Showing results by author "Patrick James" in All Categories

Chip's luck has run out. He's been on the dole for most of his life and now the government wants to ship him off to fight in the never-ending war in Mexico. But he has two things going for him: a cocky attitude and his thinkmate, an all-knowing personal digital assistant named Mr. Jimmy. Maybe the way to escape is to get in line to step through the mysterious door down the alley. Hundreds of people have passed through, but no one has come out.

Children fighting on the front lines? Maybe in some other country. But things have gone from bad to worse in the U.S. as the South American war drags on. Now the government has hatched a scheme to attract teens and even preteens into the army: they are offering kids a chance to be the star of The Johnny America Show, a reality show set on the battlefront. In a country wracked by shortages and draft sweeps and despair, maybe picking up a gun isn't such a bad idea after all.

Here's a cautionary tale about a day in the life of a baby boomer in the not-so-distant future. Climate change has led to economic collapse and social unrest, and yet Ruth lives comfortably enough. But when she sets off on a simple trip across town to visit her friend Matt, she comes face to face with the grim reality of the world she has helped to create.

Murph lives on an ocean liner which has been set down in the corn fields of Kansas. He works as a security op and plays dangerous games in a virtual reality called Way Out. But Murph is lonely and wants to meet his online lover, Cat, in person. But who is Cat, exactly, and what secret is she keeping from Murph?

Stonehenge is possibly the most mystical place on Earth. Its call has echoed through the ages and will continue as long as the stones continue to stand. The drug artist Tony Cage is almost as obsessed with Stonehenge as he is with his offspring Wynne, whom he had cloned from his own cells but then tweaked her sex chromosome from XY to XX. Is she his daughter or something entirely different? Tony will find the answer at Stonehenge on the Solstice Day.

The story of the Cage family, begun in "Solstice", continues. Wynne Cage has grown up and is working as a spook journalist, covering a gang attempting to pull off one of the most spectacular heists in history. When things go very, very wrong, she is forced to throw herself on the mercy of the mysterious owner of Chillon castle. Who is Francois Bonivard and how did he come to be so hideously disfigured? Wynne may be a reporter, but this story soon gets personal.

More about the strange Cage family from the stories "Solstice" and "Chillon". Now comes Peter, Wynne's son, who is going to be 12 years old forever, or at least as long as Wynne keeps paying to have him twanked. With his robot playmate Comrade, Peter is growing up in a world where virtual reality is commonplace and where people can have themselves genetically altered into dinosaurs, bears or a three-quarters scale replica of the Statue of Liberty.

In a hard-edged cyberpunk future, a courier is has stolen a load of the most dangerous, most dazzling drug ever invented and is smuggling it into New York City. Pursued by a hired hit woman disguised as a young girl and a federally-appointed vigilante, he must find his way through the mean streets of Manhattan to his lair. He is ruthless, amoral, and a rat. Not just figuratively, but literally: a two-foot-long, walking, talking rat. Hearing is believing.

Rebelling against her fashion-drug designer father, freelance journalist and troubled clone Wynne Cage covers a data-heist that places her in the rank of a thief. To make matters more complicated, Wynne must also confront the forces of a world with unlimited bio-technological advantages.

Waiting in a doctor's office sure can suck the life out of you. Unless...."Could Be Worse" is a never-before-published story, written and narrated by Hugo and Nebula Award-winner James Patrick Kelly.

A Christian for All Christians looks at the influence and friendships that helped shape the real Clive Staples Lewis - Christian apologist, moral philosopher, literary critic, poet, and fantasy writer - and examines the reasons for his enduring popularity with virtually all types of Christians by analyzing the true meaning of his teaching and faith.

The circus is in town, and on the planet Boon, that’s big - potentially riotous - news. The delicate, decaying political balance maintained by the cloned human grands at the expense of the uplifted dog and cat populations is in danger of toppling under the influence of mysterious forces both outer and inner.

Modern gods and goddesses, remote, revered - and like the pantheon of heroes and heroines of ancient myth - possessing great power tempered with flaws. Now, find within this anthology great tales by gifted and award-winning authors who move superheroes from the four-color panels of comic books to the fantastic pages of fiction, stories that will remind anyone who ever wanted to wear a cape or don a cowl of the extraordinary powers of the imagination!

Have you ever felt a quiet, hollow ache despite living a well-intentioned life? This subtle burnout, anxiety, and disconnection often stem from a "Fear Engine," a powerful subconscious program fueled by guilt and the endless quest for external approval that you may not even realize is driving your life. The Wellspring Within is a serialized audiobook presented as a podcast, offering a practical guide to re-engineering your life by replacing this with a "Love Engine," which provides a sustainable source of energy from within. We'll explore the three core psychological nutrients, Autonomy, ...

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Waiting in a doctor's office sure can suck the life out of you. Unless...."Could Be Worse" is a never-before-published story, written and narrated by Hugo and Nebula Award-winner James Patrick Kelly. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to StoryPod 3.0. You'll get 13 of Jim's best stories, delivered weekly! You'll hear the Hugo Award-winning novelette, "10 to the 16th to 1"; "The Best Christmas Ever", a Hugo nominee; "Itsy Bitsy Spider", nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula; and more.

What is love? A profound and life-changing emotion, or a heady brew of neurochemicals washing through your brain? Two young medical students take a break from their studies to enjoy a night out at a neuromance palace, where for a mere $40 you can fall deeply in love and out again in a single carefree evening. Here's a romantic comedy about sales techniques, square-dancing, and hormones gone wild.