The acclaimed author of The Iskra Incident puts his experience as an Air Force commander and fighter pilot to extraordinary use once again in this top-notch techno-thriller, a "novel (that) rockets off the launch pad" (Library Journal). The U.S. and Soviets, long at peace on Earth, enter into a cold war in the far reaches of outer space.

Seven suburban misfits are constructing a spaceship out of old tanker cars. The plan is to beat the Chinese to Mars--in under four days at three million miles an hour. It would be history in the making if it didn't sound so insane.

Michelle Rosenchild is a young woman who's grown sick of working in retail. After being betrayed by Corporate America, she turns into a supervillain known as "Black Thunder," who vows to expose the corruption of modern society. Together with her pals Captain Silverware, Deerboy, and Minor Inconvenience Man, they try plotting world domination, only to realize it's incredibly difficult when you're poor and don't know how to build a super death-ray. Instead, they decide to plot a bank robbery, so they can make some quick cash, and maybe buy their own secret supervillain island somewhere. But along the way, Black Thunder gets recruited by a gang of terrorists known as "The Furies," who are hell-bent on tearing down the city's government. Now, Black Thunder is faced with a dire choice: Should she help "The Furies" with their acts of villainy...Or defend the corrupt system she claims to hate? THE LEGEND OF BLACK THUNDER is a black comedy which deconstructs supervillain tropes from throughout comic book history, questioning the idea of what it means to be a villain, and who the true "villains" are in the world today. After all, who should we be more afraid of: Comic book villains, or the people they owe back-taxes to? Read what top critics are saying about The Legend of Black Thunder: “Well, at least it’s better than ‘The Golden Age.’” – everyone “Wait, why is this written like a stage play?” – also everyone “I’m totally going to read it!” – people who read 5 pages and then put it away “It was okay, I guess.” – people who actually read it “Of all the books I’ve ever read, I can definitely say that this was one of them.” – The Rock (Not Dwayne Johnson—literally just a rock.) “Makes for great kindling.” – Kindling Magazine (which also makes for great kindling) “seen.” – The Washington Post ABOUT THE AUTHOR KALEB QUIST is a non-award-winning “author” whose last book, The Golden Age – a story about retired superheroes living together in a nursing home – peaked at 1,354,971 on Amazon’s list of best-selling novels. Kaleb Quist currently resides in Southern Oregon, which is only slightly better than anywhere in California. When he’s not making up words about fake people for monetary gain, he enjoys firing people at places he doesn’t work, driving 5 miles over the speed limit, and screaming obscenities at the local ducks.

Known for “superior science fiction” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), author John Varley returns to his Thunder and Lightning series with a novel of how one man’s volatile genius could alter a starship’s epic plunge into a future where human survival is just a theory… On a voyage to New Earth, the starship Rolling Thunder is powered by an energy no one understands, except for its eccentric inventor Jubal Broussard. Like many of the ship’s inhabitants, Jubal rests in a state of suspended animation for years at a time, asleep yet never aging. The moments when Jubal emerges from suspended animation are usually a cause for celebration for his family, including his twin daughters—Cassie and Polly—and their uncle who is captain of the Rolling Thunder. But this time, Jubal makes a shocking announcement… The ship must stop, or everyone will die. These words from the mission’s founder, the man responsible for the very existence of the Rolling Thunder, will send shock waves throughout the starship—and divide its passengers into those who believe and those who doubt. And it will be up to Cassie and Polly to stop a mutiny, discover the truth, and usher the ship into a new age of exploration…

“A cosmic coming-of-age novel… enthralling everyman heroics.”—Paul Di Filippo, SciFi.com “Mars sucks.” And if anyone’s allowed to say it, Ray Garcia-Strickland is, since his father was one of the first men to set foot there. Ray’s father is now the manager of the Red Thunder, one of the swankiest hotels on overdeveloped Mars. And Ray has seen his share of gravity-dependent Earthies. Which doesn’t stop him from fearing the worst when Earth is struck by an unknown object, causing a massive tsunami. Living high on his father’s glory was okay, but now Ray must literally come down to Earth—and help solve one of its greatest mysteries…

Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Strickland?otherwise known as Podkayne?has joined the Music, Arts, and Drama Division of the Martian Navy, passing the audition with a little help from some higher-ups. And now she?s going to Europa, one of Jupiter?s many moons, to be an entertainer. But she?s about to learn that there can be plenty of danger to go around in the Martian Navy, even if you?ve just signed on to sing.

The book is about the fact that in the thirties of the twentieth century, there was an expedition to find the message of Hitlers notorious Tibet Shambhala. At the same time, Russian intelligence learned of the expedition and sent one of their men. Colonel Schwartz destroyed the Russian and went into Shambhala. There, still unknown to what purpose, the ancient people that had survived in Shambhala gave Schwartz coordinates to a secret base of some ancient civilization. Schwartz reported to Hitler, and he agreed to send submarines to Antarctica. Schwartz did find a base there and even UFOs. He faced new aircraft, and he even flew to the moon. But the inhabitants of Shambhala had an interestthey had long conceived to take possession of some device that could animate the ruined planet. At that time, Schwartz tossed the captured Russian, who would pilot a flying saucer. The Russian knew of the job and the secret of Shambhala but refused to talk about it to Schwartz. The colonel agreed to fly to another galaxy to understand who and what was using it. And meanwhile, there was a building in Antarctica New Swabia, shelters for the top of the Reich. Schwartz successfully flew to Mars and found there some civilization that lived deep beneath the surface. Then the colonels group went for the mysterious cargo. Schwartz had many adventures on the way, but he was able to deceive the enemy and captured the mysterious cubethe device that the people of Shambhala wanted to get. Schwartz understood that this cube could be a dangerous weapon and decided to hide it so it would not be found by Hitler. Colonel radically changed his attitude and then realized that the war was very bad. Americans learned about the construction of the base and sent their fleet, but the colonel did not want to fight the warit was really bad.

Police commander Larry Cole of Chicago goes after a renegade scientist who is selling booby traps to catch burglars and car thieves. The traps range from electrocuting devices to snake-venom injectors and they are killing lots of people.

“Dray captures the genius and ingenuity of Franklin’s scientific thinking and then does something even more fascinating: He shows how science shaped his diplomacy, politics, and Enlightenment philosophy.” –Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Today we think of Benjamin Franklin as a founder of American independence who also dabbled in science. But in Franklin’s day, the era of Enlightenment, long before he was an eminent statesman, he was famous for his revolutionary scientific work. Pulitzer Prize finalist Philip Dray uses the evolution of Franklin’s scientific curiosity and empirical thinking as a metaphor for America’s struggle to establish its fundamental values. He recounts how Franklin unlocked one of the greatest natural mysteries of his day, the seemingly unknowable powers of lightning and electricity. Rich in historical detail and based on numerous primary sources, Stealing God’s Thunder is a fascinating original look at one of our most beloved and complex founding fathers.