Showing results by narrator "John Pirhalla" in All Categories

Eighteen-year-old Callum Stross never asked to become a hero. Struggling through a brutal harvest alongside his father, he's more concerned with surviving the season than reliving ancient wars. But when a devastating aetherstorm strikes, Callum is forced to seek shelter in a cursed manor, where he discovers a dormant Aethercore tied to the bloodline of the legendary Demonslayer. The core fuses with his soul, awakening latent power and binding him to Fen, a mana-bound fox who claims Callum is the Reborn Heir meant to finish what his ancestor started.

Sanctuary. The perfect refuge from the enemy, the most closely held secret of the resistance, the planet has never been found, never been attacked. Until now. Charlie Travers has been preparing to strike at the Anguilar with the help of the US military, intent on going on the offense, but no battle plan survives contact with the enemy...particularly not when that enemy is General Zan-Tar.

Charlie has accepted a commission in the US Army and the duty to build Earth's defenses before the Anguilar return for a larger attack to conquer his homeworld once and for all. But Giblet has other ideas. Obsessed with revenge against the Anguilar General Zan-Tar for the death of the woman he loved, Gib steals a starfighter and sets off on a suicide mission for the heart of the Anguilar Empire. Charlie is forced to make a decision: do his duty to his home and his people...or race to save his friend on the road of vengeance.

Searching the battlefield after a major battle, Sgt. Eli finds a dead Union Army messenger. In the messenger's bag is a message saying the South had surrendered, the war was over. Along with the Union Messenger was a dead Union Captain carrying his discharge papers, and 8,000 dollars. Sgt. Eli decides now is a good time to seek other opportunities, away from the stink of war. While buying supplies from his friend the quartermaster, he is advised to go to St. Louis. Those opportunities may lie there and a crowd to get lost in.

Harald Darrowdelve has squandered every gift life gave him—until he entered the dungeon beneath Flutic and received a demon's dark blessing. Weak, privileged, and directionless no more, Harald now commands powers forged in darkness. But each new ability and hard-won level drags him deeper into the ruthless politics of noble houses, shadowy rivals, and the celestial war burning beneath the city's streets.

These stories and more are featured in the third short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, continuing the saga of survival in a world transformed by the arrival of the System. Humanity has adapted to a new reality filled with Classes, magic and monsters, but the struggle for life, love and purpose never ends. This anthology brings together gripping tales from returning authors and two new short stories by Tao Wong.

Charlie Travers has been away from home for a long time, fighting to free the galaxy from the tyranny of the Anguilar Empire. But now the Anguilar know where that home is...and it's only a matter of time before they set their sights on Earth, intent on conquest and enslavement. Charlie doesn't have enough troops or supplies to stop them. And there's only one place he can get them.

Xavier’s rise through the Tower of Champions has been meteoric, and on his return to Earth, he hits the ground running, clearing dungeons, claiming titles, and gaining mastery over forces that should be beyond his control. But with Earth’s exposure to inter-planetary warfare, threats from the Bellaran Confederation, Tri-World Imperial Army, and vengeful foes threaten to tear everything he’s fought for apart. With his companions by his side and the weight of the world on his shoulders, Xavier must protect his world at all costs.

Hazard King had always wanted to be an Imperial Fleet officer, just like his father. But he’s a Prince of the Realm, which make things a bit more… complicated. And when Hazard’s parents tell him that they don’t trust his older brother and want Hazard to be the Crown Prince—the heir to the throne—things go from bad to worse. Just when it seems they can’t get any worse, the Empress is attacked.

After an unstoppable ascent through the Tower of Champions, Xavier has cemented his place as the True Progenitor of Earth by attaining the top leaderboard records on floor after floor. Now he finds himself on the fifth floor, defending Queen Alastea and her castle from the infinite waves of the Endless Horde. They say the Endless Horde can't be stopped—but Xavier has always been bad at listening.

Charlie Travers figures his life can’t get much worse. He lives over a pizza restaurant, he’s lost his girlfriend, and has no prospects for a career. Then, he’s abducted by an alien robot and taken across the galaxy. When he wakes up, he finds himself stranded thousands of light-years away, and about to be killed by space pirates.

Get ready to experience two more origin stories in the Backyard Starship universe.

After more than 20 years in special operations, USMC Gunnery Sergeant Wolf Mathison wasn’t looking forward to retirement when—implanted with an experimental artificial intelligence—he deployed on his last mission with a platoon of Marine Raiders being sent to the Jovian moon Europa. The USS Jefferson was destroyed en route, though, and only Mathison and three other marines survived. Trapped in stasis, they were hurled into the outer reaches of the solar system, where they wouldn’t be found for hundreds of years.

Winter has arrived, bringing inevitable disaster to the Blazing Sun Sect. Monstrous beasts hungry for human flesh storm the territories. Liu Feng, with merely average talent (53 Spiritual Root branches), finds himself thrust into a bloody war, forcing him to ally with the maniacal and ruthlessly effective genius, Song Song.Driven by survival instinct alone, Liu Feng must navigate the politics of the inner sect and ascend rapidly just to stay alive.

Vince and his co-workers were waiting to catch a plane back from their business trip when aliens turned Earth into the setting for a deadly reality show.

Dii Van Damme was having a bad week when the universe decided to sneeze, and accidentally uncovered some of its secrets. When the reality he knew turned out to be a lie, he reacted like any proper human would: improvise, adapt, and kill an evil snowman with a can of beans. Now, armed with a stolen cosmic power and an unhealthy amount of spite, he’s ready to power-play his way out of this nightmare. But the deeper he digs, the bigger the conspiracy.

You can’t fight a war without guns. Charlie and his friends need to arm their ship, but they have a small problem—black market particle cannons cost a lot of money. And they don’t have any. Which leaves them only one option. They have to steal the guns from the Anguilar Empire. It’s a daring plan, but it backfires when Laranna is captured by the enemy and taken back to her homeworld of Strada, which has been conquered and garrisoned by the Empire.

The resistance has been playing defense too long. Now that Charlie knows about the Imperial Redoubt, a starship the size of a planet that guards the Emperor and the bloodline families from all threats, he's decided it's time to take the fight to them. And if trying to infiltrate the heart of the enemy's stronghold is a suicide mission, Charlie, Laranna and Gib can't think of a better way to go out.

The Lumari Collective stands on the verge of chaos. After a prominent member of their society aided a violent mob, security personnel work to undo his efforts. They turn to the humans caught in the middle, Carson Flint and Nell Brooks, outsiders who might provide an edge against the terrorists. But time is running out, and plans are in motion that may bring the entire civilization to its knees before it can be saved.

After losing his parents as a child, Isaac vowed to get vengeance on the God who took everything from him. At ten, he had the skills of a top assassin. At sixteen, he killed more men than he could count. At twenty-one, he now steps through a portal looking to destroy a god. Welcome to The Other Side, a realm where gods, dragons, and races from folklore and legend all compete for the number one spot. A spot that once claimed allows you to rewrite the very fabric of the universe.