David Tallerman

Sharks - the ultimate predators, masters of their watery domain, a world that is entirely alien and inhospitable to man. So many aspects of the shark are associated with humankind's most primal fears. The tell-tale dorsal fin slicing through the water, the dead eyed-stare, the gaping jaws full to unforgiving teeth, the remorseless drive to kill and feed... Inspired by such classic pulp movies as Jaws and Deep Blue Sea - as well as such ludicrous delights as Sharknado and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus - the stories contained within are rip-roaring page-turners and slow-build chillers that celebrate all things savage, pulp and selachian. Covering the whole range of speculative fiction genres, from horror and Steampunk, through to SF and WTF, these are stories with bite! Come on in. The water's fine...

Lies and double-crosses, secret police and explosions, a carriage chase, a mattress stuffed with cash and a one-eyed master of disguise…In 1907, the revolutionary Joseph Djugashvili – who would later take the name Joseph Stalin – met with an old friend, a clerk at the Tiflis branch of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, for a glass of milk. Over talk of national pride, the spirit of the new century and Djugashvili’s poetry, they agreed the beginnings of a plan. With the aid of the Outfit, Djugashvili’s hardened crew of “expropriators,” they would pull off the biggest, bloodiest and most daring robbery in Georgia’s history, and ruthlessly change the direction of the Bolshevik revolution forever...

★ Highly recommended for crime fiction readers everywhere - Australian Crime Fiction website (austcrimefiction.org)★ This is an excellent selection of stories to suit every mystery fan...enjoyment all the way - Karen Bayly, author of Fortitude★ This anthology delivers an eclectic mix of stories with thrilling twists and turns - Danielle Birch, author of mystery and suspense★ Five stars for a strong, entertaining collection of mystery stories, brought together in one volume by the masters at Black Beacon Books - from a Goodreads reviewThe first Black Beacon Book of Mystery brings you original and reprinted tales from locked-room mysteries and armchair detective puzzles to noir adventures and police investigations. It includes a brilliant Sherlock Holmes pastiche and the second Oscar Tremont novella. This is the perfect anthology for the avid mystery fan. Follow the clues, put all the pieces together, and solve the case before the detective. The game's afoot The Problem of the Snowbound Shack by Jon Matthew FarberThe Windless Halt Affair by Brian E. GuyllThe Case of the Reverse Thief by Paulene TurnerThe Freak-Hunter's Casebook by Kurt NewtonSunset for the Tattooed Lady by Robert Allen LuptonAvoca Mansion by Duncan RichardsonThe Ghosts of Walhalla by Cameron TrostThe Vicar of Sexton's Deep by Mike AdamsonThe Pullman Case by John M. Floyd50 by Josh PachterThe Morrison File by Robert PetyoMidnight by M. H. NorrisStep Light by David Tallerman

Sickness is ravaging America, driving the infected to savagery. Petty criminal Ben Silensky is determined to get his girlfriend Carlita and son Kyle free of the quarantined city they live in, enough so to risk a foolhardy crime and then to team up with Carlita's equally desperate cop cousin Nando. Once they're out, Nando is certain they'll find a place in the open prison where his uncle works, unbeknownst to him already become a survivalist colony named Funland under the management of entrepreneurial convict Plan John. In Funland itself, guard Doyle Johnson is shocked when his ex-wife abandons his son Austin into his care. Fearing the vulnerable position he's been placed in, he recruits the help of Katherine Aaronovich, the former prison's doctor. But Aaronovich's traumatic past has left her with vulnerabilities of her own, along with radical theories on the nature of the epidemic that will place all their lives in jeopardy. As the last vestiges of civilisation crumble, Funland may prove to be the safest or the most dangerous of places, depending on who comes out on top - and what can't be held together will inevitably be torn apart. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Sickness is ravaging America, driving the infected to savagery. Petty criminal Ben Silensky is determined to get his girlfriend Carlita and son Kyle free of the quarantined city they live in, enough so to risk a foolhardy crime and then to team up with Carlita's equally desperate cop cousin Nando. Once they're out, Nando is certain they'll find a place in the open prison where his uncle works, unbeknownst to him already become a survivalist colony named Funland under the management of entrepreneurial convict Plan John. In Funland itself, guard Doyle Johnson is shocked when his ex-wife abandons his son Austin into his care. Fearing the vulnerable position he's been placed in, he recruits the help of Katherine Aaronovich, the former prison's doctor. But Aaronovich's traumatic past has left her with vulnerabilities of her own, along with radical theories on the nature of the epidemic that will place all their lives in jeopardy. As the last vestiges of civilisation crumble, Funland may prove to be the safest or the most dangerous of places, depending on who comes out on top - and what can't be held together will inevitably be torn apart. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Sickness is ravaging America, driving the infected to savagery. Petty criminal Ben Silensky is determined to get his girlfriend Carlita and son Kyle free of the quarantined city they live in, enough so to risk a foolhardy crime and then to team up with Carlita's equally desperate cop cousin Nando. Once they're out, Nando is certain they'll find a place in the open prison where his uncle works, unbeknownst to him already become a survivalist colony named Funland under the management of entrepreneurial convict Plan John. In Funland itself, guard Doyle Johnson is shocked when his ex-wife abandons his son Austin into his care. Fearing the vulnerable position he's been placed in, he recruits the help of Katherine Aaronovich, the former prison's doctor. But Aaronovich's traumatic past has left her with vulnerabilities of her own, along with radical theories on the nature of the epidemic that will place all their lives in jeopardy. As the last vestiges of civilisation crumble, Funland may prove to be the safest or the most dangerous of places, depending on who comes out on top - and what can't be held together will inevitably be torn apart. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

What do stories about ephemeral Martian settlers, fascinating dimensional rifts, Spanish-speaking hummingbirds, Loki's children, WWII twins, hitchhiking swamp cats, a steam-punk octopus, Arkham card-games, using bad luck for fun and profit, demon home security systems, alternative criminal justice, workplace time travel, marketing to body-snatchers, alien attraction, and way too many barns all have in common? Simple: in one way or another they are all Bubble Off Plumb. This genre-busting collection is meant for readers who prefer an odd story with their tea and biscuits. So sit back and let these tales delight, confuse, and surprise you Featuring original stories by Marie Brennan, David Tallerman, E. E. King, Art Weil, Sarah M. Lewis, Pepper Hume, Karen Ov r, Liz Schriftsteller, Mariah Southworth, Mickey Kulp, Robert Millet, Valerie Manwill, Beth Winokur, Simone LW Mounsamy, Buzz Dixon, James Campbell, Frank Kozusko, Ellen Denton, Jill Hand, Veronica Brush, and Jim Jeffreys. Joining this stellar group are in-house authors KG Finfrock, Sarah Kalin, and Dan M. Kalin.

"A well-written and cleverly imagined crime thriller with a knife-sharp edge." — Crime ReviewWhen part-time teacher Ollie Clay panic-buys a rundown house in the outskirts of Leeds, he soon recognises his mistake. His new neighbor, Chas Walker, is an antisocial thug, and Ollie's suspicions raise links to a local hate group. With Ollie's life unravelling rapidly, he feels his choices dwindling: his situation is intolerable and only standing up to Chas can change it. But Ollie has his own history of violence, and increasingly, his own secrets to hide; and Chas may be more than the mindless yob he appears to be. As their conflict spills over into the wider world, Ollie will come to learn that there are worse problems in life than one bad neighbor. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

"A well-written and cleverly imagined crime thriller with a knife-sharp edge." — Crime ReviewWhen part-time teacher Ollie Clay panic-buys a rundown house in the outskirts of Leeds, he soon recognises his mistake. His new neighbor, Chas Walker, is an antisocial thug, and Ollie's suspicions raise links to a local hate group. With Ollie's life unravelling rapidly, he feels his choices dwindling: his situation is intolerable and only standing up to Chas can change it. But Ollie has his own history of violence, and increasingly, his own secrets to hide; and Chas may be more than the mindless yob he appears to be. As their conflict spills over into the wider world, Ollie will come to learn that there are worse problems in life than one bad neighbor. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Darkness exists everywhere, and in no place greater than those where spirits and curses still reside. Tread not lightly on ancient lands that have been discovered by this collection of intrepid authors. In DARK TALES OF LOST CIVILIZATIONS, you will unearth an anthology of twenty-five previously unpublished horror and speculative fiction stories, relating to aspects of civilizations that are crumbling, forgotten, rediscovered, or perhaps merely spoken about in great and fearful whispers. What is it that lures explorers to distant lands where none have returned? Where is Genghis Khan buried? What happened to Atlantis? Who will displace mankind on Earth? What laments have the Witches of Oz? Answers to these mysteries and other tales are presented within this critically acclaimed anthology by the following authors. Introduction by Eric J. Guignard Angel of Destruction by Cynthia D. Witherspoon The Door Beyond the Water by David Tallerman To Run a Stick Through a Fish by Mark Lee Pearson Quivira by Jackson Kuhl Directions by Michael G. Cornelius Quetzalcoatl's Conquistador by Jamie Lackey K nigreich der Sorge (Kingdom of Sorrow) by C. Deskin Rink Gestures of Faith by Fadzlishah Johanabas Bare Bones by Curtis James McConnell British Guiana, 1853 by Folly Blaine The Nightmare Orchestra by Chelsea Armstrong The Funeral Procession by Jay R. Thurston Requiem by Jason Andrew Gilgamesh and the by Mountain by Bruce L. Priddy Buried Treasure by Rob Rosen The Small, Black God by Caw Miller In Eden by Cherstin Holtzman We Are Not the Favored Children by Matthew Borgard Rebirth in Dreams by A. J. French Whale of a Time by Gitte Christensen Sins of our Fathers by Wendra Chambers The Talisman of Hatra by Andrew S. Williams Sumeria to the Stars by Jonathan Vos Post The Tall Grass by Joe R. Lansdale The Island Trovar by JC Hemphill(with interior illustration by Ron Perovich)

When part-time teacher Ollie Clay panic-buys a rundown house in the outskirts of Leeds, he soon recognises his mistake. His new neighbor, Chas Walker, is an antisocial thug, and Ollie's suspicions raise links to a local hate group. With Ollie's life unravelling rapidly, he feels his choices dwindling: his situation is intolerable and only standing up to Chas can change it. But Ollie has his own history of violence, and increasingly, his own secrets to hide; and Chas may be more than the mindless yob he appears to be. As their conflict spills over into the wider world, Ollie will come to learn that there are worse problems in life than one bad neighbor. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

A doomed mountaineering expedition attempts the slopes of Kanchenjunga, following in the footsteps of notorious occultist Aleister Crowley. A young soldier witnesses omens of another, vaster conflict in the ravaged trenches of the Somme. Two children find their innocence tested and their friendship contorted by the ancient barrow upon the hill. A ghost who can't remember ekes out an interminable existence amidst the ashes of events that can never be forgotten. Contained within these pages are weird tales in the spirit of Lovecraft, Machen, Doyle and Wells, but shot through with a modern sensibility and a questioning of the old values. Here dwell ghosts and monsters, madmen and contortionists, lost souls and misunderstood geniuses. Collected for the first time are stories diverse and strange, spanning nearly a decade in the career of author David Tallerman (Giant Thief, Patchwerk) and including the never before seen novelette The War of the Rats." There are stories here that could come straight out of the pulp journals of the 30s, others that have the mannered feel of Victoriana ... but all are presented with the intensity and focus that characterises David's short fiction." -- Adrian Tchaikovsky, from his introduction.

Fleeing the city of New York on the TransContinental atmospheric transport vehicle, Dran Florrian is traveling with Palimpsest-the ultimate proof of a lifetime of scientific theorizing. When a rogue organization attempts to steal the device, however, Dran takes drastic action. But his invention threatens to destroy the very fabric of this and all other possible universes, unless Dran-or someone very much like him-can shut down the machine and reverse the process.