A gang-infested school. A vengeful teacher. After his star pupil, Rina Ogawa, is sexually assaulted in a school restroom, Edward Clifford sets out on a journey to find the truth and bring her attackers to justice. He finds himself delving head-first into the lives of his other students—lives filled with crime, violence, and hatred. What starts as a desperate attempt to achieve justice quickly sends Edward down the path of vengeance... Who attacked Rina Ogawa? Can Edward bring her attackers to justice? Or will he take matters into his own hands? From the provocative author of The Law of Retaliation and Grandfather’s House, Jon Athan brings you a shocking thriller packed with mystery, suspense, and extreme violence. This is a story of human horror. WARNING: This novel contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

    Beckoning Fates (book 3):Was I taking this life for granted? Having this amount of power at my age had made me lose some of the sense of rationality I’d had in my former life. No longer a king, no longer tied down by rules and politics, I’d become careless. In this world, my potential was boundless.Though Arthur Leywin would like nothing more than to pursue his studies at the esteemed Xyrus Academy, where he hopes to push his already potent magical abilities to new plateaus and perhaps discover something more about his reincarnation into this world, he finds the politics of the school’s halls even more challenging to navigate than those of the council chambers he once inhabited as King Grey. Arthur faces inept professors, jealous classmates, and an overeager director while fending off the affection of an old friend and the aggression of an old enemy. Then a routine class trip into a low-level dungeon turns out to be anything but, and Arthur discovers something that will change his life forever.Horizon's Edge (book 4):In my past life I hadn’t had anyone I would have given my life to protect. I had that now, but I didn’t have the strength to protect them - not against what was about to come.In another life, Arthur Leywin was a king and no stranger to war. He was not ready, however, to find himself at the heart of a conflict that will reshape his entire new world. Despite his abilities, it seems as if the danger only increases with every discovery he makes. His oldest friend succumbs to a power that may destroy her, a power Arthur gave her. His most constant foe accepts a dark gift to challenge Arthur’s strength, an act that threatens all of Xyrus Academy. How can he keep his family safe if his very presence is the thing that draws danger to them? Can he dispel the specters of war before it is too late?©2016 TurtleMe (P)2020 Podium Publishing

    Times are changing, railways are being built across the land bringing new freedom and possibilities. Jessie tastes that freedom when she meets an ambitious young navvy, newly arrived in Yorkshire. The attraction between them is overwhelming. And Jared Wilde is determined to make Jessie his wife. The primitive, colourful shanty towns that spring up around the railway works are nothing like the safe world Jessie once knew. But in spite of the hardness of life there, she finds happiness with Jared. Until another navvy becomes determined to destroy their future together...

    His first mate, Mr. Jukes, is the perfect contrast as an imaginative man prone to speaking in figurative language. Though they are opposites, MacWhirr and Jukes respect each other and run a tight ship, until the crew notices the barometer predicting a serve storm. Jukes and the crew suggest alternate paths to MacWhirr, but he is unconvinced. Since MacWhirr has not experienced the storm yet, he doesn't believe that it really can be much of a problem, and if they sailed around it, they would waste time. Jukes is shocked at the decision, but respects MacWhirr's conviction. They keep their course, setting sail to go directly through the storm. Though the crew objects, Jukes and MacWhirr are convinced they each made the right call, but disastrous outcomes are inevitable when facts are ignored. Now in the heart of a great typhoon, MacWhirr and Jukes must work together to save their crew. Facing tuberous winds, powerful waves, and the sea's worst moods, the combination of MacWhirr's rationalism and Jukes' imagination prove to be vital.Based off of events in Joseph Conrad's sea life, Typhoon is an allegorical work that explores consequences of making decisions without considering facts or other perspectives, while hailing the importance of tolerance and collaboration. With satirical characters and a thrilling setting, Typhoon is both thought-provoking and adventurous. First published in 1902, Joseph Conrad's has been reprinted in many publications, including literary magazines and literary collections. Typhoon depicts a story of high stakes and adventure with a uniquely observant narrative style, shouldering Conrad's stylistic legacy of masterful prose.Previously published among other literary works, this edition allows Joseph Conrad's Typhoon stand on its own. Now with a new, eye-catching cover design and printed in a modern, easy-to-read font, Typhoon is accessible for a contemporary audience. Even nearly one-hundred and twenty years later, Conrad's adventurous, allegorical work is still relevant and intriguing as it acknowledges the various personalities required for human success and survival.

    Best to steer clear of the freaks in Voodoo, kid.”Surrounded and outgunned, a group of private military contractors known as “Strange Company” find themselves on a remote planet at the edge of known space, and on the losing end of a bad contract. Orbital D-beam strikes, dropships bristling with auto-guns, missiles, and troops - even Monarch space marines in state-of-the-art advanced battle rattle - will try to prevent the company from reaching the exfil LZ and getting off-world.For Strange, that means it’s time to hang tough and get it on with as much hyper-kinetic violence as they can muster to get clear of the whole mess. And what the Strange can’t get done by violent assault and crazy firefights, they’ll get done by the freaks of Voodoo Platoon - operators who have been changed by the Dark Labs into powerful and unnervingly unnatural asymmetrical weapons.This is the Strange Company. Because in the Strange, it’s always really Strange. Join them - and get ready for full auto combat at the furthest limits of human exploration.

    Among her characters are some of the most remarkable portraits in English literature: Dorothea Brooke, the heroine, idealistic but naive; Rosamond Vincy, beautiful and egoistic: Edward Casaubon, the dry-as-dust scholar: Tertius Lydgate, the brilliant but morally-flawed physician: the passionate artist Will Ladislaw: and Fred Vincey and Mary Garth, childhood sweethearts whose charming courtship is one of the many humorous elements in the novel's rich comic vein.

    A collection of the first three books in the Eve Duncan series.

    I am Brandon Thighmaster. Monk. Hero. Inspiration. I enjoy crunching, squats, looking at myself, looking at other people looking at myself, and long walks on the beach. I also do adventures and stuff, and I guess you can read about them here. But enough about you, let's talk about me. Brandon Thighmaster."

    At Gip's urging, the two go in — and things grow more and more curious by the minute. Counters, store fixtures, and mirrors seem to move around the room, and the shopkeeper is most mysterious of all. Gip is thrilled by all he sees, and his father is at first amused, but when things become stranger and sinister father is no longer sure where reality ends and illusion begins. Fantastical illustrations underscore the macabre atmosphere of the tale, make this a perfect book read aloud together again and again.

    Military science-fiction adventure at its best!---GABRIEL'S REDEMPTION, Book OneNorth American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel was dishonorably discharged after losing his covert team on a far off world called Eden. Now, he’s being offered an opportunity to command a new team, on a new world, with a new mission, but the true motives behind the mission are unclear.From the decaying Caribbean to politically-charged South America, from the slums of Mars to a tiny colony on a planet six hundred light years from Earth, Gabriel's Redemption is a near-future military science fiction story of a personal journey seen from the perspective of a soldier who has lost everything; one who desperately needs to redeem himself not only in his government’s eyes, but also his own. Interstellar action and political intrigue mix with one-on-one battles on the surface of a frozen planet in this exciting tale of salvation.Approximately 66,000 words.GABRIEL’S RETURN, Book TwoOn the far-off icebound planet of Poliahu, North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel suffered the loss of several team members in order to free a native species and save his brother. Now he is being called away on a new mission by a friend in trouble, and by a name from his distant past. He and his surviving team must again travel across the galaxy to the planet where he lost his naval command, and his original team, so many years ago: Eden.Evan Gabriel must face three distinct threats on Eden: the well-armed terrorist group that has been raiding Eden City, the dangerous planet itself, and his own haunting memories of his past.Gabriel's Return continues the epic science fiction/adventure trilogy with characters new and old, devious political intrigue on the moon and Mars, and deadly jungle combat on Eden.Approximately 87,000 wordsGABRIEL’S REVENGE, Book ThreeA missile has no conscience. It is an inanimate steel object: cold, emotionless. But once ignited, it burns white hot inside, and cannot be shut off. Fired in combat, it has but one objective: the total destruction of its intended target. And it will only stop when its objective has been achieved, or it runs out of fuel.Not all missiles are made of steel.North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel thought it was over. Returning from a mission on the far-off world of Eden, he finds that Mars is in a state of political upheaval. Two major dome cities are now under the control of ambitious and ruthless men backed by the scheming South American Republic. Friends are in trouble, Renay Gesselli is missing, and the future of a world is in flux while rival governments bicker behind closed doors. From the ice-bound planet of Poliahu, to the dangerous jungle world of Eden, and back to his adopted home of Mars, Evan Gabriel has witnessed death follow him. Now, he's turning the tables, and no force would stand in his way.Approximately 80,000 wordsREVIEWS:“The action in this series rocks, complete with super-cool weapons and technology. Umstead takes a complex cast and gives them each a distinct personality that makes the team dynamic just great.” - L. Petersen“I am a huge fan of well-written science fiction, and the Evan Gabriel series hasn't disappointed... layered with dimension and feeling unlike quite a few other sci-fi titles out there.” - N. Holderby“Umstead has created what I can only describe as a Tom Clancy-esque world a few hundred years into the future.” - W.E. Linde

    Enterprise and Directorate are still embattled as the NAU marches toward Shift, now just days away. Experience more of the textured sci-fi saga that will keep you guessing, and pulling you in for more with characters that aren’t just pieces in the game, but true, multi-dimensional people living in a tangible future that is simple to imagine.Join Nicolai, Kai, Dominic, Leah, Leo, Isaac, Micah, and Natasha, plus new characters to round out the cast in a future that’s easy to see lighting our horizon already. In the future you are who they want you to be. ˃˃˃ Realm & Sands Readers Love The Beam. Here's What They're Saying: "Wow. This book was amazing. The world that the authors have painted is probably the most believable and relatable sci-fi world I have ever seen, and yet has a lot of ideas and technology that I wouldn't have thought of. Everything from the characters to the political environment and future history of the world is intriguing and well thought out."~ Michael Day"This book is amazing. And I say this as someone who doesn't typically read or like science fiction novels for the very simple reason that a lot of science fiction has a mission to change your mind on some issue or another. Every genre tends to have at least one particular fault many of its stories are guilty of, and the fault of the sci fi genre is that many of its stories. I worried that this would be another one of those books that takes gray issues and insists they're really black and white according to a strict and narrow mindset of the author. Except that I've followed these authors through their podcasts and I knew they wouldn't write something that simple, would they? Well, they didn't. The Beam doesn't have to be a bad thing, even though it absolutely can be. It's full of gray areas and I love that in a story because you have to think. You're not being led down a predetermined path. I don't usually recommend a book to people. I have to really, really love it to tell someone else to read it, and then to ask them again later if they did. And then it's got to be really worthwhile to recommend it to more than a few of my close friends. Well, it made it beyond my circle of friends. READ THIS."LPC Campbell"First, I need to say The Beam's world is probably the best developed vision of the near future I have read so far. The world is surprising in many ways, yet everything about it feels a natural result from the development we are seeing in today's world. It teases your mind just like a good sci-fi world should while being entirely believable all the time. This adds a dimension to the book that feels almost like commentary on our current obsession with connectivity and the internet. It's subtle, and the story is what drives the book, but I found myself thinking about my own addiction to all these portable devices after putting the book aside... Second, the characters. This is my first Truant novel, but I've read a lot of Platt's fiction before, and every time, I have been impressed by the characters: They aren't just pieces in the game, but real, multi-dimensional human beings living through what it is that comes their way. This book is no exception. If anything, it's even better in this sense. Now, all I can say is that we need season two fast! There are so many things to uncover and explore.

    A Polar wind blows through it, and birds of prey hover over it." So Melville wrote of his masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history. In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part of its author's lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby-Dick is also a profound inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception.This edition of Moby-Dick, which reproduces the definitive text of the novel, includes invaluable explanatory notes, along with maps, illustrations, and a glossary of nautical terms.

    This series features classic tales retold with color illustrations to introduce literature to struggling readers. Each 64-page eBook retains key phrases and quotations from the original classics. You'll be kept in suspense with these four Edgar Allan Poe short stories! The Pit and the Pendulum, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Cask of Amontillado, The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

    On the case are Mark Green (Zachary Quinto), a deskbound police department employee with an encyclopedic knowledge of celebrity gossip, and Tiana Jones (Michelle Buteau), his no-nonsense colleague. After Mark and Tiana pose as detectives to find Charlie, the case gains national media attention, and the two quickly find themselves in a firestorm of basic bitches, gun-toting bookies, and cutthroat momagers. Sorry Charlie Miller is a TikTok-era mystery with twists, turns, and a whole lot of questionable fashion choices. It takes place in Florida, hello.

    The stories are the perfect length for reading aloud in a classroom or at bedtime. With lots of humour and fantastic characters, these will appeal to newly confident readers to read alone as well as to younger children being read to.Enid Blyton remains one of Britain's favourite children's authors and her bumper short story collections are perfect for introducing her to the latest generation of readers.