The Enigma Dragon

Do the vast amounts of information and technology available hold humans hostage? Does analog communication create a vulnerability? The political climate in the world is unnerving. North Korea is running missile tests, but where are they getting their deadly supplies? Meanwhile, terrorists are hiding in plain sight, using American technology that is out on display in libraries and museums for the world to see, but are using analog methods to gather and assemble their information. No internet searches equal no red flags which lets the bad guys believe they are operating undetected. But the Cyber Assassin Technology Services (CATS) team is on the job. As Juan and Julie Rodr guez send their operatives out across the globe to track down these foot soldiers also known as Analog Information Mules, they'll discover the horrible potential treats, and learn about each other along the way. Mike and Marge control ePETRO, an oil shipping business with offices in London and New York, but they don't have the same business goals in mind. Marge intends to sell the North Koreans uranium in addition to oil obtained illegally from the government sanctioned Middle East. But Mike may have other plans, mainly, keeping the profits of these sales for himself. Then there is the mysterious Steven Christopher, who oversees the AIMs, and is working several angles behind the scenes. Steven is the only one trusted by both Marge and Mike, but why? The CATs team has feet on the ground, with Ernesto and Tyler following two women through Washington, D.C. as they visit the Smithsonian looking for nuclear fusion processes and down the Texas coast where a dangerous package makes its way onto a ship bound for Asia. Jamie, an Irish man with a heartbreaking past, joins the team in Texas and finds not only a new job, but acceptance. George and Summit travel across Asia following the oil and some suspiciously mislabeled furniture. After a rocky start at being paired up, Mercedes and Brayson head to Panama and are watching a previously known Dark Net data center, but Mercedes is soon extracted to help out in D.C. She quickly becomes embroiled in Steven Christopher's world. Brayson is left behind alone in Panama and, still recovering from a lost love, learns that he can't truly be a part of the team until he has forgiven himself. While Juan stays with Quip and his supercomputer ICABOD, tracking his team members and relaying constantly updated information at the team's nerve center, Julie heads to London. Julie finds herself in the center of all the trouble as she goes undercover in the ePETRO offices. When Julie disappears, Juan drops everything to find her. Quip loops his wife EZ, a Unified Communications expert, to help monitor and control the CATS team movements so that operatives can find the culprits in their different theaters of operation. Award winning authors, Breakfield and Burkey, take readers on a new techno thriller adventure with their 9th book in The Enigma Series. The Enigma Dragon is chilling journey across four continents, and twelve cities that uncovers terrifying possibilities of what is to become of our world if the CATS team cannot defeat our enemies.

Using analog tactics, an international crime syndicate evades detection unless the CATS team can infiltrate and destroy this darknet organization smuggling weapons, oil, and uranium.

“And so it was,” Baz concluded, “that I abandoned my people, mounted my dragon, and came to your lands.” Not even the flame of rebellion can melt the snows of the Icy Heights in winter. So, despite their resounding victory against the forces of Erstwhile, Baz and his rebels have spent the last four months holed up in Enigma City, waiting for the reprisal that is surely on its way from the rest of Oration come spring. But just as the thaw starts, the unthinkable happens. Enigma is attacked, and one who Baz holds dear is taken. Baz pursues the kidnappers, accompanied by Rox and Eromér the Book Dragon. Their chase takes them into the Karst, the mysterious wasteland beyond the eastern limits of Oration. There, Baz meets the natives and enlists their aid. The natives’ help isn’t free, though. The Ravagers, invasive barbarians who live at the borders of their territory, have a new leader, a terrifying figure known simply as the Placid Man, and Baz must agree to dispatch this villain in return for the natives' help. Sounds easy enough. After all, Baz has survived far worse and he has a dragon on his side. But the Placid Man is no ordinary foe, and when Baz learns his true identity, everything will change… "This series is right up there with Robin Hobb’s Elderling books." -Review of The Acktus Trials on the Fantasy Faction FB Group “D. T. Kane is an amazing storyteller.” -A Maze of Words

This book brings forth many new theories and evidence that are sure to intrigue you. Dragon legends are found in nearly every culture around the globe. They have been thought to be myths. Yet, mysteriously, these dragons sound a lot like the other giant scaled reptiles, dinosaurs. Could they be one and the same? Surprisingly enough, the answer to this question is a powerful truth that confirms biblical authority and greatly weakens the theory of evolution. This book brings forth many new theories and evidence that are sure to fascinate the reader.

"Reading Books can get you killed." The series that reviewers have called "Sanderson-esque" and "Genius!" For the first time ever, get the first three parts of this new epic fantasy series in one place! In addition to three novels, the box set includes two, never-before-seen essays by the author about his inspiration for the series and also artwork depicting each of the three main characters! A free preview of Part IV is also included. Part I: The Acktus Trials In the land of Oration, magic is cast by reading aloud words of power from Spoken Books. Only a select few, the Speakers, are born with the ability to do so. But after a disaster nearly destroyed Oration, society grew to fear the Speakers' power and they were hunted and enslaved, never taught to read. Now they live in oppression, unable to use their magic unless a spell is first read aloud to them. Each year, young men and women from Oration's ruling Libraries compete in the Acktus Trials, a journey that takes them through the wilds of Oration to the ruined city of Tome. Once Oration's capital, it is now abandoned, though the Great Library at its center still holds a wealth of Spoken Books. As Speakers are no longer taught to read, they also cannot write, so new Spoken Books have not been created in hundreds of years. The discovery of a new Book is a coveted prize for any young noble. Baztian is a slave to one of Oration's poorer Libraries. When he is selected to accompany his master on the Actkus Trials, he thinks his life is over. The wilds are treacherous, his master incompetent, and their fellow competitors set on winning, whatever the means. But Baz also has a secret—one that could get him killed, but one that also makes him the most valuable of assets during the Trials. Baz can read, and after he saves his master from certain death, he strikes a deal—his secret kept safe in exchange for aiding his master in completing the Trials. But can Baz really help a young man who thinks of him as property? And even if he can, there is much he doesn't know, like the evil that lies in wait beneath the ruins of Tome. Part II: Declaimer's Discovery *Potential Spoilers Below* Baz and his master are called upon to suppress an uprising among the slaves of Fortune, Oration's wealthiest city. But after an attack separates Baz from the rest of his group, he's unwittingly caught up in the very rebellion his master is trying to stop. And as if things couldn't get any worse, Baz discovers that the most powerful man in Erstwhile might know his secret. A secret that could get him killed. Surrounded by enemies and friends he doesn't trust, can Baz survive and help the slaves of Fortune to freedom? Part III: Declaimer's Flight *Potential Spoilers Below* Baz and his friends are on the run, allies at a premium, as they search for the savior who will lead the slaves of Oration to freedom. When no one believes that Baz knows who that savior is, he finds his closest supporter is none other than his one-time master, a member of the ruling class against whom the rebels are fighting. When Baz returns to where his adventure—or is it a nightmare?—began, his path finally becomes clear. But even then, there are forces working to betray him, both external and in Baz's own head. Once more, he must face the dark terror beneath the ruined city of Tome, while simultaneously battling the trauma he suffered in the dungeons of Leamina Library. And that's all before the dragons show up. Will Baz persevere and find Oration's savior?

“How do you plan to get past the city walls?” Baz asked. “Easy," she replied. "We’ll fly.” Baz has found the fabled Declaimer’s Transcendence, the prophecy that promises to lead Oration’s slaves to freedom. But Baz and his companions are battered and on the run, danger at every turn and no aid in sight. Worse still, no one believes Baz when he says he knows where to find the prophesied savior. In an ironic twist of fate, Baz finds his closest ally is none other than his one-time master, a member of the ruling class against whom the rebels are fighting. When Baz returns to where his adventure—or is it a nightmare?—began, his path finally becomes clear. But even then, there are forces working to betray him, both external and in Baz’s own head. Once more, he must face the dark terror beneath the ruined city of Tome, while simultaneously battling the trauma he suffered in the dungeons of Leamina Library. And that’s all before the dragons show up. Will Baz persevere and find Oration’s savior? Find out in Part III of the Spoken Books Uprising, Declaimer’s Flight! “I’m hooked… Great world building on display, and such a cool concept for a story!” -Amazon Reviewer on The Acktus Trials, Part I of The Spoken Books Uprising “D. T. Kane gives us even more of everything we loved from the first book, and then some. I laughed, I cried, I could not put this one down.” -Amazon Reviewer on Declaimer’s Discovery, Part II of The Spoken Books Uprising

“WHO ARE YOU?” ASKED the ancient man dressed in a stylish white tunic that tenderly, brushed the fine beige sand. He carried a serene tone of voice and appeared extremely calm. His hair, in catches, covered his shoulders as it moved gentle with the breeze which blew through the land at the moment. His mysterious blue eyes openly, delivered a peaceful look. On his right hand he held a lovely wood cane, wore sandals on his feet and seemed familiar with the environment around him.

This sweeping collection of new translations paints a brilliant picture of the development of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism, China’s most radical philosophical and meditative tradition. In this landmark anthology of some two dozen translations, celebrated translator David Hinton shows how Ch'an (Japanese: Zen)—too long considered a perplexing school of Chinese Buddhism—was in truth a Buddhist-inflected form of Taoism, China's native system of spiritual philosophy. The texts in The Way of Ch’an build from seminal Taoism through the “Dark-Enigma Learning” literature and on to the most important pieces from all stages of the classical Ch’an tradition. Guided by Hinton’s accessible introductions, readers will encounter texts and authors including: I Ching (c. 12th century BCE) Lao Tzu (c. 6th century BCE Bodhidharma (active c. 500-550 CE) Sixth Patriarch Prajna-Able (Hui Neng, 638-713) Cold Mountain (Han Shan: c. 8th-9th centuries) Yellow-Bitterroot Mountain (Huang Po, d. 850) Blue-Cliff Record (c. 1040) Through this steadily deepening and transformative reading experience, readers will see the profound and intricate connections between native Chinese philosophy, Taoism, and Ch’an. Contemporary Zen students and practitioners will never see their tradition in the same way again.