After first contact, which had not ended as the Earthlings expected, all traces of the visitors were lost in space, seemingly forever. But soon after, scientists noticed a mysterious gravitational anomaly not far from the Solar System as it journeyed around the centre of the Milky Way. To find out more, and perhaps discover the aliens’ secret, a research expedition fitted out with state-of-the-art scientific and military equipment sets out...

    

    After returning from a campaign in the Third Afghan War, Major Thomas Waller and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment are assigned to escort two mysterious ladies into the unknown lands of the new world. With the help of an American drifter named Smith, Waller and his men must face daunting hordes of 'savages' that roam the steppes of the alien planet, and help to uncover the ladies' secrets - and the secrets of the new world itself. A dangerous mission awaits on the Grasslands...

    The slaves stole an ore carrier and escaped, and after failing at trade, desperation and hatred drove them to piracy. John was a hugely successful pirate, until forced to confront the horrors committed by his men. He grabs a ship and a bag of gems, and runs away, determined to regain his self-respect. Pursued by his former colleagues, he flees across man-settled space. Along the way, he learns that his ship is much more than a simple yacht, deals with a stowaway girl, almost accidentally buys an orbital scrap yard, finds himself responsible for a beautiful young woman, fights off a pirate attack, falls in love, makes a friend, and learns that his refuge has been invaded by another planet. John, now Cale, and his friends plan to use derelicts from his scrap yard to free his sanctuary planet. But can a bunch of resurrected hulks really defeat a planetary fleet? And just what IS a Privateer, anyway?

    89 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Diamond Age, or, Young Lady's Illustrated Primer.

     After the unfortunate events that took place in Britain, Jacob Hunter is no longer certain of many things, but this ill-fated truth is one he understands implicitly. Having spent months battling his addiction to the all-powerful blue orb, a device capable of traveling through time but equally adept at breaking a man’s mind, Jacob has finally succumbed to it. Once aided by loyal companions and the woman he loves, Jacob has abandoned everyone he has ever trusted, his mind warped by the orb’s influence. However, recently given new clues concerning the orb’s potential, Jacob departs for Rome, where he now knows a second orb lay hidden, waiting to be reunited with the orb he already possesses. Accompanied only by Rome’s manipulative empress, Agrippina the Younger, the pair journey to Rome where they hope to discover the secret to the orb’s power, but a destructive truth lies behind what they seek, one he may not be fully prepared to combat… But Jacob is not the only one about to embark on a daring quest. Having been abandoned and left without direction in the hinterlands of ancient Britain, Jacob’s sister, Diana, must find it in herself to rally Jacob’s jilted friends and corral an enraged Helena, the woman he loves, who carries her own mysterious secret after her life was miraculously saved at the brink of death. Unprepared for the responsibility suddenly thrust on her by Jacob's disappearance, Diana understands that she and her friends must find him before it's too late. Clouded and perverted though his mind may be, she knows her brother all too well. Jacob, tormented and driven beyond rationality, is prepared to sacrifice everything to find the lost orb. Including his life...

    The climactic engagement of this war, Operation Repulse, took place from August 2063 to February 2064, and was the most significant clash of arms on European soil in four hundred years.

    Not everyone can. Who decides? Desperate to save his daughter from a mysterious sickness, Daniel applies for the Methuselah Treatment. If she gets it, his daughter won’t just recover, she’ll live forever. But the drug is tightly controlled, and only the special, the talented, and the truly deserving ever receive it. There is nothing special about Daniel’s destitute ten- year-old girl—or is there?

    Without warning. Without a trace. Fleet command chalks the attacks up to pirates, but Captain Dryker of the UFC Johnston isn’t buying it. Defying command, he leads his misfit crew into hostile territory in search of answers. They encounter the mythical Void Wraith, an unstoppable legend whispered by the first race. After 26,000 years the Void Wraith have returned to begin the next Eradication. Their technology is superior, their motives unclear. Humanity cannot stop them. Not without help. Captain Dryker’s only hope is to forge an alliance with mankind’s greatest enemy, the savage Tigris. One maverick captain, an unlikely crew, and an aging vessel are all that stand between humanity and the Eradication. “It’s like Battlestar Galactica and Mass Effect had a baby, and that baby was raised by Starcraft. I read this book in one sitting, and immediately looked for the next.”- The author’s totally biased friend. Contains the Complete Trilogy: Destroyer Void Wraith Eradication Receive a complimentary copy of the prequel story Exiled by signing up to the mailing list: eepurl.com/bU1XyT

    and they're losing. When High Dynasty heir Wil Sietinen comes face-to-face with the Bakzen, a mysterious race skilled in advanced telekinesis, he's forced to confront his destiny. A secret war is being waged within a hidden dimensional rift, and his unique gifts can help win the fight.As the dire nature of the conflict and the truth about his own abilities unfolds, Wil realizes he's at the center of a galactic conspiracy. And enemies are not who they seem.With the future of the entire Taran Empire hanging in the balance, Wil holds the key to victory—but saving his people may come at the ultimate price.The Cadicle series is a sweeping epic that will grab you from the first page, offering a rich blend of adventure, intrigue, and the intersection of technology with mental powers. Join multiple generations of one noble family in their battles against unimagined foes to change the course of an empire. This series is an entry point into the award-winning Cadicle Universe.The Fractured Empire boxset contains the complete Cadicle series:-- Volume 1: Architects of Destiny-- Volume 2: Veil of Reality-- Volume 3: Bonds of Resolve-- Volume 4: Web of Truth-- Volume 5: Crossroads of Fate-- Volume 6: Path of Justice-- Volume 7: Scions of Change

    He signed up to escape the grinding poverty of the Housing Blocks. And the unlikely friends envisioned boring, peacetime careers as shuttle pilots. The Tahni Imperium had other ideas... Caught in the desperate fury of the Battle for Mars, the two young pilots wind up the last defense against an alien armada, but their war is just beginning. Recruited to fly the Fleet's newest weapon in this new war, they take the fight deep into the heart of the Imperium and battle not just against the enemy but against incompetent leadership and ineffectual tactics. Can the unconventional strategies of a pair of hotshot young pilots change the course of the war? And when the time comes that a choice has to be made between duty to command and loyalty to a friend, which of the two will be willing to make one last flight alone... From the author of the bestselling Drop Trooper Military Sci-Fi Series comes another tale of war against an alien menace known as the Tahni. Perfect for fans of Jay Allan, Jasper T. Scott, and Scott Bartlett. (less)

    Their objective is classified, marked only by coordinates leading them into a deserted city at the heart of the fighting. From the beginning, everything possible goes wrong. A missile strike rocks the carrier mid-launch, and only a fraction of the unit reaches the surface alive.Outmanned, outgunned, and scattered, with a hard deadline to orbital bombardment looming, it is up to Drop Commander Tyco Hale to rally his troops and reach their objective. But what they find, hidden deep in the tunneled passages under the city, will change everything about what he fights for and what he believes in. With the unit in tatters and loyalties divided, the choice he makes in the dark will seal all of their fates - and much more besides.

    Now Joe is a full Guardsman, with his own ship and a snide partner bot who hates humans almost as much as he hates other bots.To the pirates he hunts, Joe is known as the Butcher. His bloody reputation has landed him in the center of a sweeping conspiracy that threatens to stamp out the galaxy’s last surviving human settlements.As Joe races against time to salvage what’s left of his species, one thing becomes crystal clear: You can never escape your past.It all starts on Earth, humanity’s deserted homeworld....

     But Peter Miller, an analyst at the headquarters of the Office of Strategic Services in Washington D.C., learns of a secret Nazi weapons project that may pose a far greater threat: the Black Gate. Sent alone on a perilous mission into the heart of Germany in the guise of an SS officer, Peter discovers that Nazi scientists have recreated an ancient machine that opens a portal to another universe, a gate they believe literally leads to Hell. With the help of Mina Hass, a beautiful woman who is also the lover and confidant of the madman leading the project, Peter must find a way to close the gate forever before the Nazis unwittingly unleash Armageddon…

    DESTINY CAN BE CHANGED.Jutland, Denmark: a billionaire industrialist seizes control of a top-secret project that the European Defence Agency calls Destiny, manipulating it for his own ends.Edinburgh, Scotland: physicist Neil Aldridge’s life is saved by an elite EU special forces team, codenamed KESTREL, drawing him into a race against time to prevent a disaster that will claim millions of lives.As the chase leads to London, Amsterdam and beyond, Aldridge and his allies must battle a ruthless adversary: a trained killer with an unnatural ability, who seeks to hasten the cataclysm.With time running out, Aldridge discovers that he and his enemy share an astonishing secret, which may be the key to salvation — or cause death on an unprecedented scale…