Showing results by narrator "Michael Kramer" in All Categories

Framed for murder, Dewey “Mac” McKenzie is running for his life. Though Mac’s never even made a pot of coffee, he talks his way onto a cattle drive heading west — as a chuckwagon cook. Turns out he has a natural talent for turning salt pork and dried beans into culinary gold. He’s as good with a pot and pan as he is with a gun — which comes in handy on a dangerous trail drive beset with rustlers, hostile Indians, ornery weather, and deadly stampedes. Mac can hold his own with any cowboy twice his age. At least until the real showdown begins....

Owyn and Zara, having saved the rangers and the Conclave from certain destruction, return to the capital city by royal summons. The king has a plan to unite his fractured kingdom... and the young heroes of Forest Hill are going to help him. However, when Owyn's master, Elias, returns in a most unexpected way, he brings a troubling message - a secret that's been held for more than 20 years.

Warren St. John decided to find out why people care so much about the outcomes of games they're not playing in by joining a group where the particulars of the fan psyche would show themselves in sharp relief: the caravan of hundreds of RVs that follow the Alabama Crimson Tide across the South, taking over college towns with a moveable feast of Weber grills, karaoke machines, Igloo coolers, and fast-draining liquor bottles.

After his tour of duty and an unremarkable post-Army business career, Charles spent his twilight years watching old movies and waiting for his grandkids to call. He'd lived a good life and been a decent man, but now that his wife was gone, he was...lonely. Until his old friend Bert introduced him to Crossroads, the new VR sensation. In this virtual world he can move without pain, explore new lands, and most importantly - see his family again. For as long as he can hold their interest, in this fast-paced modern world of instant gratification and VR thrills.

Night has fallen and the dead have begun their march. Garrett’s power is growing, and with it the influence of the dream flowers. But with power comes enemies, and Garrett’s enemies outclass him by a large margin. To make matters worse, one of the Great Rulers of the Dream has launched his attack on the budding Klein Family, intending to consume Garrett and expand his territory. With the March of Lesrak underway, the gangs of the city have a simple choice. Band together or die under the claws of the wave of zombies sweeping the city.

Alex Menkaure, former pharaoh and mummy, and his vampire partner, Marcus, born in ancient Rome, are vice cops in a special Miami police unit. They fight to keep the streets safe from criminal vampires, shape-shifters, bootleg blood dealers, and anti-vampire vigilantes. When poisoned artificial blood drives vampires to murder, the city threatens to tear itself apart. Only an unlikely alliance with former opponents can give Alex and Marcus a fighting chance against an ancient vampire conspiracy.

Sent with a contingent of knights to reinforce the Thousand Lakes Kingdom against the aggression of the normally peaceable Soreshi, Anskar DeVantte learns that the Necromancer Queen Talia’s reach is longer than he could have believed. Cajoled into procuring the components of the Armor of Divinity that will bring Talia back from the realm of the dead, Anskar must put her demands to one side when the real threat facing the kingdom is revealed.

From one of our most interesting literary figures, former editor of Granta, former fiction editor at The New Yorker, acclaimed author of Among the Thugs, a sharp, funny, exuberant, close-up account of his headlong plunge into the life of a professional cook.

In Niyas, the new Seneschal plans to use Anskar to further the Church’s aims and grind the Niyandrians and their culture to dust. But having thrown off the shackles of both the Church and his mother Queen Talia, Anskar is no longer a hapless pawn. Driven to seek the final component to complete the Armor of Divinity, he falls in with the Niyandrian rebels and forges his own path.

When Bear and Mandy Logan’s travels take them to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, they expect to settle in for a quiet winter on the barrier island. But when a mysterious man shows up harassing their elderly neighbors, Bear can’t stop himself from getting involved. His search for answers soon leads him to more shocking discoveries, as he realizes the small town where he spent summers as a kid holds more secrets than he could have imagined.

Long ago, men harnessed the Channels of Power, creating tevisrals: devices capable of manifesting magic. But men weren't the only ones to accomplish such feats. Dragons crafted the most sophisticated tevisrals. These shaped the world, defining civilization of man and elf alike. Over the centuries, the people of Kalda have fallen into a dark age, where elves are estranged from men and dragons have retreated into legend.

Udo is chosen to be named count. The title comes with the wealth and privilege he's always wanted, but he has a nagging feeling it will be more trouble than it's worth. Things become complicated as Hanman, counselor to Ditmar the King, coerces Udo into informing against Gerold of the Four Fires, Ditmar's chief general in the war with Walhaz. Udo resolves to play this part to the best of his ability but is soon horrified when that same general convinces Udo into informing against Hanman.

The literature of the Gettysburg Address tends to fall into one of two extremes. At one end are those books that maintain that Lincoln wrote his speech hastily, even on a scrap of paper on the train en route from Washington to Gettysburg. In this version, Lincoln delivered his remarks to an uncomprehending public, which applauded politely, failing to appreciate his genius. Many of the books that argued this point of view are out of print today, but the myths and legends live on.

The irreverent author of the cult classic Syrup hits his target in this satire on the wages of big capital. In Max Barry's hilarious vision of the near future, the world is run by giant American corporations, and employees take the last names of the companies they work for; The Police and The NRA are publicly traded security firms, and the U.S. government may only investigate crimes if they can bill a citizen directly.

This darkly satirical drama by Gore Vidal finds two presidential contenders seeking the endorsement of an aging ex-president, and explores how personal agendas can change the course of a nation's destiny. The political intrigues rampant in Vidal's 1960 setting are strangely similar what is going on today. Includes an interview with actors Fred Thompson and Marsha Mason.

As early as 1941, Allied victory in World War II seemed all but assured. How and why, then, did the Germans prolong the barbaric conflict for three and a half more years? In The German War, acclaimed historian Nicholas Stargardt draws on an extraordinary range of primary source materials - personal diaries, court records, and military correspondence - to answer this question. He offers an unprecedented portrait of wartime Germany, bringing the hopes and expectations of the German people to vivid life.

When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance concealed only by the death of his wife. If the emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the empire will fall into chaos. Shai is given an impossible task: to create - to Forge - a new soul for the emperor in less than 100 days. But her soul-Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors.

Who better to fight back the darkness of the world than the one responsible for most of it? Daylen, once known as the Great Bastard, the Scourge of Nations, Dayless the Conqueror, has lived in hiding since his presumed death. Burdened by age and tremendous guilt, he thinks his life is coming to an end. Unbeknownst to him he’s about to embark on a journey towards redemption where his ruthless abilities might save the world. Many battles await with friends to be made and a past filled with countless crimes to confront, all the while trying to keep his true identity a secret.

The end has come. The Arc of Radiance has been destroyed. Asmodeus, the Prince of Darkness, marches on Tarsynium with an innumerable demon host. It would seem that, at long last, the end of the world is here. The remnants of humanity gather in Tarsys, uniting their forces to make a final stand. A slim hope remains as Zara discovers an ancient spell capable of defeating the demons once and for all. Together, she and Owyn embark on a gambit to save the kingdom before it can be destroyed. Their success hinges on their friends holding back the R'Laar so they can try their desperate plan.

Beginning with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, this fully revised and updated second volume of The Story of Christianity continues the marvelous history of the world's largest religion. Award-winning historian Justo González brings to life the people, dramatic events, and theological debates that have shaped Protestantism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy.