Toler Glaive makes his living as hired muscle, guarding trade caravans against the dangers of the wasteland. Unbeknownst to the trading company he works for, Toler has also taken up smuggling, and he's about to pull off the biggest heist of his life. When nomads ambush the caravan, his carefully laid plan begins to unravel. Now he must either take the fall, or let someone else take it for him...In the heat-blasted wastelands of a post-apocalyptic world, Toler Glaive makes his living as hired muscle, guarding trade caravans against the storms, mutants, monsters, and nomads who harry them every step of the way. Only the strongest survive the wasteland, and the strongest of them all is the trading company's brutal overlord, Nichel Vantanible, a man who doesn't tolerate smugglers in his ranks.But that's just what Toler aims to become. He's got all the pieces in place to pull off the biggest heist of his life, and he isn't prepared to settle for anything less than perfection.When nomads ambush the caravan, Toler soon finds the pieces of his carefully laid puzzle coming apart. Can he live out the remainder of the journey and dispose of the goods without Vantanible finding out? Or will his career as a gambler be cut short by a headsman's machete?The Shepherd is a prelude to the Aionach Saga, a post-apocalyptic fantasy epic beginning with The Infernal Lands.

Mala is a street thief with a knack for manipulating shadow. When the city's garrison is left empty after a terrible battle, the leader of Mala's gang decides to steal from it. Larger gangs might steer clear, fearing retribution from the Silver Spears, but Mala's crew is young and foolhardy, and the potential score is simply too big to pass up. After using her talents to steal into the garrison, Mala stumbles across Shohreh, an injured woman wearing a blood-red battle dress. Shohreh is a Kestrel, one of the elite swordswomen who serve the twelve kings of Sharakhai. Knowing Shohreh will be killed the moment the others learn of her, Mala helps her to escape through a secret door and into the city's catacombs. Near death, Shohreh is healed by the Crone, a near-mythical figure in Sharakhai and the leader of the Kestrels. After revealing a plot to kill Zeheb the Whisper King, the Crone commands Shohreh to save him and to kill Mala for having learned the...

Charlotte Holmes comes face to face with her enemy when Moriarty turns to her in his hour of need, in the USA Today bestselling series set in Victorian England. A most unexpected client shows up at Charlotte Holmes's doorstep: Moriarty himself. Moriarty fears that tragedy has befallen his daughter and wants Charlotte to find out the truth.  Charlotte and Mrs. Watson travel to a remote community of occult practitioners where Moriarty's daughter was last seen, a place full of lies and liars. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s sister Livia tries to make sense of a mysterious message from her beau Mr. Marbleton. And Charlotte’s longtime friend and ally Lord Ingram at last turns his seductive prowess on Charlotte—or is it the other way around? But the more secrets Charlotte unravels about Miss Moriarty’s disappearance, the more she wonders why Moriarty has entrusted this delicate matter to her of all people. Is...

Kenneth was flying high when he pulled into Vegas, but a run of bad luck has him working of a debt to the mob in the slowest way possible. He's hoping for a change in his luck, and the latest tenant of the Desert Oasis Motel might be hiding more than he suspects behind her mirrored sunglasses. Can she turn his luck around?Seventeen years was not enough time for my immortal soul to forget the stench of war. My next life had already begun but while it was still in it's infancy, again I heard the message my father plied upon the mortals. Again words of peace and love and brotherhood reached my bitter ears.Again I was compelled to meet The Messenger.The year was 1962. The place was Albany, Georgia. I told myself I would not be drawn into this mission. I only wished to see if this was my father's hand at work. What I found was a chance to redeem myself to one I'd wronged many ages ago; the only soul I'd ever met in more than one lifetime. And I embraced that chance. That small redemption meant so much that I even agreed to uphold The Messenger. But there is no limit to the cruelty of my existence.Now I only wish to forget.

Grendel never believed love could conquer all. She'd better be wrong. Beowulf's brother, the Dragon King, has found an unstoppable weapon, and that weapon is Beowulf. With Beowulf's Magick, the Dragon King is creating an army capable of destroying all in its path. Can Grendel convince herself love is a force strong enough to break down the most powerful walls ... the ones inside? Can she convince Beowulf she is not the enemy, or will Beowulf follow the path of his namesake, and let pride and a thirst for vengeance destroy Grendel's homeland and himself? Grendel's faith and Beowulf's choice will decide the fate of empires, humans and non-humans, the living and the dead.

Attraction that’s off the scale… Only for those I love would I traipse into the merciless Northlands to risk life, limb, and my exquisite beauty. But do they appreciate it? Do they say, “Gwenvael the Handsome, you are the best among us—the most loved of all dragons?” No! For centuries my family has refused to acknowledge my magnificence as well as my innate humility. Yet for them, and because I am so chivalrous, I will brave the worst this land has to offer. So here I stand, waiting to broker an alliance with the one the Northlanders call The Beast. A being so fearful, the greatest warriors will only whisper its name. Yet I, Gwenvael, will courageously face down this terrifying…woman? It turns out the Beast, a.k.a. Dagmar Reinholdt, is a woman—one with steel-gray eyes and a shocking disregard for my good looks. Beneath her plain robes and prim spectacles lies a sensual creature waiting to be unleashed. Who better than a dragon to thaw out that icy demeanor? And who better than a beast to finally tame a mighty dragon’s heart?

Experience the end of the world as we know it in two classic novels from "one of science fiction's most revered writers" (USA Today). Now in one volume: two post-apocalyptic adventures from the visionary mind of Grand Master of Science Fiction and Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Poul Anderson. The Winter of the World A second Ice Age has destroyed civilization. From its ruins arises the powerful Rahidi empire, bent on seeking world domination and leaving devastation in its wake. But its invasion of the primitive Rogaviki may not go as planned, for at the head of their forces is the indomitable Donya of Hervar, a woman of courage and conviction who will not let her people perish without a fight . . . "An intriguing mystery about the Rogaviki people . . . Quite a worthwhile read. Certainly [Anderson] put a lot of thought into this novel and he's achieved something...

The fifth collection of Robert E. Howard's fantasy work from the legendary pulp magazine Weird Tales (and several of its rivals) features another lineup filled with classic fiction and poetry from Howard's greatest writing years. Included in this volume are four stories with Howard's most famous character, Conan ("Black Colossus," "The Slithering Shadow," "The Pool of the Black One," and "Rogues in the House"), as well as several historical and contemporary fantasies.

Its a SecretThe Perfect Match – then the chemistry all goes wrong.Safe from infection behind the walls of the Oasis, and about to be married to the brilliantly inventive Dorian, Angeic knows nothing of the Outside.Then Dorian goes and spoils it all by cloning his perfect twin from his own DNA.A twin that has a conscience, that cares and sympathises with the plight of the Outsiders – and daily grows uglier, as he suffers all the damage an increasingly wild Dorian inflicts on himself.Even so, Angeic is drawn to him, just as she’s gradually drawn into helping free the people exiled to the Outside.But Dorian has the perfect solution to his problem – a clone of Angeic, who’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants.

From the acclaimed author of BOYFRIEND MATERIAL comes a deeply emotional romance about heartbreak, hope, and learning to love against all the odds.Once the golden boy of the English literary scene, now a clinically depressed writer of pulp crime fiction, Ash Winters has given up on hope, happiness, and—most of all—himself. He lives his life between the cycles of his illness, haunted by the ghosts of other people's expectations.Then a chance encounter throws him into the path of Essex-born Darian Taylor. Flashy and loud, radiant and full of life, Darian couldn't be more different...and yet he makes Ash laugh, reminding him of what it's like to step beyond the boundaries of his anxiety. But Ash has been living in his own shadow for so long that he can no longer see a way out. Can a man who doesn't trust himself ever trust in happiness? And how can someone who doesn't believe in happiness ever fight for his own?Alexis Hall's iconic...