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.

    Over the past several years of war they have encroached farther into COS space, and the consensus is for the Issog to defeat the Commonwealth within the next five years. To make matters worse, the Arrith nation, a lizard-like species, is building up its fleets to take on the winner—the bats or the monkeys as they refer to them—since the winner will have all but exhausted its navy. The Commonwealth's only hope is that a newly developed technology can help them defeat the Issog and retain sufficient resources afterward to force the Arrith to continue their twenty-year nonaggression treaty. But the technology is unproven and possibly beyond the humans' ability to adapt.

     Follow a core group of characters known as the Trailblazers as they use alien technology and knowledge discovered in Antarctic ruins to obtain limited immortality and lead Humanity out into the galaxy, encountering, befriending, and fighting hundreds of alien races all the while desperately trying to prepare Earth for the unbeatable threat at the core of the Milky Way that is destined to return and reclaim their lost colony…and their former Human slaves. Episodes in this box set: SF85-Intellect SF86-Bahamut SF87-Zealot SF88-Quenar

    As he blows out the candles on his cake, he makes a token wish. Three days later, to his utter astonishment, that wish comes true.All his problems solved, Kyle is busy counting his blessings when a gaunt pensioner turns up at his door unannounced. The stranger then confounds Kyle by claiming credit for his recent good fortune, followed by a bizarre declaration … when Edmund Wishkin grants a wish, there’s always a price to pay.Whether he believes the old man or not, Kyle is about to discover the true cost of a wish fulfilled.

    A deadly challenge. The fate of the world is on Astra’s shoulders.Twenty-five-year-old Astra Ching has never sought the spotlight. So when a mysterious black orb appears with a challenge for Earth and selects her to compete in its strange—and very public—game, she’s not pleased to find herself a sudden superstar.The rules are bewildering, and there are no second chances for losers. Yet while Astra fights to stay alive and save the world from imminent destruction, the people of Earth are more interested in tabloids and gossip, like whether or not she’s engaging in a scandalous love affair with a fellow contestant . . . or the mysterious alien known only as Eleven.In her struggle to survive, Astra forms tentative alliances with a handful of trustworthy friends. But as the global gossip seeps into the game and contestants are eliminated with each round, Astra’s celebrity threatens to become infamy and the line between friend and foe blurs.Will she emerge from the arena a hero, or just another headline?

    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.

    He is living in rural Sitra Falls, Oregon trying to deal with hyper-vigilance and ease back into civilian life.When an unusual looking young woman enters his favorite breakfast place he befriends her. Little does he know he'll kill for her before lunch and start an adventure that will take him around the world and off planet.When you have every sort of alphabet agency human and alien hunting for you survival is the hard part. But you might as well get rich too.

    with a peculiar talent.After years of destitution, Adam Eden's life is finally on the up. But, whilst out celebrating his recent good fortune, Adam unwittingly chooses death over embarrassment.Awaking in a future of leisure, luxury, and immortality, Adam suffers serious shrinkage and is branded an 'undesirable'. Shunned by family and neighbours for his first-life sins, can he find respect and redemption in this tightly controlled world? Facing a grim eternity, Adam wants out.A randomly chosen day trip changes everything.Though cruel and heartless, they always let you choose your weapon.

    The best of the best. And now he's gone Rogue... His entire life, all James 'Red' Maddox has known is war. He was born on a dust rock called Genesis-526, conscripted into the Federation military with thousands of other recruits, and somehow stumbled into the Mech Corps. It was a moment that changed his life. Mech Corps pilots are the best of the best. They sit in the cockpit of iron beasts that tower into the sky, fighting alongside men and women who have been bred for their task since birth. Perfect reaction times. An almost inhuman level of concentration. The courage to throw themselves into the fight day after day, year after year, knowing that their mechs are sent into the crucible of the fight, into the heart of danger—and expected not just to survive, but to win... But Red is getting real tired of putting down rebellions on colony planets he's never heard of. Of pulverizing alien planets before he ever even learns their name. Of losing friends, lovers, and brothers in the service of an empire that doesn't care whether he lives or dies. Every man has his breaking point. And Red just found his...

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

    From Argus the Committee keep an oppressive control: citizens are watched by cams systems and political officers, it's a world inhabited by shepherds, reader guns, razor birds and the brutal Inspectorate with its white tiled cells and pain inducers. Soon the Committee will have the power to edit human minds, but not yet, twelve billion human being need to die before Earth can be stabilized, but by turning large portions of Earth into concentration camps this is achievable, especially when the Argus satellite laser network comes fully online . . . This is the world Alan Saul wakes to in his crate on the conveyor to the Calais incinerator. How he got there he does not know, but he does remember the pain and the face of his interrogator. Informed by Janus, through the hardware implanted in his skull, about the world as it is now Saul is determined to destroy it, just as soon as he has found out who he was, and killed his interrogator . . .Zero Point: Earth’s Zero Asset citizens no longer face extermination from orbit. Thanks to Alan Saul, the Committee’s network of control is a smoking ruin and its robotic enforcers lie dormant. But power abhors a vacuum and, scrambling from the wreckage, comes the ruthless Serene Galahad. She must act while the last vestiges of Committee infrastructure remain intact – and she has the means to ensure command is hers. On Mars, Var Delex fights for the survival of Antares Base, while the Argus Space Station hurls towards the red planet. And she knows whomever, or whatever, trashed Earth is still aboard. Var must save the base, while also dealing with the first signs of rebellion. And aboard Argus Station, Alan Saul’s mind has expanded into the local computer network. In the process, he uncovers the ghastly experiments of the Humanoid Unit Development, the possibility of eternal life, and a madman who may hold the keys to interstellar flight. But Earth’s agents are closer than Saul thinks, and the killing will soon begin.Jupiter War: Alan Saul is now part-human and part-machine, and our solar system isn't big enough to hold him. He craves the stars, but can't leave yet. His sister Var is trapped on Mars, on the wrong side of a rebellion, and Saul's human side won't let her die. He must leave Argus Station to stage a dangerous rescue -- but mutiny is brewing onboard, as Saul's robots make his crew feel increasingly redundant. Serene Galahad will do anything to prevent Saul's escape. Earth’s ruthless dictator hides her crimes from a cowed populace as she readies new warships for pursuit. She aims to crush her enemy in a terrifying display of interstellar violence. Meanwhile, The Scourge limps back to earth, its crew slaughtered, its mission to annihilate Saul a disaster. There are survivors, but while one seeks Galahad's death, Clay Ruger will negotiate for his life. Events build to a climax as Ruger holds humanity’s greatest prize -- seeds to rebuild a dying Earth. This stolen gene-bank data will come at a price, but what will Galahad pay for humanity’s future?

    Everyone around him is dead. He has no idea where he is, or who shot him and his squad down.He soon discovers he’s on one of the moons orbiting Mars, not far from the main colony and his transport back to Earth. Two members of a mining team stationed on the moon come out to investigate. They take Miller back to their base where he manages to send out a call for help.He has ninety minutes to wait for rescue.But those ninety minutes are going to feel like a lifetime.Miller quickly realises that something in the station is wrong.There seems to be more to this place than meets the eye.Strange and unsettling events suggest things are not quite as they appear.As the minutes until his rescue tick by and he begins to finally figure out what is going on, Miller is forced to confront echoes from his past as well as his deepest fears in a situation that is becoming more terrifying by the second.And he soon learns that some nightmares don’t stop when you wake up.

    But someone wants to stop him from pursuing it. Meanwhile on Earth, a monk of the Citadel discovers a strange ancient artwork. Could it lead to truth of the myth of the Moon Men? Finding out the truth could kill him.

    That warning was the only thing protecting the child. Why? Perhaps because he was abandoned without parents or AI-implants, when almost everyone else has them. Perhaps because the rest of humanity is connected mind-to-mind to compete with pure robotic AIs, but bio-extremists see deadly threat in his power. Or perhaps because they wonder at the mystery of his origins when humankind reaches for the stars, only to find something out there watching, and waiting. All Adam wishes for is what most teenagers want: a home, to find out who he is, maybe even some friends & family. But forces at work in our little corner of the galaxy ensure he’ll be forced on to a journey that is far more exciting - and dangerous - than he ever could have imagined. “…truly brings about the question of what you define as "human"...one of the best sci-fi novels I've read!" (–C Hsu, ‘Ethereal Pages’.)What Readers Say About “ADAM” (from 133 reviews Amazon.uk, and 311 ratings Goodreads):★★★★★ ‘Wonderfully crafted sc-fi…if A.K.Stone isn't a pseudonym for an already acknowledged master of the sci-fi genre, then I have to say that I am amazed…The quality of the plotting and writing is superb…filled with complex imagery and concepts….extraordinary vision...’★★★★★ ‘Fabulous…A great journey from the first chapter to the last, with great character development.’★★★★★ ‘A wonderfully rich sci fi, full of twists and fascinating technology, a great read…’★★★★★ ‘Excellent…This book is as good as it gets…’★★★★★ ‘engaging, imaginative and beautifully written.’ ★★★★★ ‘Clever, different, gripping…’★★★★★ ‘Awesome story!! a very magical and detailed reality. The reading flows and the more you go on, the more you want to read.’★★★★★ ‘Science Fiction of the first order.’★★★★★ ‘Every so often you come across a little known book where it seems a crime that it should be unknown and this gem is one of those books.’★★★★★ ‘Excellent…big galaxy spanning story, with a lot of heart and soul.’★★★★★ ‘Couldn’t put it down…a plot that twists and turns, taking you on an exciting and sometimes emotional journey.’★★★★★ ‘This is literature, a beautifully crafted novel…One to savour,…’★★★★★ ‘Great Great read…I’m a really fussy sci-fi reader and this ticked all the boxes.’★★★★★ ‘Absorbing and thought provoking, Adam pulled me into to its world and stayed with me long after I had finished the book.’★★★★★ ‘Brilliant, Aliens, AI and a mystery. Tell me there is a book 2!!’ ★★★★★ ‘Excellent. Brilliant plot. Wonderful language. Amazing ideas and tech…’★★★★★ ‘Fantastic What a great book. Very different from the normal. Intelligent and fascinating. A real page turner!’★★★★★ ‘The ultimate underdog story …gargantuan space ships…and an enemy that will make humans, Aliens and AIs quake!! Read this!’★★★★★ ‘Best this year. Why is this not a film? Great read , could not put down, mysterious and thought-provoking. Get your teeth into this adventure.’

    Who are they, and why have they come? The survivors soon discover the aliens are here for the one resource they cannot find elsewhere in the solar system- surface biomass. Life itself. The survivors are left to fight a guerrilla war against their technologically superior adversaries in the vain hope of driving them off before they can strip the world of life. But they may be doomed to fail unless they can find a way to strike directly against the aliens, unassailable in their fortress-mothership orbiting high above the earth. With memorable characters, packed with action and bleeding-edge technology ‘Rage of Angels’ is a fresh, up to date and frighteningly plausible addition to the alien invasion genre.