Fantasy World

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions - slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere...else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced...they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

A handsome young tribal warrior and sage, Yikaas has traveled across the sea to hear stories of the Whale Hunter and the Sea Hunter peoples. Around the fire, Qumalix, a beguiling and beautiful storyteller, barely old enough to be a wife, catches the eye of Yikaas, and so begins their flirtation through storytelling, which brings to vivid life tales of the Near River and Cousin River tribes.

"Something Passed By", a story by Robert McCammon, was originally published in his short fiction collection Blue World and was selected for inclusion in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Third Annual Collection.

Since the apocalypse began, Bain Lee has survived with a class that should never have been intended for combat. Using his ability to see into the true nature of the System, he has turned the ocularist class into a powerhouse on the battlefield. His time on this new Earth has changed him, transformed him into what he was always meant to be: A leader among humanity, a general among all sentient species.

Humanity is not extinct. It's the calm before the storm and the complacent survivors are ill prepared as the sleeping world is about to get a wake up call. Nowhere is safe. Nowhere will ever be.

Earth is locked in a dangerous arms race with Rigel. McGill’s efforts at diplomacy are disastrous. Events spin out of control and interstellar warfare consumes the outer provinces of the Empire. Great fleets are gathered, and troops are hurried aboard transports. Legion Varus is launched toward a secret target world. McGill leads an early strike against Rigel’s defenses, but his efforts are foiled at every turn. Who could be behind these betrayals? Could his own government be plotting his demise?

Deaf since childhood, Sebastian Armitage had a promising musical future until his dreams were shattered when he transformed at 12 years old. In a world where enhanced humans are terrorized and imprisoned, his life shrinks around him even more as he suffers the torment of his father's experimental research to enable him to hear. Gray Darling - struggling with the scars left by his experience in Afghanistan - agrees to provide short-term personal protection when anonymous threats escalate into assault on those closest to Seb. They can't ignore the intense feelings drawing them together.

What happens when you fall and hit the webtoons trope tree? You get killed by Truck-kun, get transported to a fantasy world by a sentient Fae coin, and become the first gay holy maiden. Jake Alexander is Not Happy to be sure. Fortunately in Jake's case, part of the trope tree includes the gorgeous Duke of the North, Theon. And starting a business from scratch, which he's always wanted to do. And revitalizing his new country which is on the verge of collapse.

To save the shelter, Sergey travels to an unknown planet that has suffered the same fate as Earth. But things don't exactly go according to plan . . . and the situation on Earth has gone from bad to worse!

In 1950, a young doctor called Norton Perina signs on with the anthropologist Paul Tallent for an expedition to the remote Micronesian island of Ivu'ivu in search of a rumored lost tribe. They succeed, finding not only that tribe but also a group of forest dwellers they dub "The Dreamers", who turn out to be fantastically long-lived but progressively more senile. Perina suspects the source of their longevity is a hard-to-find turtle; unable to resist the possibility of eternal life, he kills one and smuggles some meat back to the States.

Naira and Tarquin have found a new home on Seventh Cradle. But the peace they’ve built is short-lived as mysterious assailants ambush the settlement and Naira is haunted by visions of a monstrous future. Catastrophe strikes when Tarquin uncovers a plot to bring about the end of the universe. As humanity races against the clock to prevent their extinction, old secrets come to light and loyalties fracture, and Naira realizes she may be the key to saving the world—or ending it.

Following the discoveries made by Cormac in Low Midnight, Kitty and her allies are ready to strike. But when their assassination attempt on the evil vampire Dux Bellorum fails, Kitty finds herself running out of time. The elusive vampire lord has begun his apocalyptic end game, and Kitty still doesn't know where he will strike. Meanwhile, pressure mounts in Denver, as Kitty and her pack begin to experience the true reach of Dux Bellorum's cult.

Draw near and listen, or else time is at an end. The watering holes of the Plain are drying up, the fearsome fanghorn grow more numerous, and bad omens abound. Wulfgar, a leader of the Altaii people, must contend with twin queens, warlords, prophets, and magic in hopes of protecting his people and securing their future. Elspeth, a visitor from another world, holds the answers, but first Wulfgar must learn to ask the right questions. But what if the knowledge that saves the Altaii will also destroy them?

Lara, Domina of Terah, has mysteriously disappeared, and Magnus Hauk is frantic to find his beloved wife. When no trace of her can be discovered, he turns to two strong allies - Prince Kaliq of the Shadows and Ilona, the most powerful of the faerie queens. Meanwhile, Kol - the Twilight Lord - revels in his victory. The exquisite Domina is now in his possession, and her powers will soon help him to conquer first Hetar and then Terah. But Lara will not stand for his treachery, even as she is seduced by his charisma.

Before he was freed by Neferet, Kalona was imprisoned within the earth for centuries because of the Darkness in his heart. But what happened to the Other World's Kalona? It's as though he's been forgotten, or maybe he never existed at all.... In the present, Other Neferet may have left her House of Night, but she has far from given up her goal of immortality and world domination. As she operates in secret to gain access to Old Magick, the new High Priestess, Anastasia Lankford, works toward peace and acceptance for the vampyres of the Other World.

In the magic-soaked capital city of Oluwan, Small Sade needs a job—preferably as a maid, for employers who don’t mind her unique appearance and unlucky foot. But before she can be hired, she accidentally binds herself to a powerful being known only as the Crocodile, a god rumored to devour pretty girls. Small Sade entrances the Crocodile with her secret: She is not only an orphan and an aspiring maid, but also a Curse-Eater, gifted with the ability to alter people’s fates by cleaning their houses.

After Jebediah Trapper completed the Impossible Tutorial (by cheating), the vet's been in something of a slump. His PTSD is gradually guiding him down the path of self-harm. Crippled, stripped of his power, and homeless, he's got no reason to keep breathing. Until a little girl is in trouble.

Mourn me but briefly. Then find your destiny, Lara, my love, my life. Now let me go.... With those words, the spirit of Magnus Hauk, Dominus of Terah, departs his body - leaving the fate of his nation to his wife, the half faerie Lara. While Lara's son Prince Taj is well loved by the people of Terah, he is too young to rule, so Lara must obey Magnus's dying command and govern in his stead. Yet some in Terah still believe that a female must never wear the crown...and Lara and her children will face old enemies who are not finished with their schemes for revenge.

As Kazuma spends his downtime bemoaning his party's lack of a little-sister archetype, he's invited to a royal banquet, where he meets the young Princess Iris. She's enthralled by his tales of adventure, and once she takes a liking to him, Kazuma ends up getting transported to the royal castle! Though he's initially unsure of what to expect, life with Iris turns out to be a dream come true, and Kazuma doesn't ever want to wake up. . .so when he hears rumors of a "righteous thief" stalking the capital, Kazuma declares he'll be the one to capture the dastardly do-gooder!

Accidentally banished to an alternate reality by her own hand, weapon-heavy cyborg NSLICE-00P has had to adapt to her new environment in order to survive. But she's also evolved to thrive as less of a "kill everything" high-tech nightmare and more of a "try to be nice before killing everything" young lady capable of actual emotion, becoming the magic-wielding force for good known as Her Majesty Seero, queen of the Dobhar and true friend of the Empire. And the Empire needs a friend like her more than ever . . .