Swords and Spaceships for January 12

Delly, a partly-educated fire witch who also happens to be a part-time thief and con artist, fast talks her way into a bodyguard job for a wealthy lady who will soon be married. She quickly has designs of her own on one of her fellow bodyguards who is out of her league and absolutely irresistible. But soon unknown assassins really are trying to kill Delly’s charge. Can she save one lady and romance another?

The heir to the Frozen Crown of Seravesh must seek an alliance with the nation of Vishir if she’s to save her people from invaders unleashed by a mad emperor. But she’s ill-equipped to play politics and she’s soon mired in court intrigues and far in over her head and threatens to reveal one of her darkest secrets–that she’s a witch.

Another wayward child finds her way to a magical doorway that takes her to a land of centaurs, kelpies, and unicorns–a land where she’s expected to be a hero, though heroism comes in many forms.

Zax travels to a new reality every time he falls asleep, with no control over where he ends up. He has to rely on his wits and what small advantages he can find in each world if he wants to survive–though sometimes he can take friends with him if they’re unconscious in his arms before he falls asleep. And there’s someone following him, someone who wants his uncontrollable power, which would require taking his blood.

Sik is an ordinary kid who just wants to go to school and help his parents out in the deli they own. But then the Mesopotamian god Nergal comes looking for him, convinced that Sik holds the secret to eternal life–and indeed, Sik is unexpectedly immortal. Soon, he’s embroiled in ancient business, and he’s got to work with the adopted daughter of Ishtar and a retired hero named Gilgamesh if he’s going to save New York City from a plague.

The Stranger Times is a newspaper that covers the unexplained and inexplicable, run by a rag-tag group of journalist-rejects who all have their own serious problems. But as their newest reporter starts to dig into her first investigation, they realize that some stories they’ve recently dismissed are real, and indicate the presence of unimaginable powerful and dark forces.