From Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence and the John Cleaver series, comes the second book in a dark, pulse-pounding sci-fi-noir series set in 2050 Los Angeles.
Overworld. It’s more than just the world’s most popular e-sport—for thousands of VR teams around the globe, Overworld is life. It means fame and fortune, or maybe it’s a ticket out of obscurity or poverty. If you have a connection to the internet and four friends you trust with your life, anything is possible.
Marisa Carneseca is on the hunt for a mysterious hacker named Grendel when she receives word that her amateur Overworld team has been invited to Forward Motion, one of the most exclusive tournaments of the year. For Marisa, this could mean anything—a chance to finally go pro and to help her family, stuck in an LA neighborhood on the wrong side of the growing divide between the rich and the poor. But Forward Motion turns out to be more than it seems—rife with corruption, infighting, and danger—and Marisa runs headlong into Alain Bensoussan, a beautiful, dangerous underground freedom fighter who reveals to her the darker side of the forces behind the tournament. It soon becomes clear that, in this game, winning might be the only way to get out alive. Views: 870
In a crumbling city on a dying planet, young Annelyn has lived a life of privilege. When he is humiliated at the hands of the crafty groun hunter they call the Meatbringer, he and his high-born friends plot revenge. But Annelyn's plan goes desperately awry, leading him deep into the city's ruins—and to the ugly truth about his forebears' reverence for the mythic White Worm. Views: 870
Augmented by cloning, augmented by virtuality, and changed by embedded electronics. What started as an innocent search for one man ended up in a life and death race to save his clones lives, as his understanding of his own identify blurred and he was forced to rethink his core beliefs about his own consciousness, his own identity.Another leg on her life journey brings Lolita closer to discovering her true self. Wiley shows what confidence looks like and how to get it and L'ii Kayana demonstrates how to stay present in the moment. These two truckers teach Lolita some of life's lessons not taught by the family members who lived in the bizarre household she called home. Add in bottle rockets, cats and the "Happy Hiker", and this trip is one for the record books. Views: 870
"This rousing sequel to the classic Ringworld continues the adventures of Louis Wu and Speaker-to-Animals on that fantastic planet."--School Library Journal An ALA Best Book for Young Adults Views: 870
A kind of psychological profiling so exquisite it could duplicate minds.Some aspect of particle physics.Entanglement. “Entanglement is a quantum phenomenon, certainly. We’ll know the specifics in time,” Klaus Meyer had said. “After all the Cube’s function is an aspect of the quantum realm. I’m intrigued, obviously. We’re all intrigued.”Reviews: "Composed of twelve short fiction stories about human desire and want, Thirst captured my attention from the moment I began reading it. Ranging from a story about a professor's unquenchable thirst for young undergrad women to the enticing read of two women playing off each other in a bar to attract men, Linda Lavid's writing is sophisticated, masterful, and full of desire." Great New Books"This short story collection is exquisite, exciting and a pleasurably fast read. Each story, although different in nature, is woven to the next with the common threads of infidelity, a multitude of flaws and the ever delicious...jealousy." Literary Lighthouse Reviews "I would recommend this book to book clubs. I think discussing which story is each person's favorite and why would be very interesting. And anybody can find the time to read "Jealousy". Especially for those who read during breakfast...Linda Lavid manages to write stories that are short and sweet, but branches out to the short and bitter, and manages to make them all short and startling." Reader Views"The author has written a delightful collection of short stories, filled with a wide range of human drama. I especially enjoyed the author's notes at the end of each story, giving us a window into the creative process. Enjoy!" JTreat"Linda Lavid's short stories are wonderful--mysterious, compelling, and populated by painfully human characters driven by fundamental needs. Lavid understands desire like few other writers. This book, like Rented Rooms, is well worth the time spent with it." GERoss Views: 869
All a princess wants is to be rescued by her prince -- isn't it? Perhaps staying with her dragon wasn't such a bad idea after all...A new life in Alaska.A massive aurora.A spaceship hidden under the ice and snow.For Hawk and Zach Callahan, getting to the small town of Salmon Run presents the first challenge. From the moment they arrive the locals freely share their opinions. While still in Cordova an old prospector declares the two cheechakos unprepared for the realities of an Alaskan winter and goes about fixing it. A failed sled-dog takes an unwelcome liking to Hawk, giving rise to an old phobia. The young native Sasha attaches herself to Zach, much to his disgust. They think they have it made when they board the unique train that will take them through a dark roadless wilderness to their new home.The same night a massive display of the Aurora Borealis lights up the sky.Resulting in the Solar Express train powering down all by itself, stranding its passengers.Only, the energetic aurora affected something else out in the wilderness.Welcome to Salmon Run, Alaska! A place of wild animals, wild lands, and wild inhabitants...oh, and native legends come alive and an interplanetary alien conflict at their backdoor. A fun contemporary science fiction series for teens, young adults, and adults of all ages.Books in the Salmon Run series in order:Night of the AuroraAlien WinterThe Singing LakesSecret IllusionsSpecter of the White DeathAurora EquinoxBreakup - Alaska StyleThe Legend of Crazy Uncle George Views: 868
Luua of Toor is expecting a spectacular marriage with her one and only now that she's of age, until the Elder busts the news that she's actually the village's sacrifice.Luua of Toor is expecting a spectacular marriage with her one and only now that she's of age, until the Elder busts the news that she's actually the village's sacrifice. She's put on a boat with her two wayfarers, comprising of the village outcast and none other than her now ex-boyfriend, and the three sail off to the island of The Great Face, bearing the place of her sacrifice and the deity that demands it.It's not long on their trip that they're interrupted by a powerful obstacle. A mysterious clanless man pursues them, who has some very different words for Luua about how she should live her life. As her keepers attempt to fend off the clanless, Luua asks herself if dying for the people she loves, but doesn't love her back is really worth it. When it comes to blows and deadly force, will she have the persistence to make a choice that's her own, or will she be rolled by the tide of fate?A short story of thrills, thought, and destiny- join Luua on her journey in learning the value of duty as her life hangs on by a thread.Enjoy! Views: 868
How did Lev Calder move from an unwillingly escaped Tithe to a clapper? In this revealing short story, Neal Shusterman opens a window on Lev’s adventures between the time he left CyFi and showed up at the Graveyard. Pulling elements from Neal Shusterman’s critically acclaimed Unwind and giving hints about what is to come in the riveting sequel, UnWholly, this short story is not to be missed. Views: 867
Complete your Divergent library with the Four stories!
Fans of the Divergent series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth will be thrilled by "Four: The Son," the third of four stories, each between fifty and seventy-five pages long, set in the world of Divergent and told from Tobias's perspective.
In "The Son," Tobias struggles to find a place in the hierarchy of the Dauntless. He also begins to suspect that a foul plan may be brewing within the Dauntless leadership and discovers a truth about his past that could greatly affect his future. Views: 867
Finn Easton sees the world through miles instead of minutes. It's how he makes sense of the world, and how he tries to convince himself that he's a real boy and not just a character in his father's bestselling cult-classic book. Finn has two things going for him: his best friend, the possibly-insane-but-definitely-excellent Cade Hernandez, and Julia Bishop, the first girl he's ever loved.
Then Julia moves away, and Finn is heartbroken. Feeling restless and trapped in the book, Finn embarks on a road trip with Cade to visit their college of choice in Oklahoma. When an unexpected accident happens and the boys become unlikely heroes, they take an eye-opening detour away from everything they thought they had planned—and learn how to write their own destiny. Views: 865
Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912.
Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010.
Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026.
But all three have been given a second chance—to work for an agency that no one knows exists. Its purpose: to prevent time travel destroying history...
Project Exodus—a mission to transport 300 Americans from 2070 to 54AD to overthrow the Roman Empire—has gone catastrophically wrong. Half have arrived seventeen years earlier, during the reign of Caligula.
Liam goes to investigate, but when Maddy and Sal attempt to flee a kill-squad sent to hunt down their field office, all of the TimeRiders become trapped in the Roman past.
Armed with knowledge of the future, Caligula is now more powerful than ever. But with the office unmanned—and under threat—how will the TimeRiders make it back to 2001 and put history right? Views: 864
From Jamie Ford, the New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, comes a much-anticipated second novel. Set against the backdrop of Depression-era Seattle, Songs of Willow Frost is a powerful tale of two souls—a boy with dreams for his future and a woman escaping her haunted past—both seeking love, hope, and forgiveness.
Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese American boy, has lived at Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother’s listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.
Determined to find Willow and prove that his mother is still alive, William escapes from Sacred Heart with his friend Charlotte. The pair navigate the streets of Seattle, where they must not only survive but confront the mysteries of William’s past and his connection to the exotic film star. The story of Willow Frost, however, is far more complicated than the Hollywood fantasy William sees onscreen.
Shifting between the Great Depression and the 1920s, Songs of Willow Frost takes readers on an emotional journey of discovery. Jamie Ford’s sweeping novel will resonate with anyone who has ever longed for the comforts of family and a place to call home. Views: 864
The land of Hybron has fallen into an abyss of political and religious strife that have kept it embroiled in conflict. It has floundered in a dark age for centuries, the former grand kingdom falling into a collection of city-states. An ancient prophecy has reappeared, a prophecA queen in peril. An outsider priest. A young girl who dreams of adventure.The land of Hybron, once the cultural center of the Red Planet, has fallen into an abyss of political and religious strife that have kept it embroiled in conflict. It has floundered in a dark age for centuries, the former grand kingdom falling into a collection of city-states. An ancient prophecy has reappeared, a prophecy that promises to deliver them from the corruption and increasing violence that permeates the land. However, there are those who have their own plans and “savior prophecies” only get in the way of the more pragmatic concerns of acquiring power.The ancient capital, Assenna, has been in ruins for many ages and the line of kings that ruled from it are nearly forgotten. The very words, Red Kings, have become a curse and it is forbidden to even speak of them but it is precisely the blood of this kingly line, it was foretold, that would rule Hybron again and raise it up to its former glory. The Ainash priesthood, a powerful and ruthless faction in Jhis have fallen in power after a barbarian warrior has overrun the city-states, making himself king of the land. Under his rule Hybron has once again been reunited under one power. Is he, a wild tribesman of the desert, the future Red King of prophecy? As the kingdom remains embroiled in corruption and violence it does not seem so and his queen, a devout woman of the Aishanna-La has borne him no heirs. She has her own schemes that put her at odds with everyone at court: the priesthood, who seek to regain power and the king, who plans to carve out a great name for himself in the world. The queen becomes embroiled in a controversy that will have long-reaching effects on the fate of the kingdom and her own.Ilim, one of the Ainash, is thrown out of the Golden Temple. Afterward, he has a prophetic dream with a commission to tell a dire message that most people do not want to hear, least of all the Ainash priesthood. His new spiritual path leads him back into the desert among the tribal peoples. He believes it will lead him to the answer that will save the kingdom from ruin – but, disappointingly, it leads him, not to a great warrior and a holy army but to a little girl at the fortress city of Gamina. Visions are never straight forward, paths are perilous and the grand purpose of prophecy seems impossible, yet many are now seeking it; some strive mightily to make it come about while others are working just as powerfully against it and there are those who seek to insert themselves in it. All are caught in the river of Destiny and Purpose. Some will rise and others will drown. Who will triumph? Views: 863
We call them demons, for lack of a better word, but the truth is something much more mysterious. In the "I am not a Serial Killer" trilogy, the young sociopath John Cleaver killed three of them to protect his family, but he has no idea what horrors he's stirred up.
Elijah Sexton was a god of the ancient world. Now he drives a hearse in a Midwest town and keeps his head down. He avoids the world as much as he can, drinking dead memories while his own mind drifts slowly toward oblivion. But when the memories he drains reveal the presence of another fallen god, Elijah is drawn back into a war between humans and monsters--a war that threatens the woman he doesn't dare to love.
"Next of Kin" is the introduction to an all-new John Cleaver trilogy, beginning in 2015 with "The Devil's Only Friend." Views: 863
In this haunting, entrancing novel, Michel Faber introduces us to Isserley, a female driver who cruises the Scottish Highlands picking up hitchhikers. Scarred and awkward, yet strangely erotic and threatening, she listens to her hitchhikers as they open up to her, revealing clues about who might miss them if they should disappear. A grotesque and comical allegory, Under the Skin takes us on a heart-thumping ride through dangerous territory — our own moral instincts and the boundaries of compassion — to present a surreal representation of contemporary society run amok. Views: 863
