Showing results by narrator "Michael Kramer" in All Categories

Politics in America are polarized and trivialized, perhaps as never before. In Congress, the media, and academic debate, opponents from right and left, the Red and the Blue, struggle against one another as if politics were contact sports played to the shouts of cheerleaders. The result, Ronald Dworkin writes, is a deeply depressing political culture, as ill equipped for the perennial challenge of achieving social justice as for the emerging threats of terrorism. Can the hope for change be realized?

ISIS - the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - has taken on the mantle of being the single most dangerous terrorist threat to global security since al-Qaeda. In Defeating ISIS, internationally renowned intelligence veteran, author, and counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance gives an insider's view to explain the origins of this occult group, its violent propaganda, and how it spreads its ideology throughout the Middle East and to disaffected youth deep in the heart of the Western world.

The expanded version of this authoritative biography of Wallenberg discusses previously sealed prison records and archives; reports of recent sightings of Wallenberg; the Wallenberg family's historic multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the former Soviet Union; and the worldwide activities in honor of this great man who could not be a bystander.

In the shadowy world of espionage and crime, Bear Logan, a seasoned operative, finds himself plunged into a perilous mission against Reagan, a mysterious figure at the heart of a formidable criminal network. But in Between the Lies, the line between ally and enemy blurs, and trust is a luxury Bear can hardly afford. As Bear and his partner Iris unravel the threads of a conspiracy that stretches into the highest echelons of power, involving drug trafficking, weapons, and more sinister deeds, they face an adversary who always seems two steps ahead.

The veil has been torn. The ancient dark has risen. Dark harmonies echo throughout the world. But the ancient Axioms of Light have been spoken once again. In the midst of the Dark’s swelling tide, Reign Kerr has emerged with the mythical power of the Ancients, a power she wielded to defeat the brutal Borathein invasion. Reign must now discover the keys to the Gates of Confluence if the world has any hope of salvation - a journey that will unearth heretical secrets and change her in ways she may not be strong enough to survive.

Myra Reed’s life is going great. Being a cop is great. Guarding the library of arcane secrets is great. Even dealing with the monsters and gods vacationing in the little beach town of Ordinary, Oregon is great. Then the demon, Bathin, strolls into town and steals Myra’s sister’s soul. So much for great. Luckily, Myra has a plan to evict the demon and save her sister’s soul. Step one: shut down the portals to hell popping up in town. Step two: get rid of the pink know-it-all unicorn. Step three: don’t die while teaching Death how to be a cop.

The city of Peradain is the heart of an empire built with steel, spears, and a monopoly on magic...until in a single day it falls, overthrown by a swarm of supernatural creatures of incredible power and ferocity. Neither soldier nor spell caster can stand against them. The empire's armies are crushed, its people scattered, its king and queen killed. Freed for the first time in generations, city-states scramble to seize neighboring territories and capture imperial spell casters.

Udo is chosen to be named count. The title comes with the wealth and privilege he's always wanted, but he has a nagging feeling it will be more trouble than it's worth. Things become complicated as Hanman, counselor to Ditmar the King, coerces Udo into informing against Gerold of the Four Fires, Ditmar's chief general in the war with Walhaz. Udo resolves to play this part to the best of his ability but is soon horrified when that same general convinces Udo into informing against Hanman.

Old ghosts of different kinds come back to haunt Fix in the fourth gripping Felix Castor novel. Names and faces he thought he'd left behind in Liverpool resurface in London, bringing Castor 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 favourite freelance exorcist.

Seventeen years have passed since the Necromancer Queen Talia was overthrown and slain, and her capital city destroyed by the Knights of the Order of Eternal Vigilance. Anskar DeVantte, raised in the sacred disciplines of the Order, is now ready to face the brutal initiation trials to become a consecrated knight-sorcerer. But the further Anskar rises in the ranks the more his faith wavers. As troubling powers awaken within him, a schism grows between Anskar and his hallowed Order, and he draws the hungry gaze of the vanquished queen’s fanatical followers.

It is the summer of 1944, and nine-year-old Andy Catlett is engrossed in the wide easy countryside near Port William, Kentucky. But sadness, loss, and mystery invade Andy's world on a hot July afternoon when his Uncle Andrew is murdered.

It starts in a laboratory. A man-made strain of flesh-eating virus. Created by a power-hungry cartel. Capable of turning victims into brain-dead carnivores. Smuggled aboard a cruise ship that's about to set sail . . .One by one, the passengers are exposed. A U.S. senator. A young couple. An undercover agent. A beautiful assassin. Some will be infected. Others will survive. But no one will be spared if the outbreak isn't contained and the dead outnumber the living.

After his tour of duty and an unremarkable post-Army business career, Charles spent his twilight years watching old movies and waiting for his grandkids to call. He'd lived a good life and been a decent man, but now that his wife was gone, he was...lonely. Until his old friend Bert introduced him to Crossroads, the new VR sensation. In this virtual world he can move without pain, explore new lands, and most importantly - see his family again. For as long as he can hold their interest, in this fast-paced modern world of instant gratification and VR thrills.

This darkly satirical drama by Gore Vidal finds two presidential contenders seeking the endorsement of an aging ex-president, and explores how personal agendas can change the course of a nation's destiny. The political intrigues rampant in Vidal's 1960 setting are strangely similar what is going on today. Includes an interview with actors Fred Thompson and Marsha Mason.

Sent with a contingent of knights to reinforce the Thousand Lakes Kingdom against the aggression of the normally peaceable Soreshi, Anskar DeVantte learns that the Necromancer Queen Talia’s reach is longer than he could have believed. Cajoled into procuring the components of the Armor of Divinity that will bring Talia back from the realm of the dead, Anskar must put her demands to one side when the real threat facing the kingdom is revealed.

Mandy Logan and her father Bear were hoping for a peaceful Italian getaway. Instead, they've stumbled into a web of conspiracy that stretches from the winding streets of San Gimignano to the hallowed halls of the Vatican. When Mandy befriends local twins Sofia and Lorenzo, she's drawn into the decade-old mystery of Lucia Moretti, a young girl who vanished without a trace. But as Mandy digs deeper, she uncovers an underground network of smugglers, spies, and sanctuary seekers that will challenge everything she thought she knew about right and wrong.

Apprentice assassin Arek Winterthorn has a power even he himself doesn't understand. Unable to cast even the simplest of spells, he can still disrupt the magic of others with a single touch. Arek's master, Silbane, is ordered to use that power to close a gate between their world and one inhabited by demons. This will save their people, but potentially at the cost of Arek's life. Thus begins an epic quest brimming with betrayals, plot twists, violence, and intrigue.

Russia's new ballistic missile submarine, Yuriy Dolgorukiy, is being deployed on its first patrol while America's newest fast-attack submarine, North Dakota, is assigned to trail it and collect intel. As the Russian submarine heads under the polar ice cap, its sonar readings reveal the trailing American sub and cause the Russians to begin a radical evasive maneuver. This, however, fails, and the submarines collide, resulting in damage that sends both to the bottom.

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.

Set against the epic backdrop of a world at war with myths and legends brought to life, Mythborn 2 continues the sweeping saga of Arek Winterthorn, wayward apprentice of the eldritch Way as he struggles to survive in the demon realm of Arcadia. Accompanied by Prince Niall Galadine, he searches for his father, unaware he is the prize in a war between Highlord Valarius Galadine’s warforged elves and Lady Lilyth’s demonic Furies. One seeks to possess him, the other to use him as a weapon as something dark and sinister within him grows, something called - blackfire.