“Hot new talent.” —Locus

Get to know tomorrow’s brightest creative talents chosen by some of today’s bestselling authors and celebrated artists including Kevin J. Anderson, Orson Scott Card, Larry Elmore, and Brandon Sanderson.

Explore 12 diverse new universes of possibility through a variety of creative and fresh new ideas—all in one anthology. From dragons to mythical death dealers, from murder on the moon to deep space mystery, these stories bring you the hot new talent in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Discover the writers who push the boundaries—and break beyond them . . . the illustrators who envision the impossible—and render it real . . . the stories that challenge the way we see ourselves—and see the world in a new way.

You’ll love this anthology because of the diversity of stories, unexpected twists and turns, and 16 full color illustrations that bring the stories to vivid life.

Get it now.

Bonus short stories by L. Ron Hubbard, Todd McCaffrey, and Robert J. Sawyer

Art and writing tips by Anne McCaffrey, L. Ron Hubbard, and Larry Elmore

“This fine collection will appeal to both fans of science fiction and fantasy short stories and aspiring writers looking for ways to improve their craft.” —Booklist

About the Stories:

When Gwen’s husband is found murdered, she’s the only suspect. After all, they were the only two people on the moon.—Moonlight One

Flora’s father is a mech-soldier of the Slayer Class, but how much of him is really left inside the machine?—The Armor Embrace

When an alien with godly intelligence is discovered watching the earth, one man must try to learn if its motives are pure.—Envoy in the Ice

If you were stranded in an open boat and the only hope for rescue came from a ghost ship, would dare to ride?—The Devil’s Rescue

Some gifts come with heavy price tags, and the giver must rise to the occasion.—Tears for Shülna

What if an alien asks for your help with a question, and the answer affects the future of the whole human race?—The Drake Equation

Barlow has a talent for finding the dead. Or do they find him.—Acquisition

When Varga sets out to explore the ancient stronghold of a long- dead wizard, she discovers that the ruins aren’t as deserted as she thought.—Obsidian Spire

If only that reptile in the sewer were something as predictable as an alligator.—Gator

On a distant world among the cloud peaks, the light-hawks promise a rich reward for those daring enough to harvest one.—A Glowing Heart

In a world where memories can be stripped, Bill discovers that he has a family he has never known.—The Long Dizzy Down

Not all spirits have the best of intentions, and they must be dealt with.—The Woodcutters’ Deity

You can put an end to something wondrous, but only at a cost.

2019. The year certainly made its mark on the world—and more than its share of scars. It also made for a bounty of good horror stories of the extreme kind, the best of which the tales herein serve to illustrate.

2019 was the year Year's Best Hardcore Horror went global. Not by design but because the stories inside just happened to have been written by authors hailing from various parts of the globe. From Australia by way of South Africa, to Italy, Scotland, Norway, Taiwan, North America and India--the common denominator being that their tales come from darkest regions of imagination.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky-or unlucky-few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community.

These creatures, long thought gone, have somehow survived; creatures from our nightmares haunting the dark places. They swim in our lakes and bays, they soar the night skies, they hunt in the woods. Some are from our past, and some from other worlds, and others have always been with us-watching us, fearing us, hunting us.

These are the cryptids, and Systema Paradoxa tells their tales.

***

Astrophysicist Dr. Kate Gavin Weaver's life was hard enough fighting for tenure at Caltech while raising a four-year-old daughter as a single mother. It was even harder living under the shadow of her estranged father, Mack Gavin, the host of the wildly popular television series, The Cryptid Hunter.

But when Mack disappears while researching the subject of his next episode in the secluded wilderness town of Lone Pine, California, Kate decides to leave the relative safety of Pasadena to find her father.

What she uncovers there shakes the very foundation of her reality and forces her to grapple with an adversary she could've never imagined.