As explorers conquered the frontiers of North America, they disturbed sleeping terrors and things long forgotten by humanity. Journey into the undiscovered country where fierce Vikings struggle against monstrous abominations. Travel with European colonists as they learn of buried secrets and the creatures guarding ancient knowledge. Go west across the plains, into the territories were sorcerers dwell in demon-haunted lands, and cowboys confront cosmic horrors.

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." --H. P. LOVECRAFT, "Supernatural Horror in Literature" Howard Phillips Lovecraft forever changed the face of horror, fantasy, and science fiction with a remarkable series of stories as influential as the works of Poe, Tolkien, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. His chilling mythology established a gateway between the known universe and an ancient dimension of otherworldly terror, whose unspeakable denizens and monstrous landscapes--dread Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, the Plateau of Leng, the Mountains of Madness--have earned him a permanent place in the history of the macabre. In Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, a pantheon of horror and fantasy's finest authors pay tribute to the master of the macabre with a collection of original stories set in the fearsome Lovecraft tradition: ¸ The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: The slumbering monster-gods return to the world of mortals. ¸ Notebook Found in a Deserted House by Robert Bloch: A lone farmboy chronicles his last stand against a hungering backwoods evil. ¸ Cold Print by Ramsey Campbell: An avid reader of forbidden books finds a treasure trove of deadly volumes--available for a bloodcurdling price. ¸ The Freshman by Philip José Farmer: A student of the black arts receives an education in horror at notorious Miskatonic University. PLUS EIGHTEEN MORE SPINE-TINGLING TALES!

A tale about Cthulhu, the greatest of the true gods of Earth whose name can be found only in ancient, blasphemous manuscripts, and the demonic rites of the Old Ones

The Barbaric Triumph examines all aspects of the life and work of Robert E. Howard -- the originator of the sword-&-sorcery antasy genre and the creator of Conan the Barbarian. Featured are essays by Leo Grin, Edwrad A. Waterman, Charles Hoffman, Paul Spencer, Mark Finn, Steven R. Trout, Lauric Guillaud, Scott Connors, George Knight, Don Herron, and more. From the phantoms of Hate simmering beneath Howard's blood-drenched prose to Howard's lifelong interest in philosophy, from Howard's visionary use of the American Frontier Myth to his tales of boxing, The Barbaric Triumph builds on the pioneering research of Heron's previous book on Howard, The Dark Barbarian and takes it to new levels.

The Pact is back and demons are as devious as ever in The Crimson Pact Volume 2. Read 28 original stories (over 500 pages in print ), including many sequels to stories in volume one. Suzzanne Myers's powerful flash fiction piece, "Withered Tree" continues with the exceptional short story, "Seven Dogs." Chant McCoy's "Inside Monastic Walls" is followed by the literally gut-wrenching follow-up short story, "Body and Soul." Urban fantasy mayhem is off the charts with rising star Patrick Tomlinson's "Monsters in the Closet" and D. Robert Hamm's "Karma." Steampunk your thing? EA Younker's steampunk apocalypse tale "Stand," Sarah Hans' sequel about professor Campion, "A More Ideal Vessel," and Elaine Blose's steampunk Western "Wayward Brother" will whet your appetite. The dark fantasy and adventure continues in "Dark Archive," Sarah Kanning writes how Danielle from "Hidden Collection" must deal with the lingering effects of being possessed by a demon. Volume two mixes sequels from Gloria Weber, Justin Swapp, and Isaac Bell with new stories from Lester Smith, K.E. McGee, Adam Israel, Valerie Dircks, T.S. Rhodes, Elizabeth Shack, Daniel Alonso, and Nayad Monroe. New York Times Bestselling author and Campbell award nominee Larry Correia presents an exclusive short story, "Son of Fire, Son of Thunder" co-authored by Steven Diamond, about an FBI paranormal investigator and a bad ass marine who knows the exact moment of his own death. Travel to the alternate history Earth of the "Red Bandanna Boys" by Patrick M. Tracy and find out how ruthless you have to be to survive the slums of St. Nikolayev. Follow "The Trail of Blood" by Alex Haig, a horrifying Western about a bounty hunter who wants vengeance, not money. Hunt for Nazis in a disturbing 1950's America in "Hunters Incorporated" by Kelly Swails. Patrol the steaming jungles of Vietnam with a squad of soldiers in Lon Prater's "Last Rites in the Big Green Empty." Then enter the mind of a godlike demon in Donald J. Bingle's ambitions tale, "Dark Garden," or visit the creepy shadow world created by Richard Lee Byers in "Light and Dark." Watch your back, the demons are coming.

"Discover a time when tall ships ranged the oceans and creatures lurked in the dark depths. Journey across the world from the reign of pirates to the age of Napoleon to the present, and learn what fears dwell in sailors' hearts. All hands on deck, ready the cannon, and prepare to engage in terrors unknown!"--Page 4 of cover

From the Patriots' raid on the necromancer Joseph Curwen to the Special Forces' assault on Leng in 2007, this unique document reveals the secret and terrible struggle between the United States and the supernatural forces of Cthulhu. In this war, immortal cultists worship other-dimensional entities and plot to raise an army of the dead. Incomprehensible undersea intelligences infiltrate and colonize American seaports, and alien races lurk beneath the ice of Antarctica and high in the mountains of Afghanistan. It is only through constant vigilance and violence that the earth has survived. Also included are threat reports describing the indescribable – humanity's deadliest foes serving Cthulhu and the other Great Old Ones. Strange times are upon us, the world is changing, and even death may die – but, until then, the war continues. This product is not associated with the Cthulhu Wars tabletop game by Petersen Games, LLC; PetersenGames.com

Although there is a chance that certain planets may be habitable for life, the moons of planets might have even more to offer. The icy moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have taught us important lessons about new volcanic forms—cryovolcanism—and the bizarre landscapes sculpted by those erupting geysers. Glaciers, ice mountains, and vast canyons mold the faces of these worlds of ice and thunder. Yet, many ice moons and dwarf planets, including Ceres and Pluto, are in fact sea worlds, hiding deep oceans beneath their ice crusts. This book explores the frozen worlds beyond Mars, delving into the interior forces of migrating ice diapirs, seafloor volcanism and tidal friction, which help form the landscapes found above and biologically friendly environs buried below. It covers the latest research in the field and includes interviews with today’s foremost authorities, including astrobiologists Chris McKay (NASA Ames), Ralph Lorenz (Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory) and Karl Mitchell (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Original art by the author enhances the concepts explored in the text, recreating some of the most remarkable landscapes on icy planets and moons.

If parapolitics, a branch of radical criminology that studies the interactions between public entities and clandestine agencies, is to develop as an academic discipline, then it must develop a coherent theory of aesthetics in order to successfully perform its primary function: to render perceptible extra-judicial phenomena that have hitherto resisted formal classification. Wilson offers the work of H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) as an example of the relevance of subversive literature-in this case, cosmic horror and the weird tale-to the parapolitical criminologist. Cosmic horror is a form of writing that relies heavily upon the epistemological assumption of a radical and irreconcilable disjunction between appearance and reality, perception and truth. In many ways, the well-constructed weird tale strongly resembles the hard-boiled detective story or the noir thriller in that the resolution of the narrative hinges upon a dramatically shattering confrontation with an unspeakable reality. Apart from its obvious utilization of conspiracy theory, the primary attraction of the Lovecraftian text lies with its remarkably sophisticated utilization of two central tropes of classical aesthetic theory-the sublime and the grotesque. Not only does Lovecraft's oeuvre represent a remarkable use of both of these motifs, but the raw literary power of the Lovecraftian weird tale serves as an outstanding exemplar for the parapolitical scholar to emulate in formulating an alternative mode of discourse, or poetics.

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year's Best Science Fiction Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world. This venerable collection of short stories brings together award winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert Reed, Ian McDonald, Stephen Baxter, Michael Swanwick, Paolo Bacigalupi, Kage Baker, Walter Jon Williams, Alastair Reynolds, and Charles Stross. And with an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre. "This venerable annual’s twenty-fifth edition represents a milestone for editor Dozois. He has kept faith with the series for a quarter-century without ever shortchanging, or even showing any signs of shortchanging, readers on either quality or abundance of selections."--Booklist