Showing results by narrator "John Pirhalla" in All Categories

Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous - even suicidal- the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal...and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it. On a fairly routine scouting mission, Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead. By the time he returns to the colony base, Mickey7’s fate has been sealed.

After human and Maltaani forces cooperated to rescue the hostages being held by slavers on the icy planet of Menard-Kev, leaders on both sides agreed that peace between the races was desirable. A treaty was signed, and embassies were established.

 Sleepwalk’s hero, Will Bear, is a man with so many aliases that he simply thinks of himself as the Barely Blur. At 50 years old, he’s been living off the grid for over half his life. He’s never had a real job, never paid taxes, never been in a committed relationship.

Infected by the powerful will of the Legend Zagamar, Hunter must stop the ancient being from taking over his body333and his soul. Only the power of the Deep can save him now. But unbeknownst to Hunter, something sinister has escaped the Crypt of Zagamar. For the Guild of Seekers has achieved their final mission: To carry out the resurrection of Zagamar himself! Transformed by his terrible power, a dark horde of vicious, ravenous beasts has risen, leaving devastation in its wake...and threatening the very existence of humanity and Ironclad alike.

To flee the Everlasting King, Huon, Liona and Gale sail away from the Harolan continent. They hope they'll find safety, somewhere they can advance without fearing for their lives. But no one has successfully made such a journey in over a thousand years. They'll soon find out why. In the spirit of progression fantasies like Cradle and Mage Errant, enter a realm with magical beasts, where surgecallers can cultivate essence to strengthen their weapons, enhance their bodies and wield elemental magic.

Executioners don’t solve crimes; they punish those who commit them. Or, so Finn thought before apprenticed to one. Poverty-stricken Finn Jagger would give anything to heal his ailing mother. With his father imprisoned, Finn has joined a thieving crew to earn the money he needs to save her. When the latest heist turns to disaster and lands him on death row, Finn’s future seems to be tied up with a noose. Until the king’s executioner claims him as an apprentice. Finn soon learns an executioner has far more power and greater responsibility than he’d ever realized.

For the first time since mastering his connection to the elements, Tolan fears an elemental. He's long advocated that the elementals were misunderstood, and tried convincing others within Terndahl to free them from the bond, but the appearance of Light has proven his mistake. Chasing the threat leads Tolan to take a dangerous journey, one that challenges all that he's learned of spirit and brings him back to the lands beyond the waste, where he discovers a secret hidden from the rest of the world for centuries. 

Young elf prince Drynn has always lived in the shadow of his athletic and popular elder brother. But, when the bookish boy’s mother dies from a mystery illness and he receives the Queen’s Opal, he’s plagued by visions of the past and a growing power. And, with the gem supposedly cursing those who possess it, he must enter the human realm to hunt down the cure…or become the next to die. Outside the forest, Drynn finds much has changed with the world now ruled by greedy wizards coveting more magic.

Finn has served the king as journeyman executioner, but the time has come for a testing with the executioner court. Regardless of the outcome, he will no longer serve in Verendal.

Abner Fortis joined the International Space Marine Corps for two reasons: to escape a life of drudgery building biodomes for his father’s company and to pay off several billion credits in student loans, which the ISMC promised to do. Every Space Marine starts out as a cherry, though, and Abner is no different. When he makes his first combat drop, or cherry drop, he’s a know-nothing second lieutenant added to the mission roster as an afterthought. 

Bentley Little was born in Arizona a month after his mother attended the world premiere of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. He is the author of 10 previous novels, including The Revelation, The Mailman, The Summoning, Death Instinct (published under the name Phillip Emmons), University, Dominion, The Ignored, The Store, The House, and The Town. An acknowledged master of horror, he is currently at work on his next novel.

The true spirit master remains at large. Tolan might be the only one able to stop him, but he must find the truth within himself first. The element bonds, for so long the primary way to reach the power of the elements, have been tainted. The threat Tolan has long feared has revealed himself but escaped before his plan could be stopped. Now, Tolan and his allies must travel beyond the waste to search for answers. The journey again takes him away from his teaching responsibilities.

The power of the elements can be complicated to master. Most reach it through the element bonds, ways of connecting to and shaping power that allowed the nation of Terndahl to thrive for centuries. Few can reach power of their own, an ancient way of holding magic the elemental warriors of old possessed. 

The arrival of a dangerous sorcerer forces Gavin to confront his past. As Gavin works with the El’aras to master his connection to the ring, he learns of an El’aras prophecy that speaks of the Shard and a Champion. One must destroy the other. Though Gavin doesn’t believe in prophecy, he can’t deny that he’s caught up in something greater than he understands - and begins to suspect he’s been guided toward his fate. The arrival of a powerful sorcerer tests Gavin’s belief.

Trained to kill from a young age, Gavin Lorren finally escaped that life. No more killing innocents. No more working alone. Holed up in a quiet city that has outlawed magic, Gavin finds himself drawn into dangers unlike any he’s ever faced before. Each job tests him more than the last, and each tied to the kind of magic he’d hoped to avoid.

Betrayed by Duke Dominus and the treacherous Guild of Seekers, everyone Hunter loves is dead, murdered in cold blood. He is left alone, struggling to survive in a cruel wilderness filled with dangerous magic. Now, Hunter is going to get his revenge. He’s going to kill them all…and he’ll stop at nothing to do it. He’ll become the greatest Seeker that has ever lived, so powerful that no one will be able to stop him.

For nearly 2000 years, the Catholic Church has revered and protected its priceless, sprawling inventory of holy relics. From the bones of apostles to pieces of the cross Jesus died on, Catholics worldwide have long viewed their cherished relics as sacred - reminders of the possibility of miracles, of the power of the Almighty. But, some of the holiest relics in all of Christendom have been lost down through the centuries to war, thieves, or worse. And, the Catholic Church has spent untold blood and treasure to recover them - often to no avail.

Volume six of The Things Our Fathers Saw World War II oral history series. In The Bulge and Beyond, you will be with the soldiers going into the heart of the bloodiest single battle fought by the US Army in American history, the so-called "Battle of the Bulge". You will be with them as they feel the sense the fear of the unknown, the crush of impending doom, the scale of being amongst the columns of young, tired men slogging into a forest, medieval and dark, with the complete inability to ever get warm again.19,000 American GIs never saw their mothers again.

Huon is weak. A surgecaller who escaped into the wilds, his only goal was to survive. Now he is Oathbound, forced to fight in an arena, forced to become stronger than he’d thought possible. As he realizes he can become strong, the need for revenge fills his heart, and a new goal forms in his mind. But his goal is impossible: Kill the dragon rider, the Immortal of Fire. To succeed, he’ll have to do more than just survive - he’ll have to advance beyond anything the realm has ever seen.

Since the dawn of civilization, a hidden hand has gripped mankind. Operating in darkness with limitless wealth and power, this ancient Shadow Caste has controlled every major event in human history - mass migrations, revolutions, plagues, even two world wars. But now these ancient “caretakers” want to change the global experiment. Civilization is too successful, they believe, and our overpopulation threatens the existence of all life on earth.