MEET TRIGGER ARGEE….Half a block from the shopping center, a row of spacers on planet-leave came rollicking cheerily toward her…. Trigger shifted toward the edge of the sidewalk to let them pass. As the line swayed up on her left, there was a shadowy settling of an aircar at the curb to her right.With loud outcries of glad recognition and whoops of laughter, the line swung in about her, close. Bodies crowded against her, a hand was clapped over her mouth. Other hands held her arms. Her feet came off the ground and she had a momentary awareness of being rushed expertly forward.There was a lurching twist as the aircar shot upward.SHE’S ABOUT TO ENTER THE MYSTERY OF HER LIFE, IN LEGACY!!

A tiny Mesopotamian village becomes ground-zero for this fantasy fiction retelling of mankind's most epic story about the battle between good and evil … the clash of empires and ideologies … and the greatest superhero to ever walk the Earth. The Archangel Mikhail.At the dawn of time, two ancient adversaries battled for control of Earth. One man rose to stand at humanity's side. A soldier whose name we still remember today...Mikhail awakens, mortally wounded, in his crashed ship. The gold-eyed young woman who saves his life has abilities which seem familiar, but with no memory of his past, he can't remember why! With his ship destroyed and a shattered wing, he has no choice but to integrate into her village, a task made difficult by her jilted lover. Ninsianna's people have prophecies of a winged champion, a Sword of the Gods who will raise armies from the dust and defend her people against an Evil One. Mikhail insists he is no demi-god, but her dark premonitions and his uncanny ability to kill say otherwise. Even without the technology destroyed along with his ship, the sword he carries is a weapon of mass destruction to a people who still throw sticks and stones. When young women start disappearing, Mikhail must organize her people to fight back against an enemy who remains unseen. Evil whispers to a sullen Prince. A dying species seeks to avoid extinction. Two emperors, entrenched in their ancient ideologies, cannot see the larger threat. As intrigues roil the heavens, a tiny Mesopotamian village becomes ground-zero for this fantasy fiction retelling of mankind's most epic story about the battle between good and evil … the clash of empires and ideologies … and the greatest superhero to ever walk the Earth. The Archangel Mikhail.

There's no joy in coming of age for Lexi. As a illegitimate third-born daughter, she knew the day only held exile from her clan-hold. Outside the walls of her home, there is only the unforgiving desert under the stationary sun of her world. Exile is a thin euphemism for death.Lady Arachne spins lies as beautifully as she weaves tapestries, but it’s her conceit that may be downfall. Challenged by the goddess Athena with a test of their skills, Arachne may have finally met their match. If she doesn’t learn to be humble soon, she may lose the chance to marry Prince Petros, whose dearest wish is to marry a kind-hearted lady. ---- This is the first book of the Magical Tales of True Loves series. This series of bedtime stories features old and beloved characters of Greek mythology together with new princes and princesses to spark your child’s imagination. From retellings with strange and wondrous twists to completely new legends and adventures, this collection will surely serve as great bedtime entertainment for parents and children alike. The stories may also serve as a reading and vocabulary enrichment exercise as they have been deliberately made to contain new words that parents may teach their children.

The invention of the Emoticator promises to free mankind from regret, but is that really such a great idea?Lily isn't exactly whiter than white, even if that's what she wants the world to think of her. Under her pretty shop girl exterior, there's a darkness. A side that comes alive when she does her 'real' job – working as a trapper for a group of professional thieves. Her job is to hunt millionaires and billionaires. To lure them back to their mansions and scout the place once they're knocked out. It's something she's good at, something she enjoys. All until her latest job goes wrong, a man gets killed, and her life begins to turn on its head. Duke wears a mask during the day, one he takes off at night. His world isn't the spreadsheets and suits and meetings that he's forced to endure. It's the world after dark he truly inhabits. A world of alcohol and women and fighting. A world he enters in order to rebel. When he meets Lily after his latest scrap outside a nightclub, he thinks nothing of it. When he sees her the next day working in a local shop, he begins to get interested. And when she comes to him for help, he feels obliged to say yes. Soon, however, their lives will intertwine even more than either of them know. DECEIT is a new adult romance series by L.A Shorter, told from the double perspective of Lily and Duke. It will be told through several parts, each the length of a novella. Part 1 is roughly 22,000 words.

In the year 3777, the human race are at war with an alien race called the Romosean - and they are losing. Desperate to regain the upper hand, the human government created a secret weapon which could end the 77 year-long war. The secret weapon was called Lizard-Alien. Will Lizard-Alien really be the human race's saviour or will he have his own agenda? Read on and find out now!In the year 3777, the human race are at war with an alien race called the Romosean - and they are losing. Desperate to regain the upper hand, the human government created a secret weapon which could end the 77 year-long war. The secret weapon was called Lizard-Alien. Will Lizard-Alien really be the human race's saviour or will he have his own agenda? Will he really be hell-bent on destruction? Will he succeed in his plans? What ARE his plans?? What fate awaits the human race?Read on and find out now!

What if mankind could travel to Mars? Would you want to go? What would life be like for those left behind? What would you want to know? What if mankind was already on Mars? What if you had no choice but to join them? What it your loved ones suddenly disappeared? What if your government didn't want you to know about It? Mars Encounter is that storyA collection of short stories set in the Mars Encounter universe by J. J. Wright. Can be read either by those new to the Mars Encounter stories or those that have already read the Mars Encounter novel.Humans are living and working on Mars, only it must be kept secret from the Earth bound population. Those with special skills are taken by a secret organisation and are put to work on Mars. This collection is their stories.A total of seven short stories are included here. Six were released in the build up to the Mars Encounter novel coming out with the other one a special bonus story written just for this edition. Also included is a series of essays by the author of his love of science fiction.

"The Grail Brotherhood has built the most powerful, sophisticated simulation network imaginable. At the same time, they have manipulated ad injured the minds of thousands of children." This proclamation from the mysterious Mr. Sellars confirmed what Renie Sulaweyo had feared to be true when she first broke into the Otherland network in a desperate search for the cause of her brother Stephen's deathlike coma. Now Renie, the Bushman !Xabbu, and their companions find themselves navigating a treacherous and ever-changing course―from a strangely unfinished land, ro a seemingly endless labyrinthine House―pursuing a sociopathic killer who has stolen one of their group. To Renie's despair she is no closer to uncovering the secrets which could help save Stephen's life, and now it appears that something may be very wrong with the Otherland network itself. As Paul Jonas, Orlando, Renie and the rest strive to reach Priam's Walls, in the heart of Troy, they know that their quest is running perilously short of time. For the Grail Brotherhood has finally set the date for the Ceremony when they will make their bid for the immortality, and thereby seal the fate of Earth's children forever. But before Renie and her allies can hope to stop the Brotherhood, they must first solve the mysteries of Otherland itself, and confront its darkest secret―an enitity known only at the Other.

A digital-only short story set in the STARTERS world, told from Briona's pov. STARTERS received rave reviews, including this from the Los Angeles Times: “The only thing better than a terrific concept is one that is as well executed as Starters. Readers who have been waiting for a worthy successor to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games will find it here. Dystopian sci-fi at its best, Starters is a terrific series kickoff with a didn't-see-that-coming conclusion that will leave readers on the edges of their seats . . .” Includes a sneak peek at the sequel to STARTERS, Lissa Price’s ENDERS, where Callie is ready to fight for the truth—even if it kills her.

From the writer of the cult sensation John Dies at the End comes another terrifying and hilarious tale of almost Armageddon at the hands of two hopeless heroes. WARNING: You may have a huge, invisible spider living in your skull. THIS IS NOT A METAPHOR. You will dismiss this as ridiculous fearmongering. Dismissing things as ridiculous fearmongering is, in fact, the first symptom of parasitic spider infection-the creature secretes a chemical into the brain to stimulate skepticism, in order to prevent you from seeking a cure. That's just as well, since the "cure" involves learning what a chain saw tastes like. You can't feel the spider, because it controls your nerve endings. You can't see it, because it decides what you see. You won't even feel it when it breeds. And it will breed. So what happens when your family, friends, and neighbors get mind-controlling skull spiders? We're all about to find out. Just stay calm, and remember that telling you about the spider situation is not the same as having caused it. I'm just the messenger. Even if I did sort of cause it. Either way, I won't hold it against you if you're upset. I know that's just the spider talking.

Pain and pleasure, ecstasy and horror fuse in this splendid array of worldly parables from the pen of a master. What if you were a double amputee, singing for joy on the streets of New York . . . or a man who has actually held the earth in his hands? What if you were both the god and goddess in one of the most exalted erotic experiences in the universe . . . or the artist Correggio in the bitterness of his most sublime work . . . or a serving maid dreaming of love and luxury in a palace of death . . . or a man on a fatal mission, treading a battlefield ruled by a dying god? If you have the spirit and the longing to imagine, come along on a journey to the heart of passion—where love and hate are mirror images, where the alternating pulse beats of craving and denial define desire. Only William Kotzwinkle's extraordinary talent could chart such a course, could send his vision soaring through so many forms of fancy. In Jewel of the Moon, he transcends even his own marvelous powers of invention to create a cosmology of constant surprise—and irresistible enchantment.

After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls. Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own. With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.

The original 50 cent paperback edition of this book now goes for $100 in rare book auctions. Why? Because it contains 25 of the best, hardest-to-find stories of the writer the Washington Post calls "one of the great living American short story writers," the unpredictable Harlan Ellison. Bold and uncompromising, Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories of the Hung-up Generation is a watershed moment in Harlan Ellison’s early writing career. Rather than dealing in speculative fiction, these twenty-five short stories directly tackle issues of discrimination, injustice, bigotry, and oppression by the police. Pulling from his own experience, Ellison paints vivid portraits of the helpless and downtrodden, blazing forth with the kind of unblinking honesty that would define his career. Contents Foreword (Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories of the Hung-Up Generation) • (1961) • essay by Frank M. Robinson Introduction: The Children of Nights • (1975) • essay Final Shtick • (1960) • short story Gentleman Junkie • (1961) • short story May We Also Speak? • (1961) • essay Daniel White for the Greater Good • (1961) • short story Lady Bug, Lady Bug • (1961) • short story Free with This Box! • (1958) • short story There's One on Every Campus • (1959) • short story At the Mountains of Blindness • (1961) • short story This Is Jackie Spinning • (1959) • short story No Game for Children • non-genre • (1959) • short story The Late, Great Arnie Draper • (1961) • short story High Dice • (1961) • short story Enter the Fanatic, Stage Center • (1961) • short story Someone Is Hungrier • (1960) • short story Memory of a Muted Trumpet • non-genre • (1960) • short story Turnpike • (1961) • short story Sally in Our Alley • (1959) • short story The Silence of Infidelity • non-genre • (1957) • short story Have Coolth • (1959) • short story RFD #2 • (1957) • short story by Harlan Ellison and Henry Slesar No Fourth Commandment • (1956) • short story The Night of Delicate Terrors • (1961) • short story

 It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death. Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him. Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at first. Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist? Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night? In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and sci-fi elements to create a captivating adventure-and a love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

World War 3 was so violent that our history was lost and another world war wasn't fought for a thousand years. All of Earth's continents changed shape dramatically and the planet somehow got rings like Saturn. Now in World War 4 the same destructive force is rising again, and it'll be up to us to see if our world can be saved.Modern fantasy with superheroes, Sci-Fi elements and character driven plot twists. Recommended for Marvel and DC fans and anyone who enjoys the mainstream fantasies but like a bit of an edge and originality.Our history was lost in World War III, we'll remember in World War IV.After learning of the catastrophic continental shifts, powerful energy-wielding people roaming the planet and an illness that will kill him, Jaden realises that he has decisions to make—decisions that could mean the life and death of millions as he joins World War IV.He is torn between the side of perceived-good, selfish revenge and the love of his life, and he is given power like few others; yet his heart simply wants to return home, to be free of it all. But no matter how powerful he becomes, there will always be things outside of his control, and he'll have to fight until the end to hold onto what he loves most.