Dave Freer

Tom is a cat in trouble. The worst possible kind of trouble: he's been turned into a human. Transformed by an irascible old magician in need of a famulus -- a servant and an assistant, Tom is as good at being a servant as a cat ever is. The assistant part is more to Tom's taste: he rather fancies impressing the girl cats and terrorizing the other toms by transforming himself into a tiger. But the world of magic, a vanished and cursed princess, and a haunted skull, and a demon in the chamber-pot, to say nothing of conspiring wizards and the wickedest witch in the west, all seem to be out to kill Tom. He is a cat coming to terms with being a boy, dealing with all this. He has a raven and a cheese as... sort of allies.And of course there is the princess.If you were looking for 'War and Peace' this is the wrong book for you. It's a light-hearted and gently satirical fantasy, full of terrible puns and... cats.

Captain Pausert just can’t catch a break! First, he became the mortal enemy of his fiancée, his home planet, the Empire—and even the Worm World, the darkest threat to mankind in all of space. All because he helped rescue three slave children from their masters. Of course, these three young women were the universally feared witches of Karres—but how was he to know that?! And after he defeated the Worm World (with the help of the witches, of course), the Empress herself had sent him on a secret mission to stop a nanite plague that was raging across the galaxy. But an enemy had somehow convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, so after a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs, Pausert and the witches of Karres joined an interstellar traveling circus in order to save the galaxy. Now Pausert and the witches of Karres roam the spaceways again, this time dealing with a slaver-culture that somehow makes slaves happy to be in servitude, and a quest for a long-lost alien pet, during which the youngest witch, the Leewit, begins to come to her full powers as a healer—and of course generates chaos in her wake. For Pausert, it’s all in a day’s work. But would it be too much to ask for a vacation? About The Shaman of Karres: “This latest adventure of Pausert and the witches is full of all the whimsy, derring-do, and absurd hijinks that you’d expect. I dare any reader to get through ten pages without smiling.”—Analog About the Witches of Karres series: "This sequel [to The Witches of Karres] does honor to the original. . . a rolilicking ride. . . a rousing conclusion. . . "—Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine "Matches Schmitz's narrative style and high standard of humor, imagination, and absurdity. . . . Fans of humorous science fiction will enjoy this outing.”—School Library Journal on The Wizard of Karres About All the Plagues of Hell by Eric Flint & Dave Freer: “. . . a compelling tale of political, military, and magical conflict . . .”—Booklist About Eric Flint: “A master of the genre.”—Booklist “An SF author of particular note . . . one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure.” —Publishers Weekly About Dave Freer: “Dave Freer always delivers compelling, fast-moving and addictive fantasy adventures.”—Garth Nix

Augustus Thistlewood was an idealist. The youngest scion of a vastly wealthy family, he'd come to help the poor, deprived people of the strange world of Sybill III - a gas-dwarf world with no habitable land. The human population, descendants of a crashed convict transport, lived on a tiny, crowded, alien antigravity plate they called 'the Big Syd', drifting through the clouds in the upper atmosphere. It was a few square miles of squalor, in a vast sea of sky, ruled by the degenerate relics of two alien empires.The problem was that the people of the Big Syd wanted to help themselves, first - to his money, his liberty, and even his life.Only two things stood between them and this: the first was his 'assistant' Briz, - a ragged urchin he'd picked up as a guide. She reckoned if anyone was going to steal from Augustus, it was going to be her, even if she had to keep him alive so that she could do it. And the second thing was Augustus himself. He didn't know what 'giving up' meant. Actually, he didn't know what most things meant. As a na ve, wide-eyed innocent blundering through the cess-pit of Sybill III, he was going to have to learn, mostly the hard way. Some of that learning was going to be out in the strange society that existed on the endless drifting clumps of airborne vegetation, and the Cloud-Castles of the aliens who hunted across them. Most of it was learning that philanthropy wasn't quite what they'd taught him in college.

Captain Pausert just can’t catch a break! First, he became the mortal enemy of his fiancée, his home planet, the Empire—and even the Worm World, the darkest threat to mankind in all of space. All because he helped rescue three slave children from their masters. Of course, these three young women were the universally feared Witches of Karres—but how was he to know that?! And after he defeated the Worm World (with the help of the witches, of course), the Empress herself had sent him on a secret mission to stop a nanite plague that was raging across the galaxy. But an enemy had somehow convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, so after a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs, Puasert and the witches of Karres joined an interstellar traveling circus in order to save the galaxy. Now Pausert and the witches of Karres roam the spaceways again, this time dealing with a slaver-culture that somehow makes slaves happy to be in servitude, and a quest for a long-lost alien pet, during which the youngest witch, The Leewit, begins to come to her full powers as a healer—and of course generates chaos in her wake. For Pausert, it’s all in a day’s work. But would it be too much to ask for a vacation? About the Witches of Karres series: "This sequel [to The Witches of Karres] does honor to the original. . . a rolilicking ride. . . a rousing conclusion. . . "—Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine Fans of humorous science fiction will enjoy this outing.”—School Library Journal on The Wizard of Karres "This sequel does honor to the original. . . a rolilicking ride. . . matches Schmitz's narrative style and high standard of humor, imagination, and absurdity. . . . About All the Plagues of Hell by Eric Flint & Dave Freer: “. . . a compelling tale of political, military, and magical conflict . . .”—Booklist About Eric Flint: “A master of the genre.”—Booklist “An SF author of particular note . . . one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure.” —Publishers Weekly About Dave Freer: “Dave Freer always delivers compelling, fast-moving and addictive fantasy adventures.”—Garth Nix

Orkise is loose. The snake-god of plague has been awakened by Lucia del Maino, the bastard daughter of the recently overthrown duke of Milan, Phillipo Visconti. With the venomous magic of Orkise at her command, Lucia plots to marry and then murder the usurper who now rules Milan, the condottiere Carlo Sforza—known to friend and foe alike as the Wolf the North. Other trouble is brewing as well. Sforza has his own bastard, Benito Valdosta, who is returning to Venice after having conquered the Byzantine Empire. Benito has a score to settle with his father, and he will have the help of his half-brother Marco, who is the embodiment of ancient Etruria’s mighty Winged Lion of St. Mark. Adding further to Sforza’s predicament, yet another power has entered the fray. The terrifying sorcerer Count Mindaug has decided to settle in Milan. Will he ally with Sforza, or oppose him? Either will bring trouble, for if Mindaug aids the usurper he will arouse the fury of the Holy Roman Empire and the Knights of the Holy Trinity. Both of those great forces have sworn to destroy Mindaug and anyone who shelters him. On his side, Sforza has only the skill and cunning of his physician, Francisco Turner—who is on good terms with the Valdosta brothers and may be able to neutralize Venetian hostility. But even if he can, will that be enough to save the Wolf of the North? For out there in the countryside of northern Italy, Orkise is uncoiling all the plagues of hell. About All the Plagues of Hell: “. . . a compelling tale of political, military, and magical conflict . . .”—Booklist About Eric Flint: “Another engaging alternate history from a master of the genre.”—Booklist “. . . an old-style police-procedural mystery, set in 17th century Germany. . . . The threads . . . spin together . . . to weave an addictively entertaining story. . . . A strong addition to a fun series.”—Daily News of Galveston County “This alternate history series is . . . a landmark. . .”—Booklist “[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians.”—Booklist “. . . reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis. . .”—Publishers Weekly About Dave Freer: “Dave Freer always delivers compelling, fast-moving and addictive fantasy adventures.”—Garth Nix, New York Times best-selling author of The Keys to the Kingdom series "Dave Freer's stories are always well-plotted, fast-paced and—most of all—a lot of fun to read."—Eric Flint, New York Times best-selling creator of the Ring of Fire series About A Mankind Witch, by Dave Freer: “Good characterization, ripsnorting action and an ingenious plot make this a feast . . .” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Orkise is loose. The snake-god of plague has been awakened by Lucia del Maino, the bastard daughter of the recently overthrown duke of Milan, Phillipo Visconti. With the venomous magic of Orkise at her command, Lucia plots to marry and then murder the usurper who now rules Milan, the condottiere Carlo Sforza—known to friend and foe alike as the Wolf the North. Other trouble is brewing as well. Sforza has his own bastard, Benito Valdosta, who is returning to Venice after having conquered the Byzantine empire. Benito has a score to settle with his father, and he will have the help of his half-brother Marco, who is the embodiment of ancient Etruria’s mighty Winged Lion of St. Mark. Adding further to Sforza’s predicament, yet another power has entered the fray. The terrifying sorcerer Count Mindaug has decided to settle in Milan. Will he ally with Sforza, or oppose him? Either will bring trouble, for if Mindaug aids the usurper he will arouse the fury of the Holy Roman Empire and the Knights of the Holy Trinity. Both of those great forces have sworn to destroy Mindaug and anyone who shelters him. On his side, Sforza has only the skill and cunning of his physician, Francisco Turner—who is on good terms with the Valdosta brothers and may be able to neutralize Venetian hostility. But even if he can, will that be enough to save the Wolf of the North? For out there in the countryside of northern Italy, Orkise is uncoiling all the plagues of hell. About Eric Flint: “Another engaging alternate history from a master of the genre.”—Booklist “. . . an old-style police-procedural mystery, set in 17th century Germany. . . . the threads . . . spin together . . . to weave an addictively entertaining story. . . . a strong addition to a fun series.”—Daily News of Galveston County “This alternate history series is … a landmark…”—Booklist “[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians.”—Booklist “…reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis…”—Publishers Weekly About Dave Freer: “Dave Freer always delivers compelling, fast-moving and addictive fantasy adventures.”–Garth Nix, New York Times best-selling author of The Keys to the Kingdom series "Dave Freer's stories are always well-plotted, fast-paced and—most of all—a lot of fun to read."—Eric Flint, New York Times best-selling creator of the Ring of Fire series About A Mankind Witch, by Dave Freer: “Good characterization, ripsnorting action and an ingenious plot make this a feast. . .” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)