Student’s Literary Toolkit: The Most Dangerous Game, The Story of an Hour, & The Garden Party

On July 4, 1983, Vivian Carter and her NASA crew of seven set off on an audacious double flyby of Venus and Mars, a two-year mission with repurposed Apollo technology that will push their ingenuity and resourcefulness to the limit. Meanwhile, superpower conflicts escalate on Earth, mirrored by a dangerously unstable arms race and battles for valuable mineral resources on the Moon. Full-up lunar military actions and treacherous sneak attacks decimate Vivian’s friends, allies and colleagues on both sides of the Iron Curtain and threaten everything she has worked to achieve.

Vivian’s odyssey is a high adventure that will bring mankind new knowledge and unimagined insights … just as the risk of worldwide nuclear war has never been greater. Now, on her triumphant return in 1985, Vivian Carter’s path inevitably brings her back to where she began: a desperate rescue mission with no NASA support and no safety net, to a dangerous, war-torn Moon where she will be hard pressed to tell friend from foe.

In the concluding volume of Alan Smale’s highly acclaimed Apollo Rising series ("A nail-biting thriller."−Publishers Weekly) humanity faces a stark choice: a bright new interplanetary future … or nuclear apocalypse on two worlds.

Mission Impossible meets X-Men—with a twist: You only have 60 seconds to save the day.

U.S. Marine Daniel Hayes returns from the Middle East in a wheelchair. The only survivor of his team, he’s haunted by more than his physical scars. His survivor’s guilt keeps him trapped on the porch of his childhood home, watching the rust belt crumble around him.

In Africa, Dr. Christian Chase’s once-fearless hands are now useless. Blinded in a rebel ambush, she replays the life she couldn’t save as if torturing herself with endless flashbacks could change the past.

In Ukraine, kickboxer Zoya Zynchenko wakes in a cold hospital bed. Her family gone, her legs paralyzed, a missile strike leaving her a forgotten victim of war.

And bounty hunter Max “Jaxx” Jaquez hides his crippling pain behind false bravado. Drowning in guilt for letting a dangerous predator escape, he hates himself more than the criminal he failed to apprehend.

Enter Norman Blackwell, a brilliant but reclusive biotech engineer. His cutting-edge treatment transforms these broken heroes into something extraordinary. Hayes gains superhuman strength. Chase’s gaze becomes deadly. Zoya moves with lightning reflexes. Jaxx’s intellect explodes into genius.

But there’s a cost: These powers last for only 60 seconds at a time, then pain and incapacitation hits.

Together, they become the Minute-Men, a team of wounded warriors turned reluctant heroes. Their first mission: Stop a ruthless corporate warlord from weaponizing life-saving nanotechnology, turning hope into tools of control and destruction. To succeed, they must master their fleeting powers, trust each other, and find strength in their shared scars. Because in a world where everything can change in a heartbeat, 60 seconds is all they’ve got to save the day—and each other.

In New Rock New Rules, the thrilling third installment of Richard Sparks' gripping New Rock series, the kingdom finds itself in turmoil after the eccentric demise of King Wyllard. As power shifts unexpectedly into the hands of the radiant and cunning Esmeralda, alliances are tested, schemes unravel, and palace intrigue reaches a fever pitch. Esmeralda's bold maneuvering silences her ambitious rivals and sends a clear message: in this new era, she alone sets the rules—and she isn't afraid to enforce them.

Meanwhile, legendary warrior Commandant Bastard faces his greatest challenge yet—a spectacular duel against Grell, a hero whose strength and ferocity could change the realm forever. As excitement grips Eastbay and fortunes ride on the outcome, secrets emerge, loyalties are tested, and even friendships teeter precariously on the edge. With wit, humor, and an unmatched talent for storytelling, Sparks weaves an irresistible narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

But far from the cheering crowds and the glitter of royal tournaments, another danger stirs in the shadows of the Deepwoods. Daxx, now wrestling with a terrifying and seductive new power, journeys into the unknown to confront his destiny. Led by unexpected guides and pursued by inner demons, he must make an impossible choice—one that could redefine his very being. New Rock New Rules offers readers adventure, laughter, and heart-stopping suspense, ensuring they'll eagerly turn every page until the very end.

An independent novella in the highly popular The Winds of War universe by a master of military science fiction , William C. Dietz.

Vice President Al Hayden is on his way to Panama when a laser facility located deep inside China establishes a satellite link and fires a 50-100kW laser at Air Force Two.

The shot is dead-on, and the plane is damaged and forced to make a crash landing in El Salvador. Hayden survives but is badly injured and susceptible to capture in a country primarily run by gangs, corrupt cops, and vigilantes. Many of them would love to grab Hayden and sell him to Russia, Isis, or another group.

Members of Joint Task Force-Bravo, located at nearby Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, are notified and placed on high alert. That includes army Captain Jim Brody, who is being held in what the Americans call the “Slammer” for punching a Honduran soldier in the face.

But Brody is just the right man to lead a rescue or recovery mission.

Now, it’s up to Brody and Honduran Lieutenant Maria Perez to carry out a dangerous reconnaissance mission and attempt a rescue. They give the mission everything they have, but will that be enough?

After months abroad honing her forbidden necromancy magic, Rose Thenlif returns for her final year at the elite Dunhollow Academy of Witchcraft with only two goals in mind: reuniting with her girlfriend, Sylvie, and reviving her best friend, Fen. But Dunhollow has a way of digging its claws in deep, and Rose soon discovers that, not only will the academy play host to the prestigious but deadly Ashwood Tournament between its rival universities this year, but she and Sylvie have been selected to compete.

Forced to hide her dangerous necromancy, and with only a tenuous grasp on fire sorcery to protect her, Rose has little hope of winning. Especially after her revival spell backfires, and she finds herself haunted by brutal thoughts, and losing time altogether. Yet the most dangerous threat she faces might be Callum, a rival competitor and compulsion mage with a sharp tongue and an unerring habit of showing up where Rose least wants him.

But, when the first trial of the tournament ends with Rose standing over her mother's scorched corpse with no memory of how she got there, she and Sylvie must once again team up to uncover whether it was Rose herself, someone out to frame her, or something altogether darker. Stuck between ruthless competitors, lethal trials, and the dangerous twists of Rose's own mind, the pair must rely on the unlikely aid of Callum to recover Rose's lost memories. Though his help doesn't come without strings attached, and the truth could very well be the weapon with which he betrays them. With their brittle alliance caught upon the edge of a knife, the trio must delve even further into Dunhollow's secrets and their own dark pasts, though they soon find that their hearts may prove the most treacherous opponents of all.

An artist’s brain rules a team of a million microbial minds—from the Campbell Award winning author of A Door into Ocean.

In the hundred-level city of Iridis, human lords recycle diamonds and emeralds down to the Underworld while sentient machines pilot lightcraft and perform surgeries. Microbial minds expand the brains of scientists and artists. The artist Chrys directs her microbes to paint startling installations, design smart buildings and fix quantum networks. A world-size virtual intelligence called Transit commissions Chrys to create a whole new city on another planet.

But unexpected flaws fracture her designs. Microbial criminal gangs invade Chrys’s brain to kill off her own micros and take control. In Iridis, the roots of buildings grow cancers that escape the Underworld and cause earthquakes. Outlawed machines shake down shops and kidnap human lords for ransom. The city’s rulers ignore the signs of collapse, then face a new threat that no mind foresaw.