Mirth & Mayhem Mission Pack 2


Book Description

If crime paid better, they wouldn't have to do so much of it. Chuck, Mort, and their sometimes-accomplice Brad seek to cheat the galaxy out of an honest living. No law goes unscoffed at. No truth gets uttered when a lie might make more money. And if the job involves murder... well, that's wizard's work. Mission 5: Viva Las Vega IX Gambling, betrayal, and a backroom deal to deliver cargo—no questions asked—collide in a seedy casino with its own comedy club. Plus, a fugitive wizard has found shelter among the upper echelons of a major syndicate. Wait, syndicates control Vega IX? I'm shocked! Mission 6: Ventura Starway In a remote section of space, a convoy of ships gathers around a central flagship to buy, sell, and trade. You can find anything if you're willing to pay the price, including more trouble than you bargained for. This goes double if you're looking to rob the place. Mission 7: Fly Like an Ego Summer camp goes horribly wrong. Instead of racing for fun and glory, Brad finds himself fighting for his life. But what if the pirates who take him hostage happen to be hiring? Mission 8: Sixteen Tomes Mort had one job: track down a dark wizard, kill him, and collect any records of his research. Simple. Done it a hundred times before. But this is the first time it's been personal. Bonus Short Story: Dread Poet Society Emily Chisholm has a plan: finish grad school and settle down with her girlfriend. But when her grandmother summons her home to take her rightful place as leader of the Poet Fleet, Emily's well-laid plans start to crumble. Can the heir to the galaxy's most notorious pirate fleet convince the love of her life to embrace a life of piracy? Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem follows a mismatched duo of itinerant comedian and outlaw wizard as they roam the galaxy trying to eke out a living and stay ahead of the consequences of their actions. Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem looks back at an earlier era in the Black Ocean universe, and returning readers will get to see how some of their favorite characters came to be. Fans of morally gray heroes and slick talking conmen will love this series. Grab your copy before someone else does.




Mirth & Mayhem Mission Pack 1


Book Description

The galaxy isn't ready for Mort and Chuck. A traveling con man poses as a vintage comedian, touring the galaxy with his wife and kids in tow. When he picks up a hitchhiking wizard desperate to flee Earth, they become a hilarious mixed family. Crime, comedy, and magical mayhem are in store. Mission 1: Know When to Run A prominent wizard makes a deadly mistake and runs out his welcome on Earth. A shady comedian with a family and his own starship decides that a wizard hitchhiker is a risk worth taking. Despite bounty hunters, crime syndicates, and magical law enforcement on their trail, he just may be right. Mission 2: Low Flyer Sometimes lying low means flying low. Chuck and Mort head to a dusty colony in border space, hoping to let their pursuers lose their trail. But old debts and the hijinks of Chuck's son Brad make sure this is anything but rest and relaxation. Mission 3: The Good Die Young Chuck books a gig on a missionary ship operating outside ARGO space. Surely they have to be beyond the reach of the Convocation here, right? As it turns out, wizards aren't the only threat in the galaxy, and beyond ARGO's smothering law and order, pirates operate with impunity. ...and missionary ships are unarmed. Mission 4: Lyin' Guys The missionary ship incident caught the attention of the Convocation all the way back on Earth. Now, suspecting they have Mort cornered, a hand-picked team of wizard-killers is sent to collect his skull. Brute force won't save them. There's nowhere to run. There's only one way out: lying like their lives depend on it. Bonus Short Story: Unfamiliar Customs Chuck Ramsey has never been able to say no to easy money. What could be easier than transporting a family of ratatoret to their new home? Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem follows a mismatched duo of itinerant comedian and outlaw wizard as they roam the galaxy trying to eke out a living and stay ahead of the consequences of their actions. Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem looks back at an earlier era in the Black Ocean universe, and returning readers will get to see how some of their favorite characters came to be. Fans of morally gray heroes and slick talking conmen will love this series. Grab your copy before someone else does.




Mirth and Mayhem Mission Pack 3


Book Description

Suckers earn money. Truly epic idiots trick wizards into making it for them. Chuck Ramsey had come up with the best money-making plot of his entire career. His best friend is an unemployed wizard with a resume that would make a contract killer blush. What simpler way to generate income than to hire him out for high-paying jobs? And since there's a good chance he'd balk at being reduced to a simple paid killer, best not to let on how it all works. What could possibly go wrong? [Editor's note: Chuck, are you even listening to yourself anymore? This is a horrible idea! You're playing games with a man who used to barbecue dark wizards for a living! One of these books, I'm staging an intervention...] Mission 9 - Live and Let Kill Down on his luck and struggling to find work, Chuck Ramsey comes up with a crazy scheme: hire himself. Of course, the trick is to hire himself near where a contract killing needs to take place. Then, he has to trick his best friend, former librarian Mordecai The Brown, to track this guy down thinking the Convocation needs him dead. After that, it's just a matter of collecting a huge windfall. Mission 10 - 50 Ways to Leave a Planet When a scheme unravels, Chuck Ramsey panics. He sends word for his kids to scramble, hide, stay away until the coast is clear. Brad gets this message while watching his sister Michelle, and the two of them take off on an epic adventure to evade the law, criminal syndicates, the Convocation, and their own father--just in case. Mission 11 - Blowin' in the Wind On the run. New identities. Brad takes up an alias to hold down a job as his sister's legal guardian. Meanwhile, Chuck and Mort scour the galaxy for clues as to where the all-too-resourceful teen has hidden out. The only way Chuck will locate his son is to do some parenting and understand what makes Brad tick. Mission 12 - We Drink Alone When Mort gets an order to kill a popular trillionaire beer baron, he declines to take the job. For Chuck, a fan of the Milky Way's favorite beer, Earth's Preferred, not taking the job isn't enough. He convinces Mort that they need to go a step further and stop whoever is hired to replace Mort and protect the beer man from assassination. Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem follows a mismatched duo of itinerant comedian and outlaw wizard as they roam the galaxy trying to eke out a living and stay ahead of the consequences of their actions. Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem looks back at an earlier era in the Black Ocean universe, and returning readers will get to see how some of their favorite characters came to be. Fans of morally gray heroes and slick talking conmen will love this series. Grab your copy before someone else does.




Mirth & Mayhem Mission Pack 4


Book Description

Crime may kill, kidnap, and blackmail, but it DOES pay. Chuck and Mort up the stakes and up the danger as they get tangled up with a crime syndicate. Meanwhile, we see an older Brad Ramsey turning into the man he'll become. Mission 13: Life is a Crime Wave The Rucker Syndicate as a problem, a snitch working with Earth Interstellar, beyond even their reach. Chuck has just the man for the job, a wizard with a particular set of skills. Brad gets a job with the syndicate as both a promising recruit and an insurance policy to keep Mort in line. Mission 14: Same as the Old Boss Mort gets recruited as the key player in a syndicate coup. Chuck's just holding on for dear life, finally seeing Mort for who he truly is. Brad ends up as a bodyguard for a syndicate princess on the run from kidnappers. Mission 15: Unfortunate Son Earth Navy has started a draft. As an Early Data Era devotee, Chuck Ramsey helps his son dodge it on principle. But Brad is on a self-appointed mission of revenge, and no force of magic of deceit will stop him from joining up. Mission 16: And Drift Away It was too good to last. Without Brad around as the lynchpin, the Chuck and Mort alliance breaks down. With one kid off at war and two rebelling at home, the strain on the family boils over into open conflict. As the children grow older, the family splits up, each on their own new path. (and at least one will go on to get his own series) Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem follows a mismatched duo of itinerant comedian and outlaw wizard as they roam the galaxy trying to eke out a living and stay ahead of the consequences of their actions. Black Ocean: Mirth & Mayhem looks back at an earlier era in the Black Ocean universe, and returning readers will get to see how some of their favorite characters came to be. Fans of morally gray heroes and slick talking conmen will love this series. Grab your copy before someone else does.




Astral Prime Mission Pack 2


Book Description

They'd discovered an ancient galactic wonder. Then they discovered its owners. By becoming the gateway to the mysterious and incalculably valuable Shadow Planet, Astral Prime had become prime galactic real estate. Poised at a nexus of religious pilgrimage, scientific curiosity, and military obsession, the site could be the key to the future of the Milky Way. Mission 5: Systemic Treachery The syndicate had given her an ultimatum: disappear. Watched and wary, Fujita Hiroko obeyed for years, burying herself in work. Now one of the galaxy's most recognized faces, owner of the universe's must-see tourist trap, she can't hide any longer. And that's going to cost her. Mission 6: Astral Messiah With Astral Prime in chaos, Kendra hatches a desperate attempt to use forbidden alien technology to bring a friend back from the dead. As the struggle for control of the station unfolds, her efforts go horribly awry and plunge everyone into a strange and unfamiliar universe. Mission 7: Parallel Enforcers They toyed with forces they didn't understand. Now, the inhabitants of Astral Prime are going to pay the price. Their foray into an alternate universe has not gone unnoticed. Nor will it go uninvestigated. Mission 8: Multiversal Truth In the aftermath of the station's invasion, Hiroko tries to rally the survivors around a new religion: hers. Combining her knowledge of anthropology with her alien enlightenment, she hopes to bring the galaxy together in spiritual awakening. Meanwhile, Cedric delves into the origins of the stations attackers, seeking a deeper understanding of why they came in the first place. Bonus Short Story: What Kane Did Ever wonder how our favorite crotchety, backstabbing chief engineer got the way he is? The secret lives of Roland Kane unravel in this retrospective short story. Black Ocean: Astral Prime hearkens back to location-based space sci-fi classics like Babylon 5 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Astral Prime builds on the rich Black Ocean universe, introducing a colorful cast of characters for new and returning readers alike. Come along for the ride as a minor outpost in the middle of nowhere becomes a key point of interstellar conflict.




Mercy for Hire Mission Pack 2


Book Description

Almighty Ra looks down not from one sun but from all! Someone has taken an ancient Earth religion and rebranded it for the 26th Century. Multi-stellar, multi-species, the Cult of Ra has an answer for everything... Except a wizard who's sick of them preying on innocent people. Mission 5: Sunshine of Your Cult Still getting used to life without magic, Esper accepts a mission that seems easy enough on the surface. An actor is searching for a kidnapped co-worker. Just two little problems with that. The actor seems intent on tagging along, offering questionable "help" along the way. And his co-star is in the clutches of a deadly cult. Mission 6: Walk Like a Magician Now on a crusade to pull the Cult of Ra out of the galaxy by the roots, Esper and company find a arms manufacturer secretly funding the cult. But when taking on such a formidable foe without magic proves too much, Esper takes drastic measures to even the odds. Mission 7: Hotel Caledonia This could be the break Esper has been waiting for. A mysterious whistleblower looks to take down the Cult of Ra from the inside. He's willing to tell Esper everything. Her rendezvous aboard a luxury cruise ship goes horribly wrong when she meets her contact—at the scene of his murder. Mission 8: Eye of the Pharaoh The beating heart of the Cult of Ra is its founder, the self-styled pharaoh Ramesses XIII. And Esper knows where to find him. The cult flagship will be in orbit of a planet whose populace has converted to their religion. So, all Esper and her friends have to do it get to a planet full of zealots, sneak about their most powerful warship, and depose the pharaoh amid his most trusted guards and wizards. And they know Esper is coming. Bonus Short Story: Curriculum Vitae A top secret glimpse into Major Wesley Wesley's classified final mission with Omicron Squad. Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire follows the exploits of a pair of do-gooder bounty hunters who care more about saving the day than getting a payday. Mercy for Hire builds on the rich Black Ocean universe and introduces a colorful cast for new and returning readers alike. Fans of vigilante justice and heroes who exemplify the word will love this series. Grab your copy and support the cause of justice.




Salvage Trouble


Book Description

The escape pods are long gone. A distress beacon is still active. Chase off the pirates and the wreck is all theirs. What was a crime scene moments before just became legitimate salvage, fair game for an opportunistic starship captain. Carl Ramsey is that opportunist. His crew of misfits includes his ex-wife as pilot, a drunken mechanic, a predatory bodyguard, and an outcast wizard from the Convocation. On their best days, they’re a well-oiled machine, capable of taking on any challenge. In theory. If that ever happened, Carl would be as shocked as anyone. In the meantime, they're a crew in need of terras, and the galaxy doesn't give those out for free. Jobs come and go, but the cost of fuel is always chasing a ship like its own ion trail. A good captain just keeps his crew from killing one another, getting dusted by pirates, and earning however they can. Nobody pays for easy work, and every job comes with its own surprises—never the good kind. Welcome to life out in the Black Ocean. ...where you can’t always get what you want. But if you try, sometimes... You’ll get what you need. Salvage Trouble is the first mission of Black Ocean, a science fantasy series set in the 26th century. Do you wish there had been a second season of Firefly? Do you love the irreverent fun of Guardians of the Galaxy? Have you ever wondered how Star Wars would have turned out if Luke and Obi-wan had ditched the rebellion to become smugglers with Han and Chewie? Then Black Ocean is the series for you! Pick up your copy of Salvage Trouble, and aim to misbehave with the crew of the Mobius.




Walk Like a Magician


Book Description

The witch is back! Esper tracks the Cult of Ra to an arms factory on a grimy colony world. With limited magical resources, they're reduced to doing their vigilante act the old fashioned way. But when their best efforts fall short, Esper is forced to make an impossible choice. In the aftermath, Esper is going to have to reevaluate her priorities and rediscover what magic means to her. With her powers returned, so has the dark voice that haunts her day and night. A reckoning is coming, and the only way to get out alive is to give in and be the wizard she's always had inside her. Walk Like a Magician is the sixth mission of Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire. It follows the exploits of a pair of do-gooder bounty hunters who care more about saving the day than getting a payday. Mercy for Hire builds on the rich Black Ocean universe and introduces a colorful cast for new and returning readers alike. Fans of vigilante justice and heroes who exemplify the word will love this series.




Wicked


Book Description

The New York Times bestseller and basis for the Tony-winning hit musical, soon to be a major motion picture starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande With millions of copies in print around the world, Gregory Maguire’s Wicked is established not only as a commentary on our time but as a novel to revisit for years to come. Wicked relishes the inspired inventions of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while playing sleight of hand with our collective memories of the 1939 MGM film starring Margaret Hamilton (and Judy Garland). In this fast-paced, fantastically real, and supremely entertaining novel, Maguire has populated the largely unknown world of Oz with the power of his own imagination. Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald-green skin—no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. Still, Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters Shiz University, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz’s most promising young citizens. But Elphaba’s Oz is no utopia. The Wizard’s secret police are everywhere. Animals—those creatures with voices, souls, and minds—are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals—even if it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Ever wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas. Recognized as an iconoclastic tour de force on its initial publication, the novel has inspired the blockbuster musical of the same name—one of the longest-running plays in Broadway history. Popular, indeed. But while the novel’s distant cousins hail from the traditions of magical realism, mythopoeic fantasy, and sprawling nineteenth-century sagas of moral urgency, Maguire’s Wicked is as unique as its green-skinned witch.




Beyond the Pale


Book Description

On a world called Eldh, an ancient gate of iron weakens. A darkness that has slept for a thousand years - the Pale King - stirs once more. On a world called Earth, a preacher of the Apocalypse blows into a Colorado mountain town with a message for those who dare to listen: the darkness is coming. Travis Wilder, bar-owner and drifter, is given a mysterious stone by a friend. Grace Beckett, ER doctor in Denver, finds a gunshot victim with a heart of iron. Both Travis and Grace must step beyond the pale, beyond the boundaries of the world they have known. As doors are opened for each of them, they enter Eldh, a world where they are caught against their wills in an age-old struggle between good and evil. A world of magic, runes and death . . .