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The thirteen best science fiction and fantasy short stories of the year, Illustrated by the most talented aspiring artists! Views: 688
John Crowley's powerfully mysterious Dæmonomania adds flesh to the world he imagined in Ægypt and Love and Sleep. In this book, as in all his books, Crowley transports faithful readers to a place where time, place, and meaning come unstuck. It is in some ways the story of the end of the world as it might be, or might have been, a novel of history, eschatology, and faith with unforgettable characters and hauntingly lovely sentences. If the world's end is neither bang nor whimper but "like the shivers that pass over a horse's skin," how is it perceived by the people living through it?
Historian Pierce Moffett finds his key to understanding in New York state's Faraway Hills, as do his lover, Rose Ryder, and single mom Rosie Rasmussen, whose daughter seems to suffer from dæmonomania--spiritual possession by Renaissance magician John Dee. Each character must pick a careful path between the colliding juggernauts of past and present, magic and mundane. The wind of apocalypse is blowing:
"Scary wind.... What if it's the one?" she said.
"What one?" he said.... He in fact knew what one, for it was from him that she had heard mythologies of wind, how it bloweth where it listeth, one part of Nature not under God's thumb and therefore perhaps at the disposal of our Enemy; she had heard his stories about changer winds, how one had once blown away the Spanish Armada and thus saved England from Catholic conquest, a famous wind which if you went to look for it in the records of the time wasn't there.
In typical Crowley style, magic is seamlessly woven into the narrative. Pierce is writing the story of the end of the world while it happens, Rose joins a cult that promises salvation, and Rosie inherits a spooky legacy that might hold the secret to saving her daughter. All are involved in deep exchanges of power, and all must yield to what Crowley calls the "queasy pressure of Fate."
Crowley describes Dæmonomania best when he writes about Pierce's book: "The book... was about magic, secret histories, and the End of the World, an event that Pierce would suggest was under way undetectably even as he wrote, as the reader read." This is a complex, disturbing, and beautiful book, one that will bear rereading. Crowley's writing is gorgeous in places, frustrating in others, but always irresistible. --Therese Littleton Views: 688
We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to publish internationally bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson’s first stand-alone short story in 25 years.
In it, we get a glimpse of a very green future through the lens of a Supreme Court transcript. Views: 688
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Tamora Pierce returns to the magical world of Winding Circle.
While visiting the God-King and the First Circle temple in Gyongxe, mages Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy are invited to visit the emperor's summer palace. Although treated like royalty when they first arrive, the mages soon discover that the emperor plans to invade Gyongxe, posing a fatal threat to the home temple of the Living Circle religion.
Accompanied by one of the emperor's prize captives, the three mages rush to Gyongxe to warn its citizens of the impending attack. With the imperials hot on their trail, Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy must quickly help the country prepare for battle.
But even with the help of new allies, will their combined forces be enough to fight the imperial army and win the war? Views: 688
Piper Perez has always wanted to be a superhero. Always wanted to wear a cool costume, have amazing abilities, and save the day. There’s just one problem—Piper doesn’t have any superpowers.
So she focuses on other things. Facts, figures, memorabilia. Piper knows and collects it all, about both the superheroes and the ubervillains who roam the streets of Bigtime, N.Y. Piper’s friends jokingly call her a fandemic—someone who is a superfan of all things superhero. The nickname is truer than anyone knows, especially since Piper can’t stop thinking about Swifte, the speedy hero who broke her heart months ago.
But someone has been killing off Bigtime’s heroes and villains. When one of Piper’s friends is murdered, she vows to do whatever she can to help bring the killer to justice, superpowers or not. All the clues and information she gathers lead her to believe that Swifte is the killer’s next target. Piper has always wanted to be a hero, and now she’ll have to use all of her fandemic knowledge to save the man she loves—or die trying….
*Note: Fandemic is around 43,000 words. It is Book 5 in the Bigtime superhero series. * Views: 688
Volume II of the Tarizon Saga, a prequel to the Tarizon Trilogy, The Liberator, Civil War, and Conquest Earth. Chronicles the period directly after Tarizon's cataclysmic super volcanic eruptions that killed millions and left the planet under a shroud of volcanic ash.Thousands of years ago a group of explorers were sent out from the planet Pharidon to find new habitats for their exploding population. After years of searching without success the explorers split up with one finally discovering Earth and the other Tarizon. The Pharidon explorers thrived on Tarizon but as their population grew and spread out over the globe, nations were formed each claiming sovereignty over its populace. Eventually national pride, greed, and envy led to a hundred cycle global nuclear war. Peace only came after a spiritual leader, Sandee Brahn, led a movement to unify the planet and bring about lasting peace. His goal was accomplished at a World Assembly where the Supreme Mandate was written and ratified by all the nations of Tarizon and peace was finally restored. Shroud of Doom takes place thirty-seven years after unification (37 A.U.) The planet's ecology is slowly recovering from the effects of the long war that has killed millions, destroyed most of the planet's infrastructure, and left Tarizon barely habitable. In order for the human population to survive huge domes have been constructed over the cities to protect the inhabitants. Unfortunately, the cities were unable to contain the entire population and millions were left outside the domes to die. Although most did die a few, known as the Mutants, managed to adapt to Tarizon's hostile environment and survived. Like the mutants the two other sentient life forms on Tarizon, the Nanomites and the rhutz were left outside the domes to fend for themselves. Shroud of Doom is the story of the collision of these two worlds which eventually plunges Tarizon into civil war. Views: 688
Astrid and her entourage are off to the Cirque du Flaire, the famous circus in the sky, to solve a thrilling mystery, the surreal nature of which they discover is more shocking than they have ever encountered before.CIRQUE DU FLAIREPietro Augustus Flaire's Dazzling Spectacle of Delectation! Stimulation! and Stupefaction!Amidst the Clouds andAmong the Firmament!When she is accosted in the street by the bedazzled and flamboyant Eitenne Allard, a funambulist for the Cirque du Flaire, who claims his employer, Pietro Augustus Flaire, has bewitched his twin sister, Elodie, and has concocted a most nefarious scheme involving the apparent disappearance of a favoured spectator, Astrid Darby and her clever young wards, Xander Knightly and Juliana Coffin, are drawn into a surreal and shocking mystery upon the famous flying carnival. Amongst cavorting clowns, frolicking funambulists, exotic beasts, a gruesome freak show and a mysterious snake charmer with an uncanny instrument, Astrid, her wards and Agent Asher Key of the Ministry of Defence attempt to thwart the charismatic Flaire's dastardly plot. They are soon to discover, however, that their considerable skills are little match for the ringmaster's adroit and deadly tricks. Views: 688
By day, Mercy is a car mechanic in the sprawling Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shapeshifter with some unique talents, Mercy has often found herself having to maintain a tenuous harmony between the human and the not so human. This time she may get more than she bargained for. Marsilia, the local Vampire Queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan—and she's out for blood. But since Mercy is protected from direct reprisal by the werewolf pack (and her close relationship with its sexy Alpha), it won't be Mercy's blood Marsilia is after. It'll be her friends'. Views: 688
A short story about an old man who tries to slow down time for his dying wife.A blog by the author trying to understand life.Dave Roberts is ex-army, forced out of the job he loved after a Friendly Fire accident in Iraq. He contemplated becoming a British Jack Reacher and chancing his luck on the open road, until a phone call from an old army friend put him right back where the action is - Iraq. What they found would blow their minds! What was under it could blow them away?Join the team on their “Scavenger Hunt”. The trouble is who do they trust not the police. To die was not an option! Or so they thought… Views: 688
The Gothic Vampire legend gets a demented and hysterical twist in this short story as a young teenage girl comes face to face with a tiny, tiny vampire.As a noun, time is defined as “The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.”As an anthology, Time is the collection of work written by award winning authors who all possess the talent, determination, and passion to bring to life the jumbled ideas contained within and present them in an entertaining and professional manner.Literary Underground is once again proud to present you with an excellent sampling of what the self published and up-and-coming authors of the world have to offer.Featured Authors:D.G. TurnerMary Ann BernalWayne DePriestV.R. ChristensenMJ HeiserBill Jones Jr.Richard SuttonJ.M. LeeM.C. ArvanitisSteven NovakCarla Hapke Views: 688
Thinking they are safe, Rachael and the dirigible crew land to make repairs. This is the third installment.In the future, society has fractured. Rachael works in a library on the surface, very close to the entrance of an underground city. They are dangerous places; at least, she has been told that they are dangerous for people like her… people who are a little… different from normal. Rachael met someone, someone from the city and he changed her life but not in a good way. Now, she is on the run, pursued by people who want to kill her but she doesn’t know why. Views: 688
On Bird Rock, gannets circle and thick mist surrounds the lighthouse at its centre, hiding the secrets of a tragic past within ... From the second they set foot on the island to join their dad and his new family, Jess and Rosie feel that something's wrong. Nightmares haunt their dreams and there seems to be someone, or something, else with them in the lighthouse – their home for the summer. Counting down the days until they can leave, Jess and Rosie decide to investigate. But when Rosie disappears, the countdown takes on a new meaning. Especially when no one but Jess remembers Rosie at all... Alex Bell's chilling novel is part of the Red Eye series, perfect for fans of Juno Dawson's SAY HER NAME and Kat Ellis's HARROW LAKE. Views: 688
It takes a fearless woman to love the most scandalous man alive in New York Times Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout's breathtaking novelEven a ghost hunter like Rosie Herpin couldn't have foreseen the fateful meeting between two mourners that has brought her so intimately close to the notorious and seductive Devlin de Vincent. Everyone in New Orleans knows he's heir to a dark family curse that both frightens and enthralls. To the locals, Devlin is the devil. To Rosie, he's a man who's stoking her wildest fantasies. When a brutal attack on her friend is linked to the de Vincents, he becomes a mystery she may be risking her life to solve. Devlin knows what he wants from this sexy and adventurous woman. But what does Rosie want from him? It's a question that becomes more pressing—and more dangerous—when he suspects her of prying into the shadows of his past. Now, the legends surrounding the de Vincents may... Views: 688
