Short Science Fiction Fantasy Stories

In this short story collection of courage, adventure, and magic, heroes—ordinary people who do the right thing—bravely step forward. But running toward danger might cost them everything.

I guess you could call my latest job interview a success. I got hired, and it's way beyond my wildest dreams. The pay isn't great. And the hours are pretty much 24/7. But there's magic. And a portal to a fantasy world. Those kind of outweigh the negatives. At first, I thought I was just testing the latest VR survival RPG, but I'm starting to think this might not be a game after all. The monsters are definitely life-like and capable of carving me apart on their worst days. But on their best days, I make them mine.

My life took a turn I never expected on the day the world ended. Suddenly forced to fight in a bloody arena by a faceless System, I find the only way to survive is to win. I’m told that ten victories in the arena will give me my freedom, but if I’m going to get there, I’ll need a crack team of hardened allies to fight with me. What I got instead was a bratty college girl with a jealousy streak, a momma’s boy roommate who now inhabits the body of a piglet, and a devastatingly gorgeous teacher whose sword is as sharp as her tongue.

When alien pirates stole me from Earth years ago, the trauma of my abduction wiped away my memories. I can’t remember who I was before I was taken. All I know is that I’m not going to let myself be held captive again. The blue-skinned warriors I'm now living with seem different from the pirates who abducted me, but every alien I’ve ever known has tried to hurt me. So when I see my chance to sneak away from the Voxeran village, I take it. I’d rather face the dangers of Nuthora on my own than risk losing my freedom again. There’s one thing I didn’t count on, though. Bohrir.

Alaria Hartwood vanquishes a legendary kraken, becoming a Tentacle Mage. Her newfound talents and wealth bring hope of a quiet retirement but fate has far different plans. While Alaria wants to turn her retirement dream location into a place where she can focus on enchanting, potion making, and spell crafting it won't be easy. She quickly finds herself having to vanquish orcs and demons with a vibrant assistant. Mia is a great student, and a gifted soul, but even with her help, it seems like Alaria's shop on Brighthill will have to wait for the brewing storm to calm.

An ancient foe lurks in the shadows...licking its wounds and assembling its forces. Risen from the ashes and shrouded in darkness, these ancient beings are waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike back and set the universe on fire. After their world is ambushed in a devastating onslaught, the Star Alliance is nearly wiped out in one fell swoop. Hotheaded pilot Chase Athanatos leads the barely surviving fleet to the far edge of space and a small backwater planet.

Interpol investigator Gennady Malianov finds himself in Immigration limbo. Then, a temporary gig comes along that could solve his problems. But what he finds out about the nature of consciousness and morality could change the world.

The first three novels and the prequel novella in the Preternatural Chronicles: I'm Glad You're Dead, Dawn and Quartered, Shadow of a Doubt, and Deliverance.

Deep in the dark forest, in a cottage that spins on birds’ legs behind a fence topped with human skulls, lives the baba yaga. A guardian of the water of life, she lives with her sisters and takes to the skies in a giant mortar and pestle, creating tempests as she goes. Those who come across the baba yaga may find help, or hinderance, or horror. She is wild, she is woman, she is witch—and these are her tales.

Featuring A Prelude to War, an Iron Druid novella. After an old friend is murdered in retaliation for his mercenary strikes against the oldest vampires in the world, Atticus O'Sullivan must solicit the aid of another old friend in Ethiopia if he's going to have a chance of finishing a war he never wanted. Meanwhile Granuaile MacTiernan starts a private war of her own against Loki, the lord of lies, and if it brings Ragnarok early - so be it.

Gaelan Starfire is a farmer, happy to be a husband and a father; a careful, quiet, simple man. He’s also an immortal, peerless in the arts of war. Over the centuries, he’s worn many faces to hide his gift, but he is a man ill-fit for obscurity and all too often he’s become a hero, his very names passing into legend: Acaelus Thorne, Yric the Black, Hrothan Steelbender, Tal Drakkan, Rebus Nimble.

Summoners are born, not made. For Bran of Ealdor, this is the one thing stopping him from becoming a member of the legendary warriors known as summoners. They are gods among men who can call monsters into battle to fight alongside them. Mages, Rangers, Beastmasters, Protectors, Hunters, and Lancers. These are the six classes of summoners. None of which Bran can become.

Monster Hunter International may have had its roots in the United States of America, but there are plenty of monsters in the big old world. And wherever there are monsters, humans will need monster hunters. Here then, stories of the things that go bump in the night and the men and women who bump back—focusing on the myths, legends, and folklore of Czechia, by Czech authors. Includes a new short story by Larry Correia.

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.

Lucy inherits an Oxford knitting shop...and so much more. Like the vampires who live downstairs and pop up to the shop when they run out of wool, or for their late-night knitting club. They've even offered to help Lucy learn how to knit. She discovers she's a witch and has some quirky relatives she never knew about. Her grandmother's supposed to be dead, but keeps showing up. It's enough to send Lucy screaming back to Boston, except there's a mystery to solve and Oxford and her new vampire friends are kind of growing on her....

Jack Zombie is a thrilling post-apocalyptic series that follows a tight-knit group of people as they travel the zombie-ridden wasteland once known as the United States. As you follow Jack and his family, you'll soon discover that nothing can rival a human's will to survive.

Women Destroy Science Fiction!, a special issue of Lightspeed magazine (winner of two Hugo Awards), is an all-science-fiction extravaganza, written and edited entirely by women.

This omnibus collection 2 includes Books 4 through 6 of Dashing Devil. It chronicles the explosive arc of Boyd’s evolution from reluctant protector to heroic icon. Packed with sharp banter, emotional revelations, searing romance, and relentless action, this edition includes seven bonus chapters exclusive to the collection.

David Weber himself here contributes three never-before-published excursions into Honor's world, among them the story of how she first discovered her own inner strength and courage; and a chapter in the history of the telepathic treecats, who form a bond with their chosen human that can only be severed by death.

This portal fantasy romance collection includes A Laird for All Time, A Time & Place for Every Laird, Taken, Love in the Time of a Highland Laird, and A Laird to Hold.