Alastair Reynolds has continued to publish short fiction throughout the thirty-odd years of his professional career. This fourth collection gathers material mostly written by the former space scientist in the last decade, even as a number of stories--such as the title piece, set in the universe of House of Suns--revisit earlier environments. The scope of settings is wide, ranging from the contemporaneous Earth to the near future and out to the furthest realms of the galaxy, and taking in such diverse topics as the perils of immortality, cybernetic encounters in the Wild West, uncanny skateboard parks and the flocking behaviour of birds. There is horror here, but also hope--and not a little black humour. The collection includes "Open and Shut," "Night Passage," and "Plague Music," a long, previously unpublished story, all three set in the Revelation Space universe.
When nothing is as it seems, the truth may be the deadliest poison of all. A CHARMING BUT WILD ARTIST ran off with her heart. HER STRONG, STEADY FIANCÉ appears to be keeping secrets. ARRESTED IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, her fiancé is imprisoned on false charges. To free him Cass must journey to Florence, a city haunted by rumors, secret soirees, clandestine meetings, and home to the eerily stunning leader of the Order of the Eternal Rose, the Belladonna herself. Cass can prove Luca's innocence, but can she trust her heart to lead her to the truth? DANGEROUS, SEDUCTIVE AND ALLURING this edge-of-your-seat romantic thriller will leave readers wondering not only whom Cass will choose—Luca or Falco—but whether or not all three of them will survive. This breathtaking sequel to Venom is perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl, Anna Godbersen's The Luxe, Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty and Cecily Von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl.
The New York Times bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth brings to life a highly romantic, Gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal. Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer. However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.
For many of us, the Ace Double Novels of the '50s and '60s have long been a source both of pleasure and nostalgia. This new double volume from Subterranean Press stands squarely in that distinguished tradition, offering a pair of colorful, fast-paced stories from the reigning master of the intergalactic space opera: Alastair Reynolds. Thousandth Night, the genesis for the epic novel House of Suns, is quintessential Reynolds. A visionary account of intrigue, ambition, and technological marvels set within a beautifully realized far-future milieu, it combines world-class storytelling with a provocative meditation on the mystery, grandeur, and inconceivable immensity of the universe. The masterful novella Minla's Flowers features Merlin, a familiar figure to Reynolds's readers. Diverted by technical difficulties to a planet known as Lecythus, Merlin finds himself forced to play a part in the moral and military dilemmas of a world on the verge of extinction.
Turning mortals into vampires is forbidden, but not everyone follows the rules…. Vampires hide among humans, and only the FBI knows they exist. Although the Bureau agrees to keep their secret, it also plots to give humans the upper hand. Ever since he was turned, FBI special agent Ty Duncan has had one mission: bring rogue vampires to justice. As a recruiter for Belladonna, a shadow agency formed to keep vampires in check, Ty must recruit Ana Martin, a troubled ex-gang member and one of the few mortals who can infiltrate places that his kind and the law cannot. From their first encounter, Ty awakens Ana’s deepest desires but she’s learned long ago to trust only herself. To find her missing sister, however, Ana agrees to join Belladonna. As they work together, Ana and Ty climb the heights of pleasure and passion even as an enemy is conspiring to destroy them both. Can Ana help Ty find his humanity in a love that could heal them both? Or will their growing love lead them into a darkness impossible to escape?
A hypnotizing coming-of-age novel set in 1950s Italy that stares into the heart of longing and at the friendships that have the power to save and destroy us. "I was utterly captivated, from first page to last." --Anton DiSclafani, New York Times bestselling author of The After Party Isabella is beautiful, inscrutable, and popular. Her best friend, Bridget, keeps quietly to the fringes of their Connecticut Catholic school, watching everything and everyone, but most especially Isabella. In 1957, when the girls graduate, they land coveted spots at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Pentila in northern Italy, a prestigious art history school on the grounds of a silent convent. There, free of her claustrophobic home and the town that will always see her and her Egyptian mother as outsiders, Bridget discovers she can reinvent herself as anyone she desires... perhaps even someone Isabella could desire in return. But as that glittering year goes on, Bridget begins to suspect Isabella is keeping a secret from her, one that will change the course of their lives forever.
If the short story collections of John Cheever and Flannery O'Connor had a love child, it would be The Beasts of Belladonna. Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, Gilbert Allen's collection of fifteen linked stories explores every corner of the suburbanized foothills of South Carolina. Belladonna--a gated community with Tuscan architectural covenants--boasts a championship golf course, compulsory three-car garages, faux cobblestone sidewalks, and a lively assortment of cats, dogs, birds, deer, goldfish, and spider monkeys. Its human inhabitants include a skeptical high-school biology teacher and his stubbornly devout Methodist wife; a 300-pound biracial woman determined to lose weight; the county's self-appointed Pavement Imperfection Coordinator; the state's first African American optometrist; a sociopathic TV reporter and her would-be savior (a young minister from Southern California nicknamed Jesus of Malibu); and a Guatemalan housekeeper tormented by her evangelical employer's cat. Although you won't find Belladonna on any map, you might have already encountered its past, present, and future in Allen's previous collection, The Final Days of Great American Shopping, which Ron Rash praised as ""a delightful collection whose interrelated stories give the pleasure of a novel."" And The Beasts of Belladonna is even better.
"A gorgeous and thrilling paean to the ferocious power of women. The characters live, bleed, and roar. "―Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR Books • Barnes and Noble • BookPage In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in this powerful novel of magic, family, and the suffragette movement. In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters―James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna―join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote―and perhaps not even to live―the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive. There's no such thing as witches. But there will be. An homage to the indomitable power and persistence of women, The Once and Future Witches reimagines stories of revolution, motherhood, and women's suffrage—the lost ways are calling. Praise for The Once and Future Witches: "A glorious escape into a world where witchcraft has dwindled to a memory of women's magic, and three wild, sundered sisters hold the key to bring it back...A tale that will sweep you away."―Yangsze Choo, New York Times bestselling author "This book is an amazing bit of spellcraft and resistance so needed in our times, and a reminder that secret words and ways can never be truly and properly lost, as long as there are tongues to speak them and ears to listen."―P. Djèlí Clark, author The Black God's Drum For more from Alix E. Harrow, check out The Ten Thousand Doors of January.
