Prisons all over the European Union are bursting at the seams. Hans Schleiman, a criminal psychologist, has developed a new system for rehabilitating prisoners. He proposes that they be housed in virtual reality units where they spend the entirety of their sentence. Schleiman has developed software that aids the Subject’s rehabilitation and he has built a new breed of supercomputer to oversee the process - the Hosts. The UK is the first country to try the scheme and Denver is one of the first of a hundred Subjects to be inserted into the Schleiman Tanks after being mixed up in an armed robbery. His pleas of self-defence are ignored and he is sentenced to twenty-five years in the Schleiman Tank.Denver wakes up in a lush, green World — alone, and with no idea where he is or what this World might hold.Elsewhere, on the outskirts of Glasgow City State, Haze, one-time hacker, wakes up in the bowels of a run-down estate. He is blind and destitute after a disastrous job five years before left him eyeless and on the run from the most dangerous men in the country. Haze is given an ultimatum — he either carries out one last job, for which he will have his eyesight restored as payment, or he will be killed. It is Haze’s task to break into the virtual World that Denver inhabits and retrieve a piece of information that could affect all their lives.What no-one could prepare for is the very nature of the Host itself, a creature so advanced that not even the people who created it know what it is capable of.Thrust together, Denver and Haze attempt the impossible, to steal the thoughts of a machine so advanced, so strange, that its very mind is a nightmare. So it is that Haze’s one last job suddenly turns into a fight for survival. Neither of them can guess what will finally happen when they confront the Host at the heart of its mind, where reality ceases to exist.It is everywhere but no place . . .

    So when the Hegemony Survey Force encountered a world whose so-called "sentients" "humans," they called themselves—were almost as bad as the Shongairi themselves, it seemed reasonable to use the Shongairi to neutralize them before they could become a second threat to galactic peace. And if the Shongairi took a few knocks in the process, all the better. Now, Earth is conquered. The Shongairi have arrived in force, and humanity's cities lie in radioactive ruins. In mere minutes, more than half the human race has died. Master Sergeant Stephen Buchevsky, who thought he was being rotated home from his latest tour in Afghanistan, finds himself instead prowling the back country of the Balkans, dodging alien patrols and trying to organize scattered survivors without getting killed. And in the southeastern US, firearms instructor and former Marine Dave Dvorak finds himself at the center of a growing network of resistance putting his extended family at lethal risk, but what else can you do? On the face of it, Buchevsky's and Dvorak's chances look bleak, as do prospects for the rest of the surviving human race. But it may well be that Shongairi and the Hegemony alike have underestimated the inhabitants of that strange planet called Earth

    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.

    Our only chance for survival was to engineer a new race of perfect soldiers to combat them. Seventeen feet tall, knowing and loving nothing but war, their minds closed to the aliens. But these saviors could never be our servants. And what is done cannot be undone.

    However, when ten thousand birds fall dead from the New Mexican sky, the woman he loves, an ornithologist with severe facial deformity, begs him to decipher the cause. He grudgingly agrees, a decision that plunges him into a tangle of weirdness as old as the American Southwest. Stick’s investigation reveals that the birds’ mass death is an offshoot of a much larger conflict. On one side, the Good Friends, an underground railroad for undocumented immigrants, wants Stick to oust the man they believe responsible for killing the birds and persecuting immigrants. This same man leads The Minutemen Militia, which covets Stick’s expertise in handling their genetically mutated immigrant-tracking monsters. Meanwhile, a beautiful animal theologian tries to seduce Stick into believing his existence is key to balancing an off-kilter universe. Shady characters whisper of chupacabras loose in the desert. The exsanguinated corpses of strange beasts begin to turn up, some of them Stick’s close pals. At the center of it all lurks an enigmatic antagonist who, so they say, has harnessed the power of God in an ancient hot springs and is using it to herald doomsday.Stick’s journey upends his stable life, shakes apart his fragile relationships, and sets him on a collision course with his family’s secret ancestry. Ultimately, as chupacabra-like monsters, Minutemen, and Good Friends head toward a final showdown, Stick must make a hard choice about his own identity and values.

    For hundreds of years, the danger of collision has been ignored as mere crackpot theories, until now, and now it's too late. Collision is a short story commissioned by Vanquish Motion Pictures for development in film and television, and is the first in a series of character-rich, mystery-driven science fiction grounded in science fact.

    But you might not get out.Nestled on a lonely stretch along the Pacific coast, quaint roadside outpost Harmony Corner offers everything a weary traveler needs—a cozy diner, a handy service station, a cluster of motel rooms…and the Harmony family homestead presiding over it all. But when Odd Thomas and company stop to spend the night, they discover that there’s more to this secluded haven than meets the eye—and that between life and death, there is something more frightening than either.

    The planet is still under violent siege by ferocious animals. Humans are their desperate prey. Except some humans are evolving, mutating into a savage species that could save civilization-or end it.

    Until they came true.Doms. Dungeons. Kneeling at the feet of my Master. I’ve had naughty fantasies for as long as I can remember, but I never had the nerve to follow through on them. Besides, where would I find a sex club or a guy into D/s who wouldn’t turn out to be a serial killer? I’m a short, curvy kindergarten teacher in a small town where everybody knows your business.So when I heard about the Centauri Brides program, I poured a glass of Chardonnay for courage and filled out an application. It says they’re looking for women willing to travel to a new world and mate with the aliens who live there.There’s a footnote: Centauri warriors are strong, passionate aliens. Their culture requires females to obey their dominant mates or face the consequences, including the possibility of physical punishment. Do not apply if you are unwilling to accept these terms.Do not apply? Hah! Reading that made me want to sign up even more.I’ve been paired with a sexy seven-foot alien who changes color when he gets turned on. He’s everything I ever dreamed of – strong, smart, caring. And soo hot!I can leave the program – but only after I’ve stayed with him for 30 days. So I have a whole month to live out every wild and wicked fantasy I’ve ever had, no strings attached, then go back to my comfortable, safe life on Earth.Submitting to this dominant male is so much more thrilling than I ever imagined it would be. But I have a huge problem. He’s demanding more than my obedience.He wants my heart.And with every day that goes by, I’m getting closer to giving it to him.Centauri Brides is a brand new series, a spinoff from the popular Centauri Captives. Each book is a standalone featuring masterful alien warrior males and the strong, smart Earth women who love them. And who have the skills it takes to build a brand new world. As always, USA Today Bestselling Authors Kallista Dane and Kate Richards promise an HEA in every story.

    Abandoned hulks of machinery rust in the colorless landscape. Dark, oily seas beat against a jagged black shore. And the remnants of a reentry space vehicle crash into the rough waves. In it sleeps Ripley, a woman who has battled the enemy twice. It killed her whole crew the first time. The second time, it slaughtered a spaceload of death-dealing Marines. Now on this prison planet that houses only a horde of defiant, captive men, she will have to fight the ultimate alien horror one more time.

    But the newest contender in this savage arena, as demonic to behold as he is deadly to challenge, is fighting for more than just survival. His do-or-die mission, for the dark masters he serves, is to capture the ultimate weapon: an object capable of obliterating the Jedi and conquering the galaxy.Sith lords Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious are determined to possess the prize. And one of the power-hungry duo has his own treacherous plans for it. But first, their fearsome apprentice must take on a bloodthirsty prison warden, a cannibal gang, cutthroat crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and an unspeakable alien horror. No one else could brave such a gauntlet of death and live. But no one else is the dreaded dark-side disciple known as Darth Maul.

    This omnibus collects three tales of savage warfare and heroism on the frontline.

    Assisted by a sentient AI, the unsuspecting crew is awakened when a strange craft suddenly appears transmitting an appeal for help. Led to an underground sanctuary, they discover the remains of an entire alien civilization, preserved in stasis. While the newfound allies make preparations to leave, they are threatened by an aggressive race bent on acquiring the alien’s secrets for themselves. The looming confrontation will change the destinies of three disparate races, and give the victors a chance to spread their influence throughout the galaxy.

    One species is found to be an extreme danger to itself and others – Humanity. Evidence for the continuation of the species hangs by a thread. Jake Connolly, talented up and coming LA lawyer, has a hidden psychic side long suppressed. When a series of intense visionary experiences threaten to derail his life, he is dragged unwillingly towards mysterious events deep in the Mojave Desert. What he discovers there changes him forever, and will affect the lives of everyone on the planet.As the world watches its destiny unfold, humanity is forced to fight for its survival in a Galactic court and justify its existence to far superior beings.A mystical, innovative, and intelligent novel that asks the biggest questions of all.Where are we from…where are we going...how much have we truly evolved?…Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ASIN B079QTKPML here.

    Will the next encounter spell the end of mankind? 3 books and 1,200+ pages of alien invasion and interstellar action. Over 250 five-star ratings on Goodreads! In the far future, nanotechnology will be all that keeps us alive in a brutal war with the Merkiaari. Into this war-torn galaxy a courageous Marine, an alien geneticist, and a broken hero will unite in common cause... The Merkiaari Wars Series: Books 1-3 includes the first three installments in an epic space opera about space exploration and alien invasion. If you enjoy military science fiction stories that mix philosophy with political intrigue, then you'll love Mark Cooper's unequivocal masterpiece. Pick up this box set, and you'll get a free two-chapter preview of Operation Breakout (book 4). Buy The Merkiaari Wars Series: Books 1-3 and start reading today! Author Interview Q - What inspired you to write The Merkiaari Wars?A - I love science fiction and space opera. I can never read enough futuristic war novels about galactic empires! I always write books that I would read myself. When people ask me about other author's novels, I tell them to try the books I love. Books like C J Cherryh's Chanur series. I absolutely devoured them. Did you know my aliens, the Shan, were inspired by Chanur? I love the idea of cat-like aliens. My space battles are David Weber's fault. I could never get enough of Honor Harrington. And lastly, I couldn't possibly ignore his collaborations with John Ringo. John’s Empire of Man series is EPIC!Q - What order should I read the books in?A - Although each book in the series "could" be read as a standalone book, I don't recommend it. Each one is intricately woven into the overall story arc and linked to the plots of the previous novels. I'd suggest the following sequence:- Hard Duty- What Price Honour- Operation Oracle- Operation Breakout- Incursion (TBA)Q - So, why should readers give these books a try?A - Because the Merkiaari Wars series is a fast and fun story full of interstellar action that takes no prisoners! Each of the books is packed with futuristic space battles or ground warfare with high stakes -- mankind's extinction. Ultimately, readers who enjoy lightning-fast pacing about space exploration and alien invasion in a far future time will love the series. The Merkiaari Wars Series eBook Categories: - Space Opera books- Alien Invasion- Space Exploration novels- Genetic Engineering- Galactic Empire Series- Military Thriller- First Contact books- Space Marine- Space Fleet