The bugs eat metal and leave people and animals alone -- unless you crush one, and then they'll swarm and destroy everything they touch. When Kimball comes upon twelve-year-old Thayet, she's been stuck on a rock in a river of bugs for two days, no food, no water, and no way back. This is an excerpt from 7th Sigma.

In a world ravaged by mutation, a teenage girl must travel into the forbidden Savage Zone to recover lost artifacts or her father’s life is forfeit. America has been ravaged by a war that has left the eastern half of the country riddled with mutation. Many of the people there exhibit varying degrees of animal traits. Even the plantlife has gone feral. Crossing from west to east is supposed to be forbidden, but sometimes it’s necessary. Some enter the Savage Zone to provide humanitarian relief. Sixteen-year-old Lane’s father goes there to retrieve lost artifacts—he is a Fetch. It’s a dangerous life, but rewarding—until he’s caught. Desperate to save her father, Lane agrees to complete his latest job. That means leaving behind her life of comfort and risking life and limb—and her very DNA—in the Savage Zone. But she’s not alone. In order to complete her objective, Lane strikes a deal with handsome, roguish Rafe. In exchange for his help as a guide, Lane is supposed to sneak him back west. But though Rafe doesn’t exhibit any signs of “manimal” mutation, he’s hardly civilized . . . and he may not be trustworthy.

As a child, Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand, buried deep within the earth. As an adult, she’s dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers—and even more perplexing questions. But the truth is closer than ever before when a second robot, more massive than the first, materializes and lashes out with deadly force. Now humankind faces a nightmare invasion scenario made real, as more colossal machines touch down across the globe. But Rose and her team at the Earth Defense Corps refuse to surrender. They can turn the tide if they can unlock the last secrets of an advanced alien technology. The greatest weapon humanity wields is knowledge in a do-or-die battle to inherit the Earth . . . and maybe even the stars.

Humanity's dreams drift to a distant planet. An expedition, fitted with the latest technology and weaponry that Earth has to offer, is tasked with determining whether this new world can support human life. Dangers both great and small lie in wait, light years away on the green planet.Adeline Ve’duer Remenon has been on the run for ten years. Framed for the murder of her entire family, and hunted by an elite force of warriors from the warmongering kingdom of Varscodia, she finds herself at the limits of her emotional resilience.On the night marking the tenth anniversary of her flight as a fugitive, Adeline broods over a painful past and contemplates a grim future. She has had no encounters with the Varscodian Enforcers in over three months. Most would consider that a good sign. But not Adeline. She has been shadowed by the conniving fiends long enough to realise how they work, and their lack of presence for so long does not bode well...

Ray Bradbury, the undisputed Dean of American storytelling, dips his accomplished pen into the cryptic inkwell of noir and creates a stylish and slightly fantastical tale of mayhem and murder set among the shadows and the murky canals of Venice, California, in the early 1950s. Toiling away amid the looming palm trees and decaying bungalows, a struggling young writer (who bears a resemblance to the author) spins fantastic stories from his fertile imagination upon his clacking typewriter. Trying not to miss his girlfriend (away studying in Mexico), the nameless writer steadily crafts his literary effort--until strange things begin happening around him. Starting with a series of peculiar phone calls, the writer then finds clumps of seaweed on his doorstep. But as the incidents escalate, his friends fall victim to a series of mysterious "accidents"--some of them fatal. Aided by Elmo Crumley, a savvy, street-smart detective, and a reclusive actress of yesteryear with an intense hunger for life, the wordsmith sets out to find the connection between the bizarre events, and in doing so, uncovers the truth about his own creative abilities.

“Now you young twerps want a new name for your generation? Probably not, you just want jobs, right? Well, the media do us all such tremendous favors when they call you Generation X, right? Two clicks from the very end of the alphabet. I hereby declare you Generation A, as much at the beginning of a series of astonishing triumphs and failures as Adam and Eve were so long ago.†— Kurt Vonnegut, Syracuse University commencement address May 8, 1994 A brilliant, timely and very Couplandesque novel about honey bees and the world we may soon live in. Once again, Douglas Coupland captures the spirit of a generation…. In the near future bees are extinct — until one autumn when five people are stung in different places around the world. This shared experience unites them in a way they never could have imagined. Generation A mirrors 1991’s Generation X. It explores new ways of looking at the act of reading and storytelling in a digital world.

Once the Sith Order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy. Until one dark lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy—and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith, and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.

Captain Sophia Coloma of the Clarke has a simple task: Ferry around representatives from Earth in an aging spaceship that the Colonial Union hopes to sell to them. But nothing is as simple as it seems, and Coloma discovers the ship she's showing off holds suprises of its own...and it's not the only one with secrets.

A million universes. A million dangers. One destiny. The fate of the multiverse rests in Marguerite Caine’s hands. Marguerite has been at the center of a cross-dimensional feud since she first traveled to another universe using her parents’ invention, the Firebird. Only now has she learned the true plans of the evil Triad Corporation—and that those plans could spell doom for dozens or hundreds of universes, each facing total annihilation. Paul Markov has always been at Marguerite’s side, but Triad’s last attack has left him a changed man—angry and shadowed by tragedy. He struggles to overcome the damage done to him, but despite Marguerite’s efforts to help, Paul may never be the same again. So it’s up to Marguerite alone to stop the destruction of the multiverse. Billions of lives are at stake. The risks have never been higher. And Triad has unleashed its ultimate weapon: another dimension’s Marguerite—wicked, psychologically twisted, and always one step ahead. In the conclusion to Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy, fate and family will be questioned, loves will be won and lost, and the multiverse will be forever changed. It’s a battle of the Marguerites…and only one can win.

Time isn’t kind… Waverly Sandler is nothing like her mad father. She’s a nurse. She takes care of people. She is fighting to live down her name. She’s also a sister, a friend, and someday, if the universe is kind, she hopes to be a lover and a wife. Life at The Farm is one of constant activity, because freedom exacts a high price. When Waverly is tapped for a special assignment, she’s eager to rise to the task of being useful, but the last thing she expected was the attention of four of the strongest, most united group of men she’s ever met. Ari, the doctor who sees things. Jackson, the man determined to live down his past. Rohan, the Super Soldier who longs to be a person. Canyon, the Super Soldier who sees the possibilities of a better life. They need her more than she could ever know, and will change her life in ways she could never anticipate. All they have to do is survive war, disease, and time…

New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling author of Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance brings another action, adventure, and suspense-filled story to transport readers out of this world. In a world gone crazy, it is often the humans who are at fault, seeking answers to questions we are not yet ready to understand... Lt. Commander Joshua Manson's focus on his career has taken him to many places, just not the one he has always dreamed of going into space. His sometimes controversial methods during missions have given him the reputation of being a soldier who doesn't always play by the rule book. A summons to Washington, D.C. after a challenging mission leaves him questioning if he'll have a career at all; but once there, Josh is surprised when he is offered the chance of a lifetime, to command a mission in space to investigate an unknown object. The more he learns, the more determined he is to lead it, even if it means a one way ticket. Cassa de Rola's family has lived for centuries in the quiet valley where they farm. Her family has tried to remain untouched by the growing unrest between the intergalactic military forces fighting for control over their planet. All of that changes when an unusual object falls from the sky and Cassa finds a strange male in the container. She knows that taking him in will endanger the lives of everyone close to her, but she can't leave him defenseless. Now, the military forces on both sides want to discover the origins of the container and its missing contents. When the fight between the Legion and the Gallant Order escalates to all-out war, a new rebel leader emerges from the stars that will change the galaxy, and Cassa's life, forever.

It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters. It begins with a murder. It will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself. Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit. Prepared to risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is at a price. To put things right she will need the help of the Culture. Benevolent, enlightened & almost infinitely resourceful tho it may be, the Culture can only do so much for any individual. With the assistance of one of its most powerful --- & arguably deranged --- warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure which side the Culture is really on. A brutal, far-reaching war is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead & it's about to erupt into reality. It started in the realm of the Real & that is where it will end. It will touch countless lives & affect entire civilizations, but at the center of it all is a young woman whose need for revenge masks another motive altogether.

An evil crime family controls the fate of a planet. Only one witness can bring them down--someone from the inside. In order to make it off the planet to testify, she's going to need the protection of the Jedi. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi take the assignment, thinking it will be easy. But nothing is ever easy when crime is concerned, and soon the two Jedi are entangled in a violent web of power, corruption, and lies. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan know their allegiance is to the witness. But can she be trusted?

Piloting the battered Chromium Bullet, the robot assistant 234 collects a very important piece of cargo shut inside a sarcophagus. The Crew:Captain Phoenix Wingclipper, a scheming AWOL military pilot;Assistant 234, a hapless AWOL robotic co-pilot;Rodeena Salvoyant, a reptilian female negotiator;Elwood Makepeace, a reluctantly travelling earthman;Bink, a heroic small floating ball droidErin began drawing dragons on her clothes to hide the stains from free-box finds. Now they are her trademark as she walks the halls of Hamilton High School. She’s puzzled by the actions of the students around her, especially Tony and David, cousins who are constantly fighting. Her own mysteries catch up to her unexpectedly and the consequences will change Erin’s life forever.