Whether it is Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson playing an oversized scorpion man in The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King, or the character of Anansi in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods; these magical creatures have a deep connection to the mythologies and folktales of ancient cultures.Where did they come from? What relevance do they serve in mythology? Why are some so obscure, while others become pop-culture enigmas? Get the answer to these questions, and learn about beasts from different world cultures.Folklorist Zayden Stone dives deep into the stories of these magical beasts and providesa fictional anecdote,a retelling of the original myths,an analysis of the symbolism and relevance of the creatures,and then pairs it with some beautiful black and white illustrations reimagined by artist Herdhian.In the second volume of the Mythical Creatures and Mythological Beasts book, the illustrated guide takes you through six themes that have been specifically chosen since they are consistent across cultures. The categories include:arthropods for insects, crustaceans, and arachnids;avian for birds;canines for wolves and dogs;serpents for snakes and dragons;ungulates for hooved animals like horses and cows; andaquatic for water dwelling beasts.Presenting the creatures in categories makes it easier to see what the beasts have in common. You will find some overlapping themes across ancient cultures that point to universal ideas in how humans perceive the world.If you have a love for the myths and want to learn about the unique beasts that dwell within them, this book is a great way to do it. Not only will you learn about ones you may have never heard of, but you will also be able to draw parallels between cultures and see how they interpreted their surroundings through stories of mythical creatures and magical beasts.If you haven’t already, then don’t forget to check out the first volume of Mythical Creatures and Mythological Beasts by Zayden Stone.

    But at 16, abandoned by her father and with a mother struck by a devastating illness, Cam is forced to live with the reclusive grandmother she’s never met. But it’s nothing to cry about—not for the girl who never sheds a tear.Isolated off the coast of Maine, Cam is drawn to Macon, the boy from the other side of the island. But his mother—and most others in the tight-knit community—looks upon her with suspicion.When she learns about her family’s unsettling history, Cam is plunged into ancestral mystery and the magic of the sea.And what she discovers could be the key to changing everything.

    Best to steer clear of the freaks in Voodoo, kid.”Surrounded and outgunned, a group of private military contractors known as “Strange Company” find themselves on a remote planet at the edge of known space, and on the losing end of a bad contract. Orbital D-beam strikes, dropships bristling with auto-guns, missiles, and troops - even Monarch space marines in state-of-the-art advanced battle rattle - will try to prevent the company from reaching the exfil LZ and getting off-world.For Strange, that means it’s time to hang tough and get it on with as much hyper-kinetic violence as they can muster to get clear of the whole mess. And what the Strange can’t get done by violent assault and crazy firefights, they’ll get done by the freaks of Voodoo Platoon - operators who have been changed by the Dark Labs into powerful and unnervingly unnatural asymmetrical weapons.This is the Strange Company. Because in the Strange, it’s always really Strange. Join them - and get ready for full auto combat at the furthest limits of human exploration.

    It reveals something never before seen by modern eyes, an immense cavern buried in the old sea floor, the walls of which have been carved with millions of perfect circles. Tan Wu is sent to investigate, and struggles not only to uncover the meaning behind the massive inscription, but also to set the information free as the world’s governments and violent religious factions bear down on him to keep it hidden. What he discovers changes the world and everything we know about ourselves.

    I’ve killed, and not just by accident. I’ve started to wonder if my powers make me dangerous, or if it’s the other way around. I don’t want to be a killer like Sol, be another bad guy, but I can feel myself turning.What choice do I have?There are other monsters besides just me, some human, some not. Big things that came out of the water, destroying everything in their path. Creatures from the bottom of the sea, or maybe outer space — it doesn’t matter, because they’re coming.What choice do I have but kill?

    All of that changes, though, when Lee leads a team of old friends to virtual glory as the first-ever group to beat Mako Assault, a revolutionary new game that has emerged from nowhere to take the Internet by storm. As a reward for their achievement, the group is flown to meet the game’s mysterious designer and assist in developing the follow-on game Mako 2.0. But what they find when they get there is more than they’d expected…much more. Mako’s intent was never to entertain its players. It was to train them.An epic sci-fi thrill-ride of action, suspense, laughter, and romance, Mako is the story of five ordinary people who will have to rise to the challenge of extraordinary events, driven only by their faith in each other. If they can’t, the game will become very real to more than just themselves—the Earth itself may ultimately be at stake.

    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.

    The women on the station turned away with tears, images of their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and boyfriends disappearing through the smoke. Dorothy stood there alone, until every trace of smoke from the train engine had dissipated. She suddenly felt cold and alone. She finally turned and followed the other women down the metal steps, off the station and back to Edward Street. 1927. The poverty-stricken streets of Neck End in England’s industrial midlands, were a lonely and miserable place for a little girl. Abandoned by her mother, Dorothy clings to the memory of her father, who lives in the capital city. London seems an entire world away, as she hopes for the day when he might send for her and she can finally get out. Twelve years later, the country is plunged into war with Germany and Dorothy’s world is thrown into chaos. Can she have a life in London with her father despite the dangers of war or will a chance encounter with a dashing soldier change her path for good?  Torn between loyalty to her father and the possibility of love, Dorothy struggles with the greatest decision of her young life. A decision influenced by war and the love of two strong, yet vastly different, men.

    With hurt in her heart and confusion clouding her mind, Promise is forced to believe that no one will ever love her since her own mother couldn’t.Hassan is a young, black Doctor that every girl wants, but he’s not impressed by them. Following an encounter with Promise, he knows he has to have her. After a brief game of cat and mouse, Promise falls head over heels in love with Hassan.Promise eventually has it all—well, except all the unanswered questions of why her biological mother didn’t want her. Determined to know the truth, she sets out to find the woman who is only a memory.Will Promise get the answers she’s looking for and finally have closure, or is it possible she won’t have closure at all and lose the ones that really care about her while searching for something that was long gone?

    Despite this apparent turn of luck, he is a prisoner. And part time circus monkey. Forced to compete in deadly games and entertain unseen viewers, Joah plots escape as he draws his new female friends closer. The tropical island home is deceptively enticing but unforgiving. Island Girls is a new harem adventure novel by Rodzil LaBraun. This book is intended for MATURE READERS ONLY, due to profanity, violence and sexually explicit scenes.

     Rich as in affluent, well to do, prosperous… So, although they’d been beaten down by life the one thing they didn’t worry about was money. Four friends find themselves at a crossroad in life. For years they’ve hidden behind their smiles while suffering behind closed doors. For Jerzey, her biggest issue is her taste in men. After surviving a near-death experience, she vows to stay away from the hustlers until Snowden steps into her art studio. He’s like no man she’s met before but because of past pain, she’s afraid to freely give herself to him. Miko is known to be the life of the party. You can count on her to make you smile and give you a good laugh. However, it’s the things Miko isn’t joking about that torment her every day. At a young age, she was subjected to volatile things. Acts of hatred that shape her into a woman afraid of love. A woman that’s determined to lay every man down in her path but when she can no longer run from her pain she’s forced to face her truths. In doing so she is liable to hurt the two people who mean most to her in the world. Rumer is driven. With determination, she pushed herself to become one of the lead real estate agents at her father’s company. She seems to have it all but the thing she lacks most is self-love. When she looks in the mirror she doesn’t see the beautiful woman that people say she is. She finds herself with a nasty addiction and to make matters worse she’s fallen for her step-brother. With her life spiraling in a direction she never saw coming Rumer is given the choice to get help or stay stagnant in the dark world she’s created for herself. Nelly is torn between heaven and hell. Her life with her handsome fiance is everything that she ever wanted it to be. Jannero love and adores Nelly. All he wants in return is for her to love him back. Nelly does but because of her horrid childhood, she struggles to express it to him verbally. When faced with impending charges that could forever alter her life Nelly is changed into someone Jannero doesn’t know. A woman that is so angry it makes him question if marrying her is the right thing to do. This is a two-part series filled with real women that are dealing with real pain. Read at your own risk.

    She is cooking and cleaning and hiding something. She meets Paul, the new equestrian teacher, who does cowboy rodeo events and seems entirely uninterested in the school, except when it comes to getting by with the minimum amount of work. Rachel discovers that Paul is recovering from a fire that happened on his ranch. Rachel doesn’t want to get too familiar with him or anybody since she has a secret, which has to do with being the witness at a trial long ago. Rachel is afraid all the time, and it’s unclear why. Paul begins to fall for her but isn’t sure he will ever get to the bottom of what’s troubling her. Can they find happiness? A standalone short story ending Happily Ever After and unlimited reading with Kindle Unlimited!

    But office life goes downhill with the departure of her work wife, Ruby, and the arrival of new guy Cameron - a chauvinist, a womaniser and the very opposite of a team player. But is Cameron the bad guy he seems to be?When a best-forgotten ex decides to get back in touch, Edie's work life, love life and home life are on a collision course. Exactly what she will be able to salvage from the twisted wreckage, is anybody's guess.A funny and feel-good romance for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Jo Watson.

    Oh, and his upcoming exams. That was before he caught the attention of a planet of intergalactic trial-by-combat lawyers that use giant mechs to fight their legal battles. Now he has bigger things to worry about. Much, much bigger. The only advantage he has is his trusty games controller, but will it be enough to beat a Level 10 Behemoth? Josh isn’t the only one having a rough day. Gargle was your run-of-the-mill, body swapping, ethereal alien courier. Everything was going great, until he was dropped off on Earth and asked to blend in with a crowd of teenagers. Josh only has to save the world, Gargle has to survive puberty. If you love humour, sci-fi and GameLit then this is the book for you! Note that while this book shares the same universe as Level Up, it has its own cast of characters. Both books can be enjoyed standalone.

    The dimensional gates open to another world, a world of magic, where our dreams of fantasy are real. The evil Emperor of the Ellala sees the millions of transplanted humans as soul energy to forward his scheme for immortality. He orders his armies to capture the newcomers, to place them in concentration camps where they can be harvested. But the Germans, French, Polish and other peoples or Earth have other ideas. With the help of their American allies and the modern weapons of war they will fight back against the magic of the evil elves, while gathering their own allies in the fight for survival. For they are seen by the native peoples as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. And they have brought immortals with them to this world. men and women of great power on Earth, who become true demigods on the new world. So it is tank against mage, attack helicopter against dragon, and nuclear warheads against impregnable fortress, as the humans must use their technology while they still have it, and gain a foothold on a world beyond their understanding.The first book of a series about the establishment of a human Empire on a world of magic, led by their immortal king, Book 2 is also out, book 3 in the winter of 2013.