Fantasy Patrick

People have been telling stories about warriors for as long as they have been telling stories... Our contributors make up an all-star lineup of award-winning and bestselling writers, representing a dozen different publishers and as many genres. We asked each of them for the same thing - a story about a warrior. Some chose to write in the genre they’re best known for. Some decided to try something different. You will find warriors of every shape, size, and color here....

It's been seven months since Chris Gordon met Tanya Demidova, and a lot has changed. He's stronger and faster and has the senses of a vampire and the appetite of a werewolf. But even as he settles into his new position with the Special Situations Squad and his relationship with Tanya, new threats appear. From south of the border, north of the city, inside the NYPD, and the federal government. But the hardest fight Chris will face is with himself.

One by one, I've seen my friends fall in love with the alien warriors on this planet. More than any other single girl on this planet, I want what they have—a mate. After a childhood in foster care and an adulthood littered with crappy boyfriends, I just want to find my place, my home, love. I want it more than anything, and I'm ready for it. What I'm not ready for? An enemy Gahn from beyond the mountains attacking our settlement in the dead of night. And even more than that? This bleeding Gahn with piercing silver eyes and brutal blades claims that I'm his mate.

Aoth and the Brotherhood of the Griffon have succeeded in rescuing Tchazzar, the lost king of Chessenta and a formidable red dragon, and are rewarded with a contract to aid in his war with a powerful dracolich. But the more Aoth sees of the war, the more suspicious he becomes that the Brotherhood may be just a pawn in a cutthroat draconic game that puts whole kingdoms at risk - a game played for stakes of gold and blood.

Cam Alvarez is lost in the depths of the galaxy…and the only way home is through a horde of alien monsters. Cam and the others in the task force have followed Zan Thint through the Predecessor Gateway to another spiral arm of the galaxy. There, they are stranded…unless they can find another of the gateways. Following the trail of the Predecessors, who’d fled our space millennia ago, they discover one lost civilization after another…but will they find the Predecessors?

Thousands of crew are reported dead, including the ship’s captain. Reluctantly, the young XO, Galvin Quintos, will be taking command of the fleet's crippled dreadnaught, the USS Hamilton, while doing his best to bring fleet survivors back to Earth. To make matters worse, there’s a murderer running loose on board the ship, critically low fuel levels, and the Grish are back, in fast pursuit and ready to finish what they’d started. Only by sheer luck - and a good measure of cagey smarts - will Quintos be able to rise to the challenge.

For Vicky Sandoval, home is wherever the she and Cam can make a life together, whether that’s back in the Commonwealth or right there in this strange new part of the galaxy. But the only way for any of them to find a home is to hunt down the mysterious Seekers, the faction of the ancient alien Predecessors who were tracking the source of the mindless Skrela war drones which had chased them off Earth tens of thousands of years ago. The Seekers have the gate and, just as importantly, they know where to find the demonic Skrela and put an end to them.

In one harrowingly destructive instant, a mysterious seismic pulse in the Scottish Highlands rips away all semblance of global security. Complacency grew in the years since Dan McCarthy brought humanity into contact with intelligent aliens, but those days are gone. When peace is shattered, fear takes over.

Something was coming. Arlo felt certain about that. For Arlo Finch and the Rangers of Pine Mountain Company, summer camp is more than canoeing and hiking. It's also a chance to search for ancient forest spirits and discover mysterious messages encoded in tree bark. But when Arlo and his best friends Indra and Wu stumble upon clues about the long-lost Yellow Patrol, Arlo uncovers a stunning history that leads right back to his very own family.

In 1942, Hitler led the world's most savage military machine. Stalin ruled Russia while America was just beginning to show its strength in World War II. Then, in Harry Turtledove's brilliantly imagined Worldwar saga, an alien assault changed everything. Nuclear destruction engulfed major cities, and the invaders claimed half the planet before an uneasy peace could be achieved.

“Brown is excellent.” —San Francisco Chronicle Dale Brown, whose books live on the New York Times bestseller list—alongside the novels of Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and other superstars of the military adventure genre—triumphs again with Rogue Forces. A riveting and relentlessly...

An ordinary, money-grubbing Merchant struggling to make a coin off penniless, incompetent adventurers is forced to take on the impossible quest of saving his town and rescuing the woman he loves from a treacherous and powerful Wizard. A battle of wit, wits and haggling that is part homage to, part skewer of the richly worked and often overwrought fantasy genre. An artful, satire of dungeon crawls and cRPG's, the Merchant Adventurer is part Princess Bride, part Dungeon Pawn Stars and a rollicking good read.

It was every starship captain’s nightmare, and for Travis Miller, it was his own personal hell. He’d done everything by the book, but when the Tahni had attacked him and his crew, there was no choice but to return fire and destroy the first alien vessel humans had ever encountered. Excoriated in the press, his career in shambles, Travis is exiled to a long patrol of the outer colony worlds. Forgotten, except as a bad example...until the Tahni prove him right by declaring war on the human commonwealth.

Book 3 of the Demon Accords. Partnered in an uneasy alliance with federal law enforcement, Chris Gordon has been hunting down the outlaw gang Loki's Spawn, who attacked his vampire girlfriend. But when he finds unexpected hostages who trigger his baser instincts, Chris is thrown into a search for answers to dark questions: how to control his inner demon, what do the Spawn want with children, and who is hunting him?

In a troubled society, a lone police investigator takes on the case and starts to the collect the various pieces of the puzzle. Will they fit together?

With a credible threat to the US and a plane stuck on the tarmac, Grant Walton is 30 seconds from full-blown panic mode. He's the only one in the airport who knows the truth. When the power goes out, he can't waste another second. It's the beginning of the end and every man for himself. Leah Walton is wrapping up a 12-hour shift as a nurse in the heart of the city. When the power goes out, the hospital operates on crisis mode. She can't stop to breathe, let alone check her messages. When she finally listens to her husband's frantic calls, she's faced with an impossible choice: leave or die trying.

In the 10 years since his regiment was transported to an alien world, Commander Andrew Keane has bravely fought time and time again for humanity's freedom. But after he is injured in battle, his confidence is shaken, and his ability to lead is damaged. Seeing their leader struck down also takes its toll on Keane's men, who have followed him to hell and back.

Declan O'Carroll is ready to start his summer internship at the hottest new company on the planet, Demidova Incorporated. What will he be doing? What tasks could he possibly handle for the most famous couple on Earth? After all, what could a second-semester college freshman hope to add to a multinational conglomerate? As the strongest male witch in existence, it might just be much, much more than anyone could ever predict.

College. A time of transition from youth to young adulthood. New lessons, new responsibilities, new distractions. A period of life treasured by most. Unless you happen to attend an institute of higher learning where the bullies are werewolves, the teachers are sadists, and the pretty girls are all deadly. A school like that demands a special kind of student, someone with the skills and power to survive. Someone like Declan O'Carroll.

The pulse hits without warning. In one harrowingly destructive instant, a mysterious seismic pulse in the Scottish Highlands rips away all semblance of global security. When peace is shattered, fear takes over. The stakes rise without mercy. As the pulse's chaos spreads across the world, it becomes painfully clear that Piper McCarthy - a child born like no other - might hold humanity's only hope of averting total disaster.