Then you go on all kinds of adventures - fighting monsters, casting spells and saving damsels in distress. At least that's how it's supposed to work, but I didn't believe a word of it.BOOK ONE OF THE EPIC FANTASY SERIES RETURN OF THE DRAGONSLocked in his room in the castle, young Anders yearns for adventure. Until the day he opens a magic portal and a girl bursts into his locked room with a chemical warlock hot on her trail. And adventure finds him -- an adventure full of danger, full of blood, fire, demons and evil. To face it, he'll need the sword given him by his blademaster, need the ancient words his grandfather gave him on his deathbed. Need the song that runs in his own blood, in his veins.A sword will be reforged, magic words discovered, battles fought, friends made and lost, secrets revealed. And blood will be spilled. But will blade, word and blood be enough?

    Venus, being almost the same mass as Earth, is chosen over Mars as humanity’s first permanent steppingstone into the universe.Arik Ockley is part of the first generation to be born and raised off-Earth. After a puzzling accident, Arik wakes up to find that his wife is almost three months pregnant. Since the colony’s environmental systems cannot safely support any increases in population, Arik immediately resumes his work on AP, or artificial photosynthesis, in order to save the life of his unborn child. Arik’s new and frantic research uncovers startling truths about the planet, and about the distorted reality the founders of the colony have constructed for Arik’s entire generation. Everything Arik has ever known is called into question, and he must figure out the right path for himself, his wife, and his unborn daughter.

    Until it arrives. From the desk of Honor Raconteur comes the tale of one guild, who believes in the impossible, and fight with everything they have to prevent the war they see coming. ~ Contains all three books in the trilogy "Deepwoods," "Blackstone," and "Fallen Ward," as well as "Origins," the collection of short stories.

    Windows break. Books rocket across the room. Lights flicker. Strange occurrences follow the sixteen-year-old everywhere. When tragedy forces her to move to the small town of Clearwater, Michigan, with her estranged aunt Jodi, Kristyl tries to leave her past behind. But Clearwater has secrets of its own—a mystical history that intersects with Kristyl’s life and might shed light on the inexplicable events that plague her. When a mysterious illness threatens her aunt’s life, Kristyl will do anything to cure her. Enlisting the help of witches could save Jodi, but is dealing in magic worth the consequences?

    In this first installment of the “Jake Stryker” series, Warren has created a fast paced and riveting story that you could imagine reading in today’s headlines. Here are a few testimonials: “Fast paced thriller in keeping with Vince Flynn and Brad Thor.” Captain Mike Penn Chief Pilot Southwest Airlines Decorated Navy Fighter Pilot and POW “A spider web of plots, covert action, and dead bad guys!” Ryan “Birdman” Parrott Exec. Dir., Sons of the Flag, Burn Foundation Former US Navy SEAL, SEAL Team 7 Jake Stryker, one of the US Army’s lethal and highly trained Delta Force Operators, suspects leaks of classified information that lead to the death of his team in Afghanistan. When his tour of duty ends, Stryker returns to the United States to locate and punish those responsible. While investigating these leaks, he crosses paths with Rachel Cohen, a beautiful but deadly Mossad agent. While their goals appear to be vastly different with Stryker pursuing government leaks and Rachel chasing an Iranian terrorist, they form an unlikely union. What they uncover is a network of corruption that leads them directly to the White House.

    But what if this transcendent level of intelligence brings with it a ruthless megalomania? David Desh left the special forces after his team was brutally butchered in Iran. Now he has been reactivated for one last mission: find Kira Miller, the enigmatic genius behind a bioterror plot that threatens millions. But when Desh learns that the bioterror plot is just the tip of the iceberg, he is thrust into a byzantine maze of deception and intrigue, and he becomes a key player in a deadly game he can't begin to understand. A game that is certain to have a dramatic impact on the future course of human history. . .

    But expansion means contact with new worlds and species—and with them, new challenges.As a young boy, Matthew Wallace experienced this as the child of missionaries on the planet Altair, living a rugged existence on the undeveloped world. Undeveloped, but not uninhabited. For Altair was home to a proud race of warriors—the Ananke.The same warriors Matthew watched as they murdered his parents.Now he is the Marshal of the place he swore he’d never return to, his hatred for the Ananke only tempered by his desperation to treat his wife’s terrible illness. For located on Altair is a clinic performing medical miracles, curing men and women of terminal diseases that even the most advanced technologies can’t touch. And yet, nothing is without its price, and as Matthew learns more about the world where he’s now charged with keeping the peace, he slowly realizes he’s going to have to decide what is more important: The life of his wife…or the lives of an entire species.A sci-fi thriller that calls to mind the grand masters of the genre, The Outer Rims explores the morality of doing whatever is necessary and the question of whether humanity and sentience are one in the same.

    She has no other family which she is aware of, and in order to survive she leaves her home and lives on the streets. She meets interesting characters and gets into amusing predicaments all in the name of survival, such as jumping trains, being chased through the woods by a crazy man with a loaded shotgun and witnessing an unspeakable crime. After a few months on the streets she runs into another group of kids, Einstein is the oldest and a leader in the group, and they form a family of sorts. For survival and money they lean towards a life a crime which inevitably breaks up their family and sends Cleo and Einstein spiraling into their own adventure. Eventually they settle into a “normal” life however their pasts can’t be hushed forever …

    Maas, Kristin Cashore, and Tamora Pierce! This bundle includes the prequel novella, The Golden Cage, as well as the first full-length novel, The Shadow Soul.~~~THE GOLDEN CAGE (A Dance of Dragons #0.5)In the land of Ourthuro, cruelty is a way of life. The king rules with an iron fist and no one dare defy him--no one except his daughter. Princess Leena is keeping a dangerous secret, she has fallen in love with a soldier and it would mean both of their lives if her father ever discovered their affair.But Leena will risk it all to be with the man she loves--her heart, her life, her freedom. And when her brother's birthday celebration takes a dangerous turn, Leena is forced to make a decision that will change the fate of her nation and eventually the world.THE SHADOW SOUL (A Dance of Dragons #1)When Jinji's home is destroyed, she is left with nowhere to run and no one to run to--until she meets Rhen, a prince chasing rumors that foreign enemies have landed on his shores. Masquerading as a boy, Jinji joins Rhen with vengeance in her heart. But traveling together doesn't mean trusting one another, and both are keeping a deep secret--magic. Jinji can weave the elements to create master illusions and Rhen can pull burning flames into his flesh.But while they struggle to hide the truth, a shadow lurks in the night. An ancient evil has reawakened, and unbeknownst to them, these two unlikely companions hold the key to its defeat. Because their meeting was not coincidence--it was fate. And their story has played out before, in a long forgotten time, an age of myth that is about to be reborn...

    Unbeknownst to him, there’s a reason why he’s always the odd boy out: he is an Oddfit, a rare type of human with access to the More Known World, a land invisible to most people. Yet unfortunate circumstances keep Murgatroyd stranded in the Known World, bumbling through life with the feeling that an extraordinary something is waiting for him just beyond reach.Seventeen years later, that something finally arrives when a secret organization dedicated to exploring the More Known World invites Murgatroyd on a mission. But as the consummate loser begins to grow into the Oddfit he was meant to be, the Known World becomes bent on exterminating him. For once in his underachieving life, will Murgatroyd Floyd exceed expectations and outsmart those trying to thwart his stupendous destiny?

    They realize this was not another earthquake, but a Nuclear Attack. David knew they would have to work together to escape from the rubble, then shelter for 14 days to survive the fallout. If, as he feared, their parents were dead, then they should trek east,hopefully staying together.They would have to adapt, improvise, and overcome. They rescued a 4 year old orphan and realized how much they had learned from their parents. They became the Nuclear War Club. David had been the starting quarterback on his football team in Alabama.He had just transferred to this California High School as a Senior, when his Dad was reassigned to an Air Force Base. David organized the human chain to escape from the rubble. The clock was ticking, they would have to find, or make, a shelter from the fallout within 30 minutes or die from the radiation. David looked over the other 6 detention survivors and was disappointed at this soft, pampered, self centered, dysfunctional group. But you go to nuclear war with the survivors you have, he thought, as he explained what had happened and his plan. He invited them to follow as he began to hike to where his truck and camping equipment had been. Zeke's stomach churned, and he struggled to control his panic as he viewed the nuclear debris as far as the eye could see. What had happened to LeShawn and Monique? Were they trapped in rubble, crying for their big brother to come? His Mom was a drug addict, he was all his preschool brother and sister had. He would rescue them,or die trying. But he was miles away from home-the football boosters arranged for special transportation to get the heavily recruited, All State football running back, to this wealthy school everyday. He would stay with this group, they were his ticket, until he found a way to rescue LeShawn and Monique. Karen had grown up on a ranch where her father was hired to care for the horses. She was tough from working with the horses, self sufficient,and was instinctively wary of how David had just naturally assumed command. Karen had just transferred to this school under redistricting, and she didn't know any of them well.But the school, and the entire City were totally destroyed, there was no other option. Karen grabbed her backpack, stuck a knife from what was left of the underground school kitchen in her hiking boots, concealed it with her sock, then followed. Liu was a first generation Vietnamese immigrant who excelled at school. She had been utterly humiliated and shamed that she had even been sent to detention. Liu had carefully noticed how David had organized their evacuation and got everyone out. David was a natural leader, and he seemed to know a lot about Nuclear War. She would stay with this group until her Dad found her. Jorge was going to be an architect and was dual enrolled in engineering classes at the Community College. His leg had been broken when the ceiling collapsed, David and Karen had helped set his splint. He was all in, hobbling behind. Karen loathed Ashley Kensington, and wondered if the cheerleaders required DNA test confirmation that you had blond hair, blue eyes, long legs, and no brain to be the cheerleader captain. Ashley considered staying at what was left of the school. Surely her wealthy parents would send the maid or someone to get her. But David sounded like he knew all about Nuclear attacks when he told her that was stupid, and she was terrified of being left behind, alone. Doron was a genius who was also popular as the creator of the encrypted "geek.peek" homework school website.

    you will to. Now you don't have to wait - the full story is yours for a discounted price. This boxed set includes all three full-length novels from Starkey's beloved Soul Keeper Series. That's over 800 pages of intense twists and emotional turns, heart-breaking romance and soul-shattering deception - all in one series. In a battle of wills, of the gods of old. For each his revenge, will he forfeit his soul. On the chessboard of blood, will their narrative play. Aged, innocent lives, revenge claims her way. Out of hate will come love, and love will come hate. For immortal and man, have entwined their damned fate. The battle between the Titans and the gods of old did not end with them. The demand for revenge has dripped down into the next generation. Twins, Marcus and Nicolas, heirs to the throne of the gods and sons of the last remaining Titan, learn that the purpose of their existence is to fulfill a prophecy born of hate and despair. They must battle for Pandora's daughter's heart, a girl lost to the human world and unaware of her hidden heritage. For four hundred years Marcus and Nicolas have only been allowed to touch the edge of their soul mate's dreams, but the time of the prophecy has come. For Samantha, life has been nothing more than a series of misfortunes and heartbreaks. For years, she has kept her heart locked away, but change is rolling in like a tidal wave. She is now forced to discern the thin line between love and lie, myth and reality, and it would seem that time is running out ...

    But the elves turn out to be more dangerous than he bargained for, seeking to rip open the veil between Tallia and Llandra and unleash swarming hordes of unspeakable horrors. Even worse, Berry seems to be on their side!Determined to stop them, Randall races against time to find the one artifact that can save Tallia, or destroy it.