Short Fiction Anthology

Millions of young listeners have loved the World's Worst Children tales. Now they will revel in this delightfully dreadful collection of the most gruesome grown-ups ever: The World's Worst Teachers. Think your teachers are bad? Wait till you meet this lot. These 10 tales of the world's most splendidly sinister teachers will have you running for the school gates. Dr Dread teaches science and is half man, half monster. Watch out for the ghastly Miss Seethe. She is always furious and she's on a detention rampage.

Emma Chavet and her father are winemakers who stubbornly cling to the old ways. But when an unwelcome offer comes to buy their business, they must face the new realities of a Green society. This story was originally published in the Audie Award-winning METAtropolis: Cascadia.

There is simply no A-Z like the alphabet of fiction writers who have appeared in the pages of The New Yorker in the last hundred years. The book boasts inarguable classics like Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain,” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” alongside stunners to be rediscovered. Some stories defined a moment or a now-lost world (Isaac Bashevis Singer’s “The Cafeteria”); others showed us a whole new way fiction could sound and feel (“The Red Girl,” by Jamaica Kincaid).

This book contains 26 of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. They represent the considered verdict of the Science Fiction Writers of America, those who have shaped the genre and who know, more intimately than anyone else, what the criteria for excellence in the field should be. The authors chosen for the Science Fiction Hall Fame are the men and women who have shaped the body and heart of modern science fiction; their brilliantly imaginative creations continue to inspire and astound new generations of writers and fans.

Lee Child once again demonstrates his mastery of the thriller genre with an unbeatable collection of three Jack Reacher novellas and six short stories, together for the first time in one pulse-pounding collection from the New York Times best-selling author.

In "People in Hell Want Ice Water" - an eerie and suspenseful short story about connection, trust, and self-preservation - a random hookup amidst the COVID-19 pandemic brings two lonely people together when they need it most. Colin is an immunocompromised software engineer living alone in Los Angeles when he meets Martha on an early morning walk. She’s irreverent and mysterious, and although Colin knows better than to invite a stranger into his house, it’s been over 40 days since he’s been touched, and he can’t resist the temptation.

In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet, reasoned the detective, like Hercules, he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot makes up his mind to accept just 12 more cases: his self-imposed "Labors". Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction.

The centerpiece of Borrowed Time is "Betty Knox and Dictionary Jones in the Mystery of the Missing Teenage Anachronisms". When you've traveled through time and are stuck in the body of your 15-year-old self, it isn't the best time to have some other time travelers looking to kill you. Especially when the person who's supposed to be keeping an eye out for the bad guys is stuck in his own 15-year-old body.

A collection of 98 enthralling and pulse-quickening stories, spanning five decades, venerates the remarkable imagination of J. G. Ballard. With a body of work unparalleled in twentieth-century literature, J. G. Ballard is recognized as one of the greatest and most prophetic writers in the world. With the much-hailed release of The Complete Stories of J. G. Ballard, readers now have a means to celebrate the unmatched range and mesmerizing cadences of a literary genius.

Gopi is lost! As he navigates the space outside the comfort of his home, Gopi experiences life on the streets as he meets street dogs and lives their struggles. In the course of the day, Gopi befriends a kind streetie who accompanies him on his many adventures. It's a day out like no other! But, Gopi misses his favourite Ajji every minute. Will Gopi find his way home? Will Ajji and Gopi be reunited? Listen to this beautiful, heartwarming story to find out!

More than a decade after Kelley Armstrong first opened the doors to the Otherworld, fans are still clamoring for more. In response to their demands - and to coincide with the Syfy Network show based on the series - Plume has signed up three Otherworld anthologies, each of which revolves around a different theme. The second in the trilogy, Otherworld Secrets, features fan favorites such as Cassandra, Savannah, and Adam in rare and never-before-published short stories - plus a brand new novella.

A star-studded cast of readers present unabridged tales of horror and suspense from Stephen King's classic best-selling short story collection.

No resources. No memories. No help. Jak awakens, cold and confused, on the shore of an unknown island at the beginning of a dangerous nightfall. With nothing but his name and a head drained of memory, he stumbles into the nearby forest and is quickly forced to fight for his very survival. When he meets Niri, a beautiful elf exiled from her people and left to die in the wilderness, he begins the quest to build his own tribe in a land of blood, brutality, and wild adventure.

Previously published in the collection Hungry Tales, "Calling Death" is a nonviolent zombie story set in Appalachia. With humor and rich storytelling, Jonathan Maberry brings you zombies as you've never seen them before.

Explore the outer limits of the imagination with the Grand Master of American Literature, Ray Bradbury, in a dark and disquieting descent into The October Country. Fans of The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, as well as fans of H.P. Lovecraft, Rod Serling, Bram Stoker, Stephen King, and writers of other classic horror stories, will be captivated by The October Country’s nineteen astonishing tales. From drowned cities to frantic carnivals to forgotten Mexican villages, Bradbury offers an unforgettable journey into mystery, shining brief lights upon the darkest corners of the soul.

There's a body in a trunk; a dead girl's reflection is caught in a mirror; and one corpse is back from the grave, while another is envisioned in the recurring nightmare of a terrified eccentric. What's behind such ghastly misdeeds? Try money, revenge, passion, and pleasure. With multiple motives, multiple victims, and multiple suspects, it's going to take a multitude of talent to solve these clever crimes. In this inviting collection, Agatha Christie enlists the services of her finest - Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Parker Pyne.

A strange cry for help distracts Daniel from his boring study session. Curiosity gets the better of him and he is thrust through a portal where he emerges into a fantasy world of myth, magic, dragons and war. His arrival grants him a special opportunity. After stumbling upon a dying dragon, he discovers an egg that is about to hatch. Daniel knows a grand adventure awaits him and he seizes the moment to become a dragon rider.

This bundle includes Dominic, Snatch, Lawson, and Hound.

Levi Walker died by Truck-Kun and found himself reincarnated on the magical world of Taryl. With a new body comes a whole new curriculum as he's expected to enroll in the Otherworld Academy, a prestigious institute that trains magi to hone their magical prowess. If that's not enough, Levi's been sorted into the smallest house in the school, told he's a Demon Lord, and his dominant magic is beast taming. But Levi's never been one to focus on the negative. With beautiful classmates, entrancing faculty, and a very sassy squirrel at his side, he's ready to make Taryl his new home.

Two centuries ago, the First Expansionary Fleet set off to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, hoping to explore, colonize, and conquer new worlds in the name of humanity. But when the fleet was violently and unexpectedly thrown off course, the colonists found themselves trapped in an unexplored region of the galaxy—and caught right in the middle of a bloody interstellar war. Now, after generations of relentless fighting, a tentative truce has finally ushered in an era of growth and prosperity.