SHATTERED SHIELDS and “Yael”

Baen Books has released the gorgeous Todd Lockwood cover for their

SHATTERED SHIELDS anthology.

The book goes on sale this November and is available now for pre-order. The concept? “Swords and Shields. Faith and Magic. Soldiers—ordinary and otherwise–struggling against extraordinary odds to survive the day…epic landscapes and characters…but also epic battles.”

“Yael of the Strings” is my contribution to this collection, and it marks a return to the World of Zang for me, a universe I haven’t visited in at least seven years. Most of the  Zang Cycle stories were collected this year in The Revelations of Zang, but this is a brand-new excursion into that world. The protagonist isn’t a soldier at all, but a minstrel whose fencing skills become his only chance at survival when the red tide of battle overwhelms. ”Strings” revisits the nation of Ghoth with its behemoth spiders (from “Oblivion Is the Sweetest Wine”), and introduces Sharoc, Land of the Griffon.

Here’s the complete Table of Contents:

“Ashes and Starlight” (Runelords) by David Farland
“The Fixed Stars” (October Daye) by Seanan McGuire
“The Keeper of Names” by Larry Correia
“The Smaller We Are” by John Helfers
“Invictus” by Annie Bellett
“Rising Above” by Sarah A. Hoyt
“A Cup of Wisdom” by Joseph Zieja
“Words of Power” by Wendy N. Wagner
“Lightweaver in Shadow” by Gray Rinehart
“Hoofsore and Weary” by Cat Rambo
“Vengeance” (Frost) by Robin Wayne Bailey
“Deadfall” by Nancy Fulda
“Yael of the Strings” by John R. Fultz
“The Gleaners” by Dave Gross
“Bonded Men” by James L. Sutter
“Bone Candy” (Black Company) by Glen Cook
“First Blood” (Paksenarrion) by Elizabeth Moon