Showing results for "Volume 2" in Dark Fantasy

In an era in which ancient gods live in the world’s cities together with their mortal followers, forming tight-knit guilds and powerful temples, the disfigured ash-caster and blacksmith Hineni has lived his entire life as a reclusive outcast. Hidden away behind layers of clothing and just as many walls and doors, he only ever leaves the house in the dead of night, so that neither the gods or anyone else can ever see him.

The chains around my wrists are gone. The doors once locking me in, unbolted. But I'm as far from free as could be. My magic has been stolen, and my power and freedom are held ransom by my ruthless coven leader. Grayson's obsession with furthering the Arcane bloodline, and his unrelenting desire to complete a dangerous spell, returning magic to the world, has consumed him. He is ready to destroy anyone who gets in his way. His brother, his coven, even me. No one is safe.

In a world upended by the whims of the [Admin], all of humanity has been forced into a brutal game of survival. Nick is more than just another man: he's a man who saw the ending and used a wish to travel back in time. His story has started over. Following his escape from the Manhattan Rooftops, he must next fight against the Ancient Mariner of Central Island and the hoard of undead that the Ancient Mariner commands. The survivors are under attack, and all eyes are on Nick to make sure they survive to see the next challenge.

While she fights fellow horrors outside the city's walls, her family suffers threats from within them. Yet surely there's no problem power can't solve...and if there's one thing eating souls is good for, it's power.

A soldier returning from war is supposed to be a time of peace and relaxation. But that just isn’t the case for Lost Lord Max Fowler. The weight and responsibility of his title push Max to new challenges, larger battles, and more magic. There’s always a threat around the corner, especially as winter nears and monsters start to surge, renowned organizations start to show their true colors, and those who wish to destroy start looking for targets.

Harry Keogh, the Necroscope, the man who can talk to the dead, and Earth's greatest vampire hunter, has been searching for his wife and infant son gone missing during Harry's war against the vampires. This obsession has left him open to subtle influence by an ancient vampire, Radu. Entombed in amber, trapped in undeath, Radu plans for his resurrection and plots the destruction of other vampires who might challenge his supremacy.

To the church, she is a heretic, tried in absentia and sentenced to burn. To her brother, Carlo, she stands as a threat to his corrupt rule and a symbol of resistance. To her new "allies" in the East, she is a pawn to be played and sacrificed as they see fit. They don't hear the whispers that follow her in the streets: whispers of hope and the name of a long-dead saint. When Livia rises up to fight, she will not rise alone.

After rescuing my father from Kalidan's Mage Tower and eradicating the council, we sought to head to Eylsarin and seek sanctuary with the elves. But the Archon was one step ahead and caught up to us before we could flee the country. Now, I stand accused of murder, not to mention treason. A twisted kind of luck remains on my side, however, as the Archon has need of a man with my skills.

Is there truth to the rumors about the huge man-apes of the Nepalese Himalayas—and are the fabled yetis truly as gentle and enlightened as the local monks claim? Can the creature that pretty Cousin Olivia and her friends glimpsed in Sherwood Forest actually be a unicorn, as described in biblical texts and the work of Galileo? Can the Germanic myth of kobolds—house spirits—and especially the Klaubautermann, which lives onboard ships, hold any truth? Is it really dangerous for one of them to be seen by its ship’s crew? And what really causes earthquakes in remote Iceland?

Vampires: murderous creatures in the shape of humans, they stalk the night feeding on the blood of innocents. Seemingly immortal, they can be destroyed only by the use of a stake through the heart, severing of their heads, or exposure to sunlight. By the year AD 12,090, vampires have ruled the Earth for almost 300 years, and it is only these weaknesses that have kept these foul monsters from totally overrunning the world. But what happens when those rules no longer apply?

Gunnar and Anwyn are thrust into the Echo Realm—a deadly dimension where trust is a luxury and every move could be their last. With time slipping through their fingers, they must defy the odds, or risk losing everything—including each other. Can their love withstand the storm, or will they be torn apart by the very forces they seek to destroy?

Seabury Quinn's short stories were featured in well more than half of Weird Tales' original publication run. His most famous character, the supernatural French detective Dr. Jules de Grandin, investigated cases involving monsters, devil worshippers, serial killers, and spirits from beyond the grave, often set in the small town of Harrisonville, New Jersey. Collected for the first time, The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin, edited by George Vanderburgh, presents all 93 published works featuring the supernatural detective.

Hannah is not human, and she's not sure what will happen when she stops pretending otherwise. Still stuck in a slowly mutating body on Earth and still waking up in a fantasy world whenever she sleeps, Hannah's stress continues to mount every single day. As magic continues to spread to her friends—whether they like it or not—Hannah is forced to confront what that magic means about her and what her terrifying Goddess wants her to do with it.

Rentt Faina has achieved Existential Evolution, evolving from a skeleton into a ghoul. His next objective: rising the ranks and becoming a Copper-class adventurer! But to do so, Rentt must face his next greatest challenge . . . A written test?! Using his years of wisdom and the help of two companions, Rentt tackles the challenge head-on. But the worst is yet to come as Rentt finds himself in yet another pickle as he tries to prove his innocence to none other than trusted guild member, Sheila, as she raises concerns over his potential involvement in a recent string of adventurer disappearances.

Ken and Anna settle into their new family life and take an active part in the Celestean royal succession, all while continuing his work to make Eternal Legacy Online a better place. While Ken travels overseas to explore Al’Katrap, the home of the Gnomes, Eleanor finds herself caught between two worlds in her attempt to upload into the game. With the Queendom up for grabs, it’s a cutthroat battle for the throne.

The supernatural, the surreal, and the all-too real . . . tales of the dark. Such stories have always fascinated us, and modern authors carry on the disquieting traditions of the past while inventing imaginative new ways to unsettle us. Chosen from a wide variety of venues, these stories are as eclectic and varied as shadows. This volume of The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror offers tales from some of today's finest writers of the fantastique. Sure to delight as well as disturb!

The Tower of Isaiah grows in might; Its master flourishes much the same. Adventurers flock from around the nation to be able to reap the seeds that Isaiah has sown in the world, earning themselves much glory and wealth and, in turn, earning the divine entity, Isaiah, much renown. However, this new glory is not without downsides. The Holy-Church, threatened by Isaiah’s presence in the world, begins to make moves alongside the cruel, strange Witch Perchta, who holds a deep resentment towards Isaiah for her misgivings about their past that she is unable to forgive.

He's the ass-kicking, wise-cracking, hard-drinking demon hunter you never knew you needed. He's Quincy Harker, and he's here to save your ass whether you want it or not. The immortal magic-wielding son of Jonathan Harker and Mina Murray from the classic novel Dracula, Harker now lives in North Carolina hunting down demons and sending them back to Hell. This Omnibus Edition collects the first 12 novellas in the Quincy Harker series.

The year is 2076, and mankind has perfected VR technology using the Chip, an implant that interfaces directly with the human brain, using it like an organic computer. Age of Anarchy Online (AAO) is the newest game released by Icestorm, makers of the legendary World of Destiny (WoD). Unlike VR games before it, AAO promises a 110 percent “Better Than Life” realism experience, and to showcase this, Icestorm announces that AAO will have no “Out of Character” rules, save for actions like hacking or exploiting system errors.

Vampires: murderous creatures in the shape of humans, they stalk the night feeding on the blood of innocents. Seemingly immortal, they can be destroyed only by the use of a stake through the heart, severing of their heads, or exposure to sunlight. By the year 12,090 A.D. vampires have ruled the Earth for almost 300 years, and it is only these weaknesses that have kept these foul monsters from totally overrunning the world.