An obsessive android engineer infiltrates a socialite party to be close to his creation. During the party, he finds himself entangled in a game he doesn't entirely understand, and that could find him on the run from the authorities...Arthur is an outcast on medication who lives with his ailing single mother in the poorest part of town. He envies the Baker family for their prosperity and good fortune. He tries to steal from them whatever they cherish the most. When young Cathy Baker waits in vain at the town's secret place where lovers meet for a boyfriend who never shows up, Arthur sees an opportunity for revenge ... Views: 619
After returning from a disappearance of seven long years without a trace, Charles Smithson is brutally murdered. The question is by whom. The suspects range from a group of desperate men who were allegedly chasing him to obtain secret information the victim possessed, to members of his own family. Detectives Carson and Brown must unravel the mystery that led to the young man's demise.After disappearing for seven long years without a trace Charles Smithson suddenly reappears one day after he was found unconscious on a hiking trail in the Mission Hills area of San Diego, California. He has a bizarre story to tell about desperate men who are following him and wish him dead. They will stop at nothing to get their hands on secret information he has in his possession. When he ends up dead under mysterious circumstances there is a virtual laundry list of suspects.Detectives John Carson and Charles Brown are assigned to the case and must unravel the tangled mystery that led to the young man's demise. Views: 619
When lonely, Bethany Snow, is sent on assignment to a movie set, little does she know she'll meet the man of her dreams...literally...sex...love...video tape. Actor Seth Carbery swears he will never fall in love again, that is until he meets private detective Bethany Snow. Something strange is going on. Seth and other members of the movie cast and crew are receiving threatening letters, but no threat has ever been carried out... yet. Bethany Snow is sent on location by the Black Agency to investigate and guard Seth Carbery against danger. The case is not what it first seems and even when Bethany thinks it could be over, a new twist means she becomes a target. Seth and Bethany find they can't keep their hands off each other. Who is sending the letters and why? Does Seth have a secret admirer or stalker? Views: 619
After receiving a nightmarish vision Lady Tasha awakens with the knowledge that ancient evil is attempting to re-enter the realm. Fearing the worst, Tasha leaves the safety of her home (along with her stalwart companions, Garn and Hal) and embarks on a quest to the land of Southmoor in hopes of enlisting their fabled Knights to assist in protecting the land from the Dark Mage known as Xir.After receiving a nightmarish vision Lady Tasha awakens with the knowledge that ancient evil is attempting to re-enter the realm. Fearing the worst, Tasha leaves the safety of her home (along with her stalwart companions, Garn and Hal) and embarks on a quest to the land of Southmoor in hopes of enlisting their fabled Knights to assist in protecting the land from the Dark Mage known as Xir.The Companions meet several like-minded adventurers along the way who join in their quest. They battle with thugs and marauders who try to do them harm and encounter difficulties of the emotional kind as feelings become mixed over the course of their journey.This is a Young Adult Fantasy tale in the vein of David Eddings, Lloyd Alexander and other such authors. The author wrote his original draft of this book when he was 19 years old. Barring a few edits for content and grammar, this book remains faithful to that young man's tale of adventure and unrequited feelings. Views: 619
In this thrilling companion novella to the New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series, learn the fate of Adam—the Mogadorian-turned-ally of the Garde who risked his life to save Sam. Adam helped Sam Goode and his father Malcolm escape the Mogadorian base in Dulce, New Mexico. Using the Legacy that One bestowed upon him, he sacrificed himself and brought the entire facility crumbling down on his head. Miraculously, Adam survives in one piece, and he also discovers something incredible that the Mogadorians had been hiding from the Garde. Separated from his allies, Adam sets out on a quest to find the one thing the Garde have been missing all these years. The very thing that could turn the tide in this war. Views: 619
Neil Fisher's first trip to Dunbridge was not a success. Having inadvertently locked himself in St Stephen's Church for hours (and succumbing to the communion wine and wafers for dinner) it seemed miraculous they gave him the curate's job! On arrival in the small town of Dunbridge it quickly becomes clear that life is not going to be tranquil for the eligible new bachelor, as four formidable women are determined to make their presence felt. There is his mother, Iris, still questioning his choice of career; his rector, the no-nonsense Margaret, who is not one for taking prisoners; Claire, his new neighbour, whom he's already managed to offend. And then there is Wendy, the beautiful leading light of the church music group, who has her own plans for Neil... It can only end in trouble. Views: 619
There are supeior beings on the Earth who were bred to dominate and born to kill. Evolving in a clan system governed through economic success, cunning and the removal of those above them the family of LeTorque are one rung below the Matriarchy, one seat below ultimate power and a step closer to their destiny; a combining of the clans to meet the coming Hoard. .The Heavens are real and have been warring with Hell since the beginning. Using Earth as a labratory they've bred the ultimate warriors; advanced species with near perfect genetic make-up which Humans call Warewolves and Vampires. Johnny Johnson is a Cloak; a unique individual who possesses the ability to remain hidden from his own kind. His blood adapts to camouflage his scent of any who blood-bond with him share his gift but there is a catch; he's forbidden to exist. The LeTorque are a family in Third Clan who've been manuevering to fulfill their destiny and rule. When one of their Wolves is killed in a sales pitch Johnny was involved with they capture and identify his true nature. As they prepare for war Johnny learns the truth of mankind's existance, the untarnished version of Nature's fury and something else, something more dangerous; the coming invasion of the Hellion Hoard.. Views: 619
Seifer Almasy. Murderer of SeeDs. Traitor. But now he finds a place among those he originally betrayed, struggling against their suspicion in order to atone for an order he never wanted to give. Can a page from his past help him find a new duty?*(PG-13; this is a work of fan-fiction; events take place after those of Final Fantasy VIII)Jake has watched a band of Hunters lay waste to the only family he has... the undead! Now he's also being hunted too, especially by The Mad Prophet. He is the last vampire left. However, in the middle of surviving the shrewdness of his big time nemesis and escaping, he discovers a secret, one owned by the hunters themselves and one only he can stop... before it spirals out of control. Views: 618
"In (Tower Zero) as in his other stories, Nicholls introduces the drug of compulsion - a prescription you cannot get over the counter." (Bruce Pascoe, Editor, 'Australian Short Stories' No. 53). Fifteen short stories to remind us that no life, whether rough or fastidious, is without its extraordinary moments.Piper Justice, 38 years old with gorgeous green eyes and stunning black hair, is miserable. She is supposed to be on holidays, her basement has just flooded and she is feeling unusually lonely and lost.Rob Mossman, 41 years old with a great physique and a gentle nature, is in mourning. He is now a single parent to his 5-year-old daughter Jennie, as his wife Sandra was killed in an accident a year ago. Piper needs a temporary place to live, Rob has a rental unit in his own house. They are both seeking love but, as life will have it, many obstacles block their route to a full relationship. This is part one in a three-part series that sees Piper's pride and mistrust give way to love. Views: 618
Real pitch meetings happened in tiny, stuffy offices, stacked to the ceiling with towers of shoddy, half assed scripts, fast food wrappers littering the floor like greasy shrapnel because busy people tend to toss without looking, and to top it off they always (and I mean always) reeked of stale coffee and the even staler guys who chugged it.Have you ever read a book and thought, "gee I'd really like to know more about all those background characters!" Well we here at Team Pop Culture thought of that; because we're awesome, and we've got you covered. Behold, the Everything Sucks series! All of these short stories are stand-alones, and will make sense even if you haven't read the novel "Pop Culture Sucks, Manifesto of a Vampire" (*cough* it's a great book though *cough*)The series will either introduce you to, or expand on, various characters from the Pop Culture Universe. You'll get peeks at things like: Iris's time in the Underground Gary's life in the late 1940's Stitch, the Speakeasy barkeep And many all new charactersSo whether you're familiar with these guys or not, this is a series you should check out! Views: 618
Steve and Sally are in love. Close neighbors, they live in the only two houses on the street enshrouded in blast-proof, toxic-atmosphere-blocking tiles - the only houses on the block left. Having survived Armageddon, the two young lovers must now survive a feud that threatens not only their relationship but their very lives.The Jones and Wochowski clans were early adopters of Replicator technology, a technology that both precipitated the destruction of the world and allowed a few to survive. The patriarchs of the two clans helped develop the technology but a dispute has their progenitors precariously existing in a real-life situation of "people living glass houses needing to not throw stones". This dispute between the two neighbors is especially poignant for the respective children of the clans, Steve and Sally, who find themselves in love. Under the noses of their restrictive and vindictive parents they communicate via discrete means such as texting using Replicator-made cell phones, stolen binocular glances across the blasted earth between their two homes, and even tapping in Morse-code on the steel door that connected their two homes in pre-feud days. Ultimately the young couple's love demands they try and find a way out. Views: 618
In Jack Campbell’s New York Times bestselling Lost Fleet series, Campbell’s hero Captain Black Jack Geary explores the furthest reaches of space. Here, Campbell explores what kinds of problems mankind might face as our horizons expand. The third in a series of collections of Campbell’s short stories includes some of Campbell’s favorite stories, and some of his earliest. A brand new author’s note accompanies each story.
“Lady Be Good” is one of Campbell’s most popular stories, winner of Analog Magazine’s “AnLab” reader poll for Best Short Story and cited in Gardner Dozois' Year’s Best SF. The Lady Be Good is an old ship, running obscure routes, not all on the right side of the law, with her loyal first officer Kilcannon and reclusive captain. When Kilcannon decides to rescue the survivors of an attack on a Vestral Company ship, a mysterious new passenger thanks him by asking difficult questions about the Lady, with unexpected answers.
In “Kyrie Eleison,” the Verio shipwrecked centuries ago on an out-of-the-way planet, and the descendants of the ship’s survivors have gotten along as well as they can by following the orders that were passed on to them. But those orders weren’t intended to govern life on the planet’s surface, and when the Bellegrange arrives on a rescue mission, her captain will have to reckon with the unexpected social order on the planet.
In “Do No Harm”, a ship is so technologically advanced that it can repair itself--but turning over the keys might not be the best idea. And in “Down the Rabbit Hole,” a series of failed attempts at faster-than-light travel lead to a novel approach: sending an untested Naval captain out in a space ship to see if he can figure out what’s gone wrong.
With eleven stories in all, AD ASTRA is the most multi-faceted introduction to the short fiction of Jack Campbell, and an essential complement to his bestselling book-length work. Views: 618
The Battlefield is a record of an event that took place, in a small coal mining village, towards the end of the Second World War. The place was New Silksworth, located in the Rural District of Sunderland, County Durham, England. At that time there were perhaps hundreds of these villages in the northern region of the United Kingdom and particularly in the county of Durham.The Battlefield is a record of an event that took place, in a small coal mining village, towards the end of the Second World War. The place was New Silksworth, located in the Rural District of Sunderland, County Durham, England. At that time there were perhaps hundreds of these villages in the northern region of the United Kingdom and particularly in the county of Durham. Awful places where the indignity of poverty and ill-health strode across the land and was the order of the day. Housing consisted of long, narrow, ancient terraces, infested by cockroaches; earthen toilets were across the street, no internal sanitation such as a bathroom with a WC, not even a cold water tap and lighting was provided by oil lamps then later lamps using coal gas. To the rear of each house was an allotment of about 30 metres in length: a godsend during the conflict. Indeed, there is no doubt, the opportunity this land gave for growing food, prevented families from starving, in the harsh early days of rationing. It also offered a place for the sanctuary of the Anderson Shelter.Amenities for miners’ families was financed by the men through a weekly levy on their wages. This provided a Miners’ Hall where meetings took place, ballroom dancing, boxing and table tennis was taught and practiced. A local “welfare” with sports facilities for soccer, cricket, tennis etc. was created too. All were a splendid manifestation of miner’s collective wisdom and endeavour.The owner of Silksworth Colliery, Lord Joicey, a member of the aristocracy, whose sole interest was obtaining as much coal as possible, at the lowest possible price in money and safety. For centuries, in the Durham Coalfield, it was always the way. Views: 618
