Best of
Dark-Fantasy

2005

Hellboy: On Earth as it is in Hell


Brian Hodge - 2005
    Today, Hellboy is a top field agent for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. He questions the unknown - then beats it into submission. His latest case: angels have attacked the Vatican, destroying an entire floor of the building's precious library. That's a new one, even for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. The BPRD dispatches Hellboy and his amphibious colleague, Abe Sapien, to investigate. When they arrive ojn the scene, they discover that thousands of documents from all eras of history have been destroyed - except for one, saved from the holy fire by an obsessive scholar. His prize? An ancient scroll allegedly written by Jesus the Nazarene - decades after the crucifixion. Hellboy's first thought is that the scroll was the focus of the seraphim's attack - but why would heavenly creatures undertake such violence and ruin?The answer to this puzzle will lead Hellboy down a terrifying trail to ancient gods, vengeful demons, and a hidden world made of the purest evil...

The Plucker


Brom - 2005
    The Plucker is a dark and twisted tale about a Jack-in-the-Box, aptly named Jack, who must fight for the life of his human boy owner against an evil force, called the Plucker (because he plucks your eyeballs out and sucks out your life force).

Parting The Veil: The Art of Nene Thomas


Nene Thomas - 2005
    There are three editions of this book—paperback, a hardcover, and a special leather-bound limited edition.

To Charles Fort, with Love


Caitlín R. Kiernan - 2005
    Kiernan's third collection of short fiction, a haunting parade of the terrible things which may lie beyond the boundaries of science, the minds which may exist beyond psychology, and the forbidden places which will never be located in any orthodox globe.

The Black Stranger and Other American Tales


Robert E. Howard - 2005
    Howard is celebrated as the founding father of sword-and-sorcery, the creator of Conan of Cimmeria and Kull of Atlantis. The Black Stranger and Other American Tales demonstrates that in some of his most powerful heroic fantasy and horror stories, he also explored a New World older and more haunted than that which we’ve seen in textbooks or museum exhibits. In Howard's Gothic America, dominion goes hand in hand with damnation and the present never ceases to writhe in the grip of the past. "The Black Stranger" spearheads the collection. Located at the extreme edge of Hyborian geography and human ruthlessness, this Conan novella has seldom been available until now. All of the Cimmerian's lethal skills may not be enough inside a stockade that shelters a self-exiled, pirate-plagued count, besieged from without and bedeviled from within. Against the backdrop of a demonically hostile dreadwood, Howard recreates the worst nightmares of the earliest European invaders of North America. In the tales that follow, Howard unearths sinister civilizations that have forgotten the mysteries of their origins on American soil tens of thousands of years ago. That soil is a dark and bloody ground, beneath which the monstrous heirs of ancient wrongs and unsuspected wars wait. A Comanche champion and a lone conquistador stumble upon empires carved out of the primordial Southwest by necromancers. Hot hate given cold flesh lurches on zuvembie legs in "Pigeons from Hell" and lurks in the shuddersome swamps of the Deep South in "Black Canaan." These stories, here refurbished with authoritative, unexpurgated texts, have transcended the Thirties pulps in which they first saw print. With their unflinching focus on original American sin and even more original sinners, some are sure to take their place next to dark classics like "Young Goodman Brown," "Benito Cereno," and "A Rose for Emily."

Shadowfall


James Clemens - 2005
    Out of chaos they created the Nine Lands, blessed with their Graces and protected from the nightmarish Hinterlands, where rogue gods stalked across a barbarous wilderness. In all this time nothing has disturbed the peace of the Nine Lands.Until now. For the impossible...the unthinkable...has happened. Meeryn, goddess of the Summering Isles, has been murdered.The only witness was Tylar de Noche, a crippled and disgraced former Shadowknight who lives in agonizing shame of his past. He saw the dark entity that killed Meeryn. And as he held the dying goddess, her last breath bestowed a powerful blessing on him—a mark that healed his broken body. A mark that many see as proof that he killed a god. A mark that unleashed a powerful force of darkness within him.Chased across Myrillia by enemies both human and ethereal, aided only by outcasts like himself, Tylar must uncover and face down a being powerful enought to kill an immortal—the true godslayer. If he fails, all of Myrillia will fall into shadow....

Blood Legacy: The House of Alexander


Kerri Hawkins - 2005
    Susan Ryerson, continues her examination of their unique anatomies with the hope of discovering what is wrong with her liege, simultaneously, word comes that the Grand Council has been reconvened. The ancient ones who sit upon the Council call upon Ryan to conduct a millennial purge -- a controlled hunt in which the least desirable of their Kind are culled. Now, Ryan is brought face-to-face with the oldest of her Kind, and with seduction on an unimagined level!

Tears of the Heart


Osman Nuri Topbaş - 2005
    Through the mercy of Allah, Rumi penetrated to the very depth of the human soul and thus was able to withness its unveiled inner workings. Through the sheer radiance of that vision, the book penetrates the secrets of creation that unfolded before his inner eye.

Midnight (Midnight)


Jeffrey Barber - 2005
    Midnight is an original d20 setting that pits the players against overwhelming forces of evil in a desperate fight for survival and freedom. There is only one god in Midnight, and it is the dark lord Izrador, the Shadow in the North. For centuries his twisted spawn have assaulted the free people of Eredane, and 100 years ago, he won. Now the land is his, the people are enslaved, and magic, weapons, and literacy are outlawed. Only the brave and courageous few dare to resist the Shadow. This brand-new edition of Midnight updates the entire campaign to D&D v3.5, and includes all of the content from fan-favorite player supplement Against the Shadow. Additionally, over 40,000 words of new material will be added, including setting details regarding the orcs and legates who serve the Shadow and the desperate but capable Erenlanders who oppose them. Updated classes, feats, and spell system. Errata and setting updates as determined from years of in-the-market play. New color and B&W art depicting the heroes and villains of Eredane, as well as showcase pieces of art from the original edition. This brand-new edition of Midnight updates the entire campaign to D&D v3.5, and includes all of the content from fan-favorite player supplement Against the Shadow. Additionally, over 40,000 words of new material will be added, including setting details regarding the orcs and legates who serve the Shadow and the desperate but capable Erenlanders who oppose them. -Updated classes, feats, and spell system. -Errata and setting updates as determined from years of in-the-market play. -New color and B&W art depicting the heroes and villains of Eredane, as well as showcase pieces of art from the original edition.

Grimm's Grimmest


Maria Tatar - 2005
    Newly reissued with a fresh cover, Grimm's Grimmest presents nineteen original, unsanitized, wholly unholy tales as they were first collected by the Brothers Grimm circa 1822all fiendishly illustrated. The tales harken back to a time when travelers risked roasting or worse, and bad manners yielded frightful consequences. An insightful introduction makes sense of the mayhem, shedding light on how the Grimm brothers went from macabre to mainstream in fairly short order. From the true horror of Aschenputtel (the original Cinderella story) to Rapunzel's dark secret, Grimm's Grimmest features the authentic stories born long ago in the land of the Black Forest, at a time when fairy tales never ended happily ever after.

The Hashish Man and Other Stories


Lord Dunsany - 2005
    Fanciful tales of strange adventure in imaginary exotic locales and depictions of otherworldly grim creepiness abound.