Showing results by publisher "Penguin Audio" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

A distress call from a nearby freighter in the Caribbean brings a NUMA training mission to an abrupt halt. Leaping into action, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala locate the damaged vessel, where they make an eerie discovery. The captain lies face down in the silent starboard bridge. Clutched beneath him - an empty shotgun. When Kurt and Joe search the freighter for clues, the situation grows stranger - and more dangerous. Lying hidden in wait are the rest of the crew: paranoid, disoriented and ready to fight.

Mightily Oats has not picked a good time to be priest. He thought he'd come to the mountain kingdom of Lancre for a simple little religious ceremony. Now he's caught up in a war between vampires and witches, and he's not sure there is a right side.

No one is more surprised than Serin when she receives a ticket inviting her to a market that opens once a year when it rains. Here she's offered to swap her life for another. A better one. The problem? She has one week to find the perfect life and true happiness, or she'll be trapped inside the market forever. Accompanied by Isha the cat, Serin searches through bookstores, hair salons and perfumeries before time runs out. All while a shadow follows quietly behind them . . .

Penguin Classics presents H. G. Wells' The Time Machine, adapted for audio and now available as a digital download as part of the Penguin English Library series. Read by the actor Brian Cox. 'Great shapes like big machines rose out of the dimness, and cast grotesque black shadows, in which dim spectral Morlocks sheltered from the glare'.

When a young woman named Talissa answers an advert to carry a child, she cannot begin to imagine the consequences. Behind the doors of the Parn Institute, a billionaire entrepreneur plans to stretch the boundaries of ethics as never before. Through a series of IVF treatments, one they hope no one ever discovers, they set in motion an experiment that is set to upend the human race as we know it.

The incessant war between the bickering city states of Quon Tali rages. So engrossed are the warring lords and princes in their own petty feuds that few notice that an upstart mage from Dal Hon has gained control of the southern seas. But some powers are alarmed. And in the meantime, as Purge and Tali indulge in what seems like a their never-ending game of war, a mercenary caught up in the fight between the two states suddenly refuses to play along and causes all sorts of chaos.

An aura of mean-minded resentfulness is thick in the streets of Ankh-Morpork. Insurrection is in the air. The Haves and Have-Nots are about to fall out all over again. The Have-Nots want some of their own magic. But magic in the hands of amateurs is a dangerous thing. The City Watch is the last line of defence against such unnatural goings-on. But when even the Watch have trouble telling right from wrong, you know that law and order ain't what they used to be. But that's all about to change.

When flight Air France 006 enters a terrifying storm, the plane—inexplicably—duplicates. For every passenger on board that day, there are now two—a double with the same mind, body and memories. Just one thing sets them apart. One plane leaves the storm in March. The other doesn't land until June. For world leaders, the emergence of the June flight raises serious alarms. No science, faith, or protocol can explain this unprecedented event. But for the passengers, a bigger question is at stake.

In the wake of Emperor Palpatine’s rise to power, the true nature of his most sinister enforcer remains a mystery. Darth Vader is a dominant yet illusive figure: the shadow cast by a malignant Imperial regime, unknowable to even its top officials. But even as his humanity gives way to myth, Vader remains haunted by the promises of the dark side, seeking the ultimate power that his master has hinted at but withheld—the power to conquer death itself.

Some stories are universal. They play out across human history. And time is the river which will flow through them. It starts with a family, a family which will mutate. For now, it is a father, mother and two sons. One with his father’s violence in his blood. One who lives his mother’s artistry. One leaves. One stays. They will be joined by others whose deeds will change their fate. It is a beginning. Their stories will intertwine and evolve over the course of 2,000 years.

Destina Rosethorn—as her name implies—believes herself to be very much a favored child of destiny. But when her father dies in the War of the Lance, her carefully constructed world comes crashing down. Not only does she lose her beloved father, but the legacy he has left her: a wealthy fiancé, and rule over the family lands and castle. With nothing left in the world to support her but wits and determination, she hatches a bold plan: to secure the Device of Time Journeying she read about in one of her father's books and prevent her father's death.

In this dark and gritty collection - featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman - nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil.... Unfortunately, that's exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.

Polly Perks had to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers was easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape took more time. And now she's enlisted in the army, and searching for her lost brother. But there's a war on. There's always a war on. And Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them.

After decades of warfare, Malazan forces are now close to consolidating the Quon Talian mainland. Yet it is at this moment that Emperor Kellanved orders a new campaign far to the north: the invasion of Falar. Since the main Malazan armies are otherwise engaged in Quon Tali, a collection of orphaned units and broken squads has been brought together under Fist Dujek - himself recovering from the loss of an arm - to fight this new campaign. A somewhat rag-tag army, joined by a similarly motley fleet under the command of the Emperor himself.

The news from the north is grim. An army is massing under the new king of Feal. They head towards Darien - city of the Twelve families - demanding allegiance, or war. Tellius, Speaker to the Council, knows this divided city will never stand against such a terrible foe. But Tellius has a plan. He will assemble a band of heroes. Men and women who once before aided Darien in her time of need. They will come if he calls. The army approaches. The trumpets of war sound. A great city holds its breath. And a desperate plan unfolds.

Lyra Bien intends to live a quiet life to avoid the attention of magic-obsessed King Damir. Until Roark Ashwood, the monarch’s silent but irresistibly handsome soldier, invades her village and uncovers Lyra’s secret. That she is a melder . . . Gifted in the three magical crafts – bone, blood and soul – a melder is highly sought after. But there is a price: their magic is also the seed of their destruction. Forced to reveal her ability, Lyra is immediately claimed by Roark for the king, to be his next melder. Now the captive of this brooding soldier, she must find a way to escape.

It is a golden age. Intrepid hyperspace scouts expand the reach of the Republic to the furthest stars, worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate and peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the renowned order of Force users known as the Jedi. With the Jedi at the height of their power, the free citizens of the galaxy are confident in their ability to weather any storm. But the even brightest light can cast a shadow, and some storms defy any preparation.

When a large, heavily fortified and armoured empire makes a faintly menacing request of a much smaller, infinitely more cowardly neighbour, it would be churlish, if not extremely dangerous, not to comply; particularly if all they want is a wizard, and they don't specify whether competence is an issue.

In Dreams Made Flesh, discover the origin of the mystical Jewels, and experience the forbidden passion between Lucivar and a simple hearth witch. Witness the clash between Saetan and a Priestess that may forever change reality. And learn whether the sacrifice of Jaenelle's magic has destroyed any hope of happiness between her and Daemon.

For as long as she can remember, Laudna has had a friend. A mentor. A little voice whispering in her cropped ear, promising that, no matter how monstrous she becomes or how far she wanders, there will always be someone to guide her. And so, Laudna is content. But the thought of more—of life, of love, of the magic stirring in her still veins—is unrelenting in its familiarity. More is the dream of a little girl trapped behind the bloodstained walls of Whitestone, and the nightmare of the woman who now stalks the woods outside them. More, Laudna’s little voice reminds her, is dangerous.