Blood And Valor

A threat of total elimination hangs over the heads of all who inhabit the Celtique Isles, and only young Ashlynn, soon to be crowned High Queen of one of the most powerful nations among the Isles, can bring them together to overcome years of petty differences and stand united against the growing threat to their lands and their lives.Set in a land of magic and mystery, this is a tale of pride and devotion. Ashlynn has a deep love for her kingdom and her homelands, and risks her own life to try and spare her people the pain of war. She is a ruler unlike any other, one who has inherited the heavy burden of not only a crown but the duty of an Elemental, one who has the ability to shift their form into that of a dragon and have special kinship with others of her kind.When the High King of Caedia, a nation once a part of the Isles, decides to bring war to the Elementals, to try and rid the earth of them in his quest for ultimate power, Ashlynn must grow up in a hurry and learn to fight, as well as find the rest of her kindred who have been scattered across the globe for generations. Little does she know that the man she prepares to fight is only a pawn in a much bigger war, and that the real face of terror has been hiding in plain sight all along.

Tanya Huff—acclaimed author of the Blood Series—begins her celebrated Confederation series that will launch readers into a future where Humans are not the most evolved species... Good thing they can take orders. Brought into the multi-species Confederation, Humans earn their place along the Taykan and the Krai by acting as military guardians of the Elder Races, who have risen above societal aggression and violence. When Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr and her platoon are dragged from some well-deserved R&R to play honor guard for a diplomatic mission to the non-Confederation planet of the Silsviss, Torin suspects that something is about to go wrong. You don't make staff sergeant in the CMC without a well-developed sense of paranoia. Justified paranoia when word reaches them that the enemy has been spotted in this sector of space. The diplomatic mission becomes a race to recruit the Silsviss into the Confederation before the enemy returns, claims the reptilian warriors as their own, and turns them loose on the Confederation. One battle-weary platoon has to step up to stop the slaughter.

For centuries, the werewolves of Toronto have managed to live in peace and tranquility, hidden quietly away on their London, Ontario farm. But now, someone has learned their secret—and is systematically massacring this ancient race. The only one they can turn to is Henry Fitzroy, Toronto-based vampire and writer of bodice rippers. Forced to hide from the light of day, Henry can’t hunt the killer alone, so he turns to Vicki Nelson for help. As they race against time to stop the murderer, they begin to fear that their combined talents may not be enough to prevent him from completing his deadly plan.

The second epic fantasy in The Faithful and the Fallen series, Valour by John Gwynne carries all of the excitement of the first. The Banished Lands are torn by war as the army of High King Nathair sweeps the realm challenging all who oppose his holy crusade. Allied with the manipulative Queen Rhin of Cambren, there are few who can stand against him. But Rhin is playing her own games and has her eyes on a far greater prize . . . Left for dead – her kin have fled and her country is overrun with enemies – Cywen fights to survive. But any chance of escape is futile once Nathair and his disquieting advisor Calidus realize who she is. They have no intention of letting such a prize slip from their grasp. For she may be their one chance at killing the biggest threat to their power. Meanwhile, the young warrior Corban flees from his conquered homeland with his exiled companions, heading for the only place that may offer them sanctuary. But to get there they must travel through Cambren, avoiding warbands, giants and the vicious wolven of the mountains. And all the while Corban struggles to become the man that everyone believes him to be – the Bright Star and saviour of the Banished Lands. Embroiled in struggles for power and survival, the mortal world is unaware of the greatest threat of all. In the Otherworld, dark forces scheme to bring a host of the Fallen into the world of flesh to end the war with the Faithful, once and for all. Continue the fantasy series with Ruin and Wrath, start the series with Malice.

The remarkable story of the seven African American soldiers ultimately awarded the World War II Medal of Honor, and the 50-year campaign to deny them their recognition. In 1945, when Congress began reviewing the record of the most conspicuous acts of courage by American soldiers during World War II, they recommended awarding the Medal of Honor to 432 recipients. Despite the fact that more than one million African-Americans served, not a single black soldier received the Medal of Honor. The omission remained on the record for over four decades. But recent historical investigations have brought to light some of the extraordinary acts of valor performed by black soldiers during the war. Men like Vernon Baker, who single-handedly eliminated three enemy machineguns, an observation post, and a German dugout. Or Sergeant Reuben Rivers, who spearhead his tank unit's advance against fierce German resistance for three days despite being grievously wounded. Meanwhile Lieutenant Charles Thomas led his platoon to capture a strategically vital village on the Siegfried Line in 1944 despite losing half his men and suffering a number of wounds himself. Ultimately, in 1993 a US Army commission determined that seven men, including Baker, Rivers and Thomas, had been denied the Army's highest award simply due to racial discrimination. In 1997, more than 50 years after the war, President Clinton finally awarded the Medal of Honor to these seven heroes, sadly all but one of them posthumously. These are their stories.

Bestselling author Tanya Huff returns to the Confederation series of military science fiction, where after centuries of fighting, the dangers of peacetime prove as alien as any new galaxy. Once Torin Kerr was a gunnery sergeant, secure in the embrace of the Confederation Marine Corps. Now the war is over. Torin is free to delve the depths of space with Craig Ryder in a tiny salvage ship, responsible only for keeping them in enough ready credit to breathe and eat. But when she discovers pirates, actual pirates, are a deadly threat to salvage operators, she can’t imagine not taking action. Even if Ryder’s motley group of colleagues and quasi-family think it’s ridiculous. After all, she doesn’t have the Marines behind her anymore. Then Ryder goes missing. Of course Torin is going after him. And whatever the odds, there will always be some who follow Torin Kerr into battle. But this time, instead of Other armies, she’s facing ruthless criminals who’ve seen her story on broadcasts. She’s fighting through all the scars and fears experience has left with her—with none of the rules that told her when to stop. And whatever happens, no one’s coming to rescue her...

A young adult thriller from Scott McEwan, the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of American Sniper, and Hof Williams. Valor: great courage in the face of danger When Wyatt gets framed for a friend’s crime, he thinks his life is over. But then a mysterious stranger visits him in jail with an unusual proposal: spend three months in a secret government camp and have a ten-year prison sentence wiped clean. Wyatt agrees, and finds himself in a world beyond his wildest dreams, with teenagers like him flying drones, defusing bombs, and jumping out of helicopters. This is no ordinary camp. Camp Valor is a secret training ground for teenage government agents, filled with juvenile offenders—badasses who don’t play by the rules—who desperately need a second chance. If they can prove themselves over their three month stay and survive Hell Week, they will enter the ranks of the most esteemed soldiers in the United States military. But some enemies of the United States have gotten wind of Camp Valor, and they will do everything in their power to find out its secrets. Suddenly, Wyatt and his friends have to put their training into practice, and find the bravery to protect their country.