Showing results by author "Joseph R. Lallo" in All Categories

The Northern Alliance and its southern neighbor, Tressor, have been at war for generations. Almost since the war began an assassin has stalked the northern lands, quickly becoming a legend among the people for both its skill and its elusiveness.

In the chaos following the fall of the empire, Benita Castor wants nothing more than to live a nice quiet life. She thought she made all the right decisions. What could be safer than becoming an accountant? Where could she be more secure than the industrial fringe of the empire’s most civilized planet? Yet somehow, she finds herself in the employ of a crime boss and is shipped off to audit a recent acquisition in a forgotten corner of the system.

Trevor "Lex" Alexander's life has been less than blessed. In the past year he's had to battle corrupt corporations, deranged techno-terrorists, and a robotic scourge. Now he's received the opportunity to finally return to the racing career that had been cut short by some poor decisions. One could excuse him for not wanting to be embroiled in another insane adventure when he is so close to returning to his life's calling. Sometimes the call of duty will not be denied.

When Lex Alexander called upon his mad engineer friend for help creating a racing simulator, he expected to break a few track records. Instead, he broke time. To get the clock ticking again, he will need to travel to other timelines and alternate realities to pick up the lost pieces of his own world. Will he survive clashes with alternate versions of friends and foes? Or has time run out… literally.

How could a good photo-op go so wrong? A perfect time-lapse of the lunar eclipse should have earned Alan some cash and acclaim. Instead, he came home with an invader in his dreams and a terrible feeling of being watched. Now his life is a tangle of cults, mysterious white-suited visitors, and scheming shadows. Overnight, Alan's finely trained eye has gone from spotting photo-ops of local celebrities to unraveling a political plot that could shift the balance of light and darkness. Surviving the next few days will take teamwork, guile, and an awful lot of coffee.

The bad news? You died. The good news? You have an extra life! After a terminal diagnosis, Jazz had nothing to lose in testing a prototype brain scanner, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. Now she’s locked in a digital afterlife called The After-Image. How did she end up in this chaotic post-life roleplaying game? Is there a way out? She’ll have to find some friends and gain some levels, but one way or another Jazz is determined to get to the bottom of things.

In a small town in Colorado, Markus Spiros was just getting his life on track. By day he worked as a veterinary tech, by night he took classes. Then his impulsive Uncle Dimitrios threw a wrench in the works. Markus had to swing by his uncle’s bistro to tend to the "special oven." When he arrived, he discovered it wasn’t the oven that was special, it was the rare and exotic egg that had been incubating inside it. And now it had hatched. The creature was a Structophis Gastrigae - a strange creature that was equal parts dragon and oven - and she’d become quite a big girl. Large as a refrigerator and curious as a toddler....

Freshly certified for forensics, Alan is ready to do something meaningful with his photography. He’s teamed up with his friend Jessie on the police force, and not a moment too soon. A serial killer seems to be copying the infamous Metro Ghoul. Lives hang in the balance, and the killer may be more than the police can handle without some help from the shadows.

One man's prison is another man's fortress. Alan grew up believing that justice was as simple as throwing criminals in jail. He also grew up believing there was no such thing as a shadow with a mind of its own. A special request to put his photographic talents to use for an interview at the local prison reveals a dark plan brewing there. To stop it and keep his family safe, he may have to form some uneasy alliances.

A little curiosity can be a dangerous thing. Rustle should have been content in his little pond, hidden away from the world where hopefully nothing exciting would ever happen. But the sea was so near, with all of its mysteries and secrets. He couldn't help but sneak away from time to time and gaze upon the surface, wondering what lay beneath. Little did he know that on this fateful day, there was something equally curious staring back.

For some creatures, running and hiding is the only way to stay alive. But no one can run forever. Sorrel and her twins are malanthropes, creatures hated by the people of their world. Years of searching for a place where they can be safe has brought them to a mysterious new land. It would be a paradise if not for the terrible beast who casts its shadow on the people who call it home. The Story of Sorrel is a short novel in the Book of Deacon series, picking up the story of Sorrel and her children shortly after The Rise of the Red Shadow left off.