Clarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction (new and classic works), articles, interviews and art. Our September 2015 issue (#108) contains: <ul> <li>Original Fiction by Robert Reed ("Cremulator"), Erica L. Satifka ("Loving Grace"), Bao Shu ("Preserve Her Memory"), Elizabeth Bourne ("The Algebra of Events"), and Benjanun Sriduangkaew ("The Occidental Bride").</li> <li>Reprints by Tom Purdom ("Canary Land") and Una McCormack ("Sea Change").</li> <li>Non-fiction by Dan Kobolt (The Next Generation of DNA Sequencing), an interview with Seth Dickinson, an Another Word column by Jason Heller, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.</li> </ul>

Clarkesworld Issue 108 (Clarkesworld Magazine)

Science Fiction & Fantasy

REED, Robert

McCormack, Una

Sriduangkaew, Benjanun

Clarke, Neil

Satifka, Erica L.

Shu, Bao

Purdom, Tom

Bourne, Elizabeth

Science Fiction

Clarkesworld Magazine

Within every federation and every empire, behind every hero and every villain, there are the worlds that define them. In the aftermath of Unity and in the daring tradition of Spock's World, The Final Reflection, and A Stitch in Time, the civilizations most closely tied to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine can now be experienced as never before...in tales both sweeping and intimate, reflective and prophetic, eerily familiar and utterly alien. CARDASSIA: The last world ravaged by the Dominion War is also the last on which Miles O'Brien ever imagined building a life. As he joins in the reconstruction of Cardassia's infrastructure, his wife Keiko spearheads the planet's difficult agricultural renewal. But Cardassia's struggle to remake itself—from the fledgling democracy backed by Elim Garak to the people's rediscovery of their own spiritual past—is not without opposition, as the outside efforts to help rebuild its civilization come under attack by those who reject any alien influence. ANDOR: On the eve of a great celebration of their ancient past, the unusual and mysterious Andorians, a species with four sexes, must decide just how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to ensure their survival. Biological necessity clashes with personal ethics; cultural obligation vies with love—and Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane returns home to the planet he forswore, to face not only the consequences of his choices, but a clandestine plan to alter the very nature of his kind.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Worlds of Deep Space Nine #1: Cardassia and Andor (1)

Jarman, Heather

Pocket Books/Star Trek

At the turning point of the Dominion War, Captain Benjamin Sisko of Starbase Deep Space 9 ?, facing certain defeat by the relentless forces of the Jem'Hadar and the Cardassians, went through with a secret plan to secure the aid of the Federation's longtime adversaries, the Romulans. What began as a desperate attempt to save lives became a descent into an abyss of deception, moral compromises, and outright criminal acts, as Sisko sacrificed every ideal he held dear in order to preserve the civilization that espoused those selfsame principles.
Now the aftermath of that choice is revealed for the first time as Sisko is summoned to Earth to take part in the first Allied talks to come out of the Federation's new partnership with the Romulans. But Sisko's conscience weighs heavily on him, compelling him to seek some kind of penance for what he has done...while elements within Starfleet itself set in motiona scheme to use Elim Garak as a pawn against a human political dissident who may hold the key to the outcome of the war.
HOLLOW MEN
A TALE OF THE DOMINION WAR

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Hollow Men

Una McCormack's The Undefeated is a thrilling space opera adventure featuring a no holds barred heroine on the front lines of an intergalactic war...
She was a warrior of words.
As a journalist she exposed corruption across the Interstellar Commonwealth, shifting public opinion and destroying careers in the process. 
Long-since retired, she travels back to the planet of her childhood, partly through a sense of nostalgia, partly to avoid running from humanity’s newest―and self-created―enemy, the jenjer.
Because the enemy is coming, and nothing can stand in its way.

The Undefeated

Tordotcom

A heist by the Serenity crew goes badly wrong in a captivating original Firefly tie-in novel from the award-winning series by Titan Books. City of sinNeapolis: a desert city on planet Bethel where all manner of entertainment is found: high-stakes gambling, luxurious hotels, exclusive clubs, and any form of diversion imaginable may be had for a price. It's the eve of the annual carnival: three days of decadent revelry, and Serenity arrives to take a security job, guarding a costly shipment. An unattainable ransomTragedy strikes: the shipment is stolen, and the wealthy owner kidnaps Zoë and Book, holding them to ransom for the lost shipment's value. If Mal can't find the enormous sum of five hundred platinum by the next evening, both of them will be killed. A race against timeAs the carnival begins the crew must attempt the impossible, calling on contacts, calling in favors, and revealing hidden talents to save their crewmates' lives. Meanwhile, the hostages have their own plans...

Carnival (Firefly, 6)

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Blackstone Pub

An original adventure tying in to the ninth season of Doctor Who, the spectacular hit series from BBC Television, featuring the new 12th Doctor as played by Peter Capaldi. “The Grail is a story, a myth! It didn’t exist on your world! It can’t exist here!” The city-state of Varuz is failing. Duke Aurelian is the last of his line, his capital is crumbling, and the armies of his enemy, Duke Conrad, are poised beyond the mountains to invade. Aurelian is preparing to gamble everything on one last battle. So when a holy man, the Doctor, comes to Varuz from beyond the mountains, Aurelian asks for his blessing in the war. But all is not what it seems in Varuz. The city-guard have lasers for swords, and the halls are lit by electric candlelight. Aurelian’s beloved wife, Guena, and his most trusted knight, Bernhardt, seem to be plotting to overthrow their Duke, and Clara finds herself drawn into their intrigue... Will the Doctor stop Aurelian from going to war? Will Clara’s involvement in the plot against the Duke be discovered? Why is Conrad’s ambassador so nervous? And who are the ancient and weary knights who arrive in Varuz claiming to be on a quest for the Holy Grail…?

Doctor Who: Royal Blood: A Novel

Crown

Continuing the post-television Deep Space Nine saga, this original novel shows the fall of the Cardassian empire as seen through the eyes of a young man with a foot in two worlds. Rugal is an orphaned Cardassian who has been raised by the people his race once conquered, the Bajorans. Reluctantly repatriated to Cardassia as a teenager, Rugal becomes the living witness to the downfall of the proud people to whom he was born, first by the invading Klingons, then during the Cardassians’ unholy pact with the Dominion—a partnership that culminated in a near-genocide. Through it all, Rugal’s singular perspective illuminates the choices that brought the Cardassians to their ruin...even as he learns that the Cardassian soul is not as easy to understand as he imagined.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Never Ending Sacrifice

United States

An all-new novel set in the universe of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which tensions escalate between two powerful forces in interstellar space. The Venette Convention has always remained independent, but it is about to become the flashpoint for a tense military standoff between the two power blocs now dominating interstellar space—the United Federation of Planets and the recently formed Typhon Pact. The Venetan government turns to the Typhon Pact’s Tzenkethi Coalition for protection in the new order, and has agreed to allow three of their supply bases for Tzenkethi use. But these bases—if militarized—would put Tzenkethi weapons unacceptably close to Federation, Cardassian, and Ferengi space. While Captain Ezri Dax and the crew of the U.S.S. Aventine are sent to investigate exactly what is happening at one of the Venette bases, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise are assigned to a diplomatic mission sent to the Venette homeworld in order to broker a mutually acceptable resolution. But the Cardassian delegates don’t seem particularly keen on using diplomacy to resolve the situation, which soon spirals out of control toward all-out war. . . .

Typhon Pact: Brinkmanship (Star Trek)

The second original novel in the electrifying The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine crossover event! Cardassia Prime is home to a prideful people who, for centuries, forged alliances with those they believed would strengthen them and their place in the Alpha Quadrant, and expanded their empire at great cost to other worlds. For generations, dissenting voices were silenced by either fear or an early grave. When their wartime ally, the Dominion, suddenly turned on them, seeking to transform Cardassia into a tomb for every last member of their race, their old adversary—the United Federation of Planets— put an end to the carnage, and even now works to help rebuild Cardassia Prime. To celebrate this alliance, the Castellan of the Cardassian Union is to welcome the Federation president to Cardassia Prime. As a symbol of this deepening friendship, the U.S.S. Enterprise-E is tasked to carry the Cardassian ambassador to the Federation back home. For his part, Ambassador Elim Garak is working with Captain Jean-Luc Picard to oversee the diplomatic reception that will commemorate the last of Starfleet’s personnel finally leaving the homeworld. However, there are malevolent forces at work, who even now strive to “restore Cardassia to its proper place and glory,” and are willing to do anything to achieve their goal....

The Fall: The Crimson Shadow (Star Trek)

An original novel set in the universe of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine—a direct sequel to the New York Times bestselling story arc, The Fall! The entire sector is waiting to see what the newly reopened Bajoran wormhole will mean for the shifting political landscape in the Alpha Quadrant. On Deep Space 9, Captain Ro Laren is suddenly drawn into the affairs of the People of the Open Sky, who have come to the station in search of sanctuary. Despite the opposition of the station's security officer, Jefferson Blackmer, Ro Laren and Deep Space 9's new CMO, Doctor Beverly Crusher, offer the People aid. But when Dr. Crusher’s highly secure files are accessed without permission—the same files that hold the secrets of the Shedai, a race whose powerful but half-understood scientific secrets solved the Andorian catastrophe—the People seem the likeliest suspects. As tensions rise on the station, the science vessel Athene Donald arrives as part of its journey of exploration. The brainchild of Doctor Katherine Pulaski, this ship is crewed by different species from the Khitomer Accords and the Typhon Pact. Pulaski’s hope is that science will do what diplomacy has not: help the great powers put aside their hostilities and work together. But when the Athene Donald is summarily stopped in her voyage by the powerful vessel of a hitherto unknown species, Pulaski begins to wonder—will this first contact bring her crew together or tear them all apart? ™, ®, &amp; © 2014 CBS Studios, Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Missing (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McCormack, Una. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McCormack, Una