Fantasy Adventure Short Stories

"Master of the World" is a "black novel," filled with foreboding and fear of the rise of tyrants such as the novel's villain, Robur, and totalitarianism. Set in the summer of 1903, a series of unexplained events occur across the Eastern United States, caused by objects moving with such great speed that they are nearly invisible. The first-person narrator John Strock, "Head inspector in the federal police department" in Washington, DC, travels to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to investigate. He discovers that all the phenomena are being caused by Robur, a brilliant inventor.

Storytellers have long imagined what exists beyond the edges of the map. The need to seek and discover the unknown is embedded in who we are, no matter the culture or era. To celebrate this sense of wonder, award-winning editor John Joseph Adams has gathered together some of the best SF&F writers working today, collecting adventure and mystery in this spectacular anthology. Explore the rich tradition begun centuries ago with this all-new compilation full of imagination and delights. What lies beyond the edge of the unknown? Only you, brave listener, can find out.

The Town of Ostton burned; this pleased Ephret. Meet Jano Borian, a quarterstaff-wielding vigilante who roams the continent of Hazaorok in search of people to aid and wrongs to right. Many take one look at his thuggish countenance and dismiss him as a common criminal, though his shining armor suggests a nobler ancestry. Both would be wrong of his origin, however: he is an enigmatic—and arguably deluded—figure driven by his faith to a god which may or may not exist. In the Aftdengal Forest, a giant elephantine tyrant named Ephret leads his army upon the town of Ostton, burning it and ...

A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Over a span of 50 years, the late Fritz Leiber wrote dozens of adventures, set in the fictional city of Lankhmar, featuring the seven-foot-tall barbarian and the diminuitive thief. The stories were recognized with both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

In the title story, a man's newfound ability to walk in the past allows him to dwell among dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers . . . and something even more timeless. In "Construction Shack," the first manned expedition to Pluto reveals that no matter how advanced aliens may be, even they don't always get everything right. And in "Univac 2200," the thin line between humans creating technology and humans becoming technology is about to be crossed-and there may be no going back.

A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Over a span of 50 years, the late Fritz Leiber wrote dozens of adventures, set in the fictional city of Lankhmar, featuring the seven-foot-tall barbarian and the diminuitive thief. The stories were recognized with both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

Thrust back into a new conspiracy, Deborah must come to terms with who she is and the love that got away. Fresh off her success in London, Deborah is requested to travel to New York City for the upcoming 1854 Expo. She agrees despite struggling to comprehend all that has happened in London. Her entanglement with the enigmatic Jed, who disappeared after stopping the assassination of Queen Victoria, continues haunting her, but why she doesn’t know? Deborah arrives in New York, unsuspecting of the new danger she is in. She knows life is about to spice up when Jed mysteriously reappears with ...

Returning home was supposed to be a break. It became anything but. Fresh off her successes around the world, Deborah was looking forward to a little downtime. Instead, she finds herself at the heart of an interplanetary conspiracy to start a war. Deborah reluctantly dives into the past in search of clues to the long history of the Venusians and Plutonians on Earth. It may prove her undoing, for there are some who want the past to remain secret. Making matters worse is her feelings for the mysterious Jed and Geoffrey, the man she loves. Torn between them, Deborah is about to face her ...

Ah, Paris. City of lights. City of intrigue! Deborah’s life has been a whirlwind over the past few years. Between the high demand for her unique services around the world, intergalactic conspiracy to ensure they fail, and a man she’s falling in love with appearing and disappearing seemingly at random, she is struggling with coming to terms with it all. When she is summoned to help in Paris, it represents an opportunity to reset and unwind. Or so she hopes. But no amount of recovery will ease the pain of knowing Jed disappeared in such poor condition. Will Jed return? Will he be healed? ...

Join the adventure through dystopian worlds, to outer planets and into a speculative future. Welcome to the Future Days Anthology. Seventeen authors imagine a future with thrilling tales, starships, unlikely heroes, and exotic aliens, all of which combine to make Future Days a must-listen sci-fi fantasy short story collection.

Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance and Other Stories is Tobias S. Buckell's seventh short fiction collection and is comprised of 15 stories, several of which are original to the collection or were previously only available through his Patreon. This collection ranges from galactic adventures to intimate explorations of humanity—sometimes in the same story—rich with a sense of wonder and deft storytelling.

Fortune hunter Billy Newman is not a man of great strength or physical courage. Like a young Johnny Depp, he gets by on his wit, wiles and good looks. And he’s had quite a good run—striking gold in the Philippines and buying his very own island in the South Seas. . . . But there’s trouble in paradise, and Billy’s in the thick of it. The island’s crops are failing. The island’s people are dying. And the island’s owner—Billy—is taking the heat. Why? Because he’s angered the 75-foot-tall big-boss god of the island.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The Empire State Building has vanished into thin air! Gone, too, are Grant’s Tomb and Grand Central Station, and all hell is breaking loose in New York City! What’s the story? One grizzled old newspaper reporter known simply as Pop - a role made for Walter Matthau - is on top of it...and better stay there, because his livelihood is on the line. If Pop fails to get to the bottom of the vanishing landmarks, his job will disappear as well - and land in the hands of the newspaper publisher’s son-in-law.

Waking up with no memory of his past, a man finds purpose within a resistance, drawn to their fight against Drekar, the Lich Lord threatening to consume the continent, turning anyone who opposed him undead. But when fragments of his past resurface, he uncovers a chilling possibility. This revelation shakes his identity and compromises the very cause he’s sworn to fight for. As he grapples with betrayal, destiny, and the battle for his own soul, his journey forces him to confront the question—can he defy the role he was born into, or is he bound to the will of another after all?

Twenty-six short stories that will amaze you. Among others: Curiosity Rover discovers a locked door in the side of Mount Sharp, on Mars, and three scientists are sent on a mission to discover what lies within the ancient structure. Will they locate the mysterious libraries of a civilization lost, and survive to tell about their discoveries in "The Mars Tetrahedron"? Plus, you'll hear "The Day Satan Quit" and much much more.

Welcome to future-shock. Hold on tight and buckle yourselves in, because the future is on a relentless onslaught, for better or worse. This is a collection of the short speculative fiction of Gabriel Walker Land. Most stories are flash fiction, meaning less than 1000 words. Each contains a story of mystery, action, romance, and suspense.

The complete Battleborn saga in one volume! An imperfect hero for an imperfect time. For generations, the Riker men have been the best of the best. For the Battleborn, that comes with a cost.

Here can be found a dozen tales of Sword & Sorcery, horrors, and of recent pasts unimagined before now. Discover worlds where stout warriors face off against mighty foes, common folk gain powers undreamed of, and the edges of the dark sometimes loom oh, so close. The Stories Iron Men of the Amazon Daedalus Reborn Violence Claimed Culmination of a Cold Year Blotting Out the Sun App Flip Phone Assassins of Opportunity Marazook Cold Snap Promises Whispered in Days of Darkness That Time Nazis Kidnapped a Serial Killer and Took Him Back to the Past to Become a Monster

Sahvin Kazza, a Narovian feline humanoid was an alien undercover on Earth when he was kidnapped by alien slavers thinking he was human. He was sold into slavery and sent to the mines on Breskaa where he thought his life would end. Enter the Farseek Mercenaries, who are traveling through the Sargus Empire, searching for their stolen people who were kidnapped from Farseek and sold into slavery throughout the Empire. The mercenaries hate slavers and slavery, so while they are freeing their enslaved people, they free all the slaves on Breskaa. Savin readily agrees to go with them. Nora Reed has...

PUBLISHER WARNING This work contains high levels of violence, graphic descriptions of death, male nudity and adult themes that may offend some readers. The author recommends readers must be 18+ years of age. FROM THE AUTHOR Welcome to the world of Jack Steel, a journey through worlds both real and imagined, full of heroism, adventure and raw masculinity on an epic scale. These are tales filled with brawn and brutality, where our heroes willingly fight to the death or die trying. As the publisher warning states, these stories are not for everyone. They contain high levels of violence, ...