Science Fiction Monsters

Kajal knows she is not a good person. If she were, she wouldn’t selfishly be risking her sister’s soul in a dangerous bid to bring her back to life. She would let Lasya rest in peace—but Kajal cannot stand the horror of living without her. As Kajal prepares for the resurrection, the worst happens: Her sister’s soul warps into a bhuta—a murderous, wraith-like spirit—and Kajal gets sentenced to death for her sister’s rampage. There seems little hope of escape until two strangers offer to free her.

Ben and Mira have set off on their raft to travel to the nearest island. There, they encounter a race of beautiful, long-legged deer women, and Ben meets the woman his daughter Marella foresaw in a vision. But this isn’t just a fun vacation. The voyaging duo will be put to the test against aquatic sea monsters, rabid bunnies, vicious wargs, and Ben’s mortal enemy: The orcs.

Ben and Mira have driven the orcs off the deer women’s island, but the question is not if the orcs will return, but when. As if the orcs weren’t bad enough, Ben spots a simultaneously new and ancient enemy on the horizon.

The universe is a strange, all but impenetrable mystery. Every scientific advance sponsors countless new questions, and every new explanation spawns immeasurable unknowns. How can dinosaurs of all kinds and from all epochs of evolution suddenly and randomly appear all over the world? What would you do with a tyrannosaurus peering through your bedroom window? How would you deal with pterosaurs soaring above your roof? His is an unpredictable world surrounding an entirely too predictable suburban neighborhood. Then everything changes. One thing is certain, during a plague of prehistoric ...

As Kelvin, the battle junkie Summoner hailing from another world, continues his extraordinary exploits, Goddess Melfina finally returns to his side, finally having completed her artificial body. When she grants him her blessing, he gains the power to summon a Hero of his own . . . who wants to become his stepsister?! As Kelvin and his party grow stronger by the day, he receives a summons for his Rank S promotion exam. The contents of the exam involve saving an elven settlement from the threat of a terrible monster, but just how much is the militaristic nation of Trycen involved?

All Auric Cain ever wanted was a chance. A chance to prove himself. A chance to take control of his life. A chance to be more than a lowly D-Tier, the lowest of the low, in a world broken by the arrival of an alien, enigmatic being known as The System.

With her magic reclaimed and her role in the community of Chernograd restored, Kosara’s life should finally be back to normal—but, of course, things can’t possibly be that simple. She is now in possession of twelve witch’s shadows. Holding them may grant her unprecedented power, but that doesn’t mean they’re always willing to do her bidding. Across the wall in Belograd, Asen chases his only lead on the latest witch murder case. He follows the trail of smuggling kingpin Konstantin Karaivanov to an underground monster auction—which leads him right back to Chernograd.

Learn to kill or wait to die. In 3066 the world is a different place. Massive coronal ejections, nuclear fallout, and chemical poisons have reshaped the land. New life forms have evolved at an accelerated rate into creatures God and nature had no hand in playing. A few remaining settlements of mankind struggle to re-establish civilization. They’re failing. But beneath the ground, buried deep in a lost and forgotten installation, humanity’s ancestors are about to awaken. The freaks, mutants, and monsters roaming the blasted earth above are about to discover what real terror is all about.

After escaping her kidnappers and destroying the black market where she was held captive, all Nita wants is to find a way to live her life without looking over her shoulder. But with a video of her ability to self-heal all over the dark web, Nita knows she's still a prime target on the black market. There's only one way to keep herself safe. Nita must make herself so feared that no one would ever dare come after her again. And the best way to start building her reputation? Take her revenge on Fabricio, the boy who sold Nita to her kidnappers.

Lukan Gardova is a cardsharp, academy dropout, and—thanks to a duel that ended badly—the disgraced heir to an ancient noble house. His days consist of cheap wine, rigged card games, and wondering how he might win back the life he threw away. When Lukan discovers that his estranged father has been murdered in strange circumstances, he finds fresh purpose. Deprived of his chance to make amends for his mistakes, he vows to unravel the mystery behind his father's death. His search for answers leads him to Saphrona, fabled city of merchant princes, where anything can be bought if one has the coin.

Nearly six months after Kate and August were first thrown together, the war between the monsters and the humans is a terrifying reality. In Verity, August has become the leader he never wished to be, and in Prosperity, Kate has become the ruthless hunter she knew she could be. When a new monster emerges from the shadows—one who feeds on chaos and brings out its victim’s inner demons—it lures Kate home, where she finds more than she bargained for. She’ll face a monster she thought she killed, a boy she thought she knew, and a demon all her own.

After being saved from his own execution by a deal-making daemon, Keaton's tasked with killing a dungeon lord. A straightforward task for a former assassin, but the moment Keaton's dagger plunges into the dungeon core crystal, he becomes the newest lord of The Labyrinth. What starts as a maze of useless caverns quickly turns into something respectable as Keaton uses his powers to craft defenses and facilities. But to truly grow his dungeon, he needs minions. And to control those minions, he needs lieutenants: Beautiful, monstrous women with strength and powers beyond his understanding.

London, 2053. One of the last remaining civilizations in the world. A decade on from the first wave of human-flesh-craving monsters that wiped out most of society, Noah finds himself stepping up to lead Squad E, part of London's East Regiment, fighting back against the creatures that threaten mankind. But between battling monsters, struggling with grief, and his rivalry with another lieutenant, Noah is sinking, fast. The last thing he needs is a young, weak conscript with an attitude problem to add to his issues. Especially when he can't seem to get him out of his head.

A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together. Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good? Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters. Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.

Get Sten Flagstone's HEA—An enemies to lovers romance!

I've almost made it a year without one of my teachers turning into a monster. Just one more day to go. Surely even I can get through that? Percy Jackson's life has been surprisingly quiet since he stopped all-out war on Mount Olympus. That is until an innocent game of dodgeball turns monstrously ugly. . .

Isolated in the northern wilderness, Hawkin—an adventurer turned hermit—is fulfilled by the small joys of his simple life. He hunts and forages for food, tends to a small garden, maintains his humble cabin, and patrols the meandering trail that leads down to the sea. After celebrating ten years alone in his woods, visitors begin to arrive. First an ancient monster, then a trio of monks with a peculiar set of skills.

"Perfect deadpan marks the opening of Ali Simpson’s The Monster'" writes Susan Merrell of The Southampton Review in her introduction to this issue of Recommended Reading.

Emiko Soong belongs to one of the eight premier magical families of the world. But Emiko never needed any magic. Because she is the Blade of the Soong Clan. Or was. Until she’s drenched in blood in the middle of a market in China, surrounded by bodies and the scent of blood and human waste as a lethal perfume. The Butcher of Beijing now lives a quiet life in San Francisco, importing antiques. But when a shinigami, a god of death itself, calls in a family blood debt, Emiko must recover the Ebony Gate that holds back the hungry ghosts of the Yomi underworld.

Ever since the monster apocalypse hit town, average 13 year old Jack Sullivan has been living in his tree house, which he's armed to the teeth with catapults and a moat, not to mention video games, and an endless supply of Oreos and Mountain Dew scavenged from abandoned stores. But Jack alone is no match for the hordes of Zombies and Winged Wretches and Vine Thingies, and especially not for the eerily intelligent monster known only as Blarg. So Jack builds a team.