Showing results for "Stories" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Conthan's only talents are sarcasm and art. That is, until he learns he's a Child of Nostradamus with the ability to teleport. When his newfound powers kill a Marine, he finds himself hunted by the military's elite. He is not the only one in danger. Conthan discovers his future entwined with a warden bent on corrupting imprisoned Children. As he unravels a conspiracy about to destroy the country, will he sacrifice his humanity to become a hero?

Darkness chased him his whole life. Now, he sees it as his only guide. Colter Cain, tormented by unknown adversaries, stumbles into a life he never expected. Dovelets Academy of the Astrological Arts, a hidden haven for practitioners of the astrological order, reveals a shocking truth: Colter is...

Trans sailor Darragh Thorn has made a comfortable life for himself among people who love and accept him. Ten years after his exile from home, though, his sister asks him to reconcile with their ailing father. Determined to resolve his feelings rather than just survive them, Darragh sets off on a quest to find the one person who can heal a half-dead man: the mysterious enchanter who once gave him the magic he needed to become his true self. 

This remarkable novel begins in 1850s Louisiana, where Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who "shares the blood" by two women there, Gilda spends the next 200 years searching for a place to call home. An instant lesbian classic when it was first published in 1991, The Gilda Stories has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of blackness, radical ecology, re-definitions of family, and yes, the erotic potential of the vampire story.

See Critical Role’s Mighty Nein through the eyes of nine of their friends and foes in this new anthology, with a foreword by Taliesin Jaffe. In these nine stories, the legend of the mighty adventuring party grows with tales from some of the most memorable characters who fought with – and...

Brought to you by Penguin. Celebrate a decade of Critical Role with this anthology featuring the perspectives of ten characters who fought alongside – and against – Vox Machina, with a foreword by cast member Liam O’Brien. In these ten stories, see the legendary adventuring party anew...

'Thoughtful and absorbing' THE GUARDIAN 'Devastating and hopeful M.A. KUZNIAR 'A very special book' GARETH BROWN LESS THAN HUMAN. MORE THAN MACHINE. As the world falls apart around them, piece by piece, Abigail Fuller spends humanity's final days looking after her husband David. But that's not...

There was once, long ago, a foolish king who decreed that women should not, and would not, inherit. Thus when a girl-child was born to Lord Cador - Merlin-enchanted fighter of dragons and Earl of Cornwall - he secreted her away: to be raised a boy so that the family land and honour would remain intact. That child’s name was Silence. Silence must find their own place in a medieval world that is determined to place the many restrictions of gender and class upon them. With dreams of knighthood and a lonely heart to answer, Silence sets out to define themselves.

When my family finally left our little close-minded pack back in Utah to join a huge progressive pack in Northwest Louisiana, I thought I’d finally be free of the chains of judgment, scrutiny, and homophobia that had tainted my life. But when the Alpha’s son rejects my sister as his fated mate on our very first day at Blackstone Academy, his callousness and stupidity kick off a chain of events that embroils us both in the drama we wanted to avoid. It also entangles me with the Alpha Heir’s best friend, Thad James, and I can’t seem to fight my attraction to him.

** LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 ** Brought to you by Penguin. From 'one of the most gifted writers working today' (New York Times) comes an audacious new novel about the bodies we live in and the bodies we desire In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love...

Sebastian survived an entire year on the run from the supernatural. Then he met Liam, his fated mate and alpha werewolf, and thought maybe he’d found a home. Until the fae come calling. They want control of Seb’s power, even if that means eliminating Liam to get it. When a trick leaves Seb in trouble with the werewolves, the military, and the fae, he fears his only option is to run. Except Seb is done running. He will stop at nothing to keep Liam by his side, even if it means letting his beast loose on them all.

A fresh-faced newcomer arrives in an isolated, gang-run town and soon finds herself taking a job nobody else wants: bodyguard to a ghoul. Not just your average mindless, half-rotted shuffler, though. Lucille is a dancer who can still put on her own lipstick and whose shows are half burlesque, half gladiator match. But the stranger is no stranger to this particular ghoul. Both women are undercover in their own way. And both have something to lose if their connection comes to light.

All Bea’s done is make mistakes. Now her friends are paying the price…Once upon a time, a lowly cabbage fairy ran away to Ӕnathlin, the last surviving city of the fae, centre of the stories, and home of the General Administration. She was going to be the first fairy to become a godmother and run the best Plots anyone had ever seen.

In a world where logic meets the extraordinary, Tamara, a brilliant forensic scientist, discovers a mysterious purple plant that blesses her with superhuman abilities, including invisibility. Teaming up with her best friend, Annalise, a passionate FBI agent haunted by scars from her past, the two friends embark on a quest to bring down a brutal serial killer known only as The Hunter. As the danger intensifies, their bond deepens, and secrets are revealed. Will Tamara and Annalise finally admit to their feelings despite being polar opposites?

A trip to the library prompts one woman to question her fate in this galvanizing short story. For a woman like Hadley, deemed not acceptable to procreate, there’s only one recourse. Unlicensed for motherhood, she can alleviate her grief and frustration at a “baby library,” where a curiously endless supply of infants is available for a two-week loan. But the borrowed life that serves as a temporary balm leads to a journey of self-discovery that will forever change the direction of Hadley’s future.

All Sebastian ever wanted was a place to call home. Bound to Liam, his fated mate, and nestled in the center of a werewolf pack, he’s found one. However, opening portals filled with monsters in his sleep, Sebastian’s power is a wild thing he’s unable to control. And it’s slowly destroying him. He never asked to be part fae, or for any of their magic. Now something dark is creeping through the pack bonds, bringing unrest and chaos. Desperate to find a safe way to release the churning well of power inside Seb, the pair venture into Underhill, the abandoned land of the fae.

Divine bureaucracy. Queer grief. One Seer just trying not to explode on company time. The gods didn’t retire. They unionised. Meet Juno seer-class, divine-adjacent, and one decision away from a disciplinary on any given Tuesday. Welcome to the Company, an oh-so-British bureaucracy that files incident reports on eldritch hazards, negotiates with divine egos, and keeps the magic-adjacent digital paperwork.

Sadie "the Goat" Ferrell is one of the criminal superstars of the gangs of New York. Gallus Mag is her mortal enemy…and in an epic bar fight Gallus Mag bites off Sadie's ear — and puts it in the pickle jar of other ears she has bitten off! — as the bouncer for the Hole-in-the-Wall bar in the notorious Fourth Ward.

When half-human Kai Schiffer steps into the Interstices—the post-creation gaps between realms—his supernatural half kicks in, and he literally disappears unless…well, don’t ask. But in a stroke (heh) of good fortune, Kai finally has a chance to show his face (and other parts, stars willing) to his long-time crush Jovan Kos—Interstitial Law Enforcement agent, wolf warrior, occasional berserker, and best man at their mutual best friends’ Imbolc wedding. Jovan is grateful his best man duties are light enough that he can focus on Kai. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Lately my straight best friend has been very… handsy, which is killing me because I’ve been in love with the idiot for years. I love my best friend, I always have, but I never wanted him to realize just how much. He’s never seemed to notice before, but since he broke up with his girlfriend, he’s been really clingy. Like way more than I’ve ever seen. I love it. And it’s killing me. What I really want is all those cuddles and sweet touches to mean more than they do. I have to keep reminding my heart that everything Haiden is doing is platonic, even if it feels like it isn’t.