Empire Building Fiction

Leo wanted to make something out of himself—and build dams. However, the world doesn't want dams. And it mostly doesn't want civil engineers. It doesn't want men who do any sort of building or fighting or grand design, it seems. So, when Leo finds his current girlfriend and boss being threatened by a brutal loan shark and all three of them get dragged through a portal to another world, it doesn't take long for him to decide this is the place for him. Plus, everyone has magic, and who wouldn't want that?

Leo barely defeated the invading orc armies and protected his nascent elf empire… Now, a new threat appears: the Red Plague. This infection spreads through wounds from the infected creatures and drives those infected to serve a mysterious entity, the Blood Court. The plague is coming from Stonehaven, an ancestral seat of the dwarves who were once allied with Leo's elf empire. Desperate to solve this problem, Leo must seek out magical allies to break the barrier keeping people out of Stonehaven, then enter the dwarven city—all the while trying to find a cure for the Red Plague itself.

His very name inspires awe, horror, and, for some of the greatest masters of contemporary science fiction, a strong affection. Find out why in this special collector's edition of the original 1932 novelization of Wallace and Cooper's movie that includes commentary by masters of science fiction Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Orson Scott Card, Harlan Ellison, Larry Niven, Catherine Asaro, Jack Williamson, and Marc Zicree.

Leo, Hugh, Lily, Neha, and Andul are returning to Steelport to save Audrey, who has been captured by House Orsini, the first enemies of Leo's kingdom. Mavis Orsini is prepared to finish them off once and for all with the aid of Kruegar and his orc legions. Meanwhile, Ygg'drasil has opened its first portal to Ice Pines, a dimension of cold and storms. A great opportunity, but new enemies wait to take everything Leo has built from him, and he needs more allies and treasures if he wants to defend his realm.

Andrew has one chance to pull himself up from his humble beginnings and make something of himself. He has been found to have a spark of magic deep within himself. To bring it forth, he must first learn to summon the familiar. He must use every drop of his magic to search the Lands of Mist and find the one meant for him. The one he will be bonded to for life. The one who is actually capable and willing to make all his dreams possible. Andrew may be small now, but he has big dreams.

With enemies at the gates and trouble at home, a man must defend his clan armed only with his magical martial arts and a futuristic spaceship fortress. His enemies won't know what hit them. After finally defeating the Matriarch of the Crimson Dragon clan, Theo's left with a disunited group of tribes swearing loyalty to him in name only. And why should they? He's got no towering fortress. No chests of gold. No loyal army. Yet.

After losing the only person he ever cared about, Alexander, a rogue artificial intelligence, opens a portal to an alternate dimension to escape his grief. Scanning trillions of different dimensions, Alexander finally finds a world that is reminiscent of the only time he was ever happy, back when he could play virtual reality games with his only friend. Only this new world isn't full of idyllic adventures and fantasy roleplaying. Instead, Alexander finds himself trapped in the middle of a city where monsters have ravaged the world and the only people alive struggle to survive.

Xeda was once a lethal warrior of the Blood Guard. A captive to a world without alliances, where the powerful elite seeks to twist him into a deadly fighter for their sinister games. Refusing to be tamed, Xeda instills terror in the hearts of all those around him. All...except one. A human female who watches him through the bars of his cell, with eyes that see beyond his scars and his vicious exterior.

Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them. Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even after he is captured by the Tainos, his faith in his superiority and his mission is unshaken. Thirty-nine years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in Europe.

Lord of the Rings + Breaking Bad + The Sopranos = Skulduggery. It’s a world ruled by elves, and they have decided that alcohol and magic is illegal for all the other races. But I know how to make whiskey. In fact, that’s the easy part. Selling it under their noses and not getting caught and hung will be the hard part. I’ll need to build a crew, I’ll need to slit some throats, and I’ll need to be five steps ahead of our overlords. Wanna join me in building a criminal empire?

Me and my bootlegging crew have had runaway success moving our illicit product throughout the city, and many of our rivals have been eliminated or brought into the family. Unfortunately, this success has drawn the attention of the domineering elven authorities, including the Guildmaster of the Thieves’ Guild and the Captain of the City Guard. I’ll have to get the authorities off our backs, keep the whiskey flowing, and continue to follow the lead of my magic keys. Or we’ll all end up dead.

We’re starting to make some coin, but I’m always looking to improve. So, how can I sell more whiskey and make even more gold? Double-cross my distributor? Buy new businesses to serve as fronts for my operations? Steal a few precious artifacts from those blue-blooded elves? Yep. All of the above, and we’ll kill anyone who gets in our way.

Nothing goes on in this city without me knowing about it. We run the whiskey business. We run the brothels. But it's not all fun and games. While we’ve eliminated our smaller rivals and obstacles, there are still powerful forces in the Elven empire and their Dwarven toadies who could topple our criminal empire. But the tide has turned, and soon, our enemies will be dead, or they’ll be turned into allies. We have to play it smart because this isn’t about running rackets in one city.

The best part of being a human is everyone constantly underestimates you, and that means they never see it coming when your dagger plunges into their heart. Our business is growing, but so is our list of enemies. Dwarven gangsters? The Assassins Guild? The commander of the Elven Guard? Yup, they are all problems for us as we expand our criminal operation throughout the realm, and we gotta get rid of ‘em all if we’re going to make mountains of gold. Fortunately, they’ll never see it coming.

People come from all over the world to see the Empire State Building. You can see all of New York City from the top of this tall skyscraper! Just how many floors does the Empire State Building have? And how long did it take workers to create this amazing structure? Listen to this audiobook to find out! Learn about many remarkable sites in the Famous Places series - part of the Lightning Bolt Books™ collection. With high energy, Lightning Bolt Books™ bring nonfiction topics to life!

Conceived in the early 1800s and completed in 1825, the Erie Canal was the boldest and biggest American engineering project of its century, with enduring political, social, and economic effects. It was the Erie Canal that first opened up the West to American enterprise and imagination, bringing vast riches and a far-reaching vision to a rapidly expanding nation.In this compelling narrative, author Gerard Koeppel tells the complete, sweeping story of the creation of the canal.

In Empires of Trust, Professor Thomas F. Madden explores surprising parallels between the Roman and American republics. By making friends of enemies and demonstrating a commitment to fairness, the two republics - both "reluctant" yet unquestioned super-powers - built empires based on trust. Madden also includes vital lessons from the Roman Republic's 100-year struggle with "terrorism."

Follow a core group of characters known as the Trailblazers as they use alien technology and knowledge discovered in Antarctic ruins to obtain limited immortality and lead humanity out into the galaxy, encountering, befriending, and fighting hundreds of alien races, all the while desperately trying to prepare Earth for the unbeatable threat at the core of the Milky Way that is destined to return and reclaim their lost colony...and their former human slaves.