Book picks similar to
Harbingers & Other Stories by Icy Sedgwick
short-stories
fantasy
gothic
language-read-in-english
Things That Never Happen
M. John Harrison - 2003
Banks.Over the last thirty years, M. John Harrison has been inspiring readers and writers alike across the world. His return to science fiction in 2002 with the magnificent space opera LIGHT was a monumental triumph, shortlisted for every major award in the genre. He combines brilliant storytelling with complex plots and evocative, mesmerising writing.THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN is M. John Harrison's definitive collection of short fiction, twenty-four dazzling stories of science fiction and fantasy; the perfect introduction to one of Britain's most brilliant writers.Contents:Settling the World (1975)Running Down (1975)The Incalling (1978)The Ice Monkey (1980)Egnaro (1981)Old Women (1984)The New Rays (1982)The Quarry (1983)A Young Man's Journey to London (1985)Small Heirlooms (1987)The Great God Pan (1988)The Gift (1988)The Horse of Iron and How We Can Know It and Be Changed by It Forever (1989)Gifco (1992)Anima (1992)Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring (1994)Empty (1995)Seven Guesses of the Heart (1996)I Did It (1996)The East (1996)Suicide Coast (1999)The Neon Heart Murders (2000)Black Houses (1998)Science & The Arts (1999)
The Price of Meat
K.J. Charles - 2017
Fogg’s madhouse—but ‘anything’ turns out to be more than she bargained for when she finds herself working for a man suspected of worse than murder.As Johanna is plunged from the horror of Sawney Reynard’s barber shop into the foul, lawless labyrinth at the heart of London, will she--or anyone--get out alive?A 15,000-word story, first published as part of the anthology All In Fear.
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Three: A Long-Awaited Treachery
G.D. Falksen - 2015
And while Doctor Varanus has never found tranquility much to her taste, even she cannot deny that the peace and quiet make for a pleasant diversion following the chaos of her recent adventures in London. Having left the horrors of bloodshed and wellness behind her, Varanus has thrown herself headlong into the study of the Shashavani condition, determined to learn the secrets of their undying power.But all is not as it seems in the House of Shashava. As winter snow covers the Shashavani valley and chokes the mountain passes, sinister events are unfolding in the shadows. Whispers of conspiracy echo through the halls. Soon loyalties will be tested and friendships betrayed. Blood will flow. For upon the frozen steppe, an ancient evil stirs and turns its gaze toward the House of Shashava, hungering for power and revenge.As darkness descends, one question remains:Do you serve the Winter King?
What You Make It
Michael Marshall Smith - 1999
The first piece of fiction Smith ever wrote – a short story called The Man Who Drew Cats – won the World Fantasy award. It’s included here along with many others, some unpublished, which show the incredible versatility of one of the most exciting writers working in Britain today. The collection is stuffed with surreal, disturbing gems including:‘When God Lived in Kentish Town’ Someone comes up to you when you’re quietly eating your stir-fried rice in a great Chinese take away, and tells you: ‘I’ve found God’. You try to ignore them, right? But what if they have, and what if He works in a drab old electrical store on Kentish Town Road and he’s not getting many customers?‘Diet Hell’ Some people will do anything to fit into their old jeans.‘Save As…’ What if you could back up your life? Save it up to a certain point and return to it when things went horribly wrong?‘Everybody Goes’ An idyllic childhood day from a long, hot summer. The kind you want to last for ever. All good things must come to an end, mustn’t they?
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities
Ann VanderMeerChina Miéville - 2011
Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities. Editors Ann and Jeff Vandermeer have gathered together a spectacular array of exhibits, oddities, images, and stories by some of the most renowned and bestselling writers and artists in speculative and graphic fiction, including Ted Chiang, Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy), China Miéville, and Michael Moorcock. A spectacularly illustrated anthology of Victorian steampunk devices and the stories behind them, The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities is a boldly original, enthrallingly imaginative, and endlessly entertaining entry into a hidden world of weird science and unnatural nature that will appeal equally to fantasy lovers and graphic novel aficionados.
Tales of the Far West
Gareth-Michael SkarkaEddy Webb - 2012
Far West is a world based on the tropes of the Spaghetti Western and Chinese Wuxia. Add steampunk elements. Mix well.Product DescriptionImagine: A fantasy world, but not one based on Medieval/Dark Ages European culture and myth, but rather on the tropes of the Spaghetti Western and Chinese Wuxia. Add steampunk elements. Mix well. A fantasy world that mixes the inspirations of Django and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon... The Good, The Bad & The Ugly and House of Flying Daggers... Fistful of Dollars and Fist of Legend. A fantasy world that's explored through a book series, a constantly-updated website, a tabletop role-playing game, comics, artwork, webseries and much, much, more. This is FAR WEST. Tales of the Far West is the first book in Adamant Entertainment's Wuxia-Western mash-up, featuring a dozen all-new tales written by critically-acclaimed and award-winning fantasy, science-fiction, horror and adventure authors, including: "He Built The Wall To Knock It Down" by Scott Lynch: A master teaches an unforgettable lesson in the pursuit of excellence in all things. "In Stillness, Music" by Aaron Rosenberg: A wandering musician is all that stands between a village and a cattle baron. "Riding The Thunderbird" by Chuck Wendig: A herd of giant, flightless birds, a young girl, and a sudden lesson. "Purity of Purpose" by Gareth-Michael Skarka: Who seeks the secret of the Unsurpassed Weapons? "Paper Lotus" by Tessa Gratton: A strange girl tasks a wounded man to deliver a crucial message. "In the Name of the Empire" by Eddy Webb: A sheriff is charged with the murder of an Imperial Magistrate. "Errant Eagles" by Will Hindmarch: A gunslinger faces the consequences of his past. "Railroad Spikes" by Ari Marmell: A bandit finds that he's robbed the wrong train. "The Fury Pact" by Matt Forbeck: An inventor's son faces the responsibility of his name. "Seven Holes" by T.S. Luikart: An apprentice learns the true nature of demons. "Local Legend" by Jason L. Blair: Red Phoenix was dead, and the bounty hunter tells the tale. "Crippled Avengers" by Dave Gross: A band of fighters seek to take revenge on the steam baron who crippled them.
Jagannath
Karin Tidbeck - 2011
Whether through the falsified historical record of the uniquely weird Swedish creature known as the “Pyret” or the title story, “Jagannath,” about a biological ark in the far future, Tidbeck’s unique imagination will enthrall, amuse, and unsettle you. How else to describe a collection that includes “Cloudberry Jam,” a story that opens with the line “I made you in a tin can”? Marvels, quirky character studies, and outright surreal monstrosities await you in what is likely to be one of the most talked-about short story collections of the year.Tidbeck is a rising star in her native country, having published a collection there in Swedish, won a prestigious literary grant, and just sold her first novel to Sweden’s largest publisher. A graduate of the iconic Clarion Writer’s Workshop at the University of California, San Diego, in 2010, her publication history includes Weird Tales, Shimmer Magazine, Unstuck Annual and the anthology Odd.
Straight Outta Tombstone
David BoopPeter J. Wacks - 2017
Includes new stories by Larry Correia and Jim Butcher! Come visit the Old West, the land where gang initiations, ride-by shootings and territory disputes got their start. But these tales aren't the ones your grandpappy spun around a campfire, unless he spoke of soul-sucking ghosts, steam-powered demons, and wayward aliens. Here then are seventeen stories that breathe new life in the Old West. Among them: Larry Correia explores the roots of his best-selling Monster Hunter International series in "Bubba Shackleford's Professional Monster Killers." Jim Butcher reveals the origin of one of the Dresden Files' most popular characters in "A Fistful of Warlocks." And Kevin J. Anderson's Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., finds himself in a showdown in "High Midnight." Plus stories from Alan Dean Foster, Sarah A. Hoyt, Jody Lynn Nye, Michael A. Stackpole, and many more. This is a new Old West and you ll be lucky to get outta town alive! Contributors: David Boop Larry Correia Jody Lynn Nye Sam Knight Robert E. Vardeman Phil Foglio Nicole Kurtz Michael A. Stackpole Bryan Thomas Schmidt & Ken Scholes Maurice Broaddus Sarah A. Hoyt Alan Dean Foster David Lee Summers Kevin J. Anderson Naomi Brett Rourke Julie Campbell Peter J. Wacks Jim Butcher"
Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls
Alissa Nutting - 2010
One is the main course of dinner, another the porn star contracted to copulate in space for a reality TV show. They become futuristic ant farms, get knocked up by the star high school quarterback and have secret abortions, use parakeets to reverse amputations, make love to garden gnomes, go into air conditioning ducts to confront their mother’s ghost, and do so in settings that range from Hell to the local white-supremacist bowling alley.
Strategies Against Nature
Cody Goodfellow - 2015
The lone survivor of a hellish Interstate pile-up follows an otherworldly sound to its source. A father desperate to cure his daughter’s condition uncovers a multinational corporation’s unspeakable plan for solving world hunger. In these eleven stories, Cody Goodfellow explores the bizarre and the deeply human, using the kaleidoscopic language only he is capable of.
What the #@&% Is That?: The Saga Anthology of the Monstrous and the Macabre
John Joseph AdamsMaria Dahvana Headley - 2016
Nobody knew what the F it was, but they loved it.Renowned editors John Joseph Adams and Doug Cohen then asked some of the best writers in the fantasy, horror, and thriller genres including Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Christopher Golden, and Scott Sigler to create a monster story that included the line “WTF is that?”This anthology is a feast for the imagination for anyone who loves monsters.
The Monkey's Paw The Lady of the Barge and Others Part 2
W.W. Jacobs - 2012
Death's Avenger: The Malykant Mysteries, Volume 2
Charlotte E. English - 2018
But what if a monster isn’t enough? Shadows gather, winter deepens, and Assevan falls farther into the dark. Pitted against monsters and men, Konrad faces deeper challenges. Darker foes. Some can rival even the Malykant’s power. Pushed beyond his endurance, challenged beyond his sanity, at long last Death’s Avenger might need a little help... Konrad Savast returns for another chilling set of adventures in the second volume of the Malykant Mysteries.
Sunset with a Beard
Carlton Mellick III - 2000
The resulting journey through dark and desperate futures of aliens, diseases, and humanity's own madness is brain-bending and utterly bizarre.
Miracle and Other Christmas Stories
Connie Willis - 1999
The winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, Connie Willis captures the timeless essence of generosity and goodwill in this magical collection if Christmas stories. These eight tales — two of which have never before been published — boldly reimagine the stories of Christmas while celebrating the power of love and compassion. This enchanting treasury includes:"Miracle," in which a young woman's carefully devised plans to find romance go awry when her guardian angel shows her the true meaning of love."In Coppelius's Toyshop," where a jaded narcissist finds himself trapped in a crowded toy store at Christmastime."Epiphany," in which three modern-day wisemen embark on a quest unlike any they've ever experienced."Inn," where a choir singer gives shelter to a homeless man and his pregnant wife — only to learn later that there's much more to the couple than meets the eye.Also includes: "The Pony""Adaptation""Cat's Paw""Newsletter"