Showing results by narrator "Kevin Collins" in All Categories

A tournament to name the best mage in the empire. What could go wrong when everything is carefully planned down to the last detail, and only the best of the best are invited to participate? The answer is obvious: everything! Once again, Maximilian Valevsky will have to save everyone to preserve the integrity of the empire. This time, however, forces far more powerful than anything he has encountered before have taken an interest in his affairs.

Diplomacy is the bane of Bud's life these days.

As riots rage across the Human Federation space, what he'd been told on Sanctuary accelerates. Everyone wants his help.

The consequences of losing your temper for a moment grow with your power.

But is this a good thing or bad? Only time will tell, but suddenly everything seems to be happening at once.

In working-class Bay Ridge, Michael drives for a car service and gives lifts to his father, a former sanitation worker and current small-time bookie. He has a friend with a heroin habit, and a longtime girlfriend who expects they’ll get married one of these days. Michael spends most of his time on the familiar streets where he grew up, but now he’s crossing the bridge into Manhattan for some college classes—where he meets a seductive female classmate who seems to come from a whole different world.

"White", a story by Robert McCammon, was originally published in 2014 on robertmccammon.com.

Bud is back, and he's finally in the Keerah war! It is thought that back in the far past, the Dragon Host pillaged the galaxy. But something must have happened for them to lose everything they were. Now they have a champion. Someone who knew he had to bring back two genocide populations of dragon kin. A mage who leveled up in power by doing so. The Imperium learned a hard lesson, and is moving forward. And Bud isn't as angry now. The Keerah war goes on, and the dragons need training. But it seems there's one important thing needed to establish a true Dragon Host.

Three offbeat stories of crime and conundrum, set in the present moment, from the New York Times best-selling, Edgar Award-winning author of Underground Airlines and The Last Policeman.

"The Red House”, a story by Robert McCammon, was originally published in the 1985 anthology Greystone Bay and was selected for inclusion in The Year's Best Fantasy Stories 1985.

In the second book of the Army of the Potomac Trilogy, Bruce Catton - one of America's most honored Civil War historians - once again brings the great battles and the men who fought them to breathtaking life. As the War Between the States moved through its second bloody year, General Ambrose Burnside was selected by President Lincoln to replace the ineffectual George "Little Mac" McClellan as commander of the Union Army. But the hope that greeted Burnside's ascension was quickly dashed in December 1862 in the wake of his devastating defeat at Fredericksburg.

While still licking their wounds from Drakfort's brazen attempt on Valhadria Academy, Basch and his friends receive word of yet another attempt—but this time, it isn't on Valhadria. This time, Drakfort is threatening to seize the Grand Council. If they succeed, the whole realm will be turned against them, and Drakfort will have an army of dragon riders at their side. Basch and his friends have been summoned—and if they want to have any hope of victory over Drakfort and defeat the Onyx Dragon, they can't refuse.

Hanuvar pledged to find the remnants of his people, scattered into slavery across the whole of the peninsula. This time he had no army. His would be a stealthy war of liberation, buying the freedom of some and arranging for the escape of others, aided only by a young playwright, the daughter of a hated political rival, the tattered remnants of his old spy network, and the unlikeliest ally of all, the general who once defeated him.

Kiru the half-elf has traveled the length and breadth of Alterra—a world born from the ruins of Ragnarok and a long-gone Earth—searching for the lost treasures of his father, the slain King Ruken. Paralyzed from the neck down by a fight with the haughty son of a nobleman, he relies on mana to keep him strong and moving. Following the defeat of the cult of Jormungandr, the orc M'Baku Myev has been crowned queen, and Kiru's loyal cultivator crew, known as Pandemonium, has found success—albeit at a significant cost.

The dark forces of Drakfort have seized Valhadria-and it's up to the few students who remain free to retake it. But Drakfort's iron grip extends far beyond the floating islands of Valhadria. With the help of the Grand Council, the entire realm is now under their thumb. Basch and his friends need to tread carefully as they seek out the tools-the magics-that will turn the fight against Drakfort in their favor.

A magnificent history of the opening years of the Civil War by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bruce Catton. The first book in Bruce Catton's Pulitzer Prize-winning Army of the Potomac Trilogy, Mr. Lincoln's Army is a riveting history of the early years of the Civil War, when a fledgling Union Army took its stumbling first steps under the command of the controversial general George McClellan.

Dr. Gideon Box, world-famous surgeon, is extremely good at his job. He’s never lost a patient…but he has issues. He’s antisocial. Doesn’t mix well with others. Breaks into people’s homes and assumes their identities. Occasionally kills other doctor’s patients. He’s had bad luck with women his entire life. Big surprise, right? His psychiatrist tells him to join a dating service. Tells him to seek women from small towns. Says they’ll possess basic core values, be less shallow and self-centered than the hookers and strippers he’s been dating.

Conventional leadership coaching approaches focus primarily on personal change, exploring the qualities that define successful leaders. But to truly play transformative and visionary roles within their organizations, C-suite and other senior leaders must accurately gauge their own strengths and weaknesses, and learn to identify and address the "shadow side" of their personality traits. This book offers a unique model for strategic leadership by encouraging leaders to think carefully about their personal leadership styles.

Sergey has defeated the zombie general's massive army and cleared out the roving island. He's ready to head to Berlin, but there's just one problem: the other inhabitants of the spacetime ocean are drawn to the shelter like flies to . . . well, like moths to the flame, and thanks to the World Heart, it's glowing like crazy!

Beset by the angry remnants of the Department of the Interior, challenged at every turn by opportunists on their new homeworld of Surebleak, and somewhat low on funds, Clan Korval desperately needs to reestablish its position as one of the top trading clans in known space. To this end, Master Trader Shan yos'Galan, aboard Korval's premier trade ship, Dutiful Passage, is on a mission to establish new business associations and to build a strong primary route that links well with existing Loops and secondary routes.

Seventeen young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens. From a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in war-torn 1870s Mexico featuring a transgender soldier, to two girls falling in love while mourning the death of Kurt Cobain, forbidden love in a 16th-century Spanish convent, or an asexual girl discovering her identity amid the 1970s roller-disco scene, All Out tells a diverse range of stories across cultures, time periods and identities, shedding light on an area of history often ignored or forgotten.

Liam Saunders-Chang is one of the last humans left on Mars. The son of two scientists who have been racing against time to create technology vital to humanity's survival, Liam, along with his friend Phoebe, will be on the last starliner to depart before Mars, like Earth before it, is destroyed. Or so he thinks. Because before this day is over, Liam and Phoebe will make a series of profound discoveries about the nature of time and space and find out that the human race is just one of many in our universe locked in a dangerous struggle for survival.

"Something Passed By", a story by Robert McCammon, was originally published in his short fiction collection Blue World and was selected for inclusion in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Third Annual Collection.