Scott Bradley

Some caves echo. This one remembers. When archaeologist Moria Chione receives a letter from a vanished colleague, she follows a trail into the empire's forgotten north-where maps end, empires fade, and the land itself begins to dream. What she finds beneath the mountain is no ruin, no myth, and no machine. It is something older than civilization-a sentient labyrinth that remembers everyone who enters it. In a world rebuilt from the bones of fallen ages, Moria and her companions descend through strata of memory and stone, uncovering the last field notes of a doomed expedition. Their discoveries expose the empire's darkest secret: its power was never its own. At the heart of the earth waits Calor, a feathered dragon engineered by an ancient god-machine, guardian of humanity's endless cycles of creation and destruction. When Moria's presence awakens the dragon's buried consciousness, she becomes witness to a truth the empire has spent millennia erasing-that history itself can be rewritten. As echoes of the past bleed into the present, the expedition must navigate a collapsing reality where science becomes scripture, memory becomes weapon, and loyalty becomes treason. Every step downward reveals another civilization turned to ash, another world forgotten, another echo waiting to be heard. Blending the archaeological realism of historical fiction with the philosophical scope of literary science fiction, The Cave of Past and Present is both a thriller of discovery and a meditation on empire, regret, and recursion. It evokes the haunted wonder of Annihilation, the moral gravity of Dune, and the visionary depth of The Book of the New Sun. Rich in atmosphere and mythic resonance, Scott Justin Bradley's debut novel invites readers into a labyrinth where the past is alive, the future is buried, and remembrance itself may be humanity's final act of rebellion. Perfect for readers who love: - Archaeological adventure and lost-civilization mysteries - Speculative and philosophical science fiction - Mythology, empire, and alternate history - Atmospheric world-building set in South American-inspired prehistoric landscapes - Literary thrillers exploring consciousness, recursion, and the weight of memory

Some caves echo. This one remembers. When archaeologist Moria Chione receives a letter from a vanished colleague, she follows a trail into the empire's forgotten north-where maps end, empires fade, and the land itself begins to dream. What she finds beneath the mountain is no ruin, no myth, and no machine. It is something older than civilization-a sentient labyrinth that remembers everyone who enters it. In a world rebuilt from the bones of fallen ages, Moria and her companions descend through strata of memory and stone, uncovering the last field notes of a doomed expedition. Their discoveries expose the empire's darkest secret: its power was never its own. At the heart of the earth waits Calor, a feathered dragon engineered by an ancient god-machine, guardian of humanity's endless cycles of creation and destruction. When Moria's presence awakens the dragon's long-buried consciousness, she becomes the one witness to a truth the empire has spent millennia erasing-that history itself can be rewritten. As echoes of the past bleed into the present, the expedition must navigate a collapsing reality where science becomes scripture, memory becomes weapon, and loyalty becomes a form of treason. Every step downward reveals another civilization turned to ash, another world forgotten, another echo waiting to be heard. Blending the archaeological detail of historical fiction with the philosophical sweep of literary science fiction, The Cave of Past and Present is both a thriller of discovery and a meditation on empire, regret, and recursion. It evokes the haunted wonder of Annihilation, the moral gravity of Dune, and the historical scope of The Book of the New Sun. Rich in atmosphere and mythic resonance, Scott Justin Bradley's debut novel invites readers into a labyrinth where the past is alive, the future is buried, and remembrance itself may be humanity's final act of rebellion. Perfect for readers who love: - Archaeological adventure and lost-civilization mysteries - Speculative and philosophical science fiction - Mythology, empire, and alternate history - Atmospheric world-building set in South American-inspired prehistoric landscapes - Literary thrillers that explore consciousness, recursion, and the weight of memory

MEDIUM CHILL began as a sophisticated literary journal but morphed into a collaborative underground 'zine full of short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and art from writers and artists from all over the globe. Some of them even have their own books-so if you're not a fan of one, go read another-this is an anthology. Most likely, you'll notice some minor formatting errors and probably a few slips in grammar and mechanics, but nothing that will impede clarity; so just try to have some kind of orgasmic reading experience pondering the darkly honest works from writers who may be new to you. Writers work very hard, often for little reward or acknowledgement - so before you negatively review, ask yourself if you've done better. If yes - shoot an email and provide the link of your best effort to the MEDIUM CHILL team: we'll let you know if you're correct But if no, you should get on that then--get to steppin' on your best effort instead of offering negative reviews of others' works. The internet is full of snark and pessimism; that's nothing special-but your genuine insight and positive review just might be. Issue 2 of the underground fiction series featuring stories by Andrew David Bonazelli, Stew Miller, Steven and Tiffany Santana, S. A. Bradley, Matt Krack, Tom Mohler, Pete Chiarella, Barry Parsons, Dr. Rhonda Baughman. Cover by P. Puzzle

"The Horror Book of Lists" is the compendium of all things macabre and mysterious, terrifying and gory - from films and TV to literature to comic books and video games - that every Horror fan has been dying to read. Drawing on the extensive knowledge of its three authors, as well as the many contributions of Horror genre celebrities, "The Horror Book of Lists" will appeal to the audience that routinely makes the novels of Stephen King, Anne Rice and Dean Koontz number 1 bestsellers; films like "Hostel" tops at the box-office; and video games like "Silent Hill" huge successes.