Showing results by narrator "John Smith" in All Categories

"Work Sets You Free" by David Barnett is an original short story featuring the protagonist of the forthcoming novel Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl. Gideon is a young fisherman in Yorkshire, England, in an alternate 1890, who embarks on a journey to find Captain Lucian Trigger, the famed Hero of the Empire, to deal with a mystery plaguing his home village.

In 1866, the border between the U.S. and Mexico is a hotbed of gunrunners, mercenaries, and the Emperor of Mexico's spies, saboteurs and double agents. On top of which, West Texas is plagued by Comanche warriors. Into this mix ride two massive gangs of the meanest, most kill-happy bunch of bloodthirsty ravagers to ever draw a breath. Sam Heller and Johnny Cross have got the marauders in their sights, but they aren't ready for the slaughter and destruction the raiders unleash on Hangtree County.

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies with Sidney Noir. This collection comprises of all new stories set in Sidney, Australia, by 14 authors of crime fiction....

At the altar, I silently plead for someone to save me from a marriage I don’t want. And just my luck—nothing happens. Then, when the priest asks if anyone objects to this marriage, the church doors are thrown open, a tall, older man with ice-blue eyes and air of casual wealth and power, stalks in, and says, “I'm taking this.” He carries me out of the church over his shoulder. Kingpin Zane Bethnal might have saved me, but it turns out, I’m in his debt.

A land of death and shadow where only the strongest survive. Yet that is where Caim must go to follow the mystery at the heart of his life. Armed only with his knives and his companions, he plunges into a world of eternal night where the sun is never seen and every hand is turned against him. Caim has buried his father's sword and found some measure of peace, but deep in the north, an unfathomable power lies waiting. To succeed on this mission, Caim will have to do more than just survive. He must face the Shadow's Master.

I watched her. I was patient. Now she's mine to claim. Helping the most dangerous mafia boss in London was a risk, but I didn't expect to see his handsome face everywhere afterwards. I fall asleep to dreams of my escape tomorrow, cupcakes, and the ice blue eyes of my stalker who leaves me presents. I awake to gunshots. A hand over my mouth. In a blur of noise and smoke, he steals me away. The kingpin treats me like a captive princess and I'm conflicted. He's older than me, experienced. It's wrong to desire him and not the freedom I've been planning. So I creep out of the luxurious bedroom.

Since the zombie invasion, the island of Manhattan has been turned into a wintery wasteland. The Zombie King has arrived in search of a mythical Opener. A human who can create a bridge to the land of the dead and unleash all its horrors on earth. But, who is the mysterious Giant, and why can no one get onto the island of Manhattan? Then we take a trip to the carnival and learn the origins of the Dead-Killer and why he wants the Zombie King dead forever. And finally, where does the Vamp get her tattoos? And why are they so important?

Jon-Tom and Mudge are bored. Their adventuring days long behind them, the spellsinger and his once-thieving otter sidekick have settled into a life of tepid domesticity, and they are sick of it. They hunger for an old-fashioned adventure, but there are no more great evils to combat. And so they decide to follow the music. Literally.

Old ways and new clash in head-on confrontation: When journeyman hit man Ray Dylan agrees to look in on Sami Bloom, former mistress of a deceased Canadian crime financier, he realizes he must keep his profession a secret. What he doesn’t realize is how difficult that is now that he has fallen for this warm-hearted beauty. While he struggles with the idea of confiding to her about his secret past, Dylan learns that Sami Bloom has some secrets of her own - and her secrets reach into the upper echelons of the very organization he works for.

Twenty years ago, the Black Flu decimated the population of the world. The infected died and then rose again as flesh-eating zombies. The UK’s response was to create Safe Zones, providing sanctuary for those that survived. Chloe only barely made it to safety and now her daughter Sammie wants to go outside. When Sammie makes a discovery that could bring hope to all the survivors, one man’s twisted greed turns that dream into a nightmare. Don't miss the great-stopping second installment of the Safe Zone Trilogy.

A full-cast BBC Radio Scotland comedy dramatisation written by Alexander McCall Smith. An Edinburgh couple on holiday in the Highlands discover that centuries-old tensions are still very near the surface. Starring John Buick, Kenny Blyth, Monica Gibb, and Paul Young.

Maggie Smith and Jonathan Pryce star in William Wycherley’s raunchy Restoration comedy. Considered too obscene to be staged in its original form for nearly 200 years, William Wycherley’s bawdy comedy tells the tale of Mr Horner, a notorious rake who spreads the false rumour that he is impotent in order to gain free access to other men’s wives. When he meets the young, innocent Margery Pinchwife, the ‘country wife’ of the title, the scene is set for scandal.

Undefeated galactic heavyweight champion Korak the Cutter has defeated all challengers, destroying everyone in his path, but the wins aren’t as easy as they used to be. After a decade of perfect fighting, his age is catching up with him. For a Quyth Warrior, that means he’s slowing down, and speed is the name of the game in mixed martial arts.

Deep below a desolate Utah mountain lies the largest platinum deposit ever discovered. A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world-record three-mile-deep mine shaft. EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources, and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company’s driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure.

A video hits the Internet and quickly goes viral. A video showing a woman, attacked, bitten and dying...before rising again. Experts confirm the video as a fake. A prank. But all the expert denials count for nothing when the virus reaches the UK. Chloe finds herself left behind, abandoned by Steve who rejoins the army to fight the new enemy. She'll be forced to survive on her own. Whatever it takes. They must all make sacrifices to do what is right. To do what is right for the greater good.

The video showed a nearly naked man bloodied and beaten. Even as archaeologist and TV presenter Annja Creed watched, the clock on his suicide vest ticked down, and precious seconds were lost. But this was no stranger. Garin was her friend. Their fates had been bound by the secrets of Joan of Arc's sword. And Annja had less than 24 hours to save his life....

With Apaches on the prod, ex-cavalry sergeant Sean Keegan, bounty hunter Jed Breen, and ex-Texas Ranger Matt McCulloch take shelter in a West Texas way station — along with a hot-as-a-pistol female bound for the gallows, a spiteful newspaper editor, and a coward with $50,000 who promises them five grand if they’ll deliver his blood-soaked stash to his wife.

Sheriff Jess Carey and his oddball band of sidekicks have pulled off the impossible, taming Hell’s Half Acre, the most lawless town in Texas, infamous for murder, mayhem, prostitution, and every random act of bloodshed imaginable. Now the no-good politicians in Austin have decided it’s cheaper to dump hordes of criminals on Jess Carey’s town than hanging ‘em. In one dreadful week, it seems as if the gates of Hell have burst open.

Mr B. Clarke—a slightly haggard, ever-curious educator with a talent for falling asleep during lectures—never expected to become an explorer of algorithms. But one nap too many, and he finds himself dropped into the inner workings of artificial intelligence itself. From the whispering corridors of machine learning to the labyrinths of neural networks and the philosophical riddles of consciousness and code, Mr Clarke stumbles his way through an astonishing landscape of logic, language, and (sometimes) lunch.

Abandoned by her allies, the Republic of Venice holds out as the last beacon of resistance against the hobgoblin armies. Armed with new weapons the Southern Horde drives upon the floating city by land and sea. The Northern Horde drives deep into the heart of Europa and all fall before it. The Horde is vast beyond measure. Assassin daggers lurk in every shadow. Necrotic evil seeps and infects.