Monster Fiction

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.

An existence spent being forced to kill others to satiate a Monster. Where the only thing to look forward to was the blessed, if brief, period of time between paying that bribe. Except that very same Monster is and isn’t Rene. It just happened to live inside his own mind and force him to do what it wanted. Rather than being an actual Monster. That was Rene’s entire life until a fateful day changed that. A day that the career as a hitman for hire built on the Monster’s needs will end. Where Rene will be forced to atone for his actions. To be held accountable and judged.

After bringing on new girls and expanding our business, GGMS has finally attracted the attention of EHS, a mega-corp determined to put its rivals out of business. When they start playing dirty, it becomes a fight just for survival, forcing us into an increasingly desperate situation. I will do everything I can to ensure that Paulina’s business outlasts the competition. But I might need some help from a stunning kitsune lawyer with a very sharp tongue.

An experimental ASI with a terminal case of curiosity reached out and tampered with the universe in a way that it should not have, and unleashed a torrent of energy we would call magic into our galaxy. Humans, and every other intelligent lifeform for that matter, were ill-prepared, physically and mentally, for such an eventuality. In an effort to save itself, the ASI hastily created something it called the Framework to shape and codify this magical energy, and usher in a new world. A world of classes, levels, and extraordinary power. But also a world of monsters.

Ethan Pitowski is afraid of everything. Luckily, his best friends don’t mind, and when their entire class gets invited to watch a long-buried horror movie at the most popular boy in school’s house, Ethan’s friends encourage him to join in the fun. But when the “scariest movie ever made” reveals itself to be not just a movie about a monster, but a movie that is a monster, only a terrified Ethan escapes its clutches. Now he must find a way to stop the monster and save his friends (and also, um, get their heads back).

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.

The day I was drafted into the army of the gods, all I knew about being a MASH surgeon was what I’d learned from Hawkeye Pierce and Hot Lips Houlihan. Now here I am, Dr. Petra Robichaud, in the middle of an immortal war, assigned to a MASH camp with a nosy sphinx, a vegetarian werewolf, and an uptight vampire who really needs to get a life. At least they’re all too busy with their own dramas to discover my secret: I can see the dead. It’s a forbidden gift, one that can get me killed, so I haven’t told a soul.

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.

For an athlete like Matt Daniels, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It's also the most dangerous. That's because somebody is about to pull a mean prank. The recipe is simple: Just add Monster Blood. As if Matt's problems weren't big and slimy enough, a surprise invitation will lead to even more trouble. How long can Matt survive inside a terrifying theme park? Not very long if his friends keep disappearing!

With the fall of Alvin the Unconquerable, the face of the Fourliance changes drastically. New alliances are made as the Factions prepare for war, and all while the Necro-Beast Faction keeps pushing for more territory. Keith, meanwhile, has other concerns. Mainly with the discovery of the next World Monster's location, and the formation of his Guild in the Fourliance. With powerful new allies backing him, things should be running smoothly, but when a raid goes south, he finds himself facing a powerful enemy he cannot hope to defeat.

Welcome to the Isle of Mulch! This little island is home to a large number of horrible grown-ups. The school, the local park, the toy shop and even the island's ice-cream van, are all run by awful adults who like nothing more than making children miserable. And the island is owned by the most awful one of all: Aunt Greta Greed! Something needs to be done about them. But who could be brave enough? Meet Ned: an extraordinary boy with a special power. SLIMEPOWER!

Drue Emmerson, noblewoman-turned-ranger, wants one thing: vengeance. With her family slain by the vicious shadow wraiths, she’s determined to defend her fallen kingdom. And that means carving out the hearts of every dark creature she can find. Talemir Starling, celebrated warrior of the realms, has a dangerous secret: he's a half-wraith, kin to the creatures wreaking devastation on the world. He’ll do anything to keep his true nature under control…especially around the woman who’s vowed to destroy him.

I’m a Nightmare, a creature that feeds on fear, and I’m capable of boundless cruelty—which is why my services come at a steep price: the life of the person who hired me. As such, the only people who hire me on are those brought to me by fate, like Mina, a woman so desperate for revenge that she’s willing to spend her own life to get it. I don’t usually care why I’m hired. Human affairs don’t matter to me. Food is food, and a job is a job. Mina’s enemies will get what they deserve—and I’ll get what’s mine. Her beating heart.

In order to ensure success and the survival of his new branch of the Guild, Keith must gather the necessary materials. This means hunting down the right monsters, ridding the continent of the Alchemist Guild and keeping his promise to Jade. To top it all off, he appears to have made an enemy of yet another Spirit, who seems to be out for his blood. With enemies around every corner, Keith will need to fight harder than ever to stay one step ahead.

Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord's cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part. Now, when Aelfric—keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker—learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday's eager heroes are today's weary leaders—and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves. If there's one thing Aelfric knows, it's slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.

No, I'm not hot for the criminal, just the two Gargoyles I have to work with to catch him. One of these guys broke my heart twelve years ago. The other is my partner with the Supernatural Branch of the Seattle PD. Both should be off limits but my body isn't getting the message. When the three of us go undercover at a local "den of iniquity" to catch the killer, all the lines get blurred. Now I'm on the brink of falling for not one, but two growly Gargoyles.

In the twelve unforgettable tales of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, the strange is made familiar and the familiar strange, such that a girl growing wings on her legs feels like an ordinary rite of passage, while a bug-infested house becomes an impossible, Kafkaesque nightmare. Each story builds a new world all its own: a group of children steal a haunted doll, a runaway bride encounters a sea monster, a vendor sells toy boxes that seemingly control the passage of time, an insomniac is seduced by the Sandman.

All that stands between rowdy long-haul trucker Jill MacLeod (aka Junkmouth) and her family back in Boston is two thousand miles of asphalt. Well, that and the monstrous game the System has had her playing ever since it descended on Earth. The reward: mana. Jill's goal: kill, score, drive—and stay alive. Behind the wheel of a turreted forty-ton semi named Bertha, Jill hammers east from Montana through a gauntlet of every kind of chomping, hissing, rabid creature imaginable. Barreling forward in her magical soulbound big rig and chalking up a bumper crop of roadkill, Jill isn't alone for long.

Especially a matchmaker who works at the kind of paranormal bathhouse that would have grandmothers clutching their pearls. A worse look is a matchmaker experiencing a crisis of confidence. I am that matchmaker.

When I took a job at the Monster Relations Bureau, the last thing I wanted was to stand out. There's just one problem—a grumpy, unapproachable dragon shifter who can't keep his golden eyes off me. Getting involved with Ewan Blair is the definition of a bad idea. Not only is he completely off-limits as the Bureau's Director, but the way he looks at me—like he'd devour me one moment, and wishes he never met me the next—should be enough warning to stay far away. But I've always had a reckless streak.