The prequel story to the award-winning and bestselling video game franchise. How the majesty of Rapture, the shining city below the sea, became an instant dystopia

It's the end of World War II. FDR's New Deal has redefined American politics. Taxes are at an all-time high. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has brought a fear of total annihilation. The rise of secret government agencies and sanctions on business has many watching their backs. America's sense of freedom is diminishing...and many are desperate to take that freedom back.

Among them is a great dreamer, an immigrant who pulled himself from the depths of poverty to become one of the wealthiest and admired men in the world. That man is Andrew Ryan, and he believed that great men and women deserve better. And so he set out to create the impossible, a utopia free from government, censorship, and moral restrictions on science--where what you give is what you get. He created Rapture--the shining city below the sea.

But as we all know, this utopia suffered a great tragedy. This is the story of how it all came to be...and how it all ended.

Enter the Infinite Staircase - a dreamlike expanse with doors leading to fantastical worlds and planes of existence.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase embraces the magic of the most beloved Dungeons & Dragons adventures of all time, updated for the game's fifth edition.

Your journey begins in the Infinite Staircase, a dreamlike expanse with doors leading to fantastical worlds, where you'll meet Nafas, a noble genie who fulfills wishes with the help of valiant heroes--like you! As you explore what lies beyond each door, embark on timeless adventures and make memorable moments with your party. This handpicked collection contains 6 remastered first edition adventures, complete with striking settings and a lovable cast of characters. These unforgettable quests can be run individually or as a delightful campaign that takes characters from level 1 to 13.

Ralph Compton writer, John Shirley, takes traditional Westerns on a wild ride with the epic adventures of master gunfighter, horseman, and Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe as he and his strong wife fight for survival in 1880s Nevada . . .

Civil War veteran Cleve Trewe locks horns with a ruthless cattleman who's hungry for land, thirsty for power--and out for blood . . .

After a long, hard journey west, Cleve Trewe is ready to settle down. He's got his beautiful wife Berry in San Francisco, a baby on the way, and his sights set on a gorgeous piece of land in the Sierras. This sweet slice of heaven is aptly named Sweet River, and it's the perfect place to build a ranch, farm, and home for his family. Problem is, Cleve's not the only one with his eyes on the land. A big-time cattle baron named Asa Hawthorn is prepared to use threats, intimidation--and armed thugs--to get what he wants. Worse yet, Cleve knows the man from the darkest days of the Civil War . . .

Cleve's not about to surrender his claim.. He's got his buddy Kanaway by his side, a family of Paiute Indians on his team, and the property papers ready to sign. That's when the real trouble starts. To squash the deal, Hawthorn unleashes his deadliest henchmen--including a would-be gunfighter from Cleve's past and a killer-for-hire who never misses. The Paiute family recognizes some of them as the men who slaughtered their tribe--a massacre that Cleve suspects was the work of Asa Hawthorn. Either way, a major battle is brewing. And the crystal blue waters of Sweet River are about to turn red . . .

The New York Times bestselling series based on the blockbuster Xbox(R) games!

Centuries before the Human-Covenant War would rage across the galaxy, a similar conflict erupted between the Prophets and the Elites--two alien races at odds over the sacred artifacts left by the powerful Forerunners, who disappeared eons ago. Although they would eventually form a stable alliance called the Covenant, there are those on both sides who question this fateful union. From an Elite splinter group rebelling against the Covenant during the time of its founding...to a brave Prophet caught in the machinations of the new leadership...to the root of the betrayal that would ultimately shatter the Covenant many years later, this is the untold chapter of the most unexpected heroes emerging from a realm filled with shocking treachery and ceaseless wonder.

Copyright (c) 2014 by Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Halo, the Halo logo, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

The prequel story to the award-winning and bestselling BioShock video game franchise: how the majesty of Rapture, the shining city below the sea, became an instant dystopia

It's the end of World War II. FDR's New Deal has redefined American politics. Taxes are at an all-time high. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has brought a fear of total annihilation. The rise of secret government agencies and sanctions on business has many watching their backs. America's sense of freedom is diminishing . . . and many are desperate to take there freedom back.

Among them is a great dreamer, an immigrant who pulled himself from the depths of poverty to become one of the wealthiest and admired men in the world. That man is Andrew Ryan, and he believed that great men and women deserve better. And so he set out to create the impossible, a utopia free from government, censorship, and moral restrictions on science--where what you give is what you get. He created Rapture---the shining city below the sea.

But as we all know, this utopia suffered a great tragedy. This is the story of how it all came to be . . .and how it all ended.

The second in the action-packed new series from Ralph Compton writer, John Shirley, takes traditional Westerns on a wild ride with the epic adventures of master gunfighter, horseman, and Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe as he and his strong partner, Bernice fight for survival in 1880s Nevada . . . Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe stumbles onto a bizarre cult in the Sierra Nevada mountains-where the faithful are healed and fates are sealed . . . in blood. They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. But it's hard to know what's going on inside the twisted mind of Magnus Lamb, the charismatic leader of an isolated logging town known for its healing hot springs. Some might say he's created a peaceful utopia here on Gunmetal Mountain. But for Cleveland Trewe and his lovely traveling companion Berry, this little piece of heaven is more like Hell on Earth . . . Cleve and Berry first discover the town after an encounter with a dangerous band of Indians. Cleve to vow to find the Coyote, a young brave last seen headed for the strange settlement of Lambsville. At first, Cleve and Berry are charmed by the town's natural beauty and simple way of life. But soon they see the community for what it really is: a brainwashed cult with some oddball beliefs, a rigid caste system, and a leader who thinks he's the new Messiah. This not-so-innocent Lamb has heard about Cleve's legendary gunfighting skills and wants him to lead an army to expand his power across the West. It's bound to be a bloodsoaked mission, and Cleve wants no part of it. But if he refuses, there'll be hell to pay . . .

From the acclaimed author of Ralph Compton's Prairie Fire, Kansas, the first in an action-packed new series starring Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe, a master gunfighter, horseman, and lawman who's looking to strike it rich in the gold fields of Axle Bust, Nevada...

From the battlefield of Shiloh to the prisoner camp at Slocum, former Union soldier Cleveland Trewe has seen more than enough carnage for one lifetime. Now that the war is over he's found work as a peacekeeper and prospector--the perfect set of survival skills for a town like Axle Bust, Nevada, a place seething with danger.

Cleve's uncle staked a claim in Axle Bust only to lose it to a murderous con-man partnered with Duncan Conroy, owner of the Golden Fleece Mine and a man determined to build an empire by means fair and foul. The only person keeping Conroy in check is his sister Berenice, a freethinker whose scientific education benefits the family interests--even while catching Cleve's eye.

To reclaim his uncle's mine, and bring justice to a town under tyranny, Cleve finds himself turning the streets into a bullet-riddled battlefield. Conroy is about to learn there just isn't room for both men in a town like Axle Bust.

GOLD FEVER. BLOOD FEVER.

Ralph Compton writer, John Shirley, takes traditional Westerns on a wild ride with the epic adventures of master gunfighter, horseman, and Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe as he and his strong wife fight for survival in 1880s Nevada ...

Civil War veteran Cleve Trewe locks horns with a ruthless cattleman who's hungry for land, thirsty for power--and out for blood ...

After a long, hard journey west, Cleve Trewe is ready to settle down. He's got his beautiful wife Berry in San Francisco, a baby on the way, and his sights set on a gorgeous piece of land in the Sierras. This sweet slice of heaven is aptly named Sweet River, and it's the perfect place to build a ranch, farm, and home for his family. Problem is, Cleve's not the only one with his eyes on the land. A big-time cattle baron named Asa Hawthorn is prepared to use threats, intimidation--and armed thugs--to get what he wants. Worse yet, Cleve knows the man from the darkest days of the Civil War ...

Cleve's not about to surrender his claim. He's got his buddy Kanaway by his side, a family of Paiute Indians on his team, and the property papers ready to sign. That's when the real trouble starts. To squash the deal, Hawthorn unleashes his deadliest henchmen--including a would-be gunfighter from Cleve's past and a killer-for-hire who never misses. The Paiute family recognizes some of them as the men who slaughtered their tribe--a massacre that Cleve suspects was the work of Asa Hawthorn. Either way, a major battle is brewing. And the crystal blue waters of Sweet River are about to turn red ...

An ancient evil deep beneath New York City turns subway stations into bloody altars for ritual sacrifice. Monsters made of blood arise from drains, an invisible hellhound devours human flesh, feral children stalk the shadowy streets and make murder a terrifying game. Occult investigator Carl Lanyard risks his life, his love, and his sanity as he battles the unspeakable forces of darkness. A modern classic by a master of the macabre in a new revised edition.

An original novel set in the universe of the award-winning video game

The Borderlands cannot be conquered

Mordecai and Daphne have gotten themselves in a tough spot near the highly dangerous town of Gunsight, one of the most remote outposts on the planet Pan-dora, out in the boonies of the boonies of the Borderlands. Daphne has been taken prisoner by Jasper, a local warlord who controls the area around Gunsight . . . except for that other settlement, the former mining town Tumessa. There's some kind of big secret operation going on in Tumessa--another warlord, a particularly mutated Psycho named Reamus, is somehow making money. And he's been relent-lessly raiding Gunsight and kidnapping Jasper's people. Jasper may be scum, but he needs those people for raids on other towns, so it all has to balance out. Mordecai needs to negotiate for Daphne's release, but now the only way he'll ever see her alive again is to kill his way into Tumessa, find out what's going on there, and report back to Jasper--only then will Mordecai get a paycheck and the girl. Mordecai doesn't want the job, but he is pretty devoted to Daphne . . . and somehow, he just might be able to turn this entire mess to his advantage. . .

Comet Press presents the ultimate collection of extreme creature horror with 17 deviant and gore-soaked stories featuring demons, cannibals, mutants, golems, werewolves, and many more vile creatures. Brace yourself for a wild and bestial ride in these disturbing tales of Sick Things. Over-endowed aliens invade earth with one purpose: to mate with human females. A filmmaker documents a devil worshipping blood cult--and becomes the main subject. A farmer with an unnatural affection for his livestock gets a special gift when his wife is bitten by a werewolf. An employee finds his new boss sexy and attractive--and so do the flys. An obese, bed-ridden woman is given a pill to help her lose weight, with gag-inducing consequences. Pissed off, flesh-eating cows take over a dairy farm. A musician returns from the dead to avenge his wife's murder, with the help of a mysterious black possum. The Allies find a secret weapon: a monstrous blob with an insatiable appetite for dead human flesh. A chef creates his ultimate dish: an anatomically correct golem made out of leftovers. A mythical demon preys on unsuspecting college girls. A morbid, mouth-watering retelling of Hansel and Gretel. And many more

For decades, John Shirley has been a leading author of weird fiction, with an impressively wide range. His work stretches from science fiction to supernatural horror to psychological terror and everything in between. Here, in two new and unpublished works, Shirley ventures into the realm of fantasy.

The short novel A Sorcerer of Atlantis introduces us to two adventurers, Brimm and Snoori, who find themselves in Atlantis, battling an array of bizarre monsters in the company of the warrior princess Selinn of Ur. But as Brinn becomes intimate with Maitha, the Queen of Atlantis, he senses that more baleful creatures threaten the continent, including the menacing People of the Deep, foreshadowing Atlantis's imminent doom.

In the novella A Prince in the Kingdom of Ghosts, Korean-American Kerrin Kim, shattered by his father's death, is himself murdered-and finds himself in an afterlife realm where he must assume the responsibilities of a prince in a land of ghosts, elemental spirits, and other supernatural threats.

In this pair of tales, written in the tradition of Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, and Jack Vance, John Shirley reveals an exuberant imagination, a skill at portraying vivid and memorable characters, and a narrative pace that carries the reader on from beginning to end with breathless excitement. Chilling terror mixes with wry humor as Shirley makes his fantasy worlds inescapably real.

WELCOME TO THE WEIRD, WEIRD, WEIRD, WEIRD WORLD OF JOHN SHIRLEY...

How deep into the weird will you go? Will you wade to your knees? Your waist? Your shoulders? Will you get in over your head?

This truly unique story collection from the acclaimed and unsettling John Shirley is organized into four sections. The first section is Really Weird Stories. The second is Really, Really Weird Stories. The third is Really, Really, Really Weird Stories. The fourth is-oh yes-Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories. And the author means what he says: each section is weirder than the last, doubling its strangeness a section at a time. The collection starts out disquieting; it becomes disturbing, then it gets outrageously weird-then mind-bending. Yet each story is a compelling narrative.

Some of the stories are set in the real world; others have a supernatural or science-fiction basis, or come from a place where genres are destroyed by explosive vision. In this edition there are four new stories, including the Lovecraftian Antarctic adventure A Boy and His Shoggoth, and, published here for the first time, The Whisperer Made Visible-a tale of secret treaties with horrors eldritch and invisible.

This updated edition of Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories is one of the most impressive feats of sustained and varied weirdness since Harlan Ellison's landmark Dangerous Visions anthologies. Your mind is strong. Take the risk...

From the acclaimed author of Ralph Compton's Prairie Fire, Kansas, the first in an action-packed new series starring Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe, a master gunfighter, horseman, and lawman who's looking to strike it rich in the gold fields of Axle Bust, Nevada...

From the battlefield of Shiloh to the prisoner camp at Slocum, former Union soldier Cleveland Trewe has seen more than enough carnage for one lifetime. Now that the war is over he's found work as a peacekeeper and prospector--the perfect set of survival skills for a town like Axle Bust, Nevada, a place seething with danger.

Cleve's uncle staked a claim in Axle Bust only to lose it to a murderous con-man partnered with Duncan Conroy, owner of the Golden Fleece Mine and a man determined to build an empire by means fair and foul. The only person keeping Conroy in check is his sister Berenice, a freethinker whose scientific education benefits the family interests--even while catching Cleve's eye.

To reclaim his uncle's mine, and bring justice to a town under tyranny, Cleve finds himself turning the streets into a bullet-riddled battlefield. Conroy is about to learn there just isn't room for both men in a town like Axle Bust.

GOLD FEVER. BLOOD FEVER.

A routine rescue mission leaves a team of US soldiers, rescued hostages and a prisoner trapped above Earth in a suborbital craft, in this cinematic action-packed near-future thriller, perfect for fans of Tom Clancy and Jack Carr

This is the kind of book that gives military SF a good name. Financial Times

Lieutenant Art Burkett is called up to take part in a rescue mission. Three scientists have been kidnapped by the terrorist group Thieves in Law.

The rescue is swift. Art and his team return to military craft SubOrbital 7, intending to return to safety with hostages rescued and prisoners in tow. But Thieves in Law are not the only people looking for them. Art and his team must fight an ever-growing threat before time runs out for them, and possibly for the rest of the world.

The second in the action-packed new series from Ralph Compton writer, John Shirley, takes traditional Westerns on a wild ride with the epic adventures of master gunfighter, horseman, and Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe as he and his strong partner, Bernice fight for survival in 1880s Nevada ...

Civil War veteran Cleveland Trewe stumbles onto a bizarre cult in the Sierra Nevada mountains--where the faithful are healed and fates are sealed ... in blood.

They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. But it's hard to know what's going on inside the twisted mind of Magnus Lamb, the charismatic leader of an isolated logging town known for its healing hot springs. Some might say he's created a peaceful utopia here on Gunmetal Mountain. But for Cleveland Trewe and his lovely traveling companion Berry, this little piece of heaven is more like Hell on Earth ...

Cleve and Berry first discover the town after an encounter with a dangerous band of Indians. Cleve to vow to find the Coyote, a young brave last seen headed for the strange settlement of Lambsville. At first, Cleve and Berry are charmed by the town's natural beauty and simple way of life. But soon they see the community for what it really is: a brainwashed cult with some oddball beliefs, a rigid caste system, and a leader who thinks he's the new Messiah. This not-so-innocent Lamb has heard about Cleve's legendary gunfighting skills and wants him to lead an army to expand his power across the West. It's bound to be a bloodsoaked mission, and Cleve wants no part of it. But if he refuses, there'll be hell to pay ...

A cattle drive faces long odds in this exciting new installment in Ralph Compton's Trail Drive series.

An outbreak of hostilities with Comanches has disrupted the usual trail routes. But Mase Durst must get his cows from his Texas ranch to the railway up in Wichita, Kansas, or face losing his land, which the bank is fixing to foreclose on. He's forced to take his herd on a little-used route called the Red Trail--little used for good reasons. It's a tough trek: dangerous, narrow, and fraught with banditry.

Along the way, Durst and his men face numerous obstacles thrown up by Mother Nature, cattle rustlers and crooked lawmen. But even their safe arrival in Wichita will offer no relief if he can't make it home in time to save his ranch from the bank--and his wife from the predations of their rapacious neighbor. . .

WHAT KIND OF MAN MAKES A LIVING IN HELL?

His name's Roland. Soldier class, a former mercenary, he's on a full-time mission to scrape a living out of the most dangerous planet in the galaxy.

Is he qualified? He's well armed, he's ruthless, and he's tougher than skag hide. And, oh yeah--he's strapped with some of the most exotic weaponry this side of the Vault, not to mention possessing fists like chunks of steel.

Zac Finn and his wife and young son had better get on the right side of Roland, because a stopover in orbit has turned into a nightmarish fall to the unforgiving landscape of the Borderlands. Zac hopes to find a strange new alien treasure in the Borderlands to turn his down-spiraling life around. But his wife, Marla, and his son, Cal, just want to survive, and reunite, because catastrophe has left them separated by hundreds of klicks. Their chances aren't good . . . and Roland is all that stands between them and the planet's kill-crazed Psychos and murderous bandits--not to mention the grotesque primals, giant wyrm squids, insane tunnel rats, voracious skags, brutal bruisers, and ruthless mercs. . . .

An original novel set in the universe of the Rated M for Mature video game created by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games.

This book covers all aspects of starting and running a professional sound recording studio, from smaller project-style facilities to million dollar majors. For the first time, here is one guide that combines serious business planning, studio design, and audio engineering as interconnected aspects of starting and running a studio. Numerous practical examples and applications throw light on the daily workings of a recording studio, including recording, marketing, sales, employees, and taxes. Readers with no business or sound recording experience will find what they need to start and succeed in creating a sound recording studio.

A flesh-and-soul-devouring addiction runs rampant through the dark playground of the Hollywood elite in this tale of horror from a Bram Stoker Award winner.

Welcome to Los Angeles, where every addiction is encouraged. . . .

Struggling Hollywood screenwriter Tom Prentice can hardly believe that the emaciated and mutilated corpse lying on the morgue slab was once his ex-wife. Then his roommate's missing brother turns up in a local hospital having sliced open his own chest and legs for some sick, inexplicable reason. In Oakland, the Reverend Garner, a recovering addict, leaves his ministry in search of his teenage daughter, who was last seen in the company of her ghoulish kidnapper. And the Los Angeles police are meanwhile baffled in their hunt for the elusive Wetbones serial killer who leaves nothing of his victims behind except a damp, grisly pile of bones.

Though Tom, the reverend, and the LAPD are on separate quests for answers, they are all being led into the darkest shadows of Hollywood, where the debauchery never ceases and pleasure is a drug that devours human flesh, blood, and sanity. But the true source of the all-consuming addiction is the most horrifying revelation of all, for it is not of this rational Earth.

From International Horror Guild Award-winning author John Shirley, the acclaimed splatterpunk classic Wetbones combines the monstrous inventiveness of H. P. Lovecraft with the exquisite excess of Clive Barker. A true masterwork of modern terror, it's decidedly not for the faint of heart.