Fantasy Short Fiction

Best-selling author Patricia A. McKillip (The Riddle-Master of Hed) is one of the most lyrical writers gracing the fantasy genre. With the debut of her newest work, Dreams of Distant Shores is a true ode to her many talents. Within these chapters you will find a youthful artist possessed by both his painting and his muse and seductive travelers from the sea enrapturing distant lovers. The statue of a mermaid comes suddenly to life, and two friends are transfixed by a haunted estate.

This collection features Howard at his finest and Conan at his most savage. Truly heroic fantasy at its best, this volume contains "The Servants of Bit-Yakin", "Beyond the Black River", "The Black Stranger", "The Man-Eaters of Zamboula", and "Red Nails", which is perhaps Conan's most famous adventure.

The Grey Wolves series continues as the pack recovers from betrayal by one of their own—an Alpha hell-bent on becoming the most powerful Canis lupis on earth. And though the wolf's assassination attempt on Vasile, the leader of the Romanian greys, failed, he's left destruction, death, and a missing mate behind him. The rogue Alpha fled, but he's left a surprise for the Romanian pack—a witch intent on destroying the grey wolves. The Romanian pack will have to use all its resources to destroy the witch, lift the curse, and solve a mystery that's surrounded the wolves for 300 years.

Stranded on the distant planet Tschai, young Adam Reith is the sole survivor of a space mission who discovers the world is inhabited - not only by warring alien cultures but by human slaves as well, taken early in Earth's history. Reith must find a way off the planet to warn Earth of Tschai's deadly existence.

A robopsychologist must outwit a machine determined to stay hidden in "Little Lost Robot"; a woman’s talent for "Light Verse" overshadows her true accomplishments with her robot servants; "The Last Question" presented to computer after computer over a hundred billion years may remain forever unanswered … and seventeen more future visions from the grand master of science fiction.

If there was one thing Torie Bliss knew, it was that her marriage and life of luxury were going to last for ever. Until they didn't. Torie finds herself doing the one thing she never imagined a woman over the age of forty would ever have to do: moving in with her mother. But that is exactly what she has to do as she picks up what's left of her life and dignity, and moves to Singing Falls. Little does Torie realize that not only had her mother settled into a town of supernaturals, but she herself was a witch, and it was Torie's destiny to take up the magical calling.

The Shifters of Oak Mountain have a secret ... And it is hot-as-sin... Get your fill of Bear shifter goodness, with an exclusive series epilogue included, as they seek to claim the curvy woman they so desire. You'll meet Blaine and Estelle who have to endure the tension of an employee boss relationship...where they are oh so close...but cannot touch...even as his Bear rages to claim her...and that's before the Dragons start messing with his business... Then there's the tale of Kent and Adrian...he is assigned to protect her...but she can't know...and worse she is her own worst enemy as ...

Geralt the Witcher—revered and hated—holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in this collection of adventures, the first chapter in Andrzej Sapkowski’s groundbreaking epic fantasy series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games.

In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.

Italo Calvino's beloved cosmicomics cross planets and traverse galaxies, speed up time or slow it down to the particles of an instant. Through the eyes of an ageless guide named Qfwfq, Calvino explores natural phenomena and tells the story of the origins of the universe. Poignant, fantastical, and wise, these 34 dazzling stories - collected here in one definitive anthology - relate complex scientific and mathematical concepts to our everyday world.

Mika Tanner has loved Bailey Morrell, a beautiful Healer, since childhood. But his duty as a sentinel, a supernatural guardian of an ancient race, clashed with her rebellious spirit. Now a dangerous new anarchist group threatens life as they know it.

As a master of the art of narrative and one of the leaders in the Golden Age of Science Fiction, L. Ron Hubbard’s Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories helped reshape the future of speculative fiction. The universe is yours as you explore fabulous worlds of unfolding mystery and unlimited potential. Discover the herald of possibility in these fantasy adventures.

“These are dangerous stories. The kind that warp reality and threaten to change the world” warns guest editor Hugh Howey in his introduction. The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2024 promises a treasure trove of audacious characters, daring worldbuilding, and twisted realties. A sibling duo of supernatural hitmen. A traveling spellbreaker and his trusty alligator mount. Superheroes registering for work. Sentient spaceships with an AI-human interface grow up together with their human pilots.

The Unreal and the Real is a major event not to be missed. In this two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best short stories--as selected by the National Book Award winning author herself--the reader will be delighted, provoked, amused, and faced with the sharp, satirical voice of one of the best short story writers of the present day. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's earthbound stories which range around the world, from small town Oregon to middle Europe in the middle of revolution to summer camp.

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color showcases emerging and seasoned writers of many races telling stories filled with shocking delights, powerful visions of the familiar made strange. Within this book burn tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their indefinable overlappings. These are authors aware of our many possible pasts and futures, authors freed of stereotypes and cliches, ready to dazzle you with their daring genius.

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.

The second set of interconnected stand-alone fairy tale retellings from the Four Kingdoms series includes The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin, A Midwinter's Wedding: A Retelling of The Frog Prince, and The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty....

29 Brand-New Sci-Fi Horror Stories. The future is now, and it's not what we were promised. The optimistic science fiction of old was wrong. Progress is not linear, technology creates as many problems as it solves, and the concept of a better tomorrow has become an abstraction that is in no way guaranteed. When looking at the future now, we no longer ask what is possible, we wonder how we'll cope. Contained within this anthology are 29 never-before-published works by supremely talented authors.

Every time Rueben Peet dies, he "returns" to his body with the memories of what's to come. He gets to "repeat" his mistakes again and again and hope he can do something different to prevent the future. It's Groundhog Day meets the worst super-spy, ever. When New York City comes under threat of nuclear destruction, Rueben is the only one who can save the city. But even an infinite number of re-dos is not enough, for lurking in the background is a nefarious force threatening, not only NYC, but also the world.

The war continues…Two days after the events of Extinction Aftermath, European Unified Command calls on Team Ghost for a top secret mission. The residents of a small Inuit fishing village in Greenland have gone missing and reports of Variants unaffected by Kryptonite have surfaced. Fatigued, injured, and unaware of the events back in the United States, Master Sergeant Joe Fitzpatrick leads Team Ghost into the remote and alien winter landscape to determine the fate of the missing villagers.