Showing results for "The Human" in Fantasy

Being a grumpy ex-soldier means I like being alone. What better place for solitude, far from home and bad memories, than a remote chalet in Italy? Peace and quiet, just what I need to write my next book. You know what they say about best laid plans, right? Somehow I end sheltering a single mom on the run with her kid—and a talking lizard.

In this new collection, Richard Thomas has crafted 14 stories that push the boundaries of dark fiction in an intoxicating, piercing blend of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Equally provocative and profound, each story is masterfully woven with transgressive themes that burrow beneath the skin.

The comfortable and safe mortal lands of the Nameless World have been left behind. The petty kingdoms with their endless feuds, the supposedly great empires with their innumerable intrigues and tragedies, even the Strange Lands that consider themselves to be the last bastion of true freedom. The Mad General has traversed them all, from one end to the other. What lies ahead? The road to the Land of the Immortals.

My role as Moric—ruler of a small and prosperous fiefdom in a quiet corner of the world—has always been painfully dull and stifling. Until a beautiful, otherworldly creature with pink skin and a mane of golden hair falls through a strange void that has appeared in my guestroom. I am instantly captivated by him. I have never seen anything like him. I have no idea where he came from, and what else is through that unsettling void—another world filled with soft-skinned, defenseless creatures like him? No tails, no horns, no claws, no sharp teeth. Tiny clothing, rounded ears, bright blue eyes.

When six human women are rescued from the Dreadmoor, Kizros’s only job is to check on their health and provide the rune cuffs that keep them safe. He didn’t imagine that by the afternoon, he’d be escorting one of those humans to his apothecary as his new assistant. But Aofe is the opposite of what he thought humans would be like. She’s a bloom in the dark, a colorful and curious creature, and from the moment he saw her brilliance, Kizros was determined not to scare away his new colleague.

In 2025, the moon hatched and its child died. Things have since gotten worse. Some people have superpowers now, but so do the extradimensional invaders slowly wiping humanity out. By Julietta's eighteenth birthday, the war has been loss after loss for far longer than she's been alive, so she can't bring herself to be terribly shocked when the sky splits in half and weeps death. Surviving is the real surprise.

Confined in close quarters, a human woman and a demon are forced to share their truths and confront their aversions to intimacy in the first of Falling for Demons.

I never suspected the lava rock I threw into the firepit was actually an egg. I'm blown away when it hatches to reveal a reptile with a voracious appetite. Cute little bugger, until it learns to talk. The bossy critter thinks he can order me around. Claims he's a dragon. Says when he grows strong enough, he wants to rule the world. I say go ahead. He can't do any worse than our current politicians.

I've spent most of my life knowing that supernatural creatures exist but never really interacting with any, so my knowledge of them is limited. Still, who would've thought a demisexual incubus was a thing? Well apparently, not only is it a thing, but I have one who claims to be my soulmate—or viramore, as he calls it. And now he has it in his head that he's going to save me from my past.

What were the chances of running into my mate the first time I visited the human world? Almost none. And yet, there he was, with sparkling blue eyes, brightly painted nails, a wide smile, and a sassy as fuck mouth. There was no way I was dropping the ball on this, but it wasn't as easy as asking him out, even though he'd left me his number on my coffee cup. Being a supernatural in the human world was tough, but bringing a human into your world? Yeah, I was going to need some help.

Before he was Oldtimer, he was Craig Emilson, a young doctor,sucked into military service at the outbreak of World War III. Enlisting to become a Special Forces suborbital paratrooper, Craig is selected to take part in the most important mission in American military history, a sortie into enemy territory to eliminate the world's first strong artificial intelligence.

Annie has learned quite a bit about her new friend Gemma: she's from Bristol, she used to work in a pharmacy, and she's never forgiven herself for the suicide of her teenage son. She also died ten years ago and doesn't know why she's come back through that door. Perhaps it has something to do...

George's friend, Kaz, arrives at the flat with a staggering request: she and her partner Gail want to have a child, and they'd like George to be the father. George is warming to the idea - he's always wanted kids, and he can be as involved in the baby's life as he wishes - but he is wary: what...

Former Marine Captain Alexander Hale only wanted a weekend out with some old buddies. He could have done without the gang war, the shootout, and...oh yeah, the alien abduction. Now he's in the middle of something he doesn't understand, never asked for, and is having quite possibly the greatest time of his life. Semper Fi and which way are the shores of Tripoli anyway?

Baxter Zevcenko's life is pretty sweet. He's making a name for himself as the kingpin of his smut-peddling high school syndicate, the other gangs are staying out of his business, and he's dating the girl of his dreams, Esme. But when Esme gets kidnapped, things start to get seriously weird, and the only man drunk enough to help is a bearded, booze-soaked, supernatural bounty hunter who goes by the name of Jackson "Jackie" Ronin.

Ex-Navy SEAL Adam Cain finds himself attempting to make a living the best he can in the alien universe he's been dropped into - as an assassin. After all, with his kick-ass attitude and instinctive hatred for aliens, he's a natural at it. As a human among aliens, he's stronger, faster, and tougher than just about everyone - and everything - he encounters. In this reality, Adam is the Superman.

King Or'Ang LaNault’s search for a bride has left him weary and disheartened. As the powerful ruler of a prosperous kingdom—one rich in both wealth and a hidden, mythical power—he must tread carefully, knowing that few can be trusted with his heart. Yet a chance encounter with a spirited human woman, whose boldness, kindness, and thirst for adventure catch him off guard, has him wondering if a shifter king could truly choose a human as his queen.

The first shots of war have been fired, now it's a race against time to stop a headlong rush before someone fires the last shots. The alien probe that created dozens of superhuman weapons and unleashed them on Houston has a new testing site, the city of Hong Kong, and Alexander Hale has been asked to intervene. With no idea who, or how, the experiments on people are being done he slips into the city to try and find out what ever he can, but beyond the skyline of Hong Kong trouble is brewing.

Now tested in battle, Evan aims to become the heir of Hatra. Once that he’s a lord, Evan has even more on his plate, from rebuilding the city’s aqueducts to fighting demonic hordes. On top of all that, the King of Rahma gives Evan a quest to prove his worth: to find the lost sword of Hatra, which was last seen 1,000 years ago.

Adventure. It's what my boring life is missing, so when I fall through a portal into another world, I'm excited. Here, I'm important. Here, I'm special. I find out just how special when I meet Death. He's been exiled to the mortal realm to work through his flaws, and he's just as spoiled and awful as you'd think. Rhagos, the Shadow Lord, is arrogant and rude and controlling and demands to get his way. He's selfish. He's impossible. He's also utterly gorgeous.