Showing results by narrator "Colleen Delany" in All Categories

When DNA results reveal a disturbing connection to the mysterious disappearance of a famous baby nearly three decades ago, a woman’s search for answers draws her to an ominous small town in Nevada and a dangerous web of corruption, power, and lies in this engrossing, propulsive new novel from the internationally bestselling author of Twenty Years Later.

The alliance of humans and renegade Fhrey is fragile — and about to be tested as never before. Persephone keeps the human clans from turning on one another through her iron will and a compassionate heart. The arrogant Fhrey are barely held in check by their leader, Nyphron, who seeks to advance his own nefarious agenda through a loveless marriage that will result in the betrayal of the person Persephone loves most: Raithe, the God Killer.

In the world of Warbreaker, each person is born endowed with the power of one Breath―which can be sold and collected by others, then used to Awaken objects and even corpses to do their bidding. A few individuals who die in glory return as gods, with the power of thousands of Breath, but no memory of their mortal lives―and are enthroned in the Court of Gods in Hallandren's capital. To Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris, the abuse of Breath and the claim of the Returned to be gods are repugnant blasphemy.

Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago. Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

In the world of Warbreaker, each person is born endowed with the power of one Breath―which can be sold and collected by others, then used to Awaken objects and even corpses to do their bidding. A few individuals who die in glory return as gods, with the power of thousands of Breath, but no memory of their mortal lives―and are enthroned in the Court of Gods in Hallandren's capital. To Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris, the abuse of Breath and the claim of the Returned to be gods are repugnant blasphemy.

Notes from the author: The following is a short story I wrote in the Elantris world back in January of 2006. There were always a few holes in Elantris where I decided not to include viewpoints or sections of explanation in the name of streamlining, particularly at the end. In the back of my mind, I knew what happened. This story talks about one of those holes; it is meant to be heard after you’ve finished the novel and takes place during the events of the climax.

Police Chief Delaney Reed can handle the Valkyries, werewolves, gill-men and other paranormal creatures who call the small beach town of Ordinary, Oregon their home. It’s the vacationing gods who keep her up at night. With the famous rhubarb festival right around the corner, small-town tensions, tempers, and godly tantrums are at an all-time high. The last thing Delaney needs is her ex-boyfriend reappearing just when she's finally caught the attention of Ryder Bailey, the one man she should never love.

Ishmael Jones is someone who can’t afford to be noticed, someone who lives under the radar, who drives on the dark side of the road. He’s employed to search out secrets, investigate mysteries, and shine a light in dark places. Sometimes, he kills people. Invited by his employer, the enigmatic Colonel, to join him and his family for Christmas, Ishmael arrives at the grand but isolated Belcourt Manor in the midst of a blizzard to find that the Colonel has mysteriously disappeared.

Once, Orion and I were lovers. Then, the gorgeous demon king broke my heart. He kicked me out of the City of Thorns, exiling me to the mortal world. Now, I have plans to get back at him—and save the world while I'm at it. Orion wants revenge on all the mortals. If I steal his crown, I can stop the bloodshed. All I have to do is beat him in a series of trials, proving that the gods chose me as queen.

Necromance-for-hire Dante Valentine is choosy about her jobs. Hot-tempered and with nerves of steel, she can raise the dead like nobody’s business. But one rainy Monday morning, everything goes straight to Hell. The Devil hires Dante to eliminate a renegade demon: Vardimal Santino. In return, he will let her live. It’s an offer she can’t refuse. There’s just one catch. How do you kill something that can’t die?

Stephen walked into the office which Barnabas was using as his judge's chamber. While the massive amount of data Bethany Anne’s team was throwing at him was more than enough to assuage his curiosity, he had never felt this way in the last one hundred and fifty-two years. He wanted a vacation.

Restored to her former state of health (and determination), Lady Cecelia goes in search of fresh bloodstock - she's had enough of politics. But once again she manages to put herself - and Heris Serrano - at the point where lightning will strike. This time it's invasion from the neighboring empire: The Benignity of the Compassionate Hand. Heris is only a civilian now, with a space yacht - what can she do in the face of a full-scale fleet of warships? But she is also a Serrano - born to lead.

On the night of the new moon, the demons rise in force, seeking the deaths of two men both of whom have the potential to become the fabled Deliverer, the man prophesied to reunite the scattered remnants of humanity in a final push to destroy the demon corelings once and for all. Arlen Bales was once an ordinary man, but now he has become something more - the Warded Man, tattooed with eldritch wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. Arlen denies he is the Deliverer at every turn, but the more he tries to be one with the common folk, the more fervently they believe.

Humanity has been brought to the brink of extinction. Each night, the world is overrun by demons - bloodthirsty creatures of nightmare that have been hunting the surface for over 300 years. A scant few hamlets and half-starved city-states are all that remain of a once proud civilization, and it is only by hiding behind wards, ancient symbols with the power to repel the demons, that they survive. A handful of Messengers brave the night to keep the lines of communication open between the increasingly isolated populace.

A cattle ranch stalked by the ultimate predator. A heifer gutted and beheaded by razor-sharp claws. A ranch hand crushed and shredded by powerful jaws. According to legend—foretold by Sioux Chief Red Otter—the attacks are an omen of terrible things to come. When a grizzly attacks a man or his property during a blue moon, it is a sign that the bear has been sent from someone on the other side seeking revenge against the man that killed him. And that man—the avenger’s true target—is Hunter Buchanon.

Mankind has ceded the night to the corelings, demons that rise up out of the ground each day at dusk, killing and destroying at will until dawn, when the sun banishes them back to the Core. As darkness falls, the world’s few surviving humans hide behind magical wards, praying the magic can see them through another night. As years pass, the distances between each tiny village seem longer and longer. It seems nothing can harm the corelings, or bring humanity back together.

Louisiana, 2065. A lot has changed in the 43rd of the Kurian Order. Possessed of an unnatural and legendary hunger, the bloodthirsty Reapers have come to Earth to establish a New Order built on the harvesting of enslaved human souls. They rule the planet. They thrive on the scent of fear. And if it is night, as sure as darkness, they will come. On this pitiless world, the indomitable spirit of mankind still breathes in Lieutenant David Valentine. Brought into the Wolves - an elite guerrilla force sworn to win back Earth - Valentine leads his first command in the Kurian Zone.

The unshakeable Amelia Peabody embarks on an Egyptian adventure armed with self-confidence, a journal to record her thoughts, and, of course–a sturdy umbrella. On her way to Cairo, Amelia rescues young Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has been abandoned by her scoundrel lover. Together the two women sail up the Nile to an archeological site run a pair of handsome brothers.

When children go missing, and the Humans have no leads, I'm the one they call. I am their last hope in bringing home the lost ones. I salvage what they cannot. When the dust settles, my heart feels as though it will never be pieced back together. But there are too many lives riding on my ability to function at my best. So I push through. And I find that I still have some fight left in me.

The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that prey upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind half-forgotten symbols of power. Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not. Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer and he carries ancient weapons - a spear and a crown - that give credence to his claim.