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When a corpse is found floating face-down in Vilnoc harbor that is not quite as dead as it seems, Temple sorcerer Penric and his chaos demon Desdemona are drawn into the uncanny investigation. Pen’s keen questions will take him across the city of Vilnoc, and into far more profound mysteries, as his search for truths interlaces with tragedy.The internal chronological order of the Penric & Desdemona tales is presently:“Penric’s Demon”“Penric and the Shaman”“Penric’s Fox”“Masquerade in Lodi”“Penric’s Mission”“Mira’s Last Dance”“The Prisoner of Limnos”“The Orphans of Raspay”“The Physicians of Vilnoc”The Assassins of Thasalon“Knot of Shadows” Views: 319
When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B's racist father thinks it's a joke-- but even if it isn't, he figures, it's ok to lose a few Irish.
B doesn't fully buy into Dad's racism, but figures it's easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse that will surely follow sticking up for Muslims, blacks, or immigrants. And when dodging his fists doesn't work, B doesn't hesitate to take the piss out of kids at school with a few slaps or cruel remarks.
That is, until zombies attack the school. B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors of high school, making allegiances with anyone with enough gall to fight off their pursuers. Views: 319
In this sort of prequel to IT'S OVER, Dwayne and Scott are headed to an out of the way place to make a score on a hot Texas afternoon in 1977. Dwayne is in dire need of a fix and as the day wears on he's not entirely sure if the hallucinations he's having are brought on by the sickness or if there's something about his friend Scott he doesn't know.In this sort of prequel to IT'S OVER, Dwayne and Scott are headed to an out of the way place to make a score on a hot Texas afternoon in 1977. Dwayne is in dire need of a fix and as the day wears on he's not entirely sure if the hallucinations he's having are brought on by the sickness or if there's something about his friend Scott he doesn't know.IT'S OVER: CHRONICLES is a multimedia online series in tandem with the IT'S OVER film trilogy, created by Snout Productions. For more information on the three films, the graphic novel, IT'S OVER: TRIBULATIONS, and all Snout music, film and multimedia content, visit www.snoutproductions.com Views: 319
A courageous leader who became the first American mandarin, Frederick Townsend Ward won crucial victories for the Emperor of China during the Taiping Rebellion, history's bloodiest civil war. Carr's skills as historian and storyteller come to the fore in this thrilling account of the kind of adventurer the world no longer sees. Views: 319
A terrible storm is raging, and ten-year-old Dinah is huddled by candlelight with her brother, sister, and cousin Gage, who is telling a very unusual tale. It's the story of What-the-Dickens, a newly hatched orphan creature who finds he has an attraction to teeth, a crush on a cat named McCavity, and a penchant for getting into trouble. One day he happens upon a feisty girl skibberee who is working as an Agent of Change -- trading coins for teeth -- and learns that there is a dutiful tribe of skibbereen (call them tooth fairies) to which he hopes to belong. As his tale of discovery unfolds, however, both What-the- Dickens and Dinah come to see that the world is both richer and less sure than they ever imagined. Views: 319
An assassin falls for the archduke she was sent to kill, but killing him might be the only way to save his soul. Magic has two immutable rules—every spell requires a sacrifice and every curse can be broken. Amira Brindonu is a sorceress turned assassin, bound in a curse that forces her to obey her father, even to the point of high treason. When he orders her to kill the future emperor, she fails, but discovers a secret that could bring the whole of the empire to its knees. The archduke is stricken by a curse that could sentence him and his people to damnation, but Amira could be the only key to breaking it. In a desperate last-ditch effort, the archduke takes Amira prisoner and makes a pact to protect her from her curse if she will help free him of his own. As time begins to run out, Amira soon learns that there are enemies that blades can't touch and there are fates worse than death. Caught in a web... Views: 319
This Valentine’s Day there’s more than hearts at risk…Police officer Myra Reed prefers her life orderly, predictable, and logical. Unfortunately, she lives in the little beach town of Ordinary, Oregon where gods vacation and monsters cause all sorts of trouble. Her most recent headache is a sexy demon named Bathin, who has tricked his way into both living in Ordinary, and owning her sister’s soul. She wants him out of Ordinary. He wants…her.Myra will get her sister’s soul back no matter the price. But first she must deal with a stalker, a crossroads deal, and a dangerous spell that could fix everything, or reveal the one secret she’s buried deep: she might be falling in love with a demon.This novella takes place after Paper Stars but can be read as a stand alone Views: 319
Some curses aren't meant to be broken . . .Lady Griselle Mottern is cursed. On her sixteenth birthday, an evil wizard transformed Griselle into a wolflike beast because of a past misdeed by one of her ancestors. Now, with her twenty-first birthday approaching, Griselle has only a few days left to make a boy fall in love with her, or the curse will become permanent, and she will forever be a beast.But breaking the curse isn't Griselle's only problem. An evil is lurking in the forest, one that is creeping closer and closer to her castle. Griselle will have to summon all her beastly strength to defeat this evil, even if it means dooming herself forever . . .Note: This 7,000-word short story originally appeared in the Von Flusshexen und Meerjungfrauen German-language anthology in 2020. Views: 319
An enslaved boy is befriended by a massive blue-grey cat of indeterminate but seemingly ancient age. Prequel to For Cory's Sake.Two linked tales of two amoral men transformed by the women who love them. Set in 13th Century England at Christmas. In Mercenary, Lord Broderick, has been made a new father but his wife dies in childbirth and his infant son is failing to thrive. Then Tess is brought before him, the daughter of the lord whose lands Broderick has usurped. Unaware of her identity, the new master of Castlemuir confines the young woman to his inner sanctum to nurse his son, unaware that Tess poses the greatest danger to him of all.In Jester, Dumas is a hideously deformed clown who travels the countryside in a caravan with his assistant, Fallon, a young woman disguised as a boy. In return for keeping her identity a secret, Fallon must perform for the misshapen man each night. But Dumas has a secret of his own as Fallon soon learns after a performance at Castlemuir Hall.Dark Redeemer Historical Romance is a series of stand-alone adventure-romance tales set in 13th Century England during the reign of King John, known as the High Middle Ages. The stories are full of action and romance. However, Mercenary and Jester contain certain love scenes that are not suitable for younger readers. Views: 319
A blazingly inventive near-future thriller from the best-selling, Hugo Award-winning John Scalzi.Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome," rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time.?If the Integrator was carrying a... Views: 319
Double Dose picks up right where Double Threat leaves off – with a snarl of threads to tie up, a host of mysteries to explain, all complicated by some embarrassing intrusions from the past.So many secrets in Nespodee Springs...the biggest is revealed when Rhys and Daley track down the second half of the Pendry film and learn the secrets of the clan's Tesla tower and the catastrophic details of the plan to bring the Visitors back to Earth.But the insidious malady known as "the horrors" remains a mystery, claiming more and more victims every day. Daley and Pard learn they can cure it – if only the powers that be will allow them.Daley finds herself in an ironic situation: For the first time in her life she's trying to play it straight – help people instead of scam them – and no one will let her. In the past, when she's spun a web of lies, the marks lapped it up like honey. Now, when she's telling the truth – a life-saving truth... Views: 319
The second novel in Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's dazzling Mancer trilogy, Of the Divine takes place seventy-one years before the events of Of the Abyss, in a world where sorcery is still practiced freely—but at what cost?
Henna’s runes tell her that the future of Kavet is balanced on the edge of the knife. One of the most powerful sorcerers in the Order of Napthol, she is well-respected for her second sight. But the fragments she sees this time—blood, darkness, destruction—leave her unsure how to set the country and her lover, Verte, prince of Kavet, on the correct course.
Meanwhile, the treaties between Kavet and the dragon-like race known as the Osei have become intolerable. The time has come for the royal house to wield their unique magic to challenge Osei dominion, with Prince Verte serving as the nexus for the powerful but dangerous spell, and Naples, an untested young sorcerer from the Order of Napthol, a volatile but critical support to its creation.
Amid these plans, Dahlia Indathrone’s arrival in the city shouldn’t matter. She has no magic and no royal lineage, and yet, Henna immediately knows the young woman is important. She just can’t see why. And no vision could prepare her for the role Dahlia will come to play.
In Of the Divine, the lives of Henna, Verte, Naples, and Dahlia become irrevocably linked, setting them, and all Kavet, on a perilous path. As they struggle to survive, they learn that they are but pawns in a larger game, one played by the forces of the Abyss and of the Numen—the infernal and the divine. A game no mortal can ever hope to win. Views: 318
The best writers of our generation retell classic tales.
From Sir Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene to E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops," literature is filled with sexy, deadly, and downright twisted tales. In this collection, award-winning and bestselling authors reimagine their favorite classic stories, the ones that have inspired, awed, and enraged them, the ones that have become ingrained in modern culture, and the ones that have been too long overlooked. They take these stories and boil them down to their bones, and reassemble them for a new generation of readers.
Written from a twenty-first century perspective and set within the realms of science fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy, and realistic fiction, these short stories are as moving and thought provoking as their originators. They pay homage to groundbreaking literary achievements of the past while celebrating each author's unique perception and innovative style.
Today's most acclaimed authors use their own unique styles to rebuild the twelve timeless stories:
Sir Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene - Saladin Ahmed
W. W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw" - Kelley Armstrong
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla" - Holly Black
"Sleeping Beauty" - Neil Gaiman
The Brothers Grimm's "Rumpelstiltskin" - Kami Garcia
Kate Chopin's The Awakening - Melissa Marr
Rudyard Kipling's "The Man Who Would Be King" - Garth Nix
Henry James's "The Jolly Corner" - Tim Pratt
E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops" - Carrie Ryan
Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto - Margaret Stohl
William Seabrook's "The Caged White Werewolf of the Saraban" - Gene Wolfe
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birth-Mark" - Rick Yancey
And six illustrations by Charles Vess Views: 318
