Showing results by narrator "RJ Bayley" in All Categories

Alex Cole will do anything for money. Murder? Check. Assault? Check. Infanticide? Check. Sexual favors? Double-check. But after getting himself roped into something called Kuman Thong - including its roasted human fetuses - Cole is left fighting unfathomable phenomena beyond his comprehension and rather unexpectedly trying save the world. All for a lousy paycheck.

Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) - one of the most prominent Catholic authors of his time - gives a common-sense explanation of why the Crusades were necessary and why they ultimately failed. Writing in 1937, following the demise of the Ottoman Empire, Belloc believed that the West had finally gained the advantage over its mortal foe; however, he also includes a prophetic warning concerning the eventual resurgence of Islam and its enduring desire to destroy Christendom.

The 1895-96 season promises to be an exceptional one for Amelia Peabody, her dashing Egyptologist husband, Emerson, and their wild and precocious eight-year-old son, Ramses. The much-coveted burial chamber of the Black Pyramid in Dahshoor is theirs for the digging. But there is a great evil in the wind that roils the hot sands sweeping through the bustling streets and marketplaces of Cairo. 

From the history of the English language's arrival in the United States to the spread of Arabic across North Africa and the enduring legacy of the Latin language, Immigrant Tongues explores the journeys of tongues across continents. With a style that balances entertainment and depth, this...

At thirty-three, nurse Heather is desperately waiting for her romantic life to begin. Then she meets handsome, strong Anthony and is sure she’s found the one. Brushing any doubts aside, she projects all her hopes for true love onto him. Meanwhile, at a yoga retreat in Spain, happy-go-lucky Joe can’t believe his luck when he meets vivacious, witty Amy. She’s the sharpest, most beautiful woman he has ever dated, and the fact that she’s interested in him feels like a dream come true.

My name is Rylee and I was a Tracker. The final battle is over and The Blood of the Lost was spilled. In the aftermath, the humans still have mysteries they call upon me for. Except I can no longer Track, and my new abilities terrify me. A salvage is offered to me, and with it a chance to redeem myself. A missing girl, her brother desperate to find her. Simple and straightforward, this salvage should be a piece of cake—and a chance to learn some discipline with my powers. Except the girl is somehow tied to the world of the Elementals, and with that comes a danger I could never have expected.

Fenn’s first and only memory is finding himself in the middle of a forest, face to face with a dragon spirit mocking him, all knowledge gone apart from his own name. Lost and confused, his only hope for answers is Calidra—a woman living on the edge of the world with her partner. Forced to return home when her father dies, Calidra has put off facing her estranged mother for seven years, and she begrudgingly helps Fenn, forging papers for him so he can avoid the Queen’s Inquisitors. But her mother is the least of her worries when they discover an ancient enemy is rising again.

We Men of Ash and Shadow is the first book in the Vanguard Series and follows the journey of protagonist, John Vanguard, through the dark and corrupt city of D’Orsee. A Grimdark gas lamp novel, We Men of Ash and Shadow explores themes of redemption, loyalty, and betrayal against the backdrop of a world where survival often means compromising your values. Amidst the gas lamp shadows former soldier-turned-mercenary John Vanguard hunts criminals at the behest of his corrupt employer, Captain Felix Sanquain.

Karn was just a boy when dark forces tore his home apart, leaving him orphaned and burning for vengeance. Taken in by an unlikely mentor, he finds himself thrust into The Forge—a brutal training ground where the Witch Queen molds her deadliest warriors. Strength is survival, and every lesson is paid for in blood.

After surviving his first year at The Forge, Karn returns to face new trials, both on the battlefield and within his own heart. As his power grows and his connection with Nix deepens, Karn struggles to control the rage that threatens to consume him. His relationship with Serah blossoms, but the path ahead forces them into difficult choices, with the looming conflict pulling them in opposite directions. Alongside new allies like the enigmatic Aspallan, Karn must navigate a web of treacherous alliances while facing dangerous new enemies—including those he once called friends.

Alex hates missing person’s cases. Unless they’re easy money. Anything is good when there’s easy money. Then there’s the delivery job. Get a box and hand deliver it to some rich jerk-off. Deal with another private investigator almost as skeezy as himself. And after all that there’s the Event. That’s sure to have a really, really, bad ending.

In the future, the leaders of Hive nations–nations without fixed location–clandestinely committed nefarious deeds in order to maintain an outward semblance of utopian stability. But the facade could only last so long. The comforts of effortless global travel and worldwide abundance may have tempered humanity's darkest inclinations, but conflict remains deeply rooted in the human psyche. All it needed was a catalyst, in form of special little boy to ignite half a millennium of repressed chaos.

Jessica Shine is perhaps the most powerful magick user in the world. But even with all that power, she is trapped. Trapped by the Midnight Project, a secret government agency charged with battling vampires, shape shifters and dark magicians. But in order to battle those evil forces, they have begun to create monsters of their own. Monsters like Jessica Shine and her teammates, transformed with ancient rituals, arcane magicks and modern genetics to create supernatural warriors capable of defeating the dark forces threatening the world. But at what price?

Shine and her team, all with supernatural abilities continue their search for the Gladius Diaboli, the ancient weapon that can bring about all their goals and stop the duplicitous Claudia Black. The quest takes the team from Rome to Belize's jungles, seeking Xibalba's entrance, the Mayan underworld. Jessica must fight against betrayals, ambushes and the loss of one of her key allies in the fight. It all culminates in an intense battle against the Midnight project in a final showdown that has been centuries in the making.

What happens when a Duke is mistaken for a Viscount—on purpose? Add that to two Michelangelo sketches, hidden passages, vanishing and reappearing art, threatening messages, conniving art collectors, arrogant academicians, a Bow Street agent, a lovelorn couple, and an elderly prankster. It’s enough to give a Duke a headache.

The island nation of Ferranda is the jewel of the Acrarian Kingdom, and its Founder, Aritz a Mata, is revered as a god amongst men. But twenty-five years ago, Aritz was merely a man, a colonizer, an Invader seeking glory and fame in the name of his King and Queen, and Ferranda was a nameless union of indigenous Tribes, reverent of the heightened powers and aptitudes granted to them by their Animal Deities, but sundered by the foreigners claiming their lands to the south.

As Rhudoria's armies close in, Karn takes his place as an officer in the Black Guard, fighting to hold the line against overwhelming odds. With Serah training among the elite Black Knights, he must rely on old friends and new allies to navigate the brutal battlefield and the treacherous politics of war. When a chance to strike at the Witch Queen arises, Karn is thrust into a perilous mission that could end the conflict—but at a cost he may not survive.

Edward Smalls got the nickname Sawbones by cutting people up. For a bloke called Robert, who is Eastern European. Now, small time dope pusher Alfred Leonard wants Edward to star in a snuff film. With additional fuckery.

Hired to skin a baby, get the hair from an eagle, and the eggs from the recently deceased - or something like that, anyway - Cole is back on the case in this, his first standalone novel. In the midst of his governmentally mandated annual psychiatric evaluation (which he’ll pass without question, pfft) Alex finds himself working for a witch, a scorned lover, and a mob boss ... dealing only in absolutes and with the aid of his friend. Roger.

When a new enemy comes to power, Rothgar’s ruling family and friends are forced to ally with old rivals. Faced with betrayal from within their own clan, Rothgar’s survival is by no means certain, as an ancient and malevolent magic grows in strength and threatens all he holds dear.