The first novel, The Sins of the Fathers, appeared in 1975, and A Drop of the Hard Stuff - the 17th and most recent - was published in 2011. Over the years Scudder has also been featured in 11 short works of fiction. The Merciful Angel of Death is the fifth of these; it frst appeared in 1993 in The New Mystery, Jerome Charyn's anthology of stories by members of the International Association of Crime Writers.The story was written during the depth of the AIDS epidemic, and reflects its time.The Merciful Angel of Death is included in The Night and the Music, my collection of all 11 Matthew Scudder short stories, available for Kindle or in handsome trade paperback form.

    When a young girl is snatched on her way home from school, Matty's police detective father knows that every minute counts. For the first time - but not the last - Detective Roger Turner enlists his son's unique help.With over 130,000 copies sold, the Matt Turner Series launched author Michael Siemsen to bestseller status. The Dig (Book 1) and The Opal (Book 2) hint at the troubled psychometrist's shocking childhood, using his ability to "read" an object's history to help his father solve the worst kinds of crimes. Only now, with the short story Matty are we offered a firsthand glimpse into a young Matt's first case - tracking down a kidnapped girl named Joss Lynn Leland.

    Proceed beyond this point at your own risk.When celebrated Omicron detective Ferrix Vaughn is called in to investigate a deadly breach on Hesperidia, a protected planet full of indigenous wildlife, he doesn't know what to expect. The place used to be a tourist attraction, but the safari tours were discontinued long ago due to rampant poaching. Only a handful of researchers live there now, including Jan Corbija, the young woman who reported the breach. The deeper Vaughn digs, the more the evidence seems to point to a recent raid on a biotech facility in a nearby system. Whatever was stolen from there, it's attracted the attention of major political players in a time of war across the colonies. Vaughn suspects the secret is on Hesperidia, in the hands of the two fugitives who fled the murder scene. If he wants to get to them first, he's going to need Jan's help. Her Alien Safari tour will have to reopen for this final excursion. But to survive it, they'll both need to face their demons, for a predator far deadlier than man roams the wilds of Hesperidia. And this is its killing season. This way for the ride of your life.

    Ten years after the apocalypse destroyed the world that she knew, a survivor returns to her home town, hoping to piece together the bits of her past that have troubled her so much ever since.Sometimes the past is best left behind us, but sometimes we all need to say goodbye."At last, goodbye" is a short story set in the world of the Diary of the Displaced novel series.

    Commander Halsey wants it back. For decades they were among us, silently infiltrating the power structures of society. Now the Swarm stands on Earth’s doorstep. As humanity launches a desperate counter-attack, the alien victory seems inevitable. For Halsey, this is personal. While the Fleet executes their battle plan, she leads a do-or-die suicide strike at the heart of the alien force: her own INVINCIBLE, turned into a weapon against mankind. With a few marines, a pirate ship, and an ex-lover by her side, Halsey fights to take back her command and save the human race--or die trying. She is a proud warrior. She is humanity’s last hope. She is INVINCIBLE.

    The humble, pixelated games of the ‘70s and ‘80s have evolved into the vivid, realistic, and immersive form of entertainment that now rivals all other forms of media for dominance in the consumer marketplace. For many, video games have become the cultural icons around which pop culture revolves.PRESS START TO PLAY is an anthology of stories inspired by video games: stories that attempt to recreate the feel of a video game in prose form; stories that play with the concepts common (or exclusive) to video games; and stories about the creation of video games and/or about the video games—or the gamers—themselves.These stories will appeal to anyone who has interacted with games, from hardcore teenaged fanatics, to men and women who game after their children have gone to bed, to your well-meaning aunt who won’t stop inviting you to join her farm-based Facebook games.At the helm of this project are Daniel H. Wilson—bestselling novelist and expert in artificial intelligence—and John Joseph Adams—bestselling, Hugo Award-nominated editor of more than a dozen science fiction/fantasy anthologies and series editor of Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy (volume one forthcoming from Houghton Mifflin in 2015). Together, they have drawn on their wide-ranging contacts to assemble an incredibly talented group of authors who are eager to attack the topic of video games from startling and fascinating angles.Under the direction of an A.I. specialist and a veteran editor, the anthology will expose readers to a strategically chosen mix of stories that explore novel video game concepts in prose narratives, such as save points, kill screens, gold-farming, respawning, first-person shooters, unlocking achievements, and getting “pwned.” Likewise, each of our authors is an accomplished specialist in areas such as science fiction, fantasy, and techno-thrillers, and many have experience writing for video games professionally.Combining unique viewpoints and exacting realism, this anthology promises to thrill generations of readers, from those who grew up with Atari 2600s to the console and PC gamers of today.

    Join Athena Lee's Crazy AI Wilson along with his robotic creations in a dozen wild and wacky Short stories.This the second collection of Tales from the Athena Lee Universe.What happens when Pirates buy a robot? Do robots need to be emancipated? Who put the Son in Wilson?

    Looks like something for everyone...There's even an alien puppy.Contents: * Introduction (The Newcomer) (2016) • essay by Alasdair Shaw * Tithe (2016) / short story by Griffin Carmichael * Exodus (2016) / short story by Alec Hutson * First Bonding (2016) / short story by Tom Germann * Ice Dreamer (2015) / short story by J. J. Green * The Nanny (2016) / short story by Cindy Carroll * Right Hand (2016) / short story by Jonathan C. Gillespie * What Make Is Your Cat? (2016) / short story by Richard Crawford * Kaxian Duty (2014) / short story by Cherise Kelley * Lessons Learned (2016) / short story by J. Naomi Ay * The Humra (2016) / short story by Laura Greenwood * The Hawk of Destiny's Fist (2016) / short story by James S. Aaron * Repulse [Two Democracies: Revolution] (2016) / short story by Alasdair Shaw .

    He was the top justice of New York’s highest court. She was a stunning socialite and his wife’s step-cousin. In 1993 Sol Wachtler was convicted of blackmail and extortion against Joy Silverman, his former mistress. How did a respected jurist and one of the most prominent men in America end up serving time in prison? Linda Wolfe starts at the beginning—from Wachtler’s modest Brooklyn upbringing through his courtship and marriage to Joan Wolosoff, the only child of a wealthy real estate developer.   Joy Fererh was three and a half when her father walked out. When she and Sol met, he was fifty-five and nearing the pinnacle of his legal career. She was a thirtysomething stay-at-home mother who, with Sol’s help, made a career for herself as a Republican Party fundraiser. They kept their affair a secret—until an explosive mix of sex, power, betrayal, and prescription-drug abuse set the stage for the tabloid headlines of the decade.

    Not a vermin hunt.The colony is plagued by rogue genetically engineered critters, and the newly-minted Space Corps agents are expected to pitch in. Elfrida and her best friend take up the challenge, but the hunt turns into a nightmarish ordeal when they get lost in the subterranean caverns.And, worst of all … they’re not alone.In this explosive prequel to the Sol System Renegades series, Elfrida Goto’s first assignment takes her to the underbelly of the solar system, where nice girls finish last.The Sol System Renegades series in chronological order:Keep Off The Grass (short origin story)Crapkiller (prequel novella)The Elfrida Goto Trilogy 1. The Galapagos Incident 2. The Vesta Conspiracy 3. The Mercury RebellionA Very Merry Zero-Gravity Christmas (short story)The Solarian War Trilogy 1. The Luna Deception 2. The Phobos Maneuver 3. The Mars ShockThe Callisto Gambit (the final novel in the series)

    Badass, honorable, and able to go toe to toe with the best whiskey drinker this side of Tennessee, but when NASA comes to recruit her for a daring space rescue, she'll find herself among a motley crew of the supernatural world. Their goal is simple, keep the evil lord Zug of space planet Maverick from acquiring the Gideon cube and using its immense power to rain down destruction on earth. Sounds easy right? Well, it would be if not for the niggling thirty-six hour timeline that started yesterday...

    It belongs to his deadly enemy, but he never expected the voice to take him over, both mentally and physically. This supernatural force hijacks his body, takes it to his top-secret government office, and spills blood. With a helpless battle within, Jonathon must get control and escape from his own team before they execute him. Will a life in exile be his only choice? Or will the Exalls once again claim another victim?This is a short story spin off from Andre's debut novel, Followed Home. The story will be available for FREE to all subscribers to Andre's mailing list at www.andregonzalez.net

    Doug had started to believe the conspiracy theories and rumors that had swirled for years; that NASA had discovered more than just rocks on the Moon and had conspired to keep the rest of the world in the dark. A super computer’s enhancement and compilation of the old photos proved his belief and sent him on a quest that has now revealed revolutionary new space travel technology and will enable him to lead a group on a return journey to explore ancient ruins on the lunar surface. But Doug’s pursuit of the truth and discovery of a destroyed GLASS city on the Moon pale in comparison to what lies underneath the lunar surface. What he finds will solve the mystery of a long-dead Apollo Astronaut and provide clues to the missing elements of Earth’s ancient history. But, even he isn’t prepared for the discovery that will reveal the past and change the future of mankind…FOREVER!

    This book is guaranteed to horrify you in the best way possible. Open it up, turn the page, and take a journey to a world consumed with mystery in madness.

    But a new world has been discovered that has all the right ingredients to sustain human life. The vessel Seeder will travel four thousand years with its crew members and colonists to this new seed planet to ensure humanity lives on.But the stasis pods malfunction. When the crew is revived they discover they've been traveling for the past eighteen million years, and the colonists are all gone.And it only gets stranger. Book #1 of the best selling Seeder Saga (34 pages)