Love transcends humanity… A lonely tech genius who creates the ideal robot boyfriend feels more for her creation than she bargained for. An aimless college dropout finds the perfect lover in the spirit of the earth itself… until the earth starts cheating on her. An AI struggles to conceal its love for the secret agent it was programmed to protect. What does it mean for a human to love someone who isn’t? Is it possible for two wildly different entities to know each other well enough to share true intimacy? The relationships in these six fantasy and science fiction short stories range from romantic to platonic to somewhere in between. But every story is full of love and longing and the struggle to bridge an impossible divide… and that makes them all just a little bit strange.

‘Love is strange’ was the first record that Phil Turner ever bought. It’s title is a poignant starting point for a tale of a man who charts life’s ups and downs not with the aid of the family album, but with his album collection. From pre-indie days at Manchester University gigs and onto the power and the glory that is U2 in concert (even at Blackpool Catering College) Phil reminisces about his lost loves, his misplaced innocence and wonders how a struggling singer-songwriter manages to keep up payments on his pension plan. Love is Strange: Everyman’s journey to the present.

A collection of stories about unusual relationships and contemporary love affairs includes contributions by Kathy Acker, Barry Gifford, Lynne McFall, Patrick McGrath, William T. Vollmann, and David Wojnarowicz

Eleven authors band together to show you love in its truest, most forbidden form.Only when Burnt Embers rise from Cinder & Smoke can you find Absolution from the Indiscriminate. When Becoming Mrs. Ryan is solely possible by crossing into the unknown. Join the Blood Brothers as they bind together while Keeping Secrets from The Thief & The Liar. And in the Encore, sweet, somber songs of Melancholia can we truly find the meaning of Caim.Love is Strange: A Taboo Anthology for the Ocean Conservancy.**All proceeds from this anthology will be donated to the Ocean Conservancy. https: //oceanconservancy.org/**

A dozen sharp new stories by one of contemporary fiction's acknowledged masters

Blood, sex and eternal life… What more could a girl ask for? Tall, dark, and sexy, as well as fabulously wealthy, Giovanni is everything a girl could ask for in a lover. There's only one catch. He's been undead for more than three hundred years. When Rachel is drawn into Giovanni's world, she learns that the rules of human existence mean nothing in the world of vampires. This, however, is a fair price to pay for a love that will last forever.Hunted by the Desmarais family, who carry a centuries-old vendetta, Rachel and Giovanni travel to the ends of the earth in order to stay one step ahead. Can their love survive, or will their eternity together end?

Experience an astounding new story in the world of the BAFTA-winning, critically-acclaimed videogame Life is Strange, as Max and Chloe return to Arcadia Bay to face an impossible decision – with truly epic consequences. Following on from one possible ending of the much-loved game, this all-new story, Life is Strange: Dust, finds aspiring photographer Max Caulfield and best friend Chloe Price struggling to build a new life, one year after the shocking events of the storm that swept through Arcadia Bay. When Max seemingly starts travelling in time without her knowledge or control, she and Chloe must return to where their journey began – to uncover the truth, set things right, and confront the ghosts of the past. Collects Life is Strange #1-4. “A must for anyone who experienced the original Life is Strange story.” – Flickering Myth “Claudia Leonardi perfectly captures the tone of the original series.” – Gamespew “Emma Vieceli does an excellent job capturing the personality of Chloe and Max. A worthy sequel!” – ComicBook.com “It’s awesome to return to the adventures of Max and Chloe!” – n3rdabl3

The highly anticipated, thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer, from National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy. Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old. She believed she knew every horror, and was beyond surprise. She was wrong. In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep. Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice--save the woman he loves, or everyone else?--while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of. As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead? Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer./DIV

He's awkward. He's adorable. He's alien as hell. Zylar of Kith B'alak is a four-time loser in the annual Choosing. If he fails to find a nest guardian this time, he'll lose his chance to have a mate for all time. Desperation drives him to try a matching service but due to a freak solar flare and a severely malfunctioning ship AI, things go way off course. This 'human being' is not the Tiralan match he was looking for.She's frazzled. She's fierce. She's from St. Louis.Beryl Bowman's mother always said she'd never get married. She should have added a rider about the husband being human. Who would have ever thought that working at the Sunshine Angel daycare center would offer such interstellar prestige? She doesn't know what the hell's going on, but a new life awaits on Barath Colony, where she can have any alien bachelor she wants. They agree to join the Choosing together, but love is about to get seriously strange.

"Sometimes we have questions that seem to defy answers or even suppositions but then we find Love and Strange Horses to help us map out a course to continue loving life. A really wonderful, thoughtful read by an intriguing new voice." —Nikki Giovanni