dark fantasy

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Vol 38 by Multiple Authors

L. Ron Hubbard, Frank Herbert, David Farland, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Diane Dillon, and 12 winners: Azure Arther, Desmond Astaire, J. A. Becker, Lazarus Black, Z. T. Bright, John Coming, Em Dupre, N. V. Haskell, Michael Panter, Brittany Rainsdon, Mike Jack Stoumbos, M. Elizabeth Ticknor, and finalist: Rebecca E. Treasure

In the World of Sci-Fi & Fantasy…
…this Anthology stands out for three reasons.
Will you love the stories, the art, or the extras most?

Standing on the shoulders of giants, these writers of the future have earned their place in the hallowed pages of volume 38. With 25-award winning authors and illustrators, this collection is a master work.
These stories will fill you with satisfaction.

And a few just might break your heart.

Phantom in the Pines by R.K. Latch

By Book Lovers Magazine

Phantom in the Pines by R.K. Latch

Henry Lawton is a young man in 1930’s Mississippi. He works for his father in the family moonshining business and is one of the best bootleggers around.

He is secretly in love with the granddaughter of a woman the locals consider a true-to-life witch. So he has plenty to keep him busy.

But, when a relentless federal agent enlists the aid of the corrupt local sheriff, things take a turn for the worse. Lives and families are destroyed.

As the death toll mounts and the situation grows dire, perhaps the only thing that can fight man’s evil is the supernatural.

When the spirit of the trees walks free, evil runs in fear.

The Serpent and the Swan by Ashland Pym

By Book Lovers Magazine

The Serpent and the Swan by Ashland Pym

“Beautiful and cruel”

She’s not quite human, but is she as dangerous as they believe?

Cygna has been kept under the shadow of secrecy for two decades. Not only is she the King’s illegitimate firstborn, she’s also an extraordinary half-fae with a wing in place of an arm who instills fear and suspicion in those close to her.

But now a terrifying evil is ravaging the kingdom. A Lindworm is making a path straight for the castle, and the King and Queen believe Cygna has the power to stop the serpent. Except Cygna knows what her hateful stepmother really wants is to keep Cygna from inheriting the throne.

They send Cygna on a dangerous journey to the underworld where she meets others like her. She begins to see she’s not the unnatural creature she was brought up to believe. But will Cygna have the bravery to confront the terrifying serpent and defeat her darkest fears? Her freedom and life will depend on it.

The Girl of Dorcha Wood by Kristin Ward

By Book Lovers Magazine

The Girl of Dorcha Wood by Kristin Ward

Treacherous. Evil. Dark. Dorcha Wood is all of these. And none of them.

The people of Felmore talk of Dorcha Wood in whispers, if they speak of it at all, fearing the wrath of the Cù-Sìth should their words be carried on the wind. Those murdering beasts still roam the darkness of the forest, the last remnants of the cursed Aos Sí, a race of elves, long since vanished from the world.

But to seventeen-year-old Fiadh, it is home. A haven. A forest whose secrets become known only when it chooses to reveal them. Her life is one of balance until the outside world shatters it.

From the moment Fiadh set eyes on Gideon, the peaceful rhythm of her life was lost. As a new path unfolds, Fiadh confronts the reality of old hatreds, the consequences of things hidden, and the truth of who she really is.

Steel, Blood & Fire by Allan Batchelder

By Book Lovers Magazine

Steel, Blood & Fire by Allan Batchelder

On the march, around the campfire, and in the taverns, they tell incredible stories about Tarmun Vykers, the Reaper – how he’s never been cut in battle, how he once defeated hundreds of men by himself, how he exterminated an entire people over an insult. These stories make Vykers seem like a god, but he is a man, an arrogant, ruthless and bloodthirsty man. For all that, he may be the only thing standing between the human race and utter annihilation at the hands of the mad wizard who calls himself the End-of-All-Things. Against this backdrop, smaller, lesser folks struggle to fulfill their own destinies, folks like Aoife, burdened with a secret so dark she is driven to do the unimaginable and seek an alliance with fey powers no mortal has ever encountered.