Terrorized by the thought of death, a man lets himself be contaminated by vampirism to prolong his life indefinitely. However, when Hell and Heaven’s legions face each other in the ultimate battle, he becomes the last human being on Earth. Will he let himself be dragged peacefully into one of the afterlife kingdoms?
This collection brings together five dark fantasy tales. Vampires isolated in old castles; souls of newly deceased waiting to be taken to their final destination; quests in search of wandering bookstores; fights with monsters in the jungles of Guinea; ruins lost in the mountains of Portugal; all this and more you can find in these pages.
Heaven, Purgatory and Hell, the three realms of the afterlife. Agents from each side try to manipulate Man, making it do things it wouldn't normally do, to influence its final destination. All to get more souls and gain an advantage in the Eternal War. I can't accept it. It isn't fair for the place of eternal rest (or torment) of a person to be determined by what a third party led it to do. And I fight to prevent it. An old local legend makes me suspect that the angels of Viana do Castelo are not splitting the souls of the newly dead as mandated by law. This is the story of my attempt to discover and stop them.
Heaven, Purgatory and Hell, the three realms of the afterlife. Agents from each side try to manipulate Man, making it do things it wouldn't normally do, to influence its final destination. All to get more souls and gain an advantage in the Eternal War.I can't accept it. It isn't fair for the place of eternal rest (or torment) of a person to be determined by what a third party led it to do. And I fight to prevent it. Here, I tell the stories of some of my battles in the constant war to impose divine justice in this world, where the deities themselves are corrupt.
For years after the discovery of intelligent life on Europa, Jupiter's icy moon, the relationship between humans and natives remained friendly. In fact, a primitive, but profitable, form of trade was established between the two races. Then, without warning or clear cause, a subgroup of aliens began launching attacks during the trades. Seeing its profit margins shrink quickly, the Okabe Space Trade, a Japanese company that holds the trade monopoly in Europa, hired Major Denis Vassiliev, a veteran of the GRU during the Second Sino-Russian War, to put an end to the conflict. Will he be able to enter the alien mind and win the war?
Hordes of giant rats are attacking the villages around Grunwald forest, killing all the inhabitants. Filistan, a rat catcher, suspecting that his village might be the next, decides to find the rodents' origin and stop them. Accompanied by Tulnan, a ranger, he travels to the center of the forest, a place infested by trolls, where he will find more than what he was looking for.
During the Passage of Humaitá, one of the most important moments of the Paraguayan War, the intervention of a Guarani god changes the course of history. However, for two soldiers on opposite sides, it's a catastrophic event.
After Spain agrees to an alliance with Nazi Germany, Portugal is forced to do the same so as to avoid annexation. As a result, Portuguese soldiers at Lajes, in the Azores, come under attack from an American force that wants to occupy that strategic point. Frustrated by the stubborn resistance of the defenders, the Americans turn to a very unconventional weapon.
Something around the Arched Bridge is drowning the children of the village of Perre. Suspecting a supernatural cause, the population turns to the Church for help. However, seeing the powerlessness of their priest, three men decide to solve the problem themselves. What they'll have to do to protect their children will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
This collection includes all of Joel Puga's previously published historical and contemporary fantasy short stories. Bizarre creatures, evil spirits, fantastic ruins and spooky graveyards are just some of the things you will find within these pages.
During the day, Seidus is just a simple blacksmith. At night, nevertheless, he becomes the hero of a world that exists only inside his head. However, few ideas come to the isolated village where he lives and, over the years, his inner world has become repetitive and boring. Accompanied by Iriáris, a childhood friend, he leaves in search of new ideas, but they quickly become involved in a dangerous quest for an ancestral artifact that can save their nation from the invasion of a powerful enemy: the Godungava.
As they follow the clues leading to the artifact, Seidus, Iriáris and their new companions are forced to visit the most dangerous places in the Theocracy of Charglassume and encounter kappas, veloryans, hydras, the undead, and even dragons, while attempting to prevent their rivals from reaching their goal before them.
Filled with adventure, fantastic locations and creatures, magic and battles, this is an ideal book for any lover of epic fantasy and sword and sorcery.