Three-hundred years after the fall of Loda Durak, a new evil has risen to test the might and authority of Gruff. A warlock empowered by shadow and darkness has come to usher in a new era on Atoria. Through dark magic, demonic soldiers, and the lost technology of an ancient civilization, Lord Shima forces change and terror on Gruff's planet. With the powerful aid of his three sons and the awesome might of a life-altering stranger, Gruff must once again stand against a fearsome adversary. As Gruff races against time and space to save his world, he must also hold together his band of young and impulsive soldiers who are much too eager to prove their worth. Armed with razor-sharp steel, unimaginable armor, and mind-blowing strength, Gruff and his impetuous men slay demons and beasts on their path to Lord Shima's cancerous kingdom of Atlantis.
In 2795, the citizens of Earth stand at the edge of a hopeful crossroad. For the first time in centuries, humanity appears to be entering a new golden age of peace, progress and technological rebirth. But the new Renaissance comes at a tremendous cost; it took a lingering period of global strife, seas of spilled blood and acts of senseless decimation to wedge the splintered race together. Two hundred years prior, history’s deadliest war came to a crashing halt after hydrogen mining operations prematurely forced the sun into its final state. The world’s five major powers disarmed and bonded in a unified attempt to forge a superstructure that would allow future generations to eventually leave Earth and survive the wrath of the growing star. A young man named Vikaré Raymond, scarred at birth by a life-saving titanium shunt inserted deep in his brain, uses his intelligence to support the superstructure project. Struggling with a damaged limbic system that strips him of emotions, Vikaré takes solace in throwing himself into his analytical work. Despite a strained relationship with his parents and aunt, who are members of a terroristic underground cult hell-bent on delivering humanity to the sun as payment for their ancestors’ sins, Vikaré manages to find a sort of mundane tranquility in his stark surroundings. When an extraterrestrial vessel unexpectedly lands in the Panama Canal to investigate the celestial turbulence two centuries prior, he learns that the shrapnel wedged deep in his brain is the key to deciphering the adaptive encryption of the beings’ language. As the only human capable of interpreting their vocalizations, Vikaré feels the weight of mankind’s future bearing down on his already damaged mind. The turn of events forces him to make a life-altering choice: either rise to his place as his parents’ son, or eschew his blood-bound duties to fight the growing threat from the dying sun. Adding further fuel to the chaos, Vikaré must also counter the deadly whims of the pervasive shadow cult, whose leaders interpret the recent chain of events as the imminent prophetic arrival of their new leader: a maniacal celestial goddess who will soon be reborn in a nearly unstoppable digital form. Vikaré’s decisions trap the entire Raymond clan in a global web of twisting motivations, shifting alliances, revelations of long-held grudges and bold power plays to survive and thrive in their toxic, doomed world. Will Vikaré abandon his parents–and the shadowy enviro-terrorism organization they support–to beseech the aliens to help spare humanity? Can the residents of Earth rally long enough to finish the superstructure? Which is ultimately more powerful: destruction, or conservation? Combining family drama and a tale of introspective self-discovery with neurological, linguistic, religious and space themes, Rising Son is a complex fictional story that weaves many journeys and paths together to create an engrossing tale. Its edgy, gritty perspective and occasionally mature subject matter appeals to adult and very late-teen readers alike. The story is inspired by epic fantasies and space operas but forgoes conventional plot devices, creating a fresh and unexpected read that requires readers to think about their own place in the wide, dark universe.
The remarkable World War II biography of a Japanese American who served in a top-secret team tasked with subduing Japanese Imperial soldiers during the Pacific War Masao Abe was a second-generation Japanese American who was swept up in the momentum of history during World War II. Born in southern California but educated as a teenager in Japan during the 1930s, he returned to the US and was drafted into the US Army. As he completed basic training, the attack on Pearl Harbor put his military career in limbo because the US government didn't know what to do with him or how to think about him. Was he an enemy or a patriot? Masao was eventually recruited to join the secretive Military Intelligence Service: he was trained to accompany American soldiers as they fought their way across the islands in the Pacific. His assignment was to convince Japanese Imperial soldiers to lay down their arms, and to read captured documents looking for enemy strategies. He went to war with a bodyguard because his commanders knew he wore a target on his front and his back. This little-known slice of history reveals how the confluence of race, war, and loyalty played out when the nation called for the service of those it judged most harshly.
From Geneva, Tokyo, Hong Kong to New York, Munich and Singapore, the ultra rich and powerful come together to participate in one of the biggest hidden scams of the late eighties! Victor Peters had a simple plan: how to make a quick buck, but little did he know that from a figment of his imagination that might never have seen the light of day, his brain child was going to blossom and change the lives of untold and unsuspecting millions of people in the land of the Rising Sun, Europe and the US! People of all race, creed and Social levels, unite! Its your only chance against a ruthless International Conspiracy whose members are participating in the new International pass time: quick in, quick out, minimum exposure, maximum rewards! Collateral damage? Costs? Human Lives? WHO CARES! This is a story of greed, politics, money and its absolute power. This is a story of how absolute power corrupts and how living without it is nefarious for your health! Welcome to the World of shady Swiss banking, international intrigue, wheeling and dealing at the highest level with profit as the only aim! Or is it?
Across the globe in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team of scientists are preparing to test the deadliest weapon known to mankind. In Washington, DC, FDR dies in office and Harry Truman ascends to the presidency, only to face the most important political decision in history: whether to use that weapon. And in Tokyo, Emperor Hirohito, who is considered a deity by his subjects, refuses to surrender, despite a massive and mounting death toll. Told in the same page-turning style of Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, and Killing Reagan, this epic saga details the final moments of World War II like never before.
Embrace the Rising Sun: Essential Leadership During a Pandemic By: Michael R. Peterson Each day, a rising sun brings opportunities to craft a great day and new memories, even during a pandemic. This book is a collection of daily short stories written during the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as Michael R. Peterson’s way of recognizing his company’s employees quickly evolved into a means of seeing the world differently. Some stories are serious, some are tear-jerkers, and some are funny. All are meant to inspire transformation and serve as a reminder that each new day is another step in the journey. Enjoy the stories, but live the message.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere comes this riveting thriller of corporate intrigue and cutthroat competition between American and Japanese business interests. “As well built a thrill machine as a suspense novel can be.”—The New York Times Book Review On the forty-fifth floor of the Nakamoto tower in downtown Los Angeles—the new American headquarters of the immense Japanese conglomerate—a grand opening celebration is in full swing. On the forty-sixth floor, in an empty conference room, the corpse of a beautiful young woman is discovered. The investigation immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue, a no-holds-barred conflict in which control of a vital American technology is the fiercely coveted prize—and in which the Japanese saying “Business is war” takes on a terrifying reality. “A grand maze of plot twists . . . Crichton’s gift for spinning a timely yarn is going to be enough, once again, to serve a current tenant of the bestseller list with an eviction notice.”—New York Daily News “The action in Rising Sun unfolds at a breathless pace.”—Business Week
A warmer sun fills the sky as the great Ice Age is ending and a new and savage epoch descends upon the land. Warakan, son of war chiefs and spirit masters, wanders alone in the primeval forest, searching for the mysterious great white mammoth and the totemic power it can give him. He escaped into the wilderness as a boy and has now become a man, torn between his yearning for peace and companionship--and his desire for blood and vengeance. Under the shadowing wings of a golden eagle he is about to fulfill his destiny.
Laurie McBain's classic bestselling Dominick saga "Now you can see how easily an ill-spoken word can cast doubt on or even destroy the feelings we thought inviolate," Dante warned her. "Never let anyone turn you against me, Rhea. Promise me that." Newly-wed, Lady Rhea Claire and Dante Leighton must return to England, where their reception is anything but warm. Now armed with wealth and power, Dante is a target for the murderous smugglers who despoiled his family home, while Rhea's father, the powerful Duke of Camareigh, vehemently rejects their marriage. The two lovers thought themselves invincible together. But in the riveting conclusion of McBain's epic trilogy, Dante's determination to reclaim his family seat and Rhea's desperation to win over her father threaten to cause an insurmountable rift that could break them apart forever. Praise for Laurie McBain: "Well-crafted and wonderfully romantic."-Romantic Times "Lush and evocative."-Publishers Weekly Dominick Trilogy: Moonstruck Madness Chance the Winds of Fortune Dark Before the Rising Storm
