Showing results by author "E.E. Knight" in All Categories

Ozark Free Territory, 2071: The Kurian Order has reigned for 50 years. Using the dreaded power of their Reaper avatars, the alien vampiric Kur hold dominion over the Earth and its inhabitants. Yet there are those who would rather die fighting than surrender to the unquenchable thirst of the enemy - those like David Valentine. Returning to the Ozark Free Territory, Valentine is shocked to find it overrun by Kurians under the command of the merciless Consul Solon.

Captured and sold to the Kurian-allied Maynes Conglomerate to work as a slave in the coal mines of Appalachia, Ahn-Kha is angered and appalled by the dangerous working conditions and the brutal treatment inflicted upon his fellow miners. When a protest against shortages is deliberately and bloodily suppressed, Ahn-Kha sets himself against the ruling Maynes family and sets out on a trail of vengeance through the Coal Country.

The crown now sits atop Eleira's head. With her new powers as queen, she can begin the healing process to reunite the Haven's ailing vampires. But a deep betrayal from one close to her heart has undermined all sense of safety. Morgan's lingering spirit continues to overshadow Eleira's rule. Elsewhere, the forsaken sisters have received the blood gift. But their maker was not the promised one, and the consequences will cast lasting effects on everything that is yet to come. Meanwhile, a new threat lurks beneath the Haven. An army, grown there for centuries, is now ready to strike.

The race is on to claim the area between the Ohio River and Tennessee. What's left of the resistance is hiding out in the tangle of Central Kentucky hills - leaving the powerful, well-organized Kurian vampires the opportunity to fill the void. Major David Valentine knows a small group of fierce, freedom-loving allies who would be glad to settle the rich lands. But they're more than 300 miles away, with hostile aliens and vicious human slavers standing between. But even if by some miracle they make it, the Kurian Order isn't about to easily yield the blood-soaked Kentucky soil....

Freedom is on the march as the rebellion against the Kurian Occupation of Earth takes the offensive. David Valentine has recruited an ad hoc company of former Quisling soldiers and puts them through a trial by fire with a successful raid against an enemy armory. Now, they're ready to join forces with a guerilla army planning to establish a new freehold in the Appalachian Mountains. Valentine knows that a permanent outpost near the East Coast would provide a strategic victory over the Kurians - and he believes that only his old ally Ahn-Kha could be leading the guerillas.

Louisiana, 2065. A lot has changed in the 43rd of the Kurian Order. Possessed of an unnatural and legendary hunger, the bloodthirsty Reapers have come to Earth to establish a New Order built on the harvesting of enslaved human souls. They rule the planet. They thrive on the scent of fear. And if it is night, as sure as darkness, they will come. On this pitiless world, the indomitable spirit of mankind still breathes in Lieutenant David Valentine. Brought into the Wolves - an elite guerrilla force sworn to win back Earth - Valentine leads his first command in the Kurian Zone.

Eleira has inherited the crown. The wards are resurrected, and The Haven is secure. But peace is only temporary. Eleira's deal with the Forsaken Sisters means that all she's done comes at a price of unknown costs. North of The Haven, James leads his makeshift coven on an impossible mission to penetrate the world's most dangerous military complex, in a desperate attempt to find the vampire cure he promised Cierra.... In The Crypts, Logan's power is growing. At any moment he might grow weary of waiting for Eleira's answer, and mount a full on assault at the still-vulnerable coven.

When 17-year-old Eleira wakes up in a strange, unfamiliar room high above the redwoods of California, she has no idea what's waiting for her in the dark. A trio of hauntingly beautiful vampires with a taste for her blood. An ancient sanctuary locked away in time. And a wicked queen determined to do anything to hold on to her rule. Caught between three vampire brothers and coveted for her bloodline, Eleira is swept into a world of supernatural magic where nothing is as it seems and betrayal lurks behind every corner.

Eleira is prophesied to become queen. But Morgan will not so easily relinquish control. In the Crypts, the King has revealed his true purpose, and Dagan must reconcile his hatred for magic with his loyalty to the monarch. Meanwhile, an evil power is rising in the west, intricately linked to the Black Sorceress, that threatens the entire world. As always, Eleira is bound to the center of it, and the fate of the vampire world rests squarely on one girl's shoulders.

When 17-year-old Eleira wakes up in a strange, unfamiliar room high above the redwoods of California, she has no idea what's waiting for her in the dark. Caught between three vampire brothers and coveted for her bloodline, Eleira is swept into a world of supernatural magic where nothing is as it seems and betrayal lurks behind every corner. She must fight for her survival or risk being made prey for the very creatures who keep her there. But when she discovers a dark, twisted prophecy with her at its center, she is pulled deep into the heart of The Haven....

A daring rescue has freed Eleira from The Crypts. But that rescue has come at a great cost, stripping Eleira of her humanity and opening up the battle lines between the world's most powerful covens. Now, as a creature of the night, Eleira has no choice but to return to The Haven. She must discover the truth of the dark prophecy surrounding her life and learn the extent of her new powers...all the while navigating the treacherous landscape of her heart. But as the Queen awaits Eleira's arrival, discord grows amongst the The Haven's vampires.

The Convicted army, led by one possessed by The Ancient, stands on one side of a great chasm. On the other, the remaining Haven vampires, banded together under their Prince, are determined to save their home and protect the humans. A war is about to break out. It all revolves around Eleira. Get ready for the fight of a lifetime.

The Haven's Queen has returned. All who opposed her now stand for judgment. The hour of prophecy is nigh. It is time for The Haven vampires to commit to a future wrapped in foreboding darkness. When terrors rise in the night and blood bonds are broken, one girl caught in the middle of it all shall alone determine the fate of vampires and humans worldwide. Get ready for the fight of a lifetime.

A dark power is rising. It will sweep through the vampire covens and leave none untouched. Those of The Haven face a dire choice: Rebellion or unity. Resistance or strength. Shifting alliances threaten everything the Sorens have built. Betrayals lurk in the dark. The Narwhark is a terror unlike any known before, but it pales in comparison to the danger coming from The Crypts. The wards are broken, but prophecy must still come to pass.

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction has submitted ten of its best of 2002. Although the collection is a veritable cornucopia of styles and subjects, each story is somehow notable for its compassion and humanity.