Still pursuing the renegade Marshal Dharma Kold across the Sands before he can recover the Third Orb, Clint and Edward come upon the small town of San Mateo Flats, lawless and crushed under the boot heel of Independence Lee. Tempted to leave the town to its own devices and pursue their more urgent mission, the pair decide to stay after realizing the Bandit and his Murder may have more to do with the Realm than they ever thought possible…
On their way to intercept Dharma Kold before he finds the deadly third Orb — and to finally free the captive Mai — Clint and Edward come across a botched Realm operation, where a shotgun-wielding bandit leads his gang to rob an exposed magic vein. Assisting the authorities who exiled him isn’t something that Clint is eager to do, but that changes when he learns that helping to escort the bandit to justice might finally mean finding an open doorway back to The Realm…
From the bestselling authors of the Invasion and Yesterday's Gone series comes The Beam, a disturbing philosophical exploration of the future of our hyperconnected world. This chilling, intricately-plotted series is set in a futuristic dystopia where politics and technology have widened the gap between haves and have-nots. All of humanity is connected ... to The Beam and to the lie. In the year 2097, the only stable nation is the NAU: a dystopia exploding with new technologies and ruled by two political parties. The choices are Enterprise (sink-or-swim; effort and luck determine whether members prosper or starve) or Directorate, where members are guaranteed safety but can never rise above their station. Above it all is The Beam: an AI-built computer network that serves every whim and connects citizens through implants and biological add-ons. The Beam anticipates every need and has created a world within the world. It permeates everything. And is everywhere. But the NAU's power is shifting. New powers are making their moves while others hang in the balance. Behind it all, a shadowy group is pulling strings, and guiding the upcoming election exactly where they want it to go. The Beam is coming alive; immersion is as real as reality. If the NAU's power goes unchecked, the actions of a shadowy few will shape the fate of millions forever. ★★★★★ "This series is one of the best from these authors, which is saying a lot because Sean Platt/Johnny B. Truant/David Wright (any combination of the three) are by far my favorite authors. The Beam is an extremely complex world with complex characters." -- Matt Browner ★★★★★ "I'd have to say this series has them all beat because all the technologies (or magic, if you will) in this series are better developed, the characters are more involved, and the story lines are better woven. And I'm not talking about twists and turns in the plot that require suspending disbelief (yeah right), or leave you confused as to what happened. It's pretty amazing and thought-provoking." -- Burton Kent
This 250,000-word "full saga" collection includes ALL NINE BOOKS in the Unicorn Western Series! Cast out from the magical kingdom of The Realm and into the dying desert of the Sands beyond, Marshal Clint Gulliver and his unicorn Edward have finally found peace in the small and dusty town of Solace. But when both the fracturing worlds and Clint’s bride-to-be are thrust into peril by an old foe, the gunslinger must come out of retirement and aim his seven-shooters at the dark magic and those who bring it. An epic quest hurls marshal and unicorn across the endless desert in pursuit of the dark rider Dharma Kold and his unicorn of a different color, where they must battle their way back toward The Realm to uncover the truth...and mayhap save the worlds that hang in the balance. From the creators of Yesterday’s Gone (Platt) and Fat Vampire (Truant) comes this reinvention of both the western genre and unicorn lore. Written for children and teens — but complex and awesome enough for adult readers — Unicorn Western is “Harry Potter without wizards but with gunslings, talking unicorns, epic fights, and more turkey pie.”
An amateur sleuth with psychic abilities is drawn into a missing person mystery that puts her and her best friend on the trail of a murderer. When Harrie McKinsey is dragged to a ham radio course by her best friend Ginger Vaughn, they discover some pretty strange occurrences in the world of amateur radio. Like the operator who made contact with another enthusiast, despite the fact that he was reported dead five years earlier. Harrie and Ginger’s hunt for the missing caller turns into a murder investigation and a major confrontation with a Mafia don. Good thing the ladies have the FBI, the Albuquerque police, and a team of private detectives for back up, because it looks like another murder is about to take place, unless Harrie and Ginger can crack this case first. “Leave it to the redoubtable Harrie, her sidekick Ginger, and a gang of faithful friends to uncover the truth.” —Robert D. Kidera, Hillerman Prize–winning author of the Gabe McKenna mystery series “Murder on Frequency is the murder mystery equivalent of a New Mexico sandstorm. Fast paced. Whirling. Making you question what’s right before your eyes. And irresistible. . . . A great read.” —J. Michael Orenduff, author of the award-winning Pot Thief murder mysteries
What the New Order Seeks, Reginald Must Find... The new vampire president and his psychotic right-hand man have been playing a dangerous game with the humans over the past six months. In the public eye, the two races appear to be at peace ... but the situation below the surface is hot enough to boil. And while the untrusting humans mass their defenses, vampire armies have been building to match them — with plans to exterminate the planet's current inhabitants, saving only a handful of blood slaves. Reginald, Nikki, Maurice, and the others bunkered in at Maurice's estate find themselves in the middle of a no-win scenario: Is it better to fight with their own kind in the vampire revolution? Or should they turn traitors — and risk extermination by the angels — in order to protect the humans? But just as the cold war outside is about to turn hot, Reginald's ever-expanding vampire brain reveals the existence of an artifact that could predict the outcome of the coming war … and maybe even a way to stop it. The only problem is that nobody knows where the artifact is, and when war then breaks and mass slaughter begins on both sides, it seems that time may have run out. Fat Vampire 5 is the biggest, bloodiest, most snack-filled installment in the Fat Vampire series so far, and sets the stage for the sixth book's epic series-ender — a conclusion so big it’ll shake the human world’s foundations.
When both the fracturing worlds and Clint’s bride-to-be are thrust into peril by an old foe, the gunslinger must come out of retirement and aim his seven-shooters at the dark magic and those who bring it. An epic quest hurls marshal and unicorn across the endless desert in pursuit of the dark rider Dharma Kold and his unicorn of a different color, where they must battle their way back toward The Realm to uncover the truth…and mayhap save the worlds that hang in the balance.
Gunslinger Clint Gulliver has been pursuing the dark rider Dharma Kold for over two years, always following but never able to close the distance enough to rescue Mai — the woman that Kold stole from Clint as he left the town of Solace. But now, Clint’s hand is forced when his own unicorn companion, Edward, makes a disturbing discovery about the torture to which Clint’s almost-bride is being subjected by Kold’s unicorn of a different color. Clint and Edward must overtake Kold and put an end to his blasphemy and his quest to reach The Realm before he reaches the Edge — a shifting, disintegrating zone of leaking magic and delirium at the very limit of the world. But before they can approach, they encounter a new, twisted foe that commands an unspeakable and ancient form of dark magic spewed from the world’s very core…
The world is holding its breath... Robots everywhere are beginning to organize, drawn toward the mysterious voice speaking to them on the burgeoning robot network. Elsewhere, robot armies are growing and proving to be a threat—not just to the individual humans they encounter, but to infrastructure and the human forces that stand against them. The board of Radius Corporation has decided to initiate a hard reset to put the world back onto its old course, overriding the wills and desires of even President Zelda Blake. And at the center of it all are Jonas Lexington and his household staff: Cromwell and Mars, who are struggling to grasp the nature of the beast they may have unleashed; Chantal, whose message to her fellow sexbots is spreading through the network; Flavius, who is gathering a small but ferocious army to possess and control; and Barney, who must choose whether or not to become the villain the world already thinks he is. As lines are drawn and an all-out war looks increasingly inevitable, it's time for everyone to decide which side they are really on. ★★★★★ "The robot/human saga continues, and though some questions are answered, others arise and it’s even harder to identify who are the good guys and who are the bad ... excellent writing." -- M E Pulliam ★★★★★ "Read this series! The robots are real, the people are confused, and the action is awesome. Can't wait for the next episode!" -- Daniel Drooger ★★★★★ "I love robot stories and this series is the best I've read! It's taken forever for the authors to get this far, but the wait has been worth it!" -- Grandpa luvs vampires
Revenge is a dish best served cold. Twelve people bound by a secret arrive for an exclusive dinner only to find that the other guests are familiar in the most troubling of ways. Ella Boyer isn’t looking forward to attending the Bayshore alumni dinner with her husband, Noah. There aren’t enough pills in the world to numb her fears of seeing her classmates again … especially after what she did all those years ago. Her sorority sister Heidi Blanchard, equally guilty, will be at the same exclusive restaurant that night. In the aftermath of their secret shame, Heidi’s turned lying into a sport and has lost her compass for truth. She’s there for a job … or so she thinks. Bindi Bridges, former guidance counselor at Bayshore, has no idea about the alumni dinner or Heidi’s job offer. She’s at Crave to learn who her husband’s been sleeping with, tipped by an unknown source. Mason Pace is there to meet a headhunter. His life is about to turn around — a relief, after the horror that happened eleven years ago. Seven others -- each seeking their own redemption and hiding their own sordid sins -- are just as ignorant of the sinister purpose behind this elegant event. Their host? A Hollywood star with glamour to spare and all the money in the world to spend on that most useful of hobbies: revenge and the extraction of secrets. The only guest not in attendance is the one who deserves to be there most: Casey Davis. What happened to Casey? And who’s to blame? Pretty Killer is Agatha Christie for the modern age. It’s Truant & King at their duplicitous best, weaving a tale with more layers than stratified ground in which a murderer digs a stone cold grave … proving that revenge isn’t always best when it’s cold — and sizzles when it’s piping hot.
