A hero known as The Question Mark follows in her predecessor’s footsteps trying to protect the common people of the city. Witnessing what appears to be the pick up of a young girl for a life of prostitution on the streets, the Question Mark uncovers something much more heinous. Can she survive the gauntlet she must run to save a girl and herself?Masked men and mystery women from the Land Down Under explode to life in author Brad Mengel’s Pro Se Single Shot Signature Series- Australis Incognito! Crime is alive and well in Australia and thankfully so are several Pulp Heroes ready to take on evil! Brad Mengel’s own creations, including The Question Mark, The Cutlass, The Aggressor, Sai, Risqué, The Bushranger, and others will stand alone and combat thugs, crooks, and psychopaths in their own stories. But behind the scenes, a puppetmaster of Machiavellian proportions is yanking the strings, jerking the world toward the brink with every tug, and pulling Australia’s heroes closer together. Closer to the answer. And to the final battle. In the first stand alone short story, ‘Bus Bait Blues’, a hero known as The Question Mark follows in her predecessor’s footsteps trying to protect the common people of the city. Witnessing what appears to be the pick up of a young girl for a life of prostitution on the streets, the Question Mark uncovers something much more heinous. Can she survive the gauntlet she must run to save a girl and herself? Or will she be the second bearing the name The Question Mark to disappear? Find out in ‘Bus Bait Blues’ by Brad Mengel. Brad Mengel’s Australis Incognito- a Pro Se Single Shot Signature series from Pro Se Productions. Views: 473
An 18th Century English surgeon is born immune to pain, making him oblivious to the suffering of others. This accounts for his professional success which attracts the attention of the Empress of Russia. On the way to treat her, he runs into a witch who gives him the sensation of pain. That sends him mad but he recovers, emerging from the asylum with the knowledge that without pain one is not really human Views: 448
In this science-fiction / fantasy adventure, Cosamian Dastou is the last living being known as a Saint. Immune to a system of mass-hypnotism that controls modern life, he is worshipped and reviled in equal measure. When an attempt to kill him fails, the resulting devastation sets up an action-packed story in which Dastou and his friends fight off enemies whose skills match or exceed their own.In this genre-melding science-fiction / fantasy adventure, Cosamian Dastou is the last living Saint. In a world where modern life is controlled by a system of mass-hypnotism known as the Social Cypher, he is immune to it, free in a way that very few can say they are. His abilities cause some people to think of him as a god, while many others believe he is a monster, a danger to all.Dastou has decided that, with no more Saints, it is his final duty to free the world from the Social Cypher. He has collected those who apprenticed under his people in the past, who share a similar but weaker immunity, and they now teach others, helping to make them immune and skilled in ways beyond what they may have ever imagined. Everything is going shockingly well, with Dastou’s school prospering and his student body powerful and talented. When all is seemingly too easy, someone tries to kill him with an attack that instead hurts or kills dozens of innocents.The resulting devastation sets up an action-packed adventure in which Dastou and his friends go to strange, secret places, fight terrifying new enemies, and try to survive against a guardian whose skills match or exceed their own. Views: 382
When three master races can be king. They come to a truce to take turns with the rule, but when one race decides it's their birth right there's only one thing that can happen, war. A short storyIt began with an explosion in the station.Frank was there. He heard the shooting and saw the police giving chase. He was caught up in a gas attack that put him in hospital.But the government deny everything.They say it was an accident.Frank knows they’re lying.The question is why?As Frank tries to uncover the truth of what happened, he discovers a mysterious and sinister conspiracy that is so huge in scale and terrifying in its implication, the government will stop at nothing to keep it hidden. Views: 377
When two Prophets die on the same day, their powers are passed on to the next generation. Unfortunately, the wicked ern set out to capture those new Prophets, and their numbers are too strong to be opposed. But Barrin Iylin, a poor farmer whose son was born on that fateful day, will have to face an army to save the life of his son.A dark conspiracy takes the lives to two Prophets, and their impressive powers have been passed on to another generation. The remaining Prophets have left the Tower to seek the two infants who will replace their fallen allies, but so are the wicked ern seeking the children, and no one is quite sure why. The world is rocked as the battle spreads across the land, and no one seems able to stop it.Meanwhile, in a tiny farming village, Barrin Iylin is left to raise his new son alone when his wife dies in childbirth. Such a task would be hard enough, but Barrin soon finds out that the ern are targeting his son and any others born on the same day. Could it be that his son is one of the new Prophets? And whether or not he is, how can a poor farmer hope to protect the boy against an army? The sweeping adventure of The Eighth Power begins here, with a heartbroken man who never thought nor desired to be caught up in a war, and yet can do no other if he wants his son to live. Views: 279
Years ago, Saparen fought off an ern attack to protect those born on a particular day – a day that made them possible heirs to the power of the Prophets. One of those boys was Ayrim Iylin. Now the ern are trying something new: sneaking into the town as assassins, and it appears that someone is letting them in. Ayrim at last must leave the Baron’s protection to face his enemies directly.Several years ago, the city of Saparen fought off an ern attack in order to protect a few children who had done nothing to have earned the wrath of the ern except that they were born on a particular day – a day that made them possible heirs to the power of the Prophets.Ayrim Iylin, though proven to not be a Prophet, has grown up under the guidance of the Priests and the Thanes, all of whom are on constant guard against the ern. He seeks as normal a life as he can manage – from learning the art of farming, faith, and warfare. But now the ern are using a different and more subtle approach – sneaking into the town as stealthy murderers instead of attacking directly as an invading army. To make things worse, it appears that someone is letting them in.For the first time, Ayrim must step out of the shadow of the Baron’s protection to face his enemies directly. To protect himself, he must at last join the battle.The Eighth Power continues as the search for the two new Prophets continues, the war between Aeresan and Fahlin rages, and the power of the Void begins to consume the land. Views: 278
A collection of poems about the uncertainties of life.Every day, thousands of people board an airplane without a second thought. Their minds are full of where they’ve been and their destination. However, sometimes, life has different plans.Flight 437 is such a story. On a flight from Paris, France to New York City, the crew and passengers find themselves trapped on a flight none of them expected. As events unfold, they soon realize they are no longer on the planned flight, but are now, in fact, headed to an unknown destination. Views: 263
When Captain John Lacroix returns home from Spain, wounded, unconscious, and alone, he believes that he has seen the worst of what men may do. It is 1809, and in England's wars against Napoleon, the Battle of Corruna stands out as a humiliation: a once-proud army forced to retreat, civilized men reduced to senseless acts of cruelty. Slowly regaining his health, Lacroix journeys north to the misty isles of Scotland with the intent of forgetting the horrors of the war. Unbeknownst to him, however, something else has followed him back from the war—something far more dangerous than a memory. ... Andrew Miller is one of Britain's leading novelists. He has won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Novel Award. His bestselling novel Pure, a Costa Book Award winner, has received widespread acclaim and was a lead Europa book in 2012. Now We Shall Be Entirely Free will be greeted with enthusiasm by reviewers and... Views: 256
1940. Tokyo. Japan is
at war with China, and Yuji Takano is clinging to the life he has made
for himself as a young poet - the company of his friends, the monthly
meetings of the French Club at Monsieur Feneon's house, the days of
writing and contemplation made possible by an allowance from his father,
a professor at Tokyo's elite Imperial university...But the world is
closing in on Yuji. His father is disgraced, the allowance is scrapped,
and the threat of conscription is coming ever closer. And then there is
Monsieur Feneon's nineteen-year-old daughter Alissa, a girl with her own
very definite ideas of what she wants, and whose fate becomes
inextricably bound up with Yuji's. In hauntingly evocative prose, Andrew
Miller tells a timeless story about growing up and growing free of
self-delusions, about following the heart and making the right choices
in life. Vividly conveying its setting, he also draws a fascinating
portrait of a bygone Tokyo and of Japan at a critical juncture in its
history. Views: 65
THE KINDERGARTEN WARS is the first narrative nonfiction book ever to take the reader inside all aspects of the private school application process. Eisenstock follows several families across the country from their first school tours until the moment they open their admissions letters. He interviews admissions directors, school heads, teachers, educational consultants, and kindergarten tutors, who coach both parents and kids. Did you know the most important line in your child's application is where you-the parent-went to college? Did you know that you can qualify for financial aid even if you make $192,000 a year? Eisenstock uncovers startling information, starting with how private school admissions directors decide who gets in. Does the child of a single woman of ethnic diversity on financial aid have a better chance of getting into an elite kindergarten than a child of a middle-class white couple? He will ask Ivy League students, their parents, and their admissions counse... Views: 64
Shattered by the revelation of what the nanotech entity Yod has done to reality, Colonel Ram can’t afford to wallow in his paralyzing doubt. The technological demon Asmodeus is escalating his war against Earthside Command, with all the peoples of Mars caught in the crossfire, and there may be no force on any world capable of stopping him. Views: 58
A terrifying new nanotechnology weapon threatens the lives of everyone on Mars. An adopted Nomad finally learns the truth about where he comes from, but at devastating cost. And the technological ghost of a murdered scientist rises to seek revenge for the deaths of his wife and child. Views: 45
Dastou, 26, is the last living Saint. He is respected, feared, and sometimes worshiped as a god. But he is no deity, just a freakishly brilliant man in a world that is much stranger than he could ever know. Attacked on foreign soil by a mysterious group, Dastou and his colleagues must find their enemies in order to discover the reason for the death and destruction centered around them. Views: 44
