Jason Isbell describes Will Johnson’s songs as a poetic manipulation of language that employs “multi-syllable words used almost as musical instruments [and] detailed images flying at the listener with no time to fully decipher meaning before the next image appears.” Similar sentiments are echoed in many engaging essays shared here by John Krajicek in Patience for the Ride: The Art and Life of Will Johnson. Recollections from fellow musicians and artists show unwavering appreciatio...

A feud between two rival families is about to create international warfare. Desperate to reclaim territory that was once part of their ancestral lands, the Astafo family plots against their distant cousin, Pedir Seda, and his mysterious favor with the prime minister.Pivotal to this conflict is a secret tucked away on Seda's lands—The Holy Sanguinary Academy for the Lame and the Orphaned. Hundreds of children and adolescents, many of whom are unwanted bastards sent to the orphanage ...

Unemployment has ravaged the U.S. economy. People struggle everywhere, exhausted by the collapse that destroyed their lives. Benjamin Cade is an expert in cognition, and before the flatlined economy caught up to him, he earned his living as a university instructor. Now, without income, he joins the millions defaulting on their loans in his case, the money he borrowed to finance his degrees. But there are consequences. Using advances in cognitive science and chemical therapy, Ben's debtors ...

Over the last decade, Darin Bradley has been dissecting the future—from the prophetic Book that heralded the arrival of Salvage Country in Noise to the impending repossession of our education in Chimpanzee to the harrowing world of voyeuristic terrorism in Noise. Now, with Light Both Foreign and Domestic, he presents a collection of stories that reveal the persistent light of the human spirit, no matter the harrowing darkness that presses down on us....

Once the capital of a global empire, Aer is now only a global protectorate. One of the eight wonders of the ancient world, Aer is a cradle of civilization, preserved by international aid and foreign interest, primarily Worldview, an international media network. Worldview has wired Aer so thoroughly that subscribers around the world can interact with every facet of daily life in the ancient city. Pinhole lenses and mobile cameras and embedded microphones export the challenges, dramas, and s...

The eighteenth Tarot card is the Moon, and those who raise their arms to her know she offers Mercy and Severity in equal measure. This is the great river at night, where wolves howl and all doors are open. All futures are possible, and every truth is elusive. This is the source and passion of Eighteen: Stories of Mischief & Mayhem. These twenty-four stories from voices—old and new—celebrate the inevitability of fate, the horror of prophecy, and the shivering delight of not knowing...

This haunting debut from a brilliant new voice is sure to be as captivating as it is controversial, a shocking look at the imminent collapse of American civilization—and what will succeed it.In the aftermath of the switch from analog to digital TV, an anarchic movement known as Salvage hijacks the unused airwaves. Mixed in with the static’s random noise are dire warnings of the imminent economic, political, and social collapse of civilization—and cold-blooded lessons on how to surv...

There’s someone for everyone......even Steve.Love him or hate him, get ready to meet one truly unforgettable character.***On a day when things can’t possibly get any worse for used-car salesman Steve Pendragon, somebody murders Kerry Parker, the guarded, secretive woman next door with something to hide.Kerry just also happened to be the love of Steve's life, even though she didn’t exactly know it.

Retreating from an airborne virus with a uniquely unsettling symptom, property developer Jason escapes London for his country estate, where he is forced to negotiate a new way of living with an assortment of fellow survivors. Far in the future, an isolated community of descendants continue to farm this same estate. Among their most treasured possessions are a few books, including a copy of Jane Eyre, from which they have constructed their hierarchies, rituals and beliefs. When 15-year-old ...

Stephen King, Lisa Morton, Nell Quinn-Gibney, Norman Prentiss, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tim Curran plunge readers into the dark side in this deeply unsettling short-story collection curated by legendary horror editors Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar.THE OLD DUDE’S TICKER by Stephen KingRichard Drogan has been spooked ever since he came back from Nam, but he’s no head case, dig? He just knows the old dude needs to die.THE RICH ARE DIFFER...

Long-past atrocities against the rule of nature wait to be avenged...An uneventful move to Montana left Rachel Brackett caught off guard for all the Rockies would offer: adventures, new friends, beautiful scenery ... and nightmares. A mysterious family legacy leads Rachel into the forests of the Bitterroot Mountains, only to find that some things are best left alone.Rachel wanted a calm life to allow deep wounds time to repair, instead, she stumbled on a ri...

KIDS DO THE DARNDEST THINGS . . .Paul Kelly had a very big temper for such a small boy. When he tired of his toys he smashed them. When a dog or cat got in his way, he kicked them. And when other children told on him, he made sure they were very, very sorry . . .CHILD’S PLAY . . .But that was nothing compared to what Paul discovered next. Which was that if he didn’t like certain people, he could make it so he’d never have to see them ...