Bøger af Jeff Schanz

In the near future... -A meteorite rumored to carry extraterrestrial life is stolen and disappears.-Moon mission astronauts report fatal encounters with bizarre creatures. Their claims are dismissed.-Alien rumors are ridiculed and refuted until - a spaceship crashes in Washington D.C.A live broadcast at the crash site shows the deceased pilot is an unidentifiable creature. The footage goes viral and plunges Earth into a frenzy of misinformation and unrealizable expectations. Afraid of a panic, the government keeps the public unaware of the true nature of the extraterrestrial lifeform: a microscopic organism that transforms its hosts into fatally infectious, nearly indestructible, savage beasts. Only a secretive few know the pilot of the crashed craft was originally human.The U.S. Government publicizes a multinational peace expedition to the home world of the fictitious intelligent aliens. But it's an elaborate charade to hide the real mission. In secret, a strike team has been dispatched to eliminate what they believe is a sinister threat. In the anonymity of space, a mysterious cabal is suspected of perverse extraterrestrial experiments, deadly abominations, and weapons against humanity. What the clandestine strike team discovers is nothing they could've prepared for.The team will have to survive an unholy death trap to stop an agenda for mankind's future as dark and cold as the depths of space.

The exciting sequel to... "A VAMPYRE'S DAUGHTER."Will a vampyre and a human be allowed to live together in peace?Living like a normal (albeit secluded) couple on the outskirts of Los Angeles, Brandt and Lia are managing to not only be safe but happy. Brandt works as a consultant for the Army's Special Division, and Lia is a successful author with sassy fellow-author friends. No one knows she is a vampyre. Instead, everyone believes Lia has a unique and fatal skin condition, prompting precautions everywhere she goes for her health. The UV shielding windows of her house, and high, solid walls of her Ventura ranch, adequately keep Lia safe. It all seems to be working to plan - until the cartel returns.Brandt is called to consult on a mass murder case at an abandoned factory. The telltale signs point to Mikhail's defunct cartel in what looks like an ominous message to Brandt. Is one of Mikhail's family or associates out for revenge against Brandt and Lia? Defensive measures are taken, and the new 24/7 security team Brandt hires become Lia's extended family. Despite the new threat, Lia is pleased to be the matriarch of a bustling domain, if she can just keep her secrets hidden. But forces are conspiring to push Mikhail's superhuman elixir into the open, and it's just a matter of time before someone finds out the ingredient that makes it so powerful: vampyre blood.A dangerous new cartel boss emerges with a scheme to make a poisonous elixir facsimile that will addict the mass public and destroy them from the inside out. He is a mystery to Brandt's Army division. No one has ever seen his face since he is always cloaked and masked, with amazing strength, speed, healing ability, and an intense desire to crush his enemies. Plus a murderous vendetta against Brandt and Lia.A year ago, on Lia's island, the couple had nothing to lose but their lives. Now there are friends and acquaintances caught in the crossfire of a diabolical plot to kill Brandt and drain Lia's body of her extraordinary vampyre blood.Brandt and Lia must once again battle the evil that hunts them. But this time, they are not alone.

**Revised Edition** GUARDIANS OF THE GATES series-When a madman wields a supernatural force that can wipe humanity off the globe, an ancient, dying society called The Saints are the only ones who understand the unfathomable threat. But their best chance to stop it is an agent who is a wanted man.PART 1, THE NEW BREED-There are cracks in the universe, punctures between dimensions where one dimension bleeds into another. These "rifts" are volatile and mere proximity to them can either kill living beings or deform them into horrific creatures. For half a millennia, a secret organization called The Saints has kept vigil over the rifts, shielding the public from their effects. Sebastian is the best field agent The Saints have. On the surface, he doesn't seem special. He runs a small business, lives in a one bedroom apartment above a bar, likes Batman a little too much, and hasn't had a date in years. But Sebastian is special. All his life he's been able to hear other people's thoughts. Like radio stations, they stream through his brain, never leaving him alone or at peace. But it also gives him an advantage in his work. One chilly London evening, Sebastian interrupts a deadly attack by a rift creature in normally serene Regent's Park. The creature is an oddity, even among the oddities that rifts produce, because it wasn't created by chance. It was manufactured. And there are more of them. Why would anyone intentionally create these monsters? Clues lead Sebastian to a broader scheme to harness and wield the powerful energy that comes from rifts. But since only damage and death have ever come from rift energy, what purpose could it possibly serve? The Saints strangely dismiss Sebastian's concerns and offer only the consolation help of a young computer hacker, completely inexperienced with work in the field, to further the investigation. Fortunately, Sebastian still has his brother, Marcellus, a witty and capable ghost who has his own unique skills and abilities. Other than being dead, Marcellus is The Saints' next best field agent. Sebastian and his shortlist of allies are determined to find the source and purpose of the rift creatures at any cost, including possible expulsion from The Saints. The ultimate showdown smells like a trap, and Sebastian's meager team must survive the incredible odds against an even more incredible foe. A breed like Sebastian has never seen before. Smart, deadly, and powerful enough to supplant humanity as the most dominant species on the planet. The only obstacles in their way are a geek, a ghost, and an outcast.

GUARDIANS OF THE GATES series -When a madman wields a supernatural force that can wipe humanity off the globe, an ancient, dying society called The Saints are the only ones who understand the unfathomable threat. But their best chance to stop it is an agent who is a wanted man.* * *PART 3 (The conclusion), THE OSIRIS GATE - The clock is ticking on Morgan Ashe's maniacal plan to erase most of earth's population, and Sebastian must once again dive headfirst into the fire to save humanity. On his way back to the U.S. to meet up with his fellow Saints, there's a lot weighing on Sebastian's mind. Though the stakes are already high with the fate of the human race, plus the abduction of his ghost brother, and his new girlfriend, a complicated situation nevertheless gets more complex. The Saint traitor abruptly reveals himself, and along with the goth hitman, Lucian, who has similar mind-reading abilities as Sebastian, they attempt to capture Sebastian and deliver him to Ashe. But Sebastian is no longer an outlaw, and has help from his Saint confederates. The tables quickly turn, using Ashe's own strategy against him to allow Sebastian to penetrate his hidden base. The ploy comes with a brutal price as Sebastian is trapped alone, bound, and beaten, yet all will be worth it if the Saints can track him in time. Until they do, Sebastian and Marcellus are at Ashe's mercy, and must play unwilling integral parts in a bizarre scheme that incorporates a mysterious, supernatural gate to an ancient, alternate version of Earth. Once Ashe's mystery machines are turned on, the dimensional energy from the alternate Earth will be pulled through the gate, washing over our world to wipe it clean of human beings. It's a war greater than anything The Saints are prepared to fight, and is waged on three fronts. Sebastian and Benedict face off against Ashe, Lucian, and a host of croco-wolves in a modern-day Arizona cavern while Marcellus and Kasey are stuck in ancient Egypt trying to stop Troy the Dragon-boy, all while the remainder of The Saints battle a cornucopia of Ashe's fanged monstrosities and well-armed mercenaries in the Grand Canyon desert. Once the doomsday machines turn on, and the fatal energy flows through the gate, every minute spent fighting Ashe's men is a minute closer to a cataclysmic fate that the world cannot reverse.

GUARDIANS OF THE GATES series -When a madman wields a supernatural force that can wipe humanity off the globe, an ancient, dying society called The Saints are the only ones who understand the unfathomable threat. But their best chance to stop it is a fugitive agent and a ghost. PART 2, THE THIEVES OF TIME -Fresh from battling the creatures from the ranch, Sebastian and has more questions than answers. And finding those answers may come at significant cost. The conspiracy to conceal them runs deep, and at the highest levels of society, including The Saints hierarchy. Someone wants Sebastian out of the way, and Sebastian soon finds himself to be a wanted man and an outcast from The Saints. Sebastian is determined to get to the bottom of the plot, with or without The Saints' help. He no longer has their resources, and only has a motley crew of helpers: three conspiracy blog geeks, a lady private detective with a dark secret, a shady informant with ulterior motives, and the ghost of Sebastian's dead brother, Marcellus. The search for the bizarre truth leads the team in two directions. While Marcellus and his team research a Los Angeles pharmaceuticals lab, Sebastian must head back to London where he is a wanted fugitive, and his only ally is a deceitful and slimy "reformed" demon. Sebastian must survive croco-werewolves, London police, falling from blimps, parachuting with patio umbrellas, and his awkward love life. The enemy is not only guarded by bloodthirsty monsters, but also has Teflon social armor, obscene amounts of money, power, influence, and dangerous allies. All Sebastian has is makeshift gadgets and a plucky spirit. To survive the confrontation will take more than strategy and luck. It'll take a miracle. Sebastian is the only soul who knows the clock is ticking on doomsday, and he's a fugitive from the only organization that can stop it.