Contemporary Science Fiction

Jake is working at the neighborhood market under his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another world? Who would have guessed that? When these cruel gods shuffled Earth like a deck of cards, nothing was in the same place anymore. Monsters, dungeons, and magical items appear scattered across the globe. And suddenly, everyone has access to a new, strange magical card system that gives them magical powers.

Once upon a time, in the magical land of San Francisco, there lived a not-so-ordinary girl named Laurel Pettigrew. She was supposed to be the Chosen One. The plan was simple: She would vanquish the great evil Tybus in an epic battle. But destiny had other ideas, and Laurel's performance in the whole heroics department was a colossal flop. Now, instead of being a legendary hero, Laurel's the resident pariah of the magic realm. And what’s worse, the dark wizard Tybus swooped in, took over the realm, and forced all supernatural creatures to live under his tyrannical rule.

In The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and best-selling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters - many of them set in their authors' best-loved worlds. Join today's finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do.

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

Je suis Arthur Wills Holmes, l'inspecteur Traqueur le plus badass d'Infernum. Avec une classe magistrale, j'élimine les criminels en un claquement de griffes et me lave les pattes des dommages collatéraux. Néanmoins, mes missions ne sont pas à la hauteur de ma puissance de super-hybride. Côté privé, mes parents ne me lâchent pas d'une écaille : Myrina me reproche mes vices qui engendrent quelques bavures, Kelen critique ma conscience morale. Satané dilemme !

Harry Potter jamás ha oído hablar de Hogwarts hasta que las cartas comienzan a llegar al número cuatro de Privet Drive, pero sus siniestros tíos se apropian rápidamente de estos pergaminos amarillentos que llevan la dirección escrita en tinta verde y un sello púrpura. Luego, en su undécimo cumpleaños, un gigantesco hombre con ojos como escarabajos llamado Rubeus Hagrid irrumpe con una noticia asombrosa: Harry Potter es un mago y lo esperan en el Colegio Hogwarts de Magia y Hechicería. ¡Una aventura increíble está por comenzar!

A devastating attack by the lich Quatach-Ichl has left Zorian and Zach reeling as their remaining restarts tick away. As they recover, they make preparations for their final confrontations with Red Robe, the lich, the primordial being, and the invaders—all within the shadow of a question they can’t answer: can Zorian and Zach both survive outside the time loop? When the time loop is broken, sacrifices will be made, bonds will be tested, and trust will be more important than any magical skill or power—and even then, success is not guaranteed.

When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo - an unhatched dragon egg - fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle.

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old - when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer. Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries....

A shadow is falling over Collegium. Despite the tenuous peace, Stenwold Maker knows that the Empire will return for his city. Even as he tries to prepare for the resurgence of the black-and-gold army, a hidden threat is working against his people. Ships that sail from Collegium's harbour are being attacked, sunk by pirates. Some just go missing.

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., 23-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship - like a 10-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor - April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads Online. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world - everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires - and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense media spotlight.

Across two parallel narratives, Murakami draws listeners into a mind-bending universe in which Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is a novel that is at once hilariously funny and a deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind.

The Yakuza have rolled into town, and Vince finds himself caught in a standoff between the old and new worlds of magic. Doubts remain over who tried to assassinate Vince, and the cops have locked down the city to protect the mayor's reputation. But Vince has a job to do. He's taken back the mafia's old territory for their don, but their rival still refuses to accept reality and bend the knee.

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.

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.

Una noche de verano, cuando Dumbledore llega a Privet Drive a recoger a Harry Potter, su mano derecha se torna oscura y marchita, pero no explica la razón. Los rumores y las sospechas se están extendiendo a través del mundo mágico, y ni siquiera Hogwarts es un lugar seguro. Harry está convencido de que Malfoy lleva la marca tenebrosa: hay un mortífago entre ellos. Harry necesitará magia poderosa y verdaderos amigos para explorar los secretos más oscuros de Voldemort, mientras Dumbledore lo prepara para enfrentar su destino...

Le Seigneur Maître est tombé. La guerre peut commencer. En mettant fin au règne brutal et millénaire du tyran, ils ont réalisé l'impossible. À présent, Vin, la gamine des rues devenue Fille-des-Brumes, et Elend Venture, le jeune noble idéaliste, doivent construire un nouveau gouvernement sur les cendres de l'Empire. Mais trois armées menées par des factions hostiles, dont celle des monstrueux koloss, font le siège de Luthadel. Alors que l'étau se resserre, une légende évoquant le mystérieux Puits de l'Ascension leur offre une lueur d'espoir.

For someone who’s been alive for two thousand years, Atticus O’Sullivan is a pretty fast runner. Good thing, because he’s being chased by not one but two goddesses of the hunt—Artemis and Diana—for messing with one of their own. Dodging their slings and arrows, Atticus, Granuaile, and his wolfhound, Oberon, are making a mad dash across modern-day Europe to seek help from a friend of the Tuatha Dé Danann. His usual magical option of shifting planes is blocked, so instead of playing hide-and-seek, the game plan is . . . run like hell.

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...