Showing results by narrator "Michael Kramer" in All Categories

One hundred years ago, the Eternals, 13 men and women closer to gods than mortals, stood against the greatest threat the world had ever faced. They died. All save for one who managed to flee with the enemy leader’s weapon, a cursed blade of incredible power. This is a battle he fights alone, for after they defeated the Eternals, the enemy used their magic to pose as their conquered opponents, taking over rule of the world in their stead. For the last 100 years, the people have believed that the legendary Eternals triumphed, that they are safe. Only the wanderer knows the truth .

You might think that helping a friend's widow to stop a lawyer from stealing her husband's corpse would be the strangest thing on your "To Do" list. But life is rarely that simple for Felix Castor. A brutal murder in the heart of London bears all the hallmarks of a long-dead American serial killer, and it takes more good sense than Castor possesses not to get involved. He's also fighting a legal battle over the body - if not the soul - of his possessed friend Raf and can't shake the feeling that his three problems might be related.

Part poetic masterpiece, part mystic treatise, The Dark Night of the Soul by 16th century Carmelite monk St. John of the Cross, addresses the feeling of being forgotten by the Presence of the Almighty that every Christian desirous of walking more closely with God must pass through in order to learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

Why do well-intentioned plans for improving the human condition go tragically awry? Author James C. Scott analyzes failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields. Centrally managed social plans misfire, Scott argues, when they impose schematic visions that do violence to complex interdependencies that are not - and cannot - be fully understood. Further, the success of designs for social organization depends upon the recognition that local, practical knowledge is as important as formal, epistemic knowledge.

Names and faces he thought he'd left behind in Liverpool resurface in London, bringing Felix far more trouble than he'd anticipated. Childhood memories, family traumas, sins old and new, and a council estate that was meant to be a modern utopia until it turned into something like hell.... These are just some of the sticks life uses to beat Felix Castor with, as things go from bad to worse for London's favorite freelance exorcist. See, Castor's stepped over the line this time, and he knows he'll have to pay. The only question is: How much?

New York Times best seller Stuart Woods returns with a fast-paced thriller, starring Ed Eagle, the take-no-prisoners attorney from Santa Fe Rules and Short Straw.

Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize. What truly governs the Major League game is a set of unwritten rules, some of which are openly discussed (don’t steal a base with a big lead late in the game), and some of which only a minority of players are even aware of (don’t cross between the catcher and the pitcher on the way to the batter’s box).

The salacious and scandalous murders of a series of couples on Texarkana's "lovers' lanes" created a media maelstrom and cast a pall of fear over an entire region. What is even more surprising is that the case has remained cold for decades. Combining archival research and investigative journalism, Pulitzer Prize-nominated historian James Presley reveals evidence that provides crucial keys to unlocking this decades-old puzzle.

Ordained by an ancient goddess of mercy and light, former knight Allystaire Coldbourne has become a paladin, a hero out of legend. But evil stalks him, angry gods align against him, and greedy warlords want him dead. With the help of his friends, each blessed with extraordinary powers by the Goddess, Allystaire must escape the clutches of sorcerers and wicked rulers who will stop at nothing to destroy him as he continues his dangerous quest to bring peace and unity to the fractured and war-torn Baronies.

The conservative party's newest superstar, Alexia De Vere has worked hard to realize her political ambitions. The brilliant and ruthless wife of wealthy aristocrat Teddy De Vere, Alexia relishes her power and the control it gives her to shape and destroy lives. Yet success has also demanded sacrifice. Her daughter, Roxie, a bitter young woman confined to a wheelchair after a failed suicide attempt, blames Alexia for ruining her life. Alexia's dashing son, Michael, is risking the family's good name to jump-start his entrepreneurial dreams.

When the bus Bear and Mandy Logan are traveling in breaks down, they find refuge with a mysterious traveler in a small Illinois town. A place to stay for a few days while waiting for a ride out. Amid the peaceful surroundings lies a dark secret. One which has left members of the community shaken, unable to go about their daily lives without fear of retribution. Bear wants to remain uninvolved. But when Mandy witnesses a murder, the duo has a target firmly planted on their back, and a decision must be made.

From the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO series True Detective and soon to be a major motion picture comes a dark and visceral novel set along the wastelands of Galveston. On the same day Roy Cady is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he learns that his employer has put a hit out on him. After narrowly escaping an attempt on his life, Cady goes on the run with a young prostitute named Rocky and her three-year-old sister, from New Orleans to Galveston, Texas. But though they run, they cannot hide in this explosive, atmospheric, impossible-to-pause thrill ride.

The inevitable moment of crisis has arrived, and it's left Castor with blood on his hands. Castor drowns his guilt in cheap whiskey, while an innocent woman lies dead and her daughter comatose, his few remaining friends fear for their lives, and there's a demon loose on the streets. But not just any demon - this one rides shotgun on Castor's best friend's soul and can't be expelled without killing him.

In the latest riveting adventure in the bestselling Op-Center series, this crack team of operatives uses their defense, intelligence, and crisis management technology to bring down the opposition. When a job is too dirty or too dangerous, Op-Center is the only place the government can turn. Follow the circuitous path as the agents negotiate the most devious threats to the peace and prosperity of America - including those within. As with all Clancy's work, this series reminds us that true heroes are hard to come by, that even the best of us have compromising motives....

In Russia, the military is anxious to assert its military strength and regain its role as a superpower. The Russian president refuses to greenlight a bold plan to disable American strategic nuclear capability and retake Ukraine and the Baltic States, fearing the potential consequences of involving nuclear weapons. But the generals won't have it and at the first opportunity, they overthrow the president in a military coup. Then they use a narrow window to initiate their bold plan - the Zolotov option - which will render all of America's B2 bombers and ballistic missiles useless.

It all began with Ragnarok, with the Children of the Light and the Tarnished ones battling to the death in the ice and the dark. At the end of the long battle, one Valkyrie survived, wounded, and one valraven - the steeds of the valkyrie. Because they lived, Valdyrgard was not wholly destroyed. Because the valraven was transformed in the last miracle offered to a Child of the Light, Valdyrgard was changed to a world where magic and technology worked hand in hand.

The wanderer knows this, for over the last century he has lived those stories, has seen them scrawled in his blood or the blood of others. Others like those dead Perishables scattered about the noble’s courtyard, like those servants of the enemy, mortal and not, lying beside them. And yet…he knows it is only the beginning.

Focusing mostly on Italy and Germany but also considering Spain, Romania, Japan, and movements in other countries, Payne describes fascism as revolutionary ultranationalism based on national rebirth, extreme elitism, mass mobilization, and the promotion of violence and military virtues. He also suggests that the early Russian communists borrowed many techniques from fascism, and that though we are fairly well-inoculated against fascism itself, the values it represents could still emerge in new forms.

Life on the ranchlands of Montana comes with more than its share of trouble. The unique people who live and work on this untamed stretch of today's American West expect it---and some of them even enjoy it. One of them is Mike Wire, a former homicide detective who once worked the decadent hills and valleys of Hollywood.

Tracy Whitney never thought she wanted to settle down. With her suave and handsome partner, Jeff Stevens, she'd been responsible for some of the world's most astounding heists, relishing the danger and intensity of life on the wild side. Together, she and Jeff have made enough money for several lifetimes conning the rich, corrupt, and greedy out of their ill-gotten fortunes. But there is still one thing missing from Tracy's perfect life: a baby.