Stella thought she’d made up a lie on the spot, asking her childhood friend if he remembered the strange public broadcast TV show with the unsettling host she and all the neighborhood kids appeared on years ago. But he does remember. And so does her mom. So why doesn’t Stella? The more she investigates the show and the grip it has on her hometown, the eerier the mystery grows.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released on the first Tuesday of every month.
Extra large Customer Appreciation issue!
TABLE OF CONTENTS FICTION The Tomato Thief—Ursula Vernon The Open-Hearted—Lettie Prell Soursop—Chikodili Emelumadu Bones of the World—Jennifer Hykes That Lucky Old Sun—Carrie Cuinn Razorback—Ursula Vernon Kutraya’s Skies—Dave Creek Riding Atlas—Ferrett Steinmetz Paper Tigers (Novel Excerpt)—Damien Angelica Walters
NONFICTION Interview with Ursula Vernon—Andrea Johnson Interview with Chikodili Emelumadu—Andrea Johnson Interview with Lettie Prell—Andrea Johnson Interview with Matt Davis, Cover Artist—Russell Dickerson An Exploration of Racism in Heart of Darkness—Lucy A. Snyder
POETRY RX-200 Series: It’s Everything You Need—Samson Stormcrow Hayes Upside of the Cataclysmic Meteor—Zebulon Huset The Doctor’s Assistant—Anton Rose In the Far Future, Billy Experiences the Most Powerful Drug Known to Man—Greg Leunig Automaton—Bianca Spriggs Maxwell’s Demon—Annie Neugebauer Various Kinds of Wolves—J.J. Hunter
Editorial Words from the Editor-in-Chief — Jason Sizemore
Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company.
There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again. It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. And it isn't as safe.
When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn't save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.
She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming...
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Following Last Light comes Final Hour, the second of two standalone eBook original novellas leading in to Ashley Bell, the highly anticipated new novel of suspense from Dean Koontz! Just by touching others, Makani Hisoka-O’Brien can see the darkest secrets they keep. The troubling talent has made the Southern California surfer wary of casual contact. But while impulsively saving a stranger from an accident, she experiences her most disturbing vision. With only a good friend to help her, and mere traces of information to guide her, Makani must track down two mysterious women—one of them innocent, one not. But Makani is stepping into the path of an adversary more dangerous than she can a brutal predator behind a pretty face, who won’t go down without drawing blood. Acclaim for Dean Koontz “Dean Koontz is a prose stylist whose lyricism heightens malevolence and tension. [He creates] characters of unusual richness and depth . . . with a level of perception and sensitivity that is not merely convincing; it’s astonishing.”—The Seattle Times “Demanding much of itself, Koontz’s style bleaches out clichés while showing a genius for details. He leaves his competitors buried in the dust.”—Kirkus Reviews “A rarity among bestselling writers, Koontz continues to pursue new ways of telling stories, never content with repeating himself.”—Chicago Sun-Times “Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. ‘Serious’ writers . . . might do well to examine his technique.”—The New York Times Book Review “[Koontz] has always had near-Dickensian powers of description, and an ability to yank us from one page to the next that few novelists can match.”—Los Angeles Times “Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition.”—USA Today “Characters and the search for meaning, exquisitely crafted, are the soul of [Koontz’s] work. . . . One of the master storytellers of this or any age.”—The Tampa Tribune “A literary juggler.”—The Times (London)
From bestselling author Dean Koontz comes an eBook original novella, the first of two tales that pave the way for Ashley Bell, his new novel of dark suspense! A woman with a good heart and a troubling gift. A man with a twisted soul and a terrifying talent. In this literal war of wills, only one can survive.
With just a touch, Makani Hisoka-O’Brien can see the deepest secrets that others conceal—and it frightens her. There’s danger in the terrible knowledge that floods her mind and haunts her conscience.
With just a touch, Rainer Sparks can learn the biggest problems that others bear—and it thrills him. There’s profit to be made making problems go away, by any means . . . including murder.
In a place as big as Southern California, these two might have never met and discovered one another’s chilling abilities. But good and evil have a way of colliding . . . with shattering consequences. Acclaim for Dean Koontz “Dean Koontz is a prose stylist whose lyricism heightens malevolence and tension. [He creates] characters of unusual richness and depth . . . with a level of perception and sensitivity that is not merely convincing; it’s astonishing.” —The Seattle Times
“Demanding much of itself, Koontz’s style bleaches out clichés while showing a genius for details. He leaves his competitors buried in the dust.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A rarity among bestselling writers, Koontz continues to pursue new ways of telling stories, never content with repeating himself.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. ‘Serious’ writers . . . might do well to examine his technique.”—The New York Times Book Review
“[Koontz] has always had near-Dickensian powers of description, and an ability to yank us from one page to the next that few novelists can match.” —Los Angeles Times
“Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition.”—USA Today
“Characters and the search for meaning, exquisitely crafted, are the soul of [Koontz’s] work. . . . One of the master storytellers of this or any age.”—The Tampa Tribune
A world-weary woman races against the clock to rescue the children of a wrathful tyrant from a dangerous, otherworldly forest.
At the northern edge of a land ruled by a monstrous, foreign tyrant lies the wild forest known as the Elmever. The villagers know better than to let their children go near—once someone goes in, they never come back out.
No one knows the strange and terrifying traps of the Elmever better than Veris Thorn, the only person to ever rescue a child from the forest many years ago. When the Tyrant’s two young children go missing, Veris is commanded to enter the forest once more and bring them home safe. If Veris fails, the Tyrant will kill her; if she remains in the forest for longer than a day, she will be trapped forevermore.
So Veris will travel deep into the Elmever to face traps, riddles, and monsters at the behest of another monster. One misstep will cost everything.
A hapless imugi is determined to attain the form of a full-fledged dragon and gain entry to the gates of heaven. For a long time, things don't go well. Then, it meets a girl. The B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog presents an original short story by Campbell Award-nominated author Zen Cho.
This first collection by award-winning author Kelly Link takes fairy tales and cautionary tales, dictators and extraterrestrials, amnesiacs and honeymooners, revenants and readers alike, on a voyage into new, strange, and wonderful territory. The girl detective must go to the underworld to solve the case of the tap-dancing bank robbers. A librarian falls in love with a girl whose father collects artificial noses. A dead man posts letters home to his estranged wife. Two women named Louise begin a series of consecutive love affairs with a string of cellists. A newly married couple become participants in an apocalyptic beauty pageant. Sexy blond aliens invade New York City. A young girl learns how to make herself disappear.
These eleven extraordinary stories are quirky, spooky, and smart. They all have happy endings. Every story contains a secret prize. Each story was written especially for you.
Stories from Stranger Things Happen have won the Nebula, Tiptree, and World Fantasy Award. Stranger Things Happen was a Salon Book of the Year, one of the Village Voice's 25 Favorite Books of 2001, and was nominated for the Firecracker Alternative Book Award.
Contents: - Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (1998) - Water Off a Black Dog's Back (1995) - The Specialist's Hat (1998) - Flying Lessons (1995) - Travels with the Snow Queen (1996/1997) - Vanishing Act (1996) - Survivor's Ball, or, The Donner Party (1998) - Shoe and Marriage (2000) - Most of My Friends Are Two-Thirds Water (2001) - Louise's Ghost (2001) - The Girl Detective (1999)