Showing results for "Bears" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

A girl and her father live close to the land in the shadow of a lone mountain. They possess a few remnants of civilization: some books, a pane of glass, a set of flint and steel, a comb. The father teaches the girl how to fish and hunt, the secrets of the seasons and the stars. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last of humankind. But when the girl finds herself alone in an unknown landscape, it is a bear that will lead her back home through a vast wilderness that offers the greatest lessons of all, if she can only learn to listen.

My ex-husband broke my heart by asking for an open marriage. Then I found out he had already been sleeping with someone else. So I dumped his butt and moved out. In the process, I found myself in the arms of four smoking-hot strangers. They pull out all the stops, lavishing me with all of the attention I’d been missing out on. But these guys have a secret. Am I going to be able to cope with the truth when it comes out, or is it going to be too much to bear?

Armed camps of eco-survivalists battle purveyors of technology in this exclusive, original production featuring five sci-fi masters and five all-star narrators.

Mars. The red planet. A new frontier for humanity: a civilisation where humans can live in peace, lord and master of all they survey. But this isn't Space City from those old science-fiction books. It's more like Hell City, built into and from a huge crater. There's a big silk canopy over it, feeding out atmosphere as we generate it, little by little, because we can't breathe the air here. I guess it's a perfect place to live, if you want to live on Mars. At some point I must have wanted to live on Mars, because here I am.

Perhaps it wasn't from our time, perhaps it wasn't even from our universe, but the arrival of the 300-kilometer long stone was the answer to humanity's desperate plea to end the threat of nuclear war. Inside the deep recesses of the stone lies Thistledown: the remnants of a human society, versed in English, Russian and Chinese. The artifacts of this familiar people foretell a great Death caused by the ravages of war, but the government and scientists are unable to decide how to use this knowledge.

My life is a mess, and so is my house, but I'm a good teacher, right? So why are some of my best students going off the rails? I meant to ring their uncles to let them know what was going on. But not like this. I drunkenly dump out all of my problems down the phone line, thinking it was my bestie on the other end.

Jendara is a woman of many roles: trader, pirate, islander - and mother. Having left behind her life of piracy, Jendara and her young son, Kran, are back in her native Ironbound Archipelago, looking to make an honest living as seaborne traders. But when Kran goes missing and the threat of a goblin attack looms, Jendara has no choice but to take up her ax once more if she wants to save her new friends - and her son.

This sequel to the Hugo and Audie Award nominated METAtropolis features interconnected stories by today’s top writers of speculative fiction – performed by a galaxy of Star Trek stars. As the mid-20th century approaches, the Pacific Northwest has been transformed - politically, economically, and ecologically - into the new reality of Cascadia. Conspiracies and secrets threaten the tenuous threads of society. And the End of Days seems nearer than ever.

Fifty years hence, in the sleek modern city of Bangalore, a scientist working on revolutionary bioengineering techniques has been discovered inside his own locked home, his body converted into a neat toroidal package of meat. It's up to Police Sub-Inspector Ferron to unearth the victim's complicated past and solve the crime, despite the best efforts of the mastermind behind the murder, aliens beaming signals from the Andromeda Galaxy, her overbearing mother, and the intricacies of dealing with the only witness - an adorable parrot-cat.

Jack, Kirii, and Fade are industrial spies hired to steal a genome. But when they board the Seastead Long, even these experienced operatives aren't prepared for what they find. This story was first published in METAtropolis: Green Space, the third entry in Audible's original series.

Piper Rain is a romance author who stopped believing in love. She's been unable to write about it since her divorce and having her heart broken. So she gets away and looks for inspiration out in the mountains. What she didn't expect to find was a sexy, romantic neighbor who would bring the spark of hope back into her heart. Zain Lockwood is happy living out in the woods on his own. Though he is the alpha of a clan, he prefers solitude. Until a strong, beautiful but wounded female ends up as his neighbor.

Winter is coming, and Lissa Ramsey is homeless and alone. On the run from the Bear God cult, she's living rough and staying under the radar. But she can't outrun the demon bear inside her—the one planted there by the cult leader. It's angry and hungry—and out for blood. Tank Morrison has enough to deal with, trying to handle his broken grizzly and looking after his even more broken crew. But Lissa's newly awakened bear needs help, and the only thing he can do is bring her back to the Bad Bloods and try to keep her safe from the cult—and from her own out-of-control animal.

The whole world is falling apart. Bashorg, the demon, and the Beast, a dragon, are summoning all their power to rage against the Abyss, the prison their divine essences have been trapped in. Leg Ondo and his team must pull off the impossible once again. But how are they going to save the planet with Beatrice Shiv, a beautiful young girl, causing problems for Liara Slick, Leg's betrothed? How are they going to save the world if they can't even get along? The time has come for Leg Ondo to remember his true past as a valg.

Deep in the forest, a cop-for-hire investigates a gruesome murder – as she tries to forget an operation gone so wrong that her marriage, to her partner, lies in ruins. She teams with an Interpol agent tracking an exotic species smuggling operation tied to the killing. What they find leads them to a hidden compound - and two rather unusual children. This story was originally published in the Audie Award-winning METAtropolis: Cascadia.

How does the stranger know Cadie’s real name – and why she’s on the run – and what it all has to do with the Ukrainian mob? He’s offering her freedom from possessions and a totally new way of life. But he wants just this one little favor… This story was originally published in the Hugo Award-nominated METAtropolis.

In the sixth decade of the 21st century, Earth has been transformed. Nanotechnology has been perfected, giving humans the ability to change their environment and themselves down to the cellular level. And the study of the mind has brought a revolution in human psychotherapy and artificial intelligence. It's a sane and perfect world. Almost.

Not long ago, all Belissar wanted was to be left in peace to tend his apiaries. But that ended when Ruckanos, the brutish son of the local lord, slaughtered his village to make way for his new tower. Rescued by a bee—who happened to be a core—the one-time beekeeper then became king of his own bee realm. Belissar quickly learned how to thrive not only as a leader but as a fighter, using his winged minions to battle the dreaded Hunger that threatens all life. Now, aided by the mystical bear folk who share their knowledge and wisdom with him, he must continue to grow.

The crew of the asteroid-starship Thistledown has thwarted an attack by the Jarts by severing their link to the Way, an endless corridor that spans universes. The asteroid settled into orbit around Earth and the tunnel snaked away, forming a contained universe of its own. Forty years later, on Gaia, Rhita Vaskayza recklessly pursues her legacy, seeking an Earth once again threatened by forces from within and without.

As METAtropolis: Green Space moves into the 22nd Century, human social evolution is heading in new directions after the Green Crash and the subsequent Green Renaissance. Nearly everyone who cares to participate in the wired world has become part of the "Internet of things", a virtual environment mapped across all aspects of the natural experience. At the same time, the serious back-to-the-land types have embraced a full-on paleo lifestyle, including genetically engineering themselves and their offspring.

On September 28th, a geologist working in Death Valley finds a mysterious new cinder cone in very well-mapped area. On October 1, the government of Australia announces the discovery of an enormous granite mountain. Like the cinder cone, it wasn't there six months ago.

Something is happening to planet Earth, and the truth is too terrifying to contemplate