But not every citizen is content to play their mandated part, longing instead to discover who they are beneath their masks: sinner, gentleman, or beast. Winner of the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and nominated for the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, the 2010 WSFA Small Press Award, and the 2009 BSFA Award for Best Short Story.“…an elegantly strange slipstreamish fantasy”—Gardner Dozois, Locus“This far future science fiction tale is an exploration of self identity and the masks we all wear in public…a beautifully written and fast-paced tale”—Jason Sanford“…a classy fantasy, a strange society in which the wearing of masks in not only compulsory, but one in which the mask worn confers a different daily identity…The implications of this are subtly portrayed, as is the response to those who oppose this status quo.”—Mark Watson, Best SF Reviews“Foster has created a fascinating world here.”—Sam Tomaino, SFRevu.“Foster’s story might not take the reader where they expect to go, but it’s a heady journey nonetheless, encompassing sex and death, and it is told in an accomplished manner…powerful stuff.—Martin McGrath, The Fix“…a really engrossing otherworld fantasy”—Tansy Rayner Roberts“Foster delivers an ending that isn’t what you think it might be, and raises some unsettling questions about the connection between non-conformity and sociopathy.”—Black Gate“…a colourful story of a world in which characters wear different masks each day and enact different, stylized, roles—not a new idea, but handled newly, with a dark ending.”—Rich Horton“…yet another in a run of massively inventive, intelligent stories from Eugie.”—Alasdair Stuart“…a blast of sensory overload…Eugie Foster as usual doesn’t shy away from the darker and more unpleasant side of human nature…a wondrous, sickening, startling story that is sure to stick in the mind.”—Gareth D. Jones, SF Crowsnest

    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.

    What's worse strange things are happening to the remains of the dead the and by the time she befriends Ben Archer she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems....

    Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

    With stories by;Chris PhilbrookAlan MacRaffenJoe TremblayJ.C. FiskeAnd more…

    He needs more freedom than is given to the average citizen in Edin. He needs to win the next protectors' apprenticeship. Without it, he can't be with Matilda. And what is a life, no matter how safe, without love? Spike Johnson has enjoyed the freedom and safety of a youth living in Edin. The diseased hordes outside the city’s walls might as well be on the other side of the planet. He spends as much time as he can with his best friend, and the girl he loves, Matilda. But all of that’s about to change. Tomorrow, Spike turns eighteen. In two days' time, he has to go on national service and fight in the war against the diseased for six months. Only half the cadets come back alive. But he needs to do more than survive. Matilda is due to go on national service at the same time. Faced with the prospect of losing her life and her love, she also has to leave behind a little brother who needs her. A lot can go wrong in the six months she’ll be away for. For the average citizen, national service marks the end of freedom. For those who survive, their life becomes one confined to their home district. They work in their district, live in their district, and fall in love with someone from their district. Matilda is from a different district to Spike. Falling for someone from another district is the pursuit of protectors, politicians, and fools. Spike isn’t a fool and has no desire of becoming a politician. His only route to freedom is to win the next protectors’ apprenticeship. With just one cadet from every national service cycle being picked for the program, Spike is going to have to be better than all of those around him to stand a chance. Without it, he can't be with Matilda. Without Matilda, he has nothing. And with Matilda needing to get back to her brother as soon as she can, she can't increase their chances of success by fighting for the apprenticeship too. The battle for Spike's and Matilda's future happiness rests squarely on his shoulders. But before they get to that, they both need to make sure they survive ... Protectors is the first gripping book in the Beyond These Walls post-apocalyptic series. If you like breath-taking action with high-stakes, and characters who risk everything for freedom, then you’ll love Michael Robertson’s thrilling novel!!!

    The show's about to begin. Step right up for the Circus of the Dead: where YOU are the concessions. #CircusoftheDead

    And it has a pest problem. A very big pest problem.Originally published on Reflection's Edge.com, Vermin is classic horror designed to get under your skin. Read it with the lights on. And a can of Raid.

    A collection of nine short stories including:The Drowned GiantThe Reptile EnclosureThe Delta At SunsetStorm-Bird, Storm-DreamerThe Screen GameThe Day Of ForeverTime Of PassageThe Gioconda Of The Twilight NoonThe Impossible Man

    It is also available for free from various places, detailed on the author's website.Death and Waffles: A Short Story by Lish Bride, author of Hold Me Closer, NecromancerMatt’s childhood friend, Ashley, has been stopping by a lot lately. That might seem pretty normal, but Ashley died years ago and now she’s Death.And tonight she wants waffles and fries.Includes an excerpt of Hold Me Closer, Necromancer ...Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

    They have become the monsters that best express the anxieties and fears of the modern west. This collection gathers together zombie works by Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, George R. R. Martin, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Poppy Z. Brite, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Joe R. Lansdale. These brilliant minds, and The Living Dead, cover the many types of zombie fiction. Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

    Together these stories form The Weird, and its practitioners include some of the greatest names in twentieth and twenty-first century literature.Exotic and esoteric, The Weird plunges you into dark domains and brings you face to face with surreal monstrosities. You won't find any elves or wizards here... but you will find the biggest, boldest, and downright most peculiar stories from the last hundred years bound together in the biggest Weird collection ever assembled. The Weird features 110 stories by an all-star cast, from literary legends to international bestsellers to Booker Prize winners: including William Gibson, George R. R. Martin, Stephen King, Angela Carter, Kelly Link, Franz Kafka, China Miéville, Clive Barker, Haruki Murakami, M. R. James, Neil Gaiman, Mervyn Peake, and Michael Chabon.

    Abandoning the streets to millions of hungry infected, the survivors seal off the structure at the 10th floor and string wires between it and other buildings to avoid being eaten alive by the hordes rampaging below. But dwindling supplies force those still alive to take greater risks as they struggle to survive hundreds of feet off the ground.

    Taylor fled the town, hoping to leave the painful memory behind. Years later, after two tours of duty in the Iraq War, hes back in Babble Creek seeking vengeance. Taylors lust for the blood of the monster that slew his family sets in motion a series of events that soon has the entire town fighting for its life as a tribe of sasquatches descend from the forests and hills into Babble Creek to declare war upon its citizens. Babble Creek is about to find out Bigfoot is very real and theres more than one of the creatures that want to fill the streets with blood.

    Evidently, we have an enduring hunger for this infinite onslaught of the ever-hungry dead. Hoards of readers are now devouring zombie fiction faster than armies of the undead could chow down their brains. It's a sick job, but somebody had to do it: explore the innumerable necrotic nightmares of the latest, greatest, most fervent devotion in the history of humankind and ferret out the best of new millenial zombie stories: Zombies: The Recent Dead.Contents ix • Preshamble • (2010) • essay by Paula Guranxii • The Meat of the Matter • (2004) • essay by David J. Schowxxii • Deaditorial Note • (2010) • essay by Paula Guran29 • Twisted • (2009) • novelette by Kevin Veale54 • The Things He Said • (2007) • shortstory by Michael Marshall Smith64 • Naming of Parts • (2000) • novella by Tim Lebbon128 • Dating Secrets of the Dead • (2002) • shortstory by David Prill142 • Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed • (2007) • shortstory by Steve Duffy171 • The Great Wall: A Story from the Zombie War • (2007) • shortstory by Max Brooks178 • First Kisses from Beyond the Grave • (2006) • novelette by Nik Houser218 • Zora and the Zombie • (2004) • novelette by Andy Duncan239 • Obsequy • (2006) • novelette by David J. Schow267 • Deadman's Road • [Reverend Jedidiah Mercer] • (2007) • novelette by Joe R. Lansdale293 • Bitter Grounds • (2003) • novelette by Neil Gaiman334 • Glorietta • (2009) • shortfiction by Gary A. Braunbeck334 • Beautiful White Bodies • (2009) • novelette by Alice Sola Kim342 • Farewell, My Zombie • (2009) • shortfiction by Francesca Lia Block354 • Trinkets • (2001) • shortfiction by Tobias S. Buckell [as by Tobias Buckell ]362 • Dead Man's Land • (2009) • shortfiction by David Wellington378 • Disarmed and Dangerous • (2009) • novelette by Tim Waggoner395 • The Zombie Prince • (2004) • shortstory by Kit Reed409 • Three Scenes from the End of the World • (2009) • shortfiction by Brian Keene420 • The Hortlak • (2003) • novelette by Kelly Link445 • Dead to the World • (2009) • shortstory by Gary McMahon458 • The Last Supper • (2003) • shortstory by Scott Edelman