Now, the Confederation's crises are spawned from within, and one brave woman struggles against all odds to keep mankind united amidst a hailstorm of rebellion, war, and moral declination.* * * * *The Lucani Ibron have yet to return, but all is not well within the Alpha Sector. Internal strife, terrorism, and ever-escalating conflicts with several neighboring species have spread the Confederation's resources dangerously thin. Captain Anastasia Mason, together with an eclectic group of humanity's most decorated heroes, struggles to hold the Confederation together against powerful forces that threaten to rip it apart at its very core. Then, at what appears to be mankind’s most desperate hour, an old enemy returns from a ten-year hiatus, casting humanity to the brink of civil war... and outright annihilation.

    And she has strange powers. What can feed her challenge-addiction now? Fighting crime? There is plenty of it.

    But now that the Imperium Titus has taken over, every ship sails on the edge of a knife. Young airman Cyprian Fields isn't one to turn away from danger. During his service as the deckmaster of an old freighter named Philomena, the arrival of mysterious young physician Basil Black and alluring stowaway Veronica Stromm turn the intrepid boy officer's world upside-down. Suddenly, Cyprian and Philomena's ragtag crew are thrown into a wonderful and perilous adventure that will take them to the furthest reaches of air, land, and sea. In the midst of whispering Silverspoons and murderous admirals, printing presses and aetherolabes, fleets and fortresses, Cyprian, Veronica, and Basil must decide whether they will face down the might of the Imperium or allow the doom descending on Cor Nova to overwhelm them all.

    But, as his ship decimates planet after planet, he finds his sympathies swinging toward their defeated enemies. Sergeant Anki Paro, a Luthian Marine, has been anxiously awaiting the call to deploy. As the last line of defense against the crushing Greshian forces, she hopes the time has finally come for her world to stand against tyranny. However, as her society prepares for imminent destruction, questions of misplaced loyalties lead Anki to wonder if the world she is trying to save has any real intentions of surviving. As Brendle's and Anki's worlds collide, they find themselves in an unlikely alliance to try to stop the full might of the Greshian Empire before there's nothing left to fight for. A stolen ship, a mission on the line, enemies at every turn... After four months in hiding, Brendle Quin can't delay his mission any longer. His ship, the Replicade, is held together with failing patches, and he needs to make repairs in a port. Unfortunately, the nearest world with proper facilities is situated deep in Greshian-owned enemy territory. The Greshian colony of Farax is a safe hold for piracy in the region, and none is more vile than Crase Tuin, a man known for trafficking people and weapons across the Alorian Galaxy. He has a reputation as the only pirate never to lose a ship--with the exception of the Replicade. When Crase finds the Replicade, he vows to claim the lives of those who stole her. But Brendle won't go down without a fight. Nothing has stopped the Greshian Empire's expanse, but all hope isn't lost... The illusion of peace shrouds a hidden darkness. Just as the crew of the Replicade are getting settled on a seemingly tranquil world, they encounter a young girl with special abilities--and she's being hunted by a secret, powerful organization that will stop at nothing to have her. When Anki and Brendle intervene to help the girl, they are caught in the organization's crosshairs. The crew must make a decision: give into the looming threat of the organization, or die fighting to protect her. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Ilium Gyl has taken command of a Greshian scout ship. A breach in protocol raises questions of his loyalty to the Greshian Empire, leading to a power struggle as a rebellion sparks in a distant sector of the Alorian Galaxy. His ambitions may cripple the Greshian Fleet, or he might just be the empire's savior. The Alorian Wars is a space opera series, filled with political intrigue and shrouded in mystery, is sure to please fans of "The Expanse", "Dark Matter", "Firefly", and "Killjoys". Join the war today!

    Play games, get rich. It seemed like the perfect way to make the cash my family needed to keep us off the streets. It seemed too good to be true.It was.I made a terrible mistake and stumbled into the truth behind the world’s most popular Virtual Reality game. Now I’m marked for death and the most powerful people in the world want to hang their crimes around my neck.They call me a thief. A murderer. The killer of worlds.The people who know the truth call me the Saint of Shadows.I didn’t set out to destroy the world, but somebody had to do it.Somebody had to set you free. Dragon Web Online: Inception kicks off the Electric Shadows LitRPG Adventure series. Meet the Saint of Shadows as he begins his journey into a virtual reality that threatens to consume the world as we know it.

    For the men and women on the colony of Hayden's World, it started with a night of terror. For all of humanity, it was the confirmation that we were not alone in the universe... A long history of solitude in the galaxy, shattered. War had come, from the stars. The call would be answered.

    When it comes to Indian folk tales, the country of diverse religions, languages and cultures has a complete range of tales and short stories. This collection brings together stories of sacrifice, courage, might, deceit and righteousness that give a panoramic view of the rich cultural heritage of India. Read, absorb and enjoy this wonderful collection of all-time tales.

    

    

    A cross-country move away from everything Robert has known followed by a chance encounter trigger a different sort of existence. Can "Robin" adapt or will it all come tumbling down?

    

     The catastrophic Abunga virus has wiped out everyone on Earth except for a few scattered souls with natural immunity. Other humans escaped this Apocalypse by fleeing to other parts of the Solar System, populating and exploiting its moons and planets. A thousand years on, those now living on these distant outposts still can't return but secretly confine and observe the survivors as a combination of social experiment and nostalgic entertainment. Their former home is now a ‘holopark’, a new Eden, a Heaven on Earth. It’s a chance for the human race to start all over again. There, Gibbous Moon, a 70-year-old tribal story-teller and seer, is leaving his settlement on a solitary Last Walk Out. Except that he is not alone. Reluctantly he has to accept animal company in the shape of a determined dog he names Yellow. And then his daughter-in-law Paintbrush and her baby Skyman suddenly appear after their clan is brutally massacred by rivals on the reservation. Could it be possible that this small renegade band could now form an unlikely alliance, the basis of a real New Beginning? Praise for David Helton: "The Last Walk Out is a story that satisfies on many levels – compelling and adventurous, with engaging characters including strong and individualistic women, it investigates the wisdom and contradictions mankind has confronted across history." - Amazon Review David Helton was born in San Francisco, graduated from the University of Texas and has spent most of his working mainly as a freelance journalist and documentary scriptwriter. He has won or been nominated for several international awards and has written one other novel, King Jude. He now lives in England.

    A collector of classic art and fine wine, Michael's business has provided him with a very good life.But Michael also has a secret. One that could cost him everything if discovered. With the aid of Marlin, a former CIA case officer and his longtime mentor, Michael operates a clandestine organization that protects his company from a global network of intellectual-property pirates who want what he has, even if they have to kill to get it. Together, the two men use whatever means necessary to defend what Michael has spent his life building.Because of his very dangerous life, Michael has forbidden himself from ever getting too close to anyone. That is, until he meets Caitlin Doyle, a beautiful, intelligent, and politically connected campaign strategist working on the upcoming presidential election. While on a weekend vacation to the mountains, Michael and Caitlin come under attack by a group of hired assassins. Barely escaping the sudden, brutal, and well-orchestrated assault, Michael must respond against a powerful and unknown enemy in ways that test his courage and beliefs like never before. With merely a blurred photo of a man's hand to go on, Michael wages a battle that circles the globe – all to hunt down the men who invaded his perfect life.Set against the contrasting worlds of high technology, politics, and espionage, The Archangel Response moves quickly from a defiled Russian monastery to an exploding supertanker in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor, through the corrupt halls of government in Washington DC to Spain's Running of the Bulls.Ending in a violent confrontation that could cost Michael everything he's worked for, and even the woman he loves, The Archangel Response is a pulse-pounding thriller from first-time author Kevin Harmon that will leave readers shocked and emotionally moved.

    At the urging of Whorl’s religious leader, Patera Silk, the people left the ship for an uncertain future on Blue – a world already inhabited by the inhumi, blood-drinking aliens who take human form.Now The Book of the Short Sun carries the story forward to the years after the great exodus, to let Horn, narrator of the earlier work, tell his own story.Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves on Blue, though crime, pollution and poverty have become so rampant in the city of New Viron that he is called upon to find Patera Silk. Horn must go to the still-orbiting Whorl and convince his old friend and mentor to return to Blue, for the legendary hero is the only one who can restore order and lead them to prosperity. But Horn isn’t even sure Silk still lives.Setting sail in a small boat, the aging Horn embarks on a long and difficult journey across the planet, trying to get to the Whorl. With the undine Seawrack, his adopted inhumi son, Krait, and his eldest son, Sinew, Horn makes it to the last working lander – only to be highjacked to the jungles of Green, where the inhumi imprison the passengers as slaves. There, he encounters the mysterious alien Neighbors who were once native to Blue, but whom the inhumi have all but exterminated. Horn joins their fight for freedom, is fatally wounded… and finds himself on another world, wearing a different body.As his inability to find Silk weighs heavily on his mind, Horn is further tormented by the fact that his new body bears a striking resemblance to the lost Caldé. In the end, he will have to answer a troubling question: has he truly failed in his sworn task, or has he become the very man he sought?Includes:On Blue's WatersIn Green's JunglesReturn To The Whorl

    When their van breaks down outside of Morganton, North Carolina, the group decides to hike up nearby Brown Mountain while they wait for the repairs to be finished. Lizzie’s interest in nature prompts her to go on a walk by herself, hoping to get a glimpse of the legendary Brown Mountain Lights. When she unexpectedly encounters one, she naively reaches out to touch it and is thrown back in time to a place and lifestyle she comes to hate—the Antebellum South. Lizzie is taken in by three sisters who are healers. With them, she is able to put her knowledge as a medical student to good use. She finds a trusted friend in Abbie, the youngest sister, and through a budding romance with the son of a plantation owner is drawn into the dangerous world of the Underground Railroad. With a bloody and violent war looming on the horizon, at a time when women are looked upon as less than equal, Lizzie struggles to accept the differences that surround her every day in this new and challenging world. Wanting nothing more than to return home, she and Abbie continually search for the light Lizzie travelled through, hoping it will take her back to her time. But if she finds it, will she decide to stay or go?