AustLit

'STEVIE IS A KILLER.

'But she brings her victims back to life to demand of them: "WHAT DO YOU SEE?"

'Now she's about to find out for herself...

'After an accident in which her mother dies, Stevie has a near-death experience, and finds herself in a room full of people - everyone she's ever annoyed. They clutch at her, scratch and tear at her. But she finds herself drawn back to this place, again and again, determined to unlock its secrets. Which means she has to die, again and again. And Stevie starts to wonder whether other people see the same room... when they die.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The date is 1854. The place is the Australian goldfields in the British colony of Victoria-the richest prize on earth. The story begins with a stockade. The flag of independence is unfurled. Men driven beyond endurance take arms against British redcoats. At their forefront are two hundred Colt-wielding Americans, the California Rangers, led by the charismatic and idealistic Captain James McGill.

'The stockade falls. The Rangers are scattered. But from the ashes will rise a new revolution-a revolution powered by the sun. And this one will not fail.

'In the 19th century, just how close did we come to a world run on solar power? The Five Star Republic is history with a twist, the story of a world that might easily have been-the future you’ll wish we’d had.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'When unnatural wildfires ravage the prairies, many of the horse herds and human clans are burnt. Precious warmblood mares disappear and mysterious stealthcats are killing foals, forcing a dying stallion to seek help from the guardian unicorns.

'Following a confusing prophecy that threatens the whole world, Mystery, the youngest unicorn, is sent to solve the problem. But being of horse parents, Mystery is filled with doubt and scared he has no power. Nevertheless, accompanied by Laila, a young woman, and Meda, her healer dragon, he determines to confront whatever evil is behind the devastation.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'In the story that first established the monstrous cosmic terrors of his Mythos writer H. P. Lovecraft said “We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity…” 

'Which makes it all the more fitting that the adepts of Lovecraft’s vision writing today would choose to unveil ever-evolving and terrible fears besetting those that live on the largest island on the planet, and force the protagonists of some startling new horror fiction tales in this book to face, indeed, not placidity, but their own black seas of infinity…and madness.

'Again, some of the greatest scribes of the weird and startling from the land down under bring you brand new stories in the Lovecraftian genre, taking you from the realms of contemporary Australian cities, to the blood-soaked, post-colonial past (touching the powerful original cultures of the land), and even hinting at the disturbing future of Terra Australis.

'You will fear a sunburnt country.

'Tales of terror by Alan Baxter, David Conyers, Julie Ditrich, Jason Fischer, Steve Kilbey, Steven Paulsen, Steve Proposch, Alf Simpson, Cat Sparks, Maurice Xanthos. Introduction by Cat Rambo and Afterword by Jack Dann.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Stark Naked is Silvia Cantón Rondoni’s intense personal journey. These reflections reveal her transition from childhood through grief and trauma, to the woman of resilience she is today. Illustrated by Silvia Nieto in close collaboration with the poet, her artwork adds visual soul and compliments a collection filled with raw emotion and brutal honesty.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Jem doesn’t do risk. He doesn’t play games with chance. At least not until his ex-girlfriend shows up on his doorstop in tears and tricks him into signing for an impossible debt.

'Thrust into an underworld of card players who bet anything they can think of – favours, information, secrets, even coffee – Jem has to figure his way out of a debt he doesn’t understand, in a world where the rules are twisting, complex and never explained. Relying only on a woman who plays life like she plays a game of poker, and drawn to a young man who offers temptations Jem’s not sure he can trust, there is only one thing he is clear on: the consequences of losing in this crowd. Because the last guy to owe a debt like his was just found floating face down in the ocean, and if Jem doesn’t sort this out fast, he could be next.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'A selection of the darkest Australian fiction.

'Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies taps into anxieties, painful memories and nightmares. Here, your worst fears come true.

'Penned by established authors and fresh new voices, these stories range from the gothic and phantasmagorical, through the demonic and supernatural, to the dystopian and sci-fi.

'Prepare for a visceral, frightening read.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Multi-award winning creators Ellen Datlow and Kaaron Warren teamed up on Facebook a few years ago when Ellen posted photos of antique tools and Kaaron wrote microfiction pieces to accompany them, without either of them knowing what the tools were for.

'This chapbook collects and preserves their playful interaction for readers to enjoy.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A surfer who becomes horrifyingly one with the sea. A new mother’s devastating search for belonging. A stone gargoyle with a violent history. A fisher boy who discovers the real cost of forbidden love. A farmer whose delight at drought-breaking rain quickly turns to terror. A hedonistic rock star who manifests double trouble. A young girl’s chilling sacrifice for justice. A dirty ex-cop with a dirtier secret. An unscrupulous mayor’s solution to rid her city of the homeless…

'These are just some of the characters you’ll meet in this collection of dark offerings.

'From the harsh terrain of the Outback, to the depths of the Pacific Ocean, the wilds of Tasmania, dystopian futures, enchanted lands, and the familiarity of suburbia, Coralesque and Other Tales to Disturb and Distract takes readers on a journey into unsettling, unforgiving, and unforgettable territory.' (Publication summary)

'Gathering the Strands starts to bring together the story of adversaries struggling over the distant and artificial world of Vhast towards what looks to be resolution. The inhabitants of Mousehole, instead of reacting to what is happening around them, begin to strike out and shape their own future as they travel around The Land.

'Following on from Intimations of Evil, Engaging Evil, Clearing the Web, and Scouring the Land, the Princess, and her wife the mage, the Cat, the priest, the ghazi, and the growing number of people that they are bringing together, strike out both in lightning raids and in mobilised armies, against their foe. Now they are being reacted to instead of hitting out blindly at unfathomed foes.

'Gathering the Strands is the fifth book of a series that sees magic as a scientific experiment as good struggles with evil in a world made by an alien race for their own ends.' (Publication summary)

'Brilliant and ambitious, Remezov is already recognised as the best earthquake predictor in the business. He travels to the ancient city of Hanemark to be received into the powerful Guild of Geographers, the youngest inductee in decades.

'On the way he finds a dead scientist’s diary, warning of an imminent invasion. Nonsense, of course—except the diary explains otherwise puzzling occurrences. Does he surrender it to the Guild, risking accusations he killed the scientist and stole the diary—all for an invasion that may never come—or does he keep it and use it to make his name? He has to decide soon, because he’s being hunted by something leaving a trail of mutilated bodies across the city.' (Publication summary)

'Black Moon is an illustrated collection of speculative flash fiction interspersed with prose poetry. It carries themes of love and war, life and the afterlife, hope and despair. It is a philosophical assortment that questions normalcy, embraces opposition, and takes a keen interest on peculiarity. It will appeal to curious lovers of literary dark fantasy and all places in between.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Agata Rosso, a once-mighty yet now prematurely aged European witch, believes that the special gifts in a young girl named Lía Munro can restore youth and vitality both to herself and her bedridden husband. She sets a deadly plan in motion to capture and use Lía—but will the girl have enough power to protect herself, plus the father she loves so much?'

Source: Publisher's blurb

'A collection of horror and dark fantasy short stories.

'The themes and settings are diverse, but one common thread runs through the stories—they all feature women.

'Women as protagonists. Women as doomed heroines. Woman as villains. Mothers and spinsters, wives and prostitutes, sisters and witches.

'And in some stories, monsters in feminine form.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Scouring The Land continues to follow the unfolding saga on the distant and artificial world of Vhast. The inhabitants of Mousehole begin to discover their strength, and that of their Adversaries, as the story ranges over The Land and beyond.

'Following on from Intimations of Evil, Engaging Evil, and Clearing the Web, the Princess, and her wife the mage, the Cat, the priest, the ghazi, and the others that are gathering around them, begin to strike out and discover how widespread is the influence of their enemy.

'Scouring the Land is the fourth book of a series that sees magic as a scientific experiment, as good struggles with evil in a world made by an alien race for their own ends.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Equinora, the world where horses live in harmony with people, is in trouble. The six unicorn guardians created by the Goddess have abandoned their roles and vicious bloodwolves rampage across the land, massacring the herds and villagers.

'Fleet, a young stallion without a territory, dreams of galloping with other horses and building a herd of his own. But an attack by a bloodwolf leaves him poisoned and alone. Driven by despair and a promise to fulfil his dying dam’s vision, Fleet sets out to discover how to vanquish the bloodwolves. The only help the renegade unicorns provide is to insist Fleet follow a prophecy to confront the villainous Shadow, an equine so powerful that the Goddess imprisoned him to prevent him destroying her realm.

'Accompanied by Yuma, a young man desperate to escape his destiny, and Tatuk, a tiny dragon, Fleet seeks Shadow and a cure for the bloodwolf poison. But even as he begins to fear the selfish unicorns have sent him to his death, he discovers a secret that might mean he has a chance to save all horses and people from annihilation.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In Shadows in the Stone Jack Dann creates a fully-realized, living, breathing universe, a universe where the Vatican is in Venice, Jehovah is really a lesser god known as the Demiurge, and the magus John Dee’s experiments with angels are true and repeatable. Here you’ll discover a nun who has the expertise and agility of a Ninja warrior, the reincarnated snake goddess known as the Daughter of Light, the famed Florentine magician Pico Della Mirandola, a young magus who is part stone, the Knights Templar of the Crimson Cross, the sapphire tablet: the most secret of the Dead Sea scrolls, and a 15th Century dirigible kept aloft by imprisoned souls. Here you’ll find wild adventure and Machiavellian subtlety, treason and heroism, love and carnality, joy and loss, magic, machines, the cosmic machinations of angels, demons, gods, and half-gods; and the absolutely breathtaking vistas that are their battle grounds.

[...]

'Join Jack Dann’s protagonists—Louisa Morgan and Lucian Ben-Hananiah—and the fellowship of The Dark Companions in their apocalyptic battle against the Demiurge—described in the forbidden Gnostic texts as the demon god Yaldabaoth… and known to us as Jehovah.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.