Mia always feared Jonathan’s return knowing that he would endure any torture to return the agonizing existence that her choices thrust upon him when he was returned to hell without giving the devil his due. Little does Mia know that fighting to save her children will unearth a secret sacrifice that will have her running away from her soul mate and into the arms of her most feared enemy.Eternity gives ancient enemies more than one opportunity to seek revenge. After enjoying more than ten years of peace and tranquility raising their family and transforming Sanctuary into a budding community of supernatural friends, Mia and Andrew’s world is shattered when a vengeful enemy rises against their family seeking retribution and casting Mia, Andrew, and the St. Cloud family into a deadly game of cat and mouse in a desperate attempt to save the children. As Nicholas, Kayla, Jacob, and Nicole fight to survive amongst those that Mia and Andrew always hoped to shield them from, untapped powers emerge, strength unfolds, unexpected friendships form, and new enemies materialize. Fighting this new threat unearths Eva’s secret sacrifice causing Mia to choose a path she knows will end her life at Sanctuary and tear her away from Andrew and her children. Running towards the end of her happily ever after, Mia is thrust into the arms of her most feared enemy finally giving the awaiting arms of darkness their greatest opportunity to claim the very soul it hungers to consume. Views: 661
It is 1862, though not the 1862 it should be. . . .
Time has been altered, and Sir Richard Francis Burton, the king’s agent, is one of the few people who know that the world is now careening along a very different course from that which Destiny intended.
When a clockwork-powered man of brass is found abandoned in Trafalgar Square, Burton and his assistant, the wayward poet Algernon Swinburne, find themselves on the trail of the stolen Garnier Collection—black diamonds rumored to be fragments of the Lemurian Eye of Naga, a meteorite that fell to Earth in prehistoric times.
His investigation leads to involvement with the media sensation of the age: the Tichborne Claimant, a man who insists that he’s the long lost heir to the cursed Tichborne estate. Monstrous, bloated, and monosyllabic, he’s not the aristocratic Sir Roger Tichborne known to everyone, yet the working classes come out in force to support him. They are soon rioting through the streets of London, as mysterious steam wraiths incite all-out class warfare.
From a haunted mansion to the Bedlam madhouse, from South America to Australia, from séances to a secret labyrinth, Burton struggles with shadowy opponents and his own inner demons, meeting along the way the philosopher Herbert Spencer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Florence Nightingale, and Charles Doyle (father of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).
Can the king’s agent expose a plot that threatens to rip the British Empire apart, leading to an international conflict the like of which the world has never seen? And what part does the clockwork man have to play?
Burton and Swinburne’s second adventure—The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man—is filled with eccentric steam-driven technology, grotesque characters, and a deepening mystery that pushes forward the three-volume story arc begun in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack. Views: 661
Olivia Waterhouse has just graduated from nursing school and has her whole life ahead of her—until she gets drafted. Problem is, she isn’t being forced into the Army, she’s been chosen as a Kindred bride.
The Kindred are huge alien warriors—a race of genetic traders whose population is ninety-five percent male. After saving Earth from the threat of invasion they demand a reward—the right to find brides among the population. The chances of being chosen are about the same as those of winning the lottery—guess it’s just Liv’s lucky day.
Baird is a Beast Kindred who recently escaped imprisonment and torture at the hands of the malevolent Scourge. Through the torment and pain only one thing kept him sane—the thought of finding and claiming his bride—Olivia. His need to possess her is a burning intensity that threatens to consume them both.
Angry at having her future and her family taken away from her, Liv vows to fight back the only way she can—by resisting. She has one month on the Kindred Mothership with Baird—their claiming period. If she can keep from having bonding sex with him during that time, she can go home and get on with her life on Earth.
But Baird isn’t going to make it easy for her. Every week he is allowed to touch Liv more and more intimately and according to the contract she signed, she has to let him. She’s determined to resist him but his touch sets her on fire. And just as she thinks she knows what she wants, a twist of fate and an attack by the faceless Scourge AllFather changes everything… Views: 661
You’re walking down the street, all alone, in the dead of night. Darkness swallows everything around you except for the one streetlight that illuminates a small patch of the sidewalk. You begin to get the feeling that something is following you, so you start moving faster. You don’t run but you quicken your pace, just to be safe. That’s when you hear a low growl...You’re walking down the street, all alone, in the dead of night. Darkness swallows everything around you except for the one streetlight that illuminates a small patch of the sidewalk. You begin to get the feeling that something is following you, so you start moving faster. You don’t run but you quicken your pace, just to be safe. That’s when you hear a low growl that makes all of the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up. You turn around, regretting the decision immediately, to see a bear standing before you about to swallow you whole. Ha. I’m just kidding, that would be ridiculous…it’s really a werewolf. My life hasn’t changed: I hunt down horrifying monsters, that haunt you in stories and your dreams, and kill them, then I look for the next monsters terrorizing people and kill them too. It is a dazzling lifestyle. But now there are ancient creatures no one even knew existed rising from the depths of who knows where. Whatever the monsters are gathering for is going to happen soon and it is not going to be pleasant.I might be able to stop the horror that is coming to us, but I might not. I guess the only way for you to find out is to read this. Beware, however, for my stories are not for the feint of heart.This book is a collection of short stories that were originally posted on my blog. You can visit there, cjpikebooks.wordpress.com, for more hunting. Views: 661
ROUND EIGHT, MONKEY BOYS!
In a new story, Larry Niven tells of the earliest days of the first Man-Kzin War.
The Kzin had learned of the existance of human-occupied space, a find that promised new technolgies for the race, and new wealth for the fierce Kzin Warriors in the form of land, slaves...and food. Kzin had sent ships to probe the Solar System, expecting no danger from mere weed-eating apes. But the Warrior Race had underestimated monkey ingenuity, and the ships were destroyed by "peaceful" technology that the humans had hurriedly changed into weaponry.
The surviving Kzin have been caged and are being studied. "For you, the war is over," the monkey-boys have told the Kzin. Incomprehensible to the Kzin, for whom no war is ever over. The humans are sure that the huge warcats cannot escape their prison. But there is something the humans do not realize. One of the Kzin is a Telepath...
Cover Illustration: Stephen Hickman Views: 661
Adam Evans has always felt like the universe was mocking him. That only gets worse when he's charged with murder under bizarre circumstances and exiled from existence. Facing a life of utter solitude, he seizes the opportunity to escape with a strange girl. He's determined to put his life back together, but he never could have guessed how crazy things were about to become.Red lives with her mother in a small town on Exmoor. She's got a yearning for Connor, the local garage owner, who perhaps has a yearning for her. They're thrown together in the most unlikely way when Red's mother gets involved with a handsome man with a perfect smile. He won't take no for an answer and Red is starting to get worried. Connor has a theory, but should Red take him seriously? A short story to while away your bus/train journey. For 16 years upwards. Views: 661
A gripping psychological thriller with contemporary science fiction elements. Sally has the ability to see the thoughts of others when she touches their skin. It's turned her into a recluse, until a friend is killed and Sally's gift provides the only hope of finding the murderer.A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THINGSally suffers from a curse: the ability to Touch others and see their thoughts. She doesn’t know how. She doesn’t know why. All she knows is what people are thinking. And she doesn’t like what she sees. Driven to a life of seclusion trying to avoid the minds of those around her, she has given up hope of a normal life. Until a friend is murdered, and the police have no leads on the killer. Now, in order to bring justice, Sally must come out of hiding, embracing her gift instead of rejecting it, and making use of every ability at her disposal – natural and unnatural. New enemies rise along with new friends, and the hope of a life Sally had long since given up on – if she can keep herself alive to enjoy it. This debut work of independent author Garrett Robinson thrills from start to finish, exploring themes of thought versus action and takes a new, realistic look at the effect of inhuman abilities. A pulse-pounding ride that promises to keep you at the edge of your seat. Views: 660
Saturday morning's are meant for sleeping in, but a body found in La Jolla Cove changes all of that.And you thought your day at work was bad!When her partner calls her early Saturday morning to report a body in La Jolla Cove, rescue diver Kristin Castaño's only worry is losing sleep. Once she's in the water all that changes. Views: 660
