Kirjahaku

When he was a young man, Laird strove to be the most savage killer who walked the world, a marauder who spoke with cold steel as often as with words. He earned his scars, trampling kingdoms into dust beneath his heels.Then, he met Trytessa, and she woke qualities he thought to be long dead. Conscience, regret, guilt. For her, Laird put aside his savage ways, tried to live a good life.Sometimes, the past returns hungry for vengeance.The riders stole everything. Old enemies rode out from misty memory, murdered Laird's wife, dispatched his daughter, and burned his home to cinders. Laird swore vengeance, never expecting to learn that the monsters who ruined his new life had sold his girl-child to devils.Sometimes, a father's love for his daughter is his only tie to sanity ... Now, Laird will stop at nothing to deliver her from darkness. He will call upon old allies, sworn enemies, and ancient magic to venture all the way to Hell's black heart to save his child. Daniel R. Robichaud delivers a sword and sorcery adventure overflowing with imagination and excitement, that recalls the best of Fritz Leiber, C. L. Moore, Roger Zelazny, and Robert E. Howard.

Vasily, an honorable warrior in a barbaric world, finds himself lost in mysterious mountains. He seeks vengeance, but these are haunted places where beast gods dwell and ancient magic-science lurks. The pyramid came from the outer dark, and it holds the secrets of a thousand wicked pleasures. A pair of thieves spiriting through midnight black streets in search of otherworldly culinary delights find more than they bargain for ... An assassin arrives at his target's bedchambers only to find his work finished by another's hand. An amateur's work. The blame however, is his. As the noose tightens around his throat, the assassin must play detective, uncovering the identity of the amateur who burned him.When Mosi, a noble captain of the guard, discovers his life has been one long series of lies, he faces the ultimate choice: Will he sacrifice the most cherished treasure in his world or allow hidden evil to continue corrupting all that is good. Honor, murder and madness wait.A woman faces a terrible curse in order to save the future generations of the most fertile land in the known world. Will she be able to unlock the riddle and lie with the dead when the dead walk the green?Join Rhysling Award nominated writer Daniel R. Robichaud for five tales of adventure and magic in Derring-Do. This mini collection contains stories that previous appeared from Twice Told Tales as "Vasily and the Beast Gods," "Curious Consumption," "A Matter For Amateurs," "Killer's Honor," and "When Voices are Heard on the Green."

KINETIC FORCE is publicly acknowledged as the best of the best America has to offer, taking candidates from all branches of the Armed Forces as well as other disciplines, but the work it performs is classified and therefore not public record. In fact, it performs specialized operations for the United States government, guaranteeing freedom and hope in the terrifying twenty first century. Once upon a time before politics got muddled, the US was considered the world's peace keeper and policeman. Kinetic Force upholds that noble heritage. Their keystone mission is to identify and defeat threats against these United States whether domestic or global. At present, their primary focus is the villainous organization SKORPION, a ruthless terrorist organization with operations across the globe. Rikiki Hama operates under the code name Mongoose, a close quarters combat and infiltration specialist. While on leave, he heads into New York City to his favorite curiosity shop in the underground shopping mall beneath World Marketplace skyscraper. He expects fun discoveries in the bins. What he gets is a life and death struggle against a Skorpion saboteur. The saboteur code named Light Em Up likes nothing more than to evoke terror through high grade demolitions. And he is the first to assure his brothers and sisters: business is booming. Working under direct orders from Skorpion high command, he had armed enough explosives to bring the World Marketplace building down. However, a quirk of fate will trap him in the building along with the civilian collateral as well as a member of the hated Kinetic Force. These two men must face off against one another beneath a collapsing skyscraper while finding an exit route. Will they claw their way free before they are buried forever in Ground Zero of the greatest terrorist threat to strike American soil? Any way you look at it, these men are in TIGHT SPOTS.

Are you eager for a meeting with the unusual and the unexpected? Prepare yourself, brave reader The stories in this volume are not for the faint of heart. Hauntings and Happenstances brings together five tales from the author of the ghostly Oil Smudges and the ghastly Circles Have Unsafe Dimensions. With these tales of the you will encounter: A man who sees a figure from his past in reflective surfaces. Join him as he struggles to learn whether this strange specter is an embodiment of a past guilt never properly laid to rest or something far more malicious . . .An unusual location in Japan serving as the locus for chilling brushes with the supernatural as well as recollections of warmer times . . .A man haunted by his involvement in an accidental death, an event that triggers a lifelong obsession with perception and ultimately opening doors to another weird world just beyond the edge of our normal senses . . . The uncanny balladeer Jim Sargent makes two appearances, battling strange Appalachian apparitions with a little more than a streak of courage, a handful of songs, and powerful plucking fingers . . .These five tales present explorations of the dark side of the human condition and ghostly terror perfect for any autumn season of the heart.

At the heart of creation stands Yggdrasil, the All Tree. It is protected by a race of ape men and women, the Simians who are charged with defending the tree from all foes. The Simians have created a prison for holding the villains who use the mystic archways to gain access to the tree and its surrounding city, a supposedly impregnable prison. When the most ruthless maniac escapes the prison and holds the All Tree hostage, only one Simian can stand against him: the chimpanzee scientist-sorcerer Dr. Gantu. However, The Locality has spies everywhere and has initiated a plan to drain the worlds of the multiverse to fuel his conquests. Can Dr. Gantu discover the maniac's plans and stop them before all hell breaks loose? "Serious Monkey Business" is a 14000+ word novella of the unexpected where the fate of the universe falls upon the shoulders on the most unlikely hero in fantasy fiction.

When US Ranger Predator is picked to be part of a multinational team tasked with protecting an offshore oil platform in the North Sea, he does not expect to see much action. The mission stinks as a favor to a former Executive Branch official with ties to a certain oil services company instead of an actual target for the evil terrorist organization, Skorpion. However, on the eve of their three week mission's completion, a rain of fire descends upon the platform. Predator and his Kinetic Force allies (Capsize, Cerise, and Boonies) must ally with members of Perestroika Patrol (formerly known as the Glorious Revolution's Guard) to uncover Skorpion's plot and drive the 'nids back into the sea before the oil drilling platform becomes a floating landmine.

Chesnee Krueger (code name: Looker) had the looks and luck to make a go of a career as a supermodel, however she left that career in order to be all she could be in the military. Few understand the life she has lived and fewer still understand the trials and challenges she has faced in her career choices. As a member of Kinetic Force, Looker has a rep for being a beautiful ballbuster. Why did she choose such a code name, if she wasn't rubbing people's faces in her awareness of her own good looks? In "By Any Other Name," prepare to learn about Looker's origin. The answers may well surprise you.Kinetic Force: Vignettes are short stories and novellas that target a single Kinetic Force character and provide a look into their lives and the drives that define them. These vignettes might build on elements from the thrilling Kinetic Force adventures, but they are intended to provide satisfying standalone stories to give a clear look at what makes these individual characters tick.

Do we really need another book of zombie stories? They choke the markets and the airwaves already. Hasn't everything that's going to be said about the living dead already been done to death? Well, not quite. Rhysling Award finalist Daniel R. Robichaud envisions unusual worlds involving the living dead. In these pages you will find five unusual situations, including: A world where the black collar zombie wage slaves are the subject of moral, spiritual, and political agenda arguments. Drop into the mix with "They Shot Zombies, Didn't They?" A father who must fight off two "Dead Head" addicts intent on smoking his pacified living dead son's ashes to attain the greatest high.A seedy bar that has so far managed to hold off the zombie hordes by playing live music around the clock. Although it's true that "RnR Will Never D," maybe everyone else will . . .A young punker getting a curb stomping is bad enough, but when his recovery is interrupted by the world plummeting into apocalypse, he will learn how far he needs to go to really be "PAF."A dying mind watching its life pass in several cycles of surreal dream logic. Ever wondered what turning into one of the living dead might be like? "Baptism with Blue Bonets and Sweetbreads" offers a vision to make you think and chill your soul.So maybe one more book of zombie stories is useful after all. We live in apocalyptic times, and Daniel R. Robichaud's whispers from the other side offer messages both reassuring and horrifying.

Steel whispers secrets to the men and women who wield it. Vasily the Voyvodin knows some of these and is eager to learn more. His journeys have taken the warrior through frosty mountains to sweltering jungles to remote isles, and he has crossed paths with beast gods, demons, and vilest science-sorcery. His first three adventures now appear between a single set of covers for the first time.Days of High Adventure reveals three meaty tales of a fighting man making his way through a ravaged world, struggling to understand the role he must play there. Once, a member of the elite qasaq warriors, he is now a lone wanderer, a sword for hire, and always driven by the desire to learn, to know, and to experience.Fans of Russian folklore, Lin Carter's Flashing Swords anthologies, Fritz Leiber's immortal Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion, Robert E. Howard's pre-apocalyptic fantasy worlds, and Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles will find plenty to keep them entertained in these heroic fantasy adventures.

HomecomingPredator has been to combat zones around the world, and he has squared off against some of the toughest opponents in the free world. However, his biggest challenge awaits: going home to Detroit on leave.Urban BlightThe house is normal, Mom is her same old self, but everything else has changed. The city is crumbling, and the gangs are getting bolder (though not smarter). Strangest of all, Predator's brother Montrell has turned over a new leaf. No longer the hellraiser he once was, Montrell has started up an urban farm and wine-making endeavor.First Blood, Last ChancesHowever, when the gangs move on Montrell's farm, Predator finds himself staring at the fallout of past mistakes and trying to help his brother fend off an army intent on ruining the honest business. Predator must move fast and stand strong, if he doesn't want to buy the farm . . . Kinetic Force Vignettes are short stories and novellas that target a single Kinetic Force or Skorpion character and provide a look into their lives and the drives that define them. These vignettes might build on elements from the thrilling Kinetic Force adventures Daniel R. Robichaud writes, but they are intended to provide satisfying standalone stories to give a clear look at what makes these individual characters tick.

This title contains two independently published novellas of terror, collecting "Oil Smudges" and "Circles Have Unsafe Dimensions" together for the first time.Terror has many shapes and faces. In Smudges and Circles, Daniel R. Robichaud presents two aspects of terror, telling a ghostly story of corporate mis-management and a grueling tale of survival against monstrous odds and menaces."Oil Smudges" tells the tale of an oil and gas technology manager who is more interested in covering his own ass than in doing the best job he can. George Wishing has been tied to several high profile projects, but when some of those projects begin to have disastrous field results, George tries to move himself as far from those projects as possible. However, he soon learns that neither guilt nor ghosts are so easily escaped."Circles Have Unsafe Dimensions" tells the story of the Hash House Harriers, a drinking club (with a running problem) who play a modern day Hounds and Hares game. Groups can be found in every major city around the world. They gather for weekly events and this story joins one such group of hounds following their hare's trail into the storm drains of San Antonio. The trail is supposed to culminate in circle, a place to perform silly songs and share in camaraderie. However, circle is not the only thing awaiting them in the dark underground. A horror has been gathering its strength, breeding out of sight, and it is hungry. Oh, so hungry. Now, the Hash House Harriers must find a way to escape before all their avenues of escape are cut off and their lives are cut short.Terror waits for those daring enough to delve into these worlds. Be thankful if you are gasping when you reach the end. At least you are still alive . . .

The martial arts expert Velma "Jinkies" Rampo has ties to both US and Japanese interests, so she was a sure selection to lead the team investigating a string of sabotage incidents targeting US Military equipment in Okinawa, Japan. The saboteur's target: The MV-22 OSPREY transport vehicle, a VTOL delivery system for Marine Corp units.High command believes the ruthless organization Skorpion is tied to the incidents. Jinkies and her KiFoe operatives are tasked to identify the culprit or culprits and take action. However, the list of suspects includes a protesting dissident from the States, local business owners who hate the noise polluting OSPREY, and even personnel on base itself who might have hidden secrets of their own. The Kinetic Force operatives have their work cut out for them . . . and lives are hanging in the balance. "OSPREY It Ain't So " is a novella length adventure told in the spirit of 1980s military action comics and novels, tackling the efforts of a team of specialists struggling to stop a ruthless terrorist organization from destroying democracy. At 18k words long, it offers plenty of characterization, local color, and thrilling action to satisfy fans of Larry Hama and David Morrell. Although a part of the Kinetic Force line of military action thrillers, "OSPREY It Ain't So " is a stand-alone adventure. It ties into the overarching story, but can be fully appreciated by new readers as well.

Fighting for freedom but against what enemies?The gorgeous beauties did not use guns and bombs, but they nevertheless held the wealthiest families hostage Seduction was their game, and it was better than any cartridge or Molotov cocktail to destroy wealthy families. The lovely women take as much cash as they can before moving on to the next target. What's more, the families are happy to part with their riches The scheme has gone undetected because it is subtle, one which never relies on the same eye-catching girl twice. This Bad Girl Squad may appear pristine, but their pretty smiles and to-die-for bodies hide a deadly sting. Their black hearts belong to the ruthless organization Skorpion, and their game is part of a bid for global dominance They have already squeezed some of the proudest families in the world, but they are not done yet.Kinetic Force discovers the scheme while tracking an international arms dealer peddling Skorpion's munitions. This dangerous plot draws a Kinetic Force squad on the trail of a ruthless Skorpion mastermind. Their journey will take them across Europe and ultimately off the grid.Kinetic Force is the best of the best America has to offer, but they have never met a challenge quite like this one. It will take all their strength, all their wits, and all their courage to chase down and stop these Dangerous Liaisons

In these four dramas originally written for college radio, Daniel R. Robichaud explores the intersection between the mundane and the otherworldly in a region of the imagination dubbed Twilight Country.A man visits a carnival fortune teller only to learn an unusual fate awaits him. A family's long held secrets come to light when a spectral presence torments them. The crew of an interstellar vessel arrives at their destination expecting warm welcomes, only to find an abandoned world rife with mystery. A group of bank-robbing outlaws flee a posse and discover terror has been with them since the beginning.These four dramas are accompanied by original treatments and a candid note from the author exploring the project's origins.

Fast Strike is a martial arts expert, a man who thinks tactically. Before joining Kinetic Force, he was an actor and he did his best to uphold his family's honor. However, in the fallout of events from the mission to defeat The Duchess's Dangerous Liaisons, Fast Strike finds himself caught in an even more dangerous situation.Loose lips sink ships . . .While under drugs, he supplied the enemy with vital intelligence. This resulted in deadly strikes against Kinetic Force operatives' families, including his own. Now, Fast Strike is suddenly orphaned and must bear the guilt of his actions. Worse, he is on trial for his life, facing courts martial for the charge of treason.Fight for your life The prosecutor has an ax to grind and a career to make. The defense is working at difficult odds. The terrorist organization Skorpion is on the offense, and they will use every dirty trick available. If Fast Strike is to survive this encounter, he will need to muster all his courage and strength.

Over his career, Daniel R. Robichaud has dabbled with the fantastic and the terrifying in unique ways. His latest collection gathers together fourteen of his unique visions of worlds and people similar to our own but impacted by speculative elements. In this collection meet: Outlaws fleeing a bad bank job only to learn they carry real horror with them.Half-brothers divided by racial lines sharing a rite that will erase their differences and transform their relationship.A doctor bringing hope to an African village and dispensing nightmares.A father discovering the real reason there are so many abandoned shoes in the Washington D. C. Metro.A new spin on vampires and those who hunt them.These fourteen fabulist fictions peek into alternate pasts, the unseen present, and even speculate futures we might be hurtling toward with a careful eye toward character, emotion, and lyrical prose