Showing results by narrator "Ryan Kennard Burke" in All Categories

The Cipher ran the universe with its game-like rules, and it has chosen Cullen, an exiled bounty hunter, to be the method of its return. He's given a quest to free a telepathic mother and son from wrongful imprisonment. If he can break his targets out of prison, they'll have to level up, learn new skills, and hunt down the prophecy's clues. All while facing down berserkers and EMP-hurling tigers, in a jungle that offers no succor.

We've discovered Terra, but the cost is bitter. All that remains is the Vagrant Fleet, carrying the refugees from every world. Earth is our only hope, but their leaders don't even believe in magic. We also have to convince the Earth flight protecting them that we're not hostiles. Did I mention the dread fleet is right behind us led by a dark god who seems to have a real hate-boner for Xal'Aran? If we're going to win, then we must harness the most powerful Catalyst in existence, the Eye of Om.

Kill or be killed. Take the fight to the enemy, only until you can't. Then repair, regroup, rearm, and return to the fight. Unless the enemy shows up before you're ready. Then you get ready. There are no do-overs in war. While the battle rages in space, the Borwyn decide to put boots on the ground in a daring, risk-all return to Septimus. The combat team is tasked to disrupt strategic communications. Is it even possible?

I have been sentenced to death for the crime of being born; of winning the Hasran's war for them. But my death has purchased the freedom of my people, and so I go to it gladly, ready for whatever final torture they might have in mind. The Imperator has decreed that I will be sacrificed in the Great Games, a sacred ritual that will magically empower the Gateway Arena. It requires five god-souled, the reincarnations of gods, divine shards that can be fed to the Arena, and used to increase its size. It means my life has narrowed to one purpose: live.

I am the reincarnation of a dark god. I cannot escape that now. The prince of demons come again. And I am hunted. The Fomori have a prophecy about my return, and have been so kind as to dispatch the Morrigan herself to slay me. She's even forging a special divine sword. Their armies of beastmen and giants march upon Hasra, and the ailing empire is in no shape to hold. They need new troops. They need us. My friends and I are being sent off to the other Catalysts we control to gain more magic so that we can resist the Fomori advance.

ll things must end. Welcome to the final Deathless novel. The builder Yoggoth has arrived in our Solar System, but his goal is not to conquer our world. He has locked the sun in a Yoggothian Sphere designed to siphon our star of all power. Earth is hurled into darkness, denied the lifegiving heat of our sun, even as Yoggoth's fleets move upon our world. Our heroes, led by Blair, Liz, and Isis, must deal with the new winter before they can even hope to oppose them.

A decade ago, a devastating bioweapon changed the face of humanity. Innocent people were turned into ravenous creatures driven by a relentless urge for destruction. Now the survivors struggle to rebuild their lives in the remains of a shattered America.

Drake needed a new start, and the small farm on the outskirts of the kingdom seemed like the perfect chance. Just one problem: he doesn't know the first thing about farming. He's also not sure how to deal with the giant, magical rooster that lives on his farm. But it's a fresh start, and Drake intends to make the best of it. Daily chores, a slew of monsters, and a haunted garden are one thing, but when his past catches up to him, Drake will have to learn to juggle his new responsibilities, a budding social life, and a secret that could cost him everything.

Join us, or die and join anyway. I hate necromancers. They're sneaky, and underhanded, and...damned effective. My father's ghost is going to be reshaped into an assassin sent to kill my mother unless I dance for Necrotis, an unliving goddess and ruler of the Maker's Wrath. A storm rages across the void, with winds upwards of 2,000 kilometers a second in some places, the Catalyst known as Sanctuary. Necrotis wants me to fly inside, find a city that predates the Great Cycle, and find a way inside when no one ever has before.

War on a scale not seen in this sun-cycle has begun. Nox and his demonic army were thwarted at the Proto-Ark, but not before forging the tool that will hasten the destruction of the world. The Grey Men have a Primary Access Key, and are ready to bring their masters home. The Builders are coming. Millions of deathless surround Jordan in the broken Ark of the Mother. The only thing standing between Lima and destruction is the last god anyone wants to trust...Irakesh. Jordan follows Sobek to Australia in search of allies, but what lurks there predates humanity.

A pyramid predating all known cultures appears without warning. Its discovery throws into question everything we know about the origins of mankind. Inside lies incredible technology, proof of a culture far more advanced than our own. Something dark lurks within, eager to resume a war as old as mankind. When it is unleashed it heralds the end of our species’ reign.

Necrotis has raised an armada to make our sector tremble. Hundreds of warships have begun to overwhelm the Confederacy, and we don't have nearly enough magic or ships to defend every world. Our only real hope is resurrecting the Vagrant Fleet. We have the Spellship, and our demon allies control the Earthmother's Bulwark. I'm the captain of the Word of Xal, our most powerful offensive ship in the fleet. We're strong, but Necrotis is stronger, and the gap is growing.

Marco and the Deuces are deployed on the front lines of a war with the Ringer Clans, a collection of brutal warriors who blame MEC for the mutant attacks on their worlds. In a series of costly, epic engagements, Marco finds himself in the middle of a biological arms race as each side tries to develop the perfect soldier. But Marco, Hotshot, Meatball, and his other comrades try to be true to themselves as the war, and the serum they’re forced to take, erodes who they are.

Marco Morelli, a rookie marine private, botches his first op and gets transferred to the most rough-and-tumble outfit in the Merged Earth Colonies: Cygni Corps. Though the Corps is filled with the military’s rejects, Marco soon learns it’s also the testing ground for a new serum that will make him and his comrades the finest soldiers in the galaxy.

What separates great novels from mediocre ones? Story. Authors that master this vital skill keep their readers and listeners up at night, and suffer the deluge of 'when is the next book coming out' emails. Whether you are a first-time novelist, or a seasoned author, Plot Gardening will teach you the fundamentals of storytelling, delivered in a practical way. Through exercises at the end of each chapter you will build your own outline, and you'll do it without sacrificing the creativity that is so vital to telling great stories.

The Godswar has come again. Nebiat has seized godhood, and now controls Krox, the most powerful elder god in the sector. Both Ternus and Shaya know she is coming, but their preparations cannot save them. She launches a strike at Ternus that cripples their home world, and shatters their fleets.

Necrotis' endgame is upon us. The sector is starving. Frit is dead. The Krox have left the Confederacy, and the rest of it is falling apart. Time is fast running out to stop Necrotis, who will win through simple attrition if we do nothing. The time has come to ride to war. Xal'Aran is training me to be the deadliest captain to ever command the Word of Xal and will be flying alongside me to hunt down Necrotis. Nor do we ride alone. Voria and her Spellship will guide us into the storm to hunt our enemy once and for all.

The Unliving are implacable. Unreasonable. No one knows what they want, beyond souls, and bone for their war machines and ships. Now they've set their sights on the Inurans, and hey, I couldn't wish an army of necromancers on a better target. There's just one problem. I'm trapped on the Inuran Trade Moon, and the necromancers are attacking. Even if I can get the minister back to her ship we'll still need to find a way to fight their flagship. That's going to be tough to do without enough magic to power the Word of Xal.

Dragons with assault cannons? How is that fair? I saved Highspire and the academy from the dissolution of our world. Seventeen-thousand students survived, and I want to keep it that way. The ship is breaking down. Life support needs repairs, and we have almost no food. We need money badly. That means scavenging tech that we can sell to the same people who blew up our planet. Fortunately I'm the best Relic Hunter in the business...though to be fair all the rest died when my world tumbled into the sun. There are six other Great Ships out there, and who knows what we'll find inside?

Nefarius has risen. She is implacable. Unstoppable. God after god is fallen and consumed, and each time the terrible dragon-goddess grows stronger. Nebiat has stolen the Spellship, depriving Voria of its strength when she needs it most. But Nebiat's schemes have never been tested by someone like Talifax, and she will finally discover she's not as clever as she believes.