John Shirley

From the acclaimed author of Ralph Compton's Prairie Fire, Kansas, the first in an action-packed new series starring Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe, a master gunfighter, horseman, and lawman who's looking to strike it rich in the gold fields of Axle Bust, Nevada... From the battlefield of Shiloh to the prisoner camp at Slocum, former Union soldier Cleveland Trewe has seen more than enough carnage for one lifetime. Now that the war is over he's found work as a peacekeeper and prospector--the perfect set of survival skills for a town like Axle Bust, Nevada, a place seething with danger. Cleve's uncle staked a claim in Axle Bust only to lose it to a murderous con-man partnered with Duncan Conroy, owner of the Golden Fleece Mine and a man determined to build an empire by means fair and foul. The only person keeping Conroy in check is his sister Berenice, a freethinker whose scientific education benefits the family interests--even while catching Cleve's eye. To reclaim his uncle's mine, and bring justice to a town under tyranny, Cleve finds himself turning the streets into a bullet-riddled battlefield. Conroy is about to learn there just isn't room for both men in a town like Axle Bust. GOLD FEVER. BLOOD FEVER.

A TOR NIGHTFIRE SELECTION FOR 10 BEST HORROR POETRY COLLECTIONS OF 2020In these poems, Ashley Dioses evokes an unrelenting sequence of raw, carnal images sure to delight all fans of the morbid and the macabre. Down frightful corridors both internal and external, the poetess leads us through the cobwebs of the natural world, through the entrance to a realm of sorcery, demons, and the undead. Emerging from this twilight Otherworld, harrowed by haunting sensations, we find ourselves questioning sanity as we stumble upon a surgical suite filled with delectable selections of bloody delights. Treat yourself to some cemetery necromancy, or sit back and enjoy a nice cloying sorbet with The Withering. With a foreword by horror/sci-fi/cyberpunk legend John Shirley, and featuring cover art and numerous interior illustrations by noted British weird artist Mutartis Boswell.

New and uncollected stories by Bram Stoker Award Winner John Shirley. From the Introduction by Richard Christian Matheson: "In the brooding precincts of dark fiction, Byronic gangster John Shirley's writing is distinguished by swans and knives of style; divine menace. Twenty of his finest stories are gathered in this volume of poetic distress calls and whether horror, artful heresy, or a cosmos seeping bleak karma, Shirley's visions autopsy and awaken. Amid such torrents, the many addicted to his brilliance savor Shirley's work as sodium-pentothal and grace, ground zero of the real deal." Cover art by Luke Spooner.

A cattle drive faces long odds in this exciting new installment in Ralph Compton's Trail Drive series. An outbreak of hostilities with Comanches has disrupted the usual trail routes. But Mase Durst must get his cows from his Texas ranch to the railway up in Wichita, Kansas, or face losing his land, which the bank is fixing to foreclose on. He's forced to take his herd on a little-used route called the Red Trail--little used for good reasons. It's a tough trek: dangerous, narrow, and fraught with banditry. Along the way, Durst and his men face numerous obstacles thrown up by Mother Nature, cattle rustlers and crooked lawmen. But even their safe arrival in Wichita will offer no relief if he can't make it home in time to save his ranch from the bank--and his wife from the predations of their rapacious neighbor. . .

In this roller-coaster new installment in bestselling author Ralph Compton's Sundown Riders series, a young cowhand faces a trial by fire on his way to a new home and an old love. Fresh from a successful trail drive, cattle hand Seth Coe is feeling flush, especially after a lucky streak at the poker table. But his good fortune earns him a dangerous enemy, notorious tinhorn gambler Hannibal Fisher, who is none too happy about being cleaned out. The innocent Coe starts the long ride back to Texas with big plans to buy his own ranch. All he needs now, he figures, is a wife. To his amazement, in tiny Prairie Fire, Kansas he meets the perfect woman, his childhood love Josette Dubois. But she is under the thumb of her brutal father, who will stop at nothing to prevent her happiness, including killing Coe--that is, if Fisher doesn't get there first. . .

In this exciting new Ralph Compton western, a man without a memory meets an unforgettable ally: the one and only Bat Masterson. Riding into the town of Smoky River on a mangy mule, Dane looks as broken down as his old mount. His Stetson is ragged, his boots are tied together with leather thongs, and he wears a Colt Army revolver with exactly three bullets. He wouldn't know what to say if you asked him where he got the gun, or how he learned to shoot it so well. He doesn't know if Dane is his first name or his last. Something happened that cost him much of his memory, and he can't remember what that something was. For three years he's been traveling the West as a cowboy, a buffalo hunter, a farmhand. Smoky River looks to be a fine place to settle down. If only his past didn't decide to catch up to him here. . .

What October Brings celebrates the dark traditions of the autumn rituals, of Halloween and Samhain, in homage to the uniquely fascinating fiction of HP Lovecraft. Masters of the short story offer you a "once in a lifetime" Trick-or-Treat experience... ...perhaps your last experience!

A flesh-and-soul-devouring addiction runs rampant through the dark playground of the Hollywood elite in this tale of horror from a Bram Stoker Award winner. Welcome to Los Angeles, where every addiction is encouraged. . . . Struggling Hollywood screenwriter Tom Prentice can hardly believe that the emaciated and mutilated corpse lying on the morgue slab was once his ex-wife. Then his roommate’s missing brother turns up in a local hospital having sliced open his own chest and legs for some sick, inexplicable reason. In Oakland, the Reverend Garner, a recovering addict, leaves his ministry in search of his teenage daughter, who was last seen in the company of her ghoulish kidnapper. And the Los Angeles police are meanwhile baffled in their hunt for the elusive “Wetbones” serial killer who leaves nothing of his victims behind except a damp, grisly pile of bones. Though Tom, the reverend, and the LAPD are on separate quests for answers, they are all being led into the darkest shadows of Hollywood, where the debauchery never ceases and pleasure is a drug that devours human flesh, blood, and sanity. But the true source of the all-consuming addiction is the most horrifying revelation of all, for it is not of this rational Earth. From International Horror Guild Award–winning author John Shirley, the acclaimed “splatterpunk” classic Wetbones combines the monstrous inventiveness of H. P. Lovecraft with the exquisite excess of Clive Barker. A true masterwork of modern terror, it’s decidedly not for the faint of heart.

“A thrill-packed” blend of science fiction and apocalyptic thriller from the veteran horror writer and author of Halo: Broken Circle (Metro Silicon Valley). Judgment Day has arrived, and it’s stranger than anyone could have predicted. . . . Jim Swift, a reporter for the Sacramento Bee, is determined to get to the bottom of the recent bizarre global occurrences that seem to be more in the realm of outlandish conspiracy theories than real-life facts. People who once trafficked in slaves, war, cruelty, and death are suddenly experiencing strange visions and reexamining their lives. But the inexplicable rehabilitation of humanity’s worst evildoers is only the beginning. As Jim sets out on a frantic search for his lost daughter, he must traverse a world reduced to the chaos of fear and uncertainty—for the end of everything we’ve ever known will be at hand once the Adjusters arrive from the stars. The Other End, John Shirley’s brilliant and biting apocalyptic thriller, is the veteran author’s answer to the bestselling Left Behind novels. A magnificent amalgam of science fiction, horror, satire, and heart-pounding adventure, it’s a stunning and thought-provoking tale of righteous redemption in a dystopian near-future.

The New York Times bestselling series based on the blockbuster Xbox(R) games Centuries before the Human-Covenant War would rage across the galaxy, a similar conflict erupted between the Prophets and the Elites--two alien races at odds over the sacred artifacts left by the powerful Forerunners, who disappeared eons ago. Although they would eventually form a stable alliance called the Covenant, there are those on both sides who question this fateful union. From an Elite splinter group rebelling against the Covenant during the time of its founding...to a brave Prophet caught in the machinations of the new leadership...to the root of the betrayal that would ultimately shatter the Covenant many years later, this is the untold chapter of the most unexpected heroes emerging from a realm filled with shocking treachery and ceaseless wonder. Copyright (c) 2014 by Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Halo, the Halo logo, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

Back in the 19th century a Wesen and a Grimm fight to the death. The Grimm wins, but the Wesen's son escapes and vows revenge. In the present day, Captain Renard sends Nick and Hank to investigate a crime cartel named Le Touche Givre (The Icy Touch), who are involved in forced prostitution and drug pushing. Nick gradually realises that their dangerous leader is intent on tracking him down -

An original novel set in the universe of the award-winning video game The Borderlands cannot be conquered Mordecai and Daphne have gotten themselves in a tough spot near the highly dangerous town of Gunsight, one of the most remote outposts on the planet Pan-dora, out in the boonies of the boonies of the Borderlands. Daphne has been taken prisoner by Jasper, a local warlord who controls the area around Gunsight . . . except for that other settlement, the former mining town Tumessa. There's some kind of big secret operation going on in Tumessa--another warlord, a particularly mutated Psycho named Reamus, is somehow making money. And he's been relent-lessly raiding Gunsight and kidnapping Jasper's people. Jasper may be scum, but he needs those people for raids on other towns, so it all has to balance out. Mordecai needs to negotiate for Daphne's release, but now the only way he'll ever see her alive again is to kill his way into Tumessa, find out what's going on there, and report back to Jasper--only then will Mordecai get a paycheck and the girl. Mordecai doesn't want the job, but he is pretty devoted to Daphne . . . and somehow, he just might be able to turn this entire mess to his advantage. . .