fiction / action & adventure

"Twenty years ago, feared general Cobalt Zosia led her five villainous captains and mercenary army into battle, wrestling monsters and toppling an empire. When there were no more titles to win and no more worlds to conquer, she retired and gave up her legend to history. Now the peace she carved for herself has been shattered by the unprovoked slaughter of her village. Seeking bloody vengeance, Zosia heads for battle once more, but to find justice she must confront grudge-bearing enemies, once-loyal allies, and an unknown army that marches under a familiar banner"--.

The saga of humans winnowed to the brink of extinction by night-stalking demons, and the survivors who fight back, continues. Ahmann Jardir, who sat atop the throne, meant to conquer the known world and forge an army to end the demons and their war. But Arlen Bales did not agree and challenged Ahmann to a duel he could not refuse. And then, because Arlen was afraid he'd loose, he cast them both from a precipice. Now their world is without a savior and the struggle for succession threatens to tear the Free Cities of Thesa apart.

"Dale Sampson is used to being a nonperson at his small-town Midwestern high school, picking up the scraps of his charismatic lothario of a best friend, Mack. He comforts himself with the certainty that his stellar academic record and brains will bring him the adulation that evaded him in high school. But when an unthinkable catastrophe tears away the one girl he ever had a chance with, his life takes a bizarre turn as he discovers an inexplicable power: he can regenerate his organs and limbs. When a chance encounter brings him face to face with a girl from his past, he decides that he must use his gift to save her from a violent husband and dismal future. His quest takes him to the glitz and greed of Hollywood, and into the crosshairs of shadowy forces bent on using and abusing his gift. Can Dale use his power to redeem himself and those he loves, or will the one thing that finally makes him special be his demise? The Heart Does Not Grow Back is a darkly comic, starkly original take on the superhero tale, introducing an exceptional new literary voice in Fred Venturini"--.

"The tenth entry in the NUMA Files series, by the author of ZERO HOUR and THE STORM"--.

"Sheriff Walt Longmire is reading A Christmas Carol in his office on December 24th when he's interrupted by the ghost of Christmas past: a young woman with a hairline scar across her forehead and more than a few questions about Walt's predecessor, Lucian Connally. Walt doesn't recognize the mystery woman, but she seems to know him and claims to have something she must return to Connally. With his daughter, Cady, and his undersheriff Vic Moretti in Philadelphia for the holidays, Walt is at loose ends, and despite the woman's reticence to reveal her identity, he agrees to help her. At the Durant Home for Assisted Living Lucian Connally is several tumblers into his Pappy Van Winkle's and swears he's never clapped eyes on the woman before. Disappointed, she whispers "Steamboat" and begins a story that takes them all back to Christmas Eve 1988, when three people died in a terrible crash and a young girl had the slimmest chance of survival . . . back to a record- breaking blizzard, to Walt's first year as sheriff, with a young daughter at home and a wife praying for his safety . . . back to a whiskey-soaked World War II vet ready to fly a decommissioned plane and risk it all to save a life. Back to the Spirit of Steamboat"--.

It is 1999. The death of Russia's president throws the Federation into chaos. The whole world watches when a deadly attack stuns the US - and evidence points to the Russian parliament. Amidst this turmoil is American businessman Roger Gordian who finds his multinational corporation in jeopardy.

A top secret Pentagon wargame is hacked. Only Net Force has the expertise to track down the culprit, but they are tied up with other priorities. Due to shifting budget priorities, Net Force is moved onto the DoD budget. That means that as a military operation, they can now give top priority to the Pentagon's problem. They soon make a connection between the attack and a Chinese general in Macau. But this investigation is too big for Net Force and they are forced to work with members of Cybernation, the virtual reality nation which has opposed Net Force in the past.

One member of the black-ops team Kilo-Five is missing on Sanghelios, and they must rescue him before he falls into the wrong hands.