Death and Taxes: An Urban Fantasy Mystery

Death and Taxes: An Urban Fantasy Mystery

J. Zachary Pike

Fantasy / Humor and Comedy / Science Fiction

When Arthur takes a job at a Blue's Doughnuts, he has no idea that his fat, obstinate boss Buford Lafont has a secret: in addition to running a failing bakery, Lafont moonlights as a private investigator and a reluctant expert on the paranormal phenomena that threaten humanity.When Arthur takes a job at a Blue's Doughnuts, he has no idea that his fat, obstinate boss Buford Lafont has a secret: in addition to running a failing bakery, Lafont moonlights as a private investigator and a reluctant expert on the paranormal phenomena that threaten humanity.Detective Lafont wants little to do with the darker side of his small New England town, but the spirits and powers that lurk in the shadows won't leave him alone. His first case with Arthur at his side starts out as a simple disappearance, but quickly draws them into the realm of occult mathematics and sinister rituals. It will take all of Lafont's skill and cunning if they're to survive the dark truth behind the victim's death and taxes.
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Orconomics

Orconomics

J. Zachary Pike

Fantasy / Humor and Comedy / Science Fiction

A disgraced Dwarven hero. A band of deadbeat adventurers. His last shot at redemption could get him killed. If Gorm Ingerson really wanted to drink himself to death, he never should have helped the Goblin. When his good deed lands him in a bad contract, Gorm finds himself entangled in a quest that will pit him against business magnates, the king of the Freedlands, and a mad goddess trying to fulfill a suicidal prophecy. But Gorm's tarnished circumstances may be hiding a golden opportunity. If he and his half-baked party can overcome deep conspiracies and dark magics, he just might redeem himself and his career enough to be a professional hero once more. Orconomics: A Satire is the first book in The Dark Profit Saga, a trilogy so funny it's epic. If you like down-and-out heroes, sidesplitting misadventures, and ingenious world-building, then you'll love J. Zachary Pike's dark and delightful ribbing of high fantasy. Buy...
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Son of a Liche

Son of a Liche

J. Zachary Pike

Fantasy / Humor and Comedy / Science Fiction

A doubly disgraced Dwarven hero. A band of accident-prone adventurers. Giving redemption a second shot may have been a grave mistake... Still bruised and heartbroken from their last calamitous quest, Gorm Ingerson and his band of washed-up heroes try to make amends for the Orcs they accidentally betrayed. But justice is put on hold when an old foe marches to the city gates. Gorm is horrified to discover a liche pitching the frightened city-dwellers on the merits of the undead lifestyle... at the head of a corpse army. To save the city from high-pressure sales tactics and an inevitable siege, the Dwarf warrior and his misfit band hatch a harebrained scheme that lands them at the top of the king's kill list. With death and dark magic on his heels, Gorm must craft his own pitch to round up the troops and put the undead snake-oil salesman and his army of pushers permanently out of business. Son of a Liche is the second book in The Dark Profit...
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A Song of Three Spirits

A Song of Three Spirits

J. Zachary Pike

Fantasy / Humor and Comedy / Science Fiction

When life gave Fenrir Goldson a second chance, he asked for a gift receipt. Mr. Goldson is filthy rich. He's also callous and cruel and hasn't got a festive bone in his ancient body. Naturally, he's due for a holiday haunting. When his business partner, Bolbi Baggs, announces that they're to be visited by three spirits, Mr. Goldson braces himself for a whirlwind tour of his past, present, and future. Typically, a trio of time-traveling ghosts heralds a heartwarming tale of hope and redemption for the human race. Mr. Goldson, however, isn't a member of the human race. He's a Dwarf, and Mr. Baggs is a Halfling, and the adventure that's about to take them across the enchanted world of Arth is anything but typical. Holiday magic and economic realities collide in A Song of Three Spirits. It's A Christmas Carol for the 21st century, with a dash of high fantasy. Read this hilarious satire of Charles Dickens's classic today!
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Orconomics: A Satire (The Dark Profit Saga Book 1)

Orconomics: A Satire (The Dark Profit Saga Book 1)

J. Zachary Pike

Fantasy / Humor and Comedy / Science Fiction

Brimming with swords, sorcery, and wit, Orconomics: A Satire introduces Arth, a world much like our own but with more magic and fewer vowels. For the licensed wizards and warriors of Arth, slaying and looting the forces of evil is just a job. The Heroes' Guild has turned adventuring into a career, selling the rights to monsters’ hoards of treasure as investment opportunities. Corporations spend immense sums sponsoring heroes to undertake quests, betting they’ll reap the profits in plunder funds when the loot is divvied up. Questing was all business for Gorm Ingerson, the most famous Dwarven Berserker in the history of the guild, until a botched expedition wiped out his party, disgraced his name, and reduced him to a thieving vagabond. Twenty years later, a chance encounter sees Gorm forcibly recruited by a priest of the mad goddess Al’Matra to undertake a quest that has a reputation for getting heroes killed. Worse still, he’ll be undertaking the mission alongside a washed-up elf, a brooding weaponsmaster, bickering mages, a lecherous bard, and one voracious Goblin. But there’s more to Gorm’s new job than an insane prophecy; powerful corporations and governments, usually indifferent to the affairs of the derelict Al’Matran temple, have shown an unusual interest in the quest. If his party of eccentric misfits can stop fighting each other long enough to recover the Elven Marbles, Gorm might be able to turn a bad deal into a golden opportunity and win back the fame and fortune he lost so long ago. Promising fun, fantasy, and financial calamity, Orconomics: A Satire is the first book in The Dark Profit Saga, an economically epic trilogy.
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