Alexander Grant is a little too good at a few too many things. Two dozen martial arts. Twice that many languages. Chess, the piano, sports, forging excused absences, you name it. He graduated high school top of his class 17 times. Of course, no one knows any of this. Not that he wants to go unnoticed. It’s just safer that way.

After years of searching for the next Avatar, the four nations have found peace with Avatar Yun - until Kyoshi, Yun’s friend and servant, demonstrates remarkable bending abilities herself. With the identity of the true Avatar at stake, Kyoshi and her fiery friend Rangi flee the Avatar mansion and find supporters in the daofei - outlaws living in the shadows of the Earth Kingdom. But while Kyoshi, Rangi, and their daofei friends face off against underworld rivals, those who seek to control the Avatar draw close.

Orphaned. Trained to fight. Raised to fear the power of Underhill. Secretly in love with a man who doesn’t want me. I’m still just Alli, a.k.a. the half-human orphan fae, but my life is looking up for the first time. It only took me my whole 24 years. But when Underhill - the ancestral home of the fae - shatters, making it impossible for any fae to enter, I’m the only one who knows who did it. A secret that will be the death of me if I do nothing.

Having returned to the Flinch family house in Spain, David Flinch uncovers old audio interviews between his father, Arthur, and the vampire, Lord Underwood. Through these recordings, David learns what happened to Underwood when he and Matthias Flinch sailed on from where we left them in 1719. A voyage that sees Underwood face new dangers, make new allies, and discover more about the creature of darkness he has become.

Young Cally is an apprentice within the most unusual order of sorcerers in the known world: the only one that forbids its members from using their powers to kill. Despite his lowly status, Cally's chosen by the Master of the Order to join a delegation to see their allies the Lannovians. The meeting will be historic: 60 years ago, the Order's enemies attacked them with a host of demons, forcing the Order to trap the monsters inside their own citadel and seal it shut with impenetrable wards. The trick worked so well the Order hasn't been able to get it back open since.

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal - kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom. But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic.

Two nations at war. One prize beyond compare. For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war. The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted. Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favor. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.

A child’s wish for her father comes true. The end of the world has never been so much fun. Conquering personal demons becomes all too real. It’s not always about winning; sometimes it’s about showing up for the fight. It’s about loving your life’s work, and jobs that make you question everything. In this anthology, 17 authors have woven together brand-new stories that speak to the darkness and despair that life brings while reminding us that good deeds, humor, love, sacrifice, dedication, and following our joy can ignite a light that burns so bright the darkness cannot last.

Mike Bryant has come to the wilderness to die. Tired of the trappings of modern life, his will to live has run out. But when he crosses paths with a group of warriors who challenge him, he suddenly finds purpose. Mike is no ordinary man. Frozen and given up for dead, an inner core of rage ignites a fury few have seen and lived. Deep in the White Cloud mountains, a demon is awakening. The last son of the War God was forged in the storm of blood and fire. And now he's angry.

Scientists Dr. Eccleston and Dr. Lerner have done many routine expeditions for the Skurzon Corporation in the past, helping the company search the ocean for newly available resources freed by melting ice. They're expecting to maybe find oil at the bottom of the Arctic Sea. What they aren't expecting is a lost island that defies all scientific understanding.

Ten years has passed since an infectious virus nearly consumed all of mankind. Millions died, millions more became infected, changed, and turned into mindless, feral hunters bent on the consumption of living flesh. Archer was a solitary man, scavenging what he could to survive off the ruins of the world that no longer existed. A world gone mad, where those who still lived were just as great of threat as those who were infected.

Sal had woken up with no recollection of the night before a few times but never like this...in a forest...alone...confused...scared. She scoured her surroundings, desperate for some clue as to how she’d ended up here. Fragments of conversations, snapshots of memories were all she could scramble together. But, suddenly, none of it mattered. A stranger. A warning. And the hunt is on. Now Sal and her friends are in a battle like no other. Death and terror lurk around every corner. Can they defy the odds and live to fight another day? Or will they fall like so many before?

When our protagonist, Andrei, discovers that his girlfriend has cheated on him, he finds himself with an unexpected choice to make: a quick death or a new life in another world he knows absolutely nothing about. Andrei chooses life and sets off alongside his pet, a ginger cat with a limp, for a primeval world fraught with danger. The trouble is...who is whose pet becomes entirely unclear; the man's consciousness is split between both creatures, and the little cat gets a far greater share of intelligence and wit than his hulking master.

Escape to worlds full of adventure and magic in the first-ever Terry Brooks short story collection, featuring both new and fan-favorite stories from all three of his major literary worlds: Shannara, Magic Kingdom, and The Word and the Void.

Jamestown promises to be a history lover’s dream, a reality series featuring 15 contestants who will spend six months living in 17th century conditions, their ability to adapt and overcome daily hardship judged by millions of TV viewers. Supplies will be replenished, and a medical officer will be on hand to ensure everyone’s well-being. Lucrative cash prizes will be awarded at the end.

The Ancient Egyptian gods have defeated all the other pantheons and claimed dominion over the earth, dividing it into warring factions. Lt. David Westwynter, a British soldier, stumbles into Freegypt, the only place to have remained independent of the gods’ influence. There, he encounters the followers of a humanist leader known as the Lightbringer, who has vowed to rid mankind of the shackles of divine oppression. As the world heads towards an apocalyptic battle, there is far more to this freedom fighter than it seems.

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon - until one sister’s betrayal split their world in two. A Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in eternal night, the other scorched beneath an ever-burning sun. While one sister rules the frozen fortress of Aranth, her twin rules the sand-locked Golden City - each with a daughter by their side. Now those young goddesses must set out on separate, equally dangerous journeys in hopes of healing their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: Humanity has conquered all those things and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life - and they are commanded to do so in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe - a role that neither wants. These teens must master the "art" of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Katrina Darling’s only real friend has been murdered. And not just murdered - ritually sacrificed by a serial killer. Kat is sure more death will follow. She should know...she used to be the monster plunging the blade in. Trouble is, after 300 years of being a vampire, Kat has forgotten what it means to be human. One thing she does remember is that friends matter. Now she's determined to find whoever - or whatever - killed her friend before more victims surface. But just as the hunt begins, a mysterious young man discovers exactly what she was.

Jason Richards is in his 40s, recently divorced, and hates his job, but all of that changes when he's attacked by a redheaded vampire and left for dead in a truckstop bathroom. He soon wakes up in a mansion, surrounded by beautiful women and told he can never go home again. More importantly, he finds that his bones no longer ache, he feels amazing, and he looks like a 20-year-old kid again. That's because he's a Ferin, a Forever Young, gifted with immortality and special abilities unlike anything he ever thought possible.

On the world of Dematr, the Emperor and his legions rule over the lands on the eastern side of the Sea of Bakre, and the Great Guilds rule over the Emperor and his subjects. The Mechanics Guild, whose members claim they came from the stars, controls technology far beyond that of the swords and sailing ships of the common people, while the Mage Guild wields strange powers. Jules, an orphan, has fought her way up to become an officer in training with the Emperor’s fleet. But her life is shattered when a Mage prophesizes that her bloodline will one day overthrow the Great Guilds.

In back alleys and hellholes across the world, ravaged souls and scarred warriors whisper of the Iron Tournament. A savage game of death, pitting living fighters against caged spirits, all for the amusement of a mysterious audience.

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal - kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom. But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic.

Jia's people learned the hard way that there are no second chances. The Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic so devastating that Jia's armies were wiped out. Now terror reigns in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another day. Somehow Tinnstra - a deserter, a failure, nothing but a coward - survived. She wants no more than to hide from the chaos. But dragged into a desperate plot to retake Jia, surrounded by people willing to do anything to win the fight, this time Tinnstra will need to do more than hide.

Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something to which only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort. The dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye, though. Sarah can’t help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn’t have a soul but who is seemingly intent on keeping her safe. Because the dragon knows something she doesn’t. He has arrived at the farm with a prophecy on his mind.

The last thing Blue Hendricks needs six months into his uneasy reentry into civilian life is trouble in the form of his old friend's kid sister, all grown up and smack in the middle of a dangerous murder investigation. But he didn't become a SEAL to turn his back on the hard stuff, and he can't bring himself to ignore Everly's call for help - no matter how much he knows he's not fit to be around the soft, vibrant woman she's become. Not after the things he's done.

Magic is the key...but will it save them, or consume them? For Natalia, there is no choice. Trained as a battle mage, she has the potential to be the most powerful spellcaster the family has ever produced. Yet their price is too high. Meanwhile, Athgar's life is about to change forever. On the day his village is burned to the ground, his magical potential is released by the very fire that nearly consumed him. He is driven by revenge until he learns he may not be the only survivor.

Summoned to another world where gods and monsters roam, Julian continues his streak of bad luck. Rather than touching the Godcore directly, he let his smartphone absorb it. Now, he's got to figure out how to make the Godcore and his phone work together to help the people who summoned him survive their upcoming annihilation by the mad God of Chains.

Life, death, and rebirth - in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope - you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time. Unless you can win the Races. After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke.

Gideon Gull leads a double life: one as a talented young bard at the Rhapsodic College, the other as a student of the Shadow School, where Taldor's infamous lion blades are trained to be master spies and assassins. When a magical fog starts turning ordinary people into murderous mobs along the border between Taldor and Gideon's home nation of Andoran, it's up to him and a crew of daring performers to solve the mystery before both nations fall to madness and slaughter.