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

Molly was no stranger to life's little detours. After the last upheaval, she left her family's law firm to become a maintenance technician on the space station Bradbury 12. When an accident knocks her off her feet, she's going to have to draw on all her resilience to get back up. First, though, she's going to have to figure out how to talk to the big, blue alien trying to help her.

In the grand tradition of George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan, Sunday Times best-selling author Peter V. Brett continues his critically acclaimed Demon Cycle with the next dramatic instalment: The Skull Throne. The Skull Throne of Krasia stands empty. Built from the skulls of fallen generals and demon princes, it is a seat of honour and ancient, powerful magic, keeping the demon corelings at bay. From atop the throne, Ahmann Jardir was meant to conquer the known world, forging its isolated peoples into a unified army to rise up and end the demon war once and for all.

A year ago the Kher Empire was forced to retreat, but they were not beaten. In Orion Fleet, they return with a new weapon. A huge ship driven by AI begins methodically grinding inhabited worlds to dust. This unstoppable enemy is without fear or remorse, and the Rebels begin a desperate battle just to slow its advance. Leo Blake takes Earth's first warship into space to find a counter to this deadly new attack. The Imperial Fleets take notice of Earth's interference, and they're intent upon revenge. Even if he wins, Blake might have doomed our homeworld.

On the night of the new moon, the demons rise in force, seeking the deaths of two men, both of whom have the potential to become the fabled Deliverer, the man prophesied to reunite the scattered remnants of humanity in a final push to destroy the demon corelings once and for all.

Florence. Autumn, 1539. Cesare Aldo was once an officer for the city’s most feared criminal court. Following a period of exile, he is back but demoted to night patrol when only the drunk and the dangerous roam the streets. Chasing a suspect in the rain, Aldo discovers a horrifying scene beneath Michelangelo’s statue of David. Lifeless eyes gaze from the face of a man whose body has been posed as if crucified. It’s clear the killer had religious motives. When more bodies appear, Aldo believes an unholy murderer is stalking the citizens of Florence.

When investigative journalist, Alexi Ellis, falls victim to cutbacks, she and Cosmo, her anti-social feral cat, head for beautiful Hopgood Hall, where they plan to lick their wounds in the boutique hotel run by her old friends, Cheryl and Drew Hopgood. But when she arrives Alexi discovers Cheryl and Drew both distraught. Their close friend, Natalie Parker, who recently settled in the area, has gone missing. Alexi’s sure the woman has just taken a trip somewhere, but she still has a nose for a story and agrees to look into it.

After the discovery of her magical abilities leads to her execution being ordered, Yelena has no choice but to flee to Sitia, her long-lost birthplace. There, she has the chance to meet the family she never knew. But Sitia is unfamiliar, and she’s treated with suspicion and even hatred by the people she thought she could trust—including her own brother. Then Yelena is given the chance to travel to Sitia’s capital. In the Citadel, she’ll have the chance to hone her magical abilities under the tutelage of master magicians.

The alien race known as the Ancients vanished before Earth's last ice age - but not before building interconnected rings that form a highway system across the galaxy. Humanity has used these rings for years but has never figured out how to build its own, or even how to alter the connection pattern. Now, the Imperial starship Pandora is on a mission to discover and explore new interstellar connection points. While on Venus, an unexpected guest arrives - Marvin, a rogue robot who puts his strange mind to work on reconnecting the rings into a new pattern. Everything goes haywire.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates - brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognised the same sharpness and ambition in one another. A shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death-experiences and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. They become EOs, ExtraOrdinaries, leaving a body in their wake and turning on each other.

One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader, Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge - although knowing this will ensure his own early death.

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.

Heaven Leigh Casteel may be the prettiest, smartest girl in the backwoods, but her cruel father and weary stepmother work her like a mule. For the sake of her brother Tom and the other little ones, Heaven clings to the hope that someday she can show the world they are worthy of love and respect. But when the children’s stepmother can’t take it anymore and abandons the family, Heaven’s father hatches a scheme that will alter her young life forever. Being sold to a strange couple is just the beginning....

Sunday Times and New York Times best-selling author Peter V. Brett brings one of the most imaginative fantasy sagas of the 21st century to an epic close. The war has begun.... For time out of mind, bloodthirsty demons have stalked the night, culling the human race to scattered remnants dependent on half-forgotten magics to protect them. Two heroes arose - men as close as brothers yet divided by bitter betrayal.

In No More Narcissists!, psychologist Candace Love provides a road map for women to finally get the love they deserve. Using skills based in cognitive behavioral and schema therapy, you'll gain an understanding of why you're attracted to narcissistic men, how you can avoid being drawn in by a narcissist's initial charm and magnetism, and how to heal so you can finally move on to healthy relationships.

Ihr Rachedurst droht die Welt zu zerstören – kann er sie zurückholen, bevor alles zu spät ist? Diannas Herz ist gebrochen. Blindlings auf Rache sinnend beschließt sie, sich von ihrem letzten Fetzen Menschlichkeit loszusagen und die Welt voller Wut in Brand zu setzen. Nur der Gott Samkiel weigert sich zu glauben, dass Dianna vollends zu dem Monster geworden ist, für das sie alle halten. Er versucht alles in seiner Macht stehende, um sie vor sich selbst zu retten – auch wenn das bedeuten könnte, sich selbst zu verlieren.

Who Sets This Clock? is a podcast about timelines, external influences, and the often unspoken pressure to follow a life path that includes kids and other milestones. Hosted by Margarete, the show asks: who actually set these clocks we’re all supposed to follow? And are they ticking the same for everyone anymore? You know, just your average existential questions. Through honest, sometimes funny, and often vulnerable conversations, each episode explores life transitions, the choices we make (or don't), and the relationships that shift along the way.

For Eights. By an Eight. In Eight Language. What does it mean to be an Enneagram Eight? Why does it feel like everyone misunderstands and demonizes me? How do I grow into health and maturity? C.V. Meo asked these same questions of himself many years ago. Since then, he has gone on a journey of self-discovery. From reading all of the best Enneagram experts, to attending Enneagram workshops, to the hours spent in his therapist's office, C.V. has emerged with insights on what it means to be an Eight. If you want to learn more about all things Enneagram Eight, then this is the book for you.

When Beatrix Brighton—a New Hampshire professor with expertise in demonology—receives a desperate call from her father about a fungal plague consuming his home, she expects to find another easily explained phenomenon. Instead, she discovers a city in the grip of something inexplicable: toxic spores blanket every surface, buildings sprout through with yellow growths, and the residents are slowly changing, their minds colonized by something that lurks in the bayou's depths.

Proto wakes up in the misty halls of the palace of Somnus, the Lord of Dreams. Why is he there? Who knows? But as long as he’s there, he’s been given a job—to visit sleeping people’s dreams and try to make sure they turn out properly. By guiding dreams to the right conclusions, Somnus and his crew of dream visitors help keep the world from going off the rails. During his adventures as a dream visitor, Proto fails, makes a fool of himself, and—against all odds—makes friends too. And maybe more than friends . . . ? It’s hard to tell. There’s something off in how people here are looking at him.

For time out of mind, bloodthirsty demons have stalked the night, culling the human race to scattered remnants dependent on half-forgotten magics to protect them. Then two heroes arose — men as close as brothers, yet divided by bitter betrayal. Arlen Bales became known as the Warded Man, tattooed head to toe with powerful magic symbols that enable him to fight demons in hand-to-hand combat — and emerge victorious. Jardir, armed with magically warded weapons, called himself the Deliverer, a figure prophesied to unite humanity and lead them to triumph in Sharak Ka.