The Pandora Gambit

Cops and Robbers to Magic and Monsters. The world just got a lot more complicated for Detective Ray Bradley. The streets of Miami are flooded with a mysterious drug that has the populace seeing monsters. Ray Bradley is the undercover narcotics detective assigned to work the case. However, things quickly get out of hand when a secretive DEA agent shows up with the credentials to take over. Ray soon finds himself immersed in a world he no longer understands. A world of myth and legend. A world of Elves and Orcs. But, what's more odd than that. It seems they've been here the entire time, living among us. Heralded as Miami Vice meets Lord of the Rings, The Pandora Gambit is a low magic, low fantasy, epic, set in modern day. Dust off your blazer and grab a cocktail. The Pandora Gambit is going to take you for a ride!

On 25 October 3069, the extremist Word of Blake attacked the capital world of the Free Worlds League and declared the League’s leader, Captain-General Thomas Marik, a fraud. House Marik fell into disgrace and, after eight centuries of existence, the Free Worlds League shattered. Three captains-general now vie to reunite the realm:Anson Marik of the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth prides himself on possessing Marik blood and seeks to rule on its strength. Lester Cameron-Jones of the Regulan Fiefs knows the Marik bloodline is defunct; only a new royal house can resurrect the League. Jessica Marik of the Oriente Protectorate is on a mission to redeem her father’s name: the false Thomas Marik, the man who helped destroy the League. They will all find the price for their ambitions is higher than they could ever have imagined. Who will be willing to pay?

THREE SIDES TO EVERY WAR… In 3069, the extremist Word of Blake group attacked the capital of the Free Worlds League and declared its leader, Captain-General Thomas Marik, to be a fraud. House Marik fell into disgrace, and after eight centuries, the Free Worlds League shattered. Three captains-general now vie to reunite the realm: • Anson Marik of the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth prides himself on possessing Marik blood, and seeks to rule on its strength. • Lester Cameron-Jones of the Regulan Fiefs knows the Marik bloodline is defunct; only a new royal house can resurrect the League. • Jessica Marik of the Oriente Protectorate is on a mission to redeem her father's name: the false Thomas Marik, and the very man who helped destroy the League. The world of Marik becomes a battleground as the three contenders prove they will go to any lengths to further their causes. But only Jessica Marik appears to remember that the Free Worlds League was forged not through military might alone, but also through alliances of trust. They will all find the price for their ambitions is higher than they could ever have imagined. Who will be willing to pay to achieve their dream?

The mystical world has always existed at the fringe of human perception. A string of recent abductions takes a turn for the worse when the investigating agent joins an ever-expanding list of casualties. Fortunately, an unexpected informant knows who’s responsible, but he’ll only talk to one person. Detective Ray Bradley, following a six-month suspension since his first big fail, the fail that started it all, is asked to look into the disappearance of his former partner. Much has changed since he last wore the badge. The Veil, which separates the magical world from the mundane, is weakening. Crime is at an all-time high. Confusion, anger, and fear are pushing both sides toward war. And everyone seems to know something Ray does not. Things go from bad to worse when the only suspect in his case is tipped off and Ray is accused of conspiring with the enemy. What was supposed to be a simple missing persons case rapidly escalates into a series of gunfights, car chases, explosions, and encounters with seductive women in this action-packed otherworldly detective novel. Will Ray, the newest Marshal over the 95th District, be able to adapt to a world he does not understand in order to rescue his friend? Or will he become the latest casualty in a war of shadows? Experience the adventure by purchasing this book today!

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.

MERCS VERSUS MERCS… During the years of the Star League, few mercenary units served with such honor and distinction as the Eridani Light Horse. Stalwart allies of the Star League and the ideals it stands for, the men and women of the Eighth Recon Battalion are about to have their own ideals tested on the world of Radstadt. For when an invading mercenary force assaults a massive Draconis Combine prison complex, the Light Horse warriors are faced with the choice of risking their lives to defend convicted prisoners. And while the Eridani Light Horse has never shied from a mission or a challenge, repelling the invaders will try them in ways they could never have expected…

TRADITIONS RUN DEEP… Other mercenary units fly flags at two flagpoles at their headquarters, one with their unit’s flag, and other bearing the flag of their current employer. However, the Third Regimental Combat Team—a.k.a. the Eridani Light Horse—leaves one flagpole bare, as a reminder of the death of the Star League, and the other pole flies the Light Horse’s unit and regimental flags at half-mast. What triumphs and tragedies shaped the Eridani Light Horse and its traditions? What drove them to become a force to be reckoned with, an elite mercenary unit with one of the longest histories and the deepest traditions in the Inner Sphere? Witness the unit’s origins in the Star League and follow their evolution all the way through the Succession Wars and the Clan Invasion to their downfall in the Dark Age and their resurrection in the uncertain future of the ilClan era. Part Seven: View from the Ground by Alan Brundage: The Star League has been re-formed, and the Eridani Light Horse, now a broken unit, resumes serving under the new First Lord’s banner. What does this mean for the Light Horse’s future and its centuries of tradition?

SOMETHING LURKS IN THE SHADOWS… During the chaos of the Word of Blake’s Jihad, the MechWarriors of the Federated Suns will go to any lengths to defend their nation from the Blakists’ unholy terror—including making deals with the devil. But that devil might just be a literal one: an all-black Marauder, hidden for several decades, that carries an aura of dread that infects everyone who encounters it. Many blame it for causing unexplained disappearances, technical failures, and even madness. But what is the so-called Dark One? Is it merely a ghost story told to scare pirates on the edge of the Periphery, or does something truly evil live beneath its cold, blackened armor? This anthology collects the first three of Lance Scarinci’s stories about the Dark One, along with a brand-new fourth story exclusive to this volume.