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Fractal Despondency by Trent Zelazny


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The Sunshine Stone


Foster Henderson - 2017
    It is a story of of redemption, as she overcomes the challenges of living with her fragile mother in Rotney, a brutal, East End slum where she attends the notorious comprehensive school, Rotney High, with all its perils and ugliness. Antonia’s life changes when she meets an American war hero and performance magician, who restores her confidence and gives her a stone with magical properties to protect her at the cost of his own safety. The Sunshine Stone looks at how, despite the worst circumstances, there is always hope if you are prepared to fight for your future and to accept help from any quarter it might present itself, however unlikely.

Lightning / Midnight / The Bad Place


Dean Koontz - 1992
    Throughout her childhood she is plagued by ever more terrifying troubles, but she is protected by a mysterious stranger who acts as her guardian. Then the lightning strikes once more and shatters her world. The adventure - and the terror - have only just begun. Midnight: What is the dark and fearful secret that haunts Moonlight Cove? A string of inexplicable deaths has occurred in this idyllic, picturesque coastal town, and four people are drawn together by terrifying circumstances. As the darkness descends, these four must confront the chilling nightmare of Moonlight Cove. The Bad Place: Frank Pollard awakens in an alley, knowing nothing but his name - and that he is in great danger. Bobby and Julie Dakota help him to solve this mystery, but they are drawn into ever-darkening realms where they encounter the deadly, hate-filled figure stalking Frank.

Zombie Survival Manual: From the dawn of time onwards


Sean T. Page - 2013
    Accompanied by illustrations, maps, diagrams and step-by-step instructions, this manual will be essential reading for those interested in protecting themselves, their families and society at large from the living dead.

To Take


B. Love - 2017
    There’s nothing normal about this love story. Packed inside of this novella is a fairytale romance that will leave you questioning your own reality. Are you brave enough to step outside of the box and into the world of Crimson Trails… where everything about the residents’ lives is ordered and arranged – including marriage? If so, take this journey with Maarz Henry and Haylo Dixon where one letter and one picture have enough power to change both of their lives forever. *This is a novella 17,500 words in length*

Thea


Steven Jenkins - 2016
    But monsters come in many forms. Teenage boys, drug addiction, underage sex - single mother Sarah battles to keep these demons from her daughters.As the long nights of worry start to feed Sarah's paranoia, she must take desperate measures to save her family.Although sometimes, the only way to kill a monster......is to become one."The epitome of chilling vampire noir. Cements Jenkins' pre-eminence in the realm of terror."NATHAN JONES - Author of THE NOWHERE

Crucible


Ryan W. Aslesen - 2018
    The War on Terror provides the backdrop for the novella that introduces the roots of ultimate antihero, Max Ahlgren.Captain Max Ahlgren is proud to be one of the first team commanders in the Marine Corps' nascent MARSOC detachment. Finally, the Corps' elite warriors are working alongside those of other branches, battling insurgents, not on the front lines but behind them. After his first mission, however, Max learns he will be replaced as team commander.The new commander, Major Whitbeck, comes from 8th and I: Marine Barracks, Washington DC. His late father, a revered general, died in a terrorist car bombing. The commander is in Afghanistan for vengeance--and redemption.When the team infiltrates the ancient desert fortress of Kazindrak, hunting an elusive Al-Qaeda terrorist, Whitbeck reveals his ineptitude in combat. Max's fury grows as the body count rises. When the actual nature of the mission is revealed, Max gets a good look at the sordid underbelly of the War on Terror and sees first-hand what monsters men can become. If he is to survive, however, he may have no choice but to become one.Sometimes the greatest enemy is within...

Sympathy for the Widow


Jon Athan - 2018
    The killer, Mario Flores, is found not guilty for reasons of insanity. Fifteen Years Later: Mario, free and rehabilitated, lives a peaceful life with his wife and daughter. His career is blossoming, his family is healthy, and his home is beautiful. However, Naomi Morrison, Trevor's widow, plans on changing that... Naomi has planned a night of gruesome torture for Mario and his family. She hopes to find closure, she hopes to find the truth. She wants an answer to her question: was Mario really mentally unstable when he killed Trevor or was he faking it? Jon Athan, author of The Law of Retaliation, brings you another tale of extreme horror and vengeance. Can you sympathize with a killer? WARNING: This book contains scenes of graphic violence and disturbing themes. This book is not intended for those easily offended or appalled. Please enjoy at your own discretion.

Full Whack


Charlie Higson - 1995
    But when two faces from his old gang turn up, he finds himself getting involved in a new scam, and soon he is embroiled in a world he wants to escape and is forced to confront a man who is dangerously unhinged.

John Saul's the Blackstone Chronicles


Patrick McCray - 2012
    Malcolm Metcalf's sadistic legacy. Madhouse.Torture chamber. As the town of Blackstone plans its demolition, a dark stranger is determined to keep the evils of the past alive. Can writer Oliver Metcalf prevent the curse of his father's asylum before it consumes him?"

Other People's Shit


C.V. Hunt - 2013
    People are turning into clowns. Society isn’t interested in finding a cure or treating the infected as humans. But when unconventional couriers begin to harass the contaminated, and clowns start disappearing, a band of transformed coworkers set out to find answers.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Strange Man Standing Deep in the Shadows


Charlotte Montague - 2015
    Poe is viewed as the ultimate doomed romantic whose last days are shrouded in sordid mystery. His life was a disaster, but his achievements in writing are amazing. He is widely recognized as father of the modern short story, inventor of the detective story and the master of horror. A Boston born writer, editor, and literary critic, he's best known for his creepy and macabre tales as well as being one of the central figures in the Romanticism movement in the United States.  Accurately being dubbed as the ultimate doomed romantic, Poe was a drunk, his last days are shrouded in mystery akin to that of his short stories.  During his lifetime, Edgar Allan Poe didn't make a dime out of writing, but his legacy to the world is one of never-ending riches.  He left behind seventy-three wonderfully gruesome stories and a novel filled with suspense and brilliantly twisted plots.  Hist stories and poems are now read and revered globally.  As another master of horror, Stephen King, has said, we are all "the children of Poe." Abraham Lincoln, Josef Stalin, Michael Jackson, and Bart Simpson all have one thing in common; they are fans of the nineteenth century American writer and poet, Edgar Allan Poe.  The writer of "The Raven" has legions of such devotees across the globe.  The list of authors inspired by Poe is long and varied, but his profound influence reaches much further-into music, film, and art just as much as modern day literature.  There have been more than a dozen film adaptations of his story "The Fall of the House of Usher," and his works have inspired composers ranging from Claude Debussy to Lou Reed.  More than 160 years after his death, Charlotte Montague has written a fascinating account of Poe's life and times, in which she uncovers a strange man, standing deep in the shadows, who's unique imagination and macabre writing have changed popular culture forevermore.  n the process, she uncovers a strange man, standing deep in the shadows, whose macabre stories and twisted plots changed literature forever. The Oxford People series offers deep dives into the most influential people, subjects, and cultures from history. From horror-fiction legends like H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe, to historical heavyweights like Houdini and JFK, to the supernatural world of vampires, werewolves, and ghosts—Oxford People encompasses it all. Other titles in this series include: Angels, Che, Creating Sherlock Holmes, Extreme Science, Gettysburg, Ghosts, Gunfighters, Houdini, HP Lovecraft, John F. Kennedy, Myths and Legends, Privates and Privateers, Roosevelt and Churchill, Royal Weddings, Skies of WWII, Tesla, Tesla vs. Edison, Vampires, Vikings, Werewolves, Women of Invention, Zombies.

Run Aground


Christy Barritt - 2021
    . .Med student Kenzie Anderson, tired of letting others chart her future, accepts a job as second steward aboard Almost Paradise. But when she finds the captain dead before the charter even begins, her plans seem to capsize.Jimmy James Gamble senses something vulnerable and slightly naive about Kenzie when he finds her on the docks. Realizing danger may still be lingering close, he uses his hidden skills to earn a place on the charter. But being there causes him to risk everything—especially as more suspicious incidents occur.As they set out to sea, Kenzie and Jimmy James both wonder if they’re in over their heads. They must figure out how to stop a killer before anyone onboard is hurt . . . otherwise, both their futures might just run aground.Lantern Beach Mayday is a three book series. Other books in this series are:Dead ReckoningTipping Point

Master Class


Christina Dalcher - 2020
    Score high enough, and attend a top tier school with a golden future. Score too low, and it's off to a federal boarding school with limited prospects afterwards. The purpose? An improved society where education costs drop, teachers focus on the more promising students, and parents are happy.Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state's elite schools. When her nine-year-old daughter bombs a monthly test and her Q score drops to a disastrously low level, she is immediately forced to leave her top school for a federal institution hundreds of miles away. As a teacher, Elena thought she understood the tiered educational system, but as a mother whose child is now gone, Elena's perspective is changed forever. She just wants her daughter back.And she will do the unthinkable to make it happen.

A Stranger in the Citadel


Tobias S. Buckell - 2021
    Buckell.“You shall not suffer a librarian to live.”Growing up in Ninetha, Lilith has known this law all her life. The city’s every need is provided for by a god-machine called the cornucopia, which can produce food, clothing, anything in response to a thought. The gods provided this bounty on one condition: that humanity give up reading and writing. Then, a librarian, an actual seeker of forbidden written knowledge, walks through the gates of the citadel, his very presence unraveling the life Lilith has known. She learns her father, the Lord Musketeer himself, has been harboring a secret - one that turns Ninetha against Lilith’s family. Forced to flee, forced to throw in her lot with the librarian, Lilith uncovers even greater secrets - about the lie her life has been, and about the very nature of their world.

An Assassin Is Born


Simon Harrak - 2018
    AND HE’S ABOUT TO BE UNLEASHED. Frederich Abel knows he’s not normal, but being adopted age seven by an elite soldier isn’t why. It lies deeper inside - a morbid, unhinged savagery. Invisible. Deadly.Luckily, his father helped him control it with a mixture of weapons, combat and survival training. Now, his father is dead, and the shadow has emerged stronger than ever. He flees in panic, ending up in cold, grimy Berlin.He’s on edge, until Ida’s scream through the rain pulls him into action. He’s forced to kill, unaware that the perpetrator had dangerous friends - powerful enough to tame world governments. It's time to decide; flee again, or face the darkness - both inside and out. ‘An Assassin Is Born’ is the intriguing origin story of Frederich Abel and the first book in the ‘Wrath Of Abel’ crime-action book series.