Dragons had preyed on humans since time immemorial, and no one had ever found a way to kill them. Now, though, Arlian had learned the secrets the dragons had hidden from humanity for centuries. He knew how the dragons could be destroyed forever, and he intended to see it done. The only catch was that several humans, including Manfort's most powerful men and women, had to die to make it happen. Some of them did not intend to cooperate. Indeed, they preferred to cooperate with the dragons instead, to protect themselves, no matter how many innocents might die as a result. And Arlian would have to defeat this unholy alliance if he ever hoped to end the draconic threat.

Arlian was winning his war against the dragons — but he was discovering the costs of that victory might be far higher than he had expected, and more than he was willing to pay. Could he find a way to save humanity from both the dragons, and the wild magic the dragons had kept at bay?

A sudden ice age has driven Earth's population into the tropics, except for a few die-hards eking out a tenuous existence scavenging the snow-covered ruins of civilization. One such straggler is John Starkman, making his home in the frozen wastes of western Pennsylvania. Already an outcast because of a certain physical peculiarity, he saw no reason to join his neighbors in fleeing south. Then one day a spaceship comes to collect him and the other stragglers, and Starkman discovers there have been other changes besides the ice age. Aliens have landed on Earth. They say they've come to help -- but what do they really want? And why are they interested in him? A science fiction novel by Hugo-winner Lawrence Watt-Evans, back in print for the first time in over twenty years.

21 of the most twisted and poisonous short stories by award-winning author Lawrence Watt-Evans — nineteen reprints and two, "Hazmat" and "Slash," original to this collection.The stories originally appeared in magazines such as Deathrealm and anthologies such as Dennis Etchison's Metahorror, and include deals with the devil, ghostly dinosaurs, and the monsters within us all. None have been included in any of the author's previous collections.

The fourth volume in the adventures of Tom Derringer, bold young adventurer of the 1880s.Professor Aloysius Vanderhart has been kidnapped, and his daughter has asked Tom Derringer to find him and bring him home. Other scientists and adventurers have also gone missing. Who took them, and why?The search for those answers plunges Tom into new adventures — and into the heart of a mad millionaire's electrical empire!

Here are ten tall tales by fantasy author Lawrence Watt-Evans - stories set in times and lands that never were, but should have been. Join Jolly Jack Dancy's crew as they try to figure out what their captain has gotten them into this time. See Thomas "Windwagon" Smith race a Martian sandship across the red sands of Mars. Go shopping with a woman who knows all the best places to buy, even if they don't exactly exist. Visit Coney Island in 1905, where millionaire John Chester Glatfelter thinks he knows a new way to make people have fun. Meet a runaway elf, a demon too clever for his own good, a man who'd do anything to see an angel, and a magician whose demonstration of his talents works a little too well.And in two never-before-published stories, arrive three days late for a hanging that didn't go as planned, and learn why a girl with wings can't fly.

Twenty stories by Hugo-winning author Lawrence Watt-Evans, exploring the infinite possibilities of traveling not just forward or backward in time, but sideways into the multiverse. Includes the award-winning "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers."Stories herein:Paranoid Fantasy #1Why I Left Harry's All-Night HamburgersA Flying Saucer with Minnesota PlatesAn Infinity of KarenThe DrifterStorm TrooperOne-ShotTruth, Justice, and the American WayReal TimeNew WorldsOne Night At A Local BarScience FictionWatching New York Melt [collaboration with Julie Evans]Monster Kidnaps Girl At Mad Scientist's Command!Windwagon Smith and the MartiansThe Rune and the DragonThe Palace of al-Tir al-AbtanThe Final Folly of Captain DancyThe Man Who Loved DragonsAfter the Dragon is Dead

Life can be hard in Ethshar of the Sands, especially when you're an aging diva whose husband has just left you. Never mind that he gave her their house and plenty of money. Never mind that he no longer loves her and never wants to see her again. Or hear her voice. Or interact with her in any way, shape, or form. Dulzan just wants his freedom to be a humble carpenter.Sharra wants Dulzan, though, and that's all that counts in her head and heart. And as so often happens with a wife scorned, she turns to magic to get her way. Because she has to have him, no matter the cost.A legend of Ethshar from the best-selling author of The Misenchanted Sword and With a Single Spell.

Garth of Ordunin had been set a new task by the Forgotten King: Bring back to Skelleth whatever he found upon the altars of the seven temples of Dusarra. As he went about his blasphemous errand he learned more about the Dark Gods—and more about his own destiny!

Despite several years of study, Kilisha, an aspiring young apprentice wizard, has much to learn. After gathering ingredients for a lesson, she returns home to find her master, Ithanalin the Wise, transformed into a statue. A tax collector interrupted Ithanalin while working on a spell, a magic mirror tells her, with the result that the wizard's soul has been distributed among the various household objects. "The dish had run away with the spoon" is literally the case here, as all the furnishings have become animated and escaped out the door. In her efforts to track down the runaway objects and restore her petrified master to his former self, a quest that will eventually take her to the Overlord of Ethshar's fortress, Kilisha first tries to involve the Wizards' Guild but ultimately must rely on the few spells she knows and her master's spell book-as well as her own imagination, initiative and ingenuity.

The Calling. Sooner or later, it claimed every powerful warlock . . . a growing magical compulsion to go north to the mysterious land of Aldagmor that nothing could stop. None ever returned.Hanner the Warlock knew his days were numbered. The Calling pulled at him ceaselessly now, and his ability to resist had begun to crumble. So he determined to find a place where the Calling couldn't reach him . . . another world, located through a magic tapestry. Every warlock knew that the farther he was from Aldagmor, the weaker the Calling was — and the weaker his magic was, as well, but that was only a secondary consideration. That weakening had given Hanner the idea to find, or make, a place so distant from Aldagmor that the Call couldn't reach it at all.Unfortunately, the Call took him anyway. And that's where his story really gets interesting. Because the Calling wasn't what everyone believed. And when the warlocks who had been Called over the decades...

Lawrence Watt-Evans may be best known for his fantasy and science fiction novels, particularly the Ethshar series, but he has published a significant body of short fiction, too, including the Hugo Award-winning "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers." This MEGAPACK® collects his fantasy stories — more than 400 pages of terrific reading! Included are:THE TEMPLE OF LIFEMEHITABEL GOODWINHEART OF STONETHE FINAL CHALLENGEBETH'S UNICORNTHE BRIDE OF BIGFOOTKEEPING UP APPEARANCESDROPPING HINTSTHE BOGLE IN THE BASEMENT2THE MAN FOR THE JOBCHAPERONEOUT OF THE WOODSGHOST STORIESTHE FROG WIZARDHORSING AROUNDSPIRIT DUMPARMS AND THE WOMANMITTENS AND HOTFOOTJUST PERFECTTRIXIEIN RE: NEPHELEGERETESIN FOR A POUNDSOMETHING TO GRIN ABOUTBEST PRESENT EVER!If you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 300+ volumes in this series, covering...

The overman named Garth sought immortal fame. The oracle told him to serve the Forgotten King to get that fame. But this King sent Garth after a basilisk whose gaze could turn men to stone. What sane use could anyone have for a monster like that? **