Compiling favored stories suggested by the author and his fans, this delightful treasury contains the most esteemed and beloved selections that de Lint has to offer. Innovative characters in unexpected places are the key to each plot: playful Crow Girls who sneak into the homes of their sleeping neighbors; a graffiti artist who risks everything to expose a long-standing conspiracy; a half-human girl who must choose between her village and her strange birthright; and an unrepentant trickster who throws one last party to reveal a folkloric tradition. Showcasing some of the finest offerings within the realms of urban fantasy and magical realism, this essential compendium of timeless tales will charm and inspire.Contents IntroductionIn Which We Meet Jilly Coppercorn Coyote Stories Laughter in the Leaves The Badger in the Bag And the Rafters Were Ringing Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood The Stone Drum Timeskip Freewheeling A Wish Named Arnold Into the Green The Graceless Child Winter Was Hard The Conjure Man We Are Dead Together Mr. Truepenny's Book Emporium and Gallery In the House of My Enemy The Moon Is Drowning While I Sleep Crow Girls Birds Held Safe by Moonlight and Vines In the Pines Pixel Pixies Many Worlds Are Born Tonight Sisters Pal o' Mine That Was Radio Clash Old Man Crow The Fields Beyond the Fields

    Drayton doesn’t know what he is. Or why he has lived for thousands of years. He takes not his victim’s blood but the silky essence of their soul during their last breath. Often mistaken for the Angel of Death, his victims sometimes ask for forgiveness. Sometimes he delivers. After all, he is not without sin.

    Told by individual inhabitants, the stories recount tales of disappearing dead deer, enchanted gardens, invisible killer dogs, and rattlesnakes that fall from the sky; each contribution adds to a composite portrait that skitters between eerie, ghoulish, and poignant. Miller is a master storyteller, clearly delighting in his mischievous creations.” Thirty-Three Tales. Thirty-Three Tellers. One Lost Town.

    All she has ever known are the artificial confines of underground fallout shelter, the ARC. Under the Council’s rule, ruthless officials roam the hallways, community comes first and everyone lives in fear of failing their annual testing. With one simple blood test you could be taken away without any warning or a word of goodbye.There are only a few people in the ARC who Elle truly cares about and she desperately tries to keep them at arm’s length away for fear of losing someone else. Especially, her best friend Sebastian who she denies her feelings for, even from herself. Chilling secrets and mysterious disappearances plague the ARC, but Elle would never dare to voice the forbidden questions that linger on her lips. That is until they take the wrong person.No one is truly safe in the ARC and Elle is about to experience her own personal apocalypse. With nothing left to lose she will risk everything to uncover the truth about the tainted.Will she find what she's looking for or are some secrets better left buried deep underground?Don't miss the first book in this young adult series!

    But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world.A desperate plan is formed. Recruit three heroes, ordinary humans capable of extraordinary things, and change the future.Safa Patel is an elite police officer, on duty when Downing Street comes under terrorist attack. As armed men storm through the breach, she dispatches them all.'Mad' Harry Madden is a legend of the Second World War. Not only did he complete an impossible mission—to plant charges on a heavily defended submarine base—but he also escaped with his life.Ben Ryder is just an insurance investigator. But as a young man he witnessed a gang assaulting a woman and her child. He went to their rescue, and killed all five.Can these three heroes, extracted from their timelines at the point of death, save the world?

    Actually, he has two. Or maybe three. The first is that he'll be dead from cancer, less than a year, which doesn't particularly concern him: "Things I've been through, dying is just one more page in a long bad book." But spending his last living days, taking his last living breath, behind steel bars does. That's the second problem: Inmate #78903 in the notorious level-four Washington State prison known as Horseneck Bay.Then there's the money. Two million dollars of stolen military payroll, supposedly buried in some remote and mysterious south-Texas mountain range called Los Despoblados, or The Uninhabited, which sounds to Oreny like one of those places his Mama Maybell always told him to avoid. But he'll worry about that later. He has to get there first. Problem number three.That's when he brings those two smoldering dynamite sticks he's attached himself to--his Luke-boy and Jaime--on board to help his tired old body break out of Horseneck and go dig up that money and then hightail it across the border into Mexico. And when they do break out, and Luke decides to bring his girlfriend Lauren along, and her enraged ex comes after them, and then the manhunt starts multiplying faster around them than those cancer cells inside him, Oreny still thinks he can control them. The problems, that is. At least, until Cade arrives.Cade, the prison investigator Oreny knows is dangerous and unpredictable as a six-foot-two wolverine on eight gallons of adrenalin gone bad. And who won't stop until he catches them and does to them what Cade does best.Cade, Oreny knows better than anything else, is their biggest problem of all.

    After ecological disasters nearly destroyed the Earth, 26 survivors—the last of humanity—are trapped by an alien race in a sterile enclosure known as the Shell. Fifteen-year-old Pete is one of the Six—children who were born deformed or sterile and raised in the Shell. As, one by one, the survivors grow sick and die, Pete and the Six struggle to put aside their anger at the alien Tesslies in order to find the means to rebuild the earth together. Their only hope lies within brief time-portals into the recent past, where they bring back children to replenish their disappearing gene pool. Meanwhile, in 2013, brilliant mathematician Julie Kahn works with the FBI to solve a series of inexplicable kidnappings. Suddenly her predictive algorithms begin to reveal more than just criminal activity. As she begins to realize her role in the impending catastrophe, simultaneously affecting the Earth and the Shell, Julie closes in on the truth. She and Pete are converging in time upon the future of humanity—a future which might never unfold. Weaving three consecutive time lines to unravel both the mystery of the Earth's destruction and the key to its salvation, this taut post-apocalyptic thriller offers a topical plot with a satisfying twist.

    Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself?Like all of Octavia Butler’s best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature’s strongest voices.

     Centuries have passed since life ended on the blue planet. Humanity's survivors are now dispersed among distant colonies, thousands of light years from the barren, frozen rock that was once their home. At a time when power means everything, the ultimate power, the imperium, rests with the Consulate Magistratus. In return for its protection, citizens must concede their rights absolutely. The Magistratus controls interstellar travel, access to technology, even procreation. Every citizen is implanted with a device to monitor their location, health and emotions. Freedom, religion and self-determination are anachronisms. Humanity's true history survives only in whispers of a secret archive. Yet there are those who preach a new religion and who want to be free. A revolution is coming… The Heretic In the cold of a winter's night, a small village is the subject of a brutal attack. A fourteen-year-old boy, Jordi, sees armed men approaching and manages to wake his family. He and a handful of survivors flee into the frozen, snow-covered forest to wait for the preacher who told them their way of life was based on lies. Shepherd, a freighter-tramp and smuggler, is commissioned to deliver illicit medical supplies to a hostile border planet near the Wall. He is dragged into a fight he does not believe in and a desperate struggle to protect his ship, his way of life and the lives of the persecuted few who seek only freedom. Defiance The murder of a man in the lowest caste is seen as inconsequential, but Weaver, one of the few Caesteri lawmen who still believes in justice, refuses to ignore it. Fighting his own indoctrination, and the voice inside his mind that forces him to ignore his conscience, he follows the trail of evidence all the while struggling to hang on to the thin thread of his humanity. The killer he hunts is violent and unstable, and haunted by her own callous ghosts. A woman who sells her body to fuel her drug addiction. She possesses an almost supernatural ability navigate the wormholes which connect humanity's distant colonies - an ability the Magistratus fears and must eradicate. Weaver will follow her to a planet the Magistratus has abandoned, where the only law is that of criminals. And then to the furthest reaches of space, where the truth that awaits them leads to the corrupt heart of the Republic - a truth the Magistratus will do anything to conceal. The Heretic and Defiance are the bestselling first two books in a longer tale spanning four volumes. The award-winning Beyond the Wall series is gripping, epic space opera, written as hard science-fiction. It is the story of humanity's future and the discovery of the truth of its past.

    Inside this anthology you'll find a mix of classic mystery and suspense, full-blown action, and blood-curdling suspense. There are tales of vengeance and redemption, good versus evil, and more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. The ebook edition also includes a fully hyperlinked Table of Contents, which gives you a brief synopsis and page count for each story - making it easy to choose what you want to read next. You'll also find a short bio for each author, along with a web link where you can find out more. ~~ Nick StephensonPaydown - by Nick Stephenson. When a high-flying Wall Street investment banker is found brutally killed, what started out as a simple fraud case turns into expert criminologist Leopold Blake's first ever murder investigation. As the glamor of Wall Street is stripped away by a series of catastrophic discoveries, Leopold will have to decide how much he is prepared to risk in order to uncover the truth - and whether it's a price he's willing to pay. Loose Ends - by David Vandyke. There's not much left that can surprise private investigator California "Cal" Corwin any more, especially since the accident. But after a young girl is kidnapped and feared murdered, Cal is drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse that will stretch her skills to the ultimate limit. With danger at every turn and with more questions than answers, Corwin must scour the streets of San Francisco to track down the culprits before it's too late - and the clock is ticking... Mr. Mockingbird Drive - by Robert Swartwood. Julio and Tyshawn are far from professional thieves, but they get by. After weeks spent researching the perfect mark, the boys are ready to strike - and the payout is going to be unbelievable...Mr. Mockingbird Drive is a cleverly deceptive piece of flash fiction. The story first featured in Needle: A Magazine of Noir, Winter 2012. Ladies Weekend - by Ryan King. A trip to the Gulf Shores with her three sisters-in-law was not exactly Cathy's idea of a good time. With a dark secret to protect, a weekend stuck with the meddling Biddle sisters might have been too much to bear - but, thankfully for Cathy, there's nothing a little "medicine" can't fix...This delightfully twisted story was first published in 2012. Veritas: Concubine - by R.S. Guthrie. How far would you go to find the truth? Shale Veritas is not his real name, but that's not important. What's important is why he's taken an interest in you - and what you've done to deserve it...This dark, atmospheric tale of revenge, justice, and redemption is not for the faint-hearted. You have been warned. Divide and Conquer - by Kay Hadashi. Nobody ever told June Kato that babysitting could be such hard work ... As a world-class neurosurgeon, June is used to dealing with high-pressure situations. But when a trio of violent thugs invade her home while her four-year-old nieces are staying over, nap time suddenly takes on a whole new meaning. A thrill-ride from start to finish. Recidivist - by Alan McDermott. Something needs to be done about Steven Howe. Even though he's yet to see his twelfth birthday, after 97 arrests the police and social services have had enough. Forced to attend a state-sponsored retreat for troubled youths, Steven is about to find out just how far the government is prepared to go to meet their targets - starting with him. Return of the Bride - by Micheal Maxwell. Tradition has it that Al-Qurnah is the site of the Garden of Eden. But for Phillip Sear, a man who has lived with sin his entire life, it has an entirely different significance. On a journey to redeem himself for a lifetime of selfish choices, Sear will finally learn how to keep his promises - but at what cost?

    When the world crumbles and the dead walk, Kellie struggles to survive and find her way home, all the while sharing her tale with her diary.This is an account of our hypothetical past, present and future.

    They will set off a race to unravel the deepest secrets of human existence--and an event that could change humanity forever.

    This reprint anthology showcases the best Holmes short fiction from the last 25 years, featuring stories by such visionaries as Stephen King, Neil Gaimen, Laura King, and many others.

    These visionary stories explore prediction science, quantum computing, real-time translation, machine learning, and much more. The authors used inside access to leading-edge work from Microsoft Research as inspiration, crafting pieces that predict the near-future of technology%mdash;and examine its complex relationship to our core humanity.Future Visions features contributions from: Elizabeth BearGreg BearDavid BrinNancy KressAnn LeckieJack McDevittSeanan McGuireRobert J. Sawyer…along with a short graphic novel by Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal, plus original illustrations by Joey Camacho.These are some of today’s most visionary creators—and they’ve joined together to give us a preview of tomorrow.

     PARALLAX VIEW, originally published in 2013: It's spring 1987, and CIA clandestine operations agent Tracie Tanner is tasked with what should be a relatively simple mission: deliver a secret communique from Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to U.S. President Ronald Reagan. After smuggling the document out of East Germany, Tracie believes she is in the clear. She's wrong. A shadowy cabal is work, people who will stop at nothing to prevent the explosive information contained in the letter from reaching the White House. Soon, Tanner is knee-deep in airplane crashes and murder, paired up with a young Maine air traffic controller and on the run for their lives, unsure who she can trust at CIA, but committed to completing her mission, no matter the cost... ALL ENEMIES, originally published in 2014: It's the early fall of 1987, and when United States Secretary of State J. Robert Humphries is kidnapped out of his Washington, D.C. home at gunpoint, all evidence points directly to the Soviet Union as the responsible party. Still recovering from her injuries suffered earlier in the summer, covert ops specialist Tracie Tanner is tasked by CIA Director Aaron Stallings to follow the evidence and recover Humphries safely from the Soviets. There's only one problem - Tanner's not convinced the Soviets are involved. Soon, she's ruffling feathers, risking her career, and once again running for her life, betting everything on a hunch that might just get her and Humphries killed and result in the start of World War Three… THE HITLER DECEPTION, originally published in 2015: It's November 1987, and the disappearance of an elderly West German man results in CIA Director Aaron Stallings dispatching Tracie Tanner to the scene. Working with the assistance of a CIA operative she's not sure she can trust, Tracie faces her toughest assignment yet - pick up the trail of the mysterious Amber Room key, utterly unique and critical to unlocking the mystery of a missing cache of treasure worth an unimaginable sum. Meanwhile, lurking in the background is a man long-believed to have taken his own life in the dying days of World War II, but who may, in fact, be very much alive. Adolph Hitler. And he's waiting to resume his rightful place atop the Thousand Year Reich. Readers of the Tracie Tanner thriller series have come to expect international intrigue and a lightning-fast plot. THE HITLER DECEPTION delivers, raising the bar with treasure, treachery, and a Tracie Tanner pushed to the very limit of her abilities and endurance. ---------- Suspense, thrills, twists, and a surprisingly human - and fallible - hero make THE TRACIE TANNER COLLECTION a must-have for any thriller fan. You'll find yourself compulsively turning the nearly one thousand action-packed pages deep into the night... ---------- Praise for the Tracie Tanner novels: "Allan Leverone's PARALLAX VIEW is a sure-footed, masterful thriller with a breakneck pace that never lets up. Faced with the deepest act of betrayal in U.S. history, CIA agent Tracie Tanner must call on every tool she has---and her every last reserve to see the mission through." -- J. Carson Black, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE SHOP and HARD RETURN "PARALLAX VIEW...is a powerhouse full-throttle spy thriller...It is a taut and thoughtful journey back to the dying days of the Cold War...it will keep you up, and on the edge of your chair, long into the night.