Fantasy Adventure Short Stories

George R. R. Martin and science fiction's top authors delve into the adventurous superhero universe Wild Cards in the sixth book of this fan-favorite series. Since a strange alien virus created the superhuman beings known as Aces and Jokers four decades ago, they have struggled for respect and recognition. Now they are key players in a presidential convention torn by hatred and dissent.

They soar through the night, unearthly creatures of legends and lore. Three masters of urban fantasy and paranormal romance explore the rapture of the heavens above, and the darkness below in three all-new stories of angels and guardians, and good and evil. Bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her Guild Hunter universe to tell the story of vampire Noel, and Sharon Shinn returns to her Samaria series to tell the story of a blind angel and the woman helps him---even though she hates and fears angels.

This collection of Catherine Asaro's show fiction contains five stories, including the Nebula Award-winning novella, Spacetime Pool, the Hugo and Nebula nominated novella Aurora in Four Voices, and an essay on Asaro's use of mathematics in her fiction.

Chrysalis, the glass-skinned queen of the Joker underworld, has been found brutally murdered in her popular restaurant, the Crystal Palace. Now two men are out to find her killer: Jay Ackroyd, the Ace private investigator who discovered her ruined body, and the vigilante archer known as the Yeoman, who has been framed for the crime. Their quest leads them on a nightmare odyssey of madness, violence, passion, and political intrigue that will forever alter the fates of Aces and Jokers everywhere.

Join James, our intrepid adventurer, streamer, and bug hunter, as he jumps headfirst into the first true immersion VRMMORPG game and explores the digital reality that the dev's have kept under lock and key. No previews? No class or race info before launch? What could possibly go wrong? Especially starting in the empire inspired by ancient Egypt. Rolling a character reminiscent of an old-school D&D cleric, James takes on the world of Sosaku Online with spear, shield, and holy fire.

Longtime contributor to the Hellboy mythos Christopher Golden brings together a crew of luminaries including Joe R. Lansdale and China Miéville, cross-genre sensation Barbara Hambly, celebrated mystery writer Ken Bruen, best-selling science-fiction and fantasy novelist Tad Williams, and a bevy of other skilled storytellers eager to spin a tale or two about the world's greatest paranormal detective. Some of the biggest names in horror, mystery, and fantasy come together to pay homage to Mike Mignola's Hellboy!

Expect fast-paced action, aliens, and more aliens, planet hopping, a mysterious quest, and a bossy spaceship who likes to meddle. Includes all four books in the Space Gypsy Chronicles.

The best-selling Extinction Cycle series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith first introduced listeners to a world ravaged by an engineered virus that turned men into monsters. Humanity's only hope was not a cure, but another bioweapon. When deployed it killed 90 percent of the infected, but the remaining 10 percent transformed into even more terrifying creatures called Variants. Here's a collection of Extinction Cycle short stories that explore the human spirit and the fight for survival in the face of overwhelming odds from some of the leading voices in the post-apocalyptic genre.

For Hudson, the virtual world of PrimeVerse isn't all bad. It's beautiful, much nicer than overpopulated Earth. It almost feels like a vacation except for the volatile wildlife, lack of any amenities, and—oh yeah—the inability to log out. Exploring the world, learning his class, and leveling skills is all fun and games until a powerful rogue player with a vendetta shows up to wipe out Hudson and his primitive tribe. Thrust into a conflict he didn't create, Hudson is forced into a cycle of respawning where he learns that even death can be used as a tool. So much for that vacation.

If the melt-down, flood, plague, the third World War, new Ice Age, Rapture, alien invasion, clamp-down, meteor, or something else entirely hit today, what would tomorrow look like? Some of the biggest names in YA and adult literature answer that very question in this short story anthology, each story exploring the lives of teen protagonists raised in catastrophe's wake - whether set in the years soon after the change, or in decades far in the future.

Daniel Chai has fallen into a routine of adventuring and dungeon delving with his friends. When his secret gift as a healer is exposed, Daniel's greatest fears come to play as adventuring guilds and the royal family attempt to recruit him. To survive, Daniel and his team won’t only have to face dangerous monsters and Master Class dungeons—they’ll have to escape a web of guild politics and conniving nobility. This box set collects the final arc of the Adventures of Brad series, following Daniel and friends in a LitRPG-inspired fantasy world.

"A Song For Sadye" offers new insights into the life of the bard, Sadye, who plays an important role in the second half of the DemonWars Saga. "The Education of Brother Thaddius" picks up the DemonWars story immediately following Immortalis, the last book of DemonWars, and opens to door for the next saga in the world of Corona.

Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson's Worlds is a rousing, all-original anthology that stands both as a significant achievement in its own right and as a heartfelt tribute to a remarkable writer - and equally remarkable man. A nicely balanced mixture of fiction and reminiscence, Multiverse contains more than a dozen stories and novellas by some of today's finest writers, along with moving reflections by, among others, Anderson's wife, Karen.

This collection of short stories and novelettes includes the previously published stories "The Potter's Daughter" (a prequel to the novel The Element of Fire), "Holy Places", "Rites of Passage", "Houses of the Dead", "Reflections" (the Giliead and Ilias stories, prequels to the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy), as well as "Night at the Opera" (a Nicholas and Reynard story original to this collection, set before the Nebula-nominated novel The Death of the Necromancer).

Soren, an ambitious wizard. Belwynn, his twin sister, who shares a telepathic link with him. Rabigar, an exile of the Krykker race. Elana, a mysterious priestess. Moneva, a killer with a dark past. And a host of mercenaries, sorcerers, knights, dukes, kings, and strange new races. Who will lay claim to the weapons? Who can be trusted? And as war comes to Dalriya, who will take a stand against the dark forces that have been unleashed on the land?

One minute I’m in a tree, pointing my camera at a tiger, the next I’m on my back in a medieval fantasy world, while a skittish blonde hovers over me, hoping I’m not dead. I’ve never felt more alive.

A collection of short stories that have a space opera feel to it. This short but sweet audiobook offers listeners a glimpse of storytelling, there are several timelines in this book because of the short stories, and because there were multiple writers working on this project. The best way to set up this book is to think of it as a dream, and how sometimes dreams just jump from one thing to the next. That is how this book works. The book starts off on board the spaceship Maya in the year 2392 where there is lift off of space shuttle starship Maya.

In a time before the pyramids and the Pharaohs and the glory, Egypt was home to nomadic travellers. Ana is one such person, and heir to a tribe she doesn't want to lead. She's but 15 years and longs for exploration. But duty is knocking on her door. A trial awaits her. The weight of her father's expectations is heavy. Witness the magic of a pre-pharaonic Egypt and see if Ana will succeed in this short story from the acclaimed young adult author of The Black Petal, Dan Thompson.

When things go bump in the night, there's only one federal agency that stands between the supernatural and humankind...CERBERUS. C.E.R.B.E.R.U.S. stands for “Clandestine Enforcement and Reconnaissance Bureau, Extranormal Rampart Division of the United States”—the American law enforcement unit that was created to deal with all things magical and unexplained. Follow along as Deputy Marshal Tony Mendoza is inducted into the supernatural underworld by the shadowy agency and its enigmatic leader, Director Strickland.

Delve into the unknown, as you too begin to question the nature of reality. This short story tale is an emotional roller coaster ride, with poignant, yet subtle inferences to notions of technocratic neo-feudal-like societies. Scottie is made to question everything he’s ever known, as he finds that his known reality literally fades into inexistence. Was he dreaming? Was he in a prison? What happens to Carolyn?