The Philosophical Strangler

PHILOSOPHY: THE HANDS ON APPROACH Mighty Greyboar, the world's greatest professional strangler, is dissatisfied with his lot in life. The work is steady and the pay is good, but what, he wonders, is the point of it all But when he learns that there is a Supreme Philosophy of Life*, Greyboar the Strangler is Born Again! Still, just how can a professional man in good standing pay the bills with all this philosophical exploration getting in the way That's what his hard-headed agent and manager Ignace wants to know! And Ignace's skepticism turns quickly into outright horror when Greyboar's philosophical preoccupation leads to one disaster after another . . . simple choke jobs turn into ethical quandaries . . .a bizarre artist and a deadly arms-master turn up to complicate their life . . .as if their new girlfriends haven't complicated it enough! Before you know it, Greyboar the strangler and his disgruntled manager find themselves embroiled with an abbess at odds with her deity, heretics on the run, dwarves needing to be rescued, and then¾worst of all! Greyboar's long-estranged sister Gwendolyn, political activist and revolutionary, comes back to town asking Greyboar's help in an insane mission to the underworld. It's purely a noble cause, one which no self-respecting assassin would touch for a moment. But in the pursuit of Enlightenment, anything can happen. . . . *What You want the details Hint: Entropy. For more on the secret, buy this book! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

"Mighty Greyboar, the world's greatest professional strangler, is dissatisfied with his lot in life. When he learns that there is a Supreme Philosophy of Life, Greyboar the Strangler is born again."--Jacket.

The Malwa Empire has conquered 6th century India and is forging the subcontinent's vast population into an invincible weapon of tyranny. Belisarius, the finest general of his age, must save the world. Guided by visions from a future that may never be, he and a band of comrades penetrate the Malwa heartland, seeking the core of the enemy's power. And when Belisarius leads the forces of good, only a fool would side with evil. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

AMERICAN FREEDOM AND JUSTICE VS. THE TYRANNIES OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY The new government in central Europe, called the Confederated Principalities of Europe, was formed by an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians led by Mike Stearns who were transplanted into 17th-century Germany by a mysterious cosmic accident. The new regime is shaky. Outside its borders, the Thirty Years War continues to rage. Within, it is beset by financial crisis as well as the political and social tensions between the democratic ideals of the 20th-century Americans and the aristocracy which continues to rule the roost in the CPE as everywhere in Europe. Worst of all, the CPE has aroused the implacable hostility of Cardinal Richelieu, the effective ruler of France. Richelieu has created the League of Ostend in order to strike at the weakest link in the CPE's armor¾its dependence on the Baltic as the lifeline between Gustav Adolf's Sweden and the rest of his realm. The greatest naval war in European history is about to erupt. Like it or not, Gustavus Adolphus will have to rely on Mike Stearns and the technical wizardry of his obstreperous Americans to save the King of Sweden from ruin. Caught in the conflagration are two American diplomatic missions abroaRebecca Stearns' mission to France and Holland, and the embassy which Mike Stearns sent to King Charles of England headed by his sister Rita and Melissa Mailey. Rebecca finds herself trapped in war-torn Amsterdam; Rita and Melissa, imprisoned in the Tower of London. And much as Mike wants to transport 20th-century values into war-torn 17th-century Europe by Sweet Reason, still he finds comfort in the fact that Julie, who once trained to be an Olympic marksman, still has her rifle . . . At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Even the Philosophical Strangler's Hands are Tied when the King's Dreams Became Nightmares ... The youthful artist-swordsman Benvenuti Sfondrati-Piccolomini arrived in the city of Goimr just in time for disaster to strike. The evil sorcerer Zulkeh had driven the King of the realm insane, then fled from the city! So much for Benvenuti's plans to become the Royal Artist .... Injury was added to insult when Benvenuti was immediately arrested by the Secret Police. Then, after barely managing to escape the clutches of the authorities, he found himself embroiled with a revolutionary agitator and a gigantic madman. Things were not as they seemed. The wizard Zulkeh and his apprentice Shelyid were, in fact, guiltless. Zulkeh had been summoned to interpret the King of Goimr's mysterious dream, which the sorcerer came to realize foretold an impending catastrophe for civilization. Zulkeh and Shelyid had actually left Goimr to discover the really important implications of the dream, beyond the trifle of the dynasty's destruction. Much to the artist's dismay, his adventures and those of the sorcerer were hopelessly intertwined. Soon, Benvenuti and his two companions were off in pursuit of Zulkeh, trying to save the entire sub-continent of Grotum from conquest by the Ozarean Empire. Benvenuti was swept up in a whirlwind of revolutionary plotting and perilous wizardry as he traveled across the vast sub-continent. The only certainty was that he was on a quest the end of which he could not possibly fathom, accompanying a female revolutionary whose beauty was only outdone by her ferocity. It didn't help that he'd fallen in love with her, especially since her brother's help would be vital to the success of their enterprise. Gwendolyn's brother Greyboar was the world's greatest professional strangler. And they didn't call him the Thumbs of Eternity for nothing .... At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Three complete novels, one of them a Hugo Award finalist, with a number of short stories.

Fight for Freedom in a Dark and Bloody Age! After a cosmic accident sets the modern West Virginia town of Grantsville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe, the United States of Europe is forged in the fire of battle. The Baltic War reaches a climax as France, Spain, England, and Denmark besiege the U.S.E. in the Prussian stronghold of Lubeck. The invention of ironclads, the introduction of special force tactics during a spectacular rescue operation at the Tower of London _ the up-timers plan to use every trick in the time traveler's book to avoid a defeat that will send Europe back to a new Dark Age! Multiple New York Times best-seller and creator of the legendary "Honorverse" series David Weber teams with New York Times best-selling alternate history master Eric Flint to tell the tale of the little town that remade a continent and rang in freedom for a battle-ravaged land in the latest blockbuster addition to Flint's "Grantsville" saga! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). "This is a thoughtful and exciting look at just how powerful are the ideals we sometimes take for granted, and is highly recommended[.]" ¾ Publishers Weekly on Flint and Weber's 1633. "[R]eads like a Tom Clancy techno-thriller set in the age of the Medicisã" ¾ Publishers Weekly on New York Times best-seller, 1634:_ The Galileo Affair.

AN EVIL The creators of the monster called Link once were human, but that was distant ages in their past. Now, from the far future, they have sent their creation back to shape the world of the 6th century AD into the form that will make their own foul existence possible. Taught and ruled by Link, the Malwa Empire has spread from the Indus Valley, across India and into Mesopotamia. Its inhuman master has chosen its instruments from the most brutal and degraded members of humanity, and they have served its monstrous ends well. A GUIDE Those in the future who never were human have sent their own messenger to the past: Aide, a gleaming jewel who can warn but not lead; who can teach the construction of new weapons but cannot wield those weapons himself. Aide has come to Belisarius, the greatest general of the 6th century and perhaps any century. Between them they have forged an alliance of all the world against evil¾and an army that can be the spear through evil's heart. A CRUSADE With lancers and breech-loading rifles, with steamships and with galleys, Belisarius is marching into the Malwa heartland. In a world aflame with treachery, assassination, and slaughter beyond anything save the battles of mythology, he and his companions know only one sure thing: if they fail, their whole world is doomed to living Hell¾for all time! A VICTORY! Politics, battle, and heroic adventure in a vivid alternate past! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).