Science Fiction Monsters

A little over four months has passed since Desmond McLaughlin was physically yanked from his home and thrown to the mercy of a conquering alien empire when they demanded he be handed over for training as he was an ‘Adept’, one of the few able to harness the power of magic in the universe. During that time, he has learned how to manipulate mana and made several friends amongst the aliens whose culture he was now immersed in. And one lover.

It’s not easy making the career jump from office-supplies-store middle manager to heroic interdimensional adventurer. At least, Jason tries to be heroic, but it's hard to be good when all your powers are evil. He’ll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters...and that’s just on the first day. He’s going to need courage, he’s going to need wit, and he’s going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, he’s going to need pants.

For all that Jason knows, life is amazing. But he's about to learn that all his new power, wealth, and influence comes at a price. Riding high on success, he and his team are looking to the future, preparing themselves for the challenges to come. Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the lessons his enemies have to teach. When magic is involved, the stakes can be even greater than life and death. While Jason’s personal enemies make plans, the greater foes plaguing his new home have been pushed to the brink.

Jason has discovered that his homeworld is not what he thought. What’s more, the rest of the planet is on the precipice of sharing his revelation. With magic on the rise and forces pulling him in multiple directions, Jason is faced with challenges greater than ever before. Even as his power reaches new and incredible heights, he is faced with the realization that going beyond his best is still not enough.

With the Builder threat behind them, the time has finally come for Jason and his team to hit the road. Eager to get back to the adventuring he’s been longing for, Jason is excited to not be at the center of world-changing events. But before he goes, one last attempt to pull him into politics has him leaving Rimaros with a strong final impression. With new places to visit and new people to meet, the remnants of recent events have scarred the land and left lingering dangers behind. It's a busy time for adventurers willing and able to fight with monsters.

Charlie Ovid, despite surviving a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn't have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When Alice Quicke, a jaded detective with her own troubled past, is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.

But Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone to compete for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer. While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before.

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

Jason and his companions managed to forestall the inexorable undead, but their battle is far from done. Both they and their enemies are scattered across a strange realm, one that someone must conquer if anyone is to get out alive. Territory by territory, factions fight to reunite their people and conquer the realm. Jason must contend with alliances he doesn’t want, friends he cannot find, and enemies ranging from angelic despots to the power of an undead god. He must face a realm that has been warped by his own mind and find a way to save a friend whose sacrifice got them this far.

In the wake of an unexpected homecoming, Jason questions if there is still a place for him in the world he left behind. Forced to confront what he has become in his time away, he feels more alien than ever. But his old world is hiding secrets that he never knew. As he starts to unravel what has been hidden from him his entire life, he discovers that not only might he fit in better than ever but he may be exactly what the world needs.

After a much longed-for reunion, Jason Asano works on moving past old traumas as he looks to a brighter future. Despite warnings of danger that awaits him, he gets back in the saddle as an adventurer, ready to tackle new challenges. But as enemies that have lurked in the background start moving into the light, those challenges are not hard to find.

Following the devastating attack on Yaresh, its people are left to pick up the pieces. The city lies in ruins, but its decimated defenders have more to deal with than just reconstruction. Jason's actions during the battle have brought unwelcome attention from allies and enemies alike. While the adventurers question his loyalty, the messengers question his very nature. Both have designs on Jason that he intends to thwart, but a danger comes to light that shifts everyone's agenda.

Jason arrives at a kingdom in peril and he's surprised to discover that it's not his job to save it. With the authorities fulfilling their responsibilities (for once), he looks forward to some quiet time to rest and recuperate. The locals might not find ceaseless monster onslaughts and an interdimensional invasion relaxing, but Jason has had a rough few years. He's doing his best to let go of his anger. While his team is caught up in duty, Jason has no shortage of people looking to interfere with his rest. Enemies—old and new—are circling, and even would-be allies are trouble.

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any "normal" friends.

The world teeters on the brink of destruction. The people who should be saving the Earth ignore Jason Asano's warnings and choose to loot the house as it burns down around them. He lacks the strength to save the world himself, but resolves to do it anyway, impossible be damned. The impossible, in this case, means seizing a power that no mortal should touch. It's a choice from which there is no turning back, and marks Jason's first step into a wider cosmos that he is not yet ready to face. Holding the fate of two worlds in his hands, Jason must decide for himself what home truly means.

Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby, the Lost Jewels of Anniera, are hiding from Gnag the Nameless in the Green Hollows, one of the few places in the land of Aerwiar not overrun by the Fangs of Dang. But there's a big problem. Janner's little brother - heir to the throne of Anniera - has grown a tail. And gray fur. Not to mention two pointed ears and long, dangerous fangs. To the suspicious folk of the Green Hollows, he looks like a monster. But Janner knows better. His brother isn't as scary as he looks. He's perfectly harmless. Isn't he?

Join Desmond as he learns to manipulate mana—a source of power that exists beyond the reach of most people in the universe—meets vastly different alien species, risks life and limb, all while trying to pass classes. If he’s lucky, he will find someone he can trust out here amongst the weird. If he's very lucky, maybe someone he can love.

Zach grew in power and thrived in the post-Framework world. He became a respected leader, a shining example of what it meant to be good. But as the world ended, he had only one thought: to punish the monster that had killed the world long before the Framework ended it. Yet not even with his incredible power was he able to stand against the World Ender. His arrival in the new realty, the Infinite Realm, gives him the chance to grow stronger, to find the monster again-and make it pay.

When Josh Underwood is thrown through a wormhole and lands on an unfamiliar world, he is immediately attacked by flesh-eating worms and snarling wolves. He has one huge advantage. A ring sits on his finger, but it's no ordinary ring. It's alien tech designed to improve its host’s strength, speed, agility, durability and combat instinct. Not all boons are infinitely wondrous. This tech has to understand what Josh needs for it to evolve, and time is of the essence.

Monster Hunter International may have had its roots in the United States of America, but there are plenty of monsters in the big old world. And wherever there are monsters, humans will need monster hunters. Here then, stories of the things that go bump in the night and the men and women who bump back—focusing on the myths, legends, and folklore of Czechia, by Czech authors. Includes a new short story by Larry Correia.