Doug wasn't sure whether he should trust Satan.The red flag was that he said he was Satan. But the deal was good: Listen to Satan's story in exchange for some donuts. And Doug only half-fulfilled his part of the bargain.But maybe he should have listened better, because during his friend Bryce's next scheme (theft with light to moderate treason-the usual), Doug and the rest of his friends-Lulu (the fun one) and Charlene (the not fun one)-end up with a powerful artifact, a small metal cube with world-ending power that Lulu decorated with bunnies. And now everyone wants the bunny cube, which means Doug, Bruce, Lulu, and Charlene are being pursued by a insane supermodel general, an army of sadists, a vast criminal organization, a smaller, more-in-startup-mode criminal organization, and an unstoppable killing machine-the worst kind of killing machine.Doug and his friends may be a bunch of losers who aren't particularly smart or good at anything, but they have one thing going for them: a really cool name for their mercenary group. And now it's up to Hellbender to save the world-well, what's left of it. It's pretty ruined and war-torn already. But, you know, they live there, so they kind of need it.It's a mess, but that's what you get for listening to Satan. Or half-listening.

Although the Collins clan is steeped in Appalachian magic, Henry has never paid it much attention. But when his younger sister dies mysteriously Henry can't shake the feeling that the decades-old feud between his family and another is to blame. Strange things are happening at the edge of reality, deep in the forests and mountains of West Virginia. Let Jason Jack Miller take you to a place where love is forever even when death isn't, where magic doesn't have to be seen to be believed, where a song might be the only thing that saves your soul. Jason Jack Miller's Murder Ballads and Whiskey series is a unique blend of dark fiction, urban fantasy and horror. It's Appalachian Gothic, Alt.Magical.Realism, Hillbilly Horror. It's American Gods meets Justified. True Blood with witches. It's Johnny Cash with a fistful of copperheads singing the devil right back to hell.

The first book-length, epic poem about Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, aka North America’s largest salamander. Through an investigative poetic lens of folklore, history, science and ecology, grotesque-advocate Mark Spitzer paints a four-part profile of an amazing phenomenon. This semi-monstrous mosaic of a living, breathing barometer of water quality and biodiversity is accomplished through a visionary voice that incorporates research, data, primary sources, and images that twist and torque like an actual bender (as the mythology goes) wending its way back to hell.

Texas-1859 As the Rio Grande Valley reels from the onslaught of Cortina's Mexican insurgents, a Tejano named Cardoza lays siege to a prominent rancho. Ranger Lin Jarret takes the assignment to ride to the defense, and he's ready to fight the devil, not babysit pampered heiress Reece Sinclair-no matter how beautiful she is. Reece, however, holds more than one secret close to her breast-secrets shrouded in powder smoke, backed up with lead...and very dangerous for Lin Jarret. When the Texas borderland explodes in all-out war, Lin Jarret is hurled into battle, his carbine and Colt .44 primed and ready. At his side is the surprisingly deadly Reece, a runaway slave with secrets of his own, and a hell-bending pack of wild shootists primed to kill. Hellbenders is the first searing adventure in an exciting new Western series.

The definitive resource for finding, identifying, and conserving Maryland’s amphibians and reptiles. Naturalists, herpetologists, and ecologists alike agree that tracking herpetofauna is a challenging undertaking. Scientists are concerned about the decline of once-familiar species, but evidence has often been too anecdotal to support firm conclusions. To better understand the distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Maryland and forecast species' futures in a time of accelerated environmental threats, conducting a comprehensive statewide survey updating 1970s-era distribution maps seemed ideal. However, this endeavor was of an impossibly ambitious scope for scientists alone to tackle. Enter the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas project, comprising nearly a thousand dedicated citizen scientists who discovered and recorded the locations of herpetofauna throughout every corner of Maryland. In The Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas, Heather R. Cunningham and Nathan H. Nazdrowicz present the findings of this massive undertaking. This definitive guide combines nearly 160 comprehensive new herpetological maps with historical distribution maps and in-depth species accounts. Color photos illustrate the natural history of the 89 species of frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, and lizards that call the state home. Essays discuss historical studies, the effects of Maryland's current climate, geology, and habitat diversity—and the myriad conservation issues these animals face. This richly detailed book represents a triumph of citizen science and the culmination of an intensive research partnership. It will appeal to both amateurs and professionals interested in herpetology, natural history, or ecology, as well as those with a special interest in Maryland's biodiversity.

I-Day is near at hand, and soon the Fangborn will reveal themselves to humankind. As a member of this secretive race of werewolves, vampires, and oracles, will archaeologist Zoe Miller be prepared? Still grappling with the newfound powers she gained after opening Pandora's box, Zoe shares the responsibility of protecting "Normal" humans. Having long preferred to keep to the shadows, she knows the pending revelation of the Fangborn will set the world on fire. With Fangborn enemies in the Order of Nicomedia forcing their hand, Zoe and her supernatural Family have no choice but to step into the spotlight. But that decision has garnered the attention of the powerful and otherworldly beings known as the Makers. They claim to have created the Fangborn--not as saviors, but as predators. And it seems they have their own plans for Zoe...and for the fate of all the Fangborn. Filled with stunning twists, Hellbender takes the Fangborn series to a thrilling new dimension.

"When the Sky Goes Dark" is a horrific thriller that dives into a twisted world filled with raging maniacs that come out at night. It's up to Jonathan Barnes, a young college student, to traverse the terrors of the mysterious epidemic and find his loved ones before it's too late.