Science Fiction Monsters

This collection highlights the imaginative brilliance of Ray Bradbury, one of the most influential voices in science fiction. Spanning over 15 stories, the anthology offers a window into Bradbury's unique ability to blend futuristic ideas with profound human emotions. Featured stories like The Monster Maker, Morgue Ship, The Irritated People, Pillar of Fire, Zero Hour, A Little Journey, and Asleep in Armageddon showcase the author's wide-ranging themes, from space exploration and dystopian futures to the darker sides of human nature.

When left for dead, a relentless warrior named Venir rises again to roam the Outlands, protecting helpless denizens from a bloodthirsty magic-wielding subterranean race set on world domination. Led by two omnipotent wizards, the insidious underlings gather an invincible army of slayers called the Badoon to destroy the scourge Venir has become. Seeking refuge in the City of Bone from a battle torn campaign, Venir's visit is short lived after he crosses the diabolical ruling class of Royals who put a price on his head.

Sean wasn't expecting to die today. He definitely wasn't expecting to be dragged off to another world or raised as a skeleton infused with Death itself. Yet here he is, tossed down a Necromancer's trash chute, and left to fend for himself against otherworldly monsters. Only as an abandoned minion, Sean no longer has a summoner paying the hourly mana costs he needs to sustain his new form. Which is bad since if he can't pay those himself, he's going to die… again.

Steve likes to spend his mornings in the NCP village and trade his wheat for emeralds, armor, books, swords, and food. One morning, he finds that Zombies have attacked the villagers. The Zombies have also turned the village blacksmith into a Zombie, leaving Steve without a place to get swords. To protect himself and the few villagers that remain, Steve goes on a quest to mine for 40 diamonds, which are the most powerful mineral in the Overworld.

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

Dominic Thompson becomes an Infernal dungeon core and is given one task: honor the dark goddess by killing adventurers. Choosing an avatar is merely the first step. To become the greatest, he must make the other dungeon cores submit to him. And that means shattering their jeweled hearts. Or seducing their avatars. Lucky for Dom, the dungeon’s avatars are beautiful monster girls. But they’re also the fiercest warriors in the realms, and there’s a fine line between murder and seduction.

In a world of warring orcs and men, Kesst of Clan Ash-Kai is a pawn. A pretty, pliant plaything bound to the cruelest orcs in the realm. Until the new healer storms in. He's huge, hostile, and hideous, with a powerful scarred body and terrifying ancient magic. It only takes one disastrous meeting before he and Kesst are bitter enemies, and Kesst vows to see the vile brute destroyed. Then a sudden deadly attack hurls his helpless body straight at the healer's feet. Kesst fully expects to be abandoned to his doom—instead, his new enemy picks him up, soothes his wounds, and carries him home.

It was an ordinary job. Another night, another asshole collector of the supernatural. I free some poor little beasties from their cages, pocket a few trinkets to pay my bills, and burn the place down on my way out. Just call me the Robin Hood of monster emancipation. I didn’t count on three manly monsters following me home like lost puppies. Stunningly hot lost puppies, but still. Now I’ve got a seductively cheeky incubus, a sweetly enthusiastic demon, and a grimly stoic angel camped out in my kitchen.

When I answered an ad for a caretaker at Saint Mark’s Sanctuary, I thought I’d be dusting chandeliers and polishing floors. I didn’t expect to be tricked into a curse, going into debt to a monster, and being forced to take a self-paced “let’s learn magic” course so I can fix a 2,000-year-old problem. And that monster? Not your ordinary, everyday beast. He has hooves, and horns, and fur on his legs. But you know where he doesn’t have fur? Yeah. There. Which is fine. Except he doesn’t wear pants.

They call me mad, but I don’t see anything wrong with using science to create the perfect monster girl. They call me insane, but I just want to live my life with a harem of beautiful cat-girls, bear-girls, fox-girls, snake-girls, and...well, pretty much any type of monster girl. They call me a megalomaniac, but why wouldn’t any red blooded man want to make cute babies with all these beautiful monster girls? They call me evil, but they just don’t realize that I’d destroy anyone who tries to harm my monster girls.

After my ex announces his wedding to someone other than me, I'm eager to leave town. A new life and a new job are just what I need to restore my mojo. On the way to my destination, I overnight at a hotel where edible unmentionables and a tattooed orc construction worker rock my world. I sneak out the next morning, figuring I'll never see him again. Until I walk into my new job. That hot orc construction worker? He's my boss.

In a world where power is everything, Aleks and Vaira Kercheval have rejected their magical heritage. When the siblings cross the threshold, a long-dormant magic awakens, thrusting them into a world of ancient feuds and twisted powers. As Vaira embraces her magical heritage, determined to claim her rightful place among the Mage Houses, the powerless Aleks accidentally summons Ilea, a monstrous prince from the Void, thereby binding himself to a creature of immense power and insatiable hunger.

All that stands between rowdy long-haul trucker Jill MacLeod (aka Junkmouth) and her family back in Boston is two thousand miles of asphalt. Well, that and the monstrous game the System has had her playing ever since it descended on Earth. The reward: mana. Jill's goal: kill, score, drive—and stay alive. Behind the wheel of a turreted forty-ton semi named Bertha, Jill hammers east from Montana through a gauntlet of every kind of chomping, hissing, rabid creature imaginable. Barreling forward in her magical soulbound big rig and chalking up a bumper crop of roadkill, Jill isn't alone for long.

It's been four years since a meteor hit Perdido Beach and everyone disappeared. Everyone except the kids trapped in the FAYZ - an invisible dome that was created by an alien virus. Inside the FAYZ, animals began to mutate, and teens developed dangerous powers. The terrifying new world was plagued with hunger, lies, and fear of the unknown. Now the dome is gone, and meteors are hitting earth with an even deadlier virus. Humans will mutate into monsters, and the whole world will be exposed.

Charlie Ovid, despite surviving a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn't have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When Alice Quicke, a jaded detective with her own troubled past, is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.

In the heart of Jacksen County, Jason has begun to carve out his new destiny. With his magic system now reset, he’s focused on doing something new with his life—ranching. After taking a job at Eldritch Ranch, Jason embraces his role as a rancher under the employ of Sera—a fierce beauty who currently owns the ranch. With a reset Tracker to guide him, he’s establishing his skills with unique rancher spells and learning more about magical beasts.

In this third installment of the Minecraft Gamer's Adventure series, Steve is invited to participate in an elite building competition on Mushroom Island. His friends - Max, Lucy, and Henry - are impressed and want to join their friend on a journey to the island. Yet not everyone is happy: Steve's neighbor, Kyra, is upset because she wasn't chosen as a contestant.

Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old Ones' invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones.

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.

New research has uncovered deeply buried military secrets—both the Allied and Axis special operations during WWII included monsters. Did the Soviets use a dragon to win the Battle of Kursk? Did a vampire fight for the Canadians in Holland? Did the US drop the second atomic bomb on a kaiju? This collection takes real events from World War II and injects them with fantastical creatures that mirror the “unreality” of war itself. Each story—and two poems—feature mythical, mystical, and otherwise unexplainable beings that change the course of history.