Now, limbs terminally akimbo, Teddy’s body lies in a pool of blood in Jessup Quadrangle. And at the center of the investigation at the prestigious New Jersey Military Academy is young Donald.Surely blame for Teddy’s accidental death should not rest with him, Donald reasons. But how? Can people be convinced that Teddy took his own life? Can suspicion be cast on Stanley Wong, the Academy’s only Asian cadet? And with Teddy gone, who can Donald enlist to help him avoid blame?From New York real-estate moguls to Hong Kong triad bosses, Donald’s web of lies soon spins further than he could have ever imagined.

    Now the nobleman, and collector of rare artifacts, has entrusted Bingmei and the skilled team with a treacherous assignment: brave the wilderness’s dangers to retrieve the treasures of a lost palace buried in a glacier valley. But upsetting its tombs has a price.Echion, emperor of the Grave Kingdom, ruler of darkness, Dragon of Night, has long been entombed. Now Bingmei has unwittingly awakened him and is answerable to a legendary prophecy. Destroying the dark lord before he reclaims the kingdoms of the living is her inherited mission. Killing Bingmei before she fulfills it is Echion’s. Thrust unprepared into the role of savior, urged on by a renegade prince, and possessing a magic that is her destiny, Bingmei knows what she must do. But what must she risk to honor her ancestors? Bingmei’s fateful choice is one that neither her friends nor her enemies can foretell, as Echion’s dark war for control unfolds.

    For a woman like Hadley, deemed not acceptable to procreate, there’s only one recourse. Unlicensed for motherhood, she can alleviate her grief and frustration at a “baby library,” where a curiously endless supply of infants is available for a two-week loan. But the borrowed life that serves as a temporary balm leads to a journey of self-discovery that will forever change the direction of Hadley’s future.Roxane Gay’s Graceful Burdens is part of Out of Line, an incisive collection of funny, enraging, and hopeful stories of women’s empowerment and escape. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

    Until Doc and Constance Rabbit move in next door, upsetting the locals (many of them members of governing political party United Kingdom Against Rabbit Population), complicating Peter's job as a Rabbit Spotter, and forcing him to take a stand, moving from unconscious leporiphobe to active supporter of the UK's amiable and peaceful population of anthropomorphised rabbits.Running time: 12 hours and 26 minutes.

    Prognosis says he'll be a vegetable by week's end. Having survived numerous incursions in combat around the world, he decides he's not going out like that. He drives a rented corvette into a cliff face at over 200 MPH. The fiery impact catapults him toward the afterlife. Instead of finding the afterlife, he finds himself in a different body with an old man stabbing him in his chest. He fights free, killing the old man before passing out. He wakes to find he's now in the body of Prince Aaron, the 15-year-old second son of the King. In this medieval world, the Royals are Mages. The old man who was trying to kill him was a Mage "Vampire". Instead of blood, the old Mage was trying to steal Ross/Aaron's power, knowledge, and in this case his body. When Ross/Aaron killed the old Mage, his vampire power was transferred to him. He now has the memories, knowledge, and powers of the old Mage. Ross/Aaron must navigate this new environment of court intrigue with care. His older brother, the Crown Prince, hates him. His older sister has no use for him. The King sees him as an asset to be used, agreeing to marry him to a neighboring Kingdom for an alliance. Before the marriage takes place, the castle is attacked. Someone is trying to kill him but is finding it most difficult. Where Mages fight with Magic, Ross/Aaron fights with magic and steel. It's hard to cast a spell with a knife through your skull, or your throat cut. As Ross/Aaron travels with his fiancée toward her home for the marriage to take place, they are attacked at every turn. Someone doesn't want this wedding to happen. Ross/Aaron has had enough of people trying to kill him. With Aaron's knowledge, and Ross' training, they take the offensive. The Kingdom will never be the same.82K words

    Beer!With the FDG doubling in size, Terry Henry needs to bring about a little organizational structure to the group.While also deciding how to have that conversation with Char about her lineage...Not sure how that is going to go, Terry Henry had better figure it out, or he is going to be up to his armpits in Werewolves and won't be sure if he can depend on his one ace-in-the-hole.Or not. Nomad Unleashed The heat is unrelenting. The Wastelands are coming for New Boulder. Nature’s a total bitch.And then there’s Werewolf heat.Terry Henry Walton has to come to grips with the reality of his situation.Civilization cannot return to humanity without help. More help than even an enhanced human can give. Terry and Char take their relationship to a new level before they head out to find a new home to save the people of New Boulder, to rally the survivors that the world is coming back...And for themselves. Nomad Supreme Terry and Char cross the Wastelands returning to New Boulder carrying a message of hope. They’d found a better place. Could they move the whole town there, and would it be safer?They have a lead on Terry’s white whale, a secure military facility. What will they find and can they break in? Nomad's Fury Settled into their new home of North Chicago, Terry and Char find more enemies than they suspected. Faced with their greatest threat, they put the FDG into action against a Forsaken who's surrounded himself with a small army of loyal humans. With Akio's aid, they go to war. Nomad's Justice Nomad Avenged Nomad Mortis Nomad's Fury Nomad's Force Nomad's Galaxy Nomad's Journal ** As noted in other series set in the Kurtherian Universe, there IS cursing in this book, occasionally, it's funny, too. **

    But in the coming battle, none of that will matter.Men do not become mystics. They become warriors. But eighteen-year-old Salo has never been good at conforming to his tribe’s expectations. For as long as he can remember, he has loved books and magic in a culture where such things are considered unmanly. Despite it being sacrilege, Salo has worked on a magical device in secret that will awaken his latent magical powers. And when his village is attacked by a cruel enchantress, Salo knows that it is time to take action.Salo’s queen is surprisingly accepting of his desire to be a mystic, but she will not allow him to stay in the tribe. Instead, she sends Salo on a quest. The quest will take him thousands of miles north to the Jungle City, the political heart of the continent. There he must gather information on a growing threat to his tribe.On the way to the city, he is joined by three fellow outcasts: a shunned female warrior, a mysterious nomad, and a deadly assassin. But they’re being hunted by the same enchantress who attacked Salo’s village. She may hold the key to Salo’s awakening—and his redemption.

    Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn’t glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy? As a temp, she’s just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything goes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called “hero” leaves her badly injured.  And, to her horror, compared to the other bodies strewn about, she’s the lucky one.So, of course, then she gets laid off.With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her data tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks.Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it. By tallying up the human cost these caped forces of nature wreak upon the world, she discovers that the line between good and evil is mostly marketing.  And with social media and viral videos, she can control that appearance.It’s not too long before she’s employed once more, this time by one of the worst villains on earth. As she becomes an increasingly valuable lieutenant, she might just save the world.A sharp, witty, modern debut, Hench explores the individual cost of justice through a fascinating mix of Millennial office politics, heroism measured through data science, body horror, and a profound misunderstanding of quantum mechanics.

    Walker A startling, emotional, beautiful (and at times funny) book – one that feels like the best sort of science fiction, a book that should be enjoyed widely, a book that speaks of what it is to be human, a parent, and a child.It is 500 years in the future and Earth is no longer populated by humans.The new guardians of Earth, the genetically engineered Erta, have reversed climate change. They are now faced with a dilemma; if they reintroduce the rebellious and violent Homo Sapiens, all of their work will be undone.They decide to raise one final child; a sole human to help decide if humanity should again inherit the Earth.But the quiet and clinical Ima finds that there is more to raising a human than she had expected; and there is more to humanity’s history than she has been told.

    A bargain with a mischievous faery. Could tinkering with her past create a better future?Joey Whitmore longs to escape her dead-end world. Facing a midlife crisis at age forty-two and still living with her mother, getting fired from yet another job is the proverbial last straw. So when a fae trickster in human guise offers a chance at changing her history, she figures there’s nothing left to lose.Though skeptical of his magic, Joey accepts the sly prince’s enchanted hourglass and begins a reckless journey back in time. But as she tries to act as her own fairy godmother and reverse her mistakes, her blundering interference causes a chain of catastrophic consequences.Will Joey’s attempts to alter her deadbeat destiny end up erasing her entire existence?Over the Fairy Hill is the first entry in the Magical Midlife Misadventures paranormal women’s fiction series. If you like relatable characters, paranormal twists, and laugh-out-loud humor, then you’ll love Jennifer L. Hart’s endearing tale.

    A dangerous task. A burning secret.An enchanting love story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.The House in the Cerulean Sea is Lambda Literary Award-winning author TJ Klune’s breakout contemporary fantasy.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    But when peak oil hits and Melbourne lurches towards environmental catastrophe, Piper has more important things to worry about, such as how to get food. When she meets Marley, a CODA (child of Deaf adult), a door opens into a new world - where Deafness is something to celebrate rather than hide, and where resilience is created through growing your own food rather than it being delivered on a truck. As she dives into learning Auslan, sign language that is exquisitely beautiful and expressive, Piper finds herself falling hard for Marley. But Marley, who has grown up in the Deaf community yet is not Deaf, is struggling to find his place in the hearing world. How can they be together?

    Decades of travel through the stars are condensed into mere months for her, though the years continue to march steadily onward for everyone she has ever known. Her friends and lovers have aged past her; all she has left is work. Alone and adrift, she lives only for the next paycheck, until the day she meets a mysterious boy, fallen from the sky.A boy, broken by his past.The scarred child does not speak, his only form of communication the beautiful and haunting music he plays on an old wooden flute. Captured by his songs and their strange, immediate connection, Nia decides to take the boy in. And over years of starlit travel, these two outsiders discover in each other the things they lack. For him, a home, a place of love and safety. For her, an anchor to the world outside of herself.For both of them, a family.But Nia is not the only one who wants the boy. The past hungers for him, and when it catches up, it threatens to tear this makeshift family apart.

    "World is not only what we see." Rhythm has entered Electon, now it's your turn to take your path to know about the secrets of the Electon World.

    High on the forested slopes, she survives by hunting and trading—and forgetting.But when a young soldier comes to the mountains in search of a local myth, Ren is inexorably drawn into her impossible mission. As their lives entwine, unravel and erupt—as myths merge with reality—both Ren and the soldier are forced to confront what they regret, what they love, and what they fear.The Rain Heron is the dizzying, dazzling new novel from the author of Flames.

    He has everything he could want. A good master, a wonderful young lady he planned to court as soon as he had the coin to do so, and who cared for him as well.Everything changes in one moment, as he forges his first sword, places his maker’s mark for the first time, and discovers the truth that will turn all his life’s plans, hopes, and expectations into ashes.Olin is a rune mage, and it looked like his life was going to be turned upside down again, as he once more took up apprenticeship duties. He has very little choice in the matter, all mages served the royal family, compulsorily.That won’t be his last surprise either. Join Olin on his path of discovery, as he does his best to forge his own destiny under the yolk of expectations, customs, and traditions of mage society.Note: This is the first book of a trilogy. No major cliffhangers but expect a few unresolved plot threads. This story is told in the third person limited, from Olin’s point of view.

    No one knows it better than Taimin. Crippled, and with only his indomitable aunt to protect him, Taimin must learn to survive in a world scorched by two suns and frequented by raiders.But when Taimin discovers his homestead ransacked and his aunt killed, he sets off with one mission: to seek revenge against those who stole everything. With nowhere to call home, his hunt soon takes a turn when he meets a mystic, Selena, who convinces him to join her search for the fabled white city. Taimin and Selena both need refuge, and the white city is a place where Taimin may find someone to heal his childhood injury.As they avoid relentless danger, Taimin and Selena attempt to reach the one place that promises salvation. And they can only hope that the city is the haven they need it to be…

    Dyer Becker and Hunt Lane have been close since they were babies. Hunt's immediate obsession with Dyer from the first moment remains the same through childhood, adolescence and into the early years of adulthood. So, living these last three years on separate land masses has been torture. Video calls and twice yearly visits is just not enough. But now Hunt is back in Purdy and staying with Dyer until he figures out where he wants to go next. It's amazing being back together, but are the touches lingering a bit? And does the scent Hunt catches every once in a while mean what he thinks it might? He should be excited about possibly finding his mate... right? Bearly Getting It is book 1 in the my new MPreg-possible series. It is a spin off of the Chosen series, and involves a whole new generation, but will of course have cameos from some of your favorite Chosen characters as well as some Terra Mortis characters. I consider these books MPreg light. Meaning, though pregnancy is possible, that does not mean it will be in every book. Each book contains a new couple with a guaranteed HEA, but if you want to know what is going on with the background plot, it is suggested that you read them in order!

    For the bookish academics of the Sixth, every secret is a mystery, and every mystery is a puzzle to be solved or a paper to be published. Deep in the bowels of their house, one such secret is about to reveal itself. The study of the famed academic Donald Sex, sealed since the moment of his death, is about to open, and archivists are ready to dissect what he left behind. They are not ready for the macabre surprise that awaits them.Enter Palamedes Sextus and Camilla Hect, age thirteen.

    From the beginning of everything, to how he broke the world, shattered Eve’s heart, and watched his family crumble.Will Enoch uncover what led so many of Adam’s children away from God? And will Adam find the redemption and forgiveness he longs for?

    A world where overgrown forests are filled with choker trees and deadly vines and seeds that will kill you where you stand. And if they don't get you, one of the dangerous shunned men will.Koli has lived in Mythen Rood his entire life. He knows the first rule of survival is that you don't venture beyond the walls.What he doesn't know is - what happens when you aren't given a choice?The first in a gripping new trilogy, The Book of Koli charts the journey of one unforgettable young boy struggling to find his place in a chilling post-apocalyptic world.

    It's a dungeon from another world, masquerading as just another private residence in the suburbs. It has enchanted rooms, can craft powerful items, build lethal traps, and produce incredible monsters.And it's my mission to protect and evolve its monstrous inhabitants.

    But space remains vast and untamed, and nothing has prepared us to face the dangers rising from the deep shadows of the void. Fourteen years after The Displacement flung humanity into a universe teeming with alien life, a tenuous alliance has taken root among humans, Anadens, and numerous other species. The wounds of war and revolution have begun to heal, peace and prosperity are within reach, and the architects of The Displacement, Alex Solovy and Caleb Marano, are enjoying an idyllic existence on the living planet of Akeso. But growing troubles fester beneath the surface of this alliance. An upstart species offers allegiance with one hand but readies weapons of mass destruction with the other, while the Anadens, leaderless and adrift for years, increasingly refuse to play by humanity’s rules. As tensions simmer, Nika Kirumase, leader of the Asterions—a splinter group of former Anadens thought aeons dead—arrives bearing a warning of a terrifying enemy advancing across the void. Known as the Rasu, the powerful race of shapeshifting metal has already killed tens of thousands of Asterions in its quest to control all of known space. Nika’s people have struck a blow against the Rasu, and now they race against time to prepare for the coming reprisal. An alliance with humanity stands to give them a fighting chance against their enemy. But for humanity, such an alliance may cost them everything, pushing the fragile peace they fought so hard to achieve to the breaking point and beyond. * In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles the very fabric of Amaranthe will be changed forever.

    Though he finds community among other queer refugees, Noah fears his trans and Jewish identities put him at risk with certain capital-T Texans. His fears take form when he starts seeing visions of his great-grandfather Abe, who fled Nazi Germany as a boy. As the climate crisis intensifies and conditions in the shelter deteriorate, Abe's ghost grows more powerful. Ultimately, Noah must decide whether he can trust his ancestor ⁠- and whether he's willing to sacrifice his identity and community in order to survive.Depart, Depart! grapples with intersections of social justice and climate change, asking readers to consider how they'll react when the world changes in an instant. Who will we turn to? What will we take with us, and what will we have to leave behind? In our rapidly changing world, these are questions we grapple with. Focusing on finding and supporting community after disaster, Depart, Depart! is a story for these uncertain times.

    This is especially so for Meigan, who develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious borrower of books from her Little Free Library.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    When she discovers the work of the Order is built on lies, she flees with a rough-edged herder, Brantley of Windswell. Pursued by soldiers, her journey through the suffering villages of the rim leads her to a forgotten truth that sends ripples through her world-and through her soul. Calara seeks clues to her forgotten family and discovers newfound courage in the face of danger, while her quest awakens a growing but forbidden affection for Brantley. Yet even his support can't fully be trusted, since he'd rather destroy the Order than bring reform. She is a lone woman facing opposition from rim villages and treachery from the all-powerful Order. Can she restore the dance to its true purpose and bring freedom and hope to her people?

    Time outside their lab has jumped forward by twenty-two hours. Minutes before this illogical space-time event, they were analyzing a mysterious glowing nodule extracted from an unknown marine specimen.News of this marine life reaches powerful governments, inadvertently triggering a race to hunt, capture and control it. But these governments and their nationalist leaders have never faced a team of scientists known as the Paramarines. They have no idea to what lengths Sebastian and his Paramarines will go in order to protect the species from capture and exploitation.The first of a multi-book series, this genre-bending novel leaves readers on the edge of their seats. Thrilling like Blake Crouch and science-driven like Ted Chang, all approached in ways you’ve never seen before. A captivating adventure, a heartbreaking story of love, and a true display of human ingenuity and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.

    I read, watch, and play Horror every week, but I barely ever write it. Instead I tend to put Horror-y things back out as humorous stories or heartwarming stories. Off the top of my head I gave them the example that if I wrote a haunted house story, it wouldn’t be like Haunting of Hill House – it would be about a haunted house that was lonely and desperately wanted someone to live in it. One of my fellow authors reached across the table, grabbed me by the hand, and said, “Please write this.” On the train ride home, I did. So this story is dedicated to Natalia Theodoridou, who demanded I help 133 Poisonwood find its family and its audience – all of you.

    Bodily autonomy and transformation, the importance of negative emotions, unhealthy relationships, and bad situations amidst the staggering and urgent question of how build and nurture meaning, love, and safety in a larger world/society that might not be "fixable."

    The Sandman universe is a master-creation following Dream, also known as Morpheus, lord of the Dreaming — a vast, hallucinatory landscape that houses all the dreams of any and everyone who has ever existed. Gods, demons, mortals, and everything in between. All dreamers visit the Dreaming and have an opportunity to teach Morpheus some surprising lessons. After being captive for 70 years, Morpheus will have to go on a journey to reclaim his objects of power and bring order to the Dreaming.

    There I find myself face to face with a deadly sexy stranger.Ripper Solis, ex-Army Ranger and current enforcer for an outlaw motorcycle club, protects the people he considers his own. He’s not a nice guy. Not a man a woman turns to for support and comfort. Not the bad boy hero in the romance novels I’ve escaped into for years. Or is he?As law and order break down, and the ever-present threat of the virus looms over our heads, Ripper’s strength and resourcefulness offer an irresistible allure. Sexy and commanding, he’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Our chemistry is combustible.Will love save the day, or will the perilous new world obliterate our future?

    Before Area X, there was Ambergris. Jeff VanderMeer conceived what would become his first cult classic series of speculative works: the Ambergris Trilogy. Now, for the first time ever, the story of the sprawling metropolis of Ambergris is collected into a single volume, including City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword, and Finch.

    Spirits Abroad is an expanded edition of Zen Cho’s Crawford Award winning debut collection with nine added stories including Hugo Award winner “If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again.” A Datin recalls her romance with an orang bunian. A teenage pontianak struggles to balance homework, bossy aunties, first love, and eating people. An earth spirit gets entangled in protracted negotiations with an annoying landlord, and Chang E spins off into outer space, the ultimate metaphor for the Chinese diaspora.

    until one set its sights on her little brother. Now, she must risk everything to get him back.On her twelfth birthday, Cricket Kane uncovers a chilling secret--tooth fairies have stopped collecting single teeth and have resorted to kidnapping children instead. When her brother is taken, the fairy leaves a changeling and a toxic black dust in his place. The dust soon infects the rest of her family, but to her surprise, she's immune!With the guidance of a mysterious cat, Cricket follows the fairy to a magical land where legendary creatures are real. When Santa himself takes her under his wing, Cricket learns she's the only one who can harness the power of the dust to rescue her brother and the other missing children. But doing so might cost her life.Can she summon the courage and strength to save her family and herself?Find out now in this middle-grade fantasy for fans of Nevermoor and The Land of Stories!

    A prescient, thrilling debut.'Combines the excitement of a medical thriller À la Michael Crichton with sensitive characterisation and social insight in a timely debut novel all the more remarkable for being conceived and written before the current pandemic' Guardian'STUNNING and terrifying ... The Waiting Rooms wrenches your heart in every way possible, but written with such humanity and emotion' Miranda Dickinson'Chillingly close to reality, this gripping thriller brims with authenticity ... a captivating, accomplished and timely debut from an author to watch' Adam Hamdy________________Decades of spiralling drug resistance have unleashed a global antibiotic crisis. Ordinary infections are untreatable, and a scratch from a pet can kill. A sacrifice is required to keep the majority safe: no one over seventy is allowed new antibiotics. The elderly are sent to hospitals nicknamed 'The Waiting Rooms' ... hospitals where no one ever gets well.Twenty years after the crisis takes hold, Kate begins a search for her birth mother, armed only with her name and her age. As Kate unearths disturbing facts about her mother's past, she puts her family in danger and risks losing everything. Because Kate is not the only secret that her mother is hiding. Someone else is looking for her, too.Sweeping from an all-too-real modern Britain to a pre-crisis South Africa, The Waiting Rooms is epic in scope, richly populated with unforgettable characters, and a tense, haunting vision of a future that is only a few mutations away.

    From bestselling author of Little Birds, Hannah Lee Kidder's Starlight touches your heart before taking a bite with twelve pitch-dark fantasy, horror, and contemporary short stories.

    Insecure college senior Orion loves music, books, and his best friend Niko. When the two of them find a secret basement in their rambling old off-campus house, at first Orion’s thrilled. It’s another secret to share, another adventure to maybe, at last, bring them closer together. But something's wrong: the basement doesn't end. Blandly decorated halls stretch on for miles past peeling wallpaper, empty bedrooms, and countless stairwells always leading down. Soon they realize Downstairs is a snarled tangle of possibilities, more and more opening up the deeper they go. Something down there multiplies everything: architecture, emotions, even people.Together they must navigate an increasingly dangerous labyrinth that peels back their friendship to raw and angry roots, filled with two-faced doppelgängers, treacherous architecture, and long-buried secrets. Most dangerous of all is Orion's consuming obsession: somewhere down there, is there a Niko who loves him back?Subcutanean is a unique novel that changes with every printing. Each copy contains a unique telling of the story: no two are ever quite the same.

    This was published as a Clarkesworld audiobook podcast in 2020.

    From the battlefield to alternate realities to the mean streets of the dark city, we walk in the shoes of those who struggle to survive in a neon-saturated, tech-noir future.Twelve hard-edged stories from the dark, often violent, sometimes strange heart of cyberpunk, this collection – as with all the best science fiction – is an exploration of who were are now. In the tradition of Dashiell Hammett, Philip K Dick, and David Mitchell, Neon Leviathan is a remarkable debut collection from a breakout new author.

    A polished court. Individual fates, each on a quest to expose a system of corruption.The desolate canyons of Alcoro - and the people desperate enough to hide there - couldn’t be more different from the opulent glass palace and lush forests of Moquoia. But the harsh desert and gleaming court are linked through their past, present, and future: a history of abductions in the desert to power Moquoia’s quarries and factories, and a bleak, inhumane future built on the sweat and sacrifice of these bond laborers.But events unfolding in the present could change everything. In the desert, outlaw Lark - known to most as the Sunshield Bandit - has built a name for herself attacking slavers’ wagons and freeing the captives inside. But while she shakes the foundation of Moquoia’s stratified society, she also has to fight to protect her rescuees - and herself - from the unforgiving world around them.In the Moquoian court, young ambassador Veran hopes to finally make his mark by dismantling the unjust labor system, if he can navigate the strict hierarchy and inexplicable hostility of the prince.And caught in the middle of it all, Tamsin is trapped within four walls, the epicenter of a secret political coup to overthrow the Moquoian monarchy and perpetuate the age-old system of injustice.Separated by seas of trees and sand, the outlaw, the diplomat, and the prisoner are more connected than anyone realizes. Their personal fates might just tip the balance of power in the Eastern World - if that very power doesn’t destroy them first.

    What if you knew you would never die?How different would your life be?How different would you be?When Sergeant Rob Deakin is mortally wounded during the First World War, he is destined to become just another nameless casualty of a terrible conflict.However, a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger will change the course of Rob’s life forever… Not only has he been healed, but he cannot die, and he will never age.What follows is a cursed journey through a century of incredible change, seen through the eyes of a man immune to death, while he searches endlessly for the answers to what makes him so unique.Rob must find out why he is so different.Before he loses his humanity completely…

    Ever since that fateful day, Ethan has sensed a deep disconnect between the man he should have been and the one he has become. His days play out a beat too slow, his mind replaying the scene of his failure again and again.But when his brother's widow appears, asking for his help in uncovering what was really behind his brother's death, Ethan is stunned to hear that she and her late husband were involved in a much larger case than he knew--one that threatens the global power structure. As Ethan joins the search for answers, he will enter into his own past--and discover a means of redeeming his future.Bestselling and award-winning author Davis Bunn invites you into a world of intrigue as a man held captive by his failure learns how to move forward with hope.

    Of course, Gorblin is going to need some help getting his work out there, and starts by seeking likeminded creatives. After attending a local writer’s group, Gorblin makes a new friend, Amber, who points him towards Romance Wranglers Of America. It sounds like this community is exactly the helpful, loving, supportive group that Gorblin is looking for, but when him and Amber arrive at the Romance Wranglers Of America headquarters, they quickly realize something is wrong. This once loving group has been taken over by a dark and mysterious force; lead by a man named Demon and his chanting coven of board members in jet-black robes. Something horrible from the depths of the cosmic Void has taken hold, but is it too late to prove that romance is about love, not hate? This important no-sex tale is 4,300 words of reasonable writers looking for a kind and supportive romance community that respects its members and treats them fairly.

    All he knows is that he doesn’t feel at home in this world, and his desire for escape becomes more urgent as he grows into adulthood, where the turbulence of life seems to offer no cure for the emptiness. Desperate and lost, he stumbles upon a support group on the edge of Manhattan. There he meets two other drifting souls—Sasha, a young woman who leaves coded messages in the copy she writes for advertising campaigns, and Bannor, whose detailed depictions of the future make Elliot think he may have actually been there. With these two unlikely allies, Elliot launches into the business of life, determined to be happy in spite of himself.Yet the hole in the heart is not so easily filled.

    The History chronicles how, since antiquity, mischief-makers have clandestinely shaped the past – from an Athenian slave to a Polish salt miner and from an advisor to the Ethiopian Queen to a girl escaping the Siege of Paris. Jessie becomes enthralled by the book and by her own mission to determine its accuracy.Soon the History inspires Jessie to perform her own acts of mischief, unofficially becoming mischief-maker number 202 in an effort to cheer up her eccentric neighbour, Mrs Moran, and to comfort her new schoolfriend, Theodore. However, not everything is as it seems. As Jessie delves deeper into the real story behind the History, she realises it holds many secrets and unravelling them might be the biggest mischief of all.

    No past. One giant future.The only thing worse than suddenly waking up in a magical house with the insanely gorgeous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Being the Fifth.With no memory of who I am, where I came from, or what I’m doing here, I’m thrust into a new life with four people who I might want more from than just friendship. But with no past, how can I possibly plan for a future?The only clue as to who I am? Four different species' magic resides within me—Vampire, Fae, Shifter, and Witch—and between them, I might be the most powerful creature on the planet.For fuck's sake.Look out world, Horseman of Magic coming through!

    The scruffy pair passed through a magical portal into our world, and they’re not alone.Do these creatures know the truth about the disappearance of Tamora’s best friend Andre? She won’t rest until she finds out. But there are things far more dangerous than goblins...

    The collection follows a restless, nervy, cosmically abandoned speaker failing at the aspirational markers of adulthood as she flips from city to city, from enchantment to disgust, always reemerging—just barely—on the trains and bridges and bar stools of New York City. A child of the Indian ocean diaspora, Fernandes enacts the humor and devastation of what it means to exist as a body of contradictions. Her interpretations are muddied. Her feminism is accusatory, messy. Her homelands are theoretical and rootless. The poet converses with goats and throws a fit at a tarot reading; she loves the intimacy of strangers during turbulent plane rides and has dark fantasies about the “hydrogen fruit” of nuclear fallout. Ultimately, these poems possess an affection for the doomed: false beloveds, the hounded earth, civilizations intent on their own ruin. Fernandes skillfully interrogates where to put our fury and, more importantly, where to direct our mercy.

    Blood drenched the floorboards and seeped into the house’s soul. Macon Wilde and Keenan Smith were there. They witnessed the annihilation. As children they had no power. Years later, Macon has achieved his vow of revenge for the destruction of his family. Now, as alpha, he has returned to Belle Grove. It is time to restore his ancestral home and rebuild the Wilde Wolf Pack to its former glory. He wasn't going to let anyone stop him from achieving those goals.Keenan has waited. As an omega wolf shifter, all he could do was hide and defend Belle Grove from marauders and derelicts intent on destroying what was left, and survive the nightmares of that horrible day when he was to be the prize of a wicked, murdering, alpha. Two strangers brought together by evil. Both are ready to fulfill their destinies, entwined with love and passion. But evil is still haunting Belle Grove and the Wilde Wolf Pack. It will be up to Macon and Keenan to figure out who is their friend and who is their enemy, because people are coming at an alarming rate and not everyone is happy that the Wilde Wolf Pack is back. Warning: Gay erotic romance. The material in this book contains explicit sexual content that is intended for mature audiences only. All characters involved are adults capable of consent, are over the age of eighteen, and are willing participants.

    The target he’s chasing may be wanted for murder, but his bills aren’t going to pay themselves.As it turns out, he probably should've been more selective. When he tracks down Cameron Kovak, the wanted man turns out to be no man at all.Gunn finds himself face to face with a tentacled creature out of Ridley Scott’s worst nightmare - a baby Cthulhu, wearing his target's skin like a onesie. And that's just the start of it. Aliens have their eyes on us, and Gunn finds himself swept up in their mysterious plans.Experience the start of The Gunn Files, a sci-fi thrill ride that will have you wondering if aliens truly walk among us. It's perfect for fans of Men in Black and The X-Files.Also available on Audible, narrated by Oliver Wyman (Monster Hunter International).

    Quiet, submissive, demure. In Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women, Southeast Asian writers of horror both embrace and reject these traditional roles in a unique collection of stories which dissect their experiences of ‘otherness’, be it in the colour of their skin, the angle of their cheekbones, the things they dare to write, or the places they have made for themselves in the world.Black Cranes is a dark and intimate exploration of what it is to be a perpetual outsider.Featuring 14 stories by Nadia Bulkin, Grace Chan, Rin Chupeco, Elaine Cuyegkeng, Geneve Flynn, Gabriela Lee, Rena Mason, Lee Murray, Angela Yuriko Smith, and Christina Sng, and a foreword by Alma Katstu.

    The animals gathering in the yard as if summoned. The people who speak in reverse. The lights and sounds. The music. The grass dying overnight...and the ten-foot clown on the second floor.And as long as there are mysteries, people will be compelled to solve them.Here, then, is the most comprehensive account of the Abigail House phenomenon, the result of sixty years of eyewitness accounts, news reports, scientific research, and parapsychological investigations, all in an attempt to decode the enduring mystery that is......THE HOUSE ON ABIGAIL LANE.

    Still, visiting faerie-infested Britannia is not on her agenda—especially since no human who’s ventured there has ever returned. But when her stepsister sneaks off to the island to meet a faerie boyfriend, Gretchen’s stepmother forces her to choose: risk death to rescue the runaway, or forfeit her father’s life.Lost in the faeries’ forest, Gretchen meets a family of Bearfolk—fae who can shift between human and bear forms. Kindhearted seventeen-year-old Arthur volunteers to help, while his mother, who believes Gretchen is the heroic Silverhair of faerie legend, schemes to use the girl for darker purposes.When the quest to save the runaway proves costly, will Gretchen and Arthur find the courage to sacrifice what they hold dearest to save the ones they love most?

    When he decides to risk his life to defend a gorgeous bartender, he pays the ultimate price.Resurrected to Antinium, Cade finds himself thrown into a world where the very rules of reality have shifted. He chooses a unique class, customizes his soul weapon, and levels up to unlock vital skills, traits and attributes points in order to survive.Cade’s chances for success are minimal until he finds his destiny intertwined with a group of sexy women, who will help him build a village and fight his foes beside him.They must grow strong enough to overthrow an evil tyrant. Or die trying...

    Rooted in rhythm, threaded with magic, these tales encompass worlds that begin in river bottoms, pass through spectral gates, and end in distant uncharted worlds. These stories describe the pain that often accompanies the confines of sanctuary and the joy that is inextricably bound to the troubles of hard living. Nine Bar Blues sings a multiverse of fully realized worlds that readers will remember for ages to come and cherish from page to heart thumping, foot-stomping page.

    Universal Love welcomes readers to a near-future world where our everyday technologies have fundamentally altered the possibilities and limits of how we love one another. In these gripping stories, a young boy tries to understand what keeps his father tethered to the drowned city they call home. A daughter gets to know her dead mother's hologram better than she ever knew her living mother. And, at a time when unpleasant memories can be erased, a man undergoes electronic surgery to have his depression, and his past, forever removed.In an age when technology offers the easiest cures for loneliness, the characters within these stories must wrestle with what it means to stay human in an increasingly cybernetic future, and how love can endure even the most alluring upgrades.In the vein of Weinstein’s critically-acclaimed first collection, Universal Love is a visionary book, written with one foot in the real world and one stepping bravely into the future.

    However, before Queen Alanna died, she used her remaining strength to cast a spell and pass her unborn son into the loving care of another.Sixteen years later, oblivious to his heritage, young Alric is forced to live away from others as he and his sister have extremely potent magic coursing their veins – unusually powerful gifts.Alric could've lived the entirety of his life isolated, not knowing who he really is, but the One had a different plan for him. However, when Alric learns of his true identity, so does his aunt. Afraid of Alric's power, she sends assassins to deal with the rising threat.Now, the toughest choice lies in front of Alric – will he rise to claim what is his or hide for the rest of his life?

    Because Hank McCallum is anything but weak-willed. And in a world where Bunnygirls are slaves, he'll be the master they need and deserve.For their own good, of course.

    Murder. Vengeance. For centuries, full-humans have descended on shifters' lands, killing and claiming. Like sharks scenting blood in the water, they devoured all in their murderous path--gold, God, and glory their battle cries. From the flames of destruction, two nations emerged--the full-human territory of Vumaris and the feline nation of Shona. For eighteen-year-old Asha, traveling to Vumaris with her parents, lion alphas of the Kingdom of Shona, should've been a simple matter. Recommitting to an eighty-year-old peace treaty between their countries should've been easier still. Yet, greed and corruption know no boundaries of time and place, thus turning a family trip into the bloodiest night of Asha's life. Will Asha survive the night of terror? If so, will she forgive her enemies or seek divine retribution? Ekon is a young bodyguard to the Shona princess. He also happens to be in love with Asha. When a group of mercenaries converges on Sanctum Hotel, hellbent on kidnapping Asha and slaughtering anyone who stands in their way, how can he save his beloved when the odds are stacked against him? Safety. Protection. Love. Asha and Ekon want all three, but none are guaranteed. Warning: Gun violence and torture (non-sexual)

    In the shadows, a new hero emerges. After he loses his livelihood as a drag queen and the love of his life, Kay joins the resistance alongside Bahadur, a transmasculine refugee, and Firuzeh, a headstrong social worker. Guiding them in the use of weapons and close-quarters combat is Beck, a rogue army officer, who helps them plan an uprising at a major televised international event. With her signature “raw yet beautiful, disturbing yet hopeful” (Booklist) prose, Catherine Hernandez creates a vision of the future that is all the more frightening because it is very possible. A cautionary tale filled with fierce and vibrant characters, Crosshairs explores the universal desire to thrive, love, and be loved for being your true self.

    Fantastic, the Black Panther, Black Bolt, Namor and the Beast join Iron Man in saving the Multiverse - or is everything destined to die? Plus, from original New Mutants to the newest Avengers, join Cannonball and Sunspot in a bizarre adventure on Mojoworld!COLLECTING: AVENGERS (2012) 1-5, NEW AVENGERS (2013) 1-6, ASTONISHING TALES:MOJOWORLD (2008) 1-6

    Begin by closing your eyes and visualizing the joy of being surrounded by family and friends on your favorite holiday. Now open your eyes and IMAGINE you have been transported back in time into Hell's topside habitation, NAZI GERMANY!Now IMAGINE you killing Hitler and orchestrating the same fate for Goebbels ... IMAGINE risking your life to prevent the Holocaust ... IMAGINE meeting the woman of your dreams during your hellish voyage—a woman with a secret far surpassing your own ... How's it going so far? There's more ...Vocale weaves his reluctant time traveling protagonist, Benjamin Bauman, a Jewish doctor from 2019, into the violent, anti Semitic world of The Third Reich. When Ben awakes in 1937 after being rendered unconscious from a car accident, he does so with a new language and a new name, cloaking his Jewish heritage ... for now. To the Germans he is known as Karl Schroder, Generalarzt and Chief Surgeon of the hospital where he now resides as its newest patient. Once again, IMAGINE this is you. Got a plan?Surrounded by actual historical events (many explained within interesting sidebars) and with a little help from his new friend, an American radio voice and a real–life celebrity author to be, Vocale offers Ben the chance to change history as the pros and cons of returning to the present loom throughout.In the end, three clicks of the heels won't get Ben back home as it did if you were stuck in Oz. He will have to do better. The heel clicks in this novel are reserved for the Nazi jackboots as they pound pavement around Ben with frightening ubiquity.Despite the paradox roadblocks inherent to all time travelers, if played right positive outcomes from altering history can be far reaching, so much so the reader, or those with the best imaginations, will have a hand in Ben's fate.

    

    He also keeps magic bees in the greenhouse on his roof and teaches his trade to his apprentice, Ariadne. His life is settled, his customers are happy, and his heart is finally ready to open itself to more. Jade was a student of sorcery, but although he values the skills he learned there, he doesn't agree with their values up on the hill. He's taken himself, his newly-acquired tattooist's license, and the familiar under his skin, and moved down to the witches' district. He's determined to make this work, and when he needs botanical references for his first client, Arthur's Apothecary across the way is the obvious place to start. While Arthur builds a hive for a new swarm of bees, Jade builds a business and a new life. Together, can they cultivate a love as sweet as honey?

    It sees everything. Be not afraid. Apprentice Flick remembers everything, except the first five years of her life. And for as long as she can remember, Flick has wanted to enter the Elite Academy - home to the best, brightest, and most loyal members of the Love Collective government. Flick's uncanny memory might get her there, too … even if it is the very thing that marks her as a freak. But frightening hallucinations start intruding into her days and threaten to bring down all she has worked so hard to accomplish. Why is she being hijacked by a stranger's nightmare over and over again? Moving to the Elite Academy could give Flick the future she's always wanted. But her search for truth may lead to a danger she cannot escape.

    Doorways can be ledges that teeter between a racist past and a robotic future. Passages that lead to celestial spirits, earthbound souls, or a crumbling castle adrift in time.Doorways are the ferries that usher us through beginnings and endings, steering us into possibility and misfortune, alike. Some doors protect us and give us privacy, while others keep us isolated and confined. Some doors trap you inside your haunted mind.In this book you will find eleven doors. Eleven stories waiting to be opened. Each one a passageway into the unknown. Beyond the Latch and Lever is an anthology of speculative literary fiction with stories from emerging authors with ties to the Pacific Northwest.

    Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five.But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.

    He tells her she must find a magical book in order to save him. Rosaline dismisses this as one of his crazy rants, until she and her brother discover the book in their nana’s attic and it transports them to another world.After years of war, Immagica lies in ruins. Its creatures want Rosaline to use the amulet’s power to defeat the dragon and restore their land. But Rosaline has lost her brother, and all she wants to do is to find him and go home.Rosaline soon learns she is bound to Immagica in unimaginable ways, and she must uncover a dark family secret that could destroy her. Can Rosaline follow her heart and save them all? Or will she and Immagica die at the hands of the dragon?For fans of The Neverending Story, Alice in Wonderland, and The Chronicles of Narnia, Immagica will take you on an adventure where anything is possible.

    Her debut novel, Hammered, won the Locus Award for Best First Novel in 2005, the same year she received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. In the years since, she has produced an impressive array of standalone novels (Undertow) and multi-volume series (The Eternal Sky Trilogy, The New Amsterdam Series), along with a steady stream of stories and novellas, the best of which are gathered in this generous, absolutely necessary volume.The Best of Elizabeth Bear contains 27 stories and novellas, many never before collected, that encompass an astonishing range of themes, settings, ideas and emotions. The collection opens with “Covenant”, a tale of serial murder unlike any you have ever read, and closes with the extraordinary “Erase, Erase, Erase”. The latter is a surrealist tour de force in which the unnamed narrator, a former cult member, reflects on her life, her nebulous but guilty past, and her constantly diminishing sense of self. In between these bookends are more than two dozen carefully crafted tales that never fail to resonate beyond the final page.“Tideline”, winner of both the Hugo and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards, tells the surprisingly moving story of Chalcedony, a former “war machine” determined to preserve the memories of her dead human companions. “Shoggoths in Bloom”, another Hugo winner, offers a fresh take on H.P. Lovecraft’s Mythos, setting the action in a pre-WWII world marked by racism and virulent anti-Semitism. “Faster Gun” is a tale of the Old West in which Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo encounter an impossible alien artefact. The long novella “In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns” takes place in Bangalore, India fifty years from now and tells the story of a murder in which the victim’s body is literally turned inside out. In the affecting “Sonny Liston Takes a Fall”, we are brought to an entirely new understanding of one of the iconic moments of boxing history.Contents:- Introduction by C.L. Polk- Covenant (2014)- She Still Loves the Dragon (2018)- Tideline (2007)- The Leavings of the Wolf (2011)- Okay, Glory (2018)- Needles (2011)- This Chance Planet (2014)- The Body of the Nation (2012)- Boojum (2008), with Sarah Monette- The Bone War (2015)- In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns (2012)- Shoggoths In Bloom (2008)- Skin in the Game (2015)- Hobnoblin Blues (2008)- Form and Void (2012)- Your Collar (2008)- Terrior (2014)- Dolly (2011)- Love Among the Talus (2006)- The Deeps of the Sky (2012)- Two Dreams on Trains (2005)- Faster Gun (2012)- The Heart's Filthy Lesson (2015)- Perfect Gun (2017)- Sonny Liston Takes the Fall (2008)- Orm the Beautiful (2007)- Erase, Erase, Erase (2019)Cover illustration by Tom Canty

    When another community — the They — promise them luxurious meals, the We are unable to decline.After following the They to their farm, the We begin to notice some mysterious habits: odd sacrifices, talk of flames, and a strange book. Follow along as the We uncover the truth behind the secretive group and learn the most important part of being human.The We and the They is a fiction novel set in a world crumbling underneath the grip of the Great Famine. You will enjoy this book if you are fascinated by oral tradition, you like considering questions about community and identity, or you just want a break from curating your “I.”

    If only her mother had lived to see her succeed. But after Sera unearths the find of a lifetime on her summer dig, her dreams of drinking blood and violent magic leave behind an eerie sense of foreboding.Something bad is looming on the horizon. Something ancient and evil.When a well-known antiquities collector takes an obsessive interest in the Roman amulet, Sera suddenly finds her life in chaos. She’s thrown into a supernatural world that shouldn’t exist, where vampires and witches alike claim ownership of the mysterious amulet. Her amulet.But as her connection to the relic grows, so does Sera’s fear for her life. If she doesn’t figure out the amulet’s secret soon, then she may just follow her mother’s footsteps straight to the grave.If you can’t get enough of Anne Rice, Anne Bishop, Faith Hunter, Annette Marie, or anything paranormal fantasy, then dive on in and get ready for a vampire origin story unlike any other, with twists you’ll never see coming.Note: This is not paranormal romance and only offers a very minor romantic subplot.

    Exposing the effects of widespread toxic misogyny, this confrontational volume examines societal, cultural, and personal gaslighting in situations of domestic abuse. As Molberg writes in "Loving Ophelia Is," "love and hate simultaneously is the trick of abuse / and the trick of abuse is a vexation of the mind." A sequence of epistolary poems looks to friendship as a safe haven from violent romantic relationships, while another series on a mother's struggle with addiction captures the complicated nature of a parent-child relationship affected by alcoholism. Refusal seeks to break silences and to interrogate a cultural misogyny that weighs heavily on a woman's position in the world.

    Your every movement watched.If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.And if you stay within the wall, the Loyalist Party will protect you. Gideon Frome knows that safety is an illusion. Ten years ago, his perfect life was shattered, and he left Washington DC in disgrace, sentenced to serve on The Wall. He may be back, lauded as a hero, but he knows he’s only traded one prison for another, assigned a position to the infamous Secret Service. Kate Buchanan uses her illegal predictive engine to monitor the “chatter,” flagging perceived threats to America. When the program suggests that nuclear war is imminent, and people around her start to die, Kate can no longer hide. She needs help, and it comes from the most unlikely place—Gideon Frome, a ghost from her past.The American people thought they were safe, but it’s becoming shockingly clear that the price of safety is too high. And somehow, together, Kate and Gideon must tear down the walls that keep their country a prisoner.

    A case that will involve suspects the police can't handle. He takes the job, and sets out on the trail of the abductor.Visiting the playground that little Penny was taken from, Jack picks up on clues that only he can see. The silver coin he wears around his neck gives him the ability to see the supernatural creatures that live among us, and he finds the traces of one at the spot the girl disappeared. Something strong, that he's never encountered before.Soon, he is approached by a reporter also looking into the disappearance. Could this girl be the latest in a string of kids being snatched with no trace of who, or what, is taking them? Jack races to find out before another child can be taken. Whoever is behind this crime, he's the only person in San Antonio with the power to stop them.

    Hopelessly in love and obsessed with one of the chorus singers, the Phantom will stop at nothing to make her the star of the show, even if that means murder.

    One evening, Marc Noël, Justin’s well-to-do friend and fellow thespian, invites him to a masquerade party at an abandoned schoolhouse. Justin hopes this will be an opportunity to get to know Marc’s lovely though sharp-tongued sister, Francine.At the event, Justin meets four ghostly strangers—two adults and two children—who warn him that the party guests are in danger, and they must leave at once. True to their prediction, a murder takes place, and Justin is the prime suspect. He escapes and becomes a fugitive, hiding in the Paris catacombs.Mystery and intrigue swirl as the ghost of Joan of Arc and other martyrs guide Justin on a lonely journey to prove his innocence and protect his sister from an abusive caretaker. Who really committed the crime? Marc? Francine? A ghost? And does seeing these ghosts mean he is going insane? Maybe he really is the murderer after all.There is only one way to find out, to let the ghosts speak as they reveal the mysteries within Justin’s mind.

    Meet the humans who serve a coterie of vampires in Hawai’i, explore the taxonomy of anger with black Union soldiers and the woman who travels with them during the American Civil War. Consider what you would give up for a better life in a place that you have never been. Johnson maps the people in these and other, stranger landscapes.

    Spoken about in the whispers of conspiracy, the enigmatic Professor is idolised by students as the pinnacle of modern intellectualism - more myth than man. As her obsession with the Professor grows, she’s plunged into an otherworldly chess game of linguistics and etymology. But the deeper she falls into his academic labyrinth, the more she begins to realise that someone, or something, is hunting them both.Perfect for fans of Ted Chiang, Susanna Clarke and Sylvain Neuvel, Professor Everywhere is a sci-fi mystery that explores the liminal spaces between language and memory, and the dangers of making heroes out of people who are only human.

    He couldn't be more wrong.Forced by a powerful executive to steal a priceless dataset, Maddox uncovers the shocking truth of a secret war between AIs, raging inside the digital universe known as virtual space. Plunged headlong into the deadly conflict, he’ll have to use every trick he’s ever learned—and a few he’s never tried before—if he wants to survive.Sprawling megacities, rogue AIs, black market tech, modded mercenaries, and a pulse-pounding story filled with unexpected twists. If you love gritty, hardcore cyberpunk, you won’t want to miss this series!

    An old god rises up each fall to test his subjects. Once an old woman’s pet, a robot sent to mine an asteroid faces an existential crisis. A magician and his son time-travel to Ngoni country and try to change the course of history. A dead child returns to haunt his grieving mother with terrifying consequences. Candace, an ambitious middle manager, is handed a project that will force her to confront the ethical ramifications of her company’s latest project—the monetization of human memory. Osupa, a newborn village in pre-colonial Yorubaland populated by refugees of war, is recovering after a great storm when a young man and woman are struck by lightning, causing three priests to divine the coming intrusion of a titanic object from beyond the sky.A magician teams up with a disgruntled civil servant to find his missing wand. A taboo error in a black market trade brings a man face-to-face with his deceased father—literally. The death of a King sets off a chain of events that ensnare a trickster, an insane killing machine, and a princess, threatening to upend their post-apocalyptic world. Africa is caught in the tug-of-war between two warring Chinas, and for Ibrahim torn between the lashings of his soul and the pain of the world around him, what will emerge? When the Goddess of Vengeance locates the souls of her stolen believers, she comes to a midwestern town with a terrible past, seeking the darkest reparations. In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by nuclear war, survivors gather in Ife-Iyoku, the spiritual capital of the ancient Oyo Empire, where they are altered in fantastic ways by its magic and power.

    I shut my mouth. ‘Wipe that idiotic grin off your face,’ she says. I wipe the idiotic grin off my face. And as I emerge from diazepam slumber I realize that our train has pulled into the station. Pain, invisible, but etched within me like crystal. Welcome to London St. Pancras International, where this journey terminates.

    Once he woke up, he found he had transmigrated into the alpha scumbag in the book, Pei Shaoze. The omega protagonist of the novel, Cheng Xia happened to have his pheromones out of control. The original scumbag not only took the opportunity to mark the protagonist but also killed the protagonist’s parents and ruined his reputation. The protagonist was completely blackened and returned five years later to stab the scumbag to death.Pei Shaoze, “……” What type of melodramatic plot was this? Why not invest well in movies and TV shows when he was the boss? His brain was used to bully the protagonist. No wonder why he would be stabbed to death.Therefore, he thoughtfully sent Cheng Xia home and helped select a school drama for Cheng Xia. “This drama is suitable for Cheng Xia and has the potential to be popular.”It turned out to be really popular. Cheng Xia said, “Thank you, President Pei!”“Cheng Xia should expand his shows and challenge himself.”Cheng Xia whose fans soared to the tens of millions. “Thank you so much, President Pei!”“Do you want to try this drama? I think you are talented enough to handle this difficult role.”At the awards ceremony, Cheng Xia said, “The person I want to thank most is President Pei!”On Pei Shaoze’s birthday, all the stars of the company came to congratulate him. After the party, Cheng Xia personally sent Pei Shaoze home. The young man’s cheeks were slightly red and his eyes were shining as he stared at Pei Shaoze. “President Pei, in fact, I know your feelings toward me and I like you very much.”Pei Shaoze, “……?”Later, it was found that Pei Shaoze was a producer in every one of Cheng Xia’s shows.The fans said, “This alpha is pretty good. Xia Xia, hurry and chase him!”Cheng Xia answered, “I’ve caught him :)”—Give you the most tolerant love and help you spread your wings to fly high.

    But the savior isn’t human at all. Trapped by his Maker’s command to protect a mysterious box, Adem is forced to kill anyone who tries to steal it. When a young boy chances upon Adem’s temple, he resists temptation, intriguing the golem. As the boy and his sister convince Adem to leave the refuge of his temple, the group lands in a web of trouble. Now Adem will do whatever necessary to keep his new young charges safe, even if it means risking all to get rid of the box. Their saving grace comes in the form of an angel who offers to set Adem free of the box’s magic by granting his greatest desire—making him human. But first, Adem must bring back the angel’s long-dead human love from the Underworld. In doing so, he will risk breaking the barrier between the realms, a cataclysm that could launch the Third Realm War. To set things right, he may be forced to give up the only thing he’s ever truly wanted…a chance at a soul of his own

    In this follow-up to Defying Doomsday, disabled and chronically ill protagonists build new worlds from the remains of the old...new perspectives on life after the apocalypse.

    A young performer, Blanco, is trapped in a sinister travelling circus, the Cirque du Curiosities. His only family are heavily-armed freaks, disfigured innocents, malignant criminals, and the volcanic Baba Yaga, a Russian witch. Blanco wants out, but how can he leave behind the people he loves? Then he learns the circus is not what it seems – and neither is he. The answer to the mysteries, and his only hope of survival, lies in a remote valley in Central Asia. It’s four thousand miles, but getting there is the least of his problems …The Last Circus on Earth is a wild ride across Europe and Russia, a page-turning spec-fic thriller.

    But the old terrors of the past still persist, and while some work to build a better world, others still dream of reclaiming the glory of the Old World.In southern Appalachia, political commissar Magnolia Blackadder is sent on a mission into the irradiated Exclusion Zone of Old DC, where an evil that humanity thought it had vanquished centuries ago is waking up and rebuilding its strength. Along the way, she meets a strange woman with terrible secrets and an unspeakable past, and as they forge a bond and brave the terrors of the wasteland together, she learns that some demons are not so easily exorcised, and that some stones are better left unturned.In this her debut novel, award-winning author Natalie Ironside delivers a new vision of the post-apocalypse, a tale of adventure, terror, love, and that most basic and most powerful of all human desires: Freedom.

    An artifact of indescribable and irreplicable beauty created by an "extinct" culture has been the basis of another culture's origin stories. The race who created the artifact has survived on a distant world and has sent a representative to reclaim it, throwing everything into question. Inspired by the SF camp in Danzhai, China, which is co-hosted by the Future Administration Authority (FAA) and Wanda Group.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    A mystical anthropologist desperate to find his lost brother trips and falls into another realm; a witch forced to return to her remote hometown gets trapped with the man she's pretending to date; a journalist banished to an island by her ex turns out to have a fair hand at babysitting monsters; a preternaturally lucky Millennial politician falls for her problematically unlucky neighbor; and a disgruntled tech employee uncovers a surprising secret while seeking revenge on her not-so-altruistic boss.From fiction contributor Olivie Blake, these stories of paranormal romance, adventure, humor, and misdeeds once exclusive to Witch Way Magazine are available to own for the first time, along with a new story written specifically for the collection.

    From basements to highways, small towns to new worlds, emerging and established storytellers share tales of fear and discovery, redemption, and resistance.Black girls are disappearing in broad daylight in the woods of Kent County. A new tea shoppe in a gentrifying neighborhood sells a mysterious concoction. French tourists, seeking to get out of New Orleans during a hurricane, encounter a stultified writer. A woman befriends a strange creature in a wishing well off Fordham Road. Consumed by guilt for his war crimes, a soldier volunteers to rebuild an orphanage. A babysitter learns that a father keeps monsters in the basement. What could be scarier than monsters in the basement? A zombie fighter runs into the worst creature imaginable: a teenage boy. Terror ensues as villagers hunt for a witch on the run. A niece makes dresses for her aunt, a singer accused of cannibalism by their church. As a Zambian girl’s supernatural powers grow, so do complications with the organization that can help her control them. Radiation levels spike on a dying Earth, and it’s only a matter of time until life dies along with it. On Millennium, everything will be okay—right?…and many more stories.Contributors include: Kylah Balthazar, Kalynn Bayron, Michele Tracy Berger, Tara Betts, Changu Chiimbwe, Addie Citchens, Jennifer Coley, Tracy Cross, Lyndsey Ellis, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Taliyah Jarrett, Silk Jazmyne, Michelle Renee Lane, Candice Lola, Joy Monaè, Cheree’ Noel, Endria Richardson, Ravynn K. Stringfield, Malissa White, Kanyla Wilson, Jade T. Woodridge, and Nicole Young.

    After years of performing as a gladiator across the cities of Veridan’s Curve, he’s returning home under dangerous circumstances, to the farm on which he and his fellow orphans were raised.Velanor, the precocious blonde socialite. Ria, exotic and sexy, a natural born tempest mage. Both are now grown women, and so much has changed since their intimate childhood under one roof. But Malon, their guardian and protector, is still as beautiful and mysterious as ever.With conflict on the horizon, it’s up to Damon to protect them, to love them, and to figure just where the boundaries are. Ten years is a long time to be away from a home filled with buxom, confident women.This book contains forbidden consensual sexual encounters between the main character and the closest women in his life.

    We will explain. We'll try to be brief. And we'll start with what it isn't.It isn't a Liaden Universe® novel.It isn't a collection of Liaden short stories.It isn't an Adventure in the Liaden Universe®.So what is it, you ask. Well, it's this: bits of novels or stories that stalled; outtakes from published novels; character sketches; and discovery drafts. All of these bits and bobs are Liaden in nature, but they are not–not one of them is–complete. They are of possible interest to devoted fans of the Liaden Universe®; they are not guaranteed to be everyone's cuppa.Also? Every single one of the said bits and bobs included in this collection has been previously published on Splinter Universe, for the amusement of the authors and the interest of those same devoted fans. There is nothing new here, save the Authors' Introduction. All of the material in this book has been removed from Splinter Universe; the only place you will find them is in this collection. Why? Because we promised those devoted readers that the material would not be Lost Forever.Having read this, If you've decided to continue–we welcome you, along with those devoted fans who traveled with us down the years.Have fun.

    They heralded the end of the world, where thousands of drought fiends stalked the night and the collapse of the Divine Land** was imminent.Fortunately, within this long, dark night*** where silence had fallen on all magic, a lone star still glistened brightly on the horizon.The Heart Lamp appeared, illuminating the vast expanse around it. A 16-year-old young man, who will end his life on his 20th birthday, embarked on a journey of reclaiming the spiritual Qi of the heavens and earth that had been sealed away — only four years remain.The road ahead was filled with countless thistles and thorns, and it seemed improbable for him to succeed.Chen Xing, “The important thing is that I’m the last exorcist in this world, yet the only magic I am capable of is emitting light. What can I do?”Wait patiently then. When the Dinghai pearl reappears on earth, the uncertain trajectory of everyone’s fates will be completely disrupted before converging once more.Chen Xing, “Could I be partnered with a more normal Protector martial god?”Isn’t your Protector really skilled in fighting?Chen Xing, “He is good at fighting, but when he loses it he’ll hit even me……”There’s nothing that can be done about that, you can only blame yourself for losing yourself to lust.—*: Buddhist term: Abhijñā, a mysterious force that surpasses the limits of mortals gained through meditation**: old name for China***: figurative meaning: long period of misery and oppression(English translation from novelupdates.com)

    Content advisory: violence

    The last ten years of my life I can only return to my human form for five days. All because of the Voodoo Witch Doctor Jacques. One of the idiots in my congress broke his daughters heart. In turn, He dubbed all raven shifters evil, and cursed us. He gave us calavera's and a choice, kill or die. I'm a survivor, and I plan on beating last years body count. There's one unforeseen glitch in my plans, and her name is Mina. ** TRIGGER WARNING** BDSM elements, torture, prostitution. Graphic death scenes in unique ways, Stockholm syndrome elements. Mass murderer turned anti-hero

    or perhaps it's already here? It's an infected apocalypse and we're all (alone) in it together! 100% of proceeds will go to the Save the Children Response.Features short stories by: F. Paul Wilson, John Palisano, Mark Towse, R.J. Meldrum, Rebecca Fraser, Tabby Stirling, Pochassi, Patrick J. Gallagher, Claire Fitzpatrick, Tom Prince, Brianna Courtney Bullen, T.C. Phillips, Edward Ahern, Calvin Demmer, Chris Mason, Catherine McCarthy, Brian Bowyer, Louise Zedda-Sampson, Eugene Johnson, Shaun Taylor, Noel Osualdini, Irene Punti, Gerri Leen, Tracy Fahey, Eric J. Guignard, Yash Seyedbagheri, Steve Dillon.

    When a woman sends Sandoval grainy footage of what appears to be a unicorn, he quickly hires an assistant and the two head off to the woman's farm in Hvíldarland, a tiny, remote island off the coast of Iceland. When they arrive on the island and discover that both a military base and the surrounding álagablettur, the nearby woods, are teeming with strangeness and secrets, they begin to realize that a supposed unicorn sighting is the least of their worries.

    Retired from the reality TV show Ghastly Incidents, she’s now a social media sensation, chasing ghosts, demons, and inter-dimensional aliens—in an effort to avoid her own.When a desperate young couple sends Jamis a video of a poltergeist disturbance, she jumps on a plane to Sage Creek, Utah, not knowing her world is about to change forever. Ghost stories she can handle, but a violent poltergeist, a brutal unsolved twenty-five-year-old murder, and meeting the love of her life? She’s in way over her head. Jamis thought she was the one chasing ghosts, but it seems as though something is chasing her…

    What could possibly go wrong?For a thousand years, humans have had to fight for their survival against the mute, feral “Ants,” created as workers but now gone rogue, scavenging and slaughtering everything in their path.The beleaguered humans, in the meantime, have evolved two distinct cultures. The disciplined, insular Foresters prioritize safety over personal freedom in their woodland strongholds, while the more individualistic Men embrace an urban lifestyle and are eager to reimplement the technology of past ages. Nominally allies against the Ants, the two groups deeply mistrust each other.Deer, a despondent Forester soldier, is one of his people’s foremost authorities on Ants. He knows with perfect certainty that Ant-raiders never leave survivors. So how, amid the carnage of a raided Man-village, is one small girl still alive? She says her name is Anne; but who is she, and what is her secret?Deer takes Anne to the forest to grow up, where years later, a horrifying revelation about her may provide a means for Men and Forester to finally defeat the Ants—but only if they can put aside their differences and work together.Full of unforgettable characters, masterful dialog, and riveting scenes, Antlands is ultimately a story of hope, healing, and redemption.

    But when it catches up, he finds himself hiding in a peculiar inn listening to a tale from centuries past.The story is Anargen’s, a teen who is pulled from all he loves to follow his oaths of loyalty to the fabled King of the Realms. Together with his mentor, Cinaed, he rides north on a special quest to mediate peace talks between ancient foes—the men of Ecthelowall and the dwarfs of Ordumair. Nothing goes as planned. Many on both sides of the dispute despise Anargen’s Order. Worse, an arcane evil has returned to the North. This “Grey Scourge” seeks to ruin the peace talks and ensure a lost treasure held by the dwarfs is never found by those for whom it is meant.As Anargen’s story unfolds, Jason begins to wonder whether it is truly just a fable. He soon finds himself drawn into the conflict Anargen faced. A battle which has shaped and can destroy his world.

    She was never meant to be a squire. She was supposed to marry well, and raise sons who would become knight protectors.Ana had other plans. After years of hard work, Squire Ana Derel has earned the respect of her peers. She's a crack shot, and lethal with a blade. She's weeks away from earning her own knighthood.Then a deadly ambush leaves her charred, defeated and wanting justice. With the South readying for war, and the North demanding answers, Squire Derel finds herself alone in the epicenter of the coming storm. Alone, until she meets the enigmatic Knight of the Shire. Will their unlikely friendship be enough to prevent a war? Or will war consume them too?