Dead of Veridon
Title | Dead of Veridon PDF eBook |
Author | Tim Akers |
Publisher | Jabberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. |
Pages | 344 |
Release | 2014-02-27 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 1625670818 |
The conclusion to the Burn Cycle is “an engaging, page-turning read . . . [for] those who enjoy their steampunk tech with a high dose of technofantasy” (Tor.com). The city of Veridon used Jacob Burn horribly. The Council, the Church, even his family betrayed his trust, and still Burn risked everything to save their lives. For his sacrifice, he lost his tenuous ties to lawful society, his place in the criminal underworld, and the only woman he ever loved. Now, to survive, Burn runs small-time jobs, like his latest gig, delivering a seemingly innocuous package to the Fehn. The Fehn are a symbiotic race that dwell peacefully under the murky Reine River, colonizing any body that slips beneath its dark waters. But moments after Burn makes his delivery, swarms of dead Fehn clog the Reine. More terrifying are the horde of pearl-white cogdead Fehn who still walk, crawling out of the river to violently ransack the city. Once again, Burn is responsible for Veridon’s survival, and the Fehn are just one of many threats the city suddenly faces. Burn thought he had nothing to lose, but protecting Veridon could cost him the one thing he has left . . . his life. “Very fast-moving, full of action, color, and invention . . . It is fun, and it is interesting, and it sets a template for what could be an ongoing series in the noir detective/action fashion.” —SF Site “Just when you think you know what’s going on, suddenly you’re not so sure. Akers writes a mean action sequence as well which stirs things up beautifully.” —Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
Heart of Veridon
Title | Heart of Veridon PDF eBook |
Author | Tim Akers |
Publisher | Jabberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. |
Pages | 339 |
Release | 2014-02-27 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 162567080X |
First in the Burn Cycle from “an original, enthralling voice in the steampunk subgenre, and in the Speculative Fiction umbrella at large” (The Book Smugglers). Captain-turned-criminal Jacob Burn is the unlikely survivor of two zeppelin crashes. The first destroyed his career as a pilot, disgracing his nobleman father and ending his life of privilege. But the second threatens to destroy Burn’s whole world—Veridon, an ancient terraced city reborn through The Church of the Algorithm’s recent advances in mechanics, technology, and cog-work. Moments before the Glory of Day wrecked, a former underworld associate of Burn’s handed him an unusual and complicated cog for safekeeping. But the artifact-cog quickly draws Burn unwanted attention—too much of it, from too many of Veridon’s most powerful factions, casting doubt on even his closest allies. A far more dangerous and unpredictable enemy has also joined the manhunt, carving a bloody trail across the city, while Burn’s frantic search for answers only leads to more questions. At the heart of it all, the mysterious cog, which hides a secret potent enough to shake Veridon to its very core, and recast Burn’s entire existence. “From the first chapter Akers keeps the octane on high and never lets off the gas . . . Heart of Veridon had me enrapt with the pulp style story and characters until the last page.” —The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf & Book Review “An enjoyable novel, absorbing reading with plenty of color and action . . . The setting is the real star . . . A very promising debut.” —Fantasy Magazine
The Horns of Ruin
Title | The Horns of Ruin PDF eBook |
Author | Tim Akers |
Publisher | Prometheus Books |
Pages | 281 |
Release | 2010-11-30 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 1616142960 |
Eva Forge is the last paladin of a dead god. Morgan, god of battle and champion of the Fraterdom, was assassinated by his jealous brother, Amon. Over time, the Cult of Morgan has been surpassed by other gods, his blessings ignored in favor of brighter technologies and more mechanical miracles. Eva was the last child dedicated to the Cult of Morgan, forsaken by her parents and forgotten by her family. Now she watches as her new family, her Cult, crumbles all around her. When a series of kidnappings and murders makes it clear that someone is trying to hasten the death of the Cult of Morgan, Eva must seek out unexpected allies and unwelcome answers in the city of Ash. But will she be able to save the city from a growing conspiracy, one that reaches back to her childhood, even back to the murder of her god?
Death by Water
Title | Death by Water PDF eBook |
Author | Kenzaburo Oe |
Publisher | Grove/Atlantic, Inc. |
Pages | 443 |
Release | 2015-10-06 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 0802190871 |
Kenzaburo Oe was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for creating "an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today." In Death by Water, his recurring protagonist and literary alter-ego returns to his hometown village in search of a red suitcase fabled to hold documents revealing the details of his father’s death during WWII: details that will serve as the foundation for his new, and final, novel. Since his youth, renowned novelist Kogito Choko planned to fictionalize his father’s fatal drowning in order to fully process the loss. Stricken with guilt and regret over his failure to rescue his father, Choko has long been driven to discover why his father was boating on the river in a torrential storm. Though he remembers overhearing his father and a group of soldiers discussing an insurgent scheme to stage a suicide attack on Emperor Mikado, Choko cannot separate his memories from imagination and his family is hesitant to reveal the entire story. When the contents of the trunk turn out to offer little clarity, Choko abandons the novel in creative despair. Floundering as an artist, he’s haunted by fear that he may never write his tour de force. But when he collaborates with an avant-garde theater troupe dramatizing his early novels, Kogito is revitalized by revisiting his formative work and he finds the will to continue investigating his father’s demise. Diving into the turbulent depths of legacy and mortality, Death by Water is an exquisite examination of resurfacing national and personal trauma, and the ways that storytelling can mend political, social, and familial rifts.
Valhellions
Title | Valhellions PDF eBook |
Author | Tim Akers |
Publisher | Baen Books |
Pages | 344 |
Release | 2022-03-01 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 1625798563 |
AN AGENT OF KNIGHT WATCH, TASKED TO PROTECT HUMANITY FROM SUPERNATURAL ENEMIES, MUST GO TO HELL AND BACK TO CLEAR HIS NAME AND SAVE THE WORLD When John Rast signed up for Knight Watch, he expected it to be all fighting dragons and rescuing maidens. You know, hero stuff. But instead he’s stuck patrolling game conventions and cosplayer competitions, looking for dangerous anachronisms and the villains who may be trying to exploit them. Fortunately, all that changes when an honest-to-goodness necromancer shows up wielding a weapon created by Nazi occultists and accompanied by some badass evil valkyries, hell-bent on kicking off the end of the world. John and the team will go to great lengths—even Minnesota—to prove find out who’s responsible for all this and foil their plans. Also, there’s a giant dog who thinks the moon is a ball. It’s epic. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Tim Akers: “A must for all epic fantasy fans.” —Starburst “Full of strong world building, cinematic and frequent battle scenes, high adventure, great characters, suspense, and dramatic plot shifts, this is an engaging, fast-paced entry in a popular subgenre.” —Booklist (starred review) “Take a bit of fantasy, mix in the horror of the demonic, and put in some top-notch writing and you’ll have Akers’ latest novel.” —Hellnotes “Fast-paced . . . an epic fantasy story with action, intrigue and a good story.” —RPG “Delivers enough twists and surprises to keep readers fascinated . . . contains action, grittiness, magic, intrigue and well created characters.” —Rising Shadow “An extremely well-developed secondary world.” —SF Signal
Capital Is Dead
Title | Capital Is Dead PDF eBook |
Author | McKenzie Wark |
Publisher | Verso Books |
Pages | 209 |
Release | 2021-02-09 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 1788735331 |
It's not capitalism, it's not neoliberalism - what if it's something worse? In this radical and visionary new book, McKenzie Wark argues that information has empowered a new kind of ruling class. Through the ownership and control of information, this emergent class dominates not only labour but capital as traditionally understood as well. And it’s not just tech companies like Amazon and Google. Even Walmart and Nike can now dominate the entire production chain through the ownership of not much more than brands, patents, copyrights, and logistical systems. While techno-utopian apologists still celebrate these innovations as an improvement on capitalism, for workers—and the planet—it’s worse. The new ruling class uses the powers of information to route around any obstacle labor and social movements put up. So how do we find a way out? Capital Is Dead offers not only the theoretical tools to analyze this new world, but ways to change it. Drawing on the writings of a surprising range of classic and contemporary theorists, Wark offers an illuminating overview of the contemporary condition and the emerging class forces that control—and contest—it.
Knight Watch
Title | Knight Watch PDF eBook |
Author | Tim Akers |
Publisher | Baen Books |
Pages | 351 |
Release | 2020-09-01 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 1625797931 |
MEN IN BLACK AT THE REN FAIRE! John Rast went to the Ren Faire looking for a fight. Well, a simulated fight, with blunt swords and safety equipment. But when his final opponent turns into a living, fire-breathing dragon, John finds himself in the fight of his life. It’s John or nothing stopping a disaster in its tracks—and the only real weapon at hand is his mom’s Volvo. So John decides to let it roll . . . And that's when destiny comes to call. John is spirited away to the well-hidden base of Knight Watch, the organization that stands between humanity and the real nasties the rest of the world doesn’t know about. Knight Watch would be John’s dream job—except for the storm goddess that destroys his parents’ house, the abandoned mall replete with too much dead, and the Fetch that aims to make John’s domain a final resting place. All this has John’s putative allies in the Knight Watch worried that John is the one bringing bad things into multiple worlds. John and his reluctant teammates have to figure out who, or what, is pulling the strings before all of Knight Watch falls prey to a well-concealed puppetmaster and far worse things enter this world. About Knight's Watch: “Buckle up and get ready for a fun ride. Tim Akers delivers an epic story about weekend ren fair warriors versus actual monsters. Best fictional use of a Volvo station wagon ever.”—Larry Correia About Tim Akers: “A must for all epic fantasy fans.”—Starburst “Full of strong world building, cinematic and frequent battle scenes, high adventure, great characters, suspense, and dramatic plot shifts, this is an engaging, fast-paced entry in a popular subgenre."—Booklist (starred review) “Take a bit of fantasy, mix in the horror of the demonic, and put in some top-notch writing and you’ll have Akers’ latest novel.”—Hellnotes “Fast-paced . . . an epic fantasy story with action, intrigue and a good story.” —RPG “Delivers enough twists and surprises to keep readers fascinated...contains action, grittiness, magic, intrigue and well created characters.”—Rising Shadow “An extremely well-developed secondary world.”—SF Signal