Short story. Young singer Kattanan duRhys, traded to a mysterious warlord, lives in an island palace made of shipwrecks. When a delegation from his homeland comes to demand an end to piracy, he must decide between serving his new master, and aiding the strangers who remind him of home. His master reveals a new sorcery, but the song Kattanan chooses may cost him his life.A short story prequel in the Singer's Crown Universe, this story features Kattanan duRhys shortly before the events of The Singer's Crown.When Kattanan arrives on the Tikran's island, the strange palace formed from the hulls of wrecked ships oppresses him and makes him queasy. Worse yet, the Tikran, his new master, never speaks but snaps his fingers in demands for new songs. Rumor has it the Tikran is a sorceror and a pirate—certainly his acolytes are eager to stay in his good humor (when they can determine what that is).Befriended by the eunuch who guards the Tikran's harem—himself a former singer—Kattanan discovers that the new visitors are foreigners from his homeland. They've come to demand an end to the piracy, but without any knowledge of the local customs, they're sure to be ignored at best, and probably murdered.At the banquet that night, Kattanan risks his position to send the strangers advice about how to behave, earning their friendship and his master's ire. The Tikran demonstrates his power, using his extraordinary voice to command a death.With his musical skills, Kattanan might learn this terrible sorcery, and remain a castaway among pirates—or sing the most dangerous song, and lose his very life.

Former special ops intelligence officer Grant Casey races to follow a musical map to Genghis Khan's tomb before the Chinese government destroys it forever. They used to be part of an elite group known only as the Unit—until the brass decided to ignore their intel, and they followed Lieutenant Grant Casey into a firestorm to save a museum, and the people trapped inside. The aftermath leaves Grant and his wingman in the hospital, and the whole team on the outs with the military. But Grant fuses his interest in history with his specialized training, and the Bone Guard is born. The Bone Guard... where adventure and history ignite.When Liz Kirschener discovers a musical map to Genghis Khan's tomb, her scholarly life explodes into arson and gunfire. Grant Casey brings in his team for a race to the tomb—to prevent Chinese authorities from burying it forever. This novel speeds from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Cambridge, England in search of clues—then flies to Inner Mongolia, bringing...

Teens and their giant robots search for a new home for mankind, but the planet they discover belongs to the dragons.Two hundred years after the Climate Wars left Earth uninhabitable, Johari and his giant robot companion lead a squad of scouts on a quest for a new Goldilocks planet to settle the remnants of the human race.When one of the scouts and his bot go down in a hostile wilderness, Johari's fight to save them reveals complex behavior in the dragon-like dominant species. The scout team fragments as Johari strives to rescue his friends and discover the truth about the aliens.If he's right, mankind will lose its best hope for a home — or sacrifice its own humanity.