Showing results by narrator "Neil Hellegers" in All Categories

In this world, steam and electricity are the favored sources of power. Science has taken the place of religion, while magic is unknown by all but peculiar outcasts. But the border between reality and the underworld here is extremely thin. Thankfully, the adepts of scientific knowledge have found success holding back the onslaught of infernal creatures. Electricity is stronger than magic, but even it is not all-powerful. A former detective constable for the New Babylon Criminal Investigative Police, Leopold Orso is illustrious.

Hate your job. Start all over. Become an assassin. Roman Martin's life continues to take twists and turns he could have never seen coming. A month after losing his power, Roman is greeted by an exemplar named Orange who has some damning information for him. Later, he's given an ultimatum that forces him to become a government assassin, where he's sent to the Western Province in pursuit of a Centralian fugitive he knows intimately. It's not something Roman is comfortable with doing, but if he hopes to survive and avoid prosecution by his own government, it may be his only choice.

Tasked with killing the Eastern spy known as Nadine, as well as risking his life to get information by traveling to a foreign country, Roman develops an exit strategy with a lot of working parts, some of which he has absolutely no control over. Exploiting telepaths, tricking his companions, his government, and even his former teacher, Roman does everything within his power to bring his exit strategy to fruition. But he's still being hunted by Margo, and once the Centralian Government learns of what he's been up to, Roman's enemies grow exponentially.

In September 1939, Nazi Holocaust mastermind Heinrich Himmler conscripts brilliant physicist Peter Winter to devise a secret weapon of supreme power and to create a revolutionary aircraft to deliver it. Peter and his Jewish wife, Rachel, know they may only be able to slow Himmler down and not stop him from developing the ultimate weapon.

Cormac Bennett, ex-con and former bounty hunter, is a paranormal investigator with an edge: His partner is the disembodied spirit of a Victorian wizard, Amelia Parker. Together, they solve problems no one else can. They're asked to investigate a mysterious death in the Sierra Nevadas: a man died of hunger -in a cabin that was fully stocked with provisions. The kicker? The cabin is located near Donner Pass, the site of the gruesomely ill-fated Donner Party, where 40 men, women, and children died of exposure and starvation.

New Babylon is the capital of the mighty Second Empire. Dirigibles drift over the city, steam trains race down its tracks, and the factory chimneys never stop billowing smoke, even for a moment. The hegemony of science is unquestioned, and yet magic hasn't disappeared from the world. It remains dissolved in the blood of those who are called Illustrious. Hardline reductionists find that hard to accept, but it is not in their power to change the longstanding status quo.

Kyle Tait, having survived the harrowing, cross-country journey home to his family, must now struggle for existence in a post-EMP world that no one could have imagined just three short months prior. Each day brings new challenges - how to fight the bitter cold, where to scavenge food for the table, and how to best fend off intruders and keep their community safe. As the cold, dark days of winter begin the slow transition to spring, the Tait family is faced with a challenge that dwarfs all others.

In this world, science took the place of magic. Meanwhile, the transition from the era of steam to the epoch of Sublime Electricity is already underway. But magic hasn't simply disappeared without a trace. It still exists, concealed in the blood of the illustrious. Detective constable Leopold Orso of the metropolitan police counts himself among their number. He was bestowed a talent that allows him to bring others' fears to life. Leopold didn't go looking for trouble.

Azure has come face to face with the notorious bandit, James Bower. Completely surrounded, what can he possibly do to survive the encounter with an enemy almost double his level and emerge victorious? Things won't be easy for Azure as he faces more perils than ever before. Even if he does survive, he still has the Darkness status effect to contend with, sorting out his friends from his foes, and starting his journey to the God of Land. Perhaps he'll end up being the biggest backstabber in the end.

In a research hangar in Virginia, a Unit 51 team studies an ancient but long-dormant virus that can transform human physiology - and turn it into something else.... In the Amazon rain forest, a newly evolving life form known as Subject Z acquires the ability to think conceptually, build elaborate traps, create new carriers - and spawn a new race....

When war and nefarious forces split the realms, Micah dives into the breach once more, confident in his stupendous magical power and time magic will keep him and his friends safe. It won't. He fails, and a new enemy with a familiar face has followed him back into the past, wreaking havoc on the timeline. Now Micah's only chance comes in the form of a map, guiding him halfway around the world to the laboratory of the greatest wizard that ever lived. 

Dion Fortune was one of the first to bring this "secret tradition" to a wider audience with her clear and comprehensive exploration of the Qabalah tradition. The Mystical Qabalah remains a classic in its clarity, linking the broad elements of Jewish traditional thought - probably going back to the Babylonian captivity and beyond - with both Eastern and Western philosophy and later Christian insights.

After a brush with death that almost cost me everything, I managed to expose Izguril's machinations and imprison the usurper god within me. Now, with no more immediate threats to my survival, I wish that I could take some time to rest, but I can't. Because if the goblin village that has taken up residence within me is thriving, and more adventurers come every day to test their mettle against my traps and monsters, something is nagging at the back of my mind. A dark vision, that was confirmed by none other than the Mistmother - the goddess of foresight.

New York Times best-selling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps 15 short takes on the holiday season - interviews with holiday notables, "informational" articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s - and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.

Evidence at a fiery car crash leads K-9 officer Nelson Rivers and his accelerant-detection dog, Diesel, to Mia Turner—a woman previously accused of arson. But when a gunman targets Mia during their first meeting, Nelson suspects she might actually be innocent. Only Mia’s hiding something, and Nelson’s been burned before

All Azure wants to do is leave The Realm, but the Bower Boys throw a wrench in his plans. Mistakes that Azure made when he first joined The Adventurers Guild come back to haunt him. Uden flexes between good and evil once more as he's put in a precarious situation. Is vengeance worth endangering all of your friends and possibly dying for? Azure answers that question with steel, taking a path he never thought he'd travel. Once he set foot down it, there was no going back. Decisions were made and someone will pay the ultimate price.

Trust is a valuable commodity, and Nico has very little of it to spare. Discovering the condition of other dragons in the empire rocked Nico. Now he has to decide how to respond. Is it time to spread his wings and fly, or will Nico double down and learn the power these humans have to teach him? It isn't really trust when both sides are trying to use the other.

This is it. The moment of truth. After defeating the Dungeon Below and laying my hands on Wyren's Gift, I am now more powerful than ever before. Still, the Invasion that is to wipe out the entire realm is not to take place before another eight years. And a lot can happen during that time, good and bad. That's why I decided to rush the inevitable and draw these nightmares into this world while I still got the upper hand. But first, I need to prepare.

Ted Finley is your average suburban nerd, but when a group of thugs threaten to kill innocent people, something incredible happens. Gifted superhuman abilities during a seemingly random brunch, Ted quickly transforms from a nobody into a viral video sensation. Forced to navigate school and life with his newfound powers and fame proves to be difficult, but Ted’s biggest challenge lies ahead. He’s not the only one with powers....

The Ouroboros Project was my last chance at salvation, but the new virtual reality was just as bad as the world I’d left. Backroom deals with corrupt nobles, slavery, and murder were all swept under the rug in the pursuit of gold. Despite everything, I found mercenary life fulfilling, until my guild was attacked. Now, I've got unknown, extremely rich enemies on all sides, a mysterious woman with strange magic and compound eyes, and a guild to save.