T]he 13 tales in this collection blend sf with horror to demonstrate the resiliency of both genres . . . offers strong tales by the genre’s best storytellers.” —Library Journal “[F]irst-rate science fiction, demonstrating how short stories can still entertain.” —The Galveston County Daily News A Cosmic Christmas 2 You: “This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions. . . . A satisfying read for cold winter evenings . . . a great stocking stuffer for SF fans.” —Publishers Weekly As Time Goes By: “As Time Goes By . . . does an excellent job of exploring not only romance through time travel—relationships enabled or imperiled by voyaging through time—but the intrinsic romance of time travel itself. . . . The range of styles and approaches is as wide as the authors' sensibilities and periods might suggest . . . full of entertaining and poignant stories . . . ” —Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, IntergalacticMedicineShow.com About Star Destroyers, coedited by Christopher Ruocchio: “. . . spectacular space battles and alien contacts . . . themes of military ethics, the uses of artificial intelligence, and the limits of the capacity of the human mind. . . . it is the human interactions and decisions that ultimately drive the stories. . . . will appeal to fans of military and hard science fiction and any readers fascinated by the possibilities of space travel." —Booklist “. . . stories of giant spaceships at war, at peace, and in the often-gray areas between. . . . a worthy addition to a long tradition of ship-based fiction, and its authors portray captains, arcane astrogators, and civilian child passengers with equal depth. It’s recommended for fans of military SF and space adventure." —Publishers Weekly “. . . you’d probably expect some tight, action-filled space opera stories of giant space battles . . . and there’s some of that. But there are also espionage stories, rescue missions, political conflicts, alternate histories, even a few humorous tales. . . . each author took the premise in a different direction . . . if I had to identify one common feature to all the stories, it would be that they’re all fun. . . . Like it says, big ships blowing things up. What’s not to like?" —Analog

At Last; Theyre Here! is a human drama with a science fiction backdrop. It poses the question of how Earth would react to the knowledge that an alien space ship is heading toward our planet and ample time was available to prepare for its arrival. Matt Anderson, a nave but brilliant astronomer, creates just such a scenario when he discovers a space ship on target for Earth. Almost immediately, political and military power-brokers the world over set into motion conflicting agendas. Some of the planned actions are based on serious scientific and national security concerns, but some are aimed at personal gain and ambition. Matt is ill prepared for the turmoil that ensues, especially when political machinations begin to recreate the Cold War. But these actions must be countered while he and his supporters pursue peaceful contact with the ship. Almost beyond Matts ability to comprehend, rogue military and unscrupulous political leaders are bent on the ships destruction, especially as the aliens come dangerously close to Earth with still no contact established. The all too fragile and corrupt human emotions poised against dogmatic scientists as they seek to resolve what may be the greatest event in human history lead to international confrontations, public panic and personal tragedies that reveal the best and worst in the human character.

A true story of paranormal events associated with the Dandy house near Hinsdale, New York, and of the author's investigations of the same.

'I want you to know what's happening...' From what might be a news desk, an office, a bedroom, a bunker under a mountain or a theatre, two people – reporters, senators, freedom fighters, or just... well... concerned citizens like you – think about what it is to speak up, speak out, blow the whistle and lift the veil. A Machine They're Secretly Building charts a course from the Top Secret secrets of WWI intelligence (via the moon, 1972's Chess World Championships, a disco in Oklahoma and the cafeteria at CERN) through to 9/11, the erosion of privacy, Edward Snowden and the terror of a future that might already be upon us. It is about how we got to the point where our governments are spying on us and how that's changing who we are.

Written from foster mothers' perspectives, this book voices the often painful experiences of contemporary U.S. foster mothers as they struggle to mother and care-work in the face of exploitative social relations with the state.

Corine thought that she and Demetrius would have time to live a normal life, as it turns out they didn't. It seemed no sooner than they stopped the felans they came back. So they were right back where they started. Dealing with the very thing that made Corine cringe more than anything in this world. They became more powerful after certain things happened to them. They learned something that they did not want to face. They didn't know whether to be surprised or upset. What Corine did know is there was hope for Demetrius and her to live a peaceful happy life once they stopped Jesiah again. This is what she wanted more than anything in the world. She wanted to be normal again, and wanted to have a normal life with the only people that was left in it.

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE • A BELLETRIST BOOK CLUB PICK • A gripping novel set in the world of professional ballet, New York City during the AIDS crisis, and present-day Los Angeles. • "Beautiful...Howrey, a former dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, proves herself a talented choreographer in her own right...[A] finger-trap puzzle of a plot."—New York Times Book Review “They’re Going to Love You is my idea of a perfect book. It is about art, life, death, love, and family and it is beautifully and sharply written. I cried several times while reading it, and was sorry to let it go when I was done. I cannot recommend it enough.” —Jami Attenberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Middlesteins and All This Could Be Yours Throughout her childhood, Carlisle Martin got to see her father, Robert, for only a few precious weeks a year when she visited the brownstone apartment in Greenwich Village he shared with his partner, James. Brilliant but troubled, James gave Carlisle an education in all that he held dear in life—literature, music, and, most of all, dance. Seduced by the heady pull of mentorship and hoping to follow in the footsteps of her mother—a former Balanchine ballerina—Carlisle’s aspiration to become a professional ballet dancer bloomed. But above all else, she longed to be asked to stay at the house on Bank Street, to be a part of Robert and James’s sophisticated world, even as the AIDS crisis brings devastation to their community. Instead, a passionate love affair created a rift between the family, with shattering consequences that reverberated for decades to come. Nineteen years later, when Carlisle receives a phone call that unravels the events of that fateful summer, she sees with new eyes how her younger self has informed the woman she’s become. They’re Going to Love You is a gripping and gorgeously written novel of heartbreaking intensity. With psychological precision and a masterfully revealed secret at its heart, it asks what it takes to be an artist in America, and the price of forgiveness, of ambition, and of love.

It is easy to be a terrorist in America. Everything you need is in your local supermarket. Forget dynamite or gunpowder. Forget guns. Americans keep the most technologically advanced toys of any country in the world. The most deadly killers in the world this side of water, and all it takes is a spark. A few wires, a battery (usually provided) and you're set. The Quiet Man's foray into terrorism required more than a few wires. He required a targeted approach. Cruise missiles up the tailpipe. A couple of transistors and switches. The car alarm comes on, the device is armed. The car alarm switches off...five...four...three...two... And that's that. Ten cars. Ten devices. There were the usual calls for rounding up all Arabs and 'detaining' them for 'questioning.' Long-term questioning behind barbed wire. Don't panic, said the police. Hell, let 'em panic, said everyone else. Maybe they'll turn their damn alarms off. They did. Sunday morning the Quiet Man slept in peace. But not because it was quiet. The lack of car alarms didn't stop the bottles and the screams. He slept because he'd done something. The Quiet Man slept and dreamt of power.