Brian Stableford - Asgard's Secret

But I was beginning to accept that at the end of the day, you just have to settle for what you can get.

BRIAN STABLEFORD has published more than 50 novels and 200 short stories, as well as several non-fiction books and thousands of articles for periodicals and reference books. He is a part-time Lecturer in Creative Writing at King Alfred’s College, Winchester. He lives in Reading with his wife Jane, a holistic therapist. His novels include The Empire of Fear (1988), Young Blood (1992) and a future history series comprising Inherit the Earth (1998), Architects of Emortality (1999), The Fountains of Youth (2000), The Cassandra Complex (2001), Dark Ararat (2002) and The Omega Expedition (2002). His previous Five Star books are Year Zero (2003) and Designer Genes: Tales of the Biotech Revolution (2004). Other recent publications include Kiss the Goat: A Twenty-first Century Ghost Story (Prime Press) and a Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literature (Scarecrow Press). He is currently compiling a companion Historical Dictionary of Fantasy Literature for publication in 2005.

ASGARD’S SECRET

THE ASGARD TRILOGY

BOOK ONE

BRIAN

STABLEFORD

Five Star • Waterville, Maine

Copyright © 2004 by Brian Stableford.

Previously published by DAW Books, Inc., under the title “Journey to the Center” copyright © 1982 by Brian Stableford.

All rights reserved.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

First Edition

First Printing: October 2004

Published in 2004 in conjunction with Tekno Books and Ed Gorman.

Set in 11 pt. Plantin.

Printed in the United States on permanent paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stableford, Brian M.

Asgard’s secret / by Brian Stableford.— 1st ed. p. cm.

Completely rev. ed. of: Journey to the center. ISBN 1-59414-211-4 (hC : alk. paper) I. Stableford, Brian M. Journey to the center. II. Title. PR6069.T17A94 2004

823’.914—dc22 2004053347

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