What Would You Give to be a Hero? Stephen Russ never expected to have to answer that question; he went to work, he stayed in his apartment, sometimes had friends over, and the worst thing he'd had to face was looking for a new job after losing his old one. But that was before a child's desperate scream led him into an alley filled with faceless winged things that almost killed him, before the strange white rat spoke to him, calling itself Silvertail Heartseeker and telling him that this was but the beginning, that the Stars were almost Right and the forces of Azathoth Nine-Armed would soon be unleashed against the world… before Silvertail said that his courage and willingness to risk himself made him the perfect choice to be one of the defenders of the world against this evil. A defender named Princess Holy Aura, the first of the five Apocalypse Maidens. Now Steve understands the choice: not whether he is willing to die, but whether he is willing to live… by giving up "Stephen Russ" to become the one chance that the world has against the monstrous forces that wait on the other side of forever. And if he does, even that is only the first step, because the other four Maidens must be found before the time comes – and Azathoth's agents will do everything in their power to kill them all to prevent that! About Ryk E. Spoor's Phoenix Rising: “A winner! Great characters, and thrilling adventure. I want more!”—Ed Greenwood, best-selling author of the Forgotten Realms series “[E]xciting adventure, scary monsters, strange gods, and wondrous magic.”—Lawrence Watt-Evans About Spheres of Influence: “Fast and entertaining action and a world that has the feel of Asimov’s Foundation series.”—Sarah A. Hoyt, author of the Darkship saga About Ryk E. Spoor’s Grand Central Arena: “…an imaginative piece of space opera that’s set on a near-future Earth where artificial intelligence is taken for granted.”—Shiny Reviews “Grand Central Arena’ is space opera in the grand old tradition . . . but with modern sensibilities and awareness of current speculations in cutting edge physics.”—Fantasy Book Critic About the Threshold Series by Ryk E. Spoor and Eric Flint “. . . fast-paced sci-fi. . . light in tone and hard on science . . .” —Publishers Weekly “. . . [the series is filled with] linguistics, biology, physics, and evolution further the story, as well as wacky humor, academic rivalries, and even some sweet romances.” —School Library Journal