Matthew S. Cox Livres

Sophie lives in a most peculiar cottage at the center of the Forgotten Forest, its inside much larger than its outside. You see, the house must be large, for it holds a great troll as well as a little girl. As one might expect, working for such a creature is rather frightening to a seven-year-old, but the endless expanse of black trees outside is even scarier. She's afraid to make even the slightest sound, for the troll abhors loud children. He's not terribly fond of quiet children either―unless they're in his stew. Sophie's precious light offers comfort in her darkest moments. She can't remember where it came from, but it's her only source of hope holding back the gloom that yearns to devour her soul. Trolls are covetous beasts, and when he spots her shiny bauble and steals it, Sophie faces two terrible options: Stay and suffer the wrath of a furious troll, or take her chances in a forest of her deepest fears.

Death isn't a big deal in the virtual world of online gaming, but after poking her nose where it doesn't belong, Dakota Marx finds herself running for her life―and reality doesn't come with a respawn. At twenty-two, she's still slinging coffee at an Amazon Cafe despite having a degree in programming. It's not because she's unlucky, unmotivated, or even that she fancies herself an underground activist crusading against evil corporations... hunting for a 'real' job would take time away from her game. Axillon99 is the world's most popular multiplayer online experience, with a universe containing billions of planets to explore. Ever since video games broke the screen barrier, plunging players fully into their characters, reality just can't compete. Cognition Systems International announces a ten million dollar prize to celebrate the release of the next generation Neurona 4 interface helmet. After her crew decides to try chasing the money, Dakota discovers a sinister intent behind the new technology. Going public threatens the lives of her friends, but keeping CSI's secret could destroy the very fabric of society.

It started with the insects.The mass die-offs had been a warning unheeded. Before society realized the danger, the Earth had inexorably begun a transformation into a place where life could not survive. A small group found shelter in the Arc, an underground refuge safe from the toxins ravaging the surface.After centuries of darkness, humanity’s second chance is running out—and Raven Wilder knows it.Her job fixing the machinery in the Arc makes her aware of how close everything is to breaking down. When the systems fail, the last survivors of the human race will suffocate in the tunnels meant to protect them from the deadly air outside—starting with the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, in an example of history repeating itself, those in charge dismiss her concerns.When her six-year-old begins showing signs of oxygen deprivation, Raven refuses to go quietly into oblivion.She will break every rule to keep her daughter alive.

Some soldiers don't let anything sway them from their mission-not even death from high explosives.Free from her troubled past, Agent Kirsten Wren finds peace in mentoring Evan, a little boy with psionic talents similar to hers. She soon develops strong protective feelings for him.A team of corporate "issue resolution consultants" tears up the city, continuing their mission to kill a man in the afterlife. Kirsten pursues the unusually potent spirits, trying to stop their rampage before more people die. Her investigation leads her to a strange ritual circle that gives off energy darker than any wraith she has yet encountered.Unable to make sense of the ancient pictographs, she seeks help from the only person in the area capable of understanding them, an enigmatic billionaire who takes a strange fancy to her. His opinion that she's chasing demons calls into question everything she believes.Kirsten's not about to let superstition scare her away from protecting an innocent ghost. Alas, the demons give her an impossible choice: back off and let a man die-or they take the boy she considers a son.

Princess Oona Talomir adores the little things that come with her station: a handmaiden, a lavish bedchamber, scores of fancy dresses, and the obligation to win a decades-long war. Oh, did I mention assassins? Before her birth, seers foretold she would bring an end to bloodshed with a neighboring kingdom. Ever since she was a little girl, the enemy has been trying to kill her so she could not grow powerful enough to destroy them. As a result, Oona has spent most of her sixteen years hidden away in the castle. With the war going against them, the burden of her crown becomes too much to bear, yet one thing lifts her spirits amid the gloom. Her servant girl, Kitlyn. Terrified to confess her forbidden love, Oona panics when her father makes a demand she cannot abide: marry a prince to forge an alliance necessary to save her kingdom. He is handsome and honorable, but he’s not Kitlyn. Unable to admit why she cannot obey, Oona does the only thing she can think of, and runs away. Alone and unprepared in the wilderness, she prays the gods will let Kitlyn find her—before the assassins do.

Sarah Wright woke up a few times after parties in strange places―but the morgue's a first.At eighteen, she's eager for a taste of independence, moving out of state to attend college. A change of scenery is extra-needed due to a bad breakup with her boyfriend, Scott. However, soon after escaping the body cooler, she makes two startling realizations: vampires are real, and she is one.There's nothing quite like an untimely death to ruin plans. California's sunny beaches aren't the best place for vampires to chill, and worse, not only does she wind up stuck in Seattle, she's still living (figuratively) with her parents.They take the news surprisingly well―after all, it's better than burying her―even helping move her bedroom to the basement. A disinterested sire, distraught friends, nosy Men in Black, and awestruck younger siblings complicate her adjustment to the new normal of being an immortal still subject to her parents' rules.Undeath has its perks, but it also brings enemies. Without a copy of 'Fangs for Dummies, ' Sarah's left scrambling for answers when one such new enemy attacks her siblings and friends. If she can't figure out how to vampire, her attempt to spare her family the grief of losing her may wind up killing them

Ten-year-old Emma doesn’t believe in faerie tales or monsters that secret children away in the night—until she meets one.She lives in a quiet village at the edge of Widowswood with her parents, her Nan, and her little brother, Tam. Ready to abandon the whimsy of childhood, she finds the boredom of chores comforting and Nan’s fanciful bedtime stories silly.One morning, a wan and weary older girl staggers out of the woods and sets the entire town aflutter with whispers of a child-stealing monster lurking in the forest. Nan tells her of the a dark soul who feeds on sorrow and drains the life from children’s tears.Darkness comes calling on Emma’s happy home, threatening the reality to which she desperately clings. The impossible becomes more and more real, forcing Emma to reach inside herself for the ability to believe. Her family depends on it.

For most twelve-year-olds, being kidnapped is terrifying. For Althea, it's only Tuesday.Her powers of healing make her a precious commodity in the Badlands, a place where the strong write the law in blood. For as long as she can remember, she has lived either as a possession or a goddess. Althea contents herself with captivity as long as she can help others, even those who killed to own her.After three whole months in the same village, the friendship of a young warrior makes her feel almost like a member of the tribe rather than a prisoner. Alas, raiders seize her yet again. For the first time in six years, being stolen hurts.Following a reluctant escape, she questions if she should dare risk using her powers to defend herself, and those she has come to love. Her attempt to return to the tribe leaves her lost and alone and, for the first time in her life, trying to stay free.Alas, two threats far beyond her experience to understand also hunt her. One wishes to use her for his grand scheme-and one wants to destroy her.

There's only one thing Übergirl loves-almost-as much as helping people: Star Prince comics.Before the Nolmek accidentally made superheroes real, Kelly Donovan often escaped into the pages of her favorite comic series to forget about bullies and her parents always complaining about their jobs. Star Prince and Ms. Omni might be fictional, but they saved her as much as any living hero could.When Dad surprises her with a copy of the latest and greatest video game set in the Star Prince Universe, Kelly dives right in, too excited to think.Alas, diving in turns out to be far more literal than she expected.Übergirl and her best friend Paige-a.k.a Will-O-Wisp-end up stranded inside the MegaStation, helpless to interfere while Dad puts together a most nefarious plan. If the girls cannot defeat the virtual Dr. Infinity in time to escape, her father's orbital machine will rain down an unimaginable horror on innocent people... adding pineapple to every pizza on Earth.

Emma tries to balance her newfound abilities as a druid with only being ten years old. Chores and having to go inside before dark leaves only a few hours a day to save the forest―or at least her home town.Strange magic plagues the people of Widowswood Village. None of the adults take it seriously, as the effects are short-lived and whimsical. Emma suspects something darker is going on, having listened to Nan