What’s it like to be the first one to discover a new species, to see life take a form that no one else has ever seen before? In this anthology of innovative speculative writing and art, 18 contributors capture the moment of discovery and awe when we encounter a new species. By turns humorous, horrific, and awe-inspiring, their work invites you to turn a scientist's eye on the the world of the fantastical.

Melle wants justice for her family, and she will not stop until someone in the Shorpin Corporation meets her demands.The Moth Plateau is beginning to heal from the collapse of the swarms, and some of the people are allowed to return. But fifteen-year-old Melle finds her family home destroyed and the beetles that had been their dream of fortune stolen. Accompanied by the former cattle agent Druskan, in his over-the-top cowboy gear and with three moth hawks to clear a path, she heads...

This anthology collects all 24 original stories from the third year of Diabolical Plots, an online magazine of science fiction and fantasy. Lovecraftian food bloggers, doors that bring back the dead, fantastical roommates apartment hunting in Brooklyn, oversea octopus explorers, sisterly love and rivalry in space, living breathing sweaters. The stories vary from humorous to tragic to thoughtful, from contemporary authors both new and established.The stories in this anthology are:

Rugged prairie wanderer and cattle agent, Drusk wants to be left alone to do his job. Head down, his pet hawks circling to clear the air of moths, he can take care of himself and not be bothered by others. When another agent dies on the upper plateau, reportedly of natural causes, he is sent to retrieve the body. But the upper plateau is a land of recluses and secrets, and Drusk questions more with each interaction whether he--or anyone--is safe in that land.This new series, from t...

Targeted by a mad scientist's deadly serum, these outcasts band together to uncover the truth and to fight back.Spire City is home to mighty machines of steam power and clockwork, and giant beetles pull picturesque carriages over cobbled streets.But there is a darker secret behind these wonders.A deadly infection, created by a mad scientist, is spreading through the city, targeting the poor and powerless, turning them slowly into animals. A group of...

The doubting priestess Milliva has little patience for her superiors and the entire hierarchy of the church below the Moth Plateau, but up here on the plateau she cares for her people. Fiercely.When disaster devastates the moths, the cowpokes and messengers turn to her for guidance. She's always had more space for questions than answers. How can she possibly answer their questions?What she knows is this is no supernatural threat, no punishment from any deity or consequence ...

Before the infections...Before finding a place with a new family in the Weave...Chels is a twelve-year-old orphan living on the streets of the fabled Spire City. Beetle-drawn carriages pass her by, and chained singers on the roofs sing above her head, but Chels has no time for such wonders or cruelties. She must survive, begging coin by coin.As her hopes are dashed one by one, she keeps running into a boy her own age. He calls her Tatter Girl, and he's probably some ...

The messenger Rahel is a mystery on the Moth Plateau, wearing her plague mask everywhere. Her voice always hints at a song no one else hears, and her gait is awkward, but what childhood injury or strange event may have left her so, she doesn't say. Everyone on the Plateau has their own histories, in this land of cattle drives and cowpokes, bike-riding messengers and moths. The others don't pry, so no one pries into their pasts.Off the Plateau, though, Rahel's past is still trying t...

Beyond the familiar tropes of knights and castles, elves and dragons, there is a whole world of possibilities for fantasy literature. This anthology collects fantasy stories whose inspiration lies beyond the traditional medieval European basis. It brings exciting new stories and overlooked voices into the fantasy genre.This volume contains stories based on real cultures (or their magical analogues) from all over our world.A Chinese ex-soldier is confronted by the ghos...

Targeted by a mad scientist's deadly serum, these outcasts band together to uncover the truth and to fight back.Spire City is home to mighty machines of steam power and clockwork, and giant beetles pull picturesque carriages over cobbled streets, but there is a darker secret behind these wonders. A deadly infection, created by a mad scientist, is spreading through the city, targeting the poor and powerless, turning them slowly into animals. A group of those infected by the serum jo...

Sake is a daredevil, master of stunts and hero of a thousand deeds.At least in his own mind.But when his daydreaming leads to him losing his job as a messenger on the Moth Plateau, he has to find new work. If his wild imaginings don't leave him stuck in place, sponging off the tavernkeep of Switchback and her rapidly depleting patience.When he finally agrees to guide a group of scholars into the nearby ruins of a ghost town, he discovers mysteries he can't begin to ...

A fantasy novel of magic, intrigue, and revolution.A young man travels to the city to study magic, but he finds intrigue and revolution.Pavresh hoped to master the intricacies of arcist magic. Instead, he finds himself entangled in the city's events. While princes scheme against each other for power, revolutionaries plot against them all to overthrow the rigid caste system. Poets try to inspire change with heretical words, while militants plan more forceful action. A woman ...