He is captured and adopted by a Dane and taught the Viking ways. Yet Uhtred's fate is indissolubly bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the only English kingdom to survive the Danish assault.The Warrior Chronicles is an epic series from the master of historical fiction, that tells the tale of Alfred the Great, his descendants, and the Viking enemies they face. The struggle between the English and the Danes and the strife between Christianity and paganism is the background to this outstanding series of how England was made – and very nearly lost.

    For years she's been longing to go back up there, to once more explore the stars. But there are few opportunities for an aging astronaut, even the famous Lady Astronaut of Mars. When her chance finally comes, it may be too late. Elma must decide whether to stay with her sickening husband in what will surely be the final years of his life, or to have her final adventure and plunge deeper into the well of space.

    He's cocky. And he's a thief.But he's a thief who has just seen his bounty topped and he's not happy about it. The bounty topper, as it turns out, is his best friend and master swordsman, Josef. He's been keeping secrets from Eli. Apparently, he's the only prince of a rather feisty country, and he's been ordered to come home to do his duty. This means throwing over personal ambitions like proving he's the greatest swordsman who ever lived.Family drama aside, Eli and Josef have their hands full. The Spirit Court has been usurped by the Council of Thrones and someone calling herself the Immortal Empress is staging a massive invasion. But it's not just politics - the Immortal Empress has a specific target in mind: Eli Monpress, the greatest thief in the world.This omnibus edition contains: THE SPIRIT WAR and SPIRIT'S END

    Where applicable, the chapters are named to map to the action in THE ALL-PRO (Book III in the Galactic Football League series). The story actually begins, however, on unknown dates during Book II, THE STARTER. In terms of the GFL timeline, THE DETECTIVE runs from roughly Week Seven of the 2683 regular season in THE STARTER through Week Ten of the 2684 regular season in THE ALL-PRO.This novella is part of the Galactic Football League series, which is described as THE BLIND SIDE meets THE GODFATHER meets STAR WARS.

    The Reporter takes place between week three and week six of the 2684 Galactic Football League season, the season that encompasses The All-Pro.

    There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it.When a young scientist is caught improving Nexus, he’s thrust over his head into a world of danger and international espionage – for there is far more at stake than anyone realizes.From the halls of academe to the halls of power, from the headquarters of an elite US agency in Washington DC to a secret lab beneath a top university in Shanghai, from the underground parties of San Francisco to the illegal biotech markets of Bangkok, from an international neuroscience conference to a remote monastery in the mountains of Thailand – Nexus is a thrill ride through a future on the brink of explosion.

    A half-resurrected cleanup man for Death's sprawling bureaucracy faces a phantom pachyderm, doll-collecting sorceresses and his own ghoulish bosses. Gordo, the old Cubano that watches over the graveyards and sleeping children of Brooklyn, stirs and lights another Malaguena. Down the midnight streets of New York, a whole invisible universe churns to life in Daniel Jose Older's debut collection of ghost noir.

    Now her New York Times bestselling steampunk series comes to a smashing conclusion in our exclusive hardcover omnibus, The Parasol Protectorate Volume 2.Heartless: A mad ghost is menacing Queen Victoria, and as the soulless Lady Alexia investigates, she and her trusty parasol are led deep into her were husband’s past. Top that off with a suffragette sister (shocking!), Madame Lefoux’s latest invention (incredible!), and a plague of zombie porcupines (bloody hell!), and Alexia barely has time to remember she’s eight months pregnant! Can she learn who’s trying to kill the queen before time runs out?Timeless: Alexia has settled into domestic bliss, but, alas, a summons has arrived that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Ivy Tunstell’s acting troupe in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to Egypt. But the Land of the Nile may hold more mysteries than the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does Alexandria’s vampire Queen really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy become the most popular actress in the British Empire?

    He can’t move, has no response to stimuli, and can only communicate with Hub, the faithful family dog. And like all superheroes, Westlake has an archenemy: Dr. Quietus—a nightmarish embodiment of Death itself.

    But when a tragic twist of fate leads her to the small mountain town of Dawson Mills, Tennessee, she soon learns the dead don't always stay silent. Shadows begin to shift in the rambling, old Victorian farmhouse she's purchased. Voices come from nowhere. She can feel the eyes on her. Paul Bradford, a contractor who is bidding the renovation work on the house, believes it's more than just Allison's imagination conjuring up the paranormal activity. Toni Harper, a reporter for the local paper, concurs. She's heard snippets of hand-over-the-mouth gossip from some of the town's deputies who responded to calls in the middle of the night. Ghosts. Or so the former owner claimed in the few months before his death. The secrets they unearth rock Allison right down to the core. Thrust into a haunted world where the paranormal and evil collide, she has one hope of survival: unravel the sinister history buried for decades within the old farmhouse, and find the link to a muddled piece of her past. Lost Girl by Anne Francis Scott is a paranormal mystery/ghost story with chilling scenes at the fringe of horror.

    His best friend James drops a bombshell and Megan makes a request Will isn't capable of giving. But when his old girlfriend show up, Will ends up questioning the goal he’s spent his entire life working to achieve.

    Novelette, Free online fiction.From newyorker.com“The Semplica-Girl Diaries” deals with a family in a not-too-distant future (or perhaps an alternate present or past?) that is struggling to keep up with the Joneses—which, in this society, means leasing some unusual garden ornaments.

    What if mountain-climbing had become something necessary for survival? A group of pitiful aliens are forced to exist within a small spherical space, surrounded by layer upon layer of rock. They have named this space the "Bubble World," and their lifelong ambition is to find out what might exist beyond the rock walls that envelop them. Do the strata just go on forever? Or could they end in a void? To this end they build great ships of exploration, dying generation after generation as they adventure outward. Consequently, they form a completely unique world view, as well as theories of physics and cosmology that are vastly different from our own. -------------------------------Liu Cixin's writing will remind SF fans of the genre's golden age, with its positive focus on scientific development, combined with a consistently constructive vision of China's future role as a global superpower. It's characteristic of an SF genre which has been embraced by Chinese culture because it is seen as representing the values of technological innovation and creativity so highly prized in a country developing more quickly than any other in the world today.– Damien Walter, The GuardianLiu Cixin has put his exuberant energy to good use, erecting a gallery that must be measured on a scale of light-years. Inside this gallery of his, he has stored away marvels beyond imagination produced by the science and technology of cosmic civilizations. The moment you step into Liu Cixin's world, the rush of his enthusiasm buffets you like a particle storm – a storm of enthusiasm for science and for technology; And it is this enthusiasm that bears the heart of his world's magnificent galaxy. We can find it reflected not only in the grand vistas he creates, but also in the fateful decisions of his characters. The stark contrast of his grand worlds against the choices of these lonely and feeble beings can be truly shocking! – Yao Haijun, editor in chief of “Science Fiction World”First and foremost, as a reader, I very much enjoy and find great satisfaction in Liu Cixin's stories. The stories he tells are incredibly lucid, their language is conversant, their rhythm is tightly woven and their plots exceedingly compelling; Their imagery is unique, they have a boundless quality about them and they are brimming with powerful language; In these ways he echoes the great Taoist philosopher Chuang-tzu. What is more, I truly adore technology and industrial culture and consider them to be very exquisite, serious and atmospheric; almost holy. Liu Cixin's stories reflect this sentiment of mine. Therefore, I at times think that he echoes Newton. Finally, there is the military side of things. One does not have to look far to see his innate passion for all things to do with weaponry. In Liu Cixin we can see a stubbornness, a heroic ideal of centuries past. – Han Song, deputy editor of “Oriental Outlook”

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

    These stories feature cats, bees, wolves, dogs, and even that most capricious of animals, humans, and have been reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, and The Secret History of Fantasy. Kij Johnson's stories have won the Sturgeon and World Fantasy awards. She has taught writing; worked at Tor, Dark Horse, and Microsoft; worked as a radio announcer; run bookstores; and waitressed in a strip bar.Contents:The Man Who Bridged the Mist (2011)Wolf Trapping (1989)The Empress Jingu Fishes (2004)The Bitey Cat (2012)Chenting, in the Land of the Dead (1999)My Wife Reincarnated as a Solitaire—Exposition on the Flaws in my Spouse's Character—The Nature of the Bird—The Possible Causes—Her Final Disposition (2007)Schrödinger's Cathouse (1993)Names for Water (2010)Fox Magic (1993)Spar (2009)The Horse Raiders (2000)26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss (2008)At the Mouth of the River of Bees (2003)The Evolution of Trickster Stories among the Dogs of North Park after the Change (2007)The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles (2009)Ponies (2010)

    Now the rise of a dangerous new technology threatens to destroy the Federation from within. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise crew answer a distress call, only to become targets in a deadly game of deception. To protect a vital diplomatic mission, they must find a way to identify the spies hiding in their midst, before it’s too late. But Worf soon realizes the crew’s every move has been predicted: Someone is using them as pawns. And the closer they get to exposing their enemy, the deeper they spiral into its trap…

    This bonus piece was never published in English and comes exclusively on Amazon.com!Note: This is a standalone epilogue that has nothing to do with the comic bookA new chapter that turns upside down the entire story of Metro 2033 and that promise a continuation to the breathtaking story of survival and struggle for a future set in the catacombs of the subway system in post-apocalyptic Moscow. This epilogue is a link to the upcoming METRO: LAST LIGHT video game, to the yet untranslated METRO 2034 and to-be-written METRO 2035! An absolute must-read for all those who loved the book and the game! The original story that inspired both the METRO 2033 and METRO: LAST LIGHT video games! An international bestseller, translated into 35 languages.Set in the shattered subway of a post apocalyptic Moscow, Metro 2033 is a story of intensive underground survival where the fate of mankind rests in your hands.In 2013 the world was devastated by an apocalyptic event, annihilating almost all mankind and turning the earth’s surface into a poisonous wasteland. A handful of survivors took refuge in the depths of the Moscow underground, and human civilization entered a new Dark Age.The year is 2033. An entire generation has been born and raised underground, and their besieged Metro Station-Cities struggle for survival, with each other, and the mutant horrors that await outside.Artyom was born in the last days before the fire. Having never ventured beyond his Metro Station-City limits, one fateful event sparks a desperate mission to the heart of the Metro system, to warn the remnants of mankind of a terrible impending threat. His journey takes him from the forgotten catacombs beneath the subway to the desolate wastelands above, where his actions will determine the fate of mankind.

    The life she’d always wanted as a child—a loving mother and financial security. But another “incident” had has led to Jake’s expulsion from his second daycare center in two weeks, and now her accounting job with a high profile commercial firm is on the line. Soon Emma wishes losing her job was her only worry when it becomes evident that someone is not only watching her, but is determined to make contact with her son, forcing her to make the biggest decision of her life.

    evil, loss weighed against redemption and despair pitted against hope. It is an apocalyptic vision of man's battle to save life against a worldwide plague of death. When the viral strain dubbed "Captain Trips" works its way across the face of the country, the painfully few survivors are launched into a nightmare that's only just begun - but for the Dark Man, Randall Flagg, it's a dream come true. Based on the masterpiece of apocalyptic horror by celebrated author Stephen King, this lavish adaptation is packed with extras in a two-volume slipcased set!COLLECTING: The Stand : Captain Trips 1-5, The Stand: American Nightmares 1-5, The Stand: Soul Survivors 1-5, The Stand: Hardcases 1-5, The Stand : NO MAN'S LAND 1-5, The Stand: THE NIGHT HAS COME 1-5

    partly by selling enough of my household furniture to satisfy a moiety of their claim, ...

    Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Ranging from Lovecraft's own tales (including classics such as the novel At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and The Colour Out of Space) to works by his friends and contemporaries (Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, and Robert Bloch), to later followers (Henry Kuttner, Lin Carter, Brian McNaughton), and contemporary afficianados (Brian Stableford, Mark McLaughlin, Adrian Cole) -- and many more. This is one collection no Lovecraft fan can afford to miss! Included are: At the Mountains of Madness, by H. P. Lovecraft The Events at Poroth Farm, by T.E.D. Klein The Return of the Sorcerer, by Clark Ashton Smith Worms of the Earth, by Robert E. Howard Envy, the Gardens of Ynath, and the Sin of Cain, by Darrell Schweitzer Drawn from Life, by John Glasby In the Haunted Darkness, by Michael R. Collings The Innsmouth Heritage, by Brian Stableford The Doom That Came to Innsmouth, by Brian McNaughton The Shadow Over Innsmouth, by H. P. Lovecraft The Nameless Offspring, by Clark Ashton Smith The Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long The Faceless God, by Robert Bloch The Children of Burma, by Stephen Mark Rainey The Call of Cthulhu, by H.P. Lovecraft The Old One, by John Glasby The Holiness of Azedarac, by Clark Ashton Smith Those of the Air, by Darrell Schweitzer and Jason Van Hollander The Graveyard Rats, by Henry Kuttner Toadface, by Mark McLaughlin The Whisperer in Darkness, by H. P. Lovecraft The Eater of Hours, by Darrell Schweitzer Ubbo-Sathla, by Clark Ashton Smith The Space-Eaters, by Frank Belknap Long The Fire of Asshurbanipal, by Robert E. Howard Beyond the Wall of Sleep, by H.P. Lovecraft Something in the Moonlight, by Lin Carter The Salem Horror, by Henry Kuttner Down in Limbo, by Robert M. Price The Dweller in the Gulf, by Clark Ashton Smith Azathoth, by H.P. Lovecraft Pickmans Modem, by Lawrence Watt-Evans The Hunters from Beyond, by Clark Ashton Smith Ghoulmaster, by Brian McNaughton The Spawn of Dagon, by Henry Kuttner Dark Destroyer, by Adrian Cole The Dunwich Horror, by H. P. Lovecraft The Dark Boatman, by John Glasby Dagon and Jill, by John P. McCannAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for more entries in the Megapack series -- collections covering Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Mystery, Adventure ... and many more!"

    The Source Isle of Magic. It is the Age of Autumn, the island locked in slow, beautiful death. Nine hundred years have passed since Jerrod II, last of the Goblin Kings, was assassinated by a child. After centuries of tyranny, the bloody days of human rule still haunt the long memories of the Fae. Their resplendent bastions have dwindled despite the peace, all but replaced by the superstitious squalor of mortal Man. The human peasantry cowers in remote villages, defending themselves with weapons of iron. The Red Caps, a fanatical army of goblins, have marshaled once more, intent on returning Jerrod’s tyrannical bloodline to power. Padric, a human farmhand and friend to the Fae, finds himself in the midst of the growing war. Rosheen, an alluring piskie and Padric’s lifelong friend, struggles to help him survive. They ally themselves with Deglan Loamtoes, a bigoted gnome herbalist, and Pocket, a changeling orphan fostered by the avian Knights of the Valiant Spur. Beset from all sides by vengeful skin-changers, bloodthirsty marauders and fire-crazed fanatics, these four wayfarers must discover the true identity of Jerrod’s long lost progeny before the goblins reawaken the genocidal soldiers of living iron known as the Forge Born. Can they lay aside their individual prejudices, reveal their long-held secrets, and work with those they distrust to prevent Airlann’s annihilation? Can they stand together to find and destroy the last scion of the Goblin Kings?

    Every night, she begs him not to come to her. Every night, she aims her rifle at his head and fires. The last thing Chris expects—or wants—is for this nightmare to be real. But when he wakes up in the world of his dreams, he has to choose between the likelihood that he’s gone spectacularly bonkers or the possibility that he’s just been let in on the secret of the ages.Only one person in a generation may cross the worlds. These chosen few are the Gifted, called from Earth into Lael to shape the epochs of history—and Chris is one of them. But before he figures that out, he accidentally endangers both worlds by resurrecting a vengeful prince intent on claiming the powers of the Gifted for himself. Together with a suspicious princess and a guilt-ridden Cherazii warrior, Chris must hurl himself into a battle to save a country from war, two worlds from annihilation, and himself from a dream come way too true.

    and you survived?When it happens to Gwen Farris, she knows what to do without a doubt. Find the would be killers and stop them, before they can do it again. Stabbing a girl in the heart can be taken a little personally after all.The only problem is that she finds herself in a different world, one of industrial magic and steampunk style, a place both more polite, and unimaginably harsh, than the one she left behind.Thanks to her new friend, Constabulary Detective Bethany Westmorland, Gwen just might be able to make it in this strange place she'd never even dreamed could exist.But it will take everything she can bring to play, and more, before it's done.

    Hakkim has no use for the pleasures of the flesh: he condemns the women first to exile - and then to death. Cast into the desert, the concubines must rely on themselves and each other to escape from the new sultan's fanatical pursuit. But their goals go beyond mere survival: with the aid of the champions who emerge from among them, they intend to topple the usurper and retake Bessa from the repressive power that now controls it. The assassin, Zuleika, whose hands are weapons. The seer, Rem, whose tears are ink. The wise Gursoon, who was the dead sultan's canniest advisor. The camel-thief, Anwar Das, who offers his lying tongue to the concubines' cause. Together, they must forge the women of the harem into an army, a seraglio of steel, and use it to conquer a city. But even if they succeed, their troubles will just be beginning - because their most dangerous enemy is within their own number...

    In Elena's case, Fairy Godmother. Sadly, Tradition says Fairy Godmother's can't take lovers, so Elena mus deal with princes who try to rise above their place. And there's one in particular who's making a proper ass of himself.....ONE GOOD KNIGHT The virgin sacrifice for a fierce maruading dragon, Princess Andromeda intends to break Tradition and defeat the beast on her own - but it doesn't turn out quite that way. Enter Sir George, a most unexpected and unusual Knight...with whom she'll forge a different path for the story to take.FORTUNE'S FOOL A daughter of the Sea King, Katya is spying on a strangely quiet kingdom when a more urgent mission comes up. An evil Jinn is abducting maidens, and when Katya is taken, too, she finds herself in over her head. Now the only things she can count on - besides her native wit and courage - are a Fortunate Fool and an origami bird!

    Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can't read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can't be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf's mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she's dragged deep into a hidden underworld of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her. TOP 5 FINALIST for 2012 Best Indie Book, Young Adult Fiction - The Kindle Book ReviewOpen MindsWhen everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.Closed HeartsWhen you control minds, only your heart can be used against you.Free SoulsWhen your mind is a weapon, freedom comes at a price.The Mindjack Trilogy contains the first three novels of the Mindjack Saga, a young adult science fiction series. There are three novels in the original trilogy, five novellas that accompany the series, and plans for another trilogy in the works (see Susan’s latest novella, The Locksmith, for a peek at a new Mindjack character for the coming trilogy – or better yet, subscribe to her newsletter, and get The Locksmith for free!).READING ORDERMindjack Trilogy (novels): Open Minds, Closed Hearts, Free SoulsMindjack Origins (shorts): Mind Games, The Handler, The Scribe, KeeperThe Locksmith is a standalone novella that can be read independently of the trilogy and novellas.

    A late starter, Baker published her first short stories in 1997, at the age of forty-five. From then until the end of her life, she wrote prolifically and well, leaving an astonishing body of work behind.The Best of Kage Baker is a treasure trove that gathers together twenty stories and novellas, eleven of which have never been collected anywhere. The volume is bookended by a pair of tales from her best known and best loved creation: The Company, with its vivid cast of time traveling immortals. In “Noble Mold,” Mendoza the botanist and Joseph, the ancient “facilitator,” find themselves in 19th century California, where a straightforward acquisition grows unexpectedly complex, requiring, in the end, a carefully engineered “miracle.” In “The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park,” an autistic Company operative named Ezra encounters a lost soul named Kristy Ann, and finds a way to give her back the world that she has lost.Among the volume’s many other highlights are a pair of brilliant Company novellas: the Hugo Award-nominated “Son, Observe the Time” and “Welcome to Olympos, Mr. Hearst,” a tour de force set in the Hollywood of the 1930s and featuring an encounter with legendary newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. There is also a generous assortment of equally brilliant standalone tales, including “Calamari Curls,” the account of a faded resort town that takes a surprising turn into Lovecraftian terrain, and the World Fantasy Award-nominated “Caverns of Mystery,” in which ancient stories play themselves out repeatedly, shaping and altering the world around them.These are only a few of the pleasures waiting within this book. The Best of Kage Baker is exactly what the title proclaims: the best short work of a gifted and irreplaceable writer. Anyone with an interest in first-rate imaginative fiction – anyone with an interest in lovingly crafted fiction of any kind – needs to read this book.

    Readers set out with timid Mole as he explores the world, learning about courage and friendship through a series of misadventures with Rat, Toad, and Badger in The Wind in the Willows. From the River Bank, tumble down the rabbit hole with Alice to a madcap world where nonsense rules in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. From Victorian England, it’s on to a small New England town in Little Women, where Jo March and her three sisters struggle to achieve their dreams amid the shifting roles of women in the Civil War era. Sent to live with her uncle, orphan Mary Lennox uncovers the mysteries of Misselthwaite Manor in The Secret Garden. Readers then journey through the English countryside and London with a gentle, hardworking horse who experiences kindness and cruelty at the hands of different masters in Black Beauty.Whether encountering these cherished tales for the first or the fiftieth time, readers will find enchantment in this collection.

    Novels Tarzan of the Apes The Return of Tarzan The Beasts of Tarzan The Son of Tarzan Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar Tarzan the Terrible Collections Jungle Tales of Tarzan Tarzan the Untamed

    Gruffalo and the Gruffalos Child

    Unmanned weaponized drones already exist—they’re widely used by America in our war efforts in the Middle East. In Kill Decision, bestselling author Daniel Suarez takes that fact and the real science behind it one step further, with frightening results. Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned—and thanks to her research, automated—drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention. Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power, because for thousands of years the “kill decision” during battle has remained in the hands of humans—and off-loading that responsibility to machines will bring unintended, possibly irreversible, consequences. But as forces even McKinney and Odin don’t understand begin to gather, and death rains down from above, it may already be too late to save humankind from destruction at the hands of our own technology.

    Her stories have gained many honors, including the Writers of the Future award, Locus Award, and the Nebula Award. This current collection collects 16 of her more recent stories, as well as earlier work not previously collected. It also includes a previously unpublished story. FINDING HOME:Key SignaturesThe Weight of WishesFAIRY TALES:How I Came to Marry a HerpetologistStrikes of the HeartSwitchedFINDING EACH OTHER:SourheartInner ChildHome For ChristmasAnger ManagementTrees Perpetual of SleepHostile TakeoverHere We Come A-WanderingPERMEABLE BORDERS:The Wisdom of DisasterA Fault Against the DeadThe Trouble with the TruthHOME:Gone to Heaven Shouting

    ***Best Small Press Debut of 2012 -- The Atlantic Wire***May We Shed These Human Bodies peers through vast spaces and skies with the world's most powerful telescope to find humanity: wild and bright and hard as diamonds.

    15 Classic Novels and Short Stories by a Grand Master of Science Fiction!The People of the Crater (1947 under pseudonym Andrew North)The Gifts of Asti (1948 under pseudonym Andrew North)Plague Ship (1956)Star Born (1957)All Cats Are Gray (1953 in the August-September Fantastic Universe Science Fiction)Murders for Sale (1953 written with Grace Allen Hogarth)The Time Traders (1958)Voodoo Planet (1959)Storm Over Warlock (1960)Star Hunter (1961)The Defiant Agents (1962)Key Out of Time (1963)Ralestone Luck (1938)Ride Proud, Rebel! (1961)Rebel Spurs (1962)

    Don't miss it. In just moments, it can be on an ereader near you.

    Cold, brilliant and desperate to prove himself as a Cultural Theorist, Seg breaks away from the recon squad sent to protect him, to scout out prime vita sources. But to find his prize he must face his biggest fear: water. Fiery and headstrong, Ama receives an ultimatum from her people's tyrannical overlords: betray her own kind or give up the boat she calls home, forever. When a wealthy traveler hires her as a guide, Ama thinks her prayers are answered - until a violent murder reveals Seg's true identity. On the run, over land and water, hunted by a ruthless and relentless tracker, and caught in the schemes of a political powerhouse, Seg and Ama will have to strike an uneasy truce to survive. The fate of two worlds is in their hands.

    A short story set on a certain night in the court at Shejidan, on the eve of a birthday...somewhat before Bren Cameron's arrival.

    Left suddenly eighty years out of date, she is on the run in a world she no longer knows, caught in the middle of a human-alien war while agents of Toren hunt her for the information only she has--the location of the pristine world of Sequoyah.The Long Way Home is the first book in the Sequoyah trilogy.

    Telling the story of Artyom between the fateful events of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, The Gospel According to Artyom serves to link both stories together and give an unexpected insight into what really happened in the beginning of it all.

    Set two weeks before Descent’s extraordinary events, the series reveals the lives of seven seemingly unrelated men, and their everyday challenges.In the world of 7th Son, “everyday” challenges are far from ordinary. Each of these seven stories stars a unique John Michael Smith. Witness criminal profiler Dr. Mike’s quest to hunt an unstoppable serial killer. Watch blue-collar musician John realize a lifelong dream. Ride shotgun with USMC captain Michael on a dangerous black ops mission in the Middle East. Behold the worldwide influence of deranged computer hacker Kilroy2.0 … and more.7th Son: 7 Days represents the creative reboot of the popular 7th Son thriller series. Designed to tightly integrate with 7th Son: Descent’s print novel storyline, 7 Days is a perfect introduction to the 7th Son universe. Meet the Beta clones … before they knew they were clones.

    Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley. But when a random transmission beams through the radio of his 1956 Cessna, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists outside their tightly controlled perimeter. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return and follows its static-broken trail, only to find something that is both better and worse than anything he could ever hope for.

    But the Stampede's many enemies have kept their motors running, and they're back on his trail and determined to bring Vash to ground - hard! And a new crowd of bounty hunters, badasses, and brain-cases are also looking to cash in the astronomical price on his head!Yasuhiro's Nightow's Trigun is a worldwide sensation, and Trigun Maximum Omnibus Volume 1 presents Nightow's signature Trigun series in value-priced editions of nearly 600 pages!Contains Trigun Maximum Volumes 1-3.

    Boringville seemed more like it. But as it turns out, the vacation was anything but boring! There’s a surprise in every closet here—and not the good kind. Alien creatures are lurking, mysterious dolls are growing, and there’s a sinister twelve-year-old boy with a powerful hypnotic pendant who may hold the key to the entire mystery. Now if Randi can just escape a monster’s clutches, send some space visitors back to who knows where, and regain control of her free will, she might just get her family back home in one piece. It’s another scary good read from the master of shriek-out-loud horror, R.L. Stine.

    It’s a nightmare reflection of the society you inhabit, a surreal explosion of pop, punk, and the post-apocalypse. Over the last decade, Bizarro Fiction has changed the definition of avant garde, it’s abolished the traditional prose of yesterday and established a new precedent for awesome. Collected in this anthology is some of the best weird fiction from the past decade. Award-winning writers, cult prodigies and burgeoning talents all collected together in one place. This is what you’ve done with the last ten years of your life.With stories by:D. Harlan Wilson, Alissa Nutting, Joe R. Lansdale, Carlton Mellick III, Kevin L. Donihe, , Ryan Boudinot, Vincent Sakowski, Cody Goodfellow, Amelia Gray, Robert Devereaux, Mykle Hansen, Athena Villaverde, Matthew Revert, Garrett Cook, Roy Kesey, Jeremy Robert Johnson, Aimee Bender, Ian Watson & Roberto Quaglia, Jeremy C. Shipp, Andersen Prunty, Jedediah Berry, Andrea Kneeland, Kurt Dinan, David Agranoff, Ben Loory, Kris Saknussemm, Stephen Graham Jones, Bentley Little, David W. Barbee, and Tom Piccirilli.

    But on the eve of her return from bonding a wind spirit, a night that should have been a celebration, she finds instead that her father has come to take her home. Now, Miranda must choose between her duty to her family and her future at the Spirit Court. But while she's trying to make her parents see reason and avoid an arranged marriage to a man she can't stand, she stumbled across the one one spirit who needs her more than any other, a caged ghosthound who doesn't want her help. To save him, Miranda will have to earn the dog's trust, but what she gets in return is a friendship deeper than anything she expected. Word Count ~ 19,000

    R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings consistently tops polls as the best-loved literary work of all time. Now medieval scholar and Tolkien expert Christopher Snyder presents the most in-depth exploration yet of Tolkien's source materials for Middle-earth—from the languages, poetry, and mythology of medieval Europe and ancient Greece to the halls of Oxford and the battlefields of World War I. Fueled by the author's passion for all things Tolkien, this richly illustrated book also reveals the surprisingly pervasive influence of Tolkien's timeless fantasies on modern culture.

    Tread not lightly on ancient lands that have been discovered by this collection of intrepid authors. In DARK TALES OF LOST CIVILIZATIONS, you will unearth an anthology of twenty-five previously unpublished horror and speculative fiction stories, relating to aspects of civilizations that are crumbling, forgotten, rediscovered, or perhaps merely spoken about in great and fearful whispers. What is it that lures explorers to distant lands where none have returned? Where is Genghis Khan buried? What happened to Atlantis? Who will displace mankind on Earth? What laments have the Witches of Oz? Answers to these mysteries and other tales are presented within this critically acclaimed anthology by the enclosed authors. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction by Eric J. Guignard Angel of Destruction by Cynthia D. Witherspoon The Door Beyond the Water by David Tallerman To Run a Stick Through a Fish by Mark Lee Pearson Quivira by Jackson Kuhl Directions by Michael G. Cornelius Quetzalcoatl's Conquistador by Jamie Lackey Königreich der Sorge (Kingdom of Sorrow) by C. Deskin Rink Gestures of Faith by Fadzlishah Johanabas Bare Bones by Curtis James McConnell British Guiana, 1853 by Folly Blaine The Nightmare Orchestra by Chelsea Armstrong The Funeral Procession by Jay R. Thurston Requiem by Jason Andrew Gilgamesh and the by Mountain by Bruce L. Priddy Buried Treasure by Rob Rosen The Small, Black God by Caw Miller In Eden by Cherstin Holtzman We Are Not the Favored Children by Matthew Borgard Rebirth in Dreams by A.J. French Whale of a Time by Gitte Christensen Sins of our Fathers by Wendra Chambers The Talisman of Hatra by Andrew S. Williams Sumeria to the Stars by Jonathan Vos Post The Tall Grass by Joe R. Lansdale The Island Trovar by JC Hemphill (with interior illustration by Ron Perovich)BLURB: "Bright new voices offer chilling glimpses of the darkness beyond mere night." -David Brin, author of Earth, The Postman, and Otherness.

    A little boy betrays his father to the harsh mercies of Santa Claus. A widower suspects his dead wife’s face is growing over his own. A man goes to Hell, and finds he’s roommate to the ghost of Hitler’s pet dog. Giant spiders, killer angels, ghost cat photography, and the haunted house right at the centre of the Garden of Eden.Deliciously frightening, darkly satirical, and always unexpected, Robert Shearman has won the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Edge Hill Reader’s Prize. Remember Why You Fear Me gathers together his best dark fiction, the most celebrated stories from his acclaimed books, and ten new tales that have never been collected before.This ebook contains four bonus novelettes drawn from throughout Shearman’s impressive career: “Tiny Deaths,” “Jolly Roger,” “The Big Boy’s Big Book of Tricks,” and the previously unpublished “The Girl from Ipanema.”

    Zaius! A not-to-be-missed stand-alone graphic novel.

    Then, after he becomes a man, he is confronted by a horrifying and unavoidable choice between two unacceptable options.But it doesn't stop there.For once his decision has been made, and the consequences accepted, he finds himself in a new and terrifying reality threatening all that he loves, where his first wrong choice will be his last.

    Perhaps one day they would send a message to Earth, calling them to new worlds. Even if they did, any response would take thousands of years to arrive. But no matter what would happen, Ah Quan would always hold to his parents living in a country called China. He would hold to that small village in the dry West of that country. And he would hold to the small road of that village, the road on which his journey began.This is a sentimental work by Liu Cixin. The story's narrative unfolds against the accurate and fully realized background of a modern China —A country where bustling cities, the super rich and a cutting edge aerospace industry can be found next to remote villages, an impoverished peasantry and the most basic forms of labor. Through a long line of dramatic and colorful lucky breaks our protagonist crosses this chasm, climbing the rungs from an absolute nobody, a peasant boy whose greatest dream is a full stomach, to become a lone hero, dedicated to the cause of space exploration. Though many regard his destiny a tragedy, he himself welcomes the glorious deadly mission. Realized in natural language and vivid imagery, the “Sun of China” full of heroism and bitter-sweet melancholy. Which is to say nothing of the guest appearance by a well-known luminary that is sure to leave you astonished.China Galaxy Science Fiction Award of 2002.

    . . and heaven.One man stands in their way.In 1476 BC, the Israelites turned their backs on the One True God by worshipping a golden calf. For their transgression, forty were cursed to walk the earth forever. Banished from their people, they formed their own tribe, The 13th Tribe.Now, three and a half millennia later, the remnant of this Tribe continues to seek redemption through vigilante justice-goaded by dark forces in the spiritual realm. They are planning a bold strike modeled on the Israelites' conquest of Canaan: the complete destruction of a major city-only now, they possess the horrific technology of modern weapons to ensure their success.Jagger Baird is a husband and father…and security guard of an archaeological dig at the base of Mount Sinai. Jagger suddenly finds himself in a fight for the future as he discovers the Tribe's plans. But to win this fight, he must overcome his own struggles with faith and self-worth - as well as his anger at God for a past tragedy.This taut thriller by acclaimed novelist Robert Liparulo fuses tomorrow's technology with faith and non-stop action for a supernatural suspense novel unlike any other.

    Failstate) is a contestant in a reality TV show called America’s Next Superhero. His goal? To become an official, licensed superhero. It doesn’t help matters that his powers are often out of control, that his handsome big brother is wining the hearts of the voters, or that Robin can’t even remove his mask or viewers would shriek from fright. When one of his competitors is murdered, Robin sets out to find the killer, hoping for justice and to prove he’s no failure.

    Upon its rooftops and among the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers - the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe...and kill those judged corrupt.But when a conspiracy blooms within Gujaareh's great temple, the Gatherer Ehiru must question everything he knows. Someone, or something, is murdering innocent dreamers in the goddess's name, and Ehiru must now protect the woman he was sent to kill - or watch the city be devoured by war and forbidden magic.

    Despite his humble roots, Asher has grand dreams. And they call him to Dorana, home of princes, beggars, and the warrior mages who have protected the kingdom for generations.Little does Asher know, however, that his arrival in the city is being closely watched. . .Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, one of the most popular adventure fantasy series in recent years, is compiled into one volume for the first time. Included in this omnibus edition are: The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage.

    Stories include Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award nominee "Her Voice in a Bottle," Bram Stoker Award finalist "The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft" (with Nick Mamatas), and three new stories appearing here for first time: contemporary fantasy novelette "The Fairy Library," SF short story "The Haunted Mech Suit," and a new story set in the author's popular Marla Mason urban fantasy series, "Cages." With illustrations by acclaimed artists Kat Beyer and Bradley K. McDevitt.

    The son of infamous London criminal Mathew “Tommy Gun” Spork, he has turned his back on his family’s mobster history and aims to live a quiet life. That orderly existence is suddenly upended when Joe activates a particularly unusual clockwork mechanism. His client, Edie Banister, is more than the kindly old lady she appears to be—she’s a retired international secret agent. And the device? It’s a 1950s doomsday machine. Having triggered it, Joe now faces the wrath of both the British government and a diabolical South Asian dictator who is also Edie’s old arch-nemesis. On the upside, Joe’s got a girl: a bold receptionist named Polly whose smarts, savvy and sex appeal may be just what he needs. With Joe’s once-quiet world suddenly overrun by mad monks, psychopathic serial killers, scientific geniuses and threats to the future of conscious life in the universe, he realizes that the only way to survive is to muster the courage to fight, help Edie complete a mission she abandoned years ago and pick up his father’s old gun...

    The story was nominated for multiple awards and is now recognized as one of its author’s signature accomplishments.Over the years, Shepard has revisited this world in a number of brilliant, independent narratives that have illuminated the Dragon’s story from a variety of perspectives. This loosely connected series reached a dramatic crossroads in the astonishing novella, “The Taborin Scale”. The Dragon Griaule now gathers all of these hard to find stories into a single generous volume. The capstone of the book—and a particular treat for Shepard fans—is “The Skull,” a new 40,000 word novel that advances the story in unexpected ways, connecting the ongoing saga of an ancient and fabulous beast with the political realities of Central America in the 21st century. Augmented by a group of engaging, highly informative story notes, The Dragon Griaule is an indispensable volume, the work of a master stylist with a powerful—and always unpredictable—imagination.

    Seismic in its permeable temporal and geographic states, Beneath the Liquid Skin examines humankind's response to the environment: our pursuit of milder emotional, political, social, and cultural climes; our flight from ecological catastrophe; and our refuge in safer mythical domains. Although her habitat is exotic, Berit Ellingsen saturates-with humanistic and preternatural harmony-a remarkably vulnerable yet enduring surface.

    But in Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Vampire, Jack is a vampire and Holmes' refusal to believe it could be his undoing as the two match wits in this delightfully original first novel.

    Now, with the cruel touch of the sun fading into memory, they've returned to claim their rightful place amidst humanity; as its masters.Fading Light collects 30 monstrous stories by authors new and experienced, in the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, each bringing their own interpretation of what lurks in the dark.Contributors: Mark Lawrence, Gene O'Neill, William Meikle, David Dalglish, Gord Rollo, Nick Cato, Adam Millard, Stephen McQuiggan, Gary W Olson, Tom Olbert, Mark Pantoja, Malon Edwards, Carl Barker, Jake Elliot, Lee Mather, Georgina Kamsika, Dorian Dawes, Timothy Baker, DL Seymour, Wayne Ligon, TSP Sweeney, Stacey Turner, Gef Fox, Edward M Erdelac, Henry P Gravelle, & Ryan Lawler, with bonus stories from CM Saunders, Regan Campbell, Jonathan Pine, Peter Welmerink, & Alex Marshall.

    A gun slinging Muslim wizard in the old West. A disgruntled super villain pining for prison reform. A cybernetic soldier who might or might not be receiving messages from God. Prepare yourself to be transported to new and fantastical worlds.The short stories in this collection have been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell awards. They’ve been reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy and other anthologies, recorded for numerous podcasts, and translated into several foreign languages. Now they are collected in one place for the first time. Experience for yourself the original voice of one of fantasy’s rising stars!STORIES IN THIS ANTHOLOGYWhere Virtue LivesHooves and the Hovel of Abdel JameelaJudgment of Swords and SoulsDoctor Diablo Goes Through the MotionsGeneral Akmed’s Revenge?Mister Hadj’s Sunset RideThe Faithful Soldier, PromptedIron Eyes and the Watered Down World

    Five fantasy novels set in the magical world of Lyra

    His aunt, Queen Gaia, invites Jona to the castle for the summer to help Lee learn social graces. Although Her Majesty makes it clear Jona is no better than a servant, Jona and Lee become best friends. When the summer comes to a close, the two continue to correspond through a pair of magical boxes conjured by the Wizard Farland. Nine years later, Jona and Lee are closer than ever, but any romantic feelings between them are forbidden by law. Are the differences between a prince and a commoner too large to overcome, or are they just a matter of magical misperception?

    me.And now someone's trying to kill me.When everyone has a motive, everyone is a suspect, and I don't even know who all the players are. It's a race against time to figure out who wants me dead, and why, and how to prevent all the underground conspiracies, aliens, cryptids, and things that go bump in the night from throwing the world into chaos while I'm at it.Just another normal day at the office, really.

    It is coming.It is 1874 and Gideon Long is dying. Wandering the savage desert of the New Mexico Territory, he craves a last drink before he bleeds out. On the brink of madness, he discovers a place best left forgotten and makes an insidious bargain: escape his fate and incur a debt too great for one man. His country will pay the price over the twisting course of more than a century and Gideon will learn there are worse things to bargain with than the devil.(Source: back cover)Liminal States is the debut novel from SomethingAwful editor Zack Parsons, and it's extraordinary. It begins as a grim, relentless western novel that describes a doomed love triangle between a simple lawman, the twisted scion of an land-baron, and a woman who has married one but thinks she might belong with the other. After a botched train robbery and an epic battle, Gideon (the rich man's son) finds himself gutshot in the desert, led by a mysterious spirit animal to a mystical pool that dissolves him and then reincarnates him, young and whole and vital and immortal. Gideon goes back for the woman he loves, only to discover that she has died in childbirth, and, enraged, he kidnaps the lawman who was her husband and throws him into the pool, too. And now they are both immortal. Every time they die, they are reborn in the pool, over and over, locked in orbit around each other like twin suns being drawn into a destructive nova. This first third of the novel is dark and bloody and remorseless, a story of revenge and tragedy that doesn't let up, until...

    Miao, the clan elder, a wise, grave Siamese; Katar, a cat loved by his followers and feared by his enemies; Hulo, the great warrior tom; Beraal, the beautiful queen, swift and deadly when challenged; Southpaw, the kitten whose curiosity can always be counted on to get him into trouble… Unfettered and wild, these and the other members of the tribe fear no one, go where they will, and do as they please. Until, one day, a terrified orange-coloured kitten with monsoon green eyes and remarkable powers, lands in their midst—setting off a series of extraordinary events that will change their world forever.

    G. Wells’s spaceships, there was Frank Reade, globe-trotting inventor and original steampunk hero. Frank Reade magazines were the world’s first science fiction periodicals, enthralling millions of readers with tales of fantastic inventions and adventures. Now many of the spectacular images from the vintage dime novel series are being reprinted for the first time in more than a century, along with excerpts from the action-packed stories. In Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention, this lost legacy of Americana is interwoven with a biography of the "real" Reade family—inventors and explorers who traveled the world with their helicopter airships, submarines, and robots, and who encountered figures like Geronimo and Houdini. This epic saga is brought to life in the multimedia style of the authors’ previous volume, the critically acclaimed Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel. Frank Reade is part–science fiction, part–alternate history, and entirely exciting!Praise for Frank Reade: “A retrofuturist visual feast.” —Wall Street Journal“A stunning multimedia confection of the highest order that creates a detailed and delightful world.” —Publishers Weekly“The book’s allure owes everything to its deadpan prose and hundreds of perfectly faked photos and graphics that replicate mass-media and commercial ephemera of the Victorian era—the result of immersive research.” —TheAtlantic.com “Portland-based Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett are a husband-and-wife team of multimedia artists who have produced a variety of work. . . . Their new book, Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention, is their best work yet.” —io9.com

    Set in The Judicial System of the Earth-Alien Alliance. Miles does not appear.To pay off her law school debts, Kerrie works in the public defender’s office at the Interspecies Court. She has more clients than she can defend, most of them from cultures she does not understand. The public defender’s office loses almost all of its cases, but sometimes it gets a win. Kerrie thinks she has a winner. But does she? Or will winning the case mean she loses at everything else?

    A desperate American military has created a power vacuum that needs to be filled. Religious fanatics, mercenaries, occultists, and soldiers are all vying for power. So how do regular folks try to get by?If you're Dagr and Kinza, a former economics professor and a streetwise hoodlum, you turn to dealing in the black market. But everything is about to change, because they have inherited a very important prisoner: the star torturer of Hussein’s recently collapsed regime, Captain Hamid, who promises them untold riches if they smuggle him out of Baghdad.With the heat on and nothing left for them in Baghdad, they enlist the help of Private Hoffman, their partner in crime and a U.S. Marine. In the chaos of a city without rule, getting out of Baghdad is no easy task and when they become embroiled in a mystery surrounding an ancient watch that doesn’t tell time, nothing will ever be the same. With a satiric eye firmly cast on the absurdity of human violence, Escape from Baghdad! features shades of Catch-22 and Three Kings while giving voice, ribald humor, and firepower to to people often referred to as "collateral damage."

    A girl meets a young man with the legs of a chicken. A boy is employed by a goddess running a pawnshop. A group of teenagers are trapped in an enchanted forest for 900 days. A man finds himself in an MRT station beyond Taft, a station that was not supposed to exist. A student claims to have seen the last few digits of pi. Someone’s sister gets abducted by mermaids.Includes stories that have appeared in the critically acclaimed anthologies Philippine Speculative Fiction and Alternative Alamat, and stories that have won prizes in the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards and the Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Literary Contest.

    When he is ransomed by a mysterious woman and reunited with Aric, he joins an unlikely group committed to the downfall of the slave trade. But it isn't long before he realizes they are being hunted--not only by the blood-lusting head of the slave ring, but by an ancient evil that wants their souls.

    

    He cheated on his girlfriend, knocked up a powerful drug lord's sister, and abused vast quantities of illegal narcotic substances. Whoever ran him over with a big shiny SUV was doing the world a favour. His very male, tattooed body is the last place Elizabeth Rae Perry--a member of an ancient Egyptian cult--expected to reincarnate in, instead of the three-year-old girl she'd been promised.Not only must she now come to terms with her new existence in the body of a disagreeable man, and clean up the mess he made of his life, she also has to unravel the mystery of why House Adamastor's chapter house is standing empty and find a way to protect a dangerous secret she had no idea she was supposed to keep. As if fate couldn’t deal her another blow, she has also attracted the attention of a malicious and potentially dangerous ghost. And to top it all off, she must deal with the consequences of finding love in a most unexpected place.

    Le Guin, Laura Miller, Audrey Niffenegger, Tao Nyeu, Arthur Phillips, and Lane Smith.

    When a double murder claims the life of a city prosecutor in the exclusive covenant community of Atlantis, Rhodes is assigned as liaison between the SFPD investigation and the investigation run by the private security force known as the ASM.Public Prosecutor Katherine Radcliffe was the face of local politics, fighting to resurrect the fallen city of San Francisco by bridging the gap between the private wealth of Atlantis and the forgotten populace of the public sector. Found in the arms of her ex-sensual companion turned corporate psychologist lover, her death resonates with Rhodes and the people of San Francisco on a personal level.With tensions building between the classes and evidence mounting, Rhodes finds herself delving into the past of the man at the top of the ASM corporate ladder, an inexplicable mercenary turned upper-class messiah , known as Atlas.When she discovers that his past remarkably resembles her own , she can’t help but force a confrontation that brings her face to face with a man she cannot understand, a suspect she knows she has to pursue, and a truth she knows she may not want to uncover.

    When he is partnered with Lorn Ribaldy, the nephew of known traitor Master Hecktor Ribaldy, he learns his dreams are in jeopardy. There are those who want to keep undesirables out and that includes Lorn and anyone associated with him. In a meeting with Head Master Cat Meredith and Head Master Mage Jalen, Toby and Lorn are offered a way to change their status from provisional to permanent: find out why Toby’s father disappeared during a standard recon mission for the High Council. Now all they have to do is keep up with their homework and survive a little espionage.

    Petersburg, amidst an uneasy truce with the revolution, there exists a secret trade in looted ikons. But who are the dark strangers seeking for the Gate of the Archangel? In the small town of Tzern, news arrives of the death of the Emperor; meanwhile a postmaster, a priest, a prophet and a war-wearied soldier watch the dawn for signs of the future. Constantinople: A quest for the lost faiths of the former Ottoman Empire leads a French scholar to believe that the strangest may also be the truest. On the edges of Europe, exiles and idealists meet in a café to talk of their hopes—while sinister forces begin to march. These stories, exquisitely told by Mark Valentine, are about individuals caught up in the endings of old empires—and of what comes next.ContentsA Certain PowerThe Dawn at TzernA Walled Garden on the BosphorosCarden in CapaeaThe Bookshop in Novy SvetThe Autumn KeeperThe Amber CigaretteThe Ka of AstarakahnThe Original LightThe Unrest at AachenThe Mascarons of the Late EmpireAcknowledgmentsMark Valentine is the author of several volumes of short stories including The Collected Connoisseur (Tartarus 2010) and Secret Europe (Ex Occidente Press 2012), both titles co-written with John Howard. He has also written a biography of Arthur Machen (Seren 1990); and Time, a Falconer (Tartarus Press 2011), a study of the diplomat and fantasist "Sarban". He currently edits Wormwood, a journal of the literature of the fantastic, supernatural and decadent.

    This is Christopher Barzak’s tribute to them: three stories and an essay that enter into a humane surrealism that turns away from the unconscious and toward magic.Sometimes the stories themselves seem to be paintings. Sometimes painter and writer may be characters, regarding each other through a painful otherness, talking in shared secrets. Barzak’s stories are huge with the spacious strangeness of worlds where there is always more room for a woman to escape her tormenters, or outgrow an older self. Here we find:A bird-maker and a star-catcher whose shared historyspills over into the birds and the stars themselves.A girl who outgrows her clothes, her house, and finallyher town—and leaves to find her body a new home.A landlord, whose marriage, motherhood, separation,sexual exploration, and excursions into self-portraitureall take place within a single apartment building.In “Remembering the Body: Reconstructing the Female in Surrealism,” Barzak comments on the images that inspired these stories and discusses his own position as a writer among painters.

    The contributors include many fine poets, among them Ursula K. Le Guin, Delia Sherman, Theodora Goss, Amal El-Mohtar, Vandana Singh, Nisi Shawl, Greer Gilman, Sonya Taaffe, Athena Andreadis, Jo Walton, and Catherynne M. Valente. Editor Rose Lemberg writes in her introduction that ''Literature of the fantastic allows us to create worlds and visions of society, origins, social justice and identity, but notes that even though we are in the world, our voices are folded into the creases. We speak from memory of stories told sidewise. We speak from pain; is that serious enough? The world has not been welcoming, but what other world is there?''''In these pages,'' Lemberg summarizes, ''you will find works in a variety of genres--works that can be labeled mythic, fantastic, science fictional, historical, surreal, magic realist, and unclassifiable; poems by people of color and white folks; by poets based in the US, Canada, Britain, India, Spain, and the Philippines; by first- and second-generation immigrants; by the able-bodied and the disabled; by straight and queer poets who may identify as women, men, trans, and genderqueer.''

    Her handling of relations with the Quurzod lead to a battle that causes the Ivoire’s anacapa drive to malfunction, stranding the ship in foldspace. Mae can’t remember what she did wrong on the mission: all she knows is that she’s one of the few survivors. If she doesn’t recall it, she won’t be able to prevent another disaster when the Ivoire escapes foldspace. If the Ivoire escapes foldspace. Because what no one talks about—and everyone fears—is that the Ivoire is becalmed…forever.One of the untold stories in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s award-winning “Diving” universe, “Becalmed” stands alone—yet answers questions long-time readers might have about the history of the Fleet.“Becalmed” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch was first published in Asimov’s SF Magazine, April/May, 2011.

    This is the biggest collection available as a kindle title.Included in this collection:1. The Great God Pan2. The Shining PyramidThe Three Imposters3. The Novel of the Black Seal4. The Novel of the White Powder5. The Red Hand6. The Hill of Dreams7. The White PeopleThe Angels of Mons8. The Bowmen9. The Soldiers' Rest10. The Monstrance11. The Dazzling Light12. The Bowmen And Other Noble Ghosts13. The Inmost Light14. A Fragment of Life15. The Secret Glory16. The Terror17. Dr. Duthoit's Vision18. Out of the Earth19. The Great Return20. Far Off Things21. Hieroglyphics22. A Double Return23. The Lost Club

    Berry - WINNER - Sir Julius Vogel Award 'Best New Talent' 2012Just when he'd been looking forward to another quiet night delving into mind-bending arcane lore and mentally wrestling with the deepest magicks, along came this mysterious thief to disturb him. Why was it nothing in Ragonnard's life ever went to plan? Rather than turn her in to the law (or into something else), the young sorcerer offers Ganfrey a deal – steal a portrait from the palace for him. But it's no ordinary portrait. For 500 years it's been a magical prison for Syranax, the most powerful sorcerer in history. His enchanted Amulet was entombed with him, and Ragonnard wants it. More than anything. In releasing the Amulet, Ragonnard unleashes a devastating sequence of sorcerous events, the like of which has not been seen for hundreds of years. And, no, things definitely don't go to plan. Ned Merrivel is a time traveller from the future. His job is to sort it out when it all goes wrong and save the world somehow. If only he can find a pair of trousers first.

    A collection of Vance's early stories, including The New Prime (1950), The Men Return (1955), Green Magic (1956), Ullward's Retreat (1957), Dodkin's Job (1958), The Moon Moth (1960), Alfred's Ark (1964), Sulwen's Planet (1966), and Rumfuddle (1972).

    When Mymnir flees the devastation of Ragnarok, she hopes to escape all that bound her to Ásgarðr — a heedless pantheon, a domineering brother, and her neglectful father-master, Óðinn. But the white raven, a being of memory and magic, should know that the past is not so easily left behind. No matter how far she flies, she cannot evade her family… In planting seeds of the old world in the new, Mymnir becomes queen of a land with as many problems as the one she fled. Her long-lived Fae children ignite and fan feuds that span generations; lives are lost and loves won because of their tampering. Told in thirteen parts, Midnight and Moonshine follows the Beaufort and Laveaux families, part-human, part-Fae, as they battle, thrive and survive in Mymnir’s kingdom. Midnight and Moonshine is a collection of interconnected tales with links between them as light and strong as spider-silk. From fire giants to whispering halls, disappearing children to evening-wolves, fairy hills to bewitched cypress trees, and talking heads to moonshiners of a special sort, Midnight and Moonshine takes readers on a journey from ninth century Vinland to America’s Deep South in the present day. Hannett and Slatter have created a mosaic novel of moments, story-tiles as strange as witchwood and withywindles. Midnight and Moonshine is a rich tapestry of dark fantasy, fairy tale and speculation.

    Derelict hotels, showground rides. Even dungeons far below ruined Hungarian castles. (Okay, especially in Hungarian dungeons.) Old family fights can go on forever, especially if you’re undead. If an opportunity came to save someone else’s family, the way you couldn’t save your own, would you take it? Your family might include ghosts, or zombies, or vampires. Maybe they just have allergies. Nobody’s perfect. Family history can weigh on the present like a stone. But the thing about families is, you can’t escape them. Not ever. And mostly, you don’t want to. . Table of Contents Introduction by Seanan McGuire Stalemate Thrall The Truth About Brains Showtime

    Ancient rivals are scattered, friendships are broken, and the dragons, djinn, selkies, vampires and gargoyles are beginning to step out of the shadows and into the light.But the new world may not be what they expect. Dragonlord Janx faces more than he bargained for when human magic interferes with his own. Half-vampire Ursula Hopkins is only starting to understand what she may have unleashed by awakening her brethren, and Margrit Knight herself still has debts to pay after the death of a djinn…Watch the aftermath unfold in these five new stories of the Old Races!

    Anticipating questions about his shift in genre, Hart writes that "God is no more likely (and probably a good deal less likely) to be found in theology than in poetry and fiction."These stories -- "The Devil and Pierre Gernet," "The House of Apollo," "A Voice from the Emerald World," "The Ivory Gate," and "The Other" -- beguile and entrance the reader through Hart's engrossing, opulent writing style and the complex characters he evokes and explores.Often bedazzling, sometimes heartbreaking, and ultimately mesmerizing, Hart's wide-ranging stories are united by a common thread of haunting religious and philosophical questions about this life and the next. Here is fiction to fully engage both the mind and the heart.

    Feel the anguish of a demon that falls in love with a mortal woman, and of an angel trying to save her shape-shifter soul mate. Share the darkness with a blind girl from ancient Rome as she realizes the heavy price for a miracle, and lurk behind the Trippet Stones watching the deadly battle to vanquish the evil sorceress, Morgana. Enter the forest of a nymph who falls in love with a boy…before you travel with a 500-year old teen who tricks a witch in effort to save her fiancé. And experience the thrill as a Nephalim helps an Angel escape Pompeii on the day Mt. Vesuvius erupts.

    But by the time you reach the final tale, "Come to Jesus Meeting", the darkness is all encompassing.Tales of hope, heartache, and horror abound. Come find What the Dark Brings***As an added bonus to new fans, Edward Lorn has included his mini-anthology, Three After, complete and uncut, at the end of this collection. A total of 22 tales of terror coming it at over 40,000 words.***

    He's fearless where his work is concerned, until one night when the dream world collapses around him. Now trapped in a dreamscape he can no longer direct, Manuel must try to fight his way back to reality. But the road back is more dangerous than he realized. The tables have been turned; criminals are running the Sub-Net, and the world of dreams he'd once patrolled is a nightmare he cannot escape from. Unless he can unlock the conspiracy behind who’s manipulating the Sub-Net, Manuel may be trapped forever. The criminal world is trying to recruit him for their side, and refusal means death. Can Manuel claw his way back to the reality he remembers? Or will the dream world become his new reality?

    She’s enchanting. She’s mysterious and unfathomable. She’s your fondest dream and your worst nightmare. She’s sweet and sublimely submissive. She’s dark and fully in charge. She’s flirty, yet mysterious. She promises safety in her arms but there’s danger in her eyes. One look, one scent, one taste, one sigh and you’re rock hard or dripping wet. She’s sex incarnate.Succubi are sexual vampires, women who steal the life force from their victim, but what a way to go! Some say succubi visit their victims in dreams; others say they seduce them in the flesh. Whether your succubus is a shape shifter, has permanent bat wings or wears a mini skirt; whether her victims are taken unawares, follow her with glee or scream bloody murder as they come, these stories are hot. As hell.

    The second coming of Dark Faith cries from the depths with 26 stories of sacrifice and redemption.Sublet an apartment inside God's head. Hunt giant Buddhas in a post-apocalyptic future. Visit a city where an artist’s fantastic creations alter reality. Discover the deep cosmic purpose behind your office vending machine. Wield godlike powers and suffer the most heartbreaking of human limitations.Join Max Allan Collins, Mike Resnick, Jay Lake, Jennifer Pelland, Laird Barron, Tom Piccirilli, Nisi Shawl, and a host of genre’s best writers for an exploration into the things we hold dear and the truths that shatter us.Table of Contents:Poem "The Most" by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer"Subletting God's Head" by Tom Piccirilli"The Cancer Catechism" by Jay Lake"The Big Blue Peacock" by Nick Mamatas"Kill the Buddha" by Elizabeth Twist"Robotnik" by Lavie Tidhar"Prometheus Possessed" by Matt Cardin"Night Train" by Alma Alexander"The Sandfather" by Richard Wright"Sacrifice" by Jennifer Pelland"Thou Art God" by Tim Waggoner"Wishflowers" by Tim Pratt"Coin Drop" by Richard Dansky"Starter Kit" by R.J. Sullivan"A Little Faith" by Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens"The Revealed Truth" by Mike Resnick"God's Dig" by Kelly Eiro"The Divinity Boutique" by Brian J. Hatcher"The Birth of Pegasus" by K. Tempest Bradford"All This Pure Light Leaking In" by LaShawn M. Wanak"Fin De Siècle" by Gemma Files"The Angel Seems" by Jeffrey Ford"Magdala Amygdala" by Lucy A. Snyder"A Strange Form of Life" by Laird Barron"In Blood and Song" by Nisi Shawl and Michael Ehart"Little Lies, Dear Leader" by Kyle S. Johnson"I Inhale the City, the City Exhales Me" by Douglas F. Warrick Cover Artist: AnderzakAbout the Editors:Maurice Broaddus is the author of the Knights of Breton Court series as well as the novellas Orgy of Souls (co-written with Wrath James White) and Devil's Marionette. He has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, from Weird Tales to the Dark Dreams series to Apex Magazine. He can be found on the web at www.mauricebroaddus.com.Jerry Gordon is the Bram Stoker nominated co-editor of Dark Faith and Last Rites. His fiction has appeared in Apex Magazine, Shroud, and The Midnight Diner. He lives in Indiana with his wife and new son. When he’s not changing diapers, you can find him blurring genre lines at www.jerrygordon.net.

    Her previous misdemeanours in a nightmarishly controlling world have caught up to her, and she is taken in with other felons for re-education. Little does she know what this re-education will include...or its price. In "WordThieves", Sarah White is trapped in a nightmarishly bureaucratic peacenik paradise on Io. Spending her days daydreaming about untranslatable words and craving candy, her world is mostly idyllic. Until, that is, she runs into an old familiar face, and breaks the fragile tension holding her life together. What crimes are committed in the name of peace, control, and harmony? In a world where public violence is a distant memory and peer pressure is a mandated punishment, Clarice and Sarah are about to find out.

    Supported by recent discoveries in neuroscience, Jaynes's ideas force us to rethink conventional views of human history and psychology, and have profound implications for many aspects of modern life.Included in this volume are rare and never before seen articles, lectures, interviews, and in-depth discussions that both clear up misconceptions as well as extend Jaynes's theory into new areas such as the nature of the self, dreams, emotions, art, music, therapy, and the consequences and future of consciousness.

    Her boyfriend, karate-trained nerd, Dylan, wants to smash the guys face in, but a fight at school means suspension, losing his chance at school honors and facing a furious father. Carly is determined to find a more creative solution to her problem, but will she sort it out before Dylan's inner cave man hijacks him and all hell breaks lose? Justin might be a pain, but his harassment leads to a deepening of Dylan and Carly's romance, and Carly finds an inner strength she didn't know she had. The magical realism style provides a touch of fantasy in an otherwise very real story that offers heart-warming solutions to bullying. You Can't Shatter Me is food for the soul. It has received a BRAG Medallion for outstanding fiction and an AIA Seal of Excellence in independent fiction.

    When their airship is destroyed, Jardan finds himself cast adrift with nothing but a knife and a troublesome young woman. As Jardan struggles to remain the Airman his father raised him to be, he blazes a bloody trail across the watery planet. He may succeed, if he can escape from hordes of pirates, a sociopathic bounty hunter, and a sadistic madwoman bent on world conquest ... And if the pirate girl doesn't kill him first...

    Khamun is a member of a secret society of Guardian Angels whose battle against The Cursed has been raging for centuries. The Cursed roam the earth to harvest souls for the Dark army, while the Guardian Angels desire to protect The Light. Khamun has been commissioned to watch over Sanna, but in doing so, he also satisfies his secret cravings for the sins of The Cursed. Like a vampire, he feeds off of his enemies. What was now tainted is purified by his touch, and he returns them to The Light. Unbeknownst to Sanna, she is the key to the war, and The Cursed are desperate to have her at all costs. They hunt her, as well as her family and friends, relentlessly. Will Khamun and his team be able to save her from the Dark? Debut author Leakes delivers a classic tale of good versus evil in this supernatural thriller.

    Time has moved on after The Whatever, an apocalyptic event that few remember and even fewer can explain, danger now as commonplace as the unrecognizable relics of war, and the madman Aphulan—along with an iron rule over his small township—may hold the answers. With a cure for The Sick and a passion to uncover what happened to their world, Rhamuel and Abranyah set off on a journey to the “other place,” the days before The Whatever, and ready themselves for a glimpse into what happened, and what was always meant to happen next.”…Tincture, An Apocalyptic Proposition is an ongoing series of free audiobooks available via this website and through iTunes. The story grows roughly every two weeks, where a new episode can be read or listened to, both written and narrated by the author.