Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Dark Fantasy

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.

As war between Alden and Oridia intensifies, King Erik must defend his kingdom from treachery and enemies on all sides - but the greatest danger lurks closer to home. When the war began, Lady Alix Black played a minor role, scouting at the edge of the king's retinue in relative anonymity. Though she's once again facing an attacking Oridian force determined to destroy all she holds dear, she is now bodyguard to the king and wife to the prince. Still, she is unprepared for what the revival of the war will mean.

Masks, the first novel in a mesmerizing new fantasy series, draws readers into a world in which cataclysmic events have left the Autarchy of Aygrima - the one land blessed with magical resources - cut off from its former trading partners across the waters, not knowing if any of those distant peoples still live. Yet under the rule of the Autarch, Aygrima survives. And thanks to the creation of the Masks and the vigilance of the Autarch’s Watchers, no one can threaten the security of the empire.

The 32nd edition of Writers of the Future may be the best new book yet! Brand-new adventure through space, time, and possibility. Along the way these new authors will introduce you to fascinating characters such as Nate, a very loyal companion - like most werewolves would be. Keanie has a parasite that lets her morph and so transform into anyone. Liz owns a dinosaur maker, but raw ingredients can be a problem. Anna slaves away in a factory but her magic leaves her unfulfilled. These authors take creative writing to a whole new level!

A masterpiece of the sexual gothic, this is the story of Andrew Halfnight, whose life, part dream, part nightmare, begins with a mother's tragic choice and ends with a lover's embrace. In between he experiences tempests at sea, on land and in the mind; and relatives who kill for love and lovers who sacrifice their bodies; as all the while he moves ever closer to the central mystery of his and all existence.

For five years, Cason Cole has been a chew toy for a god. He walked away from his wife and son and devoted his life to a predator who holds nothing and no-one dear. Now, as the man he loves and hates lies dying at his feet, the explosion still ringing in his ears, Cason is finally free. For centuries, the swarming gods of the Earth were content to lounge in Heaven, forgetting the mortals they left behind; but 30 years ago, the all-powerful "Usurper" ejected them all. Now it's back to the bad old days: cults and sycophants, and the terrible retribution of the gods.

In the dark reaches of the eastern continent, Tris Vishal travels from village to village, using his power to put unsettled spirits to rest. He works alone, having learned that letting people close only leads to more death. Still, he finds himself accepting the help of the Mondyalitko woman who saves his life - a woman whose gifts are as much a burden as his own. Mari Kaleja thirsted for vengeance since the night her family was taken from her. She has searched far and wide for the one she thinks responsible, known only as "The Dead's Man".

Savedra Severos is no stranger to intrigue. Mistress to the King of Selafai and daughter of a rival noble house, she navigates the treacheries of court with every breath. On the eve of delicate peace talks, the court mage is found murdered. As Savedra investigates, she stumbles further into a web of secrets that enmeshes three kingdoms - entangling spies and sorcerers, lovers and enemies, strangers and kin. Among those secrets are Savedra's own, dangerous enough to destroy her king and her family if they come to light.

Ever since raiders from the north began attacking villages, Lady Nicole Montagna has known that defending her people would come at a cost. The betrothal of her sister Chloe to a neighboring lord seems the perfect solution, forging a powerful alliance. But shortly before the wedding, Nicole is shocked to discover that her sister is with child - and not by her husband-to-be. Now she must make a choice, and she has just hours to decide.

Cora was born with a veil. She is able to discern spirits and wield the power of both the dark and the light as well as the ability to heal. Her grandmother, Mi, called it The Knowing. Cora has carried it as both a prophetic blessing and a curse, struggling under the burden until one decision changes her world. Possessed with a healer’s compulsion to help, she is unable to turn away when Fannie arrives on her doorstep, ripped, torn, and hanging precariously on the knife’s edge of death.

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.

A Place Between Waking & Forgetting is dark speculative fiction, an Afro-Irreal collection in which transformative stories of culture, diversity, climate change, unlimited futures, collisions of worlds, mythology, and more, inhabit. It cases black people stories in bold and evocative text, at times deeply flawed but potentially redeemable protagonists in rich hues of blackness and light. Something beautiful, something dark in lyrical language packed with affection, dread, anguish and hope.

Born with a gift that is more of a curse than a blessing, Jefferarri is an immortal who battles his internal demons and the external forces around him. At a tender age, the orphaned youth is adopted by his grandparents, with the blessings of the government, for his protection and a better life following his parents’ demise. When nefarious beings of the underworld discover his whereabouts, a war between the world of the mortals and the undead ignites.