What compels people to journey into the unknown? Glory? Riches? Truth? In this chilling anthology of dark adventure fiction, 16 Short Stories About the Expeditions That Should Have Never Returned dares to explore the harrowing cost of curiosity-and the price of coming back changed.

From haunted Arctic voyages and jungle ruins steeped in forgotten gods, to subterranean passages that should have stayed sealed and oceanic missions that echo with something not quite human-each story plunges readers into the final moments of expeditions gone terribly wrong. These aren't tales of survival. They're echoes of obsession, grief, madness, and the terrifying aftermath of encounters with the unknowable.

Each story delivers a standalone descent into dread, weaving atmospheric horror with mythic wonder. Expect crew members who return but are no longer themselves. Expect explorers who find their goal-only to wish they hadn't. Expect ancient forces, sentient landscapes, cursed artifacts, and truths that fracture the mind.

Perfect for fans of The Terror, At the Mountains of Madness, and Annihilation, this anthology explores a single powerful question across sixteen tales: If some expeditions return, but not as they were... did they ever truly return at all?