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Alarm Girl
Hannah Vincent - 2014
But Indigo is uneasy in the foreign landscape and confused by the family’s silence surrounding her mother’s recent death. Unable to find solace in either new or old faces, she begins to harbour violent suspicions in place of the truth.Steeped in the dry heat of a South African summer, this keen and touching debut seamlessly interweaves the voices of Indigo and her mother, and beautifully captures the human desire to belong: in a family, in a country, in your own skin.
Dark Albion
David Brian - 2009
Now though, Mary is on the verge of breaking a story which could change the world forever. She has uncovered evidence of something that cannot possibly exist. But Mary knows the threat is real. Should she run with the story, or just bury it and get on with her career? And can she stay alive long enough to make a decision either way? Dark Albion is a novelette length slice of Horror, supported in this highly entertaining and innovative collection by seven other tales of Paranormal Mystery, Suspense and Dread. Traci Thornberry has been persuaded into covering the late shift at the Halfway House Hotel. She has never much enjoyed working nights, and after tonight she'll never want to cover a late shift again.Vlad has hunted his prey across the major cities of the world for many years, and after arriving amid the bright lights of London, he is excited at the prospect of this new hunting ground... Sometimes though, things don't go quite as planned. A wonderfully twisted collection of horror short stories, featuring weird and disturbing tales, which make up the strange world of Dark Albion.
Tupelo Honey
Lis Anna-Langston - 2016
Set in rural Mississippi, with a cast of colorful southerners, it stars one pretty dysfunctional family at the center of which is Tupelo Honey. Author Lis Anna-Langston gets into the head of her title girl completely, taking readers on a ride of a sort of haunted but beautiful mess. To paraphrase Tolstoy, it's the unhappy families that are unique -- and by definition, often more interesting. Tupelo Honey does not have an easy life, on the surface. Her mother is a drug addict, and mental illness lingers in her grandmother Marmalade's house like a hot humid August cloud. Yet Anna-Langston still fills it with gems. It's certainly not a dull life, one full of heartbreaks big and small, but this tough sweet girl pulls it off with aplomb. It's a treat from start to end. Langston has written rich, vivid characters, and painted a vibrant mosaic of a year in one young southern girl's life. It's a hard book to put down, and one you won't want to end. I envy its future readers. ~Teresa DiFalco (c)2016 Parents' Choice When you read more than a hundred books per year, it's exciting to find one that surprises you. "Tupelo Honey" by Lis Anna Langston is one of those, sneaking up quietly to bust expectations and leaves you thinking about the story long after closing the book.~ Chanticleer Book Reviews
New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction
Robert Scotellaro - 2018
With a foreword by Robert Shapard and an afterword by Christopher Merrill, this book brings you fresh approaches to an exacting form that demands precision, a species of brevity that is surprisingly expansive. Writers say the pieces are hard to compose, but readers say they are easy to appreciate, a pleasure to envision, a wonder to watch life spun out and painted in small places. Real and surreal, lyrical and prosaic, here are 135 stories by 89 authors, certain to make you think.
Stranded
Anne Bishop - 2012
They live and die aboard city-ships, never knowing the worlds they create and save. What begins as a disastrous training exercise in creating and balancing ecosystems becomes an unexpected fight for survival. The only hope may be the secret project of an untried Restorer team. A Host Of LeechesA young woman wakes to find herself the sole human on an orbiting, mechanical space station. To find a way home, she must navigate the dangerous politics of war between opposing robot leaders.StrandedA young, genetically engineered centauress from the ultra-advanced Alliance lays claim to a rare, strategic garden planet, only to find herself captured by a band of rag-tag Frontier refugees who've crashed their vintage ship on her unexpectedly hostile world.
Letters to Elise: A Peter Townsend Novella
Amanda Hocking - 2010
In a new novella told through his letters, his history is revealed.
Vampire Kisses 1: The Beginning
Ellen Schreiber - 2011
Dangerous first love. This is where it all begins...The mansion on top of Benson Hill has stood empty for years. But one day it seems to be occupied, and its mysterious, handsome inhabitant Alexander Sterling becomes the source of much talk around town. Raven, a vampire-obsessed Goth-girl who has always considered herself an outsider in 'Dullsville', is determined to uncover the truth surrounding the secretive Alexander. As she gets to know him, and their spark intensifies, Raven finds herself in some unanticipated situations. Vampire Kisses: The Beginning captures the thrill of a most unusual romance.Also available by Ellen Schreiber:Vampire Kisses 2: Kissing CoffinsVampire Kisses 3: VampirevilleVampire Kisses 4: Dance with a VampireVampire Kisses 5: The Coffin ClubVampire Kisses 6: Royal BloodVampire Kisses 7: Love BitesOnce in a Full Moon
Nightmare Soup: Tales That Will Turn Your Stomach
Jake Tri - 2017
Each story is accompanied by a ghastly illustration from the mind of Andy Sciazko... the kind of illustrations that will disturb you in the best way possible.
Delirium Stories: Hana, Annabel, and Raven
Lauren Oliver - 2012
Originally published as digital novellas, Hana, Annabel, and Raven each center around a fascinating and complex character who adds important information to the series and gives it greater depth. This collection also includes an excerpt from Requiem, the final novel in Oliver's New York Times bestselling series.Hana is told through the perspective of Lena's best friend, Hana Tate. Set during the tumultuous summer before Lena and Hana are supposed to be cured, this story is a poignant and revealing look at a moment when the girls' paths diverge and their futures are altered forever.Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery--a ghost from Lena's past--until now. Her journey from teenage runaway to prisoner of the state is a taut, gripping narrative that expands the Delirium world and illuminates events--and Lena--through a new point of view.And as the passionate, fierce leader of a rebel group in the Wilds, Raven plays an integral role in the resistance effort and comes into Lena's life at a crucial time. Crackling with intensity, Raven is a brilliant story told in the voice of one of the strongest and most tenacious characters in the Delirium world.
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
Cassandra Clare - 2016
But the events of City of Heavenly Fire left him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it.So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever this new Simon might be.But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of playing D&D.Join Simon on his journey to become a Shadowhunter, and learn about the Academy’s illustrious history along the way, through guest lecturers such as Jace Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Magnus Bane. These ten short stories give an epilogue to the Mortal Instruments series and provide glimpses of what’s in store in the Dark Artifices.
A Medicine for Melancholy and Other Stories
Ray Bradbury - 1959
Contents: 1 • In a Season of Calm Weather • (1957) • short story by Ray Bradbury 7 • A Medicine for Melancholy • (1959) • short story by Ray Bradbury 16 • The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit • non-genre • (1958) • short story by Ray Bradbury 39 • Fever Dream • (1948) • short story by Ray Bradbury 46 • The Marriage Mender • (1954) • short story by Ray Bradbury 51 • The Town Where No One Got Off • (1958) • short story by Ray Bradbury 59 • A Scent of Sarsaparilla • (1953) • short story by Ray Bradbury 66 • The Headpiece • (1958) • short story by Ray Bradbury 74 • The First Night of Lent • [The Irish Stories] • (1956) • short story by Ray Bradbury 81 • The Time of Going Away • (1956) • short story by Ray Bradbury 88 • All Summer in a Day • (1954) • short story by Ray Bradbury 94 • The Gift • (1952) • short story by Ray Bradbury 97 • The Great Collision of Monday Last • [The Irish Stories] • (1958) • short story by Ray Bradbury 104 • The Little Mice • (1955) • short story by Ray Bradbury 109 • The Shore Line at Sunset • (1959) • short story by Ray Bradbury (variant of The Shoreline at Sunset) 118 • The Day It Rained Forever • (1957) • short story by Ray Bradbury 129 • Chrysalis • (1946) • short story by Ray Bradbury 150 • Pillar of Fire • (1948) • novelette by Ray Bradbury 188 • Zero Hour • (1947) • short story by Ray Bradbury 198 • The Man • (1949) • short story by Ray Bradbury 210 • Time in Thy Flight • (1953) • short story by Ray Bradbury 215 • The Pedestrian • (1951) • short story by Ray Bradbury 220 • Hail and Farewell • (1953) • short story by Ray Bradbury 228 • Invisible Boy • (1945) • short story by Ray Bradbury 237 • Come Into My Cellar • (1962) • short story by Ray Bradbury (variant of Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar!) 254 • The Million-Year Picnic • [The Martian Chronicles] • (1946) • short story by Ray Bradbury (variant of The Million Year Picnic) 264 • The Screaming Woman • [Green Town] • (1951) • short story by Ray Bradbury 278 • The Smile • (1952) • short story by Ray Bradbury 284 • Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed • (1949) • short story by Ray Bradbury 299 • The Trolley • [Dandelion Wine] • (1955) • short story by Ray Bradbury 303 • Icarus Montgolfier Wright • (1956) • short story by Ray Bradbury
Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories
Kelly Barnhill - 2018
When Mrs. Sorensen’s husband dies, she rekindles a long-dormant love with an unsuitable mate in “Mrs. Sorensen and the Sasquatch.” In “Open the Door and the Light Pours Through,” a young man wrestles with grief and his sexuality in an exchange of letters with his faraway beloved. “Dreadful Young Ladies” demonstrates the strength and power—known and unknown—of the imagination. In “Notes on the Untimely Death of Ronia Drake,” a witch is haunted by the deadly repercussions of a spell. “The Insect and the Astronomer” upends expectations about good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, love and longing. The World Fantasy Award–winning novella The Unlicensed Magician introduces the secret magical life of an invisible girl once left for dead—with thematic echoes of Barnhill’s Newbery Medal–winning novel, The Girl Who Drank the Moon.
Visions of Distant Shores: An Andre Norton Collection
Andre Norton - 2010
In most of Norton's works, alienated outsiders undertake a journey through which they realize their full potential. Many planets in the books are Earth-like places, where humans can live without special protection, and have extensive flora and fauna which are described in considerable detail and often have substantial bearing on the plot.On February 20, 2005, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, which had earlier honored her with its Grand Master Award in 1983, announced the creation of the Andre Norton Award, to be given each year for an outstanding work of fantasy or science fiction for the young adult literature market, beginning in 2006. Nobody today is telling better stories of straight-forward interstellar adventure.Included in this volume:Book One: Storm Over Warlock - Stranded on the alien world of Warlock, Shann Lantree's expedition camp has been wiped out by the Throgs, beings so alien that humans have yet to communicate with them. Lantree must quickly learn how to survive under harsh conditions while being chased by the Throgs -- and how to distinguish the real from the dreamed when he meets the mysterious Wyverns. A satisfying and mature novel which readers will seize upon if they want to enjoy a good adventure story...Book Two: Star Born - When the oppressive global dictatorship of Pax took over Earth they put a stop to space exploration. Still, a few rebels escaped in the sleeper ships to found free new colonies -- or perish in the attempt. Those few colonists that reached inhabitable worlds were cut off for centuries, and in that isolation and freedom they developed the mysterious mental powers that "civilization" had all but destroyed...Book Three: Star Hunter - Somewhere on the jungle world of Jumala, there was a man in hiding--a man whose mind had been reconditioned with another's brain pattern and for whom there was a fabulous reward. Star Hunter is a thrill-packed account of that other-worldly game of hide-and-seek between a man who did not know all his own powers and an interstellar safari that sought something no man had a right to find...Book Four: Plague Ship - A fast-moving suspense tale, full of unusual detail and unexpected turns. Several highlights make the book really shine: the sunset gorp hunt on the reefs of an oily sea; a raid on an asteroid's emergency station; and a landing in the Big Burn, resulting in an encounter with the mutant life-forms that reside there...Book Five: Voodoo Planet - Dane Thorson of the space-trader 'Solar Queen' found himself embroiled in a desperate battle of minds between the rational science of the spaceways and the hypnotic witchcraft of the mental wizard that ruled the Voodoo Planet...Book Six: The Gifts of Asti - Varta, the last priestess of Asti, lives alone with Lur, a telepath of the lizardfolk, in Asti's isolated mountain retreat. Decadent Memphir has long since drifted away from the austere paths of Asti, and now the barbarians of Klem are sacking the city, and the smoke of its burning drifts up to the temple...Book Seven: The People of the Crater - "Send the Black Throne to dust; conquer the Black Ones, and bring the Daughter from the Caves of Darkness." These were the tasks Garin must perform to fulfill the prophecy of the Ancient Ones--and establish his own destiny in this hidden land!This are the original and unabridged versions of these tales.
Happily Ever After
Bruce Lansky - 1995
The spunky girls in these ten entertaining and inspiring stories are much too busy saving the day to wait around for Prince Charming.