Showing results by narrator "Joe Hempel" in All Categories

Hell has come to earth as sadistic zombies rampage and massacre the human population. Reverend Thomas Martin has lost his congregation to the chaos but has found two wayward survivors to protect—Becky and John. The three of them have holed up in Martin's church in a desperate attempt for survival. But as supplies run low and civilization crumbles around them, Martin must come to a realization—God has abandoned them. But why?

When former career criminal Westlake finds himself semi-zombified and shuffling towards Atlantic City, he freaks out. He's supposed to be dead, after all. Kidnapped, he becomes part of a savage gladiator-styled show for the amusement of a heartless overlord. Lucky for him, ex-cop Estela Ramirez and her crew of mishap heroes are already on their way to save him and stop the horrors being inflicted on the humans in good ol' AC . . . if they can figure out a way to fly a plane there, that is.

The Eyler family was anything but average. The father a top literary agent and the mother a duchess, they thrived in their prestigious Oakmont mansion surrounded by luxury…and secrets. On a cold autumn night, their legacy ended with a grisly massacre in one of the most horrific scenes ever investigated. Soon details splashed across every newspaper of how the family of five lay slaughtered in their library, cursing the mansion as it became branded the Execution Estate. With no witnesses and no motives, the killer remained free. Speculations grew darker. Answers grew dimmer. Until now.

Three friends set out on a mountain hiking adventure meant to pull one of their minds away from the sorrow of losing his wife. But things take a quick and sinister turn when they are forced to camp for the night at the mountain’s dark peak. Something is out there, something evil. It hides in the black of the forest, and it waits. It stalks. And it wants all their lives.

Lee, an urban shaman, gets tasked with tracking down a vinyl copy of the Dark Light EP by the ’80s hard rock band, Bad Obsession. The extremely rare record is said to be cursed. Nearly every copy of the album burned in a fire at Tower Records in Los Angeles the day of its release. With only one remaining member of the band alive and living in a home for those battling Alzheimer’s, Lee must return to Maine, a place where he’s battled evil forces before, and see if he can retrieve the album.

See You At San Diego is the comprehensive chronicle of Comic-Con International and modern geekdom itself as told through countless stories by nearly fifty of the most integral members of the Comic-Con and fandom scene. This full-fledged oral history—bursting with intimate reflections, hilarious observations, and at times, heartbreaking stories—is about how the geek at last inherited the earth and the story of the transformation of mainstream American pop culture into comic book culture over the past century.

With her former captor, the shadow sorcerer Daktari, now serving as her mentor, Princess Shara must learn to control the power of the Divine Key. Concerned about the princess’ growing power, the Void dispatches its mightiest champion, the fallen prince, Nord, to capture her. And lurking in the dark between worlds is the elder demon Balthis, just waiting for a chance to join with his master and destroy the world. Can Shara grasp her power and seal away the Void before Nord forces her to free Balthis? It’s a race to the finish with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Of all the white American pop music groups that hit the charts before the Beatles, only the Beach Boys continued to thrive throughout the British Invasion to survive into the 1970s and beyond. The Beach Boys helped define both sides of the era we broadly call the sixties, split between their early surf, car, and summer pop and their later hippie, counterculture, and ambitious rock.

Although scholars have long recognized that local American parties play an important role in elections, surprisingly little is known about the individuals who lead these typically small, volunteer-based organizations. As Small Power shows, local party leaders influence the electoral process in myriad ways. Drawing from a survey of over 850 Democratic and Republican local party chairs, a nationally representative sample of voters, and dozens of in-depth interviews, the authors describe how parties are organized, who party chairs are, and how they serve the party.

In the aftermath of the release of Dr. Hallie Hayes’ weapon aboard the Nidus, Justin Barclay and his fellow survivors are forced to flee for their lives, but they soon realize they can’t run forever. The weapon is multiplying like a sentient plague...and it will consume everything and everyone in its path. As Justin and Hallie form new alliances with old rivals, facing down monstrous foes and treacherous enemies, they work to destroy the weapon and escape the infected ship. But the plague has other intentions—and it will not be stopped.

Princess Shara of the High Kingdom survived a mad sorcerer and his demonic master. In the process, she gained a rare and powerful gift, The Divine Key. A power so dangerous that even the archangels fear what might happen. And fear can lead even the mightiest of beings to rash decisions. All in the name of the greater good. Meanwhile, Robert and Blade are enjoying their new life, at least until Blade gets bored with the gladiators. Seeking ever greater excitement, they head for the deadly Serpent Island, where they’ll have more than snakes to worry about.

After barely surviving the horrors in ACM mine 1134, Justin Barclay and his ghostly tagalong board a colonist ship bound for a new world. As they explore the futuristic colonist city within the ship, they quickly realize all is not as it seems. The arrival of Dr. Hallie Hayes, a fugitive scientist, arrives on the colonist ship shortly after. Her charge: get her life’s work to the core Coalition planets before it falls into the wrong hands. But she’s too late.

Justin is excited to start his new job at an energy mine, on a distant planet - until things begin to go wrong. Small things. Annoying glitches in the mining complex's tech. Enough to aggravate him. Enough to notice a connection. When the first miner dies from a tech-related accident, Justin can no longer turn a blind eye. But the mine's brass don't want him digging for answers - even though something from the mine's past is lurking beneath the surface.... And it wants blood.

Everyone’s heard stories about ghost ships. But they’re just stories, right? On the hunt for a missing friend, Marcus and Solomon find a massive black ship in the unexplored regions. Now, they have to find a way to save their trapped friend, and defeat a galaxy-threatening danger. It won’t be easy, but that won’t stop Marcus. He never leaves a friend behind, and this time won’t be any different.

All Marcus Drake wanted was a nice, quiet vacation with his best friend, Solomon Keys, and his girlfriend, Iaka Kazumi. He figured two weeks on Pleasure Planet Four would be perfect. But things never seem to work out the way Marcus plans. They’ve barely settled in when Solomon gets kidnapped.

By-the-book Detective Asante Royo can only sweep up Fall River’s filth for so long without getting dirty. When he’s called to an apparent suicide at an apartment complex notorious for its prostitution racket and drug trade, he doesn’t shed a tear for the life wasted. Yet, something about the scene haunts his thoughts, and when his investigation gets swept under the rug, he has a hard time living with its stain.

Iaka Kazumi is enjoying her life as a research scientist, at least until her former Earth Force boss calls. Iaka finds herself dragged back into the dangerous world of espionage and running for her life. Marcus Drake and Solomon Keys rush to try and save her before it’s too late. Hunted by black-masked assassins while on the trail of a dangerous techno-cult, Marcus, Solomon, and Iaka crisscross the galaxy in an attempt to save the Earth from a dark fate. An old enemy becomes an ally, and the final battle will leave the Earth changed forever.

When a distress beacon far off the main trade routes appears on the scanner, they stop to investigate. The source, a large ship with a gaping hole in the hull, drifts dead in space. Aboard the derelict ship, floating millions of miles from the nearest civilization, a single woman, Earth Force Agent Iaka Kazumi, survives in a sealed cryochamber. When Marcus wakes Iaka, he steps into a conspiracy that could take down the entire Earth government. Marcus, Solomon, and Iaka soon find themselves on the run from Earth Force agents who want them silenced, permanently.

Tech Trends 24/7 and the Impact of COVID-19 is a game-changing book. During this decade, we will experience the greatest change in technology innovation in history driven by massive technology disruption that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These technology forces will have a riveting effect on our everyday personal and business lives. Tech Trends 24/7 and the Impact of COVID-19 provides a captivating, fast-paced tour on how technology innovation is enhancing our world covering important technologies.

A woman’s body is found floating in a sultry Florida mangrove. She has no ID, and there is no indication of cause of death. Who is she? Who killed her? Everyone has dark secrets that will be revealed. Rookie Detective Tom Lange couldn’t have landed a more difficult first case. The only thing he has to go on is the woman’s butterfly tattoo. His boss, Lauren Blythe, piles the pressure on, and the medical examiner won’t tell him what he needs to know.