Showing results by publisher "Tantor Audio" in Short Stories

Hailed as one of the world's supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his death so much as a passing thought. But one day, death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise he is brought face to face with his own mortality.

Bawdy and exotic, Tales from the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night features the wily, seductive Scheherazade, who saves her own life by telling tales of magical transformation, genies and wishes, flying carpets and fantastical journeys, terror and passion to entertain and appease the brutal King Shahryar.

Originally published in 1881, Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper is a timeless tale of switched identities. After the young Prince Edward VI of England and a peasant boy switch places, the "little king" tries to escape from a world in which he must beg for food, sleep with rodents, face ridicule, and avoid assassination. Meanwhile, the peasant, who is now the prince, dreads exposure and possible execution - while members of the Court believe he has gone mad.

Roger Ferris is one of the CIA's soldiers in the war on terrorism. He has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission: to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as "Suleiman". Ferris' plan for getting inside Suleiman's tent is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II: he prepares a body of lies, literally the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks.

At turns nonchalantly hip and charmingly deranged, Suzuki's singular slant on speculative fiction would be echoed in countless later works, from Margaret Atwood and Harumi Murakami, to Black Mirror and Ex Machina. In these darkly playful and punky stories, the fantastical elements are always earthed by the universal pettiness of strife between the sexes, and the gritty reality of life on the lower rungs, whatever planet that ladder might be on.

O. Henry, the pseudonym of the American writer William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), is best known for writing stories full of wit, wordplay, and warm characterizations, and particularly for their clever twist endings. This volume contains 20 of O. Henry's best and best-loved stories. They are marked by coincidence and surprise endings as well as the compassion and high humor that have made O. Henry's stories popular for the last century.

Five steamy, full-length reverse harem romance stories of badass alpha males and the women they make their own. This collection includes The Inheritance, The Renovation, The Promotion, The Gallery, and The Collection.

A hockey player who loves to read? Unheard of, right? I always let their teasing roll off my back and keep my head in the game, until they send a curvy little firecracker to my door with a special delivery. And by "special delivery" I mean the filthiest books the jerks could find in Silver Spoon Falls. Now, my head is everywhere except in the game . . . and so is my heart. Both are tangled up in the smart-mouthed little goddess who thinks she can fight what's happening between us. Allie Mackenzie is wrong, and I intend to prove it to her. Repeatedly, in fact.

It's been five years since I've seen her. Five years since Gabriella James damn near destroyed me with her betrayal, sending me to hell in a cage. I've crawled free, escaped the mob, opened a night club, and continue to battle my demons through underground fighting and sex. But now Gabriella's back, begging for absolution, wanting my forgiveness. All I want is what she's denied me for all these years—her body. Sex. That's all we'll ever have. Because Gabriella is still keeping secrets. I see it in her eyes. I'll never forgive her betrayal. But that won't stop me from taking her.

A woman goes about certain rituals of sex with her second husband, sharing the bed with the ghosts of her sexual past. A beautiful young art student embarks on an affair with a much older, married, famous artist. A middle-aged woman struggles with the decline of her mother, once glamorous and still commanding; their fraught relationship causes unexpected feelings, both shaming and brutal. A man finds that his father has died while in the midst of extramarital sex and wonders what he should do with the body.

A new collection of stories from the cult author of Terminal Boredom: A philandering husband receives a bestial punishment from a wife with her own secrets to keep; a music lover finds herself in a timeline both familiar and as wrong as can be; idle high school students find adventure in another dimension but aren't all that impressed; a misfit band of space pirates discover a mysterious baby among the stars; Emma, the Bovary-like character from one of Suzuki's stories in Terminal Boredom, lands herself in a bizarre romantic pickle.

Spanning Mary Kathleen's heroic struggles to save her husband and sons from Ireland's 19th century potato famine to young Delaney's own parents' lives in modern Alabama, the characters are vivid and extraordinarily familiar, resonating with listeners long after the final chapter ends. It's an intricate story told through a unique, intimate medium in which each family member becomes as real as your own, narrating in his or her own voice. At the heart of this book lies the truth: each of us tell our version of history a little bit differently.

I don't have time to date, especially not the infuriatingly bossy, ridiculously hot sheriff. But Dillon Armstrong won't take no for an answer. And the more he shows up at my office, the harder it is to resist him and his high-handed, insufferable, oddly endearing ways. He's going to make me fall for him, I just know it.

From the Artic to Egypt to Australia, Doyle tells thrilling tales of crime, suspense, mysterious secrets, and humor.

Thirty-three shorter tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time in two mega-volumes. Seventeen tales to start with in Volume One! The nationally bestselling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados for their wit, world-building, strong characterizations, tender romance, and edge-of-the-chair action.

The apocalypse is coming. There's only one way off Earth. When a small-moon-sized asteroid is discovered hurtling toward Earth, billionaire scientist Darien Trass must deal with the hardships of finding the select few who will join him on his voyage to escape the apocalypse and rekindle civilization on another world.

In eight years Marlon James will be one of the brightest rising stars in the music industry. Bristol Gray will be his tough, no-nonsense manager. But when they first meet, she's a college student finding her way in the world, and he's an artist determined to make his way in it. From completely different worlds, all the things that should separate them only draw them closer. It's a beautiful beginning, but where will the story end?

When I requested a secure room at the Silver Spoon Falls Inn, I didn't realize it came with sassy commentary from the desk clerk. Nor did I think I'd enjoy the thought of spanking that attitude right out of her. But here we are anyway. Sight unseen, I'm already hooked on Francesca. And the moment I set eyes on this curvy little spitfire? I'm sunk. Now, I just have to convince her that a grump of a CIA agent like me is exactly what she needs. Forever.

I did not expect to find my curvy soulmate being stalked through the mall by some psycho. And I'm not thrilled he got away from me in the crowd. But now that I've found Adalynn Marsh, I'm not letting her go. She thinks this is temporary and that I'll be leaving again once she's safe. She's got me dead wrong. The flame between us will never die out. As soon as I find her stalker, I'm making her mine in every single way.

I learned one lesson early in life: Trust no one. This isn't the first time I've woken up with a stranger looming over my bed. But unlike last time, this dangerous man swears he means me no harm. For some reason, I believe him. But I never expected to fall for him. He's more deadly than the men who kidnapped me, yet I've never felt safer. But is it all an illusion, or is this dark prince truly my white knight?