What happens when a sex doll malfunctions? Sit back and listen to an orchestra with a difference. Sometimes self help can work too well. A boy who brings dead things back to life. And what happens when the devil moves in next door? Now sit back and enter a world of nightmare and illusion.

    . . If that’s the case, I’ve got one thing to say: read these short stories. You can thank me later.” Patterson has collected a batch of stories that have the sharp tension, drama, and visceral emotion of an Oscar-worthy Hollywood production. Spanning the extremes of human behavior, The Best American Mystery Stories 2015 features characters that must make desperate choices: an imaginative bank-robbing couple, a vengeful high school shooter, a lovesick heiress who will do anything for her man, and many others in “these imaginative, rich, complex tales” worthy of big-screen treatment.  The Best American Mystery Stories 2015 includes   Tomiko M. Breland, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Brendan DuBois, Janette Turner Hospital, Dennis Lehane, Theresa E. Lehr, Joyce Carol Oates,  and others  JAMES PATTERSON, guest editor, has sold over 300 million books worldwide, including the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women’s Murder Club, Maximum Ride, and Middle School series. He supports getting kids reading through his children’s book imprint, jimmy patterson, as well as through scholarships, grants, book donations, and his website, ReadKiddoRead.com. OTTO PENZLER, series editor, is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and the owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstore solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than fifty crime-fiction anthologies.

    In “Tower of the Elephant,” Conan takes up jewel thievery but proves to be far better with his sword. “The Flame Bringers” finds antihero Elric infiltrating a band of bloodthirsty mercenaries and outwitting a powerful sorcerer. “Become a Warrior” is the unexpected tale of a child who loses all she holds dear, only to gain unforeseen power and unlikely revenge. Further entries come from early legends such as Jack Vance and Catherine Louise Moore, the next wave of talents including Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock, and modern trendsetters like George R.R. Martin, Karl Edward Wagner, and David Drake. This essential, fast-paced anthology is a chronological gathering of influential, inventive, and entertaining fantasy—sure to appeal to action-oriented fans.Contents“Introduction: Storytellers: A Guided Ramble into Sword and Sorcery Fiction” by David Drake “The Tower of the Elephant” by Robert E. Howard “Black God’s Kiss” by C. L. Moore “The Unholy Grail” by Fritz Leiber “The Tale of Hauk” by Poul Anderson “The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams” by Michael Moorcock “The Adventuress” by Joanna Russ “Gimmile’s Song” by Charles R. Saunders “Undertow” by Karl Edward Wagner “The Stages of the God” by Ramsey Campbell (writing as Montgomery Comfort) “The Barrow Troll” by David Drake “Soldier of an Empire Unacquainted With Defeat” by Glen Cook “Epistle From Lebanoi” by Michael Shea “Become a Warrior” by Jane Yolen “The Red Guild” by Rachel Pollack “Six From Atlantis” by Gene Wolfe “The Sea Troll’s Daughter” by Caitlín R. Kiernan “The Coral Heart” by Jeffrey Ford “Path of the Dragon” by George R. R. Martin “The Year of the Three Monarchs” by Michael Swanwick

    For 50 years Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine has offered its readers a wide range of the finest crime and detective stories available and stands today as one of the foremost magazines of mystery and suspense. In anticipation of AHMM's golden anniversary, Ms. Landrigan invited readers to nominate their favorite stories, and this collection is packed with popular authors and well-known characters, including Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder, Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective, and Sara Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski. Linda Landrigan is editor-in-chief of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, She lives in New York.

    Meanwhile, Granuaile MacTiernan starts a private war of her own against Loki, the lord of lies, and if it brings Ragnarok early—so be it. Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys by Delilah S. Dawson The number one rule of the circus? Don't kill your volunteers, even accidentally. That's how young magician Criminy Stain ends up on the run in a forest, where he meets a beautiful woman holding a bucket of blood. But is Merissa the answer to his prayers-- or the orchestrator of his ruin? Interlude: Swallow by Chuck Wendig Miriam Black is back. Miriam is tired of her curse and finally believes she knows how to be rid of her ability to see when and how other people die. She follows a lead to the mountains of Colorado, where she believes she sees signs of a serial killer she thought she already killed. (Set between THE CORMORANT and THUNDERBIRD.)

    Showcasing this cutting-edge talent, Poe’s Children now brings the best of the genre’s stories to a wider audience. Featuring tales from such writers as Neil Gaiman and Jonathan Carroll, Poe’s Children is Peter Straub’s tribute to the imaginative power of storytelling. Each previously published story has been selected by Straub to represent what he thinks is the most interesting development in our literature during the last two decades.Selections range from the early Stephen King psychological thriller “The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet,” in which an editor confronts an author’s belief that his typewriter is inhabited by supernatural creatures, to “The Man on the Ceiling,” Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem’s award-winning surreal tale of night terrors, woven with daylight fears that haunt a family. Other selections include National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon’s “The Bees”; Peter Straub’s “Little Red’s Tango,” the legend of a music aficionado whose past is as mysterious as the ghostly visitors to his Manhattan apartment; Elizabeth Hand’s visionary and shocking “Cleopatra Brimstone”; Thomas Ligotti’s brilliant, mind-stretching “Notes on the Writing of Horror: A Story”; and “Body,” Brian Evenson’s disturbing twist on correctional facilities.Crossing boundaries and packed with imaginative chills, Poe’s Children bears all the telltale signs of fearless, addictive fiction.

    KornbluthGHOST, by Darrell SchweitzerDEATH WISH, by Robert Sheckley THE WAVERIES, by Fredric BrownADAM AND NO EVE, by Alfred BesterFOXY LADY, by Lawrence Watt-EvansTHIN EDGE, by Randall GarrettCOMPANDROID, by Nina Kiriki HoffmanPOSTMARK GANYMEDE, by Robert SilverbergKEEP OUT, by Fredric BrownTHE HATE DISEASE, by Murray LeinsterUNIVERSAL DONOR, by Nina Kiriki HoffmanTHE GREEN BERET, by Tom PurdomMR. SPACESHIP, by Philip K. DickBRKNK’S BOUNTY, by Jerry SohlTHE BATTLE OF LITTLE BIG SCIENCE, by Pamela RentzTHE EGO MACHINE, by Henry KuttnerTHE MAN FROM TIME, by Frank Belknap LongTHE SENSITIVE MAN, by Poul AndersonREVOLUTION, by Mack ReynoldsTHE THING IN THE ATTIC, by James BlishKNOTWORK, by Nina Kiriki HoffmanTHE DUELING MACHINE, by Ben Bova and Myron R. LewisTHE PLANET SAVERS, by Marion Zimmer BradleyAnd don't forget to check out all the other volumes in the "Megapack" series! Search on "Megapack" in the ebook store to see the complete list...covering adventure stories, military, fantasy, ghost stories, and more!

    Hapless mortals have invoked monstrous entities from beyond through foul magicks, incantations and rituals. When will they learn that here can be no profit nor joy to be gained through relations with the insidious old ones? These sixteen tales of depravity, sorcery and madness may offer some illumination, but ultimately there can be no salvation for those who dabble in The Dark Rites of Cthulhu.

    Pugmire and Jessica Amanda SalmonsonMuzak for Torso Murders by Marc LaidlawGoodbye, Dark Love by Roberta LannesOut There by Charles L. GrantLittle Cruelties by Steve Rasnic TemThe Man with the Hoe by George Clayton JohnsonThey're Coming for You by Les DanielsVampire by Richard Christian MathesonLapses by Chelsea Quinn YarbroThe Final Stone by William F. NolanIrrelativity by Nicholas RoyleThe Hands by Ramsey CampbellThe Bell by Ray RussellLost Souls by Clive BarkerReaper by Robert BlochThe Transfer by Edward BryantPain by Whitley Strieber

    Gone are the cartoon images of wizened gray-haired men in pointy caps creating magic with a wave of their wands. Today's wizards are more subtle in their powers, more discerning in their ways, and-in the hands of modern fantasists-more likely than ever to capture readers' imaginations.In Neil Gaiman's "The Witch's Headstone," a piece taken from his much-anticipated novel in progress, an eight-year-old boy learns the power of kindness from a long-dead sorceress. Only one woman possesses two kinds of magic-enough to unite two kingdoms-in Garth Nix's "Holly and Iron." Patricia A. McKillip's "Naming Day" gives a sorcery student a lesson in breaking the rules. And a famished dove spins a tale worthy of a meal, but perhaps not the truth, in "A Fowl Tale" by Eoin Colfer.

    Passion is the keynote as you encounter the Harlequin and his nemesis, the dreaded Tictockman, in one of the most reprinted and widely taught stories in the English language; a pyretic who creates fire merely by willing it; the last surgeon in a world of robot physicians; a spaceship filled with hideous mutants rejected by the world that gave them birth. Touching and gentle and shocking stories from an incomparable master of impossible dreams and troubling truths.Contents:7 · New Introduction: Your Basic Crown of Thorns · in 19 · Spero Meliora · in 24 · Paingod · ss Fantastic Jun ’64 35 · “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman · ss Galaxy Dec ’65 49 · The Crackpots [Kyben] · nv If Jun ’56 89 · Sleeping Dogs · ss Analog Oct ’74 100 · Bright Eyes · ss Fantastic Apr ’65 112 · The Discarded [“The Abnormals”] · ss Fantastic Apr ’59 125 · Wanted in Surgery · nv If Aug ’57 156 · Deeper Than the Darkness · nv Infinity Science Fiction Apr ’57

    Do you love the sound of a peg leg stomping across a quarterdeck? Or maybe you prefer a parrot on your arm, a strong wind at your back? Adventure, treasure, intrigue, humor, romance, danger — and, yes, plunder! Oh, the Devil does love a pirate — and so do readers everywhere! Swashbuckling from the past into the future and space itself, Fast Ships, Black Sails, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, presents an incredibly entertaining volume of original stories guaranteed to make you walk and talk like a pirate.Table of Content"Boojum" by Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette"Castor on Troubled Waters" by Rhys Hughes"I Begyn as I Mean To Go On" by Kage Baker"Avast, Abaft!" by Howard Waldrop"Elegy to Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores, And Righteous Thieves" by Kelly Barnhill"Skillet and Saber" by Justin Howe"The Nymph's Child" by Carrie Vaughn"68° 07' 15"N, 31° 36' 44"W" by Conrad Williams"Ironface" by Michael Moorcock"Pirates Solutions" by Katherine Sparrow"We Sleep on Thousand Waves beneath the Stars" by Brendan Connell"Voyage of the Iguana" by Steve Aylett"Pirates of the Saura Sea" by David Freer & Eric Flint"A Cold Day in Hell" By Paul Batteiger"The Adventures of Captain Black Heart Wentworth" by Rachel Swirsky"Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake" by Naomi Novik"The Whale below" by Jayme Lynn Blaschke"Beyond the Seagate ff the Scholar-Pirate of Sarskoe" by Garth Nix-

    This edition brings together some of the best horror writers from the last few decades. Featuring stories from Ray Garton, Kelley Armstrong, Simon Clark, Gord Rollo, Chad Lutzke, Mike Duke, Christina Bergling, David Owain Hughes, P. Mattern & Kevin J. Kennedy.

    

    This exciting new anthology, perfect for airport or airplane reading, includes an original introduction and story notes for each story by Stephen King, along with brand new stories from Stephen King and Joe Hill.Stephen King hates to fly. Now he and co-editor Bev Vincent would like to share this fear of flying with you.Welcome to Flight or Fright, an anthology about all the things that can go horribly wrong when you're suspended six miles in the air, hurtling through space at more than 500 mph and sealed up in a metal tube (like—gulp!—a coffin) with hundreds of strangers. All the ways your trip into the friendly skies can turn into a nightmare, including some we'll bet you've never thought of before... but now you will the next time you walk down the jetway and place your fate in the hands of a total stranger.Featuring brand new stories by Joe Hill and Stephen King, as well as fourteen classic tales and one poem from the likes of Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, Dan Simmons, and many others, Flight or Fright is, as King says, "ideal airplane reading, especially on stormy descents... Even if you are safe on the ground, you might want to buckle up nice and tight."