Gripping original stories of dystopian worlds from nine New York Times bestselling authors, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong. The world is gone, destroyed by human, ecological, or supernatural causes. Survivors dodge chemical warfare and cruel gods; they travel the reaches of space and inhabit underground caverns. Their enemies are disease, corrupt corporations, and one another; their resources are few, and their courage is tested. Powerful original dystopian tales from nine bestselling authors offer bleak insight, prophetic visions, and precious glimmers of light among the shards and ashes of a ruined world.

"The Providence Rider is the fourth installment in the extraordinary series of historical thrillers featuring Matthew Corbett, professional problem solver. The narrative begins in the winter of 1703, with Matthew still haunted by his lethal encounter with notorious mass murderer Tyranthus Slaughter. When an unexplained series of explosions rocks his Manhattan neighborhood, Matthew finds himself forced to confront a new and unexpected problem. Someone is trying--and trying very hard--to get his attention. That someone is a shadowy figure from out of Matthew's past: the elusive Dr. Fell. The doctor, it turns out, has a problem of his own, one that requires the exclusive services of Matthew Corbett. The ensuing narrative moves swiftly and gracefully from the emerging metropolis of New York City to Pendulum Island in the remote Bermudas. In the course of his journey, Matthew encounters a truly Dickensian assortment of memorable, often grotesque, antagonists."--Amazon.com.

In the highly anticipated continuation of the Land of Stories series, Conner learns that the only place to fight the Masked Man's literary army is inside his own short stories! When the twins and their friends enter worlds crafted from Conner's imagination, finding allies no one else could have ever dreamed of, the race begins to put an end to the Masked Man's reign of terror. Can the twins finally restore peace in the fairy tale world?

A vacation in Greece sounds like the perfect way for Kate Winters to spend her first sabbatical away from the Underworld...until she gets caught up in an immortal feud going back millennia. Castor and Pollux have been on the run from Zeus and Hades' wrath for centuries, hiding from the gods who hunt them. The last person they trust is Kate, the new Queen of the Underworld. Nevertheless, she is determined to help their cause. But when it comes to dealing with immortals, Kate still has a lot to learn....

From the author of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender comes a haunting maelstrom of magic and murder in the lush, moody Pacific Northwest. When Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island more than a century ago, her otherworldly skills might have benefited friendlier neighbors. Guilt and fear instead led the island’s original eight settlers to burn “the witch” out of her home. So Rona cursed them. Fast-forward one hundred–some years: All Nor Blackburn wants is to live an unremarkable teenage life. She has reason to hope: First, her supernatural powers, if they can be called that, are unexceptional. Second, her love life is nonexistent, which means she might escape the other perverse side effect of the matriarch’s backfiring curse, too. But then a mysterious book comes out, promising to cast any spell for the right price. Nor senses a storm coming and is pretty sure she’ll be smack in the eye of it. In her second novel, Leslye Walton spins a dark, mesmerizing tale of a girl stumbling along the path toward self-acceptance and first love, even as the Price Guide’s malevolent author — Nor’s own mother — looms and threatens to strangle any hope for happiness.

Nancy, Bess, and George solve a doggone puzzler of a mystery during the annual River Heights Halloween Pet Parade in the sixth book in an all-new, interactive Nancy Drew chapter book mystery series. Nancy, Bess, and George are gearing up for a weekend of River Heights Halloween activities, including the annual Howl-A-Ween Pet Parade! All the kids get to dress up their pets and march with them up Main Street. Nancy’s dog, Chocolate Chip, is even picked to lead the parade atop a festive hay wagon float! But right before show time, Chip starts whining, running in circles, and burrowing into the hay! When Nancy can’t calm her down, the parade officials remove her as the leader! Nancy, Bess, and George wonder if something—or someone—made Chip act that way. Nancy pulls out her clue book; the Clue Crew is on the case! Who’s behind Chip’s strange doggy behavior? Is it Deidre Shannon, who was mad that Chip was chosen over her princess puppy Pom-Pom to lead the parade? Felipe the Pet Trainer, who wanted a dog he was training to lead the parade? Or is it—yikes!—the ghost of Murray the Monster Mutt? Will the Clue Crew crack this case before all the River Heights pets go batty?

In Catastrophe, the renowned Italian short story writer Dino Buzzati brings vividly to life the slow and quietly terrifying collapse of our known, everyday world. In stories touched by the fantastical and the strange, and filled with humor, irony, and menace, Buzzati illuminates the nightmarish side of our ordinary existence. From “The Epidemic,” which traces the gradual effects of a “state influenza” that targets those who disagree with the government, to “The Collapse of Baliverna,” where a man puzzles over whether a misstep on his part caused the collapse of a building, to “Seven Floors,” which imagines a sanatorium where patients are housed on each floor according to the gravity of their illness and brilliantly highlights the ominous machinations of bureaucracy, Buzzati’s surreal, unsettling tales reckon with the struggle that lies beneath everyday interactions, the sometimes perverse workings of human emotions and desires, and, with wit and pathos, describe the small steps we take as individuals and as a society in our march toward catastrophe. With hints of Kafka and Edgar Allan Poe, Catastrophe, published for the first time in the United States, feels as timely today as ever.

"When Mai's family discovers that Vietnam government soldiers will soon apprehend her father and grandmother, the family slips away in the night. They trudge through the swamps of the Mekong Delta toward the sea. The gut-wrenching trip to Hong Kong is just another step toward a new life, which the family eventually finds. Whelan's characters are distinctive, and her story is riveting, haunting, and memorable, reflecting the human virtues of determination, hope, love, and courage in the face of the most devastating of circumstances and injustices."--Booklist.   From the Trade Paperback edition.

Rick emerged victorious from The Realm twice. Is his luck about to run out? After multiple trips in and out of The Realm, Rick is becoming a part of it—a direct connection point has formed in his brain. He’s now slipping back and forth in his dreams and has become linked to The Realm and its creator in ways no one anticipated. That link is an asset in terms of what Kurodar is planning . . . but it’s absolutely detrimental to Rick personally. If he doesn’t destroy Kurodar and The Realm quickly, he’ll be completely absorbed by them. But destroying The Realm will mean destroying Mariel, and Rick is still torn by his love for her and his love for Molly. How can he lose either of them? Meanwhile, there’s still a traitor in their midst. So even if Rick figures out what he needs to do, actually doing it will be exponentially more difficult.

With power comes enemies. Lots of them. Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies. He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait. Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too. With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust…

WARNING: SOMETIMES EVIL IS CLOSER THAN IT APPEARS. *possessions: me -one full-blown obsession with floppy-haired, gorgeous, perfect Troy (still). -nightmares, endless, terrifying nightmares, oh god someone help me. possessions: them -everything I've ever wanted. -killer instincts.* Lindsay thought she left Marlwood Academy behind for good. The girls there aren't just mean, they're evil - possessed by spirits of the dead. Then Lindsay discovers that she is possessed! Now she must go back to Marlwood to free herself once and for all. But the secrets of Marlwood run deep... and the evil is much closer than Lindsay knows.

Introducing the third book in MS Parker and Cassie Wild's Bestselling series, Blindfold. I should've learned my lesson, but it seemed that when it came to Ashford Lang, my substantial IQ suddenly vanished. Which is how I found myself sitting in jail and cursing myself for being an idiot. I only wished that I could be certain it wouldn't happen again. Toni Gallagher is in jail thanks to billionaire playboy, Ashford Lang. When he sets up his sister's assistant to be arrested, he believes it's the only way to find his sister. Instead, he finds a ransom note and realizes that he's made a mistake. He tries to make amends for what he's done, only to find himself in a deeper mess than before.

Sixteen-year-old Rose arrives at sleepy, remote Millwood expecting to spend a quiet summer with her aunt and uncle on their estate. But after a series of dark and disturbing dreams, and the surprise arrival of charming brothers Oscar and Caicus Valero, her world is thrown upside-down. What are the brothers hiding? And what is it about Oscar that is so familiar? Before the summer is out, Rose will be forced to confront her destiny, even if it means facing the demon of her dreams.

Life is boring when you live in the real world, instead of starring in your own book series. Owen knows that better than anyone, what with the real world’s homework and chores. But everything changes the day Owen sees the impossible happen—his classmate Bethany climb out of a book in the library. It turns out Bethany’s half-fictional and has been searching every book she can find for her missing father, a fictional character. Bethany can’t let anyone else learn her secret, so Owen makes her a deal: All she has to do is take him into a book in Owen’s favorite Kiel Gnomenfoot series, and he’ll never say a word. Besides, visiting the book might help Bethany find her father… …Or it might just destroy the Kiel Gnomenfoot series, reveal Bethany’s secret to the entire world, and force Owen to live out Kiel Gnomenfoot’s final (very final) adventure.

I used sex to help me forget. To help me numb the pain. Because for those few minutes of pleasure, I could shut it all off. The reminders of all that I had lost. All that I had endured. Of all that I saw die before my eyes.I slept with a man I can’t get out of my head. It was supposed to be a one-time thing with no attachments and no commitments. No names were exchanged, no phone numbers swapped. And that was fine by me ... until I lay awake at night, dreaming about that man’s caress. Wanting and yearning to feel his touch once more.But one day, my fantasies of seeing this man become an all-too-consuming, nightmarish reality. Suddenly, he is in my house, that cocky grin of his silently promising more to come.And the reason being? His father is getting married to my mother. We are going to be family.I am in the seven circles of hell. His look alone consumes my soul and makes me beg for more. He wants me and is determined to get me. I’m his obsession, and I’ve just become a slave to his infatuation ... to the games he likes to play. The games he knows will have me surrendering to his will.But that’s not the only problem. That’s not the only reason I am living in my own personal hell.The year before I met my soon-to-be step-brother, Hunter ... The year I made a decision that will ultimately end up destroying my very soul...I lost my virginity to Hunter’s dad.

With the help of charming and devious Damon, Elena rescued her vampire love, Stefan, from the depths of the Dark Dimension. But neither brother returned unscathed. Stefan is weak from his long imprisonment and needs more blood than Elena alone can give him, while a strange magic has turned Damon into a human. Savage and desperate, Damon will do anything to become a vampire again—even travel back to hell. But what will happen when he accidentally takes Bonnie with him? Stefan and Elena hurry to rescue their innocent friend from the Dark Dimension, leaving Matt and Meredith to save their hometown from the dangerous spirits that have taken hold of Fell's Church. One by one, children are succumbing to demonic designs. But Matt and Meredith soon discover that the source of the evil is darker—and closer—than they ever could have imagined...

Sacrifice will be their downfall. And their resurrection. Family is blood. His father unknown, his mother dead, Nicholas Roman was raised by the vampire Breed with one wish: to live as a normal vampire. But once he's transformed against his will into a gifted immortal, Nicholas now has one goal: to stop the Eternal Order of vampires from controlling his life and from transforming more males from his bloodline for their vicious reign. Then comes a beautiful stranger with a startling secret. Vampire Kate Everborne claims she's sheltering Nicholas' long-lost son. If this is true, then who is the mother? And how endangered are they if, indeed, Nicholas does possess the bloodline so coveted by the Order? These are questions that with every seductive whisper, every silken touch, draw Nicholas and Kate intimately closer and nearer still to the truth. But aroused too are Nicholas' fears that this tantalizing woman has even more secrets—both dangerous and provocative—she has yet to share.

While on holiday, Scott Carey is exposed to a cloud of radioactive spray shortly after he accidentally ingests insecticide. The radioactivity acts as a catalyst for the bug spray, causing his body to shrink at a rate of approximately 1/7 of an inch per day. A few weeks later, Carey can no longer deny the truth: not only is he losing weight, he is also shorter than he was and deduces, to his dismay, that his body will continue to shrink.

In THE DEMON AWAKENS, bestselling author R. A. Salvatore creates an astonishing new world for readers to explore--and an intrepid hero to lead the way: Elbryan Wynden, who must confront the dark tides of destiny in his epic search for justice and peace . . . A great evil has awakened in the land of Corona, a terrible demon determined to spread death and misery. His goblin armies and fearsome giants ravage the settlements of the frontier, and in the small village of Dundallis their merciless attack leaves behind two shattered orphans: Pony and her lifelong friend, the youth Elbryan. Taken in by elves, Elbryan is raised to become a formidable ranger--a fateful role that will lead him into harrowing confrontation. Meanwhile, on a far-off island, a shower of gemstones will fall onto the black sand shores. These heaven-sent stones carry within them an incredible power--the key to all that is good in the world and all that is evil, and it is up to one young monk to liberate them from the corrupt monastery that harvests them. Pray that they don't fall into the wrong, clawed hands . . .

Hanna is a victim. Of what she doesn't know. Waking in the trunk of a moving car in tattered clothes, she can only assume the worst. Taken to her father's Tudor Mansion she learns of his treachery and of the monster he holds captive inside of himself. Discovering who her parents really were means finding answers about herself, answers she never imagined possible. Hiding in the shadows of her father's past, she meets the man who can save her body but the cost is her soul and lives are lost. In a dark and seedy blood bar known for blood drugging humans, Aleksander finds a weak and dying Giselle, who has word of Alise. Even his bruised and battered heart is taken by Giselle's sweet and simple nature, as he fights to save her. Will he give up his life to save them all? The Roses again find themselves in a battle against their own kind.

We’re the D’Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae ex-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch with three sexy husbands. My sister Delilah is a two-faced werecat and Death Maiden. And me? I’m Menolly, a jian-tu turned vampire in love with a wildly hot werepuma. Unfortunately, life is about to get very, very nasty… Nerissa and I can’t decide on what we want to do for our promise ceremony and we’re bickering like an old married couple. My sisters and I head to Otherworld for a meeting with Queen Asteria. Once there, we discover that Shadow Wing has dispatched Telazhar—a malevolent necromancer—to reignite the Scorching Wars. And as soon as we return back home, we find Gulakah, the Lord of Ghosts, waging a battle to control the magical beings over Earthside. Caught between two terrible enemies in a battle spanning two worlds, we can only hope we’re in time to stop all-out annihilation.