Showing results by narrator "John Pirhalla" in All Categories

For a job that came out of the blue, this latest gig could keep former Delta Forcer operator Dak Harper in the black for quite a while. On his way to London to track a crazed former colonel who wants the ex-Special Forces commando dead, Dak is diverted by an urgent request from his employer, a 13-year-old multimillionaire with a passion for antiquities. Dak’s new assignment? Find the fabled Welsh Crown, a mysterious 13th century artifact that’s been missing for centuries. The gig sounds easy until Dak’s target starts a bloody turf war with a larger, more powerful syndicate.

With the liberation of Chicago, Troias' new County gained a measure of security and prosperity it's never experienced before. That prosperity brings problems, though, in the form of warlike neighbors, potential allies, and new monsters. Everyone and everything demands Troias' time and attention, including the new President of the United States. The Shift upsurge brought a new level of danger, and Troias has to meet it with his Facets and his blade, but how can he do that when his most powerful weapon might be slowly killing him?

Huon and Liona have reached the rank of Immortal. On the world of Temtoria, they developed abilities long lost to the surgecallers in Harolan and Taloniar. But their journey is far from over. On their return, they must help their friends catch up to their level of strength while pushing forward in their mission to defeat the Immortal Seven and the Everlasting King.

There are still two more rounds in the Tournament of Grace; two more opportunities for Huon and the crew of the Strong Wind to obtain boons from the Low and High Celestials of Taloniar. Huon has attained the rank of Champion faster than he ever imagined he would, but after what he learned from the Devil of the West about the Everlasting King, he has a newfound zeal to reach even higher heights. If he's going to reach them fast enough, he'll have to win the Tournament of Grace.

Forced to become an Honourbound soldier in the Everlasting King's army, Huon struggles to do what is right when his actions are completely out of his control. He attained Knighthood, and is the strongest he's ever been, but his advancement means nothing while oathbound.

Now experience where the hit movie from Academy Award-winning director Bong Joon Ho, starring Robert Pattinson, started in Mickey7 (the inspiration for the film Mickey 17). Dying isn’t any fun…but at least it’s a living. Mickey Barnes is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human...

Fresh out of prison, Jonathan Aguelon wants one big score before he leaves the city for good. The job will be more complicated than any that he's ever attempted, but this time he can steal more than money: He can get revenge—but only if he follows a mysterious benefactor’s plan. With the right team, Jonathan can succeed, but much in the city has changed during his time away, and the Dragon doesn't have the draw he once did. The team of outcasts he assembles needs time to prepare, but time is the one luxury they don’t have.

From the Great Depression to Pearl Harbor, from high school to the combat zone, from boot camp to the end of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan, here are more of the stories that we can’t afford not to hear, from a vanishing generation speaking to America today. World War II brought out the worst in humanity, but it also brought out the best; in these narratives you will draw your own lessons. Here are the stories that a special generation of Americans told us for the future when we took the time to be still, to listen, and to draw strength.

Ty has bonded to a strange smoke dragon and trains as a Tecal. If he can’t control the connection, the dragon will be stripped from him so that another can use the power of the dragon in service of the kingdom, as the threat from Lothinal is not gone. When Roson James makes his move, Ty feels an increased urgency to understand how to connect to the dragon. Help comes from an unlikely source, but it might not be in time. This time, the kingdom is not the only target.

Having passed his first test at the Academy, most believe Tolan has proved he belongs. Only Tolan knows the truth: that his shaping required power from the borrowed bondar — and possibly from the elementals themselves. If he can’t find a way to shape without one, he’ll be expelled from the Academy. When he intervenes to stop another attack on the city, he once again finds himself in the middle of the battle between Terndahl and the Draasin Lord. Worse, because of his continued reliance on the bondars, he begins to fear he might be responsible for releasing elementals.

TUHRELEVIM—the initials of those integrally involved in discovering the planet and planning its colonization. Many more than just those ten were involved. Tens of thousands, in fact.

Anderson Cross knows command is his destiny. But a seemingly victorious engagement turns deadly as his ship catapults through space into alien territory. As it escapes, an errant torpedo destroys a relic sacred to the aliens. A holy war starts with one lit match, then explodes. Now, Cross and his executive officer, Kate Flynn, face the might of an alien invasion bent on the destruction of all Earth’s children. Their solitary ship now bears the hatred of an entire species. Can they survive long enough to save humanity?

After botching a mission to retrieve a precious artifact from a wealthy, mysterious collector called Octavius Quinn, Hunter, Sukri, and Vi must deal with the consequences. For Hunter’s father has just crossed through the Gate into the world of Varta…and Octavius kidnaps him. Hunted by Octavius’ cronies and with time running out for his father, Hunter must band together with his nemesis Lady Camilla to find and destroy Octavius. If they fail, Hunter’s father will die…and Hunter, and everyone he loves, will join him!

From the deserts of North Africa to the mountains of Italy, 15men and women veterans of the Italian campaign open up about a war that was so brutal, news of it was downplayed at home. Here are the stories from a vanishing generation speaking to America today. The war in the Mediterranean, and particularly the Italian Campaign, is one that for many Americans is shrouded in mystery and murkiness. Yet it was here that the United States launched its first offensive in the west on enemy soil.

Plunged into an ancient portal, Hunter finds himself in a world where mankind has been all but destroyed by the dark magic of the forest surrounding Tykus, the last remaining human settlement. Magic that threatens to transform mankind into horrifying monsters. But when Hunter discovers that he possesses the power to absorb the skills and traits of the people around him - and to transfer his skills and traits to others - Hunter becomes the hunted. For the immortal King Tykus will stop at nothing to destroy him...or to brainwash him into becoming the kingdom’s ultimate weapon.

Selburn, Virginia: A quiet backwater town nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the days before the Civil War, Sam Lock keeps the peace as the town sheriff, like his father before him. That peace is shattered during a raging winter storm when a boy goes missing at Evermore, the sprawling estate of Horace Crownhill and his family.

Welcome to Astoria's library, a mysterious place offering its visitors a unique chance to visit their favorite storybook lands. Neverland? Wonderland? Oz? They're all reality in this magical building, each a dreamlike world waiting to be explored. But what happens when one false move in these mythic lands is enough to change the stories you love? What happens when one wrong step can turn your favorite fairy tale into a nightmare?

The Great Serpent grants a gift of powerful essence to those who come before him. The experience, and the gift, is unpredictable but all have a vision of the Great Serpent so they can understand the purpose of their essence.

Kanar Reas, an ex-soldier known as the Blackheart, hides a dangerous secret. Exiled from the Realmsguard, he wants nothing to do with the kind of magic that destroyed his life. That is until his team of mercenaries is offered a job they can’t refuse.

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.