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

Vampires don't exist, do they? That is a question Private Detective Tony Mandolin finds himself pondering as the evidence piles up in a case involving a string of dead redheads and the usual dose of weirdness San Francisco has to offer. To complicate things, Mandolin has to deal with the perception that he has become the latest golden boy of the fog city's crime boss. Then there's his cross-dressing friend Frankie.... Just another day in San Francisco.

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.

Framed for murder, Dewey “Mac” McKenzie is running for his life. Though Mac’s never even made a pot of coffee, he talks his way onto a cattle drive heading west — as a chuckwagon cook. Turns out he has a natural talent for turning salt pork and dried beans into culinary gold. He’s as good with a pot and pan as he is with a gun — which comes in handy on a dangerous trail drive beset with rustlers, hostile Indians, ornery weather, and deadly stampedes. Mac can hold his own with any cowboy twice his age. At least until the real showdown begins....

Bethany Anne is going stir crazy after more than a decade of having to be 'The Empress.' Now, her advisors have to deal with an Empress who is determined to be on the front line. The Ixtali's come to the Etheric Empire, hat in hand. Nathan decides that the best way to handle soft intelligence, is to create a new company. What they name the new company should give a clue what it is about. The Skaine are able to finally get Ranger Tabitha's group right were their missiles can attack. The problem is, who is sucking whom into a trap?

The train grinds to a halt somewhere in the Indian Nations, and the bandits get onboard. They take everything on the train worth stealing and gun down a guard to make their escape — just another notch on the belt for Ben Trout and Zack Larsen, two of the most savage killers in the west. US Deputy Marshal Ed Pine follows them to Muskogee. There the trail runs cold, and Ed Pine disappears.

Jamie MacCallister remembers the Alamo—especially one brave frontiersman who died fighting there. Now the fallen veteran’s granddaughter needs Jamie’s help. She’s found a letter written by her grandfather with a map to the spot where Alamo legend Jim Bowie supposedly hid a fortune in silver and gold. Jamie never believed the story. Countless treasure hunters had scoured the area and come up empty handed. But his friend’s granddaughter is convinced it’s hidden where no one has ever dared to search—deep in the heart of Comanche country.

The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that prey upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind half-forgotten symbols of power. Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not. Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer and he carries ancient weapons - a spear and a crown - that give credence to his claim.

Elwood's deputy, "Moosejaw" Hendricks is one of the fastest draws in the territory, and it's the best kept secret in the West. But when Moosejaw guns down three notorious outlaws in an attempted bank robbery, word gets around. And news travels fast. So fast that every tin horn west of the Mississippi heads for Buffalo Peak to prove they're the fastest gun. These half-cocked lunatics want to challenge Moosejaw to a showdown.

Settling the American West required true grit, fortitude, and when necessary, shedding blood. It also required men like Preacher and MacCallister to enforce peace in a land where the law was scarce—and justice was delivered from the barrel of a gun. Wagon trains carrying immigrants along the Oregon Trail are falling prey to outlaws. Most families surrender their valuables and goods peacefully, but anybody brave enough to resist gets a bullet. The gang’s latest victim was a wagon master who sought to protect his charges only to die in the dust

Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city's aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces - human and other - stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder. Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon's underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself.

Conrad Browning had money, a manservant and a mission: to find his missing children and meet them for the first time. He's come as far as Denver, dodged a bullet from a beautiful assassin, and landed in a big buy-in poker tournament against a ruthless heavy-betting cattle baron with a plan of his own - to take this city slicker into the wilderness, and hunt him like an animal. But Rance McKinney doesn't know who he is facing. The son of legendary gunman Frank Morgan, Conrad goes by the moniker of the Loner.

Cade Williams is no ordinary man. His ability to cross over to the other side makes him uniquely qualified to command the Church’s special operations division. As a modern-day Knight, Cade can use the curse that has scarred his soul as a weapon against the forces of darkness. But a new kind of unholy war is brewing — and soon Cade may be the last man standing...between the living and the dead.

Young Lerris yearns to find a place in the world better suited to his skills and temperament. In Recluce this means taking one of two options: permanent exile from Recluce or the dangergeld, a complex, rule-laden wanderjahr in the lands beyond. Many do not survive. Lerris chooses dangergeld. Lerris will need magic in the lands beyond, where the power of the Chaos Wizards reigns unchecked, and he must learn to use his powers in an orderly way before his wanderjahr, or fall prey to Chaos.

Luke Jensen has earned this bounty, hunting down the violent man charged with murdering a preacher's daughter. The outlaw Judd Tyler confesses to many crimes, but not the girl's murder. And he tells Luke they won't reach the town of White Fork alive because a corrupt sheriff does the bidding of a cattle baron, and that man's son is the true killer. Sure enough, halfway to White Fork, Luke and his prisoner are battling for their lives, and when they finally reach town, they're greeted by a storm of bullets, betrayal, and blood.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra" by Friedrich Nietzsche is a profound and influential philosophical work that follows the journey of Zarathustra, a sage who retreats into the mountains for solitude and enlightenment. After years of contemplation, Zarathustra returns to share his insights with humanity. Through a series of parables, discourses, and aphorisms, Zarathustra explores complex themes such as the death of God, the will to power, and the concept of the Übermensch, or superman.

Jon-Tom just wanted to go home. Trapped in a world where animals speak and magic is real, the American college student yearned for an ordinary dorm-room life. But here his music has magical power — even if he can’t control it — which may be able to save the world from the army of the Plated Folk, whose sinister queen plans on killing and eating every warm-blooded mammal she can get her pincers on and taking over their lands.

The American Biker, a modern day cowboy and a symbol of rugged determination. Many American Bikers use the word "freedom" to describe the unequaled feeling of the open road with the wind at their backs, headed into the wondrous American landscape. They ride for freedom and the tranquility of the open road. From weekend day trips to cross country journeys, you'll find bikers on every highway across the nation. Their lifestyle reflects the hardcore essence of all Americans.

Gloria Jennings is a strikingly beautiful woman. She went on the run when she was accused of murdering her wealthy husband back east. Luke Jensen tracks her down to a ranch in West Texas, only to discover that she has re-married, and is a widow once again; and once again her rancher husband was a victim of murder! Despite appearances, Luke begins to doubt her guilt...and surprises himself by not bringing her in - and actually helping her face down rival ranchers.

Almost everyone is guilty of playing the blame game. It's satisfying and easy to do. If we despise our work, we can blame our manager or even our short-sighted organization for its inability to recognize our genius. If our personal lives are a disaster, we can blame our spouses, partners, the economy, or even our ancestors. We all know on some level that we are pointing our fingers in the wrong direction, but we just can't seem to help ourselves.

Tyvian Reldamar - criminal mastermind, rogue mage, and smuggler of sorcerous goods - has just been betrayed by his longtime partner and left for dead in a freezing river. To add insult to injury, his mysterious rescuer took it upon himself to affix Tyvian with an iron ring that prevents the wearer from any evildoing. Revenge just got complicated. On his quest to get even, Tyvian navigates dark international conspiracies, dodges midnight assassins, and uncovers the plans of the ruthless warlord Banric Sahand - all while running from a Mage-Defender determined to lock him up.