In celebration of the release of THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, we are sharing story excerpts from the collection.

Today’s preview comes from"Sunseeker.“

Theygave her a berth on the Rabecause her father was famous, not because he was rich.Wealth was no guarantor of admittance to the ranks of the fabled
Sunseekers; their sponsors didn’t need the money. But there was
always a price to be paid, due at unforeseen intervals decided upon
by the caprice of the self-appointed leaders of their intrepid little
band of a dozen or so sunseeking souls.

Right
now, they had started in on Eleanor, an elegant girl of Bantu
ancestry whose great-grands had made their fortune gunrunning along
the Horn of Africa (so it was rumored) and parlayed that wealth into
a multisystem import/export business.

“Sweetkins,
I’m not sure I can stand to look at much more of that vegetable
fiber. Cotton!”

“Algodón!”
Akvir mimicked Zenobia’s horrified tone. “I thought we’d agreed
to wear only animal products.”

“If
we don’t hold to standards,” continued Zenobia, “it’ll be
soybric next. Or, Goddess forbid, nylon.”

Eleanor
met this sally with her usual dignified silence. She did not even
smooth a hand over her gold and brown robe and trousers, as any of
the others would have, self-conscious under scrutiny. Rose suspected
her of having designs both on Akvir—self-styled priest of the
Sunseekers—and on the coveted position of priestess.

For more on THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Julie Dillon.

Design by Elizabeth Story.

In celebration of the release of THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, we are sharing story excerpts from the collection.

Today’s preview comes from “Riding the Shore of the River of Death.”

This wooded western country far from their tribal lands in the east smelled raw and unpalatable to Kereka, but the hawk that circledoverhead had the same look as hawks in the grasslands. Some things
were the same no matter where you went, even if you had to ride into
the lands where foreigners made their homes to get what you wanted.
Even if you had to journey far from your father’s authority and
your mother’s tent to seize the glory of your first kill.

The
reverberant thunk of an axe striking wood surprised her; she’d
thought it was too early to hunt because they had yet to see any sign
of habitation. Ahead, barely visible within the stretch of pine and
beech through which they rode, her brother Belek unslipped his spear
from its brace against his boot and urged his mare into a run. Kereka
rose in her stirrups to watch him vanish into a clearing occluded by
summer’s leaves. Birds broke from cover, wings flashing. The
clatter of weapons, a sharp shriek, and then a man’s howl of pain
chased off through the bright woodland.

For more on THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Julie Dillon.

Design by Elizabeth Story.

In celebration of the impending release of THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, we are sharing story excerpts from the collection.

Today’s preview comes from “On the Dying Winds of the Old Year and the Birthing Winds of the New.”

Outon the water, paddling a canoe, the four women could speak withoutfear of being overheard. It was a windy day, sloppy water instead ofsteady swells, and their canoe battled an east wind blustering inover the bay. Mai set paddle to water, pulled, and lifted it out and
forward to cut back in again, following the rhythm of the woman in
the first seat.

“There’s
a spy in Bronze Hall,” said the woman in the seat behind Mai.

“What
makes you think so, Tesya?” Mai called the question back over her
shoulder.

“Yesterday
Marshal Orhon’s courier bag went missing. The bag contained his
orders for which reeves were to shift station, which to come home to
roost, and which to stay where they were and what routes they were to
patrol. Good information if you were wanting to trap reeves stationed
out in isolated eyries.”

THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT will be available for sale by all finer outlets on February 10, 2015.

For more on THE VERY BEST OF KATE ELLIOTT, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Julie Dillon.

Design by Elizabeth Story.