First contact isn't all fun and games.

Ariel Blum is pushing thirty and doesn't have much to show for it. His computer programming skills are producing nothing but pony-themed video games for little girls. His love life is a slow-motion train wreck, and whenever he tries to make something of his life, he finds himself back on the couch, replaying the games of his youth.

Then the aliens show up.

Out of the sky comes the Constellation: a swarm of anarchist anthropologists, exploring our seas, cataloguing our plants, editing our wikis and eating our Twinkies. No one knows how to respond--except for nerds like Ariel who've been reading, role-playing and wargaming first-contact scenarios their entire lives. Ariel sees the aliens' computers, and he knows that wherever there are computers, there are video games.

Ariel just wants to start a business translating alien games so they can be played on human computers. But a simple cultural exchange turns up ancient secrets, government conspiracies, and unconventional anthropology techniques that threaten humanity as we know it. If Ariel wants his species to have a future, he's going to have to take the step that nothing on Earth could make him take.

He'll have to grow up.

Read the first two chapters free!

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Your Constellation Games Base Subscription Package (a mere $5!)  includes a subscription to the Constellation Games web serial, plus a collected eBook at the completion of the serial, in all major digital formats.

But wait! There's more!

If you choose another subscription level, you can get cool stuff!

• Bronze Package ($7)
  Base package, plus an original short story by Leonard Richardson, set in the Constellation Games universe.
• Silver Package ($9)
  Bronze package, plus "Pey Shkoy for Humans," a handy-dandy Alien phrasebook.
• Gold Package ($12)
  Silver package, plus two more exclusive short stories by Leonard Richardson, all in the Constellation Games universe.

• Plutonium Package ($20 plus shipping)
  Gold package, plus a copy of the trade paperback novel, due to ship in April 2012.
• Adamantium Package ($35 plus shipping)
  Plutonium package, plus a "Constellation Shipping" USB key pre-loaded with the digital versions of the novel.

No, we're not kidding. You really do get all that. At the Adamantium level, you get a subscription, three short stories, an alien phrasebook, a trade paperback of the novel, and a "Constellation Shipping" USB key.

How can you pass that up? Especially since the price of the Plutonium package, with paperback and all those extras included, is the same price you'd pay to get JUST the paperback if you waited until April!

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Right, so how does all this work?

During the serial, you will receive weekly installments of the book-in-progress; at the end of the serial's run, you'll be given access to a ZIP archive containing a PDF, ePub, and Mobi (Kindle-compatible) copy of the completed book.

You'll also receive any extras you're entitled to from purchasing higher-tier subscriptions. These may be spaced out during the serial run, or included at the end. Any stories you're entitled to will also be bundled with your eBook at the conclusion of the serial.

The serial begins on November 29 and continues weekly until the novel is done.

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Be sure to register for your serial subscription with an email you use regularly, to make sure you get updates with each new chapter! You'll be emailed a chapter each week, on Tuesdays.

You can also keep up with the story in progress by logging in to your Candlemark & Gleam account (under "Store/My Account") and then clicking over to the Constellation Games Serial Page.

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Would you like to give a gift subscription to Constellation Games? Click here for information and gift certificates.

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