From the stalwart House Stark to the conniving House Lannister, from the dragons of House Targaryen to the longships of House Greyjoy, the breathtaking sights and memorable characters of George R. R. Martin's best-selling fantasy series are brought to life in this new compilation.Find yourself drawn into the webs of intrigue and deceit spun by Littlefinger and Cersei Lannister in King's Landing. Follow Robb Stark's desperate campaign in the North, and Melisandre's magical ploys from Dragonstone. Ride with Daenerys Targaryen in her great khalasar, as she begins her crusade against Slaver's Bay across the Narrow Sea. March to the Wall with Jon Snow and the Sworn Brothers of the Night's Watch. Confront the terrible might of the wildling hordes and the bone-chilling horror of the Others.The Art of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire features lovingly crafted illustrations by renowned fantasy artists such as Donato Giancola, Tomasz Jedruszek, Ryan Barger, Martina Pilcerova, Michael Komarck, Noriko Meguro, and many more. From the thousands of beautiful images that have been inspired by George R. R. Martin's enticing stories comes this second volume of carefully selected art, including an introduction from the Art Coordinator of Fantasy Flight Games, Zoë Robinson.

    The Warlord Chronicles series includes The Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur. 'Spellbinding realism' The Times 'Of all the books I have written these three are my favourites' Bernard Cornwell

    However, one of theirown lays captured--Dream, the Lord of Sleep. As Dream makes his escape and returns to his duties after 70 years of imprison-ment, he encounters countless characters from myth, legend and comics, from Lucifer himself to the tragic Greek hero Orpheusto the HELLBLAZER John Constantine.New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman's transcendent series SANDMAN is often hailed as the definitive Vertigo titleand one of the finest achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman created an unforgettable tale of the forces that exist beyondlife and death by weaving ancient mythology, folklore and fairy tales with his own distinct narrative vision.

    An enthralling tale is jam-packed with the things we long for in a great adventure: danger laughter, hairbreadth escapes, tragedy, mystery, a touch of wonder a truly despicable villain and a hero we can take to heart.

    In Spring 2011, Tor put the next two Vlad books, Dragon and Issola, into print as a trade paperback entitled The Book of Dragon. Now we continue with the next two, collecting the New York Times-bestselling Dzur and Jhegaala into The Book of Dzur.In Dzur, Vlad is back in the great city of Adrilankha, with a price on his head. The rackets he used to run are now under the control of the mysterious Left Hand of the Jhereg--a cabal of women who report to no man. His ex-wife needs his help. His old enemies aren't sure whether they want to kill him, or talk to him and then kill him. A goddess appears to be playing tricks with his memory. And the Great Weapon he's carrying appears to have plans of its own....In Jhegaala, Vlad decides to hide out among his relatives in faraway Fenario, in a papermaking town called Burz. At first it's not such a bad place, though the mill reeks to high heaven. But the longer he stays there, the stranger it becomes. Then a grisly murder takes place. And in its wake, far from Dragaera, without his usual organization working for him, Vlad has to do his sleuthing amidst an alien people...his own.

    Perfect for long-time fans, new readers, and anyone needing a heavy object with which to fend off the walking dead!

    A digital collection of all of the books that can be found and read in the epic game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

    Valente takes on the folklore of artificial intelligence in this brand new, original novella of technology, identity, and an uncertain mechanized future.Neva is dreaming. But she is not alone. A mysterious machine entity called Elefsis haunts her and the members of her family, back through the generations to her great-great-grandmother—a gifted computer programmer who changed the world. Together Neva and Elefsis navigate their history and their future, an uneasy, unwilling symbiote.But what they discover in their dreamworld might change them forever . . .

    Whether through the falsified historical record of the uniquely weird Swedish creature known as the “Pyret” or the title story, “Jagannath,” about a biological ark in the far future, Tidbeck’s unique imagination will enthrall, amuse, and unsettle you. How else to describe a collection that includes “Cloudberry Jam,” a story that opens with the line “I made you in a tin can”? Marvels, quirky character studies, and outright surreal monstrosities await you in what is likely to be one of the most talked-about short story collections of the year.Tidbeck is a rising star in her native country, having published a collection there in Swedish, won a prestigious literary grant, and just sold her first novel to Sweden’s largest publisher. A graduate of the iconic Clarion Writer’s Workshop at the University of California, San Diego, in 2010, her publication history includes Weird Tales, Shimmer Magazine, Unstuck Annual and the anthology Odd.

    It is only possible to witness it once from the same perspective, because the process eats up the record. The inventor and her husband draw attention to the atrocities of Unit 731 during WWII. They hope that eyewitnesses will shut down denialists. But Chinese versus Japanese, and U.S. politics start their own games.

    From the top of the Berlin Wall to the depths of the darkest seas, gods and monsters battle their enemies and innermost fears, yet mere mortals make the truly difficult choices. A slightly regretful author and a vengeful-but-dilapidated dragon square off over an abandoned narrative; the children of the Shark God demand painful truths from their chronically absent father; and a bereaved women sacrifices herself to change one terrible moment, effortlessly reversed by a shuffle of the deck. Whether melancholic, comedic, or deeply tragic, each new tale is suffused with misdirection and discovery, expressed in the rich and mesmerizing voice of a masterful storyteller.“The Rock in the Park"“Sleight of Hand” “The Children of the Shark God” “The Best Worst Monster” “What Tune the Enchantress Plays” “La Lune T’Attend” “Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers” “The Rabbi’s Hobby” “Oakland Dragon Blues” “The Bridge Partner” “Dirae” “Vanishing""The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon” (A Schmendrick Tale)

    The World War has killed millions, driving entire species to extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn’t afford one, companies built incredibly realistic fakes: horses, birds, cats, sheep . . . even humans. Rick Deckard is an officially sanctioned bounty hunter tasked to find six rogue androids—they’re machines, but look, sound, and think like humans—clever, and most of all, dangerous humans.[Philip K. Dick’s award-winning Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? served as the basis for the film BLADE RUNNER. BOOM! Studios presents the complete novel transplanted into the comic book medium, mixing all-new panel-to-panel continuity with the actual text from the novel in an innovative, ground-breaking 24-issue maxi-series.]

    His research into the kingdom's lost past—the very research that sent him into hiding—may hold the answers to a great many questions about the rebels. Questions about their shadowy motives; about their mysterious abilities; and about their ever-increasing numbers, constantly bolstered by those thought killed in their attacks. And only the King's infamous warrior niece Bryndine Errynson and her company of female soldiers trust him enough to help him find the truth before the rebels burn the Kingsland to the ground.Following a trail of historical clues across the kingdom and pursued by forces they don't fully understand, Dennon and Bryndine may be the realm's only hope. But in order to preserve the Kingsland's future, they must first uncover its past.

    Chapbook with two short stories:To Cut an Edge: Val Con, a rookie scout, meets Edger the knife-making Clutch Turtle.A Day at the Races: Young Val Con and Shan run rings around prim and proper Kareen.These stories also found in Liaden Constellation Book I

    In the densely forested mountains of Belgium one of the conflict’s most brutal battles is raging. Cut off from the front, a ragtag group of young British and American soldiers finds itself being hunted by a patrol of elite German Special Forces, including a newly commissioned officer called Kreuz—a teenage boy who will grow up to become Warden Cross (the fearsome prison director who will one day rule Furnace Penitentiary, the terrifying underground prison specially built for teen offenders).As both sides fight for their lives in the unforgiving terrain, however, they start to realize that there are worse things hiding in the snow than soldiers. There are creatures out there with gas masks and piggy eyes (ancestors of Furnace prison’s “wheezers”)—demonic entities that cannot be killed by guns and grenades, monsters who do not care what uniforms their victims are wearing so long as they bleed, and so long as they scream…

    Kiernan’s short fiction was first published in 1995. Over the intervening decade and a half, she has proven not only one of dark fantasy and science fiction’s most prolific and versatile authors, but, to quote Ramsey Campbell, “One of the most accomplished writers in the field, and very possibly the most lyrical.” S. T. Joshi has written, “Kiernan’s witchery of words creates a mesmerizing effect that we haven’t seen since the days of Lovecraft and Bradbury.”Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan (Volume One) presents a stunning retrospective of the first ten years of her work, a compilation of more than two hundred thousand words of short fiction, including many of her most acclaimed stories, as well as some of the author’s personal favorites, several previously uncollected, hard-to-find pieces, and her sf novella, The Dry Salvages, and a rare collaboration with Poppy Z. Brite. Destined to become the definitive look at the early development of Kiernan’s work, Two Worlds and In Between is a must for fans and collectors alike, as well as an unprecedented introduction to an author who, over the course of her career, has earned the praise of such luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Charles De Lint, and Clive Barker.

    Smuggling backpack loads of high-grade marijuana across the border into Northern Idaho, he quickly amassed an enormous and illegal fortune. With plenty of time and money to burn, he became addicted to an online fantasy game in which opposing factions battle for power and treasure in a vast cyber realm. Like many serious gamers, he began routinely purchasing virtual gold pieces and other desirables from Chinese gold farmers—young professional players in Asia who accumulated virtual weapons and armor to sell to busy American and European buyers.For Richard, the game was the perfect opportunity to launder his aging hundred dollar bills and begin his own high-tech start up—a venture that has morphed into a Fortune 500 computer gaming group, Corporation 9592, with its own super successful online role-playing game, T’Rain. But the line between fantasy and reality becomes dangerously blurred when a young gold farmer accidently triggers a virtual war for dominance—and Richard is caught at the center.In this edgy, 21st century tale, Neal Stephenson, one of the most ambitious and prophetic writers of our time, returns to the terrain of his cyberpunk masterpieces Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon, leading readers through the looking glass and into the dark heart of imagination.

    Although killing them is no longer an option, he's as determined as ever to stop the spread of vampirism.Wild Bill is a lover, not a fighter-so he's tickled when Michael's new agenda, to dispense condoms and sterile phlebotomy gear among vampires, replaces the old "heads will roll" approach. It takes courage to track down vamps in their own territory and deliver a lecture on safe sex, and more importantly, safe bloodletting. Michael's never been short on audacity...but he's finding that he and Wild Bill aren't the only ones with agendas.

    Readers cannot resist journeying with her into realms-dangerously dark or illuminatingly revelatory-they could never imagine without her as their guide. From ghost stories in the tradition of M. R. James to darkly poetic tales to moving fictional examinations of the most basic of human emotion-fear, love, hate, loneliness-Monette's pen produces stories that are invariably unforgettable . . .

    Vedrik, the siblings’ only hope is their parents’ Archeos e-journal. Can Tiffany decipher the clues within it? As time runs out, it’s all up to Oliver and his Federation training to fly the Phoenix and protect his crew. But twins Mason and Austin endanger the mission when they unexpectedly meet . . . the blue boy! The Quest for Truth series unfolds as the four Wikk kids are thrust into a desperate race to find the mysterious planet Ursprung and stop the Übel renegades from misusing its long-lost secrets. Ancient cities, treacherous villains, high-tech gadgets, the Phoenix—encounter all of these and more on this futuristic, interplanetary adventure!

    Hephaestus Books represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Hephaestus Books continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. This particular book contains chapters focused on The Chronicles of Amber, Chronicles of Amber books, and The Chronicles of Amber characters. More info: The Chronicles of Amber is a popular fantasy series by Roger Zelazny. The main series consists of two story arcs, each five novels in length. Additionally, there are a number of Amber short stories and other works.

    She later sang with The Gr'ups and Cypher in the Snow, and toured with Sister Spit, a raucous all-woman group of writers headed by Michelle Tea.The Vicious Red Relic, Love, re-enacts Springer's relationship with [Gil], a sometimes endearing, sometimes frightening addict and cult survivor who did not disclose to Springer that she'd tested positive for HIV. Brilliantly conceived as a training manual, survival guide and time machine, the book returns to 1990s San Francisco and deftly weaves feminism, deviance, punk rock and Sumerian literature into a cauldron of post-Reagan/Bush-era neoliberalism and AIDs grief.

    . . Yet too few of these tales are known and read today. Alternative Alamat gathers stories, by contemporary authors of Philippine fantasy, which make innovative use of elements of Philippine mythology. None of these stories are straight re-tellings of the old tales: they build on those stories, or question underlying assumptions; use ancient names as catalysts, or play within the spaces where the myths are silent. What you will find in common in these eleven stories is a love for the myths, epics, and legends which reflect us, contain us, call to us-and it is our hope that, in reading our stories, you may catch a glimpse of, and develop a hunger for, those venerable tales.Alternative Alamat also features a cover and interior illustrations by Mervin Malonzo, a short list of notable Philippine deities, tips for online and offline research, and in-depth interviews with two people who have devoted much of their careers to the study of Philippine folklore and anthropology, Professors Herminia Meñez Coben ("Explorations in Philippine Folklore" and "Verbal Arts in Philippine Indigenous Communities: Poetics, Society, and History") and Fernando N. Zialcita ("The Soul Book" and "Authentic but Not Exotic").

    . . . Hidden away in the Badlands of South Dakota, Warehouse 13 is a top-secret repository for historical artifacts imbued with dangerous supernatural properties. Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering are ever on the lookout for loose artifacts threatening to ruin the world’s day. Their mission:“Snag it, bag it, tag it.” Reports of a genuine psychic healer, along with a simultaneous epidemic of mysterious illnesses, lead Myka and Pete on a hazardous investigation that stretches from a carnival sideshow back to the bloody history of the Civil War. But when Pete is infected with a deadly disease, Myka and the rest of the team, including Artie Nielsen and Claudia Donovan, must track down a pair of cursed gloves—before a madman unleashes a virulent plague upon America!

    Governments and mass media bombard us with words and images: desert radicals, -rogue states, - jihadists, WMDs, existential enemies of freedom. We labor beneath myths that neither address nor describe the present situation, monstrous deceptions produced by a sound bite society. There is no reckoning of actuality, no understanding of the individual lives that inaugurated this echo chamber.In the summer of 1999, Mohamed Atta defended a master's thesis that critiqued the introduction of Western-style skyscrapers in the Middle East and called for the return of the -Islamic-Oriental city.- Using this as a departure point, Jarett Kobek's novel ATTA offers a fictionalized psychedelic biography of Mohamed Atta that circles around a simple question: what if 9/11 was as much a matter of architectural criticism as religious terrorism? Following the development of a socially awkward boy into one of history's great villains, Kobek demonstrates the need for a new understanding of global terrorism. Joined in this volume by a second work, -The Whitman of Tikrit---a radical reimagining of Saddam Hussein's last day before capture--ATTA is a brutal, relentless, and ultimately fearless corrective to ten years of propaganda and pandering.

    Originally published in Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 61, the story is now also available online at tor.com as an excerpt of Liu's story collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories.

    Complete Wizard of Oz Series!ContentsThe Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Marvelous Land of OzOzma of OzDorothy and the Wizard in OzThe Road to OzThe Emerald City of OzThe Patchwork Girl of OzTik-Tok of OzThe Scarecrow of OzRinkitink In OzThe Lost Princess of OzThe Magic of OzGlinda of OzThe Royal Book of OzKabumpo in OzThe Magical Mimics in OzThe Shaggy Man of OzThis publication facilitates easy navigation from one book to another.

    Now Commander Vatta is backlocked and loaded and ready to win the fight against the marauding forces of ruthless space pirate Gammis Turek. For Ky, its not just about liberating the star systems subjugated by Turek and defending the rest of the galaxys freedom. Theres also a score to be settled and payback to be meted out for the obliteration of the Vatta Transport dynasty . . . and the slaughter of Kys family. But the enemy have their own escalation efforts under wayincluding the placement of covert agents among the allies with whom Ky and the surviving Vattas are collaborating in the war effort. And when a spy ring linked to a wealthy businessman is exposed, a cracked pirate code reveals a galaxywide conspiracy fueling the proliferation of Tureks warship fleet. Matching the invaders swelling firepower will mean marshaling an armada of battle-ready ships for Ky to lead into combat. But a violent skirmish leaves Ky reelingand presumed dead by her enemies. Now, as Turek readies an all-out attack on the Nexus systema key conquest that could seal the rest of the galaxys doomKy must rally to the challenge, draw upon every last reserve of her strategic skills, and reach deep if she is to tear from the ashes of tragedy her most decisive victory.

    One night, unable to resist the smell of delicious cookies, Burrufu sneaks out and is discovered by Olivia. The two soon learn that you can find friendship in the most unexpected places.'My Monster Burrufu' is a story of overcoming fear, a curse, and a most unusual monster who learns from a little girl how to trust his heart.

    'Julius Katz' introduced readers to Boston's most brilliant, eccentric and possibly laziest detective, Julius Katz, as well as his sidekick, Archie, a tiny marvel of whiz-bang computer technology with the heart and soul of a hard-boiled PI. Now in Julius Katz and Archie’s first full-length mystery, the stakes have never been higher when a famous Boston mystery writer, Kenneth Kingston, tells Julius he wants to find out who’s planning to kill him. The problem is almost everyone in Kingston’s life has good reason to want to kill him, and this case soon plunges Julius and Archie deep into the world of murder and publishing. PRAISE FOR JULIUS KATZ AND ARCHIE: “Julius Katz may be the titular star of Dave Zeltserman's new novel, but it's the voice of his AI assistant, Archie, that carries the day. Archie's more human than most "real" people, and funnier, too. The satire bites, and the mystery satisfies. Julius and Archie became favorites of mine when they first appeared in Zeltserman's award-winning short stories, and they're even better in novel form. Long may they thrive.” Bill Crider, author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series “Fans of Donna Andrews's Turing Hopper artificial intelligence mysteries, rejoice! Award-winning author Dave Zeltserman has created silicon chip Archie, the high-tech sidekick to Julius Katz, Boston's most famous and laziest wine-drinking detective. Here is a delightful traditional mystery that follows in the footsteps of Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey series.” --Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award winning author of the Mas Arai mysteries “Julius Katz and Archie is a charming and sophisticated drawing room mystery from the pen of the multifaceted Dave Zeltserman. Although the book harks back to the classic whodunits of the Nero Wolfe era, eccentric detective Julius Katz’s sidekick, Archie, is a character straight out of tomorrow: the brilliantly conceived spawn of our digital world. The clever plotting will satisfy mystery aficionados, while long time Zeltserman fans will be pleased to hear that there is a fist of steel lurking under the elegantly tailored velvet glove.” Roger smith, author of Wake Up Dead and Mixed Blood "It's a nifty change-of-pace for the usually hard-boiled Dave Zeltserman. Clever, sophisticated and witty, 'Julius Katz & Archie' will thrill fans of Nero Wolfe...and readers who never heard of him! Zeltserman knows how to mix character, action, and plot and create a pitch-perfect, modern mystery. More, Sir! The sooner the better." -- Paul Levine, author of "Flesh & Bones" "Julius Katz is not only one of the most popular and award-winning creations in modern mystery fiction, the sheer wit and cunning of Dave Zeltserman's writing takes you into a world as amusing and surprising as the Rex Stout novels that Dave honors with this character." Ed Gorman, author of Stranglehold "I’ll say no more but rest assured this is another zesty page turner choc full of smart twists, colorful characters and laugh out loud moments. Katz is a great creation and he and Archie, the heart of the book, are a smashing team." Paul Brazill Dave Zeltserman won the 2010 Shamus Award for 'Julius Katz' and is the acclaimed author of the ‘man out of prison’ crime trilogy: Small Crimes, Pariah and Killer, where Small Crimes (2008) and Pariah (2009) were both picked by the Washington Post as best books of the year.

    An artificial intelligence, or AI. What will it want? How will it perceive us? City of Angels is the story of the first AI - and how we treat it.

    The document was lost, or destroyed, almost immediately.(It included more monsters than you might think.)Hundreds of years ago, Fanny and Mary ran away from London with a debauched poet and his sister.(If it was the poet you are thinking of, the story would have ended far more happily, and with fewer people having their throats bitten out.)Sometime in the near future, a community will live in a replica Roman city built in the Australian bush. It’s a sight to behold.(Shame about the manticores.)Further in the future, the last man who guards the secret history of the world will discover that the past has a way of coming around to bite you.(He didn’t even know she had a thing for pointy teeth.)The world is in greater danger than you ever suspected. Women named Julia are stronger than they appear. Don’t let your little brother make out with silver-eyed blondes. Immortal heroes really don’t fancy teenage girls. When love dies, there’s still opera. Family is everything. Monsters are everywhere. Yes, you do have to wear the damned toga.History is not what you think it is.LOVE AND ROMANPUNK.TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroductionJulia Agrippina’s Secret Family BestiaryLamia VictorianaThe PatricianRomanpunksAfterword

    Forays into Parthonia's Underworld, treachery, encounters with gangsters and an old flame are just some of the challenges facing Major Bhaajan in pursuit of the missing aristocrat. "The City of Cries" novella will be included in the 2011 WindyCon collection of Catherine Asaro's writings called AURORA IN FOUR VOICES (see http://www.windycon.org/windy38) Begins Earth year ~2205 and tells story of when Major Bhaaj was hired by the Majdas to find Prince Dayj.

    The original trilogy is available here for the first time as a fully revised one-volume novel. The story of the struggle for the green world of the Everland, home of the forest-dwelling Kyn, is an adventure tale that bends genre and gender.

    Magic and myth collide in Peter S. Beagle’s “The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon.” When two children bring home a wandering magician named Schmendrick, their mother and the stranger spin stories all night...stories that hide and reveal remarkable truths. Jonathan L. Howard has written several stories and novels featuring Johannes Cabal, necromancer extraordinaire. But in the tale “House of Gears,” Cabal’s expertise in the dark arts offers little help when he faces down a mad scientist with a thirst for immortality. Music boxes and robotic dogs are the vestiges of a long tradition of mechanical wonders. Hunting unicorns is a lucrative business for the right team of hunter and bait. In Carrie Vaughn’s “The Hunter’s Ode to His Bait,” one hunter and his maiden assistant decide to wrap up their careers in a dangerous quest for the ultimate unicorn.

    Bandits, thin ice, and inclement weather they can handle. It's what they don't know about their mission that can kill them...

    This speculative fiction compilation, lyrical and tender, quirky and cutting, weaves the fantastic and the horrific alongside the touchingly human. Perplexing and absorbing, the stories lift the veil of reality to expose the realms of what lies beyond with creatures that shed their skin and roam the night, vampires in Mexico City that struggle with disenchantment, an apocalypse with giant penguins, legends of magic scorpions, and tales of a ceiba tree surrounded by human skulls.

    Late one night, when he's hanging out with his tough friend Karube and his silly, girl-crazy friend Chota, they see fireworks. After one blindingly bright explosion, they find themselves waking up in a different world. In this 'Borderland,' people are forced to either participate in potentially deadly games or simply die. Will Chota, Karube, and Ryouhei be able to survive this dangerous new world, and is there a way they can get back to their original lives?

    He survives slavery and the fighting pits of Mogadishu, eventually becoming a merchant adventurer whose extraordinary skills and determination makes his a legend. From the Swahili merchant cities of Mombasa and Sofala to the magnificent Middle Kingdom, Changa and his crew experience adventures beyond the imagination. Despite his reputation, Changa will not rest until he has fulfilled his promise to his people. The anchors are lifted and the sails are dropped. Let the safari begin

    Myth. Warfare. Wonder. Beauty. Bravery. Glamour. Gore. Sorcery. Sensuality. These and many more elements of fantasy await you in the pages of Griots, which brings you the latest stories of the new genre called Sword and Soul.The tales told in Griots are the annals of the Africa that was, as well as Africas that never were, may have been, or should have been. They are the legends of a continent and people emerging from shadows thrust upon them in the past. They are the sagas sung by the modern heirs of the African story-tellers known by many names - including griots.Here, you will meet mighty warriors, seductive sorceresses, ambitious monarchs, and cunning courtesans. Here, you will journey through the vast variety of settings Africa offers, and inspires. Here, you will savor what the writings of the modern-day griots have to offer: journeys through limitless vistas of the imagination, with a touch of color and a taste of soul. Contents:The Soul in the Sword • essay by Charles R. SaundersA Gathering at the Meeting Tree • essay by Milton J. DavisMrembo Aliyenaswa (Captured Beauty) • shortfiction by Milton J. Davis [as by Milton Davis ]Awakening • shortfiction by Valjeanne JeffersLost Son • shortfiction by Maurice BroaddusIn the Wake of Mist • shortfiction by Kirk A. JohnsonSkin Magic • shortfiction by Djeli A. ClarkThe Demon in the Wall • shortfiction by Stafford L. BattleThe Belly of the Crocodile • shortfiction by Minister FaustChangeling • shortfiction by Carole McDonnellThe General's Daughter • shortfiction by Anthony Nana KwamuSekadi's Koan • shortfiction by Geoffrey ThorneThe Queen, the Demon and the Mercenary • shortfiction by Ronald T. JonesIcewitch • shortfiction by Rebecca McFarland KyleThe Leopard Walks Alone • shortfiction by Melvin CarterThe Three-Faced One • shortfiction by Charles R. SaundersGriots Bios • essay by uncredited

    Unfortunately, the Bispham is on duty, and he's taken exception to the Rove Captain and his men."Master of the Winds," by Sharon Lee follows two hopeful young people during their test to become the Kitemaster's apprentice. Only one can succeed.Lee and Miller join forces in "Candlelight," the story of a family-by-intent, and the craft that holds them together.

    Frequently quoted as one of the ‘favorite’ books of many of the masters of the field, this book by L. Sprague de Camp helped establish time-travel as a solid sub-genre of science fiction.An indication of the influence and longevity of the book is by the number of best-selling writers who have written stories in direct response to, or influenced by, "Lest Darkness Fall." This new volume also includes three such stories by Frederik Pohl, David Drake and S. M. Stirling written over a period of forty-three years—a testament to the timelessness of the book. Similar, thematically, to Mark Twain’s "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court", the book tells the tale of Martin Padway who, as he is walking around in modern Rome, is suddenly transported though time to 6th Century Rome. Once in ancient Rome, Padway (now Martinus Paduei Quastor) embarks on an ambitious project of single-handedly changing history.L. Sprague de Camp was a student of history (and the author of a number of popular works on the subject). In Lest Darkness Fall he combines his extensive knowledge of the workings of ancient Rome with his extraordinary imagination to create one of the best books of time travel ever written.“Endlessly fascinating. The author knows a lot about Gothic Italy and almost as much about human nature, and he has a real gift for making the people of those days come alive.”—The New York Times“Lest Darkness Fall [is] one of the best time travel stories ever written…”—A Reader’s Guide to Science Fiction“Good fun.” —The New Yorker“A work of real and stimulating imagination.” —Saturday Review of Literature

    Alistair, however, must make sense of falling from the sky onto Tibby Rose, the only other ginger-colored mouse he has ever met.With enemy spies hot on their tails, Alice and Alex's adventure quickly turns into a dangerous and desperate race. And for every clue that Alistair and Tibby Rose uncover, another mystery is seemingly revealed. Helping an oppressed country and its people aside, all that these four mice want to do is find each other and their way home.The first book in Frances Watt's The Song of the Winns trilogy, The Secret of the Ginger Mice is an extraordinary tale of spontaneous acts of courage, infallible friendships, and innocent rebellions.

    well... godlike beings? An immense topic! But from a writer's perspective, it presents a problem. One can write stories leading up to the singularity, about all the problems. (Little things like rebellious AI.) But how do you write a tale set AFTER the singularity has happened?Never one to refuse a challenge, that's exactly the topic of "Stones of Significance."

    Touch the Gruffalo's terrible tusks, feel his knobbly knees and tickle his purple prickles in this bold, eye-catching book with touch-and-feel elements on every page.

    The Hall of Lost Footsteps collects all of Sara Douglass' short fiction, from the critically acclaimed "Of Fingers and Foreskins" to two original stories, "Black Heart" and "The Hall of Lost Footsteps", co-written with Angela Slatter.The collection features an introduction by Karen Brooks.

    Howard and H.P. Lovecraft. Excluding only fragmentary notes, excerpts and synopses he never finished during his lifetime, this is perhaps the largest single collection of all his published and unpublished fiction.

    He will never play ball with his young son or get to see his daughter married. Spiraling into a pit of depression, Kane believes his life is over. Little does he know that mysterious forces are at work in his life and in his heart. On a cool April morning, the civilized world crumbles in the wake of worldwide chemical attacks and nuclear destruction. Kane, a bitter agnostic, is torn to his foundation by the realization that the God of the universe has preserved him for a reason. Testing a newfound faith, he must forge alliances with the other chosen and vow to make a stand against the rising tide of darkness. Preyed upon by ghoulish, cannibalistic mutants and pursued by a merciless gang of bandits demented by an unimaginably sinister power, Kane finds that the road to redemption is paved equally with terror and hope as he struggles to fulfill his purpose and become the man both Heaven and Earth need him to be.

    The Last Kingdom, the Pale Horseman, the Lords of the North, Sword Son, the Burning Land

    Morgan’s relatively normal life is turned on its ear when she learns not only that she is adopted, but her birth parents are dead and she now holds half-interest in a business with their ward, Dorian Drake. Dorian is running The Shoppe of Spells and despite his riveting good looks, he can barely conceal his hostility toward his new partner. Morgan discovers that she is more than she seems and together she and Dorian have the ability to control a portal to another dimension. Unable to control their growing attraction, Morgan and Dorian dance around their desires and her burgeoning abilities, until danger forces them to face their destiny.

    Follow the Hole Behind Midnight into a world of oracles and monsters, kings and usurpers ... follow it into the 25th Hour. A darkly comic postmodern urban fantasy crime/mystery noir/pulp tale-of-suspense-and-magic-and-cursing, this is a story of the 25th Hour for mature audiences only

    His characters may be neuroscientists, superhero sidekicks, middle-aged heroes of children's stories, or fanatics spreading a virus-borne religion, but they are all convincingly human. Includes two never-before published short stories.Contents:- Daryl Gregory: Facts and Obsessions (2011) by Nancy Kress- Second Person, Present Tense (2005)- Unpossible (2007)- Damascus (2006)- The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm (2008)- Gardening at Night (2006)- Petit Mal #1: Glass (2008)- What We Take When We Take What We Need (2010)- Petit Mal #2: Digital (2011)- Message from the Bubblegum Factory (2010)- Free, and Clear (2004)- Dead Horse Point (2007)- In the Wheels (1990)- Petit Mal #3: Persistence (2011)- The Continuing Adventures of Rocket Boy (2004)- Story NotesCover art by Antonello Silverini

    When her concerned parents investigate a neurological treatment that could change her life forever, Hannah must decide who she really is -- and who she wishes to become. Originally published in the March 2011 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.

    A boy travels back in time in search of history and his name. A neighborhood is besieged by a resurrected evil in their midst. A clone of Jose Rizal uncovers surprising secrets. A heartbroken girl harnesses magic to win a boy's love, and almost destroys the world. This book collects eight stories of fantasy, horror, and science fiction from the imagination of award-winning writer.

    From Bram Stoker Award nominated author Kaaron Warren, comes Book 6 in the Twelve Planets collection series.Country road, city street, mountain, creek.These are stories inspired by the beauty, the danger, the cruelty, emptiness, loneliness and perfection of the Australian landscape.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Gemma FilesMountainCreekRoadSky

    Hunkering together in dark theatres, diverse audiences marvel at flickering images. Redwood, an African American woman, and Aidan, a Seminole Irish man, journey from Georgia to Chicago, from haunted swampland to a "city of the future." They are gifted performers and hoodoo conjurors, struggling to call up the wondrous world they imagine, not just on stage and screen, but on city streets, in front parlors, in wounded hearts. The power of hoodoo is the power of the community that believes in its capacities to heal.Living in a system stacked against them, Redwood and Aidan's power and talent are torment and joy. Their search for a place to be who they want to be is an exhilarating, painful, magical adventure.

    The sky was constantly swollen with it, then birthing it, swollen, then birthing again, and the hills, like greedy babies, suckled up all that rain. They shone and glistened green as the backs of frogs on bright green lily pads.Annalise was ten then, old enough that she’d begun thinking about grown up things, like picking her own clothes out for school, yet young enough, still, to indulge in fanciful imaginings of enchanted trees and talking hills. Her best friends were the clouds that canopied her village and the verdant hills that hosted her most precious and outrageous dreams."As spunky young Annalise travels from one adventure to another, she learns ancient wisdom traditions and gains deeper and deeper insight into herself and her world. Eventually she must make the most important decision she's ever faced -- whether or not to return to the self she has always known.

    But what is the Corridor, and why was he brought to it?It’s a place of mystery, wonder, and heart-stopping danger. It will test him and push him both mentally and physically. His only companion is the girl whose voice he hears inside his head, explaining the rules he must follow if he hopes to escape.But there is much more to this extraordinary place than Troy could ever imagine. The Corridor’s true purpose — the biggest mystery of all — is revealed only to those who make it to the end.

    and in the black world between stations... the trains shrilly call to one another blind and massive in the dark - black rushing silence, rent by screaming trains ... Like the hideous angler fish of the ocean's deepest places, he is an otherworldly scavenger drifting in currents heavier than avalanches, slow as glaciers, a sea wasp with a bridal train of tingling nerves that drift in the sewage time and again tangling in women's dreams. From Michael Cisco, author of The Divinity Student, comes a visionary novel of eros and thanatos. The Great Lover, the sewerman, is the undead hero who nonetheless carries the torch of libido and life. Mischievous Frankenstein, uproarious cartoon demon, mascot of the subway cult, witch-doctor of feculent enchantment and weary veteran of folies d'amour, he stands, or shambles, as our last champion against the monochrome, white-noise forces of Vampirism.

    It’s ruthless, messy, mind-altering, and raw. It takes no prisoners. It chews you up and spits you out and leaves you for dead. Love is, you could say, very much like a zombie.In this haunting short story collection, anything is possible—a dying musician turns to tea for inspiration; a police sergeant struggles with a very unusual victim; a young wife is trapped in a house hiding unimaginable evil….With "Hungry For You", A.M. Harte explores the disturbing and delightful in an anthology that unearths the thin boundary between love and death.

    Cliffy is a child born on the streets of a Neo-Victorian world. Witnesses to a murder, he blackmails a nobleman, receiving a unique bribe. In exchange for his silence, the nobleman introduces him to the Malcolm Rutherford Holden Institute of Regentrification. There, Cliffy learns to walk, talk, and act like a nobleman, so that he may infiltrate high society. But that type of fraud is punishable by death, and when Cliffy uncovers a plot to assassinate a head of state, he's hunted by more than just the aristocracy. Royal intrigue, daring escapes, sub-dermal machines, and bear polo. A grand adventure in a not-so-distant world.

    They probably hate you, too.‘There are two kinds of people with lawyers on tap, Mr Grey. The powerful and the corrupt.’‘Thank you.’‘For implying you’re powerful?’‘For imagining those are two different groups.’From Crawford Award nominee Deborah Biancotti comes this sinister short story suite, a pocketbook police procedural, set in a world where the victories are only relative, and the defeats are absolute. Bad Power celebrates the worst kind of powers both supernatural and otherwise, in the interlinked tales of five people — and how far they’ll go.If you like Haven and Heroes, you’ll love Bad Power.

    A man searches for his missing sister, while taking part in brutal modern-day gladiator fights and encountering cosmic horror on a grand scale.

    Once bitter enemies, they flee the advance of undead zombie hordes that destroy the very land itself.When a mysterious knight-errant named Moh joins their quest it is evident that his game involves more than just aiding them in their quest to find the source of the corruption and collapse of their world. While skilled in both sword and spell, his greatest challenge is not sudden attacks by undead knights or BalloonBears but finding a way through Pirogoeth’s icy exterior to the heart he knows is there."Behind the Masque" is a short story based on a fantasy MMORPG played by characters in the online webcomic/manga Megatokyo. This is the first in a series of short stories and light novels telling the Endgames story from the point of view of the characters in the game. Also includes several new illustrations by Fred Gallagher for this story.

    The next book in Black Dog's supernatural series, Demons presents thirty-six terrifying, tantalizing tales in which evil spirits wreak havoc on the world. Neil Gaiman, William Peter Blatty, Kim Harrison and Robert R. McCammon join H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Beaumont, Bentley Little, Maggie Stiefvator, Danielle Trussoni, David J. Schow, Karl Edward Wagner, Richard Christian Matheson, Adram-Troy Castro, Amelia Beamer, Cody Goodfellow, Carlton Mellick III, and dozens more, both old and new. Horror legend John Skipp, editor of Zombies and Werewolves and Shapeshifters, provides fascinating insight into the history and details of demon lore, and its role in popular culture. Between the extensive resource materials and the lovingly selected stories - ranging from fantasy, horror, paranormal romance, and magic realism to full-blown Bizarro - Demons is an indispensable text, and the most fun you'll ever have with the forces of evil.

    Delany is not only one of the most profound and courageous writers at work today, he is a writer of seemingly limitless range."—Michael CunninghamA vast river of a novel alive with explicit sexuality and the richness of life itself, Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders concerns a gay, working-class, interracial relationship. In 2007, just before Eric's seventeenth birthday, his father brings him to Diamond Harbor, a failing tourist town on the Georgia coast, to live with his mother. There Eric meets nineteen-year-old Morgan Haskell, who works with his father, Dynamite Haskell, and the two boys soon join their lives—and their bodies—together on the coast as a couple over the next seventy-five years.The author of more than forty books, Samuel R. Delany is a novelist and critic whose novel Dhalgren has sold over a million copies. He is a recipient of the William Whitehead Memorial Award for a Lifetime Contribution to Gay and Lesbian Writing and the Lambda Literary Pioneer Award. He is a professor of English and creative writing at Temple University in Philadelphia.

    And now, cannibal raiders have struck the forest refuge of Long Meadow. A huntress, Hadde of Landomere, bears the impossible burden of protecting and providing for her people. With no hope remaining for the survival of Long Meadow, Hadde sets off to seek aid from the distant kingdom of Salador.Unlike Hadde's egalitarian homeland, Salador is a highly stratified, male-dominated world of politics, war, and deceit, teeming with its own problems. When King Boradin comes to believe Hadde is part of a prophecy that will end the Wasting, he refuses her request for aid and bars her from returning home. Hadde’s only ally is the king’s brother and political rival, Morin. When scheming turns to violence, Hadde and Morin flee the king in a desperate quest to end the Wasting before it is too late.

    Living is hard."Step back, back into the world of 1996...""Dark fiction so numbing cold and cutting edge you better hold onto your ass with your free hand...There are no simple 'entertainments' or cheap grabs for the throat to be found here. Hodge is deadly serious about presenting a world where the worst punishment is the mere fact that you are aware you will probably live to see another day."So wrote critic Stanley Wiater about Brian Hodge's renowned first short fiction collection, The Convulsion Factory. Three collections later, nothing has changed.Well...maybe one or two trifling entertainments. A couple of cheap grabs for some body part or another. But that's about it. There are still plenty of fates worse than death.And the time has now come to advance to the fourth circle of Hell, whose 17 stations include:The award-winning "With Acknowledgments to Sun Tzu," in which a hardened photojournalist glimpses the face behind the atrocities of war..."The Passion of the Beast," a report on the arcane origins and tragic premier of the flipside version of Mel Gibson's most famous movie..."The Firebrand Symphony," which seeds Lovecraftian terrors in the unlikely realms of vintage psychedelia and cinematic sound design..."Brushed In Blackest Silence," the chapter in the life of Dracula's Van Helsing that reunited Hodge with Dell/Abyss mastermind Jeanne Cavelos..."Hate the Sinner, Love the Sin," which finds one of the Middle Ages' seven towers of darkest iniquity thriving in modern-day Los Angeles...Dying is easy. Living is hard. And forces beyond your control have a bone to pick with you.

    Suddenly she was surrounded by an intense, blinding white light, and she was gone.It's a dark, snowy night when Laura awakens at the bottom of a staircase with a horrible headache and no idea how she got there. To make matters worse, she is alone in the house, snowed in by a blizzard, with no way to call for help. While exploring the house in a desperate attempt to trigger the return of her memory, she discovers a small room beneath the basement. She steps inside, and an unknown force instantly transports her to a mysterious, pastoral land. She finds a quaint village that at first glance seems like a peaceful place; but Laura soon learns that peace is merely an illusion. Why are terrible rumors circulating about the village's leader? Why do the villagers worship a sinister deity who bears no resemblance to her own powerful and loving God? Most importantly, will she ever remember who she is and find her way home? In her quest for answers, she uncovers a myriad of forbidden secrets that might keep her trapped in The Land Beyond the Portal.

    When she can bear the abuse no longer and gives in to a thunderous rage, she suddenly finds herself in an unfamiliar, yet beautiful, storm world. This limbo between dimensions appears to be her private sanctuary, but it may just be her purgatory. No one escapes fate without sacrifice, but is the price more than Carly is willing to pay?

    Chapman"The Pastry Chef, the Nanotechnologist, the Aerobics Instructor, and the Plumber" by Eugene Mirabelli"Free Dog" by Jack Skillingstead"To Live and Die in Gibbontown" by Derek Künsken"A Hundred Hundred Daisies" by Nancy KressPoetry"Being One With Your Broom" by Ruth Berman"Extended Family" by Bruce Boston"The Music of Werewolves" by Bruce Boston"Galileo's Ink Spots Fade Into Twilight" by Geoffrey A. Landis"Vampire Politics" by Ruth BermanDepartments"Editorial: Send in the Right Reviewer" by Sheila Williams"Reflections: A Writer's Diary" by Robert Silverberg"On the Net: Steamed" by James Patrick Kelly"On Books: Inside/Outside" by Norman Spinrad"SF Conventional Calendar" by Erwin S. StraussAsimov's Science Fiction, October/November 2011, Vol. 35, Nos. 10-11 (Whole Nos. 429-30)Sheila Williams, editorCover art by Paul Youll

    A Witch and daughter of the Maja, she believes that everything happens for a reason, but she has never quite understood why there is a hollow feeling in the place where her heart should be.One night, at the fabled Moon Market, she meets a beautiful stranger. The mysterious woman's name is Via, and Elise is drawn to her, body, heart and soul. But Elise's past and Via's secret may tear the two women apart... Is true love possible, or is it only a fairy tale?(Ed. Note: Sugar Moon: A Novella was originally published under the pen name Sarah Diemer in 2011. It was unpublished shortly thereafter. This is the new, reworked version.)

    An augmented Queen Victoria sits on the throne. Automata are a common sight below stairs. And all that stands between the Empire and a touch of unpleasantness is Reginald Worcester, gentleman's consulting detective, and his automaton valet Reeves.The book contains four adventures - a short novel, two novellas and the novelette that started it all - the WSFA Award finalist, What Ho, Automaton!What Ho, Automaton!Something Rummy This way ComesReggiecideThe Aunt ParadoxImmerse yourself in mysteries that only a detective with a rare brain - and Reggie's is amongst the rarest - could possibly solve. Missing debs, stolen time machines, re-animated regicides, and Promethean pigs. But can Reggie save the day and remain single? And can the giant steam-powered brain of Reeves, his valet, continue to curb the young master's excessive flights of fancy?

    He only studied planetology to satisfy his parents, two of humanity's most brilliant scientists. But when they open a wormhole to an alien planet—one emitting a signal that can only be a sign of intelligent life—he soon becomes caught up in the mission to explore it. His sole mission partner, Terra, doesn't care nearly as much about the science as he does, though. The child of a bitter divorce, she sees the mission as a chance to escape from the expectations of others. Before they can work out their differences, a mysterious alien ship begins to hunt them down. Alone, twenty light-years from the nearest human being, they must learn to open up and trust each other—but how can they do that when they can't even agree why they're there? As Michael struggles to keep the mission from falling apart, he is forced to reexamine his deepest, most unquestioned beliefs about the universe—and about what it means to be human. GENESIS EARTH is a 70,000 word (200-250 page) Young Adult Science Fiction novel.

    Or try to.In that respect, the characters we meet in Impossibilia are like any of us. They have things inside them too. Only their things are a little... different.A dead wife that won't leave. A wolf. The secret to being the luckiest man alive.Impossibilia was Doug's first collection of short fiction and includes the following novelettes:"Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by van Gogh" (Aurora Award Finalist)"Spirit Dance" (Aurora Award WINNER)"Going Down to Lucky Town" (Aurora Award Finalist)In "Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by van Gogh," remote viewing drives a search through the past for lost masterpieces. An ex-CIA agent, haunted by the presence of his dead wife, falls in love with a beautiful remote viewer with her own secret. But can viewing the past change the present?Cree legends, a love triangle, a covert government agency, and shape shifters collide in the award-winning "Spirit Dance," described in Challenging Destiny as "...a vivid and wonderfully written tale about Native Canadian spirits, in the vein of Thomas King." In "Going Down to Lucky Town," an itinerant gambler chases a streak of luck across the country, while trying to win back the love of his daughter. The secret he finds forces him into an ultimate gamble for the highest stakes of all: his daughter's life.And through all the stories, these characters share one more thing beyond what they hold inside. In the decisions they face, in the choices they make, they do what they do out of love. Lost love, found love, the love of a child. But love. So maybe they aren't that different from us after all..."Highly, highly recommended." —Fantasy Book Critic"The writing is superb. Douglas Smith is an artisan and his stories beautifully crafted. ... In my search for the perfect short story, the three in this volume certainly qualify." —SF Crowsnest Book Reviews"Rarely have I seen such an apt title to any book! Douglas Smith has given us three amazing stories that are so unusual and beautiful that no other name than Impossibilia could possibly describe this collection. Each tale was rapture and ecstasy, magical and mysterious, perfect and implausible. In short, I loved them all from the first word to the last. ... I don’t know what else to say without spoiling things for you so I won’t say anything else, except READ THIS BOOK!!!" —Mass Movement Magazine

    She just killed a man. Sure it was an act of self defence, and sure he really had it coming, but that isn’t going to cut it with her cousin, the Emperor of the Blackwatch Empire, or the people of her home world. She’s broken rule one of the three cardinal rules of the Matsumoto Dynasty. Now Vera has to face the Emperor’s punishment with only her own wits and her brand new teenage bodyguard for back up.

    Howard's stories that appeared in pulp magazines like the revered Weird Tales. Howard is the creator of the international icon, Conan the Cimmerian and considered the Godfather of Sword and Sorcery.

    Its editorial emphasis is on realistic stories that reflect high standards of scientific accuracy, imagination, and lively articles about current research on the frontiers of real science. A recurrent theme in both fiction and provocative opinion columns is the human impact of science and technology. Analog has won numerous Nebula, Hugo, and other awards acknowledging it as a leading periodical in the field.Analog is home to many bestselling authors, including Robert J. Sawyer, Michael F. Flynn, Stephen Baxter, Catherine Asaro, and Harry Turtledove, Joe Haldeman and Ben Bova.Analog Science Fiction and Fact features 8 single issues and 2 double issues each year in January/February and July/August.

    These reversals are always accompanied by disasters of catastrophic proportions. They also coincide with two other events: an ice age and species extinction.We are, at this time, 50,000 years overdue.Darius Cobb wasn’t thinking of man’s extinction. He honestly never gave it a thought. A college professor and part time country singer, Darius worried only about teaching and playing his guitar until the day he is attacked by cockroaches and is placed into a special government quarantine.There, he and the others start piecing together the inevitable. Using his knowledge, he begins predicting the events that unfold. Together he and his group plan and then implement a long term survival plan.If the world is going to end, they will survive.TORN is a fast paced, scientific, character driven and sometimes comical novel. In a ‘docu-drama’ fictional style, it follows the tragic events that unleash upon the earth and the attempts by Darius and the others to defy the odds as they strive to survive man’s extinction.

    

    War is imminent between Earth’s top powers, China and Japan, for reasons that no one entirely understands.Neil Mercer, a freshly commissioned officer in the United States Space Force, is assigned to shepherd a senior spy on a covert mission that risks drawing America into the conflict. In a story featuring high adventure, interstellar intrigue and some of the most scientifically realistic space combat depicted in fiction, Neil and his comrades must face difficult questions about duty, citizenship and national interest as they struggle to discover why the war threatens to engulf every nation on Earth.

    Over Irish coffees, they reminisce - and reveal long-held and disturbing secrets. Each friend in turn is given a curious set of instructions by an enigmatic bartender named Ariel: "Your life is filled with crossroads and you are free to choose one road or another at any time. Stepping through this door takes away all choices except two -- the choice to live a different life, or return to this one...." Each in turn passes through the portal and are faced with new lives and challenges. Their decisions show a new life -- or something far worse. Ar the end of the world, it's a chance for redemption, or a chance to learn something about themselves. International bestselling author, Alma Alexander, mixes a world or possibilities and paths. What if you could change the past -- go right instead of left, fall in love with a different person, change careers or families, or even change your sex. 2012 Midnight at Spanish Gardens brings those choices to life.

    He leans close enough to touch her ear with the fringe of his mustache and whispers, "What part of the museum would the famous Madame Tussaud like to survey on her inaugural visit?""The Chamber of Horrors, I think," she says softly."Really, my dear? All that grim fantasy and blood?""There is no fantasy about it, Francois. It is an embryo, a showing of what is to come."Blending historical fiction with fantasy and the macabre, Adam McOmber's debut short story collection brings the influence of Angela Carter, Isak Dinesen, and Edgar Allan Poe to the next generation. In "The Automatic Garden," a solitary architect from the court at Versailles builds a water-powered pleasure garden; in "There Are No Bodies Such as This," we read a haunted and romantic fiction about the creation of Madame Tussaud's wax museum; in "Fall, Orpheum," a small town movie palace becomes the temple for an entire town's devotion and sacrifice. McOmber seamlessly blends history, artifice, and desire to create a dream of the past that intertwines with our own notions of modern life.Adam McOmber's stories appear in Conjunctions, StoryQuarterly, Third Coast, The Greensboro Review, Arts & Letters, and Quarterly West. He is assistant director of creative nonfiction at Columbia College Chicago and associate editor of the literary magazine Hotel Amerika."

    But according to Ben Saunders, the appeal of the superhero is fundamentally metaphysical - even spiritual - in nature. In chapter-length analyses of the early comic book adventures of Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and Iron-Man, Saunders explores a number of complex philosophical and theological issues, including: the problem of evil; the will-to-power; the tension between intimacy and vulnerability; and the challenge of love, in the face of mortality. He concludes that comic book fantasies of the superhuman ironically reveal more than we might care to admit about our human limitations, even as they expose the falsehood of the characteristically modern opposition between religion and science. Clearly and passionately written, this insightful and at times exhilarating book should delight all readers who believe in the redemptive capacity of the imagination, regardless of whether they consider themselves comic book fans.

    a wager with the devious, dangerous and probably quite deranged King Davkosh of the Southern Realms.Half the kingdom staked in a race between mystery contenders.Ten leagues, point to point as the -er- crow flies. Drewdop the Illusionist is quick to point out the flaws in this plan and is tasked with a secret spy mission - to find out just what kind of invincible champion Davkosh has training at home. Travelling in magical disguise causes unforeseen complications for Drewdop, while his half-ogre bodyguard, in the guise of a beautiful woman, certainly turns a few heads. But Drewdop soon discovers that the great race is the least of their worries.Davkosh's glamorous, fiery and ruthless queen, Gunora, is massing an army ready for attack whatever the outcome. Meanwhile, deep in the dark forest, one of Davkosh's elite royal messengers is facing his ownperilous destiny - how to become the world's first and only surviving dragon rider...

    Where terror and wonder become not just inextricable but often indistinguishable. Where the worlds of imagination and everyday reality color and corrode and sometimes overwhelm each other. A country surprisingly like your own"--Dust jacket.

    You may find it for free on the web.

    No one knows how the connectivity works, only that one can get another chance. After assassination in his own home Rodwell awakes to eventually discover that he is on another earth-like world. He is soon framed for murder, and finds himself alone, on the run pursued by terrorists and police alike.Fast paced in parts, this is also a book that takes a look at many aspects of every-man philosophy. This is a full length novel, intended for all who have reached a sufficient reading level. There is some adult content, but I, the author, have no problem with classing this book for general readership. I would welcome feedback on this and any other issue. I describe this book as speculative fiction, rather than science fiction or fantasy.

    First they cured the genetic diseases. Then they selected for the best natural traits. Then they made completely artificial genes. As the test children reached puberty, abilities that had always been lost in the random background noise were suddenly obvious. Telepathy, telekinesis. At first their creators sought to strengthen these traits. Then they began to fear them. They called them gods, and made them slaves. Wolfgang Oldham was sixteen when the company laid claim to him. He escaped, and stayed free for three years. When he was arrested, identified and returned to the company, they trained him to be useful. They didn't realize that they were training him to be dangerous

    These are obvious concepts when spelled out in clear cut settings. Because of this, how one goes about subverting the norm (as a traitor or revolutionary) is based on what the norm is. What is normal in one society can be, and often is, taboo in another society. This allows tales of subversion to be subtle, blatant, personal, communal, and endless in variation. - from the Foreword by Jennifer Brozek

    It’s quite a thing to see, and Aaron sincerely hopes you cats like it!

    In New York City, an eleven year old girl with symptoms of synesthesia befriends a street performer. They dream of rivaling Houdini until the magician endangers them both by stealing wrist watches.1984. In Mexico, a dying woman wanders lost in the desert. She encounters a shaman, a delirious New York artist, ransom-seeking desperadoes, an unlikely villain, a dolphin, and an Aboriginal spirit named Boonga.2004. In Saudi Arabia, an American graduate student with schizophrenia forgoes medication so that she may use her ‘gift’ - the ability to experience historic events. Psychotic symptoms emerge as the man she loves lures her into the hands of slave traders.Each story continues on a wild ride into afterlives, fraught with challenges both familiar and unexpected, such as a flying space turtle, a gigantic goddess, bickering angels, and a splintered ego. All threads lead to a monumental after-afterlife where questions are answered and the unity of existence is fulfilled.

    Aunt-B and John have a horrible secret, and when it's unleashed on the unsuspecting employees of the diner, things get . . . complicated. Bloodthirsty and dangerous, a zombie awaits the opportunity to feast on them all. Who will be served first? Can any of them make it out of the Undead Drive-Thru alive?

    In a rickety old house, spooky sounds fill the air.Crashing and slamming;Snarling and hissing;Creaking and mumbling.Who...or what...is making them?I'm not scared.Are you?

    The last of these has been the most brilliant light of all, the light of the one sent to tell him that heaven was never really lost to him. But did he destroy all hope for it in attempting to make this angel a human love he could hold forever on earth, or is the mystery of this vampire's salvation yet to be fully revealed? Sometimes the key which unlocks the secret of what's to come is hidden in the past. Take another journey with a vampire, through eight centuries of dark human history which have, all along, been leading him to the light. Volume I: Descent "You continue to see the lie before you, no matter how often it speaks the truth!" Valéry warned Angelina in On the Soul of a Vampire, when she refused once again to see in him the monster he saw in himself. But did the seemingly tragic end of their relationship truly indicate he had the clearer sight? Relive the memory of Valéry's descent into darkness before deciding who was really right.

    Introvert. He was the hero they never knew they wanted.All Wendell hoped for was a decent job, a hot new car and a girlfriend to match.What he got was the mantle of a legendary hero, the heart of a girl who had no idea who he really was…and a diamond bigger than his fist.What could possibly go wrong?Prelude to a Hero is book one in the Chronicles of a Hero series, by Jaime Buckley. If you enjoyed Tiffany Aching, Harry Potter or Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, then you’ll love this humorous, original epic fantasy, packed with magic, mystery and sharp kicks to the funny bone. "I'm already a HUGE fan of fantasy fiction, this book appealed to me as I felt it would be something new and unique... I wasn't left disappointed!"

    Lansdale]To avoid nightmares, people plug in to dreams created by dreamspinners. But, suddenly, the dream maker wreaks havoc and torments the customers.A short-novel by Daniel Pearlman“Media coverage was as heavy as Brian had anticipated. National Funscope gave top billing today to its noontime “Dreambeam” feature. The set of dreams that Brian had experienced last night was in some ways the most remarkable performance ever beamed by the great Iones. Not for a moment did Brian doubt Iones’s stature as the world’s greatest dreamist. But the incomparable Iones, full of surprises as he was, had certainly pulled the rug out from under him last night! The great artist had spun a delightful web in his brain, a tale of mounting suspense that was just coming to some gratifying conclusion when it abruptly ended just before the moment of climax.”

    The game follows the escalating war between the Jedi and the Sith thousands of years before the events of the Star Wars films, and its innovative design allows players to choose sides and help shape the history of the galaxy. This gorgeous, full-color volume features the detailed art behind this highly anticipated release from BioWare and LucasArts. With character sketches, interviews, and artwork featuring the game's new weapons, starships, and previously unexplored worlds, The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic is the ultimate chronicle of the newest Star Wars experience.

    Sharokin, Atur, Ninlil, Shamiran, Ninevah and Ashurina share in their goddess' loves, losses and triumphs, as kingdoms rise and fall in the Land of Rivers. 'And the Dead Shall Outnumber the Living': Deborah Biancotti In modern-day Sydney, male prostitutes are dying. Their bones have turned to paste and their bodies are jelly. As Detective Adrienne Garner investigates the deaths, she finds rumours of strange cults and old gods whose powers threaten her city and, ultimately, her world. 'The Sleeping and the Dead': Cat Sparks Dr. Anna remembers little of her life before the war, merely traces of the man she used to love. When three desperate travellers rekindle slumbering memories, she begins a search that takes her to Hell and beyond. A search for love and, ultimately, enlightenment.

    We know this because we've seen it. We were there.Twins Annie and Mac are the only survivors when humanity is wiped out - or so they think. A mysterious website reveals that they are not alone, and that they have the ability to undo the mass-extinction. But there is someone who will do anything to stop them...A thrilling new series from acclaimed author Lizzie Wilcock.