Once upon a time . . . nothing was as it seemed! What if Sleeping Beauty were actually a frog princess, doomed to be Weeping Beauty forever? What if the Three Chickens had to outwit Goldifox? What if Cinder-Elephant lost her glass plate slipper? Then you'd have this hilarious collection of twisted fairy tales from the master of the absurd, Gregory Maguire!

An undercover mission leads to danger, adventure and an impossible choice. * After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, student glass magician Opal Cowan lost her powers. Immune to the effects of magic, Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had. Powers that make a difference in the world. Suddenly the beautiful pieces she makes begin to flash in the presence of magic and Opal learns that someone has stolen some of her blood. Finding it might let her regain her powers or discover that they're lost forever...

The phenomenal Russian bestseller. A vampire novel set in a richly realized post-Soviet Moscow, The Night Watch has sold across Europe and to 20th Century Fox for huge advances. In The Night Watch, the first of a quartet, and reminiscent of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials in its ambitions and achievement, the setting is contemporary Moscow. A small number of Muscovites with supernatural powers – those who are Other, owing allegiance either to the Dark or the Light – co-exist in an uneasy truce, each side keeping a close eye on the other’s activities around the city. Anton, an Other on the side of the Light, is a night-watchman, patrolling the streets and Metro of the city as he protects ordinary people from the vampires of the Dark. On his rounds, Anton comes across a young woman, Svetlana, whom he realizes is under a curse that threatens the entire city, and a boy, Igor, a young Other, as yet unaware of his own enormous power. Partnered by Olga, an Other who is in the form of an owl, he struggles to remove the curse and thereby save the city, while at the same time prevent Igor from falling into the clutches of the Dark. The Night Watch explores the nature of good and evil and the tensions between the individual and the collective in a gripping narrative that owes as much to The Master and Margarita as it is does to the richly realized worlds of Philip Pullman and Tolkien. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape . . . and even less of being together. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komisar that she has a magical gift, and the Komisar's interest in Lia is greater than either Kaden or Lia foresaw. Meanwhile, the foundations of Lia's deeply-held beliefs are crumbling beneath her. Nothing is straightforward: there's Rafe, who lied to her, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom she always believed to be barbarians but whom she now realizes are people who have been terribly brutalized by the kingdoms of Dalbreck and Morrighan. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her very sense of self, Lia will have to make powerful choices that affect her country, her people . . . and her own destiny.

The Wizard left Oz in a hot air balloon—or did he? This digital original novella is the third installment in the prequel arc to the edgy and exciting New York Times bestseller Dorothy Must Die. Dorothy Gale is back . . . and she's not the sweet little heroine of Oz anymore. She's power-hungry and vicious, and she leaves a trail of destruction beneath her spike-heeled, magical shoes. But she wasn't always in charge. There used to be a different ruler of Oz. Someone who also came from the Other Place, and who stole power for himself. They called him the Wizard. The story goes that when a young Dorothy revealed the Wizard as a fraud, the man behind the curtain fled Oz in his hot air balloon. But in The Wizard Returns, he wakes in a field of poppies to find out that not only had he never left, but that he has no memory of who—or where—he is. As he undergoes a series of tests to uncover his memories, he finds that the very girl who threw him from the Emerald Palace is in control. And that Oz may be his destiny after all. The Wizard Returns by Danielle Paige is a dark and compelling reimagining of a beloved classic and is perfect for fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Beastly by Alex Flinn, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

There are some incredibly smart things Brunner does in this novel. The story is told from the perspective of a world of intelligent aliens as they reach out to discover the universe in which they live. They have to do that in ways that are very different from our own history in details (for example, they live under water where access to the night sky is limited, which puts a crimp in early astronomy), but very similar in the abstract. The similarities arise for the simple reason that the universe in which they live is THE universe. The message here is deep & subtle & important: reality is what it is, & no matter what kind of body you have, no matter what specific environmental niche you occupy, if you are smart enough to wonder about the world you live in, & clever enough to discover ways to ask your questions well, you will discover the same immutable facts about the nature of things. Brunner shows this without ever giving a lecture or explicitly making the point. It's a story telling tour de force that really puts the science solidly in the center of science fiction.

MoonshiftedAn Edie Spence NovelCassie Alexander After surviving a brutal vampire attack, Nurse Edie Spence is ready to get back to work―attending to supernatural creatures in need of medical help. But her nursing skills are put to the test when she witnesses a hit-and-run on her lunch break. The injured pedestrian is not only a werewolf, he's the pack leader. And now Edie's stuck in the middle of an all-out were-war…With two rival packs fighting tooth and nail, Edie has no intention of crossing enemy lines. But when she meets her patient's nephew―a tattooed werewolf named Lucas with a predatory gleam in his eye that's hard to resist―Edie can't help but choose sides. The question is: can she trust this dangerous new ally? And can she trust her own instincts when she's near him? Either way, Edie can't seem to pull away―even if getting involved makes her easy prey…

A machine that enables the living to communicate with the dead threatens to allow angry and vengeful ghosts to reenter the world of the living and enact cruel revenge. Reissue.

It is the conspiracy of all conspiracies. Humanity's ancient and hidden masters have tired of their slaves and have scripted the apocalypse. Financial markets crash, crops fail, wars rage, and disease spreads around the globe. Ben Mitchell, former Marine turned ancient languages expert, is the only man who can save humanity from extinction - but at what cost?What happens when humanity’s hidden masters tire of their slaves? They start over.Financial markets are crashing, crops are failing, Cage’s disease is a pandemic, and sabers are being rattled around the globe. It’s not the world that Ben Mitchell, an expert on ancient and esoteric writings, envisioned when he left the battlefields of Afghanistan a decade ago.The world looks a little brighter when he is offered a small fortune by the attractive but mysterious Lilian Stratton to research some puzzling inscriptions found on set of stone tablets discovered in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. But to do that he must join a secret society known as the Delphic Order of the Nisirtu and travel to Steepleguard, the remote fortress-like home of an elderly eccentric named Ridley.The researcher soon finds that his client has lured him into a conspiracy of epic proportions. The rumored New World Order is, in fact, very ancient. The world is truly a stage and the scripts that have preserved mankind for millennia are being systematically destroyed by the invisible kingdoms that authored them. Within days the final script will run its course and the planet’s scattered survivors will be thrust into a new Dark Age.Lilian’s powerful opponents are now Ben’s, and even his client’s supposed allies seem to have hidden and sinister agendas. The man finds himself in a shadowy world of insane kings, power-hungry dukes, psychopathic assassins, rebel knights, and an exiled princess who will stop at nothing to regain her world throne.As civilization rapidly disintegrates and clandestine armies converge on Steepleguard, humanity’s future hinges on the researcher’s ability to navigate the labyrinths of the Nisirtu and unlock the secrets of the Tiwanaku tablets.

How could anyone ever know she would be here? Only through a strange series of events was Jessie here at all… lost on an alien spaceship because she stowed away on another spaceship… impossible. And yet, here was an alien, on an alien spaceship, who’s been waiting hundreds of years for her to show up… and he even had a gift for her!Some people affect the people near them. Others affect the world around them. Even the most powerful of people are seldom more than a blip in the history of the universe. Fourteen year old Jessie is unique, as every one of her practical jokes, every thought and every D in algebra changes the course of history. Maybe it’s because of her talent of seeing electricity in colors, or maybe that talent’s just a beginning of her destiny.The Kan-ji are scouring the galaxy for a race they believe threaten their very existence. They are watching us, infiltrating our government trying to decide if humankind is the one. It is their hidden god Loomius that drives them through his hatred for the race he calls ‘God’s Children’.Jessie just wants to bum a ride on the world’s first anti-gravity spaceship on its maiden flight around the moon, but gets more than she bargains for when they are attacked by a waiting Kan-ji fleet. Now stranded and alone on a 30 mile long Kan-ji super ship it is up to Jessie to rescue her friends and escape the ship. On her journey, a series of events transform her; a gift from the tree-like alien Chander fills her mind with knowledge of the Kan-ji and their technology and a battle with Loomius leaves her reeling with his dark and ageless memories. Even with knowledge beyond her years, she knows she is still just a little girl trapped on a giant alien ship with her friends’ lives depending on her.

The cycle tells the story of a boy (Vic) and his telepathic dog (Blood), who work together as a team to survive in the post-apocalyptic world after a nuclear war.

Martin awakes naked on the shores of a silent and hungry world. He has no memory of how he got there, no memory of anything beyond his name. Now he must journey through the Eating Wastes in which the very land he walks on tries to consume him. His only hope of escape are massive gateways that call to him to enter, all he has to do is make it to one. The journey will test both his will and flesh.Martin awakes naked on the shores of a silent and hungry world. He has no memory of how he got there, no memory of anything beyond his name. Now he must journey through the Eating Wastes in which the very land he walks on tries to consume him. His only hope of escape are massive gateways that call to him to enter, all he has to do is make it to one. The journey will test both his will and flesh as nightmarish creatures stalk his every move, wanting to claim him for their own.*THE RED MAN is a 9000 word short story.

Lexis is a young tiger prince, born into a fierce and brutal dynasty. He knows that when he is old enough, he will face his brother on the Field of Bones in a battle to the death to decide who will rule Filinia. He is required to attend the sack of the wolfling city of Sardor-de-lor. It is the scene of his father’s greatest triumph, but Lexis has done nothing to distinguish himself. *Short Story*Lexis is a young tiger prince, born into a fierce and brutal dynasty. He knows that when he is old enough, he will face his brother on the Field of Bones in a battle to the death to decide who will rule Filinia. If he wins, his father will speak to him. Until then, everything is a test and Lexis isn’t sure he’s passing. He is required to attend the sack of the wolfling city of Sardor-de-lor. It is the scene of his father’s greatest triumph, but Lexis has done nothing to distinguish himself. While wandering the blood-soaked streets, he finds a way to leave his own mark on the battle and performs a shocking act that will alter the course of history.“Cat Prince” is a short story from the world of Panamindorah, related to the Prophet of Panamindorah series. This download includes a bonus story, “Distraction.” Both stories are also available along with others in: Crossroads – Short Stories from Panamindorah, Volume 1.

Ralph sticks his tongue between the terminals of a nine-volt battery, and so becomes initiated into the pack of children who assemble to fight the beast lurking in the river, draining their town of life. The monster has stolen precious treasure from each child who pedals his and her bicycle towards the dark to confront the monster, and those young warriors speed out of town to earn their revenge.Ralph's legs burn as he pumps power into his bicycle's pedals to race to the river bottoms to confront the monster Lacy claims lurks in the water to steal life from their fading community of Beckford. Ralph envies the weapons each of his friends bring to wield against the monster, and he fears he possesses nothing with which to combat whatever monstrosity they discover outside of town. Each rider pedaling towards the descending dark feels their childhood slipping for the sorrow the bottom beast has manifested. Thus they have all tasted a nine-volt battery's spark to count themselves among the initiated pack that swears to make that monster return the treasure it has stolen from their families and lives

A Sci-fi vs Fantasy tale where an alien plague takes out most of the worlds population and magic tries to right itself as the dominant science.Treyson McAlister on a dream vacation amongst castles and lochs in Scotland searches for and finds a sword hidden long ago by his grandfather. All seemed well on his get-away from a job he hated until the planet’s population is devastated by an alien plague leaving him without communication or air flight home to his very pregnant wife.Unbeknownst to him the world experiences what is known as a Renewal which occurs every ten to fifteen millennia. It also ushers in an age-old battle not between good and evil, but between magic and technology. Being heir to the ancient sword Treyson is chosen to lead the fight to restore magic to the dominant force of science. But he first decides to find a way home, to determine the fate of his wife and unborn son.