Dark Alliance

Major Motion Picture based on Dark Alliance and starring Jeremy Renner, "Kill the Messenger," to be be released in Fall 2014 In August 1996, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb stunned the world with a series of articles in the San Jose Mercury News reporting the results of his year-long investigation into the roots of the crack cocaine epidemic in America, specifically in Los Angeles. The series, titled “Dark Alliance,” revealed that for the better part of a decade, a Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to Los Angeles street gangs and funneled millions in drug profits to the CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras. Gary Webb pushed his investigation even further in his book, Dark Alliance: The CIA, The Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Drawing from then newly declassified documents, undercover DEA audio and videotapes that had never been publicly released, federal court testimony, and interviews, Webb demonstrates how our government knowingly allowed massive amounts of drugs and money to change hands at the expense of our communities. Webb’s own stranger-than-fiction experience is also woven into the book. His excoriation by the media—not because of any wrongdoing on his part, but by an insidious process of innuendo and suggestion that in effect blamed Webb for the implications of the story—had been all but predicted. Webb was warned off doing a CIA expose by a former Associated Press journalist who lost his job when, years before, he had stumbled onto the germ of the “Dark Alliance” story. And though Internal investigations by both the CIA and the Justice Department eventually vindicated Webb, he had by then been pushed out of the Mercury News and gone to work for the California State Legislature Task Force on Government Oversight. He died in 2004.

From the lazy heat of Miami to the steamy Colombian jungles, Mack Bolan is on the trail of a missing American journalist. The woman was close to exposing the key players in a dangerous drug cartel, and Bolan figures they snatched her to protect their illicit empire. Each step pulls him further into an unforgiving world of guns and violence until he himself is captured. The vicious drug czar responsible for Bolan's plight reveals a carefully planned conspiracy that could topple a government…and an entire nation. Tortured and beaten, Bolan is only seconds away from escape…or death. His only advantage: the enemy isn't banking on the unrelenting force known as The Executioner.

Gary Webb had an inborn journalistic tendency to track down corruption and expose it. For over thirty-four years, he wrote stories about corruption from county, state, and federal levels. He had an almost magnetic effect to these kinds of stories, and it was almost as if the stories found him. It was his gift, and, ultimately, it was his downfall. He was best known for his story Dark Alliance, written for the San Jose Mercury News in 1996. In it Webb linked the CIA to the crack-cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles during the Iran Contra scandal. His only published book, Dark Alliance is still a classic of contemporary journalism. But his life consisted of much more than this one story, and The Killing Game is a collection of his best investigative stories from his beginning at the Kentucky Post to his end at the Sacramento News & Review. It includes Webb's series at the Kentucky Post on organized crime in the coal industry, at the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Ohio State’s negligent medical board, and on the US military’s funding of first-person shooter video games. The Killing Game is a dedication to his life’s work outside of Dark Alliance, and it’s an exhibition of investigative journalism in its truest form.

Drizzt Do’Urden finds new friends and foes in the windswept towns of Icewind Dale, also the setting of the Dungeons & Dragons adventure book Rime of the Frostmaiden. With his days in the Underdark far behind him, drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden sets down roots in the windswept Ten-Towns of Icewind Dale. A cold and unforgiving place, Ten-Towns sits on the brink of a catastrophic war, threatened by the barbarian tribes of the north. It’s in the midst of battle that a young barbarian named Wulfgar is captured and made the ward of Bruenor, a grizzled dwarf leader and a companion to Drizzt. With Drizzt’s help, Wulfgar will grow from a feral child to a man with the heart of a dwarf, the instincts of a savage, and the soul of a hero. But it will take even more than that to defeat the corrupt wizard who wields the demonic power of Crenshininbon—the fabled Crystal Shard. The Crystal Shard is first book in the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the fourth book in the Legend of Drizzt series.

An illustrated guide to the history and evolution of the beloved role-playing game told through the paintings, sketches, illustrations, and visual ephemera behind its creation, growth, and continued popularity. FINALIST FOR THE HUGO AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS AWARD • NOMINATED FOR THE DIANA JONES AWARD From one of the most iconic game brands in the world, this official DUNGEONS & DRAGONS illustrated history provides an unprecedented look at the visual evolution of the brand, showing its continued influence on the worlds of pop culture and fantasy. Inside the book, you’ll find more than seven hundred pieces of artwork—from each edition of the core role-playing books, supplements, and adventures; as well as Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance novels; decades of Dragon and Dungeon magazines; and classic advertisements and merchandise; plus never-before-seen sketches, large-format canvases, rare photographs, one-of-a-kind drafts, and more from the now-famous designers and artists associated with DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. The superstar author team gained unparalleled access to the archives of Wizards of the Coast and the personal collections of top collectors, as well as the designers and illustrators who created the distinctive characters, concepts, and visuals that have defined fantasy art and gameplay for generations. This is the most comprehensive collection of D&D imagery ever assembled, making this the ultimate collectible for the game's millions of fans around the world.

"A novel of court intrigue and action-packed military adventure,"* Joanna Hathaway's Dark of the West, is a breathtaking YA fantasy debut--first in the Glass Alliance series. A pilot raised in revolution. A princess raised in a palace. A world on the brink of war. Aurelia Isendare is a princess of a small kingdom in the North, raised in privilege but shielded from politics as her brother prepares to step up to the throne. Halfway around the world, Athan Dakar, the youngest son of a ruthless general, is a fighter pilot longing for a life away from the front lines. When Athan’s mother is shot and killed, his father is convinced it’s the work of his old rival, the Queen of Etania—Aurelia’s mother. Determined to avenge his wife’s murder, he devises a plot to overthrow the Queen, a plot which sends Athan undercover to Etania to gain intel from her children. Athan’s mission becomes complicated when he finds himself falling for the girl he’s been tasked with spying upon. Aurelia feels the same attraction, all the while desperately seeking to stop the war threatening to break between the Southern territory and the old Northern kingdoms that control it—a war in which Athan’s father is determined to play a role. As diplomatic ties manage to just barely hold, the two teens struggle to remain loyal to their families and each other as they learn that war is not as black and white as they’ve been raised to believe. “Heart-pounding . . . will leave the reader wanting more.”—*#1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Queen of the Vampires kidnaps Damien Argent, the captain of the vampire hunters, away from his loving family. He suffers years of torment at her hands, still holding on to the idea of his human life. Eventually, he accepts the position of King of the Vampires and marries the Queen, Heloise. He uses his new power to broker a peace deal with the humans, saving hundreds of lives. Although not everyone is happy with the new found peace. Aliens descend and with it the opportunity to win the old feuds between humans and vampires. Factions conspire against him, setting human against vampire in a renewed battle, killing his queen. But first contact is not as peaceful as thought. It is an alien invasion, wanting only to replenish its food supplies with the warm bodies of the local inhabitants. How can he put aside his feud with Ridley, the vampire hunter, his queen's killer? How can he embrace the unexpected friendship of Lorna, a sultry dark witch? Trust, Jack, the alpha of the werewolf pack? Then work together if they are to survive against the monstrous alien race? Vampires Vs Aliens: A Dark Alliance, is a mash up of when the worlds of science fiction, paranormal and supernatural collide. This is what could happen if aliens and vampire battled. Keywords: vampires, aliens, alien invasion, witches, werewolves, action adventure, war. paranormal, science fiction, sci-fi, mashup

Evil reigns throughout much of the western world in the mid sixth century. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, a group of blood-drinkers called the Lamia begin the search for a long, lost relic that will restore power to the Roman Empire. After traveling much of the known world, the Lamia discover the relic's location: Ireland. The Lamia invasion forces win a foothold on the Island of Éire and hasten their search for this most important relic.Standing in their way is an outcast Roman general from many ages before, a Briton who would rather tell bawdy jokes than fight, and a young woman who has found her newly acquired lands under siege by a manipulative Lamia seeking vengeance against his oldest foe. They are not alone. The Lamia are not the only blood-drinking line on earth. A race called the Deargh Du, who draw their lineage from the Goddess Morrigan, will rise up and face the challenges of those who would tip the balance.