"Well, enjoy your afternoon in the real world," said Aiden, giving her a big grin. "I'm going for an adventure." Seventeen year old Aiden has done what few others ever achieve: he has taught himself to wield the eighteen magical runes. He dreams of adventure, yet he feels trapped in his life as a cloakmaker's apprentice. Then one day, amidst the flames of a burning building, Aiden has a chance encounter with an Eagle Rider—one of the elite magical guardians of the kingdom. When the Eagle Riders go missing, Aiden finds himself caught up in a conspiracy surrounding a long dead wizard. Untrained and torn apart from his family, Aiden must embark on a dangerous journey in the hope of rescuing the few people powerful enough to save them all.

Just where the track of the Los Gatos road streams on and upward like the sinuous trail of a fiery rocket until it is extinguished in the blue shadows of the Coast Range, there is an embayed terrace near the summit, hedged by dwarf firs. At every bend of the heat-laden road the eye rested upon it wistfully; all along the flank of the mountain, which seemed to pant and quiver in the oven-like air, through rising dust, the slow creaking of dragging wheels, the monotonous cry of tired springs, and the muffled beat of plunging hoofs, it held out a promise of sheltered coolness and green silences beyond.

Deadly. Beautiful. On the run. When secret agent Maggie Black agrees to protect the Mayor of London, she thinks she’s in for a boring night of babysitting. The simple job gets a lot more complicated when an assassin arrives and takes out the Mayor, framing Maggie as the killer. Unable to explain the evidence against her, Maggie is branded a traitor and hunted by the very people she once fought beside. With no one to turn to, Maggie relies on the one person who has always had her back—herself. From the hidden nightclubs of Madrid, to the dark streets of Moscow, Maggie must delve into the depths of the criminal underworld to unearth the truth, and fast. Because time is running out and the enemy is closer than she thinks… KILL ORDER is the first gripping installment to the Maggie Black thriller series, and the perfect read for fans of Lee Child and James Patterson. Get your copy of KILL ORDER today and discover the action-packed world of Maggie Black.

Paulo and Dino run a quiet little bar in Toronto, happily retired from their former gig of being immortal gods on Olympus…and Asgard…and… Well, let’s just say they’ve been around. But their peaceful retirement ends when Pop drops in. And the Father of the Gods has brought company. Unwanted company. "The Zelazny-inspired 'The Boys Are Back in Town' nicely toes the line between quirky humor and pathos." —Publishers Weekly "A partly funny, partly dark story … I enjoyed this one a lot; one of the most 'pure entertainment' tales of the [Chimerascope] collection." —Fantasy Book Critic

The Defenders' order is dying, but that's no surprise. They've been in hiding for over a hundred years, and apprentices are getting harder to find – hardly anyone can see the dragons anymore. Eppie is a successful pickpocket. She keeps her cache – and her ability to see the dragons – well hidden. One day she picks the wrong pocket, and the next thing she knows she’s been brought in to a mysterious secret order of swordsmen and swordswomen. She’s their last apprentice, their last hope. With far too little training, she sets out to help save the dragon Tiada, but if her mentor and the others fall in the battle, who will defend the dragons next time?

Marriage transplants Sarah thousands of miles from home; a failed love affair forces Phoebe to make drastic choices in a new environment; a sudden, shocking discovery brings Mrs Ellis to reconsider her life as an emigrant - The Settling Earth is a collection of ten interlinked stories, focusing on the British settler experience in colonial New Zealand, and the settlers' attempts to make sense of life in a strange new land.? Sacrifices, conflict, a growing love for the landscape, a recognition of the succour offered by New Zealand to Maori and settler communities - these are themes explored in the book. The final story in the collection, written by Shelly Davies of the Ngātiwai tribe, adds a Maori perspective to the experience of British settlement in their land.

Enter the realm of parallel universes! ? What if the government tried to create the perfect utopia? Could a society linked to a supercomputer survive on its own? Do our reflections control secret lives on the other side of the mirror? Can one moment split a person’s world forever? ? Exploring the fantastic, ten authors offer incredible visions and captivating tales of diverse reality. Featuring the talents of L. G. Keltner, Crystal Collier, Hart Johnson, Cherie Reich, Sandra Cox, Yolanda Renee, Melanie Schulz, Sylvia Ney, Michael Abayomi, and Tamara Narayan. ? Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will expand your imagination and twist the tropes of science fiction. Step through the portal and enter another dimension!

A villainous dandy who cheats, swindles and philanders his way across Europe and England with little concern for the law or the welfare of others.

The ship of legends... ? The future is set for Lt. Commander Aden Pendar, son of a Hyrathian Duke. Poised to secure his own command and marriage to the queen’s daughter, he’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals. ? But when the Alliance denies Hyrath’s claim on the planet of Kavil and declares war on their world, Aden finds his plans in disarray. Entrenched in battle and told he won’t make captain, Aden’s world begins to collapse. How will he salvage his career and future during Hyrath’s darkest hour? ? One chance remains–the Dragon. Lost many years prior, the legendary ship’s unique weapon is Hyrath’s only hope. Can Aden find the Dragon, save his people, and prove he’s capable of commanding his own ship? “...the storytelling is solid, with plenty of space-based military action...” - Publishers Weekly ? "An incredible tale of determination, loyalty, and sacrifice. Intense action, clever characters, and masterful storytelling. I'm hooked!" - Christine Rains, author Of Blood and Sorrow “Fans of Star Wars and Star Trek novels will find a new crew to root for in this action-packed space adventure. ?Refreshing to read a golden-age tale...” - Milo James Fowler, author of Captain Bartholomew Quasar and the Space-Time Displacement Conundrum

A story of passion and unconditional love of a mother for her child.

Η σειρ? ?Κρ?σταλλοι? ε?ναι μια μυθιστορηματικ? σειρ?, η οπο?α ξεκιν?ει απ? τι? απαρχ?? τη? δημιουργ?α? του σ?μπαντο?, διαπερν? ολ?κληρο τον πανανθρ?πινο πολιτισμ?, φθ?νει στο παρ?ν και θα συνεχ?σει στο μ?λλον, παρακολουθ?ντα? περιληπτικ? την εξελικτικ? πορε?α του ανθρ?πινου πολιτισμο?.Στο πρ?το μ?ρο? τη? Σ?γκρουση? Υπερφυσικο? – Φυσικο? περιηγηθ?καμε την εξελικτικ? πορε?α τη? ζω?? απ? 50 εκατομμ?ρια χρ?νια με 200 χιλι?δε? χρ?νια πριν, παρακολουθ?σαμε τι? πρ?τε? συγκρο?σει? Υπερφυσικο?-Φυσικο?, την δημιουργ?α τη? βαλκανικ?? χερσον?σου, την κυριαρχ?α των θηλαστικ?ν, αλλ? ακολουθ?σαμε το ξεχωριστ? φυλογενετικ? δ?ντρο του ανθρ?που. ?γινε μια ευσ?νοπτη αναφορ? στο μορφωτικ?/εκπαιδευτικ? σ?στημα για την καλλι?ργεια των νοημ?νων ?μβιων ?ντων στα τρ?α πνευματικ? επ?πεδα, στα δ?κα ?πρ?σωπα?, στι? τρει? επιγν?σει?, στα τ?σσερα μονοπ?τια και στι? π?ντε πληγ??, που επηρε?ζουν ?μεσα και ?μμεσα τη ζω? του?. Στο δε?τερο μ?ρο? τη? Σ?γκρουση? Υπερφυσικο? – Φυσικο?, 200 με 100 χιλι?δε? χρ?νια πριν, παρακολουθο?με την αργ?συρτη μεταλλαγ? του Homo sapiens-sapiens, κατ? την οπο?α η ζω? αρ-χ?ζει να αποκτ? πλ?ρη αυτογνωσ?α. Γ?νεται η τελικ? δοκιμασ?α και η ορκωμοσ?α του Δ?α ω? Πο-λεμιστ? του Φωτ??, η αναζ?τησ? του, η αν?ληψη τη? ευθ?νη? του αγ?να τη? παλιν?ρθωση? των Φυσικ?ν Δυν?μεων. Κυριαρχο?ν οι επικ?? συγκρο?σει?, τιτανομαχ?ε? και μονομαχ?ε? μεταξ? των Τιτ?νων και Ολ?μπιων Θε?ν.Η 4η Τιτανομαχ?α παρακολουθο?με τη μεταστροφ? τη? φ?ση? στο λογικ?, την ενσ?ρκωση τη? φ?ση? με τη ζω? και την εκλογ?κευσ? τη? με τον Homo sapiens-sapiens. Ε?ναι το νο?μον ?μβιο ον με το οπο?ο προσπαθε? το σ?μπαν να αποκτ?σει αυτεπ?γνωση και αυτοπραγμ?τωση. ?τσι λοιπ?ν, απ? την μ?α παρακολουθο?με τι? δυσθε?ρητε? και ανυπ?ρβλητε? δυσκολ?ε? με τι? οπο?ε? ο Λευκ?? Κρ?σταλλο? θα φθ?σει τελικ? στον ?λυμπο στα χ?ρια του Δ?α, εν? απ? την ?λλη την ευκολ?α με την οπο?α ο Μα?ρο? Κρ?σταλλο? θα φθ?σει στην ?θρυ στα χ?ρια του Κρ?νου. Παρακολουθο?με κατ’ ουσ?α τη διαμ?χη του ορθολογικο? με το ανορθ?λογο και παρ?λογο και το π?ρασμα του ανθρ?που στο λογικ?. Π?λεψε ο ?νθρωπο? στην προσπ?θεια τη? μετ?βαση? αυτ??. Φωτι? π?ρε το μυαλ? του επ? σειρ? χιλι?δων ετ?ν, προσπαθ?ντα? να απαντ?σει στα τ?σο δ?σκολα και αναπ?ντητα ερωτ?ματ? του. Στο τ?λο? ν?κησε, προχ?ρησε, μα ?ταν μια π?ρρειο? ν?κη, αφο? διολ?σθησε σε μεταφυσικ?? και υπερφυσικ?? διαφυγ??. ?τσι, το μεταφυσικ? και ανορθολογικ? υποβ?σκει στην καθημεριν?τητα σε κ?θε σκ?ψη του, και αναδεικν?εται σε κ?θε δυσκολ?α. Για τ?τοια? μορφ?? τιτανομαχ?ε? συν?βησαν μ?σα στο ανθρ?πινο μυαλ?.

Half a lifetime ago, there lived in one of the Westmoreland dales a single woman, of the name of Susan Dixon. She was owner of the small farm-house where she resided, and of some thirty or forty acres of land by which it was surrounded. She had also an hereditary right to a sheep-walk, extending to the wild fells that overhang Blea Tarn. In the language of the country she was a Stateswoman.

John was not twenty years old when he assisted, as a volunteer, at the attack on Mont-Joui, which was captured, and where the Prince of Hesse lost his life. Our poor Johnny was wounded, taken prisoner, and carried into the town. The following is an account of his adventures from the attack of Mont-Joui till the taking of Barcelona. It is as told by a Catalonian lady, a little too free and too simple. Such stories do not find a way to the hearts of your wise men. I received it from her when I entered Barcelona in the suite of Lord Peterborough. You must read it without offence, as a true description of the manners of the country.

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons, a new installment in her award-winning thriller-suspense series featuring Lucy Guardino: ? A secret buried in an open grave returns to haunt a small town… ? “Explosive. The tension keeps on building…enthralling.” ~BlogLovin Book Reviews ? When divers discover an antique car with a skeleton inside, the Beacon Group dispatches TK O’Connor to lead the investigation into the sixty-year-old cold case.? ? It’s TK’s first chance at lead investigator and the former Marine is determined not to let her team down. But, almost as soon as she arrives in the downtrodden rustbelt city, her challenges mount. ? First, there’s the issue of identifying the man inside the car. Who was he and why did he seemingly drive off a cliff into a quarry, leaving no trace of his life behind? ? Then, there’s the brewing racial tensions in the city. A white police officer is on trial for shooting a black man and the verdict is due any minute. When a second killing occurs, TK suddenly finds herself at the center of a new investigation while the town literally explodes around her. ? As protesters storm the once peaceful town, it’s up to TK and her boss, Lucy Guardino, to untangle the truth, both past and present. But is the truth powerful enough to stop the violence before any one else is killed?

The body had no name. It was not supposed to be there... Jess is a researcher on a quest to give the one-hundred-year-old skeleton, discovered in the exhumed grave of a prominent bishop, an identity. But she's not sure of her own - her career is stalling, her marriage is failing. She doesn't want to spend hours in the archives, rifling through dusty papers in an endless search for a name. And when a young man named Hayden makes clear his interest in her, Jess has to decide what is most important to her.

Celepha?s was created in a dream by Kuranes (which is his name in dreams—his real name is not given) as a child of the English landed gentry. As a man in his forties, alone and dispossessed in contemporary London, he dreams it again and then, seeking it, slowly slips away to the dream-world. Finally knights guide him through medieval England to his ancestral estate, where he spent his boyhood, and then to Celepha?s. He became the king and chief god of the city, though his body washes up by his ancestors' tower, now owned by a parvenu. In The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Randolph Carter pays a visit to Kuranes, finding that the great dreamer has grown so homesick for his native Cornwall, he has dreamed parts of Celepha?s to resemble the land of his boyhood. Kuranes advises Carter, on a mission to find his own dream-city, to be careful what he wishes for—he might get it.

The Reluctant Dragon is an 1898 children's story by Kenneth Grahame (originally published as a chapter in his book Dream Days), which served as the key element to the 1941 feature film with the same name from Walt Disney Productions. The story has also been set to music as a children's operetta by John Rutter, with words by David Grant. The story takes place in the Berkshire Downs in Oxfordshire (where the author lived and where, according to legend, St George did fight a dragon). It is Grahame's most famous short story. It is arguably much more well-known than Dream Days itself or the related The Golden Age. It can be seen as a prototype to most modern stories in which the dragon is a sympathetic character rather than a threat. In Grahame's story, a young boy discovers an erudite, mushroom-loving dragon living in the Downs above his home. The two become friends, but soon afterwards the dragon is discovered by the townsfolk, who send for St George to rid them of it.

Herbert de Renich, citoyen luxembourgeois, toujours amoureux d'Amalia, pourtant devenue la femme du terrible amiral allemand Von Treischke, se retrouve à bord du Vengeur, un sous marin extraordinaire, con?u pour le plaisir mais surtout pour la guerre, par un américain masqué - les ?tats-Unis n'étant pas encore en guerre - qui, pour venger sa femme, souhaite ch?tier les crimes allemands et fait ainsi subir les pires tortures à ses prisonniers. Herbert se retrouve mêlé à la bataille invisible - puisqu'elle est électrique - que se livre les troupes de l'américain et des allemands autour d'un fabuleux trésor enfoui dans la baie de Vigo... Vaste fresque rendant hommage à Jules Verne, ce roman de guerre fait appel à la science-fiction pour dénoncer une fois encore les atrocités allemandes. Le thème du combat subaquatique et du trésor est repris d'un projet d'aventure de Rouletabille que Leroux a abandonné pour ?entrer en guerre?.

The Sethian Shield is weakening—one of the Banished Ones has already escaped. Was it a flaw in the Shield's design or something more sinister? And more importantly, will any more of them escape?

4th Battle of the Titans: Clash between Natural and the Supernatural ΙΙ - The Ascent of the Natural.??The Crystals Series is a storyline in the form of a novel which starts from the very beginning of the creation of the Universe, traverses the whole human civilization, reaches the present and continues into the future, summarily following the evolutionary course of human civilization.??In the first part of the Clash between the Supernatural – Natural, we followed the evolutionary path of life from 50 million years ago to 200 thousand years ago, we witnessed the first battles between the Supernatural and the Natural, the creation of the Balkan Peninsula, the domination of the mammals, but we followed the separate phylogenetic tree of humankind. A summary reference was made to the educational/training system necessary for the development of sentient beings at the three spiritual levels, the ten -faces-, the three consciences, the four paths and the five plagues that directly and indirectly impact on their lives.??In the second part of the Clash between the Supernatural – Natural, 200 to 100 thousand years ago, we witness the slow-paced developmental modification of the Homo sapiens-sapiens, during which, life begins to acquire full self-knowledge. The final trial and oath-taking of Zeus as the Warrior of the Light take place as well as his efforts to take responsibility for reinstating the Natural Forces. Clashes of epic proportions, battles of the Titans and dwells between the Titans and the Olympians dominate the scene.??In the 4th Battle of the Titans, we are witnessing the turning point of nature to the logical, the incarnation of nature with life and its rationalization by Homo sapiens-sapiens. It is the sentient being through which the universe is trying to acquire self-knowledge and self-realization. So, on the one hand, we are witnessing the undiscernible and insurmountable difficulties through which the White Crystal will eventually reach Mount Olympus in the hands of Zeus, and on the other, the easiness with which the Black Crystal will reach Othrys in the hands of Cronos. We are witnessing in fact, the conflict between the rational and the irrational and the transition of man to the logical. Man has fought hard during this transition. His mind was aflame for a series of thousands of years in his effort to address his difficult and inscrutable questions. At the end, he came out victorious, he moved on, but it was a futile victory, since he got carried away into metaphysical and supernatural escape routes. So, the metaphysical and illogical remains latent in his everyday reality and in every one of his thoughts, and emerges in every difficulty. Such titanic battles were fought inside the human mind.

Venice. The Mafia. A drug deal gone wrong. When a British covert intelligence agency learns of an impending drug deal between the Venetian mafia and one of the UK’s most notorious importers, agent Maggie Black is sent to stop it. Under the alias of an American drug lord, Maggie must infiltrate the crime family and stop their product from reaching British soil. A feat that gets more complicated when her colleague and old flame Leon is sent along with her. Maggie is soon thrust into the middle of a vicious war that spans generations. As blood is spilled and the scent of death lingers across the lagoons, a failed mission becomes the least of her worries. Because someone has a score to settle and they won't let Maggie stand in their way... Join Maggie Black in VENDETTA, the first heart-pounding novella in the Maggie Black Case Files series, and the perfect read for fans of Lee Child and James Patterson. Get your copy of VENDETTA today and discover the action-packed world of Maggie Black.