Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Dark Fantasy

In Desdemona and the Deep, the spoiled daughter of a rich mining family must retrieve the tithe of men her father promised to the world below. On the surface, her world is rife with industrial pollution that ruins the health of poor factory workers while the idle rich indulge themselves in unheard-of luxury. Below are goblins, mysterious kingdoms, and an entirely different hierarchy.

Thrown into a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts, Kai wakes in the woods with no idea who she is or how she got there. All she knows is that if she cannot reach the Sea of Devour, even this hellscape will get worse. But when she sees the village blacksmith fight invaders with unspeakable skill, she decides to accept his offer of help. Too bad he’s as skilled at annoying her as he is at fighting. As she searches for answers, Kai only finds more questions, especially regarding the blacksmith who can ignite her body like a flame, then douse it with ice in the next breath.

When their coup of Metzger's Menagerie is discovered, Delilah and her fellow cryptids find their newly won freedom brutally stripped away as they are sold into The Savage Spectacle, a private collection of "exotic wildlife". Specializing in ruthless cryptid cage matches, safari-style creature hunts, and living party favors, the Spectacle's owner, Willem Vandekamp, caters to the forbidden fetishes of the wealthy and powerful. At the Spectacle any wish can be granted - for the right price. But Vandekamp's closely guarded client list isn't the only secret being kept at the Spectacle.

Casement Rise is a dusty town at the end of days, a harsh world of grit and arcane dangers. While Jean’s stern, overprotective Nan has always kept Casement Rise safe from monsters, she may have waited too long to teach Jean how to face them on her own. On Jean’s twelfth birthday, a mysterious graceful man appears, an ethereal and terrifying being tied to her family’s secrets. Now, Nan must rush Jean’s education in monsters, magic, and the breaking of the world in ages past.

In dystopian Mafinga, Jasmin must contend with a dictator’s sorcerer to cleanse the socialist state of its deadly pollution. Mafinga's malevolent king dislikes books and, together with his sorcerer Atari, has collapsed the environment to become almost uninhabitable. The sun has killed all the able men, including Jasmin’s husband Godi. But Jasmin has Godi’s secret story machine that tells of a better world, far different from the wastelands of Mafinga. Jasmin’s crime for possessing the machine and its forbidden literature filled with subversive text is punishable by death.

In a city beset by monsters, three brothers must find out who is controlling the abominations. The city-state of Ravenwood is wealthy, powerful, and corrupt. Merchant princes and guild masters wager fortunes to outmaneuver League rivals for the king's favor and advantageous trading terms. Lord Mayor Ellor Machison wields assassins, blood witches, and forbidden magic to assure that his powerful patrons get what they want, no matter the cost.

Occult investigator Quincey Morris and his "consultant", white witch Libby Chastain, are hired to free a family from a deadly curse that appears to date back to the Salem witch trials. Fraught with danger, the trail finds them stalking the mysterious occult underworlds of Boston, San Francisco, New Orleans, and New York, searching out the root of the curse. After surviving a series of terrifying attempts on their lives, the two find themselves drawn inexorably towards Salem itself - and the very heart of darkness.

Supernatural investigator Quincey Morris and his partner, "white witch" Libby Chastain, are each in pursuit of a vicious killer. One is murdering small children for their bodily organs; the other is hunting down white witches - and Libby may be next.

Kara, as a ward with no parentage and no future, has been raised knowing nothing outside her lady's chambers. Until Royce Capello, a visiting nobleman, is struck by her ice-pale looks, and demands her as payment for the land the family needs. With barely time to protest, Kara is sold and packed off for a life as a concubine until a raiding party descends on Royce's company and she's kidnapped for the second time in as many days. Whatever happens, Kara will be alone in the world, inexperienced and fearing even the vast unfamiliar sky. But one raider gives her a choice - and a magic mirror appears to show her where each path will lead.

In 1986, humanity experienced the Reaping - a nationwide slaughter of six-year-old children by their parents - one of the country's most horrific tragedies. From that day forward, the world would never trust another cryptid. Now, Delilah Marlow and a rogue group of cryptids are on the run. One morning, Delilah wakes up with dried blood all over her hands. Though she has no memory of it, she obviously went somewhere - and possibly killed someone - in her sleep. More killings follow, and there is something connecting her victims - perhaps something as dangerous as another Reaping.

New York Times best-selling author Marjorie Liu (Monstress) leads you deep into the heart of the tangled woods. In her dark, romantic, and spellbinding short fiction, you will find dangerous magic and even more dangerous women: a body-stealing sorceress, a bone-collecting apprentice-witch, a princess-turned-actress, and a warrior protecting China from her jealous ex. Concluding with a gorgeous full-length novella, Liu's first short fiction collection is an unflinching sojourn into her thorny tales of love, revenge, and new beginnings.

When Cassandra Wright’s father was accused of murder her whole life fell apart, leaving her with no prospects, no money, and a broken engagement. But Cassandra always suspected foul play. Five years later, she’s determined to discover the truth. With her childhood friend Thomas reluctantly acting as her new husband-to-be, Cassie must talk her way into the home of her former fiancé, who she’s convinced knows more than he ever let on.

Aster, a farmer’s daughter turned mage, narrowly survived the apocalypse and now seeks an ancient magical entity to save what remains. But when she offers herself to this entity, she receives a vision from Maven, the deceased Demon King. With what little remains of his magic, Maven sends Aster back in time to thwart the apocalypse. Like with all spells, there is a catch: she cannot reveal what she knows of the future. When Aster wakes, Maven has already chosen the girl destined to kill him.

After surviving one brutal night against a creature they call the obayifo, Cent and Torres are unexpectedly reunited when both are recruited by the mysterious billionaire Harold Campbell to join his fight against the creatures that lurk in the shadows. For Cent, it’s an easy decision: Find and kill the obayifo and rid the world of their scourge. For Torres, it’s a little more complicated. There are forces turning her against people she trusts, with her future—and those of the people she loves—in the balance.

Back in Kelvadan after narrowly escaping death, former exile Keera is now hailed as a hero for protecting the Great City against the lord of the clans. Forced to lie low as her injuries heal, she discovers the city’s position is more precarious than ever. Now, she faces an impossible choice: betray the city that offered her a home, or be the Champion Kelvadan needs. Worst of all, the enemy forces are led by the man to whom she has given her heart.

Faced with abominable working conditions, unsympathetic owners, and hard-hearted managers, the mill girls of Lowell have had enough. They're going on strike, and they have a secret weapon on their side: a little witchcraft to ensure that no one leaves the picket line.

Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson, and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now you can, too. A constellation of the brightest lights in the science fiction and fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.

In a world of magic and war, a fierce Demon King formed a pact with the mortal kingdoms: Every 25 years he will choose a human partner that he must try to love for 100 days. If he falls in love, the partner will have the power to kill him. Many centuries later, the Demon King meets a gruesome fate at the hands of the girl he loves. His death sparks the beginning of the end of the world. Aster, a farmer’s daughter turned mage, narrowly survived the apocalypse and now seeks an ancient magical entity to save what remains.

When infamous hot mess vampire Roxanne resurrects her deceased best friends, she's confronted by a dream-dwelling Guardian of the Underworld, who demands that she replace them in his afterlife with three equally nefarious creatures—or he'll drag her there instead. Reunited with Medusa and Mx. Hyde, Roxanne and her macabre girl gang must become monster hunters themselves and fight for the future of their friendship.Gory, sexy, silly, touching—Glorious Fiends asks who the real monsters are, and if the bonds that we think are solely human are really ours alone.

Some people are born under a lucky star; Aris Gray isn’t one of them. Orphaned as a baby, she has struggled her entire life, but now, at 18, she hopes that going off to college will mean a new path for her. Unfortunately, that new path begins when she’s attacked in an alleyway by a stranger. To protect herself, Aris summons shadow powers she didn’t know she had and a Constellation, a being that also grants her elemental powers.