Short Science Fiction Fantasy Stories

Here, together for the first time, are the shorter works of best-selling author Jim Butcher - a compendium of cases that Harry and his cadre of allies managed to close in record time. The tales range from the deadly serious to the absurdly hilarious.

After saving the world and defeating his enemies, Sloan has gained an incredible title and unmatched power in the system. Enjoying a decade of peace, his calm life is suddenly disrupted, pushing him towards a new journey and a new mission. A new enemy, known only as the Architect has emerged, causing chaos and breaking the balance. As new rifts appear, Sloan must explore unknown realms, find strong allies, and learn ancient secrets to stop the Architect's plans.

With 15 new and original stories, this first-of-its-kind anthology is inspired by the events of the original Aliens vs. Predators movies, graphic novels, and novels. Includes a new story written by Jonathan Maberry and Louis Ozawa (“Hanzo” from the movie Predators) as Hanzo’s brother faces the eternal threats of both the Yautja and the Xenomorphs.

While humans lost their knowledge of magic and monsters, the Ironwoods have been fighting against evil for centuries. While gods, fae, and magicians turned into tall tales and ghost stories, the Ironwoods became the stuff of legends themselves. Now, with Morrigan’s Generals free again in the world, the Ironwoods are going to need all their training—and their new fae brothers—to stop them. This box set collects all four stories of the Ironwood women as they get into plenty of trouble, slay their enemies, and find true love.

Step inside the room in Grandma's house. What if there was a locked room in our grandparents' house that gave you a glimpse into their past? A mysterious room that held their secrets, their hopes, and their dreams? When Tiffany Warren is sent to pack up her grandmother's house, she finds a locked room on the third floor, but where is the key? After searching the house from top to bottom, she finds the key and opens the door, and what happens next changes her life forever. The Room in Grandma's House is a short, fantasy story of about 12,000 words that can be read in under two hours.

It’s a story you may think you know - an aging baseball coach is challenged by the very boy he took in and raised. But in this near future world, "smart” houses talk and listen, and - privy as they are to the secret life of the household - family life gets interesting. Creepy and funny, unsettling and entertaining, this is a story that stands on its own even as it proves the perfect follow up to Gish Jen’s critically acclaimed novel The Resisters.

When police officer Rick LaFLeur is infected with the taint of black were-leopard, he goes to Jane Yellowrock for help. But her idea of "help" is not quite what he was expecting: she knocks him out and he wakes up in a cage.

Taken from my old life with little memory of what brought me here, I wake up in a high tech capsule. A wrinkly old elf tells me that my soul is incomplete and has been fused with that of a Solar Dragon to give me a second chance at life. Where? When? An urban metropolis filled with fantasy races, erected atop the back of a giant asteroid. Meteoropolis. And millions of years in the future, to boot. But that's not all. I've got super powers, too. To add to the excitement, I end up hosted by an anxious unicorn elf named Pinky Peach who is basically a professional gamer girl.

Viewed by many as the greatest science fiction writer on any planet, Philip K. Dick has written some of the most intriguing, original, and thought-provoking fiction of our time. This collection includes "The Minority Report," "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," "Paycheck," "Second Variety," and "The Eyes Have It."

Gil Ra looked around trying to put on a good face and a bright smile. This was supposed to be a second chance in life. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the past and what she had left behind. Being abducted by aliens sounded so much like the title of a cheap sci-fi movie, and yet it had happened to her. That night, when she had decided she couldn’t take it any longer, the mocking, the loneliness and the feeling she had failed the only person that depended on her completely had become overwhelming, and that night she had decided to end it all. She had left everything ready, no ...

For some, it’s the end of the world. For others, it’s just the beginning. With brilliant imagination, today’s most visionary writers point to the future in a collection curated by bestselling author Blake Crouch. These stories range from darkly comic to deeply chilling, but they all look forward. Featuring stories by Andy Weir, Amor Towles, Veronica Roth, N. K. Jemisin, Paul Tremblay, and Blake Crouch; with narration by Evan Rachel Wood, David Harbour, Jason Isaacs, Rosa Salazar, Steven Strait, and Janina Gavankar.

Jensen, Finn, Christian, and Rhys. One is my protector, another my best friend, the third my betrothed, and the fourth...something else entirely. And I want them all. I never thought I'd fall for more than one man, but then again, I didn't think I would wake up on my birthday the queen of the Shadow Court, hunted, in danger, and unable to control my newfound fae powers. Which seem to get stronger the more I give in to my need for these men. In order to claim my title, I have to complete a set of trials with my men at my side. But a dark force is out to kill me.

With an introduction by J. J. Pierce, this volume features the 12 most important stories by Cordwainer Smith, a unique writer who has fused wonder and poetry into imaginative tales that transcend both science and fiction.

This unabridged audio collection spotlights the “best of the best” hard science-fiction stories published in 2017 by current and emerging masters of the genre.

Here is a story that goes beyond space and time. Isaac Asimov takes on a journey that explores the ultimate fate of the universe, along with the question, what will become of the human race? So take a journey into the outer twilight of your mind. Turn off the light, sit back and relax, close your eyes, and enter the infinite universe of your imagination.

The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories expands upon the epic legend of the dark elf with 12 tales performed by the all-star cast of Felicia Day, Dan Harmon, Greg Grunberg, Tom Felton, Danny Pudi, Sean Astin, Melissa Rauch, Ice-T, Wil Wheaton, Al Yankovic, Michael Chiklis, and David Duchovny!

I’ve always wanted to conquer the Big 5 dungeons ever since one of them took the life of my father nearly fifteen years ago. Nobody ever said the Path of Progression was easy, but my burning desire to dive can’t be quenched. I just never thought I’d be prohibited from getting a diving license just because I tried to help a bratty blonde girl get hers. Soon, we’re joined by a lovely brunette bookworm, and we start diving the dungeon on our own terms.

It is a time of treachery, terrorism, and tyranny in the Star Kingdom. The king cannot be trusted, the galaxy is on the brink of war, and a notorious mercenary is destroying everything - and everyone - in his path on his quest for vengeance. The Star Kingdom is in dire need of heroes. What it gets is a band of misfits and underdogs:

The sister of the pharaoh, Jasilia could easily spend her life at court, being waited on hand and foot. Instead, she and her twin brother Ojan are adventuring archaeologists, scouring Osirian’s deserts for relics of the ancient past, accompanied only by their elite bodyguard Nekhtep. Not all ruins are content to stay buried, however, and when Ojan is captured by the walking dead, it’s up to Jasilia and Nekhtep to free him before the tomb he was exploring becomes his own...

From stories about time-traveling assassins, to Black Mirror-esque tales of cryptocurrency and internet trolling, to heartbreaking narratives of parent-child relationships, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories is a far-reaching work that explores topical themes from the present and a visionary look at humanity’s future. This collection includes a selection of Ken Liu’s speculative-fiction stories over the past five years - 17 of his best - plus a new novelette.