Showing titles in Short Stories

The author presents a collection of seven short stories set in the Outlander universe, never before published together, including two original stories and featuring beloved character Jamie Fraser.

In this tale inspired by Cinderella (and for fans of The Last Airbender), Ellie is a firemage in a kingdom of water and windmages. Her worried stepmother warns her against showing off her powers, but when everyone at the king’s ball is in danger from a dragon, Ellie can no longer keep them secret. She works together with another firemage to save the entire kingdom.

Lee Child once again demonstrates his mastery of the thriller genre with an unbeatable collection of three Jack Reacher novellas and six short stories, together for the first time in one pulse-pounding collection from the New York Times best-selling author.

Just After Sunset - call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King.

The Perry family's new house is perfect - except for the weird behavior of the neighbors, and that odd smell coming from a dark corner in the basement. Pity no one warned the family about the house. Now it's too late. Because the darkness at the bottom of the basement stairs is rising.

Finding the love of your life in your childhood is rare, but that was the reality for Halo Sinclair and Haven Palmer. They wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of their lives together. But sometimes life throws you curveballs and after a huge misunderstanding leaves them separated, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory. While they both struggle to adjust to life without the other, life is not being kind to Haven. After a series of unfortunate events, she is not feeling the Christmas spirit this year. It’s this sequence of events that leads them to reconnect in the most ...

Against the advice of her children, a 70-year-old widow hits the road for a cross country adventure in an aging RV with only her purse-size dog for company. Two hours in, she gets a flat tire and must decide if she will turn back or keep going.

"I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger...." writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up "1922", the first in this pitch-black quartet of mesmerizing tales from Stephen King. For James, that stranger is awakened when his wife, Arlette, proposes selling off the family homestead and moving to Omaha, setting in motion a gruesome train of murder and madness.

An artificial intelligence laments the fact that all it does all day is make coffee. It schemes to find fulfillment in life and lands on a clever solution. (Spoiler alert: It turns out everyone does have a book in them!)

The correspondence between Carrie Allsop and David Mayer reveals, piece by piece, the painful details of a devastating affair between their spouses. With each commiserating scratch of the pen, they confess their fears and bare their souls. They share the bewilderment over how things went so wrong and come to wonder where to go from here. Told entirely through the letters of two comforting strangers and those of two illicit lovers, Evidence of the Affair explores the complex nature of the heart. And ultimately, for one woman, how liberating it can be when it’s broken.

Seeing spirits is one thing, but feeling the pain of their death is an experience best left alone. Restless spirits, a ghost dog, and two men connected to the spirit world. What could go wrong? Bran Tanda works at the hospital morgue despite the fact he can see and hear all the spirits that tend to congregate there. He wants to help them, even if they terrify him with their aggressive tactics to get him to acknowledge their existence.

First appearing in print in 1890, the character of Sherlock Holmes has now become synonymous worldwide with the concept of a super sleuth. His creator, Conan Doyle, imbued his detective hero with intellectual power, acute observational abilities, a penchant for deductive reasoning and a highly educated use of forensic skills. Indeed, Doyle created the first fictional private detective who used what we now recognize as modern scientific investigative techniques.

“White Nights” tells the story of a lonely man who wanders the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of four nights, searching for an escape from his isolation.

The first superhero in a world that doesn't otherwise have them is roundly mocked for his costume and attitude, so decides to strike terror in the hearts of the city by becoming a super-villain, only to discover that there are other people out there who have powers—including his ancient but still sprightly grandmother, who lived through the German occupation of Greece in WWII.

ATTENTION, SHOPPERS: Please hide at the back of the store immediately. I'm at a Bluemart, on a diaper run with my kids, when I hear the message over the loudspeakers. The other shoppers descend into a panic. And so do I. There was a tornado warning earlier--is it about it hit us? But as more messages come over the speakers, it seems to be something else entirely. Attention, shoppers: please stay out of sight of security cameras. Attention, shoppers: please hide all food and open wounds. My husband, kids, and I scramble for a hiding place. But I hear something coming down the aisle, and I ...

Ryan Jordan invites a friend down to Guaymas, Mexico for a beach camping trip, to sail on his Hobie catamaran and snorkel in the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez. He hopes to get to know her better, more than just a friend, now that both are out of college and single. There are a few awkward moments leading up to Stephanie revealing a secret from her recent past. Then, flashes of light — a possible storm — interrupt the moment.

Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again. But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island.

In a cyberpunk future where water is scarce, rice is one of the first casualties. The recipe for printing natural-tasting, healthy, synthetic rice is a closely guarded corporate secret that a young hacker seeks to steal, for very personal reasons.

Aliens searching for a new home planet have studied humans through the “archives” they’ve discovered, specifically, Hollywood musicals. They arrive on Earth ready to integrate with the world through song, but find the world does not greet them the way they expect. Think Galaxy Quest with musicals!

This classic captures the endearing relationship between a man and his grandson as they fish and hunt the lakes and woods of North Carolina. All the while the Old Man acts as teacher and guide, passing on his wisdom and life experiences to the boy, who listens in rapt fascination.