Showing results by narrator "Paul Heitsch" in All Categories

Each member of Omega Force carries his own baggage. Most of them are running from their pasts or simply trying to forget them. One member of the small mercenary crew is not who he claims to be, however. When his former life collides with his current one, the team is drawn into a conflict that could have profound consequences for the future of an entire species. Captain Jason Burke struggles to find answers as the tight cohesion of his crew seems to dissolve.

War is imminent. After a successful rescue of his comrades and a narrow escape ahead of the Darkkon invasion of Vallus, Art and the team must head to the planet Fengar, in the heart of the Galactic Conglomerate, to bring news of the attack. Midway through their journey, Art’s team is intercepted by a Special Operations Darkkon ship and thrown into a vicious battle. Boarding the enemy ship, they come across a rare, ancient piece of Yau technology believed to have been infinitely lost - but it’s not the only Yau technology at the enemy’s disposal.

There is a fine line between right and wrong, good and evil. For years Jason Burke has straddled that line as best he can, always convinced that despite the violence carried out by him and his team they were firmly on the right side of that line. But as he reflects on his time with Omega Force, he begins to have his doubts. When strange happenings from the mysterious Avarian Empire cross the expanse and Jason and Omega Force are pulled into the conflict, they must pick sides between two superpowers

Jain was the lieutenant commander of an elite SEAL team. He was accustomed to order and discipline, which he used to give the men under his command that particular brand of killer instinct his unit was known for.But one day that semi-comfortable, ordered life ended when he opened his eyes to find his body replaced by a starship. His mind had become its AI core. He is somewhere in deep space. Most of his systems are badly damaged. He has no memory of how he got here, or what his mission is. Evidence points to an attack by an unknown entity.

Shortly before he died, Plenty Coups, the last great Chief of the Crow Nation, told his story - up to a certain point. "When the buffalo went away the hearts of my people fell to the ground", he said, "and they could not lift them up again. After this nothing happened." It is precisely this point - that of a people faced with the end of their way of life - that prompts the philosophical and ethical inquiry pursued in Radical Hope. In Jonathan Lear's view, Plenty Coups' story raises a profound ethical question that transcends his time and challenges us all.

Former Marine Arthur Holland’s destiny begins when an aircraft crashes on his property in the mountains of Colorado. He moves to investigate and to help any survivors, but the closer he gets the less control he has of his movements. An unknown force urges him to open the door of the mysterious craft, discovering the secret that lies within: a dead, alien pilot and a peculiar, otherworldly crystal. If that wasn’t enough, the crystal feels like it is alive. That’s when he hears a single word inside his mind: run.

Two months after an investigation that nearly put Elias Roche behind bars, the former cop turned mob enforcer has endeavored to separate himself from his past by going straight. Now working as a private investigator, his attempts to build himself a quiet life have so far been promising. However, while Manhattan's Lower City is in the midst of a reignited mob war, Elias is faced with finding a man who doesn't want to be found, absolving a machine of a murder charge, and discovering a network of secrets that keeps the world turning, almost literally.

The project sponsor/executive/director is essential for any project, as this person is in charge and ultimately accountable for its success (or lack thereof). However, he or she is rarely trained in project management; rather they are likely to be a general manager or senior executive. Michiel van der Molen seeks to help these accidental project overseers understand their role and responsibilities, guiding them to proactively take control of the project.

The members of the Polaris Project knew what they were giving up when they volunteered to fly to the star named Angel-21, but the allure of being the first explorers to leave the Solar System far outweighed the risks. As it turned out, the most dangerous thing they faced wasn't the mission, it was the homecoming. Eight hundred years have passed, and Earth is nothing like they thought it would be.

Jain, a former SEAL whose mind is now the AI core of an advanced alien warship, has agreed to broker peace between humanity and the extraterrestrial race known as the Mimics. Unfortunately, a new breed of alien has decided to crash the party. These newcomers, part of the hostile Link empire, aren't very happy humanity is trying to coax a former member species into signing a treaty. Jain and the Void Warriors have to fight off this new threat while struggling to salvage the smoldering ruins of the peace talks. Things certainly don't look good, not just for themselves, but humanity.

China's foreign policy initiatives, even the vaunted "Belt and Road", will be shaped and redefined as they confront the ground realities of local and regional politics outside China. In China's Western Horizon, Daniel S. Markey, a scholar of international relations and former member of the US State Department's policy planning staff, previews how China's efforts are likely to play out across the swath of Eurasia that includes South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Drawing from extensive interviews and historical research, Markey describes how perceptions of China vary.

A stunning behind-the-curtain look into the last years of the illegal transatlantic slave trade in the United States.

From Joseph Romm, Chief Science Advisor for National Geographic's Years of Living Dangerously series and one of Rolling Stone's "100 people who are changing America," Climate Change offers user-friendly, scientifically rigorous answers to the most difficult (and commonly politicized) questions surrounding what climatologist Lonnie Thompson has deemed "a clear and present danger to civilization."

Having spent centuries in the shadows of its neighbors China and Japan, Korea is now the object of considerable interest for radically different reasons - the South as an economic success story and for its vibrant popular culture; the North as the home to one of the world's most repressive regimes, at once both bizarre and menacing. Korea: A Very Short Introduction explores the history, culture, and society of a deeply divided region.

In Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler, acclaimed historian Robert Gellately focuses on the dominant powers of the time, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, but also analyzes the catastrophe of those years in an effort to uncover its political and ideological nature.

For generations, we colonized worlds, and the human race spread throughout the galaxy. One discovery could end it all. They called the ship Lady Vengence, and her Captain, Gavin Andal, was young, a bit arrogant, and the perfect fit for a bunch of misfits more interested in shore leave than work. Nobody was interested in being a hero. Sometimes there's no choice.

Twenty-one years have passed since the end of the wars against the Insectoids and the rogue AI Machineships. A new generation of Shilohs has joined the Space Force, much to the joy of the AIs that still revere the memory of The Cag, Victor Shiloh. And, once again, humanity is in mortal danger. The temporal backlash from multiple time jumps that the Friendlies had warned against is making itself felt with a vengeance. Can humans and their loyal AI allies find a way to undo their meddling with time? Changing the past without resorting to time travel will be but half the battle.

New York City has long been a destination for rebels and rule breakers, artists, writers, and other hopefuls longing to be part of its rich cultural exchange and unique social fabric. But today, modern gentrification is transforming the city from an exceptional, iconoclastic metropolis into a suburbanized luxury zone. Blogger and cultural commentator Jeremiah Moss leads us on a colorful guided tour of the most changed parts of town lovingly eulogizing iconic institutions as they're replaced with soulless upscale boutiques, luxury condo towers, and suburban chains.

Out in the Pacific Ocean, there is a war taking place. It is a "warm war", a shoving match between the United States, since World War II the uncontested ruler of the seas, and China, which now possesses the world's largest navy. The Chinese regard the Pacific, and especially the South China Sea, as their ocean, and they're ready to defend it. Each day the heat between the two countries increases as the Chinese try to claim the South China Sea for their own, and the United States insists on asserting freedom of navigation.

Trapped on the other side of the galaxy, Ben, Noah, and their companions are dragged into the midst of war by the mysterious Warden. Relentlessly hunted, they must choose the best of bad options and learn the ultimate lesson to prevail.