Plant Fiction

H Is for Hell is the eighth book in an epic series of 26 horror anthologies. In this book, you will find a collection of 13 horrific tales from some of the most talented independent horror writers on the scene today. Each tale brings to life a different vision of Hell, each unlike anything you have heard before. H Is for Hell will take you to the depths of the Underworld, and you may not return unscathed.

Trees are storehouses of the complex origins and histories of city growth, coming as they do from different parts of the world, brought in by various local and colonial rulers. From the tree planted by Sarojini Naidu at Dehradun's clock tower to those planted by Sher Shah Suri and Jahangir on Grand Trunk Road, trees in India have served, above all, as memory keepers. They are our roots: Their trunks our pillars, their bark our texture, and their branches our shade. Trees are nature's own museums.

What may we become? How will we endure? The future is a daunting realm, filled with real and imagined perils. So enter it prepared! Here are vivid tales about possible tomorrows, from the keen eye and colorful pen of David Brin, a modern master of speculative fiction.

The CIA's most valuable assassin, Agent J.D. Mikel, wasn't supposed to fall in love with anyone - especially not Kate Morningside, a woman coveted by another powerful world player. When Kate is kidnapped, J.D. is pulled into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, and one false move could cost him everything. Indeed, there are players - and then there are the masters who make the rules, only to break them.

Mike and his wife Lisa - both covert assets of the International Market Stabilization Institute, a privately funded organization operating outside official channels to protect North America's financial interests - are sent to Russia after an attempt on their superior officer's life. It is a mission fraught with peril and one that becomes exponentially more dangerous when their covers are blown within hours of setting foot in Moscow.

Miss Mary Morstan has been receiving pearls and she knows not why or from whom. Now she receives something else: a letter that promises to reveal the mystery and to "right the wrongs" against her. "If you distrust me," continued the correspondent, "bring two friends." She brings Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

Television host and organic gardener Louise Eldridge welcomes old friend Jay McCormick to Washington, D.C. When McCormick is found face down in a fish pond, Louise uncovers a plot that includes Washington's power brokers.

The catastrophic Purge War at the end of the 21st century destroys planet Earth, jeopardizing the future for the remnants of humanity. Horrific repercussions roll across the ages until, generations later, a scientific group called the Time Forward Project harnesses a deep-space wormhole in which they can travel through time. They find the portal unstable and shrinking, but they have little choice but to take desperate, drastic measures and journey back to prevent the war.

Meet Nancy Youngblood, a blithe and vivid heroine of an investigating disposition. When Nancy inherits a minor interest in a factory soon to become vital to the winning of World War II, she sees it as a chance to get closer to Robert Dalhart, who has taken over the factory on his father's death. Nancy has always loved him but because they grew up together on the same block Robert thinks of her as a kid sister. But soon sabotage, murder, and strikes threaten the plant and Robert - who evidence suggests may be the culprit, perhaps as an agent of the German government.

Recent retiree Ruth Singer is reflecting on her life and wondering what direction it might have taken if she'd made different choices. What if she'd had her tubes tied before her difficult youngest child was born? What if she'd run off with Danny Fortuna when she'd had the chance? Not only does Ruth ponder these questions, she lives those what-if lives in her imagination. As the chaos of her real life swirls around her, she contemplates the roads she never took, the choices she never made, and comes to understand how she became the woman she is - and why.

Ben Seidel wasn't sure how serious they were when he and his wife, Shira, discussed having an open marriage. But when Shira announces that she is going on a date with Liz, any ambiguity evaporates. Suddenly, every day is new terrain for Ben, navigating between keeping things together with Shira and exploring new partners. And when one of those new partners begins to matter to him more than he ever anticipated, he discovers that the complexities of this new life are only just beginning.

1979 Iran: Hours before the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty, eight American-trained SAVAK intelligence officers defect to the United States carrying with them a secret that could one day propel Iran to the rank of superpower. 2018 United States: When another series of peace talks over Iran's nuclear program fails and a rogue Iranian general flees to Greece to meet with a high-ranking CIA officer, the Iranian Supreme Leader, who's determined to redraw the map of the Middle East, orders the execution of an operation decades in the making.

As a child, Annie Baskin envied her older sister. Sarah was beautiful, smart, popular, and contemptuous of her messy, graceless kid sister. Annie grew up in Sarah’s shadow, knowing she was second-tier, second-rate, an also-ran. The other Baskin girl.

Jimmy Kozlowski has a regular gig playing Paul McCartney in the Beatles tribute band Help!. The band is part of a cottage industry built around mimicry, where each group strives to be the ultimate Fake Fab Four. And none strives harder than Help!, thanks to Gene Klein, its John Lennon and leader. Gene's just gotten his Medicare card and spends much of his time caring for his ailing mother. But he hasn't lost a step on guitar or vocals and is determined to take Help! to the top, his goal being to perform in Liverpool one day.

The Mozinskis experience music like no family you've ever met. Struggling musicians Vincent Mozinski and Grace Klinefelter marry in the early 1960s, drawn together by the shared ability to see the music they play. The two pass this unique skill along to their ever-growing family of musical prodigies: Clara, Ellington, Bix, Allegro, Thelonious, and Viola. After the children record a radio commercial for a local business, Vincent realizes the best chance of achieving his dream of musical stardom is with and through his children.

Jesse Sienna doesn't believe that love can last. His parents' marriage was caring but passionless, and his own romantic history tells him that love can burn bright, but that it cannot burn for long. So when his elderly father, Mickey, moves in with him and seems unable to understand Jesse's no-strings-attached relationship with Marina, his current girlfriend, Jesse barely pays attention. It's just another example of how different they are - and more evidence that he and his father will never connect on any meaningful level.

Rick and Abby grew up together, became best friends, and ultimately fell in love. Circumstance tore them apart in their early teens, though, and they went on to lives less idyllic than they dreamed about in those early days. Rick has had a very successful career, but his marriage flat-lined. Abby has a magical daughter, Paige, but Paige's father nearly destroyed Abby's spirit.

Imagine the mid-1980s, last day of school, summer break. A teen rushes to meet his mother, who is being released from the hospital after cancer surgery. When the teen arrives, he finds out his mother is dead, but his ex-gangbanging dad, who's been in jail the last eight years, is at the hospital, ready to take the teen home. Mendel is a coming-of-age story about a high school senior who must learn how to forgive as he navigates life without his mother. To honor his mother, he joins Mendel's track team, but his father's thuggish past catches up with them.

Mina Kane’s next undercover op is of the green thumb variety. Tasked to break into a penthouse at the tip-top of a megascraper and air-meld incriminating data on a hydro-shipping mogul, Mina must first pose as an apt gardener who knows a thing or two about roses. The only problem is the rookie’s along for the ride, and he’s a pro at making everything more difficult than it has to be.

When a woman claiming to possess an unearthly connection to plant-life dies mysteriously, her sister becomes compelled to put to rest unanswered questions in the matter and begins an investigation of the plant/human communication phenomenon. Her shocking conclusion is that her sister's house-plants are not only cogent key-witnesses to her murder, but may be atte.mpting to warn her that she is in similar danger.