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The Glasgow Curse
William Lobban - 2013
Writing in his own words, William Lobban tells how he was born in Exeter Prison to a violent, schizophrenic mother. His upbringing in the East End of Glasgow was just as bleak, and he ended up in care at an early age, destined for a life of violence and insecurity. At a mere 15 years old, he masterminded a daring break-in to a Glasgow pub, and many years of armed robberies, dealing class-A drugs, and gang fights followed. When he wasn’t causing mayhem on the streets, Lobban was serving terms in various high-security prisons, where he was the ringleader and instigator of two of the most serious prison riots of recent years at Perth and Full Sutton and where he took prison officers hostage on two other occasions. In the course of his criminal career, Lobban became enmeshed with the infamous Paul Ferris, who later incriminated him as the murderer of fellow gangster Arthur Thompson Jr. Police also believed that Lobban was the man behind the brutal double killing of Bobby Glover and Joe ‘Bananas’ Hanlon, but none of these charges held up. Finally released from prison in 1998, Lobban decided to walk away from a life of crime, but personal tragedy led to a dependence on alcohol and drugs, which nearly killed him. Only in recent years has he found a measure of peace and stability. He has finally decided to set the record straight, and in this searing exposé of the Glasgow underworld he reveals the true facts behind the crimes that he really committed and those of which he is falsely accused.
Colony Mars: Complete Trilogy
Gerald M. Kilby - 2017
Satellite imagery of the aftermath shows extensive damage to the facility. The fifty-four colonists who called it home are presumed dead. Three years later, a new mission sets down on the planet surface to investigate what remains of the derelict site. But, it’s not long before they realize the colony is not as lifeless as everyone thought. Someone is still alive -- hiding out somewhere. Yet, before they can find the elusive colonist a strange illness starts to affect the crew. Pressure now mounts on Biologist, Dr. Jann Malbec, to locate the source and find a way to fight it. However, as she investigates she begins to suspect a dark and deadly secret lurking within the colony. A secret that threatens not just the crew but the entire population of Earth. With limited resources and time running out, she must find some answers and find them fast. Because if she doesn't, none of them will be going home. Colony Two Mars: The only survivor of the ill-fated ISA mission is now stranded on Mars. Having been designated a bio-hazard by Earth, any hope of returning home is all but gone. She is alone, isolated, and abandoned. That is, until another human shows up in the main colony airlock. However, he's barely alive and soon dies without regaining consciousness. More disturbing though, a DNA test identifies him as a colonist who has already died, several years earlier — impossible as that may be. Nevertheless, there is only one place he could have come from, the mine on the far side of the Jezero crater — Colony Two. An outpost they had presumed was long dead. But if he survived, maybe there are others still alive? She now has no choice but to attempt the dangerous journey across the crater to investigate. Because if she doesn’t find some answers soon, her only future is to die alone on Mars. Colony Three Mars: Now that the truth of the genetic experiments on Mars has been revealed, new missions are on their way to gain control of this extraordinary technology. In the process, they seek to exploit and enslave the colonists—turning them into nothing more than lab rats. Worse, these newcomers are well armed, and prepared to go to war with each other to win control of the colony and its people. But Dr. Jann Malbec has a secret, one that she could use to spare the colony and save the colonists from this fate. However, by using it she will almost certainly doom Earth to a planet-wide pandemic of apocalyptic proportions. Yet she must choose. Earth or Mars—which is is going to be?
Spaceships and Spellcasters
Glynn Stewart - 2018
A mage cop on his first assignment learns the world isn't as black and white as hopedA jump mage and a starship with matching needs turn out to be a magnet for troubleDigging in 1940s New York City awakens a monster--and brings in the elite of the FaeThe protected heir of an interstellar dictatorship is called to a battle no one expected him to fightAn explosive collection of four novellas from science fiction and fantasy author Glynn Stewart, spanning his ONSET, Starship's Mage, Changeling Blood and Exile universes, including two brand new urban fantasy novellas. Includes:ONSET: Murder by MagicStarship's Mage: Episode 1Fae, Flames and FedorasAshen Stars
Star Legions: The Ten Thousand Complete Series Box Set (Books 1 - 7)
Michael G. Thomas - 2017
They have little in common, other than their love of wealth and adventure, and a bitter hatred for each other. Known simply as the Black Legion, they will blaze a trail of death and destruction that will be remembered for generations. This complete box set contains the full text of every Star Legions novel. That’s right, all seven books! Buy the box set today and read the entire series from start to finish: Battle for Cilicia For Xenophon, the Black Legion is an escape from the state that tried to kill him and his family. Exiled from his homeworld he joins the mercenaries, along with Glaucon, the rich playboy, Roxana, the veteran naval commander, and Tamara, the blue-haired castaway with a hidden past and a violent personality. Nothing will prepare them for the carnage awaiting them as they enter the borders of the Median Empire, the largest and most powerful entity in the known Galaxy, ruled with an iron fist by the tyrant, Emperor Artaxerxes and his legions of slave soldiers. Assault on Khorram Burning with rage from the combat losses at Cilicia, the Black Legion wants payment, and Lord Cyrus has a target that will satisfy even the most greedy of his warriors. It is a target so rich that he wonders if the mercenaries will even have enough ships to carry off the loot. Warlords of Cunaxa Xenophon and his comrades have proven their worth, and now the combined fleets of the Black Legion and their allies are poised to end the conflict. Both sides have mobilised every warrior and ship they can, for what will be a final apocalyptical battle between the Terrans and the Emperor himself. Last Stand With victory against the Emperor now impossible, the Legion finds itself lacking purpose and money. They came to the Empire with promises of glory and reward, but now they are trapped and surrounded on all sides by enemies. The massacre of the Legion’s officer corps leaves it vulnerable, and it falls to warriors like Xenophon to hold back their desire for revenge and to put them on a path home. Sea of Fire They must continue on to the Sea of Fire, the deadly border region between Hayastan and the Carduchian Wilderness, or face utter annihilation at the Emperor’s hands. Ancient stories tell of these dead sectors of space, vast ocean of emptiness, with few worlds or moons able to supply the fleet. The Eternal Fortress The long and bloody expedition has taken its toll on both the soldiers and the ships of the Legion. He is aware that a retreat into the Empire will mean a confrontation with the Emperor. A confrontation which they cannot win. There remains only one alternative. To run the gauntlet of the Eternal Fortress. Vengeance The Black Legion bursts out of the Median Empire laden with riches and leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake. As the exhausted men and women breathe a sigh of relief upon reaching the Free Colonies of Trebizond, they are stunned to find themselves in the middle of a war.
Revenge is Best Served Hot
Saxon Andrew - 2014
Two genetically modified human babies have been taken to the Choten-Zan Monastery to be raised to adulthood. The ancient priests have agreed to teach them their best hand-to-hand combat techniques and develop their speed and reflexes. The two children are sent away on their eighteenth birthday with a small warship and space armor that was left for them by the one that delivered them to the Zan. That’s all they received when they left the Monastery and they do not know who they are or where they were born. They kidnap a Werstag Engineer on a planet where they are attacked by hundreds of Yellow Armored Warriors. He tells them that they are a species called human and that their attackers are from a civilization that destroyed their home world. Grant and Cinny decide that Earth’s destroyers must pay for their crime. But first they have to find an invincible warship named Orion’s Sword to make that happen. The Werstag tells them that they were created to be the Orion’s pilots and the Yellow Species knows the danger they represent. It’s a race to see if the Raiders can kill the two before they find the most powerful warship in the universe. The action is non-stop as the two young humans struggle against dark forces arrayed against them. Discovering their real enemy is a shock that forces them to reevaluate their determination to take revenge for Earth’s destruction. But revenge served hot has a way of getting out of hand. Excerpt from Nemesis-Revenge is Best Served Hot Cinny shook her head, “What is so special about us?” The woman looked at her and her eyes twinkled, “You and your companion are the ultimate product of genetic development. You are unique and only the two of you can activate the Orion. Anyone else who tried would die.” Whippet nodded, “They are very different from what I saw Tom could do.” The woman looked at him, “They are faster, stronger, and smarter than any being alive today.” She paused, “And they are not at their ultimate abilities…yet.” Grant sat down, “I’m not sure what you mean, ultimate abilities?” “Part of my programing is to start your development. The Choten-Zan could only take you so far; you probably noticed that you surpassed their abilities.” Cinny and Grant nodded. “The landing bay on this ship has devices to assist you to develop your skills. However, there is another place we need to visit first.” Grant nodded, “Where you left the genetically modified animals from Earth.” The woman smiled and shook her head, “You are incredibly smart. How did you figure that out?” “I saw the ancestors of the animals you chose on the first download and I’ve talked with them several times in the past.” The Hologram stared at Grant, “You what?” “The coordinates of the planet where you left them were still in the navigation log. We went to see what was there and ran into them.” “That was an incredibly dangerous thing to do.” “I had a blaster and they didn’t take the chance of attacking.” The woman slowly shook her head, “That blaster wouldn’t have fazed them and they knew it.” Grant stared at the Hologram and Cinny said, “You mean they could have killed us.” “Yes. I’m surprised they didn’t. Those animals are the most dangerous creatures in the universe. They were specifically designed to be used against the civilization attacking Earth.
Selling Out
Zen DiPietro - 2017
He gets to meet interesting people, enjoy all the comforts and safety of the PAC, and also do just a wee bit of shady dealing on the side. It's a nice life.Unfortunately, the alliance is falling apart. When he's tasked with a critical mission that only a trader can pull off, he has no choice but to accept, in order to preserve the PAC and maintain his cushy existence.He'll have to broker a deal with a reptilian species that is notoriously difficult to interact with. To accomplish that, he'll also need to resurrect some of the criminal skills he left behind over a decade ago.Worse, he needs the help of both his former best friend and his worst enemy, who is also his ex-wife.She's the reason he went legit. Well, mostly legit.Nagali is a ruthless, chaotic, pleasure-seeking pirate. As much as she likes lying and cheating, she likes torturing Cabot even more. She's also beautiful, brilliant, and hard to resist.There's a reason he hasn't seen her since his fortune-hunting privateer days. Enjoy a fun adventure with delightful characters, unique species, and lots of heart.Books in the Dragonfire Station universe in written order: Each series stands alone and need not be read in written order. Dragonfire Station Book 1: Translucid Dragonfire Station Book 2: Fragments Dragonfire Station Book 3: Coalescence (series complete) Intersections: Dragonfire Station Short Stories Mercenary Warfare Book 1: Selling Out Mercenary Warfare Book 2: Blood Money Mercenary Warfare Book 3: Hell to Pay Mercenary Warfare Book 4: Calculated Risk Mercenary Warfare Book 5: Going for Broke (series complete) Chains of Command Book 1: New Blood Chains of Command Book 2: Blood and Bone Chains of Command Book 3: Cut to the Bone Chains of Command Book 4: Out for Blood(series complete)
The Last Shuttle
Tom Glover - 2011
Only one man could prevent the accident. An ex-NASA scientist reluctantly joins the crew of re-commissioned space shuttle Discovery on a daring rescue mission to recover the satellite. Orbiting Earth, they are about to experience something out of this world.
The War of the Worlds: Aftermath
Tony Wright - 2010
Now, a few months on, the Martian invaders are dead, slain by the earthly bacteria against which they had no defence.Then, as England begins to rebuild, terrorist outrages begin to rock society. A new adventure begins, as a daring plan is put into place to discover the source of these disruptions.
The Newman Resident
Charles Swift - 2014
Dr. Newman is at the leading edge of creating the perfect educational environment for children, and all he requires is a hefty tuition—and your child at the age of six months.Christopher Carson is one of the “Newman Residents” who live at the Newman Home year-round. His parents, Richard and Carol, both Manhattan attorneys, may disagree about the specifics, but each wants what’s best for their son. For Richard, this means bringing Christopher, now six years old, home for one last summer vacation before the visits become brief and infrequent.Carol agrees with the staff: Christopher should stay at the school. And Christopher is confused, not sure where his real home is anymore. But Richard would like for their house to be Christopher’s home, at least for one summer.As Richard and Christopher spend more time together they become closer. Not long into Christopher’s visit, Richard begins to suspect that the Newman Home’s methods for developing their children into future leaders are too experimental, if not outright dangerous. His suspicions are confirmed when a secretive support group of Newman parents reaches out to him about their frightening experiences with the school.Richard’s investigations into the Newman Home quickly spiral out of control; he has underestimated the extent of the school’s power and connections—and Dr. Newman’s incessant drive to achieve a new level of success for the students. But what Dr. Newman underestimates may be even more powerful: one father’s determination to fight for his son against the odds.What follows in The Newman Resident is a whirlwind battle between a devoted father and an education system more terrifyingly powerful than he ever could have imagined. It’s a battle that forces him to confront how some will cross any line in order to create the “perfect” child.
After the Execution
James Raven - 2012
He's lost everything - his wife, his dreams, his future. He finally enters the death chamber at the famous 'Walls' prison in Texas. He's strapped to a gurney and given an injection of lethal drugs in front of witnesses. Minutes later he's pronounced dead. But that's not the end of it. After the execution comes the shocking revelation - Jordan is still alive. And to stop him talking he has to die all over again - before he brings down the entire American justice system.
Escape
Jasper T. Scott - 2012
The station is in a security lockdown and the sole apparent occupant, a Union captain, offers Kieran an entire ship if he can disable the lockdown. Kieran realizes that he’s probably dealing with a criminal, rather than an actual captain, but he’s just desperate enough to accept. He flies out to the nearest station and returns with a slicer and some dangerous-looking backup. As he’s making his approach to the station, Kieran hears a garbled cry for help over the comm. He hopes it’s just his imagination.But it’s not. Half the station’s crew is being held hostage, while the other half appear to be masquerading as Union officers. Kieran and his team disable the lockdown, and to Kieran’s amazement, they are given a ship as promised. As they are leaving the station, they see an entire fleet of Union cruisers pouring out of the newly-reactivated space gate. Kieran is confused. What are so many warships doing on the frontier? The Union isn’t at war.Kieran sets out to investigate, but along the way strange things start happening to him and his crew. At first there seem to be logical explanations, but before long the answers are not so clear. As time goes by, Kieran realizes the horrible truth:He wasn’t the only one trying to escape. . . .
Hellbender
Frank J. Fleming - 2019
The red flag was that he said he was Satan. But the deal was good: Listen to Satan’s story in exchange for some donuts. And Doug only half-fulfilled his part of the bargain. But maybe he should have listened better, because during his friend Bryce’s next scheme (theft with light to moderate treason—the usual), Doug and the rest of his friends—Lulu (the fun one) and Charlene (the not fun one)—end up with a powerful artifact, a small metal cube with world-ending power that Lulu decorated with bunnies. And now everyone wants the bunny cube, which means Doug, Bryce, Lulu, and Charlene are being pursued by an insane supermodel general, an army of sadists, a vast criminal organization, a smaller, more-in-startup-mode criminal organization, and an unstoppable killing machine—the worst kind of killing machine. Doug and his friends may be a bunch of losers who aren’t particularly smart or good at anything, but they have one thing going for them: a really cool name for their mercenary group. And now it’s up to Hellbender to save the world—well, what’s left of it. It’s pretty ruined and war-torn already. But, you know, they live there, so they kind of need it. It’s a mess, but that’s what you get for listening to Satan. Or half-listening.
The Stars Came Back
Rolf Nelson - 2014
He is left with nothing but the clothes on his back, not even citizenship to his name. Is the ancient, broken down military surplus starship and the young lady living aboard it the key to a bright future, or will his repairs and new mercenary friends reawaken the demons lurking in the ship’s murky and lethal past to come back and deliver a world of destruction?
The Darwin Effect
Mark Lukens - 2016
They are all suffering from short-term memory loss and they can't remember why or how they got on this ship. The onboard computer (MAC) tells them that it was programmed to wake them up early. They believe MAC woke them up by mistake. They can't re-enter suspended animation, there's only enough food for a few months, and they are too far away to return to Earth ... but even if they could return, MAC tells them that the Earth has been destroyed by nuclear war. They realize that they are all going to die on this ship.Cromartie, the unelected leader of their group, tries his best to keep the others calm, but soon they are at each other's throats. After one of them is found murdered, Cromartie and Sanders form an alliance. Cromartie tells Sanders that pieces of his memories are beginning to come back to him in his dreams; he believes he's seeing clues to their survival.But after the next murder, Cromartie and Sanders must work fast to find the mind-blowing key to their survival and figure out which one of them is the killer before it's too late.