Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Literature & Fiction

After the exodus of all life, our galaxy is left empty and desolate. But in the absence of life, undead energy surges. Millennia after the last humans fled the galaxy only the dead are left to roam the earth. On this barren wasteland, Solus awakens. With no memories or even a personality, he is cast into a dangerous world. He will need to learn fast if he is to keep his new existence, for he is not alone.

Step into the shadowy world of Zamora, where thieves and sorcerers reign, and danger lurks in every corner. In this gripping Conan tale, Robert E. Howard weaves a mesmerizing story of courage, mystery, and cosmic horror.

The Portable Star takes us to an uninhabitable planet. Uninhabitable that is by life as we know it, but in science fiction life exists in many forms. The planet Sigmaringen IV appears to be inhabited by entities that although invisible can influence the mind. A thought control. Our space travelers, two couples, go through some very strange personality changes controlled by "them". As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that the invisible entities are trying to communicate with the humans, causing them to act out of character and experience intense emotions.

John Keats died in Rome in February 1821, at the age of 25. Shelley, who was to follow him to the grave the following year, was inspired to compose this pastoral lament, which consists of 55 Spenserian stanzas

Step into a world where beauty conceals corruption and every whispered secret sends ripples through the surface of polite society. Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray stands as one of literature's most brilliant and haunting meditations on vanity, morality, and the eternal struggle between outward appearance and inner reality.

Guy de Maupassant is widely regarded as the father of the modern short story. As his 13 volumes of short stories attest, he was a prolific writer of this form. He had a simple, efficient style of writing and, like Anton Chekhov, found inspiration for his stories in the day-to-day lives of characters, in which their hidden natures are often revealed. Many of his works also centered on the Franco-Prussian War, in which he served.

After living in the city of Orphalese for 12 years, a prophet is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a seeress and the people of the city, who ask him for his insights into life. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.

This poetic exploration of the subject of love was composed in Italy 1821, and published anonymously, as the poet wished its circulation to be restricted to the "esoteric few." The title means "concerning or about a little soul", the subject, in this case, being Shelley's inamorata of the time, Countess Teresa (designated "Emily" in the poem) Viviani, a young woman who was immured in the Convent of Saint Anna by her father. Shelley had had a number of contacts with her by letter and in person.

Steeped in the mystery and history of nineteenth-century St. Paul, these interlocking detective stories feature the characters—and the local character—that have made the Shadwell Rafferty series irresistible. Spellbinding as ever, these stories also afford the curious pleasure of watching Rafferty find his footing on his way to becoming the consummate detective whose exploits have delighted readers again and again.

Tweedle Dee and brother Dum recited a bit of Wonderlandic poetry. Nonsensical? Yes, but this is a brilliant sample of the world Alice found herself. If there is a moral to this delightful poem it may be that it is not wise to be an oyster. On second thought, perhaps there is no discernible moral - just smile worthy fun.

Audiobook narrators Mike Vendetti and Kathy Verduin bring Hemingway's classic masterpiece "The Sun Also Rises" to life. Travel with them through pre-WWII Europe as Hemingway explores the dysfunctional relationship of friends drawn together by a beautiful, troubled, and often confused woman, plus the drama and excitement of the bullfights.

Cyril Gordon, an intrepid Secret Service Agent, has completed part of his mission in obtaining a coded message vital to the nation's security. But desperate men are pursuing him and with the help of a handy cab and a disguise, he makes his escape. The cab deposits him at a church where, astoundingly, everyone seems to be waiting for him to complete a wedding party, certain he's the missing best man.

"Collision!" is the only explanation Gail Desmond hears as the ocean liner lists toward the sea. In the chaos that follows, she finds herself alone on deck with a stranger who lashes her to a makeshift raft. Moments later, she finds him floating unconscious and hauls him aboard.

In the blistering heat of rural Mississippi, the Bundren family loads their dead matriarch, Addie, into a handmade coffin and sets out on a bleak, often darkly comic journey to bury her in her hometown of Jefferson. Each mile of flooded rivers, broken bones, starving mules, and simmering resentments peels back another layer of this family's grief, faith, and desperation, as husband Anse and children Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman tell the story in their own, often clashing voices.

These 200 tales were collected by the Brothers Grimm in the early nineteenth century. They traveled throughout Northern Europe and some of Scandinavia and had oral storytellers tell their stories. You will be able to see that many themes are the same with different characters. In fact, there are really many ways to tell the same story!

Scottish folklorist J.F. Campbell weaves together a tale of dragons from a Celtic perspective. It is an intricate, perhaps symbolical story that was passed by word of mouth though the ages - involving not just dragons, but also mermaids, giants, and fairies. Campbell was also known for his four-volume work Popular Tales of the Western Highlands.

This is a new edition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mystery, The Hound of the Baskervilles. It’s the same story. Mostly. That is, it contains the same characters, the same action, and much of the same dialogue. What’s different? Well, it’s a little shorter, a little leaner, a little less verbose in some sections. But the chief difference is that it’s now narrated by a dog. A greyhound, in fact, named Septimus. In this new edition, he tells his story of how he became “The Greyhound of the Baskervilles.”

As a winner of multiple awards for his writing, Frank Belknap Long enjoyed a much lauded career across seven decades and a wide array of genres. This audiobook is a collection that celebrates his contributions to the realm of Science Fiction in 17 stories from publications between 1929 and 1956. These tales are explorations of humanity as much as they are of the exploration of space, time, extraterrestrial planets and life forms, and all things scientific and supernatural.

Audie-nominated narrator Deepti Gupta shares a classic love story set among the fires of India's struggle for independence. Bimala is torn between her commitment to her husband, Nikhil, who holds Western beliefs, and the radical Sandip, a leader of the Swadeshi movement under the British Raj. Bimala finds herself asking what freedom truly means for herself and for her country.

The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke is a classic Australian work of poetry composed by renowned poet, C.J. Dennis (1876-1938). This verse-novel chronicles Bill's coming-of-age through romance, love, and fatherhood. From rambunctious street-strolling youth to settled, responsible father, Bill's story unfolds with keen Aussie larrikinism and humour. This work is narrated as a duet by Denis Daly (Bill) and Sarah Bacaller (Doreen).