Fantasy Genre

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Summary: “Libling’s assured, quietly menacing debut [is] based on his World Fantasy Award–nominated novella of the same title. . . . Fans of Stand by Me and the like will find much to enjoy.” —Publishers Weekly It’s the 1960s, and Gus Berry is coming of age in Trenton, a small town on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The place isn’t known for much—unless you count the menacing stray dogs, plant explosions, plane collisions, and regular drownings. The adults seem to take it all in stride, but Gus can’t shake the feeling of impending doom. His friend Annie Barker doesn’t share Gus’s dark thoughts; she believes in things. So Gus goes about his days, surviving school, trying to live up to his widowed mother’s expectations, and growing increasingly obsessed with movies and TV shows. Indeed, he scripts his life to make it way more exciting and adventurous than it actually is. Gus is clearly a boy who wants things, which makes Jack Levin the perfect friend. He’s a local hero famous for finding stuff : a message in a bottle, a meteorite, a long-lost wedding ring. And when Jack makes his most mysterious discovery yet, Gus and Annie are drawn with him into an investigation of Trenton’s past. Guided by their curiosity, they soon uncover a malignant darkness behind the town’s senseless tragedies. In Hollywood North, World Fantasy Award–nominated author Michael Libling “spins a tale of movies and memories, nightmares and nostalgia, with such a frightening secret at its core, that you’ll understand why, even though you can go home again, you might end up wishing you didn’t” (Ian Rogers, author of Every House Is Haunted). “[A] fine first novel . . . Bradbury might have sketched out this mode in the darker parts of Dandelion Wine and the entirety of Something Wicked This Way Comes, but contemporary authors such as Libling are showing us refinements of sensibility and sense of wonder that the old Waukeganian never dreamed of.” —Locus

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Summary: L.A. Jacob, writing as Jake Logan   Even wizards in the U.S. armed forces have to go home some time. First Magus Brent Rogers of the US Army stationed in Afghanistan is ordered to return home on furlough. Considered a war mage, he is trained to find enemies at a distance, to blow up their bombs, and to alert his men of danger. None of this is needed in the city of Worcester, his hometown. Brent has to learn to relax, to not see threats in every corner, and to let his family welcome him home. But if he relaxes his vigilance for even a second, who knows what could happen …

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Summary: The sun and moon have been devoured by the cosmic wolves Skoll and Hati. Fimbulwinter has enveloped the world in the cold and darkness. Men prey on each other in order to survive. Amid the chaos, in the struggle for the throne, comes a war between brothers. Hakon, the illegitimate heir to the throne of Norveig, has obtained a horn that can summon a terror from the depths of the ocean. This monstrosity has been sinking the vessels of his half-brother, Jarl Erik Bloodaxe. Erik sends a company of untried heroes to infiltrate Hakon’s stronghold and steal the horn. As with all things political, there are other agendas. Fjorn, the leader of the team, is Erik’s half-brother who could challenge Erik for the throne. Erik's wife Gunnhild is a powerful sorceress with her own ambitions- could her goals derail the heroes? In life, sometimes a Jarl wins, and other times a Jarl wins.

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Summary: Sometimes, life is completely unfair. Spoiled teenager Jenny Halpen's parents were against her going on a cruise, but her doting uncle didn't see it that way. He thought it a fine graduation gift for his favorite (and only) niece. Unfortunately, before Jenny has a chance to enjoy the voyage, the Cassandra collides with a meteor shower, and her escape pod is separated from the others. Landing on an uninhabited world might not be so bad if Jenny's pod-mates were human, but they're not. They're poodles...all three of them...and not just your garden-variety poodles, either. They're the telepathic Royal Family of Canaris, and they're of the opinion that Jenny's now their servant, existing only to protect and serve them. Robinson Crusoe had it easy!

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Summary: Is the challenge to blame for its revelation? With Ruben still missing and no sign of their enemy’s force, Donovan races to uncover the mysteries of blood magic while training the next generation in New Seeking. Away from the familiar halls of the Order, he learns from Annette to develop the skills to lie and secret his true self amongst the nobility and whatever spies may skulk in their midst. Donovan encounters changed relationships, rediscovered and more complex than he ever wished, and he longs for Whitman’s good humor, which is in short supply. Whitman himself struggles to unearth and connect his own threads of insight through heartbreak and daunting challenge as he digs through layers and centuries of deception, historical propaganda, and indoctrination. Throughout all, Ruben drowns in fear and danger, managing breaths of revelation and enlightenment that threaten to unravel everything he once understood to be true. Taught and taunted by the Smiling Man, whose knowledge appears to stretch for generations, he is determined to be of use to his friends when they come for him. Will they make it before his resolve trickles away?

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Summary: The youngest master in the Bards’ Guild, eighteen-year-old Huw Owyn is at the top of his craft. The Spring Conclave is underway, and Huw is late to the ceremonies. While he lingers with his lady, the Bards’ Guild is attacked. Seeking to rule the most powerful clan in the valley, Earl Rann Dwyn hangs the Guild Master, Huw’s father. His thugs torch the hall with everyone still inside, igniting a firestorm and incinerating a quarter of the city. Smuggled out of the burning city in a reeking ale barrel, Huw the Bard is a wanted man. Starving, reduced to begging and worse, he must somehow make his way north to safety. It’s a 200-league walk as the crow flies to the one place he might have a friend, though the path Huw must take is anything but straight. Murder and the taint of treason – a lot can happen to a man on a journey like that.

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Summary: For Evangeline “Evan” Miles, Honeycutt Academy is more than just a prestigious school of magic. It’s home. Before graduating, it was the first place they’d ever felt comfortable enough to be themself. Now, as a school librarian, it’s also where Evan might have finally found the promise of love - with Mimi, the bright and bubbly potions professor. But when Evan meets Hester, the half-sister they never knew they had, everything suddenly changes. Hester is being stalked by their murderous, vampiric father - an experience Evan remembers only too well. United, the two siblings agree that their days of running and hiding from their father are over - and it’s time to finally end his wretched existence. But to do so, they must turn to Svenja - a witch, a wolf-shifter, and the only creature they know powerful enough to take down their monstrous father. However, the paranormal private investigator is also Evan’s former lover - and as the hunt for their father draws them closer together, the flames of their romance begin to rekindle. Evan feels forced to choose between their chemistry with Svenja, and their commitment to Mimi - and that distracts them from a dangerous truth: That as Evan and Hester prepare to confront their centuries-old father, they’ve forgotten he’s also had decades to prepare for them. I Think of You Often is the first installment of the St. Acton series by Sienna Eggler - a small town sapphic PNR by an author praised for writing “engaging tales of emotions and struggles” and “sweet, realistic romance between two people figuring their way in life.”

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Summary: Offend the Frost King? Get kicked from the Court. Land in the jaws of a living dinosaur?   Ink, the black ice fairy, isn't shocked that his frostiness banished her, but she's shocked to find herself sent to a swamp. It's hot, sticky and mucky—an ice fae's worst nightmare. Banishment means she's stuck with the heat and the stupid, hungry alligators. She's gone from knowing all the rules of her world to knowing absolutely nothing about existing in her soggy new home. At least the draiad guardian's kinda nice, though what the hell is a draiad? A thunderous boom and an ice fae being dropped into her swamp interrupted Pickerel's quiet, contemplative day of preserving flowers. The fae is abrasive, just shy of rude, and apparently unable to leave. The last thing Pickerel needs this close to the winter solstice celebration is another responsibility. But she can't ignore her host obligations, nor can she deny the fae is rather attractive. When dangerously reckless human poachers invade the swamp, all other concerns evaporate. Ink and Pickerel must learn to work together, combining their knowledge and their wildly different talents to combat the threat to the wildlife and the peace of the swamp. And—oh no—they might even have to admit they like each other.   Ice + Alligators is a novella that contains talkative squirrels, a mischievous and overly opinionated alligator, and a shy but grumpy fae who might've found a caring nature spirit who is everything she needed.

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Summary: Twenty stories of fantasy, science fiction, pirates, horror, spies, and kindergarten noir. From the space-based lothario to the diminutive thief each looking for their next score, and from the jilted romantic traveling through time to the kingdom refugee whose day never ends, there's something for everyone In A Flash!  

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Summary: Gavin Booker, a school librarian at Cooper Road Elementary, Raleigh, Northern Carolina, leads an orderly, normal life. Work, jogging, friends from work, his son every other weekend. Gavin is also a secret. He is a hybrid, or part-fairy, and in the Columbian Empire, hybrids are under an automatic death sentence. Magic is illegal. So is loving another man, another capital crime. Fairies are locked away in ghettoes, magical beasts, such as gryphons, unicorns, and pegasi are kept in zoos. The others, the tree and water spirits, the talking beasts, fauns, and the rest, are in hiding. This is the world in which Gavin grew up. He survived, thanks to his mother. He can never forget he is different: ministers preach against people like him constantly; hating the other is a part of every school’s curriculum.   But now, things are changing fast, and apparently, for the worst. Earthquakes, volcanoes, killer storms are all frequent occurrences. The medicine Gavin takes to suppress his body’s glowing, isn’t working. The spells cast by his doctor, a witch, are losing their power. If anyone finds out what Gavin is, he is dead. Under threat, the Empire always goes after its marginalized people. Can Gavin survive the coming catastrophe? Will he ever recover from losing the boys he loved? Can he find the fairy man who has haunted his dreams all his life before it is too late? Can his scarred heart ever heal?

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Even the grittiest blue collar city has a spark of magic under the surface; but in Baltimore, graffiti holds secret messages and artists are the spellcasters. Abandoned buildings hide ancient beings, and at the local club, you might find yourself rubbing shoulders with menacing and otherworldly creatures. If you know how to look, of course.

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Summary: “Pain is pain. It all hurts the same.” Inflicted with dark desire, one man chooses between idyllic pretense and disturbing reality. Haunted by the silence of deep space, an engineer chases an eerie melody. Torn between penance and pride, a dishonored prince challenges the course of history. Suffering cracks our hearts and splinters our minds. It scars and alters us in irreversible ways. Yet while pain breaks us apart, it also binds us together. Our broken pieces can never rejoin as they once were, but they fit together to create new and distinctive wholes. Like the Japanese art of kintsugi, we can fill the velvety darkness of our scars with gold. Inflicted with life, an intelligent machine questions the illogic of family. Tempted by the desire to die, a shop clerk confronts the promise of his life. Offered the chance to transform his disfigurement, a ruined being looks to the smallest of lives for acceptance. An amalgamation of science fiction and fantasy subgenres, Inflicted invites you to peer into your own pain, examine your scars, and remember you are not alone. Pain binds us all, and how we face our brokenness redefines us. Immerse yourself in the brokenness of others and come away with a new understanding of self.

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Summary: Discover the class you were born to play. Wren, a seasoned healer, is dismayed when Somnia Online automatically assigns her character, Murmur, to the Enchanter class. Determined to overcome the unexpected setback, she assembles her guild, intent on the coveted #1 spot. Twelve keys stand between her and victory, but finding them is only part of the puzzle. Armed with telepathic abilities, Murmur rises to the challenge. However, old rivals have followed her to Somnia Online desperate for revenge. Intricate quest lines become more dangerous as NPCs absorb powerful artifacts, and Murmur begins to wonder just what sort of AI controls the world. Murmur questions her sanity as the real and virtual worlds mesh together. Everyone is keeping secrets from her, even the AI, and Murmur’s determined to uncover them.

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Summary: INK (NOUN) Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) A colored fluid used for writing 2) The action of signing a deal 3) A black liquid ejected by squid 4) Publicity in the written media 5) A slang word for tattoos Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

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Summary: We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to take a side trip down two branching paths. First, we’ll follow Matt and Xander as they take a surprise honeymoon to Hawaii in The Honeymooners. It’s not all private beaches and swimming with the fish, though. Truths from Xander’s past are revealed that give Matt new insight into his mate. Just as they get comfortable, the unforeseen appearance of a new enemy cuts their trip short. Next, we slide over to find out what some mischievous foxes have been doing behind the scenes since they arrived in France. Akira and Koji set their sights on a pair of twin hunky dragons in 2+2=Love. ​​​​​​​ It’s not easy being twin dragons when your other half has been in your head since conception. It’s certainly not easy finding love, but Halvar and Herleif have hope when a pair of foxes cyberstalk their way into their lives. Intermission contains two short stories that occur during the events at the end of First Strike and through Dragon's Hoard. While these stories do not fit into the overall story arc, some bits and pieces may find importance later on down the road. So take a break from the action and breathe in some light-hearted fun and romance. Dragon War Chronicles is a continuous series. It must be read in order.

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Summary: How do you control something that cannot be tamed? As magi apprentices, Everis and Wren have led a relatively peaceful life. But when the king dies under suspicious circumstances and Everis foils an assassination attempt on the princess’ life, the pair are sent by their master to investigate the only lead they have. In a city far away ruled by the dead king’s brother, they need to find answers—fast. As an unlikely group of allies forms around them in the chaos, the apprentices will have to tap into everything they’ve been taught while relying on the likes of assassins, an eccentric shopkeeper, and an otherworldly avian to go up against an enemy unlike any they’ve encountered before. But nothing about this plot against the royal family is what it seems. There’s blood magic at the root of it, and its seductive pull is something Everis has struggled to resist since he was a child. A struggle which makes things complicated…and dangerous. Wren has always pulled him back from the edge when he’s needed it, but what happens when they need fire to fight fire, and Everis is forced to bring out his darkness and learn to tame the untamable?

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“Is blood thicker than water?”

The answer seems obvious until a half-millennium-old blood feud ignited between twin brothers of a 16th century Scottish Reiver clan revisits violence generation to generation, pursuing their descendants from island to island and finally onto a new continent ,where the familiar proverb is ultimately pitted against this fluid tale of guilt, blood, water, and time.

Rich with magical realism, Is Blood Thicker taps millennia-old folklore to spin a modern fable of love, pain, and family wisdom consumed by a lived code:

‘Drink, Pray, Fight, Feck’ … and a fox.

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Summary: Morgorth and Aishe must contend with a deadly threat that could spell disaster for their world. Payshthas were the first of the Mother’s intelligent children. It is rare for true friendship to form between them and another species—which makes Morgorth’s bond with Enfernlo unique. And it is due to their friendship that Morgorth doesn’t hesitate to answer Enfernlo’s plea for help. A thief has stolen something vital from Enfernlo’s colony—a stone of power. Their hunt for the stone leads them to a war torn kingdom, and Aishe can hardly stomach what he sees. The devastation urges him to assist however he can, no matter the risk. Meanwhile, Morgorth is faced with reminders of the monster he used to be, and contemplates how far he’s come, and yet how far he still has to go. And when his estranged mentor joins them on their search, Morgorth is forced to confront his resentment and sense of betrayal, and use Master Ulezander as a tool to save the payshthas. Forced into a deadly quest where trust is in short supply, and faced with challengers for the stone, Morgorth must put his faith in those he loves and in himself... and become a champion not just of the Mother but for Karishian itself.

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Summary: Josh Caplan is your average late-night convenience store clerk, but the Quik-Mart where he works is nothing like normal with that hell vortex in the parking lot. Waiting on zombies, demons, and other things that go bump in the night might scare some, but they're actually more polite than the stoners, and Josh welcomes the break in the monotony—especially when he acquires himself a sexy new boyfriend with a deadly secret. Will Josh survive this retail nightmare? It's a Big Gulp of a chance, but between the hazard pay and the hottie with a sweet tooth for Josh's candy, it's a chance he's willing to take. This box set includes: - Pretty Monsters (Josh of the Damned, #1) - Peek-a-Boo (Josh of the Damned, #2) - Josh of the Damned Triple Feature #1 - Josh of the Damned Triple Feature #2: The Final Checkout

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Summary: Reva and Ansee face fresh threats as a new evil is imported into Tenyl and threatens the city with an undead plague. Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria’s life is looking up. She’s managed to put two groups of unruly adventurers in jail and she gets word that her boyfriend, Aavril, has just arrived in port. She is looking forward to a relaxing dinner, a present, and maybe some time getting reacquainted after Aavril’s long absence. But Aavril’s ship has delivered more than a cargo of spices and exotic merchandise and a new evil begins to take root within Tenyl. Reva’s romantic evening is spoiled by news of a double murder. It should be a simple case, except that the victims have disappeared. Reva’s investigation barely gets started before Lord Constable Inspector Betulla contrives a way to get Reva suspended. With Reva temporarily off the force, the murder investigation is given to Constable Inspector Pflamtael, who is looking to find the fastest resolution to the case. Meanwhile, Seeker Ansee Carya investigates what appears to be a simple missing person case, until he discovers that the missing people – including the two murder victims – have become zombies. Now, Reva, with the aid of a halpbloed cleric, must work from outside the constabulary to figure out who is creating the undead, and how to stop the creatures before all of Tenyl becomes infected.