Second Edition

What would have happened if history had been different -- if the major events that shaped our times had occurred in a different way ... or had not occurred at all? In this stellar collection, twelve of science fiction's most imaginative minds have altered the past to reveal a present of astonishing and startling possibilities...a rare glimpse of what might have been. From a Germany that won the war to a modern exodus from Egypt, from the death of ancient Greece to the true secret of the Soviets, these bold excursions in time depict bizarre new worlds -- oddly familiar, disturbingly different. "In the House of Sorrows" (Poul Anderson) "Remaking History" (Kim Stanley Robinson) "Counting Potsherds" (Harry Turtledove) "Leapfrog" (James P. Hogan) "Everything But Honor" (George Alec Effinger) "We Could Do Worse" (Gregory Benford) "To the Promised Land" (Robert Silverberg) "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant" (James Morrow) "All Assassins" (Barry N. Malzberg) "Game Night at the Fox and Goose" (Karen Joy Fowler) "Waiting for the Olympians" (Frederik Pohl) "The Return of William Proxmire" (Larry Niven)

Bodyguard. Sentry. Explosives expert. There was a reason I was the only Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician in the Marines who'd never sustained any injuries. I didn't take chances. Ever. My actions were precise. My thoughts were controlled, and I lived by one creed—no second chances. Except serving my country as an EOD in the Marines had a shelf life. Promoted off the front lines, I didn't want to ride out my career behind a desk. A civilian job with the best security firm in the business seemed like a better solution... until a frightened client with haunted eyes lied to me about everything. Now she was going to find out how heartless a bodyguard could be. *HEARTLESS is the ninth standalone book in the Alpha Bodyguard Series. The Alpha Bodyguard Series:SCANDALOUS - Tank's storyMERCILESS - Collins's storyRECKLESS - Tyler's storyRUTHLESS -...

Fan the flames of desire . . . Smokejumper Dak Parrish has come home to Oregon to fight fires—and to mend fences with his family. He left the Warm Springs Tribal Reservation after feuding with his father. Now, with tribal lands threatened by an arsonist, Dak gets a chance to make amends by acting as a liaison between the reservation and the forest service criminal investigator—a woman who sparks a surprising and hungry flame in him. After a trauma on the east coast, Heidi Sinclair left DC to start fresh as a criminal investigator in Oregon. But her first serious investigation provides one stubborn obstacle after another—including an arrogant firefighter she suspects knows more than he's saying. Though she tries to battle her attraction to Dak, it's too late. As they track down the arsonist, someone will do whatever it takes to keep old secrets buried, even if it turns everything Heidi and Dak have fought for to ashes...

The fire within . . . A parachute jump gone horribly wrong nearly put an end to Hunter Buchanan's smokejumper career. But with his body on the mend, the rugged firefighter is ready to get back to Oregon's Redmond Air Center and his training. Except, while he's conquered his physical injuries, he hasn't been able to do the same for his panic attacks. Enter Charlotte Jones, aka Charlie, the trainer who tames his tension like nobody's business. It doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes. Or that she stirs a hunger in him to deal with just about anything in order to be the man she needs . . . After four years of hiding from a violent man in her past, Charlie is ready to face the world again. She knows this has more than a little to do with the potent mix of strength and vulnerability she's found in Hunter's arms. But when a dangerous encounter convinces her the worst isn't behind her, she'll have to decide if she's strong enough to...

General Garrett Sinclair undertakes a rogue mission in the Sahara Desert to thwart an international nuclear threat in Total Empire, an explosive thriller from A. J. Tata.When Sergeant Major Sylvester "Sly" Morgan is killed on a mission, his daughter, Zoey, tells General Garrett Sinclair that her father's death wasn't random. Morgan had recorded a high-level meeting between Chinese, American, and French diplomats as they spoke about a plan for a new global government.The "Chinese-U.S. Partnership", or CUSP, intends to combine the world's two largest economies and militaries to usher in a new era of partnership and leadership. But China's offer has a deadline and penalties for noncompliance. As a safeguard, China has five high-tech hypersonic glide vehicles armed with nuclear weapons orbiting the Earth ready to strike. When Zoey disappears in Africa, seemingly while in pursuit of her father's killer, Sinclair and Dagger Team are caught off-guard as they...

A surf photographer unleashes true mysteries of the images we capture when he brings his friend back to life and inspires a DIA assassin to change his ways as the government and terrorists hunt him down.Professional surf photographer Shawn Perez, on assignment for Deep Surf Apparel to a remote Pacific island, encounters an isolated tribe. When he naturally snaps a photo of their spiritual leader, their reaction is life threatening and gives Shawn something to think about when, after his near death experience, his guide tells him, “Shawn, they think your pictures steal men’s souls”.Years later Dr. Sally Evans, Shawn’s ex-girlfriend and a research scientist at Photon Corporation, develops the “Sentient” camera for the Defense Intelligence Agency for purposes of positively identify terrorists from high above with drone aircraft. Dr. Evans lends Shawn one of the “Sentient” prototypes hoping he can refine the technology from a photographer’s perspective.Major Thomas Craig, a U.S. Government operator or assassin, is assigned to work beside Dr. Sally Evans to develop the Sentient. Craig knows the whereabouts of the world’s most dangerous terrorists and must use the Sentient’s full potential to avoid a horrific terrorist strike.Meanwhile, Shawn uses the Sentient to photograph Drake Powers, the world’s #1 surfer and Shawn’s best friend as Drake attempts an impossible maneuver at a big wave event. Drake falls short and Shawn’s life is suddenly thrown into uncertainty and when faced with the resulting dilemma, Shawn learns the true potential of the Sentient and powers locked within.As Major Craig’s mission deteriorates and his options disappear, both Craig and a Yemenis sleeper cell decide Shawn’s discovery is what they need to deliver the final blow to their advisories, but where scientists fail, why is Shawn the only one who can make the process work?Shawn Perez is thrust into the worlds of quantum physics, spies, and terrorists while the odds become stacked against him as he tries to save his friend while avoiding powerful forces who want to obtain the technology. JPEG will make you think twice before you take another cell phone photo or delete an image of a loved one. You will find yourself wondering if what we experience as our reality only a mirage, a virtual world we live in.

Bodyguard. Mercenary. Gun for hire. I didn't care what you called it, the end result was always the same. You paid me for a job, you got results. The Marines trained me to shoot, but life taught me to aim. Working for the best personal security firm in the business was a stepping stone. Put in my time, build the resume, then move on. I didn't do attachments, on any level. Until a smoking-hot former one-night stand crossed the street in front of me, holding hands with a kid who was my spitting image. She tried to play it off, deny he was mine. She said she didn't even remember me, right before she picked her kid up and ran. She thought she'd made a clean escape. But she was about to find out how merciless a bodyguard could be. *MERCILESS is the second standalone book in the Alpha Bodyguard Series. The Alpha Bodyguard SeriesSCANDALOUS – Tank's...