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.