By all accounts, they saved Disneyland from certain destruction. Why then did their mentor leave one last puzzle for them to decipher? The Keepers must solve a puzzle of the past, or be crushed under an evil that makes the Overtakers seem like gentle souls.

    Nine misfit academics on an expedition to find the volcryn, a mythic race of intersteller nomads, and the only ship available for this strange quest is the Nightflyer, a cybernetic wonder with a never-seen captain...Nine innocents are about to find themselves in deep space, trapped with an insane murderer who can go anywhere, do anything, and intends to kill them all.

    To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Hephaestus Books continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. This particular book is a collaboration focused on Thursday Next series.

    She is legend. And she’s about to make one hell of a comeback.Sara Vanadi is more than she appears to be.In her prime, she was Freya, the Norse goddess of love, beauty, war, and death. Now all that’s left of her legacy is herself. Her power comes from belief, and for an ancient goddess in the 21st century, true believers are hard to come by.She’s been lying low for a few decades, when all of a sudden a shadowy corporation extends an offer: join them and receive unlimited strength and believers—or refuse and be destroyed. Sara chooses neither; she flees with the help of a new friend named Nathan.With a modern power rising that wishes to bend the divine to its will, Sara decides to fight back—but first she needs some new clothes.

    Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer. But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along. The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe. With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself?

    

    Then she met a real-life Peter Pan.When Wylie encounters Phinn—confident, mature, and devastatingly handsome—at a party the night before her brother goes to juvie, she can’t believe how fast she falls for him. And that’s before he shows her how to fly.Soon Wylie and her brothers find themselves whisked away to a mysterious tropical island off the coast of New York City where nobody ages beyond seventeen and life is a constant party. Wylie’s in heaven: now her brother won’t go to jail and she can escape her over-scheduled life with all its woes and responsibilities—permanently.But the deeper Wylie falls for Phinn, the more she begins to discover has been kept from her and her brothers. Somebody on the island has been lying to her, but the truth can’t stay hidden forever.

    But she discovers that what seems to be freedom is a prison of another kind, one that entangles her in a story that leads to a prince, a kiss, and a clock striking midnight. To unravel herself from this new life, Pin must choose between a prince and another—the one who helped her before and who would give his life for her. Torn, the only thing for her to do is trade in the glass slipper for a sword and find her own destiny.

    It is the hottest summer anyone can remember. The high temperatures are out of control with no end in sight. Until it all changes.Overnight, blue skies become gray, and the hot, humid weather turns to rain, then snow, then ice as the temperature plummets.The entire northern half of the country is thrown into chaos as blow by blow, storm after storm, nature rips into the world, tearing it apart. Towns and cities are evacuated, and Mac and her family are forced to leave their world behind and face a treacherous journey south to safety.Will they make it, or will they be left behind in this new, frozen world?

    In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside. In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood… Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago. Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful. And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.

    Peppered with familiar characters from Victorian history and fiction, the novel follows vampire Geneviève Dieudonné and Charles Beauregard of the Diogenes Club as they strive to solve the mystery of the Ripper murders. Anno Dracula is a rich and panoramic tale, combining horror, politics, mystery and romance to create a unique and compelling alternate history. Acclaimed novelist Kim Newman explores the darkest depths of a reinvented Victorian London. This brand-new edition of the bestselling novel contains unique bonus material, including a new afterword from Kim Newman, annotations, articles and alternate endings to the original novel.

     My name’s Jack. I’m a relatively average guy working as an IT consultant. I had some interesting experiences as a soldier before I took up my current profession, but basically, I'm an average normal guy since then. It was pure dumb luck that I met a gorgeous woman on an airplane, and we hit it off. I’m usually seated next to the fat, talkative guy, sweating alcohol out of his pores. Instead, I got to sit next to an exotic beauty, and she decided to be my companion for the day. You can’t make this stuff up! It all started with that ‘truth stranger than fiction’ scenario, and yet...that is the least crazy thing about everything that followed in my life after that day. Beings of myth and legend exist. No, really! If you ever read about fantastic beings in a fairy tale or myth, the odds are they exist - or they are based on something equally fantastic. I always enjoyed reading about them, but never dreamed they existed. What really twisted my noodle is that apparently, I am one. Hold onto your knickers, while I tell you about this crazy ride I’m on. WARNING: This story is an adult fantasy for mature folks. As such, this story includes unusual interpretations of myth and legends, faerie violence, descriptions of genitalia, descriptions of sexual activities, mixing of US, UK, and Indian idioms, panamorous relationships, harem relationships, romance, bromance, BFFs, cursing, bathroom selfies, off-beat humor, eating food while naked or partially naked, drinking, going to the bathroom, the insurance industry, the IT consulting industry, and many other things that might possibly offend someone in our judgemental society. If you are offended by any of those things, then go forth to enjoy life elsewhere. I wish you the best. If you’re not dissuaded, then...

    

    Now I have some kind of extra special powers, a really annoying new pet bird, and everyone wants me to raise murder victims-- something I swore I would never do again. But, when evil lurking in the shadows starts jumping out to make itself known, I can't exactly keep turning my back on humanity.Day one of my new life sucks, but a hot vampire might make it suck a bit less. Err, whatever.

    But when she awakens, her world no longer exists. Her house is abandoned and broken. Her neighborhood is barren and dead. And there is a tattoo on her right hand. A tattoo Fiona doesn’t remember getting…but somehow she must conceal at any cost. Because humanity has been divided.Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded, while a select few live protected inside a fortresslike wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.And Fiona has awoken branded, on the wrong side of the wall, and…normal.From the author of Shifting comes this remarkable reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, where the sting of a bee, rather than the prick of a needle, can destroy the world.