October 2026
In this issue: The World We Forge brings the survivors of John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising universe that much closer to building a world to live in rather than merely survive, and, in Gathering of Emerald Clouds, Jane Lindskold brings us back to her brilliant Over Where universe.
eARCs
Praise for Black Tide Rising:
“. . . an entertaining batch of…action-packed tales. Certainly, fans of Ringo’s particular brand of action-adventure will be pleased.” —Booklist
“This anthology broadens Ringo’s Black Tide world, serving up doses of humanity amid the ravenous afflicted. Comedy has a place in this harsh reality, and these stories stir adventure and emotion at a frantic clip throughout. Zombie fiction fans will be thrilled.” —Library Journal
Praise for the Black Tide Rising Series:
“Not only has Ringo found a mostly unexplored corner of the zombie landscape, he's using the zombie frame to tackle a broader theme: the collapse and rebirth of civilization. The zombie scenes are exciting, sure, but its the human story that keeps us involved. A fine series.” —Booklist
Praise for Under a Graveyard Sky:
“Ringo combines humor and horror in this strong series debut, the thinking reader’s zombie novel.” —Publishers Weekly
Praise for John Ringo:
“[Ringo’s work is] peopled with three-dimensional characters and spiced with personal drama as well as tactical finesse.” —Library Journal
“…Explosive. . . . fans . . . will appreciate Ringo’s lively narrative and flavorful characters.” —Publishers Weekly
“. . . practically impossible not to read in one sitting…exceedingly impressive . . . executed with skill, verve, and wit.” —Booklist
“Crackerjack storytelling.” —Starlog
We Survived. Now What?
It’s been two years since the “zombie flu” decimated the vast majority of humanity and ended civilization across the globe. After overcoming seemingly overwhelming odds, the remaining groups of survivors are now facing a new challenge: as the remaining infrastructure begins to fail, can they forge a brand new world or will they succumb to the harsh realities of a post-apocalyptic dystopia?
Featuring stories by Brian Trent, Dave Freer, Jason Cordova, Jody Lynn Nye, John Birmingham, Sarah A. Hoyt, Mel Todd, Shane Gries, Brent Roeder, and Lydia Sherrer.
Praise for Over Where:
“Library of the Sapphire Wind is classic Lindskold… If you’re looking for a well-written book with a fascinating cast of characters moving through an inventive and wondrous world, look no further.”
—The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
“The older adventurers add some freshness to the setup, while the animal-headed youngsters charm. This vivid, magical tale is sure to please.” —Publishers Weekly
“It expertly balances the thoughtful maturity of its older protagonists with the eager energies of its young ones… Combine that with its infectious sense of wonder, and it becomes something the fantasy world needs more of.” —H.P. Holo, best-selling author of the Monster Punk Horizon series
Praise for Jane Lindskold:
“Lindskold is one of those authors who write all sorts of books, slipping through various subgenres with the confident stride of a born storyteller who refuses to be pigeon-holed.” —The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
“Intricately plotted. . . . a thought-provoking tale of magic and politics, enlivened by Firekeeper’s wry and wolfish point-of-view.” —Publishers Weekly on Wolf’s Blood
“Lindskold delivers an exotic historical fantasy that takes the reader from Victorian England to Egypt.” —Publishers Weekly on The Buried Pyramid
“I loved it. A thrilling, edge-of-the-seat read—I couldn’t put it down!” —Tamora Pierce on Fire Season (cowritten with David Weber)
Secrets Cast Long Shadows
A lost soul. A box of mysteries.
While visiting the city of Lioll, Peg and Vereez hear a song composed by Peg and her true love, Jackal, in 1960s San Francisco—a song they shared with no one. Jackal died young, and now Peg is haunted by the desperate hope that his soul reincarnated Over Where. With time running seven to one, centuries may have passed, and he may have lived many lives since. Even if she finds him, will he know her?
After the crew returns to the Library of the Sapphire Wind, they learn that Xerak’s mother, Fardowsi, has brought them a box with a secret compartment. Within the compartment is a curious assortment of items. Knowing that Xerak and his associates are regularly traveling to Lioll and impressed with their knack for unraveling mysteries long believed unsolvable, Fardowsi hires them to establish the provenance of her purchase.
But secrets can be dangerous. Magic plays by its own rules—and may even kill. And a storm of emotions threatens to tear the House of Rough Diamonds apart from within.
Get the Gathering of Emerald Clouds eARC here.
New Free Fiction at Baen.com
FREE FICTION
Read, “What Would Stone Tactical Do,” a short story by Casey Moores set in John Ringo’s Shadow’s Path universe here.
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Coming soon to the Baen Free Radio Hour:
This month on the Baen Free Radio Hour, Toni Weisskopf leads a passel of superfans of Elizabeth Moon’s Paksenarrion books in a discussion. Then, later, Alien or Government Program? Sean Hazlett interviews a panel on which these odd phenomena might be. Then, later, John Ringo and Casey Moores talk Tides of Ruin with Jeremy Comeaux
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Baen Books
The World We Forge
John Ringo & Gary Poole, editors
It’s been two years since the “zombie flu” decimated the vast majority of humanity and ended civilization across the globe. After overcoming seemingly overwhelming odds, the remaining groups of survivors face a new challenge: as the remaining infrastructure begins to fail, can they forge a brand new world? With stories by Brian Trent, Dave Freer, Jason Cordova, Jody Lynn Nye, John Birmingham, Sarah A. Hoyt, Mel Todd, Shane Gries, Brent Roeder, and Lydia Sherrer.
Gathering of Emerald Clouds
Jane Linkdskold
A lost soul. A box of mysteries. After the crew returns to the Library of the Sapphire Wind, they learn that Xerak’s mother, Fardowsi, has brought them a box with a secret compartment. Within the compartment is a curious assortment of items. Knowing that Xerak and his associates are regularly traveling to Lioll and impressed with their knack for unraveling mysteries long believed unsolvable, Fardowsi hires them to establish the provenance of her purchase. But secrets can be dangerous. Magic plays by its own rules—and may even kill. And a storm of emotions threatens to tear the House of Rough Diamonds apart from within.
Shadow of the Smoking Mountain
Howard Andrew Jones
It seemed that the worst lay behind them, but as Hanuvar shifted his efforts south, where hundreds of his people still labored under the Dervan yoke, other forces were advancing agendas of their own. Determined to prove Hanuvar still lived, the Revenant legate secretly sought him with dark sorceries. A band of gladiators had rebelled and now wandered free, threatening the innocent and calling down the wrath of the legions. And upon the slopes of an ancient volcano, an ageless warrior mage worked to unleash a spell that would doom them all . . .
The Fire Rose
Mercedes Lackey
Accepting employment as a governess after hard times hit her family, medieval scholar Rosalind Hawkins is surprised when she learns that her mysterious employer has no children, no wife, and she is not to meet with him face to face. Instead, her duties are to read to him from ancient manuscripts. A requirement for the job was skill in translating medieval French, and she assumes her unseen employer’s interest in the descriptions of medieval spells and sorcery is that of an eccentric antiquary. Her employer’s interest is anything but academic. He’s desperately searching for something that can reverse the effects of the misfired spell which changed his fate.
Aurelia
Stephen R. Lawhead
It was a time of the end of empire. The world was in turmoil. The Romans were abandoning Britain, leaving the remaining servants of empire to try to stem the tide of chaos. Aurelia was one such, the child of a Magistrate, and wife of a Legate. The entire world was changing around her. How could she raise her sons to thrive in such a world? Everywhere, it seemed, the old, well-ordered realm she had been born into was passing away to be replaced by . . . what? It was that question her sons, Aurelius and Uther—with the help of Merlin—were born to answer.
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