It was rare for the people from Wangbao to come down from their mountain village, but one spring, they arrive in town with sensational news - a virgin birth. What's more, there is something very odd about the baby - he is as big as a child of three, black all over and missing a finger. The villagers whisper that he is the thunder god's son, but back in town, the local doctor knows something he is too afraid to tell. Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Madwoman on the Bridge.

The brutal realities of the dark places Su Tong depicts in this collection of novellas set in 1930s provincial China -- worlds of prostitution, poverty, and drug addiction -- belie his prose of stunning and simplebeauty. The title novella, "Raise the Red Lantern," which became a critically acclaimed film, tells the story of Lotus, a young woman whose father's suicide forces her to become the concubine of a wealthy merchant. Crushed by loneliness, despair, and cruel treatment, Lotus finds her descent into insanity both a weapon and a refuge. "Nineteen Thirty-Four Escapes" is an account of a family's struggles during one momentous year; plagued by disease, death, and the shady promise of life in a larger town, the family slowly disintegrates. Finally, "Opium Family" details the last years of a landowning clan whose demise is brought about by corruption, lust, and treachery -- fruits of the insidious crop they harvest.

Seven superb short stories from the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG! The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is coming soon to Netflix! Meet the boy who can talk to animals and the man who can see with his eyes closed. And find out about the treasure buried deep underground. A clever mix of fact and fiction, this collection also includes how master storyteller Roald Dahl became a writer. With Roald Dahl, you can never be sure where reality ends and fantasy begins. "All the tales are entrancing inventions." —Publishers Weekly

Leaves rustle underfoot in a dark wood: two little girls, extracted from their homes in wartime London, encounter something terrifying in a forest. Later when they meet as grown women, they realise the experience has coloured their lives. A dark tale about the nature of stories themselves. Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was originally published in the collection Little Black Book of Stories.

A modern fable about some peacocks and swans who allow the fear of their differences to become so great that they end up destroying each other.

MARS ATTACKS(c): Cards, comics . . . and now brand-new, all-original novels of unthinkable terror! MURDER MANSION The invasion was quick and merciless. Nothing on Earth could counter the superior technology of the interplanetary aggressors. Their first strike left worldwide defenses utterly useless. The unbeatable Martian war machine swept the countryside, spreading a reign of terror in every direction. And one small group of humans sought safety in bizarre Gelman mansion built by an eccentric millionaire. MARTIAN DEATHTRAP pits a desperate band of human defenders against a merciless Martian Death Squad. The battleground is a huge mansion filled with a labyrinth of secret passages with giant insects--and certain death-- lurking outside. For the Martians, the mission is to secure the captured ground by whatever means necessary. For the humans, the goal is to beat the odds and simply survive . . .