Tales of Spaceships and Magic

Tales of Spaceships and Magic collects ten stories from fantasy and science fiction writer Kate MacLeod: The science fiction novelette Required to Assist, a mystery set on board a colony ship, where one woman alone is woken by the ship's droids to solve a murder.Sword and Tattoo, a fantasy short story where a stranger stumbles into a hidden town. He brings danger with him, but the people of the town just might be more dangerous still.The science fiction short story Being Neighborly, a light-hearted tale of a human family homesteading on a world side by side with a very alien people.Tumbling Up, a science fiction short story about a group of diplomats attempting to negotiate a peace with an aquatic alien species.Death Spiral, a science fiction mystery where a security officer must solve a murder and keep a strange species of aliens calm at the same time.While the Rat's Away, a science fiction story of travelers stowing away on a very unusual client ship.The Fair Folk, a fantasy tale of fairs, magic and tricky bargains. The Rod of Circe, a fantasy caper set in a magical version of modern day Minneapolis. Winter's End, a melancholy tale of a winter that never seems to end.Heat Death, a science fiction mystery story set in the near future on the edges of the Chihuahuan Desert in the brutal heat of midsummer.