Science Fiction Monsters

Recon Marine Conor McCall didn’t expect action during his training op in the icy waters off Norway. But when a bizarre summer fog engulfs his boat, he and his team find themselves in a fight against strange, cruel monsters from the depths of the North Sea. When even their allies are enemies, the Recon Marines must do what they have always done: adapt or die. But with a world of ice and monsters seeking to destroy them, every second is mission-critical.

My prestigious new job as the assistant to a colony leader starts as an honor. Then I stumble across the colony’s dirty little secrets. Hell-bent on exposing the atrocities, I reach out to a rebel group to feed them information. Too quickly, the jig is up. I manage one last message to my rebel contact, Zach, before I’m locked in the mad councilman’s basement. When Trask arrives, he claims to be my contact. He’s huge and horned with wings that darken the sky. I know he’s lying because Zach is human, but when the monster steals me into the air, I hold on for dear life.

Kit may be the youngest wizard ever, but she sure doesn’t feel like the best wizard. Her magic just keeps going wrong, and other weird stuff is happening too: talking animals, exploding fireballs, and a strange new arrival in the local park. Even Dogon (the half dog, half dragon) is droopy! So Kit and her two best friends - animal-whispering Alita and studious Josh - set off with Faith the librarian to investigate this wild magic that’s causing so much commotion. Their journey takes them to a Scottish loch, where they meet an eco-conscious wizard and some very grumpy mermaids.

An existence spent being forced to kill others to satiate a monster. Where the only thing to look forward to was the blessed, if brief, period of time between paying that bribe. Except that very same monster is and isn’t Rene. It just happened to live inside his own mind and force him to do what it wanted - rather than him being an actual monster. That was Rene’s entire life until a fateful day changed that. A day that his career as a hitman for hire built on the monster’s needs will end. Where Rene will be forced to atone for his actions. To be held accountable and judged.

In this striking and bleak, yet luminous debut collection, Nathan Ballingrud, winner of the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award, uses the trappings of the Gothic and the uncanny to investigate a distinctly American landscape: The loneliest and darkest corners of contemporary life. Ballingrud’s stories are love stories. They’re also monster stories. Sometimes the monsters collected here are vampires or werewolves.

I'm having a hard time. And no, that's sadly not an innuendo. Depression is slipping back into my life like a toxic ex, and I know I need to do something before it consumes me. So when I run into the man of my dreams on my first attempt to get out of the house, it feels like fate.

He's tried to ignore them for too long. But the long-simmering conflict between Montana's holding at Coggeshall and the Night Goblins who also occupy the valley is about to boil over. Usually, goblins aren't anything to write home about: an enemy without much size, intellect, or weaponry. But these goblins? Well, that's just not the case. These are goblins with limitless resources, never-before-seen tactics, and horrifying monsters at their disposal. Worst of all, they don't fear death in the slightest. They just might force a good guy to become what he has always struggled to defeat.

I've made some pretty questionable choices in my life—dabbling in necromancy, double-crossing vampires—but summoning the dark goddess to save my sisters? That was just plain stupid. Now I’m in her debt, and goddesses don’t exactly do payment plans. She wants the blood of the dark fae warlord of Midnight, a realm of exiles where the sun never rises and torture is a competitive sport. It’s a death trap only three men have ever escaped—my newly appointed escorts.

Auric Cain found his chance. He proved himself, took control of his life, and became stronger than he ever thought possible. So why is everything falling apart? Literally. With the help of allies old and new, Auric thwarted Salvo’s plan and narrowly avoided cataclysm. But in the wake of that confrontation, something went very, very wrong. Now everywhere Auric turns he sees that his home, his world, and even the System itself are coming apart at the seams. Entropic gateborn roam the wilds unchecked while rogue storms and freak anomalies spring up seemingly at random.

Amelia Scarcliffe’s monstrous brood, harbingers of Cthulhu, will soon spawn. Her songs spell insanity, death...and illimitable wealth. And Moriarty will do anything to get his hands on gold, even if it means tearing down the walls between this world and a realm of horrors. Meanwhile, after Sherlock Holmes’s last tangle with the Order of Dagon, horrifying monsters haunt the Thames, and madness stalks the streets of Whitechapel. Gang war between Moriarty’s thugs and the powerful cult can only bring more terror - unless Holmes and Dr. Watson can prevent it.

Luciana may have failed to steal Tessa's magic, but she's just getting started on her crusade for magical domination. If her demonic summoning isn't stopped, it could mean the end of everything. Tessa's pack, including her mate Dastien, are ready to fight, but the ragtag group of shifters and witches are no match for Luciana's power. A little help (and ancient Inca mojo) from Tessa's bruja cousin, Claudia, may give the side of good a chance if she can make it home in time, but stopping the war is no longer an option. Only time will tell who will still be standing.

Two pink flamingos. A whole family of plaster skunks. Joe Burton's dad loves those tacky lawn ornaments. But then he brings home two ugly lawn gnomes. And that's when the trouble starts. Late at night, when everyone's asleep, someone's creeping in the garden. Whispering nasty things. Smashing melons. Squashing tomatoes. No way two dumb, old lawn ornaments could be causing all the trouble. Is there?

One fateful day Lucy is invited to study at the prestigious Overworld Academy. The academy offers her the opportunity to learn all of the secrets of the Overworld - and it's an opportunity she can't miss. She's sad to leave behind her friends, Henry and Max, but it's time for her to have an adventure on her own. At Overworld Academy she meets two new friends, Jane and Phoebe. Jane is an expert fighter, and Phoebe is a talented alchemist. With Lucy's own knack for treasure hunting, the trio makes an incredible team.

After the Sickness has killed off her parents and the bombs have fallen on the last safe cities, Monster emerges from the arctic vault which has kept her alive. When she washes up on the coast of Scotland, everyone she knows is dead, and she believes she is alone in an empty world. Monster begins the long walk south, scavenging and learning the contours of this familiar land made new. Slowly, piece by piece, she begins to rebuild a life. Until, one day, she finds a girl: feral and ready to be taught all that Monster knows.

A System apocalypse has ripped humanity away from its home planet, Earth-73, firing the starting pistol on a marathon race for survival against beastly odds. And in the violent magical worlds of the System's "Orientation," it's getting harder to tell the monsters from the savage humans.

Ryker Hayes is a licensed massage therapist, and a damn good one at that. It's a career he's passionate about, and all his plans for life are on track—until he winds up transported to the world of Werifesteria in the body of an infamous warlord, at least. Now all he really wants to do is forget the misdeeds of his alter ego and retire to a life of anonymity with a couple interesting women as his new partners. Together, they open the very first massage inn and spa in all the land, and take on all the responsibilities that come with it. Turns out, it's a lot of work!

The Kadrixans. Even their name inspires terror. Fiery-skinned and devil-like, they stand head and shoulders taller than any human man. Our colony made a terrible bargain with these monsters. The Kadrixans give us precious ore in exchange for the one thing they need.

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths - for good and evil - of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies.

When a man in my village makes demands I'm not willing to give into, my younger brother and I flee into the forest. It's the night of the Monster Mate Hunt, but the orcs who are gifted with brides in exchange for protecting the village will be too busy with the other woman to notice me. Until Turren claims me as his mate. I'm not interested in marrying, and orcs scare me. But there's something sweet and endearing about this one. My brother and I planned to make a new life far from our village. Could that new life be with Turren?

I break Marlowe’s heart and leave with the Alpha King, who once rejected me, then used me, then coveted my power. To obtain me, he merges with the horseman War—my worst immortal enemy.