L. E Modesitt

Apprentice portraitist Rhennthyl begins training as a covert operative after he discovers that he has the magical ability called Imaging. When his martial training kicks into high gear though, an unknown assassin tries to kill him.

Rhennthyl and Seliora are married and have a small daughter, and Rhennthyl has proven to be an effective patrol captain as well as a strong imager. But problems are increasing: a new addictive drug is destroying more people faster, including a member of Rhenn's family, mysterious explosions rock the city of L'Excelsis, and the country's most powerful enemy is expected to go to war any day.

Discovering that large sums of money have been diverted from her father's treasury, the eldest daughter of Lanachrona's overseer is directed to discover her Talent in order to save her world, a mission that is complicated by an attempt to marry her off to a lord in a neighboring land. Set in Tempre, the capital city of Lanachrona on Corus, the world of Modesitt's Corean Chronicles.

"You can't militarize space. This one rule has led to decades of peaceful development of space programs worldwide. However, increasing resource scarcity and a changing climate on Earth's surface is causing some interested parties to militarize, namely India, the North American Union, and the Sinese Federation. The discovery of a strange artifact by Dr. Alayna Wong precipitates a crisis. What appears to be a hitherto undiscovered comet is soon revealed...

Quaeryt's prestigious new rank and marriage to Vaelora are threatened by a devastating volcanic eruption in the old capital of Telaryn, where he is challenged to restore order in the face of chaos, corruption, and an invasion by a would-be conqueror.

A collection of short stories set in the world of the Recluce saga features seventeen new tales and four popular reprints spanning the thousand-year history of Recluse, in an anthology complemented by a background essay.