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With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Rebecca Roanhorse, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022 explores the ever-expanding and changing world of contemporary science fiction and fantasy.

In this wide-screen space opera, humanity has met its match. An alien race of enormous robotic AI have destroyed most of humanity's outposts. But, on the eve of the Earth's destruction, at a goodbye party thrown by nonbinary rock star Ardent Violet, a young man makes one last desperate attempt to reach out and convinces one of humanity's enemies to switch sides. Now, earth just might have a chance to survive.

A single sentence is muttered from the lips of an assassin dangling from a four-story building, "It starts in Montrovia." That sentence led Black X to send a spy to protect Prince Lorenzo. And that sentence haunts Huntley as she realizes her time is running out. When athletes from around the world descend on Montrovia for the Olympics, another group is coming together, its years of planning a new world order finally coming to fruition. A disease is released. People start dying. And, with rumors of an impending coup, the country falls into chaos. Can Huntley stop what has started?

It's Naomi Clemons's big day. Her dream wedding. And she's outta here. One moment. A chance meeting of gazes through the church window pane with someone familiar who radiates intrigue. Independence. It's the final push Naomi needs to realize...she's boring. A blonde, cookie cutter, well mannered trophy wife-to-be. How can she expect to lead a fulfilling married life when she's never lived? Special Forces diver Jason Bristow needs a beauty pageant coach. Not for himself - although the tattooed bruiser could definitely use some charm.

How many ways do I need to say I quit? My family thinks I'm crazy, my astrology chart says it's a mistake, but after three years of carefully molding the highly narcissistic Cooper Barnes into the "athlete influencer" of the year - I quit. He won't care anyway. Whether they work for him or sleep with him, women have always been expendable to the billionaire baller. Even me.

Olivia: I was the new kid, in a small town, who didn't fit in when I met Mason Bridgewater. He was big, bossy, and almost knocked me out cold when we first met. Our friendship grew, and a love grew greater out of that, but now I've ruined it. Mason: I was the golden boy, from a small town, whose entire world was rocked when I met Olivia Robertson. She talked differently, she acted differently, and I knew pretty quickly that I'd never meet a girl like her again. Our friendship was unbreakable, our attraction undeniable, and our love unforgettable...or so I thought.

I first met him when he was 14 at a movie premiere of all places. A movie based on his parent's life. He was stoic, strong, suspicious, and secretive. I was only 10, but I felt something for him. A strange kind of heartbreak that made me want to hug and heal him. I was the daughter of the actor hired to play his father. We shared similarities. I recognized parts of him because they were parts of me. But no matter how many times we met. No matter how many times I tried. He stayed true to his vow to never fall.

They won't get away with this. The last words I spoke before his casket was lowered into the ground have become a way of life. The Collectors stole too much from me, and I won't rest until vengeance is mine. But plotting against an organization built on secrecy and coercion is more challenging than I anticipated. In order to make headway, unexpected alliances are formed, and existing relationships are tested. With the Psych Squad by my side, I'm determined to follow through on my promise. But that kind of resolve doesn't come without a price.

Huntley Von Allister's cover is firmly in place. She's brilliantly completed her first four missions. But she is done. Done working for Black X. Done trying to untangle the mystery of what got her mother killed. And very, very done with love. She's given herself a simple mission - to recover the precious memories of her final days with her mother by visiting the places in the photos left behind. Well, that, and to discover who owns the emerald rings, like the one she found on Dupree. And completely destroy their secret society.

Life was going well for 25-year-old repo agent Andrea Sloan. She hadn't stumbled across any more naked dead guys at work, and her love life was pretty much wonderful. When she picked up a part-time job working at the mall for some extra cash as an elf, she never imagined she'd witness Santa gunned down in the parking lot. Just like that, Andi became tangled with friends and foes from her past in a race to find Santa's stolen bag of cash before Christmas.

Everyone is heading home for the holidays. Everyone except Kate. Having just run away from her boyfriend Lance’s unexpected proposal (in front of her entire family), Kate was the only person in her office happy to take an unexpected last-minute work trip posting to Boston. Arriving in the snow-covered, fairy-light-filled city, Kate feels immediately at home. That is until she meets Sam, a cross between a lumberjack and an Abercrombie model standing in the kitchen of her new place.

The Echelon's plan to change the shape of the world is succeeding. The disease was released. People are dying. Montrovia is surrounded. The Americans have declared martial law, stripping its people of their rights. And the world is in chaos. Huntley has always been willing to sacrifice herself for the mission, but what she wasn't prepared for is those she loves doing the same. Can Huntley stop what started in Montrovia, or is it too late to save anyone?

Separating from the Air Force after 13 years may seem drastic to some, but Zoe Acevedo is finally doing something for herself. Opening an independent bookstore in Haven Springs, North Carolina, is a major undertaking, but Zoe has a plan and a list. What she doesn't have is time for distractions like her interfering family, her cheating ex, or the sexy neighbor who always manages to find her in the most awkward situations.

Denise Reynolds's tightly controlled life is thrown off-kilter when she's given custody of her young cousins. There are days she has a hard enough time getting herself out of bed, never mind two precocious kids. If that wasn't enough, Chris Nolton comes strolling back into town as suddenly as he left it. She'd broken her own rules and given him a chance once before, only to have him ghost on her. But he's not there for her this time. No, he's leading the FBI Task Force intent on capturing the kids' biological father. A man who was sent to prison for manslaughter...and released early.

Contains books 3 and 4 of the Ascension Gate series, Star Defenders and Star Exiles. With new alliances and powers beyond comprehension, our team seems unstoppable. That is, until they uncover the reason so much of our past has been buried. Shrina went from FBI to kickass demi-dragon, but a new power is rising and it's up to her to stop it. In space, Espinoza and his team have a new world to explore, while Trent has brought the intergalactic war to new levels.

What will happen when the world goes ka-boom? The assassin known as The Priest was tasked with a series of three hits, and the last one blows up in his face - literally. People will die. People will go on. Unlikely alliances will be formed. And when British intelligence learns that a series of nuclear backpack bombs were smuggled into their country, there's a lot more to worry about than discovering why a covert agent was assassinated over six years ago, or what's going to start in Montrovia.

Sent to London for their next mission, Huntley and Ari are guests at Malcolm Prescott's home, where Ari is asked to join a secret group called The Society, and Huntley learns more about her "father" Ares Von Allister. Spy Girl was trained not to have emotional entanglements, but Huntley is learning that it's hard to survive in the real world without them. As she uncovers hidden truths about her past, the knowledge leaves her reeling and questioning everything. She's going to have to trust someone.... But relationships are dangerous for a spy.

The world's most deadly assassin, a man known only as The Priest, has come back from the dead to take a series of high profile hits. When the assassin completes his first task - shooting an important world leader - the global community goes into collective shock and his government vows retaliation. With her cover firmly cemented as Huntley Von Allister, Spy Girl's vacation on the Royal Yacht is cut short when she's called home for her next mission - and, this time, it's personal.

Find Your Courage features insights from courageous trail-blazing entrepreneurs and leaders in organizations including NASA, Ernst & Young, UN Foundation, and QANTAS. Discover how to: define your sense of purpose and pursue more inspiring goals, embrace a 'Courage Mindset' and speak up with confidence in every situation, navigate uncertainty with clarity and take smart risks, not just safe ones, conquer fear of failure and bounce back from setbacks, and much more.

My gloves are coming off.... The Collectors haven't only made my life a living hell; they've made a game out of tormenting everyone I love. And I refuse to stand for it any longer. I'm committed to using all of the tools at my disposal to end their reign of terror - even if that means collecting every psychic ability I can get my hands on. With Jameson, Noah, Mason, and Stowe by my side, and in my heart, I finally believe in myself and my abilities.