Science Fiction Monsters

Teo never thought he could be a Hero. Now, he doesn’t have a choice. The sun is gone, the Obsidian gods have been released from their prison, and chaos and destruction are wreaking havoc on Reino del Sol. All because Teo refused to sacrifice a fellow semidiós during the Sunbearer Trials. With the world plunged into perpetual night, Teo, his crush Aurelio, and his best friend Niya must journey to the dark wilderness of Los Restos, battling vicious monsters while dealing with guilt, trauma, and a (very distracting) burgeoning romance between Teo and Aurelio.

MONSTER QUEEN ALPHA Book 6 of the Convergence Series From trailer trash elf to Monster Queen—every title comes with a price. I'd been running from monsters for so long, I'd forgotten what it was like to stand still. Working as a nanny for a former dragon king isn't smart, but the pay is too good to refuse. All I have to do is survive three days before my charm wears off and the dragons turn on me. Too bad it's suicidal to argue with a dragon... But when my past catches up with me in the form of an armored monster I once commanded, I realize my greatest threat isn't what's hunting me—...

Hades kidnapped me. Yeah, that Hades. Greek mythology is real, and I’m learning the gods are real dicks. I’m tasked with caring for the monsters in the Underworld. Oh, yeah, Demeter is pissed about the whole Persephone thing. She’s kidnapped her daughter and making the monsters fight for sport. Persephone is quite happy in the Underworld according to Hades pet dog...who has three heads and is kind of a goof. I’ve met a Kraken, a minotaur, a phoenix, and a black widow spider. I’ve also met Hephaestus, the God of the Forge, who has been abused by his family.

That's what Uranus looks like? It's not shaped like a butt! Ben's class is off to the new space exhibit. The fart monster can't wait to show Ben where he comes from – Planet Let 'er Rip! When the two friends find an empty space shuttle, is this their chance to visit the fart monster's home?

"Perfect deadpan marks the opening of Ali Simpson’s The Monster'" writes Susan Merrell of The Southampton Review in her introduction to this issue of Recommended Reading.

As head librarian in my small town, I take my job seriously. So when I hear a sound in the library's attic while I'm working late and alone, and then a big, green, muscular orc creeps up behind me, I smack him in the head with a stapler. After the theft of an ancient orc book on loan to the library, is it any wonder I'm skittish? Katar explains he heard me scream and only wanted to help. He's... upset, and I guess I can't blame him. He offers to help me discover who stole the book, and we track down one clue after another.

In the shadowy depths of an ancient labyrinth, where the damp stone walls seem to pulse with a life of their own, Sheila Harris stumbles upon Aros—the captivating Minotaur who awakens not just an ancient legend, but a burning, primal hunger deep within her. His muscled body radiates heat, and every brush of his furred hand sends jolts of pleasure through her, sparking an irresistible need. Each time their bodies collide, the air thickens with an almost tangible heat, their movements synchronized in a primal dance that draws her deeper into a world of unrestrained passion. His caress is ...

After escaping her kidnappers and destroying the black market where she was held captive, all Nita wants is to find a way to live her life without looking over her shoulder. But with a video of her ability to self-heal all over the dark web, Nita knows she's still a prime target on the black market. There's only one way to keep herself safe. Nita must make herself so feared that no one would ever dare come after her again. And the best way to start building her reputation? Take her revenge on Fabricio, the boy who sold Nita to her kidnappers.

I’ve been engaged to the same annoying guy for four long years, and still, no wedding date in sight. Grr. I’m completely fed up with this sham, so I tell my “fiancé” I’m taking a job off planet, hoping this outrageous behavior will allow him to finally break off our ridiculous engagement. It doesn’t. So, I leave and become an organizing consultant to some scary alien.

An existence spent being forced to kill others to satiate a monster. Where the only thing to look forward to was the blessed, if brief, period of time between paying that bribe. Except that very same monster is and isn’t Rene. It just happened to live inside his own mind and force him to do what it wanted - rather than him being an actual monster. That was Rene’s entire life until a fateful day changed that. A day that his career as a hitman for hire built on the monster’s needs will end. Where Rene will be forced to atone for his actions. To be held accountable and judged.

When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he’s in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it’s clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him. One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story - a Water Monster - in need of help.

My clients at my vet clinic have always called me an animal whisperer. I’ve never questioned it. Until I started hearing monsters, too. A man came in right at closing with a sick dog. The dog told me why he was sick, and I was able to treat him. I had no idea his owner would kidnap me. I had no idea his owner had an entire dungeon of monsters he wanted me to treat. I’ve met a minotaur, a mysterious kraken, a phoenix, and this really massive spider. I can hear them, too. If monsters are real and I can talk to them, then what am I?

Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all. There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws. When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

It all starts with the radio. Dorothy's husband has left for work, and she is at the kitchen sink washing the dishes, listening to classical music. Suddenly, the music fades out and a soft, close, dreamy voice says, "Don't worry, Dorothy." A couple weeks later, there is a special interruption in regular programming. The announcer warns all listeners of an escaped sea monster. That afternoon, the seven-foot-tall lizard man walks through Dorothy's kitchen door. She is frightened at first, but there is something attractive about the monster, and the two begin a tender, clandestine affair.

Detective Gabriella Versado has seen a lot of bodies. But this one is unique even by Detroit's standards: half boy, half deer, somehow fused together. As stranger and more disturbing bodies are discovered, how can the city hold on to a reality that is already tearing at its seams? If you're Detective Versado's geeky teenage daughter, Layla, you commence a dangerous flirtation with a potential predator online. If you're desperate freelance journalist Jonno, you do whatever it takes to get the exclusive on a horrific story.

"You should be here; he's simply magnificent." These are the final words a biologist hears before his Margaret Mead-like wife dies at the hands of Godzilla. The words haunt him as he studies the kaiju (Japan's giant monsters) on an island reserve, attempting to understand the beauty his wife saw. Every story in the collection turns to the fantastic, the mysticism of the past, and the absurdities of the future to illuminate the spaces we occupy when we are at our most vulnerable."

In the Clandoms, everyone is born with wings, though not all the clans are treated equally. Ellie Meadows longed to become a Goldwing—the knights who protect the people -- but because she came from the humble Sparrow Clan, her dream faced almost insurmountable resistance. Nox Hatcher has it even worse. Nox is a Crow, a shattered clan. They can't own businesses or run organizations, all due to a mistake made hundreds of years ago. Nox has had to steal and scrape just to survive, but a single goal has kept him going, even when it felt like all the Clandoms were against him.

I've devoted my entire life to safe-guarding exotic animals. When a group of poachers invade the Komplot Toestel big game preserve, I'll take a bullet to the chest in the line of duty. As I laid dying, a mysterious goddess appeared by my side. Her offer was simple: teleport to a new world where I would be a game warden of a different sort. You see, there are no animals that need protecting in the land of Jadu. Instead, I've been tasked with protecting a tribe of lost monster girls. It's a tough job, and I'm just the man for it.

An existence spent being forced to kill others to satiate a monster. Where the only thing to look forward to was the blessed, if brief, period of time between paying that bribe. Except that very same monster is and isn’t Rene. It just happened to live inside his own mind and force him to do what it wanted.

Everyone thinks that Clark is too old to still play with stuffed animals. He's almost 11! Bullies target him at school while his mother tries increasingly un-subtle ways to wean him off his toys and introduce more "normal" interests. But Clark can't shake the feeling that his stuffed friends are important, even necessary. Sometimes they move around in the night and sometimes in the morning they look a little worse for wear, as if they've engaged in battle. And it turns out...he's right.