Showing results by narrator "James Anderson" in All Categories

During the Alpha Contracts, 100 of Earth’s finest mercenary organizations went to the far reaches of the galaxy to fight for credits. Only four returned. The rest, tens of thousands of humanity’s best warriors, were gone. Unbeknownst to most, a small, unconventional group chose a different path. Their foresight and unique talents set the stage not only for the long-haul shipping company of the present day, but of something else.

Is it a hoax, or is it something unspeakably real? In this short story about evil games and spiraling secrets, whatever bargain you strike, there’s a price to be paid. Mason Brandt dropped out of seminary and found a job at a spiritual center offering guidance to troubled teens. Mason was one himself years ago - a suspect in a young girl’s disappearance. When a female student is found murdered, Mason is dogged by suspicion and flees. He hopes Merle House will offer him sanctuary once again.

Maud Demille is a daughter of Innkeepers—a special group who provide ‘lodging’ to other-planetary visitors—so she knows that a simple life isn't in the cards. But even Maud could never have anticipated what Fate would throw at her. Once a wife to a powerful vampire knight, Maud and her young daughter, Helen, were exiled with him for his treachery to the desolate, savage planet of Karhari. Karhari killed her husband, and Maud—completely abandoned by his family—has spent over a year avenging his debts. Rescued by her sister Dina, she's sworn off all things vampire.

Israel and Erin are strangers who wake up in a dark sub basement with no memory of how they got there. As they work together to escape, they encounter the clandestine Sentry Group and are thrust into a hidden subculture of monsters, secret societies, and carefully concealed history. The truth of human history isn't the only surprise waiting for them, though, as the power hidden deep within their DNA suddenly manifests. A man cursed with a monstrous hunger. A woman who can bend space and time. Will Israel and Erin stand against the coming darkness or let humanity fend for itself?

Adrian Ring is broken. He was wounded badly, and with dead loved ones on all sides, he makes a bold, life-changing decision; he’s leaving Bastion and its people to help the unknown second Trinity in Europe, where a terrible strain of faster, smarter undead still rampage in the streets. Clinging to what’s left of his tattered soul, he must assemble a small team to bring across the Atlantic aboard one of the few still-operational US Navy frigates. The battle ahead is ominous enough, but the journey might kill him before he sets foot on European soil.

When strangers Breanna Winters and Derek Stiles met on a flight to Colombia, they never imagined they would need to rely on each other for survival. Taken hostage by a group of radical environmental vigilantes, Bree worries her secret identity has been discovered - and her fears are confirmed when she learns a ransom request has been sent to her father.

All I want to do is look after my dad, so when I land the job of a lifetime that will take care of our expenses, I grab at the chance with both hands. Little do I know, the impossible will be expected of me. Slowly my smile fades and my laughter dies, until all that's left is the broken puppet my personal hell created. Liam Byrne, the head of the Irish mafia, returns from a business trip and I expect my hellish nightmare to increase ten-fold. Brutal, merciless, and dangerous, Liam is feared by all, even the monster intent on killing my soul. Turns out I was wrong.

Science fiction, literary fiction, horror, urban fantasy, poetry, comedy—this collection of short stories and poetry from the award-winning creator of Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter has a little bit of everything. Have Spacecat, Will Travel spans a decade of novelist John G. Hartness's career, with short stories featuring Bubba the Monster Hunter, The Dead Old Ladies Detective Agency, and a few new characters you may not have met before.

Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course. In Jane Yolen's first full collection in more than 10 years, discover new and uncollected tales of beloved characters, literary legends, and much more. A Scottish academic unearths ancient evil in a fishing village. Edgar Allan Poe's young bride is beguiled by a most unusual bird. Dorothy, lifted from Kansas, returns as a gymnastic sophisticate. Emily Dickinson dwells in possibility and sails away in a starship made of light. Winner of the 2018 World Fantasy Award.

Rev. Johnny Fletcher serves wounded soldiers from the battlefield as a military chaplain during World War II. His forte is spiritual solace in the darkest of times, but his life changes when he performs a public heroic act: facing down an angry mob intent on attacking five young Holocaust survivors. Upon learning they have no homes or families to return to, Fletcher decides to bring them to America.

After the vicious attacks on Victoria Bravo, Commander Tara Mason and the newly formed Force 25 have no time to refit and reconstitute their depleted forces. Deputized by the Peacemaker Guild and charged with a time-sensitive mission - finding James “Snowman” Francis - Tara and her mercenaries deploy to the wintry world of Snowmass to follow a 50-year-old lead on Snowman’s disappearance. Snowmass, though, is far from peaceful.

At the office, Samantha is mouthy AF and hellbent on testing my patience. So you can imagine my surprise when my new personal assistant walked into my club with a very specific fantasy. When the man Samantha's paired with doesn't stick to the rules, I step in to take his place. Wearing a mask protects my identity, and soon, the little wildcat from the office is telling me all her darkest secrets and fantasies.

A full year of blood and tears has passed for Adrian Ring. As the dead remain hateful, the living are more desperate than ever: winter approaches and supplies are dwindling. Meanwhile, the conflict with the monsters at the Factory is reaching a boiling point. But Adrian won't have to fight alone. Kevin and Michelle, his unwitting compatriots in the scheme to save the world, are following signs and portents to make their way to a hero they don't yet know.

It is the late 15th century and a village healer in Russia called Laurus is powerless to help his beloved as she dies in childbirth, unwed and without having received communion. Devastated and desperate, he sets out on a journey in search of redemption. But this is no ordinary journey: it is one that spans ages and countries, and which brings him face-to-face with a host of unforgettable, eccentric characters and legendary creatures from the strangest medieval bestiaries.

I’m on Prillon Prime for a surprise party. Me, the unmated Earth girl, a guest of the queen! I want to dress up and have fun. Not trip over my own two feet and fall into the arms of two of the hottest alien warriors I’ve ever seen. Ever. What happens on Prillon Prime stays on Prillon Prime. Before they touch me I make it clear that I’m not looking for a mate. Or two. I have to go back to the Colony. My life is there. But Prillon warriors are notorious for fighting for what they want. Apparently, what these two want…is me.

From John G. Hartness comes a must-listen collection of four Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter novellas: She Talks to Angels, Shout at the Devil, Angel of Harlem, and Sympathy for the Devil. She Talks to Angels: In the fifth part of the Quincy Harker crossover series, Gabby helps hunt down a rogue archangel in St. Louis, learning more about herself, about history, and about that cute doctor's son than she expected.

When her best friend's son is kidnapped, private detective Lissa Blayne drops everything to focus on the missing boy. When Julie's friend Colt Wheeler joins the investigation, Lissa bristles at the former ranger's take-charge attitude. Lissa doesn't need a man calling the shots, even if there is something about Colt's protective side that has her tough exterior melting away. As Lissa and Colt take their search on the road, the tension between them slowly morphs into trust and understanding—and they'll need both in order to outsmart the dangerous abductor they're tracking.

Driven by an uncanny mystery from his youth, Ian Randall became a “spiritual cleanser”, ridding disturbances from homes. But his belief in the beyond was challenged by his wife’s death. Merle House, the root of Ian’s obsession, could change that. The woods are restless again. Maybe here, Ian will find what he needs - if he’s willing to make a deal with the dark.

Serenity is bound for the planet Kerry with a hold full of sealed unidentified cargo for the planet’s highest-ranking nobleman. The duke is a surprisingly genial man whose court brings all the fanciness and fun of Persephone’s high society but little of the pretension—and, most importantly, he’s got the promise of more work. Obliged to stick around while Inara is with a client—and hoping to score future employment—the crew settles in. The liquor flows freely at court, and there’s food, entertainment, and comfortable lodgings to enjoy.

For Serena Otaki, free-spirited Californian, life is simple. She loves smashing atoms at The Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. She loves Star Trek, spicy tofu, and her cat, Captain Purrk. She loves her messy (slob-fest) apartment, her chaotic brand of organizing, and staying permanently, happily unattached. Life is perfect. She has one true love—physics. Loving a man isn’t in her future.