Showing results by narrator "Sam Burns" in All Categories

Tales of the Apt is a companion series to the best-selling decalogy Shadows of the Apt (Tor UK), gathering together short stories from disparate places and supplementing them with a wealth of new tales written especially for the series. Together, they combine to provide a different perspective, an alternative history that parallels and unfolds alongside the familiar one, filling in the gaps and revealing intriguing backstories for many established characters. A must listen for any fan of the Shadows of the Apt books, where epic fantasy meets steampunk and so much more.

Newcastle. 1988. When reporter Phil Sturgess hears of a new rock band called Minstrel's Bargain, his life descends into horror. As the city he lives in succumbs to shocking acts of violence and murder, Sturgess begins to understand that there is something very wrong with Minstrel's Bargain. Something very wrong indeed. With time running out for humanity, Sturgess is threatened by an age-old malevolence. And if it is triumphant, the souls of millions will be destroyed.

This collection of fantasy short stories are from the three winners of Remastered Words 2019 audio anthology, including a tale from Jonathan Green with "Who Walks with Death" which was first published in Legend, an anthology released in 2013 in honour of David Gemmell. Once again, a theme has developed when there were none prescribed and each story follows a significant journey in the life of its protagonist. Whatever the direction though and wherever the roads may lead, you'll be glad of a warm fire and comfy chair whilst the fabled journey plays out.

James Egan is the owner of a profitable insurance brokerage but because of his past experiences and recent divorce has become cynical and jaundiced. A chance encounter has led to an alliance between himself and Italian gang leader Lawrence Adrian Causio. The criminal has persuaded Egan to use his influence on his clientele, with the aim of eventually swindling them. Egan is deeply suspicious of Causio, believing the man intends to double-cross him. His assessment is correct, and on the day of the robbery, Egan puts his counterplan into action first, thwarts Causio, and escapes.

Tales of the Lantern is a collection of chilling stories based on Arabic urban legends, stories that are best told around a campfire on a dark, starry night.

Contained within these pages are weird tales in the spirit of Lovecraft, Machen, Doyle, and Wells but shot through with a modern sensibility and a questioning of the old values. Here dwell ghosts and monsters, madmen and contortionists, lost souls and misunderstood geniuses. Collected for the first time are stories diverse and strange, spanning nearly a decade in the career of author David Tallerman.

Not all the folks who roamed the Old West were cowhands, rustlers, or cardsharps. And they certainly weren't all heroes. Give-a-Damn Jones, a free-spirited itinerant typographer, hates his nickname almost as much as the rumors spread about him. He's a kind soul who keeps finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's what happened in Box Elder, a small Montana town. Tensions are running high, and anything -or anyone - could be the fuse to ignite them.  

Step into a house, its history woven with fear and suffering, where three creepy tales await you. In "Ummidia", find out what happens when fear grows into obsession. The house's namesake, Ryan Courtenay, descends into madness after smuggling an exotic pet home from the States. Discover a fragment of the property's twisted past and grisly present in "The Killing Floor", as a group of teens celebrate end-of-term in the worst imaginable way - by spending the night. One of the group is fortunate enough to flee, but the house's curse follows him. Join Gareth Miles in "Trickerjack".

Sharks - the ultimate predators, masters of their watery domain, a world that is entirely alien and inhospitable to man. So many aspects of the shark are associated with humankind's most primal fears. Inspired by such classic pulp movies as Jaws and Deep Blue Sea - as well as such ludicrous delights as Sharknado and Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus - the stories contained within are rip-roaring thrillers and slow-build chillers that celebrate all things savage, pulp, and selachian.

At first glance it was a simple enough job, go to Aserol and find out what's happening at the Waster mine. For Horis Strongman it's the start of an adventure, there are things that don't add up and he stumbles upon a secret. It's enough to kill for, but can he stay alive to expose it? In a world where coal is King, where machines of metal are powered by steam and clockwork, those in power want him silenced by any means. Accused of a terrible crime, Horis is forced to run, aided by those who can prove his innocence, and unsure of whom he can trust.

Funerals; for most of us the trappings of the funeral parlor and the finality of the cemetery commemorates the end, but for an actor like Armand Tesla, who was best remembered for his vampire roles, a funeral is only the beginning. Armand Tesla was to be buried in his vampire costume, but obviously the aged star of stage and screen horror was not yet ready to ring down the final curtain. No, it would not be nearly so easy to bury such a restless corpse. So be prepared for a case of a body that won't stay put and the tale of a struggling young movie director with more ambition than talent who turns up missing at the vampire's last bow.

Johnny D. Boggs turns the battlefield itself into a character in this historical retelling of Custer's Last Stand, when George Custer led most of his command to annihilation at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in southern Montana in 1876. More than 40 first-person narratives are used - Indian and white, military and civilian, men and women - to paint a panorama of the battle itself. Boggs brings the events and personalities of the Battle of the Little Bighorn to life in a series of first-hand accounts.

As Captain Blood, Robin Hood, and the Sea Hawk, he was the "King of the Swashbucklers". As Errol Flynn, he was Hollywood's number one rogue. He was married three times, and also was the defendant in three rape trials. Indeed, it's fitting that his last major swashbuckling film cast him in the role of Don Juan. The play joins Flynn a few weeks before his premature death. Knowing that the end is near, he is in a New York airport, waiting to fly west to see his children for the last time.

Lives, loves, and loyalties must battle for survival in our fictional story that commences around the time of the potato famine in 1845. Two baby boys are born in a local doctor's house at around the same time of day. One is the son of the lady of the manor, the other is the son of a young Irish peasant woman whose husband works for the lord of the manor.

In a desolate desert, members of an isolated agricultural station discover a stranger, dehydrated, delirious, and near death from exposure. His weak frame is thin, desiccated. His blistered flesh is wooden, and in his madness a faint, raspy chant slips from his near lipless mouth: "So many, not enough. So many, not enough."

After his disobedient return from Ireland, the Earl of Essex was kept in house arrest, first in York House, then in his own palace, Essex House. He thought this punishment was extended by his enemies at court and plotted to rid Whitehall of those men. This play presents his imprisonment and subsequent plots pursued in London.

The Adventurous Big Bold Bear is an ideal story for children. It's interesting and didactic; your loved ones will fall in love at first words. It teaches children the importance of cordial relationships and the art of showing love to both humans and animals. The magical voiceover by Mr. Sam Burns shall win your child's heart.

James Burbage, the founder of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, Shakespeare's acting company, is countered by Lady Elizabeth Russell in this play when he pursues the construction of a theatre inside the former Blackfriars' monastery in London. This historical drama maintains the classical form of tragedy in English with seven scenes of dialogue and seven choral performances.

Eckxio, an exiled elf, journeys to a mountain in hopes of gaining an ability that all elves are born with. Since his childhood, Eckxio was unable to cast magic and relies on his magic sword and shield to survive. He hopes to find the legendary fairy king in the mountain and believes that the holy entity will grant him incredible magical powers. Eckxio desperately fights obstacles that cross his path as his faith fades away.

"...Sophie's instincts were on fire. She knew she had been wrong but his violent temperament made her heart pound..." A teenage girl finds out she is not of this world - and is being hunted down.