The Warmaster’s case is presented by an iterator, a master of persuasion. The Imperium has sent the Space Marines. Heka’tan and Arcadese must set aside their warlike natures and learn to be diplomats, or risk losing the world. But Horus wants the world, and a plan is in motion to ensure that the Space Marines fail in their task...A short story from the Age of Darkness anthology.

    I had been sending horror stories to mainstream magazines who rewarded me with a stack of rejection slips, many of which included a scribbled note: "A little too weird for our readers."My next step was to send these stories out to the men's magazines, who included "horror stories" in their listings in the Writer's Market. Once again I was rewarded with a stack of rejection slips with this note: "You write very well, but we do not publish any stories that do not include at least three explicit sex scenes." (By this time I'd papered most of my bathroom with rejection slips.) Ah-ha! I said. I shall write an erotic fable. Cat's Karma came out of that effort. Actually, after no one accepted the story I cleaned out the explicit sex scenes so I could show this story to my friends without them thinking I was a hopeless horndog, and this version is the end result. -- Christopher Moore

    

    On the deadly island of Patji, where predators can sense the thoughts of their prey, a lone trapper discovers that the island is not the only thing out to kill him.Mary Robinette Kowal’s “A Fire in the Heavens” is a powerful tale of a refugee seeking to the near-mythical homeland her oppressed people left centuries ago. When Katin discovers the role the “eternal moon” occupies in the Center Kingdom, and the nature of the society under its constant light, she may find enemies and friends in unexpected places.Dan Wells’s “I.E.Demon” features an Afghanistan field test of a piece of technology that is supposed to handle improvised explosive devices. Or so the engineers have told the EOD team that will be testing it; exactly what it does and how it does it are need-to-know, and the grunts don’t need to know. Until suddenly the need arises.Howard Tayler’s “An Honest Death” stars the security team for the CEO of a biotech firm about to release the cure for old age. When an intruder appears and then vanishes from the CEO’s office, the bodyguards must discover why he is lying to them about his reason for pressing the panic button.For years the hosts of Writing Excuses have been offering tips on brainstorming, drafting, workshopping, and revision, and now they offer an exhaustive look at the entire process. Not only does Shadows Beneath have four beautifully illustrated fantastic works of fiction, but it also includes transcripts of brainstorming and workshopping sessions, early drafts of the stories, essays about the stories’ creation, and details of all the edits made between the first and final drafts.Come for the stories by award-winning authors; stay for the peek behind the creative curtain.

    This is the brilliant short story that featured in the back of the special edition ebook of CONN IGGULDEN’S bestselling novel EMPEROR: BLOOD OF GODS.As the effects of age creep up on Augustus Caesar, he is left with the whispers of his wife Livia in one ear and the echoes of his youthful dreams in the other, as he tries to come to the rescue of his beloved grandson, Marcus.

    Wild magic, unexpected allies, a conflagration of sorcery and shifter magic the likes of which has not been seen in centuries... That's what awaits the peaceful town of Grizzly Cove. That, and love...lots and lots of love. This anthology contains books 4 thru 6 of the Grizzly Cove series. Book 4 is novel-length, while books 5 and 6 are slightly shorter. The titles are: Alpha Bear What’s a bear to do when he learns the woman he wants is a witch, and already knows he’s a shifter? Can a town full of bear shifters deal with having a mage in their midst? And when evil attacks from the sea, can they afford not to have a witch willing to give of herself to protect them? Or will the Alpha have to give up Grizzly Cove in order to keep the woman he loves? Saving Grace Jack never expected to find a badly injured mermaid washed up on shore. Grace never expected to live through her encounter with the leviathan. When she wakes up in Jack’s care, she finds herself drawn to the handsome grizzly shifter, though the sea, and the leviathan, calls to her. Can she resist the allure of the ocean? Can she stay with her bear, on land, or will she break both their hearts? Bearliest Catch Drew spends his days fishing in the Pacific, far from Grizzly Cove, seeking the peace of the ocean. Jetty lives in the ocean, part of a hunting party of mer folk, in near-constant danger now from the evil creature that roams the deep. When they meet, sparks fly and the ocean comes alive with danger. Can they get her people to safety?

    

    A pervasive narrative in everything from school textbooks to political commentary, it is central to the way in which many Americans perceive the historical legacy of theirnation. Yet, as Steven K. Green shows in this illuminating new book, it is little more than a myth.In Inventing a Christian America, Green, a leading historian of religion and politics, explores the historical record that is purported to support the popular belief in America's religious founding and status as a Christian nation. He demonstrates that, like all myths, these claims are based onhistorical facts that have been colored by the interpretive narratives that have been imposed upon them. In tracing the evolution of these claims and the evidence levied in support of them from the founding of the New England colonies, through the American Revolution, and to the present day, heinvestigates how they became leading narratives in the country's collective identity. Three critical moments in American history shaped and continue to drive the myth of a Christian America: the Puritan founding of New England, the American Revolution and the forging of a new nation, and the earlyyears of the nineteenth century, when a second generation of Americans sought to redefine and reconcile the memory of the founding to match their religious and patriotic aspirations. Seeking to shed light not only on the veracity of these ideas but on the reasons they endure, Green ultimately showsthat the notion of America's religious founding is a myth not merely in the colloquial sense, but also in a deeper sense, as a shared story that gives deeper meaning to our collective national identity.Offering a fresh look at one of the most common and contested claims in American history, Inventing a Christian America is an enlightening read for anyone interested in the story of-and the debate over-America's founding.

    She’s surfed the net to learn everything she can about being a monster. She’s ready. She’s even practicing on her sister. Inside her fractured mind, her imaginary mentor, Doctor Nine, promises that he is coming for her. To take her with him and his strange friends; to help her become all that she can be. Is Doctor Nine only a figment of her imagination, or has her madness opened a doorway to something –else? Jonathan Maberry the New York Times bestseller and multiple Bram Stoker award-winning author of Patient Zero, the King of Plagues, and Dead of Night takes you along for a ride through the darkest landscapes of the human soul.

    

    Famed for his dictatorial style, his political cunning and admired – initially – by Hitler, Mussolini led the National Fascist Party and ruled Italy as Prime Minister from 1922 until his ousting in 1943. In so doing, he paved the way towards Italy’s defeat in World War Two, and some of the 20th century’s most destructive ideologies and practices.Following expulsion from Italian Socialist Party, Mussolini denounced all efforts of class conflict, and instead later commanded a Fascist March on Rome to become the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history. Thereafter he set about dismantling the apparatus of democracy and initiated what would become known as the one-party totalitarian state. With World War II came defeat, humiliation and his bloody deposing. Explaining his ideologies, policies, actions and flaws, ‘Mussolini: History in an Hour’ is the concise life of the man whose ideas helped create some of the worst horrors of the modern history.Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…

    During it's impressive run it published many of Science Fiction's top writers. Collected here in this massive six hundred-plus page anthology are all of the most important stories that were published during its distinguished run. Included here are: 'Second Variety' by Philip K. Dick; 'Youth' by Isaac Asimov; 'To Each His Star' by Bryce Walton; 'Security' by Poul Anderson; 'Divinity' by William Morrison; 'The Hour of Battle' by Robert Sheckley; 'Instant of Decision' by Randall Garrett; 'Let 'em Breathe Space!' By Lester Del Rey; 'The Ultroom Error' by Jerry Sohl; 'Infinite Intruder' by Alan E. Nourse; 'Collectivum' by Mike Lewis; 'The Adventurer' by C. M. Kornbluth; 'Decision' by Frank M. Robinson; 'Pursuit' by Lester del Rey; 'Exile' by H. B. Fyfe; 'Stop Look and Dig' by George O. Smith; 'The Worshippers' by Damon Knight; 'The Hunters' by William Morrison; 'The Ego Machine' by Henry Kuttner; 'The Variable Man' by Philip K. Dick; and 'Ullr Uprising' by H. Beam Piper.

    From David Gerrold's "The Martian Child" (winner of the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Locus Award, and HOMer Award) to brand new works published here for the first time by David Gerrold and Lawrence Watt-Evans to modern masterpieces by Pamela Sargent and Jay Lake to classics by E.E. "Doc Smith" and Alan E. Nourse -- we have everything a science fiction fan could want. Almost 1,500 pages of great reading!Fiction:TORQUING VACUUM, by Jay LakeCOLLECTORS, by Pamela SargentVICTORY, by Lester del ReyTHE TREE OF LIFE, by C. L. MooreYE OLDE RESIGNATION, by Rhys HughesFACE TO FACE, by Adrian ColeBEYOND THE THUNDER, by H. B. HickeyCAPTIVES OF THE THIEVE-STAR, by James H. SchmitzTHE DEEPS, by Keith RobertsMADMEN MUSTERED, by Connor Freff CochranEXILE FROM SPACE, by Judith MerrilTHROUGH TIME AND SPACE WITH FERDINAND FEGHOOT: THE CHAIRMAN DANCES, by David GerroldTHE FROZEN PLANET, by Keith LaumerTHE TAIL-TIED KINGS, by Avram DavidsonTHE GRAIN KINGS, by Keith RobertsHIS MASTER'S VOICE, by Randall GarrettBACK TO JULIE, by Richard WilsonBRIGHTSIDE CROSSING, by Alan E. NourseTHE SECRET OF THE SCARAB, by Ron GoulartREINVENTING CARL HOBBS, by James GlassTHE OLD SHILL GAME, by H.B. FyfeNOTES TOWARD A NEW TRAIT AS REVEALED BY CORRELATION AMONG ITEMS OF THE MMMPI, by M. Purrzillo, U. R. A. Ferball, and C. KitirunTHE SLEEPER IS A REBEL, by Bryce WaltonTHE TEACHER FROM MARS, by Eando BinderNIF'S WORLD, by Lawrence Watt-EvansA MAN OBSESSED, by Alan E. NourseFIRST LENSMAN, by E.E. “Doc” SmithREINCARNATE, by Lester del ReyTHE MAN WHO LIVED FOREVER, by R. DeWitt Miller and Anna HungerTHE MARTIAN CHILD, by David GerroldPoetry:I’VE NEVER SEEN, by Hannes Bok (poem)THOUGHT AND SPACE, by Ray BradburyNovel Serial:FIREBIRD, by Tony Rothman (part 1 of 3)If you enjoy this MEGAPACK™, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see the 240+ other entries in this series, including science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, adventure, horror, westerns -- and much, much more!

    After a particularly fierce firefight, the Catachans find themselves cut off from the rest of the Imperium forces and must seek refuge in a native village.Before long, troopers begin to hallucinate and warp-born horrorslay siege to the village.  Even Straken himself falls under the sway of the Dark Powers.  Can he break the psychic grip in time to save his men or will Borealis Four be Straken's last stand?

    Ten years after the apocalypse destroyed the world that she knew, a survivor returns to her home town, hoping to piece together the bits of her past that have troubled her so much ever since.Sometimes the past is best left behind us, but sometimes we all need to say goodbye."At last, goodbye" is a short story set in the world of the Diary of the Displaced novel series.