We all become monsters at the edge of the breach. In a post-apocalyptic world where season of birth determines power -- spring healers, summer mages, fall shapeshifters, and winter shields -- a man and a woman emerge from tragic childhoods to lead humanity on opposite sides of an interrealm war. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ There is a hole in the sky. They call it the Rift. A portal to the gods. The scar of a suffering world. Through it, the gods rule the last scraps of civilization, harkening war. As chaos beckons, two leaders emerge from the ashes of a dying planet. Julian Kyder is the son of an abusive rape victim who compensates for his abandonment through psychopathy. Sira Rune is a cancer survivor who dedicates her life to living free and fearless while experiencing the taboo and the unorthodox. Rune is the only one unafraid of Kyder, and that terrifies him, because he only knows how to function through fear. Even though she gives him more chances than he deserves, how much violence can she forgive? When is a person beyond redemption? While he struggles to control his demons and she struggles to find purpose, the gods drag the ruined world into war. Amazon #1 Top Free Bestseller LGBT SF Top 20 New Releases LGBT SF CONTENT WARNING: The Rift Cycle is a highly graphic series intended for mature audiences. TAGS: science fiction, fantasy, grimdark, horror, LGBT, mental illness ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ READ AN EXCERPT Chapter 1: Pain Made a Man Kyder, Age 9 - July 7, 7009 Her body is stone. Her eyes glass. She doesn''t see me. Doesn''t want me. Yet her blood runs through me, a river of pain. I call her mother, but she calls me nothing. She hopes to forget me. Hopes I will disappear. Conceived in violence, I am a constant reminder of the crime that made me. "Come," she orders me. Like a dog. And I jog at her heels, obedient. She won''t use my name. It''s a reminder I exist. The meaning behind it is empty, anyway. She refused to name me, so the hospital staff did. Julian Kyder -- Julian after the doctor who delivered me and Kyder after the hospital. Forever marked by the circumstances of my birth. She tried to abort, but I survived. She put me up for adoption, but no one took me. She tried to release me into the system, but they were already at overcapacity. We''re trapped. Stuck together as two halves of misery. The doctor told me I am a miracle. She told me I am a curse. "This way." She leads me along the edge of the Shelf toward the market. With each step, my feet crunch along the parched gravel. To our left, cliffs drop hundreds of meters into the Ruined Sea, a toxic cesspool that encircles the island. In the distance, Mount Erebus puffs ash into the blanched sky, a grandfather smoking the last bit of a cigar. We mutilated our world, bombarded the planet for centuries with nuclear weapons until we ran out of missiles, until Earth flipped upside-down. The only habitable continent is Antarctica, now the North Pole, and even here, the war melted the desolate wasteland into a scorching desert. Humans near extinction, huddled near the top of the planet like exiles. But we deserve it. Sweat trickles down my back. I pull my robe tight around myself, hoping to block out the sun. It''s summer, so there''s no respite from the heat. The days are endless. They bleed into each other like ink on a page, no distinction between the lines. Night won''t come for another few months, and soon after it does, it won''t leave till winter''s done. Some call it balance. Day and night. Light and dark. Sun and stars. Birth and death. People look for meaning when it''s only chaos disguised as order... ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ WELCOME TO THE BREACH.

The first novel in a new Cold War fantasy series, where the Berlin Wall is made entirely of magic. When a breach unexpectedly appears in the wall, spies from both sides swarm to the city as World War III threatens to spark. AFTER THE WAR, THE WALL BROUGHT AN UNEASY PEACE. When Soviet magicians conjured an arcane wall to blockade occupied Berlin, the world was outraged but let it stand for the sake of peace. Now, after ten years of fighting with spies instead of spells, the CIA has discovered the unthinkable... THE WALL IS FAILING. While refugees and soldiers mass along the border, operatives from East and West converge on the most dangerous city in the world to either stop the crisis, or take advantage of it. Karen, a young magician with the American Office of Magical Research and Deployment, is sent to investigate the breach in the Wall and determine if it can be fixed. Instead, she discovers that the truth is elusive in this divided city--and that even magic itself has its own agenda. THE TRUTH OF THE WALL IS ABOUT TO BE REVEALED.

From Philip K. Dick Award-nominated author M.T. Hill and selected as The Times 'Best Book of the Month', The Breach is a unique science fiction mystery set in the dangerous underground world of the urban exploration scene. Freya Medlock, a reporter at her local paper, is down on her luck and chasing a break. When she's assigned to cover the death of a young climber named Stephen, she might just have the story she needs. Digging into Stephen's life, Freya uncovers a strange photo uploaded to an urban exploration forum not long before he died. It seems to show a weird nest, yet the caption below suggests there's more to it. Freya believes this nest - discovering what it really is and where it's hidden - could be the key to understanding the mysteries surrounding Stephen's death. Soon she meets Shep, a trainee steeplejack with his own secret life. When Shep's not working up chimneys, he's also into urban exploration - undertaking dangerous 'missions' into abandoned and restricted sites. As Shep draws Freya deeper into the urbex scene, the circumstances of Stephen's death become increasingly unsettling - and Freya finds herself risking more and more to get the answers she wants. But neither Freya nor Shep realise that some dark corners are better left unlit.

When an imperial family is found butchered, Officers of God are called to investigate. Evidence points to a rebel group trying to stab fear into the very heart of the empire. Inspector Khlid begins a harrowing hunt for those responsible, but when a larger conspiracy comes to light, she struggles to trust even the officers around her.

Vols. 2-6 of the CAIB's Final Report contain appendices that provide the supporting documentation for the main text of the Final Report contained in Vol. 1, which was released on Aug. 26, 2003. These appendix materials were working documents. They contain a number of conclusions and proposed recommendations, several of which were adopted by the CAIB in Vol. 1. The other conclusions and proposed recommendations drawn in Vols. 2-6 do not necessarily reflect the views of the CAIB but are included for the record. When there is conflict, Vol. 1 takes precedence. It alone is the CAIB's official statement.