New Horror

The end of the world didn't happen overnight. After years of war, societal breakdown, freak storms, and rising tides, humanity already hovered near the edge. Then came the most unexpected threat of all: the world's corpses rising up to deliver the final blow.

Danger lurks in the shadows... A place where the brave tread warily... Jack Walker has returned from the rescue of his girlfriend with a small band of survivors. Their harrowing journey from the Middle East included a stop at the CDC where they learned vital information about the ferocious new species that hunt at night. The night runners dominate the landscape and a world turned upside down by the sudden death of billions.

The monsters of ancient mythology, folklore, and more contemporary urban legend have long captured the popular imagination. While most people in America today relegate monsters to just that - our imaginations - we continue to be fascinated by the unknown. Linda Godfrey is one of the country's leading authorities on modern-day monsters and has interviewed countless eyewitnesses to strange phenomena.

In the days before the Civil War, there lived in New Orleans the gens de couleur libre - copper-skinned half-castes, liberated by their "owners," but confined by their color to a life of political non-existence and social subordination. Here is a compelling and richly textured tale of a people forever caught in the shadows between black and white.

Oliver Hazard-Perry, once leader of the Coven, is now a broken man and enlists the help of his friends Jack Force and Schuyler Van Alen to redeem himself and search for his lost love, Finn Chase, who has disappeared into the sophisticated streets of Stockholm. Meanwhile, back in the city, venators Ara Scott and Edon Marrok's investigation into a surge of Nephilim (those dangerous half human, half demons) activity has come to a dead end. As quickly as they arrived, the Nephilim have all mysteriously disappeared from New York.

Something is terrorizing the villages of the county. People are dying - covered in blood, their faces frozen in fear. But with not a wound on their bodies. Battling creatures of the dark is the job of the local spook, but 17-year-old Thomas Ward never finished his apprenticeship. It will be no easy task to earn the trust of the villagers and to defeat a monster that no one has ever seen. Yet Jenny - a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter - knows an awful lot about this new evil. And she's willing to share what she's learned with Tom…if he takes her on as his apprentice.

Jack Walker journeyed halfway around the world and completed his daring rescue. He must now return home, traversing a world filled with endless hordes of night runners, the genetically-altered, ferocious species that now inhabit the dark recesses left over from the demise of mankind and now dominate the planet. The only things more dominant are the billions of corpses left to rot where they died.

With Pandora, Anne Rice began a magnificent new series of vampire novels. Now, in the second of her New Tales of the Vampires, she tells the mesmerizing story of Vittorio, a vampire in the Italian Age of Gold.

The sanctuary walls were breached and through them poured screaming hordes of night runners. About to be overrun, the survivors formed a last stand against the thousands that threatened to end their existence. Inexplicably, the night runners, who were on the verge of taking one of the last vestiges of humanity, departed, carrying the limp body of Lynn with them.

Senior year is finally over. After all they've been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they're just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan's uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice they're being followed...and photographed. Then Dan starts receiving messages from someone he didn't expect to hear from again - someone who died last Halloween.

Eddie Carroll is sick to death of editing the collection America's Best New Horror, sick of reading through second-rate stories in order to find the few "best new". But one afternoon he stumbles across a new story so remarkable that he soon embarks on a quixotic quest to find its author - a quest he may not live to regret.

With supplies running low and animals scarce, not even the freezing zombies can make the future look bright for Axl's group. And as the snow grows deeper, Vivian's concern for Hadley and Jon only becomes more intense. Each day seems to bring more challenges, and every week that passes with no sign of their friends makes it more difficult for the group to believe life can ever return to normal.

Created as an homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley, this collection contains 12 original novelettes showcasing today’s top horror talent. Dark Stars features all-new stories from award-winning authors and up-and-coming voices like Stephen Graham Jones, Priya Sharma, Usman T. Malik, Caroline Kepnes, and Alma Katsu, with seasoned author John F.D. Taff at the helm. An afterword from original Dark Forces contributor Ramsey Campbell is a poignant finale to this bone-chilling collection.

Anne Rice, creator of the Vampire Lestat, the Mayfair witches and the amazing worlds they inhabit, now gives us the first in a new series of novels linked together by the fledgling vampire David Talbot, who has set out to become a chronicler of his fellow Undead. The novel opens in present-day Paris in a crowded café, where David meets Pandora. She is two thousand years old, a Child of the Millennia, the first vampire ever made by the great Marius. David persuades her to tell the story of her life.

The Bram Stoker Award-Winning saga continues… Matthew Maule has seen many horrific things in his 500 years as one of the most powerful vampires in the world. But even his formidable talents cannot predict the unthinkable acts about to occur within his own home. When the vampire Dickon and his human partner appear in the middle of the night frightened for their lives, Matthew offers them protection. They carry with them a small Egyptian statue of great value and many secrets.

"A bite or scratch will turn the victims to one of the infected within 72 hours..." Those words rang in Evan Berry's head. Waking to discover he'd been scratched was a death sentence. Deciding that he would not force Carl or Betty to have to put him down after he turned, Evan said farewell to his group and slipped out in the middle of the night. Deciding that he would make one last run in the hopes that he could bring back enough supplies for his beloved Newfoundland, Chewie, Evan embarks on a quest that will show him just how fast and far society has fallen.

Quirky, clumsy and brutally honest Leah, kicks a wolf in the face and shatters her entire world as she knows it. Among the pieces, she discovers why she is overprotected. Why she is hated and loved. In the process, she rekindles a schoolgirl crush. But the wolf wants her. He's tasted her blood.

Dark clouds gather... A storm is breaking... With the sanctuary built, there is a respite from the nightly night runner assaults. Jack Walker and the group of survivors have bought themselves a little breathing room. Or have they? A peaceful daytime outing turns into yet another nightmare sweeping Robert and Bri up with it. The world has changed. Another danger has emerged. Ferocious packs of night runners still prowl at night and Jack must now locate and rescue his kids.

Awareness grows... The gathering commences.... The world has changed. Jack Walker and the other survivors must adjust with it if they are to have a chance. They've managed to stay one step ahead so far but the gap is narrowing. The night runners are growing and adapting. The rules are changing. Winter is coming and the survivors must ready themselves for the long season. With Robert and Bri rescued from captivity, Jack focuses on the days ahead.

The dead have risen, and they are hungry. They are tough, they are lethal, and they are everywhere. Savage packs of the undead wander the world, feeding on the living. And they are getting stronger... In Brattleboro, Vermont, John Mason and his beautiful young wife Sara believe that family can survive anything. When the apocalypse arrives they pack food, clothing, and weapons, then hit the road with their dog seeking refuge in the mountains of John's youth.