Michael J. Allen

A Modern High Fantasy Adventure

Wizard's Bane

When the red star glares, danger stalks the land... In the dark ages, women were property and nobles took whatever they wanted. When a peasant girl is forced to travel through a dark and foggy night filled with ill omens, fortune and misfortune ambush her on the road home. Beneath the glare of the red star, she discovers a rare treasure. Pursued by a mad Lord and stalked by a mysterious stranger, her whole world is turned upside down. When everything she loves comes under attack, she must choose between running away and revealing a gift that could alter the kingdom forever....

A Mature Dark Fantasy Short Story

Wyrm's Warning

The date of the Cerne Giant has long been a matter for debate, as exemplified by a public and televised debate of March 1996, published as The Cerne Giant: An Antiquity on Trial (1999, Oxbow Books). Excavations were conducted in 2020 by the National Trust in the centenary year of its ownership of the Giant. The excavations were limited and targeted in extent and scope, the aim was to date the actual construction of the iconic figure by absolute dating methods (OSL). As the 1999 publication explained, the jury was still out – with advocates for a prehistoric origin, one connected to the period of the Civil War or a more modern one. In the event, the dates were a complete surprise, falling within the Anglo-Saxon period. The research has provided an accurate, scientifically verified date for the Cerne Giant. These unexpected results, together with the land-use history and ominous ‘disappearance’ of the Giant for six centuries, provide the platform for reconsideration and new discussion and debate. Part 1 deals with new research: the historical background and aims, the excavation results, stratigraphic finds, geoarchaeological interpretation, land-use history (environmental/land snails), and discussion. Part 2 is the wider discussion and implications derived from the results and places the Giant in his local and Saxon context. Part 3 begins with summaries of the other two excavated hill figures (the Long Man of Wilmington and the Uffington White Horse) followed by a series of essays from leading archaeologists, historians and experts in early medieval iconography.

Reinvestigating an Iconic British Hill Figure (The National Trust Excavations 2020)

A Date with the Two Cerne Giants

Michael Dawson

In the late 1980s and early 1990s five excavations took place around Bedford in preparation for a water pipeline. In addition to revealing the development of the rural landscape throughout prehistory and the historic period, the project also uncovered evidence of Roman domestic and industrial activity, as well as cemeteries. The Roman cemetery at Kempston is of particular interest because of the large number of decapitations. Continuous occupation throughout the Roman and Saxon periods was also detected. The report includes large amounts of data, with detailed descriptions of the sites and their features, the environmental and skeletal remains, and the rich variety of finds.

Archaeology in the Bedford Region

Sidhe Courts turn Atlanta into a battleground. When Atlanta's Shieldheart is reborn from corrupted essence, the old blood phoenix must choose between forsaking the might of faerie magic and pursuing a whisper down dark paths that might redeem an unforgivable mistake....

An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure

Ruled by Tainted Blood

Past Mistakes Never Stop Haunting... A dark spell enslaves the phoenixes. Dunham unleashes their elemental powers against those who murdered his family while the deposed Wyldfae Queen uses them to lure even bigger prey. Vitae's desperate crusade to save Mare takes a darker turn, putting him at odds with Quayla. With Quayla on the run and Vitae setting up his own kingdom, the Sidhe turn Atlanta into a bloody playground. An unexpected ally emerges to help Quayla's fight for freedom, and a betrayal brings Vitae face to face with the Sidhe royals. With the phoenixes pitted against one another and True Death a certainty, can Atlanta's dwindling Shield prevent the Sidhe from devouring mankind?

An Urban Fantasy Adventure

Vengeful are the Drowned

They threw him away, but Power lurks in the trash... Magic has been franchised. Magical conveniences are sold everywhere like designer coffee. Everyday life is filled with technical and magical wonders. Only, the magic is murdering people. Thoth Corp's hot new spell is turning people into ravening monsters. Their only hope to quietly rectify the situation before the epidemic spreads is the spell architect they framed and sent to prison. Eli's response to his former partners wasn't polite. Homeless, forbidden government-regulated magic and barely surviving out of dumpsters, Eli struggles to rebuild his life. Fairytale rats thought long extinct with the rest of the fey rescue Eli from murderous Vigilantes, but at a cost. They force him to save fairy matrons stolen away by Thoth's monsters, thrusting Eli between his old company and a shadow war waged against humanity. To stop the war, cure Thoth's victims and rescue the city, Eli need only find some way to make magic out of trash. One Click today to join the Dumpstermancer, a hero readers are calling the Alton Brown of Magic, as he races to save his city from the people that betrayed him!

Discarded

‘The Anthem Anthology of Victorian Sonnets’ is a comprehensive collection of three thousand sonnets written by poets between 1836 and the early years of the twentieth century. The work contains a representative selection of sonnets for each individual poet, in order to display the diversity and innovation brought to the sonnet form by Victorian poets.

The Anthem Anthology of Victorian Sonnets

No one challenges the Voidrunners. No one robs their Rails. No one can beat their AI. Not until desperation forces one young man and his friends to defy the impossible. A motley crew of asteroid miners stage a hack on an FTL ship accelerator in a desperate act of piracy. Fate turns against them even before the heist begins. Reeling from complications, they raid the luxury liner caught in their trap only to face graver dangers...like betrayal.

A Splintered Stars: Farseer Story

Criminal Justice

Atlanta's protectors are dying... A new enemy has stolen the phoenixes' immortality. Would one mortal really condemn millions just for revenge? A past but never forgotten mistake returns to haunt Quayla. Hiding a secret war is difficult enough without a madman stealing mortals she loves. It's a trap. Knowing doesn't change the rules and surrender might save the day. Could the detective hunting Quayla be her salvation? The Fallen fooled Vitae and cost a phoenix her soul. An agent of chaos replaces his slain love. Beloved become betrayers. Everything is crumbling. Whispers and nightmares demand order be restored. There is an answer...if Vitae has the will. Madness is only misunderstood genius... And forbidden paths cannot seduce the righteous... You'll love this spine-tingling sequel because every victory brings you one step closer to the end... Get it now.

​Two weeks of freedom hasn’t been enough for Eli to rebuild his life. While he races to prepare for looming winter, a killer’s crusade to exterminate Seufert Fells’s homeless drives a knife into the city’s criminal elite. Forced to hunt a killer disguised by magic, Eli’s world becomes a house of mirrors. Friends become enemies. Deceptions abound, and the magic that saved Eli threatens to consume him. ​With the serial killer targeting everything ​he ​loves, even new dumpstermancer ​ spells might not be enough. Eli may have to protect his worst enemy to defeat a killing machine with a thousand faces.

Duplicity

The Ripples of One Selfish Mistake Could Drown the World... A phoenix has fallen, forever destroyed by the drowned druid's fury. Blinded by his obsession, Dunham unleashes his enslaved phoenixes against Quayla. The spectacular assault reveals the faeries to mankind, endangering the Exiled Lady's campaign to reclaim her throne. Desperate, Viviane trades one monster for another, offering Vitae his heart's desire. Terror and blood run rampant throughout Creation. Giggling faeries sell supernatural powers to murderers and madmen, reveling in the mayhem while mortal authorities struggle to contain the carnage. Alone and outmatched, Quayla must return to where her mistake launched their pending destruction. But will facing her demons strengthen her enough to save Atlanta or destroy her once and for all.

Rise of the Exiled Lady

Humanity is at risk... The fallen angels are up to something. Has she stumbled upon a plot to end the world? Quayla made a mistake and people died. It's not easy being an elemental phoenix trying to save humanity. There are rules to follow. Her boss, Vitae, doesn't like her and she has no idea why. Could he really want her dead? Detective Foxner has just caught a bizarre case. The bodies go missing and she's determined to figure out who's behind it. One clue leads to another and she's thrust into a world she can't believe exists. Reality on earth isn't what she thought. Hell wants control of mankind... The angels can't be trusted to stop their brethren... You'll love this amazing, must-read adventure because who doesn't love an underdog who's got bigger problems than death? Get it now.

Michael J. Allen

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