Yoon Ha Lee

Clarkesworld is a Hugo Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month they bring you a mix of fiction (new and classic works), articles, interviews and art.Our January 2014 issue contains: Original Fiction by Ken Liu ("The Clockwork Soldier"), Cheng Jingbo ("Grave of the Fireflies") and Yoon Ha Lee ("Wine").Classic stories by Aliette de Bodard ("Ship's Brother") and Robert Charles Wilson ("Utriusque Cosmi").Non-fiction by Carl Abbott ("Distributed Cities"), an interview with Pat Cadigan, an Another Word column by Craig DeLancey, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.

In the stars-spanning Censorate, all languages other than lingua rubra are forbidden. The Censorate’s ruling Peacock, Aurelia, wields the universal language to manipulate reality itself and to command the obedience of all who hear and understand her. Valentina was sold as a child to Aurelia to serve as her sworn companion, the Swan, responsible for extracting useful knowledge from foreign texts before destroying their languages wholesale. Until she delivers a book of forbidden verse to the Peacock, which proves to be the key to enslaving the Basilisk, a traitor imprisoned for a thousand years, whose gaze is so powerful that he once destroyed the Censorate’s entire fleet…

When Captain Kel Cheris of the hexarchate is disgraced for her unconventional tactics, Kel Command gives her a chance to redeem herself, by retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles from the heretics. Cheris’s career isn’t the only thing at stake: if the fortress falls, the hexarchate itself might be next. Cheris’s best hope is to ally with the undead tactician Shuos Jedao. The good news is that Jedao has never lost a battle, and he may be the only one who can figure out how to successfully besiege the fortress. The bad news is that Jedao went mad in his first life and massacred two armies, one of them his own. As the siege wears on, Cheris must decide how far she can trust Jedao – because she might be his next victim.

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents a third space opera starring Korean animal spirits by Yoon Ha Lee, author of Dragon Pearl. While on a mission to cement peace between the Sun Clans and the Thousand Worlds, Min the fox spirit and her ghost brother Jun get stranded on a death planet with Haneul the dragon spirit and Sebin the tiger spirit. To survive, the young cadets will have to rely on all their wits, training, and supernatural abilities. And let's not forget the Dragon Pearl . . . This thrilling conclusion of the Thousand Worlds trilogy, told in alternating points of view, will put you under a delightful spell as it transports you to worlds full of both danger and wonder.

Do as others do. Stay where others are. Unity is survival. It has been two months since Hwa Young and her lancer squad turned on the Empire and joined the clanner rebellion, at a terrible cost. Hwa Young is desperate to rescue her dearest friend, left in the Empire's clutches when the squad fled, but that goes against the orders of her commanding officer in the rebellion—who is also her long-lost heart-mother, Aera. Loyalties are strained and battle-lines blur when an enemy lancer pilot reaches out to Hwa Young in secret, revealing deeper forces at work both in the Empire and among the clans. When a saboteur wrecks one of the lancers, Hwa Young wonders: is there anyone, Empire or clan, she can truly trust?

In this explosive sequel to Moonstorm, teen mecha pilot Hwa Young returns to her rebel roots to fight against the Imperial forces--but, as she grapples with her warring allegiances, who can she really trust? Perfect for fans of Iron Widow and the Skyward series Hwa Young and her pilot comrades have betrayed the Empire to save it from its own destruction--but what comes next? It's been just two months since the lancer squad stopped imperial forces from deploying a devastating singularity bomb and taken shelter with the rebel clanners, who have kept them busy with raids against their ex-leaders. Their mission have helped numb the shock of recent battles... for now. Meanwhile, Hwa Young's best friend, technician Geum, has been left behind on the imperial fleet, imprisoned for aiding Hwa Young's deceit against the Empire. Hwa Young is desperate to retrieve Geum--but Geum is slowly realizing that Hwa Young's loyalties aren't as clear cut as zie once believed. As Hwa Young delves deeper into the rebels' inner circles, she soon realizes that the clanners are just as cutthroat as the imperials, leaving her to wonder who she can really trust... and at odds with Geum, the one person she thought she could count on.

FINALIST FOR THE NEBULA AND LODESTAR AWARDS - LOCUS AWARD WINNING AUTHOR - "MASTERFULLY CRAFTED."--Axie Oh, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea * "THRILLING." --Booklist, starred review EVEN GRAVITY COMES AT A PRICE. In a society where conformity is valued above all else, a teen girl training to become an Imperial pilot is forced to return to her rebel roots to save her world in this adrenaline-fueled sci-fi adventure--perfect for fans of Iron Widow and Skyward Hwa Young was just ten years old when Imperial forces destroyed her rebel moon home. Now, six years later, she is a citizen of the very empire that made her an orphan. Desperate to shake off her past, Hwa Young dreams of becoming a lancer pilot, one of an elite group of warriors who fly into battle using the empire's most advanced tech--giant martial robots. When an attack on their boarding school leaves Hwa Young and her classmates stranded on an Imperial space fleet in dire need of pilot candidates, she is quick to volunteer. But training is nothing like she expected, and secrets--like the ominous fate of the fleet's previous lancer squad--are stacking up. And when Hwa Young uncovers a conspiracy that puts their entire world at risk, she's forced to make a choice between her rebel roots and an empire she's no longer sure she can trust.

Trust the Empress. Move at her will. Act as her hands. Hwa Young was just ten years old when imperial forces destroyed her home, among the rebel clans of the Moonstorm. Now, years later, she is a citizen of the very empire that orphaned her, dreaming of getting back out among the stars and piloting a lancer—the fleet’s deadliest, most advanced fighting craft. When a rebel attack leaves Hwa Young stranded on an imperial starship, her dreams become a reality. A military ship has no space for civilians, and the fleet badly needs lancer pilots—and Hwa Young and her friends are quick to volunteer for the demanding programme. But training is nothing like what they expected, and secrets—like the fate of the fleet’s previous lancer squad, and deeper truths about the rebellion itself—are mounting up. When Hwa Young uncovers a conspiracy that puts their entire world at risk, she’s forced to choose between a past she’s put behind her and an empire she no longer trusts.

FINALIST FOR THE NEBULA AND LODESTAR AWARDS - LOCUS AWARD WINNING AUTHOR - "MASTERFULLY CRAFTED."--Axie Oh, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea * "THRILLING." --Booklist, starred review EVEN GRAVITY COMES AT A PRICE. In a society where conformity is valued above all else, a teen girl training to become an Imperial pilot is forced to return to her rebel roots to save her world in this adrenaline-fueled sci-fi adventure--perfect for fans of Iron Widow and Skyward Hwa Young was just ten years old when Imperial forces destroyed her rebel moon home. Now, six years later, she is a citizen of the very empire that made her an orphan. Desperate to shake off her past, Hwa Young dreams of becoming a lancer pilot, one of an elite group of warriors who fly into battle using the empire's most advanced tech--giant martial robots. When an attack on their boarding school leaves Hwa Young and her classmates stranded on an Imperial space fleet in dire need of pilot candidates, she is quick to volunteer. But training is nothing like she expected, and secrets--like the ominous fate of the fleet's previous lancer squad--are stacking up. And when Hwa Young uncovers a conspiracy that puts their entire world at risk, she's forced to make a choice between her rebel roots and an empire she's no longer sure she can trust.

FINALIST FOR THE NEBULA AND LODESTAR AWARDS - LOCUS AWARD WINNING AUTHOR - "MASTERFULLY CRAFTED."--Axie Oh, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea * "THRILLING." --Booklist, starred review EVEN GRAVITY COMES AT A PRICE. In a society where conformity is valued above all else, a teen girl training to become an Imperial pilot is forced to return to her rebel roots to save her world in this adrenaline-fueled sci-fi adventure--perfect for fans of Iron Widow and Skyward Hwa Young was just ten years old when Imperial forces destroyed her rebel moon home. Now, six years later, she is a citizen of the very empire that made her an orphan. Desperate to shake off her past, Hwa Young dreams of becoming a lancer pilot, one of an elite group of warriors who fly into battle using the empire's most advanced tech--giant martial robots. When an attack on their boarding school leaves Hwa Young and her classmates stranded on an Imperial space fleet in dire need of pilot candidates, she is quick to volunteer. But training is nothing like she expected, and secrets--like the ominous fate of the fleet's previous lancer squad--are stacking up. And when Hwa Young uncovers a conspiracy that puts their entire world at risk, she's forced to make a choice between her rebel roots and an empire she's no longer sure she can trust.

NINEFOX GAMBIT RPG is a tabletop roleplaying game of heresy and hard choices set in the tyrannical interstellar empire known as the Hexarchate. YOU belong to one of the Hexarchate's six factions. YOU are entangled with a regime that can change the very laws of physics-at the cost of human sacrifice. Will you... CONFRONT your leaders, at the risk of being labeled a heretic and hunted down? CHANGE the system from within, despite the chance that you'll be crushed by it instead? COLLABORATE to preserve what you can, at the cost of your principles? Assimilation is a fate worse than death. Designed by Yoon Ha Lee and based on his Hugo-nominated Machineries of Empire space opera series. Included are three starter scenarios by Marie Brennan, author of The Memoirs of Lady Trent and, with Alyc C. Helms as M. A. Carrick, the Rook and Rose epic fantasy trilogy.

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents a third space opera starring Korean animal spirits by Yoon Ha Lee, author of Dragon Pearl. While on a mission to cement peace between the Sun Clans and the Thousand Worlds, Min the fox spirit and her ghost brother Jun get stranded on a death planet with Haneul the dragon spirit and Sebin the tiger spirit. To survive, the young cadets will have to rely on all their wits, training, and supernatural abilities. And let's not forget the Dragon Pearl . . . This thrilling conclusion of the Thousand Worlds trilogy, told in alternating points of view, will put you under a delightful spell as it transports you to worlds full of both danger and wonder.

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents Yoon Ha Lee's second space opera inspired by Korean mythology, this time narrated by a nonbinary tiger spirit.With a delightful mix of Korean mythology and science fiction, Lee expands on the intriguing world of his previous novel to create another exhilarating adventure with a new precocious protagonist.--Booklist Sebin, a young tiger spirit from the Juhwang Clan, wants nothing more than to join the Thousand World Space Forces and, like their Uncle Hwan, captain a battle cruiser someday. But when Sebin's acceptance letter finally arrives, it's accompanied by the shocking news that Hwan has been declared a traitor. Apparently the captain abandoned his duty to steal a magical artifact, the Dragon Pearl, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Sebin hopes to help clear their hero's name and restore honor to the clan. Nothing goes according to plan, however. As soon as Sebin arrives for orientation, they are met by a special investigator named Yi and Yi's assistant, a girl named Min. Yi informs Sebin that they must immediately report to the ship Haetae and await further instructions. Sebin finds this highly unusual, but soon all protocol is forgotten when there's an explosion on the ship, the crew is knocked out, and the communication system goes down. It's up to Sebin, three other cadets, and Yi and Min to determine who is sabotaging the battle cruiser. When Sebin is suddenly accused of collaborating with the enemy, the cadet realizes that Min is the most dangerous foe of all... Yoon Ha Lee brilliantly turns the tables on DRAGON PEARL in another unputdownable sci-fi adventure about what honor really means. Endorsed by Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, soon to be a series on Disney+. Complete your middle grade fantasy collection with: Rick Riordan Presents: DRAGON PEARL by Yoon Ha LeeRick Riordan Presents: RACE TO THE SUN by Rebecca RoanhorseRick Riordan Presents: SAL AND GABI BREAK THE UNIVERSE by Carlos HernandezRick Riordan Presents: THE LAST FALLEN STAR by Graci KimRick Riordan Presents: PAHUA AND THE SOUL STEALER by Lori M. Lee

“Locus Award winner Lee (Phoenix Extravagant) takes on the folktale form in a collection of 25 gorgeous, magical stories, tiny jewels of worldbuilding that tap into mythic themes to feel somehow both ancient and delightfully fresh… The result is breathtaking in its playful grace." —Publisher’s Weekly Starred ReviewEnter a world of magic and myth, where foxes fall in love and robots build their own dragons. In The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales, New York Times bestselling author Yoon Ha Lee crafts together short and moving stories of love, adventure, magic, and nature. With poetic language and intricate world building, readers will be whisked away to a different adventure with every new story. Full of fascinating creatures and LGBT+ romances, this flash fiction collection combines the classic with the contemporary in Yoon’s captivating style.

Dragons. Art. Revolution.Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter, or a subversive. They just want to paint.One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers.But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…