Bibliography and short descriptions of some works by Kelly McCullough:
Novels:
WebMage, ACE (Penguin) 2006
Cybermancy, ACE (Penguin) 2007
CodeSpell, ACE (Penguin) 2008
MythOS, ACE (Penguin) 2009
SpellCrash, ACE (Penguin) 2010
Broken Blade, ACE (Penguin) 2011
Bared Blade, ACE (Penguin) 2012
Crossed Blades, ACE (Penguin) 2012
Blade Reforged, ACE (Penguin) 2013
Drawn Blades, ACE (Penguin) 2014
Darkened Blade, ACE (Penguin) 2015
School For Sidekicks, 1st edition, hardcover, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), August 4 2015
School For Sidekicks, Reprint edition (incl:The Totally Secret Origin of Foxman short story), trade, Square Fish (Macmillan), August 2 2016
Magic, Madness and Mischief, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), January 9, 2018
Magic, Madness and Mischief, Reprint edition, trade, Square Fish (Macmillan), January 22, 2019
Spirits, Spells, and Snark, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), January 22, 2019
Magic, Madness and Mischief Reprint edition, trade, Square Fish (Macmillan) (forthcoming)
Novels in Translation:
Die Zerborstene Klinge: (Broken Blade, German Translation), Bastei Lübbe 2013
Die Klinge von Namara: (Bared Blade, German Translation), Bastei Lübbe 2013
Krieg der Klingen: (Crossed Blades, German Translation), Bastei Lübbe 2014
Der Zorn der Klinge (Blade Reforged, German Translation), Bastei Lübbe 2016
Die Erste Klinge: (Drawn Blades, German Translation), Bastei Lübbe 2016
Der Schwur der Klinge: (Darkened Blade, German Translation), Bastei Lübbe 2017
The Academy of Metahuman Operatives: School for Sidekicks (Chinese Edition) Mar 1, 2018
Magic, Madness and Mischief, Russian Edition (Forthcoming)
Spirits, Spells, and Snark, Russian Edition (Forthcoming)
Novels, Book Club Editions:
Blade in Shadow—Omnibus Edition of Broken Blade, Bared Blade and Crossed Blades, Science Fiction Book Club, 2014
Blade Reforged, Science Fiction Book Club Ed, 2014
Drawn Blades, Science Fiction Book Club Ed, 2014
Darkened Blade, Science Fiction Book Club Ed, 2015
Novels, Audio Books:
Broken Blade, Tantor Media, 2014
WebMage, Audible 2014
Cybermancy, Audible 2014
CodeSpell, Audible 2014
MythOS, Audible 2014
SpellCrash, Audible 2014
Novels, Full Cast Audio:
Broken Blade, GraphicAudio 2015
Bared Blade, GraphicAudio 2015
Crossed Blades, GraphicAudio 2015
Blade Reforged, GraphicAudio 2016
Drawn Blades, GraphicAudio 2016
Darkened Blade, GraphicAudio 2016
Other Books:
Chronicles of the Wandering Star, It’s About Time. An illustrated collection of short stories for the Constructing Ideas in Physical Science (CIPS) project. ISBN: 1-58591-405-3, 2006
Short Fiction:
WebMage, Weird Tales #317, 1999 Reprinted in: The DNA Helix, 2003, Wildside Press (A “Best of” DNA Publications Anthology)
The Wyrm OreBoreUS, Tales of the Unanticipated #21, 2000
The Sharp End, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Vol. XVII, 2001
When Jabberwocks Attack, Tales of the Unanticipated #22, 2002
Shatter, Weird Tales #332, 2003 Reprinted: Tales from the Black Dog: ISBN 1-59971-965-7 Reprinted: Apex Magazine #53, Oct, 2013
The Uncola, Cosmic SF, #4, 2005
The Basilisk Hunter, New Wyrd; ISBN 1-59971-966-5, 2006
FimbulDinner, Weird Tales #339, 2006
Dying Season, Weird Tales #342, 2006
Interface Pattern, Fantastic Stories of the Imagination (Anthology), 2012
Rope Burns, Fantastic Stories of the Imagination (Magazine), October 2014
The Totally Secret Origin of Foxman Tor.com July 2015
Keeper of the Keys (forthcoming) (untitled Zelazny Tribute Anthology), ~2017
Poetry:
Cry Werewolf Weird Tales, (Issue #323), 2001
The Mourning After the Night of the Living Dead Weird Tales, (Issue #329) 2002
The Bees: An Edgar Allan Pooh Poem Tales of the Unanticipated, (Issue #26), 2005
Non-fiction:
As The Years Go By, Writers of the Future: The First 25 Years 2010
I Married A Fake Geek Girl; A Defense of Casual Fandom, Apex Magazine Issue #46 March 2013
Myth Has Momentum, or: How I Accidentally Deified a Jar of Jelly, Uncanny Magazine Issue #11 July 2016
Brief Descriptions of selected Books, Short Stories, and Poems:
Books:
WebMage: A fantasy-cyberpunk hybrid that revolves around Ravirn, a grandson of the Greek Fate Lachesis. In order to keep up with an ever increasing number of life threads, the Fates have upgraded to a computerized system that blends magic with programming. Of course where there are computers, there are also hackers. In the process of “testing” his Great-Aunt Atropos’s security, Ravirn, a hacker/sorcerer, and his laptop familiar, Melchior, uncover a plot that could shake the foundations of Olympus and change humanity’s relationship with Fate forever.
Cybermancy: If it looks too easy, it probably is. The sequel to WebMage sends Ravirn and Melchior on a mission to Hell and back to rescue Cerice’s familiar and her dissertation. Cyber,ancy also sees Ravirn learning what it means to be the Raven and coping with his new status among the descendants of the Titan’s as he interacts with old “friends” like the Furies and meets new ones like Hades and Persephone
CodeSpell: Necessity—the sentient computer that runs the universe—has caught a virus that crashes most of the magical internet, and Ravirn is tasked with fixing it. And Ravirn hasn’t missed the fact that whoever repairs Necessity will, for that moment, run the universe, able to remake the worlds to their liking.
MythOS: While repairing Necessity (the badly-broken sentient computer that runs the multiverse), Ravirn is thrown into a very different place, a parallel world where the Greek gods are only myths. This strange realm is ruled by the Norse pantheon of gods–Odin, Thor, and other fun-loving brutes–and their magic uses a completely different operating system. A system that Ravirn will have to hack if he ever wants to get out of Asgard alive…
SpellCrash: In this last book in the WebMage cycle Ravirn must solve the problems with Necessity once and for all or die trying. Persephone, Hades, The Furies, Zeus, Fate, and, of course Discord: The whole gang is here, and it’s time for a final reckoning.
Broken Blade: Once a fabled Blade of Namara, Aral Kingslayer fought for justice and his goddess alongside his familiar, a living shadow called Triss. Now with their goddess murdered and her temple destroyed, they are among the last of their kind. Surviving on the fringes of society, Aral becomes a drunken, broken, and wanted man, working whatever shadowy deal comes his way. Until a mysterious woman hires him to deliver a secret message-one that can either redeem him or doom him.
Bared Blade: Former temple assassin Aral Kingslayer has a price on his head and a mark on his soul. After his goddess was murdered, Aral found refuge in the shadow jack business, fixing problems for those on the fringes of Tien’s underworld. It’s a long step down from working for the Goddess of Justice, but it gives Aral and Triss—the living shadow who is his secret partner—a reason to get up in the morning.
–When two women hit a rough spot in the tavern Aral uses for an office, he and Triss decide to lend a helping hand–only to find themselves in the middle of a three-way battle to find an artifact that just might be the key to preventing a war. And with so many factions on their trail, Aral and Triss are attracting a lot more attention than anyone featured on ten thousand wanted posters can afford…
Crossed Blades: For six years, former temple assassin Aral Kingslayer has been living as a jack of the shadow trades, picking up odd jobs on the wrong side of the law. But the past is never dead, and Aral’s has finally caught up to him in the beautiful, dangerous form of Jax Seldansbane—a fellow Blade and Aral’s onetime fiancée.
–Jax claims that the forces that destroyed everything Aral once held dear are on the move again, and she needs his help to stop them. But Aral has a new life now, with a fresh identity and new responsibilities. And while he isn’t keen on letting the past back in, the former assassin soon finds himself involved in a war that will leave him with no way out and no idea who to trust…
Blade Reforged: After the fall of the goddess of justice, temple assassin Aral Kingslayer lost his purpose in life and turned to the bottle. That might have been the end of him if luck hadn’t given him a few people to help him get back on his feet—notably the irresistible Baroness Maylien Dan Marchon, who once sought his aid in claiming the throne that’s rightfully hers. Reluctant to resume the role of an assassin, he turned her down.
–But now Aral has learned that one of the few people willing to help him in his darkest days has been imprisoned by Maylien’s uncle, King Thauvik. Aral knows he can’t let an old friend die, but the alternative is to return to the life he left years ago. It was the death of Thauvik’s half brother that earned Aral the name Kingslayer, and now he is thrust into a war that will see no end until he lives up to his name…
Drawn Blades: Once one of the world’s greatest assassins, Aral Kingslayer has finally reclaimed his swords and his soul. But the forces that destroyed his patron Namara twelve years ago are still there, waiting, and his past as a Blade is never more than a shadow’s breadth away.
–In the days before the fall of his goddess, only one other rivaled Aral’s skills, Siri the Mythkiller—a woman who ruthlessly earned the title First Blade. As a friend, Aral owes her his loyalty. As a former lover, he owes her part of his heart. As a Blade, he owes her anything she asks, including his life.
–When Siri seeks Aral’s aid, he knows he must go. But as they journey towards the ancient Sylvani Empire, only time will reveal whether Aral can save the former First Blade, or if he will simply fall with her…
Darkened Blade: Aral Kingslayer has nothing to lose—and only justice to gain. Torn apart by the death of his goddess, he must avenge her in order to save himself from being lost forever….
–It’s been nine long years since the death of his patron, Namara, and exalted assassin Aral Kingslayer desperately misses the thrill and glory of being a higher power of justice. Now he is haunted by the ghosts of the past—and by the ghost of the lost goddess herself.
–When Namara calls upon Aral in a dream to seek justice for her death and the ruination of her temple, Aral must obtain the help of his fellow former Blades and his Shade familiar, Triss, to pursue the vengeance he knows Namara deserves. Even if it means attacking Heaven’s Son—and going against one of their own—in a bloody battle of epic proportions…
School for Sidekicks: Evan Quick has spent his whole life dreaming of becoming a hero. Every morning he wakes up and runs through a checklist of test to see if he’s developed powers over night, and every day it is the same thing – nothing. No flying, no super strength, no heat rays or cold beams. No invulnerability – that always hurt to check – no telepathy, no magic. Not even the ability to light a light bulb without flipping a switch. And now, he’s finally ready to give up.
—But then, the class field trip to the Mask Museum is interrupted by a super villain attack, and Evan somehow manages to survive a death ray. Even better, Evan’s favorite Mask, Captain Commanding, shows up to save them all — and when things go very wrong, it’s Evan who finds the strength to come to Captain Commanding’s rescue.
—Yet the hero’s reception Evan is expecting never happens. Before he even gets the chance to say hello, Evan is bundled away to The Academy, an institution derisively called The School for Sidekicks by its students. Forced to take classes like Banter Basics and Combat with Dinnerware, while being assigned as an ‘apprentice’ to Foxman – a Mask widely considered a has-been — Evan starts to worry that he’ll never be able to save the day…
Chronicles of the Wandering Star: In these stories, written as part of a middle school science curriculum, a multi-generation alien spaceship named The Wandering Star is stranded on Earth by a foldspace accident. The main characters are four young aliens from very different species. In the process of repairing the ship, they learn about the planet and its inhabitants as well as about fundamentals of physical science. The stories are meant to entertain, but also to explore scientific reasoning and physical phenomena including force and motion, light and color, conservation of mass and energy, small particle theory of matter, and molecular chemistry.
Short Stories – Published or forthcoming:
The Basilisk Hunter: James and Merlin are back and visiting the Australian Outback in this humorous sequel to “When Jabberwocks Attack.”
Dying Season: Jack was a farm boy with big city dreams. He wanted the magic of the theater. Urbäna glamour. He ended up living on the streets and finding a very different sort of magic. Urbäna power.
FimbulDinner: Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. They’re all wrong. It will end in dinner. When you put Odin at one end of the table, Kali at the other, and the Goddess of Discord in the kitchen, you have a recipe for disaster.
The Sharp End: Eric Waters was the last astronaut on NASA’s final mission, a flight to the outer planets. When the Phoenix lifted off, Eric couldn’t imagine wanting anything more than to bring NASA back to life. Then events forced him to expand his imagination.
Shatter: Blood and glass and haunting nightmares of a dead little boy. “Street signs have a magic all their own. They can lead you to your destination. They can direct you to your death. Ignore them at your peril.” Beware the Shatter. Beware the Urbäna.
The Uncola: Dennis used to be a working actor. Now he’s a clay pigeon. In a world where the cola wars have gone hot, even an advertising pitchman can end up in the crosshairs.
WebMage: What happens when you hack the servers the Fates use to run the world? Ravirn and his shapechanging goblin/laptop familiar are about to find out. (Chosen in a reader poll as best story of the issue.)
When Jabberwocks Attack: James was just looking for a workstudy job. He ended up as Merlin’s sidekick on Mythical of Omaha’s Magic Kingdom. Like Arthur before him, he was about to find out about the ups and downs of life with the world’s most famous wizard.
The Wyrm OreBoreUS: E.R. was a Monster Trucks Digest kind of guy. In fact, he liked anything that was big and loud, which made him the perfect pilot for one of the hundred-ton Wyrms digging a tunnel under the Atlantic Ocean. Or did it? It never pays to get too close to a dragon, even a man-made one.
Poetry – Published:
The Bees: An Edgar Allan Pooh Poem: A twisted take on Poe’s “The Bells” as seen through the eyes of Edgar Allan Pooh.
Cry Werewolf: Ever wonder whether the guy in the cube next to yours is a werewolf? Ever think that he’d be better off if he were? This poem is for you.
The Mourning After the Night of the Living Dead: or, Sometimes It Sucks to be a Vampire: With a title like that, what more can you say: or, you thought alcohol hangovers were bad.