February 2024 – Page 2

The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel

Vanderough University prepares its graduates for life on Mars. Herbert Hoover Palminteri enrolls at VU with the hope of joining the Martian colony in 2044 as a member of its eleventh graduating class. He thinks if he just keeps his head down and gets his studies done, he’ll get the marks he needs to join the esteemed engineer corps on the red planet. But then Herbert is tapped to join a notorious secret society: The Order of the Scepter & Gavel. As a new pledge, Herbert has to prove himself in a series of dangerous initiation rites, even if it means risking his life and the lives of his friends.
Many years later, when Herbert thinks the scandals of his youth are finally dead and buried, a murder occurs in the Martian colony, and Herbert starts to suspect it is linked to the secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel of his past.

Book Reviews

Halls of Fire

On the shores of Cordacia, Tama believes she has left Khione and its dangers behind. But not even a full day goes by before she discovers that Malsumi’s corruption has somehow, inexplicably, followed her here. When Tama, Liseli, and Isabelle go to the Amphitheater to watch the Games, corrupted creatures strike, and Tama leaps into action. Alongside Cordacia’s finest warriors, she quells the threat, but no one is sure who triggered the attack in the first place. Her only lead is a mysterious woman who appears right before Malsumi’s minions emerge. Who is she, and why has she aligned herself with the dark goddess? More importantly, will Tama find out before it’s too late?