Scars And Black Armor

Achilles is a legendary hero and commander of the Myrmidon army, but a leader is defined by those who follow him. What manner of men fought beside Achilles in the crucible of war? Stelios, lifelong friend of Achilles, is summoned upon his death to Mount Olympus to share with the gods what fire guides the hearts of mortals. Stelios recounts his past—his liberation as a boy at the hands of the Myrmidons, his induction into their ranks, and the life-changing lessons they instilled within him. He trains and grows alongside Achilles, and watches as the meek boy he knew in his youth transforms into a relentless warrior. They become brothers, these men in black armor, defined by their decision to carry the most brutal burdens. In time, as violence scars their shields and bodies, they learn that the morals and creeds they were raised upon have begun to fracture. As Stelios grapples with the futility of a life lived only for war, he seeks solace in his wife and a young boy he rescues and takes in as his own—a boy who will one day face his own mysterious destiny. As the darkness in the Myrmidons deepens, Stelios battles to protect those he loves, even if they stand against him. In the pursuit of peace, Stelios must sacrifice everything.

In his acclaimed Codex Alera novels, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher has created a fascinating world in which the powerful forces of nature take physical form. But even magic cannot sway the corruption that threatens to destroy the realm of Alera once and for all... When the power-hungry High Lord of Kalare launches a merciless rebellion against the First Lord, young Tavi of Calderon joins a newly formed legion under an assumed name. And when the ruthless Kalare allies himself with a savage enemy of the realm, Tavi finds himself leading an inexperienced, poorly equipped legion—the only force standing between Alera and certain doom...

Something ancient has awoken. Primordial and wholly evil, a living shadow emerges from a prison made weak by the magical cataclysm called The Black. Now the Sleeper stalks the land in search of its old enemies, leaving a trail of madness and destruction in its wake. Eric Cross, a Southern Claw warlock, has been sent to find the Woman in the Ice, the only known means to stopping this evil. Aided by a grizzled ranger and a band of wardens and inmates from a sadistic prison, Cross' mission will bring him into conflict with an array of foes: the barbaric Gorgoloth, vampire shock troops out of the Ebon Cities, and a cadre of mercenary nihilists called the Black Circle. On a mission that will take him from a lost temple once ruled by insidious wolf sorcerers to the vicious gladiator games of the vampire city-state of Krul to the deadly ruins of an ice city, Cross will play a pivotal role in an ancient conflict whose outcome will determine the future of the world. Return to the world of Blood Skies in this exciting military fantasy adventure!

A short story collection: 21 stories and about 64,000 words. Closer Than You Think is a journey from the near future -- self-driving cars, automation, 3D printing -- to the far future where, who knows? houses may own humans or climate change might force the last of humanity to take shelter deep under the ocean. No aliens, but the farther forward we go, the more alien the human beings get! Science Fiction, scifi, futurism, collection, short story, short stories, app economy, uber economy, virtual reality, video games, self-driving car, self driving car, autonomous vehicle, laboratory grown meat, cultured meat, cannibal, exploitation, crowdfunding, augmented reality, surveillance state, exile, personality transfer, artificial brain, life extension, android body, servant robot, household robot, automation, nanotechnology, personality reconstruction, robot relative, drone, automated warfare, remote control military vehicle, gay, artificial intelligence, ai, love story, automated house, smart house, internet of things, apocalypse, end of the world, end of civilization, civilization crash, social collapse, primitivism, primitive, regression, climate change, sea level rise, rising seas, underwater city, submarine, end of life on earth, space travel, space colony, life extension

Zion Prime is a Christian superhero who tells his story through a series of flashbacks in a confessional. He goes through his lows, his highs, and his origin as a hero, a Christian, and a wanted criminal....

Thousands of years ago on the planet Eden, a war between two godlike beings devastated the nation of Temenos and wiped out its people, the Mitera. Ever since, a corrupting miasma has threatened the land, turning nearby inhabitants and beasts into grotesque, violent forms. When Shaide Darkmoon, one of the last Mitera, loses his parents to the corruption, he is forced to leave his best friend, the shy elven girl Amari, and begin training as a soldier in the human army. All he wants to do is survive, but through a twist of fate, he will come to wield a power of unimaginable strength. This power will be needed like never before, for a darkness is rising in the ruins of Temenos, and it will not stop until its corruption has spread to every corner of Eden.

This book not only has the painstaking efforts of Lao Hu, but also has the advice of Dongda University. The original language and lengthy space in the book are also reduced as much as possible, and efforts are made to make this book play its best level