Showing results by narrator "Stephen Davies Bel" in All Categories

Victor Faust's new Order is growing. Business is good, as there is no rest for the wicked in an underground world of hardcore criminals and contract killing. Relationships among the operatives have changed little over the past year - but things are about to change now, and all six high-ranking members of the new Order will be blindsided by an unlikely enemy. Loved ones whose only ties to Victor's organization are their relationships with its members are abducted.

Tom's life changed quite a bit since he inherited a Ghost Train full of living dead creatures. As the fairground is struck by mysterious earthquakes, even Mimi the ghost-girl seems to pale. Vlarad the Vampire has reason to believe that a restless poltergeist haunts the old town square. So, Tom and his undead friends have to go ghost-hunting - without anyone noticing, of course.

For the first time in years, life seems settled for Tiger and Del. They run a school for sword-dancers in the South. They're raising a two-year-old daughter. They collect income from their interest in a thriving cantina. Occasionally Tiger must dance against sword-dancers bent on killing him for forsaking the oaths and vows of the circle, but for the most part it's an idyllic life. Until Tiger's twenty-five-year-old son accuses him of being "domesticated."

The promise of artificial intelligence is automated decision-making at scale, but that means AI also automates risk at scale. In Ethical Machines, Reid Blackman gives you all you need to understand AI ethics as a risk management challenge. He'll help you build, procure, and deploy AI in a way that's not only ethical but also safe in terms of your organization's reputation, regulatory compliance, and legal standing—and do it at scale. And don't worry—the book's purpose is to get work done, not to ponder deep and existential questions about ethics and technology.

What if the most effective investment portfolio was also the easiest to manage and the least expensive? As the authors of this clear, practical, and enlightening book—part financial guide, part exposé—prove, there are just three simple rules you need to follow and only a few, very inexpensive investment products that are necessary for an ideal portfolio. The authors deftly bust investing's myths—what they call investing's Seven Deadly Temptations—and dispense with all the complicated, confusing, and self-serving advice of the Wall Street wolves.

In 1997, Daniel Trush, a bright, active, outgoing twelve-year-old, collapsed on the basketball court and fell into a deep coma. Rushed to the hospital, he was found to have five previously undetected aneurysms in his brain. One had burst, causing a massive cerebral hemorrhage. While Daniel remained comatose, the uncontrolled pressure inside his skull caused him to suffer multiple strokes.

In the collection's title story, Frederick Gray is closing in on seventy and has outlived his usefulness as a professor of law. He has no family; his best friend, fellow faculty member Ben Lovell, has recently died. Before Gray moves into a retirement home, he takes a final canoe trip to a favorite fishing spot he and Lovell had visited many times, only to find that someone has built a house on the remote riverside. When an accident leaves Gray stranded and in pain, he returns to the shelter seeking aid and instead finds a new reason for living.

Since devastating secrets were uncovered by Nora Kessler, Niklas Fleischer and Victor Faust have been divided as business partners and brothers. Ultimately, Niklas is persuaded to lead a mission to Italy, and he sees it as an opportunity to set in motion forgiveness - or retribution - for his brother's betrayal. The mission: play the role of a wealthy German investor and kidnap a beautiful, notorious madam named Francesca Moretti. No stranger to these types of roles, Niklas is the best man for the job. But this time the risks will be much greater, as he will not be doing it alone.

This volume contains ten stellar short stories by Clifford D. Simak. In "Grotto of the Dancing Deer," a man carrying an ancient secret finally speaks up, unable to bear any longer the loneliness he has experienced for millennia. In "Over the River," which Simak wrote in memory of his beloved grandmother Ellen, children from an embattled future are sent back for safekeeping to their ancestors in the peaceful past. And in "Day of Truce," the inhabitants of a suburban subdivision must barricade themselves against bands of roving attackers.

Named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, Clifford D. Simak was a preeminent voice during the decades that established science fiction as a genre to be reckoned with. Held in the same esteem as fellow luminaries Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Ray Bradbury, his novels continue to enthrall today's audiences. And his short fiction is still as gripping and surprising now as when it first entertained an entire generation of fans.

The twentieth century's so-called golden age of science fiction produced many great writers, yet none is greater than Clifford D. Simak, named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. His bold visions of and ingenious speculations about humankind's future, always enriched with empathy and a deep understanding of human strengths, foibles, and failings, have stood the test of time, remaining powerful, affecting, and relevant.

Keaton and his monster girls have defeated their first rival dungeon lord, but there are many more out there. One in particular seems eager to get his hands on Cassia, and when he demands the lieutenant under penalty of invasion, Keaton must think fast. The quest to undermine that greater evil leads Keaton to ally himself with an alluring succubus who feeds on the sexual energy of wayward mages. Bonding with her may damage his relationship with Adriana and Cassia, but if they're going to stop Cassia's former master, they'll need all the help they can get.

Five centuries of chaos have passed unchecked since the great collapse. All that remains are the aging ruins, the magical wonders, the monsters...and other things entirely. For Zander, this is normal. He's a Summoner, a scavenger for his village. An elf. Though they call themselves post-humans. The demihuman races are all that survive in the world. A world overrun by the Draugr, but everything is about to change.

Back in hometown Chicago, Neville attends the funeral of the man he's murdered and meets his widow, Claudia, and her 3-year-old son. Neville gradually insinuates himself into the widow's confidence and conceives a plan to seize the victim's life - his wife, his son, his work, his wealth, and even his persona and appearance.

High school wrestler Jake Persson is living on vitamins and diet Mountain Dew as he fights to make weight at the height of championship season. In the small mining town in northern Minnesota's Iron Range where Jake lives, this is the most exciting thing that has happened in years. During his last meet, Jake confronts his future and the unnerving sense that his own body and desires are starting to betray him. Chelsey Johnson writes a gripping story about hunger, control, and wrestling down desire.

In the title story, a man's newfound ability to walk in the past allows him to dwell among dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers . . . and something even more timeless. In "Construction Shack," the first manned expedition to Pluto reveals that no matter how advanced aliens may be, even they don't always get everything right. And in "Univac 2200," the thin line between humans creating technology and humans becoming technology is about to be crossed-and there may be no going back.

Palmistry is an ancient science and an unsurpassed tool for character and emotion analysis. Everyone has the ability to tap its potential for insight, reflection, and greater understanding-and world acclaimed palmistry expert Vernon Mahabal will tell you how. Talk to the Hand reveals the tricks of the palm reader's trade and is organized around the most popular questions and inquiries the author has received over the years. It serves as a fascinating field guide for those who want a quick, accurate way to assess their own and other people's talents, abilities, and more.

In spring 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered veterans to expose war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic gathering, which show the reality of life in Afghanistan and Iraq.

New to the Hot Springs PD, Lisa Reynolds was not all that welcomed by her coworkers, especially those who were passed over for the position. But it didn't matter anymore. Her 30-day probation period ended on the same day of the Z-poc's arrival. Overnight the world goes from bad to worse as thousands die in the initial onslaught. National Guard and regular military units deployed the day before to the north leave the city in mayhem. All directions lead to death until one unlikely candidate steps forward with a plan.

Red Team Alpha. An elite military unit. Twenty highly trained veteran warriors, Mars' best. They are capable, dedicated, armed with the best technology Mars has to offer. And they don't exist, at least not officially. Now the team will be called upon to face its greatest test. On a planet in a newly discovered system, there is a mysterious wreck, the remains of an ancient ship. The discovery is a momentous one, first contact and proof that mankind is not alone in the universe.