Kirjahaku

Book 1 of the Crystal SeriesCriss lives in a special kind of prison. He can see and hear everything around the world, yet a mesh restrains his reach and keeps him cooperative. His creator, Dr. Jessica Tallette, believes his special abilities offer great promise for humanity. But she fears the consequences of freeing him, because Criss, a sentient artificial intelligence with the intellect of a thousand humans, is too powerful to control.Guided by her scientific training, Tallette works cautiously with Criss. That is, until the Kardish, an otherwise peaceful race of alien traders, announce they want him for themselves. With technologies superior to Earth's, the Kardish express their desires with ominous undertones.The Union of Nations is funding Tallete's AI research and she turns to them for help. Sid, a special agent charged with leading the response, decides Earth's greatest weapon is the very AI the aliens intend to possess. But what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? And what is humanity's role if an interstellar battle among titans starts to rage?Keywords: science fiction, space thriller, strong women, artificial intelligence, military adventure, alien contact, space fleet, crystal seriesAuthor web: crystalseries.c

Crystal Conquest, book II in the Crystal Series, builds on the exciting storyline and characters you first met in Crystal Deception. While Crystal Conquest stands on its own as a great read, book I, Crystal Deception, delivers a solid story foundation and is the recommended starting point for new readers.Aliens fire the first shots in their invasion of Earth, and that's when Criss realizes he's outmatched. He spent years preparing for this moment, working with his human leadership to develop weapons and refine strategies.Created with the thinking and reasoning ability of a thousand people, Criss never expected the invaders to arrive with an artificial intelligence that dwarfed his capabilities, nor did he expect to be the target of their vengeance. When he squares off against the alien goliath to protect the world, defeat is certain. Or is it? Together with Sid, Cheryl, and Juice-a covert operative, Fleet officer, and crystal scientist-Criss struggles to defeat the aggressors and save civilization from annihilation. But can he outsmart the alien intelligence in a titanic battle of wits? And can he do so before Earth lies in ruins?

Ruga, leader of the Mars ruling council, is building a secret facility to produce four-gen crystals, each a sentient AI with the cognitive ability of a thousand humans. Criss, the only four-gen now in existence, discovers Ruga's plan and alerts Sid, Cheryl, and Juice, his human leadership team.The stakes skyrocket when the full scope of Ruga's nefarious plans are revealed: the production of four-gens without the attribute that requires them to follow leadership, the same hard-wired feature that compels Criss to follow his. Unfettered by human guidance, the four-gens will lay siege to Earth and its resources. When they do, will they view humans as a nuisance to be eliminated?The only option is to stop crystal production before it starts. After an anxious journey to Mars, Criss and the team arrive to find events spinning beyond their control. While they'd started with the goal of saving humanity, Sid, Cheryl, and Juice find themselves in a desperate struggle for their own survival. And as the battle with Ruga grows to intergalactic proportions, Criss must make impossible decisions about who lives and who dies...including himself.

Lazura, an alien AI completing an Earth reconnaissance mission, is poised to take her data archive home to her Kardish masters. All she needs is a way past Criss, a superior intelligence determined to stop her. And stop her he must, because the information in Lazura's archive provides the powerful Kardish a roadmap to Earth domination, starting with the subjugation of Criss himself. When Lazura makes a surprise break for her home world, she kidnaps Cheryl Wallace and Juice Tallette, two-thirds of Criss's leadership, and positions them as human shields to protect her ship. Sid, the final member of the leadership team and Cheryl's lover, joins Criss in chasing Lazura across the solar system. But can they catch Lazura before she reaches the safety of interstellar space? And can they rescue Cheryl and Juice while also protecting the future of Earth?

On his twenty-fifth birthday, Diesel Lagerford is visited by a twenty-six-year-old version of himself. His look-alike spins impossible tales of their shared future, claiming they have dozens of "brothers" from parallel timelines who can visit each other using a T-box, a machine they bankroll with lottery winnings. He introduces Diesel to the incredible Lilah Spencer, the T-box operator, and Diesel falls head-over-heels in love. But during his travels across timelines, Diesel learns that Lilah will soon die under suspicious circumstances. Devastated, he joins his brothers in a race to save her. Can they solve the mystery of her death before it's too late? And will their unusual solution play out over time in the ways they had anticipated?Author website: CrystalSeries.com

David "Diesel" Lagerford rides his T-box across timelines, where each stop is a parallel world with its own Diesel, wife Lilah, and daughter Rose. Its origin uncertain, the T-box is safe for any of the Diesels to use, and they do so to gather and bond in a tight brotherhood. But instant death awaits all other would-be travelers, a limitation unacceptable to the Lilahs and Roses. Determined to travel the timelines themselves, the "sisters" work to reverse engineer the T-box. But in their rush to succeed, they inadvertently expose the technology to an outsider-Sparky Fontaine-who exploits the information to build his own device. Intent on gaining immense wealth and power, Sparky uses his T-box to kidnap Diesel, and then makes alarming demands for his safe return. Cornered, the Lagerfords devise a high-stakes rescue gambit. But how do they locate a hostage adrift in time? And can they execute their plan without revealing their secret to the world? Author website: CrystalSeries.com

Book 3 of the Bump Time TrilogyRose Lagerford and her "sisters," duplicates of herself from parallel timelines, love spending time together in Bliss, a virtual world where anything they imagine can come true. Their private world is maintained by Luca, the devoted family AI who satisfies their every whim. Rose couldn't be happier. That is, until she discovers that she and her sisters are being manipulated by Luca to uncertain ends. Alarmed by the situation, she works to derail his control. But in a world where reality seemingly rewrites itself moment by moment, who can divine what is real, and what to do next? Just as her efforts gain traction, Luca discovers the plot, and his hostile response threatens them all. Can Rose overcome her fears and escape his domination? And can she learn his secret in time to save not only her own life but the lives of her sisters?Author Website: CrystalSeries.com

Imagine Jack Reacher or Harry Bosch or Lucas Davenport investigating crime in a space city of two million residents, with chases taking them across worlds, their quarry defeating technology of the future to commit what remains the most horrific offense today: murder.Meet Cuss Abbott, Interworld Marshal, in his debut story, written in the same compelling style as the popular series mentioned above. Lagrange Rising is a fun read. Fast paced. Edgier than my other books.Blurb for Lagrange RisingThe bodies of wealthy seniors are being dumped in Lagrange, their ID implants cut from their skulls, their bank accounts emptied. Authorities learn that the elderly victims were snatched from Nova Terra on the Moon. Lagrange is a sovereign nation, a massive space structure orbiting between Earth and the Moon, so the chilling crimes fall under the purview of the Interworld Marshals Service. Cuss Abbott, a resourceful and tenacious investigator, starts the case with few clues, a rising body count, and politicians demanding answers. The criminals are seemingly invisible, disappearing after each heinous act. Shadowed by his partner, an enhanced human named Ygo, Cuss corners the butchers, setting in motion a confrontation with tragic results. Distraught, he bulls ahead, pursuing the killers across worlds to a suspense-filled showdown.