Short Stories

Note: this short story is also available in "Stars Above". It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen's army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen—and to himself—that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack.

Stephanie Vaughn is a writer’s writer, one whose debut collection of stories, Sweet Talk, was published more than two decades ago to critical acclaim. Readers have come to these stories over the years through word of mouth, posting glowing reviews to their Goodreads pages and on their blogs—unanimously agreeing that this collection is a modern classic that deserves to be in print. Crafted in graceful, honest prose, Vaughn’s stories go straight to the heart of how people live, grow and survive.

Subterranean Press proudly presents a major new collection by one of the brightest stars in the literary firmament. Catherynne M. Valente, the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and other acclaimed novels, now brings readers a treasure trove of stories and poems in The Bread We Eat in Dreams. In the Locus Award-winning novelette “White Lines on a Green Field,” an old story plays out against a high school backdrop as Coyote is quarterback and king for a season. A girl named Mallow embarks on an adventure of memorable and magical politicks in “The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While.” The award-winning, tour de force novella “Silently and Very Fast” is an ancient epic set in a far-flung future, the intimate autobiography of an evolving A.I. And in the title story, the history of a New England town and that of an outcast demon are irrevocably linked. The thirty-five pieces collected here explore an extraordinary breadth of styles and genres, as Valente presents readers with something fresh and evocative on every page. From noir to Native American myth, from folklore to the final frontier, each tale showcases Valente’s eloquence and originality. Table of Contents: The Consultant White Lines on a Green Field The Bread We Eat in Dreams The Melancholy of Mechagirl A Voice Like a Hole The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While How to Raise a Minotaur The Shoot-out at Burnt Corn Ranch Over the Bride of the World Mouse Koan The Blueberry Queen of Wiscasset In the Future When All’s Well Fade to White Aeromaus Red Engines The Wolves of Brooklyn One Breath, One Stroke Kallisti The Wedding The Secret of Being a Cowboy Twenty-Five Facts About Santa Claus We Without Us Were Shadows The Red Girl Aquaman and the Duality of Self/Other, America, 1985 The Room Silently and Very Fast What the Dragon Said: A Love Story

Angela Carter was a storytelling sorceress, the literary godmother of Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Audrey Niffenegger, J. K. Rowling, Kelly Link, and other contemporary masters of supernatural fiction. In her masterpiece, The Bloody Chamber—which includes the story that is the basis of Neil Jordan’s 1984 movie The Company of Wolves—she spins subversively dark and sensual versions of familiar fairy tales and legends like “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Bluebeard,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” giving them exhilarating new life in a style steeped in the romantic trappings of the gothic tradition.

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena—dazzling, poignant, and lyrical interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art. This stunning, exquisitely written collection introduces a cast of remarkable characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking. A 1930s Soviet censor painstakingly corrects offending photographs, deep underneath Leningrad, bewitched by the image of a disgraced prima ballerina. A chorus of women recount their stories and those of their grandmothers, former gulag prisoners who settled their Siberian mining town. Two pairs of brothers share a fierce, protective love. Young men across the former USSR face violence at home and in the military. And great sacrifices are made in the name of an oil landscape unremarkable except for the almost incomprehensibly peaceful past it depicts. In stunning prose, with rich character portraits and a sense of history reverberating into the present, The Tsar of Love and Techno is a captivating work from one of our greatest new talents. The leopard—Granddaughters—The Grozny Tourist Bureau—A prisoner of the Caucasus—The tsar of love and techno—Wolf of White Forest—Palace of the people—A temporary exhibition—The end

Finnegan's Field by Angela Slatter is a dark fantasy novelette about a six year old child who mysteriously disappears for three years, only to return home just as mysteriously—but not quite the same. At least, not to her mother.

Born to both the surface and the sea, Arthur Curry walks in two worlds but can find a home in neither. The King of Atlantis looks to reconcile his split heritage as he embarks on a new mission that may finally make him choose between his two paths. POLITICAL PLAYER: "As the leader of a world power," writer Dan Abnett says, "Arthur believes it's time Atlantis became part of the global community. Atlantis has been on the outside for too long: feared, mysterious and misunderstood. But that means getting the world used to Atlantis...and vice versa.

Egypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine. What starts off as an odd suicide case for Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi leads her through the city’s underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels, and plot that could unravel time itself.

It was rainy day, with a hot darjeeling tea, warm striped blanket and polka dot socks. One perfect moment to read stories for cats.

A short story set in the timeline of the first Lady Sherlock novel, after the main mystery has been solved and before the end of the book.

Dewi Lestari yang bernama pena Dee, kali ini hadir dengan mahakarya unik dan pertama di Indonesia. "Rectoverso" merupakan hibrida dari fiksi dan musik, terdiri dari sebelas cerita pendek dan sebelas lagu yang bisa dinikmati secara terpisah maupun bersama-sama. Keduanya saling melengkapi bagaikan dua imaji yang seolah berdiri sendiri tapi sesungguhnya merupakan satu kesatuan. Inilah cermin dari dua dunia Dewi Lestari yang ia ekspresikan dalam napas kreatifitas tunggal bertajuk "Rectoverso". Dengar fiksinya. Baca musiknya. Lengkapi penghayatan anda dan temukanlah sebuah pengalaman baru.

Blue Romance Selamat datang di Blue Romance, sebuah coffee shop yang buka setiap hari, dan mungkin kau lewati hari ini. Blue Romance menyediakan kopi ternikmat dan sahabat saat kau dituntut untuk terus terjaga. Blue Romance juga punya banyak cerita. Ada kisah jatuh cinta dan patah hati, perpisahan dan pertemuan kembali. Kisah-kisah ini berbalut kafein dan aroma kopi, berderai tawa dan tangis, di sela desis coffee maker. Seperti Latte, Affogato, Americano, dan Espresso, setiap kisah punya kopinya sendiri. Kisah mana yang cocok dengan kopimu?