Laurell K. Hamiltons Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is a literary sensation, thanks to its strong female hero, well-fleshed (both literally and literarily) characters and unabashed attitude toward sex. The world Hamilton has created is powerfu...

During the 1950s and early 1960s, the American film industry produced a distinct cycle of films situated on the boundary between horror and science fiction. Using the familiar imagery of science fiction--from alien invasions to biological mutation and space travel--the vast majority of these films subscribed to the effects and aesthetics of horror film, anticipating the dystopian turn of many science fiction films to come. Departing from projections of American technological awe and optimism, these films often evinced paranoia, unease, fear, shock, and disgust. Not only did these movies address technophobia and its psychological, social, and cultural corollaries; they also returned persistently to the military as a source of character, setting, and conflict. Commensurate with a state of perpetual mobilization, the US military comes across as an inescapable presence in American life. Regardless of their genre, Steffen Hantke argues that these films have long been understood as allegories of the Cold War. They register anxieties about two major issues of the time: atomic technologies, especially the testing and use of nuclear weapons, as well as communist aggression and/or subversion. Setting out to question, expand, and correct this critical argument, Hantke follows shifts and adjustments prompted by recent scholarly work into the technological, political, and social history of America in the 1950s. Based on this revised historical understanding, science fiction films appear in a new light as they reflect on the troubled memories of World War II, the emergence of the military-industrial complex, the postwar rewriting of the American landscape, and the relative insignificance of catastrophic nuclear war compared to America's involvement in postcolonial conflicts around the globe.

When her black sheep brother disappears, Amanda Janvier eagerly takes in her sixteen year-old niece Tally. The girl is practically an orphan: motherless, and living with a father who raises Tally wherever he lands– in a Buick, a pizza joint, a horse farm–and regularly takes off on wild schemes. Amanda envisions that she, her husband Neil, and their two teenagers can offer the girl stability and a shot at a “normal” life, even though their own storybook lives are about to crumble. Seventeen-year-old Chase Janvier hasn’t seen his cousin in years, and other than a vague curiosity about her strange life, he doesn’t expect her arrival will affect him much–or interfere with his growing, disturbing interest in a long-ago house fire that plagues his dreams unbeknownst to anyone else. Tally and Chase bond as they interview two Holocaust survivors for a sociology project, and become startlingly aware that the whole family is grappling with hidden secrets, with the echoes of the past, and with the realization that ignoring tragic situations won’t make them go away. Will Tally’s presence blow apart their carefully-constructed world, knocking down the illusion of the white picket fence and reveal a hidden past that could destroy them all–or can she help them find the truth without losing each other?

The story of Kein (Kīn) continues in the 9th installment of this novella series. Enjoy this short story as Kein continues through a difficult situation. Kein's heartbreaking and yet joyous journey continues as the results of Basement Level are dished out as cold as they can be. Alone, she must deal with the repercussions of the Judicium and a past she only wanted to forget. No one has won the Mortem and now Kein is one. She has no chance of surviving unless she can find some allies in the sadistic game. Her journey started in Monster of Monsters #1 Part One: Mortem's Opening and moves forward at an unrelenting pace. Light and darkness... All Kein wanted was to be devoured. As an orphan, she had been told since joining her school that it was very important that a house or clan devour her so when she met a creature promising to devour her, she was confused at first but then she was consoled that someone wanted her. A world of monsters and vampires and a world of humans... Loneliness can be a very strong emotion but it can also be a very strong motivator so even when a creature of the darkness invited her to come to her, innocence heeded the call. Kein began an adventure of heartache and joy as she walked the paths of shadow and light. She would discover what it was to be devoured as a dangerous game drew her into a deadly realm of wishes, revenge, hope, desire, love, and terror.

In the 1700s, merchant shipping in the Caribbean, African, and English seas, along with coastal cities, were targeted by pirates. Mutinies, even though rare, occurred due to low pay and unsanitary conditions. I Thought I Was Alone: A Pirate's Tale is such a story.Finney, a greenhorn sailor, was on such a vessel. After the mutiny, Finney finds himself alone on a three-mast schooner in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. Hoping to sail home to England alone began his many adventures.Finney found an island with an ancient city and a treasure room. He gets captured by cannibals, pirates, and the English Royal Navy, who steals his treasure. He is championed by an outer-space alien race who assists him in getting his treasure back.Finally, in England, he buys his own merchant shipping company and is befriended by the king, who promotes him to admiral with the task of eliminating the seas of a bloodthirsty pirate queen.Sail with Finney as he finds himself in awkward and dangerous situations. I dare you to put it down.

Type: novella and the word count is about 42,800 words. The Game sears through bonds of friendship... Light and darkness... All Kein wanted was to be devoured. As an orphan, she had been told since joining her school that it was very important that a house or clan devour her so when she met a creature promising to devour her, she was confused at first but then she was consoled that someone wanted her. New to Monster of Monsters series? Read the first two ebooks for "FREE". A world of monsters and a world of humans... Loneliness can be a very strong emotion but it can also be a very strong motivator so even when a creature of the darkness invited her to come to her, innocence heeded the call. Kein began an adventure of heartache and joy as she walked the paths of shadow and light. She would discover what it was to be devoured as a dangerous game drew her into a deadly realm of wishes, revenge, hope, desire, love, and horror. Monster of Monsters #1 Part 7: The Outsider, Chimera Rises Kein's secret is out, and she must come to terms with the horrible thing she did in the past. Monster of Monsters Science Fiction Horror Action Adventure Novella Serial Series: 1. Monster of Monsters #1 Part One: Mortem's Opening 2. Monster of Monsters #1 Part Two: Mortem's Contestant 3. Monster of Monsters #1 Part Three: And Let The Real Games Begin 4. Monster of Monsters #1 Part Four: A Bargain Has Been Struck, Too Bad For You 5. Monster of Monsters #1 Part Five: Secrets Told And Secrets Unfold 6. Monster of Monsters #1 Part Six: Vampires, Dragons, And Mummies... Oh my! 7. Monster of Monsters #1 Part Seven: The Outsider, Chimera Rises The Mortem was a centuries-old game no one has ever won. A world where games are won and lost and where the contestants wager their lives. Monsters ( also known as Monstrum Races ) of the Mortem include vampires, werewolves, Kumovons ( spider people ), the Mummy, a mad scientist, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, Dr. Griffin, Scorpioids ( Scorpion people ), dragons, the Atlantean ( being similar to the Creature from the Black Lagoon ), succubus, Centipedia ( Centipede people ), chimeras, Mortem Masters ( those who are like Dungeon Masters ), vampire slayers, monster hunters, basilisk, Baron Samedi, Iceland Giant Earthworm, Frankenstein's monster, Raijū ( thunder animal or thunder beast ), ghosts, witches, bigfoot, fringe science, Cybernetics, Genetic Engineering, Phoenix, jinni or genies, etc. My novels, novellas, short stories, and flash fiction range from science fiction, fantasy, action-adventure, horror with elements of mystery, thriller, suspense, dark fantasy, gothic, a mix of fairy tales, legends, and epic fantasy. Explore my worlds of magic, tech, werewolf, sword and sorcery, killer robots, UFO, witches, dragon baby, undead, demented games, vampires, villains, flying saucers, dungeons and dragons, werewolves, ghosts, mummies, assassins, monsters, androids, leviathan, aliens, curse of the mummy, mutants, warlocks, dragon riders, sorcerer, superheroes, zombies, mutant creatures, etc.

Head down, mouth shut—this is Askari’s new mantra. A pall still hangs over the Baratok community from the rarohan attack only a few months before, and all Askari wants is to stay out of trouble and help her grieving community heal. Until a stranger rides into camp. He offers her a chance to obtain something rare and valuable—monster blood with healing properties that could help prevent more of her people from dying. But when the mission goes wrong, she becomes the target of a relentless monster who won’t stop pursuing her until she and everyone around her are dead. Her only thought is to lead it away from the Baratok community, even if that means sacrificing herself. Injured, scared, and with only Harcos and Shujaa to help her fight, Askari flees from the Baratok with the monster on her tail. As she runs, fights, overcomes injuries, and encounters unimaginable terrors, she begins to wonder if she’ll ever make it back home—or if she even wants to.