Showing results by author "Gilbert M. Stack" in All Categories

Legionnaire is a gritty high fantasy series set on the borders of the far-flung Republic of Aquila. While political in-fighting and scheming are the order of the day in the heart of the Republic, the borderlands are awash with dangers, only kept in check by the might of the legions. Fell magics, savage peoples, and scheming empires all threaten the country Patrician Marcus Venandus has sworn to defend using his wits, military strategy, and his small command of highly disciplined legionnaires.

After the harshest winter in living history, four legion commanders and their men emerge from the snow to continue the war against Diamonte. Capitán Severus must find a way to guide the prickly and impulsive Regente Fermín in a campaign to drive the enemy out of southern Morganita. Lord Gundado must construct a plan through which his weakened cavalry can stop Diamonte from reinforcing their forces in Ópalo. Lord Evorik must deal with the treachery of former ally, Maga Yessenia of Hessonita. And Capitán Calidus must hold the remaining legion officers together in the face of the knowledge...

The battle to save Queenstown from the orcs of the Great Defile is far from over. Despite the valiant efforts of the tiny flotilla comprised of naval officers from Forestria, privateers from Anundal, and Navarre’s band of heroes from Hidden Harbor, enemy battle barges have reached the shore and disgorged their crews of orcs, ogres, and hobgoblins. As if that weren’t bad enough, sea monsters have risen to the surface to keep the flotilla from crossing the bay to rescue the helpless residents of the town. But despite the daunting odds against them, all is not yet lost. The gods of the ...

Despite their impressive victories in the north, Prefect Marcus and the Black hat Legion stand alone against the full might of Diamonte and Aquamarina. With their home city under siege and the cowardly Lord Totila refusing to lead his host out from behind the walls of Centinela, it falls once again to Marcus to protect his adopted homeland by himself. His only hope is to thread the needle, maneuvering his legion across enemy-occupied Amatista to the one location that might enable him to recapture the initiative in this war. It’s a risky gamble. With multiple armies afield and none of them...

Since he first arrived in Amatista, Prefect Marcus Venandus has warned his allies that the mighty Qing Empire seeks a foothold within the Jeweled Cities of the North. Now his predictions are coming true, yet Marcus. petrified by the curse of Madre Tierra, cannot rally the defense. Fragmented and fighting Diamonte in half a dozen locations, most of his legionnaires have no idea that the empire from across the Bottomless Sea is taking control of the waters off shore and moving to dominate the land. The storm winds have delivered an army that conquers with fell magics and undead to the Jeweled...

ABBA, Air Supply, Charlie’s Angels, Ronald Reagan—it’s 1981 and real estate attorney, Lynne Winters’, is struggling to manage a constantly complaining mother and a law practice tanking in the worst real estate market in a decade. Then her life really goes insane when a long brown envelope lands on her desk. The heir to the Mackland furniture empire has been kidnapped and the kidnapper has forced Lynne smack in the middle of the ransom negotiations. It’s the most important case of her career, but in a time when professional women too often aren’t taken seriously, it will take all...

To honor his dead brother’s obligations, Marcus has agreed to help the city of Amatista defend itself in the coming war with mighty Diamonte and its allies, but the arrogant Gota who rule the Jeweled Cities refuse to believe an infantry composed of the despised Qing and Gente peoples can prove to be any kind of threat in the coming war.

Black Vigil Severus Lupus never wanted to be a high-ranking officer who ordered thousands of men into battle. He enjoyed turning junior officers into men who could be counted upon no matter what the problem. He didn’t ask to be promoted to command one of Prefect Marcus’ new legions in the Jeweled Hills. He doesn’t like rubbing elbows with his social betters and trying to be polite to them. And yet, that is just what his mission to Morganita calls for. The Morganitan Gente are turning on all foreigners in their land even though it is Marcus and his legion that put them in power. Faced ...

Almost since the day of her arrival in Hadrian's Well, Undersheriff Joanna Donovan has found herself at loggerheads with the Colorado State Police. Cooperation was non-existent as politics continually got in the way of law enforcement. But now, a brutal encounter with the preternatural has forced out Joanna's old nemesis and the new acting captain comes asking for Joanna's help in identifying an unknown preternatural killer. But is she really looking for aid, or seeking to win the old feud by tarnishing Joanna's reputation? It's quite the dilemma, but if Hadrian's Well and the state don't ...

If folks had any business living in the small Colorado town of Hadrian’s Well, there wouldn’t be a meadow called Dead Man’s Field outside of it. That’s where Deputy Joanna Donovan finds bloody body parts strewn across the ground. She thought that rural Colorado would be safer than Chicago. She’s about to find out she’s wrong.

Marcus has defeated the smaller half of the army of Thegn Chilperic by the skin of his teeth, but now he must rally his legion and its allies to stop the Thegn’s main force from rolling back all of his victories. Yet, even as he fights for control of the strategic bridges on the Rio Rocoso, Marcus’ allies remain as fractious as ever. The rebellious Gente of Morganita continue to fight among themselves for leadership of their cause, while the Gota also violently question the leadership of Marcus’ friend, Evorik.

Joanna Donovan has had a rough time since becoming the undersheriff of Hadrian’s Well, Colorado. In the past three months, she and her deputies have defended their town from multiple preternatural threats including rock trolls, zombies, and red caps. So, she is outraged when A-list Hollywood actress, Ani Breeze, tries to strong arm her into traveling all the way to Desolation, Montana to aid in the search for her missing son. The young man disappeared with his girlfriend while climbing the infamous Widow’s Peak and Breeze is convinced that a preternatural monster is responsible. Joanna ...

From the pages of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine: When bare knuckle boxer Corey Callaghan’s trainer is locked in prison on a charge of murder, the sheriff doesn’t much care if he’s innocent or guilty. That’s because he doesn’t expect the case to go before a judge and jury. You see, the dead man’s son is leading a posse to town looking for vengeance and Corey’s fists aren’t likely to be enough to save the old man. It looks like Patrick’s only chance to avoid a lynching is lady luck, a named gambler, Pandora Parson, and the strength of her defense.

Only one tiny halfling stands in the way of an power seeking to wipe out a grand alliance that has lasted for millennia. None of the inhabitants of the scum ridden town of Hidden Harbor seem to be able to take him seriously, but they are about to learn how wrong they are. For the gods were tricked into putting aside their differences to create one final champion. Armed only with a hatchet and a highly fashionable hat, the halfling champion is doing his best to save the world by chopping down one evil villain at a time.

The war seems to be going well for Marcus, but he has forgotten the most important rule of the Jeweled Cities—alliances are made to be broken. In a world where even the ethnic peoples of the north—Gota, Gente and Qing—cannot remain united against the other peoples, how can Marcus convince them to remain true to their commitments to an outsider like him? And yet his honor is not so malleable as that of many of his new neighbors. He will stay the course and defend his dead brother’s home—even if the only things he can depend on are the swords and spears of his legionnaires.

Marshal Sturm, Earl of Fortaleza, and his retainers have helped thousands of Northerners survive three hellish nights as their crazed southern neighbors mindlessly threw themselves against the barricades in a desperate attempt to kill and eat them. Now his problems are really beginning. The insanity has ended but the danger is just revving up. Ten thousand people are dead or injured, thousands more children are orphaned, there is no food in the city, and Joachim Adler, pretender to Sturm's earldom, is determined to finish the task that his berserkers failed to accomplish—kill Sturm and ...

For the first time in seven decades, orcs sail the Western Sea. Orcs—the bogey men of every frightening children’s story. Once upon a time, it took the combined might of the Fellowship of the Accord to stop them—elves, dwarves, humans, sylvans, shimmers, aerie, and water folk joined together to throw back the stormtroopers of the Great Defile. But the champions of those races are long dead leaving none to stand up and lead a new defense. This time, there is only one halfling with his axes and his highly fashionable hat to hold the line against evil and determine the ultimate fate of ...

Navarre thought he had seen the worst this world could throw against him when the orcs arrived at Hidden Harbor in their battle barge. But now the halfling sheriff must face a different kind of foe. The Royal Navy of Forestria is the most powerful military force in the Western Sea and it is determined to solidify its control of the region by eradicating all of the pirates and privateers operating there—and they view Navarre’s town as the key to their mission. Marines backed by powerful wizards and priests are planning to raze the Hidden Harbor, thinking nothing can stand against them. ...

With Prefect Marcus and the Black Hat Legion still trapped in Morganita fighting against the treacherous Thegn Hathus of Granate, it falls to Calidus Vulpes, Red Vigil of the Aquilan legions, to take a thousand quiet Qing infantry men and fifteen hundred unruly Gente archers to hold off the full might of Diamonte at Angosto Pass. The odds are thirty-to-one against them. Can the Aquilan junior officer hold back the enemy until Marcus and the veterans return, or will this prove to be Calidus’ final stand?

As word of the Legion’s lightning conquest of Malaquita echoes across Diamonte, the Black Hat commander plans an even more audacious move. Rather than consolidate his gains in the west, Marcus launches a surprise strike downriver on Hessonita—the forward rallying point for Diamonte’s attempted counterattack. The key to his plan is speed and surprise—how close can they get before the city realizes its danger? If Hessonita has time to prepare a river defense, Marcus could lose the entire legion. Yet this time, the fog of war conceals dangers beyond human comprehension. Will the Camino...