Contemporary Science Fiction

Annie Jones works hard designing windows for iconic New York City department store Lawson's Finest. So when her Christmas window display gets upended by some rambunctious kids on Christmas Eve, the all-too-realistic store Santa gives Annie a little decorating tip on how to start over. With help from friendly security guard Braden Tate, Annie repairs the damage and heads home. But when she wakes the next morning, she's bewildered to find that it isn't Christmas day at all, but Christmas Eve all over again.

The Winter Queen of Faerie has manipulated Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden into accepting a case to solve a murder and stop a war between the courts of Summer and Winter that could have literally earth shattering consequences. His own soul is up for grabs. Dresden must dig deep to discover that at time a willingness to accept a little help from your friends, be they a cub pack of werewolves, old loves in sheep's clothing, or a battalion of pizza loving dewdrop fairies, is a very good thing.

The best of the year's science fiction and fantasy stories as selected by the multiple award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan. Distant worlds, time travel, epic adventure, unseen wonders, and much more! The best, most original and brightest science fiction and fantasy stories from around the globe from the past 12 months are brought together in one collection by multiple award winning editor Jonathan Strahan.

Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more - a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.

The last in a proud line of witches, he’s come to test his small magic in the big city. Stealing enchanted artifacts pays the rent, but the competition is fierce. And handsome. And great at magic too.

Born into riches, Probator Symeon Noctis attempts to atone for his past sins by championing the powerless of Nearsteel district. But the sprawling city of Varangantua is uncaring of its masses, and when a bisected corpse is discovered in the neutral zone between Nearsteel and the Adeptus Mechanicus enclave of Steelmound, Noctis finds himself cast into his most dangerous case yet. Partnering with the tech-priest Rho-1 Lux of the Collegiate Extremis, Noctis is drawn into a murky world of tech-heresy, illegal servitors, and exploitation that could end his career, or his life.

Richard Cypher vivait paisiblement dans la forêt jusqu'au jour où son destin est bouleversé par une belle inconnue. Celle-ci ne consent à lui dire que son nom : Kahlan. Lui sait dès le premier regard, qu'il ne pourra plus la quitter. Mais des créatures monstrueuses traquent l'étrangère et le danger rôde en Hartland. Pour la sauver, Richard devra porter l'"Épée de vérité" et s'opposer à Darken Rahl, le mage dictateur. Ainsi commence une extraordinaire quête à travers les ténèbres. Au nom de l'amour. À n'importe quel prix.

The Youngbloods are a mafia-like demon family, sent as a sinister advance team to prepare Earth for an infernal invasion. But when something goes wrong, the demon invasion never comes and the Youngbloods are stuck on crappy Earth with the worst creatures in the world—each other. Petra Youngblood is the family’s hunter. Her job: to track and kill the annual human sacrifice that keeps the Youngbloods immortal. Otherwise, they will crumble to dust. But as Petra is hunting down this year’s sacrifice, a man named Killian Irons, she breaks the first demonic rule.

A simple man, lacking in knowledge, but quick of wit. He is flung into the future, where everything is different. Now, he has to make a name for himself, carve his own path in life. He decides to play a game, the biggest one in the world. A strategy game, focused on tactics, used to select the top managers of the largest international corporation. Now, he has to prove his mettle and earn a place for himself in the future....

Brighten your day and dive into Flat Spell Tales! The author, Tony Martello, transforms ordinary events in our lives into fiction based on half-realities. Drop in and surf stories about romance, revenge, treasure hunts, and humor. He invites you along with him on a variety of adventures that take you into extreme nature, complex human relationships, and animal allegories.

Arrivés au niveau 3, Carl et Donut, auxquels s'est joint le jeune Mongo, sont à la croisée des chemins. Ils doivent sélectionner une race et une classe : perspective aussi excitante qu'effrayante, qui les changera peut-être pour toujours... Et ce n'est pas tout. Surprise : la vaste métropole où se déroule cette nouvelle partie de l'aventure n'est en fait que le premier palier d'un réseau de six niveaux urbains interconnectés, où les attendent des défis plus périlleux les uns que les autres. Le risque est partout, et gagner de l'expérience n'a jamais été aussi crucial.

C'est la Nuit de l'Hiver dans la contrée de Deux-Rivières et, en ce soir de fête, l'excitation des villageois est à son comble. C'est alors qu'arrivent trois étrangers comme le jeune Rand et ses amis d'enfance Mat et Perrin n'en avaient jamais vu : une dame noble et fascinante nommée Moiraine, son robuste compagnon et un trouvère. De quoi leur faire oublier ce cavalier sombre et sinistre aperçu dans les bois, dont la cape ne bougeait pas en plein vent.

Alissa doesn’t believe in magic. Her father’s stories about the Hold, a legendary fortress where human Keepers learn magic from the enigmatic Masters, are just that—stories. But her mother insists Alissa has inherited her father’s magical ability, so she must go to the Hold to be trained. On her way, she crosses paths with Strell, a wandering musician from the plains.

In a perfect world where everyone destroys everything and eats human flesh, one zombie has had enough: Buck Burger. When he rebels at the natural disorder, his marriage starts deteriorating and a doctor prescribes him an anti-depressant. Buck meets a beautiful green-haired pharmacist fairy named Fairy_26 and quickly becomes a pawn in a cold war between zombies and supernatural creatures.

The residents of Sea Haven have spent generations hiding the fact that they’re descended from powerful creatures of the deep. Their mermaid ancestors are supposed to be extinct—at least, that’s what Bree’s been told. When Bree finds a merman washed ashore after a harsh storm, she begins to uncover secrets the city council is determined to keep hidden.

The best science fiction and fantasy stories of 2021, selected by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Veronica Roth. This year’s selection of science fiction and fantasy stories, chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and bestselling author of the Divergent series Veronica Roth...

Anastasia Esposito Romano’s family moves in the highest echelons of Alpha-Prime society, yet she is content with her position at one of the planet’s most exclusive galleries. When her iron-fisted uncle orders Ana to chase after her wayward younger sister, she has no choice but to follow the trail to Earth—where she also hopes to find the mysterious artist whose paintings are the talk of the planet.

Meet Laszlo, eight-hundred-year-old demon and Hell’s least productive Curse Keeper. From his office beneath Midtown, he oversees the Drakeford Curse, which involves a pathetic family upstate and a mysterious black monolith. It’s a sexy enough assignment—colonial origins, mutating victims, et cetera—but Laszlo has no interest in maximizing the curse’s potential; he’d rather sunbathe in Ibiza, quaff martinis, and hustle the hustlers on Manhattan’s subway.

Slaying undead is an endless task, but one Hunter Haeight has aspired to all her life. She joins Noelictus' Hunter's Guild and works her way up the ranks, slaying zombies, skeletons, and ghouls with dedication and zeal. However, there is a rot within the Kingdom of Shade, and Haeight's aspirations turn into doubts as she finds a web of conspiracies in the capital, Menorome. The Hunters there are off—something is afoot. It is a bewildering, overwhelming place for new Hunters, as well as the fourth Princess of Calanfer, Seraphel du Marquin, who has arrived for her marriage, unhappy and alone.

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017.