When bodies turn up in the Reed Moore Library's book drops, the library cat, C. Auguste Dupin, goes to work to help librarian Penny Copper solve the mystery.As a library cat, Dupin receives the attention and admiration of the public, as one would expect. He allows his human, librarian Penny Copper, to take care of the mundane business of running the library while he reaps the benefits.Until a body turns up in the large green metal book return in front of th...

In Poeville, weird things happen all the time.C. Auguste Dupin enjoys snacks, cleaning his fur, and sleeping in the Reed Moore Library where his human, Penny Copper, is the librarian. When Penny's Auntie Dido asks her niece for a favor, Dupin never expected it would turn into a case requiring his considerable deductive skills.After Penny, Dido is Dupin's favorite human. She makes the most fantastic savory sardine crackers. At first, the favor sounds simple: return a diamond...

A heart-felt look at enduring and new relationships in a near-future science fiction story by the author of the Moreau Society series.For "Pops" — as the unlicensed neighborhood kids call him — immortality isn’t the point. He wants to live for Mary’s sake. To help her, care for her, and give her every chance at life. Is it enough?Ryan M. Williams’ Memory of a Scent is part of the Super Great Challenge (SGC), one story written each week for a year from this imaginative autho...

Sixteen and stressed. It wasn’t the driver’s test that had Ravyn on edge. It was the Inquisition’s test.Every four years, the Inquisition tested her for any hint of paranormal abilities that would mark her as a witch.Oh, their methods had evolved over the centuries. They didn’t burn witches at the stake anymore. Today, burning a witch meant chemical and surgical brain surgery to eliminate any unnatural talents the witch possessed. Internationally b...

1968. The Glenda Barker incident. The dead things rose. People died. And Stefan Roland was on the scene to capture it all in glorious film.It wasn’t planned. You didn’t plan life-changing and career-making events like that. You kept reporting and maybe you got lucky. Maybe you got something so big that the Inquisition couldn’t keep it quiet or hush it up. Maybe you got to show the world what was going on.And if you were really lucky, maybe you survived the ...

The secrets to the Crunch Bang drive lay in the remnants of the Big Bang—there for any species to discover.Many years after humanity joined the galactic civilization of space-faring species, starship cruise liners take the wealthy and the humble to the greatest sights and places in the galaxy. From the ruins of the T’Kon civilization to the azure seas of Ceti Alpha 5 and every other place Cantorians exult in song. Which means everywhere, even places that anyone wit...

In a spacecraft, everyone can hear you scream.The comet mining ship Olympia drifts into the Station's solar system. No one aboard. Power at minimal levels. Yet the ship appears intact and function. A curiosity and an administrative headache that the Station is quick to auction off to an enterprising couple seeking freedom and a new start for their family. Only the ship isn't as empty as the salvage reports indicated. Something stayed behind.They turn to an ...

FIRST CONTACT STARTS AT HOMEIRiS, the Interstellar Recovery Spacecraft, captured samples from a comet passing through the solar system and found something remarkable.Danny lives in his own world, finding connections through video games and gesture.Emmett does what all good fathers do and seeks for new ways to connect with his son. Sometimes first contact begins right here at home.

A starliner cruise perched on the edge of oblivion. A murder no one believes happened.The Neutron's Sonata black hole cruise to witness the supernova explosion of the Tartaros accretion disk promised a singular experience for all sentients aboard. When Chief Steward Abel Michaels discovers the corpse of a murdered alien, he expects the ship's artificial intelligence to swiftly identify the killer.Except the AI denies that the murder happened. When ...

In the tradition of Jack Finney and Stephen King, a new tale of small-town horror.An unspeakable invasion has begun in Rainier, Washington, a small town home to bluegrass, homemade cookies, and dirt bike races. Sarah knows Rainier. She grew up in this town, cleaning up its trash, driving the garbage truck through the streets in the early morning hours. She sees what people throw out.Finding a collection of pristine, collectible books waiting for the trash? ...

If Lovecraft and Heinlein wrote a Christmas story it might look a lot like this.Left with next to nothing after his divorce, Nick moves to an isolated property outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, and builds a tiny cabin designed to look like a futuristic space over. He launches a successful online blog and YouTube channel as Europa Nick, the guy who builds spacesuits, simulates exploring Jupiter's moon Europa, and author of Build Spacesuits, Will Explore, the hit D.I.Y. book on creating ...

Fantastic detectives come in many forms, from dogs to elves to eggs. (Yes, eggs.) And fantastic detective stories come in all mystery subgenres, from cozy to hard-boiled. (Remember. Eggs.) All of these forms and subgenres combine to create one of the most delightful additions to the Fiction River anthology series. With stories featuring New York Times bestseller Kevin J. Anderson’s popular zombie detective Dan Shamble and USA Today bestseller Dean Wesley Smith’s most beloved character, Pok...