Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.

Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.

In a mysterious and unsettling realm where reality blends with hallucination, a lost wanderer discovers the ancient ruins of the legendary city of Carcosa. Surrounded by ominous landscapes and inexplicable phenomena, the protagonist comes face to face with their own identity and destiny.

"Markheim" is a dark tale of crime, mysteries, and the choices that shape our destinies. In an antique shop on Christmas Eve in London, Markheim commits a dreadful act – murder. But is it just an ordinary crime? Or is there something more hidden behind it? When a mysterious man appears in the shop, Markheim must make a decision that will change his life forever. Will he choose light or darkness?

"A Lodging for the Night: A Story of Francis Villon" is a gripping tale set in 15th-century Paris. Francis Villon, a poet and a poor master of arts, finds himself entangled in a web of crime and desperation on a snowy November night. After witnessing a murder committed by his companions, Villon grapples with fear and moral dilemmas as he navigates the treacherous streets of Paris in search of shelter. T

Pu Yi, a spoiled but lonely child emperor, learns to ride a bicycle with the help of his tutor, hoping it will impress his aloof father.

It is a short story that tells about the future of humanity and the end of the world.

"The Alchemist" was a "validation" of Lovecraft's literary skills in the United Amateur Press Association, i.e., a literary text based on which the author's writing predispositions were assessed and a decision was made about whether to accept him into the said association or reject his candidacy.

The Purloined Letter is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. It is the third of his three detective stories featuring the fictional C. Auguste Dupin, the other two being "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt". These stories are considered to be important early forerunners of the modern detective story. It first appeared in the literary annual The Gift for 1845 (1844) and soon was reprinted in numerous journals and newspapers.

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce is a masterfully crafted short story that transports the listener to the heart of the American Civil War. Peyton Farquhar, a plantation owner, is captured by Union soldiers and sentenced to death by hanging. In his final moments, in a desperate attempt to escape, his mind wanders between reality and illusion. Will he manage to return to his beloved family?

This charming, funny and clever Christmas Holiday fantasy is narrated by Oscar nominated and Emmy Award Winning Special Makeup Effects Artist Edward E. French. Author Frank Richard Stockton, born April 5, 1834, was an American writer and humorist, best Remembered for his most famous fable, "The Lady, or the Tiger?" (1882), about a man sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's beloved daughter.

The Heathen is a short story by the American writer Jack London. It was first published in Everybody's Magazine in August 1910. In the story, two people, from different cultural and racial backgrounds, are the only survivors of a ship that encounters a hurricane in the Pacific, and they remain together. The narrator, a pearl buyer named Charley, is a cabin passenger on a schooner, the Petite Jeanne, sailing from Rangiroa to Tahiti with a Kanaka crew, at the end of the pearling season in the Paumotas. The boat, having eighty-five deck passengers, is overloaded.

Meet Harry Hartley, a young secretary entangled in a web of debts and intrigue when he embarks on a fateful mission to deliver a hatbox. With a tempestuous general, a frivolous lady, and a charming maid in the mix, Harry's adventure takes unexpected turns, leading him to a lost fortune and a chance at love.

A baby hippo learns about diversity when he discovers that animals come in many shapes and sizes.

In the medieval town of Vyones, master stone-carver Blaise Reynard creates two grotesque gargoyles for the newly built cathedral. Little does he know that his creations will unleash a reign of terror upon the city. As night falls, demonic forces descend upon Vyones, leaving a trail of blood and horror in their wake. The townspeople are gripped by fear, and even the church seems powerless against this evil.

The researcher of mysteries visits a haunted house in the state of New York. It is inhabited by infernal forces, brought forth by a once-dwelling Dutch family.

In a prehistoric world where ancient forces still rule the earth, the Norse warrior Niord faces a monster that has terrorized generations. The Valley of the Worm is a dark and mysterious journey to a time when mythical beasts and immortal heroes shaped the fate of the world. Guided by unshakable courage, Niord ventures into the unknown to confront the most powerful evil—a monstrous Worm, a creature older than time, whose existence reminds humanity of forgotten gods and demonic forces. Can even the mightiest man hope to survive against an unimaginable nightmare from the depths of hell?