From Star Trek to Star Wars, from Dune to Foundation, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast intergalactic societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies. The stories in Federations will continue that tradition. What are the social/religious/environmental/technological implications of living in such a vast society? What happens when expansionist tendencies on a galactic scale come into conflict with the indigenous peoples of other planets, of other races? And what of the issue of communicating across such distances, or the problems caused by relativistic travel? These are just some of the questions and issues that the stories in Federations will take on.

Publius Quinctilius Varus, a Roman politician, is summoned by the Emperor, Augustus Caesar. Given three legions and sent to the Roman frontier east of the Rhine, his mission is to subdue the barbarous German tribes where others have failed, and bring their land fully under Rome’s control. Arminius, a prince of the Cherusci, is playing a deadly game. He serves in the Roman army, gaining Roman citizenship and officer’s rank, and learning the arts of war and policy as practiced by the Romans. What he learns is essential for the survival of Germany, for he must unite his people against Rome before they become enslaved by the Empire and lose their way of life forever. An epic battle is brewing, and these two men stand on opposite sides of what will forever be known as The Battle of the Teutoberg Forest—a ferocious, bloody clash that will change the course of history.

Hysterically funny "Myth Manners' Guide to Greek Missology #1: Andromeda and Perseus." which is a parody of the legend of Andromeda and Perseus featuring thinly disguised modern characters.

Videssos was beset by enemies. A pretender held the throne--a despot who cared little that barbarian hordes and rival realms carved away at his empire, so long as the wealth and booty of the land satisfied his unbridled appetites.Few stood against him. And those few soon found their heads on pikes.Only one name held hope for freedom: Maniakes. And from his exile on the very edge of the civilized world, young Maniakes took up the challenge, rallied his forces, and sailed off to topple the tyrant.But the tyrant would use every means at his disposal--fair or most hideously foul--to destroy the crusading upstart. And even if Maniakes could stay alive, he would still have to pull together a battered, divided land as well as fend off a host of enemies--and thwart the former friend who had become his empire's most deadly foe!

With his epic novels of alternate history, Harry Turtledove shares a stunning vision of what might have been—and what might still be—if one moment in history were changed. In the WorldWar and Colonization series, an ancient, highly advanced alien species found itself locked in a bitter struggle with a distant, rebellious planet—Earth. For those defending the Earth, this all-out war for survival supercharged human technology, made friends of foes, and turned allies into bitter enemies. For the aliens known as the Race, the conflict has yielded dire consequences. Mankind has developed nuclear technology years ahead of schedule, forcing the invaders to accept an uneasy truce with nations that possess the technology to defend themselves. But it is the Americans, with their primitive inventiveness, who discover a way to launch themselves through distant space—and reach the Race’s home planet itself. Now—in the twenty-first century—a few daring men and women embark upon a journey no human has made before. Warriors, diplomats, traitors, and exiles—the humans who arrive in the place called Home find themselves genuine strangers on a strange world, and at the center of a flash point with terrifying potential. For their arrival on the alien home world may drive the enemy to make the ultimate decision—to annihilate an entire planet, rather than allow the human contagion to spread. It may be that nothing can deter them from this course.

An all-original collection of twenty-seven stories by some of today’s most inventive authors about alien encounters with humans-from the aliens’ perspective.