Showing results by narrator "Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki" in All Categories

In stories like "A Night in the Cemetery," "Night of Horror," and "Murder," not only will Chekhov's dark humor and twisted crimes satisfy even the most hardboiled of mystery fans, but readers will again appreciate the penetrating, absurdist insight into the human condition that only Chekhov can bring. Whether it is the death of a young amateur playwright at the hands of an editor who hates bad writing, or a drunken civil servant who ends up trapped in a graveyard, these stories overflow with the unforgettable characters and unique sensibility that will forever make Chekhov one of the most fascinating figures in literature.

Silvariah Frandelle, the famed “Miner Girl” who escaped certain death on Mars, wants nothing more than a stable life on Earth, free from the trauma of the past. Lazarus Penn stands in her way. No device or tactic is beneath him as he fights to take possession of her and everything that belongs to her. From the courts of Guam City, the tourist haven floating in space, to the depths of the sea, to the streets of Old Seattle, he sets forces in pursuit, both human and otherwise, to regain his power over her and take possession of her as is - he believes - his right.

These stories are set in the familiar quasi-medieval worlds to which modern listeners are accustomed, and also stories rooted in the authentic myth-constructs of high antiquity, along with several that depend for their power on the juxtaposition of fantastic situations and terribly contemporary aspects of modern life on Earth. Together these stories make up a collection which provides reassuring proof of fantasy's eternal power in this technological age.

Millennia of conflict between humans and mechs have driven the human race to near-extinction. Now, as the fierce AI mechs begin their final assault on mankind, it soon becomes apparent that three men – three generations in a family of voyagers – are their targets. Toby Bishop, his father, Killeen Bishop, and his grandfather, Nigel Walmsley, each carry a piece of the lethal secret that can destroy their enemies. But hunted through space and time by relentless assassins, they have no idea that they possess the only weapon that can save humanity.

Onboard an ancient starship, Killeen and the Bishop tribe escape the mech-ruled world of Snowglade. Seeking refuge on a faraway planet, they discover vast wonders: an organic life-form as large as a world, a planet-coring cosmic string, a community of humans ruled by a brutal tyrant, and ultimately an alien race more awesome than any they have encountered. As they battle for survival against these myriad dangers, Killeen and his crew will gain an unforeseen ally - one that may determine humanity’s true destiny.

Few writers have successful blended hard science and speculation with fully realized characters as Gregory Benford has in his critically acclaimed novels. Now he draws us into a vortex of mystery and danger at the heart of the galaxy in his dazzling epic drama, Furious Gulf.

Lewis Dodd, a young, troubled composer, arrives at “Sanger’s Circus”, a wild gathering consisting of precocious children, a slovenly mistress, and an assortment of hangers-on in the Austrian Alps overseen by the eccentric Albert Sanger, a composer himself. Tessa, Sanger’s lively 14-year-old daughter, falls in love with their handsome visitor. After Albert’s death leaves Tessa and her siblings penniless, they must implore extended family members for assistance. Florence, Tessa’s 28-year-old cousin, graciously steps in to help and she falls in love with Lewis.

Science fiction dwells mostly in the realm of possibility, where mysteries proliferate nevertheless, meaning is never static, and “time and history have convinced us that things are not as they seem”. So, too, does all language, argues Samuel Delany, in his vigorous justification for the writing life. Chronicling his struggle with dyslexia, the evolution of his gay and Black identity during the AIDS crisis, and his experiences and relationships through five decades as a writer of fiction and nonfiction, Delany is a longtime observer of language’s inner workings.

In the Kingdom of Estala, sorcerers called the Menti are outlawed, and religious fervour spreads throughout the realm. When Reva Avalon's parents are murdered during the Menti uprising, King Davead of Estala takes her into his care. But instead of marrying Prince Luca, as the King promised, she is sold to the severe General Unna of the King's army. When she is abruptly released from his clutches, Reva embarks on a journey through Estala, with more adventure, danger, and heartbreak than she could ever have imagined. Prince Luca, the king's second son, has always lived in the shadow of his beloved older brother. Sickly and weak, Luca fears he may be on his deathbed, but in a shocking turn of events, Luca finds himself at the centre of a power so great it may consume him. Luca must learn to control his powers in order to hide them, but can he hide his new gifts of sorcery from his father?

Witness as Arsène Lupin boldly makes a name for himself as a gentleman-thief in “Madame Imbert’s Safe” and “The Queen’s Necklace”. In “The Arrest of Arsène Lupin”, passengers onboard a transatlantic steamer fear for their valuables when the captain announces that Arsène Lupin has snuck onto the ship...and he could be disguised as anyone. Just when it seems like there is no match for him, Lupin goes head-to-head with the famous English detectives Sherlock Holmes and Herlock Sholmes.

Shipwrecked on the far side of the “crack in the world,” Eric’s companions find themselves trapped on the roots of Yggdrasil, the Great Norse Tree of Life. Lost and bereft of supplies, the companions wander blindly and soon find themselves in the worst land of Norse Mythology: Niflhiem, the realm of the unfortunate dead. Facing starvation, the companions have no choice; they must seek and beg for assistance from Loki’s daughter, Hel, the Norse Goddess of Death.

Cheated of his glorious afterlife, Eric faces a terrible doom. If his companions can’t save him then he’ll be forever barred from Valhalla and rot in icy, hopeless Niflhiem. Outlawed and hunted, with prices upon their heads, Eric’s companions must secretly flee from England, but a terrible curse delays them time and again. Allied with a snobbish Druid Seer, who alone can help them rescue Eric, they strike a terrible bargain: to seek “the crack in the world,” a mystical doorway to the forbidden realms of the Norse Gods.

Basic training is over. For 11-year-old Robbi, the real work on the Laddertop station begins…even as its strange, dark secrets grow more compelling. With the help of mentally linked robot companions, she and an elite crew of children perform the dangerous maintenance work on the Power Web. But only Robbi keeps having urgent dreams from The Givers, the alien species who bestowed upon humans all the Laddertop technology.

As King Svenson Two-Sword is about to embark upon his summer viking, Eric steals the king’s most-prized heirloom and sails to England … leaving behind a message of where he’s going. Arriving at Castle Bristlen, Eric offers the king’s golden heirloom as a gift, and they allow Eric inside. Seven hours later, the angry king sails up with his fleet, seven thousand Viking warriors, to recapture his property.

Lightspeed: Year One compiles fiction published by the online science fiction magazine Lightspeed in its first year. Produced by Skyboat Media, and under the direction of Grammy and Audie Award-winning narrator and producer Stefan Rudnicki, the Lightspeed podcast features audiobook-style recordings of the stories published each month in Lightspeed.

Skyboat Media presents The Best of Katherine Mansfield, an original compilation of stories from one of the defining writers of modernist fiction. Katherine Mansfield’s stories shine a light on the duality and the overpowering nature of psychology through her delicate, nuanced, and often stream-of-consciousness narration style. None of her stories seem to settle on just one theme; like life they encompass the intersectional nature of all moments, from the most minute and mundane to the most terrific and tragic.

Five murders across Europe, each victim found dead with an exotic lop-eared Sumxu cat, animals considered extinct for 300 years. Only Henri Fox knows why—and that knowledge could kill her. To survive she must pursue a madman across China with partner, Cass Farraday, but the hunters soon become the prey. Desperate and on the run in Shanghai, pursued by the Tong and the police, they must break into the Chinese Gold Exchange for the proof they need to prevent a megalomaniac billionaire’s Armageddon assault on Britain’s Air Traffic Control.

When tabloid camera girl Henri Fox pictures a Hollywood megastar making love on the back seat of a stretch limo, the star’s father, a ruthless Bogota emerald mine owner, must bury his daughter’s scandalous snapshot—and Henri Fox with it. He enlists the aid of left-wing FARC guerrillas, forcing the US President to join the hunt. Henri Fox is in mortal danger and will have to survive them both in a chase from London via Madrid to the notorious Boyaca Emerald Valley in Colombia.

Originally published in 1886, the nine stories in this collection encapsulate Sarah Orne Jewett’s love and reverence for nature; her affinity for understanding complex, nuanced, and often strained relationships; and—just as her father encouraged her—her ability to write not about things, but to “write the things themselves just as they are.”

Four curiously gifted children from different parts of the world come together in a kingdom ruled by a peanut brittle-addicted monarch who wishes to destroy their uniqueness in his quest for absolute power.