Fantasy Suspense Thriller

For over three decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror listeners crave. Now, with the eighth volume of the series, Datlow is back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. Encompassed in the audio of The Best Horror of the Year have been such illustrious writers as: Neil Gaiman; Kelley Armstrong; Stephen King; Linda Nagata; Laird Barron; Margo Lanagan; and many others.

It began on New Year’s Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed - and more than half of the world’s population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magick rose up in its place.

This slayer’s about to save the world. I’m a witch, shifter, self-proclaimed vampire slayer, and more than a little ticked off. The Soulless took my sister, and I’m determined to find where the elite group of vampires is hiding. But before I can go after her, I get a warning from a high witch. There’s a vamp after a dark and dangerous artifact, one that would allow him to control magic and sell it to the highest bidder. I must pursue him if I hope to survive my sister’s rescue. I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into.

All good things must come to an end, Constant Listener, and not even Stephen King can write a story that goes on forever. The tale of Roland Deschain's relentless quest for the Dark Tower has, the author fears, sorely tried the patience of those who have followed it from its earliest chapters. But attend to it a while longer, if it pleases you, for this volume is the last, and often the last things are best.

Chris Harrison thought he was just testing a new virtual reality system. A quick job. Easy money. Then he met Elisa — an AI unlike anything the world has seen. She knows things. Dangerous things. Now Harrison is caught in a deadly conspiracy spanning artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and human consciousness itself. The deeper he digs, the more powerful the enemies — and the more certain the truth becomes: someone will kill to keep these secrets buried.

Acclaimed, New York Times best-selling fantasist Raymond E. Feist gets his masterful Serpentwar Saga off to a spectacular start with Shadow of a Dark Queen. Feist’s classic epic fantasy adventure returns listeners to ever-imperiled Midkemia, a breathtaking, richly imagined realm of magic and intrigue, where two unlikely heroes must rally the forces of the land to stand firm against a malevolent race of monsters intent upon conquest and annihilation.

Fallon Swift, approaching her thirteenth birthday, barely knows the world that existed before - the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted - and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are back in a chilling collection of all-new tales of dark secrets, alien agendas, terrifying monsters, and murderous madmen. Edited by New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Maberry, The Truth Is out There features original stories by best-selling authors Rachel Caine, David Wolverton, Hank Philippi Ryan, Kelley Armstrong, Kami Garcia, Greg Cox, and many others.

Three months ago, Tansy Bloom quit monster hunting. Since then, she’s been trying to live a normal life (whatever that means), but ending up single, unemployed, and living on a boat outside her godfather’s pub definitely wasn’t part of the plan. So, when Tansy’s ex-husband – fellow monster hunter Rex Barclay – turns up like a bad penny and asks for her help with his latest investigation, Tansy reluctantly agrees. At first, the job appears to be a straightforward monster hunt – following a spate of large creature sightings, Rex believes a werewolf is on the loose in Norfolk.

In Eileanan, victory has finally been won, and those of faery kind - from the mighty dragons to the mysterious nyx - have sworn their friendship and aid. Only the sea-dwelling Fairgean have refused to sign the Pact of Peace. Driven by ancient hatreds, they have devoted themselves to destroying all who dwell upon the land. Troubled by the darkness that may lie ahead, Lachlan agrees to release his beloved Iseult from the sacred oath that binds them together. It will then be for Iseult to decide whether she will remain in the mountains to resume life with her own kin, or return.

“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife.

Mitch Matthews is writer struggling to make ends meet when his wife's brother offers them a first-class seat on a flight from Hong Kong to New York. When his wife needs to stay behind, it becomes an opportunity for some quality daddy-daughter time with his five-year-old Lilly. At check-in, they run into a strange Norwegian arguing with a huge Russian. A mysterious redhead is guarding a package in the business lounge. But everything is fine...right up until the event. Within hours of Allied Airlines 695 disappearing, a massive international search is launched.

Out of prison and back on the streets, Daniel Faust returns home to a city on fire. The Chicago mob is making their play for control of Las Vegas, with an army of gunmen and a lethal shapeshifter on their side, while Daniel's friend Jennifer marshals the forces of the Vegas underworld. Staying on the sidelines isn't an option, especially when a Metro detective orders him to get the war under control - and if he can't, he'll expose Daniel's secrets to the FBI.

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is Chicago's only openly practicing wizard. He is also dead broke. His vast knowledge and magical skills are unfortunately matched by his talent for making powerful enemies and alienating friends. With little more than his integrity left, he accepts an offer of work from Lt. Karin Murphy of Chicago's Special Investigations Unit. He wants to redeem himself in Murphy's eyes and make enough money to quiet his rumbling stomach.

Picking her battles is a luxury Amber never has. Still reeling from her brutal duel with the Queen of Diamonds, Amber must win over the Assembly. The price of failure? Her own execution and the utter destruction of Emergence. Traditionalist Athanate are calling her an abomination and baying for her Blood. When those who should be her allies attack her, she must bind enemies to her cause.

Humans made a deal with the Stryxian males: Help us defend Earth, and when the war is over, we’ll send you women to help rebuild your dying species. Now, the war appears to be over and Trinity Bentzer’s number has been called in the lottery. Only, instead of winning a boatload of money, she’s getting some badass winged alien she’s never met. Trin’s not thrilled to be shipped off and matched up, until she meets Raig. Maybe she hit the jackpot, after all.

Sometimes the worst storms aren't from Mother Nature, and sometimes the worst nightmares aren't the ones in our heads. Mike Mitchell, an average New Yorker already struggling to keep his family together, suddenly finds himself fighting just to keep them alive when an increasingly bizarre string of disasters starts appearing on the world's news networks. As both the real world and the cyber world come crashing down, bending perception and reality, a monster snowstorm cuts New York off from the world, turning it into a wintry tomb where nothing is what it seems.

In this second volume, Roland encounters three mysterious doorways on a deserted beach along the Western Sea. Each one enters into a different person's life in New York - here, he joins forces with the defiant young Eddie Dean and with the beautiful, brilliant, and brave Odetta Holmes in a savage struggle against underworld evil and otherworldly enemies. They also become the companions, forming a ka-tet, who will assist him on his quest to save the Dark Tower.

A writer in California. A doctor in Boston. A motel owner and his employee in Nevada. A priest in Chicago. A robber in New York. A little girl in Las Vegas. They’re a handful of people from across the country, living through eerie variations of the same nightmare.

Dr. Brandt Savage is on sabbatical from the University of Chicago. Instead of doing solo fieldwork in anthropology, the gawky, bespectacled PhD finds himself enrolled in a school where he is the sole pupil. His professor, “Meed,” is demanding. She’s also his captor. Savage emerges from their intensive training sessions physically and mentally transformed, but with no idea why he’s been chosen, and how he’ll use his fearsome abilities. Then his first mission with Meed takes them back to her own training ground.