Fantasy og science fiction

Sword Art Online, as reimagined by famed fantasy author Souichiro Watase! Asuka Empire. A Japanese-style VRMMO created by Akihiko Kayaba from a VR engine entitled "The Seed." A game, once played by Yuuki, Ran, and Merida of the Sleeping Knights, that hides many stories... Two young women--warrior priestess Nayuta, and ninja Koyomi, who met and became friends in-game--come across a mysterious priest named Yanagi. The elderly man tells them that he's looking for a detective to solve a riddle, and that the reward for this quest will be one million yen. Shocked by the outlandish sum of this peculiar request, the two girls come across an equally peculiar young man, who claims to be able to do the job as well as any other detective. With all his stat points invested in Luck, the man is useless in battle, but he does still seem to have some tricks up his sleeve, like that unbeatable drop rate for rare items... The mystery unfolds as two young girls and their dubious detective partner try to solve the case in this cutting-edge VRMMO world!

The war between demon and man has been successfully thwarted, marking the students' return to the Demon King Academy. If only peace were so easy to obtain. The people of Dilhade must now face the truth about the long-awaited Demon King and adjust to the abolishment of royalty. Anos must tread carefully-for old enemies, and even old friends, have been awaiting his return. A familiar face from two thousand years ago then arrives at the Demon King Academy--but he's somehow been possessed by a god! Nosgalia the Heavenly Father, who opposed Anos during the Mythical Age, swears to impose his downfall and return order to the world. But can order truly fight the foe that abolishes all reason? Find out in the fourth installment of The Misfit of Demon King Academy: the Great Spirit Arc!

At the guild in a town in Lypaed, Alto accepts a request of his own will. The request involves spending Ragi's remaining days with him, as he is nearing the end of his life. Meanwhile, Setsuna accepts a request to save the florist couple Norris and Elly. However, a different request directly from the empress comes in at the same time... Will Setsuna and Alto be able to carry out their requests?

Rimuru and his forces fight heroically on all fronts to stop Michael's plan...only to lose the demon lord Leon to Feldway's schemes. Michael's next target is Masayuki the Hero, who possesses the soul of Ludora, Michael's former host. There to meet him in battle are the paladin Hinata, the Primal Demon Blanc, and Velgrynd the Flame Dragon. But just when Michael begins to set things in motion, the situation devolves even further into chaos...

After Allen and the others rescue Shii from a political marriage with a Ronelian noble, they somehow make it through the ups and downs of the entrance exam and Valentine's day, finally completing their first year at the academy! For the upcoming spring break, they'll attend a training camp in Rose's homeland, Cherrin, the Land of Sakura! What awaits them there?!

Bisco and Milo are out searching for Ghost Hail mushrooms for a pregnant Pawoo when an airborne ark appears and abducts them in an attempt to "save" the creatures of Earth. But just when things start looking desperate, Milo miraculously gives birth! The mysterious mushroom child Sugar Akaboshi wastes no time in freeding them. But there are many other creatures who've been "saved" on the ark. If our heroes want to free them, they'll have to awaken Sugar's true powers...

Issei's many triumphs have finally won him the adulation he's always hoped for, although not with the crowd he would've liked. Rather than legions of adoring ladies, he's got tons of mages clamoring to make a pact with him! Well, so long as he finds a cute mage girl, it'll all be worth it, right? Meanwhile, Gasper receives an order from his vampire family to return home. Why would they want him back after neglecting him for so long?

Designed to see into the heart of the universe the Infinite Resolution Imaging Station was built to unlock the mysteries and histories of the galaxy. On the station he designed Doctor Stephano Rickard is doing a routine upgrade when everything begins to fail. People are dying and even friends can't be trusted. Stephano must find out the truth if he wants to get home.

The Foundlings and the Fisherman from Tumby chronicles the remarkable and meaningful lives of John and Margaret Treves, a couple beset by daunting challenges and tragedies. Despite their setbacks, the couple contribute whole-heartedly to the needs of the children at the mission and the lepers from the colony. Amidst the duality of light and darkness, land and sea, and the eternal conflict between good and evil, readers are invited to explore the profound meaning of selflessness and sacrifice. The writing is rich in allegory. John Treves's interaction with the tyrannical merqueen is analogous to the wicked, corrupt elements in our world today. The charity of John and Margaret transforms Tumby into a special place where surely they are remembered for their selfless contributions to society as opposed to the merqueen's insatiable thirst for power and wealth.

Everyone thinks the Kringles only work in toy making. I'm not your normal Kringle and toymaking is definitely not in my blood.Nope. I slay monsters.But when Christmas rolls around, I protect Santa's sleigh.Most of the time, we deal with a stray rogue monster or two on Christmas Eve. But this year is different. It seems the monsters have decided they want to play with Santa's reindeer and ring his bells.If I don't put a stop to this madness, not only will Santa be their next meal, but children all over the world will wake to a Christmas that never was.If they wake at all.

IN TRY NOT TO LET THE BED BUDDIES TORTURE YOU, A BOY NAMED JESS HAS A LOT OF BED BUDDIES INCLUDINGHIS BIG SISTER KATE WHO IS ONE YEAR OLDER.IN BED BUDDIES BUT NO BULLIES JESS GETS PICKED ON BY A BULLY WHO TELLS HIM HE HAS TOO MANY BED BUDDIES. FIND OUT WHO TELLS THE BULLY THAT JESS CAN HAVE AS MANY BED BUDDIES AS HE WANTS, FIND OUT HOW MANYPEOPLE GO AFTER THE BULLY.

When graduate student Decklan "Dek" Thomas is seriously injured in a lab accident while using the equipment belonging to scientist Lauren Summers without permission, everything changes. His body heals faster, his hearing and eyesight are better, and he can run like the freaking wind! After he learns Lauren has also been changed, and the two scramble to uncover what has happened to them, they soon realize their lives could be in danger--by the"virus" coursing through their veins and someone who wants to silence them ... permanently. Never could they have predicted that the journey ahead would reveal a powerful enemy, a friend's betrayal, and dark secrets which, if word got out, may have dire consequences for all mankind.

When graduate student Decklan "Dek" Thomas is seriously injured in a lab accident while using the equipment belonging to scientist Lauren Summers without permission, everything changes. His body heals faster, his hearing and eyesight are better, and he can run like the freaking wind! After he learns Lauren has also been changed, and the two scramble to uncover what has happened to them, they soon realize their lives could be in danger--by the"virus" coursing through their veins and someone who wants to silence them ... permanently. Never could they have predicted that the journey ahead would reveal a powerful enemy, a friend's betrayal, and dark secrets which, if word got out, may have dire consequences for all mankind.

Tory was doing everything a nineteen-year-old should be doing. Then, out of nowhere, his brother showed up. Due to unforeseen events, he went to an unknown kingdom and tried to take his brother's place.

What if the cost of first contact was leaving behind a world you'd never recognize upon return?On the heels of discovering interstellar travel, humanity has stumbled upon the first signs of intelligent life in another system. Captain Adrian Kemper is selected to lead the expedition to Kyra-2B in order to make first contact with the Kyrans. He departs a world struggling to deal with overpopulation, knowing that the realities of space travel will mean the Earth he eventually returns to will no longer be home. Even the stone cottage he loves may not remain.Despite this, Kemper accepts the mission. He leads an elite crew of optimistic scientists on a journey that will traverse hundreds of light years before reaching an alien world.What they find is truly unexpected.

In a Steampunk Oxford, Ignatius and Indigo are both agents for the Union Jacks, a secret organisation. The role of the Union is to protect the British Empire, which is at the height of its powers, and help in its technological advances. They have discovered the existence of the mystical Book of Consciousness written by the creator of the cosmos, the genderless Omnisoul. The book is the history of everything that is, that has been and that will be. The agents are aided by Skye, who accidentally calls forth seven merciless immortals called the Charon.Known as the Beautiful and the Damned, the Charon are the Infernal Dukes of Hell, created to carry out the will of the Omisoul. But they are tired of their immortality and want to end their existence. Elsewhere, the socrerer Ragnar of Roc has conjured a hole in spacetime, allowing the draconic Elder God Calabi Ya to re-enter the cosmos from the Ghost Worlds. He is as old as the Omnisoul and wants the book to learn his destiny. The two Union Jacks leave Oxford and are taken on a journey across the cosmos in the great ship Taraka, which sails through space and time. Ignatius and Indigo are mere pawns in the cosmic ocean of fate, carried to fabled places, witness to bloody massacres, and half-willing conspirators in the Charon's plot to thwart the Omnisoul's plan and defeat the protectors of the Well at the Centre of Time.

No one plays war without risk. Risk of harm, risk of loss. The violence stains pages and opens worlds to corruption. Even so, a great author once stated that no book is so bad that there is not something good in it. Even a setting with so much hatred and death can contain something as efficient as a hero. This was Yonas' design: to raise heroes as roses from ashes, to prepare them for even more crucial futures. And it was now time to pick those roses.

No hidden maps. No secret words written among the dotted specks of white. His fingers itched to touch the paint and peel it away to whatever lie beneath-to whatever felt both so horribly familiar yet strange.With about half the keys in Noa's possession and a horrible discovery that several members of a project to emulate lost magic through a device, it's looking far more likely that this mission to find the Vault isn't as much of a fabled fool's errand as she originally thought. Every piece is seemingly falling into place, heralding the coming of the dark with the light of magic dwindling to sparks.As Noa's priorities shift with the newly-planted thought that she's the one chosen to see this task through after the loss of her would-be-Seer and surrogate father, Lazarus, she decides that it might be better to distance herself from that growing bond she's found comfort in with Glacier. After all, his place is with his kingdom, and once they reach the end-whatever their fates might be-there won't be any place for a group of killers and thieves in his life.However, Noa doesn't realize that the other half of her quest's fated set might actually be standing next to her.Glacier is starting to unravel, thanks to that echo of power rippling along the surface of his soul. Power that he's not willing to accept, let alone acknowledge, with the crushing weight of what might be awaiting him back in Amarais. Being Miraltan is one thing, but a powerful Seer-a Mage-is another. And with one daemon-summoning adversary recognizing that potential, it's only a matter of time before he's hunted for his magic instead of just his blood.

The chaotic crew of heisting misfits in Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows meets the familiar yet fantastical, modern landscape found in Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs."The thirteen emblems given to the original rulers weren't just symbols. They're keys to the Vault-one that no one's ever opened."Noa has lived her life as an unsuspecting, ID-burning, face in the crowd that disposes of "problems" for her miscellaneous, secretive employers. So, when Noa's surrogate father-a Seer-hands her a long-lost emblem, telling her with his dying breath that it's her responsibility to reignite magic, she laughs at the idea that the fate of their world rests on the shoulders of a killer. Instead, she uses his words and the key he gave her as an excuse to go on one final suicide mission to seek out the power supposedly waiting for her to annihilate his murderer.Prince Glacier Caelius has lived his life trapped inside a gilded cage, pushed down by the ever-present threat of death as the bastard son of Amarais's late king. But when the rebels attack during a nationalist party, Glacier's rescued by none other than Noa and her merry band of thieves, who are scrambling to salvage a failed attempt at stealing his country's emblem: the Soul of Amarais. When the dust settles, he's the only person left alive to unlock the palace vault and give the Soul to Noa in exchange for saving his life.Well, once they're able to formulate a plan to take the palace back.Struggling with their tentative, newfound freedom, Noa and Glacier must learn to work together to survive the urban landscape of Avaria's greatest cities fortified by technology in the wake of dwindling magic. The goal: steal as many keys as they can before their pasts catch up. But the further they go, the more they realize that something worse may be lurking on the horizon, and they may very well be the only ones able to stop it.

The second phase of the Maradaine Saga begins with this novel, which moves outside the city of Maradaine, following a lone member of the Maradaine Constabulary as she navigates a new but just as dangerous city.Sergeant Corrie Welling-the young constabulary officer from Maradaine-has been abducted and confined on a ship bound for distant shores, where her captors have nefarious plans for her. With fortune and ingenuity, Corrie escapes, but finds herself stuck in a sprawling metropolis on the other side of the world: The Mocassa.The Mocassa is a test unlike anything Corrie has ever faced. She doesn't speak the language, doesn't know the culture, and is forbidden from leaving the city until she pays off a colossal debt. Even if she's able to find decent work, it will take her years to settle her accounts and get home.But Corrie Welling will not be cowed. She will work, fight, and hold her chin high. As a fringe faction of an apocalyptic faith spreads throughout the city, threatening the new friends she's sworn to protect, she'll continue to stand up for the values instilled in her as a member of the Maradaine Constabulary. Even if, as her darkest day approaches, she has to fight for those values all on her own.

Separated from their classmates during a drill, Scout Cadets Anne Villas and Christine Montide find themselves stranded on a previously uncharted world. By pure chance they've discovered a lost human colony that wants to stay lost, and the rulers of this planet will use all the power they have to keep it a secret.Anne is not just any cadet, though. She's "The Princess Scout" - the daughter of David Rice, the Scout Corps' legendary hero, and Callan, indomitable heir to the throne of Mordan. With the might of a whole planet against them, can Anne and Chris find a way to not merely survive, but win?The Princess Scout mashes up space opera excitement with the dangerous atmosphere of a Cold War thriller, resulting in the latest standalone hit novel in Henry Vogel's best-selling Scout series. Read it today!

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" Torenia Luca's unparalleled beauty is the cause of her family's hatred for her. She's ignored by her father, cast aside by her mother, and despised by her sister, Aster. The increasing rivalry between herself and Aster pushes Torenia into the Craft before she is driven out of Silvania for witchcraft. Ten years later, she finds herself on the other side of the Mørke Forest in Osleka, a region known for its brutal cold and a mysterious blood cult called The Brotherhood, run by Roman and Ivan Sokolov. Thrown into a world of blood lust, political affairs, and nightwalkers, Torenia finds herself swept up in the Brotherhood, shedding parts of herself that do not serve her and unlocking desires that she had long since hidden. She claws her way up the hierarchy, uncaring of whom she usurps along the way. "Torenia Luca is the fairest of them all..."

A cursed immortal battles his demons and the nefarious beings of the underworld once his whereabouts are discovered, igniting a war against all of mankind in this spine-tingling supernatural thriller. Born with a gift that is more of a curse than a blessing, John is an immortal that battles his internal demons and the external forces around him. At a tender age, he is adopted by his grandparents for protection and a better life following his parents' demise. When nefarious beings of the underworld discover his whereabouts, a war between the world of the mortals and the undead ignites. To keep these entities from public knowledge, a government agency known as The Order extricates John, but he quickly becomes cognizant that his rescue was only a part of a devised scheme to exploit his powers and implement plans with far greater sinister intent than imaginable. The knowledge of this betrayal unfurls the beast tucked inside of John, and the evil that emerges unleashes diabolical mayhem that threatens to annihilate not only The Order, but all of mankind.

She keeps her head down and cleans up messes. When the body count starts rising, will trying to make a living get her flushed?Julia Xero is stuck in survival mode. After losing the only person she loved, the introverted orphan longs to escape her toxic employment for the zen of crime and trauma scene decontamination. But when she lands her dream job and is called to a bloody rooftop with a decapitated corpse, she's horrified to come face to face with an otherworldly shark-toothed assassin.Furious to learn she's been enlisted by a clandestine race of beings against her will, Julia's dismay fountains when she finds out they implanted her with a neck bomb to ensure her lips stay tightly sealed. Fit to be tied, and her thunderous confrontation with her boss hitting a deadend, the stubborn young woman begins plotting ways to leave the energy-powered entities in her dust.Can she outwit an ancient civilization before her carotid goes boom?

Welcome to a World of Invention To a mermaid watching airships as she dreams of the sky... to an orphan girl caught between innovation and tradition... From a desperate Lady turning to science to search for the rightful heir... The Age of Steam is full of potential-and peril-for those with the vision to wonder what if. Includes the Stories: Looking BackTo Reach for Distant ShoresWindows to the SoulOn the Wings of an AngelEchoes of the DivineTrouble on the WaterAngel de la MuerteAla al-Din and the Cave of Wonders ***Contains a bonus excerpt from the forthcoming novel The Town of Ground-Down Gears

The legends got it wrong.Morgan le Fey has never been good at magic. Despite her aunt's insistence that she has great power and royal blood in her veins, it's just never felt true in her modern London life. The tales she heard as a child of the kingdom of Camelot and her place in it were just stories woven to bolster her spirits. And when her magic fails to protect her loved ones, Morgan is certain she's not meant to be a witch.Until a stranger appears on her doorstep, insisting that she has a destiny to fulfill in a kingdom she always believed was fantasy.The moment she sets foot in present-day Camelot, the connection to her magic she's longed for snaps to attention. Even still, she'll need to master her skills if she has any chance of taking back her throne.She arrives on the eve of a tournament of magical champions in honor of Prince Arthur's impending coronation. Barely able to gain entrance to the challenge, Morgan must best witches, fae and dragons for her chance to take on Arthur.But even if she makes it to the final bout, proving her claim to the crown could cost her everything. Is this destiny worth risking her life for?HER SAPPHIRE BLADE is the first book in the Arthurian-inspired Guardians of Camelot portal fantasy series by USA Today Bestselling Author Sarah Biglow and is part of the Seasons of Magic universe.

Welcome to the Pick's Pocket, where the spirits are high, but the stakes are higher. In the depths of the Sedrian swamp, Pickett, the accidental swamp witch, spins tales to keep her ramshackle bar afloat. Only her loyal sidekick, Edie, knows the enchanting act is just a clever ruse. Yet, Pickett harbors more than magical secrets; a looming loan threatens to snatch the very bar they call home from beneath their feet. As if unpaid debts weren't enough, the undead decide to crash the party, sending patrons fleeing and Pick's Pocket into peril. With a loan shark demanding more than magic tricks, Pickett finds herself juggling not just spirits, but the haunting threat of financial ruin. Now, Pickett must pull off the ultimate vanishing act to save her bar. But can she keep the loan shark at bay, the spirits in check, and settle her debts? Or will her magical mishap lead to a hilariously haunting disaster?

When the United States collapses into post-apocalyptic ruin, The Woman flees her suburban home. Chronicling her life from the first shock to building and ruling a dieselpunk fiefdom, her mind deteriorates, and she obtains a nuclear weapon. One hundred years later, a boy feeds her journals to an AI to answer lingering questions about his heritage. When the AI becomes sentient, weaving its own stories about The Woman and what her final moments might have been, the boy must confront a deranged power just like the person it was created to emulate.Told through journal entries, Cataclysm is a story of how unrepentant rage permeates generations.

A pirate prince, hungry for revenge.A thief with magic that can kill.Both will face Death to save someone they love.When Soren comes back from Tarotland, her powers come back with her. Trying her hardest to avoid them, her efforts are wasted when she sees a deadly vision through the looking glass.Now, she's left with questions about who she is, and what her mother was doing in Tarotland so many years ago. The only way to find answers is to go to the Empress's Tower, which would involve making the Devil's Gambit Fly.But the Gambit is lost at sea. To find it, she'll have to reunite with The Devil captain himself, and his undead crew. The last time she saw him, he took her breath away, and by going back, she's confronted by emotions she's not sure she's ready for. Seeing him again jeopardizes her own life, and his. And now, death's clock is ticking for both of them.

If you had told us fifteen years ago, when LSQ was a one-woman operation running on a steady diet of "wouldn't it be cool if", that we would attract authors and stories as good as these, we would have been very pleased indeed! These stories are deep.They are full of hard earned human emotions, in spite of their fantastical settings. Ghosts and goblins and living houses and fairy tales and the underworld are all great, but if they don't get under your skin, and maybe even draw some blood from time to time, then what's the point, at this late hour? So please accept our latest invitation to the greatest show in speculative literature, as we all change and evolve and become our next selves, together. Featuring"Sojourner" by Esther Alter"And Lilith Sewed the Seam" by Allister Nelson"Regarding Your Application to This Year's Orpheus Fellowship" by Anna-Claire McGrath"Lost in Target" by Camden Rose"How to Carry a Millstone" by Katie McIvor"Who We Are" by Ana Wesley"Bedtime Story" by Rhonda Parrish"Grief in C Minor" by Erin Keating"Open Your Eyes" by Allie Marini"You and Me, Here and There, Now and Then and When" by JM Cyrus"The Fish Who Dreamt of Dragons" by Lilia Zhang"Souls on the Open Plane" by Remy Welch"The Illusionist's Daughter" by Wen Wen Yang"The Angelus Machine" by Emily Yu"Cedar Glen" by Alicia Adams"Lost Souls" by Rae Maybee"A Pound of Flesh" by K R Samp