Showing results by narrator "Derek Shoales" in All Categories

A bounty hunting survivor. A Galactic dark elf. A woman who has given up her humanity to become something more. These stories and more are available in the first short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, covering year one on Earth. When the world ends, humanity steps up, finding new ways to survive in a world with classes, magic, and monsters. The anthology features exciting, new stories by five new writers and a new, never publicly released short story by Tao Wong.

When the baroness of Forthyn's daughter disappears, she calls on the legendary orc hero Durik to find her. Durik enlists his old questing partners - the dwarf alchemist Ulma Grimstone and roguish Logan Lashley - in the hopes of reliving their glory days. Together they journey to fear-struck Fallowhearth. There, instead of clues, they uncover necromancy: graveyards emptied of corpses, with trails of footprints leading into sinister Blind Muir Forest.... But the forest holds more than just the walking dead.

Belgrieve's return to Turnera has been marked by many brushes with larger-than-life figures, including a legendary adventurer, an elven princess, and a mysterious foundling with mystical powers. In the midst of all of this, Belgrieve is forced to confront unresolved old feelings about his past that have smoldered within him since his adventuring days came to an end so long ago. Meanwhile, after resuming her adventuring life in the big city, Angeline has done her father the dubious service of seeking out prospective brides for him (to no avail).

Thanks to a strange turn of fate, Angeline was able to reunite her father with one of his former adventurer comrades, the archmage Kasim. Now with spring approaching, Belgrieve intends to bring everyone back to Turnera with him, but the unbreakable bond between father and daughter has left the two so concerned for one another that they ironically can't seem to find common ground. Meanwhile, Charlotte and Byaku begin training in magic, only to encounter a certain problem. Where is this ever-growing little family headed, and what will become of the young magicians-in-training?

After overcoming numerous trials and titanic challenges, Angeline finally returns to her hometown with her party members and reunites with her beloved father, Belgrieve, for some much-needed rest and relaxation in the countryside. But amidst home comforts and nostalgic joy, her father feels duty bound to make sure she's not holding back as a warrior, even against him: "If you want to continue as an adventurer, defeat me first!"

An encounter with an old friend becomes tragically fatal, and Indrajit and Fix set out on a high-stakes, high-adrenaline quest across the ancient city of Kish to bring their friend back to life. At each step, the complications and the enemies alike pile up. The mysterious necromancers, the Vin Dalu priests, bind the heroes on an errand that sends them shuttling from one thieves' guild to the next, pitting Indrajit and Fix against the deadly House of Knives and embroiling them in a plot by the giant, wasplike Kattak to take dire revenge on Kish and all its great houses.

In the world of Eternal Night, Johnathan Masters is at the top of his game. He’s worked hard to build up his influence, trading favors and playing politics. But when a Blood from another city arrives on the scene and attempts to cut into his business by increasing his own status, Johnathan is forced to defend his turf. Maybe he’ll play nice. But then again, sometimes a bit of tough love sends the right message.

After a long and perilous journey to the Earth Navel, Belgrieve finally succeeds in locating the second of his missing comrades. The dangers of the road are a fresh reminder of Belgrieve's limitations, and he begins to doubt his ability to continue his quest. But with the support of his daughter and friends, he finally manages to reconcile with his old party member Percival. Resolved to see things through to the end, they continue their journey to find the elf Satie, the last member of Belgrieve's old party.

After rescuing Mit from the malice of the ancient woods, Belgrieve and Angeline set off on their first proper adventure together. Their goal: the long-awaited reunion of Belgrieve and an old comrade. Along the way, they happen to cross paths with an old acquaintance of Kasim's, a guild master. But as fate would have it, a disagreement leads Belgrieve to lock blades with her. Eventually, after so many long years, Belgrieve finally manages to find his former party member Percival. Their reunion, however, isn't entirely a happy one.

With her vacation over and separated from her father once again, the S-Rank adventurer Angeline is utterly convinced that Belgrieve must be feeling just as lonely as her. In order to make his home feel a little less empty, she resolves to find him a bride! Meanwhile, Belgrieve's hands are full with his own troubles, as his reputation has gained the attention of an adventurer hoping to test his mettle against a living legend, as well as an old elf claiming to be a holy knight.

After reuniting with his old friend Kasim and solving Charlotte's problem, Belgrieve and company return to Turnera. Angeline immediately warms up to her new little brother Mit, and the growing family spends their days in peace. Their happy time together, however, is cut short when the forest near the village suddenly gains sentience and begins to attack people-worse yet, it seems to be after Mit and his demonic powers! As the situation grows dire, the Paladin Graham makes a stand! How will the father and daughter duo overcome the crisis threatening their home?

The invasion of Terrinoth has begun. Brutal Uthuk Y'llan hordes swarm across the land, ravaging everything in their path. A great champion has arisen in the Darklands: Beastmaster Th'Uk Tar, bent on destroying the wild and mystical Bloodwood as his first step in conquering the great forests of the Aymhelin and annihilating the elves who call it home. If the Amyhelin burns, so will Terrinoth. Trapped between his army and the forest are a misfit band of elven, orcish, catfolk, and human refugees.

While intensely attentive to its own tradition, Japanese literature has also embraced the outside world, particularly the influence of China. Beyond this, Japan boasts a powerful literary culture, made up of cultivated reading publics, both aristocratic and bourgeois, literary salons, specialized presses, authoritative judges of talent who cultivated and celebrated particular writers and styles, and a canon consisting of classics. This Very Short Introduction traces the rich history of Japanese literature from its beginnings over a millennium ago to the present day.

They were on their own. In September 2245, the artificial intelligence known as Janice Quant dropped 100,000 colonists and their supplies in the subtropical zone of the planet they named Arcadia. One of the colonist groups was the Chen-Jasic group, composed of 31 American suburbanites and 31 Chinese peasants. They formed an alliance, then solidified it into a family, acting in the best interests of the group. The Chen-Jasic family would play a critical role in the first 150 years of the Arcadia colony. This is their story.

Billionaire industrialist Ted Burke understands that humanity has always balanced on the edge of a knife. A single planetary cataclysm could wipe out the human race. As long as humanity only occupies one planet, the danger exists.

Beneath the storm clouds of a deadly war, three men are poised to unlock the secrets to redeem the world. The setting is Poland 1939, Germans are marching toward Warsaw running their armor, and devastating swarms of armed soldiers, along with their cavalry. Fighting against the Nazi military machine is a death wish realized all too clearly. Three young men are tasked with finding and extracting the German military communications device, Baby, that is kept under heavy guard. Polish patriots die to aid the three in getting the information and then fleeing with the prize.

ICABOD is destroyed, and key members of the R-Group are declared renegades, with Quip thrown in jail. In the new digital world, there is no tolerance for privately owned supercomputers. Globally, computers are hunted and destroyed for the greater good by the new cyber police CESPOOL. The information this group receives is manipulated by subversive hidden machine learning devices, the MAG running on the dark net. 

Jeb Miller is one of those Texans this vigilante saves after Jeb’s parents are slaughtered by Spotted Horse and his ruthless son Nacoma. Jeb goes on a mission to bring the renegade Comanche’s to justice and is so doing crosses paths with the Laramie Kid and the lone cowboy...with deadly results. Indeed, who is this lone cowboy in the dirty white Stetson and why does he risk his life so freely? How does the Laramie Kid bring him to justice? And what role does the Laramie Kid’s love for Annie Oakley play?

The R-Group, with their own next-generation youth, are poised to take on one of their most complex adversaries, supercomputers run by greedy powerful technological geniuses. The training for the new members of the R-Group is live, in the form of a real world cyber-assault crisis. ICABOD, R-Group's supercomputer, is their best weapon for this battle. MAG, the consortium of global technology predators, have come together to bring their insidious plans to fruition using humans’ desire for the easy and effortless lifestyles, even as it steals their freedoms.

The world is almost ready for fiat currency to be replaced by a superior digital currency. The trouble is, which one and who will own it? The twists and turns of events keeps both sides struggling to stay ahead. In The Enigma Source, the tenth book within the award-winning Enigma Series, authors Breakfield and Burkey explore the future of world commerce, cryptocurrency, and the complications that arise from creating an all-digital monetary system.