Showing results by author "A.J Smith" in All Categories

Join the last vestiges of Humanity and their alien allies (the reptilian Thrynn, the insectoid Velox, and the plant-based Elowan) as they attempt to carve out their own territory in a sector of space filled with wondrous opportunity and deadly threats. Brave explorers seek out new worlds to colonize while merchants cruise from starport to starport, their holds laden with exotic goods. Not all in this futuristic setting have noble intent. For every prospector and trader attempting to make a difference, a dozen pirates, smugglers, and mobsters engage in all manner of criminal enterprise.

B is for Beasts, the second audiobook in an epic series of 26 horror anthologies. Within these sections you will find a collection of 13 stories from some of the finest independent writers on the scene today. From oversized bugs to Kaiju, vicious woodland creatures to giant spiders, B is for Beasts contains a range of terrifying stories in which the humans are always the prey.

With how busy our lives can be, the stress of the future, and even the worries we feel whenever we’re just trying to live, it can take a toll on the body. Most of us end up staying up too late and getting up too early. If you’re someone who used to fall asleep hearing the lull of your parent’s words, then this book is for you. Sit back, relax, and hear these wonderful stories, and you’ll see, as you listen to them, how relaxing it can be for you, and how, with a few small stories, they can relax you, so you’re happy and satisfied.

When eight-year-old Maya discovers a shimmering spider web behind her grandmother's old barn, she never expects to meet Celeste—a magical Story Weaver spider who can spin tales that come to life. What begins as a summer adventure to save a secret garden becomes an extraordinary journey that transforms an entire town and eventually connects magical communities around the world. This isn't just a story to read—it's a story to live! With 11 interactive choice points throughout the tale, young readers help decide Maya's path, making each reading experience unique. Will Maya approach the ...

The Hemorrhage Virus tore through America and swept the globe, leaving no country untouched. New Zealand was no exception. Those infected mutated into monsters, monsters that became known as Variants. Seven weeks have passed since Jack and Dee's quiet world shattered. Along with a small band of survivors, they fled to Mayor Island. Determined to help stem the Variant scourge, they volunteer for what remains of the army. Led by Captain Ben Johns, a grizzly retired NZ SAS soldier, they are sent on a dangerous mission to rescue a scientist.

A recent release from a glorified prison system, Jeraldine Adelric wants nothing more than to live as legally as possible so she’s never sent back to Joab. As she buys her ship and works toward being an owner and proprietor, she also finds a potential new love in Arloa, an older woman, an aristocrat, and someone way out of her league. As her crew takes their first job, problems arise. Not only are they ill-prepared for the work, but the virus that rages through their planet hits her crew, and Jerry has to make a choice. Who will she save and who will she kill?

Operation Redemption, the final desperate mission in taking back the planet from the Organics has failed. Captain Rick Noble and his soldiers have been captured and imprisoned on an alien ship. But not all is lost. Their sacrifice allowed Doctor Sophie Winston, Doctor Emanuel Rodriguez, and their small team to escape in the NTC Sunspot - their destination, Mars. The perilous journey to find a lost human colony may offer Sophie and the rest of humanity a chance at life.

Every seven years, a boy disappears from Camp Waukeelo. Joey Proctor can't swim, but that doesn't stop camp counselor Alex Mason from leaving him out on a raft in the middle of the lake in a fit of rage. Alex only meant to scare the kid, teach him a lesson. He didn't mean to forget about him. But now Joey is gone, and his body is never found. More than 20 years later, Alex is a success. No one knows what happened that summer at camp. At least, no one should know. But it looks like Joey Proctor may be back to take his revenge.

China's strategic capabilities and doctrine have historically differed from the United States' and Russia's. China has continued to modernize and expand its arsenal despite its policy of no first use, while the United States and Russia have decreased deployed weapons stocks. This volume brings together an international group of distinguished scholars to provide a fresh assessment of China's strategic military capabilities, doctrines, and political perceptions in light of rapidly advancing technologies.

One month ago Eli Miller risked everything to track down a dangerous fugitive in the labyrinth of tunnels which surround his home but failed. While the Mayor deals with the fallout he has tasked Eli and his team with interrogating those suspected in a conspiracy to return to the surface—the very location the journal points to for salvation. When old friends return with a dire warning Eli must once again put his own plans aside to protect the citizens of Lincoln.

Sherlock Holmes, legendary sleuth of Victorian London, is asked to authenticate the work of what appears to be a long-lost Shakespearean play. Alas, just as the famed detective is about to announce his conclusion, the manuscript is stolen. As Sherlock and his trusted sidekick, Dr. John Watson, begin to unravel the mystery of the missing play, their investigation leads them on a convoluted but logical path. But the closer they come to the missing play, the more their lives are endangered.

Seven months after the Hemorrhage virus swept across the world, Jack, his wife, Dee, his friend Boss, and the Renegades, a ragtag collection of civilian and military personnel, have been sent on two missions. Jack likes the first: recon. The second is insane: reenter the laboratory they barely escaped from a few months back and retrieve a logbook, a logbook that could provide the cure to end the madness.

If you have questions about U.S. civics, law, and justice but don’t want to wade through dry and dull legalese to get the answers, you will love this down-to-earth collection of essays that provide an insider’s view of the legal system. In Civics, Law, and Justice - How We Became U.S., career trial lawyer and judge J. Layne Smith offers crystal-clear insight and straightforward answers to everything you’ve ever wondered about the art and science of justice in American history and society.

Grace Adair has spent the last thirteen years in captivity, ruled by evil men. Loss, pain, and sadness has defined her. After a quick escape, the world she finds is large and exciting, but completely terrifying. All she wanted was some peace and quiet filled with delicious food, DIY projects, and all the books one woman can read. Teaching herself how to survive is hard enough, but when her animal initiates a reconnection as well as a mating bond with a complete stranger, she is in for the fight of her life. Dayo Agu has spent his long shifter-life fighting wars that can't be won. Now, after...

Great Britain has been evacuated and quarantined, access is forbidden. When a mysterious message is received, they send in a Army Section to investigate. What they discover will send them on a journey through hell, can they survive, can they make it out within 24 hours.

SPINE-CHILLING GHOST STORIES TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT It’s been said that there are no haunted places, only haunted people. That’s who you’ll find here, the haunted ones. A maintenance technician in remote Alaska, an English thief, a young couple on a road trip across America, an astronaut on a one-way ride to Jupiter, an Irish gravedigger, and dozens more. All victims of an otherworldly infection, all tormented by a plague of shadows. In this anthology, you will find tales of horror and suspense fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. An eclectic collection of ghost stories ...

When the gaslit streets of London turn red with blood, Sherlock Holmes faces his most chilling case yet. A string of murders has Scotland Yard baffled—victims found exsanguinated, with twin puncture wounds on their necks. Whispers of a vampire stalking the West End spread panic through the city. Even the government enacts emergency curfews as fear grips London. But Holmes suspects the truth is both more rational—and far stranger. Summoning his loyal friend Dr. Watson, the great detective begins to hunt the killer in earnest. Their investigation leads them deep into London's seedy ...

Sci-Fi Shorts is a collection of classic science fiction stories from the golden age of space stories. This group of five unabridged short stories by various authors covers such adventures as crazy scientists stealing souls, time traveling miners, trouble behind enemy lines, gambling for the future of a world, and gateways through space.

Since the late 1800s, Robert's Rules of Order has been used in corporate governance and executive boardrooms. Robert's Rules of Order were designed to properly assemble a group of people, of any size. It's a form of organizing assemblies intelligently. Any group, society, or assembly who adopts Robert's rules has the liberty to adopt their own rules - eventually creating their own book of rules.

For more than four decades, between 1969 and 2010, the remote former mining town of Trinidad, Colorado, was the unlikely crossroads for approximately 6,000 medical pilgrims who came looking for relief from the pain of gender dysphoria. The surgical skill and nonjudgmental compassion of surgeons Stanley Biber and his transgender protege Marci Bowers made the phrase "going to Trinidad" a euphemism for gender confirmation surgery in the worldwide transgender community.