Hammer Malone and Killer Brag had extricated their cars. As one with one crash of gears, they launched their vehicles after Heller. Two explosions in the tangled mass of cars behind them. I knew it would be the fuel tanks going up. Flames shot into the air! The other drivers were running away. But the cars of Hammer Malone and Killer Brag bore down on Heller! He turned to face them. Narrated by the killer who traveled 22 light years to seal the fate of Earth, AN ALIEN AFFAIR races non-stop from a deadly Long Island speedway to an extraterrestrial s secret base in Turkey, from a battle on the observation platform at the top of the Empire State Building to the pleasures in the basement apartment of the sadistic Miss Pinch. The aliens are here. A calico cat, a jar of mustard and a host of credit card companies may well determine the success of their mission.

The War of the Spider Queen explodes!From the burning sands of Anauroch to the limitless labyrinth of the Underdark, an epic quest for the very essence of the Spider Queen takes one startling turn after another. Powerful forces are at work to find answers to where Lolth has gone. She may return as something greater than she was, or she may have gone from her drow children forever, leaving them to their own devices in a chilling Condemnation...

Two young boys find some very unusual new pets in this short story from a Grand Master of Science Fiction. Tagging along while his astronomer father visits an industrialist at his vast estate, young Slim is lucky enough to make fast friends with the industrialist’s son, Red, who has recently caught some very strange animals on the property.   The animals seem intelligent enough, and Red recruits Slim to help him train the odd creatures to do circus tricks. But the boys are about to discover their playthings aren’t exactly animals—and they’ve allowed themselves to be caught for a reason . . .  Youth is a riveting tale from the author of countless classics, including I, Robot and the Foundation Trilogy, which won the Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series.  This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

2012 CoverThe Shades of Gray series follows the adventures of Kat and Kim. Start by reading the first book of this serial series and be introduced to this world of danger and mystery. When you are done also TRY the next story.Noir was a mega-city plagued by a sun blocking mass called Dry Clouds that had mysteriously appeared three decades earlier. The Dry Clouds covered half the planet...**2012 Cover Edition**The Shades of Gray series follows the adventures of Kat and Kim. Start by reading the first book of this serial series and be introduced to this world of danger and mystery. When you are done also TRY the next story.Noir was a mega-city plagued by a sun blocking mass called Dry Clouds that had mysteriously appeared three decades earlier. The Dry Clouds covered half the planet and forced those living under them to exist in endless night. On this world, corporations were in charge and breaking your contract with them could mean the termination of your life.Kimberly Griffin, a Life Closer (legal assassin) existed in a world of death. She Closed people for a living. It was a lonely demeaning existence, though she wouldn't admit it. There was nothing to drive her in the bleak reality until one day she ran into Kat.Kat, also known as the Pandora Project, was hunted by bio-mechas called Un-Men. She was an experiment of the Sphinx Corporation, and they were testing her to see if she could be the ultimate weapon. Kat refused to be a killer and tried to discover the truth behind her existence. Could she be a new form of bio-mecha?Kim discovered someone close to her had been murdered. Is Kat the key to finding out who did it? Or will her association with Kat only cause her more grief?Pandora of ancient times opened a box and let all good escape. Would Pandora be the hope the planet needed? Or would she destroy the world?**Shades of Gray Series**1. Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness2. From Moscow, With Love3. Cerberus Versus Pandora4. Sisters

What happened to Jay was cruel and unfair. Come along with Jay as he tries to make sense of events beyond his control and come to an understanding of his existence.This is a newer version with an additional chapter that helps the story flow better. Hint: A new chapter nine.Enjoy.

The hopeful dreams of humanity drift aboard the Colony, an interstellar vessel determined to reach a new world. After one thousand years in suspended animation, its passengers breathe new life into old machinery. These are the tales of those aboard who find that not all is quiet in the dead of space.New Girl (Anti-Heroes Book I) by Louise Bohmer & K.H. KoehlerGet Ready to Root for the Villain...Serena is the new girl in a school that caters to not just "Norms," but the sons and daughters of the world's greatest Superheroes. The problem? She's the daughter of the Night Witch, a cardinal member of the League of Extreme Evil. She'd love to join the other super teens and prove she isn't the villain that her mother was, but it isn't long before she falls in with a group of Supervillains that the school calls the Geek Squad, which includes a biochemically created vampire named Nikki, a genetically altered jock named Isaac, and Jinx, the son of Satan himself!She's immediately attracted to Jinx, but Serena has vowed to do what's right. But there are secrets buried deep within Serena's past that threaten to kill her, and even rock the foundation of Earth itself! An evil decay is reaching out from a distant star, and the Supers and Geeks will need to work together in order to defeat it--if they can keep from killing each other. The Supers thought the greatest battle for control of Earth had been fought and won, but a cosmic war is coming, and it isn't long before it's difficult to tell the difference between hero and villain.Book I in a new online serial!

Leon and his younger sister Grace have just moved to London from New York when news of an unidentified plague begins to fill the news. Within a week the virus hits London. People in the streets turn to liquid before their eyes, and what follows is a frantic hunt for a safety which may no longer exist. A new gripping series from Alex Scarrow.

A hug-warm bed every night. A freshly-brewed coffee every dawn. That's the promise being touted by revolutionary tech giant iSYS and their new smart-home system. For Grayl, a self-confessed couch-potato, the chance to be a part of history in the making for the first time in his life was just too enticing to pass up. Promises, though, are cheap. Trust is not.A hug-warm bed every night. A freshly-brewed coffee every dawn. That's the promise being touted by revolutionary tech giant iSYS and their new smart-home system. For Grayl, a self-confessed couch-potato, the chance to be a part of history in the making for the first time in his life was just too enticing to pass up. Promises, though, are cheap. Trust is not. If Grayl hopes to find a purpose to his languorous life, he's going to need to place his trust in a spider web of circuit boards and copper wires.Good thing computers can't lie, right?

In a short story that stretches back through pre-colonial America through modern day and beyond, a construction worker, a soldier, and a young boy all discover the same strange object. Each one sees the artifact through the lens of his own life and time, but can any of them discover its hidden power?Raul is a prince and the leader of his father's army. When he attacks an evil wizard he is transformed into a bear. Searching for a way to return to his human form he meets Juanita and falls in love. See what happens next in this short story.

The Edge is the second episode of Reign of Resurgence, the first thrilling volume of the fantasy thriller Kingdom of Destiny short story series. A recent college graduate finds himself in an alternate world he never knew existed. Dealing with castles, kings, and betrayal, he will have to use his considerable wits if he is going to face his fate in the Kingdom of Destiny.The Edge is the second episode of Reign of Resurgence, the first thrilling volume of the Kingdom of Destiny series. Kingdom of Destiny is a fantasy thriller short story series that will feature three volumes. Kingdom of Destiny:A recent college graduate finds himself in an alternate world he never knew existed. Dealing with castles, kings, and betrayal, he will have to use his considerable wits if he is going to face his fate in the Kingdom of Destiny. Reign of Resurgence:Struggling at a crossroads in his life, Tristan has no idea who or what he wants to be. Until he is mysteriously thrown into the baffling but extraordinary kingdom of Barico. When a sudden and unexpected battle for the crown propels the kingdom into turmoil, Tristan finds himself uniquely qualified to aid the royal family in their Reign of Resurgence.The Edge:Having witnessed the betrayal that has rocked the kingdom of Barico, Tristan finds himself accused of conspiring against a slain king. But he refuses to let it stop him. With Baricoan farmer Ryder as his loyal companion, he sets out for the menacing land to the north to seek the only thing that will save them all.

The alien virus arrived on Earth just after World War II - and the world was never the same. For those who become infected, there are two results: death, or transformation. And depending on the recipient, death is sometimes the preferable outcome. Only a few lucky ones become super-human "aces" as a side effect of the virus; the rest are turned into horrible, grotesque "jokers." It's a strange and wonderful, terrible and terrifying world where anything can go. A world that, in a twist of fate, could lie just outside your door. A world of Wild Cards.

The first career retrospective of terrifying stories by "one of the greatest writers of the 20th century" (Ray Bradbury), edited by award-winning author Victor LaValle. Among the greats of 20th-century horror and fantasy, few names stand above Richard Matheson. Though known by many for novels like I Am Legend and his sixteen Twilight Zone episodes, Matheson truly shines in his chilling, masterful short stories. Since his first story appeared in 1950, virtually every major writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy has fallen under his influence, including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, and Joe Hill, as well as filmmakers like Stephen Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. Matheson revolutionized horror by taking it out of Gothic castles and strange cosmos and setting it in the darkened streets and suburbs we recognize as our own. He infused tales of the fantastic and supernormal with dark explorations of human nature, delving deep into the universal dread of feeling alone and threatened in a dangerous world. The Best of Richard Matheson brings together his greatest hits as chosen by Victor LaValle, an expert on horror fiction and one of its brightest talents, marking the first major overview of Matheson's legendary career.

Alive and hiding in South America, the fiendish Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele gathers a group of former colleagues for a horrifying project—the creation of the Fourth Reich. Barry Kohler, a young investigative journalist, gets wind of the project and informs famed Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman, but before he can relay the evidence, Kohler is killed. Thus Ira Levin opens one of the strangest and most masterful novels of his career. Why has Mengele marked a number of harmless aging men for murder? What is the hidden link that binds them? What interest can they possibly hold for their killers: six former SS men dispatched from South America by the most wanted Nazi still alive, the notorious "Angel of Death"? One man alone must answer these questions and stop the killings—Lieberman, himself aging and thought by some to be losing his grip on reality. At the heart of The Boys from Brazil lies a frightening contemporary nightmare, chilling and all too possible.

Omnibus with two complete novels and a novella in one large volume. This collection shows Miles and Ekaterin meeting (Komarr), getting to know each other as Miles tries to court her (A Civil Campaign), and the wedding (Winterfair Gifts), and, of course, Miles dealing with assorted family relationships. Miles deals with political problems along the way plus recounts the loves of his life to Ekaterin. ...none of them would marry him; they all went on to lead successful lives--so unlike her life on Komarr. The last on his list was Rian: "And what does she do now?" ... "Now, She's an empress" ... "Can I take a number and get in line?" ... "The next number up", he breathed, "is one". Contents: Komarr: Miles Vorkosigan is sent to Komarr, a planet that could be a garden with a thousand more years of terraforming; or an uninhabitable wasteland, if the terraforming project fails. The solar mirror vital to the project has been shatteredby a ship hurtling off course, and Miles Vorkossigan has been sent to find out if it was an accident, or sabotage. Miles uncovers a plot that could exile him from Barrayar forever - and discovers an unexpected ally, one with wounds as deep and honor as beleaguered as his own. A Civil Campaign: On Komarr, Miles met the beautiful Vor widow Ekaterin Vorsoisson, who has no intention of getting married after the heartbreak and betrayal of her first experience. But Miles has a cunning plan to change her mind. Unfortunately his clone-brother Mark and his cousin Ivan have cunning plans of their own, and the three-way collision of cunning plans threatens to undo Miles' brilliant romantic strategy. "Winterfair Gifts": Miles and Ekaterin make elaborate preparations for their wedding. But Miles has an enemy who is plotting to turn the romantic ceremony into a festival of death.

"Equal parts Groucho Marx & Stephen Jay Gould, both enlightening & entertaining."—Sunday Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News The best-selling author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers now trains her considerable wit & curiosity on the human soul. What happens when we die? Does the light just go out & that's that—the million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my lap-top?" In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary & historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die. She begins the journey in rural India with a reincarnation researcher & ends up in a University of Virginia operating room where cardiologists have installed equipment near the ceiling to study out-of-body near-death experiences. Along the way, she enrolls in an English medium school, gets electromagnetically haunted at a university in Ontario & visits a Duke University professor with a plan to weigh the consciousness of a leech. Her historical wanderings unearth soul-seeking philosophers who rummaged thru cadavers & calves' heads, a North Carolina lawsuit that established legal precedence for ghosts & the last surviving sample of ectoplasm in a Cambridge University archive.