Monster Fiction

Outside the house where Wexford investigated his first murder case—a woman found strangled in her bedroom—he noticed a short, muscular man wearing a scarf and walking a dog. He gave Wexford an unnerving stare. Without any solid evidence, Wexford began to suspect that this man—Eric Targo—was the killer. Over the years there are more unsolved, apparently motiveless murders in the town of Kingsmarkham, and Wexford continues to quietly suspect that the increasingly prosperous Targo—van driver, property developer, kennel owner, and animal lover—is behind them.

Monsters ate my parents, leaving me orphaned and homeless. I found a new pack and life was peaceful . . . until three powerful Alphas invade. They appear to be normal wolf shifters, but they harbor a secret, a gruesome monster form with a taste for blood. They claim I'm their fated mate and that I belong to them. They're big, bad, with appendages so massive they could make a cobra blush. But me and three monsters? Never going to happen. Too bad for me, hot, buff alphas don't handle rejection well . . .

The F-Rank Foot Soldier Became An S-Rank Monster Rancher is a light-hearted story of new beginnings and new potentials. Follow Riven as he makes the best of his forced retirement, tames monsters, finds friends, and uncovers the mysteries surrounding the world.

Dr. Hoo has been kidnapped! The mentor of the young heroes has been taken into the hidden kingdom of the enemy. The teens decide to descend deep underground to rescue him, but they are not prepared for what awaits them in the darkness below.

As Kelvin, the battle junkie Summoner hailing from another world, continues his extraordinary exploits, Goddess Melfina finally returns to his side, finally having completed her artificial body. When she grants him her blessing, he gains the power to summon a Hero of his own . . . who wants to become his stepsister?! As Kelvin and his party grow stronger by the day, he receives a summons for his Rank S promotion exam. The contents of the exam involve saving an elven settlement from the threat of a terrible monster, but just how much is the militaristic nation of Trycen involved?

Heidi Waters, CEO of billion-dollar startup Vitality+, is all the rage in Silicon Valley. Her company’s promises to roll out a neurochemical cure for caffeine-related anxiety are set to change the game, a godsend for anyone who’s ever got the jitters from upsizing their morning coffee order. There’s just one problem. There is no cure. The product doesn’t work.

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'm the next in line for Fyrifirar Tribe Jarl, a skilled warrior, and definitely not good at chopping down trees. But I can't stop thinking about the tiny human female who we'd found near our village with eleven other human females. She's so small, barely larger than an orkin child, and so lovely I can't get her out of my mind. And then I went and nearly killed her while felling a tree to distract myself. Yet somehow, she still ended up in my arms.

For the past century, I have served, defending my crops in solitude, baring my scythe as an omen. But when the crops aren't seeded, I find myself standing over a field of dirt and weeds. It is her fault. The female who has inherited the farm. She might be the new queen of these lands, but in her wake, she brings only ruin. So, I will scare her away. I will claim these fields, and she will learn to fear me! Until one evening, she is attacked by the crows. She cowers behind me for protection, begging them to spare her life.

You can’t have a good tale of monster hunting without monsters. And sometimes the monsters don’t need to be hunted. Sometimes it’s fun sitting back at minimum safe distance and watching the mayhem.

Isolated in the northern wilderness, Hawkin—an adventurer turned hermit—is fulfilled by the small joys of his simple life. He hunts and forages for food, tends to a small garden, maintains his humble cabin, and patrols the meandering trail that leads down to the sea. After celebrating ten years alone in his woods, visitors begin to arrive. First an ancient monster, then a trio of monks with a peculiar set of skills.

My acts are vicious and cruel, vile and life-taking. My demands are unquestioned no matter how depraved. There’s a monster inside me, and the wounds that scar my soul are dark and deep. I’m Dante Simone. Underboss of the Chicago Outfit. She walks into the audition, eyes snapping with a fire that could cost her life - if she were to unleash it. Piper Tate crawls beneath my skin on our first encounter. Her audition, a condition of employment I’ve sat through a thousand times, is like no other. It’s magnetic, cementing my traitorous eyes to her lithe form.

Using forbidden Marrangha magic and the three stolen vapours, the evil sorcerer Zharradan Marr has created a creature....but for what purpose?

After disgracing themselves at a high society New Year's Eve party in Philadelphia in 1944, Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, are cut off financially by his father, a former army colonel who is already ashamed of his son’s inability to serve in the war. Ellis and his best friend, Hank, decide that the only way to regain the colonel's favor is to succeed where the colonel very publicly failed - by hunting down the famous Loch Ness monster.

Sixteen-year-old Skye is done playing the knight in shining armor for her insufferable younger sister, Deirdre. And moving across the country seems like the perfect chance to start over as someone different. In their isolated new neighborhood, Skye manages to fit in, but Deirdre withdraws from everyone, becoming fixated on the swampy woods behind their house and building monstrous sculptures out of sticks and bones.

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.

Despite our best efforts, my devoted monstrous men and I have fallen into the clutches of one of our most powerful enemies. But the demon strikes a deal with me—our safety in exchange for my cooperation in a mysterious scheme. It turns out he wants me to tap into magical powers more vile than the brutality I've faced from his kind. With my family and the men I’ve fallen for on the line, playing along may be my only chance at survival. But as we search for a way to win our freedom for good, the danger grows greater by the day. I’m running out of options.

Wounds is a confounding, strange, and utterly entrancing collection of six stories, including one new novella from Shirley Jackson Award-winning author Nathan Ballingrud. From the eerie dread descending upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in The Visible Filth to the search for the map of hell in “The Butcher’s Table”, Ballingrud’s beautifully crafted stories are riveting in their quietly terrifying depictions of the murky line between the known and the unknown.

F-Rank foot soldier Riven Wrangleman found people stuck in pods. And now, those people are dangling above his head. A mouse woman, a bat woman, and three anthropomorphic camel people, these five Demons bring with them incredible new glimpses into the state of the world for those lost on the island, namely Riven, Lucerein, and Enkriah. The new information is all well and good, but it doesn't change Riven's goals. He's still being slowly poisoned by the island, and his camp could still use some improvements. No amount of world-shaking revelations will alter that.

Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility. For their two-year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world. But lusty paradise is shattered. Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen.