John Helfers Books In Order

The Spider Chronicles

More just than the law, more dangerous than the Underworld…
hated, feared, and wanted by both. One cloaked, fanged, border line crazy denizen of the dark force, feeding hard justice with a pair of 45’s! Moonstone is proud to present 20 new short stories of searing white hot prose starring pulpdom’s most violent and ruthless crime fighter ever: The Spider! Here you will find relentless, hard fisted action that remains true in tone to his mythic proportioned adventures, with stories by John Jakes North and South, Kent Family Chronicles, Mort Castle, Bill Crider, Shannon Denton, Chuck Dixon, Steve Englehart, Ron Fortier, Joe Gentile, Rich Harvey, John Helfers, CJ Henderson, Howard Hopkins, Anthony Kuhoric, Elizabeth Massie, Christopher Mills, Will Murray, Ann Nocenti, Martin Powell, and Robert Weinberg.

Murder Most Medieval

Here are thirteen deadly tales, all set within the dramatic turmoil of medieval Europe. Murder mystery fans and history buffs alike will be riveted by the selections offered by master anthologist Martin H. Greenberg and Nebula Award-winner John Helfers. You’ll meet Peter Tremayne’s seventh-century Celtic detective, Sister Fidelma, in ‘Like a Dog Returning;’ discover Clayton Emery’s take on Robin Hood in ‘Plucking a Mandrake;’ learn about Brother Cadfael, soldier-turned-sleuthing-monk, from the wicked pen of Ellis Peters; and many others-all in the service of investigating crime in the Middle Ages, from the misdeeds of commoners to the felonies of kings.

Knight Fantastic

The most glorious legends of the Middle Ages come alive in this new, original anthology in the popular Fantastic series.

Black Cats and Broken Mirrors

From dark felines crossing your path to shattered looking glas*ses, Black Cats and Broken Mirrors dares to ask the question: ‘What if some of those long treasured superstitions are actually true?’ Join Jane Yolen, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Michelle West, Charles de Lint, Nancy Springer, Peter Crowther, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Esther Friesner, and more as they explore the lighter and darker sides of our fears in this original anthology featuring stories ranging from urban fantasy and magical realism to horror!

Star Colonies

Space exploration and the colonization of new worlds has always been one of the most popular themes in science fiction. Now, in this brand new collection of original stories, such masterful forecasters of the future as Jack Williamson, Alan Dean Foster, Mike Resnick, Allen Steele, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Charles Wilson, Pamela Sargent, Paul Levinson, and their fellow explorers, take us to distant worlds where humans seek to make their homes sometimes against deadly odds or to exotic places where alien races thrive. Here is the stuff that science fiction movies and television shows are made of tales that will engage readers of all ages.

Villains Victorious

This wicked new anthology includes fourteen original tales about those characters you love to hate and hate to love: Villains. Bad guys. Femme fatales. After all, what is a hero without a truly evil arch nemesis?Where is the triumph without a worthy opponent?But shouldn’t every villain have his or her day? Well, now they do in Villains Victorious. Includes sinister new stories by: Tanya Huff Rosemary Edghill Kristine Kathryn Rusch David Bischoff Fiona Patton Josepha Sherman Michelle West Peter Crowther and others

Slipstreams

Imagination knows no boundaries Twenty of science fiction and fantasy’s most talented authors take up a challenge: to wade into the waters of a new genre and create something utterly unique. The results of this literary adventure include stories about a mountain man’s encounter with a very agressive demon in Yellowstone Park, a wood carver seeking to pick up the pieces of his life throughout the galaxy, and a vampire detective who specializes in bloodwork.

Army of the Fantastic

13 original tales of fantastical battles for anyone who needs a dose of un reality. How might the course of World War II have changed if civilized dragons ran bombing missions for the Germans? Here are 13 tales of war in alternate worlds where magical creatures are real and often prove victorious. Human troops fight alongside gryphons, unicorns, and a sea serpent, who can give submarine warfare a whole new slant. These are just a few of the stories gathered together in this all original volume that opens the way to magical places in our own world where the armies of the fantastic are on the march, waging wars both vast and personal.

Man Vs Machine

Fifteen original tales envision ever more sophisticated technology and the repercussions on humankind…
As our world and daily lives become more and more involved with and dependent on complex technology, concern over what the future holds increases. If computers develop genuine Artificial Intelligence will they still willingly serve humankind? If the machines rebel, can we shut them down? And what kind of world would we be left with if we did? These are just a few of the questions explored in fifteen brand new stories by some of science fiction’s most visionary minds inventive and cautionary tales about some of the futures we may be building for ourselves right now.

Future Americas

Oh say can you see sixteen original stories about the America to come

Predicting the future has long been a cornerstone of science fiction, and the number of trends in society, politics, and religion that have followed these forecasts is impressive. Now sixteen authors have taken up the challenge of gazing into the future and seeing where America may be the day after tomorrow. From an America where history has become myth and misinformation amid the ruins of a once great land…
to a place where the only existence for genetic misfits is as slaves…
to a company intent on cloning the world’s species, both extinct and endangered, back to a balanced ecosystem, here are stories that will have readers thinking about the future, and about how their own actions now could make a difference tomorrow.

The Valdemar Companion

Mercedes Lackey’s nationally best selling Valdemar series has become a legend in the annals of fantasy fiction. Now, for the first time, DAW presents a complete, authorized reader’s guide to her endlessly rich and dazzling fantasy world…
‘Compulsive reading.’ Locus

Unauthorized Dan Brown Companion

The definitive truth within Dan Brown’s fantastic fiction revealed at last. With millions of copies of his books in print, a major motion picture based on The Da Vinci Code in theaters, and religious leaders everywhere launching scathing attacks on his work, Dan Brown is, quite simply, a phenomenon. His novels, intricate mosaics combining well researched facts with action packed storytelling, have created their own industry of location tours, seminars even PBS specials. But perhaps the one thing that still keeps his readers guessing is that nagging question: How much of this is true?The Unauthorized Dan Brown Companion tells all. Unlike the avalanche of books specifically about The Da Vinci Code , The Unauthorized Dan Brown Companion covers all of Dan Brown s books and, crucially, has no religious agenda or political axe to grind these are the facts. Could there actually be an unbreakable code that would cripple US intelligence, as in Digital Fortress? How much truth lies in The Da Vinci Code s history altering propositions that have so angered the Vatican? Are the Illuminati from Angels and Demons really alive and well? The answers are here, covering every picture, place, proper name, and historical event through all of Brown s books, explaining what s absolutely true, possible, improbable, or completely fictitious. One of Dan Brown s greatest accomplishments as a writer is his uncanny ability to blur the line between fact and fiction. Now, with The Unauthorized Dan Brown Companion, readers will at last have all of the information to distinguish for themselves between the inventions of a master storyteller and the historical revelations of a first rate investigator. John Helfers is a full time writer and editor currently living on Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is the co editor of The Valdemar Companion, a guide to the work and life of fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey. Recent published books include two anthologies he edited, In the Shadow of Evil and Slipstreams. He has also written nonfiction, with his history of the United States Navy, The Alpha Bravo Delta Guide to the U.S. Navy, published in 2003.

The Vorkosigan Companion

Lois McMaster Bujold’s best selling Vorkosigan series is a publishing phenomenon, winning record breaking sales, critical praise, four Hugo Awards and a Nebula award. And the thousands of devotees of the series now have a book that will be a goldmine of information, background details, and little known facts about the Vorkosigan saga. Included are an all new interview with Bujold as well as essays by her on crafting the Vorkosigan universe, articles on the biology, technology and sociology of the planet Barrayar, appreciations of the individual novels by experts, maps, a complete timeline of the series, and more. Readers can t get enough of the Vorkosigan series and they ll jump at the chance to read this story behind the stories. Baen has a new novel in the Vorkosigan series under contract.