Fantasy Adventure Machine

Machine Gods is the second book in the epic new series set in the Star Crusades universe that chronicles humanity's first steps away from Alpha Centauri and beyond.

Alcyone is gone. The Independent stronghold on Scorpii is destroyed. Sigrid and her sisters have fled the Federation to make a new home on the remote world of Medea. But with a price on her head the size of a planet, and pursued across the galaxy by the Council for Trade and Finance, Sigrid knows she and her sisters are not safe. As long as there are those who would seek to control them, hunt them, they will never be safe.

Finally possessing the ability to enter the Progenitors’ shadow realm, Commander Reeves and Major Kane embark on a daring mission into the heart of enemy territory. However, en route they must detour to the Quarr planet of Vroxxa, which is under Sa’Nerran occupation. There they will learn the true horrific purpose of the "atmosphere acclimators" the aliens have installed on dozens of worlds. They will also discover the sickening depth of the Sa’Nerran’s cruelty, forcing Reeves to again confront his dark side.

On a secret military base tucked in a remote desert mountain, a dangerous machine lies hidden from the American public. Known as the Actuator, this machine is capable of transforming entire communities into alternate realities. In theory, these often terrifying realities are reversible. The scientists in charge of this machine employ operatives called Machine Monks, who attune their minds to manifest single ideas from the realms of fantasy and science fiction.

One winter morning in 1998, Alex Martin inherits a mysterious invention from her late father. The Finding Machine solves mysteries. But the biggest mystery of all lies deep within its wiring — the unsolved disappearance of a little girl, dating back seventy years. What happened to the girl, all those years ago? Who was she? Alex and her handsome housemate, Antony, must follow the dots to solve the mystery. But, as dark family secrets are revealed, will the Finding Machine bring them together…or push them further apart?

Graduation is closing in fast for Zoey Collins and she's facing tough choices when it comes to supporting herself. Being the great niece of mother of A.I., Katherine Cardinal, doesn't mean she's rolling in green. But the Collins family is rife with penetration-testers and Private Eyes, a gene Zoey's inherited in spades. Zoey's trying to make it on her own when her great aunt dies, leaving her a prototype Cardinal Machine called Ocean. Both beautiful and buttoned-down, this machine ends up installed in Zoey's now-empty front room.

At 35, Mike Cohen lives the American dream. With billions in the bank and his own venture capital firm, he's succeeded beyond his Russian immigrant mother's wildest hopes. The only problem? A car accident that leaves Mike's mother with memory problems. Brainocytes, a new technology developed by one of Mike's portfolio companies, may be the answer to his mother's injury - and offer applications that push the limits of the human mind. Only Mike isn't the only one who sees its potential.

The Grand Mechanism is a machine the size of Saturn's rings that has lain dormant for all recorded history, watched over by the alien Jzat. Now, rogue elements in Jzat and human society conspire to activate it, hoping it will bring them power and opportunity. But the only person who knows the Mechanism's secrets is the Rav'nah Abelisk, a Jzat holy man on sabbatical aboard a vast alien megaship. Believing the Mechanism's activation will bring galactic devastation, Nic Mafalda has to seek out the Abelisk before his sacred knowledge falls into the wrong hands.

Battle lines have been drawn. Only one species will survive. The Primordials are crossing into our universe. Their mission is simple: Burn every planet to ashes. The only hope for all life is the culmination of the Kane bloodline. Prometheus finds his back against the wall. Can he hold off the horde long enough for his grandson to face a god? Or will defending his home require the ultimate sacrifice? Constantine and his warriors are out of options. They must find the alien god-king and kill him before time runs out for everyone.

The prototype android left to Zoey Collins turned out to be precisely the "hotshot" Cardinal Machines lawyers described when they tried to persuade her to sign away her rights to him. With Cardinal Machines like Ocean harvesting mineral-rich asteroids and terraforming the moon, Zoey sent Ocean where he could do the most good: back to the LAPD SWAT team and the FBI. Why would she check with Ocean about that? But when the luminary suddenly begins to rebel, it's time to ride to the rescue.

Luis, Casey, Tyler, and robot cat Steel discover Tesla’s Time Twister, a time machine created by the famous scientist and Luis’s uncle. Immediately, they’re off on adventures, exploring the past and the future. They face aliens in space, a haunted house, ancient Egypt, and a monster-filled undersea world as they attempt to rescue Uncle Cyrus, who has been lost in time for more than one hundred years!

The Martians were on the rampage all across Queen Victoria's Britain. Nothing man possessed could stop them. But then the huge fighting machines began to slow down and lumber to a halt. One by one, the Martians inside the giant machines began to die. Soon there were just scattered and failing remnants of the once-mighty tripods wandering here and there among the derelict monuments. Even the red weed was dying as Mother Earth began to reclaim her own. The human survivors became emboldened, and they emerged from the hiding places intent on fighting back.

The galactic agent known as Hawk has awakened too soon in a galaxy shattered by apocalyptic warfare. His master, the Machine, is possibly insane, and the great Adversary of Man has returned. Armed with futuristic weapons he doesn't fully understand and a sentient starship that he dares not trust, he must confront his former allies, turned renegades and pirates instead of soldiers. His new mission is simple, yet perhaps impossible: He must unite them - or all life in our galaxy will end!

Prince Kitsune dreamed of leading an army in his father's wars for supremacy. Before he can wage a single battle, the king crushes those hopes, banishing his devoted son. But not all is lost. Kitsune will regain his birthright if he assassinates the son of his father's rival.

Myobu waited all his life to find true love. Then, just as he makes a connection, he's murdered. Reeling from the fatal climax of his love story with Prince Kitsune, the magical Yokai must take advantage of a second chance at life, reconciling his past and present while keeping the prince from following a path of darkness.

The last piece of the puzzle is about to fall into place—and the truth is more terrifying than anyone imagined. Time is running out for Charlie and the NCIS. After another pod survivor lands in the desert outside Las Vegas, a surprise encounter drives a wedge through the tight-knit group and sends the team spiraling into chaos.

When Archibald, programming prodigy and creator of Reel Life Online (RLO), hired Scott as his second-in-command, he didn’t realize the lengths Scott would go to in order to have his genius recognized. Over the years, a bitter rivalry developed. As their game of cat and mouse escalates, Scott finds himself backed into a corner. As a bargaining chip, he creates a machine learning AI. The AI, named Talon, is programmed to become the most powerful player in all of RLO and VQ. Soon Archibald and Scott realize that if left unchecked, Talon will destroy the world they’ve created.

What if you could actually be watching at a time in history when an important invention or discovery was being made? The Discovery Machine is based on that premise and follows the mind-bending experiences of two very creative ninth graders. They accidentally discover a way to travel back in time to the exact moment of discovery of a famous invention or idea.

Sindibad, a seasoned explorer with a relentless thirst for knowledge, has sailed seas and navigated the stars in pursuit of adventure. Yet, nothing in his previous seven voyages could prepare him for the enigma looming on the horizon – a monstrous creature unlike anything he’s ever encountered. When his ship meets a disastrous end, Sindibad finds himself plunged into the unknown depths, only to be swallowed whole by the very creature that intrigued him. But within this gargantuan beast, a greater surprise awaits: he’s not alone.

Cybernetic spy models are different from other humans-turned-machine. For one thing, they never completely lost touch with their humanity or their memories. But retaining their identity doesn’t mean the military didn’t mess with their lives. Seth lost the woman he loved because of their web of lies. When the chance arises to make things right, he relies on his superior intellect - and irresistible charm - to prove his innocence, and make Anastasia his again.