An elite forces officer with a dreadful reputation.
A bookish paleontologist with a love for mysteries.
An ancient stronghold full of secrets that will take both of them to unearth.
Professor Lilah Zirkander (yes, she’s related to the famous pilot, and no, she can’t get him to autograph your undergarments) is looking forward to a summer in the paleontology lab, researching and cataloging new fossils. But that summer takes an unexpected turn when the king sends her into the Ice Blades to a secret mine where ancient dragon bones have been discovered. Rumor has it that they’re cursed and dangerous, but Lilah is more concerned about dealing with the outpost commander, a fierce officer with the temperament of a crabby badger.
As punishment for irking the king, Colonel Vann Therrik is overseeing the hardened criminals working in the remote Magroth Crystal Mines. He would like a chance to redeem himself—and escape the loathsome duty station—but nothing is going his way. Cursed fossils have delayed production, miners are trying to escape, and now a scientist has shown up, making demands on his time. Worse, she’s the cousin of his nemesis General Zirkander. As if one Zirkander in his world wasn’t bad enough.
Investigating the fossils leads Lilah and Vann into the depths of Magroth Mountain where centuries-old secrets lurk, and a long-forgotten threat stalks the passages. To have any chance at survival, they’ll have to work together and perhaps learn that neither is what the other expected.
Shattered Past is a stand-alone novel set in the author’s Dragon Blood world. Views: 917
It’s finally here. The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling Unwind, which Publishers Weekly called a “gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller. ” Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simltaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished. Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself. Rife with action and suspense, this riveting companion to the perennially popular Unwind challenges assumptions about where life begins and ends—and what it means to live. Views: 917
Three courageous teens, an experimenting scientist and a wealthy philanthropist attempt to save the ancient Nazca Lines in Peru from a group of greedy strip-mining capitalists. Follow the introductory adventure as Natalia, Joe and Alejandro discover something mysterious hidden within the Peruvian mountains!Just before her 13th birthday, Natalia's mother sends the troubled teen to live with her ex-husband, disgraced astrophysicist Dr. Anton Yakushev. What initially seemed like a good idea soon becomes problematic because Anton spends his time in his basement laboratory seemingly obsessed with turning science fiction to fact. Meanwhile Joe Painted Sun has to cope with a new foster family, new school and fitting in with his recently knocked-out tooth. Joe acts cool so that no one uncovers his secrets. Then there's Alejandro. He lives isolated in the mountains where his guardians seek a cure for his disease, but something about his situation doesn't seem quite right. Interwoven into their lives, without their even knowing it, is Lady Ruth, philanthropist and socialite, who is attempting to save the ancient Nazca Lines in Peru from a group of greedy strip-mining capitalists. Follow their adventures as they discover something mysterious hidden within the Peruvian mountains! Views: 917
First-class entertainment (The Sunday Times) from a classic SF author. En route to an interplanetary research mission, a scientist is abducted by a strange, shadowy race of aliens and taken to a previously uncharted planet, a storehouse of information that would be invaluable--even to an Earth so advanced that time travel allows goblins, dinosaurs, even Shakespeare to coexist. Views: 916
Toey and three friends arrive in Bangkok, a city engulfed by the choking miasma of a zombie plague. As their Airbus lands they witness another of the mass turnings. The Bangkok airport is an arena of death playing host to lifers, infected, the dead and the newly-undead. As new convulsions wrack the city they realize they're in the opening skirmishes of an undead global war. The struggle begins.From zombie plague ... to an undead world.In a bleary-eyed state of shock Toey Cholwasa and three friends arrive back in Bangkok, a city engulfed by a zombie plague, a choking miasma of flesh rotting in the tropical heat. As their Airbus lands Toey witnesses another in a rolling series of mass turnings. A freshly-risen horde throws itself at the still-moving plane, and gets plowed under … leaving a blood-trail of body parts in the plane’s wake. It would have been a mercy if the plague had merely killed its victims. Zombie death would be the least of its effects. As a researcher in consciousness and trance states Toey is one of the few equipped to piece together what the zombie rules of engagement will have to be. Failing this, the fallout from such a fight won’t bear thinking of. The new airport they pass through is a morning-after war zone, an arena of death playing host to lifers (survivors), infected, the dead, and the newly-undead. Later, the silent city they pass through echoes with the screams of the infected who died there only hours earlier. Most of those have not yet turned. But as new convulsions wrack the city they realize they’re in the opening skirmishes of an undead global war. The struggle begins. Views: 915
One dog's brief account of finding a cat and a rat (I mean puppy) and taking them both to heart.Her past was a lie. Her present is suspect. Now, The Future is coming for her….Samantha Marquet knows she’s being watched. What she doesn’t understand is why. After living with the sensation for seventeen years, sometimes she wonders if it’s all in her mind. Until the night her Shadow Watcher steps across her path, turning her world upside down.Recognizing his presence immediately, Sam isn’t afraid; she wants answers. But, the handsome stranger doesn’t give her any in their cryptic exchange. When he vanishes again, Sam is left with more questions than ever before.Before his motive is revealed, those the Shadow Watcher is sworn to protect Sam from move to strike. He appears again, in time to save her from a dangerous man. Only, this time Sam witnesses the attack, triggering a memory of seeing him once, before the watching began. At her father's funeral. And, he hasn't aged a day in the seventeen years since. With enemies Sam never knew existed closing in, her guardian is forced to reveal his oath to protect the Marquet family, their heirs and the secret they’ve kept safe for centuries. The secret holding the key to his youth – Sam’s inheritance. Something so precious, the most powerful men to live on Earth are willing to risk anything to possess it. As those fighting to control her inheritance threaten those she loves most, Sam is thrown into a world her parents went to great lengths to shield her from. A world where what seems impossible today is already possible tomorrow. Welcome to the Society in the Shadow of Civilization. Views: 914
"Oh, ho, ho!" the demon Chickenleg said, sounding like your drunk uncle trying to get you to laugh at a dirty joke. "Oh, ho! You'll love this one, Dollar!"
Bobby Dollar, Advocate Angel and perpetual thorn in the side of Heaven, is about to save the holidays for a very special someone. Or somewolf. Or maybe even some pig… Bobby is summoned on Christmas Eve to do his part in the heavenly judgement of a man who is not prepared to go lightly. You see, the family of the gentleman in question are victims of Nazi war crimes, and the crimes are still occurring — in fact, the worst is yet to come. With special dispensation from an Angelic Judge named Ambriel, Bobby Dollar has until Christmas Morning to right some serious wrongs and bring some justice (and a little seasonal cheer) into a rotten world… Views: 913
When Navy SEAL Jacob Hunter is sent to Syria on a mission to eliminate a terrorist cell, his team discovers a mysterious artifact instead. Later, in the furor of battle, its ancient power is activated and the team is hurled through time & space to the age of Ancient Rome, where their first priority is to find a way home. But Rome's duplicitous elite have other plans for these powerful newcomers...As war consumes the nations of our world in the year 2021, Navy SEAL Jacob Hunter is sent on a mission to Syria to apprehend a crazed terrorist leader armed with dangerous biological weapons. It’s a routine mission for a man who has spent the entirety of his military career fighting in what many have dubbed World War III, but his life is about to become everything but predictable.As their mission unravels around them, Hunter discovers a curious trinket that belies all rationality and our understanding of the universe, but he is drawn to it nonetheless, bewildered by its uniqueness. Unable to control his urges, Hunter touches it, and in a flash of brilliant light and intense pain, the team is no longer in contemporary Syria – but in Ancient Rome during the reign of the emperor Caligula.They stand dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the paradox they’ve created, but the bleak truth of reality soon overtakes their disbelief. The fact that they should not be there becomes obvious almost immediately, as does the thought that with every breath they take, everything history has worked so hard to achieve is at risk of unraveling. Staying alive suddenly becomes a secondary objective, superseded by the theory that their mere presence in Ancient Rome has caused irreparable damage to the timeline.This won't be an easy task for Hunter and his friends as they will quickly encounter numerous Roman figures straight from his old history books, each with their own agendas, schemes and machinations, including the Caesar himself, who history remembers as little more than an insane tyrant who once tried to appoint his horse as the head of state… Views: 913
In the rush to the Tampa Airport, Abby meets a small group of elephants from the famous Elizabeth Siggins Wildlife Foundation fleeing the political horrors of Africa. Putting them under her protection and that of the Hive, she meets Tobi, the elderly matriarch of the small herd who will sacrifice herself to save a human and in return is rewarded with the ultimate gift the Womb can bestow. As the bedraggled group race to the Hive for protection, saving a few desperate souls as they go, the first bomb arrives. As the survivors and the wildlife struggle to adjust to the new pecking order in the Hive and the revelations of their own origins, a woman and her two grandchildren live through the hellish horror and complete breakdown of civilization aboveground as they struggle to reach the Hive where her husband awaits. Horror visits the struggling survivors as they learn the Earth will not support habitation for at least another one hundred years. But the biggest shock comes from the Womb as it extracts a huge penalty from the hapless people, tolling the demise of the human race. Short synopsis - The bedraggled group race to the Hive for protection, struggling with the wildlife underground, as a woman and her two grandchildren live through the hellish horror and breakdown of civilization aboveground, after the bombs. Views: 912
Tobias, the other Animorphs, and Ax have seen things so bizarre that no sane person would believe their story. No one would believe that aliens have taken over Earth, and are in the process of infesting as many humans as possible. No one could believe the battles and missions and losses these six kids have had to deal with. And it's not over yet.
Tobias has been captured by the same human-Controller that nearly tortured him to death once before. She claims that she's now a part of the Yeerk Peace Movement. That she just needs a favor. Tobias isn't sure what to believe, but he knows that if the Animorphs and Ax don't find him soon, what he believes won't matter anymore... Views: 911
In a forgotten age of darkness, a magnificent king arose to light the land
They called him unfit to rule, a lowborn, callow boy, Uther’s bastard. But his coming had been foretold in the songs of the bard Taliesin. And he had learned powerful secrets at the knee of the mystical sage Merlin.
He was ARTHUR—Pendragon of the Island of the Mighty—who would rise to legendary greatness in a Britain torn by violence, greed, and war; who would usher in a glorious reign of peace and prosperity; and who would fall in a desperate attempt to save the one he loved more than life.
ARTHUR
“Evocate . . . intriguing . . . enthralling.” –Locus Views: 910
Originally published in French in 1867, Michael Strogoff, or, the Courier of the Czar, is regarded as one of Jules Verne's greatest novels. This intriguing tale set in Russia tells the story of one man, Michael Strogoff, the Czar's courier, who is set out on an impossible mission to save his country. A traitor inspires the dangerous Feofar Khan to invade Siberia and form a rebellion, leading to a plot to kill the czar's brother, the Grand Duke. As a result, Strogoff is sent out to warn the Duke, serving as the nation's last hope to cease the rebellion. Along the way he meets new people, makes new friends and gets capture by the enemy, only to make a grand escape.
Readers are sure to be at the edge of their seats as they follow the courier's adventures through Siberia. Though this book is not one of the many science-fiction books that Verne is so highly regarded for, it utilizes the scientific phenomenon as a major plot device, allowing readers to nevertheless enjoy his profound literary voice and follow the protagonist on an unforgettable adventure.
Jules Verne was a French novelist known for his adventure novels and his influence over the science fiction genre. He was considered the most literary author of his time in France and throughout most of Europe, and is regarded as the second most translated author since 1979. His more famous works include, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth. He lived in France until his death in 1905. Views: 910
When a hurricane forces his family to evacuate without him, Shep the German Shepard is confused. Where is his boy? Will he ever return? And what will Shep do in the meantime, now that the extra bowls of food -- not to mention all those tasty things he found in the big cold box -- are gone?
Then another dog shows up at Shep's window and convinces him to escape. There's food outside, and a whole empty city to explore. Shep just wants to go home . . . but the adventure of a lifetime is just beginning. Views: 910
Princess Eilonwy hates to leave her friend Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and her beloved home, Caer Dallben. Why does she have to go to the Isle of Mona to train as a proper lady when she's already a princess? But Eilonwy soon faces much more than the ordeal of becoming a dignified young maiden, for she possesses magical powers sought by the evil enchantress Queen Achren. When Eilonwy is put under a deep spell, Taran and his companions set out on a dangerous quest to rescue her. Yet how can a lowly Assistant Pig-Keeper hope to stand against the most evil enchantress in all of Prydain? Views: 910
This fast-paced narrative by the author of CRASH and EMPIRE OF THE SUN is a stunning evocation of a flooded, tropical London of the near future and a foray into the workings of the unconscious mind.
Ballard imagines a future world in which global warming has melted the ice-caps and primordial jungles and swamps have returned to a tropical London. As various members of an expedition to the city busy themselves with more or less futile schemes like draining Leicester Square in hope of loot, the central character Kerans moves to a strange acceptance of and assimilation by this lushly transformed world, vanishing into a final epiphany of heat and light.
'The Drowned World' is a potent, sensual mood-piece - jewelled and unforgettable. Views: 910
