This is because, in the war-torn Great South, beauty is a currency, and to have it means you will never have to worry about a thing. The only problem is: beauty is judged by our capital’s Gentlewomen, and there is no guarantee that we will pass their test. Every year, the Gentlewomen of the capital leave the Glittering City to oversee the annual Procession. They travel settlement to settlement selecting girls, aged sixteen and older, to become Beautiful Ones. If chosen, we will be lifted into a life of luxury, but the cost is our free will.

    Love and fear, pain and pleasure, healing and death mark the extremes of their sway, but it’s the subtle blends that hook their victims’ hearts. They hide behind oaths of loyalty and rule the world. A child born in the grim warrens beneath the city, Catling rues the rose birthmark encircling her eye. Yet, it grants her the ability to disrupt the influencers’ sway. Established methods of civil control disintegrate before her. She’s a weapon desired by those who reign and those who rebel. To the Influencer’s Guild, she’s an aberration, a threat. They order her death and thus the betrayals begin. One woman protects and trains her, plotting to use her shield to further imperial goals. No longer a helpless child, Catling has other plans. As chaos shakes the foundations of order and rule, will she become the realm’s savior? Or its executioner? The Rose Shield Tetralogy – a blend of science fiction and fantasy. Welcome to a world of three moons, a sentient landscape, rivers of light, and tier cities that rise from the swamps like otherworld flowers. A planet of waterdragons, where humans are the aliens living among three-fingered natives with spotted skin. Where a half-blood converses with the fog and the goddess plans her final reckoning. Follow Catling’s journey as she grows from childhood into the deadly force that shapes the future. She is the realm’s shield, an influencer, assassin, healer, mother, and avenger. And all she wants is to go home.

    The only problem is, there are many people who would want the child to be killed simply out of fear. And that isn't the only problem: Argus's daughter has also been discovered. If the Minister learns that he is the father, then both of their lives are at risk. Elsewhere, a new Captain is taking over policing the Republic, and she wants to make a strong first impression. She's tired of rampant greed controlling the world, so she will do anything to make the people responsible pay. Darius Gray, a member of the Ministry and guard of the most powerful man in the galaxy, has turned his back on the Republic and is amassing an army. He intends to start a war. The entire galaxy is falling to despair. No one knows where to turn or who to trust. The future of the galaxy rests in the hands of two small children whose birth rights promise pain and suffering.

    They are both devoted parents, living with their daughter, Dana, on a small island off the coast of Florida. They seem to have the perfect family life, but they are hiding a dangerous secret: they both work for the Orange Corporation, an umbrella company of the CIA controlled by the shadow government. From aliens to giants, they have seen all that the Hidden Hand has kept from the world. Almost.When a routine recovery mission puts Darren face-to-face with original Tesla documents, he makes an impulsive decision which will alter the course of not only his own fate but the fates of his wife and daughter forever. What will Darren do with the Tesla notes and diagrams? Will the shadow government discover what he has done? And will Anna turn her husband over to the Hidden Hand, or will she stick with him for better or worse—until death do them part?

     Now the aliens are coming. They want to occupy earth. They want to destroy humanity. They want to kill every last one of us. But we are legion. Seven billion humans are tough to kill. Pockets of survivors band together to fight back. It's hard to know who to trust. Human collaborates will do anything to live one more day. The US mounts an offensive. They turn loose Lt William "Don't ever call me the Kid" Bonney and his eight headhunters to wreak havoc on the invaders. Their business is killing Licks and brother, business is good. But the Lick Commander has a plan. More betrayal. When Bonney and his squad raid a supply train on the orders of High Command, they rescue a prisoner with a secret. One that will change the tide of war and help the human cause win. If they can last long enough to reach it. Book One in the Invasion Series is an extension of the world built in PHALANX and PHYRRIC. Fans of dystopian military sci fi are going to love the adventures of Lt and his squad of misfits as they roam middle America siccing the dogs of war on alien invaders bent on colonizing earth. WARNING: This book contains graphic language. There are enough F bombs in here to make sailors blush, so if you are faint of heart, do not read further. But if you can handle a little spice in your reading pleasure, then grab your copy and join the fight today.

    Buckell.“You shall not suffer a librarian to live.”Growing up in Ninetha, Lilith has known this law all her life. The city’s every need is provided for by a god-machine called the cornucopia, which can produce food, clothing, anything in response to a thought. The gods provided this bounty on one condition: that humanity give up reading and writing. Then, a librarian, an actual seeker of forbidden written knowledge, walks through the gates of the citadel, his very presence unraveling the life Lilith has known. She learns her father, the Lord Musketeer himself, has been harboring a secret - one that turns Ninetha against Lilith’s family. Forced to flee, forced to throw in her lot with the librarian, Lilith uncovers even greater secrets - about the lie her life has been, and about the very nature of their world.

    After a nuclear bomb levels Washington, DC, a teen embarks on a treacherous 200-mile trek through a harrowing wasteland populated by desperate survivors to get his disabled sister to safety.

    That puts Ensign Jacob Renselaer on the spot. Can he find out why the aliens killed his ship’s officers? Can he take command of the Battlestar? Does he want to be the leader of ten heavily armed starships that never expected to encounter aliens? Deep in the Kepler 22 star system, mutual misunderstanding between two peoples who cannot speak to each other leads to multiple space battles. Somehow Jacob becomes the leader he never wanted to be. His close friend Daisy the pilot helps him, as do other friends on the Battlestar. On the alien side, Hunter One is determined to kill the invaders who threaten his new colony world. His people the Swarm have never been defeated. Now, he faces Soft Skins who do not flee at the loss of their leaders. In a distant star system, people human and alien die, scheme, and fight for survival. None of them have ever faced combat before. But now, both sides learn what it is like to have someone seek your death and the death of your friends!

    1000+ pages of suspense-filled, military fiction set around a conspiracy on a hostile planet."A tour de force."--David Weber, NYT bestselling author of the Honor Harrington Series.Special Agent Jackson Fischer is a man after truth. When a military operation to extract a high-ranking ambassador from the war-torn, border-world of Stonemeyer ends in disaster, Fischer is called in to investigate.A whole platoon went in, but only three Alliance Marines returned home, the rest killed in action along with hundreds of civilians. With tensions between the Holloman Alliance and Stonemeyer rising, Fischer attempts to stitch the pieces together. One thing becomes more and more certain: The surviving Marines are lying.As the truth unfurls, Fischer begins to realize this was far more than a simple rescue mission...and that the truth might be something best left buried.Filled with action, mystery, and well-crafted characters, the Valor Series will pull you into a world of war, conspiracy, and betrayal. It's perfect for fans of David Weber’s Honorverse, or Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan with a futuristic flair.Grab the entire series in this special-edition omnibus today!Books included in the set:Book 1: Edge of ValorBook 2: Echoes of ValorBook 3: Enemy of Valor

    Working as a private investigator, her latest case takes her and her partner to Palm Springs, where a shifter is being harassed by a local businessman. But with pack politics and rivalries, this is far more than a property deal gone bad.Far worse, for Lexi, is that her local contact is her long-time nemesis, the gay vampire detective Dick. If the case doesn’t kill her, working with him again might!Note: This book was previously released as part of the Legacy of the Shadow’s Blood.

    Now, they want him dead.“intricate, action packed and ambitious." — Publisher’s Weekly BookLife Prize (starred review)_________________________________His genetic code could destroy all life.Shadow Recon pilot Micah Case awakens above an alien world, with no memory of his past and a mysterious voice inside his head. Worse, his own military is hunting him... and he has no idea why.The voice leads to a discovery so unbelievable, enemy nations would kill to control it — to control him. Now, Micah must use every skill in his arsenal to secure the stolen research.The stakes are impossibly high, but failure is not an option. The alternative could mean the extinction of a people Micah can no longer call his own. Humanity.THE CHIRAL AGENT is a fast-paced, cerebral thriller that's part hard science fiction, part spy novel, and one hundred percent adrenaline. It’s sure to keep you guessing every step of the way._________________________________“A provocative science fiction thriller novel with intelligent ideas…in a genre that is saturated by robots and aliens. Richman’s writing makes it even larger and more encompassing, as the author writes with bold and evocative strokes [that] keeps you in the zone. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” — Reader’s Favorite Book Reviews “The excellent prose makes this thriller compulsively readable and the suspense creates an exhilarating experience for the reader. The Chiral Agent is tightly plotted and packed with action. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” — Reader’s Favorite Book Reviews

    But who was this Iceman, what was he doing high on a glacier 8000 years ago, and why was he carrying a strange metallic cylinder? Archaeologists can only speculate, but neuroscientist Doctor Lisa Cho knows a better way. Young and ambitious, Dr. Cho is at the threshold of developing technology capable of replicating the neural pathways of the human brain and has devised an audacious plan; she wants to wake the Iceman from his primeval slumber and let him provide the answers to his past. But the Iceman’s story is not what anyone expected.As Cho seeks to understand the Iceman’s origin, her path converges in France with a brilliant theoretical physicist on his own mission to unravel the meaning of the Iceman’s cryptic artifact. Their quests become intertwined and increasingly perilous as they inch closer to the truth and the mystery behind the enigmatic Iceman. Waking Iceman is a far-reaching science fiction thriller that takes the reader on a sweeping journey from the inner mind of an ancient human to a parallel world with a profound secret. It’s a tale that raises deep questions: Is information more fundamental than mass and energy? Is there more to human consciousness than basic biology? Can love survive an 8000 year divide?  And what is real and what’s only a dream? For Cho, the answers will come at a price—sending her and everyone else on a collision course with destiny.More at: https://crwahl.com

    An examination of Le Guin's career, from her obscure beginnings in the science fiction magazines to her rapid rise to the top in the 1970's.

    another busLucille Marshall -- involuntary manslaughterVeronica Edwards -- undeterminedWhat do all of these names have in common? They all died long before they were meant too, and they were all ME. If there's any truth to that statement at all, I can't wait to find out the reason for this!

    No explanation, no field guide, and no rules.
 And human beings aren’t the only new arrivals. 
 Morgan’s never been a team player, and she never imagined facing disaster with a bunch of confused, terrified teenagers. To live she’ll have to make allies—human and otherwise. Because Morgan has no intention of settling down and starting anew somewhere else. Whoever brought her here can bring her back. But first, she must survive.