Fantasy Adventure Short Stories

Poor Mr. Swimble is having a bad day. Rabbits are bouncing out of his hat, pigeons are flying out of his jacket and every time he points his finger, something magically appears - cheese sandwiches, socks...even a small yellow elephant on wheels! It's becoming a real nuisance - and he's allergic to rabbits. His friends at the Magic Rectangle can't help, but the mysterious vacuum cleaner he saw that morning may have something to do with it....

By the 22nd century in the African nation of Kenya, polluted cities sprawl up the flanks of sacred Mount Kirinyaga. Great animal herds are but distant memories. European crops now grow on the sweeping savannas. But Koriba, a distinguished, educated man of Kikuyu ancestry, knows that life was different for his people centuries ago - and he is determined to build a utopian colony, not on Earth, but on the terraformed planetoid he proudly names Kirinyaga.

John O'Ryan is not a god...not exactly. He is an eternal warrior destined to combat the Dark Lord through all time for dominion of the Earth. Follow him, servant of a great race, as he battles his enemy down the halls of time, from the caves of our ancestors to the final confrontation under the hammer of nuclear annihilation.

It's dangerous to go alone! Take this. You are standing in a room filled with books, faced with a difficult decision. Suddenly, one with a distinctive cover catches your eye. It is a groundbreaking anthology of short stories from award-winning writers and game-industry titans who have embarked on a quest to explore what happens when video games and science fiction collide.

The story begins in a faraway corner of Oz, in the small country of Oogaboo. There Queen Ann Soforth musters an unlikely army and sets off to conquer the rest of Oz. Meanwhile, a girl from Oklahoma named Betsy Bobbin and her companion, Hank the mule, are shipwrecked and washed ashore in the Rose Kingdom, a magical land of talking roses. There they meet the Shaggy Man, who is on a quest to rescue his brother from the clutches of the evil Nome King.

Paolo Bacigalupi's debut collection demonstrates the power and reach of the science-fiction short story. Social criticism, political parable, and environmental advocacy lie at the center of Paolo's work. Each of the stories herein is at once a warning and a celebration of the tragic comedy of the human experience.

New Pittsburgh, 1898 - A crucible of invention and intrigue. Born from the ashes of devastating fire, flood, and earthquake, the city is ruled by the shadow government of The Oligarchy. In the swarming streets, people of a hundred nations drudge to feed the engines of progress. The Department of Supernatural Investigation was set up to take care of those things that live below, that go bump in the night...those odd cases that go beyond 'standard' investigation. Nicknamed 'Storm and Fury', Mitch Storm and Jacob Drangosavich are two of the more creative agents working in New Pittsburgh.

Young Alice leads an ordinary sort of life until, one day, she follows a rabbit down a hole and embarks on a series of adventures with some of the most weird and wonderful characters anyone has ever encountered! She soon discovers that nothing is ordinary in Wonderland, least of all the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, the Duchess, and the Mock Turtle.

This boxed set contains 3 complete science-fiction novels. This is science-fiction at its best - future engineering, intrigue, first contact. It’s a space opera like none you’ve experienced before. The audiobooks will keep you listening late into the night, and you won't be able to stop....

In a landlocked galaxy that tunnels through our own, the Entire is a bizarre and seductive mix of long-lied quasi-human and alien beings gathered under a sky of fire, called the "bright". A land of wonders, the Entire is sustained by monumental storm walls and an exotic, never-ending river. Over all, the elegant and cruel Tarig rule supreme. Into this rich milieu is thrust Titus Quinn, former star pilot.

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.

Identical twins catch the same "Monte Carlo" genetic virus. Are they fated to live or die together?

Join the adventure through dystopian worlds, to outer planets and into a speculative future. Welcome to the Future Days Anthology. Seventeen authors imagine a future with thrilling tales, starships, unlikely heroes, and exotic aliens, all of which combine to make Future Days a must-listen sci-fi fantasy short story collection.

When your secret identity is revealed.... When the monster is unleashed.... When the superhero’s child has no power.... When Death himself is caught unawares.... Pull back the mask to reveal 21 tales from seasoned and award-winning authors, of magical masks, gas masks, death masks, superheroes, secret identities, disguised robots, alien symbionts, a Napoleonic thief, a swindling demon - even a hidden clown.

"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.

Die Götter des Altertums leben und die moderne Welt ist ihr Spielball. Mitten drin steckt Atticus O' Sullivan, der zweitausend Jahre alte Druide. Neun fesselnde Erzählungen, die nicht nur der Druidengehilfin Granuaille zur Anschauung dienen, sondern den Hörer gleichermaßen das Lachen und das Fürchten lehren. Im alten Ägypten nimmt Atticus an einem Überfall auf die Geheimkammer unter der Bibliothek von Alexandria teil. Doch wer hätte gedacht, dass im Team des Wachdienstes ausgerechnet zwei ägyptische Götter arbeiten?

Zothique is Earth's last continent in the very distant future when the sun has grown dim, the work has grown old and the remorseless seas have overwhelmed all other continents. The sciences have been forgotten as the shadowy arts of sorcery and magic have been reborn. The result: a dark world of older mystery where luxurious kings and wandering heroes venture across dim landscapes, pitting their strength and wisdom against powerful wizards, necromancers and alien gods all under a dying sun.

"The Eyes Have It" is a humorous, early short story by Philip K. Dick that first appeared in Science Fiction Stories in 1953. In it, a bus-riding reader of a discarded melodrama with an overactive imagination is persuaded by the hackneyed prose that the world has been taken over by aliens. Thus, when "eyes slowly roved around the room", the reader imagines disembodied eyeballs traveling of their own free will. A rare example of satire from the Dick canon.

The Fantasy Fiction Collection contains: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Jungle Book, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, Peter and Wendy, and Alice's Adventures Under Ground.

Alex McLeod paid dearly during the war for independence from Earth. It left the detective disfigured, jaded and alone. In the aftermath of victory, Alex seethes as criminal factions and cold-blooded killers clash over control of the newly-liberated confederation. In his crusade for justice in the free states, he's willing to break more than a few rules along the way...

The only home Alex knows is the slums of Slab, an orbiting city teeming with lowlifes, back-stabbers and gene-spliced monstrosities. From the grimy streets of his city to the lawless Asteroid Belt, Alex goes toe-to-toe with a sharp-clawed vigilante, a mythical serial killer, and a gorgeous vampire with an ominous message. His quest won't end until his homeland earns the freedom it was promised…

But even Alex may not be able to stop the impending Reckoning and a voyage to the one place he swore he'd never return: Earth...