Showing results by narrator "John Keating" in All Categories

Anthony Hope's swashbuckling classic tale of adventure and romance: Ruritania, a beautiful kingdom in the mountains between Germany and Austria, is in the midst of a power struggle. On one side is the alcoholic lay-about crown prince, Rudolf - popular with the upper class and army - and on the other is his half-brother, Michael, who has the love of the common people. The struggle reaches a new fervor at Rudolf's coronation, when Michael kidnaps his brother and takes him to the Castle of Zenda. Now the only thing in the way of Black Michael's plan is a confused distant cousin in England.

Lady Shona, the newly crowned queen of the realm, is a leader without a throne. Pursued relentlessly by a dark force, her small contingent of loyal followers must make a difficult choice - flee or fight. Determined to save her land from nefarious threats, Lady Shona decides that she must seek out the enemy and attack them head-on - a strategy that leads back to the region of the Three Valleys, where Hyam was born.

Taliesin escapes Affalon to discover things in the world are much changed. Uthyr Pendragon has taken Gorlois' widow, Igerna, as his wife and elevated Caer Leon to its former Roman glory. He learns Brython is preoccupied with threats from a warlord who claims to be Octa, son of Hengist, though he was believed to have been executed in front of thousands at Uthyr's victory games in Caer Lundein.

Life for Hyam is bittersweet. Admired by the citizens of Falmouth for his heroic rescue mission, he cherishes these peaceful days with Joelle by his side. Yet grief over the loss of his magical skills during the great Battle of Emporis threatens to engulf him. Sometimes he even wishes he had never known magic at all. When Hyam comes into possession of an ancient Milantian scroll, he is thrilled to feel the surge of power that courses through him whenever he touches it. But what he discerns in the text could mean war.

England, 1486. King Henry VII has recently snatched the English Crown and now sits on the throne, while young Prince Edward, who has a truer claim, has apparently disappeared. Meanwhile, a penniless kitchen boy named Lambert Simnel is slaving away at a tavern in Oxford - until a mysterious friar, Brother Simonds, buys Lambert from the tavern keeper and whisks him away in the dead of night. But this is nothing compared to the secret that the friar reveals: You, Lambert, are actually Prince Edward, the true King of England!

A Red Peace, first in Spencer Ellsworth's Starfire trilogy, is an action-packed space opera in a universe where the oppressed half-Jorian crosses have risen up to supplant humanity and dominate the galaxy. Half-breed human star navigator Jaqi, working the edges of human-settled space on contract to whoever will hire her, stumbles into possession of an artifact that the leader of the Rebellion wants desperately enough to send his personal guard after. An interstellar empire and the fate of the remnant of humanity hang in the balance.

The last of the Romans have left Britannia, leaving greedy and ruthless men to seize power and rip the land asunder. Without the discipline of Rome to stop them, relentless Picts come down from the North to raid her settlements while boatloads of Saxons sail west from Germania to pillage her shores. Grown soft with nearly five generations of Roman order, most men in Brython are unable to defend their homes against the ever-growing threats from all sides. But there is hope.

Hyam is a likeable lad who will make a fine farmer someday. But he carries a burden few can fathom. As his mother slips toward death, she implores him to return to Long Hall, where he spent five years as an apprentice. It was there that Hyam's extraordinary capacity for mastering languages came to light - and soon cast him into the shadows of suspicion. How could any human learn the forbidden tongues with such ease?

"Taking on PJ" is a short story from the collection Dublin Noir. Brand new stories by: Ken Bruen, Eoin Colfer, Jason Starr, Laura Lippman, Olen Steinhauer, Peter Spiegelman, Kevin Wignall, Jim Fusilli, John Rickards, Patrick J. Lambe, Charlie Stella, Ray Banks, James O. Born, Sarah Weinman, Pat Mullan, Gary Phillips, Craig McDonald, Duane Swierczynski, Reed Farrel Coleman, and others.Irish crime-fiction sensation Ken Bruen and cohorts shine a light on the dark streets of Dublin.

James Dwyer was born in rural county Limerick before moving to Dublin as a teenager and ultimately settling in Ann Arbor. One night James’ past appears in the form of a down-and-out man named Walter, who issues an invitation for James to come to Upstate New York to visit his old childhood neighbor, Kevin Lyons. Although neither James nor Kevin particularly cares for each other, there’s no denying their complicated past.

Lenard Sikophsky’s father has been feeding him plutonium since the age of six in the hopes of making him the world’s first bona fide superhero. First, he must pass the unusual tests of manhood locked in the centuries old tomb, The Manaton, a secret relic passed down for generations. Falling in love with the beautiful, compulsively suicidal Laura Moskowitz doesn’t make his life any easier.

Many years have passed since the end of Book Two, and we now must meet Timoken's children, who, with their own magical endowments, stand divided between the forces of good and bad. Toung Petrello and Tolomeo must fight to protect their siblings and their kingdom as an evil force invades the oncepeaceful Red Castle. Embark on one last adventure in the thrilling finale to Jenny Nimmo's extraordinary trilogy!

If you can possibly thirst for more mysterious metaphysical accounts of love, Trisha Telep has organized some of the greatest and most thrilling tales of paranormal paramours since The Eternal Kiss. She presents the acclaimed literary talent of thirteen unique authors, creating a collection of stories that will undoubtedly capture the imagination of every soul who dares to read them. Werewolves, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and fallen angels drive the plot of these riveting romances.

Young magician Gwyn and his friend Nia have been warned to stay away from Emlyn Llewelyn, the strange boy who claims his mother lives in the moon. And yet, a mysterious magic continues to draw them to him. But why? The answer lies in a spider's web, an ice-cold flower's glow, and the haunting whispers of children from someplace far away. It's up to Gwyn and Nia to solve the mystery with the hlep of Arianwen, the Snow Spider.

Funny Business is based around the theme of - what else - humor, and if you’re familiar with Jon and Guys Read, you already know what you’re in store for: an hilarious story.

Kip Weiler is a self-destructive, washed-up, middle-aged professor. Once a superstar of the literary set, he has bottomed out after years of drinking and not writing anything worth a damn. As the novel begins, he’s teaching classes at a small, rural community college. Kip's talent, money, and chances have just about run out, when he rescues a classroom full of his students from a deranged student gunman who opens fire and takes the class hostage. Things then begin to change for Kip - seemingly for the better....

Funny Business is based around the theme of - what else - humor, and if you’re familiar with Jon and Guys Read, you already know what you’re in store for: an hilarious story.

Funny Business is based around the theme of - what else - humor, and if you’re familiar with Jon and Guys Read, you already know what you’re in store for: an hilarious story.

Ireland. County Wexford, 1951. A father and son go swimming in the sea. The waves crash. The wind rises. Only one comes back - Colin, aged six. His mother, Eileen, runs to seek help, but this is a tragedy that will haunt them forever. Colin won't speak a word. He is mute and struggling to cope. But Eileen can see he has a talent for painting. She shows him his father's artwork and gives him a print of a Paul Henry landscape, and slowly, with her encouragement, he begins to follow his dream.

In the year 2129, a storm of meteorites unleashes strongzine, stradamine, and starlox, poisoning Earth's atmosphere. Acid rain decimates life, sparing only a handful of humans. This disaster, known as the Ruin, shapes a world where survival is brutal. Five centuries later, humanity persists. Conn Brataich, a noble Cloudwalker, navigates the treacherous New York Skylands above the cloudbank. Misty Casper, a Grounder, endures the harsh life in the remnants of Manhattan's subway tunnels below.