In her deft hands, “relationships and mundane activities take on mythic qualities” (The Wall Street Journal).In this collection, Bender’s unique talents sparkle brilliantly in stories about people searching for connection through love, sex, and family—while navigating the often painful realities of their lives. A traumatic event unfolds when a girl with flowing hair of golden wheat appears in an apple orchard, where a group of people await her. A woman plays out a prostitution fantasy with her husband and finds she cannot go back to her old sex life. An ugly woman marries an ogre and struggles to decide if she should stay with him after he mistakenly eats their children. Two sisters travel deep into Malaysia, where one learns the art of mending tigers who have been ripped to shreds.In these deeply resonant stories—evocative, funny, beautiful, and sad—we see ourselves reflected as if in a funhouse mirror. Aimee Bender has once again proven herself to be among the most imaginative, exciting, and intelligent writers of our time.

    Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, Victoria Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone, and a to-be-announced debut author/short-story contest winner

    He's sharp, thoughtful, and his particular sorcery gives him a flawless memory. A transfer to the First Precinct seems like the perfect opportunity to showcase his abilities and advance his career. But things work differently in the First Precinct. The murder of a businessman's mistress quickly pulls Adamat into an unexpected world of conspiracy and politics where he's forced to use all his wits to stay one step ahead of unseen enemies and keep his friends—and himself—from the guillotine. Occurs twenty-two years before the events in Promise of Blood.

    Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction--stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013--as well "Black Dog," a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection.Trigger Warning explores the masks we all wear and the people we are beneath them to reveal our vulnerabilities and our truest selves. Here is a rich cornucopia of horror and ghosts stories, science fiction and fairy tales, fabulism and poetry that explore the realm of experience and emotion. In "Adventure Story"--a thematic companion to The Ocean at the End of the Lane--Gaiman ponders death and the way people take their stories with them when they die. His social media experience "A Calendar of Tales" are short takes inspired by replies to fan tweets about the months of the year--stories of pirates and the March winds, an igloo made of books, and a Mother's Day card that portends disturbances in the universe. Gaiman offers his own ingenious spin on Sherlock Holmes in his award-nominated mystery tale "The Case of Death and Honey". And "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" explains the creaks and clatter we hear when we're all alone in the darkness.A sophisticated writer whose creative genius is unparalleled, Gaiman entrances with his literary alchemy, transporting us deep into the realm of imagination, where the fantastical becomes real and the everyday incandescent. Full of wonder and terror, surprises and amusements, Trigger Warning is a treasury of delights that engage the mind, stir the heart, and shake the soul from one of the most unique and popular literary artists of our day.

    Eleven Doctors, eleven stories, eleven unique interpretations of the Doctor, his terrifying alien enemies and his time-travelling adventures.

    A handful of Messengers brave the night between the increasingly isolated populace behind protective wards. Arlen Bales will search anywhere, dare anything, to save the world. Maybe Abban, a merchant in the Great Bazaar of Krasia who purports to sell anything, has the answer.

    Le Guin, an icon in American literature, collected for the first time in one breathtaking volume.Ursula K. Le Guin has won multiple prizes and accolades from the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to the Newbery Honor, the Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and PEN/Malamud Awards. She has had her work collected over the years, but never as a complete retrospective of her longer works as represented in the wonderful The Found and the Lost.CONTENT "Vaster Than Empires And More Slow" "Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight" "Hernes" by Ursula K. Le Guin "The Matter Of Seggri" "Another Story Or A Fisherman Of The Inland Sea" "Forgiveness Day" "A Man Of The People" "A Woman’s Liberation" "Old Music And The Slave Women" "The Finder" "On The High Marsh" "Dragonfly" "Paradises Lost"This collection is a literary treasure chest that belongs in every home library.

    Contentsix • Introduction: Berserker Lies • essay by Fred Saberhagen1 • The Machinery of Lies • novella by Fred Saberhagen71 • Masque of the Red Shift • (1965) • novelette by Fred Saberhagen95 • In the Temple of Mars • (1966) • novelette by Fred Saberhagen117 • Brother Berserker • (1967) • novella by Fred Saberhagen183 • Smasher • (1978) • novelette by Fred Saberhagen

    With rich and vibrant worldbuilding, readers are transported to antiquated realms to witness noble sacrifices and astonishing wonders. Gathering a comprehensive survey of beloved stories from the genre, this compilation includes stories by such luminaries as George R.R. Martin, Melanie Rawn, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robin Hobb, and Tad Williams, with a foreword by author Brent Weeks. Inspiring and larger-than-life, these tales offer timeless values of courage and friendship in the face of ultimate evil and express mankind's greatest hopes and fears.Stories:01 - Robin Hobb, Homecoming02 - Ursula K. Le Guin, The Word of Unbinding03 - Tad Williams, The Burning Man04 - Aliette de Bodard, As the Wheel Turns05 - Paolo Bacigalupi, The Alchemist06 - Orson Scott Card, Sandmagic07 - Patrick Rothfuss, The Road to Levinshir08 - Brandon Sanderson, Rysn09 - Michael Moorcock, While the Gods Laugh10 - Melanie Rawn, Mother of All Russiya11 - Kate Elliott, Riding the Shore of the River of Death12 - Mary Robinette Kowal, The Bound Man13 - N.K. Jemisin, The Narcomancer14 - Carrie Vaughn, Strife Lingers in Memory15 - Trudi Canavan, The Mad Apprentice16 - Juliet Marillier, Otherling17 - George R.R. Martin, The Mystery Knight

    Salvatore, Douglas Niles, Troy Denning, Christie Golden, and others

    This spellbinding collection is a must for fans of classic SF. - Publishers WeeklyWith the publication of his first story, 'The Coldest Place', in 1964 Larry Niven launched one of the most important careers in the history of science fiction. Over the next decade his stunning hard science fiction won four short fiction Hugo Awards and both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for his all-time classic novel, Ringworld.But it was the short stories that amazed and astounded first. Stories like 'The Coldest Place', 'Becalmed in Hell', 'Neutron Star', and 'All the Myriad Ways' set the boundaries for 'Known Space', one of science fiction s grandest future histories, while Niven also explored the classic tavern story in his 'Draco's Tavern' sequence and even fantasy in his 'Magic Goes Away' stories.Astoundingly, there has never been a single compendium the focused solely on Niven's best short fiction until now. The Best of Larry Niven collects no less than twenty seven stories written over a period of thirty-five years, bringing together some of the best-loved stories in science fiction for the first time, along with some overlooked classics. Whether this is your first time in Known Space or you're visiting old friends in Draco's Tavern, The Best of Larry Niven is unforgettable.Contents:9 • Introduction (The Best of Larry Niven) • essay by Jerry Pournelle11 • Becalmed in Hell • [Known Space] • (1965) • shortstory by Larry Niven25 • Bordered in Black • (1966) • shortstory by Larry Niven45 • Neutron Star • [Known Space] • (1966) • novelette by Larry Niven63 • The Soft Weapon • [Known Space] • (1967) • novelette by Larry Niven113 • The Jigsaw Man • [Known Space] • (1967) • shortstory by Larry Niven125 • The Deadlier Weapon • non-genre • (1968) • shortstory by Larry Niven135 • All the Myriad Ways • [Time Travel - Parallel Universe] • (1968) • shortstory by Larry Niven145 • Not Long Before the End • [Magic Goes Away] • (1969) • shortstory by Larry Niven157 • Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex • (1969) • essay by Larry Niven165 • Inconstant Moon • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven191 • Rammer • [State] • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven219 • Cloak of Anarchy • [Known Space] • (1972) • shortstory by Larry Niven239 • The Fourth Profession • (1971) • novelette by Larry Niven285 • Flash Crowd • [Teleportation] • (1973) • novella by Larry Niven337 • The Defenseless Dead • [Gil Hamilton] • (1973) • novelette by Larry Niven381 • The Flight of the Horse • [Svetz] • (1969) • shortstory by Larry Niven395 • The Hole Man • (1974) • shortstory by Larry Niven409 • Night on Mispec Moor • [State] • (1974) • shortstory by Larry Niven421 • Flatlander • [Known Space] • (1967) • novelette by Larry Niven459 • The Magic Goes Away • [Magic Goes Away • 1] • (1978) • novel by Larry Niven523 • Cautionary Tales • (1978) • shortstory by Larry Niven527 • Limits • [Draco Tavern] • (1981) • shortstory by Larry Niven533 • A Teardrop Falls • [Berserker] • (1983) • shortstory by Larry Niven545 • The Return of William Proxmire • (1989) • shortstory by Larry Niven555 • The Borderland of Sol • [Known Space] • (1975) • novelette by Larry Niven595 • Smut Talk • [Draco Tavern] • (2000) • shortstory by Larry Niven605 • The Missing Mass • [Draco Tavern] • (2000) • shortstory by Larry NivenCover art by Edward Miller

    Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good... and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.Librarian's Note: Alternate cover edition of ASIN B0010SIPT4

    Peter Hamilton takes us on a journey from a murder mystery in an alternative Oxford in the 1800s to a story featuring Paula Myo, Deputy Director of the Intersolar Commonwealth's Serious Crimes Directorate.

    They had no other choice but to take a plunge into their deepest fear and leave the rest to destiny. Their characters was tested out of their comfort zone and it witnessed abstruse results; a PhD scholar fights to win a pizza making contest and a tennis prodigy running for his life in a war torn, bloodied Island. Extreme circumstances and their consequences made these ordinary individuals extraordinary . Was the test imposed on them by someone? Or did they invite it on themselves. The Blue Moon Day is that Once in a Blue Moon day story which questions an individual's priorities, ridicules the worldly routines and finally redefines happiness.

    Correk is recovering on Oriceran and no one seems to be in the mood for Christmas. But with the help of the regulars… and an unexpected artifact… plus a certain troll, donuts and Hagan, plus the magical community from the Jackalope this just might be a very Merry Christmas after all. ​ Merry Christmas everyone! Welcome to the Magical World of Oriceran. Because Magic is Real.