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purple west by Jonathon Trosclair


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Deep Breath Hold Tight: Stories About the End of Everything


Jason Gurley - 2014
    endings. The heroes and antiheroes of these tales find themselves, sometimes unexpectedly, arriving at major turning points in their lives – turning points that are quite often catastrophic, surreal, tragic. These stories are alternately triumphant and terribly sad, but they are always human.This collection includes the following previously published stories:Wolf SkinThe CaretakerThe Winter LandsNebulaeOnyxThe Last Rail-RiderThe Dark AgeDeep Breath Hold Tight will be published in the spring.

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160 (January 2020)


Neil Clarke - 2020
    This was published as a Clarkesworld audiobook podcast in 2020.

The Pawn in the Portal


Nick Cole - 2016
    Ward, a tier-one operator turned mercenary, has just flung himself off the cargo deck of a doomed C-130. Now he’s out of the Drop Zone and evading the undead as a terrible new breed of hunter enters the Wyrd. But these new, faster predators might not be the only thing to fear in an apocalypse beset by zombies, nukes and killer A.I.’s. One of the last warriors of a collapsed government is planning on putting up some big numbers in this final, ultimate game of Survivor, until he finds a mysterious new companion... a stranger dressed in black.

A Stranger in the Citadel


Tobias S. Buckell - 2021
    Buckell.“You shall not suffer a librarian to live.”Growing up in Ninetha, Lilith has known this law all her life. The city’s every need is provided for by a god-machine called the cornucopia, which can produce food, clothing, anything in response to a thought. The gods provided this bounty on one condition: that humanity give up reading and writing. Then, a librarian, an actual seeker of forbidden written knowledge, walks through the gates of the citadel, his very presence unraveling the life Lilith has known. She learns her father, the Lord Musketeer himself, has been harboring a secret - one that turns Ninetha against Lilith’s family. Forced to flee, forced to throw in her lot with the librarian, Lilith uncovers even greater secrets - about the lie her life has been, and about the very nature of their world.

The Strange Bird: A Borne Story


Jeff VanderMeer - 2017
    But now the lab in which she was created is under siege and the scientists have turned on their animal creations. Flying through tunnels, dodging bullets, and changing her colors and patterning to avoid capture, the Strange Bird manages to escape.But she cannot just soar in peace above the earth. The sky itself is full of wildlife that rejects her as one of their own, and also full of technology—satellites and drones and other detritus of the human civilization below that has all but destroyed itself. And the farther she flies, the deeper she finds herself in the orbit of the Company, a collapsed biotech firm that has populated the world with experiments both failed and successful that have outlived the corporation itself: a pack of networked foxes, a giant predatory bear. But of the many creatures she encounters with whom she bears some kind of kinship, it is the humans—all of them now simply scrambling to survive—who are the most insidious, who still see her as simply something to possess, to capture, to trade, to exploit. Never to understand, never to welcome home.With The Strange Bird, Jeff VanderMeer has done more than add another layer, a new chapter, to his celebrated novel Borne. He has created a whole new perspective on the world inhabited by Rachel and Wick, the Magician, Mord, and Borne—a view from above, of course, but also a view from deep inside the mind of a new kind of creature who will fight and suffer and live for the tenuous future of this world.

The Newman Resident


Charles Swift - 2014
    Dr. Newman is at the leading edge of creating the perfect educational environment for children, and all he requires is a hefty tuition—and your child at the age of six months.Christopher Carson is one of the “Newman Residents” who live at the Newman Home year-round. His parents, Richard and Carol, both Manhattan attorneys, may disagree about the specifics, but each wants what’s best for their son. For Richard, this means bringing Christopher, now six years old, home for one last summer vacation before the visits become brief and infrequent.Carol agrees with the staff: Christopher should stay at the school. And Christopher is confused, not sure where his real home is anymore. But Richard would like for their house to be Christopher’s home, at least for one summer.As Richard and Christopher spend more time together they become closer. Not long into Christopher’s visit, Richard begins to suspect that the Newman Home’s methods for developing their children into future leaders are too experimental, if not outright dangerous. His suspicions are confirmed when a secretive support group of Newman parents reaches out to him about their frightening experiences with the school.Richard’s investigations into the Newman Home quickly spiral out of control; he has underestimated the extent of the school’s power and connections—and Dr. Newman’s incessant drive to achieve a new level of success for the students. But what Dr. Newman underestimates may be even more powerful: one father’s determination to fight for his son against the odds.What follows in The Newman Resident is a whirlwind battle between a devoted father and an education system more terrifyingly powerful than he ever could have imagined. It’s a battle that forces him to confront how some will cross any line in order to create the “perfect” child.

The Hunger Games: Official Illustrated Movie Companion


Kate Egan - 2012
    From the screenwriting process to the casting decisions to the elaborate sets and costumes to the actors' performances and directors' vision, this is the definitive companion to the breathtaking film.

Hustle


Tom Pitts - 2014
    Donny and Big Rich want to film Gabriel Thaxton with their cell phones during a sexual act and put the video up on YouTube. Little do they know, the man they've chosen, a high-profile San Francisco defense attorney, is already being blackmailed by someone more sinister: an ex-client of the lawyer's. A murderous speed freak named Dustin has already permeated the attorney's life and Dustin has plans for the old man. The lawyer calls upon an old biker for help and they begin a violent race to suppress his deadly secret.

Death Becomes Her / Queen Bitch / Love Lost


Michael Anderle - 2016
    (Kneel Or Die - TKG 07 Review) * A serum has been uncovered that was thought had been destroyed in WWII * The UnknownWorld is ready to explode from pent-up frustrations * The most powerful vampire is weary and tired of keeping the peace, and pieces, together * One man hates working with vampires, but he finds someone along the way that makes it worth everything. * A woman is given the opportunity to make a difference, but she gets changed more than she was told. They say a dress can make a woman, but in this case, the dress is Death, and Death Becomes Her very well indeed. Reviewer MistyDawn: "I'm surprised. I thought when I read the first book in this series, that it couldn't get better.... I was wrong. I read almost continuously, and for the past year and a half, I haven't read a series (or even one) book that I've loved as much. With such loyal characters, friendship, and badassery... just don't wait to start reading these. So just, just wow." **Please note, as mentioned in a review, there is flagrantly foul language in these novels. The main character does not have a problem with cussing, just uninspired cussing. Please note: This book is part of a series and MUST be read in order. Series includes: Death Becomes Her - The Kurtherian Gambit 01 Queen Bitch - The Kurtherian Gambit 02 Love Lost - The Kurtherian Gambit 03 Bite This - The Kurtherian Gambit 04 Never Forsaken - The Kurtherian Gambit 05 Under My Heel - The Kurtherian Gambit 06 Kneel or Die - The Kurtherian Gambit 07 WE WILL BUILD - The Kurtherian Gambit 08 - April 2016

Testing Zero


N.G. Simsion - 2016
    Simsion. Zero prefers to keep his life simple. Although he is easily one of the largest and cleverest boys in his year, he runs from any sign of confrontation. His best friend—his only friend—is nothing like him. Obsessed with the world outside of the city walls, Lefty is always pushing the boundaries set by society's Elite. It’s only a matter of time before they have gone too far and they’re forced to face the horrors of the "old world" on their own. Can they survive and learn to coexist with the dangerous Remnants of the old world? Are the Remnants of the old world even the worst of their problems, or do the Elite of their own society pose an even greater threat?

Utopia 58


Daniel Arenson - 2019
     Imagine a perfect society. A world with no racism, sexism, or ageism. A utopia. In Utopia 58, everyone is equal. Everyone must be equal. Too beautiful? A mask will hide that pretty face. Too tall? We'll saw your legs down to size. Too male or female? The surgeon's knife will fix that. Too smart? A buzzer in your skull will drown out all that pesky thinking. You will be equal. Like it or not. Utopia 58, built atop the ruins of North America, created perfect harmony. A society with no race, gender, or age. Pure equality. KB209 was born into this utopia. He has no true name. No past. No future. He is one among millions. The same. One day, at a propaganda rally, KB209 glimpses an act of startling defiance. A citizen with painted toenails. A woman in a genderless society. Color in a black and white world. When KB209 confronts her, he is drawn into an underground rebellion. A movement that dares to dream. That dares to say: "We are unique. We are individuals. We will be free!" "1984 for the 21st century." - Richard Fox, bestselling author of The Ember War

The End Collection: Edge of Apocalypse, Thunder of Heaven, Brink of Chaos, Mark of Evil (The End Series)


Tim LaHaye - 2014
    The End Series from Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall---now available in one volume.

Tyrant: The Rise (Book 1)


L. Douglas Hogan - 2015
    The author of "OATH TAKERS" brings you his version of a neo-political post-apocalyptic novel of how America could end if patriots and oath takers refuse to honor their oaths to the Constitution and embody the American spirit of resistance to tyranny.

Short Stories by Kurt Vonnegut (Study Guide): Harrison Bergeron / EPICAC / 2BR02B / Welcome to the Monkey House / Miss Temptation / Report on the Barnhouse Effect


Books LLC - 2010
    Chapters: Harrison Bergeron, Epicac, 2br02b, Welcome to the Monkey House, Miss Temptation, Report on the Barnhouse Effect, All the King's Horses, Who Am I This Time?, Deer in the Works. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: "Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical, dystopian science fiction short story written by Kurt Vonnegut and first published in October 1961. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the story was re-published in the author's collection, Welcome to the Monkey House in 1968. In the story, social equality has been achieved by handicapping the more intelligent, athletic or beautiful members of society. For example, strength is handicapped by the requirement to carry weight, beauty by the requirement to wear a mask and so on. This is due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the United States Constitution. This process is central to the society, designed so that no one will feel inferior to anyone else. Handicapping is overseen by the United States Handicapper General, Diana Moon-Glampers. Harrison Bergeron, the protagonist of the story, has exceptional intelligence, strength, and beauty, and thus has to bear enormous handicaps. These include headphones that play distracting noises, three hundred pounds of weight strapped to his body, eyeglasses designed to give him headaches, a rubber ball on his nose, black caps on his teeth, and shaven eyebrows. Despite these societal handicaps, he is able to invade a TV station, declare himself Emperor, strip himself of his handicaps, then dance with a ballerina whose handicaps he has also discarded. Both are shot dead by the brutal and relentless Handicapper General. The story is framed by an additional perspective from Bergeron's parents, who are w...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=18941

The Slummer: Quarters Till Death


Geoffrey Simpson - 2021
    Quitting isn’t in his DNA. In 2083, Benjamin Brandt is among the millions of “slummers” who are relegated to poverty and struggle on the outskirts of society. As a minority growing up in the gritty underbelly of Cleveland’s Industrial Valley, Ben sees the way genetically designed “elites” live only from a distance: from the shadows of public spaces people like him are forbidden to use, and on TV, where he watches the enhanced athletes compete at an extraordinary level. For years, a national track championship has inspired Ben to ferociously cultivate his own talent as a runner.As Ben logs miles through the potholed, darkened streets of his community, an idea takes hold of him that could turn his highly stratified society upside down. He isn’t prepared to lead a revolution; however, he is prepared to run like a slummer with nothing to lose.