Showing results by narrator "Mikael Naramore" in All Categories

It's October of 1993 in Hawaii. A drunk driver hurtles toward a bend in the road. From the opposite direction, accomplished advertising creative and triathlete Phil Slott takes a routine drive. As he eases into the bend, he meets the drunk driver skidding into the wrong lane and, in one second, Phil's life takes a dramatic turn. As he struggles to stay alive in the ICU, Phil's organs, bones, and much of his brain are broken. What he and everyone else come to realize is that his creative drive and passion remain intact.

The sides are drawn. The war has begun. The Human Rebellion is constantly on the move, knowing their enemies possess the same world-ripper technology that allows them to appear at will across vast distances. The war expands as all sides use their newfound mobility to reach out for potential allies. With the stakes growing larger as factions align, who can afford not to take sides? Rynn sets out to rebuild herself as only a tinker can. Madlin designs a hideaway for the rebellion that no one will ever find. And the Mad Tinker starts working on a weapon even Rynn thinks is insane.

A new generation of humans has entered adulthood. Raised by robots, these freshly minted citizens of Earth struggle to fit into a society that has gotten by without them for a thousand years. Until Alex Truman shows them a new path. Raised by Charlie7 and cloned from the original Charles Truman, Alex feels that it's his right to rule mankind. With the entirety of human history as his guide, he learns from the successes and failures of the Human Era and puts them to use against a society that's completely unprepared to oppose him.

In this captivating collection from the Shaanxi region, considered the cradle of Chinese civilization, twenty disparate and unique voices come together to show a China caught between new-world advancements and old-world traditions. From the homeland of China’s first dynasty and the world-famous terra-cotta warriors, these tales show rugged rural life colliding with fast-paced city life; hollow arranged marriages juxtaposed with torrid forbidden love affairs; and the vanity of newly minted millionaires clashing with the desperation of the poor.

Meet retired cop, Sam Prichard. Sam and Indie are finally married, and off to enjoy their honeymoon in beautiful Hawaii, but sometimes fate has a cruel streak! When Sam notices something odd as they're departing Denver, and then finds out that terrorists have planted small nuclear bombs in 12 US cities including Honolulu, he's on the case, honeymoon or not! With Indie's computer hacking skills to help him, he finds the nuke and captures the terrorist who planted it, but he's not done yet.

To understand something, you need to know its history. Right? Wrong, says Alex Rosenberg in How History Gets Things Wrong. Feeling especially well-informed after reading a book of popular history on the best-seller list? Don't. Narrative history is always, always wrong. It not just incomplete or inaccurate but deeply wrong, as wrong as Ptolemaic astronomy. We no longer believe that the earth is the center of the universe. Why do we still believe in historical narrative? Our attachment to history as a vehicle for understanding has a long Darwinian pedigree and a genetic basis.

On the border of Zahl-Legion space, far from anything Austin Stone has ever known, Star Runners are dying. Lurking in the darkness, the Zahl Empire has a new threat facing the Legion Tridents. After surviving pirates and battling threats to Earth, Austin knows better than most rookies in the Tizona Squadron the dangers that exist in the universe.

Martian terraformer Kaylee Fourteen is a recent immigrant from Earth. Residents of the domed colonies of Mars can practically smell the day they’ll be able to walk outdoors on their own planet without the need for air supplies. But the committees on Earth control the resources the colonists need, and their interference threatens the terraforming project’s very existence. Until a group of radicals takes hostages to force the release of the tech and materials the terraformers need.

Fresh off their defeat of the lich’s army, Gary and his friends find themselves preparing for an even larger threat. While unlocking elder magic gave them the juice they needed to turn aside one foe, it uncorked the bottle holding back an ancient evil. Gary knows what’s coming because he wrote it. Now, with political responsibilities crushing him from one side and a demonic army looming on the other, Gary must balance the necessity of victory with the means to achieve it. Fans of Dungeons and Dragons and old TSR novels will love Hero Time.

Los Angeles: A city where monsters live cheek by jowl with humans. A city where violence simmers just below the surface. Lieutenant Christine Humber of the LAPD's robbery homicide division is well aware of that violence. She has worked for years in the city's most violent district, known locally as Monster Central.

After losing control of his magic, wizard Cedric The Brown blew up his boss and nearly crashed a space station into a planet. Determined to make amends, he pledges to help the mining station negotiate with the nearby planet's mysterious magical inhabitants. With nothing but the bankrupt station as severance pay, Director Fujita Hiroko moves to the edge of the galaxy to keep the station afloat as an independent mining operation.

Part lawman, part tracker, and part magician, the Wardens are monster-hunters–tasked with protecting people from the nightmarish creatures that have invaded the world of men. Following the disappearance of his older brother, Tom, Errol Magnus found himself thrust into the role of Warden for their region. It was an experience that required him to grow up quickly and become highly competent at his job–if he didn’t want to end up in a monster’s gullet. But now Tom has been located, alive but stranded on a distant isle.

For Elsie and Henry, getting married and buying a house is only the beginning of their passionate new adventure. Elsie is flourishing in her job while Henry embarks on a new career as a police officer. Everything, it seems, has finally fallen into place. Just when it’s all smooth sailing, they face life-altering changes that make Elsie question her ability to adapt.

"Mr. Prichard," the note said, "the people you see in the photos will be killed within the next 48 hours, unless you stop me. I have been following your exploits closely, and I think that you are the one I need to make sure I stop doing this. I've been trying for more than 15 years to kick this habit, but I can't. Normally, I don't strike so many times so close together, but in order to get you interested, I'm going to up the odds. I need you to do only two things: discover who each of my victims is, and then do all you can to stop me before I can kill each one.

Home is where the bark is. Fleeing from an unwinnable battle, Tanny is forced to find a planet where she can take refuge from a syndicate with galaxy-spanning reach. The first planet that meets the bill is a wild, forbidden world, home to all manner of monsters. But she has an ace up her sleeve; one of her closest allies was born there. But even with the help of a local, can Tanny and her crew survive long enough to contact help?

Heiko hasn't finished high school. His father is an alcoholic. His mother left. His housemate organizes illegal dogfights. He works in his uncle's gym. He definitely isn't one of society's winners, but he has his chosen family, the pack of soccer hooligans he's grown up with. His uncle is the leader, and gradually Heiko has risen in the ranks, until he's recognized in the stands of his home team and beyond the stadium walls, where, after the game, he and his gang represent their city in brutal organized brawls with hooligans from other localities.

As Norway’s newly appointed minister of justice, child-rights advocate Clara Lofthus has a chance to accomplish something meaningful on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society. It couldn’t be more personal. After her husband’s death, she is the sole caretaker of her twin sons, Andreas and Nikolai. She’s also still haunted by her own traumatic childhood—and the lengths to which she was willing to go to pursue her own brand of vigilante justice. How far? No one ever needs to know. And this is just one of Clara’s secrets.

A century ago, the world burned. Even now, though rebuilt and defiant, civilization is still choking on the ashes. Jackson, a smuggler, lives in the shadows, once a boy with no memory, no name, and no future. Ravens followed him, long-extinct birds only he could see, and nightmares flew in their wake. Once, Jackson thought himself to be one of the lucky few touched by magic, a candidate for the Order of Mages. He is a man now, and that dream has died. But, the ravens still follow. The nightmares still whisper in his ear.

Part lawman, part tracker, and part magician, the Wardens are monster-hunters - tasked with protecting the people from the various, nightmarish creatures that have invaded the world of men. For most of his life, 16-year-old Errol Magnus categorically rejected the idea of being a Warden. Growing up right next to the Badlands, he encountered enough bloodthirsty monsters in the ordinary course of events; he’d never seen much sense in assuming a post that required you to actively seek them out.

A book can open an entire world of experience or provide a recipe for meatloaf. Either is wonderful to Lewis Buzbee, who has spent much of his life in bookstores as a bookseller, a sales representative, and a customer. In The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Buzbee celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore - the smell and touch of books, getting lost in the deep canyons of shelves, and the silent community of readers.