Virtual Light

NEW YORK TIMES bestseller 2005: Welcome to NoCal and SoCal, the uneasy sister-states of what used to be California. The millennium has come and gone, leaving in its wake only stunned survivors. In Los Angeles, Berry Rydell is a former armed-response rentacop now working for a bounty hunter...

Power is mandatory. Choice is not. In a world where civilization survives only because cultivators stand between humanity and annihilation, Gale Kent has already paid the price of cultivation in blood. Orphaned by a beast wave. Disgraced by politics. Raised by a fallen Imperial Inquisitor. Gale never wanted the path of power, but when his cultivation test shatters every stone designed to measure it, refusal stops being an option. Welcome to Cultivation U, the Empire’s most dangerous university. A place where talent is weaponized, failure is punished, and advancement comes with ...

In the vast expanse of architectural design, the interplay between light and space forms the foundation of our built environment. Natural lighting, in particular, stands as a beacon of inspiration, guiding architects, designers, and builders toward sustainable, luminous spaces that resonate with the rhythms of nature and elevate the human experience. In this exploration of natural lighting in architecture, we embark on a journey of discovery—a journey that transcends the confines of tradition and convention to embrace the transformative power of light. Through the pages that follow, we ...

Science Fiction Stories 1 is a gripping science fiction anthology that takes readers on a journey through the unknown, exploring dystopian futures, post-apocalyptic worlds, and thrilling adventures in space. Explore the Unknown Embark on a mission in "Rising" where a lone survivor scours a devastated world, driven by a dream of rebuilding civilization. Witness the eerie events in "In The Grip" as a military officer navigates the cultural complexities of an alien world. Experience the haunting "The Spires Of Sapporo" where remnants of an ancient civilization hold secrets that could alter ...

The Hendricks family has long known that it’s wise to be careful what you wish for...dark family secrets have a way of finding their way to the light. Unfortunately, enemies usually aren’t too far behind. Grace had never been more terrified...the pain was relentless. Nothing in her life prepared her for this. She desperately needed somewhere safe...someplace she could hide. Someone she could trust with her life. It was dark...and getting darker. Ronan Hendricks didn’t recognize her voice. Not family...not friends. Probably not an enemy. But he didn’t need the years he’d spent as a...

Previously published as Milf - Naughty Neighbors by Nina Sestina. After Mona caught her husband cheating for the third time, she finally ended it. He was immature, irresponsible, and finally out of her life for good. As soon as the divorce was settled, she went on a two month vacation for rest and recovery. She wasn't interested in dating,she just wanted some decompression time to relax. After that was over, she returned home and met her new neighbor Ryan. He was tall, chiseled, handsome, mature, and successful. He was also 15 years younger than her. That didn't stop her head from turning ...

An epidemic, unwanted fame, and disturbing answers to a mystery. Kallan Thane was still processing a discovery when a rash of sting victims plagued the clinic. The city council was concerned enough to close down the new dungeon while appointing a team to close it out. The team consisted of the first adventurer to suffer the sting, a pair of ‘experts’, and the man responsible for closing every Harth dungeon in recent history, Kallan. The experts? Ayon and Telandrae, the two guild recruiters who had become a thorn in his side. Not only would he have to defeat the dungeon before anyone ...

San Francisco in the nearish future. Ex-cop Berry Rydell's lost one job he didn't much like and landed another he likes even less. Some sunglasses—actually high-end kit infused with super-sensitive data—were stolen from a courier, and a man named Warbaby's been charged with retrieving them. And Warbaby needs Rydell's help. But, with SFPD Homicide involved, an abandoned bridge populated by freaks and misfits, and some weirdness involving the Republic of Desire and a 'Death Star', it's turning out to be a very strange and dangerous scene indeed . . .

In this classic work, Alasdair MacIntyre examines the historical and conceptual roots of the idea of virtue, diagnoses the reasons for its absence in personal and public life, and offers a tentative proposal for its recovery. While the individual chapters are wide-ranging, once pieced together, they comprise a penetrating and focused argument about the price of modernity.

Immerse yourself in mid-twentieth century Lisbon in this gripping tale of passion, danger, and resistance. Against the backdrop of his beautiful city of light and colour, and the darkness of Salazar’s dictatorship, Alvaro comes of age working in a bookshop, which draws him into a dangerous world. Forced to fight in Portugal’s colonial wars in Africa, Alvaro returns home to join the struggle for his country’s freedom. But will the notorious secret police, and one old adversary in particular, ensnare him? And will the love he so desires prove to be out of his reach? A time of oppression...

“Lesbian Firsts” is a collection of 10 lesbians' detailed descriptions of their first sexual experience with another woman. Asked by author Alexandra del Torre to provide as much detail as possible, they held nothing back in their retelling of these intensely intimate encounters. In “Lesbian Firsts,” you will hear from real lesbians and read about their real first times, including: HEATHER, a 24-year-old high school English teacher who discovered her lesbianism with a volleyball teammate at the age of 19. MEGHAN, a 32-year-old attorney who lost her lesbian virginity to her first-...

Tom Savage is intent on homesteading, and Phaethon is the newest planet open for colonization. Here, technology is lacking in many places. And for 200 credits, anyone can claim one square kilometer of prime farmland. But Tom has a secret or two. He is not interested in farming crops, at least not at first. Tom wants to harvest pieces of Phaethon’s sun. To do so will mean first reaching his stake out near the desert, surviving human predators along the way, bringing fugitives to justice, and dealing with the resident sand dragon population. All in a day’s work for your local star farmer...

This is a stand-alone fantasy romance series. All the series in this Fae Romantasy Universe can be read in any order. One night. That’s what I demanded. I had every intention of using her body for my pleasure. To make her bow before me and satisfy all my carnal needs. Then destiny intervened and revealed a deadly truth—the forbidden Rose, the princess of the last Fae realm, is my fated mate. For a brutal Sváva Archangel like me, that changes everything. Despite my raging lust, I must keep her away from me, so she won’t be broken. But I’ll ensure everyone knows she’s MINE. * This ...

Indigo Taylor-Anderson thought she had it all — until her husband's betrayal shattered her world. With newfound courage, she walks away from a life of mistreatment, leaving everything behind. Indigo finds herself navigating the tough streets of Philadelphia, facing challenges only the truly resilient woman can endure. Amidst the trials, she meets Quesnel "Quest" MacQuoid, a former drug lord freshly out of a decade-long imprisonment. Like Indigo, Quest returns to a life stripped of familiar comforts and support. Drawn together by their shared struggles and a need to rebuild, Indigo and ...

A taboo aspiration. A soul needing redemption. An unbreakable will. Huan Ten, a genius young master of the prominent Huan Clan, abandons the path of cultivation to pursue his dream: becoming the world’s greatest blacksmith. Although not a path shunned by many, blacksmithing is still an occupation unsuited for a future clan head. To rid his family of shame and grant himself freedom, Ten crosses the world's border, leaving for the Twilight Continent. Sadly, an unfortunate turn of events leads to his soul dissipating. Leaving only a lingering will, Ten is able to live on, but now with the ...

Told by Alexander the Great himself, this “sharp and colorful” (Washington Post Book World) novel presents a stunningly intimate account of the battles, the loves, the triumphs, and the tragedy of a man who conquered the world, from the bestselling author of Gates of Fire. “Simply superb...

The winter rains have come back to Rochester, flooding the streets downtown as another school year rolls along at Rochester Heights Montessori School. John Forental, newly adoptive father and family man is ensconced in his second term as PTA president, presiding over the mostly female body he resoundingly won over during the previous year. Settling down from his initial foray into fatherhood and return to dating, things have become comfortable, if not familiar. A far cry from the broken marriage to his daughter Emilia's mother, his life feels much more complete than ever. Still relatively ...

Humanity proved God was real. Then God warned us not to answer the other voice. Dr. Kaia Morwyn spent her life proving mystical experience was only chemistry in the brain. Then a dying woman flatlines — and every machine in the hospital broadcasts the same impossible warning: DO NOT ANSWER THE SECOND LIGHT. Dragged back into ORISON, the classified project that destroyed her life, Kaia discovers a terrifying truth: Prayer is not a plea. It is a transmission. And something has been listening. When billionaire AI architect Cassian Oryn launches MercyNet Ascend, a global system designed to ...

Play until it kills you Uncle Robert died, and that sucks, but it’s just the beginning of Channing’s strange, unbelievable tale. After figuring out the password to the odd gaming console his uncle willed him, Channing finds himself in a hub containing thousands of knock-off games filled with action, loot, variety, and some extremely hot women at every turn. It’s a gamer’s wet dream, right until Channing discovers the dark secret hidden within the console. Uncle Robert didn’t die of a stroke. He was killed in the game by another player, one whose guild is now targeting Channing. ...

Tierra Thompson has a chip on her shoulder and an ax to grind. She was born in the hood, and at twenty-one she has grown tired of calling it home. After hustling and being hustled by the dealers around the way, the hard truth is setting in and Tierra has to decide if she is willing to sell her soul to escape the grittiness of the streets. Nichelle Martin and Tierra have been best friends since childhood and used to be partners in crime until Nichelle lucked up and became wifey to Renaldo Renny ONeal. Renny is known in the borough of Queens, as being the man who is making all the paper. With...