Anthropologist Martine Murdoch theorizes the existence of an ancient cult of heart-eaters to explain the condition of human remains found hidden within a long-abandoned Mayan city. When the theory is published, her life changes forever. Shunned by the scientific community, Marty sets out to discover the meaning behind a series of recent murders committed using the very techniques she wrote about. But instead of unearthing a psychotic human, Marty stumbles into the final act of an ancient struggle that has gone unresolved for more than twenty-thousand years. The ancient cult is alive and functioning in the modern world. And now they are after her...
The eternal city of Commorragh has been cast into turmoil by the Dysjunction, a cataclysmic disturbance in the very fabric of its existence. As the streets are inundated with horrors from beyond the veil the supreme overlord, Asdrubael Vect, battles to keep his enemies in check and maintain his stranglehold over the riven city. Kabal turns upon kabal, archon against archon as the fires of hell are unleashed. Redemption for Commorragh rests in the hands of a disgraced incubus warrior wrongly accused of triggering the Dysjunction itself. His efforts to reclaim his lost honour could save the city or damn it forever – assuming it can survive the daemonic invasion and the archons' deadly battles for supremacy.
“An allegory for our time, full of creepy splendorand excitement . . . Demons is a brave and smart book. Read it if you dare.”—San Francisco Bay Guardian “Demons is funny, outrageous, and frightening, and, as a metaphor for our times, it works frighteningly well.”—Rocky Mountain News In a future uncomfortably close to the present day, the apocalypse has surpassed all expectations. Hideous demons roam the streets in an orgy of terror, drawing pleasure from torturing humans as sadistically as possible. Ira, a young San Francisco artist, becomes involved with a strange group of scientists and philosophers desperately trying to end the bloody siege. But the most shocking revelation is yet to come. . . . Praise for Demons “Barely street-legal, Shirley’s Bosch-like visions mark him out as perhaps the closest thing contemporary American fantasy has to a genuine ‘outsider artist.’”—William Gibson “John Shirley is an adventurer, returning from dark and troubled regions with visionary tales to tell. I heartily recommend a journey with John Shirley at your side.”—Clive Barker “John Shirley writes like a runaway train. . . . Intensely suspenseful, visionary, surreal, and every bit as gritty and immediate and believable as a police report, this book will scare you, dazzle you, and delight you.”—Tim Powers
**This book runs alongside books in the Heku Series and may contain spoilers** The war with the Ancients, initiated by a sole Valle, led to decades of war. The death and banishment caused by the fighting deepened the distrust between those with Ancient’s blood. Once the Ancients were banished for eternity, the Old Ones were forced to work together to rebuild the factions and continue their plight to strengthen the heku, without the wisdom and power of the Ancients. Once the factions were again stable, most Old Ones chose to permanently retire to avoid seeing their loathed enemies in power. The Valle quickly rose to be the strongest of the factions, until a lone mortal woman was found with powers that threatened to upend the entire heku species. Aided by her abilities, the Equites became the largest of the heku factions, leaving the Valle to struggle to keep from finding themselves obliterated. To save their faction, a beloved Elder was banished, and the Valle had to re-work their entire faction to compensate for losing an Old One.
Lucifer has infiltrated the world with his precious Nephilim. Seeking to disrupt, destroy, and prevent the birth of the Messiah, the Prince of Darkness declares war upon the Kingdom of God and his angelic warriors, including Archangel Michael and the mighty Defender, Daniel, born of man and raised by angels. Redemption tells the story of God's great mercy and forgiveness placed upon the life of Rapha, the immortal giant, son of the mysterious angel, Hagan, as he tries to leave his life of evil and destruction behind. The Lord is not finished working through Rapha as his purpose has yet to be fulfilled. What is this purpose? What does God desire from him? Breathtaking in scope, spanning across history, Redemption: A Story of Angels and Demons offers a mesmerizing account of the great battle between good and evil, holy and unholy, light and darkness. Michael, Daniel, Rapha, and others must unite to defend and protect the family of Joseph and Mary as they struggle against the forces of evil. Darkness seems to be prevailing. Lucifer must not succeed. The story of love, honor, and ultimate redemption continues in the second installment of the Defender series. Battle lines have been drawn. Swords have been lifted. Battles will be fought. The spiritual world of angels and demons merges with the human world of Nephilim, giants, and mankind, all leading to the pivotal moment of the birth, death, and resurrection of a Savior. Which side will be victorious in the clash of God's angels against the demons of Lucifer?
Third edition of a collection of fifty science fiction and fantasy stories by Evelyn E. Smith. Includes a complete bibliography and an overview of her publishing history in the pulp magazines.
The story thus far: In the last episode of Defenders, Brandon was enjoying a nice day for himself. He ate lunch at his favorite place and met a girl who seemed interested in him. However his quiet time was short lived. A fire broke out at a high rise apartment building. Grabbing his lunch, Brandon hurried to a nearby rooftop and transformed into Guardian. He arrived at the scene where he was informed of people trapped inside the burning building. Guardian, despite the fire chief's reluctance, rushed inside and saved the trapped tenants, including a nearly forgotten little girl. Guardian used a nearby tanker trailer and the Delaware River to extinguish the flames. But his day was just starting. Two bank robberies occur while he was at the Buckingham-Royals apartment building. Guardian takes off after the two sets of robbers. He introduces himself to the robbers in his own special way and stops them from escaping. With the robbers left behind for the police to take care of, Guardian flies back to Philadelphia. Unknown to the trench-coated hero, a mysterious figure has been watching him. Who is this mystery person? Could they be friend or foe? One thing is for certain, whoever it is, Guardian will be ever cautious.
National Book Award winner Ann Arensberg brings readers a modern horror story about evil descending on an insular Maine town It begins with the theft of six candles from the church altar, a few herbs found strewn in the local graveyard. In the summer of 1974, the prosperous farming community of Dry Falls, Maine, is hit by a brutal heat wave. Crops fail. Drought blights once-verdant lawns. Men inexplicably lose all interest in sex, while women complain of erotic nocturnal visitations. Farm animals give birth to monstrosities. An unholy, unimaginable force is disrupting the natural order—and it seems to be specifically targeting Dry Falls. Narrated by the careful and practical Cora Whitman, wife of the town pastor, this tale of creeping strangeness quickly turns sinister. Incubus subtly builds to its shattering climax with Cora at its epicenter. Expertly interweaving themes of faith, religion, and marriage with that of the supernatural, this modern horror classic will enthrall fans of Ann Arensberg and attract a legion of new readers.
Stories about devils and demons were literary staples long before the modern horror field came into existence. Our earliest story in this volume, by Washington Irving, was published in 1824...and the fact that these tales span almost 200 years shows how enduring the theme remains. Here, then, are 25 great modern and classic tales of devils, demons, and the macabre. Enjoy! THE CONTRACT OF CARSON CARRUTHERS, by William P. McGivern BURNT TOAST, by Mack Reynolds CRIME CLEAN-UP IN CENTER CITY, by Robert Moore Williams THE CRACKS OF TIME, by Dorothy Quick THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER, by Washington Irving HIDEAWAY, by Everil Worrell THE STRANGER FROM KURDISTAN, by E. Hoffmann Price HEREAFTER, INC., by Lester del Rey NIGHTMARE ON THE NOSE, by Evelyn E. Smith THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER, by Mark Twain AUT DIABOLUS AUT NIHIL: THE TRUE STORY OF A HALLUCINATION, by X.L. (Julian Osgood Field) CAN SUCH BEAUTY BE? by Jerome Bixby MARKHEIM, by Robert Louis Stevenson MONSIEUR BLUEBEARD, by Emil Petaja YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN, by Nathaniel Hawthorne ROOM WITHOUT WINDOWS, by Manly Banister THE BARGAIN OF RUPERT ORANGE, by Vincent O’Sullivan THE BOTTLE IMP, by Dwight V. Swain THE CASE OF MR. LUCRAFT, Walter Besant and James Rice WHO SUPS WITH THE DEVIL, by S.M. Tenneshaw THE SHOEMAKER AND THE DEVIL, by Anton Chekhov SPAWN OF HELL, by William P. McGivern YOUR SOUL COMES C.O.D., by Mack Reynolds ST. JOHN'S EVE, by Nikolai Gogol WOLFIE, by Theodore R. Cogwell If you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 260+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more!
Incubus won every race but one. Yet though in this respect she matched Man o’ War’s record she wasn’t actually a horse at all. Evelyn E. Smith is best known as the author of the Miss Melville mysteries. From 1952 to 1969 she wrote dozens of science fiction and fantasy short stories that appeared in magazines such as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Galaxy, Super Science Fiction, and Fantastic Universe. Her stories were witty, well written, often humorous, and always unforgettable.
