A deadly challenge. The fate of the world is on Astra’s shoulders.Twenty-five-year-old Astra Ching has never sought the spotlight. So when a mysterious black orb appears with a challenge for Earth and selects her to compete in its strange—and very public—game, she’s not pleased to find herself a sudden superstar.The rules are bewildering, and there are no second chances for losers. Yet while Astra fights to stay alive and save the world from imminent destruction, the people of Earth are more interested in tabloids and gossip, like whether or not she’s engaging in a scandalous love affair with a fellow contestant . . . or the mysterious alien known only as Eleven.In her struggle to survive, Astra forms tentative alliances with a handful of trustworthy friends. But as the global gossip seeps into the game and contestants are eliminated with each round, Astra’s celebrity threatens to become infamy and the line between friend and foe blurs.Will she emerge from the arena a hero, or just another headline?

    But when a terrified woman falls through his bathroom ceiling, he's forced back into a life of gunfights, double agents and paranormal research. The secret he's been keeping for nearly four decades might reunite him with his lost love, or kill millions.This new short story by John August falls into the genre of paranoid "spy-fi" popularized by writers like Jorge Luis Borges and shows like The Prisoner and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.== What Others Say =="I really dug the story. Gave it a glance just to see, got totally hooked, and blazed on through to the end."-- Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union) "The Variant" is both a good, fun, smart story and an interesting experiment in indie self-publishing for fiction."-- John Gruber, daringfireball.net== About the Author ==An excerpt of The Variant is available at johnaugust.com/variant About the AuthorJohn August is the screenwriter of eight feature films, including Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. He wrote and directed the 2007 movie The Nines.He can be found on Twitter, @johnaugust

    Toby has been waiting for years to finally get his chance to see the game, but after server problems and issues with the download he only has a few minutes to do so before real life calls. And nothing seems to go right. His first glimpses of the world leave him confused, and it turns out he isn’t alone. Someone has broken into the server and changed things to suit themselves. Everyone has only one character, one life, and an impossible goal: make it to the end in a week. Everyone is mortal, and everyone is a killer. It’s open season on other players. The man who usurped the world chose Toby to be the champion of this cause, despite his lack of knowledge of game… or perhaps because of it. He is given a terrible weapon, the only one capable of setting things right. Yet he is just as mortal as everyone else. Or worse, as his character remains in the world even if he logs out. But with the future of their hard work on the line, the developers are not about to sit out of this fight. Their game, their reputation, and their very company are on the line. With Toby’s help they take up the challenge and fight to reclaim their world.

    But the shooter wasn’t acting alone.Roger Heller was part of something bigger…A conspiracy of scientific experiments, missing citizens, and ancient secrets threatening the island and its people.Behind it all: the enigmatic Blake Conway.Can Jon Conway piece the mystery together before he loses someone else that he loves?Can Roger Heller’s surviving family move on from his heinous actions?Will Cassidy’s addictions destroy her new family with Emma and Jon?Can Milo trust the mysterious Don Bellows?What will happen when Brock Houser launches his own investigation?WhiteSpace is a character-driven, mysterious, sci-fi thriller that would be right at home with superbly scripted TV shows like LOST, The Killing, and Fringe.

    Seconds later it's gone, and no one knows what happened. Normal life resumes. BBQs continue, and kids play in backyards. No one notices the screams coming from one backyard.Everyone believes it to be a fluke. But it doesn't just happen in Carthage, it happens all over.While delayed, the after effects of the event are brutal to all those who were exposed to the flash, and horrifying to behold.Those not exposed, like Alana Cross, are helpless to do anything. All they can do is witness humanity self-destructing right in front of their eyes.

    

    entertaining and beautifully written,” the complete series from the New York Times–bestselling author of the Xanth Novels (Science Fiction Review).   Seamlessly blending science fiction and fantasy, New York Times–bestselling author Piers Anthony presents an epic adventure series in a completely original universe.  Cluster: In a battle to control the energy of the Milky Way galaxy, two adversaries of superior Kirlian auras—green-skinned Flint of Outworld and a female Andromedan agent—are irresistibly drawn to each other.  Chaining the Lady: Melody of Mintaka, a direct descendant of Flint and his Andromedan mate, must save the Milky Way from the enemy Andromedans, who have discovered the secret of involuntary hosting—possessing another individual via a stronger aura.  Kirlian Quest: With his hyper-intense Kirlian aura, Herald the Healer, an aural descendant of Flint and Melody, must unravel the secrets of the Ancients to defend against the Space Amoeba, a fleet of alien ships a million strong.  Thousandstar: A new Ancient Site has been discovered, and in the competition to explore it, both host Heem of Highfalls and his transferee, Jessica of Capella, harbor secrets that may cost them their lives.  Viscous Circle: The bloodthirsty Solarians, desperate to possess the secrets of the Ancient Site, target the Bands, strange and beautiful pacifist beings, and only Rondl has the knowledge to save his race from extinction.

    As he blows out the candles on his cake, he makes a token wish. Three days later, to his utter astonishment, that wish comes true.All his problems solved, Kyle is busy counting his blessings when a gaunt pensioner turns up at his door unannounced. The stranger then confounds Kyle by claiming credit for his recent good fortune, followed by a bizarre declaration … when Edmund Wishkin grants a wish, there’s always a price to pay.Whether he believes the old man or not, Kyle is about to discover the true cost of a wish fulfilled.

    A horde of beasts known only as the scourge has ravaged the land, leaving only the village of Terreas to survive. Hemmed in on all sides by the scourge, the denizens of Terreas eke out a lonely existence, trying to survive in a land that is all but dead. Jasen Rabinn is a teenage boy trapped in Terreas but with a mind rooted outside the boundaries of his village. He longs for adventure, and when the mysterious Baraghosa – a sorcerer of a sort not native to Luukessia – comes to Terreas, a chain of events is set in motion that will carry Jasen beyond his simple town. To adventure. To danger. To his destiny.

    

    Now, the Confederation's crises are spawned from within, and one brave woman struggles against all odds to keep mankind united amidst a hailstorm of rebellion, war, and moral declination.* * * * *The Lucani Ibron have yet to return, but all is not well within the Alpha Sector. Internal strife, terrorism, and ever-escalating conflicts with several neighboring species have spread the Confederation's resources dangerously thin. Captain Anastasia Mason, together with an eclectic group of humanity's most decorated heroes, struggles to hold the Confederation together against powerful forces that threaten to rip it apart at its very core. Then, at what appears to be mankind’s most desperate hour, an old enemy returns from a ten-year hiatus, casting humanity to the brink of civil war... and outright annihilation.

     A short story in the Oddjobs universe that tries to answer the age-old question: what Christmas present do you get for the demon who has everything?

     * Discover a lamp on the beach holding a genie that can grant you three...trips? * Meet a veteran soldier assisting a mad scientist who is convinced he’s created the first time machine; a harmless delusion – until it works. * Watch a 19th century lighthouse keeper find out what she’s willing to fight for, and then find a whole new world of trouble. * Explore the dangers of time looping aboard a spaceship with an ensign who is stuck between duty and his conscience. Would you make the same choices? T Is for Time Travel is a fun and fast-paced collection of timely short stories that will introduce you to characters you’ll love, thrilling adventures, and thought-provoking scenarios – with plenty of laughs along the way.Are you ready to jump in – whenever it may take you?

    The answer sent him into a web of treachery, of ancient secrets and forbidden knowledge, and entangled him in matters far beyond his understanding, until he found himself face to face with the gods of destruction and death.

    Before he learns much about the current age, the Germans put him to work as a researcher in their occult research facility and as a teacher of conscripted young wizards. His research uncovers the existence of a malevolent artifact hidden in the facility. At its full potential, the artifact could allow the Germans to dominate the war, assuring their victory. He also finds the staff of the facility on the edge of madness, driven there by an insidious creature of dark magic. As the SS insinuates itself into the facility, Merlin may be the only one who can resist them and destroy the dangerous artifact before it's too late to save his students, himself, and the world.