World Fiction

When an accident kicks Sean Lawrence forward in time, he finds himself square in the apocalyptic end-times. The world is doomed, and he only has a mysterious guidebook, a leather jacket, and a homemade knife to keep him company. He could spend his days grinding low-level mobs, gathering rat pelts, and waiting for a chance to escape. Or he could rise up, slay dragons, and fight against the odds. Faced with a choice between the dead-end life he's been living and the possibility of greatness, Sean has to decide if he's willing to risk his life and more for a chance to save Earth itself.

I run a multibillion-dollar retail conglomerate and pull strings most CEOs can only dream of. Winning is second nature. Chasing more is in my blood. My secret weapon? My virtual assistant of several years, Taylor Mitchell. He keeps my life in perfect order, and I trust him implicitly, which is why I gifted him a lavish weekend at my house on Saint Aurelle Island. I didn’t plan on dropping by unannounced, but when the chance to finally meet him arises, I jump on it. Imagine my surprise when I find Taylor’s beautiful sister, Eleanor, in his place.

From modern literature to menopause, from utopian thought to rodeos - in this classic collection of essays, Ursula K. Le Guin roves with her customary audacity over the intersecting arenas of literature, feminism, and social responsibility, exploding any received notions she comes across and revealing visionary possibilities in their stead.

When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity. Cloning, feel-good drugs, anti-aging programs, and total social control through politics, programming, and media: has Aldous Huxley accurately predicted our future? With a storyteller's genius, he weaves these ethical controversies in a compelling narrative that dawns in the year 632 A.F. (After Ford, the deity). When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity.

While Art Turner and the men of USS Bull Shark struggle in the Pacific against the Japanese and against their own inner demons, Captain Pat Jarvis and the men of USs Megalodon have a German tiger by the tail in the Caribbean… and it’s only a matter of time before he rips them to pieces.

Storme and Gareth begin their first year at the Academy in Hen's Hollow, guided by some exceptional instructors. During his time, Storme experiences remarkable growth in both his martial and magical skills. However, Skyholme will face turbulence as the seed of corruption sprouts and forces the pair to confront it.

En route to save the last of the enslaved elves, Arc and Arianne find themselves having to fight their way through ogres, monsters, and even a demon pirate when Arc's poor sense of direction gets them lost. None of these obstacles, however, compare to what awaits them when they finally reach the Holy Revlon Empire--a beast unlike anything they've ever faced: the five-headed hydra!

Kaiya chased her dream all the way to LA, never expecting to fall into the orbit of Jihoon—a KPop Idol who lives his life under the relentless glare of the spotlight. But the more her feelings for Jihoon grow, the less certain she is about what she wants. As the demands of Jihoon's fame and the intense scrutiny of the public eye threaten to destroy what they've built, Jihoon and Kaiya must decide: Is their love worth the cost? Or will they always be a world apart?

Rose Winter has enough problems. With a marriage going down the tubes and a dreaded anniversary party on the horizon, the last thing she needs is the zombie apocalypse. She wanted to get drunk and sing karaoke, not murder her undead neighbors. It’s clear the party’s over, however, now Rose has more problems - a missing husband, an overbearing houseguest, and keeping her family alive.

The system came. The apocalypse ended. Now new worlds have merged with Earth. For Bain Lee, it means leveling his Ocularist class beyond its previous limits. With this strange class and the ability to see into the inner workings of the system, he may find the magic skills needed to earn his redemption. Not only that, but he might discover the secret behind the system itself.

Reunited with her sister at last, Louisa settles in colonial Virginia, but an unexpected visitor throws life into turmoil once again by offering Valerie and Louisa an opportunity to return to the future. Before the sisters have a chance to make a decision, the unthinkable happens, ripping the family apart and scattering them over continents and time itself.

Why are many readers drawn to stories that texture ethnic experiences and identities other than their own? How do authors such as Salman Rushdie and Maxine Hong Kingston, or filmmakers in Bollywood or Mexico City produce complex fiction that satisfies audiences worldwide? In Analyzing World Fiction, 15 renowned luminaries use tools of narratology and insights from cognitive science and neurobiology to provide answers to these questions and more.

The silver light that had been flowing freely between the branches became softer and less bright as they walked, and the light surrounding them got darker. Lian could see that the Lumerin's brightness was fading, even though it tried hard to stay bright. Its wings twitched as if it were experiencing the burden of the losing force. The Lumerin smiled at him when he asked how he was doing and told him that although if guardians of light faded when the magical world was in trouble, hope and courage always brought them back to life.

Valens is the youngest Life Archmagus the Empire has ever seen. His mastery over Resonance allows him to hear the frequencies of the world and correct them, healing even the deepest wounds. Yet he could do so much more, if only it weren't forbidden—the little he can practice must be done away from prying eyes. So when an ancient ritual promises to reveal the truth behind it all, he leaps at the chance.

A classic series for a new generation of fantasy adventure fans, Thieves' World® paved the way for the shared-world anthology tradition with epic worldbuilding, unforgettable characters, and nonstop action thanks to the legendary authors who contribute to it.

A gamer falls asleep—only to wake up in the world of the game he was playing! Arc has the powerful skills and weapons of his character, but there's just one problem... he's stuck looking like that character, too. An adventure in a fantastical new land awaits him, if he can get used to being a walking skeleton!

Before The Road by Cormac McCarthy brought apocalyptic fiction into the mainstream, there was science fiction. No longer relegated to the fringes of literature, this explosive collection of the world’s best apocalyptic writers brings the inventors of alien invasions, devastating meteors, doomsday scenarios, and all-out nuclear war back to with a bang. The best writers of the early 1900s were the first to flood New York with tidal waves, destroy Illinois with alien invaders, paralyze Washington with meteors, and lay waste to the Midwest with nuclear fallout.

Italy, 1937. In a tiny village in rural Lombardy, Graziella Ponti is born into a loving family. Though they are not rich and life is full of challenges, Graziella and her family are content and safe, surrounded by the tightly knit community of Pieve Santa Clara. But when the shadow of World War Two falls across the village with the arrival of Nazi soldiers, nothing in young Graziella’s life will ever be the same again.

An attitude? Why not? After all, what would you do if you were abducted by aliens and transported into a strange new universe away from your home, your family - everything familiar to you? Would it make you happy? Not likely! Now imagine you're stronger, faster, and more coordinated than every alien species you encounter. Would you start kicking some ass? Of course you would! This is the story of human superiority in the galaxy, a gritty, realistic profile of a young Navy SEAL who doesn't like aliens very much - and he makes them pay for the bad mood he's in.

Kousuke suddenly wakes up alone in a vast forest that clearly isn't anywhere on Earth. Now he has to find some way to eat, drink, and survive! Luckily, Kousuke also has the power to craft using a special video game menu that allows him to harvest resources and build whatever he can imagine. However, every time he goes to sleep, he's attacked by one of the many non-human races of this world, all of whom despise humankind. Enter Silphy, the beautiful dark elf who lays claim to Kousuke and vows to protect him--after all, she's taken him as her property!