Never trust anyone that brings an energy rifle to a diplomatic meeting.In 2148, first contact for the human race came in a somewhat expected way. Most had hoped the aliens would simply descend onto the planet to some public arena and walk out of their craft in numbers. This is what eventually happened, but not in any way we had previously envisioned it. Because when it finally happened, we had no choice but to shoot the bastards. Views: 850
This issue of Fiction Vortex is full of people who make bad decisions. Warning: don't mistake the characters in these stories for good role models.There's a guy who sabotages the future of his family's legacy out of spite, a woman who tells the world the apocalypse is coming, a man who signs his life away, and a married couple that thinks time travel can save them from their grief.This issue of Fiction Vortex is full of people who make bad decisions. Warning: don't mistake the characters in these stories for good role models.There's a guy who sabotages the future of his family's legacy out of spite, a woman who tells the world the apocalypse is coming, a man who signs his life away, and a married couple that thinks time travel can save them from their grief.So don't take this issue as a guide to life.The upshot for us all is that bad decisions make for great conflict, and great conflict makes for fantastic stories. And boy do we have some fantastic stories for you, showing that character flaws and poor decisions make science fiction, fantasy, and horror more interesting.So take that fork out of the electrical socket, put out that grease fire with something other than water, keep any premonitions about the end of the world to yourself, and sit down for a set of entertaining and thought-provoking stories. Views: 850
After a heated argument with his father, Lucian gets pulled into an organization that has connections to the Seeker, Lucian's destined enemy. Determined to save the innocents that had been brought unwillingly into this mission, Lucian will need to utilize his Realm Leader lessons and embrace his inner Protektor in order to save those he loves.Account #4- Trials of Terrara Vikos prequel seriesIt has been a good few years since Lucian had learned that he was the Protektor, one of the members of the foretelling known as the Profecia. After an argument with his father, he storms off. This escape soon turns even more sour, when Lucian gets dragged into an organization known as MonReneix. Sensing the evil Seeker's energy nearby and seeing the poor depressed children being held captive, Lucian makes his decision to stay there, undercover, and try to learn more about this organization.However, when the leader sets his eyes on 'recruiting' Kimberly, the love of Lucian's young life, he must learn to embrace the Protektor within and send the Seeker a message:You mess with my life, and you will pay.Account #4 of the Tales of Terrara Vikos story saga.Prior stories in this saga:Cross of Faith (#1)Trees in the Storm (#2)Blood on a Broken Hand (#3) Views: 849
Eighteen-year-old Nessa knows what it’s like to be an endangered species. Grown up in a dying world where nine out of ten babies are born male, she survives by trusting no one. When Marlin, the nineteen-year-old gunslinger, kills her captor, Nessa decides this handsome stranger might be her meal ticket. What she doesn’t realize is love is still possible in their decimated world.Eighteen-year-old Nessa knows what it’s like to be an endangered species. Grown up in a dying world where nine out of ten babies are born male, she survives by trusting no one. When Marlin, the nineteen-year-old gunslinger with the sky-blue eyes, kills the man who has been keeping her enslaved, Nessa decides this handsome stranger might be her meal ticket. What she doesn’t realize is love is still possible, even in their decimated world. When Nessa discovers she’s pregnant with Marlin’s child, her difficult life now teeters on a knife’s edge. Can she bear to bring a child into their shattered world? Better yet, can Marlin keep them safe from those that hunt Nessa?A companion story to The Breeders, this prequel novelette (34 pages or 10,000 words) explores the origins of two important characters and gives a deeper look into their background. It contains minor spoilers to the novel and is intended for mature teens and adults. Views: 849
For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn't anything new. They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the 'man' in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.
Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feelings he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.
But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one. Views: 849
In this heartbreakingly beautiful book of disillusioned intimacy and persistent yearning, beloved and celebrated author Andre Dubus III explores the bottomless needs and stubborn weaknesses of people seeking gratification in food and sex, work and love.
In these linked novellas in which characters walk out the back door of one story and into the next, love is "dirty"—tangled up with need, power, boredom, ego, fear, and fantasy. On the Massachusetts coast north of Boston, a controlling manager, Mark, discovers his wife's infidelity after twenty-five years of marriage. An overweight young woman, Marla, gains a romantic partner but loses her innocence. A philandering bartender/aspiring poet, Robert, betrays his pregnant wife. And in the stunning title novella, a teenage girl named Devon, fleeing a dirty image of her posted online, seeks respect in the eyes of her widowed great-uncle Francis and of an Iraq vet she’s met surfing the Web.
Slivered by happiness and discontent, aging and death, but also persistent hope and forgiveness, these beautifully wrought narratives express extraordinary tenderness toward human beings, our vulnerable hearts and bodies, our fulfilling and unfulfilling lives alone and with others. Views: 849
Raden and Aric are strangers, but sworn enemies they already are. As their destinies unfold, they suddenly find themselves at the center of an ancient prophecy. Each choice will leave the world of Eos shaken to its core. In the first book of the Prophecy Rock Series, fates will collide in this epic tale of action, loyalty, and love, where the ultimate meaning of true sacrifice will be discovered.As rumors swirl across the war torn lands of Eos of a possible Candidate—the long prophesied savior of peace— young Raden Nite finds himself unexpectedly chosen to discover the truth to these rumors. Raden’s top-secret mission will send him and his closest friends on a heart-pounding adventure through the mysterious Voras Mountains, the impenetrable fortress of Sargatum, and deep into strange new lands where dangerous enemies await.Meanwhile, on the other side of the Disputed Lands, Prince Aric sits third in line to the crown of Vicedonia. Seeking to escape the overwhelming shadow of his elder brother, and to prove to his father, the king, that he is indeed a worthy successor, Aric embarks on a path into the darkest corners of Eos. On his journey, he will encounter the sinister magic of the Dark Forest, the epic battlegrounds of Lake Raphia, and discover the harsh realities of what it truly means to be king.In the first book of the Prophecy Rock Series, fates will collide in this epic tale of action, loyalty, and love, where the ultimate meaning of true sacrifice will be discovered. Views: 848
Gordon Korman offers another edge-of-your-seat action/adventure in a return to the trilogy format that sold more than 1 million copies of Island, Everest, and Dive.It's every brother's worst fear: As Aiden and his sister Meg are walking home from school one day, a van pulls over and Meg is kidnapped. There's no way for Aiden to stop it from happening. He's the only witness to his sister's disappearance.Why has Meg been kidnapped? Is it for ransom? As a vendetta against Meg and Aiden's parents? Or is there an even bigger conspiracy at work?While Meg fends off her kidnappers and plans an escape, Aiden must team up with the FBI to try to find her—tracking down clues only a brother could recognize. Views: 848
When four delinquent high school seniors are abducted two months before graduation, they are forced to work in a futuristic, desert produce factory and must plot a plan to escape before they lose the freedom to choose their own destiny.Received Third Prize in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards.**Professionally edited by an Amazon CreateSpace editor**Johnny Cockit accidently murdered a man when he was ten years old, which is why he was sent to Sonoran Correctional High School, a gender-segregated boarding school located in Phoenix, Arizona. Two months before graduation, Johnny and his friends are drugged and abducted by Walnut Cherryville secret watchers during an afternoon counseling session. Making decisions about the future has never felt important until the students are forced to work in a remote produce factory owned by the vengeful Quinton family. Walnut Cherryville is no ordinary factory; it’s the Quintons’ futuristic desert village governed by the principle that people live better-quality lives when they don’t make their own decisions. To ease the burden of life’s basic yet complicated choices, the government limits misdirection by choosing every citizen’s career path and lifestyle. Johnny and his friends plot an escape but must avoid being recaptured because abandonment of the village is a crime punishable by death. In a scandalous turn of events narrated by Johnny and his delinquent friends Vincent, Laura, and Collins, they discover that the reason they were captured roots back to an ancient family feud between the Cockit and Quinton families.Due to strong sexuality, this book is intended for young adults ages 14 and up. Views: 848
The telegram brings good news for Doctor Beth, which reminds her of another telegram that her guardian aunt received on her behalf twenty years earlier. Ever since, Beth has waited in vain, fearing the worst, but not knowing the answers.The telegram that has just arrived brings good news for Doctor Beth, giving her something to look forward to. However, it also reminds her of another telegram that her guardian aunt received on her behalf twenty years earlier. Ever since, Beth has waited. This is a short story of the grim affects of racial and ideological prejudice which can rear its head in the least likely of places and the long-lasting pain caused. Views: 848
In this original eBook novella by the New York Times bestselling author of The King’s Deception, globetrotting intelligence agent Cotton Malone is lured into dangerous intrigue surrounding the world’s most famous royals—and uncovers a murderous conspiracy of terrorists and traitors, all born from an ancient tale of Saxon history.
“In Malone, [Steve] Berry has created a classic, complex hero.”—*USA Today
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In England to participate in the trial of suspected international terrorists, Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is mysteriously summoned to an audience with the Queen of England. A cryptic call has warned of looming danger to the ailing queen’s son and grandson—the next two heirs in line for the throne. And when the source of that ominous information, a notorious tabloid publisher, dies mysteriously, the royal family has reason to fear a genuine conspiracy. But they also suspect that the enemy lies within—and no one at Buckingham Palace, or even the nation’s own Secret Intelligence Service, can be trusted. Now it’s up to Malone to discover the truth. Matching wits with a power-mad politician and a vicious royal blue blood, he must race against time through the streets of London to the forbidden reaches of Iceland, all to stop a monstrous plot to seize the monarchy—one that stretches back to the time of Arthur.
Praise for Steve Berry and his Cotton Malone series
“Malone, a hero with a personal stake in the proceedings, is a welcome respite from the cold, calculating superspies who litter the genre.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Steve Berry gets better and better with each new book.”—The Huffington Post
“Savvy readers . . . cannot go wrong with Cotton Malone.”—Library Journal
“Berry raises this genre’s stakes.”—The New York Times
“I love this guy.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child Views: 848
Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own. Views: 848
Now that Carmen has almost recovered from her injuries caused by a car accident, Carmen and Ulrike can begin and enjoy their relationship in earnest. Taxi - Trials is the second book in the Taxi series.Now that Carmen has almost recovered from her injuries caused by a car accident, Carmen and Ulrike can begin and enjoy their relationship in earnest. On the occasion of Carmen’s mother’s birthday, Ulrike is about to meet Carmen’s family for the first time, including Carmen’s brother José, whose reckless driving, in Ulrike’s opinion, landed Carmen in hospital. Both women are rather apprehensive about this meeting, however, the afternoon with the family yields some unexpected results for both of them.Taxi - Trials is the second book in the Taxi series. Views: 847
A scholar's murder in an unimportant village threatens to ignite political tensions in the empire. Village enforcer Adajo must accompany the city examiner investigating the death, navigating an alien landscape of intrigues and unfamiliar masks.An 11000 word fantasy novelette.A scholar's murder in an unimportant village threatens to ignite political tensions in the empire. Village enforcer Adajo must accompany the city examiner investigating the death, navigating an alien landscape of intrigues and unfamiliar masks.An 11000 word fantasy novelette.Shadows of the Heavens Not even half-way into its first century the empire is riven by strife hidden behind a polite facade. With political factions vying for imperial influence, regional politics subverting imperial law, and society still recovering from recent wars, how much is due to mythic beings many no longer believe in? A scholar's death triggers a series of events which could unravel the tenuous empire, drawing into the deadly game a young enforcer searching for his childhood friend; an examiner who desperately wants to avoid politics; a masked woman whose curiosity could cost her everything; and a prince with nothing better to do. Views: 847
The Billionaire Boys Club is a secret society of six men who have vowed success—at any cost. Not all of them are old money, but all of them are incredibly wealthy. They’re just not always as successful when it comes to love…
Real-estate tycoon Hunter Buchanan has a dark past that’s left him scarred and living as a recluse on his family’s palatial estate. Hunter is ready to give up on love—until he spots an enigmatic red-haired beauty and comes up with an elaborate scheme to meet her.
Gretchen Petty is in need of a paycheck—and a change. So when a job opportunity in an upstate New York mansion pops up she accepts. And while she can overlook the oddities of her new job, she can’t ignore her new boss’s delectable body—or his barely leashed temper.
Hunter’s afraid his plan might be unraveling before it’s truly begun, but Gretchen is about to show him that life can be full of surprises… Views: 847
