Evil Fantasy

In his last life, Liam lived as a moral, responsible person...but died deep in debt and betrayed by his wife. Reborn into the ruling family of a vast interstellar empire, Liam knows that life is divided between the downtrodden and the ones who do the stomping, so this time he's going to take what he wants and live for himself. But somehow, things refuse to work out that way. Despite doing his best to become a tyrant, Liam's decisions lead to nothing but peace and prosperity for the empire under his rule, and he just gets more and more popular!

Chosen as the sacrificial bride, Elara ventures into the obsidian heart of the Dark Realm to confront the Demon Lord in a desperate bid to save humanity. In this ancient, shadow-woven world, she begins to unravel the tragic cycle that binds her fate to Caelum—a demon born of desperate bargains and broken oaths. Amid crumbling palaces and fields of ash, Elara discovers a way to break the curse that grips the realm of darkness.

Villains take center stage in this collection of 19 dark and magical stories. Listeners will be cheering for all the wrong heroes as some of the most fearsome, devious, and brutal antagonists perform savage deeds towards wicked ends. And why not? These characters are the champions of their own stories - evil is a matter of perspective. Contributors also include Mark Adler, Bradley P. Beaulieu, E.V. Morrigan, Peter Orullian, Matthew Ward, Kaaron Warren, Deborah A. Wolf, and Janny Wurts.

The Singularity - the merger of man and machine into a greater whole - is finally within humanity's grasp. When programmer Jeff Lawing gets the opportunity to join Singularity Online, the world's first realistic VRMMO and the testing ground that will lead to the Singularity, he leaps to accept. Singularity is much more realistic and darker than Jeff had imagined, though.

After her apprenticeship was done and a place in the guild of villains secured, Tori's life was supposed to get simpler. Unfortunately, a poorly timed errand sees Tori caught in the debut of a new team of capes, one wearing an all-too-familiar name. Thrust into the spotlight, Tori will have to navigate her unwanted fame as well as the suspiciously superheroic new neighbors down the hall, all while keeping up with her own villainous enterprises. With the guild no longer a secret, Hephaestus needs to grow as strong as possible to face her mounting threats.

For twenty years, the Dread Empress has ruled over the lands that were once the Kingdom of Callow, but behind the scenes of this golden age, threats to the empire are rising. The nobles of the Wasteland weave their plots behind pleasant smiles while rebellion stirs beyond Peren Woods, for dreams of crowns were buried in shallow graves. The greatest danger of all lies to the west, where the First Prince of Procer restored order at last: her people sundered, she ponders if a crusade might not be the way to secure her reign.

I promised to avenge my parents. But their killer is still on the loose, and he's stolen more than my parents' lives. Now, as he draws closer to his mysterious goals, he's poised to destroy what little I have left. I promised to translate an ancient grimoire. But it holds the secrets of my family - and the secret history of demon summoning. I fear its answers as much as I need them. Who was the foremother of Demonica...and who am I?

Xander Quinn is a genius. A teenage mastermind. Some might even say a supervillain in training, though he prefers the term “ethically flexible entrepreneur.” His latest heist? Foolproof. The part where a superhero showed up and he got yeeted into a world of magic, monsters, and medieval nonsense? Yeah. Not part of the plan. Now, Xander is stranded in a land where dragonkin rule and magic is real. Which sounds kind of cool, except his high-tech gadgets are toast and humans are low man on the food chain. But Xander didn’t become a genius by giving up.

Niko is caught in a powerful spell that was cast from the very book he sought to protect. Trapped between life and death, his chances of returning look grim. Gem is determined to set things right. Armed only with her innate knowledge of language, she begins her daunting quest to break the diabolical spell...no matter the cost. When an irreversible action unleashes a new threat, Keystone scrambles into action.

In this third Alcatraz adventure, Alcatraz Smedry has made it to the Free Kingdoms at last. Unfortunately, so have the evil Librarians—including his mother! Now Alcatraz has to find a traitor among the Knights of Crystallia, make up with his estranged father, and save one of the last bastions of the Free Kingdoms from the Evil Librarians.

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

Once little more than a doll on a shelf, Luxeria has ascended the throne and begun her quest for revenge. Armed with incredible magic, past-life memories, and the five Sacred Swords, she cleaves away the corrupted roots of the state. Her investigation into the depths of her enemies' sins reveals a disturbing truth: a shocking number of magical children have gone missing from the city. But to what end? When our bloodthirsty queen uncovers the true horrors wrought by those in power, heads are bound to roll!

Twenty years have passed since Darth Bane, reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, demolished the ancient order devoted to the dark side and reinvented it as a circle of two: one Master to wield the power and pass on the wisdom, and one apprentice to learn, challenge, and ultimately usurp the Dark Lord in a duel to the death. But Bane’s acolyte, Zannah, has yet to engage her Master in mortal combat and prove herself a worthy successor. Determined that the Sith dream of galactic domination will not die with him, Bane vows to learn the secret of a forgotten Dark Lord that will assure the Sith’s immortality - and his own.

As startling and provocative as his famous Stranger in a Strange Land, here is Heinlein’s grand masterpiece about a man supremely talented, immensely old, and obscenely wealthy who discovers that money can buy everything.

A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans’ French Quarter, a senator’s wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house - once the site of a serial killer’s grisly work.

Step Fletcher, his pregnant wife DeAnne, and their three children move to Steuben, North Carolina, with high hopes. But Step's new job with a software company turns out to be a snake pit, and 8-year-old Stevie's school is worse. As Stevie retreats into himself, focusing more and more on a mysterious computer game and a growing troop of imaginary friends, the Fletchers' concern turns to terror.

Henrietta Doryn has never enjoyed fighting. She'd rather be in the kitchen baking cookies. But it's her duty as Warrior Princess to face off against the forces of evil. As such, she's unceremoniously shooed from her kingdom to go eliminate the all-powerful Dark Lord next door. Keith Monfort has never enjoyed ruling with an iron fist. He'd prefer to be in his workroom tinkering with practical magic. But it's his duty to lead the Dark Enchanted Forest and the forces of evil. So when Henrietta shows up at his door, he's only too happy to invite her in for tea to talk it out instead.

Liam begrudgingly travels to another lord's domain to receive a noble education, and the Guide makes sure to muck up his reputation. When Liam attempts to bribe the reigning lord in exchange for a cushy life on the planet, he's deemed destitute and given the cold shoulder! Thinking the man is just far too upstanding for his "incentives", Liam decides that other nobles who got the same treatment must be just as wicked as he is! Will his pretty boy roommates, Kurt, and the gorgeous yet surprisingly friendly girl, Eila, become his new evil besties?

Demons and angels aren't real. They just can't be. They're supposed to be dumb stories in really old books. So why was Alex seeing them walking around on the streets of London? Alex began to wonder if he was losing his mind. Maybe he was hallucinating? Except, hallucinations couldn’t throw you into cars like you were nothing more than an annoying little bug, could they? Because that was exactly what that angel did to him. It all began to make sense when Andrew, Alex's estranged father, called him one day to tell him that he’d done something terrible. Something that was going to change ...

When Matt closed Raven's Gate, an ancient portal to the world of evil, he thought the trouble was over. But sinister forces are still hot on Matt's trail and will stop at nothing to destroy him. Somehow five children from across the globe must join forces, as the threat of the Old Ones still looms near. Now Matt and the second of the five, Pedro - who speaks no English - must find the second gate in the lost city of the Incas before the evil star rises.