That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls "an animal rights organization." Tom's team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society that's found its way to the alternate world. Others have, too--and their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

    And Ogres rule the world, with their size and strength and appetites. It’s always been that way. It’s the natural order of the world. And they only eat people sometimes.But when the headman’s son, Torquell, dares lift his hand against the landlord’s son, he sets himself on a path to learn the terrible truth about the Ogres, and about the dark sciences that ensured their rule.

    A confrontation with a former lover leads to the discovery of another murder and a missing jewel from a godly relic, and Beth learns that the Éadrom Hoard—one of three godly hoards now guarded by the elves—has been stolen.But this is no ordinary theft. Darker forces are at work, and they’re not only seeking the means to resurrect a god of destruction but the power to forever banish daylight. That power lay with Agrona’s Claws—three godly artifacts that, when used together, give the user full control over night itself.With the webs of suspicion drawing ever tighter around them, Beth & Lugh—with the help of two sexy elves and a cantankerous old goddess who knows far more than she admits—race to find the missing artifacts before those intent on unleashing chaos.It’s a race they must win, because it’s not just their lives on the line, but the fate of modern-day England.

    He's the only Healer on-call in the hospital — and that gunshot wound isn’t going to regenerate itself.But his patient turns out to be Corinna Arden, heiress to a pharmaceutical empire controlling Britain’s water supply. Her twin, Javier, is a man who (a) starts sending Ethan flowers at work, (b) seems terrified of a secret, and (c) has the cheekbones and earnestness to make up for both.Ethan indulges in what he thinks will be a brief and harmless romance but quickly finds himself knee-deep in a conspiracy involving murder, a drug cartel, and a bid for the multi-trillion-pound reconstruction tender: Project Earthflown.Meanwhile, Oliver is a journalist preoccupied with a dead body he found on the end of a too-convenient tip. Determined to follow the money, Oliver would also like to know what Javier Arden is doing on his couch.Earthflown is a character-driven speculative novel exploring the water crisis, hyper-privatisation and love. Set in a London that has long abandoned the earth to the rising sea, the story takes a science-based approach to conventional fantasy archetypes, where futuristic medicine meets a bit of magic.

    This is Impossible.***Nick: Failed writer. Failed husband. Dog owner.Bee: Serial dater. Dress maker. Pringles enthusiast.One day, their paths cross over a misdirected email. The connection is instant, electric. They feel like they've known each other all their lives.Nick buys a new suit, gets on a train. Bee steps away from her desk, sets off to meet him under the clock at Euston station.Think you know how the rest of the story goes? They did too . . .But this is a story with more twists than most. This is Impossible.

    This is Impossible.***Nick: Failed writer. Failed husband. Dog owner.Bee: Serial dater. Dress maker. Pringles enthusiast.One day, their paths cross over a misdirected email. The connection is instant, electric. They feel like they've known each other all their lives.Nick buys a new suit, gets on a train. Bee steps away from her desk, sets off to meet him under the clock at Euston station.Think you know how the rest of the story goes? They did too . . .But this is a story with more twists than most. This is Impossible.

    An astonishing debut." —Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen and V for Vendetta"Epic . . . Sequoia Nagamatsu is a writer whose imagination is matched only by his compassion, the kind we need to light our way through the dark." —Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The ImmortalistsRecommended by New York Times Book Review • Los Angeles Times • Entertainment Weekly • Esquire • Good Housekeeping • NBC News • Buzzfeed • Business Insider • Bustle • Goodreads • The Millions • The Philadelphia Inquirer • Minneapolis Star-Tribune • San Francisco Chronicle • The Guardian • PopSugar • Literary Hub • and many more!For fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven, a spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague—a daring and deeply heartfelt work of mind-bending imagination from a singular new voice.Beginning in 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus.Once unleashed, the Arctic Plague will reshape life on earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, a cynical employee falls in love with a mother desperate to hold on to her infected son. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects—a pig—develops the capacity for human speech. A widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter embark on a cosmic quest to locate a new home planet. From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes readers on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resiliency of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe."Wondrous, and not just in the feats of imagination, which are so numerous it makes me dizzy to recall them, but also in the humanity and tenderness with which Sequoia Nagamatsu helps us navigate this landscape. . . . This is a truly amazing book, one to keep close as we imagine the uncertain future." —Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here

    Each story builds a new world all its own: a group of children steal a haunted doll; a runaway bride encounters a sea monster; a vendor sells toy boxes that seemingly control the passage of time; an insomniac is seduced by the Sandman. These visions of modern life wrestle with themes of death and technological consequence, guilt and sexuality, and unmask the contradictions that exist within all of us.  Mesmerizing, electric, and wholly original, Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century blurs the boundaries of the real and fantastic, offering intricate and surprising insights into human nature.

    A government operative who could bring armies to a halt and nations to their knees. But when his own country betrayed him, he dropped off the grid and picked up the first of many bottles.Natalie can't remember much of her life before her family brought her to the US, but she remembers the cages. And getting taken away to the Project with dozens of other young children to become part of their nightmarish experiments. That's how she ended up with the ghost of a dead secret agent stuck in her head.And Hector owes Natalie's ghost a big favor.Now Hector and Natalie are on the run from an army of killers sent to retrieve her. Because the people behind the Project are willing to risk almost anything to get Natalie back and complete their experiments.

    Another delightfully humorous and sweet fantasy graphic novel adaptation of a Neil Gaiman short story, brought to you by the Eisner-award winning team of Snow, Glass, Apples Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran! An elderly British widow buys what turns out to be the Holy Grail from a second-hand shop, setting her off on an epic visit from an ancient knight who lures her with ancient relics in hope for winning the cup.From the Hugo, Bram Stoker, Locus, World Fantasy, Nebula award-winning, and New York Times bestselling writer Neil Gaiman (American Gods) comes this graphic novel adaptation by Colleen Doran (Troll Bridge, Snow, Glass, Apples).

    Allow it to be injected into the roof of your mouth and it will grow into your brain, allow you to connect with others without even picking up your phone. Its followers are growing. Its detractors say it is a cult. But for one journalist, hired to do a puff-piece interview with their CEO, it will change the world forever.Adan just wants to stay at home with his smart-companion Elegy - phone, friend, confidante, sex toy. But when his mother flees to Europe and joins a cult, leaving him penniless, he has to enlist in the army. Sentient robots are invading America, but it seems Adan has a surprising ability to survive their attacks. He has a purpose, even if he doesn't know what it is.And in the far future, war between a hivemind of Ais and the remnants of humanity is coming to its inevitable end. But one woman has developed a weapon which might change the course of the war. It's just a pity she's trapped in an inescapable prison on a hivemind ship.

    Within a few short years, climate collapse leaves Cape Town a vast and arid slum. Those who can afford to leave have fled to the New Temperate Zones, and to The Citadel on Signal Hill, ensconced in a climate-controlled dome behind The Wall. But at what cost? Here, residents pass their days lost in virtual reality, courtesy of a biotech implant connected to their minds, refusing to see what goes on around them. In the present day, before the Change, Luthando sees the way the world is headed and tries to avert disaster, but his activism leads to clashes with the government. As their lives begin to unravel, his life partner, Viwe, becomes embroiled in the religious end-of-days fanaticism sweeping the city. And their friend Malcolm fears that his work developing mental and emotional software is being used for sinister purposes.It Doesn't Have to Be This Way is a profoundly moving story of resilience and tenderness, and our capacity for love in the face of fear. ------------------------------------------Praise for It Doesn't Have to Be This Way:"Revolutionary. Vulnerable. Chilling in its relevance." - Mia Arderne."A bracing read." - Siya Khumalo.

    By the year 4054, multiple solar systems are inhabited, and taking a spaceship is as commonplace as taking an aeroplane. Unfortunately, not everything about the future is so advanced. The central planets, led by Earth, have risen high at the expense of cheap labour on distant worlds. Dissent is widespread and arrests are common. Sometimes prisoners are released; sometimes they disappear without a trace, sent to labour camps in other solar systems.When Ames Emerys receives a letter telling him that his brother Callum has died en route to the remote planet of Kilnin, he takes the first ship he can off Earth, desperate for answers. But the secrets Ames uncovers prove far more dangerous than he could have imagined. And trouble isn’t far behind.

    Now I’m eighteen and finally ready to leave this hell hole.When the clock strikes midnight I’ll be free… or so I thought. Because instead of finding freedom, I find myself mated to the alphas son.

     Sakhan fights captivity, shamans, and shapeshifters – all while caring for an ailing mother and vowing to win a throne he does not want. Betrayed, hunted and alone, Haikachi dreams of revenge as he puts his trust in the loyalty of sworn enemies. His destiny is a chief – if his allies do not kill him first. Helpless husband to a murdered wife, Neneh is free of expectations. With nothing else to lose, he is at an advantage – but nothing is a double-edged blade. As folklores come alive and dark clouds gather, amid tragedy and victory, honor and betrayal, everyone must gamble for that most elusive of places – survival.

    Now, instead of getting close to anyone, he lives vicariously through other people's phones and webcams. Thanks to his skills, he always gets away with it.Until he hacks his idol.Brendan Shyth is haunted by loss. First, the death of his boy. Then the end of his music career thanks to a grief-induced drunken accident. Fringe science regrew his fingers, but he still can't bring himself to play again. Avoiding his fans, the media, and his manager, Brendan hides in his mansion, determined to be left alone.Until he finds his webcam on and realizes someone is watching him. Someone other than the ghost of his dead lover, that is.Brendan has Connor tracked down and kidnapped, meaning to teach him a lesson. But the teasing brat gets under his skin in a way that no one has in years.A boy in need of security. A ghost in need of acceptance. A man in need of faith. With a career, sanity, and hearts on the line, can these men overcome their fears before it's too late?Restored Ruins is the first book in the Gentleman Hackers series. It features a boy whose hair color never stays the same, a daddy who puts him in serious time-out, a ghost desperate to be seen, and an MMM HEA ending. No pianos were harmed in the writing of this romance (though they do make good horizontal surfaces).A Paranormal Gay Daddy Romance

    From an award-winning team of authors, editors, and translators comes a groundbreaking short story collection that explores the expanse of Chinese science fiction and fantasy.In The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories, you can dine at a restaurant at the end of the universe, cultivate to immortality in the high mountains, watch roses perform Shakespeare, or arrive at the island of the gods on the backs of giant fish to ensure that the world can bloom.Written, edited, and translated by a female and nonbinary team, these stories have never before been published in English and represent both the richly complicated past and the vivid future of Chinese science fiction and fantasy.Time travel to a winter's day on the West Lake, explore the very boundaries of death itself, and meet old gods and new heroes in this stunning new collection.

    Here, knitting might cancel Armageddon. A winged being yearns to be an archaeologist. Readers are sucked into a post-apocalyptic London where the different rains are named after former politicians. An enchanted garden grows in a rented flat. Magical realism meets dystopia, with a refreshing twist.Extract: Ticket to Nowhere“Destination?” asked the woman in the railway ticket office. She had pink blotchy skin and dark bags under her eyes.“Nowhere,” I said. “Single or return?”“Can I get an open return for the next train?” “Not during peak hours.” I sighed. “Okay, single then.” I had no idea how long I would be in Nowhere, but had taken a few days off work, anyway.“That’ll be £35.”“For a one-way ticket to Nowhere? That’s a complete rip-off!” “Take it or leave it,” the woman said flatly. “Nowhere’s the cheapest destination on offer. I can do Elsewhere for £44 or Somewhere for £52. We have a special offer to Everywhere for £99, which includes free vouchers for a Nirvana milk-shake and Armageddon hamburger.” “I need a ticket to Nowhere.” I opened my purse and handed over the money. “When does the next train leave?” “In five minutes from platform three.” I took the ticket, picked up my suitcase, and followed the signs to platform three. Pacing resolutely, I was conscious of the click-click of my high heeled boots on the floor. It was dark outside apart from the dim lamps that lit the platform at intervals. A lonely half-moon was hovering high above, and I turned up the collar of my woollen overcoat against the chill of the night. A train slid out of a tunnel, then steadied to a halt. I found a seat in a carriage with few passengers. The train chugged off without enthusiasm into the night, and peering out of the window, I could see nothing, only darkness ahead, darkness behind. I felt anxious to be heading to Nowhere, but I had to go there. I’d much have rather been at home, curled up on the sofa with a novel.My mind flitted once more to the last encounter with Marcus seven months ago: him begging me for one more chance, me striding out angrily with a: “You promised me you’d quit the drugs, so go to hell.” I thought too of the message I’d got two days ago from a mutual acquaintance, saying he’d heard Marcus was in a ‘dangerously bad way’ and was desperate to speak to or see me. The chap hadn’t got Marcus’s address or phone number, but knew he was in Nowhere. The message, which still sent a sliver of fear down my spine, was the reason I was on this train.

    When her most lethal creation falls into enemy hands, she'll cross every forbidden line to retrieve it. Including, teaming up with a wicked Fallen who makes her blood boil. If the mortal realm didn't depend on her, she'd behead him. To secure his soul's freedom, Slater must first endure Hell. Literally. Until his plan goes up in hellfire when he loses his only bargaining chip—a deadly weapon crafted by an angelic killer. Now, he must convince her to become his ally. Immortals fear her…but he loves playing with fire. As their passion and hate collide on the battlefield, these two ancient enemies must join forces to save the world…unless they kill each other first.Each book in the series features a different main couple with a swoony HEA (no cliffhangers!). But if you’d like to follow along with the baddie’s story, the series is best read in order.The Fallen Guardians reading order:1. UNFORSAKEN (Raven)2. UNFORGOTTEN (Aric)3. UNSEEN (EJ)4. UNTAMED (Raine)5. TBA6. TBA7. TBA

    Hossain continues to mix futurism with fable, and shows how strange our lives might become.While Gurkha introduced us to the techno utopia of Kathmandu, Kundo takes us to Hossain’s native Bangladesh, to the fading city of Chittagong, which is slowly crumbling into the sea as even Karma goes silent. But Kundo’s contemplation of his dying city is interrupted when his wife leaves him and then goes inexplicably missing, and soon Kundo starts to connect the dots between a number of disappearances. But this is Hossain, and so there’s more afoot than techno shenanigans. Kundo will find that the veil between worlds is paper-thin, and the djinn have their own stake in the matter.Filled with enough ruminations on tea and coffee to wake anyone up, this mystery/fantasy/science fiction/myth is a genre-breaker with something for everyone to love.

    He desperately needs a win, not only to save his struggling company, but to justify the time he’s spent away from his wife and daughters.So when Peter’s tech-genius partner offers him the chance to beta-test a new state-of-the-art virtual reality headset, he jumps at it. But something goes wrong during the trial, and Peter wakes to find himself trapped in an eerily familiar world where his children no longer exist.As the lines between the real and virtual worlds begin to blur, Peter is forced to reckon with what truly matters to him. But can he escape his virtual prison before he loses his family forever?

    In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into thedevastating earthrage storms below.Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few. Like most others, she cannot manipulate the plants. And she desperately seeks change.Their marriage is already thorny—then Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to forbidden limits. He needs Ahilya to help clear his name; she needs him to tip the balance of rule in their society. As their paths become increasingly intertwined, deadly truths emerge, challenging everything each of them believes. And as the earthrages become longer, and their floating city begins to plummet, Iravan and Ahilya's discoveries might destroy their marriage, their culture, and their entire civilization.

    Its wide variety of prose stories explore what it means to be a monster, as well as what happens when you love one.They say the big city is where you go to be someone else. For some, Longsummer is where they go to be themselves. The lesser-known jewel of the Gulf Coast has been home to a secret world for centuries, and the only thing more colorful than its past is its present. At night, demons ride the streetcars. Fae stroll the moonlit canals. Vampires lurk in smoky jazz clubs and seedy hotels. Ghosts haunt the Mansard roofs and poison gardens of Belle Reve, and creatures of ancient terror bask under the Spanish moss. In the rich, perfumed heat, passions can rise to a fever pitch. So lie back and breathe. If you feel lightheaded, that means its spell is working.But beware the masquerade, the unspoken agreement that supernatural beings must hide their true nature. Though humans and supernatural beings mingle in some neighborhoods, they maintain a delicate dance of denial, and missteps can be fatal. Despite this, the city has a way of bringing lovers together across boundaries - with magical results. Some humans are swept away by the promise of an extraordinary life. Some immortals’ curiosity blooms into desire. Other supernatural beings gravitate to one other, taking comfort in the kinship of someone who truly understands. The course of love may not always run smooth, but one thing’s for certain: in Longsummer, it conquers all.

    In an early story, “The October Devotion,” William Miller’s predicted mid-19th century apocalypse ends up with a girl discovering what might or might not be Lovecraftian salvation in the forest. A soldier brings a dragon home from World War II to east Tennessee in “The Immigrant.” Two stories here take place in Priest’s beloved Clockwork Century universe: “Reluctance,” in which a teen veteran with a war injury lands his dirigible in a town that seems empty, only to end up in a race against time and zombies, and the novella “Clementine,” following the adventures of Maria Isabella Boyd and Captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey. Another novella, The Wreck of the Mary Byrd, weaves the story of a disappearing boat in 1870 in the words of the captain and some of the passengers...as well as an unforgettable villain. And there’s so much more.Holy Terror also features an introduction from New York Times’ bestselling author Kevin Hearne, extensive notes on each story from Priest, and an exclusive new novelette, “Talking in Circles” that is sure to become a fan favorite. Get ready to hide under the covers, crack this volume open, and take a delicious trip to the dark side.

    As the they learn more about one another, they find themselves forming a connection unlike any they've had before.-The Last Human is book one in The Hybrid Festival, an upper young adult paranormal romance series which includes an f/f relationship.

    But Gorgomoth the Unclean is on the loose again and he's out to ruin everything, for keeps. When Gorgomoth steals the Crown of Destiny and turns Grandpa into a frog, it's up to Wednesday and Alfie - with help from Bruce and their new friend Adaline - to track him down. But wormholes, giant pinball machines and a stolen crown are only the beginning. Throw in a floating fortress full of goblins, some misbehaving magic and a missing pair of eyebrows, and Wednesday and Alfie are going to have to take their magic - and their science - to the next level. Book 2 in the brilliant Wednesday Weeks series, which asks the question: In a world of magic, can science save the day?