Final Education - A Novel of Empires Both Vapid and Grand

Final Education - A Novel of Empires Both Vapid and Grand, By Dean Marden, free

CHOSEN to partake in a government initiative known only as 'the Program', Cawdor High's graduating students are quick to find their old rivalries and alliances playing out on a scale grander than any one of them could have ever imagined. Given control of fourteen ancient civilizations within an immense virtual world, the hundred teenagers must engage their foes, protect their allies, and safeguard their own interests leveraging all the powers of human history.

In high school, Lex Ryerson had never been outgoing, outspoken or even remotely popular, but as a member of the fledgling Blue faction, he finds himself emerging as a powerful player in a world forged by the capricious nature of the teenage psyche. The Blues rise to early prominence as they and their neighbouring nations find themselves embroiled in political intrigue and worldwide conflict that could spell doom at any moment for one or all.

Spears and swords make way for cannons and guns, with warships and nuclear power thrusting the Program down an increasingly hazy path of warfare and politics. In a world birthed by the collective consciousness of a hundred teenaged minds, how many will be able to tread its narrow paths between sweeping glory and utter decimation?

For its enablers, the answer will be their final education.

Ruin's Wasteful Entrance Series: Marius Besshaven, Book 1

Ruin's Wasteful Entrance

• Series: Marius Besshaven, Book 1

By Ray Stickle, free

House of Atreus, meet the House of Frost. The rambling estate in the wooded hills of southern Ohio hides secrets. Murder begetting murder. Wickedness leading to more wickedness. It’s a story as old as time itself.

Cast into this world after the death of his parents, young Marius Besshaven seeks the truth about his mother’s past, about his own identity. Cryptic messages in unlikely places, the fractured memories of unreliable survivors, the haunting voices of ghosts--from these elements Marius will have to piece together his family’s history. And what will become of him? Will he find ruin, like so many who came before him? Will he find resolution? Or will the curse continue?

From loudspeaker-muted atrocities on the killing fields of Nazi-occupied Poland to lavender-scented murder in the estate’s hidden garden, the tragedies of the past touch the lives of the present and no one will ever be the same.

Gang Of Losers

Gang Of Losers, By Chris Lynton, free

Gang of Losers is a coming-of-age drama set in the summer of 1983.

Sixteen-year-old Theo Hanlon's main interests are drinking, girls, clothes, and most importantly playing the drums. He dreams of stardom, and can’t believe his luck when he is asked to drum for a local band on the verge of signing a record deal. But when he gets sacked in unceremonious circumstances, Theo starts a chain of events that sees him step from behind the drum kit and into the spotlight. 

Gang of Losers is a heartfelt and offbeat novel that captures the excitement of growing up and experiencing the intoxicating lure of music, sex, alcohol and independence for the first time.

Tainted - Series: The ARC, Book 1

Tainted, Series: The ARC, Book 1, By Alexandra Moody, free

The ARC: the world's last chance for survival, but this underground fallout shelter is the last place you want to be.

At the tender age of two Elle Winters lost everything, when the day of impact transformed Earth’s surface into an icy, desolate wasteland. Fifteen years later, all she has ever known are the cold, artificial confines of underground fallout shelter, the ARC. Under the Council’s rule, ruthless officials roam the hallways and community comes first. Everyone lives in fear of failing their annual testing and those that do are deemed tainted—taken away without any warning or a word of goodbye.

No one has been taken in over six months and the remaining citizens of the ARC have slowly begun to forget the danger. Elle remains wary, but even she is beginning to wonder if it’s finally safe to succumb to her feelings towards her closest friend, Sebastian. 

But, no one is ever truly safe in the ARC. Elle is about to experience her own personal apocalypse and with nothing left to lose, she will finally attempt to uncover the truth about the tainted. 

Will she find what she’s looking for or are some secrets better left buried deep underground?

Talented, Book 2 of The ARC, is now available.