Contemporary Science Fiction

Gwen Tailor is stunned when her most formidable Noble enemy—and captor—Valjean, becomes a powerful ally. Her unique crafter abilities have helped her gain monster-killing talents usually reserved for Nobles, but to save her town and people from extinction, she needs Valjean's help to become a Noble herself and infiltrate their aristocratic circles. So, along with cleaver-wielding butcher Sandy and enchanted-weapons-maker Gerald, she enrolls in the legendary Academy to learn its lethal arts . . . and uncover the secrets behind their land's ruthless class divisions.

The Youngbloods are a dysfunctional family from hell—literally. The mafia-like demon family got stranded on Earth during an infernal invasion gone wrong and have spent eons maintaining a fragile peace. But Petra Youngblood has strained the family bonds by breaking a cardinal rule: falling in love with a human. And not just any human: the sacrifice required to keep her family immortal. Even worse, the sacrifice, Killian Irons, is part of the secret society hell-bent on killing her family.

Bruce Silver is the author of the Riftbreaker novels, one of the most popular, beloved fantasy book series of all time. He's got everything he's ever dreamed of having: freedom to tell the stories he wants to tell, legions of enthusiastic fans who wait eagerly to see what he'll write next, and a really nice car. But despite all that, Bruce finds himself dissatisfied, battling an ennui he can't quite put his finger on. So he decides to do what anyone would do in his situation: burn it all down by unexpectedly killing off Carpathian Einzgear, Riftbreaker's cherished hero.

Michael finds himself in the realm of the Forever Kingdom, with no memory of how he got there and who he is. Even so, he must participate in the Grand Game and forge a new destiny for himself. Dropped into a dungeon of monsters and strange magics, would you survive in a game where to lose means death? Alone, and with little more than his wits to aid him, Michael must advance as a player, slay his foes, and gain experience. All while navigating the intrigues around him and discovering his purpose.

In the distant past, a time of magic and swordplay, there lived Harold, the mightiest lich of all, a master of arcane sciences, and a challenger of gods. After reaching the pinnacle of his power and finding it surprisingly bland, Harold waged a cataclysmic war against the gods, aiming to shatter the very system that confined him.

Latro now finds himself in Egypt, a land of singing girls, of spiteful and conniving deities. Without his memory, his is unsure of everything, except for his desire to be free of the curse that causes him to forget. The visions Gene Wolfe conjures, of the wonders of Egypt, and of the adventures of Latro as he and his companions journey up the great Nile south into unknown or legendary territory, are unique and compelling.

The vampling curse is gnawing away at his body and his sanity. Because the cure might lie in his special kind of magic, Justin goes to Arcane University in a desperate attempt to unlock his powers. When he runs into his little sister, Ivy, at the university, Justin realizes this might be his chance to convince her he's not evil. Even better, she might be able to cure him if her shape-shifting protector, Bigglesworth, doesn't eat him first.

An unabridged audio collection spotlighting the "best of the best" hard science fiction stories published in 2016 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster, as narrated by top voice talents.

"L'épée de vérité" en main, Richard a combattu la mort en personne. Mais à présent l'empereur Jagang, puissant jusqu'à la démence, lui oppose un ennemi insaisissable : une horrible maladie qui frappe des milliers de victimes innocentes. Richard se met en quête du remède mais selon une fatale prophétie, il devra perdre la femme qu'il aime, ou sa propre vie. Richard et Kahlan vont pourtant tout risquer pour mettre au jour la source du fléau : une magie enfermée depuis trois mille ans dans le "Temple des vents".

In this dark and gritty collection - featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman - nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil.... Unfortunately, that's exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.

Hogwarts pasa por tiempos oscuros. Después del ataque de los Dementores contra su primo Dudley, Harry Potter sabe que Voldemort no se detendrá ante nada para encontrarlo. Hay muchos que niegan el regreso del Señor Oscuro, pero Harry no está solo: una orden secreta se reúne en Grimmauld Place para luchar contra las Fuerzas Oscuras. Harry debe permitir que el Profesor Snape le enseñe cómo protegerse contra los salvajes ataques de Voldemort en su mente, pero estos son cada vez más fuertes y a Harry se le acaba el tiempo...

Top Gun heads to outer space in this throwback to the classic science fiction of Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein. Strapped in to artificial wings spanning 25 feet across, your arms push a tenth of your body weight with each pump as you propel yourself at frightening speeds through the air. Inside a pressurized dome on the Moon, subject to one-sixth Earth's gravity, there are swarms of chiseled, fearless, superbly trained flyers all around you, jostling for air space like peregrine falcons racing for the prize.

Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night, straining human-vamp tensions in Tulsa to a breaking point. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey's old life, she finds herself drawn into an intoxicating forbidden flirtation that threatens to distract her from the growing crisis. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night.

When Gunnar learns the king of Highcastle will grant an audience to anyone who wins an arena championship, he decides to enter the competition as a gladiator. If he can earn a meeting with the ailing king and persuade him to stop Dryden before his dragon flies, he can save Edgewood and countless lives. He'll also get his name posted in every arena, which could lead Rachel one step closer to finding him. Does Gunnar have what it takes to become a champion, or has he bitten off more than he can chew?

La victoire de Richard, Zedd et Kahlan a déchiré le voile qui sépare le monde des vivants et le royaume des morts. Et si Richard refuse d'être un magicien, il n'en subit pas moins les conséquences liées à ce don : renier son héritage le condamne non seulement lui mais aussi le monde. Une seule personne détient le pouvoir de lui faire accepter ce qu'il abhorre : Kahlan, la Mère Inquisitrice. Pour sauver Richard et son peuple, elle devra tout sacrifier et déclencher une guerre qui emportera tous ceux qu'elle aime. Malheur à celui qui néglige la Deuxième Leçon du sorcier.

Rosemary Thorn's life takes another surreal turn as she prepares to host the most unlikely event of the season, while her daughter Athena juggles exam stress and organizing the town's Imbolc ritual. Darkness is stirring in the nearby forest, and a hunger-driven force threatens to consume everything in its path. With vampire politics, fae realm adventures, and cantankerous deities in the mix, Rosemary and Athena must confront both external dangers and their own inner demons.

Lily is a photojournalist in search of the “animal people” who supposedly haunt the city’s darkest slums. Hank is a slumdweller who knows the bad streets all too well. One night, in a brutal incident, their two lives collide - uptown Lily and downtown Hank, each with a quest and a role to play in the secret drama of the city’s oldest inhabitants. For the animal people walk among us. Native Americans call them the First People, but they have never left, and they claim the city for their own.

Lillith has always possessed the ability to feel the grief of the people around her. But now she can harness it and put it to use as well. That said, her recent exploits have labeled her a monster and a villain, specifically "the Mage of Mourning." This title is a nod to both the carnage she leaves in her wake and the tools she implements in the process. But Lillith doesn't need a good reputation. She doesn't even need this life. And she certainly doesn't need to keep her hands free of blood.

A rich and varied collection of contemporary short stories, extracts from novels, and poetry that will go a long way toward informing the English-speaking world of the latest developments in Iranian literature. This sampling - or to use the Farsi term golchine, a bouquet - provides a window onto an important but sorely neglected segment of world culture. We hope it will also serve to awaken further interest in the work and in translations of Iranian novelists and poets.

From number-one worldwide best-selling fantasy author Morgan Rice comes a long-anticipated science-fiction series debut. When SETI finally receives a signal from an alien civilization, what will happen next? A 13-year-old boy, dying of a rare brain disease, is the only one able to hear and decode signals from outer space. SETI confirms it is a real signal. What is the message? How will the world react? And most of all: are the aliens coming?