Fantasy Short Fiction

Prepare to meet the wicked progeny of the master of modern horror. In Lovecraft's Monsters, H. P. Lovecraft's most famous creations--Cthulhu, Shoggoths, Deep Ones, Elder Things, Yog-Sothoth, and more--appear in all their terrifying glory. Each story is a gripping new take on a classic Lovecraftian creature. Contributors include such literary luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Karl Edward Wagner, Elizabeth Bear, and Nick Mamatas.

From sultry rendezvous to first-time thrills, every story is designed to ignite your passions and leave you craving more. These aren’t tales for the faint of heart. They are unapologetically bold, laced with taboo themes, and dripping with sensual intensity that pushes the boundaries of desire. Whether it’s the allure of forbidden love, the thrill of risky encounters, or the raw surrender of BDSM, each minute turns up the heat in ways you’ve never imagined.

The Drexian warriors are big, and gorgeous, and tasked with keeping Earth safe from violent invaders. In exchange, Earth has agreed to send a select number of women to their holographic space station, to be the warriors’ mates. Too bad, the women don’t know anything about it. Not until they’ve been abducted, at least. As hot as the Drexian warriors are, not all the abducted women want to take an alien mate. But these warriors aren’t used to being disobeyed. And they aren’t used to feisty human women. Sparks will fly.

A group of mountain climbers, caught in the dark, fight to survive their descent; in the British countryside, hundreds of magpies ascend into the sky, higher and higher, until they seem to vanish into the heavens; a professor and his student track a zombie horde in order to research zombie behavior; an all-girl riding school has sinister secrets; a town rails in vain against a curse inflicted upon it by its founders; and much more.

This collection features Howard at his finest and Conan at his most savage. Truly heroic fantasy at its best, this volume contains "The Servants of Bit-Yakin", "Beyond the Black River", "The Black Stranger", "The Man-Eaters of Zamboula", and "Red Nails", which is perhaps Conan's most famous adventure.

Mad scientists have never had it so tough. In super-hero comics, graphic novels, films, TV series, video games, and even works of what may be fiction, they are besieged by those who stand against them, devoid of sympathy for their irrational, megalomaniacal impulses to rule, destroy, or otherwise dominate the world as we know it. It’s just not fair. So those of us who are so twisted and sick that we love mad scientists have created this guide.

This boxed set contains the first three books in the Dragon Riders of Elantia series: Call of the Dragon, Flight of the Dragon, and Might of the Dragon. If you like sassy heroines, spunky dragons, crazy adventures, and wild treasure hunts, this is the series for you.

In the world of Eternal Night, Johnathan Masters is at the top of his game. He’s worked hard to build up his influence, trading favors and playing politics. But when a Blood from another city arrives on the scene and attempts to cut into his business by increasing his own status, Johnathan is forced to defend his turf. Maybe he’ll play nice. But then again, sometimes a bit of tough love sends the right message.

Magic powers? His own mech? A whole airship of gorgeous women desperate for his genes? Yes, please! Paralyzed by a drunk driver, let go from his job, and stuck in a sad, stagnant town in the middle of nowhere, Joseph Locke was having the worst day of his life. And then he died. But considering that he wakes up with a brand new body, in the cockpit of a badass steampunk robot, on an airship of nothing but hot babes, his next life may not be all that bad. Especially when he learns that he’s a void mage—the rarest and most powerful of all mages on the world of Haven.

Gennady’s an expert on nukes, so when the Interpol man hires him to track some stolen plutonium, it seems like business as usual. Except for this: All signs lead to – a place that doesn’t exist. This story was originally published in the Hugo Award-nominated METAtropolis. It was also selected for inclusion in Twenty-First Century Science Fiction, edited by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden.

From Dickens's A Christmas Carol to the ghost stories of M.R. James, the tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. The twelve stories of The Winter Spirits are all centred around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience. Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret, and drawing inspiration from festive traditions from all around the globe, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights.

I’d always had a hidden desire…a naughty thought I imagined would stay forever in my head, never to see the light of day. How could it? Something so forbidden, yet so tempting.... But still, something drove me to pursue that lingering in my loins. A lusty craving I couldn’t extinguish. I had to do something about it! And my sexy husband would never dare cheat on me, or stray even in the slightest. He was always so supportive and doting.

The Barsoom Collection: Books 1-6 is the collection of the first six novels in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series, read by esteemed narrator Christopher Ragland.

Before Area X, there was Ambergris. Jeff VanderMeer conceived what would become his first cult classic series of speculative works: the Ambergris trilogy. Now, for the first time ever, the story of the sprawling metropolis of Ambergris is collected into a single volume, including City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword, and Finch.

Like the creation myths they supersede, the revelations of science are seared into our collective imagination through storytelling. From Archimedes' bath to Newton's apple, vivid accounts of scientific discovery help us understand the principles behind each theory, and add to the larger narrative of how the universe works, and how we came to be here. This anthology draws out and distils science's love of narrative from a wide range of scientific disciplines, weaving theory into very human stories.

Bradley receives a second chance on a steampunk planet where the wondrous sights captivate, the gizmos fascinate, and it is all possible with steam. Attempting the wilds, Bradley experiences a dash of heart-pumping adventure that unlocks new opportunities and brings unwanted problems. With proper application, a bit of wit, and a dash of luck, he might achieve greatness.

Zombie, Indiana explores the impact of an invading zombie horde on a trio of Hoosier protagonists…each of whom have some dark secrets to keep. When the governor’s daughter mysteriously disappears on a field trip, IMPD Special Sergeant James Nolan, scholarship student Kesha Washington, and Governor Hank Burleson must all come together not only to find the governor’s daughter, but also to undertake a quest to redeem the very soul of the state itself…all while under constant attack from the living dead.

The Horus Heresy is an epic conflict spanning hundreds of worlds and thousands of battles, laced with countless tales of heroism and valour, betrayal and villainy. This anthology collects some of the most memorable, featuring every one of the Loyalist and Traitor Legions. Whether you're a veteran Legionary or exploring the grim setting of the Horus Heresy for the first time, this handpicked collection of 21 existing short stories features gripping tales for each of the Loyalist and Traitor Legions that waged wars of betrayal and destruction on an immeasurable scale.

Taken from my old life with little memory of what brought me here, I wake up in a high tech capsule. A wrinkly old elf tells me that my soul is incomplete and has been fused with that of a Solar Dragon to give me a second chance at life. Where? When? An urban metropolis filled with fantasy races, erected atop the back of a giant asteroid. Meteoropolis. And millions of years in the future, to boot. But that's not all. I've got super powers, too. To add to the excitement, I end up hosted by an anxious unicorn elf named Pinky Peach who is basically a professional gamer girl.

Spell-slinger. Vampire-slayer. Magical albino ferret-rescuer. Meet Jacqueline Denna Knight, the best wizard detective in the city. Jax turns vampires to ash and pain into magic. She also has a knack for finding things. So, when a distraught - and obscenely wealthy - elf calls Jax at midnight to hire her for an intriguing job, she grabs the opportunity with both hands. But what Jax doesn’t know is that this case is going to unravel her life.