You may see some of these characters and places again, but Wardstone has always been intended to remain a trilogy. Without further adieu, please enjoy the HUGE free sample of book one. Enjoy the journey, M.R. Mathias

    Or is it a story of adversity in the face of incompetence?Well, anyway, there's a robot, a giant monster, a line of evil toys, a mind control plot, sub-orbital death beams, kidnappers, bad movies, a super powered gang, an usurper, and a maniacal villain hell-bent on world domination.Not all at once, though. I mean, really, could you imagine coordinating the fight scene? Or reading it? You'd have to take notes just to keep track of who hit what and why.

    

    An authoritarian regime, the SCI controls everything to do with superhumans. Those supers who don't register with the SCI are excluded from society. Most become criminals, having no other choice. This is the story of heroes and villains living under the SCI. ----------------------------------------------------- The setting is a world of superheroes and sci-fi, and the main character is not a hero. He is a villain, with mental abilities. He is a bad man who does bad things. If you are looking for a golden age superhero story, you've come to the wrong place. If you're looking for a tale where the bad guy wins, keep reading. Rated R: Definite language, sex, and all the horrible things that can happen in the world. If you have triggers, consider this your warning.

    Between them and the rest of us stands the United Science Patrol! But who are these enigmatic defenders, and how do they perform their miracles? Shin Hayata and Kiki Fuji have spent half a lifetime trying to find out - and now, their quest drives them toward a decades-old dark secret, and a collision course with a mysterious warrior from beyond the stars! Kyle Higgins (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), Mat Groom (Self/Made) and Francesco Manna (AVENGERS) reimagine the classic origin of a pop culture icon as Ultraman rises at Marvel! The histories of two worlds, the experiences of two lives, and the destinies of two heroes must reconcile as Ultra and Man struggle to become one - and if they don't, neither will survive! The Rise of Ultraman (2020) 1-5

    So when a villain attacks editorial assistant Gail Godwin and she’s rescued by superhero Blaze, it’s a great story, and nothing more. Until it happens again. And again. Now, the media has dubbed her Hostage Girl, nobody remembers her real name, and people are convinced that Blaze is just Gail’s boyfriend Jeremy in disguise. Gail’s not so sure. All she knows is that when both Jeremy and Blaze leave town in the same week, she’s probably doomed. Who will save her now?But when the villains miraculously lose interest, Gail is able to return to her life…until she wakes up strapped to a metal table by a mad scientist who hasn’t read the news. Escaping, and now more than human herself, she’s drawn into a secret underground world of superheroes. She’ll have to come to terms with her powers (and weakness) to make it in the new society, and it’s not easy. After all, there’s a new villain on the rise, and she has her sights set on the one and only Hostage Girl.

    But when she's captured trying to rob a vault that belongs to a secret guild of villains, she's offered a hard choice: prove she has what it takes to join them or be eliminated. Apprenticed to one of the world's most powerful (and supposedly dead) villains, she is thrust into a strange world where the lines that divide superheroes and criminals are more complex than they seem. The education of a villain is not an easy one, and Tori will have to learn quickly if she wants to survive. On top of the peril she faces from her own teacher, there are also the capes and fellow apprentices to worry about, to say nothing of having to keep up a civilian cover. Most dangerous of all, though, are those who loathe the guild's very existence. Old grudges mean some are willing to go to any length to see the guild turned to ash, along with each one of its members. Even the lowly apprentices.

    Men and women with abilities science cannot explain. Heroes and monsters. Both beloved and feared, the Titans are the new superpowers in the post-Wave world.Into this changed world are thrust Mercy Garner and her crew, trapped in time for fifty years and thought to be dead. They were the first to detect the Wave, the first to be hit by it, and the last to discover the changes the Wave brought to their world.

     One hundred and fifty years ago, global warming brought humankind to the edge of extinction. In a desperate bid for survival, four thousand genetically enhanced soldiers—the last slice of humanity—were sent to eight space stations. When a technical glitch during battle leaves Romy and the four other members of Knot 27 hurtling through orbit towards Planet Earth, Romy knows they are dead one way or another. If the crash doesn’t kill them, post-global warming conditions will. Yet days pass as Romy wanders injured and aimless through the bush. As she desperately searches for her knot, Romy is found by a grey-eyed man—a mysterious and close-lipped presence she is not certain she can trust. Especially when he shouldn’t even exist. Secrets are unmasked. A different version of Earth bursts to the surface. Will Romy survive the betrayal and lies threatening to shatter her mind like glass? Earth was ruined. Humankind destroyed. Or so they were told. . . . Scroll up and click buy now to save 22% when you purchase the complete series in this boxset instead of the individual titles! _____________________________________________________________________________ Awarded a Five Star badge from Readers’ Favorite in 2016. Finalist of the Young Adult Books Central Book Awards for Best YA Sci-Fi of 2016. _____________________________________________________________________________ What Readers are Saying: "superbly written" - Readers' Favorite ★★★★★ "part fantasy, part sci-fi, and all cosmic-chemistry" - Amy's Bookshelf Reviews ★★★★★ "all I can say is WOW!" - Taking It One Book at a Time ★★★★★ "I had very high expectations for this one and I'm happy to say that the book met them all and more." - Bookaholic ★★★★★ "I can't start talking about this or I won't stop. This is a must read!" - Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

    When an opportunity to join the Mechanized Infantry presents itself, Pete is first in line. He knows that he's going to get shot at one way or another, but the idea of sitting in a warm and more importantly, dry mechanized suit appeals to him almost beyond reason. While still training in the jungle, Pete's squad is called out to intervene in a skirmish in a nearby village. Of course, the Marines haven't seen fit to certify his squad with ordnance. The fact that they'll be up against a platoon of squishies doesn't convince him that's it's any better of an idea and things turn quickly to crap when they discover the squishies are protected by grav-tanks. Pete, Popeye and Olive is a fast paced, short-story with plenty of action.

    It finally comes to rest in the pasture of an ordinary couple's country home. Immediately upon going inside, they are placed in irrevocable, sole command by the ship's computer. How Dan and Stacy Saddler handle the enormous military, political and religious pressure of choosing a crew and taking the ship back through the enigmatic warp point makes this one of Darrell Bain's most exciting novels.

    Agon, a megalomaniacal inventor with an arsenal of lethal gadgets. Motley, a wisecracking jewel thief with nothing left to lose. Chillpill, a cryogenic drug lord who just wants a normal life. Baelphegor, a demonic psychopath with an ugly score to settle. They're the most dangerous supervillains on Earth, and they're about to pull off the perfect crime. There's just one catch: if they succeed, they might accidentally save the world. From the skyscrapers of Apex City to the gates of Hell itself, the Antagonists are pursued by violent superheroes and billionaire vigilantes. But as loyalties are tested and old hatreds are rekindled, the line between friend and foe begins to blur...

     Alan Star thinks he's the luckiest guy in the world, but fantasy turns into nightmare when a late-night meetup with a heroine turns deadly. To the dismay of the powers-in-charge, Alan has stumbled upon the dirty truth behind the squeaky-clean image of the hero business. Soon, everyone from government black ops to angry superpowered flames want to shut him up. Permanently. With nowhere else to run, Alan escapes to the one place that the heroes won't go: the underground world of a fabled hero-killer. There, he discovers the key to becoming the greatest hero of all. Alan will have to gain new powers, seduce even more superpowered babes, and face the true menace lurking in the shadows. Witness the birth of the Red Light Hero. Warning: This book contains diverse adult situations and possibly unwholesome interactions such as superpowered flings, polyamory, and biology experiments gone wild. This book also contains light gamelit mechanics in the final act.

    Marydyth Shalina Forlan Zel’Karyn was gifted with remarkable speed and reflexes, which she turned into sword skill few could match. Wielding the dragon blood sword, Sang Del Dracl, Marydyth made a name for herself with the Army of Coravia. But it was a name she wasn’t happy with; Mary Death. Marydyth is forced to flee to Evandia and embraces her fate. Now a lady of Evandia, Mary Death retires to a life of leisure in the palace of King Oradan. But retirement is not her fate. Made a Royal Guard in honor of her service to the kingdom, Marydyth continues her legend as a sword instructor. But she is still one of the most deadly swordswomen to have ever lived, and that skill is needed to protect her new king and kingdom. And protect them she will, even unto her own death.

    Taken from poverty at the extremity of Tarlonin's New Dominions, she is brought to the centre of the Empire to become a mage.[Spoiler (maybe): Weaves of Empire is set in the same universe as The Stork Tower. The connections will eventually become more apparent; the intervening years will be fleshed out in other series (not yet written).]