The next thing Conan knew, he was up to his neck in Van pirates, killer ape-men, Aquilonian nobility, an ancient blood cult, a Stygian sorcerer and the murderous tribes of the dread Coast of Bones.

    Stormbreaker They told him his uncle died in an accident. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, they said. But when fourteen-year-old Alex finds his uncle's windshield riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident. What he doesn't know yet is that his uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission. But he is about to, and once he does, there is no turning back. Finding himself in the middle of terrorists, Alex must outsmart the people who want him dead. The government has given him the technology, but only he can provide the courage. Should he fail, every child in England will be murdered in cold blood. 2. Point Blanc When an investigation into a series of mysterious deaths leads agents to an elite prep school for rebellious kids, MI6 assigns Alex Rider to the case. Before he knows it, Alex is hanging out with the sons of the rich and powerful, and something feels wrong. These former juvenile delinquents have turned well-behaved, studious—and identical—overnight. It's up to Alex to find out who is masterminding this nefarious plot, before they find him. 3. Skeleton Key Alex Rider has been through a lot for his fourteen years. He's been shot at by international terrorists, chased down a mountainside on a makeshift snowboard, and has stood face-to-face with pure evil. Twice, young Alex has managed to save the world. And twice, he has almost been killed doing it. But now Alex faces something even more dangerous. The desperation of a man who has lost everything he cared for: his country and his only son. A man who just happens to have a nuclear weapon and a serious grudge against the free world. To see his beloved Russia once again be a dominant power, he will stop at nothing. Unless Alex can stop him first... Uniting forces with America's own CIA for the first time, teen spy Alex Rider battles terror from the sun-baked beaches of Miami all the way to the barren ice fields of northernmost Russia. 4. Eagle Strike Sir Damian Cray is a philanthropist, peace activist, and the world's most famous pop star. But still it's not enough. He needs more if he is to save the world. Trouble is, only Alex Rider recognizes that it's the world that needs saving from Sir Damian Cray. Underneath the luster of glamour and fame lies a twisted mind, ready to sacrifice the world for his beliefs. But in the past, Alex has always had the backing of the government. This time, he's on his own. Can one teenager convince the world that the most popular man on earth is a madman bent on destruction-before time runs out? 5. Scorpia Alex Rider, teen spy, has always been told he is the spitting image of the father he never knew. But when Alex learns that his father may have been an assassin for the most lethal and powerful terrorist organization in the world, Scorpia, his world shatters. Now Scorpia wants Alex on their side, and Alex no longer has the strength to fight them. That is, until he learns of Scorpia’s latest plot: an operation known only as “Invisible Sword” that will result in the death of thousands of people. Can Alex prevent the slaughter, or will Scorpia prove once and for all that the terror will not be stopped? 6. Ark Angel The sniper’s bullet nearly killed him. But Alex Rider managed to survive . . . just in time for more trouble to come his way. When kidnappers attempt to snatch a fellow patient from the exclusive hospital where Alex is recovering, he knows he has to stop him. But the boy he saves is no ordinary patient: He is the son of Nikolai Drevin, one of the richest men in the world. The eccentric billionaire has been targeted by Force Three, a group of eco-terrorists who claim his project Ark Angel—the first luxury hotel in outer space—is a danger to the environment. Soon Alex discovers that Force Three will stop at nothing to destroy Ark Angel, even if it means sending four hundred tons of molten glass and steel hurtling down to Earth and killing millions . . . unless Alex can stop them. 7. Snakehead When Alex Rider crash-lands off the coast of Australia, the Australian Secret Service recruits him to infiltrate one of the ruthless gangs operating across Southeast Asia. Known as snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and worst of all, people. Alex accepts the assignment, in part for the chance to work with his godfather and learn more about his parents. What he uncovers, however, is a secret that will make this his darkest and most dangerous mission yet . . . and the knowledge that his old nemesis, Scorpia, is anything but out of his life. 8. Crocodile Tears A charity broker con artist has raised millions of dollars in donations, only to invest them in a form of genetically modified corn that has the power to release an airborne strain of virus so powerful it can knock out an entire country in one windy day. A catastrophe so far-reaching that it would raise millions of dollars more in charitable donations, all of which would be embezzled by one man. The antidote? Alex Rider, of course, who survives gunfire, explosions, and hand-to-hand combat with mercenaries--just another day in the life of an average kid. 9. Scorpia Rising Scorpia has dogged Alex Rider for most of his life. They killed his parents, they did their best to con Alex into turning traitor, and they just keep coming back with more power. Now the world's most dangerous terrorist organization is playing with fire in the world's most combustible land: the Middle East. No one knows Scorpia like Alex. And no one knows how best to get to Alex like Scorpia. Until now. 10. Russian Roulette: The Story of an Assassin Alex Rider’s life changed forever with the silent pull of a trigger.Every story has a beginning. For teen secret agent Alex Rider, that beginning occurred prior to his first case for MI6, known by the code name Stormbreaker. By the time Stormbreaker forever changed Alex’s life, his uncle had been murdered by the assassin Yassen Gregorovich, leaving Alex orphaned and craving revenge. Yet when Yassen had a clear shot to take out Alex after he foiled the Stormbreaker plot, he let Alex live. Why? This is Yassen’s story. A journey down the darker path of espionage.

    Subterranean Press is proud to publish The Sagan Diary, a long novelette that for the first time looks at the worlds of the Hugo-nominated Old Man's War and its sequel The Ghost Brigades from the point of view of Lieutenant Jane Sagan, who in a series of diary entries gives her views on some of the events included in the series... and sheds new light into some previously unexplored corners. If you thought you knew Jane Sagan before, prepare to be surprised.

    Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 - 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks among the 26 most translated authors in the world. His works have been admired by many other writers, including Jorge Luis Borges, Bertolt Brecht, Arthur Conan Doyle, Cesare Pavese, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, Vladimir Nabokov, J. M. Barrie, and G. K. Chesterton, who said of him that he "seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins.

    Now, a familiar posse runs the town called Marigold and its mining community with their sharp and newly deputized claws. After finding out that this shot of evil has infected her life again and now rules everyone still left on the mountain, she quickly begins to search for the root source of its existence, before it poisons the people and the land itself forever.

    In the first eBook short story, there are high stakes on the high seas as the always cunning Reaver takes on a ruthless pirate king.   Captain Dread has made a deal with the port cities: They pay him for protection, and he doesn’t raid them. It’s a neat and tidy arrangement, all agree, except for one man, Reaver, the daring outlaw blessed with eternal youth, who refuses to cede his hometown of Bloodstone. After Reaver sends back one too many heads in a duffel bag, Dread decides to take matters into his own hands. To his surprise, Reaver surrenders willingly. But Dread’s new prisoner is no coward. It’s all part of Reaver’s unbelievably bold—and bloody—plan, which ultimately pits pirate against pirate in an explosive showdown that will live forever in the legendary world of Fable™.   © 2012 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Fable, Lionhead, the Lionhead logo, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

    Leaving behind a dead-end life, I thought settling in with the Le Roux family was what I was meant to do. But meeting Victor changed everything, and now I can’t imagine surviving without him. I, Sierra Steele never expected sexual pleasure to become my nightmare. My body is reveling in my new predicament, while my mind is screaming at the invasion. But protecting Carly is my purpose, and I’ll do what’s necessary. As long as I stay sane…

    They wanted to know why McCain appealed so much to so many Americans, and particularly why he appealed to the "Young Voters" of America who generally show nothing but apathy. The "Director's Cut" (three times longer than the RS article) is an incisive, funny, thoughtful piece about life on "Bullshit One" -- the nickname for the press bus that followed McCain's Straight Talk Express. This piece becomes ever more relevant, as we discuss what we know, don't know, and don't want to know about the way our political campaigns work.

    However, he very soon gets caught up in a terrifying murder.

    Book 4: SAVAGE SECRETS Covert agents work under the guise of a fake marriage to stop a terrorist attack before their secrets blow their cover--and cool their sizzling connectionBook 5: HART ATTACK A CIA agent's socialite cover offers the perfect ruse when she teams up with her best friend's older brother to infiltrate the black market.Book 6: BLACK DAWN An elusive hacker requires security protection from Titan Group after she leaves an abusive relationship and discovers the plans for a terrorist attack. Book 6.5: SWEET ONE A pregnant Titan operative's secret witness protection background is exposed as her husbands is trapped by an explosion.This bestselling series is packed with alpha men and their strong women as they fall in love and defy death. Each of the high-stakes love stories has a happily ever after! No cliffhangers!

    She seeks help from her intriguing upstairs tenant, former cop Jed Skimmerhorn. True Betrayals Kelsey Byden grew up believing her mother had died when she was three. Now twenty-six, she receives a letter from her mother explaining that she is alive. But there are more secrets to be found out and Kelsey decides to stay at her mother's splendid horse farm, where she falls in love with handsome gambler Gabe Slater. Homeport Dr. Miranda Jones welcomed the distraction offered by a summons to Italy to verify the authenticity of a Renaissance bronze. However, her professional judgment is called into question when the bronze is declared a hoax. Miranda turns to Ryan Boldari, a seductive—and supposedly reformed—art thief. The Reef Tate Beaumont and Matthew Lassiter share the dream of finding Anguelique's Curse, a jeweled amulet surrounded by legend. Tate soon learns that her arrogant but attractive fellow diver holds as many secrets as the sea itself.