Showing results by narrator "Michael A. Brown" in All Categories

Being Godchosen isn’t easy. The woman he wants doesn’t want him, the man who should be his best friend thinks him laughable, and everyone ridicules his youth, to say nothing of his glyndweller accent. Slaying a dragon and defending the country from invaders changes their minds, and things are going nicely, but then the gods interfere...Tragedy strikes, sending Trygare to a foreign land where his true destiny lies...to become the ancestor of a dynasty that will rule his planet for three thousand years.

When the last sentient AI on Earth is ordered to create a new fantasy world as a playground for the incredibly wealthy, everyone wants a piece. Guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. Corporations are claiming land and building their online marketplaces. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck. He signs a five-year contract to work as an "NPC" Serf in a small village, given boring choices like working as a blacksmith, barkeep, or shepherd for all those year.

Grant Masterson is used to working alone.For years, it’s been him and his robot Dog against the universe, hunting down wanted fugitives for the bounty on their heads. But things have changed. He’s working undercover for the Marshals Service, and he has a new partner, both in work and in life: Commander Allie Miller of Union Naval Intelligence. Working together, they continue the hunt for Nautilus, the mysterious criminal entity trying to bring down the Union.

The Book of Queer Prophets contains modern-day epistles from some of our most important thinkers, writers and activists: Jeanette Winterson tackles religious dogma, Amrou Al-Kadhi writes about trying to make it as a Muslim drag queen in London, John Bell writes about his decision to come out later in life, Tamsin Omond remembers getting married in the middle of a protest and Kate Bottley explains her journey to becoming an LGBT ally.

The Dead Man risked everything to rid himself of the malfunctioning cybernetic implant corrupting his mind. He failed. The Red Man will win out. The beast within grows stronger until only it remains…then a nigh-un-killable monster will be loosed on the world.

If you met Ron Carlson, CEO of a Chicago-based architectural firm, you wouldn't necessarily think of him as the daredevil type. But Ron's life has been a series of death-defying exploits. Into the Unknown: True Stories of a Pilot Cheating Death chronicles a few of Ron's most brazen endeavors, from flying to the high Arctic and being stalked by polar bears to bailing out of an old World War II bomber before it crashes.

In Egypt’s Western desert lies the tomb of an unnamed pharaoh that hides a secret so powerful, it could destroy the world as we know it. Archaeologist and adventurer Matthew Connor has made a career of finding legends the world has all but forgotten. Though there’s one in particular that has fascinated him for years - the Emerald Tablets. Myth says that they possess the knowledge of the universe, allowing humankind to traverse Heaven and Earth, and have the power to bestow wealth and wisdom upon whoever possesses them.

Max Maurey should be on top of the world. He's a famous horror director. Actors love him. Hollywood needs him. He's making money hand over fist. But it's the 80s, and he's directing cheap slashers for audiences who only crave more blood, not real art. Not real horror. And Max's slimy producer refuses to fund any of his new ideas. But when Max discovers an old camera that filmed a very real Hollywood horror, he knows that he has to use this camera for his next movie. The only problem is that it came with a cryptic warning and sometimes wails.

A disgraced ex-cop, framed by a crooked politician, abandoned by his family, he’s forced into the life of a bounty hunter just to survive. Tracking down a traitor who stole military grade weapons to sell on the black market, Masterson finds out things aren’t as simple as the wanted poster made them seem. Because Delia Beckett isn’t a traitor, simply a patsy, and the forces manipulating her may be the same ones responsible for Masterson’s fall from grace.

Seventh-grader Viv never looks forward to picture day. It’s just another day where she wears a boring braid and no one notices her. (Her two best friends, Milo and Al, don’t count, of course.) But enough is enough. This year, she’s taking matters into her own hands. Literally. Viv grabs a pair of scissors, her phone for live-streaming, and, well, bye-bye braid. Suddenly Viv is an over-night influencer at Brinkley Middle School. Everyone wants her help planning their next big moment—from haircuts, to dance proposals, activist rallies and mathlete championships.

The selections in this collection include classic short stories "Bartelby the Scrivener" by Herman Melville, "The Truth About Pyecraft" by H. G. Wells, "The Angel Child" by Stephen Crane, "A Journey" by Edith Wharton, "Phyllis and Rosamond" by Vriginia Woolf, and "The Flight of Betsey Lane" by Sarah Orne Jewett.

Technical Specialist Simon Brooks was no soldier. More suited for the academy than combat, his assignment to a rear echelon support squadron seemed a good fit. Everything changed when the Sleer attacked Earth’s newly salvaged spacecraft, UEF Ascension. In a flash, Brooks goes from fleeing a burning transport plane to piloting a broken mech and learning the habits of a fighter pilot from Lt. Sara Rosenski, the terror of Nightmare Squadron. But his rising star takes a hit when he learns to talk to the Sleer AI, Genukh...and suddenly the UEF doesn’t know whose side he’s on.

After Grant Riven and his fellow Hallowed saved Dios from the Mute threat, Grant retired with more money that he could possibly spend. He never planned to go to war again...until he learned Cloud Nine Engineering was still mutating innocent people in hopes of creating more like him. Taking down a huge corporation that controls every lever of power in Dios seems impossible, yet with his allies determined to try, Grant has no choice but to do all he can to keep them safe...even if he believes they’ve lost the war before it starts.

A century after the Break destroyed much of the world, the wealthy island nation of Dios stands alone as a paradise for those that remain...so long as they aren’t poor and homeless. For street orphan Grant Riven, life is a series of kicks in the face. Until exposure to a powerful mutating agent gives him super strength, passive-regeneration, and the ability to use powerful weapons. The downside? Lots of other people have mutated as well, except they’re insane and want to eat everyone.

Sera Varse thought she left the worst behind, but new dangers await. Stranded on a distant planet, Sera navigates treacherous terrain and confronts formidable foes while uncovering secrets of Quantum. Her quest to find her brother becomes a mission to secure humanity’s future. Trouble continues back home, where Gloria’s nephew Riddan Morell attempts to regain his family’s honor, Federation PI Touma Kudo pursues justice against a man who wronged him years ago who proves to be connected to the recent trouble, and Montez Lycanis fights to earn a new life for his Crimson Wolves.

Destota Valentine is not a normal kid, and Vandor is not a normal planet. A haven for scientists founded 6,000 years ago, when a civil war forced them off Earth. The population of Vandor just wants to be left alone. But the Legion of the Phelb, a religion founded in the late 21st century, wants total galactic dominance.

Vandorian and Phelb have united under one flag once more, and peace now rules the human empire. But ancient enemies still exist in the galaxy, and they are unhappy about the new peace. Buoyed by victories against the Gilbaglians, humans boldly assault their new foes while seeking out more knowledge about the mysterious Cetoplin race that appears to have inadvertently created humanity.

Over 500 years have passed since the destruction of our Solar system, and in spite of humanity's expansion into space in search of answers, no explanation has surfaced. Three Factions, each with their own mysterious artifact granting them unique benefits, struggle to maintain peace. However, the arrival of a fourth artifact throws this balance into chaos as communications shut off and ships go missing. Worse, this artifact brings with it an all-consuming force that has begun to expand.

Grant Riven’s life was so much easier when all he had to do was kill Mutes and get paid. While the Hallowed War didn’t kill him, the scrappy resistance he waged against Cloud Nine afterward almost did. Now one good friend is in the hands of his enemies and the rest are all in mortal danger. With the full might of Cloud Nine Engineering aimed squarely at those he cares about, Grant’s only choice may be to place his trust in the very monsters he once swore to destroy...the Mutes and their new queen.

Thirty-five years have passed since the sudden end of the Gilbaglian War. Destota Valentine and his elite 200 are no longer needed in the new Human Empire. Even as his wife Mallory takes the reigns as leader of human space, Destota and his troops are mothballed and begin to suffer damaging effects of the genetic modifications inflicted on them. Desperate for another mission, Destota and seven of the original Nightstalkers strike out to the destroyed ruins of Vandor to investigate a strange anomaly in the gravity fields.