Piers Anthony

From classic horror and pure suspense to Twilight-Zone-style dark fantasy, WHAT FEARS BECOME relentlessly explores our basic fears and leaves you with twisted endings that will make your skin crawl... This spine-tingling, international anthology contains contributions from the critically acclaimed online horror magazine, The Horror Zine, and features bestselling authors such as Bentley Little, Graham Masterton, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Elizabeth Massie, Ronald Malfi, Cheryl Kaye Tardif, Melanie Tem, Scott Nicholson, Piers Anthony, Conrad Williams, and many more. Edited by Jeani Rector of The Horror Zine and featuring a foreword by award-winning, bestselling author Simon Clark, it also contains deliciously dark delights from morbidly creative writers, poets and artists who have not yet made it big--but will very soon. Come and discover... WHAT FEARS BECOMETable of ContentsForeword by Simon Clark: A Small Matter of Life and DeathFictionBAST by Christian A. LarsenDOGLEG by Bentley LittleA BAD STRETCH OF ROAD by Dean H. Wild THE HOUSE AT THE END OF SMITH STREET by Stephen M. DareGNAW by Lala DronaREFLECTION OF EVIL by Graham MastertonWANDERING DANIEL by Jagjiwan SohalNEXT TIME YOU'LL KNOW ME by Ramsey Campbell3 AM by James MarlowLOSING JUDY by Andy MeeFISH NIGHT by Joe R. LansdaleMETHODS OF DIVORCE by Philip RobertsAND BABY, YOU CAN SLEEP WHILE I DRIVE by Elizabeth MassieCHUPACABRA by Ronald MalfiTHE ORPHANS OF LETHE by Rachel ColesBONFIRE NIGHT by Chris CastleTHE PRODUCT by Bruce MemblattOUIJA by Cheryl Kaye TardifFRY DAY by Melanie TemTHE CHAMBER by David LandrumCHRISTENING by Scott NicholsonLOST THINGS by Piers AnthonyA NEW DAY by Larry GreenRED KING by Jessica HandlyYOU SAID ALWAYS AND FOREVER by Richard HillUBIRR by Conrad WilliamsBONES IN THE MEADOW by Tim JeffreysADELLE'S NIGHT by David K. GinnBONES FOR A PILLOW by Alexandra SeidelMALL WALKERS by Chris ReedWHAT THE BLIND MAN SAW by C. Dennis MoorePoetryEmon AnthousisDennis BagwellJohn T. CarneyTeresa Ann FrazeeJohn GreyChristopher HivnerJean JonesRon KoppelbergerAlec B. KowalczykJoe R. LansdaleEverett MadridJuan PerezNathan RowarkStephanie SmithPaul SoharPeter SteeleAnna TaborskaScott H. UrbanThe ArtistsThomas Bossert Ricardo Di Ceglia Kalynn Kallweit Daniel Kirk Joseph Patrick McFarlane Felicia Olin Tatomir Pitariu Elizabeth Prasse April A. Taylor Editor's CornerHORRORSCOPE by Jeani RectorTHE HOUSE ON HENLEY WAY by Jeani Rector

In the thirty-third thrilling escapade in Piers Anthony's rousing Xanth fantasy series, an adventurous arachnid named Jumper must assume human form to save the enchanted realm from a cosmic peril. A cataclysmic battle between two all-powerful Demons has severed a mystical connection that joins Xanth to our own world. The key to restoring it is hidden within a cryptic prophecy that Jumper discovers when he is suddenly transformed from spider to man. As he sets out to discern the prophecy's meaning, he gathers about him a half dozen alluring damsels who do their best to help him solve the riddle while vying for his attentions. But a seductive siren and her demonic consort have determined to use their wiles to lure Jumper and his lovely companions away from their urgent mission. In a madcap adventure that is alternately harrowing and hilarious, they soon discover that danger, deception, and even true love may be found where they least expect it. In Jumper Cable, master storyteller Piers Anthony spins a wild and witty web of wonder that is sure to captivate fans of fantastic adventure everywhere

Demons Don't Dream begins a Xanth sequence as young adventures play for the highest stakes of all: the future of Xanth--and of Earth as well Dug thought that the disk he got from his friend was just a fantasy game. He didn't particularly like fantasy games, but he'd made a bet with Ed, and a bet's a bet. So he loaded the game and Within moments he had left Mundania and was standing in a forest glade in Xanth, with his Companion in Adventure Nada Naga -- a beautiful Princess who just happened to be a shape-changing serpent. For a long time Dug thought that this was just an incredibly convincing virtual world. Then he began to believe in Magic. Which was a good thing, because the prize in this Game is the Power of Magic in Xanth. In the next installment, Harpy Thyme, Gloha must brave a demoness and snow dragons, malevolent clouds and musical volcanoes, on a wild odyssey that takes her not only across the length and breadth of Xanth, but on journeys through Time, Space, and the perilous realms of Madness and Mundanity. Two Piers Anthony's Xanth novels in a single volume: Twice the magic, twice the adventure Xanth By Two."

The future of Xanth is in frightful peril. A powerful magical bird named Ragna Roc has embarked on a campaign to become absolute ruler of that mystical realm. Those who swear loyalty to him are spared. The rest are simply disappeared. So powerful are Ragna's sorceries that even the Good Magician Humfrey dares not confront him directly. Instead he enlists Cyrus the Cyborg, a handsome half-human playwright with little knowledge of the world, in a stealthy subterfuge. Cyrus must assemble a troupe of traveling players to attract Ragna's interest. And hidden in disguise among the bevy of beautiful young actresses are the young princesses, Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm, whose magics might just be a match for the evil bird. But Ragna has planted a spy in the midst of the troupe, one who knows their deepest secrets, including the true nature of Cyrus's forbidden love for one of the young princesses. Only a mysterious child called Kadence, and a cryptic clue - "Two to the Fifth" - may give the companions the edge they need to defeat Ragna's dictatorial dreams. Brimming with passion and merriment, drama and deception, Piers Anthony's thirty-second Xanth fantasy, Two to the Fifth, is a pun-packed performance sure to provoke applause and ovations from the series' myriad fans.

When the Good Magician Humfrey's son Hugo suddenly vanishes, his disappearance sets in motion a series of madcap misadventures that send a collection of colorful characters on a perilous pair of parallel quests. Among them are Debra, a pretty young girl beset by an obnoxious curse; Hugo's beloved wife Wira, whose sightlessness is balanced by a talent for sensitivity, Happy and Fray, a pair of sprightly storm-spirits; Nimbus, the Demon Xanth's own son; and the mysterious outlaw known as the Random Factor. As they travel through some of the magical realm's most astonishing locales, these unwitting adventurers discover they are key players in a grand drama whose origins reach back to the origins of time itself. Filled with exhilaration and excitement, ribaldry and romance, Air Apparent is a fabulous new fantasy saga from the lively imagination of master storyteller Piers Anthony.

Surprise Golem has just lost her brand-new baby. The Stork assigned to deliver her eagerly awaited Bundle of Joy has inexplicably refused to surrender it, flying off instead through a hole in the fabric of reality. Now, to track down her offspring, Surprise must lead an ill-assorted assemblage of confederates on a desperate quest through dozens of different Xanths. But sinister, unseen forces are determined to stop her. And in order to find her child, Surprise may have to lose her heart. Startling, stimulating, stirring, and surprising, Piers Anthony's Stork Naked is a rollicking and revealing new fantasy adventure lusciously laced with dozens of dangers and delights, lovingly fashioned with all of Piers Anthony's celebrated storytelling skills.

For nearly three decades, Piers Anthony's bestselling Xanth series has been delighting tens of thousands of fantasy fans around the world. Now, with Cube Route, the series' twenty-seventh adventure, Anthony has penned a tale that adds another dimension to this exciting saga. In the magical land of Xanth, wishes are far more than mere words. So when a Plain Jane called Cube whispers a wistful wish to be beautiful, she finds herself leading a company of colorful companions on a search for the mysterious Cube Route--a perilous path that leads to danger, adventure, and perhaps her heart's desire as well. This curious quest takes them all over Xanth, into the mythical realm of Phaze, and even to our own world, where Cube rescues a beautiful human woman from a very ugly situation, ending at last in a mysterious Counter-Xanth where things can be transformed into their opposites in the wink of an eye. A rollicking tale brimming with laughter, wonder, and enchantment, Cube Route is also a moving exploration of the beauty that dwells within all of us.

Beyond the world we know there is a multiverse of Modes where many strange realities interlock in an infinitely intricate pattern, and a perverse and deranged Emperor plays a deadly multidimensional game with human pawns as his slaves. Now, with DoOon Mode, Piers Anthony at last delivers the breathtaking climax to this awesome saga. Fearing the heroine Coleen's dawning power, the depraved Emperor Ddwng dispatches a terrible Mind Monster to assault her soul and bend her to his will. To protect herself, and those she loves, Coleen must journey back through many worlds to her own home on Earth, face her deepest and darkest fears, and draw the strength for a final confrontation to save the multiverse from tyranny and domination.

Many malevolent menaces have imperiled the magical land of Xanth in its long and storied history. But none has been as despicably dangerous as the Dastard-a craven miscreant who sold his soul to a detestable demon for the power to erase events. Now the entire future of Xanth is at the mercy of his every whim. Only a young dragon-girl named Becka has the power to stop his devious deeds Becka is a crossbreed-the daughter of Draco Dragon and a lovely human woman who met, by chance, at a Love Spring. Now fourteen, Becka is beginning to wonder where in Xanth she belongs-on the ground with her mother's people, or flying the skies with her father's kind. So she journeys to the Good Magician Humfrey to discover her True Purpose in life. Much to her astonishment and surprise, the Magician tells her that a great Destiny awaits her-one that will affect the future of all of Xanth...in Piers Anthony's The Dastard.