Type: StandaloneNovel

Footfall by Larry Niven

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Footfall by Larry Niven
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Considered by many readers the best alien invasion novel to date, FOOTFALL was called “thought-provoking and exciting” by Library Journal and “the best of its genre” by The New York Times.

An alien craft is approaching Earth. Attempts to communicate go unanswered. The welcoming committee of Americans and Russians at a space station is blasted, its occupants killed or captured. Soon the entire Earth, with special emphasis on the United States, is bombarded by asteroids, destroying dams, highways, and infrastructure. The message to humans: total surrender or death to all. A giant rock, the “footfall”, is launched towards Earth, causing even more damage. The aliens land, determined to conquer or utterly eliminate the human race. Understanding a truly “alien” culture and learning how to confront such an overwhelming power make FOOTFALL stand out as an exciting and truly original novel.
“Niven and Pournelle keep the outcome up in the air right up to the last pages.”
– Newsday

“FOOTFALL is simply the best science fiction adventure story I’ve read in a long time.”
– The Providence Sunday Journal

“This nuclear age update of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS is highly recommended.”
– Library Journal

The Double-Edged Sword: A Tale of the Fallen Hero

The Double-Edged Sword: A Tale of the Fallen Hero
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A disgraced swordsman leaves town one step ahead of justice.

In search of gainful(ish) employment, he heads for a former haunt, the seaport city of Cray. His past, however, soon catches up with him in the form of Julia, a notorious thief and sometimes assassin. He finds himself thrust into an impossible situation, caught in the midst of a bitter feud between the city’s two ruling families, and is forced to embark on what will surely prove to be a suicide mission.

A novella of sword play, betrayal, and derring-do, seen from the perspective of a cynical anti-hero who struggles to live up to expectations but excels at living down to them.

“A cheerfully brutal story of betrayal and skulduggery, vicious fun from start to finish.” – Adrian Tchaikovsky

“A quick, highly readable, swords & sorcery romp… you can see Whates has learned his craft.” – Mark Lawrence

“The Double-Edged Sword is a slice of pure golden-age sword and sorcery action, packed with rogues, betrayals and dubious morals.” – Jen Williams

“Action, deception, a daring heist and lots of twists and turns. Excellent world building and intriguing characters. I really enjoyed it!” – Gail Z. Martin

The Lion of Cairo

The Lion of Cairo
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The Assassin paid no heed to his quarry’s death throes. His attention remained fixed on the long blade in his fist, on its pommel of yellowed ivory carved in the shape of a djinni’s snarling visage. “I am al-Hashishiyya,” he said to the glittering-eyed devil. “I am Death incarnate.”

So am I, the devil replied . . .

On the banks of the ageless Nile, from a palace of gold and lapis lazuli, the young Caliph Rashid al-Hasan rules as a figurehead over a crumbling empire. Cairo is awash in deception. In the shadow of the Gray Mosque, generals and emirs jockey for position under the scheming eyes of the powerful grand vizier.

In the crowded souks and narrow alleys, warring factions employ murder and terror to silence their opponents. Egypt bleeds. And the scent draws her enemies in like sharks: the swaggering Kurd, Shirkuh, who serves the pious Sultan of Damascus and Amalric, the Christian king of Jerusalem whose greed is insatiable and whose knights are hungry for battle.

And yet, all is not lost. There is an old man who lives on a remote mountainside in a distant land. He holds the power of life and death over the warring factions of the Muslim world – and decides to come to the Caliph’s aid. He sends his greatest weapon into Egypt. He sends a single man. An Assassin. The one they call the Emir of the Knife….

In this lighting-paced epic, bestselling author Scott Oden masterfully blends history and adventure in the style of Robert E. Howard. Bringing medieval Cario, the true jewel of the Arabian Nights, to exhilarating life, full of intrigue and thunderous battle, Oden resurrects one of the Ancient World’s most beautiful and beguiling countries.

The Big Sheep: A Novel

The Big Sheep: A Novel
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Los Angeles of 2039 is a baffling and bifurcated place. After the Collapse of 2028, a vast section of LA, the Disincorporated Zone, was disowned by the civil authorities, and became essentially a third world country within the borders of the city. Navigating the boundaries between DZ and LA proper is a tricky task, and there’s no one better suited than eccentric private investigator Erasmus Keane.

When a valuable genetically altered sheep mysteriously goes missing from Esper Corporation’s labs, Keane is the one they call.

But while the erratic Keane and his more grounded partner, Blake Fowler, are on the trail of the lost sheep, they land an even bigger case. Beautiful television star Priya Mistry suspects that someone is trying to kill her – and she wants Keane to find out who. When Priya vanishes and then reappears with no memory of having hired them, Keane and Fowler realize something very strange is going on.

As they unravel the threads of the mystery, it soon becomes clear that the two cases are connected – and both point to a sinister conspiracy involving the most powerful people in the city. Saving Priya and the sheep will take all of Keane’s wits and Fowler’s skills, but in the end, they may discover that some secrets are better left hidden.

Kroese’s The Big Sheep is perfect for fans of Philip Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Terry Pratchett’s Guards! Guards!, and Scalzi’s Old Man’s War.

Servant of the Jackal God: The Tales of Kamose, Archpriest of Anubis

Servant of the Jackal God: The Tales of Kamose, Archpriest of Anubis
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Night-Black Sorcery and the Wrath of Malevolent Gods

More than any writer since Robert E. Howard, Keith Taylor has a unique ability to evoke sheer terror amid the remote and haunted reaches of the ancient world. His tales of Kamose, archpriest of Anubis, the Egyptian god of death have been among the most popular features of the modern Weird Tales magazine.

Kamose… awesomely powerful, yet scarred, cursed, and nearly driven mad by forces even he cannot control for long…. Here are eleven of his supernatural adventures, two of them published for the first time.

“…convincing and authentic, revealing a deep knowledge of the history and cultures of the period.” —The Encyclopedia of Fantasy

Keith Taylor’s fiction won two Ditmar Awards, and was nominated for four more, as well as for two Aurealis Awards.

Cyrion

Cyrion
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Now for the first time in e-book, a collection of Tanith Lee’s short stories and novella about the fantastical adventures of Cyrion, a hero larger than life.

Roilant needs a hero—fast. He’s trapped, betrothed to his cousin Eliset in an agreement made to help the destitute branches of their family line. But rumor has it that Eliset is a witch, a villainess behind the deaths of many in his family, and if Roilant weds her, he’ll meet the same fate.

Roilant didn’t put much stock in the rumors—until, that is, he tried to call off the betrothal. Since then, he’s been plagued by a series of nightmares demanding he return to Eliset’s side by the end of the month.

If he goes to her, he’ll surely be murdered for his fortune, but if he stays, he fears his cousin will kill him and his beloved, the woman he loves. Convinced only one man alive can help him, Roilant stumbles into the Honey Garden inn looking for a legend—a man named Cyrion.

All anyone seems to have are stories, but everyone’s heard tell of the mighty Cyrion. They say that he looks like an angel, with hair like the sky of earnest sunrise.

That he’s an adventurer, a vanquisher of evil and a defender of man. That he’s a fearless swordsman, a master of disguise, and a genius detective. Some say he’s defeated demons and outwitted wizards. That he’s solved impossible mysteries and survived inescapable death. But is he for real? And—more importantly—is he for hire?

Companions on the Road

Companions on the Road
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Now available in a redesigned edition, these classic fantasy novellas from master fantasist Lee relay the tales of brave adventurers whose lives are forever changed by the strange relics they encounter.

The Chalice:

Kachil the brigand, Feluce the rogue, and Havor the gallant–a night of blood and blood-red flames unites them in a grim siege, fabulous theft, and a journey fraught with peril. For their prize is the jeweled and golden cup of Avilllis, and their road will not end until the Force of Darkness destroys them…or yields to a far greater Power.

The Ring, The Jewel, The Bone:

These are the Relics. The Mysteries of the Shrine, known only to the priestess. Only to Oaive. Yet he knows of them–the wolflike stranger from beyond the mists. And when he profanes them, there begins a game of cold sorceries and burning shadows to be played through all eternity…one way or another.

Hunter’s Run

Hunter's Run
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Running from poverty and hopelessness, Ramón Espejo boarded one of the great starships of the mysterious, repulsive Enye. But the new life he found on the far-off planet of São Paulo was no better than the one he abandoned. Then one night his rage and too much alcohol get the better of him. Deadly violence ensues, forcing Ramón to flee into the wilderness.

Mercifully, almost happily alone—far from the loud, bustling hive of humanity that he detests with sociopathic fervor—the luckless prospector is finally free to search for the one rich strike that could make him wealthy.

But what he stumbles upon instead is an advanced alien race in hiding: desperate fugitives, like him, on a world not their own. Suddenly in possession of a powerful, dangerous secret and caught up in an extraordinary manhunt on a hostile, unpredictable planet, Ramón must first escape . . . and then, somehow, survive.

And his deadliest enemy is himself.

Strength of Stones

Strength of Stones
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Artificially intelligent cities rise up against humanity in this “excellent novel. It came on me as a surprise, and it knocked me out!” (Harlan Ellison).

In a theocratic world far into the future, cities control their own movements and organization. Constantly moving, growing and decaying, taking care of every need their inhabitants might think of, the cities have decided that humans are no longer a necessary part of their architecture, casting them out to wander in the wilderness and eke out a meager subsistence.

To the exiled humans, the cities represent a paradisiacal Eden, a reminder of all they cannot attain due to their sinful and unworthy natures. But things are beginning to change. People are no longer willing to allow the cities to keep them out, choosing instead to force an entry and plunder at will.

The cities are starting to crumble and die because they have no purpose or reason to continue living without citizens. One woman, called mad by some and wise by others, is the only human allowed to inhabit a city. From her lonely and precarious position at the heart of one of the greatest cities ever, she must decide the fate of the relationship between human society and the ancient strongholds of knowledge, while making one last desperate attempt to save the living cities.

Fabius Bile: The Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000)

Fabius Bile: The Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000)
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A Fabius Bile Omnibus

Originally chief Apothecary of the Emperor’s Children, Fabius Bile now believes himself to be a near-divine creator, an artist whose tapestry is the very flesh and blood of his brothers.

READ IT BECAUSE

This omnibus contains three novels and three short stories that tell the twisted tale of Fabius Bile and his endless pursuit of perfection.

THE STORY

Fabius Bile is known by many names: Primogenitor, Clonelord, Manflayer. Once a loyal son of the Emperor’s Children, now he loathes and is loathed by his brothers. Feared by man and monster, Fabius possesses a knowledge of genetic manipulation second to none, and the will to use it to twist flesh and sculpt nightmares.

Now a traitor amongst traitors, Fabius pursues his dark craft across the galaxy, from the Eye of Terror to the tomb world of Solemnace to the Dark City of Commorragh itself, leaving a trail of monstrous abominations in his wake.