But when a terrified woman falls through his bathroom ceiling, he's forced back into a life of gunfights, double agents and paranormal research. The secret he's been keeping for nearly four decades might reunite him with his lost love, or kill millions.This new short story by John August falls into the genre of paranoid "spy-fi" popularized by writers like Jorge Luis Borges and shows like The Prisoner and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.== What Others Say =="I really dug the story. Gave it a glance just to see, got totally hooked, and blazed on through to the end."-- Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union) "The Variant" is both a good, fun, smart story and an interesting experiment in indie self-publishing for fiction."-- John Gruber, daringfireball.net== About the Author ==An excerpt of The Variant is available at johnaugust.com/variant About the AuthorJohn August is the screenwriter of eight feature films, including Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. He wrote and directed the 2007 movie The Nines.He can be found on Twitter, @johnaugust

    Imprisoned for mass-murder, he escapes with the help of two strange men and a mysterious benefactor. Unfortunately for Drake, they don’t just want a piece of the action. They want it all. Gift Horse: Mutilated by rival convicts, Marco Vance is brought back from the brink of death. Outfitted with the latest cybernetic enhancements, he returns to the Regional Atlanta Metroplex as the conquering criminal kingpin. But, his savior demands that he deliver a message to repay his debt. A message that no one will forget.Money Is Everything: Street gangs hunt a deposed crime boss carrying a case of cash. Pursued and friendless, he can trust no one. Except someone he can buy. Luckily, Noose the genetically engineered dwarf mercenary is always for hire. But, what is his price?Total length about 15,000 words.Includes a free 8000 word excerpt of the full-length novel DEAD DWARVES DON'T DANCE.

    Omnibus edition containing:- The Precipice (2001)- The Rock Rats (2002)- The Silent War (2004)

    The Kerguelenians, as they begin to think of themselves, manage to survive, grow, and colonize other islands in the Southern and Indian Oceans -- until they are attacked by a mysterious seafaring group they call "the pirates". Who are the pirates, why are they hostile to the Kerguelinians -- and, most importantly, how can the peaceful islanders defend themselves against a force apparently determined to eradicate them? Kerguelenian master mariner Sam Bowditch takes on the enormous task of building a Navy from scratch to preserve the fledgling maritime civilization from utter destruction. First volume of a planned series.

     Alone in the cold black with 36 hours of oxygen. Jolo Vargas, Federation Gunboat Captain, is trapped in a runaway escape pod zooming towards Federation space. But will he be dead before he gets there? He's in a tight spot. But he's a war hero, just the type of man who could work his way out of this jam. But there's just one little problem. He doesn't remember who he is. Will he find out his identity and his place in the universe, or will he run out of air on the edge of Fed space?

    Rebellion is more than another alien invasion story. It’s a story about family, love, loss, and redemption told from both the human and alien sides, and written with the action-packed pacing, unexpected twists, and relatable characters that have made M.R. Forbes one of the most popular sci-fi authors on Amazon. From Book One: When the aliens came, they came without warning. Their weapons were unstoppable, their defenses unbreakable. Our technology was inferior, our militaries overwhelmed. Only one starship escaped before civilization fell. Earth was lost. It was never forgotten. Fifty-two years have passed. A message from home has been received. The time to fight for what is ours has come. Welcome to the rebellion. Includes: Man of War Weapons of War Tides of War

    While they slept, the starship went through the wrong fold in space and settled for a different world, a wild world. Three centuries after the founding of a colony on the uncharted planet, Gilead awakens to find humanity slipped back to medieval tech and a feudal structure. Worse, the king who wants Gilead awake won’t let Gilead awaken his wife.

    We are happy to offer this unitized edition.

    Across the myriad colonies of humanity, rebel forces are rising, clamoring for freedom from the increasingly repressive government of Earth, launching raids on the Confederation Fleet as they prepare for the conflict to come. On the frontier, however, a darker force is emerging, an ancient threat long forgotten, returning to once more threaten eternal, endless tyranny, silent ships massing in the cold depths of space, ready to strike. All that stands between victory and defeat is the Scout Cruiser Xenophon, destined for the scrapyard but recalled to the flag and placed under the command of a renegade officer, Commander Jack Winter, and given a mission that will either save humanity…or seal its fate.

    

    Ravenous, insatiable, and completely merciless — in decades of space exploration and expansion, nothing like the Swarm has ever been encountered. They swept across the colony world of Cannis One, devouring every resource. Humans, working to build a new outpost on the small world hidden in the binary star system Sirius, were helpless to stop them. Even with the help of the Colonial Space Fleet, every effort to destroy the aliens has failed. Angela Murphy has spent the last decade training to make the National Gymnastics Team. She has the skill, the passion, and the dedication to be an olympic athlete, but she’s outgrown the preferred body shape of most gymnastic competitors. Still, she won’t give up on her dreams, not when there’s still a chance that she could find success. Staff Sergeant Jonathan Cashman leads a fire team of highly skilled Marines in the Colonial Space Fleet. Stationed on Mars, they are ready to face any threat at a moment’s notice. Yet inexplicable orders have them returning to Earth for a top secret assignment at the CSF Research & Development testing grounds. ARC - Assisted Rapid Combat is a breakthrough in military technology, making the extraordinary possible, and forging the ultimate weapon against the Swarm. But it will take the right kind of soldier to become a weapon and prove that the ARC suit can make a difference in the war for Earth’s colonies. Time is running out, and so are humanity’s options for survival. ARC Angel is the latest Military Space Opera from prolific author Toby Neighbors. Combining elements from gaming, strategy, and classic storytelling, ARC Angel is an absolutely riveting novel that will have you on the edge of your seat from the very first page. With his ability to build believable fantasy worlds and authentic characters you can’t help but love and cheer for, Toby Neighbors has created the ultimate Space Marine novel, a story full of Action & Adventure that will keep you turning pages. This book will be your next obsession.

    They founded the global business Supercute Enterprises as teenagers, armed only with a phone, a collection of their favourite cuddly toys and a love of all things kawaii. Thanks to them, the Supercute aesthetic is now a way of life.In a world dominated by massive conglomerates, Supercute has continued to grow bigger and more powerful, morphing from an entertainment company to a ruthless organisation fighting for their right to the world's water.Now Mox and Mitsu face a choice. In a world that is tearing itself apart, who will win in the battle for ultimate control - and where will Supercute draw the line . . .

     On Earth, Jack Bullage survives a horrendous car accident. Reporter Louise Harding has a score to settle with Jack. She investigates all the options, even the most unbelievable ones. How did he get to be so lucky? The Gadium have the answers. They know why Jack is special. It’s just evolution; he’s developing the ability to ‘ride the parallels.’ This could herald Earth's Emergence, a new era, an end to its isolation in the galaxy – but Gadium approval is not assured and Jack may be evolving too fast for their plans. ------ www.nickmlloyd.com ------

    Shanghaied after he thought his luck had changed for the better, Sterling Stevenson was finding his luck changing in totally unexpected ways. Now called Silver Garand, the navigator of the small trade vessel Jolly Jane, his luck was leading him from one inadvertent adventure to another.

    There's a greater emphasis than usual on Golden Age writers (just the way it came together) -- but we have one original story as well, a posthumous collaboration with H.B. Fyfe, finishing a really terrific but not-quite-done tale he had been working on before his death. It's a bit reminiscent of James Tiptree, Jr.'s best work -- but predates Tiptree by a couple of decades. And we have novels by Robert Silverberg, Frederik Pohl & C.M. Kornbluth, Murray Leinster, E. Everett Evans, and Donald Wollheim...not to mention part 2 of our serialization of Tony Rothman's mammoth 2013 novel, Firebird. And a ton of great short stories. 36 works in all, more than 1900 pages of great reading!ANGELS IN THE JETS, by Jerome BixbyA CODE FOR SAM, by Lester del ReySTAR SHIP, by Poul AndersonTHE WELL-OILED MACHINE, by H.B. FyfeJACK OF NO TRADES, by Evelyn E. SmithTHE GRAVITY BUSINESS, by James E. GunnDOOMSDAY EVE, by Robert Moore WilliamsMASTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, by Robert SilverbergFALCONS OF NARABEDLA, by Marion Zimmer BradleyNEW LAMPS, by Robert Moore WilliamsTHE PIRATES OF ZAN, by Murray LeinsterOUT OF THE IRON WOMB!, by Poul AndersonLATER THAN YOU THINK, by Fritz LeiberTHE PLANET MAPPERS, by E. Everett EvansAFTERGLOW, by H.B. Fyfe and John Gregory BetancourtSHIPPING CLERK, by William MorrisonCONTAGION, by Katherine MacLeanTHE LIGHT ON PRECIPICE PEAK, by Stephen TallTHE LUCKIEST MAN IN DENV, by Simon EisnerON THE FOURTH PLANET, by J.F. BoneBIMMIE SAYS, by Sydney Van ScyocSWEET TOOTH, by Robert F. YoungSEARCH THE SKY, by Frederik Pohl and C. M. KornbluthSTAR, BRIGHT, by Mark CliftonHOT PLANET, by Hal ClementTWO WEEKS IN AUGUST, by Frank M. RobinsonTHE ALIEN, by Raymond F. JonesBODYGUARD, by Christopher GrimmJAYWALKER, by Ross RocklynneSECOND CHILDHOOD, by Clifford D. SimakOF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS, by William TennPOLLONY UNDIVERTED, by Sydney Van ScyocDELAY IN TRANSIT, by F. L. WallaceA GIFT FROM EARTH, by Manly BanisterONE AGAINST THE MOON, by Donald A. WollheimSpecial Feature: FIREBIRD, by Tony Rothman [Part 2 of 3]If you enjoy this volume of classic stories, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see the 270+ other entries in this series, including science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, adventure, horror, westerns -- and much, much more!