Bøker av Stephen Zimmer

Ambrose awakens to find dense, rolling layers of ash-gray clouds spanning to the far horizon, shrouding the city beneath in a drab pall. He begins his day, thinking it no different from any other.Though it is in the height of summer, an icy, anomalous chill sifts into the air later that day, until it becomes colder than the depths of winter.Then, the sun sets, and darkness falls.The night does not end, as there is no sunrise to follow.Bizarre and frightening apparitions begin appearing across a city and world shrouded in an inexplicable darkness. It is only the beginning of an unfurling, deepening nightmare, one that will take Ambrose on a terrifying journey of self-discovery and revelation.For Ambrose, and everyone in the world around him, the Days of Darkness have only just begun.

In the heart of a frigid northern winter, Rayden Valkyrie takes refuge in the lands of the Sarvan people when a mounted column of Attun warriors is seen passing along the outskirts of their territory heading west. Far from their steppe domain in the east, the Attun warriors are journeying into a remote, unpopulated wilderness, drawing great alarm from the Sarvans about their purpose. Learning of the situation, Rayden joins with a band of warriors from the area's villages to investigate. Following the tracks of the Attun warriors, they are led to the base of an enormous, ancient burial mound, where the trail vanishes abruptly. A mystery looms, and Rayden seeks to discover the nature of the burial mound and the reason why the Attuns have traveled so far from their homelands to enter it. Darkness Enthroned is a stand-alone adventure that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.

There are times when the cold breathes. Settlers from Ragnar Stormbringer's homelands are forging a new world in the far north, building villages where the icy lash of the winds is a reminder of the dangers lurking within a harsh wilderness. A season of great peril has fallen upon them. A fearsome predator stalks and hunts the settlers in the deep snows. As the deaths mount and terror spreads among the populace, Ragnar's help is sought to confront the unknown menace. Taking up his legendary axe Raven Caller, Ragnar heads into the falling snows. He will soon find that the myths told in the region have more than a little truth dwelling within them. What lies in the cold embrace of death and darkness can awaken, breathe, and gaze through eyes of spectral light. When the Cold Breathes is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Ragnar Stormbringer Tales!

Following the end of a brutal war, Ragnar Stormbringer travels across the sea channel to the west with the warrior Thorsalla to visit her brother's new settlement in the fertile lands of Ulstara. Coming upon a scene of total devastation, they find no bodies, but there are a large number of strange tracks heading in one direction and signs of a few survivors in another. Ragnar will soon discover that some mysteries are the gateways to even greater ones. The Awakening is a stand-alone adventure that is part of the Ragnar Stormbringer Tales.

At the edge of the world, far to the east, Rayden has joined with a band of pirates led by Timiko, the young widow of a great warrior revered for showing compassion and generosity to the powerless toiling in the fields and villages on the islands of Yamatainu. When word arrives that a raiding fleet is approaching under the command of the pirate Fujimara, a man known for extreme cruelty and barbarity, Timiko and Rayden know that the villages throughout their region are in great peril. Though greatly outnumbered, Timiko's fleet sets out against all odds to confront Fujimara's raiders. The Sun's Caress is a stand-alone eBook novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales

Howling winds carry promises of doom across the far north where a jarl's people are falling prey to a horrific plight. Chilling tales describing hordes of ravenous wolves falling upon homesteads and slaughtering every living thing, including men, women, children, and livestock, are not the worst of it. Rumors and sightings speak of a greater intelligence guiding the terrifying onslaught. With his great war axe Raven Caller in hand, Ragnar Stormbringer and a small band of mercenaries are among the few willing to tread into the perilous lands. Using wit, courage, and strength, Ragnar will soon discover that tears in the snow are the seeds of dark, powerful mysteries waiting to be unraveled. Tears in the Snow is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Ragnar Stormbringer Tales.

Only the foolish deem the desolate places of the world truly abandoned. Journeying to the Kingdom of Thrakkia, Rayden Valkyrie encounters a large contingent of nomadic Barradans. Knowing the routes through the great desert expanses and the numerous dangers encountered within them, the rugged tribal people are also hospitable to strangers and they welcome her among them. Heading westward to avoid becoming swept up in the ambitions of a bloodthirsty desert warlord, the Barradans have only one other individual among them who is not a member of their tribe; an enigmatic Hebrennan elder. Mysteries soon unfold, and Rayden's own life will teeter on the edge of an abyss. Where no man or woman dwells, things with darker intentions and ravenous hungers can set root, grow, and cast a deepening shadow across desert plains. Across Desert Plains is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.

The Magarian empire is falling under the shadow of the fanatical desert warriors of Adis Khan, who are raiding with impunity from the lands to the east.Wielding his great war axe Raven Caller in defense of the empire's borders, Ragnar Stormbringer leads a band of mercenaries, growing swiftly in renown and acclaim. When the beautiful ruler of the Magarian city Kadaros, Aelia, hires Ragnar and his band of warriors for a secretive mission, a perilous adventure unfolds. Fearsome wilderness predators, supernatural threats, and roving bands of lethal warriors stand in the way of Ragnar, his warriors, and their mission.Blood will flow and the skies will burn. Burning Skies is a stand-alone tale that is part of the Ragnar Stormbringer Tales collection!

The winds of war are stirring. The kings of Thrakkia and Samosia quarrel with each other as a wave of invaders from a powerful empire crashes upon the shores of the nearby Kingdom of Pargemon. Having finished a harrowing mission aiding the Thrakkians deep in their mountains, Rayden Valkyrie understands the looming, perilous threat from the Astrian Empire. Without unity, none of the Griacan kingdoms stand a chance against the much larger invasion that Rayden knows will follow the conquest of Pargemon. With time dwindling fast and the kings set on a course to weaken each other in battle, Rayden undertakes a bold mission. The fate of many lands hangs in the balance Winds of War is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.

Ragnar Stormbringer and a large band of warriors from his homelands find themselves stranded within a mysterious, dangerous land. Trapped, with no way home, and pitted against a fearsome chieftain's desire to see all of the northern warriors offered to bloodthirsty gods, Ragnar must call upon every bit of inner and outer strength that he possesses just to survive another day; much less seek a way back to his homelands. Altar of Gods is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Ragnar Stormbringer Tales.

Dark rumors and whisperings of unholy sorcery bring Rayden Valkyrie to the remote city of Sereth-Naga. There she finds a populace cowering in fear of the city's ruthless, mysterious rulers, who remain behind the high walls of their citadel. An even greater mystery surrounds the city. Something is prowling the darkness. Something that has kept the enigmatic rulers for centuries from escaping Sereth-Naga to spread their wickedness to other lands. Prowling the Darkness is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.

Traveling farther east, Rayden Valkyrie comes upon a city shrouded in fear and anger. A devastating drought has been followed by a nightmarish rash of brutal murders and disappearances that only occur after the sun goes down. A few witnesses speak of terrifying, monstrous wraiths prowling the streets at night. The ruler of Terith-Ka, Queen Annukeyen, claims that the demonic entities have been summoned through dark magic wielded by sorcerers in the rival city of Rastapur. A war looms and the people clamor for vengeance against the city they believe has caused their suffering. Rayden suspects something much darker at work underneath the simmering atmosphere of Terith-Ka. When all others have gone inside with the fall of night, Rayden heads into the empty streets of the city to find answers and confront the evil plaguing a frightened populace. Blood of a Queen is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.

After a harrowing end to a long sea journey, the famed northern warrior Ragnar Stormbringer and a force of warriors step ashore in the lands of the Petranni, a tribal people known for their workings in silver and gold. The search for plunder takes a sharp turn when homesteads, villages, and temple sites show signs of being recently abandoned. When it is discovered that the Petranni have all taken refuge within a massive stronghold, Ragnar and the others soon fall under the shadow of an ancient, deadly adversary. Wielding his legendary war axe Raven Caller, Ragnar finds his strength tested like never before. Depths of Night is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Ragnar Stormbringer Tales!

The people of his tribe call Hongvi the Shadow Walker. A great warrior and hunter with a traumatic past, his courage is unrivaled among the Shinumu people. When tales arrive of giants roving the plains to the east of the great canyons, where his tribe dwells in villages built into the facings of cliffs, Hongvi does not hesitate to undertake a journey alone to investigate. Yet the threat of giants is not the only peril facing the tribe... A great darkness is coalescing to the south, in the lands of the Dinay, the enemy of the Shinumu. Rumors abound of sorcerous priests steeped in blood sacrifice who have come from foreign lands to rule. A Moment in Eternity is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Hongvi Shadow Walker Tales!.

"e;The desire to convey authentic and credible portrayals of the western cattle range and its people in its formative years guided Steve Zimmer in choosing to collect and illuminate real, remembered experiences of times and places in the West that was. If the aim is an authentic depiction of cowboys, cowgirls, and early western cattle ranching, how better to find it than by consulting the testimonies and recollections of people who were there and took part in the great western migration, or who just lived lives on horseback, caring for animals, fixing fence, taking in wide and beautiful spaces and knowing the satisfaction of hard work well done? This is what may be said of those whose writings are related in this collection. The stories the writers tell are from their own experience, or as told to them by contemporaries."e; (From the Foreword by David L. Caffey, author of Frank Springer and New Mexico and The Santa Fe Ring)

Parker Smith and Joe Dan Peters are fourteen-year-old cowboys and best friends. They are out of school for the summer and looking forward to many cowboy adventures in the New Mexico ranch country that is their home. Parker's summer begins with the birth o

The Exodus Gate, by Stephen Zimmer, is a modern fantasy novel that is the first release in the Rising Dawn Saga. The story unfolds around Benedict Darwin, host of a popular late night radio show that deals with the paranormal. Benedict comes into possession of a virtual reality simulator that turns out to be something far greater and more powerful than he ever expected. Meanwhile, supernatural powers from the depths of the Abyss and their human allies are working tirelessly to bring about a One World Government. They are also laboring to bridge the boundaries between time and space to bring back the Nephilim, the monstrous offspring of Fallen Avatars and humans that were destroyed in a Great Flood that occurred long ages ago. An epic tale of courage, hope, and adventure, with fantastical realms and exotic creatures, The Exodus Gate is sure to appeal to a wide range of fantasy readers. The first edition also feature 15 full page illustrations by the artist Matthew Perry.