Showing results by narrator "Thomas James" in All Categories

In his defining work on emotional intelligence, bestselling author Daniel Goleman found that it is twice as important as other competencies in determining outstanding leadership.

Jack is violently pulled into a game-like universe and dumped into a seaside town on the brink of destruction. When the people of Blackmoor Cove begin to ask about his combat role, Jack discovers his odd Hero Class and finds that parts of his game interface are riddled with exposed coding errors. He quickly learns that the only way the town can grow and push back the unknown substance threatening to consume it is if brave Heroes venture into an infinitely high, ever-changing tower, kill bizarre monsters for their valuable equipment drops, and then deposit those items into a special chest.

Daniel's Guide to Early Retirement: 1. Intercept illegal money transfer from mafia boss. 2. Hide out in super-exclusive Full Immersion Virtual Reality game until the heat is off. 3. Roll a bard. Max out charisma. Live it up. 4. Profit. With all the pesky planning out of the way, Daniel set out to realize his ultimate dream: gaining enough money to buy a tropical island and spend his days playing the violin and RPGs. What could possibly go wrong?

The World is caught off guard by the sudden advances in technology, some are not happy about that at all. Bethany Anne's group needs to move into production, who is she going to hire for that position? Old enemies take a stronger stance at revenge than before. Helping others is a tall order, but TQB Rises to the Occasion! Now, the World is on Notice!

Gideon Caldwell is a less than successful indie author barely making ends meet in his crummy basement apartment in New Haven, Connecticut, when a beautiful woman mysteriously appears at his doorstep.

After a night of drunken debauchery following the defeat of the academy's headmistress, Lucas awakens to trouble on all fronts. The steady balance of power within the Imperium has been shaken by his presence, and the resulting aftermath is a town full of heavily armed and well-staffed enemies who seek Lucas' death. Lucas must not only survive their assault, but also manage his own slowly crumbling internal affairs when his party begins to fracture. Angered by Lucas' increasingly selfish actions, some of his closest allies are tempted to turn against him.

Mace and Shari continue their search for survivors among the undead even as they struggle to stay alive themselves. While working to raise their sync levels with the game, the new couple pursue the quests they’ve picked up, explore a dungeon or two, and work to stabilize the game world they hope to live in. With the undead world above closing in, will they have the time to figure out how to save themselves and other survivors?

After conquering all of Hesse, creating a devilish new dungeon, and establishing himself as the villain that everyone loves to hate, Lucas decides to continue his quest to create new content by taking over as a dungeon master on the mainland. However, unlike the dominant force on the island he left behind, the once-mighty Imperium only controls a single capital city in a rapidly shrinking territory, leaving a group of scheming nobles to bicker among themselves and fight over scraps of land.

Shari is a med student, months away from being a doctor. Mace is a coder on his first day of an exciting new job. When the world comes to a sudden and horrifying end, none would have expected them to be among the few survivors. Hyper-aggressive undead zombie creatures hunt anything living on the surface, where even the grass and trees can kill you. Hiding underground is safe, but not much of a life. Their only escape is a virtual world of magic and monsters where Shari can use her healing skills, and Mace can focus on something other than his fears.

Jack, Lex, Haylee, and a young Hero with a unique Class on loan from Ivyset Crag go on an odyssey to explore the unreachable Tower on the furthest edge of the map. With no dock listed on any system interface, the NPCs of Mother Sana design a custom boat built out of logs, fruit, and indestructible equipment drops to make the trip.

Apropos is the unlikely noble whose life began in the lowest of ways: as the result of a gang assault by a group of drunken knights on a helpless tavern wench. Last time out, Apropos attempted to seize control of his own fate, and ended up with, appropriately, nothing. Time has passed since he fled the kingdom of Runcible, and Apropos leads a quiet existence as a tavern owner. All that changes abruptly, however, when the sorceress Sharee re-enters his life with the forces of the warlike Lord Bellicose hard on her heels. They want something they're convinced she has stolen. 

If you read (or listen to) nothing else on decision making, listen to these ten articles. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you and your organization make better choices and avoid common traps.

A portal opened, and Perry's curiosity got the better of him. Once. Twice. Three times did Perry step through a portal, each to a new and strange world. He stepped through into a world of advanced technology, power armor and micro reactors. He stepped through into a world of knights and kings, orcs and goblins, where old wizards handed out magical swords. He stepped through into a world of hidden vampires and rainy streets, where the clocktower tolled the hour as ships sailed by.

As a particle physicist, William Jenkins is as unsuited to survival on an alien world as any normal 30-something post-doc could be. Thankfully, he’s not alone. With an AI, magic, scientific curiosity, and, most improbably, a deity on his side, Will must come to terms with his new reality before otherworldly terrors forever extinguish the light of hope on this new world.

Even a reluctant hero can't refuse the last request of a beautiful woman. On her deathbed, the mortally wounded woman gives him a strange gem and asks him to deliver the priceless stone to her sister, far off in a North Sea fishing village. D's journey is made ever more perilous by a series of scoundrels and rogues hired by the girl's murderer. They'll stop at nothing to claim the jewel. Will they catch him?

Lio Aetos is the Young Aristocrat and heir apparent to a legendary Greek sect, a prodigious talent born and bred for glory. Solus is a slave, a disgraced patrician from the fallen city of Rome with nothing to his name. They're as different as the East is from the West. Yet both of them hunger—to cast off the threads of Fate they’ve been given. To reach for a higher purpose. In this world of ruined empires and long-forgotten gods, the Young Aristocrat and the Son of Rome share an unyielding conviction.

Before being conscripted to fight in the Total War, Private Hector Park had a shattered family, a collection of old video games, and a promising career as a motorcycle stuntman. Now, he is dying from a virus threatening humankind with extinction. He has three days to live. When Hector’s brother contacts him after years of hostile silence, Hector goes to try and make peace. But his brother has an offer even more unbelievable than reconciliation: the chance to cheat death by joining him in Archemi, a full-immersion fantasy VR-RPG video game.

With the Summoning Gate under threadbare control and the Stranger defeated, Tira’s sights turn now to the war with Amedia. Their raiding party is en route with the sole intention of crushing what they think is the last surviving Kholvenic Dungeon—her.

Two weeks ago, Hector Park cheated death by uploading his mind to the ultra-immersive fantasy RPG game, Archemi. After exposing the rotten heart of an order of dragon knights, he’s now on the run with a young queen dragon who could one day become the most powerful mount in the game. To get strong enough to face their enemies, they need a quest - a big one. Fortunately, trouble has a way of finding Hector, and it does - in the form of a series of brutally murdered priests, a king in desperate need of a hero, and a beautiful, fiery berserker.

Sam Meeko never thought that he’d ever get a superpower, especially one that allows him to smell everything. Everything. With his unconventional power, Sam joins forces with a group of women hellbent on getting to the bottom of a countrywide conspiracy. It’s going to take some thinking outside the box, and when that doesn’t work, Sam and his group might need to tear the walls down.