His short story collection series, including Out Through the Attic volumes one and two, have been well received, and he continues to add to his short-story credits with each passing year.
He works out of his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and hopes to one day be a New York Times bestselling author.
Following Kevin and Quincy
Our list of other titles is always growing.
To find out more and to see our selection of titles,
visit us at:
Kevin – www.kevinikenberry.com
Quincy – www.quincyallen.com
For information on The Mercenary Guild, the Official Fan Association of
the Four Horsemen Universe, please visit - https://mercenaryguild.org/
* * * * *
Connect with Seventh Seal Press Online
Get the free 4HU prelude story, “Shattered Crucible,”
join the mailing list, and discover other titles at:
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* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Super-Sync:
Super-Sync
___________________
Kevin Ikenberry
Now Available from Theogony Books
eBook and Paperback
Excerpt from “Super-Sync:”
The subspace radio chimed an hour later, just as Lew put aside the holonovel with dissatisfaction. There was no such thing as “happily ever after,” no matter how many books she read. No one was going to carry her off into the sunset. Lew reached for the radio controls and felt the thuds of Tyler’s boots on the deck in the passageway below. He burst onto the bridge and vaulted into his chair.
He looked at Lew. “Identify the transmission.”
Lew fingered the controls and read off the diagnostic information, “Standard Ku band transmission from Earth. Origin point known through Houston nexus. Encryption is solid Johnson Analytics with the proper keys.”
Tyler grinned. “Boss.”
Lew nodded and smiled as well. “Appears so.”
Their mysterious benefactor hadn’t called them in more than six months, but every time he’d employed them, the take had been impressive. How he was able to garner the contracts he had bordered on magic. Lew thought the man sounded like some kind of Texas oil baron. Despite the technology, his calls were always voice-only, and there was never any interaction between them and whoever he represented.
Whatever he contracted them to acquire was delivered to a private, automated hangar on Luna. The robotic ground crew would unload Remnant and send them on their way again. Anonymous cash transfers always appeared in their accounts by the time Remnant returned to lunar orbit. The first mission had earned Tyler’s company over a million Euros. The following missions were even more lucrative.
Their benefactor went by a call sign, and they talked in codes meant only for their own ears. It should have been a red flag, but the money was too damned good to pass up. A call from him could not go unanswered.
Tyler punched a few buttons on his console, and a drawling voice boomed through the speakers, “Remnant, this is Boss. Are you receiving?” The transmission ended with a chiming tone that dated back to the early days of spaceflight. The clear delineation of conversation allowed Tyler to answer.
“Boss, this is Remnant. Nice to hear from you. How can we be of service?”
A few seconds passed. “Tyler, it’s good to hear your voice. I understand you’re on a contract flight from our friend in India.”
“That’s affirm, Boss.”
“Roger, you’ve got a shadow. Are you aware of that?”
Tyler’s face darkened. “Roger, Boss. We’re aware of the bogey.”
By definition, a bogey was an unknown contact with unknown intentions. Should the situation turn bad, the radar blip would become a bandit. Lew checked the telemetry from the unknown ship. There was no change in direction or speed. It was still gaining on them.
“Remnant, the trailing vehicle is not your concern. I have a change in mission for you.”
Tyler shook his head. “Negative, Boss. I have a contract.”
“Remnant, I bought out that contract. The shadow on your tail is the Rio Bravo, under contract by me to get Telstar Six Twelve. You’re going high super-sync.”
* * * * *
Get “Super-Sync” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PGS545X
Find out more about Kevin Ikenberry and “Super-Sync” at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com
* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Salvage Title Trilogy:
Salvage Title
___________________
Kevin Steverson
Now Available from Theogony Books
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from “Salvage Title:”
A steady beeping brought Harmon back to the present. Clip’s program had succeeded in unlocking the container. “Right on!” Clip exclaimed. He was always using expressions hundreds or more years out of style. “Let’s see what we have; I hope this one isn’t empty, too.” Last month they’d come across a smaller vault, but it had been empty.
Harmon stepped up and wedged his hands into the small opening the door had made when it disengaged the locks. There wasn’t enough power in the small cells Clip used to open it any further. He put his weight into it, and the door opened enough for them to get inside. Before they went in, Harmon placed a piece of pipe in the doorway so it couldn’t close and lock on them, baking them alive before anyone realized they were missing.
Daylight shone in through the doorway, and they both froze in place; the weapons vault was full. In it were two racks of rifles, stacked on top of each other. One held twenty magnetic kinetic rifles, and the other held some type of laser rifle. There was a rack of pistols of various types. There were three cases of flechette grenades and one of thermite. There were cases of ammunition and power clips for the rifles and pistols, and all the weapons looked to be in good shape, even if they were of a strange design and clearly not made in this system. Harmon couldn’t tell what system they had been made in, but he could tell what they were.
There were three upright containers on one side and three more against the back wall that looked like lockers. Five of the containers were not locked, so Clip opened them. The first three each held two sets of light battle armor that looked like it was designed for a humanoid race with four arms. The helmets looked like the ones Harmon had worn at the academy, but they were a little long in the face. The next container held a heavy battle suit—one that could be sealed against vacuum. It was also designed for a being with four arms. All the armor showed signs of wear, with scuffed helmets. The fifth container held shelves with three sizes of power cells on them. The largest power cells—four of them—were big enough to run a mech.
Harmon tried to force the handle open on the last container, thinking it may have gotten stuck over time, but it was locked and all he did was hurt his hand. The vault seemed like it had been closed for years.
Clip laughed and said, “That won’t work. It’s not age or metal fatigue keeping the door closed. Look at this stuff. It may be old, but it has been sealed in for years. It’s all in great shape.”
“Well, work some of your tech magic then, ‘Puter Boy,” Harmon said, shaking out his hand.
Clip pulled out a small laser pen and went to work on the container. It took another ten minutes, but finally he was through to the locking mechanism. It didn’t take long after that to get it open.
Inside, there were two items—an eight-inch cube on a shelf that looked like a hard drive or a computer and the large power cell it was connected to. Harmon reached for it, but Clip grabbed his arm.
“Don’t! Let me check it before you move it. It’s hooked up to that power cell for a reason. I want to know why.”
Harmon shrugged. “Okay, but I don’t see
any lights; it has probably been dead for years.”
Clip took a sensor reader out of his kit, one of the many tools he had improved. He checked the cell and the device. There was a faint amount of power running to it that barely registered on his screen. There were several ports on the back along with the slot where the power cell was hooked in. He checked to make sure the connections were tight, he then carried the two devices to the hovercraft.
Clip then called Rinto’s personal comm from the communicator in the hovercraft. When Rinto answered, Clip looked at Harmon and winked. “Hey boss, we found some stuff worth a hovercraft full of credit…probably two. Can we have it?” he asked.
* * * * *
Get “Salvage Title” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8Q3HBV.
Find out more about Kevin Steverson and “Salvage Title” at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/kevin-steverson/.
* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Revelations Cycle:
Cartwright’s Cavaliers
___________________
Mark Wandrey
Available Now from Seventh Seal Press
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from “Cartwright’s Cavaliers:”
The last two operational tanks were trapped on their chosen path. Faced with destroyed vehicles front and back, they cut sideways to the edge of the dry river bed they’d been moving along and found several large boulders to maneuver around that allowed them to present a hull-down defensive position. Their troopers rallied on that position. It was starting to look like they’d dig in when Phoenix 1 screamed over and strafed them with dual streams of railgun rounds. A split second later, Phoenix 2 followed on a parallel path. Jim was just cheering the air attack when he saw it. The sixth damned tank, and it was a heavy.
“I got that last tank,” Jim said over the command net.
“Observe and stand by,” Murdock said.
“We’ll have these in hand shortly,” Buddha agreed, his transmission interspersed with the thudding of his CASPer firing its magnet accelerator. “We can be there in a few minutes.”
Jim examined his battlespace. The tank was massive. It had to be one of the fusion-powered beasts he’d read about. Which meant shields and energy weapons. It was heading down the same gap the APC had taken, so it was heading toward Second Squad, and fast.
“Shit,” he said.
“Jim,” Hargrave said, “we’re in position. What are you doing?”
“Leading,” Jim said as he jumped out from the rock wall.
* * * * *
Get “Cartwright’s Cavaliers” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRZKM95/.
Find out more about Mark Wandrey and “Cartwright’s Cavaliers” at: http://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/mark-wandrey/.
* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of The Fallen World:
This Fallen World
___________________
Christopher Woods
Available Now from Blood Moon Press
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from “This Fallen World:”
He placed a coin in front of me. I looked at it in surprise. It was a solid gold coin from the Old World. Probably worth ten thousand scripts now.
“This is a down payment,” Hale said. “You find her, you get another. Return her to me unharmed, you get three.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, Agent,” he said softly.
I nodded.
He passed me a folder, and I opened it to see a picture of a pretty young red-haired woman. She appeared to be late teens or early twenties and that could be bad. This fallen world is hard on young beautiful people.
Warlords could swoop in with their troops and steal people at will. They were Warlords because the held the weapons or tech that gave them control over those around them.
There had been incidents for years. I had a great disdain for the term, Warlord. They were the ones who had found some advantage and abused it, for the most part.
There were a few good men, such as Wilderman, who held the reigns of fourteen city blocks. He provided protection to those who lived in his domain. He taxed his people but he also provided true protection.
Miles to the East, there was Joanna Kathrop. She held sixteen blocks and ruled with an iron fist. She had found a cache of weapons and provisions in her area several decades back. Her cadre of loyal soldiers backed her and she established her rule of that area.
There were others, both good and bad. The majority of them were bad. They ran single and double blocks. The Warlord that controlled the area where the Strike Zone was located wasn’t the worst, but he was far from the best.
I turned the page and found the sector that Hale and his daughter had lived.
“You were under Yamato?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, “he took down the Bishop a decade ago.”
“Yamato’s always been fair,” I said. “Did you take this to him?”
“He couldn’t help me,” he said. “She was traveling across the city.”
“What the hell was she doin’ travelin’?” I asked. “Was she in a caravan?”
The Caravans were the only semi-safe way to travel the city. You paid for your ticket, and the Caravans paid their tax to run through the Zones.
“She was going to the new College, set up by Kathrop, in a small Caravan run by a man named Drekk. He claims she never showed up for the last leg of the trip.”
“Drekk,” I spat the word out. “I’ve heard of Drekk. If you want to travel anywhere, you have to use the Accredited Caravans. You can’t use people like Drekk.”
His face fell. “We didn’t know about this until it was too late. We aren’t rich people, Mister Kade.”
I looked down at the coin still in my hand, and looked back to him with one eyebrow raised.
“The life savings of both my family and the family of Seran Yoto, her fiancée.”
“Poor would not be what I would call this, Hale,” I said. “There are people right in this room who won’t see this much wealth in ten lifetimes. You dwell inside the Scraper. You have running water and electricity. Don’t ever try to pass yourself off as the poor. It’s insulting.”
He nodded.
“Who set up the Caravan?”
“I set it up through a man in the Scraper. His name is Denton. He owns a supply store on the bottom floor.”
“Ok,” I said. “That’s where I’ll need to start. I’ll be there first thing in the morning.”
“But the Caravans don’t run at night.”
“Some people, it’s safer to leave alone, Hale. When you get back to the Scraper, tomorrow, I’ll have some answers for you.”
“How will you cross three zones tonight?”
“I’ll walk, Hale,” I said. “Corporate Agents can take care of themselves.”
“You haven’t been an Agent for twenty years.”
“You’re right, there.” I said, “I’m something else, now. I’ll see you tomorrow night at your Scraper.”
I stood and walked away from the booth. Jared was beside the bar, talking to several suits.
“Yo, Jared,” I said. “I’m on a job for a few days. Ya can fill the table if ya need to.”
“Be careful, Matt,” he said. “Last time Jenny took a week to get you patched up.”
“I’ll try, buddy.”
I had a feeling about this one. Things looked bad for Maddy Hale. Drekk wasn’t known to be trustworthy.
Life can be dangerous in this Fallen World.
* * * * *
Get “This Fallen World” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KHLG54J.
Find out more about Christopher Woods and “This Fallen World” at:
https://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/christopher-woods/.
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Kevin Ikenberry, Enforcer
Enforcer Page 44