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Daily Caller Feed
Daily Caller Feed
47 w

New Poll Reveals Warning Signs For Harris Among Key Battleground State Demographic
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New Poll Reveals Warning Signs For Harris Among Key Battleground State Demographic

'The Democratic nominee is trailing behind'
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Strange & Paranormal Files
Strange & Paranormal Files
47 w

STRANGE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR: Readers Come Forward
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STRANGE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR: Readers Come Forward

Over the years I have amassed an abundant collection of anecdotes and inquiries that explain a variety of subjects and interesting observations. The most captivating narratives, in my opinion, discuss the writers' personal perceptions of other people, in particular - the neighbors. I present to you a few of these brief accounts:"I grew up in a bedroom community outside of New York City. It was the 1970's and all the Father's in the neighborhood commuted to work while our Mothers were stay-at-home 'Moms'. All the Moms were busy-bodies and basically had their noses in each other's business. The talk of the neighborhood was the family that lived beside us - the Smiths.The Smiths were very strange. There were Mr and Mrs. Smith who looked like they were in their 40s and their kids, a son and a daughter. The kids were early teens - and we never knew their names! They didn't go to school so we assumed they were home-schooled. The only time we saw them was when the whole family would walk single file to the garage in the back of their house and drive away in their Rambler station wagon. My Mom talked to Mrs. Smith once right after they moved in, but that was it. They never answered the door and there was no telephone listing.Mr. Smith never drove to work and Mrs. Smith was never seen shopping or doing any chores. The yard work was taken care of by two men who would drive up in a gray service truck once a week during the spring and summer. They would cut the lawn and trim the hedges. There were no flowers or trees - no lawn furniture - nothing.One of our neighbors called the Mayor's office about the kids and school - but we never saw anyone ever come to the house. In fact, they never received mail (the postman told us) and there were never any deliveries.The Smiths lived there for about 4 years. We didn't even know they had left until another (normal) family moved in. They told us that the house had been on the market for several months and that it was purchased through a Government auction - but that seemed strange as well." K-----"I've got a strange story for you. The people who live across the street are either into something weird or the house is haunted. They moved in a few months ago, a husband and wife. I'll call them Jack and Jill. Every night we hear loud 'hums' coming from the house. There are never any lights on inside or outside. Also, my dogs and my neighbor's dog start to howl when the hums begin. I can't get my dog to shut up. It's so bad I have to keep him in the basement at night. The hums go on for about an hour.I confronted Jack one day about the hums. He looked at me like I was nuts. He then got really nasty and told me to mind my own business. My neighbor got fed up and called the police. The police showed up and told them to stop. The hums continued so the police searched the place and found nothing. The hums continue. Any idea what it is?" BNOTE: About a year later I received another email from this witness who said the neighbors moved out and the hums stopped. Lon-----"Hi, Lon. - I moved to a small town in Texas a few months ago. Everything is great except the guy down the street kind of worries me and the other neighbors. His name is Stu and he lives alone. He usually seems to be an OK guy but sometimes he'll sit in his front yard and watch the sky at night. I asked him about it one day and he claims to be an abductee and he expects his 'tormentors' will return. The fact that he keeps 3 loaded shotguns on the porch concerns me. The police can't do anything though they have warned him to not cause a disturbance. If Stu disappears one night or does something else, I'll let you know." P-----"Hi, Lon. What are your thoughts on possible alien habitation among the human population? Please keep an open mind when reading my email.I live in a moderate-sized borough in Pennsylvania. I live in the same house where I grew up. In fact, most of the neighborhood has remained the same for the past 20 years or so. This includes the family that lives across the street.This family, who I refer to as the Odds, is not normal by any stretch of the imagination. There is the husband and wife who are in their seventies and their daughter (Carol) who is now my age, 52. They have lived there for as long as I can remember. Carol and I went to school together though we barely knew each other. She has always been very attractive though I never recall her ever having a boyfriend (or girlfriend).Her parents maintain a very nice house and seem to get along quite well together. In fact, Carol and her parents are always a trio. They are never seen separately. They do not go to church and are not involved in any civic activities. But this isn't the strange part.Every Spring since I can recall, they dig up a huge hole in the backyard. It's in the same location every year. The size I estimate is about 15 x 10 feet and about 4 feet deep. As soon as the hole is dug they cover it with a huge tarp that is staked into the ground around the perimeter. It remains like that for two days when it is quickly filled in and topped with new turf. Every year! It's almost like a harbinger of Spring. The Odds are digging the hole!The Odds don't talk to anyone. Never. Carol never talks to anyone. I have only heard her voice on a few occasions and that was when we were in class together and she'd be answering the teacher. I attempted to talk to her a few months ago during the holidays and she simply looked at me, smiled, and said nothing. I have never heard her parents say anything. That brings up another point, Carol doesn't look anything like her parents. She must be adopted or, as I suspect, something else is going on here.I remember when I saw the movie 'The Truman Show'. That is the Odds. Everything stays the same. One Summer I took a photograph of a family member on our front lawn. In the background was the Odd's front yard and house. A few years later I was looking at the photograph and was amazed at how similar the house, shrubbery, and flowers were at the present time! It looks like the flowers came up the same way a few years later!They seem to follow a routine for each day of the week, but the one thing they do every morning is really strange. The three of them 'tour' the outside of the house. There are specific places on the perimeter of the house where they stop, hold hands in a circle, and look into the sky. It's very strange because each time they perform this ritual I get a static feeling in the hands and feet. It affects my Mother the same way - even when we are not watching them and somewhere else!There are other oddities as well. None of them has a job, no one ever visits and they get a lot of deliveries (it seems like every day something comes).I'm convinced that these 'people' are not entirely human. I know it sounds nutty but I'm not the only person in the town that thinks that something nefarious is going on with the Odds." DThe Starchild Skull -- Genetic Enigma or Human-Alien Hybrid?Secret Life: Firsthand, Documented Accounts of Ufo AbductionsThe Grays, Alien Abductions and Genetic Creation of Humans Hybrids Race**********GIANTS! LEGENDS BASED ON TRUTH? LIVE Chat | Q & A | Join Us! (HISTORICAL & EYEWITNESS REPORTS)PHANTOMS & MONSTERS VIDEO LIBRARYPOLL: WHAT DO YOU THINK? Vote & comment on paranormal, cryptid & unexplained mysteries!LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS & MONSTERS REPORTS & CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHAREPHANTOMS & MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on SpotifyPHANTOMS & MONSTERS READING LISTCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistHave you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonOUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKSBigfoot and Other Cryptid Videos on YouTubeLYCANS! - PENNSYLVANIA'S CRYPTID CANINES UPDATE'KILLER BIGFOOT' HUNTED BY U.S. SPECIAL FORCES / GLIMMER MAN / MANTIS HUMANOIDSCRAWLER HUMANOIDS - GRUESOME INVADERS! (REAL EYEWITNESS ENCOUNTERS!)WEREWOLVES: DO THEY EXIST?'DOGMAN IN OUR YARD!' - AN OHIO FAMILY'S 12-YEAR SAGA WITH CRYPTID CANINESHey, folks. Thanks for the congrats on 'The Mothman Revisited' episode on Unsolved Mysteries. As a result, we are receiving more sighting reports and are very excited and grateful for the new information!I sincerely thank the Unsolved Mysteries team and Netflix for allowing us to tell the world about this phenomenon.If you have information about this or any other cryptid or unexplained sighting or encounter, please feel free to contact me by email or at 410-241-5974. Thanks again! LonCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistChicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive MapHey, folks. Please feel free to share your thoughts & comments on the recently uploaded video of the CHICAGO MOTHMAN. I'm interested in what you have to say. Thanks. LonEXCLUSIVE VIDEO of CHICAGO MOTHMAN RECORDED----------Become a Phantoms & Monsters Radio Insider - just $2.99 monthly, and receive these perks. Thanks for your support!-Members-only live chats-Exclusive members-only videos-Priority reply to members' commentsHave perks suggestions? LMK-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS
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Strange & Paranormal Files
Strange & Paranormal Files
47 w

REPTILIANS Harvest Various Cryptids, Observed by LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES Camper!
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REPTILIANS Harvest Various Cryptids, Observed by LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES Camper!

The witness was camping in Land Between The Lakes, Kentucky. On the second day, he had hiked off the trail into a remote area. There he heard a commotion behind a clump of downed trees. He crept over and observed something that shocked him.In a clearing, there stood two upright 15-foot-tall reptile-like creatures. On the ground, in front of them, there were two stacks of corpses. One stack had hair-covered creatures (Sasquatches) of different colors. Some were black, some red, some reddish brown, some brown, and one silver gray. The other stack was also hairy creatures, though these appeared dog-like (Dogmen). These also had different fur patterns and colors.Then the craziest thing happened next, the two reptile beings were holding an 8-foot-tall Sasquatch creature which was subsequently dispatched by them with a single bite. A third reptile-like creature was standing off to the side, holding what appeared to be a female Sasquatch (breasts were visible) and she appeared to resign herself to her fate.“There was some type of glowing, not sure what you'd call it exactly, a portal maybe, some kind of portal, that was shimmering close to the reptile creature.”Spooked, Cody immediately left the area. Within a year, he moved from Tennessee (where he lived) to Port Charlotte, Florida.Of the reptile beings, he noted that their heads resembled that of a velociraptor with jet-black eyes. They had talons on their hands “like a Hawk Bell Knife”. They had green bodies but also they had “dirty yellow or golden overlapping scales covering the chest and stomach”. These were huge and thick and reminded Cody of “hard tactical plate body armor that goes inside a carrier.” They also had tails that flailed around. Cody only ever told three people, his wife, his parents, and his best friend.Source: “Bigfoot is No Longer Boss of the Woods Episode 746”. Cryptids Canada Podcast**********GIANTS! LEGENDS BASED ON TRUTH? LIVE Chat | Q & A | Join Us! (HISTORICAL & EYEWITNESS REPORTS)PHANTOMS & MONSTERS VIDEO LIBRARYPOLL: WHAT DO YOU THINK? Vote & comment on paranormal, cryptid & unexplained mysteries!LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS & MONSTERS REPORTS & CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHAREPHANTOMS & MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on SpotifyPHANTOMS & MONSTERS READING LISTCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistHave you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonOUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKSBigfoot and Other Cryptid Videos on YouTubeLYCANS! - PENNSYLVANIA'S CRYPTID CANINES UPDATE'KILLER BIGFOOT' HUNTED BY U.S. SPECIAL FORCES / GLIMMER MAN / MANTIS HUMANOIDSCRAWLER HUMANOIDS - GRUESOME INVADERS! (REAL EYEWITNESS ENCOUNTERS!)WEREWOLVES: DO THEY EXIST?'DOGMAN IN OUR YARD!' - AN OHIO FAMILY'S 12-YEAR SAGA WITH CRYPTID CANINESHey, folks. Thanks for the congrats on 'The Mothman Revisited' episode on Unsolved Mysteries. As a result, we are receiving more sighting reports and are very excited and grateful for the new information!I sincerely thank the Unsolved Mysteries team and Netflix for allowing us to tell the world about this phenomenon.If you have information about this or any other cryptid or unexplained sighting or encounter, please feel free to contact me by email or at 410-241-5974. Thanks again! LonCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistChicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive MapHey, folks. Please feel free to share your thoughts & comments on the recently uploaded video of the CHICAGO MOTHMAN. I'm interested in what you have to say. Thanks. LonEXCLUSIVE VIDEO of CHICAGO MOTHMAN RECORDED----------Become a Phantoms & Monsters Radio Insider - just $2.99 monthly, and receive these perks. Thanks for your support!-Members-only live chats-Exclusive members-only videos-Priority reply to members' commentsHave perks suggestions? LMK-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS
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Strange & Paranormal Files
Strange & Paranormal Files
47 w

UNKNOWN BEAST Rocked Vehicle in Wisconsin Northwoods
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UNKNOWN BEAST Rocked Vehicle in Wisconsin Northwoods

A Wisconsin resident was exploring the Northwoods backcountry. After stopping his truck in an attempt to get some sleep, something rocked his truck. He didn't see anything, but left ASAP!The following account was forwarded to me:"I recently moved to Wisconsin and wanted to explore the backcountry. This was in the Fall of 2022. I took a trip from the south to Superior mostly off-road and on fire roads. On my 2nd night, I was in the Northwoods and it was getting late, so I was on a backroad in heavy forest and decided to find a spot to sleep in my truck. I went down a dirt road, probably 2 miles or so down the dirt road. At this point, it was very dark, roughly 8pm, and absolutely no one for miles. I found a trail in the forest drove about 100 feet into the woods and parked, completely concealed from the dirt road I was just on.I got out to assess the area, but could not see anything as it was completely dark. I got back in the truck and set up for the night. About an hour into watching a movie on my phone, I heard a noise that sounded like a woman screaming and my dog heard it too. I grabbed my pistol, turned on all my lights, and opened the door to see what it was. Mind you, absolutely no one knew that I was out there and was far far from civilization. I didn't see anyone or hear anyone, so I ducked back into my truck. I was a little freaked but figured it was wildlife.About an hour later, I was falling asleep and felt my truck move as if someone pushed on it. Again, my dog woke up too, so I knew that it wasn't my imagination. I did not turn on any lights or make a sound, but my dog seemed uneasy. I told myself that if I heard anything else, I would get out of Dodge. Well, I ended up falling asleep, and around midnight.I woke up to my dog growling and it happened again! I put on my boots hopped in the driver's seat and got out of there. As I was driving out, I went around a corner on the dirt road and I am not sure if it was my imagination or what, but I swear I saw a tall skinny thing running off the road as I came around the corner.It took about 30 minutes to get down the road because I continued down the original dirt road and did not go back the way I came. By this point, it was raining pretty hard and I did not feel comfortable being anywhere dark. I drove an hour and finally found a gas station and ended up staying the night there.I have never been so scared in my life and It takes a lot to get me feeling that way. I don't know what it was, but I know it was not human whatever was out there. I know that much." D**********GIANTS! LEGENDS BASED ON TRUTH? LIVE Chat | Q & A | Join Us! (HISTORICAL & EYEWITNESS REPORTS)PHANTOMS & MONSTERS VIDEO LIBRARYPOLL: WHAT DO YOU THINK? Vote & comment on paranormal, cryptid & unexplained mysteries!LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS & MONSTERS REPORTS & CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHAREPHANTOMS & MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on SpotifyPHANTOMS & MONSTERS READING LISTCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistHave you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonOUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKSBigfoot and Other Cryptid Videos on YouTubeLYCANS! - PENNSYLVANIA'S CRYPTID CANINES UPDATE'KILLER BIGFOOT' HUNTED BY U.S. SPECIAL FORCES / GLIMMER MAN / MANTIS HUMANOIDSCRAWLER HUMANOIDS - GRUESOME INVADERS! (REAL EYEWITNESS ENCOUNTERS!)WEREWOLVES: DO THEY EXIST?'DOGMAN IN OUR YARD!' - AN OHIO FAMILY'S 12-YEAR SAGA WITH CRYPTID CANINESHey, folks. Thanks for the congrats on 'The Mothman Revisited' episode on Unsolved Mysteries. As a result, we are receiving more sighting reports and are very excited and grateful for the new information!I sincerely thank the Unsolved Mysteries team and Netflix for allowing us to tell the world about this phenomenon.If you have information about this or any other cryptid or unexplained sighting or encounter, please feel free to contact me by email or at 410-241-5974. Thanks again! LonCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistChicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive MapHey, folks. Please feel free to share your thoughts & comments on the recently uploaded video of the CHICAGO MOTHMAN. I'm interested in what you have to say. Thanks. LonEXCLUSIVE VIDEO of CHICAGO MOTHMAN RECORDED----------Become a Phantoms & Monsters Radio Insider - just $2.99 monthly, and receive these perks. Thanks for your support!-Members-only live chats-Exclusive members-only videos-Priority reply to members' commentsHave perks suggestions? LMK-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS
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Strange & Paranormal Files
Strange & Paranormal Files
47 w

GOATMAN Came To Me At Night!
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GOATMAN Came To Me At Night!

A Pennsylvania teen is terrified by visions of a Goatman in his bedroom at night. 22 years later, though the creature has not returned, he continues to feel anxious because of the incidents.I received the following account:"This happened when I was around 16 years old. I was in high school and living in my parents’ ranch home in Butler County in Western Pennsylvania.For several weeks I would have a hard time falling asleep because every time I did, I would see this freakishly deformed black goat standing on two legs. It scared me, and I had had several nightmares of this goat just slowly walking towards me.One night, I was absolutely terrified, more so than usual. I decided to get up and use the bathroom to see if that would help me relax and reset my brain so that I could try to get some shut-eye.As I exited my bedroom, the living room was off to the right of the hallway and I just stopped and froze solid. There, in the blackness of my parents’ living room, with a minuscule amount of moonlight shining through the triangular windows, was the Goatman. It stood about 6 feet tall, was menacing, and felt dominating and evil. The most upsetting part about this Goatman was its front legs or arms. I don’t know what to call them as it stood on its hind legs. But its “hands” were hooves, but the elbows were broken. The hooves were upside down, facing the ceiling, and it was moving slowly but in a dancing/swaying fashion.I just dipped back into my room, closed my eyes, and hid under my covers. I couldn’t force myself to scream or face it any longer, so I guess I just chose to ignore it.Luckily I have not seen this creature since. I’ve told all of my friends and family about it. They of course think it’s hilarious, but I do think they believe me. They will bring it up in conversation as a joke from time to time and laugh because they know it scares me. I know they mean well, but even as a 38-year-old, I still get goosebumps all over my body and occasionally have tears in my eyes. I hope I never have a run-in like this again." NNOTE: Was this a dream or an actual manifestation? The Goatman lore has various caveats and incarnations. Join me this coming Friday night as we discuss the Goatman phenomenon. Lon**********GIANTS! LEGENDS BASED ON TRUTH? LIVE Chat | Q & A | Join Us! (HISTORICAL & EYEWITNESS REPORTS)PHANTOMS & MONSTERS VIDEO LIBRARYPOLL: WHAT DO YOU THINK? Vote & comment on paranormal, cryptid & unexplained mysteries!LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS & MONSTERS REPORTS & CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHAREPHANTOMS & MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on SpotifyPHANTOMS & MONSTERS READING LISTCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistHave you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonOUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKSBigfoot and Other Cryptid Videos on YouTubeLYCANS! - PENNSYLVANIA'S CRYPTID CANINES UPDATE'KILLER BIGFOOT' HUNTED BY U.S. SPECIAL FORCES / GLIMMER MAN / MANTIS HUMANOIDSCRAWLER HUMANOIDS - GRUESOME INVADERS! (REAL EYEWITNESS ENCOUNTERS!)WEREWOLVES: DO THEY EXIST?'DOGMAN IN OUR YARD!' - AN OHIO FAMILY'S 12-YEAR SAGA WITH CRYPTID CANINESHey, folks. Thanks for the congrats on 'The Mothman Revisited' episode on Unsolved Mysteries. As a result, we are receiving more sighting reports and are very excited and grateful for the new information!I sincerely thank the Unsolved Mysteries team and Netflix for allowing us to tell the world about this phenomenon.If you have information about this or any other cryptid or unexplained sighting or encounter, please feel free to contact me by email or at 410-241-5974. Thanks again! LonCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistChicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive MapHey, folks. Please feel free to share your thoughts & comments on the recently uploaded video of the CHICAGO MOTHMAN. I'm interested in what you have to say. Thanks. LonEXCLUSIVE VIDEO of CHICAGO MOTHMAN RECORDED----------Become a Phantoms & Monsters Radio Insider - just $2.99 monthly, and receive these perks. Thanks for your support!-Members-only live chats-Exclusive members-only videos-Priority reply to members' commentsHave perks suggestions? LMK-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS
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The Lighter Side
The Lighter Side
47 w

Trail Camera Shows ‘Truly Amazing’ Bear–Born with 2-Legs and Living Large in West Virginia
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Trail Camera Shows ‘Truly Amazing’ Bear–Born with 2-Legs and Living Large in West Virginia

A black bear born without front legs has been sighted more or less thriving in the mountains of West Virginia. Though not unheard of, it’s wild to be able to see the animal’s natural movement, having been transformed, by consequence of his birth, from a quadrupedal animal to a bipedal animal like us. “The area […] The post Trail Camera Shows ‘Truly Amazing’ Bear–Born with 2-Legs and Living Large in West Virginia appeared first on Good News Network.
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SciFi and Fantasy
SciFi and Fantasy  
47 w

All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in October 2024
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All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in October 2024

Books new releases All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in October 2024 An Imperial historian, an assassin, and a psychic are just some of the characters in this month’s batch of new science fiction titles. By Reactor | Published on October 1, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share Here’s the full list of fantasy titles heading your way in October! Keep track of all the new SFF releases here. All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher. Release dates are subject to change. October 1 Candle & Crow (Ink & Sigil #3) — Kevin Hearne (Del Rey)Al MacBharrais has a most unusual job: He’s a practitioner of ink-and-sigil magic, tasked with keeping order among the gods and monsters that dwell hidden in the human world. But there’s one supernatural mystery he’s never been able to solve: Years ago, someone cast twin curses on him that killed off his apprentices and drove away loved ones who heard him speak, leaving him bereft and isolated.  But he’s not quite alone: As Al works to solve this mystery, his friends draw him into their own eccentric dramas. Buck Foi the hobgoblin has been pondering his own legacy—and has a plan for a daring shenanigan that will make him the most celebrated hobgoblin of all. Nadia, goth queen and battle seer, is creating her own cult around a god who loves whisky and cheese. And the Morrigan, a former Irish death goddess, has decided she wants not only to live as an ordinary woman but also to face the most perilous challenge of the mortal world: online dating. Meanwhile, Al crosses paths with old friends and new—including some beloved Druids and their very good dogs—in his globe-trotting quest to solve the mystery of his curses. But he’s pulled in so many different directions by his colleagues, a suspicious detective, and the whims of destructive gods that Al begins to wonder: Will he ever find time to write his own happy ending? Shadow of the Smoking Mountain (Chronicles of Hanuvar #3) — Howard Andrew Jones (Baen)He had crossed half a continent, venturing into the heartland of his enemies to wage a secret war of liberation! It almost seemed that the worst lay behind them. Hanuvar and his small band of allies had faced down warriors and horrors and sinister magics to free hundreds of their people from slavery. The emperor was dead, and his successor had so little interest in finding Hanuvar, he’d ordered his sorcerous revenants to cease their search and turn their sinister talents to other targets. But as Hanuvar shifted his efforts south, where hundreds of his people still labored under the Dervan yoke, other forces were advancing agendas of their own. Determined to prove Hanuvar still lived, the revenant legate secretly sought him with dark sorceries. A band of gladiators had rebelled and now wandered free, threatening the innocent and calling down the wrath of the legions. And upon the slopes of an ancient volcano, an ageless warrior mage worked to unleash a spell that would doom them all. The Great When (Long London #1) — Alan Moore (Bloomsbury)The year is 1949, the city London. Amidst the smog of the capital stumbles Dennis Knuckleyard, a hapless eighteen year-old employed by a second-hand bookshop. One day, on an errand to acquire books for sale, Dennis discovers a novel that simply does not exist. It is a fictitious book, a figment from another novel. Yet it is physically there in his hands. How? Dennis has stumbled on a book from the Great When, a magical version of London beyond time and space, where reality blurs with fiction and concepts such as Crime and Poetry are incarnated as wondrous, terrible beings. But this other, magical London must remain a secret: if Dennis cannot find a way to return this book to where it belongs, he risks repercussions, such as his body being turned inside out (or worse). So begins a journey delving deep into the city’s occult underbelly and tarrying with an eccentric cast of sorcerers, gangsters, and murderers—some from legend, some all too real, and all with plans of their own. Soon Dennis finds himself at the centre of an explosive series of events that may alter and endanger both Londons forever. The Crescent Moon Tearoom — Stacy Sivinski (Atria)Ever since the untimely death of their parents, Anne, Beatrix, and Violet Quigley have made a business of threading together the stories that rest in the swirls of ginger, cloves, and cardamon that lie at the bottom of their customers’ cups. Their days at the teashop are filled with talk of butterflies and good fortune intertwined with the sound of cinnamon shortbread being snapped by laced fingers. That is, until the Council of Witches comes calling with news that the city Diviner has lost her powers, and the sisters suddenly find themselves being pulled in different directions. As Anne’s magic begins to develop beyond that of her sisters’, Beatrix’s writing attracts the attention of a publisher, and Violet is enchanted by the song of the circus—and perhaps a mischievous trapeze artist threatening to sweep her off her feet—it seems a family curse that threatens to separate the sisters is taking effect. With dwindling time to rewrite their future and help three other witches challenge their own destinies, the Quigleys set out to bargain with Fate. But in focusing so closely on saving each other, will they lose sight of themselves? The Undead Complex (Undetectables #2) — Courtney Smyth (Titan)Five months after they stopped The Whistler, business is booming for the Undetectables. Just not work that requires magical forensic investigators. So when Diana’s ex asks them to solve a murder—her own—Diana, Mallory and Cornelia can’t say no. Going undercover to investigate the set of the TV show, Undead Complex, Diana returns to her life as a propmaker. But even the appearance of a genuine-article Francine Leon dollhouse leaves her feeling pulled down a path of crime-solving she  doesn’t want to walk forever. Meanwhile, Theodore’s coming apart at the seams—literally—and Mallory is running out of ways to help him. Especially as he seems to be keeping secrets from her. As the clues—and the bodies—keep piling up, each one making less and less sense, the Undetectables find themselves in a race against time to find out what, exactly, the killer is up to—before the final cut. Catan: The Novel (Catan #1) — Klaus Teuber (Blackstone)Norway, 860. Half-brothers Thorolf, Yngvi, and Digur have conspired to help Asla—daughter of Halldor, a powerful Viking chieftain—to escape her father’s oppressive rule. However, when they are discovered the chieftain’s revenge is swift and mighty. Pillaging his way through the realms of his daughter’s liberators, Halldor banishes his kin and has the brothers driven from their land. Left with no other choice, the three brothers—together with family and their allies—depart their home, sailing for new shores and, after a treacherous voyage, finally reach their destination: Catan, Land of the Sun. But new challenges await on this island, and new discoveries must be made if they are to survive. Will the brothers be able to stand together and offer a better future for all the settlers, or will this new mission divide them even more? The City in Glass — Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)The demon Vitrine—immortal, powerful, and capricious—loves the dazzling city of Azril. She has mothered, married, and maddened the city and its people for generations, and built it into a place of joy and desire, revelry and riot. And then the angels come, and the city falls. Vitrine is left with nothing but memories and a book containing the names of those she has lost—and an angel, now bound by her mad, grief-stricken curse to haunt the city he burned. She mourns her dead and rages against the angel she longs to destroy. Made to be each other’s devastation, angel and demon are destined for eternal battle. Instead, they find themselves locked in a devouring fascination that will change them both forever. Together, they unearth the past of the lost city and begin to shape its future. But when war threatens Azril and everything they have built, Vitrine and her angel must decide whether they will let the city fall again. Marigold Mind Laundry — Jungeun Yun, tr. Shanna Tan (Dial)Born with mysterious powers she does not know how to control, young Jieun accidentally causes her family to vanish. She vows to live a million lives in search of them.  Finally, one night, she brings the Marigold Mind Laundry into existence. Its service: to remove the deepest pain from our hearts. Jieun listens while customers share their unhappy memories. As they speak, she transfers their sadness onto T-shirts as stains. After a spin in the washing machine, the stains become flower petals that soar into the air, and Jieun’s customers find solace. Five wounded souls come to Jieun for help: a frustrated young filmmaker, a spiraling social media influencer, a mother betrayed by her husband, a woman jilted by her lover, and a talented photographer who hides in the safety of a mundane job. As Jieun listens to each of their stories, she learns that the will to heal is not a rare gift, but a power we all possess—if only we are open to it. October 8 Sargassa (Ex Romana #1) — Sophie Burnham (DAW)Selah Kleios is twenty-two years old and suddenly one of the most important women in the empires. The role of Imperial Historian is her birthright, something she’s been preparing for since birth—but she was supposed to have more time to learn the role from her father, the previous Historian. In the wake of her father’s sudden and shocking assassination, Selah finds herself custodian of more than just the Imperial Archives, the towering central library that safeguards all collective knowledge of the Roman Imperium and its client empires. There’s also the question of the two puzzling classified items her father left in her care—an ancient atlas filled with landscapes that don’t exist, and a carved piece of stone that seems to do nothing at all. Soon, though, it becomes clear that the Iveroa Stone is more than just a slab of rock. With the reappearance of an old lost love who’s been blackmailed into stealing it for an unknown entity, Selah finds herself in a race to uncover the mysteries the Stone holds. But she isn’t the only one with an interest in it—she’ll have to contend with the deputy chief of police, an undercover spy, and her own beloved half brother along the way. What begins as an act of atonement and devotion ultimately pulls her into the crosshairs of deep state conspiracy, the stirrings of an underground independence movement, and questions that threaten to shake the foundational legitimacy of Roma Sargassa’s past, present, and future. Bells Hells—What Doesn’t Break (Critical Role #1) — Cassandra Khaw, Critical Role (Random House Worlds)For as long as she can remember, Laudna has had a friend. A mentor. A little voice whispering in her cropped ear, promising that, no matter how monstrous she becomes or how far she wanders, there will always be someone to guide her. And so, Laudna is content. But the thought of more—of life, of love, of the magic stirring in her still veins—is unrelenting in its familiarity. More is the dream of the young girl trapped behind the bloodstained walls of Whitestone, and the nightmare of the woman who now stalks the woods outside them. More, Laudna’s little voice reminds her, is dangerous. From Tal’Dorei to Marquet, the world is infested with heroes destined to rid their kingdoms of creatures like Laudna. The little voice is right, she knows. But still, she thinks of more. And when she reaches for that dream, what reaches back will change everything. Blood of the Old Kings — Sung-il Kim, tr. Anton Hur (Tor Books)In an Empire run on necromancy, dead sorcerers are the lifeblood. Their corpses are wrapped in chains and drained of magic to feed the unquenchable hunger for imperial conquest. Born with magic, Arienne has become resigned to her dark fate. But when the voice of a long-dead sorcerer begins to speak inside her head, she listens. There may be another future for her, if she’s willing to fight for it. Miles away, beneath a volcano, a seven-eyed dragon also wears the Empire’s chains. Before the imperial fist closed around their lands, it was the people’s sacred guardian. Loran, a widowed swordswoman, is the first to kneel before the dragon in decades. She comes with a desperate plea, and will leave with a sword of dragon-fang in hand and a great purpose before her. In the heart of the Imperial capital, Cain is known as a man who gets things done. When his best friend and mentor is found murdered, he will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible, even if it means starting a war. A Dark and Secret Magic — Wallis Kinney (Alcove Press)Hecate Goodwin, Kate to her friends, has curated the perfect life as a hedge witch, living in a secluded cottage with only a black cat for company. She spends her days foraging herbs from the Ipswich forest, gardening, and creating tinctures to sell at the apothecary she owns. Most evenings pass without her speaking to another human being, an arrangement she quite prefers. Kate’s solitude is thrown into disarray when her older sister, Miranda, reaches out and asks her to host their coven’s annual Halloween gathering. The day marks the beginning of the new year for witches and is also Kate’s birthday. The pressure from her coven to make the evening memorable mounts as the event draws near. To complicate things further, a handsome man from Kate’s past turns up at her cottage, asking for sanctuary. It is Kate’s duty as a hedge witch to honor this request, much to her dismay. Matthew Cypher is no ordinary lost soul—he’s a practitioner of forbidden magic who’s tricked Kate once before, and her guard is up. As she juggles Matthew’s arrival and the preparations for Halloween, Kate comes across an old tome shrouded in dark magic. She is horrified when she realizes the blood-red inscription is written in familiar handwriting: her recently deceased mother’s. Afraid to even touch the dark magic her mother secretly studied, Kate can turn only to Matthew for help. Her idealized memory of her mother begins to distort, and as she and Matthew grow closer, Kate has to reevaluate whom she can really trust. The Last Dragon of the East — Katrina Kwan (Saga)At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running—even if that means ignoring the past-due notices—and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he’s parlayed into a side career: he was born with the ability to see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s gray and fraying.But Sai’s ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother’s doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle cure, Sai is pretty sure he’s being scammed. When the medicine actually works—and the terrifying, ruthless emperor catches wind—Sai is thrust into the search for a dragon long thought extinct that will lead him into the throes of a brewing war and deep into foreign lands, facing down challenges both magical and mortal on an unexpected adventure. And for the very first time, as his own thread of fate begins to move, he may be able to solve the mystery of his Fated One at the other end of the line. The Mountain Crown (Crown of Ishia #1) — Karin Lowachee (Solaris)War between the island states of Kattaka and Mazemoor has left no one unscathed. Méka’s nomadic people, the Ba’Suon, were driven from their homeland by the Kattakans. Those who remained were forced to live under the Kattakan yoke, to serve their greed for gold alongside the dragons with whom the Ba’Suon share an empathic connection. A decade later and under a fragile truce, Méka returns home from her exile for an ancient, necessary rite: gathering a king dragon of the Crown Mountains to maintain balance in the wild country. But Méka’s act of compassion toward an imprisoned dragon and Lilley, a Kattakan veteran of the war, soon draws the ire of the imperialistic authorities. They order the unwelcome addition of an enigmatic Ba’Suon traitor named Raka to accompany Méka and Lilley to the mountains. The journey is filled with dangers both within and without. As conflict threatens to reignite, the survival of the Ba’Suon people, their dragons, and the land itself will depend on the decisions—defiant or compliant—that Méka and her companions choose to make. But not even Méka, kin to the great dragons of the North, can anticipate the depth of the consequences to her world. October 15 Januaries — Olivie Blake (Tor Books)Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a wish-granting spirit rapidly approaches burnout. Meanwhile, a banished fairy answers a Craigslist ad, a Victorian orphan navigates an occult situationship, and a multiverse assassin contemplates the one who got away. With both iconic fan-favorite stories and entirely original pieces, Januaries features modified fairy tales, contemporary heists, absurdist poetry, and at least one set of actual wedding vows. Escape the slow trudge of mortality by diving into these enchanting new worlds with a master of imagination. The Nightward (Waters of the Lethe #1) — R.S.A. Garcia (Harper Voyager)For 500 years Gaiea’s Hand has stood as a ward against the Dark. The Age of Chaos is a faded memory. The Goddess has left Gailand and given her Blessing to the Queens to rule in her stead. Princess Viella of the court of Hamber is the Spirit of Gaiea, presumptive heir to the throne and budding wielder of magic. And yet she’s still a child—not yet ten years old—and a day spent evading her teachers and her dutiful bodyguard, Luka, is much more satisfying than learning about telepathy, illusions, and other spells, or obeying even her mother, the Queen. There is time enough… until there isn’t. For the night the Queen hosts the Ceremony to confirm Viella as the next Hand of Gaiea, everything changes for her—in the most horrific way imaginable: the assassination of Viella’s mother. Now Viella is Queen. Luka, despite resenting his position as royal babysitter, does not hesitate. He rushes his charge from the Court and vows to keep her safe. Yet he is unsure how to help a burgeoning Hand of Gaiea, let alone contend with his place as a man in a matriarchal world and the secret that is burning inside him. Together, they are on the run from darkness in a world where the lines between magic and technology are blurring and it’s up to a child and her protector to bring clarity and light back to the Queendom. An Instruction in Shadow (Inheritance of Magic #2) — Benedict Jacka (Ace)Stephen Oakwood has emerged victorious against the schemes of his aristocratic family. Now he finally has the opportunity to do what he’s been wanting to do for a long time: track down his father. But doing so won’t be easy. Stephen’s not so isolated any more, but the contacts he’s making in the magical world—everyone from the corporation he works for to the mother he’s just beginning to reconnect with—all have agendas of their own. And now a new group is emerging from the shadows, calling themselves the Winged. Their leader, the mysterious Byron, promises that he can show Stephen how to find his father…but he wants something in return. Following that trail will throw Stephen into greater danger than he’s ever faced before. To survive, he’ll need to use all of his tricks and sigls, and pick up some new ones. Only then will he be able to prevail against his enemies… and find out who’s really pulling the strings. Strange Beasts — Susan J. Morris (Bindery Books)At the dawn of the twentieth century in Paris, Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula’s killer, works as a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. But no one realizes how abnormal she is. Sam is a channel into the minds of monsters: a power that could help her solve the gruesome deaths plaguing turn-of-the-century Paris—or have her thrown into an asylum. Sam finds herself assigned to a case with Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the criminal mastermind and famed nemesis of Sherlock Holmes and a notorious detective whom no one wants to work with on account of her previous partners’ mysterious murders. Ranging from the elite clubs of Paris to the dark underbelly of the catacombs, their investigation sweeps them into a race to stop a Beast from its killing rampage, as Hel and Sam are pitted against men, monsters, and even each other. But beneath their tenuous trust, an unmistakable attraction brews. Is trusting Hel the key to solving the murder, or is Sam yet another pawn in Hel’s game? Rogue Community College (Liberty House #1) — David R. Slayton (Blackstone)Isaac Frost is an assassin. Raised in the Graveyard of the cruel and mysterious Undertaker, he has mastered the deadly art of the knife and the skill of survival, together with scores of others just like him—young men taken from their families to become the most infamous killers throughout the realms of elves and humans. But Isaac is unique: a single drop of another’s blood can confer upon him the knowledge and power of friend and foe alike. After crossing paths with the elf queen Argent, Isaac is sent to a strange magical school for wayward practitioners in the hopes that he can learn where he—and his unusual talent—fit in the world. Isaac is charmed by the school’s chaotic nature, and finds himself unexpectedly drawn to Vran, a Sea Elf haunted by secret knowledge. But Vran isn’t the only one with secrets, and Isaac’s arrival is no accident. The Undertaker has charged him with infiltrating the school for the purpose of destroying it utterly, and his future rests on completing his mission—before the Undertaker takes matters into his own hands. October 22 Metal From Heaven — august clarke (Erewhon)He who controls ichorite controls the world. A malleable metal more durable than steel, ichorite is a toxic natural resource fueling national growth, and ambitious industrialist Yann Chauncey helms production of this miraculous ore. Working his foundry is an underclass of destitute workers, struggling to get better wages and proper medical treatment for those exposed to ichorite’s debilitating effects since birth. One of those luster-touched victims, the child worker Marney Honeycutt, is picketing with her family and best friend when a bloody tragedy unfolds. Chauncey’s strikebreakers open fire. Only Marney survives. A decade later, as Yann Chauncey searches for a suitable political marriage for his ward, Marney sees the perfect opportunity for revenge. With the help of radical bandits and their stolen wealth, she must masquerade as an aristocrat to win over the calculating Gossamer Chauncey and kill the man who slaughtered her family and friends. But she is not the only suitor after Lady Gossamer’s hand, leading her to play twisted elitist games of intrigue. And Marney’s luster-touched connection to the mysterious resource and its foundry might put her in grave danger—or save her from it. The Wood at Midwinter — Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scot is an unusual girl. She can talk to animals and trees—and she is only ever happy when she is walking in the woods. One snowy afternoon, out with her dogs and Apple the pig, Merowdis encounters a blackbird and a fox. As darkness falls, a strange figure enters in their midst—and the path of her life is changed forever. Monstrous Nights (Witch’s Compendium of Monsters #2) — Genoveva Dimova (Tor Books)With her magic reclaimed and her role in the community of Chernograd restored, Kosara’s life should finally be back to normal—but, of course, things can’t possibly be that simple.She is now in possession of twelve witch’s shadows. Holding them may grant her unprecedented power, but that doesn’t mean they’re always willing to do her bidding.Across the wall in Belograd, Asen chases his only lead on the latest witch murder case. He follows the trail of smuggling kingpin Konstantin Karaivanov to an underground monster auction—which leads him right back to Chernograd.There, sinister events follow one after another: snow falls in midsummer, a witch with two shadows is found dead, and monsters that should only appear during the Foul Days are sighted. The barrier between worlds thins… and Kosara is certain it’s her fault—and her job to fix. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (Dungeon Crawler Carl #3) — Matt Dinniman (Ace)Earth has been transformed into the set of the galaxy’s most watched game show: Dungeon Crawler World, a nightmarish, multilevel, video game-like dungeon filled with traps, monsters, and mind-bending puzzles. Carl and Donut have survived so far, but this fourth level is unlike anything they could imagine. The Iron Tangle: an impossibly complicated subway system tied together into a knot of trains of all kinds, from classic steam engines to sleek modern cars. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations aren’t always what they seem, and the exit is perpetually just a few stops away. The top ten list is populated, and Carl and Donut have made it. But that popularity comes with a price. They each now have a bounty on their head. They must work with other crawlers to solve the puzzle of the floor, but how can they do that when they don’t know who to trust? The secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly useless book. Welcome, Crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon. The Republic of Salt (Mirror Realm #2) — Ariel Kaplan (Erewhon)After a near-disastrous confrontation with La Caceria, Toba and Asmel are trapped on the human side of the gate, pursued by the Courser and a possessed Inquisitor. In the Mazik world, Naftaly’s visions are getting worse, predicting the prosperous gate city of Zayit in flames and overrun by La Caceria. Zayit is notorious for its trade in salt, a substance toxic to the near-immortal Maziks; if the Cacador can control the salt, he will be nearly unstoppable. But the stolen killstone, the key to the Cacador’s destruction, could eliminate the threat—if only Barsilay could find and use it. Deadly allies and even more dangerous bargains might be the only path to resist La Caceria’s ruthless conquest of both the mortal world and the Maziks’, but the cost is steep and the threat is near. Exiled by Iron (Tainted Blood #2) — Ehigbor Okosun (Harper Voyager)With the end of Alistair Sorenson’s tyrannical reign, Dèmi has accepted Jonas’s proposal to rule as his Queen with hopes to finally free her people, the magical Oluso. Yet social prejudice, corrupt council members, and the continued distrust of the nonmagical Ajès throughout the kingdom prove seemingly implacable obstacles. To make matters worse, Dèmi struggles to control her newly awakened iron blood magic. As Ekwensi’s rebel army—led in part by Colin, her best friend and one-time lover—become more triumphant in their mission, war seems inevitable. Before long, a new evil appears that hunts Oluso and Ajè alike, promising desolation on a larger level than ever before. When the failed assassination puts the life of Dèmi’s loved one in danger as well as the future of the Oluso into question, Dèmi embarks on a treacherous journey to find an ancestral spirit whose aid could tip the scales in her favor. Whether her new powers will destroy the kingdom or heal the blood-soaked rifts that have pulled it apart, she does not know. Beyond the battles of swords and magic, there is the battle for Dèmi’s heart. Jonas—the former enemy prince—has divided loyalties despite his love for Dèmi. And Ekwensi and Colin have every intention of winning her to their side, while a past pledge hangs over Dèmi’s head. Dèmi is caught between the kingdom, her people, and the spirits, and must decide what sacrifices she is willing to make for peace, and whether she can outrun the greatest danger that constantly puts her in peril—her own heart. Only one thing is for certain… There will be blood. The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door — H. G. Parry (Redhook)Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England’s secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed. But when Clover catches the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends, doors that were previously closed to her are flung wide open, and she soon finds herself enmeshed in the seductive world of the country’s magical aristocrats. The summer she spends in Alden’s orbit leaves a fateful mark: months of joyous friendship and mutual study come crashing down when experiments go awry, and old secrets are unearthed. Years later, when the faerie seals break, Clover knows it’s because of what they did. And she knows that she must seek the help of people she once called friends—and now doesn’t quite know what to call—if there’s any hope of saving the world as they know it.  The Hollow and the Haunted (Hollow and the Haunted #1) — Camilla Raines (Titan)Miles Warren hails from a long line of psychics. Resigned to a life in the family business, Miles is perfectly happy, thank you very much. Apart from the fact he hasn’t told anyone he’s gay, and that he’s constantly exhausted from long nights spent wrangling angry ghosts in creepy cemeteries. Perfectly happy. But Miles’s comfortable routine is interrupted when he starts having visions of an unfamiliar boy. He soon learns the stranger is Gabriel Hawthorne, whose family have a mysterious, decades-long feud with Miles’s own—and that the visions are a premonition of his murder. Gabriel is everything Miles expects from a Hawthorne: rude, haughty, irritatingly good-looking. But that doesn’t mean Miles is just going to stand by and let someone kill him. The two form an uneasy alliance, trying to solve Gabriel’s murder before it happens. As they begin to unravel the web of secrets between their families, and with dark magic swirling around them, Miles is horrified to realize that he doesn’t hate Gabrielquiteas much as he’s supposed to. He might even like him.Too bad Gabriel is probably going to die. October 29 Bindle Punk Jefe (Bindle Punk #2) — Desideria Mesa (Harper Voyager)Prohibition is in full swing, and the glamorous life of upper-class Kansas City is everything Rose (Luna) Lane ever hoped it would be. Being married to her best friend isn’t so bad either, considering their agreement to keep their real love lives out of the public eye. However, try as she might to continue her life of anonymity, her popularity as a land developer’s wife—and as a successful club owner—draws even more attention to her personal endeavors. Soon, the balancing act between the life of Luna and Rose becomes a full-time job itself, making visiting home harder than ever before. However, her haven, which once offered a place of acceptance, is growing more hostile. Her community of brujas criticizes her methods of using magic for economic and social gain while consorting with nefarious witches of the North. Meanwhile, the Pendergast Machine is running at full force, pushing his will and money all over the city. Keeping her true identity and powers a secret while posing for the society papers gets all the more dangerous as new enemies start to question her origins… and old ones creep up from dark realms. The pressure could force Rose to do questionable things for the greater good, distancing herself from her loved ones and who she wants to be. She may have mastered her earth magic, but she still has a lot to learn about the heart. Blood Over Bright Haven — M. L. Wang (Del Rey)For twenty years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry. When Sciona finally passes the qualifying exam and becomes a highmage, she finds her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues are determined to make her feel unwelcome—and, instead of a qualified lab assistant, they give her a janitor. What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was not always a janitor. Ten years ago, he was a nomadic hunter who lost his family on their perilous journey from the wild plains to the city. But now he sees the opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the privileged in power. At first, mage and outsider have a fractious relationship. But working together, they uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. The post All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in October 2024 appeared first on Reactor.
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Squid Game Season 2 Trailer Asks if You Want to Play a Game
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Squid Game Season 2 Trailer Asks if You Want to Play a Game

News Squid Game Squid Game Season 2 Trailer Asks if You Want to Play a Game Who’s up for a second round of life-or-death? By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on October 1, 2024 Screenshot: Netflix Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: Netflix The second season of Squid Game is inching ever closer, and Netflix recently released a trailer to get us prepared. For those of you who didn’t watch the first season of the Korean mega-hit series, the show involves individuals down on their luck opting to take part in an orchestrated game to win a substantial cash prize. The downside to this “game,” however, is that losing involves dying in various horrific ways, all for the pleasure of the rich elite. It’s clear that show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk was making a commentary on the ravages of capitalism, among other things. That didn’t stop Netflix from creating a “real” version of Squid Game, which appears to completely miss the premise of the fictional show that inspired it. But I digress. The released trailer suggests that the game is alive and well in Season Two. t centers on the man who gives potential contestants the choice to take part in the event, giving them the choice to compete for a large sum of money, potentially winning nothing (and actually losing their life, though they don’t know that) or walking away with a smaller sum they won through playing a game play a game of ddakji instead. Here’s the official synopsis for Season Two: Three years after winning Squid Game, Player 456 gave up going to the states and comes back with a new resolution in his mind. Gi-hun once again dives into the mysterious survival game, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the prize of 45.6 billion won. The second season of Squid Game starts streaming on Netflix on December 26, 2024. [end-mark] Check out the trailer below. [end-mark] The post <i>Squid Game</i> Season 2 Trailer Asks if You Want to Play a Game appeared first on Reactor.
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Read an Excerpt From Kay Chronister’s The Bog Wife
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Read an Excerpt From Kay Chronister’s The Bog Wife

Excerpts Horror Read an Excerpt From Kay Chronister’s The Bog Wife Five siblings unearth long-buried secrets when the supernatural bargain entwining their fate with their ancestral land is suddenly ruptured… By Kay Chronister | Published on October 1, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from The Bog Wife, a Gothic Appalachian horror novel by Kay Chronister, available now from Counterpoint. Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a “bog-wife.” Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails—or refuses—to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future.Middle child Wenna, summoned back to the dilapidated family manor just as her marriage is collapsing, believes the Haddesleys must abandon their patrimony. Her siblings are not so easily persuaded. Eldest daughter Eda, de facto head of the household, seeks to salvage the compact by desecrating it. Younger son Percy retreats into the wilderness in a dangerous bid to summon his own bog-wife. And as youngest daughter Nora takes desperate measures to keep her warring siblings together, fledgling patriarch Charlie uncovers a disturbing secret that casts doubt over everything the family has ever believed about itself. Before her return, Wenna thought many times about what it would be like to see her family again and a few times, with half-guilty yearning, of how it would feel to see the land where she had grown up, but she had not considered how it would feel for the land to see her, and now she thought that was what she should really have been worried about. The bog looked eyelessly; it felt knowing. The white pines and maples, leaning on their above-ground roots, seemed to incline their heads toward the car. Her husband Michael would have said she was anthropomorphizing the plants. The first time he used that word, she asked him what it meant. He shrugged. It was a word he’d learned in school. Acting like things that aren’t human have human intentions, he said. Everyone learns that? Wenna asked. In school? She’d tried, after that, to see the vacancy in everything, but she felt now that Michael was wrong. The bog was not vacant. It had presence and intelligence, and, she realized, it had changed while she was gone in ways barely perceptible and too subtle to name. Were the trees farther apart? Were they taller? Had the moss on the trunks thinned some? When the car rounded the driveway’s final corner and the house came into view, Wenna drew in a breath. The Haddesley manor was a massive old heap of stone that had been crumpling for longer than Wenna had been alive, but now almost the whole west wing was collapsed. The trunk of an enormous tree stuck through the roof and impinged on the front second-story windows. The east wing was intact, but just barely. The entire house had the look of a rotting vegetable. The ground was puckered up around the foundation. Years’ worth of rotted leaves and soil lapped at the rubblework stone walls. Mud piled up before the front door. “We usually go in the back,” her brother Charlie explained. Wenna opened the passenger door and was almost flattened by the stench in the air. She closed the door with the quickness of a reflex. Charlie had gotten out of the car already. He seemed not to notice or to care about the smell. Cautiously, second-guessing her own senses, Wenna opened the car door again. The stench remained. It was an unwholesome, poisonous odor. The bog had never smelled like that to her before. Bogs were, in their own way, exceptionally clean places, all the stink of vegetable death sealed discreetly away under the surface. There was something wrong with a bog that had a perceptible odor. She was momentarily annoyed that Charlie didn’t offer to carry her bag to the door, until she noticed he was leaning on a cane that he’d gotten out of the back seat, his face wrinkled with an expression of intense focus. “The back door’s unlocked,” he said, before she could ask what had happened to him. This announcement was also the end of any conversation between them. Wenna carried her bag to the door. Buy the Book The Bog Wife Kay Chronister Buy Book The Bog Wife Kay Chronister Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget In the kitchen, it was the almost-comforting house-smell that she registered first: something between the musty paper-and-glue odor of an unkempt library and the putrid scent of vegetables left to rot in darkness. After a moment, her eyes adjusted. Every visible surface was so crowded with objects that Wenna could only register the whole as clutter. Even the stove was mostly covered, old magazines spilling from the mouth of a saucepan, a single burner perfunctorily cleared for use. Racks of dried herbs and greens hung from the ceiling, so long forgotten that they trailed dusty strands of cobweb; Wenna wouldn’t have been surprised to learn they had been harvested the summer before and left there through the winter. The floor was streaked with a palimpsest of dried boot prints. From one corner, a white possum regarded her warily. “Did you know that was in here?” Wenna said with a nod to the animal. She had a suspicion that the possum was a full-fledged member of the household. “It’s Nora’s,” Charlie said. He shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. “Eda said there was no point in cleaning, so.” He was embarrassed; Wenna was not hiding her disgust successfully. “I’m sure it’s been difficult,” she said, at a loss for any other vaguely appropriate response. “Sort of.” He cleared his throat, girding himself to say something else, but then Nora and Percy came thudding down the stairs. Her siblings had gone through growth spurts and puberty in Wenna’s absence and become young adults. They seemed to Wenna to have uncannily grown into each other, even more alike now than they had been as children. Their upturned Haddesley noses and indignant sharp Haddesley chins; even the feathery mushroom-colored hair that they wore in a cloud around their ears. Only, Percy wouldn’t really look at her, and Nora was looking at her as if her gaze could fix Wenna in place. “You came home,” she said, with a kind of awe. “I can’t stay long.” Wenna was surprised and vaguely appalled by her impulse to disappoint her sister, but Nora’s happiness felt oppressive. No one was supposed to be so affected by her coming back. “Just for the burial,” she added, lowering her voice as if it were a secret that their father was right now lying in bed dying. “I know.” Nora’s voice carried a defensive edge. She glanced sideways at Percy, as if checking to see whether he had noticed. Regaining herself, she asked: “Do you want something to eat?” “What have you got?” Wenna hadn’t eaten since getting on the bus, but she was less than confident that anything passably edible could be prepared with the kitchen in its current state. Percy went to the refrigerator, a 1980s behemoth that had been with the house since the Haddesleys, forty-some years late to the game, first acquired electricity. “Pickles,” he said. “Swiss cheese. Eggs.” “We should make eggs,” said Nora. “Eggs are for breakfast.” She sounded as though she were reciting something she’d read in a book but had not personally experienced. “Do you want coffee, Wenna?” “She can’t have both,” said Percy. “Not at once. There’s only one clean burner.” “I’ll have whichever,” Wenna said, and she settled into a spindly little dining chair that she recalled from childhood. The kitchen table was from the same familiar set, but it was now so deeply buried in clutter that barely any of the tabletop was visible. As Percy and Nora negotiated the single functioning stove burner, she fidgeted with a paper box of spoons, some of them ornate and expensive-looking, others bent and tarnished and otherwise unremarkable. All of them glossed by dust. Percy and Nora sat across from Wenna as she ate, their eyes politely averted, even their breaths measured. As if she were a wild animal they’d been lucky enough to stumble upon in its natural habitat. Only when the kettle began to shriek was their attention diverted. Nora rose and poured coffee for all three of them. “If we had milked Matilde, you could have had milk,” she said as she set Wenna’s cup before her. “But Percy is supposed to do it, so—” “I didn’t have time,” Percy insisted. “I had to do Charlie’s chores.” “It’s no trouble,” Wenna said, to head off whatever meaningless bickering was brewing. At least that much had not changed. She looked down into the cup, at the grounds adrift on the surface. “By the way, what happened to Charlie?” she asked, putting off her first sip. Nora’s eyes searched Percy’s as if he were responsible for the answer. Percy drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. “Is he all right?” Wenna heard the panic in her own voice. She hated that already she’d become entangled. She’d been in the house for ten minutes. “Well,” said Nora. She hesitated. “Did you see the tree on the roof?” “Of course.” “The place that the tree fell was Charlie’s room.” Wenna looked at Percy, who only nodded. “And he got hurt,” Nora continued. “He can walk now, but he can’t really do stairs and he mostly stays in his room.” “The room where the tree fell,” Wenna said, incredulous. “He sleeps in what used to be the study now,” Percy clarified. Wenna couldn’t even decide what to ask first. She felt as if she should have been told as soon as the accident happened, as if she had somehow been lied to, even though she would have said that she didn’t want to know. “What did he hurt?” she asked. Percy and Nora exchanged glances again. Neither of them answered her question before Eda came down the stairs, bearing a tray piled with empty dishes. It hurt to look at her older sister. In the malnourished light that the windows admitted, Eda might have been sixty instead of thirty-three. Her skin had the same waxy lusterless quality as Charlie’s. The dark half-moons beneath her eyes formed furrows down to her cheekbones. Wenna didn’t know whether she was supposed to embrace her sister or shake Eda’s hand or take the tray from her, and in the end she did nothing, paralyzed by the sensation that she and Eda were about to resume a fight they hadn’t finished ten years ago. “Wenna,” her sister acknowledged, as if she had been asked to identify Wenna in a lineup. Then, after a long and conspicuous silence, “Dad wants to see you.” Wenna steadied herself in her chair. She had not prepared herself for the trial of interacting with her father outside of the mercifully scripted context of the burial rites. “Does Dad know that I’m here? I mean, did someone tell him that I was coming?” “He knew that you were coming for the burial,” Nora offered. “Right, but—” “He might not be happy to see you,” Eda interrupted, sounding more exasperated than Wenna thought she had any right to be. “If that’s what you’re asking. He’s not happy to see me, most of the time, and I’ve been changing his bedpan for the past month.” “I didn’t have to come out here,” Wenna said. “Didn’t you?” Eda said, with a dismayed little huff of laughter. “Don’t go up there, if you don’t want to. Just know that he heard you downstairs and asked for you.” * * * Wenna ascended the stairs with the grim sensation that she was proving something. Her father’s bedroom was the first one to the left, the door open. She stood for a second in the hallway and absorbed that the figure on the curtained bed was really her father. It occurred to Wenna that she didn’t know what he was dying of. His skin had the same blanched waxy quality as Charlie’s and Eda’s, but worse. As she entered the room, his eyes narrowed, became unfocused, then regained their intensity. “Tell Eda that I don’t want more peas,” was the first thing he said. “I will,” Wenna said, too taken aback to protest. She took a deep breath, fortifying herself. It would have been easier if only he had been dead already. Her father’s eyes drifted from Wenna’s face to the other end of the room, the opened door, the dark hallway. He wanted something other than her. “Easier for everyone,” he said dreamily, “if I am empty when I go.” Wenna lowered herself into the dining chair at his bedside, awkwardly folding into her lap the worn old throw blanket that had previously occupied the seat. Everything in the room emanated a scent fainter but no less morbid than the rancid odor outside. “Empty?” she repeated. “My stomach,” he said, assuaging any fears she might have had that he was becoming philosophical at the end of his life. “People shit when they die, you know.” “Right,” Wenna said. “Do you think,” she ventured, knowing that she was being impolite but deciding that maybe they were past that now, “you’ll die today?” “It must be soon.” He looked entreatingly at her. “I have dreamed,” he said, with urgency, “of meeting on the road a man walking with a cart pulled by a mare impaled on a post.” Wenna crossed her arms to hide the gooseflesh that lifted on them. “I don’t know what that means,” she said firmly. “I should have gone a long time ago,” he whispered. “It never was right, after her.” Wenna’s throat closed as rage tightened her belly and her lungs. She could not think of one single thing to say that Alyson the therapist would have approved of. “I’m sorry that you’re dying,” she managed at last, staring ahead, inwardly cringing at herself for saying something so transparently insincere, when what she wanted to say was I am never going to forgive you, not even after you’re gone. When she dared to glance over at him, his gaze was distant. “You cannot go back, you know,” he said, “to wherever you have been. They need you here.” Wenna was perversely impressed. She should have known that the summons to bury her father was only a pretext. Of course she could not simply come back and then leave. She had been stupid to think that she was ending anything by coming here. But even her father could not possibly be so brazen as to think that on his deathbed he could make any demands about what she did or where she went after she had already squirmed free from the Haddesley noose once. “What right do you have?” she said under her breath, not really wanting or expecting an answer. “Tell me,” whispered Charles Haddesley with the rhythm of an incantation. “Tell me you will stay with them.” Wenna lost her patience. “You can’t ask me for things! I came for the exchange. That’s all you get. And it’s more than you deserve.” Her father’s look became urgent, almost wild. “I never hurt her,” he said imploringly. “You must know.” Wenna’s stomach turned. “If you didn’t do anything to her,” she said, slowly, “then where did she go?” Her father hesitated, and for a second Wenna felt a small gasp of hope that he was going to really answer her, that somehow there’d been a misunderstanding left for ten years uncorrected. But instead he exhaled, and a terse silence unspooled around them. He had no answer for her. “Like I thought,” said Wenna, and she stood to go. She hesitated at the doorway, thinking how disappointing it was that those were the last words she might ever exchange with her father. She did not look back at him. Excerpted from The Bog Wife, copyright © 2024 by Kay Chronister. The post Read an Excerpt From Kay Chronister’s <i>The Bog Wife</i> appeared first on Reactor.
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Social Security’s Financial Time Bomb Is Ticking. Why Doesn’t Congress Hear It?
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Social Security’s Financial Time Bomb Is Ticking. Why Doesn’t Congress Hear It?

Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge.  Social Security is almost out of money. They broke it, we bought it. This comes from the Congressional Budget Office, who just released a new report saying Social Security has just nine years until it runs out of money. Why? Because it’s a Ponzi scheme. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Basically, imagine you contributed to your pension company for 40 years, but they spent it all invading Ukraine. You turn 65, ask them for the money, and it’s gone. So first, what does this mean. Social Security actually ran out of money a long time ago or, putting it more accurately, it never had any money. Because giving Congress a dollar for safekeeping is like giving a Kardashian a Botox gift card. The dirty little secret of Social Security was they took the money and spent every last dime. Like that scene in “Indiana Jones,” they swapped out the money for IOUs and treasuries. For decades, those IOUs built up since Social Security was collecting more than it was paying in benefits. But starting in 2010, it went negative and they were paying out more than they were collecting. They were losing IOUs. So, when the CBO says it will run out of money, it means the IOUs will be gone. At which point the full annual Social Security deficit, $150 billion and rising fast, goes straight to deficit. At that point, they either have to cut benefits, raise taxes, or eat it and let the deficit ride. Cutting benefits could mean starting benefits later, maybe at age 70 or 75. Or means-testing benefits so if you work hard and save, you lose your Social Security. Or, the simplest, a 24% cut in benefits perhaps disguised by manipulating the inflation adjustment so seniors don’t realize they got robbed. The other way is taxes. You could tax a wider range of earnings, you could push beyond the $170,000 earnings cap. Or, again the simplest, a 35% hike in Social Security taxes. That would take the payroll tax to 19.6% on top of income taxes. Happily, there is a better way: Let people keep their Social Security accounts like a 401(k). The South American country of Chile, for example, does not spend the national pension. Instead it makes you invest it, like a mandatory 401(k). You can put part in high-risk that pays better, or low-risk that pays less. The result is Chile’s system is actually overfunded to the point they’re increasing pensions for poor Chileans. Why? Because in the 40 years their system existed, assets grew by over 8% per yearafter inflation. To his credit, then-President George W. Bush actually proposed this 20 years ago, and the left-wing media pilloried it as “privatization,” so it went nowhere. So, what’s next? Social Security is a Ponzi scheme headed for collapse. And it’s accelerating. My Heritage Foundation colleague Rachel Greszler estimates that unfunded liabilities are getting worse by more than $1 trillion per year. The Social Security office in Alexandria, Virginia (Peter Parisi/The Daily Signal) That’s on top of our $2 trillion deficit. And don’t forget Medicare, which is even worse. The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way: Other countries have shown how to manage an sustainable national pension. As always, they served us up rusty nails and an old boot for dinner, and it’s up to voters to throw it away and make something else. A new episode of the Peter St Onge podcast just dropped, rounding up all the week’s top stories. Check it out at Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you enjoy your podcasts. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.  The post Social Security’s Financial Time Bomb Is Ticking. Why Doesn’t Congress Hear It? appeared first on The Daily Signal.
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