Showing results for "System" in Genre Fiction

Valeria Velez has just pulled off a stunning upset in California's 27th District, ousting ten-term corporatist incumbent Fillian Dunne from his seat in Congress. Young, beautiful, and idealistic, Valeria and her boyfriend/campaign manager Preston Jante are determined to use Valeria's new position to "stop stuffing the maw of the military machine" and return power to the people. But when fugitive hacker Lance Thaddeus uncovers a top-secret Pentagon program combining artificial intelligence with nuclear command-and-control, Valeria might have to choose between her ideals...and her life.

The Garden of Survival by Algernon Blackwood is a deeply introspective and emotionally resonant novel that explores the fragile boundaries between love, memory, remorse, and spiritual endurance. Written in the early twentieth century, this lesser-known work showcases Blackwood’s mastery of psychological depth and quiet metaphysical inquiry beyond his more overt supernatural tales.

The train station harbors danger. Each day, one portal opens, leading to daunting trials and battles of life and death commanded by masked facilitators. Asher is forced to rely on his instincts and his weapon. He must navigate this treacherous world, both solo and with teams, and contend with other players, each harboring their own motives and ambitions. Confronted with unimaginable challenges, every day unveils a new hurdle, and each victory is bitterly earned. In this world intent on crushing him, Asher must fight to survive.

There is a huge, bold black streak in the sky. Branches appear out of nowhere over North America, Southern Europe, and Central Africa. People who live beneath The Rift can see it. But scientists worldwide are distressed - their equipment cannot pick up any type of signal from it. The rift appears to consist of nothing. Literally. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Most people are curious but not overly concerned. The phenomenon seems to pose no danger. It is just there. Then something jolts the most hardened naysayers, and surpasses the worst nightmares of the world's greatest scientists.

A Suitable Boy is now a major 2020 BBC TV series, and one of the BBC's 100 novels that shaped our world. The award-winning BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Vikram Seth's masterpiece 'The drama highlight of the year...this sumptuous production, wonderfully atmospheric, written with pace and performed...

Defense Mech by Ray Bradbury is a haunting and psychologically rich science fiction short story that explores the fragile boundary between reality and illusion. Set during a tense voyage from Earth to Mars, the narrative follows Halloway, a deeply anxious man whose terror of space threatens both his sanity and the mission itself. In a desperate bid to protect him, the ship’s psychiatrist deploys an experimental psychological “defense mechanism,” constructing an artificial reality in which Halloway believes he never left Earth.

Diagnosed as severely autistic at the age of three, Tito, nearly nonverbal, was brought up by his loving mother Soma, who taught him to read English and challenged him to write his own stories. The initial result was The Mind Tree, published in 2003, which Tito wrote between the ages of eight and 11. The Gold of the Sunbeams is an equally impressive, beautiful collection of stories, each prefaced by a charming note from Tito explaining how the story came into being.

In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all - beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn.

Not long ago, Gary was just another punk teenager living in a ramshackle house in a ramshackle town. To survive, he worked as a gofer for a brutal street gang—until a simple job went bad, and he ended up paired with a Werewolf System that enhanced his strength, stamina, and attitude. But as Gary quickly learned, this gift could also be a curse, costing anyone who got too close to him their life. Now, he's trying to figure out how to use his system to make things better for those around him. Unfortunately, before things get better, they're going to get much, much worse.

Three women. Five Kids. One House. A debut novel that has been shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020, perfect for fans of "Why Mummy Drinks" and "Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life?" Erica knows her suggestion sounds extreme, but when her nanny leaves without notice, she's desperate... When she and Louise to move into Polly's enormous but run-down house, they must admit that life's much easier when the childcare and workload is shared.

Terry Fairway came back from the Underworld stronger, faster—changed. But the power he won came at a cost. He saved a world. He might have damned his own. All across the globe, incursion rifts split the sky, flooding Earth with Awakened invaders from distant worlds. Cities burn. Alliances crack. And Earth’s defenders race to seal the breaches—before the next city falls to ash.

When a group of travelers ventures into an isolated, sun-scorched landscape, they begin to sense an unseen presence lurking beneath the endless dunes—something ancient, intelligent, and profoundly hostile to human life. As the desert tightens its grip, ordinary reality erodes, replaced by mounting dread and the terrifying suggestion that the sand itself is watching.

In a world where deceit shaped its history, a new era of rifts dawns. Red rifts, harbingers of divine wrath, bring forth gods and monsters, challenging humanity's very existence. As anarchy rises, the remnants of humanity cling to survival, relying on the Hunters who brave these rifts to keep them at bay. Amidst the chaos, the so-called heroes maintain their rule over the fractured land, backed by the powerful Association that seeks to control the coming change. But change is inevitable, and Sloan will be at the heart of it.

King Jack. The title was still foreign to Jack who had no love for the empire or the throne. But, with his loved ones secured and his daughter safe, Jack now has the opportunity to do one thing he never thought he could do. Be a father.

The System just keeps throwing new experiences at our MC and his friends. For example, our antisocial lone-wolf hero Kasp was awarded the title of Head of the Settlement by the System. However, he has no intentions of being a leader.

Not for John Lee. His search for answers for the System Quest has taken him deep into the Forbidden Zone, into the very arms of his enemies. He's betrayed family and friends and been betrayed in turn. The most powerful human in the System has come to the final leg of his journey. And still, he has no idea if what he will find will fill the burning need within him. For the Redeemer of the Dead will not stop, until the cries of the lost and the sacrificed are answered.

A propulsive thriller starring Jack Rowan, Siena Kelly and Iain de Caestecker. All three series of this fast-paced thriller from award-winning writer Ben Lewis, performed by a stellar cast – it will have you gripped from the first episode. When Jake signs up to a personal training programme...

Nick Vandal faces his greatest challenge yet in the Risen Tower, a place of trials and floors designed to test the survivors' limits. As Nick and his new companions battle through casino mazes—and relentless hordes—they uncover the truth behind the Admin's grand design. Hidden enemies within the survivors' ranks plot to sabotage their progress, and success is far from guaranteed. Nick must use every resource, including his knowledge of the future, to navigate the challenges and forge alliances necessary to reach the top.

In a world upended by the whims of the [Admin], all of humanity has been forced into a brutal game of survival. Nick is more than just another man: he's a man who saw the ending and used a wish to travel back in time. His story has started over. Following his escape from the Manhattan Rooftops, he must next fight against the Ancient Mariner of Central Island and the hoard of undead that the Ancient Mariner commands. The survivors are under attack, and all eyes are on Nick to make sure they survive to see the next challenge.

In a violent world, peace always comes at a cost. And to pay for this expansive commodity, to give those he cares about a chance, Jack has to step up... Even if it means doing things he would have never imagined.