Showing results by narrator "J. S. Arquin" in All Categories

Garran Holt is a troubled young man. Unable to tolerate his self-destructive ways, his mother sells him into indentured servitude as part of work crew building the King Remiel’s new trade road. When mercenaries sent to disrupt the road’s construction attacks his work camp, Garran discovers an inner power capable of turning him into a warrior of unparalleled ability. Recognizing Garran as being one of the transcended (a fighter able to slip into the swifter currents of time), he is trained as an agent, one of the kingdom’s elite spies.

Valentinian and Dave have escaped the Dominion’s Internal Security Bureau. Now they’re fleeing for their lives, heading for systems outside of Dominion control, looking for a place where they can rebuild their lives. Figure out what comes next. Who they want to be, or to become. Hard Bargain - the second novel in the series, Shadow of the Dominion - takes you even further into Wildspace, human variants, and maybe even a crooked card game or two.

Valentinian just wants to make a living hauling cargo between planets and stations. His new charter promises to be profitable, hauling an all-girl band all over the Dominion. But trouble starts before they take off, and Valentinian has just hired a crewman with a shadowy past, big muscles, and the sort of military training that only the Dominator’s Elite Assault Cavalry wields. What else could possibly go wrong?

Two tiny lizardmen scientist-criminals power up their illegal wormhole generator, getting ready to kidnap their next victim by pulling the poor human across the galaxy in an instant, forever trapping him in the Accord of Souls. Maybe this human won’t destroy everything they love. The last human they kidnapped killed the big boss, took over their criminal gang, and now, threatens to conquer the entire galaxy. The problem? Despite being criminals, the human they want to kidnap is a cop. What could possibly go wrong? 

Valentinian and his friends never imagined being trapped underground with their worst enemies - the Widow and her crew. Above-ground, an entire tribe of sex-crazed cannibal mutants rampages, coming for their souls. Enemies must make deals with each other, planning for the inevitable double and triple-crosses, as well as ferreting out the secrets of the long-forgotten vessel known as Princess Rualoh. Princess Rualoh - the sixth novel in the Shadow of the Dominion series - forges new deals and trickery between enemies as well as friends.

The Widow never rests. She takes the ship Dominion-427 across the galaxy to chase down her ex-husband and his friends. Athanasia and Glaxu duel on far-flung planets, and double-cross one another again and again, until someone dies. And Valentinian keeps running. Dominion-427 - the fourth novel in the Shadow of the Dominion series - puts friends in danger while continuing to explore this fascinating new galaxy of characters!

Kryuome: the desert world on Valentinian's treasure map. A place where he hopes to find friends and surprises if his crew can survive the dangerous aliens of Wildspace, while the Widow tracks him and his crew mate. The next exciting installment of the Shadow of the Dominion series!

A Vanir cop stares back when Gareth St. John Dankworth looks in a mirror these days. However, that will not stop him. He will happily embrace any cost to stop the man who was once his best friend in the solar system from conquering the galaxy. Even if it involves living the rest of his life as a Star Dragon. If crime never sleeps, justice will not either.

Six-hundred-twenty-seven convictions later, the career criminals Morty and Xiomber have seen the light and joined the good guys. Gareth must go undercover to stop his nemesis from unleashing another crimewave across the Accord of Souls. While the leaders of the Accord of Souls send an agent to Earth to stop its top scientist before he can open the way for the rest of humanity to flood into the galaxy.

Valentinian won a treasure map in a crooked card game. Its call brings him back to the planet Kryuome. There, he and the crew must outsmart the locals, the mutants, as well as the Widow aboard her new warship, in order to uncover a secret two thousand years in the making. Or die trying.

When Duncan MacGuire sets out to help a slave escape the Great Houses of the South, little does he know they'd send a demon to capture them. Set in the Boston Metaphysical Society alternate history universe, this short story is a prequel to the award winning novel, Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets and the popular graphic novel, Boston Metaphysical Society.

The gods of the Accord of Souls return to judge humanity itself, and they intend on simply eradicating the species to make the galaxy a safer place. Gareth finally confronts his old enemy again, as well as the very gods of the Accord itself. Nothing will ever be the same for anyone. Trial of the Star Dragon is the fifth and final Star Dragon story - science fiction written with a 1950s pulp flair - and completes the adventures of the Star Dragon and the Accord constabulary in the galaxy where the gods are real, and angry. 

An alien impostor sneaks into the most secured facility in Earth Force, confronting Earth’s top scientist Royston with his worst nightmares. Gareth’s near death at the hands of the rogue androids fuels his rage to use the Star Dragon to pursuing justice, because somewhere, his ex-best friend continues to plot his conquest of everything. And in the shadows, a dark, ancient powers awaken.

Threshold is a genre-bending adventure that blurs humor, horror, and science-fiction in a loving tribute to classic teen thrillers. Starring a diverse group of slackers, nerds, and outcasts, "Threshold" begins as a slice of life into a dying small town. Set against a rising tide of darkness, the story transitions into a rousing adventure as our heroes uncover the awful truths surrounding them. First ignorant of the threat, then avoiding it, the heroes will find themselves hurled against conspiracies, cults, and forgotten evil.

The war in the north is coming to an end, but more and more it seems neither brother, Arthur nor Sebastian, will end as the true victor. The priest Luther rallies an army of Karak, his aims unclear. Further north, Cyric continues to proclaim himself a god, and his followers are many. Caught between two enemies, Darius and Jerico must stand together to prevent the destruction of everything they hold dear.

The Guild rules the kingdom through their puppet monarch, and Garran must race to save the last living heir to the throne before the powerful syndicate's assassins complete their extermination of anyone who could oppose them. Garran and Prince Adam Altena struggle to find allies in hopes of rescuing Adam's sister, who was forced to marry the usurper in order to prevent even the thought of rebellion, and raise an army capable of defeating The Guild.

Having fled the defeat at the Green Gulch, Darius and Jerico, believing themselves the last two paladins of their kind, must separate once more in order to survive. While Jerico rushes to the aid of Lord Arthur and the siege at his Castle of Caves, Darius travels east, determined to remove the bounty on his head. But on his way, he encounters a young priest following an older way of faith, whose desire for their return will risk destruction upon all the North. Sacrifice must be made in blood.

The common people have become the currency, outlaws have shifted to mercenaries, and freedom is no more than a thought of the past. Fear, violence, slavery - throughout his adult life, Barloc has known no other way. A quarter of a century has passed since King Sclavus decreed slavery legal in the Kingdom of Kuldaire. When Barloc is sold to Lord Harbor, his new owner offers queer promises of freedom. Barloc is forced to question everything around him as he embarks on this new trial.

Soar among the redwoods in this bite-sized adventure with Chloe, the recently divorced fairy inventor. She's the one who'll discover the encroaching zombie horde, but what will she do when she does? Come for the campy creature face-off. Stay for the inventiveness, adventure, romance, and intrigue. Torn between her handsome ex-husband and the brave and beautiful captain of the fairy guard, Chloe must fight to save her unborn young and the rest of the fairies.

Betrayal. Ambition. Violence. Magic. Stranded in a winter wilderness, a young girl fights to survive after the massacre of her family. Her motto is simple: Always create opportunity. It's not long before she runs into an old friend, but can she trust him? This majestic fantasy short story defies cliché and stirs the soul.