Monster Fiction

In a gauntlet-throwing essay at the start of this brilliant assemblage, Cynthia Ozick stakes the claim that, just as surely as critics require a steady supply of new fiction, novelists need great critics to build a vibrant community on the foundation of literary history. For decades Ozick herself has been one of our great critics, as these essays so clearly display. She offers models of critical analysis of writers from the mid-20th century to today, from Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, and Kafka to William Gass and Martin Amis, all assembled in provocatively named groups.

A fantasy/horror novella, Our Monsters Are Real takes place in the summer of a small, Midwestern town called Edlund. Daryl, the farm boy hero, is soon to graduate high school and uses an unknown source of magic against a morbid family. Teenage adolescence, desire, and rock and roll all play their part in discovering secrets that affect the lives of the Carters as they settle into their new life.

A psychologically twisted story of the escape of a lifelong prisoner.

On the brink of losing her position as a maid and with no prospects to go on, the offer of a place at Rooksgrave Manor - a house of ill and unusual repute - sounds like a perfect fit for a young woman with Esther’s inclinations. Even better, the invitation comes by the hand of the handsome Dr. Underwood, a delicate gentleman with a ferocious alter ego who knows exactly what he wants from Esther. Upon arrival, the men and the daily decadence of the manor feel too good to be true for a girl of Esther’s station.

Beauty is...pain. But for Pamela Rose beauty is everything. She spends every day and almost every dollar fighting a losing battle against nature. When a young coworker comes to the office with a new set of breast implants, Pam's delicate psyche begins to crack. Doctor Joseph DiBiro used to make art from flesh and plastic, but after his release from prison the only thing he's handling is a broom. He knows he has more to give the world; he's not done creating beauty. He just needs the right patient.

Eric is a physicist, an angel vivisectionist, and an architect of the future. He's also an accidental time traveler, stuck in the past and trying to re-create his own future. Now he's got to save the world for a better tomorrow, but not like everyone does, in general, every day. Oh, no. He has to make a better tomorrow that looks exactly the way he remembers it, or there may be no yesterday, no today, and no Eric! There is a reason he hates time travel, and it has nothing to do with physics.

Brett and Tom are crazy about video games. In fact, they became best friends when they discovered that they could beat all their opponents. Now they’re ready to take on the best one of all—Rodomonte’s Revenge—a new virtual reality game that just opened in the mall. Fire rivers, enormous buzz-bugs, impossible cliffs, and a treasure-filled castle are all exciting parts of the skill levels. But when the game begins to take over Brett and Tom’s minds, they fear that they might become a permanent part of the action.

I risked my life to help fae flee a tyrant king. When my own escape goes wrong, I'm left stranded in the wilderness with an injured, arrogant fae mercenary. The last thing he wants is to claim his mortal soulmate, but we have to rely on each other, or die. Unfortunately, he's half-basilisk, and a single glance will kill me. Unless we mate . . . every three days.

Quinn: After Rowan and I escape Mercer’s hold, we have to get the pack somewhere safe, but my only option is a pride run by a controlling alpha. With everyone safely inside the walls of Winterhaven, Rowan and I attempt to search for the truth, but we’re being hunted and driven further from the answers we need. I want to do everything to protect my mate, but as I learn more about his past, I realize that I might need to protect him from more than just Mercer.

Do you know that the Olympians weren’t the original immortals? Or that the Goddess Hera restored her virginity each year? The ancient Greeks wove one of the richest and best-preserved collections of stories of all the early civilizations, from the dawn of creation to the bloody siege at Troy.

When Jerry follows the trail of his missing uncle, he discovers a mysterious monster-girl and an equally mysterious region called Delom where everything works like a video game. But there isn't time to gawk, because Jerry's inherited his uncle's farm, once the most famous animal breeder in Delom, and everything is falling apart. The animals are low level, there's not enough food to keep their health up, and a greedy developer wants to put Jerry and the farm out of business.

Ben is now Draco Rex the dragon king, and his dynasty is steadily growing. His women give him a new dragon-kin child every few weeks, he has fortified and improved his village and palace, and the water dragons are coming back from the brink of extinction. Life is good for him, but the gods have further plans, so it is time for the new ruler to build a raft and expand his domain.

When Elsie, an orphan on the streets of Victorian London, hears about the mysterious Ice Monster - a woolly mammoth found at the North Pole - she’s determined to discover more.... A chance encounter brings Elsie face to face with the creature and sparks the adventure of a lifetime - from London to the heart of the Arctic! Heroes come in all different shapes and sizes in David Walliams’ biggest and most epic adventure yet!

I assumed writing swoony romance novels about humans and otherkind might attract some unsavory attention, but I never imagined I'd have an obsessive fan stalking me. Fortunately, my BFF Max has an in with a town he assures me can keep me safe. As a former foster kid, I'm pretty resilient, but this situation is messing with my sleep, and I'm on deadline for my next book!

Candour, the mysterious spymaster, has devious plans and Melody Delaney is about to throw a spanner in the works with her volatile temper along with her undying devotion to her friends. Where there’s trouble, there’s also opportunity. If Josh can persuade her to join his team, she would add a new dimension to their monster hunting capabilities. If only Josh could navigate the perilous water of Mythelore’s political houses while adding to his team, he might still get his dream.

It's time to party monster-style, and you're invited! Listen along as Vampirina and her family throw a scary fun party that's sure to go down in history.

Behold the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM), today’s fastest growing carbohydrate-based religion. According to church founder Bobby Henderson, the universe and all life within it were created by a mystical and divine being: the Flying Spaghetti Monster. What drives the FSM's devout followers, a.k.a. Pastafarians? Some say it’s the assuring touch from the FSM’s “noodly appendage”. Then there are those who love the worship service, which is conducted in pirate talk and attended by congregants in dashing buccaneer garb.

This Science Fiction Collection brings together 20 iconic works from some of the genre's most influential authors. Featuring Ray Bradbury's atmospheric The Monster Maker and Rocket Summer, Isaac Asimov's thought-provoking Youth, E.M. Forster's dystopian The Machine Stops, and H.G. Wells' timeless masterpiece The Time Machine, the anthology explores a wide range of speculative themes. From futuristic worlds and artificial intelligence to time travel and human survival, this collection delves into the challenges and possibilities of the future.

Horror fans will get their thrills in this collection–from werewolves to vampires to zombies–all the time-worn horror baddies are there. But so are predators of a distinctly American variety–the horrors of empire, of intimate partner violence, of dispossession. And so too the monsters of Rogers’ imagination, that draw upon long-told Cherokee stories–of Deer Woman, fantastical sea creatures, and more.

The Hangsane are coming at Josh and the Misfits like a raging beast, and it's relentless. Having discovered the lost city of Telemar and found the Angel Stone, they find themselves trapped in the drow castle. If they can break free, they’ll have to fight their way across the mountains.