Fantasy Patrick

Rebecca Lake is a curvy world-famous author, who doesn’t have time for any neighborhood chatting. Unless the neighbor is the extremely hot, mysterious billionaire Isaias Durant with his rock-hard body that Rebecca can’t take her eyes off of. There is no way that this piece of art is attracted to her...the shy virgin. Or is there?

The Change occurred when an electrical storm centered over the island of Nantucket produced a blinding white flash that rendered all electronic devices and fuels inoperable - and plunged the world into a dark age humanity was unprepared to face....

Gears have been turning for centuries, and war has broken out. Cha Ming and Feng Ming rush to shore up the North’s meager defenses before devils from the South overrun them. No country can escape. In Gold Leaf City, Wang Jun has betrayed the North. He loathes his own actions, but he will do what he must to protect his beloved. He weaves a deep web while walking on the edge of a razor. A single misstep will cost him everything.

Matheus Taylor didn't ask to be murdered. To be fair, the percentage of people actually asking to be murdered is probably small enough to be safely ignored, but he felt it was worth stating regardless. His life might have been ordinary, but it was his life and he wasn't done with it yet. Quin didn't care. A 1,700-year-old Roman, Quintus Livius Saturnius had a different view of morality than most people. Killing Matheus and hijacking his undead existence seemed perfectly acceptable to him.

From Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, here are the best stories of 2002, written by four of the most respected writers of our day: Robert Silverberg, James Patrick Kelly, Ian Watson, and Gregory Benford. Also try The Best of Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine and The Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine 2002.

It was a shock to discover the existence of Apex Academy. Settling in as a student, expanding my social connections, and studying magic has kept me on my toes. Change is inevitable in this new world, and my survival necessitates adaptation. I have Petra to stand beside me and other females are lining up to warm my bed. No choice can be made casually. Each new mate brings a score of political connections and responsibilities. Dating has never been so intense. Worse yet, my enemies continue to flourish.

I used to think my life would be common, boring even. My online guildies and my friends sure thought so. Yet everything I knew to be true in this world all changed drastically one fateful night... or should I say, it shifted. As it turns out, my father passed on more than his name to me. Something feral and mighty awoke within me, and I knew at once, I would never be the same again. Shortly after, I received an invitation that I didn't expect, a call to attend the mysterious Apex Academy.

Take flight with the Brotherhood of the Griffin - Richard Lee Byers’s most celebrated characters. The Captive Flame features the return of popular character Aoth and his mercenary band, the Brotherhood of the Griffin, introduced in Richard Lee Byers' trilogy The Haunted Lands. Byers's signature twisted plots make this a must-have for all true Forgotten Realms fans. Aoth and his band of mercenaries, the Brotherhood of the Griffin, are hired to put a stop to a disturbing series of ritualistic killings.

Stranded on a distant world ruled by alien creatures, Union Colonel Andrew Keane and his regiment must rely on a brute force when a human traitor among them gives the aliens the secret to air power.

Lost in another world and time, a regiment of Union soldiers find themselves part of a tactical retreat from the onslaught of the mysterious Merki hordes, reenacting the classic Russian retreats from the French and Germans.

On Day Zero, the collapse of civilization was as instantaneous as it was inevitable. A mysterious and oppressive movement rose to power in the aftermath, forcing people into isolated communes run like regimes. Kayle Jenner finds himself trapped on a remote beach, and all that remains of his life before is the vague and haunting vision of his son. In his relentless search for his son, Kayle will discover more than just his lost past. He will discover the truth behind Day Zero - a truth that makes both fools and gods of men.

Steven Drokharis knew that embracing his destiny as one of the most powerful Dragonsouls to ever live would be difficult, but he had no idea that he’d be pushed to his very limits. Ten days after rescuing Aria and ending the life of an insane Dragonskin, Steven and his escort find themselves going toe-to-toe with Rhaegen Mulk - the deadly Dragonsoul responsible for the death of Steven’s parents. And Rhaegen Mulk doesn’t fight fair. He will pull out all the stops to end Steven before he can grow his escort and establish a primacy of his own.

Steven Whipp, a normal, poor college student, is kissed and shot on the night of his 20th birthday. He realizes three things: He’s bulletproof; he’s a dragon; and everything he’s ever wanted is within his reach. But the attempts on his life are just the beginning of his troubles. Steven is a Dragonsoul - a magical race of beings who have thrived, hidden from the eyes of humans, in control of the world. And not just any Dragonsoul but the last in a long line of Arch-Sorcerers, thought long dead.

Pour Tousseul, idiot congénital et analphabète, la vie n'est qu'une fuite éperdue loin du regard des hommes. Il ne s'arrête que pour mendier ou dérober de la nourriture, avant de trouver un jour refuge au cœur de la forêt. C'est là qu'il va construire la plus étonnante famille qui se puisse imaginer, avec un groupe d'enfants aux dons étranges. Janie, et son formidable pouvoir de télékinésie ; les jumelles Bonnie et Beany, qui apparaissent et disparaissent à volonté ; bébé surtout, atteint de trisomie mais véritable génie.

Unique survivant d'un naufrage, Edward Prendick est secouru par Montgomery à bord d'un navire faisant route vers une île isolée avec une cargaison d'animaux. Montgomery se présente comme l'assistant d'un certain Docteur Moreau. Sur l'île, Prendick découvre avec effroi que les deux hommes se livrent à d'horribles expériences, greffant et modifiant des animaux pour leur apporte une conscience et la parole. Les "hommes-animaux" sont soumis à des règles précises, la Loi qui leur interdit tout comportement primitif, et ils vénèrent Moreau tel un dieu.

Damian Venturi isn't aware of it yet. But as small shifts start to crack the foundations of the Ombrazian power structure after the Rebellion's attack, cracks are beginning to show in Damian's own facade. Uncontrollable anger is bubbling to the surface and can't always be pushed down. Can he keep everyone safe, even from himself? Rossana Lacertosa should feel victorious. She accomplished everything she set out to do, and more. The Rebellion's attack set countless prisoners free and brought attention to the unfairness in the Palazzo's structure.

The mission Jonah White Eagle and his Fierce Eagle Company had taken was nearly impossible. Land on the middle of a 7.5-mile-high plateau, walk six miles to the edge of the cliff, and scale down the 39,000-foot-high cliffs to the foothills of the canyon below. Nothing to it, right? But then there was the swamp they had to cross, full of large indigenous life forms that thought Humans made good snacks. And the rivers, full of other killers, they would have to negotiate.

The Change occurred when an electrical storm centered over the island of Nantucket produced a blinding white flash that rendered all electronic devices and fuels inoperable - and plunged the world into a dark age humanity was unprepared to face....Michael Havel was flying over Idaho en route to the holiday home of his passengers when the plane’s engines inexplicably died, forcing a less than perfect landing in the wilderness. And as Michael leads his charges to safety, he begins to realize that the engine failure was not an isolated incident.

My name is Hedi Peacock and I have a secret. I'm not human, and I have the pointy Fae ears and Were inner-bitch to prove it. As fairy tales go, my childhood was damn near perfect, all fur and magic until a werewolf killed my father and the Fae executed my mother. I've never forgiven either side. Especially Robson Trowbridge. He was a part-time werewolf, a full-time bastard, and the first and only boy I ever loved. That is, until he became the prime suspect in my father's death....

A brain-rotting virus, which leaves its victims disoriented and hyper-violent, rages out of Cuba into the Florida Keys. The bewildered government destroys the mainland bridge and places the islands under quarantine. Inside this cordon, the population descends into chaos, as rival factions battle over dwindling resources, buildings become fortresses, boats lash together as defensible islands, and whole neighborhoods wall off into armed camps.