Monster Fiction

When I—along with my best friend and his big purple monster boyfriend—come across a fortress-like raider camp while journeying across the monster-infested Wastes, we stop to deliver a message. Somehow, that simple pit stop turns into a seemingly impossible quest to get this camp's missing leader out of the prison where he's being held and forced to fight monsters and other humans. I know exactly where it is because I've been there. Problem is, I'm making this journey with the prickliest and most arrogant guy I've ever met, who seems to hate me on sight. Oh, and he's also half-monster.

Behold the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM), today’s fastest growing carbohydrate-based religion. According to church founder Bobby Henderson, the universe and all life within it were created by a mystical and divine being: the Flying Spaghetti Monster. What drives the FSM's devout followers, a.k.a. Pastafarians? Some say it’s the assuring touch from the FSM’s “noodly appendage”. Then there are those who love the worship service, which is conducted in pirate talk and attended by congregants in dashing buccaneer garb.

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who captures witches and drives away ghosts. As the weather gets colder and the nights draw in, the Spook receives an unexpected visitor. Tom doesn't know who the stranger is or what he wants, but the Spook suddenly decides it's time to travel to his winter house, Anglezarke. Tom has heard it will be a bleak, forbidding place, and that menacing creatures are starting to stir somewhere on the moors nearby.

Life is finally going right for Lazarus Kerrigan, necromancer and Pale Horseman. Business is booming, and no gods have tried to kill him for a whole month. But the past is catching up to him. There's a serial killer on the loose in New Orleans, one that targets children and leaves behind only bones. When the case develops eerie similarities to his sister's murder, Laz knows the police are in over their heads. They need help, and the dead aren't talking. Well, except for the ghost of a 200-year-old pirate, and Laz doesn't like what he has to say.

I'm having a hard time. And no, that's sadly not an innuendo. Depression is slipping back into my life like a toxic ex, and I know I need to do something before it consumes me. So when I run into the man of my dreams on my first attempt to get out of the house, it feels like fate.

The Monster Girl Defense Force is really good at their job. They've carved out a small niche in an otherwise desolate and harsh world, and for the moment, all seems well. But trouble is on the horizon, and to stop it, they'll need something they haven't had in a long time. A man.

Bones Malone feels like he can’t do anything right in his new small town: He almost punched the son of the woman who babysits him and his brothers, he’s one of the only Black kids in Langille, and now his baseball team (the one place where he really feels like he shines) just lost their first game. To make matters worse, things in town are getting weird. His mom isn’t acting like herself at all—she’s totally spaced out, almost like a zombie. And then he and his brothers have the same dream.

When the path to victory passes through Hell, all you can do is put on your walking boots. Shem's actions ripped out my heart, but they also bought us time to find the final relic piece. I'm at a loss as to where to look until an encounter with a powerful being promises answers and aid. All I need to do is find my way to Gehenna, the place humans know as Hell. As paths diverge and new goals are set, I know in my heart that this is our last chance to put our world to rights. Our last chance to make Shem's sacrifice count.

Terrence Mack was born poor, grew up tough, and died hard. Waking up in a sea cave with nothing but the clothes on his back and a new bullet scar was enough to convince him that wherever his death had brought him, it wasn't paradise. His new world quickly proves to be a place of danger, magic, monsters, and - for Terry at least - women. Known on Celestine as a template, Terry's genes are key to the survival of the eldritch races. But the fiercely competitive eldritch don't typically leave their lovers alive long, and aren't accustomed to taking 'no' for an answer.

After a horrible marriage, Haggard has zero plans of ever finding a woman again. One-night stands not counting, he adores his life as a single man. There are no expectations. No "where are yous" and "are you coming homes". The life he chooses to live is a simple one. Until he makes a huge mistake, and he steps over that line between "daughter’s best friend" and "a woman he desperately wants". Before long, he can’t stop thinking about her. Can’t stop wanting her. Can’t stop feeling things for her that a man 20 years her senior should never feel for a girl he watched grow up.

Not too long ago, I was just Dominic Thompson, a former employee of an American marketing firm. I have Lilith, the goddess of the Infernal Realms, to thank for my new state in life. Now, she's returned to my dungeon, hoping to strip away what she gave to me. I won't simply roll over and let her take it. I like what I've built. Sure, she started me on my quest for domination, but where was she when I carved out my first dungeon room or built my first trap? Was she present when I enthralled my beautiful champions: the troll and the storm dungeon core?

I've always hated Christmas. With a name like Chris Kringle, it's hard not to. It's only gotten worse since I've been back from the war. Christmas is supposed to be jolly, but for me, it's a grim reminder of past failures. I need to get away from it. To be somewhere quiet. To heal. When I wake up in the South Pole after an accident to a Krampus tending my wounds, it feels like the perfect opportunity to get some much-needed R&R. Yet this gentle giant is so achingly sweet, I can't help but fall for him, even though he's a monster.

It's been 1097 days and 14 hours since I've been locked in this place. And they've come to me every night. The monsters in my dreams worship my body, and when I wake up I'm desperate for more. But they’re never there to finish me off. Dr. Adams says I can leave the asylum if I start to take my meds, but I've always hated how they made me feel...and I'm not sure that I agree with them that I'm actually crazy. Because dreams don’t make you crazy, right?

The 1850s are a time of discovery, and London is ablaze with the latest scientific theories and debates, especially when a spectacular new exhibition of dinosaur sculptures opens at the Crystal Palace. Mary is keen to make her name in this world of science alongside her geologist husband, Henry—but despite her sharp mind and sharper tongue, without wealth and connections their options are limited.

Treasure hunters and protectors of the Overworld, Noah and Violet stumble upon a chest in a jungle temple. The treasure chest includes a rare enchantment book that can make diamond swords and armor extremely powerful. Daniel, who runs the powerful league of griefers, wants the enchantment book for himself. Noah and Violet have to battle the league of griefers, including the tricky and powerful rainbow griefers.

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: “Monsters! Meet here for final test.” Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying in bed...until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from under the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters emerge from beneath the bed and compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there.

They call my husband-to-be "Mob Prince," but his happily-ever-after consists of bound wrists and broken promises. Tall, dark, and handsome don’t begin to describe his level of gorgeous. Tony Costa is a dangerous man with a beautiful face. We’re arranged to marry. Start a family. Or else.

When Mike Radley inherited a mysterious old house from a long-lost relative, he wasn't sure what to expect. He didn't expect a sexual encounter with the nymph in his bathtub. He really didn't expect to discover a house full of affectionate monsters. And he definitely didn't expect a pair of witches bent on stealing the home's magic from him. Welcome to the Radley House. Expect the unexpected.

In this striking and bleak, yet luminous debut collection, Nathan Ballingrud, winner of the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award, uses the trappings of the Gothic and the uncanny to investigate a distinctly American landscape: The loneliest and darkest corners of contemporary life. Ballingrud’s stories are love stories. They’re also monster stories. Sometimes the monsters collected here are vampires or werewolves.

The Gruffalo said that no gruffalo should ever set foot in the deep dark wood. But one wild and windy night the Gruffalo's child disobeys her father's warnings and ventures out into the snow. After all, the Big Bad Mouse doesn't really exist...does he? Perfect for listening to at home, in the car, at bedtime - or any time at all!