Short Fiction Anthology

A seventeen-year-old boy, bullied and heartbroken, hangs himself. And although he felt terribly alone, his suicide changes everyone around him. His parents are devastated.

After his son gives him a pair of "X-ray" glasses as a gift, Martin Blackstone tries them on just for the hell of it - and all they do is give him a headache...until he sees things he can’t possibly be seeing. Glimpses of things on the other side of a wall or beneath someone’s clothing. He wants to believe it’s just his overactive imagination, but the “X-ray” specs actually work.

From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre", through classic stories including "The Star", "Earthlight", "The Nine Billion Names of God", and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later work like "A Meeting with Medusa" and "The Hammer of God", this comprehensive short story collection encapsulates one of the great science fiction careers of all time.

The primarchs, nigh-immortal sons of the Emperor of Mankind, take the stage in a series of short stories showcasing some of their great deeds and hideous acts from across the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy.

Dave has been wandering through life for a long time. His day job bores him, and he never seems to be able to meet his family's expectations. The only escape he's ever had is his love of MMORPGs. But when he becomes the subject of a test without even knowing it, he's transported into a game-world called Eloria with no escape.

When it comes to the holidays, no story captures the true spirit of giving like O. Henry’s classic "The Gift of the Magi". And in celebration of the season, Audie Award® winners Katherine Kellgren, Oliver Wyman, and Jonathan Davis bring to life this timeless Christmas tale, plus two more of O. Henry’s holiday gems: "The Cop and the Anthem" and "The Last Leaf".

Taken from my old life with little memory of what brought me here, I wake up in a high tech capsule. A wrinkly old elf tells me that my soul is incomplete and has been fused with that of a Solar Dragon to give me a second chance at life. Where? When? An urban metropolis filled with fantasy races, erected atop the back of a giant asteroid. Meteoropolis. And millions of years in the future, to boot. But that's not all. I've got super powers, too. To add to the excitement, I end up hosted by an anxious unicorn elf named Pinky Peach who is basically a professional gamer girl.

Three charming small-town cozy mysteries set in the heart of Derbyshire — perfect for fans of Richard Osman, M.C. Beaton, and classic British whodunits. Welcome to The Bookworm Bookshop & Café, where the coffee is warm, the friendships are strong, and murder is never far from the next chapter. Join Gemma, Mavis, and the rest of Belper’s quirky residents as they turn amateur sleuths. This collection includes the first three complete novels in The Bookshop Mysteries — over 21 hours of murder, secrets, and small-town intrigue.

Family and babies abound during this fun-filled weekend of love, laughter, and happily ever afters! Join Josh and Riley on their big day and fall in love all over again with each of the Bradens at Weston, and their children, in this sweet and sexy wedding story.

This special 5-in-1 collection brings together all of Sleepy Willow’s bestselling Christmas storybooks—packed with over 250 short, enchanting tales for kids, children, and toddlers. With one story for every night (and more!), this collection will keep your little ones entertained, inspired, and peacefully drifting into dreamland all December long—and beyond. Whether you listen aloud together by the fire, or let them listen on their own, these bedtime tales are the perfect gift of Christmas wonder, comfort, and joy.

Receiving a marriage proposal is supposed to make a women happy, but when Erica "Laney" Lane receives a beautiful marriage proposal from her perfect boyfriend on the eve of her annual camping trip with her best friend, Jackson Wild, the first thing she does is jump into bed with Jackson. Jackson's all too happy to screw the annoyance out of Laney. After all, they've always screwed the hell out of each other when they were bored or angry, lonely, or too damn drunk to see straight.

After 25 years serving as the human Monitor of the Interstellar Ark, Hermes, Orion is scheduled to be placed back into hibernation with the other crewmembers. Knowing he'll die there and be replaced before the ship's voyage is over, he decides that he won’t — can’t — accept that fate. Whatever it takes, Orion will escape Hermes and see what's beyond, even if it means defying the regulations of his only friend — the ship-wide artificial intelligence known as Dan.

Stories of Your Life and Others presents characters who must confront sudden change-the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens-while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the amazing and much-lauded title story (the basis for the 2016 movie Arrival), a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection.

Gennady’s an expert on nukes, so when the Interpol man hires him to track some stolen plutonium, it seems like business as usual. Except for this: All signs lead to – a place that doesn’t exist. This story was originally published in the Hugo Award-nominated METAtropolis. It was also selected for inclusion in Twenty-First Century Science Fiction, edited by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden.

The only thing Benji lacks more than ambition is luck. And his new job has to be the lowest of the low. But something is stirring in the zero-footprint economy of New St. Louis. And Benji’s about to find himself chin deep in the muck! This story was originally published in the Hugo Award-nominated METAtropolis.

Markham has returned to Seattle, searching for Katarina, the girl who, a decade ago, touched his soul, literally tearing it from his body. But what he discovers upon arriving is dark magick - of a most ancient and destructive kind! An encounter with a desperate spirit, leaping destructively from host to host, sets Markham on the trail of secretive cabal of magicians seeking to punch a hole through heaven, extinguishing forever the divine spark.

Here Tea Dragons collects everything from Tales from a Magical Teashop as well as the novelette Saiyana's Challenge. Steep into scenes set in a shop serving teas made from magical ingredients as well as bonus stories from the perspectives of fan-favorite characters as you wait for your tea kettle to boil.

Originally written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and '30s, H. P. Lovecraft's astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction, and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when first published. This tome brings together all of Lovecraft's harrowing stories, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were when first released.

Some men are just off-limits. Like, say, all the other football players in the league…. I have to stop replaying the one night I spent with my rival. Trouble is, that white-hot encounter with the other quarterback answered a lot of questions I’ve had about myself, but it also led me into this mess where he hates me…

Unleash the magic of second chances and sizzling shifter passion with Fated Over Forty: The Complete Series Collection, where it's never too late to find your fated mate! Dive into a captivating world of relatable mature heroines, swoonworthy shifters, and steamy romance that proves love only gets better with age. If you adore fated mates and heart-melting happily ever afters, this series is your next binge obsession.