Books by J. M. Fagan

The Jargonauts would like nothing better than for the truth to come into focus like a Polaroid photo, with a clear and favorable outcome, a phoenix from the ashes, a swan from an ugly duckling. But they are plagued by setbacks, false leads, and dashed hopes. The head of the snake is elusive, and the multitudes under Pharma influence have become unwitting but loyal enemies of reason, freedom, and all that is good. If there is to be a light at the end of the tunnel, it seems that a showdown on a grand scale—far greater than the ones at the Chicago warehouse, on the Uncharted Territory, in Tombstone, on the Red River bridge, and at Bumper Cropp's barn—is imminent.

Just when you think things are hopeless, something good can happen. And just when you think you've got it made—well, think again. The quest to find the real wizards behind the screen has led the Jargonauts on a nationwide hunt through the minefield of a complex hierarchy of enemy operatives, hundreds of potential sources for the secret recipes, and a high-risk gathering of hopefully trustworthy allies—a hunt rife with death and destruction on both sides.Many unknowns still persist, like: Who the heck are Ruby Begonia, Ella Vanote, and Vlad the Impaler? What happened to the Runt? Why are things so often not as they seem? And why do good people have to die? In the battle of wills, the Jargonauts must risk it all to have even the ghost of a chance to succeed.

Whom should you trust? The enormity of the Jargonauts' mission has reached biblical proportions as they venture into the nation's Bible Belt to gather information and recruit desperately needed allies to help root out the monstrous Pharma agents, their operating labs, and their frightening recipes. More unlikely characters turn up who could either save or sabotage the mission, and every decision the Jargonauts make could be a recipe for disaster.But have they slipped off the tightrope of protecting their own secrecy? Considering an alliance with Eve in the garden of Eden, with Moses Cort, with friends of Isaiah, and others and catching wind of the Pharma kingpin's identity may all seem promising, but the Jargonauts' plight intensifies in a back-alley encounter with angry hit men, a pursuit in an epic flood, and the Jargonauts' own teammates caught in the line of fire.

They've experienced a degree of success at peeling back the layers of secrecy shrouding the ruthless Pharma organization that resorts to kidnapping human guinea pigs for some kind of nefarious medical testing and murder to keep meddlers away from their sordid ';business,' but Mason and the Jargonauts have barely scratched the surface of the remaining layers. Just when the intrepid truth seekers are beginning to gain some ground in their mission to uncover and dismantle the malevolent Pharma organization, a surprise email from an enemy operative has proven a debilitating bombshell. Their cover is blown, and it appears to be time to throw in the towel.The Jargonauts have no good choices. Things are going horribly wrong, spiraling out of control. Perplexing incidents, mayhem, and malevolent forces lie in wait around each bend, ready to pounce. And there is no sign of letting up, no map for an escape route, no get-out-of-jail card for a bailout, no cavalry coming to the rescue. What will happen when the elemental forces meet head-on?

A vague, shadowy trouble lurks beneath the customary tenor of Idiomerica, its citizens unaware of the peril they will soon face. A complex knot of abomination is beginning to cinch down to a stranglehold. Who with but a snowball's chance in hell would have the audacity to think of challenging the layers of an all-but-invisible yet powerful entity? Maybe it isn't always best to know what you're up against. If you knew, you might reconsider.Bogged down while attempting to navigate the overwhelming imbroglio of the oxymoronic nature of his life's circumstances, and just when things couldn't seem worse, a high school teacher and troubled soul improbably named Cliff Hangar finds himself thrust into a terrifying paradox that eclipses his former troubles by an exponential magnitude, in the realm where ruination and Murphy's Law collide.