Science Fiction City

Perched on an unforgiving coast, the city of Anaskar is under threat from enemies within. Its own royal family feuds over possession of sentient bone masks of power, leaving Sofia Falco, daughter to the city's lord protector, to foil a conspiracy designed to strip her father of both his title and powerful Greatmask.

Tilla, bastard of House Kent, has it made. Safe from her murderous father in the dazzling capital of Lightspire, she lives a life of luxury under the protection of the Volaris King, alongside her boyfriend, Zell, and best friend, Princess Lyriana. So why isn't she happy? Maybe it's the whispers and stares that follow her wherever she goes, as the daughter of the traitor waging war against Lightspire. Or maybe it's the memories of her beloved brother, Jax, who lies cold in his grave even as she tries to settle into a life in the city's prestigious university. Then Tilla stumbles upon the body of a classmate - a friend.

After finally receiving the one thing she's wanted for so many years, Elle sets out to pay the price demanded by the Godmother: She will travel through the Never Woods and complete a quest that will - if the Godmother's shocking story is to be believed - change her life.

Urban fantasy offers a diverse playground for some extremely powerful stories. Professional writer and editor Kerrie L. Hughes pulled some fantastic tales out of 14 top writers for this fifth installment of Fiction River. Set in urban lands from modern Portland, to a future Detroit, to a wild Washington, D.C., and ending the tour in London, these top writers take the idea of "Hex" and stretch and twist it into stories with a magickal grip on the imagination.

When New York City unveils a program to roast supernaturals, I wonder if I should be sweating. The bloodthirsty Arnaud thinks so, and he's insisting that our survival depends on a wizard-vampire alliance. Never mind his history of wanting me dead. Or undead. Meanwhile, the mayor wants me on his team - an offer that's only slightly less unnerving given our recent clash. So who's really behind the purge? City Hall? The werewolves? Or is it the brainchild of the fae, whose newest advisor to the mayor slipped from my bed and life four months ago?

Italy is for lovers - unless those lovers are on opposite sides of a 900-year-old family feud. Mastering the intricacies of winemaking isn't the only challenge Amber is facing on her and Irix's trip to Northern Italy. Two prominent families with secrets of their own are on the edge of war, and a young romance might be the spark that ignites their hostilities into flame.

Zeke's finally beaten and/or Subordinated all the other Apocalypses in his city. You'd think a winner would be due a hero's welcome, or at least a good night sleep. Instead, he's greeted with a grim sight—other Apocalyptic domes opening all around him. There's no time to spare. With every passing moment, all the competing Apocalypses grow stronger and firm up their defenses. It's Zeke's turn to go on the offense as he strikes out of his city and takes on all the other Apocalypses out there.

Men's Health Most Anticipated Sci-Fi of the 2026 The intense dystopian world-building of John Twelve Hawks (The Traveler) returns with a masterful journey through the near future of Artificial Intelligence, in which a wise, orphaned ten-year-old girl goes on the run with only her trusty...

Ashton, a game designer and the architect of Neon-City, finds himself not just navigating a fantastical world of mythical creatures and vibrant districts, but also confronting the profound mysteries of his own past. With each quest he undertakes and every ally he makes, Ashton delves deeper into the digital world's secrets, uncovering truths that parallel his own personal evolution.

Having found the tragic truth that an art degree is worth less than the paper it is printed on, Jacquelyn Jones is frustrated with her dead end work as a graphic designer for a marketing firm....But then she heard about City of Champions Online. For the first time, a developer partnered with a tabletop RPG maker to use their system to create a VRMMORPG, and it was one of the systems designed to be used with superhero games! Now, she just has to find a way to become the heroine she's always wanted to be.

Matteo lives on the back of a giant turtle, one of several kaiju that roam the land. It's the only place safe from the hordes of monsters roaming the forest below. Everything from goblins to grasshoppers make living on the ground deadly. Matteo's new job is to kill those monsters in the giant turtle’s path, pest control for their home kaiju. He just has to survive the training. Unfortunately for him, the other recruits hate him, the mortality rate for recruits is sky high, and every outing involves fighting monsters that can easily kill him.

In a stratified society where contact with the sun is a luxury reserved for the elite, those kept prisoner in the darkness will do anything to find the light. Arden - beautiful, street-smart, and cynical - is one of the citizens of the lowest Level, known as Undercity, of an off-world colony. A blackout band traps Arden in her district, but as sister to the leader of the most powerful gang in Undercity, she has access to Above.

Despite the global genocide and destruction, the Cabal are still trying to salvage their master plan for mankind. In the UK, that involves wiping out the last of the population trapped in the cities, those who don't fit into the new future. Inside the ruined cities, both peaceful and gang-dominated enclaves are beginning to realize time is running out. For some cities, it is already too late, but even a few dedicated survivors can be a serious setback for the Cabal. Elsewhere, the more violent use the reprieve to grow stronger.

The city known as Neom is many things to many beings, human or otherwise. Neom is a tech wonderland for the rich and beautiful, an urban sprawl along the Red Sea, and a port of call between Earth and the stars. In the desert, young orphan Elias has joined a caravan, hoping to earn his passage off-world from Central Station. But the desert is full of mechanical artefacts, some unexplained and some unexploded. Recently, a wry unnamed robot has unearthed one of the region’s biggest mysteries: the vestiges of a golden man.

Jaisa’s beauty and ability to please, both of which are to be used at the discretion of the scientific elite who are the one segment of humanity the new gods value, are Jaisa’s only value to the new gods. But her value to humanity may be much greater. Placed into a position of influence, she walks the line between nonconformity and death.

The Mudlark is a captivating tale of courage, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of dreams against all odds. It’s a whirlwind ride, coursing through the riveting life of an intrepid young heroine who challenges her fate with every rising sun.

Ashes of the City is a gripping Young Adult dystopian novel that delves into the struggle for survival in a city shattered by disaster. When a massive earthquake devastates their urban home, a group of high school students is left stranded in the ruins, cut off from rescue and forced to confront a new reality where the old rules no longer apply.

Twenty years of addiction to cloud, a drug which wipes the user’s short-term memory, have left single mom Mellie with her mind in fragments. With the help of a tough-minded sponsor, and motivated by her own medically challenged daughter, Mellie clings to a fragile sobriety. Then, on the evening of her 29th day sober, a stranger pulls into her driveway and her heart surges. However, when Mellie’s pursuit of this man and the past they may share threatens her sponsor, Mellie will have to put her tiny family and her recovery at risk in hopes of saving the woman who saved her first.

White City (a psychological horror story of the offbeat genre) is a story about a teenage girl named Lucy who throws a Halloween party at her house in Chicago, 1993. And at her party, she hears a scary story about the infamous serial killer, H. H. Holmes, who was said to have been buried in the basement of a post office that stands where his hotel (The Murder Castle) once did. Her and her friends visit the post office to see if the story was true.

The city of Mera is a fortress hidden from the rest of humanity, a sanctuary for the diverse group of people rescued from death by the Oraclethat rules the city. The Oracle has brought together the citizens of Merafrom every land and every time period, protecting them from the ravages oftime, death and the evil demon forces that howl outside the city at night.