Echo Protocol: A Sci-Fi Novella


Book Description

In a world governed by secrets and shadows, a government project known as Echo emerges, promising to reshape the very fabric of existence. The project grants individuals the power to transform into anyone they touch, assimilating their DNA, knowledge, and memories. But what begins as a potential tool for good quickly becomes a battleground of ethics, redemption, and the pursuit of justice. This science fiction thriller delves into the lives of a diverse team of individuals, each grappling with their own past mistakes and seeking redemption in a world teetering on the edge of chaos. Led by Dr. Rebecca Foster, a visionary scientist haunted by the consequences of her creations, the team embarks on a transformative journey to dismantle the corrupt systems that allowed injustice to thrive. As they navigate the shadows of their own pasts, the team encounters a host of challenges, from rogue agents wielding the power of Echo for personal gain to deep-rooted conspiracies that threaten to unravel the very fabric of society. Along the way, they must confront their own fears, doubts, and the moral complexities that arise when wielding the power to become anyone. Through each chapter, the story explores themes of redemption, identity, and the consequences of scientific innovation. The team grapples with the moral implications of their past actions and embarks on a quest to right the wrongs of their own making. Their journey takes them from the halls of power to the darkest corners of the underworld as they uncover hidden truths, face formidable adversaries, and ultimately redefine their purpose in a world that yearns for change. The story weaves together elements of suspense, action, and introspection as the characters navigate a world where the boundaries of identity are blurred and the echoes of the past linger in every decision. As they strive to undo the damage caused by their own creations, they must confront their own vulnerabilities, forge new alliances, and inspire a movement that transcends their individual stories. In the end, this science fiction thriller challenges our notions of identity and explores the enduring power of redemption. It reminds us that even in the darkest of times, hope can emerge, and that the choices we make today can echo through eternity, shaping a better world for future generations.




Echoes of War


Book Description

Decades of war started by a genocidal faction of aliens threatens the existence of any human or alien resisting their rule on Earth. Dani survives by scavenging enough supplies to live another day while avoiding the local military and human-hunting Wardens. But then she learns that she is part of the nearly immortal alien race of Echoes—not the human she’s always thought herself to be—and suddenly nothing in her life seems certain. Following her discovery of her alien roots, Dani risks her well-being to save a boy from becoming a slave—a move that only serves to make her already-tenuous existence on the fringes of society in Maine even more unstable, and which forces her to revisit events and people from past lives she can’t remember. Dani believes the only way to defeat the Wardens and end their dominance is to unite the Commonwealth’s military and civilians, and she becomes resolved to play her part in this battle. Her attempts to change the bleak future facing the humans and Echoes living on Earth suffering under the Wardens will lead her to clash with a tyrant determined to kill her and all humankind—a confrontation that even her near-immortal heritage may not be able to help her survive.




Echoes


Book Description

The essential collection of beloved ghost stories, compiled by the editor who helped define the genre—including stories from award-winning, bestselling authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Hoffman, Seanan McGuire, and Paul Tremblay. Everyone loves a good ghost story, especially Ellen Datlow—the most lauded editor in short works of supernatural suspense and dark fantasy. The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories is her definitive collection of ghost stories. These twenty-nine stories, including all new works from New York Times bestselling authors Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Hoffman, Seanan McGuire, and Paul Tremblay, span from the traditional to the eclectic, from the mainstream to the literary, from pure fantasy to the bizarrely supernatural. Whether you’re reading alone under the covers with a flashlight, or around a campfire with a circle of friends, there’s something here to please—and spook—everyone. Contributors include: Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Hoffman, Vincent J. Masterson, A.C. Wise, M. Rickert, Seanan McGuire, Lee Thomas, Alison Littlewood, M.L. Siemienowicz, Richard Kadrey, Indrapramit Das, Richard Bowes, Nick Mamatas, Terry Dowling, Aliette de Bodard, Carole Johnstone, Dale Bailey, Stephen Graham Jones, Bracken MacLeod, Garth Nix, Brian Evenson, Jeffrey Ford, Gemma Files, Paul Tremblay, Nathan Ballingrud, Pat Cadigan, John Langan.




Echo


Book Description

How far would you go to save someone you love? Would you give up your body? Your mind? Your heart? I did and it cost me everything. He says he owns me. And it's true. I've signed over complete control of my body and life for six months to a man I don't know. Five years he's been planning this. They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But my blackmailer serves it up white hot. He's addicted to my innocence, and I'm addicted to him. He likes to hurt me. I love to let him. He brings me to life. He sets me free. He makes my heart feel things it shouldn't. But he also scares me. He holds the fate of my brother's life in his hands. A life behind bars for crimes I know he didn't commit. My blackmailer can't give up his revenge on my family, and I can't be with him if he doesn't. But I'm nothing more than a butterfly caught in his net. Do I really have a choice?




The Talebearer


Book Description

For the last 19 years and 363 days, Elizabeth Boone walked into the federal courthouse without a problem. On day 364, a bullet sends her to the hospital and changes her life forever. In the aftermath of the shooting, Liz quits her job and moves to a small house on the edge of a beautiful park in Spokane, but life doesn’t get back to normal. Visions haunt her, pushing her to the point of despair. Reaching out for help she meets a fellow survivor, Willow Blue, and together they discover Liz’s visions show her the faces of the lost and the killer who took their lives. As one by one the murdered are found, a stranger works to stop Liz before the serial killer is brought to justice. Will the love they discover in each other be enough to keep Liz safe? Or will she be the next to die?




World Safari


Book Description

"World Safari" follows the journey of a charismatic explorer named John Hunter as he embarks on a global expedition to capture the beauty and diversity of wildlife, landscapes, and cultures across different continents. Along his travels, John encounters numerous challenges, heartwarming moments, and unexpected adventures that shape his perspective on the world.




LOst Echoes


Book Description




In Search of the Lost World: The Modernist Quest for the Thing, Matter, and Body


Book Description

From a historical perspective, the book studies how modernist artists, as the first generation who began to rethink intensively the legacy of German Idealism, sought to recreate the self so as to recreate their relationships with the material world. Theoretically, the book converses with the topical de-anthropocentric interests in the 21st century and proposes that the artist may escape human-centeredness through the transformation of the self. Part One, “Artificiality,” begins the discussion with the fin-de-siècle cult of artificiality, where artists such as Theophile Gautier, Charles Baudelaire, J.K. Huysmans, and Gustave Moreau dedicate themselves to love stony sphinxes, marble statues, and inorganic appearances. The cult of artificiality is a mischievous subversion to Hegel’s maxim that inwardness is superior to matter. In the cult of artificiality, art is superior to nature, though art is no longer defined as immaterial imagination but rather reconfigured as mysterious appearances that defy signification and subjugate the feeling heart. Part Two, “Auto-philosophical Fiction,” discusses the genre where the artists (Marcel Proust, Walter Pater, and Virginia Woolf) set philosophical ideas in the laboratory of their lives and therefore translate their aesthetic ideals—the way they wish to relate to the world—into a journey of self-examination and self-cultivation. In Pater’s novel 'Marius the Epicurean', the hero explores how a philosophical percept may be translated into sentiments and actions, demonstrating that literature is a unique approach to truth as it renders theory into a transformative experience. Exploring the latest findings of empiricist psychology, the artists seek to escape the Kantian trap by cultivating their powers of reception and to register passing thoughts and sensations. Together, the book argues that de-anthropocentrism cannot be predicated upon a metaphysics that presumes universal subjectivity but must be a form of aesthetic inquiry that recreates the self in order to recreate our relationships with the world.




Necromantia


Book Description

When seeing dead people is more than a movie tagline. Circe Latham’s secret has always set her apart from everyone, but these days she uses it to bring home those whose lives are stolen too soon. Alongside her search dog, Zelda, she is able to make a difference, and the chance to work a case with Deputy Sheriff Diana Erni is an exciting challenge. Until the case takes a deadly turn and her own life hangs in the balance. In order to save herself, Circe must do the one thing she swore never to do again: share her secret. Will her trust in Diana be strong enough to save her life or will she too fall victim to a killer?




The Artist


Book Description

Tula Crane has spent twenty years hiding in plain sight. No one knows she used to be one of the most talented artists of her generation, and she wants to keep it that way. Except the very talent that made her a child prodigy won’t let her free, and it’s taken a deadly turn. She’s painting the faces of murdered women. Casey Wilson earned her place as the first woman detective in the Moses Lake Police Department and carved out a solid reputation for getting cases solved. The last thing she needs is a crazy artist sticking her nose into a murder investigation that’s quickly turning into the biggest case in Central Washington. She’ll solve the murders without the help of a psychic painter, thank you very much. But as the body count rises, Casey and Tula are drawn together in a web of passion, intrigue, and art that might just hold the key to stopping a killer.