This book consists of 2 separate sets of fantasy stories, with different back-to-back covers (reminiscent of the old Ace Doubles).

On one side are stories of Terazin, top-notch thief. To join the Thieves' Guild, one does not simply knock on the front door and ask for an application. It is necessary to break into the building and make it to the inner sanctum deep underground, avoiding the traps set up along the way. Terazin does so, and is given an initiation test. She must bring the braided hair of Swan, a famous female warrior who will not take kindly to getting a sudden haircut. Other stories feature Terazin finding herself in the middle when it comes to internal Thieves' Guild politics.

Going the other way are stories of Magdalene, the world’s most powerful (and laziest) wizard. She is an apprentice to Adar, a castle wizard. She unknowingly dismantles his most powerful spells like they don’t even exist. She gains Adar’s powers, just before he is turned into a pile of gray ash, and decides to leave the castle. Traveling with H’sak, a demon trapped inside a mirror, she finds that the most bucolic villages have the most unique customs concerning wizards, like welcoming them with axes or chains and manacles. It doesn’t help that Magdalene, a redhead with a very healthy libido, doesn’t wear a pointy hat like normal wizards. She is summoned to various kings and wizards, and her attitude is like, "Yeah, yeah, let’s get this over with."

I really enjoyed these stories. They’re lighter, fast reading, and they show that Huff is a veteran fantasy author. The reader won’t go wrong with this strong, well done group of stories.

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The Order has set up a research facility on Mars, where they have created a race of nano-DNA hybrids called imagofas, thought by many to be the next step in human evolution. The Council, on Earth, considers imagofas to be a crime against humanity. The idea is hatched to bring back evidence from Mars of the order’s activities, to put them out of business, once and for all. The two women, Sashimu and Thesni, are kidnapped from Mars and brought to Earth as "evidence", after which their life spans will be short and very unpleasant.

Something goes wrong at the Earth spaceport, and the two manage to escape, though separated from each other. In the meantime, Creid Xerkler is the inventor of a virtual reality system called Molecular Advantage Machine, or MAM. It allows instant access to all of Earth's knowledge, but the connection is made through the wearing of a special suit. Another reason why Sashimu and Thesni are considered evil is that they can access MAM without the suit. Xerkler is very implicated in this anti-Order plan, but he spends much of the book in an artificially-induced coma (someone wants him out of the way).

While staying away from the Council, the two meet some interesting individuals. The Cadet is an expert gamer and finder of information, and Prometheus is a MAM meta-intelligence looking for sentience. It becomes clear that Xerkler is the key, but the only way to reach him, and fix whatever is wrong with him, is from the inside, through MAM.

This gem of a book has it all. It’s got virtual reality, technology and imagination. It also has an interesting story, with which the author does a fine job. This is not just a really good first novel, it’s a really good novel.

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At the end of the previous volume, Thran’s son, Daepar, who was left in charge of House Thran, is found dead. Thran vows revenge on House Suum, the most likely suspect, with or without the consent of the Council at Moorkai, Adylonis’ governing body. War is declared, and after many have died, Thran is presented with evidence that Suum really is innocent. The real culprits are the verni, an ancient reptilian race with their own agenda. Thran resigns from the Ascendancy, knowing that it will be given to House Suum.

Years later, Andalarn the Younger occupies a senior position on the Council, but watches as the Ascendancy goes to House Djemo. Andalarn discovers that Djemo has gotten assistance from some dangerous, and very illegal, sorcery. He is offered the Ascendancy in exchange for his silence. An attack is launched, with Andalarn at its head, against Moorkai, Adylonis’ capital, and Djemo’s headquarters. He has imposed martial law on the city, and has plenty of weapons against an attack.

This is another strong, well-done fantasy story. It is interesting, with good characters, and the reader will not be disappointed.

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The Reetions of Rire regulate every aspect of their lives with advanced computer technology. The Sevolites of Gelion are much more of an honor-bound people. The wearing, and using, of swords in public is a normal part of daily life. It is also a rigidly class-defined culture, where one is expected to use the proper pronouns when speaking "up" or "down" to someone else.

The two civilizations fought a major war about 200 years previously, which left large regions of space uninhabitable. Despite severing all relations with each other, another war between them is increasingly likely.

Ann, a Reetion pilot, meets, and falls for, Von, a Sevolite male courtesan and sword-dancer (who Ann calls Beauty), who may be an actual Prince. Ranar, a Reetion archaeologist with dark skin (a novelty in Sevolite society), meets Di Mon, a high-ranking member of Sevolite society, who is also in love with Von. Unintentionally, perhaps they can prevent another major interstellar war.

This is a good piece of society-building. Since this is not the usual sort of new world, this novel will require some patience on the part of the reader (it takes a while to get going). It is also the first of a projected ten-book series. It’s very much worth reading.

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Those who end up in a Type I facility are the genetically pure elite (sound familiar?) who will be resurrected in the future. A Type II facility is for those who will never be resurrected; perhaps they will be used for cloning purposes in the future. The vast majority of the population of "the West" (Asia and Africa pulled out of the U.N. years before) end up in a Type III facility. Think of a Nazi concentration camp with computer-controlled lasers to do the killing, instead of gas.

There are some who want no part of this new world; among them are neighbors Harold Womack and Greg Baldwin, and their families. Womack’s daughter, Lynn, a scientist for UniCorp, accidentally discovers the truth, and is able to warn her parents just before UniCorp police come for both families, and just before she disappears. They take off to the South American jungles, where they undertake an active rebellion, not knowing if their daughter is alive or dead.

This is an excellent piece of near-future society building. It’s interesting and plausible, it’s a good story and it will give the reader plenty to consider.

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The system also has a much more evil, and extremely Classified, purpose, one which is accidentally discovered by mid-level systems analyst Brian Warburton. He copies the information on to a CD-ROM, and manages to get rid of it, just before he dies of a "stroke." This happens on the day before the law, and the mandatory RFID injection, is supposed to take effect. It falls into the hands of Jacob Reed, local TV reporter. Along with Anna Tabor, a young woman who flew in that day from Poland, and into whose luggage Warburton put the CD-ROM, he keeps one step ahead of police and federal agents looking for them. Can Jacob and Anna get this information on TV to warn the American people in time?

This book certainly gives new meaning to the phrase "ripped from today’s headlines." It’s a very spooky, and very well-done, story that will give the reader plenty to think about. It is recommended for everyone, but especially for those who think that implanting people with RFIDs, as an anti-terrorism measure, or as the next step in personal information storage, is a good thing.

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At an isolated research station in the north, one story concerns talking lemmings who are looking forward to being eaten by other predators. There is a modern-day vampire story. Mother Teresa moves into an elderly woman’s home, and turns it into an orphanage. A group of aliens about to terraform Earth are totally enthralled by the singing of an elderly eskimo woman who knows that she has reached the end of her life. There is a near-future computer-controlled war story. A man wakes up one morning to find himself conscious, but physically unable to get out of bed. Then he finds that he has turned invisible. His wife, who thinks that he left her in the middle of the night, goes into a deep depression. Then civil order collapses as thousands, then millions, of people similarly disappear.

There is a wide variety of stories here; something for everyone. Read this an example of the state of speculative fiction in Canada, or read this as simply a group of really good stories. Either way, read it.

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Along the way, GT tells Errol things about his family and about growing up that no one else could know. Errol’s first thought was that his father had another family, and this is his illegitimate son. GT also points Errol to a handwritten confession written many years previously. Errol’s mother was having an affair with a local man. Errol’s father murdered the man, and buried him under their garage, where his body is found. Slowly, but surely, Errol is convinced. One night, GT disappears, and Errol thinks that this is the end of the story.

That is, until Errol is kidnapped by government agents and taken to a secret facility. There, he is shown hundreds of people, risen from the dead, all with amazing powers of recuperation. He watches as what looks like a six-year-old girl regenerates an arm that has just been amputated. The head of the facility, Dr Wheeler, is convinced that this is the beginning of some sort of alien invasion. GT returns, and Errol learns that millions of years ago, a cellular intelligence came to Earth via a meteor. It recently found a life form it can use, dead people, and wants to peacefully coexist with the people of Earth. It also wants to give humans a storehouse of ancient wisdom, which looks a lot like a pool of black slime. But all Dr Wheeler can hear is Alien Invasion!

Mosley may be better known as a mystery writer than a science fiction writer, but this is a really good science fiction story. It’s a very contemporary tale, with just enough Stephen King and Arthur C. Clarke in it. This is a pretty fast read that will keep the reader’s interest.

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Finding himself outside the castle, at the foot of the nearby mountains, Vathek hears a voice coming out of a huge crevasse. It is the stranger, called a giaour, who promises Vathek all the powers of heaven in exchange for the blood of fifty young boys. Vathek provides the boys, through the guise of a sporting competition, then the giaour reneges on its part of the deal. When the people, especially the parents, understand what’s happened, Vathek has to get back to the castle and lock the doors, until the anger subsides.

Later, Vathek commands the creation of a great caravan to a place called Rocnabad, home of famous springs. For various reasons, he needs to get away from the castle for a while. This is going to be the biggest, and grandest, caravan ever. On the journey, the caravan is attacked by wild animals, with a number of casualties. Vathek, his wives and senior advisers, can no longer be carried the rest of the way, because of lack of personnel, but actually have to walk to Rocnabad.

At Rocnabad, there is a castle as big or bigger than the one that Vathek left behind. He meets a young woman named Nouronihar, who he wants as one of his wives (as Caliph, what Vathek wants, Vathek gets). She is promised to a man named Gulchenrouz. The lovers drink a potion that will make them look dead for several days, then, the idea is that they go and live somewhere else, away from Vathek.

This is one of the very few novels set in the world of the Arabian Nights, a world of eunuchs, slaves and harem girls. It was first published over 200 years ago (in the 1780s), so the style of writing is very different than what is normal for a modern reader. Therefore, it will take some patience on the part of the reader. If you can find a copy, it is time, and money, very well spent.

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With pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchinson, the crew are not the usual scientist types, but members of the Contact Society, a group of rich people who fund research into extraterrestrial life. This is important because after 200 years of diligent searching for other civilizations, the results have been very disappointing. Following the signal from one star system to another, the humans find the same type of stealth satellites in orbit around various planets. Even by the standards of interstellar distances, this is a huge relay system. Attempts by companion ships to bring one aboard to study end in disaster.

The crew encounters a planet inhabited by humanoids with wings, who bear a striking resemblance to angels. Hutch is the only one who thinks that landing and establishing contact with the natives is not such a good idea. The "angels" show themselves to be uninterested in contact when they attack the humans with claws and sharp teeth, killing two of them.

Around another planet, the humans find a giant asteroid which is actually an alien spaceship. After much exploration, they determine that it is some sort of automated archaeological survey ship, picking up bits of other cultures from throughout the galaxy. The satellites signal when a culture is sufficiently advanced to warrant a visit.

This is a gem of a book. It’s nice and mind-blowing, the author does a fine job throughout, and the science is kept to reasonable levels.

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A mysterious signal draws the ship to an abandoned colony on an Earth-like planet. Nikko, the ship’s captain, barely averts a mutiny as several hundred passengers would rather take their chances on the planet than stay on the ship any longer. The planet’s attraction suddenly disappears when several hundred humanoid corpses are discovered in an underground room. The colony is abandoned because the inhabitants were slaughtered.

Later, the Argonos comes upon what looks like a huge, derelict alien ship. Bartolomeo, Nikko’s friend and advisor, advocates exploring the ship thoroughly. On the other hand, Bishop Saldana, Nikko’s rival for the captaincy, is all for putting as much distance as possible between the ships. He is not the only one who feels malevolence, if not actual evil, from the alien ship.

Room after room is explored on the alien ship, most of them being empty, with little or no sign of aliens. The decision is made to attach the two ships together, and tow the alien ship to an intelligent civilization (there has to be one somewhere) as a peace offering. Then, several hundred more humanoid corpses are discovered on the alien ship. Even Bartolomeo is convinced that the sooner they get away from the alien ship, the better. Now, the alien ship comes alive, refusing to let go of the Argonos.

This is a really good, well-done story looking at the concept of evil. The author does a good job with the characters, and it will certainly keep the reader interested.

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She is on the run from the Wardens, accused of killing Bob, a Senior Warden. He may have been an arrogant you-know-what who few people are sorry to see dead, and it may have happened in self-defense while Bob was transferring an alien being into Joanne’s body that is slowly taking her over, but Joanne is still in deep trouble. Her only hope is Lewis, the only Warden who can control earth, fire and weather. But, he is also on the run, having stolen three bottles of djinn (the only being more powerful than a Warden), which makes him the most wanted person on Earth.

During Joanne’s mad dash across present-day America, followed by all sorts of "freak" weather, she meets David, your average cross-country hiker. But he is actually a djinn, who may or may not be working for the Wardens. The big confrontation comes in an average-looking house in Oklahoma City, with Lewis and Estrella, an old friend and former Fire Warden, who has her own agenda.

This one is quite good and it is worth reading. It has plenty of action and tension, and the possibility of human control over Mother Nature will keep the reader thinking. It certainly puts the local weather forecast in a whole new light. Keep an eye on this series.

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The Hsktskt slavers have been pushed out of the quadrant, so the four sentient races, who call themselves the Allied League of Worlds, meet on K-2 for a peace conference. The participants, two air-breathing races and two water-breathing races, don’t particularly like each other. When an ambassador’s shuttle is attacked prior to the conference, Sublieutenant Burn mu Znora stops the attack and rescues the ambassador’s daughter, Liana (some younger 'Zangians, like Burn, have been surgically altered to be able to survive in the air for hours at a time). Having drawn the pleasurable duty of guarding Liana during the conference, Burn realizes that she knows a lot more than she is letting on, and that someone wants this conference to fail.

Meantime, the 'Zangians have a natural enemy called a mogshrike. Think of a creature bigger than a great white shark, with a lot more teeth and a much more nasty disposition. The mogshrikes have been moving into warmer and shallower water, where the 'Zangians live. They are defenseless against the mogshrikes, so the radical idea is considered of catching one to study. Dair, an elderly 'Zangian, is totally against the idea, but Teresa, his Terran mate, agrees to participate. The battle of wills gets to the point where Dair tells Teresa that they are no longer mated. A baby mogshrike is captured, and it is discovered that they have been doing some pretty radical evolving.

This is a fine piece of writing. It’s got good world building, the characters are very well done, and it’s a first-rate story. As with any series, reading previous books will help, but this does a really good job of standing on its own.

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Farrell had a colleague/competitor in the field of obtaining rare objects, a man named Talbot. Unfortunately, he got too close to the business end of an energy weapon, and is now very dead. The Yorkstone police are now very interested. A rich industrialist named Landeman is also interested in the tablet.

Jack is a psychic investigator; he works from hunches or "feelings" gained from objects, other people or dreams. He meets Talbot in his dreams and is told to go to a planet called Mandala. A major archaeological dig is underway, uncovering what was a major city. In his dreams, Jack sees the city as it was a millennia ago. But he is no closer to discovering the answers to his growing list of questions.

Back in Yorkstone, Billie, Jack’s teenage "ward" and an expert information finder, learns that the object is made of a metal unknown to science, and probably came from Mandala. It could be an object of great power, or the key to some advanced civilization. Jack begins to piece it all together; a potentially "huge" object like this would be worth a lot of money to some people.

This works really well as a mystery story and a science fiction story. It’s just weird enough, and it also has echoes of famous tales like The Maltese Falcon. Either way, it’s worth reading.

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