Showing results by narrator "Grant Cartwright" in All Categories

Benji: Crafting swoon-worthy happily ever afters is literally my day job. Being a quirky introvert with an overactive imagination, underwhelming social skills, and a few pounds overweight, I'm no leading man. My best friend, though? He's total cover model, call the plumber because I just flooded my basement material. He's also outgoing, charismatic, free-spirited, and basically the best guy ever. I may know romance, but I'm no dummy when it comes to reality. I'm nothing special. And the truth is, a guy like Darren would never fall for someone like me.

The start of a brand-new epic fantasy series from Ian Irvine, set in the world of his View from the Mirror series. The Merdrun, cruel warriors blooded by thousands of years of slaughter, are gathering in the void between worlds. Their long-hidden summon stone is waking, and if it is not destroyed it will create a portal and call them through. In a nightmare a nine-year-old girl sees the Merdrun leader - and he sees her.

When the Alpha Event struck Earth, the rules of reality itself were rewritten. Millions died as the world was transformed into a lethal realm of magic and monsters. Yet somehow, an overweight, out-of-shape construction supervisor managed not just to survive the apocalypse, but inadvertently became an reluctant hero after saving thousands from one of the many monsters spawned by the mana storm.

Once there were three worlds, each with their own human species. Then, fleeing out of the void came a fourth species, the Charon. Desperate, on the edge of extinction, they changed the balance between the worlds forever. Karan, a sensitive with a troubled heritage, is forced to steal an ancient relic in repayment of a debt. It turns out to be the Mirror of Aachan, a twisted, deceitful thing that remembers everything it has ever seen.

My name is Charlotte Locke, and I’m an analyst for Section 47, a secret government agency that tracks terrorists, criminals, and other paramortal bad guys who want to unleash their abilities on an unsuspecting mortal world. I have a magical form of synesthesia that senses danger and uncovers lies - making me a stealthy operative. I’m trudging through another day when one of Section’s cleaners - assassins - takes an interest in me. I don’t need my synesthesia to realize that he is extremely dangerous.

Two hundred years after the Forbidding was broken, Santhenar is locked in war with the lyrinx - intelligent, winged predators who will do anything to gain their own world. Despite the development of battle clankers and mastery of the crystals that power them, humanity is losing. Tiaan, a lonely crystal worker in a clanker manufactory, is experimenting with an entirely new kind of crystal when she begins to have extraordinary visions.

Rielle is now the Maker, restorer of worlds. She has lost count of the number of worlds she has been sent to save. Tyen has cast off his old identity. No longer a spy, he now attempts to teach new sorcerers and find ways to counteract the war machines that are spreading throughout the worlds. But when an old enemy brings news of something worse than magically dead worlds and dangerous sorcerers – a threat unlike anything the worlds have faced before – Rielle and Tyen must reunite if they are to have any chance of saving humanity.

The end of the world as we know it couldn't come at a worse time for Adrian. One minute, he's an operations manager overseeing a construction job in the wilderness. The next, an unknown energy force changes the very nature of life itself, from the smallest organism to the top of the food chain. Earth's surviving inhabitants, its environment, and the very laws of physics have all undergone fundamental transformations. Many of those changes aren't pretty. Plenty of them are deadly.

The cruel Merdrun, the greatest warriors in the void, have invaded Santhenar but their portal failed, leaving them stranded. They're desperately trying to regain contact with the summon stone so they can reopen the portal and begin the slaughter of humanity. Llian, hurled through another portal, sees the summon stone wake and knows the allies have but one chance to destroy the Merdrun—though it will involve an alchemical quest that has always ended in ruin, a mad invasion in untested sky ships with untrained pilots and the most unequal battle in all the Histories.

Adrian and his companions continue their journey toward Melbourne. The pathway through the post-apocalypse landscape continues to be harrowing; as they travel, they run into dysfunctional towns that need their help, and they must find unorthodox solutions to defeat the monsters that plague the landscape, some of which are extinction-level threats.

Captain Iridius B. Franklin accidentally destroyed the planet Earth, but then he totally on purpose saved the galaxy, so you know, you win some, you lose some. Fresh in command of the advanced stealth ship the FSC Deus Ex, Iridius and his crew of misfits are sent on a reconnaissance mission to observe a suspected weapons development program being undertaken by the Federation's longtime enemy, the Planetary Alliance. When they discover the Alliance has created an incredible weapon - a bomb capable of manipulating time - Captain Franklin must stop them from releasing it.

From master storyteller Melina Marchetta comes an exhilarating new fantasy springing from her celebrated epic, Finnikin of the Rock. Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home...or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior's discipline.

On November 22, 1963, the 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and his wife Jackie were taking part in a presidential motorcade through Dallas. Thousands lined the streets cheering; others hung out of windows to catch a glimpse of the much-loved First Lady and President. Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. Three shots rang out. In front of the world, John F. Kennedy was fatally wounded. Lee Harvey Oswald was caught. But did he pull the trigger? Who really killed JFK?

Adrian faces threats he is aware of; weak but numerous enemies that no one else would even think about challenging. He is not at all concerned because of a simple fact of life: if you know what's coming, the risk can be mitigated or avoided in its entirety. With his companions, new and old, along with the energy windfall from the hoppers, Adrian has the purchasing power and the fighting strength to make like light work of monsters that would otherwise be problematic.

 As an operative of the United Forces of Humanity and its secret covert group known as the Knight Hunters, we join Vic as he digs even deeper into the underbelly of humanity's survival. In doing so, he uncovers even more nefarious activities that go beyond the horrors he's already unearthed. And as always, the threat from the Invaders is a constant risk that could end everything he holds dear. 

In the year 2035, humanity broke the dimensional barrier and attached its world to another. Unfortunately, something was waiting on the other side. Nearly 150 years later, humanity is in a never-ending war to hold what is left of its world. Vic is a military asset for the United Forces of Humanity (UFH), and his job is to kill the Invader Orcs and their kin.

This tumultuous global story begins with democracy's radical core idea: We can collaborate, as equals, to determine our own lives and futures. John Keane traces how this concept emerged and evolved, from the earliest "assembly democracies" to European-style electoral democracy to our present system of "monitory democracy." Keane calls this media- and communication-driven system "the most complex and vibrant form of democracy yet"—but it is not invulnerable. At this urgent moment, Keane's book mounts a new defense of a precious global ideal.

Zaina thought she could run from her secrets, but they have finally caught up to her. She's willing to risk her life for those she loves, but even that might not be enough to stop what's coming. Einar has finally let down his guard, but when the woman he trusts takes off in the middle of the night with his people's only hope for a cure, he realizes what a mistake that was. They have been living under the shadow of the same monster for longer than either of them realize. But it's up to them to decide whether that makes them enemies or allies.

Aika is playing a dangerous game. Torn between the loyalties she thought she had and revelations she wishes she didn't, she will burn the city down to get the answers she needs. To get the vengeance she craves. But when the boy from her past starts asking questions that could get them both killed, she is forced to choose between the people she needs to die and those she wants to save.

In From Ideas to Impact, Michael Sheldrick delivers an inspiring and insightful discussion on how to implement social impact by driving policy change.