In a sweeping saga of music and vengeance, the acclaimed author of The Vampire Chronicles draws readers into eighteenth-century Italy, bringing to life the decadence beneath the shimmering surface of Venice, the wild frivolity of Naples, and the magnetic terror of its shadow, Vesuvius. This is the story of the castrati, the exquisite and otherworldly sopranos whose graceful bodies and glorious voices win the adulation of royal courts and grand opera houses throughout Europe. These men are revered as idols—and, at the same time, scorned for all they are not. ** ** **Praise for Anne Rice and *Cry to Heaven*** ** * * ** “Daring and imaginative . . . [Anne] Rice seems like nothing less than a magician: It is a pure and uncanny talent that can give a voice to monsters and angels both.”**—*The New York Times Book Review*** “To read Anne Rice is to become giddy as if spinnning through the mind of time.”**—*San Francisco Chronicle*** “If you surrender and go with her . . . you have surrendered to enchantment, as in a voluptuous dream.”**—*The Boston Globe*** “Rice is eerily good at making the impossible seem self-evident.”**—*Time*** *From the Trade Paperback edition.*

When Indian workers begin to disappear from an expedition into the Amazon, fifteen-year-old Jake fears that his father, a bat biologist, is in great danger. Against his dad's wishes, Jake flies to Brazil and joins his father's research team, working high in the canopy of a remote stretch of the rain forest. Unfortunately, Jake's first climb up the rope bridges and suspended walkways of the dense forest leads him to discover the mutilated bodies of the missing Indians-and triggers a terrifying, explosive attack by an unknown winged beast. For a while the biologists and workers hunt the savage beast, but when Jake's father is attacked, it becomes clear that the hunters are now the hunted. Jake realizes that it is up to him to find some way of stopping the nightmarish creature before it returns to slaughter the rest of the expedition.

Dubbed the American Tolkien by Time magazine, #1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin is a giant in the field of fantasy literature and one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. Now he delivers a rare treat for readers: a compendium of his shorter works, collected into two stunning volumes, that offer fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master. Gathered here in Volume I are the very best of George R.R. Martin's early works, including never-before-published fan pieces, his Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker Award-winning stories plus the original novella The Ice Dragon, from which Martin's New York Times bestselling children's book of the same title originated. A dazzling array that features extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume I , is the perfect collection for both Martin devotees and a new generation of fans. Introduction by Gardner Dozois One: A Four-Color Fanboy (2003) Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark (1967) The Fortress 2003) And Death His Legacy (2003) Two: The Filthy Pro (2003) The Hero (1971) The Exit to San Breta (1972) The Second Kind of Loneliness (1972) With Morning Comes Mistfall (1973) Three: The Light of Distant Stars (2003) A Song for Lya (1974) novella This Tower of Ashes (1976) And Seven Times Never Kill Man (1975) novelette The Stone City (1977) novelette Bitterblooms (1977) novelette The Way of Cross and Dragon (1979) novelette Four: The Heirs of Turtle Castle (2003) The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr (1976) The Ice Dragon (1980) novelette In the Lost Lands (1982) Five: Hybrids and Horrors (2003) Meathouse Man (1976) novelette Remembering Melody (1981) Sandkings (1979) novelette Nightflyers (1980) novella The Monkey Treatment (1983) novelette The Pear-Shaped Man (1987) novelette

In this bone-chilling digital original story set in the world of Madeleine Roux's New York Times bestselling novel Asylum, a Louisiana teen tries to make tuition money working for a sinister organization but finds that leaving comes at a terrible cost. When Dan, Abby, and Jordan meet Oliver in Catacomb―the third book in the Asylum series―he is a mysterious young antiques dealer with a dark past. But before he was stuck in America's most haunted city, he was a teenager with a bright future ahead of him. In this story, we find Oliver saving up to attend his dream college in the fall and leave behind his family's New Orleans antique shop for good. And if his job just happens to involve robbing graves for a group calling themselves the Bone Artists, well—money is money, and it's only for now. But Oliver soon learns that the Bone Artists don't take kindly to deserters. And there are some debts that can never be repaid. With a mounting sense of dread that builds to a terrible end, The Bone Artists is a thrilling installment in the Asylum series that can stand on its own for new readers or provide a missing piece of the puzzle for series fans. Epic Reads Impulse is a digital imprint focused on young adult short stories and novellas, with new releases the first Tuesday of each month.

Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T. Joshi has stated that "his work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's" and that his short story collection Incredible Adventures (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century"

By the author of **Blood Meridian** and **All the Pretty Horses**, **Suttree** is the story of Cornelius Suttree, who has forsaken a life of privilege with his prominent family to live in a dilapidated houseboat on the Tennessee River near Knoxville.  Remaining on the margins of the outcast community there--a brilliantly imagined collection of eccentrics, criminals, and squatters--he rises above the physical and human squalor with detachment, humor, and dignity.

At last, Heaven would find the happiness she longed for...free from the scorn and contempt of her past! In her grandmother's fine, rich Boston house, Heaven Leigh Casteel dreamed of a wonderful new life of new friends, the best schools, beautiful clothes and most important, love. The pearls of culture, wisdom and breeding would now be hers. Soon she would make the Casteel name respectable, find her brothers and sisters, and have a family again. But even in the world of the wealthy, there were strange forebodings, secrets best forgotten. And as Heaven reached out for love, she was slowly ensnared in a sinister web of cruel deceits and hidden passions!

The thrilling second book in a 3-part adventure series, set in a time when science clashes with superstition and monsters lurk in chimneys. Jem takes on the role of bogler's apprentice and gets the fright of his life.

Bellman & Black is a heart-thumpingly perfect ghost story, beautifully and irresistibly written, its ratcheting tension exquisitely calibrated line by line. Its hero is William Bellman, who, as a boy of 10, killed a shiny black rook with a catapult, and who grew up to be someone, his neighbours think, who "could go to the good or the bad." And indeed, although William Bellman's life at first seems blessed—he has a happy marriage to a beautiful woman, becomes father to a brood of bright, strong children, and thrives in business—one by one, people around him die. And at each funeral, he is startled to see a strange man in black, smiling at him. At first, the dead are distant relatives, but eventually his own children die, and then his wife, leaving behind only one child, his favourite, Dora. Unhinged by grief, William gets drunk and stumbles to his wife's fresh grave—and who should be there waiting, but the smiling stranger in black. The stranger has a proposition for William—a mysterious business called "Bellman & Black" . . .

The Enemy Is Back... A terrible disease is striking everyone over the age of fourteen. Death walks the streets. Nowhere is safe. Maxie, Blue and the rest of the Holloway crew aren't the only kids trying to escape the ferocious adults who prey on them. Jack and Ed are best friends, but their battle to stay alive tests their friendship to the limit as they go on the run with a mismatched group of other kids - nerds, fighters, misfits. And one adult. Greg, a butcher, who claims he's immune to the disease. They must work together if they want to make it in this terrifying new world. But as a fresh disaster threatens to overwhelm London, they realize they won't all survive... "Higson has got the balance of blood and gore just right." -Daily Mirror "Clever...fast paced...inventive." -Guardian

The new guy at Tracy’s school is handsome, intense, and desperately needs her help—but there’s something about him that isn’t quite right High school junior Tracy Lloyd is unsure about the new guy in school. Brad Johnson is attractive, smart, and polite, but Tracy can’t help but feel he watches her too closely. Then one day Brad confides in Tracy a horrible secret: His little sister Mindy has been kidnapped by his stepfather, and he needs Tracy’s help to get her back. But even as Tracy commits to a plan to help her vulnerable new friend, details emerge that suggest nothing is what it seems.  The Twisted Window is a zigzagging thriller that keeps readers guessing up until the final page.  This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lois Duncan including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Thrown into a relentless war against the forces of darkness, fifteen-year-old Marlow Green and his squad of secret soldiers must fight for control of the Devil’s Engines―ancient, infernal machines that can make any wish come true, as long as you are willing to put your life on the line. But after a monstrous betrayal, Marlow, Pan and the other Hellraisers find themselves on the run from an enemy with horrific powers and limitless resources―an enemy that wants them dead at all costs. Failure doesn’t just mean a fate worse than death for Marlow, it means the total annihilation of the world. And when all looks lost and the stakes couldn’t be higher, just how far is he willing to go?

After a broken love affair, biographer Kate Kennedy retires to a remote cottage on the wild Essex coast to work on her new book until her landlord's daughter uncovers a Roman site nearby and long-buried passions are unleashed! In her lonely cottage, Kate is terrorized by mysterious forces. What do these ghosts want? That the truth about the violent events of long ago be exposed or remain concealed? Kate must struggle for her life against earthbound spirits and ancient curses as hate, jealousy, revenge and passion do battle across the centuries.

A fantasy of heroic adventure, set in the kingdom of Delain. It involves a king who is poisoned, a young and beautiful queen, a prince locked in a high tower while his younger brother assumes the throne, and an evil magician who harbours terrible secrets and malevolent plans.