Short Stories

Space pirates! Words that conjure up rousing tales of adventure, derring-do, brave heroes battling the scurvy vermin of the galaxy. Those vermin have taken to pillaging cargo ships and, even worse, space liners, relieving the helpless passengers of their valuables, and worse with the comely women passengers, then spacing the lot - unless one or more of the aforementioned brave heroes arrive in the nick of time, and turn the tables, making the spaceways safe again for the innocent and helpless.

The Best American Short Stories 2021 immerse the listener in powerfully imagined worlds and allowing them to bring some of that power into their own lives. From a stirring portrait of Rodney King’s final days to a surreal video game set in the Middle East, with real consequences, to an indigenous boy’s gripping escape from his captors, this collection renders profoundly empathetic depictions of the variety of human experience.

For the first time, Stephen King has fully authorized a return to the harrowing world of The Stand through this original short story anthology as presented by award-winning authors and editors Christopher Golden and Brian Keene. Bringing together some of today’s greatest and most visionary writers, The End of the World As We Know It features unforgettable, all-new stories set during and after (and some perhaps long after) the events of The Stand.

A Trinidadian obeah man finds himself reborn, a hundred years after his death, in the body of a Canadian child; a writer takes up a seasonal job as a caretaker for a set of mysterious large sacks hanging from the rafters of the houses in a small town; a woman starts a relationship with the famous artist who painted portraits of her mother; the contents of a sealed envelope upends a woman’s understanding about a tragic crime she committed at the age of six . . .

Have you ever wanted to be dominated by Alpha men of all shapes, types, and sizes? This collection of hot stories is exactly what you may be looking for.

The Short Stories in English for Intermediate Level ESL/EFL Learners are designed to improve your English quickly and easily. Jackie Bolen has more than 15 years of experience teaching ESL/EFL to students in South Korea and Canada. She has written short stories in Canadian English about common experiences that people have living in Canada. Plus, each story has practice exercises to test your reading comprehension and vocabulary. Do the discussion questions with a friend, teacher or classmate. You'll improve your English vocabulary and reading skills in no time at all.

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.

On Mars, a scientist experiments with a new engine that will one day become the drive that fuels humanity's journey into the stars. On an asteroid station, a group of prisoners are oblivious to the catastrophe that awaits them. On a future Earth beset by overpopulation, pollution, and poverty, a crime boss desperately seeks to find a way off planet. On an alien world, a human family struggles to establish a colony and make a new home. All these stories and more are featured in this unmissable collection of short fiction set in the hardscrabble world of The Expanse.

Nineteen sparkling stories that weave between the lands of the living and the lands of the dead. Spirits Abroad is an expanded edition of Zen Cho’s Crawford Award winning debut collection with nine added stories including Hugo Award winner “If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again”. A Datin recalls her romance with an orang bunian. A teenage pontianak struggles to balance homework, bossy aunties, first love, and eating people.

Italian Short Stories for Beginners (A1) Skill Level: Italian Reading Practice is specifically tailored for learners at the A1 level, offering 20 engaging short stories that introduce the basics of Italian comprehension. Each story features simple sentence structures, essential vocabulary, and commonly used expressions, helping you build a strong foundation in the language.

On a dark evening, Mr. Harley Quin appears at the door of Royston Hall under the premise that his car has broken down. Once inside, he embarks upon the tragic tale of Royston Hall's former occupants, leading to a dramatic change in the perceptions of the current inhabitants - but has Mr. Quin's revelation come too late?

Some of the world's finest short fiction has originated in and continues to flow from the cities, villages, rivers, forests and plains of Bengal. This selection features 21 of the very best stories from the region.

An instant New York Times bestseller from Kelly Ripa—a sharp, funny, and honest collection of real-life stories showing the many dimensions and crackling wit of the beloved daytime talk show host.

Alice Comstock has always been a dutiful wife and an attentive mother, a perfectionist presiding over a flawless home. She’s reliably been her family’s center, the caretaker and problem-solver, until an illness requires her children to assume responsibility for their mother. For Adam, Alice’s youngest, a return home to California sparks a memory of his younger self. Alternating between the present and flashbacks to Adam’s college years, "There Are Flowers in Ohio" explores how the paths not taken shape all of our lives.

This bundle includes The Lady and the Mountain Promise, The Lady and the Mountain Call, and This Treacherous Journey.

An all-new Dresden Files story headlines this urban fantasy short story collection starring the Windy City's favorite wizard. From the Wild West to the bleachers at Wrigley Field, humans, zombies, incubi, and even fey royalty appear, ready to blur the line between friend and foe. In the never-before-published "Zoo Day", Harry treads new ground as a dad, while fan-favorite characters Molly Carpenter, his onetime apprentice, White Council Warden Anastasia Luccio, and even Bigfoot stalk through the pages of more classic tales.

Damien’s life was simple: Train hard, follow orders, and never question why. But after a mission to infiltrate an enemy territory goes horribly wrong, he wakes up in the body of a spoiled noble mage from the very world he’s been taught to hate. Magic? He’s never touched it, and now everyone expects him to master it like a pro. Trying to survive in an elite magic academy surrounded by classmates who seem to know far more than he does, would be hard enough—yet Damien’s real identity as an assassin is the least of his problems.

Austin joins Dallas and Houston in Akashic's deep dive into the Lone Star State's darkest dimensions. Featuring brand-new stories by: Gabino Iglesias, Ace Atkins, Amanda Moore, Jeff Abbott, Scott Montgomery, Richard Z. Santos, Alexandra Burt, Lee Thomas, Miriam Kuznets, Jacob Grovey, Chaitali Sen, Molly Odintz, Amy Gentry, and Andrew Hilbert.

Two estranged sisters, Lillian and Adelia, struggle to come to terms after the mother they've believed to be dead for the past 15 years actually passes away. Confused and in shock, they travel together to the isolated village of their childhood to claim the farm that was passed on to them. There’s comfort in returning to this place of their birth, where a simpler, rustic life feels possible - but the sisters quickly realize that something is very wrong with the village and that their mother was hiding more than they could have ever imagined.

The best-selling Extinction Cycle series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith first introduced listeners to a world ravaged by an engineered virus that turned men into monsters. Humanity's only hope was not a cure, but another bioweapon. When deployed it killed 90 percent of the infected, but the remaining 10 percent transformed into even more terrifying creatures called Variants. Here's a collection of Extinction Cycle short stories that explore the human spirit and the fight for survival in the face of overwhelming odds from some of the leading voices in the post-apocalyptic genre.