Day of the dead is an action-packed short story that touches the story depicted in the novel Fargoer. This time, the focus is turned towards Vikings and their gloom-filled world.As gods gamble and dance with destiny, mortal fates are trampled without a second thought. Ambjorn and his wife Jofrid must face theirs, when the peace of their home village is suddenly shattered. They have to throw themselves into a game in which every move carries high consequence. Is it possible to win when playing against forces beyond your own comprehension? Day of the dead is an action-packed short story that touches the story depicted in the novel Fargoer. This time, the focus is turned towards Vikings and their gloom-filled world. Views: 434
Set in the 17th century and based on a true-life historical figure, this novel is a swashbuckling tale of exotic lands, romance, and hair-raising adventures. Andrew Battell is a buccaneer on a British ship when he is taken prisoner by Portuguese pirates. Injured and ailing, Andrew is brought to the west coast of Africa where his only solace is Dona Teresa, a young woman who nurses him back to health. Once his health is restored, AndrewOCOs only hope to return home is to first serve his Portuguese masters, but it is a hope that dwindles as he is pulled further and further into the interior of the continent, into the land of the JaqqaOCothe regionOCOs most fierce and feared cannibal tribeOCooverseen by the powerful Lord of Darkness. Survival means becoming one with the Jaqqa; if he can endure their gruesome rites and initiations. Originally published in 1984, this story by a master of science fiction and fantasy demonstrates the timelessness of any great adventure and will provoke thought in a new audience on the determination to persevere at any cost." Views: 434
In this new military sci-fi thriller from the author of Cold Welcome, space fleet commander Kylara Vatta uncovers deadly secrets on her latest mission--shedding light on her own family's past.
As Admiral Kylara Vatta learned after she and a shipfull of strangers were marooned on an inhospitable arctic island, the secrets she and her makeshift crew uncovered were ones someone was ready to kill to keep hidden. Now, the existence of the mysterious arctic base has been uncovered, but much of the organization behind it still lurks in the shadows. And it is up to the intrepid Ky to force the perpetrators into the light, and finally uncover decades worth of secrets--some of which lie at the very heart of her biggest family tragedy. Views: 434
In the reign of President Deklan Comstock, a reborn United States is struggling back to prosperity. Over a century after the Efflorescence of Oil, after the Fall of the Cities, after the Plague of Infertility, after the False Tribulation, after the days of the Pious Presidents, the sixty stars and thirteen stripes wave from the plains of Athabaska to the national capital in New York City. In Colorado Springs, the Dominion sees to the nation’s spiritual needs. In Labrador, the Army wages war on the Dutch. America, unified, is rising once again.
Then out of Labrador come tales of a new Ajax—Captain Commongold, the Youthful Hero of the Saguenay. The ordinary people follow his adventures in the popular press. The Army adores him. The President is…troubled. Especially when the dashing Captain turns out to be his nephew Julian, son of the falsely accused and executed Bryce.
Treachery and intrigue dog Julian’s footsteps. Hairsbreadth escapes and daring rescues fill his days. Stern resolve and tender sentiment dice for Julian’s soul, while his admiration for the works of the Secular Ancients, and his adherence to the evolutionary doctrines of the heretical Darwin, set him at fatal odds with the hierarchy of the Dominion. Plague and fire swirl around the Presidential palace when at last he arrives with the acclamation of the mob.
As told by Julian’s best friend and faithful companion, a rustic yet observant lad from the west, this tale of the 22nd Century asks— and answers—the age-old question: “Do you want to tell the truth, or do you want to tell a story?” Views: 434
The Hardy Boys meets Alex Rider in this second novel in a brand-new series starring everyone's favorite inventor—Tom Swift!Tom gets to take all sorts of cool classes at the Swift Academy of Science and Technology, but robotics may be the one he is most excited for. Their teacher is holding a battling robot tournament, and Tom has to build a machine that will come out on top. With the final battle coming up, Tom and his friends need as much time as possible to refine their masterpiece. But the rest of their teachers have been giving so many pop quizzes that they can barely focus in class, never mind concentrate on the tournament. Naturally, everyone is frustrated with the trend...until a mysterious new phone app appears. If students get pop quizzes during first period, they can warn everyone else about it by getting their phones to emit a high-pitched sound—a mosquito alarm—that adults can't hear. Tom is unsure about the whole... Views: 433
A boy who spent three days trapped in a well tries to overcome his PTSD and claustrophobia so he can fulfill his dream of becoming a famous chef in this charming novel that is Andrew Smith's first foray into middle grade storytelling.When he was four years old, Sam Abernathy was trapped at the bottom of a well for three days, where he was teased by a smart-aleck armadillo named Bartleby. Since then, his parents plan every move he makes. But Sam doesn't like their plans. He doesn't want to go to MIT. And he doesn't want to skip two grades, being stuck in the eighth grade as an eleven-year-old with James Jenkins, the boy he's sure pushed him into the well in the first place. He wants to be a chef. And he's going to start by entering the first annual Blue Creek Days Colonel Jenkins Macaroni and Cheese Cook-Off. That is, if he can survive eighth grade, and figure out the size of the truth that has slipped Sam's memory for seven years. Views: 433
For her entire life, Nuawa has made herself a weapon to assassinate the Winter Queen. She failed. Her secrets are laid bare and she has lost everything. The queen keeps Nuawa as a tool, and soon a sacrifice as she brings her ultimate goal to fruition: to harness the divine power of her makers that'll make her lover General Lussadh immortal. But Nuawa isn't done fighting yet. She has one final chance—and she will take it, trading her soul to try one last time to end winter's eternity... even if it means she must lose Lussadh forever. "Politics, relationships, and combat presented as a matryoshka..." —Jonathan L. Howard, author of Johannes Cabal the Necromancer Views: 433
A speculative thriller about the end of all things, set in an unnamed part of the Pacific Northwest. A harrowing descent into a secret world.
Another winter morning in a city in the Northwest.
Where, exactly? I won’t tell you.
Who am I? I won’t tell you. Exactly.
But you can call me Jane.
Jane Smith, if that helps.
I’m here to show you how the world will end.
‘Jane Smith,’ a software manager in her late forties who lives in the Pacific Northwest receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit inside. In the storage unit is a taxidermied hummingbird and salamander. Along with a list of five more animals, signed ‘Love, Silvina.’ The hummingbird and salamander turn out to be among the most endangered species in the world, the taxidermy commissioned by a notorious wildlife trafficking criminal. The message is from the daughter of an Argentine industrialist who has recently died, someone who became radicalized and is thought of in some quarters as an eco-terrorist. Jane does not know Silvina and has never met her, but just by taking the items from the storage unit has set events into play over which she has no control.
Against a very near-future backdrop of severe global warming events and domestic and foreign instability due to predatory government actions and an intrusive security state.
Why me? This was the question that tore at me, made me unable to sleep. Why me? What was so special about me…?
“You’re trying to destroy my life.”
“No. I’m trying to save your life.” Views: 433
One day, one story, at exactly 366 words each, that is the promise of 366 SQUARED, the short-short story/flash fiction collection that raises the question "In the age of multi-novel book series, is this guy for real?" Yes he is, and 366 SQUARED is the launch of a new era in literature for busy people. Volume 1 contains 31 stories, vignettes or mini-essays, each at precisely 366 words.One day, one story, at exactly 366 words each, that is the promise of 366 SQUARED, the short-short story / flash fiction collection that raises the question "In the age of multi-novel book series, is this guy for real?" Yes, he is, and 366 SQUARED is the launch of a new era in literature for busy people. If you are tired of reading for an entire day, only to end up with yet another cliffhanger and an invitation to buy another book. 366 SQUARED is the book series for you! Dip into it, read a few days' worth, then get on with your life until you are ready for more. For January, we examine some historical events, with special attention to the weird and wacky. Highlights include (1)The dangers of technology to the moral fibre of the nation, as represented by the introduction of the electric wristwatch, (2) Why planetoids should never be named after sexy TV characters, (3) The futility of trying to change history, and (4) Equal rights for super-villains! What else have we got? A conspiracy theory here, a toe-dip into Singularity fiction / cyberpunk there … Yes, I'd say January turned out to be a good month. Volume 1: January contains 31 stories, vignettes or mini-essays, each at precisely 366 words. Buy now, before they run out of electrons! Views: 433
Magic has a price. But someone else will pay. Every time a spell is cast, a bit of bramble sprouts, sending up tangling vines, bloody thorns, and threatening a poisonous sleep. It sprouts in tilled fields and in neighbors' roof beams, thrusts up from between street cobbles, and bursts forth from sacks of powdered spice. A bit of magic, and bramble follows. A little at first, and then more--until whole cities are dragged down under tangling vines and empires lie dead, ruins choked by bramble forest. Monuments to people who loved magic too much.
In paired novellas, award-winning authors Tobias Buckell and Paolo Bacigalupi explore a shared world where magic is forbidden and its use is rewarded with the axe. A world of glittering memories and a desperate present, where everyone uses a little magic, and someone else always pays the price.
In the beleageured city of Khaim, a lone alchemist seeks a solution to a deadly threat. The bramble, a plant that feeds upon magic, now presses upon Khaim, nourished by the furtive spellcasting of its inhabitants and
threatening to strangle the city under poisonous vines. Driven by desperation and genius, the alchemist constructs a device that transcends magic, unlocking the mysteries of bramble s essential nature. But the power of his newly-built balanthast is even greater than he dreamed. Where he sought to save a city
and its people, the balanthast has the potential to save the world entire--if it doesn t destroy him and his family first. Views: 433
A very short teaser for the Beauty of the Beast series.This prequel focuses on Alba who later becomes known as Pluck as she starts her journey at age six.What the series is about...One simple act of love, one devastating betrayal of love...The story of Beauty and the Beast with a twist. What if the woman was the one turned into the creature?A very short teaser for the Beauty of the Beast series.This prequel focuses on Alba who later becomes known as Pluck as she starts her journey at age six.What the series is about...One simple act of love and one devastating betrayal of love...The story of Beauty and the Beast with a twist. What if the woman was the one turned into the creature?This very short read is a teaser for Beauty of the Beast #1 The Mystic Rose: Part A. It is the first book in a fantasy action adventure romance series. Try the first book also.On the planet Terra when recorded history began, Man coexisted with the Necroms. Necroms were intelligent catlike humanoids. The dawn of this period was known as the First Age of Magic. In the Second Age of Magic, a war broke out between Man and the Necroms and by the middle of the Second Age, Man was nearly wiped from creation. Those who survived fled Wellspring and journeyed across the sea into the unknown, finding new homes and creating fortified domains. In the Third and final Age of Magic, Man established five island kingdoms: Commery, Fletching, Morgog, Swelldom, and Hort.In the First Age of Metal, Man turned from the lost art of magic to the might of weapons as they discovered iron then steel. Large armies were created, and Man fought amongst themselves, forgetting the Necroms into myth. For generations the wars continued until an arranged marriage between the two strongest kingdoms of Commery and Morgog ceased the bloodshed, and so Man established the first Emperor and Empress and the tradition of Amalgamation. When both the Emperor and Empress of the Five Kingdoms died, the two strongest kingdoms' heirs married and crowned a new dynasty, and so began the Age of Amalgamation.During this age, a witch placed a curse on a girl named Pluck. The curse had been meant for a boy, Prince Edward of Fletching, for stealing the Mystic Rose. Pluck transformed into a Necrom with the Kiss, Edward's first kiss as her only redemption. The Kiss wouldn't be an easy task since showing her face meant her death.Beauty Of The Beast Series-0. Alba- Beauty of the Beast #01. Beauty of the Beast #1 The Mystic Rose- Part A- The Flower, The Sword, And The Kiss2. Beauty of the Beast #1 The Mystic Rose- Part B- A Vow Of Love And The Challenge3. Beauty of the Beast #1 The Mystic Rose- Part C- Hearts Betrayed And Blood Revealed Views: 433
