Showing results by narrator "Dave Courvoisier" in All Categories

Three men, Mihailo the porter, Nikandr the fish merchant, and Stepan the coachman, sit around a table in the coach-house playing a game of "kings" with Stepan's eight-year old grandson, Alyoshka. While each card player competitively tries to win the coveted position of "king" in the game, a more serious atmosphere casts a sad shadow over the estate in which the coach-house is situated. The man of the house, for whom the porter and coachman work, has attempted suicide, and he lies in the estate house struggling somewhere between life and death.

A manufacturer and his lawyer decide to drink in the public room of a restaurant after a ball they had just attended. They are having a merry time drinking vodka and eating oysters. The manufacturer drinks more and more and becomes angrier with each drink. He later turns to his lawyer and confesses a secret to him that he has never told anyone before.

This is the first book in the long out of print Five Worlds Trilogy by award-winning author Al Sarrantonio. As the 25th century draws to a close, Prime Cornelian, a ruthless usurper of Martian rule, will do anything to control all of human civilization, and the fate of all humankind is in the hands of the exiled King of Earth, Dalin Shar. Find more novels by Al Sarrantonio at Audible.com. Search Crossroad Press to find more titles by Al Sarrantonio and many other science-fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, western and mainstream authors.

Three friends, Mayer (a medical student), Rybnikov (a student of the arts), and Vassilyev (a law student), decide to go out one night to get some girls. Mayer and Rybnikov had to spend some time convincing Vassilyev to come along, as he was far more fastidious and cautious than his friends. Vassilyev himself is envious of his friends, who live their lives in a much more carefree fashion.

How far would you go for justice? Rob and Beth are very much in love. He has just proposed to her, but she won’t live to see the wedding. Instead, Beth is intentionally sideswiped by an angry driver and knocked off her bike - to her death. Rob witnesses the whole thing, but he can only stand by helplessly as the driver gets off with a slap on the wrist. Rob is devastated. He becomes obsessed with making Beth’s killer pay. Then, one day, a strange man approaches Rob with what seems to be the answer....

As Maxim and Lizaveta, a young married couple, drive home from church on Easter, Maxim finds the joy and beauty in everything. As the newly married couple drives home on their first Easter together, carrying a blessed Easter cake, they see a Cossack at the side of the road. They soon learn that he is sick and too weak to make it home, and he asks for some food if they have any. Maxim immediately wants to share the Easter cake with him; however, his wife refuses to allow this, ripping the cake away from her husband.

Here is a tapestry of stories about the complex and unique relationship that exists between brothers. In this book, some of our finest authors take an unvarnished look at how brothers admire and admonish, revere and revile, connect and compete, love and war with each other. With hearts and minds wide open, and, in some cases, with laugh-out-loud humor, the writers tackle a topic that is as old as the Bible and yet has been, heretofore, overlooked.

Olga Ivanovna, a beautiful young woman floating around in a famous and fabulous social circle, falls in love with a simple man who does not belong to the same social group, Osip Dymov. Dymov worked at the same hospital as her father. When her father fell ill, Dymov was captivated by Olga's dedication to her father, and she soon returned the romantic notions. As they settled into married life, Olga continued to frequent with her artistic friends, visiting them every day and continuing to live a fun, exciting life.

Pavel Vassilyevitch finds himself meeting with an unwanted visitor one day after lunch, an odd woman beseeching him to give him just a half hour of his time. Madam Murashkin wants Pavel to critique a play that she has written before she sets off on a voyage, and insists it will take only a half hour of his time. Unable to deny her relentless pitiful pleas, Pavel gives in and Madam Murashkin launches into her play - which turns out to take much longer than half an hour to get through.

Natalya was once a happy and radiant young woman. Now an older woman, she reflects about her youth. In particular, she thinks about the heavy emphasis she put on her wealth and the relationships and experiences that it cost her. One man, Pyotr, loved her, but they both let their different statuses in society prevent their love from having a chance. After years of unhappiness and regret, Pyotr comes to visit Natalya.

Late one evening, tragedy strikes when the town doctor, Kirilov, is unable to save his dying son from diphtheria. As he and his wife mourn their only son's death, a stranger, Abogin, arrives at the doctor’s home, begging him to come save his dying wife. The doctor, who is still shocked from his son's death of five minutes ago, declines Abogin's pleas. However, Abogin refuses to give up, trying desperately to save his wife.

A tragic father, Old Musatov, finds himself lucky to have very dedicated children. Musatov is a drunkard and is constantly seeking out money from his sons, which they routinely give to him over and over again. Musatov is drunkenly relating the pride and appreciation he feels for all of his sons to one of his sons, Boris, while also admitting his own flaws.

Ivan Lyashkevsky, a Polish lieutenant who suffered a head injury, spends a large amount of time grumbling about the native people of the town he's living in. He thinks them to be lazy and useless and is quick to express his views. On this particular day, he is visiting with his friend Franz Finks and studying his native landlord out the window. Lyashkevsky grows more and more angry with the natives as he discusses their flaws with Finks throughout the entire day, and simple Finks takes all his complaints in stride.

When several employees of the bank are arrested for corruption, the merchant Avdeyev doesn't give the ordeal much thought, figuring the men going to jail deserve it. His opinion changes however when he returns home to find his wife and son very upset - his house had just been searched by officials in connection to the bank corruption. Avdeyev had signed papers for the bankers without knowing what they were and so had essentially signed his life away by his carelessness.

The Five Worlds of humanity were powerless to stop Prime Cornelian, High Leader of Mars, from decimating Venus with his legions of plasma soldiers. Now he turns to the settled moon of Saturn under the control of Wrath-Pei. Millions of lives face a horrible fate as the forces of these two madmen battle each other across the vastness of space...

A young peasant finds himself confronting a doctor at a hospital with the hopes of convincing him to release his brother. The doctor is not pleased and refuses to release him saying the peasant needs to go to the authorities. He is disappointed by his statement and unsure of where to go. On his way out he comes to meet an old man just outside the hospital gate. He reveals his problem to him and the old man directs him exactly where he needs to head. The peasant is conflicted because it is a long journey....

Companies make headline news all the time for decisions that make many of us scratch our heads in wonder, even companies that are smart and successful. Here, Neil Smith, with more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale performance improvements, reveals the hidden barriers that cause excellent companies to do dumb things, and smart people within companies to act in dumb ways. Smith has identified 8 barriers that prevent organizations from achieving and maintaining sustainable success.

Despite its guise as a space pirate, the Dread Remora is still a ship of Her Majesty's Royal Navy, so when Captain Nate Demming and his crew discover a brutally savaged ship, they are appalled. When a second ship appears and attacks, Demming assumes these must be the predators and retaliates. The events that unfold lead to new discoveries for the Dread Remora, including some potential allies - and a ferocious new enemy.

On an early October morning, Psyekoff, the right hand-man to Lieutenant Marcus Ivanovitch Klausoff, informs the inspector of police that he suspects Klausoff has been murdered. Immediately, the inspector and his team head to Klausoff’s home to investigate the matter. After examining the outside of the house, the inspector sends word to the magistrate, asking him to come investigate the case. When the magistrate and his assistant arrive, they check Klausoff’s room, only to find that he is not in there.

A young aspiring male student finds himself in a difficult situation. While working on his dissertation he is interrupted by a young women, asking him to walk her home. He decides it is best and complies with her request. It is later decided the two should marry but it is against the young man's wishes. A great idea comes to the man regarding their marriage, but it is a little too late.