Showing results by narrator "Gabriel Vaughan" in All Categories

A lively and engaging guide to vital habits of mind that can help you think more deeply, write more effectively, and learn more joyfully.

The exciting final three volumes of the Free Trader in one package! New enemies abound from the southern tip to the northernmost settlement and onward into space. Braden, Micah, the Golden Warrior, and Fealona lead the charge against those who would tear the fabric of a rebuilt society.

The preparations are complete and the chess pieces have been placed on the board. Ivan Susanin and the other players are returning to the Celestial City of Sar, the destroyed goblin capital, in the final battle for the Altar and the legacy of the Great Y. These events will decide whether Earth survives this war or becomes yet another world ground down by the System. Defeat is unacceptable, but the chance of victory is slim. Although the goblins are vulnerable to firearms, the undead hordes know no fear and seem endless, unlike the store of ammunition.

When a commercial flight crashes, all 184 people on board perish—with the singular exception of a two-year-old boy named Ethan, who’s entrusted to family friends Matthew and Nicole per his late parents’ wishes. From the afterlife, Ethan’s parents, Tag and Amanda, watch helplessly as Nicole’s secret addictions, the family’s financial struggles, and the public’s fascination with their story ignite events that threaten their son’s welfare.

Did you know that a measles outbreak led to the assigning of phone numbers? How about the fact that pirates are the reason we don’t use the metric system in the United States? Or that there’s actually a reason why stepping on a Lego hurts so damn much? Now I Know: The Soviets Invaded Wisconsin?! is the ultimate challenge for even the biggest trivia buff. Based on the very popular newsletter, you are guaranteed to learn something new despite how much you already think you know.

When an EMP devastated the nation's power supplies and left the country in ruins, Jack, Wayne, Susan, Emma and Logan all fought to seek shelter in a treacherous first day. But surviving the first day was just the beginning. Jack has found his way home. But when tragedy strikes, he is forced on a personal journey across the country to seek new shelter - and face up to the harrowing demons of his past. Wayne's search for Candice is going nowhere. But when a stunning discovery breathes new life into his journey, he is determined to make one final push through.

Everything is going according to plan. Ivan Susanin has successfully installed a beacon in the undead territory and returned home. The situation changes when the next mission to the city of goblins is delayed, while his home planet becomes the battleground. Monsters invade Earth, and Ivan must become one of the leaders and unite the players under his banner, albeit within the borders of his own country. If circumstances demand that he discloses his identity and cooperates with the authorities, so be it! Modern weapons and equipment, instructors, financing, and protection by law....

The Leviathan is dead. Humanity has won the global mission but the price has been too high. Japan is in ruins, Honshu lies partially underwater, and the capital has been destroyed. The country has been left without leadership and tens of millions have perished, while monsters continue to hunt down the survivors. Ivan Susanin heads to the submerged Toyo as part of an expedition to find the missing raven, help evacuate the civilians and slay as many monsters as possible. And that's only on the surface.

My name is Colton Calloway. You've heard part of my story, but it turns out there's more. My little girl, Kylie, is all grown up. Seventeen, beautiful, and talented, just like her mother. And just like Nell, my daughter seems to have fallen for a bad boy, one with a lot of darkness and a lot of secrets.

Nell Hawthorne is in love with her life-long best friend, Kyle Calloway. Their young love is invincible and life is full of promise; then one night Kyle dies suddenly in a tragic accident and Nell is forever changed. She meets Kyle's older brother, Colton, for the first time at the funeral. They both struggle to move on with life as best they can. Years later, they meet again in New York City, and Colton realizes that Nell has never really gotten over Kyle's death. She seems to be harboring a deeply rooted pain, a heavy weight of guilt, and regret. He knows he shouldn't get involved, but he can't help himself.

These letters are often all that get me through week to week. Even if it’s just random stuff, nothing important, they’re important to me. Gramps is great, and I love working on the ranch. But…I’m lonely. I feel disconnected, like I’m no one, like I don’t belong anywhere. Like I’m just here until something else happens. I don’t even know what I want with my future. But your letters, they make me feel connected to something, to someone.

The first stage is complete. Ivan Susanin has managed to survive and, together with the other leaders, unite the various players into the Alliance. Yet this is only the beginning. A huge goblin army is approaching from the city outskirts, while the undead roam inside the city. The people from Earth are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only way to escape another massacre is to capture the goblin fortress and hold out until the end of the mission - or to abandon their wounded and scatter, hoping to avoid getting killed.

Six months have passed since a devastating EMP struck the nation, forcing survivors to adapt to a dangerous new world without power. Now, winter is here. Jack and his companions are surviving at a caravan site in the wilderness. The weather is treacherous. Supplies are dwindling. Hope is running thin. But when Jack witnesses a group of helicopters passing over, sparking hopes of salvation, the group must go on a journey to seek out shelter once and for all. But Jack's group isn't the only one seeking shelter.

Ever, I don't know who I am anymore. I'm a castaway. Lost. Drowning. I love you. That's the only true thing I know, and it's all I have to hold on to. I love you. I'll love you forever. Until the day I die, and I'll love you in whatever world comes after this one. I love you so much, Ever. I miss you. Dear Jesus, I miss you. Come back to me. For forever, and after forever, Caden.

When Seth Kantner's Ordinary Wolves was published, it was a literary revelation of sorts. In a raw, stylized voice, it told the story of a white boy growing up with homesteading parents in Arctic Alaska and trying to reconcile his largely subsistence and Native-style upbringing with the expectations and realities tied to his race. It hit numerous bestseller lists, was critically acclaimed, and won a number of awards.

Ivan Susanin, a typical guy and unemployed techie, is initiated by the System and transported, together with a thousand other players, to an unknown location beyond Earth. Ivan has an interface, a spear, and basic weapon skills. All he has to do to return to Earth is complete a simple quest and reach the second level. But experience points are only awarded for kills in this game, and the clock is ticking.

Three months have passed since a disastrous EMP left the nation without power, with only the strongest and most prepared still standing. Jack is a survivor. After a tragic showdown, he is keen to step back and allow others to take the spotlight, scarred by painful memories of the casualties under his leadership. But when a terrifying and charismatic new foe arrives on their doorstep, Jack and his friends are lured into a conflict that threatens to be even more devastating than the last. Can Jack step up and protect those he cares about when it matters most?

My name is Benjamin Dorsey. You know my mom and dad's story. You know Kylie's parents' story. You even know Kylie's story. You don't know mine yet. You don't know what a broken heart is until you've loved someone your whole life only to have her slip through your fingers because you waited too long. That's heartbreak. That's regret.

As a freelance writer, Jack Naile was used to getting an occasional letter from one of his readers, but when one of those readers sent him a clipping from a magazine, it would not only change his life, but could alter the course of history as well. The clipping had a photo, taken in Nevada in 1903, of a street scene, including a story with a sign, "Jack Naile - General Merchandise". The Nevada town's historian sent him a photo of the 19th century Jack Naile, what had seemed like an interesting coincidence immediately became much more bizarre.

Myths are usually seen as stories from the depths of time—fun and fantastical, but no longer believed by anyone. Yet, as Philip Ball shows, we are still writing them—and still living them—today. From Robinson Crusoe and Frankenstein to Batman, many stories written in the past few centuries are commonly, perhaps glibly, called "modern myths." But Ball argues that we should take that idea seriously. Our stories of Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Sherlock Holmes are doing the kind of cultural work that the ancient myths once did.