Fantasy - Knights & Castles Genre

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Summary: Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Award Winner Best Translated Book Award Shortlist “The celebrated Châteaureynaud, who over the course of a distinguished career has created short tales that are not exactly contes cruels but which linger on the edge of darkness and absurdity.” —New York Times Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud is well known to readers of French literature. This comprehensive collection—the first to be translated into English—introduces a distinct and dynamic voice to the Anglophone world. In many ways, Châteaureynaud is France’s own Kurt Vonnegut, and his stories are as familiar as they are fantastic. A Life on Paper presents characters who struggle to communicate across the boundaries of the living and the dead, the past and the present, the real and the more-than-real. A young husband struggles with self-doubt and an ungainly set of angel wings in “Icarus Saved from the Skies,” even as his wife encourages him to embrace his transformation. In the title story, a father’s obsession with his daughter leads him to keep her life captured in 93,284 unchanging photographs. While Châteaureynaud’s stories examine the diffidence and cruelty we are sometimes capable of, they also highlight the humanity in the strangest of us and our deep appreciation for the mysterious. Reviews “Châteaureynaud is a master craftsman, encapsulating weighty themes with pith and heart. In his hands, the short story is a Gothic cathedral whittled from a wine cork.” —The Believer “Châteaureynaud celebrates the quiet, hidden beauties of the world and the objects or knowledge we hold tight like talismans to protect us from its losses and horrors.” —The Quarterly Conversation “Châteaureynaud makes expert thematic use of both light and shadow to reveal his fantastical realms of wonder and fear. His unassuming prose startles as it entrances, holding readers on the edge of elegantly rendered, fantastical dream-worlds while all at once alluding to their more nightmarish qualities. In the style of Kafka and Poe, Châteaureynaud makes the supernatural seem not only present, but ubiquitous, inclined to encroach at any moment on the humdrum lives of unsuspecting mortals. More sinister than fairy tales, yet not quite definable as horror stories, Châteaureynaud’s whimsical writings leave one unsettled and alert, appreciating anew the possibilities of the chilly night air while simultaneously feeling the urge to draw nearer to the fire—just in case.” —Catherine Bailey, Three Percent “The collection will perhaps appeal especially to those who enjoy their fiction short and concise, not to mention intense and decidedly peculiar. If you . . . are interested in dream-logic, fantastic situations, the unexplainable and/or macabre . . . this volume delivers again and again.” —Neon Magazine “Châteaureynaud’s stories are disorienting, bizarre, mythical. The stories don’t end with epiphanies or a tidy wrapping-up. Some of the endings are abrupt, even unsatisfying; they feel more like a beginning. So what? A Life on Paper is fantastic in both meanings: it’s fantastic, as in strange, unreal, weird, imaginary; and it’s fantastic, as in absolutely fucking awesome. People will call A Life on Paper magical realism. A few will call it irrealism. I don’t care what you call it. I just want you to read it.” —Bookslut “Both classic and modern, strange and simple, Châteaureynaud’s stories remind not only of Vonnegut but of Gogol and Kafka. What’s endearing about the stories is the amount of tenderness running through them. Even in stories about bizarre cruelty (the title story tells of a father who had his daughter photographed a dozen times a day for her entire life), affection provides the glue.” —Time Out Chicago “A Life on Paper is a brief selection from more than thirty years of fiction. Châteaureynaud has a backlist for American readers that this book makes enticingly tangible, almost real. His own work is such that it might be subject of one of his stories. This might be all there is, the rest pure fabrication. The unreal, awaiting translation.” —Rick Kleffel, The Agony Column “These 22 curious tales verging on the perverse will strike new English readers of Châteaureynaud’s work as a wonderful find. Beautiful prose featuring ingenuous protagonists and clever, unexpected forays into horror are the hallmarks of these mischievous stories.” —Publishers Weekly “Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud is 63 and has never published a book in English until now. A Life on Paper: Selected Stories, brilliantly translated by Edward Gauvin, opens the door at last. . . . Nothing matters in this book unless it has been told, everything is told. Open this book.” —John Clute, Strange Horizons “Châteaureynaud’s dance steps are so nimble that he seems, without effort, to show us what is best in others.” —Brooklyn Rail “Châteaureynaud has sometimes been called the Kurt Vonnegut of France. However, this collection of 22 of Châteaureynaud’s stories—which are often other-worldly and not infrequently unsettling—may speak to some readers more directly of Kafka.” —Christian Science Monitor “As weird as they are elegant, as delicious as they are unsettling, these fables place Châteaureynaud in the secret brotherhood that has only exemplars, no definition: Kafka, Bruno Schulz, Nathanael West, Aimee Bender. We are lucky indeed to have them, in a very skilled translation.” —John Crowley (Little, Big) Table of Contents Foreword by Brian Evenson

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Summary: Every story has more than one point of view. As the mate to the dark mage Morgorth, Aishe has learned a lot about magick, love, and himself. He tries to find a home with Morgorth, to be accepted into his world; to survive in a world full of magick, treachery, and deception. But all the while he struggles to keep a secret about his past and their intertwined destinies. Despite all the obstacles thrown at both of them, Aishe is determined to stay by Morgorth’s side, no matter what the future brings—even if that future turns dark with death should Morgorth embrace his grim destiny. But when Morgorth leaves with his mentor to collect another stone of power, Aishe is left behind. It is then a surprise attack comes and Aishe, determined to protect and defend his new home, decides to take the invaders on by himself. It might prove too much for him to handle...especially when he learns the one who leads the invaders is a mage. This book allows us a glimpse inside the mind of Lord Morgorth’s better half, a dialen named Aishe: his motivations, his personal sorrows, and his struggle to find a place to call home.

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Summary: There will be time to crown a king, but first a warlord must rise. Arthur’s battle summer is upon him, and he must be victorious if he is to claim his throne and rid the land of Saxon invaders. The teenage king has pulled the sword from the stone, but still the petty kings will not accept his rule. The Saxons are invading, Lot and Uriens are united against him, and he still has to prove himself to the common folk of the land. Next stop: the mysterious standing stones of the Giants’ Dance and the Beltane ritual. Warfare does not wait for Arthur to catch his breath. Battle follows battle. Love is lost and found. Allies fall, enemies rise, and betrayals come to the young High King. If he stays strong, he can lead his people through a bloody summer. If not, all of Britannia will fall. Arthur alone will be responsible for the glory or ruin to come. Merlin will help him to see it through. But what secrets is the druid keeping? Arthur Rex: Dux Bellorum is the third installment in an epic retelling of the King Arthur legend. You only think you know the story.

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Summary: Merlin has devised a test. All of the petty kings have gathered in Londinium to see who will be the next High King. Arthur and his retinue travel to the city in secret, but they are not the only ones with an interest in the Sword in the Stone. Morgana, Arthur's half-sister and the renegade queen of Rheged, has journeyed there with her Saxon lover, and petty kings have come with no kind welcome for the young High King. Arthur pulls the sword, but the kings will not accept him. He is given the temporary title of Dux Bellorum, and with Merlin at his side, he sets out to unite the tribes of Britannia as the Saxon threat grows more menacing on their eastern shore. Some battles are easy. Others are carried out in secret. It is the secret battles that Arthur will need to fear. "Arthur Rex: Ex Lapis" is the second installment of an epic retelling of the Arthurian legend. You only think you know the story.

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Summary: The High King is dead. While royal bastards and petty kings squabble for the power to take the vacant throne, only the druid Merlin and his succubus mother know where to find the late king’s only legal heir. Arthur is young, idealistic, and living a quiet life at Caer Gai, protected by his foster father. Merlin put him there, and he will take him back out when the time is right, but first he has to set the stage and sweep away distractions… like the boy that Arthur loves. Merlin and his mother have plans for the hidden king, and they will stop at nothing to get him where they want him to go. But Arthur is no mere pawn, and though Merlin is a master manipulator, Arthur has ideas of his own about how his life should be. “ARTHUR REX: In Principio” is the first installment of an epic retelling of the Arthurian legend. You only think you know the story.

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Summary: My sister is in grave danger, captive in the city of Witch Hunters. As Manalar prepares for war, her only chance lies with infiltrators from Augran. I shall join them. The prosperous port of Augran thrives in diverse trade with the Dwarven Clans. The Bishops of Manalar have withdrawn defiantly into the Temple of the Sun, scorning their past allies. The Ma’ab Empire has sent their dark army out of the Far North, seeking not riches but a small, well-protected spring high upon a mountain. The sacred pool of Manalar is said to bless all mages who control it. On the fringe, there’s Gavin and me. Each dedicated to our purpose, we garner allies from Augran and the Clans of Taiding willing to see them through. My Dragonblood bodyguard, Mourn, reinforces our strengths as we expect others like us to jump out of hiding and into the fray. I failed one sister. I will not fail another. Sirana’s desperate search upon the Surface reaches its culmination in Battle for Manalar, where foes and allies unite and clash in this transformative event driven by opportunity, righteousness, and reprisal. Sister Seekers is dark epic fantasy for adults with an ever-broadening scope. The saga genre-hops a bit so things never get stale. Found Family is a core theme throughout. Perfect for fans of entwined plots, challenging themes, immersive worldbuilding, and elements of erotic horror. Sexuality and inner conflict play into character growth with nuanced intrigue, intense action, and fantastical magic.

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Summary: Emeline’s quiet village has three important rules: Don’t look at the shadows. Don’t cross the river. And don’t enter the forest. An illustrated fantasy filled with beauty and power, Between the Water and the Woods sweeps you into a world where forests are hungry; knights fight with whips; the king is dying; and a peasant girl’s magic will decide the future of the realm . . . When Emeline’s little brother breaks all three of their village’s rules, she is forced to use her family’s forbidden magic to rescue him from the dark things he awakens, the Ithin. Now that the Ithin are afoot in the land, she must, by law, travel to the royal court and warn the king. But the only way she and her family can make the journey to the capital is with the protection of a sour magister and a handsome, whip-wielding Lash Knight. Will Emeline survive in a city where conspiracies swirl like smoke and her magic is all but outlawed? Seven full-page black-and-white illustrations accompany Between the Water and the Woods, a lush, fairy-tale-style fantasy perfect for readers of Karen Cushman and Shannon Hale.

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Summary: Clarity (noun) Four definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) Coherent and intelligible 2) Transparent or pure 3) Attaining certainty about something 4) Easy to see or hear Clarity features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

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Summary: Only one magician remains to defend the kingdom. And he’s cursed. What could go wrong? Ellis is cursed. Not a little cursed. Completely cursed, as in cursed as cursed can be! Only the poor can afford an arcanist of Ellis’ questionable magic abilities. Yet the queen has asked for his help. What does she want with the likes of him? Turns out, an assassin has been dispatching the arcanists of the kingdom. Ellis is the only one left. The queen suspects her rival, King Anders, as the culprit. With the king set to arrive in a few days, the queen orders Ellis to hunt down the murderer. It’s a matter of urgency. If he fails, her majesty might be next. Can Ellis find the killer in time? Or will the bumbling arcanist screw up yet again?

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Summary: Where does magic end and love begin? ​Oliver Evans spent his youth spinning one tall tale after another until it got him over his head in trouble. Now he has returned to his grandmother's cottage in Aberdaron, determined to put his past behind him and settle down. But the misty Llŷn Peninsula hides dangerous secrets and Olly is torn between the Longing, a powerful force driving him away from the only home he has ever known, and the growing conviction that the prince of his childhood make-believe is real and in need of Olly's help. There is more truth in Olly's stories than he realises. If he is to have any chance of righting past wrongs and rescuing his prince, Olly must navigate the truth in his old stories and discover the magic right in front of him. But Olly has a powerful enemy on the ​Llŷn, an ancient king who would like to end Olly's story-telling permanently. Written for the M/M Romance Groups 2015 Don't Read in the Closet event, Deep Magic was produced with the support and effort of members of the M/M Romance Group. You can find out more about the event and discover hundreds of other free stories here. Cover art produced by Bree Archer. Deep Magic does contain adult material.

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Lord Marcus is on a quest to slay the dragon, rescue the princess, and live happily ever after. Falling for the dragon was never part of the plan.

When Lord Marcus set out on his quest, it seemed a simple enough task to accomplish. Slay the dragon and rescue the princess, securing his father's approval and earning his happily ever after--only the princess is a witch and the dragon is nowhere to be seen. Instead he finds a young man who has a very big secret and is in far greater need of rescuing. Marcus's well planned quest might have taken an unexpected turn, but his happy ending could still be within his grasp, if he can earn the trust of a dragon who has been betrayed and hurt by everyone he has ever known.

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Summary: A modern-day knight in shining armor is a man with a secret. He’s an immortal direwolf shifter. A man who can trace at will into a lethally dangerous canine who holds the ability to step into the stillness and achieve any goal. When he finds himself without a career after retiring disabled from his last mission in the military, he has to rethink the direction of his life. He needs to reinvent himself before anyone realizes that he stopped aging at the age of thirty-five. He’s learned just enough to make his existence a bit dangerous. The sexy high school teacher neighbor he’s been near stalking has her own secret. She feels like everything and claiming her is all he can focus on. He’s determined to win her as his own until a shadowy evil attacks her and reveals a situation that forces him to be the man of action that he’s always been. To keep the woman he loves safe, he’ll become the alpha pack leader he was born to be. A Pack Forms is the first volume in the steamy paranormal romance saga of Draoithe.

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Summary: Frank Grimes is a lowlife, no count, barely classifiable as a human, male who just happens to have enough sense to hire and retain qualified construction workers. He landed the contract to build most of Draoithe in January of 2016. He’s not only worthless, but he’s also criminal filth. He will do anything for an easy dollar. After the Draoithe housewarming party, his true colors shine through when he attempts to rape the architectural designer in her apartment after driving her home. Luke can’t afford to let Jace kill him or allow Flame to turn him as dragonsworn, but there is no way that Frank can be allowed to just get away with what he’s done. Even the Assassin King wants him dead, and he is the dragon called to serve one miscreant underking. Sentenced to house arrest and forced labor, Grimes seeks a way to fulfill the requirements Luke sets on him to gain enough respect that Javier will turn him into a canine shifter until he meets a blood demon who wants to help Luke out. Is it possible to totally rehabilitate the walking filth that is Frank Grimes into a real man in order to help him avoid certain death and turn him into a wolf? Or will the demon simply drink him dry and slowly end his miserable existence?

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Summary: Julian Gypsun used to be a young man on his way to becoming a contractor. Everything changed when he died and was resurrected as a wizard’s familiar. He was immortal and far better off physically than he had been as a human. Still, he was trapped with his life chained to a giant of a wizard who had no problem abusing him in every way imaginable. Julian was powerless to stop it without ending his own existence. That is until he was yanked bodily through his own portal, transported to Draoithe, and assigned to babysit the visiting dignitary, Amazon Warrior Princess Zephyra, and try to convince her that her people should ally themselves with Luke and Draoithe. That sounded easy, but it wasn’t. He liked her. He had no clue how to act on that. Best to avoid that altogether. Keeping her safe just might equal his death. (Please see her warrior princess title.) She was old and so far out of his league. Worse, she liked him and was determined to have him. He can’t even consider that. She has no idea how broken he really is.

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Summary: Flame is scarred from a past filled with lies, deceptions, and heartbreak. He is not guilty of what his brothers believe, but Blaze is the only one who knows the truth. He was betrayed by the king he had served. The girls he gave the dark gift to had been innocent. When he finds his Valkyrie, beaten, raped, broken, and fading after having been forced to accept the dark gift without her consent, Flame vows that he will do anything to save her. The light seems gone from both her and the world she finds herself in. Little does Flame know that for her to have the light again, he will sacrifice his honor, his integrity, and his life after breaking every law he can manage to break and even demand absolution for crimes he never committed. Many men say they will die for the love of their life. Flame somehow needs to do it four damn times, find a way to fix not only her broken magic, but fix her broken spirit as well, and then figure out how to live for her! All men wish to love a vampire, but Flame burns in his soul for one who holds the fire and has been granted the dark gift of an immortal vampire princess.

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Summary: Alexio Asmodai is the demon king of Eaglafonn, a small outpost kingdom in the Netherworld overruled by the Demon Lord Asmodeus. It is Alexio’s responsibility to protect and police the frontier borders against any threats. He is an accomplished knight, so that part came easy. Eaglafonn is a cold and isolated kingdom. Alexio needed to stay and build his castle atop the hot springs to beat an addiction to seduction sickness. After over seven centuries, he thinks his loneliness has finally come to an end when he opens a crate to find a woman sent by Asmodeus for him to keep safe. He falls for her instantly. She is a human woman, fragile, timid, and irresistible. He must follow his liege’s directive, convince her to become his queen, and see that she is cared for properly in a place that is inhospitable to her existence. This leads to a realization that his castle lacks a lot to be a first-class home for a lady. Can a tainted demon prince rise to the challenge to become a true king and win the woman who stole his heart? Dread Allies 7-14 The Shadow king of Eaglafonn has chosen his queen, but his castle lacks the feminine element. To make her more comfortable, he orders the demon princes to seek out and claim their own mates. That is easier said than done. Eaglafonn is a cold dark isolated kingdom in the Netherworld. It might be easier to claim mates from the Domhain, but not everyone could survive on the brutal dangerous frontier. The other options afforded from the Netherworld come with their own dangers. The magic is unbalanced and balancing comes with a price. Claiming their mates lead the demon princes on epic mini journeys and reveals the need for Eaglafonn to take a greater role in helping Luke aid the dream. Dread Allies is a miniseries set in the Netherworld in the dream. It is an ancillary group of stories to the Draoithe saga. While it is set in that world, it is not in the direct series lineup. The dream just got darker and colder. Welcome to Eaglafonn.

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Summary: An act of desperation by young magician Brandon accidentally snatches Scott Hathaway from our world. Struggling to adapt to his new life, Scott becomes ensnared in dark local politics. He realizes he can use the knowledge he brought from his world to save his new friends, but at what cost? The first in a series. A story about an engineer who gets accidentally transported to a medieval type world where magic is real. But all is not as it seems!

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Summary: Daring the old gods. Defying the new. The making of a legend—and a truly innovative re-imagining of Robin Hood. --- Rob of Loxley and his older sister Marion have been groomed from birth to take their parents’ places within the Old Religion. Despite this, when Rob finds an injured nobleman’s son in the forest, neither he nor Marion understand what befriending young Gamelyn could mean for the future of their beliefs. Already the ancient spirits are fading beneath the iron of nobleman’s politics and the stones of Church subjugation. More, the druid elders warn that Rob and Gamelyn are cast as sworn adversaries, locked in timeless and symbolic struggle for the greenwood’s Maiden. Instead, in a theological twist only a stroppy dissident could envision, Rob swears he’ll defend the sacred woodland of the Horned God and Lady Huntress to his last breath—if his god will let him be lover, not rival, to the one fated as his enemy. But in the eyes of Gamelyn’s Church, sodomy is unthinkable... and the old pagan magics are an evil that must be vanquished.

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Summary: INK (NOUN) Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) A colored fluid used for writing 2) The action of signing a deal 3) A black liquid ejected by squid 4) Publicity in the written media 5) A slang word for tattoos Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.