Archive for best fantasy stories
The Vampire Babylon series is a set of urban fantasy novels by Chris Marie Green. The books of this series are written in trilogies so it is not necessary that you start this series right at the beginning (although i’d suggest you do.) Each trilogy builds on a separate mythological world or mystery.
Night Rising (Book 1)
In this first book of an all-new trilogy, life proves stranger than the movies when a Hollywood underground coven of vampires comes to light-and gets targeted by the tough-as-nails daughter of a sexy screen siren.
Stuntwoman Dawn Madison hasn’t been on the best of terms with her father since her movie star mother died. Still, he is her dad, and when he vanishes while investigating the bizarre sighting-caught on film-of a supposedly long-dead child star, she comes home to Tinseltown to join the search for him. Working with his odd colleagues, she discovers an erotic and bloody underground society made up of creatures she thought existed only on the screen.
Midnight Reign (Book 2)
Dawn Madison is forced to go to Los Angeles in search of her missing father. Instead, she found a world she never thought existed – a world of murder and the living dead. In this story, a new vampire slaying lures Dawn deeper into the world of the dead, and her alliances in the sunlit world change. Now the only person she can trust is herself and her newfound skills as “a spunky vampire slayer.”
Break Of Dawn (Book 3)
Hollywood can really suck…
After facing off against the lethal Vampire Killer, Hollywood stuntwoman Dawn Madison and her friends are reeling. But for Dawn, the pain is much more personal. She’s learned more about her missing father and long-dead mother than she ever wanted to, and her conflicted feelings about both her enigmatic, never-seen boss, Jonah, and P.I. Matt Lonigan are only making things worse.
To save her father Dawn must enter the Vampire Underground, where she will encounter an unthinkable betrayal, and where the question of who is truly good and who is truly evil will become a matter of life, death—and undeath…
A Drop Of Red (Book 4)
If you run out of vampires to destroy at home, there’s always work overseas…
Hollywood stuntwoman-turned-vampire-hunter Dawn Madison, along with her comrades, managed to wipe out the Los Angeles Vampire Underground-and uncovered not only her own dark family heritage but also a terrible truth about the man she loves. Now she’s determined to find the next vampire lair, hoping it will help her to make more sense out of her life.
When a new Underground is found in England, Dawn and a vampire-fighting team are dispatched to carry the fight to the enemy in London. Dawn knows by now how deceiving appearances can be-and she is about to find out that it’s not only the beautiful people of Hollywood who are willing to bargain with evil…
The Path of Razors (Book 5)
Mean girls come in all forms-including undead. London couldn’t be further from L.A., but stuntwoman-turned-vampire hunter Dawn Madison knows that her job hasn’t changed-find the local vampire Underground and wipe it out. She and her team have located the vamps’ lair at a private girls’ school and now they have the undead on the run. But the vicious pack is starting to realize that its greatest threat may be from within its own ranks.
Meanwhile, Dawn finds her psychic powers-and urge to hunt-growing. And as unrest rocks the Underground, Dawn begins to fall prey to her own dark desires.
Deep In The Woods (Book 6)
A brand new novel in the “dark, dramatic, and erotic” Vampire Babylon saga.
With the female master of the London Underground in her hands, stuntwoman-turnedvampire hunter Dawn Madison must fight off her followers, a vicious pack of undead teenage girls who put the vamps Dawn had to deal with in Los Angeles to shame…
Chris Marie Green also contributed short stories to the following anthologies:
Four all-new stories of forbidden passion and dark desire.
You never forget your first blood…Susan Sizemore returns to the universe of her Laws of the Blood novels with a sizzling story of the relationship between a vampire enforcer and a werewolf.
Erin McCarthy’s Sasha Checkikov flees the bright lights and dangerous slayers of Vegas for New Orleans, where she is saved by a vampire haunted by his past—and hungry for passion.
Set in the Vampire Babylon world, Chris Marie Green’s story puts the bond between twin female vampires to the test when one of them falls for her prey.
Meljean Brook’s vampire Annie Gallagher needs help to save a young human girl, but she doesn’t expect the help to come from the FBI agent she loved—and had to give up— when she was transformed.
Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives
Got Vampires? Ghosts? Monsters? We Can help!
Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives, is your one-stop-shop for Urban Fantasy’s finest anthology of the supernatural. 14 sleuths are gathered together for the first time in all-original tales of unusual cases which require services that go far beyond mere deduction!
Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives brings together popular characters from many Urban Fantasy paranormal investigative series, for your enjoyment.
Meet the Detectives:
Danny Hendrickson – from Laura Anne Gilman’s Cosa Nostradamus series.
Kate Connor – from Julie Kenner’s Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series.
John Taylor – from Simon R. Green’s Nightside series.
Jill Kismet – from Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet series.
Jessi Hardin – from Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series.
Quincey Morris – from Justin Gustainis’ Morris/Chastain Investigations series.
Marla Mason – from T. A. Pratt’s Marla Mason series.
Tony Foster – from Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows series.
Dawn Madison – from Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series.
Pete Caldecott – from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London series.
Tony Giodone – from C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s Tales of the Sazi series.
Jezebel – from Jackie Kessler’s Hell on Earth series.
Piers Knight – from C. J. Henderson’s Brooklyn Knight series.
Cassiel – from Rachel Caine’s Outcast Season series.
Demons may lurk, werewolves may prowl, vampires may ride the wind. These are things that go bump in the night, but we are the ones who bump back!
Title: Down These Strange Streets
Authors: Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon, Simon R. Green, S. M. Stirling, and Carrie Vaughn, as well as tales by Glen Cook, Bradley Denton, M.L.N. Hanover, Conn Iggulden, Laurie R. King, Joe R. Lansdale, John Maddox Roberts, Steven Saylor, Melinda Snodgrass, and Lisa Tuttle
Pages: 496
Genre: Fantasy
Down These Strange Streets is a collection of stories from several top guns in the fantasy genre.
Here’s a brief overview of the book:
All new strange cases of death and magic in the city by some of the biggest names in urban fantasy.
In this all-new collection of urban fantasy stories, Editors George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois explore the places where mystery waits at the end of every alley and where the things that go bump in the night have something to fear…
Includes stories by New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon, Simon R. Green, S. M. Stirling, and Carrie Vaughn, as well as tales by Glen Cook, Bradley Denton, M.L.N. Hanover, Conn Iggulden, Laurie R. King, Joe R. Lansdale, John Maddox Roberts, Steven Saylor, Melinda Snodgrass, and Lisa Tuttle.
This is a list of stories that are to be published in the anthology:
- The Bastard Stepchild (Introduction), By George R.R. Martin
- Death By Dahlia, By Charlaine Harris (A True Blood Story)
- The Bleeding Shadow, By Joe R. Lansdale
- Hungry Heart, By Simon R. Green
- Styx And Stones, By Steven Saylor (A Gordianus Story)
- Pain And Suffering, By S.M. Stirling
- It’s Still The Same Old Story, By Carrie Vaughn
- The Lady Is A Screamer, By Conn Iggulden
- Hellbender, By Laurie R. King
- Shadow Thieves, By Glen Cook (A Garrett Story)
- No Mystery, No Miracle, By Melinda Snodgrass (An Edge Story)
- The Difference Between A Puzzle And A Mystery, By M.L.N. Hanover
- The Curious Affair Of The Deodand, By Lisa Tuttle
- Lord John And The Plague Of Zombies, By Diana Gabaldon (A Lord John Novella)
- Beware The Snake, By John Maddox Roberts (A Spqr Story)
- In Red, With Pearls, By Patricia Briggs
- The Adakian Eagle, By Bradley Denton (Novella)
Down These Strange Streets is set to be released on the 4th of October, 2011. By the sounds of it, the book sure sounds like a fantastic read. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!
Home Improvement: Undead Edition by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner
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Title: Home Improvement: Undead Edition
Authors: Charlaine Harris, Toni L. P. Kelner, Patricia Briggs, James Grady, Heather Graham and Melissa Marr
Pages: 352
Genre: Fantasy
Home Improvement: Undead Edition is a collection of stories from several renowned authors. One of the best known editors of the book is Charlaine Harris, the New York Times’ bestselling paranormal fantasy series author. Her sookie Stackhouse novels became the basis for the hit TV show ‘True Blood.’ The other editor is Toni L. P. Kelner, the award winning author of the “Where Are They Now?” mystery series.
Here is a brief overview of the book:
“The editors of the New York Times bestselling Death’s Excellent Vacation bring home a new collection…with a never-before- published Sookie Stackhouse story!
There’s nothing like home renovation for finding skeletons in the closet or otherwordly portals in the attic. Now, for any homeowner who’s ever wondered, “What’s that creaking sound?” or fans of “how to” television who’d like a little unreality mixed in with their reality shows, editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner return with an all-new collection of the paranormal perils of Do-It-Yourself.
Sookie Stackhouse resides in these pages, in a never-before-published story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. And New York Times bestselling authors Patricia Briggs, James Grady, Heather Graham, Melissa Marr, and nine other outstanding writers have constructed more frightening and funny fixer-upper tales guaranteed to shake foundations and rattle readers’ pipes.”
The other contributors to the book are also widely popular; each successful in their own genre. Patricia Briggs is well-known for the Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series and Melissa Marr is the popular author of young-adult/urban fantasy novels best known for her Wicked Lovely series. I have both my thumbs up for Home Improvement: Undead Edition!
Title: Petty Magic: Being the Memoirs and Confessions of Miss Evelyn Harbinger, Temptress and Troublemaker
Author: Camille DeAngelis
Pages: 336
Genre: Fantasy
Petty Magic is a light fun filled novel from author Camille DeAngelis. The book offers a distinct first person narration of the adventures (more like fun-ventures) of protagonist Evelyn Harbinger. Evelyn is a confident, seductive witch and sure is a lot of fun to read about!
Here’s a brief overview of the book:
“Evelyn Harbinger sees nothing wrong with a one-night stand. At 149 years old, Eve may look like she bakes oatmeal cookies in the afternoon and dozes in her rocking chair in the evening, but once the gray hair and wrinkles are traded for jet-black tresses and porcelain skin, she can still turn heads as the beautiful girl she once was. Can’t fault a girl for having a little fun, can you?
This is all fine and well until Eve meets Justin, who reminds her so much of a former lover that one night is no longer enough. Eve’s coven has always turned a blind eye to her nighttime mischief, but this time they think she’s gone too far—and they certainly don’t hesitate to tell her so. Dodging the warnings of family and friends, Eve must also defend her sister, Helena, when another beldame accuses Helena of killing her own husband sixty years before.
As the evidence against Helena begins to pile up, Eve distracts herself by spending more and more nights—and days—romancing Justin as her former self. There are so many peculiar ways in which Justin is like Jonah, her partner behind enemy lines in World War II and the one true love of her life. Experts in espionage, Jonah and Eve advanced the allied cause at great personal sacrifice. Now Eve suspects that her Jonah has returned to her, and despite the disapproval of her coven and the knowledge that love with a mortal man can only end in sorrow, she can’t give him up. But can she prove it’s really him?
In this captivating tale of adventure and timeless romance, novelist Camille DeAngelis blends World War II heroics with witchcraft and wit, conjuring a fabulously rich world where beldames and mortal men dare to fall in love.”
This is DeAngelis’ second novel, and already her fictional world is highly developed with its witch world taking a unique definition. The novel sure kept me glued to it from cover to cover. I’m sure readers will be very thrilled with the resolution that DeAngelis provides to Evelyn’s dilemmas at the end of the novel. In all, Petty Magic by Camille DeAngelis is a very satisfying and entertaining read!
The Chicagoland Vampire Series by Chloe Neill is a set of urban fantasy, romance novels with vampires. The series is set in the city of Chicago and follows the life of 28 year old Merit. Merit is a English Literature Ph.D candidate who has joined Chicago’s prestigious Cadogan House. But Merit is not exactly the regular Ph.D candidate… she is also a vampire.
Some Girls Bite (Book 1)
First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate student’s introduction into a society of vampires.
Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker—and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.
Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan.
Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude— and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war—and there will be blood.
Friday Night Bites (Book 2)
The story of a young heiress’s initiation into the dark society of the Chicagoland Vampires continues…
Ten months after vampires revealed their existence to the mortals of Chicago, they’re enjoying a celebrity status usually reserved for the Hollywood elite.
But should people learn about the Raves-mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle-the citizens will start sharpening their stakes.
So now it’s up to the new vampire Merit to reconnect with her upper class family and act as liaison between humans and bloodsuckers, and keep the more unsavory aspects of the vampire lifestyle out of the media.
But someone doesn’t want peace between them-someone with an ancient grudge…
Twice Bitten (Book 3)
Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit, Chicago’s newest vampire.
Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene-and to spy for the vamps while she’s at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan’s offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission.
Unfortunately, someone is gunning for Gabriel, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She’ll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals-not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries-old master vampire.
Hard Bitten (Book 4)
Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals-and they’re camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are…tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.
Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn’t help that she can’t tell who’s on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who’s tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago’s supernatural society-a world full of vampires who seem ready to fulfill the protesting human’s worst fears, and a place where she’ll learn that you can’t be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands…
Drink Deep (Book 5)
“A strong-minded, sharp-witted heroine who will appeal to fans of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series and Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake.” (Library Journal)
Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and Merit the vampire can’t tell if this is the darkness before the dawn, or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times have never been more precarious for the vampires. If only they could lay low for a bit…
Then magic rears its ugly head when Lake Michigan turns black. The mayor insists it’s nothing to worry about, but Merit knows a panic is coming. She’ll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who’s behind this, and stop them before it’s too late for both the vampires and humans.
The Cassandra Palmer Books by Karen Chance is a series of urban fantasy novels that follows the life and adventures of Cassandra Palmer. Cassie has the ability to see the future and talk to the dead. New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong called the series ”A wonderfully entertaining romp with an engaging heroine.”
Touch the Dark (Book 1)
Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with revenge in mind, she’s forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection.
The undead senators won’t help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire- and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay.
Claimed by Shadow (Book 2)
Clairvoyant Cassie Plamer has inherited new magical powers-including the ability to travel through time. But it’s a whole lot of responsibility she’d rather not have. Now she’s the most popular girl in town, as an assortment of vamps, fey, and mages try to convince, force, or seduce her-and her magic-over to their side.
But one particular master vampire didn’t ask what Cassie wanted before putting a claim on her. He had a spell cast that binds her to him, and now she doesn’t know if what she feels for him is real-or imagined…
Embrace the Night (Book 3)
Cassandra Palmer may be the world’s chief clairvoyant, but she’s still magically bound to a master vampire.
Only an ancient book called the Codex Merlini possesses the incantation to free Cassie, but harnessing its limitless power could endanger the world…
Curse the Dawn (Book 4)
Cassie Palmer may be the world’s chief clairvoyant, but that doesn’t mean people have stopped trying to kill her.
And now, the self-styled god Apollo, the source of Cassie’s power, is on the warpath . . . leaving her no choice but to face down her creator once and for all.
Hunt the Moon (Book 5)
Cassandra Palmer recently defeated a god, which you’d think would buy a girl a little time off. But it doesn’t work that way when your job description is Pythia-the world’s chief clairvoyant. Cassie is busier than ever, trying to learn about her power, preparing for her upcoming coronation, and figuring out her relationship with the enigmatic sexy master vampire, Mircea.
But someone doesn’t want Cassie to become Pythia, and is willing to go to any lengths to make sure the coronation ceremony never happens- including attacking her mother before Cassie is even born.
Here are some fantastic new fantasy books set to be released this month. Karen Chance the author of a New York times bestselling series and other bestselling novelists are coming out with their latest novels this June. Check it out!
Hexed: The Iron Druid Chronicles
by Kevin Hearne
Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.
With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.
Shades of Milk and Honey
by Mary Robinette Kowal
Shades of Milk and Honey is an intimate portrait of Jane Ellsworth, a woman ahead of her time in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality. But despite the prevalence of magic in everyday life, other aspects of Dorchester’s society are not that different: Jane and her sister Melody’s lives still revolve around vying for the attentions of eligible men.
Jane resists this fate, and rightly so: while her skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face, and therefore wins the lion’s share of the attention. At the ripe old age of twenty-eight, Jane has resigned herself to being invisible forever. But when her family’s honor is threatened, she finds that she must push her skills to the limit in order to set things right–and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.
This debut novel from an award-winning talent scratches a literary itch you never knew you had. Like wandering onto a secret picnic attended by Pride and Prejudice and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Shades of Milk and Honey is precisely the sort of tale we would expect from Jane Austen…if only she had been a fantasy writer.
Chicks Kick Butt
by Rachel Caine and Kerrie Hughes
Chicks are awesome–and never more so than when they are kicking some serious vampire/werewolf/demon/monster butt.
Chicks Kick Butt is an anthology that features one of the best things about the urban fantasy genre: strong, independent, and intelligent heroines who are quite capable of solving their own problems and slaying their own dragons (or demons, as the case may be).
Edited by Kerrie Hughes and Rachel Caine, Chicks Kick Butt features original stories from thirteen authors, eleven of whom are New York Times bestsellers like: Rachel Caine (with a story from her bestselling Weather Wardens universe), L.A. Banks, Rachel Vincent, Karen Chance, Lilith Saintcrow, Cheyenne McCray, Susan Krinard, Jeanne Stein, Jenna Black, Susan Krinard, Jeanne Stein, Jenna Black, Elizabeth Vaughan, Carole Nelson Douglas, P.N. Elrod and Nancy Holder.
Pinion
by Jay Lake
Rejoin the adventure in the third novel of Lake’s Clockwork Earth series. Paolina Barthes, young sorceress, is crossing the Equatorial Wall, attempting to take herself and her magic away from the grasp of powerful men in the empires of the north.
Emily Childress is still aboard the renegade Chinese submarine, along with her devoted Captain, and the British chief petty officer Angus al-Wazir. They are all being sought most urgently by the powers that secretly rule the Northern Earth–the Silent Order and the White Birds. And a third power, of the Southern Earth, has its eye on Paolina; she will not be allowed to bring the political turmoil of the North into the more mystical South.
The Plain Man
by Steve Englehart
Magick and reality collide in a new, fast-paced Max August thriller
Max August is not invulnerable, but he never ages—a gift he earned while studying under the legendary alchemist Cornelius Agrippa. August, now an alchemist himself, is using his magickal abilities to fight the right-wing conspiracy known as the FRC, which seeks to control all aspects of society. At the top of the FRC is a nine-member cabal, each member of which is a powerful force in one area of society, such as media, politics, finance…and wizardry.
When Max learns that two members of the cabal are en route to Wickr, a Burning Man–like festival held in the American Southwest, he stages a plan to gather information from them and, he hopes turn one member against the others. Max has been careful not to leave a trail, but the cabal sees all, and an “accident” at a nuclear waste facility just 100 miles from the festival would send a clear message to those who oppose the FRC. Max may be timeless, but he is running out of time to stop the FRC and save millions of lives.
Green-Eyed Envy
by Kasey Mackenzie
Jealousy can be a killer…
As a Fury, Marissa Holloway belongs to an Arcane race that has meted out justice since time immemorial. As Boston’s chief magical investigator, it’s her duty to solve any crimes committed by or against supernaturals.
Months have gone by since Riss discovered some unwelcome truths about her past–and managed to stop a supernatural war. Since then things have been quiet. Too quiet. But that all changes when the bodies of Bastai, shapeshifters also known as Cats, begin piling up in Boston’s magical underbelly–even though the legendary shifters are supposed to have ninety-nine lives.
One common thread ties the victims together: all were old flames of FBI Agent Harper Cruz. And since Harper and Riss’s lover Scott Murphy enjoyed a one-night stand before he and Riss reunited, the Fury has twice the incentive to crack the case wide open, before the killer’s green-eyed gaze turns in Scott’s direction…
Spectyr
by Philippa Ballantine
A new adventure in the “richly detailed world” (New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh) of Geist.
Though one of the most powerful Deacons, Sorcha Faris has a tarnished reputation to overcome, which is why she jumps at the chance to investigate a string of murders in the exotic city of Orithal.
But it is there that her lover, the shapeshifting rival to the throne, is targeted by a cruel and vengeful goddess, unwittingly unleashed by the Emperor’s sister.
“One of the most vividly original books I’ve read this year.”—New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh
“An incredibly rich story…absolutely not to be missed.”—Barb Hendee
Hunt the Moon: A Cassie Palmer Novel
by Karen Chance
THE LATEST IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES
Cassandra Palmer recently defeated a god, which you’d think would buy a girl a little time off. But it doesn’t work that way when your new job description is Pythia—the world’s chief clairvoyant.
Cassie is busier than ever, trying to learn about her power, preparing for her upcoming coronation, and figuring out her relationship with the enigmatic sexy master vampire, Mircea.
But someone doesn’t want Cassie to become Pythia, and is willing to go to any lengths to make sure the coronation ceremony never happens-including attacking her mother before Cassie is even born.
“Karen Chance will enthrall you.” —USA Today bestselling author Rebecca York
Titus Awakes: A Novel
by Mervyn Peake and Maeve Gilmore
After fifty years-the final volume of Mervyn Peake’s classic Gormenghast novels
Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy is widely acknowledged to be, as Robertson Davies pronounced, “a classic of our age.” In these extraordinary novels, Peake created a world where all is like a dream-lush, fantastical, and vivid. Yet it was incomplete. Parkinson’s disease took Peake’s life in 1968, depriving his fans of the fourth and final volume of the series, Titus Awakes except for a few tantalizing pages, after which his writing became indecipherable. Or so it seemed.
In January of 2010, Sebastian Peake’s daughter found four composition books in her attic. They contained the fabled Titus Awakes in its entirety. Peake had outlined the novel for his wife, Maeve Gilmore, who had at last finished Peake’s masterpiece.
It starts with Titus leaving Castle Gormenghast. Peake wrote: “With every pace he drew away from Gormenghast mountain, and from everything that belonged to his home. That night, as Titus lay asleep in the tall barn, a nightmare held him.”
Fans of Peake will delight in this new, wonderful novel, published one hundred years after his birth, a thrilling and masterfully written coda to his famed trilogy.
The Stranger’s Woes: The Labyrinths of Echo
by Max Frei
The second book in the millions-selling fantasy epic
Max Frei’s novels have been a literary sensation in Russia since their debut in 1996, and have bowled over the fantasy world. The Stranger will appeal to a broad coalition of delighted readers. Strike a chord with readers of all stripes. Fantasy, horror, philosophy, and dark comedy are all ingredients in this amazing work in which a sharp wit and a bewildering web of clues opens up a Pandora’s box of secrets.
Max Frei is a twenty-something loser-a big sleeper (during the day, that is-at night he can’t catch a wink), a hardened smoker, and an uncomplicated glutton and loafer. But then he gets lucky. He contacts a parallel world in his dreams, where magic is a daily practice. Once a social outcast, he’s now known in his new world as the “unequalled Sir Max.” He’s a member of the Department of Absolute Order, formed by a species of enchanted secret agents; his job is to solve cases more extravagant and unreal than one could imagine-a journey that will take Max down the winding paths of this strange and unhinged universe.
Lightborn
by Alison Sinclair
AN “ENGAGING MIX OF CHAOS, ANGST, AND MANNERS” (Locus) —NOW IN MASS MARKET
THE SEQUEL TO DARKBORN
Minhorne is a city divided. An ancient curse makes darkness anathema to the Lightborn, while a touch of sunlight kills the Darkborn.
Thus its people share a home but live forever separate. Until a prince’s death turns Darkborn against Lightborn, earthborn against mage, as conspiracies and betrayals are revealed in both worlds…
“Alison Sinclair’s writing is addictive and elegant.”—Lane Robins
“Complex and engaging characters.”—SHARON SHINN, NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF TROUBLED WATERS
Shadowborn
by Alison Sinclair
From the author of Lightborn, the third book in a Regency-flavored fantasy series of magic and manners.
Magic dies with the mage, or so the Darkborn believe. That’s why Lady Telmaine Hearne has been condemned to death for sorcery.
She’s escaped but is now bound with her mageborn allies for the Borders and war. Meanwhile, her husband, Balthasar, has learned of his family connection to the Shadowborn—and is fighting for survival and sanity as magic turns him against everything he holds dear.
“Sinclair’s unique world of two societies, mortally divided by sunrise and sunset, provides a fascinating backdrop.”—Carol Berg, national bestselling author
Thistle Down
by Irene Radford
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE GLASS DRAGON.
Dusty Carrick lived in the small town of Skene Falls, Oregon, her entire life. And, like many of the local children, she played with “imaginary” Pixie friends in Ten Acre Woods.
But the Pixies are not imaginary at all, and Ten Acre Woods is their home. Now, the woods are in danger, and if it falls, the Pixies too will die.
Only Thistle Down, exiled from her tribe and trapped inside a mortal woman’s body, can save her people—as long as she can convince Dusty Carrick to help her before it’s too late.
“Radford continues to grow in stature as a storyteller, weaving an intricate tale of magic, politics, and romance to keep us spellbound.”—ROMANTIC TIMES
The Golden Key
by Melanie Rawn
THREE GREAT AUTHORS OF FANTASY, ONE EPIC FANTASY TALE—NOW REPACKAGED.
In Tira Virte, art is prized for its beauty and as a binding legal record of everything from marriages to treaties.
Yet not even the Grand Duke knows how extraordinary the Grijalva family’s art is, for certain Grijalva males are born with the ability to alter events and influence people in the real world through what they paint.
Always, their power has been used for Tira Virte. But now Sario Grijalva has learned to use his Gift in a whole new way.
And when he begins to work his magic both the Grijalvas and Tira Virte may pay the price.
Raising Stony Mayhall
by Daryl Gregory
From award-winning author Daryl Gregory, whom Library Journal called “[a] bright new voice of the twenty-first century,” comes a new breed of zombie novel—a surprisingly funny, vividly frightening, and ultimately deeply moving story of self-discovery and family love.
In 1968, after the first zombie outbreak, Wanda Mayhall and her three young daughters discover the body of a teenage mother during a snowstorm. Wrapped in the woman’s arms is a baby, stone-cold, not breathing, and without a pulse. But then his eyes open and look up at Wanda—and he begins to move.
The family hides the child—whom they name Stony—rather than turn him over to authorities that would destroy him. Against all scientific reason, the undead boy begins to grow. For years his adoptive mother and sisters manage to keep his existence a secret—until one terrifying night when Stony is forced to run and he learns that he is not the only living dead boy left in the world.
The Pack
by Jason Starr
“Jason Starr is hypnotically good.”-Lee Child
When Simon Burns is fired from his job without warning, he takes on the role of stay-at-home dad for his three-year-old son. But his reluctance pushes his already strained marriage to the limit. In the nestled playgrounds of the Upper West Side, Simon harbors a simmering rage at his boss’s betrayal.
Things take a turn when he meets a tight-knit trio of dads at the playground. They are different from other men Simon has met, stronger and more confident, more at ease with the darker side of life-and soon Simon is lured into their mix. But after a guys’ night out gets frighteningly out of hand, Simon feels himself sliding into a new nightmarish reality.
As he experiences disturbing changes in his body and his perceptions, he starts to suspect that when the guys welcomed him to their “pack,” they were talking about much more than male bonding. And as he falls prey to his basest instincts, Simon must accept that werewolves exist if he is to turn the tides of his fortune…
Who Fears Death
by Nnedi Okorafor
The critically-acclaimed novel-now in paperback.
In a far-future, post-apocalyptic Saharan Africa, genocide plagues one region. When the only surviving member of a slain village is brutally raped, she manages to escape, wandering farther into the desert.
She gives birth to a baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand, and instinctively knows her daughter is different. She names her daughter Onyesonwu, which means “Who Fears Death?” in an ancient African tongue.
Reared under the tutelege of a mysterious and traditional shaman, Onyesonwu discovers she possesses a remarkable and unique magic. The journey to fulfill her destiny will force her to confront nature, tradition, history, the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and eventually to learn why she was given the unusual name she bears: Who Fears Death?
City of the Snakes
by Darren Shan
For ten years Capac Raimi has ruled the City. Created by the first Cardinal to continue his legacy, Capac cannot be killed.
Then Capac disappears. His trusted lieutenant, Ford Tasso, suspects the mysterious villacs, ancient and powerful Incan priests. To Ford, only one man has the cunning to outwit such adversaries-Al Jeery, who has taken the guise of his father, the terrifying assassin Paucar Wami.
Al has no love for Capac and no wish to tangle with the villacs. Until Ford promises him the one thing he truly craves-retribution against the man who killed those he loved most and destroyed his life. Lured into the twisted, nightmarish world of the Incan priests, Al will learn more about the City than he ever imagined, and be offered more power than he ever desired.
But in the City, everything comes at a cost…
Hell’s Horizon
by Darren Shan
In the City, The Cardinal rules, and Al Jeery is a loyal member of his personal guard. But when Al is pulled from his duties at Party Central to investigate a murder, an unexpected crime scene discovery leads him to question all his loyalties and beliefs.
Al is drawn into a terrifying mystery that features a series of corpses, the City’s Incan forefathers, the imposing figure of The Cardinal, and the near-mythical assassin Paucar Wami.
Wami is a law unto himself. A shadowy, enigmatic figure of astoundingly graceful skill, he kills anyone he chooses without fear of punishment or retribution.
And Al is about to find out that he has a lot more in common with Wami than he could ever have imagined…
Folly Beach
by Dorothea Benton Frank
Home is the place that knows us best. . . .
A woman returns to the past to find her future in this enchanting new tale of loss, acceptance, family, and love.
With its sandy beaches and bohemian charms, surfers and suits alike consider Folly Beach to be one of South Carolina’s most historic and romantic spots. It is also the land of Cate Cooper’s childhood, the place where all the ghosts of her past roam freely. Cate never thought she’d wind up in this tiny cottage named the Porgy House on this breathtakingly lovely strip of coast. But circumstances have changed, thanks to her newly dead husband whose financial—and emotional—bull and mendacity have left Cate homeless, broke, and unmoored.
Yet Folly Beach holds more than just memories. Once upon a time another woman found unexpected bliss and comfort within its welcoming arms. An artist, writer, and colleague of the revered George Gershwin, Dorothy Heyward enjoyed the greatest moments of her life at Folly with her beloved husband, DuBose. And though the Heywards are long gone, their passion and spirit lingers in every mango sunset and gentle ocean breeze.
And for Cate, Folly, too, holds the promise of unexpected fulfillment when she is forced to look at her life and the zany characters that are her family anew. To her surprise, she will discover that you can go home again. Folly Beach doesn’t just hold the girl she once was . . . it also holds the promise of the woman she’s always wanted—and is finally ready—to become.
The Shadow Men
by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
From Beacon Hill to Southie, historic Boston is a town of vibrant neighborhoods knit into a seamless whole. But as Jim Banks and Trix Newcomb learn in a terrifying instant, it is also a city divided—split into three separate versions of itself by a mad magician once tasked with its protection.
Jim is happily married to Jenny, with whom he has a young daughter, Holly. Trix is Jenny’s best friend, practically a member of the family—although she has secretly been in love with Jenny for years. Then Jenny and Holly inexplicably disappear—and leave behind a Boston in which they never existed. Only Jim and Trix remember them. Only Jim and Trix can bring them back.
With the help of Boston’s Oracle, an elderly woman with magical powers, Jim and Trix travel between the fractured cities, for that is where Jenny and Holly have gone. But more is at stake than one family’s happiness. If Jim and Trix should fail, the spell holding the separate Bostons apart will fail too, and the cities will reintegrate in a cataclysmic implosion. Someone, it seems, wants just that. Someone with deadly shadow men at their disposal.
The Deadliest Bite
by Jennifer Rardin
I have two choices. Carve Brude’s name into Hell’s bile-encrusted gates. Or lose my soul.
After an assassination attempt on Vayl, I find myself pulled into a tangled web that takes the gang to Romania.
So how will I save a ghost, rescue a demon, and cheat the Great Taker out of a soul he’s slavering for while defeating my nastiest foe yet so that Vayl can, at last, cherish a few precious years with his sons? With careful planning, major violence, and one (hopefully) final trip to Hell.










