Cody

Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service. When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away. Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.

Every kingdom Rezkin touches has shattered, and the turbulence in his homeland is spreading across the Souelian. From the shards of kingdoms past, he begins to forge a new empire. But there is a price to pay for power, and the balance has come due. When Rezkin is confronted by something mysterious and ancient, he is stolen from his intended path and driven toward shocking revelations about his identity. With every whisper of knowledge comes new dangers and one certainty.

Chuck Palahniuk, the author of the New York Times best-sellers Fight Club and Lullaby, is known for his edgy novels, and Rant is no exception. Palahniuk presents this fictional biography of Buster "Rant" Casey in a series of vignettes told by the people who knew him best. As intricate as a spider web, Rant succeeds in recounting the story of one man's life only through the eyes of others. But the question remains, "Who was Rant Casey?"

Eric - or King Halar, or Vlad, or any number of aliases - doesn't want to be bothered. It's hard to pin down what he does want, if anything. He lives a quiet life, almost a solitary one, mourning in his own way for the loss of someone dear. His quiet solitude can't go on forever. Despite the empty places inside him, events and creatures move through the worlds and across the void between, forcing him into action, into fighting, into confronting things perhaps better left alone...even forcing him into being a King.

Threadbare has not had a very good time of it recently. His little girl has been taken from him, and he must travel the kingdom, finding allies old and new, living and dead, to help him rescue Celia. Fortunately, he's got a voice now and access to all those fun skills he couldn't before use. He may only be a very small teddy bear, but he's got the persistence to plow through dungeons of rascally raccoon monsters, the wiles to turn a town full of undead on its ear, and the sanity to survive an encounter with a mediocre old one.

Meet Threadbare. He is 12 inches tall, full of fluff, and really, really bad at being a hero. Magically animated and discarded by his maker as a failed experiment, he is saved by a little girl. But she's got problems of her own, and he might not be able to help her. Fortunately for the little golem, he's quick to find allies, learn skills, gain levels, and survive horrible predicaments. Which is good, because his creator has a whole lot of enemies …

“One of the most likable vigilante serial killers” ( The New Yorker) faces his ultimate adversary…an evil so terrifying it scares away Dexter’s inner monster - and nearly dries up his sense of humor - in this wickedly witty, darkly suspenseful novel.

This publisher's pack contains Sanctuary (book 5) and Rebellion (book 6) of the After It Happened series. Set in the UK in the immediate aftermath of a mysterious illness that swept the country and left millions dead, the series follows the trials facing a reluctant hero, Dan, and the group he forms around him. They must battle the elements, find sufficient supplies and equipment to survive, and protect themselves against the most destructive force on the planet: other people.

Many view "hitting rock bottom" as a foundation on which to rebuild one's life, a place from which one can only ascend. Gamers know to search for a secret door leading down to the sewer.

It's not easy, being king. You can't always rule a kingdom and still do what needs to be done. Eric - or King Halar, also known as the Demon King - has more than enough problems without the crown. But quitting the job of king isn't easy, either - unless you want to be beheaded. Most people regard that as an unsatisfactory way to quit. Even vampire lords tend to be cautious about guillotines. A king who loses his head has a real problem...or none at all.