A strange girl, was Rachel Dove . . . raised in the jungles of Africa by a mother with mystical leanings and a father possessed by the missionary spirit. "Lady of the Lightning," the Kaffirs called her, in memory of her surviving a violent storm -- a name that foretold her later, mystic reputation among them. Yet she had not survived that storm alone -- for a boy, Richard Darrien, rescued her from drowning in the raging torrent. Rachel sensed their lives would be intertwined -- however strange those lives should become, in the mysterious and unforgiving jungle. Views: 442
The tempest was only beginning to boil up. Few could see what it would engulf before exhausting itself upon a ruined land. And a ruined land it was to be…millions of lives snuffed out with countless cities buried in smoldering rubble. Yet it was going to happen, causing those involved to release a collective sigh, for the day had come at last.As if groggily rising from some drunken stupor, the whole universe was waking to reality, shaking off its former illusions of complacency and indifference. The realization of who the oldest child had really become was beginning to sink in. To publicly attempt the destruction of an innocent mind for no reason other than selfish desire had pushed their limits of tolerance beyond the breaking point. No honest person could find an excuse for Asotos’ actions. There was no longer any defense for the man’s violence committed against his brothers and sisters.A new energy filled the hearts of Lowenah’s children. War was coming. And if Asotos was not defeated, everyone surviving would be enslaved for as long as the universe remained. Freedom would disappear forever. Preventing such a thing from happening rested on their shoulders. The fate of all future history and all past life lay in their hands. The tempest was only beginning to boil up. Few could see what it would engulf before exhausting itself upon a ruined land. And a ruined land it was to be…millions of lives snuffed out with countless cities buried in smoldering rubble. Yet it was going to happen, causing those involved to release a collective sigh, for the day had come at last. Most had never lifted a hand in anger against another, and now they were prepared to kill or be killed. Billions were gathering to this coming day of slaughter, one that was to make the Great War appear as though but a small skirmish.Their waiting in suspense was over. Now duty begged them on to whatever destiny awaited them. A blood moon was rising - an omen of a savage, sanguine struggle leading to the obliteration of either the Children’s Empire or the League of Brothers.So unfolds Book III of “The Chronicles of Heaven’s War: Blood Moon Rising”, as the epic tale of mankind’s history is further revealed...that which has been hid in secrecy for millennia now coming to light. Follow those who stand as our silent sentinels as they engage in all-out warfare to eradicate evil from their Realm as well as ours, fighting to pave the way for lasting peace, where love and freedom will reign supreme. Views: 442
Jibreel's curse is the story of a how the zombie apocalypse began in the Byzantium Infected universe. Also include is a Scourge of Byzantium preview and the first episode of the Nasir and Maarika Chronicles. Jibreel's curse was created at the request of readers just like you that were curious how the infection started.Jibreel, 6th Century Arabian nomad, family man, and trader. His unremarkable life would have passed completely un-noticed by the world except for this, his final chapter.Drawn to a gift from the heavens Jibreel's life will take a turn that endangers everything he has ever loved and ultimately the world itself.Created at the request of readers just like you this is the story of how Jibreel's life led to events that would threaten the world in the novel Scourge of Byzantium.Also included is the first three chapters of Book 1 in the Byzantium infected series, Scourge of Byzantium.The third chapter is a new chapter not featured in the original edition of Scourge of Byzantium. It is the first episode in a series of short stories I will be writing called the Nasir and Maarika chronicles. Nasir and Maarika are of one people but two worlds. One grew up inside Byzantium's Arabia Province, the other the open desert of Arabia. They will meet on the eve tragedy that will forever change both of their lives. Views: 442
Twelve years have passed since Churchill lost to the appeasers, and Britain surrendered to Nazi Germany after Dunkirk. As the long German war against Russia rages on in the east, the British people find themselves under dark authoritarian rule: the press, radio and television are controlled; the streets patrolled by violent auxiliary police and British Jews face ever greater constraints. There are terrible rumours too about what is happening in the basement of the German Embassy at Senate House. Defiance, though, is growing.
In Britain, Winston Churchill's Resistance organisation is increasingly a thorn in the government's side. And in a Birmingham mental hospital an incarcerated scientist, Frank Muncaster, may hold a secret that could change the balance of the world struggle forever. Civil Servant David Fitzgerald, secretly acting as a spy for the Resistance, is given by them the mission to rescue his old friend Frank and get him out of the country. Before long he, together with a disparate group of Resistance activists, will find themselves fugitives in the midst of London’s Great Smog; as David’s wife Sarah finds herself drawn into a world more terrifying than she ever could have imagined. And hard on their heels is Gestapo Sturmbannfuhrer Gunther Hoth, brilliant, implacable hunter of men . . . Views: 442
As World War II threatens their comfortable life in Hong Kong, young Joan and Emma Lew escape with their family to spend the war years in Macao. When they return home, Emma develops a deep interest in travel and sets her sights on an artistic life in San Francisco, while Joan turns to movies and thoughts of romance to escape the pressures of her real life. As the girls become women, each follows a path different from what her family expects. But through periods of great happiness and sorrow, the sisters learn that their complicated ties to each other--and to the other members of their close-knit family--are a source of strength as they pursue their separate dreams. Views: 442
As a rebellious daughter of the sixties recalls the year her mother played baseball in 1947, two luminous stories begin to unfold in America's heartland, one lived and one imagined. . . . Views: 442
“She saw: first, a square opening, about eight inches wide, in the lowest step…finally she saw that there was a walnut shell, or half one, outside the nearest door…she went to look at the shell—but looked with the greatest astonishment. There was a baby in it.”
So ten-year-old Maria, orphaned mistress of Malplaquet, discovers the secret of her deteriorating estate: on a deserted island at its far corner, in the temple long ago nicknamed Mistress Masham’s Repose, live an entire community of people—”The People,” as they call themselves—all only inches tall. With the help of her only friend—the absurdly erudite Professor—Maria soon learns that this settlement is no less than the kingdom of Lilliput (first seen in Gulliver’s Travels) in exile. Safely hidden for centuries, the Lilliputians are at first endangered by Maria’s well-meaning but clumsy attempts to make their lives easier, but their situation grows truly ominous when they are discovered by Maria’s greedy guardians, who look at The People and see only a bundle of money. Views: 441
Born a wealthy French heiress but betrayed into bondage, Brigitte de Louroux swears she will never be any man's slave. Rugged and powerful Rowland of Montville sees only a beautiful enchantress in peasant's rags--a wench to serve his every need. Defenseless against his unbridled passions, Brigitte is forced to yield her innocence to the desires the warrior lord arouses in her heart. But her surrender will vanquish the handsome knight--awakening within him a love as mighty and relentless as his conquering sword. Views: 441
After years as a soldier and mercenary, Rasheed has retired from battle to run the bathhouse in Thebes with his friends Gillen and Eudocia. The simple life suits them, so when Venetian strangers come to town looking to hire the renowned crew, their answer is no. But when one of his friends is abducted, Rasheed is left with no choice but to take up his weapon and join forces with the Venetians, including the beautiful and clever Cecilia, whose betrothed has also been seized by the unknown foe.As the reluctant allies face ambushes and the looming threat of capture, Rasheed and Cecilia forge a surprising connection. But as the party races to rescue their friends, Rasheed discovers that nothing is as it seems. As his trust in Cecilia begins to waver, he realizes that in the end, they will both be forced to make a choice between love and duty. Views: 441
Crusader, Arranged marriage, kidnapping, religious conflict, knighthood Views: 441
Disguised as a boy, lovely Alaina MacGaren flees the Yankee troops ravaging her Virginia plantation. When the young orphan is accosted by a group of soldiers, Yankee surgeon Cole Latimer rescues the "lad"--never guessing that love for the rebel beauty will set duty against desire, ultimately testing his loyalties, his trust and his honor. Views: 441
This original compilation presents chilling tales of terror by an unjustly neglected author. Inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe as well as his own vivid nightmares, Edward Lucas White (1866–1934) weaves a tapestry of weird stories populated by ghouls, monsters, a witch doctor, and creatures of ancient myths.
The collection features White's most famous story, "Lukundoo," a gripping fable of an American explorer who incurs the wrath of an African sorcerer. Other tales include "Sorcery Island," an uncanny foreshadowing of television's The Prisoner, "The Flambeau Bracket," "The House of the Nightmare," "The Song of the Sirens," and five other stories. Additional selections include the haunting poems "Azrael" and "The Ghoula" and an essay in which the author reflects on the influence of dreams in his fiction. Editor S. T. Joshi provides an informative Introduction to White's life and work.
** Views: 441
t is a great pity that any one should have a grandfather who ended his days in such a sort as this; but it was no fault of Barnaby True's, nor could he have done anything to prevent it, seeing he was not even born into the world at the time that his grandfather turned pirate, and that he was only one year old when Captain Brand so met his death on the Cobra River. Nevertheless, the boys with whom he went to school never tired of calling him "Pirate," and would sometimes sing for his benefit that famous catchpenny ballad beginning thus. Views: 441
