“Crisis on the Far Side (The Maurice Series)” by Daniel Barth

Crisis on the Far Side is the third book in The Maurice Series of books, a series of science fiction adventure books for kids. Maurice is back from Mars and off for a well deserved vacation with his friend Cassie at summer camp – on the lunar far side! The culture of the far side is vastly different from the Lunar Union, and Maurice has trouble fitting in. The troubles only increase when Shannon Kappel shows up at camp too!

In this realistic science fiction book, Cassie is convinced that Shannon is there because Maurice’s parents are trying to set him up with a good match – and arranged marriages aren’t uncommon on the lunar frontier! Danger threatens and the trio is drawn into a web of intrigue and adventure as an interplanetary mining company tries to take over the fiercely independent lunar colony of Zalinski – and their local industry, making the fastest computers in the solar system. But the NovaLunik computer company has a secret much more sinister than a super fast computer chip – and they won’t hesitate to kill to protect it!

“Gateway to Nifleheim” by Glenn G. Thater

When mad sorcerers open a gateway to the very pits of hell, releasing demons of darkest nightmare upon the world, only the intrepid knights of House Eotrus stand in their way. Claradon Eotrus takes up the mantle of his noble house to avenge his father and hold back the tide of chaos that threatens to engulf the world and destroy mankind. Claradon recruits Angle Theta and Gabriel Garn, mysterious knights of mystical power to stand with him. Theta and Garn take up their swords one last time against the coming darkness–a darkness from which only one will emerge.

The Harbinger of Doom saga centers around one Lord Angle Theta, an enigmatic warrior of unknown origins and mystical power. No mortal man is his match in battle. No sorcery can contain or confound him. No scholar or sage can outwit him. But for all his skills, he is but one of us: a man, a human, who shares our faults, our dreams, and our ambitions. He boldly strides across the land, fearless, peerless, and cloaked in mystery, all his will bent on righting such wrongs as he deems fit.

Until the day the Gateway opened and turned the world on its head. On that fateful day, Korrgonn came and washed away our dreams. And his infernal realms of Nifleheim set their unholy mark upon our world and claimed it for their own.

Only Theta and his companions see the enemies aligning against us. Only they foresee our end coming–the end of civilization, the end of the world of man. Only they can hope to turn the tide of madness and preserve all that we hold dear.

But no man, not even our greatest hero, can stand against the Lords of Nifleheim and the dark armies at their command. Fiends that infiltrate unseen within our ranks, that tear down our temples and our traditions, that devour us from within, unseen, unknown, unheralded, and unopposed until the hour grows far too late.

Through the murk and mist that hangs before our eyes, one man only sees true. One man pierces the veil of magic that blinds us all and marks the world as it truly is, revealing secrets, secrets of Angle Theta, so horrifying as to shatter a man’s mind and call into question the very nature of good and evil.

“Cretaceous Clay and the Black Dwarf” by D. A. Knight

“An epidemic of missing dwarves plagued Nodlon. Every dwarf feared for his life, and everyone else thought the dwarves ran away to escape the hopelessness of living life under a contract. But the Dragon Lord and his greatest servant, Nimrod had crossed time and space to invade our world. Nimrod possessed a hapless dwarf snared by temptation and he became the Black Dwarf. The wicked warlock kidnapped dwarves, mesmerized them, and turned them into an army of zombies to serve the Dragon’s will.”
“Jack, who are you talking to?”
“Shush, Shotgun, I’m explaining our adventure to the Gentle Readers.”
“To stem the tide of runaway dwarves, the Princess of Nodlon resolved to free the dwarves and recruited Cretaceous Jack Clay, celebrity elf and magician extraordinaire, to help her raise support. But before anyone could cry, ‘Biots are people too,’ Nodlon Yard discovered the constellation of Capricorn on the vid screen of a missing dwarf maiden drawn in blood. Inspector Lestrayed called upon his friend, Jack Clay, an amateur sleuth and expert on the paranormal to help solve the mystery. Freedom had to wait while Jack Clay hunted a pair of foes older than history. So began the strange and quirky odyssey of Clay, Jack Clay.”
“Laying it on a bit thick aren’t you? You’re not the only who saved Nodlon! Tell them about me.”
“Shush! You’re the comic relief, Shotgun, in case things get too serious,” huffed Jack. “And so Jack and Shotgun began their heroic adventure to defeat the Black Dwarf.”
“Oh, brother,” moaned Shotgun. “You need a copywriter, Jack, someone skilled enough to condense seven volumes of historical fiction onto a bumper sticker.”
“Always a critic, you are. Yes, you can hack a network, kung fu a bad guy, and bake a soufflé all at once, but can you let me think?”
“Don’t hurt yourself.”
“Together, Jack and his intrepid sidekick save Nodlon from the Black Dwarf and whatever happened during the Gap.”
“What happened during the Gap?”
“We don’t know, Shotgun, that’s why it’s called the Gap. But we know what happened before the Gap. How we saved Nodlon before the beginning of the end of the world.”
“So what happens after the Gap?”
“That’s the next series, all right? One series at a time, if you please! Where was I?” Jack studied his notes. “Cretaceous Clay is a light-hearted romp during the days before the Gap when the legendary hero Jack Clay, that’s me, saved Nodlon.”
“Like they forgot,” muttered Shotgun.
“Now, I’m totally lost. I’ll need an editor,” Jack banged his head on the recorder. “Cretaceous Clay is a nostalgic, science-fiction story with a warm-hearted homage to classic sci-fi, fantasy, and television.”
“What’s television?”
“Vid, Shotgun, it’s what they had before vid. It’s an early technology from the dawn of the Age of Aquarius.”
“I know boss, but the Gentle Readers might not know.”
“Of course the Gentle Readers know. They live with televisions. Remember, our history is their future.”
“So tell them what they’re in for if they read the book. Tell them about Jazz, and Goldie, Faith and Hope.”
“Shotgun, our loved ones only have bit parts.” Jack sighed, “Our story is an action adventure with affectionate characters who never let you down, unrequited romance, kind hearts, flying cars, and biots.”
“What’s a biot?”
“We’re biots.”
“Speak for yourself,” Shotgun grumbled. “You’re only half-biot, but I’m all biot.”
“For a full explanation, they’ll have to go to the Professor’s website and look for the entry, ‘Concerning Biots,’”
“Great, it sounds sweet, delightful, and easy-going. It’s too perfect. The book police will demand a warning, ‘May cause a sugar rush.’”
“Shotgun! It’s supposed to be suitable for kids of all ages.”
“Why not add, ‘And so the magician boldly fights a foe no magician has fought before.’”
“Trite.”
“Not like you’re doing any better. All right, what about, ‘Biots are people too.’”
“Maybe that’ll work. It has a ring to it.”
“Great, send it to the Professor, and let’s do lunch.”