Short Science Fiction Fantasy Stories

From the author of science-fiction classics such as The Man in the High Castle and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? comes a collection of 13 short stories of dystopic visions of technological terror, post-nuclear holocaust warfare, time travel, space travel, man vs. alien, man vs. machine, man becomes machine, man becomes plant, and other fantastic tales performed in a vividly dramatic narration by Andy Harrington.

The Complete Series in a single offering! The Dragon Sovereign—my father—has ruled our land with integrity and wisdom for almost a hundred years. And now, as his time on the throne nears its end, mine is about to begin. But claiming my rightful destiny won’t be easy. The Great Houses plot my family's downfall, and they will oppose me at every turn. Yet the throne stands ready for a new dragon to claim it, and as the last scion of our honored house, I will not allow anyone to stand in my way.

Taken from my old life with little memory of what brought me here, I wake up in a high tech capsule. A wrinkly old elf tells me that my soul is incomplete and has been fused with that of a Solar Dragon to give me a second chance at life. Where? When? An urban metropolis filled with fantasy races, erected atop the back of a giant asteroid. Meteoropolis. And millions of years in the future, to boot. But that's not all. I've got super powers, too. To add to the excitement, I end up hosted by an anxious unicorn elf named Pinky Peach who is basically a professional gamer girl.

Gil Ra looked around trying to put on a good face and a bright smile. This was supposed to be a second chance in life. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the past and what she had left behind. Being abducted by aliens sounded so much like the title of a cheap sci-fi movie, and yet it had happened to her. That night, when she had decided she couldn’t take it any longer, the mocking, the loneliness and the feeling she had failed the only person that depended on her completely had become overwhelming, and that night she had decided to end it all. She had left everything ready, no ...

A Rose for Ecclesiastes is a science fiction short story by American author Roger Zelazny, first published in the November 1963 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction with a special wraparound cover painting by Hannes Bok. It was nominated for the 1964 Hugo Award for Short Fiction. In A Rose for Ecclesiastes, readers are transported to a distant future where a human linguist attempts to understand the complex culture of Martians, leading to profound insights about love, language, and existence.

For all his twenty-one years, Zephyr has been a cultivator of the Carefree Path and a martial artist. He always assumed he would take the vows and become a monk, but his plans are thrown to the wind when he receives a letter from the Grand Sage to attend the Schools of Elemental Magic. Gifted with the system known as the Codex of Ascension, Zephyr intends to master the various elements in record-breaking time. Alongside two other students who bear mysteriously similar origins, his school year promises to be more than he could have ever imagined.

"Chico", a story by Robert McCammon, was first published in his short fiction collection Blue World.

Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the smelliest, nastiest, ugliest people in the world. They hate everything - except playing mean jokes on each other, catching innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies, and making their caged monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, stand on their heads all day. But the Muggle-Wumps have had enough. They don't just want out, they want revenge.

Join James, our intrepid adventurer, streamer, and bug hunter, as he jumps headfirst into the first true immersion VRMMORPG game and explores the digital reality that the dev's have kept under lock and key. No previews? No class or race info before launch? What could possibly go wrong? Especially starting in the empire inspired by ancient Egypt. Rolling a character reminiscent of an old-school D&D cleric, James takes on the world of Sosaku Online with spear, shield, and holy fire.

A collection of Smith's apace adventure stories featuring Captain Volmar, including the never before published novella, "Red World of Polaris."

Julian never thought that graduating from the Ironfist Academy would be the easy part. He returns to his ancestral manor and is greeted by crumbling walls, growing debts, and a father who’s conveniently disappeared. To top it all off, someone is intent on making his new role as lord of the estate as difficult as possible. Armed with magic and a purpose, Julian must juggle the ancient art of estate management. Luckily, he's not alone.

The Wind from the Sun was first published in the March 1964 issue of Boy's Life. Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) is regarded as one of the most influential science fiction writers of all time. He was named a grand master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

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.

When the elite fighter pilots of the Phantine XX arrive on the beleaguered world of Enothis, they know it is a desperate hour. The forces of Chaos are closing in, and their final push could well wipe out all human life on the planet. Thousands of refugees flee the dark armies, and the infamous Chaos fighter pilot Khrel Kas Obarkon is always hunting the skies for more prey....

I guess you could call my latest job interview a success. I got hired, and it's way beyond my wildest dreams. The pay isn't great. And the hours are pretty much 24/7. But there's magic. And a portal to a fantasy world. Those kind of outweigh the negatives. At first, I thought I was just testing the latest VR survival RPG, but I'm starting to think this might not be a game after all. The monsters are definitely life-like and capable of carving me apart on their worst days. But on their best days, I make them mine.

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories - and secrets - that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

From terraformed outposts to magical realms, journey to worlds where deadly plants, rampant biodiversity, or failed colonies have created irresistible opportunities for those brave enough to seize them. New worlds, found family, mystical secrets, and deadly science weave together in this lesbian-centric anthology focusing on a very different kind of first time - a first encounter with a world, or being, entirely unlike our own.

The primarchs, nigh-immortal sons of the Emperor of Mankind, take the stage in a series of short stories showcasing some of their great deeds and hideous acts from across the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy.

George Dumas (Bruiser) calls Jane Yellowrock to the Royal Mojo Blues Company, because the club has been the scene of vampire attacks from an unknown rogue-vamp. And they dance. Oh, do they dance…

I was hanging out with some buddies, doing a little caving, when everything went south. When I woke up, I was in some kind of medieval dungeon. Totally naked and in the dark. Luckily, I had a neighbor in a cell near me. One with a decidedly sexy feminine voice. When she explained to me that she was due to be executed and I was in line to be brainwashed, there was only one thing to do. We had to escape.