Braving the lethal elements and buzzkills, four crawl out from the shelter of their hovel to push an invention towards the legendary tower the fatcats built before the world fell into ruin. They hope their machine will discover where the fatcats sleep, so that, finally, those who were left behind to languish in the wastes can take revenge by filling the fatcats' dreams with nightmares.Old man Sparker has built a powerful drill in the hovel, driven by a hissing engine of steam. Hoping the drill will help those who must call the wastes home find where the fatcats have retreated, Sparker’s daughter Sweet Tea leads a group that pushes her father's machine towards the tall tower rumored to be the fatcats’ home. There’s the giant Crotch, whose legs give the group so much strength. There’s Shiv, whose skills with the wicked razor may prove useful upon encountering any enemy. And there is Bug, the most resilient man to call the hovel home, a man who refuses to be squashed beneath any adversary’s heel. Together, they grunt and push Sparker’s contraption through the wastes, motivated by the desire to wrench the hated fatcats out from their pleasant dreams. Views: 482
When things aren't going right,as the unravelling begins - what to do next ? How to find a way out - or should you ?The world was perfect. A blue and green Earth spinning on its axis with a billion people wandering its surface and deep in its oceans. But then technology found a fix for what was broken with society. Bots. The sophisticated super-human robot designed to make life easier... But then imagine a rebellious group, filled with disdain for this new technological development and the laziness of the masses. Imagine how they create a virus and infect the bots... Introducing the Killer Bots, known to the remaining human population as KBs. They slowly but surely have begun to take over the planet, killing without hesitation any human seen to cross their paths. They simply load their machine guns and fire. The survivors do what they can to keep a grasp on life. Ryan is one such lone survivor. He makes his way from place to place. He scavenges supplies from old stores and left-behind homes. He walks and ventures and journeys, all the while staying alert for errant KBs. He won't hesitate if he comes across a robot... He'll simply shoot and kill. That is, until he stumbles across Ami. But Ami is like no other robot he's ever known... Views: 481
A collection of short stories for children and dog lovers alike. Love, strength, and companionship is all that any dog could ever want but when destiny seems to have other things in mind, these furry friends somehow defy the odds and warm the hearts of those who give them a "forever home."A collection of short stories for children and dog lovers alike. Love, strength, and companionship is all that any dog could ever want but when destiny seems to have other things in mind, these furry friends somehow defy the odds and warm the hearts of those who give them a "forever home."Written in plain language for the young reader, these short stories are designed to promote awareness of the overcrowding in animal shelters across the USA and the importance of animal adoption. Views: 471
With Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less, spring cleaning takes on a whole new meaning. You'll read stories about people who found happiness in an unlikely way: by saying no. No to buying more stuff, no to taking on additional time-filling commitments, and no to trying to please everyone all of the time. Views: 459
A tycoon, an heiress and a reporter hunt the most exotic creatures found in the cosmos. But a stranger from the stars has arrived first on the safari, and that alien will stop at nothing to collect every human's face as a trophy.The obliterators execute the Law of Extermination, cleansing alien planets of native life and reshaping extra-terrestrial landscapes to prepare the new worlds found in the stars for human settlement. Yet a creature of shadow and fear prevents the obliterators from completing their duty on the planet of Tybalt, a world that promises humankind a New Eden, if only the obliterators can exterminate that glowing jungle in which the monster hides. Teddy Jackson accepts the obliterators’ challenge to claim that monster as a trophy. But an intelligence unlike any Mr. Jackson has ever tracked threatens to turn the table on that great hunter who has mounted so many alien heads upon his walls. Views: 458
The archivist Un'Yhe has honored the strangers throughout his long lifetime. The strangers have smiled at every relic of the broods' homeworld Un'Yhe has brought before them. Un'Yhe's care continues to expand the museum built upon the strangers' crashed ark, until one day the strangers unfold the homeworld's bright sky to reveal a sparkling treasure more glorious than even Un'Yhe's museum houses.The strangers have spent eons floating through the chasms separating the stars. After so many millenniums, the strangers reach their loftiest goal and arrive upon an alien world filled with intelligence, life and splendor. But the strangers have evolved since the day so long ago when their ancestors first stepped into the stars. Only, the strangers' eyes remain transfixed upon the stars. The strangers still pine, despite all the alien treasure that surrounds them, for a return to those dark chasms that expand between the night's twinkling starlight. Views: 452
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. Views: 451
A hill is not a mountain.You climb it for you, then you put it quietly inside you, in a cupboard marked'Quite A Lot Of Hills' where it makes its infinitesimal mark on who you are. Ring the Hill is a book written around, and about, hills: it includes anorthern hill, a hill that never ends and the smallest hill in England. Eachchapter takes a type of hill – whether it's a knoll, cap, cliff, tor or even amere bump – as a starting point for one of Tom's characteristicallyunpredictable and wide-ranging explorations.Tom's lyrical, candid prose roams from an intimate relationship with a particularcove on the south coast, to meditations on his great-grandmother and a lesson onwhat goes into the mapping of hills themselves. Because a good walk in thehills is never just about the hills: you never know where it might lead. Views: 451
Excerpt: ... Though she feared what the night would bring, at least the youngsters would sleep. Emma put them to bed, and again, in the darkness, she took the long knife in bed with her. She whispered of her weariness and terror to Joe, and hoped that, somehow, he would hear her and come back. Grimly she fought exhaustion, and set herself to listen as she had listened all last night. It was still dark inside the wagon when she heard Mike\'s challenging bark. She awoke in sudden panic, terrified by the thought that she had let herself sleep. The knife clasped tightly in her hand, she sat up in bed. Barbara awakened. "What is it, mother?" "Hush!" She heard the back flaps rustle, and she peered around the curtain to see Tad, rifle in hand, climbing out of the wagon. Emma slipped past the curtain and stepped carefully over her still-sleeping sons. It was still dark inside the wagon, but dawn\'s first faint light had come. Emma leaned over the rear. "What is it, Tad?" "Stay in the wagon!" he hissed. She saw him crouching, holding Mike\'s muzzle so the dog could not bark again and peering intently in the direction the dog was looking. Emma tightened her grip on the knife and made ready to fight for her children\'s lives. She did not weaken, or feel herself go limp, or give way to tears, until she heard Tad\'s happily shouted, "It\'s Pa! Pa\'s come back!" CHAPTER NINE Storm Joe had stopped only to let the mules rest and graze, and wherever that was he nibbled a cold snack from the food Emma had prepared for him. Then he slept, but he had purposely brought no blankets and he built no fire, because he did not want to oversleep. Though he was tired enough to doze wherever he lay down, the cold always awakened him. Never for an instant did he forget the fact that he had left his family camped, undefended, along the river. He must return to them at the earliest possible moment, for they were his to protect. Therefore, he let the mules have only the barest minimum of grazing and... Views: 448
In A Fool For A Client, Hobie Burrows returns to San Francisco after the conclusion of A Dream Is A Pinhole In Time. Not only does he have to face a future without Keiko, Lott & Pembroke (his old law firm) undermines his plans to practice law as a solo practitioner in San Francisco. Can Tiranoan technology and a wealthy client help him succeed on either account?In A Fool For A Client, Hobie Burrows returns to San Francisco after the conclusion of A Dream Is A Pinhole In Time. Not only does he have to face a future without Keiko, Lott & Pembroke (his old law firm) undermines his plans to practice law as a solo practitioner in San Francisco. Can Tiranoan technology and a wealthy client help him succeed on either account?A Fool For A Client is a story in The Encircling Belts of Tirano Saga. Planet Tirano creates a unique milieu for the series The Encircling Belts of Tirano Saga. Its aristocracy consists only of pureblooded descendants of the leaders of the mother ship that landed two millennia ago. Genetically engineered women, conceived in vitro, control Tirano’s computer network and hyperspace portals. Vhirko, clones of women who died valiantly in battle, guard Tirano’s monarch. Tirano has been at war for decades with a savage alien species that becomes sentient only if mentally linked in groups of four or more.Tirano’s King Mhikhel unleashes fundamental, and uncontrollable, changes to this milieu when he acknowledges as his child an illegitimate son of a commoner and raises the child (Tarnlot) as a prince. Despite the aristocracy’s antagonism, Mhikhel grooms Tarnlot to serve as the Lord Chancellor (the highest governmental post, which is normally held by a member of the aristocracy) when Mhikhel’s heir (Prince Zhun’Mar) assumes the throne.In A Bastard’s Oath Tarnlot must rescue the throne for Zhun’Mar’s by foiling both an aristocrat’s coup d’etat and the aliens’ coup de main. In the series’ second installment, A Dream Is A Pinhole In Time, Tarnlot and Zhun’Mar escape an ambush in deep space by entering a hyperspace fissure that strands them on a planet in an unknown galaxy: present day Earth. The third installment, Outliers of Tirano, begins the stories of Siniastra, Zhun’Mar's daughter. Sibyl of Doom continues the story of Siniastra's quest to serve as Queen of Tirano despite the efforts of Tirano's aristocrats to remove her from the throne. Views: 448
Growing up means learning lots of things - how to tell jokes,how to tie shoe-laces,the importance of telling the truth - but what is that,exactly ? Why can't I be a pirate instead ? And look at what my cat's licking now !Also check out books two and three, now available!Leroux has spent his life having everything handed to him – everything except the hand of the alluring Beauty, which he covets above all else. When Beauty is “kidnapped” by a Beast, Leroux sets out to reclaim what he feels is rightfully his from the frightful monster, but when the unexpected occurs, Leroux discovers that not all monsters take the form of a Beast. A fast-paced, reflective Fairy-Tale retelling, "The Beauty of the Beast" is a dark visit to the land of possibilities, and the first of the Beastly Tales.Read the other Beastly Tales to discover more about the story you thought you knew: A Beast of Beauty ~ Tale #2Beauty Beheld ~ Tale #3 Views: 444
Radio talk-show host Max Jervis plays the part of victim better than anyone, and that talent has made Mr. Jervis a very wealthy man. Mr. Jervis will share in any indignity and imagine any conspiracy that might help grow his broadcast empire. But Mr. Jervis forgets that there is a monster for every victim until a scraping and clawing arrive one night outside his studio door.Mr. Jervis plays the role of victim as fine as any actor. By taking offense at the slightest rebuke and by seeing conspiracies behind every shadow, Max Jervis has built an empire of listeners and sponsors with the countless parts of his victim-hood. Max rages and cries with anyone who hears his voice, and he creates monsters out of the airwaves to grip the passion of any broadcast market. But Max Jervis learns too late that his words summon abomination. The scraping of claws arrives outside his door following a caller's curse, and Max Jervis must face the creature his words have shaped. Views: 441
Owen Masters doesn't like the community of Flat Knob, and the community doesn't like him. No matter his efforts or intention, Flat Knob has despised Owen since he arrived to teach at the county school. A camera Owen purchases at the Turner estate auction, however, has a strange knack for capturing the dark held within the heart. Through that camera's lens, Owen will claim what is rightly deserved.Owen Masters languishes in the community of Flat Knob. He wastes his weeks at the front of a high school English classroom, where he suffers the futility of trying to instruct those who despise him. On weekends, he drifts through the barren county to attend estate sales searching for exotic and strange possessions that might deliver a little satisfaction to his days. A dark, phrenologist skull grips Owen’s attention at Homer Turner’s estate sale. Though his bid is not enough to bring that relic home, Owen soon finds himself tossed into Flat Knob’s oldest feud between a hated entrepreneur and a wicked family named Turner. And through the lens of a strange camera that clicks through the night, Owen Masters learns he must first become a monster to gain Flat Knob's respect. Views: 429
On planet Tirano my mother leads an order of genetically engineered women. Clones of females who died valiantly in battle guard Tirano's monarch. The aristocracy are pureblooded descendants of the leaders of the mother ship that landed two millennia ago. Imagine the inbreeding that has resulted during those two millennia. Nonetheless, in this milieu, I'm the one stigmatized as a bizarre creature.Planet Tirano creates a unique milieu for the stories of the series The Encircling Belts of Tirano Saga. Planet Tirano’s aristocracy consists only of pureblooded descendants of the leaders of the mother ship that landed two millennia ago. An order of genetically engineered women, all of whom were conceived in vitro, control Tirano’s computer network and hyperspace portals. The Vhirko, clones of women who died valiantly in battle, guard Tirano’s monarch at all times. Tirano has been at war for decades with a savage alien species that becomes sentient only if mentally linked in groups of four or more.Tirano’s King Mhikhel unleashes fundamental, and uncontrollable, changes to this milieu when he acknowledges as his child an illegitimate son of a commoner and raises the child (Tarnlot) as a prince. Despite the aristocracy’s antagonism, Mhikhel grooms Tarnlot to serve as the Lord Chancellor (the highest governmental post, which is normally held by a member of the aristocracy) when Mhikhel’s heir (Prince Zhun’Mar) assumes the throne.In A Bastard’s Oath Tarnlot must rescue the throne for Zhun’Mar’s by foiling both an aristocrat’s coup d’etat and the aliens’ coup de main. In the series’ second installment, A Dream Is A Pinhole In Time, Tarnlot and Zhun’Mar escape an ambush in deep space by entering a hyperspace fissure that strands them on a planet in an unknown galaxy: present day Earth. The third installment, Outliers of Tirano, begins the stories of Siniastra, Zhun’Mar's daughter.Even though the installments occur in chronological order, each is an independent story. Accordingly, you can read the stories in any order. Views: 419
