Showing results by narrator "Luke Daniels" in All Categories

A young woman is found strangled in the stairwell of a college library, only her sneakers missing. With no physical evidence, no signs of sexual assault, and no witnesses, all the police have to go on are the three men who were in the library with her: her boyfriend and two campus security guards...all of whom have secrets, none of whom can be proven guilty. Five years later, ex-FBI profiler Pierce Quincy and his wife, former police officer Rainie Conner, agree to consult on the still-unsolved case.

Though perhaps most famous as a novelist, Philip K. Dick wrote more than 100 short stories over the course of his career, each as mind-bending and genre-defining as his longer works. Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams collects 10 of the best. In "Autofac," Dick shows us one of the earliest examples (and warnings) in science fiction of self-replicating machines. "Exhibit Piece" and "The Commuter" feature Dick exploring one of his favorite themes: the shifting nature of reality and whether it is even possible to perceive the world as it truly exists.

The day that the iron doors of the old mill in Westover, Massachusetts, closed forever is a day that still haunts the sleepy town’s residents. On that fateful day 100 years ago, 11 people died in a fearsome fire, and since then, no one has dared to revisit the mill or the dark secrets locked inside it. Now, a member of the once-powerful Sturgess family has aspirations to reopen the mill. Little does Philip Sturgess know that by unlocking the padlock he is also unlocking horrible secrets from the past. There are forces at work that will do their best to see the mill doors stay tightly closed.

The Xaros broke against Earth's defenses, but the war may be lost. The alien ships of former allies rule Earth's skies, threatening to obliterate cities and turn the planet into a barren wasteland if humanity refuses their demands. With their backs to the wall, the scattered crew of the Breitenfeld must work together to foil the enemy's plan before time runs out.

With the pressure on after his success in Gaol, Eli Monpress, professional thief and degenerate, decides it’s time to lie low for a bit. Taking up residence in a tiny seaside village, Eli and his companions seize the chance for some fun and relaxation.

Harry Benson suffers from violent seizures. So violent that he often blacks out when they take hold. Shortly after severely beating two men during an episode, the police escort Benson to a Los Angeles hospital for treatment. There, Dr. Roger McPherson, head of the prestigious Neuropsychiatric Research Unit, is convinced he can cure Benson with an experimental procedure that would place electrodes deep in his brain's pleasure centers.

For years, Kelly Andrews has waited for her big brother's best friend to notice her. As the physical therapist assigned to his recovery, she's finally getting the chance. But navy SEAL Michael Devaney is broken in body and spirit, and all he sees is himself - as half a man. He's sure he'll never be enough for the beautiful and vibrant Kelly. Can Kelly convince him that he's all the man she would ever need?

What if life as we know it was just a game? What if instead of traditional schools, children learned by participating in a virtual reality simulation, one that allowed them to experience "life" from birth to death - multiple times? What if one player, on his final play, could change the world forever?

Following a mock tribunal comprised of unfeeling elder magicians, Daniel is sentenced to the bowels of Hell. What he finds there defies his wildest expectations. The prison that is Hell has long since been transformed into a series of vicious competitions pitting the prisoners against one another. The bloody debacle is broadcast live by PrisonWatch, the ruthless corporation headed by the demon emperor, Beelzebub.

We were barely holding our own against the military castoffs of the Overlords, though—how can we expect to fight in the front lines of a galaxy-wide war against the upscale technology of the new enemy, the Kardons? Lance and Sofia will have to upgrade Uplink Squadron with new weapons and tactics if they’re to last beyond the first few minutes in this new way of war. But when they meet the new enemy in battle, it becomes obvious that the Overlords aren’t telling us everything, and Lance and Sofia are forced to wonder if they’re fighting for the right side.

Eli Monpress is vain. He's cocky. And he's a thief. But he's a thief who has just seen his bounty topped, and he's not happy about it. The bounty topper, as it turns out, is his best friend, bodyguard, and master swordsman, Josef, who has been keeping secrets from Eli.

Defending a surgeon in a malpractice case, Jake Lassiter begins to suspect that his client is innocent of negligence...but guilty of murder. Add a sexy widow, a deadly drug, and a grave robbery to the stew, and you have Miami's trial of the century.

With some 66 hits under his belt, Tomislav Bokšic, or Toxic, has a flawless record as hitman for the Croatian mafia in New York. That is, until he kills the wrong guy and is forced to flee the States, leaving behind the life he knows and loves. Suddenly, he finds himself on a plane hurtling toward Reykjavik disguised as American televangelist Father Friendly. With no means of escape from this island devoid of gun shops, this country with absolutely no tradition for contract killing, he is forced to come to terms with his bloody past and reevaluate his future, to tragicomic effect.

The 24-hour news cycle is abuzz when the police arrest homeless Iraq war veteran Mike Stoller for the murder of a young paralegal on her way home from night-school class. Stoller doesn't deny killing the woman, but his post-traumatic stress disorder is so bad that he has no real memory of that night. Jason Kolarich agrees to take the case only weeks before trial, and realizes that, unlikely as it seems, his client is probably innocent. The murdered paralegal had been tracing a money trail leading to terrorists.

Andrew Frost doesn't have time to relax. Having defeated an enigmatic killer and made a massive sacrifice to protect his family, he now has an even bigger problem on his hands. It seems his daughter's mere existence could bring about the collapse of the universe. So, on the advice of Tim, his super-intelligent canine AI companion, Andrew decides to travel forward in time to get some help from someone who should know exactly what to do: himself.

John Slater never had any interest in video games. Now he’s got to beat one to save his brother. A battle-hardened, ex-special forces soldier, John was never a fan of games...unlike his brother. But now, he’s got to learn and learn fast if he has any chance of saving his younger sibling. Magic, monsters, and levels are new to him, and his real-world skills aren’t as useful as he thinks.

The 1940s: hard-boiled detectives and femmes fatale are box-office gold. In one iconic scene, set in a deserted museum, the private eye arrives too late, and the buxom beauty is throttled by an ominous Egyptian priest. Now: the Black Box Cinema immortalizes Hollywood’s Golden Age in its gallery of film noir tributes. But the mannequin of that Egyptian priest is hardly lifeless. He walks - and a young starlet dies a terrifying death. Movie mogul Eddie Archer’s son is charged with the grisly murder.

Ruthless bankers are breathing down their necks, vengeful warlords are promising to pursue them across the galaxy, and now a mysterious new client wants Rade and his Argonauts to escort her to a frontier planet. Problem is, the new client won't reveal her cargo. It's probably something illegal. Well, Rade needs the money, so a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. They arrive to find the frontier colony strangely deserted. When the shit hits the fan and the Argonauts face a possible alien infestation, it's time to pull out the big guns.

Lacking health insurance when he was diagnosed with cancer, Shawn Speakman asked friends in the science fiction and fantasy writing community to donate short stories he could use to counter mounting medical debt. The result was Unfettered, an anthology offering tales from some of the best authors working today. Now, in Unfettered III, Speakman continues to pay forward the aid he received, raising money to combat medical debt for SF&F artists and authors.

Stranded in the present, time traveler Caleb Hornblower's biggest problem isn't returning to the twenty-third century - but falling head over heels for the beguiling Liberty Stone, who shows him a love more powerful than time itself. Though Caleb knows he belongs in the future, how can he leave the past, and Liberty, behind?