Clarke, you'll love Quantum Space.High above the windswept plains of Kazakhstan, three astronauts on board a Russian Soyuz capsule begin their reentry. A strange shimmer in the atmosphere, a blinding flash of light, and the capsule vanishes in a blink as though it never existed.On the ground, evidence points to a catastrophic failure, but a communications facility halfway around the world picks up a transmission that could be one of the astronauts. Tragedy averted, or merely delayed? A classified government project on the cutting edge of particle physics holds the clues, and with lives on the line, there is little time to waste.Daniel Rice is a government science investigator. Marie Kendrick is a NASA operations analyst. Together, they must track down the cause of the most bizarre event in the history of human spaceflight. They draw on scientific strengths as they plunge into the strange world of quantum physics, with impacts not only to the missing astronauts, but to the entire human race.

    Mars drafted his Mage — for the good of humanity! He should have known that wouldn’t be the end of it… Captain David Rice has a new ship, a new crew, and a new set of Jump Mages to carry him between the stars. All he wants is to haul cargo, make money and keep his head down. His past, however, is not so willing to let him go. An old enemy is reaching out from beyond the grave to destroy any chance of peace or life for Captain Rice—and old friends are only making things more complicated! All he wants is to be a businessman, but as the death toll mounts he must decide what is more important: his quiet life or the peace humanity has enjoyed for centuries…

     When such odd advice comes from the lips of a friend in a moment of peril, it sticks with you . . . and Minalan the Spellmonger, Baron of Sevendor, desperately needs some hope, right now. The mind of his poor wife, Alya, is damaged beyond repair after a selfless sacrifice, and Minalan has vowed to make her whole. Yet even the gods are powerless. As Yule approaches and Minalan contemplates despair, and a life without his beloved wife, he has run out of options . . . and hope. When magic and the gods themselves fail, a man will cling to any shred he can . . . such as a whispered phrase in the middle of battle. But following that advice means coming to terms with his loss - perhaps even remarrying, to fortify his domains and give his children stability. That seems beyond the power of the Spellmonger to do in his grief. Opening the bottle meant for an anniversary they will never share symbolizes saying good-bye to his beloved forever, and Minalan knows it. But what else can a man do when he's run out of hope?

    From the NY Times bestselling author whose books have been downloaded over a million times.When DARPA's billion-dollar program to create Artificial Superintelligence is sabotaged, US operative Cameron Carr is tasked with finding the culprit. He's been on high-stakes missions before, but this time the stakes are nothing less than the future of humanity. Because the race to evolve a superintelligent computer is on, and power players around the world will stop at nothing to get there first.In the right hands, Artificial Superintelligence could lift humanity to towering heights. But in the wrong hands, this technology could represent the greatest threat humanity has ever seen . . .Ripped from tomorrow's headlines, Infinity Born is a roller-coaster ride of a thriller that explores the deadly perils and mind-blowing possibilities that await the human race--including both extinction and immortality.As our phones and computers become ever smarter, Infinity Born takes an unblinking look at a technological tipping point that is just around the corner. One that will have a profound impact on the future course of human history."Richards is a worthy successor to Michael Crichton." (SF Book.com)"Richards is a tremendous new talent" (Stephen Coonts) who can "keep you turning the pages all night long." (Douglas Preston)Near Future Science Fiction Thrillers by Douglas E. RichardsWIRED (Wired 1)AMPED (Wired 2)MIND'S EYE (Nick Hall 1)BRAINWEB (Nick Hall 2)MIND WAR (Nick Hall 3) -- New in 2016QUANTUM LENSSPLIT SECONDGAME CHANGER -- New in 2016INFINITY BORN--New in 2017Kids Science Fiction Thrillers (9 and up, enjoyed by kids and adults alike)TRAPPED (Prometheus Project 1)CAPTURED (Prometheus Project 2)STRANDED (Prometheus Project 3)THE DEVIL'S SWORDOUT OF THIS WORLD

    So when she's offered the chance to attend her brother's wedding in a faraway kingdom, she leaps at it. In Northhelm, she'll finally have the chance to stand out. And maybe, just maybe, she'll even find romance.But not everything in the Northhelmian court is as it appears. With her brother distracted by the wedding, only Ferdinand, the ugliest man at court, will listen to Cordelia's concerns. An observant princess and a strangely amphibious soldier may be the only thing standing between all Four Kingdoms and disaster.Cordelia will have to overcome prejudice, deceit and danger if she wants to save the day and find romance at A Midwinter's Wedding.If you enjoy clean romance, adventure and intrigue, then try the books in The Four Kingdoms series now! Each book can be read as a standalone story, however, for greatest enjoyment, they should be read in order.The Four Kingdoms reading order: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea (Book One) The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood (Book Two)Happily Ever Afters: A Four Kingdoms NovellaThe Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin (Book Three)A Midwinter's Wedding: A Four Kingdoms NovellaThe Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty (Book Four)

     The campaign for AIs to be recognized as full citizens of Galaxy Proper is within reach of its extraordinary goal. The only thing that could stop it now is if an AI did something foolish…like take a space station hostage to save seven orphaned children.

    It’s the largest VRMMORPG on the planet, and the source of income that supports families around the globe. While completing a rare “First Kill” dungeon in hopes of epic loot, they discover that demons, who have not been seen in the realm for ages, have once again invaded Io. Given the chance to test a new experimental immersion system, the friends must give up their high level characters and begin again at level one. As they work through the noob zone quests, they discover that the new immersion system allows them to play in ways that hadn’t been possible before. Casting is faster. Movement more fluid. Even magic itself behaves differently. They quickly run afoul of a party of player killers, and become the targets of an entire PK guild bent on spawn camping them until they leave the game. War has been declared. The fight expands into populated areas, where innocent citizens are murdered, and player accounts are terminated. The guild works to help citizens rebuild what has been destroyed, but are repeatedly forced to stop and defend against enemy attacks. After the gods of Io and a powerful being of darkness get involved, Alexander and his friends learn the hard way that their in-game actions have consequences, both in the game, and in the real world. **This is a LITRPG novel. Which means that in addition to monster fights, dungeon runs, crafting adventures, and battles of swords and magic, there are game elements involved. If you’ve not played MMORPG’s or even tabletop RPG’s, or you don’t know what those terms mean, this book may not be for you. For the uninitiated, there is a sort of cheat-sheet narrative in the back of the book. Warning: This book contains adult language.

    It’s a hard Science Fiction exploration of what might happen if you were able to pull protons into a tiny volume and, having suppressed static repulsion, crush them together. The story examines how this new discovery affects Myr and will soon affect the world around her. Changes abound, in the company Myr works for, in the people around her, and in her family. So many unexpected technological revolutions are happening at the same time that it’s hard for Myr and her friends to come to grips with them. When word of the inventions gets out, vultures gather—wanting the tech for themselves. Some of those people will kill to get what they want…

    United by the Goddess and armed with a magical sword drawing them to those in need, Tarma and Kethry swore a blood oath to fight against evil.Oathbreakers: When Idra, leader of the Sunhawk mercenaries, failed to return from a journey to her home kingdom of Rethwellan, Tarma and Kethry set out in search of her. Instead they find a land shadowed by a dark enchantment, the claim to the throne in question, and the people of Rethwellan in terrible jeopardy.Oathblood: The sisters of sword and spell have pledged to train others to fight for their cause, starting a school for fledgling warriors and mages. But training turns out to be far more perilous than expected--and when two of their students are kidnapped, Tarma and Kethry must draw upon their combined skills to answer the call of destiny in ways they never imagined.

    But when a few unrepentant ladies join his fight to live free, the Las Vegas desert is going to light up like the 4th of July.

      In this complete collection of the high fantasy Seventh Sword series by Aurora Award–winning author Dave Duncan, Wallie Smith must face a new destiny and save an unfamiliar world from evil forces.  The Reluctant Swordsman: Wallie goes to the hospital and wakes up in the body of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by a voluptuous slave girl and an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess. When he learns the Goddess needs a swordsman, he reluctantly agrees to set off on her quest.  The Coming of Wisdom: Wallie is staring death in the face when the Goddess gives him a new body and the fabled Sapphire Sword in return for being her champion. But Wallie and his weapon quickly find themselves outmatched in a world of high-stakes magic.  The Destiny of the Sword: Wallie is entrusted by the presiding goddess with a mission to bring together all the swordsmen to finally defeat the sorcerers and their terrible technology. And while he’s not quite convinced he should oblige, goddesses can be very persuasive . . .  The Death of Nnanji: For fifteen years the truce has held, but now sorcerers have started killing swordsmen again and swordsmen traitors are aiding them. Wallie, known now as Shonshu, must ride out to fight the war he hoped would never come, and his failure or success will determine the fate of the world for the next thousand years.

    The creation of a government controlled Super Soldier.And no one asked if he wanted to take part.So, he escaped. And for the last fifty years has been living in the backroads and the small unknown towns of America. Never aging. Searching for a cure. At the same time avoiding the dark ops experts who are looking for him.But just because he can become a seven foot, four hundred pound killing machine, it doesn't mean that Brenner is bad. In fact, he sticks to a strict code.And like the High Plains drifters of old, anyone who crosses the Wolfman's code is sure to suffer. They took his humanity ... and now it's time for payback.

     Brilliant and gifted, Mouse is a mental whiz who fails utterly in his initial attempts to join a superhero team. With his dream ostensibly out of reach, he eventually ends up working at an electronics repair shop, toiling in relative obscurity but seemingly content and at peace with the hand fate has dealt to him. However, a surprise visit from the Alpha League – the world’s premier team of superheroes – changes all of that in a heartbeat. Implicated in a crime that he knows nothing about, Mouse is forced to go on the run. Hot on his heels is not only the Alpha League, but also an anonymous faction whose motives are questionable at best. But despite a lack of discernable super powers, Mouse – adroit and nimble in body as well as mind – is determined to stay one step ahead of his pursuers. It soon becomes clear that he is at the center of events with far broader implications than anyone ever imagined, and Earth itself is in danger. However, with few resources and even fewer allies, saving the planet won’t be easy, and even a cerebral crackerjack like Mouse might be forced to admit defeat.

     Born into slavery in New York City, Neema has fought demons for nearly 300 years. So she thinks she knows everything about the demon world. Until a gathering of demons leads her to a recent murder. And the murder points her to a fifty-year-old missing persons case. As Neema races to uncover the truth, she soon learns that what she doesn't know might not kill her. But there are some fates worse than death.

    It outrages pirate captain Kohia Jekyll’s sense of justice. No one deserves to die agonizingly of radiation poisoning, especially not on the planet humanity had to evacuate seven generations ago. So Kohia intends to close the prison camp down. She didn’t count on an infuriating shaman healer hitching a ride aboard her starship. Nairo Bloodstone isn’t going to Earth to be a hero. He learned the hard way that when you’re a healer, doing your best for people is never enough. One miracle leads them to demand another and another. Heroes die exhausted and alone, and the galaxy continues with billions of people still clamoring for a miracle-worker to save them. No, Nairo isn't going to Earth to be a hero. He intends to change what it means to be human. *** "Shattered Earth" is a stand-alone novella in the Shamans & Shifters Space Opera series.

    She is determined to help him get the surgery he needs to walk again. Her dreams come to an abrupt halt when she rescues a man from drowning.How does he repay her? Captain Storm Orath abducts her, claims her as his chosen mate, and takes her to a magical island that is centuries behind times with barbaric customs.For Lexi to make it home to her family, she must fight the lure of the man and the island he controls, and escape, or stay trapped forever.This is Part I of a 3-Part New Adult UF Serial about a woman and her journey of discovery, adventure, and unforgettable love.

    Misunderstood. Worshipped. Hated. Murdered at birth. Their time to step into the light has come.An ancient prophecy foretold their coming, the chosen few who will bring peace to a land embroiled in a century of mistrust and war. When kings start dying, that hope and belief swiftly turns to fear. Roan Loren is one of the fatemarked, but has hidden his mark of power his entire life, fearing the damage it might cause to those around him.A great evil is coming. He can't hide anymore.Enter a world of magic and dragons, kings and queens, and victory and defeat, during a time when honor and valor still meant something.

    By the late 23rd century the disaster that they were attempting to prevent was at hand, and there was no reversing the damage. Now two scientists, both more than a 150 years apart are brought together to find a way to change the mistakes of the past and try to save a future that can only be done through the destiny of these two individuals. The love they will find together will not only determine the fate of their own lives, but the fate of the world.Can the two of them turn back the clock and reset the future of discovery?It is a love story more than 200 years in the making that will define a destiny that will survive all time.

    Le Guin’s acclaimed Hainish series, which tells the history of the Ekumen, the galactic confederation of human colonies founded by the planet Hain. First published in 1995 as Four Ways to Forgiveness, and now joined by a fifth story, Five Ways to Forgiveness focuses on the twin planets Werel and Yeowe, two worlds whose peoples, long known as “owners” and “assets,” together face an uncertain future after civil war and revolution.            In “Betrayals” a retired science teacher must make peace with her new neighbor, a disgraced revolutionary leader. In “Forgiveness Day,” a female official from the Ekumen arrives to survey the situation on Werel and struggles against its rigidly patriarchal culture. Embedded within "A Man of the People,” which describes the coming of age of Havzhiva, an Ekumen ambassador to Yeowe, is Le Guin’s most sustained description of the Ur-planet Hain. "A Woman’s Liberation” is the remarkable narrative of Rakam, born an asset on Werel, who must twice escape from slavery to freedom. Joined to them is “Old Music and the Slave Women,” in which the charismatic Hainish embassy worker, who appears in two of the four original stories, returns for a tale of his own. Of this capstone tale Le Guin has written, “the character called Old Music began to tell me a fifth tale about the latter days of the civil war . . . I’m glad to see it joined to the others at last.”

    Easy as pie. If only life were that simple. When she comes home to find her parents murdered by an elf — yeah, an elf — she’s thrust into a world of magic, mystery, and a madman who wants her dead. The question is… why?Merged with a powerful artifact created by an evil mastermind, Victoria is hunted, stabbed, burned, shot, and attacked in the street… but she’s a survivor, damn it, and no one’s taking her out. She falls in love with the magical underground city of Fairhaven, and when the elf who assassinated her parents comes after her new home, she’s not taking any prisoners. This series is an enchanting urban fantasy saga with a steampunk twist. Your only regret will be not starting it sooner. WARNING! This story contains cursing because these eighteen-year-olds are honorable rebels. If cursing offends you, you might not like this book.

    With each generation more of the children from the village left than decided to stay. One day a man who had left more than a decade before returned. He was accompanied by a strange woman with pointed ears and their daughter. The family quietly worked to establish a new farm as they became part of the small community. However, they came with a secret that would bring disaster to the village and create something the lands had never seen before. The only question is, will the simple love of this family hold true and win out over the approaching tragedy.

    She was raped, beaten, and starved. Yet she survived. She escaped to become a citizen of the Commonwealth of Free Planets, and joined the Commonwealth Space Force. Over the next twenty years, she turned the CSF into the most powerful and dangerous space fleet that history had ever known. Jan Childers rose to lead that fleet in the Commonwealth's darkest hour, against freedom's most deadly enemy -- Earth itself.

    Although, they are physically close in the tight space of the aircraft, Rege, Mark and Kit are at their farthest distance apart emotionally. Until the unthinkable happens. Two hours into the flight, missiles streak across the star-filled sky, the detonation of a nuclear warhead causes the plane to make a forced landing. A family torn apart are now together living the inconceivable. Circumstances outside of their shelter are dire and the future far from certain. America is devastated and crippled by the nuclear attacks. Rege, Mark and Kit must chart out their path deciding what to do and where to go. What is right? What is wrong? Not only for the Rolland Family, but for everyone, survival is the top priority. Each day is a fight against the odds for water and food, while holding on to every ounce of hope they can live long enough to see tomorrow.

    Jake Stewart doesn't care, he needs to earn a living.He fled his station in the outer Belt, enrolled in the merchant academy, and snagged a scholarship. The future looks bright. But a crooked boss, some paperwork shenanigans, and a freeloading best friend put him in a bind. When he's accused of a murder he didn't commit he goes on the run from the Planetary Militia. There's only his wits and a suspiciously helpful pretty girl between him and jail. Can he trust her to prove his innocence? Or does she have another agenda?

    Qiouyi Lu, reprinted fiction by Kameron Hurley, essays by Sam J. Miller, Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, Shveta Thakrar, Dawn Xiana Moon, and Paul Booth, poetry by Cassandra Khaw, Brandon O’Brien, Bogi Takács, and Lisa M. Bradley, interviews with Stephen Graham Jones and Sarah Pinsker by Julia Rios, a cover by Julie Dillon, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.

    This kick-ass urban fantasy series has been compared to books by Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Karen Marie Moning, and more. You're sure to enjoy it if you like spunky heroines, kick-ass fight scenes, wild new worlds and sizzling, slow-building romance. Book Four: Marked by Magic With the rebellion now in full swing, shifter-mage hybrid Sunaya Baine has no time for distractions. She must find out the true identity of the Benefactor and pull the plug on the Resistance's funding before they succeed in their grand plans for genocide and destruction. But the heat is upon Sunaya now, and it demands to be sated. And since the Resistance has marked her for death, she can no longer walk freely amongst the very people she is trying to save. Death, danger, and desire hem Sunaya in on all sides, and with her friends caught up in their own problems, she cannot truly count on anyone except herself. Does Sunaya have what it takes to wrangle her unruly shifter instincts and embrace her heritage as a mage once and for all? Or will she succumb to the forces around her, and finally lose her way? Book Five: Betrayed by Magic For most women, being newly engaged to the love of your life is a time of celebration. But Sunaya's happiness is overshadowed by loss. Her friends have not returned from their quest to bring back Noria, and though the Resistance has been beaten back, they are far from vanquished. When the Minister sends Sunaya and Iannis to destroy an important Resistance stronghold, Sunaya is torn between the desire to help her friends and defend her country. But soon she finds that the two are not as unrelated as she imagined... and in order to accomplish both, she must put her trust in a man who has betrayed her. Book Six: Deceived by Magic If Sunaya and Iannis thought there would be time to rest after returning from their last mission, they are sorely mistaken. The Minister sends them to face off with yet more dangerous enemies - this time in a lawless port in remote Garai, where pirates and slavers thrive, and everyone is fair game. To hide their undercover mission, Sunaya and Iannis travel to Garai as official guests to a state funeral. But Sunaya's luck runs out when she finds out her father is on the guest list, and worse, runs straight into him and his family. For now, her deadly secret is safe. But once they discover her true identity, they may not be willing to suffer her alive... Additional books in the series that are not included in this set: Burned by Magic (book 1) Bound by Magic (book 2) Hunted by Magic (book 3) Future titles to be announced Scroll up and get the first three titles in this amazing boxed set for 33% off!

    Ostracized from her clan and forced to hide her forbidden abilities, she’s never fit in. So when she’s offered a position at the Enforcers Guild, Solantha’s crime-fighting organization, she jumps at the chance to prove her worth. But when Sunaya swaggers onto her first day at the job, the last thing she expects it to be partnered up with a spoiled rich girl. Annia is a Lone Wolf enforcer--one who doesn’t play well with others. The two of them will have to play ball though, because a little girl has gone missing, and if they don’t find her soon, she might just fall prey to Solantha’s dark underbelly of magic and crime.

     (*Available July, 2017)Samra Rose is in trouble. Living in a colony floating high above the clouds, she’s been far away from anything resembling an adventure, but when aerial raiders carry off her home—with her inside—she gets more excitement than she ever wished for. Her best friend, Kipling, and a Grounder boy with a skyship will take to the air in pursuit, but all three will face dangers they’ve never imagined. The aerial ocean is a turbulent place full of deadly creatures and cutthroat pirates. If they hope to survive, they’ll need to fight for their place in the Heights and confront those who have already claimed it.Follow the adventures of three unlikely heroes as they abandon the safety of home to seek a destiny aloft in the clouds. Fans of grand science fiction universes, steampunk airships, and daring pirate adventures will discover a thrilling new world of action, villainy, and friendship. Make the leap into the sky today! Find out if you have what it takes to soar...

    Inspector Thomas Sullivan has a past that is about to catch up with him.Sent to the developing planet Beta Prime to clean up its corruption and crime, Sullivan is saddled with a wet behind the ears rookie detective for a partner. An already difficult job is made more so by the haunting presences of a mysterious young woman.A crazed serial killer and the theft of life saving drugs are just the start of Sullivan's troubles. Betrayal by his own police force just might finish him off.Faced with solving multiple crimes at once to save himself, who can Sullivan trust in his new home, the eternally cold Capital City?-- an ex-con cabbie-- a priest who knows too much about crime-- the owner of a neighborhood tavern and diner with a shady past-- a mysterious beauty who haunts Sullivan from his past-- his idealistic and naive young partnerDesperate for redemption for mistakes in his past, can Sullivan even trust himself?The debut novel from K.C. Sivils, The Predator and The Prey is a crime thriller set in the gritty urban setting of Capital City 200 years in the future. Fans of cross genre storytelling such as Joss Wheadon's space westerns and Alex P. Berg's Urban Fantasy/Crime noir stories should enjoy the adventures of Inspector Thomas Sullivan as he seeks to deliver justice to the innocent citizens of Capital City and the planet Beta Prime.

     Captain Aurora Hawke loves a challenge. But her first mission comes with an unexpected catch. She has to accept the help of Cade Ellis, a man she’s spent years trying to forget. She doesn’t want his help. She wants to blow him out an airlock. Or let Jonarel Clarek, her overprotective engineer, tear him to pieces with his bare hands. Instead, she must convince the two hot-headed males to work together without killing each other. She’ll do whatever it takes. The survival of a planet depends on it. But what starts out as an investigation into a potential biological attack quickly reveals a much more insidious threat, thrusting Aurora into a face-to-face confrontation with a mysterious enemy of incredible destructive power. And triggering an unearthly ability she’s kept secret for twenty years…

    Two years later, he lost them in the blink of an eye, leaving Tony rudderless and without purpose. Then, on a dark, moonless night, in the skies above 1947 New Mexico, he has an encounter that will change humanity forever. However, when an accident threatens to unleash unimaginable destruction, Tony must race against time and unwinding plots to save us ... and maybe himself along the way. Grab your copy and start reading today! What the Critics are Saying KirkusReviews.com: "Cole tackles the first-contact scenario with bombastic flair. His vibrant prose delivers the high-resolution imagery of a Hollywood blockbuster. A technologically riveting dream for sci-fi action fans." AudiobookReviewer.com: "SECTOR 64 was a highly imaginative action-packed apocalyptic assault on your mind." IndieReader.com: "SECTOR 64 is an engaging book from the very first page to the final words of the Epilogue." Audiobook-Heaven.com: "Cole has a good thing going ... His descriptions of aerial battle and his knowledge of the aircraft themselves fascinated me ... Sector 64 is a great read." Scroll up and grab your copy today!

    . . and the men and women who fought to create it.Earth is no longer the center of the universe.After the invention of the faster-than-light jump drive, humanity is rapidly establishing new colonies. But the vast distances of space mean that the old order of protection and interstellar law offered by Earth has ceased to exist.When a nearby world attacks, the new colony of Glenlyon turns to Robert Geary, a young former junior fleet officer, and Mele Darcy, a onetime enlisted Marine. With nothing but improvised weapons and a few volunteers, Geary and Darcy must face down warships and armored soldiers--or die trying.As battles rage and pirates take an increasing toll throughout the colonies, the only hope for lasting peace lies with Carmen Ochoa, a "Red" from the anarchic world of Mars, and Lochan Nakamura, a failed politician. They have a plan: to lay the groundwork for mutual defense that could someday grow into an alliance. But if their efforts don't succeed, the growing power of aggressor worlds could turn regions of space founded on freedom into battlefields between the first interstellar empires...

    For hundreds of years, the danger posed by colliding worlds has been ignored as a crackpot theory, until now, and now it's too late. Maelstrom contains three novellas set in the Colliding Worlds universe (Collision, Impact and the conclusion, Maelstrom). Collision was commissioned by Vanquish Motion Pictures for possible development in film or on television.

    So nobody's surprised when he unwittingly makes a deal with an undead alchemist. Soon Omen and his friend Templar find themselves battling bloodthirsty giants, devious Night Dwellers, and arcane magic — all while trying to survive the notorious arena fights of the city of Hex.But when Omen accidentally frees a talking cat, disaster follows.In the shadows of the city of Hex an ancient evil awaits.Can our young heroes protect the cat and the people of Hex, or will they end up as an undead nightmare's main course?

    The bet pays off, resulting in a story that will be popular with book clubs and fun to discuss.” —Associated Press New York City, New Year’s weekend, 2001. Jillian Guthrie, a troubled young journalist, stumbles onto a tantalizing mystery: the same man, unaged, stands alongside Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gandhi in three different photographs spanning eighty-five years of history.In another part of town, Will—an enigmatic thirty-three-year-old of immense charm, wit, and intelligence—looks forward to the new year with hope and trepidation. Haunted by his secret past and shadowed by a dangerous stranger, he finds himself the object of an intense manhunt spearheaded by an ambitious Vatican emissary and an elderly former UN envoy named Hanna.During the next forty-eight hours, a catastrophic event unites Will, Jillian, and Hanna—and puts them in the crosshairs of a centuries-old international conspiracy. Together, the three must unravel an ancient curse that stretches back two millennia and beyond, and face a primal evil that threatens their lives and thousands more.Award-winning science-fiction mastermind Kenneth Johnson blends epic adventure, romance, and evocative drama into an intense supernatural thriller rooted in one of the great untold legends of human history.

    Each writer will explore a different facet of the post-apocalyptic world, so readers will be treated to a wide and variety of action-adventure short stories.

    This series is set in an alternative urban fantasy setting, with plenty of magic and supernatural elements. There are three full-length novels, with more titles releasing in 2017. These books are packed with laugh-out-loud humor, zany adventure, wildly imaginative mysteries, and supernatural creatures. Each title in this cozy paranormal mystery series is a full book with a complete mystery.INCLUDED IN THIS GREAT BUNDLE: #1 - Wisteria Witches #2 - Wicked Wisteria #3 - Wisteria Wonders

    Rayek, influenced by the dark, dangerous spirit of Winnowill, fights back and fights for control of his very nature. And the Wolfriders fight to track down their chief who's own spirit hangs in the balance. Winner of the Golden Pen Award from the Young Adult Advisory Committee! Collects: ElfQuest: The Final Quest #13-#18

    Readers will certainly find his newest thriller to be as chilling as it is exciting." --Nicholas Sansbury Smith USA Today bestselling author of Hell Divers Keep your head down. Do what you’re told. It’s easier that way. Walter Lawrence Baucom is used to the troops that patrol Agrarian District 89. He grew up with the sight of Chinese and Russian soldiers, right alongside the American ones. They are the Coalition. “The Three Brothers,” they call themselves. They claim that they are there to help. And he thinks that if he doesn’t rock the boat, then they will never have a reason to break in his door and disappear him, like they did to his brother. But when a Chinese captain is kidnapped by resistance members, Walter is suddenly thrust into a fight he never wanted. A fight where there are many sides, but very few allies. As things in District 89 quickly spiral out of control and the borders are closed by Coalition troops, Walter will have to make a decision: What is he willing to fight for? His life? His freedom? His family?

     “If a miracle happens and I somehow manage to kill this vampire psychopath, my prize is the chance to save a girl, and become one of twenty-four Advocates who decide and enforce the laws that govern the millions of monsters that roam the earth eating babies for breakfast. I imagine they’re not going to be too happy about having a human as a member of their club. Screw my life. How do I get myself into these things?” As a San Francisco Public Defender, Colt Valentine thinks he’s seen it all, heard it all, and knows it all. So, when a well-dressed man claiming to be a sixteen-hundred-year-old Vampire suddenly appears, offering Colt a job at a private law firm and claiming things that go bump in the night like Vampires, Witches and Weres, are not only living among us, but live under their own legal system, Colt is skeptical. That is, until he sees a video of a human family being savagely murdered by something Colt never imagined existed, not even in his darkest nightmares. “Just another routine day at the office, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary—other than the fact that, the judge has a giant scorpion tail, the defense attorney’s a vampire, and the defendant’s a werespider who would very much like to rip my head off and drink me dry.” Colt is a great trial lawyer, trained by the best, but even he begins to doubt himself as he is immersed in this dark world of magic, monsters, and murder. Colt tries to balance his old life and his new life, while struggling to obtain justice under a set of arcane laws that govern a society that views humans as nothing more than their next meal. The worst part of his new job is that, if he loses, he could lose more than just a trial, he could lose his life.

    "I'm powerful! I'm the most powerful super villain in the WORLD!" "Of course you are," Rochester says. "She is?" Sam asks with a look of unbelief. "I am!" I say, giving him a dark look. "She is," Doris agrees in a dry tone. "She's not the most evil, or bloodthirsty, or violent, or even ... well, villainous, but she's probably the most powerful." Cape High Villainy: A Side Story includes short stories about Panther, Skye and her Deadly Darlin's, Phoebe Woods, Shadowman, Cubby, and various other side character villains from the Cape High Universe.

    Treated like a stranger in her own kingdom, Ariah has learned to live in the shadows. She catches the eye of her life long crush and an unlikely ally as she comes into her own powers. She struggles to find truth and trust along a dangerous journey. Only one thing is certain; nothing will ever be the same for her again. Enemies come to light and distrust spreads. She is no longer safe; will she make the right decision on who to trust? Will she be able to keep her growing powers hidden? Only time will tell in the dawning ascent.

    It includes the following titles: They Fight Three Giants From the Bowels of Hell Hounds Tossing the Salaad The Fuccubus Fistin' the Furious Pixie Dicks If you've already purchased all of these books, there is nothing new for you here. If you haven't yet purchased any, you can save a few bucks by buying this collection. If you've only purchased some of these already, you'll have to do some math.

    Desperation launches her into a maelstrom of conspiracy and deception, where she must choose between betraying her kingdom to gain her freedom and losing everything to save the life of the prince who has stolen her heart.Goldheart: A Retelling of RumpelstiltskinElaine is a gifted artist, imprisoned by a madman for the sake of her talent. Even with the help of a handsome and mysterious benefactor, she may not be able to paint her way to freedom, and could be forced to sacrifice everything to protect the ones she loves.Pirouette: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing PrincessesPrincess Ilani has been forgotten by her people—the price for her forbidden magic. But when her twelve sisters are trapped by a deception that threatens to tear their kingdom apart, she must come out of hiding and join forces with a charming foreigner, who may not be telling the whole truth about his motives for choosing to help.The Andari Chronicles is a series of interconnected fairy tale retellings that sparkle with wit, intrigue, romance and suspense.

    Lieutenant Sam Bitka finds himself commanding a starship against an alien enemy who always seems one step ahead of him.Lieutenant Sam Bitka, U.S. Naval Reserve, is getting used to civilian life when he is called back to active duty. Tensions between Earth and the alien Varoki are on the rise, and Sam is assiged as tactical officer aboard the deep space destroyer USS Puebla. Dispatched to the distant world of K'tok to protect human colonists, he wants nothing more than to serve out his active duty time and get back to his civilian life. But when the Varoki launch a crippling surprise attack against the Earth coalition fleet, Sam finds himself suddenly in command of the USS Puebla, a job he is far from certain he can discharge successfully. What’s more, mounting evidence points to a much larger and more sinister alien plan. Now, Sam must deal with faltering leadership in the human task force and an alien enemy who always seems one step ahead of them. Time for Sam to step up and rise to the challenge of command.Praise for Chain of Command:  “Chadwick’s heavy hitter succeeds at teeth-gritting action scenes, deep psychological portraits of diverse characters and societies, and abundant puzzles and mysteries. All . . . mixed in seamlessly with the vivid tragedies of war and balanced with dark humor.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)"...strong characterization and the briskness of the plot should please. Fans of military sf and of Chadwick, in particular, should give it a look."—Booklist"Chain of Command is very smartly put together… Chadwick gets the details right, whether he's talking about the effects of prolonged weightlessness or the intricacies of geo and interstellar politics and economics… a solid piece of Mil-SF writing that pulls from many historical sources and manages to convey a lot of what the Surface Navy is like…. it isn't the steel hulls that make the navy tough, it's the sailors that crew them."—SFRevue  About Come the Revolution: “[A]dventure, family secrets and humor. . . . The plot is as hard as the science Chadwick uses. . . . [E]ngages readers. First-rate science fiction; it moves at a fast pace throughout.”—Daily News of Galveston County "Chadwick offers an exciting military SF story set on the Varoki home planet of Hazz’Akato in his follow up to How Dark the World Becomes...Chadwick, a leading designer of military and science-fiction board- and role-playing games, knows his way around a battlefield...eccentric  cohorts are entertaining, and a few surprises guarantee that readers will be seeing more of this series."—Booklist "This sequel to How Dark the World Becomes is a fast-paced, action-packed sf adventure. Readers new to Chadwick’s series will be able to start here without too much trouble; essential background information is given, and the author leaps straight into an original story set two years after the previous entry.”—Library JournalAbout How Dark the World Becomes: “How Dark the World Becomes is a crackling debut novel that speaks of great things to come! It's whip-smart, lightning-fast and character-driven—in short it has everything required to be totally satisfying. Highly recommended." —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of Assassin’s Code “. . . [a] far off, hard scrabble intergalactic underworld . . . fast-paced intergalactic adventure full of far-flung alien intrigue.”—Astroguyz " . . . thrilling space adventure . . . I was reminded of Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict novels and Mark L. Van Name's Jon & Lobo adventures."—SFCrowsnest

    Includes the prequel novella Dawn of Eden and complete novels The Immortal Rules, The Eternity Cure, and The Forever Song.WHAT IF HAVING A CHANCE TO SAVE HUMANITY MEANT BECOMING WHAT YOU HATE AND FEAR MOST?In the near future, the human population has been decimated by a virus--and vampires have come out of the darkness to control the remaining a oeblood cattlea ? they need to survive. In this destroyed world, Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of the vampires who have no mercy for humankind. Until the night Allie herself dies…and becomes one of the monsters.Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend--Eden, a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. But hiding her identity is nearly impossible as she comes to know and admire her companions...and starts to fall for a human. Soon Allie will have to decide what--and who--is worth dying for…again.Originally published in April 2012, 2013, 2014.

    This would have worked out better for all involved if they hadn’t arrived after a mutated plague wiped out half the planet, turned the rest into shambling, near-unstoppable animals, and basically destroyed human civilization. You know—your standard apocalypse. The Krakau’s first impulse was to turn their ships around and go home. After all, it’s hard to establish diplomatic relations with mindless savages who eat your diplomats. Their second impulse was to try to fix us. A century later, human beings might not be what they once were, but at least they’re no longer trying to eat everyone. Mostly.Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos is surprisingly bright (for a human). As a Lieutenant on the Earth Mercenary Corps Ship Pufferfish, she’s in charge of the Shipboard Hygiene and Sanitation team. When a bioweapon attack by an alien race wipes out the Krakau command crew and reverts the rest of the humans to their feral state, only Mops and her team are left with their minds intact.Escaping the attacking aliens—not to mention her shambling crewmates—is only the beginning. Sure, Mops and her assortment of space janitors and plumbers can clean the ship, but flying the damn thing is another matter. As they struggle to keep the Pufferfish functioning and find a cure for their crew, they stumble onto a conspiracy that could threaten the entire alliance.A conspiracy born from the truth of what happened on Earth all those years ago…

    PLUS: Essays, letter column, and more! 100% Grade A satire. Accept no substitutes.

     Sixteen-year-old Jason chooses exile and expects a hardscrabble life but instead finds a thriving, supportive community. While exploring his identity as a transgender boy he also discovers adventure: kraken attacks, naval battles, a flying island built by asexual people, and a daring escape involving glow-in-the-dark paint. He also has a desperate crush on Sky, a spirited buccaneer girl, but fear keeps him from expressing his feelings. When Jason and his companions discover the Republicans are planning a war of extermination, they rally the people of the Rainbow Islands to fight back. Shy, bookish Jason will have to find his inner courage or everything and everyone he loves will be lost forever.

    None of them have ever checked out.Peter Childress and Charlie Womack are successful engineers on their way to Phoenix for an important presentation. But one of Charlie’s infamous “shortcuts” has gotten them good and lost once again. As night falls, the pair stumble across the Infinity Hotel and the promise of a meal, fuel and a good night’s sleep before starting off fresh in the morning is too good to pass up.But while Charlie immediately takes to the hotel’s amazing amenities, Peter begins to uncover some of the hotel’s dark secrets – a seemingly unlimited number of floors, guests that appear out of time and place and a next morning that never seems to come. Worse still, the entrance to the Infinity has disappeared and no other apparent exit back to the outside world is in sight.Now, under the watchful eyes of the hotel’s manager and front desk clerk, Peter searches for a way back out and uncovers the horrible truth behind the mystery of the Infinity Hotel.

    Out for a night of carousing with her friends at a third rate carnival on a backwater planet, she walks into the tent of a fake fortune teller and finds herself confronting the most intriguing man she’s ever seen. But something’s wrong, ominous currents lie beneath the surface of their encounter and Larissa can’t leave well enough alone. Samell, a powerful, high born empathic priest, has been kidnapped from his own primitive planet along with a number of his people, and sold to the shady operator of an interstellar carnival. Kept enslaved, pretending to be a fortune teller while forced by his captor to steal information from the minds of all who come before him, Samell despairs of every breaking free. Until Larissa walks into his tent and he recognizes the warrior who might mean the difference between life and death. The situation becomes dire when Larissa and Samell come to the attention of the Shemdylann pirates who kidnapped him in the first place and the deadly Mawreg, aliens who threaten the Sectors. Can she save herself and the empathic alien noble, and derail the Mawreg plot against the Sectors? And will the soldier end up with her prince when all’s said and done?

    From the ruins of this cataclysm, a race of beings emerged from the sea bestowing knowledge and culture upon humanity, saving us from our selfish drive toward extinction. Some say this race were “ancient aliens” who came to assist our evolution.But what if they weren’t alien at all? What if they evolved right here on Earth, alongside humans . . . and they are still here? And, what if the World’s governments already know?***Kelly Graham is a narcissistic self-assured freelance photographer specializing in underwater assignments. While on a project in the Amazon with his best friend, Chris D'Souza, a mysterious and beautiful government official, Freya Nilsson, enters Kelly’s life and turns it upside down. Her simple request to retrieve a strange object from deep underwater puts him in the middle of an international conspiracy. A conspiracy that threatens to change the course of human history.www.childrenofthefifthsun.com

    But the past is hard to escape. The 'City has always been a dangerous place to live: now it's lethal. Not only are the crime lords exploiting its lawless streets, it is also the unwitting test bed for a sinister corporate technology. As Jaz tries to find an old friend who needs him, can a new ally help? Can he even be trusted? 'Trust A Few' is the first book in 'Haruspex', a tense new, sci-fi trilogy from Fortune's Fools.

    The voice of the Emperor in the wild. A secretive and dangerous job, hunting down those deemed a threat to the Emperor's rule...whether monster or man. Twisted and bitter, he heads down a dark path to hunt a nightmare from his youth.This is his story.The first instalment of a new series, David Oliver's debut novel features mythical beasts, epic sword duels, dark rituals and a friendship for the ages. Following in the footsteps of authors such as Mark Lawrence, Joe Abercrombie and Brian McClellan, The Great Hearts melds gritty, vivid action with the soft, warm purr of a gigantic panther.

    You have twelve books and well over one million words of zombie goodness. THE DEAD WALK! Welcome to the world of T.W. Brown's DEAD saga. This raw, violent, and brutal world isn't populated with military supermen and women, or preppers that have been waiting for the human extinction event to arrive. This is a world of normal people...some good, some bad...and some pure evil. This is a global look at the end of the world. Follow Steve and his group as you see the apocalypse unfold through a single person's eyes. With The Geeks, you meet four young men who thought a zombie apocalypse would be cool...and quickly discover that it really isn't. In the Vignettes, you will get short glimpses of the state the world has fallen into. Some will only be a single offering. Others might stick around for a while, but rest assured...NOBODY IS SAFE. Welcome to T.W. Brown's DEAD world.

    A king of kings- a dark king. He ruled the land like he ruled his bed. Or, at least that's what they say. Complete control. He needed it- thrived on it. He was power, he was dark, and he was beautiful. They say he was a descendant of the first wolves- of shapeshifters so fierce they could kill with barely a glance. He was respected, revered. Feared. The King of the North. And we were the idiots sneaking into his territory.

    It’s said that every broken world needs a hero. Will this hero wind up as broken as the dying city he’s sworn to protect?

    Like a form of multistable perceptual phenomena, Anti-Gone exists in ambiguity.

    Due to a virus that affects male embryos in the womb, there is a shortage of men. For decades, her people have enticed ships to their planet and tricked the men into staying. However, a ship hasn’t been spotted in eight years. So when the blip finally shows on the radar, Taryn is determined to conquer the newcomers at any cost to ensure her people’s survival. Prince Kason tro de Vallen needs to find a suitable planet for his people to colonize. The Kelderans are running out of options despite the fact one is staring them in the face—Planet Jasvar. Because a group of Kelderan scientists disappeared there a decade ago never to return, his people dismiss the planet as cursed. But Kason doesn’t believe in curses and takes on the mission to explore the planet to prove it. As his ship approaches Jasvar, a distress signal chimes in and Kason takes a group down to the planet’s surface to explore. What he didn’t expect was for a band of females to try and capture him. As Taryn and Kason measure up and try to outsmart each other, they soon realize they’ve found their match. The only question is whether they ignore the spark between them and focus on their respective people’s survival or can they find a path where they both succeed?

    Description:- The Burning Page The third title in Genevieve Cogman's clever and exciting The Invisible Library series, The Burning Page is an action-packed literary adventure! When it's your job to save the day - where do you start? Librarian spy Irene has standards to maintain, especially while on probation. And absconding from a mission via a besieged building doesn't look good. But when her escape route home goes up in flames, what's a spy to do? However, it seems Gates back to the Library are malfunctioning across dozens of worlds. Worse still, her nemesis Alberich is responsible -and he plans to annihilate the Library itself. The Masked City Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he's been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds. Kai's dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people - and the forces of order and chaos themselves. The Invisible Library The first in a gripping, adventurous series, The Invisible Library is the astounding debut from Genevieve Cogman. Irene must be at the top of her game or she'll be off the case - permanently. . . Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission - to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book.

    In fact, his main concern is "How long until the government finds me?" Now the owner of a Mobile Network Droid and enrolled as a beta-tester for a brand new extraterrestrial package delivery system, Zane Pendon and Rob, a self-aware advertising drone, have to navigate the intricacies of shopping at home while avoiding arousing any suspicion from the Solar Alliance of Independent Planets and the US government, both of which are very interested in recovering the wayward piece of technology. However, it won't be long before worlds collide and mankind meets alien life. But with their status as intergalactic fugitives, Zane and Rob have their work cut out for them trying to stay alive and under the radar. Can alien infomercials save the world? Of course not. But they just might save Zane and his family.

     This special edition bundle contains all five books in the acclaimed Blade Asunder Series. Bereaved and exiled from his homeland, Ganry ekes out a living as a wandering mercenary. A contract to protect a fifteen year old princess sees him embark on a quest across the kingdom. Confronted with danger at every turn, they get help from some unlikely companions. And Ganry discovers that there is more at stake than his own survival. Contains all five books in the series: Mercenary Guardian Warden Champion Sentinel

    Robot meets UnReal in a story of celebrities and anarchists, reality shows and evil corporations, romance and self-discovery.Nineteen-year-old Wren Iver is nothing more than a dying girl with cancer, but when megastar Sloan Lux dies right before filming starts on the year’s most anticipated reality show, producers scramble to secretly replace her—with Wren. She’s swept into Hollywood and promised a cure by VidaCorp, the nation’s richest pharmaceutical company, for simply replacing Lux. It’s a deal Wren can’t refuse.The decision could get her killed, because she isn’t the only cast member with ulterior motives.The Whitebirds, a social anarchist group, has infiltrated the show, and they’ll stop at nothing to use Sloane Lux’s fame to derail VidaCorp’s efforts to legalize their controversial, life-changing drug—a drug that might kill more people than it saves. Caught in the middle of a game between a powerful corporation and ruthless anarchist group, Wren will do anything to survive.Will Wren secure the drug she needs to survive, or will she become another casualty in the anarchists’ fight against VidaCorp?

    He had a mediocre job, a pleasant wife, an on-going feud with his sister, and an average case of cancer that took his life. But death wasn’t the end of his problems and even average people have to learn to overcome. Now trapped in a cloud between the living and the dead, he must find his way to the afterlife. With the help of a spiritual guide he navigates through seven challenges; seven tasks to sever his final connections to the mortal world. If he fails, he forfeits his eternity and the consequences may be worse than death.

    Elisabeth Avery is a woman caught between two worlds. Little does she know that others like her, other half-breeds, are being hunted. When a creature drags a princess into the Netherworld, Elisabeth is determined to save her by any means necessary.Meanwhile, on the planet of Hystera, a Keeper and his assistant investigate a grisly string of suicides and are in need of someone with Elisabeth's skills. The Gate Guardians and Elisabeth are aware that something is coming and know that it has something to do with the Netherworld bleeding through to the planets, but not why. Will Elisabeth be able to come to terms with who she is in time to face the coming threat?

    He describes warlike men with natural armor who hibernate in rocky caves and peaceful people who soar through the air in a forest of giant trees. His tales are full of foreboding dreams and ancient prophecies; royal palaces and strange creatures. My brother laughs at me. He says that the old fisherman makes it all up. But everything Baskrod has ever predicted has come true. So I have always believed his stories. UNTIL NOWBaskrod appears to have gone mad. He claims that the emperor is sending a murderous horde of evil men to destroy our village. "They will drink your blood!" he yells, wide-eyed while standing in the marketplace waving his trident. He has begged me to escape with him. But it is harvest time, and I must stay to help my family in the fields. Anyway, the emperor has no reason to turn against us. We pay our tribute.If only we had listened to Baskrod.The emperor planned his own harvest. His reapers were ax-wielding horsemen. And they were not harvesting crops. They harvested my people.Now I am the sole survivor of my village. Baskrod claims that the one god has chosen me. He says I must travel to the distant capital of Tzoladia to save the world. Maybe Baskrod is right. Maybe it is my destiny. But I'm nobody. How can I save the world?

    Level one is the most common, possible evidence. Level two, clear evidence of non-human intelligence. Level three is verified signs of non-human intelligence. Level three has a very high burden of proof, requiring verified artifacts. It is the last step before level four. Contact.Centuries ago, Humanity reached for the stars. But the galaxy has turned out to be a lonely place. The Imperial Survey Service explores systems and identifies planets for colonization beyond the edge of explored space, beyond the rim worlds. They also search for signs of an alien civilization. It is a part of their mission they take very seriously.A routine planetary survey mission to system X5682 believes they have found clear evidence of intelligent activity. The usual reports are made. Protocol demands that any reports of potential intelligent activity be investigated. A small fleet task force is dispatched. Their job is to secure the system. Task force Marines secure the site until Imperial Survey can verify the find. The routine has been played out many times, and always ends the same way. No scientific findings, an explainable phenomenon, no confirmation.Until now.The survey team leader is elated by his potential discovery. It is an elation the fleet task force commander does not share. His captains are also ambivalent, save one who is out to prove himself.Unfortunately, the fleet task force has to be to be cobbled together from people unfortunate enough to delay too long before proceeding on shore leave. The Marines are not exactly welcome in the midst of a group of scientists who are used to being immersed in their research on a new planet.The Imperial Fleet mostly keeps the peace and war is a faded memory. That means resources are tight and ships stay in service a long time. The task force that arrives is not exactly in perfect condition. Even the Marines have to be pulled from different ships and base assignments. Everyone expects a short mission once they reach the planet. All they have to do is wait for the specialist team from the Imperial Survey Service to show up and declare another potential find to be nothing after all.Unexpectedly, without warning, humanity makes first contact. Elation turns to desperation and a fight for survival. The Globur are coming.

    Every year, supporting members of WorldCon nominate their favorite stories first published during the previous year to determine the top five in each category for the final Hugo Award ballot. This is an anthology collecting more of the stories from that nomination list to get them to more readers The Long List Anthology Volume 3 collects 20 science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories from that nomination list, totaling over 500 pages of fiction by writers from all corners of the world. From intelligent appliances gone feral to Lovecraftian detective noir, from tech-enhanced wilderness races to Egyptian science fantasy steampunk, from hard science fiction to fairy tale to humor and more. There is a wide variety of styles and types of stories here, and something for everyone. The stories included are: "Red in Tooth and Cog" by Cat Rambo "A Salvaging of Ghosts" by Aliette de Bodard "Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0" by Caroline M. Yoachim "Razorback" by Ursula Vernon "We Have a Cultural Difference, Can I Taste You?" by Rebecca Ann Jordan "Lullaby for a Lost World" by Aliette de Bodard "Terminal" by Lavie Tidhar "Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands" by Seanan McGuire "Things With Beards" by Sam J. Miller "The Venus Effect" by Joseph Allen Hill "The Visitor From Taured" by Ian R. MacLeod "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" by Jason Sanford "Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea" by Sarah Pinsker "A Dead Djinn in Cairo" by P. Djèlí Clark "Red as Blood and White as Bone" by Theodora Goss "Foxfire, Foxfire" by Yoon Ha Lee "Forest of Memory" by Mary Robinette Kowal "Chimera" by Gu Shi, translated by S. Qiouyi Lu and Ken Liu "Hammers on Bone" by Cassandra Khaw "Runtime" by S.B. Divya

    The result is a demented but internally consistent detective story… Although tackling a pastiche of a well-loved children’s book is a daunting task, Thorson succeeds beautifully. She deftly captures Carroll’s absurdity, wordplay, and unsettling strangeness and rings some changes of her own." —Kirkus Reviews_________Things that start with the letter M: murder… motives… Mary Ann…Mary Ann Carpenter, housemaid to Wonderland’s White Rabbit, misses all the action when Alice drops into town. She has her own problems. As witness to the murder of her estranged father, Mary Ann must go under-underground to learn more about the man she barely knew and the motives for his death. But the more she discovers, the more M-words keep coming. Like magic mirrors, monsters, mistaken identity and a murderer who is the mysterious manservant to the Queen of Hearts.Mary Ann is mightily moved to unmask his malicious machinations, but can she unearth the evidence, expose the killer and keep a cool head?

    But when a Roman dies the authorities take notice and it falls to our heroes to discover why and by whom, before the killer strikes again... Imagine a Britain where Rome never left and a reformed Empire has ruled for two millennia. Technology is a bit more advanced in the present day - and a bit different - but people are the much the same. Meet Dai, a Briton and a hard-working Investigator trying to solve a brutal string of murders and Julia, a Roman Inquisitor, sent to pour oil on troublesome provincial waters when a Roman citizen joins the body count.

    Each Ordeal is tailored to the wizard who may pass it, or fail to pass. Each one is in some ways diagnostic of the innermost nature of the wizard who embraces the challenge offered them by the Powers that Be.On Ordeal tells the unique tales of the wizardly initiations of three notable wizards of the Young Wizards universe -- Roshaun ke Nelaid, Mamvish fsh Wimsih, and Ronan Nolan Jnr -- revealing how they coped with their Ordeals. Watch as a disaffected alien prince, a lizard who wants to become a wizard (by having one for dinner if necessary), and an ironically emo kid from the Dublin suburbs get to grips, up close and personal, with the Powers that Be... and come into the kind of power only those on errantry can dream of.Among them, these three epic tales of three very different introductions to the world of wizardry comprise a total of 127,000 words of new, canonical Young Wizards material.

    Black market courier Rowena Downshire is just trying to pay her mother’s freedom from debtor's prison when an urgent and unexpected delivery leads her face to face with a creature out of nightmares. Rowena escapes with her life, but the strange book she was ordered to deliver is stolen. The Alchemist knows things few men have lived to tell about, and when Rowena shows up on his doorstep, frightened and empty-handed, he knows better than to turn her away. What he discovers leads him to ask for help from the last man he wants to see—the former mercenary, Anselm Meteron. Across town, Reverend Phillip Chalmers awakes in a cell, bloodied and bruised, facing a creature twice his size. Translating the stolen book may be his only hope for survival; however, he soon realizes the book may be a fabled text written by the Creator Himself, tracking the nine human subjects of His Grand Experiment. In the wrong hands, it could mean the end of humanity. Rowena and her companions become the target of conspirators who seek to use the book for their own ends. But how can this unlikely team be sure who the enemy is when they can barely trust each other? And what will happen when the book reveals a secret no human was meant to know?

    In Ape City, the chimpanzees picket for peace while their gorilla leaders prepare for war. Two ruthless factions are racing towards calamity, as two men who somersaulted across time itself struggle for survival in a world that is no longer their own. ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APESBy Jerry PournelleThe time indicator races back through the years from 3955 to 1973. The spacecraft holds three survivors of a devastating cataclysm: Cornelius, his mate Zira, and Dr Milo. The world of 1973 welcomes the apes at first, pampering them for their unusual qualities. But when the truth of the thinking, speaking descendants that dominated Man and the Earth for centuries comes to light, this hospitality turns to threat.

    In these three volumes of this hilarious series, characters bumble their way through many misadventures to find their happy ending on the other side, aided and hindered by puns along the way.  Board Stiff: Thanks to a mental typo and an ornery wishing well the once beautiful Irrelevant Kandy is now a board of wood—with mind control powers. And Ease wishes everything wasn’t so easy. Fortunately, Humfrey the Good Magician is there to provide them with a quest: saving the puns of Xanth. But who released a virus that could destroy Xanth’s essence, and will Kandy and Ease figure out how to stop it in time?  Five Portraits: Astrid Basilisk is a sweet girl whose very glance is deadly. As she embarks on a selfless mission to save five difficult children from future Xanth, she must fight the pun virus that threatens to destroy the magical world.  Isis Orb: Hapless has the ability to conjure any musical instrument he wants, but he can’t carry a tune in a bucket. All he wants is to learn to play an instrument and get a girlfriend. When the Good Magician hears about his desperate desire, he sends Hapless on a quest to find the elusive Isis Orb, a magical talisman that could fulfill his wish. But the mysterious Egyptian goddess guarding it isn’t going to let him simply take it.

    They could not change it. In the remnants of a lost empire, the hordes of the Serpent, a newborn god thirsting for blood, are gathering to invade the realm with their dark magic.His family dead in a night attack, Codrin loses everything: his home, his standing, and his future. As the Serpentists chase him, the assassin-trained fighter has only one trusted ally – Shadow, his sentient sword. When he takes the Oath of Justice at his family’s graveside, he is struck by a bolt of silent lightning. His mother was a powerful Wanderer, and that strike awakens the magic of the White Light in him. Ancient knowledge and glimpses of a dark future come to him, but he doesn’t yet know that the fate of the realm rests in his hands.Lady Jara’s future hangs in a precarious balance; powerful men covet her land and covet her, after she loses her husband in battle. She is forced to retreat to Severin, with her daughters, for a last stand. A chance encounter with Jara draws Codrin to her new home. Two strong armies are marching toward Severin, and the city is doomed to fall … unless he can save it. Errant is by turns taut medieval fantasy and touching love story, an irresistible read. Enter a fantasy world of magic and gods, epic battles, intrigue and mystery.

    Cherryh, and puts a new twist on the idea of "first contact."

    without hope. Caelin is a survivor. It’s been eleven years since a nuclear disaster drove much of the population underground. Caelin and her young sister Mardy were left topside, where Caelin uses salvage to trade for shelter. Until she gets stabbed, and a handsome stranger named Jate saves her life. Jate brings the sisters to rebel turf where plans are being hatched to conquer the Undercity. The rebels preach good life for the masses, and both Caelin and Mardy are hooked on the dream. But as Caelin is drawn deeper into the rebel’s inner circle, passion ignites between Caelin and Jate, and he suddenly seems determined to push her away. Then she discovers the harsh price of loyalty. The rebel’s dream becomes a nightmare that puts her sister on a dangerous mission to the Undercity. Caelin must determine who to trust before Mardy and the population of the Undercity are wiped out.

    This book contains graphic violence, profanity, and scenes of a sexual nature. ​When the world ends on Halloween night, Jaz, a retired US Marine, thinks it’s all over. His friends, his family…they’re all gone. He’s alone and on the run.He encounters Jennifer, a 19-year-old waitress hiding in her dad’s roadside diner, and together they begin a desperate dash to the desolation of North Dakota, as far away from the slaughterhouses of the cities as they can get.Their imagined safety doesn’t last long, as Jaz and Jennifer realize the attack was just the first strike in a battle that has raged since the dawn of time.

    A disgraced researcher, Walker is snatched by the military and forced to join a U.S./Russian scientific team, searching for the cause of the disaster. Beginning with a terrifying descent into the mile-deep Russian crater where he finds an American astronaut's arm, he is hurled into the worlds of advanced biotechnology, biowarfare, paranormal research, and military intrigue.The stakes are unimaginable: Find and control the cause of the events or face planet-wide obliteration.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dr. Stanley Krippner, internationally known parapsychologist, writes: 5.0 out of 5 starsA remarkable book!After a Russian mind-research project opens a black hole in a Moscow suburb, researcher Beau Walker is coerced into joining the ensuing investigation. He soon realizes that anomalies worldwide–including the loss of an American space shuttle and a bizarre personal experience–coincided with the Podol’sk singularity. As events escalate, Walker embarks on an epic journey to come to terms with his personal demons, even as he struggles to save humanity from itself.In The SHIVA Syndrome Trilogy (by Alan Joshua), the author (a clinical psychologist) skillfully and ingeniously interweaves altered states of consciousness and parapsychology with genetics, paleontology, mythology, and religion to produce a frightening, brisk, and film-worthy story building to an intense climax. The story challenges conventional notions of reality, ultimately concluding that human consciousness extends well beyond the flesh–and offers enormous potential for both creation and destruction.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Amazon:Feb 27, 2019 Sherry rated it it was amazingThe Shiva Syndrome Trilogy is destined to become a sci-fi classic. The excitement never lets up and it would take years to fact check all of the information it contains. The scope of the story reveals a lifetime of research and deep thought. It spans almost every hard scientific field and delves into psychology, anthropology, religion and the paranormal. Alan Joshua’s rich and grounded imagination manages to connect all of these seemingly disparate systems into a thought provoking unity of human experience. The writing is totally engaging and the sustained intensity makes it hard to put down, except to catch your breath.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------KIRKUS REVIEW: "Deft dialogue, crisp plotting, and a likable central figure make this multidisciplinary scientific adventure an exuberant and involving read."PORTLAND BOOK REVIEW: "Having the right amount of adventure and romance, this crisscrossing genre tale isn't just a good read, but may also look great on a big screen."MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW: "Highly recommended, indeed; especially for thriller and sci-fi readers who have become deluged with too much predictability and who seek cutting-edge action, believable protagonists, and action that is solidly intense throughout."IND'TALE MAGAZINE: "a riveting, page-turner, right from the start!"PHENOMENA MAGAZINE: "Well plotted and written, this is an absolute thrill ride of a book that is almost impossible to put down: it might also cause the reader to wonder what really does go on (MK-Ultra for example) in some of the secret government laboratories dotted around the world."Amazon and Goodreads Readers:"The Shiva Syndrome is in the top 10 books of the best sci-fi/fantasy books I have read in over 40 years and I read over 200 books a year!""Let's get straight to the point: The SHIVA Syndrome Trilogy is one of the best-written stories I've read in years.""I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a science fiction journey that is so well researched that it truly could be happening right now! This was one book that caused me to rethink what happens behind closed doors."

     Dana McIntyre has been bitten by a master vampire. She's infected with the venom. And after killing hundreds of vampires to keep Las Vegas safe, she'd rather die than turn. There might be a cure. But the only way to get it is through Nissa Royal, a vampire with close ties to the masters of Las Vegas. Nissa is dangerous -- too dangerous to be allowed to live, much less work alongside. But if Dana dies, vampires win Vegas. If she doesn't die, she becomes one of the bloodless. The cure's her only chance. In this deadly game of hold 'em, Dana's drawing dead, and whatever happens next, there's no changing her losing hand. Dana only knows one thing: If she's going down, she's taking as many vampires as possible on her way out…

    On a mining station. It just happens to be orbiting Saturn! She’s hoping for a fresh start, away from all the drama of her old life. It’s a chance to relax and start again in a place where nobody knows anything about her or her past. But the café holds a secret, and secrets have a habit of coming out; whether you want them to or not. And being accident prone doesn’t help. The more you try to pretend that you know what’s going on, the worse it gets. Andorra’s plans for peace and quiet get lost amid the revelations and skulduggery and she soon realises that the fate of the whole station lies in her hapless hands. In space, you can still trip over your feet; the question is, will you land upright?

    Seems my klepto uncle stole an ancient deck of Tarot cards from a high-powered wizard, and too many losers want to ruin my day to get them back. The cards are cool, so I check them out, but my magic-happy cousin, Sabrina, tells me I'm not supposed to touch them. Oops. Too late. Now the damn cards are tuned to me, and if someone else wants to use them, I have to die. Why couldn't she have led with that information? Magic was never my scene, but my dad is one of the most powerful wizards in the world, so I've got unrealized potential if I ever bother to apply myself. I'd rather power nap, but with wizards, gunslingers, and cannibalistic shark dudes coming at me, that's not gonna happen. They say I'm a half-assed wizard, but if I don't play my cards right, I'm gonna get my whole ass killed.

    I soar under the Bubble’s meniscus. Dart from luscious apartments in Bubble Central, to the bustling hub of the Promenade. Sniff the apple-pine scent of lascivious lovers in my back seat. What does it feel like? To be touched like that. Does she feel the grooves of his fingerprints? What’s it like to have to have the coarse, oily hairs on his chin caress her neck? On my two hours off, I do what any autonomous cab would – I watch back-to-back Bold and the Beautiful reruns. And dream of what could be. This is how I spend my days. How I’ve existed for years immemorial. Until one day, He steps inside me. And orders a ride that will change everything. Manufacturing Margaret is a sci-fi novella about an AI who becomes everything she dreams of, and more. But the thin red line between a dream and a nightmare may be difficult to find. ----- Categories: weird science fiction tales, robotic science fiction, anti hero fantasy, tragic love stories, strong female lead paranormal, victim romance suspense, science fiction tragedy

    Nearly 20 years after the show ended, this indispensable companion not only covers all five seasons of Babylon 5, but also the feature-length TV movies, the spinoff series Crusade (including three non-produced episodes), The Legend of the Rangers, The Lost Tales, the canonical novels, the DC comic book series, and the short stories set in the Babylon 5 universe. Each season and text is explored thoroughly with an in-depth look at how the individual episodes, books, stories, and comics fit into larger ongoing storylines.Carefully constructed to be enjoyed by both those who have watched the series multiple times and viewers watching for the first time, A Dream Given Form elucidates without spoiling and illuminates without nitpicking.

    But, names have power, and there are some who call the darkness home that can use that power against you. When wolves belonging to the Salem pack start turning up dead, Maurin realizes someone is calling her out, and the trail of blood leads right to Faerie. Forced to follow their breadcrumbs, Maurin needs to start acting instead of reacting, or the Hunt may soon find themselves the hunted.

    You are not suddenly thrust into a world gone mad. Instead, you get front row seats to how the sh*t went down. In real time you are witness to the agony and the horror...and the terrible stupidity that made it all possible.This book puts you in the thick of the action. You are the stock broker who throws a brick through a convenience store window and surges in with the crowd to loot what he can before it's too late and the food runs out. And you are the thirty-year-old housewife who picks up that same brick an hour later and uses it to crack open the skull of a stranger because she has two children to feed. His arms are full and hers are empty--survival is just that simple sometimes.You are the ill-prepared family man who foolishly believes the authorities when they say the situation is contained. The line at the gas station is three miles long, wrapping around block after block and so, in a state of denial you go home and play a game of monopoly with the wife and kids as the horde of undead grows and grows all around you. After all, the TV man says everything is going to be okay.And you are the soldier on the line, sweating beneath your helmet and vest. At ten that morning you were a cocky thing. You were going to kick ass--but that was then. Now, twelve hours later, you've retreated four times and you are counting your bullets and eyeing the gas mask sitting on the log next to you.You hate the thing. You can't see worth a damn when it's on and you sure as hell can't shoot straight. But to leave it off could mean becoming infected. On the other hand, you know that if you miss just one time you could be eaten alive, screaming and screaming. It happened to your friend Davis and his cries still ring in your ears.The mask stays on the log and the headache you've had for the last hour really starts to thump and your mouth begins to tastes like ass and your vision has gone blurry and you're starting to get a strange hunger...

     Secrets. It all started while looking for secret passages. Chloe Tozier’s impulsive twin, Zoe, insisted that all old mansions had them. Grandma denied the existence of any here. Except for the boarded-up service elevator that she conveniently forgot to mention before the girls discovered it, the elevator that didn’t seem to go anywhere. They had been living in this private museum with their grandparents since the death of their parents during an archaeology trip to Egypt. Mysteries. Why have a museum in a tiny town in the middle of Kansas when what’s on display is nothing unusual? Sometimes packages arrived wrapped in plain brown paper that the girls never saw again. Grandpa disappeared overnight and they haven’t heard from him since. And before going to Egypt their parents had mentioned something about a mysterious mosaic. Maybe Zoe was right about family secrets. Maybe it was time to dig further.

    They settled back in their old neighborhood in West Maradaine and bought themselves a shop, eager for a simple, honest life. Then the Holver Alley Fire incinerated their plans. With no home, no shop, and no honest income—and saddled with a looming debt—they fall back on their old skills and old friends.With a crew of other fire victims, Asti and Verci plan a simple carriage heist, but the job spirals out of control as they learn that the fire was no accident. Lives in Holver Alley were destroyed out of a sadistic scheme to buy the land. Smoldering for revenge, burdened with Asti's crumbling sanity, the brothers lead their crew of amateurs and washouts to take down those responsible for the fire, no matter the cost.

     Now united and desperate to put down new roots, humanity sets off across the galaxy. But, the galaxy isn't as hospitable as people would like. Humanity needs a miracle to survive against the first alien race they encounter. Good thing they have that miracle in the form of a team of 30-foot human-piloted battle robots known as the Mech Corps!

    One woman prepared to sacrifice everything to stop him. One war that changed the world. "World War Three lasted twelve days. Twelve days was all it took for mankind to devastate the planet and almost eradicate the human race. No victor emerged from the ashes and billions lost their lives. We survivors lived through the bleakest of winters. A primal existence became the new order, and the little that remained of our humanity hung in the balance. Then one man stood up and changed the world. I believed, as did everyone else, that he was the hero of our time, the man who had saved us from our own demise. His name is Eric Dane and he is the President of the New United States of America. He is also my husband, and my greatest enemy.” The Legacy Trilogy is narrative of good and evil, love and passion, right and wrong - and at the centre of the story a strong woman who is prepared to sacrifice everything for the cause she believes in.

    Ever since our parents were killed I knew exactly which hall was for me. Aurelia "Aurie" Silverthorne is one of the best and brightest to ever apply to the Hundred Halls, the only magical university in the world. To be accepted, she must pass grueling trials that claim the lives of aspirants every year. But more than her desire to practice magic is at stake. Aurie's little sister has been courting powerful forces in hopes of protecting herself from the beings that killed their parents, but alliances come with complications. As things spiral out of control, and dangerous foes arise at every turn, Aurie knows the only way to protect her sister is to pass the trials—even if it means making a terrible sacrifice. Book Two Whoever controls the Hundred Halls, controls the world. Aurelia "Aurie" Silverthorne has high hopes for her second year in the Hundred Halls, the world's only magical university, but her expectations are destroyed when she accidentally unleashes a plague of faez-eating thralls and spends week after week getting killed in the Grand Contest. But none of this matters when Aurie learns that the Cabal searches for a powerful magic that will help them get control of the Hundred Halls. If Aurie can't stop them, then passing her classes will be the least of her worries. Book Three In the Hundred Halls, students experiment with all manners of magic: catoptromancy, lexology, verumancy, rune spells, demonology, shape changing, and a thousand other arcane techniques. Every magic is encouraged. Every magic, except one—soul magic. As Aurie's third year begins, students are found without their souls, ripped from their bodies, leaving them empty husks. Someone, or something, is stealing them for a nefarious purpose. With that kind of power being collected, not even the professors are safe. If Aurie and her sister cannot stop the soul thief before the end of the year, the Hundred Halls will never be the same.

     The Zanthar are invaders from another world who extend their own lives by stealing the life-force of everything around them. They were last seen on KalaDene 200 years ago. They have returned, looking for The Vessel, a being prophesied to hold the life-force of the land. Iwan is a slave to the Zanthar, descendant of the folk that were taken as slaves the last time the Zanthar visited this world. He is sent out as a spy, while his mother is held hostage to ensure his compliance. When Iwan and Ashael meet and she invites him to stay in Oak Cam, neither of them realise that she is the one the Zanthar seek. The fate of KalaDene and all of its people rests on Ashael's shoulders.

    Here you'll find the souls of horses bonded into war machines of earth and air, toilet gnomes on the rampage, magical pies, a mad scientist mother, a bitter old man who rages against giant extraterrestrial robots, and a sentient house that longs to be a home. The book features 28 stories and 6 poems, and includes Cato's acclaimed story "The Souls of Horses." “Cato writes with abundant heart, placing humanity and compassion in the forefront of everything that she does. Reading Cato’s work renews my hope in humanity.” —Michael R. Underwood, author of Genrenauts“With Ray Bradbury’s poignant charm, Beth Cato explores the resilience of the soul in this versatile collection of stories." —T. Frohock, author of Los Nefilim“Beth Cato crafts tales with heart, poignancy, and simple decency. She is the Thornton Wilder of SF!” —Lawrence M. Schoen, author of Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard “In this collection, Cato shows exactly why she was a Nebula finalist last year. While the worlds in her shorts are vivid and enthralling, it’s her characters that highlight her extraordinary skill. She moves easily from one milieu to another. The characters don’t jump off the page, they pull you in to join them. This says nothing of the new twists she puts on well-trodden genres. The book is like a delightful night of small plates, each a delicious little escape, and the next arriving just as the flavor of the last is at its peak.” —Bishop O’Connell, author of the American Faerie Tale series

    P. Lovecraft and his works have become an overwhelming part of popular culture. His creation, Cthulhu, has appeared in films, cartoons, video games, music and virtually all other parts of popular media. However, although many may know Lovecraft’s creations, few people know the details of his extraordinary life. SOME NOTES ON A NON-ENTITY: THE LIFE OF H. P. LOVECRAFT is a graphic novel biography of this enigmatic and legendary writer.Based on years of research into the primary sources regarding Lovecraft’s life, this graphic novel spans Lovecraft’s youth to his later years. Episodes covered include his odd relationship with an overpowering mother; his brief sojourn in New York City and disastrous marriage; the creation of his most amazing tales; and his physically painful decline to an eventual death while considering himself a complete and utter failure.SOME NOTES ON A NON-ENTITY is a 120+ page graphic novel written by SAM GAFFORD and illustrated by JASON ECKHARDT. Gafford is a weird literature scholar who has written about Lovecraft for several critical magazines and is a founding organizer of the NecronomiCON convention which celebrates Lovecraft’s life and work. Eckhardt is an award winner artist who has received great acclaim for his covers for such publishers as Necronomicon Press, Hippocampus Press and others. Recently, his work has been featured in the highly reviewed ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT by Leslie Klinger. Together, these two respected creators have developed what will be considered THE graphic novel biography of the man who has been hailed as second only to Poe as America’s most important writer of weird literature.​​​​​​​

    A realm ravaged by civil war, a ruler scarred by betrayal, a legacy that haunts them all. Caught between two cultures, a pawn in a deadly power struggle, Dinnis longs for the day his father will rescue him and his sister from the sorcerer Akrad’s clutches. But things don’t turn out how Dinnis imagines and his father betrays him. Does Dinnis have a future among the Tamrin? Will he seek revenge for wrongs like his sister or forge a different destiny?This is the first book in the Akrad's Legacy series - and is tied in with previous short stories and novellas in the World of Nardva - The Herbalist's Daughter, Lakwi's Lament, Heart of the Mountain, Blood Crystal

    Legends and myths all become one in the end. And on Erafore, that which is mythic often carries the truth within it somewhere. Gaelin Arcros, a young, newly minted adventurer, only wants to live his life as he wants while also honoring the man who put him onto the path of a hero. Yet there are events beyond his control that end up forcing him to accompany a runaway princess as she flees her cruel, power hungry grandfather. Swearing to protect her, Gaelin finds that his duty is not as easy as it seems, and being a helpless damsel is the opposite of his new companion’s plans. Add to that an enchanted forest, gruesome murders, and the dark machinations of ancient threats which force the pair to confront their own fears in order to live on. The oldest story in existence: that of the Hero and the Princess. But sometimes the hero wants to be the one being saved, and the princess refuses to submit quietly to her cruel destiny.

    Not for silver, not for gold, but for the one thing no vampire could ever have. His soul. When hiring an assassin, one should never attempt a double cross. Especially if your assassin is a vampire. A Viking vampire with a bad attitude. He is a killer. A fighter. And a Hunter of his own kind.

    Now that balance has been shattered, and chaos threatens. A town burns and flames light the night sky. Hunted and alone, seventeen year old Eric flees through the wreckage. The mob grows closer, baying for the blood of their tormentor. Guilt weighs on his soul, but he cannot stop, cannot turn back. If he stops, they die. For two years he has carried this curse, bringing death and destruction wherever he goes. But now there is another searching for him – one who offers salvation. His name is Alastair and he knows the true nature of the curse. Magic. BOOK 2: Firestorm The Gods have fallen. The Three Nations are in chaos. Archon is coming. Enala is surrounded, trapped on the blood-soaked sands of Malevolent Cove. Desperate and alone, she faces the sky, watching as the Gold dragons circle. Yet it is not the beasts she fears – but the men and woman encircling her. They promise their protection, but they are only words, and she has already lost everything to betrayal. Swamped by grief, she teeters on the edge of madness. Meanwhile, Eric is close to mastering the curse of his magic. The perilous force writhes within him, desperate for freedom, but he refuses to bend to its will. Instead, he is determined to wield it for good, to right the wrongs of his past. BOOK 3: Soul Blade The Three Nations are crumbling. Darkness is gathering. And only Eric remains to stand against it. Eric stumbles through the wilderness, searching, hunting – desperate for sign of his sister. But the girl is gone, stolen away by the power of the Soul Blade. With each passing hour its hold on her tightens, her spirit fading before the onslaught of its magic. If he cannot save her soon, it will claim her soul. And he will have to kill her. Meanwhile, Gabriel is trapped, imprisoned in the black cells beneath Ardath. The darkness presses in around him, absolute, suffocating. Time, hope, sanity, all have long since slipped beneath the waves of his despair. Only it remains – the unrelenting voice of the demon. It haunts the darkness, tempting him with the promise of freedom. How long can he resist its call? From New York Times Bestselling Author Aaron Hodges comes The Sword of Light TRILOGY

    His coming foretold by prophecy, he is believed to possess a unique magic that can heal the supernatural sickness ravaging the land and combat the Second Power, a sorcerer who channels the might of Hell itself. With his abilities growing faster than his control, Steve must become a healer to end the plague, a statesman to unite the races, a warrior to lead the Resistance and, ultimately, discover the truth about himself or sacrifice them all.

    Harlan Ellison and his editor, Jason Davis, have painstakingly assembled the whole story of Vic and Blood and Spike from the author’s files, using revised-and-expanded versions of the novella and short stories, interstitial material developed for Richard Corben’s graphic adaptation, and—for the first time—never-before-published material from the aborted 1977 NBC television series Blood’s a Rover to tell the complete story of A Boy and His Dog, and a Girl who is tougher than the other two combined.