A fate-reading dancer struggles to make her most important vision come true. Everyone in Dzune had always assumed Tay could tell fortunes, that her milky eyes let her see what others couldn't. Villagers brought gifts in exchange for her wisdom and treated it as the ironclad word of the Sun Father. There was only one problem: Tay couldn't actually see the future. Not at all initially, and only a little after her awakening. She'd had a true vision once, though, an image of her—armed and angry—safeguarding a strange man on a green hill. And now that man had come to Dzune. Please note: - The Battle Dancer won an Honorable Mention from the Writers of the Future Contest in 2014. - This novella doesn’t fully resolve on its own—it’s meant as a lead-in to The Red Wraith.
A rabble-rouser with burn scars marring his neck and face. A runaway slave who limps and mutters to himself. Another exile, this one riddled with pockmarks and accompanied by a dirty seagull. A dowser who braids her hair in elaborate patterns threaded with blue flowers. What do these outcasts—these reluctant witches and warlocks and shamans—have in common? They're about to find out. And the truth will cause them to love, fight, and kill each other. Please note: - An earlier version of this novella won an Honorable Mention from the Writers of the Future Contest in 2015. - The current iteration doesn't fully resolve on its own—it's meant as a lead-in to The Red Wraith (a full-length novel set in an alternate Early America).
A fate-reading dancer struggles to make her most important vision come true; four outcast shamans are summoned to a green pyramid. Before Saint's Summit contains two novellas: The Battle Dancer and an extended edition of The Ascenders. An earlier version of each won an honorable mention from the Writers of the Future contest. Please note: Neither novella fully resolves on its own—they're meant as lead-ins to The Red Wraith, a historical fantasy set in a magical version of Early America.
Magic awakens in Early America. The Red Wraith is born.Cast into exile by his tribe for being spawn of human and spirit, Naysin is lost in a world of change as pale men from the sea arrive to plunder the riches of the New World. Guided only by the devious facets of his spirit father, Naysin has no choice but to master his powers to survive the destruction of his people. But the nature of those talents is both light and dark.And so the legend of the Red Wraith begins.On the island of Bimshire, Naysin inspires a slave rebellion before abandoning it; near his former home, he marches European settlers to their deaths; and in the forests of Edgeland, he ends a battle by massacring both sides. Such acts cause much of the New World to see him as an indigenous monster who delights in butchering white innocents. The infamy is well-earned, but when Naysin encounters a group of fellow magic-users, he realizes he may yet have a chance to set things right.He just has to conquer the only thing that ensures his survival: the dual facets of his father.
The intrepid spies, pilots, and sharpshooters of Wraith Squadron are back in an all-new Star Wars adventure, which transpires just after the events of the Fate of the Jedi series! Wraith Squadron: The elite X-wing unit of rogues and misfits who became legends of the Rebellion, specializing in carrying out the most dangerous and daring operations before breaking up and going their separate ways. Now, three decades later, their singular skills are back in demand for a tailor-made Wraith Squadron mission. A powerful general in the Galactic Alliance Army, once renowned for his valor, is suspected of participating in a conspiracy that nearly succeeded in toppling the Alliance back into the merciless hands of the Empire. With orders to expose and apprehend the traitor—and license to do so by any and all means—the Wraiths will become thieves, pirates, impostors, forgers . . . and targets, as they put their guts, their guns, and their riskiest game plan to the test! “A rare entry point for newbies to the Star Wars expanded universe.”—Kirkus Reviews
Charles wasn't ready for this. He knew working at a group home for mentally handicapped residents--many of whom have additional diagnoses like Down syndrome, Tourette's, and paranoid schizophrenia--would be hard. The hours would be long, the pay would be low, the food would suck. But he had no idea how much he'd like it. Or how much he'd grow up while he worked there.
For the first time in one thrilling volume, three novels–Labyrinth of Evil, Revenge of the Sith, and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader–that follow an epic chain of events: the last days of the Republic, the creation of the Empire, and the ultimate transformation of Jedi Anakin Skywalker into the notorious Darth Vader. On the planet Neimoidia, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker seize an unexpected prize: intelligence capable of leading the Republic forces to the ever-elusive Darth Sidious, who is ruthlessly orchestrating a campaign to divide and overwhelm the Jedi forces. As combat escalates across the galaxy, and Darth Sidious remains one step ahead of his pursuers, the stage is set for an explosive endgame. Tormented by unspeakable visions, Anakin edges closer to the brink of a galaxy-shaping decision, while Darth Sidious plots to strike the final staggering blow against the Republic–and to ordain a fearsome new Sith Lord: Darth Vader. Once the most powerful Knight ever known to the Jedi Order, Anakin becomes Darth Vader, a disciple of the dark side, a lord of the dreaded Sith, and the avenging right hand of the galaxy’s ruthless new Emperor. As a few surviving Jedi lead a charge on a Separatist stronghold, the deadliest threat still rests in the swift and lethal crimson lightsaber of Darth Vader–behind whose brooding mask lies a shattered heart, a poisoned soul, and a cunning, twisted mind hell-bent on vengeance. For the handful of scattered Jedi hunted across space, survival is imperative if the light side of the Force is to be protected and the galaxy reclaimed. LABYRINTH OF EVIL by James Luceno REVENGE OF THE SITH by Matthew Stover, based on the story and screenplay by George Lucas DARK LORD The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
A #1 New York Times Bestseller! “A riveting Game of Thrones meets Arabian Nights love story.” - US Weekly Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend. She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.
Myths never die.They cough away into obscurity, and settle into the comfortable spot just beyond our vision. You would never believe the little girl with the too-big smile is the queen of vampires, no, no. Nor would you believe that the two semi-homeless women who list around New York in time with the tide are the remains of the two great monsters, out for revenge. You certainly wouldn't believe the master detective spent his final days in a cramped, black-ops prison. No, you wouldn't believe a word of it.Featuring all new stories by Ro McNulty, James Bojaciuk, Gabrielle Friesen, and Pedro Iniguez, as well as a glimmerglass flash by Nick Wisseman and a selection of classic myths and stories which inspired the present authors."Ruin: The Rise of the House of Karnstein" by Ro McNulty"The Mirror" by Hannah Lackoff"Hobo in the White City" by Nick Wisseman"Imprisoned, Half-Dead: A Syllogism" by James Bojaciuk"Painted Hounds" by Gabrielle Friesen "Shaytan, The Whisperer" by Pedro Iniguez