Showing results by author "A. J. Alan" in All Categories

From the outside, The Lyon’s Den doesn’t look like much; there isn’t even a sign. But Mercs of all species know that if you head to Southwest Houston, near the Starport, there’s a particular run-down strip mall that looks like it’s been abandoned for years. The glass door second from the south end of the strip is plastered over on the inside with blue paper, and the faint golden outline of a rampant lion is the only clue.

Jackson Hunt wants nothing more than to be a professional monster tamer - skilled trainers who raise and battle magical creatures called Djinn. He longs for the day when he comes of age and can leave home to pursue his dreams of taming Djinn. Unfortunately for Jackson, dreams and reality don’t always coincide. To help his grandmother make ends meet, Jackson spends his days doing manual labor on a breeder’s ranch - just about as far removed from the bright lights and roaring crowds of the DBL (Djinn Battle League) as it gets.

The early years of venture capital were a far cry from today’s very public dealings. Alan Patricof, one of the pioneers of the venture arena, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the past 50 years of the industry. From buying stock in Apple when its market valuation was only $60 million to founding New York Magazine to investing in AOL, Audible, and more recently, Axios, his discerning approach to finding companies is almost peerless.

Jackson Hunt dreams of becoming a professional monster tamer - to capture, power up, and battle creatures called Djinn. But dreaming of becoming a champion and actually achieving mastery are two very different things. Before he can ever become a champion, Jackson must tame his first monster - a wild, feral Djinn left to him by his dead mother. And then there’s the small problem of fighting in illegal underground tournaments.

A Pariah amongst dwarves, Tovak bears the burden of his people’s disdain and his family’s disgrace. And yet, Tovak has proven himself in battle, shown his courage in risking life and limb to save his comrades. Though not everyone accepts him, he has finally found his place as a skirmisher and member of the Baelix Guard Company. Armed with his faith in his god, ample determination, and unquenchable courage, Tovak soldiers forward.

Tovak, a pariah amongst dwarves, an outcast, bears the burden of his people’s disdain and his family’s disgrace. And yet, through many trials and tests, he has managed to stubbornly prove himself in battle time and time again, and shown his courage in selflessly risking life and limb. Though not everyone accepts him, he has been chosen by his god as a holy warrior, a paladin in service to Thulla. Meanwhile, the Horde is on the march and intent upon taking back the valley. A battle will soon be at hand, the likes of which Tovak can hardly imagine.

In this 2024 re-release, the apocalypse has ended for Adrian Ring, and the rebuilding of the world has begun. But have all the stories of the old world's death been told? Elsewhere on Earth, there is a plane filled with innocents, and a criminal could wipe it from the skies with a tide of undeath. A young man in Manhattan is going mad with hunger and fear. A veterinarian races to save her animal patients, and their owners, one by one. A drunk lunatic is driven to self-destruction, craving the undead horde and the absolution they will give him.

The dwarven nations are facing extermination. Their ancient enemy has returned. The Horde is coming and, along with it, a dark tide is spreading across the world of Tanis. One by one, the free peoples of the world have fallen under a shadow, crushed by the merciless boot of the Horde. The Syrulian Empire, the last buffer state between three dwarven nations and the advancing armies of the Horde, has fallen.

The creation of the executive branch of government was one of the most audacious decisions in American history. The story of our greatest presidents create a narrative as compelling as an historical novel, and these 48 compelling lectures look at the lives, the achievements, and the legacies of those generally considered our 12 greatest presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Ronald Reagan.

Do you love sparkly vampires? Well, too bad, because you won’t find a single one of those fancy-dancy bloodsuckers anywhere in this collection! It Came from the Trailer Park began as a fun idea to revisit the classic horror and old-school creature feature genres, with a hefty helping of B-rate tropes thrown in for good measure. Who doesn’t love a good Bruce Cambell or classic Vincent Price flick on a dark and dreary night? Emmy award winner Bill Oberst, Jr. opens the collection and sets the stage for the stories to come.

Here is your map to guide you in this new life phase. You can use the powerful practices and insights - enhanced with online tools and exercises at AARP’s Life Reimagined.org website - to help you uncover your own special gifts, connect with people who can support you, and explore new directions.You’ll be inspired by meeting ordinary people who have reimagined their lives in extraordinary ways.

Exception to the Rule links ancient wisdom with contemporary science on high performance, teamwork, and engagement. Building an organizational culture based on classical virtues - of trust, compassion, courage, justice, wisdom, temperance and hope - is both strategically smart and a better way to live. Exception to the Rule walks you through the steps of helping everyone in your organization focus on character defined by virtue.

Most mercenary units fly flags on 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.

Over 50 ago, I was a Harvard-trained pediatrician drafted as a Navy Flight Surgeon, thrust into the Vietnam War and onto the front lines, stationed in Dong Ha, leading up to the massive Tet Offensive.

Welcome to the big leagues. It’s time to crown a champion. It’s time to evolve. Jackson Hunt has spent countless hours training his team of monsters and battling rivals as an up and coming Djinn Tamer. All his hard work, the stunning wins, and heartbreaking losses lead to one place: The league playoffs. But what got Jackson where he is won’t be enough to take him to the top. As the season draws to a close, Jackson and his friends find themselves far away from the stadiums and crowds, searching for a means to take his Djinn to the next level.

With his glory days behind him and nothing but life as a loser to look forward to, Zane can’t wait for MythRune. A first-of-its-kind immersive fantasy game that promises to provide just the escape from reality a washed-up athlete like him needs. But when his younger brother learns he only has weeks left to live, Zane is forced to take his gaming to the next level if he’s going to afford to pay for his brother’s operation and ditch their sorry life forever.

Zane's quest to win 10 million dollars and save his brother in MythRune Online is far from over. Following a clash with a fellow God Mode hacker, he and his companions find themselves on the road to the worldwide Tournament of Champions. Their destination is Mythgard, the in-game location of the tournament, a massive city surrounded by thousands of players with their sights set on the same goal.

Salvage System is a beacon of hope, and a number of other races continue looking toward it as an inspiration for how to live and govern themselves, and - in some cases - for assistance in defending themselves and throwing off oppressive regimes. But the galaxy is a big place, and many of the races in it aren’t friendly. Would these forces like to take over Salvage System and acquire its resources? Absolutely.

A thick fog envelopes the streets of London and nefarious agents set about their evil plots and schemes. Murder most foul rears its ugly head and baffling mysteries confound the good men of Scotland Yard until they've no recourse by to call upon the greatest consulting detective of them all, Sherlock Holmes of 221B Baker Street.

Let the rivalries begin. If Jackson Hunt ever wants to become a champion monster trainer, he’s got a long road ahead of him. And he’s not the only one with dreams of glory. As a new season of the Djinn Battle League fast approaches, Jackson prepares to enter training camp - a grueling series of tests to discover talented new tamers. The rules are simple: If you’re not the best, you go home. For a young man who lives to battle, going home isn’t an option. There’s only one problem - Jackson isn’t so sure he deserves to be there in the first place.