Noire: The Collected Stories features eight short stories from renowned authors Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, Joe Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, Francine Prose, Jonathan Santlofer, Duane Swierczynski and Andrew Vachss, many of which revisit the characters and cases in the game, providing a new spin to tell the tales of emotionally torn protagonists, depraved schemers and ill-fated victims.

    When authorities noticed said walking corpses’ affinity for eating the flesh of the living…well, it was easy to define them as “zombies.” Self-proclaimed sociopath Cyrus V. Sinclair isn’t surprised by the dead rising and roaming the Earth. In fact, he doesn’t mind the idea of staying in his Seattle apartment until the end of days—that is, until meeting up with other survivors’ cramps his style and forces him to reevaluate his outlook on life.

    My victims were not people in the strictest sense, but they once were.I woke in a dark room, not knowing where I was or how I had got there. My eyes could vaguely make out the white walls that surrounded me. The faint smell of disinfectant lingered in the room, but there was something it failed to conceal. It was a pungent smell, making me think of old pennies and spoiled meat.I tried to remember where I was. A few vague images and dim recollections slipped away as soon as my mind futility grasped at them. Why couldn’t I remember? Was there an accident? I still knew what things were. I knew the thing underneath of me was called a bed. What I couldn’t remember was anything that personally related to me. My past, my name, and even my appearance were things that didn’t exist in my mind. How could I have forgotten?To my left were windows covered in thick heavy curtains. Hardly any light made its way into the room, which made it difficult to see my surroundings.

    It was written in a hurry. It is riddled with inconsistencies. And it never quite arrives at whatever point it sought to make. But remember: The $25 you donated to charity in exchange for this steaming mess of prose will help our species shuffle along, and I hope you’ll feel warmed by your good deed as you read. Thank you for decreasing the overall worldwide level of suck, and as they say in my hometown: Don’t forget to be awesome.Best wishes!John Green* The book has been made available under creative commons license, so it can be acquired legally here: http://effyeahnerdfighters.com/post/2... :)

    Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating—and then terrifying—journey. Set on a remote key in Florida, “The Gingerbread Girl” is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable—and resourceful—as Audrey Hepburn’s character in "Wait Until Dark." In “Ayana,” a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment. In one of the longer stories here, “N.,” which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient’s irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside...or keep the world from falling victim to it.

    This is a full standalone novel. Book 2 AFTERMATH and Book 3 FORTRESS are now available.

    New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles...all are falling victim to hordes of carnivorous corpses who want only one thing: to devour the living. Single Tree, California is a small resort town in Inyo County. Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, it's easy to overlook. And that's exactly what the citizens of Single Tree want, for the stenches and those fleeing them to ignore the town long enough for it to be transformed into a desert fortress at the foot of Mount Whitney. But time is not on their side. Not only do they have to worry about the dead...they have to fear the living.

    That was all it took. Creatures that once lived in the shadows, hidden from humankind, have risen, spreading like a plague across the globe over the course of a single night. Their numbers growing exponentially through infection, these seemingly unkillable creatures have swallowed up whole cities and collapsed unprepared governments. Survivors call it The Purge. Against all odds, a disparate group of survivors has emerged from that blood-soaked night that devastated the planet and reduced humanity to an endangered species. Among the survivors are two ex-Army Rangers, a businesswoman, and a third-year medical student. But surviving The Purge was one thing – staying alive is another matter entirely. Hope exists in the countryside, in the form of a self-sustaining underground facility designed to withstand any calamity. But in order to reach its safety, the survivors must travel hundreds of treacherous miles, with the night – and the creatures that dwell within it – always at their backs. The rules are simple: stay out of the dark, load up on silver bullets, and whatever you do, stay alive. The road to salvation has begun …

    But the Northwestern Zombie Outbreak isn't your average tragedy... and once the infection spreads to the studio, Avery and her crew will have to worry about staying alive, not ratings.Word count: ~7,100

    Cyberpunk freewheels with punk rock energy, careening between the internet, bioengineering, and international politics, its influence saturating entertainment and the mass media. Drawing on the traditions of the pioneering cyberpunk manifesto, Mirrorshades, each story delves into the gritty world of technological change. Legendary Mirrorshades editor and contributor Bruce Sterling is back, alongside such cutting-edge writers as Cory Doctorow, Jonathan Lethem, Gwyneth Jones, Hal Duncan, Charles Stross, and Pat Cadigan. With a daring introduction from James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel, editors of the controversial Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, this collection is an exhilarating snapshot of a vibrant literary movement.Contents“Introduction: Hacking Cyberpunk” by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel“Bicycle Repairman” by Bruce Sterling“Lobsters” by Charles Stross“The Voluntary State” by Christopher Rowe“When Sysadmins Rules the Earth” by Cory Doctorow“The Wedding Album” by David Marusek“Two Dreams on Trains” by Elizabeth Bear“Yeyuka” by Greg Egan“Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland” by Gwyneth JonesSterling-Kessel Correspondence“How We Got in Town and out Again” by Jonathan Lethem“Search Engine” by Mary Rosenblum“The Dog Said Bow-Wow” by Michael Swanwick“The Calorie Man” By Paolo Bagciaglupi“The Final Remake of The Return of Little Latin Larry With a Completely Remastered ‘Soundtrack’” by Pat Cadigan“What’s Up Tiger Lily?” by Paul Di Filippo“Daddy’s World” by Walter Jon Williams“Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City” by William Gibson

    Told by individual inhabitants, the stories recount tales of disappearing dead deer, enchanted gardens, invisible killer dogs, and rattlesnakes that fall from the sky; each contribution adds to a composite portrait that skitters between eerie, ghoulish, and poignant. Miller is a master storyteller, clearly delighting in his mischievous creations.” Thirty-Three Tales. Thirty-Three Tellers. One Lost Town.

    The survivors came together to create this safe haven. Nestled between a fierce river and a city’s flood wall, the well-being of its residents hangs on a long-established treaty with the night-walkers. Sounds simple enough, but lately, the people of Blackwater have been dying, and the humans believe the night-walkers are to blame. Porschia Grant starves for more than her parents’ affection. Forced to enter the rotation, she will be given extra food rations in exchange for becoming a vampire’s breakfast and dinner for a week. The rotation has an extra responsibility as well: leave the colony and enter the dangerous forest to hunt for food. A night-walker will protect the hunters from the infected that roam the woods. But with the treaty hanging in the balance and tension between the humans and vampires rising, anything could happen in the darkness. What would you do if your only chance at survival might kill you? Suggested reading order for The Frenzy Series: Frenzy, Frantic, Frequency

    Weber is joined in Honor's universe by two leading science fiction writers, David Drake and S.M. Stirling.

     Erin Hayes - I Wish I Weren’t A Djinni A djinni who is summoned by a young man has the power to grant any of his wishes; he simply has to believe her enough to ask. Aileen Harkwood - Splintered Magic Though Saige McMullins may feel like nothing more than a half-witch freak, when evil with a nasty appetite threatens the beach town of Lost Cliff, she knows she’s the only one who can stop it. L.C. Hibbett - Wicked Witch Destiny isn’t a good witch. She lies, she cheats, and she dances on the dead. But Destiny has a secret that might just change everything… Megan J. Parker & Nathan Squiers - Journal of Abigail DiAngelo As a hunter in training and high school student, Abigail DiAngelo would much rather live a normal life than fight monsters with her father, but when an unexpected chance for change arises, it’s up to her to take charge... Katerina Martinez - The Witch and the Thief When Nicole Harriman receives an urgent prophetic vision, it’s up to her to protect what is hers. K.N. Lee - Awakened A young witch betrays her darkest secret and risks her crown, life, and soul for the love of a human. Nicole Zoltack - Gavin’s Gamble Gavin thinks nothing can be worse than having a witch hunter for a father until he experiences possibly magical phenomena... Debbie Cassidy - Deadtown A pocket of crazy, a town hostage to magic, and a mysterious warlock boss equal a recipe for disaster. Alicia Rades - Visions Among Frost Crystal Frost can see ghosts and predict the future, but when her friends pull out a Ouija board at their sleepover, it’s up to her to clean up their mess. Monica Corwin - The Dying of the Light When Charity dies on the first day of her new job she rallies with the help of her new reaper partner, and her eight remaining souls, to take down the criminals responsible. Jasmine Walt - Tested by Magic Shifter and bounty hunter Sunaya Baine would much rather chase after hardened criminals, but when a child goes missing in her magical city, she’ll stop at nothing to find her before she falls prey to the real things that go bump in the night. Thea Atkinson - Reaper’s Redemption A grim reaper’s next fare might be her last. Rebecca Hamilton - Leaves Like Magic A young witch joins forces with a shapeshifting ally in a race against the clock to save her best friend from vampires.

    Planning to test it on himself, he must first self-administer the zombie virus and allow the infection to run its full course. The process and the aftermath are captured in a series of voice recordings, leaving their intended audience little doubt about the experiment's spectacular outcome. **************************************************************"Golgotha" is a selected title from the collection "Shorting the Undead and Other Horrors: a Menagerie of Macabre Mini-Fiction."Approximately 10,000 words (about 35 print pages).For ages 16 and older.