Major Gordon Macconnach comes to India at the behest of General Lord Hugh Abington, to be his second-in-command, as well as to put his peculiar talents at the general’s disposal. The major is from an old family in the Highlands, which has always had its ties with the Fair Folk. Every generation has borne several Macconnachs with unusual abilities.Major Gordon Macconnach comes to India at the behest of General Lord Hugh Abington, to be his second-in-command, as well as to put his peculiar talents at the general’s disposal. The major is from an old family in the Highlands, which has always had its ties with the Fair Folk. Every generation has borne several Macconnachs with unusual abilities. For Macconnach, it means insight to the realm of death, and the sometimes strange machinations of the supernatural world. For the British Crown, men and women such as Macconnach are a secret in plain sight. Some of these individuals are assigned to military postings, some are spies, and some are diplomats. General Abington’s daughter, Isabelle Alderton, has only recently returned to her beloved India, after attending to her mother through a terminal illness. She has come back, knowing that she is of an age when most other young ladies are already settled into domesticity. The very idea of matrimony is enough to send her into cold fury. Much of the little time she interacts with the officers under her father’s command is spent parrying their marriage proposals. And so, she is understandably put off to find Macconnach pursuing her in the dark of night, as she slips out to make an unauthorized visit to a local village. Quickly, she finds that he isn’t like the other preening fools who are his peers. He is dark, strange, and far more insightful than she is comfortable with. After a few false starts, they find themselves launched on an adventure which will upend all of Isabelle’s comfortable notions of the world. On the way, in spite of their sparring, they also find themselves drawn to one another in a way neither of them had expected. If they can survive battling with demons, walking dead, and ancient evil, that is.

What if a mad scientist wants to destroy all life in the Universe, and the only people who can stop him are... a camper bus full of hippies? Join our tree-hugging, drug-free heroes as they zoom across galaxies in their solar-powered bus. Will they defeat the greasy villain in time? And do they have enough veggie burgers to make it to the next planet? For readers ages 11 to 111.What if a mad scientist wants to destroy all life in the Universe, and the only people who can stop him are... a camper bus full of hippies? Join our tree-hugging, drug-free heroes as they zoom across galaxies in their solar-powered bus. Will they defeat the greasy villain in time? Will the green girl find love? And do they have enough veggie burgers to make it to the next planet? Silly novel. Safe reading for pre-teens, but fun for adults. Contains some satire and symbolism.Recommended for readers ages 11 to 111.

"What if the Prophets or Pastors caring and praying for your faith are the ones using your wives and children for rituals in their churches?"False prophets exist in almost every nook and crannies of the world. They donate huge sums of money to charities; Speak to motivate us and charge us to fast and pray...In the end, they kill our wives and children for rituals...Read more inside the book..."What if the Prophets or Pastors caring and praying for your faith are the ones using your wives and children for rituals in their churches?"False prophets and pastors exist in almost every nook and crannies of the world. They heal the sick; donate huge sums of money to charities;Speak to motivate us and charge us to fast and pray. They can even predict the future.One location of the world appears to be the den of false prophecies and heresies. You will be amazed at the extent at which false prophets or false pastors can perpetrate their evil in the continent. These priests have turned their selves into vampires that kill at night but show no virulence at daytime.They have turned the church which was supposed to be the gatherings of holy saints into a sacrificial alter for the devil's offering.This book is about the case study of such prophets. It is in fact, a discovery from research findings based on the history or record of such priests.In this short story, I exposed some evils perpetrated by these fame-hunting blood-ritual miracle priests.Moreover, these are true-life stories chronicled from precise locations in the sun scorching regions of the world....Alfred May.

Bananas, Coca Cola, and Microsoft have disappeared. CyberCity has recovered pretty well from the Great Crash of 2023, and the departments of TechYES and Terrific Technology have everything under control—or do they? Cyberians are techno dependent and losing the ability to think. Ariel, son of Ms President, is determined to fix that. Comic sci-fi, this YA novella is set in 2029.CyberCity is a calm city-state where people are in slow mo. It's recovered from the Great Crash of 2023 and once more technology runs the city, until the event that humans have long dreaded changes everything. Ariel and friends fight technology with technology, and Ms President creates havoc in CyberCity with Operation Red. Traffic lights operate in reverse; teachers turn up to school; and students solve the mystery of the solar plant that produces no energy. The teenagers are heroes.The novel is supported by a free ebook study guide.Extract‘We have a change in routine today, as per this instruction,’ said their English teacher. She waved a sheet of paper as if it were a dirty tissue. ‘In summary, usual lessons are suspended because of Operation Red. The three morning lessons will be compressed into one. You will stay in this room and be provided with a set of questions and a problem, as sent to the school this morning for our part in…this event. Your task will be to come up with some answers to these tasks, using the—tsk—the rather discredited technique of brainstorming. This is where students work in groups and talk about whatever pops into their heads, in relation to the question at hand, and someone in the group writes it all down. How such a loose procedure helps critical thinking, I do not know. However, that is our instruction, and that is what we shall do. Despite the fact that I had a superb comp-vision lesson on the hidden beauty of internet poetry planned for today; well, no matter, you shall do that tomorrow.’‘Good. I loathe internet poetry,’ said John.‘Its hidden beauty is extremely well hidden,’ agreed Ariel.‘I have four copies of the task, so I want four groups,’ continued the teacher. ‘Nita, Penny, Voula, John, come up please.’ She waved the papers at the students coming towards her.‘You will each lead a group and nominate a student to write the group’s ideas. Choose your group—Nita! What’s the matter with you?’Nita chittered nervously as she stooped to pick up the dropped papers.‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Not used to papers. They’re flat. And thin.’‘Good heavens girl, get a grip, as we used to say. Now, you have the rest of the morning to complete these questions. At the lunch bell, I will take your answer sheets. Very good. Proceed.’The teacher slunk back to her desk, flicked open her computer and immediately went online to browse her favourite internet poetry site, Itmustrhyme.

'General Services', a very successful company that provides various personal services such as shopping for you or walking your dogs or supplying a host for a party, but also proudly advertises that no job is too large (One ad campaign idea the staff discusses: "Want somebody murdered? Then DON'T call General Services. But for anything else, call.... It Pays!"), is asked to do the impossible: enable an interplanetary conference to be held on Earth, whose strong gravity is inhospitable to many of the native races of other planets in the solar system. Much of the action of the story is not, as one might expect, about the science or engineering of creating an antigravity device to allow the conference to take place, but about how to persuade the world’s leading physicist to undertake the job. It turns out he is fond of a museum piece, a porcelain bowl called "The Flower of Forgetfulness," which humanizes all the participants.

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself. Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want. It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him. After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

The hotly anticipated ninth novel in the hugely popular Elemental Assassin series finds Gin Blanco on a dangerous mission to rescue a friend. When a terror from the past threatens Gin’s friend and body-disposer, Sophia, Gin will stop at nothing to protect her, even if it means walking straight into a killer’s trap. Meanwhile, the rocky romance between Gin and Owen reaches a turning point—can they reunite and rekindle their love? Or will the things Gin has been forced to do in her line of work as the deadly assassin the Spider keep them apart forever? Assuming, that is, she survives long enough to find out…

Shade is a young Silverwing bat, the runt of his colony. But he's determined to prove himself on the long, dangerous winter migration to Hibernaculum, millions of wingbeats to the south. During a fierce storm, he loses the others and soon faces the most incredible journey of his young life. Desperately searching for a way to rejoin his flock, Shade meets a remarkable cast of characters: Marina, a Brightwing bat with a strange metal band on her leg; Zephyr, a mystical albino bat with a strange gift; and Goth, a gigantic carnivorous vampire bat. But which ones are friends and which ones are enemies? In this epic story of adventure and suspense, Shade is going to need all the help he can find -- if he hopes to ever see his family again. One of Canada's best books for young readers was written by a pretty young writer himself. Kenneth Oppel, who had his first book published when he was 18, really hit his stride a dozen years later with Silverwing, the first volume in a thrilling adventure trilogy set in the nocturnal world of bats that immediately captured the attention of middle readers and award juries alike.

A bolt of lightning inspires an incredible journey in this charming, magical realism adventure that takes four teens on an all-night journey through the streets of New York City. Extraordinary things happen when we least expect them. Tiny, Lu, Will and Nathaniel used to be best friends. Then life-defining events the summer before high school tore them apart. Now, three years later, they hardly talk anymore. Nathaniel has become obsessed with winning the prestigious science scholarship that his genius older brother once won. Will has risen from anonymity to popular soccer star. Lu grew into a brash, impetuous actress. And shy, poetic Tiny has slowly been fading away. But fate weaves their lives together again the night before the SATs, during a wild thunderstorm that threatens to shut down New York City. And lightning strikes. Before they know what's hit them, the four teens embark on an epic all-night adventure to follow their dreams, fall in and out of love, reconcile the past, and overcome the fears that have been driving them since that one lost summer. And by the time the sun rises, odds are they’ll discover that there’s a fine line between science and magic, and that the mysteries of love and friendship can’t be explained.

For the past six months, something has been happening to teens in Santa Feliz. Seventeen-year-old Josh Saunders has seen the news reports, but he is still unprepared when it happens to him. One minute he’s arguing with his mother’s boyfriend and the next, he’s looming over the man, blood dripping from his claws—he has transformed into a mountain lion. When Josh switches back to his human body, he knows his life has changed forever. He has become a Wildling. Pursued by both government authorities and criminal factions, Wildlings must hide their newfound abilities to avoid being locked up for study and experimentation. When an accidental betrayal reveals Josh’s secret, his carefully constructed cover is ripped apart, forcing his friends to intervene. They must grudgingly put their trust in other Wildlings—and, most challenging, each other— if they ever hope to save him.

A young man sets out to buy a carton of milk and instead experiences a whirlwind adventure through time and space - a fantasy of epic proportions.If you enjoy Robert Asprin or Terry Pratchett's novels, you should enjoy this.A fast-moving satirical fantasy. While setting out to buy a carton of milk, Shylock Winston III finds himself in an altogether different kind of shop from the one he intended - a shop called Get Lucky - not only in another dimension, but another time.Unable to return to his own place and time, Shylock enlists the help of the proprietor, Bb - a hovering, vertically challenged, cyclopean, warty-nosed, buck-toothed obaloid – to help find his way home, and so starts an incredible epic journey through time and space.Before their journey is complete, annihilation of the Human race is avoided, Beelzebub is promoted and Time is brought back from retirement, even the Elephants end up happy.

Get under the covers and read late into the night from The Kindergarten Ghost, The Seven Caves, Knock Three Times, Not Tonight, One Great Love and Drive-Thru Death & Coffee. Tales you’ve never heard before, but ones that will haunt you forever. With bonus Excerpts from 13 on Halloween [Shadow Series #1] and Shadow Slayer [Shadow Series #2]. Sweet dreams.Three short stories on poignant life experiences. The opening story, Blood and Water begs the question: who really influences us in life? Dead Letter Room, the second story delves into the thought processes of a misfit at work. What made him that way? The final story, What Simon Knows is something hidden and mysterious. All three stories to fill spare moments. Collectively, 5.200 words.Also contains an excerpt from Falling Awake, a psychological thriller.

Welcome to another bend in my labyrinth. What you have here in your here is the beginning of a journey you are unlikely to forget. Some of you may have even already been down this road (and already have an idea of what’s in store.) but most are first timers (oh boy, fresh meat!) so I promise to not be kind. For as the familiar few will tell you, this is an old story (although totally improved)!In the mid-eighties, when I was but a disturbed young adult, I was wandering through my brain one day looking for a way to express myself in a shocking manner. You see I was kind of a messed up adolescent and had tried nearly everything to release my anger and hatred. Which was probably not far from happening. Thankfully I had an addiction far greater than any drugs I could take; I was addicted to horror. Stephen King, Clive Barker, Peter Straub; all had shrines in my room. They were my release from the insanity of real life and took most the pressure off my awkwardness. Thus, near the middle of my senior year in high school, I sat before an old typewriter and a stack of ditto paper (whats that?) and created what was to be the first issue of Fright. I have taken great pains to resurrect the originals for you here as an introduction to what was and is to come. Of course I am much older now (and entering my second adolescence) with a little more understanding of how these things are supposed to be done so most grammatical and spelling errors, unless intended, have not only been corrected but the stories themselves are improved in every way. I believe my mother would be proud and that I’ll probably end up owing my father money if this sells. Perhaps even the original dittos will be collectors items! Please let me know if you still own one!So, without any further ranting I present to you the history of Fright!

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!

Keep your eyes peeled for a small black iron door. Down the road from a working-class British pub, along the brick wall of a narrow alley, if the conditions are exactly right, you’ll find the entrance to Slade House. A stranger will greet you by name and invite you inside. At first, you won’t want to leave. Later, you’ll find that you can’t. Every nine years, the house’s residents — an odd brother and sister — extend a unique invitation to someone who’s different or lonely: a precocious teenager, a recently divorced policeman, a shy college student. But what really goes on inside Slade House? For those who find out, it’s already too late... Spanning five decades, from the last days of the 1970s to the present, leaping genres, and barreling toward an astonishing conclusion, this intricately woven novel will pull you into a reality-warping new vision of the haunted house story—as only David Mitchell could imagine it.