Science Fiction Monsters

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.

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.

Ryker Hayes is a licensed massage therapist, and a damn good one at that. It's a career he's passionate about, and all his plans for life are on track—until he winds up transported to the world of Werifesteria in the body of an infamous warlord, at least. Now all he really wants to do is forget the misdeeds of his alter ego and retire to a life of anonymity with a couple interesting women as his new partners. Together, they open the very first massage inn and spa in all the land, and take on all the responsibilities that come with it. Turns out, it's a lot of work!

Something really strange is happening in the City by the Bay. People are dying, but their souls are not being collected. Someone - or something - is stealing them. No one knows where they are going or why, but it has something to do with that big orange bridge. Death merchant Charlie Asher is just as flummoxed as everyone else.

Enter a land of wizards, warriors, mythical creatures and powerful Magic in an exciting fantasy adventure. Wish and Xar are outlaws on the run, hunted by Warriors, Wizards and, worst of all, Witches.... Can they find the ingredients for the spell to get rid of Witches before the Kingwitch gets his talons on the Magic-that-Works-on-Iron? Their next Quest is the most terrifying and treacherous of all...and someone is going to betray them. Are you ready to Knock Three Times?

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.

Sorcha has spent her life helping raise her many siblings but now finally has the chance to seek her own adventures. At least, she did, before she was snatched from her horse and peddled by slavers. Taken far from home, she's brought to the worst place imaginable—the craggy western mountains infested with brutal, brutish orcs. All humans know to fear them and stay away, and now she's been sold to the cruelest clan chief of them all. But the first orc she meets is nothing like the stories. He's gentle. He frees her.

Getting stuck in the hockey locker room was not how I envisioned catching my next story. After a fateful encounter with two of the hottest players in the NMHL, I'm swept into an unforgettable first date.

Beast. Creature. Monster. Dangerous. All of these things have been said about Gren. Willa doesn't believe it, though. She knows that monsters can sometimes come in appealing packages. She knows that for all of his snarls and fearsome appearance, he'd never hurt her. And she knows she has to get Gren away from the Icehome camp, because no one will ever see him as a person, not when he attacks all who come close. Not when he's tied and treated like an animal.

The God of Death is tired of dealing with the living, so he’s decided everyone should die. And he’s found allies. The Berru, an empire of dark mages, has unleashed a terrifying army of monstrous lyksvight upon everyone with a pulse. While the wealthy and powerful, the kings and queens, abandon the dying world, one group of misfits says no more. Through dogged determination and the ability to bind souls to their dead bodies, Aaslo and his friends fight on.

Max Best is not living his—ahem—best life. His job's a drag, his home's a shooting gallery, his hopes are nil, and lately, even his beloved game of football has devolved from a chaotic, ecstatic delight into a cold, calculating equation complete with stats, tech terms, and mindless lingo. But then Max rescues a mysterious old man from a mugging. "Nick" seems friendly enough . . . until he innocently asks his savior, "Would you sell your soul to be a top football manager?" Naturally, Max says yes, and in that instant, everything changes.

The Battle of the Second Slayer is won, but peace in Dúramair is short-lived. Ylvain's darkling elementals still roam the kingdom in a violent storm, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake. Even Faer Dinnán, the faerie king, is fading, and unless the darklings are stopped soon, all of Dúramair will find itself in mortal danger. It falls to Alyen and the new Trianid to stem this evil and restore balance before all hope of victory is lost. But soon Alyen finds herself facing more than just the storm.

In the second book of this series, a forest monster shows up looking for help with an embarrassing problem, and Zoey is sure it will be a simple fix. But her first two tries at helping him fail, and she has a sobbing monster on her hands! Will Zoey and Sassafras solve the problem in time for Gorp to go to the annual Monster Ball?

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.

Tired of the necromancer threat, Regan increases efforts to deal with them at their heart of power in the north. Seemingly aware of his presence, the monster horde continues to grow until finally they charge the valley. Steel Spire, one of Regan's sub-core ends up attracting their attention. Will his new inventions be able to handle the mass of monsters? Meanwhile, Louella has her own monster horde to deal with. Enlisting the aid of the adventurers that have come to her valley, she marshals a force to meet the horde on the battlefield.

Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Luca is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta, and endless scooter rides. Luca shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply held secret: They are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.

Ben and Mira have driven the orcs off the deer women’s island, but the question is not if the orcs will return, but when. As if the orcs weren’t bad enough, Ben spots a simultaneously new and ancient enemy on the horizon.

When an unexpected betrayal steals our sanctuary, only unity will save us. I trusted Michael and he betrayed us. With our sanctuary destroyed, we're on the run. Again. Shem and his watchers' step into the role of protectors once again but keeping a whole colony safe topside won't be easy. New threats stalk both day and night. The rules have changed. Time is running out. And for some of us, this journey will be the end of the road.

A towering genius who'd already solved the problem of death by making memory recording possible, Cassia leads a team of scientists and problem solvers to a station floating in the harsh winds of Saturn. Their mission: to grow interstellar ships using nanobots in the planet's material-rich environment. She called them "monsters" to help sell the project to a skeptical public. Little did she know how prophetic that name would become.

Dolli had a very hands-off approach to ruling her once booming village. She preferred to use her alchemical skills to brew a nice cup of tea and keep whiny petitioners off her lawn with Wendigo repellant. But she pays the price for her apathy when her neglected village transforms into a Dungeon, making it fair game for any Hero with a lust for loot.