What Is The Mandarins Book About?

The Empire rules on the wings of dragons. Riders are hand-selected for training from childhood, and Anzi is one of the rare few who wait to hatch theirs this year. Until she discovers the terrible truth that the dragon riders are not partners with their dragons: they're slavers. The dragons are bred in captivity and enslaved from within the egg, and they are nothing but mindless shadows of what their once-noble species used to be. After two hundred years, the surviving dragons in the wild are coming back to rescue their brethren. How they survived the Purge, no one knows, but they are angry and they are coming, in fire and in storm. And as she struggles to come to terms with the realization that the nation she loves so much that she would give her life for it may be nothing more than propaganda and illusion, she discovers something else: The dragons who survived the Purge are shifters, able to hide in human form. And Anzi has met one of them already. Her mate.

Ten years ago, Rayden’s family was mercilessly slaughtered. He was left for dead, a mere shadow of a once-respected clan. In the eyes of the world, Rayden was gone. But in the darkness, he grew. Honing forbidden arts. Nurturing an unquenchable rage. Now, Rayden returns. Not as an heir, not as a hero. But as a sinner. A cultivator who has chosen a forbidden path for one reason—revenge. Beneath the veil of the modern world, cultivator clans hide their secrets, their artifacts, and their power. The Bramasta family, seemingly clean on the surface, is his first target. But the deeper Rayden infiltrates, the larger the web he uncovers, including a name that has haunted his every waking moment—Lucien Dorne. Every step Rayden takes will challenge the laws of cultivation, uncover old betrayals, and test his own moral limits. Because to destroy a monster, sometimes, you have to become a greater one.

Nia Whitaker built her reputation solving disasters for the powerful. As one of the most sought-after corporate crisis strategists in the country, she’s hired to clean up scandals that could destroy billion-dollar empires. But when a catastrophic data leak threatens SatoTech’s largest acquisition, Nia is pulled into a crisis unlike anything she’s handled before. Because the company’s heir isn’t just another client. Kenji Sato is brilliant, ruthless, and always three moves ahead. A tech empire rests on his shoulders, and he protects it with calculated precision. The deeper Nia digs into the breach threatening his company, the more she begins to suspect the impossible. The crisis may have been engineered. By Kenji himself. But corporate warfare is only the beginning. Rival companies move in the shadows. Government investigators begin asking dangerous questions. And someone inside Kenji’s world is willing to burn everything—including Nia—to seize control of the empire. Caught between enemies, betrayal, and a man whose obsession with her grows more dangerous by the day, Nia realizes she’s no longer just managing a crisis. She’s inside the war. And the man she’s supposed to expose may be the only one powerful enough to protect her. In a game where power is everything, and loyalty can cost you your life, one truth becomes impossible to ignore: Kenji Sato doesn’t just want Nia Whitaker to fix his empire. He wants her. And in his world, the things he wants… he claims.

---> if you are interested in my work, please check out my novel The Starving Vulture. Available on Amazon, $3.99 for the Ebook and $14.95 for the Paperback https://www.amazon.com/Starving-Vulture-Miguel-Monta%C3%B1a/dp/1951150899<---------The Pacific Capital. A product of an altered world, the legacy of the dead Philippine nation. A congested megacity holding 50 million people all huddled in what was once Metro Manila. It is the center for Pacific Maritime Trade, the world's largest Tax Haven and one of the few places in the world free from the Draconian but necessary environmental laws that saved the world since Cometfall. Ruled by Megacorporations, Corrupt Politicians, Invested Nobility and Criminals. It is one of the world's most important agricultural and pharmaceutical centers. H-6 is an Arbiter of the Court. As Judge Jury and Executioner, they maintain the essential Power Plant Canals and Massive weather controlled Dome Districts. Two elements that even the all powerful Megacorps need maximize their profits. Making Arbiter's Court the true rulers of the city. But even an all powerful Arbiter of the Court like H-6 knows, that Ambition and Greed will always find ways to ignore the rule of Law. Solus Valentine is a Security Consultant, plying her trade to anyone in need. She is a gun for hire who has the street smarts for the city's underworld. Whether in the gilded halls or the most flooded streets, she's ready for your contract. But while completing a contract, she stumbles into a vast conspiracy that just might threaten the city's fragile power balance, if not the world. She just might need an Arbiter's help for this one. One who might be someone from her past.

When the Supreme God of Heavens disappeared, the gods of the Greeks, Norse, Mayans, Egyptians, Chinese, and many more sent their young mortal champions to a magical world in order to participate in the Game of Heavens and Earth on their behalf to win the divine throne. However, the young mortals used their powers, weapons, and tools that were bestowed upon them to form themselves into guilds and create a paradise for everyone. To any kid from Earth, an exciting adventure and new beginning await them, and Sam Roche is one of those lucky chosen ones — or is he still unlucky? Since everything is in peace, Sam tries to build a new life in the City of New Beginning while hiding his dark secrets from his new friends about the sins he committed back on Earth. Eventually, Sam and his friends discover that the strongest guilds have long controlled the paradise, and their rivalry might spark a war that will engulf the land. Wanting to get away as much as possible, they decide that they form their own guild and leave the city. However, a powerful guild is threatening the fragile peace of the magical world in order to win the Game of Heavens and Earth. Sam must either run away to save himself or become a hero to save not only his friends but both worlds.

You are entering an alternate world, where the Philippines didn't achieve its independence but remained a US colony. You will meet four people living in Neo Manila, where the government is repressive, prohibited drugs are legal, and crime is rampant. Undesirables are abducted and imprisoned in the Valley, which is a hidden prison island. A secret society called the Sons of Lapu-Lapu is working to undermine the government and has spies within the Valley and the governmental ranks. A young man and a woman are victims of circumstance and caught between two sides. She initially betrays him but made amends later and became lovers. The government leader (and main villain) have thought of a bold plan to use witchcraft in creating a perfect Utopian society for him and the one-percenters in the colony: the New Gods. The remaining unworthy would not be included and thus eliminated. The soul of Neo Manila and the whole colony is at stake. Will the Sons of Lapu-Lapu or the New Gods prevail in the end? Who will you pledge your allegiance to?