Is it possible that unusual creatures share the Pacific Northwest with its 10.3 million human occupants? It's true! Oregon and Washington have misplaced alien invaders, such as a half-inch flea, a giant spider with a leg span of three inches, and a snakehead fish (made famous of late in four horror movies) that can breathe in water and on land, and grows to be about four feet long. There are sea monsters, from prehistoric times to the present, as well as freshwater phantoms said to infest lakes and rivers. The sky has winged wonders that resemble species long believed to be extinct. These are the stuff of nightmares: thunderbirds described as raptors, resembling eagles or vultures, with a wingspan of eight feet, as well as Bigfoot and other large bipeds. A comprehensive guide to a crypto zoo of the Northwest, this book details the Black Tamanous, a man-eating monster; a kangaroo man; the usual brownies, elves, fairies, gnomes, leprechauns, pixies, wee folk; and many more. You may find this research unsettling, even frightening. One thing is certain...a world of mystery awaits.

The words "inimitable" and "unique" are bandied about too often in artistic circles, so much so that critics seem to have forgotten those words were invented to describe Howard Waldrop's fiction. Waldrop's mastery of arcane knowledge, his transcendent wit, and the way his stories explode like cheerty bombs inside a reader's mind have all made Howard Waldrop one of the most beloved writers of the past two decades. Readers who encounter his work never forget the experience, and this new collection compiles nine such experiences (heretofore uncollected), including: "Flatfeet!", a madcap tour of this century's first decades, courtesy of the Keystone Kops. "Ocean's Ducks," an homage to those brave black actors of the 1930s. Remember those "Little Moron" jokes in the schoolyard, like "Why did the Little Moron throw the clock out the window?" "He wanted to see Time fly." Now ask yourself again "Why Did?" And beware the masked Mexican wrestlers of "El Castillo de la Perserverancia"! Howard Waldrop's unique and inimitable talents are on full display here. Read on, marvel, and rejoice.

SIZE MATTERS From the dragons of legend to Jack the Giant Killers colleague to King Kong and Godzilla, people have found the idea of giant creatures both scary and fascinating. Why so many should find accounts of a critter big enough to gulp down a puny human like an insignificantly small hor doeuvre or step on said human and leave a grease spot might be explained by the psychologists, but such yarns are undeniable fun, and heres a book crammed full of things that you cant outrun because they take_bigsteps, by writers with equally large reputations, including: David Drake, best-selling author of the Hammers Slammers and RCN series, describes the far future plight of an unusual descendant of present-day humans, whos being pursued by the descendants of another species, which are much larger than they were in our time. Robert Bloch, winner of the Hugo award and the lifetime achievement award of the World Fantasy Convention, and author of the classic horror novel_Psycho, introduces an unusual orphan and aspiring thespian who was much more than he seemed and was destined to play the biggest role of anyones lifetime. Philip Wylie, co-author of the SF classic,_When Worlds Collide_and other imaginative works, tells of the arrival of a very,_very_tall giant on Earth and what happened next, in a sharp-edged satiric tale. Murray Leinster, known as the Dean of Science Fiction Writers, spins a yarn of a stranded starship whose crew must get replacement parts from an abandoned outpost in order to take off again¾if they can reach the outpost through the swarming gigantic insect life of the planet. H.P. Lovecraft,_renowned master of horror, is on board with a story of a star-spawned thing which was not only huge, but invisible as well. Plus all-new stories by_New York Times_best-selling author Larry Correia, and_award-winning authors Sarah A. Hoyt and Wen Spencer. And much more. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About some of the contributors: _[David Drake is] a superb storyteller.Ó ¾Library Journal _[Robert] Bloch has become a virtual fixture on the popular culture landscape.Ó ¾Publishers Weekly _Dont plan on getting anything else done if you start a Wen Spencer novel; they are exceedingly hard to put down!Ó ¾Catherine Asaro, Nebula Award winning author _[Sarah A. Hoyts science fiction is] exciting and appealing . . . so fast-paced . . . the reader will reach escape velocity.Ó ¾Kevin J. Anderson _[H.P. Lovecraft was] the twentieth centurys greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale.Ó ¾Stephen King

The science behind monsters, real, legendary and fantasy, made alive with color photos, illustrations, and even a board game. Monsters is full of humor and real scientific information.

"The strange and wonderful define Kim Fu’s story collection, where the line between fantasy and reality fades in and out, elusive and beckoning." —The New York Times Book Review A LitHub, ALTA, and PureWow Best Book of the Month A BuzzFeed and WIRED Pick for a Book You Need to Read This Winter In the twelve unforgettable tales of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, the strange is made familiar and the familiar strange, such that a girl growing wings on her legs feels like an ordinary rite of passage, while a bug-infested house becomes an impossible, Kafkaesque nightmare. Each story builds a new world all its own: a group of children steal a haunted doll; a runaway bride encounters a sea monster; a vendor sells toy boxes that seemingly control the passage of time; an insomniac is seduced by the Sandman. These visions of modern life wrestle with themes of death and technological consequence, guilt and sexuality, and unmask the contradictions that exist within all of us. Mesmerizing, electric, and wholly original, Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century blurs the boundaries of the real and fantastic, offering intricate and surprising insights into human nature.