Showing results by author "V.V.A.A." in All Categories

Three stars, three worlds, three civilizations...one massive war. In a triple star system, not all planets are equal. When the Demon Star swings closest in her orbit, the Insectoids always invade. They raid the inner worlds with grim regularity, riding hordes of stealth ships in ever-growing waves. Their mission is to destroy all opposition - alien, human or otherwise. Cody Riggs, lost among an endless chain of interstellar rings, flies his task force of starships into the middle of an eternal struggle for survival.

Lilly may be losing a husband, but she's gaining a toy poodle. That could be seen as a win-win, since her new adopted pooch, Aggie (named after Agatha Christie), is cute and adorable and Lilly's dirty dog of a spouse is cheating on her with a blonde bimbo - except for one problem: Albert Echosby's just been murdered, and Lilly is the number-one suspect.

In the face of a president who lobs accusations without facts, evidence, or logic, truth tellers are under attack. Meanwhile, the world order is teetering on the brink. North Korea is on the verge of having a nuclear weapon that could reach all of the United States, Russians have mastered a new form of information warfare that undercuts democracy, and the role of China in the global community remains unclear.

When humanity reaches for the stars, our probes are destroyed. They crash into an incredibly advanced piece of technology: a massive force-field. Unknown beings have placed a barrier around our star and planets, enclosing us within. We’re locked inside a Great Sphere. Was this invisible obstacle built to imprison us - or to protect us? No one knows the truth, but it soon becomes clear the barrier has leaks. Aliens infiltrate and try to sabotage our efforts to escape our cage.

Truth Evaders is a concise primer and guide to the biggest human secret - known by a self-selecting few, but kept from the rest of us. How and why? On 26th of July 2023, three experienced retired senior military officers testified to members of US congress - their revelations at this tipping point event shattered the lies that have been told to us.

The humans have no magic and are hunted for sport, but that is about to change. War is coming.... The Sun Dragon spawned nine lesser dragons which devoured their parent for the power the elder possessed. These young dragons fought for choice bits of the Sun Dragon, but each only managed to eat a portion, thus giving them specific powers. Over time, these foul dragons were hunted down and slain by heroes of old.

When a huge alien spacecraft crashes on the island of Cuba, the world scrambles to investigate. Secretive organizations have waited for generations for this opportunity, and they do not hesitate to send in recovery teams. Cooperation between nations breaks down as every government wants the newly discovered technology for themselves. Naturally, the Cubans have beaten everyone else, and the island is beginning to change. Aircraft flying reconnaissance are swatted from the skies.

Caroline Bryer is the daughter of a very conservative TSA agent and former military brat, Morgan Bryer. Her mother, Linsey Bryer, is a descendent of the Sutherland real estate family. Their organized, suburban life in Colonie, New York is rigorously regulated and leaves little room for deviation from the norm. When Linsey, Morgan, and Caroline attend the wake of their neighbor Mr. Gleeson, they meet his charming daughter Natalie “Nattie” Gleeson, who works for the American ambassador to France. Linsey and Nattie strike up a fast friendship.

Daily Strength, a year-long devotional, walks Christian men through Scripture passages that speak to their most pressing issues. Featuring content from the ESV Men's Devotional Bible, each daily devotion features a short summary of a Bible passage with a thought-provoking message from from one of more than forty contributors. Arranged canonically from Genesis to Revelation with short introductions to each Bible book, Daily Strength encourages and enlightens men throughout the year while equipping them for moral and spiritual transformation.

Once, there was magic in London, but when a monster made of hunger came to devour it all, the Uncanny were forced to abandon their home. And so they fled to Other London, a secret city adjacent to their own, and there they hid, barricaded and isolated from the rest of the world. For 200 years, the people of Other London have cowered behind closed doors. No one can get in, and no one can get out. Until, one day, the impossible happens: Someone from outside finds their way into the hidden city.

Humanity thought the war with demonkind was over. Now, after less than a generation to rebuild, the demon corelings have returned with a vengeance. The Spear of Ala–the fortress that stands at the gates of the demon’s hive–is the last bastion against the horde, and reports say it may already have fallen. Olive Paper is expected to take the vanguard in the fight. Only an heir of Kaji can wield the artifact that opens the gates of the Spear of Ala, and as Ahmann Jardir’s child, Olive seems destined for a role as leader and savior.

If you ever thought the life of a hairdresser was tranquil, then think again. This is no ordinary hairdresser. Viv Fraser, PhD, and stylist to the Edinburgh establishment, has a double life as an investigative journalist and finds herself involved in some hair-raising, not to mention explosive scenes, as she trawls the seamier side of her city.

It's a crisp spring morning when Cass drops her husband, a respected lecturer, to the beach for his medically prescribed swim. While waiting for him, something catches her eye. A young woman runs towards her husband and embraces him—until he holds his hand over her face and she falls down on the stones, dead. In the backseat of the car, their seven-year-old son sits quietly. When her husband returns, he says nothing. Neither does Cass. Afraid to speak up in the immediate aftermath, Cass embarks on a solitary quest to unravel what has taken place.

Mankind has ceded the night to the corelings, demons that rise up out of the ground each day at dusk, killing and destroying at will until dawn, when the sun banishes them back to the Core. As darkness falls, the world’s few surviving humans hide behind magical wards, praying the magic can see them through another night. As years pass, the distances between each tiny village seem longer and longer. It seems nothing can harm the corelings, or bring humanity back together.

As Reeves shows, the growing separation between the upper middle class and everyone else can be seen in family structure, neighborhoods, attitudes, and lifestyle. Those at the top of the income ladder are becoming more effective at passing on their status to their children, reducing overall social mobility. The result is not just an economic divide but a fracturing of American society along class lines. Upper-middle-class children become upper-middle-class adults.

Audrina remembers a better time, when her husband, Arden, was a young man with a heart filled with devotion for her. He didn't used to be this ambitious, this expansive...this cruel. But then, the death of Aurdina's father changed a great many things. When the reading of her father's will reveals that Audrina herself will control 51 percent of the family brokerage, the halls of Whitefern again don't feel safe. Arden's protestations become frantic, nearly violent.

"It's suicide, Shyla. You're the prize they want". Through her courage and tenacity, Shyla Sun-Kissed has awoken the power of The Eyes of Tamburah. But this feat only marks the beginning of the challenges that the magical order, the Invisible Sword, faces to free the underground city of Zirdai. Though they have allies among the monks and splinter cells inside the city, Shyla knows the Invisible Sword doesn't have the strength to win. With the group fracturing due to the strain of losses from their latest ordeal, it's up to Shyla to forge a new united order.

Set against the epic backdrop of a world at war with myths and legends brought to life, Mythborn 2 continues the sweeping saga of Arek Winterthorn, wayward apprentice of the eldritch Way as he struggles to survive in the demon realm of Arcadia. Accompanied by Prince Niall Galadine, he searches for his father, unaware he is the prize in a war between Highlord Valarius Galadine’s warforged elves and Lady Lilyth’s demonic Furies. One seeks to possess him, the other to use him as a weapon as something dark and sinister within him grows, something called - blackfire.

Since losing both her mother and the man she loved two years ago, all she wants is stability and peace. But her world is forever changed when her family is attacked on a journey away from home, and she must travel to the Aataran mountain range to find them. Across the realm, four ancient beings who control the elements of nature are awakening. They are being summoned to prevent a force that is greedy for power and threatening to overturn the balance of nature. When Isla's path crosses with one of these elementals, she finds her fate is more entangled with theirs than she had ever imagined.

Shyla is a researcher who resides in the underground desert city of Zirdai, which is ruled by the wealthy Water Prince and brutal Heliacal Priestess. Even though Shyla is sun-kissed - an outcast, considered cursed by the Sun Goddess - she is still renowned for uncovering innumerable archaic facts, lost artefacts, ancient maps, and obscure historical documents.